Gram's Place

This is what we do to Greek Casserole Recipes that we hate...

Okay, so last week I did a Menu Plan Monday that many people were thinking was a little out of the ordinary for our family. You're right... it was. But, they ate it like troopers. Here are the results: Chinese - EXCELLENTE! Indian Curry - pretty good. Many here thought it was their favorite all week Jambalaya - good. Again, a good recipe makes a great dish Greek Casserole - okay, those two words should not be in the same sentence. Three letters - YUK. Ratatouille - for a non-zuchini eating family, it was pretty darn good. I doubt it will be on the menu anytime soon, but it wasn't bad. This week, in honor of the troopers in my family, the girls each get to pick what they want one day each... so here's the menu. You try to guess who wanted them (some demographics on my girls - E=age 8 semi picky eater but not bad, A=age 15 most picky on the face of this family, L=age 18 and a budding cook, H=age 20 and likes most things. Mon - fried chicken and mashed potatoes Tues - na...

I know.. it isn’t the most interesting thing to blog about. But, sometimes, when your life is really really dull and you have nothing else to say, you just blog about everyday stuff. Like the thunderstorm and tornado last night. And actually, by the way, I LIKE my boring life. I’m content to be dull and boring. There was a storm last night and we heard the sirens go off in town and the announcer said “Severe Thunderstorm Warning. Please seek Shelter Immediately”. So, I went downstairs to read my book instead of laying on the bed. Lindsey was at work (where she spends most of her life) and Abb and Em were watching a dvd on Ab’s computer. But, Shawn and Haleigh… decided to go storm chasing. Crazy kooks! They didn’t see much. But, they brought back Strawberry Shakes from Dairy Queen! Fast Forward… I went to bed, and fell sound asleep. Nothing wakes me up except my husband getting out of bed or my daughters vomiting. So, apparently there was a really really really bad thunderstorm and Shaw...

I decided to actually PLAN this week. Whoooo Hooooo! It's gonna be an exciting ethnic week! Monday - Chicken Stir Fry Tuesday - Indian Curry Wednesday - Jambalaya Thursday - Ratatouille (yes, inspired by the MOVIE!) Friday - Greek Casserole Bon appetit!

I'm definately not happy about this. But, what's a girl to do? I knew it would happen someday... but it doesn't hardly seem possible. I am attending a 40th Birthday Party this week. This will be the first of many 40th Birthday parties I will undoubtably be privvy to over the course of the next year, leading up to and including my own. When I was in High School, I arroganly touted that I would be "happy" when I was "32". That just seemed like an amicable age to me. I would have a career, husband, 2 kids, home... you know, I'd be 32! For goodness sake, it would be perfect. Well, unbeknownst to me, 32 came and went when I was still looking for it. It wasn't until I was 38 with four kids and two cats that I realized I had been waiting for 32 and now 40 is creeping in to take me by surprise too! I decided that even though I am not happy about it (this old age thing) - I am going to join the crowd! My mother was well known for being 29 for her ...

I was just thinking about the 4th of July today... you know, since it's tomorrow and all. My memories as a kid of the 4th - we always went to the parade in the morning and then to the local fireworks show. It was so much fun. The whole city was pretty much dull except for those two events. The parade brought out rows and rows of people, and the fireworks was always packed and fun afterwards - we would walk home and there were tons of cars driving around. It felt like a big city for a few minutes. After we got married, and our kids were small, Shawn and I would take the kids to different places to see fireworks. Big cities in the mountains, lakeside fireworks displays,... Several years ago, our city stopped doing fireworks on the 4th and decided to not compete with an even smaller town 5 miles away. We started attending there regularly. And, truthfully, nothing compares to that small town display. It is fabulous and fun. Nothing beats hanging out at the school on the hill ...