...and everything in between.
The last of our stops on our Atlanta Staycation was at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. It’s quite impressive when you walk around the corner from the parking lot when you see the Dinosaur Plaza that shows off 3 dinosaur replicas.
Dear Dad,
Dad, I know you’re watching from Heavens above. That brings me comfort. Today I am home by myself getting some work done, 80’s music blaring in the back ground. You know 80’s music is by far my favorite music of all time. Now that you’re gone, though, sometimes it’s hard to listen to certain songs without just tearing up. And well sometimes just absolutely breaking down into tears like today. Memories of spending weekends with you, running errands, watching you talk on your bag phone back when having a bag phone was cool. I mean a “cell” phone in the 80’s? You were so cool! Especially to me.
Here’s the end of the month summary for August. Where has this year gone?
This month I was happy about: meh…I’m kind of indifferent to this question. Nothing really stood out to me for what I was happy about.
This month I was sad because of: the kids going back to school.
Something I accomplished this month was: …uhhh…don’t feel like I accomplished anything!
Nothing says fall more than apples! I decided to kick the weekend off with some Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce. For my first time making it, it turned out pretty well. Rob’s Gramma was the first person I ever met who makes her own applesauce. Maybe after a few times of making it, it will be as yummy as hers.
Servings: 3-4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 4 hours
It’s been over a month since I’ve done a “Life Lately” post. Ahh! Where did the time go? Did not realize it had been so long. So for this one, I’ll try to recap as much as I can remember from the last month.
This Chick-fil-A Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce recipe is the bomb! I love this stuff. If you have tried it, it comes with Chick-fil-A’s grilled chicken sandwich. Go try it today! Then, you’ll love it and then you’ll come back here, because you will not be able to go another day without putting it on everything! 😉
This recipe for homemade rolls is so easy. Just throw everything in the bread machine. Then, roll them out and bake them in the oven. I use this recipe for several different occasions.
Servings: 24
Prep Time: 2 hours (depending on how long your bread machine takes)
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
Peach season is dawning its near, so I decided to finally give Peach Salsa a try. I was pleasantly surprised how good this was. I will definitely be making this again next summer!
Servings: 3-4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 0 minutes
I know y’all have all seen the ALS Bucket Challenge. Many of you probably participated in it and I’m so grateful. I’m grateful that something so silly as dumping ice water on your head is what leads to the awareness of one of the most horrible diseases out there. I am thankful for so many people giving money. Can you believe as of yesterday $41.8 Million has been raised? That is something to be thankful for. I’m hopeful that this will get researchers closer to a cure.
Another item on our to do list in Atlanta was the zoo. We’ve never been to Zoo Atlanta, well Rob has, but it’s been years ago. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Here’s some highlights from our afternoon there.
The zoo covers 40+ acres of which most of it is has nice shaded areas with lots of trees. I enjoyed the fact that many of the exhibits could be viewed from several different angles. That’s always important when you’re trying to find where some of the animals may be hiding.
As a huge fan of sweet and sour entrés at most Chinese style restaurant chains usually, this one caught my attention while I was looking for new recipes the other day. I wanted to give it a try, because it’s very different from my normal meals.
I’m not always a fan of pre-made sauces, but I wanted something easy that didn’t need a ton of different ingredients just for the sauce. I was happy with the way it turned out.
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Another excursion on our City Pass while in Atlanta was a CNN Studio Tour. We knew that this would be a great activity to squeeze in between other events. They start a new tour about every 10 minutes and they last about an hour. Up until a few years ago they didn’t allow small children, but we found out while on the tour that they have lifted that restriction. We kinda wished for our tour, they’d bring it back.
My kids nearly ate all these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Globs before I had a chance to have one. Drew called them addictive. Alex described them as the best cookies he’s ever made. Not sure I’d call them that. However, they are a great snack with a tall glass of milk. I’d like to try to make a healthier version of these, so keep a look out for those.
Servings: 20-24 globs
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 tbs vanilla
3 cups quick oatmeal
Waxed paper
4 tablespoons cocoa (optional) – I didn’t use any cocoa this time. Add the cocoa if you wish to add a chocolaty flavor.
While we were on our little staycation trip in Atlanta, one thing on our list to do was ride the Skyview Atlanta, ferris wheel. Its located right in the heart of Atlanta on Luckie St. beside the Tabernacle. Although, a bit pricey, its one of those things you say you could live without doing, but it’s well worth it. You get beautiful views as you leisurely, move through 4 complete rotations of the wheel.
Sunday, we had a great afternoon and evening visiting with our friends that came over. We’ve been talking with them about Rob’s recipe for homemade pasta called Cavatelli or Cavatels. Making cavatels is not a meal that an individual should make. For it’s way more fun to gather around and take turns cranking the cavatelli maker, watching the noodles fall from the machine.
