Showing posts with label BLOG CHALLENGE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BLOG CHALLENGE. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Day 10 - Swap (Recipe for Photo)

I am switching out Day 10 for "Recipe Day" because I am making it and it's out. Plus, Kate (pictured below) wants this recipe. And it smells mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good. Yah, it's soup! It's delciious, makes a ton and I've made it several times. YUM YUM YUM!

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup/Chili (Called soup but more like a chili)

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 7 hrs
Ready In: 7 hrs 15 mins

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
1 (16 oz) can chili beans
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (12 oz) can or bottle beer
2 (10oz) cans of tomatoes with green chilies, UNDRAINED
1 (1.25 oz) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless,boneless chicken breasts (or, obviously 6 halves)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (opt but recommended)
Sour Cream (opt but recommended)
Crushed Tortilla Chips (opt but yum)

Directions (so easy):
1. Place onion, chili beans, black beans,corn, tomato sauce, beer and diced tomatoes in slow cooker. Add taco seasoning and stir to blend. Lay chix breasts on top of mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover and cook for 5 hours. Your house will smell delicious ALL DAY!

2. After 5 hrs, remove chix breasts from the soup and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Shred the chicken (I use two forks. It's a pain, but worth it). Stire the chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours.

Serve in bowl topped with shredded cheese, dollop of sour cream and some crushed tortilla chips. I also throw chopped some green onions on the top for color (plus, I like them) but you don't have to.

Enjoy this muy, muy deliciouso soup!!!!!!! It's so good, it may inspire you to have soup holidays, serving this and other kinds of soups instead of turkey, ham, etc... :) :)

Love,
Ann

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Day 9 – a photo you took

Uhhh, I've taken like 10,000 photos this year. Such pressure!!!



So, I have two rockin' cameras (I mainly only use the one) but I shoot photos in RAW. So, editing them is an ordeal. I decided my kids ALSO need random snapshots of their life, so I use my G9 to take random house pics of them. One of the memory cards is in right now, so I scrolled through...

This is a pic of my friend Kate :) Taken when we picked out our friend Jeri's wedding dress back in Feb or Mar! OMG, that seems like YESTERDAY! Look how little Will was :) My baby!!

Kate will also make a cameo appearance in tomorrow's photo. Stay tuned. HAHA! It's a good one!!

Love,
Moi :)

PS - Kate and Will are super cute! But since I worked on the real photos all day, this picture itself looks like hell compared to those! God, so underexposed!! I used to love my G9, too!

Day 8 - Photo of Saddness!! :(



Fair 2009.

I've talked about my lovely, beloved, wonderful, amazing, awesome Grandma on the blogs before. She came to see Belle show a calf at the Fair last year. Two months later, we lost her. Yeah, this photo makes me so, so, so sad.

RIP!! Love you, Gram Grams!

Ann

PS - Sorry for the delay! I couldn't think of an angry/sad photo so I just went with a sad!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Day 7 - Photo of Happiness

I have 22,000 photos of my rug rats :) Still in RAW format. I WILL get them into jpeg this winter...and get caught up (yeah right!)... No, seriously, they do make me happy BUT I have so, so, so many, I could never choose JUST ONE!?

In all seriousness, I am going to post a photo that makes me swoon with love. You may think it's lame, boring, etc...I don't know. I ADORE IT. I took it yesterday at an extremely lovely and wonderful wedding.

Why do I love thee??

I have always noticed, loved and appreciated the little details of weddings. And I have always TRIED to capture them to no avail with my sporty lil' G9 (lol). I'm soooooo, sooooooo, soooooooo HAPPY I have the training and equipment to do take photos EXACTLY. LIKE. THIS:




I am also happy I finally got the bride's rings to balance in there. Thank you, rings!

I spent lots of years at a desk, feeling like I should be somewhere else doing something much more fabulous than accounting...something kinda artsy-ish that people actually gave a damn about. Ahhhh...love....

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Day 6 – 20 of my favorite things

I am going to exclude the EXTREMELY obvious: people, pets and my orthodontic work.



1. My wedding ring.

2. My engagement ring.

3. My pearls the husb gave me on our wedding day.

4. My camera. And my lenses that go with it.

5. My L.A.M.B. bag. I've carried it the longest. Not sure why? I am still not even in the market for a new bag and it's been almost a year! Is it true love?

6. My Louis Vuitton bag. I haven't carried it since getting the L.A.M.B., but I shall!

7. My music collection (see Blog Challenge Original Post)

8. Any and all photos in my possession, printed or digital.

9. MY MAKEUP COLLECTION. See my makeup blog for additional information.

10. All of the vacations I've taken with the husb. He's hilarious. Too bad I quit my job and the vacas were the first to go. LOL.

11. My John Deere audit staff days, the amazing places it showed me and the wonderful, awesome, forever friends it made me.

12. Expensive denim. My new R&R jeans, specifically. Thank you, Josh, for verifying they are cool.

13. All of the littles notes and pictures Belle made me. I save them ALL.

14. Five Star Facials. And massages.

15. My house. We live in the middle of nowhere and it's the most calming, peaceful, wonderful place ever. And I get to see the farmboy drive tractors and combines and whatnot around on the weekends. It's awesome.

16. Barn Dances. I really want to have an anniversary party.

17. This blog challenge. It's seriously pretty fun. Thanks, Laura!

18. The fact I'm not working right now. Being a stay at home mom is ****ing AWESOME. ;)

19. DIET COKE. DIET PEPSI. DIET MOUNTAIN DEW. DIET DR. PEPPER. DIET CHERRY PEPSI.

20. My bed. It's like a cloud.



Just to mix it up a little, and because my posts from the past couple days have been short...I shall say 20 things I hate, as well :)



1. The Progressive Car Insurance lady. I would feel really bad if she knew I said this, because I don't know her, but I still hate her.

2. How The Gap, The Limited, Old Navy, etc all ask if I want a credit card. As much as I shop, it's seriously the most annoying thing ever. I stopped going to the Limited Southpark because I can't stand those girls. Hello, I had all the credit cards I wanted by age 22. Then, I had to spend time getting rid of them so my wallet didn't continue to weigh 42 lbs. No, I do not want any more cards...business, credit, punch, etc.

3. Glade air freshener, especially plug-ins and those fake gel candles. This just made me realize I should have included "Scentsy" in the 20 Favorites. My house is filled with the sweet smells of Scentsy right now.

4. The fact I haven't gone to yoga. I'm starting to really get pissed at myself for this. I love yoga. Tapas Yoga Shala and Indigo should totally be in the top 20 with Scentsy!!

5. (Most) Italian Food. Marinara-ish stuff is not my favorite. I am more of a super-spicy Thai person.

6. Shots. UGH. Cannot stand hard alcohol. Except the tequila hiding in my margaritas.

7. Red wine. I think it tastes like bacon...which I also hate. My friend Kates makes fun of me all the time. She works at a wine store and I bought some Cranberry wine from her the other day. I told her I couldn't believe I bought red wine. Then, she informed me, I bought white wine that happens to be red. lol. Oops.

8. The song "Celebrity" by Brad Paisley. No offense to Brad, as I love many of his other songs. F. Now I have that song in my head!

9. That Belle will be a Lancer. No offense to the Lancers...I am just a die-hard Falcon. GO WEST.

10. June bugs. Ew. And centipedes. Eeew! I don't mind spiders, though.

11. Getting my tattoos lasered off. Oh yeah, it hurts. Fortunately, I don't have to do it anymore. Ahhh...getting Betty Boop tattooed on my ankle at age 17 was so much fun! ;)

12. Politics. I know it's important. Sorry, but it's true: I hate politics.

13. Skinny jeans. Love them on others; cannot stand the thought of wearing them around my ankles. And no, not because I'm trying to show off the remnants of Betty Boop.

14. Running. Dear Running, I want to like you but I hate you. Love, Moi

15. The fact I type a million words per minutes and never spell-check or proof-read before I post.

16. RJ Boars.

17. The lobster tank at Red Lobster. I mean, is this necessary?

18. Haunted Houses. I am just not a fan. Scary!! I don't like anything scary - horror movies, etc.

19. Rides that spin: Silly Silo, Gravatron, those chairs that swing around in a huge circle, The Sizzler, etc, etc, etc. Ugh.

20. Putting laundry away. I don't mind doing it but putting away IS HORRIBLE!!!!!!!

Love,
Ann :)

Friday, October 1, 2010

Day 5 - Favorite Quote

Huge quote person. Lovvvve them.

My faves =

"Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the cornfield." -Dwight D. Eisenhower

"If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons." -James Thurber

"The more you photograph, the more you realize what can and what can't be photographed. You just have to keep doing it." -Eliot Porter

Day 4 - Post #2 - Randomness

OMG, I know.

I had seriously just deleted my blog information from my Facebook last week because I was like - I never write, so I assume no one ever reads, so I shall delete. I may need to make a grand re-entrance.

I just wanted to point out how much I love not working. It's soooo freaking great. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FREAKING GREAT. I was a working accountant mom for almost ten years (omg) so I will NEVER, EVER take this relaxed life for granted. I would NEVER want to go back to the rushing around in the a.m.'s and tired brain-frazzled evenings! Love love love my husband for agreeing to this situation :)

I also wanted to point out how annoying The Today Show is. Seriously, they go over the same things over and over and over. I love how they constantly have "Health Advice" givers on and they say the same things: "Drink lots of water!" (with a photo of a glass of water in the background)..."Exercise 3 times per week!" (photo of person walking through a park in the background)...."Eat fruits and veggies (photo of banana and carrot in background). I mean seriously...everyone watching right now knows this. Give me some new tips I can really use. How can I make Diet Coke be considered "healthy" or how will facials prolong my life??

I noticed all of my grandparents or Kurt's mom or whoever stays home just parks the show on Channel 6. I always thought, omg I want to watch The Today Show, too. Ya know, just have it on while I'm doing miscellaneous "what nots" around the house with no plans or needs to go anywhere except the grocery store. And have the smell of coffee yummying up the air, like they always did. The only problem is that I hate coffee but I may take up drinking it just to have the full effect.

I have no idea how this post went down that road. LOL.

HAPPPPPPY FRIIIIIDAY!

Love,
Ann :)

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Day 4 – your favorite book

OMG, I used to read obsessively prior to having the rugratos. All through elementary, junior high, high school and college.

The book that always sticks out as my favorite is Needful Things by Stephan King. Maybe I'll read it again and figure out why since I haven't read it for like 17 years.

Love,
Ann

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Day 3 – your favorite television program

Golden Girls.

I loved it when I was 7 and watched it all the time with my Grandma, until I got old enough to have a driver's license and stopped staying the night with her. I'd do anything to go spend some more nights hanging out with her.

I loved it when I was 23 and lived with Belle's Grandma while Belle's dad was overseas. We watched it alll the time. So much fun!

I loved it when I could finally get it on DVD! I have all the boxes sets!

I loved it when I was on Maternity Leave this year and watched it at all hours of the night!

I still love it now that I'm home during the day and watching daytime tv :) :) :)

It's the greatest show ever.

The second greatest show ever is Jersey Shore. I'm just sayin'. Gotta go GTL.

Love y'all!
Ann

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

WT# - Photo deleted from Day 2 Post??? Grrr.

Here it is...

=LOVE




Day 2 - Favorite Movie

Absolutely no question about this one:



The End.

Love,
Ann

Monday, September 27, 2010

Day 1 - Your Favorite Song

If you have no idea why I'm answering these questions, see Blog Challenge post from earlier today...

OMG, no way can I narrow it down to 1! I will have no problem doing this in some of the other categories.

I am a big believer in "You are what you listen to." I seriously made this up...I think(???). Other people probably think it, too...but I've never heard anyone say it except me. HERE WE GO!

This will be extremely hard to do without large commentary on each song (we all know I talk too much) but...

If you put a gun to my head (scary!) and made me pick my three top favorite songs, it would, without a doubt, be:

Sweet Home Alabama - L.S.
Dixieland Delight - Alabama
Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones

If you happened to mention the gun wasn't loaded, the list would get much longer and would quickly include:

Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival - I am a huge CCR fan.
Lodi - CCR
When I'm 64 - The Beatles
Hold on Loosely - .38 Special
Tumblin' Dice - The Rolling Stones
Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show
L.A. Woman - The Doors
Roadhouse Blues - The Doors
High Cotton - Alabama
Let's Go - The Cars
She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy - Kenny, hello.
The Good Stuff - Kenny
Lay You Down - Conway Twitty
Come a Little Closer - Dierks Bentley
Is Anybody Loving You These Days - Dierks Bentley
Yeah! -Usher - What??
Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
Get Rhythm - Johnny Cash
Jackson - Johnny & June
Johnny & June - Heidi Newfield
Shoulda Been a Cowboy - Toby Keith
Get In Where You Fit in - Too $hort
Soulshine - Gov't Mule
I'm On Fire - Bruce Springsteen
Tight Fittin' Jeans - Conway Twitty
Alabama - Cross Canadian Ragweed
17 - Cross Canadian Ragweed
Hey, Hey What Can I Do? - Led Zeppelin
Rocky Mountain Way - Joe Walsh
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
Green River - CCR
I Believe in You - Don Williams
The Galway Girl - Steve Earle
Crazy Game of Poker - O.A.R.
All Right Now - Free
What About Georgia - Miranda Lambert
Don't It Make You Wanna Dance - Jason Boland
It's Alright - Bleu Edmondson
$50 and a Flask of Crown - Bleu Edmondson
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet Emooooooooooooooooooooootion - Aerosmith
Ballroom Blitz - Misfits
Free Fallin' - Tom Petty but I like the John Mayer one better.
Cherry Bomb - John Cougar Mellancamp
What's My Name - Snoop Dogg, of course!
John Deere Green - Joe Diffie
Redneck Girl - Bellamy Brothers
Gett Off - Prince
7 - Prince
Purple Rain - Prince
Little Red Corvette - Prince
Raspberry Beret - Prince
Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound - Anyone who sings it is a friend of mine.
The Dope Show - Marilyn Manson
Guitars, Cadillacs - Dwight Yokam
Rock and Roll Girls - John Fogerty
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams
Back to Da Hotel - N2Deep - what??
Up on Cripple Creek - The Band
Pretty Vegas - INXS
Pearl Necklace - ZZTop - what?? I had no idea what this song meant until a couple years ago at the fair when I was dancing around singing it. Thanks, Craig, for telling me :) I still love it, though!
Got Me Under Pressure - ZZTop
My Best Friend's Girl - The Cars
Sweet Child O Mine - GNR
Family Tradition (!!!) - Hank Williams, Jr.
State Line - Cooder Graw
Louisiana Saturday Night - Mel McDaniel
Down Home - Alabama
Jack & Diane - John Cougar Mellancamp
Back Where I Come From - Kenny C.
Ditty - Paperboy
Night Moves - Bob Segar
Blues Man - Alan Jackson
Mayberry - Rascal Flatts
Hey Jude - The Beatles
Melissa - Allman Brothers Band
Down on the Corner - CCR
Take It to the Limit - The Eagles
Never Been to Spain - Three Dog Night


If I had to name just a few, that is...

LOVVVVVE ~
Ann :)

BLOGGGG CHALLLENNNGGGGE! GO!

My muy awesome-o friend, Laura, has created a blog challenge. I am beyond stoked. We commit to blogging for 30 days.

Please start scoping her blog, too: http://www.themeckleys.com/ :)

Here is the challenge! I shall start TOMORROW! We all know I love blogging...but I do not do it. Why? I do not know. My old excuse was I had a job. Holla!

30-Day Blog Challenge

Day 1 – your favorite song
Day 2 – your favorite movie
Day 3 – your favorite television program
Day 4 – your favorite book
Day 5 – your favorite quote
Day 6 – 20 of my favorite things
Day 7 – a photo that makes you happy
Day 8 – a photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9 – a photo you took
Day 10 – a photo taken over 10 years ago of you
Day 11 – a photo of you recently
Day 12 – something you are OCD about
Day 13 – a fictional book
Day 14 – a non-fictional book
Day 15 – your dream house
Day 16 – a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 – an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
Day 18 – my wedding/future wedding/past wedding
Day 19 – a talent of yours
Day 20 – a hobby of yours
Day 21 – a recipe
Day 22 – a website
Day 23 – a youtube video
Day 24 – where I live
Day 25 – your day, in great detail
Day 26 – your week, in great detail
Day 27 – my worst habit
Day 28 – whats in my handbag/purse
Day 29 – hopes,dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 – a dream for the future