my blessed life

In honor of Memorial Day, here are some great vintage war poster images~

Looking for something yummy to throw on the grill this Memorial Day weekend? Well, here ya go! The Perfect Burger , Grilled Creamed Corn with Ranch & Bacon Baked Potato Salad. Yum-O! This was a hit at dinner tonight! The recipe for The Perfect Burger can be found here. It's a no-fail! Tastes like those yummy burgers you get at a steakhouse. Here are the recipes for the sides: Grilled Creamed Corn (Racheal Ray Every Day magazine) 8 fresh ears corn, shucked 2 tbls. butter 2 tbls. flour 1-1/4 cups milk 3 tbls. cream cheese Salt and Black Pepper 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional) ***** Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Arrange the corn on the grate and grill, turning occasionally, until the kernels are golden-brown and softened, 8-10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the corn kernels from the cobs; discard the cobs. (You should have about 5 cups kernels). Lower the grill temperature to medium. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over the grate. Add the butter to melt, then w...

You know I mentioned that we were going to put the grill to work this week~and so we have! I just have to share tonight's meal with you. It was so yummy and EASY! I whipped it up in no time and we all really liked it. And no hot kitchen (I don't know about where you live, but it's already hot and humid in Arkansas...ugh!). The recipe is from the current issue of Racheal Ray Every Day magazine, although I modified it just a bit for our family. Now, I've never actually had a tuna melt...they just have never sounded very good to me. But the photo in the magazine looked so good~and very healthy, too~that I just had to try them. I'm so glad I did! Grilled Tuna Melts One 6-oz. can tuna in water, drained and flaked 1 can of cannellini beans (Northern beans do nicely, too) 1 rib celery, thinly sliced crosswise 2 scallions, thinly sliced 2 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil (divided) 1-1/2 Tbls. lemon juice Salt and Pepper 3/4 cup Swiss cheese, shredded slices of cr...

I feel like I may be a little overly ambitious with all of the books that I've got stacked up around here for summer reading. I find that summer is one of the best times for me to read for pleasure. During the school year I read, but not as much for pleasure because I am so busy with homeschooling. So the summer is when I really indulge, staying up late into the night reading. Reading at night is so relaxing...although I can really read anytime at all. So here's what I'm reading this summer: Before Green Gables , by Budge Wilson (currently reading) The Glass Castle , by Jeanette Walls A Wrinkle in Time , by Madeline L'Engle The Red Pony , by John Steinbeck A Movable Feast , by Ernest Hemingway Hind's Feet On High Places , by Hannah Hurnard Mountains of Spices , by Hannah Hurnard The Well Trained Mind , by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer A Thomas Jefferson Education , by Oliver Van DeMille The House of Winslow Series , by Gilbert Morris (I've read the fi...

I'm loving my newest *high art* on display in our hallway. It's sand art creations by my children. Isn't it beautiful? To visit others' homes and their wall art, click here .

0181. having a weekend away alone with my husband 0182. getting to stay in a gorgeous downtown hotel 0183. having a great view 0184. taking walks together 0185. exploring a new city 0186. experiencing the Indy 500 together 0187. trying new foods at new restaurants 0188. eating ice cream cones together 0189. just enjoying each others company 0190. sharing with others the joys of marriage God's way

When we arrived in Indianapolis we were given a great gift basket that had all kind of our favorites: Vanilla Coke, Mike~Sell's potato chips, Reese's Cups, Heath...just to name a few. Also tucked in there was the most recent issue of Every Day with Racheal Ray magazine: the grilling issue! So it has inspired me for this week. Knowing that it's going to be a busy week, getting settled back in after our trip, I plan to put the grill (and Vince.. heehee ) to use as much as possible! Monday: {driving home} Tuesday: grilled hot dogs Wednesday: roasted corn tostadas Thursday: grilled tuna melts Friday: grilled pizza Saturday: the perfect burger What's your favorite thing to cook on the grill? This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie .

The end of one of my favorite tv shows ever. It's out last night in Indianapolis, but we have the night at the hotel to get a good night's sleep before hitting the road early in the morning. So the pizza has been delivered and the show preliminaries have begun. I hope all of my questions about the show are finally answered tonight. But I have my doubts:) Even if they're not, I know I'll definitely be entertained.

I'm off for the weekend with my hubby (that's right, no kiddos!). He is speaking at a marriage retreat in Indianapolis. I'm so excited about getting away with him~I think it's been three years since just the two of us went on a trip!

Pimiento Cheese (Paula Deen) 1 (8 oz.) pkg. shredded sharp Cheddar 1 (8 oz.) pkg. shredded white Cheddar 1 (4 oz.) jar pimientos, with juice 1/2 cup mayonnaise Salt and Pepper *** Mix the shredded cheeses together with the pimientos. Stir in the mayonnaise. With a metal spoon (pimientos will stain plastic or wood), stir until the mixture is well blended. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir again. Keep covered in the fridge until ready to use. Serve with corn chips, bread or crackers.

Recently I was blessed to be able to visit so many of my lifelong friends~many of whom I hadn't seen in years and years! Friendships are truly one of life's greatest gifts! 0171. *forever* friends 0172. visiting *old* friends 0173. getting to know their kiddos 0174. and having my kiddos and theirs become friends, too 0175. having the kind of friendship that is simply timeless 0176. even if it's been years since you've seen each other 0177. rekindling friendships after losing touch for years 0178. loving how your husbands get along, too 0179. laughing and laughing and laughing 0180. knowing that you will always be friends no matter what

I guess I got out of cooking mode or something while we were on our most recent trip. This past week's dinners could have gone a little better than they did... haha One night was a complete bust (not the recipe's fault, just mine). Ironically, the dinner that really hit the spot was the *bean and veggie* soup. And the funny thing about that was...it was all leftovers . I don't know about you, but when I have just a little bit of a veggie leftover at a meal ( you know, not enough to serve again, but too much to toss ) I just put it in a small plastic container and pop it in the freezer to wait for my next vegetable soup. I usually have 5-6 little containers just waiting with corn, peas, carrots, etc., for the next pot of soup. I also do that with leftover pinto beans, which I also like to toss in the soup. Last week's soup was created from several bowls of leftover veggies, plus a couple of cans of veggies from the pantry, leftover pinto beans and leftove...

Does your family all of a sudden freak out and go haywire when the day comes for family pictures~or is ours the only one?! It's always short tempers, a clothes crisis ...or ten, and uncooperative kiddos here. We recently had one of these photo shoot days, but in spite of all of that, we were able to get some great shots anyway. Here are some of my faves: {Thank you to my friend Jennifer for taking these pictures!}