So due to the rainy yuck of seasonal change and the fact that the rain released a week's worth of sinus pressure all at once on my yesterday, I'm in a soup mood! This soup to be exact!
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
In a Crockpot cook -
4 Large Baking Potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
3 Cups Chicken Broth (24 ounces)
1/4 of a large Sweet Yellow Onion chopped into small pieces
Garlic Powder
Salt
Black Pepper
Paprika
(season heavily)
Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8.
Soften (to semi melted) 6 ounces of Cream Cheese (I use the fat free and it works just fine if you want to save a few calories!).
Cook 3-4 pieces of Bacon, drain off grease. Crunch up into large "bacon bits"
Beat Cream Cheese into soup mixture in Crockpot. Fold in 1/2 of the Bacon. Re-season delicately. You add another 8 oz. Chicken Broth here if you like your soup more soupy, we tend to do ours on the "stewy" side though.
Cook on high for 30 minutes.
Serve garnished with Shredded Cheese, and remaining Bacon.
ENJOY!!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Should I write something not about food?
Do I even know how to do that anymore? Some days I wonder if I even know how to write in the first place, but I try, and I ramble, and maybe someone will get something out of it someday, even if it's just me.
Sometimes I ramble just to sort things out in my head and delete the post without posting it. Do you eve do that? Do you ever think you're going to teach someone something and then learn more about yourself than they could possible learn?
We've been studying "grace" in our ladies Bible study. I think it's a concept I thought I fully understood. We're saved by Grace, God grants us grace, we should grant others grace, but can we really grant grace?
We're a picky, judgmental, self righteous, justifying culture, we always have been, but does that give us the right? I try so hard not to put myself up on any kind of pedestal, not to think of myself as better and in the process usually end up beating myself up psychologically.
Then I look at judge-y, condemning, nit picking people and wonder if the tearing down of myself is healthier.
Then I realize I'm judging them for judging.
Why is it also that some people can get a free pass for their mistakes no matter what? I noticed this while teaching this week, when I thought I'd be doing all the teaching, but a sweet, hard working, focused, people pleasing 9 year old gave me a lesson by apologizing for all her buzzy guitar notes and trying to correct them instantly. Why is it that as kids we can so easily apologize and forgive bet as adults we hold every little mistake over someone's heads forever? Or at least until we know they have a bigger mistake to hold over ours.
SERIOUSLY! I told you I ramble!
Anyways, what I'm saying is, I think many of us, myself included need to find the happy medium. The place where we see ourselves as worthless, but thankful and in awe of the Grace we've been given for our mistakes and short comings and because we're so filled with that Grace, we're unable to see the bad in people, even if that bad if just their judginess (I know it's not a word, it just works!).
I'm going to try to be conscious of my judging this week.
Sometimes I ramble just to sort things out in my head and delete the post without posting it. Do you eve do that? Do you ever think you're going to teach someone something and then learn more about yourself than they could possible learn?
We've been studying "grace" in our ladies Bible study. I think it's a concept I thought I fully understood. We're saved by Grace, God grants us grace, we should grant others grace, but can we really grant grace?
We're a picky, judgmental, self righteous, justifying culture, we always have been, but does that give us the right? I try so hard not to put myself up on any kind of pedestal, not to think of myself as better and in the process usually end up beating myself up psychologically.
Then I look at judge-y, condemning, nit picking people and wonder if the tearing down of myself is healthier.
Then I realize I'm judging them for judging.
Why is it also that some people can get a free pass for their mistakes no matter what? I noticed this while teaching this week, when I thought I'd be doing all the teaching, but a sweet, hard working, focused, people pleasing 9 year old gave me a lesson by apologizing for all her buzzy guitar notes and trying to correct them instantly. Why is it that as kids we can so easily apologize and forgive bet as adults we hold every little mistake over someone's heads forever? Or at least until we know they have a bigger mistake to hold over ours.
SERIOUSLY! I told you I ramble!
Anyways, what I'm saying is, I think many of us, myself included need to find the happy medium. The place where we see ourselves as worthless, but thankful and in awe of the Grace we've been given for our mistakes and short comings and because we're so filled with that Grace, we're unable to see the bad in people, even if that bad if just their judginess (I know it's not a word, it just works!).
I'm going to try to be conscious of my judging this week.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Crockpot Kitchen - Volume 2
So we talked a little about chicken, now on to some beef. I'll tackle the non-meat dishes one or two at a time over the weekend maybe, they're a bit more detailed than the 3-5 ingredients leave it alone meat dishes that I live by.
A general rule of thumb with crockpotting - if you would marinade it and then cook/grill it, you can crockpot it. Simply skip the soaking in marinade process and pour the marinade directly on the raw or even frozen meat and just slow cook the day away instead of thawing, timing marinades and then still cooking.
Here are a few of our favorite beef recipes -
Whole Pot Roast -
Any size and cut of roast that will fit in your crockpot (frozen is fine)
1/2 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
Enough Salt, Pepper, Paprika, and Garlic Salt to generously sprinkle over entire roast.
1 Sweet Onion cut into thick slices
Put it all in the crockpot in that order, cook on high 6 hours or low for 8 hours.
BBQ Beef - (using leftover pot roast meat!)
Shredded already cooked Roast Beef
1/2 bottle BBQ or Honey BBQ Sauce
1/4 cup Water
Cook on low no more than 5 hours.
Serve with melted cheese on toasted sub or kaiser rolls.
Tangy Stew Beef -
1 1/2 to 2 pounds Stew Beef
1/2 bottle Italian Dressing
1/4 cup Teryaki Sauce
Enough Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the pile.
Cook on low 8 hours.
Serve over Rice or Egg Noodles.
Freezer Burned of Tough Steak Fix -
Whatever piece of Beef you need to save (works best with thicker cuts, top sirloins, thick rib eyes, bone ins)
1 Packet Ranch Dressing Mix
1 Packet Italian Dressing Mix
1 Packet Brown Gravy Mix
1/2 Cut Water
Mix all the packets into the water, pour over meat.
Cook on low at least 8 hours, the longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.
Seriously, this has saved me from throwing out at least meals worth of forgotten in the back of the freezer beef!
Meatloaf -
(you can do this with any recipe, this is just mine, or rather my Grandma's that I've added to)
2 Pounds Ground Beef (I use half 90% half 80%)
2 Eggs Beaten
1/2 a Large Sweet Onion Finely Chopped
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, Paprika and Oregano "to smell"
Mix everything together, make sure all the bread crumbs are good and moistened.
Form into your crockpot. Drizzle with Ketchup and cook 6-8 hours. Thinner loaves (if it's formed too thin because of a larger crockpot) take less time.
Thick Meaty Chili -
1/2 Pound cooked ground beef (I use leftover Meatloaf whenever I can)
6 thick cut pieces of Bacon cut into one inch pieces.
1/2 Large Sweet Onion Chopped
1 Can Bush's Turkey Chili Starter with Beans
1 Can Dark Kidney Beans
1 Can Chili Beans
1 Can Tomato Soup
1 Small Can Stewed Tomatoes mashed up with a fork.
Hot Sauce
Chili Powder, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Garlic Salt and Paprika "to smell"
Let simmer on low a minimum of 4 hours, you can't overcook this if you stir it a couple of times though.
Serve over brown rice with shredded cheese and crackers for garnish.
BBQ Ribs - (beef or pork)
2 Tablespoons Butter (in bottom of crockpot)
1/2 rack any ribs, or 1 1/2 pounds boneless ribs covered in rub -
Rub -
1/4 Cup Bread Crumbs
1 TB Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp Onion Salt
Cook on High 4 hours.
Add 1/2 standard bottle any BBQ Sauce.
Cook on Low for 2-3 hours.
That's it off the top of my head, I'm sure I'll be adding plenty more recipes for both later this week now that I have my mind going that direction. :)
Enjoy!
A general rule of thumb with crockpotting - if you would marinade it and then cook/grill it, you can crockpot it. Simply skip the soaking in marinade process and pour the marinade directly on the raw or even frozen meat and just slow cook the day away instead of thawing, timing marinades and then still cooking.
Here are a few of our favorite beef recipes -
Whole Pot Roast -
Any size and cut of roast that will fit in your crockpot (frozen is fine)
1/2 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
Enough Salt, Pepper, Paprika, and Garlic Salt to generously sprinkle over entire roast.
1 Sweet Onion cut into thick slices
Put it all in the crockpot in that order, cook on high 6 hours or low for 8 hours.
BBQ Beef - (using leftover pot roast meat!)
Shredded already cooked Roast Beef
1/2 bottle BBQ or Honey BBQ Sauce
1/4 cup Water
Cook on low no more than 5 hours.
Serve with melted cheese on toasted sub or kaiser rolls.
Tangy Stew Beef -
1 1/2 to 2 pounds Stew Beef
1/2 bottle Italian Dressing
1/4 cup Teryaki Sauce
Enough Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the pile.
Cook on low 8 hours.
Serve over Rice or Egg Noodles.
Freezer Burned of Tough Steak Fix -
Whatever piece of Beef you need to save (works best with thicker cuts, top sirloins, thick rib eyes, bone ins)
1 Packet Ranch Dressing Mix
1 Packet Italian Dressing Mix
1 Packet Brown Gravy Mix
1/2 Cut Water
Mix all the packets into the water, pour over meat.
Cook on low at least 8 hours, the longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.
Seriously, this has saved me from throwing out at least meals worth of forgotten in the back of the freezer beef!
Meatloaf -
(you can do this with any recipe, this is just mine, or rather my Grandma's that I've added to)
2 Pounds Ground Beef (I use half 90% half 80%)
2 Eggs Beaten
1/2 a Large Sweet Onion Finely Chopped
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, Paprika and Oregano "to smell"
Mix everything together, make sure all the bread crumbs are good and moistened.
Form into your crockpot. Drizzle with Ketchup and cook 6-8 hours. Thinner loaves (if it's formed too thin because of a larger crockpot) take less time.
Thick Meaty Chili -
1/2 Pound cooked ground beef (I use leftover Meatloaf whenever I can)
6 thick cut pieces of Bacon cut into one inch pieces.
1/2 Large Sweet Onion Chopped
1 Can Bush's Turkey Chili Starter with Beans
1 Can Dark Kidney Beans
1 Can Chili Beans
1 Can Tomato Soup
1 Small Can Stewed Tomatoes mashed up with a fork.
Hot Sauce
Chili Powder, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Garlic Salt and Paprika "to smell"
Let simmer on low a minimum of 4 hours, you can't overcook this if you stir it a couple of times though.
Serve over brown rice with shredded cheese and crackers for garnish.
BBQ Ribs - (beef or pork)
2 Tablespoons Butter (in bottom of crockpot)
1/2 rack any ribs, or 1 1/2 pounds boneless ribs covered in rub -
Rub -
1/4 Cup Bread Crumbs
1 TB Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp Onion Salt
Cook on High 4 hours.
Add 1/2 standard bottle any BBQ Sauce.
Cook on Low for 2-3 hours.
That's it off the top of my head, I'm sure I'll be adding plenty more recipes for both later this week now that I have my mind going that direction. :)
Enjoy!
Crockpot Kitchen Volume 1.
So lately I've been getting alot of questions from friends about my crockpot obsession, so instead of individually typing out all of my ideas and recipes, I figured I'd make a list here and then just post a link on my facebook, rather than having to remember who asked for what, that way everyone has access to everything.
Pretty much my cooking philosophy is keep it simple and flavorful and proportioned. We pretty much eat a lean meat, carb side and steamed veggie or fresh fruit for dinner every night, except the nights I'm at church late and we eat sandwiches or breakfast with fruit. I probably use my crockpot 3-4 times a week, and it's literally the only reason we can handle eating home cooked most nights with my schedule.
Just to keep it simple today, let's start with a few chicken and then I can give you some other options later in the week.
Whole Roast Chicken -
1 Whole chicken, thawed and cleaned out
1 Can Chicken Broth
Salt, Black Pepper and Paprika sprinkled generously over chicken
Cook 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
Herby Whole Roast Chicken -
1 Whole chicken, thawed and cleaned out
Inside Chicken Cavity -
1/2 stick Butter cut into 4-5 pieces
1 Small Lemons cut in half horizontally
On Outside of Chicken -
1/2 stick melted Butter
Rosemary, Salt and Black Pepper sprinkled generously over chicken.
Cook 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
Hawaiian Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1/2 of a standard 12oz. bottle of any brand Honey BBQ Sauce
1 12 oz. can pineapple chunks
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve over rice with a veggie or salad.
Tangy Lemon Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Italian Dressing Mix
the juice from 2 large lemons (1/3-1/2 cup lemon juice)
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve with potatoes or home fries and roast veggies..
Buffalo Chicken -
(Coming from a Rochester native - 90 minutes from the original Buffalo wing place!)
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix
3/4 Cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Shred chicken with fork, stir back into sauce, let cook another 20-40 minutes. (the longer the hotter!)
Serve on toasted sub rolls with melted provolone cheese and a side salad.
Chicken Taco Meat -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 Can Chicken Broth
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Shred chicken with fork, stir back into sauce, let cook another 20-40 minutes. (the longer the hotter!)
Serve on tortillas with all the regular fixings.
Creamy Italian Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
8 oz. Greek Yogurt
1/2 Cup Shredded or Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
Mix Yogurt, Cheese and Garlic Salt together, spread over chicken breasts.
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve over pasta with a side salad.
Chicken and Rice Stew -
1 1/2 Cups shredded, already cooked Chicken meat (great use for leftovers from whole chickens!)
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Veggies (I use a combo of frozen or canned corn, fresh carrots, onions and green beans)
1 Cup Brown Rice
1 Chicken Boullion Cube or equivalent in powder.
36 oz. Chicken Broth
Let simmer on high for 2-3 hours or 5-6 hours on low.
There you go a few ideas to get you started, otherwise known as more than a week's worth of chicken, all incredible simple and cheap too!
Enjoy!
Pretty much my cooking philosophy is keep it simple and flavorful and proportioned. We pretty much eat a lean meat, carb side and steamed veggie or fresh fruit for dinner every night, except the nights I'm at church late and we eat sandwiches or breakfast with fruit. I probably use my crockpot 3-4 times a week, and it's literally the only reason we can handle eating home cooked most nights with my schedule.
Just to keep it simple today, let's start with a few chicken and then I can give you some other options later in the week.
Whole Roast Chicken -
1 Whole chicken, thawed and cleaned out
1 Can Chicken Broth
Salt, Black Pepper and Paprika sprinkled generously over chicken
Cook 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
Herby Whole Roast Chicken -
1 Whole chicken, thawed and cleaned out
Inside Chicken Cavity -
1/2 stick Butter cut into 4-5 pieces
1 Small Lemons cut in half horizontally
On Outside of Chicken -
1/2 stick melted Butter
Rosemary, Salt and Black Pepper sprinkled generously over chicken.
Cook 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
Hawaiian Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1/2 of a standard 12oz. bottle of any brand Honey BBQ Sauce
1 12 oz. can pineapple chunks
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve over rice with a veggie or salad.
Tangy Lemon Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Italian Dressing Mix
the juice from 2 large lemons (1/3-1/2 cup lemon juice)
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve with potatoes or home fries and roast veggies..
Buffalo Chicken -
(Coming from a Rochester native - 90 minutes from the original Buffalo wing place!)
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix
3/4 Cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Shred chicken with fork, stir back into sauce, let cook another 20-40 minutes. (the longer the hotter!)
Serve on toasted sub rolls with melted provolone cheese and a side salad.
Chicken Taco Meat -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 Can Chicken Broth
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Shred chicken with fork, stir back into sauce, let cook another 20-40 minutes. (the longer the hotter!)
Serve on tortillas with all the regular fixings.
Creamy Italian Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
8 oz. Greek Yogurt
1/2 Cup Shredded or Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
Mix Yogurt, Cheese and Garlic Salt together, spread over chicken breasts.
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve over pasta with a side salad.
Chicken and Rice Stew -
1 1/2 Cups shredded, already cooked Chicken meat (great use for leftovers from whole chickens!)
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Veggies (I use a combo of frozen or canned corn, fresh carrots, onions and green beans)
1 Cup Brown Rice
1 Chicken Boullion Cube or equivalent in powder.
36 oz. Chicken Broth
Let simmer on high for 2-3 hours or 5-6 hours on low.
There you go a few ideas to get you started, otherwise known as more than a week's worth of chicken, all incredible simple and cheap too!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
A weekend of "new"s
So it's been a couple of weeks, a couple of weeks full of getting projects done, starting new things and overall, just being busy.
I've stuck to my menu planning, but simplified alot of my staples or gone back to cooking bigger main dishes that can be repurposed a second night so that I only have to do a big meal every two to three days. I still feel like I'm feeding my husband home made every night, it's just home made takes 10 minutes some nights instead of an hour, which gives me alot more time to get other things done. This week's dishes include a Roast turned into BBQ Beef, Breakfast for Dinner, and Hawaiian Chicken followed by BBQ Chicken Pizza.
A couple of weekends ago, I was swamped with all things photography. I finished editing and delivered a rather large wedding and shot a friends maternity pictures and processed them all in 2 days to be able to surprise her with prints at her shower the next week.
This weekend was another one of those weekend. The new website is up and operational. I spent 7+ hours glued to a computer screen Saturday morning and then another 45 minutes to an hour editing the final result, so all in all, 8 hours to reinvent the website and add more content and space than before isn't too bad for an self taught web designer. I also redid the business cards and added a few new portfolio shots.
Check out www.adaniephotography.com to see what I'm talking about.
More "new"s included a new wreath for the front door, a new recipe that I found on Pinterest and tweaked a bit and of all things, a new iPhone. Yes people, I finally caved and went Mac, not proud to say it, but it works, I'm figuring it out and so far don't completely hate it.
Well, time to get ready for work. Home made Oreos sit on the counter for my husband to take to Bible study tonight while I try my first Zumba class. Let's hope it doesn't kill me!
I've stuck to my menu planning, but simplified alot of my staples or gone back to cooking bigger main dishes that can be repurposed a second night so that I only have to do a big meal every two to three days. I still feel like I'm feeding my husband home made every night, it's just home made takes 10 minutes some nights instead of an hour, which gives me alot more time to get other things done. This week's dishes include a Roast turned into BBQ Beef, Breakfast for Dinner, and Hawaiian Chicken followed by BBQ Chicken Pizza.
A couple of weekends ago, I was swamped with all things photography. I finished editing and delivered a rather large wedding and shot a friends maternity pictures and processed them all in 2 days to be able to surprise her with prints at her shower the next week.
This weekend was another one of those weekend. The new website is up and operational. I spent 7+ hours glued to a computer screen Saturday morning and then another 45 minutes to an hour editing the final result, so all in all, 8 hours to reinvent the website and add more content and space than before isn't too bad for an self taught web designer. I also redid the business cards and added a few new portfolio shots.
Check out www.adaniephotography.com to see what I'm talking about.
More "new"s included a new wreath for the front door, a new recipe that I found on Pinterest and tweaked a bit and of all things, a new iPhone. Yes people, I finally caved and went Mac, not proud to say it, but it works, I'm figuring it out and so far don't completely hate it.
Well, time to get ready for work. Home made Oreos sit on the counter for my husband to take to Bible study tonight while I try my first Zumba class. Let's hope it doesn't kill me!
Friday, August 17, 2012
New Design
I'm playing, it may change again, it will probably change weekly for awhile until I figure out where I'm going with this blog this time around.
Input appreciated!
Input appreciated!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Something I've Discovered
In this recent bout of massive organization and accomplishment, I've discovered something, or rather rediscovered something about myself.
I NEED to be needed, and as part of being needed, I need to be appreciated for fulfilling other peoples needs. Does that make sense?
Getting things done for me feels fantastic, it gives me energy, boosts my mood, removes even a little of my need for a coffee inhaler, and just generally makes me happier. But, getting things done for others, and having them appreciate that use of my time and energy is like crack for me, if that makes sense. It's addicting, and intoxicating, and just generally a high feeling for me, where no one can stop me and I'm invincible because I did something someone NEEDED me to do.
This morning when I got up I made my husband breakfast like I have every morning for 6 plus years, sent him out the door with a smile ready to meet his day, and then sat down at the computer and got the budget organized and the bills paid. I responded to emails, commented on facebook posts, "pinned" the things I'd "liked" on pinterest all day yesterday without bother to sort them onto appropriate boards, and then got ready and got to work 10 minutes early, just to sit around and wait for other people to get going on things for me to finish.
I realized coming in with a list ready to go just feels so much better! I had two emails to respond to and a phone call to return waiting on my desk, and doing those things, meeting others needs, made me feel happy and fulfilled. Sitting and waiting, not so much.
We talked about love languages a bit during study last night. I've always known mine, even before reading the book. I love to love by serving and giving. I can't do it enough, it's the only way I really feel like I've demonstrated love, with my works. Conversely, I love to be loved by words of affirmation, or in my case, thanks for my works. As much as serving and giving of myself makes me happy, it drains me after a while if I don't feel like it's appreciated or even noticed.
Does that make me vain? Does that make me selfish? Does that mean I'm really not serving out of love?
I don't think so. I think God wired us all differently, equipping us with different spiritual gifts in order to help lift each other up and grow each other as human beings and Christians for a reason. Some people have a hard time doing, whether due to time restraints, physical limitations, financial problems, emotional immaturity, etc....and those are the people I'm always feeling drawn to. My mom always comments about how many single mom, missionary wives, medically and emotionally unstable people and just generally needy people I've found to be friends with and buy things for and from and give things to, and she's right, I'm drawn to people who need me.
Another observation is that I married a man who'd never had to, and been given the opportunity to take care of himself. His mom babied him and his dad controlled him, and neither gave him any say in anything in his growing up process or the right to chose to do things on his own even after graduating high school. His dad picked out clothes, managed his money, chose his car, jobs and everything else, and his mom never taught him to do laundry properly, or cook anything more than a frozen pizza or can of soup. Saying all of that on my screen makes him look pretty pathetic and worthless, but that's completely not true. Those "limitations" as most people would see them, are in fact some of the things I love most. The fact that relying on people his entire life makes him so much more trusting and willing to assume the best in people is so opposite from me. I've worked for forever, and was exposed to so much "real world" from the time I was 14 on, that much of that innocent, seeing the positives was gone in me before I even graduated high school. I immediately jump to the worst case scenarios, assume the worst about people, read too much into things trying to protect myself, and he just trusts. I need to be more trusting. I need to be more forgiving, and I need to not always assume the worst. He teaches me that almost every day, and I'm so grateful.
I'm rambling now, and this thing is getting way way longer than I ever planned.
The point is, we all love, and need to be loved differently. I think I've always known how I'm wired, and how my husband is wired (words of affirmation and physical touch both in and out - so simple, and so male!) but something this week has made me more aware and deliberate to make sure I'm showing love properly.
I NEED to be needed, and as part of being needed, I need to be appreciated for fulfilling other peoples needs. Does that make sense?
Getting things done for me feels fantastic, it gives me energy, boosts my mood, removes even a little of my need for a coffee inhaler, and just generally makes me happier. But, getting things done for others, and having them appreciate that use of my time and energy is like crack for me, if that makes sense. It's addicting, and intoxicating, and just generally a high feeling for me, where no one can stop me and I'm invincible because I did something someone NEEDED me to do.
This morning when I got up I made my husband breakfast like I have every morning for 6 plus years, sent him out the door with a smile ready to meet his day, and then sat down at the computer and got the budget organized and the bills paid. I responded to emails, commented on facebook posts, "pinned" the things I'd "liked" on pinterest all day yesterday without bother to sort them onto appropriate boards, and then got ready and got to work 10 minutes early, just to sit around and wait for other people to get going on things for me to finish.
I realized coming in with a list ready to go just feels so much better! I had two emails to respond to and a phone call to return waiting on my desk, and doing those things, meeting others needs, made me feel happy and fulfilled. Sitting and waiting, not so much.
We talked about love languages a bit during study last night. I've always known mine, even before reading the book. I love to love by serving and giving. I can't do it enough, it's the only way I really feel like I've demonstrated love, with my works. Conversely, I love to be loved by words of affirmation, or in my case, thanks for my works. As much as serving and giving of myself makes me happy, it drains me after a while if I don't feel like it's appreciated or even noticed.
Does that make me vain? Does that make me selfish? Does that mean I'm really not serving out of love?
I don't think so. I think God wired us all differently, equipping us with different spiritual gifts in order to help lift each other up and grow each other as human beings and Christians for a reason. Some people have a hard time doing, whether due to time restraints, physical limitations, financial problems, emotional immaturity, etc....and those are the people I'm always feeling drawn to. My mom always comments about how many single mom, missionary wives, medically and emotionally unstable people and just generally needy people I've found to be friends with and buy things for and from and give things to, and she's right, I'm drawn to people who need me.
Another observation is that I married a man who'd never had to, and been given the opportunity to take care of himself. His mom babied him and his dad controlled him, and neither gave him any say in anything in his growing up process or the right to chose to do things on his own even after graduating high school. His dad picked out clothes, managed his money, chose his car, jobs and everything else, and his mom never taught him to do laundry properly, or cook anything more than a frozen pizza or can of soup. Saying all of that on my screen makes him look pretty pathetic and worthless, but that's completely not true. Those "limitations" as most people would see them, are in fact some of the things I love most. The fact that relying on people his entire life makes him so much more trusting and willing to assume the best in people is so opposite from me. I've worked for forever, and was exposed to so much "real world" from the time I was 14 on, that much of that innocent, seeing the positives was gone in me before I even graduated high school. I immediately jump to the worst case scenarios, assume the worst about people, read too much into things trying to protect myself, and he just trusts. I need to be more trusting. I need to be more forgiving, and I need to not always assume the worst. He teaches me that almost every day, and I'm so grateful.
I'm rambling now, and this thing is getting way way longer than I ever planned.
The point is, we all love, and need to be loved differently. I think I've always known how I'm wired, and how my husband is wired (words of affirmation and physical touch both in and out - so simple, and so male!) but something this week has made me more aware and deliberate to make sure I'm showing love properly.
Monday, August 13, 2012
I'm on a roll and I'm just getting started!
I'm back to blogging, and I'm determined and disciplined right now, so it just might stick this time!
Friday I worked all day, cleaned out everything at work, organized, and then went home and cranked out about 300 edited wedding pictures.
Saturday I worked 9-2, cranked out another 200 wedding pictures and had a movie night with my husband.
And Sunday, yesterday, was the cream of the crop when it comes to productivity for me! Church, Lifegroup, Lunch, and made homemade Oreos courtesy of a recipe I found on Pinterest about a year and a half ago when I first discovered that wonderfully blissful time-suck! Then I made homemade Blueberry Muffins, clipped and sorted coupons, washed, dried, FOLDED, and PUT AWAY 4 loads of laundry (seriously, the putting away part doesn't happen until I'm out of laundry baskets!), cooked a steak dinner, edited another 600 wedding pictures (almost done, finally! 200 to go!) cleaned the kitchen, calendared everything for this week, including my menu, remade the bed (it had been stripped and washed) and watched a movie with my husband.
Yep, I'm pretty proud of myself if I do say so myself! I asked my husband what he did all day while I did that, and his response was "supervise". I informed him it's hard to be the supervisor when you don't even know how to do half of what I'm doing. :)
This morning I got up with him at 6:00, made his breakfast, did a nice little ab workout in front of the TV, edited another 50 wedding pictures, ate breakfast, had a cup of coffee and my prayer time, got ready for work, restarted my "My Fitness Pal" tracking, dropped by the bank and got to work 5 minutes early.
Yay me!
Tonight is the Music Ministry Fall Kick-off, so work may get a little crazy in a bit, and my day will probably be long, but I'm not letting that get me down, I'm excited to be a part of the Worship Ministry and get to participate in the rehearsals, even if I am in a place where no one hears me (that's sometimes a good thing). Just being present in such an environment is a worship experience for me. Being surrounded by 300 people praising God together outside of regular church service is huge for me.
Well back to work, I was just waiting for a delayed meeting to start and wanted to release. Blogging is very much a release for me, and I've missed it.
Friday I worked all day, cleaned out everything at work, organized, and then went home and cranked out about 300 edited wedding pictures.
Saturday I worked 9-2, cranked out another 200 wedding pictures and had a movie night with my husband.
And Sunday, yesterday, was the cream of the crop when it comes to productivity for me! Church, Lifegroup, Lunch, and made homemade Oreos courtesy of a recipe I found on Pinterest about a year and a half ago when I first discovered that wonderfully blissful time-suck! Then I made homemade Blueberry Muffins, clipped and sorted coupons, washed, dried, FOLDED, and PUT AWAY 4 loads of laundry (seriously, the putting away part doesn't happen until I'm out of laundry baskets!), cooked a steak dinner, edited another 600 wedding pictures (almost done, finally! 200 to go!) cleaned the kitchen, calendared everything for this week, including my menu, remade the bed (it had been stripped and washed) and watched a movie with my husband.
Yep, I'm pretty proud of myself if I do say so myself! I asked my husband what he did all day while I did that, and his response was "supervise". I informed him it's hard to be the supervisor when you don't even know how to do half of what I'm doing. :)
This morning I got up with him at 6:00, made his breakfast, did a nice little ab workout in front of the TV, edited another 50 wedding pictures, ate breakfast, had a cup of coffee and my prayer time, got ready for work, restarted my "My Fitness Pal" tracking, dropped by the bank and got to work 5 minutes early.
Yay me!
Tonight is the Music Ministry Fall Kick-off, so work may get a little crazy in a bit, and my day will probably be long, but I'm not letting that get me down, I'm excited to be a part of the Worship Ministry and get to participate in the rehearsals, even if I am in a place where no one hears me (that's sometimes a good thing). Just being present in such an environment is a worship experience for me. Being surrounded by 300 people praising God together outside of regular church service is huge for me.
Well back to work, I was just waiting for a delayed meeting to start and wanted to release. Blogging is very much a release for me, and I've missed it.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Today I'm Thankful For.....
- My job that pays me to serve in a ministry that I absolutely LOVE! I get to help prepare for church services and rehearsals with our choir, praise teams and instrumentalists as a job, and then volunteer as a children's choir director and watch my (mostly!) adorable and sweet kiddos get excited about singing about Jesus and worshiping him.
- My wonderful, affectionate, hard working husband who loves me and misses me when I'm at church all day every day for 3 days, and shows so much appreciation for me when I finally get home sometime between 9:00 and 10:30 at night for three nights in a row. He's taking me on a date night tonight or tomorrow even after taking me on a weekend away last week! Work was a hard slap in the face Monday morning after three days alone together going out and just being together everywhere! I missed him while at work this week, that's not normal because I love my job so much!
- The convenience of being so close to work, church, stores and home that I can run and do my grocery shopping for the week and take it home and put it away and still get back to work in 51 minutes on my lunch break!
- My girls from LifeGroup who are coming over this Saturday for a girls morning of coffee, conversation and chick flicks!
- The glorious sunshine and 85 degree weather, and that it's not 100+ yet this year, unlike last year when it turned into full blown summer by May1st!
- Photography jobs that are lining up and making us a little extra money and keeping my weekends very very full!
- A dear former youth group girl who's getting her life on track and focusing on God and seeing the benefits of putting Him first, finally, after many many months (or years) of praying for this. Praying she keeps it up and keeps remembering to thank Him for her blessings piling up and not just ignoring His part in them.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
I know what I said, but this is just my life.....
I had so many grand plans for last week, but as per usual, my life got crazy, and I got behind, and blogging fell a bit to the side. Honestly, blogging is my fun outlet, but in the chain of priorities, it falls pretty low. Typically I spend nearly 50 hours a week at church between work, volunteering in the children's choir ministry and attending worship, lifegroup and Ladies Bible study (which meets at Starbucks, but I still consider it church!). I have errands to run, like grocery shopping and making sure we don't run out of soap, paper towels, toothpaste, important stuff like that. I cook at least 6 nights a week, so I menu plan and coupon and spend a ridiculous decent amount of time doing dishes and cleaning my kitchen. And since my husband does all the big weekly cleaning, I'm also the soul provider of clean laundry. Speaking of my husband, I also like to spend a little AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE with him. So, blogging falls way way way down my list sometimes.
Somewhere in there I realize me desire to blog, about as often as I find time to fulfill my desire to work out. Yesterday work was a workout in itself. We had our Music and Media Ministry Volunteer Appreciation Banquet last night, which meant setting up, working my normal day, working the first half of the banquet, attending the second half, and then staying and tearing everything down and lugging all of our borrowed decorations back to whichever department's wing we'd borrowed them from. I was at work from 8:30am until 10:30pm, it was a long day. Typically I try to get in some form of ab/arm/leg workout every morning between when I get up to fix my husband's breakfast and when I have to start getting ready for work (usually 15-25 minutes of floor exercises), but this morning, when he left at 6:20, I went back to sleep until 7:40. And man was it hard to get up after that! Tonight is Bible study night, and all I can think about is coming home to my sweats and our NCIS's on the couch. Days like this make me wish we had a TV in our bedroom (conscious decision not to) since bed is so much comfier than the couch! (really need to upgrade from our hand me down one this summer!)
Over the weekend we actually had the opportunity to get away and I'm so grateful, even if I am freaking out about how I go absolutely nothing done over the weekend. We stayed in a nice hotel, ate out for two nights, played 5 rounds of putt putt, spent 5 hours in an absolutely GINORMOUS outlet mall and enjoyed our own private jacuzzi tub. It was well worth the money and the massively behind agenda awaiting me when we got home. It was literally the first time we've gone away without family, or without staying with family since our honeymoon, 6 years ago. We went away because of our anniversary, and it's also the first time we've spent our anniversary alone.
So now that it's Tuesday I'm going to put up a slightly shortened menu for the week....
Somewhere in there I realize me desire to blog, about as often as I find time to fulfill my desire to work out. Yesterday work was a workout in itself. We had our Music and Media Ministry Volunteer Appreciation Banquet last night, which meant setting up, working my normal day, working the first half of the banquet, attending the second half, and then staying and tearing everything down and lugging all of our borrowed decorations back to whichever department's wing we'd borrowed them from. I was at work from 8:30am until 10:30pm, it was a long day. Typically I try to get in some form of ab/arm/leg workout every morning between when I get up to fix my husband's breakfast and when I have to start getting ready for work (usually 15-25 minutes of floor exercises), but this morning, when he left at 6:20, I went back to sleep until 7:40. And man was it hard to get up after that! Tonight is Bible study night, and all I can think about is coming home to my sweats and our NCIS's on the couch. Days like this make me wish we had a TV in our bedroom (conscious decision not to) since bed is so much comfier than the couch! (really need to upgrade from our hand me down one this summer!)
Over the weekend we actually had the opportunity to get away and I'm so grateful, even if I am freaking out about how I go absolutely nothing done over the weekend. We stayed in a nice hotel, ate out for two nights, played 5 rounds of putt putt, spent 5 hours in an absolutely GINORMOUS outlet mall and enjoyed our own private jacuzzi tub. It was well worth the money and the massively behind agenda awaiting me when we got home. It was literally the first time we've gone away without family, or without staying with family since our honeymoon, 6 years ago. We went away because of our anniversary, and it's also the first time we've spent our anniversary alone.
So now that it's Tuesday I'm going to put up a slightly shortened menu for the week....
Tuesday
Fajitas, Salad and Fruit
Wednesday
I'm trying THIS recipe from the help of Pinterest.
With brown rice and steamed broccoli.
Thursday
Dinner for friends with a new baby in the form of
BBQ Beef, Pasta Salad and Fruit Salad
Friday
Dinner for a friend on bed rest and her family in the form of
Teryaki Chicken / Veggie Kabobs, Parmesan Baked Fries and Salad
Saturday
Brunch food and lattes for Lady's Morning Out Brunch at our apartment.
Flank Steak, Smashed Potatoes, and Roasted Veggies
Sunday
Whatever my mom wants for Mother's Day :)
Off to study for the night and then home to cuddle on the couch in my sweats with my husband. So grateful for our getaway, but so wishing I was still on it this week. :) I love my job, and I love my life, but oh how it felt good to have no agenda.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Going to try for a few days of normal this week!
So, last week was just one of those weeks, I cooked a real meal like twice, at least for us, and wasn't done with my craziness until after 9:00 pretty much every night.
Monday was my usual 12/13 hour day followed by food prep for Tuesdays all day work conference.
Tuesday was a 13 hour meeting at a lake house in the middle of no where.
Wednesday was another typical 12 hour day at church.
Thursday was work, lessons and a meal for a friend with a new baby, dinner for us, laundry and other housework and food that had been neglected all week until then.
Friday I went from job #1, straight to job #2, to Target, Costco, and the grocery store.
Saturday was job #2 until after 3:00, then I wedding at 5:00pm.
Sunday was church, anniversary lunch with my parents and back to job #2 until 8:00pm, home to 3 loads of laundry washed, dried, folded and put away, cookies baked and the kitchen cleaned.
Monday wrapped back around to my 12/13 hour day.
So, here I am 8 days later blogging again and actually considering trying to commit to some sort of organized schedule for at least 3 days!
Monday was my usual 12/13 hour day followed by food prep for Tuesdays all day work conference.
Tuesday was a 13 hour meeting at a lake house in the middle of no where.
Wednesday was another typical 12 hour day at church.
Thursday was work, lessons and a meal for a friend with a new baby, dinner for us, laundry and other housework and food that had been neglected all week until then.
Friday I went from job #1, straight to job #2, to Target, Costco, and the grocery store.
Saturday was job #2 until after 3:00, then I wedding at 5:00pm.
Sunday was church, anniversary lunch with my parents and back to job #2 until 8:00pm, home to 3 loads of laundry washed, dried, folded and put away, cookies baked and the kitchen cleaned.
Monday wrapped back around to my 12/13 hour day.
So, here I am 8 days later blogging again and actually considering trying to commit to some sort of organized schedule for at least 3 days!
Monday-
Eggs and Whole Wheat English Muffins and Fresh Fruit
Tuesday-
Pan Seared Chicken and Salad
Wednesday-
Fajitas and Fruit
Thursday-
Teriyaki Beef, Rice and Steamed Broccoli
Friday/Sunday-
Who knows! We're going away on our own for our anniversary, which is a first since our honeymoon! Woohoo!
Planning on hitting the gym tomorrow morning and Thursday evening this week so that I don't feel bad about whatever I find myself eating while away this weekend. :)
Also planning on a fashion post once I figure out what I'm packing. I love planning mix and match for packing and I plan to share that here.
Have a great week!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Weekend Recap
So, it was a really full weekend, and it was a good one, which is good because this week is going to be insane!!!
Friday I went from one work to the next, which meant that Friday was a 9-7 day. So much for half day Fridays to make up for incredibly long Mondays and Wednesdays.
Saturday was supposed to be a girls day with my Bible study girls, which ended up getting rescheduled so one of my girlfriends and I just went on our own to get mani-pedis, which was AMAZING because it's been over a year since I've had a paid for one!
Friday I went from one work to the next, which meant that Friday was a 9-7 day. So much for half day Fridays to make up for incredibly long Mondays and Wednesdays.
Saturday was supposed to be a girls day with my Bible study girls, which ended up getting rescheduled so one of my girlfriends and I just went on our own to get mani-pedis, which was AMAZING because it's been over a year since I've had a paid for one!
(I'm totally loving how tan my hands look in this!)
Saturday I also started the crockpot nice and early and made a double batch of Hawaiian Chicken to take most of to my good friend Deana who's on bedrest (for hopefully only a few more days!).
Hawaiian Chicken is basically the easiest crockpot dinner on the face of the planet and it tastes FANTASTIC!
2 Pounds Frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken
1 Large Can Pineapple Chunks or Tidbits
1 Bottle (any brand) Honey BBQ Sauce
Place in crockpot on high for 6 hours, or low for 10
(reduce by two hours if chicken is thawed)
Serve over rice with a salad or steamed veggies.
After the mani-pedi I also decided to be a nice wife to my husband and bake him chocolate chip cookies for the weekend. We're going on a full out healthy eating deal this week getting ready for summer workouts and diets and these are kind of our last hurrah to unhealthy.
The sunshine has been INCREDIBLE around here the last few days! I wish I'd gotten around to decorating my patio and buying plants the other weekend, I could have spent the whole weekend out there. But standing on a blank concrete slab with 3 half dead potted plants seemed pretty pathetic, so I just opened all of my blinds and let the light come in to me.
This morning I had food duty for our LifeGroup, so last night I made up a double batch of the Strawberry Muffins from THIS post, and only brought 6 of them home! I think that means they were a success since we only had 14 people in class today!
After church we road tripped to the other side of town with my parents for Earl of Sandwich. If you ever find yourself in Downtown Disney in Orlando or near the Riverwalk in San Antonio, look them up, AMAZING sandwiches! Awesome variety, unique combinations, really just a great environment.
As part of our healthy eating plan, I'm also making myself run more again. I've been slacking on the cardio end of my workouts lately because my running shoes have been so dead they were painful to use on an elliptical do to being broken through, so since we were at the outlet mall enjoying the sunshine and getting my husband new gear for the next season at work I picked up some new shoes. Due to my 12-14 hour days for the next 3 days, this will probably not begin until Thursday. :)
It really was a great weekend, ending with doing my coupons in front of old episodes of Grey's from Netflix and Tortellini with my husband. Great relaxing end of the weekend.
So, how did you spend your weekend?
Do you get to do anything fun this week or are you buzzing through it like me?
Thursday, April 19, 2012
One of those weeks
Can it be Sunday yet?
**Warning - severe run on sentences ahead!
Monday was my normal 12 hour work day, coupled with a little bit of personal/family drama to deal with and coming home at 9pm to find my husband tried to deep clean and wasn't very successful when he panicked about how much junk there was in our storage closet and was trying to wrap his head around sorting it, all over my living room floor, which led to me cleaning until 1am to finish what he started so I could walk across the room in the morning to go to work.
Tuesday was work, errands, lessons, Bible study, trying to wrap up family drama.
Wednesday, oh here's where things get fun! Work 8:30-3:30 with a VERY long lunch spent running to the hospital to visit a friend and her 1 day old baby boy, coupled with traffic, train crossings and the maternity ward being in lock down due to 11 babies being born in 14 hours and THIS crazy, horrific thing that happened in our area on Tuesday, meaning it took me an hour and a half to drive 14 miles each way and see them for 20 minutes. Finished work, went to put gas in my car and go to a lesson, and blew a tire on the way to the lesson, cancelled the lesson, waited for the fix it guy since my new to me car didn't have the jack or wrench, only a brand new spare in it when we got it, went home, cleaned up, got fresh coffee, went to kids choir, had 2 substitute helpers to replace my 3 regular helpers, got home at 9pm again.
Today, left for work an hour early, stopped at the tire shop by the grocery store, waited 30 minutes to be told my entire side wall blew and I need to buy a new tire, which basically means 4 new tires since I have a year at most left on any of the other tires, got to work only 15 minutes late, am trying to work with 8,000 things on my mind, and had to make a detour to blog everything to clear my head.
Tonight I still have lessons, and apparently tire shopping to do. Plus needing to go find my husband new running shoes for work and clean the rest of the house since I'm hosting Bible study girls morning on Saturday.
Tomorrow I work both jobs, so 9-6 straight, then have to make food for Saturday morning.
Saturday I have my ladies morning, then a friend's trunk show.
Can it be Sunday yet? Please?
**Warning - severe run on sentences ahead!
Monday was my normal 12 hour work day, coupled with a little bit of personal/family drama to deal with and coming home at 9pm to find my husband tried to deep clean and wasn't very successful when he panicked about how much junk there was in our storage closet and was trying to wrap his head around sorting it, all over my living room floor, which led to me cleaning until 1am to finish what he started so I could walk across the room in the morning to go to work.
Tuesday was work, errands, lessons, Bible study, trying to wrap up family drama.
Wednesday, oh here's where things get fun! Work 8:30-3:30 with a VERY long lunch spent running to the hospital to visit a friend and her 1 day old baby boy, coupled with traffic, train crossings and the maternity ward being in lock down due to 11 babies being born in 14 hours and THIS crazy, horrific thing that happened in our area on Tuesday, meaning it took me an hour and a half to drive 14 miles each way and see them for 20 minutes. Finished work, went to put gas in my car and go to a lesson, and blew a tire on the way to the lesson, cancelled the lesson, waited for the fix it guy since my new to me car didn't have the jack or wrench, only a brand new spare in it when we got it, went home, cleaned up, got fresh coffee, went to kids choir, had 2 substitute helpers to replace my 3 regular helpers, got home at 9pm again.
Today, left for work an hour early, stopped at the tire shop by the grocery store, waited 30 minutes to be told my entire side wall blew and I need to buy a new tire, which basically means 4 new tires since I have a year at most left on any of the other tires, got to work only 15 minutes late, am trying to work with 8,000 things on my mind, and had to make a detour to blog everything to clear my head.
Tonight I still have lessons, and apparently tire shopping to do. Plus needing to go find my husband new running shoes for work and clean the rest of the house since I'm hosting Bible study girls morning on Saturday.
Tomorrow I work both jobs, so 9-6 straight, then have to make food for Saturday morning.
Saturday I have my ladies morning, then a friend's trunk show.
Can it be Sunday yet? Please?
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Update
Her baby is here! They went in early this morning after contractions most of the night, broke her water a little after 10:00am and he was here by 11:05! Just about the same time I posted that last blog!
Can't wait to meet him!
So planning newborn pictures all day in my head and re going through my pins on pinterest of things to try!
I'm so excited for them that it makes up for my very long mentally and emotionally draining day yesterday!
Yay! I love days that start with this good of news!
Can't wait to meet him!
So planning newborn pictures all day in my head and re going through my pins on pinterest of things to try!
I'm so excited for them that it makes up for my very long mentally and emotionally draining day yesterday!
Yay! I love days that start with this good of news!
Weekend Recap and a Menu Tuesday?
So, again, a week without a blog post other than my menu, what's with that?
Maybe something along the lines of-
working every day, fixing food for a good friend on bedrest, teaching lessons, teaching kids choir, having all staff meetings at church, Bible study, date night, food for lifegroup, shopping to restock summer stuff, massive grocery, including Costco meat restock, cleaning supplies restock, and deep cleaning our floors and bathroom to the point that my husband complained that the bathroom was "reflective", go me!!!
Because "date night" involved using a Red Robin coupon before it expired and I didn't want red meat that much in one week, the roast got bumped to this week, so alot of this week's menu has been recycled.
Maybe something along the lines of-
working every day, fixing food for a good friend on bedrest, teaching lessons, teaching kids choir, having all staff meetings at church, Bible study, date night, food for lifegroup, shopping to restock summer stuff, massive grocery, including Costco meat restock, cleaning supplies restock, and deep cleaning our floors and bathroom to the point that my husband complained that the bathroom was "reflective", go me!!!
Because "date night" involved using a Red Robin coupon before it expired and I didn't want red meat that much in one week, the roast got bumped to this week, so alot of this week's menu has been recycled.
Sunday -
Pei Wei takeout with a BOGO coupon from signing up for their "passport" on their website!
Monday-
Roast Beef in the crock pot, mashed potatoes (instant, it was 9:30 before I got home to eat last night!) and microwave steamed broccoli.
Tuesday-
Sweet and Sour Chicken and Stir Fried Veggies over Jasmine Rice
Wednesday-
BBQ Beef Sandwiches, Sunchips and Fruit Salad
Thursday-
Homemade pizza, Buffalo Wild Wings takout, and Fruit Salad
(we eat alot more fruit than veggies when it starts getting hot)
Friday-
Pasta of some form, or leftovers depending on how much food we have leftover on Thursday.
Saturday-
Hawaiian Chicken, Rice and Steamed Broccoli
If you think about it, say a quick prayer for this lovely momma to be's delivery. She went into labor early this morning! So excited to meet her little guy and have fun with his newborn pictures!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Weekend Recap and a Mini Menu Monday
It was a very full weekend, and yet again, there is only a tiny bit of time left on Monday for me to post my menu.
Friday, due to it being Good Friday, my office was closed, not that that gave me a day off!
Friday morning I found my new favorite photoshoot park and had some absolutely gorgeous models to photograph there! I love adding new locations and families to my portfolio!
Then Saturday I made a cake, and a batch of punch and helped throw a bridal shower for my good friend Linda.
Friday, due to it being Good Friday, my office was closed, not that that gave me a day off!
Friday morning I found my new favorite photoshoot park and had some absolutely gorgeous models to photograph there! I love adding new locations and families to my portfolio!
Then Saturday I made a cake, and a batch of punch and helped throw a bridal shower for my good friend Linda.
Double Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling
Topped with French Vanilla Buttercream
And decorated with simple blue hydrangeas.
The lovely bride and groom.
And then Sunday was Easter. Which my husband had to work, like the many many years growing up that my dad had to work. That's life in the golf business.
And now for
Today I made waffles after choir rehearsal.
Tuesday
for us and a friend on bedrest.
Wednesday
Leftovers because of kids choir.
Thursday
DATE NIGHT!!!
Friday
Crockpot Pot Roast, Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli
Saturday
BBQ Beef Sliders, Steak Fries and Fruit
So, as you can see, it's been a rather busy weekend. This week is actually fairly light compared to the past two weeks. Having gotten past Easter services at work and the two showers in one week, and things like that, I think I can actually keep up this week!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Soup in Pictures
In the morning before work yesterday I left this
cooking in the crockpot.
I came home between work and kids choir and turned it into this
And then came home from teaching choir to get to eat THIS!
Please excuse the cruddy pictures, I didn't have a chance to upload the real camera ones.
I came home between work and kids choir and turned it into this
And then came home from teaching choir to get to eat THIS!
Please excuse the cruddy pictures, I didn't have a chance to upload the real camera ones.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Menu Monday!
So it's been a full week again, and it will probably be most of one again.
We all have those weeks right? Those weeks when your plate just gets fuller and fuller
and fuller and fuller, and......you get the idea.
My deliberate working out has kind of stunk this week, but my eating has been fairly good.
I've been using "My Fitness Pal" on my phone, and it's really helping me think about my snacking, which is fantastic, because I'm a total stress/emotional eater. So on nights I get home at 9:00pm,
all I want to do it down a box of Oreos, but instead I'm doing things like, half of a leftover baked good of some form (roll, biscuit, English muffin), and a pile of fruit.
Right now, the plan is to be just as good this week!
Monday
Husband ate leftover homemade pizza from last night
I ate breakfast, half of a cinnamon roll, cereal and fruit after I got home from work/choir at 9:15.
Tuesday
Grilled Chicken Sandwiches and Fruit/Jello Salad
Wednesday
Baked Potato Soup and rolls
Thursday
Hawaiian Chicken, Jasmine Rice and Steamed Broccoli
Friday
Turkey Club Paninis and Fruit
Saturday
Leftovers after I help throw a Bridal Shower
Sunday
Easter Brunch for my parents,
sandwiches/takeout for normal dinner time.
So, that's my giant plan for this week. Friday, I'm actually off of normal work, but I have a photoshoot session in the morning, and then my secondary job in the evening, and a cake to bake
and punch to prepare for my girlfriends Bridal shower on Saturday morning. Saturday I have the Bridal shower and Sunday is Easter, so there is a very good chance things could get changed up as
the week progresses.
Also in the plan this week, organizing and decorating my "den/workroom" and dining room and shopping for thermal pane curtains for our bedroom that we've discovered even in our 87 degree weather gets really really hot. Apparently the two sides that face the sun 14 hours a day create
quite the heatwave in our bedroom.
So, it's going to be a busy week, so a wrap up post might be all I get to, though the plan is a
"Workout Wednesday" and a "Fashion Friday".
Have a great week!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Good evening! Sorry for the major lack of posts this week, after last weekend's insanity I decided a little bit of a break was necessary, plus, I couldn't think well enough to come up with anything to post!
That, and the fact that I had a birthday, and discovered over the weekend, that that one little extra year made a big difference in my endurance level! An hour of strawberry picking and I'm still hobbling 2 days later! Doesn't help any that the 24 year old I picked with stopped being sore by the end of that day! Yep, age is kicking in!
Also, because of the birthday and the jam, my menu last week changed, so I'm rolling some things over. Thursday became Tex-Mex takeout from my favorite place, BerryHill, and Sunday became breakfast with biscuits and jam being the focal food!
So, to start off this week on my standard food related note, here's this week's menu!
Monday- Grilled Turkey Club Sandwiches
Tuesday- Homemade Macaroni and Cheese Casserole
Wednesday- Leftovers
Thursday- Burgers, Chips and Fruit Salad
Friday - Pasta of some form
Saturday- Homemade Pizza
It's a pretty low key menu this week, simple, staple recipes I know by heart and usually have all the ingredients on hand for. I'm in a lazy mood of catching up this week if you can't tell.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Menu Monday
So I can get away with doing this a day late, because yesterday we went out with my parents, so tonight was leftovers night, thank goodness, because today was a MONDAY!!
Tuesday- Hawaiian Chicken over Jasmine Rice with Steamed Broccoli
Chicken Breasts, Honey BBQ Sauce and Canned Pineapple, left all day in the crockpot - AMAZING!! So simple and tastes great, even reheated, or shredded and used with a BBQ Sauce base and cheddar blend cheese on a non-traditional pizza!
Wednesday- Spaghetti and Meatsauce
Thursday - Baked Ziti
(I'll do a big batch of sauce on Wednesday and re-use it for the Ziti
Friday - Couples Date Night for our LifeGroup
I'm making Fruit Pizza and Chocolate Fondue for dessert
Saturday - Homemade Chicken Strips and Fries (basically my husband's favorite food ever!)
Sunday - Homemade Macaroni and Cheese Casserole
Off to bed! Praying tomorrow is a typical boring mid-week Tuesday!
ENJOY!
Tuesday- Hawaiian Chicken over Jasmine Rice with Steamed Broccoli
Chicken Breasts, Honey BBQ Sauce and Canned Pineapple, left all day in the crockpot - AMAZING!! So simple and tastes great, even reheated, or shredded and used with a BBQ Sauce base and cheddar blend cheese on a non-traditional pizza!
Wednesday- Spaghetti and Meatsauce
Thursday - Baked Ziti
(I'll do a big batch of sauce on Wednesday and re-use it for the Ziti
Friday - Couples Date Night for our LifeGroup
I'm making Fruit Pizza and Chocolate Fondue for dessert
Saturday - Homemade Chicken Strips and Fries (basically my husband's favorite food ever!)
Sunday - Homemade Macaroni and Cheese Casserole
Off to bed! Praying tomorrow is a typical boring mid-week Tuesday!
ENJOY!
If people wonder why I'm inhaling coffee.....
Here's why!
Friday-
Saturday-
Sunday-
I'm just a little tired and sore today! Good thing I love my Mondays! Get to work straight up until choir rehearsal and then enjoy all the beautiful music the choir and orchestra make. Love my Monday nights!
Menu Monday post coming tonight when I get home and double check the meat cuts in my freezer. :)
That will be post 175, 25 posts til my GIVEAWAY!
Friday-
- Got up at 6:00, made my husband breakfast for work
- Bleached the bathroom
- Went to work for 4 hours
- Ran 3 errands
- Shot Maternity Photos in Old Town Spring
- Ran 2 more errands
- Cooked dinner
- Baked cupcakes
- Cleaned the kitchen
- Edited Maternity Shoot
- Watched 2 basketball games and a movie with my husband
Saturday-
- Worked 9-2 at job number 2
- Ran to the bank, mall, Target, Michaels and Costco.
- Shot Baby Photos in a park
- Washed, dried and put away 4 loads of laundry and 1 load of dry cleaning
- Cooked dinner
- Edited Baby Photos
- Cleaned out the fridge
- Baked Banana Bread and Blueberry Muffins for our Lifegroup
- Washed 3 sink loads of dishes
- Scrubbed kitchen counters
Sunday-
- Church and Lifegroup
- Lunch downtown at California Pizza Kitchen with my parents
- Finished editing both photoshoots
- Worked at church for 2 hours spray painting props for the children's musical
- Came home and used an entire jar of sugar scrub to remove the "Smurf" look :)
- Went grocery shopping
- Cooked dinner
- Crashed on the couch in front of the laptop and Pinterest all night!
I'm just a little tired and sore today! Good thing I love my Mondays! Get to work straight up until choir rehearsal and then enjoy all the beautiful music the choir and orchestra make. Love my Monday nights!
Menu Monday post coming tonight when I get home and double check the meat cuts in my freezer. :)
That will be post 175, 25 posts til my GIVEAWAY!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Project 1 and Photoshoot 1 Done!
Also, photoshoot was awesome! The weather was gorgeous, the mom was excited and into it and we had a ton of fun. Just a few sneak peaks while I work on editing them.
Headed to my second (or third or fourth job priority wise) then another amazing photo shoot with an incredible new family to do their adoption announcement photoshoot! So excited to be able to be involved in this stage of their life!
Friday, March 16, 2012
So yeah......
My productivity this week hasn't been what it should have been.
Tuesday I had lessons and Bible study as usual.
Wednesday I stayed at work an extra two hours to cover phones and such so someone else could take the day off with it being Spring Break, then ran home, got food, ran back, did kids choir.
Yesterday, my phone was going psycho with texts as I was walking into work because turns out, my grandpa was getting a 5 inch section of his large intestine removed. I only found out from my mom about 10 minutes before I got an email from our church staff prayer/hospital visit coordinator with my grandpa's name on it. So, since the person who was supposed to do the visiting works in the same office I do, I ended up being the one to go, even though as administrative support staff I'm not supposed to do hospital runs. Needless to say, that cut into my work day quite a bit. It also cut into my evening of errand running since I didn't even get back to the office to head home until 4:30 instead of my usual, get off at 3:00. So I got a late start, and only half my running done.
So, I'm off at 1:00 today, thank goodness! It's been quite the crazy week considering it was supposed to be a really easy week!
Maternity Photoshoot at 2:00, do a few errands on the way home, dump card to computer from photoshoot, cook dinner, clean kitchen, bathroom, and put away the 5 loads of laundry I've managed to do without putting away this week. Work Saturday 9-2, bake the cupcakes I've been promising my husband all week, edit maternity photoshoot, prep for a family/baby shoot that will be happening somewhat spur of the moment sometime between now and Wednesday. Sunday church, food for Lifegroup, possible photoshoot, workday at church for kids choir musical sets. Monday, start all over again!
Somewhere in there I will decorate for spring, change wreathes, doormats, do my hanging planters and buy patio chairs, organize our closet and change out to spring/summer scentsy scents. I also need to color my hair, find/make curtains for our dining area and get a couple new cloths for photoshoots.
Oh, and watch a few basketball games this weekend! March is my favorite month, birthday month and March Madness!
When we started dating I agreed to learn about one of my husband's 8 sports he loves, and turned out, I learned to LOVE this one! I'm almost worse than him when it comes to yelling at players/coaches/refs. I get so into it. He thinks it's hilarious cause I can be baking cookies, or doing my nails, or have a fashion magazine in front of me and then suddenly I'm stopping my girl thing and complaining about someone's stupid attempt at an ugly 3, or ranting about their free throw percentage. Yeah, I'm weird! But, I love my basketball, and I will watch a game or two, and definitely all of Duke's games. They're my team.
Back to work now that my copies are done. Hopefully I'll have photoshoot previews by the end of the weekend and before and after spring decoration pictures for you.
Tuesday I had lessons and Bible study as usual.
Wednesday I stayed at work an extra two hours to cover phones and such so someone else could take the day off with it being Spring Break, then ran home, got food, ran back, did kids choir.
Yesterday, my phone was going psycho with texts as I was walking into work because turns out, my grandpa was getting a 5 inch section of his large intestine removed. I only found out from my mom about 10 minutes before I got an email from our church staff prayer/hospital visit coordinator with my grandpa's name on it. So, since the person who was supposed to do the visiting works in the same office I do, I ended up being the one to go, even though as administrative support staff I'm not supposed to do hospital runs. Needless to say, that cut into my work day quite a bit. It also cut into my evening of errand running since I didn't even get back to the office to head home until 4:30 instead of my usual, get off at 3:00. So I got a late start, and only half my running done.
So, I'm off at 1:00 today, thank goodness! It's been quite the crazy week considering it was supposed to be a really easy week!
Maternity Photoshoot at 2:00, do a few errands on the way home, dump card to computer from photoshoot, cook dinner, clean kitchen, bathroom, and put away the 5 loads of laundry I've managed to do without putting away this week. Work Saturday 9-2, bake the cupcakes I've been promising my husband all week, edit maternity photoshoot, prep for a family/baby shoot that will be happening somewhat spur of the moment sometime between now and Wednesday. Sunday church, food for Lifegroup, possible photoshoot, workday at church for kids choir musical sets. Monday, start all over again!
Somewhere in there I will decorate for spring, change wreathes, doormats, do my hanging planters and buy patio chairs, organize our closet and change out to spring/summer scentsy scents. I also need to color my hair, find/make curtains for our dining area and get a couple new cloths for photoshoots.
Oh, and watch a few basketball games this weekend! March is my favorite month, birthday month and March Madness!
When we started dating I agreed to learn about one of my husband's 8 sports he loves, and turned out, I learned to LOVE this one! I'm almost worse than him when it comes to yelling at players/coaches/refs. I get so into it. He thinks it's hilarious cause I can be baking cookies, or doing my nails, or have a fashion magazine in front of me and then suddenly I'm stopping my girl thing and complaining about someone's stupid attempt at an ugly 3, or ranting about their free throw percentage. Yeah, I'm weird! But, I love my basketball, and I will watch a game or two, and definitely all of Duke's games. They're my team.
Back to work now that my copies are done. Hopefully I'll have photoshoot previews by the end of the weekend and before and after spring decoration pictures for you.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Giveaway in the Works!
So I recently realized that if I'm going to be blogging more, I'd like to justify it with more followers, so, I'm wondering, what would you like to read about more?
Food - baking, cooking, budgeting, planning?
Fashion/Beauty - tips, coupons?
Clothing - discount/sale tips, re-purposing?
Spiritual - notes from Devotionals/Bible studies, Worship music tips?
Marriage - date nights, books?
Comment with any ideas, I'm up for whatever.
The plan is post 200 (I'm at 171) or 20 followers (I'm at 12), whichever happens first, and I'll host another favorite things giveaway, filled with my everyday life must-haves.
Last time these were the prizes (posts found - HERE, HERE and HERE)
It's been another year, so, there have been lots of new things I've discovered and made favorites!
Food - baking, cooking, budgeting, planning?
Fashion/Beauty - tips, coupons?
Clothing - discount/sale tips, re-purposing?
Spiritual - notes from Devotionals/Bible studies, Worship music tips?
Marriage - date nights, books?
Comment with any ideas, I'm up for whatever.
The plan is post 200 (I'm at 171) or 20 followers (I'm at 12), whichever happens first, and I'll host another favorite things giveaway, filled with my everyday life must-haves.
Last time these were the prizes (posts found - HERE, HERE and HERE)
It's been another year, so, there have been lots of new things I've discovered and made favorites!
I'm getting excited!
Lots of photoshoots coming up soon!
Maternity pictures this weekend.
Family pictures later this month and next month.
Mini shoots in late April.
Bridal portraits in May.
A fantastic wedding in July.
And those are just the contracted shoots!
It's going to be a good Spring!
Now, if only it would feel like Spring, instead of July already!
80 and sunny and windy and humid all week, ALREADY!
Maternity pictures this weekend.
Family pictures later this month and next month.
Mini shoots in late April.
Bridal portraits in May.
A fantastic wedding in July.
And those are just the contracted shoots!
It's going to be a good Spring!
Now, if only it would feel like Spring, instead of July already!
80 and sunny and windy and humid all week, ALREADY!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Menu Monday
So I've got an easy week here! For one thing, I haven't cooked yet this week, which is actually kind of sad, but I don't mind every once and awhile, especially on Spring Break Week when alot of my friends are on vacations, or at least off work.
We ate out Saturday night, used a Groupon for our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant on Sunday, and had the leftovers from there tonight. Not a bad start to Spring Break week if you ask me!
We ate out Saturday night, used a Groupon for our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant on Sunday, and had the leftovers from there tonight. Not a bad start to Spring Break week if you ask me!
So, here's the rest of my week's plan.
Tuesday-
Crockpot Cooked Whole Chicken, Rice and Broccoli
Wednesday-
Chicken and Dressing, and Sugared Carrots
(Literally, Stove Top Stuffing in a casserole dish, a layer of cooked chicken, a can of Cream of Chicken Soup, baked 20 minutes)
Thursday-
MARCH MADNESS KICK-OFF
Buffalo Wild Wings Takeout, Homemade Pizza, Fruit Salad
Friday-
Chicken Fajitas, Fruit Salad
Saturday-
Tangy Beef, Jasmine Rice and Steamed Broccoli
(Was supposed to hit the menu a couple of weeks ago, but I forgot to set it up early enough. Just stew beef, Italian Dressing and Parmesan Cheese in a crockpot all day.)
I'm actually off a little bit this week,, or at least have a reduced after hours schedule with it being Spring Break, so I'm hoping to experiment with a few baking projects in the evenings.
I also have a photoshoot on Friday, so hopefully I'll have a few previews to show off by the end of this weekend as well.
I am working Saturday, and it's a pay week, so I have a short list of DYI projects for around the apartment as well.
Basically this should be a very productive week. I'll make sure to take pictures so that I can share any successes with you soon.
Have a great week!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Baked Potato Soup
So, originally I'd planned to use THIS recipe to the letter, but then, I noticed that it called for 5 POUNDS of potatoes. I don't know about your house, but the 2 people in mine would have needed 2 weeks to eat all of that! I mean I love potato soup and all, but that much of it, even I couldn't eat before it started growing it's own green fuzzy stuff :)
So, I adapted it. And here's how I did it. I'm kicking myself for forgetting to take pictures now, so next time, I make it, I'll totally post the pictures, but this came out too good not to share the recipe now. Seriously, it was good, my husband had two bowls, and he's so not a soup man!
In a Crockpot cook -
4 Large Baking Potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
3 Cups Chicken Broth (24 ounces)
1/4 of a large Sweet Yellow Onion chopped into small pieces
Garlic Powder
Salt
Black Pepper
Paprika
(season heavily)
Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8.
Soften (to semi melted) 6 ounces of Cream Cheese.
Cook 3-4 pieces of Bacon. Crunch up into large "bacon bits"
Beat Cream Cheese into soup mixture in Crockpot. Fold in 1/2 of the Bacon. Re-season delicately.
Cook on high for 30 minutes.
Serve garnished with Shredded Cheese, and remaining Bacon.
ENJOY!!
So, I adapted it. And here's how I did it. I'm kicking myself for forgetting to take pictures now, so next time, I make it, I'll totally post the pictures, but this came out too good not to share the recipe now. Seriously, it was good, my husband had two bowls, and he's so not a soup man!
In a Crockpot cook -
4 Large Baking Potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
3 Cups Chicken Broth (24 ounces)
1/4 of a large Sweet Yellow Onion chopped into small pieces
Garlic Powder
Salt
Black Pepper
Paprika
(season heavily)
Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8.
Soften (to semi melted) 6 ounces of Cream Cheese.
Cook 3-4 pieces of Bacon. Crunch up into large "bacon bits"
Beat Cream Cheese into soup mixture in Crockpot. Fold in 1/2 of the Bacon. Re-season delicately.
Cook on high for 30 minutes.
Serve garnished with Shredded Cheese, and remaining Bacon.
ENJOY!!
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