What are you looking forward to this year? Infinite possibilities fill my brain… I’m looking forward to doing something different this year. After many years of big money vacations, packing for a few weeks, lugging everything on a plane and heading out… I think our plans are to have several “staycations”. I mean we do live in CHARLESTON! People love to spend their vacations here! So I’m thinking we will do the same! How nice it will be to not have to cram ourselves onto a plane, board the dog, and all the other “stuff” that goes along with taking a nice relaxing vacation, ha ha… Maybe a trip or two to Kiawah, Hilton Head, the beaches (I mean they ARE so close!) and just hanging out by the pool in our own backyard! Now we’ll have to remember that we are on staycation, no cleaning and all that business… It can wait a few days! I’m looking forward to spending some time with Fred without him thinking about work and everything that needs to get done! Hear that Charlie? THE BEACH!! Woohoo!
What are you looking forward to this year? Until tomorrow…
Something to think about… (thanks to WordPress for the topic) WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU HAD ONE HOUR TO LIVE? Hmmmm. Not something I like to think about… I would want to spend time with my husband, I would want to talk to my family (after all I only have an hour, not enough time to jump in a car and get to Summerville OR on a plane and get to Michigan!) and I would want to take a few minutes to write a letter to those who have made my world a much better place. I would want them to have something that shows them how much I truly loved them and how deeply I felt about them. Then I would just want to be close to Fred and say goodbye to Charlie… I. WOULD. PRAY. Oh, and if I was so lucky as to have a box of See’s dark chocolate caramels in the house I would go ahead and eat them, well, I would save Fred a few, but what the heck… might as well. I would still want to quick brush my teeth at least. Then I think I would set the house up for Fred, make things exactly as he likes them. Personally I’m hoping when we’re very very old, once we’re no longer healthy, that we fall asleep in each others arms and wake up in Heaven. If that happens, no one needs to be sad for me I will be thrilled! What would you do with your final hour? By the way, Eat Pray Love was a good movie if you need something to rent! Until tomorrow…
We all want to be remembered for something when we’re gone… I would like to be remembered as a great artist. Wait. I need to paint A LOT more before that can happen. OK… I would like to think that people will remember me for being a nice person, caring about others and that I was always willing to help. (People don’t always ask for help, so keep an eye out for a neighbor that looks like they may need assistance. It never hurts to ask. Sometimes people get frustrated because they want to do it themselves, but you never know, so just ask)! However, it wouldn’t be so bad to be remembered as a great cook, hee hee… I’m including a recipe that will KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF! This is my version of Ina Garten’s (Barefoot Contessa) Mexican Chicken soup. I’ve added a few things and slightly altered it. A recipe is merely a guide, add more of what you like and less of what you don’t (unless you’re baking, then it’s more of an exact science)… Enjoy! Until tomorrow…
Mexican Chicken Soup (adapted from Ina Garten)
2-4 chicken breasts (with bone and skin, more or less depending on how much chicken you like, I use 2-3 large)
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 medium onions
2-3 stalks celery
1 bunch carrots with greens (cut off greens)
2 cloves garlic
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock (I like Kitchen Basics if not homemade)
1-28 oz can diced tomatoes
1-2 jalapeno peppers, minced, no seeds (unless you like HOT)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. I put foil down on a baking sheet to make clean up easy. Place chicken on baking sheet skin side up. Drizzle with olive oil, rub it in. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 35-50 minutes or until done. Once cooled, pull off the skin and shred the meat. Set aside.
Heat 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil in large pot or dutch oven. Add the onions, celery and carrots. Cook over medium low heat for 10 minutes or until onions just begin to brown. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock (start with 2 qts, then when it cooks down some, add more stock). Add tomatoes, jalapenos, cumin, black beans, salt and pepper. Cut the tortillas in half and then cut then into 1/2 inch strips, add to the soup. They will dissolve in the soup giving it a wonderful taste and aroma!. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer at least 25 minutes. About 20-25 minutes before you are going to serve this soup add the frozen corn. About 5 – 10 minutes later add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the hot soup with grated cheddar, a dallop of sour cream and a handful of crushed tortilla chips. This makes a big pot of soup and is great frozen and reheated!
I grew up in Michigan. I know about cold, or at least I USED TO KNOW about cold… I’ve been in South Carolina for the past 22 years so I know less about the cold than I used to! I remember vivid details of one ice storm when I was young. I remember it being SO EXCITING! How nice to be that age with no worries, everything is an adventure! I remember how we didn’t have power, but we had a fireplace and had that puppy going strong! I remember tree limbs breaking and big hunks of ice jamming the river. I remember neighbors coming over to use our stove/oven because ours was gas and theirs was electric. It was SO. MUCH. FUN. I remember moving the furniture in the living room which is fairly large against the walls and bunches of us spread out our sleeping bags to be in the room with the fire. We had a radio that was tuned to a station that told scary stories, ohmygosh, I will never forget that! Fast forward to today… As I type this sleet is hitting the window and Charlie (Jack Russell) is barking at it, he’s not sure what this stuff is! Why does it make noise? Ha ha… When cold weather and rain strikes we usually go to the store to gather supplies, ha ha… Get food to cook/bake as well as treats, because anytime bad weather strikes, you must have a ‘Storm Party’ (per our nephew, Maxwell). So we usually get a fire going in the fireplace (ha, I say ‘we’, but it’s Fred that does all that, and an awesome job of it I have to say… wish he was home now!), pour a glass of wine, read, talk, and if I get my way we’ll play cards, play with Charlie and generally just have a big time. We love a good storm party, how about you?
When it’s time to hit the hay we crawl into our bed that has a Pacific Coast down (www.pacificcoast.com) comforter (lightweight). You wouldn’t believe how warm it gets QUICKLY! A wise investment indeed (we bought ours on sale at Macy’s last year, also available at Amazon, etc. etc.). We turn our heat almost all the way down at night, it rarely comes on. We both like sleeping with it pretty chilly (high 50’s/low 60’s), ahhhh, I’m already looking forward to crawling back into that bed tonight! Until tomorrow…
Describe a recent Aha! moment… hmmmm. I guess it would be several years ago, leaving Charleston and vacationing on Monhegan Island in Maine. We stayed at the Island Inn (http://islandinnmonhegan.com) which is the larger building that you see in the photo (from their website). There are no shopping malls, no taxi’s, no telephones in your room, no TV or radio or any other distractions, including limited cell phone coverage and wi-fi in the inn’s common room when it’s available. Everything is centered around the weather. If conditions aren’t right the boat doesn’t run to get you to the island, bring groceries, mail, etc. If the wind is strong the phone may be out… It’s a different way of life that is SO MUCH BETTER even without all the STUFF. Stuff is precisely that… stuff. When you are in a place that is so beautiful and when everything around you is so peaceful THAT is what becomes so important. I encourage anyone who isn’t used to not having some of the modern-day pleasantries to try a vacation that relaxes your mind and recharges your soul. It’s amazing what you can do without and you don’t even notice! Until tomorrow…
I know yesterday I said I might take the weekend off, but since WordPress is offering a topic a day to blog about I hate to not participate… Today’s topic: How do you stay focused?
Well, let me start by saying I have a pretty great system that works well for me… on the other hand sometimes I think I’m stuck in the zone, and on paper I am über organized, yet I haven’t actually gotten anything done yet, ha ha… I have a journal that I write notes in basically, what I need to do for the day, what to make for dinner, what I need at the store, who I’ve contacted, medical notes, notes about pretty much anything during the day. IT COMES IN HANDY. I can refer back to it at any time and pull up important details that would otherwise be lost. I also have a monthly day planner like the one in the picture. I prefer the cheap thin ones to the thick ones, I seem to use it more. So between the journal and the monthly planner, oh, and my BlackBerry Calendar I know where I should be and when I should be there… How do you stay focused? Hope your Saturday is a great one! Until tomorrow?
The WordPress topic of the day is to tell a story about your most memorable job interview… hmmm… here goes. Long long ago, when I was young and still lived in Michigan, I applied at UPS to work as a seasonal employee. I remember having to drive to Timbucktoo to get a background check and be finger printed. At least they paid for it! The actual interview I can barely remember, they asked questions, I answered and they must have liked my answers because I was hired. The only way to get a permanent job with UPS was to start as a seasonal employee working during the busy holiday time. I WANTED TO WORK FOR UPS. I wanted to work in the office and wear the brown uniform. Did you know they wash their trucks EVERY SINGLE DAY? I was thrilled to be working even though it was in an open warehouse where people were lined up with packages as far as the eye could see. There were heaters, it wasn’t WARM but I wasn’t going to freeze to death either. One day it was like winning the lottery… I saw Ryba’s Fudge boxes on a cart, hundreds and hundreds of boxes of the most delictable fudge you can even imagine. As luck would have it they came to my line. If you aren’t familiar with Ryba’s Fudge, it’s a wonderful shop on Mackinac Island, Michigan. There are no cars on this island, only horses, bikes and people walking. It’s a magical place (more in a future post!), and when you’re there, you smell two things… horse poop and fudge. It’s heaven, ha ha… Pretty clever how I kind of changed this post to be about fudge rather then a job interview, eh? Ok, I have to thank Fred, my husband for that one… THANKS FRED! If you don’t get a chance to visit Mackinac Island, you can order the fudge online (www.ryba.com) and UPS (well, used to be, not sure now) will gladly bring it to your door! The next year UPS called me again and asked if I would like to work the holidays again! YES, I replied! Then I had to ask… “Is it ok if I work with a broken leg? It doesn’t bother me at all and I can keep up”… NO, it would make me a liability. Ugh, the end of a dream… ha ha. On a brighter note… Did I tell you that Ryba’s left me a BAG OF FUDGE for going through my line because they had so many boxes? WOOHOO… Like I said, I was in heaven!
I’m thinking about taking the weekend off… so if you don’t hear from me tomorrow, see you Monday!! If you get a chance, check out our other blog… http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com – Have a great weekend!
Are you stressed? That’s the WordPress topic of the day… Have you gotten your credit card bill in the mail after the holidays (eek) or is work catching up with you after being out for a while? Well whether you’re stressed or not, here’s something to soothe and relax you… Aveda Comforting Tea. It tastes sweet, I remember the first time I was at an Aveda store and was offered a sample cup of tea, oh my gosh, it was delicious! Wow, I’ve GOT TO get some of that! So I asked her how much tea and how much sugar, because it was just right, not too sweet, not bitter at all, just, well… heavenly!? NO SUGAR! What?? It’s naturally sweet with licorice root and peppermint. Now, I’m not a licorice fan, and had I known there was licorice root in the tea I may not have tried it, but you don’t taste licorice, the organic blend is simply amazing! You can drink it hot or cold. I’ve only had it hot. The bottle is loose tea, it also comes in tea bags (for a pretty hefty price). If you’re near an Aveda store pop in, they always have hot samples of Comforting Tea ready to hand out. I think you may get hooked! Until tomorrow!
Say bye bye to Panera’s original chicken noodle soup…
It’s a rainy day… I’ve had a cold… what’s better than some chicken noodle soup to make you feel better? Last week my husband and I were at Panera. I always order a cup of chicken noodle soup with a whole wheat baguette. We place our order and when it comes to the table there is this suspicious small carry out container… ooooh a surprise, how nice! Open it up… hmmm, more chicken noodle soup, no wait, just broth, weird. Hmmm, maybe they thought mine was too thick so they gave me extra broth to add? I took a bite of the original… oh la la, too good, those nice homemade noodles that melt in your mouth, the bite size carrots, the perfectly sized, not too big, not too small pieces of clean white chicken… heaven! Then I checked into the small container… EYEEEEWWW, what? It’s different… 99% broth, three 1″ “noodles” (if you can call them that), 1 sliver of celery and one piece of carrot the size of a pencil eraser and the most awful broth I have ever tasted in my life. Cheap. It. Tasted. CHEAP. Now keep in mind, this is my opinion (and I am sticking with it!). I had a sinking feeling this was because Panera was going to save some money and pawn this soup off as, well, soup instead of bad broth, and I was right. It was a corporate decision. The employees are not happy about it, they agree that it tastes awful. I feel for them, they’re going to hear everyone and their brother’s mother complain about it. It’s still available until 1/12/11 and then it’s gone for good. Who else has good chicken noodle soup that you know of? LET ME KNOW, this is serious! I’ve downed a good bit of it this week (or so it feels) and I’m starting to feel better now!
The WordPress topic of the day is DO YOU PREFER TO TALK or TEXT? I prefer different types of communication depending upon the circumstance. I would like to say that I don’t think ANYONE should text and drive, yet if I’m out and about I see it more than I can believe. I can’t imagine what families go through losing someone because someone driving couldn’t wait until they got where they were going before responding to ‘wassup?’. omg. No one in the world is so important to put anyones life in jeopardy over a phone call, text message, email or anything else. Ok, I’ll jump off my soap box now, those are just my feelings. I prefer to talk to people if I know that I’m not interrupting anything and that they are available. I prefer to text if I’m in a location where talking is difficult (on the runway) but you need to get a message (we landed, please come get us!) to someone without disrupting those around you, and I prefer to email when there are details that need to be passed along so that a) the story doesn’t get out of whack, b) there are lots of details for someone to write down (a recipe) or I want documentation that I did have contact with a certain person. How do you prefer to communicate? Until tomorrow…
The WordPress daily post subject today is to share something that makes you smile… OK, it seems rather sad that I pick a phone as the “something that makes me smile”, it’s not actually the phone (although, I have to say I love this phone, and it DOES make me smile, well, most of the time)… It’s what’s ‘inside’ the phone. A sweet message from Fred (my husband) that he left several months ago. I love his messages, his kind words, his enthusiasm, THAT is what makes me smile! What makes you smile? An interesting subject no doubt, I had so many possibilities, then I tried to think of something where I could have the post and the image go together and tada… Blackberry Bold it is…
Here’s to many things that make you smile today! Until tomorrow…
Eyewear for the irreverent and slightly jaded… Hmmm, have you seen Eyebobs reading glasses? If you’re of the age where your vision up close is heading south, you may want to try a pair of these! They’re ultra cool, check out their website! www.eyebobs.com. I know we all fight it as long as we can holding objects (omg, the MENU!) farther and farther away but there comes a point in time where you have to give it up and get some glasses, oh it’s so nice to see again. What fun, huh? This is the pair I bought, they have lots of funky styles, check them out!
What was your best accomplishment of 2010? Hmmm, I try to think of what my best accomplishment was and I think of lots of little things but nothing substantial. Nothing that will make me sound important, ha ha… I guess to do good, help those who need it and not take the small things in life for granted. I’m very fortunate to be married to the most wonderful man in the world. I have a great life, a sweet (well, at least when he’s sleeping) dog, a house we love in a city that offers so much. So I will keep in mind during this new year not to take things for granted, no matter how small. I will love and APPRECIATE my family even more, and mostly from a distance, sigh… Until tomorrow…
Have you tried Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day hand soap? It’s wonderful! We started using it several years ago when we spotted it at Whole Foods. It has a wonderful scent (and many to choose from!), I remember our first bottle was Geranium scented… it doesn’t dry out your hands and all that jazz, very nice. I’ve seen it at Target, Walmart, even the grocery stores, keep your eyes out for it! I would like to try some of the rest of their line, check them out at www.mrsmeyers.com.
Well, my husband is on the dreadmill, uh, I mean treadmill, good for him. When he starts a (self inflicted) “get fit” program he goes 110%, while I think of different (more healthy) dinners to make, and make notes and THINK… now’s the time to get off my duff and do too… ha. I think I’ll start the year slowly deep cleaning the house and (re) organizing all the drawers and closets. I am good at that! Ha… time to get rid of excess which we are really good at since we don’t have space to store items that aren’t used. I think we’d be in trouble if we had a big house with lots of storage.
I hope the beginning of 2011 is looking bright for you! Until tomorrow…
Happy New Year and welcome to 2011! It’s going to be a great year, right?! I’m starting off the year with one resolution crossed off my list (starting this blog!!), ok, so I don’t really do resolutions, but at least SOMETHING crossed off my list, which feels good!
After a month (or so) of eating food that I really shouldn’t have been eating, it’s time to scale back, find something halfway healthy and get a grip. I would include a photo of our own Vitamix, but this one is prettier, ha ha… Have you ever tried a Vitamix? Awesome smoothies, they can crush ice in an instant they can even make soup! If you get a chance, give it a shot, maybe you can sneak some veggies into your day, hee hee.
I am excited to be starting another blog and I look forward to hearing your comments throughout the year. My other blog is a photoblog, you can check it out at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com, it began as a project to try to figure out HOW to blog. It quickly became an addiction!
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