Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

July 5, 2007 @ 12:25 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized

I’ve always claimed to enjoy cooking. But it’s only been in the past year or so that I’ve finally come to admit that I’m more enamored with the idea of cooking, rather than the feat itself. Even so, I’m totally fascinated with the Food Network and chefs like Racheal Ray, Giada Delaurentis, and Paula Deen are on my all-time favs list. Hey, I have a whole novel to prove my obsession!

I love to spend time over cookbooks, seeking out new and different variations on all the old standards. Never mind the fact that they very rarely ever made an actual appearance in my own kitchen.

Until this summer.

Several things are transpiring at once at our house. 1.) I’m on a mission to become healthier than I’ve ever been. Physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. A big part of this venture is to find that delicate balance of accepting my body while also fueling it with foods and nutrients that are truly good for it. I’ve taken to shopping the perimeters of the grocery store, carefully bypassing as many processed foods as possible and, instead, stocking up on the freshest ingredients I can find.

And 2.) both boys will be leaving for college in another month and (call me silly) I want them to have some really great, fun-filled family meals that they can look back on throughout this next school year with fond memories. We live in a microwave generation so I know I’ll never be remembered as the Mom with the apron and the flour-smudged cheek. But I can at least whip up two or three blog-worthy meals a week, don’t you think?

So this page is going to be devoted to my culinary endeavors. Armed with two new cookbooks, a full refrigerator and pantry, and a house full of willing guys – here goes!

********************************

Messy Giusppes (or Italian Sloppy Joes)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)

1 pound ground, 90 percent lean sirloin

1 green bell pepper

1 small onion

5 large garlic cloves

1 medium portobello mushroom cap

1/8 teaspoon (eyeball it) allspice

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup (a couple of glugs) red wine

3/4 cup beef stock

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup (a generous handful) flat-leaf parsley

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

5-8 fresh basil leaves, about 1/4 cup

1/4 cup (a small handful) grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano cheese

4 individual ciabatta rolls or any kind of crusty hoagie rolls

1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese

Preparation:

Preheat the broiler to high.

For the meat sauce, heat a deep skillet or a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of EVOO, twice around the pan. Add the ground beef and cook until lightly browned, breaking up the meat with the back of a wooden spoon. Add green pepper, onion, 3/4 of the garlic, mushrooms, allspice, red pepper flakes and a little salt and pepper to the beef and cook for about 5-8 minutes.

Add the wine and cook another minute then add the beef stock, Worcestershie and tomatoes. Bring the mixture up to a bubble, reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Finish it by stirring in a handful of chopped parsley.

While the meat is simmering, combine the remaining garlic with the soft butter, basil, parmesan cheese and a little salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Split the rolls in half lengthwise without cutting all the way through and separating the halves. Press open the rolls by flattening them out a little bit. Slather the insides with the butter and place 2 slices of the mozzarella on each roll. Toast until golden brown under the broiler, about 2-3 minutes.

Top one side of the cheesy garlic rolls with a heap of meat.

Get prepared to get sloppy with Messy Giuseppe!

Yields 4 servings

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Jalapeno Poppers

This is just an appetizer, but they were SO good! I made them for a July 4th dinner with friends last night. Here’s the recipe:

1. Cut jalapenos in half and remove seeds and veins.
2. Fill jalpenos with cream cheese and wrap a slice of bacon around each one.
3. Secure with a toothpick.
4. Broil on high just until bacon is brown, about 15-20 minutes.

July 5, 2007 @ 8:44 am | Filed under: Uncategorized

I’m a wife, mother, student and "Nana" who loves to write. That’s the order of things. I think loving all these folks so much is what brings the "writer" out in me though – all these emotions have to go someplace! My passion is sharing the hope and healing I’ve found in God with others. If I can do that, I’m happy.

But the trivial stuff? Well, let’s see. I love novels by Nicholas Sparks and Karen Kingsbury, anything written by my friends, designing fabulous scrapbook pages, the Texas Rangers, golf, and cooking. But most of all – my family & friends. I love deeply and completely. I think that’s the largest gift in life – the ability to give and receive love.

If you’re a writer (even an aspiring one!) and not yet a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), run – don’t walk – and join this fabulous group of people with hearts for Christian literature. Here I’ve found friends I’ll treasure forever and formed writing partnerships that continue to develop me both personally and professionally.

I strive to tell the stories God lays on my heart. As I type the words and watch them trail across my computer screen, I pray that they’ll one day make their way into someone’s heart. That’s what I believe a good story should do: reach deep inside the reader, touch their heart, and enable them to see the world from a slightly different perspective. Whether the stories elicit joy or conviction, may the hand of God and the voice of his spirit, always be the driving force that breathes life into my words.

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. My earliest "work" was completed in the 4th grade – Mrs. Lawrence’s class – when my friend and I collaborated on our first novel. From that time on, I’ve used used writing as an avenue to channel thoughts, emotions, dreams, and ambitions.

My dream of a writing career took a backseat for a while, but the desire remained firmly rooted in place. I’m just further proof that God’s timing is more perfect than our own. It took a few years but finally I’m at a point in my life where I can devote needed precious time to this passion of mine. And I’m having the time of my life with it!

July 4, 2007 @ 8:55 am | Filed under: Uncategorized

July 4, 2007 @ 8:26 am | Filed under: Uncategorized

I feel like I’m pretty much an open book. I am interested in so many things and enjoy the time I spend with those I love immensely. But even my closest friends believe that I share only the things I want folks to know – which, when I stop and think about it – is probably true. I keep many things close to me, and some things will never ever share with another soul. Not because they are secrets but because they are just that special and precious to me.

But in the interest of trying to share a bit more about me, here are 100 tidbits you may or may not know about me. If you think that is about 99 too many then feel free to skip this page altogether. But for those of you who want a glimpse BEHIND the writer/student facade I generally present on my blog, these facts are for…you.

1. First and foremost – before any other role in my life – I am a daughter of the King. I learned many years ago to not even try to make a single day on my own. Jesus is everything to me.
2. I became a mom for the first time just shy of my twentieth birthday. Now that that firstborn is closing in on his own twentieth birthday, I just have this to say, what was I thinking? I thought I was grown. How scary is that?
3. I am the oldest child in my family, and the only girl.
4. My brother is almost five years younger than me. In my eyes, he never could, and still can’t, do anything wrong. I was his second mother and am still oh-so-proud of him.
5. Being mom to Nate and Jorge is the most fulfilling job I have ever had or ever hope to have.
6. It’s the toughest job too.
7. But one that I wouldn’t trade for all the tea in China. Or all the peanuts in Georgia. Or all the money in Bill Gates’ wallet.
8. I love deeply and completely. If I love you, then you KNOW it.
9. I am an author with four published books but still cannot call myself the "A" word when in conversation with anyone. I just can’t do it.
10. I feel like an imposter. Just an ordinary woman posing as a wannabe author.
11. I wrote my first story in the fourth grade. My friend Melissa illustrated it. We really truly impressed our teacher who collected it and kept it for herself.
12. At the time I thought it was because she was so proud of us and wanted it to show all her teacher friends.
13. Now I have to wonder if she just wanted us to concentrate on our school work instead of our highly acclaimed story.
14. I can’t for the life of me remember Melissa’s last name now, but I will always hold her close in my heart for all the weeks we spent tirelessly working over that manuscript together.
15. I began to write for therapeutic reasons when I was twenty-three.
16. My best friend EVER read my short stories and essays and encouraged me to do something with them.
17. I listened and my life began to change right then and there.
18. It began small, with just a few articles and essays being published here and there.
19. But I also began my first novel during this time period.
20. And then it went into a box and got shoved on a top shelf of my closet.
21. For many years.
22. Until Mike found it after we were married and asked why I had never finished it.
23. I didn’t have a good answer so I began to work on it here and there, mainly in the evenings and on weekends since I was working a full-time accounting job during the days.
24. These Things We Hold was finally published in 2002.
25. It was loosely based on a group of women who had inspired me when I was a child growing up in my home church.
26. They were – and continue to be – models that I knew I could watch and learn from. Women who knew the art of being a lady, and ladies who had too much strength not to be called WOMEN.
27. I am a romantic at heart.
28. In fact, next to my belief in God, I probably believe in love more than anything else.
29. I’ve experienced enough to know that love can hurt at times.
30. But I’ve also learned that it is the great sustainer. In the right hands, your heart is safe, your dreams flourish, and your life is better for it.
31. I’ve known great love. Still know great love.
32. I believe you can say more with your eyes and with your heart than you ever can with your lips and with your words. And your eyes cannot lie.
33. I believe in soul mates. Not the kind you read about in romance novels or in magazine articles.
34. But I believe that when our hearts and souls are prepared for it, that occasionally God gifts us with another individual who shares our very heartbeat about the greater things in life.
35. I don’t think life is incomplete without a soul mate. Instead, I think it adds new dimension to life. It enables you to live life in 3D – because there is someone else who not only shares your innermost beliefs but also holds a mirror up to your life. You are able to see life through your own eyes but also through the eyes of someone you love and trust implicitly.
36. Time, distance, and circumstances don’t change this relationship. It’s a gift from God and those gifts don’t alter, deteriorate, and don’t have expiration dates. They are forever.
37. I’ve lived in Texas for my entire life. Two years in the Galveston area and the other thirty-something years right here in the Dallas area.
38. I may be from Texas but I just don’t enjoy country music all that much.
39. I do, however, LOVE, love, love – music. I am totally and completely inspired by certain songs and certain musicians.
40. I play the piano, which is probably one of the things that shocks my friends the most when they are first getting to know me. I don’t admit it or advertise it. Usually it’s Mike that announces it first.
41. I took lessons from fourth grade through the twelth, and can play most anything by music. But what bums me out is that I just cannot play by ear, which is what I would LOVE!
42. My most prized piece of furniture is my piano. My dad bought it for me when I began taking lessons and I knew then (but realize even more now) how huge of a sacrifice he made to purchase this gorgeous instrument.
43. It has a prominent place in my home now.
44. I’ve also only been on a horse a handful of times, Texas native that I might be. Most of those times were trail rides with a guide very close by. And one time on my friend LaGene’s horse. I was about ten at the time and the horse was mean.
45. I don’t think I need to spell out how horribly that ride went…
46. In fact, when it comes to most things athletic or outdoorsy, I’m not really the poster girl.
47. I have a weak serve in volleyball, can dribble a basketball fairly decently but can’t shoot to save my life. I don’t always make good contact with a softball but can run bases like the wind. I enjoy tennis and play once a week but my game still needs work. Lots of work.
48. I took up golf two years ago and, again, my game needs some serious attention. If the truth be known, I think I enjoy golf because of the serenity and inspiration I find on the green as much as anything else.
49. Now before these last few items start making me seem like I lead a really healthy lifestyle, let me clarify that this is not necessarily the case. Although I’m closer now than ever before. I’m finding balance and am finally realizing that living by the motto "all or nothing" is just. not. healthy.
50. I exercise six days a week, no excuses. This includes walking, running on the treadmill, tennis, and golf. Some weeks it’s just walking – still others, it’s all four.
51. I try to make healthy eating choices 80% of the time.
52. If that doesn’t sound like a large enough percentage, well…it probably isn’t.
53. But another thing about me is that I enjoy food – particularly anything that includes chips and salsa. It’s taken me most of my thirties to realize that it’s okay to be a woman and admit that you have some curves and probably always will but that it’s still okay to voice aloud your sincere appreciation for all things Tex-Mex.
54. Your friends will still respect you. Your spouse will still love you. Jesus will still think you’re absolutely wonderful. And really, beyond these folks, who cares what people think?
55. While I’m admitting vices, my secret (until now), rare indulgence is chocolate-frosted mini donuts. Straight out of the bag, no less.
56. And I’m a bit of a Diet Coke fan.
57. Okay, I’m a HUGE Diet Coke fan.
58. But I also drink 100 ounces of water a day, so I figure it’s all good.
59. I am married to a good man.
60. He loves me, loves our children, and loves God.
61. I have some friends who say that they vacuum or clean bathrooms when they want to relax. I say that is just C-R-A-Z-Y.
62. When I need to relax, I like to curl up with a book or watch a chick-flick so rich with emotion that none of my three guys will dare enter the room to watch with me.
63. I love BATHS oh-so-much. The irony is that we recently moved into a home where the master HAS. NO. TUB. No tub, folks. Granted, it has an oversize European-style shower, but I’m still adjusting to the whole no-tub thing.
64. I’ve been known to read many novels by candlelight in deep, hot bubble baths. Usually with a Diet Coke nearby.
65. There is a definite art to slowly releasing some of the tepid water and running new, hot water, all the while maintaining the desired level and heat of your bathwater while never losing your place in your book.
66. I perfected that art. Unfortunately, I can now only utilize this great gift while staying in hotels.
67. There are four generations of our family that go to church together.
68. I’m blessed to be in a congregation with my parents, my grandmother, AND my boys.
69. I’m also blessed to have grown children and still have two grandparents for them to know and love.
70. I am one year away from turning 40 and I’m very excited about that fact.
71. My friends think I’m nutty and that I will have at least one minor (or major) freakout before the actual date, but I don’t think so.
72. I’ve had some tough times in my life and the appreciation I hold for this particular place in my life is immense. Turning forty and recognizing all the blessings that lace my life make this next birthday seem like a badge of honor, not something to be dreaded and merely endured.
73. It WILL be celebrated, and will include those I love the most.
74. I thought I knew the value of girlfriends as a younger woman, but it’s only been in the last few years that I’ve grasped the magnitude of what my closest girlfriends mean to me.
75. We laugh together, pray together, cry together, celebrate and mourn together. They are my biggest cheerleaders and their victories are my own victories.
76. There is NO competition, NO jealousy, NO hurdles or barriers we can’t work through. They strengthen my weaknesses and hopefully I do the same for theirs.
77. I’ve visited 21 U.S. States and four countries.
78. As far as other countries, I’d most like to travel to Ireland.
79. But there are still SO many places here in the States that I want so much to see and experience.
80. Particularly the Eastern seaboard. From Maine right on down to North Carolina. I wonder if there is a cruise along this route…???
81. I am fascinated with lighthouses and will definitely spend time in one when I do finally make it to the east coast.
82. I’d like to live in a renovated one and go to sleep at night and wake each morning to the sound of waves meeting the land around me.
83. I began my college career at twenty-two, when my boys were babies, but only completed a few hours at that time.
84. Although I thought many times about going back, the fear of math kept me away for a long, long time.
85. I finally went back one year ago, and love, love, LOVE it!
86. I am majoring in literature and will most likely teach at the college level one day.
87. But I am also exploring the career of life coach and will be taking some courses along those lines.
88. Not that I think I have any great insight to offer anyone, but I do have a genuine interest in people and love to share the insights that I do have.
89. I believe that ANYONE can accomplish ANYTHING. Maybe that’s the romantic in me. Maybe it’s the writer. Maybe it’s a combination of a lot of things. But one thing that bothers me the most is when I see people stopping way short of what they are capable of achieving.
90. We only have one life – why not make every minute of it count?
91. My biggest fear is to die and not leave behind a legacy.
92. I want my life to mean something. I feel a responsibility to leave behind something of worth and substance for the generation that is coming up behind me.
93. That is why I continually bug some of the younger girls in our ladies group at church that I lead. I pull them in and have them work on projects with me. I remember how the women from my childhood inspired me (enough to write a book about them!) and I want so much to do the same for someone else.
94. My favorite book of all time is Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.
95. My favorite movie is anything that explores the beauty of friendship. Beaches, Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood…
96. I thoroughly enjoy the Food Network and can see myself cooking up a storm with Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, and Bobby Flay in my kitchen. I was green with envy (the GOOD kind) when our friends recently visited Savannah and ate at Paula Deen’s restaurant.
97. The upside to that is that they brought me back an apron with The Lady & Sons logo on it. It also says "Homemade Cooking Makes You Good Looking." Works for me.
98. I bought two of Rachael Ray’s cookbooks a few weeks ago. So far they’ve just been nighttime reading material for me, but I’m hopeful (as is my husband) that they will eventually lead to culinary delights in our OWN kitchen. One can hope, right…?
99. My friends and I do actually cook together quite often. We love to gather in one another’s kitchens and cook and bake and talk and talk and talk…With the sounds of our husbands and kiddos in the background and the aroma of good food all around us, we know that life is good.
100. Maybe you feel like you know me a bit better now. The grand thing about us all is that we are constantly changing and evolving. As we age, life grows richer and we (hopefully) grow wiser. I’m thoroughly enjoying life right now, and I look forward to the years to come.

February 28, 2007 @ 4:19 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized

"Grown don’t mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What’s that suppose to mean? In my heart it don’t mean a thing."

~Toni Morrison, Beloved~

_________________________________________

I’ll never forget the day I knew.

It was early morning and I was lounging in my corner of the couch, with my first cup of coffee. Down the hall, I could hear the shower running in the boys’ bathroom, and knew that Jorge was getting ready for school.

Eyes still heavy with sleep, I barely gave it a second thought as I heard the bathroom door open. Even in the semi-darkness of the living room where I sat, I could make out Jorge’s figure as he walked across the hallway to his bedroom.

I don’t remember a lot about that morning, or that day, or the days that followed. But I do remember the panic that seized my heart in that one, fleeting moment, and the image of my son and the immaciated figure he’d become, will forever be burned into my memory.

Because we were in the middle of the winter months, it had been a while since I’d seen his legs and he very rarely, if ever, went around the house without a shirt. In hindsight, I realized that he was always layered, usually wearing his gray hoodie, even over pajamas & t-shirts.

This particular morning, Jorge had no idea that I was up, and certainly didn’t know that I sat a few feet away in the darkness, with an open mouth and a pounding heart. Clothed in just his underwear and towel, I glimpsed the legs, the ribs, and the collar bone of a virtual stranger. Certainly not my son.

In that single, fleeting moment…I knew.

We were dealing with an eating disorder.

This ugly monster that invaded our home, our tranquility, became my worst enemy. It not only did its best to take over my son’s body, but it infected his mind and his emotions as well. As we traveled to the doctor’s visits, endured various tests, and tried our best to reason with Jorge, it became obvious that – although he conceded that he’d lost some weight, he didn’t see it as a problem. Even when he stood on the scale at our family doctor’s office and the nurse announced that he’d lost 60 pounds in the past ten months – nothing. No emotion. No shock. No nothing.

As I’m sure most mothers do, I spent so many hours beating myself up for not seeing the signs earlier. How could I not have KNOWN that my son – this boy that I gave birth to, that I nurtured, that I still hugged and kissed good-night – had become just a shell of the boy he’d once been? What kind of mother would miss clues that could very well make the difference in their child’s health? In their future?

• turning down food he’d always loved before
• not wanting to eat with the family
• reading the labels on everything
• dressing in layers
• taking showers right after eating
• fine, downy hair on arms, neck, and face
• being constantly cold

These were a few of the signs that I’d noticed off and on, but had never stopped to add them all up. While I certainly knew that eating disorders were not confined to girls alone, I’d never stopped to consider that my own teen-age boys could be potential victims. In hindsight, I should have seen the writing on the wall. But the truth is, that this is a silent, deadly enemy that slithers in and takes over before a parent can even take guard.

Our journey to recovery was slow in coming, and in future posts I may write about it. But for today, the concentration is on healing. As you know, healing has really been on my mind lately, and Jorge now knows firsthand the healing touch of The Promise Keeper.

While the recovery may have been slow in coming, the healing – once begun – happened very quickly. I wish I had words of advice for other parents out there that are facing similar things with their own children. If I could, I’d list the do’s and don’ts of handling this very vicious, very hateful disorder.

But the truth is that Jorge was healed. One Wednesday night in church, during a song, I saw our pastor walk off the platform and straight to where Jorge was seated with the Youth. Worn and defeated by the long weeks of battle, I could only hang my head and allow the quiet sobs take over. I didn’t watch, but I knew that our pastor was praying for Jorge, pleading the blood for his healing.

The road to health was slow in making a full return, but I do know that from that next morning until now, the process has been steady and sure. While his body eventually regained some fullness, it took his emotions and his mind a bit longer. But he began to open up more, to talk, to share. Today he is once again the picture of health, a bright, busy boy making college plans for after graduation.

I realize that our family is blessed and I almost feel guilty at times for even sharing our story because there are so many other families who are still held tight in the grip of an eating disorder. At the same time, I would be doing an inservice if I didn’t give glory to the God that still heals. My Promise Keeper. While I don’t know if our story will ever be able to help another family in crisis, I know without a doubt that this healing experience is one that Jorge will remember all the days of his life.

And me? I’ll never forget the morning I knew we had a problem.

But, even more importantly…

I’ll never forget the Wednesday night I knew we had a solution.

________________________________________

This photo was taken of Jorge during this difficult time.

January 10, 2007 @ 9:25 am | Filed under: Uncategorized

December 31, 2006 @ 4:11 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized

December 30, 2006 @ 6:24 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized

December 29, 2006 @ 10:33 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized

Today it rained cats and dogs. I sat in the waiting room of our dentist office, listening to the thunder bolts and the steady drum of rain as it beat against the building as Jorge endured the dental chair. Afterwards, we sprouted our umbrellas and puddle-hopped to the Suburban. Despite the rain, neither of us was quite ready to go home. So what better place to go and browse during a rainstorm, but Barnes & Noble and then sit and chat over the last Starbucks pumpkin spice latte of the holiday season?

I walked up and down the various aisles, browsing clearance racks, and basically just relishing being back in a store for pure enjoyment and not merely in search of the next perfect gift. And then I found it – the one thing that made the whole trip to B & N worthwhile. The 2007 edition of The Writer’s Desk. It’s a calendar that is loaded with black & white photos of both well-known and up-and-coming writers and their writing spaces. Amy bought one for me back several years ago, but I haven’t been able to get my hands on the past couple of years’ editions.

I was reading some of the commentary in it last night and came across this from Allegra Goodman. She says, "My favorite part of novel writing is the middle. There is the floundering at the beginning, the excitement and honeymoon of it all. There is the speed and urgency of getting to the end. But nothing beats the middle, when you are inside the book, within the world you have created, dwelling with characters who have come to life. That’s the best feeling – the underwater feeling, the slow calm clarity of the story."

My heart pounded just a bit harder as I read her words. It took a few seconds for me to realize what was happening, but excitement – deep and rich – surged through me as it hit me. I had the urge to write again! Really write. Where I’m not merely trying to get in a weekly or daily word count or trying to put words down on a page just for the sake of writing. But I was finally feeling that tingly, ohmygoodnessilovemylifeandmustwritetobreath type of sensation. It has been a while since I’ve felt this and I know it’s because it took most of last semester to adjust to being back in school. But last night, sitting here at my desk, it was back.

And with it came characters, already alive and vibrant in my mind. And their voices, their lives and their loves, their dilemmas, and their faith. It was all there, like a giant neon sign beckoning me to plop down at my keyboard and. just. begin.

Thank you, God.

I like to write, no matter what. But I LOVE to write when His inspiration is the driving force behind the words. I’ve learned to take it slow and being willing to wait on Him. And now He’s gone and done it again…

He’s prepared my heart for another story.

December 6, 2006 @ 2:30 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized