document life now

Welcome to summer! (with a small freebie)

No matter what the calendar says, we all know today starts summer. No more teaching, no more school. Just me and the kids hanging out by the pool. (Oh, I guess Dan still has to work. Oopsie.)

Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads up that somewhere in the next two months, we're off on our big trip to Florida. You should not see a difference in this blog because I tend to write content ahead and you'll have posts as usual. Also continuing as usual will be my biweely freebie posts. I have some really fun things coming this summer that I think you'll love.

I'll still be updating here most days, so let's have a fun summer together! Here's to a summer filled with Pinterest recipes and crafts, long days and cold water, and magic. Most of all, magic.

Download this journal card here:  View this photo

Another project: Touring Cards

I'm a little over. the. top. about our Disney vacation. 

The last two weekends, Kiah and I have curled up on my bed with a bunch of printouts from Disney websites and spent time going through them to create the best plan for our family. By plan... I mean plan. We are sitting there deciding the order in which we will visit the attractions in the park.

I firmly believe the secret to having a successful Disney vacation -- and not waiting in line forever -- is to have a plan. This plan should utilize Fastpass to its fullest, put rides that get long lines first at the beginning of the day, and generally give us a purpose while we're in the parks. 

We will not be one of those families walking around, looking at a map, wondering where we should go next. 

So we made up a plan for each park we'll visit (8 in all) and I scribbled them on the back of scrap paper.

Because I like to have something to do on the weekends, I decided to digitally create index cards with our plans on them. I used some cards from Project Life to do this on Saturday morning, and I had fun choosing the cards and fonts and just playing with them.

I do a lot of things digitally that I never print, but since I decided to use Project Life for our Disney album, I bought some supplies to do some basic printing at home. I opened up Photoshop, put 2 cards on each 8.5x11 canvas, put some gorgeous white cardstock in my printer (orange peel texture from Bazzill) and hit print.

Then I got out my trimmer and trimmed them up. Watched Air Force One while trimming. Showed them to Dan. Found a ring to bind them.

Dan said, "What if they get wet?"

Yeah, what about that? It rains in Florida in the summer. Almost every day.

I'd dropped Kiah off at driver's ed early in the morning and we still had to pick her up and get some lunch. I used to work in the area and I seemed to remember that there was a Kinkos next to the sandwich shop in the area. 

I was wrong. It was a UPS store... but it was still there. And they did laminating.

Yes, I have lost my ever lovin' mind when it comes to planning this trip. Lamination sent me right over the edge.

Came home -- after lunch and a trip to a huge grocery store that was really fun -- and cut the lamination. (Side note: There's something calming about cutting lamination. Maybe it's because it's a mindless activity at work, but I really enjoy it.)

 

Punched a hole in those puppies. Put a red ring in it. Final result? Some really pretty touring cards. They make my little OCD heart happy.

meatballs two ways: #2 Vegetarian Meatballs

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelopes Lipton Onion Soup Mix

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup dry Italian breadcrumbs

Dump ingredients in a bowl.

Mix it all together and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll into balls. I again placed on a foil lined cookie sheet.

Bake in 400 degree oven until brown. About 20 minutes. 

At this point, I put them in the fridge overnight. We've also frozen them at this point.

When you're ready to serve, put in a crock pot. Pour a bottle of barbecue sauce over the top. Cook on low for several hours. Maybe high. They're dense and it takes longer for them to get hot.

[P.S. I forgot to take photos of the finished products. Sorry!]

These "meat"balls taste amazingly like real meatballs. Brady loves them and they are a staple in his diet. We often make up a batch and put them in the freezer so he can defrost a few when needed. They're great when you have a vegetarian in the family and need to feed a crowd. Even the non-vegetarians will give these a try!

 

 

meatballs two ways: #1 Barbecue Meatballs

1 1/2 lbs ground beef 

1 large eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/3 cup breadcrumbs 

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 -2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/3 cup milk ( can use up to 1/2 cup milk)

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley ( or 2 tablespoons dried parsley)

Dump it all in a bowl.

Goosh it all up. You're gonna get your hands dirty. It helps to leave the water running on warm. Your hands will get cold and it's easier to work the meat if your hands are wet. 

When it is very well mixed, roll into same size balls. I use a cookie scoop. I put them on a foil lined cookie sheet (and sprayed the foil with non stick spray).

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or so.

I drained these, then put the in a container in the fridge overnight. They could also be frozen at this point. On the day you want to serve (or could be the same day if you're doing this in the morning), put in a crockpot. Pour a bottle of barbecue sauce over the top. Cook on low for a couple of hours.

They're amazing. The hit of sharp cheddar. The spices. Delicious. 

And seriously feeds a crowd.

anatomy of a graduation party

I wanted to have it catered (or at least a big sub sandwich). Dan said, "You're a great cook. Why don't you just make something."

Flattery does, apparently, get you everything.

7 dozen meatballs, another 3 dozen vegetarian meatballs. Deviled eggs. Chips, dips, veggie trays, fruit trays, pickle trays.

This water really is amazing. Slice up a lemon, lime and orange. Put them in the water with some ice. Gotta get it really, really cold. And let it soak for a bit. 

So refreshing. I will be drinking it all summer long.

This is how we do it. In my family. The premade veggie tray and fruit tray from Wal-mart. And then the pickle tray. We've got green olives. Klassen dill pickles. Gherkin sweet pickles. Famous Dave's sweet & spicy pickle spears. And some pickled zucchini that no one will eat. We threw it out after this.

I did not bake the cookies. I am not completely crazy. These are from the best cookie bakery in Kansas. There were enough leftovers to get me through the crazy that is the girls' finals week. Seriously delicious.

Cheap partyware from Dollar Tree. Probably should have gone for sturdier plates. There may have been a meatball mishap.

Brady putting away leftovers. I love leftovers and we don't often have them. It was a nice week. 

And that, people, is how you do a party. 

Or at least how I do it. 

Friday freebie: interview journalers 2

My freebie philosophy: You can use these journalers in your Project Life pages or use them to jumpstart your journaling on a regular digital page. Mostly, I want to help you get memories from whatever trips and adventures your family may have into an album.

This week's freebie is another set of interview questions. They are meant to spark your journaling, or have you use them with someone else to get their point of view onto your page. 

You can download by clicking on the preview or by clicking here.

 

opening a new door

I'm now the mom of a college student.

I wasn't sad that my son was graduating from college. Sure I remember his first days of kindergarten. I remember lots from his years growing up. I'm a little nostalgic when I think about that little boy.

But what I know now is that my boy is getting to choose what he wants to do with his life. His entire adulthood is ahead of him. He can forge his own path. 

I'm excited for Brady. He's been so ready for this. 

It will be strange to say, "I have 3 children. One in junior high, one in high school and one in college."

Let's be honest. I'm not nearly old enough to be a mother of a college student.

Yet there it is. 

Now if I can just manage to survive the girls' high school years and get them off to college as effortlessly as we did Brady....

the graduate +

graduate + his Aunt Kathy (my sister)

graduate + proud mom

graduate + proud mom + beaming dad

graduate + grandparents

graduate + grammy

so he graduated...

Or at least he walked across the stage...

Sorry for the blur. I was sitting very far away.

And then I started laughing. This is why:

He had to pose for this photo after walking across the stage. His cap fell off. He broke his flower trying to pick it up. He couldn't get it to stay on his head. He held up the line of seniors waiting their turn for a portrait.

I'm not buying the actual photo. It's $35 for a digital download. So I'll have to make do with this.

There was a lot of talking. A couple of songs. It was long. 

And then...

It was over. My boy. No longer in high school. Ready for college.

Time for a new life to begin.

pleasantly exhausted

This weekend was two days of cooking, eating, laughing, watching my son graduate from high school. 

It's Sunday night and I'm getting a visual migraine. All the weight of the weekend is sitting on my shoulder and I am exhausted. I need to crawl in bed, surf Facebook, finish my Nora Roberts novel. I need "me time." 

I had great fun with the "us" time this weekend. Here's a quick one to share:

and I really like this one of my mom & Brady: