The End, Or A New Beginning?

I never know which one the first day of school is. Is it the end of summer, or a the beginning of a new year? It's so hard for me. I adore having my kids home during the summer, and I miss them so much when they're gone. But at the same time, this is the start of a brand new adventure for them. New class, new friends, new subjects, who knows what the school year will bring!

So, regardless of how I feel, I always send them off with a big smile and a hug. Well, no hug for my teenage daughter. She doesn't "do" hugs anymore. LOL! But, my son loves his hugs so he gets a really big one this morning.

The upside for me, is that now I have a ton of time to work on getting my house back in order and conquer my mountain of laundry. And, even better than that, I have time, lots and lots of time, to quilt! I have almost all my 4 1/2 inch squares sewn together, soon I'll be able to start assembling the quilt top for the World's Ugliest Quilt. I also have the Log Cabin Pine Tree's wallhanging I need to get started on for the FNSI. And, I've finally decided on a quilt for my son using my dad's old dresshirts. I'm going to make him a Brick and Stepping Stones quilt. He's going to love it! And it's a nice easy pattern for me.

So, I have lot's to keep me busy.

Tonight for supper, we're going to be having

Inside Out Ravioli's

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
Garlic salt to taste
10 oz package spinach
1 can spaghetti sauce
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups small pasta shells, cooked and drained
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 well beaten eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup oil

Brown beed, onion and garlic salt. Add salt and simmer. Cook spinach, drain. Add salt to sauce. Combine spinach, shells, cheeses, bread crumbs, eggs and oil.

Spread in a casserole dish. Top with sauce. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

We didn't get to have it last week, so I moved it to this week instead. It's such a yummy dinner!

Have a fantastic day everyone!

Another GO! Cutter Giveaway!

I am entering as many of these as I can in the hopes that I can win one of these amazing little tools.

I just entered a giveaway over at Freckled Whimsy. The contest closes Friday, August 27, so be sure get over there and put your name in!

Guess what? I finished hand quilting my very first quilt! I'm so excited!! Mind you, it's a miniature quilt, but I'm ok with that, really. I'm so proud of myself right now. This is something I've always wanted to do and never had the time or I guess the gumption to attempt. But, now it's done and I couldn't be happier with the results.

Here is a closeup of my stitching

Now, I know, the stitching isn't great and the sewing is even worse. But, in my defense, this was the very first time I had ever sewn a quilt top. Ever. So, regardless of how uneven everything is, I'm extremely proud. :)


Today's Update

I think we're going to go on a nature walk today. It's supposed to be a nice day, not too hot, but sunshiney and warm. Hubby needs to sleep too, since he worked nights last night, so that makes today a perfect day to get out and enjoy nature in all it's glory.

Of course, I'm taking my camera with me so I'll be sure to have some fantastic photo's to share with all of you tomorrow.

Tonight for supper we're having (and please, don't let the name of this dinner turn you off, this is just what we call it. I'm sure it has an actual "name" but I don't know what it is)

Boiled Chicken (gross, I know, but it tastes amazing!)

4 pieces of chicken thighs (I use the cheapest chicken I can buy)
1 onion, chopped
1 can tomatoes
1 tsp worchestershire sauce

Saute onion until tender. Add remaining  ingredients and simmer until chicken is fully cooked.

Simple, delicious and frugal too!

Have a fantastic day!

My, How They've Grown!

I can't believe the difference in the baby hamsters in just one week! This time last week, they were just a ball of squiggly little piggies, and now they look like tiny little hamsters with ears and everything! To compare, here is what they looked like on day one:

And here they are on Day 7. Aren't they just the cutest?

Already, you can see their markings, obviously. Can you see the little one with three dots going down his back? His markings really amuse my son. :)  You can also see their ears and their little hands. It's been amazing watching them develop!

Here is a closeup photo of one of the babies so you can see the ears, hands and fur a bit better.

As you can see, they are still incredibly tiny. Boy are they active though! The little guy in my hand was very tough to get a photo of. He squirmed the entire time, all over my hand. I wasn't sure I was actually going to get a usable photo. :)

Today's Update

Today is the last of my quilting classes for this month. We'll be finishing up our mini log cabin quilt today, which is something I'm very excited about. I'll learn today how to actually finish and bind (I think that's the proper term) a quilt. After today, I'll be able to complete the 9 patch quilt I'm working on.

I have about 1/2 of the squares sewn for my quilt now. I'm working on getting hubby to make me a few templates for cutting. I've noticed that my strips are uneven from moving the ruler continually. I'm thinking that if I had something that was long enough, with the right measurements, I could definitely avoid that. Unless of course I can win that new toy from the previous post. I want that cutter so bad! LOL!

Supper tonight will be


Easy Lasagna

1 pound lean ground beef
1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
32 ounces cottage cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons dried parsley
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
9 lasagna noodles
1/2 cup water

 

In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef. Drain the grease. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, eggs, half of the grated Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, salt and ground black pepper.

To assemble, in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish evenly spread 3/4 cup of the sauce mixture. Cover with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture, and 1/4 cup sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with 3 noodles, remaining sauce, remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Add 1/2 cup water to the edges of the pan. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F(175 degrees C) oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

Recipe taken from Allrecipes.com 

I'll serve it with garlic bread. 

Have a fantastic day everyone!