Reconnection

Crazy, that describes my life as of late. I am a full-time office manager and paralegal and recently took on a second job at Dillard's department store at night and on the weekends. Needless to say, I haven't been at home, haven't seen my husband unless I am stumbling out the door to work or dragging myself in at 10 p.m., and I DEFINITELY haven't been able to do any cooking.

Today was a day I just couldn't do it. I missed my home - the cleaning, cooking and decorating.
I missed having time to spend with my Mom drinking coffee and chatting. I desperately missed my husband. So, I decided to reconnect with my life, the life I love. Shame on me, I called in. I treated myself to a much needed appointment with my hair stylist. I had a wonderful breakfast with my Mom and Aunt along with much needed chit-chat. I then wandered home, put on one of my favorite John Wayne westerns and took a Saturday afternoon nap curled up on the couch with my hubby. How wonderfully perfect! Later this afternoon I enjoyed cleaning and decorating a little and had a cup of coffee in my favorite cozy chair in my breakfast nook. Jealous?! We all need to take time and enjoy our lives - however you choose to do that, slow down, breathe, reconnect & enjoy!

Tonight I was able to make a new recipe I had been dying to try out of my new Southern Living Christmas Cookbook - Roasted New Potatoes, Onions & Fresh Green Beans, along with baked Lemon Pepper Chicken Breasts. How enjoyable! I love to cook and be in the kitchen & it makes it just that more enjoyable that my dear sweet husband of mine turned up Frank Sinatra, poured me a much desired glass of wine, lit every candle in the house and just let me cook and enjoy myself to my little heart's content! Here is my new recipe I hope y'all will enjoy trying. Take time to reconnect, remember what truly matters & ENJOY your life!



Roasted New Potatoes, Onions & Green Beans


2 medium onions, quartered
2 lbs red new potatoes, cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, cut tips off & leave whole
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl stir together olive oil, sea salt, black pepper & garlic and set aside.

Drizzle the bottom of a roasting pan with olive oil. Place potatoes and onions in roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil mixture, but reserve 1 tablespoon. Stir gently. Roast potatoes and onions at 450 degrees on the top shelf of your oven for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in green beans and drizzle with reserved tablespoon of oil mixture. Return to oven and cook for an additional 20 minutes.


Note: I added in a cup of sliced portabella mushrooms when I added the green beans & it was delicious!



Lemon Pepper Chicken


2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Sea Salt
Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Olive oil

Heavily sprinkle each side of your chicken with lemon pepper seasoning. Sprinkle each side with sea salt & drizzle each side with olive oil. Place on baking sheet & bake at 450 degrees for 35 minutes turning halfway through.

Note: I placed the chicken in the oven when I added the green beans to the potatoes & they cooked in the same amount of time.

Also, I wanted my potatoes & chicken a bit more golden without overcooking so when the cooking time was completed, I switched my oven over to broil and browned the tops for a couple of minutes. Delicious! Let me know how you like them!

It’s True What They Say…A Woman’s Work Is NEVER Done

Women…we work, we clean, we make delicious meals for our family, we fix it if it’s broken, mend broken hearts, whatever is asked of us we do. At the end of the day we throw ourselves in bed for a few hour’s rest before starting again at daybreak.

My day yesterday started off in a mad dash…I overslept by an hour! I headed into the office where I’m an office manager and paralegal frazzled, thrown together and out of breath. I spent the day managing co-workers, clients, and my boss, trying to make it through the day keeping my sanity in tact and at the same time trying to make my part of the world a little better place for everyone around. I endured rantings of an overstressed boss, a mile-radius mandatory evacuation due to an overturned semi loaded with leaking butane, and last but not least my ever raging hormones. At the end of the work day, I just couldn’t wait to get to my safe place…home. If Iwere Dorothy, I would have clicked my heals and been on my way! Finally, I arrived home, I couldn’t wait to get a cup of coffee and get cozy in my comfy old rickety wing-back chair in my breakfast nook and enjoy an afternoon read of Southern Living or Country Home. To my surprise, I walked in the door expecting a wonderful retreat and find instead a disaster area. Toys, Toys, Toys from one end of the house to the other. My darling sweet little great nephew had played with every toy he possesses and left them strewn for me to either step over & break my neck or pick up! My darling kiddos (my two rotties, Layla and Culprit) were squirrel watching in the afternoon from my bedroom window when the local dog walker strolled by with a dozen dogs taunting my sweet little innocent babies – let’s just say my blinds in my bedroom are in shreds today! If that wasn’t enough, the water company turned off the water at 8:00 a.m. for repairs that took the entire day and I had no water! I was ready to pack up and head to the hills as they say!

I decided I had to take control of the situation in order to get this day back under control. After sweet Connor’s nap, those toys were all picked up & we enjoyed an afternoon ice cream treat, and afterwards he helped me pick tomatoes and bell peppers in the garden, then it was off to play hide and seek. What a wonderful destresser! How could this wonderful, sweet little buddy not make all the horrible happenings of the day just melt away!

Thankfully, the water came back on just in time before time to prepare dinnner so all was not lost. I later decided the dog walker incident could have been a lot worse and I got over it. After all that, I was able to cozy up with a new Country Home and enjoy the rest of the evening – I just had to regain my perspective and not let myself get lost in the commotion. I was able to pull off a delicious dinner, spend quite time by myself relaxing and enjoyed the season ending episode of The Closer with my hubby and mom. I love it when a plan comes together! I ended the day making four batches of Deb’s Delectable Edibles homemade Loaded Blueberry Muffins for two lucky offices today - one as a surprise for my office staff & another as a surprise for a long-time friend and her office. I did manage to eat one and leave a couple for the fam though! Mouthwatering delicious morsels...






In the craziness of life when you are down and out or discouraged, try helping someone else or doing a kind deed – it will take the focus off of yourself and brighten your day as well as that of someone else!

Seven Things

I saw this on another's blog and thought I would adapt it...seems fitting for my first ever entry!

Seven Things I Love

1. My husband
2. My kiddos I mean puppies - Princess Layla & Mystic's Culprit. They make me laugh and exasperate me at the same time!
3. Pineapple Pie
4. A rainy day in Texas
5. A cool Tennessee Fall day - Oh how I miss them
6. Rusty Stars
7. Starbucks Raspberry Mocha Frappacino (OMG)


Seven Things I Hate

1. Dog hair (I love them, but man I hate sweeping that hair every day!)
2. Self-centered people
3. Reality TV (Enough Already!)
4. Monday mornings (I'm not through sleeping in for Heaven's sake!)
5. To be running late for work (Even though I don't always want to be there, I hate to be pressed for time - it's a bitch doing your eyes at 80 mph!)
6. The smell of baked fish
7. Summer heat (I know, I know...I do live in Texas!)

Seven Things You Might Hear Me Say

1. Culprit, Layla, Get Off of Me!
2. Get Out!
3. She sure is pretty but she ain't too smart! (Gotta love that Paula Deen!)
4. I love you more!
5. This is disgusting! (If you know me, you know my GHI shakes...hence the DISGUSTING!)
6. I need a taster! (I'm always hard at work to make healthy changes to old standby recipes.)
7. That's the end?!!!