Hump Day Happiness: A great extended family

I just enjoyed a wonderful weekend on the Oregon coast with my parents and my three sisters. What a magical weekend we had. It was fun to spend time together walking on the beach, drinking wine, eating, doing a jigsaw puzzle and just generally reconnecting. We have never really spent time together without spouses and/or our many children and it was very nice to do just that.
(not that we don't enjoy our husbands and children:)

It was Mom's 70th birthday and we presented her with a quilt that my sister Trisha put together. It was amazing! One sister mailed out a letter to Mom's friends and family asking them to mail in a piece of fabric and a small card with their birthday greeting. Another sister collected the squares and cards and sent them to my little sister in Baltimore, Maryland. Then my little sister joined a quilting group (!) and created a masterpiece with all the fabric.

I then created a scrapbook of our beach weekend and the fabric notecards -- Mom of course loved it all! We all did some crying over the weekend - HAPPY tears. Mom told us that us four girls and Dad were "her life" and Dad gave a wonderful toast to Mom, whom he called "the mainstay of our family". She is an amazing woman and we all feel lucky to have her as our mother.

The weather was great, the beach rental was fabulous, and the company was even better. What a blessing!

Happy Hump Day!

If you know me, or have read my other posts, you probably know that I am generally a very happy person. Soooo, in celebration on hump day, I am going to blog about happiness every Wednesday for awhile.

Right now I am big on the idea of "what you think about comes about". What I mean by that is that a big part of being happy means disregarding negativity and choosing to see the light. In other words, viewing the glass as half full.

Here's part of an article in this months Ladies Home Journal Magazine that I just loved:

"One evening a Cherokee elder told his granson about the battle that goes on inside people's heads. He said, "My son, the battle is between the two 'wolves' that live inside us all. One is unhappiness. It is fear, worry, anger, jealousy, sorrow, self-pity, resentment and inferiority. The other is Happiness. It is joy, love, hope, serenity, kindness, generosity, truth and compassion."

The granson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The old cherokee simply replied,





"The one you feed"






Feed your spirit today and notice everything good that happens to you: anything that you see, feel, taste, hear or smell that brings pleasure. Happy Hump Day! I am off the Oregon for a weekend with my parents and my three sisters in celebration of my Mom's 70th birthday. I can't wait! I imagine there will be plenty of food for the good wolf this weekend:)

Sunday Supper/Are Teens Super?

First of all, my Sunday Supper Recipe. This is a specialty of Anne's - and a favorite of Marie and Marshalls:

NACHO CHICKEN

4T. mayo
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. dried Italian seasoning
4 bnls/sknls chicken breast halves
1 1/2 cups crushed Doritoes
2 T. melted margarine.

Combine first 3 ingredients; spread on both sides of chicken. Dredge chicken in crushed chips. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Drizzle with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 20- 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

***Chef notes: Go ahead and use lots of mayo, butter and doritoes - whatever seems right to you. The recipe is a loose guideline:)

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TEENS..... sometimes they are such a blast. Sometimes they are so fun to be around, so hilarious. Sometimes they are so helpful. I remember how wonderful it was when Anne was old enough /tall enough to sit up front in the car. She can be such good company.

But oh goodness, she can be a real pain, too. It's times like those when I think the following poster is SO hilarious.

The bun is no longer in the oven and the chicken pot pie is goin' in!

How's that for a blog title? Well, the aforementioned "bun in the oven" is my dear friend Y's baby boy who was born yesterday - Jacob Michael (Jake). I went to the hospital today and got to change his diaper and hold him --- what a wonderful, beautiful gift from God he is. In fact, I love the quote by Charles Dickens:

"It is not a slight thing that they who are so fresh from God, love us."

Fresh from God - that is exactly what babies are. Pure heaven.



Here's a picture of the darling with one of his big sisters. Doesn't she look proud? C is one of Marie's good friends. Our families have been friends for over 10 years, so I have known C since she was 1 1/2 years old. Our neighborhood is like a village, so she is one of my village children and something special indeed. Congratulations!

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Tommorrow when the family brings the baby home I am going to decorate the front of their house and make a meal for them. I thought I would share my favorite recipe for taking over to people. It is a hit with all ages and I make one for my family at the same time - it is a family favorite! I am going to start posting recipes on Sundays and it will be called Supper Sunday. Tell me if you enjoy them by emailing me at Txamber_schmitt@sbcglobal.net. I could also use your recipe ideas!

CHICKEN POT PIE FROM "SCRATCH"
1 pkg refrigerated pie crust - top and bottom - let thaw out well
1/3 c. butter (I didn't say it was low cal.)
1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. chopped onioin
3/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 and 1/2 c. chicken broth
2/3 c. milk
2-3 cups cooked chicken (I just bake the boneless skinless frozen ones and then let cool)
1 c. frozen mixed veggies (usually I stick to peas and carrots)
1-2 cups diced potatoes
(I use frozen diced hashbrowns -easy! Just warm them a little in the microwave first)

Cook chicken and let cool. Then heat oven to 425 if you are going to cook right away. Place bottom pie crust in pie pan or casserole dish (you don't have to cook it first). In large pan melt butter over medium heat, add onion and cook until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended "paste". Gradually stir in broth and milk. Cook; stirring constantly until bubbly and thickened. Add chicken, veggies, potatoes/hashbrowns and mix well. Spoon into the crust - put top layer of pie crust on over top; cut slits in several places. I like to make a family initial or write something like BABY in the top with a sharp knife for decoration.

If you are giving it away, don't cook it and attach a note with cooking instructions to the top.
--Bake it at 425 degrees for 28-38 minutes until crust is golden. I usually cover the edges of the crust with strips of foil and then take them off during the last bit of cooking.

I hope you enjoy!

Inspiring!

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo&eurl=http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2008/edition_04-06-2008/1My_Last_Lecture

A few months ago on Oprah.... oh goodness I hate it when I say that. For some reason it makes it sound like all I do is sit on the couch eating bon bons and watching Oprah. Wouldn't that be fun?



I did go through a stage where I DVR'd Oprah everyday and then watched the ones that interested me..... I've gotten away from it and I think I miss it. I consider Oprah one of the great spiritual leaders of our time. She inspires millions in a completely non-denominational "church" called lead your best life, constantly try to improve yourself and learn, pay it forward by helping others, and be grateful for all the blessings in your life. Someday I want to see the Oprah Show or meet her. It is definitely "on my list".



(When my girlfriends and I were in Chicago last year, we stalked the Harpo Studio offices and we did get to meet her make-up artist Reggie..... but I don't think that really counts as meeting Oprah.)



There was a guest on her show back then named Randy Pausch and if you have been living in a cave and haven't seen his "last lecture", go to http://www.parade.com/ or copy and paste the link at the begining of this post. See the lecture on their U-Tube link, read the follow up article that appeared in last Sunday's Parade magazine, and then watch ABC tonight for a show about him. I promise it will inspire you.

Why I Love Texas

OK, remind me that I wrote this text next August when the kids won't even go out to the pool and swim because it is 112 degrees outside. But overall, I really do love the climate in Texas. We've had beautiful weather in the 70s lately and everything is blooming. The palm by the pool was a two foot tall plant that I thought was a bush. A year ago during a cold spell I covered it with a queen size sheet. That sheet would only cover a few fronds now. It has more than tripled in size in just one year!

Spring is in the air and it brings joy to my heart. These pics are just a peek at the beauty right here in my own yard.

Ellis Facing Expulsion/Extradition and Deportation from Texas

As you know, Texas is a rather conservative state. So needless to say, Hillary Clinton support signs are definitely not a common sight, especially in our little bubble of a neighborhood. Anne recently ordered me up a campaign bumper sticker because she knows I am a fan of Bill and Hillary.

It will be interesting to see how many people say something to me about it when I start driving around town tommorrow. I'll let you know. I wonder if the police will start randomly pulling me over. I wonder if my Mom will still call me on my birthday. I wonder if my husband will come home from his business trip.

Hopefully they won't kick me out of the neighborhood, the PTA, the book club, or the state of Texas! Perhaps they will dump me over the great wall of Texas that they are building between the US and Mexico. Adios Amiga!

Give me strength!

Anne is turning 16!

It is so hard to believe that 16 years ago today I was hugely pregnant and one week past my due date with my first baby. The next day Bo and I drove to the hospital for an induction and after 10 hours of labor, including four hours of pushing and a vacuum extractor our sweet little girl entered the world (with a major cone head!). Our dear friend Liz and my Mom were in the room and soon thereafter we were joined by about 8 or 10 more people and we celebrated. I remember being starving and ordering stew from the cafeteria while Bo gave Anne her first bath. They left the baby in the room with us the whole time. Anne was born at 5 in the evening and we left the hospital the next morning at about 10 am. It was like a baby drive through window:)


Now my baby, Anne, is going to get her drivers license!

A few weeks ago Bo and Anne went out shopping for a car and got a new Hyundai Elantra. It is very cute and the color is gorgeous - Candy Apple Pearl. Why a new car? I always hated it when people purchased new cars for their kids. But we decided to go with a new car for a couple of reason: 1) safety features. The newer model cars have airbags... Anne's has front, side and back airbags. 2) maintenance. We are not car people and we don't do a whole lot of routine maintenance, so having a warranty is a good thing. We expect this car to last Anne through college.




I'm scared and excited for Anne to be out driving on her own. Scared for her safety, but excited to have someone to share soccer carpool with:)


It's a rite of passage ... yep, my baby is growing up.





To the right is a picture of Bo loading Anne into her carseat for the trip home from the hospital. Contrary to what you might believe, Bo was not a teenage father. I know he looks about 12, but he was actually 26 years old at the time!
















Here's a picture of the two of them now - Fun times!