Forty Eighteen Melanie, Author at Forty Eighteen

Kiss Under the Stars

April 28, 2014 in Great Room, Master Suite

I love fun holidays, and today’s is especially awesome.

April 28 is “Kiss Your Mate Day,” which already sounds like a great day to me, but it gets even better when you add “International Astronomy Day.” What do you get when you add astronomy and kissing?

Kiss Under the Stars Day! Now that is something I can celebrate.

Last year, Mr. 4018’s aunt invited our family to join them for a camping trip in Nevada. We went to a spot where we would have a great view of the Perseids meteor shower. And I just have to say… it was AMAZING!

I don’t think I had ever even seen a shooting star before, so watching meteor after meteor shoot across the sky absolutely took my breath away. For reals. I couldn’t help but gasp at each new streak of light.

So here’s what I’m thinking…

The next meteor shower is happening in about a week. So let’s have a belated celebration of Kiss Under the Stars Day on May 6, the “peak day” of the shower. That means it’s the day you should be able to see the most meteor activity.

What do you need to do? Well, I’m glad you asked.

Drive away from the city lights to a dark place where you can get comfy. You want your eyes to stay adjusted to the dark, so be sure you’re not in a spot where car headlights will shine on you. You don’t want trees or other structures to obscure your view.

Now get comfy and settle in. You may want snacks and drinks, a blanket, bug spray… basically bring what you would need to watch July 4th fireworks, but remember it’s May so it’s probably a bit colder than July. Make sure you’re snuggled close to your “mate” for the smooching part of the night. 🙂

When you’re all settled in, look approximately half way up the sky facing east. If you see heavy lights while facing east, turn more to the north or south. Don’t look directly up at the sky, and you should be able to see 10-20 meteors per hour a few hours before the sun rises.

Enjoy kissing under the stars while you watch nature’s great fireworks show.

Have you ever watched a meteor shower?

Tags: date night, stars
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Time for a Vacation and an RV Giveaway

April 23, 2014 in Mailbox

Writing is like breathing to me, but lately I feel like I have been drowning. You know when life just gets sooo busy you have to make hard choices about what you simply don’t have time to focus on? Well, that has been the whole past month for me. I am sooo ready for summer vacation!

Now I am finally coming up for a huge gulp of air and getting back to this poor neglected blog.

I really have been dreaming about summer vacation and talking with Mr. 4018 about all of the beautiful places I want to take our kiddos. We live in such a gorgeous place!

It seems only right that we visit the grand canyon at some point. I am from Arizona, after all, and we pass it every time we drive to my parents’ house. But so far all my kids have seen of the grand canyon is “Hey, kids! Look out the window right now and you can see the edge of the grand canyon way over there! Oh shoot, you missed it.”

I grew up seeing pictures like this and wondering why we didn’t visit that part of the grand canyon on our family vacations. Paradise in the desert.

We could visit Arches and show our kids the place where this whole 4018 family thing started. If you look all the way to the left edge of the photo about in the middle, that’s the exact spot where we were sitting when Mr. 4018 asked me that one question that changed our lives forever — and I said, “yeah.” Not quite the answer he was looking for… but 17 years and 5 kids later, we’re still traveling along this crazy journey together.

We have each been to Bryce Canyon separately but never together. It’s only a few hours away and such a gorgeous place!

Another one that’s only a few hours away and full of absolutely breathtaking scenery is Zion’s National Park. We have driven through, but it’s about time for us to stop and explore.

And there are so many more gorgeous places I dream of exploring!

I can hardly wait for camping this summer, but I’m, ahem, getting old, and it’s hard to get any sleep on the ground in a tent. Last year I finally upgraded to a fabulous cot that I love (the girls all fight over it when we have sleepovers), but our tent has mesh walls and I still freeze all night long and wake up over and over again just wishing the night would end. And yet, somehow I still love camping.

I used to pass a huge RV seller on my way home every day, and I was practically drooling at all of the amazing RVs in the lot.

Drooling over RVs? I definitely need vacation.

But seriously, how much better would I sleep in an RV?! And then I could love camping even more because I wouldn’t be too tired to be nice and have fun!

That’s why I am so excited to be able to offer you this amazing opportunity to WIN a 5-day RV vacation!

Hosted by Mamas Spot

Access RV is giving away a 5 night RV Rental vacation with 800 miles included in one of their current year 31′ double slide out motorhomes!! RV includes, TV/DVD with 5.1 surround, GPS navigation, back up camera, power awning, Serta Pillow-Top mattress, Air Conditioning, unlimited generator use, final cleaning and dumping and much more!

Our lucky winner will have until June 1st 2015 to use this amazing opportunity!

You and your family or friends could be going to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, The Grand Canyon, or anywhere the adventure takes you!

Ready to start your adventure? Hurry and enter using the rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Vacation Dates are not available from July 23rd through Sept. 2nd. Vacation does not include insurance which can be provided by your auto insurance company. Drivers must be 25 or older with a valid drivers license and proof of insurance. Additional miles can be purchased at $1.55 per mile. A refundable security deposit is required at the time or reservation. Sales tax is required of $156.47. For additional information, floor plan, etc. visit our website at www.accessrvrental.com. This certificate expires June 1, 2015

You have until May 9th to enter. The ARV of this trip is $2150! That’s a lot of money you’re saving when you WIN IT!

Where will you go for your vacation?

Tags: giveaways, vacation
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Tax Day Freebies

April 15, 2014 in Mailbox

I don't know what free food has to do with taxes, but I love a good Tax Day freebie!

Whether or not your taxes are done, you can enjoy some tax day freebies and discounts today! Who doesn’t love free stuff?!

Hard Rock Cafe – Perform a complete song on stage between 5-7 pm and get rewarded with a free entree up to $14.95. I kinda wish we had a Hard Rock Cafe close by . That sounds like fun.

Great American Cookie Company – Free chocolate chip cookie, limit one per person, no purchase required. No limit on how many locations you can visit.

California Tortilla – get free chips and queso dip with the magic words: “Taxes Shmaxes” (with purchase). Do you think anyone accidentally claims this one?

7-Eleven – Free medium slurpee. Chuck has been talking about slurpees every day for a week. We only get them once a year on free slurpee day, but now there are TWO free slurpee days. I’ll be the coolest mom ever if I take her to claim this one today.

Cinnabon – Get 2 free cinnabon bites. yum

Bath and Body Works – buy 2 get 2 free (online only)

Boston Market – get 2 meals, each including a half rotisserie chicken and a choice of 2 home style sides and freshly baked cornbread, for $10.40. Like the 1040 tax form – get it?

Sonny’s BBQ – half off the Irresistible Ribs Special: a plate of Sweet & Smokey or House Dry-Rubbed Ribs. I see what they did there…IRS. haha

Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt – fill your cup (yogurt and toppings) for $4.15 with coupon no matter how much it weighs (claim offer on their Facebook page). 4.15 like April 15th. Clever.

Office Depot -Shred your documents – up to 5 lbs. of paper – for free with this coupon. Wish I had known about this before I spent hours decluttering and shredding old documents

Sonic – 1/2 Price Drinks all day long. My kids think Sonic Happy Hour is the greatest thing ever. Now it’s all day long!

Arby’s – Free Value Curly Fries April 15 with this coupon. Ah, curly fries – the only pregnancy craving Steve ever went out of his way to get me.

Culver’s – $2 Turtle Sundae. Made with chocolate, nuts, and caramel – not actual turtles.

Melting Pot – Get 15% off your check, with code words “cheese me, please” Someone could accidentally claim this one, too, right?

Mimi’s Cafe – Buy One, Get One FREE Breakfast or Lunch Entree when you buy two beverages. It may be too late for this one. Sorry!

Schlotzsky’s – Free The Original Small Sandwich with the purchase of chips and 32 oz drink.

Freebies make any day a day to celebrate. Even tax day! Which one sounds the best to you?

Tags: free stuff
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Sunday Chicken Supper

April 9, 2014 in Kitchen

There’s just something about a Sunday that makes me want comfort food. Maybe it’s because growing up I remember two typical Sunday meals: Mom’s crock pot roast and Dad’s mac & cheese. Talk about comfort food… yum!

I still love a Sunday roast, and homemade mac ‘n’ cheese is my go-to comfort food, but I have also added a few new favorite meals to our Sunday evenings.

Sunday Chicken Supper is such a great Sunday meal! For one, it actually announces itself as the perfect Sunday meal right in its name. Can’t go wrong there! And doesn’t “supper” just sound more homey than dinner?

Besides that, it’s simple to throw together, takes minimal effort, and tastes delicious.

Sunday Chicken Supper

4 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery rib, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 c fresh green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 small red potatoes, quartered
1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 to 3-1/2 pounds), cut up
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 c hot water
2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil
Pinch pepper

In a slow cooker (5 or 6 quart is a good size for this recipe), layer the carrots, onion, celery, green beans, potatoes, chicken pieces, and bacon. If you don’t want to cut up a whole chicken, you can use pieces already cut up – like thighs or breasts – but meat really has a great flavor when it’s cooked with the bones.

In a separate bowl, combine the water, bouillon, salt, thyme, basil, and pepper. Mix it up and then add it to the crock pot. Don’t stir it; just pour it over the top. Cover and cook it on low for 6-8 hours or until the veggies are tender and chicken juices run clear. When it’s done, set the chicken and veggies on a platter to serve, and then you can thicken the juices to use as a gravy.

My family happily gobbles this down every time I serve it, and I love that it’s pretty healthy! (The bacon is more of a condiment… like an herb for seasoning.) Of course, it’s great on a weekday, too.

What do you love to eat on a Sunday?

Tags: chicken, potatoes, recipes, slow cooker
1 Comment »

Knock, knock! Who’s there? Banana Bread!

April 4, 2014 in Kitchen

What is it with my family and bananas? When I buy them with a plan in mind, like a specific recipe or meal, they’re inhaled before I have the groceries put away. When I buy them just because they’re healthy and I think my family would enjoy eating them, they sit on the counter until they’re covered in brown spots and make everything around them smell like rotten banana.

Luckily, overripe bananas are perfect for baking, and I have the yummiest banana bread recipe ever. Of course, as soon as we’re down to two bananas that hang out and turn brown, Steve eats one of them out of a sense of duty and foils my plans. His upbringing of never wasting food no matter what doesn’t mesh well with my upbringing of always using the overripe bananas for banana bread.

This morning I found two brown bananas sitting on my counter, so I went into stealth mode and hid them away before Steve could add them to his cereal that tastes like cardboard. When Chuck got home, we rescued the bananas from their hiding spot and happily mashed away.

I love, love banana bread, and this is a fabulous recipe. I love big chunks of nuts, and I never measure how much I actually put in. I make small loaves, mini loaves, muffins, mini muffins… lots of shapes and sizes of this moist and delicious yumminess. Cooking times vary with size, so you’ll want to watch it so you don’t end up with banana nut charcoal

Banana Bread

3 eggs
1 c oil
1½ c sugar
2 c flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c ripe bananas (about 2-4 depending on size), mashed
1 c milk
1 c walnuts (or more, if you’re like me and just want the bread to hold the nuts together), coarsely chopped

Mix the dry ingredients, then mix the wet ingredients, then combine them until well blended. Pour into your baking pans and bake at 375.

In a full-size loaf pan, bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Muffins and mini loaves take 15-30 minutes, just keep an eye on them.

My sister couldn’t believe how HUGE my slices of banana bread are in this photo. I didn’t know what she meant until I realized she thought those were full-size loaves. These are just mini loaves, but now I totally want to make a full-size loaf and slice it super thick because that sounds a-maz-ing.

By the way, that knock knock joke about bananas? Chuck’s favorite joke.

Knock, knock! Who’s there? Banana. Banana who?
Knock, knock! Who’s there? Banana. Banana who?
Knock, knock! Who’s there? Banana. Banana who?
Knock, knock! Who’s there? Orange. Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn’t say banana??? hahahahaha!

Number of times she told it while we were making banana bread? 11.

Sorry you missed it? Yep.

What do you do with your overripe bananas?

Tags: bread, recipes
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Forty Eighteen

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Kiss Under the Stars

Time for a Vacation and an RV Giveaway

Tax Day Freebies

Sunday Chicken Supper

Knock, knock! Who’s there? Banana Bread!

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