Prairie Girl Wanna Be

I have a 15  year old that loves junk food.  He can not stand to come home from town and eat.  He always wants to pick up something in town.  Yes, I did this.  Yes, I was the one that made stopping at Burger King fun.  So I take total blame for this but now I am getting worried.  He has always been my pickiest eater but now he doesn’t want anything healthy.

A few weeks ago I had him write down everything he ate for a week.  There was not one fruit or vegetable on that list unless you count orange juice!

Knowing how skinny I used to be and how I battle with weight now, I am very concerned that he establish some good eating habits before he leave our home.  Since I have a few years to go I have begun to work on this.

My first job was to give him some healthy snacks that he can munch on cause he tends to “graze” all day:)  I posted a few weeks ago about the butterscotch bars that he loves.  I’m still making them and granola bars and freezing them.  He just goes to the freezer and gets one whenever he gets hungry.  That means I’m making them weekly:)

This is a healthy version of a pop tart and he loves them!  He asked me to put icing on them which I did and he now takes two at a time out of the freezer and pops them in the microwave for his breakfast.  These are strawberry but I got some blueberry jam because that was what he requested the next ones be.  I’m so tickled he’s eating these healthy snacks.  Now if I can only get some fruit in this boy!

You only need a few things for the dough.

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup melted butter

1 cup plain yogurt (I used french vanilla and they were fine)

1 small jar 100% fruit jam (about 5 oz)

Mix this together to make a nice ball of dough.

Roll out the dough on a well floured board and cut into the size “squares” you desire.  Put about a tablespoon of jam in the center.  Place another square on top and using a fork, press down around the edges to seal.  Don’t get the jam too close to the edge and don’t use too much.  What you see here is too much!  Mine ran out of the edges.  I won’t do so much next time.

Place the pop tarts on a cookie sheet or stone and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.  This recipe makes about 15 - 20 poptarts depending on size.

As you can see Trent is holding a “frosted” pop tart.  I just mixed powdered sugar with a little milk and vanilla and spooned it on the tops.  (See post on making your own powdered sugar.)

And here they are in the freezer bag.  I freeze them in a single layer.  Then I think Trent microwaves them for about a minute.

Talk to ya later:)

Here’s a another new recipe that’s a good snack.  They will make your house smell awesome when they are cooking!

Cheese Crackers

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup shredded cheese, room temperature (you can use any cheese ~ I get this from Costco for $5 so that’s why I used sharp.

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 T. cold water or enough to make it into a soft dough

I doubled this cause if I’m gonna go to the trouble of making something I’d rather just make a lot of it!

Using a beater or food processor mix butter and salt until creamy.  Add cheese.  Mix well.  Gradually add other ingredients until dough begins to form a ball.   Form dough into a ball with hands.

Roll very thin onto a cookie sheet.  I rolled it directly onto my stone.  Cut into squares and puncture with fork.

Bake 15 minutes until lightly browned.  Turn off oven and leave so crackers will crisp up.  Store tightly covered.

I wrapped mine in “twos” and put them in a freezer bag.  This is another snack Trent can grab and go with.  The reason I freeze so much is that our snacks tend to be eaten a lot at first and then the last half of the pan will be left alone.  If I package them this way and place them on the top shelf of the freezer ~ in plain view ~ they can have snacks for several weeks.

The fool proof test is if they are eaten and as  you can see they have passed that test!

I want to make sure I give credit to Laura at heavenlyhomemakers.com for all these snack recipes I’m using.  She’s wonderful at making something great from very few ingredients.

Here’s my latest project I’ve been working on through the winter.

Our church goes on several mission trips throughout the year.  We have a group going to Africa this year and several of the ladies are working on scarves to send with them.  These scarves will go to elementary school children.

This has been a super fun project.  I used as many bright colors as I could because the children love color.  These were also very quick to do because they only had to be three feet long.

I love crocheting in the wintertime.  I wonderful day for me is having my housework done, popping in a dvd and sitting by the fire crocheting.

I love it!  Can’t always do it ~ but love it when I can.

My next project???  Scrapbooking!!  Will I ever get caught up on these pictures?

We just celebrated Lukes’ 11th birthday and it was a day full of surpizes.

My mother was wonderful at surpizing me with things.  She made everything so special.  Because of those special memories I’ve tried to do the same with my children.

The first thing I always do is make their birthday cake.  This year I surprized Luke with a basketball cake.  He got to choose the flavor but he doesn’t get to see it till that day.  I put it out in the morning so he can see it all day.

This year I left him out in the shop with his daddy saying that I needed to go to town.  When I got back I asked him to come help me unload something on that side of the car.  When he opened the door, out popped his buddy from Sunday school!  He was so surprized!

When it came time for lunch I packed them sack lunches.

Then they had to go on a hunt to find them.  They had to follow clues from the front porch to the back shed to the back porch to the swing to the boat.  They had a blast running and reading.

Luke was so good to alternate reading the notes with Caleb.

The last note took them forever.  They turned the boat upside down and ended up finding their clue taped to the outside of it.

It took them right back to where they began on the front porch.  When they got there they each had a sack lunch on the swing.

Boys are sooo easy!  They love stuff like this!

We really scaled down this year.  Instead of buying tons of stuff he will never look at after a week, we tried to give him a special day.  Having a friend to play was awesome to him. 

They played all morning.  After their treasure hunt, they ate lunch.

When they came in the house after lunch we had the table fixed and his birthday candles lit.  He opened his gifts which were only three and he thought he was done.

The last thing we did was send him to unload the camper.  We told he and Caleb we needed help getting stuff out of the camper we had left from the last time we went camping.  As soon as they opened the door he saw his last gift.

He’s had a yard sale bike for 2  years now so getting a brand new bicycle was a total shock!  He loves it!

What a fun day!  Enjoy them moms ~ they are growing up so very fast!!

When David and I married, Luke had just turned 4 years old!  I am amazed that this was his 11th birthday!  Where does the time go!

Talk to ya later:)

I have been doing lots of recipes that I’ve gotten from heavenlyhomemakers.com lately.  I’m trying to cook healthier but tastier too and this is a muffin that Trent is crazy about.

I love these because they are easy to make up.  I’d like to make them sometime with icing for cupcakes because they are healthier and have a good flavor.  Much better than a cake mix.

Vanilla Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup organic sugar or sucanat (can use brown sugar)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil

3/4 cup milk

In large mixing bowl measure dry ingredients.  Add egg, vanilla, butter and milk.  Stir till combined.  Scoop into paper lined muffin tins.  (I spray mine with oil)

Cinnamon Crumb Topping

Mix together 6 T. brown sugar - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 2 T. butter, softened  Sprinkle on top of each muffin before baking.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes (mini muffins) or 20 minutes  (regular sized muffins).

I put mine in a tupperware container so they will not dry out.  They go fast around here!

Hope you enjoy them:)

I love old buildings.  The older I get the more I love old things.  I think old things are full of character and old buildings are very interesting to me in the way they are built and the materials they use.

This is an old post office here in the great state of Alabama.

As I was standing here waiting to mail my package I whipped out my camera and began taking pictures.  Look at these old counters and the floors.

This is their bulletin board - it’s beautiful.

I love the high ceilings and wide halls.

There was so much beautiful wood in this post office.  Here are the post office boxes where people pick up their mail.

If you ever get a chance to get to Mooresville, Alabama please drop by their post office.  It is the oldest working post office in the state of Alabama and it is teeny tiny!  It has a little fire place in it and it has the old post office boxes (really they’re pigeon holes) that were there when the stage coach used to drop off the mail.

Have a great day!

Talk to ya later:)

I apologize for my type not being set next to my pictures.  I am doing what I’ve always done but it doesn’t seem to be working the same way anymore.  Sooo please just read first, then look at the pictures and maybe it’ll make more sense that way.

Will try to get some recipes up soon.

Thanks for reading!

You are not gonna believe this!

I am still having trouble believing it!  AND I feel a little stupid if you want to know the truth.

Do you know what powdered sugar is ~ do you know what it consists of ?  It is sugar that has been ground to powder!  That’s it!

I am floored by this.  Did y’all know this?  Am I the only one on earth who did not know that powdered sugar is powdered sugar!  Well I know now and I’m thrilled because you can make your own!  (I know I’ve got tons of exclamation marks in here but I’m just so excited!!)

A few weeks ago I mentioned to my sweet daughter that I was going to make some icing but was out of powdered sugar and she told me I could make my own.  Well I braced myself thinking about all the steps this was gonna take.  She told me to put my granulated sugar into my blender and turn it on.  That’s it!

I put a cup of organic sugar into my $5 blender that I got at a yard sale and in 30 seconds (yes, literally 30 seconds) I had powdered sugar.  Are you amazed?  I’m amazed and I feel soooo smart!

So here’s what you do…you put your sugar into your blender, press that button for 30 seconds, pour your powdered sugar into a bowl and just tell everybody what you’ve done!  You will feel like the homemaker of the year!

In Daisy Danna’s words “The mystery is solved.”

Here’s my proof:)

Good Friday Morning to Everybody!

David & I took a mini-vacation a few weeks ago and here’s some of our pictures.  This was in Leeds, Alabama.  I wanted you to see the trees.  Aren’t they beautiful:)

Do  you see the smile on this  man’s face?  Can you guess where he is going?

Yes, we are going to our favorite place to shop for the menfolk on our Christmas list.

You thought I’d forgotten?  No, no, no!  I have already begun to tackle that list that I drove you crazy about last year.  So it’s time once again to remind you that we are already four months into our new year and that means not quite 8 months till Christmas Day.  Have you done anything?  Well now’s the time so get busy, get to writing that list and get to shopping!  You’ll be so, so glad you did!

Back to our trip ~ I’m telling you ladies, this is a perfect date place for your men.  You just take them in and they will take it from there.  Make sure they’ve taken you somewhere to eat first and make sure you have on comfortable walking shoes (or standing) cause this is not a store that is easy to get your hubby away from.

Here’s one of the aisles.  These are duck decoys.  They have hunting clothes, guns, bows, ammunition, targets, fishing rods, reels, bait (or whatever those wiggly things are called that are in the packages), tackle boxes, boats, 4-wheelers, and tons of other stuff.

This is not a clear shot but the decor is all man!  This was at the top of one of the walls.

Can you see David down below on the bottom floor (yes there are two floors). He has found some fishing stuff and he was thoroughly enjoying himself.  It was very easy to get this shot from the bench I was sitting on upstairs:)  I was pooped by this time.  I’d bought five Christmas gifts and I was done!

Here he is ~ he’s got his new rod and reel and he’s set to go!  I’m telling you it is worth it to make your man this happy!

Here he is three hours after entering the store and believe it or not he was NOT ready to leave.  See him looking longingly at this boat.  Come on honey, we’re almost to the car, just a little farther:)

For your information, they have three Bass Pro Shops in Alabama ~ Leeds, Spanish Fort and Prattville.  We have also been to the one in Sevierville, Tennessee at Christmastime.  That was awesome because they go all out at Christmas with Santa and special activities for the children.

Go for it girls, you’ll be so glad you did and your man will think you are the best!

Talk to  ya later:)

Do you remember these??

I can not believe I am old enough to see something become obsolete.  I remember these being on every corner, in every restaurant and every public building.  You had to have them cause you did not carry your own.

Can I just rant here for a few minutes.

I hate this age of cell phones.  I just hate it.  Now I have one but I promise I would give it up in a minute if they told us they could no longer be used.  I just know I’m gonna end up with a brain tumor cause now they are saying that talking on them too long is gonna cause that!  I try to use mine as little as possible but I do like to use it in the car which is the worst place!  I have shown my 15 year old this and now he’s beginning to drive and I’m sure will think he can do the same thing when he is on his own.  That scares me tremendously!

I see these cell phones as a way to divide families big time!  Now bear with me before you laugh out loud.  Everybody in the family has a phone.  Everybody goes to their own rooms with their phones and talks to their own folks.  We are all divided in the same home.  OR even worse….you are eating supper and somebody’s phone rings and THEY ANSWER IT!!!  So there you are listening to them talk to somebody else?  What is that about??  Makes me crazy!

One of the best gifts my husband gives me is leaving his phone on silent when we go out on a date.

I don’t think we would be so rude to completely ignore the person we are eating with and just begin talking to someone else if it weren’t on a cell phone.  Can you imagine eating with your man and a woman comes up and you completely turn your attention to her and completely ignore your husband?  You would more than likely include him in your conversation, or let her know as you look at him AND her that you are with him.  Not so with the phone.  We answer it.  We talk exclusively to that person.  We ignore the person we are with.

No wonder our children don’t have common, everyday, good manners.  They are being excused to be rude.  Makes me c-r-a-z-y!

And texting!!  Don’t even go there!  I let Trent have it for four months and that was four months too long.  Now I’m not saying he won’t get it back later but we totally lost him.  He would go to his room for hours and we wouldn’t hear a peep.  You don’t know who they are talking to or what they are saying.

I am not from the group of parents that think you need to give your children privacy.  We need to know what they are doing and  who they are doing it with or how will we be able to protect and guide them.  They will be on their own soon enough.

We are growing them up way too early (dates at 10 and 12 - give me a break), giving them way too much freedom and not near enough responsibility (they aren’t even required to keep their own rooms neat) and sending them out into this world that gets worse by the day before they are even equipped.  I don’t want to cripple my children by keeping them right under me.   I want to educate and equip them in what I believe will help them in their walk in life.

Okay, I’m done.  I feel better.  I’ve gotten it all out.  I would love, love, love your comments on this one.

Thanks for reading:)

Talk to ya later!