Nothing But Blue Skies

Recipe Of The Week: Whiting Florentina

2012-03-04T09:13:00.000-06:00

I found this recipe on the side of a bag of whiting fillets, of all places! I had gone to the store for tilapia, but they were out. I had never tried whiting before, so I thought, 'What the heck...why not give it a try.' My first attempt using these fillets was with a tilapia recipe and it did NOT turn out well. I had half the bag of fillets left and no idea what to do with them, so I just decided to make the recipe on the side, with a few alterations.

I tried to take a picture of my finished recipe, but it did not turn out nearly as nice-looking as I had hoped. Luckily, it tasted exactly the way I wanted it to. The picture below is one I found online and how, technically, I believe this recipe should look when you're done. If you're a messy cook like me, you should just worry more about how it tastes and less how it looks! Hope you like it!

Whiting Florentina

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Makes: Dinner for 4

Serve With: Rice

Ingredients:

1 lb whiting fillets, thawed

½ tsp salt, divided

½ tsp pepper, divided

1 ½ tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

½ cup heavy cream

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 bunch spinach, stems removed & chopped

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.

2. Arrange the fillets on the sheet. Sprinkle fillets with ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and stir with a wire whisk until blended.

4. Add milk and cream and bring to a boil. Stir until smooth. Add ¼ tsp each salt and pepper, nutmeg, and spinach. Cook for about 5 minutes on low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.

5. Take the fillets out of the oven. Pour the mixture evenly over the top of each fillet. Return to the oven and cook for another 10 minutes, or until heated through.

Substitutions/Additions:

*Can use any white, firm-flesh fish in this recipe.

*Can serve with extra fresh spinach underneath.

Photo from Weight Watchers

on the balance beam again

2012-03-02T08:50:00.000-06:00

I am in one of those phases right now where everything seems extremely overwhelming. I do this to myself, you know. I take on project after project, and then expect to be able to dedicate enough time to all of them that each gets done perfectly. Newsflash to myself: this is impossible.

After an overwhelming week and weekend last week, I needed to get away. As you are reading this, I am in Houston, TX spending some time with two very good friends of mine. One I grew up with since kindergarten and she's due to give birth to Miss Ally Kate around Lexie's birthday. The other I lived with in Singapore when we were in middle and high school and have kept in touch with ever since. I am writing this before I'm actually there, but I don't have to be psychic to tell you I'm having a great time right now. ;o)

When I get back, I'm going to do a little life reorganizing. Kind of like cleaning out the closets of my mind. Everything needs to be sorted through - some discarded, some set aside to make decisions on later, and others to keep around for awhile. I've taken on so many things that I no longer have the time to do the things I enjoy. Even the things I'm looking forward to (like bringing home the baby chicks!) have started to seem like a burden and I hate feeling that way.

I want more time for things like this....

That last one is a little ironic, isn't it?

(That's The Game of Life for you non-board game players!)

How do you strike a balance in your life between the things you want to do, the things you have/need to do, and everything others ask you to do? I need a life coach, or at the very least some good advice. I have a lot of experience in overwhelming myself, but not a lot of wisdom on how to prevent this from happening over and over again. Apart from cloning myself, I'm out of ideas. How do YOU keep your life organized and managed?

Living Room & Office Before

2012-02-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

Renovations on the living room and office began this week. It took awhile for me to find a new contractor that I believe will do a better job, but I *hope* I've found him. He appears to be almost as anal as I am about details, so that's a good sign. ;o)

I've taken some before pictures of these rooms, but they won't be nearly as shocking as the kitchen and family room before shots. Someone had already begun to remodel these rooms before we moved in, so they really aren't that bad. I just need to make them my own. I'm going to do my best to keep up with weekly remodel updates during this process like I did last time with the kitchen and family room, but I'm hoping it goes so fast this time that there won't be a need for too many updates! ;o)

The living room was turned into a bedroom by the last owners of the house. Our plan is to turn it back into a living room, or more like our library/music room. We plan to rip out the closets the previous people put in and build built-in bookshelves. This will open the room back up again and give us some more space.

Right when you walk in our front door, this room is to your left through a pair of french doors. It makes much more sense as a living room than a bedroom. This will give us two entertaining areas - the family room will be more relaxed since the TV is in there, and this will be the more formal living space. It's a very long room, so I'm hoping by knocking out the closet, it'll balance the space a little more.

The office is attached to the living room, separated by another pair of french doors. It looks out over the back pasture and leads into the kitchen, which I love. We do not have an open floorplan, but the flow in this house is excellent. It more than makes up for the fact that every room is cut off from the next.

Please excuse the broken down fish tank. These were taken right after we lost our fish. I'm going to miss turning around from my computer to see six little fishies staring at me. ;o) I just know they were always plotting something...

Anyways, not a lot is going to happen in this room. The windows are over 30 years old and need to be replaced. We will put down the same wood floor that we did in the other two rooms, and we'll repaint. I know a lot of people like the ceiling to be painted the same color as the walls, and that's what someone did in here, but I don't like it. The ceiling will go back to white and we will choose something else for the walls.

I'm looking forward to the remodel being a little less intensive this time around. At least I won't be kicked out of my kitchen for 6 months again! I've moved my office into the empty dining room, so I don't even feel displaced. Cross your fingers this portion goes smoother than last time! ;o) I'll have updates soon!

goodbye, officer wooten

2012-02-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

Last week was a little rough. I didn't talk about it on the blog because it was just too sad. And some of you may laugh because truly, he was just a fish, but we get attached to our fish. Anything or anyone that lives in this house is family.

Tuesday night I did my routine headcount in the fish tank to make sure no one had escaped during the day. I turned off the light, and fed Officer Wooten his pellets. Everything was fine. We wake up Wednesday morning and I go to feed the fish and I can't find Shimmer, one of our newest fish. I'm looking for him when Lexie comes in to help. She notices that Officer Wooten didn't eat his pellets last night. That's when I notice poor Officer Wooten is dead. He was our five-year-old plecostomus. You can see a picture of him here. (Spoink and Elvis also made it into that photo!) He has grown even more since this photo was taken last April.

Anyways, in addition to losing Officer Wooten, Shimmer was also nowhere to be found. Our hearts were broken. I almost let Lexie stay home from school since this all happened about 15 minutes before we had to leave. She was a trooper though, and decided to go. I spent all day wondering why in the world I can't keep our fish alive and I finally decided we are warm-blooded pet people. It also might have a little to do with the fact that we are on a well, so our water might not be healthy enough for fish (or us for that matter...). But to spare the lives of our remaining fish (Elvis, Spoink, Poppy, and the baby who Lexie had just named Todd), I asked my friend Stacy to take them in. She has a 20-gallon tank where hopefully they will have better chances of survival. We took them over Wednesday night and Lexie got to say goodbye, with an offer to come check on them anytime she wants. :o)

Excuse these photos. They were taken with my phone in the dark, and I believe that's also why Ethan looks a little devilish here... I think they'll be better off in their new home, but I miss them a lot. Our fish tank was in the office and all this week, the silence was unbearable. I'm so used to hearing the filter and the bubbles going. It was strange to be able to hear every click of my mouse.

I'm also dealing with the acceptance that I failed at this. I am not a good fishie mommy. I hate when I can't do things and give up, but really it was just too hard on us whenever they would die. So we gave the tank a good cleaning and are going to try to sell it. Maybe, just maybe, after we get back from India we will use the money to buy a guinea pig. Lexie's been wanting one forever. And maybe we'll have better luck with that.

On Saturday we said goodbye to Officer Wooten with a funeral. He was much too large to even consider flushing him down the toilet. Not that we would do that anyways... ;o) Lexie picked out a pretty spot under a tree and Cory dug a large hole for him.

Lexie went and picked some of the beautiful daffodils that have been blooming with the warm weather and she gave him a eulogy. Halfway through, she says, 'And Shimmer, if you're in his body, we loved you, too!' :o) Cracked us all up. We never did find that fish, so it's a logical conclusion that he had been eaten... Cycle of life, I guess.

I'm hoping we make it through this week with no more casualties or surprises. And I'm hoping that Poppy and Spoink don't procreate so much that Stacy decides to give our fish back to us!

Recipe Of The Week: Picadillo Meatballs & Rice

2012-02-26T08:00:00.000-06:00

This recipe looks a lot harder than it actually is just because there are so many ingredients, but it's actually very simple! My favorite part about this recipe is that you can double it, triple it, whatever you want to do, and the meatballs can be frozen for two months. The next time you're running behind or don't have anything on hand to cook with, you can grab these out of the freezer and throw dinner together in no time. I really, really loved the flavor of these meatballs, too. It's a lot different than any I've ever tried and I'll definitely be making them again!

Picadillo Meatballs & Rice

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Makes: Dinner for 4

Serve With: No side dish necessary

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain white rice

1 tbsp olive oil

I cup onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 ½ lb ground beef, thawed

¼ cup pimiento-stuffed olives, sliced

¼ cup raisins, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 (14 oz) can tomato sauce

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

4 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

1. Cook the rice according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 4 minutes.

3. Stir in the garlic and cook for one minute. Remove from heat.

4. Heat broiler. Transfer half the onion mixture to a large bowl. Add the beef, olives, raisins, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine.

5. Form the mixture into 1 ½” balls, about 20, and place on a sprayed, foil-lined broiler-proof baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, about 8 minutes.

6. While the meatballs cook, return the skillet with the remaining onion mixture to medium heat. Add the tomato sauce and cinnamon, and simmer until heated through, about 3 minutes. Stir in the vinegar.

7. Add the meatballs to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve over the rice and sprinkle with the cilantro, if desired.

Substitutions/Additions:

*Can substitute turkey for the beef.

*The cooked meatballs and sauce can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then warm in a saucepan, covered, stirring occasionally, over medium heat.

Photo from Woman's Day

your bird can sing

2012-02-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

I've seen this little game around and thought I'd participate, using my favorite band of all time, of course! The rules are pretty self-explanatory. You pick a band, and then answer the following questions using only the titles of that bands' songs, not their lyrics. So you might want to pick a band that has released more than one record. ;o)

Pick Your Artist:

~~The Beatles~~

Are you male or female:

~~She's A Woman~~

Describe yourself:

~~Her Majesty~~

How do you feel about yourself:

~~Dizzy Miss Lizzie~~

Describe where you currently live:

~~Strawberry Fields Forever~~

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:

~~Across The Universe~~

Your best friend is:

~~Taxman~~

(This is pretty darn close! He's an accountant!)

Your favorite color is:

~~Yellow Submarine~~

Describe your current love situation:

~~ Your Mother Should Know~~

What’s the weather:

~~Good Day Sunshine~~

If your life was a television show what would it be called:

~~Run For Your Life~~

What is life to you:

~~Here, There And Everywhere~~

What is the best advice you have to give:

~~All You Need Is Love~~

If you could change your name what would you change it to:

~~Penny Lane~~

Your favorite food is:

~~Wild Honey Pie~~

Your favorite time of the day is:

~~The Night Before~~

You know that:

~~Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey~~

saving face

2012-02-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

My friend Stephanie occasionally posts about products she tries and whether or not she likes them. I love it when she does this because it saves me time and, more importantly, money! There have been so many times when I've been interested in a product, but didn't want to fork over the cash and have it turn out to be useless, so I really appreciate it when I see other bloggers give honest (aka: UNPAID) reviews on products they're using. Don't worry, I'm not under the impression that most of you will actually be interested in my skincare routine, but for those of you that are, I hope this helps! :o)

Thanks to Stephanie, I have recently fallen in LOVE with Philosophy brand products! I placed my first order a month ago, and with it came a TON of samples and travel size products for free. I love getting anything for free! I purchase mine from Ulta so that I can get the reward points, but you can also order them from the Philosophy website. Just to be clear, NO ONE is paying me for my opinion here. (but it would have been really awesome if they were...)

The Purity facial cleanser came as a free travel size sample when I placed my order. I was pretty happy with my current facewash (just a gentle, soap-free cleanser from Walmart), but after I tried this out, I fell in love! It worked really well at removing my makeup and making my skin feel clean afterwards. I use this morning and night. I will definitely be ordering a full size when I place my next order!

Eyes Wide Open is the eye gel I use every morning after washing my face. It is meant to de-puff the undereye area. I am not really sold on this product. I haven't noticed a difference yet in the puffiness around my eyes. To be fair, I don't get a lot of sleep and I have allergies that cause my eyes to get puffy, so I might be expecting this gel to do more than it's capable of, but I don't plan on reordering it. Anybody got any suggestions for a better de-puffer?

Hope In A Tube is the eye cream I use every night after cleansing. Now this one, I can fully endorse! I love this cream! It goes on well and dries quickly, and I have actually noticed a difference in the lines around my eyes. They aren't gone, but they look softer. It says you can also use this cream around your lips, but I haven't done that because it isn't a problem area for me. If I can't find a better de-puffer, I may just start using this eye cream in the mornings, too.

I use Duac Topical Gel in the mornings after putting on my eye gel ONLY if I need it. Acne was a big problem for me as a kid, up until my mid-20's, so I feel pretty confident in telling you this is the best topical spot treatment there is. Only downside is, you'll have to visit your dermatologist to get a prescription because it's not over-the-counter. But I promise it is worth it. When I do get a pimple, if I use this on it two mornings in a row, the pimple is gone by the third morning. That's pretty darn amazing!

Every night after applying eye cream and letting it dry, I use this 1% Retinol serum all over my face. The brand that makes it is Phyto-C and I was able to get it from the aesthetic center at my dermatologist's office without a prescription. I know a lot of people swear by retinol, but I don't think I'll be buying this again, at least until I'm older. It's supposed to aid in cell turnover and help reduce the size of your pores, but I'm thinking maybe my skin just isn't needing retinol just yet because I haven't really noticed a difference.

Hope In A Jar was the whole reason I placed my first Philosophy order. I'd heard from multiple people what a great moisturizer it was, and they weren't kidding. I love this stuff! It makes my skin feel like satin and has never left me feeling greasy or caused me to break out. I think it even makes my makeup go on smoother. I ordered the original formula, but they also sell it in other varieties for people with oily skin, or sensitive skin, and so on. It's pricier than most other moisturizers I've tried, but it's worth it!

And that's it! I try to keep my skincare routine pretty simple, otherwise I won't stick with it. In the summer I have to add hydroquinone products into the mix to combat my melasma. It rears it's ugly head anytime I'm out in the sun. I'm about to go all Baz Luhrman on you here, but seriously, one word of advice? SUNSCREEN! If I'd foregone tanning beds and used sunscreen outside in my teens and early 20's, I wouldn't be dealing with these melasma splotches. Do yourself a favor and SPF up!

haycicles and unbirthdays

2012-02-20T10:33:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning in Narnia.

Every tree branch and stalk of hay was covered in icicles. It snowed yesterday, but didn't stick to the ground. Then, during the night, the temperature dropped into the teens and everything turned to ice. It's beautiful!

What a great opportunity for me to practice some of the things I've been learning on my camera. I still need to work harder on choosing the correct aperture and focusing, but I'm pretty pleased with the progress I'm making! I need to give a little credit here to Jenn. She has taught me, unintentionally I'm sure, to be more observant and notice little details. She recently posted a photo of a branch with raindrops on it which inspired the above photo.

All of the puddles in the field have turned to ice.

Do you want to know what I think about when I see these?

You just never know what you'll walk outside and see around here...

Unrelated to chickens playing hockey...this past Friday was my un-birthday!

What's an un-birthday?

The name comes from Alice In Wonderland, but the idea was created by my mother in an effort to make sure that neither my sister or I felt left out on each others' birthday.

When I was a kid, for my birthday, I would go out and specifically pick out a gift to give to my sister so she would have something to open. And vice versa on Laura's birthday. Most people probably would have stopped this tradition as they got older, but not Laura and I. In fact, occasionally our un-birthdays get rather extravagant!

This year she mailed me running headbands because it's so cold outside that my ears start to feel like they're going to bleed while I'm on my runs. Can't wait to wear these babies!!

Cory and I celebrated by going out to a restaurant with our friends, Lauren & Ben. The food was delicious, and the live music was excellent. But I still missed my girl. I think I mentioned last week that this would be our first time going out without Lexie in two years. I'm not sure how I felt about it. We are going to have to do this more often or this momma is going to be in trouble when her daughter leaves for college!

Recipe Of The Week: Chocolate Cream Pie

2012-02-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

This pie goes by many names. I've also heard it called French Silk Pie and Chocolate Silk Pie. Woman's Day, which is where I found the recipe, just calls it Chocolate Cream Pie. What I love about this one is how easy it is. Seriously...you can't mess it up - there's only four ingredients and four steps.

The original recipe (posted here) produces a less sweet pie, perfect with coffee. I prefer to sweeten it up a little, and if you prefer your pie that way, too, I've offered suggestions at the bottom of the recipe on how to do that! Enjoy!!

Chocolate Cream Pie

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Makes: 6 Servings

Serve With: No side dish necessary

Ingredients:

15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese

½ lb semisweet chocolate, plus extra for shaving

1 (6 oz) chocolate cookie pie crust

1 cup heavy cream

Instructions:

1. Place the ricotta in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high, stirring every 15 seconds, until no longer cold, about 1 minute. Transfer to a food processor and puree until smooth.

2. Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chocolate is melted and smooth, about two minutes.

3. Add the warm chocolate to the food processor and puree until fully incorporated and very smooth. Spread the mixture in the pie crust and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.

4. When ready to serve, using an electric mixer, beat the cream in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the pie and top with shaved chocolate.

Substitutions/Additions:

*You can forgo the crust and spoon the chocolate ricotta mousse into glasses. Chill if desired, then top with the whipped cream and chocolate shavings before serving.

*For a sweeter taste, substitute milk chocolate for the semisweet chocolate, or substitute Cool Whip for the heavy cream whipped topping.

Photo from Woman's Day

paper earrings

2012-02-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

You know that moment when you realize your child has a gift for something? It's always a little surprising, not because you didn't expect them to be talented, but more likely because you didn't really know when the signs of a certain talent were supposed to crop up. Sometimes it's even a little more surprising when it's something that you yourself don't really have a talent for.

The first time this happened for me, Lexie was somewhere around 3 or 4. We would lay on the floor in her bedroom and color in coloring books. We'd open one up, she'd pick one side and I'd color the other side. It's a pretty standard activity, I believe. But one day, I looked over and I saw that instead of coloring Barbie's jeans a solid blue, like my unimaginative mind would have, Lexie had drawn vertical stripes down the front of her Barbie's jeans in multiple colors. Barbie was now wearing rainbow pinstripe pants!

I never would have thought to color that way. As a child, I was lucky to get my crayon inside the lines. That's when I realized Lexie had never really colored outside of the lines. She was meticulous, extremely detail oriented, even at 3! This is still how her pictures in her coloring books look now, just with even more creative designs. A few years ago, I bought her her first design sketchbook for clothing. Her ideas are phenomenal. (And I'm seriously trying to be impartial.)

At an open house at school, I had the chance to speak with Lexie's art teacher. She told me that during regulated activities, Lexie will often try to finish as quickly as possible so that she can go off and do her own projects. This is one such project...

I am the proud owner of a pair of paper earrings! ;o) Don't knock it though...we've come a long way from the kindergarten Fruit Loop & Cheerio necklace! You better believe I'm wearing these babies out in public. No shame! I am a proud momma! And one day this proud momma is going to be wearing pieces from her famous daughter's new line of clothing. :o)

i'm a cheap date

2012-02-15T09:03:00.001-06:00

I know I've mentioned before that we like to keep holidays simple around here. That means no pressure to buy the perfect gift, or get reservations at a nice restaurant. Instead, we do things like this...

Ice cream for dinner! My favorite! And of course we brought Lexie along with us. She'd have been pretty upset if we went out for ice cream without her! ;o)

This was our 10th Valentine's Day together, as a family and as a couple. I think he still loves me a little bit...

On the way home, we had to drive with the windows down because *somebody* (not going to say who...) tooted in the car. We stop at a stoplight, and what does my ladylike daughter do? She presses both her hands against her mouth and proceeds to make the loudest, most realistic-sounding toot noise I've ever heard. I'd love to know what the people in the car next to us were thinking... :o) We are such a romantic family, yes?

In non-Valentine's related news, Lexie has a sleepover birthday party this weekend. She's had a birthday party to go to three weekends in a row now! I'm going to go broke buying presents! But it's going to allow Cory and I to go out on our own this Friday. It's been over 2 years since we've been on a date. I'm sincerely hoping we don't just stay home and watch TV on the couch...

We are also busy preparing for our trip to India! It is now scheduled and we will be leaving the 6th of June. Lexie will get to spend her 10th birthday in India! How many kids get to say that?? In response to that, Cory replied with...'Only about 1 billion Indian children'. Smartie pants. Anyway, Cory and I still have valid passports from when we went to Asia in 2007, but Lexie will need a new one. This weekend we are going to try to complete all the paperwork to get that ball rolling so we can then get our visas.

In remodel news, I've chosen a contractor to complete the things I can't do in our next two rooms. I'm giving him the deposit today so he can order the floor and then he will begin as soon as the floor comes in! I'll take some before pictures and post them, but they won't be nearly as shocking as the others since these rooms are already semi-updated. Just pretend to notice a drastic change at the end, okay? I'll try to get those before pictures up next week.

And now I'm off to run, run, run. At least our weather has improved enough that I can do it outside! Hope it's sunshiney where you are, too!

i can.

2012-02-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

When it comes to being a mother, I'm constantly plagued with doubt.

From the little stuff - are Toaster Struddles really a quality breakfast?

to the big stuff - did I spend enough time with her today?

and everything in between.

There is a constant worry in my mind nearly every waking moment. The worries ping-pong back and forth from thing to thing, settling on the deeper issues every night before I go to bed. I toss and turn, fretting over the consequences of things I might have done, or didn't do...

She heard me complain about my hips this morning. Is she learning to critique her body the way I do? Will she grow up believing her body is ugly instead of the amazing machine it is because of me?

Am I putting my own wants ahead of hers too often? Instead of going for that Saturday morning run, should I have joined her in bed and read a book and talked about our dreams? Will she believe she's not as important as my hobbies?

Am I teaching her to recognize her strengths and build on them? Did I compliment her when she did something really well? Is she learning to be proud of herself and all the things she can do, instead of dwelling on the things she can't?

I know I told her I loved her. But did I remember to tell her WHY?

Did I do this? Did I do that? Should I have done this more? And this less? Will she be able to survive me for these 18 years, coming out on the other side with as little damage as possible? It's exhausting. And sometimes, sometimes, I feel like giving up. Because it's just too hard. How can I possibly handle such a big responsibility when there's so many little things I can't even get right? The familiar feeling of panic begins to creep in, starting in my stomach and rising up to my chest.

And then I remember to breathe. One big breath in. One slow breath out. And repeat.

My mother made it through this. And her mother before her. And hers before her. I can do this.

I can remember to take it one day at a time - and on the roughest of days, one hour at a time.

I can accept that some days I won't be the best mom, and some days I'll even be a bad one. But most days, I'll be a pretty good one.

I can congratulate myself on those days.

I can cut myself some slack every now and then, and not feel guilty when I do.

I can accept that there will be many things I will get wrong, but for every thing I get wrong, there will be something I get right.

I can practice what I preach and believe in myself the way I ask my daughter to.

I can send my worries packing and enjoy these years for what they are - a learning experience for us both.

I can do this.

Recipe Of The Week: Ditalini & Bean Soup

2012-02-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

Every week I like to make a purely vegetarian meal. I feel like it gives my digestive system a break. (I am so NOT a dietician or any sort of medical professional, so this is purely speculation on my part.) And now that it's finally turned into winter in Tennessee, I've been breaking out the soup and stew recipes I've been wanting to try for awhile.

This one comes from Tennessee Magazine. The original recipe calls for chicken broth, but to make this a true vegetarian meal, you'll need to use vegetable broth. There are a couple other substitutions you can make which I have listed below. And instead of using the stock photo for this recipe, I took my own! Seriously, Instagram may be the best thing that's ever happened to me. :o) Poor Lexie had to wait for me to finish photographing her soup before she could eat it though...

Ditalini & Bean Soup

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Makes: Dinner for 4

Serve With: Warm Bread

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 garlic clove, minced

4 cups chicken broth

1 (14.5 oz) can italian seasoning stewed tomatoes

1 (15.5 oz) can cannellini beans, drained

8 oz ditalini pasta

3 tbsp chopped fresh basil, divided

¼ tsp black pepper

2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds.

2. Add the vegetable broth and tomatoes (with juice). Bring to a boil and break up the tomatoes with a spoon.

3. Add the beans, pasta, 2 tbsp of the basil, and the pepper. Return the mixture to a boil and stir frequently for 3 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan. Let stand for 5 minutes.

5. Stir in the remaining basil and drizzle with the remaining oil. Serve hot.

Substitutions/Additions:

*Can use diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning if you prefer not to have to break up the tomatoes during cook time.

*Use dry basil if fresh isn’t available. Season to your own preferences.

*Can use vegetable broth for a vegetarian soup.

*If you can't find ditalini, use any tube pasta.

what i do for free cookies

2012-02-10T08:41:00.000-06:00

The first time I gave blood was in May last year when my mom needed it for her surgery. Then I didn't give again until November after I had time to do a little reading about how the blood donation process works, what my blood is used for, and whether it was harmful to my own health to give. The American Red Cross has a page HERE specifically for first-time donors where you can learn everything you'll need to know about donating.

I went last Thursday to give for the third time and while I was signing in, the nurse mentioned how healthy for ME it was to give blood. When I got home, I got back on the internet to figure out what she meant. I'd learned giving blood wasn't harmful for my body, but I didn't know it was actually GOOD for me. THIS article from Livestrong explains how giving blood decreases your levels of iron resulting in lower heart attack AND cancer risks. Good enough for me.

I like giving blood. It makes me feel good to be able to do something for someone else who needs it. I don't have a whole lot of extra time to volunteer somewhere regularly, but I can definitely find half an hour every 2 months to donate blood. There are other incentives to giving in addition to the good feeling you get helping others out. For one, there are the free snacks and drinks afterwards. (Who can turn down free cookies??)

If you give at the Red Cross, you are awarded 500 points for every donation you give. You can sign up for an account HERE where your points can be exchanged for items or be transfered into Best Buy Reward Zone points. I believe other donation centers, like Life Blood, also have incentive programs like this. In addition to the point system, once you hit certain levels of blood given, you are awarded with prizes. The last time I gave, I came home with this cute bowl and spoon!

Giving blood is something people in my family have done for a LONG time. Want proof? :o)

That would be my 5-year-old self joining my dad at his donation appointment where he hit 5 gallons! There is no telling how many he is up to now. (Probably enough to feed the whole Cullen family for at least a year!) But I do remember him changing out the bumper sticker on his truck every time he hit a new goal. I couldn't wait to be big enough to give, too.

My sister has been giving for a number of years. The donation centers always get really excited to have her. She is O- which means she can donate to anyone, but the downside is she can only receive blood from fellow O- humans, which are few and far between. So if you fall into this category, you are especially appreciated! :o)

If you're not sure where to start, click on the Red Cross circle in my right sidebar. It'll take you through all the steps to determine your eligibility, find a location near you, and set up an appointment! The need is there, regardless of your blood type, so if you're eligible to give, please do!

my fish need contraception

2012-02-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Wanna know what I did this past weekend?

A whole lot of nothing!

I'll be paying for it this coming weekend when I have to make up for all the lazy I did.

But it's worth it.

On Friday and Saturday, we laid around on the couch watching movies I'd recorded onto the DVR months ago. Cory made us a fire even though it was 60 degrees outside. Lexie went to a birthday party for her friend Hannah. I actually took her there in the sweatshirt I slept in and no makeup. The horror! Hannah's mom may never talk to me again, but I said I was having a do-nothing weekend. And that included showering...

When I went to pick her up, all the girls had changed into Hannah's dresses and were performing a marriage ceremony for a giant sock monkey. I'm working this into the schedule for my next birthday party, too.

I didn't even cook this weekend. We ate out for the first time in months. *gasp* Don't worry, I didn't throw everything out the window and eat fast food. We found a really cute Italian bistro called Cool Beans in Murfreesboro. With a name like that, how could you NOT go see what it was? I loved the place. It was quiet, they seated us immediately, and the ingredients in their food were all fresh and local. Places like that are really hard to find around here without driving all the way to Nashville, so I was really happy!

Then, Sunday night when I was getting ready to go to bed, I went to turn the light in the fish tank off and saw something weird. I squinted and looked again. Sure enough, it was a...

BABY!

How the heck did that happen???

(Don't answer that...)

Apparently Daniel at PetSmart has no idea how to sex a fish. Every time we go, we specifically ask for male fish, and it hasn't been a problem...until now. These two are the culprits...

Spoink and Poppy are my little baby-makers!

Until January, we had always chosen fish that were different breeds. (Or is it species? I don't know...) But when we added Poppy (the black and white molly) to the tank, s/he joined Spoink (our black molly) and apparently got busy!!

We have yet to name the baby. The picture is deceiving since I zoomed in, but it's actually about the size of the tip to a pencil eraser. I'm a little worried Officer Wooten is going to mistake it for a piece of floating poop and eat it. :o) So we're giving it a couple days before we name it and get attached. I'm freaking out a little though...if the baby is a girl, and clearly either Spoink or Poppy is a girl, we could potentially have a whole school of mollies in the tank within a couple months. I'm not exactly sure how to prevent that from happening without sending one of the mollies on an adventure down the toilet. Argh! Curse you Daniel at PetSmart!!!!

the family room reveal

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

Here it is (finally) as promised - our family room reveal! If you'd like to catch up, you can click to read about our Kitchen Reveal HERE. And you can read the step-by-step progress of our remodel by clicking on the label 'Renovations' in my sidebar. The kitchen and the family room are the only two rooms we have completed so far. And it only took us a year and a half! At this rate, I will pass away before the whole house is done. But for now, I'm just enjoying that we have two rooms that are truly us. And I love it!

If you'd like to see pictures of our cave-like family room before, click HERE. And just like last time with the kitchen reveal, I'll spell out everything we did, but if you're not interested, just skip over that part and look at the pictures! ;o)

Unlike the kitchen remodel, I didn't have inspirational pictures to guide me. I had an idea in my head and lots of high hopes that it would turn out just like I imagined. Crazy part is - it turned out even better!

Our course the biggest change you are going to see here is the color of the walls. No more dark brown paneling! After originally painting the paneling a light yellow, we changed and went with Sherwin Williams Canvas Tan. All the trim including baseboards, crown moulding, doors and windows were painted white to match the kitchen trim. Wood blinds were added to the window.

We continued the dark wood floors into this room, too. They were the biggest hassle of the entire room, but it was absolutely worth it. These floors make me feel like I'm living in a mansion since we've never had anything but carpet and linoleum before. When the floors were laid, they also covered up an outlet that was in the middle of the floor. Never could figure out the reasoning behind that. 4.25" Colonial baseboards were installed with shoe moulding. We left the floor vent where it was and bought a new vent to help it blend with the wood flooring.

The ceiling was smoothed out and painted white. We installed a new ceiling fan that actually produces light in the room. Imagine that! The sconce on the wall used to be on a dimmer that didn't work. We switched it to a regular bulb and connected it to a light switch. All of the outlet covers and switch plates were updated as well.

Originally there was a solid door to the laundry room (the room with the plaid wallpaper), but we took it out and put in a pretty french door. Adjacent to that is another french door to the dining room that you can't see in the picture above. When both are closed, it looks lovely! All of the hardware on the doors was switched out to match the new ones we bought for the kitchen.

The craziest part about this remodel was that because of the lightning strike blowing our chimney off the house, we got to completely redo the fireplace which wasn't in our budget when we first began the remodel in this room. We were just going to paint the brass plates on the front an antique bronze and leave the rest as-is. Now I can't say I'm *happy* our house got struck, but it did allow us to change the fireplace and really bring the whole room together. Here is our inspiration picture of the fireplace and then how ours turned out.

I *love* the stone. It is prettier than anything I could have imagined. It changed the entire dynamic of the room, and ultimately the furniture and accent pieces I ended up buying. The original plan had been to keep more of a shabby, country theme in here because of the old brick fireplace, but the stone allowed me to go a little more contemporary with my furniture choices.

We kept the same media stand that the TV is on and the same piece that holds all of ours movies. (I'm not completely pleased with how they look all exposed, but I haven't been able to find something I like that keeps them hidden, so for now they are on the rack!) I bought the couch, chair, accent pillows, and blue rug from World Market. The two side tables, mirror, happiness sign, and rug by the back door came from Kohl's. The two lamps and coffee table/ottoman came from Target. The ottoman opens up to hold our blankets and other junk. Love it!

Other than that, I reused things we already had. The clock on the wall was given to me by my sister. On the mantle are two picture frames my friend Lindsay gave me. The poinsetta is from my neighbor and I just used a pot my aunt had given me a few years ago. The candlesticks were a wedding gift, but they were bronze and they made everything on the mantle look too dark, so I painted them antique white. I went back and forth debating whether to paint the mantle the same color as the trim, but for now I'm keeping it the way it is since it matches the floor.

There may be a few more minor things we do in this room, but for the most part, it is complete! Because the lightning hit so hard, our back door got knocked out of position and you need the strength of a body builder to open it, so eventually I hope to replace the door, but for now I'm DONE! It feels extremely good to say that. :o)

Recipe Of The Week: Spanish Style Salami Tortilla

2012-02-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

This was a really good recipe to use up some of our eggs! We're getting 5 - 6 a day and definitely can't eat that many ourselves. When I have an extra dozen, I've been giving them away to friends and family that have been saving their egg cartons for us. It is so much fun to give people our multi-colored eggs. Most of the time they're as excited about them as we are! :o)

But back to the recipe, I actually had to buy an oven-safe skillet to make this one, because I didn't already own one. Otherwise, it's a pretty inexpensive meal that makes a lot. I didn't pair anything with it and it filled all three of us up with leftovers to spare. I put as an addition that you could include red pepper flakes to make it spicy, but you could also just sprinkle hot pepper sauce over the top. That would be handy if you've got kids who don't like anything spicy because you could just leave the hot pepper sauce off of their portions. Anyways, hope you like it!

Spanish Style Salami Tortilla

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Makes: Dinner for 4

Serve With: No side dish necessary

Ingredients:

¼ lb thinly sliced salami, quartered

½ cup onion, chopped

¾ lb red potatoes, cut in ½” pieces

3 tbsp olive oil, divided

¾ tsp salt, divided

½ tsp pepper, divided

¾ cup parsley, chopped and divided

8 large eggs

4 oz sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp dijon mustard

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Cook the salami in a large oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium heat until beginning to brown, about one minute per side. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add the onion, potatoes, 1 tbsp oil, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are golden brown and just tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in ¼ cup parsley and salami.

3. Whisk together the eggs and cheese, pour into the skillet and stir to distribute the ingredients. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the tortilla is puffed, brown around the edges, and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 12 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, 2 tbsp oil, ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Add the tomatoes and ½ cup parsley. Toss to coat and serve with the tortilla.

Substitutions/Additions:

*You can add red pepper flakes in with the eggs and cheese for a spicier flavor.

Photo from Woman's Day

mid-week ramblings

2012-02-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

Besides having an unseasonably warm winter so far this year, we've also had some absolutely stunning sunrises. While getting ready for school one morning last week, Lexie yelled down for me to grab my camera. Her bedroom window faces the back of the house where the sun rises and she saw this beautiful display and knew I'd want to photograph it. I ran like a mad woman for my camera and still barely caught it in time. These sunrises are beautiful, but they are fleeting.

Last week was also Dixie's birthday. If you don't remember Dixie, you can read about her HERE. She's my puppy who currently resides in Memphis with my grandfather. She's been keeping him company ever since my grandmother died. Anyways, the 26th was her 11th birthday, so I had this little conversation with my Pawpaw so she'd know we still love her.

Don't I have the sweetest grandfather? :o) And I'm getting pretty good with my iPhone. I've already gotten so used to a touch screen that Sunday when Cory's alarm was going off on his phone, I kept trying to hit Dismiss on the screen, but it wasn't working! It took me a good 3 minutes to remember he has a regular phone with no touch screen. :o)

I also need to explain the whole bloody kitchen incident I alluded to in Monday's post. Cory and I were making burgers out of pinto beans. The recipe called for one can of beans to be mashed. Like an idiot, I opened the can and left the lid on and started mashing them in the can. On my second mash, my hand came down on the lid and it cut me pretty deep. Blood was going all over the place and didn't stop for about 2 hours. I'm about 99% sure I needed stitches, but we had a really busy Saturday planned leaving no time for a $150 ER trip just for stitches, so Cory bandaged me up and I was okay until that evening. I couldn't eat my dinner because I was feeling nauseous. But we headed to our parenting class anyways. A few minutes after the class I started sweating bad and feeling sick. And when we stood up to go home, I nearly passed out. It was pretty embarrassing. Except for a little PTSD when I had to open a can of pineapple last night, I'm okay. It's going to be an ugly scar, but what else is new. I've got plenty of those. :o)

This Friday night and all day Saturday we are taking it easy. Except for a skype date with my parents in the morning, we have nothing planned. I am freaking excited! :o) We need the downtime because next week we are beginning the office and formal living room remodel! I can't wait to get started on two more rooms after seeing how good the first two turned out! On Monday I am going to reveal our family room remodel, so come back around for that! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

show us your plum!

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

This may look like a "What I Wore Wednesday" post, but it's not!

Like I'd actually be able to dress in anything even remotely fashionable... come on, guys.

A month ago I signed up for Janette's Show Us Your Plum challenge. The deal was, she would send the people who signed up something from the company Pick Your Plum to keep, and we were supposed to create a blog post about it. Janette knows me well. She knew not to send me anything crafty. ;o) Instead, I got this lovely pink scarf!

I had never heard of this company before Janette told me about them. Here's how it works, once a day they post an incredible deal on either cute accessories (like my scarf!) or on items you can use to make crafts. You can either 'Like' them on their facebook page or sign up for their newsletter on their website to find out what their daily deal is. The newsletter comes once a day Monday thru Friday, so you won't get lots of spam. The thing about Pick Your Plum is, there are very limited quantities at their discounted prices. So if you see something you like, you need to grab it right away!

Have you bought from Pick Your Plum before? Do you want a chance to win a box full of surprises from PYP? If so, write up a post about it and join in with either Janette or Ashley for their Show Us Your Plum challenge!

interviewing lexie

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-06:00

When Lexie was 6, there was a little interview floating around on Facebook that you were supposed to give to your kids and then transcribe their answers word for word and share. (Back when people actually wrote notes on there! Remember that?) My intention was to give it to her every year and see how her answers changed, but it's been three years, and I'm just now remembering.

The original interview was given on March 2, 2009. The first line after each question is from then. The second line is the answers she gave me yesterday. My commentary is in parenthesis. The best discovery was that even though Lexie has changed tremendously over the past 3 years, she has always known how loved she is. If I have done nothing else right, at least I've been spot on with that one!

1. What is something your mom always says to you?

I love you.

I love you.

(This is so much better than 'Hurry up!' and 'Did you forget your lunch?' that I feel like I repeat over and over again...)

2. What makes your mom happy?

When I hug you and love on you.

Me and daddy.

3. What makes your mom sad?

When I lie to her.

Whenever she cuts or hurts herself.

(There was an incident this weekend. There was blood. Lots of it.)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

When she dances silly.

By being weird.

5. What was your mom like as a child?

She had to walk to school.

She didn't like sports.

6. How old is your mom?

25.

28.

7. How tall is your mom?

You don't talk to me like that...what is it??

5 feet something.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

Eat cereal.

Be with me and daddy.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

Works at the gym.

Write on her blog, work out, and eat breakfast.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

Singing.

Ooooh... the most loving parent in the world. Or a singer.
(I feel the need to let you know that I absolutely, without a doubt can NOT sing a note. Not sure where these came from.)

11. What is your mom really good at?

Being funny.

Making us laugh.

12. What is your mom not very good at?

Throwing a frisbee.

Math.

13. What does your mom do for her job?

She helps pets have their homes.

She does not have a job.

(The first answer was back when I volunteered at the shelter. And I guess all the cooking, cleaning, and chicken-raising I do now doesn't count as a job...)

14. What's your mom's favorite food?

Cereal.

Glazed donuts.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

She's good at loving on me.

That she's really loving, kind, and funny.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Kitara on Avatar.

Isabella on Phineas & Ferb.

17. What do you and your mom do together?

Cuddle and read together.

Cuddle, talk, and we read in bed together.

18. How are you and your mom the same?

We both have brown hair and have the same eyebrows. And we have the same funniness.

We both have the same blood and piercings on our ears.

(I have no idea where the 'same blood' comment is coming from except that there was a lot of blood in our kitchen this weekend. I may have to blog about this to explain myself. But it was just my blood, not Lexie's! No need to call DCF!)

19. How are you and your mom different?

I have brown eyes and you have blue eyes.

You dyed your hair and I'm not going to.

(Good call.)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

She kisses me and hugs me.

She acts like it and she tells me it all the time.

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

The bed.

Home.

(I about died three years ago when her answer was the bed. Home is much more appropriate...)

Recipe Of The Week: Zucchini Meatloaf & Roasted Potatoes

2012-01-29T09:00:00.000-06:00

If you've followed me for long, you know I'm not a big fan of beef.

We eat it maybe once or twice a month at the most.

I made an exception for this recipe when I saw it.

Maybe because it has zucchini in it which is my favorite green vegetable.

(I have to specify green because, really, no veggie can hold a candle to corn.)

Zucchini Meatloaf & Roasted Potatoes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Makes: Dinner for 4

Serve With: No side dish necessary

Ingredients:

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 egg

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ cup old fashioned oats

½ lb zucchini, coarsely grated

½ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 lb lean ground beef

4 medium red bliss potatoes

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.

2. In a small bowl, combine the honey and mustard. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the oats, zucchini, and parsley, and stir to combine. Add the beef and mix just until incorporated.

4. Transfer the beef mixture to a foil-lined baking sheet and shape it into two 5 ½ x 3” loaves. Bake for 25 minutes, basting with the mustard sauce during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Let the meatloaf rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

5. While the meatloaf is cooking, prick the potatoes with a fork and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Transfer to the oven and roast, along with the meatloaf, for 20 minutes.

Substitutions/Additions:

*For a side salad, cut a lemon in half and squeeze 1 tbsp of juice into a bowl. Add 4 cups of baby arugula, 1 tbsp of olive oil, and ¼ tsp each salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

*The cooked meatloaf can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw and reheat while the potatoes are roasting.

Photo from Woman's Day

away for the day

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

Guess where I am today??!

I'm writing over at Ramblings Of A Fabulous Brunette!

Jodie asked me to guest post for her in honor of her one year bloggiversary!

So I'm over there talking about celebrations. And maybe a little of this...

and this...

Join me, why don't you!!!

lately

2012-01-25T09:00:00.000-06:00

We've been busy around here for the past week. And one of my favorite things about my new phone is that I can capture it all without lugging the big camera everywhere with me! All of these came from my iPhone!

On Saturday, my best friend Sara had a party for her son who was turning 2. He is obsessed with trains, so she actually rented one for the party!!

Before the party started, Sara handed me her camera and asked me to be the photographer, so I didn't get many pictures with my own camera, but I was pretty proud she trusted me enough to capture photos from her son's party. And I was even more relieved she uses the same camera I do. :o)

Please excuse the mega-bags under my eyes.

We had thunderstorms two nights in a row and guess who gets scared every time it thunders?

BOTH of us.

No sleepie for 2 nights = Crypt Keeper Sarah Kate.

The party was cute, but I was anxious to get home and get started on my project.

What project you say?

This one!

I painted the table, but I wasn't super happy with how it turned out. Instead of repainting it, I decided to cover the entire top with the vintage Nashville postcards my grandfather sends me. All I have left to do is get a piece of glass cut to cover the top and I'm done! It's going to go in our living room/library room that we plan on renovating next.

Speaking of that, I've been busy finishing up the family room. I only have a couple things left to buy and then I'll reveal it on the blog!

You weren't expecting a picture of a lady with a chicken on her head were you?

Glad I can still surprise you. :o)

Lexie joined the 4-H Poultry Club for Rutherford County and the first meeting was Monday night. In addition to the Poultry Club, she joined the Chick Chain program and it looks like we'll be adding 13 mini Truvy's to the farm in less than 2 months. Want to hear the crazy part? They will be living in my HOUSE for the first 2 months. If so much as one drop of poo lands on my new floor, we will be having chicken for dinner!

That's all I've got for you today! Did you notice some of these photos were Instagram photos? It is my favorite app so far! And if you use it, click the new button I added on the right side of my blog and follow my photo feed!!

eleven things

2012-01-23T09:35:00.003-06:00

Hey, hey!!! It's Monday and we've actually got sunshine for the first time in over a week!!! The sun always seems extra bright when you've gone without it for any length of time. Today's gonna be a good day! It's also a good day for me to finally participate in this blog game I'm sure you've seen floating around recently where you write eleven facts about yourself and then answer eleven questions the blogger who tagged you makes up. I was actually tagged TWICE! Purposely At Home and Everyday Stephanie both tagged me for this. Thanks, girls!!! I'm going to answer both their questions, but I'm not going to make up questions and tag anyone. If you wanna do this, just do it. :o) And use either of these lovely ladies' questions!

the rules:

1. you must post the rules.

2. post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

3. answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

4. tag eleven people and link them on your post

5. let them know you've tagged them!

Eleven Facts

1. I stockpile honey. My mom told me the world's honeybee population was declining. I can't imagine life without honey toast, so I keep loads of it in the pantry.

2. Feet are the grossest part of the human body. Even baby feet gross me out. And if you've got hideous runner feet like me, do the world a favor and keep those puppies covered up!

3. I'm still scared of the dark. Cory checks under the bed for me every night, but God forbid even a single toe peek out of the covers at night. The horror!

4. My gag reflex kicks in anytime I have to kill a spider. Or even look at a dead one.

5. I collect records. One day I hit the jackpot at a yard sale of an old DJ from the 60's. That day ranks up there with my wedding day, the day Lexie was born, and the day I fit back into my jeans after Lexie was born. ;o)

6. I run into everything, especially door frames. I'm not very good at gauging how much space my shoulders need, I guess.

7. I don't wear jewelry very often. Even my wedding rings hardly ever get worn.

8. I've traveled to more countries than I have U.S. states. But I'm trying to fix that.

9. Clutter drives me absolutely insane, even pretty clutter like knick-knacks. I can't handle having it around. This makes me very self-righteous when I watch Hoarders on TV.

10. I'm allergic to everything, even oxygen. This is incredibly unfortunate for someone who adores animals and being outside so much. I've just learned to live my life with puffy eyes and a runny nose.

11. Eleven is my favorite number. I even got married on a Monday so my anniversary would be the 11th. :o)

Marli's Questions

1. Favorite jewelry accessory & why? See #7 above. :o)

2. Best roller coaster ever ridden? Space Mountain at Disney World with my dad. We'd ride it over and over and over.

3. How many years have you blogged? Not even one yet!

4. What is your college degree in? I majored in Communications with a concentration in Broadcasting. But I also have an English Lit minor.

5. How many times have you watched Finding Nemo? It's likely close to 100. We love Dory!!!

6. Favorite Bible character & why? Right now I'm gonna go with Jael. Any lady bold enough to murder the bad guy with a tent stake while he sleeps gets mad props from me!

7. Favorite season? Spring. Everything's blooming. We have the perfect mix of sun and rain. All the baby animals at neighboring farms are born. It's perfect!

8. Most disgusting thing ever eaten? My cooking when I was first learning.

9. What is one of your new years resolutions? Learn sign language!

10. How fast can you say 'Peter Piper Picked A Pepper' without messing it up? I can't. My brain doesn't move that fast this time of the morning. ;o)

11. Will you pass this on to other bloggers? No tags. Sorry! I'm a rule-breaker, what can I say?

Stephanie's Questions

1. Favorite part about blogging? The record-keeping. I started this family blog to keep track of all the changes in our lives, and that's still what it is now. I really enjoy being able to look back and remember everything in pictures, etc.

2. Who is your celebrity crush? Bradley Cooper. Hello, gorgeous!

3. What is your favorite city/place in the world? I LOVE where I am now. I don't ever want to move!

4. Have you ever helped a stranger? I'm sort of in the process right now. I heard of a family with 13 kids who needs help, so I'm trying to coordinate members of my church to bring together gently used clothes and toys for them. I'm pretty excited about it!

5. Favorite magazine? Ode: For Intelligent Optimists - I love all of the information in it and the happy articles about people changing the world. It's inspiring!

6. What is your biggest fear? Demon possession. Have you ever seen The Exorcism of Emily Rose? I don't recommend it. I didn't sleep for 6 months after that.

7. What is your guilty pleasure? The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and crazy expensive face creams. (I am so boring....)

8. Favorite childhood memory? Dang. That's hard. I had a super happy childhood. Time used to pass so slowly back then. I could have sworn summers were 10 months long. I really miss that slow pace and waking up having no idea what I was going to do that day.

9. Facebook or Twitter? Neither. I find both of them irritating. But I do use FB for personal use.

10. Biggest pet peeve? When other people toot. I'm the only one allowed to toot.

11. Sum yourself up in 3 words? Happy running girl.

Recipe Of The Week: Chicken & Black Bean Tostadas

2012-01-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

If I had to choose something to eat every night for the rest of my life, it would be this.
And if I were on death row, it would be my last meal.
That's how much I loved this. For real.

I tried it for the first time last week and we are already having it again tonight.

You really can't go wrong with mexican food, but this beats any I've ever tried.
It's inexpensive and you can make it in no time.

You're gonna love it. Promise!

Chicken & Black Bean Tostadas

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Makes: Dinner for 4

Serve With: No side dish necessary

Ingredients:

½ rotisserie chicken

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed

1 cup fresh corn kernels

4 radishes, cut into ¼” pieces

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

8 tostada shells

2 avocados, mashed

Instructions:

1. Shred the chicken, discarding the skin and bones, and place in a large bowl.

2. Add the black beans, corn, radishes, scallions, lime juice, oil, salt, and pepper and toss to combine.

3. Gently spread the tostadas with the avocado. Top with the chicken and black bean mixture.

Substitutions/Additions:

*Can use frozen corn instead of fresh, just make sure it’s at room temperature before you add it to the recipe.

*Can add ½ cup cilantro leaves to the chicken mixture.

Photo from Woman's Day

the stand-in singer

2012-01-20T09:00:00.000-06:00

I clipped this story out of Ode magazine a few years ago and it's been on my fridge ever since. Whenever I need a little pick-me-up, I move the bumblebee magnet out of the way and re-read the story. I hope you like it as much as I do. :o)

The Stand-In Singer

The story goes that tickets were all sold out for the presentation by a famous tenor, but on the big day, with the house filled to capacity, it was discovered that a traffic problem would prevent him from arriving on time. Disconcerted, the director of the opera appeared on the stage to explain what was happening and ask for a local tenor to act as a substitute.

The audience reacted as expected: with discomfort. Some spectators rose and asked for their money back, while others simply waited to see what lay in store for them, seeing that they had made reservations for dinner and didn't know how to kill the time.

The substitute tenor came on stage and did the best he could. For two hours he sang with all his heart and soul. At the end, almost complete silence - because it was not exactly him that they had come to hear. Only one spectator applauded. And at a certain moment, a child's voice was heard: "Daddy, you're great! Just great!"

The next moment, the whole theater gave the spectacle a standing ovation. A few simple words of love had changed everything.

Have a good weekend, everybody!

getting political

2012-01-19T10:00:00.000-06:00

Anyone else watching these debates on TV?

If you're not, you're missing out.

But now is as good a time as any to start.

There's a debate tonight on CNN at 8PM (eastern time).

DVR your regular shows and watch this instead!

The only thing more irritating to me than someone who doesn't vote at all is someone who votes without doing their research beforehand.

In addition to the debates, do a little reading.

Talk to your friends.

At the very least, take THIS SURVEY.

(When you are done, I recommend reading every block under

each nominee so you know where each stands.)

HERE is a good website if you want to check the debate schedules.

Or see when the primaries are being held in your state.

If you're a registered democrat, you'll have to check your state regulations

to see if you're eligible to vote in the republican primaries.

Regardless of your political affiliation, educate yourself on all the contenders.

You might be surprised to find who you have the most in common with.

And if you don't take the time to vote,

DO NOT think you have the right to complain about anything later.

grass dandruff, and other things...

2012-01-17T10:12:00.000-06:00

Today is Cory's 30th birthday!!!!!

I can't even tell you how relieved I am to know that he hits this milestone before I do. If he survives it, maybe I'll be okay when my turn comes around in two years.

So I wanted to throw him a party, but he threatened to leave me if I did. I was not okay with completely letting this birthday pass without doing something significant to celebrate it. You only turn 30 once. I think. I don't know about the rest of you, but I turned 21 about 6 times before I finally moved on.

Anyways, finding a replacement for the party wasn't easy. A nice dinner out sounded too boring. I thought about getting tickets to see someone we like in Nashville, but nobody good is playing right now. Then Cory told me what he wanted to do - take a trip to Chattanooga and go hang gliding!!!! We're going to wait until the weather warms up some and then it's on!!

On a completely different subject, I loved having Lexie home yesterday for MLK Day! We practiced our sign language and did a little of this:

Instead of a 3-day weekend, she ended up getting Friday off, too. On Thursday afternoon we got snow! Well, more like a dusting of snow. Honestly, you couldn't even make a snowball. It looked more like our grass had dandruff instead of snow. But they shut the schools down anyways. That's how we do it in Tennessee. :o)

Unluckily for Lexie, I had a full day planned on Friday, and I was not going to let the "snow" slow me down. We drove all over town, and I hit a milestone in my truck:

11,111 miles.

By the time I hit 111,111 miles, I likely won't be blogging anymore, so I figured I better catch it this time around since 11 is my lucky number.

Do you also see my gas light on empty? I like to live on the edge.

The whole point of going out on Friday was so I could get something everyone else has had for five years. I finally broke down and bought an iPhone. :o) I got the 4S, and I'm checking the mail every 30 minutes waiting for it to arrive. Once it gets here, I may disappear for a few days in a app-downloading frenzy. Leave me your favorite apps in a comment! I wanna know the good ones!

Recipe Of The Week: Winter Squash Lasagna

2012-01-15T10:00:00.000-06:00

Wanna hear a little about how my week cooking dinners went?

Probably not. But I'll tell you anyway.

There were two casualties in the form of plastic spatulas.

One favorite skillet is in critical condition.

Twice the fire alarm was set off.

The second time, the security system operator asked me if I was cooking again.

Okay, that's a lie. But I'm sure that goes on my record somewhere.

Some weeks I have it all together, others not so much. It was one of those weeks.

But I still have a recipe for you. One that does NOT involve hot oil and a skillet.

Winter Squash Lasagna

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Makes: Dinner for 4

Serve With: Toasted Bread

Ingredients:

1 (15 oz) container part-skim ricotta

4 oz part-skim mozzarella, shredded

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

¼ cup plus 2 tbsp parmesan cheese

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 bunch spinach leaves, chopped

1 (12 oz) package frozen winter squash puree

6 no-boil lasagna noodles

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.

2. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, nutmeg, ¼ cup parmesan, salt and pepper. Fold in the spinach.
3. Spread ½ cup of the thawed squash on the bottom of an 8” square baking dish. Top with 2 noodles and spread a third of the remaining squash over the top. Dollop with a third of the ricotta mixture. Repeat. Place the remaining 2 noodles on top; spread with the remaining squash and dollop with the remaining ricotta mixture.
4. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tbsp parmesan, cover tightly with a sprayed piece of foil to prevent sticking, and bake for 15 minutes.
5. Uncover and bake until the noodles are tender and the top is golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Substitutions/Additions:

*Any winter squash puree can be used. We prefer spaghetti squash.

*You can substitute fresh winter squash for the frozen. Just chop 12 oz into small pieces, boil for five minutes, and then puree in a blender or food processor.

Photo from Woman's Day

two weeks down

2012-01-13T10:00:00.000-06:00

"Though no one can go back and make a brand-new start,

anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending."

----Carl Bard----

You know the thing about resolutions? They're a lot easier in theory than they are in practice. But you knew that already. I am only two weeks in and already noticing how time consuming it's going to be to keep this up. But I've also noticed how much happier I feel, and that's pretty good motivation to keep going. :o)

Okay, so I'm still 986 miles away from my goal. That is a horrible way of looking at it. Let's just concentrate on the fact that I've run 14 miles so far this year and call it a day. ;o) I've been eating healthy, drinking only water and milk, and taking my daily vitamin. So we can put a big fat check mark in the 'Get Healthy' resolution box.

I still have the time management skills of a five-year-old with ADD, but I'm working on it. That totally counts. I've specifically been working on finding ways to fit in more time with Lexie once she gets home from school, and my least favorite thing in the world - cleaning. Ugh. Nobody likes to clean, I get it. But I really don't like to clean. Mold has to be growing inside the toilet for me to clean it. Hold your gasps, I'm working on it. I really am.

One of my favorite resolutions this year was to find more time for my friends. I have been incredibly successful at this one - go figure. Now if I could just figure out a way to convince my friends to come clean with me, I might be able to kill two birds with one stone... Last week I went antiquing with my friend Shawn. This week I made lunch plans twice with different friends. And I've been a better friend, too. My neighbor needed me to watch her son for awhile and instead of making up an excuse why I couldn't, I just did it. And if you know me, you know that's big. Huge, actually, since children still in diapers scare the bejeezus out of me.

And last but not least, I've kept my resolution to learn something. I completed chapter four in my ASL workbook. Granted, those chapters were about things I already knew, but I still worked through them. I can't even tell you how hard it is to try and learn sign language from a book, so I've contacted someone in the area who might know of classes I can take and I'm just waiting to hear back from him. I'm also on chapter four in my photography book, too. This is another thing that's pretty difficult to learn from a book, but I'm combining it with youtube tutorials and I'm making pretty good progress. I'm learning a lot and trying to put it into practice. I get excited every time I try something and get it right.

I don't know if it's the friend time, or the endorphins from running, or maybe just the fact that I'm staying busy with things I actually want to do, but the winter blues that hit me last year have yet to make an appearance this year, and I like it! :o) If you want to hear more from me today, you can go over to my good friend Bruna's blog, Bees With Honey. When she asked to feature me for her weekly Let's Bee Friends link-up, I was ecstatic! It's such an honor to be able to write for someone's blog that I admire so much. Thank you again, Bruna, for the opportunity!! Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!!!

etsy shop spotlight

2012-01-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

I did a lot of my Christmas shopping this past season from the comfort of my computer chair. It was really my first year doing the majority of my gift buying online, and that was partly due to my discovery of Etsy last year. You don't have to tell me how far behind I am. I'm likely the only female on the planet who still hasn't joined Twitter or Pinterest yet. But I'm getting off topic. I wanted to highlight two of the Etsy shops I bought from that I was particularly pleased with this year.

Southern Charm

Shop Blog

I bought a necklace and earring set similar to these pictured and was very pleased with the quality, and the packaging. I'll definitely be buying from Rebecca again. She's a sweet girl, easy to work with, and she got my package to me extremely quickly (even during the holidays!). Check out her blog, too. She offers discounts on her shop items through that!

Sycamore Lane

Shop Blog

I started following Jenn's blog a long time ago. Her photographs on her blog are absolutely amazing. She's really got an eye for photography, but has many other talents, too. So it was easy when Christmas came around to choose some things from her shop to give as gifts. I knew my mom would love to have one of her notecard sets featuring the beautiful shots she takes on her farm. And even though the beanies pictured in her shop are meant for kids, I figured she wouldn't mind making a custom order for my sister.

Go check out both of these ladies' shops if you get the chance. I'm sure you'll find something there you like!!!

a little backstory

2012-01-09T11:11:00.000-06:00

A few months ago I wrote a guest post for Heather Boersma's blog, Dreaming Big. It told the story of what brought us to where we currently are. With it being the beginning of the year, I figured it was a good time to remind myself of how thankful I should be for what I have, and how I should make this year a really great one. So I'm going to share that post with you again, for my new readers and some that may have missed it the first time around!

-----------------------------------------------------------

Two years ago my husband and I were living in a city in Florida, working non-stop at our jobs, and barely fitting in time to be parents to our daughter. Life had stopped being fun. It had stopped having a purpose. We were just trying to make it through each day in one piece. We knew we needed to make a change, but we weren’t sure how, or when. All of that changed the night my husband woke me up at 2am and could barely tell me to call 911. My 27-year-old husband was having a heart attack.

In the moments following the 911 call, my mind took me to places I hope I never have to go again. I thought I was going to be a widow. I thought my daughter was going to lose her father. My husband was rushed to the hospital where it was determined he had not suffered a full blown heart attack, but was warned in no uncertain terms that if he didn’t make some changes, it was coming.

That was our sign. It was time to live the lives God gave us, and pursue our dreams. More than ever it was apparent to us that life waits for no one. I already knew what I wanted to do; I just had to convince my husband that it was right for our family. So within days after Cory’s release from the hospital, he started looking for a job in Tennessee. We were going HOME. And we were going to buy a farm out in the country.

It took 6 months, but even in a horrible economy Cory found a good job. Our house in the city sold in two weeks in one of the worst housing markets the country had seen. When we got to Tennessee, I found a man willing to sell me his old farmhouse and land for a reasonable price, and he even threw in 10 extra acres of land for $1. And because of the lower cost of living in our area, we determined that we could live off of a single income and I could finally stay at home with our daughter. All of the good happening in our lives was overwhelming.

I don’t believe in luck. I believe you have to take action to make things happen. And I believe that if God agrees with your plan, he will listen to your prayers and help you along the way. It’s been a year now that we’ve been out here on our farm. It’s been a lot of work, and there have been days I wondered if we made the right decision taking such an unconventional path for our young family. Then I see my daughter learning independence by taking care of our flock of chickens by herself. And I see her learning all about God’s creation every time we look outside our back door to find our garden flourishing, and the seasons changing, and the baby animals being born at neighboring farms. This just feels right.

And we’re not done. I have dreams of turning this mini-farm into a real farm for animals of all kinds – horses, cows, pigs, and even llamas. :o) And that will be a whole other story. My advice to you is, don’t wait. If you have a dream, start now. Make a plan, and then act on it. Life isn’t going to wait on you. And if you feel you’re lacking courage to do something new, ask God for help. He was there every step of the way for us, and He will be for you, too.

Recipe Of The Week: Applesauce Spice Cake

2012-01-08T09:00:00.000-06:00

This is one of the cakes I made during our holiday baking HERE. It turned out really moist and had the perfect amount of flavor. Making it in the crock pot made my oven available for dinner, so I really liked using that instead of my regular cake pan. But this cake can definitely be made in the oven as well, if you prefer. Use a sifter to dust the powdered sugar over the top so that you don't end up with any big clumps. Enjoy!

Applesauce Spice Cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 ½ hours

Makes: 10 Servings

Serve With: No side dish necessary

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 ½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp salt

½ cup butter, at room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 tbsp powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. Place a 15” piece of parchment paper in the bowl of a slow cooker, letting the excess come up the sides. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the applesauce and vanilla. The mixture will look curdled.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared slow cooker and cook, covered, until set and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 2 to 2 ½ hours on high.
5. Holding the parchment paper, transfer the cake to a rack and let cool for at least 15 minutes. Dust with the powdered sugar.

Substitutions/Additions:

*Very good served with ice cream.

*Light brown sugar will taste the same as the dark, but the color won’t turn out as deep brown.

Photo from Woman's Day

the house that built me

2012-01-06T12:02:00.000-06:00

"I know they say you can't go home again

I just had to come back one last time

Ma'am, I know you don't know me from Adam

But these handprints on the front steps are mine"

"Up those stairs, in that little back bedroom

Is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar

And I bet you didn't know that under that live oak

My favorite dog is buried in the yard"

"I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it's like I'm someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself"

"If I could just come in I swear I'll leave
Won't take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me"

"Mama cut out pictures of houses for years

From Better Homes & Garden magazine

Plans were drawn and concrete poured

And nail by nail and board by board

Daddy gave life to mama's dream"

"You leave home, you move on

And you do the best you can

I got lost in this whole world

And forgot who I am"

"I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it's like I'm someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself"

"If I could walk around I swear I'll leave
Won't take nothing but a memory

From the house that built me."

---Miranda Lambert---

I still can't listen to that song without choking up a little bit. I think it's because we said goodbye to the home I grew up in six months ago. We spent 11 Christmas' in that house. Even though we moved around a lot when I was growing up, this house was home.

It's where my water broke in my upstairs bedroom,

and my sister helped calm me down and clean me up.

It's where we brought Lexie home,

and where she spent the first year and a half of her life.

It's where I got engaged, married,

and we lived as newlyweds until we could find our first place.

It's where we buried our sweet Bonnie, the first family dog we ever had.

This home was special, and it was hard to say goodbye. It was strange not waking up on Christmas morning in my old bedroom and running to Laura's room to wake her up, too. And I missed having our annual NYE party with all our friends and family. But if I've learned anything from living in 16 different places, it's that home is relative. It's where your people are. I might not be able to swing on the tree swing my dad built in the backyard, or climb out on the roof from my bedroom window, but I've got all those memories, and the people I made them with. And we're going to make so many more memories whether home is in Tennessee, or India, or any other place our lives take us.

picnesday

2012-01-04T10:38:00.000-06:00

Lex went back to school today.

That means Christmas break is officially over.

I miss my buddy being around the house with me.

Besides an eventful evening on Sunday, things were actually
pretty quiet and low key around here during the 3-week break.

We put together puzzles. We is used loosely.
All I can ever do is find the corner pieces.

Nails were painted bright red for Christmas.

An entire bottle of nail polish remover was spilled on the carpet in the process.

We spent some time catching up with old friends.

My friend on the left had just got engaged the night before.

Now we all get to be old married ladies together.

Family time took priority over the break.

Both with family in Memphis,

and just spending time on our own when we got back in town.

And we added new members to the family.

Our fish family, that is.

We have Poppy the Dalmation Molly.

And Shimmer the Gold Skirt Tetra.

Elvis, Spoink & Officer Wooten have all been very accepting.

I am linking this up with my lovely friend Germaine
over at Kiddothings for Picnesday.

If you've got pictures to share, join in the party!

starting with a bang

2012-01-03T11:27:00.002-06:00

On New Years Day, nobody was feeling exceptionally well, just annoying colds - nothing major. We still went to church in the morning, but didn't get much else done the rest of the day. I'd been to the doctor earlier in the week and was prescribed something to help me sleep. I figured I'd go ahead and take it that night because it might help me sleep through some of Cory's cold-induced, freeway sounding snoring. Three hours after I took it, I got nothing. Still wide awake. Frustrated, I took some Benadryl to help with my cold and hopefully put me to sleep. Somewhere around midnight I finally fell asleep. Thirty minutes later all hell broke loose.

Lex came into our room asking for Pepto Bismol because she had a stomachache. Cory got up and handed it to her. Ten seconds later she was sprinting out of our bedroom. Cory, in his Nyquil haze, ran after her. As soon as I heard him say 'oh no', I knew it was bad. I got up and ran to Lexie's room, but stopped short of her bathroom because I could hear Lex going all Exorcist in there and was NOT going to join that party. I sat on the floor of her bedroom to show my support from a distance. But it wasn't long before the noises started making me nauseous. I stood up to go get some Pepto for myself and nearly blacked out. I crawled to the bedroom, but before I could take any medicine, I felt like I was about to puke, too. Our toilet doesn't work in our bedroom, so I ran for the guest bathroom. (Thankfully all these rooms are upstairs.) The last thing I remember is hearing a really loud crack. That was the sound of my head meeting the hardwood floor. Cory heard the noise from Lexie's bathroom and came to see what happened. I was just coming to when he got in. I was still nauseous, so he helped me to the bathroom and sat me down on the toilet with the trashcan in front of me, and then went back to help Lex who was still vomiting all over the bathroom. I remember nothing of this.

Apparently when Cory got back in to check on me, I was slumped forward on the toilet with my eyes wide open and completely unresponsive. He ran to go call 911. Somewhere in there I came to on the bathroom floor with my panties around my knees. Awkward. And before I knew it a couple EMTs and a cop joined me in there. Besides low blood pressure and an incredible headache, I was feeling more like myself after a while. I refused to go to the hospital with the medics (people die there, don't you know!) and so they left. Poor Cory. He's sick and he's running back and forth between caring for Lexie who is throwing up uncontrollably and me who is passing out all over the place. Impressive start to the year, for sure.

Miraculously Lexie stopped throwing up around 3am and hasn't since. We have determined mixing Benadryl with sleep aides is not a good idea for me. I am nursing one heck of a sore head, but for the most part we are back to normal and only slightly traumatized. Cory was still home from work on Monday so we all spent the entire day on the couch watching Hoarders re-runs and avoiding any sort of food at all. Today, Cory is back at work and me and Lex are still taking it easy. She starts back to school tomorrow and things will get back to normal. I like an exciting start to the year as much as the next girl, but next time I'd prefer it not to include ambulances, projectile vomiting and cracked heads if at all possible.

brand new bag

2012-01-01T15:14:00.001-06:00

"All is quiet on New Year's Day

A world in white gets underway

I want to be with you

Be with you night and day

Nothing changes on New Year's Day."

---U2---

It's a day of fresh beginnings around here. I am in no way unique from the masses in this respect. I make my resolutions every year, and I inevitably break them. Some I even completely give up on less than a month into the new year, and then try to make myself feel better about my failure by saying it was a stupid resolution to begin with. But at least we try, right?

After many attempts, I've learned that I keep my resolutions better if I have a goal in mind for them. I will fail miserably if my resolution is "to get in shape". But if my goal is to run the St. Jude marathon in December of this year, then I've got a significantly better chance of committing. Especially if I go ahead and pay my entry fee and tell someone about it. I am far too cheap to pay for something and then not get my money's worth, and much too vain to let someone know I gave up.

So you see that little Daily Mile gadget on the right hand side of my blog? That last run there is from my final leg during Ragnar in November, the one where I just barely, by the grace of God himself, made it across the finish line before I not-so-privately tossed my cookies behind a tree. I have been on a running sabbatical since then. But now that little square of vanity is going to hold me accountable for the whole year. My goal is to run 1,000 miles in 2012 and complete my very first full marathon in December. So cheer me on, ask me how I'm doing, and become my own personal satanic Jillian Michaels if you have to, but hold me accountable.

To reach my goal, I, of course, have a set of resolutions to help me get there involving such boring items as drinking enough water, taking vitamins, and actually getting off my lazy arse and running. Because none of these are any fun at all, I've made sure to add some resolutions this year that I might actually enjoy.

I'm determined to make more time for my friends. I want to see them more if they're in-town friends and speak with them more often if they're not. I've relied on occasional text messages or facebook wall posts to maintain my friendships and I feel as if this has turned once fulfilling relationships into very superficial ones. True friendships deserve more of my time and more effort on my part to cultivate them and I intend to do that this year, at least for the friendships I feel are worth being resuscitated. I've carried on far too long with some that should have been cut off years ago, to the point where I feel like I'm beating a thrice dead horse here. It's time to let them go. If I find a classy way of doing this where neither party ends up with their feelings hurt, I will most certainly write a book about it. Then at least my bank account would have a good year.

And finally, because my old SAHM, non-college class attending brain needs something to keep it from becoming a gray, squishy ball of matter with an IQ just slightly higher than that of Spongebob, I'm going to teach myself American Sign Language. Okay, that's only partially true. I already know a little bit. But only a little bit. And that is extremely embarrassing considering my grandparents are deaf. I've bought a book, and I've got a number for a man who runs a deaf ministry in Brentwood, so maybe he can help me find a *crossing my fingers it's free* class to take. Maybe, just maybe, by the end of the year my conversations with my grandfather will be able to extend further than the usual small talk we are restricted to because, outside of my colors and 'how are you', I have little to no vocabulary knowledge.

AND, because I'm feeling like an overachiever with a deadline, I'd really like to make it through my DSLR For Dummies book so I can actually take a decent photo while I'm in India in June. So there, you have it. My 2012 resolutions in an incredibly wordy post. Unless you are related to me, you probably didn't make it this far. I'll try to make my word to picture ratio more balanced in future posts. But I can't make any promises - that would be just one more resolution to add to my already almost-undoable list. And if the Mayans are correct, I might not even have a full year to accomplish all this. I best be getting started... Happy New Year!!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T13:09:00.000-06:00

Because we were traveling on Saturday to Memphis, we celebrated our own family Christmas a day early. On our faux Christmas Eve, we watched It's A Wonderful Life and left our cookies out for Santa.

Then on the real Christmas Eve morning, we celebrated our faux Christmas morning. Confused, yet?

We had a small one this year. Cory and I decided not to get anything for each other and our budget was $20 for Lexie. You'd be surprised how excited she got over her new socks and undies, though. :o) And she's going to get to pick out two new fish to add to our fish tank! Spoink and Elvis are really excited about that.

Which one of you will I eat first?

After opening presents, we ate breakfast and got on the road. My cousin Mo was supposed to ride with us, but she was going to have to cut her trip short, so she drove herself. I kept myself entertained by taking photos in the car. :o) Here's my favorite of the Tennessee River.

Because Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, we celebrated with my mom's side of the family on Christmas Eve. Mom and Lex made cupcakes for everyone.

And I hung out with Dixie. My grandfather was in Fayetteville for Christmas, so Dixie came to stay with us for the weekend. I miss my baby so much!

Don't fall asleep at Mawmaw's unless you're prepared to be pranked by my dad. I *think* that's cupcake sprinkles he's dropping into my uncle's mouth. But you really never know.

On Christmas morning we went to church with my parents and then headed back to my grandmother's for lunch and more presents. Lexie played Santa and we all opened our gifts from each other.

You know how I mentioned in my last post that my stocking is my favorite gift at Christmas? This is why...

We are so excited to go to India next summer!!!! And I'm pretty excited about my digestive biscuits, too. ;o) I should probably save those. I might need them while I'm in India...

After Christmas with my parents, we went and celebrated with Cory's dad. Lexie had a big, giant hug for Mark...

....because he got her her first pair of cowgirl boots!!! :o)

On Monday we went over to my aunt and uncle's house for lunch and gifts. We didn't have our typical family get together because the rest of the family wasn't getting in until after we (and Laura and Jacob) left to go back home. But we still got to hang out with my cousins for awhile and catch up. And I *think* this is our first family photo with Jacob in it! :o)

We just had a short trip this year, but it was full of *almost* all of my favorite people. Now we're back home, recuperating, just like everyone else. The Christmas decorations need to be taken down. Pictures need to be edited. The house needs to be cleaned. And all I can think of doing is laying on the couch in a Christmas coma. Motivation is just around the corner though in the form of January 1st. I'm working on those resolutions. Half of which I'll never begin. And of the remainder, only about a third of them will stick, but it's still fun to pretend. ;o)

Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Favorites: Traditions

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

I'm a sentimental kind of person.

The holidays aren't complete for me without our traditions.

I've already told you about how we like to decorate,

read, watch movies, listen to music & bake.

Here's some other things we fill December with...

Christmas Light Drives

The week before Christmas we drive through neighborhoods in our area in search of the very best house we can find. These are pictures of our second favorite. We found our first favorite on the way home from Lexie's horse lesson. I would have taken pictures, but Santa was standing out front waving. I got so excited I completely forgot to grab my camera. ;o)

Caroling

We added a new tradition this year! At our church, all of the kids gather and go caroling at the older members' houses in town. There's about 20 kids and less than 10 houses to visit. Afterwards, everyone gathered together for snacks and warm cocoa. We will definitely be joining in again next year!

Writing Letters To Santa

Before last Christmas Lexie learned that Santa wasn't real. I was worried this would end all of our special Santa-related traditions. Luckily, she still enjoys sending him letters even though she knows we're the ones to receive the letters. The Christmas magic prevails! The only thing we've stopped doing is going to the mall and letting her sit on Santa's lap. Truth be told, I'm kind of glad. Those lines are freakishly long and I'm always scared the mall police will arrest me for using my own camera instead of buying their expensive packages.

Cookies For Santa

We still put these out for Santa on Christmas Eve, too. Lex and I bake them a couple of days before, and then leave them out. The next morning, Lex wakes up to find them gone and a thank you letter from Santa in their place.

Roadtrip Home

This became a tradition when we moved to Florida in 2007. We pack up the car, get our awesome Christmas playlist going on the iPod, and make the drive home to Memphis. This year, my cousin from Knoxville will be riding with us! We are only a year apart and grew up playing together, but we rarely see each other now. She's gonna make the drive even more fun for us.

Stockings

Yes, I'm 28 years old and my mom still fills my stocking every year. :o) And it's not always filled with conventional items like socks and candy. Last year I pulled out the title to my dad's old Mule (off-roading vehicle). Not exactly the power bars and Hershey kisses I was expecting! I love that it's a surprise every year, and that my mom spends so much time searching out little things she knows we'll love.

Dixie's Costumes

Our poor puppy dog. It's not Christmas until Dixie is dressed like Santa Claus. Or in the case of this picture - Santa's reindeer. This is her "I-will-pee-all-over-the-floor-for-this!" face. :o)

Christmas Dinner

Truthfully, we normally get at least three Christmas dinners. I'm not complaining - that's what New Years resolutions are for. I enjoy the food, and reconnecting with cousins and aunts and uncles I haven't seen all year. We are loud, obnoxious, and can rarely take a picture without laughing at ourselves.

Gift Giving

One of my favorite traditions is one we have on my dad's side of the family. Instead of buying a store bought gift for whoever's name you drew, you find a charity you think the person would like and donate in their honor. And if you can, you get involved with that charity somehow. Then, so that person will have something to open for Christmas, you either make them something or find something around your house that you're no longer using (like a book, or a regift) and give that to them for Christmas. We've done this for 3 or so years now and we all enjoy hearing about each other's charity work. It's a good way for people who have been blessed like we have to spend Christmas.

I love all of our traditions, and the people we celebrate them with.

I am so blessed to be surrounded everywhere I go with amazing people.

I hope you all have a VERY happy Christmas this year.

Christmas Favorites: Food

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

Baking plays a big role in our house through the holidays.

So does eating.

As evidenced by my 11-pound weight gain since November.

Taking a break from running has a little to do with that.

But mostly it's just the food. :o)

With Lexie as my sous chef, we bake cakes, pies, cookies,

and all sorts of other things up until Christmas.

Sugar cookie recipe HERE.

All others will be posted soon.

What's your favorite thing to eat during the holidays?

Christmas Favorites: Music

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

It's day three and we're talking about one of my favorite things!

I had trouble narrowing this list down to my top 10.

But I figured a top 100 would be overkill.

Some of these may be ones you've never heard.

And they're sort of unconventional.

But I hope you like them.

The link will take you to the youtube video for each song.

Snoopy's Christmas (Snoopy vs. The Red Baron)

by The Royal Guardsmen

(Mom, you need to watch this one!)

Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

by John Lennon

(Some war images may be disturbing.)

Christmas Is All Around
by Bill Nighy
(From the movie Love Actually.)

Redneck 12 Days Of Christmas
by Jeff Foxworthy
(The video for this is wonderfully awful, just like the song.)

Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy
by Bing Crosby & David Bowie
(I've not found a better version than this one.)

Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
by The Beatles
(Has there ever been a greater band?)

Blue Christmas
by Elvis Presley
(Boy, do I have a good story about this song. You have no idea.)

Chanukah Song Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
by Adam Sandler
(Yeah, I cheated. You get three songs that count as one.)

Christmas Don't Be Late
by Alvin & The Chipmunks
(This is the original version, not the new one.)

Phoebe's Holiday Song
by Phoebe Buffay
(Who doesn't love a good Phoebe song??)

Did you like them? What are your holiday favorites?

Christmas Favorites: Movies

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

It's day two of Christmas favorites!

Today's topic is movies.

We are big movie watchers over here.

So I have quite a few favorites.
We watch all of them the week before Christmas.

Here they are in no particular order...

What else should I be watching? What are your favorites?

Christmas Favorites: Books

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Today is part one of my week of Christmas favorites!

I'll start with my all-time favorite books for the holidays.

Most of them are children's books.

But that really shouldn't come as a surprise.

Most of my non-Christmas favorites are children's books, too.

The Night Before Christmas

by Clement C. Moore

The Little Match Girl

by Hans Christian Anderson

The Polar Express

by Chris Van Allsburg

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

by Dr. Seuss

The Gift Of The Magi

by O. Henry

The Nutcracker

by E.T.A. Hoffman

The Christmas Shoes

by Donna VanLiere

The Christmas Box

by Richard Paul Evans

The Christmas Box Miracle

by Richard Paul Evans

So what's missing from my list? What are your favorites?

Recipe Of The Week: Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Pie

2011-12-18T09:00:00.000-06:00

If you've been a reader here for awhile, you might remember that I've actually posted this recipe before. I wrote it as a guest poster over at Sweet Confessions. That was my very first guest post. And I'm so glad I used that recipe because it was delicious! And that's why I want to share it with you again, and for any of you that may not have seen it the first time around. :o)

Christmas baking officially begins this week! Which is good because if I wait any longer I'll have to call it New Years baking. And then Because I Need A Reason To Work Out baking. So to kick start the calorie intake, here is one of my favorite non-Christmas-y desserts. But I bet if you sprinkled some little red sprinkles on top, no one would know the difference. :o)

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Pie

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Makes: 8 Servings

Serve With: No side dish necessary

Ingredients:

½ cup chocolate syrup

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups crisp rice cereal

¼ cup sour cream

1 quart chocolate chip ice cream, softened

Instructions:

1. Coat bottom and sides of an 8-inch pie plate lightly with butter.

2. Combine chocolate syrup and chocolate chips in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high until hot, about 45 seconds. Stir until smooth. Remove ¼ cup of the chocolate mixture.
3. Combine remaining chocolate mixture and cereal in a medium bowl and mix to coat cereal. Press mixture over bottom and up sides of prepared pie plate. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
4. Combine reserved chocolate mixture and the sour cream in a small bowl and mix well. Spread half the ice cream in the prepared pie plate. Drizzle with half the sour cream mixture. Top with remaining ice cream and drizzle with remaining sour cream mixture.
5. Freeze pie, covered, until firm, about 1 hour.

Substitutions/Additions:

*It helps to put the sour cream mixture in a plastic baggy and then cut a hole in the bottom so that you can evenly drizzle the mixture over the ice cream.

*To get clean, even slices of pie, fill a bowl with hot water. Make a cut, then dip your knife in the bowl and wipe it off. The hot knife will slice right through the frozen ice cream and crust with minimal effort. That makes it easier to cut the pie into 8 slices instead of 6.

Decision Points by George W. Bush

2011-12-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

Decision Points is George W. Bush's memoir about his eight years as president. Each of the fourteen chapters focuses on a key problem he was faced with while in office. Topics range from the attacks on September 11th to the aftermath of Katrina to the debate on stem cell research. In each chapter, President Bush candidly presents the problem at hand, and how, with the help of his many advisors, he chose to tackle it. He writes each chapter as a story, and in language that the general public can understand. Through his direct and honest account, the public can glimpse what it was like to be President during eight very turbulent years in our nation's history.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I saw this book offered on the site for review, I jumped at the chance. I have the utmost respect for President Bush and I couldn't wait to read what he had to say. He served during the time that I was too young to vote, then too apathetic, and then just beginning to get my footing as to where my beliefs landed in the political arena. I really wanted to understand what it must have been like for him during such trying times as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Katrina.

This book did not disappoint. I feel like I learned so much, not just about the decisions Bush made as president, but about him as a person. I was surprised by his sense of humor and how likeable he is. The opinion polls while he was in office certainly would not lead you to believe he is an intelligent, caring, funny individual, but after reading his book, I think I have a better grasp of who the real George Bush is.

I highly recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in our country's history. Reading about some of our nation's biggest tragedies from the perspective of the President is humbling. And informative. If you get a chance, check this book out. It's a long read, but if you're like me and your knowledge of the key issues from the last decade are limited at best, you'll come away with a much better understanding of where our country's been and where we're headed.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers in exchange for an honest review. Expressed in this summary and review are my own words and opinions.

decorating for christmas

2011-12-15T09:11:00.000-06:00

I don't know how all of you do it. I've been seeing Christmas posts for the past three weeks. It's a week and three days until Christmas and I'm just now getting anything holiday-inspired here on the blog. I'm always just one (or two) steps behind everyone else, I guess. I will be linking this post up with the beautiful Liz over at Sugarplum Creations for her Countdown To Christmas. And with any luck, I'll be better next week at posting about the holidays.

In an act of non-procrastination, I actually got my Christmas cards mailed out this weekend. This is an improvement over last year when I bought cards, never found time to send them, and then lost them; forcing me to buy new cards to send this year even though there are fifty in the house somewhere. Christmas shopping and wrapping are now complete. AND our decorations are up. Before Christmas Eve! Can you believe it? :o)

I hesitated posting these because it gives you a HUGE sneak peak into our *almost* completed family room. So when I do the final reveal of that room, pretend to be surprised for me, okay? :o)

And yes, we have completely mismatched stockings. Notice whose will hold the most? ;o)

In the eight years that I've been living on my own, I have never bought a single Christmas decoration. Everything you see in these pictures are kind donations from my mom, my mother-in-law, and both of my grandmothers. And as predicted, none of it really goes together. We're like Christmas gypsies.

I take back what I said about never buying a Christmas decoration. See that reindeer calendar? Lexie moves the bell every day. I bought that reindeer at the Dollar Store after Christmas for fifty cents. So I actually have contributed to the Island of Misfit Decorations.

My sister gave me the penguin cookie jar for my college graduation in 2006. He's my favorite of all the decorations we have. And that plea for snow? Not likely. At least not in time for Christmas. :o/

For the first five years on our own, we used a small one-foot artificial tree that I had in my bedroom growing up as our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. You can imagine the amount of presents we could fit under that one. When my parents moved to India, they kindly donated this beautiful tree to us to use in our new home. If I'd thought about it before this post, I'd have taken a picture of our old tree next to this one. It looks freakishly small in comparison.

This was our first year putting any sort of lights on a house, too. We strung little ones up on the railing of our very first apartment, but have never done outdoor lights since. I think these turned out beautiful. It's just a shame we will be the only ones to see it. :o) Well, and now you. But I meant in person, of course. :o)

Every year I tell myself that I'll buy Christmas decorations that coordinate better together, at the very least for our tree which, upon close inspection, looks like a kindergarten art class attacked it. But I never will. I kind of enjoy the outdated, non-designer look our house has at Christmas. Everything we have reminds me of the person who gave it to me, and nothing can put you more in the Christmas spirit than that.

our country kitchen

2011-12-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

This is so anti-climactic now that so much time has passed. :o/ I apologize. When I was told our two-room remodel would take 2 1/2 weeks, my naive self actually believed it. Now, here we are, over five months later and it's finally done. If you're interested in hearing about the drama surrounding Phase One of this remodel, just click the label on the left hand side named Renovations. Then, as fate would have it, two weeks after the remodel was completed, lightning struck our house, almost completely ruining everything we had finished. Then Phase Two began with a completely different company. And that is how we managed to turn a 2 1/2 week remodel into a five month long horror show. :o)

But that's all in the past. Now I've got to take a big breath and hitch up my britches so we can move on to the next couple of rooms after the holidays. But before I do, here are the pictures from our completed kitchen remodel. I'll get to the family room remodel after I finish furnishing it! If you want to see picture of what our kitchen looked like before, click HERE. But be warned. What you see there may scare you.

Before we began this remodel, I did a whole lot of research into the kind of design I liked best. Here are three of the pictures I used for inspiration.

And here is what we did. If you don't want the specifics, just skip over reading any of the text from here on out and just look at the pictures. That's what I'd do. :o)

The first thing we did was buy new stainless steel appliances and have them installed. The microwave went from being on the counter to above the stove, which is how I like it. We also removed the old yellowed ceramic sink, and replaced it with a new stainless one with a matching faucet. Behind the sink, we added a tile backsplash that matched the countertops.

The old border was taken down and we painted the walls blue. Crown moulding was added, and we also put in 4 1/4" Colonial baseboards. Beadboard and a chair rail were put on the walls around the room. All of the cabinets, doors, trim, and beadboard were painted white.

The movable cabinet was turned into a stationary island in the middle of the room. The outlet that had previously been on the floor was moved to the side of the island. Shelves were added into our tall cabinet by the stove so that we could have a pantry. Two drawers were added next to the sink.

Prefinished hardwood floors were laid. We moved the floor vent from it's inconvenient spot in front of the fridge to the left side of the room and bought a new register for it that makes it blend with the floor better. New patio doors with the interior grill were installed, so now both doors will open and they'll be much easier to clean. New door hardware was bought for exterior and interior doors.

And for my favorite parts of the remodel: the ceiling planks and the lighting. Those planks were the single best decision I made in this room. I love the country feel they give the space. And the lights are beautiful. There are two pendants over the island and one matching semi-flushmount over the sink. One light by the door to the entry way was removed and the planks covered where it used to be.

And my second favorite part of the remodel: the glass inserts in some of the cabinets. I love being able to display my 60's-era dishes from my mom and grandma. We also added new hardware to the cabinets that match the lighting. The pulls on the drawers are just stainless steel pulls. We also took the hinges off of every door and added the hidden kind.

All of the 1980's light switches and outlet covers were replaced with updated ones. I do not have pictures, but the water heater closet was painted white and the popcorn ceiling was smoothed out and painted. There is only one remaining thing left to do in here. Our contractor never put shoe moulding down against the baseboards, so when we redo another room, we'll just have that contractor fix that small piece that's left.

Here is another project that we didn't intend to take so long. I bought this antique Hoosier-style cabinet at an antique store. It needed work when I bought it, but I didn't realize how much until we started working on it. We ended up having to strip over 10 layers of paint off this guy. Then we had to sand it. And by we, I mean Cory. I had nothing to do with that part. After he finished, I painted it. It looks great, but I definitely learned to only buy antiques we don't have to restore. It's just not worth it. :o)

Besides the cabinet, I also bought two stools to go on either side of the island. I love the pattern on the seats! That's where Lexie sits to eat breakfast since we don't own a table yet. :o) I didn't have to buy anything to accessorize the walls or countertops with because I already had a lot of things. If you want to know the colors we used, or anything specific about the materials, just email me! I saved all that info just in case we happen to get struck by lightning for a SECOND time. :o) Knock on wood.

there really is no appropriate title for this

2011-12-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

Ain't no brown bag lunches around here! :o)

Actually, that's a lie.

This is what I make for Cory to take to work with him during the week.

Then I have a PB&J while standing over the kitchen sink.

I just thought it looked exceptionally pretty, so of course I took a picture.

This weekend was the first in a LONG time that we didn't overschedule ourselves.

I can't even tell you how good that felt.

Christmas shopping was completed. ALL of it. (Hallelujah!)

And everything got wrapped.

Christmas cards were mailed.

Now there's just baking, parties, and traveling left to do.

And those are my favorite parts.

We were invited to our second holiday party of the season on Friday.

The first party I went to was an ornament exchange.

Those really aren't my thing, but I went anyways.

Friday night's was more of just a get-together though. I like those much better.

Got to meet a lot more people in the area and make new friends.

And I brought cartons of eggs. Everybody loved the blue ones. :o)

Otherwise, we spent the weekend reading, watching movies, and finally relaxing.

Has anyone else heard that GFC is being discontinued?

I believe I first heard it on The Momma Bird.

If this is true, I am one HAPPY girl.

My GFC hasn't worked for me in months.

I can't see any people in the gadget, just a number.

And blogs come and go as they please from my Following list on my Dashboard.

It's more than a little annoying. And Blogger isn't exactly responsive to my emails.

So I am now a Google Reader convert, thanks to Connie.

I am following everyone from there now, and it's MUCH easier.

Maybe now people will stop judging the quality of their blogs by the number in their GFC....

Okay...last thought. If you want to enter to win a Bed, Bath & Beyond gift card, click HERE!

That's enough random for the day.

If you actually read all of this, I love you!! :o)

Recipe Of The Week: Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

2011-12-11T08:00:00.001-06:00

It's getting colder. And it's getting harder and harder for me to turn down warm, heavy pasta dishes. I think in my previous life I was a bear. Stocking up my fat reserves for the winter. At least this recipe makes me feel a little better about myself because it's got a vegetable in it.

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Makes: Dinner for 4

Serve With: Warm Bread

Ingredients:

8 oz linguine

1 cup broccoli florets

2 tbsp butter

2 boneless, skinless breasts, cubed

1 (10 ¾ oz) can cream of mushroom soup

½ cup milk

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

¼ tsp pepper

Instructions:

1. Prepare linguine according to package directions. Add broccoli during last four minutes of cooking time. Drain linguine mixture.

2. Meanwhile, heat butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until well browned and cooked through, stirring often.
3. Stir soup, milk, cheese, black pepper, and linguine mixture in skillet and cook until mixture is hot, stirring occasionally. Serve with additional parmesan cheese.

Substitutions/Additions:

*If you prefer to use frozen broccoli, make sure it is fully thawed before you add it to the linguine on the stove.

Photo from Campbell's Kitchen

the long, cold winter recap

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'll be linking this post up with all the others joining in the 2011 Review Extravaganza! This week I'm going back and reminiscing about the first of the year. This was back before I ever started blogging, before we started renovating our house, and even before we had the chickens. As I was going back I realized I had almost no pictures from January and February. Then in March (when I began blogging) suddenly my folders of pictures had 100, 200 and even 500 pictures in them. My poor little hard drive. It had no idea what I was going to do to it this year.

January

I don't know what else to tell you about this month except that it was COLD. So very, very cold. This was our first winter back in Tennessee, and my Florida-conditioned body was NOT ready for this kind of brutal weather. The only thing that made it worth it was the snow.

Sigh. I was also still blonde during this part of the year. How I miss that long, blonde hair. But not the $100 a month price tag it carried. This was also before lightning struck our house and blew the chimney off of it, so you know what else we got to enjoy?

Lots and lots of cuddles and movies next to the fire. This was my absolute favorite part about the winter. Well, and seeing my husband go collect the wood like this:

February

February was a *little* bit warmer AND it was my visitation month with my puppy. :o) She came to stay with us from mid-February to mid-March. I'm sure we did a lot more this month, but the only thing I have pictures of is our road trip to Cookeville, TN to see my sister and her husband. We got to see their new apartment, go antique shopping, and we went hiking in Burgess Falls. It was Cory and Lexie's first time to see a waterfall. It was absolutely stunning!

Cookeville is a cute little college town in between Nashville and Knoxville. We ate at some really great restaurants, including one of the best donut shops I've ever eaten at. Laura and Jacob have since moved to Kansas City. Looking back, so much has changed from the beginning of this year until now.

March

March is when I began blogging. March 3rd to be exact. I am much too lazy to repost pictures that I have already posted once before, but if you click HERE you'll read about my best friend's wedding in Memphis. And HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE to read about our family trip to Asheville, NC. It only took us 7 years, but we finally made our first family trip. I'll probably have to wait for another leap year to do it again.

And that concludes my first installment for the extravaganza, and likely my only installment. If you're super interested (and I highly doubt you are) in what I did the rest of the year, there is a handy little gadget on the left hand side of my blog that will take you to any day or month your heart desires. ;o) If you'd like to join in and recap your year with these lovely ladies, click HERE.

2011 in pictures

2011-12-06T11:11:00.001-06:00

Generally, I try not to just take content I find elsewhere online and post it here, but this is worth sharing. Click HERE to check out the article on BuzzFeed of the '45 Most Powerful Images of 2011'. I have to warn you, some of these are hard to look at, but these photographs do a fabulous job of reflecting the feelings behind them. Here's my favorite:

I'm linking this up with Shawn and Impulsive for Talk To Us Tuesday. I didn't do a whole lot of talking, but a picture's worth a thousand words, right? :o)

a sign

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000-06:00

Some days I feel like I am completely alone, that I am in this all by myself.

And then something comes along to remind me that I'm not.

To remind me that that kind of thinking is selfish, and untrue.

Some days it is a friend, or a family member, that knows just what to say at just the right time.

And other times it is sign.

One that is impossible to miss.

When I saw this one, I knew it was meant for me. JUST for me.

As bloggers, we write our lives out for everyone to see and analyze. But I think there are some things that are meant to be kept private, and only shared with those we trust the most, and maybe sometimes no one at all. I am dealing with something that I cannot share, but I need to ask for your prayers. So please, if you think about it today, send one up for me. I'll be grateful for each and every one of them.

I get a lot of joy out of writing here and listening to your responses. The most unexpected thing has been the friendships I've made through blogging. When I began, I assumed this would be a lonely spot on the internet that only my mom and dad would read. I never knew I'd meet such wonderful people that I could learn from and connect with. Ya'll help me see the blue skies even when I feel like a little black raincloud. I appreciate it more than you realize.

Recipe Of The Week: Citrus Tilapia & Couscous

2011-12-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

I feel like I should be posting a Christmas-related recipe now that it's December, but we haven't started our holiday baking over here yet. And that's probably a good thing. I have zero restraint when it comes to anything involving sugar and cinnamon.

Luckily I've been finding all kinds of healthy dinner recipes lately to motivate me to eat healthy, which is super hard this time of year. This is probably faulty thinking on my part, but I rationalize it in my head that it's okay to have fudge and apple crisps and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for dessert as long as I had a healthy dinner. :o) Ignorance is bliss, right?

Citrus Tilapia & Couscous

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Makes: Dinner for 4

Serve With: No side dish necessary

Ingredients:

1 (10 oz) box couscous

1 large orange

3 tsp olive oil

4 tilapia fillets, thawed

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 ½” piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

2 scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions:

1. Cook the couscous according to package directions.

2. Cut away the peel and white pith of the orange. Cut the orange into segments.

3. Heat 1 tsp oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Season the tilapia with salt and pepper. Cook until opaque throughout, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.

4. Heat the remaining 2 tsp oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes and cook, tossing occasionally, until beginning to break down, about 3 minutes. Add the oranges and gently toss to heat through.

6. Serve with the tilapia and couscous and sprinkle with the scallions.

Substitutions/Additions:

*Use whole wheat couscous if you can find it.

*Substitute seared chicken or broiled steak for the tilapia.

Photo from Woman's Day

a little about country life...

2011-12-02T11:17:00.001-06:00

Hey ya'll!!!

I'm guest posting over at A Dance For 5 today!

I found Vivian's blog only a few weeks after I started blogging

and I've been keeping up with her lovely blog ever since.

You may have noticed her cute little button in my right sidebar.

And if you'd like your button added over there too, just ask me!

Anyhoo...

I'm speaking over there about a few of the things I've learned while living out in the country.

There's plenty more, but nobody likes a long-winded guest speaker. :o)

Go visit, and tell me what you think.

And if you're here from Vivian's, HI!!!!

my belated thanksgiving post

2011-11-30T09:31:00.001-06:00

Now that it has almost been an entire week since Thanksgiving, I guess I'm clear to post about what we did. It would be out of character for me to actually be on time for something like this. I should just be grateful I managed to get this in before Christmas, I guess.

We went back to Memphis to celebrate with our friends and family. We left Thursday morning and made it just in time for a small Thanksgiving lunch with my grandmother, Cory's dad, and my mom who surprised us all by coming back from India! She wasn't scheduled to come until Christmas, but decided to come in early and spend the entire holiday season in the US. So THAT is what I'm most thankful for this year.

And I can't forget Dixie! She came to celebrate with us, too. Notice she even has her own chair at the table. :o)

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is better than my grandmother's cooking. I love both sides of my family equally, but I gotta admit, the food my grandmother prepares makes me wish that she cooked for my dad's side of the family, too. ;o) The only thing that compares to her Thanksgiving meal is her breakfast. Mawmaw's breakfast is famous in our part of town.

After we left Mawmaw's, we headed over to my aunt's house for our SECOND Thanksgiving meal of the day. That either makes me incredibly lucky or classifies me as a glutton.

While at my aunt's, we video chatted with my dad via Skype. (Another thing I'm super thankful for this year: web cams & semi-reliable internet connections.)

My sister and her husband were unable to come to Memphis this year to celebrate with us. It felt a little weird. Luckily, I have plenty of family members I love that fill the void. :o) See that man in the Drew Carey glasses next to me at the table? He's a Canadian married to an American (my cousin in the blue) which I believe qualifies him to celebrate this wonderful holiday TWICE a year - once in October for Canada's Thanksgiving and then again in November with the rest of us in the good old USA. Luckiest guy at the table. :o)

Now there's...what...25 days or so until Christmas? Why, oh why can I not be one of those people that start planning for Christmas in July? I feel like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. :o) Happy holidays, everybody!

shabby apple winner!!!

2011-11-28T10:16:00.001-06:00

Lucky #14 is Amy from Nine Ninety One!!

Winner was chosen via random.org.

(And yes, that is a picture of the results b/c I am a computer idiot and have no clue how to capture a screen shot of it.)

Amy, you have won the beautiful Nothin' Like A Dame dress from Shabby Apple!
Be looking for an email from me on how to claim your prize!
Congratulations!!!

Recipe Of The Week: Sour Cream Noodle Bake

2011-11-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

I hope all of you had a VERY happy Thanksgiving and got to spend a lot of the break with friends and family. I'm still in Memphis right now, but will be heading back home this afternoon so we can go to my next door neighbor's little boy's 2nd birthday party! :o) I am hoping to get back into regular blogging this week. It feels like it's been awhile since I've done ANYTHING regularly, much less blogging. I need structure; without it, nothing ever gets done around here. :o)

Even though I've been slacking about posting them, I haven't stopped making new recipes every week. I am still trying out about 5 new recipes every week, if not more. I hope to continue this next year, too. It's been pretty fun for me, learning how to cook, and pretty fun for all of us because we eat something new nearly every night. :o)

Here's something we all liked last week, but I can't recommend making it ALL the time as it isn't the healthiest recipe I've ever made. :o) But every once in awhile you need a warm, comfort food recipe and this is a good one. I did replace the beef in this with turkey, as I do for almost every recipe I make. It turned out just fine with the substituted meat. And if I ever make this again, I'll probably also leave out the butter. Hope you like it!

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Makes: Dinner for 4, plus extra

Serve With: Toasted Bread

Ingredients:

8 oz wide egg noodles

1 lb lean ground beef, thawed

1 cup green onions, chopped

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

¼ tsp garlic salt

1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup cottage cheese, creamed

1 cup sour cream

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse in cold water, and drain.

3. Meanwhile, brown meat and onions in butter. Add salt, pepper, garlic salt, and tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Mix together cottage cheese, sour cream, meat sauce and noodles. Place in a casserole dish and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

5. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

Substitutions/Additions:

*Can substitute turkey for the beef.

*Browning in butter is not necessary. It can be left out without changing the flavor very much.

Photo from All Recipes

kindle winner!

2011-11-23T18:00:00.000-06:00

Do ya'll remember the Thanks For Giving Me A Kindle giveaway last month? I completely forgot that Monday was the day we were supposed to announce the winners! My brain has been all kinds of crazy lately trying to get all the last minute stuff taken care of before Thanksgiving. So, even though it's a couple days late, here are the three winners...

Prize #1 Kindle Winner: Lori Williams

Prize #2 $50 Cash Winner: Quanda

Prize #3 Mark Cosmetics Kit Winner: Mom Blog Society

Congrats guys!!! I'm sure you have all been contacted by Damaris at this point, but if for some reason you are just now hearing you're a winner, contact me and I'll direct you as to how to claim your prize!

Thanks to all who entered. And if you weren't a winner this time, click HERE to enter my Shabby Apple holiday dress giveaway going on this week through Friday! I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving holiday!!!

shabby apple giveaway!!!

2011-11-21T08:41:00.000-06:00

Remember a little while back when I did a post about a new line of beautiful women's dresses I'd discovered at Shabby Apple?

Now that same company has generously offered one of their gorgeous dresses to a lucky Nothing But Blue Skies reader!!! Exciting, right?!?

I am giving away the Nothin' Like A Dame dress from their South Pacific line of dresses!

I am lovin' the RED!

You will be turning heads at the holiday parties this year!!!

To enter to win this fabulous dress (retail $78.00), just follow these oh-so-easy instructions:

MANDATORY

Be a follower of Nothing But Blue Skies

Like Shabby Apple on Facebook

OPTIONAL EXTRA ENTRIES

Visit Shabby Apple & tell me what your favorite item is

Post on your blog about this giveaway & link to me

That's four chances to win!!! Leave me a comment for each that you do. This giveaway will close on Friday, November 25th at 11:59PM Central.

Winner will be chosen via random.org and announced the following week! Good luck!!!

Recipe Of The Week: Florentine Salmon

2011-11-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

It feels like forever since I've done a recipe of the week! So here's our favorite from last week. It's a crock pot recipe, my favorite tool in the kitchen. :o) But if you'd rather do it in the oven, just put in an oven safe dish and cook for 25 minutes at 350. You'll get the same outcome. Sorry there is no picture, but I completely forgot to take one before we ate it all up. :o) Hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving week!!!

Florentine Salmon

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 1/2 - 2 hours

Makes: Dinner for 4

Serve With: Sauteed Yellow Squash & Rice

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

3/4 cup sliced small, fresh mushrooms

1/3 cup sliced green onions

1/2 bunch fresh spinach

4 salmon fillets, thawed

1/3 cup dry white wine

Instructions:

1. Quickly saute mushrooms and onions in butter, in a large skillet.

2. Add spinach and toss to mix. Cook mixture until spinach is just slightly wilted.

3. Cut a long slit in each fillet and spread slightly. Fill pocket with spinach mixture.

4. Place in a sprayed slow cooker and add the wine.

5. Cover and cook on low 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until salmon tests done.

Substitutions/Additions:

*Can cook in oven instead of slow cooker. Set oven to 350 degrees and cook for 20-25 minutes.

car tattoos

2011-11-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm going to admit something that irritates me. And it's so nitpicky and ridiculous. Feel free to lash out at me if you are someone who loves these things. I'll probably deserve it. But I cannot STAND the little stick people family car decals. You know, the ones that look like this:

Photo from Yahoo!

I get so irritated sitting in the car line at Lexie's school and seeing these plastered on people's back windshields. Especially the ones that are super obnoxious because the family has so many kids that the stick people stretch nearly from one end of the glass to the other. I know, I know...there are way more important things in the world to get worked up over. These little stick people aren't doing anyone any harm. But you know what kind of decals do?

Photo from Yahoo!

Good one, mom. You've just advertised to absolutely anyone where your child goes to school, what their NAME is, and what after school sport they play. Do you know the kind of nightmares I get thinking about the repercussions of this? Rethink putting this one on your car. Everybody's proud of their kids, but safety has to come first.

With all that said, this week I broke down and added stickers to the back of my truck. It's gotta be a huge, important decision what you decide to place on the back of your car. It's like a tattoo. Those things are really darn hard to get off once they're on there.

I debated for a year and a half about putting the 13.1 sticker up there. The last thing I wanted to do was seem like I was bragging. I mean, I ran that 13.1 at a snail's pace. I didn't want to give anyone the idea I was actually good. :o) But I've already met two other runners in my area because of it, so it's proving useful!

So what do YOU have on the back of your car?

Please don't tell me this is one of you...

Photo from Yahoo!

If it is, we can still be friends. Just never, ever in public.

lily white shop

2011-11-16T09:00:00.000-06:00

Almost two months ago I made my very first Etsy purchase from the cute little shop, Lily White. I'm not sure how I made it so long without ever hearing of Etsy. But you're talking to the girl who has also never been on Pinterest, so my knowledge of what the cool kids are doing on the internet is limited at best. :o)

Anyhoo, after I made my purchase, I couldn't show you what I bought because half of it was going to my sister for her un-birthday present and I didn't want her to see it on the blog before she actually received it. And when the headbands arrived, I almost kept both for myself. Selfish!

Look at how sweetly Mary packaged these for me! As hard as I tried, when I rewrapped Laura's to send to her, I couldn't get it to look half this good. :o) See what a hard decision it was to make...both were beautiful!

I ended up sending Laura the peach and brown one because it was more seasonally appropriate. She loved it! And I kept the pink for myself. I have gotten so many compliments every time I wear it. I love how I can just detach the flower from the headband if I want to use it as a clip. It makes me feel so girly and pretty. :o)

If you're looking for a place to get unique hair accessories for someone, check out Mary's shop. Or contact her through her blog. She's also taking custom orders for Christmas right now! (And just so you know, she did NOT ask me to write this for her. I'm plugging her shop because I loved it!!)

This Christmas I'm going to try to get the majority of my gifts for friends and family off of Etsy. Feel free to leave me shop recommendations because I'd love to check out your favorites, too!!!

spin class isn't for sissies

2011-11-15T08:32:00.001-06:00

I'm linking up with Seriously Shawn and Impulsive Addict for Talk To Us Tuesday! If you want to participate, just click on the link to either of their blogs and join in!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend my very first spin class. Have you heard of spin? The first time I did was a year or so ago, and the image I had in my head of what a spin class would be like was pretty similar to this...

Photo from Yahoo!

Not so, my friends. Not at all.

My friend Andrea teaches spin at Gold's gym in Murfreesboro, close to where I live. She asked if I wanted to join in and try out her class as her guest at the gym. (Me, pay for a gym membership? No thanks.) I agreed thinking I'd have a lazy little Saturday workout. I mean, I just ran a half marathon. Surely I can sit on a bike and pedal in place for an hour, right? Right?

My first inkling that I was out of my league hit me right when I walked in. This was not a class full of plump, middle aged women. On my right was a very attractive, young guy who looked like he could compete with Lance Armstrong. To my left was a row of very fit, very attractive ladies in biking gear. Biking gear? For a spin class?

My sweet friend Andrea walks in, puts on her microphone, hops on her bike, and immediately morphs into Jillian Michaels on steroids. This isn't spin class! This is boot camp, Rambo style! I'm sitting down, I'm standing up, I'm crouching forward, I'm on a hill, I'm sprinting, I'm...realizing I'm the most out of shape person in the room.

How humbling. I left that class with my tail tucked between my legs. Speaking of in between my legs - it's three days later and I still can't sit down properly. Someone needs to come up with a more appropriate shape for a bike seat. For real.

chicken things

2011-11-14T08:37:00.001-06:00

Nicole mentioned a couple weeks ago that I hadn't given an update on the chickens in awhile. To be honest, until last week, there really wasn't anything new to report. Reba & Truvy were the only layers and besides a couple hours in the pen every morning, all six of them spend the day out free ranging. Sometimes they stay around the house. Other times I can hear them out in the woods. You really never know where they're going to be. This weekend Cory threw a couple of branches onto the growing pile in our firepit. As soon as he did, all six chickens ran out! Good thing he wasn't lighting it up. We would have had roasted chickens, for sure!

Then last week we got our first blue egg! At first I thought it was Cher's. Now I'm not really sure who it belongs to! We are getting two blue eggs a day now and I'm positive one is from Penelope because I caught her in the nesting box. The other one? Not so sure. I'm just happy the babies have started laying before the winter.

Last night a couple of the girls got a haircut. Believe me, if I could have taken pictures of this I would have. We had to wait until dusk when the girls settle down for the evening. Then Operation: Heiney Haircut began. :o) The girls all have really fluffy butts, and for the most part, they do a pretty good job grooming themselves. But occasionally, they need a little help. I gave Cory the most desired job of Booty Clipper while I held the girls and kept them comfortable. They were tamer than I thought they would be, except for Reba, who still thinks every time you pick her up, she's headed to the dinner table. For someone without a background in hairdressing, Cory did a pretty good job giving them even trims. No more poopie bottoms! :o) I do hope we don't have to do this again anytime soon though...

Last week I walked in on something pretty cool. Reba was laying her egg in the nesting box. I had happened to bring my camera so I could get some newer shots of the hens, but instead I just sat in the coop with her while she layed. I've never had the opportunity to do that before. It was a pretty neat experience and reba was a real sport letting me take pictures of her during her private time. :o)

If you look closely at that picture above, you'll see an egg directly below Reba's bottom. I got to see her actually lay it! It came out slightly wet, which I believe is the healthy bacteria that dries on the egg and helps preserve it for longer. After she laid it, she nuzzled it a little with her beak until she pushed it into a position she was happy with. Then she laid on it - maybe to dry it? Maybe because her natural instinct is to nest on it for awhile? It was sweet, regardless. :o)

And that's about it that I can think of that's new with the chickens. I'll try to take some updated pictures of them in the next couple of weeks. They are all getting really fat! :o) Preparing for winter, I guess. I think the same thing is happening with me. :o)

one of these is not like the other

2011-11-11T11:00:00.000-06:00

We have a blue egg!!!

It's been over two months since Reba and Truvy started laying. I'd begun to think the other four were going to hold their eggs hostage all winter! I can't be positive, but I believe this is Cher's egg. We will call it Cher's since she is three weeks older than the remaining 3 non-layers. I went into the coop to tidy up, and there it was. All tiny, blue and nestled in among the plastic easter eggs we've left in the nesting boxes as motivation to keep everyone laying. :o)

We are now getting three eggs a day. Reba lays a mammoth sized egg that often won't fit in the commercial egg cartons I keep them in. Truvy lays a regular sized egg that you'd find at the supermarket. And now we get a pretty pastel colored egg to add to the collection every morning!

I have a feeling our stomachs won't be able to keep up with their production much longer.

Anyone need any eggs???