this was only a test

Ever woke up one morning and felt like from the second your feet hit the floor that the day was gonna push you to your limits and test you to see if you lose your cool??  Ladies & gentlemen, I present to you....today.

I woke up this morning with the instant feeling of not enough sleep and thought, "it CANNOT already be time to get up" accompanied by the twinge of a migraine lingering in my temple.

I then proceeded to get out of the shower and realize I had practically nothing clean in terms of work clothes.

I glanced at the clock and realized I wouldn't have enough time to put my makeup on before work.

I unlocked and swung open the door to find that Jasper and I would be trotting out to the car in a steady rainfall.  As we drive the rain proceeds to begin pounding on the windshield just as I switch my wipers off and I swear to you, as soon as I bump them up to high, it merely begins to mist.

I dropped him off at doggy daycare and got to the parking garage at work only to find the only spots left were on the roof....(for further info on my frustration with the roof parking spots, see above where I indicated steady rainfall.)

As I was walking in the door to the courthouse, an officer looked at me, cocked his head to the side and asked me, "you okay today?".  As I breezed past him I muttered, "I just don't have my makeup on yet....."


At this point I am thinking, "alright Negative Nancy, enough with all the bad, make this a good day".


I woke up exhausted this morning, but hey, I woke up to live to see another day...not to mention I woke up with a roof over my head and in a warm bed.


I woke up with a migraine, but there are people who woke up this morning with cancer.  Suck it up self.


I noticed I barely had any clean dress clothes to choose from, but I have clothes to put on my back.


I realized I didn't have time to put on makeup....but there are women in cultures who aren't even allowed to show their faces and here I am moaning and groaning that I can't put powders and liners on at that very second.


I let out sighs every time the rain did the opposite of what I set my wipers to take care of...but I have a car that gets me everywhere I need to be while there are people who cannot come and go as they please or even run necessary errands because they don't have a car.


I became frustrated when the officer looked at me a little funny b/c of the no makeup and asked if I was okay when I walked into work...but he took the time and made the effort to even ask, not to mention I was walking into my place of employment when I know they are so many people desperately looking for jobs in these hard economic times.


It's called a silver lining folks, and we all need to look for it a little more often.

they said it best when they said....

"Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth."
--Martin H. Fischer



I realize this a little bit more each and every day...

Nothing is better than the love between a husband a wife, voicemails and texts from friends who make you laugh like no one else on this planet, a sunset on a patio with your best 4-legged friend, & knowing every little nagging thing is gonna be alright.

tunnel vision

Despite the fact that this picture of me should be placed in the dictionary for the definition of, "a train wreck", I just love, love, love this little boy!!!!!

And apparently, I was pretty entertained with this tunnel!

who's that playing in parker's little tunnel.....

it's me...it's me....(haha, had to make that SNL reference)

But I finally decided to stop hogging the toys and let him have the fun...

is that not the most precious face you have ever seen?!?!???

"listen lady, it's time for you to get out of my tunnel!"

Nothing like pot roast, cupcakes, and play time with this little love to make a perfect ending to a day!

refreshed

Guilty. Guilty of not noticing all the changes that were now available to edit everything with my blog.  But I discovered them, made changes, and am officially putting a sign up at my desk that simply says "BLOG" to remind me to take some time every day to vent, write, babble, etc.

Sunshine is coming through my office window and I couldn't be happier.  Yesterday's dreariness wore on me terribly.  I have spring fever like it's nobody's business.  I am ready to read chapter upon chapter in my hammock, throw dinner on the grill every other night, enjoy afternoons at the dog park, and hang out until the sun goes down on our patio...gosh, how I miss hanging out on our patio.  The few times we are actually outside lately, we are in layers of clothing, and gloves & standing oh so close to the patio heater waiting for Jasper to find that perfect spot to make his mark.

In the spring and summer, Skye and I spend countless hours in the afternoons and on the weekends in our lawn chairs at the dog park.  We talk about anything and everything and laugh about pretty much everything as we watch our dogs run around as if they've never been off a leash before...and in that moment I'm convinced they are the happiest 4-legged friends on this planet.

I love walking to places downtown to grab lunch while I am at work, but I refuse to do so in this bitterly cold weather.  I can't seem to get enough of Subway sandwiches during the warmer weather and often can't tell myself not to stop by this little corner restaurant for soft serve ice cream.

"People-watching" from the patios of downtown restaurants with an ice cold drink and good company is one of my absolute favorites.  Those are the times when the servers practically know us by name and 9 times out of 10, already know what we want to order.  We don't seem to have a care in the world except for maybe where we'll make room for the next chair to be pulled up.  The ever so comfortable maxi dresses, sunglasses, Lookouts games, flip flops, oh how I want it all right now!

Until then I'll simply just push back the cover to my sunroof as opposed to opening it all the way and anxiously await all that sunshine!

soup lovers

I'm a loud & proud soup lover.  We could probably eat it 5 out of 7 days a week.  I gave this a shot last night and it was absolutely amazing.  There's nothing I love more on a cold & rainy night than being in my favorite sweatshirt and pj pants, having a hearty soup on the stove, and laughing with my hubby to the right of me while my big puppy dog cuddles with the left of me.

Homemade Sausage Potato Soup

1 pound of sausage

4 potatoes

1 32 oz. box of chicken broth

1 can of corn

3 carrots

1 clove garlic, minced (we always have a jar of minced garlic, so I used one tsp.)

1/2 tsp onion powder (if you don't have any, I suggest getting some and not leaving it out...gives GREAT flavor)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 cup of shredded cheese

In a pan, brown the sausage. While the sausage is cooking, or even beforehand, peel and dice the potatoes and carrots. Remember that the smaller the dicing, the faster it will cook, so if you are pressed for time, cut up the veggies smaller and it won't have to boil for as long. Drain the sausage and set aside for later.

In a stock pot, combine the chicken broth, potatoes, celery, carrots and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender - 20 minutes or so. Now at this point, I add the corn. I find it gets a little mushy if I add it with the other veggies. Then I add the milk, cheese and sausage. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted and the soup is heated through.

some serious catching up to do...

but here's an overview until then....

my reappearing act

So I've been toggling with the idea of deleting my blog.  I just didn't feel as thought my life had anything exciting and appealing to offer any followers/readers.  It's similar to the feeling I get when people ask me, "so, how are things??" & I always respond good...married life is good, the dog is good, friends and family are good, still truckin' along with my job.... booooooring.  

I got discouraged when I wasn't seeing comments or more followers, but then I thought, well, I am not commenting or following anyone in the daily way that I used to, so I needed to stop complaining.

So here goes...a second shot....and I will try oh, so hard not to become discouraged or burnt out.



One thing I have been doing a lot of lately is cooking.  I was telling my hubby the other night that we have come a long way from shake-n-bake chicken and bags of flavored instant potatoes.  Now don't get me wrong, I am perfectly content with a dinner of those, but I started to be a little brave...and not be intimidated with recipes that had an ingredient list longer than...four or five items, ha!  And now if I don't feel like using something, I won't, and if I want to add something in, I do it.  I will never learn unless I try and I have discovered that I actually enjoy doing it!

I made this soup a couple of weeks ago and we loved it!

Chicken Tortellini Soup

9 oz. pkg. frozen cut broccoli, thawed
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup
Parmesan, grated (optional)
6 1/2 c. water
3 (10 oz.) cans chicken broth
2 c. chicken, cooked and cubed
1 c. carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
7 oz. pkg. cheese tortellini

(it also called for onion, basil, and oregano..but I left those out)

In large pot combine water, chicken broth, soup, chicken, carrots, & garlic. Bring to a boil; add tortellini.Simmer covered 30 minutes. Add broccoli and simmer an additional 5 - 10 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Serve with cheese. Ten (1 1/2 cup) servings.

So that'll be all for today...short and to the point, but hey, it's an effort :)