It is almost October!!!

I can not believe that October is right around the corner! My three favorite holidays are coming up. . . .ok my four favorite holidays because I consider my birthday as a holiday and I stretch it out for the whole month! I am ready to decorate for Halloween but I am making myself wait until it is actually October (my neighbors down the road have been decorated since mid Sept). The one thing I am not looking forward to is the fact that during the last three months of the year time seems to speed up until we are running around at warp speed! I do have to say that I am glad that this fall I am not doing what I was having to do last year at this time. A quick overview of last year: student teaching, teacher work sample (three times to get it right), commuting to school for classes between student teaching placements, being terribly ill from being pregnant, terribly sleepy ALL the time, lesson plans, trying to come up with creative lessons and did I mention being terribly ill from being pregnant. I have to say I wouldn't have made it without my honey and my mommy!! I am taking a deep breath, pretending that I am terribly organized and rushing headlong into the end of the year!!!!

This past weekend was spent with my middle sis, her hubby, my tator tot and my madcow (otherwise known as my nephew and niece). We had a very nice visit. We got to watch madcow play softball and yesterday before we left the three of youngsters (ok I am not a youngster) played Monopoly on the computer. I thought it could be confusing on the game board, the computer had rules I have never heard of! Anyway, like I said, we had a good time but I wished they lived closer so we could get together more often.

Well, I have rambled enough for now. I may or may not come back and add more enlightening thoughts later.

I hope you have a great week!

Thoughts

I am not really sure how to start this blog so I guess I will just start like this. . . . . this week in our local paper I saw obituaries for two infants and it broke my heart. Today I stumbled across an article about a memorial that was held today to commemorate babies lost through miscarriage, stillborn or newborn death. All of the pain of losing our precious baby came rushing back to me as if it had just happened. The last nine months have been very difficult. Just when you think you are ok, you see something that reminds you of your loss or a friend tells you they are pregnant and you think of the things that you have missed and the list goes on. One positive thing that has come from our loss if the "e-mail" friendship I now have with someone who lost her baby several months after we did. We have helped each other through the tough milestones, disappointment of not having an easy time getting pregnant, of just the sense of loss and the questions you constently ask yourself such as why, was it something I did and the lists go on and on. If you know someone who has lost a baby, give them a hug because I am sure they can use it. I also found a website that may help someone who is struggling with a loss. It is called MEND: Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death and their website is http://home.mend.org/. I don't know much about it because I haven't had time to explore the entire website.

I thought about apologizing for this post being such a downer but I am not going to. Hopefully it will help someone find the comfort they need knowing that others are going through the same things they are. Maybe it will help me also.

Crazy?

I found this in some stuff my mom gave me to add to the bulletins for church and I liked it so I used it in tonights bulletin and thought that it would be good here too.

Thought for Today:

Today let only thought that bless dwell in my heart and mind;

Silence my lips and tongue to all that wounds or is unkind.

I know that I would be in a much better place if I took this to heart on a daily basis.

I am excited about the other visitors who have been by to take a peek at my crazy life. Crazy doesn't really describe it well, it isn't too bad since I graduated from college in December. Life is a little slower when you are not going to school full time, working part time and commuting 2 hours a day. Now all I have to worry about is finding a teaching job and to continue substitute teaching until that happens. Oh, and cleaning house, mowing the yard, and . . . . . .I can't remember everything I do!!

Well, that is it for today. My brain feels jumbled and nothing seems to be coming out smoothly!!

Happy Autumn!!

TGIF : Thank Goodness It's Fall!!

It is officially one of my favorite times of year (ok, so I like something about all of the seasons!). I do wish that we had a little bit more "color" during the fall but such is life in our wonderful state! Where has the cool gone? Our high tomorrow is 90!

Mrs. H had her list of Autumn things so I thought that I would make my own (no, I don't have any original ideas today!) so here goes.

When I think of Autumn, I think of. . . . . camping, plaid blankets, sweaters and sweatshirts, comfy afghans, thick socks, homemade chili, stew, and sloppy joes, flannel, pumpkins, scarecrows, gourds, football (and tons of extra traffic), new season of tv shows, fuzzy slippers, sneezy noses. . . . . .I can't think of anymore!

In honor of Mrs. H. and her wonderful organization, I thought I would let you get a peek at my weekly menu.

Supper Menus - September 22nd - 27th:

Monday: roast, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, rolls & rocky road ice cream (cooked by and eaten at Mom's house!)

Tuesday: sloppy joes (not the homemade sauce kind but the out of the can sauce kind), potatoe salad (homemade)

Wednesday: probaby leftovers or something out after church

Thursday: nothing because we will be eating lunch at La Riviera (yummy, yummy in my tummy) and won't have to eat dinner!!

Friday: don't know, we will be at my sister's house

Saturday: ditto

That is it for today. More enlightening nonsense and yummy recipes later!!!

Fall is coming!

The cooler weather this week has been wonderful and now I can hardly wait for fall to get here.

"Then summer fades and passes and October comes. We'll smell smoke then, and feel an unexpected sharpness, a thrill of nervousness, swift elation, a sense of sadness and departure."- Thomas Wolfe

I can't wait for October because that means that Halloween is coming, I can start drinking hot apple cider, begin wearing sweaters, smell burning leaves and of course celebrate my birthday! I love fall colors, pumpkins, scarecrows and falling leaves (until they have to be raked). Then comes Thanksgiving and all things associated with that! My mom made her first "fall" dinner the other night and it got me thinking about what I might want to start cooking more. She made goulash and that sounded good. Add in some jalapeno cornbread (one of my favorite foods) and a microwaved baked apple. Pure yumminess!! I hope to share some really good recipes in the next couple of months!

Today was. . . .

long. I am subbing in 4th grade and I forget how hard it is for kids this age to shut up!! Tomorrow I am going to have to become the "mean" teacher so we can get something done.

I can not believe how much traffic there is around here because of Ike. It is worse than football weekend and this weekend we have a game. If you are smart, you will stay off of the road and out of the restaurants. I think there will be about a million people here (not really) and no gas! Oh well, such is life in a college town!

Anyway, I really wanted to share this recipe. It is sooo good!


Swiss and Bacon Dip From the kitchen of Rachael Ray

8 slices center cut bacon, chopped
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 rounded teaspoons prepared Dijon style mustard
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese, available on dairy aisle
3 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup smoked almonds,

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Brown bacon in nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Drain crisp bacon bits on paper towels.
In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, Dijon, Swiss and scallions with cooked bacon. Transfer to a shallow small casserole or baking dish and bake until golden and bubbly at edges, 15 to 18 minutes. Top with chopped smoked almonds. Place dip on a platter and surround warm casserole with breads and carrots for dipping.
Yield: 6 servings
Variation: Swiss and Bacon Dip with Horseradish - Stir in 2 rounded teaspoons prepared horseradish when combining cheese and bacon.

I am

I found this on another friend's blog and thought that it was really neat.



i am...a Christian, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a teacher, a friend.
i dream...of one day having a family of my own.
i think...that my husband and family bring out the best in me.
i know...that I am a terrible housekeeper.
i want...children and to find a job that I will love.
i have...an amazing husband, an awesome family and great friends.
i wish...this year would have turned out differently.
i hate...feeling bad about the things I sometimes say and do.
i miss...my baby boy Raymond.
i fear...never having children.i feel...like I am
i hear...the noise of the tv.
i smell...cinnamon candles!
i crave...Mexican food.
i search...for knowledge and a better understanding of my Christian walk.
i wonder...will I ever be a mommy?
i regret...that I am sometimes not the person I should be.
i love...my family so much it sometimes hurts.
i ache...when I know someone I care about is hurting.
i care...my family and friends.
i always...try to be a good person.
i am not...going to let anyone get the best of me.
i believe...in Jesus Christ.
i dance...when no one is watching.
i sing...a lot!
i cry...when my heart is hurting or when I feel overwhelmed.
i don't...want to hurt anymore.
i hope...next year is better than this year.
i fight...for what I believe in.
i write...because I can say things better that way.
i lose...my train of thought often.
i listen...when someone needs to be heard.
i can usually be found...at home.
i need...to count my blessings.
i am happy...when I am with my husband.
i desire...to always be the best that I can be!

First recipe!

I saw this on Rachael Ray this morning and it looked really good and really easy so I thought I would share it with ya'll.

Jessica Simpson's Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:

3 rolls of reduced-fat croissant rolls, divided (recommended brand Pillsbury)
1 small rotisserie chicken, skin discarded and meat removed from bones
1 can of low-sodium, reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
1 can of low-sodium, reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Salt and ground black pepper
Yields: 4 servings

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Roll out the cans of croissant sheets and separate into diamond shaped sections. Place a small handful of rotisserie chicken on each diamond, fold dough over and press ends together to create dumplings. Cut up any excess dough into strips.


Line a 9x13" baking dish with one layer of dumplings. Pour the can of cream of chicken soup over the layer of dumplings, followed by the can of cream of mushroom soup, and chicken broth.

Place strips in a crisscross pattern on the top of the dumplings and soup mixture, season dish with salt and ground black pepper and bake until the dumplings are tender and cooked through and the top is bubbly and brown, about 30 minutes.

I succumbed to the lure. . . . .

Well, I have thought about this and changed my mind about a million times on if I was going to create one of these and I finally decided to. I promise that it will not be updated on a regular basis, will not be very interesting and will not be as informative as my friend Mrs. H.'s blog!! So welcome.