the monday update

good morning! it's monday and we don't have any school this week~~i'm so glad! i've got so much to do this week: we have our circuit overseer visit all week, i've got to finish up everything for danielle's baby shower and i've got to get everything ready for camp that mckinlee and i are going to next week. (me outdoors all day long.....just what i've always wanted!)

here's what our week has been like.
wednesday was our stamp club. we haven't made this cute little book yet--this was just an example. but i thought it would be cute on a shelf or with pictures on the back and sent as a card.

here is an example board with the new circle circus set. i have this set and just love it--so i needed some ideas of what to do with it.
we didn't make this either, but our stampin' up lady is going to have a class for it. this pin was so pretty and she just used fabric scraps and the die cut flower to make this. i just loved it!
we did these two little projects: a card with a glitter window and a cute little tag that you could put a candy cane or other sweet treat in.
thursday was "eat lunch with dad or someone you love day." since chris was in san antonio all week, i went to eat with mckinlee. these are two of her sweet little friends.
and here we are.
friday morning i had to go back up to school for good morning riddle. she had entered the reflections contest with photography entry and was being honored for that. here she is with two of her "pals". an older student sort of mentors younger ones (they all look the same age to me, but the other 2 are only in second grade, i think!)
i have been on such a yogurt-fruit-salad kick. a friend of mine got me hooked on greek yogurt and i love it! it's low in fat and has a ton of protein in it. i buy it plain and drizzle agave nectar all over it, top it with honey-almond granola and all different kinds of fruit. i just love black grapes--they're so big and juicy. i put those, blueberries, clementines and pomegranate over the yogurt and granola. yum!


chris got back home friday and since it was cold and drizzly, i decided to make soup. (it doesn't take a lot for me to decide to make soup--i could live on it!) i found a recipe online and kind of altered it to make creamy chicken tortilla soup. *recipe is at bottom of post*


it was SO good!

chris had stopped in waco to stay with his mom and dad and dee had sent mckinlee a new game. yatzee free for all. we decided to try it out last night and we had so much fun! mckinlee's smiling because she's winning!

chris gave the talk today as a fill-in and then we got taken to spaghetti warehouse for hospitality dinner. i didn't get any pictures, but it was delicious and now i'm so full i can hardly move!
hope you all had a good weekend and have a fun week ahead!
i've got to think of something "thoughtful" for tomorrow~~stay tuned!

*amazing chicken tortilla soup*
2 t. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves
1 medium jalapeno
1/2 med. green pepper (i left this out)
4 chicken breasts or 8 tenders
2 c. frozen corn
1/2 c. dry white wine or water
2 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
56 oz. chicken broth
28 oz. diced tomatoes
16 oz. tomato sauce (i left this out, because i wanted it creamy and not tomato-y)
i added:
1 can pureed cannolini beans
and at the very end: some half & half and mont. jack cheese

saute onion, garlic, jalapenos in olive oil until soft.
add everything else (raw chicken included) and boil.
after 15 minutes, remove chicken and shred using 2 forks.
return chicken and simmer 45 minutes or longer.

just a note: i used a whole jalapeno, the cayenne pepper and i used a whole can of rotel tomatoes. we like really spicy things, but this was so spicy i had to put a huge potato in to absorb all the spice! so maybe leave out the jalapeno and cayenne until the end. the pureed beans and the half & half really make it creamy, but if you don't want a creamy soup--leave those out.