Thursday, February 28, 2013

Happy 35th Birthday Darling

My darling and the love of my life turns the big 35 today! As his wife, I am so proud of this man. He works so hard and always puts us first.

He is my dream come true. I love him more each day and thankful the life he provides for us.
 
My honey with our little lastest creation!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

In the Garden...

Currently, the garden is sleeping.  But we have big, big, BIG plans for the her this Spring.  While we are in the final stages of planning, we have already ordered all the seeds and berry plants!  Can you tell I am just a little bit excited?

I have big plans and so does my hubby.  I know it is going to be a ton of work for him, but he is amazing at building and recreating my dreams.  I am one lucky girl!

So, in the next few weeks, we should be showing you a brand new raised garden.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Don't ya just love a snow day!

 
I have never met anyone who loves snow as much as my darling hubby!  He lives for cold and snowy weather.  That's why we plan on retiring to Maine when we are older.
 
Hope you are staying warm on these cold winter days.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Meal Plan Monday





 
 
 
Good Monday Morning.  I am back to giving my meal plans for the week.  My hubby always loved when I did this so he could look back at the meals that we have had to see what he wants for the upcoming week.  The past two months, I have actually planned out an entire month worth of meals and it works out rather well.  I came up with a system and for the most part, we are sticking to it!
 
Here is our menu for this week:

Monday: Simple Tuna Noodle Casserole (this one is for my hubby who loves it!)
 

Tuesday: French Onion Soup by America's Test Kitchen (I have never tasted better..worth the work)
 
Wednesday: Homemade Rotisserie Chicken with roasted carrots
 
Thursday:  Cobb Salad with homemade dressing (clean eat)
 
Friday:  Chicken Tostadas (clean eat)
 
Saturday: Baked Tilapia with brown rice (clean eat)
 
 
God Bless,
Lori







Friday, February 8, 2013

Eternal Spring Fever

I'm not sure about you, but I get Spring Fever every year around December 26.  Once the holidays are over, my mind races with thoughts of tasting my first garden tomato and the sweet smell of lavender in the air.  Yup, I've got gardening on the brain.

This year, I started early.  Actually, I started in December reading gardening books.  While most people where holiday shopping, I was spending my evening pouring over fruit, vegetable and back yard orchard books and loving every minute I might add!



Since this is the first Summer in five years that I WON'T be pregnant, my honey and I have decided that it's finally time to add on to the garden.  Right now, I think we are going to redo the entire vegetable garden so it will give us a place to walk as well much more usable space.  We plan to have four raised beds and two of them having trellises for peas and green beans.

This year, I am planning on using Mel Bartholomew's square foot gardening method.  If you haven't heard of this method, here is a little brief summary.  I love, love, love it.  I think because it is a great way to organize and keep your garden weed free!  Did I mention organize?  LOVE-LOVE-LOVE IT! 

The books above are just a few that I read.  Out of all the books, (and there were many) I did fall in love with one particular book.  One that I kept ordering over and over again at the library.  The book Landscaping with Fruit by Lee Reich is a MUST read.  Not only are the pictures G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S, he simply explains how to fill your yard with fruiting trees and bushes.  Now thanks to him, I HAVE to have some fruiting bushes, right?  So along with the extended vegetable garden, I will be adding Nanking Cherry Bushes, Alpine Strawberry Bushes, getting more blueberries and if my husband's not looking add a red currant plant or two! 

If you get one book at all this Spring, I simply request that you look into getting the book Landscaping with Fruit.  I promise, you will want to rush out and plant every type of fruit tree and bush once you have read it, I know I did.  Jason has had to talk me out of several things already! 

 

Monday, February 4, 2013

Returning to My Magnolia Cottage

Currently my magnolia tree is covered in snow and the last time I blogged it was blooming.   I know I have been away from blogging for far too long.

What we have been up to lately is organizing our home to run smoother with six people, managing our money and taking better care with what we eat and finding time to exercise.

After this last baby, I wanted to set personal goals for myself.  Besides the usual lose weight goal.  I didn't want to just jump head first into my personal goals like giving up pop, take out food and junk food and exercising daily, all at one time.  But, I did need to start some where.  If I did too much, I was destined to fail.  So my hubby and I decided to take things month by month...and they are working!

First of all, back in October, my honey got a great deal on bottled water.  So, he had 11 cases of it delivered to our door (free shipping).  That was the end of drinking pop for me.  I quickly started drinking the water in place of the pop that I was drinking.  I used to drink a TON of pop.  Like, if pop was a drug, I was addicted.  So getting off of pop was the first thing I did.  By the middle of November, the bottles were all gone and I just drank filtered tap water now.  We are now a pop and soda free house! 

Next, we decided to stop fast food.  It was so easy to run through the drive-thru to full fill my pop addiction. However most times, I wouldn't just stop for me, I had to get the kids something, right?  So, the month of January, we have put an end to the drive-thru.  Guess what, not only did I last an entire month of not going through the drive-thru, but we made our budge goals. FIRST TIME ever!  All because we stayed  away from the junk food.  I had no idea how much going through the drive- thru here and there would effect our budget!  BUT EGADS..it did!

It is amazing how that all works hand in hand.  I also feel so much better with out the pop and the junk food.  I joined the lovely website called My Fitness Pal to keep track of my exercising and food in take.  I didn't work out every day of January, but I am working towards that goal.

So, that is what is going on here at Magnolia Cottage...I like to call it, Getting my act together.

Stay Tuned,
Lori