???

Here's a quick update on my life since I've been noticeably absent in the last month -

• I went through the awful week of the state being in the building at work - I clung to God during that process and He was there. He helped me know the words to say and He was THERE. It was a difficult week. It was one of the worst weeks of my life so far. I am still not completely recovered from that experience - I will probably always remember it and HOPEFULLY become a better dietitian because of that. The longer that you are in the profession the more you learn. The more you learn about the responsibility that you have the more conscientious of a professional you can be...that's the way I see it. And that's what I hope comes out of the experience.
• The next week I tried to recover from the experience.
• I finally got some much needed time off this past weekend. We went camping at Ocean Lakes. We had a GREAT time. The weather was great. We found better seashells than I've ever found at Myrtle Beach. The kids LOVED the Halloween activities...we carved pumpkins, watched a pet costume show, participated in trick or treating throughout the campground, and had some great quality time together. We even got to spend 2 afternoons out on the beach. The water of course was TOO COLD but the beach was great. Nolan really enjoyed having someone his age there with him...he and Morgan and Elijah had great fun together (most of the time!) Oh, I almost forgot - my mom surprised us all and dressed up for the trick or treating. I don't have a picture yet...when I get one she probably won't let me post it! It was great!!! She is the best with dressing up for Halloween...it is related to a lot of memories that I have from my childhood. I'm sorry that I don't have pictures to post. I had numerous camera issues.
• My knee is still that - MY knee. I am trying to build up strength in it - going to physical therapy periodically. Pray about it. I personally think it's getting worse instead of better. I need more and more help getting up from a "crouched" position. I am thankful that I can walk and have as much ability as I do. Everytime my knee hurts, it reminds me of how amazing God created our bodies. It's amazing how well our bodies work. When one part doesn't work - it makes you think of the awesomeness of the way that we are created. All of our bones and muscles and tendons and organs work together to make us move and survive. How fascinating.... Another thing - surgeons can do some good things but I am convinced that they still can't make things back the way they were.
• Now I am returned from the trip - still recovering from this past month - at work.
• My house is a disaster - having worked so many days in a row and then going out of town it is a mess. So don't come over - or - if you do, don't think we live like this all of the time.
• This week has been the first week that I have entered in some of the bloggy giveaway carnival posts. I can't wait to find out if I win anything.
• November 9 will be Elijah's 3rd birthday. I am ashamed to say that I have not done anything for his party except to determine the day and reserve the fire department. If you are reading this - plan to come - November 9 around 2. Hopefully, I will do invitations very soon.
• I can't end this post without saying that this weekend will be the 1st anniversary of my brother's death. I had a dream about it last night - strange because I hadn't really thought about today being the equivalent of the last day that I saw him. It would be the day that Michael kept Nolan last year. There are things that I will always associate with that day - candy corn, forgetting to go get Nolan on the way home, having to get cigarettes for my brother on the way, not staying at my mom's house longer to talk to Michael that day, Nolan running around in the yard saying "I'm hyper", Michael standing in the yard laughing at Nolan and telling me that he had to hide the candy corn! Interestingly enough, the date of today - Oct 30th - is the last date that I spend any quality time at all with him. He was at my work; I bought his lunch - a taco salad from LA Murph's; he slept in my office while I finished up my work; I remember the patient that was admitted at work that day; we went to the gas station at the corner by Catawba and then he helped tell me when the coast was clear to pull into the intersection - there was something funny that happened and we laughed about it; I took him by Nathan and Erin's house site and he was amazed at the meticulous framing and also interested in some new product that they were using (can't remember what it was). I MISS HIM. NOLAN misses him too. I guess we ALL do.
• Brent went to Nolan's school conference yesterday and we got the update on his progress in school. Math - he's at a 2nd grade level. Reading - he's somewhere in the 3rd grade and soon will be in the 4th grade level. (I'm not bragging or anything!) She sent some of his writing home. Here are a sample (WARNING - the LAST one is SAD. I'm warning you.) I'm going to post these exactly as he wrote the sentences -

When I went camping I was sleeping and I fell off my bunck bed and I didt even wake up. (9-2-08)

One time my grandma's cat Stormy scrached me. It burned. I needed a bandaid. (9-14-08)

My brother loves to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed. He keep my daddy up. I don't much anymore. (9-15-08)

One time I had a toy volcano. I was playing with it in my liveing room. My mommy was walcking out my room and she tripped over it. She had to go to the hostpital. (this is when I broke my leg after I had surgery - I don't think I fell over the volcano toy but Nolan insists that I did. Amazing that this day is as fresh in his memory as it is in my own!)

I have never rode a rollercoaster. I do not want to ride one. I am scared of the loop-to-loop.

I have never been new york. i really want to go there. They have tvs on the biuldigs.

One day I was leaveing my grandmas house when all ov a sudden my papa found a snake. It was black. I thout it was cool. (10-8-08)

One day me and my grandma went the movie theter we wached Shrek the third. It was funny. I liked it. Shrek is green. Then we went back to her house. (10-9-08)

WARNING - NEXT IS THE SAD ONE

One time somebody shot my uncle. (the picture is the worst - it is a picture of the wanted poster - strikingly similar to the ones that we used to see all over town. He has quite a photographic memory).

Where have I been?

I know that I have been extremely slack in the blogging area. I have lots of excuses. I've only had one day off since the 6th of this month. I have been working, working, working. This week I've come down with a cold. I think I will survive.

The good news is that I am off for four days starting tomorrow. We are leaving in the morning for one last camping trip of the year. It has become somewhat of a tradition that we go camping sometime around Halloween. This will be our 3rd year. The campground will be having Trick or Treating between campsites on Saturday evening. It is really neat to see everyone's site decorated for Halloween and to get to see all the kids (and lots of adults, too) dressed up in their costumes. It is nice for the kids to be able to go from site to site instead of having to drive from house to house. The kids love it and are looking forward to the trip. We will be going to our favorite campground, Ocean Lakes. We are very sad that the Foils' can't make the trip with us. We were excited for their kids to get to experience the trick or treating...we will miss you!! My mom and Bill are coming and so are Brent's mom and stepdad. Also, Kevin, Kim, and Morgan are going to join us for most of the trip. We have planned to grill out tomorrow night and have soup on Saturday night. The camper is all packed and we are ready to go now. We will go fairly early in the morning...I can't wait to post the pictures when we get back.

New Recipe - Mexican Chicken Soup

Mexican Chicken Soup

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cup into 1/2" pieces
2 T butter
6 T ( a little more than 1/4 cup) flour
1 cup lowfat milk
1 cup chicken broth (I used a little more chicken broth and a little less water)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups water (I used a little more chicken broth and a little less water)
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1 tsp ground cumin (I left this out and it was yummy without it.)
sour cream (optional)
tortilla chips (optional)
shredded cheese (optional)

Brown chicken in skillet coated with cooking spray. When chicken is browned, transfer to large saucepan or stockpot (or crockpot - see below). In a bowl combine all of the other ingredients except for the sour cream, tortilla chips, shredded cheese. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. The recipe I had called for cooking this in the crockpot on low for 6 hours. I actually cooked the chicken for a little longer in the skillet and then put it and the other mixture into my large stockpot and cooked it on low for about 45 minutes.

We added sour cream, cheese, and tortillas and enjoyed! I really liked this. Like I said, I didn't add the cumin and it had plenty of flavor without it. If you are going to have to go out and buy it just for this, you might want to consider just omitting it from the recipe.

TRIPLE COUPON ALERT

Lowes Foods is doing triple coupons today through Friday. I have never participated in triple coupons at Lowes Foods and I don't shop there often so I really don't have a lot of info but there is more info at Coupon Cravings. I am going to begin clipping my coupons tonight and hopefully I will get to make at least one visit in the next day or so!

My week so far...

This has been a stressful week.

• We are in the middle of a state survey at our nursing home. It is not over yet so I can't say what the outcome will be. I am surely experiencing putting my trust in God into action though. My prayer is that He will be with me and help me to learn from the outcome no matter what it is. Of course, I know what I would like the outcome to be - but I'm living in God's will here - not mine. If you've ever worked in a nursing home, you know that when the state is in the building it is a very stressful time. If you haven't - trust me - it's stressful.
• I hurt my knee on Friday night. I was playing with my kids in the yard and we were racing to the front door. I ran carrying Elijah about 10 yards and then felt something give way in my knee. At first I couldn't walk but by Sunday I was able to walk with a limp. My friend Leeann was nice enough to take me to the "first aid center" (thanks for the joke, Leeann) here in town to find out if I had broken it AGAIN. The good news is that I didn't. I am still walking with a limp and have soreness in my knee and surrounding muscles. I went to the doctor yesterday and the surgeon thinks that the screws that he put in several years ago have gotten loose and aggravated. For now - he is ordering physical therapy to strengthen my knee and will likely go in and remove the screws in the near future.
• Today in the midst of the stress at work, I came down with a fever and "upset stomach" as they say. I couldn't get away from work fast enough...now I'm home recuperating. I pray that I didn't spread it to anyone else in my family or work before I knew I was sick.
• AND that other thing that I mentioned last week about waiting on...I'm guessing that God is still helping me to learn to TRUST Him and have COMPLETE faith in Him because I'm still waiting! Easier said than done - but I'm working on it!

The Shack by William P. Young

I just finished reading The Shack. Wow, this book will really make you think. If you've read this book I would love to get your take on it. If you haven't read this book, it will give you a new way of thinking about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. There were parts of it that I had a hard time wrapping my mind around - there were other parts that I want to be sure and remember. This is a book that you could read several times and get something new out of it every time. Of course, this is not taken from the Bible - this is one person's answer to "where is God?" and "what am I to Him?"

Becoming Olivia by Roxanne Henke

My mom picked up this book at the Bible Bookstore in Salisbury. It is about a woman who seemingly has "everything" but is struggling with depression. It really hit home for me and I could relate to a lot of what the character was feeling. I also really appreciated the advice given by the "psychiatrist" and will use some of his words when I think of my own struggles with depression.

The past several months have been the best that I have had in a long time - that is a blessing!

If you like to read books by authors such as Karen Kingsbury - you will like this author.

Hot Dish

I love my friend Jenna. We work together and have lots of fun together. If nothing else were a blessing about my work at the nursing home, getting to know Jenna has been one for sure. Well...Jenna is from Michigan so she and I don't always know what the other one is referring to when talking about something. For example, see this earlier post about the "nabs".

For about 1 year and a half, I have been adjusting to the term "hot dish". DO you know what this is? I had never heard this...not that I'm well traveled or anything! This is another word for "casserole". Evidently it is a midwestern term. I took Jenna a hot dish when her son was born. We kid about the word every once in a while.

The reason I am saying this is to say that I am reading a new book called Becoming Olivia by Roxanne Henke. The setting is North Dakota and it is modern day. Here is a sentence that I stumbled across "I'd get this hot dish put together and then head to the computer." I laughed out loud when I realized that the book actually mentioned a "hot dish".

I'm sure that no one else is humored in the least by this, but I couldn't wait to tell Jenna today when I got to work about my discovery!!

Charred Pikachu

Well...Elijah is a mess and he is "all-boy" as they say. The other night I was cooking and just as Brent was coming in from a first responder call, I said "I think I need you." I could smell something burning but couldn't locate the source. I had 3 burners on and it wasn't any of those. He took one look and said, "It's something in the oven." It was in the preheating stage. I turned off the oven and waited for a few minutes. We suddenly realized that Elijah has recently started "cooking" in the oven. Usually, he puts marbles in a sauce pan and "cooks" them so Brent and I were imagining partially melted marbles all over the oven. It turned out to be a cool whip container, a foam ball, my FAVORITE Pampered Chef skillet, and his stuffed animal Pikachu. The cool whip container was long gone...the ball was a little toasty and the skillet was no worse for the wear (it seems). Pikachu is still around but he is charred and smells like smoke. As Brent and I were cleaning out the oven, Elijah walked through, took one look at the oven, and said, "Hah, hah, I did that!"

The morale of the story - either don't let you children cook in the stove OR ALWAYS check the contents of the oven before you turn it on!!