Menu for July 26th-Aug 4th

okay...so I know that making a menu, then making a grocery list is the easiest way to make my life easier...
YET I continue to fight this...and fight it when I need order most!
the last week was crazy  with it being our VBS week...
(side note: with my husband being the Children's Pastor and me being the Early Childhood Director at our church, VBS...Vacation Bible School...this week is BIG!)
and yet I failed to make a grocery list or a menu...so the last week was sort of mildly crazy and made more so by my lack of planning...
after spending half the day with 30+ preschoolers/kindergarteners
YES  30+...one day it was 35 of them...
with one other adult and 3 teen helpers...we might have been breaking so sort of code...
the last thing you want is to come home and make dinner...or even think about dinner...
anyways...
I digress...

I made a menu AND went grocery shopping...yes...on a Sunday no less...with one child in tow...
(menu disclaimer to my husband...all menu items are subject to change according to the cooks discretion...and or willingness to cook in a hot kitchen...at anytime during the week of said menu you may choose to show your wife love by taking her out to dinner with or without the children!)
Monday-July 26th
     Lunch-corndogs (not what I had planned, but I went to work, and dad and the kids were left alone!)
     Dinner-make your own pizzas
Tuesday-July 27th
     Lunch-@ the lake...pb&j sandwiches
     Dinner-pasta salad
Wednesday-July 28th
     Lunch-tuna melts
     Dinner-BBQ pulled pork sandwiches
Thursday-July 29th...my baby boy turns 5...FIVE!
     Lunch-@ McDonald's, Birthday Boy's choice
     Dinner-Corndogs (also his choice)
Friday-July 30th
     Lunch-3 bean salad & egg salad
     Dinner-Nachos (with beef made in crock pot)
Saturday-July 31st
     Lunch-leftover buffet
     Dinner-Burritos made with same meat at Friday
Sunday-Aug 1st
     Lunch-chicken salad
     Dinner-Kashi Pilaf with Chicken

Monday-Aug 2nd
     Lunch-Fried Egg sandwiches
     Dinner-grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken with pesto pasta
Tuesday-Aug 3rd
     Lunch-who knows
     Dinner-breakfast for dinner
Wednesday-Aug 4th
     Lunch-sandwiches
     Dinner-Huevos Rancheros

I'm With the Band!

Oh, yeah...

Not sure if all of you know but I had to take a break from blogging to go on tour with the band...

(shh, don't tell, but I'm sort of sleeping with the lead singer!)...

Yeah...I AM!...

Okay, so I'm also married to him...

and he's the lead singer of the VBS (Vacation Bible School) Band...

but they were still a band...

for a week!

I was married to a Rock Star for a week...

and also a rapper...a VERY white rapper!

(shh, all the kids still think he's a rock star...and so does he...I'll let him live the dream for a little bit longer!)

so legit that they even went "unplugged" during one of the concerts!

so...anyways...I took a break from blogging...
I WAS on tour...
okay so maybe it was a tour of duty...
spent last week with 30+ preschool/kindergarteners...

some really hard core rockin' kindergarteners! 

and YES, I had a blast!
Fun was had by all...and now I might be all rested...maybe...

my fellow roadie...thanks for a great week Becca!

Menu for July 5th-10th

wow...look at that 3 blogs in one day...CRAZY...
and NO the kids aren't sleeping and that was my "new" plan to not blog/be on the computer while they were awake...but they have been having quiet time so I've had some mommy time...

This weeks menu was made with the help of the kids ON the way to the grocery store...
and then the grocery list was made by the girl child...
she was hilarious, writing down EVERY thing I said,
"and we will have chicken salad on Thursday, we already have the chicken, but we still need......burritos or nachos for Saturday, do you remember if we have any pinto beans left? your dad HATES when I buy extra beans..."
wish I would have thought to take a picture of the list, it was 3 pages long, and fun for her to try to find the items on the "list" that we were shopping for...but I will count it as her journaling today so it was a bonus for her!

anyways...the menu

Monday-July 5th
lunch-leftover chicken, potato salad, and fruit salad from the 4th
dinner-breakfast burritos

Tuesday-July 6th
lunch-sandwiches using the potato bread that we made (requested by the girl child)
dinner-chicken nuggets and baked beans

Wednesday-July 7th
lunch-quesadillas
dinner-make your own pizza's on English Muffins

Thursday-July 8th
lunch-sandwiches
dinner-chicken salad on croissant and spinach salad

Friday-July 9th
lunch-fried egg sandwiches
dinner-burgers

Saturday-July 10th
lunch-leftovers
dinner-burritos/nachos/tacos...something mexican'ish....

side note/question...
do you have menu items that you remove/add to your list during different seasons?  Yesterday I had a facebook conversation with a friend that was having chicken noodle soup....I said that, that was not a 4th of July meal...and others seemed to think it was...I have a hard time thinking of soup in July, also no chicken pot pie, meatloaf, and a lot less casserole type items...
and then the salads seem to multiply in the warmer months...
does the same thing happen to your menu?

Before and After

Okay, so those that have followed my blog since January you might have heard that I did this little Triathlon thing...that I started the journey back in January...and reached my goal and finished my first athletic competition  EVER on June 6th and became a Mermaid!

I posted a "before" picture back in January and decided that I should follow up with an "after" picture...

Before

editors note...I "trained" for this after picture by scarfing down a snickerdoodle (see previous post) and pounding a cup of coffee...and then I felt a little guilty and did some push ups...

After

I don't see a big difference except that I might have learned a different pose...

WHAT was I doing in the before picture?!?

and DO NOT let the shortest member of your family take your picture because the perspective is horrible!

So did my body shape/size change lots during the training for the Mermaid?

...I would say no...

I lost a total of ...

drum roll please...

ZERO lbs!

but I do feel healthier...

and I'm now packing...

small, but legal guns...

very small...but 6 months ago I had NONE!

I can do a healthy set of REAL push-ups...I've done 30 in a row, but average about 20...Beau says I'm giving up too soon on them and need to push thru...

but...I don't want to fall on my face 

AND I have no desire to have huge guns...

just nice tank top arms...

and I also am now sporting true war wounds!

not surprising to ANYONE, I ended up visiting the first aid tent after the tri because I had a pretty rocking entry into the ocean...

my leg on the left

and now have true scars to prove that I'm a Mermaid...a clumsy Mermaid

and the biggest change is that I am planning on doing another one...YEP....you read that right.

I was so scared back in January when I went "blog public" with this challenge...

I had never done anything like this before and I was so scared that I would fail...

and I did come in DEAD last in the swim...

but I finished the swim and I finished the entire triathlon...

I FINISHED...

running across that finish line made me so happy and hopeful for my healthy future...

I came home, processed thru the experience by doing what I do...I blogged about it...

and started thinking about next year...and doing it again...

and then thinking about doing the Mermaid in Santa Cruz in September...

and then a fellow Mermaid's husband (thanks Tim) encouraged me to send my 100% Mermaid blog into the Mermaid people...

and then I got an email back asking me if they could share my blog on their website...and they would give me a FREE entry into the Santa Cruz Tri...

did you read that?  they asked if they could post MY blog on THEIR site...

UM...

okay...so I had my answer...

so within 2 weeks of completing my first ever Sprint Triathlon I was signed up to do another in 4 months...

We (the other Mermaids and I...there were 7 of us locally that participated in the June Alameda Tri) also held a meeting and have a whole new group of ladies signing up for the Santa Cruz Mermaid Tri and Du...

(Let me know if you are interested in joining our team...the more the merrier...)

I'm so happy and thankful that Julie invited/challenged me to this event back in December.  And I'm also thankful that I had friends that joined me in the adventure of challenging ourselves and how we look at being healthy.

It's not a number on a scale

It's not a size of clothing

It's not an age

It's not even the time it takes you to finish the swim leg of the triathlon

Healthy comes in all shapes sizes and ages...but it FEELS so much better!

Not Apple Pie...But All American

the Snicker-doodle

okay, so it may not even be All American...

but that's okay...it's what we ate as we watched the fireworks from our roof...

WARNING Nerd Tangent...

 was curious so I looked it up on Wikipedia...

The Joy of Cooking claims that snickerdoodles are probably German in origin, and that the name is a corruption of the German word Schneckennudeln, which means "snail noodles." A different author suggests that the word "snicker" comes from the Dutch word snekrad, or the German word Schnecke, which both describe a snail-like shape. Yet another theory suggests that the name has no particular meaning or purpose and is simply a whimsically named cookie that originated from a New England tradition of fanciful cookie names. There is also a series of tall tales about a hero named "Snickerdoodle" from the early 1900s which may be related to the name of the cookie.

So, since we had Snickerdoodles for the 4th of July I'm going to choose the New England origin and stick with it!

I grew up not really liking sugar cookies or Snickerdoodles...

then I realized as an adult it was because my mom made them for my dad, and my dad thinks they should be thin and crispy...

well, I have know this about the sugar cookies for a good 12 years now...

but only within the last month did I discover that I LOVE the Snickerdoodle!...

I thought they were hard little rocks of a cookie that crumbled more like a biscuit than a cookie...

...not large, chewy, moist cinnamon sugary deliciousness that they were meant to be...

okay, it might also be the recipe...all the recipes that I looked at tell you to make a small 1 inch ball of dough...I went for the 2-3 inch ball of dough...and we have a WINNER...these are going to be a new staple in our home!

Melt in Your Mouth Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter softened

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tarter

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

sugar and cinnamon  for rolling (about 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon)

In a medium mixing bowl beat butter for 30 sec.  Add 2 cups sugar, baking soda and cream of tater.  Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined.  Beat in flour (take your time with the flour and add 1/2 cups at a time).  Cover and chill (at least 1 hour).

Preheat oven to 375.  Combine sugar and cinnamon for rolling.  Shape dough into 2-3 inch balls and roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture to coat.  Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Back for 10-11  minutes, until the edges are golden and the tops begin to crackle. (EDIT...a friend just made these and said she needed to cook hers a little longer...go with look over time.)

Serve with milk or coffee...so very very yummy...also VERY good with Java Chip ice cream!...

might be making some ice cream sandwiches later...

but I will have to make another batch of cookies because this is all that's left

This recipe is exactly what I made, I doubled the one in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and added more vanilla...and the other major change I made was the size of the dough balls...I more than doubled the size, their recipe said that it would make 36 cookies so doubling should make 72 (I can add!)...when I doubled it but also doubled the size of the cookies I was counting on having the 3 dozen for the one recipe...I only ended up with 2 dozen cookies...so I might be doing a double batch of this recipe and hoping for 4 dozen...

I'm Back...With Some Boundaries

Okay...not for a long blog...

I just wanted all my fans (the 40 of you) to know that my blog got hacked so they closed it down and since I haven't blogged in over a week (sorry was "off grid" on vacation) I had no idea that my blog was off...

so anyways, 

ChambersMade is still alive and well, and still making things and collecting lots of blogging material, just a little busy with the kids home and all their activities...

I have decided to try to NOT blog when the kids are awake,

I don't want their memories of the summer of 2010 to be mom in front of the computer non-stop...

also note

that I'm trying to make all computer time while they are asleep....

yes even facebook...

don't worry, I'm not quiting you facebook just putting boundaries on you!

My goal is to blog at least 3 times a week....

but I will also not stress over it if I only blog once...

and if I go "off grid" again...

well, then we might have another whole week of silence...

and YES, 

my kids are still asleep...

and I LOVE to have these quite mornings all to myself...

only BLAST-IT...

I signed the girl child up for summer swim team...

and it starts at 8 am (don't worry only 3 days a week)...

so now I have to disrupt my peaceful summer morning and get the girl up...