Anyway--Martina McBride

I hope this song will give you some inspiration throughout the course of your day. Listen to it--it's powerful. Love to all. ^_^



You can spend your whole life building
Something from nothin'
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might never come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain't good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This world's gone crazy
It's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
In a moment they can choose to walk away
Love 'em anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain't good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

You can pour your soul out singing
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yea - sing it anyway

I sing
I dream
I love
Anyway

Oh, the life of a chef's wife...^_^

The trouble that comes from being married to a chef is that when I am excited that I found a new recipe, before I can make it myself, my husband jumps on the ingredients and does his own thing.
The blessing that comes from being married to a chef is that when I am excited that I found a new recipe, before I can make it myself, my husband jumps on the ingredients and does his own thing.
I know, I will only get better with cooking the more that I practice myself, but at least when he cooks, he teaches at the same time. He says, “Look, Kristi, this is how you make risotto…” and I just know that I will be able to make it sometime…when I get the chance.
It can be intimidating to cook for a chef. He is very gracious and eats what I make for him. He likes it too, but he always has ways of making it BETter. It’s cool--I learn this way and find new things to make instead of the same old thing. I’m pretty easy to please, food-wise. I don’t even have to have a real dinner a lot of the time--lean pockets, 100 calorie pack of chips, and weight watcher dessert with a side of DIET COKE is just fine, so I forget that other people like to have better, more nicely prepared meals. I suppose I’m what you call a college student that hasn’t grown up yet, food-wise, although I eat a lot of nice foods--when Bryan prepares them for me…^_^
Hey, it’s working for me so far. I learn on a weekly basis how to make really neat foods, and eventually, I’ll be a suitable homemaker. Thank Goodness Bryan loves me the way I am!!
Okay, well, here’s the recipe. It’s YUMMY. Love to all!!!!! ^_^

Pasta with Chicken and Peanut Butter Sauce
Peanut butter sauce is featured in many Ecuadorean dishes.
Ingredients:
12 ounces pasta, such as fettuccine, uncooked
2 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sesame oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 red jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. minced ginger
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into strips
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 8-ounce package frozen snow peas, thawed
Preparation: In boiling water, cook pasta until almost al dente. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, pour 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Add chicken and sauté until just done. Remove chicken with tongs and set aside. Coat skillet with remaining teaspoon of sesame oil, then add jalapeños, garlic, ginger, and bell pepper. Sauté for two minutes. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for two additional minutes, or until vegetables are almost tender. Add chicken stock, peanut butter, brown sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce. Cook, stirring, until peanut butter is thoroughly incorporated into mixture. Add snow peas, chicken, and pasta. Stir for about three more minutes, until all ingredients are heated through. Makes 6 servings.

I'm going HOME...

...and I'm PSYCHED. I've been working hard, Bryan's been working COUNTLESS hours, and it is time to go where everybody knows our na-a-ame (dun, dun, dun...^_^)
Yeah, I'm ready. I miss my family. For all of Bryan's family who's reading this blog, hey, you're the coolest! But I miss MINE. ^_^
Mom, you are the BEST mom a girl could ask for. I can't imagine having a better mom than you.
Kim, you are a crazy fun sister who knows no limits. You can do anything, and I'm proud of you. You also have a great family who i can't wait to see.
Kreg, you are the coolest brother a girl could ask for. You keep me in stitches. Looking forward to meeting that girlfriend of yours. ^_^ Hear good things about her.
Mamaw and Papaw, I MISS you like crazy!!!! Maybe we could squeeze in a game of Rook? Haven't played in a while, so Papaw, you're likely to beat me, although you're reading this thinking "I'd beat you anyway." ^_^
Dad, can't wait to see you and hug on your neck. Miss you.
Love to all, you are BEAUTIFUL people.

I'm going HOME...

...and I'm PSYCHED. I've been working hard, Bryan's been working COUNTLESS hours, and it is time to go where everybody knows our na-a-ame (dun, dun, dun...^_^)
Yeah, I'm ready. I miss my family. For all of Bryan's family who's reading this blog, hey, you're the coolest! But I miss MINE. ^_^
Mom, you are the BEST mom a girl could ask for. I can't imagine having a better mom than you.
Kim, you are a crazy fun sister who knows no limits. You can do anything, and I'm proud of you. You also have a great family who i can't wait to see.
Kreg, you are the coolest brother a girl could ask for. You keep me in stitches. Looking forward to meeting that girlfriend of yours. ^_^ Hear good things about her.
Mamaw and Papaw, I MISS you like crazy!!!! Maybe we could squeeze in a game of Rook? Haven't played in a while, so Papaw, you're likely to beat me, although you're reading this thinking "I'd beat you anyway." ^_^
Dad, can't wait to see you and hug on your neck. Miss you.
Love to all, you are BEAUTIFUL people.

Tipping

This topic has been on my mind lately, especially, as I am a server. I'm becoming a much better one than I was at first. I'm learning that when I do a good job I make good or bad tips. When I don't do as well, I make good or bad tips. These poor people just don't know, or they know but tip badly anyway. If you are one of these two, I hope this blog will help you work out of being one of these. Did you know that most servers make around $2.50/hour? They make their money from tips and in theory should make as much as everybody else by the time they are tipped what they ought. Do your server a favor. If she/he does a good job, let her know--financially. I add this word because there have been several tables that said, "Kristi, you're a GREAT server" and then left me $2.00 for a $50 check on the table. I should have been tipped at least $10 in this case--%15. Some people leave %20, which makes me really happy. Don't get me wrong--I am not a greedy person, but I would just rather not do the work for a $60 check and receive $3.50. I do a lot of stuff!
Oh, and one more thing about tipping. I love it when people use coupons. I think that's great and people should take full advantage of them. However, customers are technically supposed to tip %15 off of the full amount before the discount, not off of the discounted price. I feel bad for servers who get gypped on this part.
Okay, so that's it. Be kind to your servers. Now if they don't do a good job, don't reward them for a job done badly--that's not fair for you to have to give people money for not bringing you extra drinks or things on time, but if they do well, they should know by the extra green they get from the table.
Okay, I know people will take what I said with a grain of salt, but just thank the server who filled and cleaned the salt caddy and put it (lovingly) on your table. ^_^
Love to all! ^_^

Reign Over Me

Wow. What a GREAT movie. Bryan and I saw it this evening. This film captured complex human emotion at its utmost and the essence and beauty of family.
I love how Adam Sandler isn't simply a funny actor anymore. He showed that by being in Punch Drunk Love. He is fantastic in Reign Over Me. He plays a man who lost his family in a plane crash, and his former friend from college, Don Cheadle, reunites with him as friends to help him heal. Anybody who's already seen this knows that I'm being VERY superficial about this whole thing, but I don't want to give anything away. The movie is touching and powerful, and I cried. I don't cry in a lot of movies, so to clue you in to the aspect of power it takes for me to cry in a movie, I cried in Million Dollar Baby. This movie was beautiful, and I think all who see it will be touched as deeply as I was. God gives us friends that come into our lives for a reason, to teach us something or to be taught something, and then He also gives us friends to mean something more, to be there permanently, coming back in and out and being there for what matters. God is beautiful and gives us beautiful friendships that must not be taken for granted.

It's the time of the season for...coughing!!!

Two days ago, I started coughing as soon as I got home from work. NOT fun. Yesterday, I'm sure I scared half the people that were at my tables with my sexy raspy voice. (Refer to Phoebe from "Friends"--her sexy phlegm. ^_^)
I had a fever for the past coupla days and today it is breaking, so I should be fine tomorrow. Good night's sleep and just the right medicine. Makes me really appreciate being healthy! Isn't it funny how sometimes it takes losing something to really appreciate it? Also, knowing you can't have something sometimes makes you want it more, but that's another blog...^_^
At any rate, the weather is warmer (for real this time??) this week. If anybody's noticed, I've blogged about the weather for the past couple of times because the North is CRUEL. Keeps teasing me with warm days, making me think all the snow is gone. We'll see, but at any rate, today is beautiful.
I pray that none of you get sick. I know we all do, but I don't wish it on anybody. Love to all!

Oh, one more thing--a main difference between North and South is tea. Order tea in the south, it's sweet iced tea. Here, tea is either hot or unsweetened. Hot tea is GREAT for the sore throat, though. ^_^

Spring Cleaning!

And what a day for it! I woke up this morning at NINE, which I rarely get to do. I was shocked I woke up so late. Went into the kitchen and whipped up some scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee. Bryan and I had a lovely breakfast together. We don't usually get to do this because I work at 10:30 and Bryan's exhausted from working late the night before, so we see each other for a few minutes in the morning and in the evening after he gets off work. Today, however is DIFFERENT. Yea!!
As for spring cleaning, well, it is BEAUTIFUL outside, and so I feel more positive, hence more able to clean as opposed to a rainy day where it's all DEPRESSING. Well, rainbows are nice, though...^_^
So, that's what I'm up to today. 01,,m oiup ,.Stryker just leaned up against the keyboard. That's him saying "hi." ^_^
Yesterday was lovely because I ended up working a double. Doubles are GREAT for servers. Whee-hoo!!
Okay, well, here's to another lovely day. May all of your days be lovely. ^_^

Le-e-e-et the sun shi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ne (in!)

I just LOVE that song!
Yes, sports fans, it was a LOVELY day at the park. The sun shone, and Kristi wore a tee shirt without *gasp!* a coat!!! Aunt Kathy, YOU know what I'm talking about! Maybe it's still cold in St. Louis--is it, Aunt Donna? Holly and Jonathan, you know the cold!! You understand how PRECIOUS and PERFECT a day like today is!!! It was amazing. so I found out why cold weather is precious and perfect as well. It makes me truly appreciate days like TODAY! So happy.
That's it--just hope everybody else has a great day, weather-wise, as well. ^_^
Love to ALL. ^_^

PS--Mom, I bet you started thinking of another song when you saw the title to this blog. Was this it? "So let the sunshine in! Face it with a grin..." etc. ^_^

The best birthday EVER!

Bryan and I had the best time at Eleven tonight! The restaurant is SO great. The food was amazing. I had the best birthday celebration EVER! Seriously, Aunt Kathy, you're 2 hours away--you gotta go to Eleven--if not to at least see me (hee hee!), but to have the best dessert of your life! Plus, Bryan's cousin was celebrating her birthday as well, so we went as a big group of 8 tonight. It was fun! Bryan's sisters, Lara and Ria, Ria's boyfriend, Chris, Bryan's mom, and Bryan's cousin's husband--we were all there together. It was great! Bryan has a really nice family.
The food was fantastic. I mean, REALLY fantastic. I had this lobster risotto for an appetizer, and for dinner, I had lamb. It's really cool because it's farm-raised lamb and so we know it wasn't pumped with steroids to be raised faster for the meat--naturally grown and better for me. Plus, people all over the world like to get lamb from the farm from whence the lamb came--a farm in good ole PA. Kinda cool, huh? Anyway, it was nothing short of spectacular.
Here's dessert.
Okay, I haven't quite figured out how to align the right comments with the right pictures, but you can figure it out. Anyway, for those who you don't know, the platinum blonde is Lara, and she's in a picture with Donna, Bryan's mom. The picture with the sister with dark hair is Maria and her boyfriend Chris. I loved the special touch they added to my birthday dessert. Special, wasn't it?
Dessert, by the way, was AWESOME. It was this banana cake thing that also had cinnamon sugar syrup on it. Whee-hoo!! I had espresso with it too because it made me think of Italy. So glad Bryan works at Eleven--otherwise, we couldn't eat at a place like this! This, as it is, will be a very SPECIAL occasion place to eat. Hope everyone has something like Eleven nearby because it was so much fun.
Love to all!!! ^_^
PS--the last one is everybody all together. We had a blast.

Funny video--enjoy ^_^

I'm a quarter of a century old!!!!!!

So fun to say. Thought about the title for this blog yesterday and couldn't wait until today to type it. Actually, I should be in bed, but it IS technically March 2nd--just early in the morning, stayed up from the night before.
So, for my birthday I will work in the morning, and then I will go workout, and then hang out--by mySELF. That's okay. Bryan and I are celebrating my birthday on Sunday with a slew of his family--at ELEVEN! So excited. Will definitely blog about it on Monday, saying what a great time I had.
by the way--don't let the title mislead you. I am not old. I will never BE old. Even when I'm 100 and barely hanging onto my dentures, I will not be old. All I have to do is keep working out and eating right, and I'll be healthy all the days of my life. I think of this 76 year old lady who does all these exercise classes--pilates, aerobics, Bodypump, and I want to be just like her when I'm her age. Yep, that'll be me, fun and fancy free. This is a birthday blessing I lay on to the readers of this blog. Live full, healthy lives and live forever!...or at least for a really long time and happily.
Love to all!!!!

Fun disney test

How well do you know classic Disney?
Disney Classic Crazy

WOAH! You know just about everything there is to know. You\'ve probably even seen the Black Cauldron. Disney is amazing, be proud!

Take'>http://www.testriffic.com/tests">Take this test

Lichi-loos, the kids table, and other family memories...

I really miss you, family!!! I'm really looking forward to Spring Sing weekend because I will be in Searcy, relishing much-needed family time. When random things happen throughout the day, I think about you people a lot more. For instance, the first word in the title of this blog refers to what my sister and I used to call the hairstyle that is fixed at bathtime for kids--how the shampoo magically holds hair up in place. See picture on left. This used to be so much fun!

Secondly, Bryan and I went to the mall the other day, and after a bit of shopping, we had lunch. We thought it odd that the parents, just one set, were sitting at one table while their two kids were sitting at a separate table a little ways away from them. Bryan brought it up, saying that he would think it would be more fun for them to sit and eat as a family, and I said that kids loved having a kids table. Remember our kids table at Christmas time? I know, all you cousins out there are having them with your own families, you being the adults and Joshua, Caleb, Carter, Ashlyn, and Johnathan being the kids. Kalleigh is an "adult" as she cannot do anything by herself except look adorable. We always had the best kids table, though, all 12 of us sitting and laughing. And then, the tables turned. The rules became that once you got married, you were no longer at the kids table. The weirdest one of all--but my favorite, actually--was one where all of the "kids", meaning cousins, got to eat at the adult table with Mamaw and Papaw!! That was fun. Who can know Mamaw and Papaw and not think they are the coolest!!

A third thing that makes me think of (LONG for) home is the weather. It is 20 stinking degrees here--MAX!!!! Don't get me wrong, the snow is absolutely beautiful--just COLD. I'll get used to it eventually. But I long for days of past when I would wear a tee-shirt in th ehouse and then throw on a nice jacket to go outside. Nice thing, though, I can make snow cream anytime I want to. I made it here, people not having heard of it before, and it was a big hit!!!

Well, if any of you lovely people want to leave a memory of hanging out all together with family, I would LOVE it. In the meantime, I'm saying a special prayer tonight for my family. I am so lucky to have such a beautiful family. Love to ALL. ^_^

Useless lump--don't knock it til you try it

I've been described as many things--happy, silly, funny, crazy--not really but in a fun way, a little dorky at times, etc. Tonight, I refer to the title of my blog. I think it is healthy to do this every once in a while. Not too often, of course, or this loses its luster. Now, you busy moms, mamaws, and nanas out there may have forgotten what this is like. This is what you do. you go home, relishing the fact that you worked hard all morning, and in between chasing dogs in and out of the house, letting them find relief outside, you lay on the couch like a useless lump. Another important part to being a good UL is that you can watch something on tv that you taped forever ago but had no time to watch until now. For instance, the Grammy's. I was not particularly impressed this year. There were some good performances, yes, but for the most part, I'm tired of all the new stuff. I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but if I hear "Snow" ONE more time--no, there's something about it that's addictive. I think it's that I love to harmonize with it. Curtis cousins out there? Still harmonizing to things? Here's a hint--we HAVE to get together for Christmas! There is talk of doing so for next Christmas--I think it's next one--and I want to sing with everybody. Ok, back to the Grammy's.
I agreed with Holly--loved Christina Aguilera's performance save the last note and the ultra-high "whoooo" near the end. She is amazing and extremely talented. No more James Blunt, please. Big deal, you're beautiful. You are a Rod Stewart wannabe and will not last as long.
Justin Timberlake is extremely talented. I am tired of his name. I have a tendency to shy away from names that everybody is talking about. This is why it took me forever to watch "The Notebook", although I watched it and then liked it.
Good call having the Police reunite for the show. What a tremendous opening!
Anyway, I relaxed a whole bunch. I recommend it for anybody who's busy most of the time. Take time to relax every once in a while. God did--why shouldn't you?
Love to all!!!!!

Eleven Perks ^_^

Whee-hoo!! Bryan and I just celebrated Valentine's Day. We both work now, and unfortunately one of the days we work is Valentine's Day, so we celebrated tonight. we went to a restaurant called Casbah. Big Burrito Company owns Eleven, Casbah, Kaya, etc. and so Bryan gets to eat at these restaurants with a %25 discount. Pretty cool!! Casbah was NICE. We had appetizers that were AMAZING. He had mussels, not that he needed any more than he already had (yuk yuk.) I had mac 'n cheese. Believe it or not, it was better than Kraft! Ha. It was amazing. It had lamb sausage in it, and the cheese was SO creamy it just melted in my mouth. For dinner, I had a pork chop with butternut squash risotto and greens, and he had duck. WOW. It's so cool to me that Bryan gets to make stuff like this!! I feel accomplished when i make parmesan oven fried chicken. Refer to "the Book." Anyway, it was a very romantic evening. We got all dressed up and had a great time. We also had dessert and espresso. Felt like we were in Italy again. I hope everybody gets to go to Italy sometime. Food is much better when enjoyed in a restaurant in Italy, and enjoying espresso afterward with dessert, either a tort or piece of fruit or small cookie.Our desserts tonight were huge, of course, but that's because Americans like big portions with everything!This is why I did not gain weight in Italy and gained as soon as I got back--that and the fact that in Italy we walked EVERYWHERE. I digress. Everybody, go to Italy--it is a piece of heaven!!

Here are some pics of us being happy after dinner, and here's also one i snuck in of Stryker--he's so cute!! The hat, by the way, was Bryan's and got shrunk. Oops. Love to ALL. ^_^

Antiquated Thinking

Who decides what counts as antiquated thinking? Who decides that it is antiquated, not classic? Maybe it doesn't matter until it affects someone personally. Antiquated thinking began sometime before the present, although it doesn't really matter how much time passed in between the original idea and the present. Sometimes, thinking becomes antiquated in a matter of minutes, as opposed to the idea of independence, for one, which will never go out. Everybody wanted independence in 1776 and they still want it now--but I digress.
How do we know that thinking is old? Maybe it's more of a subjective thing. Take the Bible. God created the heavens and the earth. We all know that. Some people say that thinking is antiquated, but it will never be in my book, at least to the extent that I'm discussing antiquated thinking--thoughts that are due for a change.
For an example of antiquated thinking, I will use something silly. Back in the day, at my high school, people couldn't wear jeans to classes. They had to wear dresses--women, not men. ^_^ The school board decided the thinking was antiquated, or they would not have started allowing women and men to wear jeans to class.
That's fine until we get to more difficult issues. I'm being vague, I know. I just thought it was an interesting topic. I conclude that thinking becomes antiquated when people decide it is antiquated, and there is a majority vote.
So where do we draw the line between stubbornly sticking to antiquated thinking and being brave enough to stick to your guns? Isn't it only between the person and God? God is the one who knows the motives and intentions of the person, right? And if a person can honestly say they're opening up their mind to be filled with God's spirit, should he be condemned for sticking to his prior thoughts?
Just a (antiquated) thought...thanx for listening!

I've got Confidence!

Do you remember the song?
"I've got confidence my Lord is gonna see me throu-ou-ough!
No matter what the case may be (my Lord)
My Lord is gonna fix it for me (because)..." and so on and so forth.
I had a good night. It's so much easier to be confident after having a good night, isn't it?
Well, no matter why the reason, I've got confidence! It's a nice feeling.
I hope that two things occur from people reading this blog:
1) People sing the song to the point where it gets stuck in their heads--or they skip the devotional song completely and sing "I've Got Confidence in Sunshi-i-i-i-i-ine..."
2)People feel better after reading this blog. Have confidence! God is there and will make it ALL better. ^_^
Love to ALL. ^_^

Time-out

Okay, so I know all you people with kids know this word. Well, dogs have to have them too. Stryker gets in these kicks where he'll just start barking at me. He thinks that barking will get him what he wants, but all his needs are met except one. He's hungry. Yes, I feed my dog regularly, but here's the thing. He sometimes wants to eat on his own terms, not when I tell him to. Usually I'll put the food in front of him, and he'll dive right in. Today, however, he was picky and decided not to eat all of his food when it was in front of him, so we picked it up. At 2, he started whining for his food. And now he's in doggy prison, hence the title, "Time Out." Well, sorry, big guy, but if you don't eat when we tell you to, you can just wait until your next meal! Dogs are funny. They can be temperamental, just like people. They are better at unconditional love, though--they don't hold grudges. I won't elaborate--everybody has seen the forwards. Aren't forwards funny? They all end up saying the same things, whether it be truths that make you feel good, truths that make you feel bad, or just funny or dumb-funny jokes. I read them anyway, though, just to see what some random person on my list thought that I just HAD to read. But I digress.
Lately, Bryan and I are working hard, trying to learn our new jobs. He's working by himself tonight, working the line, doing the best he can. He says it gets really busy at Eleven. (The restaurant, not the time. Ha.)
I am in the meantime learning the menu for Applebee's, making sure that I know everything that is in every item on the menu. It's a lot of information!! I used to think it could be easy to be a server, and it will be, I just have to get into the routine. I know I can do it though. Besides, this is the money i need to earn before I get back into school in August. I'm PSYCHED. (Haven't gotten accepted yet, but it's only a matter of TIME.)
Love to all!

He got the job!!!!!!!!

I'm SO happy for him. Bryan is so excited. This is a top notch place, and he'll do really well in it. He actually will start on salad prep, coldside/sandwiches an 'at, but after they see what he can cook he'll go up on the line, I'm sure!!! He made up a meatloaf recipe yesterday, and it was really good. The sauce on top was made of ketchup, brown sugar, and chili. MMMM. Yes, I'm lucky to be married to a chef! I did make my parmesan oven fried chicken the other day, though, along with Aunt Donna's recipe for sweet green beans. They were a hit. I may never be up to Mamaw stature when it comes to cooking, but I'm improving.

Bryan, though, b/c of school and of the MANY cooking magazines he's read and programs he's watched, i.e. Molto Mario and Iron Chef, has no limit to his cooking talent. It's fun to be the wife and sing his praises!

Oh, and for those who want to see where he's going to work, here's the website. Those who are close to Pittsburgh, i.e. the Haughs ^_^ should take a day trip to Pittsburgh, do some good shopping, and finish up with a good meal at Eleven. Don't know yet, but maybe we can get a family discount!

Love to all!!!

http://www.bigburrito.com/eleven/about/reviews.shtml