Why I Love My Small Town: Reason # 536

Big or small at the turf farm we love them all.........

ha ha ha That could be our new commercial!

Doug and Roger

There are days that I am walking back from work to the house thanking the lord for blessing me with such a wonderful place to make a living. I am so thankful to love what I do. I love being outside, I love dealing with people, and I love grass (yes like a lawn, NOT the other stuff)

I work in a low drama environment. Sure it has it's moments but for the most part it is drama free. That is because I work with 95% men who say it like it is to your face, no B.S. Most of what they do say is in a joking manor.

I am so lucky to be one of 4 girls on the team. Ever time there is a problem with the house, a car, or any physical work there is always a man ready to jump in to help us "damsel's" in distress. Who says chivalry is dead? If you really believe that you should come visit the farm for a week because you would know that it is not true. Usually when I get to work there is someone coming in the office door at the same time. 99% of the time they wait for me just so they can get the door.

It is not only the men that are great it is the women too. We have so many jokes within a day. A lot of the time they are about each other. That is o.k because we have learnt to laugh at ourselves, as well as each other.

Jill and I with our special Burger King Crowns!

Every morning I wake up really early in the morning. I take 10 minutes to get ready and 30 seconds to walk to the office. That's right, walk. I have the shortest commute imaginable. Every morning I am greeted by men/women who within a day work their butts off! They are really the ones that keep this farm prosperous. We all have our mements where we feel we could strangle someone. However, I know that they would be there for me in a flash if I called them for help, which is a very comforting fact.

I love this sod farm,

I love the people I work with,

And that's another reason why I love my small town!

Have a great weekend!

xo

Snow in May?

I went into work on Saturday night at 9:00 pm to a lovely, cold night. The "trusty" weather men were just calling for isolated showers and look at what I discovered when I came back out to my truck 5 hours later.......

All I kept thinking about was in a few hours I was suppose to take my whole family to a beautiful garden that was serving a buffet brunch. Brrr.....

That morning while getting ready for church I had to dig out my winter coat and boots again. I could see my own breath!

When I was uploading this picture from my camera onto my computer I put under file, "spring/summer 2010" which seems really ironic.....

Just thought I'd share my crazy weekend photo!

xo

Dare # 31

Welcome back to another Monday morning! The weekend has been cold and dreary which is so different from the weather we have be spoiled with lately!

Here is your dare this week:

Dare # 31

Buy a magazine that you have never read before and then read it! Switch it up from your usual favorite and indulge in something new. Maybe you'll discover a new favorite!

Have a great week!

xo

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mothers Day to the most beautiful, kind, and silliest woman I know!

Love you!

P.S Happy Mother's Day to all of you other Mom's out there!

xo

Meatloaf with Mac & Cheese

One of the newer foods that has been added to my recipe book is meatloaf. The first time I took a bite of meat loaf was when I was 19 years old. It was never a meal that I had at home, not once. And what a shame because now it has become one of my favorites. You can add so much to make it full of flavor. There is just something about meatloaf that screams Mac & Cheese so it has become it's partner whenever we are making this meal.

Here is a recipe that I use:

Ingredients:

Hamburger

1 Egg

1 tsp Garlic Powder

2 tsp Parsley

1/2 cup Stove Top Dressing

1 cup (divided)BBQ Sauce of choice

Elbow noodles

Valletta

Shredded cheese

Milk (A dash in the pot)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine hamburger meat, egg, garlic powder, parsley, dressing, and half of the BBQ sauce. Mix until well combined.

2. Place meat mixture in bread bake pan. Top with the remainder of BBQ sauce. You can store it in the fridge over night, freeze it or bake it at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until cooked. We like to make ours the night before and let it marinate overnight in the fridge.

3. On to the macaroni! Boil the water and cook noodles according to package. I always place the dry noodles in the pan that I will be using before hand just to make sure I have the right amount.

4. Once noodles are cooked drain all the water and place noodles back into the same pot (why dirty more dishes then you have to). Add Valletta and a dash of milk. Mix until well blended.

5. Place in a greased baking dish and top with some stove top dressing. Then place a nice thick layer of shredded cheese on top. Place in oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

6. Serve altogether and enjoy! :-)

This meal is really so delicious and so yummy. The meatloaf is full of flavor and you can't beat a creamy, homemade mac & cheese. It is a meal that I know Ryan and I will continue to keep in our meal plan because it is a hearty family meal that is easy to make and inexpensive!

Price Breakdown:

Hamburger- $ 4.56

Egg- Free

Stove top dressing (1/4 package) - $0.50

Spices- Always in stock!

BBQ Sauce- $1.00

Elbow noodles (1/2 package) - $0.50

Valletta (1/2 package) - $1.93

Cheese- $1.25

Total: $9.74

xo

Gardening...Friend or Foe

I have this love/hate relationship when it comes to gardening. One would automatically assume, considering my landscaping background, that I would enjoy looking after a garden and my flower beds.....WRONG. The Lazy Lindsay comes out and thinks of a million other things that could get done before looking after the gardens.

I love the look of flowers growing around the house in a weed free flower bed. I could sit in my rocking chair on the porch for hours, looking at the butterflies flying around the pretty colored petals. After that bubble has popped I focus on reality and my hatred for weeding.

You see, when Ryan gets the urge to help me weed we can do everything in less than 1 hour. The problem with that....he hates it too.

Except I have found something that makes the situation so much better. Manipulating Ryan into doing it. That sounds a lot more cruel then what I actually mean. Let me explain:

Ever since I met Ryan he has told me about this "dream" of his to grow a giant pumpkin. He would constantly be doing research looking at links about different methods and pictures of prize winning pumpkins. Like this one:

I sat there and listened not really taking it too seriously until last year when I tried growing my own vegetable garden for the first time. With all the craziness of work and house renovations I never kept it up and the garden became a COMPLETE failure! I was pretty disappointed and in an effort to try to cheer me up Ryan told me "If we plant a pumpkin in part of the garden I'll help you keep it weeded"....JACKPOT!

So, for his birthday I bought him the best giant pumpkin seeds I could find and we begun the process of becoming GIANT pumpkin growers.

Ryan getting ready to plant the first seed. Notice the excitment in his smile?

First, we planted the seed into a small starter pot and covered it to give the effect of a green house. Two days later it sprouted. Two more days and we had to transfer it into a bigger pot.

This thing is crazy, it has a mind of it own. We have been feeding it milk and sugar every other day. Ryan has cleaned out the garden and fertilized it getting it already for us to plant. He is so excited and has already looked into how to submit it into the local fair exhibits.

That is our plant so far. No pumpkin yet but I will keep you posted. But for now, I have to get back to weeding, with lots of help of course! :-)

xo

Dare # 30

I sure wish I wasn't so sick this weekend because I would have gotten so much accomplished. Instead, all day Sunday my arse was glued to the couch dozing in and out of a cold medicine coma. Boy, do I ever have a great boyfriend though. That man made sure my juice cup was always full, my medicine was administered on time, got supper ready, and let me watch my T.V shows even though they were pretty girly and I kept sleeping though them.

Anyways, on to this week's dare:

Dare # 30

Go out and stock up on your summer supply of sunscreen and bug spray. And while you are in that aisle stock up on aloe lotion and After Bite.....because let's face it, you'll still get bitten and burnt.

Have a great week!

xo