Pineapple Ranch Dip

With the Texas heat (76 days over 100 degrees, y'all!!!), it's hard to get motivated to cook - any recipe that involves heat automatically sounds repulsive. So, I've been trying to be creative about using recipes that involve little to no cooking. (Take out, anyone??)  Salsas and dips become the logical choice for sides.

I don't remember where I found this dip recipe, but it's a favorite.  It seems "summerish" since it has pineapple, but I make it year 'round!

Pineapple Ranch Dip

Ingredients: 

• 16 ounces cream cheese
• 2 green onions chopped up (may be eliminated if you don't like onions)
• 14 ounces of crushed pineapple undrained (100% juice, not in heavy syrup!)
• 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dip
• 2 cups of chopped pecans, reserve 1/4 cup for topping

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and top with remaining 1/4 cup pecans.  Refrigerate for at least a few hours or overnight. Serve with hearty crackers or pita chips.

For more dip ideas, join BooMama for her DipTacular '11 post today!

Weather: Texas vs. Alaska

Right now in central Texas, the sun is blazing and it feels like 100 degrees.

Right now in North Pole, AK, it's cloudy and feels like 59 degrees.

Where would you rather be???

Tick. Tick. Tick...

(Photo Credit: ToniVC on Flickr)

Time - it is a-ticking.  Don't believe me? Look at the date on my last post.

I. know. 

I thought I'd written one just last week. Possibly two weeks ago. At the most.

Spring flew by and now summer is, too. Lots has happened. Lots is getting ready to happen.

I wonder if anyone is even still checking my blog these days?

Hello???

Anyway.  I'm back!  I've got so much to say. (What's new, right?)

This fall I'll have a high school senior and a high school freshman.  If that simple fact doesn't kick the mama emotions into high gear, I don't know what will!  And, surely that ought to produce some good blog fodder.

Tick. Tick. Tick...

Maybe that isn't time a-tickin' by.

It could be the metronome ticking in the background as the tenor drum section of our high school band practices in our game room. 

Seriously? Can't I have just a little more summer before band practice starts again???

Tick. Tick. Tick...

So, tell me - what events have been tick, tick, ticking by in your world?

Confessions: I'm livin' it!

"You can't write about life if you aren't out there livin' it!"

Well, dear readers (all three of you)...

I can assure you I've been out there livin' it. One of these days soon, I'll start blogging about it again, too.

So, what have we been up to this summer?

So glad you asked!

• Band camps
• Cheer camps
• Church camp (This was the first year for Kat!)
• A newly licensed driver in the family (It's a strange feeling to see my car being driven away by my oldest with the youngest riding shotgun!)
• A girl friend (Burrito's, that is! Not Bud's, I don't let him have one anymore!)
• A family vacation at the coast (Galveston... *sigh*)
• A mission trip
• A trip to Ohio to visit my side of the family
• All day at an amusement park
• A quick visit with a best friend
• Swimming at the neighborhood pool
• Sonic runs for late night ice cream
• At-home movie nights
• Most recently, the ramp up for the impending school year (Sadly, two weeks from today!)

And guess what? I have pictures of most of the fun. Oh, yes... I have plans to share them.

Stick around... (please???)

It rained today...

Thank you, Lord...

"I know the greatness of the Lord—
that our Lord is greater than any other god.

The Lord does whatever pleases him
throughout all heaven and earth,
and on the seas and in their depths.

He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses."

(Psalm 135:5-7 NLT)

Break Time!!!

A Follow-Up To My Backyard Friends

Remember this little guy?

Since this is a family blog, I declined to show you the photographic proof of his "maleness" in my previous post.

But, then some of you looked for the proof.

I do have the proof... in case you were wondering.

The End.

My Backyard Friends

This little guy visits my backyard every day.


He's a cute little guy - and yes, it's obvious he is a guy! He gets into everything in the yard including my bird feeder. So, despite the fact that I keep the squirrel feeder well-stocked, I've discovered that he'll leave his feathered friends' food alone if I scatter a little seed on the ground.

Look at those little paws. No wonder he can get into mischief!

The birds aren't afraid of him and sometimes they flutter down from their feeder to help gobble up the seeds on the ground. (See the Cardinal behind the rock?)

Here's a better look...

This bad boy is quite mean to the other birds - he'll even run off my doves that are twice his size. But, he's fun to watch in the birdbath!

And then there's this wild critter...

Max is none too happy to share the yard with the rest of them.

I did not stay up 'til 1:00 AM last night.

I did not go back to bed after Bud left for work this morning.

I did not allow the kiddos to sleep until they woke up on their own.

I wouldn't feed my family cinnamon rolls out of a can for breakfast.

I did not stay in my jammies 'til noon.

I will not eat a very late lunch at a restaurant with my kiddos and friends today.

I will not spend the entire afternoon wandering around the outlet mall with the same kids.

I will not let my kids stay at the pool until well after dark.

I will not let my kids stay up late for the second night in a row.

Actually...

YES, I would!

Welcome to summer vacation 2009! Woohoo!!!

Pondering...

(Sea gulls in sky over the Galveston Bay, July 2008)

"If I say, "My foot is slipping," Your loyal love, O Lord, supports me.

When worries threaten to overwhelm me,

Your soothing touch makes me HAPPY."
(Psalm 94:18-19 New English Translation)

What Scripture is speaking to you this week?

Summer Vacation... Week One

Well, the first week of summer has been marked off the calendar. We stayed so busy that it sure didn’t feel like summer, though.

Burrito had one week of band camp. The purpose of this week was to introduce the incoming freshmen to the upper classmen and to the fundamentals of marching band – mostly teaching them the routine of practices and the different warm-ups that are used. The other highlight of this week is that all of the percussionists are assigned to their instrument for the coming fall. Burrito has been practicing and preparing his entire freshman year with one specific instrument in mind…

And we are now the proud parents of the marching band’s newest bass percussionist! Our band has five bass drums and this is the largest of them. Burrito is not the largest of the bass players.

Kat started her summer off in very girly fashion… getting her hair highlighted. It turned out very nice and she is pleased with it.

By the way, Max enjoys hanging around while I work on my blog.

Some posts just crack him up!

Others, not so much.