Fall Is Here!

My good friend and I were shopping at a craft store for stuff to make our kids Halloween costumes! I walked out with stuff to make a Fall Wreath! This Is what I ended up with! 

I love to decorate! Although it may not seem like it, cause I am not good with keeping up with them. I blame it on storage space. When you rent it is hard to convince myself to buy decorative stuff because I don't have enough storage space to keep them for the next year! I feel like it is a waste of money to just buy it for one year and get rid of it. This wreath cost my $10 dollars to make! Reasonable enough for me!  I enjoy the warm feeling of decorations! I will try to bargain on seasonal decorations from now on!

Not Asian but I make a mean Asian Noodle Dish!

Also something I have never ever attempted to make Asain Food! But I must say I pretty much conquered and destroy them! Like all my recipes, I always put my revisions to them! I got this recipe from my favorite cookbook, "Cook Yourself Thin."

Zac wasn't impressed but I was! I cooked it for friends and she said they loved it! "Taste better than Pei Wei."

Sesame Peanut Noodles

8 oz whole wheat spaghetti (cooked)

In Bowl Whisk Following:

2 T rice vinegar

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 T grated fresh ginger (1T of powder)

1 T dark Sesame Oil (My new found ingrident that I Love!)

1 tsp brown sugar

juice of 1 lime

1/2 cup hot water (I get it out of the boiling pasta water.)

Stir warm noodles, dressing, and the following items:

1/2 bag store-boght coleslaw mix

1/2 red peper (I buy a small bag of frozen stir-fry veggies.)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 a lime squeezed

1 tsptoasted sesame seeds

MeMe's Homemade Ice Cream!

I just discovered my husband love for homemade ice cream! So I saw it as a challenge or/and oppurtunity to make something I know he likes! I imediately went to the store and bought an ice cream maker! (I can't help it when I get and idea I can't stop for anything else!) This is my first family recipe to try from my cookbook and my first time to make homemade ice cream! 

So I ask Zac, "what flavor you want?" He wanted peach! Yes, thats what the original recipe called for how can I screw it up!  For those of you who know zac well you will know that he has problems trusting people to make him food! He has control issues in the kitchen. He has gotten a tinie bit better for the most part, but its still an on going battle to keep the kiddie gate(meant for Zac not Zowie and Zane) up in the kitchen ,while I am attempting to cook!

The next batch I made butterfinger! And if I ever get my hands on some girl scout cookies... I will make every flavor they have! Oh how I love girl scout cookies!

MEME's Fresh Peach Ice Cream
6 cups milk

2 cups sugar

6 eggs
1 can evaporate milk

1 can Eagle Brand
3 cups of Peaches (or flavor of choice)

Warm milk (med-high heat then once warm bring to med-low.). Add eggs and sugar until thin. Add peaches, evaporated milk, and eagle brand. Put in ice cream maker.

Note to self: Ice Maker needs Rocksalt and Ice! Finished Ice Cream melts if left out on counter!

*For milk I put 4 cups whole milk 2 cups half&half . Then WHIP CREAM in the ice cream maker!

*Put milk mixture in fridge for 20 min before putting in ice cream maker!

State Fair of Texas

As a little girl and an Ag teachers daughter I was pretty much raised in a barn! Litterally! So you can understand why I was so excited to take Zane to "The State Fair of Texas!"   We had a blast!  Zac and I  went with Gi Gi  and Paw Paw(my in-laws)!  It was so much fun! I wanted nothing more that to take Zane to "Little Hands on the Farm" a childrens exhitit that I volunteered for during junior high and highschool! The idea is to take the kids throughout the exhibit to each station where they learned to gather seed, feed animal, collect eggs, milk the cow, ride the tractor, garden, and sell your produce to the farmers market! Fun concept, and zane was a little young but he loved it! The petting zoo was so much fun! I love to see the interaction and the pure excitement that overcomes Zane! And of course we had to go to the car show! We had a wonderful time! Except for the constant need to eat fried food! I mean Fried Butter, are you serious?! Those people fry everything! And I gained 5 lbs in a 4 hour period!  Here are a few pictures! ;)

HAHA! I got you lucky egg!

"hmmmm I think I know what to do with those!"

Don't know if we aare planting or picking!

At the Gold Mine!

I am falling of the tractor!

Paw Paw!

Mommy and Pig Farmer!

Petting the donkey!

He is such a chick magnet!

Ride'em Cowboy!

His love for tractor begins!

Silly pig! I mean cow! Wait I am confused!

Fightin' Texas A&M Class of 2031! WHOOP!

"They say from the outside looking in you don't understand it and from the inside looking out you can't explain it"

My whole life, trying to do exactly the opposite of my family.  "I would not be an Aggie!" I remember telling this to people on numerous occasions! But when it came time to graduate my senoior year of highschool, and my parents asked me where I was planning togo to college. I honestly hadnt thought about it once. "Well I guess I will go to A&M." After all thats the only school I had ever heard  anything about... Well, besides that other school. (And there I would of had to pay my own tuition.)  And my older sister was there! So I applied. (The only one I applied to!) Luckily, I got in due to the top 10% rule! I was valedictorian in a class of 8. (The only girl I might add.) Now I have a great appreciation for A&M!

I hope that Zane grows up to have the same love for A&M as our family has loved it over the last 101 years!

My Mom "Nellie" Class of  '80!

I am a fourth generation Aggie, Class of 2008! Zane will be a fifth and be Class of 2031! My Great grandpa Dodson was Class of 1911. A couple of weekends ago we went to my Dad's 30th year reunion! class of 1979!

Been Away for Awhile!

Ok so I am a slacker! I haven't blogged in a long while! But in that time I have several post to make to play catch up! I blame most of it do to the excessive traveling that I do!  But since I take the computer and my phone with me I really have no excuses. Especially since my kid has been taking two 3-4 hour naps a day!  I should have no excuse!


As far as me working out I always have good excuses! Such as I have worked out in the last two weeks because.... It started with Zane being snotty  because he was teething (tooth #5). So I didn't want to me that mom that took the kid with the runny nose to the daycare... Then the swine flu broke out at my gym childcare (NOT CHANCING IT)... Then traveled for a full week... Now I am lazy again! OH and not to mention its been raining like crazy so can't do much walking! But I will get back into it next week! Starting Monday, someone please hold me to it!


Latest news on Zane:


He has coined the name of "Duck Boy!"
He has learned to point.
He points at everything and says "duck, duck, duck!" 
We went to HEB and goes down each isle pointing at people and calling them ducks! And about 3 of the 15 people said "Goose!" I humor that other people get out of being called a duck! I am sure that if I went up randomly to people and called them a duck I would not get the same reaction as my adored 9 month old!


He is also says dah dah(daddy), buh bye(waving), ditty (kitty), dea (deer), and ummmmmm (for when he wants whatever you are eating!) Claps!


He also shakes his head no! And so it begins! He tries to shake his head yes but ends up moving his head in a circular motion! Daddy Mac loves this!


Oh and the dancing! Yes, Dancing! My boy has moves! Anytime a comercial comes on he will bounce his little bottom up and down and bob his head! 


Oh the joys of kids!