Friday...a little of this...and a little of that...

Our family loves the weekend as it's a great time to "regroup", and "catch-up" on family time and activities after a busy work week. As I've been preparing my menu for next week I wanted to share a few yummy recipes.

One of our family favorites is called: California Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
1 pound thin spaghetti, broken into 1-inch pieces
3 large tomatoes, diced
2 medium zucchini, diced
1 large cucumber, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 sweet red pepper, diced
1 large red onion, diced
2 cans (2-1/2 ounces each) sliced ripe olives, drained

DRESSING:
1 bottle (16 ounces) Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions; Drain and rinse in cold water. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the vegetables and olives. In a large bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients. Drizzle over spaghetti mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 10-15 servings.


I've also found a brand new favorite (I made them last night and they were a hit) from my friend Christy @ Between Here and Home. Stop by her place and check our her blog. Trust me, you won't be disappointed, and you'll be drawn to her sweet, sweet, heart!

Lemon Cookies

Lemon Cookies:
1 package lemon cake mix
2 T. of Lemon Juice plus enough oil to equal 1/2 cup
2 eggs
Lemon frosting (store bought)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet. Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs in large bowl with a spoon until dough forms. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake 8 minutes or until set. Remove to wire rack. Cool and frost.

(Christy says, "You can use any flavor of cake mix. I've used a spice cake and cream cheese frosting and you can never go wrong with chocolate!"...I can't wait to try the other versions)

On the home front, I'm hoping to hit a few garage sales, and the goodwill tomorrow looking for treasures. Ya just never know what you might find that you simply cannot live without.

I'm hoping to find something that looks like this that I can repaint black to match my recently painted kitchen table/chairs/hutch.


Ashley headed up north today to spend the weekend at her friends cabin. She is busy ramping up her schedule with tons of activities with her friends before she heads back to YWAM.

The countdown has officially begun, and we are at 37 days until she leaves. I'm not real sure where summer has gone; but we are hoping that her time away will go just as fast as her time at home has gone!

Ash is busy making her lists, checking off what she's bought, and thinking through all the things yet to be purchased. With the new fee's that are now being charged to check your luggage, she's really trying to "pack" light...if that is even possible. (I'm thinking she will take LESS shoe's this time :-)

Andrew is busy enjoying
having his driver's license, and spending a lot of time here!











It's amazing how the two things he loves to do:

1. Driving my husband's truck
2. Golfing

come with an expensive price tag....between gas prices and golf fee's....so what's a boy to do? He's been burning up the highway looking for a J-O-B! Ya gotta give the boy credit that's for sure. He was so excited to apply at Texas Roadhouse (where Ashley use to work) and they offered him a job on the spot....until they realized he won't be 17 until Feb. Bummer....so, it's off to fill out more applications this weekend.

So while Ash is away, splashing around in the lake at the cabin, and Andrew is looking for that "perfect" job....I'm sure Annabelle will be found sitting on our deck
....catchin' some rays...cause ya know..." a girls gotta do..what a girls gotta do".

I may just grab a glass of ice tea, some yummy California Pasta Salad, and a Lemon Cookie and join her!

Happy weekend!