Taco Soup

This is one of my favorite recipes to make this time of year.  It's so easy & makes so much that I can eat on it for days. 

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef
1 large yellow onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (chopped)
2 14 1/2oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 15 oz can kidney beans (drained)
1 15 oz can pinto beans (drained)
1 15 oz can black beans (drained)
1 15 oz can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 1.25 oz taco seasoning mix

In a large pot, cook beef and garlic. Add onions when beef is almost browned.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 30 minutes. 

Topping ideas:
shredded cheese
cilantro
sour cream
chopped avocado

Other Lives ~ "For 12"

I've been craving new music lately and found this new {to me} band.  This is a great song and they're from Stillwater, Oklahoma!  Bonus!

The Black Keys ~ "These Days"

Resolutions

Live A Healthy Lifestyle
Blah, blah, blah.  I know this is on everyone's list every January.  But for me, it's no longer just about losing weight and being focused on a number.  We lived a pretty healthy lifestyle last year until August, when Scottie passed away.  We were looking and feeling better than we had in a decade thanks to our healthy changes, but after August, we slowly rolled back down hill.  And once Halloween came, we gave up completely.  By December we felt sick, tired and unfocused.  It's proof to me that all those little choices we make throughout the day add up to a big deal = how we feel.  And I want to feel good, rested, energized and driven. 

So I'm back to my healthy ways that I started a year ago:
Eating the right foods and the right amounts of them.
Limiting foods that make me feel sluggish and give me headaches {sugars and breads}.
Eating as organic and un-processed as possible.
Cooking from scratch using real food {what a concept!}
Eat an apple a day.
Having treats in moderation {duh, I'm a foodie!}
Yoga three times a week {I love Mandy Ingber's Yogalosophy} & trying to be more active in general.
Plenty of sleep because I do not function well when I'm not rested!
As always, drinking lots of water {we've been a no pop family for 3 years now!}
Drinking apple cider vinegar a few times a week {1tbsp acv mixed with 8 oz water}.
Gargling salt water daily.
Taking vitamins.
And my new one I'm adding this year is green tea.  I'm going to try to drink at least one glass a day because green tea has antioxidants and is supposed to have numerous health benefits.

Be Creative and Productive
I've realized something about myself: I spend a lot of time finding great creative ideas and projects to try, mainly thanks to Pinterest {best thing ever}!  However, I rarely take the time to do any of them.  So I'm going to make a real effort to tap into my creative side and actually get things done. 

On my creative to do list:
Learn to sew {second attempt}
Learn to crochet {second attempt}
Revamp old stuff {spray paint is my best friend}
Makeover our house.  I've been working on this one a while.  We've lived here 5 years and my decorating tastes have changed.  I'm slowly trying to change the look in the house and make our spaces what we need them to be.  Projects in the works right now are turning our bonus room into an adorable playroom, turning our formal dining room into an office and making our utility room more functional. {All on a tight budget of course!}
Continue turning our backyard into our personal playground.  I'd love to add more landscaping, rocks, etc.  Maybe get a chiminea eventually.

Get Outdoors and Have Adventures
I hope 2012 is the year we finally take adventures.  We all want so badly to spend weekends camping, hiking and exploring Oklahoma.  And the weekends we aren't out having adventures, I want to be home.  I've decided we all hate running around.  We're just home bodies.  Don't get me wrong, we love going to arts festivals or bowling or any special outing like that.  We're just tired of running around just for the sake of finding something to do.  I think we all enjoy our time more at home, working on projects or playing outside.

Make More Time for Date Nights & Friends
You know when you hang out with friends and you leave thinking "that was fun, we should do it more often"?  Well, I really want to do it more often.  I hope to have lots of cookouts and nights out with friends this year.

Allen and I are pretty good about making time for date nights.  And we're pretty lucky that our Mom's are aways happy to watch the kids for us.  I hope 2012 brings many fun date nights for us, whether it's concerts or just a quiet dinner where we can actually have an un-interrupted conversation...something that's getting harder and harder with two young, happy and energetic kids!

And my last resolution is a biggie for me...

Let Go of Fear
I've been struggling for a while now with fear.  Fear of something bad happening.  But mainly fears over our health and us getting sick.  It seems I have to hit rock bottom on something in order to resolve it.  I have been gradually getting worse over the last year and hit my rock bottom this winter.  In my usual fashion, I've analyzed it all and I think I've figured out why I am trying so hard to control whether or not we get sick.  Even though my Dad died 4 1/2 years ago, this ugly scar of mine has moved to the surface.  I'm afraid of not being able to be healed.  The old me just assumed that if you got sick, doctors would fix you.  But I saw my Dad take his last breath and I could not help him.  And now 4 1/2 years later, seeing that has me paralyzed with fear of us getting sick and dying.  I know it sounds crazy, but it's amazing how such a tragic event can shape your thinking.  It hasn't helped matters that in 2011 both my babies had hospital visits for two very scary things.  And then losing Scottie so unexpectedly in August.  It's no wonder my fear of tragedy has gone off the grid.

But from this day forward, I am making a huge effort to let go of my fears.  None of it is in my hands and I'm just wasting my energy trying to control it.  It is time that I truly trust that God will take care of us.  That doesn't mean we won't get sick or experience tragedy.  But it means that God will guide us through it.  I need to trust his plan for me and I need to trust his timing.  Ironically, our first church sermon of the new year had a lot to do with letting go of fear.  Easier said than done, but I'm ready to take this leap of faith.

The Stomach Virus That Stole Christmas

This Christmas had a few bumps in the road for us.  It was a difficult time for us since it was our first Christmas without Allen's Dad, Scottie.  Holidays are never quite the same once you lose someone who means so much.  But we were determined to make it a happy time and to count our blessings. 

Unfortunately, we were struck with a nasty stomach virus the week before Christmas.  It hit Garrett first, then Sydney, then me and then poor Allen on Christmas morning.  So it made it very hard to do all our traditions.  We managed to squeeze in sugar cookies and looking at Christmas lights in between someone being sick.  I'm not gonna lie, I had a full blown pitty party at 5:30 am Christmas morning when it was obvious the stomach bug had hit Allen.  I let it all out and then pulled myself together before the kids woke up. 

Allen somehow managed to open presents with us and then went back to bed, not to be seen again until the next day.  In spite of what I'm calling "Funkmaster 3000" {stomach virus}, the kids had a great Christmas morning.  They woke at 6:00 am ready to go and we were finished opening presents before the sun came up.  I will never complain about our kids being early risers though, because they go to bed early and sleep through the night!

We decided to take the plunge into the video game world and got the kids a Wii.  Sydney was beyond excited and Garrett had no idea what it was!  I was reluctant, but I must say, the Wii is a blast!  And we play it as a family so it's kinda the new game night.  I figure, as long as the kids still play the old fashioned way, what's wrong with a little Wii in our lives.

 

I bought the kids their favorite junk food breakfast for Christmas morning. 

We went to my Aunt's house the day after Christmas and look who showed up!

Santa made a special visit and brought all the kids a present.  This was too cool!

When did Sydney start looking so grown up??? And when did I, for that matter?!?!

With every bump in the road, I eventually learn, more and more, to appreciate what I have been blessed with.  Loving parents, loving in-laws, a husband who shares the same path as me, and my sweet babies.   

Scott Avett ~ "The New Love Song"

I love the simplicity of Scott Avett's Crackerfarm videos.   His music is always just perfect and lovely.

Scott Avett ~ "Famous Flower of Manhattan"

Grouplove ~ "Tongue Tied"

This song is just fun!  



I like this stripped down version just as well.  They look so happy singing this song.  This is exactly how music should make you feel!

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros ~ "Fiya Wata" {River of Love}

Momma's Boy

This lil guy is changing so fast lately.  He seems to have gotten taller overnight.  The little boy who has always tried to keep up with his sister is rapidly catching up to her in size & speed.  I'm afraid he is no longer a baby. :(  The good news is that the terrible twos {& threes} seem to be mostly a thing of the past.  Whew.  Those were some tough times.  He went from the happiest baby on earth to the most stubborn two year old on earth, seemingly overnight. 

And just like that, he has now moved on to silly prankster.  He cracks me up daily with his ornery antics.  When he doesn't know I'm looking, and I catch him hiding something from his sister.  He can't keep a straight face and neither can I while watching him.  He loves to hide from me and giggles the whole time I "look" for him. 

He has the funniest vocabulary, saying things like "that sure sounds like a good idea to me".  Or saying the prayer at dinner, "thank you for this lovely dinner".  Where does he come up with this stuff?

I may start making him wear a helmet.  He seems to bump his head, fall down or run into a wall daily.  He recently hit his head and had to get staples.  According to my mother in law, he gets this from his Daddy & this probably won't be our last visit to the after hours emergency clinic.  He did think the bright green bandage looked cool.  Here's a picture of Rambo.

And here he's making it clear that the photo shoot is over.

I'm afraid he's going to have a potty mouth when he grows up.  When I force him to do something dreadful {like wash his hands}, he storms off mumbling a three year olds version of curse words.  His favorite dirty word is stinky buttercups.  Say it in a ticked off three year old boy voice & you have a glimpse into my world.  I may just start yelling stinky buttercups at people who irritate me.

His favorite thing to do at home {since it's too cold to go outside & play in the dirt now} is sit in his room and play cars.  We used to play friendly, happy cars but these days the cars are always attacking each other.  Raising a little boy is a learning process. My toys never beat each other up as a kid, so I'm new to this.  He loves to pretend he's a robot monster attacking the cars.  Then I pretend to be a robot Mommy, attacking him with kisses.  He giggles, then says "okay, that's enough".  :)

Being a mom to a little boy is such a blessing.  He teaches me to think outside the box and say the alphabet in a monster voice to hold his interest.  He forces me to be thick skinned and not panic at every bump and bruise.  And Garrett is my little reminder not to take life too seriously and have some fun.