Fill in the Blank Friday

1.   Giving is    the best thing ever. It makes me happy and I wish I had millions of dollars to do more of it.    .

2.  Receiving is   pretty rad as well. However, I care less about that than the giving. But I do like getting presents. I like getting things especially when it's from a fellow "I love to give soooo much" type of person. THE  thought, excitement and the happiness you see behind the gift is what is really awesome. A nice pot holder from Anthropology isn't bad either.  .

3.  The best gift I ever received was       I sure did love my Casio key board and my chalk board I got in the 80's. I still remember being the most excited about those. I am sure I have gotten more substantial things but I remember feeling like I was going to be the greatest artist ever once I unwrapped that chalk board/ paint easle.  .

4.  The best gift I ever gave was   sentimental things like shadow boxes and family pictures put into awesome albums   .

5.  Something intangible that I wish I could receive is     cello playing skills.

6.  Something intangible that I wish I could give is     contentment    .

7.  The one gift I always wanted as a child, but never got was       an Easy Bake oven...and the game Mall Madness       .

Play along here

Happy Weekend!!

Fill 'er up

{source:big.city.little.shoes @weheartit)

1.   I wish       that I could learn lessons in life without having to hurt or experience sadness    .

2.  Yesterday I   got a new do and got puked on by a baby  .

3.  Today I will       finish a tiny sewing project and go to a far far away Christmas party .

4.  Tomorrow I will  help the youth group at church with handing out supplies to homeless people in St. Louis and come home and be oh-so-grateful that I have a home and heat and the essentials  .

5.  Maybe     I will have a baby before I am 30 .

6.  Someday       I will be one of those wives/moms that is crazy about traditions and celebrating the smaller things by having a party (i.e.: party just because it's Tuesday and going for ice cream after doctors visits.)   .

7.  I love       consistency and non-awkwardness, kittens, cats , food, pina coladas and getting caught in the rain     .

Happy Weekend. Stay Warm!

Link up HERE

Trying new things

With more time at home lately, I've been trying to get more creative and really enjoy cooking dinner.
So I am trying  new things. John is game for anything and is really honest if something really sucks. So that's nice.
Last night, we had a success!

After watching Anthony Bourdain in Sicily eating Paella, I decided to try to make it. In soup form.

This is the recipe and it's WONDERFUL!
You should try it!
Super easy.
Super fast.
Super healthy.
Super delicious.


Paella Soup
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/3 cup chopped red sweet pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon oil
1 14.5 ounce reduced sodium, no MSG added, organic chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon tumeric
8 ounces cooked pork, cut into small pieces
8 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp
1 cup frozen peas
2 teaspoon fresh oregano

In a large saucepan cook green onions sweet pepper, and garlic in hot oil for 2 minutes.

Stir in chicken broth, rice, bay leaf, salt, red pepper, and tuermic.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir in the cooked pork, shrimp, and peas. Simmer, covered, for 3-5 minutes more or until shrimp turn pink.

I kept mine on the heat (very low) for 2 hours to get all the meat very tender, and to get the spices soaked in really well.

Tumeric is really fragrant and makes the color of the soup really pretty. ( I learned tumeric used to be used in perfumes. Interesting. I don't think I'll be splashing some on anytime soon.)

Remove the bay leaf and stir in the oregano.

Enjoy!

Tree Time!

I finally decorated my Christmas tree that has been up and undecorated for almost 2 weeks.

I didn't have lots of money to spend on a theme so I had to work with what I had. I did by a couple spools of ribbon but that's it. I could have easily gone overboard since I love decorating the tree

This year's theme is Mint Chocolate Chip.

I don't even really care for mint chocolate chip ice cream.

I guess I could have called it:

"after dinner Olive Garden mints"

or

"green and brown".

But like I said, I had to go with what I had.

And it made for a cute combo, don't you think?

Dante' doesn't seem to mind the theme so much.

Bonus: the cats sparkle after lying under the tree because of the glittery skirt. 

So Christmas gives me glitter cats. That's always fun :)

{source}

Loose lips sink [friend] ships.

Bittersweet thankfulness

Going home for Thanksgiving was bittersweet this year.

I can't say that I ever thought that I took the "smaller" things like family, health and sameness for granted. But I suppose now, I did.

This year has been weird for us in a lot of ways. 

And this Thanksgiving I think we had a different perspective on those said "smaller" things. 

They aren't small at all.

They are huge.

You never know how awesome consistency is until it isn't there. 

We indeed have so much to be thankful for.

And we are all praying that next year at this time that things are so amazingly different (normal) that we won't know what to do! 

Lisa, my husband's mom is still in the rehab.Which is great in and of itself that her progress has prompted her therapist to still be working with her for an extended time!

And though we are sad that she isn't the same...yet and that she wasn't there at the house making sure things were just right and planned out, funny, awkward, busy and celebratory we are indeed very thankful that she still is alive and making daily progress. 

I guess it really is all in how you look at things. 

It's what you make of it.

I couldn't get any more trite if I tried.

Trite is usually true though.

And we are trying to make the best of it and look at things in the best light possible. 

Sometimes it's just not that easy though. We are reminded by friends and other family of what God continues to do in her life and are encouraged when we see her doing something new everyday.

Anyway.

Things aren't the same.

Hopefully soon they will be more normal-ish.

I helped John's little sister redo her room while we were up there. 

That was an experience!

I was very glad to see the finish line to that project. It looks great and she was so excited to get a makeover.

We put up the family tree and decorated the house a bit too to help get everyone in the holiday spirit.

I caught this sweet moment of my husband and his mom while she took a small nap after lunch.

This makes me thankful.

Aaaaand I'm back..

Wow.
The past month has been nuts!

Thank you for your kind words and e mails about my last post.
I am pleased to report that my mother in law is doing much better than the doctors expected. She is now in a wonderful neurological rehabilitation facility and continues to improve. Her brain is having to be completely retrained and she is showing progress. God has done a miracle in her by keeping her with us. We continue to pray for more miracles in her recovery. We hope that next Thanksgiving we will be able to look back at this and be completely floored at the insane amount of miracles God has worked in her.
'Tis the season to be thankful.
And already we are thankful, indeed!

Soooo..  I was in the Chicago area for a while.
Then I brought my 11 year old sister in law back with me for a week- we escaped a bit and took a rest from the chaos.
I am back and "normal" again.
Although this new normal is weirder than I anticipated.
Not bad, just different.

The leaves aren't the only things that have changed during the past month, that's for sure!
A career change or hiatus, whichever way you choose to look at it.
Changes in my home.
Changes in my relationships.
Changes in family.
Changes in my preferences.
Changes in my heart.
Changes in my attitudes.
Changes, changes everywhere!

That may seem a bit ambiguous but that's the shortest way to list the changes ;)

Change isn't always a bad thing. But then again, it's not always an easy thing either.
I guess I am being jolted into reality in more than one area at a time.
For a girl who likes to compartmentalize, that's kind of hard!

With a dramatic change in my work situation and the amount of time I have to blog and post various things, my blogging will decrease a bit. But I look forward to reflecting the good changes of life in my blog.

“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction” correct?

So here's to a new season outside and inside of my life.
I look forward to seeing what this side of reality looks like.
I am a bit nervous about the adventure but doing my best to stay positive along the way.

'Seeing you again soon!

Missy