A Good Read

I'll admit it -- I'm not much of a reader.  I've heard it said that if you meet or know of an intelligent person odds are they are an avid reader.  So I guess I'm not very intelligent.  So be it. :)

But I did enjoy a good book recently, Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo.  It's a few years old, so you may have heard of it, or read it yourself.  Basically, it's a recap from a father's perspective of his little four year old boy who had an emergency appendectomy and experienced heaven and Jesus.  It's told by Todd, the dad, and how his son, Colton, began to reveal amazing details of his first-hand accounts of Jesus, heaven, Todd's dead grandpa, and Colton's sister (who he never knew about because his mom had a miscarriage). 

 

It was a very easy read; and a quick read.  Things I like when I read a book.  If you are looking for a nice read on an afternoon and want a bit of a spiritual challenge, then I highly recommend this book.  If you just want to have an enjoyable read - then I recommend this book.  If I can get my kids to read something other than school work (not because they love school work but because they have so much of it) then I recommend this book to them.

Happy reading all you intelligent friends.

Grateful

As I was driving to work today a rush of gratefulness came over me.  Do you ever get those moments, where out of the blue, you start reflecting on something?  Or an idea or thought comes to you that was not related to what you were doing, where you were going, or what you were planning?  I love it when that happens.  I cherish those quick, spontaneous, out of the blue, moments.  I know it's God's little whisper to me, just between us at that moment. 

So this morning, I'm driving and I was reminded of how blessed I am which allowed me to appreciate all that God does for me and my family.  Here's a list (not all inclusive, of course) of some of the things I am so grateful for, and in no particular order....

1.  My kids.  I have really good kids!  I trust them.  They are honest (at least as far as I know, smile).  And, they are ultra intelligent! 

2.  My job.  I have THE BEST job!  A big part of that is because I have a great boss.  How many people get to say that?  No, he doesn't read this or know I have this blog.

3.  Related to #2, I only work part-time.  What a blessing.

4.  My hubby.  He is my support in all ways.  He is strong, intelligent, confident, and loves me.  With all that we've gone through the first part of the year I think many families would have a hard time coming through it stronger.  We have.

5.  Our cars.  There are four drivers in this family and each has a working car to drive.  What a blessing for us all!

6.  Our finances.  We don't have much but we don't owe much.  Makes for a good end of the month.

7.  My extended family.  I grew up with a great family.  Had fabulous parents (I don't know how they did it!).  I can now say I love to be around all my sisters.  Confession:  I didn't always like a sister or two at a time or two when I was young.  I know they felt the same way about me and I have a scar to prove it.  I know, I never let you forget that.  But really, four sisters have so much fun together.  When dad was ill and we were all together visiting he had to tell us a few times to quiet down.  I also have the best, and most fun, Uncle and cousins. 

8.  My faith.  I have a God who loves ME.  I am selfish and stubborn and He loves me anyway.  And to top that, He even had His Son die for me.  My small group just looked over some scripture about what happens after we die.  How grateful I am that I won't be where there is gnashing of teeth but instead with the love of my heavenly Father and Son, Jesus.

9.  My friends.  What support, love, and laughter we have. 

10.  Life.  I am grateful that I get to live a fabulous life with all the above.

I hope you can spend some time this weekend thinking of what you are grateful for.  Enjoy!

Chili Recipe

One of my favorite dinners is Chili.  Especially in the fall with football.  I don't know about you, but I think they just go together.  I love my recipe because it's so easy and quick and I think it has just the right amount of spice without being over powering. 

I love chili "Hawaiian style".  I call it that because the Hawaiians eat chili over rice.  Anyone that knows me or my family know we are huge rice eaters.  We go through 50 pounds of rice about every six weeks.  So we eat chili over rice and top with onions and cheese - mmm, yummy.



If you need a new idea for dinner, try my chili - I hope you like it.

Easiest Chili
Can = about 15 oz, give or take

1 pound Ground Beef
1 can Corn, drained
1 can Kidney Beans, drained
1 can Black Beans, drained
1 can Tomato Sauce
2 heaping tablespoons Chili Powder
1 heaping tablespoon Cumin
Brown ground beef in a large sauce pan (or dutch oven).  Drain fat.  Add remaining ingredients and heat through.  Can simmer for as long as needed.  Stir occassionally.

And that's all there is to it.  Eat over rice and top with shredded cheese and onion. 

Optional versions - brown diced onion with ground beef.  Add green chilis.  I've used a can of beer and added tomato paste.  Once I had two New York steaks and cut those into chunchs and used that instead of ground beef and put all in the crockpot and cooked for 6 hours.  My son loved that version.  So you can personalize this to your tastes but the basic is good as is. 

Fore

Last weekend my hubby and I had a day out.  We were invited to play in a best ball scramble.  That's golf, if you didn't know.  The course was a pretty drive a half hour away.  My hubby golfs all summer - he coaches baseball to feed his summer golf habit.  He had never golfed at this course.  So half the fun for him was trying out a new course.  I consider myself somewhat athletic.  I can goof around in most sports but golf is one I haven't played much.  I know and understand the game, but just don't play.  Basketball is the other - I can barely dribble a ball let alone shoot. 

A best ball scramble is the best format for this duffer.  We play as a foursome and everyone tees off.  Then we pick up our ball and move to the best ball hit.  Then all hit from there and continue to move to the best ball until we hit it in the cup.  The one main rule is each team has to use two drives from each person.  After that, it's fair game as to whose ball is used. 

Last year I played once and I've matched that amount of playing time with this tournament.  As I said, my hubby hadn't golfed here before and my golfing son was jealous (he wanted to play but I bumped him off the team and took his place).  We decided that he doesn't want to play this course.  It is laid out so tight and some holes criss-cross over each other.  On some holes we didn't know which direction we were supposed to hit.  Thankfully the couple we played with had played the course a few times and knew it (and they had a GPS for accurate yardage - huge advantage!).  I apologized to our teammates before we started since they are frequent golfers. 

We wanted to do this because it's a stress free time for me to play; hubby and I get to spend a day outside together; and the fee went to help a missionary family in Bangladesh.  How could we pass all that up?  I'm so glad we did it for all the above reasons.  And also because we WON!  Whoo hoo!  We shot a 16 under and won gift cards to a sporting goods store and a restaurant.  Bonus!

This weekend is a take-it-easy weekend.  College football starts (we've already watched a few games) and it's the last free weekend before everyone is back in school.  And it looks like we'll have nice weather to boot. 

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend and hopefully will have some fun activities planned - or maybe just take it easy.  Either way, enjoy!

Mini Va-Ca

I recently took a few days off work so the family could spend a long weekend away.  We packed up and headed to Montana.  Whitefish to be exact.  We drove through Montana a few years ago on our way to Mt. Rushmore (fabulous trip by the way).  This time we got off the main freeway and took a few smaller highways to get to Whitefish.  It seemed like a long drive but really wasn't too bad (only 4.5 hours).  At times it was a pretty drive.  Definitely different landscape, which I enjoy seeing. 

The drive to Whitefish

We found a condo to stay at that was located right in the village at the top of Big Mountain.  What a gorgeous view!  The town is as quaint as can be.  Too bad we had kids with us.  Hubby and I love to walk through the shops and explore.  Boring for the kiddies.  Plus, we didn't have a lot of time.  It was a quick long weekend. 

The boys golfed one day while the girls spa'd.  Everyone was happy that day!  The golf course had spectacular views of the mountain.  We also lucked out because the weather was perfect - clear and sunny.  Who doesn't want that when they are on vacation?

We also went into Glacier National Park and did a 2 hour horse back ride.  Glad we did it, but wouldn't do it again.  It was like the pony rides at carnivals except the horses went in a straight line with a guide and not in circles.  I could have fallen asleep on the horse and still made it back to the stable if it wasn't for the two kids who talked the entire time.  No wild life sightings happening on our tour.

Our other adventures were riding the alpine slide and zip lining on the mountain.  What a blast!  Big Mountain is set up for Summer adventure.  The entire family loved these two events.  There is also a ropes course available to move at your own pace and a jump/slide blow up thing that is great for the kids - no matter your height or age. 

The food - Oh my!  Almost all of it was delicious, some of it not as much, but no loser meals the entire time.  Expensive, but tasty. 

This is one of the few places we really want to come back to and spend a week at.  So much more to do.  We would like to take the tram to the top of the hill and mountain bike down.  Whitewater rafting is another adventure we plan to do.  There is a longer zip line we would sign up for.  And the hubby and I will walk the shops - kids, you are on your own.  There is Whitefish Lake and spending some time hanging out there would be a nice relaxing day.  Of course, more golf for the boys.  So that would mean more spa for the girls.  Ooh, I'm liking this already. 

I have to admit I was the bad mom this trip.  Don't ask me how I could forget, but I left the camera at home.  I'm a dork.  I tried to take a few pictures with my cell phone (I don't have a fancy phone, just a text and talk phone) needless to say, they didn't turn out well as a camera.  I was able to get the one view on the drive above.

This spot is now on our consider retirement area list.  Of course, we are not skiers, snowboarders or outside winter people.  Being Whitefish receives on average 300 inches of snow each year we'd have to rethink that retirement option until we have a chance to visit in the winter.  We'll have to see what comes of that. 

What fun activities or vacations have you done this summer?

Surprise

My hubby and I love each other very much but for our birthday or Mother's or Father's Day we don't do much for each other.  It's just one of those things we both agree on.  Many times we don't even give a card.  Same with our anniversary.  And we are both totally OK with that.  Neither of us feels slighted.  We definitely give best wishes to each other on these days but that's close to all we get.

I do make a prime rib roast for our anniversary and Valentine's Day.  He usually does stop at the grocery store and brings home some flowers for me for Valentine's Day.  Normally, though, those Hallmark days pass and Hallmark loses money on us. 

Christmas is another story.  We both try to get a couple of items the other has been wanting.  Many times they are practical items and that is fine because it's something we've been wanting.  I always make sure the kids receive gifts for their birthdays.  I won't deprive them (or me) of that fun and joy. 

So imagine my surprise when the man carrying a huge bouquet of flowers came into my office and presented me with those flowers.  He asked if it was my birthday or a special day and I said no.  He saw my stunned look and said to smile and just enjoy it.  He said those are the deliveries he loves to give because they are surprises.  Yes it was! 

My dear hubby had flowers delivered to me, just because.  He wanted to send me love and let me know he was thinking of me.  I am so blessed.  And are you just a little jealous?  Oh, they smelled delicious.  Too bad you can't smell them too.

Have you had any fun surprised lately?

I've been tagged

My friend, not just in the blogging world but in real life, Jenn of Four For France, tagged me for a Q & A blog.  I think these are fun because you get a chance to learn a little bit more about your friends.  Some answers you may be able to guess, but many are surprises. 

So here are my answers to the following questions:

1. What color are your socks right now?
No socks.  I am sitting on the couch.  No I'm reclining on the couch with a blanket over my lap with laptop warming my thighs.  Athletic socks are white or black.  Dress socks usually black and a couple brown.  I'm pretty bland in that area.

2. What are you listening to right now?
The Olympics on TV which is currently showing Race Walking.  I guess I really do love the Olympics, no matter what is being shown.  And my dogs deep breathing as they lie next to me.  Now my daughter showed up and I'm hearing her ask why race walking is even a sport.

3. What was the last thing you ate?
Yum, Noodle Express leftovers from yesterday's lunch.  My favorite part is the vinegar slaw.

4. Can you drive a stick shift?
Oh yes.  My car is an automatic, which I prefer.

5. Last person you spoke to on the phone?Texting doesn't count.  I spoke with my hubby on my way home from running errands - hands free of course.

6. How old are you today?
That is a funny question.  46.  I'll be 46 for about 335 more days.

7. What is your favorite sport to watch?
I love to watch baseball, the Mariners.  I know.  Most people don't find baseball too exciting, but I do.  I missed out on being at the perfect game pitched against the Mariners earlier this season.  I drove right past the stadium and walked around downtown Seattle and was tempted to take in the game, but hung out with my sisters instead   I also love to watch volleyball.  Both indoor and beach.  I prefer the women, but the men are exciting too.

8. What is your favorite drink?
Hmm.  That one is a loaded question.  Depends on the time of day.  Morning - coffee with french vanilla creamer; during the day - water, evening - Sauvignon Blanc wine.

9. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Highlight it every 6 - 8 weeks.  Tried going a bit red once, but that didn't work out.

10. What is your favorite food?
Rice.  The rice pot never leaves the counter.  We go through 50 pounds of rice every 1 1/2 months or so.  No kidding.

11. Do you sing in the shower?
Usually not. 

12. Favorite day of the year?
I have to agree with Jenn with Thanksgiving, but I am also partial to the 4th of July.  I love putting out the flag and bar b q'ing.  And there is usually a baseball game on TV too.

13. What is one place you want to visit?I'm going to cheat on my answer:  Europe.  I've never been out of North America and would love to tour all over Europe.

14. What was your favorite toy as a child?
I had a doll, about 18 inches tall.  I think her name was Ruth, but I don't remember.  She had chestnut brown hair that I could pull out from the top of her head to give her long hair, or turn the nob in her back and shorten it to a bob.

15. What is your favorite season?
I think Fall has to win out.  It is still warm, but getting cool.  I love to pull out sweaters and college football is on every Saturday which my hubby and I love to watch.  OK, add college football to question #7.


So now you know a bit more about me.  Feel free to answer any or all questions and we all can get to know you more too.