Say What?! Cauliflower Soup???

On one of my last posts I mentioned that cauliflower soup was on the menu.  It's yet another thing that I have discovered on pinterest.  I've never been real fan of cauliflower - I can get it down no problem, but it's not exactly something I have to have...  But, I figured the recipe seemed simple enough and looked to be more on the 'healthy' side, so why not give it a shot? 

The end result was something very unexpected!  I love love LOVE this soup!  I mean, it is seriously my favorite soup of all time, at the moment!  You can find the original recipe here.  I made some changes based on what I had on hand and the fact that I was too lazy to actually cook and add the bacon...  But even with the changes, it still came out 'oh-so-delish!'

Not much is needed for this recipe at all!  Just cauliflower, chicken broth, (and if you so choose) cheese and bacon!  First thing I did was steam my cauliflower in a countertop steamer Eric bought for me a couple Christmases ago.  You can always do it on the stove or even in the microwave if need be. 

The thing that really attracted me to this soup was the fact that they called it a "creamy" cauliflower soup.  I LOVE me some creamy soups!  The only downfall, however, is that most creamy soups call for cream (no, really?!) of some kind and that makes the calories go waaay up.  And they normally just don't taste the same when subbing milk instead.  When looking at the recipe, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was no cream needed at all, just chicken broth! 

So after my cauliflower was steamed I simply put it all in a blender and added my broth.  Now, I didn't have chicken broth on hand, so I just put some water and then sprinkled in some boullion powder.  Mine was actually beef flavored, I believe.  Add as much or as little water as you want to get your desired consistency.  Mine looked kind of like liquidy mashed potatoes by the time I was done. 

Now you can stop here, by all means, if you want!  I enjoyed the soup exactly how it was at this point, but I could still taste a little bit of cauliflower and knew that this wouldn't fly with the hubby.  So this is when I decided to add some cheese.  The original recipe called for some gorgonzola cheese as a garnish, but all I had was mozzarella.  I actually threw my cheese in the blender with the soup and pulsed it a few times.  The taste after my mozzarella addition: out of this world!!  I couldn't believe how much better it tasted simply by adding a little bit of cheese (but then, we all know that cheese makes EVERYTHING taste better... haha). 

As I said earlier, I was too lazy too cook up the bacon, so just left it out.  However, I did NOT see the tip on the original recipe that said you can cook your bacon in the microwave - I may have actually tried it if I had seen it!  If the cheese made it taste as good as it did, I can only imagine what the addition of bacon would have done! 

Anyway, when I was serving up the soup, I added some more mozzarella to the bowls and let it melt on top.  Unless you like a big stringy, gloopy mess, I do not reccommend this.  It was much better when it was simply blended into the soup.  (But I'm sure other cheeses would be just fine sprinkled on top...) 

Eric (somehow) managed to get by with only taking one bite of the soup.  (It was his birthday, so I let it slide...)  He said it wasn't his favorite, but it wasn't bad either.  I'll take it - that guy is almost impossible to please when it comes to food!  haha  =) 

I tried to give Haylee some, but her "that's-something-healthy-for-me" radar must have been going off cause she absolutely refused to open her mouth to take a bite.  But I (being the big, bad, horrible mother that I am) forced some in anyway.  After she painstakingly swallowed that tiny drip of cauliflower soup, do you know what her response was?

"More, more, more.  Pleeeeeeaaaaase?!"

I'm dead serious!  After that, I couldn't spoon the stuff into her mouth fast enough!  Eric thought it was funny.  I was regretting having her try it in the first place, cause the little stinker was eating all my soup - and FAST...  The next day, Haylee and I had some leftover soup at lunchtime.  She loved it, yet again.  No lie - after every bite she would say, "mmmmm, yummy!" 

So go try some cauliflower soup...and soon!  You won't regret it!  At least I'm pretty sure you won't.  And if you do...Haylee will always eat your leftovers...  =)

Homemade Miracle Cleaner

I’m not big on cleaning.  Don’t get me wrong, I love having clean things…but I generally get fed up with the amount of time, elbow grease, and/or money for cleaning products required to do the job. However, when I do take the time to clean something, I am overcome with pride and the feeling that I can conquer anything.  But that feeling soon fades when something else becomes soiled and I am faced, yet again, with the grueling task of scrubbing till my knuckles bleed.

I always felt that if I could simply find a cleaning product that was inexpensive, actually worked, and didn’t require much on my part…I might actually clean more often.  Well, on one of my Pinterest searches one day, I found what looked to be a very promising homemade cleaning concoction. 

Maybe you’ve seen it.  The mixture of Dawn dish washing liquid and hydrogen peroxide that claims to be one of the only spot removers you will ever need!  But if you’re like me, repinning the idea was about as far as you got and you have no clue if the stuff actually works or not.  If that is the case – wonder no longer!  I decided to actually try some of the things I had pinned on my boards and this spot remover was one of the first things on my list!

After doing a load of laundry the other day, I noticed that there was a cloth wipe that had some not-so-pretty spots on it. 

I won’t go into detail about what the spots were from…I’ll just tell you that I’m a cloth diapering mama and leave the rest to your imagination…  :)  While I’m sure the wipe was perfectly clean and sanitary, I shudder at the thought of having something that looked so…yucky!  Naturally, I deemed this a perfect time to try out my new recipe. 

1 part Dawn Dishwashing Liquid (the original blue kind)

2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide

Mix together and pour directly on the stain.

The website also says that if it is a big stain, you can always add the mixture to a bucket of hot water and submerse your stained item in it.  I actually chose to mix mine in a spray bottle and just squirt it onto my wipe.  I probably didn’t have to put as much as I did, but I didn’t want to go through the whole process just to find out I needed more…so I opted to douse the thing and let the mixture do its job. 

I’m not going to lie – I am a very impatient person and after about a minute or two of waiting, I decided to give the wipe a little rub to agitate the mixture and then rinse it out.  And since I am a big fan of “before and after” photos…

I was so excited!  Ecstatic!  Over the moon with happiness!  So much so, that I ran to the living room to get my daughter’s Princess chair.  She’s had it for over a year now and you can definitely tell that it is well loved.  From food stains, to milk stains, to “what-in-the-world-could-that-possibly-be?!” stains…this chair has definitely seen better days. 

I doused the entire chair with my miracle cleaner and then let it sit.  Because this seemed like it would be a harder job, I left it alone for a bit longer (albeit, just a little bit longer…).  After waiting for what seemed like an eternity (but was probably less than 10 minutes), I took a rag and started rubbing little circles on the soiled areas.  I have no clue if this is “proper” or not, but when I was finished I didn’t try to rinse it off in any way.  I just wiped off the excess foam from my light scrubbing, then sat back and admired the fruits of my labor.

It’s not 100% perfect, but by golly – it’s pretty close!  I’m thinking that another cleaning or two will have this chair looking like new!  I should probably mention that this is not the first time I have attempted cleaning this chair.  I tried a couple other things that seemed simple enough, but just didn’t deliver.  If anything, they made things worse.  I was planning on trying out a recipe I found that called for whipping Dawn dishwashing liquid in my Kitchenaid mixture until it took on the consistency of whipped cream…but that was just waaaay more work than I really cared to do. 

I can honestly say, however, that this new little combination has me thinking of other things I can use it on.  Those spots of fruit punch that have been on the carpet for the last year and a half…they’re next.  Along with the white shirt that me and my clumsy self splattered buffalo wing sauce all over.  I’m even thinking of attacking the dingy looking grout in our bathroom to see if maybe, just maybe, it will work on that as well.  I hate to say it but…I think I’m starting to like cleaning!!

The Only Mistake God Ever Made...

A couple weeks ago Eric got a bad (and I mean BAD) case of food poisoning.  I honestly don't think he went longer than an hour without running to the bathroom to toss his cookies - poor thing...  =(  After 12 hours of this (this all started at 6 in the morning), we finally decided to take him to the emergency room.  Don't ask why it took us so long to do the obvious - I honestly couldn't tell ya.  I just know that I regret not going sooner... 

Anyway, as I was rushing to get myself, Haylee, and two (yes TWO) rather large diaper bags ready for our trip to the ER (you never know how long you'll be there and/or what you'll need with a little one, after all!), I heard Eric's shaky call coming from the bathroom.  After running to the bathroom (actually, I'm not sure if you can call what I did running - it was probably more like a super brisk waddle), Eric informed me that he felt like he was about to pass out.  Knowing that there was no way possible that my big ole pregnant self would be able to lift him up and somehow manage to get him to the van, I told him that I thought we needed to call an ambulance.  I was very shocked and surprised when he actually agreed, since under normal circumstances he would come back with a "I'm okay, babe.  I'll be alright." 

So, long story short - after the ambulance arrived and carried him off to the ER, 2-3 hours of IV's and tests, and 5 stickers and a grape popsicle later (for Haylee of course... ;) ), we were told that my poor hubby was so severly sick and dehydrated because of food poisoning.  We were sent home with instructions on what to eat and what not to eat and a prescription to get filled.  Since it was late at night (and I wasn't about to make Eric wait till the next day to get his medicine), the only pharmacy open was at the Walgreens in Enterprise. 

So after fighting with Haylee to get her to go night-night (that little booger despises bedtime *sigh*), trying to make sure Eric had everything he needed for my not-so-long absence while I was at the pharmacy, and then frantically rushing about trying to remember where exactly I decided to put my keys when we walked in the door...I finally started making my way to the van. 

But that's when it happened. 

There, above the door (which has ridiculously large gaps between it and the door frame, I might add), sat one of the largest, ugliest, and most cockiest roaches I have ever seen in my life!  I suppose I should tell you that I absolutely DETEST roaches and I am seriously scared of the little boogers.  One of my biggest fears goes something like this:

There is a roach on the floor.  I step on it with my shoed foot.  But the nasty thing doesn't die and somehow squirms out from under my shoe and proceeds to climb up my leg. 

You may think it's stupid, but it's one of my fears all the same...  I realize that there is a reason for everything that God made, but I really can't figure out what a roach's purpose is.  I know God doesn't make mistakes, but I sometimes wonder what He was thinking when he made roaches. 

Anyway, you may be wondering why I said it was a cocky roach.  The reason: because, I could just tell!  That and the fact that the stupid thing cleverly decided to perch himself just out of reach...and it's like he knew how completely terrified I was of him and even more so terrified that attempting to whack him with a fly swatter would result with him jumping off the wall and onto me, which would then result with my husband waking up in the morning to find me dead on the kitchen floor. 

Normally, I would scream for Eric that there was a roach and he would coming running to my rescue (okay, more like casually strolling while laughing and rolling his eyes...same difference, right?).  This night, however, my handsome knight in shining armor was fast asleep in bed after an absolutely exhausting day and I probably wouldn't have had any luck rousing him.  (Is it horrible of me, that after all he went through, I was still tempted to try and wake him up so he could kill the big bad roach for me???)  So I did what I deducted I had no choice to do...drag out the step stool, grab the fly swatter, and attempt to kill the stupid thing. 

And attempt was all I did. 

After about 5 minutes of me shakily standing on the step stool, trying to figure out how close I needed to be while still being as far as way as possible, and letting out many many whimpers (how pathetic am I?), I finally mustered up the courage to take a swing at the thing.  Which ended up being a swing and a miss and resulted in me following the roach all around our kitchen and living room as he so cleverly stayed at the very top of the wall, making it that much harder for me to kill him.  Eventually, he made his way to a section of our house that made it impossible for me to even attempt to kill him.  After telling the roach exactly what I thought of him, I finally gave up and decided to just head to the pharmacy. 

I remember thinking how incredibly sad it was that as stressful, hectic, and tiring as our day was - it was the thought of a roach in my house that made me want to cry.  No, scratch that - not cry...I wanted to weep.  Great big body-shaking sobs!  As I fought back the tears, I couldn't help but think of 2 Timothy 1:7.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

Call me crazy if you want to.  I realize I wasn't being fearful of something 'big' like death or bankruptcy or a failed marriage - it was just a roach!  But the entire drive to the pharmacy had me playing images in my mind of how this roach would find me while I was sleeping (that is if I could even fall asleep knowing he was in the hosue...) and then crawl all over me...then crawl in my mouth, or ear, or nose.  *shudder*  Or he would crawl on the ceiling in our bathroom and then jump on me when I needed a potty break...  *shudder once again* 

After playing every possible scenario of what this (ultimately) harmless little bug could do to me, I started to think of how stupid it was that I was literally living my life in fear over something so silly.  But I couldn't help how I felt.  Then I realized (again, call me crazy if you want) that my fear of roaches was something that I had never prayed about before.  Maybe because I thought it would almost seem like a sin to waste God's time over something so small and insignificant.  But I had to remind me that God loved me and wanted me to share with him my fears and to ask for His help. 

So for the first time in my 26 years of living, while driving to the pharmacy, I prayed that God would take away my fear of roaches.  Simple as that.  Actually, it was probably more like begging God to take away my fear of roaches.  And do you know what I felt after praying?

Nothing.

There was no overwhelming sense of peace.  No voice from Heaven calling down to reassure me that everything would be okay.  No way whatsoever for me to know (really know) if God had answered my prayer or not.  I would simply have to wait till the next time I encountered a roach to know for sure (which wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to...). 

Fast forward a couple weeks...I was at home, chatting away on the phone with my sister, when I walked into the kitchen to get something.  There, on the wall, was a large, ugly, cocky roach!  Was it the same one as before?  I honestly couldn't tell ya, but he definintely had the same game plan as the first one - stay as close to the ceiling as possible to make it that much harder for me to kill him. 

So I'm sure you're wondering how I reacted, felt, and handled the whole situation.  If you're not...well, you sat hear and read my ramblings for this long, so I'm gonna tell you anyway!  ;)  I can honestly say that (while a little bit nervous) I was able to climb onto the step stool and calmly whack (and KILL!) the thing with a fly swatter!  All sans whimpering!  AND while still on the phone with my sister.  Talk about multitasking at it's best!  ;) 

Maybe it's not a big deal to you.  Maybe you think I need to be admitted to a psych ward.  But I can honestly say that I feel like God has answered my prayer!  Now, that's not to say that if/when I see a roach in the future, I won't assign my husband to the task of killing it...but I really think that I'm on the road to recovery! 

----

On a completely unrelated note: Today is the day that I mentioned in my last blog - Eric's birthday!  On the menu today is potato chip chicken (one of his favorites) with potatoes and cauliflower soup.  It's his day for Haylee and I to spoil him to pieces...and what did he have waiting for me when I stepped out of the shower?  A towel and robe that he warmed up for me in the dryer...Even on his birthday, he still thinks of me and does the sweetest things!

Gosh, I love him!  =)  *blush*

What I Love about the One I Love...

It’s November!  The month of turkeys, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.  The month of leaves changing colors and raining to the ground.  The month when people rush out for Black Friday and then dig around their attics for Christmas decorations.  But there’s something else very special about this month.  What is it?  This is the month that my dear, sweet, way too good to me husband was born!  (Didn’t see that one coming did ya?)  =)  Yes, it’s true.  Eric (that’s my hubby, for those of you who didn’t know…) is turning 26 in a couple of weeks!

I have recently been spending waaaay too much time on Pinterest.  (I know it seems like I just jumped from one topic to another, but go with me on this one…it’ll all make sense in a minute…haha)  I stinkin’ LOVE that site!  I now know what people were talking about when they said they had to allot a specific amount of time that they were allowed to spend on Pinterest…otherwise they didn’t get anything done. 

This was totally me the past few nights!  Either I wasn’t quite tired yet or (as was the case last night) I had to stay up to make sure Eric’s uniform was put in the dryer so he didn’t have to go to work sopping wet in the morning (apparently the Army looks down on that…).  I, naturally, deemed this a perfect time to do some pinning!  =)  It wasn’t long before I found a bunch of things that I thought would be perfect for Eric!  (See, I told you it would all tie in together!)  From gift ideas to cake ideas to activities I thought he would love to do with Haylee… 

**As a side note: Eric actually told me yesterday that when he gets home from work tonight, he would sit down with me and let me show him all of my pins on Pinterest.  I know he has absolutely no desire whatsoever to do this, but he’s willing cause he knows I love it…isn’t he just the sweetest?!  Yeah, I have the best hubby EVER!  ;)

As I was looking at everything, it got me thinking about everything I have learned about Eric over the past 5 years.  All of his likes and dislikes.  All of the little quirky things that drive me crazy, yet (at the same time) are the reasons why I love him so much.  This, in turn, got me thinking about the “About Me” lists that were going around on Facebook a while back.  You know the one I’m talking about!  The one that tells you to write “XX” amount of facts about yourself that others may not know about you.  Don’t roll your eyes – you know you filled out that list too…  ;)  Anyway, as I was making a mental list of all the little things that make my husband uniquely my husband…I decided to make an “About Eric” list.  =)  Call it a weird way of expressing my thankfulness to God for my hubby…(It is Thanksgiving time, after all!)  =)

So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to….My husband, Eric!

1.       His middle name is Daniel.

2.      He has brown hair.

3.      He has this callick/cowlick that makes his hair do something funky when it gets a little too long.  He hates it, I think it’s cute… =)

4.      I can count on one hand the amount of times in the 4 years that we’ve been married that he has gone out in public without shaving first.  He DESPISES leaving the house without first (1) taking a shower, (2) brushing his teeth, (3) shaving, and (4) putting on a pair of jeans or Khaki shorts and a polo or button up shirt.  Very rarely does he go out in public in a T-shirt…

5.      However, if you stop by our house unexpectedly…he will almost always be in a pair of starter shorts and a T-shirt.  (But if he knows you’re coming – he’ll quickly change…)

6.      While he doesn’t really care for seafood, he does enjoy shrimp (preferably fried), calamari, and tuna (provided it’s canned).

7.      I cannot express *just* how much he loves onions and scallions.

8.      He doesn’t really care for pasta too much (which can be frustrating since I could eat it every day…haha)

9.      I can (again) count on one hand the different fruits that he likes.  However, the only one that he will actually eat on his own without me telling him to is Watermelon. 

10.  I honestly think that it would be hazardous to his health if he were to go an entire day without joking in some way, shape, or form…  =)

11.  Once I joined Pinterest, I noticed I had a very odd obsession with wreaths.  Then Eric informed me that he doesn’t really care for wreaths…go figure!  Haha =)

12.  He would much rather stay at home and spend time with his family than go out with friends. 

13.  He loves guns and enjoys teaching me about them.  (“It’s not a silencer, babe.  It’s a suppressor.”)

14.  He is ridiculously good at playing the game Boggle. 

15.  He always makes it a point to pay attention and show interest in the things that I like.

16.  When I was a Premier Designs consultant, he would study the catalogs and remember the names of all the jewelry so he would know which piece I was talking to him about.  He was always so supportive of me and my business and would help me in any way he could. 

17.  He does not like cinnamon-y smells.

18.  He also hates the smell of vinegar.

19.  His favorite meals are: Potato Chip Chicken, Homemade Mac and Cheese, and Pad Thai.

20.  He doesn’t like the real, steeped-from-teabags, Iced Tea.  He does, however, love to drink that nasty powdered junk that claims to be tea… 

21.  He loves orange tic tacs.

22.  He doesn’t like to have his hands wet for too long because he can’t stand when his fingers get pruney…  haha

23.  He hates tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles, and mushrooms.  He loves broccoli, peas (yuck!), and corn.  He also likes green beans and carrots.

24.  He thinks that black pepper is spicy.

25.  When we go to Subway, he always always always gets a foot long Tuna on Honey Oat with lettuce and light mayo…

26.  His favorite thing to order at Chinese restaurants is Boneless Spare Ribs and Pork Fried Rice.

27.  At McDonald’s he always gets a Double Quarter Pounder.  He also always picks off his tomato and pickles and gives them to me, then puts a layer of fries on his burger before he starts eating.

28.  I am now a Scentsy Consultant and Eric’s process for choosing the scents that he wants is by picking out all of the blue ones since blue is his favorite color…haha  =)

29.  He is quite possibly the only guy I know that thinks mini vans are cool…

30.  He is currently working full time, going to school full time (majoring in Psychology), and taking another course on the side for dog training.

31.  When he talks in his sleep, he says the FUNNIEST things!  =)  He once rolled over in bed and said, “Chubby wubby, that’s where we’re at.  Chubba chubba.”  On another occasion, he asked me if his eyes were “poopilated.”  Hahahaha  =)

32.  Eric and Haylee have a hobby together – they love to look at the stars.  I think it’s so sweet!  =)

33.  His candy of choice is generally Peanut M&M’s.

34.  He has a soft spot in his heart for animals.  He will actually swerve to AVOID hitting a snake in the middle of the road.  (Yeah, he’s one of *them*…)  He will also stop to help a turtle cross the road to make sure it doesn’t get hit. 

35.  He cannot, however, stand spiders.

36.  I have to be very careful when I tell Eric about things that I would like to have in the future.  While I am just making conversation, He is taking mental notes and tries everything in his power to get me what I want in the very near future…

37.  When we were dating he would buy me plants instead of flowers because he said that flowers just die.  I, however, have never had a green thumb and the plants would die also.  So now, instead of flowers/plants he will bring me home other small things that he knows I like (Fiji water, Cheetos, candy…).  I actually find this to be much sweeter than flowers.  =) 

38.  When he brings something home for me, he always makes sure he gets something for Haylee as well.  He will usually get her a bottle of Chocolate Milk.  =)

39.  He likes to buy Haylee a piece of $1.00 candy or snack when we’re at the checkout counter.  We normally wait till we get home before we let her eat it and (more often than not) we forget about it and it sits unopened on the counter…haha

40.  When we were dating and during our first year of marriage, he hated sharing his food.  He always told me, “If you wanted one, why didn’t you just tell me?  I would have got one for you too!”  It doesn’t seem to bother him as much anymore, but I also try to stay away from his food now too…haha  =)

41.  If we ever go to a fast food burger joint, I always finish eating my fries before we get back to the house.  It used to drive him crazy, but now he will tell me, “Go ahead.  I know you want to eat them…”  =)  (In my defense, they taste better the hotter they are!)

42.  His friends know that they can count of him if they ever need anything.  He is always willing to help people out in any way that he can.

43.  He would much rather “give” than “receive.”

44.  Most cartoons will make him nauseous when he watches them (don’t ask – I ain’t got a clue…)

45.  He is one of those guys that says he likes “all kinds” of music…and actually means it!  He listens to everything: oldies, country, pop, rock, rap, r&b, heavy metal, classical, opera (yes, I said opera)…the list just goes on and on…

46.  Quite possibly one of his favorite things in the entire world is….a back scratch…  =)

47.  If he’s going to eat boxed mac and cheese – it has to be Kraft.  He doesn’t like the Velveeta brand.

48.  He doesn’t like cake, so it is pretty difficult to figure out what to make him for his birthday.  Our first year of marriage I made him a brownie and ice cream cake.  Last year I made him a Rice Krispie Treat Cake.  This year I want to ‘make’ him a Popsicle Cake…  =)

49.  Every year, around his birthday, a new Call of Duty comes out.  It now just goes without saying that this will be his birthday present…

50.  On our wedding night we forgot to pick up the basket of food they had waiting for us at the Church, so we ended up getting some McDonald’s.  We laugh about it now and will generally get McDonald’s at some point in time during our Anniversary month so we can ‘reminisce.’  Haha  =)

I could go on and on, but I figured 50 was plenty and probably about all you would want to read…  ;)  Call me crazy, but I love making lists like these – it’s a helpful reminder of all the reasons I fell in love with him in the first place.  He would probably be mortified if he found out I made an “About Eric” list but…he hardly gets online anymore unless he’s checking Fox News or doing school work so, he probably won’t ever know!  Haha  =)

What are some of the quirky things that you love about your significant other?  Single?  What things tickle you about your family?  I encourage you to take the time to really think, observe, and (ultimately) appreciate the people in your life.  What better month to do so than November – Eric’s birthday…I mean, Thanksgiving…month!  ;)