September 1 - Pizza Puffs - these were spicier than we expected but super good!! Didn't like them so much with pizza sauce for dipping but with ranch - YUM!!
Mr. Chill: Ok
Jbird: Not so much
Zebra: Not so much
Me: Yum!
September 4: Cheesy Oven Fried Chicken— I messed this one up—I confess. I couldn’t believe that the chicken would be done in such a short period of time, so I added ten minutes to the cook time. DO NOT DO THAT!!! The flavors were all there but the chicken itself was difficult to ear. I made enough to freeze a meal’s worth so when I make it later this month from the frozen I should, hopefully, be able to give a better opinion of this!
Mr. Chill: Next time don't bake it so long...
Jbird: Totally forgettable
Zebra: Yeah - we don't need to keep this recipe.
Me: whoopsy!
In other news, my school days friend Susie from over at www.castleblake.blogspot.com has nominated me for a Leibster Award… So sweet! And it’s really fun too. Here’s how the award works:
The Rules of the Award: The Liebster Award is given to bloggers, by bloggers. It is a way to acknowledge each other and say, "You are doing a great job." It is for blogs with 200 or less followers, so it is also a great way to spread the word about smaller blogs and get them more readers and followers! When you receive the award you post eleven random facts about yourself, and answer eleven questions from the person who nominated you. You pass the award onto eleven other blogs, (make sure you let them know they were nominated,) and ask them eleven questions. You are not allowed to nominate the blog that nominated you.
These are the questions Susie asked for me to answer—putting my thoughts and answers down was surprisingly more difficult than I thought!!
1. What is the best vacation you've ever taken?
A few years ago we took the kids to NYC for their first time. It was also my husband’s first time there as well. We traipsed all over the place, road subways, and the museums—oh my!! We were in heaven!! We also had the opportunity to visit with family and our best friends as well… And for the first time in my life, I was relaxed enough to enjoy the city and not be afraid and completely over stimulated by the sheer size of it all. It was incredible!!
2. What is the most daring thing you've ever done?
That’s a funny question for me!! Seriously! I am the most boring human being on the face of the planet and rarely try things I don’t think I will succeed at doing—so not an uncalculated risk taker! However, there was this one time… isn’t that how all the best, juicy stories begin… So there was this one time I was on a trip with all the freshmen teaching fellows… we were at a state park ( I think it was Chimney Rock but could totally be wrong!) and it was hot! There was a waterfall there so we decided that we would just strip down to our skivvies in broad daylight, with other tourists all around, and jump in the waterfall… Yeah—that was pretty awesome!
3. What is something you wish you could do better?
I wish I were a better pianist! And I know I could be if I would practice and such, but that’s not really something I make time for… if you really want to be better at something doesn’t it stand to reason that you then work towards that end? So I suppose my actual wish is that I were better at site reading piano music…
4. What are your favorite food flavors?
OOOOOH!!! This is a fun one!! My favorite flavors are those of fall!! Yeah—I know that you won’t find that on your taste buds exactly, but I love the flavors of that season more than any others out there!! Apple, cinnamon, chili… the quintessential Thanksgiving bite is what I live for!! Any time of year there is just something about an apple crisp, sweet potato anything and a pumpkin latte! And like I said, don’t forget the chili and all the fabulous weekend with friends and a good football game (as if I watch any of them!!) kinds of food!!
5. What is your favorite dessert?
Hands down—easiest question here—Crème Brule !
6. What is your favorite thing to actually cook?
Hmmm… I love to cook different kinds of chicken—I love the blank canvas of chicken that will absorb any of the flavors you decide to play with at any given time…
7. What do you long for?
I long to feel settled! This is an incredibly temporal question—the answer to which is constantly changing… Today, I long for my boxes to be all unpacked and for the house we are living in to feel like home… I long to feel I’m settled in my office—that I know where things are and what my new role is… That’s today’s longing—tomorrow—perhaps something completely different! World peace!
8. How do you celebrate your favorite holiday?
It’s hard for me to pick just one… but weird as it is gonna sound, I love that we celebrate Hanukah in our home the most. Each of those eight crazy nights, we push pause on everything at sundown, turn out all the lights and everything electronic, light candles, pray as a family and remember God’s incredible provision! Being Christian, we recognize this provision through the gift of Jesus Christ. We play games by the candlelight and simply enjoy God’s provision through the love and the support of each other...
9. When/how/why did you know your spouse was "the one"?
At the start of our sophomore year of college, Ray & I found ourselves living in different towns, attending different universities. I knew that what we had was a forever kind of love when I exerted my own voice and made decisions on my own and had some pretty different opinions on what was really important and he didn’t back down either… I found that I wasn’t lost in being what he wanted and that he wasn’t deterred by our views not being 100% identical. We maintained our own identities and could see being my own person and at the same time one with him… does that make sense? All this, over the course of one weekend and a conversation from a bathroom stall in a dorm room… yeah—we’re strange!
10. What is your favorite beverage?
Well—what is the weather outside? My number one go-to drink would have to be… hmmm… apple cider—just love that stuff—hot or cold—and yes, the American, nonalcoholic version is what I mean…
11. What is one tradition your family had when you were growing up that you'd like to continue with your family?
Dinner time. Every night growing up my mom cooked supper for our family. We all gathered around the table, partook of her amazing culinary genius and shared our day together. We had to always use proper table manners (“may I please be excused to go…”) and we always had to eat our vegetables… We drank sweet tea by the pitcher and learned what love tasted like… it was good!
The following folks for their sheer awesomeness and total likeability, on you I bestow the Liebster Award!
1) Tracey @ www.traceyguilliams.com
2) Amanda @ www.boyflowerbird.blogspot.com
3) Leslie @ www.lesliepjackson.blogspot.com
4) Deanna @ http://deanna-l-deaton.blogspot.com/
5) Oh my goodness - I leave for a minute and where did my list go?!! And now a storm? Let me upload what I've got and re-input the rest later!! Yikes!! Technology and organization (maybe I should've wished to be better at one of those?!) you are not my friends!!
Please answer these questions:
1) If you could be any animal other than human, what would you choose to be?
2) What is your favorite board game?
3) What subject from school do find you utilize the most in your everyday life?
4) What artist’s creative stylings have had the most profound impact on you? This could be art in any of it forms—dance, music, sculpture, painting...
5) Most profound truth you would like to pass on to your children, or to others in your life?
6) What is your favorite season of the year?
7) Do you find yourself to be a morning, day or night person?
8) NPR—love it or hate it?
9) What is your most vivid, positive memory from the playground?
10) reality TV—take it or leave it?
11) Finally, and perhaps least importantly, if you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself? (yep—that’s for Tracey!!)
YAY!!! Thanks for taking the time to answer all those!
ReplyDeleteAwww, I remember NYC with Mr. Shive! I went every couple years through college, but I haven't been now since before 9/11, and I hate that. I really want to go back!
I'm usually with you, in that I rarely try things I don’t think I will succeed at doing; but, like your awesome waterfall jump, I'll get spontaneously daring sometimes. :-)
If I could've sat down & played piano like I can just hear a song once and hit the harmony, I would've never quit piano lessons, either. :-P I wish I could play...but not enough to put that much work into it. :-D
Fall flavors = perfect!!!! I drink pumpkin spice chai year-round! :-D
Do you have a brûlée torch? JB got me little one for fun like 12 years ago. I so rarely use it...but it's cool to have. :-P
Chicken *IS* such a good canvas!!!
AMEN re: longing to feel settled!!!!!! You know I understand!
Your Hanukah sounds beautiful... LOVE!
Your & Ray's relationship makes perfect sense! I felt/feel the same w/ JB - we are different in so many ways: upbringing, culturally (he's a yankee! :-P), politically, & in the ways we express our faith - but neither one of us has changed who we really are for the other; we just work together & balance each other out. :-)
I can appreciate cider...but I am such a chai junkie!