iPhone

My husband's new phone arrived today!! Let me just say - I am SO JEALOUS! This thing is awesome! I told him I was so jealous that he got one that I didn't even want to see what it could do. I lied. He's shown me all kinds of neat things. It's one COOL gadget! Now I want one!

Breaking Free: Cravings

So - this guy spoke during our worship experience last week and he rocked the house. He usually does. :) We are currently in a series entitled, Breaking Free, and he spoke on Cravings. It was really interesting to think about what ARE the things we crave and why? For some people it may be that their craving attention, for others, maybe material things and for some of us (me included), it could be more simple things - like coca cola.

Anyway - it got me thinking about all the things I crave. Here is the shortened down version of my longer list of cravings...

Chocolate
Coke (NOT diet, the fully-leaded stuff!)
Acceptance
Kitchen Gadgets (LOVE stores like IKEA, can't stay away!)
More hours in the day!
Grace
Ice Cream (Spotted Cow anyone?)
More time alone with God

Okay, there they are... just some of my personal cravings in no particular order.

What do you crave?

DNA Test

So, I took this test the other day and found out what my Personal DNA is.. I am an Advocating Visionary. If you have some time - take this test! It's a little lengthy, I've gotta warn ya, but it's fun. The results were pretty right on for me, I think!

Day Off!

Gotta love a day off in the middle of the week! Really breaks up the week. :)

Yesterday, I spent the day with my wonderful mom! We took a day off "just because"... mainly just because we needed some time together. Although she lives right here in my same hometown, we don't see each other as often as we should. Life gets busy and before you know it, weeks have passed and I realize I haven't seen her. Sure - we talk all the time and email back and forth a lot, but it was really nice to be able to connect with her and spend some good, quality time with her.

Our day began with a trip to IKEA. This place is awesome. I bought some things I am sure I didn't need - but wanted. :) Mom had never been there, so it was nice to see her experience IKEA for the first time. Then we headed to Ann Arbor for lunch at this place. Since my last visit here with Trevor back in May, it has now become my new favorite restaurant!!! YUM-O! Let me just tell you - if you plan to eat lunch there, don't plan dinner that night! I was still full at 7 p.m.! Definitely do the salad bar, too. It's SO worth it! The only down side to our visit here was that it was Ann Arbor's Art Fair - so traffic was pretty bad.

After lunch, we headed to Whole Foods. Love this place! But can I just say right now that I literally spent a small fortune on Michigan Sweet Cherries. $3.99 a pound! Now - they were the BEST cherries I have ever eaten - but I was in shock when it was the only thing in my cart and my total came to $10.93!! YIKES! My family thanked me when I got home, though, and we spent some time before bed relishing in their sweet goodness! :)

After Whole Foods Market, we visited Bed, Bath and Beyond. Please tell me how you can be a big shopper like my mom and have NEVER visited this glorious store before??? Another first for mom and again, spent money on things I am sure I didn't need. :0

What a great day! I so enjoyed having the opportunity to be with my mom and I'm ready for another day off like this again! :) Where are those darn Vacation Request Forms anyway...

Love this!

This is a site that I visit quite a bit and this is a blog that I read every day. This guy is amazing and his church blows me away! He's a real man of God and I have been so encouraged by what I have learned through his teachings.

Here is something that I wanted to share with you that Steven recently said in one of his teachings entitled "Most of the Time I am Scare to Death" in his current series, "Confessions of a Pastor." This is great stuff and if you get a chance - you need to watch it online...

He says, "There is a situation that you are the solution to... Before you were ever born, God decided there were certain people he wanted you to impact."

Wow - I know I need to be constantly reminded of this. It's so easy for me to fall into the "why I am really here" trap. Countless times I have questioned God's purpose for my life - as I am sure you have too. It's easy to do. But as I have had time to process this statement... "There is a situation that YOU are the solution to"... I feel an overwhelming sense of peace and encouragement. I have been designed BY God FOR God's purpose. Hearing this segment today has reminded me who is in charge of my life and that there is, in fact, a situation that I am the solution to.

Thanks, God, for getting my attention today!

Elvis is dead?

So - we were at home last week watching one of my newest favorite shows - The Next Best Thing on ABC. If you haven't seen it - it's a good one to watch! It's on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. The show highlights celebrity impersonators and I'm telling ya - some of them are out of this world!

My daughter, Chloe, and I love to watch it. Truthfully, I am not sure what excites her about it - most of the talent that is performed is from no one she knows. We've watched look-alikes of Dolly Parton, Cher, Robin Williams, Frank Sinatra and Madonna - - she doesn't know any of those people. But there WAS someone last week she DID know.

There was one incredible performance from someone doing an outstanding impersonation of Elvis Presley. Honestly, who HASN'T heard of Elvis? So - there he is doing his thing on stage when Chloe looks up and says, "Mom - THAT'S ELVIS!!" Smart kid, I thought, but "It's not really him, baby." I replied, "It's just someone acting like Elvis." Quite puzzled, she looked at me and said, "No, mom, that's really him!" Okay, so I have to tell her, right, "No, honey, that's someone just pretending to be him. The real Elvis is dead." Her response was hilarious... "WHAT? Elvis is dead?????? When did this happen?" She was really distraught over the death of someone she never knew who died 23 years before her birth! WOW! Out of the mouths of babes!!

Recipe Friday!

Back from vacation and back to Recipe Friday! :) This one is as simple as simple can get - but it's proven to be a crowd pleaser anywhere I take it. Great for summer time picnics!

Super Easy Fruit Salad
1 pint of strawberries diced into bite-sized pieces
4 bananas sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 lb. Green Grapes (usually cut in half)
1 lb. Red Grapes (usually cut in half)
5 Kiwi Fruit diced into bite-sized pieces
1 Can of Peach Pie Filling

Cut up all of the fruit and place into a large bowl.
Add Peach Pie Filling to the fruit and mix well.
Place Saran wrap on the bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
(note: I like to eat it after it's been chilled overnight.)

YUM-O and very simple! Almost no one ever guesses that it's peach pie filling! :) You can even get the low-sugar and it's still great! :)

Enjoy!

Thanks!

Thanks, God, for today. Thanks for loving me, for watching out for me and thank you for your continued grace and mercy you show me! I am in awe to look around and see all of the wonderful things you are doing in and through me. Here are the things I thank you for today...


1.) The air I am able to breathe.

2.) My health and the health of my family.

3.) My wonderful husband whom I am honored to share my life with.

4.) My beautiful, amazing now 7-year-old daughter, whom I am proud to be able to mother.

5.) My job. Thank you for allowing me to come to work each day with a heart to serve you and the others in this wonderful church.

6.) My friends who continue to love me, support me and encourage me.

7.) My parents. Thank you, God, for blessing me with two of the most amazing people on the planet earth!

8.) My home - for shelter and safety. God, I love coming home every day!

9.) My dog. For his companionship and loyalty. I learn from him every day how to be a better person.

10.) Most of all, God, I thank you for sending your son to die upon a cross for ME. I am awestruck by your amazing love, your mercy, your grace, your guidance, your patience and your presence in my life. Thank you!

Vacation Recap Days 4 and 5

Okay, so I am thoroughly convinced that Pennsylvania is the Pizza Hut capital of the world! It was amazing how many Pizza Hut's we ran across while we were in this glorious state! It was nuts! Now - Trevor keeps telling me that I'm nuts (I already knew that) and that there really weren't that many - but I swear to you that there was one on every corner we drove past! At least it seemed that way to me!

Day 4: June 28, 2007

Boy was I sore when I woke up on this day! Climbing up and down that water park play structure all day on Wednesday completely wore me out! Let's just say that even though I can still ACT like a 7 year old - I still FEEL like a 60 year old after a day like that! Oh well - it was such a good time I wasn't too worried about the pain in my knees and my achy-breaky back!

It has been one of mine and my husband's goals to get to Philadelphia one day to eat at one of the two famous Philly cheese steak joints. We watched a special on the Food Network a year or so ago that highlighted both places - Gino's and Pat's in downtown Philly and we knew at that moment we had to go. We are both big Cheese Steak fans. So - we decided to incorporate a stop to Philly in our family vacation. (Okay - nothing like letting the food be your guide!) :)

Once off the toll road just outside of Philly, we asked the booth attendant where to get the best cheese steaks in town and his reply was, "I'm a Gino's kinda guy myself." So - we took his advice and got directions.

The directions seemed easy enough - - this street to that street until you get downtown and then it's on the corner of 5th and this other street. How hard can that be? WELL - let me just tell you right now that after 2 and a half hours of driving - we saw more of downtown Philly than we ever care to see again. The town consists mostly of one way streets - so to get anywhere will frustrate the pants off you! Let's just say that we were just about to our breaking point when we finally found it!

Gino's and Pat's are rival cheese steak joints just opposite each other in the heart of the city. What amazed me was the people lined up for cheese steaks at nearing 2:30 in the afternoon. My guess is that it's like that most of the time around there.

We decided to stop at Pat's first. They are known as "The King of Steaks." Trevor and I split a steak and a drink. It was good. But what was more amazing is the sign that hung out front that described, in detail, how to order your steak. Now we were specifically told before even going to Philly that you NEVER place your order by saying, "I would like to get a Philly Cheese Steak." Um - DUH! You're in Philly, dude! Here is how you order (in slang), "Whiz Wit" or "Whiz Witout." That's it. Whiz Wit means you want it with Cheese Whiz (no other way but this way since it's the original way) with onions. Whiz Witout means you want it with Cheese Whiz and NO onions. Simple stuff folks. So - we were then able to order with confidence what we wanted and sounded like we knew what we were doing at the same time!

So - we decided to head to Gino's for a comparison. I've got to tell you - hand's down - Gino's was the best! This steak was juicy and buttery and just plain delicious! Notin' like it! Grab some napkins if you go, though, those things are messy, but well worth the greasy arms!

After leaving Philly we decided to head to the coast to see what we could find. This would mean crossing into New Jersey - or Jersey as we've been told to call it. So much slang to remember!

We landed in Long Branch, which is one mighty fine city right on the Atlantic Ocean. What a beautiful city! We literally passed mansion after mansion. It was amazing! We wondered what these people did for a living. It blew my mind!!

We ended up at a Resort right on the water called Ocean Place. This place was awesome WITH a pretty awesome price tag I might add! YIKES! Good thing we were only in for a night! This place was an all-inclusive resort complete with 2 pools, spa, tennis courts, private beach area, restaurant and a shopping center. The only bad thing was that it was overcast most of the time we were there - so that Atlantic wasn't very clear - but it was so nice just to sit on the beach for a bit and relax. There's nothing on this planet like sitting on the shore listening to the sound of waves crashing in! Nothing!

After some swimming and some relaxation and a good dinner, we were ready for bed. Another great day!

Day 5: June 29, 2007

Before leaving Jersey, we visited the beach again, picked us up some sea shells (that's a must) and ate a good lunch practically right on the water.

We knew we wanted to head closer to home and stay for probably one more night somewhere... but we just didn't know where the car was going to land us.

Now without offending anyone who may be reading this who is actually FROM Jersey - I have to just say one thing. 95% of the people we encountered in Jersey were just down right rude. I'm not sure what it is about living in in that particular state that makes them so grouchy - but I can tell you it's something. Even though I enjoyed my stay - I'm not ready to head back there anytime soon.

So - leaving the great state of Jersey, we decided to head back though Pennsylvania.

We landed in the Pocono's! What a pretty place! After a little bit of sight-seeing, it was pretty obvious where we were going to be staying! Chloe can spot a Great Wolf Lodge from a mile away! It was pretty much a no-brainer when we got closer that THAT was going to be the place to stay. We've been to Great Wolf in Traverse and ever since, our family has been hooked. There's just something about a gigantic indoor water park that tops off a week-long vacation! We enjoyed it so much - that we decided to stay for an additional night! I think what we really needed was that one extra day to do nothing. Just lay by the pool! That's it! After all the driving we did - we just needed that!

So - it was home on Sunday evening - and we rolled into town a little after 7 p.m.

It was one memorable vacation and I am blessed to have a wonderful home, family and friends to come back to!

Vacation Recap Day 3

Day 3 of vacation: Wednesday, June 27, 2007
So - of course this day had to be it's own stand-alone day. For one, it was the craziest day on vacation and for two, it was my daughter, Chloe's, 7th birthday!

For her "gift", we decided to spend the day at the new attraction at Hershey Park called, The Boardwalk. This place is the world's largest water play structure in the world... or so they tell us, and we decided to be there on a day that would prove to be the most challenging day on our trip.

The day started out perfect. Slept in a little later than normal... ate a Pay Day (from the night before) for breakfast... nice weather... it was going to be a great day!

At around 10:30 a.m. we arrived at Hershey Park. Did I mention that The Boardwalk is located in the very center of Hershey Park? Trying to wade through thousands of people to find the water in smoldering temperatures well past 95 degrees was and IS NOT my idea of a good time. I'll admit, I'm a baby. I just wanted to BE IN THE WATER for heavens sake. It felt like it was taking days to get there.

FINALLY - we arrived at the water park. Ooh - now I was getting excited. You would have thought it was my birthday or something!

We decided to rent one of those lockers. You know - the tiny ones that used to cost something like $.25 at Cedar Point (at least that's what I remember the cost being not too long ago!) Once we arrived, there were only small ones left. That was fine, I thought. I can shove everything in to fit! BUT THE COST OF THIS TINY BOX WAS $13!!! I was blown away! You've got to be kidding me? Everything in my bag, including the bag itself, wasn't worth $13. I'd have been better off risking someone ripping me off! For goodness sakes! BUT - we got a locker anyway - didn't really have a choice in the matter, I guess.

After putting everything away, we headed for the water park! Let me just tell you. If you EVER get the chance to go out to Hershey - - VISIT THE BOARDWALK! It's worth every penny you pay for the tickets to get in! TRUST me! A little overwhelming at first (there's just so much to see!) but it's a FLAMING good time! I've never laughed so hard in my whole life. And slides! Those slides were something else! I went down 3 different ones. I have to admit, I was a little nervous at first. I mean, could parents really go down slides? Was I too big to get in? Would I look silly? I was on vacation for crying out loud - WHO CARES! I went for it and I'm glad I did. I felt 7 all over again.

Well into the fun, clouds started forming in the sky and you could tell a storm was a brewing. BUMMER! I was one disappointed mama, let me just tell you right now! Because of the storm and the thunder, everyone had to be escorted out of The Boardwalk. They called it a level 2 storm - which, I later learned, is just fancy wording for a storm including thunder and lightning. We were told, by Pennsylvania residents, to wait it out for a half hour and the storm would blow over... evidently, they always did.

So - we waited. Great idea I had - - let's wait underneath this nice little tree. The key word here being "little". Needless to say - it didn't even COME CLOSE to keeping us dry. At one point Chloe decided to forget about trying to stay dry and she proceeded to dance in the rain! It was wonderful - and definitely a highlight of our whole trip. There is just something magical about dancing in the rain. We should all learn by the children and dance in the rain more often!

After waiting it out under the tree for about an hour, the rain finally stopped and people started to emerge from their coverings. It was like time stood still when it rained and everything stopped. Once the rain ended... it was as if a button had been turned back on and everything was up and running as normal. ALL EXCEPT for the water park! The rules for safety at The Boardwalk say that the park will only resume once the storm has passed and has completely ended 30 miles in any direction. We decided to stand back in line to wait for the park to re-open. This was like waiting for paint to dry! Talk about exhausting - - and HOT!! ARRGH! You could actually see people dropping like flies from the line. It was getting too hot for the little ones to sit out in the blazing sun much longer. Chloe managed to make herself a little hut on the cement with 2 damp towels. It was the only way she could stay cool.

After waiting in that terrible line for well over an hour and a half - they FINALLY opened back up the park doors! And WE were one of the first ones in!! YEAH! FINALLY - water!!! So - for the next 45 minutes - we were in pure bliss! Water to cool us off... slides to play on! This was what I called a vacation! THEN - - it happened again! Forty-five short minutes after entering the water park for the second time, a storm came up again and whistles blew calling everyone back out! That was it! We couldn't take anymore. We were out of there! Too much drama for one day! There was just no way we could wait another 2 hours or more to get back in the water. It was getting ridiculous. So - we decided to head for our lockers and get dry. Well - at least we would attempt to get dry!

Once all dried off, we headed to the amusement park side to ride some rides. Chloe was able to get in a few rides and even went on her first "big" ride all by herself - - the Swings! You should have seen her face! It was priceless! She was amazed at how high you went - and even more than that I was amazed I watched the whole thing! I was more scared than she was, I'm sure of it.

And then - the rain came... again. Rides shut down... again.

By this time, we were just purely exhausted. We were tired of fighting the rain. Tired from all the sun and just ready to be in a dry bed with dry clothes! So - we headed for the front of the park... popping in and out of stores every 2 minutes when buckets of rain would attack us.

Looking back on it - it was a great day! What we learned from the day was this: Some of life's greatest moments emerge from unpleasant circumstances. We didn't let the rain ruin our day - - we made our own fun and laughed anyway! It was a great day filled with great family memories that we will share for years to come. I was grateful to be spending a day like that with my two favorite people on this planet! Thank you, God, for life's little treasures like rain dancing on a Wednesday afternoon!

Day 3 Highlights:
Dancing in the rain
Sliding down the water slides with Chloe
Watching Chloe ride on her first big ride
Spending time with family!

Stay tuned for days 4 & 5!

Vacation Recap Days 1 and 2

Oh how I love vacations. Oh how I loathe vacations. Can both of these be true? They are for me! Our family doesn't take vacations very often. It just never happens for us. Trevor's job has put the brakes on them for the most part. Having worked contractual jobs most of our married life, vacations taken - were without pay - so we just didn't do them. But let's face it - we all NEED a break every now and then. A break preferably that includes eating, sleeping in late, eating some more, resting, did I mention eating, swimming and catchin' some nice rays?! The part that, well, pretty much stinks about the whole vacation thing, is coming back. Yes - coming back to reality. Coming back to all the bills shoved in your mailbox. Coming back to piles on your work space in your office. And coming back to the dreaded laundry. Darn things won't clean themselves.

Since this was indeed one of the longest vacations we have taken, I have decided to break it up into 4 parts... Days 1 and 2, Day 3, Days 4 and 5 and Day 6. Yep - 6 nights, 7 days and lots to talk about... so here we go.

My wonderful, creative (oh, and handsome) husband, Trevor, has this theory that he still stands by after this vacation is over... DON'T MAKE PLANS - DON'T MAKE RESERVATIONS - - just GET IN THE CAR AND GO. While I will admit that this is fun most of the time, some of the time it is just down right frustrating. I go along with it, though - - hey, he's the one driving! I can always kick back, fall asleep and wake up to a new state. Nothing about that you shouldn't like. :)

Day 1: Monday, June 25
Our plans were to leave by 8:30 a.m. We know how "plans" work (maybe Trevor's on to something here). However, after getting the dog to the kennel, packing last minute things, making sandwiches for the long drive the first day, taking back movie rentals and picking up the rental car... we just didn't make it out when we thought we should. So, I think we pulled out of Adrian somewhere around 10:30 a.m. Not good... but not too bad.

Now, I have to clarify something. We DID know that we were headed out east and we DID know that "east" included Hershey, Pennsylvania. Chloe's birthday was on Wednesday, so we did know that we wanted to include Hershey Park as a stop on her actual day. So - that's the direction we headed.

First stop - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We rolled in at around 5 p.m. Remember - we had no reservations, so first priority was finding a place to stay. We did just that and then spent some time roaming this cute town. What a place! Loads of history. Now I'm no history buff, but I did enjoy the site-seeing in Gettysburg.
After some sight-seeing, Chloe was anxiously awaiting her time in the hotel's outdoor pool. To be honest, after the 95 degree day - so was I! We hit the pool and then went to bed. Pretty tiring first day, but hey, I could get used to this whole vacation thing! What job?

Day 2: Tuesday, June 26
We signed up for one of the Battlefield Tours on one of those really neat double decker buses. You know, the funny looking ones? The 2-hour tour began at 9 a.m. (glad it wasn't a 3-hour tour.. We might not have made it back :) haha!) By 9 a.m., it was over 90 degrees outside and we decided to sit up top. Nice! Boy was it hot! But I did get some nice sun on my face and arms.
Now how she did this, I will never know, but Chloe actually FELL ASLEEP on the top of that bus! Twice! After each stop I caught her dosing off. It was incredible. Guess that sun just wore her right out, poor thing!
Following the bus tour we went back to the hotel, packed up and checked out. Headed for our next destination.
Now this next destination was my heaven on earth. I know it's going to sound weird, maybe even sick, but this made the entire vacation worth it for me. We visited this place. Okay - I collect them, so I HAD to go! And let me JUST tell you... anyone who collects Boyd Bears HAS to HAS to HAS to visit this place at least once in their lifetime! There is absolutely nothing like it! No kidding. I don't know how long we were there (my guess would be 3 hours) but it was AMAZING. And I STILL didn't see all I wanted to see! $117 later, though, Trevor was convinced that he would carry me out if he had to!
Back on the road....
Next stop: Hershey!
We arrived in Hershey at around 5 p.m. and I am NOT kidding - you can actually SMELL the chocolate when you enter the town! I'm not joking. Trevor kept telling me it was my imagination - but I swear to you, our vents were blowing in the sweet smell of cocoa powder from the first turn into the town.
We decided to check out the hotel that the Hershey Park pamphlet actually recommends called Hotel Hershey. Um.. let me just say this right now... even if they would have HAD rooms available - we wouldn't have stayed there! The room rate was over $450 a night! I don't care WHAT they had available or HOW old and GRAND the hotel was - it was NOT worth taking out a second mortgage on our house! We settled for a Days Inn. MUCH nicer on the wallet!
After arriving to our room and freshening up - we decided to head to Hershey Park to check out Chocolate World. This place is the coolest place! For a chocolate lover - it was my second heaven on earth in ONE DAY!
We bought some chocolate (DUH!), ate some chocolate (DUH!), saw a Chocolate 3D movie and rode the simulated Chocolate ride. Oh and did I mention that we bought even more chocolate after that - because once you are finished with the ride - they dump you into this NEW, HIDDEN chocolate store that has everything in the world chocolate to buy! NICE! Trevor was practically carrying me out of that place, too. VACATIONS are AWESOME when they include Boyd Bears and Chocolate. (don't you poor Trevor me, he enjoyed himself just as much as I did.)
What was the funniest thing about the whole day was that we actually ran into people we knew!!! Now I have been known as the woman who knows everyone everywhere I go - but I didn't know that would still be true over 400 miles away! Yes - it's true. Our Children's Ministry Director, Shari Glass's, kids were visiting their grandparents in Vermont and were there visiting the park on the VERY SAME DAY we were there! How funny was that!? Trevor actually took their picture to prove to Shari that we saw them! I cannot imagine how weird her poor parents must have thought we were!
Following Chocolate World we went to Red Robin to eat and then back to the hotel.
Another great day!

Day 1 and 2 Highlights:
The beautiful ride into Pennsylvania
Gettysburg Tour
Boyd Bear Heaven
Swimming with Chloe and Trevor singing songs and being silly
Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate!

Nothing could have prepared us for Wednesday, though. Stay tuned for more... :)

Friends!

There isn't anything else I would rather do on a Friday night in the summertime then to spend it with my family and friends! And this is JUST what I did this past Friday night. We had some of the members from our small group over for a cookout and campfire - and what fun we had!! There's something special about sitting around a campfire with friends just doing life together! I was surrounded by several amazing people who are changing my life on a daily basis. You guys are the best! Thank you for allowing me to do life with you. Thank you for trusting me as your friend and for sharing your life with me. I know that our family's life has changed since we joined this phenomenal small group and I thank God every day for each and every one of you.

So - - if YOU'RE not in a small group where you are doing life with other families... where you are holding one another accountable... where you are free to be who God called you to be and where you are loved - flaws and all - - I STRONGLY encourage you to get in one! Once you do, I promise, you won't ever be the same again.

Recipe Friday - Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is a different spin off of the one I normally make. I made this last week and my family loved it. Even Chloe, who, most of the time, is very hard to please! :)

Chicken and Rice Casserole
2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
3 cups diced, cooked chicken
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans green beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 (4-ounce) jar pimentos (I didn't use these in mine)
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (6-ounce) box long-grain wild rice, cooked according to package directions
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat butter or oil in a small skillet over medium heat.
Add onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.
Add all remaining ingredients to bowl and mix together until thoroughly combined.
Pour into a greased 3-quart casserole dish.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.
Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

Can I steal the phrase from Rachael Ray - - YUM-O!

ENJOY!

Gotta LOVE a good sale!

This place is having their BIG Semi-Annual sale this week only! I was out there today and picked up some stuff for a GREAT price! I got 5 Anti-Bacterial soap pumps for only $15. They have all their fragrances off and tons of great 50-75% off items as well! Some 2 for $5 specials and lots of $1 items. It's only going on this week, though. Hurry and stock up!

These make GREAT presents, too! I usually do these for stocking stuffers, nieces birthday's, Chloe's birthday parties for give-aways, graduation gifts, Mother's Day gifts and so on... Go check it out!

Chicken Riggies

This is comfort food all the way! I made this a couple months ago for my family and we loved it! It's taken from Paula Dean, who is one of my favorite cooks in the world! Hope you enjoy!

Chicken Riggies
makes 4 to 6 servings

1/2 c butter
1/2 lb. pancetta, chopped
1 c minced onion
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 tomato sauce
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t salt
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
2 c heavy whipping cream
1 (8-ounce) pkg penne pasta cooked and kept warm
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
Add pancetta and onion and cook for 10 minutes, or until pancetta is crispy and onion is soft.
Remove pancetta and onion from pan with a slotted spoon, keeping as much butter in the pan as possible; set pancetta and onion aside.
Lightly pound chicken to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch pieces.
In a shallow dish, combine flour and salt.
Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture and cook in pan drippings over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes, or until chicken is lightly browned.
Using a slotted spoon, remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Add tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt and red pepper flakes to pan drippings, stirring well.
Cook over medium heat until bubbly.
Stir in cream and cook until thickened.
Return pancetta, onion and chicken to cream mixture.
Cook until heated through.
Toss chicken cream mixture with hot cooked pasta.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

YUMMY! I know, it's not the healthiest dish - but it is darn tasty! :)

Still Missing You!!

Rox,

It's been 7 months ago today that we lost you. I still miss you every single day! I still wait for that phone call or that email from you just checking in on me. I miss our long conversations about everything and nothing. I miss those get-togethers, dinners, and scrapbook marathons. :) I still cannot bring myself to scrapbook anything since you left us. It's so hard for me to look at that scrapbook I was working on the last night we were together - only a few hours before you were taken from us.

I miss your smile, your wit and your laughter. I miss your creativity and your style. I miss your advice and your support. I miss your encouragement and your enthusiasm for life. I miss you, dearly, my friend!

"We can cry with hope, we can say goodbye with hope, 'cause we know our goodbye is not the end. And we can grieve with hope, 'cause we believe with hope - there's a place by God's grace - there's a place where we'll see your face again! We'll see your face again" -Steven Curtis Chapman, With Hope.

Date Night

So, Trevor was in Mexico all of last week for work. It was one of those weeks where anything that could have gone wrong (home-wise) DID go wrong. Nothing serious - - just those little things that make you SO appreciate being a part of a 2-parent household! :)

On Friday, I decided that a date night was WAY overdue - so I planned for a sitter and we declared our sacred night out as this past Saturday! Did I mention that it's been a while since we had a REAL date night? I mean, just Trevor and I. No friends, no dog, no kids... all alone in the car. A real date night. They are really few and far between these days, so we hold onto them when we can.

Well - the sitter I had originally lined up couldn't make it because she had a lot of family coming in and was going to busy do family stuff. So - I made an emergency call from my cell phone in my car on Saturday afternoon to my niece, Cortney. She could do it! I was so happy! Well - - until I got off the phone. Chloe had overheard me telling Cortney that we wanted to get away for a night for dinner and possible a movie or shopping or something. Well - - that did not make Chloe happy. She immediately began asking me why we had to go away and leave her that night. Her exact words were, "You and daddy ALWAYS go out on date nights without me!!!" WHAT?!?! Did this little girl know something I didn't? Was I missing something? My first instinct was to tell her, "FINE! We won't go!" But, really, who's the boss here? So - I simply told her, "Chloe, that is not true. Your daddy and I very rarely get a chance to go out together for date and we are going. I am sorry if that makes you upset, but we are going to go out because God wants Mommy's and daddy's to spend time together." (Good one, I thought to myself - she cannot possible argue with what God wants!) She still wasn't happy - but that was okay. She and Cortney had a wonderful time together and I'm sure she didn't think twice about us all night.

What's more important here is that we are teaching her that we love one another and care about each other in our family and we are taking care of our relationships. I pray this is the lesson she takes away from it and not that mommy and daddy just wanted time away from her. (Well - - okay, maybe some of that was true after the week I had). :)

Have you had a date night this week with YOUR spouse? Can I recommend this place? The Carolina Crab Cakes rule! :)

Recipe Friday!

I'm gonna try something new on this blog. It's called Recipe Friday. Let me just say it - I love food and I love to cook! It's no wonder that most days my TV at home is tuned in to Food Network. Heck - I've even been known to sit in front of a Sandra Lee Semi Homemade Cooking show making the same meal with her - step by step. My fav's to watch, besides Sandra Lee, include Emeril, Rachael Ray, Barefoot Contessa, Paula Dean and Tyler Florence.

Each Friday, I will share a new (or oldie but goodie) recipe with you. I know we could all use some new ideas for mealtime - so if you have one to share - - share away! :) I'm always looking for new, exciting things to create in the kitchen.

This one I actually took from this show. It's a GREAT summertime treat and goes great as a side dish at a cookout. Hope you enjoy it!

Corn Salad
5 ears of corn on the cob
1 medium red onion chopped
3/4 c Cider Vinegar
3/4 c Olive Oil
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste

Boil the ears of corn for approximately 4 minutes.
"Shock" the corn cobs by submerging them into ice cold water after boiling is complete.
Take a knife and remove the corn from the cobs.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the corn and the chopped red onion. Toss together.
Poor the vinegar and the olive oil into the bowl of corn and onions. Mix well.
Add sea salt and ground pepper to taste.
Chill in fridge until ready to serve.

YUMMY!

Whatcha Readin'?

Well - - it's summer and my goal of reading 15 books over the summer has officially begun. The bad thing is - I bought almost 20 books within the last two months and so now begins the hard job of picking just ONE to start with. I am famous for starting more than one book at a time and then getting so wrapped up in both of them that I can't put one down. Then I get totally confused which book I read what in... Thank God for highlighters! Oh - and sticky notes!

Some of the GREAT reads I just finished up on are:

In A Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day - Mark Batterson
Be Our Guest - The Disney Institute
The Starbucks Experience - Joseph Michelli

If you haven't read "In a Pit..." you are missing out on something great! Get it! Go on - - stop reading right now and go buy it! :0) Just remember to come back.

Some other books I just purchased include:

This one. This was a recommendation from our Marriage Mentor small group. Looks like a good one and you can't go wrong with Kevin Leman.

This one. I ordered this one with the 'Be Our Guest' book. It looks pretty similar and I can't wait to read it!

This one looks good too. I have had this one for a couple months now and I am looking forward to it!

Other ones I have purchased include:

Good to Great by Jim Collins
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
The Big Moo by Seth Godin

And then on Monday night my mom brought over this one, too.

This doesn't even complete my list - - but it's a GOOD start! Looks like I am going to be nose to the book this summer!

For those of you who know that I can be somewhat of a procrastinator... do something for me, will you? Email me once a week to see where I am and how I'm doing on my reading! Some times I need a good kick in the shorts to keep me focused and motivated. :)

What are you readin'??

Summer is Here, Summer is Here!

Well - - Summer is officially here. Chloe's last day as a first-grader, was finished this morning at 10:50 a.m. I have to say (and I am sure it will shock most of you readers, yeah right) I cried a little bit! There was an Awards Ceremony this morning and it knocked my socks off! I feel so blessed to be able to send my daughter to a top notch Christian school where learning about Jesus is fully integrated throughout every day and in every event we attend.

I have to ask - - what's up with ALL the stuff that has come home from school with Chloe every day this week? Just when I think I have seen it all, she brings home another bag filled with items to return to home. Gym shoes, pencil boxes, water bottles, coats, hats, BOOTS, art projects, books, binders and oh - did I mention the summer opportunity flyer's... I must have counted at least 5 of them last night! WHERE did she have this stuff stored? There were 25 children in a smaller-sized classroom this year! YIKES!! I will say - Kudos to her teacher, Mrs. Miller, who had the students helping her pack things up and clean things down yesterday morning. I now see what you were doing... You bribed them with that swimming at the Centre in the afternoon because you were a slave driver to them in the morning. :) I see how that works! (Good idea!)

Tomorrow, as a celebration for Chloe finishing first grade, we are taking her here. We went once last year and it was really cool! I just hope the rain holds off a bit so that we can enjoy a few good hours of swimming in the sunshine! :)

ENJOY THE WEEKEND... TGIF!