Texas Style Chili

In case you didn't know..... IT IS FALL!!!!!!

I love this time of year so much. Other than some memories th

at are hard for me at this time of year, it is probably my favorite few months of the year. The weather is just gorgeous, the trees are so distinct, and of course the FOOD! :)

Let's just be honest the food at any time of year is the biggest thing we look forward to. Fall brings wiener roasts, s'mores, pumpkin flavors, cinnamon, nutmeg, apples, caramel, soups, and of course CHILI! Confession ALERT: until the last year or two I wouldn't eat chili. NEVER in a million years would I have eaten, let alone MAKE it!

I've grown up though folks and here I am, a total chili LOVER! We

ndy's chili was what originally got me hooked and I only ate it because I was trying to eat a little healthier to fit into my wedding dress. Chili at Wendy's was a better option than the fried chicken sandwhich and french fries I used to get there! So now I love chili of all kinds but not too spicy. The following chili has become my all time FAVARITO! It came from my Mother-In-Law's friend and I have changed it a little bit to fit my taste and to simplify it. Feel free to do the same! :)

Texas Chili *This was a double batch in the pictures, recipe is a single batch*

3-5 lbs stew meat

1 Tbsp vinegar

3 beef bouillon cubes

1 envelope of dry onion soup mix

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 onion chopped (I only use a full onion if I make a double batch cause we don't like it much)

1 can of rotel (only used 1 can in the double batch and it worked fine)

2 cans kidney beans- drained and rinsed

1 can of chili beans

Toppings (Optional): Cheddar cheese, fritos, sour cream

Put meat in a 4-5 qt heavy stock pot with 1/2 cup of water (with

double batch don't double water.)

Cover and cook on med/high until meat is cooked and grayish. About 30 minutes.

Uncover and cook away juices, turn meat so that it browns as evenly as possible. About 25 minutes. Lift out meat and put into a separate bowl.

In original pan add 1/4 cup of water and vinegar. Scrape down sides to loosen any brown bits (YUMMY!) and add bouillon cubes, onion soup, chili powde

r, and onion. Cook and stir for 10 minutes.

Add rotel and beans.

Stir to mix well before adding the meat back into the pot.

Cover and simmer until the meat falls apart- 2 hours is good but

can simmer for a while if needed.

**I added some tomato juice and water to this batch because it was pretty thick. It IS a thick chili so add as much tomato juice as you feel comfortable for your taste. Have fun with it!**

Dave loves his with fritos and cheese, I also put sour cream on mine. Woop woop!

Lastly- keep your dogs away from it. My dogs accidentally got a taste of chili a while back and now ANY time they smell that wonderful aroma they go nuts! I was sitting here working on this post and looking at Facebook and had to snap this shot!

Just because I need a few pictures on here

This is completely and totally random but I felt like I needed some pictures on my blog. And since my blog is ALL about randomness, WHY NOT?!

These are from this summer when Dave and I went out garage sale shopping. Dave had NEVER been to a garage sale before so I had to document the experience. Again- picture quality isn't that great, so just excuse those please. Later gator!

We got some good deals- mostly tools for Dave!

Bloggie Giveaway

One of my 'new favorites' is hosting an ADORABLE giveaway! Sumo's Sweet Stuff is giving away a Seasonal Wood Board and it is TOO cute folks. Go enter her giveaway and look around her site for some super cute ideas. And if you enter and win this thing- you have to give me visitation rights with it so that maybe I can have it part of the year and you can have it the other half! :)

God's Fridge

If God has a fridge- your picture would be on it, but of course mine would too- and no offense but my picture would be bigger! ;)

Just a happy thought to counteract my sourness from yesterday. We all have those moments.... right?!?!?!

Serenity Now

This is going to be a vague post and I apologize for that- but it HAS to be.

Just be aware- your enemy WILL COME! We are having a week of services at our church (many churches call them revival services) and last night a Pastor from our area gave a message entitled "Your Enemy Will Come" and BY GEORGE he was right!

God BROKE me last night about my spiritual walk, or lack there of. I'm becoming so religious and not moving forward with my relationship the way I should be. There is no consistency in my prayer and Bible study time and I've finally had enough of it. So this morning I got up early and had my prayer time with God. My day went surprisingly well... until tonight.

Tonight I got mad, and not just 'oh I'm mad bleh bleh bleh' I got MAD ya'll! Ticked off red-faced mad! I know I shouldn't have and I know that most of what I was feeling was in the flesh, but I didn't care. Honestly I STILL don't care because most of it is justified. Again- I can't go into detail and I apologize for my vagueness but please know that I just can't give details.

God is trying to do something in me and it's going to be a rough battle, because the enemy WILL come. When I face my enemy/situation/whatever I have to remember that this is PART of my walk and I just have to make sure that I not only face my enemy but KILL it before I'm done. David never had a problem with Goliath again because he had killed him, and not only that he cut off his head to show the victory God had given him!

Even though it's nasty and bloody and totally gross- I can not be afraid to kill my enemy, because he WILL COME.

Baby Gift Set

Here is what I've been up to.... I actually made 3 sets of these, but forgot to take pictures of the other 2- whoops! This set was for my cousins wife who is getting ready to have a little girl after having 3 boys. We can't wait to meet little Laney!!! (Sorry the picture quality is so bad- I'm trying to figure out how to take better pictures so hopefully they will improve!)

These are the burp cloths. I think they turned out pretty cute! Here is the tutorial I used.

This is the diaper wipes case. Don't look TOO closely at it, cause it was a first attempt! Here is the tutorial I used for this one.

Finally this was the most exciting piece I made, a Changing Pad. It wasn't too hard to make, but my workmanship got better with each one I made. Again-don't look too close! :) The tutorial is here.

I really enjoyed making these and it got me excited for sewing again! So I'm hoping to do a lot more of this type of thing. I'll try to post whatever I make so you can all get ideas also! :)

Daddy Day Care

So I PROMISE I'm going to share some of the stuff I've been up to, but all my pictures are at home and I'm at work of course!

My friend and neighbor is out of town for the weekend for a wedding and her husband is watching their 2 kids ALONE! He does this every Thursday anyway, but several DAYS alone is another story. Well yesterday on his Facebook he kept giving "Daddy Daycare Tips" and it apparently inspired him to write a blog of tips! How adorable huh?!

The Daddy Daycare Tips blog isn't just about how to wipe snotty noses and potty training, it is also going to be about being a Godly example to your kids and being the Godly husband a wife needs. I can personally attest that he is a WONDERFUL example for his family (who I adore to pieces!) So please go over and encourage him since he is just getting started.

Love ya'll!!!

Catch Up

It's been quite a while since I wrote and I apologize deeply, but life has been a little crazy. And when I say a little, I actually mean pretty darn crazy! My mind that never stops has already begun thinking of Christmas- back in September. (Lauryn, my sister would be so proud of me!) She is the QUEEN of Christmas folks. So I've been trying to figure out what I can do to make our Christmas more affordable this year since Dave is going back to school. (Which I'll discuss more in detail in a bit) The internet and blogworld has become my closest friend lately getting ideas for gifts and decorations for the greatest time of year. I'm so excited!

Also I've had a Wedding Reception, Bridal Shower, and 3 yes THREE baby showers to get ready for. And since I've found so many neat ideas I decided to do personal homemade gifts for EACH of these events. It was time consuming and a little nutzo on my part but it was totally worth it. We ended up saving money in the long run and the recipients seemed to really like them. I forgot to get pictures of my 2 'wedding' related gifts but the baby gifts I'll be doing a separate post on soon with links to the tutorials on how to make them.

THEN the hardest part of my life at the moment is that Dave is not only going back to school (for nursing by the way) but his business isn't doing so hot, so a wonderful friend at church got Dave a job at a factory. It is SUCH a blessing because we are going to be able to use the money to not only pay the bills but to also put back enough savings that next semester when Dave is doing his CNA, he most likely won't have to work. But that also means that right now is full of 7 days a week of work (cause there is MANDATORY overtime) plus 2 FULL days a week of school.

Dave works 10:30pm to 7:00 am and I start getting ready for work right as he is getting to bed so he can sleep until 4:30pm and go to work again that night. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays he has class from 10:30 am to 9:30 pm, and in the midst of all this, I have so much going on in my own life that we aren't getting to see each other more than 30-45 minutes at a time and no more than twice a day. Today I saw him for about 20 minutes after I got home from work, before I went to church and after church before HE went to work I got another 15 minutes. 35 minutes total today! This is only until the end of the year, and the plant closes down at Christmas which will give us the Holidays together which is SUCH a blessing.

This is all only temporary and I know that but it's so difficult in the midst of it. God has blessed Dave with this job and we are SO incredibly grateful for the amazing money but it's bittersweet. Your prayers would be appreciated in the next few months as we figure out how to live this way. I don't know HOW military spouses spend so much time apart because I'm at LEAST getting a few minutes a day! God is so faithful and I know He will be with us during all this. Thanks for listening/reading! :)

Should I play the lottery today?!?!?!

Today I found out that I have won 3 things!!!! Wahoo!

1. I FINALLY won in the Pace Hand-pick and Win sweepstakes so I'm getting a coupon for a FREE jar of Pace

2. Stephanie at Somewhat Simple (a great site) hosted a giveaway for Sweet Jane's butterfly bows and I WON!

3. After I found Sweet Jane's site I found out she was also doing a giveaway and I won an ADORABLE purple hat with a big purple and white flower. SO CUTE!!!! I wish it would fit me! :)

PLUS a few weeks ago I also won the "Fireproof Movie" from Amber at Journey of Grace

No wonder I'm thinking about the lottery huh?! (Kidding by the way- I do not gamble at all)