Mom

My sister and I are visiting Mom and Dad in Charlotte, NC. Mom is on the downhill side of a year-long battle with cancer. She was diagnosed Christmas of 2006, and has been a real trooper. It is really sad to see her so sick, and hard to know the end is coming. I set up a blog for Dad to give updates on Mom that you can visit here: Dale's Updates. Thanks to everyone who has been praying for Mom this year.

Look Who's Growing Up

Z just got her first pair of glasses, and A lost her first tooth. Sniff!

Cool Contest

Best Buy is giving away an MP3 player at 5minutes for Mom. Check it out.

Caucus nightmare

I linked to this blog post this morning. (Two posts in one day -- amazing!) It resonated with me, because I don't really follow the news. As Brant wrote: When is the last time you saw something on the news that actually mattered, that minute, to how you needed to live your life? "Oh -- THAT happened? I'm glad I found out NOW, because now I need to..."

On the other hand, I feel privleged to live in Iowa and have a say in the candidate selection. In 1999 we lived in New Mexico, and by the time their primaries were held, it was pretty obvious who the candidates would be. After watching the debate the other day and checking out the candidates' websites, I have it narrowed down to two candidates, and I'm pretty sure who I will support at the caucus.

That being said, I am dreading the caucus. I envy those who live in states that have a primary where you can just go and cast a ballot for your candidate. I don't like to talk politics. I want to register my opinion as antisocially as possible, and although I've never been to an Iowa caucus, I think I'm probably going to have to talk politics. I had a nightmare about the caucus last night. I don't remember the details, but there were a bunch of people wanting to persuade me, wanting my money and I just WANTED OUT!

Kamp Krusty

IMonk linked to a couple of posts written by Brant Hansen at his blog Letters from Kamp Krusty. I've spent the morning perusing his blog, and I like his perspective and his sense of humor. IMonk linked to his posts on depression which are here and here. He validates some of my lifestyle choices here and here. Check him out.

Some Great Music!

I saw this on PBS the other night and I just love it. It's Jeff Beck and Tal Wilkenfeld playing "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival in Chicago this past summer.

Sopa de Lima

Kris and her sweet kids were visiting from Texas last weekend, and it was great to see them. We made some soup that was popular, so I thought I'd post the recipe.

Sopa de Lima
Start with chicken and chicken broth. There are many ways to do this, and I'm not an expert. This time we had had roasted chicken from Target for lunch. I picked the leftover chicken off the bones and boiled it in water awhile. I also added a can of low sodium chicken broth.

While the chicken was boiling I chopped up some onion, and sauteed it in a pan with a can of Rotel. A can of chopped tomatoes and a can of green chile would have worked just as well. When the onion was soft and getting clear, I dumped it in the chicken broth.

Then blue took over the soup making. He added lime juice squeezed from 3 limes (which weren't very juicy at all -- one very juicy lime or two regular limes would have been fine.) Next he seasoned it with salt, oregano and one clove of garlic (squished through the press.) We let it cook in the crockpot all afternoon, and about 1/2 hour before serving added 1/2 cup of rice. We served it with Tostitos. Yummy!

BOO!