Taco Salad (Redneck Style)

I made this Taco Salad on Friday afternoon for Friday night dinner. It was really really good. It's kinda a little redneck but seriously was VERY good. Try it and let me know what you think.. "I kinda thought it was also pretty.. and thats inmportant! The other HUGE thing is that my kids even like it and ANYTIME I can get brock to eat lettuce is a GREAT Thing.

1 Sm. head iceberg lettuce

Tomatoe's (I used cherry tomatoe's because that is what I had, about 12)

Chopped green onions

1/2 c. Catalina salad dressing

1 can chilli beans (drain them almost all the way but don't have to be drained till dry)

2 c. shreadded cheese (I used cheddar)

1 pkg. Doritos or Fritos (use these not just toritilla chips, you need the flavor they bring)

1 can sliced olives (Opt.)

1+ c. Catalina salad dressing.

Layer first 3 ingredients in bottom of serving dish (I used a tray). Pour the 1/2 cup of salad dressing over the top of the first three layers. Layer the rest of the ingredients on top of that. Pour the rest of the dressing over the top.

*note: The recipe suggest that it's better having been made the night before, but I'm not big on wilted lettuce or Way to soggy of chips. I made it at about 12:00 and thought it was just right for dinner at 5:00ish. The recipe also calls for Italian dressing but I used a reduced Fat Catalina and liked it A LOT better.

Make it, it will make you happy and let me know what you think. It looks like it will feed an Army but my family finished it that night.... I did not serve it with anything else. Just Taco Salad night!!! It was a fun different twist.. I WILL FOR SURE MAKE IT AGAIN!!!

Sunday Frightmares Lagoon.... way fun!!!!

What a great Sunday. Because Cassidi works at Lagoon, she gets discounted tickets from time to time. We had some for this weekend so we decided to hang out at Frightmares all day Sunday. We played a few games, ate, watched a few shows and went to some haunted houses (spook alleys if you ask Debbie lol). Brock, Debbie and I had a perfect day while Cassidi worked in a haunted house.
We saw Cassidi in the haunted house she was working in.... she was all dressed in black clothes with her face painted. Debbie recognized her right away in a pitch black room with strobe lights and said.... "Thats Cassidi thats Cassidi" haha There were scary people in every corner jumping out at us and people with chain saws chasing us around. Oh yeah... Debbie grabbed some girls boobs by accident in a very dark room... oops.

If you have ever wondered about Frightmares at Lagoon dont wonder anymore and just GO..... it was so worth it but make sure you spend all afternoon and night there. We saw the shows they perform during daylight and would have been even better at night with the fog and lights they use.

Wow.. GORGEOUS and so grown up. and 1 recipe you HAVE to try.

Cassid's Senior year homecoming. She looked GORGEOUS and she is such a grown up. She had a blast!!!

I made the Chicken Salad. It is so so good. Sam had it on croissants and on crackers for a couple days. Yummy and inexpensive to make and make lots.

Coy and Norma... you probably will be getting this one night when you come for Thanksgiving. I am thinking of items that FEED LOTS.. I am so excited to have everyone here!!

Chicken Salad:

cooked chicken, cubed (I boiled about 4 chicken breast and salt and peppered them)
Chopped Celery
Chopped Olives
Grated onion (GRATE not chopped, I used 1 and it was plenty)
Mayonnaise (Use a lot, the chicken will soak it in, I used almost half a jar of Miracle whip Light)
Salt * Pepper
Lemon juice (a lot of squirts..ha)
Worcestershire sauce (probably a couple tblspoons but up to you)

Use desired amout of each ingredient for salad. Mix together and serve on croissants. Delicious!!!

I even loved it and I usually don't LOVE what I make!!!

Funny Story

A couple of weeks ago I took Debbie to the dentist to get her tooth she lost in the accident recapped. She lost the cap chewing a granola bar and the doc wont do a root canal until her other issues are healed up.... anyway...
We get in the car and Debbie asked "What is that SMELL!?!?!?!" I said its my new air freshener you dont like it? My hell it stinks bad what is it? So I pull it out from under my seat and I accidentally pulled the tree out of the plastic all together so now it was REALLY strong. As Debbie is gasping for breath with her head out the window she said "HOLY crap if you hung that on your side mirror we would still smell this thing in the neighborhood when we get back from the doctor" haha... if you know Debbie you can imagine this display of emotion... lol She said it smells like the old incense people used to cover up the odor of pot after they smoked it. (I have no idea how she knows this stuff it made me worry lol)

So we get to the dentists office and sit in the waiting room. I know you all know in great detail what a dentist office smells like...... I look at Debbie with a funny look on my face smelling this stinky place and I said "lets put our new air freshener in here" we both smile and I ran out side and got it out of my car. Just as I walked back in the nurse called Debbie in, I slipped the SMELLY air freshener into the magazine rack right by the door entering the dentist rooms and front desk. After the doc was done we come back out and WOW the whole waiting room was filled with the smell of the air freshener.... haha.. I bet the front desk people were all asking each other.. " WHAT IS THAT SMELL?????"

As Debbie and I were leaving the office we were laughing hard wondering how long it will take for them to find out what that dang smell is... oh man... we have so much fun.

Just another day in the life.... we love it.

Update on Debbie

Just a quick update on Debbie and her progress. We are still making headway and gaining ground on a very difficult healing process. As the dust settles on her wounds there are a few things that still linger and are very limiting for her.
I think the worst thing is she still gets very dizzy. I know what your thinking.... she is blond and this is normal.... I keep telling her that lol... the unfortunate reality is that this will probably be the longest lasting issue she has. She says that her house is clean from the waste up because she cant bend over.
She still has blurry or double vision out of her left eye. She has a hairline crack just below her eye and to the far left and this is what gives her the lingering black eye. The black eye is slowly getting better but the vision is not. Our doctor referred us to a neurological ophthalmologist but getting into the anything is 3 to 6 months out so we are not sure what to do. She really shouldn't drive because of this problem.
Her jaw still has soreness and will lock up from time to time. Getting much better but still nagging at her when she yawns or eats.
Headaches...... lingering, long lasting headaches. Not all the time but when she gets them it seems to last for days.
There are slight memory recalling problems. Coming up with words or names she sometimes draws a blank. The doc says this is also normal and takes time to heal. I say its old age but Debbie is still extremely sharp but .... this accident dumbed her down to my level for a couple of months lol
Sleeplessness and anxiety have been terrible for her lately. Even Ambien isnt doing much anymore. The doc is helping her with a couple of different things recently so we shall see. He says these are normal things after going through a trauma like she did.

Part of the side effects of all of this is Debbie cooks like crazy...... not just cooks dinners but cooks, bakes and anything she can think of. Desserts, dinners, lunches... I think I have gained 10 pounds 'helping' her with her anxiety.

Honestly, the kids and I LOVE Debbie so much and can see slight improvements almost every day. She still has her bad days but her good days are getting better and more of them. We had no idea a head injury could do this and take so long. We still consider ourselves very fortunate!!!!!!

this is a test....only a test....

So I can't sleep and I am doing my grocery list. I am actually going to do a 2 week grocery list and hope I can make it the entire 2 weeks. Here is my menu for the next two weeks.. Give and take a day or two because hopefully Sam will take us out once!!!
I have been VERY anxious lately and I have been taking my anxiety out mostly in the kitchen. I have been cooking, cooking, and cooking, and based on my grocery list I don't think it is slowing down.. I have also been walking a lot trying to get rid of the anxiety. I did go to the doctor on Friday and he said it is VERY normal and shoudl be gone in a few weeks.. Sam said it was great having me cook... I think the fall changed me into "Martha Stewart"... OH PLEASE NO!!! ANY WAY
Happy Cooking..

Monday: Spaghetti, Broccoli (like spaghetti factories..my favorite), garlic bread

Tuesday: Taco Salad's, and to drink... Shots of carrot juice. I bought cute little shot glasses and we have a juicer and carrot juice is so so good for you but I figure will me a lot more fun to drink it if we put them in cut shot glasses...

Wednesday Roast, taters, carrots, rolls (crock pot meal... my favorite, and Sam's. He LOVES to come home and have the house smell like it does when you cook a meal in the crock pot)

Thursday: Baby back of ribs on the gas grill...(there is a story behind these I will have to post after I try to cook these on Thursday!!!) pistachio salad, cheesy potatoes, and rolls to goop up all that bbq grease and the cheesy potato grease.. I will be walking morning and evening to get this meal off me..

Friday: Marinated Chicken, zucchini, corn on the cob, fresh green beans.. ALL ON GRILL. (buy boneless skinless chicken, put in zip lock bag and marinade it in Lemon Herb marinade and grill..so good)

Saturday. Lasagna (BROCK AND JOSH'S FAVORITE) Every time I ask Brock what he wants for dinner he has two answers.. 1st Lasagna, 2nd Spaghetti.... with my Broccoli again and crusty bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic... and cucumbers for Brock also.. HE WILL BE SO HAPPY THIS DAY.

Sunday: Enchilada Casserole.. new recipe..I will let ya know. Trying to do lots of Mexican lately because of all the great tomatoes and peppers from the garden....FRESH Salsa.. my family probably thinks.. Serious!!! Salsa AGAIN.

Monday: Chicken Salad on Croissants... (I have not made these for years but kinda sounded easy and good for a night and will make great left overs for Sam's lunch) we will do a side of garden fresh veggis.. I ALWAYS DO SIDES OF VEGETABLE.. Cassidi's friend Brian LOVES that..

Tuesday: Chow Mien. ( I NEVER make chow mien but I happened to have some left over chicken from dinner the other day so I made Sam some chow mien for lunch... Sam and I ate it all for lunch and Brock saw the ruminants and wants to try.. so Chow Mien it is...

Wednesday: Sloppy Joes, chips and dip... (CASSIDI'S NIGHT TO COOK, once a week she wants to start cooking something really easy so she has some clue how to cook)

Thursday: Shepards Pie, rolls, and something peach I am sure!!

and don't tell the kids but I have a few other stuff for Sam and I to have for lunch. Most days he will east left overs from the night before but I am going to try to do a Real thinly cut steak sandwhich on a heavier roll maybe sourdough may fracotta, I will see.

then we are back to the weekend without Brock.... So tomorrow is grocery shopping like a mad woman. I still am seeing double out of my left eye so I don't like to drive a lot.. That is the reason for two weeks of grocery shopping rather than 1 week..

Wish me luck this will be A LOT of grocery's..

I love to cook I just HATE to figure out what I am going to cook and HATE HATe hate GROCERY SHOPPING SO half my battle is over..\

*this is where the "test" comes in. I am going to try to make all of these and I will report as much as I can and see how off schedule I got ( I know that will happen) How many nights I said FORGET IT Let eat cold cereal) and how many nights I do it Perfect... Stay tuned in.. we will see!!!

Sam's Honey Do's!!!!!

Sam is such a good sport.

Trivia question...

You know the best months to plant a tree in Utah?????

Any month that has a R in it.. I am dead serious. Give that some thought..

Cassidi's LAST homecoming!!!!

It's homecoming weekend for Cassidi. She is a senior so this will be her last homecoming dance. They have the football game tonight and the dance tomorrow night.

I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE IS THAT OLD. We will post some pictures in a couple days.

ENJOY your homecoming all you Seniors, you will never forget it!!!

and so it begins.

Here is our first eHarmony commercial. For any of you that are reading this or watching this and are single. JOIN eHarmony. I am sure you will find as much happiness as I have found with Sam. I Love you honey!


*disclaimer, for the people that know Sam and I or one or the other they know we are NOT actors. YES I AM TRULY MARRIED TO SAM AND WE TRULY LIVE IN THE HOUSE AND TOWN THIS COMMERCIAL WAS SHOT IN. Wow I had no idea there was so many "haters". I found love on the internet and truly want everyone to find this much happiness.....GO AND GET IT!

Just so you know!!!

So since I have been staying at home since the accident people are very "curious" about what I do with my time. HOWEVER IT'S NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS!!! I thought I would share a typical "Debbie, Day!".

Cassidi usually goes to school at 7:00ish and Brock at 8:30ish. Sam goes to work between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.

• I get up and when everyone is gone their separate ways I usually go on a 40 minute walk. Some time's I drive to where I am going to walk or I just walk out the front door and go around the neighborhood.
• I get home and I usually go into the bedrooms and gather clothes and put a load of laundry in.
• I then get ready for the day, as my bath water runs I make Sam and I's bed and straighten up our room.
• I usually make some kind of something for dinner after I get ready, salsa, peach cobbler, something. I cook A LOT more when I stay at home.
• I clean up my "cooking" mess and I get Sam something for lunch.
• Sam comes home and has lunch.
• After Sam's lunch I usually run errands...grocery store, dry cleaning, stuff like that (this is tricky because I am still quite dizzy, and most of the time see dbl out of my left eye, from the fall so I don't like to drive very far or very often).
• I get home do some cleaning and the kids come home from school.
• My family likes to eat dinner.. VERY VERY EARLY. Like around 5 - 6. So I start preparing dinner very very early.
• Sam comes home, we eat dinner, we clean up. Usually do a little yard work and then all the normal stuff that other families do.

So at this point I think.. HOW DID I THROW A FULL TIME JOB IN HERE.. HA. I watch very little television (but I am watching the Whitney Houston interview this afternoon) and I do a heck of a lot of laundry. I hope people also remember that I can't put my head below my heart or I get so so dizzy!!!! So bending over and cleaning floors (I hate mops), or pulling weeds, or cleaning ANYTHING below my waste is very difficult for me. I AM STILL VERY MUCH ON THE DISABLE LIST (but, I am getting better each day)

I am also still recovering. So there are days that hardly any of the above get done. There are days I am dizzy, I am tired, I am sick to my stomach (this quite often).

So NO I do not sit around my house, I do not watch soap opera's, I do not make Sam cook dinner, I am very much a CEO of this home and family in Kaysville Utah. Why I am explaining all of this is beyond me. Maybe I feel guilty I am at home!!! Maybe I want everyone to know that I am not as lazy as it seems right now! I just want to get better and get on with my "normal" life. However, this staying at home is kinda nice!

by Erma Bombeck (who lost her battle with cancer)

If I had my life to live over...

• I would have talked less and listened more.
• I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
• I would have eaten the popcorn in the "good" living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
• I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
• I would have never insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
• I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
• I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
• I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
• I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
• I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for a day.
• Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the ONLY chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
• There would have been more "I love you's" ...more "I'm sorry's"..but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it..live it..and never give it back.

"STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF. Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what.

Instead, lets cherish the relationships we have with those who DO love us. Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with.

And, what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, as well as spiritually. Life is too short to let it pass you by.

WE ONLY HAVE ONE SHOT AT THIS AND THEN IT'S GONE.

I love this and wanted to share it!!!

Serious??? SERIOUS??

I am having some issues with this.. Some BIG issues.. and the reason EVERYONE in the state of Utah is NOT having a hard time with this makes me scratch my head.

If I am republican or democratic or liberal or none of them is NOT the point here. The fact is the President Obama is the President of the United States... hands down, voted for by the people and if you like him, hate him, tolerate him.. does it matter now??? He is OUR PRESIDENT. I have NEVER and repeat NEVER gotten a letter like this before and my oldest right now is a Senior in high school. Serious we have the option to "Opt out" for our children to hear a statement on education from THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES...

I should not be angry at all because some school districts in the state you have to sign a permission slip to LET them listen and watch. ...

So this is my chance to say to Davis School District... YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!!

my email from Brock AND Cassidi's school.... "gag me"... I AM FRICKEN BLOWN THE HELL AWAY!!!!

U.S. President Barack Obama plans to deliver a back-to-school message on
Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m. The message will be directed at students
specifically on the importance of education. U.S. Education Secretary
Arne Duncan said Pres. Obama will challenge students to work hard, set
educational goals and take responsibility for their learning. Duncan
has asked schools throughout the nation to watch the speech together.
It is being broadcast live on the White House website, www.whitehouse.gov.
It will also be shown on CSPAN.

Davis School District supports providing students with the opportunity to view the President¿s address. As a courtesy, we want to provide you with the option to opt out of having your child participate, if you choose. Please return this signed letter to the school by Tuesday morning if you do not want your student to view the address. Alternative activities will be provided for those students.

Things are looking better

I just wanted to give a quick update on Debbie. Although she still has quite a few issues (I laughed as I typed that one) she is doing much better. Instead of 1 step forward and 2 steps back its more like 2 steps forward and 1 back now.

Debbies main problem now is she starts feeling better, like the last couple of days, and she cleans the fridge, cleans the house, washes the baseboards, laundry, shopping, works in the garden, cooks the most fantastic meal for her family then sits on the couch with me about 7 and says....... "I dont feel well tonight" haha..... honey I wonder why???

She still gets bad headaches from time to time but less frequent, her jaw locks open now and then and is still sore, she still has 2 cracks in her eye socket and the lingering black eye is still there, still gets nose bleeds here and there.............. but looking at my wife and I see her bright eyes again and that glowing smile that lights up the room........ thats how I know she is getting better.

I love you Debbie and so glad things are getting better. Still a ways to go but your doing great!!

Cassidi got asked to go to homecoming. If you can read this it says "I'm dying to go to Homecoming with you" and the painted dead body on our front porch..... haha... it was cute. Cassidi is doing well starting out her senior year and is exploring becoming a teacher or a dental assistant.
As you can see, Brock is still Brock. He is going to kill me for posting that picture. He is wearing Debbies pink nighty that covers his whole body. We went to get a soda at Maverik and he wanted to wear it inside.... haha... such a crazy kid. He ran out of gas and fell asleep watching TV and I couldnt resist a snapshot. Bad Sam Bad Sam


Taylor came over a couple of weekends ago and we got these toys out of the garage. Its so good to hear Taylors laugh again and to spend time with her. We miss you Tay.