Wednesday, October 27, 2010

I Won! I Won!

I know I haven't been very good at blogging lately. I just don't feel like I have anything to say. Also, the camera is missing, so I have no pictures to upload. That's the real tragedy. If we can't find the camera by Halloween, I'm b uying a disposable one. Can't miss Halloween pictures!

But I do have something to say today! I won! I entered a giveaway at the cinnamon sticks boutique for a beautiful bracelet and I won! I'm so excited! Canela makes such beautiful jewelry and I'm often inspired by her designs and anecdotes. Isn't this pretty?



Now I just have to think of something to get engraved on it! I wish we were done having kids so I could get all their names on there. I'll have to get something when they're all here. Canela recommends sayings, verses, etc., and I just don't know! Who has a suggestion for me? :)

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

I Am A Culinary Master!

Ok, not really. But, I did do something in the kitchen that I've never done before-- improvise! ;)

Usually I stick to the recipe. I don't feel confident enough in my knowledge of food/spices to just throw things together and hope it will turn out yummy. But today I was brave! (Am I saying that a lot lately?)

It's been raining her a LOT lately. Just going to and coming home from Jeffy's speech lesson, we got soaked, even with an umbrella. The air is cool and crisp and beautiful leaves are everywhere. It's definitely fall and I LOVE it!! On the way home, I really got a craving for chili. And not the gross canned chili--the homemade good stuff.


My sister-in-law, Elizabeth, once made this amazing homemade chili that is now my standard for yummy. I haven't had chili as good as hers since then, and have been meaning to ask her for the recipe. But I haven't yet, so I googled chili recipes. They all called for tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato juice, tomato paste, or all of the above, and the only tomato thing I had was a 6 oz can of paste. They also called for lots of other things I don't have, so I got discouraged.

But then I thought that chili is basically beans and meat, and I had both of those, so why not try? Our chili consisted of ground beef, chili beans, carrots, onions, corn, cheddar cheese, the tomato paste, water, and a bunch of spices I don't remember. It wasn't nearly as good as Elizabeth's, but it was really good. And I made it from scratch and made it up myself, so it was REALLY GOOD. :)

I'm proud of myself. I like to cook, but am not especially good at it. This makes me think that maybe with a lot of practice I can become really good at it. That would be fun.

We had it for lunch, we'll be having it for dinner, and Jeff will be eating it for his lunch tomorrow too. Hope he's okay with that. :)