Rice and Egg Drop Soup Recipe

I love experimenting in the kitchen, especially when the experiments turn out well! It's starting to turn a little chilly here lately, so I've been in a soup mood. I'm not a conventional soup eater. I can't stand chicken noodle, but I do love chicken and rice. Last week I got creative and coupled chicken and rice with egg drop soup. The result? Absolutely splendid!

You will need:
4 chicken boullioun cubes
5 cups of water
1/2 cup rice
1/4 chicken breast
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup Green Onion (optional)

Boil 3 of the boullion cubes and 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and add the rice. Cook for 20-30 minutes, or until rice is done. While waiting on the rice, cut up the chicken breast in small pieces and cook. Set aside. In another saucepan, boil the last boullion cube and two cups of water. Take about  1/4 of the resulting broth and set aside. Mix the eggs together and begin dropping into the boiling broth by spoonfuls. Continue until there is no more egg left. Mix the cornstarch with the 1/4 cup of broth. Now mix the green onions, the egg broth, the chicken, and the cornstarch mixture in with the rice, stir, and voila! Chicken, Rice, and Egg drop soup! So easy, and tastes delicious!

Please note, this is an original recipe. Variations can occur. This soup is also very thick, not a lot of broth. If you want more broth, add another boullion cube and another cup of water to the rice.

Happy eating!

Pumpkin Planters DIY

I was thinking the other day how cute it would be to have little pumpkin planters out front. So I made some! You're going to need two large pumpkin candy bowls ($2 each at Walmart), two hanging baskets ($5 at Walmart), soil and whatever plants you want to put in the hangars (I used purple mums).

Step 1:
   Drill two holes on opposite side of the pumpkin bowl.

Step 2:

     Drill holes on the bottom of the bowl, so that water can pass through instead of pooling up.

Step 3: 

     Attach the pumpkin bowl to the hanging planters using zip strips (or string, or whatever you have handy). Make sure you cut off any excess.

And there you have it! So simple and easy! Now, put a plant in, hang from a  hook, and enjoy your new Halloween decoration!

I Heart Faces Weekly Challenge

This weeks challenge is the Best Face Photo from Summer 2011. I was able to travel to Missouri to visit my grandparents for the first time since my son was born. This was the first time they've been able to meet their great-grandson, and much fun ensued! Above is my Grandfather holding my sleeping son. It was his favorite nap place the entire stay!

Check out the other entries at I Heart Faces!

This photo was entered into the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com

Reasons

One question I am always asked is, "How do you do it?" How do I do what, exactly, is my normal answer. How do I attend class full time and raise a kid by myself? How do I deal with the fact that my husband has been gone since May of 2010, won't be home until January of 2012, and has spent less than a month total in the presence of his family? How do I juggle the demands of motherhood with starting my own business? Those three questions have a very easy answer. I do it because I don't have a choice. There's not some heroic phrase that I can say or something I can do to make it sound like this is something I want to do. The simple fact is that I was given this lot in life, and I have to take what is dealt to me.

I wish you knew how many mornings I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed and cry until my head felt like it was going to explode. However, I have a 15 month old who wakes up very hungry and wet at 9. I know that if I want to get anything done around the house, I'll have to get up at 7:30. So I do. It's that simple. I do this because it is what is required of me. I can't neglect my son. I can't neglect my home. And I can't neglect my studies.

Am I happy? For the most part, yes, I am. I have an active, healthy, intelligent son. I have a husband who has sacrificed a lot to give us what we have today. And I have friends and family who care deeply for me. Do I wish that I could change some things? Oh most definitely. But I can't, so I keep moving forward. Forward to the day where my family is a family again. Forward to the day when I have my degree and can pursue my dreams. Because this... This is my life.

Woman in the Mirror

One of my friends (Cassandra) posted a question as her status the other day. She was asking the general public what they see when they look in the mirror. The answer could be literal or figurative. 

When I look in the mirror, I see a 24 year old woman, who could pass for a 20 year old, struggling to get her weight under control (that's the literal). She's very self conscious and has a pretty low self esteem. She has troubles fitting in with this world. Sometimes she's okay with that, but other times, like today, she resents it. She strives to be like everyone else, to be normal; but then, if she were normal, then who would she be? I see a woman who has based her identity off of what others have told her about herself. She's either this or that, one day she's this and the next she's that. Today, she is beautiful , energetic, friendly, and accomplished. Tomorrow, she will be lazy, and hate herself for it. I have a love/hate relationship with this woman, which is perhaps why I avoid mirrors when possible. That's another reason I'm a photographer. If I'm behind the camera, then no one has a chance to capture me on film, and I don't have to deal with the harsh realities of life. 

Today, at least, I'm happy with the woman in the mirror. Tomorrow will be different, but save for tomorrow what is tomorrows, and enjoy what today gives you.

Easy Peasy

I love burning candles. I have at least ten different candle holders, and they are burning almost non stop in my house. The worst part, though, is cleaning the wax off of them. Candle wax is so incredibly difficult to scrape off. While perusing Google earlier today, I found an easy way of getting the candle wax off of any candle holder!

Boil a cup or two of water in a small saucepan. Set the holder in the saucepan to where none of the water gets in. The boiling water will begin to melt the wax. Wipe out the inside of the holder with a paper towel until all of the wax is gone.


See how simple that is???

Truths

It's late, and I'm about to head to bed, but I just wanted to shout out a truth right quick.

I am completely and madly in love with the most amazing/wonderful/compassionate man that God has placed on this earth. It's a truth. He is absolutely awe inspiring, and the love of my life.

Yes, I lean on him more than he thinks I should. Yes, I frustrate the living bejeezus out of him. Yet no one has shown me love the way he has.

It's amazingly gratifying to say that, beyond all reason and logic, I am in love.

I love you, John Zachary.

Come What May.