Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Visit with Abby and Snow Day

Yes, I'm still here. I've just been really busy plus I've been having a lot of problems with my computer. We had a great day Saturday visiting Abby and her family. Candy and Kya Blu also were there and it had been way too long since we had seen them. I didn't pay attention to the fact that I didn't have the setting right on my camera, so I only got a few good pictures. The girls had so much fun playing and dancing together. They are all so beautiful.

Today the schools were closed because of ice and snow. Unfortunately, I still had to work at home so Kristen had a pretty boring day. Later in the afternoon I did finally take her outside to play in the little bit of snow we had. She had so much fun.








No, she didn't fall in one of the pictures above. She was LAYING down playing in it. Tomorrow will also be very busy as I finish up work and things around here because I'll be heading to the hospital very early Thursday morning to have a hysterectomy. I should get out of the hospital Friday or Saturday. Kristen was having a really hard time with this, but seems to be doing a little better and talking about it without crying now. She said she'll miss me but I think she understands now I'll only be gone one or two nights and she will be coming to visit me. I have a wonderful family that will take very good care of us.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Fav Foto Friday - Eyes

The theme for this week's Fav Foto Friday is Eyes. I've posted two pictures, and you can see the difference in how sad she was right after she was given up for adoption, compared to when I was in Guatemala on my pick-up trip.

Such sad eyes

Happy eyes


Hard to believe it's the same child.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Last night's conversation

I finally ordered a 2009 planner and it was delivered to the house yesterday. When Kristen got home she picked it up not knowing what it was and here's how our conversation went:

Kristen - "Oh, a journal"
Me - "No, it's not a journal"
Kristen - "Is it a diarrhea?"
Me - "HUH??"
Kristen - "You know, the thing you write your secrets in"
Me - "OOOOHHHH...no sweetie, it's not a diary"

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Recipe for Taco Soup

I love to cook, so I try a lot of new recipes. Some of my blogger buddies occasionally share good recipes, so I thought I'd share some recipes on my blog this year. I tried this recipe a couple of weeks ago and Kristen and I both loved it. It's a Paula Deen recipe and most of her recipes are delicious.

Taco Soup
1 3/4 pounds ground chuck
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Two 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes, with juice
One 15 to 16 ounce can kidney beans, drained
One 15 to 16 ounce can pinto beans, drained
One 15 to 16 ounce can black beans, drained
One 15.25 ounce can whole kernal corn, drained
One 14.5 ounce can chicken broth
One 1.25 ounce package taco seasoning mix

1. In a large Dutch oven, cook the beef, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat until browned, stirring until the meat crumbles. Drain well and return the meat and vegetables to the Dutch oven.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, corn, broth, and seasoning mix. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Serves 10-12

I'm not a big fan of tomatoes, so I bought the petite diced. Also, I may have used a little more meat than it called for, and it came out a little too thick. So I added another can of chicken broth to get it to a consistency I liked. The first night we had it I added a little bit of velveeta cheese in my bowl and it was really good. The next night I put a little sour cream in and it was really good. It's really easy and makes a LOT!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Fav Foto Friday - Favorite 2008 Foto

Once again, I am a day late. This week the theme is favorite foto of 2008. This was a hard one, but I picked the picture below because Kristen is with her best buddy, her grandpa. This was at my niece's wedding where Kristen was the flower girl.