Come get some Green!!!!!!

Or a Nook Tablet or Kindle Fire!!!!

I'm participating in a RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME blog hop this Friday- the day before St. Patty's Day!!!! Over 120 authors are going to be telling anything they can about being Irish, celebrating the day, wearing green, drinking green beer... pretty much anything!

Each author will be giving away a prize. Like a swag pack, gift cards, ebooks, print books, and so much more.

PLUS We have TWO Grand Prizes for TWO different winners! *gasp*

Grand Prize 1: Winner's Choice of a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

Grand Prize 2: Winner's Choice of a $90 Amazon or Barnes&Noble Gift Card

Isn't that exciting? LOL. So you as a reader - what do you have to do? Well, come on over to these websites on Friday March 16th and comment on as many as you want. The grand prize winners will be chosen at random from the commenters - meaning you can comment on EACH blog - meaning 120 entries to the grand prize.

Sounds great right? Come on over and wear your green and win some prizes!!!

Click here to see the list of all participating blogs!

Happiness

I am a big supporter of being happy in life and doing what you need to do to live a happy life. Life is FAR too short to spend it miserable. Whenever I see unhappy people, I wonder why they aren't doing anything to change their situation. I've seen it many times. It makes me sad. Maybe they can't change it...maybe they don't have the energy. Who knows. But I will not live my life being unhappy.

So.....in my life, I will not deprive myself of anything. We live within our means and do what we can, but I want to make the most of our time here. We know well from experience that life can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I want no regrets.

So no...we don't have tons of cash in a savings account. We spend our money on things that make us happy. But not so much in the way of belongings. Yeah, I do like to wear nice clothes, but I am a super bargain shopper.  We like to take trips, go to the movies, go out to eat. Unfortunately, there is little that is free in this world. You can't even go to the park for free, at least not the bigger state and national parks. Even those have an admission fee.I know other people find happiness in a big fat savings account...I'm just not one of them.

I love to eat. There is just something so satisfying about a fabulous meal. Comforting. And I won't deny myself that joy so I can be super skinny. (Honestly, even if I could be, I wouldn't want to be stick-like...I like looking like a woman.) Luckily I have always had a relatively easy time staying thin. But that doesn't mean I don't gain weight. I watch what I eat. I exercise. Exercise is very important to me and so is being healthy and doing what I can to stay that way. But I splurge too. I exercise so I can eat what I want and not feel guilty about it. I'm gonna enjoy my life and part of that is enjoying what I eat. I don't splurge all the time, but the rest of the time I'm not going to be miserable either. I would be miserable on a no carb diet, so I will never do it. I try to eat things that are healthy and good for me, but things I also enjoy. I've been pretty lucky finding lots of great recipes. And again, other people may find happiness in having only 5% body fat and eating cardboardly food all day every day, but not me.

Lastly is hobbies and music and movies and all other entertainment forms. I will not avoid what makes me happy because others think it is silly or weird or not worth the time. I like what I like and I won't let anyone else's opinion stop me from enjoying how I spend my free time. I like boy bands and have seen NKOTB several times over the last few years. I am in my mid-30's a take a dance class that performs on stage during recital. I enjoy crafting and scrapbooking. I ADORE Disney World!!!! It used to really bother me when people would say "You're going there again?" Yeah....I am. And I love every minute I spend there. I'd go far more often if we could afford it.

So, my advice for today is to do what makes you happy. As long as you aren't hurting anyone else, go nuts!! It's your life. Don't let anyone make you feel like less of a person for doing what makes you happy. Leave this earth without regrets. I'm sure no one dies and says "Damn, I really took way too many vacations when I was alive."

GIVEAWAY!!!!! Win a copy of Karma Kameleon!!!!

Today I am am offering up a digital copy of Karma Kameleon, over at Booked Up! Please go check it out and enter!!!

Where has the time gone???

Today I sit here and wonder where the last 9 years of my life have gone. They've been an insane roller coaster of ups, downs, loops, freefalls (which in this instance are a good thing cause I love that freefall feeling!), pitch black holes (which I don't love)...you get what I mean.....it's been exhilarating and amazing but at times scary and stressful.

Nine years ago today is when I became a parent.

My baby girl turns 9 today. She's excited. She's getting older and bigger and more mature. She's able to do more now than when she was younger. We give her more freedoms than before. She gets to have her first ever slumber party this coming weekend. She chose a Hairspray the Movie theme...gonna be so fun! I'm looking forward to it. We'll see if I'm just as excited at 2 am when they're still awake...but for now, excited.

Part of me is sad that time is going by so fast. But other times, not. I look forward to the way our relationship will change. I know it's only going to get rougher...so not looking forward to the teen years. Trying my best to nip the little things now...things I can see being a BIG problem when she's a teen. I have dreams of a nice, sweet, well-behaved teenager who always listens and never talks back. I know I'm in La La Land here. But hey, it's worth a shot. I wasn't that bad of a teen...I don't think. I know I had my moments, but for the most part, I stayed out of trouble. I was too scared of what my parents would do and say.

So, today I will enjoy my daughter only being 9 and still wanting to hang out with us. We're going to dinner tonight. it's our bday tradition...whoever's birthday it is gets to pick where we go to dinner.

New Feature: Food I Love!

I used to have a blog dedicated to fun recipes that were tasty and good for you. I just didn't have the time to keep it up. I really love trying new recipes, and even more, sharing the really great ones with people.

So for my first Food I Love post, here is a soup I adore!! Even more so the next day for lunch!

This recipe came from Light n Tasty magazine, a Taste of Home publication.(It is now called Healthy Cooking Magazine)

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:  

2/3 cup uncooked wild rice
2/3 cup chopped onion 
2/3 cup chopped carrot 
2 tablespoons butter 
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth 
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon pepper 
1 cup chopped fresh broccoli 
3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast 
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
1 cup fat-free half-and-half 

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook onion and carrot in butter for 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, potatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add broccoli; cook 3-7 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender. 

Drain rice if necessary; fluff with a fork. Stir chicken and rice into potato mixture; heat through. In a small bowl, combine flour and half-and-half until smooth. Gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Yield: 8 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

Nutritional facts: 1-1/4 cups equals 251 calories, 5 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 48 mg cholesterol, 707 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 22 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 2 lean meat, 1/2 fat.

Here is the link to the recipe online.

Blogging about what I want to blog about!

I have struggled since the beginning of this blog on what to actually talk about. In the beginning, I was unpublished. I blogged mainly to learn about writing, to meet other writers, share what little I knew. But that meant my blog was only interesting to a limited group of people. And that's not what I wanted. I tried to mix it up. But I worried...as I always worry...that no one cares, no one wants to read. But I really enjoy blogging.

The last 6 months to a year, my readership seems to have dropped severely. Maybe people are still reading, but they're sure not commenting. I need to check my stats and see how many visitor I still get each day, despite the very few comments.

I wish I knew what people wanted to read about.

So instead of wondering, I'm just going to blog about whatever I feel like!! LOL! I'll write about what interests me, what bugs me, what makes me laugh. I like to connect with people on all kinda of levels. That's what blogging is all about. At least for me it is.

A new way to do a character sketch??

Today I'm over at Believing is Seeing for Museful Monday, talking about a fun new way to do a character sketch!! :) Come stop by and tell me what you think!! :)