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trying to make my blog cute

LONG TIME- NO BLOG!

Don't even feel like its the New Year Yet...My family has struggled with illness after illness since mid December....when you never get better, at some point you start becoming a tad bit paranoid..will I ever get better? Or ...better yet- in the feverish moment- when your fever is 104 and you are shivering hot and cold and your crying daughter is feverish and wanting to be held..you think...is this the end? Your mortality becomes more real , doesn't it? I laugh because I get so melodramatic when I am ill- That Scarlet O'Hara has nothing on me! (my daughter inherited the melodrama)Now that I am a grown woman with a child and a husband and the recipient of my melodrama- my mom - is no longer around to comfort me - I internalize the thoughts more and yes, think I am dying still. HaA! I cheated death AGAIN!
And on a serious note,  how can I not give great thanks for the GENERAL HEALTH  of my sweet angel child. What a horrible thing is the ear infection. Your child whimpers and cries and you can do nothing to alleviate the pain....I am so grateful to my Heavely Father for allowing me to have a healthy child. Many honors I want to give to the moms of disable or chronically ill children. Their heartache knows no bounds- and yet there are so many who go day by day- smiles on their face-finding the blessings in thedir lives....and so I start my Year with my resolutions
FIND MY BLESSINGS....develop and enrich and focus on my BLESSINGS

my family:  I am so blessed...I commit to enriching their lives- starting with consistent FHE w Eva - weird just the two of us but yesterday- we had such a great time! Findin g time to be alone with my honey- just us...
my gifts: my talents-crafts, scrapping, stamping, writing- TEACHING I just made a beautiful Junque Journal for a friend= pics to come!
my faith: whatever your faith is..do you feel stronger, better, more capable when you are obedient to your faith? I know I do- and its such a blessing in my life!
So thats it for now ....oh...ya, I am FORTY- HERE WE GO ! new decade! I AM GONNA ROCK IT!

CHILI!

OK EVERYONE! CHILI  is the best comfort food around...and I think I have perfected mine to simple greatness!
Feel free to copy and adapt!

Next time I will post pics I promise...

Chili recipe:
TO A MEDIUM STOCK POT
MELT 1 TBS BUTTER 1 TBS OLIVE OIL
ADD
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1-3 cloves of garlic-chopped fine
if you like add:
1 bell pepper, chopped fine

1 jalepeno, chopped fine note for those who dont like heat DEFINITELY DONT ADD WONT CHANGE ANYTHING I PROMISE!
 I only addem when I gotem...
(I use my ninja or the vidalia chopper this make hard labor turn to literally seconds)


next saute the above til soft on med low heat- the onions are translucent
next ADD & BROWN
1-2 lbs of ground beef ,salt,  pepper and a sm palm of cumin
IS IT BROWN OR GREY?MAKE SURE ITS BROWN!
 THEN ADD THE FOLLOWING
1 can black beans- drained
2 cans of DARK red kidney beans,drain if you like a super thick chili
1 LG 28 OZ  can of diced tomatoes with juice

1 sm can of tomato paste 
1sm can of tomato sauce
1-2 palmfuls of chili powder- this is really to taste (I usually do 2)
more cumin if needed
3 shakes of worcester sauce (if you got it- not totally necessary-)
AND THE SECRET INGREDIENT:
1 PALMFUL OF BROWN SUGAR- DO NOT OMIT!
mix it up- taste- adjust the seasoning bring to a boil then simmer 1/2 hr
serve with hunks of warm sourdough bread- and toppings(I dont use"toppings" unless there be that there company!) or just some corn bread if you like to keep it southern ya'll!
happy eating!

Pieces of Perfectness

So a friend and I were chatting today and I told her that I wanted her long legs. I envy her. She has these long model legs that look great in those skinny jeans that only the perfect legged woman could wear. She said she would gladly give them up. I offered up one of my better assests ..my boobs. Thats right, girls, I said it. They're one of my assests..and don't think I dont know it! It may not be very Molly Mormon of me...but well my name is Ruth .
Anyways, as we were chatting I thought wouldn't it be great if we could "try on" our favorite parts of our favorite people...making  the perfect self? Then we could return it after a while- I could have one friend's legs, my old friend BK's time management skills, Jennifer Aniston's hair.No, wait- my daughter's! hair! ..my friend AHW teeth- she wouldn't admit it but she has great teeth...my sister CG's ability to draw...before I know it I would have nothing but perfect parts...I would be the best of everyone and myself....I would want to keep my strength of faith , ability to teach, my steadfastness,my eyes, my love for cooking and scrapbooking and writing.
And what would I find? That the long legs were not easy to get pants for?Fit in the front seat of small cars? That the hair  and teeth were hard to maintain, and that the artistic abilities, actually took years to perfect?
 I would like to think I would miss my flawed self ...with our pieces of perfectness shining through..we see our own godliness -to be more like our Heavenly Father we must strive to be perfect..if we are already perfect what do we have to strive for? What would our goals be?
Without our flaws...in essence where is our perfectness? Its in the pieces that we have perfected and thatpieces that are NOT PERFECT  we can chose to perfect that we become more like Him, and isnt that so much more satisfying?
I am just saying.....

OPINIONS I have plenty!

No one has ever accused me of being meek in my mouth. I have always been, well, SPIRITED.  I often speak before I think. I feel deeply the great joys and pains of the world. I cry often when told things of a spiritual nature...anything very dear and sweet to someone's heart. Thats is why I know I am both liked and disliked. OPINIONS...I  have plenty!
Those who know me know of my big heart. Yes my mouth runneth over and if you are my friend long enough..you will probably be offended by something I choose to put out there. No offense intended and I am quick to apologise, but well...my mouth runneth over.
I am both thankful for my mouth and sometimes a little saddened. I despise hurting others. And also, find that on occasion, I hurt myself .
However.
I am ALWAYS  true to myself.
I used to have a motto when I was single. Live your life with no regrets. I have always chosen to live as close to my Gospel's commandments so as to not hurt others and been true to myself so that I do not regret my choices.
And when we go to heaven and we meet our Maker and discuss what we have accomplished...what will we say? That we kept our mouths shut and avoided pain? Or that we stood up for what is right and accepted the consequences?
I know my choice. I will be both liked and disliked by my fellow brethern for it.

And I hope that I have friends and family that will stand up and cheer me on. Today DH again cheered me on. Thanks Frank. Dang, hes gonna get a big head with all this blogging about him !

Follow your Passions...THANKS DH

Last week sucked at work. Now I love that I have a job that helps provide for my family and that I feel like I do good every day. I am grateful and blessed.

However. I am old school. If I did not HAVE to work outside of the home, I would be home being a mommy and a wifey full time. I have a job that allows me to work until 12 or12:30 pm and then I come home. I LOVE COMING home.
But office and government politics made last week stressful to say the least...starting Tuesday ...and I began to pray....
I started off feeling like I needed to go to the Church bookstore...and off I went, got the new Ensign and Friend...felt inspired...asked mom in law to go to Time out for Women with me in September....and prayed some more...
Put up a scripture that has a sweet little girl illustration at work on Wed.....got more bad news at work...
Went home and made zucchini bread....it was DELISH....felt better....
Took some delish bread in to work....decided to put on a happy face, and then asked for Friday OFF.... got Friday off!!!!!
Then..Dear Husband got sick on Friday...REALLY SICK....
Then he GOT BETTER on Saturday we took little E to gymnastics and he pushed me out the door to go scrapbooking.
...off I went to scrap w friends for a few hours....then
made it ON TIME TO Church on Sunday! and cooked a fabulous meal for in laws .....it was refreshing to be with the ones I loved for 3 whole days....NO STRESS
THENyesterday my DH tells me to go get my Kitchen Aid mixer that I have been wanting for years...he has been telling me to do it but I have been putting it off...but finally I listened to him!
I have to say in a week I have really put my stress relievers to the test!

I have done what I love and surrounded myself in a cocoon of peace in my faith, my family, my home, my crafts, my garden.
We don't always get what we want...we get what we need...its how we respond to what we get the causes the growth or stagnation.
Take my sweet DH. We are opposites. Many told me not to marry him. Friendships were broken because of my choice. He was inactive in my church, still is. I knew the struggles I would face spiritually. But I felt pulled to him. It was greater than me. There have been other men I have loved...and I always used to say that I could live with anyone as long as they were active in the Church because I thought I was easy going.....HAHA . My girlfriends who have lived with me know I am not so easygoing....anyways Noneof my other "loves" really seemed "real"though I learned something from them all.
. My DH and I don't like the same music or even movies sometimes. He was always REAL....ALMOST TOO REAL. Hes the cool guy to my geek girl. But he knows what I need before even I do....HE WAS MY SUPPORT last week. He listened, he cared and he made sure that when I was my most stressed..I did what I needed to do to renew. Isn't that true love? He JUST KNOWS AND DOES.
Among all his other wonderful traits, he is wonderful to me...
I wonder what it would be like to have an active spiritual priesthood leader in my home sometimes. I wonder why its so hard for some to build their faith when it is so easy for me....and I hope for the dream of being at least bound in heaven as we are on this earth someday. Until then, my dear sweetheart and I continue to forge down this path of ours heartbound, and holding hands..arguing about why that Zombie movie sucked so bad ! ha!
Follow your passions...and be true to your heart....

CHILI CHICKEN= COMFORT FOOD

What is your idea of comfort food? Is it the food that you eat when you are sad? Or happy? Or when you want to stir up happy memories of your childhood?

Or all of the above?

I love this recipe of Chlil Chicken...my Mom used to make it for us when I was a kid in the seventies. She could not cook! She was PROUD OF THAT! And I loved this recipe...

Here goes with the recipe...

RUTH’S CHILI CHICKEN
4 CHICKEN BREASTS, BOILED THEN SHREDDED
1 CAN OF CHILI NO BEANS
2 CAN OF CREAM MUSHROOM SOUP
(OR YOU CAN USE 1 CAN OF CREAM OF CHICKEN W 1 CAN CREAM MUSHROOM)
1 SM CAN DICED JALAPENOS
1-2 CUPS OF CHEDDAR CHESSE SHREDDED
OPTIONAL: DICED ONIONS ( I DON’T LIKE THEM RAW AND THEY DON’T FULLY COOK IN THE CASSEROLE SO I LEAVE EM OUT!)
MIX ALL THE ABOVE TOGETHER
THEN YOU NEED:
ABOUT 6-8 FLOUR TORTILLAS
AND THEN
TAKE A CAKE PAN, CASSEROLE SIZE 13X 9
SPREAD SOME OF THE MIXTURE ON BOTTOM
LAYER WITH ABT 2 TORTILLAS- YOU HAVE TO HALF THE TORTILLAS SO THEY DON’T OVERLAP TOO MUCH,
LAYER W MIXTURE
LAYER TORTILLAS
UNTIL DONE – THIS IS USUALLY 3 LAYERS
ITS FUN TO PUSH DOWN THE TORTILLAS AND MIXTURE TO TRY AND GET THE MOST LAYERS BUT YOU NEED TO END UP WITH A LAYER OF CHICKEN MIXTURE THEN ADD
ABT 1 CUP CHEDDAR CHEESE ( I USUALLY ADD LIKE 2 CUPS)
AND IF YOU LIKE ‘EM
DICED BLK OLIVES
BAKE 350-375 UNTIL CHEESE IS BUBBLY AND SLIGHT BROWN
SERVE OVER STEAMED WHITE RICE-
YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!

so short today...but this one was worth at least a little post