6 1/2 inches of white fluffy snow!
Our humble abode in the woods!!
Our neighborhood
The neighborhood pondI am the first to admit I am not a HUGE soup fan. I would much rather have pretty much anything else for dinner. But, there IS something to be said for having a steaming bowl of hearty goodness when the weather is as cold as it has been...for South Carolina. They are predicting snow again this weekend...WTF??
Well, when e-mealz sent me a soup recipe, I was all for it...maybe it would be something that would not only fill us up, but warm us up too. I was pleasantly surprised; it was super easy and I definitely added it to my "will make again" list. Here's the recipe for you:
Spicy Black Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 - 15 oz. cans black beans, undrained
14 oz. can chicken broth
14 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
14 oz can yellow corn, drained
1 1/2 T minced garlic
1/4 t red pepper
1 t cumin
Saute onions and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Place one can of black beans in a blender. Add onion mixture, red pepper, & cumin and blend on high for 30 seconds. Return to stockpot and add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
That's it!! Enjoy!!!
So, some big changes have been goin' on 'round here!
Hey, it's that time of year, right? Time for change...for the better!
First stop, church...Porter and I went to 10:30 mass this past Sunday, and I was really impressed with just how well he did. I promised him if he would sit quietly for all the "stories" than he could get his new coloring book out for the rest of mass. Hey, I'm not completely unrealistic. A four-year-old sitting still for an hour is asking a lot...especially when church is something new. Porter was so good, whispered when he had questions, accompanied me up the aisle for communion, and actually told me on the way home that church was "fun." Yay! Now that he's passed, I will feel much better adding Bowman to the mix.
Next stop...BIG BOY BED! Craig was in a cleaning frenzy Sunday when we got home (thanks to my sweet hubby for cleaning bathrooms and bedrooms while we were gone!!) He decided to convert Bowman's crib to a toddler bed. Now, let me tell you, when we tried this with Porter is was nothing but a disaster! He wouldn't stay in it and I would often awake in the middle of the night to a 2-year-old peering at me and asking, "Where my milk??" Needless to stay, the crib went back up and he stayed there until he actually moved rooms before Bowman's arrival. So, as one would suspect, I was a little leery of the entire thing, but decided to go with the flow since my hubby was so in to it. WHAT A GREAT MOVE!! Bowman not only LOVES his "new" bed, but practically refuses to get out of it...no night wanderings for this little boy!! I keep waiting for this to all fall apart, but here we are after 3 nights...let's keep it going, little man!
The final stop...diet! My friend Adair introduced me to e-mealz.com. LOVE IT! For $15, this site will design a Weight Watchers dinner plan for me around what's at sale at Publix that week...for the next 3 months! WOOHOO! Not only am I reaching my goal of becoming a more interesting cook, but everything is healthy and (so far) really tasty. Check it out yourself: http://www.e-mealz.com/ You can choose different grocery stores, meal plans, etc. I think you'll like it!
Bye for now!
Porter has witnessed SNOW 3 times in his 4 short years...and every one has been in South Carolina!! It's crazy to think that it has snowed so many times "down south," but I really won't complain. I'm actually a fan of the white stuff...for a day, and then I'm ready for it all to melt away and clear off the roads. Maybe it's because it's never as pretty the second day. Or that it tends to create a lovely sheen of ice as it freezes to the roads. Or that the hospital never closes or has a 2-hour delay opening, so I have to go into work NO MATTER WHAT. But, I love the fact that my boys are able to witness this pretty amazing stuff. I just wonder if snowdays in South are going to become as normal as our 100-degree days. I think I will always choose the snowday!
February 2009
February 2010
December 26, 2010Wow. How is it possible that another year is almost behind us? This year has flown by, and has had many ups and downs. I've travelled to Nashville and New York City,watched 2 little boys continue to grow and thrive, had a best friend survive cancer, attempted to balance motherhood with a career, baked my first cheesecake (yes, I know, that's really not all that impressive), and been happier than I've ever been. What will the New Year bring? I have a few resolutions of my own, and I'm going to share them with all of you in hopes that it will keep me on the path to actually accomplishing all (some) of them:
1) attend church regularly
2) run the Cooper River Bridge Run in April
3) wear a bikini (with confidence!) at the beach this summer -- this is my truly shallow resolution...ya have to have at least ONE!
4) cook more exciting recipes...seriously, how many times can a family eat spaghetti, hamburgers, and tacos???
5) get my kids to eat new and exciting foods
Whoa! I think that about does it. I'll be keeping all of you abreast of these "changes." I know each and every one of you will be following me with bated breath, right??
Anyway, to each of you...
"The Dynamic Duo"
