Robin's Nest

We have been watching this bird's nest for the last few weeks. We noticed yesterday that the dad was showing up with worms so we knew the eggs had hatched. We got lucky and saw him hand off a worm to the mama and then saw her feed the babies. If you look close in the bigger picture you can see the little beak by her end where the white feathers are. We can't wait till she takes them out.

Memorial Day

We went over to my parents for dinner tonight. My dad cooked steaks on the grill and I made twice baked potatos and spicey corn relish. My mom made a strawberry cake but Will decided he just wanted whipped cream. We stayed and watched the first period of the Hawks game then headed home to watch the rest. I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Thanks a Latte Card

I got this card done last night. I am going to have Will write a message for his teacher in and give it to her tommorrow on his last day. We got her a Barnes & Noble card to put in it too.

I used a 5.5 x 5.5 white card then glued a 5.25x5.25 piece of green card stock on the front. I then punched out 4 2" circles out of the polka dot paper which is from October Afternoon's Road Trip collecion. I then stamped the images on white cardstock and colored them in with copics and then punched them out with the 2" punch. Using the polka dot paper as a guide I then glued down the images and then used foam squares to apply the top sheet. The stamps are Fiskars that I happened to find at JoAnns on clearance. I learned how to do the card here: http://prairiepaperandink.typepad.com/amyr/2008/06/a-muse-a-palooz.html?cid=118558264

and I lifted the card from here: http://stilwater.typepad.com/stilwaters_uncensored/amuseapalooza/

Nothing too exciting today. We went and got another hanging basket for the front porch and some Gerbera daisy's to put in a pot out front. I also got a planter to put a tomato plant in upside down and then a pepper plant and some flowers on top. The robins that built a nest by our gutter down spout have had their eggs hatch finally. We spotted them feeding the babies today but still can't see the babies. Terry had to work all day so Will and I got the grill ready and he got home in time to cook the burgers.

Work and Fun

This morning Terry cleaned out the gutter on the house and garage. While he did that I cleaned out my bookshelves and got almost 100 books together to give away. Afterwards we decided to go see Shrek Forever After and Will invited his friend to go too. It was a cute movie and we all had fun.

Afterwards we came home and Will and Terry played some wiffleball and then made dinner. We grilled out some pork steaks that were marinated in soy sauce, ginger and honey. I also made a broccoli salad (recipe below) and sauteed asparagus with green onions and garlic. I also made chocolate shortcakes to make strawberry shortcakes for dessert. After dinner we watched the Blackhawks beat the Flyers in game 1.

Crunchy Broccoli Salad

4 cups Broccoli, cut up

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1.5 cups red grapes, halved

12 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup mayo

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

Mix together broccoli and grapes. Blend mayo, sugar and vinegar together, then pour over broccoli and grapes. Before serving stir in sunflower seeds and bacon.

Finally a 3 day weekend!

Not too bad of a day. Took Will for his last full day of school then worked till 2 when I picked him up. Work has been slow but I had a lot of customers to call so I got all that done and I decorated a cake for a friend. After school Will and I went and got hair cuts and I got mine colored. We went and ran some errands and then came home. Terry was working on the yard so he and Will finished that while I worked on dinner. We had Spicy Bloody Mary Burgers, corn on the cob and salad. I am just vegging out for the rest of the night. Not sure what is planned for tomorrow. Here is the recipe for the burgers:


Burgers
2 lbs. ground sirloin
2 TBS prepared horseradish
1 1/2 tsp. Celery salt
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. hot sauce
1 TBS black pepper

form into patties

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the patties and place them on grill or into a hot skillet. Cook 5-6 minutes per side or until cooked through.

Celery-Tomato Topping

2 Celery Ribs (finely chopped)
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
4 springs fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
3 TBS Mayonnaise
~ Use the back of a fork to smash up the tomatoes while mixing them into the sauce.

Toast English Muffins.

Remove the burgers to the bottoms of the toasted English Muffins, add some celery-tomato topping, cover with muffin top and enjoy!!!!

Bowling night

We also went bowling tonight. Another hotel that is owned by Terry's company had a special fundraiser for Big Brother/Big Sister. We got to get our shoes and unlimited bowling from 6-8 for $5 a person. They ended up raising $125 and we all had fun. None of us did very good on our team but all together we had a perfect game! LOL

Thursday=Farmer's Market!

I love Thursdays! I know some people don't like to grocery shop but I don't mind it. I especially like it when Shop and Save offers $10 off $50 on Thursdays. I enjoy knowing I'm getting $10 worth of free groceries. LOL I also love Thursday because of Farmers Market. It starts in May and goes through October. Right now they have lots of spring veggies and fruits. We went last night and got 2 quarts of strawberries (which are delish!), salad mix, onions, and cherries. We also got some pastas and sauce that are made in central IL and some bruschetta and a triple chocolate gooey butter cake. We also got our favorite caramel kettle corn and Chicago mix kettle corn and a bird feeder. I like this farmers market because all of the fruits and veggies have to be from Illinois and most are from right around here so I am supporting local agriculture and reducing my carbon footprint. I hope everyone else had a good Thursday.

Wow what a fun and exciting weekend! We left for camping Friday afternoon and came back this afternoon. We cooked out on the fire, went paddle boating and canoeing, and spent a lot of fun family time together. We listened to the Blackhawks win Friday night and watched them clinch the spot in the Stanley Cup Finals! Booyah!

We went to the campground Friday afternoon and got the tent and rv all set up. We got a fire started since it wasn't too warm out. We had cheeseburgers and salad for dinner. They had an ice cream social at the clubhouse so we had that for dessert while listening to the Hawks game on the satellite radio. I got a root beer float and it was yummy! We also made popcorn over the fire. Saturday we had breakfast at the clubhouse then Terry and Will played pool and went canoeing. My mom and I took a walk around the ponds and then went back to relax for a while. Later we made brats with beer and sauerkraut over the fire for lunch. My mom and Will and Terry and I all went out in the paddle boats for a while and played the bean bag game and ladderball. For dinner we made BBQ pork chops and sweet and sour green beans in the dutch ovens and it was really good. We had smores and popcorn for dessert. Today we got up and had breakfast at the clubhouse and then packed up to go home. We came home and unpacked the car and watched the Hawks win again to sweep the Sharks and advance to the finals. We just had chili dogs for dinner and are watching the Lost finale.