Thinking Out Loud Thursday - The Float Trip

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday with X-tremely V and me!  So glad you stopped by!  If you're a blogger, please link up one (or more) of your posts below.  We would love to hear what you're thinking out loud about today.

Today I'm thinking about the trip I'm taking this weekend with my friends.  We're doing a float trip in southern Missouri.  This trip has been on the calendar since February.  You can click here to see a post I wrote way back in the beginning about the planning of this adventure.  

As stated in that post, I'm scared to death a little nervous about floating.  You see, I'm scared of water.  WHAT?!? Yes, scared of water.  And I don't know how to swim very well.  Several years back my friend Tracy challenged all of us to make a list of things we wanted to get done.  She asks that at least one thing on the list be something outside our comfort zone.  I signed up for the YMCA's Adult TOW class.  TOW stands for "terrified of water".  Age range 18 to 99.  I met the criteria.  Paid my money and showed up at the pool for six weeks.  Six weeks of pure un-fun.  

When I arrived for my first lesson, the pool was full of women.  Some were older, some were my age and some were even younger.  I breathed a sign of relief to see so many other people in my same situation.  Then I realized all those women were there for the water aerobics class.  No - I needed to go over to the far end of the pool where they had 3 swimming lanes roped off.  Me and two teenagers made up this session of TOW.  The two other people stopped coming after week two and that left me and the instructor (a male who had just finished his first year of college) for four looooooonnnnnnnggggggg weeks.  

Bless his heart -- he tried so hard.  I actually kept thinking I need to leave a really big tip for him at the end of the six weeks.  He worked harder trying to teach me to swim than any waiter had ever tried keeping my water glass full.   He deserved, and had EARNED, a tip.

At this point, you might be asking yourself why on earth would I agree to go on a float trip.  Well, I just can't imagine not being there to share in all the fun.  I want to be a part of the stories we'll be telling for years that start with, "Remember on the float trip.....".  I'm the person that answers yes when your parents would question if your friends jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?  Yes, yes I would jump if it meant having a bunch of laughs later.  I'm more than willing to try to push my fear aside to hang out with this great group of friends.

I like to think I could save myself if ever confronted with that situation, but honestly, I'm not really that sure I could.  So friends going with me this weekend -- I really love you and I'm putting my life in your hands.  (And let's try to get a better picture of all of us together with Debora in it!)

Now it's your turn -- what are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up to Thinking Out Loud Thursday with me and Vanessa at X-tremely Vanessa . The rules are simple.  Link back to me and Vanessa in your post and add your favorite post(s) below.  Super easy!  Tell all your friends to link up too.  The more the merrier.  We'd love for you to follow us too!  #ThinkingOutLoudThursdays

Enjoy more Thoughts for Thursday at

Home of Malones

East Coast Chic

A Handful of Everything
Hodges Podges
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
All Life's Little Adventures

The Deliberate Mom
This is How We Roll

This post contained affiliate links.  I may receive a small commission if you click on the link and purchase.  Thanks!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

If you read my Weekending post from yesterday, you know that Saturday night we had Ian and Kayla over for dinner.  I decided to go a little retro and fix something that I hadn't made in years - Chicken Enchilada Casserole.  If you like cheese, this is the recipe for you!

This recipe was in a church cookbook circa 1980 and I've adapted it a couple times over the years.  The thought of blogging this recipe didn't come to me until well into the prep, so please forgive my lack of pictures.

Here's What You Need

About 2 pounds of chicken (I used boneless breasts)

Corn or Flour Tortillas

1 cup sour cream

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 Tbsp. taco sauce (I use mild, but if you like heat go for the hot)

1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese (yes, that lb. means pound, as in 16 ounces)

1 lb. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2 - 4 oz. cans green chili peppers (diced)

2 Tbsp. (or more) chopped green onion

Here's What You Do

Cook chicken in salted water in a large cooking pot until tender.  As soon as it cools enough for you to touch it, shred it up.

In a bowl, mix together shredded chicken, sour cream, chicken soup, diced green chilies and taco sauce.

Place about 3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture into a tortilla, roll up and place in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.  Continue until the baking dish is full.  I usually get the large tortillas and use 7 out of the 8 in the package.  If you roll them pretty tight, you could easily use all 8.  (It was at this point that I realized I was going to blog this recipe, so let the pictures begin.)

Spread remaining chicken mixture over the top of the tortillas.

Spread the cheeses over the top.  I usually alternate between the cheddar and Monterey Jack.  It's a lot of cheese guys, so just push it down a little if you have to.

Sprinkle the chopped green onion on the cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes.

While the casserole is in the oven, you can whip up some Spanish rice and beans and you are all set for your Mexican fiesta!  Óle!

Linking up with:
Pint Sized Baker
Mandy's Recipe Box

Handmade Tuesday's with Kristen

Let's Be Friends Blog Hop with The Dwelling Tree

Green Fashionista and Martinis & Bikinis: Recipe Swap Eat Drink & Be Mary: Delicious Dish Tuesday Love From The Kitchen: Tuesday's Table The Diary of a Real Housewife My Own Home The New Mrs. Adventures Caleigh's Kitchen Tuesday Talk Pennies into Pearls Momfessionals

Weekending - Spent Totally At Home

This was the first weekend in I can't even remember when that we did no activities outside our house -- and it felt pretty good!  Not that I would want to do this every weekend, but every now and then it fits.

On my way home from work on Friday, I stopped by Michael's to grab some materials I needed to make the bridal shower touches I was doing for my friend.  All day I had been thinking about the things I wanted to get done when I got home.  Eric was working late so I knew I would have time to myself to really concentrate on projects I wanted to do at the house.  Well, that didn't happen!  I plopped myself in front of the TV with my bowl of Captain Crunch I was going to have for dinner, a magazine that came in the mail and started watching The Affair on Showtime.

I had heard some rumblings about this show in blogland and decided to give it a try.  Yes, season one was complete by Saturday morning.  #bingewatching  The show was different than I thought it was going to be.  There's a lot going on that is way against my moral values, but it was very intriguing.  Besides the affair happening, there's an underlying mystery of a murder.  At first you don't know who was killed or by whom.  At the end you still don't know who did it, but you do know who's dead.  Season two is scheduled to air October 4 on Showtime so if you want to jump on the bandwagon of watchers, you have a little time to catch up with season 1 if you haven't seen it.

Saturday we were going to head to a festival in the area, but woke to VERY cloudy skies, which in a short while turned into rain.  With plenty to do around the house, we decided to hang out and just get some stuff done.  While going through all the mail that was stacked up with things "I would get to later", I decided to give our cable provider a call to see if we could lower our bill.  Turns out after talking to the retention department we could get everything we needed for about $30 less a month.  Cha Ching!  Definitely worth the 10 minute wait time to talk to someone!

We invited our son and daughter-in-law, Ian and Kayla, over to dinner and were so happy they accepted.  Eric and I have a tendency to eat in front of the television in the family room.  Anyone else do this?  Well, Saturday night seemed like a good time to actually eat at the kitchen table.

I fixed one of those recipes that I hadn't fixed in years - Chicken Enchiladas.  They were as good as I remembered them being.  Recipe coming on Tuesday.

Sunday Eric had to work.  I honestly don't know what I did all day, but the time sure did go by fast.  I tried sitting outside in the morning to read a bit but that got cut short by the rain and cool temperatures.  When I came in I read some blogs and caught up with some emails.

One tangible thing I did get accomplished on Sunday was making these adorable baseballs to go on the paper placemats my friend will be using for a bridal shower she is hosting.  It was an easy project thanks to my Silhouette.

When Eric got off, we decided to be low key for dinner and he picked up Panda Express.  After a walk around the neighborhood, we curled up on the couch to watch Bachelor in Paradise.  Oh the drama!!  How many proposals do you see coming out of this season?

See -- I told you it was a very quiet few days!  What were you up to over the weekend?

Hope you guys have a great week and stop back by tomorrow to see the recipe I'll be sharing on the Chicken Enchiladas.

Check out what others were up to this weekend.

Champagne and Suburbs

B Loved Boston

I Should Be Mopping the Floor

Life of Meg

More Pieces of Me
Bella and the City
Oak and Oats
A Cute Angle
The Quinntessential Mommy
How To Get Organized At Home

Five on Friday - August 21, 2015

Hello and welcome to Five on Friday!!  So excited we have a weekend coming at us in just a few short hours.  It's been a fun-filled week at our house.  Tuesday I had banana split night with a couple friends, Wednesday we enjoyed going to the Cardinals game and seeing them grab a win over the Giants, Thursday I had an open house at a downtown hotel.  Wow -- don't know how I'm going to top all that fun this weekend, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

Before the official weekend begins, let me share my Five on Friday for this week.

1.  Munch Mitt
Since I'm going to be an aunt again in hopefully less than a month, I've been more alert when I see baby products pop up.  A Facebook friend of mine (thanks Ashley) posted a picture of her adorable little guy with one of these Munch Mitts on and it looked like something every baby should have.  The Munch Mitt teether is the solution to the constant dropping of teething toys.  The textured flexible silicone provides soothing teething relief.  Sounds like it would be great to have while travelling in the stroller or car seat.  Suggested use is from 3 months - 8 months or until they are able to remove the mitt themselves.

Click HERE to purchase

As a bonus, here is Ashley's adorable babe enjoying his Munch Mitt.  Is that not the cutest face!?!

2.  Free Book on Braids
Okay ladies with long locks, here's one for you!  Kerastase is offering a free, downloadable book on braids.  So wish I could have nice, thick flowing hair that I could braid!  For those of you that do, hope you enjoy this freebie.  Get yours here:  http://www.kerastase-usa.com/braids

3. Pecan Pie M&Ms
Although Fall doesn't official start until September 23, the stores are getting prepared now.  Look what flavor M&M's are available in - pecan pie.  Think anyone will have a bowl of these on the Thanksgiving table instead of the real deal?!?  These babies are available in Walmart stores now. Anyone tried them yet?

4.  Fireflies in a Jar

I saw this on Lush Zone and had to share.  What a fun thing to do with the kids on these wonderful summer evenings.

5.  Stay positive....

Have a great weekend!  I have a project to work on for a friend who's helping host a bridal shower and I want to get some goody bags together for my float trip next weekend.  Other than that, we don't really have any definite plans.  I'm sure we'll find something to do that's fun!  Hope you do too!  See you back on Monday for a recap.

Linking up with:

Rebecca at XOXO Rebecca

Jennie at The Diary of a Real Housewife

Amy at The Farmer's Wife

Amanda at Meet At The Barre

Erika at Little Bit of Everything

Hill Collection

Simply Sweet Home
High Five for Friday
5 on Friday 
The Jenny Evolution
The New Mrs. Adventure
The Evolution of Mom
Why Girls Are Weird
This post contained affiliate links.  I may receive a small commission if you click on the link and purchase.  Thanks!

Thinking Out Loud Thursday - August 20, 2015

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday with X-tremely V and me!  So glad you stopped by!  If you're a blogger, please link up one (or more) of your posts below.  We would love to hear from you.

Today I'm thinking out loud about mail.  It's no secret that I love happy mail.  I love getting home from work, walking to the mailbox (which is just a few steps down my driveway and sometimes this is the only exercise I get for the day), and pulling down the door.  My heart literally starts beating a little faster with excitement and I tend to hold my breath as I reach in and pull out what's inside.

Now most days, I exhale with a little bit of disappointment because all I'm pulling out is a bunch of junk that will be hitting the trash can on my way through the garage before I even enter the house.  But there are some days - oh my goodness, some days are so exciting!!  If I open that door and pull out something good, it literally makes my day.

What is good you may be asking yourself.  Well, there's lots of good things.  Like the time my blog friend Michelle who blogs over at Grammie Time mailed this adorable cross to me.

Due to my obsession with magazines, any day one arrives is a good mail day.  #magazineaddiction

Heck, I'm not even too proud to buy for stuff to be mailed to me.  Like, for instance, my Rocksbox.  Now this makes me literally jump up and down and do flips squeal a little when I see this package come in the mail.  Anyone else use Rocksbox?  The deal is you pay $19 a month and get a box of three pieces of jewelry sent to you.  They have an idea of what you would like by checking the things you add to your wish list.  You can keep the jewelry as long as you like.  When you would like to get three different pieces, you simply mail them back (postage paid) and they send you a new box of three items.

My first box had the following items in it:

See why I love Rocksbox!  If you would like to try it free for a month, you can use the code  pennybff15.   

What's your favorite thing to get in the mail?  All this makes me think -- I need to get some happy mail packages ready to send to some of my friends.  It would make me happy to put a smile on their face!

Now it's your turn -- what are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up to Thinking Out Loud Thursday with me and Vanessa at X-tremely Vanessa . The rules are simple.  Link back to me and Vanessa in your post and add your favorite post(s) below.  Super easy!  Tell all your friends to link up too.  The more the merrier.  We'd love for you to follow us too!  #ThinkingOutLoudThursdays

Enjoy more Thoughts for Thursday at

Home of Malones

East Coast Chic

A Handful of Everything
Hodges Podges
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
All Life's Little Adventures

The Deliberate Mom
This is How We Roll

This post contained affiliate links.  I may receive a small commission if you click on the link and purchase.  Thanks!

Peaches For Dessert

When my nephew was visiting, we went to our favorite orchard - Eckert's - to pick some peaches.  I was dying to try this recipe I had spied on Pinterest from Grace and Good Eats.  As soon as it was peach season, I got busy finding a time we could go pick the fresh fruit so I could whip it up.

The orchard had trees full of peaches and Landon happily helped us gather a basket full.

This recipe has all my favorite ingredients and has some serious good flavor.  It was easy to make and looks like it came straight out of a bakery.

Here's what you'll need:

1 sheet of puff pastry

3 peaches

1 wheel of Brie

3 tablespoons brown sugar

cinnamon (optional, but I highly recommend it)

honey

What do you do?

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Thaw the puff pastry as directed on the box.  Cut into six pieces.

Peel the peaches, remove the pit, and cut into 1/4 inch slices.

Remove the rind from the brie and slice into thin slices.

Put your six pieces on a piece of parchment paper inside a jelly roll pan.  My first attempt I thought I would be smart and bake this on one of my baking stones.  Really bad idea and not smart AT ALL.  As the creation baked, the juices ran off the stone and into my oven.  Second attempt with the parchment paper and jelly roll pan worked soooo much better.  (Thanks neighbors for not calling the fire department when our smoke alarm was sounding.)

Top each piece of puff pastry with brie and peaches.  Generously top each square with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.

Let cool for five minutes.

Drizzle with honey immediately before serving.

I road tested this recipe on Sunday when I fixed it at Sherri's lunch.  All thumbs up!  Hope you enjoy it as much as we have been. Thanks Grace and Good Eats for this outstanding formula!

Linking up with:
Pint Sized Baker
Mandy's Recipe Box

Handmade Tuesday's with Kristen

Let's Be Friends Blog Hop with The Dwelling Tree

Green Fashionista and Martinis & Bikinis: Recipe Swap Eat Drink & Be Mary: Delicious Dish Tuesday Love From The Kitchen: Tuesday's Table The Diary of a Real Housewife Andrea at Momfessionals The New Mrs. Adventures Caleigh's Kitchen Tuesday Talk Pennies into Pearls

Where Did The Weekend Go?

Ever have one of those weekends where you wake up on Monday morning and you swear you just got home from work Friday night?  Well, that's me today.  Here we are at Monday morning and I'm thinking I could really use some more weekend.

We had a whirlwind beginning to last week with our nephew, Landon, visiting.  On Monday we went to a local orchard and picked peaches.  Then we headed to the zoo and capped off the day by going to the drive in Monday night.  Tuesday we visited Grant's Farm and then met up with my brother to hand Landon back over to him.  Fun, fun, fun few days!  Here's a picture we took while paddle boating at Grant's Farm.

When Friday got here, Eric and I were ready for the weekend.  Our final Muny performance of the season was Friday night and the weather was magnificent.  We settled into our outdoor seats to see Oklahoma and was entertained for the next three hours.  This was one of our favorites from the entire season.  I felt bad for Eric because he had to go to work at 6:00 am the next day and we didn't get home until around midnight.  Luckily, he loved the show too and thought staying to watch the whole performance was well worth it.

Saturday came and I had a great morning.  Caught up on some blogs, answered some emails and read a book.  By the way -- I started reading All The Light We Cannot See over and can hardly put it down!  Love it!  I had started reading it a few weeks ago before a couple large projects I was working on (wedding and baby shower) and was having a hard time getting into it.  I completed started it over and that was the right decision.

Click HERE to purchase

The sun was shining and it was going to be another beautiful day so I wanted to spend some time outside.  Washing the car seemed like a great idea so that's how I spent the rest of my Saturday morning.  Then I puttered around in the flowers and garden.  We are starting to get a slew of tomatoes and zucchini.  Love eating fresh vegetables straight from the garden!!

Eric got home and he was beat.  Who could blame him?  We had been out late on Friday and he had to get up at the crack of dawn for work.  So we decided to take it easy Saturday night.  We ordered pizza and watched our beloved Cardinals beat Miami. After the game we were flipped channels and got stuck on the movie The Judge.  Have you seen it?  We've seen it before, but I just love that movie.



Sunday Eric had to work again.  I had lunch plans with my friends Sherri, Carol and Tracy.  Unfortunately Tracy had a family issue and ended up not being able to make it, but Sherri remembered her at the table.  We missed you Tracy!

Sherri's table looked amazing and we devoured her Mediterranean wraps.  They were so good!  I definitely want to make them again in my near future.

I brought dessert.  Well, I actually brought it and then baked it there so it could be served warm.  I'll be sharing the recipe for these peach tarts on Tuesday.

Sunday night Eric and I grilled out.  I fixed zucchini and corn salad as sides.  Yum!!

And that brings us to Monday.  Really, so soon!  This week holds lots of fun things so I'm sure it will speed by and then I'll have another chance to capture a weekend.  Already looking forward to it.  Have a great Monday!

Check out what others were up to this weekend.

Champagne and Suburbs

B Loved Boston

I Should Be Mopping the Floor

Life of Meg

More Pieces of Me
Bella and the City
Oak and Oats
A Cute Angle
The Quinntessential Mommy
How To Get Organized At Home