Early Merry Christmas

Well, I figured while I have a few moments I'd better update this. Work has been extremely busy and what free time I have had I have used getting ready for Christmas. I'm about done. Still have a few last minute items to pick up, but the big stuff is taken care of. Now I need to work on my house....AGH! Never enough time.

I miss cooking too. I need to try some new recipes. I think I probably have more time than I realize (in fact I'm sure of it) but I am lousy at time management. Another one of my faults. Hmm, do I hear a New Years resolution? I'll have to think about that one.

I suppose while I'm here I'd better take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry and Blessed Christmas! I hope the joy of the season fills your heart and lasts through the New Year.

I may try and post again, but.....

Oh, btw (that's short for 'by the way', for those of you not hip with computer lingo) I figured out why y'all can't hear my music. Won't go into detail, but now I have to figure out how to fix it. That's a project for another day. Take care!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I got my Christmas lights up this past weekend! If you remember last year, I never got around to it, but the weather was so nice I took advantage of it and got them up. I'm happy with how they look, but I'd still like to put a few more up. First I'm going to get my tree up and decorated. As of this morning the tree is up and I'm about to put the lights on. I've got Christmas music playing and I would be drinking eggnog, but I finished it off yesterday, and besides, I have to work later today. Also, while putting up my tree I watched a movie last night. It was a Hallmark Special and I cried my eyes out! It was called "Candles on Bay Street". It was a WONDERFUL movie! I encourage you to get it. It will be for sale on the 17th I believe at Hallmark stores. I know I'm going to buy it. And this is how bad I am....I was even crying during most of the commercials. Have you seen those Hallmark commercials? They are really sweet and touching. For those of you that know me, greeting cards mean a lot to me. I've been a bit neglegent lately, but when I DO get a card, I will go to half a dozen places to find the right one if I have to. Anyway.........

I've heard from one blogger friend who says she can't hear my music playing. Is there anyone else? If I'm not mistaking you have to have Quicktime installed to hear it. I'm not sure. Let me know if you would. (right now I have 'Feliz Navidad' playing) I also have a picture posted above. Click on it to see a really cool video of a Christmas display.

Well, back to the tree. Everyone have a wonderful week!

MI deer granted a stay of execution

No luck for the Great Hunters, but my son had a really great time. Dad says he'll take him again. I'm glad he enjoyed it anyway.

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! If your traveling, I pray for a safe trip for you. I'm going to start some of my meal tonight and get a jump start on it.

This song is dedicated to all my blog friends. *Smile!*

Watch out deer!

Well, my husband took our youngest out hunting this morning. They rose early this morning at about 4:00 a.m. AJ was so excited. He had his clothes all layed out and ready to go. It's now noon and I haven't heard anything. I don't know if this is a bad sign, or if they can't get cell service out where they are. I really hope AJ gets something. Karl has already gotten one doe and has it hanging out in the garage. He is taking it to a friends this afternoon and they are going to process it. Karl told AJ if he shoots anything then he is going to have to gut it. I really don't think he'll mind. I think it's a guy thing. I didn't even like dissecting frogs in biology. Yuk! But I do like venison, so I hope they come home with a big one! One thing I thought of this morning- I should have sent a camera with them so that if AJ got one with a good size rack they could have gotten a picture. Oh well. Next time. I'll let y'all know how it went.

*be sure to listen to audio*

Movies and music

This afternoon my son and I went to the movies. It's been FOREVER since I've been to the theatre. The last movie I saw was The Passion of the Christ. In fact I saw it twice. I can't even remember the time before that. Anyway, AJ and I went to see Santa Claus 3. It was really cute and I enjoyed the time with him. It was a nice way to spend a cold rainy afternoon.

Then upon returning home I heard a beautiful sound. My daughter was upstairs playing her clarinet. She hasn't played that in quite a while. She played in the band when we lived down south and started in the band up here, but was really disappointed in it. They were way behind what she was used to playing and it wasn't enjoyable to her. You have to understand that the band down south was the band that was chosen to go to Australia to play during the Olympics. Although she was not yet in high school to go with them, she was still under the same director. They were an awsome band. Even the middle school ranked way up there. I encouraged her to stay with it and signed her up to play at a local college with a youth orchestra they had assembled, but she was young and didn't feel comfortable playing with older people that she didn't know. It's a shame, because she has the talent. I was thrilled to hear her playing tonight! I hope some day she plays again and uses her gift.

Weather here has been really yucky. Cold, rainy. They are calling for storms tonight and a mix of snow tomorrow. Joy, joy. (can you hear my sarcasm?) I actually would love a good snow storm (sorry Ches), but not this wet yucky stuff. Oh well. I went to the tanning booth today and got my dose of sun. That helped some. How many days is it till summer?

Teenagers....Ugh!!!

I saw ths cartoon just days after having a talk with my 18 year old about letting me know what he is doing. I understand that he is of age, but he is still living under my roof and still needs to let me know what and where he is going. This is just a courtesy you live with all your life when you live with others. I try hard to give him his space but I would just like to know when to expect him home and have an idea where he is. This comic was priceless at the time! I'm sure many of you will be able to relate. Those of you with younger ones, remember this in years to come.

I cheated on dinner tonight. Yes I had soup, but it was packaged soup. I still highly recommend it for a quick but good meal. It is made by Knorr. It is their Meditterranean Style Minestrone soup mix. It comes in a green package. I add a pound of sliced sausage. It is one of my kids favorites!

Work is really becoming a mad house! Especially seeing as how tomorrow is opening day of gun season here. It's only going to get worse as the holidays approach. I don't expect it to slow down till maybe.....March. Ha! Well, to all of you hunters out there....Happy hunting and good luck. And to all of you deer widows....enjoy the quiet time!

Howdy y'all!

My goodness, what a morning! My daughter is babysitting her exboyfriends dog, well kinda an exboyfriend, they are now just friends (long story, sorry I missed filling you in on that one).

...anyway, this is a 4-5 month old puppy. A pit bull. She is really a sweetie. Wonderful playful personality. Anyway, she got a hold of a pair of scissors that were laying on the floor in the computer room. What they were doing there, I have no idea. They are the small kind used for sewing and what not. They open and close using a spring, so if they are not in the locked position then they are spring loaded open. She is running around the house with these in her mouth (didn't anyone teach her not to run with scissors in your hand/mouth?). When I saw what she had I went after her to take them away but she ran around the corner and I hear a 'yelp!' At first glance she seemed fine, but my daughter saw blood dripping. After a closer look we see that she had poked herself in her chest. It wasn't gushing or anything but none the less it was bleeding. I got a towel and applied some pressure, cleaned it up some and found it was not a huge cut but wasn't sure whether it would require a couple of stiches, simply because you can't keep a dog still. We held her for a while, applying pressure and after a while the bleeding stopped. Took her to the vet who took a quick look at her and said she would be fine. Didn't even charge us. She seems to be doing fine. My daughter was terrified though. Geesh!

Now, for the second news.....Lulu is going back. As much as I adore her, she is a nervous bird and a very loud bird. I can't spend the time with her that I would like and she gets moody and you never know when she might bite. I guess right now is not the time to be trying to adjust to a bird. The kids have lots of friends coming and going and I don't want anyone getting hurt and she gets awfully excited when there is a lot of commotion. That's ok, my friend is thrilled to be getting her back. She regretted giving her to me. All well that ends well.

Everything else around here is 'status quo'. (Whatever that means?) How 'bout this one...everthing around here is just 'ducky'! Soups will return soon. In fact tonight I think I may make some chicken soup w/homemade noodles. Better go thaw some chicken! Take care!

What 'cha got cookin? Souper Tuesday

Well, I thought this would be a good video to go with a new recipe. This is an AWSOME gumbo recipe! Even the cajuns would have to agree. Seems a bit long, but it's not really difficult. I hope you get to try it, I just made it tonight and it was as good as it ever was! Have a great week everyone!

p.s. Lulu is doing great and the kids are really enjoying her. I still hope to get a pic of her on here soon.


Cajun Seafood Gumbo

8 Tablespoons oil, divided
1 pound okra, thinly sliced*
4 Tablespoons flour
2 cups onions, finely chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
2/3 cup green pepper, chopped
1 cup green onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
3 large bay leaves
¼ teaspoon thyme, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 16-ounce can whole tomatoes, cut up
(reserve liquid)
5 cups water
2 ½ pounds raw shrimp, washed, peeled,
and deveined
1 pound claw crabmeat*
2 dozen oysters with liquid*
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
4-5 cups steamed white rice

In a large skillet, heat 4 Tablespoons oil. Add okra and cook until tender, stirring often, about 40-50 minutes. If necessary, add more oil to prevent burning.

In a 5-quart soup pot heat remaining 4 Tablespoons oil and gradually add flour, stirring constantly until the roux is caramel brown. Add onions and celery, and sauté until tender. Add green pepper, green onions and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and seasonings; add tomatoes with liquid and blend until smooth. Add cooked okra, and gradually stir in water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add shrimp and crabmeat, and continue to simmer covered for 10 minutes. Add oysters with liquid and parsley and cook an additional 10 minutes. If gumbo is too thick, thin with hot water. Serve in soup bowls over hot white rice.
10 Servings

*If fresh okra is not available, you can use frozen, sliced. Also, I use imitation crabmeat which works very well. I don’t add oysters, but if I was making for just myself I would!