Thankful (almost) Thursday

This is a non food related post, but I feel like God has been laying it on my heart to remember what I am thankful for, both in times of joy and in times of trial. So, in response, here is a list of things I am most grateful for right now, at this point in my life. (In no particular order)

1. Salvation
2. Forgiveness/Second chances
3. My husband
4. Resiliency
5. Companionship/Love
6. A fresh start
7. A new job
8. Good friends/developing positive friendships and connections
9. My newfound interests
10.My chosen profession

Hopefully, random posts like this will inspire you to take a little time out of your day to remember what you are thankful for, and even thank those of whom you think.

xoxo,
Emily

I love my Kindle, yes I do, I love my Kindle, how 'bout you?!

This weekend, my darling husband decided he was worried about my upcoming commute. Starting Monday, I will be driving a company vehicle about 3-4 hours round trip, daily, for 10 weeks in order to attend required trainings. Tyler realized he was concerned about me staying awake while driving, and decided we should go ahead and purchase something to distract me. He brought it up to me at dinner Friday, and I got really excited, obviously! We spent that evening and all day yesterday researching and shopping in store for anything to occupy my time. We looked at MP3 players, Ipads, etc. WELL...seeing as two of my favorite hobbies are reading and listening to music, I brought up the idea of the Kindle. Oh my word. Best idea of my life. ANDDDD...thanks to a leftover Visa gift card, and part of my birthday money from my sweet mother-in-law, we only ended up paying about 40 dollars out of pocket for my sweet baby Kindle. I am in LOVE. I've already downloaded about 6 books, all but two of them free of charge. The two I paid for were the Bible (1.99) and a Healthy Living cookbook with 500 recipes (6.00). I am so looking forward to tomorrow morning when I can plug my Kindle into the car and listen to it so sweetly read to me on my morning commute. Thank you, husband!! :)

xoxo,
Emily

Kung Pao Chicken and Fried Rice

Hi all! I've had several requests for this recipe, so I thought I'd type it up on my blog and put the link on facebook. :) It was reallllly good. I read the ingredients at first and didn't think it would be something I would enjoy, more for Tyler, but it ended up being delicious. It's not a very difficult recipe at all, my only advice is just to make sure you prep everything ahead of time. There are very specific time directions in this recipe, i.e., 15 and 30 second stir frying, and if you have everything out in front of you, it makes it a lot easier to follow. Well, here it is...enjoy!!

xoxo,
Emily

Kung Pao Chicken -Blog Chef
1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” pieces)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons chopped green onions (I bought the pre-cut ones in the produce section)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar(Asian section)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
Combine chicken and cornstarch in a small bowl and toss to coat. Heat sesame oil in wok (or large deep-dish skillet) over medium heat, add chicken and stir fry 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove chicken from wok.
Add green onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and ginger to the wok and stir fry for 15 seconds.
Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Mix well and add the sauce to the wok.
Return chicken to the wok and coat with sauce. Stir in roasted peanuts. Heat thoroughly. Top with additional green onions if desired and serve over white rice. (Or fried rice, in my case!)
Fried Rice
-Allrecipes.com
2 cups enriched white rice (I used brown Minute rice)
4 cups water
2/3 cup chopped baby carrots
1/2 cup frozen green peas
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
soy sauce to taste
sesame oil, to taste
Cook rice according to package directions. In a small saucepan, boil carrots in water about 3 to 5 minutes. Drop peas into boiling water, and drain. Heat wok over high heat. Pour in oil, then stir in carrots and peas; cook about 30 seconds. Crack in eggs, stirring quickly to scramble eggs with vegetables. Stir in cooked rice. Shake in soy sauce, and toss rice to coat. Drizzle with sesame oil, and toss again.

Spinach, Zucchini and Mushroom Quiche

I found this delicious recipe, and many of the others I have been trying lately, on http://www.singforyoursupperblog.com/ A GREAT blog and full of easy, filling, healthy recipes. Today, I tried a recipe for Quiche and it turned out absolutely delicious!! The recipe does call for only using 1 9inch pie crust, but I opted for 2 and added some extra vegetables.

Spinach, Zucchini and Mushroom Quiche
1 9-inch pie crust, unbaked (store-bought works just fine here!)
7 large eggs
3/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 medium zucchini, cut in half and sliced into pieces
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 small box frozen spinach, thawed and drained of all water
1 small can mushrooms (fresh would be even better)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Press the pie crust into a quiche pan or a pie plate. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the half and half; stir in the salt, black pepper, white pepper and cheese. Add in the vegetables and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared pie crust and bake for 35-55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean. It shouldn’t be too jiggly when you pull it out. Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

Moving Day!

Hi there,

My name is Leche the Guinea Pig, and Mommy wanted me to tell you all about my big move. Mommy and Daddy(mostly Mommy)were getting so tired of hearing me cry when it was time to go back in my teeny tiny pet store cage, and decided it was time to do some research! Mommy discovered that a lot of good guinea parents were building their own 2 x 4 sized cages using materials such as wire storage cubes. Mommy and Daddy did some number crunching, and headed to Lowe's last night. I missed them very much! But soon, they came home, and with some strange looking materials! An hour or so later, Mommy and Daddy had laughed a lot, yelled a little, and bled some, too! (Tyler, surprisingly.) BUT...look at the finished product!! A nice, safe cage, placed in a social room of the house, where I can get lovins from both my people and cats, alike..anytime of the day! I am so happy. Mommy and Daddy made the base for this cage using a rubber backed,indoor/outdoor mat, 2 layers of old beach towels, and a fleece blanket. Mommy says she still needs to cut the blanket to fit the cage, but I sure don't mind it the way it is! Mommy says the way she layered the bedding materials and prepared the fleece with 3 washes and 3 dries will keep my bottom dry and smelling fresh! I am soo happy. I keep jumping in the air and reaching through the cage to kiss Mommy and Daddy's hands to thank them. Oh, guess what else?! Mommy even ordered me a mini-cat bed type thingy called a Cuddle Cup to snuggle in when she's not around. Can life get any better? I think not.

xoxo,
Leche Redick

Feeling Crafty

My creative juices were flowing today..so I used Fall decorating as an outlet. I had purchased a few items at Home Goods this week (another gift card, woohoo!), so as a a reward to myself, after cleaning each individual room of the house, I allowed myself to decorate them. Here are some pictures from my decorating thus far. I also created my own wreath for the front door, which I was pretty happy with. :)

Happy 24 Years to My Love

Happy 24th Birthday, Love!

I wanted to use this opportunity to not only wish you a Happy Birthday at midnight, but also to clue you in a bit to what's in store for you. For the next 24 hours, it is all.about.you. I have prepared several surprises for you...24 of them to be exact. You will be given 24 birthday surprises between now and midnight tomorrow. I Hope you enjoy them. This is the first of them...a blog entry dedicated to the love of my life. Happy birthday, baby!!!

xoxo,
Emily

P.S...come find me for the second surprise!;)

Fallin' In Love with Autumn

Even with the hot, humid weather, a few recent changes around our house have gotten me excited for Fall, nonetheless. I used a gift card to Marshall's (thanks Mom) to purchase a brown table runner with cream, olive green, and burnt orange leaves for the foyer table. I also purchased a bouquet of faux flowers in Fall colors and placed them in a black vase on the table. To really make it feel like Fall, I purchased my FAVORITE Febreeze Plug In Autumn Spice and Warm Apple. But wait, I'm not finished! In fact, I'm just getting started. In order to make sure our first Fall in Florida is enjoyed, and...well, Fall-ish, there's more to be done. Here are some photos inspiring me right now.

Have you decorated yet?

xoxo,
Emily