BIG YEAR OF CHANGES

Oh my gosh!

Have I ever made some changes.

I bought a house.  I love being a homeowner.  It seems there is always something that needs to be done but that's ok because I have lots of time to do them since I can't afford to do anything else.

The biggest change for me this year is I'm getting a divorce.  I'm not going to dwell on this subject but just be aware that future posts will be about me moving on with my life.

I want to meet new people and make new friends.  I want to date and have fun.  I want to rediscover who I am.

The Teenager is no longer a teenager.  He turned 20 a few weeks ago so I don't have a clue what to call him now.

The Kid is still the kid.  He's hilarious!  Look forward to hearing lots of funny stories.  For instance, when we were paying for his Halloween costume, I dropped my debit card on the floor.  As he bent down to pick it up for me, he said, "Look, Mom.  Your credit dropped!"  How funny is that?

So, as time goes on and I rediscover who I am, I hope you'll enjoy your time with me.  I have lots of recipes to share.  Ooowy Gooowy recipes too!

Love,
Mommeee

I DO NOT HEART RADISHES

I've never really been a true fan of the radish.

I can handle eating them if they are cut up very small and hidden under a waterfall of salad dressing.

My husband, on the other hand, loves them.

I would buy them for him and he would meticulously wash and trim them and put them into a container in the fridge so he could nibble one whenever the fancy struck him.

I LOVE THIS!

The other day while spending too much time on the internet (again), I ran across this little video that simply claimed my heart.

I do not know who created it so I cannot give credit but to whomever did:  thank you!

I smile every time I watch it.  The Kid loves to watch it with me and will come running in if he hears it.  

The Teenager says it's been around for a while but I'm new to it and thought I would share it with you and possibly put a smile on your face, as well.

Enjoy!

WELCOME TO 2015

Wow!

It seems like I was just marveling at how far away 2014 was when The Teenager was little and I was dreaming of his graduation day.  It seemed so far away.

Now the graduation is done, lots of other things happened in 2014, and we've moved on to another year.

I had a wonderful 2014.

PREPARING FOR THE NEW YEAR

Another year has come and gone.  It seems that the older I get, the faster the years go by.

I've never been one to really make new year's resolutions but this year I'm going to do something a little different.  I want to do all I can to bring happiness and prosperity into my life.

I've found a few superstitions to follow for my new year.

DID YOU KNOW I LOVE COFFEE?

NEW ADDICTION

Yes, another one.

Have you tried these yet?  If not, stop what you're doing and run to the store right now.  They are that good.

In addition to Ranch, they also offer Herb & Garlic, Hickory Smoked, Sweet & Spicy and Lemon Pepper. 

I, personally, like Ranch the best.  I can eat it plain straight out of the packet.  

My favorite way to eat them is mixed into a microwavable bowl of macaroni and cheese.  I know, takes away the health factor of eating tuna but its too yummy not to do it.  Besides, I'm still getting the omega-3s that the doctor wants me to have.  

I have a hard time keeping them in the house.  The Old Man eats them too.  He prefers his on crackers but he eats just about everything on crackers.  He's strange that way.

So let me know. Have you tried them?  Which is your favorite?  What do you think of the price?  I normally pay $1.25 a packet at Walmart.  That's a little pricey compared to plain tuna in the can but I find it worthy of the few extra cents.  

Makes my tummy happy and makes my doctor happy!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

DINNER FUN HAVING TACOS

I made tacos for dinner tonight because I've been dying to try the new Old El Paso Stand N Stuff Soft Flour Tortillas.

I browned the burger, added taco seasoning (I use Williams because I'm just a huge fan of their spices).  I opened a can of refried beans (yes, I cheated) and heated them up (I add a little taco sauce and cheese to them before heating then stir well once heated.  It adds a little umph to the canned beans).

I bought shredded lettuce and shredded cheese because it's just easier.  I diced up a few Roma tomatoes and an onion and opened a jar of Spanish Gardens taco sauce (my absolute fav taco sauce!).  I also bought some guacamole in the dips section of the grocery store.  I was taking the easy way out all the way around tonight.

Then we assembled and the beautiful result was this:

Looks good, doesn't it?  Well let me tell ya!  It was yummy!  Overstuffed a bit, I know.  It was worth it.

My thoughts on the Stand N Stuff?  We liked the flavor and ease of making but the eating of the taco was quite messy.  Like I said, maybe we overstuffed them.

Would I buy them again?  I think so.  Not so much for the product itself but for the laughter we had while eating them.

They made for a fun, laughter-filled suppertime.

By the way, I paid $2.50 for 8 shells.  A little pricey, in my opinion, compared to regular flour tortillas.

CLUB SANDWICHES ARE FROM HEAVEN

It's true.  They really are.



I hadn't thought of making Club Sandwiches for many years when just recently while visiting my sister (to see my most beautiful 9-month-old great niece!).

She was making home made chicken noodle soup and club sandwiches.  We weren't visiting for dinner but she offered some to us anyway.  We weren't starving so Tim and I shared one.

It was so good I'd wished we weren't sharing.  I could have downed the entire sandwich alone.

She takes the first piece of toast and puts a very light layer of mayo followed by a generous layer of spinach leaves.  Then she layers on slices of meat.  She uses just whatever she has on hand (pictured above is Chipolte Chicken - YUM!).  Follow this with your favorite cheese.

Now comes the magical part.  Take another piece of toast and put a thin layer of mayo on it.  Now place this mayo-side down on top of the cheese and mayo the top side of the toast (in an episode of Friends, Ross referred to this as the moist maker)

Top this with some crispy bacon.



Now I know what you're thinking.  Bacon's not good for you.  I disagree.  Happy people are healthy and bacon makes me happy so therefore bacon is good for me.
Whew!  That was a mouthful.

Notice the bacon above.  That's not bacon grease gleaming at you in the picture.  It's bacon juice!  I think it smiled for the camera.

Anyway, back to the Club.  Place a few pieces of thinly-sliced tomato on top of the bacon and close the deal with the last piece of thinly mayo'd toast.  (I know mayo'd is not a word but it gets my point across).

It was an amazing Club Sandwich.

So today after church that's what I made for lunch.  The pictures above are from today's lunch.  Sadly, the tomato slices didn't make it to today's performance.  It's just now their season.  The sandwich was still amazing.

Thank you, dear sister, for reminding me of this lovely creature of a sandwich.

If only there was a way to remind myself of such ideas.  But wait!  There is.

Stayed tuned for more information on this (and go have a Club!)

BRINGING BACK MOMMEEE

It's been a while but I'm coming back.  I have some work to do on the layout before I can come back full force but be aware that I am coming back.

It's been a long year and I have a lot to catch you up on.

THIS IS SO ME!

JUST A THOUGHT

Sunday at church was amazing.

I started out my morning lying in bed wishing I didn't have to get up.  I spent my Saturday not feeling well.  I wasn't really sick, just mentally not feeling well.  

The last year has been a bit harsh, to say the least.  Child in the hospital.  Money issues.  Death in the family.  Loss of a pastor.

Life can be really depressing.  

I begged Tim to stay home.  I just wanted to make a pot of coffee and sit at the kitchen table to read the paper while dwelling on my sorrows.

He wouldn't let me.

Fast forward to services at church.  Since our pastor is gone, the elders and other pastors have been filling in.  I must say that I love the elders at our church but I just hadn't been feeling "it" lately.  I really miss Pastor Michael.  But on this Sunday, Pastor Bil was filling in.  I was skeptical.  I've never really listened to an entire sermon by Pastor Bil.  He's a very interactive person and I'm more of a sit in my chair and just listen kind of person.  

I was utterly amazed at his sermon.  Highly impressed would be a good description.  And I even got out of my comfort zone and participated in his extracurricular sermon activities.  He raised my spirits.  

I was so thankful that I dragged my rear out of bed and went to church.

But something he said during his sermon really caught my attention and this is what I truly wanted to share with you today.   

"Each one of us is different...each one of us has things that God has put in us and made us specifically a certain way for a certain reason. We are not all the same. God does not make clones. He makes awesome masterpieces."

Think about this for a moment. 

Isn't that an amazing thought?
  
I just had to share.

SUFFERING A LOSS

My family has suffered an incredible loss this past week.  

My brother-in-law, Bobby, passed away unexpectedly.  

My sister and her sons are devastated to say the least.  Angela and Bobby have been married for almost 32 years.  That's about a two-thirds of her life.  

How does one start over after 32 years of having that special someone by their side every day?  

And that's exactly what she has to do...start over.  Every moment of her day included a piece of him.

She and I sat in her bedroom last night for hours.  We talked about the things that only sisters can talk about with one another.  

She's taking several weeks off of work but she talked about how difficult it's going to be when she goes back to her old routine, minus Bobby.  She would always call him on her way home from work to see if he needed her to stop for anything.  On many occasions she would stop for a to-go order of El Sombrero or a bucket of chicken.

She talked about how he'd sometimes get up in the middle of the night and make himself a bowl of cereal.  She said she often suspected that he was doing this in his sleep because he would do it without any acknowledgment that she was in the room.

But the thing that broke my heart was when she said she wouldn't have anyone to play smoochy-face with anymore. 

Bobby was her one and only ever.  He was her best friend, best lover, best father to her children.  

Bobby was an interesting brother-in-law.  He didn't sugar coat anything.  He had a knack for seeing things as they were and letting everyone know.  He didn't spare feelings a lot of times which was a little harsh and tended to offend many.  But with Bobby, you always knew exactly where you stood.

I was lucky enough to have been able to spend some quality time with him recently.  He and I had a 45 minute phone call just a few days before he passed.  My boys and I had just visited their house last week.  The Teenager and Bobby worked on their car.  

My point in sharing all of this is don't take today for granted.  You never know when those that you love the most will be gone to heaven.  Take this moment to make that phone call that you've been saying you'll make.  
Go visit that friend or relative that you haven't seen for a while.  

Go lay in bed with your kids and watch a cartoon. 

Go have a good laugh or cry with your best friend. 

But most of all, grab your better half and play smoochy-face.  







Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

COFFEE

PONDERING AN AGE OLD QUESTION

And that question is:  Why did the shoe cross the road?  Alone?

Or better, why do we see so many shoes on the side of the road?

And always alone.

Yesterday, on my way to work, I noticed three separate shoes on the side of the highway.

How do they get there?  

Was someone running and proceeded to go so fast that they ran right out of one of their shoes?  I wonder how long it took them to realize it.  At that point did they just think "Hey screw it.  I'll just buy another pair." 

I would have gone back for my lost shoe.  I love the shoes that I currently have.

They're  like family.

Was it someone riding a motorcycle and one shoe just happened to slip off?

I often wonder what happens to all of these lost shoes.  Or the it's partner for that matter.

There should be a home for lost shoes.  

If you find a single shoe on the side of the road, mail it to "The Lost Shoe Bank".

If you are the one that lost one of your shoes, mail it's mate to "The Lost Shoe Bank".  

A teller there can match it to it's mate and donate a complete pair to a good charity.

I know it's probably a silly idea but how many of you have wondered the same thing?

I'm willing to bet lots of you.

TIM'S FAVORITE POTATO SALAD

This is just an ordinary potato salad recipe.  There's nothing special about it.

But sometimes, you can't go wrong with plain and ordinary.

I start by peeling and boiling ordinary russet potatoes.  This is about the size I like to dice them because once they're mixed, it'll provide the a good mashed to solid potato ratio.

Is it just me or do cooked potatoes just look gross?

Anyway...

Next I dice up kosher dill pickles.  No, I do not use relish.  I prefer a good sized crunch in my potato salad.
And for Tim, it has to be kosher dill.  I, personally, like it with sweet pickles, too. But he's the one I make this salad for most of the time so I do it like Burger King and let him have it his way.

Next to the party are the eggs.  I can get a perfectly boiled egg everytime by using the simplest method.

Place your eggs into a pan and cover with cold water.  Make sure the eggs aren't too crowded in the pan or you'll end up with cracked eggs.  Bring the eggs to a boil and remove from the heat.  Cover the pan with a lid and leave for 20 minutes.  Peel the eggs immediately and the shells will peel right off.  I run them under cold water just enough so that I can handle them with my bare hands.

Dice the eggs to about the same size as the pickles.  

Add the potatoes to the pickles and eggs.  Next up are the supporting characters, mayonnaise and mustard.  This is one item I will not substitute on.  It MUST be real mayonnaise.  Use an off name brand like I did but do not use anything other than mayonnaise.  

Mix well and your end result will be an amazing potato salad that's yummy, delicious, scrumptious, mouthwatering, tasty.  In other words, delish!

This can be served warm but I prefer it chilled.  It's also just as good leftover the day after.

And the day after that (if it lasts that long).


Tim's Favorite Potato Salad

6-8 Medium Russet Potatoes
6 Eggs
4-6 Kosher Pickles
3/4 cup Mayonnaise
1/4 cup Mustard

Follow the steps above and you'll enjoy some wonderful goodness.

Enjoy!

CHINESE FOOD

My family loves Chinese food.  We have a few favorite restaurants around town but North Dragon on North Oak is one of our absolute favorites.  

We've been eating there since the dawn of time.  

Well not really that long but since before Daddeee and I met, my mom and dad would take us, meaning my sisters and I, for lunch.

They have an amazing lunch menu.  The food is always fresh and tastes unbelievably good.

The egg drop soup has the best flavor of any I've ever tasted.  It's not a thin, soupy soup.  It's thick and full of eggs and vegetables.  They provide good serving sizes for a lunch special, too.

I ordered the Hot Braised Chicken (you can get it boneless too but there's just something about the flavor of chicken on the bone that I think is better).  It's quite spicy but well worth the sniffly nose.  The chicken is breaded and deep fried yet somehow the thick and gooey sauce doesn't make it mushy.   It comes with fried rice but I'm quite positive that if you wanted white rice, they would more than happily substitute.  

The lunch menu comes with either egg roll or crab rangoon.  I'm picky about egg rolls so for me to choose the egg roll as you can see I've done, it means they have really good egg rolls.

They have good fortune cookies (meaning always fresh).  I've been to plenty of restaurants that served stale cookies which turns a good meal into a bad one really fast.

I even got a good fortune.  Look out everyone because success is near, if I bide my time.  If only I knew what how to bide.  

So if you're out and about in the Kansas City area and get a hankering for good Chinese, North Dragon is a good choice.  

Oh, and they provide to go service too.  

North Dragon 

6245 N Oak Trafficway  

Kansas City, MO 64118

(816) 452-2029

TRIFECTA: WK 53

This week's prompt for Trifecta is dialogue. 

Everyone knows I like to talk so this should be a breeze.

:)

________________________________

"I like that outfit on that mannequin."

"He’s cute, Mom."

"That’s a boy mannequin."

"I know.  I like boys."

“You do?”

“Yes.  I was just trying to find a way to tell you.”

This is not word for word how the conversation went but pretty darn close.  We were at the mall and we were talking about a mannequin.  It's hard to put such a moment into 33 words.  I did my best.  

He has a date tonight.  (My son, not the mannequin hehe)


~Lumdog~
I wasn't motivated either.  It's your post that did the trick!  Thanks.

  

FOR YOU, MY FRIEND.