Taboule

Oh my gosh, where has this Friday gone? I had hoped to post much earlier in the day, but stuff came up. Like having to pick my little guy up early from preschool and then to top it off, dh killed a snake in the front yard. Y'all, the one thing that scares the heck out of me is a snake. I don't like spiders and rodents, but I can tolerate them a lot better than a snake. So, I thought I'd hyperventilate when dh showed it to me. I have been so afraid the kids the would find one. Knock on wood there aren't anymore.

I wanted to share today one of my favorite dishes that I make that is super easy. And with Memorial Day weekend here and many folks going to cook outs, this is something you can make to take that won't take a lot of time or fuss.

Taboule is an interesting dish. It is made out of bulgar wheat. I know bulgar wheat doesn't make you want to shout "yum", but it really is good. This is a dish that is great if you make it hours ahead, even the night before so it can marinate and cool in the fridge. With the weather getting hot it is a wonderful side dish when you are looking for something easy. It is great with grilled chicken, or it would a great side dish with a burger.

I buy mine at Wal Mart. It is near the couscous and I believe the rice. You'll need lemon juice, oil and fresh tomatoes, as well as the package of Taboule to make it. As you can see from the picture above, it really makes a pretty dish with the herbs and the tomatoes.

Let me know if you give Taboule a try. Hope you are having a great day in your neck of the woods!

TGIF

I'll be posting a new post later this morning.

Tip about Tips

Hello everyone. Hope you are having a good week. Things have been a bit crazy for me and I haven't been able to blog like I've wanted. But I wanted to get up a post today and to share a story that might help you out.

Here is my tip about tips. Yesterday someone shared a story with me that I wanted to pass on. They received a $25 gift card to Bonefish grill restaurant. They went to the restaurant and ordered just an appetizer and used about $5 off the card. So, there was supposed to be about $20 left on the gift card. The server brought the card back, but did not provide a receipt. The person went back to the restaurant for another visit and went to use their gift card to find out that the server decided to give themselves a $20 tip, leaving the gift card empty. So, if you go somewhere and have any balance left on a gift card be sure to get your receipt. That way you can see the confirmation for yourself.

Hope you are having a great day in your neck of the woods!

Lost & Celebrity Apprentice

So last night dh and I stayed up way too late watching the LOST finale. I'm not someone who gets overly emotional about tv shows and I don't cry at Hallmark commercials, but the finale of LOST made me cry. And I hope I'm not the only one, but I'm still scratching my head and wondering what the heck happened. I'm not going to put any details in my post because I don't want to spoil it in case someone hasn't seen it yet. I think that because I just went with the flow and I didn't overly analyze how the show was going to end, I was able to enjoy it. I think that for folks who really got into it and tried to have it all figured out, they may have been let down.

But, I'm sad that the show has come to an end. It is hard to believe it has been on the air for 6 years. And this show will always hold a special place in my heart because that is where we came up with the name for our oldest son, Sawyer. When we were thinking of baby names and I wanted a unique boy name, that name jumped out at me.

So fair well LOST castaways. I'll miss you.

Now for the Celebrity Apprentice. Donald Trump, I fired you last night and watched LOST live. You got the dvr buddy. Dh and I could not believe they were stupid enough to put the finale of Celebrity Apprentice on against LOST. Why they couldn't wait one more week is beyond me. And, it probably would have been better for poor Bret Michaels if they had waited with everything he has been going through.

This was a season that I liked both of the finalists and would have been happy to see either of them win. I've seen Holly Robinson Peete on a number of interviews prior to her doing this show and I know that she is not as tough as they edited her to be. Of course I don't know her in real life, but in the interviews I've seen with her she seems like a really sweet person.

SPOILER AFTER THIS

I have to admit that the Celebrity Apprentice was a bit of a bust. I think when you get down to it Holly deserved to win, but Donald Trump wasn't going to go that way because he didn't want to take a chance to turn into the most hated man in America because he didn't hire a guy who has been fighting for his life. But I think it is great that both of their very worth while charities are getting a lot of money. And as someone who has already had gestational diabetes, as well as having family members with this disease, I'm glad that the American Diabetes Association has a great spokesperson with Brett Michaels. I hope that he will be able to use this platform to do a lot of good for a lot of people.

I have to admit that after watching LOST and then stressing about some things coming up this week, I feel kind of down today. But hopefully as the day goes on I'll shake this funk. The weather here is overcast, so I hope the sun comes out. That always helps.

So, I hope you are having a great day in your neck of the woods.

MOPS Madness

Hello everyone. Hope you are having a good week. I've been dealing with MOPS madness. This Friday is our last MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) meeting for the year. Woo hoo! Taking over as Coordinator of my MOPS group this year has definitely been a challenge. I've got a few more gray hairs than I'd like, but there have been a number of blessings. So, that has left little time for blogging this week. But I hope to be back to sharing more soon.

I hope you are having a great day/week in your neck of the woods!

Broccoli Casserole

Church cook books. I love them. And recently I was blessed to be gifted with one. I've found that church or school fundraiser cook books are some of the best cook books I own. I love them because you usually find tried and true recipes in them. I love looking through these cook books because they have such a wide variety of recipes. You know that each of them has a special place in the heart of the cook that submitted it.

Over the weekend I made a broccoli casserole recipe from my new cook book. I thought I'd share it with you. With Memorial Day and summer cook outs coming up, this is a great side dish to consider. My dh snapped at shot of this before we chowed down.

This recipe was submitted by a lady named Dolly Powers. So, enjoy Miss Dolly's recipe, I know I did. :)

Broccoli Casserole

2 pkg. chopped frozen broccoli
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. sharp cheese, grated
1 can mushroom soup
salt & pepper

Cook broccoli; drain. Mix all and put in a casserole and baket at 350 for 45 minutes.

Britain's Got Talent

I discovered this Britain's Got Talent audition of this sweet little 80 year old lady. Can you imagine having this lady as your mee maw/nanna? How cute is she?

I'm busy making strawberry freezer jam today, so enjoy this video clip. Hope you are having a great day in your neck of the woods!

Janey Cutler - Britain's Got Talent 2010 - Auditions Week 4 @ Yahoo! Video

Take that!

Today I wanted to share a heart warming story of shopping triumph. One mother's small victory to try and dress stylish without breaking the bank.

Our story begins in Nags Head, North Carolina where my family likes to vacation. Besides the obvious reason of loving to go on vacation to enjoy the sand and surf, one of my other favorite things I look forward to is going to the outlet. I specifically love to shop at the Gap Outlet store. I have had a lot of luck finding great little gems there and their sale prices are great.

Last summer little Logan was eight months old when we went on vacation, so I was still wheeling him around in a big old stroller. As many of you know, shopping is a challenge whenever you have little people involved.

For months I had been in search of a thick, woven belt that everyone seemed to be wearing. I had seen one at Ann Taylor, but couldn't bring myself to pay the $30 price tag. As I'd go out shopping I'd keep my eyes open for one.

As I mentioned before, I decided to roll on into the Gap Outlet store with my big stroller to see what I could find. I was excited to see they had a huge sale section and immediately wheeled the stroller over to see what I could find. I was trying to look through everything when this pack of girls came in and rudely butted in my way. All of a sudden one of the girls pulled out a woven wide belt just like I wanted. They all admired the belt. I quickly got in the fray and searched for another one in vain. I thought I would throw up and cry at the same time. I was so close and yet to only have it snatched away seconds before I could get my hands on it. I was stunned.

Now anyone else would have just thrown up or cried, or both, but not this gal. I quickly grabbed this sweet guy who worked at the store and pointed to the belt they were holding and asked him if they had anymore in the back. He was so sweet and said he would check for me.

He was gone for a good ten minutes, but emerged from the back with a wide woven belt. It was different from what the girls had grabbed, actually better and when I saw the price I thought I would dance a jig right there, only 7 bucks! Woo hoo!

The girls saw him bring out the belt and some of them rushed the guy to ask if there were more in the back. As I pushed my stroller up to the register in my triumph, I heard him tell him there were no more. That's right, "Take that!" mean girls. As the soup Nazi from Seinfeld would say, "No belt for you!" LOL

Hope you are having a great day in your neck of the woods!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Gap Outlet blogging program to be eligible to get a $20 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, follow this link. http://www.twittermoms.com/forum/topics/exclusive-twittermoms-discount.”

Gap Twitter Discount



Exclusive Gap Outlet and Banana Republic Factory Store Savings

Warm Weather Wishes

Oh blogging, how I've missed you. The month of April was so rough and this first few days of May has been crazy. The kids were sick some on and off and then my 3 year old has been an insomniac for about the last month. We are working through it and knock on wood things are improving slowly but surely.

Since the days have gotten warmer, the boys have wanted to play outside in the water. They got some buckets for Easter and they like it when I fill them with water. Then they take cups and other toys and love pouring water. As you can see from the picture below, Sawyer prefers the sneak from behind and pour water on his brother's head attack. Poor Logan is such a good sport and is just stunned from the cold water. He doesn't cry. This picture pretty much sums up the situation.

Hope you are having a great day in your neck of the woods!