More Good News!

Keith and I got a new home (well, we’re under contract and it’s contingent on our home selling). It has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms with a bonus room. It’s about 2025 sq ft and has a huge backyard (it’s on almost an acre) for Bruno. Keith thinks Bruno is going to become an outside dog now, but Bruno begs to differ. I mean, who’s going to watch TV with me when Keith is playing Xbox?

So if all goes as planned, we’ll move in around the end of August. Here are a couple of pictures with the sellers stuff. I love the kitchen and it has a PANTRY. If I can make good food in the one I have now, just think what I can stir up in this one. Maybe I can finally learn how to make brownies?

July 27, 2008… Note to self: when vacuuming, it is not a good idea to get the nozzle close to the toilet paper.

We're Under Contract

Yes, we’re officially Under Contract. On Tuesday, we found out that two offers came in. Our realtor called both agents and asked for their clients to give us their best offer. With that, a contract was born.

Now, we just have to make it through all of the inspection (which is Monday) and find ourselves a new place to live. Hopefully, I'll post more good news soon.

July 23, 2008... Note to Self: It DID only take one person (well, two... no, three... wait, six if you count all parties involved) to sell our house.

New Chicken Dish

Weekends are my time to try new recipes and this weekend, I decided to make Chicken with Mushrooms, compliments of Allrecipes.com. Keith cleaned his plate and we’ll be having seconds tomorrow night so definitely a keeper.


Here’s what you’ll need:

3 cups sliced mushrooms
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Here’s how to make:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place half of the mushrooms in a 9x13 inch pan. Dip chicken into beaten eggs, then roll in bread crumbs.
In skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Brown both sides of chicken in skillet. Place chicken on top of mushrooms, arrange remaining mushrooms on chicken, and top with mozzarella cheese. Add chicken broth and cream of mushroom soup to pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.

July 20, 2008… Note to Self: When Keith is playing XBox, all conservations must start with "Can you hear me?"

Bee's Soup

Although more like a stew, Bee's Soup combines ingredients such as tomatoes, potatoes, corn, lima beans, chicken and onion (yes, I said onion).

Here’s what you’ll need, except I don’t have exact measurements. I just add until it looks right.

Chicken (3-4 breasts)
Chicken broth (I use almost one can of Swanson’s, sometimes the whole can)
Tomatoes (I use two cans, diced, undrained)
Potatoes (I use about 3-4 medium to large potatoes, cut into cubes)
Corn (I use one can, drainded)
Lima Beans (I use one can, drained)
Onion (I use a small onion)
Salt and pepper to taste
Water (mabye one cup or two)

Cook chicken then shred.
In a large pot, combine all ingredients and cook until potatoes are done since they take the longest.

Pretty simple, right??

July 18, 2008... Note to self: Fridays are simply the best day of the week.

Jell-O Cake

So for a belated birthday cake, I decided to make Keith a Jell-O Cake for his birthday. I normally make it with strawberry jello, but this time I tried raspberry. I’m always hesitate to try new things when I know I already like something, but this seems to be a winner.

Jell-O Cake
1 box white cake mix (with add-ins… eggs whites, oil, water)
1 box (4 servings) Jell-O of your choice
1 carton of Cool-Whip (I used Cool -Whip Lite)

-Prepare cake mix according to directions on box.
-When cake is done, polk holes in the top so that it appears you’ve aerated your cake. I normally use a straw or a chop stick. A fork would probably work good too.
-Boil one cup of water and add to Jell-O. Mix.
-Pour Jell-O over the top of the cake.
-Let cake cool completely. I normally put it in the refrigerator for 2+ hours.
-Top with cool whip.

You’ll see variations of this cake and some recipes call for a large box (8 servings) of jello. Keith and I find this too be way too much jello.

July 14, 2008… Note to self: Learning to cook takes time and patience. Few things come out perfect the first time. Please refer to July 8's post.

Happy Birthday, Keefy!

Today is Keith’s birthday, the big 2-8.

July 10, 2008… Note to Self: Keith is getting old, but I’m not too far behind.

Price Reduction

After being on the market one month, Keith and I have decided to lower the price on our house. We thought we had an offer coming in last week, but who knows what happened. We did find a house we like to South Raleigh and are hoping it holds on. It’s been on the market for awhile, but seems to have everything that Keith and I want and need.

Cary also did a survey of residents that live in the areas close to downtown and the results were just posted online. Keith and I are not alone. Someone responded with “remove all rentals-homeowners only- or provide an ordinance with regards to the number of occupants in a rental home” and “get rid of the renters.” I promise, those are not comments Keith and I made, although we did feel out the survey with the same type of complaints. At least we’re not alone.

July 9, 2008... Note to Self: It only takes one person and our house will sell.

I'm a Blogger!

I, too, have decided to jump on the blog bandwagon (And I wanted to be just like my sister). I’ve thought for awhile that a blog might be a good idea (a way to unwind, a way to reflect), but I was uncertain if I would actually keep up with one. So here’s the test.

The blog title, “Note to Self” is a phrase I tell myself often. Each day, I seem to learn new “notes.”

Note to self: when on the deck of a cruise ship, foam flip flops (imagine the ones from Old Navy) don’t have any type of traction, but Keith will be there to help with the fall.

Note to self: when applying for Graduate School in Communication, learn to spell communication correctly.

Note to self: Spaghetti is not necessarily good (down right disgusting) when cooked in a crock-pot. Japan Express is now on speed dial.

July 8, 2008… Note to self: Olive Garden makes great bread sticks, but eating three bread sticks does not help the thighs.