10 Things of Thankful

It's time to be thankful again!

1. I am thankful that my Mama made chocolate delight for my husband's birthday dessert, because I am enjoying the leftovers right now.  Mmm-mmm, good!

2. I am thankful that my whole family and hubby's whole family got together Friday night to celebrate his birthday.  We had a great time!

3. I am thankful for one friend who is doing something fantastic for my extended family.  I will elaborate on that later.  ;-)

4. I am thankful for HOT showers.  Most days I just jump in and jump out with little thought.  But have you ever had one of those showers that just feels amazing?  The other day, I woke up sore and crampy and crabby.  I was hurting and stiff and had sheet-wrinkles all over me.  I stumbled into a hot shower and came out feeling a million times better.  Thank you, Hot Shower.

5. Thankful for Tums, because my tummy is currently not very happy about my late night snacking as mentioned in #1.

6. I am thankful for modern technology.  I ordered a frame for my dad for Fathers Day; it's a wooden frame that says We <3 Papa and then has my kids' names all over it.  It's really cool.  Anyway, yesterday at Byron's mom's house, I took a picture of my dad with my three kids and then was able to print it right there at his mom's house with her printer (I brought my own photo paper so I was only mooching her ink).  I just LOVE that we are able to do that; I was born in the 1970's so I am old enough that modern technology really amazes me.

7. I am thankful for these sweet boys.  They were very closely watching me eat breakfast.  They don't beg, they just watch.  Very intently.  And Patchy, the one in the back?  He drools.

8. I am thankful that I was able to un-clog our vacuum cleaner with a wire hanger and a lot of hard work.  Because I am Superwoman!  And this Superwoman likes a clean floor.

9. I am thankful for Summer.  It's my favorite.

10. I am thankful that I am co-hosting Medical Mondays in two days!!  Be sure and come back to visit!

Meatless/MeatFree Monday

Tonight, for Meatless/Meat Free Monday, I am making Classy Chaos's Polish Pickle Soup.
I can't wait to try it!
I'll update later....

***UPDATE*** It was DELICOUS!! If you like pickles, you gotta try it. YUM!

Holiday Weekend WrapUp

Hola, amigos! It was a very busy but wonderful weekend at Casa de DysFUNction.
We got all of our Christmas shopping done. I think everyone is going to be thrilled with their gifts. We had SO much fun shopping!
We started Friday after I got off work. We ran 40 zillion errands, dropped Andrew off to MIL, had lunch, then shopped some more. This is all after working all night, remember. I thought for sure I'd crash when hubby left for work, since I was home alone (my kids were with their dad). But I didn't - I stayed up and watched a movie and finished all of my Christmas cards!
On Saturday, we slept late, then got up and started shopping again. My brother & his family came into town, so we also met up with them. We got all of our shopping done, and when we got home we did some organizing and wrapping, and then watched a movie, before finally crashing.
So on Sunday, we slept late and missed church - woops! But we had a few more little things to do, which I'll be blogging about later. We also did all of our grocery shopping for Christmas dinner, so I won't have to be out in that mad rush! We finally got our Christmas tree, and got it set up before picking my kids up from their Dad.
When we all got home, we decorated the tree and made Pretzel Turtles. I found the recipe at OurBestBites.com and they were incredibly easy and delicious. We topped ours with cashews, honey roasted peanuts, M&M's, and Reese's Pieces. So far we've given some to our neighbor, Shelbie's Acteens leader, and I brought a bunch to work. Big hit!
And now, here I am at work, starting another week. But it's a short week since the holiday is at the end!
It feels so good to totally enjoy the holidays. I haven't always, but in recent years, I have so much joy in my life, and the Christmas season just seems to emphasize it all.
I hope you're enjoying the holidays as well!
If you want to WrapUp your Weekend and link up - be my guest!

Southern Loving

There's something about us Southern Women. Many of us love to cook. It's not just the preparing of food and satisfying hunger. Feeding people is a way of taking care of them. Food equals love. If we love you, we feed you, and we feed you well.
If you don't fall into this stereotype, don't get offended.
But many of us Southern women do. It's in our blood. There is not much in this world that compares to the comfort food prepared by a Southern woman. Chicken & dumplings, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, beef stew, chicken & yellow rice....potato salad, banana pudding...I could go on all day.
I am dead serious when I say that my cooking is one reason my husband fell in love with me. He wasn't used to it; his family is from England and their way of cooking is quite different. He got used to my cooking very quickly. His favorite is holidays, when several Southern women get together and cook. And dinner on the grounds at church is his idea of Heaven.
We feed our men, we feed our kids, we feed our sick, we feed our grieving. We eat to mourn and to celebrate.
Sometimes we keep recipes to ourselves as a sort of signature dish. I'm always the one who brings potato salad to our family gatherings.
Other times we happily share our recipes. If you ever want some fantastic Southern recipes, go visit my friend Rachel at A Southern Fairytale. My family even loves her because I try so many of her recipes and they are amazing!
Now the time has come that one of my daughters is interested in cooking. The little one is all about helping, but Shelbie can actually cook. A few weekends ago, she was at her dad's house flipping through a cookbook. She found a recipe for Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Bars, and her signature dish was created. They are delicious! She's made it a few times at her dad's house and now twice at home. I brought one dish to work, and now everyone on the unit, from clerks to neurosurgeons, think she's the bomb! And when I told her that, she was so pleased. She's learning already that feeding people good food is rewarding. It just feels good.
Another dish I love to bring to work is the Black Eyed Pea Dip. It may sound a little odd, but it is make-you-wanna-slap-your-mama good! I got that recipe from Melissa at Stretch Marks. Even my friend from Chicago, who thought it sounded horrible, ended up LOVING it, and now that she's moved back to Chicago, she's making it for her family there!
When you come to my house, you might trip over a dog or a cat. You might have to move some clean laundry over to have a seat on the couch. But you will be fed, and you will be fed well. It's love, on a plate.
And since, when I love you, I feed you....here are some Southern recipes for you. Enjoy!

Hot & Cheesy Black Eyed Pea Dip
1 (16-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained, rinsed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 envelope buttermilk ranch salad dressing mix
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Serve with crackers or tortilla chips. (I prefer crackers)



Shelbie's Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 cup peanut butter (Shelbie says you should use a little over a cup)
6 tbsp stick butter, melted
2 cups graham crackers
1 twelve oz package of MILK chocolate chips

Stir all ingredients together except chocolate chips. Press into a 9x13 pan. Microwave chocolate chips for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Pour chocolate over peanut butter mixture. Refrigerate for 30-45 minutes; serve.

Weekend Wrap-Up, Late Edition

Better late than never, right?

We had a pretty fun weekend, starting with Friday. John was off, and since Andrew was so good entertaining himself while I slept and all of the other kids were at their Dad's, we decided to treat him to a special day.
First, we took him to see Night at the Museum II, which he really liked.

Then we took him out for Chinese food for lunch.

Next, we took him to get his hair cut in the style that he's been wanting......




.....the mohawk! It looks so cute. Next time he'll go a little shorter on the sides, but he was a little cautious the first time around. (we colored it red for the 4th of July!)
We finished the night by ordering his favorite food for dinner, pizza, and watching movies.

Saturday morning, I picked up my kids from their Dad, and at noon we went to the big 4th of July celebration. My friend & her daughter came along too. The kids had a blast, jumping in bounce houses, sliding down water slides, and just running around being silly. The adults walked home a few times to suck down some adult beverages, so we had a pretty good time ourselves! We ran into a lot of people we knew. The fireworks were really awesome. My niece and her boyfriend came for the fireworks, as well as 2 more of our friends and their baby son.
When that was over, we went home and did a few of our own little fireworks, sparklers, poppers, etc. Then we finally hit the bed!

Sunday we went to my parents' house for a cook-out, but my dad refused to cook out because it was hot. So, we cooked in. Tim had to work at 4pm so we didn't stay long, which turned out to be a GOOD THING. (See blog post below.) The rest of the evening was spent chilling on the front porch and talking. My friend made tuna pie for dinner, which is one of those dishes that sounds weird but tastes SO good.
Speaking of yummy recipes...for last night's dinner I made Mini Cheesy Salsa Meatloaves from A Southern Fairytale blog...they were a HUGE hit with my whole family, plus my friend and her daughter. You've got to try them- they're delicious! And super-easy.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Dishing on My Bloggy Friends.........

I have found some lip-smackin' good recipes from some of my favorite blog reads lately, and it's time I tell you all about them.

First of all, it's a Southern tradition on New Year's Day to eat black-eyed peas. Now, I like them alright, some people love them, some people hate them. But Melissa over at Stretch Marks gave me a whole different take on Black Eyed Peas with her Hot & Cheesy Black Eyed Pea Dip. I brought a batch to work, and it was a huge hit, even with the Yankees who'd never eaten a black eyed pea in their life! It is absolutely delicious, I promise.

Then, I saw this cheesy, bacony recipe over at The Fun House. If you don't already read The Fun House, you don't know what you're missing. Her little Pickle just makes my day, and this recipe was perfect for her because she is obsessed with bacon! And I've always said, bacon makes EVERYTHING taste better. So try this Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken recipe. (my only issue with it is the name....there's no 'burger' in this recipe! So I think we'll call it something different at my house, because I'm dorky like that.)

Next up, I got a recipe from Kat at Seeking Sanity. Kat is awesome; she has three boys, is pregnant with bambino number four, and not only cooks dinner, but handles raw meat while battling pregnancy nausea. She.totally.rocks. And she even took time out to share her recipe for Porcupine Balls with us! I made this dish tonight. My kids found this name HILARIOUS, because they're at that age where anything to do with balls is funny. And potty humor in any form is the highest form of entertainment to this crew. The dish itself got mixed reviews, but hubby and I liked it a lot.

And last but not least, I found this recipe for Chicken w/ asparagus and pistachios at Live.Love.Eat. I haven't made it yet, because I've decided to make it when hubby and I are alone, and we'll have some wine and light the candles and make it a nice romantic evening. Somehow this dish just seems to call for that.

Have you found any good recipes lately? If not, check these out. If so, share with me! I hope you all had a great weekend!