southwestern chicken soup

This is the EASIEST soup you can make and so yummy!! It is from the REAL SIMPLE magazine. We have eaten it so much this winter and my entire family likes it...well except Charlie who apparently thinks it's too spicy! He tries to wipe it off his tongue every time I give it to him. The leftovers are great too!

You should be able to double click on the picture and view the magazine page large enough but I will go ahead and type it out just in case.

1 12 oz jar salsa verde
3 cups cooked chicken pieces(deli rotisserie chicken works great!!)
1 15 oz can cannelloni beans, drained
3 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 green onions, chopped
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Empty the salsa into a large saucepan. Cook 2 minutes over medium high heat, then add the chicken, beans, broth, and cumin. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top each bowl with a sprinkling of onions, a dollop of sour cream, and some tortilla chips. For a soupier dish, use 4 cups of chicken broth.

my left hand

I am SO right handed. I don't do anything with my left hand. I think it's only there to assist my right hand. So once again my left hand got in the way. I was putting a new mop head on my mop yesterday and in the process I did this....

You can't tell from this picture but my left hand has been butchered from getting in the way when my right hand is trying to do something.
Here are a couple of examples but there are MANY more.

#1 My left hand was holding the fabric when my right hand ran over the end of my thumb with a rotary cutter. Yikes! That hurt! I spent a few hours in the emergency room getting x-rays to make sure it didn't cut into the bone, getting a tetanus shot, begging for pain medicine, and getting it wrapped up. They told me several times to make sure I kept it wrapped for several weeks and that it would not scar to bad. The first time I had to change the bandage, I had a nurse in our ward come over to help me{she offered}. She couldn't believe how yucky it was...me too! It made me a little sick to look at it the first week. And it killed to change the bandage too. Now I just have a left thumb that isn't completely there but no one would really ever notice.

#2 My left had was holding a pan of boiling sugar while my right hand put the cold water in the pan. Can you guess what happened next? Yep, the boiling sugar water splattered all over my left hand. Ouch! So now when I make my grandmother's Christmas candy recipe, I make sure to wear a oven mit. I had a total of 10 blisters on my left hand from that one. Fortunately only 2 of them left scars. By the way, this was only a couple of weeks after I stopped wearing a bandage on my left thumb from #1.

up to something {3}

Oh, Charlie! So last night it was time to get in the bath and I started the water. There was about an inch of water in the bathtub and I hadn't taken his clothes off yet. Before I knew it, I turned around and he was sitting in the tub playing. He was so happy and so proud of himself that I gave him some time to play in his clothes.

He has tried to climb into the tub before but never been successful. This time he made it! Boys are so different from girls!!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe came from my really good friend, Marie. Every recipe I ever get from her is excellent!! This is one of our family's favorites. We almost never get tired of it.
If you like the Sweet and Sour Chicken from Pei Wei's or PF Chang's, you'll love this even more. In fact, I almost don't like theirs anymore because this is such a yummy homemade version of theirs. So try it!!

Sweet & Sour Chicken

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten
cornstarch {enough to dip the chicken}
oil {enough for frying}
¾ cup sugar
4 tbsp ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp garlic powder or 1 garlic clove
pineapple chunks {fresh is BEST}
green pepper {cut in large cubes}
onion {cut in large cubes}
Cooked rice {enough to serve with the sweet and sour chicken}

Cut chicken in 1-2 inch cubes. Coat chicken in egg then cornstarch. Pour some oil in a frying pan and fry chicken until brown. Place chicken in a shallow baking dish. Mix sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic in a small mixing bowl. Pour over chicken. Bake covered 350 for 45 minutes. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. Halfway thru the baking add pineapple, green pepper, and onion. Serve over rice.

playing the guitar

Todd loves to play the guitar for the children. Charlie loves anything that makes noise so this is a perfect fit.

Valentine's Day

Eliza's Valentine for her preschool friends.

Brenna's Valentine for her 3rd grade friends.{attached to a little notepad}

Emma Grace's Valentine for her kindergarten friends. {attached to a little notepad}

I haven't had time to blog anything about Valentine's day until now because we were having too much fun with my Mom in town from Kentucky. It was fun to have her here for Valentine's Day. She got to share in our Valentine's Fun! {pink heart pancakes, strawberries, muffins, gifts, paper hearts that led from the children's beds to the breakfast table}

We gave the children fun little gifts. Emma Grace got a horn for her bike{now we know exactly where she is on the street...the neighbors are so happy}. Eliza got a "whirl-a-bell". So cute! She loves to go really fast to get it to spin!! We made heart cookies with the girls after school. My favorite new topping for sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting is coconut{not in the picture, sorry}...yum...you have to try it next time you make them.
The girls all had a great time at their Valentine's parties at school. Of course, they{mostly Brenna} think they shouldn't have to go to school on Valentine's day....shouldn't it be a National Holiday?

my first 100 miles

I completed my first 100 miles for the year and it feels great. Now only 700 more to go! Wow...did I really agree to run 800 miles? What was I thinking?

I really do love running which is absolutely amazing to me that I can say that. I love running when the sun is coming up. I love running with my husband. I love the feeling of accomplishment that you feel when you're done. I love that my body feels healthy. I love that I've set goals and been able to reach them.