Good news (and chocolate)

Good News:
Monica and her husband have received some wonderful news regarding their finances. I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to talk specifics yet, so I'll just leave it at that. God is good!

Chocolate:
On Sunday, I made more of the Christmas treats I mentioned last week and wanted to finally share the recipe with you. I modified this from a recipe for "Crockpot Candy", but since I didn't use the Crockpot, I'm at a loss for how to title this. I guess I'll keep it simple...

Erin's Christmas Candy
1 lb. white chocolate (the stuff I used was called "candy coating")
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (either chocolate chips or baking chocolate squares)
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
12 oz. salted peanuts
2 - 2 1/2 cups crushed cinnamon graham crackers*
2 - 2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Put all of the chocolate into a double-boiler to melt, or melt it in the microwave. (Or throw it in your crockpot on low, go do something else productive for a few hours, then come back and proceed.) After it is melted and smooth, add the peanuts and graham crackers, and stir well to make sure they are completely coated with chocolate. Then add the marshmallows, and again, stir well to make sure they are coated with chocolate.

Spread the mixture out on cookie sheets lined with foil, and allow to cool. (I put mine in the garage, since it cools more quickly out there.) When the candy has hardened, break it into pieces.
That's it!

*With the graham crackers, I don't crush them as fine as I would for a graham cracker crust - I try to leave them in fairly big chunks.

Other notes about this recipe...

• Last year I tried this with crushed pretzels and caramel. It turned out ok, but the caramel got really hard and it was a workout to eat it. :-) I might get ambitious and try it again this year, using only the pretzels.
• If you want the marshmallows to be more melty (I'm sure this is an official baking term, right?), just throw them into the chocolate before the peanuts and graham crackers. This will give them more time to heat up and get ooey and gooey in the chocolate.
• I used 12 oz of peanuts the first time, and it seemed like too many, so I used less on the second try. Adjust all of this to your own preferences and tastes.
• If you can think of any other variation for this, please let me know. This is so easy to throw together and it got rave reviews last year, so I would love to have lots of different ways to make it.

Mmmmmm. I also made candied popcorn using this recipe, and plan on trying this recipe for caramel corn. I don't know if I'll ever get around to making cookies this year, but even if I don't, I think I'll have plenty of yummy holiday treats!

Another unexpected bump in the road

My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer on Friday.

I was shocked when she called me at work to give me the news. I knew she had a biopsy earlier in the week, and I knew she would get the results on Friday. I felt sure it would be a good report. Surely the doctor just wanted to be extra cautious because of our mom's history; surely it would turn out benign.

But it wasn't.

The news hit me hard. When my mom was diagnosed this summer, I had so much other stuff going on. My mind was full with the details of a new job, moving, and increased busyness for Mike at his job. I didn't have time to stop and let it sink in.

All of those pent up emotions, along with the emotion of the new diagnosis, came rushing out on Friday after I talked to Monica.

I'm so blessed to work in a Christian environment. Jaimee (my boss) took time to listen to me blabber on for a while, then prayed with me. I emailed two of my dear friends on campus (I work at a college) to tell them, and they surprised me by making the trek all the way down to my office to give me a hug and pray for me.

I had a little meltdown when I picked Kaitlyn up at the sitter's house. She was being so very, terribly two (Kaitlyn, not the sitter, in case you were confused) and I was at a complete loss for how to respond. She was pushing limits she's never pushed while at Meagan's house (at least while I'm there) and I just stood there thinking, I know I should do something, but I just don't have a clue how to wear the mom hat right now.

So, I burst into tears.

But then things got a little better. By the time we got home, Kaitlyn was asleep. I sat on the couch and held her, and it gave me a much needed quiet moment for myself. Mike stopped and picked up Chinese take-out for dinner. Yum!

I also got to talk with Monica and get the details of her late afternoon doctor's appointment. Her treatment options sound very good. She caught it early, and the doctor expects that she will beat this and have a long life ahead of her.

The doctors handling her treatment are the same doctors who have handled my mom's treatment, which is a blessing. They are wonderful doctors and Monica has already talked with them several times regarding my mom, so she already knows them, is comfortable with them, and knows that she is in good hands.

She will have surgery before Christmas to have the tumor removed, and then she will have chemo and possibly radiation.

She has a very positive outlook about the whole thing - in fact, she is going to blog about her journey. You can read her thoughts here.

Please keep us all in your prayers. I have a lot more in my heart that I want to share, but right now I feel at loss for how to share it.

I'll close with a song that we sang today at church - it hit me in a whole new way.

I can do anything in fifteen minutes...

...including writing a post for my sadly neglected blog.

(Thank you FlyLady for the fifteen minute mantra!)

Life hasn't been overly crazy lately, but it has been a lot of life. Does that make any sense? I look back over the past two weeks and I can only think of one major, out-of-the-ordinary event, but I feel like I have been so busy.

Maybe it's the fact that the holidays are approaching? Who knows.

Anyway, the one major, out-of-the-ordinary event was Mike getting hives. Last Thursday he came home, ate some canned soup for dinner (my menu plan was non-existent last week), and ten minutes later he was itching like crazy.

He pulled his shirt up, and his whole stomach was red. I freaked out; he said, "Oh, it's probably just because that's where I've been scratching." I dropped the issue for about two minutes, and then I freaked out some more and practically forced him out the door to the urgent care center.

I suspected it was hives, and neither of us have ever had hives. I figured since it was the first time, it would be good to get everything checked out and, you know, get actual medical advice.

(As opposed to reading a bunch of stuff on WebMD. Not that I ever do that.)

By the time Mike got home from the urgent care center and CVS, he had HUGE, dinner-plate-size welts on his stomach and legs, and welts on his arms and feet.

(I will pause here to mention that, in the end, he was thankful I made him go to the doctor. Ahem. Thank you very much.)

He had one miserable night, and then everything pretty much cleared up. I don't know what caused the hives, so we are praying that it was a freak thing. And, he's never eating chicken and sausage gumbo from a can again.

In other news, Kaitlyn has hit a whole new stage of terrible two-ness. Everything in our house has become SO! DRAMATIC!

Her favorite thing is to melt to the floor, most of the time collapsing to her knees and putting her face to the floor, all while whining and carrying on. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Wow - my fifteen minutes is up. I guess that's all the news for now! I did make some yummy Christmas treats last weekend, so I'll have to return later and post the recipe.

Compassion trip to the Dominican Republic

Last February, Compassion took a group of bloggers to Uganda. Each of the bloggers wrote about their trip and about the work that Compassion does.

It was because of these bloggers that I became a sponsor for little Susana, who lives in Nicaragua and just turned five two weeks ago.

Right now, another trip is taking place in the Dominican Republic. Once again, I have been moved to tears by what the participants have posted on their blogs. I have been mostly following Melanie, from the Big Mama blog, and "Marlboro Man," from the Pioneer Woman blog.

There are two things I encourage you to do:

1. Visit these blogs and read about their experiences. It will make you feel a little squirmy, and a little sad, but it will also inspire you and give you great hope and joy. I promise. If you only have time to visit one, I would tell you to visit Pioneer Woman. Marlboro Man and their two daughters have written some beautiful posts.

2a. Sponsor a child. You won't regret it.

2b. If you already sponsor a child, read this post about why it's so important to build a relationship with your child through writing letters.

Democracy was at work. The signs, however, were a completely different story.

So I got up at 5:30 this morning so I could make it to the polls and still get to work on time.

Have I ever mentioned that I'm not a morning person? But I was absolutely dedicated to making my vote count, and if this is what I had to do to make sure I voted, then I would do it.

Part of the reason I got up so early is because I didn't know what to expect at our new polling location. At our old location it wasn't a problem to get in and out quickly, but I wanted to give myself plenty of time just in case.

As I approached the location (a fire station) I realized that it was a good thing I arrived early.

The line was already around the building, and there was no place to park. People were parking on the grass, in the street - anywhere there was space.

I had to circle the building before returning to my starting point and parking in the grass. I got in line and realized that, out of all the people in line at that moment, I happened to have gotten in line behind a co-worker. What are the odds?

Jeanne and I began chatting and I found out that this is the first year voting has taken place at the fire station. Until now it's been at the high school. This, along with a very interesting election and huge voter turnout, only compounded a bigger problem: a complete lack of signage.

After standing in line for a few minutes, someone mentioned that there were TWO lines. One for precinct (or district or whatever) 73 and one for 74.

Which one was I? I had no clue.

I also had no clue which line I was standing in. Was I in 73? Or 74? Surely there should be some signs... or someone to give us some information...

Or not.

The good news is that I had grabbed my voter registration confirmation thing-a-ma-jig on my way out the door. (It was on the fridge, next to the coffee pot. If it was anywhere else, I'm sure I would have not thought to bring it.)

I looked at it and saw that I was 74. First problem solved.

Then I heard someone say we were in the line for 73. Of course.

I left my line and walked around the building, where I inadvertently walked through a flower bed and I think I stepped on a plant of some sort. I got to the end of the flower bed, was met with a small brick wall, and had to squeeze past some people waiting in line in order to avoid an awkward step/jump over the wall.

(Jackie, I thought of you.)

The people that I squeezed past looked a little annoyed. I tried to ignore them.

Immediately after I got past the annoyed people, I saw the signs on the door and realized that I had, in fact, been in the 74 line to begin with. Of course.

So, back I went. The annoyed people were still annoyed, and I still had to cut through the flower bed, and I think I stepped on the plant for a second time, despite my care to NOT step on it.

(Hey - it was 6:20 a.m., it was dark, and I hadn't had a full cup of coffee yet.)

I once again joined Jeanne and passed the word on that we were in the 74 line. She became concerned that she might be in the wrong line. We discussed this with the people around us, and no one seemed to know if they were 73 or 74.

I mean, really, who remembers this stuff from year to year? I had a hard enough time trying to research who all was running for office in my area and figuring out who I needed to read up on in order to make an informed vote.

I also have a hard enough time remembering all of my pin numbers, computer passwords, id numbers, and even my address and phone number, for Pete's sake.

Anyway, everyone decided to stay in the 74 line, despite their uncertainty. We figured that everyone else probably had questions about this and it would get sorted out once we got inside.

Or maybe there would be some sort of map as we got closer to the door that would help everyone know if they were a 73 or a 74.

Or, maybe that would make too much sense, and instead, maybe there only would be a few small "73" and "74" signs hidden in the grass, and no other signs whatsoever.

Once we got inside the doors and had our ID's checked, we proceeded to the next table where the volunteers had the incredibly big book of names. This was the moment of truth for Jeanne. Would her name appear in the book?

The suspense. You could have cut it with a knife.

(Well, not really. But I thought I'd throw a little drama into the mix.)

Jeanne's name was not in the book. It wasn't terribly tragic, because she just had to walk to the other side of the room and check in at the 73 table. Crisis averted.

However, when we had arrived inside, one of the volunteers at the table with the giant book of names said, "WHY are there so many people in the WRONG LINE?"

Several people commented that it was due to the non-existent signs.

While I sat at the table, filling out my ballot, this same volunteer carried on a conversation with herself. Apparently, she is hard of hearing because she had to talk very LOUDLY.

"Who is sorting these people outside???"

"This is the 15th person in a row that has come to the WRONG TABLE!"

"Who is supposed to be sorting these people??"

"Whoever is sorting these people is not doing a very good job."

"WHO IS SUPPOSED TO BE SORTING EVERYONE BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT DOING THEIR JOB."

Oh my word. It took everything in my power to not turn around and say, "Lady, considering the fact that YOU are the one with the giant book of names, it seems that YOU are the designated sorter. So get over it!!"

Sheesh!

Despite the disgruntled-with-the-sorting lady, I fulfilled my civic duty.

And despite my whining about it, the whole ordeal wasn't as bad as what it could have been.

(At least the right information was printed on my card.)

Now I'm just sitting back, waiting for the results...

Prayer request

I just read this post by Whitney at Baby Tunnel Exodus.

I am in shock, and am heartbroken. Please keep her (and this situation) in your prayers.

Efficiency cooking

I have been busy, busy, busy in the kitchen tonight.

Well, I'm not sure if my activity qualifies for three "busy" labels, but it does qualify for at least two. (It does. I checked the rules and guidelines on using the word "busy" and according to the powers-that-be, I am completely justified.)

(I just made that last part up.)

(Like you didn't already know that.)

Yeah, so anyway, back to tonight's "efficiency cooking." I'm calling it this because I cooked several things tonight that will make my meal preparation for the week a breeze. I also have some surplus that will go in the freezer for future meals. Yay!

So, first, here is my menu plan for the week:

Monday
Pork chops in the crock pot, stuffing, cooked carrots

Tuesday
Goulash, salad

Wednesday
Rush off to church night - leftovers, or whatever we can find

Thursday
Chicken stir fry, rice

Friday
Sloppy Joe's, fries, and some form of vegetable

And now, the efficiency part...

In the past couple months I've made an effort to stockpile things in my freezer. This means that I try to make extras of what I'm making already, or I am intentional about prepping foods ahead of time so they are easier to use down the road.

There are three things that I did weeks ago that will help me immensely this week. First, I bought a big beef roast on sale, made it in the crock pot, then sliced it and froze it.

Second, I made a triple batch of sloppy joe's when we had company two weeks ago, and froze the extra.

Third, when I make pasta or noodles, I try to make double what I need so I can freeze the rest. I figure if I'm going to have to wash my big ole pasta pot, I might as well make enough for several meals!

Now on to what I did today. Kroger had chicken breasts on sale this week so I picked up several packages, and I threw all of the chicken in the crock pot when we got home from church today. I cubed all of it tonight, and what I don't use for my chicken stir fry will go in the freezer for use at a later date.

Next, I pulled out some bell peppers, carrots, and mushrooms and chopped them up. I stir fried all of the carrots, and half of the peppers and mushrooms. I tried to leave them a little undercooked so that when I reheat them on Thursday (adding some of the cubed chicken that I cooked in the crock pot), they'll be just right.

In the same pan that I used for the stir fry, I cooked the rest of the peppers and mushrooms, along with some chopped tomatoes. Then I diced my pre-cooked roast, threw that into the mix, and eventually added my pre-cooked macaroni, a can of tomato soup, and some tomato sauce to finish off my goulash. This is now in the fridge, ready to be reheated and eaten on Tuesday.

Since I am using the crock pot tomorrow to cook my pork chops, and since my sloppy joes are pre-made and waiting for me in the freezer, all of this cooking tonight means that I won't have to do much cooking for the rest of the week. Woohoo!

Oh, and tomorrow I am making more pork chops than we can possibly eat (like the chicken, I bought extra because they were on sale this week), so guess where those will end up? In the freezer! For a future meal!

(I seriously need to get a stand-alone freezer.)

Another thing I accomplished tonight was making all of our lunches ahead for the week. I made enough sandwiches for the whole week and bagged up a bunch of chips, then set all of the other elements (cans of pop, fruit cups, 100-calorie cookie packs, pudding) together on a shelf where I can easily grab them in the morning.

Yeah, AND I set the coffee for tomorrow morning.

This was more than I wanted to do on a Sunday night, but knowing that I'm pretty much set for the week makes it all worth it.

Here are three more things to be excited about this week:
1. My birthday!
2. As of Wednesday, no more political ads.
3. My first bloggy award! (Thanks Whitney!) I'll be back to post about this tomorrow.

Head over to orgjunkie.com for more great meal plans!