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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Not a Poster Child

Have you ever heard the phrase, "The cobbler's kids have no shoes."?

The essence of this phrase is that sometimes a professional is so busy caring for their clients and their business that they neglect using their skill to help their own family.

My friend Brooke's husband used to have a side business helping people with their computer woes.  Brooke didn't have a working printer in her house for years.

A friend that I grew up with had a mom that was a practicing Family Therapist while her own marriage was crumbling to an affair that ended up tearing their family apart.

I sell Day Planners.  A place to write down when you have an appointment with your Aesthetician, when you told a friend you would meet her for coffee, when your son has a dental appointment, or when your very good friends are having their son's birthday party {there is even a pocket folder to hold the invite to said birthday party}.


Yeah.  I mention these particular examples because I have missed every single one of them in the last week.  Did I mention I sell Day Planners?  Organizers.  Calendars.  SCHEDULE KEEPERS for the love of Pete!

Oh... look at that.  I just realized that I also missed my friend Nicole's birthday.  And I even texted with her that day about missing the birthday party!  Good grief.

Good thing my customers don't judge my products based on their ability to keep my life in order.  I'd definitely be out of business.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Mushroom Chicken

Lately I have been obsessed with mushrooms, which is funny because I used to hate them. See... I may be opinionated, but my opinions can change. I'm open minded like that.

Anywho... one night a few weeks ago I wanted to make dinner without going to the store, so I used what I had on hand and came up with my family's new favorite recipe: Mushroom Chicken

Now, if you love recipes and follow them to a tee, you're not going to like to cook my food. I rarely measure anything and so you'll have to bear with my "some" and "a swig" descriptions. But I promise you really can't mess this up, so just try it.

What you'll need:
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Salt
Pepper
Rosemary {I use fresh and chop up at least a heaping tablespoonful}
Poultry Seasoning
Italian Seasoning
Cooking Sherry or any Dry White Wine

Alright, stop right there for a minute. You should pretty much have these ingredients in your pantry at all times. This is how I season all my chicken for any meal. Put the chicken in a Pyrex baking dish, season well with everything listed and pour the wine on top. You can add lemon, potatoes, asparagus, balsamic vinegar... any number of things, but I promise delicious, flavorful chicken every time!

Okay, back to what you'll need:
2-3 Large Russet Potatoes
Butter
Lawry's Seasoning Salt
Garlic Salt
Heavy Cream or Cream Cheese
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Boil the potatoes until they're soft, drain, add a bunch of all the ingredients I just mentioned. Mash. Taste it. Probably add more Lawry's. Done.

Wait, I got side-tracked. There's still more stuff you'll need:
Mushrooms {I use Baby Bella and I buy them in the bag that is already cleaned and cut... I hate cleaning mushrooms}
Onion
Sugar
More Sherry
Heavy Cream
Parmesan Cheese

Okay, so here's how to do it so that it is all ready at the same time:

Peel and cut the potatoes into large slices, about an inch thick. Put them in a pot of salted water and set them on the stove over high heat to boil.


Season the chicken as I described and put it in the oven at 350 degrees.

Set a timer for 20 minutes.

Heat some oil in a sauté pan and add slices of onion, the mushrooms, and about a tablespoon of sugar {keep a little but of the onions and mushrooms aside for later}. Let this cook, stirring every once in a while. Let it all caramelize and get dark and kind of burned looking.


When the timer goes off, take the chicken out of the oven and spoon the onions and mushrooms over the chicken. Don't pour. I use tongs. You want any juices and little burned pieces to stay in the pan for the sauce.

Put the chicken back in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes.

Add some finely chopped onions and mushrooms to the pan that you just took the other onions and mushrooms out of. About a half a cup or so of each.


When they have cooked a bit add some of the sherry. I don't know... maybe a half a cup to a cup. Let that reduce. Add the heavy cream. I keep adding it until it seems like I have enough sauce for everyone. Then sometimes I add some more wine... then maybe some more cream... just keep going until it seems like it's enough and a good, thick consistency.


You should probably check on your potatoes right about now. They should be done. Prepare them like I told you to above.


I like to make a simple salad to go along with it.

Did your timer go off??? It probably should be beeping right about now. So pull the chicken out of the oven.

To serve, put a big pile of mashed potatoes in the center of your plate. Place a chicken breast leaning on the potatoes. Sprinkle with shaved Parmesan, then pour some of the sauce over the whole thing. Add a small helping of salad on the side. Voila!



Beautiful. Easy. So yummy.

{Sorry about the iPhone pictures... Iwasn't really planning to blog about this, but I just had to share.}

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

You're Welcome

If you're feeling a little blue, or bored, or you just would like a good chuckle... please, to enjoy:








Source: elezea.com via Emmy on Pinterest






Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Choose Joy Event

A few months ago {has it really been that long???} I told you about a new calling that I felt on my life.  {You can read about it here.}

Well I have been dying to share more details, but my life has been a tad bit hectic and I wanted to wait until I had some things in order. 

So I am so thrilled to finally tell you all about the Choose Joy Event: a one day, faith-based conference geared towards women who are experiencing infertility and/or have a desire to grow their family through adoption.


Can I just tell you something really quickly?  When God places a calling on your life, He is faithful to provide the tools to follow through with that calling.  

Within a couple of weeks of deciding to take on this event, I had women from all over the country committed to coming to California to speak at our conference.  Amazing women.  Women who could get paid big bucks to speak, but are coming for free because they believe in this event.

I know how lonely and painful the road of infertility can be.  It is my greatest desire that Choose Joy will be a place where women can feel understood, encouraged, and informed.


Since the day I started planning I have been praying for each woman that will attend this event.  I cannot wait to see how the Lord is going to change lives through the connections that are made on February 9th.

If you or anyone you know {and statistically speaking you should all know someone} is walking this path, would you please share the Choose Joy website with them? 

If you would like to get involved, there are details on the website about how you can help.

I can't wait to share more with you about how this event comes together.  I know there will be God-sized miracles happening along the way.

Monday, July 9, 2012

On my Mind Monday

I have a few random things on my mind today, so I thought I would share them with you:

1.  After almost a decade as a mom, becoming a minivan owner has finally made me feel official.

And can I tell you something... I LOVE IT!  And so does Nathan {although he might deny that if you asked him}.  I'm a Mad Mom in a Minivan and I'm rockin' it!


This is Nathan trying to program our garage door opener.  It took us several days.  We both have been driving 2001 cars for the last decade... we feel like we have entered the space age with this car! 

2.  Nathan told me the other night that he doesn't like Italians.  I said, "then why did you marry one?"  And he said, "I thought you were Mexican."

My husband makes me giggle.  I love him.

3.  I'm kind of a Social Media Junkie, and my current drug of choice is Instagram.

I am obsessed.  I check my feed at least 15 times a day.  It is what I do at stop lights, when I am putting Penelope down for a nap, when I'm walking the dog, when I should be packaging orders.  I love it.  Love.  And while I know I should not find my self worth in social media, I have to admit that every time that cute little bubble pops up to tell me that someone likes one of my photos, or better yet left me a comment, or better yet started following me, I get giddy.  Instagram... please don't let Facebook ruin you.  Please!


What's on your mind this Monday?