ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT - Remember... I'm doing a Pic-a-Day on Instagram for an entire year. Today's photo will be NUMBER 67!
Follow me if you can.
RANDOMNESS #1 - Here are just a few more good memories from last week. Hunter came to the lake for the day on Friday, and he and Roxie enjoyed the tubing.
I like these pictures because their hair is so great!
And I like this one because it's Josh!
RANDOMNESS #2 - The first day of school has come and gone.
Roxie is now a Senior and because her brothers were Seniors before her, I know what a whirlwind this year is going to be.
I'm just happy I'm along for the ride.
Roxie, Ragan, Ally and Savannah.
These chicks were stunning!
RANDOMNESS #3 - Since Roxie did the First Day of School Breakfast with friends, I planned our Back-to-School meal for Thursday morning at Panera...
And that was a good choice.
Fun fact for you... On the second day of school, no one is eating at Panera.
No one!
Behold! The cinnamon bagel with hazelnut cream cheese!
I just ordered the same thing Melia ordered.
The Senior with her Dad.
The Senior with Josh.
Josh doesn't smile a bunch, but when he does, Roxie is usually nearby.
The Senior with Austin, Melia and Melia's brother, Payton.
Payton happened to be eating breakfast with his Dad at Sneaky Pete's Thursday morning, and he came down to visit when he finished.
The more, the merrier!
RANDOMNESS #4 - What a difference a week makes!
This picture was taken last Friday.
Last Friday, Austin still did not have a job in radio. He was working, but not in his chosen field.
This past Monday, Austin found out he had been hired by a local radio station to produce a political news show during the week AND Auburn football and basketball on Saturdays during those seasons.
Last Friday, Melia did not have a job teaching elementary school. She had worked all summer, but not in her chosen field.
Yesterday, Melia was hired by an elementary school in the Jefferson County School District and she started working THIS MORNING!
We are beyond thrilled for both of them.
Happy, happy sigh.
Rainbow Chicken
I made this one night this past week, and guess what?
It's a keeper.
You will need the following:
Spice Rub
2 teaspoons sweet or smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon white OR red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Main Dish Ingredients
1 pound of chicken breasts
1 potato, skin on, diced small
1 sweet potato, peeled, diced small
1 medium onion, cut into lengths
1 bell pepper, cut into lengths
1 zucchini, cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 lemon, sliced thin cross-wise
1. Prepare your vegetables.
2. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
3. Mix the spice rub ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Rinse the chicken pieces under running water, pat dry with paper towels, then drop into the Spice Rub and turn to coat.
5. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in an oven-safe skillet or casserole dish.
6. Using the Spice Rub ingredients above, mix together another bowl of the rub, drop the vegetables into the bowl, give it all a stir and then scatter over the top of the chicken.
7. Top with lemon slices.
8. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.
Guys... This was really, really good.
And pretty.
Very, very pretty.
I'll be making it again soon.
Way Back When...
These was first posted in August of 2009
Prayer Dinner
This was new to me, but I'll be doing the same thing for Josh and Roxie when their time to go out into the world comes around. We had Austin's favorite dinner (Italian chicken) with the Faulkner Five and Grandmother. (You can invite as many or few people as you would like for this special dinner.) It was a simple meal... a quiet evening really. There was nothing huge or party-like about it.
After the meal, we all went into the den and we sat down and we took turns each saying a prayer for Austin. Some of the prayers were about safety, some were about being thankful for the time we were given with him in our home, some were blessings prayed over Austin. All of them were meaningful and personal and sweet.
No, this isn't a big party or event, but it can be a very important, memorable time with your family. It was a good way for us to reflect on one part of Austin's life and to pray for him as he begins another part all at the same time.
A Prayer Dinner would ALWAYS be a good way to start a new chapter of someone's life.
The Day I Saved a Woman From Choking
When I was very pregnant with Josh, I met six girlfriends for dinner at Ruby Tuesday's in the Galleria. Three of us were great with child. We were enjoying our meals (some of us more than others, if you know what I mean), when at the table directly across from me, a woman started choking.
Within seconds, it became apparent she wasn't just strangled. She was really, really choking. Now, I had taken not one, but two, courses of CPR in my lifetime. I had not one, but two, certificates saying I was not only capable, but obligated to do something to help this woman. So I did what every double certified, extremely pregnant woman would do in the same situation... I stood in my chair and started yelling "Paramedic! Paramedic!" at the top of my lungs. (I personally do not recall doing this, but my friends insisted they witnessed it... and they were pretty appalled.)
By this time, the woman was in the floor and literally turning blue. People were running, some idiot was screaming "Paramedic! Paramedic!" in my ear (oh, that might have been me), and the woman's two year-old child was sitting in her booster seat watching everything.
From my perch high above the other people in the restaurant, I noticed a man dressed in a suit come up behind the baby and try to lift her out of her seat. I'm sure his intentions were good. He didn't want her to witness what was happening to her mother and be traumatized for life (like I was going to be). However, she was strapped into her seat and his repeated jerking trying to get her out was only making matters worse.
Again, I have no recollection of this, but my friends say I climbed down from my chair, walked over to the man, physically pushed him aside and bellowed, "MOVE! I'M A MOTHER!"
At that point, I do remember unbuckling the straps, slipping the crying baby out of her seat and holding her with her face turned away from the commotion.
Paramedics arrived. I'm assuming they heard me yelling. They performed CPR on the woman and dislodged a piece of meat the size of a softball, and then all was good with the world again. The restaurant settled down. I handed the crying baby off to a family member, and the woman sat up and her table proceeded to finish their meal.
My table also sat back down, but we had lost our appetites... I'm assuming from seeing the softball-size wad of meat being projected from the woman a few seconds earlier.
A few moments passed in complete silence, and one of my friends said, "I'm surprised when you yelled 'MOVE! I'M A MOTHER!' you didn't tear your shirt open to reveal your blue spandex T-shirt with the giant 'M' emblazoned on the front."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"You know. When you climbed down from the chair and pushed that man and yelled," she repeated.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said again, weakly.
"It was pretty impressive," one of the other girls chimed in.
By now, I was feeling more than a little embarrassed. "Did I really push the man?" I asked, because I had no memory whatsoever of doing so.
"I guess I should go apologize to him," I mumbled.
However, it was the general consensus of the table to leave a bad situation "bad," and not make it "worse."
All things considered, and with all my extensive CPR training, I think I handled everything pretty well. I mean, out of the entire restaurant, I was the only one with the presence of mind to stand in my chair and summon the paramedics.
Needless to say, if you ever have an emergency, I'm your gal.
Weekend Happenings
1. Mike and I are going to the movies sometime this weekend to see Guardians of the Galaxy. I know what you're thinking.
"Aren't you and Mikie 53 and 52 years-old, respectively?"
"Yes. Yes, we are."
But we also know we'll probably like this movie more than a little bit.
2. Mikie and the Brothers are working and Roxie is doing a church "thing" Saturday.
3. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be shopping for a gorgeous, flattering Mother-of-the-Groom dress.
4. I'm thinking hamburger sliders for lunch Sunday after church.
And that's about all I've got right now!
Have a tremendous weekend. I'll be back Tuesday of next week with more, more, more.
Take care, and I'll talk to you then.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
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