Home Sweet Home

OK, a friend sent me these pics of how this guy turned a garbage truck into a rolling mobile home. I had to believe it to see it myself, which is why I'm sharing. Seriously, how cool does this place look?! For the ideal road trip it comes complete with:

Mobility

A Couch

A Bed

A Kitchen

A Den

A Sink

Dishes go in the drawer for storage

So do the cups

Don't forget the bike

Now who's ready for a road trip!!!

Results from dinner. . .(recipe #2)

Drum roll please everyone, while I brag on myself for a second. I just got word from Shannon on how my meal went. It was something new that I had never made before, Crunchy Chicken Casserole, and this is her direct quote "it was really yummy, carolyn! definitely a keeper!"

YAY!!!

I totally took a chance by making something that new and having to alter the recipe to fit for 2 people vs. the recipe's 4.

I'm happy that my oven trauma didn't ruin the dish. Now I know you all are dying to make it yourselves so here you go.

Crunchy Chicken Casserole
(Serves 4)

INGREDIENTS
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 c. of frozen green beans (french cut)
1 onion, chopped
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup cornflakes cereal crumbs
1 cup mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large pot, boil the chicken until tender. Cut the breasts into cubes or small pieces.
3. In a large bowl, combine the chicken pieces with the green beans, onion, soup, most of the crushed corn flakes and mayonnaise. Mix well.
4. Pour mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle the rest of the crushed corn flakes on top of the mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.

It's a bird, it's a plane. . .no, it's a fire in my oven!!!

So the events of last night were just CRAZZZY!!! I don't even know where to begin. Nothing ever goes simple in my life, so why should this have been any different. Appliances have it out for me for sure, for just a few weeks ago I accidentally added to much soap (Ummm liquid soap) to the dish washer in my St. Louis hotel room and you guessed it bubbles galore. The pics are below for your entertainment, courtesy of Kali:)

Anyway, that's not my story. This is. . .(and no it wasn't a ploy to play the damsal in distress and see some men in uniform, although that was nice too)

It began a few weeks ago when I volunteered to make a dinner for my friend Shannon, now that she's post baby. It's really no big deal. I love to do things like that for my friends, plus it came with the obligatory getting to hold the baby:) YAY!!! (Side note, she's soooooooo cute, Thanks Shannon). Anyway, I get off of work at 4 and so that should have left me plenty of time to make dinner, iron my clothes, and deliver dinner by 5:30. However, life held other plans for me.

My dinner, which I'm counting as a meal for my list (this makes it 2 now), was pretty simple, Crunchy Chicken Casserole. I don't know how it turned out taste wise since I hade never made it before so I'll have to ask Shannon (I know I totally took a chance there, making a dinner I've never cooked before and leaving it for my Pastor and his wife to eat. But I'm an OK cook so I'm not that worried). The prep work took only about 15 min, during which I as allowing my oven to pre heat to the temp that I needed to cook the casserole at, and here is where the problem arises. After I was done mixing the ingredients I turned to my oven and saw some smoke coming out of it. I figured that it was just some residue from cleaning my oven weeks earlier so I opened up to take a look. Not seeing anything particular I closed it and then after I grabbed my casserole to put in the oven I re-opened the oven only to see flames coming up from the bottom. Whatever it was on the bottom of the oven (I think it was left over food stuff that I didn't clean as well as I thought I did) had ignited when I added oxygen to the smoke just a few minutes earlier. OI VAY!!! It scared me to death, but I closed the oven, turned turned it off and called 911 just in case. 'Cause I don't want to be the one that burns down my building. That's way not cool.

So the fire department, police, and the ambulance came. WHAT! It was insane, just for a little oven fire. So, they came through aired out my apt, checked for heat levels, and left. However, that took almost 20 minutes from when I called 911, so now I'm behind. Lucky for me my good friend Becki lives just a few doors away from me so I called her and told her what happened. Of course she thought it was funny, and was glad it wasn't her, plus it kept her son Mikey entertained for a while as well. But she was kind enough to let me use her oven while she was getting the place ready for her husband to come home for a visit (He's been over in the great big sand box across the pond for almost a year now). So I had to cook the dinner in Becki's oven, while I went back home to make the salad to accompany the casserole. By this time I'm glowing with persperation as my heart palpatations had not subsided, but I think that the adreniline rush is what kept me going. At least I was able to give her son Mikeya good show. He was very excited that the Fire truck was at "his house".

About 30-45 min later dinner was ready at Becki's and it's a good thing I got there when I did 'cause Ken had called to say that he got in early so Becki was on her way out the door. Timing really is everything.

After all was said and done, I really wasn't that much later than I had intended to be. It was just a long evening, and if you know me I do tend to be accident prone, and it's really never the same thing twice. I just have a way of keeping things lively, LOL! In any case it was a time to look at son OK looking firemen. . .(insert dramatic pause) AHHH, who doesn't love a man in uniform. . .OK, I'm back. Sorry I don't have any picture of the oven, my camera broke in St. Louis and I have to get a new one.

I know I've been remiss in my updates. . .

School is taking precedent right now in my life and I went away for a long weekend with the SPG's to St. Louis a couple weeks ago, so I know I haven't posted anything in a while. I'll try and be better, because I have had some interesting things happen over the past few weeks. I may nor wax vey elloquet right now but at least it will be an insight as to what has been going on in my world lately. Here's a synopsis over the past few weeks:

HWY 20: My church is praying for direction and guidance as to where the Lord would lead us to plant a church along HWY 20 here in WA. We had a campout a few weeks ago re-reaching out to the surrounding areas of Lyman, Hamilton, Concrete, and Sedro Wooley. The Lord is opening many doors and many people filled out our post cards desiring to have bible studies, either sent to them or to have men from our church come into their homes and hold bible studies one on one. It's very exciting and challenging, but it will be worth it all in the end. There was another campout this weekend in Twisp, Okanagen, and Winthrop, but I couldn't go because I've been training my replacement at work.

Work: I'm still working for the same company that I have been for the past 2 years, but Monday I start working in my new position there as the Marketing Assistant. I'm super excited about it. Not just because it's new, but because my boss asked me himself if I wanted the position. Basically I'll be creating it from scratch, which is another reason that I'm looking forward to it. I like a challenge, and learning new things and this will be a fun, and I'm sure at times, challenging process, but I'm ready for it.

St. Louis: As like last year, the SPG's went to St. Louis a couple weeks ago. It was fun. Two weeks before we left though Kali finally found a song for us to sing. It's called, Keep the Race Before Us. It was a very challenging song, but well worth it. The theme of this years conference was Absolute Surrender. The idea of holding nothing back from God in our service towards him, and those things that would keep us from serving him more diligently. It was a great conference which brings me to meeting 2 more people out of my 30, the Wrights. Bro. Wright preached at the conference last year, but I ddin't get to meet him. This year I did though. He and his wife were great to talk to, and he gave a great lesson through Romans 12:1. I got to see my friend Amy, which was nice also As I hadn't seen her in about 6 or 7 months.

4th of July: It was fun. Fireworks are legal to have here in WA and so Josh, Joel, and Daniel shot off fire works on the Waldron's property. I stayed the night and the next day accompanied Maggie and Josh in the purchase of their new (to them) vehicles. Both got what they were looking for and at really decent prices.

White water rafting: At the beginning of June Kali, Maggie, Nicki and I all went up to Leavenworth for a weekend of whitewater rafting as well as celebrating Nicki's birthday. It was awesome!!! We had so much fun and it was a nice couple days away.

Anyway, I think that's it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to write again soon.