What's for Dinner?

I love facebook! I know, it can be a huge time-waster. But it's a great way to keep in touch with people near and far. And it can be an excellent resource. Today I was planning meals for the next two weeks. (Grocery shopping requires me to get up at 5 am, so I can drive my husband to the bus stop...we have one car...so I try to limit going to once every two weeks.) I was uninspired and tired of making the same old meals. So I asked on facebook for some ideas. In less than thirty minutes, I had over a dozen great suggestions!

So in case you need some ideas, too, here they are:
Chicken spaghetti (put a couple frozen chicken breasts and a can of Italian style diced tomatoes in the crockpot. Put it on low all day, then serve it over pasta.)
Meatloaf, lasagna, chicken fajita, salmon patties, chicken marsala, chicken divan, chili
Grilled cheese sandwiches and soup
Potato-leek soup, corned beef and cabbage, shepherd's pie
Fritatta (It has diced potatoes in the bottom, with eggs, onion, bell pepper, and cheese (and a few other things) mixed and on top. Add bacon bits for fun on the top and bake.)

Enjoy!

Breakfast at Ginger's

Martin Luther ("Manic Monday" by the Bangles)

Happy Birthday, Margaret Mitchell!

Today is the birthday of Margaret Mitchell, the author of Gone with the Wind. She was one of the first women reporters for the Atlanta Journal back in the 1920's. But she was plagued with injuries which went back to a serious fall from a horse she'd had at the age of 20. She eventually had to give up her work and was confined to bed for a long period of time. Her husband brought her stacks of library books to give her something interesting to do. When she grew bored with reading books, he brought her a Remington typewriter and suggested that she write her own book. And we know where that led.

I'm sure the day she had to resign her newspaper job, she must have thought her life was over. Little did she know what was just around the corner. I wonder how many times we feel that way. Some tragedy or setback throws us for a loop, and we are sure life will never be the same. And we are right; it won't be. But perhaps God has something else, something bigger, waiting for us, if we'll just walk around that corner.

Working Vacations

We just got back from a conference my husband attended for his work. One of the advantages of schooling at home is that my daughter can work ahead and/or pack up her school and take it with her. So we take advantage of these working vacation opportunities whenever we can. My husband really enjoys having us along, too. I don't think he'd enjoy traveling for work otherwise. Homeschooling and virtual schooling are hard work, so it's nice to stop and realize some of the many benefits our family can enjoy because of it.

Easy Hot Crab Dip

My NaNo Nerds were writing in full force today. No pesky school or work to keep them from racking up their word counts! So I decided to make them a special lunch. My local grocery store had "crab-flavored seafood" on special, and the package had a super-easy recipe on the back. The best part is this dish seems complicated, but it's not. My Nano-ers thought I spent all morning making it, when I really spent most of the morning on the couch, reading a good book!

8 oz. chunk-style crab (imitation crab works just fine!)
1 tsp. of lemon juice
4 oz. cream cheese
4 oz. sliced or chopped almonds
2 tbsp. milk
pepper to taste

Set aside half of the almonds. Mix together the rest of the ingredients. Put in an oven-proof container. Sprinkle the remaining almonds on top. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes. Serve with crackers or toasted bread.

Shhh...Don't Tell Chrisa!

Chrisa is busy in the bathroom. I think she's trying to make herself beautiful, so I may have the computer for a loooong time! So I have a chance to tell you all about how awful writers are.

Hey, no stealing my computer! Or insulting me on my new blog! Writers are not awful. It's these people who do nothing but sit on the computer and blog and never write anything interesting: they're the awful ones. I think that people who the only thing they do is blog should be banned!

Only thing I do?? I do a lot of useful, interesting things. I'm not the one who sits in my "home office" (really a bedroom!) all day staring at the computer! I actually go outside every day! I'm not the one with pasty white skin, and I'm not afraid of the sun. Unlike some people I know. Like I said before, writers are weird!

If you do so many useful, interesting things, then why don't you post about those things, instead of the lame posts you do, ranting about writers and professing your love to the dishes. And it is a home office! I actually get work done, unlike some people I know. What do you really do? Sit around and watch TV?

I've decided I'm done with this dump of a blog. You can have it back. You couldn't pay me to keep it. Bye, everyone!

If you want to check out a real blog, look at: chrisathomasstories.blogspot.com