"Approved" A word we've been waiting to hear for a long time

Finally!
We heard from "the City" today and our building plans are approved! We can now officially begin building. (Until now we have only been doing prep work to get the house and yard ready to dig the footings and foundation. The contractors will be here Wed. or Thurs. to dig the basement.

We are so excited!! They will pour the footings the next day, and the foundation the following day. This time next week, we will have a huge hole in our backyard. Any of you are welcome to drop in for a guided tour. Emphasis on guided. We want to avoid the liability of curious onlookers, but we would love to show you around and show our plans. They have changed quite a bit since the original plans we posted.

So, now it is official. Hooray!

I will pay $8 to the first 3 people who...

...book an online Tupperware party. Offer ends June 5, 2008. Payment will be made via PayPal. It is free and secure to set up a PayPal account.
Here is the official announcement: I finally earned enough of my "own" money to purchase the deluxe starter kit and sign up to be a Tupperware consultant. They encourage you to get started right away, so I thought I would sweeten the deal for any of you who like a sweet deal.

Here's the deal: $8.oo cash from me for booking party. (Paid immediately after you open the party) Plus, 10% of sales total in the the form of an e-Gift Certificate to be used toward your Tupperware wish list. Party sales must meet $200 total. This is a great way to earn free Tupperware. It literally takes only 5 minutes to book the party, and then the catalog is emailed to your friends, and they have 2 weeks to look it over and shop from the convenience of their own home. It doesn't matter where they live. It is all done online. In my opinion, this is the way to go!

To book a Party, click the link to My Tupperware Page, click on "Party" just above the picture of the brunette. There is all the information you could want about hosting a party. If you like what you see, click on "Tupperware Online Party" then click"Open Online Party" and fill in the brief form. I will be notified immediately, and you can expect your money in the next few days.

Back when I sold Tupperware 7 years ago, they didn't have online parties. I had to go to their house, do my song and dance sales performance and the guests felt an obligation and a pressure to attend and purchase. Ugh! I hated the parties, but I love the product.

The other service I offer as a consultant is Warranty Replacement. Tupperware has a lifetime warranty against cracks, peeling and breakage. If you have any that has these problems, or you have simply lost a lid, I can help you replace the piece. Warranty replacement is free, so let me be your Tupperware gal.

Shannon is the first winner: she began her party 5-22-08. Congratulations!

Draining our water storage- the fun way

I filled our entire blue recycle can with emptied pop and juice bottles from the shed. We even jumped on them, like a trash compactor, and still couldn't fit them all in the can. I emptied most of them on Wednesday, but Troy's sister, Ali, came over with her 3 kids and they helped dump out the remaining bottles. They got wet, but had so much fun. Ali wanted to climb up on the roof and hammer with Troy, so I watched the 5 kids. After a while, they got bored of the backyard, so we went for a walk. Spencer and Hannah rode in the stroller while Timmy, Hunter and Eliza walked, or rather, ran ahead of me.

Some of the empty bottles. Ironically, Troy and I don't drink soda pop. Most of the bottles came from Ali and Brett. He's a Dr Pepper lover.
Timmy watering the peach tree that we will have to chop down this week. I'm so sad to lose the peach tree and 3 apple trees!
Spencer with his bottle.
Hunter climbing one of the apple trees we cut down on Saturday
Hunter dumping a bottle. Notice the sidewalk behind him is soaked?
Spencer and Hannah. From this angle she actually looks bigger than him.

The big kids climbed up on a pile of gravel to take a break
Almost 9:00PM. I hope the walk wore out these kids as much as it wore me out! Whew!

Backyard Birdwatching

Can you find the male Quail?

Click on the picture for a larger size.


Every spring, a family of Quail make their nest in our backyard. When the babies finally hatch, they are so adorable following their dad in a straight line, with Mom bringing up the rear. They can sure run fast!

Eating in Color ... and in Foil

Don't think that this meal is a representative sample of our everyday menu. It isn't. I like recipes that come recommended from others, but I know I am more likely to make them if I can see how it is done, or what the finished product looks like. So, here is a step by step picture recipe. We made 9 dinners with this recipe. They were huge and easily could have served 12.

Colorful Veggies in Foil
Ingredients:
1 zucchini squash, chopped into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 yellow squash, chopped into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 lb. mushrooms, quartered
1 pkg. cherry or grape tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2/3 c. Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
Parmesan Cheese

Step 1 Wash and cut all veggies. Toss with dressing to coat. Attach 2 pieces of foil together by folding edges 3 times. (like if you were sewing a hem) Dump all veggies onto foil.
Step 2 Fold sides up over the ends of the veggies.
Close top by bringing last 2 sides together and "hemming" the last 2 pieces together. This is how it looks when it is done. Cook in the same manner as the foil dinners (below) except cook only 6 minutes per side. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese and serve.
Foil Dinners
Ingredients:

5 lbs. potatoes, chopped
8 lbs. marinaded chopped meat (this shows chicken)
2 lbs. carrots chopped
1 onion, chopped
3-4 stalks celery, chopped (I forgot to put this on my grocery list, so we used celery salt instead: Oops!)
salt & pepper to taste
garlic powder, abt. 1/2 tsp. per foil pouch

I marinade my meat in Kraft Zesty Italian dressing


Step 1 Lay out 2 sheets of foil per dinner. (Don't be stingy or your dinners might not fit!)
Step 2 Spray foil with Pam, and place a pile of potatoes. I chop all my veggies ahead and keep covered with water, then just before I use them, I drain them with my Tupperware Impressions Colander. Step 3 Add carrots (and celery if you remember to buy it)
Step 4 add onions, garlic and seasonings to taste. These are my well-used Tupperware Salt & Pepper Shakers. I don't usually use celery salt. Potatoes are bland, so be generous with the seasonings.
Step 5 add the meat. I cut my meat frozen (its easier) and then throw it in my Tupperware Season Serve container with the dressing, and as it thaws, it absorbs the marinade. Marinade meat at least 4 hours, for best flavor
Step 6 Just like the veggies, fold up the dinners into pouches. Wrap one sheet of foil at a time.
Step 7 I use a cookie sheet to transport my dinners out to the fire. This is what they look like all wrapped up.
Step 8 the coals or briquettes should be grayish. This means they are hot enough to cook the food. Troy came home early to get my fire going. (Our friends arrived at 6pm) We used really dry firewood and it took about 30-40 mins. to get this hot.
Step 9 Place foil dinners directly on hot coals. Cook about 10-15 minutes
Step 10 Use metal tongs to turn dinners. Be very careful not to pierce or tear foil. Rotate the positioning of dinners, as there may be "hot spots" in the firepit. After another 10 minutes, check for doneness and enjoy. We topped ours with BBQ sauce. Sorry- I was so anxious to eat, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product.
Last Step Sit back and enjoy the food, the fire, and the friends. We made S'mores for dessert. I ate 7!! Yummy!

Taking a "Dump" for Family Home Evening

The "Before" picture of the lawnThe Big delivery truck and the Big delivery man
The cool truck- too bad the boys were both asleep- they missed it!
Timmy taking wood to the dumpster
Grandma, Timmy and Spencer loading the dumpster
Emily, Grandma, Timmy and Spencer inside the dumpster
Troy on the roof swinging his big sledgehammer. Also, notice the "After" shot of the lawn. Nice work, everyone, and Thank You!!!
Where the rebar is, the Concrete was. It was 8 inches thick, too
The boys both in the single stroller

We had an exciting day today. Around 4:00PM, Waste Managment arrived with a huge dumpster and deposited it on our driveway. I think the delivery guy was a little surprised when I asked him to pose for a picture, and maybe a little flattered. We made a lot of progress on filling that monstrosity, too. Troy's mom, Melissa, and baby sister, Emily came over and helped us load all the demolition debris into it for our Family Home Evening. Timmy and Spencer helped, and did, too. (Even though I found a second to snap a few pictures.)

Our good friends and neighbors, Alan and Anna, let us store our big jetted tub in their garage. (They don't park in it)

After Melissa and Emily left, Troy thought it would be fun to climb up on the roof and start smashing it with a sledgehammer. I don't think I will ever fully understand men. But, I took some pictures of our smashed up roof with my triumphant husband standing atop it.

The boys were all "jammied" up and ready for bed, so I put them both in the stroller (not the double) and puched them out to check on Daddy.