Favorite Little Princess

I survived two weeks of running 4.5 miles. This weekend I will move up to five miles and be half-way to my ten mile goal. I'm getting into new territory now. In the past, I stopped running during the summer because of the heat. However, it's too hard for me to start back up so I am going to have to find a way to deal with it. I now carry a small bottle of water with me which I sip on during my walk breaks. It helps, but I'm finding that toward the end of my run I am really drained. My guess is that I'm running out of fuel and will need to start planning for that as my miles increase. I'm sure I'm sabotaging myself by not controlling my pace better. The walk breaks make me feel like I can run faster, so I do. However, by the end of my run I'm starting to have a hard time breathing. Some of this is from my asthma and some is due to the hot, muggy weather. All this extra running is making me hungry all the time, so I've really had to watch what I eat.

Too much of anything can really decrease your desire for it. This is the case in our home with Snow Crab Legs. We all used to love them. That is, until we had that meal so much we no longer wanted it. Well, all of us except my hubby. It used to be a treat when we would go out for seafood, but once we started making it ourselves, when it came on sale, it became a regular meal. Who would have ever thought that it would be on sale so often? Rather than deny my hubby his treat (why he hasn't grown sick of it I'll never know) we end up making two meals. Not my idea of fun, but neither is eating something I don't want. This particular night I did not plan on the additional meal so it was time to play MacGyver and see what I could make from what I had on hand. A big round of applause for the person who first said "necessity is the mother of invention". I grabbed a can of Cream of Potato condensed soup, frozen chicken breasts, a bag of frozen mixed vege

Ten teenagers. Yep. Count them...it's true. Actually, they were all really good. This was one trip I really enjoyed chaperoning. They are freshmen at Strawberry Crest High School, IB (International Baccalaureate).  It was refreshing to see a group of students interested in an art museum. I, of course, had no idea that the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, FL was an art museum. I thought it was a circus museum. Well, it's that, too. What I did not know was that John Ringling was an avid art collector.  The property also boasts a large collection of circus memorabilia. We even missed a whole building of more circus history, but now we have an excuse to go back. This was only one of the cars. I'm jealous of the people who lived during that time. It must have been quite a site to see the circus come to town. The detail and colors on these are just amazing. The costumes were incredible. The amount of work that went into these was nothing short of impressive and each o

Would you just look at this little cutie? Please note that this pattern has not been tested by anyone, so if you want to try it out I would love to hear back from you. MATERIALS: Size ‘G’ hook 4-ply worsted weight yarn in black.  I used some leftover Red Heart Super Saver – approximately 1 ounce. For the beak and eyes, I had some leftover white, gray, and yellow yarn. Red craft felt – small amount . Fiberfill stuffing – small amount Sewing needle and thread GAUGE: Exact gauge is not essential to this project. STITCH EXPLANATION: sc2tog (sc decrease) Insert hook into st and draw up a loop. Insert hook into next st and draw up a loop. Yarn over, draw through all 3 loops on hook – 1 st decreased. NOTES: Work in continuous rnds; do not join or turn unless otherwise instructed. Body Make Magic Circle Rnd 1:  Make magic circle and work 6 sc; place a marker to indicate beg of round; move marker up as each round is completed. Rnd 2:  Work 2 sc in each

Happy Birthday, Dad... We've had a lot of good times together traveling to new places... Helen, Georgia Railroad Museum Bok Tower Gardens  and eating new foods. We dressed you up... and took you out. You've been a good sport over the years.     And all the pictures in the world could not replace the memories we have made. I treasure each moment.     May you have many more birthdays to share with us and watch your grandchildren grow. Happy Birthday from your Favorite Little Princess.

Pinterest may be the new cause of obesity in Americans.  You heard it here first!  But seriously, this dish is not for the lactose intolerant or cheese hater. It is rich, cream, and pure comfort. Actually, if you were to add some marinara to it, you would swear it was lasagna. In fact, I may try that next time. All the flavor without the messy layering. It would be perfect with the garlic knots I made before. This only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and then 30 minutes to cook.  Super simple. Three-Cheese Pasta Bake pinned   from Southern Living ingredients 1(16-ounce) package ziti 2(10-ounce) containers refrigerated Alfredo sauce 1(8-ounce) container sour cream 1(15-ounce) container ricotta cheese 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/4cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4cup chopped fresh parsley 1 1/2cups mozzarella cheese directions Prepare ziti according to package directions; drain and return to pot. Stir together Alfredo sauce and sour cre

One of the first tasks I took on before deciding to re-organize the whole house was to tackle the linen closet. This has got to be the one area that takes the biggest beating, mostly because I think it is easy to close the door.   Out of sight, out of mind. That is, until I open that door. I actually had not been in there for awhile because my hubby had taken on the chore of doing the laundry and putting the sheets and towels away.   Yes, dear. I'm calling you out. Don't say I didn't warn you. K2 has been begging for more chores so that she can buy something and I was happy to give them to her. The towels had just finished drying and I was eager to hand them over. She did an excellent job. Then I went to put these towels away... and there was no room to put anything! At one point, it was very neat and tidy. With this small of a space there is no room for unruliness. But it was late last night and no time to start over. Baby steps, people! I did remove the mess tha

With the last weekend of the Flower and Garden Fest at EPCOT, we decided to make a quick trip to Orlando to see the flowers one last time and bid farewell to the Snow White ride at Magic Kingdom. The Socerer's Apprentice greeted us at the front entrance.  K2 will jump at any chance to be in the picture. Even if it means being nice to her sister. The fairy garden keeps getting better each year. Tinkerbell holds a special place in our family, so this is a must see. Bambi was hiding out in the butterfly house with his friends. And then it was time to ride Snow White for the last time. I remember riding this ride when I was really little and I have taken my girls on it since they were born. Disney is removing it, but they are replacing it with an updated Snow White Mine Ride. I'm sure it will be great and we will love it, but the original will be missed. So long, sweet princess. This is how K2 feels about the ride closing. See, even her buddies at t