Before and After....The House Has Been Painted!

We got our house painted....it looks so much better!!! We have been in our house nearly 11 years. We bought the house new. People on the street started having their houses re-painted which made us realize how badly ours was in need of painting as well.

The colors in these pictures is not great, but those shutters flanking the window above the messy garage used to be a hunter green...

The back of the house had a bunch of cracks that were made worse when they installed the support beam for the covered patio. (I should have got close ups...it was pretty bad.)

AFTER: The new color scheme is a khaki called Stay Awhile (made by Frazee), the white trim is called white shadow also by Frazee.

Misc....trip...craft...project!

We are back from Hawaii!!

Great family trip....there was the beach, the pool, relaxing, snorkeling,

fireworks....what more can you ask for?

Already planning our next trip!

We have been back a week already yikes! It took a day or two to get things organized again. (Never quite as organized as I would like but you know how that goes.)


We found a fun craft over at the Pink and Green Mama, Cornstarch Sidewalk Chalk Paint. This is easy cheap fun. All you need is cornstarch, food coloring, a muffin tin, paint brush and water. It entertained the 2 year old and the 13 year old! Got to love that!






Next project...filling this void. This was a grassed area but when they put the pool in this is where the bobcat trekked back and forth, back and forth, so the grass died. I have been wanting some raised garden boxes and was inspired by my friend Shannon to get moving on it. (See her post on raised gardens here.)

So this weekend by handy-husband built me two garden boxes. We used Douglas Fir, (non-pressure treated wood...we did spray a water sealant on the wood to protect it a bit.) Yesterday I unloaded two cubic yards (or two truckloads of soil) to fill the boxes. (I did get a little help unloading the second truck!)

Next step some soil additives, chicken manure or something of the like....and then garden plants. You may think it is a little late to start a garden in San Diego, and it probably is. I am hoping since it really isn't warm yet it will work out just fine.

Summer Fun!

This is a little bit of a long one!

Summer had begun! OK the weather has been hit or miss; I think our "June Gloom" is almost over. I thought I would share some photos (Wendy) of what we have been up to! Ellie and Madeline enjoying a Banana Shake homemade by Madeline!
Ellie's latest thing... tape! This is a picture of her "art gallery". She loves to color a picture, ask for a piece of tape and post it to the wall...it keeps her busy and she is so proud to ask people if they would like to see her art gallery.


We have been enjoying our new pool....Ellie is not always amicable to a picture these days but this is a nice "cheesy" smile.

Here are my folks enjoying some "snacky snacks" in our little outdoor living room. We are loving the new ikea couch (thanks mom and dad!)

In one weekend we had a 16 year old birthday party, and 8 year old birthday party and than I was suprised with a 40th birthday party (this was in the span of 2 days.) This is a photo of Ben (16) with one of my cousins twins (Daniel) and Ellie (at the 8 year old party)

Here is Madeline holding Annabelle (the other twin). Doesn't she look little? And she is 3 months old! (preemies)

This is my 83 year old grandma and 7 of her 8 great-grandchildren!!

Here is Talia (my niece and the 8th great grandchild not pictured earlier), with cousin Madeline!

Our friends loned us their ping-pong table. We thought it would be good for the 16 year old birthday party....something else to keep them busy. Our friends said we could keep it for the summer; they will enjoy it too as they will be coming to swim frequently. The kids are really enjoying it...Ben said he may put it on his Christmas list!

Friends at the pool!!

Ben's Coconut Birthday Cake!! Yum!! We made Coconut Ice Cream too!

This got us in the mood for our family vacation we are going here.....

Yup, that's right Hawaii....see you when we get back!

Summer Vacation!

Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday Ben!!

My first born is 16! Yikes! That makes me feel a little old...maybe because I will be 40 tomorrow, but that is another post. I feel very lucky to have such a responsible teenager! He does great in school, he likes to be home, he hangs out with his 2 year old sister.... He had a birthday party with a bunch of friends on Friday, indoctrinating the pool, today will be a mellow family birthday. We are going to go get him a new desk (that's what he wanted) and go out to his favorite restaurant (ok it is mine too so that works out well) Miguel's!

Like most teenagers he is eager to get his driver's license!! That will happen next month! And he doesn't mind that a '91 Camry may be the car he is toodling around town in!!

Unfortunately tomorrow he does have to have his wisdom teeth pulled...but we will enjoy today!! Happy Birthday Ben!!

Table Update....

Here is the table update. We stained the top. We were going for a beachy tanny/grey. Turned out a little more tan but we like it. Then I rubbed the legs a bit and glazed them. I may do another coat, not sure I want it to be so much lighter than the table.

But we are getting ready for 20 teenagers to descend this afternoon....so that will have to wait.

A "Keeper" -- recipe that is

I like to try a few new recipes every week. I usually get my ideas from magazines although I have a decent collection of cookbooks as well. Sometimes these new recipes are a bust, or just OK, but once in awhile one gets labeled "a keeper" by the family and this is one of those.

This recipe came from the May issue of Sunset Magazine. (I tried to load up the link to the recipe from the website but it doesn't seem to be working so I am going to give you all the information you need to do this yourself...just in case you run into the same trouble.) My pictures could be better still working on that....I did cook the chicken a little longer than pictured so the cheese was completely melted!



Southwest Grilled Chicken and Avocado Melts
Serves 4 Time 30 minutes

2 T vegetable oil, divided
4 Anaheim or poblano chiles
4 boned, skinned chicken breast halves
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne (I didn't have cayenne on hand substituted paprika)
1 tsp. kosher salt
Lime Wedges
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced
1 cup shredded jack cheese

1. Prepare a grill for high heat (450 to 550 degrees) Rub 1 tbsp. oil over chiles. Cook chiles, turning often, until skins are browned. (this is easy but allow 10-15 min) Put chiles in a bowl, cover and let cool. Seed chiles in a bowl, and rub off skins. (I rubbed skin off with a paper towel, cut the top off, made a slit down the center and scraped out seeds.)

2. Meanwhile, rub remaining 1 Tbsp. oil over chicken. Combine cumin, cayenne, and salt and sprinkle over each breast. Grill chicken, turning once, until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.

3. Squeeze a little lime over chicken, then top each breast with a few avocado slices a chile, and about 1/4 cup cheese. Grill covered, until cheese melts, about 4 minutes.


That's it!! It really is very easy. Don't let the roasting of the chile scare you! Or the chile scare you! It is really not too hot.....that's why you take the seeds out.

They served it with a side of black beans. I served it with a can of whole pinto beans drained, combined with 1 cup frozen corn, and a salad.

Hope you try it!!