Secret Tea Party…

So my Mom is crazy about tea parties. Having three girls she hosted her fair share for us. We use to love them. One time my youngest sister Jamie (probably around 4/5 at the time) put pretzel sticks up her nose. (I’ll never forget that) They were always a so much fun. Because anytime we’re all together we laugh way too much. So let me tell you how we surprised her with a secret tea party for Mother’s Day.

Well, my Mom and I went thrifting a couple months back. At every dang store, she would find part of a tea set and tell me about this time in Mississippi when she found a whole tea set and she should have bought it. Well after the first 3 stores, my wheels started spinning and I text both of my sisters. We planned on surprising her not only with a tea set for Mother’s Day but also with a tea party.

Whew… can I just say I never realized the work that goes into a good tea party? Oh, man, I worked and stressed for two months at her party. I’m a perfectionist and a mad do it yourself-er and I wanted to go all out. After all, the three of us were quite a handful.

My sisters: Courtney, is an LPN (2nd shift) and a dog Mom of two. Jamie, is a college student, works at a State Park, and is a dog Mom too. Cassi (is technically not my sister, but fingers crossed Dillon’s brother marries her one day and it can be official) She is a college student, works at the college, and we have adopted her into our family.

I did all the DIY and crafty stuff and cooking. Courtney and I did most of the planning and I put Jamie and Cassi to work day of setting up.

For her party, we did a lunch: of egg salad tea sandwiches, bite-size BLTs, cucumber with herbed cream cheese, bacon ranch pinwheels, cheese ball bites, grapes and cheese. For dessert: little cakes, French macarons, Oreo truffles, lemon scones, strawberry mousse. For drinks: ice water, hot tea in lots of flavors, and adult punch.

We played Never have I ever, and a what’s in your phone game. We took photos and had us a grand time in our dresses. (They were required)

I tried to have a well-rounded menu. There was 8 of us total and let me tell you I should have made more egg salad sandwiches because they were gone quick.

We also got our cousin, her daughter and our Aunt (Mom’s sister), to come down it was kind of a surprise for her too. Mom did not know they were coming either. Ha! We got her so good. By the way, she was shocked and so excited when she finally caught on.

We told her we had special lunch reservations in Tulsa and when she opens the door to Courtney’s house she was in awe of everything. She still hasn’t stopped oohing and aahing over it. It was a major success.

I love throwing party’s and they normally look like Pinterest threw up. That is my go-to for inspiration and ideas. It’s probably a good idea because my Mom loved it so much she wants a new family tradition of Mother’s Day Tea. Which is fine with me as long as it’s not a secret.

I’m not good at keeping secrets and let me tell you I almost blew it a couple of time. One time I told her I was so stressed over Mother’s Day (Oops) she asked why and I told her it was because I had to take her to lunch. (I felt a little bad). I also had to lie about why I was asking about the egg salad recipe. Dillon doesn’t like it and of course, she remembered. (Oops)

Cuero, Tx…

Texax, oh how I miss Texas already! I think I’m gonna have to take up drinking to cope with the loss. Man, my life is shaping up to be an old country song really quick. Well if blogging doesn’t work out I can always take up writing country songs.

We were in the little town of Cuero for about 2 months. It’s not an extremely large town but it was a decent size. It has a tiny little Walmart. Surprisingly it’s a better Walmart than most of the larger ones I’ve been to. It has an HEB… did anyone else hear the angels when I said that?… HEB…yep I heard them again. There is a Mexican restaurant on every dang corner but I never found one that even came close to Los Cocos Sports Grille They had a wonderful burger place called Monster Burger. It has great decor and a great burger.

There was a fancy park, Logan sure thought it was awesome. Park, Playground, community garden, pool, splash pad, golf course, and ponds. The RV park where we were was also wonderful, grassy (always trimmed), spacious, picnic tables, small, and out in the country. Spacious Country RV.  Downtown Cuero had a few downtown shops. Wagner Hardware has a cute shop above it. So don’t miss out on that.

 

 

I loved the historic homes, but my favorite thing about Cuero is the location, it was close enough to everything, We went to Austin, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Gonzales, Mustang Island, and Victoria.

I completely fell in love with Texas while we were there. The wildflowers, the unlimited amount of stuff to do, the fact that they put roads around the beautiful trees, and the Spanish moss that hangs from them, the 80 miles an hour speed limit, the history,  and the fact at people are super proud.

Fighting a loosing battle…

It’s been a while since I posted, because I was loosing my battle with self doubt for a while. Self doubt has caused me to quit a lot of things in my life. I’m pretty good at quitting. So why can’t I quit self doubt?!?

I was struggling with being a single dandelion in a field of wild flowers! I asked my self, what’s the point? Why should someone read my blog? Blogs are a dime a dozen! We are not the first/only people who travel in a camper for work. (My instagram Is full of them) Most of them have better posts, are more organized, and never seem to have a shortage of topics to post about.

So I slacked off because I couldn’t answer those questions.

My sister/therapist told me we have a crazy/interesting life full of all kinds of stuff. (Sewing, racing, traveling, the cabin, the camper, the razors, and work)

I was still struggling to find something to write about our camper life. (After all that’s what my blog was mostly supposed to be about) I researched a lot when I was dreaming about blogging. I can’t tell you the amount of times I read “stick with one main topic” and that’s what was killing any kind of writing spark I had. It wasn’t relevant enough to what I wanted my blog to be about.

I’ve never dreamed of being a Ree Drummond in the blogging world. But I’d like to at least have a small following and maybe help people or entertain them for a while.

I may not win all battles against self doubt, but I plan on winning the war!

So I freshened up my page and I’ll be sharing more. More on life as a line wife. More on life as a racer wife. More on the places we have been, and more recipes for sure.

Do you have any tips or stories on battling self doubt? I want to hear them!

We’re moving…

We just found out that we are finally leaving Duncan. I couldn’t be happier we been here for too long. I just about tried every food place, I can try and shopped everywhere, I can shop.

My husband is not so happy about he move. He would rather stay close to his race car. It’s so far away from our cabin (11hrs) and where both sets of our parents (8hrs). It’s further than we’ve ever been from home, but it’s not for very long.

I am excited to be going someplace new. I’m ready for a change as I said before I’m not good at settling in one spot, I get a weird anxious like feeling and I start planning random trips and all I wanna do is go go go! I was planning a trip to Nashville. (Oh believe me we are still going) It’s just going to have to get pushed back a few months.

So we’re headed to Cuero, Texas tomorrow. (It’s in south Tx, close to San Antonio) I’m excited it’s only an hour or so to the beach and there is tons to do all around! Do you have any ideas for us? We’re only going to be there for about 2 months and Dillon even has the weekends off so I need lots of ideas. He’s not good at setting around the camper!

I’d love to have feed back. We need tons of new sights to see, new food to try, and new things to do!

Turkey Burritos in the slow cooker…

This was a concoction that kinda developed over time. I really love taco salad but I live with two picky butt heads! (I love them)

I started off making taco meat in the crockpot since I’m the only one who eats raw tomatoes I decided to add them to the mix. Then one time I got too lazy to make refried beans so I added a can pinto beans. (which I later switched to black beans) Dillon doesn’t like hard tacos or chips to much so he just had to have a burrito. One time making this last minute Dillon informs me he has a friend coming over. Well I hurried and made some rice and added to the mix so there would be a little more. Turns out everyone loves it that way! Now this is a staple in our house. Sometimes I just eat it as a burrito bowl! I’ve shared the recipes multiple times.

• 1 lbs of ground turkey
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
• 1 can Bushes seasoned black beans
• 1 pack taco seasoning
• 1/2 diced onion
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice or quinoa
• Salt and pepper to taste

Stir ground turkey, onion, beans, tomatoes, taco seasoning, and half the tomato sauce into crockpot on low for 4 hours stirring occasionally. Stir in cooked rice or quinoa. Before serving if it looks dry add more tomato sauce. We use Mission carb smart whole wheat tortilla. (When Walmart has them) Make sure you add cheese and top with your favorites.

* When I double this recipe I normally use 1 can Bushes black beans and 1 can of pinto beans just to give it a little more variety!

Who designs these things…

So today Logan told me that his carpet in his bedroom was wet. After much searching, we found out that under his tub has been leaking for a while now. Well since the weather here has been below freezing we have been letting the water drip. Well, all that water has just been soaking up into Logan’s carpet.  So I called Dillon and told him we had a leak and they let him come home and see what was going on.  There is a tiny little access hole with the toilet set right in front of it. So we had to tear down the whole wall in front of the tub. It’s still, not the easiest thing to reach. We managed to figure out that they cross threaded the dang thing and we now get to replace all that good stuff.

But my here is my question who designs these things? Lets the put the toilet in front of the access hole for the tub. Lets put the little corners in that are impossible to sweep. Let’s not put a silverware drawer or a closet bar in the back bedroom. I personally think its someone who never swept, or had a water leak in a tight spot behind a toilet. I clean the dang thing but gah who wants to hug a toilet? Also, who built the dang thing? Who was in charge of sewing down the all the stuff? This makes the fourth thing we have have had to fix in this camper we have had less than 6 months.

Falling in love with Claremore Oklahoma in a day…

I recently had a chance to stroll down Main Street in the small town of Claremore, Ok.

I was immediately in awe of all the shops and character that it possessed. There was nowhere close to park, so I ended up in the public parking a little future down which wasn’t as bad as it sounds! I don’t mind walking and it was great that they had this overflow parking! As it turns out the town was having there Souper Saturday (more on this in just a bit) that’s why it was so busy. The weather was just perfect for a stroll down Main street.

I went into the first store, and was blown away! Farmhaus was not only beautiful and historic, but the farmhouse decor inside was to die for.

 I literally wanted one of every inside. (Sometimes it stinks living in a camper 24/7) I got a chance to talk to the lovely lady who owns it and as it turns out we have mutual friends from Wagoner. (I’m always amazed by how large, yet small the world really is)

 

I continued on down store after store of wonderful and beautiful shops and boutiques with the friendliest workers.

The District on Main had some beautiful clothes and some neat stuff. Very high-end stuff. I was just in love with their original brick wall inside the store and she told us the story behind finding the wall. (I’m Fascinated by old antique/historic-stuff)

I went into a store that I had spotted on the drive in, LoliPop. I thought it was going to be a bakery and candy type store. Truth be told I was mildly disappointed that they didn’t have cupcakes. They do have candy, but it is also a boutique. They have some of the cutest clothes, and the sweetest girls working! I bought a cute sweater dress/shirt. I tied it up and the girls in there oohed and awwed on it and made me have an absolutely giant head (maybe I should start a fashion blog, ok just kidding)

Next, I stopped in at She Brews Coffee House and treated my self to a coffee (The Misty) and a piece of delicious Lemon Ooey Gooey Cake. (Y’all I almost died and went to heaven. I love lemon flavored everything!) I was so glad I waited in line and studied their info. She Brews not only has coffee, wonderful desserts, and a lovely lunch menu but also helps women transition form negative/troublesome pasts into better futures. (I am a sucker for this stuff. I almost cried standing in line reading a success story on their wall.)

The Misty– cappuccino with half the espresso, but a generous serving of white chocolate and caramel and topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of white chocolate.

OutWest Home Decor had everything you need to decorate in a cabin or western theme. Beautiful stuff and again the lady who owns it was super sweet. I bought a cute wooden state of Oklahoma ornament that said Claremore on it.

I had just enough time to run into Burlap Closet Boutique and check it out. I was in love with some of their tee shirts but didn’t have enough time to try them on and/or by anything. The lady working gave me a card and told me they ship. I’m definitely going to be getting me some cute new shirts.

I went in as many shops, boutiques, and antique stores as possible before I had to head back and pick up Dillon. But I’m telling you I was amazed at the charming and bustling Main Street. Everyone seemed to be helpful and friendly. Claremore really has the best downtown shopping district that I’ve ever been too. I love supporting small shops!

Y’all I parked my truck at 1:30 and walked into the Farmhaus a few minutes later. Some lady asked for soup. (It’s a home decor store) I was thrown for a loop! I kinda interrupted the lady’s talking and asked what was going on. She told me that 2 times a year they have Souper Saturday, to promote businesses on Main Street and as fundraisers for stuff the town needs. I was very intrigued and asked if she could explain more. (I later found out her husband is on the city council) she said the business on Main Street dish out soup if you get the ($8) package which includes a cup for your soup. I was so bummed to be coming in at the end of this! (11am-2pm) (Y’all know food and shopping and two of my favorite things)

She also told me about food truck Thursday’s during the summer months, where they practically close down Main Street for food trucks and shopping. (I’m telling y’all it sounds like heaven to me!)

She told me that Claremore had also passed a city ordinance that you may walk around with beer now also. (Which is a big deal here in the Bible Belt)

I am so marking my calendar for all the fun events coming up this year. If we didn’t already have a cabin in Arkansas, I’d be ready to move to Claremore!

Pay it Forward…

Tonight we had a sweet lady in a white FJ pay for our food while going through the drive through at Taco Bell here in Duncan, OK. I was shocked. Dillon was like huh? What? Stop pulling my leg? There is noway someone just paid for our food? You are joking, right? But she did and the guy in the window says she does it once a week. She even wrote on our receipt “Have A Blessed Day.” I think it was so sweet. We will definitely be paying it forward.

I’ve decided that I’m going to adopt her out look on this. Now I can’t go super crazy but we are a little more fortunate than others and I’d like to make people feel just the way I did tonight.

If only everyone could adopt a pay it forward method. It’s not all about money. You can do all kinds of things to help some one out, with out spending a dime. Now, it’s still a scary place out their so don’t go putting your self in a bad spot because your trying to help some one out!

You can do little things like: Return a store cart for someone, turn in that lost wallet with someone’s hard earned money in it, buy a stranger a coffee or soda, give someone your seat, just tell someone they look nice, tell our military personnel thank you, hold the door a little longer just so the next person can get in outta the cold, let the person behind you with only a few items go ahead, let someone go even if the light is green . It doesn’t take much if you just be conscious and considerate. It will make your day better and someone else’s.

Logan found a wallet the other day at a gas station on our way home. It had quite a bit of cash in it. It had no ID, only 2 phone numbers. (It looked like a little kids wallet, with Christmas money in it) we called and text the numbers and took it in to the lady’s behind the cash register. They said “We can’t believe you brought this in honestly most people would have just kept it.” I was baffled, (I mean I’ve lost a few wallets, phones, and a camera only to never see them again) at the fact that the lady was shocked at someone doing the right thing. That is so sad. I hope the owner gets his money back! I’d hate to loose my Christmas money.

Pay it Forward, Chain of Love, Kindness, or anything else you want to call it y’all just practice it! I promise you’ll feel better and so will someone else!

Getting My First Tattoo…

I’ve always been certain that I wanted a tattoo, probably since around 15 – 16 years old! As a matter of fact, I can’t remember not wanting one! Of course, it’s never been the same thing. Oh, If you would have asked when I first wanted one I would have shown you a picture of this rose with a barbed wire stem. (I still have the picture, but I can’t remember where It came from). A few years later I would have told you all about the wings I wanted on my back. (My dilemma is that while I wanted wings on my back I didn’t want the big ones because they are always there no matter what you wear and to me, the small ones just weren’t right) so I waited. Well then there was the double pistoles faze, but I just couldn’t figure out where on earth I wanted to put it. Years later I’ve tried to talk my sisters into having cute little tattoos done together or even my Bestie (but we can’t agree on anything)

You see I come from a pretty conservative family. My dad especially has always had something to say about tattoos & piercing (he lost it when he found out I got my belly button pierced at 18) he also hated the fact that I have my ear lobes pierced 2x. But he was raised in a time where that didn’t happen and ladies didn’t do that kinda thing! (They also don’t curse like sailors either, so I’ve been fun for him)

So I’ve always felt that I’d like to be able to hide my tattoos if I wanted. Ya know from my dad, work, or whatever. But, also just to uphold this image I have of what I’m supposed to be. And as much as I’ve always wanted a tattoo I have a very opinionated view of where and where I do not want one on my body. So it’s always been a struggle to me. Also, I’m kinda sentimental so I want any tattoo to mean something to me. (But my first had to be very special) I wanted it to be special and to be able to look back on it and say yea that was a great time in my life. I’m very aware that tattoos are forever and I want to never regret it.

So I managed to make it to 29 years old before I got my first ink. The past few days have been an emotional roller coaster. I had been slightly pestering Dillon about how I wanted a tattoo. I had finally settled on this cute little stitched heart I picked out because I love to sew and always have. Nothing is going to change that.

Well then as the days wore on Dillon asked about the cute buck and doe we had talked about both getting once and I kinda fell in love with that idea again. So I kept asking and apparently it wasn’t subtle or sparingly because our friends decided they were going to take me & Dillon (more or less against his will) they said they were tired of hearing about it, so they were taking action. Walking through the doors I instantly felt nervous, not for the tatt or for the pain but for how permanent it was and how it would change me.

Now I have always been one to say I’d never get a name tattooed on my body (with the exception of my children) Dillon is the only person I have ever even considered of doing. After much thought, I’m scared that might jinx us so I stuck with just first initials.

The lady handed me the paperwork to fill out and I got down to it. One of the questions is what was the last time you ate. Well, I had had lunch, but no dinner yet, but D and I had both ate some brownies (I got at Great American Cookies in the outlet mall in OKC) right before we left. Well as I’m trying to explain this to the girl it dawns on me she might think I had “special brownies” so I tried explaining that it wasn’t but got my self into a fit of giggles. (I’m pretty sure that chick thought I was high as a kite) Anyways, as the lady is drawing it out trying to get it perfect for me as I watch and ask for certain things. I’m growing more nervous but at the same time there is this excitement growing and I can’t believe I’ve finally taken the steps to do something that I’ve wanted for so long. When she takes me back and sits me down and transfers the image to my arm I kinda want to make a run for the camper. My hands are sweating like crazy and I have a huge knot in my stomach. But I want it so much!

OMG people lie to you about how bad it hurts! “A little worse than a misquote bite” -Dillon. “Just a little, but then it goes numb. Heck, I fell asleep” -Sparky. Liars! I mean I didn’t cry or anything, I didn’t pass out, and I didn’t ask her to stop. I actually watched as much as I could it’s cool as sh*t! But I could definitely fell it!

After it was all done I couldn’t hardly believe it. It was kinda like a dream. I have wanted it for so long that I couldn’t believe it was real. The fact that it was on fire made me know it wasn’t a dream, but walking out of there I was totally shocked and the permanence was definitely settling in on me!

So it has been a few days and I’m still stoked about it. I love it absolutely! I catch my self-feeling more like a bad a**, I can’t explain why and I laugh at myself normally after. Also, I forget about it when I’m busy doing something and I catch a glimpse of it and I think I have something on my arm. I know I’m a mystery even to myself. As for now, I’m not planning to get another one for awhile. One day I would still like to have one for Logan. I’d also like to go with my sisters still but we have some debating to do.

Oh Yea, I’m 29 and kinda freaking out about what my Dad will say when he sees it.

Hashbrown Casserol

This is my Hubby’s absolute favorite, he always requests it at Thanksgiving and Christmas. So this year I made a double batch and froze them so they were ready to go. We actually traveled Thanksgiving Day, this year and these bad boys were perfect to pop in the oven once we got there! Everyone loves Hashbrown Casserole on both sides of our family so I always get stuck making them (I can’t complain they are super easy and perfect for me because were are never in one place for very long so they are great to make ahead of time) Can you guess what I’m bringing for Christmas Dinner?

I’ve done them separate so I can just show you one! I’m also doing them in cheap disposable aluminum pans because there will be too many dishes to do already. My Mother-In-Law and I don’t just love doing the dishes while everyone else is in their food comas!

The onions are optional because… well let’s face it, I forgot to chop them up and put them in for the Thanksgiving ones. (I’m not perfect) Dillon informed me he likes it better without the onions. So ha! We will just say I did it on purpose, Okay? Just keep it between us! I’m on the fence about whether or not I want to put them in for Christmas or not yet.

(Anyway your gonna need)

Ingredients:

 

• 1 bag of frozen hash browns
• 1 can of cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom)
• 2 Tbs of butter softened
• 1 Small thing of sour cream (8 oz)*
• 2 cup of cheese (halved)
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Pepper
• 1 Tsp Garlic powder
• Small onion (optional)

 (This recipe is not doubled)

Stir salt, pepper, garlic powder, sour cream, cream of whatever soup, butter, onion (if your using), and 1 cup of the cheese together until blended. Next, add the hash browns in and mix well. Spread into pan and sprinkle leftover cheese on top. Cover with foil and freeze or bake.

When you’re ready to bake preheat your oven to 350. Bake for 25 minutes with foil on. Then remove foil and bake for 20 more minutes. If you froze them first like me just thaw out before baking.

 

*I have the bigger tub because I made two batches and just used half in each.