Memorial Day 2014

Since I have known Gary, I have been inspired every Memorial Day weekend.  I remember the first time he told me they used to take pictures at the cemetery.  I thought how morbid is that??  To me, {selfishly}, Memorial Day was a day off of school, a weekend where I always had a soccer tournament, and/or I had to play in the band at the VA.  I guess I never took the time to truly understand the meaning of the important holiday.

Now, I am proud to say that each Memorial Day weekend is a very important one in my family.  We do the typical cookout and family picnic, but we also visit the grave sites of family members who have served our country.  Stories are told of the history and fun facts about the family members.  The children place flags on our fallen family soldiers and flowers are placed on each grave.  The children look forward to the event.  They recognize the importance and love to hear about their "ancestors."

To finish the visit, the children all stand by the flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.  As they have become older, they now sing patriotic songs.  It is a proud moment for this mama.

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I hope that each of you can take a moment each Nationalistic holiday to remember our fallen heroes and our heroes who continue to fight or who are now our honorable veterans.  We are so fortunate to live in a country where freedom is given to us.

             

 

            

  

Fiesta Chicken with Lime Cilantro Quinoa

When Gary and I want a really healthy, high protein, but SUPER DELISH dinner - we have a Go-To recipe.

I created this recipe based on some other recipes that I had read about and kind of blended them all together.  I love how the flavors truly complement each other.  The spicy cooled by the avocado but woken up by the lime!  Such a great blend of taste bud treats!

Fiesta Chicken with Lime Cilantro Quinoa

Ingredients

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

½ Teaspoon of Fiesta Party Dip Mix

¼ Teaspoon of Seasoned Salt

¼ Teaspoon of Garlic Pepper

1 Teaspoon of Olive Oil

2 Cups of Low Sodium Chicken Stock

1 Cup of Quinoa

Juice and Zest from One Lime

A Dash of Seasoned Salt and Garlic Pepper

2 Tablespoons of Cilantro, chopped

Avocado

Greek Yogurt

Instructions

Combine all the dry seasonings in a small bowl. Mix them together and then season both sides of each chicken breast.

Add the teaspoon of olive oil to a large pan or skillet. Heat the olive oil for a minute over medium/high heat. Add the chicken breasts to the pan. Cook for seven minutes on each side with the lid on.

Add the chicken stock and quinoa to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium/low heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes with the lid on, until all the stock has been absorbed.

After the chicken breasts have cooked all the way through, remove them from the pan and let them rest for seven minutes before slicing them.

Add the warm quinoa to a large bowl. Toss in the lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper, and chopped cilantro. Mix to combine.

Serve the sliced chicken breast on top of the quinoa. 

Just place the flesh from an avocado along with two tablespoons of Greek yogurt in a food processor and dashes of Seasoned Salt & Garlic Pepper. Puree until smooth.  

Side Notes:

1. I always make extra chicken for my salad the next day.  
2. I could quite possibly eat the avocado sauce by itself - it is soooo yummy!
3. I use my rice cooker instead of cooking quinoa on the stove top bc it is much quicker and easier.
4. I also usually make extra quinoa and use the leftover quinoa in to make Super food Meatballs for the next day!

What An Awesome Opportunity

I haven't talked about my business lately, but perhaps, now is a great time to share all about what I love!

I have been a Tastefully Simple consultant for 4 years now.  I originally started to just get out of the house and have some fun - and I have earned so much FUN, but also income, trips, friendships, confidence....the list goes on and on!

Many people ask why I would need to get out of the house - I am already out of the house when I go to work - that is TRUE, however, that is WORK.  Don't get me wrong, I believe in a good work ethic and I love being a Speech-Language Pathologist!.  But when I go to "work" for Tastefully Simple, I go to work for myself.  I own it! I am the boss and I am in charge of giving people a great night out!  

I have met so many amazing people through this business.  From the client who whispered to me at check-out - "Thank you.  I needed a fun night.  It's been a rough year for my family."  
To the host who said to me, "I just love getting stuff for free!" 
To my team member who put it simply, "When I party, I am just Jamie.  Not Mrs. C, not Mom, not a teacher - 
Just Jamie."  

Awesome.

The financial perks are always good, too!  I love that I do not have to check the checkbook to order out pizza each Friday night.  That is a luxury we did not have 4 years ago!  I love that we were able to pay for our Christmas in CASH this year.  I love that if we need more money for one reason or another (say...your pool bursts....), I know how to earn more money - JUST PARTY!

Finally, I have been blessed to have earned a trip EVERY YEAR I have been a Tastefully Simple Consultant!  I have been to Disney, Arizona, and Cancun (x2!) - Gary has been able to come with me on 3/4 of those trips, too!  To vacation on someone else's penny - INCLUDING AIRFAIRE - is something that is truly amazing.  And all I did, was party a couple of times a month.  That's it!

I love the feeling I get at a party when I am helping others.  It gives me strength and confidence in supporting other women and men - I can give them ideas on how to create healthy meals for their families.  I can provide them with easy solutions to the dreaded question, "What's for dinner?"  I can even help them start their own business and earn cash to support their family.  

What an awesome opportunity.  

April in Review - Part 2

.....as continued from Part 1....

We continued our adventures within the academic mode and went to the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knolls.  Isaac, Mr. Nature himself, had a fabulous time there!  The boys had a good time exploring the exhibits and even touching stingrays!  This aquarium also had a HUGE tank with 4 sharks swimming around.  BONUS - our Seneca Park Zoo pass gave us discounted tickets for entrance!

Isaac touching a stingray! So exciting!

Evelyn even had a good time even though it was during nap time

A little ice cream while sitting on a turtle to end the day (Evie looking a bit tired...)

The winds of change brought cooler weather the couple of days.  We took advantage of the amazing Pepsi Family Center at Tryon Palace in New Bern, NC.  This was an awesome exhibit of what life was like in our past.  The interactive screens and activities put you right in the place of a worker on a ship, a cook in a family kitchen, or an employee making turpentine!  The boys had a wonderful time working each area and I give it two thumbs up in incorporating technology and exploration!

FaFa was in charge of pulling up the rope on the ship!  PJ was giving orders to keep the ship going.

The cook in the kitchen gave specific orders of ingredients need to bake a cherry pie.  The boys had to scavenger around the kitchen to find what she needed.

Papa watched as Isaac worked on cutting down the tree for the turpentine yard.

Then we took a tour of Tryon Palace.  This building as been restored and the tour was given by curators who dressed the part.  They were very knowledgeable and gave a grand tour of ALL THE FLOORS of the palace.  No pictures were allowed from the inside though :(

Tryon Palace

Our tour guide

Evelyn enjoyed exploring the gardens outside the palace.

As Easter quickly approached, the Fairfield Villas hosted an Easter Egg hunt for all the children.

Evelyn patiently waiting to go.

Then we could go, and she still waited.

Finally got on the grass...she didn't like the grass too much...

Got two eggs!

Now what?

Evelyn checked out her goodies.

PJ was very excited to MORE candy (like we don't have enough already!)

Following the Egg Hunt we played on the playground to get some of the sugary energy out!

Look at me!!!!

and me!

and me!

The trip back to Bath was uneventful.  Continued some of our car boredom busters and the boys also watched movies.  Evelyn did fairly well too...

The next day was Easter Sunday.  We woke up, checked out our Easter baskets and went to church.  This was my first time I could really dress Evelyn up to the 9's and I took FULL ADVANTAGE!

Look!  I found an egg!

Bonnet.Purse.Gloves.FrillySocks

My beautiful kiddos

Happy Easter 2014!

So that is our Spring Break!  What a wonderful getaway for us as a family!!!  Thank you to my parents, too, for allowing us to spend the time and location with them!

April in Review - Part 1

What a busy April we had!  Travelling to New Bern, North Carolina, Easter in Bath, NY, and a little get-away for Gary & I.

I have only WONDERFUL things to say about the New Bern area.  What a pleasant surprise it was to visit an unknown area to us and to witness and partake in so many adventures!

The boys loved staying at the "apartment" and the bending of the rules during vacation.  We also instituted a new idea for purchasing souvenirs - Car Bucks - I will blog about this in Part 2!

For now, check out some of our fabulous adventures in New Bern, North Carolina!

Evelyn and I on the day we arrived in New Bern!

Siblings in the sun

All smiles after a swim!

Daddy & PJ living in up in the pool!

I love this picture of Evelyn and I.  She was so tired after swimming and just wanted to snuggle :)

Our first night out, we went to Downtown New Bern and stopped by the original birthplace of Pepsi.

Sunday we went to Fort Macon.  It was incredible!  A FREE interactive exhibit and State Park.  We hit the jackpot, too, because it was a Civil War Reenactment day!  PJ was in his glory!!  The weather was incredible, too!

A panoramic shot of the fort

The doctor showed us all of the tools they used during the Civil War

That's the beach behind them!  

Ready....FIRE!!!!

What a great "playground" for my boys!

another panoramic shot

Two cuties waiting for the "skirmish"

After a quick lunch in the parking lot, we went to the Fort Macon beach.  Some liked it more than others....

The boys were IN the ocean jumping the waves as Papa watched them.

Got her toes in, NOT HAPPY.

There were so many shells at this beach - to me that is a good beach!

Probably one of my favorite pictures of the vacation!  Our Family 2014!

Little Miss Evie refused to touch the sand - so she stayed on the blanket with FaFa