Tornado Sirens - AGAIN!

Hope everyone in  Childress is okay after a WILD night last night!  WOW!  Can't get too use to that!  Tornado sirens, running to the cellar, hearing the massive amount of rain and loud blowing of the wind - but no hail this time!  We all are okay - lots of branches down.  No major damage for us!  Here's some pics that we took around town.  Our local motels really got damaged.  Hope all of yours are safe!

    

  
  
  

Ever heard of "Belly Weights"??

This week's recipe swap has been a tradition FOREVER in our house.  

A recipe passed from my grandmother, down to mother, 

down to me, down to my kids...  

Saw the infamous "Paula Deen" fry these up and had to laugh!  It's been a tradition in her house also, I bet!  

Frying canned biscuit dough! 

 

This was a real treat in my childhood ... with an ice-cold Coke - Oh my!  I have a friend that doesn't cut a hole; just cuts the biscuit in half and fries them up - calling them "Belly Weights"... because you eat so much that they weigh down your belly!  hee hee!  You'll see them in local Asian buffets... hmmm!  "Ancient Chinese Secret?" LOL!

For a great "Comfort Food" snack... not "low cal"  (P.D. did fry hers in peanut oil) try this snack in the afternoon or evening or breakfast...

Fried Canned Biscuits

Lay out canned biscuits on a cutting board and cut out a hole from the middle of each biscuit. (Or just cut in half like Sue-etta... back in the day, we used bottle-tops to punch out the middle... ahhh, the memories!)   Fry them in the oil until golden and then flip with tongs to fry the other side.  Drain on paper towels and then toss in the

 cinnamon-sugar or powdered sugar or ice and decorate with sprinkles.  Yum!  We always put the drained fried biscuit in a small brown paper bag (lunch bag size) along with the powdered sugar or cinnamon-sugar and shook to coat - makes for an easy clean up!  Enjoy!

Here's a peek at the homemade paper for the July Card Swap - Check back later and I'll "hopefully" have my cards done! They are due on the 31st. The requirement was to RECYCLE something - to reuse or recycle something on the card... In this case - it's newspaper and purple onion skins!  - LOL!  Thanks for stopping by!  Hug the ones you love and enjoy your SUMMER!

  

Homemade Paper

Making Paper Today!

Hello!  Hope all is well with your bunch!  We are trying to soak up the last bit of summer as much as we can this week - KV goes back to work on Monday.  

We've had a great summer - it just went by so fast!  ZOOM!

      

What does old newspapers, white glue, water and some red onions make?  Hmmmm!  A huge mess, so far - argh!  I'm trying to recycle paper and make my July Card Swap- but it's not working out so well.  Have you ever made paper before?  I may NEVER do this again, LOL!  I've got the blender out, using my trusty "deckle" from college... but I don't remember it being SO messy! Made up this "goo"... and now, it's the sun that will really tell the tale - if this works! 

  

 The sun will dry and bleach out the homemade paper; then I'll iron it A LOT; then make cards from the paper... the purple onion skins add a pretty purple color (of the red onions??) to the paper...  I'll post the finished card - hopefully tomorrow!

Alex is sick at home with STREP - He had a bad headache Sunday and started feeling bad by the end of that day.  Monday he complained a little with a sore throat, but today he was SICK - so after testing for possible mono or strep; the Dr. called back with a positive strep test!  He got a shot - which works very fast - but today he is just kicking back and resting!  It's a good thing, because Thursday starts his football training!  So!  If you were at church camp (and we're guessing that this is where he was exposed) Watch Out!  We have strep!  Keep us in your prayers - we're a family that likes to "share" and strep maybe one that we all have - ARGH!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!  Hug the ones you love!  

Dinner and a Movie - Again!

Saturday was the perfect day for a  "Dinner and a Movie" run!  The summer is winding slowly down  - sniff, sniff!

We grabbed the "Ging" and headed to Amarillo to watch the 6th Harry Potter movie on the HUGE movie screen.  

Harry Potter and the 

Half-Blood Prince

The surround-sound and nice, comfy chairs - I LOVE going to the movies!  The movie was AWESOME - two thumbs up from our family of five!  It could be the BEST out of all six of the HP movies.  We all enjoyed it!  The cast have grown up so much!  For a two and half hour show - it literally flew by with such action and suspense!  KV is reading out loud the last HP book to us (he's actually read 4 out of 7 out-loud to us as a family; including Andy!  Andy, we miss you! )  Andy listened to the audio of the last book on his drive out to Alabama for college two years ago - so he's already done!  KV has read the last book also, but likes reading it to us - we're on chapter 11 right now!  After seeing the movie - its helps in making the last book fit!

Our dinner was at Jason's Deli!  A very healthy way of eating!  Fresh vegetables, fruits, sandwiches, soups - we were stuffed when we left to go to the movie! 

 Alex spent his money on two new pets - "hermit crabs" - argh!

We now have "Klick and Klack" within our family...  

Hope you and your family are doing well!  Enjoy the last bit of summer as much as you can.  I can "smell" school coming up!  Admittedly, that's fun too - new clothes, new school supplies, new faces - back into the groove!  Friday night football games... HEY!  Alex will be playing his first year of sports for 7th grade!  We'll be playing Thursday nights and running concession stands on Friday - Oh Joy!  It'll be fun!

Hug the ones you love and come back often! 

 

Happy Birthday Lee Ann

"Lordy, Lordy!  Look who is 

turning 40!!"

Happy Birthday to my brother's wife 

Lee Ann.  

Mother to two of the sweetest girls in Lubbock!  

Hope you have a great day!  Be sure and make my "ugly" brother treat you right on your special day!  Welcome to the "40something Club"!  LOL!

They're Back!

The boys are back from church camp!  

Washing lots of "smelly" clothes, sheets and towels... WHAT did these boys actually do to get that smell? Hmmm!  Maybe I don't want to know... I think this pic says it all - that they DO take after their FATHER, huh!  LOL!

OH!  It's so good to have them back home!  Smell and all!  They BOTH LOVED camp!  We were worried about Aric; now, I don't know why!  They had such a great time and haven't stopped talking about all the activities and devos that they attended!  YES!  Good things did sink into the heads of my boys - believe it or not!

John Exum was the "coolest" counselor.  Thanks John - my boys think "you're awesome" - for all your given time, patience and infinite wisdom!  You're welcomed at our house anytime!

Of course to Trey Morgan and family - THANK YOU!  Many, many memories you have help make in these kids' lives - 

KV and I went up Thursday night; couldn't miss the "Smokey" show!  This session at QMC always host a talent show the last night of camp.  Amongst the campers, there is an Elvis impersonator named "Smokey" - he even has a fan club on Facebook - check him out sometime!  This was our 3rd "Smokey" concert to attend!  The campers absolutely go "wild"!  It's great!  

On the way home, we bought some fresh corn and roasted it on the grill - YUM!  I love summer food!  For more details of roasting corn on the cob... check out the last post before this one.  Yes, I DO cook the recipes that I swap!  Call me and I'll cook dinner for ya some night!  LOL!

Adding just a couple of pictures below that we took the last two days at QMCC! Wish I had Ericka's talent of picture taking, but I don't!  Not even sure how I got black and white pics??  Thanks for dropping by!  Have a great weekend!

          

Roasted Corn on the Cob

How do you like your Corn?

Here's our family recipe for roasting corn on the grill. This recipe was requested -hope this works for you & your family!!

Fix this recipe, along with a grilled meat... ya need nothing else - OH!  Maybe a tall glass of iced tea!  LOL!  The perfect summer meal!

Hope your summer is going well!  July is going by fast!  Thanks for stopping by!

Roasted Corn on the Cob

4-6 Corn on the cob WITH husk

Pull down the husks without removing them and strip out the corn silk.  Pull the husks up and twist together the tops.  (I use a cotton twine to tie up the tops of corn.) Soak in water for 15 minutes.  Roast the ears on the grill or directly on coals for 12-16 minutes (depending on the size of the cob).  Serve with "Spicy Butter".

Spicy Butter

1 stick of butter

1-2 TB. Cilantro; chopped

1 lime

Cayenne pepper

Chili powder

Cumin

In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat.  Stir in cilantro and the juice of lime.  Add other ingredients according to taste.  Spread on corn with a pastry brush before eating.

Kids are gone to Church Camp!

All is quiet at the Vannoy House this week.  Sunday afternoon, we dropped the boys off at Quartz Mountain Christian Camp (QMCC).  This is Aric's first year; Alex's third to attend camp.

"Wonder what they're doing now" has been the popular statement since they have been  gone!  They are surrounded by great people, lots from home, so I shouldn't worry.  

KV and I are reconnecting, spending day and night together!  We haven't done this in years!  Poor thing, my "honey do" list is long!  He's pulling wallpaper off in the boys' bathroom as I blog!  HA!  And you thought we were doing other things... shame, shame!  LOL!  Hope you are having a great week!  Hug the ones you love, I will on Thursday night!!  (P.S.  Marilyn B. is the sister who gave her brother Walter L. the "Eyes" bra!!  If you're clueless; scroll down to the Bizarre Project post!!)

Screens vs Life

Are Americans

 becoming "Addicted to Screens"? 

How much time do you spend in front of a "screen"?

be it a computer, tv, ipod, cell phone, movie screen...

The average person spends 4-6 hours a day in front of a computer.  That's 25% of your day... between sleep and computer - your day is half gone already!  If an average person has an average of 150-200 friends on Facebook; do we ever have the need for "face to face" communication?

The American Medical Association (AMA) reports that 5 million American kids are addicted to video games. In fact, if you add the time some children and teens spend in front of a screen -- TV, computer, cell phone or video game -- it equals more hours than anything else in their lives except sleep! 

I'm an addict! It's scary to think where our whole world is headed with technology.  Is it ironic that I'm blogging in front of a "screen", talking about "screens", spending my precious time on a "screen",  instead of doing something physical or useful?

Something to ponder...  I'm going to limit my SCREEN intake; think that it will make a difference?  How will I know what everyone is doing, hmmmmm!  Guess I'll have to make human contact and TALK with friends.  Where are they... Oh right!  On their screens!  LOL!

What do you think?

The Most "Bizarre"Project...

Through the year, I LOVE helping out and doing projects for friends in need!  This project, that I just finished, happens to be the "Most Bizarre" or should I say "Bra-zarre" - LOL!  I don't want to ruin the surprise... it's a gift from a sister to a brother and it's too funny!  

The brother has a saying of always exclaiming "Look at her big EYES" when passing a female with a large chest... The sister saw a decorated bra while on vacation and wanted to make it for her brother... It's a bra decorated with flowers and it has EYES on it! LOL!  It's hysterical...  Now, I've not ever painted a bra before (hmmmmm!), but my job was to paint eyes to finalize the project!  What do you think??  I've included before and after eye pics!  The eyes include blue irises and 3-D lids with long lashes!  Just had to share and I HOPE I haven't ruined the surprise.  I'll post later WHO everyone is when the "EYES" have been given out! LOL!

  

P.S. Have you checked out Trey's blog "How to turn on a woman"?  I will tell you that a "pedicure" can change a woman's day and mood!  Getting a "pedi" is FANTASTIC - right ladies? Try it for your lady!

Hope you are keeping COOL!  We're preparing for the annual Old Settlers' Rodeo with decorating a float and working the concession in the big C-Town this weekend.  KV comes home tomorrow from Houston - hopefully bringing RAIN with him!  We're forecasted for 86 Saturday... WOW!  Wouldn't that be wonderful?  We've had 105 or higher for the last week - argh!  Rain would be good!  Thanks for stopping by!  HUG the ones you love!  Have a great day!