Walkin' On Sunshine Day 4

Hi all you Sunshine Walkers! It's time to report your times and/or distances! Four days down, only seventeen to go! :-)

Comfort

"It doesn't matter what you have, someone else always has something bigger or better. And those decorating magazines can often give us great ideas but also a dose of the "gotta have it" syndrome. Maybe it's time to take a little break. Instead of focusing on "home beautiful", concentrate on what makes your home warm and caring. A place where you can express your God-given talents. No mater how little or how much you have, you can experience the results of a godly home. Make it more of a sanctuary in the best sense. A place of security, trust, and comfort. That comes from you. There's no decorating scheme in the world that can replace the role you play in your home!"

from "The One Minute Home Organizer"
by Emilie Barnes

Walkin' On Sunshine Day 3

We have two more Sunshine Walkers!

Welcome to
Linda and
Canadian in the Country

As you complete your walk (or other exercise) today, feel free to post your progress in the comments section here for Day 3!

"Pumpkins in the cornfields

Gold among the brown,

Leaves of rust and scarlet

Trembling slowly down.

Birds that travel southward

Lovely time to play,

Nothing is as pleasant

As an autumn day!"

~Author Unknown

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com

"Harvest Memory" by John McNaughton

Walkin' On Sunshine Day 2

Hi Sunshine Walkers!

I think I'll put a post up each day of the Walkin' On Sunshine 21 days, so that participants can post their time and/or distance. I can also add the names of anyone who would like to join us - it's not too late. :-)

After your walks, don't you just feel like you can conquer the world! Or is that just me... ;-)

Marinara Sauce

Marinara Sauce
4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped vegetables of choice (onions, bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini squash, carrots, mushrooms)
1/8 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram
pinch of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce

Saute vegetables in oil until tender. Add seasonings, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Serve over pasta and enjoy.

Our sauce was extra special tonight with garden fresh peppers from Giggles's Mom. :-)

Do you have a pedometer?

They're great! This is a very simple one that I got at Wal-Mart for about $6. It keeps track of time, steps, mileage and calories burned. I have found it to only be accurate when I am actually out on a walk. If I clip it on when I am just walking around the house, it will say I walk 3 miles just unloading the dishwasher - haha! But when I am out walking for exercise, it is very accurate. And a great motivator!

Supper Menus
October 6th-11th

Monday
angel hair pasta with marinara sauce, green salad
Tuesday
tortilla soup
Wednesday
Mrs. Wilt's saucy chicken sandwiches, spicy potato wedges
Thursday
Jessica Simpson's chicken and dumplings, lettuce and tomato salad
Friday
jalapeno chicken enchiladas, spanish rice, refried beans, tortilla chips and dips, Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings
Saturday
grilled steaks, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, lettuce and tomato salad, dinner rolls

Walkin' on Sunshine Day 1

An early-morning walk

is a blessing for the whole day.

~Henry David Thoreau

Ok ladies - it's time to start! Feel free to post your walking time and/or distance in the comments section. Mine will be in the side bar.

Sunshine Walkers -

Heather

Jennifer

Kerri

the other Mrs. H

Mama Hen

Christa

Kelli

Renee

Giggles

Mama Giggles

"The best things in life are nearest:

Breath in your nostrils,

light in your eyes,

flowers at your feet,

duties at your hand,

the path of right just before you.

Then do not grasp at the stars,

but do life's plain, common work as it comes,

certain that daily duties and daily bread

are the sweetest things in life."

~Robert Louis Stevenson

It doesn't take much to make a happy birthday boy...

a win on the soccer field

burgers on the deck

"choose your own chips"

a few presents from friends

and lots and lots of video games. :-)

Walkin' On Sunshine!

I'm out of the habit...
My waist line needs me to be back in the habit... ;-)
Everyone knows that anything you do for 21 days becomes a habit!

So who's with me?! Let's walk for 21 days! :-) I'll track my miles in the side bar. If you would like to walk, too, just leave a comment or post on your own blog. I have no idea how to do a "Mr. Linky" but maybe with enough interest I could learn. My 21 days will start on Monday - please let me know if you'll be walking, too! :-)

Welcome to the World Dinner!

Taking a meal to a family with a new baby is a wonderful way to help them out. Not to mention the fact that it is also a great way to make sure you get an early peek at the little one! ;-)

I found the idea for a "Welcome to the World Dinner" in Taste of Home magazine several years ago. I have used this many times, varying the menu items, but always naming each food to correspond to the "baby" theme. :-)

Taste of Home suggests "Green Bean Bundles of Joy" as one of the foods to prepare. When time is short, I sometimes substitute my own, "Tiny Tot Tossed Salad". ;-)

Taste of Home's "Special Delivery Chicken Casserole" is simply Poppy Seed Chicken, with a new name!

"Bringing Home Baby Carrots" is another menu item from Taste of Home. The carrots are cooked in apple juice and honey to make them very sweet and tender.

"Rock a 'Bye Baby Rolls" are my addition.

"2 AM Feeding Snack" is also a Taste of Home suggestion. This time the snacks are my oatmeal cookies, which I happen to know a certain brand new big brother enjoys. :-)

And, don't forget those older brothers and sisters, especially the littlest one that until just a few days ago was the baby! It's always nice to greet them first, take them a little special treat and then ask to see "their" new baby! :-)

Here is the food all ready to go! A collapsible crate is wonderful for transporting the meal. With this menu in hand you are always ready to welcome a precious new baby into the world! :-)

Rustic Roasted Vegetable Tart

Rustic Roasted Vegetable Tart

4 servings

1 small eggplant, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 medium sweet red pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 sheet refrigerated pie pastry
1 tablespoon cornmeal
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Combine vegetables, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Transfer to an 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan. Bake at 450° for 25-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender and moisture has evaporated, stirring every 10 minutes. Sprinkle cornmeal over a greased 14 inch pizza pan; place pastry on prepared pan. Spoon vegetable mixture over pastry to within 1 1/2 inches of edge. Fold up edges of pastry over filling, leaving center uncovered. Bake at 450° for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cut into wedges and enjoy!

This is a new recipe we tried this evening. It went over better with the girls than the guys. ;-) I think I would prefer it on a regular pizza crust. It is really pretty, though! :-)

Jessica Simpson's Chicken and Dumplings

Jessica Simpson's Chicken and Dumplings6 servings

3 tubes croissant rolls
1 small rotisserie chicken, skin discarded and meat removed from bones
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400º. Roll out the cans of croissant sheets and separate into diamond shaped sections. Place a small handful of rotisserie chicken on each diamond, fold dough over and press ends together to create dumplings. Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with one layer of dumplings. Combine soups and chicken broth; pour over dumplings. Season with salt and pepper and bake until the dumplings are tender and cooked through and the top is brown and bubbly - about 30 minutes. (I laid foil across my pan about halfway though, because the dumplings were browning too quickly.)

Yummy!!! I got this recipe from my friend Giggles. Thank you Giggles - these were so easy and so delicious!

Also, I just had to add, my family came home from soccer practice tonight, and of course wanted to know what was in the oven. I replied, "Jessica Simpson's Chicken and Dumplings". My daughter said, "Oh? She cooks??" ;-) Haha - yes, she does, and she cooks well! :-)

Fresh Green Beans and Sauteed Tomatoes

4 servings

fresh snap green beans (enough for 4 servings)

1 package grape tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon parsley

a pinch of garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Cook beans until desired tenderness; drain and set aside. In a saucepan, sauté tomatoes and seasonings in oil over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add beans and toss to coat.

I love these eyes...

Photo taken by my daughter. :-)

What's this?

Yes, it's a hard boiled egg. :-)

But it is also, the perfect visual to discuss

the Earth's crust, mantle and core! ;-)

Thoughts on Kindness

"Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

~attributed to both T.H. Thompson and John Watson

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear

and the blind can see."

~Mark Twain

"You cannot do a kindness too soon,

for you never know how soon it will be too late."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The kindest word in all the world is the unkind word, unsaid."

~Author Unknown

"...always try to be kind to each other..."

I Thessalonians 5:15

I taught my Bible class to remember this verse, by asking them, "What happens at your house at 5:15?" Is Daddy getting done with work? Is Mommy trying to get supper on the table? Is everyone hungry? Is the phone ringing? Is the dog barking? Are the children fussing? Then it's a good time to...always try to be kind to each other! :-)

"The only preparation for tomorrow

is the right use of today."

~author unknown

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow..."
Matthew 6:34 NIV