My first Vegetable of the season!

Look at what I picked from my garden yesterday !!

Everything else is coming along nicely too. I'm just waiting for all of those tomatoes to turn red. Here is the first one starting to turn.

I have bushes full of big tomatoes, but none of them seem to be in a hurry to turn red.

I look like a proud Mama to that little zucchini.

Happy Father's Day!

Just a little late, but Happy Fathers Day, Dad!
I Love you and am so glad that God blessed us with a wonderful Father!

Happy Birthday Becky!

My Little sister turned 24 yesterday! I can't believe it! Happy Birthday Becky. I hope you had a wonderful day!

Tie Dye T-shirts - Disney Style

Let me start out with a little back story. 2 years ago, Andrew and I spent a week at Disney World. Before we went, I saw on the disboards how to make a Mickey tie dye t-shirt. I knew we would look super cheesy, but wanted to make them anyway. Where else is it ok to look Cheesy?? They were really easy to make, and they turned out great. So, our first day at Disney, we wore our matching Mickey shirts, and got a lot of compliments.

Fast forward 2 years: Andrew's parents are taking the whole family to Disney this July, and wanted me to make shirts for everyone. So, over the last week, I have started the process. It takes a lot longer to make 8 shirts than it does to make just 2. Also, this time I decided to do multiple colors, rather than just one color. Here is a step by step process on how to make a Mickey Tie Dye t-shirt.

Step 1: Trace a Mickey head on a t-shirt using a pencil. Step 2: Stitch around the Mickey Head with dental floss.

Step 3: Pull the dental floss tight, so the shirt gets pulled tight. That prevents the dye from penetrating that area, therefore, it is left white.

Step 4: Rubber band the shirts in any pattern you like. I did several different patterns. There is not right or wrong way Step 5: Mix the dye following the instructions on the package. As you can see, I used three different colors, and two different brands of dye. It really doesn't matter which brand you use. I just was looking for specific colors.

Step 6: Dye The shirts. The longer the shirt stays in the dye, the darker the color will be.

Step 7: Rinse the shirts out until the water runs clear.

Step 8: Remove all rubber bands

Step 9: Wash in washing machine on warm water with soap.

Step 10: It is OK to put the shirts in the dryer, it helps to set the color in.

And this is the final product...

As you can see, some turned out darker than others, and some Mickey heads are more defined than others. I think they all turned out great, and you can't buy a cheaper custom made shirt. I was able to make 8 shirts for $40! This would be a great project for anyone with kids, or anyone taking a trip to Disney World. Let me know what you think!

Play Time!

On Friday, I had the pleasure of baby sitting my 3 year old niece, Leilani. We had a full day of watching movies, a trip to Wal-Mart, playing with make up, painting nails, and swimming in the baby pool I got for Molly and Toby. While she was at my house, she wanted my neighbor's little girl to come over and play with her. So,we called to see if Maggie could come over and play. She is 4, so they got a long great. Here are some pictures from the two of them playing with make up and playing in the baby pool.

In Full Bloom

The smaller of my two Hydrangea bushes is in full bloom! My large hydrangea bush has lots of leaves, but no flowers... I'm not sure what is going on with that. I think it is so neat that I have purple and pink flowers on the same plant.

Maple Crème Brûlèe - Yummy

Let me start off by saying that Disney World has the best Crème Brûlèe. It doesn't matter which restaurant, or resort you get it at, it is always phenomenal! So, while we were down there in May, we found a recipe in one of the cook books.
This past weekend, we decided it was time to make it for ourselves. It turned out so good! Here are some pictures of us making it, and the finished product. It really didn't take that long to make, you just have to let it cool completely in the refrigerator, before you can eat it. That seemed like it took forever.

Maple Crème Brûlèe
Le Cellier Steakhouse ~ Epcot ~ Walt Disney World Resort
Serves 6

Ingredients
2 ¾ Cups Heavy Cream
½ Cup Whole Milk
½ Cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
9 egg yolks
1 ½ tablespoons pure maple extract
12 teaspoons sugar for caramelized topping

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Place six ¾-cup custard cups in a large roasting pan.
2. Combine cream, milk, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Slowly bring mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly to dissolve sugar. When sugar is dissolved, stir every few minutes while the mixture is heating to avoid scalding.
3. When small bubbles appear around the edges, remove milk mixture from heat.
4. Whisk egg yolks and maple extract together in a large bowl. Slowly add hot cream mixture to egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Divide among custard cups in pan.
5. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of custard cups. Bake custards until center moves only slightly when cups are gently shaken, about 55 minutes. Remove custards from pan. Refrigerate until thoroughly cool.
6. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons sugar evenly over each custard. Working with 1 custard at a time, hold kitchen torch so that the flame is 2 inches above the surface. Direct flames so that sugar melts and browns, about 2 minutes. Garnish with fruit preserves and a cookie, if desired.


Cooks Note: If you don’t have a kitchen torch, preheat broiler. Sieve 2 teaspoons brown sugar atop each custard. Place dished on small baking sheet. Broil until sugar just starts to caramelize, rotating sheet for even browning, about 2 minutes. Then chill until topping hardens, about 2 hours.

National Doughnut Day!!

I got this e-mail today, and just had to share it with the blog world.

National Doughnut Day is celebrated on the first Friday in June. And this year, Krispy Kreme will once again be giving away a free doughnut of your choosing on that most delicious of days to every customer that visits a participating Krispy Kreme store.

So, mark Friday, June 5th on your calendar, and get down to Krispy Kreme for a free doughnut on National Doughnut Day!

While I'm Waiting...

Last night at Bible study, we learned about waiting. We are currently on the 5th Chapter of Ester. Beth Moore did a great job of addressing the topic of having to wait. In Ester Chapter 5, it shows the importance of timing and waiting. There were four main points she made.
The importance of knowing:
1. When it's time
2. When it's time to wait
3. When it's time to wait for someone else's time.
4. When the meantime is God's time.

Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."


The key is to Wait upon the LORD - not wait for the thing or the event that you have been praying for, wait upon the LORD. His timing is always perfect.

Andrew and I have been in the waiting process for a long time. Andrew started working with Chick-fil-A 3 years ago, in the hopes to one day become a Chick-fil-A operator. We knew it would be a long process, but we weren't sure just how long. Every time it seems he makes progress toward getting his own store, there are setbacks. Last night's Bible study really hit home. The funny thing is that Beth Moore said in the video that Chapter 5 is not going to be the chapter you look back on, and see where you really saw God working in the book of Ester. But I disagree, this Chapter showed me the importance of waiting, which is exactly what I needed to hear last night.

This song was in the Movie Fire Proof, and is a great song. Please listen to it, and really hear the message.



I just have to remember, God is never inactive, the longer we wait, the harder He is working!

Vegetable Garden - Week 6

Here are the latest pictures of my vegetable garden. Things are progressing nicely. It shouldn't be too much longer before I get to eat some of these veggies. I now have actually veggies on every plant. Yes, some are smaller than others, but at least they are producing fruit! All the rain we have been getting has been great for my garden.

Tomato Plant #1

Tomato Plant #2

Roma Tomatoes
Zucchini

Tiny Baby Yellow Squash

Pineapple Plant