Cheese Fries

Oh how I love me some cheese fries! These are super easy to make! Plus they have this amazing ranch/sour cream sauce that makes them even better!

Fries:
4 large potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper (I used seasoned salt)
foil **very important**

Ranch/Sour Cream Sauce: **this makes A LOT**
1 cup ranch
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk

Toppings:
1 1/2 -2 cups of shredded cheese
1/2 cup real bacon bits

Turn on the oven to 400, line your baking sheet with foil (I did this the first time I made these, and the second time I made these I didn't do this and the potatoes were soft and mushy, the foil made all the difference!). Cut your potatoes and put them on the pan coat them with the olive oil and salt. Place them in the oven for 40 minutes. While that is in the over mix up the ranch/sour cream sauce and put in the fridge. When the potatoes are finished put 1/2 of the sauce on the bottom of a platter (that you can put back in the oven) then your potatoes and top them with the rest of the mixture. Then add your cheese and bacon, place the platter back in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Then enjoy!! They are so yummy!

I will tell you that the sauce is A LOT and I didn't put the whole thing on my fries. So I had some left over for the second time I made these and I didn't put it on the plate the second time and just used it to dip the fries into. Both ways are very good, but my very picky husband liked it much better when we could just dip the fries in the sauce.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you like the fries!

Chicken, Crock Pot, Easy

Wow! 3 of my favorite things! Cooking with chicken is usually always easy. The crock pot should be called easy pot, because...well if you don't know you need to go buy a crock pot RIGHT NOW! And I'm always down for easy meals! I love to cook, but I love to spend time with my baby more right now, so anything that takes me less than 10 minutes to put together I'm down for! That's what this is! Plus it was super yummy, and it was an experiment that my husband actually liked!

So here it is.....Sweet Pineapple BBQ Chicken

You'll need:
4-5 Chicken Breasts
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1 can pineapple chunks
Your crock pot!

This is what you do:
Put it all in the crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours, shred the chicken and let cook another 30 minutes to an hour. Then eat! THAT'S IT! SO EASY!

I will say this, it was on the sweet side for chicken, my husband said he wished it had a little spice to it, so next time I am going to add something to give it a little spice. I think sweet and spicy makes it sound even better!! I hope you enjoy!

Cheesy Skillet Pasta

So here is another Pinterest dinner night! I have to warn you that I followed the recipe this time and I liked the first plate alright, but wasn't a fan so much of the second plate and my husband didn't like this at all. If you are a fan of steak sauce then go for it, but if not either take it out or don't make this. Neither of us are fans of steak sauce, but I do want to make this again and just take the A1 out. I mean it looks really GOOD, how could it not with ALL that cheese ontop?!?

So I totally forgot to take a picture until after I had made one plate so...sorry for the not perfect photo! lol But man it looks so yummy and cheesy, and it was perfectly cheesy, but it really just tasted like steak sauce. Here is what I did....

1 lb ground meat
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup A1 Steak sauce (I will not put this in next time)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 - 2 cups of cheese (I didn't measure I just put on top until it looked good)
10 oz (about..again didn't measure) of pasta noodles

Cook your noodles as the package directs and set aside. Brown your meat then pour in the can of soup, ketchup and steak sauce (again ONLY if you really LOVE steak sauce). Put a lid on the pan and let it simmer, I did this on med-low heat for about 10 min. Then sprinkle your cheese ontop cover again to let the cheese melt on low for about 5 min. Then enjoy!

Let me know if you make it without the steak sauce and liked it! I'll make it again one day without the sauce and update also how it turned out. So this "experiment" didn't turn out so well for us, my husband did NOT like it and ended up eating ramen lol!! Oh well, there is always tomorrow night!

Chicken and Asparagus

Oh how I love me some Pinterest! I mean who doesn't right? Well since I am a stay at home mommy now I thought I would try to get back into my blog and post the food I make and the goodies I make for my little one! This is only fun for me, because David hates when I try new things, he calls the food "experiments" and is never happy about them! haha But I still make them and he still eats it! So I keep going. Last Saturday I went to the Farmer's Market in McKinney, it was great! I got so many good things, right now all I want to do is eat peaches all day long because they were so good! I should have gone to buy more yesterday but I didn't...oh well I'll just have to wait until next week. Anyways I guess I sould get on with the chicken! I bought some asparagus at the market because I remembered this pin I had on Pinterest! Here is the link to the original recipe here. and here is what I did...I changed it a little and what we did was great!

Chicken Asparagus Roll-Up

4 boneless skinless chicken breast
20 asparagus spears
6 slices of provolone cheese
1/2 cup of mayo
1 1/2 tbs honey mustard
1 1/2 tbs spicy mustard
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs Italian seasoning
salt
pepper
1 cup bread crumbs (we used the Italian bread crumbs)

**I have to tell you that the only thing I really measured was the mayo, the rest I just eyeballed and added to our tastes**

1. In a bowl mix the mayo, mustard, lemon juice and seasonings together.

2. Heat oven to 475 degress F

3. Cook the asparagus in the microwave for about 1 min.

4. Pound the chicken to make it flat so that it will be easy to stuff and roll.

5. Put a tbs of the mayo/mustard mix on the chicken then add a slice of provolone, 5 asparagus spears and another 1/2 slice of provolone (We like our cheese..you don't have to do the 1/2 slice), and roll the chicken tight cover with the mayo/mustard mix and then roll in your bread crumbs to cover the chicken and place in the pan. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.

6. Place in the oven for 25 min, and then enjoy!

And just so you know this "experiment" dinner was great and the hubby actually loved it!

Party food!

Wow I am so far behind! It is so easy to get busy and not have time for posts! I have cooked many things...but have not had time to post them. I will cook them all again so you will get the recipe eventually :)

So this is what has been going on....

1. Got a WAY better job
2. Quit Michael's.... :)
3. I cooked dinner for my Dad, Grandmom and Uncle
4. Had our housewarming party

So let's start with the first one...I got a job at a private nursery school, and I am loving it! I have only been there for two days now but it has been great so far. I will be working M-F 7:30 - 12:30 as a lead teacher for kids from about 2 - 3 y/o. I will have 5 kids in my class, and 2 of them are boys that don't come everyday. I am so excited to get my class and get started. I have to make a lesson plan for each day. It is going to be so much fun! The kids that are in my class are so cute! I have this one little girl that I'm already in love with. I can't wait to get to know them better. The other teachers are great too. My class will start on November 2nd...so I'll keep ya updated with how that goes.

With the new job I had to quit Michael's...I just stopped going. I should have called but I just didn't want to have that converstaion. Oh well...just can't show my face around there for the next few months.

It was so nice to have my Grandmother, Dad and Uncle over so I could cook them dinner. I felt like such an adult! We had a great night. I will def. be cooking that again because it was so good! So you will get that recipe soon enough! :)

Our housewarming party was amazing! We had so many friends and family come. It was so nice to have people over and show off our new house. We are so in love with it and so glad we finally got to share it with the ones we love. It turned out so well!! So that is why this blog is going to have the recipes that I had at the party. I wish I had taken pictures..but I didn't. So no pictures this time sorry! I'll try and remember to keep up with that!

Fruit Dip

8 oz marshmellow fluff
8 oz cream cheese

Mix together with a hand mixer and enjoy! We had apples, grapes and pineapples with it, and I know strawberries are great with it too!

Amazing sausage dip

1 lb. breakfast sausage
8 oz cream cheese
1 can Rotel

Brown breakfast sausage in pan. Then put sausage, cream cheese and rotel in crock pot and wait for the cheese to melt. It's great with chips!

Veggie Curry Dip

1 cup mayo
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons grated onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix together and enjoy with some veggies!

easy do nothing day = easy do nothing pizza night

I did nothing today! It was actually quit nice! I did spend a little bit of time in my scrapbook room where I made a frame for David's office. It turned out very nice I think. I tried to make these cake balls....was A LOT more work than it looked!! They are SO GOOD....but not worth the time. I'll give you the recipe though if you ever have the time and want to try it out. I will try it out again...one day.

Cake Balls

1 box cake mix
1 can frosting
package melting chocolate

Make the cake as directed. When done take out of the oven and crumble into a large bowl while it is still warm. Then mix in the whole can of frosting and blend the two together well. Put into the fridge for at least 2 hours. Take out and use a melon baller to make the cake into balls. Melt the chocolate (following the directions) and then dip the balls into the chocolate. Let cool in fridge....then eat the greatness that is cake balls.

They are REALLY REALLY good....just very time consuming! Because it's a lot of cake and if you don't have a melon baller....it's a lot more work.

Pizza

1 package refrigerated pizza dough
1 can mushrooms
shredded cheese
peperoni
1 jar pizza sauce


Unroll the pizza dough and spread the sauce on top. Then place the peperoni and mushrooms on top and then the cheese. Cook as the directions say.

This is the cheapest easiest meal to make! And David loves it! I make it for him when ever I don't feel like really cooking.

The pizza dough is $1.50 (I buy walmart brand), the sauce is $1 a jar and you only use 1/2 a jar so you get two uses out of it...sometimes 3...the can of mushrooms is less than $.50 and I buy the large back of graded cheese (like 8 cups for $6 so I'm not sure the price of cheese per pizza). But I think the total to make the pizza is maybe $4! AMAZING!!

Chicken Fried Rice

So today was my first day at Michael's. It was alright...didn't really do much. Watched like 6 videos for 4 hours and then practiced on the cash register. That part was quite easy...like riding a bike, just takes a little bit to remember it all but I did. Though their registers are very different from the WD. But it was a good day. I go back on Friday and Saturday. But I also got a job interview a a preschool on Friday morning. I would love to have that job b/c it's #1 at a school, and #2 Monday-Friday so I don't have to worry about the next 5 weekends that are coming up and all my plans. So we will see....but my hopes are high!

For dinner tonight we had my famous chicken fried rice. I've cooked this for my husband several times because it is one of his favorite dishes and a few other people. I've only had one person that made some negative comments about it, but other than that everyone seems to love it and asks for the recipe to make it themselves! So I hope you enjoy it as much as we do around here!

Chicken Fried Rice

3 pieces chicken
2 cups rice
1 tablespoon EVOO
1/2 cup onion (I don't do this b/c I don't like them)
1/4 cup peas and carrots (I usually do 1/2 to 3/4 cup)
1 egg
soy sauce

1. cook rice
2. cook chicken and cut up into small pieces while the rice is cooking
3. saute veggies w/ evoo
4. scramble egg in pan with veggies
5. add rice & saute for about 5 min
6. add soy sauce (I add way more than 2 tablespoons....so just do it for your taste I don't know the measurement)

Sauce

1 1/2 cup mayo (you have to use the real stuff...miracle whip makes it not taste good)
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
dash cayenne pepper

mix all together....it taste better if you make it the day before. But I usually forget so I make it and put it in the freezer while the food is cooking so that it can get cold fast and mix the flavors faster :)

Mushroom Chicken Cordon Bleu

So I didn't post yesterday because David cooked us some hamburgers. I do have a great recipe for hamburgers I'll have to do that sometime and post if for ya'll. But that's not what we had last night :). Yesterday was such a productive day! We got the office and my scrapbook room finished. Well I still have 1 big box in my scrapbook room to unpack but for the most part it is finished. It was so nice to get that finished yesterday! We also got the garage all cleaned out so now I can park my car in there. That is so exciting.

Today I did nothing! Well I guess not nothing I did finish making our housewarming invitations and I did cook dinner tonight. So here is the recipe for my chicken cordon bleu

Mushroom Chicken Cordon Bleu

4 pieces of chicken

1 small can mushrooms

8 slices provolone cheese

12 slices (thin slices) of ham

bread crumbs

1. You need to put the chicken in a zip lock back and use something to smash them out some. I put a towel over the bag and used the side of a hammer to smash them to get them nice and thin and flat.

2. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on the bottom of the pan you are going to cook in (I always cook this in a 9x13 glass pan). Take a piece of chicken and lay it on the bread crumbs then put the ham, 1 piece of cheese and mushrooms on top of the chicken and roll it up. Doing this will keep the bread crumbs on the outside of the chicken and the ham, cheese and mushrooms on the inside of the chicken. Then I put a few mushrooms on top of the rolled up chicken. Repeat with the rest of the chicken. I usually use a toothpick to hold the chicken together but I didn't have any today and it still worked fine.

3. Bake @ 350 for 25 min. Then take out and put the last 4 pieces of cheese on top of the chicken and cook another 5 min for cheese to melt.

** This is the first time that I've made this with provolone cheese and it has worked the best, and you also don't have to use the mushrooms. This is the first time I've used the mushrooms and they turned out great, but if you don't like mushrooms then leave them out. We love mushrooms around here.

You will see the side I added tonight....it was a very simple package of broccoli fettucine that I cooked following the directions and then I added a bag of microwave steamed broccoli. We really like broccoli around here too so it was really good but if you don't like broccoli then don't add it.

Natalie's Picadillo

So as you can see I didn't post anything on Friday or Saturday night! On Friday night once David got home I didn't want to cook anymore. So we went out to eat. Then on Saturday I wasn't home so again there was no cooking. So on to Sunday...today...it has been a great relaxing day! I slept until 1...I didn't get home last night until 1:15 in the morning and my mind was just going and going that I didn't fall asleep until 2. Though that still doesn't mean I should have slept 11 hours...but I did and it was GREAT! Once I got out of bed I went and laid on the couch with David and we watched TV for the next several hours. Somewhere in there he watched the cowboys lose and so I watched Bridezillas....those ladies are crazy! I just love that show!

Oh wait...I did wake up at 8:30 to the sound of banging like someone was hammering. I walk through the whole house and can't find David. So I go into the garage and the attic ladder is down. He is up in the attic banging around. So I ask him what he is doing....when all I want to say is "What the hell are you doing at 8:30 in the f*ing morning" haha but I was nice....he goes...I think we have either mice or birds because I keep hearing a noise in the fireplace. Which I did hear the other day also...but to me it was the sound of wind blowing and the metal hitting. So he asks me to come sit in the living room and let him know if I hear the noise while he is banging. Of course I don't hear the noise while he keeps banging for another 10 min or so. He comes back into the room and I go back to bed. I believe it was just the wind...he does not. But the noise has not happened since. :)

Anyways.....back to the day. Finally I got up off the couch and did the dishes which took an hour....that's what happens when you let it slide. Two loads in the dishwasher! Then David mopped all the tile. After that we finally moved the desk in from the garage to the office and he started to get that room put together! I'm so excited about all the rooms being finished! While he was unpacking I went and cooked dinner. So now we are at that time where I give you the recipe :) I hope you enjoy it!

Natalie's Picadillo

1 lb ground beef

1 bell pepper

1 can rotel

1 can black beans

1 cup (about) of salsa

1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice

Cut up the bell pepper. Put the pepper, rotel, beans, salsa and beef all in a pan and brown the meat. Cook the rice as normal with 3 cups of water.

Put the rice on your plate and the picadillo on top!

It's that easy and that great! Here is a picture of David's plate from tonight! I hope you like it!

new plan....

So since I'm cooking every night and am pretty much a housewife at the moment...I thought I would start sharing what I'm doing each day and what I cooked for dinner that night and the recipe. I feel like it's so hard to be creative and not repeat the same dish over and over....so I am hoping this will help me to be more creative.

So yesterday I was put in charge of finding a photographer for my friend for her wedding. She had some issues with who was going to do it in the first place and I told her to stop stressing I will get it done! And I did! I went on craigslist (which is now one of my favorite web sites!) and wallah found her a photographer! That's how I found mine for my wedding....so I know it will be great! She just can't blame me if she doesn't like the pictures!! haha

Once that was finished I had other things around the house to do....I didn't do any of it! I did pay all the bills. Which there weren't many this week because this is David's extra check. It went to paying for my car and phone. Then I went to walmart to buy groceries and to Sam's. I just love Sam's! I think...no I know if I had the money I would buy all my groceries there. That store is just amazing. They have so much great stuff...you just gotta love the buying in bulk. I only bought toilet paper and grapes yesterday though.

So for dinner last night I asked David if he wanted me to make pizza or enchiladas. He chose pizza, which was a good thing because I forgot to buy corn tortillas at WalMart. So I decided to do pizza a bit different last night....

Mexican Pizza

1 lb ground meat
1 can refried beans
1 can rotel
2 cups shredded cheese
1 packet taco seasoning
1 package refrigerated pizza dough

1. Cook the ground meat as the taco seasoning packet says.
2. Unroll the pizza dough on a pan and spread the beans onto the dough. (Next time I make this I think I'm going to try black beans and see how it turns out)
3. Drain the can of rotel and then spread it onto of the beans.
4. Spread the meat on next and then cover with the cheese.

Cook in the over following the directions of the pizza dough.

David loved it. He loves when I make pizza, and last night he told me this was the best pizza I've made yet. I only used 1/2 the can of beans and he said next time it needs more...I had to agree with him on that. But it was good.

So that was my day yesterday. I hope to be productive tonight after dinner and post about today. :)

so much it's almost too much

There is just so much to talk about....

I'm so excited about our Garage Sale on Saturday! I love getting money for things you don't use anymore....always a good thing expecially when money is tight right now because I don't have a job.

The house is coming along...slowly but it's coming a long. We have the guest room done except for hanging things on the walls, we have the guest bath done except for some stencil painting I want to do and hanging a few things. The kitchen is done though it is kinda a catch all for the living room and misc things that don't have a place yet. We have painted my scrapbook room a beautiful orange color and I plan to get that room done once our Garage Sale is over. We painted a wall in the livingroom a chocolate brown color, and I am in love with the wall! The office got painted red....then I did a second coat....it needs a 3rd but we really don't have much paint left for that. So I am thinking that will be put off for a while. I hope that this weekend we can get that room put together so that we can put the dining room together also. Because that is the room that is storing all the office stuff. We also have plans this weekend to paint our bedroom. It will be a blue/gray color. We bought a new bed last weekend at IKEA...it's so pretty. I can't wait for the house to be ready for people to come over and see it completed!! We have had a few people over but I really only want their first impression to be the completed model :) But I'm also super excited when anyone comes over even with all the mess! haha

jobs.....
So I had that interview last week and it went so well. They were all so nice to me, and told me during the interview how great I was. But I still didn't get the job :( I really thought I had it in the bag because the superintendant is a very close family friend of my Aunt Lisa (Scott's wife) and I was just sure she was going to push for me to get the job plus they told me how great I was......

fast forward to today I went to that school districts substitute teacher orentation and the Superintendant was there during it. After it was over she stood up and said "Natalie...." So we talked for a good 10 min, and she was very very very nice! She told me that I was the choice for the job, that the whole team loved everything about me, loved how nice I was, loved how bubbly I was, etc......and then at the last min a teacher applied for it that used to work in the district. The reason this job became open was because the 4th grade teacher became the new principal...so this lady applies that used to work in the district with this new principal...so in the end she picked her friend. I understand why she did it...it just sucks. But that just wasn't the place for me. I hope that I find the place for me soon!

With that said I do have an interivew for 2nd grade on Monday! I have nothing but positive thoughts going through my head. I will get this job!

Sunday is David's 29th birthday and he wants nothing....to do nothing...to get nothing....I am really really sad about this. I feel like it is all my fault. I don't have a job and so we can't afford his birthday. He keeps saying it's fine....but it's his BIRTHDAY...you have to do something...I just don't know what yet....

Our 1 year anniversary is in 16 days! I can't believe it has already been a WHOLE year!!! It has gone by crazy fast!!!!! Let alone the fact that so much has happened!!!
1. the wedding....
2. Vegas!
3. we bought a time share
4. we moved home
5. we bought a HOUSE!

crazy.....

I'm a celebrity....get me outa here!

I wrote this whole thing about some problems I'm having with adjusting to living with the in-laws...but I delted it b/c I feel bad even saying the things I was saying....I just have a few things to adjust to....

Let me take my earrings off....

Ok just bear with me because I am about to vent.....

Let's start off with an explanation....I'll even just give the basics and not the whole year long story....there is this first grade teacher at my school that is REDICILIOUS! She has something like 10 or 11 kids in her class, and talks all the time about how it is so hard to manage them. On top of that she has had two parents go into the office and demand that their kids be pulled from her class, and one parent that pulled their kid from the school so he wouldn't be in her class anymore. NO ONE likes this first grade dingbat (which is a REALLY NICE thing for me to call her right now!!). NO ONE! During the year she has shh'ed several adults durring mettings. She does not know how to speak pollietly to anyone. Even the other day she was yelling at her kids for not knowing what a holiday is. COME ONNNNNNN they are in 1st grade!!!!!!!! Don't be a bitch! I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. She's horrible and no one likes her.

Well today we had Multicultural day at school. At 12:30 the whole school went into the assembly room for several different grades to put on performances. My kids were sitting up in the front right behind first grade. I was standing in the back of the room because we had already preformed and I wanted to watch the other preformances. Well apparently my kids were getting a little too loud in between the performances, and I was called over to them. I walk up and say "Is there a problem?" because I wanted to know if there were some specific students that I needed to talk to, and she comes back at me in the most horrible tone "Uh yeah you could sit with your kids, please!" (which doesn't sound bad at all when you are reading it, it was the WAY she said it!!!) Right then and there I had to bite my tounge, litteraly, because I was about to rip her a new one. How dare you be so disrespectful to me in front of my students and your students. But I decided I would be adult about it and wait until I had calmed down some, and all the kids were gone to talk to her about the situation.

So at 3:00 once all the kids and buses are gone all the teachers were still outside helping to clean up and just talking. She had kinda walked away from everyone else so I decided that this would be a good time to let her know she needs to be respectful to adults in front of children if she expects them to act the same. I start out very pollite and calm, and as I'm trying to tell her what the problem was she cuts me off and starts talking about a WHOLE other situation that has NOTHING to do with her speaking to me respectfully. She tells me that at breakfast duty I need to be watching my kids more, because the only time that I get on to them is when they are running around. Well shit if that didn't confuse me. Because I figured that if they were sitting down at breakfast then there wasn't a problem. Though again that is not what I was talking to her about. And I have no idea how breakfast duty has anything to do with her talking to me with respect in front of the kids. So I try to get back on topic and then she tells me that I wasn't teaching my kids well enough during the assembly. So I was like well shit what the f*** is she talking about now b/c I know we were not teaching during the assembly, we were watching an assembly. So again I try to get back to the point at hand, and the she just decides to stand there and stare at me. So I say do you understand? Again she says something to the effect of me not teaching my children correctly, so I just walked off and said "I'm not even going to talk to you about teaching." I was really trying to not hit below the belt and she was really trying to pull me down there. It was I walk away or I really start to rip into her.

Well durring all this pretty much all the other teachers were standing in the background listening. The best part of it was that when she moved away from me she stood there and looked around to see that everyone was moving towards me and not her, and then she just walked away.

BUT WAIT! It gets EVEN BETTER!! The BITCH had the balls to say under her breath as she was walking away "Well that's why I'm going to be here next year and your not!" Another teacher and her aide her this INSANE woman say that! When she told me that's what she heard I about went postal! I wanted to go find her again and rip into her again! Not once did I say anything mean or negative towards you. Not once was I caddy or degrading. First of all you should get your facts straight before you say shit like that! Because I would be there next year if I wasn't MOVING TO ANOTHER FUCKING STATE!

I'm just glad I'm not going to work tomorrow, because I'm pretty sure I would rip into her again. I am really going to need 3 days to calm down from this! She is a freak! The whole time she had no idea what I was saying to her. The WHOLE point of the converstaion was to let her know that when children are around you need to treat all adults with respect if you expect the children to do the same. They learn more by watching you than by what you say! And them seeing you talking to another adult like that shows them it's okay for them to talk to each other or another adult like that. It is NOT OK!

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! She makes me insanly angry! I have to stop talking about it now so I can calm down again! haha

Day 1....well really hour 1....

David is gone...:( He just left about 30 minutes ago for Texas. I cried....of course! haha I'm even going to see him on Thursday, but still I cried. I know that we are finally going home and we are both very excited to be back there. But I think that being here alone for this month is really going to suck! I hope it goes quickly. I have a lot of packing to do, and a lot of packing to do at work. Plus I have to say goodbye to all my friends and all my kids. I hate goodbyes....they are sad....

Best chicken I've ever cooked!!

So last night I tried a new kinda recipe that my friend Amanda gave me just with words. So I had to do my best to remember it. But it was mega easy to remember. Anyways....it was soooooo good that I just have to share it! Also it all only cost about $10...that is my guess because we already had the chicken and cheese. What I paid is $4! I have no idea what it's called so I'm just calling it

Ooh Ooh Good Chicken! (this is my recipe)
4 pieces of chicken (next time I will also put 6 pieces of chicken, or 4 large pieces)
1 box stove top stuffing
1 can rotel
1 can of mushrooms (I added this b/c we both love mushrooms)
1 can of chicken broth
shredded cheese

Turn the oven on to 375. Put chicken on bottom of pan, the pour on stove top (which I used the walmart chicken flavored brand), rotel, mushrooms and chicken broth. Mix it all up. Put it in the oven for 30 min. Take out and put the shredded cheese on top to cover the whole dish. Put back into the over for another 10 min. Ding....it's Ooh Ooh good! haha

**actually when I made this I also put 1/2 a can of water in it. But I thought the stuffing was too soggy, though David said it was perfect. Next time I make it I'm not going to put the water in, and that is why I didn't include it in the recipe**

(this is what my friend put in hers)
4-5 pieces of chicken (that she cut up before putting in the pan)
1 box stove top stuffing
1 can tomato chuncks
water to cover to the top (I just thought the chicken broth would have better flavor than water)

She cooked it the same way I did but she had the cheese on the whole time.

May 9, 1995

Dear Diary,

Sorry I haven't written in a long time well I'll just sum up what has happened in the past week or 2. Me and Joe broke up again, then got back together. Me, Joe and Neeley are playing a big trick on Stevie the BITCH Mayo. Okay it started Mon morning Neeley told Stevie that Joe was going to break up with me for her. So Tue. Joe fake broke up wht me (were still going together)then Thur. he's going to ask me back out and tell Stevie that he's only asking me out to have a date to the dance, then at the dance when there song comes on I'm going to go over to Stevie and Neeley and say he broke up with me again then act really upset, then Joe's going to ask her to dance and ask her out Then of course she's going to say yes, so after she says yes, he's going to tell her off and tell her that we just majorly pulled a very BIG joke on her so then me and Joe are going to dance to the rest of the song if it's still playing. Well Robby did something I never thought anyone on the face of this earth would ever do. He was going out with Virginia and asked Allison Six to the dance, and then wrote Virginia a note telling her he had ask Allison to the dance and she said eys, then dumped her. Well GTGTB

Love,
Natalie

So I picked this one totally because I think it's funny that Rob made it to my diary! haha He was a teenage boy! I would have done the same thing if I was him!! haha Allison Six or Virginia? Hmmm....haha....

I don't even know what to say about the whole Joe/Stevie thing.....I don't know why I thought that was even funny. First of all it didn't happen...but no matter how big of a bitch Stevie was that was just mean what we had planned! And still with Joe?? Why didn't anyone slap me?? haha

Oh also, I tried to read some of this to David and we just couldn't get past the part where I start each entry to my diary with hello, how are you, or sorry I haven't written....it's not a person! haah Who was I writing to?

Dear Diary,

So the other night I went into our guest closet to get a book to read. While I was in there I found my diary from jr. high and high school. So I decided that could be the next book I read! It has so far made me laugh out loud! Some of the things I wrote were just too funny!! I've made it all the way through jr. high now, and I thought that there we some entries I just had to share....so for the next few days you will be reading my jr. high/high school diary! I hope you laugh as much as I have!

P.S. I am going to type it just as it is written with spelling mistakes and all...sometimes that is more funny than what I'm talking about....

3-19-95
Dear Diary,

Howdy, How R U? Me - OK :) I'm so upset though. I was so close to going to Stoval Park with Kelsey, Joe :), Loren :), Jessica, & Sarah. But mamma said NO because it was to far. But oh well Spring Break is almost over, and I will soon see all of them except Sarah, she goes to Young. I'm also happy because I won a bet with Joe last night. He bet me that I could not last on the phone till 5:00 am If I hung up and went to bed that meant that Tue. when we went back to school I had to give him a kiss which would not be that bad, but I won so sometime this summer we both have to go to 6 Flags together and with none of our friends, just us 2. Which I don't mind either. Joe also said that probly by the end of the year we will be going out. :) But soemtimes I wish Kelsey had never come to Boles because I would be going out with Joe as I write :). Oh well, I can't wait until 7:25 because were going (mamma, Nick, Cliff, Catie, & I) to see The Tall tales of Pacos Bill, then MAN OF THE HOUSE (Doubel feature) I miss TJ, and Joe, except for the fact that I have talked to Joe everyday of Spring Break, except for today. But hey the days not over yet. Well I GTG mamma wants me to make some sugar cookies with easter M&M's in them. Bye Bye

Love
Natalie :)

P.S. I forgot to tell you that I dumped Zack, then went out with a major dweebe named Nathan But then I dumped him. I'm also very happy because Joe always says he loves me and I think he really means it I know he really cares about me because he says it all the time and Kelsey also said it. Loren also said I was his baby, and he loved me too, but I think he means as friends, well GTG again

Love, Natalie :)

So my first favorite part is when I am talking about going to the movies and then jump right into missing TJ and Joe! haha Plus wtf am I missing about TJ!!??!! If I had known then what I know now I wouldn't have wasted so much "love" (hahahaha) for him!! I am kinda mad at myself for calling Nathan a "major dweebe" haha. He was so sweet in jr. high.....I was so blinded by Joe!! And OMG I would sooooooooooo much rather be friends with Kelsey than Joe anyday!! I also love how I talk to my diary as if it is a person, and that I sign it all Love Natalie....as if it could possibly be someone else! haha.....another to come tomorrow....I hope this one has made you smile!

Testing Day #3

Did not go as well as day 1 and 2. Today was their Language Arts day and they had 3 timed sections. I had kids not finish the first timed part and the last timed part. I hate having to turn in tests with blank answers. Blanks are so much worse than a guess! At least with a guess you have the possibility of getting it right....but oh well.....I also watched a kid fail the test today. She chose for almost 10 questions in a row that there were no mistakes in the sentences. Which was not at all correct :( Oh well at least they have a 2 day break before we finish the test. All that is left is Science and Social Studies. Which is probably going to be the hardest part! Oh well......I did get two good days!

proof that I do know how to do my job

Testing Day #1

So yesterday, day 1, was math. I have to walk around the room and watch them take the test to make sure they are doing all the "things" right. Like bubbling in the right places, not marking on the answer sheet where they are not allowed to, not opening another part of the test we are not on, not going back to a part we are already finished with, etc. etc....the list goes on and on. So anyways....I'm walking around and I can see that for the most part my kids did pretty well on the math section. Well at least I think/hope so. None of them got stressed out. They all took their time and I could tell they were doing the work. So we will see when the scores come in....

Testing Day #2

Another successful day. Today was our writing and informational text part. So the writing topic was to write a letter to a friend that you went to school with last year and tell them all the fun things they missed out on this year by not coming back to your school. I about cried tears of EXTREME JOY when I saw this topic!! I can't tell you how many times we have worked on writing letters! I had my kids write a letter at the first of they year and they did so bad on it that we would write letters often just to get into the practice of what a letter is supposed to look like and sound like. I know they had to of done well on that part today! Again I'll have to wait for the true results when the scores come in.....but I am confident! Plus my kids have been extremely confident in themselves these past two days which really really helps!

So.....so far so good!!

YAY!!

I sure did have a lot to say today.....:)

When you are finally content in your own situation...

....is when He does what you have been wanting all along!

So I wrote that blog about my revelation, and it really was. I have gone back and forth from wanting to be here, to not wanting to be here in Louisiana. Last September when David was offered a job at home I thought it was horrbile timing because I was so very happy here. I loved everything that was going on in our lives here in Louisiana. I was so upset about the whole thing, and then it fell through. I was sad it didn't happen, but I was happy to get to stay in Louisiana for more time. Then life got hard, and I got to the point of not wanting to be here anymore. It was really my job that ruined everything. I was so upset and stressed out everyday. I hated going to work. So I sat down to type that blog and it turned into me realizing that where I am right now is okay. I can be happy in this place, because it's where He wants me to be. I have to take the bad and find the good. And I did just that. I was content with being here in Louisiana, and I decided that I would be happy here for however long that has to be......

Well that only has to be for 2 more months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE MOVING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited about the whole thing I could scream from the roof of our apartment!! David was offered a mall in Allen, and it couldn't have been better timing!! On Tuesday David's boss came out here and they posted a help wanted ad online, and got 3 hits by the end of the day. Last night David and his boss interview a guy, and they have decided to hire him to take David's job. They are going to tell him on Monday, and then David will have to train him for 2 weeks ones he starts. So by the first of May David will be home in Dallas at his new job in Allen! I will have to wait it out here until the end of the school year. Then I'll be coming home. The timeing couldn't be more perfect. While I'm home for Spring Break Richardson ISD is holding their job fair. So I'm going to go to that. Garland is also holding their job fair too, so I am going to do by damn best to make it to that one too. They are on the same day at the same time. But I'm going to try and do them both. I'll just be tired when they are over and have to haul ass to make it to Jennifer's baby shower in time!

But anyways...so right now our plan is to live with David's parents until our lease is up here. We will still have to be paying rent for June, July and August. Then we wanted to stay through December so we could save some money. We'll see how long we can handle it. 6 months can be a long time! I hope it all works out though. I'm sure it will.....again I just need to trust in Him because he clearly is watching out for us!!

So anyways....that is the exciting news! WE ARE MOVING HOME!!!!!! I'm so happy about it!!

But I haven't told my boss yet. Acutally today I sent him an email telling him that I can't wait to come back for next year. Just in case....you never know....expecially after what happened in September. I don't want everything to fall apart and we not go and then to top it off I gave up my job here. So that is the only string left to deal with once it's all said and done! I'm so excited!!! :)