Just. Breathe.

  [It's not actually that hot, but I say it in Mrs. Doubtfire's voice.] I've been visiting a new Paleo recipe site and this was one of the first recipes I tried. Given that it had snowed and not warmed up above about 45 for almost a week, I was looking for warm comfort food! This was extremely easy and very tasty. PaleOMG dot com  is the site and you really need to get out there if you're looking for recipes. The specific link to this one is http://paleomg.com/jambalaya/ . The recipe is straightforward: andouille sausage, chicken breast, onion, green pepper, cauliflower, spices, tomatoes, and chicken stock. You can also use shrimp for more authentic jambalaya, but I didn't want to clean it that night. Maybe next time. Anyway, the link gives the specific recipe, but here are a few notes from me. 1. I used a bit more (maybe 1/2 cup) chicken stock than the recipe called for. Since the exact amount of meat isn't specified (2 breasts -- is that a pound?)...

I'm back in blogging land after a little while off. Please pardon the randomness of this post. Christmas was excellent, and yes, we had snow in Texas on Christmas Day! I'm sure it wasn't the first time, but I definitely can't remember a specific time it happened. And COLD. Like 19 degrees cold. I literally sat on the couch all day and watched the traditional Christmas movies: A Christmas Story , Miracle on 34th Street , Die Hard ... We'd already watched Holiday Inn and White Christmas . I played with my new tablet (!) and completely vegged out. Perfect Christmas day. Our backyard, photo courtesy of Bug. Poor plants. Poor basketball. I did make a chicken soup that day. I've got a favorite chicken tortilla soup recipe, but I've never converted it to Paleo -- it had corn and beans in it, not to mention the tortillas, sour cream and cheese that tops it. We'd gone to a party where one of the guests brought a soup that was very close to Paleo - it onl...

I've not had the slightest idea what to write for the last several days. I've read so many postings on the tragedy of last Friday, and am not sure I can add anything at this point to the words eloquently written by others. I know that losing a child is so devastating that words seem to be completely inadequate. Knowing people care and hurt with you is precious. Honor the memories of the lost, respect the feelings of the survivors, and above all, pray for the strength for all touched by this tragedy. Maybe I'll have something to say in a few days, but for now, I'm just going to pick up with the Christmas blogging. [I just found out that peanutbutterjenny, who started this challenge, is from Newtown and lives minutes from the elementary school. She's studying to be a teacher.]  www.peanutbutterjenny.com 15. The best gift you've given . I don't know if it would be the best , but it's one I was soooo excited about it. Remember back when everything...

www.peanutbutterjenny.com/blog/ And now for our second installment of the Christmas Challenge! 10. Favorite holiday scent I am apparently a very indecisive person. Or schizophrenic. Whatever. Vanilla/sugar cookies, pumpkin, pine. It used to be cinnamon, but now I sort of get itchy if there's too much cinnamon in the air -- does that happen to anyone else? My current favorite candle is spiced apple toddy -- seriously awesome. 11. Favorite Christmas tradition I already mentioned that I love waking up on Christmas morning in my own bed. But I think my favorite tradition is Christmas Eve -- we put on It's a Wonderful Life , make apple cider, and just hang out together. One present gets opened by the kid just like it did when I was young. Often I'm cooking/baking that evening, so the house smells Christmassy. 12. Wrapping paper or gift bags It's always a combination. If I've saved wrapping (or shopping for) presents to the last minute, definitely bags. I sta...

 http://www.peanutbutterjenny.com/blog/  I just came across this and thought it might be fun. I'll have to play catch up, but it'll make me blog regularly for a little while! Here we go. 1. Your favorite Christmas movie Great, I get stuck on the first one. I think I have to go with  Holiday Inn . I have so many memories of watching this with my mom every single year. Runners up: A Christmas Story , It's a Wonderful Life , White Christmas , and Miracle on 34th Street . 2. Your 2012 Christmas wish list A new tablet and clothes for the cruise in February. 3. When/how did you learn that Santa wasn't real? I don't understand this question. Santa is real. I first learned that he gets a lot of help from parents when I was 7 and I woke up before my mom was in bed on Christmas Eve. Santa had already been there and she was still in the kitchen. That was the year I got the fabulous Barbie Dream House. 4. Favorite Christmas song Again with the "favori...

Just stuff running through my increasingly taxed brain: 1. I'm trying to find a dress/outfit for our cruise, for the formal dinner night. I do not want to go to the mall, but shopping for clothes by mail is scary. I also have those 10 pounds I really want to lose. I'm sort of between sizes, so I may just have to shop in January to get something that fits right. 2. At work, the goal setting part of annual reviews is going on right now. It somehow seems unprofessional to write "win the lottery" as a goal. 3. Christmas shopping is hard this year. No one needs anything, and most of the wants are not things I want to buy! Shop for yourself, people, and just put my name on it. 4. Speaking of Christmas, what am I supposed to do for all those people who would usually get baked goods from me? Do I just suck it up and do it anyway, knowing that it'll just make me want junk food I really shouldn't have? And for that matter, giving away stuff that really doesn...

It has been crazy busy around here, and I realized that with all the fun stuff, I took NOT A SINGLE picture! We had family visiting, lots of food, kid party, choir performance, just to name a few ... and it might as well have happened in my head since I have basically no documentation of it. Fail. When I realized this, it ticked me off so much I just decided not to write anything at all. But that's not the least bit helpful, so here's a recap. Bug's Choir performance at the Bass Hall: On the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, most of our family converged on the house in order to attend the school district's choir and theater program at the Bass Hall. For those of you not from Fort Worth, this is the Bass Hall:  Obviously I had to steal borrow this off Google - thank you, IgoUgo! I worked downtown when the Hall was being built. We've been there for concerts and plays, and it's just incredible. That my daughter got to perform on that stage is mind-blow...