Happy Anniversary

I'll walk halfway around the world
Just to sit down by your side
And I would do most anything, girl
To be the apple of your eye
Well troubles, they may come and go
But good times, they're the gold
And if the road gets rocky, girl
Just steady as we go

  Any place you wanna go
Know I'll be next to you
If it's treasure, baby, you're looking for
I'll search the whole world through
I know troubles, they may come and go
But good times, they're the gold
So if the road gets rocky, girl
Just steady as we go

 When the storm comes down you shelter me
When I don't say a word and you know exactly what i mean
In the darkest times, oh, you shine on me
You set me free and keep me steady as we go

 

 So if your heart wrings dry, my love
I will fill your cup
And if your load gets heavy, girl
I will lift you up
Well troubles, they may come and go
But good times be the gold
So if the road gets rocky, girl
Just steady as we go

 Shine, shine, shine
shine on me, baby

Happy 6th Anniversary to my Hottie Scottie!  

I can't wait for 60 more years together.

Ein Bier, bitte

A couple of weeks ago we decided to head down to Soulard Oktoberfest to continue our celebration of "Scottoberfest."  October is Scott's birthday and he has decided that the entire month is dedicated to him; thus, Scottoberfest.  

We had a great time hanging out with friends but, to be honest, we were very disappointed in the actual celebration.  This Oktoberfest was more like a college beer party or tailgating before a Rams game.  It was nothing like what we took the kids to a couple of weeks ago (you can read about that HERE).  While I'm glad to say that I experienced, I can say that I have no desire to go back again.  

Here are some cute pics, though. 

Because I Was There . . . and I Want To Be Again

NLDS Game 1 vs Washington Nationals

Once again we are in the midst of Red October here in St. Louis and the Cardinals are currently tied at 1-1 against the Washington Nationals.

This past Sunday was Game 1 and although we lost, we had a great time with our friend, Tony, and niece, Mindi.

 

Getting Rid of My "Fat" Pants

For most people getting rid of their "fat" pants would be a day of celebration.  For me, it is a slight cause for anxiety.  

I was never what most of America would call "fat" or even overweight so I know that a post like this may be annoying to some of you who read this and know me in real life.  To me, though, being "fat" is subjective and even though the scale might not have made a couple of circles when I stepped on it, in my mind, I needed to go to the local zoo to get weighed.  I realize that I am being hard on myself as all of my weight came from having 2 babies in a 2 year time span but, let's face it, my "baby" is now 3 years old and I can only hold on to that excuse for so long.

I haven't been able to wear my "good" pants for quite a few months now but I have just kept them in my closet.  Holding on to them for some strange reason.  Deep down, I know that I've kept them because I have been afraid of putting the weight back on.  Even though, as I said earlier, the majority of my weight came from being pregnant and it makes no sense that I would ever have to wear them again, they almost became a safety net for me.  Almost whispering 

"You'd better save those.  What if you gain back your weight?  You spent a lot of money on these pants and now you want to get rid of them?"  

So today is the day.  Today is the day that I say good-bye to those pants and to all of the voices in my head saying that I won't get to where I want to be.  

Over the past few months, I have really focused not on the "number" showing on the scale but just on being healthy.  The miraculous thing about this is as soon as I changed my way of thinking about losing weight, I actually started losing and have kept it off.  I feel like I am finally in a place where I don't need to hold on to safety nets or think about what if's.  As I've known all along, I am in charge of my health and I have no doubt that I won't ever be needing these again.

Playoff Baseball, Football Season, and Chili!

I am re-re-posting a couple of chili recipes in anticipation for the St. Louis Cardinals being in the post season (again) and the Rams not stinking it up too badly either.  There are a couple of our favorites.  Hope you enjoy!

P.S.  If you have any recipes that you have tried over the last several months, I would love to give them a try on my food blog.  I plan on posting on there again very soon . . . check it out here (if you haven't already) Meals For Real

Chicken and Bean Chili adapted from Meatless Monday
1lb ground chicken
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 can black beans, drained
1 can navy beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 16-oz can diced tomatoes
2 8-oz can tomato sauce or 1 16oz can
1-2 cups water
1 small can (4 oz) green chiles
1-2 Tbsp chili powder
1-2 tsp cumin
1 tsp basil

Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry red wine (optional)


Directions:  Saute onion, garlic, and bell pepper in olive oil until soft. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 20-30 minutes.


Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream if desired.

Here's what you'll need:

Chop up the onion and garlic.

Put the ground chicken in a Dutch oven to brown.  Throw the onions and garlic in with the chicken.

Drain and rinse the beans.

Add the beans to the pot. 

Add the can of diced chilies.

Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Add the seasonings.  Simmer and serve.

Good 4 You -White Chicken Chili


1 or 2 Lbs. cooked & cubed chicken breast (I cut it up and cooked it in my crockpot for 30 mins on high with the oil)

1-2 Tbs oil

Packet of McCormick chicken chili seasoning

1 ½ cups chicken broth

1 or 2 cans great northern beans with liquid

1 can white or yellow corn

2 small cans green chilis –optional


Directions:  You can cook the chicken in the crockpot.  To the cooked chicken, add seasoning mix and broth. Then add beans, corn, and green chilis, keep on low in crockpot for 2-4 hours…OR stovetop for just 20 mins…top with lowfat shredded cheese, lite sour cream, and chopped green onions…serve with baked corn tortilla chips ! YUM!


Modifications:
-I added a can of pinto beans.

-I left out the cheese, sour cream and chips.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 I put 2 frozen chicken breasts in a crockpot with a couple Tbsps of olive oil and let it cook for about an hour.

#2 After the chicken and thawed and cooked for about an hour, I cut it up into chunks and then seasoned it with Home Seasoning.

#3 I added the white chicken chili seasoning, chicken broth, corn, green chiles and beans to the crockpot and let it cook for about 5 hours.

The Finished Product:

Last Weekend of the Season

This was the last weekend of the Cardinals 2012 season.  (Of course, we are hoping that the post season continues).

I took the kids down to the game on Friday night while Gaga worked.  We got down there early and went to the pregame festivities.  Kanin was really excited to see Joe Kelly signing autographs.  Grace and Caleb had no idea who he was but had to get an autograph and picture, too.

On Sunday, Kanin and I went back down to the game with my sister and my niece and nephew, Alison and Aidan.  The kids had a great time and we got to see a winner!  I think they were most excited, though, about getting to see Fredbird.

Can you tell they are related?  

When Fredbird read Marissa's shirt, he looked at her finger and saw that there was no ring so he got down on one knee and "proposed".  Her shirt reads, "Chicks Dig Diamonds."