Something to Ponder

"People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty
is revealed only if there is a light from within."
-Elizabeth Kubler Ross

A Fun Site I found today!

This is a nice site that I found. Actually there are 2. The first one is called TipNut.com. Gives you all kinds ideas and tips for crafty type things and even how to make your own name labels and print out household notebooks. It is pretty cool. The one that is related to that one is Yedda.com. This one you sign up for and when you create your account - you put in what your interests are. Then when someone goes on the site and asks a question in your 'category' - you get an email (if you want) and can go and answer the question if you know the answer! You can also ask questions and hope someone will know the answers. It is cool. I have been busy all day answering questions about cooking and baking. Kinda fun to give you opinions. Check it out!

Quote for the day: "A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks." -Charles Gordy

Are you sick enough to stay home?

I found this really interesting article on when to "call in sick" for a job. But I thought it also applies to other areas in life.. like going shopping or out in public or even to church or the Kingdom Hall. Most people feel that if you have a fever you should stay home..which is true, but his article gives you some other things to be aware of. I found it interesting.. thought you would too! Enjoy...and feel better soon!
http://patients.about.com/od/decisionmaking/a/callinsick.htm

ICE STORM!

We're having an ice storm today. Started out as rain last night and has turned into little balls of sleet. Supposed to continue throughout the night into tomorrow! Brings back fearful memories of last year's ice storm when we were without power and heat for a few days. It was miserable and COLD! But we made out a lot better than others. Our landlord generously allowed us to use his propane heaters to keep warm and keep the pipes from freezing and we got power back relatively shortly compared to some that went for weeks and others that even went for MONTHS without power. Hopefully this storm will not prove to be that dangerous.. so far so good. But they did say on the news that Marion is short on ice for the roads. So they were only treating trouble spots. Aren't all spots TROUBLE.. when there is ice involved? Anyway.. we are staying inside and out of those trouble spots.. HOPEFULLY! Take care and keep warm tonight..

The Beauty of Kentucky

Just wanted to share with you the beautiful sunset we saw last night. Isn't it wonderful? The sky was orange and all around us was pink and purple. It took your breath away! Yes, these were all taken at the same time!

Thankful Thursday

So, what am I thankful for? That I do not suffer from Tourette's Syndrome. Did anyone catch the Hallmark Movie on Sunday called "Front of the Class"? It was about Brad Cohen. A man that was born with Tourette's Syndrome and his struggle to be successful in life. This is what one person had to say about him :"Brad Cohen is a walking billboard for the idea of living positively. He is like a cold drink on a hot day--refreshing, energizing, and likely to put a smile on your face."
Tim Shriver - Chairman of Special Olympics. I couldn't agree more. If you haven't seen the movie - try to catch it sometime. It is really inspiring. This man overcame SO much adversity! It is truly amazing what humans can overcome with the right attitude. He kept telling himself "I will not let Tourette's win." And that is just what he did! Check him out speaking at school and on a news program on YouTube:
YouTube1
YouTube2
Also, do some research on Tourette's. I thought it was where the person used profanity. But that is only in rare cases. Be educated so you are not ignorant, and never let it win.
Link to more info.

Wednesday's Whimsy

Just a brief thought for tonight. Did you ever notice that people usually laugh when they are running in the rain? Not always.. because some people never laugh (if this is you.. you know it.. so cheer up). But a LOT of times people cannot help but laugh or at least smile in a rain shower. Why is this?? My first thoughts on this brought me to thinking about when I was a kid. As kids, we always ran in the rain. Do you remember begging your mom or dad to let you go out. Sometimes it was too cold or too dangerous. But other times it was just right. Mom and Dad said Go ahead.. run.. laugh.. jump in puddles. Our mom even gave us a bar of soap if we wanted. Taking a shower was never so much fun as at that moment! So as adults -- when we smile or laugh as we run in the rain -- are we being transported back to a simpler time in our life. When we had less worries and didn't feel 'stupid' running around. If someone saw us running today when the sun was shining.. say running to our car in the parking lot... they would think we were crazy. But when we run in the rain to our car.. it is accepted and ok. All is right in the world.. well, except for the rain. Shouldn't we be thankful to Jehovah God for giving us a blessing like rain? Not only to make things grow and bloom, but to make us remember what life should be like? So next time it rains...RUN AND LAUGH.. and know that God is watching and laughing along with you.

Tuesday's 'Tails'

...Squirrel Tails that is! HeeHee... We had a really cute squirrel experience today! Ok, let me back up. A few months back I received a bunch of Walnuts with the intentions of doing something fun with them. Well, to make a long story short.. it never happened! Instead the Kiddie (or dog!) pools they were drying in got full of water and finally Chad dumped them out. Today, Jaxson started going CRAZY when he was looking out the window! Barking and jumping and wanting to go out. Usually that happens when his friends are here to play. Well, after a few times of this silliness..hehe.. we went and looked at what he was barking at. Here is what we saw: A sweet little squirrel, running to the pile of nuts to pick out a juicy one, then to a small tree in our yard. He stopped here and looked around - using his tail to cover him because it was raining very hard out! - then continuing on his business. We watched him take nuts to about 6 different trees. For only one tree, he stopped on the tree next to it, broke open the hard shell on the outside to the actual nut inside, continued on to the next tree to hide his treasure. The rest of the trees he left the walnuts whole. I am wondering if he isn't going to eat the nuts in that tree first? One tree is a small bush and he just buried the nut on the ground under a pile of leaves. The rest he took way up high to store. He was working at this all day long. To help you understand... I had to kiddie pools about 1/2 way full of nuts.. now we have about 1/2 of a what was left in 1 kiddie pool!! I am actually glad he is taking them away -what will we do with them? I didn't even imagine they were any good to eat. Chad said "well, maybe not for us!" Good point. This little guy worked all day hiding these nuts. Can you see a lesson for us? Jehovah God promises to take care of us - and he will as He is taking care of this little squirrel.. IF we let Him. Also, can you imagine someone believing that evolution made this squirrel know how and where to hide his nuts? Impossible! We thank Jehovah for these little things that help us appreciate our life and stop and think about Him. All that from a squirrel!
PS> Look very closely at the pic.. you will see him at the base of the tree with a nut in his mouth!

Muddled Monday

What an interesting day it has been. Let me begin by telling you that I am a 'test cook' for Cooks Illustrated Magazine. All that means is that they send me a recipe to try and then I fill out a survey and let them know how it goes. I believe it gives them a good idea how things work at home vs. a set up test kitchen. And BTW - if you have never seen their show on Public TV.. I recommend you catch it sometime if you like to cook. Its 'America's Test Kitchen'. Here in KY - its on KET, but I believe you can watch it on any Public TV Station. Anyway, today I decided to try their latest recipe: Lemon Pudding Souffle Cake. All was going ok - until I realized that I had no Corn Starch. Went to the store - continued my adventure. Its a long, LONG, involved recipe. I won't get into details.. but I ran into a bit of trouble when I had to beat egg whites into a stiff peak - got to soft peak stage and added sugar (Mom says too much too quick) and never got stiff peaks.. But decided to go ahead and do it anyway. All was fine. For the final step - you put this in an 8 x 8 pan, then place the pan in a roasting pan on a towel. Once that is all in the oven - you pour boiling water in roasting pan - around souffle. NOT EASY! I got a little water in the souffle.. but carried on.. a bit frustrated. It has to cook for an hour. My oven is testy when it comes to temperature.. runs hot USUALLY. Must have today, because when I put my meatloaf in for dinner - the souffle was done at 40 minutes! So, I popped the meatloaf in and went to take the souffle out, didn't realize I hadn't grabbed the oven rack.. and tipped EVERYTHING all over!! And I mean all over! In the meantime, my glasses were fogging up and souffle was dripping all over and water water everywhere! Chad came running and I was yelling "my eyes - my eyes".. trying to get him to see I couldn't see, but the poor guy thought I burnt my eyes. He finally understood and got my glasses off so I could "kinda" see what to do with the cake (this whole time I was holding the cake pan). We were able to salvage enough souffle to taste. And, now my kitchen needs a good bath! My sweet husband is now cleaning up the mess for me. What a guy! Not to mention that I couldn't cook my meatloaf because there was cake all over the oven. SO- in the fridge for tomorrow. Chad says "Well, now you have dinner all ready for tomorrow and think how good it will be now that the flavors have had time to marinate!" What a sweetie pie. My mom is calling him "Pollyanna" -(if you have no idea what that means it is an old Disney movie about a girl that sees the best in things- you should see it!). I had 2 lemons left - so I decided to make us lemonade. Can you believe one of them had NO juice? Not even a drop! What else can go wrong?? Oh..the cake.. it was ok.. Will never make it again! (can you blame me?) It was VERY VERY VERY lemon-y. Too much for my taste. All in all.. I guess it came out as it was supposed to, but not my thing. Chad liked it. SO, America's Test Kitchen.. you got an interesting review coming your way! In retrospect, all I can say is "May your Lemons of Life Always have Juice!"

Friday's Fried Rice

Today is all about Fried Rice. Decided to share my recipe with you. It's a great recipe for a quick, easy dinner. I must warn you that I do not measure when I cook, so you're on your own there. But I will try to 'guesstimate' how much I use. Well, I had some rice leftover from my Turkey Curry the other day. Also some chicken from a Roast Chicken I bought at the store. I have also used leftover pork (YUM!) - and I suppose you can experiment with almost anything. Heat your pan up pretty hot with oil to coat the bottom (not much - 1 tbs?) Make sure its hot before you add the rice or it will just absorb the oil. Add COLD rice (if you have to cook some first..be sure to chill it for awhile before dinner. DK why.. but this just works best). I used a carrot (peeled and shredded on grater) and frozen peas also. Its good to have all your ingredients ready before you start. As stated, you begin with the rice - stirring often so it doesn't stick to the pan. Cook about 4-5 minutes until it starts to look slightly brownish. Then, make a hole in center of the pan and add your shredded carrot. Cook 1-2 minutes. Add Chicken (chopped 1 1/2 - 2 cups) and peas. Let this cook until peas are thawed out and chicken is warmed through. This step is optional: Make another hole in center and crack an egg in there and scramble it - when cooked - stir it through. After it is all warmed up and almost ready - add enough soy sauce to give it a nice light flavor. I prefer 'light' soy sauce to cut down on sodium. This part is hard to judge - so use less and keep the bottle nearby to add some as you sit down to eat. Heat and enjoy. Optional: you can add some teriyaki sauce to the mix and also use a little sesame oil for authentic Chinese taste. I am not thrilled with the taste of sesame oil.. so I just use a very little. Its a great quick meal that is satisfying also! Let me know how i works for you! ENJOY!!

Thursday's Thoughts...

Just a brief blog for tonight. Been a busy day and I am quite tired. But I wanted to share something cute I found recently online. I was looking for a quote for a card I made for a friend and came across the cutest quote from my favorite bear, Winnie the Pooh. He says: "Have you ever stopped to think and then forgot to start again?" How adorable is that? It is exactly my life some days!! I think most of us can relate. But on a more serious note.. what is our mind dwelling on that we get so occupied? The Bible says to let your mind be on things that are serious, true, righteous, chaste, loveable and well spoken of. (Phil 4:8) I read this verse in another translation and it really touched me. It reads:
Whatever you do - do it with faith
However you live, live for the truth
Whoever you love, love them with all your heart
And you will know a pure and simple happiness... Phillipians 4:8

So when you stop to think and forget to start again.. make sure what you are thinking about is as above and you can't go wrong!

Windy Wednesday

Hello! It sure was blustery out today! Sorry this is getting out so late. I guess I need to pick a good time to blog and try to stick to it so you all know when to check in. I'll let you know when I figure it out! Well, I did my good deed for the day today and I thought it was a great thing to 'blog' about. We were at Wal-Mart and I was checking out. I happened to chat with the woman in front of me as she was buying a LOT of animal food. She informed me that she had 2 cats and 3 dogs (or was it 2 dogs and 3 cats? Not sure). Anyway, she left and the woman behind the check out was chit chatting with us and asking me a bunch of questions (especially after she found out I was from NY - she wanted to know - why was I in KY? Did I like it? How long have we been here? See why I love it here.. everyone is so friendly! Yes.. too much sometimes.. but we survive!). When she handed me my bags, I noticed the contents of the bag was not familiar.. so I peeked inside and saw it was cans and cans of cat food! I told her it belonged to the woman in line before me and she called the service desk to try to get someone from there to go catch her. She said "She's probably still there - she had a lot of big bags of food to take out." Plus, she was an older woman and was moving a little slower than the rest of us! So, the woman at the service desk just put the bag down and didn't even attempt to look for the woman! Granted, it is blustery and cold outside - but I thought 'shouldn't she at least try?' Well, when we had paid - I went out, while Chad was getting the bags together and saw she was about to leave. I told her what happened and told her to wait and I would go get the bag for her. The woman at customer service said "well, I didn't know what she looked like!!" I thought - and yes I kept it to myself - "the woman with all the dog food bags.. not that hard to figure out". But I just smiled and took the bag to her and she was VERY thankful for me to do that. And you know what? It made me feel good. I felt like I helped someone out. And instead of her going home and searching frantically for her cat food.... as I have done in the past (no, not cat food - but other things)...she could have peace of mind. And maybe - just maybe - she would think of the person that did something nice for her and smile. And if not, I am smiling inside just thinking that she might..hehehe.. So, no matter how busy you may be today or how much extra time it may take.. try to do something kind - no matter how big or small - for another person. Just see how it makes you feel. And maybe in turn, they will do something nice for the next person they come across. Don't you think we all need to show more kindness to others? Its a requirement from the Bible and there is good reason for it. You'll see why when you do it! Hope your Wednesday is a good one. Keep Smiling!

Tuesday's TidBits

So, as far as the shark goes.. it was GOOD! The recipe I used I would NOT recommend. It wasn't horrible, but it was really really strong spices and I think it overpowered the shark. The shark itself was great.. sweet and tender, but the texture was good. It wasn't super light and flaky like Tilapia, but thicker. Hard to describe. I just really encourage you to be brave and try it. And it wasn't very fishy tasting.. surprisingly, because it smelled a little fishy before I cooked it. Add this to your 'something new to do' list!
Today I wanted to talk about Freecycle. Has everyone signed up for it? It's a great program that is available in your area. It's a place where you can give away something instead of putting it in the recycle bin or garbage heap. Anothers trash is someone's treasure. Although I am not saying to offer something that REALLY should be thrown away, but things that someone else may be able to use or repair. Ex: Chad (my hubby) got a John Deere Riding Mower that someone just couldn't repair (her husband was in the military and he told her to go buy a new one rather than try to fix this one). Alll it needed was to unclog the fuel filter. It works fine now! Granted, this is something extreme and it is usually smaller things that are offered. I have gotten a food dehydrator and a microwave and 2 brand new seat massagers - just to mention a few treasures! But for it to work - you have to join! The more that join - the better it works. It's easy to join - just go to Freecycle.org and look up your local area (ex: Crittenden County, KY - beware not to pick crittenden county, AZ .. like I did in the past.. lol). So try it out! See what you might be interested in and look around your house.. what do you have that you can offer to someone else who can really use it? It's so much fun to give and to get! One word of advice.. sign up for the individual emails if you are really serious about this.. you HAVE to be quick to respond to a new add. Its pretty much a first come - first served deal. Let me know how things go for you!
Well, thats about all for today. Now you have 2 new things to try: Freecycle and shark!! Keep it interesting!

Happy Monday!

Hello there! Well, it's Monday. Another week begins. Are you keeping warm now that winter is well on its way? Just think.. a day closer to spring.. YAH! It's been a pretty quiet day around here. Kinda dreary and snowy (yes.. its our first official snow in KY! But no fear.. Wednesday brings us back to the 50's again!)
Ok, so what's going on? Well, I tried an interesting recipe for lunch. I love allrecipes.com. It is the best place to find recipes and then read reviews and suggestion. I haven't tried any that have come out real bad so far. Sometimes I follow the recipe exactly, sometimes I let others tell me how to improve the meal and sometimes I just add my own twist. Today I did a little of all! The recipe was for Easy Turkey Curry. I was able to get a free turkey through out grocery store here with 15 filled little cards (they give you stamps for every $5 that you spend!). So I got my turkey over a week ago and I knew I had to use up the last bit of leftovers. I am sick of turkey right now, so I needed a good disguise for it! This worked great! Here's the recipe:

Easy Turkey Curry

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (6 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 cups cooked turkey meat, chopped or shredded

DIRECTIONS:
1.In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2.In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, Saute the onion until translucent, not browned. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and stir in the mushroom soup, drained mushrooms, and milk. Heat while stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth. Add the sour cream, curry powder, and turkey meat, stirring while it all heats through. Cover and allow to low simmer 20 to 25 minutes. Ladle the curry mixture evenly over the rice for each individual serving.

*note: I did not have sour cream or mushrooms! So I found a recipe for mock sour cream (cottage cheese, buttermilk and lemon juice - came out great!) and omitted the mushrooms and used about a cup or more of frozen mixed veggies. This was great! OH.. I also used 1 TBS curry powder per reviewers suggestions on the site. We love Curry! Give this a try!

So - it's SHARK fillets for dinner! It's shocking but our local grocery store actually started carrying fresh fish! (this is a big deal for a little KY town! Go, Conrad's!!) I am a little nervous about cooking it. Again all recipes has given me something to try! I'll let you know how it goes!

Have a great day! Keep checking back for more fun!