Sunday Chicken

Good Tuesday morning!

Okay. Let's see if I can write AND publish a post without deleting it... and having to re-write and re-publish said post all in the same day.

Here we go.

CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST! - This is my 982nd post for A Simple Life. The countdown continues!

The Contest will be simple. The rules are as follows:

Beginning today, leave your NAME followed by the word "CONTEST" in the Comment Section of A Simple Life, e-mail me (mfaulkner1306@charter.net) or go to my Facebook page.

You can enter the Contest ONCE A DAY (each and every day including Saturdays AND Sundays) until Thursday, August 30 at midnight. (Your name could be put into the drawing bowl a total of 24 times between now and Thursday, August 30!)

I will write my 1,000th post Friday morning, August 31.

I will draw from a HUGE BOWL of names, and a winner will be announced the morning of Friday, August 31.

The winner will receive a $15 Gift Certificate to one of the following restaurants:

1. Another Broken Egg
2. Original Pancake House
3. Olexa's
4. Lucia's Italian Restaurant in Helena

It will be Winner's Choice!

If you win and you live somewhere other than Alabama, you will win a $15 VISA Gift Card!

"May the odds be ever in your favor!"

(I'm going to be saying that for the next 17 POSTS!)

RANDOMNESS #1 - I'm going to take pictures of the letters F, A, U, L, K, N, E and R around town and make one of those wall hanging "thingies." I started looking Sunday, and I found a great "K."

Isn't it the best-lookin' "K" you've ever seen?

(I just wish "FAULKNER" wasn't such a long name. This is going to take forever.

RANDOMNESS #2 - These shoes also caught my eye during my wanderings and I wondered if I would have worn these 20 years ago when balance wasn't an issue.

I'm guessing NOT!

RANDOMNESS #3 - Owen... A Beach Story - If you have known me two minutes, you know I LOVE babies. I am a baby person. I will walk across a store, restaurant, parking lot, church auditorium, etc., etc. to see a baby up close and personal.

And this bothers The Chick.

A lot.

She calls me a Baby Stalker.

While we were waiting for a table at the Crab Trap last week, I was "baby watching." There were babies and toddlers EVERYWHERE, and they were dressed in cute sundresses and short outfits and sandals.

I was in "Baby Watchin' Heaven," I tell you.

And then a young mother sat down beside me... and I held my breath so I wouldn't startle her and scare her away.

She was holding a precious little boy with round blue eyes, red hair, a plaid button-down shirt and khaki shorts. And his feet... oh, my heart. His feet were wearing brown strappy Velcro sandals. And his little fat toes were visible. Heavy, heavy sigh.

I looked around to find The Chick. She was sitting away from me talking to The Brothers and friend. This was going to be great!

"What's your name?" I asked the little guy, knowing full well he couldn't talk, but this question is guaranteed to start a conversation with a new mom. Guaranteed!

"His name is Owen," she bagan, smiling. And for the next six minutes, we talked about Owen... and then their table was ready.

I said my good-byes and turned around to discover Roxie sitting next to my elbow.

"What were you doing?" she asked.

"Just exchanging pleasantries. You know. Being polite," I stammered.

"Do you know that woman?"

"I do now," I replied evenly.

"You did it again, didn't you? You know everything there is to know about that baby. You probably gave them our address so they could send you a picture Christmas card."

"No. No, I did not," I said. And then I could have kicked myself for not giving them our address so they could send us a picture Christmas card of Owen.

"What do you know about them?"

"Well, not much. We only talked for a minute. His name is Owen, and he's a miracle baby. He weighed less than three pounds when he was born seven weeks early. But he's fully developed. He doesn't have any respiratory problems or anything. He's going to be one next Sunday, and he's having a Thomas, the Train-themed birthday party. Of course, he doesn't really know if he likes Thomas, but it's a good first birthday party, don't you think?"

I stopped to take a breath. Roxie was staring at me, so I continued talking rapidly.

"They're from South Carolina and this is his first beach trip, so you can imagine how thrilled they are to watch him experience the sand and the ocean. Her parents came down with them. He's the only grandchild or her side, but he has a cousin on his daddy's side. But they don't live in the same town, so I'm not sure if he's going to get to spend as much time with his cousin as you've gotten to spend with your cousins growing up... which would be a shame, I think."

She continued to stare. So I took another breath...

"He's going to call his grandmother 'Nanna' when he learns to talk. That's my grandmother name. Remember? It's a small world."

And I was done.

Actually, I knew plenty more, but I didn't want to bore Roxie with any more details.

"You've got to stop doing this, or someone is going to call the police."

"I don't think so. I smell good and I brushed my teeth before we left. I mean, I'm not creepy or offensive or anything."

"That's exactly what you are. Creepy! If their table hadn't been ready, I bet you would be holding the baby by now and giving him his bottle."

"That's how much you know. He's a breast baby!" I said smugly.

She shook her head, and looked away.

I think I'm going to have to come to peace with the fact Roxie and I aren't ever going to see EVERYTHING eye-to-eye.

Especially Baby Stalking!

RANDOMNESS #4 - A friend mentioned this post from Kirk Cameron's Facebook Page last week, and I enjoyed it very much. I visited his Page, too.

I've put it on my daily "To-Do" List... along with my ever-present laundry.

"Took my boys to the golf range this afternoon for the first time. These young men have potential! To fire them up, I whispered in their ears, "Extra points and a double scoop of ice cream for hitting the caged ball retrieving tractor." James nailed it, startled the driver, and shouted with joy, "I did it!" How blessed we are to live in a country free and safe enough to spend an hour with our sons, hitting little white balls at tractors and eating double scoops of ice cold rainbow sherbet and cookie dough. Tomorrow I will visit my good friend James, who won't be golfing with his son because he's holding him in his arms, helping him battle cancer (deep breath). Each day with our kids is a gift and holds precious moments to draw us in and give us cause to thank the Giver. Seize the day! Hug your kids. Swing a club. Eat ice cream. Sing. Laugh. Pray. Serve. Love."

Sunday Chicken

I copied this from Pinterest and made it last night. And even though it was Sunday Chicken MADE on a Monday, it was really, really good!

You will need the following:

Boneless (skinless) chicken tenderloins
Bacon
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup sour cream

1. Wrap each tenderloin with a piece of bacon and it in a pan.

2. Mix the soup and sour cream. Spoon over chicken.

3. Cover with foil and bake at 225 degrees for 4 hours. Remove foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

The chicken was tender and flavorful. I served it with fresh corn, cantaloupe and tomatoes. And, of course, SWEET TEA! We are in Alabama, you know!

Have a fantastic Tuesday. I'll be back tomorrow with Wednesday Wisdom, a Seasonal Tradition OR Party, Randomness and pics.

Take care, and I'll talk to you in the morning.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

P.S. I know the pics are a little boring today, so I wanted to leave you with some "people" pics. They're over a year old, but maybe you won't remember them!

Roxie.

Mikie.

Melia and Austin.

Josh and Brad.

My best friend, The Pioneer Woman, and me at her book signing. (It was a thrill, I tell you.)