Life at a "Swell's" pace

Five simple things

It's another Saturday and boy am I glad it's the weekend! It's been a crazy week, more crazy than normal. So glad there is nothing planned so we can relax and actually breathe. Skylar and I plan on working in the garden a little and Jeff has a few honey-do chores planned, so it will be a good "catch up on everything" weekend. But for now, here are the things that made my past week awesome!

1. This Clock Tower View

Because it was perfect timing to capture the moment. (Benton County Courthouse)

2. These Window Flowers

Because they were perfect for the time they were there.

3. This New Offering

Shop Organic Cotton Tampons at The Honest Company!

Because it makes me excited! (Click the image above to learn more)

5. This little hummingbird

Because he's been hanging out a lot lately and is very friendly, and curious.

5. This Trip

Because it was Fourth of July and it was a BLAST!

Extra:

• This Star.

Because this happened back in June (when I took the photo with my phone) and I didn't even talk about it. It's the "Star of Bethlehem" and it's the only time that Jupiter and Venus will be lined up to form one visible star.

What happened this time last year?

A walk through the Corvallis Rose Society Memorial Garden

One of the best places in Corvallis is the Rose Societies Memorial Garden. This memorial garden is is full bloom this time of year and is such a grand place. It's a stretch of land dedicated to the memory of others. Loved ones can have a certain variety of rose bush planted and a dedication stone placed under it to remember that person or persons. We decided to take a walk through and admire the beauty before the season was over.

Learn more about the Corvallis Rose Society here.

What happened this time last year?

(Recipe) Poor Man's Stew

Okay, so in order to make this look like a "true" Poor Man's Stew, I used my old crock pot that has been in my life since I got married 12 years ago. It's seen better days, that's for sure, but I can't seem to part with it. Not yet at least. So here's how to make Poor Mans Stew.

All it takes is five ingredients. That's it!

•What you'll need:

1. Stew Meat (2 lbs.)

2. Beef Stew Seasoning Mix, (1.50 oz)

3. Sweet Peas (15 oz)

4. Sliced Carrots (15 oz)

5. Whole Kernel Corn (15 oz)

Start with two pounds of stew meat. I found a good deal on the ones already packaged, but you can find other varieties that are prepared for stew. It just depends on what your preference is. I found these packages on sale at the local Safeway here in my town.

Place the two pounds of stew meat into your crock pot and add the liquid from the cans of veggies. Don't add the veggies yet, just the liquid they are packed in.

Cook on high for 30 minutes with the lid on.

Add the vegetables in with the meat, along with the stew meat seasoning package. Cook for an additonal 30 minutes, or on low for several hours. I've also made this in the morning and let the stew meat cook on low all day with the seasoning and then added the vegetables 30 minutes before dinner. This recipe is pretty easy and is a quick dinner on the go, as well.

Super delicious!

You can pair this soup with some Hungry Hippo Soup Bread found over on Handmade Charlotte! (How cute is that?)

What happened this time last year?

A season of baseball

We wrapped up our season of baseball for the year. Skylar's team did great, but unfortunately no games were won. This team was sort of a throw-away team with no coach at the beginning of the season and thanks to Jeff stepping up to coach, the boys were able to play. The team was made up of a lot of kids that were either, fresh to baseball, or had taken a few years off from playing (Skylar). The improvement of the players throughout the season was awesome to see!

Our season was full of a lot of great things. Kids coming into baseball and falling in love with the sport, shy kids coming out of their element and making new friends, an Arkansas family surprise, and Skylar diving deeper into his game and getting better with batting. We also found out this season, from Skylar hitting, that he needed glasses. It was a baseball season to remember!

Jeff hitting to the outfield.

Skylar played third base this season and was a champ at scooping up grounders.

Team encouragement, even at practice, was always a plus!

Great group of boys! We hope to see them all next spring!

We wrapped up the end of the baseball year with a bowling party for the boys, courtesy of the Lebanon Boys and Girls Club. It was a great way to end the season!