Thursday, July 31, 2008

Another Recipe

Ok...tried another new recipe. I was skeptical of this one, but it turned out pretty good.


Corn and Salsa Tortilla Soup

from August issue Everyday with Rachel Ray (pg 85)




3 poblano chiles
6 corn tortillas, halved then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick strips
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
6 ears fresh corn, kernels scraped from the cob, or two 10-ounce boxes frozen corn kernels
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Pepper
One 32-ounce container (4 cups) vegetable broth
One 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced or crushed tomatoes
1 avocado, chopped
1 lime, halved
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
1/4 cup sour cream


1. Preheat the broiler. Broil the poblanos until blackened, 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let cool. Peel, seed and chop the poblanos.


2. Preheat the oven to 400°. On a baking sheet, toss the tortilla strips with 1 tablespoon oil and the cumin. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes; season with salt.


3. Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the corn and cook until charred at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the red onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, tomatoes and poblanos.


4. Divide the tortilla strips among 4 soup bowls. Add the avocado and a squeeze of lime juice. Ladle the soup over the avocado. Top with cilantro; serve with the sour cream.



Ok, Blake didn't love it much...but he didn't hate it..and considering he's a very picky eater...that's HUGE!!

Mallorye liked it, but didn't love it.

Quentin loved it! Which is also huge, considering this is a vegetarian recipe!

August Goals

I thought I'd share a few goals I have for August...so maybe you can help hold me accountable and cheer me on to the finish line!!

*clean out garage in preparation for September Yard Sale

*lose 10 pounds

*pay $300 toward student loan debt

*continue to be diligent in my 5:15am TAG (time alone with God)

*breakfast with family every morning

What are your goals for the month??

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

New Blog Design

Well, what do you think? I am lovin' my new blog design! Christy at Ruby & Roja was absolutely wonderful to work with! (Thank you Christy) She captured my vision quickly and within a week had me a new design. I'm so excited!

A few details:
If you're looking for the blogs I link to...click on the Blogroll...it will take you to a new page where they're all listed.

Daily Inspiration will change...hopefully at least weekly, but the goal is ...well, daily.

Meet The Family will have pix and brief bios of my family soon...keep checking back.

Ok, Hope you enjoy the new look!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

KC Mission Trip...be prepared for picture overload

As you all know, last week, Quentin, Mallorye, and Blake went to Kansas City, KS on a Mission Trip with our church. They worked hard and helped to make a Kingdom difference. The first day they did prayer walking around the neighborhood and distributed flyers telling of the church they were helping....just praying over that area that God would have His will.

The Southside Crew

The next 3 days were .... WORK. They tore off FOUR layers of shingles and re-roofed a house. Yes! These kids worked ON THE ROOF in the July Summer heat...not for a paycheck...or because they were made to...but because they wanted to make a difference... a positive difference! Wow!

Adrian sweeping the roof

Look, she's still smiling...even through the dirt and sweat


Adrian, Katie, & Alicia...gathering the shingles


Blake in the foreground...Andrew and Mallorye in background. I never quite understood why they had to get IN the dumpster, but that's what they did...shoveling shingles!


New meaning to Dumpster Diving!! That's Mal 2nd from left...who'd thought she could do all this with a broken leg! Chris, Andrew, & Brittany are the other dirty culprits.

Mallorye...she really was a trooper...broken leg and all..she's never missed a mission trip that our church has gone on...this was her 5th trip...3 times to New Orleans and once to Marmaduke...she sure wasn't going to let something trivial, like crutches, stand in her way.

Takin' a little siesta on the roof! Hey, get a break where you can, right?


Ground crew taking a water break


Pastor Pat...he's our Missions Pastor at church and does an awesome job of finding opportunities for our church to minister to others.

Mallorye, Adrian, Brittany, & Ashley

Mallorye, Katie, Brittany, & Ashely with their new friend Sienna...isn't she adorable?!

Really, only a face a mother could love...or three mothers! They are some dirty faces!

Dazed and confused after a week of roofing and painting

The Southside Gang posing with their hosts!

After a week of working hard the gang was treated to a Kansas City Royals baseball game. It was nice that they were able to relax a day before making the trip home.

Enjoying the game...and soem icees!

The Jumbo-Tron...I think they were more fascinated with this than they were the game!

All in all, it was a great week for them. The End.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

More Stampin' Fun

Here's a few more pix of the Christmas in July of the wonderful people I shared the night with...I also share my life with these people and I think they're all pretty great!

Me..showing off my tri-fold card!

My good friend, Misty...we go way back and there's probably not anything she doesn't know about me...and she still likes me!! We're currently going through a Bible Study together and holding each other accountable to be a Proverbs Woman...tall order for me. She's the organized one of the bunch and resident speed stamper.
JoAnn, another great friend...just went to Myrtle Beach with...and the other partner in my current Bible Study. JoAnn is one of those extremely crafty people that can make something out of nothing..kinda like a Stamping MacGyver.
Micah & Lisa. Micah is Mallorye's friend (Lisa's daughter) and she loves to hang out with us old folk and do a little stamping. Lisa has been my best friend for a LONG time and also knows everything about me and still loves me. We have one of those tell-it-like-it-is relationships. She also happens to be a Stampin Up demonstrator!

The brownies I didn't eat! Even though they were calling my name...LOUDLY...I did not cave! I remained steadfast and had fruit and water. Yeah. I really wish I had a better attitude about it and could enjoy eating healthy....but do you see that plate of brownies?!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas!

That's a bunch of serious stampers!

It will be here before we know it! I spent last night with some great friends at a Christmas In July Stampin' Up event hosted by Sandy Risi. We had a great time and made some awesome holiday projects. I will tell you though, the Christmas in July event is not for the faint of heart...only serious stampers need apply...we stamped, cut, glued till our fingers bled (ok, not literally) from 6pm to midnight (and some were still going then!)

This was my favorite card of the night and after Misty figured out how to do it...it wasn't really all that difficult to make and super cute!
Inside that super cute card!


Lynn showing off her ornament "earrings." I have to tell you, I love this girl! She was a huge supporter of Quentin (& all the troops) while he was in Iraq and still never fails to send us a card of encouragement at all the important holidays or sometimes just to say how much she appreciates our sacrifices.

A couple of my favorite projects...a cocoa pack with chocolate/peppermint drink stir...how cool is that AND a penguin snowglobe! I love it!



Ok, I have a few more pictures to share with you, but don't you wish you'd been there? It really is alot of fun...mixed with a good kind of stress. I'm telling you, we laughed and just had a wonderful time.

Amy & Lynn sharing a laugh! I have worked with Amy and her family for almost 10 years and she has become one of my closest friends. She was a newlywed when we first met and now is a mother of a wonderful little boy. She's super creative and I'm so glad I got her hooked on this little hobby!!

Another favorite card of mine, using a Versamark technique.

Ok, I've got to get busy cleaning...my family will be home in about 5 hours!! I'll share some more pictures of our fun later on! Ta Ta!!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

A Rustic Christmas Card


A Christmas Card I needed to make for a card swap I'm doing tomorrow night. I wanted something different, so settled for this outdoorsy, rustic style. What do you think?!

And yes, I made 22 of these tonight...nothing like procrastination!!

What I used;
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke (all SU)
Stamp Set: Noble Deer (SU), Inside stamped with stamp shown in photo that I picked up at Hobby Lobby
Accessories: Natural Hemp fiber, Extra Large Eyelets, Photocopy of Scripture foretelling Jesus' Birth