Taste of the South

Who doesn't like some good ole' fried chicken?!  I am working on perfecting my recipe, but it was uh so delicious!  I decided to pound down some of the pieces of chicken that I had in the fear of them not getting cooked completely through.  Once I was done pounding I had set up a work station.  A bowl of whole wheat flour, eggs, and finally saltine crackers (crunched up).  I am all about flavor when I cook so I added spices to the crackers; pepper, salt, cumin, Italian spices.  Once the chicken was completely covered in pure goodness I dropped the chicken in a pan of warm oil.  I cooked each side about 5 minutes.  If you like crispy chicken this is a must try.   

Because I can not get enough of them...

My girls are amazing me every single day with their spunky attitudes.  Prior to having kids of my own, I always heard horror stories of Terrible TWO'S.  Well, I completely disagree it's Terrible THREE'S!!!

Even though I can not get enough of these two girls of mine.  They have been more difficult than ever before.  Parenting is both the hardest and most rewarding job I have ever had, and ever will!  I have thought a lot about taking some parenting classes, however I can't help but to research online for free advice.  Can't beat free!  On a different note I think we have found a preschool for the girls at an affordable rate.  Ironically when I went to the facility to check it out I ran into a friend from H.S. It makes me so much better to know that when they are there they have someone with them that I personally know!  This week I'm working on getting lunch bags, sheets, and blankets for them to take to school everyday.  I am so excited for them but extremely NERVOUS too!  My little girls are growing up so fast!  TOO fast!

Lately when the girls get out of control I give them a wet mop or rag and they go to town cleaning.  It's a win-win.

I have not been able to keep Ava in her panties.  She likes to be free I guess.
 I couldn't get myself to post her bare booty so I added a cute little present. HeHe

Apparently they both needed to go potty at the same time.  Crazy Girlies

I love you TOO much girls!

My dancing angels.  True talent I tell you!

Yumm-o Dinner

Our dinner last night was so delicious I felt it was totally blog worthy.

There is simply no other way to cook corn on the cob other than the grill.  First we rubbed butter, salt, and pepper and grilled for about 10 min.  Once it was done I melted butter with chopped cilantro and brushed on.  So Delicious!

I have actually never made bbq chicken before but thought it would go great with a salad and corn on the cob.  Check out where I got the original recipe!  http://www.ourfamilyworld.com/2011/09/02/grill-two-meals-in-one-bbq-cola-chicken/#more-4861

This is one of the best salads I have ever made.  So light and fresh.  I will definitely have this several times during summer.   http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/02/15/garden-salad-with-lime-cilantro-dressing/   

Fourth Of July

Happy Fourth Of July

We had a very relaxing fourth celebration.  Oh how nice it was to have a day off, even if it was in the middle of the week.  The weather in my opinion was Ah-mazing!  Such a nice day.  We decided to take the girls and dogs on a walk in the rain.  How many times does that happen in AZ, NEVER!  We even stopped by the park and played in the rain.  The day ended with playing with sparklers in the backyard.  What a fantastic day it was!

Originally we started with a hole in a solo cup, the handle still got really hot so we moved to pot holders. 

Transforming in the works...

This weekend was very productive!  We have been in our new home for about 2 months so we felt it was time to get some organization done or at least started, I don't know if I will ever be done!  The two big things accomplished was hanging our tv in the living room and starting the teak wood table I got for Mother's Day.

Both were very time consuming!!

Our T.V. mounting experience

Shawn and I went back and forth about what we were going to do with our entertainment area of the living room.  I'm happy to say we have come up with a fix (at least for now).  Our very first project was this amazing credenza.  It's by far my favorite piece of furniture in our home.  Anyway we wanted to show it off more so than it was in our last home.  What better way then the living room where we are a lot!!!  I am an organization obcessorer and I did not like the way our tv looked sitting on the credenza so we decided to mount it.  With just Shawn and I and one grouchy Ava, it turned out to be a long but rewarding project.  It wouldn't have been so bad but I'll be honest I am very out of shape and lifting that tv I could feel my veins about to pop out my neck!  HEAVY!!


Anyway here is the progression so far...

I still have a ways to go with it but pretty happy with the progress.  Thanks to my hubby for putting up with me this weekend and working his booty off!!

2nd project..

When we first got my table we thought we would just put a finish on it to bring it back to life.  After really looking at it that was not an option well if we wanted this table to last us awhile.   There were a lot of cracks and dog bites.  Even though we got this table for a screaming deal, it needs a lot of attention.

Before..

Progress...

Being only 100 bucks deep into this project make me feel so much better about picking black boogers from my nose.  The things I love about this table which is the character it has was the same thing that made this table so difficult to sand.  I began to get really tired of sanding and didn't think I was ever going to finish this project.  Even in between the wood on the table was nearly impossible to sand.  since we were wanting a red(ish) stain instead of the dark stain that already on the table, we were trying to sand as much as possible.   Then out pure exhaustion and desperation (because I hardly have a creative bone in my body).  The areas we didn't sand completely ended up creating a more rustic look to it.  And we are in LOVE!!  

We have the six chairs left and protective coat over everything.  Can not wait to show off the finished product!