Monday Menu Planning (a little late)

I need to start menu planning again, it works so well for me to have at least a week's worth of meals planned and shopped for. Monday was a bust, anyway; we ended up staying for dinner at our friend's so yesterday's soup will be enjoyed for lunch today! Gotta love the convenience of the crockpot!

The rest of the week looks as follows:

Take-Out Tuesday: No take-out today, instead we'll be having simple soup & sandwiches to save some dollars!
Weight Watchin' Wednesday: Slow Cooker Country Captain Chicken with Rice
Thrifty Thursday: Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes
Freezer Friday: The kids will have pizza, Beren and I will be sharing these yummy seafood meals we bought on sale: Artichoke Pesto Tilapia and Margaritaville Sunset Shrimp Scampi. Yummy!
Savory Saturday: Vegetarian Shepherds Pie
Slow Mo Sunday: Crock Pot Black Bean Chili

On My Hearth: Southwestern Slow Cooker Chicken and Potato Soup

I'm getting back on track as far as my healthy eating goes as well, cuttin' out the cookies and jumpin' on the veggie bandwagon! It's a bit nippy here at the Ormond house, perfect soup weather. We're going shopping this morning and then visiting some friends this afternoon so it'll be lovely to come home and find this hearty, savory dinner waiting for us!

The bread-eaters in the family will be eating Baked Tortilla Chips along with the soup.

Southwestern Slow Cooker Chicken and Potato Soup

POINTS® Value: 5
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 15 min
Cooking Time: 420 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

This spicy soup is packed with chunks of chicken, potatoes and corn, and flavored with cumin. Hearty and delicious.

Ingredients:

3/4 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium sweet potato(es), peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large onion(s), chopped
29 oz canned diced tomatoes, salsa-style with chiles, undrained
14 1/2 oz fat-free chicken broth
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 cup(s) frozen corn kernels, not thawed

Instructions:

* Mix all ingredients, except corn, in a 4-quart or larger slow cooker; cover and cook on low heat for 6 hours.

* Stir in corn and cover slow cooker; cook on high heat until chicken is no longer pink in center and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.



Enjoy!

Kicking Out 2009

I know it's only Dec 26th but I'm calling 2009 over. Kaput. Finis. I'm making a fresh start, today. No waiting until the stroke of midnight or the traditional popping of the cork. My family and I are gathering up the past year's heartache & pain, stress, drama & turmoil & tossing them to the curb. Goodbye, 2009. Though you had a few nice moments for the most part you sucked, big time.

With that out of the way, I can focus on the future, on 2010 which will be fabulous. Each year instead of, or sometimes in addition to, the typical New Years resolutions I also choose a mantra, a word or phrase to focus on for the 12 months to come. I've been pondering this for a couple of weeks and no matter how hard I tried to come up with something more original, one word persistently made it's way into my mind. I was still on the fence about it until a few days before Christmas when I opened a holiday card from my dear friend Benzaiten.



Once I saw this beautiful picture, so appropriate for those of us living in less than a winter wonderland, I knew it was a sign from the goddess! Not only have birds been significant of late, these are the exact colors of the living areas in the Ormond Beach house: ocean blue and sand, a serene, peaceful palate that is so unlike my home down south and yet one which I've been suddenly drawn to. I will be taking this lovely image to the craft shop this weekend, having it framed and then it will hang prominently in my new home, reminding me that whenever possible, in any circumstance, I should simply choose Peace.

Brightest New Year Blessings,

Merry Christmas!

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.


Merry Christmas,

Solstice Blessings

Dear Friends,

Solstice is upon us, the darkest, longest night of the year. Tonight my family will once again gather around the Yule log, each of us lighting a candle and making a wish for the coming year. It’s a sacred moment when we reflect upon all that has transpired in the past, both good and bad. As you all know, we seem to have received more than our share of the latter lately; 2009 brought much pain & heartache. There have been struggles and losses that seemed at times too much to bear and yet somehow we made it through, together.

With that in mind, I would like to take a moment to thank each of you for all that you’ve done for myself and my family this past year. From phone calls and e-mails, hugs & hand holding, you have been there, offering up kindness and caring, love & friendship and anything else we might need. I hope that I have thanked you personally in a way that this post can never do but again, thank you for the gift of your friendship, I am truly blessed.

Yesterday as we were moving some furniture into the Ormond house a bird flew straight through the front door, around the living room, perched for a moment and then flew right out the door again. We were surprised to say the least but somehow I knew that this was not just a random event, there must be some meaning there. I did a bit of research and this is what I discovered:

A bird accidentally flying into your house indicates that news is on the way. Birds represent joy, harmony, ecstasy, balance, and love. It denotes a sunny outlook in life. You will experience spiritual freedom and psychological liberation. It is almost as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders.

This gives me much hope for the coming year, I look forward to the peace & prosperity that 2010 will surely bring to all of us.

Wishing you all a blessed holiday season and a Happy New Year,

A little holiday cheer for my "snowbird" friends out there! Hope you're staying safe & warm!



Solstice Blessings,

On My Hearth: S'Mores Cookies

It's a rainy, dreary day outside, perfect for baking! I'm not fully equipped here in the Ormond house but I do have a couple of cake mixes, chocolate chips and some mini marshmallows left over from a hot chocolate treat a few weeks back. Hmm...what can I do with those ingredients? Here ya go!

Cake Mix S'Mores Cookies

1 box Chocolate or Devils Food cake mix
1 large egg
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini marshmallows

Mix all ingredients together, bake @ 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Let cool & enjoy!

Happiness Is....

the past few weeks in review...


a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner of Chinese food because no one could bear to have the turkey & fixins without Mom.





decorating out little "Charlie Brown" tree at the Ormond house, and having it turn out kinda cute!



meeting up with some other pirates in St Augustine during a historic event.



holiday party = an excuse to dress up and go out!



celebrating Kali's 25th Birthday, sounds so cliche but truly, where did the years go?


so glad she loved the Sailor Jerry-inspired vintage train case I made her!


That's it for now, hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season so far!