Wedded Bliss

Well, for the first time since Little Chief was born (7 years) me and Chief got away for a night of wedded bliss. Not our own, mind you, but we went to the wedding of one of my co-workers. The wedding was gorgeous and first class all the way. Chief and I rented a hotel room and were able to spend some time with friends and feel like grown ups eating, drinking and being married. We had a wonderful time relating without any young people interrupting. I will admit to a couple of bouts of anxiety when for a second I forgot Little Chief was with a sitter for the night - you know when you get the urge to reach out and grab hold of your little one to protect them from harm or either from embarassing you to pieces. But other than those few glitches, we were able to relax and enjoy each others company.



This is a photo of us enjoying our freedom for a night. Please don't mind how fat I am, I have fretted enough about that for the whole entire universe. But isn't my Chief a sweet love muffin? I hope everyone else enjoyed their weekend as much as we did!

Saturday Giveaway Goodness

It's Saturday and time for some giveaway news! The SITStahood is giving away something precious on their site. Go check it out! They are also expanding their super cyber space by adding a Saucy Chefs blog that could feature YOUR recipe. Go on now, head over there and see what's cooking.


Another friend in blogland, is giving this away:

Go on over and visit, Joanne, and see about winning that bounty of french, pink goodness! Her winner will be chosen July 4th!
http://cottageinthemaking.blogspot.com/2008/06/ooh-la-la-french-giveaway.html

And one more for the road, John Deere Mom is giving away some purses over here:
http://johndeeremom.blogspot.com/2008/06/200th-post-and-giveaway.html

Friday's Fabulous Five

Today I am featuring 5 of the books I have enjoyed the most so far this year:



OMGoodness, if you need a beach read and you like humor - this is the book for you. Sometimes between "heavy" reads I need a little lite fare to keep me from become depressed. This book made me laugh so hard I had tears running down my face and my family thinking I was nuts. Please give it a look see - you will NOT be disappointed.



This is an older book and I have had it on my shelf forever. I actually just finished it last night. It was a peek into the true story of the Anne Lamott and her struggles with alcohol, bulimia, being a single mom and growing up with atheist parents. The book is about her search for faith and God - and her finding both. She is honest and true and I found it inspirational.



I was so blown away by "The Kite Runner", I could not wait to read Hosseini's newest book. As is sometimes the case the follow up to a blockbuster book does not always live up to the author's first attempt, but this time it did. I loved this book and the glimpse into the life of another woman in another country. Superb!



This book clutched my heart. It is the story of a school shooting, but it makes you feel what it was like for the shooter, the victims and all involved. Picoult is one of my favorite contemporary writers.



Geek Love is a book people tend to love or hate. I am in the love category. To gank a phrase from the SITStas it was pure crackliture - impossible to put down. It is about a family that lives a circus life and the father gives his wife all kinds of concoctions to intentionally produce deformed offspring in an effort to create his own group of circus freaks. It sounds so distasteful, but I found such an affection for the lead character one of his "freakish" children. It is so worth the read.

If you have read any of these books, please let's discuss. If you have not and need some encouragement to do so - here it is!! Happy Reading!

This Is What's For Dinner

Mornin' Y'all!

I am so busy today, but I wanted to stop a minute and post what I have in the crockpot for dinner. I just dropped the kiddos at Vacation Bible School. I'm at work and faxing documents like crazy for the offer on a new home. At lunch I have to pick up kiddos from VBS. I have a hair appointment after work for my ugly roots to be highlighted. Phew, I'm tired already. But I used my crockpot - best invention of all times - for dinner. All the kids love this and Chief too. It is not an original recipe or anything fancy, but I love it.

Paprika Chicken - Serves 6

1 chicken cut up (could sub breasts or thighs or drumsticks)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup canned tomatoes
1 green pepper - chopped
1 onion - chopped
2 Tablespoons Paprika
1 clove garlic - minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup All Purpose flour
1 cup sour cream

Put chicken broth and all ingredients except flour and sour cream in crockpot. Cover and cook on low for a minimum of 8 hours. Remove chicken pieces from cooker. Turn control to high. Blend flour with 1/4 cup of juices from the crockpot. Return flour mixture to crockpot and blend in sour cream. Return chicken to pot, heat thru. Serve with noodles or rice.

Why Worry?

When I was a kid I can remember seeing a PSA about worry. It showed an empty rocking chair, desolate looking. The speaker said, “worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but gets you no where.” Even as a kid it stopped me in my tracks and made me go, hmmm. I am plagued with worry, it’s what I do – like a profession. My sister is the same way. I’m no Dr. Phil, but I think it could be a product of a very unstable childhood. I obsess about what might happen, could happen or won’t happen if I need it to. It makes me crazy, literally. I can’t stop. When one worry is put to rest there are a million more in line with their little numbers, next. One recent scenario goes like this: I’m worried the house won’t sell, but it did, so I started worrying that we wouldn’t find another one, but we did, and then I worried that we wouldn’t get the bid in before someone else did, but we did, now I’m worried that they won’t accept our offer. Stop the train, I want to get off, really, I do. Oh and the house worry is only one offshoot of worry, there is still kid worry, career worry, I’m too fat worry, what’s this world coming too worry, gas price worry and what’s for dinner worry. See what I mean it makes me want to drink tequila, straight, no lime or salt, right from the cat bowl. The smallest thing can keep me awake at night, like did I put stain remover on my shirt with the red wine spill, did I get enough cash out of the ATM, will Little Chief be overpowered by a bully at Vacation Bible School, will Barack Obama’s people tell him to go on and wear that flag pin, will Mama’s Losin Itfoster that dog even though some of us begged her not too……Phewww. See, it’s exhausting. Today I’m going to try not to worry so much. It is my mini-goal. Starting right now, I am so not worrying that you folks might think I’m crazy. Nope, nada, zip – not doing it!

Bounce Envy

My Saucy Girlfriends are having another giveaway gauranteed to put a little bounce in your life or the life of someone you love. If you are not already a SITSta, what's the hold up? I love their saucy blog and have meet the best people over there. Come on now, blog jog right on over there and see if they don't become a regular on your blog roll, I dare ya!

Fabulous Five Friday

Five things I think are fabulous:

1. Magnetic Bookmarks. I totally LOVE these things. You can mark the actual line of text where you left off reading. When I have some time, I will make my own, but I bought some at the Hallmark store for $1.95. A reader's BFF. This little angel is only one of the thousands of great designs. You can order some online here: http://www.magneticbookmark.com/



2. Paperbackswap.com. I usually like to keep my treasured books, but sometimes if I end up with duplicates or I didn't particularly like the book, I would be willing to swap it. Sometimes I thrift books and post them for swaps. You basically get books for the price of postage. I have done hundreds of swaps with no problems at all, knock wood.

3. Bertolli Frozen Chicken Parmigiana & Penne. Literally dump this is a pan and you have a delicious dinner in exactly 10 minutes. It is so fresh and delicious. The website even gives you wine pairings. Even though I think Rocco Dispirito looks suspiciously skinny now. What is up with that?

4.
I LOVE these things. You can wash your face without having to use water or anything. Pop one out, clean, exfoliate and you are done. Fast and easy for the busy mom lifestyle. If not for these babies, I would wear make up to bed every night.

5. The Blog Universe. Where else can you meet so many fabulously diverse, talented, funny, smart, handy people? Yeah, I'm talking to YOU!

Youth

Hey y'all I was under the weather yesterday and didn't even log on. But I missed all you bloggy peeps. My son, Code-Man (16), is here visiting for the summer. We decided a while ago that rather than drag him all over the US and beyond with the military - he would stay with his biological father and attend the same school continuously and live near his grandmother and cousins, etc. It was one tough decision and I miss him every single day. But it has worked out for the best for his stability. But lucky me, I get to have him with me (somewhere on the globe) every summer. So Code-Man is here and he is handsome and sweet and a far better person than I could ever be. I just find it refreshing that in this day and age when evil abounds, especially among our youth, this young man is so polite, kind, funny (in a clean way) and has a strong moral compass. He even created a "cuss jar" for Mama to contribute to since I have a very bad habit of cussing like a sailor. He and Little Chief are hoping to raise enough money to buy a Wii. I took the liberty of adding a few things to the jar as well, such as whining, fussing with your brother and arguing. So the way I see it, they should have enough for the Wii by the end of the week. Darn, I should have added farting!!

Code-man was very impressed with his Mama when I showed him my blog. Now mind you, it took me about 6 months of stalking other bloggers and pining away with blog envy before I took the leap and set this one up. Well, I'll be darned if Code-Man didn't set up his own in a matter of about one hour. He said, Mama, you inspired me to set up my own blog. Now Little Chief is begging for his own. This tech savvy generation of youngsters is plum amazing. I was so impressed to discover what a good writer that Code-Man is too. You done good, baby boy - now get off the computer, it's my turn.

House Hunting

Well, Chief set out for Virginia Beach yesterday armed with over 30 houses that I chose virtually as possibilities for our future home. Why is he going instead of me, you might ask? Well, the Navy gives him 10 days of house hunting leave to go and look around and I have to stay here and work. Since I will be unemployed beginning July 1st, I better make money while I can. Now, I feel the need to vent a little here - we serve our country as an active duty military family. We made the choice, I'm not complaining and I'm proud to do my part. BUT when we have to relocate every three years, pull our children out of schools they have just settled in to, find a new home, new doctor, dentist, hairdresser, nail shop....you get the idea...and for me a new job...it can be overwhelming. I believe that if a military spouse has a proven track record of employment of at least a year, they should, at the very least, be eligible to collect unemployment for a few months until they are settled and are able to begin the job search again in ernest. I am not quitting my job because I'm lazy or bored or sick of it (which I admit I am), I am quitting my job to relocate on orders of the United States Government. I don't want to be worried about making ends meet while we are packing, unpacking, sweating, searching and praying that we picked a good school district. I feel guilty about quitting on July 1st when we pack out on July 15th, but I need those 2 weeks to get ready to pack everything we own living and non-living and haul it off to a place we haven't even secured yet. Wow, sorry, I am really venting here. I didn't realize I had so much pent up emotion on this topic. And did I mention that Chief is picking out our new digs......now that should really strike terror in my decorating heart. I might be blogging about 2000 square feet of garage with no closet space...stay tuned.

Happy Father's Day Chief

We had a relaxing day at home for Father's Day. I love to cook so I asked Chief what he would like for his honorary dinner. I was dying to make cracked pepper crusted filet mingon or shrimp scampi or seafood gumbo with real hushpuppies. He requested spaghetii and meatballs. What? You want an easy, middle of the week, non-gourmet, certainly not special occasion dish. But it was his day so I made his favorite dish with garlic breadsticks and salad with dressing I purchased at Olive Garden (so worth the $5). He ain't fancy, but he knows what he likes I guess.

Chief, you are an amazing daddy. Little Chief is as precious as you are. Oh, and please help me figure out how to put photos on my blog so that I can share with all my bloggy friends what a cutie pie you are.

We went to the Orioles game Friday night - the kids were darling and had a ball. I went to a wedding shower on Saturday and made the bride to be an 8x8 wedding scrapbook that was precious and wrapped it up just so. The guys went to see the Hulk while I was partying with the bride and her gang.

See, Chief, this blog could have been enhanced with photos that I took at the baseball game, the bridal shower and Father's Day dinner. Your special day is over, now get to work on teaching your wife some computer skills.

Good thing he never reads my blog. Does he even know I have a blog? I know I mentioned it, but he probably wasn't listening. Go figure!

Hot Dog Bush

This post should come with a warning. My co-worker told me about this computer game her kids like to play called Hot Dog Bush. She said she and her mother and sister got hooked and she played till midnight (on a work night)! Now I do not like any kind of computer game or video game or anything that requires hand-eye coordination because, honestly, I suck! So reluctantly I went to the Yahoo homepage and clicked on games, searched for Hot Dog Bush and now thank you kindly I am hooked. Chief and LC got hooked and Chief even called his dad "the grill master" and told him to play.
The premise is George Bush gets kicked out of the White House (not so far fetched) and he doesn't know what to do so he decides to open a hot dog stand. Just give it a whirl and check back in and tell me what you think. Don't say I didn't warn y'all.

Wisdom Lives Close to the Ground

My precious Little Chief is a 7-year-old boy full of energy, wit, compassion, and amazing intellect. I have four sons, all of whom enhance my life greatly. Their ages are 23, 19, 16 and 7. When I figure out how to add pictures, I'll post one of these handsome devils. You will notice a big gap between the older three and Little Chief. That's because I thought I was through with having babies after the first group, I mean enough is enough. I even had my tubes tied I was so sure. But life circumstances change as they always do. Things that I was sure I would never want or need to do again became things I wasn't so sure about anymore. So to make a REALLY long story short, I had my tubes untied and successfully got pregnant again and God gave us this little miracle guy that makes my every day even more worthwhile. He is the apple of his Daddy's eye and we laugh at him so much, probably too much - he may even get a complex.

Daddy took him for his 7-year-old check up recently. Now Little Chief is a big guy. He has been in the 95th percentile on the growth chart since he was born three weeks early. I hate to know what I would have suffered if he went to term. He is a first-grader that has a size 3 shoe (I can wear a size 3 shoe - thus why I'm always stealing his crocs). Anywhoo, he is a bigun'. He loves food as much as I love cooking it and feeding it to him. Well, after the check up he came home to say these precious words:
LC: Hey, Mama
Me: Hey, Sugar Pie. How was the doctor visit?
LC: Great - no shots this time. The doctor did talk a teeny bit about my weight "issue" (he used air quotes).
Me: Oh really. And what did he have to say about that?
LC: Just that I needed to grow into the weight I already got and not gain anymore. I already started working on it though.
Me: Oh, how did you do that?
LC: On the way home me and daddy SPLIT a crunchwrap supreme.

Then last night's prayers went like this:
LC: Dear God and Jesus, please turn this horrible storm off, it is freaking me out.
Me: (laughing) Well, if anyone can do it HE can.
LC: Can God hear my prayers even though there are millions of people in the whole wide world praying at the same time?
Me: You betcha.
LC: Can he see thru walls?
Me: Absolutely.
LC: YES! I knew it.
Me: Knew what?
LC: God is a Superhero!

Outta the mouths of babes.
Pink Hugs, KimmyJ

Dashboard Confessions

Hi, My name is Kim and I am addicted to Food Network. I just can't help myself! Last night Chief (hubs) had a softball game and Little Chief went swimming at the neighbor's and before I knew it I was actually in control of the remote. This almost never happens at my place. So I went straight to the DVR and pulled up the first two episodes of The Next Food Network Star. I love this show. Now in the first episode I must admit that I had some favorites and some not too favorites, but by the second episode I flip-flopped a little. That little Kelsey was precious. I really wanted to dislike Lisa Garza, she was way too put together and it made me green with envy - but any woman that can pull off three dishes in thirty minutes in 4-inch heels and a designer dress with nary a hair in her severe black bob outta place....well, kudos to you Little Missy. But when 19-year-old Shane began to cry in the panel, I guess my mommy genes kicked in and I wanted to just hug him up (give him a tissue)and say now stand up straight, darlin'. I have a 19 year old and the only cooking he's ever done involves the toaster and pop tarts.

I love the other shows on that network as well. Paula Deene (my alter ego), Bobby (hunka hunka burning love) Flay, The Barefoot Contessa (I suspect she is on a mood altering substance, she is so mellow), Giada (Smiley Jill), and even that Little Lush Sandra Lee inspires me to get to cooking.

So today I hope you decide to cook something for your family - whether the recipe comes from Food Network (the crystal meth for foodies), your granny, your sister, your mamma or a friend in the blogosphere, like me!!

Cheesy Chicken Cups (4-6 servings)

1 cooked chicken breast (chopped into small pieces)
1 can pillsbury buttermilk biscuits (10 in can)
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
2/3 cup shredded cheddar
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press each biscuit into muffin pan (down and up on the sides to make a "cup"). In a medium bowl, stir chicken, soup, cheese, parsley and pepper. Evenly distribute mix into all 10 biscuit (cups). Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes.

My New Digs!!

I have been Shannonized!! That sounds like some sort of religious experience, huh? Well, honestly it kind of was. That Sweet Shannon (see her little widget over on the lefthand side of my blog) designed this beautiful space and I am so in love with it. I keep clicking back over here just to see it load up again and again. She took into consideration everything that I asked her for including a butterfly to represent our Amanda Rose who already left this earth to live in perfect peace and harmony with the Lord. I can't believe that I commissoned this Designing Goddess last Friday and today, Monday, I am up and running - now that is some fast service with a smile. You too can be Shannonized if you so chose, I'm pretty sure her services are non-denominational.

Movie Madness

Well, glory be, we got two folks interested in our house. We went straight from zero to two in a weekend. Nothing in writing yet though. So say your prayers for us if you don't mind. We have prayed over this house situation because the way I see it, as bad as this market is, only the Good Lord can get that house sold.

I took those precious boys to see Kung Fu Panda and wouldn't ya know - just when the previews ended and the movie was about to start for real, the dad-gum film broke. So we all had to relocate to the theater next door. Well, we had come early and got some prime real estate in the movie seating area and that didn't do one bit of good when we had to up and move next door. Next door the theater had already been open for seating for a while and we got a lot of looks from smug faces that seemed to say, "you shoulda got here early like us". Only we did, but over there - oh never mind. We got lucky and found four seats together that were semi-good. Other folks weren't as lucky and a couple of the grown-ups pithced hissy fits right in front of everybody. We all got free tickets out of it - so....no hissy fit from me. Especially seeing as it cost $29 for those movie tickets - not including popcorn and Icees. Oh and the movie was as adorable as baby cheeks.

Hopefully this week my new blog design will be up and running. Y'all come back now, ya hear?

Incoming Lovliness

Howdy Y'all!

I am so excited, The lovely Shannon over at Eight Crazy Designs (rightly referred to by me as the Designing Goddess from now on) is working on a custom blog design for me!! I want to tell you that the work she has showed me so far is beyond what I expected. It is as pretty as fresh spun pink cotton candy. More fru-fru lovliness than I can hardly stand. So stay tuned for the beauty to behold. When this place gets fit for company, then I am planning a giveaway to get some traffic over here. I want the Designing Goddess' work to be seen by the masses! Check back often!

I will be real busy this weekend. We are having an open house to try and sell the homestead, so I gotta get busy cleaning up this morning. And then I am taking four, 7-year-old boys to see Kung Fu Panda. Lordy, Lordy, I better prepare myself for all the karate chopping, kicking, jumping and grunting that will commence after the show!!

I hope you take time today for a few minutes of peace and quiet and a tall glass of iced tea - it's gonna be a hot one!

Ease On Down The Road

Mornin' Y'all!

Another glorious day has begun! Let's celebrate (hands out carrot cupcakes with cream cheese icing).

We are getting ready to move from our home here in Maryland to Virginia Beach thanks kindly to the United States Navy (God Bless America's Heart). We do this every three years and you'd think I'd be used to it by now, but it still sneaks up on me like a sore throat. When you relocate in three-year increments, you generally spend the first year getting used to the place, the second year trying to enjoy it - or at least pretend you do - and then the third year you spend your time getting ready to hitch up your wagon and go again. Just when I found me a good hairdresser too, Geesh!

The gnat in my iced tea right now, is trying to sell a house in this turtle-slow housing market we got going on. What the magnolia is up with that? As Murphy's Law would have it, when we bought the house it was a seller's market and we paid too much for too little, now that it is our turn to sell it, it switched on over to a buyer's market. I'm a Lucky Lucy that way! ! But if anyone of you is in the market for a house in Ft. Meade, Maryland, I gotcha hookup!

I hope you all have a day full of Southern Sweet Sunshine!

SITS Blog/Giveaway

Check out this super cool blog with an awesome giveaway!

Birthing a Blog

Wow, I feel like I'm riding a bike for the first time without training wheels. I lurk at other wonderful blogs all the time and daydream about starting my own. So here I go, a little wobbly but I haven't fallen down yet.

I am looking into some great blog desingners to pay to make my place look snazzy! So hopefully that will happen soon and more folks will be inclined to come and "set a spell" as we say in the South.

Hope all you other lurkers and lurkees have a great day!