Meet me Monday..

W


1. What is the weather like where you are and do you like it?.


This year the weather has been so crazy mild.  I am LOVING this weather. Today I went out without a coat. the temp reached 50 with the sun out and shinning and the sunset tonight was amazing as if we were in the middle of sumer. 


2. When you're sick what do you seek comfort from?


A few things, My bed, my hubs and 7 up! .


Plain and simple, if I'm really feeling down and out, I just want to sleep. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it here before, but my method of dealing with stress is to sleep. It's like my body just wants to shut down.


3. What do you need to do before the end of the month?
I need to get the house in order and figure out when I can re-do the Craft shed :) I want to do this so when both boys are home after our very long 3 months in the NICU in Tacoma, so I am doing what I can to get ready for when that time comes. 


4. Have you ever served on a jury?
.
No. I haven't. I have been selected for a summons for jury duty. I forgot about the date and missed it so I have a bit of guilt about that but didn't get in trouble. A small Part of me thinks it would be fun and the other, the bigger, the much MUCH bigger part of me thinks it would be a mess.


I've already thought up several "mistruths" that I could use to get me "deselected". Depends on the case, of course. ;) SHHHH!!!!! Don't tell on me. 


5. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
I would want to be my parents dog. Spoiled and loved to pieces. They are amazing to their pups. 

Weekend blog hops that I did this weekend.

           I use to do these often and know that meeting new blog friends is so very important. 

SO today I am doing a blog hop and can't wait to meet some new friends. Join in on the fun if you feel like it. 

Join in with this as well if you feel like it. 

Also make sure that you check out these other bloggers. 

Thrifty Thursday.....

The world around me is overwhelming on where to pinch pennies and where to keep it real. I have been learning from the best my sister Erin she is a coupon queen.  Now we are not the stock pile coupon ladies that don't have a cat that buys 100 cans of cat food.   With that being said I do get the things that I need to have and know that I will be using. 


I have always been thrifty so I am going to try some things each week and on Thursdays I will give you the updates and what I thought of it.  


How are you keeping warm this January? If you are in the Good old PNW it has been freaking crazy with warmth and not nearly the rain like we should have. Not even any snow. We have to go to the Mountains for that. 


Our heat is from a wood stove and with two new babies in our house to keep warm we need to keep the cost down of the power, save on the wood for the cooler nights and keep them nice and toasty.  


So this Thrifty Thursday I have had to adapt to the cold with some cleaver ideas......

Tights are being worn under my PJ bottoms and babies are wearing the fleece Pj's. 

to keep the blood flowing with out new games we were given at Christmas.... The new Disney game, Some sports games and the new Dance game. :)  

Home made warm and soft blankets are being used to their full benefit. A few extra on the bed and three on the sofa. Adding lots of lovely layers are being piled on. Its so cozy in the evening to snuggle and read by the fire or watch a movie on Hulu.....

Here are a few tips for keeping you and your house warm on the cheap.

* Place tin foil on the wall behind your radiators. Seriously it works. ( an old trick that most of our grandma's knows.) 

* Find the draughts and stop them! Got the wind rolling in under the door and through the window cracks? Make a draught excluder(Google it) If you need a very quick fix grab an old pair of tights or a stocking and stuff full of newspaper. It's not pretty but when it's cold it will keep you warm!

* Put a spare duvet or blanket underneath the bottom sheet on your bed. It should warm you up on the VERY cold nights!!! It is a great idea to help keep in the warmth. I use a feather bed and that makes us nice and toasty as well. You can get them at Target for a King size for a little over a hundred dollars. 

* Let the sunlight in. As tempting as it can be to tuck the curtains in to keep the warmth in, open them up to let sunlight do it's job. When the sun goes down make sure to shut them back up. You can add the sheets of clear plastic to your windows as well this keeps in the heat as well. Especially if you are in a home that was built in anything before the mid to late 70's.

* Get cooking and baking! Then leave the oven door open after you shut it off. This will give you a little extra warmth. 




*Sleep naked under all those covers and cuddle with your spouse! :) I wonder if this is why we have a high amount of Fall babies. 

Wordless Wednesday......

Today is Wordless Wednesday and because of that lets stick to the same theme. 
I will keep the words down but check out this link Historic Tacoma and see all the great pictures and read the rich city history. 

Tempt my tummy tuesday

So many yummy things to eat.... going with the Tacoma post so here is some Southern fried Chicken. 

Ingredients

• 1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, and paprika. Roll in flour.
2. Add 1/2 to 3/4 inch oil to a large, heavy skillet. Heat to approximately 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Place chicken pieces in hot oil. Cover, and fry until golden, turning once, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain on paper towels.                 

• If you want to make fried chicken, you can get good results using a fryer, broiler, capon, young chicken, and roaster or game hen.
• Soaking the chicken overnight in brine or buttermilk makes the meat more tender and juicy.
• Slice whole chicken breasts in half for more even cooking. They also cook faster like this.
• Adding celery sticks to the frying oil enhances the color and flavor of the fried chicken.
• Dry any wet utensils before they touch the hot cooking oil to avoid the hot fat spattering.
• Use tongs instead of a fork to turn the chicken. A fork might pierce the skin and the chicken will lose juices.
• If you like your chicken fried, try peanut oil. It gives the chicken a great flavor.
• Drain fried chicken on a brown paper bag or metal rack. Draining it on paper towels might make it lose crispiness. In addition, covering it will make it lose all crispiness.

The above tips should help to ensure your fried chicken recipes are delicious. If you are using a whole chicken and you have some left over, you can put them in a pot with carrots, parsley, and water to cover. Simmer until the liquid reduces by half, strain and refrigerate. When the mixture is cold, skim off the fat and use it in soups and sauces. You can also freeze it.

A few things I love.... to eat in Tacoma.

I have to say that I am pretty happy that the holiday season is very close to be under wraps and put away for a year. This season just blew past me with out warning, I do miss that I didn't really get to be home and that I was stuck in the hospital and the hospital housing. 

While I have been down here something I never thought could happen has......... I have fallen in love with the City of Tacoma. It was always a city that I never really spent to much time in. A town that I would simply drive past. Now that I know all the back ways to get to and from places without taking the freeway. Ever sense my parents accident in September. In doing that we have fallen in love with some amazing places to eat and shop.  6th Ave runs from the first exit once you leave the Tacoma Narrows bridge you can drive it all the way down to down town Tacoma. 

We have fallen in love with Masa a Tex Mex Restaurant that has a to die for Chips and Salsa and the best happy hour that is all day SUnday thru Wednesday.

 There is a place to eat some wonderful.  southern food called Southern Kitchen it has the most wonderful fried chicken I have ever eaten in my entire life. 

My Dad took us to Red hot. Where I stepped out on the wild side and got a hot dog that had bacon and Peanut butter, it is a bar so you have to be 21 or over to go there but they go once a week to the Seatac airport and pick up hot dogs flown in from Chicago!   

After long days at the hospital walking to the local areas to have a different bite besides the lunch room food at the hospital we found a few other places all within walking distance to the hospital. that we found we liked as well... A place called the Hub that has a brewery right below them, & the best Yogurt shop Called Gibsons, just to name a few of the places we have been making our regular stops in at.  

Over the time that I have been here in the darkest emotional days of being here with my boys so sick I have become a person in love with the community of Tacoma, the business people, the people on the sidewalk and walking in the park, it is amazing to me that in this big city second to Seattle in our state that you can still feel like it is a small town. A love that I was very embraced and loved in. The town that has held us and continues to hold us and our boys while we make it a home away from home will always have a very important and special place in my heart. Do yourself a favor and make some time to go down to Tacoma and plan a trip on a tank.  I will post the next few weeks about what to do and where to do it in Tacoma. Just try it 
& you will Fall in love like I did!! 

They are here!!!!

This is my first post in a while because our twins came at 28 weeks. I have been here for the past 37 days! This is the place to be if you have a baby that is a preemie or micro preemies like we had. The boys had a rough start. Especially baby B he has had the roughest time.  

One thing that I know for sure is the fact that this was not in my plans for the holidays. We had so much we were going to do. This is my favorite time of the year, with all the parties and family gatherings and shopping and baking, decorating the house all the while listening to Christmas music. This year when we got the call that the boys were making their appearance on November 2nd 2011... I had no idea that I would not be able to get myself to leave them.  I have completely changed over the past 37 days and the 

person I have become is so much better then whom I use to be. I'm a mother! 

As I'm writing this I have one son stirring in his little crib a big milestone at times we didn't think we would make it too this fast. I have learned so much this past month about myself and about my boys. In my arms is my other son as sweet and beautiful as can be I want them both to grow stronger but I want to stay in this moment forever. Daddy aka "hub's" has gone back to work and as lonely as I get at times I love these amazing stolen moments that I'm able to sneak all to myself. These moments I hope will get me through the harder times of sleepless nights and the terrible two's. 

I won't post about the babies or my everyday lives on here so you are always more then welcome to go to the top of the page and click on the waiting for baby G which is my personal blog but thought that I would love to tell you all about what is going on in my life and this crazy new adventure of motherhood.  There is so very much to tell.  Thank you all for being here to be able to show me so much love and support. As Kingstongirl I am trying to do what I can so that I can stay in the swing of things and keep you informed on where you need to go, what you need to do and about all the great people that are part of my little world, that because of all of you have become so big.  I promise to post more and do more, it has been a little bit of a struggle on finding my balance between my fun things I do and being a new mommy.