Tuesday, June 30, 2009

a delicious dinner

I have to brag about my dinner last night. I thought it was absolutely delicious!!
On the menu:
Swiss Stuffing Chicken
Green Beans cooked w/ Bacon
Sister Schubert Rolls
Tea

I got the recipe for the Swiss Stuffing Chicken from Kelly's Korner Blog.

4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts
6 oz. Swiss cheese slices
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/4 cup white cooking wine
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken-flavored crushed up stuffing mix (I use the off brand)
1/2 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place uncooked chicken in shallow buttered casserole dish. Layer cheese on top. Mix soup, wine, salt, pepper; pour over cheese. Sprinkle stuffing mix on top and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 1 hour. (I used chicken breasts that I had pounded and froze, so I only cooked mine for about 40 minutes.)

Oh, and if you have never had Sister Schubert's homemade rolls, you are missing out. I have seen them at Sam's, Kroger and Albertson. Go buy some, your life will be forever changed!!

Monday, June 29, 2009

a new look

I am so excited to be giving my blog a new look. Well....I'm not giving it a facelift....the talented Kelly at Fabulous K Creative will be giving my blog a new look.

If you are interested in getting a new look for your blog too, go check out Fabulous K Creative. She has been wonderful to work with, her prices are reasonable and all here designs are too cute. I can't wait to see what she does to my blog!!

I will have my new look on my blog in the very near future, so check back soon to see the new look for The Link Home. You'll also want to check back because to celebrate my new look, I will be hosting my first giveaway on my blog. It's going to be fabulous. So stop back by, you aren't going to want to miss my giveaway!!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

what a weekend

Wow.

That's all I have to say about this weekend. I didn't have one minute to sit down and blog about this weekend. I was on the go from the minute I got off work at noon until Sunday night when I went to bed.

Here's how our weekend went....

Lunch at Mom's.

Decided to have a garage sale.

Went to my school to get stuff I wanted to sell.

Cleaned out closet.

Quick lake trip with the Segrest Family.

Dinner at Goodfella's.

SLEEP.

Garage Sale from 7:45-11:30.

Made $164.

Ran errands with the hubby.

Made $8 at Half Price books.

Ate lunch at Scotty P's.

Went to the pool with the hubby.

Went and got Sno-Cones. I got raspberry. Matt got Black Cherrry.

Watched Marly & Me and cried alot.

Finished watch Field of Dreams, which we had actually started last Sunday but never finished!!

Went to the lake with my whole family....including this CUTIE!!

Quick dinner.

SLEEP.

Church @ The Heights.

Lunch with our ABF at Pei Wei.

Trip to Sherman.

Layed by the pool all afternoon.

Celebrated Matt's Mom's birthday with the family.

Drove Home.

CRASHED.

Our weekend wasn't very restful, but it sure was fun to spend time with both of our family and friends. Hope you had a great weekend too!!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

lactose intolerant

Matt and I have been working 5th and 6th grade VBX (Vacation Bible X-treme) at our church this week. We have had a lot of fun with the kids. It is so different from working with my little Kindergartners. Matt and I have both said we really don't remember what we were like when we were in 5th and 6th grade. (But we are pretty sure we didn't act like some of the kids we are working with!!)

One thing that is the same about my Kindergartners and these 5th and 6th graders is that you can always walk away with a funny story.

Here's my conversation with a 5th grade girl last night......

(Let me preface this story by saying that the girl that I'm talking with has been very involved all week and has told me multiple time that she is having lots of fun.)

We all go get our snack. Everyone grabs some of these fruit snacks.....

....and a soda. But this little girl opts for a water.


Girl: This week stinks.
Me: Oh why, I'm having so much fun a VBX
Girl: Oh it's not that. I have just been having some stomach problems.
Me: That does kind of stink.
Girl: My doctor told me to not eat sweets or drink sodas. So basically I'm lactose intolerant.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

sweet & salty

Remember here when I mentioned making a Strawberry Pretzel Dessert, well here it is for all of you to enjoy!!

Ingredients
2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar, plus 3/4 cup sugar
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 (8-ounce) container whipped topping
2 (3-ounce) packages strawberry gelatin dessert mix
2 cups boiling water
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen strawberries
Whipped topping or whipped cream, to garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
For the crust, mix the pretzels, butter, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Press this mixture into a 9 by 13-inch pan and bake for 5-7 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar. Fold in the whipped topping, and spread over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until well chilled.
In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, and allow to cool slightly. Add the strawberries and pour over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until serving time.
To serve, cut slices and serve with a dollop of whipped topping.

Matt's comment to this recipe, "It kind of weird that it's so good. Who would think pretzels and strawberries and jello would go together!"

hang on

I figured out how to do a continuous shot on my camera this weekend.

I caught Drew hanging on for dear life on one of his jumps across the wake.

Monday, June 22, 2009

father's day at the lake

We celebrated Father's Day on Saturday by having both of our parents come over for dinner. We had pretty yummy meal if I do say so myself. We had hamburgers and corn on the cob (cooked on the grill, by my hubby), baked beans, chips and corn dip, watermelon and a Strawberry Pretzel dessert.

*I'll post about the dessert later this week, because it was delicious!!

After dinner we headed out to the lake for an evening ride. Izzie even came along.


Matt, my little brother, Drew, and I all wakeboarded while our parents watch us show off our skills!!

Matt's parents, Alisa & Stan
My parents, Kevin & Pam
Happy Father's Day to our wonderful fathers!! We are so thankful for you guys and for all that your do for us! We love you!!

Friday, June 19, 2009

fudge & the gang

Meet fudge.....
....and his gang.

When we moved into our house, our neighbors told us that all the ducks can fly except for the big black duck, named Fudge. (Apparently, someone named him sometime. He's the only one with a name, because all the rest of them look the same.) There are at least thirty ducks in our pond, but the same four always hang out in our front yard. Every afternoon, Fudge and his gang are always walking in our yard.

Quack! Quack!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

pool date & a photo shoot

I had a pool date yesterday with Ashley and my nephew, Carson.


I brought my new camera out to the pool so I could have a mini photo shoot with Carson. I had a blast taking pictures of the little man. I think some of them turned out pretty darn cute!!




Isn't he just the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

laying out will never be the same

I've been spending some of my afternoons up at my neighborhood pool lately. We are so lucky to live in a neighborhood that has 4 nice pools.

But laying out will never be the same.

Not after we went on our honeymoon to Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

My neighborhood pool doesn't have padded chase lounge chairs.
My neighborhood pool doesn't have a view like this.
My neighborhood pool doesn't have waiters that bring around fruity drinks
And my neighborhood pool doesn't have an infinite pool that overlooks the beautiful sandy beaches of Playa del Carmen.

Oh, how I wish I could lay out there again. I guess I'll just settle with this for now.
Maybe I'll be able to lay out in Mexico again someday.

Monday, June 15, 2009

a slice of summer

It's not summer unless you've had a watermelon. I cut one up yesterday and Matt and I ate half of it for a snack. I'm sure we'll eat the rest of it today, because it was delicous!!

So go get one at Sprouts while they are on sale through Wednesday for $1.88.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

fun in the sun


Kristin invited our ABF to all come and hang out at her parents lakehouse. It was absolutely gorgeous out there. We had such a good time relaxing and playing all day long in God's beautiful creation.

We spent most of the day on the lake wake boarding and skiing.













But while we were hanging out at the house the guys played some washers....



while the girls worked on our tans!!




Thanks Kristin for inviting us out to your parent's lakehouse! We had such a fun time!!!

Friday, June 12, 2009

rough night

I woke up the other day to see that Izzie had turned her bed upside down somehow during the night. It obviously didn't bother her, because she was snoozing away while I snapped a some photos.



I think she finally started to get a little annoyed with me.....

.....and if she could talk, I think she was saying, "Would you please get that camera out of my face? It's 6:00 in the morning. Go back to bed."