Loaded Baked Potato Chowder

Check out my Recipe Blog for this delicious recipe as well as a video wtih step by step directions to make it! Enjoy!

Be Still, My Soul

This song has become Atticus' favorite for me to sing to him when we're going to sleep at night.  It quickly became one of my personal favorites when I heard Ginny Owens sing it live when we lived in Nashville. I love the words of comfort and the sweet reminder that the Lord will always remain faithful.

Be still, my soul, The Lord is on your side.

Bear patiently, the cross of grief or pain.

Leave to your God, to order and provide.

In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul, Your best your heavenly friend,

Through thorny waves leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul, Your God will undertake

To guide the future as he has the past.

Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake.

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul, The waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while he lived below.

(by Catharina von Schlegel, 1697)

NYPD

Aaron went to New York over Christmas break for the American Philosophical Association annual conference. He presented two papers while he was there - this was a huge honor for him to be asked to do so. He came home with a special treat for Atticus...an NYPD onesie - it's so cute!

New Recipe Blog!!!

I'm excited to share with you that I have started another blog...A Recipe Blog!! This new blog will house all of the recipes I have posted in the past as well as new recipes that I will continue to add on a weekly basis. You can click the link on the right hand column of this page that says Vanessa's Recipes or you can simply click here.

As I add new recipes to that site I will also post a link on my main blog to remind you to go check them out. You're able to search by food category if you're looking for a specific recipe or you can just browse them all. I would love any feedback on the new blog and/or suggestions of what you'd like to see there.

2010 so far...

Well, what have we been up to the past few days... All the decorations are down, the family is gone, and things are beginning to return to normal. I always enjoy decorating my fireplace mantel with the different holidays. But when there isn't a predictable holiday that I'm dressing it up for I like to display various art pieces from around our house. Aaron has started collecting turned wood. We've gotten several pieces from artists at the Nillie Bipper Art Show and anytime we visit a new city we try to bring home a piece. Our collection is growing rapidly. I thought the fireplace would be a great venue to showcase the wood all in one spot.

We spent a quiet New Years Eve at home. We got potstickers from Fresh Market (yum!) and Aaron made buckeyes from scratch! I had every intention of staying up to watch the ball drop, as is our tradition, but after I put Atticus to sleep I fell asleep myself...oh well, it was worth it.

On New Year's Day we did a little shopping and found a few great bargains. Aaron got a new leather satchel that was regularly $108 but marked down to $11...WOW, we were excited!

We geared up for Bobby Bowden's last game as the FSU head coach, it was so sad! We were super pumped that our Noles won the Gator Bowl. I think my favorite was watching Bobby take the spear and throw it into the Seminole head on the field.

Hendrix

As I was reading over my list of things I was thankful for in 2009 I realized that I failed to mention one important blessing...Aaron's job at Hendrix College. In a time where people are losing their jobs left and right, Aaron is blessed to have a great job at a school where he enjoys both his colleagues and his students and at a place that respects him and his work.


Aaron was initially hired as a three year position, which would make this his last year at Hendrix. This fall he was offered an extension of his current position in the Philosophy Department, as well as the Director of Distinguished Scholarships. He gladly accepted. He is looking forward to his new responsibilities as well as his new office!!


He was so excited about that part because for the past year he has basically been working out of Starbucks and the library since his office had mold in it (which he is severely allergic to). His new office is in the brand new $26 million dollar, LEED certified Student Life & Technology Center.

One of the philosophers that Aaron does alot of research on is Soren Kierkegaard. Atticus' Aunt Merinda had this awesome onesie made with Kierkegaard's face on it along with one of my favorite quotes from him..."Life must be understand backwards, but it must be lived forward." I found Atticus wearing his new onesie and lounging among several of Kierkegaard's books...like father like son.

Orzo Salad

One of the side dishes I made for Christmas dinner was my Orzo Salad...It got rave reviews so I thought I would share it with you so that you could also enjoy it. This is a Vanessa creation full of the ingredients I love most, but feel free to adjust the ingredients to fit your taste buds. I love how the red and green look for the holidays...but will certainly fit the bill anytime of the year. I make it alot during the summer months since it's a nice cold salad, you can even add chicken or shrimp to make it more filling, although I can eat it as a meal just like this!

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb box of orzo (rice shaped pasta)
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 bunch fresh asparagus (trimmed and parboiled for 3 minutes)
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups fresh spinach
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 small jar of artichoke hearts with marinade
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian dressing
Freshly snipped basil to garnish

Toss all ingredients together in large bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. Enjoy!

Happy New Year

I have always been a planner and a goal setter, so I love this time of year when everyone is drawing road maps for where they want to go in the new year and what they want to achieve. I shared with you my favorite buys in 2009, but now I want to share what I'm most thankful for looking back on 2009 as well as my personal goals for 2010. I am a firm believer of the importance of writing your goals down and keeping them in front of you on a regular basis and I would challenge you to do the same.

WHAT I'M THANKFUL FOR:

1. I'm blessed beyond measure that the Lord would give me the responsibility and joy of our little boy. He has grown so much already in the three months since I had him. My prayer is that he continues to grow and know that he is loved! (Day 1 and Day 90 - what a difference!)


2. I'm thankful for my best friend/husband that loves the Lord, loves me, and loves his little boy. I thank him for working so hard in order that I can stay home with Atticus. I couldn't make it without him. I'm thankful for the love I see in his eyes when he is with him - I'm even thankful he looks just like him. Ha!


3. I'm thankful for both of our families and especially for how supportive they were as we planned for Atticus' arrival and how much they have helped since his birth. I'm thankful for how much they love our son. He has NO idea yet how lucky he is.


4. I am thankful for the friends I have made since we've been in Conway and for our church family. It's so important to find a church where you "fit" and although it took us a while, we've found it. It's such a wonderful feeling to attend a church where Aaron and I can both give of our talents and can hear the Word in a way that is accessible our different preferences.

5. I am thankful for my Pampered Chef business. This allows me to stay home with Atticus while still contributing to our family income. Our products help make time in the kitchen simpler and more enjoyable by spending less time preparing meals and more time around the table. (If you would like more Pampered Chef products free and at a fantastic discount we can plan a party together with food and laughter for your friends and family which is always fun. If you would like to help others and make extra money at the same time I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the business opportunity with Pampered Chef).

FIVE THINGS I WANT TO IMPROVE IN 2010:
(After chatting with some friends, this is the list of five things that I would like to improve on in the coming year. We each shared the things that were important to us and compiled our lists from there)

1. I was a rookie mom this year and I have to admit - I had a lot of hard days. It's a LOT harder than it looks. And there were days Aaron came home and probably wish he hadn't...because I took it out on him. I just want to enjoy every moment with Atticus this year and realize that sometimes the days are long but the years are short.

2. I want to be a better friend. I want to do better at sending notes when I know friends need it or doing favors and not expecting one in return.

3. I want to be a better Christian. I want to spend more time with God. I neglected Him a lot this year. I loved and worshipped Him every day - but I didn't always spend time talking to Him or reading His word or trying to KNOW HIM more.

4. I want to be more healthy. It's just so hard to put down the chick-fil-a! I want to exercise on a regular basis this year. I want to feel good about myself again (my new juicer is sure to help!)

5. I want to be a better daughter/DIL. Our families have done so much for us this year - I want to be better at doing for them and showing them how appreciative I am for them.

What about you, what are your goals for 2010?

Top 10 of 2009

This is kind of random, but I thought it would be interesting to share what some of my favorite buys of 2009 were. Some are big, some are small, but all are great additions! I'd love to hear what things you're glad you bought in 2009...

Here we go...in no particular order. After eight years with our living room furniture we decided to splurge and buy some really nice leather furniture.
As much as I love to cook, sometimes I just want a tasty meal that doesn't take long to prepare. You may not be a fan of boxed meals, I typically don't care for them myself, but this one is different...it's actually good! Macaroni Grill is (or should I say, was) one of our favorite places to dine in Nashville - unfortunately we don't have one in Conway.

Last year for Christmas I got a Keurig coffee maker which I think is the best thing ever!! This year I got the carousel that goes with it - I had previously just stacked the boxes of coffee in my pantry but now I can fill the carousel and leave it out by the Keurig. This was super handy with all of the company we had over the holidays.

This one is a lifesaver! As much as we are cleaning bottles, pacifiers, and pump attachments, these Quick Clean Steam Bags are wonderful. They steam clean the bag contents in the microwave in 1.5 minutes. You can use the bags TWENTY times!! Definitely recommend them to anyone with a baby.

Since we live far away from our families, we invested in a webcam so we could share the progress of my pregnancy with them and so they could watch Atticus grow - it's been great - definitely no substitution for the real thing, but does the trick when I'm missing mom!

Well I didn't actually buy this myself, but rather it was a gift this year...The Jack Lalane Juicer! It's amazing! Who knew carrot and spinach juice could taste so good? It's going to be the perfect sidekick to my new year's resolution...but we'll save that for another post!

Probably my favorite of all 2009 purchases is our new PRIUS! Need I say more? We traded in my Jeep and went from 18 miles per gallon to 48 miles per gallon!! Wow, we love it!

When we found out that we were pregnant we knew that we were going to be upgrading our camera. We decided on the Nikon L100 - it's great because it has a video camera in it as well so we can take lots of pictures and videos of our little fellow :)

If I'm being honest then I have to admit that I thought these were the ugliest boots for the longest time...until I put a pair on and then comfort and warmth won over the ugly factor. I love them - wear them with lots of different things, except shorts - I just don't get that trend...

When I started carrying a diaper bag this year I realized that trying to carry a purse along with it was not an easy feat...So instead, I emptied my purse into my diaper bag but then I couldn't ever find what I needed because it all went to the bottom. I got this adorable Vera Bradley clutch that holds everything I need and I can just slide it down into the diaper bag.

I could keep going, but I'll stop there - can't wait to hear what your top favorite buys of 2009 were.

3 Months

Atticus is THREE months today! I can't believe it...it doesn't seem possible! He continues to bring a smile to our face with every sweet sound he makes.