loaded potato soup.

since it decided to snow today...
i figured it was the perfect time to post the loaded potato soup recipe i promised you last week.
this came from one of my salon customers a few years back and it is a cold weather favorite around here.
here's what you'll need:

5 lbs potatoes
3/4 box chicken broth (the family size)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
salt & pepper (as much or as little as you like)
small diced onion (mr.douglass despises onions so i just sneak in some onion salt)
1/2 block of velveeta
block of cream cheese softened
cooked bacon, diced up (i cheat and buy the fresh bacon bits, MUCH EASIER!)

peel and chunk potatoes

 i use my apple corer without the end to make quick work of peeling the potatoes.

throw them in your slow cooker on low.
then add in:
chicken broth
cream of chicken soup
salt & pepper
onion  (or some version of an onion)

simmer on low all day, or bump up to high to speed things along.
30 min before you are ready to serve it add in:
velveeta diced up
cream cheese diced up
and your bacon bits.

give it a few stirs and that's it!
it is a thick and hearty, warm your bones up soup.

it makes a ridiculous amount, so spoon some into a big bowl and take it to your neighbors house.
(especially if she brings you yummy food all the time!)
ENJOY!
  

a quick run down.

it seems i have turned into a once a week blogger...
totally not my intention.
i have kept myself plenty busy...i promise.
i have 13 shows on the dvr that haven't been watched yet.
i have come down with spring cleaning fever...
and when you got it, you gotta keep going.
no stopping.

other than cleaning and purging this house, this is what i've been up to lately.

a friends wedding.
it was simple & perfect.

the bride is a pilot, so the reception was at our airport in a hangar.
very cool idea.

she flew them away when it was all finished.
the brides grandma, turned out to be my elementary school music teacher.

she really hasn't changed.
i went over and introduced myself...she remembered me.
that. never. happens.
(i also ran into my elementary school principal this week while getting my hair cut.)

(i realized afterwords my camera was on a setting i had never used before...which i'm guessing is why all the pictures are so grainy)

this is what i made for the bride & groom.

i think it turned out pretty cool...yes, i'm bragging on my silhouette again.

the next day a group of friends and i headed to the sticks to beki's house for a free photography workshop.
by the look of the wedding photos, it wasn't a moment too soon.
i learned a lot.

i also learned i don't know how to spell aperture. (i do now though!)
me and my little fuji were outnumbered by canons and nikons.

someday soon maybe i will bite the bullet and get a REAL camera.
i asked beki to send a note home with me telling my husband that i need a canon.
he said...then go get one.
but in the next breath he said...but i think you take really good pictures with the one you have.
reverse psychology maybe???

when we were leaving it started raining frozen sleet balls.

people were sliding off the highway left and right.
today it was absolutely stunning outside...75, sunny, barely a breeze...divine!
hopefully kansas has gotten all the crankiness out of it's system for good.

i made myself a yummy chicken salad sandwich for lunch.

i never really cared for chicken salad until i tried a friends.
she makes it with a rotisserie chicken from the store.  already cooked and seasoned.
it totally makes all the difference.
(thanks joan!)

when it was still cold i made a batch of loaded potato soup in the crockpot.

recipe coming soon.

miley has been stalking this icky varmint all week.

possums totally creep me out.
especially when they are lurking in the tree above my head.

when the weather started turning nice, instead of being outside, i felt the urge to purge the inside.
i cleaned out closets and now have a bunch of stuff to take to the thrift store.

that's just the tip of the iceberg people.
i moved all the winter stuff into the closet in our bedroom...i use it for off season clothing.
why not use the master closet?
well...i am short, but both master closets are kid sized in height.

cute yes, practical no.  (ack, the graininess is back!)
how the clothes rod has not busted yet is beyond me.
it is OLD!

notice the little piece of wallpaper border?
it is there so that all the shoulders don't get a white plaster mark on them.
someday i will take the time to paint the closets, but it's not really high on my priority list right now.

once again wal-mart sucked me in and made me divert from my list for this.

who couldn't resist a green & white polka-dotted bath mat?
me, that's who.
this is the rest of my little bathroom.
in case you were curious.
if your not, then just skip the next couple of pictures :)

i made the stained glass windows years ago...
it's been a while since i have done anything that big.
someday i will refinish the tub and get new flooring...but for now it's fine with me.
i don't think i could live without my clawfoot tub, it is my favorite and most used thing in this house.

i turned those trays i was spray painting a few weeks back into little chalk boards.

they are part of something bigger...that i will tell you about another day.

so there's my quick rundown of the happenings around here.
tomorrow i start a small painting job in a little town near ours.
(every so often i take on one of these...i like painting so it's fun for me.)
it does require painting popcorn ceilings though...ugh!
i already made a chiropractic appointment for friday...
i will need it.

peace out peeps.

last weekend...

last weekend miley and i hit the road for texas.
it just so happens my bestie is a cpa and so she graciously does our taxes every year.
THANK YOU TONYA!!
it wouldn't be so bad if i didn't have the beauty shop, that's what complicates everything.
i don't have any pictures from the actual process, cause that would bore you to death.
but i do have pictures from the flea market we always go to.
first monday trade days in canton, texas.

i have to say this time was kind of a bust.

yes, there was plenty of good stuff.

just out of my price range or i knew i really didn't need it.

i didn't come home with much.
but i gathered lots of ideas...and sometimes that can be better!

i think craig was shocked when he opened the back of my car and found nothing since last time
he didn't even have to open the car to see it was packed full.

this is only the second time miley has made the trip down to texas.
last time craig came too, so it made it a little easier.

her and duke semi-played with each other.

mostly they just tease each other.

miley loves to look out windows...it's her thing.

always gotta know what's going on around her.

                                     miley even managed to teach duke a cool new trick.

turns out a dog can fit into the window sill for a much better view of the birds and squirrels.
of course there was some much needed sunning action as well.

before i left we hit this place.

it is the first time i have had mexican food since the last time i was in texas and nearly died from food poisoning.
the fact that there were lots of people eating in there, made me feel better about it.

and the fact, that it wasn't a trailer/shack on the side of the road helped a bit also.

one last picture of me and t before miley and i jetted back to kanas.

thanks for a fun and awesome weekend tonya, sean & duke!

sean....you know what i think of you and your dirty little trick!
(i'm never leaving you in charge of miley again!)
:)

i feel like hal.

those weather guys say 70 today.
for their sake they better be right.
i am at my wits end with old man winter.

random week of consumption.

most of last week and some of this week i have had the flu.
it wasn't too terrible, but i can't stand how it just drains every living bit of energy from my body.
ya, the fever, chills and body aches totally suck, but the fatigue has got to be the worst.
it's amazing the things you consume while sick.
the same things, over and over and over.
for instance..

kleenex.

4 whole boxes consumed...not to mention the 3 more randomly placed around the house at this moment.
...and it MUST be the good stuff with lotion.
i am still blowing my nose every 15 minutes..SERIOUSLY!!!!   WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?????

meds.

every day, 3 times a day.  ..ugh.
i had to make a paper schedule because i am so bad about remembering if i took it or not.
and seriously, why can't those people at robitussin make their cough syrup taste like delsylm's grape flavor??
it is the best!
at least sudafed is tiny..i am NOT a pill swallower...i choke and gag most pills back up.
if it's bigger than an advil, i'm in trouble.

water.

tonya got me one of these filtered water bottles for Christmas and i use it so much i bought myself another one.               (http://www.waterbobble.com/) or JCPenney.
i fill it up at least 8 times a day... i think i am officially a H20 girl now
i did cheat with a sprite one day, because let's face it....when your throat is that sore, you just need that burning, tingleing, stinging  feeling on the back of your throat.  (you know what i'm talking about!)

my fav lip balm.

my lips crave this stuff.
there is one in practically every room in our house, not to mention my purse and the car.
LOVE IT!

cheap pizza.

for some reason, no matter how sick i am, totinos makes it better.
i could really live on this pizza, especially when they were on sale for 95 cents.
the freezer is packed full!

good reading.

at least i have time to dream about living in these places while i'm plastered to the couch.
lots of brain consumption.

evil in disguise.

there's nothing like being crashed on the couch, feeling lousy, when the doorbell rings and a cute little scout drops off colorful boxes of sugar to help you feel better.
yes i know, girl scouts aren't evil...just their cookies.

i am feeling a hundred times better now, thanks to all these miracle workers.
each one played a part in helping me feel better. 
more than some i'm sure.

i accomplished more today, then i have in the last 7 days.
it felt so good to wake up and feel human again.
thank goodness since me and miley are off to texas tomorrow to see tonya, sean and duke.
...and to shop my favorite flea market :)


i got some new shoes for the occasion, or at least that's what i'm telling myself.

have a good weekend...
i'll be back next week.