Caroline has yet to play a soccer game this year! She has had several practices, but for one reason then another, she has not played a game. (Tommy has played 3 games.) Her first game, she had Strep, so she did not go. The second week was a bye for her team. Then this week, the skies opened and poured minutes before her game was to start. Here she is waiting for her game to start.

This is what we woke up to Sunday morning....I guess Gus doesn't agree with my decision to make the newly screened in porch "Dog Free". With 14 acres and a pond for them to roam, is it too much for me to ask for them to stay off the porch? Well, Gus thought so. We have no idea how long he had been there when we found him about 9 am. He never barked made any sounds to let us know he was stuck. He probably knew he was in trouble! In order to get him out, Heath had to remove the slats (that were put in place to keep the dogs from going through the screen.)

A lot of my cooking habits and knowledge came from my Grandma Ford. She moved in with us when I was about 11. She loved to cook and had dinner ready every night. There were nights that she would have cooked [what I now see as] a delicious meal, and I would fix a bowl of cereal. (Which by the way, as sad as it is, cereals are probably my favorite food in the whole world...sugars, preservatives and all.) I wish I would have appreciated her more then! Now as my kids see that I have cooked dinner and they turn up their nose, I am sure she smiles down at me and laughs and says, "Well missy, that is what you get!" I know I deserve that.
She had a stroke when I was 7 months pregnant with Tommy, so she never got to love on my babies. And there is nothing she loved more than to sit in her loveseat (which now has a proud spot in my kitchen) and rock a baby. I have all the confidence that even though she never got her hands on my little ones and they never got to love on her, that she is in their heart. Ok, so I am going to dry my tears now...didn't mean to get into all of that!
So, on this rainy Saturday, Heather and I are making Grandma's Vegetable Soup. There are many treasures I have of Grandma's, but one of the things I treasure most is her hand written copy of the vegetable soup recipe.
This is probably the ultimate comfort food for me. I will make some corn bread muffins and we will definitely enjoy!

A friend of mine showed me a great website last spring and I had forgotten about it until the last day or so. It is www.thepioneerwoman.com. If you love to cook, take pictures or need a laugh, she is a great one to turn to. I have tried several of the recipes of hers and they are wonderful. She is also the inspiration for my taking pics as I make a recipe to post on here. So, if you have some time to surf the web, I would suggest taking a minute (or hour) to thumb through her site. I enjoy it and think you will too!
Under the cooking tab, there is a dessert section. One of the options under dessers is bakerella! section. There are "cake pops" that I hope to make before halloween. My kids will love making them (and eating them, too!). I will take pics to share with you when we get them made. Hope you visit The Pioneer Woman's site and enjoy it as I did.
If you have any sites that you visit and enjoy, please share them!

It was brought to my attention that the comment section was not working. I played around with the settings, so now anyone should be able to leave comments. I look forward to seeing them!

Tommy is not a "nut" eater. He just does not care for them. With one exception...the sugar roasted almonds that you can buy at fairs or malls. He loves them. After him asking many times, today I broke down and made some. What else can you do in this weather...other than try to construct an ark? (And I probably have enough animals around here to match Noah).
After looking at recipes online, I compiled a couple together. Here is what I came up with:
9 c Almonds
2 egg whites
2 tsp cold water
2 tsp vanilla 
2 cups white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 stick butter
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Combine the egg whites and water. Beat the until they are very frothy, but not stiff. Add the vanilla. Pour almonds into the bowl and toss to coat. Spray jelly roll pan (or large pyrex, just need something with sides) with non stick cooking spray. Spread almonds in single layer. Melt butter. Pour over almonds. Toss. Combine sugar, cinnamon and salt. Sprinkle over almonds. Toss. Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Let cool. Store in airtight container. I will have a happy little man when he gets home from school. Maybe this will help the homework go by faster!! It's sure worth a try.

The way I have learned to knit socks is "toe up" on 4 double pointed needles. There are many different ways (so I have been told), but this is the (only) way I know.
This first pic is the beginning of the socks. At this point I have moved from the 2 initial needles to 4 needles. I have also already added one stitch per needle. (I was at Tommy's soccer practice when I started them and didn't have my camera, so I didn't get a pic of initial stage).

Here is a homemade crouton recipe that is a favorite at our house. You can use any type of bread. I usually only make croutons when I have stale bread that needs to be used. Today I used stale hamburger buns. When I have these made, I store them in a zip top bag. My kids love to snack on them. And they make a wonderful addition to salads.
I am very guilty of not measuring when I cook. This is especially true with things like croutons. Here is what I use, but the seasoning options are only limited by what you can think of!
Bread
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Cayenne Pepper (use SPARINGLY!)
Chipotle Seasoning (I don't use this, bc I don't really care for it...but my mom uses it every time)
Dice the bread into desired size. Spread on cookie sheet. (I try to keep it into a single layer). Drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with desired seasonings. Toss to coat.
Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Check to see if they are done. If you like them really crispy, they will probably need a few more minutes. I like them a little "soft" on the inside, so when you bite into them they don't all but break your teeth.

(Ok...Sean NO laughing at this). I highly recommend that you set a timer EACH time you check on them. I am so very guilty of checking them, deciding they need a few more minutes, then forgetting about them until the oven is smoking and I have a cookie sheet (or 2) full of well seasoned charcoal. You would think after the first (or tenth) time, I would learn, but I haven't.

With the garden season coming to a close, I am trying to enjoy every last bit of basil I have. I love basil. Here's what I do if I am at home for lunch:
8-10 basil leaves
tomato, thinly sliced
fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Wickles Red Pepper Relish (this is hard to find, but so worth it!)
Couple drops of EV Olive Oil
2 Slices of bread
Heat skillet and put couple drops of Olive Oil. Place sandwich in skillet and let it "toast". Flip it over when first side is done. Enjoy!

In our family cooking (and eating) is much more a past time than it ever should be. Those who know us, understand that completely. Our tradition of cooking goes back generations...we will get into that another time. We sit at one meal and plan what we will fix for the next meal. My dad will say, "This is one of the top ten best meals I've ever had". We have heard that many times...way more than 10. We love to find something good to cook and we then love consuming it. It also brings us great joy to share our efforts with others.  Which is why there are not many weekends that there is not a house full of people eating and socializing. It is what we enjoy.
So, now that I have the blog set up, I would love to share our wonderful meals with all.
Tonight's meal was from the "Penzeys Spices" Fall 2009 catalog. If you are not familiar with Penzeys, I urge you to google it (or see if they have a store near you). The spices are outstanding. There are a few I would feel "naked" without in the kitchen.

Penzeys Chili

2 lb ground meat (I used 1 lb lean ground beef & 1 lb ground turkey)
2-3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 large Onion ( I omitted this bc I HATE onions. They coat my mouth with yuckiness)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
2 tsp Oregano
2 tomatoes, chopped, seeds removed (I did not remove the seeds)
1 (29 oz) can tomato puree
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped, seeds removed
2 cups chicken stock, divided
1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
1/2-1 tsp fresh ground pepper (to taste)
2 (15 oz) cans red beans
2 (15 oz) cans black beans
I added about 6 oz of tomato paste because it was real "watery". This solved the problem and made it yummy!

Toppings: Sour Cream, fresh chopped cilantro, shredded cheddar cheese, Fritos Corn Chips


This is how I like mine...fritos, chili, cheese and sour cream. It was delicious!

As I was listening to Oprah Radio (which, by the way, is fabulous), they were talking about appreciating our lives and the small things that we so often overlook. The whole discussion was about the "law of attraction" and "power of intention". (I am sure I will talk about those another time...they are powerful). I decided I needed to do as they recommended and keep a running list of all of those little things, so what better place than here. I have created a list over on the side that I hope to add to daily. I would love for you to leave comments on those things that you often overlook, but do appreciate.

I let myself spend an hour today finishing my first pair of hand knitted socks. I am so excited to have them complete. It is a huge sense of accomplishment. I have been told by several at my favorite local yarn store, "Imaginiknit", that there is nothing like wearing a pair of hand knitted socks. I decided if they are that good, I must try them! Of course, the first pair are not for me. The girls will get to enjoy the fruits of my labor (not sure that knitting can be called "labor". I've done actual labor x 3....knitting is fantastic).
Most of the time, the only way I get to actually sit and knit is when the kids are at dance, gymnastics, soccer, etc. On occasion if I am not just completely exhausted after the kids go to bed, I will knit for a few minutes. But usually it is the hours I am at one of their activities that I get to knit. So, I did let myself knit this morning at home and complete the socks. I am very proud of them. Now on to pair #2!

Sometime after the new year, a man started coming to GED classes. He had a stroke some years before, but from seeing and talking to him, one would not know that. The only sign of a stroke was when he read, he had trouble staying on one line. His eyes seemed to "jump around" as he said.
He had sold his business of 20+ years and wanted to become a real estate agent. He said while the market was down he would get licensed so when the market picked back up again, he would be ready. He started real estate classes to only learn he could not go any further until he obtained his GED. He had joined the armed forces, so he never finished high school.
So, this lead him to my classes. He had not been in school in over 35+ years. He worked diligently, all the while saying he had nothing but time and it would take him at least a year to earn his GED. Around May, he decided he was going to go try the test and see how he does. (If there are parts that are not passed, they can be taken over again.) He didn't pass the math, so after coming back to classes for a month or so, he tried the math part again. Today he came to see us, with a big smile and his scores. HE PASSED!!
This makes my day (and his too!). It also makes going to work worth every minute. I love my job.

We found someone who wanted the wolf eel, lunar wrasse, niger trigger and chocolate chip starfish!! Now we have reef corals in our aquarium. Tommy did not really want to trade the predator fish...but once he realized the things we could have in the tank without the "pesky" predators, he was ok with it. So, tonight after he and I rummaged around in the refugium and got the shrimp and crabs out and put them in the big tank, he was excited. Now we can watch the crabs, shrimp and snails crawl around.
There was lots of excitement about this and as we dropped the last shrimp from the refugium into the tank, the lion fish decided he needed (more) dinner. He got a $7.99 dinner. A coral banded shrimp. More expensive than what I had, probably. As you can imagine, my kids were not happy. That leads us to the discussion of the circle of life. Think a 3 year old, 6 year old and 8 year old completely understand that? No, not a chance. Now all they see is a mean lion fish that ate the shrimp.
So, we can now enjoy the corals and "cleaners". And watch the lion fish swim around looking for more dinner.

I love this picture. Buffy took the picture as we were walking around on our land next to the house. I asked Caroline what she was doing and she said she was walking over a briar patch. When I am frustrated with the kids, I will tell them I am going to throw them in the briar patch. Then we built our house on 14 acres that are filled with briars! I found it really funny because up until we bought the land, the kids really didn't know what briars were. It only took getting scratched by them once for them to understand the meaning of "throwing them in the briar patch!" So, as we walked around outside, she did all she could to walk (or jump) over them! It made for a great picture!