Simply Vicki

I made the move!  I moved my blog to my own website.  Had I known this was available a few months ago, I would have done several things differently.  I am in love with my new hosting company.  One click WordPress installation?  I fought for hours on two different occasions to get it onto my previous hosting company’s space.

Today’s Taste Test Tuesday is up and running, be sure to check it out!

Simply Vicki

but I will be posting this week’s Mommy Monday a little late this week.  I made a decision today and am now trying to work it out.  You’ll like it, I promise.

My Grandfather was admitted to the hospital yesterday. I am heading to Tennessee in a few hours so I won’t be posting for the rest of the week. As long as all goes well, I will be back with the new Mommy Monday posting. I will probably have plenty of time to write at the hospital while playing the oh-so-fun waiting game.

So, the blog carnival will be postponed until next week. I will post new updates first thing next week. You can email your links for inclusion to victoria_anrnold AT yahoo DOT com.

I’m off,

For over a year now, I have simply been engaged.  Well, if you go by the number of rings on my left ring finger.  I realized the other night that another new goal I have for myself is this:

• to be able to wear my wedding band with my engagement ring

Progress report:

I am making strides in my flexibility.  I have stretched everyday this week so far and even twice on a couple.  I also walked outside for over 20 minutes Monday and Tuesday.

So, I haven’t dined at the Golden Arches in at least six months, probably more like a year.  Well, in the last 10 days, I have been there, not once, not twice, but THREE times.  Seriously.

Then I bought ice cream tonight.  Nothing simple, it is chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

I was dreaming of my cinnamon rolls last night.

I don’t just fall off the wagon, I wait until it’s on a bridge and take a flying leap.

Thank God for tomorrow.  I have a salad ready and waiting and just picked up more produce tonight.  I think I can, I think I can…

Hello, my name is Vicki and I am…

• a domain name junkie (I just added two three more tonight for a total of 14)
• a fabric junkie
• a bead junkie
• a ribbon junkie
• an information junkie

Now, for the fun. It’s your turn! Write a post on your blog about your top five addictions. What can’t you get enough of? A link here would be nice, but not required. If you do create your own post, let me know and I will create a post for those who participate on Friday. Complete with relevant text links. You know you want to.

You can also email your links directly to me at victoria_anrnold AT yahoo DOT com.

Today’s taste test is from The Sugar Solution Cookbook. I did not read The Sugar Solution, but I do know that your blood sugar is a big deal. I see it in my kids, mostly my son. When his blood sugar runs low, tantrums run high.

Overall, the book does a great job giving background information for those who haven’t read The Sugar Solution. I also appreciated the success stories, as I love being inspired by other people making changes.

So, what recipe did I try?

Very Classy Black Bean Soup, page 146. I am not 100% clear on the copyright legalities of posting the recipe, so I will err on the side of caution and not post any amounts.

The recipe uses beans, onions, jalapeno or serrano pepper along with the basic water, salt and pepper. The garnish for the soup is chopped hard boiled eggs and sweet onion.

The flavor was good, the texture took some getting used to. I think I added too much water, as mine wasn’t as thick as the recipe seems to elude it should be. Overall, I think I will try it again, but with a couple changes.

• less water
• chopping the onion a little coarser
• more garlic (I am a garlic nut)
• no jalapeno seeds at all (I only included a couple chopped, but it was a little much for the kids still)

I am going to try out some of the other recipes and also possibly following the meal plan for a while. The only issue I take with the plan is the use of artificial sweetners. I guess I am going to have to learn to love stevia.

Since I missed the Friday Funnies and I’m still working on my next thoughtful post, I thought I would share a funny moment with my youngest.

Hubby was on the phone last week. He was back in our bedroom. Meanwhile, Little Miss M is in the kitchen with me. She opens one of her favorite cabinets and grabs the cheese grater out. Since it is very adult-like to walk around with a cheese grater, she puffs her chest out and swings it casually at her side. As I am rinsing my hands, she meanders into the hall. Since I am about six feet behind her, I walk into the bedroom just in time to see and hear this: “Excuse me, my daughter just hit me in the leg with a cheese grater.” And The Divine Miss M saunters on out of the room.

I found a blog called Digging For Pearls. She is running a contest for a book and it looked like a good fit with what I’ve got going on. I am supposed to write a post on the 10 struggles I face as a Christian woman. It may be hard, but if she only wants 10, I guess I can narrow it down.

I decided to do this because I think I need another challenge in my life. Ha! No, really. I think it will be helpful for me to have a hard copy of the things I consider important enough to “struggle” with in my life. Maybe it will be easier for me to focus on the important things and I am ALL about things that make life easier.

In no particular order, here are my top 10 struggles:

• daily prayer time/Bible study
• loving others the way God wants me to love others
• laundry
• raising respectable children
• creating/actively pursuing an intimate relationship with my husband
• treating my body as a temple of God (exercise, healthy eating, the whole gamut)
• time management
• patience with my children
• worrying about things instead of turning them over to God right away
• responding to the still small voice of guidance in my spirit

For our second Taste Test Tuesday, I decided to share another one of my recipes. I recently shared it on the Quick and Simple blog and thought you all might like to try it, too.

• 16 box of farfalle/bowtie pasta
• 16 oz bag of frozen broccoli or fresh equivalent, chopped
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta according to package. Steam broccoli and garlic cloves until tender. Drain both and toss together with the parmesan. Serve as is or with crushed red pepper flakes for some heat.

This started as a recipe from Rachael Ray, but I altered it to remove some of the fat and calories. Oh, and so my kids would eat it.

Let me know what you think!