A friend shared this recipe idea, and I happened to make it last night.  It is ridiculously simple!  Just take a few frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts and put them in your crock pot on a low setting.  Pour an entire large jar (or two if needed) of salsa over the chicken.  Cover and let it cook all day.  The chicken comes out super tender and moist, with a kick!  I take the shredded bits of chicken and put them in a tortilla with a little cheese and sour cream.  It’s awesome!  Enjoy!!

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Recently, I shared about my stepfather-in-law’s health struggles.  He was admitted to the hospital a couple weeks back with chest pains.  He spent a few nights there and underwent a full battery of tests.  After being released, he went home for a few days before going back for multiple biopsies to examine spots on some of his vital organs.  This week, we learned that he has cancer in both of his lungs.  The course of treatment going forward remains uncertain. 

Even the thought of some of the “what ifs” associated with this kind of diagnosis has me thinking it’s only a fraction of what must be going through Floyd’s mom’s head.  Especially since her husband, Nick,  is such an amazing guy.  When I first started dating Floyd, his mom was kind of a mess.  She had an awful boyfriend at the time, and didn’t really have her act together on any level.  In the past 10 years, she’s done about a complete 180.  And Nick has been a big part of that turn around.  So I just really pray for the best outcome through his illness, and that no matter what happens, that both of them stay strong for each other.  We love them both dearly.

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This past weekend Floyd & I played hosts to Floyd’s twin brother, Vaughn and his twin sons Lane & Xander, along with Floyd’s youngest brother Matt.  We were homebodies most of their visit:  playing Wii, board games, and dominoes.  We did venture out for a couple of meals.  But we just enjoyed spending time with our awesome and adorable nephews.

Floyd & Lane, Me & Xander

It’s CRAZY to know that even though they’re just 18-months-old, they’re about to be big brothers.  Vaughn & his wife Shannon wanted to get done with their “baby years” sooner rather than later.  So their next little boy is due in August.  They plan to name him Lukis Patrick.

While Lane & Xander were here, we quickly discovered that we needed to purchase an additional baby gate to keep Xander from crawling up and down the stairs constantly!  And there were times where one or the other, or both, would cry for some reason.  Even despite how maddening that could be, the moments where they’d play with toys calmly, or sip on some chocolate milk, or snuggle up with Floyd or I it made the chaos worthwhile.  While I sincerely hope I do not have twins myself– primarily for financial reasons– the weekend visit from our nephews reinforced my “maternal” instincts, and desire to be a parent, when God decides I’m ready for that.  After our family visitors left, Floyd and I both shared the sentiments of, “Wow, I’m tired!  But that was great.. And I want that someday!”  It was pretty special.  We look forward to being an integral part of the twins’, and all of our nieces and nephews, lives.  They’re good kids who bring out the best in us.

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No one ever believes me when I say this, but Floyd and I NEVER fight.  We’ve had maybe two actual spats in our 10 year relationship and 5 year marriage.  I credit a lot of that to Floyd’s cool head in being able to handle me in even my craziest days.  And as for me, it takes a lot to really set me off.  But one small little area we have always never quite agreed on is what TV shows and movies to watch.  It basically comes down to the fact that I like drama and reality shows/movies, and Floyd likes silly comedy.  I like comedy, too.  But some of the things he chooses to watch baffle me. 

At any rate, last night after dinner, I turned on American Idol- which I really enjoy.  Floyd does not so much enjoy this program.  I don’t really get it since it’s just singing, and he loves to sing!  I had rinsed off the dishes and put them in the sink, and I was going to put them in the dishwasher during a commerical or something.  But he got flustered with me and did the dishes himself, without me even realizing it. 

He then went upstairs to watch a cartoon I can’t stand, until we both watched Law & Order together.  I think he was upset that I stood my ground and did what I wanted to, and even made kind of a snide comment about that, which I told him simply wasn’t true.  I know he reads my posts, and my intention isn’t to make him look bad.  Because I love him to pieces. 

It’s just to say that as we all know, marriage is about compromise.   We both know that as silly as it is, we’re never going to agree on what to watch.  So I think it’s better to sort of agree to disagree, and meet in the middle when possible.  For example, a couple nights ago when he was watching a cartoon in the living room, I pulled out a board game for us to play while he was watching it.  This made the program more bearable for me, and he still got to have it tuned to what he wanted.  And above all– small sacrifices.  Floyd should know by now that I’d do literally anything for him.  If I had to throw my TV in the garbage and never watch anything ever again to spend more time with him, I’d really and truly do that.  I think all couple have these small annoying little issues that creep in, and we just have to do our best to not let it become a bigger issue, and show our partners that we will do what it takes to keep balance and happiness.

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I haven’t posted a recipe in a while!  So here you go. 

The other night I was rummaging through the freezer trying to figure out what to make, so I did an original recipe creation by whipping together a few things I had.  And it turned out pretty good! 

I fully cooked two boneless, skinless chicken breasts, then cut them up into cubes.  I put the chicken in a square baking dish with a bag of frozen Italian blend vegetable medley (broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and peppers).  Next, I added a can of cream of mushroom soup, about a quarter cup of shredded cheddar cheese and around a quarter cup of shredded mozzerella cheese.  Then I mixed it all up with a splash of milk.  It baked at 350 degrees for about a half-hour.  It was creamy, cheesy, and delicious!  If you’re in a pinch and need a quick fix, this might be a good thing to try!

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It’s a soulful new song by Adele.  That phrase “rolling in the deep” kind of makes me think of times in life when we’re really in the thick of things, wading through the deepest waters.  Floyd and I have been fairly blessed in not having to deal with some of the really thick and soupy things that can happen in life. 

But health scares with friends and family can certainly be hard to bear.  This past weekend, Floyd’s mom took his step-dad to the hospital after he started experiencing chest pains.  He’s undergone several tests and was able to go home yesterday.  But he’s not out of the woods just yet.  His body scans revealed multiple “spots” on some of his organs, and now he will be undergoing biopsies to determine if any of those spots are cancerous.  I cannot imagine what my mother-in-law is going through emotionally with all of this.  Floyd & I have been walking prayerfully through it, and I think that’s the best thing we can do.

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I just got back from our great little getaway to Arizona (which I promise I’ll blog about soon).  And now I find myself smack in the reality that my graduate thesis course has officially begun.  My professor was kind enough to allow me to start the project early.  So I’ve got a 21-page head start.  However, the paper must be 75 -100 pages long and done by May.  I am now realizing that my vacation was truly the calm before the storm.  I will likely spend every day off between now and graduation chipping away at my thesis.  Floyd has already been most understanding through this process, and I hope he’s in for extra “pitching in” when needed to help alleviate some of the pressure I’m going to be under.  Then it will be my turn to help him as he begins continuing education courses for his Iowa teaching licensure.  It makes me a bit stressed just thinking about it all!  But getting that diploma in hand will make it all worthwhile.

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No, Floyd & I don’t have any human children yet.  But we have a very special 4-year-old puggle dog named Aleah.  She was such a wild little thing when we first brought her home.  And she stayed pretty wild for a good two year.  But now, she’s just such a good little doggie, and we love her more than is probably healthy!  Haha!  When we head to Arizona, we’ll be leaving our baby with one of my good friends/co-workers.  A puggle is her dream dog, so it should be fun for her to play with Aleah. 

Aleah the Puggle

I always tell Floyd that in a silly way, Aleah makes me realize what a great dad he will be to the “real” babies we hope to have one day.  He is the disciplinarian when she messes up.  He’s great about taking her to vet appointments.  He walks her for countless minutes until she finally goes potty outside, and above all, he just loves her to pieces.

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It’s no secret that the news business can be a bit overwhelming, and it’s hard to get away for “me time,” especially when a lot of my time off inevitably gets spent travelling to Missouri to visit family and friends.  As a teacher, Floyd’s availability to take time off is restricted to when there are scheduled breaks, or to travel in the summer.  The last time we finagled a real vacation was during Christmas break 2008.  So we’re overdue for a little time away!  In just a few days, we’ll fly out to Arizona for a short vacation.  I already know it will go by entirely too fast, but I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to just spending some time away from it all with my husband.  I think we all need vacations from time to time to recoup from what the “regular world” does to us.  I love my life, but I need a break!  So c’mon vacation– you can’t get here soon enough!

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Here’s a little tid bit about Floyd I haven’t shared with you yet.  He’s a bit of a human karaoke machine.  He is just about always singing.  You will never see him on stage.  He just enjoys music.  I remember one of the first times I brought him over to meet my parents my mom said, “He sure sings a lot!”  And I said, “Yeah.  I kind of like it!”  And I still do enjoy when he starts to sing.  I find it fascinating that sometimes he’ll be singing a tune that neither of us have even heard for years.  This weekend, while my folks were in town, we went to the new piano bar in downtown Waterloo. 

We had so much fun “letting our hair down” a little and singing familiar tunes, not caring that the guys on stage sounded a whole lot better than us!  There’s just something about songs that unite us across generations.  They take you back to a time or place, an event, or just a memory of the time you first heard it or learned the words.  No matter how he sounds, I hope to keep  hearing Floyd sing for many years to come!

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