If You Really Knew Me

I've seen this going around on a few blogs and thought I jump on the band wagon. So here goes...

"If you really knew me, you'd know..."

- I LOVE being a mom. I think it's my favorite thing I've ever done. When I was little I wanted a ton of kids but didn't want to be married or work (I was little, didn't like boys and didn't understand how kids were even made!) That changed. I went to college moved to a new city on my own and started my career. Then I married my high school sweetheart (who I continued dating throughout college) and after 4 years of marriage, decided to start our family. I'm in love with being a mom and can't imagine anything better.

photo by Ashley Ann photography

 -  Until today, I had never been stung by a wasp, bee, scorpion...anything that stings really. Stupid wasp, my arm is still sore.

- I'm a closet Jersey Shore watcher. Yes, I admit it. We recently canceled our cable and now watch it online after we've put Paisley to bed. It's trash, I know, but it's crazy entertaining.

- I hate math. I used to be really good at it in high school and college but not so much anymore. It really is one of those things that if you don't use it, you lose it.

- My favorite food is chips & salsa & queso. I could have it every day for every meal and still want it tomorrow.

- I want to live on a beach somewhere but my family keeps me in Oklahoma. I am very close to my family and want my kids to be close to their aunts, uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents so it's either we all move together or we all stay. I will live near water one day, even if it's by the lake when my kids are off to college.

Jamaica - I miss you.

- My taste in movies has changed DRAMATICALLY since I was pregnant and now a mom. I used to enjoy a good scary movie from time to time, now I find myself only wanting to watch comedies, sappy girlie movies or animated pics. Geez. Oh, and sappy commercials make me cry now. Hormones.

- I really enjoy cooking. If I had to start my career all over (at 18 and back in college, not now) I think I would have enjoyed being a chef.

- Along that note, I love good food. Eric and I plan our vacations around food. I really want Bobby Flay to stop by my house and cook me up a treat. MMM. Dream come true.

- I wear socks like they are shoes. It used to drive my mom nuts growing up because I would wear them outside and destroy my white socks. Well, mom, that hasn't changed.

- I want to be the best at everything I do. It's sad really because I end up quitting a lot of things I try when I realize I'm not any good at it. For example: gymnastics, volleyball, track...I could go on and on (and not just about sports:) ) This is something I'd like to change about myself.

- I have shot a turkey. I don't have much to add to that.

- I like working puzzles. The 1000+ piece kind. I can work on a puzzle for hours and just get lost in it. I'm a nerd.

- Gummy bears are my favorite candy. And not just any gummy bear, but Haribo Gold Bears. I ate a 3 lb. bag that Eric got me.

- I have the most talented family EVER. My dad is a grill-master extraordinaire, my mom decorates and sews, my sister is a photog-blogger-decorator, my brother-in-law sings and plays guitar, my aunt quilts, my uncle is also a grill master, my grandma quilts and my grandpa is a woodworker.

- I want to be a better wife, friend, sister, daughter, etc. and find my relationships are better when my relationship with Jesus is better.

So, if I really knew you, what would I know?

Loaded Smashed Potato Salad Recipe

This is my all time favorite potato salad recipe. It's more like a loaded baked potato salad than your traditional picnic potato salad. It's pretty easy and makes a lot. I think it tastes better the day after you make it, which is great if you like to plan ahead.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. potatoes - washed and quartered (I use either red new potatoes or those little yukon gold, which ever is on sale)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 T spicy mustard
• freshly ground pepper and sea salt to taste
• 5 slices bacon - cooked and crumbled
• 4 green onions - sliced, including green parts
• 3 eggs - hard boiled and diced

Directions:

First cover the potatoes in a large pot with 1" of water and heat to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, in a small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, spicy mustard and salt and pepper. Mix well.

Once the potatoes are done, remove from heat and drain water. Return to low heat and stir around to remove any remaining water. Remove from heat and smash the potatoes into small chunks - I use a pastry cutter.

While the potatoes are still warm, add the sour cream mixture and mix until combined. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

While the potato mixture is cooling, prepare the bacon, onions and eggs. Then add to the potato mixture and stir until combined.

Refrigerate at least another hour, but preferably overnight. Enjoy!

Sweet P's Sweet Quilts - Part 1

photo by Ashley Ann photography

I have an extremely talented family. My grandmother quilts, my mom sews, my aunt also quilts and my sister, well, she does all sorts of goodness from diy projects to photography. Therefore, my baby girl has a fabulous homemade nursery! I'm going to post different pieces throughout the nursery but today I'm starting with the quilt made by my grandma.

photo by Ashley Ann photography

 
I love this quilt! I picked out the material, a mix of Tula Pink's Plume line with a touch of the material used in the nursery. I think it's pretty amazing. Thank you so much Grandma. I imagine little P will wear this out throughout the years as I did with the first quilt you made me.

Announcing Paisley Ann

I finally finished Paisley's birth announcements! I loved the circle holiday cards from Design Aglow so I decided to design my own.



The photos are from a little photo shoot my super-talented sister did with Paisley! A good friend of mine printed the cards for me on pearl paper for an extra girly touch and the colors came from Paisley's nursery. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.

And here are a couple of pics of my girl!

Measuring her foot against daddy's hand.

 

 

The girl on a quilt her granny Sandy made her.

And her fabulous eyelashes!

Paisley has Arrived!!!

UPDATE: More pics added.

My life is forever changed. My baby girl was born on Monday, July 26. And after several days of being home and adjusting to life as a mom, I can say being a mom is the best ever.

Paisley made her arrival on her time. I had contractions off and on for a week and then Sunday morning starting having them regularly! They came in hour intervals for several hours so I started trying everything in the book to speed things along, from walking the dogs, to doing exercises and finally landed on playing Guitar Hero. The husband and I rocked it out for like 3 hours until I couldn't make it through a single song without having a contraction! The bag was packed and we were off to the hospital.

Last shot of me before we left the house

I called my parents and sister and Eric called his family. Within 30 minutes everyone was at the hospital and I was well on my way to delivering a baby for the very first time! Check out my sister's blog for a glimpse on how the day shook out for her. It's an amazing post.

Here are some more pics she got that day:

Eric's grandma and aunt and my mom entertaining themselves in the waiting room!

Like I said, Paisley took her own time making her debut so my dad took a minute to rest his eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank goodness for epidurals!
 

 One of my favorite pics from the day!

My new family!

Salmon Burgers from the Tasty Kitchen

photo from Tasty Kitchen

If you live in Oklahoma, chances are, you've heard of The Pioneer Woman. Although I've never read her cookbook, I hear it's amazing. I know tons of people that are HUGE fans and highly recommend the book. I'll have to check it out one of these days.

This recipe is not a "Pioneer Woman" recipe, it's a Tasty Kitchen recipe. Ree, aka the Pioneer Woman, has created a website (Tasty Kitchen) where people can find, share and cook their favorite recipes. I love this site because it's really easy to find great recipes and most all have photos - which is kind of a must for me when trying something new. If it doesn't look good, I don't want really want to try it.

When it comes to dinner at my house I usually decide on a meat to cook. I like making and trying news things so I'll do a quick search on Martha Stewart Food and then head over to Tasty Kitchen to see what I can find. Last night was salmon night and I found this recipe for salmon burgers with greek yogurt and dill. It was fast, easy and most importantly, delicious!!

Blackened (Cat) Fish Tacos

Before I can share the recipe, I think I have to explain a little on how we acquired the fish.

The husband went fishing noodling (the most primitive form of fishing known to man.) For those of you that have never heard of noodling, it's basically fishing with your hand. People usually do this type of fishing in the lake or rivers. The "fisherman" swims around the banks looking for holes that catfish may live in. When he finds a catfish in a hole he tries to get the fish to bite his hand so he can pull the fish out of the hole. Sounds fun right!? Don't worry, I think it's stupid too. Anyway, once the fish opens it's mouth to bite, the "fisherman" sticks his hand in its mouth and tries to get his fingers out through the gills so he can stick his other hand in the hole and grab his fingers - making a lock of sorts. Then, out comes the catfish.

So, that's how we got the meat used to make Blackened Catfish Tacos!

I made some firecracker slaw and salsa fresca for the topping.

Firecracker Slaw:

 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head red cabbage - thinly sliced
• 1/2 cabbage - thinly sliced
• 1/2 dill pickle spear - seeds removed and finley diced, plus a T of pickle liquid
• 1 T malt vinegar
• 1/4 C chipotle mayo
• 1 t sugar
• 1 t celery seed
• fresh lemon juice and sea salt to taste

Slice the cabbages and put in a small bowl.

Mix the remaining ingredients together and then pour on the cabbage. Stir until coated and refrigerate.

Salsa Fresca

Ingredients:

• 1 tomato - diced
• 1 small onion - diced
• 1/2 bell pepper - diced
• 1 jalapeno - diced
• 1/2 bunch cilantro - diced
• fresh lemon juice to taste

Simply dice all the ingredients, mix in a small bowl and toss with a little lemon juice.

Blackened Catfish Tacos
Rinse meat and pat dry. Season the meat with freshly ground black pepper, Essence of Emeril and red pepper.

Heat peanut oil in a cast iron skillet until very hot, about 10 minutes. Place seasoned filets in hot oil and cook 3-5 minutes on each side. Remove from oil and set on paper towel to drain grease.

Heat a flour tortilla, put a little chipotle mayo on it, top with several blackened catfish filets, then top with firecracker slaw and salsa fresca.I think cheese makes everything better, so I added a little shredded cheese to mine.

ENJOY! Now all you have to do is noodle a catfish!

And since we're on the subject of noodling...here's a little fun fact for you. The 11th Annual Okie Noodling Tournament is THIS weekend in Pauls Valley!

So here are a couple of sites for your noodling enjoyment:
www.okienoodling.com
www.paulsvalley.com/noodling

Ways to Eat Strawberries

1. Strawberry Pancakes



I chopped up fresh strawberries and added them to the pancake batter before cooking and then topped them with sliced strawberries and homemade whipped cream! Deliciousness.

2. Wilted Lettuce Salad with Sliced Strawberries



I topped fresh greens picked from the garden with sliced radishes, sliced onions, crumbled bacon and sliced strawberries before wilting the lettuce. This is a summer must.

3. With Dry Cereal



I love eating Cheerios dry - I actually like it better than with milk. So it seems only fitting to add fresh picked strawberries from the garden along side it!

4. Fresh Picked from the Garden





Just rinse and eat. Tough to beat.

5. In a spring salad



6. And, one of my favorites, Strawberry Shortcake with homemade whipped cream!

Good on pound cake:


Even good on lady fingers:


But they're great on homemade angel food cake!


And now I think I'll go grad some strawberries I stored away in the freezer