16 Years of......

Today is our 16th anniversary. Can you believe Uncle Joe has been able to put up with me and my silliness for that long?? :o)

Dear Joe,

Thanks for being my BFF, my love, my husband, and the father of our girls. You are awesome and I am glad to share my life with you.

Love,

AJ

Summer Fun

Cassidy gives a thumbs up to a go-cart race with Mom on our Branson trip last weekend.

Pie So Good You Might Drive to Oklahoma and Hug Me

Peach Pie

3/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/4 c. all purpose flour
4 ripe peaches peeled and sliced
(about 5 cups)
1T lemon juice
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 ground nutmeg

Bake at 425 for 10 min then reduce to 350 for approx 40 minutes
in the following pie crust::::>

NEVER FAIL PIE CRUST

3 c. all purpose
1 t salt
1 1/4 c. shortening BUTTER FLAVOR CRISCO
5 1/2 T water
1 egg
1 t. vinegar

sift flour and salt together. Cut in shortening. Mix water, slightly beaten egg and vinegar together and add to flour mixture.

Roll our on lightly floured board (add more flour if too moist)

Makes (2) 9'' pie crusts

My Kid is Funny!

Recently, Cassidy and I were driving (well I was driving) and listening to Black Water on the radio.......

I said, "Cassidy did you know we got to see these guys sing this song for real the other day?"

She replied, "Mom, who was it? The DOOZIES?"

I Cracker Heart You

UJ doesn't whisper sweet-nothings in my ear. He spells them out in crackers.

Past and Future

Do you spot anyone that looks AJ-ish?
(Back row third from right.)

This is the year that we nicknamed Angela, Peanut. Can you see why?? She is on the bottom row second from the left. Tiny little thing isn't she?

Good times......

This is the camp that Carly is attending.....I had so much fun when I went waaaay back when. See me? Third row from bottom, second from the right. My BFF, Mindi is right in front of me in the sunglasses.

Sweltering hot, but good times.........

Cassidy and her new cousin :o) I think they loves each other!

Cassidy test her chop-stick skills in OKC

Here is my brother and his new bride.

Our summer is going well. We bought a pool at the end of the season last year and got it up and have been enjoying it a lot. Moonlight floats are wonderfully relaxing.

Cassidy

Cassidy July 4th, 2009

Hey!

My BF, Carol and I had a GNO last night.

She had her maiden voyage at Sam & Ella's and we tried the Dominiquer pizza. (ranch dressing for sauce, chicken, bacon, mushrooms, black olives and onions) It was tasty and different but nothing compares to Rock Island Red. :o)

We went to see My Sister's Keeper, a movie based on the book by Jodi Picoult. It was pretty accurate til the end of the movie. I was SO disappointed! It did not end like the book did. I wanted to stand up and say, "HEY!!!!"

I hate it when the movie isn't as good as the book. Don't you??

We had to go get a frozen yogurt/ sherbet from Braum's after the movie to cool down. Mmmmmmmm

We had a much needed respite from being "Mom" and just got to be our silly selves.

Eureka!

This weekend our family traveled to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to watch my brother, Tom marry Therese and begin their new life together. The ceremony was very sweet and they even included Therese's 6 yr old daughter, Therese Yvette in the ceremony. Tom presented her with a beautiful flower pendant and necklace to represent and remind her of his committment to her and her mother.

Eureka Springs is a beautiful old town hardly touched by time. The streets are narrow and perfect for motorcycles to maneuver down, and a little more tricky for passenger vehicles. You can see very quickly that it is a destination for many many motorcycle travelers. We managed to get around after driving around several times to get our bearings. UJ said, "One thing you will never happen here: widening the streets!"

We stayed in The Piedmont House bed and breakfast compliments of Tom and Therese. You can see our room: The Magnolia Room. It was very beautiful and you could just imagine yourself going back in time (except for the cable tv and airconditioner!) It was a very fun experience and we hope to go there again.

Have any of you stayed at B&B's?? What was your experience like?? We had breakfast with everyone in a family style setting and it was very nice. It looked like a lot of work and a lot of fun.

We drove downtown and walked up and down the hills looking in several shops and treating ourselves to some new cook books, some new TEVA flip flops for me. (Thanks for recommending them Susie! I love them!) UJ must have been wearing pheremones or something because several of the shop keepers were very chatty with him and engaged him in looooooong conversations and I just browsed around with a smile on my face. :o)

All in all we had a very nice weekend and a wonderful time together. My parents took our children Saturday night after the wedding so we could have a peaceful night in the B&B. We were very grateful. :o)

If you go to Eureka Springs, be sure and get either a really good map or a GPS because it is very hilly, windy, narrow and confusing....but very beautiful and fun.

DB's

Last week Uncle Joe and I (along with 3 additional friends) went to see:

that's right.....The Doobie Brothers.

They came to our little state and put on a great show for us. I am sad to report the arena was FAR from sold out, but they gave us our money's worth in good Southern Rock. It was great to hear the whole audience singing along with all their famous tunes: Old Black Water, Takin it to the Streets, China Grove, and one that I hadn't heard but LOVED: Dangerous.

I have great photographs but was forced to promise not to post them. I will email them privately for a small fee and a waiver.

Note to self

Ask "So, how big is your yard? What kind of mower do you have?" BEFORE offering to help out and mow someone's yard.

I learned that the hard way......3 hours, a mile of walking, umpteen trips to empty the grass bag later.

Whew!

Randomly Photographic

Welcome to my "catch up" positively photographic post!

I have had problems with my camera lately and someone finally got these downloaded for me. :o) Whoever you are, thankyouverymuch.

In random order:

Joe prepares to devour his Mom's Curry at Siam House in Denton. He smiled the whole time. The curry was fresh and very yummy.

See what I mean??

He licked his plate clean!

The birds even enjoyed some left over Thai the next morning! Terry and Sharon dropped their go-box and the next morning we found the local birds having a chow down. Those Texan birds sure do have good pallettes!

On our mosey home we found a Piggly Wiggly. I can barely remember having one here in our area and I loved going. Who wouldn't love going somewhere named Piggly Wiggly!? Joe went in to inquire about a t-shirt and came out dejected that they didn't have them on site, but with our photos maybe we can make our own. :o)


If we ever opened up our own place.....this might be what it might look like. :o)
(except it would serve coffee too!)

Cowboy Batman?

I was pretty happy to be in Denton with friends

We wore Sharon out at the Jazz Fest. She took a small snooze. We allowed it and didn't even bother her......except for the taking the picture part. heehee!

Who knew caterpillars liked jazz?? Terry did apparently.......

I think they were going to have a Mullet Contest later. This guy won.

not really

The first musician we saw. Joe, what was their name??

Joe and Jo's Big Jazzy Adventure 2009

We had a very nice and relaxing trip and look forward to next year when we can go again. Next year we promised to take Cassidy. She will be 10 and that is the age that Carly first went and of course she wants to follow in her sisters footsteps. That should be interesting.....she might even end up on a stage as much as that kid sings! :o)

Please Stay Tuned Jazz Fans

I have not forgotten about my poor little bloggie here....just been busy at work and home.

We had a great time at the 5th Annual Joe and Josefina's Big Jazzy Adventure down to Denton Texas April 25th. We went to the JazzFest and had a laid back and relaxing time.

Since I have started my new job and I am currently considered "in training" I did not feel it wise to ask for a day off, so we left town after I got off work at 415pm. We arrived in Denton about 10pm, right on schedule. (and no wrong turns!)

The only mishap on the way down there was supper. We will (hopefully) never set foot in a Carl's Jr/Green Burrito again. UJ ate a green burrito that turned him green a little later. Bleh......

The weather on Saturday was very nice: sunny with a little wind. Perfect for sittin', readin', eatin' , relaxin' and visitin' with friends.

We had a good time sharing some JazzFest fare: ginormous cinnamon roll, strawberry crepe, hot coffee, strawberry lemonade, gyros, roasted corn and Mr. Pibb. :o) My only complaint was about the vendors. None of the vendors I was looking forward to seeing were there. I had certain things I was looking for and didn't find them....and I had a hard time choosing anything else, so I left with nothing NOTHING! Can you believe that?

Terry and Sharon arrived mid afternoon and after we had our fill of the music, we trekked off to our next destination: Siam House, our fave Thai restaurant in Denton.

Russell, the owner has always been our server and he remembers us each time. This time he and UJ got to talk shop: music. In particular: guitars. It took us 2 1/2 hours to eat our meal due to their chattering. I had a good time listening to them talk......they bantered back and forth about who was the better guitar player and I was smiling to see Joe go head to head with him.

We must be getting old because that was just about the extent of our fun for Saturday, other than our bedtime visit to the Finish Line convenience store for late night snacks for us. :o)

Sunday morning we slept in and decided to mosey home after check out time. We stopped and shopped at World Market and bought the girls something to take home and headed back to Oklahoma after a loud lunch at TGIFridays in McKinney.

I had bought us some new tunes to listen to on the way: Brad Paisley, Foreigner and Lynard Skynard so we belted out some songs all the way down there and on the way home. (even with all that practice I still can't sing!)

All in all I would say it was a great weekend. Any time spent with the one you love is good in my book.

Stay tuned for pictures. I have had difficulty downloading pictures this week and haven't figured out why.......

Chilly Chili Cook Off

Saturday was the 25th annual Chili Cook Off in Muskogee.

UJ went and sampled a boat load of chili and came away thinking maybe our (ok his) chili might be our favorite. :o) The weather was overcast and we left minutes before a downpour came and washed all the chili eaters away.

A classmate of Joe's had a booth and gave away Dinky Links. DL's are a hotlink made with a secret recipe that is guarded by a security system that would rival Fort Knox. :o) I tried one bite of one and my stomach was on fire the rest of the day. He won 3rd place in hotlinks. He was robbed!

I got to meet my future SIL and had lunch with her, her 6 yr old daughter, my mom and Cassidy. We went to Flair and had a nice visit. Cassi isn't quite sure she is ready to relinquish her spot as "Baby Grand-daughter". I could tell by the look on her face.......

Aside from the rain.....buckets of rain, we had a nice weekend. Friends, Family and Food!

Have a good week where ever you are Blogger Friends!

Toasty Goodness

Next time you eat Angel Food Cake put it in the toaster for a bit and get it nice and toasty warm and crunchy.

WOWIE! It was good!!

Fresh berries and whipped cream and you have sweet delights!

Land of......

Yesterday as we drove through town Uncle Joe said

"Josefina I think we should rename JoeTown....Land of a Thousand Speed Bumps."

Maybe it is a coincidence, but it seems there ARE a lot of speed bumps and dips in our town. There are two speed dips on our way to Nana's house and I hate them so much (after driving on them over 20 years) I will drive out of my way to avoid them. There are several speed bumps in and around the school and we are driving those roads constantly!

When I was in High School my friend, Carol used to pick me up for early band practice at 7:00. Let's just say we are not known for our punctuality....so it was usually 6:59 and we would go FLYING down Walnut street and FLY over the speed dips. BAH DUMP!! BAH DUMP!! (SPEED UP!) BAH DUMP!! BAH DUMP!!

We loved the speed dips when we were in Elementary school on the school bus ride home. If you sat in the last seat, when the driver went over the dip we would fly up and plunk back down in our seats screaming with delight.

Bah-dump!

Sing Praises

There is a sweet song bird on my porch singing praises to Jesus....He is risen!!

9 Ways to Get Happy in the Next 30 Minutes

I found this article on Yahoo! today and thought it had some great mood-lifters. We have not had enough sunshine in Oklahoma this month- We have had unseasonably cold weather the past few weeks and it has definitely dampened the mood in the Joe house.

We already do a couple of these suggestions and I am glad to say UJ has engaged in cleansing and purging the garage of useless stuff we brought with us in our move and have accumulated since we arrived. Garage sale next week! Yay Joe!!

from: Real Simple Magazine
byJay Gosney


In the next half hour, tackle as many of the following suggestions as possible. Not only will these tasks themselves increase your happiness, but the mere fact that you've achieved some concrete goals will boost your mood.

1. Raise your activity level to pump up your energy. If you are on the phone stand up and pace. Walkt to a co-workers office instead of sending an email. Take a 10 minute brisk walk or, even better...

2. Take a walk outside. Research shows that light stimulates brain chemicals that improve mood. For an extra boost, get your sunlight first thing in the morning.

3. Reach out. Send an e-mail to a friendyou haven't seen in a while or reach out to someone new. Having close bonds with other people is one of the most important keys to happiness. When you act in a friendly way, not only will others feel more friendly toward you, but you'll also strengthen feelings of friendliness for others.

4. Rid yourself of a nagging task. Deal with that insurance problem, purchase something you need or make that long-postponed appointment with the dentist. Crosing an irksome chore off your to-do list will give you a rush of elation.

5. Create a more serene environment. Outer order contribtes to inner peace, so spend some time organizing bills and tackling the piles in the kitchen. A large stack of small tasks can feel overwhelming but often just a few minutes of work can make a sizable dent. Set the timer for 10 minutes and see what you can do in that time.


6. Do a good deed. Introduce two people by e-mail, take a minute to pass along useful information or deliver some gratifying praise. In fact you can also....


7. Save someone's life. Sign up to be an organ donor, and remember to tell your family about your decision. Do good, feel good. It really works!


8. Act Happy. Fake it til you feel it. Research shows that even an artifically induced smile boosts your mood. And if you're smiling, other people will perceive you as being friendlier and more approachable. There is not need to walk around in a constant state of worry. After all, what's the worst that can happen if you bounce a check or leave wet clothes in the dryer?

9. Learn something new. Think of a subject that you wish you knew more about and spend 15 minutes on the internet reading about it, or go to a book store and buy a book about it. Be honest and choose something that really interests you and not something you think you should know.

~OK Bloggie Buddies, hop to it!

Chicken Enchiladas

We found a really EZ recipe for Chicken Enchiladas

3 boneless chicken breasts boiled and shredded
1 pkg cream cheese cut into cubes
1 small can green chilies (do not drain)
2 cans green enchilada sauce
tortillas (we used flour)
shredded cheez (we used colby jack)

preheat oven to 400 degrees
spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray

mix shredded chicken, cream cheez and green chilies in a skillet and cook over medium heat until cheez melts.

place a large spoonful of chicken mixture in tortilla and roll up. Place seam side down in pan.

cover enchiladas with green sauce then sprinkle cheez over the top.

bake 20 minutes

I got lots of praises from the Family Unit on this one and I believe it will be added to the supper rotation. :o)

February Throw Back

My photo for work has just been posted on the work website today.

I started 2-2-09. :o)

I had a good hair day...