The *BEST* Enchiladas

Look no further. Homesick Texan has come up with the secret ingredient that makes these Cheese Enchiladas absolutely perfect! Kid you not. I've tried them with regular grated cheese and with velveeta. The regular cheese ones were fabulous but I'm not a huge velveeta fan unless it is in a rotel dip. The best thing is that it is EASY PEASY and oh so comforting, especially served with plenty of sour cream.

Bow to the Emperor, Bow I SAY!

Otherwise known as farting around on the innernets....


Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

I think I might be sick or maybe(hopefully) just sunburned. Although usually I don't get sunburned at park day. My face is burning hot and I feel like crud. Sigh.


(Pine cone wreath. We had to toss it last year because it was falling apart. My dad made it about 20 years ago but it hadn't been used in quite a while.)


(This year's tree in the afternoon sun. I love the winter sun, just makes the most beautiful shadows in our home.)

This one is COOL!...

Found at Pea Soup.

What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now?
None, I need to buy some.

Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator?
Not a one.

What would you change about your living room?
The placement of our back door. It is right next to the fireplace so we can't put furniture there. Wish my dad would let us relocate it to the other side of the big window(hahaha). I would also like to have some built-in cabinets along our main wall.

Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty?
Being washed as I type, it is nearly 11pm.

What is in your fridge?
Lots of foods, cheeses, sauces, veggies, raw milk, butter, jelly, the usual fridgy stuff.

White or wheat bread?
Whole wheat is what I think this is asking, white or whole wheat. But, nowadays you can get whole wheat that is white. This needs changed. We eat 100% whole wheat though.

What is on top of your refrigerator?
An empty ice container that usually goes in the freezer.

What color or design is on your shower curtain?
I don't have a shower, just a bath tub, so I have a lacy window panel. Mark has a Texas flag curtain.

How many plants are in your home?
2 cacti and an aloe vera plant.

Is your bed made right now?
Yes.

Comet or Soft Scrub?
Baking soda.

Is your closet organized?
Organized just has to mean I know where things are right?

Can you describe your flashlight?
Yes, but will I?

Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home?
Glass-a-holic here. Hate plastic, unless I'm drinking a cola and I will use a bumpy restaurant style cup.

Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now?
Yes, a 4 quart pitcher of sweet tea and a 2 quart pitcher of green with french vanilla and zen teas too. In the fridge, by the way.

If you have a garage, is it cluttered?
Crowded but not cluttered.

Curtains or blinds?
Curtains, but metal blinds in the kids' rooms and in the dining room. Curtains cover all of them though.

How many pillows do you sleep with?
Two if I am on my left side, one if I'm on my right.

Do you sleep with any lights on at night?
No, they drive me INSANE!!!! We have to cover the alarm clock and the blinking light on the vcr and such.

How often do you vacuum?
Several times a week.

Standard toothbrush or electric?
Standard.

What color is your toothbrush?
teal and white, and yellow and white, I have two.

Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch?
Yes.

What is in your oven right now?
Empty bundt pan and something else.

Is there anything under your bed?
No, it is on the floor.

Chore you hate doing the most?
Most of them.

What retro items are in your home?
Don't know, I don't keep up with "home fashion".

Do you have a separate room that you use as an office?
We use our dining room.

How many mirrors are in your home?
Four.

What color are your walls?
Creamy white(living room), wall paper in kitchen, dining and bathrooms, lime green in Ryan's and light pink(soon to be turquoise) in the girls' room.

Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home?
Nope.

What does your home smell like right now?
Clean laundry.

Favorite candle scent?
Mulberry

What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now?
Spicy ones.

What color is your favorite Bible?
Black.

Ever been on your roof?
Yes, several times.

Do you own a stereo?
Yes.

How many TVs do you have?
Three but one is needing repaired.

How many house phones?
Two.

Do you have a housekeeper?
My husband!

What style do you decorate in?
Found objects.

Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints?
Muted prints.

Is there a smoke detector in your home?
My nose.

In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip?
Well, we had a fire scare a few weeks ago and I made it out of the house with my children and that is it.

Paying it Forward....

Found this at Knitting and Losing and it seems like a fabulous way to exchange handmade goodies!

"I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog."

Are ya up for it? I am! Just leave a comment with your email address in it and I'll contact you for your mailing address(USA only please) and will get something good in the mail to you next week(original said within the year). You are free to keep the item for yourself or re-gift it, it doesn't matter to me. I also want to include, in my version, that if you find this post sometime in the distant future and you are the 3rd person, quite likely you won't get anything because I'd rather get this done before Christmas. If you play, put this on your own blog and pay it forward by sending handmade items to the first three commenters you have! What fun!!

Blue Brain....

Your Brain is Blue

Of all the brain types, yours is the most mellow. You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles. Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

What Color Is Your Brain?

Green is my favorite color but the blue description is pretty much dead on.

Not much else to blog about today. Tom spent the night in our bedroom last night. We keep our door shut to protect Soshie from the raptor sisters. Tom was sleeping by the bookshelf so we just left him in with us. The two nights previous he slept in the living room. I am wondering if he is suffering from catzheimer's or something. He never did ask to go outside all day yesterday. This morning he went out at 6:45 and was back by 8:30, don't think his people ever let him in their house. It isn't that they don't want to, I just think his timing was off. They all work so I don't think anyone was home.

Ryan gets his hard cast on this morning, he wants Dallas Cowboy blue, hope they can accomodate. The girls and I have to go to the healthfood store to get green tea for me. I haven't been drinking it for about 2 weeks now and I can tell a difference in how I feel, plus my bp is higher than usual. Could be from all the salty party mix I've been eating this week too.
***updated, 4:22pm*** to include Ryan in his red cast. He wasn't thrilled with the red but I like it. This picture makes him look tiny but he's about 5 foot 10 inches and 120 pounds. I was standing up and he was sitting on our bed that doesn't have a frame so that must be what makes it look so weird.


My goal today, my only goal, is to locate my white dmc floss. I want my PEACE banner finished! Ok, make that two goals, I also want to get some rows done on a Christmas present I'm crocheting. It would be nice to have that done by the end of this coming weekend. Not an unreasonable goal.

Tagged Again!....

It's a Meme, an online game of tag. Answer the questions, tag someone else, that is how the game is played. Karen from Leaping From the Box got me this time around.

Here are the questions and they pertain to the past week(check out my previous post for accomplishments during the month of November):

1. What did you accomplish?
2. Did anything not go as expected?
3. What was the highlight of your week?
4. Did anything exciting happen you did not expect?



1. I managed to get some lovely felt Christmas ornaments made with help from my daughters. I finished a knitted scarf and a crocheted hat. I made party mix and moved furniture so we could set up our tree. The hutches have remained mostly clear of junk(what is there now is stuff from the china cabinet, taken out so we could move it).

2. I truly did not expect to find myself this far along with an unfinished major Christmas present! Also, I lost my white dmc floss and can't finish my festive PEACE banner(shown in photo).


3. Finding the perfect Christmas tree was the highlight of my week. It took about 20 minutes to get it set up with no monkeying around with it at all. There are no bent trunks, no holes or gaps, no weirdness, just a perfect Christmas tree! I spent less than 15 minutes putting the lights on, and thanks to the girls, it is now nearly all the way decorated! Trust me, the times are important, it usually takes us HOURS to get the tree up and days to get it decorated!!

4. Well, I did not expect to be at the ER with Ryan on Saturday night with a broken arm. I also didn't expect to get in and out of the ER within 2 hours on a Saturday night. That was the amazing part!! He gets his plaster cast Tuesday morning.

Now for promised Piggie Cuteness...

(Basil spreading Christmas cheer)


(Shimmer just before she flew into a fit)


(Moonshine, Basil, and Bevo looking festive)


(Shimmer and Stella being angelic and not fooling anyone!)

Catching UP!...

November! What a month!! First I was unable to get my camera to transfer pictures so I couldn't show off my fall mantle decorations...


(fall mantle decorations include leftover halloween gourds and pumpkin-our ceramic jack 'o lantern turned backwards)

I also managed to finish painting my hutches and install them in the living room on either side of my loveseat but my camera batteries died before the pics could transfer-they'll be on here later.

We took a memorable trip to Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge for Amy's 12th birthday celebration...


(Hannah, Ryan, Amy, Sarah, Sidney, Terry, and tour guide from Ohio State University who was wonderful!)


(big tiger whose name I can't recall)


(this would be Gunther)

Earlier in the month we met our homeschooling friends who moved to the Dallas area last year. They camped at Tyler State Park and we joined them for dinner and S'mores. It was a really nice visit, wish we could do it again!


(clockwise from top, Sarah, Kailey, Erica, Ryan, Alex and Amy)

Things were fairly uneventful the rest of the month. We had Thanksgiving at Granny's and enjoyed the company of our beloved neighbor cat, Tom.


(Tom knocked out on the coffee table)

Ummm, uneventful except for this one thing that happened in our front yard on a very windy day and threatened to blow our house up and killed phone service for our entire neighborhood for about 10 hours...


(this used to be an evergreen garden with several holly bushes and junipers, just beyond the vacant lot are the woods in which the coyotes live)


(there is a telephone box here-hence the large hole- and a natural gas line-complete with "danger do not dig" sign)

So far December is going much the same way. The good stuff includes the fact that Soshie is continuing to improve, albeit slowly. We were able to get a beautiful 10-foot-tall Christmas tree that is just perfectly shaped and doesn't lean. It was easy to set up, took us 20 minutes tops. And, our Christmas shopping is nearly done. We even managed to replace Sarah's cool boots that got left outside for the dogs to chew.

Then the rollercoaster, good/bad thing again... Ryan had a church Christmas party last night and went to spend the night with friends afterward. The phone rang about 9:30 with friends' mom saying that Ryan had fallen and broken his arm. Soooo, off to the ER we went, 9:45 on a Saturday night. Fun. It actually wasn't too bad, except that my child was in severe pain. Luckily the ER staff recognized this and got him good drugs to help him out. The attending doctor was able to set it. The fracture was a total break at the end of his radius(big bone) about an inch from his wrist. He has a fiberglass temporary cast until we see an orthopedic doctor this week sometime for a plaster cast. December is going to be a loooooong month! But with cuteness like this I think I can survive...


(Rainbow the G-pig as Rudolph, more piggie cuteness forthcoming)