Footprints in your heart

"Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart" — Eleanor Roosevelt

This is Slick

Meet Slick, the newest addition to our family. He's really cute and fun to watch. He has this little squeak or whistle sound he makes when you bring him a treat. We got him as an early nine year birthday present for Jared. Jared is really doing a wonderful job about feeding and watering him daily while making sure his water bottle is full with vitamins added. He plays with him quite a bit and the best part, is that he's not a nocturnal creature--he's awake during the day.

This little guy was actually purchased to replace our lost kitty, Panda. I tried several cats before coming up with this small, caged critter; however, I have recently acquired the ability to pick the worst behaved animals. I brought two cats home the first go...siblings, a little male and female, Jasmine and Ace. They were beautiful exotic short hairs. Between the two of them, I almost had no skin left, and the kids couldn't get near them. Thus, I gave them back to the breeder. Next, a gal from work gave me a little male (she paid for the neutering) and I thought I was getting a fabulous deal. Mason was a little lover but he had this thing about peeing in my laundry baskets. No, he didn't have a UTI because we checked. One evening I found where he had peed in my clean white clothes. I kind of had a problem with that and the lady that gave him to me took him back as well. I got the next little fellow at one of the shelters here in town where they had already had him neutered. Max also loved to be held and petted--you could hear his little motor running from across the room. His problem was pooping on the carpet and his love of plastic. He liked to pee on my bathroom rugs or any plastic bags that kid toys came in (like the Lego bags). I gave him to a lady that could keep him outside--her kids fell in love with him.

So this post in is memory of Panda, our 17 pound ball of fur that loved to be held like a baby. I have picture after picture of him with the kids. Whether they were dragging him around or dressing him up he never cared. He loved them no matter what. What a great cat. This post also celebrates Slick because his presence has helping the kids cope with the loss of their best cat.

Casseroles

I love casseroles! It's probably because you can't get much more fattening and they're just too easy. Whether you're a SAHM, a working mom, a single mom...or not a mom at all, that's just too irresistible! I thought I'd share a couple of casserole that are my favorites.

Firecracker Casserole (click on link for printer friendly page)
1 lb ground beef
1 med chopped onion
2-3 tsp cumin (I prefer more)
2 cans Ranch style beans

Brown beef with onions. After drained, add cumin and beans. Pour into baking pan.
Add layer of flour tortillas. Then add layer of your favorite cheese...Mexican cheese, colby-jack, cheddar...

Mix small can of cream of mushroom soup with can of Rotel. Pour over top.

Bake one hour at 350 degrees. I usually add a little more cheese to the top about 15 minutes before it's ready.


Chicken tetrazzini Casserole (click on link for printer friendly page)

Approx. 18oz cooked spaghetti noodles
can of chicken broth
1 small can cream of mushroom
1 small can cream of chicken
cheddar cheese
shredded chicken ( You can use canned chicken if in a hurry. I usually boil three breasts and shred the meat.)
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion chopped

Add all ingredients together in pan. Bake at 375 degrees, 45 mins-1 hour

Hypothyroidism

About eleven months after delivery of my little girl, I went in to see my primary care physician and jokingly told him that I thought I had congestive heart failure. He looked at me strangely and he asked me why I would think that. After telling him that I didn't really believe that, but there was just something wrong, I explained to him how I had significant shortness of breath when walking into the hospital from the parking lot. I also had pitting edema (swelling) in my legs. Although I had lost down to about 168 pounds (yes, I know...that's still too much) after having the baby, I was up to 197 pounds. I remained totally exhausted a great deal of the time and my immune system was not doing a very good job. He said that he wanted to check my thyroid...and then I waited.

I'll never forget the morning that he called. "It's not all in your head." When I asked him if I had hypothyroidism, he explained that I had pretty significant autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto's thyroiditis) brought on by my last pregnancy. But I was thrilled...there was a reason for my exhaustion, for my depression, for my apathy. I was started on thyroid medicine and within a few weeks I felt so much better. I routinely follow up with my endocrinologist because, believe me, I don't want to go down the road I was on before.

Hypothyroidism. A disease that changed my life. A disease that is typically very easy to treat. It's estimated that millions of people have this disease...ten percent of all women...and have no idea. I posted a link that explains more about this disease.

So arm yourself with knowledge about this disease...and so many others...it could ultimately save a life!

My Greatest Struggles

Impulsive. Regretful. Discontented.

All adjetives that describe my greatest struggles. This is usually how it works...I decide that I want something and I do everything that I can to make it happen. Shortly thereafter, I figure out my impulsive actions were a mistake and I'm not really pleased with the results. Ultimately, I regret doing it to begin with.

This scenario has followed me throughout my growing up years and into my adult life. It's something I despise about myself but find it very difficult to change as well. One of my sisters has worked in the same place for the past 20 years and I find myself wondering how in the world she has done it. How does she put up with the politics? How does she keep her mouth shut when she sees inappropriate, unfair, unprofessional things going on in her workplace? How is it that she always appears content, if not happy, in her now?

Last spring we moved our family to the sunny state of Florida. I think we were searching...for something...
We put our four bedroom home up for sale in the Midwest and it sold for asking price in about a month. Not too bad when one considers the housing market at that time. I quickly and effortlessly found a job (with a moving bonus) very near the ocean and it seemed like everything was falling into place. I moved down before everyone else and found a house in a really nice neighborhood with really friendly neighbors. Once I started my job I realized my folly. I hated it...I despised it...I cried before I got to my car every night after my shifts.

"For I have learned in whatsoever situation I am in, therewith to be content" Phillipians 4:11. I would run this verse through my head over and over. Every morning as I walked into work I would see the palm trees outlined by the sun rising up over the water. The hospital sat right on a bay and I would ask myself "What is wrong with you"?

Of course, we would go to the beach...it was gorgeous! The sand was white and powdery (yes, we were on the Gulf Coast). I loved driving by the bays and seeing all the sailboats. The dolphins would actually come into the swimming area of our favorite beach and you could watch them from the shore.

But I did it again! I wasn't happy. I wasn't content. I started complaining. I started manipulating. I started plotting. How do I get back home? And I won. Four months later, we were back in the Midwest.

My most recent failure is beating myself up. We're now renting a nice house very near where we used to own. My kids are happy--Jared was able to go back to the same school he had started in. But I frequently think about what we gave up. Moving 1000 miles is expensive...our savings and profit from our house is gone. We still have credit card debt from our little four month excursion. And I feel stupid...I feel like a failure. I try to blame it on someone else...why couldn't I have loved my job??

Four months after we got home I left my husband. There was no infidelity. I somehow convinced myself that things would be better if I was by myself. I quickly figured out that the grass really isn't greener and that I'd messed up again. My hubby and I are back in the same house and things are going better, but it's just one more regret to add to my list. I've moved four times in 17 months and that makes me feel sorry for myself as well.

I love the Serenity Prayer. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to accept the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Life is a work in progress. Sometimes, it can be wonderful. At times, it can kick you in the butt. We reap what we sow...but if I can learn from the mistakes that I have made then I'm becoming a better, more complete person.

Chocolate Chippers

My first posted recipe...I'm gonna start with a classic. But honestly, they are the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever eaten in my entire life! They are a beautiful golden color and sooo chewy. I also love this particular recipe because it only makes about a dozen good sized cookies. I will also mention that I always bake them on my baking stone. I love it because it's about impossible to burn them.

Chocolate Chippers:
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda


Mix the first ingredients together. Add dry ingredients (mixed together also) slowly. Then add chocolate chips. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees

Enjoy!

Click here for a printable recipe: Chocolate Chippers

Wise Lady

I've mentioned her in another post. I don't know much about her, although I planning on learning more...but she seems like she must have been a woman of wisdom!

"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." — Eleanor Roosevelt