yummy in your tummy

Brrrr, now that it's starting to get cold outside I thought I'd share a super easy, warm-you-up-on-the-inside recipe. It comes from Becky Higgins and is pretty versatile: it can be a soup or a chili (we chose to modify it into a chili-our household isn't crazy about soups, unless we're sick). This one can be made with ingredients you probably have on hand. Heck, you don't even have to make it by yourself- your KIDS can do most of it! Let's get started...


[ TACO SOUP ]


16 oz. can chili beans
16 oz. kidney beans
16 oz. can black beans
8 oz. can tomato sauce
15 oz. can diced tomatoes (if using diced tomatoes w/chiles, omit add’l chiles below)
16 oz. can whole corn
16 oz. creamed corn
pkg. taco seasoning
½ pkg. ranch dressing seasoning
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 lb. ground beef (or chicken)
1 onion, chopped
1 sm. can chopped green chiles

TOPPINGS
1 sm. pkg. of flour tortillas
shredded cheese
sour cream

DIRECTIONS
Do not drain any of the canned foods (however, drain all beans and corn if you want it thicker—that’s how we make it, so then it’s more like Mexican chili rather than taco soup). Add all ingredients, except the ground beef and onion, to a crock pot and add taco seasoning and the ½ pkg. of ranch dressing seasoning to the soup.


Brown the ground beef (or chicken) in a pan with the chopped onion and add this combination to the crock pot. Simmer for at least a couple of hours.


Serve warm and garnish with optional toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips (cooked in frying pan with olive oil and grated parmesan cheese-yum!). I beg you to please, please make the tortilla strips - so worth it! Another idea: Eat with large Fritos chips.


Told ya it was easy...and it's really good.

Kita adventures

I absolutely love it when my mom (a.k.a. Kita) calls me up out of the blue and asks if Michael is available for her to 'borrow' for the day. I mean really, what parent wouldn't want a call like that?! And after the day I had with him yesterday, oh boy, there was light at the end of my tunnel. Yesterday is a long story, but it involves a poop explosion (in the car, of course) and Michael hitting a complete stranger on the top of her head/shoulder when I took away his movie while at the doctors office. There were many, many, many apologies to the lady, who kindly said "no worries" after her loud gasp of surprise from being hit from behind (which matched my gasp of horror)...oh the complete mortification of it all, the reprimanding of Michael, my deep breathing and counting to 100, his looooong time out when we got home. That phone call from my mom was indeed my lifesaver for this week.

I'm so glad the ugly days are so few and far between, because last night and this morning it was nothing but love.



Thanks mom. Really. Thanks a TON! I hope you two have a great time at The Wilds...he loves his adventures with you. :)

are you in?

I wanted to tell you about an online class that I signed up for with the talented Jessica Sprague. We ALL have stories. And whatever way it is that we choose to tell them, we all need a way of capturing them first. So that's where Jessica's class, Stories in Hand, comes in.

In her week-long, instructor-led class, we will learn:

• Techniques for capturing memories from our own lives and from others
• Dozens of prompts for stories you might have forgotten
• A cool system for capturing the stories happening in your life right now, AND for listing the stories you have yet to tell
• Technologies you can use to help you gather your stories together with photos, video, your blog, or any other media you have that gives a peek into your life.
• And we will make a REALLY CUTE project! (You’ll find out the supply list when you register).
• You are not required to have Photoshop to complete the project.
• Oh yeah, by the way, this class is COMPLETELY FREE.

Here are the instructions to register for the FREE Stories in Hand class!

1. Log in to your jessicasprague.com account. If you don’t already have an account you can create one here: Create Account

2. Go to the Access Codes page here at JessicaSprague.com

3. Enter the Access Code: SIHFreeNov20084. Once you enter the access code, the Stories In Hand class will now appear in your My Classes page!

Make sure to click on the My Classes link and go to the Stories in Hand class! She has a welcome page with the supply list and what to expect from the class! (oh, and a fun surprise!)

You’ll be added to the class group and have FREE unlimited access to the class materials and the private message board.

So tell me...are you in? Come on, it'll be fun! And it's free so you have nothing to lose. :)

eeking out the last bit of summer

It's that time of year when the leaves are changing colors, the temperatures are dipping lower and lower....and our family heads to Florida to squeeze out the last little bit of summer lovin'.



This year's trip was a tricky one to work out: the unfortunate death of a loved one, G's training at work he couldn't get out of, a one-way plane ticket at the last moment, gpa driving the car w/the boat down to Florida alone, confirming with G's neurologist that he is allowed to fly following his stroke, Delta changing our flight from a non-stop to having a stop in Atlanta with 20 minutes to make our connection...while traveling with a child in a wheelchair no less, making frantic calls to switch airlines, etc. etc. etc.


Needless to say, once we all arrive at our little lake in Florida, we WILL be relaxing and enjoying ourselves. The fishing boat will be ready for the boys, books have been picked up from the library for the girls, ipods have been charged and loaded with songs/movies, the warm golden sand and the gentle lapping of the water will be calling Michael's name.



The time will go by so quick. Then we'll pack our bags and head home, looking sun-kissed and feeling refreshed. Exactly what we need before we start the craziness and fun of the upcoming holidays.

the sounds of silence

So the other day, it was decidedly quiet around here. Too quiet. My mom antennae went to high alert. My ears perked up and my head tilted to the side trying to listen for any kind of telltale sounds of the boy's activities. Hmmmm, I hear nothing. Time to investigate......and what did I find?

This.

The boy has figured out how to lift the lid to the toilet....

....so I taught him how to turn the water on and wash his hands-which he now likes to do on his own in a splashing, non-cleansing way.

I'm just glad that the toilet-cleaning-fairy had recently done her job and the last person to "go" had remembered to flush.

Oh, it could have been worse. Way worse. Let's just say I've heard stories...

Toilet lid locks anyone??

11 years ago...

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. I love you for being such an amazing husband and dad.

2. I love you because you enjoy spending time with your family (lucky us!).

3. I love you because you are good at everything you do!

4. I love that you like to cook and you are good at it (of course)...and you never complain about what I make for dinner.

5. I love that you are very caring and passionate.

6. I love that you are my best friend...and that we can laugh and play together.

7. I love that you are so competitive and did I mention passionate?

8. I love that you love me for who I am (one whacky girl).

9. I love that you take such good care of our family.

10. I love that you are so hhhotttt (you're smokin' )!

11. I love that you made me the luckiest woman in the world.

Happy Anniversary, I love you!

put to work

Just wanted to share a few of the projects I have been working on lately.

Painting our cornhole boards so they look like Buckeye helmets (kinda). I totally copied our neighbor's idea and estimated the measurements from the teams' actual helmets.

Staining wood for our basement remodel project (still have some painting left to do).

Built and upholstered a headboard for our guest bed, although I kind of want it in our room now. It's a plywood box that I had Gary build (isn't he wonderful) and it slips over the original fake brass spindled headboard that his parents gave us. I wrapped the box with batting and fabric and attached the buttons. Definitely a whole new look for a lot less money than it would cost to buy a new headboard.

Hmmm, now what else can I work on? Don't worry, I have a To Do List a mile long!