Thirteen things on my to-do list today…

1. Spend time with God… read bible, pray.
2. Go to the pool store and buy 12 pounds of baking powder for the pool… put it in the pool and backwash/skim… (ugh)
   (it helps clarify the water and keeps the ph balanced better especially when it rains a lot).
3. Go to the grocery store and buy something to cook ahead for the weekend… my suggestions were vetoed by Amanda last night, so I’m not sure what this will be at this point.
4. Make two strawberry cakes.
5. pack Bailey and Emelia’s bags, pick up anything we are missing. They each need… 7 outfits, one dressier outfit, swimming suit, towels, bedding, flashlight, bible, shampoo/cond., body spray, toothbrush/toothpaste, pillow, shoes, soap, camera.
6. Change my bedding, wash comforter & shams.
7. Go to OKC to pick up Amanda’s birth certificate.
8. Izzy’s therapy (Laura is coming to help), standing & assisted crawling.
9. Make tortilla soup (buy avocados).
10. Go to beauty supply for jane ann (matt’s sister in dallas…she wants her hair done while we are there…)
11. clean house (again).
12. watch Katie (niece) for a little while this afternoon.
13. start packing things up for trip to Dallas.

This is a list that could keep going, but I’ll stick to 13 things for the sake of the meme :o)

It doesn’t feel like yesterday was very productive. I had a really good lunch with Mike (brother) at Old Germany again. We had the special which was something that started with an “r” but it was basically a smoked pork chop that tasted like ham with red cabbage and german potato salad. Me & Jenny are keeping track of our food intake… so, Jenny I did pretty good. I left half of the potato salad and about 1/3 of the chop. I ate all the cabbage. I figure it is the best of the three. Speaking of Jenny (coachj), thank you for the good mail! I loved it! seriously. She sent me some nice flavored tea and some other things. One fun thing about getting good mail from a long distant friend is that it is like them sending you a little bit of them, if that makes sense?

I’m so sad about Kelsey Smith, I mean this pretty young girl (who had her whole life ahead of her btw) was just walking out of target! It makes me want to keep Amanda under lock and key! Her family is in my prayers.

Wonder why I’m up so early? Matt’s work called this morning at 4. When Matt is up, I’m up! (double ugh)… the good news is I have gotten some blogging slipped in on this busy day and done some loads of laundry. (can you tell I’m trying to play the ‘glad game’? I’m glad I got to blog, I’m glad I got laundry done… rather than “why am I up so early?”).

I got some good mail sent out yesterday. I don’t really have a method to my madness. I just felt really good to get it done considering the week… but, I do need to sit down and figure out a methodical way to approach good mail. any suggestions welcome :o)

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound andouille sausage, diced
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound frozen peeled and cooked shrimp, thawed
2 cups cooked riceIn a slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery, and chicken broth. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, bay leaves, and thyme.
Cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. Stir in the thawed shrimp, cover and cook until the shrimp is heated through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves and spoon mixture over cooked rice.

Do yourself a favor and visit my pal Sandra (Diary of a SAHM) to see more slow cooker recipes, and maybe even share yours~