I started with a recipe for chicken and rice and turned it into soup. It's pretty yummy.
1 pkg. Lipton Creamy Chicken Rice, prepared omitting butter
1/2 lb. boneless chicken, shredded
2 c. frozen peas and carrots
1 c. chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 cans chicken broth
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
salt to taste
In a large saucepan, saute the chicken, vegetables and garlic in oil until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are tender.
Add prepared rice, broth, thyme and pepper. Bring to a boil.
In a bowl, combine cornstarch and evaporated milk until smooth. Stir into the rice mixture.
Return to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Salt to taste.
Very yummy on a crisp fall evening!
"But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure." Psalm 71:14-15
Friday, October 8, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Birthdays
I only have a minute to write this morning. I have to go to my Bible study, and Ella is still in her pajamas...her pajamas, her jacket and her shoes to be exact because we've already been outside jumping on the trampoline this morning.
I wanted to take some time and update the blog. Seems I haven't been able to settle my mind down enough lately to write anything. I have been sick, which makes me tired, which makes me behind on everything, which makes me feel scattered and stressed.
I turned 33 last week. Having a birthday always makes me reflect on my life so far. What has been impressed upon me the most over my last several birthdays is how eventful my life has been, and how rich. There have been many ups and downs, highs and lows. There has been great pain and great love, deep sadness and deep joy. But, what has always been the same, from as early as I can remember, is God. He has always been there. My constant companion, through joy and pain. And that makes me love Him all the more. I love the song The Years Go By by Delirious?. In fact, I listened to it on my birthday...does that make me weird? Probably. It was my own private birthday celebration...just me and the One who's been there since I was first knit together in the womb. If you haven't heard the song, you should look it up.
All of my birthday reflection has left me with a feeling of gratitude and warm affection for my Father...the one who has been there all along, seen my every mistake, rejoiced in my every victory, heard every thought, known all my hidden hopes and insecurities, forgiven me and encouraged me, called me back to Him time and again, been my peace and my joy, blessed me beyond measure, and loved me without fail. Going forward, I long to know Him more.
I wanted to take some time and update the blog. Seems I haven't been able to settle my mind down enough lately to write anything. I have been sick, which makes me tired, which makes me behind on everything, which makes me feel scattered and stressed.
I turned 33 last week. Having a birthday always makes me reflect on my life so far. What has been impressed upon me the most over my last several birthdays is how eventful my life has been, and how rich. There have been many ups and downs, highs and lows. There has been great pain and great love, deep sadness and deep joy. But, what has always been the same, from as early as I can remember, is God. He has always been there. My constant companion, through joy and pain. And that makes me love Him all the more. I love the song The Years Go By by Delirious?. In fact, I listened to it on my birthday...does that make me weird? Probably. It was my own private birthday celebration...just me and the One who's been there since I was first knit together in the womb. If you haven't heard the song, you should look it up.
All of my birthday reflection has left me with a feeling of gratitude and warm affection for my Father...the one who has been there all along, seen my every mistake, rejoiced in my every victory, heard every thought, known all my hidden hopes and insecurities, forgiven me and encouraged me, called me back to Him time and again, been my peace and my joy, blessed me beyond measure, and loved me without fail. Going forward, I long to know Him more.
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Psalm 73: 23-26
Sunday, September 26, 2010
I Love...
...snuggling on the couch watching a funny movie with my favorite little boy.
...watching my kids play together all morning.
...having my little girl take my face in her hands and sing, "you'll never know how much I love you."
...pumpkin bread and melted butter.
...cool breezes blowing through open windows.
...the sound of my kids giggling in the backyard.
...hearing Ella call Aidan her "favorite boy."
...popcorn and cartoons under soft blankets on the couch.
...that my life has been so richly blessed beyond what I ever could have imagined.
...watching my kids play together all morning.
...having my little girl take my face in her hands and sing, "you'll never know how much I love you."
...pumpkin bread and melted butter.
...cool breezes blowing through open windows.
...the sound of my kids giggling in the backyard.
...hearing Ella call Aidan her "favorite boy."
...popcorn and cartoons under soft blankets on the couch.
...that my life has been so richly blessed beyond what I ever could have imagined.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Fall Weekend
We love our weekends around here. This is what we've been up to:
Aidan had to learn to do 3 different kinds of flips for cub scouts. He taught his cousin and his sister.
Aidan didn't win the rain gutter regatta this year. He was only disappointed for a few minutes...then he started having lots of fun racing his friends in the free races. We were very proud of how he handled everything. He did a great job on his boat and on his races.
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| My nephew, Cooper, with a dandelion |
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| Sweet little face |
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| Not sure what the problem was here |
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| Cooper's falling forward flip |
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| Aidan helps Ella do a forward roll |
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| It was a rainy day for the Rain Gutter Regatta |
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| Ella with my beautiful mom |
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| Aidan's boat was really fast |
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| Go Aidan, Go! |
It's been a great weekend...rainy and cooler. Great weather for just hanging out with all our favorite people. I hope everyone else is having a wonderful weekend too!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Writer's Block
I have writer's block. They say the best way to cure writer's block is to just write something...anything. But, that's just goofy, because if you had something to write about, you wouldn't HAVE writer's block. But, I haven't updated this thing in several days...so I'm updating...even though I have nothing interesting to say (you may think that's what I do every time I update the blog...haha!)
So let's see...what to say??
I took Ella and Cooper to the post office and the car wash today. To hear their excitement, you would have thought I took them to Disney World. Which is fine with me, since today's outing cost a total of $4.58, and Disney World would be more like $4,058. Speaking of the post office, I refuse to buy books of stamps. They always look at me weird when I just want enough stamps to mail the 2 or 3 things I need to mail that day. But, I have this theory that every time I buy an entire book of stamps, the price of a stamp goes up the next week. And, they don't print the price on them anymore, so you never know which stamps you have...are they from 2 price hikes ago, or 3? It's very confusing. I'm doing everyone a favor by not buying stamps...because now they won't raise the price again. I tried explaining all this to the postal worker today that tried to sell me a book of stamps, but she just looked at me like I was nuts. Maybe I am. It didn't help that both Ella and Cooper were spinning in circles singing weird songs that they made up.
What else? Hmmm...got a whole van load of "new" toys for the kids yesterday. My cousin decided it was time to part with all of her childhood toys and my lucky kids got to be on the receiving end of that. We got a kitchen for the patio, a toy washer/dryer/ironing board combo, a Fisher Price grocery store and a post office...all kinds of stuff, I don't even remember what all we got. But, the kids have been playing with it non-stop since yesterday. To hear their excitement, you would think we had a Toys R Us shopping spree. Again, that's fine with me, since that would have cost about $1000, and this cost us a big fat nothing.
We've all been sick all week...lots of runny noses and yucky coughs. Mark and I have almost completely lost our voices. It hasn't been very fun. I'm not a fan of being sick. =( I especially don't like it when my little people are sick. Cooper is staying with us today, because he's been sick. We're just one big, sick, happy family.
Aidan has his rain gutter regatta tomorrow for cub scouts. Last year, he was the champion of all the tiger cubs. He's hoping for a repeat this year. I think I am more nervous about it than him. I know he won't always win everything, and it's good for him to learn to lose well, but inside, I want him to win so bad I can hardly stand it. I can't stand for that boy to be disappointed!
Looks like we may finally get some fall weather next week...at least fall-ish. I can't wait. I love crisp mornings and crisp evenings. I think we'll spend lots of time at the park next week. Maybe we'll make a trip to the zoo.
Ella seems to have mastered the whole potty training fiasco. It only took her a few days to really get it down. I figured out with her, I had to act like it didn't matter to me one iota if she used the potty or not. If I acted too excited or too anxious, she was going back to diapers for sure. She definitely has to do things on her own terms...or she's digging her heels in and you can just forget it (don't tell anyone, but she just may have gotten that from me).
I guess I better end this rambling mess. I need to go do my time on the tread mill. I borrowed one from my parents, thinking I would be more likely to do it if I could do it at home. I wish I liked exercising. But, I don't. There. I said it. I don't like exercising at all. It's kind of stupid. And, it's a waste of time. All I can think about is all the other things I could be doing if I wasn't exercising. Sometimes I find it a little annoying when people like to exercise (if you like to exercise and you're reading this, I don't mean you). Seriously, why would you like it? I know there's the runner's high and all that nonsense about energy...but, can't you just drink a coke? Then, you don't get all sweaty and have to shower again...more wasted time. But, I struggle with vanity and I want to be skinny again...pre-Ella skinny. So, off to the treadmill I go. If you stayed with this post this long, I'm sorry...you probably should have stopped long ago and done something more productive, like exercise.
So let's see...what to say??
I took Ella and Cooper to the post office and the car wash today. To hear their excitement, you would have thought I took them to Disney World. Which is fine with me, since today's outing cost a total of $4.58, and Disney World would be more like $4,058. Speaking of the post office, I refuse to buy books of stamps. They always look at me weird when I just want enough stamps to mail the 2 or 3 things I need to mail that day. But, I have this theory that every time I buy an entire book of stamps, the price of a stamp goes up the next week. And, they don't print the price on them anymore, so you never know which stamps you have...are they from 2 price hikes ago, or 3? It's very confusing. I'm doing everyone a favor by not buying stamps...because now they won't raise the price again. I tried explaining all this to the postal worker today that tried to sell me a book of stamps, but she just looked at me like I was nuts. Maybe I am. It didn't help that both Ella and Cooper were spinning in circles singing weird songs that they made up.
What else? Hmmm...got a whole van load of "new" toys for the kids yesterday. My cousin decided it was time to part with all of her childhood toys and my lucky kids got to be on the receiving end of that. We got a kitchen for the patio, a toy washer/dryer/ironing board combo, a Fisher Price grocery store and a post office...all kinds of stuff, I don't even remember what all we got. But, the kids have been playing with it non-stop since yesterday. To hear their excitement, you would think we had a Toys R Us shopping spree. Again, that's fine with me, since that would have cost about $1000, and this cost us a big fat nothing.
We've all been sick all week...lots of runny noses and yucky coughs. Mark and I have almost completely lost our voices. It hasn't been very fun. I'm not a fan of being sick. =( I especially don't like it when my little people are sick. Cooper is staying with us today, because he's been sick. We're just one big, sick, happy family.
Aidan has his rain gutter regatta tomorrow for cub scouts. Last year, he was the champion of all the tiger cubs. He's hoping for a repeat this year. I think I am more nervous about it than him. I know he won't always win everything, and it's good for him to learn to lose well, but inside, I want him to win so bad I can hardly stand it. I can't stand for that boy to be disappointed!
Looks like we may finally get some fall weather next week...at least fall-ish. I can't wait. I love crisp mornings and crisp evenings. I think we'll spend lots of time at the park next week. Maybe we'll make a trip to the zoo.
Ella seems to have mastered the whole potty training fiasco. It only took her a few days to really get it down. I figured out with her, I had to act like it didn't matter to me one iota if she used the potty or not. If I acted too excited or too anxious, she was going back to diapers for sure. She definitely has to do things on her own terms...or she's digging her heels in and you can just forget it (don't tell anyone, but she just may have gotten that from me).
I guess I better end this rambling mess. I need to go do my time on the tread mill. I borrowed one from my parents, thinking I would be more likely to do it if I could do it at home. I wish I liked exercising. But, I don't. There. I said it. I don't like exercising at all. It's kind of stupid. And, it's a waste of time. All I can think about is all the other things I could be doing if I wasn't exercising. Sometimes I find it a little annoying when people like to exercise (if you like to exercise and you're reading this, I don't mean you). Seriously, why would you like it? I know there's the runner's high and all that nonsense about energy...but, can't you just drink a coke? Then, you don't get all sweaty and have to shower again...more wasted time. But, I struggle with vanity and I want to be skinny again...pre-Ella skinny. So, off to the treadmill I go. If you stayed with this post this long, I'm sorry...you probably should have stopped long ago and done something more productive, like exercise.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Pumpkin Cobbler
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| Ella at the pumpkin patch with her Pawpaw (2009) |
Okay, fellow pumpkin lovers...you have to try this one. I started making this several years ago for our annual pumpkin carving party. It is delicious.
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1 lg. can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. salt
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 c. chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together pumpkin, brown sugar, evaporated milk, eggs and spices.
Pour into a greased 9x13" pan.
Sprinkle the cake mix over the top.
Drizzle butter over the cake mix.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Sprinkle nuts on the top for the last 10 minutes of baking.
Eat and be amazed.
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| Cousins at the pumpkin patch (2008) |
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Even More Things I've Heard Lately...
Aidan: Are the streets in heaven really made of gold?
Me: I believe so
Aidan: Then I hope I die with a jackhammer
Aidan: (while shopping in Canton) This is even MORE boring than Wal-Mart (to which a couple of men standing around waiting on their wives whole-heartedly agreed)
Ella: (after her daddy bought her new toothpaste) My daddy is perfect. He's a great guy.
Ella: Mommy, will you paint my finger tails?
Aidan: I'm not even 50 yet and my back is killing me!
Ella: (while pointing a rubber band gun in my face) Stop singing, or I'll shoot! (I didn't realize my singing was that bad!)
Ella: Mommy, you're my hero, my herooooooooooooo!
Mommy: Look, the windshield has a chip in it.
Ella: A chip? I can't eat a windshield! That's yucky.
Aidan's friend, Cade: I was thinking last night that when we grow up, we should live together in a RV and go around the world talking about God.
Aidan: And we could make lots of money and give it to God
Cade: But, we could keep some of the money
Me: I believe so
Aidan: Then I hope I die with a jackhammer
Aidan: (while shopping in Canton) This is even MORE boring than Wal-Mart (to which a couple of men standing around waiting on their wives whole-heartedly agreed)
Ella: (after her daddy bought her new toothpaste) My daddy is perfect. He's a great guy.
Ella: Mommy, will you paint my finger tails?
Aidan: I'm not even 50 yet and my back is killing me!
Ella: (while pointing a rubber band gun in my face) Stop singing, or I'll shoot! (I didn't realize my singing was that bad!)
Ella: Mommy, you're my hero, my herooooooooooooo!
Mommy: Look, the windshield has a chip in it.
Ella: A chip? I can't eat a windshield! That's yucky.
Aidan's friend, Cade: I was thinking last night that when we grow up, we should live together in a RV and go around the world talking about God.
Aidan: And we could make lots of money and give it to God
Cade: But, we could keep some of the money
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