Friday, January 29, 2010

Blog Giveaway Winner!

...is....CHERYL!

Thank you for reading my blog!!

Please contact me with your shipping addy and I will get your prize to you ASAP!! :)

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

These are a few of my favorite things...in my Kitchen :)

Anyone have stuff in their kitchen that they just love? That it wouldn't be THEIR kitchen unless these things were in it??
I have a few of those :)

I'll start ya off with something simple. A towel. This is no ordinary towel. It is a flour sack towel. I love love loooooove it! Why? I mean, geez...it's just a plain, ol' stained, worn out, thinning towel!?!?!?



Well, that's just it. Everything that makes it plain, makes it great!
I love that I can just throw it over my shoulder, that it is long enough to actually stay up there! LOL. I love that it is thinner, so that when I hold a big glass mixing bowl, to dry it, that it actually is easy to grip the towel over the bowl...and that it is large enough to cover the whole thing while I dry it.

My next favorite thing, was mentioned a bit in the last paragraph.
My 3 glass mixing bowls. Love them. Of course.



I actually need a couple more, I think. I mean, you can NEVER have too many mixing bowls! Maybe I will go for some colored ones. Maybe ones that come with lids...so that I may store up a fruit salad or prepare a cake mix a few hours ahead of time...you know, you should always be prepared...lol :)

Keeping up with the glass stuff...A couple months ago, I found a 6 pack of Coke IN GLASS BOTTLES at WalMart. So, I bought them. Coke tastes it's absolute best coming from a glass bottle. No if's and's or but's about it. It's just a proven fact. (according my my taste buds, anyway)
Well, I drank up the delectable liquid and maybe shared one or two, rinsed them out and now they sit on my shelf, in my kitchen...above my sink.



What is that old can doing up there, you ask? Well, when the girls were cleaning out the old milkhouse to make it into a clubhouse, they found this. It was realllllly dirty and yucky, so I washed it up. You can't tell, but it is the round, hard edged can from ... maybe the 80s. Nowadays, the cans have more rounded edges. And the opening is very small. Today's soda can has the "wide mouth" opening.
Anyway, I just thought it was a good addition to my glass bottles :)

I did tell Dave that maybe I should change my kitchen theme to Coke, but nah. I am thinking maybe just no theme. LOL. Or all things red? I love that color.

AND speaking of red...



This was one of my Christmas presents and she is oh so loved :)
My Keurig Mini Brewer is the PERFECT addition to my kitchen. Not only is my mom happy to have THE perfect cup of coffee or two when she visits, my sister, Angie, will no longer have to run to the gas station in the morning, when she visits!!! LOL
I cannot say enough about this little machine.
I have never been one to drink a full pot of coffee...not even 4 cups. It's usually a one cup day for me, unless I get ALL my housework done and just want to cozy up and relax at the end of the night...THEN it turns into a 2 cup day.
But for real. This little lady makes a mean cup of coffee. I love her and her little flavorful cups, too!

Moving on to my next favorite thing. Well, it is my 2nd to last on this post, but there are SOOO many lovable things in my kitchen...as you will see with my last one :)
But this one...WOW.
It is the newest addition...



Chili will never be the same...without her. She has helped me perfect Chili as we know it.
She also helped me out with the PERFECT pot roast!
The Pioneer Woman will be takin' up camp on my countertop from now on.
I suggest to all, if you LOVE to cook or bake or would like to learn HOW to love it...GET THIS BOOK!
**Here...I will help you out...Just comment on your favorite thing(s) in your kitchen and you will receive an entry to get this cookbook FOR FREE!!! You can also tell everyone on your FB page to come and enter AND Blog about it...BOTH will get you one more entry...each!!**

And even if you already have this, that's OK...you can just try to win and spread the joy by giving it away to someone who NEEDS it. But then again, I honestly think that EVERYONE needs this book!!
You can read up on what this book is all about here.

And now...
On to my last favorite thing that spends lots of time in my kitchen...

This little guy is MY FAVORITE Kitchen addition...lol :)



He spends LOTS of time in here...askin' for Coco (chocolate milk), Spiderman fruit snacks, chickens, cheese, corn and checkup (ketchup).
It always makes my day when I see his little smile!!

**Cookbook giveaway**
Up to 3 entries per person. You must comment and list your favorite kitchen person or thing :)
Relatives, VERY close friends and NEW friends are all invited to enter. The winner will be chosen, at random, on a piece of paper, stuck in a plastic Fireman's hat, and picked out by my last favorite Kitchen addition on Friday, January 29th, 2009 at Noon CST.

Thank you all and GOOD LUCK!!

Friday, January 22, 2010

More new Living Room stuff & Jackson's new fave toy...

Since the ceiling is officially finished, I thought we should go pick out our new light :)
The one I originally picked out, would hang off the ceiling too low, that when Dave would come into the room, he'd have to duck...lol...so that one was outta the running.

So, I settled on this one:



I guess I shouldn't say that I "settled" since I just LOVE it!
After we left Home Depot, Dave took all the stuff home with Jackson, so I could do my Walgreens shopping and check out Target.
I got home 3 hours later (YIKES!) and he had this installed!! I was so happy to see it!

He also installed our new dimmer switch for it.

And this leads me to the 2nd part of my little story...Jackson's new favorite toy...



The bottom button turns the light off, then every button on top of it turns the light on. The top one is the button that turns the lights on all the way, the 2 in between dim it a bit.
I just threw the faceplate on there, for looks...lol...we can't "install" it, yet, since the walls aren't painted. But that is my cute, semi-fancy faceplate that I picked out :)

ANYWAY--the boy has his step stool right at the bottom of the wall, where this is, so that he may push the buttons any time that he wants. It is a bit annoying at times...but I may be getting used to it, or ... just so lazy that I don't want to keep getting up and having to physically remove his finger from the buttons. He is just in love! So much that he can't keep his hands off of it! LOL :)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

New Year, New Living Room !!

Well, kinda...
Do ya' see a pattern here?
It's a new year with 2010 and so many changes goin' on for the Moeschs' !!!

We have been living with this nasty, nasty fake wood paneling for over 10 years. So we both thought it was time for a change. LOL

On Monday, Dave and I sanded down the walls and trim.
Well, OK.
Maybe it was more Dave than me...but OH. MY. GOSH.
I HATE HATE HATE sanding.

Anyway, here are the pics of the living room walls after sanding...






See that hideous, old light fixture up there? Yup. THAT will be replaced.
My curtains, too, probably... Not quite 100% on that. They are beige/tan and just not sure if they will go with my wall color. We will have to wait and see...

Today, Tuesday, was priming day. One step closer to the REAL paint!! hee hee :)
Can ya' tell I am excited????????


One stinky thing is that our living room is totally tore apart. The TV/cable box/PS3 is on our kitchen table, the couch is right smack dab in the middle of the room AND the router/modem/printer needs to be moved and put back every. single. day. Ugh...

BUT
it will be ALL WORTH IT in the end!



Even with just the primer, this room looks amazingly different!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Cookin' ALL day -- January 14th

Yup.
YOU betcha.
I HAVE been cooking all day.

Dave got home from work this morning and said..."I could go for some chili..."
So, I hopped right up and made some.
Yeah.
ODD...I sooooo know! lol
ME? Jumping up to make my husband whatever he wants??? What the??

Getting back to the 'hopped right up' part...

I did just that and got out my new best friend...


and looked up her Simple, Perfect Chili recipe.

...got all the ingredients together and VOILA!
Dave was one step closer to havin' some yummmmaaayyyyy Chili!

After simmering for an hour, I added the corn masa and it was pretty much ready for eatin'.

Now, we Wisconsin folk LOVE noodles with our chili. No idea why, but it's just gotta be that way sometimes. So, I boiled up some spaghetti noodles and served up the chili...but it wasn't complete without the chopped onions and shredded cheese. MMMMM MMMMM YUMMM!

I did want to take a pic of it for ya'll, but it was devoured sooo fast!!

An hour later, I began preparing dinner.
What was on the menu?

The Pioneer Women's ...
Perfect Pot Roast
and
Creamy Mashed Potatoes

YUUUUUUHH -- UUUUMMMMMM!!!



Now, this was THE FIRST time that I was making a roast in the oven. I usually use my trust ol' Reddy, my red crock pot. I so love her dearly and hope she's not upset with me that she couldn't help out with the roast this time...

After 3 1/2 hours of roasting in the oven and filling my house with such yummy aromas, this scrumptious roast was done!
Served with creamy mashed potatoes from my new best friend and this was THE perfect, hearty, rib-stickin' meal.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

New Year...New Me?

Yeah right, huh?
If you know me, you know that I have been struggling with my weight since Haley was born. In my lighter days, I was a comfortable 150 lb. teen.



Then, I had a kid or 3 and now...let's just say I weigh MORE than that...lol.

Now that I am in my 30s, I find it imperative that I get off my butt and do something about it. So, the Moesch family joined the YMCA. Dave and I go and workout every other day (M/W/F), while Jackson plays in their daycare...or "playroom" as he likes to call it.
I started out slow, with a 15 min. workout, but I am now upping it to 30 mins. I do fairly well on the stair stepper, stationery bike and treadmill. BUT this thing...KILLS MY KNEES!!! :(
I have NO idea why I cannot last more than 2 mins. on it! AND I always have it on 0 incline and the lowest ANYTHING that it can do. I just don't get it. I will keep trying, cuz I am thinkin' it's all this extra weight that has to be put on my knees...ugh...

Anyway--I am not going to limit my junk intake, and go at this cold turkey or hog wild, but just moderate things much better. If I have a taste for some ice cream, I am going to have some, less than what I would be USED to, but also take my time eating it. I have found that if I take my time eating things, it lets my brain catch up with my gut and then I hear my brain saying..."heyyyy...all's full down there, you can quit eating now!" LOL.
In the past, when I would try dieting, it would NEVER work. Why? Because I would TOTALLY cut out sugar. No more ice cream, no more candy, no more cookies, etc...



That is why I am trying my moderation technique this time. Yeah, the weight will be SLOW to come off, but at least I am trying and I won't wanna quit right away! :)

I am also going to try cooking more. Baking...all that good stuff. If I do THAT more, less time will be available to sit in a drive-thru :)

For the past year and a half, I have REALLY been drawn to The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. (her website is in my links on the right).
This woman DOES. IT. ALL. No kidding, either. She homeschools her 4 kiddos, cooks up some awesome chow, has phenomenal photography skills and has enough time after all that to write about it!!
The UPS truck JUST dropped off her cookbook for me and I have not let it out of my sight since I opened up the package. I have read the WHOLE thing already and I am insanely eager to run to the store and buy everything I need to make every. single. recipe in that book.

I do have to attribute my new love for cooking to her. She makes it look so simple, and it really is! You just have to want to take the time to do it. It really makes me smile when I see my family enjoying what I have cooked for them...not what I have heated up, deep fried or brought home in a white bag with a yellow M on it...lol.

And yes, even me, in my little 10x10 kitchen, can whip up some yummy things!! :)

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

WHAT is your temptation??

My lovely friend, Hope, has a super cute blog about her family and life. It's so real and down to earth, ya just gotta read it and check it out! She is a wonderful mommy to 2 little guys :)

SO, the question is...what is your temptation? What is that one weakness of yours? ...or should I say which of your 50 is the most important?? LOL!

Check out her blog for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Janie & Jack :)

Just to let ya'll know, RIGHT NOW, mine is Target and their AWESOME after Christmas sales ... that I WILL be hitting tomorrow!!!