Perfect Picnic

So today I took Ella to the playground/park across the street. It has been a beautiful day and the temperature stayed mid 60's-ish all day. My child loves and I repeat, LOVES to swing. I think I pushed her for an hour. Maybe more. Then we came back home and a packed up a blanket and some lunch and we went back across the street and relaxed under the trees. What a lovely day. We finally received Igor in the mail today. Hopefully we'll have enough time to watch it before its time for Greys Anatomy (mommy guilty pleasure) or the parade. Something is gonna have to give. I said it in an earlier post. there just arent enough hours in the day during Mardi Gras season. oh well, laissez le bon temps roule.

getting back on the horse

Now that we have finally finished moving in and unpacking, Ive decided to pull out my sewing machine again. It feels like a stranger now. A few projects i will be working on will be: a coffee cozy via: A House on Hill Roads Blog and another one of these for my mother (she loves mine): A trash holder for your car via: Allyson Hill well...time to get to work!

New Dog Blog!

Hello guys! Just a quick note to say that Ive started a new (almost) daily blog about our crazy life with two crazy dogs! its called "My Life as a Pack Leader" go check it out!

dog gone it

so for the past week or so, i have become obsessed with homemade dog treats. its SO much cheaper then spending 25 bucks at petsmart every week. i figured id put a recipe up for some really simple ones to learn on.

bacon doggie treats

I N G R E D I E N T S

Yield: 40 dog biscuits

5 cups Whole wheat flour 1 cup Milk 2 Eggs 10 tablespoon Vegetable oil or bacon fat 1 pinch Onion or garlic powder 1 teaspoon Salt 1/2 cup Cold water 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil to grease pan

I N S T R U C T I O N S

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Mix all ingredients well. Pinch off pieces of the dough and roll them into two-inch balls. Bake biscuits at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Let them cool, then store in an airtight container.

PB Yummies

Yield: About 30, 3inch treats

I N G R E D I E N T S

1 1/2 cups water 1/2 cups safflower oil 2 medium eggs 3 tablespoons peanut butter (sugar free if possible)* 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/4 cups unbleached white flour 1/2 cups cornmeal 1/2 cups rolled oats Additional flour for rolling

I N S T R U C T I O N S

Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix water, oil, eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla with a wire whisk. Add flours, cornmeal, and oats. Combine with a mixer. Take one-third of the dough and place on a floured surface. Flour top of dough. Gently knead, adding more flour as necessary to form a pliable dough (This will require a substantial amount of flour). Roll out to 1/2 - 3/4 inch thickness and cut shapes using cookie cutters. Repeat until all dough is used. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 400 F, 20-25 minutes, depending on thickness of biscuits . Leave in oven 20 minutes after turning oven off to crisp. Store in an airtight container.

not much has been happening at the Humble house. we skipped watching the superbowl for a nice family walk by the lake. It rained today, finally. i was beginning to worry as we have not had any rain in about two weeks. (thats a long time for N.O.)

tonight is my mother in laws birthday, so i need to get started on dinner. im making a huge pot of cajun red beans and rice...mmmmm! (ill post the recipe later)

throw me some free time mister!

so, as many of you know, its mardi gras season in New Orleans once again. im never a fan of mardi gras day falling early on (its so blistering cold) however, i am excited about all the things that surround mardi gras. such as king cakes...for those of you who have never seen one...heres an example mmm...delicious! then of course, theres the parades. which now that weve moved, we are closer than ever to the route. there are also a bunch of events for our four legged kids this year. ive counted at least 5 dog parades; which is wonderful. i havent quite figured out if ella will be in costume this year or not. if so, itll probably be something easy i can throw together on a whim. i really meant to write more, but i have to put together my swaps before the mailman comes.

so much to do, so little time

where to start? the time has flown by since the last time ive posted. so many things have happened since then i dont know where to begin. Eric and I moved in early december to our new house. i LOVE it! its kind of a change though. we were living in a pretty popular area before the move and, well, now not so much. we moved down the street from there the 17th street canal broker in katrina. you know, this place...... lovely isnt it? the whole place is completely renovated, however, we are one of the only houses on the street. so its like living in the middle of nowhere. what else?? we got a dog...two in fact. a border collie and an australian shepherd.

they are my babies, but they are such a handful! two herding dogs in one house...its crazy! the baby is getting so big! she is speaking so well and we have begun potty training, which isnt going so well. Her birthday is coming up in april and i cannot believe that she is going to be two already! I have begun looking for a job again. I love being a stay at home mom, but to be honest, im getting bored. i want to be back at work and have "adult time" so bad. before i go, i have a recipe to share with the world.

Coq Au Vin (said coke au van)

• 1lb skinned chicken thighs
• 1 packet of beefy onion soup
• 1.5 cups of frozen small onions
• 2 cups of button or wild mushrooms
• .5 cup of red cooking wine

brown thighs in skillet. add chicken, soup packet, mushrooms, onions, and wine to slow cooker. cook on low for 5-6 hours serve over mashed potatoes, sprinkle with parsley or basil, and add a side of french bread. enjoy! and there you have it... until next time!

Gustav

So thanks to Hurricane Gustav making a quick stopover in LA, we decided to head north for a nice relaxing week away. the destination was Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN. I have been to the area only once before, and, let me tell you, it is BEAUTIFUL! We had a large bunch traveling with us (about 14 or so) and we ended up in a huge three story log cabin in the hills. It really was a nice trip. We all tried to keep as busy as we could. the cabin had a game room on the first floor which included a pool table, fooseball, and an arcade. not to mention a projection tv with theater seating. it also had the added luxury of an enormous hot tub out back.(my brother and i nervously joked that it was way too far out into the wilderness and was easily accessible by all kinds of wild creatures) i do have a few pictures of the outside area, however, i dont know why, for the life of me, i forgot to take some snapshots of the interior. heres the wraparound balcony and some of the views. enjoy! thats all for now folks!