Just Because

I love sincerity. I do. There's just something about a person spontaneously telling you something, just because that's what they were feeling at the time. Sometimes it's a secret, something that a friend has been holding onto for too long, and just needed to unburden themselves. Sometimes it's a compliment, and usually these come at a time when you need it most! Other times it may be a criticism. But, no matter the end result, when someone tells you something sincerely, it makes an impact.

More than all of this, I love the actions that come with these sincere emotions.  When Max runs in with a flower from the backyard because when he saw it, he knew I couldn't live without it. Or the random notes and cards that find themselves in my Bible or purse that have wonderful pictures drawn and sweet thoughts lettered on the page. Or when my Dad calls to chat because he was thinking of me at that moment.  Or when Seth comes home with multi-colored daisies on a random day of the week just because he wanted me to know he was thinking of me.  I love it when my Mom calls to speak to one of the kids because she's gone long enough without talking to them. I love to receive smiles, hugs, and kisses from my children just because they love me.

More often than not, in the society we live in, spontaneity gets lost in the shuffle.  We call people just to ask a favor. We buy flowers or gifts because, on that day of the year, it is expected. We send thank-you cards for gifts, invitations for showers, and holiday cards at specific times of the year. Where is the sincerity in this?  Where is the emotion tied to that action? Don't we just do them because that's what we've been taught by society?

I think we could all benefit from a little less structure, and a little more sincerity.  Send cards to tell people you appreciate them. Call your parents or grandparents just to chat. Sit down in the backyard and look for shapes in the clouds with your children. Tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. Most importantly, share the Gospel!  It is by far the most valuable give we can give!

Because tomorrow may never come, use every moment that you have today.

Left-over Turkey: Recipes

Sorry for the late post, but Thanksgiving isn't over for us yet!  We eat at my parents' house tomorrow, so this is 'technically' early.  :)  


My Mom purposely prepares an abundance of turkey so that we can bring some home with us, which my hubby loves.  He usually makes turkey sandwiches, but I like to mix it up a bit since turkey is not a meat of choice for me.  Thought I'd share with you a few recipes I've collected over the years to make good use of that leftover turkey.  Enjoy!

Turkey Jambalaya

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds turkey
• 1 pound smoked sausage
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

To Prepare:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, add all ingredients except the rice.  Cook for 30-45 minutes, until the celery has had time to cook.  

2. Prepare the rice as usual in a separate pot.

3. To serve, pour a serving of the jambalaya mixture over a serving of the rice.  

We like just a little spice, so this recipe does the trick.  If you, like my hubby, like to sweat when you eat Cajun, you will want to add an additional spice of your choice.

Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 unbaked pie shells 
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup cooked, chopped turkey meat
• 1 can mixed vegetables, drained
• 1 can (left after emptying the cream of mushroom soup) of milk

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the mushroom soup and milk. Stir in the remaining ingredients and pour into one pie crust. Top with the other pie crust, and seal the crust edges by crimping with a wet fork.
3. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown

I usually make 2 of these, and freeze one for later.  If you choose to do this, allow one full day for the frozen pie to thaw before following the same directions above.

White Turkey Chili

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped cooked turkey
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 can diced jalapeno peppers
• 1 can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 3 cans white beans
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

To Prepare:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook and stir until tender. 
2. Add the garlic, jalapeno, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne.  Continue to cook/stir 3 minutes, or until tender. 
3. Add the chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove the mixture from heat. Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. Serve warm.

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving!  

5 Way to Simplify Your Cooking

I've been reading articles and talking to friends, and have found a few ways to simplify your time in the kitchen.  Here are my 5 favorites:

1. Use your crock pot.  In years past, I have only used my crock pot for making roast and potatoes.  That's one of my least favorite meals, so my crock pot has rarely seen the light of day.  However, after looking around online and talking to some other ladies, I have found many other ways to use it.  From beef stroganoff to spaghetti, to potato soup, to homemade barbecue, the crock pot cooks the meat while you're out, and makes the meat much more tender in the process.

2.  Use online cooking websites.  My favorite is allrecipes.com but there are several others.  What I like most about allrecipes is that you can search for a dish (Fried Chicken, for example), and then sort by rating, and you're virtually guaranteed a recipe that is fantastic.  There is also a tab called "Ingredient Search" which allows you to search for recipes by the ingredients you have on hand, or would like to use for that particular meal.  I use this all the time, especially during harvest time when veggies are plentiful.

3. Buy meat in bulk.  I have been doing this for a couple of years now, and am thankful every time I open the freezer.  I buy 5-10 lbs of beef, chicken breasts, or whatever meat is on sale.  Then I cook it, bag it by the pound, and freeze it for later.  When you want to make a dish of beef stroganoff in your crock pot, just grab the already cooked beef from the freezer and throw it in the pot.  Easy.

4. Sign up for an online cookbook. I've signed up for both free and paid versions of this, and my favorite version is TasteBook.  You can copy and paste recipes from any website, email, or document, and keep them all in one place.  And if you're ever at your parent's home and want to make a special dish, all your recipes are accessible.  I love this.  I use it all the time, and can now t hrow away all those random slips of paper in my makeshift recipe book.

5. Buy frozen veggies.  I don't always do this, because they are sometimes more expensive than fresh.  However, during winter and spring, this is a very time-saving and affordable way to keep those vegetables in you menu.  Corn, peas, green beans, spinach...all the frozen varieties contain the same vitamins and minerals that the fresh version have, and are usually already chopped and diced in the package.

So, get out your crock pot, grab a couple bags of frozen veggies, a baggie of ground beef from your freezer, add some tomato sauce and have some veggie soup tonight.

Happy Cooking!

Chucktown

After a week away, and a couple of days to recover, the Anderson family is finally back to normal. Well, close enough. :) Our trip to Charleston, SC was much needed and very rewarding for us all. Our youngest, Nina Grace, spent the week with her grandparents in Manchester, and the rest of our family made the trek through four states to our greatly anticipated destination, Folly Beach. The trip from Manchester, with three stops, was eight hours. We arrived around 9:00 p.m., and didn’t waste another moment. We quickly ventured out to the sand to see the ocean and find some seashells.

On Tuesday, Seth and I took the kids into Charleston, and packed the day as full as possible. We saw Yorktown, rode a water taxi, had tea, visited the children’s museum, rode the trolley, ate at a nice restaurant (Hyman’s), and saw many of the famous sights. We strolled through the market, saw Rainbow Row, relaxed at Waterfront Park, and we let the kids play in the fountain there even with no extra clothes. I’m not sure what else we could have added to the day!

The rest of the week was filled with lots of pool time, some beach time, golfing, a carriage ride, several nice meals, and a couple of fire drills. :) Suffice to say, it was an eventful trip, and one I wouldn’t trade for anything. The kids were amazing, and loved every minute. Both overcame a couple of obstacles in the week spent away. On the first day, we took off Max’s arm floaties and discovered he could swim! And Maya finally overcame her aversion to the sand, and walked all the way to the pier on the last day with no shoes. Yay! Max and Maya stayed in the water constantly, and even rode in a few waves on the boogie board. Max built a sandcastle with Papaw, and Maya came home “as brown as a biscuit.” I don’t think they wasted a moment.

I think we counted a total of 12 things that went “wrong” on the trip, which included everything from finding no Entenmanns donuts at the grocery store to enduring a stomach bug. However, with 24 people I still call that a successful trip. I would go back tomorrow if I could! Well…make that next month. I’m still catching up on my sleep! Thanks to Mamaw and Papaw for the many ways they made the trip amazing, and to everyone else who had a great attitude and loads of patience.

See you all again next year!

10 Items or Less

I have thought today about a few of the things we have in our house, and how much our family uses these things. As Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, said in John chapter 17, we "are in the world" but "not of the world," and He has given us the choice to take advantage of what this world has to offer.  There are definitely some things my family "needs" on a daily basis.  So, I've made a list of then of those things, and I wonder if any of you feel the same way.  Here goes (in a very particular order):

10. Skype/Facebook/YouTube/etc. - These are so useful to us!  We use at least one of these daily to keep my extended family updated on what's going on in our lives (i.e. Maya losing a tooth, Maxwell playing with Robert, Nina waving bye.).  I honestly don't know what we did without it.  It is so much better than talking on the phone!

9. Chocolate - This had to be on the list somewhere!  Seth and Maya Jo are scrounging through every cabinet and drawer looking for chocolate after supper every night.  I think they would pick this over just about every other thing on the list!

8. Cetaphil - If you have dry skin and haven't tried Cetaphil, you have no idea what you're missing. It's amazing stuff!  I use it daily, and my skin thanks me for it.

7. ExerSaucer - Max used this only a couple of months when he was a baby, but Nina has had it since she was about 4 months old, and she absolutely LOVES it!  She's either chewing on a toy, playing with the spinning wheel, or jumping in it...we're all thankful for this one!  :)

6. Henry Brown Diaper Bag - This has got to be the most indestructible diaper bag I've ever used. (After going through diaper bags with three kids, that should mean a lot!)  Not only does it hold all of Nina's accessories (toys, diapers, food, etc.), but my purse and as random toys for the older kids all fit with room to spare.  Those handles must be steel covered with canvas!  Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention the AWESOME monogram Seth and my Momma picked out for it.  LoVe It!

5. Tempur-Pedic - We've been Tempur-Pedic users for 6+ years now, and I still love my pillow! Yes, I admit it was a little hard getting used to, but it is the most comfortable thing you will ever lay your head on!  I take mine everywhere I go (and have had it shipped back home on occasion.)   Maya Jo and Maxwell now have their own pillows, and I'm trying to convince Seth to get the matress to help his back problems.  We'll see how that goes.

4. Van - I love our van!  It was hard admitting life was officially over, and taking the plunge to buy it, but things are so much more convenient now.  It can carry 8 people, plus plenty of room for luggage in the back...are you kidding me?  We have a DVD player with wireless headphones, all-weather floor mats, a secret compartment, seat warmers, something like 12 cup holders, climate control, AND push-button door openers.  Can a mom of 3 ask for more?  

3. Digital Camera - It is amazing how many thousands of pictures are on our computers.  Our whole lives are well documented, and can be reprinted on demand.  We are the first generation with that luxury, and I hope you guys appreciate this as much as I do!

2. Tivo - Yes, number 2 is Tivo.  We are going to try life without Tivo next month for the first time in 7 years.  I'm not sure how this will go.  Since I am married to the most electronically savvy man ever, we have two dual-tuner Tivos that are available on both televisions.  This means we can be watching/recording four things at the same time!  We have one full of movies and kid shows, and the other full of mine and Seth's fav shows...mostly Raymond, Seinfeld, Frasier, Frontline, and The Office.  I don't know how other DVRs work, but you just tell Tivo what actor you like, and it records everything that comes on with him in it...or you can say you want all Disney movies, and it records every one that comes on.  This has made us extremely spoiled...the kids think everyone should be able to "watch that again!"

And...drumroll please...

 

Number 1 goes to...

 

COMPUTERS!  (Was there ever any doubt?)  I counted, and there are 8 working computers in our house.  One is just for the kids, one is the laptop, and the rest are Seth's.  :)  I don’t mind...he makes his living using these great machines, and our documents and folders are so well organized that I can find anything in about 5 clicks.  Our network disappears at times, but I can deal with that.

There are a few honorable mentions, including the iPhone, the iPod, and text messaging, but there just wasn't room for these items on my list.  What things can't your family live without?  Do any of you agree with mine?  Let's hear what changes you would make (if any)!

Have a great weekend, and enjoy your luxuries!

I ♥ Google

Can I just say that I love Google? Really, I do! I know, that sounds like something Seth would say, not me...BUT, I have finally realized that he may be right...just this once. :) They have everything so simplified and so tied together that no one else can compare. I log into my Google account, and everything is there! My Gmail account is super clean, and my other email accounts are tied into it...and now I have multiple inboxes for each account! Smashing. Also, inside my Google account is my Blogger account, my YouTube account, and my Flickr account. They are all tied together, and I can communicate with these programs at any time...no more remembering all those different logins.

I also have a Google Reader, where I can suscribe to RSS feeds to accounts that I would like to visit more often, but never seem to get around to it. (There is a button right over there ---> that you can click on if you want to know every time I post a new blog!) This tool knows which websites I like, and keeps track of every post that is made to their site. For example, I like to read the NYTimes Health section, and every time an article is published, it is added to my RSS account. Whenever I go to this tool, I can catch up on everything I've missed...whether it's been a day or a month.

Google also has its own calendar, and when you get an email or invitation to an event, it prompts you to add it to your calendar. I also have added Seth to my calendar, so we can see what we both have scheduled at any given time. This completely takes away conflicting appointments.

On top of it all, Gmail (which is my primary use with Google) is really user-friendly. To start an email, I just press my "c" button (for compose), and it opens up a new window! I press "r" for reply, "f" for forward. Really...I think the creators are geniuses! Let's see...what else? Oh, every time I log into Gmail, it automatically logs me into my chat which tells me which other Gmail users are online, as well as my AIM contacts. AND, they now have video chat which is really cool if you have friends or family out of town, and have a spare web cam lying around. :)

I have my incoming messages labeled and color-coded, so that when they come in, I know exactly what they are about before I even open them. This makes my inbox very organized, which I most definitely am NOT. Their Spam filter is superb...I never get trash delivered to my inbox.

Three other features that I love about Google Picasa, Google Earth, and Google Chrome.

• Picasa is a photo-editing program, kind of like Adobe Photoshop, but much easier and FREE. I use this to edit all of our photos, and they look professional by the time I finish.
• If you haven't used Google Earth, you should really try it...like today. It's like actually visiting a city online...there is even a street view so you can see EXACTLY where a specific building is located. What's even more useful, is you can search for whatever you may be looking for in a particular city. While in Chicago, we searched for "pizza" and found - Giordano's AND Gino's East. (Seth and I have differing opinions on which was better, but we found the TWO best. LoL) There are many other uses for this program, but this is the one I have used most often.
  
• Google Chrome is their new web browser...I have only begun finding all the benefits to using this. One of which is that on your home page is a window for your 9 most visited website. Super cool.

Last, but not least, is their new information number. (800) GOOG-411 is free, easy, and quick. I programmed the number into my cell phone under "Information" and have used it 10 times or more in the last month. No per-use fee, and no worries about being directed to the wrong location. It gives you multiple choice if there is more than one location. Pretty freakin' awesome.

So, does this sound enough like a commercial? :)