Confession Time

I have a confession. I love snacks. Snacks. I'm not talking non-buttered, non-salted air popped popcorn, rice cakes or veggie chips. I'm sure those are all lovely snacks and have their place. But I'm talking SNACKS. The feel a little guilty--know you shouldn't have it--minimal (who am I kidding?) --zero nutritional value kind of snacks.

In light of my pregnancy, I have had to summons some significant will power to not convince myself that the baby needs a frozen Nutty Bar or a couple of my favorite Old Dutch Jalapeno and Cheddar chips multiple times each day (probably something I should work on post-pregnancy too, but that's another post for another time). Because it is my job as The Mama to guide my child toward what is good and right in the world, right? In my defense, may I just say, there are some great snacks out there these days with the delivery of the highly anticipated Girl Scout cookies and the widely available Cadbury mini-eggs...yum. I am also thoroughly convinced that popcorn and M&M's were made to eat together. I'm just saying. And Oreos? Yum-o. (Although the ones with the seasonal colored filling freak me out a little bit.)

So, I'm just wondering--fess up you lurkers! What's your favorite guilty snack? No judgement. Only acceptance, love and maybe some diet Coke with lots of ice!

Need a little laugh?

Some weekend fun! Visit Shannon over at Rocks In My Dryer for a link to some hilarity!

Have a good one and let me know how many 5 year olds you could take in a fight! I could take 17!

A List a Mile Long

So, we are in the final countdown. With each day it is more and more impressed upon me that the arrival of Wee One is quickly approaching. And while my list of "to-dos" is looking pretty good, my worry list keeps getting longer with each passing day. I think without the preoccupation of baby related tasks, my mind is wandering and freed up to be consumed with unproductive worries. How am I going to do this? How is Princess Pigtails going to adjust? How is the nursing going to go this time? Will I be over this cold before I have to deliver this baby? How will the timing all go? And it goes on and on and on... Questions that I can not answer, can not control, can not change by worrying. Yet I do. A lot. Then this morning, I read this and I was refreshed, reminded and encouraged.
It was truly the Word I needed to hear today.

Some More Yummy Favorites

The fact that the temp this morning when I got up was somewhere around -16 (add the windchill and we were somewhere around -25) has got me thinking about warm dinner possibilities. Up here in the Northland, these kind of dinners are referred to as "hot dish"--but since I am an immigrant to the frozen tundra, I grew up with "casseroles". Either way, here are a couple of my quick, easy favorites. For other great tips, ideas and recipes head over to Rocks in My Dryer.

Chicken Stuffing Casserole
1-6 oz pkg of cornbread stuffing w/seasoning mix
1/2 c. butter (or margarine) melted
4 c. chicken, cooked and cubed (turkey is good in this too)
2 (10 3/4 oz.) cans of cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 (7oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 c. chopped celery
2 c. frozen peas and carrots

Preheat oven to 325.
Combine cornbread stuffing mix and seasoning packet (if you buy a mix that has the seasoning separate) with the melter butter. Press 1/2 of this mixture into the bottom of a 9 x13 pan. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
Combine remaining ingredients and pour over crust and top with remaining stuffing mixture. Bake for 40 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes prior to serving.


Taco Casserole
1 pound ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
1/2 c. water
1 tube crescent rolls
1 pkg. crushed corn chips or Doritos (I use this as an opportunity to finish off the open bags in the cupboard)
1 c. sour cream
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
shredded lettuce
chopped tomato
salsa

Preheat oven to 375.
Brown meat (I chop some onion and add to meat while browning) and drain. Add taco seasoning and water. Press rolls into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Press 1/2 of crushed corn chips into crust. Add sour cream to meat and spoon onto crust. Top with cheese and then remaining chips.
Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Serve with lettuce, tomato and salsa.

Stunned and Disturbed

Princess Pigtails and I spent the morning at the grocery store. We got started a little later than I had hoped or planned, so of course, as we were loading groceries onto the conveyor at the check out I realized what time it was and that we were due for lunch. I had the internal debate of whether either of us had the patience to wait the 45 minutes to an hour that it would realistically take to get the groceries bagged, loaded into the truck, endured the 20 minutes drive home and unload the plunder. I concluded that I indeed did not have the patience and I wasn't going to put Princess Pigtails in that position. So, after getting everything loaded, we stopped at the favorite lunch destination of kiddos everywhere: "Old McDonald's" as our Princess refers to it.

I must say that our local McD's is not laid out particuliarly well and I'm generally annoyed by the experience when I am the lone adult with the precious toddler. But today, I had what I thought was the good fortune of finding a table in a good location near most everything (a must for me when I may possibly make 16 trips to the napkin dispenser or ketchup during the course of lunch). The bonus was no one else was around, so fewer distractions for Princess Pigtails. It was looking to be a reasonably enjoyable lunch.

Bless you if you are still reading at this point after I have bored with plenty of pointless details, this is where our lunch excursion takes a turn. As we were starting to eat, in comes a group of what I'm assuming were high school boys on their lunch. Of course, where do they choose to sit? Right behind us. Still not a big deal, except now I had to listen to their chatter. Not surprisingly there was talk about dead truck tranmissions, hockey games, etc. But two things happened. One, there was one kid that was obviously not part of the group--in fact it appeared that he had arrived before the others and planned to take his lunch to go, as he was leaving, the big group must've asked him to join them or he invited himself. I'm not sure it matters, as a couple of "the guys" told him where they normally sit and he sat down. Nice gesture? Um, no. I felt horrible for the kid. He chose to stay and eat with the larger group--they never actually spoke to him except to make fun of him or ridicule him about something or another. Teenagers, right? He would've been better off for so many reasons, if he would have just left as he had planned. I silently cheered for him when he got up and left as soon as he was done eating. Seriously, I know teenage girls can be bad, but this was brutal. And at the risk of sounding old and motherly, which I guess I am anyway, the language these boys used left me talking ninety miles an hour to Princess in hopes that she wasn't overhearing any of it, and encouraging her to eat as fast as possible so we could get out of there.

As we were finishing up, gathering our trash and putting our coats on, the group started to thin out but the three boys in the booth directly behind me remained. My stomach was churning with disappointment at the whole group dynamic. Then, I heard what then made my heartache even more. The ring leader was going on and on about how he had held someone, whom I'm assuming was his girlfriend up, in the air by her coat and then thrown her against the wall. There was mention of her falling and sliding across the garage floor when he pulled her out of the vehicle. He was regailing how he had broken her cup holders and smashed her phone. The two boys across the table from him, seemed either unphased or unable to summonize the courage to say something to him. The mind can be twisted and disturbed, especially under the influence of teenage hormones, so perhaps he was embellishing to "impress"--but it really matters very little to me. I was sickened. What I heard made my face burn with pain and anger. I wanted to say something, to "mother" him with some harsh words or perhaps, to find a very large, intimidating being to strike fear in his heart. I was stunned and am ashamed to admit that consequently I said and did nothing, other than to quickly gather up my baby and leave. But perhaps that was the best course of action. I don't know.

I am well aware of the staggering numbers of victims of domestic violence and that abuse knows no boundaries or borders. Admitedly, I tend to be an "ostrich" when it comes to applying facts and figures to real life. But my shock and disbelief was related to the harsh reality that this perpetrator was merely a teenage kid. Someone who had previously mentioned on his way past me to refill his soda that he "hoped" he would graduate. I was stunned that he would "brag" or calousely recall in a public place his abusive behavior of this woman and that his "friends" would say nothing to him. I'm quite certain that this is not the first time he has retold behavior of this type and yet his peers just sat and took it all in.

I spent the drive home in reflection and prayer. Broken and ashamed, I asked the Lord to forgive my inability to "see" these situations and to forgive my sin of stereotyping victims and perpetrators... finally, I prayed feverently that my children will never experience abuse of any nature nor will they tolerate that kind of abuse from peers or friends--that they will have the strength in their convictions to stand up to their peers when they are mistreating those around them.

Shop, Shop, Shop!

So, the theme of today's Works for Me Wednesday is something that I love and has made my life so much easier: on-line shopping! I've already shared my thoughts on my absolute favorite e-tailer. But there are a few more sites that I've come to count on for a good deal, great selection and awesome service:

For shoes for the whole family, I look to Zappos.com. Beyond the wide selection of shoes, the customer service and return policy at Zappos is outstanding. Stop over and check them out!

For Christian books, music and gifts, I head over to Christian Book Distributors. I've purchased a number of materials through them both for personal and group studies and the folks at CBD have always come through for me.

For miscellaneous household items, books, etc. I have always had good results at Amazon.com .

These are a few of my favorite sites. Where do you head for a great deal? Share yours and check out other great on-line shopping leads, head over to Rocks In My Dryer.

Soup's On!

On a day like today when it is freakishly cold outside, I'm always looking for quickish soup recipes to warm the tummy.

Here are a couple that we love and that take the chill off:

Country Cheddar Soup

2 Tbsp. butter

1/2 C. chopped carrot

1/2 C. chopped onion

1/2 C. chopped celery

5 Tbsp. flour

4 C. chicken broth

3 C. shredded cheddar cheese

12 oz. can of evaporated milk

Freshly ground pepper

In large saucepan melt butter. Add carrot, onion and celery. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until the veggies are tender. Sprinkle the veggies with flour, adding it 1 Tbsp. at a time, stirring until the flour is blended in. Add chicken broth to the saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat, add the shredded cheese, stirring with a large whisk until the cheeses is melted. Slowly add evaporated milk, stirring until the mixture is well blended and heated through. Add freshly ground pepper to taste. I also garnish with crumbled bacon--cause I can! :) Makes 6-8 servings.

Creamy Potato Soup

This is a soup recipe that I grew up with. One of my favorites...

Peeled, sliced potatoes (I usually figure 1 large potato per person that I am serving)

1/2 C. diced onion

1/2 C. diced carrot

1/2 C. diced celery

1/2 tsp. salt

Cook potatoes in just enough water to cover. Once potatoes have cooked, do not drain--add 1 can of cream of chicken soup. Stir to combine and cook on medium-heat until heated through. Serve. I garnish with crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese and fresh ground black pepper. You could also garnish with sour cream and chive or green onions. (I have on occasion frozen the left overs and then reheated them in the crock pot later and it worked very well.)

For more great ideas, tips and recipes head on over to Rocks in My Dryer.