Good Thinkin' Tiera

A couple of months ago, I bought this sofa table to put behind my sofa.  Good place to put a sofa table, yes?  As I was thinking about what I wanted on top of it, I remembered I had a couple of lamps that I had stored downstairs since our move that have been waiting for a new home.

I put them on the table and they looked fine.  However,  I had just seen some glass ones at a store that I really liked.  The thought of buying them passed through my head for about a second before I dismissed it.  "Glass lamps on a table with a house full of boys?  No way." 

My previous lamp that I had in the room had been broken from being knocked over so many times.  Plus, the dog had gotten a hold of the cord and had chewed it to bits, so it wasn't even functional.

But I really liked the glass lamps.  So, the now irrational side of my brain thought about buying them again for about 1.8 seconds until the rational side screamed "ARE YOU CRAZY?"
The rational side won.

I put the "gently used" lamps on the table and let it go.

That was a very good decision.

Last night as Chase was trying to get his paper airplane that had gotten stuck behind the table, we heard a large crash.  It wasn't just the lamps that had gotten knocked down, the entire table, lamps and all had come a tumblin' down.  And there was Chase sitting in the middle, slightly stunned at what had just happened.  He was lucky though.  Other than a healthy bruise on his arm that he insisted on putting a band-aid over, he was o.k.

The lamps?  They were just fine.  Scott stood up the table,  picked up the lamps,  straightened the shades and back they went to their original spots.  Just the light bulbs needed replacing.   I'm pretty confident the glass ones would have needed more than new light bulbs.

The Life of a 13 year old

What is your happiest memory?
Being in Hawaii with my family and winning the bet I placed on the super bowl against my uncle. He got me lots of soda. I betted that the ravens would win and I was right. (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA dalin).

Why do you like being 13?
I dunno how it feels. I've only been 13 for a couple of weeks.

One word to describe you would be? 
Freaking amazing

What advice would you give your parents?
To be nice parents and kind and go on lots of missions when they get older.

If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why?
A bear because they are strong and big and scary and intimidate things and people.

What do you like to do for fun?
Play soccer and play with friends.

Tell about a funny time in your life.
We were playing an improv game in drama at school and one guy pretended to be a dog and was a really good dog for a human and his owner was really funny also.

What is your favorite thing to do?  Why?
Play soccer or sports of stuff

What do you love most about your siblings?
That they are freaking awesome and they are really nice and they will play with you when ever you want them to.

What was the nicest thing you did for someone?
I dissected a Raw chicken drumstick for them so they didn't have too.

What do you think you will be doing in 10 years from now?
I will be in college getting my criminal intelligence degree and getting into the FBI

What is your favorite thing to do in the summer?
Play with friends and sleep in till noon.

What would be the ideal allowance?  Tell me how you would use it?
$50 a month. I would put some of it into a savings account and then spend the rest on soccer stuff and soda and beef jerkey.

What do you think makes a person good looking?
Good looking potion?

Name 2 things we should do as a family on the weekend?
We should go out to eat and play a game together and stuff like that.

What is the grosses thing you can think of?
A person eating a raw sheep heart and throwing it back up and seeing the whole thing unfold.

What song best describes your work ethnic?
Teach me how to jimmer cuz I'm like jimmer in a way.

Getting Desperate

About a month ago, I put together this lovely Valentines decoration.  I knew I wanted to put Valentine colored candy around the candles, but I knew that whatever I put down would be eaten within hours by my boys.  As I was lamenting this to Taylor he suggested I buy Good N Plenty candies.  "They are disgusting, Mom" he said.

But he was right.  I knew my boys would not touch them. And for the last month other than playing with them they have largely left them alone.  I did find one partially chewed one in the mix, that someone had spit out.  Probably from a friend who had no idea what he was eating.

Today, I noticed that one of the pieces of candy was gnawed on.  Apparently, one of my boys is so desperate for sugar he is willing to eat the candy coating off the black licorice.

America's Test Kitchen

Have you been to this website before?  They have fantastic recipes!  About a year ago I signed up for their 2 week trial period and then cancelled before they charged me the yearly fee.  I don't know about you, but it seems like I go through a fair amount of recipes before I find some that are keepers. There is a lot of mediocre stuff out there.  The few recipes that I tried here, I really liked.

A few weeks ago I signed up again and this time I don't intend to cancel.  I have not been disappointed.  Although some of the recipes have a few more steps than I'm used to it is worth it. All of the recipes that I have tried have been very good!  And the best part is that my kids love them!  I wouldn't make these everyday of the week because of the extra steps, but a few times?  You bet.

This here is Orange Chicken.  A definite keeper.

This is a list of recipes I have tried and give my stamp of approval:

+ Orange-Flavored Chicken - Winner all around.

+ Best Drop Biscuits - How can you not like something that is mostly butter? Super easy.

+ Hearty Minestrone - OK, now my kids didn't like this because there was cabbage and zucchini in it, but both Scott and I thought it was great. I will make again and the boys will have to learn to like it. Easy.
  
+ Pork Stir-Fry with Noodles - Kids and Scott loved it.  I liked it, just didn't love the taste of the sauce.  Personal preference though.

+ Chicken Pot Pie with Savory Crumble Topping  - Winner all around

+ Ultimate Banana Bread - Winner all around.  I added chocolate chips and omitted the bananas on top.

+ Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts with Lemon and Chive Pan Sauce - Need to add a bit more lemon to the sauce next time. Winner all around.

+ Baked Ziti - Winner all around. Easy.

+ Chewy Sugar Cookies - Taylor made these and did a great job.  Winner all around.

This is what is coming up on my monthly menu:

Black Bean Soup
Best French Onion Soup - I know the kids won't like it, but I will!
Chicken Piccata
Skillet Lasagna
Crunchy Baked Pork Chops
Chicken Fried Steak