The Thankful Project: 22-27 Vacay

You know what I am very thankful for?

 Day 22: Light bulbs...
 There was one out above my kitchen sink that I changed this morning, and now the one is out at my best side table. I feel so in the dark. *ba dum chh* That was totally my father, no but really. You never really appreciate something until it's gone.

 Day 23: Wordpress and .css generators *TEASER!*
 Don't ask. But wait in severe anticipation for Dec. 1! It will be big!

 Day 24: Paychecks
 Similarly to Day 22, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

 Day 25: Food
 I know that seems so general, but my thanks is pretty general. I like cooking it...eating it, growing it, eating it, eating it...

 Day 26: Vacation 5 days! I get 5 days!

 Day 27: The Candids
 I find that some of the pictures that mean the most to me are the ones that i didn't take. Usually, I go pick up my phone and find that Rue got a hold of it...That's how I got this one...

 I still cry when I see. What a funny kid. Man!

 Today my sister-in-law was taking pictures while I was in the kitchen. Tonight when I was debriefing from the day (i.e. eating extra dessert after everyone was gone and watching endless episodes of Gilmore Girls (I'm on Season 4)), I flipped through on my camera and just sat and smiled and giggled. When did my Ruthie May become a little girl? Someone...anyone... please tell me!

 Here, you look!

 They are my dream girls! There are only two other people that are up there with this much love...the first because He kind of created all of it, and the other man was a major part in created the first two. (Too much?)

 I hope you and your fam had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and family drama aside, it was filled with people you love surrounding you.

 Ok...yes...now Christmas can commonsense. I know the entire world was just holding her breath waiting for me to give the ok. It's ok everyone. You can now start celebrating Christmas.

The Thankful Project: Days 10-21

This is about the point we people start thinking in their head..."Well,maybe she is ungreatful!"  

This was about the time I stopped last year...BUT  I'M PUSHING THROUGH!  

Day 10: My Job!  

Not only do I get to work around some awesome people and some stellar kids, I get the summers off!  LOVE IT!

Day 11: Small Town Life

We do football and Caseys and muddin' and stuff.  We drive tractors to school and take off work and school for the first day of *insert animal that you plan to kill here* season.  Everyone knows everyone and, like 'em or not, still is there when you need help.  Yup, we're staying.  

Day 12: Diet Pepsi... nuff said.

Day 13:  Hairbands

I'm at that point in life where I can count on one hand the day withing the last month that my hair as stayed down all day.  It's a mom thing I think...Tess has some grabby hands. 

Day 14: Bacon...again nuff said. 

Day 15: eMeals  

I'll blog more about this one later with LOTS of details, but on the night of the 15th, I sat down at the kitchen table with my meal plans from emails and my thanksgiving plans, wrote out my shopping list for the rest of the month, and now, I know exactly what food is and that we have what we need for every night until Dec. 1!

Day 16: Bedtimes

Within these last few weeks, I have gotten sooo much done after 8:30p and it's crazy!  I forgot what it was like to have an evening to myself.  It's been a long time!

Day 17: Photoshop...it makes dreams reality. (At least on paper :)

Day 18: Chocolate

Dove Chocolate particularly, and if there's caramel in it, extra points!

Day 19: Guatemala

It has been decided!  This summer, I am headed to Guatemala City for a mission trip!  There will be twelve of us going.  I'm pumped!

Day 20: Red hair

I'm of the 2%!  If I didn't think I was special, I do now! And I'm even luckier that I past it on to my sweet peas. 

Day 21: IT'S FRIDAY!  

Some weeks it's like, "Oh yeah! It's friday! I forgot."  But today it was, "Praise the good and sweet Heavenly Father Above, IT'S FRIDAY!!"

BOOM! Caught up!

Thankful Project & InstaFunday Sunday

It's November which means..... TIME FOR THE "THANKFUL PROJECT!"  My theme this year is, "The Little Things."  

I want you to know that I purposefully didn't post yesterday, because I was waiting for the outcome of Nathan's football game.  So, now that I know they lost, I can say for November 1, I'm so thankful football is OVER!  I'm so grateful for football and we love the games and the coaches and families....BUT THANK YOU SWEET JESUS we are done!

November 2:  I am thankful for the Gilmore Girls.  With normal television shows you go comatose and just stare.  With GG, you have to concentrate sooo hard...they talk sooooo fast.  I've started Season One and Ashley has them all.  Trying to guess how long this will take me.  

Insta-Funday Sunday: My weekly review in pictures... here goes...

Cheap wall art...string, spray paint, and sharpies...love it.  

Nathan's birthday was Wednesday.  He's 27.  Look at how little him and Josh were!!!

At Nana's retirement party.  She snagged 5 cupcakes...

#tbt  Comparing Ruthie's Sushi costume to Tess's Deviled Egg Costume.

I'm pretty sure I wore the ears longer than Ruthie.  

Last night, while Nathan was at his play off game, I made dinner with all things he doesn't like...
Three Cheese Leek & Potato Pizza  soooooo tasty.

EVERYONE HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!  

Here's the Beef...

So I'm helping my darling husband out...He/we have taken on a whole different endeavor of selling a cow a little differently.  Normally we sell them in quarters, halves & whole cows (rarely).  This time we butchered a whole cow and are selling it in cuts that people want.

Ever wanted to know how much freezer space a whole cow takes up??  A LOT!!!

Now, about our cows, you've met Ginger.  Yeah, well, she's come and gone.  But we buy our cows about 1 year old or so and we set them out to pasture.  Then they get to about the size we want them, we finish them with corn, hay & gluten.  Gluten is a corn byproduct...not the stuff that people are allergic to, but something that's apart of corn when it's broken down for other things.  Cows think it's candy and eat it like crazy.  Gives 'em the chubs.

So here's the deal...would you like to buy some beef?!?! Below I'm gonna list the cuts & the per pound pricing.  Then you can fb, call me or nate or contact me any other way and you can get some BEEEEEF!!!

Ok, here we go...
- Round Steak- $6.50/lb
-T-Bone Steak- $10/lb
-Ribeye Steak- $10.90/lb
-Rolled Rump Roast- $6/lb
-Chuck Roast- $6.40/lb
-Sirloin Tip Roast- $7/lb
-Arm Roast- $6.50/lb
-Short Ribs- $4/lb
-Stew Meat- $6.70/lb
-Beef for Swissing- $5.50/lb
-Brisket- $7.50/lb
-Flank- $7.50/lb
-Skirt Steak- $7/lb
-Filet- $17/lb
-Ground Beef- $4/lb (we have over 100lb of this so buy as much as you want!)

**Prices set off of USDA weekly beef retail activity & a trip to wal-mart to see their prices.  These prices are good for this cow. They may change when next cow is butchered**

If you are interested in any of the organ meat (i get queezy thinking about it) -- heart, liver, tongue, oxtail -- let me know and we can chat about it.

Otherwise, look forward to hearing from your,
Sincerely,
Mrs. Lindsay Wineinger
Director of Sales at N. Wineinger Farms :)

Num Num Bloggin'

 So, I've decided I would try my hand at a VERY amateur food blog here.  (If I want to be the Midwest version of the Pioneer Woman i best get better at these.)  It was just soooo good, I couldn't not share!

And it's sooo healthy, and I really need healthy options to get back to my former hot bod...

To dedicate long periods of time to boiling/watching something on the stove is next to impossible with the girls, but I love quinoa and wheat berry and other grains so I found these Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad grain salads.

There are three different flavors and I have fallen for these two:
The Harvest Grain Salad & the Tuscan Grain Salad.

The Harvest Grain is a sweeter salad...the reason why I like it.  It has an apple cider vinegar flavored dressing and a garnish of dried cranberries & slivered almonds.  I may or may not have sat down and eaten the whole box.  Maybe,  I don't know.

Today I made the Tuscan Grain.  The dressing over the grains was more of a sun dried tomato flavor.  I was feeling saucy so I added some extras; I had some zucchini & tomatoes from the garden (I normally don't like tomatoes but these little suckers from my garden are soo sweet!) and then I shaved some Parmesan cheese over the top.  

They provided slivered almonds for this as well.  It ended up looking awesome! So colorful!

They suggested other add-ins as well like chic peas, feta cheese, grilled chicken, etc.  For the sweeter Harvest grain they suggested fresh apples or pears.  I would add a bleu cheese or something like that.  Everything is better with cheese...I mean let's get real.  

To recreate these would be a total sinch with the time.  It was quinoa, wheat berry and brown rice.  And the dressings were oil and vingar based.  With the sweet one, add apple cider vinager with EVOO and seasonings.  The Tuscan was pure`d sun dried tomatoes, lemon juice, italian herbs and EVOO.  

They held up well in the fridge (leave the almonds off and add when you eat).  The protion was also perfect because Nathan's not going to eat this...let's get serious.  So there was enough for two lunch and one dinner portion.  

Hope you ENJOY!  I sure did.  

Insta-Funday Sunday: Sportsmens Addition

Kind of all over the place this week.  Story of our lives lately!

Insta-Funday Sunday and a weekly post where I some of my favorite instagram pix of the week.  Lately, it's been all of them.

New member of our family.  I made Nathan lock the car for the fist
 time since we bought it today :)

Nathan's first ever geese.
I named them, Christmas & Thanksgiving

Rue got a new seat this week!  Training to be the next race car
driver.  I catch her laughing randomly.  

We bought this in anticipation of Nathan's upcoming
successful hunting season.  No pressure, honey...

So have a wonderful week!  It's the last week of high school football (for those of us not going to playoffs).  It's going to be a sweater week.  Soaking in these wonder-FALL weeks!

Be Like Ree...

I have grown to understand that I have a slightly unhealthy obsession with Ree Drummond... aka the Pioneer Woman... blogger, writer, photographer, accidental country girl... i didn't come up with that.  That is what she clams on her cooking show every Saturday morning on the food network (9:30a EST 8:30a my time...i DVR it).  It's nothing we need to inform the police about, but I'm pretty sure we could be kin.  I almost said we could be the same person, but I can't photograph as well as her.  I tried and failed.

Here is a bulleted list of why I think we could be bestest friends ever...

• She likes making bulleted lists.
• She has cows... LOTS of cows.  I per say have cows...kinda.
• She has red hair. I have kinda red hair.
• She cooks ALOT and loves it!  I would cook more if I didnt have a job, but I cook more then most and LOVE it.  
• She has the garden I can only dream of.
• She lives on a ranch in Oklahoma with wild horses and cowboys.  I can't really compare...corn does not run and our boys wear john deere or DeKalb hats.
• We kind of look alike (see picture) except for the eyes, and her hairs a little darker, and, well maybe her nose a little... but for the most part.
• Her style is fabulous.  Clothing and house...It's country but contemporary.  Look at her daughters' room.  This was also featured in Country Living which i also subscribe to.  And the staircase! That was pretty awesome too.
•  From her blog and her show, I have concluded we have the SAME sense of humor.  And I secretly think that if she didnt have someone managing her websites, she would misspell just as much as me.
• She names her animals (even the cows) that get killed.  See it's not that odd.  
• We have amazing canine companions...Her basset hounds, Charlie & Walter, and my Thing 1, Moose, and Thing 2 Hummer.
• Her husband doesn't venture too far away from red meat, bread, and potatoes.  My husband consumes no green besides ice burg lettuce.  I believe Ladd aka Marlboro Man aka her hubby is way more adventurous..
• There are many, MANY more... scary really.

I will be like her when I have more grown children.  I'm sure of it.  When Tricia and I were driving to Dallas in July, I got so excited when we were driving through OK b/c I thought that we might be seeing Dummond cattle...just maybe.  And after looking at a map, i think that possibility is more like 60% because of their distance from I-44, but I got chills thinking she drove on the interstate we were on... do you see where I get unhealthy in this obsession...

I have her first cookbook and i have made all but one or two recipes out of it.  AND her website, Tasty Kitchen is one of my go-tos to see how other women sub stuff or cook stuff or find fast recipes   I aspire to blog like her, but I don't have nearly enough entertaining moments in my life or pictures to post...well...and i have a day job...that kinda hinders stuff.  Her day job IS her blog/writing/TV show/awesomeness.

So, Santa (aka anyone), here is what I want for Christmas... Lunch with Ree, Alex, and Paige (those are her daughters who are similarly awesome). And if you're elves can't do that, her second cook book would suffice.

On a slightly serious note though, it's pretty stinkin' awesome to see a woman who loves and is dedicated to her family who can still be quarky and do what she absolutely LOVES.  Did i mention she home-schools her kids, too?  I mean she's a rock star... a COUNTRY rock star!  Minus the vocals...man shoot..she's prob so good she can sing too.  Oh, and the men in her family BULL RIDE!  What?!?

Ree, if you ever read this... which truly may never happen, you dang well inspire me. Keep on keepin' on. I think you show other women that each one of us can each live our dreams on our own "homesteads."

Deep in the HEART of Texas...

So Mission Serve 2012...What a week!

I can basically understand why so many people thought I was crazy for going.  I officially believe I was.  But I would have done it again.  What a blast...*sigh.*

Our days consisted of waking up at 4am, baking muffins and scrambling an extremely large amount of eggs.  Then we would prepare a main dish like biscuits and gravy or french toast, etc.  Monday 4am was fine.  We were focused...had some minor hick-ups we worked through, but by Thursday I was rapping and Friday we were pretty much laughing dead zombies just walking around the kitchen.  Very entertaining, I'm sure, to watch.  After breakfast we would plan our shopping trips for the day to get everything we need for dinner and for breakfast the next morning so the cycle would start again.  Restaurant Depot was usually our first stop.  It was like Sam's only even BIGGER quantities.  Their freezer section was actually about 1/3 of their store where you would borrow a coat and walk into this floor-to-ceiling door where the temp would drop to about 45 degrees and there was your frozen food and refrigerated meat.  Mind-blowing really...  Then we would head to Sams for things in slightly smaller quantities, then Wal-mart for bananas and a few small things (more for us and personal shopping), and then Aldi's for our baking ingredients that we didn't need much of at all.   Then we would head home, take and hour-ish nap, wake up, and start the dinner festivities.

Our menu:

• Sunday Night: Spaghetti
• Monday Morning: Biscuits & Gravy
  Dinner: Pulled Pork & Corn on the cob
• Tuesday Morning: Pancakes
  Dinner: Chicken Nuggets & Mac 'n Cheese (More like Chez with some noodles- YUM)
• Wednesday Morning: French Toast
  Wednesday was Free nite at the Historic Stock Yards in Fort Worth
• Thursday Morning: Biscuits & Gravy
  Dinner: Homemade Pizza
• Friday Morning: Smorgasbord- Leftover B&G, Egg Casseroles, and Pancakes
  Dinner: The church made us TRUE Mexican Fajitas!  YUM!!

Here is the crew.  Those pans would be stacks of chicken nuggets waiting for the oven on Tuesday nite.  

L to R: Emily, Wendy, Troy, Dad aka Mark, Stacy, Me & Sue.  Pretty stellar team!

The hard stuff...Ruthie hit a growth spurt while we were there.  I grew out of 2 pairs of pants that I had tried on and packed.  My bathroom routine in the middle of the night was slightly difficult in that I had to walk a good distance to the nearest loo.  My ankles turned into small pork tenderloins.  I could work for long periods of time and they wouldnt bother me, I would just look down and be like, "Holy Cow, I should prob sit down."  

Dallas was about 5 to 10 degrees cooler than home everyday, so heat really wasnt a problem.  And the only time I would go outside was for shopping trips and lunch.  

I also left part of my heart in TX.  My dear Tricia MG has moved to Dallas for Seminary.  She is one of those wonderful ladies that keeps me grounded and reminds me that I'm still a girl besides being a wife and soon a mom.  Without her, I feel like an adult.  With her i feel like a girl.  I will miss her terribly.... TERRIBLY!  Love you, Tricia!

I love seeing my husband serve Jesus.  If we could get paid to do this the rest of our lives that would be amazing.  We was resilient under an almost impossible job, petty criticism, he ran in 4pm Dallas heat (slightly crazy), and he still checked on me every night to see how I was holding up. What a man.  

I become a football widow now that we are home.  Practices start every night this week.  Fall has basically begun.  We also had GREAT news that we bought our first house.  I'll post about that soon! VERY SOON.    All in all, Dallas was a crazy, hot, successful trip with lots of memories, and food, and JESUS!  

The WIERDness of being Preggers...

I apologize if pregancy/babies/food is all i've talk about around you, on here, in general everywhere lately.  It quite literally has consumed my life, and my body for that matter and it's a new experience for me that I have yet to get used to.  I understand they have books about this, "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and "Child Birth for Dummies," but they scare me, they are large, and i have a general understanding that many people have done it without them so I'll be just fine, I'll just be kind of in the dark.

Also, seeing as how I generally avoid ANYTHING that has to do with hospital-ness, medicine, I have experience some crazy things that come with baby that I had no idea.   Then I get on TheBump.com or BabyCenter.com and read..."You may be experiencing...(fill in the blank)..." and then I feel better.

But stuff that I didn't know that freak me out for 5.7 sec and then I'm ok...

• I got my hair cut the other day and usually the hair dresser oos and ahhs about how soft and healthy my hair is..."Do you flat iron your hair?  Or blow dry it?  Your ends are really wimpy.  Have you been shedding a lot lately??"  WHAT?!?  It is growing REALLY fast though...
• My stomach is hairy.  Not like what Nathan refers to as a "man sweater"  but my tummy glistens with my blond hairs all over.  I laugh when i look at it.
• No major details here, but I'm pretty POSITIVE this constipation business was involved just to get you prepared for the birthing process!!  Misery.
• Because your skin stretches, it itches.  I'm sure I look like an ape scratching my tummy and my sides.  
• My co-workers make fun of me because I have a food stash box at work...It includes
• lemon heads
• rice cakes
• caramels
• club crackers & wheat thins
• microwave popcorn
• almonds
• easy cheese
• powdered donuts
• granola bars
• fruit jerky
• bananas
• I'm extremely hungry often, so I get something to eat and then eat it really fast.  Then b/c I ate to fast, I get sick and the vicious cycle starts again.  The other day at Jimmy John's, Nathan just laughed at me.  Especially when I couldn't get my shoes on fast enough so I ran to the bathroom barefoot.  I laughed too, so no harm.  Now, if he notices, he tells me to slow down....lol he takes care of me...:)
• I drink a half gallon if milk in two days.  Then, I feel like I pee for two days straight, but  it tastes sooo good!
• I waddle. BAHAHAHAahaha.

I know that this may not be her topic of choice, but I love talking to Tricia about this kind of stuff, b/c she generally find most of these things weird also, and then I don't feel like such a bad mother-to-be.  I am soooo happy that I am generally not moody.  I have notice times where my sarcasm with my boss especially may be slightly harsh, but that's when I say I'm pregnant and you just have to deal with it!