Workmen? For Real?

Hey! There are people on my dirt! And their last names are NOT Connelly! They must be workmen! They are! They are formers/framers and they forming up the house for the concrete slab. Perhaps this is really going to happen after all! These guys are working in my bedroom!

By the end of the day, they had formed up the front section of the house. They did good work today and there are little strings crisscrossing everywhere over the pad to keep everything level, plumb, square, whatever you call it. The plumbers come Saturday for the roughing in. Or is it roughing out? I'm not sure.

In addition to this excitement, Brooke sang at a retirement home with the community children's choir. If I have to be in a retirement home, I want to be in this one! It was like a five star hotel! Very snazzy. Actually, this is more of an assisted living home and one lady came out with her little dog!

Then it was onto the skating rink for the end-of-the-year choir party. The girls had a ball and I got to visit with another homeschooling choir mom whom I know from the YMCA kids' swim team.

Earlier in the day, I put a chicken in the crock pot. It was a recipe called Sticky Chicken, although I don't know why, because ours wasn't sticky at all. But it was tasty. I found the recipe on www.menus4moms.com.

Roast Sticky Chicken in the Crock Pot

1 large roasting chicken
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
4 teaspoons salt

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Place in a re-sealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

1 cup onion, chopped

When ready to roast chicken, stuff cavity with onions, and place in crock pot. Cook on low for 5 hours. The pan juices will start to caramelize on the bottom of pan and the chicken will turn golden brown. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the meat is thoroughly cooked (180° is well done for a whole chicken). Let chicken rest about 10 minutes before carving.This recipe was originally created by Mimi Hiller of Mimi's Cyber Kitchen, http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/ and this version was actually an adaptation written by Lynn Nelson, former guide of Busy Cooks, http://busycooks.about.com.

I served our unsticky Sticky Chicken with a frozen asparagus/carrot/green bean/linguine blend, which cooked up in less than 8 minutes in the microwave. When I do the chicken again, I'll make rice and stir up a gravy with the pan juices from the chicken. But I didn't have time tonight. And it wasn't one of those "pretty" dishes that begged for me to photograph. It was one of those "chicken so tender it's falling off the bones and making a mess on the serving plate" kind of suppers. Sure tasted good, though!

After supper, I finished a scrapbook layout that I started some weeks ago at a crop. I did two copies of this layout - one for me and one for Brooke. More old photos getting scrapbooked - these pictures are from Brooke's third birthday. I already have the first layout from the party finished and the journaling is on there - these are just pictures of her opening her gifts.

It was a pretty simple layout using a retired Stampin' Up! Simply Scrappin' Kit called Buttons, Bows, and Twinkletoes. I love the Simply Scrappin' Kits. They come with solid and patterned papers and self-adhesive die cuts and border strips. I stamped and cut out the title and tied on coordinating Stampin' Up! gingham and grosgrain ribbons.