My ABC's

I found this on one of the blogs I read. Feels Like TODAY. I thought it seemed really fun so I wanted to copy and do it too. So here are my ABC's

A - Age: I am 35, and looking forward to the best year of my life!!
B - Bed Size: king size bed
C - Chore You Hate: Dusting and Laundry
D - Dad's Name: Al
E -Essential Start Your Day Item: Coffee and keep it coming....
F - Favorite TV Show: ever? I could live without them all, but I enjoy Supernanny because it makes me feel like a good parent....;-)
G - Gold or Silver: Silver most of the time, but I have some favorite gold pieces too.
H - Height- 5-5'.
I - Instruments You Play(ed): I took a year of piano lessons, hated it and can only play one hand of Chariots of Fire...
J - Job Title: Domestic Diva
K - Kid(s): 4 - Sha Sha (10), NiNi (8), The Boy (6), and GiGi (21 months)
L - Living Arrangement: Split level home.
M - Mom's Name: Vicki
N - Nicknames: Gwynnie (don't use it, please....hubby is the only one who I let get away with it!)
O - Overnight Hospital Stays Other Than Birth: Gallbladder removal and Thyroid removal and kidney stones when 8 months pregnant with The Boy.
P - Pet Peeve: Family who don't want to put things away!
Q - Quotes You Like: Mostly scripture
R - Right or Left-Handed: Right
S - Siblings: One brother, four brothers-in-law, three sisters-in-law (by marriage).
T - Time you wake up 6:45-7:10 (depending on how long I can delay it...)
U - Ultimate Dessert: Cheesecake
V - Vegetable You Dislike: Not many. Can't even think of one right now.
W - Ways You Run Late: I have four kids to usher out the door (but I hate being late - so I push to leave early).
X - X-rays You've Had: Teeth, hand, back, neck.
Y - Yummy Food You Make: Everything! ;-) LOL.
Z - Zoo Animal: Zebras, meerkats, chimps.

Mexican Lasagna

Hubby thinks it is more like Enchilada Casserole, but whatever you call it, it is yummy and everyone eats it! SCORE one for mom!

1 lb ground turkey or extra lean ground beef, browned
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1 jar(can) 4 oz chopped green chile peppers
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups salsa
4 whole wheat tortillas (halved)
1 cup shredded, reduced fat cheese (I prefer a Mexican blend, but Monterey Jack or cheddar work too)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray. Put browned meat in a large bowl. Coat skillet with cooking spray. Place skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 8 minutes, until lightly browned. Add to ground beef in the bowl. Add beans to bowl with ground beef. In another bowl, combine the cottage cheese, sour cream, peppers, cilantro, cumin and salt. Spread 1 cup of the salsa across the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange half the tortillas evenly over the salsa. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture over the tortillas. Top with half the meat mixture. Top with 1/2 the remaining salsa and 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese. Repeat the layering with tortillas, cottage cheese mixture, and ground beef mixture. Drizzle with remaining salsa and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Loosely cover with foil if the cheese browns too quickly.

Open House Discoveries

We visited the school open house this evening. We were able to go to each of our three children's classrooms and see things that they have been working on. I was so tickled by some things that I had to share!

Sha Sha - My ten year old wrote about our family and how we like to play games together. She also wrote about how challenging it is now with our little Gigi (21 mos), considering her propensity for "destroying everything". (Her word choice...)

Nini - Wrote a journal entry about how she wanted school to be shortened to three hours a day and wanted to change the school dress code. She wanted boys to wear tuxedos and girls to wear "fancy dresses" and "the boys and girls would dance together". Maybe she has a future in ballroom dancing?

The boy wrote a book about himself. It was great. My favorite part was where he discussed his favorite sounds. His fav is Christmas wrapping paper.....

Guest recipes

My 6 yr old son wrote me some recipes last week for me. I decided to share them with you for my Menu Monday post (misspellings and all - my translations are in parenteses). Enjoy!!

CoCo Cafe (Cocoa Coffee)

You need

Chaclet (Chocolate). Hot Water and Cafe mix. Thing (Then) you put the chaclet in the hot water thing put the cafe mix in the hot water. Thig you ster. Thing you put it in a cup.




Bug Soqe (Soup)

Get Redy

Frist you need

Buterr, Bugs, and tomato sauce, and beens. Thin you wall put it on the stove. Thin stat the stove. Thin put the timemer for 30 minits. Thin the timemer goes off. Thin you are done.

Don't Let Me Go

What an inspiring read! Goals are important, but the journey to the goals, the twists, detours, bumps and hurdles overcome are what make the journey interesting and memorable. This book is about a father and daughter who set amazing goals for themselves and learn from their journey. It is about a father and daughter relationship and the bond formed in working together toward a shared goal. I read it all in one day!!!


Check out this description -

One day after reading a book about a wilderness adventurer, David Pierce’s fifteen-year-old daughter Chera announced that she wanted to climb a mountain. What David heard behind that wish was a bold declaration: “I’m growing up, Dad—what are you going to do about it?” A few weeks later they bought matching backpacks.

Over a three-year period they climbed five mountains and ran in two marathons. Together they suffered sore muscles, bitter cold, sprung knees, shin splints, and broken spirits. But they also reveled in blazing sunsets, glissaded on a glacier, and celebrated numerous victories great and small. And in the process, they built an unshakable father-daughter bond that will stand the tests of time.

In Don’t Let Me Go, David Pierce—the husband of popular Christian comedienne Chonda Pierce—offers a down-to-earth, funny-yet-serious book for parents with the same universal appeal as Bob Carlisle’s heart-tugging song, “Butterfly Kisses,” only with well-worn running shoes and an ice axe.

This game of life

I always loved playing the game "Life" as a kid. Stop here and get married. Roll for presents. Stop here and add a baby boy! Congratulations! Roll for presents! Roll for a career! Pay taxes! Ending up at Millionaire Acres....Ahh good time!

However, I think a more realistic version is necessary, how about adding -

Child diagnosed with asthma - pay $100 for medicine, $15 for office visit, be annoyed because child used nebulizer attachment to pretend he is Statue of Liberty....

Child comes down with strep throat for second time in two months, spend your day gathering school assignments, additional office visit $15, and more meds $10.

Daylight Savings time - Lose 1 hour of sleep, mom and children all cranky for a week. (Lose a turn).

Soccer season starts - Have exactly 1 night at home a week. Spend $100 for easy dinner options.

Mom over-commits herself - pay $100 for anti-anxiety meds.

Mom loses sanity - $10,000 for 6 months of inpatient treatment.....

(Disclaimer - Any resemblance of these to my own life is ABSOLUTELY intentional!)

Who's coming to Dinner?

I sometimes do market research surveys for cash. If you pass screening they often ask you questions just to hear you talk. I guess to make sure you are able to complete full sentences (which I can do on a good day!) Anyway, one of the questions that they frequently ask is, "If you could have dinner with any one person, alive or dead, who would it be?" Would it surprise you to know that A LOT of people say Jesus of Nazareth. Not me. Think of all the wisdom and insight you could gain! All the questions you want to ask....

This is the premise of the book Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory.

The mysterious envelope arrives on Nick Cominsky’s desk amid a stack of credit card applications and business-related junk mail. Although his seventy-hour workweek has already eaten into his limited family time, Nick can’t pass up the opportunity to see what kind of plot his colleagues have hatched.

The normally confident, cynical Nick soon finds himself thrown off-balance, drawn into an intriguing conversation with a baffling man who appears to be more than comfortable discussing everything from world religions to the existence of heaven and hell. And this man who calls himself Jesus also seems to know a disturbing amount about Nick’s personal life.

"You’re bored, Nick. You were made for more than this. You’re worried about God stealing your fun, but you’ve got it backwards.… There’s no adventure like being joined to the Creator of the universe." He leaned back off the table. "And your first mission would be to let him guide you out of the mess you’re in at work."

As the evening progresses, their conversation touches on life, God, meaning, pain, faith, and doubt–and it seems that having Dinner with a Perfect Stranger may change Nick’s life forever.

The follow up novella, Day with a Perfect Stranger chronicles a day in the life of Nick's wife, Mattie, who is struggling with her feelings toward her husband.

When her husband comes home with a far-fetched story about eating dinner with someone he believes to be Jesus, Mattie Cominsky thinks this may signal the end of her shaky marriage. Convinced that Nick is, at best, turning into a religious nut, the self-described agnostic hopes that a quick business trip will give her time to think things through.

On board the plane, Mattie strikes up a conversation with a fellow passenger. When she discovers their shared scorn for religion, she confides her frustration over her husband’s recent conversion. The stranger suggests that perhaps her husband isn’t seeking religion but true spiritual connection, an idea that prompts her to reflect on her own search for fulfillment.

As their conversation turns to issues of spiritual longing and deeper questions about the nature of God, Mattie finds herself increasingly drawn to this insightful stranger. But when the discussion unexpectedly turns personal, touching on things she’s never told anyone, Mattie is startled and disturbed. Who is this man who seems to peer straight into her soul?

David Gregory is the author of the best-selling books Dinner with a Perfect Stranger and A Day with a Perfect Stranger, and coauthor of two nonfiction books. After a ten-year business career, he returned to school to study religion and communications, earning graduate degrees from The University of North Texas and Dallas Theological Seminary. A native Texan, David now devotes himself to writing full time.

If you would like a copy of the novella Dinner with a Perfect Stranger please leave a comment telling me who you would like to have dinner with (alive or dead) and why you picked that person. I'll randomly select a winner on Tuesday, March 10th.

Sorry!

I have been a bad, bad, blogger. I missed my Menu Monday post and I haven't visited very many of your sites either. It all started Monday morning with Sha-Sha awoke with a cracked baby tooth and had to go to the dentist. Then, yesterday the boy went to the doctor for a persistent cough. He was tested, treated and tested again and diagnosed with asthma and a horrible raging ear infection. We were given a handful of prescriptions and went off to the pharmacy. I am very glad we have health insurance! We dropped $100 with our insurance, but it would have been much worse without. That's not the worst part of the story. The pharmacy messed up two of his prescriptions. It was actually scary. If I had not of had the doctor thoroughly explain each one and had read them myself, I may not have caught the errors. It makes me wonder how often that does happen. Pharmacists have a lot of responsibility for people's health. A wrong dose can not be effective or even be detrimental to someone's health. I am considering writing a letter to the pharmacy director and switching my prescriptions to another pharmacy.....

I'll be back later today with another book review and giveaway. Stay tuned.