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Man -o- man

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:16:30 GMT

Well we took a little surprise camping trip to New Mexico, sorry to keep you hanging!

Any-hoo, I did get the hair cut, even tried for #1, but now with my hair being so darn curly you can't tell most of the time I even have bangs. Grrrr...but here's a pic of a time I actually straightened them! Well so it didn't turn out quite the way I wanted to. I'm about ready to cut it all off!

As for the play room I went with the wonderful idea of the laundry baskets! I don't remember who came up with it but THANKS! Although, like my hair, it doesn't always work out. Some how the baskets end up in the living room instead of the play room and instead of toys a baby is in them. Oh well...they make grand toys.

I went to my sisters wedding party in Florida for a weekend, it was the first time I spent the night away from the baby. It was also the first time HIM had the kids to himself for that long. By day 2 he called me and asked if I could come home early...lol...he didn't know what he was getting into!

I loved NM, especially the Pueblos and adobe homes. Here's a picture I took of the Taos Pueblo. 100 people still live there, they have no electricity or running water, WOW! The people of NM were so open and nice, I just loved them! I would've loved to go during a ceremony/dance/celebration. If you're nearby that link can show you their event calendar.

So for right now I'm gearing up for my big summer road trip! First stop New Orleans!!!! I'll be leaving around June 15th-ish. I'll be putting camping stuff away for the rest of the day...sigh.

love,

Mercy

My husband stopped on the way back to camp with coffee to take this pic, funny all the other falling rock signs we saw in New Mexico did not sport a cow?

Help me with this stuff!

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:16:40 GMT

#1 My Toy Room/Sun Room/Office. I have to admit I usually, like I am now, using my laptop on the sofa. But we do have a desk top that my daughter uses and we use when the other person is on the laptop. Any how check this room out it's a mess:

You can see here who the main problem is. Funny thing is he'd rather play with all our paperwork, see all the boxes open???

Nice eh? I'm also worried that if I put everything in bins that he'll never play with it again. There was also a Christmas and a birthday and a over zealous toy buying mom-in-law since then.

Here's the room pre-baby-walking:

#2 My hair:

This is me this morning, yeah I look good...no make-up...no coffee...just woke up....oh hush.

These are the haircuts, I must mention my husband likes my hair long he says it looks healthy. But I'm kind of sick of it and need a change. So I'm thinking bangs. My hair is naturally curly. I also have a formal dining out on Saturday. My haircut is scheduled on Friday. (Please note I'm getting skinnier, lol, I've lost 1 1/2 inches around my natural waist 2 inches of boobs, I'm not to happy about that, and nothing off the hips yet.) The cuts are similar but I'm not doing color so don't look at that aspect. I'm not gray yet and don't intend on coloring until then!!! So please pick the haircut you like the best for my face shape. I tried finding similar face shapes and hair I liked:

#1 #2 #3

Oh yeah RAVEN tagged me with 6 unremarkable facts about me:

1. I read a lot, I usually have 2-3 books going at the same time. I pick the one I read depending on the mood I'm in.

2. My new habit is library cook books. I'm sick of cooking things I know. Right now I have Cooks Illustrated 30 minute cook book, after cooking about 3 meals it's pretty good so far.

3. I tossed all of the BABYs bottles a few days ago because of the KM BPA scare. I feel jinxed if I don't do things when it comes to health and the such that I hear about. If I don't make the change right away it niggles at me. Jinxed, yeah I know how dorky. The BABY seems unconcerned about having only sippy cups now, that was easy.

4. I like the idea of going to parties. Being in the Air Force my husband and I get invited to heaps of parties. In this last year I've been invited to more parties than in the whole rest of my life. At least parties with actual dates, when I lived in New Orleans it was a given that there would be a "party" every day. Notice I said "like the idea of going to parties". When I was in my 20's I liked nothing better than to go to a party....now it seems I like preparing but then when I get there I'm so darn bored! I miss my best friend, maybe it's just the people and not really feeling comfortable. I mean I'm always afraid that I'll blurt out something about politics or religion. LOL!

5. I'm excited about my road trip this summer.

6. I'm trying to run for the first time in my life. I'm only up to 4 minutes! LOL, pretty funny seeing this in type, a tiny 4 minutes. I'm adding a minute each day. I have crappy ankles but I've now noticed that ALL the skinny people @ the gym run. So...I'm running.

Well I must get ready for church, my homeless families come today. Wish me luck!

Mercy

The rest of the story.

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:31:46 GMT

California Great Adventure was on the schedule for the next day and we liked it, fewer people=shorter lines. The GIRL freaked out on California Screamin roller coaster shown here behind us. In her defense it did go in a loop upside down. Little baby LOVED the carousel and we let him go on it around 5 times. We tried taking pictures of him while it was moving but he'd be half in and half out of the short...head thrown back in pure glee! (In this pic it was stopped and I was right by the head of the sea lion just out of the shot. Little note for all you "omg" moms.)

The next day was BY FAR the best day we had on our trip. Seriously, I can only take so much cheery music and horribly long lines. I think what bothered me the most about Disneyland was that it seemed like there was a 5 store to one ride ratio. If I ever go to any Disney again it will be during school time and for only about 2-3 days. I researched and researched the CA. area beaches and came up with Little Corona Del Mar...we rented a car...and headed out. Just look at this place. Part sandy beach the other part tide pools that were very interesting for the GIRL to scrounge around. Little crabs and anemones, a science lesson for the day...just gordatious. Here's the little BABY...after playing in the sand for a few hours he just gave out. We call this pic, "Little BABY Beach Burrito."

We had one more day @ Disney. We woke up late and went to the hotel pool. We didn't get to Disney until around 12. The GIRL and I rode the teacups. Later that night we went to the fire works and rode the train around the whole place. It was a low key day. That night we packed up to get ready for the airport the next morning.

I loved the beach, I'd forgotten how much I'd missed it.

Mercy

PS Next blog will enlist your help for something in my house! Ohhhh and Rose, thanks heaps for the recommendation of the camera awhile back, it takes FAB shots!!! AND the price, WOOOHOOOO!

This is my favorite picture from the whole darn trip.

Our trip continued...

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:01:50 GMT

The morning of day two the kids were sitting by the door of the hotel WAY before HIM and I were ready. It's just amazing how kids can get up at the butt crack of dawn so easily when there's something they want to do. The GIRL would never get up this freaking early on a regular day, NEVER. Notice the T-shirts, shorts and the sandals on the BABY. Did I mention the weather was wonderful? (Today the forecast is for snow here. It's APRIL 16th for goodness sakes!!!???) This day was HIMs birthday! Can't you tell how excited he was for Disneyland?

We walked across the street and hit the park. The first thing we did was get HIM a birthday button from Disneyland City Hall. This was funny to me because HIM is totally not the type to do this. All day we enjoyed his sheepish face when the Disney workers wished him a happy birthday. He was a good sport and wore it all day.

We discovered that the BABY did NOT like Goofy at all. I could hear his little telepathic voice, "OH MY GAWD it's it's a huge deformed dog...HELP MOM MOM!!!" (He calls me Mom-mom isn't that to cute?) This is the only picture we have of one of the characters. After this reaction we didn't try to torture little BABY any more.

Here are the kids in a line for a ride. (KM please note the awesome red velcro sunglasses that our babies have in common.) There were a lot of long lines, the BABY would get tired of the stroller and we would pass him around like a bottle of sangria on the beach, except when you hogged him no one would complain.

This is a picture of the GIRL after a melt down, just moments before she was throwing a teary fit not to take a pic of her with these mouse ears. Threats of going back to the hotel also went before this pic. There were all these little girls in the park wearing princess dresses and mouse ears, but not the GIRL. She would snort in disdain every time one of those "princesses" strolled by. She's a self-proclaimed tomboy, I like that about her. The pic was a must though.

That night we watched the fire works with a huge crowed of people. For me it was the best part of the whole day. On our way out of the park a Disneyland photographer snapped this pic for us. Boy where we tired. We still had four more days... FOUR. MORE. DAYS. That night in the hotel after the kids went to sleep we debated on leaving early, I mean anyhow the GIRL doesn't even know how long we're staying. Our feet were killing us and Disneyline was looming just across the street in the dark, waiting, watching and playing that horrible cheery music into the night.

Mercy

The GIRLS Easter Surprise.

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:28:55 GMT

GIRL: It was Easter morning, why did my parents wake me up at the butt crack of dawn? Ah well the Easter Bunny should've came...guess I'll go and see...

Ah a chocolate bunny go figure...-----------> and my brother is awake to...sigh...I'll give mom a token smile...gosh I'm tired. I'm going to eat this bunny and go back to bed.

<-----------Um...what's this? Um...thanks mom a map of Disneyland. Huh what's this for?

MOM: HELLO WE"RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND, GET DRESSED!!!!! She still didn't get it, really I mean look at that face. Then the light came on....what Disneyland? Oh my gosh! ---------------------->

We had to get going it was 5:30am. So we drive about 1 1/2 hour to Denver pulled up to the drive up baggage check-in. In my own defense I booked a lot of stuff for this trip, transport to and from LAX airport to the hotel, the hotel, the park, plus all the darn researching....we get the bags out and we've there about 2 1/2 hours early because I'm always antsy until I get to the Gate...these are the words you DO NOT want to hear when your daughter is so freaking excited the only thing she's basically said all morning was, " HOLY COW!" over and over again: "Sorry Ma'am but your flight is not at 9:30am it's at 9:30pm." OH MY GOD.

Good news they fixed it AND fixed it for free AND we got on an 8:30am flight....good thing we were early. Running to the Gate with the BABY in his huge jogging stroller on a decline the whole darn stroller flipped backwards. People came running to help me, I was so embarrassed...but then HIM was parking the car and I had the kids the baby bag and the laptop it was all just to heavy for the back of the stroller! The BABY thought the flip was the BEST! Finally HIM came and met us @ the Gate...I changed a last minute yucky diaper and we got on the plane! The GIRL is a little more awake now.

LAX airport was really nice, we got our bags hitched a ride on the shuttle to the hotel and checked in. Got all the gear out and hit the pavement to walk to Disneyland....gone were the downed coats, hello T-shirts...hello sun AND just look at the palm trees!

Finally....Disneyland. We spent a half day there on Easter. There's more to tell about this trip, but that's it for today...I've got to workout, go to baby lap sit and do laundry today. You didn't think I'd give up the whole story in one swoop did you?

Hope you had a great spring break to,

Mercy

I have a confession to make. (Lot's of "beeeeps" "unbeeeped".)

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:03:02 GMT

I'm addicted to Deadwood. Since my husband has been gone out of town for work more than normal I've been watching more TV. I was sick of commercials and so much CRAP that I decided to rent some stuff. Many of the places I went to didn't have the beginning of the shows I had decided on. Then I found Deadwood, besides my best friend just loved the show.

Best points of Deadwood:

1. I've learned new curse words. Yes, I may sound like Calamity Jane and at an age over 30 I did not expect to learn some new curses...but shoot fire and tarnation I like it. My favorite new curse word from this show is "Cocksucker" the R on the end must be heard as it is not cocksuka...also it's not always used as an insult you can use it in place of "friend" if you want to. "I called my best friend and said..."Hey Cocksucker..."she laughed and said, "So how's Deadwood?"...LOL!

2. You can remember old curse words. "Fuck" is every third word. At first I was a little perturbed about all the cursing...but then it grew on me. It makes me think of the casino I worked at...boy did we curse...there's something liberating about cursing, I don't remember where but there was a show once and it was a woman making other women say vagina...oopsy off the subject. I have to watch it not to stand up in church Sunday and do my homeless speech and let a cocksucker slip out..."Hey all you fuckin lucky sons-a-bitches quit being such cocksuckers and volunteer!"

3. I love how the next episode begins exactly where the last one leaves off. It's like a book.

4. It's crude and rude...but it's like an onion...each layer that peels off from another episode reveals a sweeter center. Characters get kinder...plots thicken...JUICY!

5. The sex is sometimes funny. It is the old west and in this show brothels are a main focus. One of the characters does his best thinking while getting a blow job, and he talks out loud about what he's thinking while it's going on. Another guy comes into the brothel and walks down the hall...the next thing you know he comes out wiping his mouth and the girls all come out with their shirts undone and their boobs wet...he just wants to lick boobies to start off his morning....just quirky.

6. They've integrated real people from history. I've always been a sucker for a historical novel. The DVD's have all those bonus features and tell you about these people from the real town little facts...really neat. (The other Boyln Girl is coming out...I read that book a year or two ago!!! Can't wait to see it.)

7. The set is awesome...the cinematography is so good...very visually stimulating.

So...if I don't blog..mind your own cocksucking business pardner! Any hoo I've got me a stagecoach to catch this mornin!

Mercy

ps. My Husband is out of town and has bought my parents tickets to come visit, they're getting here tomorrow, YAY!!!! I've warned my mother of my new obsession, the other day she said as she was hanging up..."Go watch your cocksucking show!" I almost fell off my sofa laughing...she's soooooooooooooooooo not the type to curse like that.

Goodbye ruby Tuesday...

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:15:19 GMT

Last week was ALL about rest and recoup. The GIRL had a book report with a visual, she's finished! Thank goodness! She had to handwrite 5 pages and it was like pulling teeth! Oh and she lost a tooth!

Our next rotation with the homeless families hits Easter Sunday. Do you think it would be alright to do Easter baskets for the kids? I will ask the parents if it's alright of course. Just some people are so diehard against holidays now. The GIRL has a kid in her class that leaves or does not come for any of the class parties. I always feel bad for him. When I was a kid there was a girl on my street named Adena that didn't do Holidays so I guess it's been around for awhile but I still think it's crappy. The last school the GIRL went to didn't even call most of the parties what they were, like Halloween was Fall Festival.

What else? My vote is for Obama. Remember way back when I was in Chicago running the public aid children's Dr's office? Well Once upon a time I had no money from the state of Illinois and they owed my office around $30,000. I was out of supplies and had borrowed money to pay the doctors, assistants, and office staff. I was at the end. I started writing and calling everyone in the state for the money. Obama's office was the only one that came through, I had the money with in a week. It may have been a secretary...who knows...but he has my vote.

There is a new group on base that I've joined. Due to the nature of most of our husbands jobs they can be out of town a lot. So this group has gotten together and plans all sorts of functions. Valentines Day HIM was out of town and the GIRL the BABY and I went to one. There was a nice dinner for the kids...and they had a great time playing when the moms had dinner and conversation. They even arrange for people to come over and shovel snow, mow lawns, etc...when spouses are out of town. What a great idea to bad every community doesn't have one of these groups.

The BABY is starting to stand up and push walking toys. I'm not sure if I'm ready for him to be more mobile than he is! He gets into everything. I couldn't believe it when my mom-in-law told me that HIM walked @ 8months. I think 13 months is better, so ok kid go for it. His new habit, carrying things in his mouth like our puppy, like this Elmo shoe.

We went to the movie Spiderwick Chronicles yesterday, it was ok for a kid movie. I especially liked the ending part when the credits were rolling, great effects. We also rented the movie Kingdom over the long weekend, it was pretty good.

That's it on this end,

Mercy

What a week!

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:15:53 GMT

AND it's not over yet? I know that when you do something new the first time it's supposed to be the worst. Well in the case of my coordinating for the homeless families this week this rule has been totally true. Seriously.

THE BAD:

1. The trailer with the beds and things did not show up on Sunday @ 1 at our church, so I lost the volunteers to help set-up the beds. One of the parents is working a graveyard shift and had to sleep on a love seat. The trailer showed up after 5pm, so I was @ the church from 10:15am till about 5:45pm.

2. Still Sunday here- I went to get groceries for the families on um...SUPER BOWL SUNDAY...jeeeeeeeeeeeeeez how stupid was that?!?!?! The line was like 3blocks long.

2. The BABY had a 103 fever the night before, all night, and then kept that fever until Monday night. Sleep was not an option all THREE days. He's fine now.

3. The volunteer for Monday night dinner is a REALLY nice old lady, I agreed to pick-up dinner from her and deliver it to the families and stay with them until the evening host showed up. Well she did not make enough food...thank goodness I had things to add to it in the pantries!

4. Tuesday was my night to cook dinner and I made fried catfish, this is what the families picked. I was amazed that they'd been in the program for almost 30days and I was the first person to ask them what they wanted for dinner. The next morning one of the moms was very sick. (Her husband was wondering if she had an allergic reaction to the fish. Sigh.) She seemed better last night.

5. Last night we got yet another family, 4 kids and a mom. Set-up for them went alright but was more work. Let me just say the children are a little...um....difficult...with statements like, "Um....excuse me there are no VIDEO GAMES?!?!" So now I have 12 people. WOW!

6. The churches service auction is this Saturday and may cause the families to move early, this will mean that we will set up and tear down 3 times this weekend....ARGGGGGGG!!!!!!

THE GOOD:

1. The GIRL went in half with me on Valentine presents for the kids...the kids were REALLY happy about them. Their little voices with so much excitement and gladness will stay with me until the next rotation.

2. I'm good at this, the program will be better soon.

3. People stepped up to volunteer and so far I've only done about 14hours this week.

4. I played a Pokemon version of Monopoly on Monday with one of the kids and made his day.

5. I'm making a difference.

Mercy

Wow now they're leaving phone numbers!

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:31:59 GMT

I'm just so gosh darn excited! I thought I'd share:

JAN28/08

HEY WHAT 'SUP?

I SEE UR BEAUTIFUL BODY AND SWEET HEART THINK OF DREAM OF LOVE WITH UR COME TO HELP MY DREAM OF UR HONEY MOON AND I LOVE UR SO MUCH I WITH WHOLE ENTRL LIFE THAT I'M THINK ABOUT U.BUT I DON'T WHERE TO GET UR FOR ME

sam_4high@hotmail.com, I'M IN CANADA ,SASKATOON,SK 1-306-979-8335

Shallow...? Important? Ideas? Tell me!

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:52:30 GMT

As some of you may know I've taken on this coordinating position in this program for homeless families. One of the things I really need are air mattresses. I've learned that the local stores have donation forms, so it looks like I'll be pounding the streets to fill out some forms. Right now the network uses cots. They come in a big trailer and they don't look very nice. Our linens are great at the Church but the cots...ack! Not only are they icky but we have to carry them up and down stairs to set up for the week we have the families in the Church. I know this part isn't shallow but stay tuned.

I'm also trying to think of things to make the Church more "homier". All the families have children. What do you think about bringing your own children to play with the homeless kids? Some of these families have been on drugs. I would check out the families before bringing her along if possible. I talked to the GIRL about it and she's up for it, I thought board games would be fun. Also I was thinking on using the gym as a sort of backyard. I could drag all the balls out and the kids could play there as well. The toys we have look pretty sad so I'll be asking for donations from the congregation for those as well. Looks like I'll be hitting the thrift stores also if the Church gives us more on our budget. We need newer highchairs, pack and plays, car seats...

Anyone have any ideas on any of this stuff? I am still really excited about this program...but there are a lot of things that need "a woman's touch". (Or a parents touch.) It seems as if they just kind of did the whole thing by a shoe string and really just did the necessities and that makes me melancholic. Maybe they had nicer stuff and it just kind of wore down over time and no-one did anything about it. Who knows perhaps there will not be very much money to work with. The children seem so darn sad. I met a family in the program last week and hopefully they'll be in their own place by the time my rotation comes up.

Mercy

Holidays and Post-Holidays

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:46:06 GMT

1. Mega-flu that put my husband in the hospital. The shit hit the fan...almost literally. I think I cleaned poop & puke for 2 weeks. Thank goodness no one else had it as bad as HIM, but we all had it.

2. The drive to the in-laws was long. I enjoyed talking to my husband more than usual.

3. Show down @ the hoe down @ the in-laws. We got to see two movies with no children! "I Am Legend", we liked it and thought it had great effects and "Sweeney Todd", I did not know it was a musical but got used to it after awhile...so-so. Mom-in- law was stressed out and kind of lost it...I don't think we'll be going back next Christmas.

4. Kids loved the presents! I had to put the baby's toys in the downstairs sunroom because they had taken over my living room. The GIRL got various Webkinz and a battery pocket bike. She has not gotten to ride the bike yet due to the snow.

5. We had dinner @ a friends for New Years Eve and I made the MOST awesome Tortilla soup in the world thanks to my new Cooks Illustrated online subscription. I'll jot down the recipe down @ the end! The dinner was really fun for the kids but you know when you have a girlfriend and you really have the kids in common? But then you add husbands and *poof* everything in common just vanishes? That's what kind of happened. Some men just haven't grown up and continue drinking a lot and acting really silly and off kilter...that's her husband and his friends. My husband is not a match for that life style since college. Oh well lesson learned through extreme discomfort!

6. We watched a couple of movies at home. "10 Questions For The Dali Lama" was good, but I was disappointed the guy did not ask any really spiritual questions to the smiling Lama. He was stuck on political things...I was VERY angry about China and America's relationship with them after what they did/are doing to Tibet that night...I just didn't know crap about the situation except for bumper stickers really. "Pirates of the Caribbean 3: Curse of the Black Pearl" was horrible and I could not get all the way through it AND to think its a freaking 3 hour movie!!!! "Eastern Promises" was AWESOME, I loved it, you must rent it.

7. I went to yoga last night for the first time in a long while and my body is saying, "WAAAAAAaaaa!" Man my posture must have been really bad over the holidays because I feel 5inches taller this morning and I actually have boobs! This was a new class for me and the lady was a little disorganized over all but the meditation @ the end was REALLY good and hey, I have boobs today who could complain?

8. I took on a new project for the New Year. I'll be co-coordinator of a program for the church I've been going to. This program houses and helps homeless families get on their feet by a one week rotation through some of the churches in town. Last Sundays plea was that if they did not have a volunteer they would be ending the program. To be honest when I learned about the program it's one of the main things that attracted me and kept me coming to this church. So...I'll be organizing transportation, meals, hosts, etc... Mainly I'll be working on my compassion.

Happy New Year!

Mercy

P.S. The Ingredients are long, but it's done with in an hour. Here's the soup:

INGREDIENTS

Tortilla Strips

8 corn tortillas (6-inch), cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Table salt

Soup

2 split bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds) or 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1 1/4 pounds), skin removed and well trimmed of excess fat
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 very large white onion (about 1 pound), trimmed of root end, quartered, and peeled
4 medium cloves garlic , peeled
2 sprigs epazote , fresh, or 8 to 10 sprigs fresh cilantro plus 1 sprig fresh oregano
Table salt
2 medium tomatoes , cored and quartered
1/2 medium jalapeño chile
1 chipotle chile en adobo , plus up to 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Garnishes

1 lime , cut into wedges
1 Hass avocado , diced fine
8 ounces cotija cheese , crumbled, or Monterey Jack cheese, diced fine
fresh cilantro leaves
minced jalapeno pepper
Mexican crema or sour cream

1. FOR THE TORTILLA STRIPS: Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 425 degrees. Spread tortilla strips on rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with oil and toss until evenly coated. Bake until strips are deep golden brown and crisped, about 14 minutes, rotating pan and shaking strips (to redistribute) halfway through baking time. Season strips lightly with salt; transfer to plate lined with several layers paper towels.

2. FOR THE SOUP: While tortilla strips bake, bring chicken, broth, 2 onion quarters, 2 garlic cloves, epazote, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil over medium-high heat in large saucepan; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken is just cooked through, about 20 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to large plate. Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer; discard solids in strainer. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces; discard bones.

3. Puree tomatoes, 2 remaining onion quarters, 2 remaining garlic cloves, jalapeño, chipotle chile, and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce in food processor until smooth. Heat oil in Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering; add tomato/onion puree and 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture has darkened in color, about 10 minutes. Stir strained broth into tomato mixture, bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer to blend flavors, about 15 minutes. Taste soup; if desired, add up to 2 teaspoons additional adobo sauce. Add shredded chicken and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. To serve, place portions of tortilla strips in bottom of individual bowls and ladle soup into bowls; pass garnishes separately.

Per Serving:
Cal 250; Fat 7 g; Sat fat 1 g; Chol 45 mg; Carb 26 g; Protein 21 g; Fiber 4 g; Sodium 460 mg

Merry Christmas

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 15:52:39 GMT

We're off to my in-laws...oh the agonizing Christmas ritual of the 15 hour holiday drive!

Have a wonderful Christmas.

May you have health, wealth and happiness in the New Year!

Mercy

I love it when they leave their email!

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:08:59 GMT

HEY SEXY EMAIL ME AT CERBERUS356@HOTMAIL.COM(U BABIE I LOVE U AND YOUR SEXY)

Everyone please email this person. Lets spam him up!!!! I am very surprised at the weirdo's coming out for Christmas...so my present to all of you from now on will be that each time I get one of these messages I will give you their nickname or email address so that you may have your own personal weirdo!!!

Merry Christmas!

Mercy

Crazy 8's

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:54:04 GMT

I typically do not do these things...but since Rose tagged me, and I like her a lot, I'll do it.

Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
At the end of your blog you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1) Caffeine... I drink one large cup of Red Rose tea almost every morning with cream and sugar. I'm drinking one now as a matter of record. Almost my whole family is addicted to this tea. (Find it here.) I do like Starbucks on occasion. I have people send me Community Coffee with chicory when my stock pile drops, this is something left over from living in New Orleans for so long. (That is a link to actually buy the coffee online! YUM YUM oh la la!)

2) I've been teaching the BABY to play by himself every day...as I did both of my other children. I love that my daughter gets up, gets herself dressed, makes her own breakfast, does her own hair...etc...

3) I do not have enough patience. I try, I really do, but I just don't have enough. (Look to #2 I can't stand those really needy/whiny children and think it's mostly the parents who create these un-self-reliant kids.)

4) I love to read and I love things about different cultures. This week I'm reading an author named Lisa See. I do at times glom on to one author and devour all of their books in a couple of weeks. I'm so sad about how the Chinese women would have their feet bound, I had no clue about the process, my heart aches for those generations of little girls. Check my book area over there to see the ones I'm reading------------------------------------------>

5) I am sympathetic almost/sometimes to a physical point. Some movies I can not even watch. Like Apocalypto, 20 minutes in I just could not watch any more of it! The foot binding is hard to read about without getting a slight discomfort in my tummy.

6) I am really realLY REALLY good in crisis but....afterwards I can be a total basket case. By the end though it's ok to be a mess, the important time is during the crisis....and man I can handle pretty much anything. Once at a dental office I worked @ in Illinois a man had a heart attack. I was total business. Got my boss the shockers and the breathing bag, took his pulse, called 911, helped my boss revive him, and when I heard the sirens propped the closest outside door open went calmly into the parking lot, waved the ambulance down and brought them in. Afterwards I was just not well.

7) My emotions during stressful/sad times can be totally inappropriate. One time I was at a funeral for a co-worker named Ken. I went with a couple of people...one of the guys in my group went up to view Ken and came back to sit with us. I want to verify at this time, before I tell you more details, that I was really sad about this death...but then let me reiterate: my emotions at stressful times CAN be inappropriate. O.K. you are warned, back to the story. I asked how he looked. This was the wrong thing to ask. My friend said, "He is dead what do you expect?" I started giggling...I giggled through the whole service...in New Orleans a service is not a small quick affair...it was at least a couple of hours. Did I tell you I giggled through the WHOLE service? People kept coming up to me and hugging me...they thought I was crying...I did have tears in my eyes. I was sad...thank goodness people didn't figure out that I was giggling.

8) I have inner peace.

I'm not tagging anyone. If you feel like doing "the crazy 8's" do it...and let me know you did it by leaving me a comment so I can come and read it!

Mercy

One More thing: If anyone knows of a really good digicam for under $200 let me know...my old one is going ka-ploof and the GIRLS bday party is this Saturday!!!

This and that.

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:00:15 GMT

Backtracking:

I really like this base, Halloween was AWESOME! There was a small carnival, trick-or-treating in the Medical Group, a spaghetti dinner, and heaps of candy from my neighborhood. There were tons of kids all over the place. The military is really geared towards families and it sure does show for this holiday. Of course the BABY and the GIRL were adorable!

A few days ago:

Look what I found in my yard! Yes, you guessed it a REAL tumbleweed. This was one of the biggest I've seen so far, how cool is that? Some times you're driving and poof everyone in the car yells "TUMBLEWEEEEEED!!!!" Just a rolling along crossing a major highway. I still can't get over it. I thought you could tell how big it was better by the car tire. My neighbors may have seen me lugging this thing around my yard..."Those big city girls are weird, check her out picking up the tumbleweed." Yep we're REALLY out west.

The house:

Finally unpacked and messy every other day. I guess I never showed you a picture of it so here it is.---------------------------------->

<-----------This the main hub of the house, typically there are various items thrown onto the table from everyone's pockets. Also there's usually a huge gumbo pot of something on the stove. It's one of my favorite rooms in the house. I thought for awhile that the curtains were a little "froo froo" but then the way the sun caught the little hangy crystals won me over.

This is the lower level sunroom and part of the dog. The upper one I'm using as a yoga/exercise room. I'm planning on doing lots of reading in the winter in here.---->

<-------------------From the other direction. This room is full of windows and faces East.

My plants like it a lot. I brought these in from my porch. Hehehehe my dog just loves pictures I'm trying to shoo her and she still got her tail in the pic!-->

<-------------The GIRL's pink & red room.

The dining room that has not been used to eat @ yet. Ignore the plastic on the chairs. There's also a big china cabinet on the wall to the left. This table makes for GREAT board games!-->

<--------Cozy-schmozie living room. AND the fireplace is gas and just lights with a turn of a key thingy!!!!! How cool is that?!?!? I bought the rug on Overstock.com, I kind of freaked on buying something I could not feel online, but I love the rug and the price was right.

One day I'll blog about how to clean wood floors, ARG! The whole darn house except the kitchen is wood. It's finally starting to feel like home around here, especially with the GIRL inviting about 50kids to her birthday party, yes I said 50. When she told me I was like, "What the hell?" She's fitting right in, in fact I think she is thriving on the new element of change in her life.

This morning:

Lookie! It's winter! All of a sudden. These pics are from the front and back of the house this morning, sorry about the door and the pole in the way, lol, it was FREEZING! Mother nature was hard at work over night. Maybe we'll use the fireplace tonight! Chicken soup is calling me to be made...brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr it's cold.....hot cocoa...hot bread...maybe a good book?

Life is good.

Mercy

Unexpected.

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:12:40 GMT

This past week Id been missing Chicagoland and my friends. Especially my best friend. Her daughter had a baby last week, I remember this girl as a teenager living with me and DeeDee when we were roommates in New Orleans. I bought her her first outfit for her first date. Now she has a little baby all her own. That I haven't seen yet. If I was still in Chicago I would have seen him the day he was born, AND spent time with my best friend with her first grandchild.

But then....I woke up this morning and look what was in my yard:

I can assure you this would not happen in Chicago. I'm happy here in Cheyenne...I've made new friends that are great....and I have antelope in my yard!

Mercy

I double dawgg dare you...

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:39:52 GMT

The winter is coming...and with winter of course comes Holidays. No, I'm not an anti-holiday person BUT I am a anti-fatty-person and the holidays take a toll on my midsection. OK I admit I'm not in great shape already as far as my midsection goes, blame it on the baby, Halloween candy, vacation, visitors, etc...AND the holidays WILL in fact make it WORSE!!!!

So as of yesterday, yes I have a jump start on you, I will be doing the elliptical for 35- ?? minutes a day. (??= as long as I can hang after 35 minutes, typically to the end of the TV program I'm watching.) I have also bought a DVD. 10 Minute Solution, which I did for the first time today for 20minutes. There are 5 -10 minute different "ab" workouts on the cd and I'm going to go for two per day. I also found this learn how to run "from sofa to 5k" thing if anyone is interested...my ankles just don't like running . (Sofa to 5k= HERE!!)

I'm thinking on taking pics periodically and then putting them side by side....

Not to mention HIM is on an oreo kick that kills me, last night I ate five...and of course he counted them and said, "HONEY!!! I only had one and you ate FIVE!!!!" ARG!!!!

So...you've been "double dawgg dared"...are you up for it?

Mercy

I keep telling the BOY....

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:13:39 GMT

girls are evil...even my nickname is Evil Kitty, his own mother! I finally put it into some sort of form that his visual learning style may understand:

See kid? Save your money!

love,

Mom

The weekend, and Estes Park!!!!

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:23:09 GMT

A soccer game came first and it was picture day. Cute and so sporty!!!!

Friday night the GIRL also had her first Brownie function called the princess ball...I went this time since HIM took her to the Father Daughter Ball a few months back. I guess it was my turn. It was two hours long so I survived by drinking lots of high sugar punch from this little punch fountain and eating the gum drops off of the cake on our table, while the GIRL did her style of dancing which was mainly jumping up and down. If you notice in this pic they <-------are all doing the "Marcarena" , the GIRL is in gold and of course facing the wrong way. She also lost a tooth last week as you can see in this pic -----------------> She was very excited about the $2.30 cents the tooth fairy gave her.

Saturday we headed out to Estes Park for the first time. I was really excited and it was only 2 hours away. After driving for an hour and then through curvy curvers around mountains for about 45minutes and getting pretty darn car sick...there was Estes. Two minutes in there were elk, I could not believe it! I was pleading with HIM..."Turn around!!!! Turn around!!! There were ELK back there!!! Did ya see them?!?!?!?!" Right on the main drag, how cool. If you look in the the pic you can also see the snow capped mountains...in some spots we felt we were in the clouds. We had dinner at "Hunters Chop House". HIM had ribs with apricot BBQ sauce...sounds a little fancy schmancy but they rocked! We checked into the Comfort Inn and then started out on our next adventure...

We drove about 15 minutes out of town up winding mountain top roads to get to Aspen Lodge. When we arrived people getting off of a wagon started yelling at us...."Don't goooo! Don't do it!!!!" Of course our interest was peaked and we went in to buy our tickets. We were the last ones on the wagon pulled by draft horses and the GIRL wanted to be in the end seat...she was crazy!!!! It was VERY dark by now...just perfect for a haunted forest wagon ride. Ghouls jumped out from every where, freaky little dressed up kids hung on to the back of the wagon and let themselves be dragged. Some odd man was hanging over head at one point. The GIRL hit a werewolf! Things went bump in the night. The ride was GREAT! After that we headed over to a bonfire and had crappy hot chocolate and roasted cheap marshmallows, the correct ending to a fab time.

We watched some TV at the hotel and went to sleep. The BABY was not having it. He's teething and woke us up heaps of times. I set my resolve that night that no matter how crappy tired I felt I was going to have a good time the next day! (You know how it is parents don't you?) We ended up getting up around 5:30am. HIM looked out the window, we had a great view of the mountains by the way, and it was SNOWING!!!!!! Big fluffy flakes to, you know the ones that plop out of the sky. We thought that was really cool and wondered if it would stick. (For those of you not familiar with snow terms "stick" means the snow will stay on the ground and not melt.) I must admit to being a little sleepy-crabby, as was the GIRL and HIM. Breakfast was not until 7 so we just hung out in bed playing with the little non-sleeper. We ate and headed out. This pic is right before I busted my ass in the snow--> Many of the roads were closed in the park but we headed over to one of the more accessible lakes for a hike. We bundled up the BABY in the jogging stroller and set out. The snow stuck. It was beautiful. HIM and the GIRL had the first snow ball fight of the year. I love life and Rocky Mountain National Park was splendid. I can't wait to go back.

We were cold and the GIRL couldn't stop kicking the snow and stepping in puddles and now her toes were numb. Of course this was after HIM and I told her over and over again not to step in puddles or kick snow...in one ear and out the other. We took off for town and lunch. Soon the snow melted away as if it had never been. The morning was magical.

We had Nepalese buffet, yum. The BABY ate sag paneer, he's a good eater. (I always wonder if I focus to much on food on my trips but it's so much a part of me and my family that you just have to deal with it in my blog.)

We then shopped the town...it was very tourist oriented. My favorite shops were the fossil shops. They had all these dinosaur bones and stuff. They even had a couple of places where you could buy a geode and they would open it for you. The town had a river running through it and was pleasant to walk around.

We said goodbye to Estes Park and hopped into the mommy van. Just when we thought our adventures were over we drove around the bend of a mountain and there he was.

Mercy

Total Momsense!

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:25:16 GMT

I may just play this every morning for the GIRL from now on....I may make it her alarm to wake up to every day...

What do you think?

Mercy

Photo Album: New Pics

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:19:33 GMT

New Pics

I'm so sweet.

My sister loves me.

I went to the puppy parlor and this is my valentins pic!

Mommy almost got a smile.

YES!!! A SMILE!!!

Me and my toy.

Ah I love the boobie but the bottle will do I suppose.

Stop in the name of love!

This puppy won't stop licking meeeee!

Yes but but but I WANT to LICK him!!! He's soooo cute!!!

More Photos...

Photo Album: Camping in Wyoming

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:37:33 GMT

Camping in Wyoming

Our camp site.

The view.

Roughing it with no make-up.

I love hiking!

Photo Album: Our wedding.

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 06:52:42 GMT

Our wedding.

The GIRL

I'm shaking, can you see me?

The KISS!

I just love this man!

MY sisters are AWESOME!

Mercy, the BOY, and the GIRL.

Yes the BOY knew he looked good.