Love bears all things

I have a desk flip calendar titled "God's Way, Day by Day" by Charles Stanley which I read every morning when I get to work. So reading this particular one has inspired me to do this post. The bible verse at the top is "love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" I Corinthians 13:4,7. This takes me back in time almost 11 years ago when I met the love of my life. We had a sort of strange meeting but still I think it was love at first sight! It was a hot August day that I decided to visit one of my friends at the tanning salon where she worked. I also was tanning that day. As she and I were talking I see my friend Adam drive up and he had this really tall guy with him. I was thinking gosh this guy is hot! Well as it turns out this tall guy was my future husband! What a strange place to meet, but it doesn't matter how or where it happened, it was meant to be. It's so hard to believe that was 11 years ago and we now have been married 9 years and have a almost 7 year old daughter. It just so happens that she was born on Aug 29, just one day before the 4 year anniversary of our meeting!

This verse also takes me back to our wedding day, the first happiest day of my life. Just like at most weddings this verse was read during the ceremony. It just makes me understand that love really does bear all things. If it were not true, Josh and I would not be together. My husband is something that I thank God for everyday of my life, without him I would not be complete. We have had our struggles just like everyone else but our love for each other and our love for God has ALWAYS seen us through it.

Josh, I love you very much and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you!!

Nasty pests!!

Well I've been trying to think of something to post for a week now and I've finally come up with something! Caro, you have inspired me with your mosiquto story! I have a similar problem but a different pest. FLIES!!! They are everywhere and I mean everywhere. They always seem to show up when we are grilling on the patio. I guess they smell the good food!! I absolutely hate flies with a passion! If one gets in the house I immediately get the fly swatter and chase it around the house until I kill it. The are just nasty!! Anyway, when we are grilling every fly in New Hanover county comes to visit us!! Of course when the door is open the line up to march in! I counted 6 in my kitchen on Monday night!!! So here I go chasing flies. I just don't know what to do to get rid of them. I have pondered the idea of getting those sticky things to hang around the door to the patio but how tacky would that look? We'd look like trailer trash!! Well that's my gripe session for the day! If anyone has any ideas please give me comments!!

In honor of my hubby!!!!

Today the princess (my daughter) and I will be attending a building dedication at my Mother's church. You are probably wondering why I've titled this "in honor of my hubby" So I'll tell you! This building is their new fellowship hall. My hubby designed and drew the plans for this building so this is just "one" of his babies. The princess and I are so proud of our Daddy!!!! He works so hard to provide for our family and we really appreciate him and his hard work and dedication. So, I thought that since I was thinking about him and honoring him I would post one of his favorite receipes. I don't cook this much during the summer but we sure eat it a lot in the fall and winter!! He actually named it, I just called it Potato Soup but he thought it should be personalized so it's Mel's Potato Soup! BTW, he's the dude that started calling me Mel!! We think I should open a restaurtant named "Mel's Diner" :)

Without further adue here's the famous Mel's Potato Soup! I love you hubby!!!

Mel's Potato Soup

8 to 9 potatos, peeled and diced
6 to 8 slices of bacon
1/2 stick of butter
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup half & half
3 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 cup sour cream

Cut bacon into small pieces and fry. Drain the bacon on paper towels. Add the butter to the bacon drippings and melt. Add onion and cook until transparent. Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add potatoes, mild, broth, salt, pepper and heat throughly. Stir in half & half and parsley and cook until potatoes are almost done. Stir in sour cream and cook until potatoes are tender.

**You may add the bacon back into the soup or sprinkle it on top of your soup with some cheddar cheese.

Recipe of the week

Well the diet is going well and I'd like to share a Weight Watchers recipe that I fixed on Tuesday night, it was delicious!! BTW I've lost 3 pounds since Monday!!!!!! :)

Grilled Cuban Chicken with Black Bean and Mango Salsa

1/2 cup orange juice (Tropicana now has one that has WW points figured on it)

1/4 cup cilantro, fresh, chopped

3 Tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp table salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp black pepper

1-1/4 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 5 oz pieces

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup mango, fresh, cubed

2 Tbsp red onion, chopped

2 sprays cooking spray

In a small bowl, combine orange juice, cilantro, lime juice, oil, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper; remove 1/2 cup and place in a large zip close plastic bag. Add chicken to bag and turn to coat; seal bag and refrigerate up to 12 hours.

To make salsa, add beans, mango and onion to a bowl with orange juice mixture; toss, cover and refrigerate up to 12 hours.

When ready to cook, coat grill or grill pan with cooking spray; preheat over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade. Grill chicken turning as needed, until cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to serving plates and spoon salsa over chicken. Yields 1 piece of chicken and about 1/2 cup of salsa per serving.

Points value: 5

This was really good and different. I've never had a mango salsa but I really enjoyed it.

I love ice cream....

I have to send out a big THANK YOU to Weight Watchers!!! First of all, I have to loose weight!! I can't take it anymore!! I am actually a tad bit overweight for my height but aside from that I just don't feel good about myself! So, I have turned to Weight Watchers! They have done something amazingly wonderful for me, they now have mint chocolate chip ice cream in small packages!!!! Mint choc chip is my absolute favorite ice cream!!!!! My aunt told me that she doesn't see how I eat it and that it tastes like the dreaded Milk of Magnesia!! But it just tastes good to me!!! Everybody say a prayer for me, the first week is always the hardest but I'm doing ok so far. I'm sure I will be posting about my weight loss, if it happens! For now I'm enclosing a picture of my new best friend, it was so tasty for my snack last night!! I have to go to the store to buy more!! The best part this little cup, which is a nice serving is only 2 points!!!!

4th of July weekend

Well I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday weekend! Unfortunately at my house we must rest today since it's back to work tomorrow! Boo hoo!! We had a fun filled weekend. We attended the Battleship Blast on Friday night. The fireworks were the best we've seen a long time. These pics are all while we were waiting for the fireworks, you have to get there crazy early!

We also went to the beach on Saturday and what a fun time we had!! We happen to be dog sitting for some friends this weekend and we got a dog plus a Jeep!!! So we cruised down to Carolina Beach where we could drive on the beach at the north end. It was such a beautiful day!!! Hazel was talking about how beautiful the ocean was as we were going in for a dip and I just said we are enjoying God's wonderful creation!! She commented that he did a wonderful job!!! It's funny sometimes the things kids say. Anyway, here are a few pictures I wanted to share from the beach. I probably have too many pictures on this post but I love pictures!!

Holiday

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July! Don't eat too many hamburgers and hot dogs!!! And once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CAROLINE!!!!!

It's so nice to have a day off work and at this moment I have to house all to myself!! Yeah!! This doesn't happen ofter. My hubby and daughter are off to the mall to buy her a Nintendo DS. She's been saving money for it for months and the day has finally come for her to go buy it!! Did I mention how very excited she is?! She's been doing lots of various chores to earn her allowance and all her hard work has finally paid off!! Now she has to save that chore money so she can buy her souviers in Disneyworld when we go in December!! Well I'm gonna go enjoy a little ME time!!

Recipe of the week

Okay, I'm gonna start something and try to do this once a week. Each week I'm going to try a new recipe for dinner and if it turns out good, I'm going to post it! I absolutely LOVE to cook!!! I try all different kinds of stuff and make up my own!! Here goes nothing!!

We had this for dinner last night and it was a hit!! After I got this idea in my head, which was after the food was gone, I happened to think that I should have taken a picture of my finished product. So I will do that next time.

Basil Grilled Chicken
3/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
4 chicken breast halves (I used a boneless skinless breast)
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil leaves, plus 2 tablespoons freshly minced basil leaves
1/3 cup (5 tablespoons) butter, melted, plus 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Prepare grill.
Press the coarsely ground pepper into the meaty side of the chicken breast halves. Stir the chopped basil into the melted butter. Brush the chicken lightly with this mixture. In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, minced basil, Parmesan, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Beat on low speed or just mix together with a spoon until smoothly blended.

Grill the chicken over medium coals for 8 to 10 minutes on each side, basting frequently with the remaining butter mixture.

Serve the grilled chicken with the basil-butter mixture. I just spread my butter on top of the chicken breast.

I got this recipe from www.foodnetwork.com.

It was wonderful!!! Even my six year old was talking about how good the chicken was!!

a little something to boost my self confidence....

First of all I'll start by saying that I am my own worst enemy! I'm very critical of myself and I sometimes don't give myself enough credit for the things I know or things I'm good at doing. Yesterday I had a request from someone that I've known since I was a teenager (we are about the same age) she happens to have her own dance studio. She actually asked me to be a judge at her auditions for her clogging team!! Unbelieveable!!! Even though I've been clogging for 25 years, I sometimes don't think that I'm just as good as everyone else. This request really thrilled my soul. Just the idea that she thinks I'm good enough to judge other people. I was so honored that she asked me! This gave a big boost to my self confidence on my clogging experience. And I'm honored and thrilled to be a part of judging such talented girls. I love clogging and I also love competing in the competitions! I have passed the love for this on to my daughter, which I am very proud of. She will be clogging in Disneyworld with her team in December. I just couldn't be more proud!!!!!

I'm finally a blogger!!

Well this is it! I've finally decided to create a blog. I love reading my friends blogs and thought it may be interesting for me to have a place to post my thoughts. I'm totally new to this so please bear with me while I'm learning