Life Happens and Taco Seasoning Mix

Here I am again, months after I should have written a new post, finally taking the time to do so! Oh well! Life happens!

We had a wedding since I wrote last! If you have ever been the parents of the bride or groom, you will know that there is this flurry of activities leading up to a busy weekend when every moment is itemized so that nothing is forgotten. And then you have the days following where you crash and wonder how it all got done! Yes! That was us!

Friday held a bridal luncheon hosted by a very special friend of our family. It was a relaxing time in between the decorating of the church and setting up the centerpieces for the rehearsal dinner.

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The rehearsal dinner went off without a hitch, but the time spent setting up the centerpieces did not! Let’s just say that I dropped a box of glass vases which broke into a gazillion pieces and leave it at that.

The wedding went great, though, and we are thrilled with our newest family member!

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Little Miss Mia performed her responsibilities as flower girl very well! Her first time down the aisle during rehearsal left a lot to be desired (she ran the whole way!), but after quite a bit of practice her confidence grew and she knew exactly what she was to do. She did an amazing job during the wedding! Shortly before the seating of the mothers and the processional, she worked her way out of position by the bride and ended up near the front of the line where she loudly proclaimed, “I’m getting married today!” It definitely gave us the laugh we all needed and helped us to relax!

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Several weeks (months??) ago, my sister and brother-in-law were in town for a week, and I had done some meal planning and shopping in advance of their visit. I had decided to have tacos on Tuesday, and for the sake of time and convenience, decided to purchase 2 packets of taco seasoning mix. I remember getting them off the shelf and crossing it off my list. However, those packets evidently did not make it to my house. I was already browning the beef for the tacos when I realized that the packets were missing. Here we are weeks (months?) later, and I still haven’t found them. Who knows where they ended up.

Any way, I found myself in need of some taco seasoning very quickly! Thankfully, I found a recipe and had all the necessary ingredients on hand. I used the entire recipe for about 1-1/2 lbs of beef. Everyone thought that the tacos tasted much better than when using the purchased seasoning! And it is so incredibly easy, I really don’t know why I ever bothered using the ready-made seasonings in the first place!

Mix all these ingredients together and store in an air-tight container. Use in recipes to taste.

  • 1 tbsp. chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp. onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper–more if you like it spicier
  • 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • 1/2 tbsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. black pepper

You can also use dried red pepper flakes if you prefer.

 

The Merry, Merry Month of May

Today begins the merry month of May, and for me, it will be a marathon month.  I have lots going on beginning this Saturday and ending on June 5, so please pardon me if I don’t post much this month.

On Saturday I start my marathon of activities with an early morning flight out to Omaha to meet up with the Best Aunt Ever and drive back East. That drive, though it is 16 hours, will be a wonderful road trip!  We hope to be back home by the morning of the 5th.  On the 8th, the Best Aunt Ever and I will drive to Virginia  for the wedding of my girl and her Navy man!  The rest of the family makes the trip on the 9th.  You may remember about a year ago that my oldest 2 kiddlets got engaged within 24 hours of each other. You can read about it here.We had the first of the weddings last October, and now it’s time for the second of those weddings!!!  I am sooooo excited!

We will have a few weeks to rest and visit before we make the trip to Alabama for the wedding of my nephew and his girl.  Unfortunately, we will have to return home right after the wedding to allow  my youngest to be at home for his last Sunday. He leaves on June 3 for AF BMT. Once he leaves, he will be gone until January.  Saddness!    The Best Aunt Ever and I will also have to leave that day on our road trip back to Omaha so that I can catch my flight home on the 5th.

In the meantime, I want to share a new recipe for making your own laundry detergent.  Last summer I shared this recipe for making detergent.  I have been using it ever since…haven’t bought laundry detergent in almost a year!  Well, the other day I found a new recipe using the same ingredients.  I had no idea that I could make this detergent without cooking it to melt the soap!  I think that I will be making this new recipe from now on.  It is so much easier!

The First Wedding

My apologies for no new posts for a few weeks!!  We had the first of the two family weddings on Saturday, and I was a bit overwhelmed with rehearsal dinner preparations as well as packing for a Florida trip and all that a trip entails.  I will be back as soon as possible to share some new recipes with you all.

In the meantime, here are a few pictures to enjoy!

My four kiddlets…

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The family…..

 

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The happy couple….

 

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and Russ with his cousin Daniel. We have a pic like this from Daniel’s wedding 3 weeks ago.  See a few posts back!

 

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Kitchen Memory and a Wedding

I was privileged to attend my nephew’s wedding in West Virginia this past weekend!  A road trip with my sister and two of my sons was lots of fun!  The weather was perfect, and the wedding was beautiful!  My son was his cousin’s best man!

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Last week I spent an hour or so preparing some peppers (both hot and bell) for freezing.  Knowing that I needed a sharp knife to cut the peppers, I got out my knife sharpener to do the job.  As I was sharpening, I remembered that this is the very same sharpener that my mom always used.  I have memories of hearing the sound of the knife blades being pulled across the stone!

001I did a search and discovered that this model is from the 1950s, so it is possible that my parents got it as a wedding gift.  I am so glad it still works beautifully!

Want to Be a Wedding Coordinator?

Hey, Everyone!

I am helping out my friend Brenda over at The Organized Bride.  Brenda is offering an e -class to help wedding coordinators. If you are interested, click on this link: Click here to visit The Organized Bride.
For everyone who signs up for the class through my blog, I get compensated!!  So we both win!  By taking this course, you will learn amazing things about helping brides on their special day.