Kid's Room Update

I was just on my computer going through some photos and realized (even more) how lazy I've been about showing updates as we have finished projects around here.  I have been taking pictures of the progress on a regular basis, but we stay so busy I seem to never show how things improve.... only the mess we begin with. 

One room that is literally one step from being completely finished is Grady's bedroom.  When we stared, the crown molding was chipping right off and falling onto the floor, the fireplace mantle needed to be stripped along with the window trim, baseboards, doors, etc.  Hank replaced the two windows in this bedroom and one of them had a lot of wood rot that Hank repaired.  The walls were in crazy shape... I posted about that here.

Here is a reminder of what the bedroom looked like before.

And here are a few pictures of what it looked like while working on it....

And... after finishing those walls, trim, windows and buffing the floors.... here is what it looked like.  :)

Now of course we have a ceiling fan installed, curtains up and all the furniture in the room.... it's just that it's been difficult to get a picture when "the toddler" hasn't destroyed it with toys.  I need to work on that...  :) 

We did leave the crown molding down.... until JUST last weekend.  Ummm... that means a year looking like that!  We had a huge stack of trim in our attic that needed to be stripped, but with so many other projects going on, we just told ourselves we'd get to it when time allowed.  Thank goodness, most of our large projects are over and for the last couple of months we have been hammering away on that stack of trim.  We really didn't mind... if all we had to deal with was an ugly area around the ceiling for awhile, we could do that.  But, now that we're getting it all stripped, primed and nailed back up again... it's like a breath of fresh air!!!!  So, this bedroom has the crown back up and hopefully I can get it painted in the next week or two. 

I'll post updated photos soon... I hope....  :)

Chicken Fried Rice

This is a great and simple recipe that my mom emailed to me a few weeks ago.  My husband loves things like this and I remembered my mom making this every now and then when I lived at home.... so I decided I'd give it a whirl.

First start off by washing your chicken thighs (and I pulled off the skin) and adding some salt and pepper.  Bake them in the oven on 350 degrees until done.  I cannot remember how long mine baked... but I guess I knew they were finished because they were no longer screaming....

Get it???  heh... heh....

When the chicken is finished baking, take all the meat off the bone and set aside.

Scramble about four eggs... more or less depending on how much you like in your rice and then set aside.

Set aside about 1/2 can of small green peas... drained. 

Cut up some green onions.... I like a lot of onions... 

And lastly.... cook your rice.  Again... however much you do or do not want.  I think I made enough servings for four.  And it was PLENTY!

Add your ingredients to a skillet.....

Then add your rice to the skillet.  Mix it all together... and VIOLA!!.... you have a simple chicken fried rice dish!


You can switch this recipe up however you like.... add some water chestnuts, or chopped carrots, or celery... or get creative!

 Add soy sauce to taste, throw a few egg rolls in the oven to eat with it and enjoy!!!  :)


Ingredients:

Four chicken thighs
Six green onions
Four eggs, scrambled
1/2 can green peas
Rice (about four servings)
Soy sauce