Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July! We're excited about today. It's one of Paul and I's favorite holidays. We're actually getting ready to grill. Or I should say, Paul is getting ready to grill. :)

My parents came down too. And tonight we're going to go see the Electrical Parade. So much fun! It reminds me of when we were in college. We would go every year. That's part of the fun of living in a small town.

But you can never forget the people that make it possible. The men and women who are out there fighting for our lives, our freedoms, and our safety. To you, I say Thank You! It means the world to me to be an American. ♥E

Sunday Stealing: Pearls

Happy 4th of July everyone! We're having a nice day. Just relaxing ans enjoying the holiday. I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July. Here is my Sunday Stealing. ♥E



23. Are your days fast-paced? It depends on the day. But usually they are.

24. What did you do last night? We enjoyed the rainy night. :)

25. Do you use sarcasm? No

26. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 30...I can't believe it!

27. Are you picky about spelling and grammar? Only when it has to do with work stuff.

28. Do you get along better with the same sex or the opposite sex? The same sex.

29. Do you watch the news? Every day.

30. How did you get one of your scars? Climbing a fence when I was younger.

31. Who was the last person to make you mad? A cashier at Wal-Mart. So rude!

32. What is the last big thing you purchased? We just bought a patio set.

33. Who would you want to be tied to for 24 hours? My husband.

34. What is a rumour someone has spread about you? I don't know.

35. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator? Try to stay calm.

36. T or F: All’s fair in love and war? True

37. Do you know how to use some words correctly, but not know the meaning? Yes, I'm a little ashamed to admit that.

38. Do you know which US states don’t use Daylight Savings Time? I think it's just AZ.

39. Do you want a bright yellow ‘06 mustang? No

40. What’s something you’ve always wanted? A set of pearls. The entire set. What a dream!

41. Would you rather swim in the ocean or a lake? In a lake.

42. Do you wear a lot of black? I used to when I worked. But "Career Clothes" are so boring.

43. Describe your hair: It's long and brown.

44. Where is/are your best friend(s)? Paul, Lola, and Vi.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Ours? Not so well. This heat is killing us. And our plants. We decided to plant entire seed packages. Paul already thought that most plants wouldn't make it through the summer heat. But I don't think either of us realized how badly our garden would be doing by now.

We lived here when we went to college. But at the time, we were your typical "poor college students." And we lived in an apartment. The only thing we grew were tomatoes. Because you could grow them in pots. And we tried strawberries once. It didn't go well.



But when we moved to Florida, we got spoiled. We had a lush, beautiful garden! 90% of the veggies we ate, came from our garden. And we really got used to that. But here, the desert heat isn't so kind. And everything is dying! We try watering. Paul even put up a canopy over our garden. But I'm guessing 110 degree weather isn't so great for a garden.

We're hoping some stuff survives. Are you growing a garden this year? How is it going? I hope a lot better than ours. ♥E

Grilled Portobello Sandwich

This is what I made myself for lunch today. Not the one in the picture. I got that from All Recipes, where I found this recipe. I seen it a few days ago. And I knew that I just had to make it. I know that Paul wouldn't be too over the moon about it. So I waited until he was working. And that was lunch. It was delicious! And gigantic. I can't believe it.

I made the entire recipe. And figured I could have lunch for a few days. I ate 1/8 of the total recipe for lunch. And it was really good. But it was a lot of food. Just keep that in mind. Happy Friday! ♥E



Ingredients

1 red bell pepper
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
4 portobello mushroom caps, cleaned
4 slices onion
4 Kaiser rolls, split
4 teaspoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon roasted garlic, mashed into a paste (optional)
4 ounces buffalo mozzarella, thinly sliced
4 slices tomato
16 fresh basil leaves, divided


Directions

1.Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.

2.Place the red bell pepper onto the preheated grill, and grill until the skin is completely charred on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes. Place the pepper into a plastic bag, seal the bag, and let the pepper cool. When cooled, remove the charred skin, slice the pepper into quarters, and remove the seeds. Thinly slice the pepper and set aside.

3.Mix salt and pepper into the olive oil in a small bowl. Brush the smooth side of the mushrooms with the seasoned oil, and grill, oiled side down, until the mushrooms show grill marks, about 3 minutes. Brush the gill sides of the mushrooms with more seasoned olive oil, flip the mushrooms, and grill until the mushrooms are softened and juicy, about 3 more minutes. Set the mushrooms aside and keep warm.

4.Lightly grill the slices of onion until softened and lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Spread the rolls out onto the grill to toast, about 1 minute. Mix the mayonnaise and roasted garlic in a bowl.
5.Spread each roll with garlic mayonnaise, and make each sandwich with 1 mushroom cap, 1 ounce sliced mozzarella cheese, 1 slice of tomato, 4 basil leaves, 1 slice of grilled onion, and 1/4 the roasted red pepper slices. Repeat for remaining sandwiches.

Pretty Little Liars

Lola kept talking about this new show. And because we have similar tastes, I decided to check it out. I really like this show. I know that probably sounds nuts. It's probably targeted at pre-teens. But it's cute. And I like to see what the girls are going to be wearing. Their styles are all unique. But they wear some nice pieces. There you go, a new favorite of mine. ♥E

I Might Be Crazy...

Today I went looking for a baby shower gift for my friend Sandy. She's expecting her 1st baby, a girl, in July. And I found this, and bought it. Not for Sandy. But for me...

An up close view of "Love Bird."

And the entire set.

And before anyone asks, no we're not expecting. We're not even trying to get pregnant. Mom, please don't get all excited. I'm not sure what came over me. But I spent $250 on this cute set. Because I liked it. And with my luck, when Paul and I do decide to try for a baby, we'll probably just have boys.

The only thing that makes me feel real good is, I got a super good deal. Because there was a great baby sale going on. But now what? I guess I'm going to have to store it away until we decide to grow our family. But isn't it adorable? ♥E

Mother's Cucumber Salad

After Lola's suggestions, I finally decided to check out Gooseberry Patch's weekly free recipes. They have great recipes. A new free one every week. And here is the one for this week. It sounds good. And I'm definitely going to try it out. ♥E



Mother's Cucumber Salad

3 to 4 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
3 T. salt
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. onion powder
1/4 t. celery seed
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 c. cider vinegar
optional: 1/2 c. sliced red onion

Place cucumbers in a large bowl; add salt and enough water to cover. Cover and shake to mix salt. Refrigerate several hours to overnight. Drain cucumbers, but do not rinse; return to bowl. Stir together sugar, onion powder, celery seed, pepper and vinegar; mix well. Pour vinegar mixture over top of cucumbers. Add onion, if desired. Cover and shake gently to mix. Serves 6.

Bones

Do you ever watch Bones? Like I mentioned here, we didn't watch a lot of TV for a long time. Many years actually. So I'm not up-to-date with a lot of popular shows. But I'm slowly catching up.



I couldn't sleep on Saturday night. It was a bit annoying actually. I was awake all night. And well into Sunday morning. Instead of waking up Paul, I headed downstairs and watched some TV. One of the shows was Bones. And it is really a good show!

I checked out the TV schedule, and I will definitely be watching more episodes. Just not at 4AM on Sunday mornings. :) I'm also going to keep my eyes open for the Bones DVDs when they go on sale. I really like this new show. ♥E

Best Lemonade Ever

We're really enjoying the time at home. It's not really a vacation from work for Paul. But more of a "regular" work schedule for Paul. He's working from Monday-Friday. And we're not traveling. We also have the weekends off.

Therefore, I've decided to focus a lot more on being a "Happy Homemaker." :) Starting with jazzing up what we're eating and drinking. Paul has been enjoying the last few weeks. New recipes. And I found this yummy one on All Recipes.



It's really yummy. And if I hadn't decided to juice all the lemons, I might make this way too often. But it was a bit of work. Either way, it was delicious! But I'm thinking this good be a nice treat a couple of times a week. ♥E



Ingredients

1 3/4 cups white sugar
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups lemon juice


Directions

1.In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.

2.Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water.

Much Love Illy Giveaway

Look at all these bright colors! They remind me of living in FL. And of summertime! Much Love Illy is offering a headband, hair pin, and a ring in a giveaway at Cakies!

First, I think you should go look at Much Love Illy. There are so many amazing items there! Jewelry and hair accessories. The go look at Cakies. Talk about talent! And Ruby has the cutest 3 daughters ever! Oh, and her husband, his an RD like me. :)

Then enter this giveaway! But you must hurry! The winner is going to be drawn in about an hour! So hurry and look around. And don't forget to enter to win this amazing prize! ♥E