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And The Winner Is…

Congratulations to our Freebie Friday winner, Barbara Dailey, who has won herself a copy of the cookbook, Seasonal Recipes From The Garden by P. Allen Smith!!!

Barbara, please email me at larhondapuckett@aol.com to claim your prize.  Thank you to everyone who commented.  Have a fabulous day and I will see you back here tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday:)

Freebie Friday: Fabulous Cookbook

Happy Friday Y’all! Today’s Freebie is this inspiring cookbook by P. Allen Smith.  It has delicious recipes that  call for the season’s freshest ingredients.  I have personally tried a few of the recipes myself (see Wednesday’s blog) and I was not disappointed; nor will you be if you are chosen as the lucky winner this week.  Leave a comment on this page before Tuesday and then check back Wednesday to find out if you won–it’s that simple!  Good luck and HAPPY FRIDAY!

The only thing wrong with this book is that I have to give it away!!

Wordless Wednesday: Yummo!

One of the benefits of hosting a Freebie Friday (which I will be doing this upcoming Friday) is getting to “test out” the product I will be giving away.  Some people don’t get this opportunity because their freebie comes packaged.  I, however, am giving away a fabulous cookbook (P. Allen Smith’s Seasonal Recipes From the Garden) and I just wouldn’t have felt right about giving something away that didn’t meet my standards.  Who am I kidding? I love free stuff just as much as the next gal and testing it out was my way of getting in on the giveaway.  I may not get to keep the whole thing but I’m walking away with a full tummy, a smile on my face, and a few new recipes that will definitely be going into the “make-again-often” section of my recipe box.

I promise I didn’t muck up the pages…much:)

Here’s a few pics (all that’s left) of tonight’s dinner:

We started with the fresh Garden Tomato Salad recipe found on page 91. It was simple but very tasty. The kids were not big fans of it, but Hubs and I were!

For dinner, I made the Shrimp Etouffee (pg. 45). It was very hearty and, while I couldn't make it as spicy as the recipe said to, it was a hit with everyone--even hubs who likes his etouffee to burn all the way down.

I realize that French Toast is not a typical dish you would make for dessert, but when I saw the recipe for Pineapple-Orange French Toast on pg. 61, I had to make it and I couldn't wait until morning. Everything we had tonight was good, but this was amazing! The picture doesn't do it justice, but I am a firm believer that food doesn't necessarily have to look pretty as long as it tastes great and this DID! I made my own maple syrup and lightly drizzled it over the top. I have now found a new breakfast favorite:)

Come back Friday and leave a comment for your chance to win this fabulous freebie–only 2 days!  Happy Wednesday, y’all:)

Oh, The Sacrifices Moms Make

I admit that the sacrifices we moms make are not usually as enjoyable as this particular one, but knowing how much I will pay at the gym for what we did tonight, makes it a pretty big one.  Let me explain.

Larissa’s birthday is in a few weeks and she wants a My Little Pony birthday more than anything in the world.  I was trying to think of something creative to give her friends in their goody bags besides the standard candy and stickers.  I thought it would be fun to give each girl a Pony of their own, but at $6 a pony, I retracted the idea.  Last night on the way to church, however,  I remembered that McDonald’s was currently putting My Little Ponies in their Happy Meals.  They have been doing it for a while now so I was worried that they had already switched.  I called today and found out that it actually ended yesterday but they were still giving out what was left.  The McDonald’s in Cabot actually had 15 left (which is exactly how many I needed) so we paid them a visit for dinner.  Here is where the sacrifice part comes in.  The toy itself costs $1.54.  A full Happy Meal costs $2.65.  So, for about $1 you can get a cheeseburger, fries and drink.  It seemed like a no brainer that the best way to go cost wise was just to order full Happy Meals, but it obviously wasn’t a good idea health wise. We are a family of four so there is no way we could eat 15 cheeseburgers…but, after inviting a friend of Corey’s along, we had no problem eating 12!!  The kids ate 2 a piece, and Matt and I each ate 3!!!  Thus, we only paid for 3 toys separately. It had been such a long time since I had allowed myself to eat a McDonald’s cheeseburger (I usually get the side salad with that good-for-you but totally bland light dressing), that it honestly ended up being one of the best meals I have had in a long time. How sad is that!  It’s amazing how something so bad can taste sooooooo good:) It was a tough job, but someone had to do it.  For a grand total of $40, we walked   waddled out of there with 12 cheeseburgers, 5 orders of fries, and 5 sodas in our bellies; a bag full of 7 apple dippers and 7 milks and, don’t forget, 15 beautiful ponies!

The kids will have apples and milk for the next week, and I’ll have an extra hour at the gym for the next month. I’ll probably work it off just in time to eat birthday cake at Larissa’s party…it’s a tough job but someone has to do it:)

If you would like to win some fabulous scrapbook supplies, visit Blessed Mom, Chosen Child for this week’s Freebie Friday.

Wordless Wednesday: Valentines Day Dinner

Matt and I don’t usually celebrate Valentine’s Day in its traditional form.  I’ll save that explanation for a post that isn’t suppose to be “wordless” because it will be anything but.  Anyway, we don’t usually celebrate but since our Sunday School class was holding a special Vday dinner the Friday prior, we decided it would be fun to go have dinner with friends while the kids were being entertained elsewhere.  We had a really great time and I had one of the best cupcakes of my life (thanks Chiquita).  They even had Tammy Leike (sp?) there taking photographs of each couple which was really sweet.  The photos turned out pretty cute so I thought I would share them with y’all.  Thanks, Tammy!

I'm not usually a fan of B&W but I think it looks good on this one:)

We have one that was taken at our wedding that matches this. I would have never thought to take it but I really like it!

This was my favorite:)

Happy Wednesday Y’all!!!

“Snow” Much Fun!

I know I sometimes complain about living in Arkansas, but I must admit that when it comes to inclement weather days, this is the place to be!  Corey has been out of school three days prior to this week and, counting tomorrow, another three this week.  I grew up in Colorado and I swear we had an Eskimo sitting on the school board making decisions about school closings because we NEVER got to stay home.  It almost makes me wish I had grown up here.

Yesterday was very cold, so I kept the kids inside most of the day.  We had a great time though.  For breakfast no one could agree on what they wanted.  Corey wanted Chocolate Gravy and biscuits (what else is new), Daddy wanted pancakes with chocolate syrup, and Larissa wanted chocolate chip pancakes with regular syrup.  Usually I make them compromise but since we had ZERO plans, I made everything they wanted (except for me–I wanted Monkey bread). After breakfast, we helped Corey put together a new lego set and I helped Larissa do her Ponies hair (it doesn’t sound like much but trust me when I say it is a lot of work).  The bowl that I had put outside in the morning was already full of snow so I made the first of three batches of snow cream. We then decided to cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie.  Of course we had popcorn and soda and then Larissa and I baked brownies while the boys froze their butts off outside on the four wheeler.  They didn’t stay out long and came in demanding some hot chocolate.  Larissa and I began working on her Valentine’s Day box for school and then we wrote all the names on the Valentines for her classmates.  I had no idea that it would take that long so I am glad we had the entire evening to get it done.  Corey had friends come over and, after the upstairs was successfully destroyed, they went home.  We finished up the night by playing Xbox and eating more snow cream:)

This morning, we all slept in (I love snow days for that reason alone) and, after my workout, chowed down on some Monkey bread. Mmmmm:)  We then did our best to restore Corey’s room back to normal and then went outside to play in the snow.  We had a snowball fight, made snow angels, and attempted a snow man but gave up because the snow just refused to stick together.  Larissa was very disappointed because she was so looking forward to letting him wear her pink scarf (she had talked about it all day).  The day flew by and before we knew it, another snow day was gone.  I thought for sure that school would be back in session tomorrow so I forced Corey to fill out all his Valentines and practice his spelling only to find out that school for tomorrow is cancelled as well.  Only in Arkansas!!  Oh well, you won’t hear me complaining.  I plan on sleeping in and then getting out of the house because the cabin fever is beginning to hit.  Where will I go?  Same place everybody else goes before and after a big snowfall: Wal-Mart!

Hot Mama is our host for this week’s Freebie. The book Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood is up for grabs.  To enter go here and leave a comment by the end of the day Tuesday.

Two seconds after this was taken, that snow ball in Corey's hand ended up down my shirt.

Here is the Valentines Day box for Larissa. It probably won't win, but it's My Little Pony so she's happy:)

These are the free photo cards that I told you about in last week's blog. They turned out pretty cute, I think.

Wordless Wednesday: A Peaceful Snow Fall

I know that Monday’s little snow fall has probably been forgotten about with all the hype about the “blizzard” that is to come, but I will always remember it because of what Larissa did.  She loves watching the snow and, obviuously, doesn’t get to do it very much.  So, when the snow began to fall, she immediately found a comfortable place where she could take it all in.  I guess it was a little too comfortable because she ended up falling asleep.  I just thought this was too cute:)

She is fast asleep on the head rest of the couch. I just felt bad because she was soooooo excited to watch the snow and by the time she woke up, it had already stopped. Oh well, it looks like she will have plenty to watch today.

Happy Wednesday, Y’all! Stay Safe and warm, and enjoy this family time together!! I know we will:)

Corey Ate His Shirt!!!

Okay, so he didn’t technically eat his shirt, but he did eat all the M&M’s off of it!

In Wednesday’s post, I showed you a picture of Corey’s T-shirt that I decorated with 100 M&M’s to celebrate his 100th day at school.  I dropped him off in the morning with a cute shirt decorated with brightly colored, shiny candy pieces.  When I picked him up, however, all that remained were dull colored pieces of shell.  Right after the celebration parade (which they intelligently scheduled for 9am) Corey decided that he was “just going to eat one.” Apparently my son has inherited my self-control and allowed 1 to turn into oh, about 84.

Now I know why other moms chose stickers.

Enjoy that smile now...it won't be there once the cavities kick in!

A closer look:)

Happy Friday, Y’all!

Free Valentine’s Day Cards

If you are tired of buying your kids the standard valentines to hand out to their classmates, here is a new (and cheap) idea.  GoSee.com is offering 25 4×8 photo cards for free (you just pay S&H which ended up being about $4) for all new customers.  What I did was take a picture of Larissa with her hand out like she was holding a balloon.  I used this picture on the card and plan on making a small slit (where her fist is) and slipping a Pixie stick through it (or lollipop).  If all goes well, it will look like she is holding the candy in her hand.    I chose a Valentine’s Day background for the card and personalized it with “Happy Valentine’s Day — Your Friend, Larissa”.  I placed the order two days ago and as of yesterday, they had already shipped out (they offer expedited shipping but as long as you place it this week I don’t think you’ll need it). Granted you don’t have to use your free cards as Valentines, you can make greeting cards or even birthday invitations, but I thought y’all might like to take advantage of this one.  I will let you know how they turn out as soon as I receive them:)

This is the picture I used:)

Wordless Wednesday: 100′s Day at School

I can’t believe it, but we have already reached the 100th day of school.  The school told the students they could decorate a shirt with 100 of any item and wear it in a parade that they will have to celebrate the occasion.  I tried to think of something creative but ended up choosing M&M’s in the end.  They were easy to glue on and all the colors really did look cute.   I may not be Martha Stewart but Corey was pleased with it, which is all that matters:)

Happy Wednesday!

I'm happy that 100 days are gone because that means we are getting closer to Summer. But, it also makes me sad because I realize we are also that much closer to Larissa going to Kindergarten:(