Girls and Pearls: The Super Quick November Edition Where We Weren't Alone

Gosh, that's a long title. But it explains things sooo well.
With the whole insanity of our move, I wasn't sure what we would do for this month's edition of Girls and Pearls.
We had the opportunity to attend a Christmas Concert last night with our Pastor and his wife, so we got all gussied up for that :)

48/52

This week has been crazy. We're dealing with the tail end of this move, I am dealing with massive anxiety, and am asking you for some prayers. Thank you!

48/52: We went to a Christmas concert last night. Ella got to dress up. On a side note: that eagle totally looks like it's about to swoop down on her ;)

48/52, Sunday: This will be her last week in front of this particular door, and our last full day in this house. Things have been a little hairy, to say the least, but we are happy to be out. Some things just aren't worth the stress. 

Desperation in the Kitchen: Autumn Cheesecake Dip

Do ya'll remember on Monday night when I said I would NEVER AGAIN test drive a recipe during a move?

I lied.

Today, this happened.

Autumn Cheesecake Dip, adapted from here

Oh, and it was totally worth it, trying this recipe.

I'm bringing it to church tonight. Having grown up in a church that did ZERO social functions, I'm always at a loss as to what to bring. I came across this recipe today and decided that I.must.make.this


Here's what you need
*One brick of cream cheese, softened
*One container of Cool Whip, thawed (anyone else notice Cool Whip looks like shaving cream?)
*One cup packed brown sugar
*1/2 teaspoon vanilla
*1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
*1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
*Graham Crackers or Apple Slices for dipping

Here's What You Do:

*Mix together the cream cheese, cool whip, and brown sugar. The original directions say to use a stand mixer. But hahahahahaha, mine is packed. So suck it up buttercup and use a spoon ;)

Eventually, your arm will feel like it is falling off and the mix will look like this.

*Add in your vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg

*Mix it some more and then put in a lovely container (mine is a candy dish from a friend) and chill for at least an hour. Serve with graham crackers or apple slices :)

It's so good you could eat it with a spoon. Not that I ever would. Nope. Not me.

I am just a little bit excited....

...about THE BLACK FRIDAY SALE!!!!

Yes, I'm in the middle of moving. Yes, my house is officially a warehouse. Yes, I'm stressed to the max. Yes, I'll be shopping the sale. YES, I'M GOING TO GET MY PEACOCK!


If you're wondering about the peacock...no, I'm not getting one of these....

...the plan is to get one of THESE....

Oh, and you know...there's the matter of the awesome BLACK FRIDAY SALE!

Make sure you go here on Black Friday (midnight PT, 3 a.m. ET, you know I'll be up!) And remember, December 1st, I will announce the new Flexi of The Month AND the winner of November's Giveaway! (If you order during the month of November, you will be automatically entered to win an item of your choice!)

Here are more deets on the Black Friday Sale!

Happy Shopping!

Meal Plan Monday: The post where I've lost my mind, apparently

I test-drove a recipe today. While packing. Blah. Never.going.to.do.it.again!

By the way, my house looked like this earlier

I hate moving. HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT.

This week is going to be very odd with Meal Planning, but bear with me here. Maybe next week things will be mostly normal.



Monday: Ajo Chicken 
Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner
Wednesday: Ham, Green Beans, and Potato Dinner
Thursday: Thanksgiving. Don't ask. We're moving a ton of stuff that day. Probably Sandwiches, lol!
Friday: Ramen Stir fry
Saturday: Beef Veggie Soup
Sunday: Chicken Spaghetti

Desperation in the Kitchen: Ajo Chicken

Ya'll, I'm a bona-fide idiot. Who else would decide to test drive a recipe with her kitchen packed up in boxes?

SIGH!


This may not have been fun (read: at ALL), as I was constantly dodging guys moving boxes (thank you to our awesome Pastor), an energetic kiddo, and a myriad of cats.

Without further ado, here is Ajo Chicken. I got it from this blog


Ajo Chicken:

What you need:
*Chicken Breasts, cooked. (whoops. I totally had to saute/brown mine before baking it)
*salt
*pepper
*butter
*mushrooms (mine were canned, not fresh. I'm moving, give me a break here)
*1 cup chicken broth
*one onion, diced
*4 cloves garlic, minced (I used 3)
*one small can chopped green chilies
*1 tablespoon flour
*1/2 cup plain yogurt
*1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Here's what you do

*If you're an idiot like me, you brown your chicken

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees

*Throw Chicken in a casserole dish

*Take a minute, while dodging cats, pastors, kids and husbands to chop onion and garlic

*Saute some mushrooms in butter

*Scatter them over the chicken, add in half a cup of chicken broth, cover and bake for 10 minutes. This is where my picture taking gets sporadic.  Trying to cook dinner while chaos ensues is not easy. I need to get better at that.....

*While the chicken is baking, saute the onions, garlic, and green chilies together. 

*Add the pan drippings from your chicken/mushrooms baking and add the other half cup of chicken broth to your onion mixture

*Add the flour
*Then add the yogurt and heat through

*Spoon the mixture over your chicken and sprinkle with cheese

*Bake another 15 minutes

A food photographer I am not. But...OH.MY.GOSH.

I will so be making this again. Maybe I'll actually get to eat more than one little piece of chicken, too. Gabe and Ella scarfed this down before I could even really blink!

47/52

47/52: Do you ever wonder about my kid? Yeah...I do too sometimes.

47/52, Sunday: One of the dresses from my sweet friend Christa. We are so blessed!

Small Life Update

...because small is all I have time for right now.

We are moving. So....most of my house looks like THIS.

I hate moving. Seriously. Beyond hate it. But, despite the stress of the last few weeks, this is probably the least stressful move I have ever had. Mainly, because of THIS guy.

He is the master of packing. I would be lost without him. (because, say it with me , ya'll I HATE MOVING) He has been busy packing up our little house, and I have been helping here and there (mainly packing up my kitchen without packing up every.single.little.thing I use, lest I not have it when necessary)

We are definitely not the most attractive couple....but we do have very cute children....

My house is in upheaval right now. Boxes are everywhere! STUFF is everywhere! But, we keep things in perspective and thank God in all things. Tonight was our Thanksgiving, seeing as by the real Thanksgiving, 99% of my house will be in boxes, and we may actually be moving that day, sooooooooooooooo....we sat down to a family dinner today, and it was lovely. My husband worded a beautiful prayer and we counted our blessings.

This next week is going to be more packing, more moving, more insanity. I promised Ella I would spend the better part of the day with her tomorrow, including a trip to see the new house and fried chicken for lunch.

Gabe is totally my hero throughout all of this. He got so much done before he went to work yesterday it was amazing. I came in from work yesterday afternoon to find a ton of clothes already boxed up and ready to go. 

We have an amazing church family helping us through this move. We've only been attending church there for a few months, but the people there have stepped in and helped us a ton. Pastor even stopped by today with boxes and packing materials.  We are blessed! We are blessed! We are blessed!

Meal Plan Monday and General Insanity

It has been an anxiety-inducing, no fun week. Hopefully, all my anxiety will come to an end sooner rather than later. I had a teary breakdown earlier today, telling my husband that I hate it when things are out of my control. So, I am putting my nervous energy to work, getting lots of stuff done around the house. Food this week will be simple fare, as until my anxiety subsides, I am not even finding much joy in cooking.

I went through the same thing when Dad was in treatment (praise God, he is doing great, by the way) and whenever something beyond my control is stressing me out. I am asking for prayer, again, if you can spare it. It truly is the best thing anyone can do for another person. I'm looking forward to happy Meal Plan Monday posts again :)


That said, it is World Prematurity Day, and I am so, so, so thankful for both of my girls. God used Riley to teach me to be a better person. He  is always using Ella to teach me things.

Sooooo....tentatively...here's the Meal Plan for this Week

*disclaimer* All or none of these may be changed. 

Monday: Eggs, Bacon and Toast

Tuesday: Chicken Stew because BRRRRRRRR

Wednesday: Sandwiches. Soup, if I feel up to it!

Thursday: Taco Casserole

Friday: Turkey Breast, Potatoes, and Veggies

Saturday: Turkey Noodle Soup

Sunday: Lasagna Casserole

46/52

46/52: It was cold out. We were running errands, but stopped in at the house to eat a quick bite of lunch. Socks followed suit.

46/52, Sunday: The return of the white dress. Mainly because we forgot it was even hanging in her closet.

Meal Plan Monday and some other stuff.

I've asked a lot for prayers on my Facebook. The last few weeks have been a big ole ball of stress. BUT, I think the stress is soon to come to an end (I'll fill everyone in after it has officially ended). My family and I are doing well, and I serve a Risen Savior. That's what truly matters.


Fair warning. Things may get a little crazy here in the next few weeks, but fear not, they will calm down and all will be well again.

Here is the meal plan for this week:


Monday: Chicken strips.

Tuesday: Hamburger Helper (don't you dare judge me)

Wednesday: Potato Soup

Thursday: Breakfast for Dinner

Friday: Chicken Stew

Saturday: Cheeseburger Soup

Sunday: One Pot Spaghetti


and just for fun, here are some pictures of Ella, trying to locate Poland on the globe :)

and one of two cats hiding in my pantry....

45/52

Wow. 7 more weeks! And when I started this project, I had no clue time would move this fast. But of course it does.

45/52: With her new(ish) short hair came some newfound confidence to try new hairstyles. This is not one of them ;)

45/52, Sunday: This dress came from her older cousin, Alyssa. Last week, it didn't fit. We did pin the front for the sake of modesty, but otherwise it fits!

Tidbits from this Week

Argh. This week.

Computer problems: I think they're solved now. Let's hope!

Want to know what we wore?: Here it is. Never happened on Wednesday. See the aforementioned post about the computer problems.

The Pudlo Curse: Ella has inherited The Pudlo Curse. Her hair flips in on one side and out on the other.

Homemade Nesquik: We did it! We made homemade Nesquik and it was awesome! One cup of cocoa powder, one cup of sugar and a pinch of salt!

Meal Plan Monday

Friends, I am in for a busy, tricky week. Pray for God's will, please?


We did the Halloween thing on Friday.

It got cold. And it rained. And then it snowed. Blah.

Those are icicles on the church.

Without further ado, here's the meal plan for this week

Monday: Garlic Chicken, Rice, veggies

Tuesday:  Pot Roast

Wednesday: Either planned leftovers (Roast Beef sandwiches)  or Macaroni and Cheese Casserole, or Chicken Stew. I'm undecided

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner

Friday: I'll be in Tennessee most of the day, so it's a frozen pizza kind of day!

Saturday: Taco Soup, made with chicken

Sunday: Stuffed Shells

44/52

44/52: You know you've done this with Bugles :)

44/52, Sunday. The first picture was taken Monday. It was 75 degrees, and Ella was in a tank top. Saturday morning, we woke up to 3 inches of snow. Bleeeech. Her bemused expression says it all. However, in that bemused expression, I see traces of my oldest sister Gosia. :)