Chaos IS my Life!

This past week has gone by in a huge blur of dental appointments, HAWK Center volunteering, Church, Vet appointments, an LOTR marathon and seeing the Broadway Musical WICKED  .. My head is still spinning from it all! We took our little kitten in finally to be spay/neutered. His surgery went great, only problem was he didn't have ANY reproductive organs to remove! For those not acquainted with our kitten Marshmallow's drama, we have taken him to the vet not once, not twice but 4 times to be neutered before we were told that he either is actually a female or his testicles hadn't dropped and are internal in which case they would have to go in through the abdomen and remove them. So on our 5th visit he had surgery. His incision is bigger than a normal spay and the vet searched all the way to his little kidneys looking for reproductive organs to no avail! The vet asked me if he may have been neutered before I got him and I told him no there was no way. SO our little kitty was a true asexual kitty.. a eunuch.. :) no wonder he gets along with everyone. He is healing up fine bouncing around and acting his usual nutty self. He truly IS one in a million.
Also,this past week we had dental appointments. I'm happy to say we all have healthy teeth. Though my oldest is going to have her braces put in this year it seems. We go in for her molding, X-rays, and other pictures they may need  for the actual appointment to discuss the braces in a couple weeks. This will just be a preliminary one.. yeeesh. My oldest daughter and I also watched all 3 Lord of the Rings movies. It was her first time watching them. We watched the extended Blu ray version and yes there is is a huge difference in the extended version vs theatrical version and DVD vs Blu ray. This box set was given to me by a wonderfully special friend who I think about every time I look at them. My daughter LOVED them. She is now reading 'The Hobbit' and will hopefully want to read LOTR when she is done. In the midst of the dental appointments and LOTR marathon, I had Church which always makes me feel good. And my volunteering at HAWK that always makes me feel needed. And I also need to admit I have gone on a Marliss Melton binge. I had already read 5 of her books but after receiving an email from her I was determined to finish them like I planned.. but never got around to. My favorite book has once again changed!! I absolutely love Next to Die. The way she writes her characters makes them feel so real. She doesn't make them perfect and perfect for each other. She doesn't make the characters fit like puzzle pieces that fall into place. This book is a perfect example. They may fit together wonderfully eventually, but it takes time to figure out which way they go and fit them just right. Solomon and Jordan didn't fit when first put together. It took effort and a lot of time to get them together. And again she doesn't disappoint on making you want the story for another character in her book nor does she disappoint in making you want to find out whats been going on with those she has already written about. I couldn't put this one down, but then I feel that way about all her books. I hope you enjoy her as much as I do! Going to see WICKED was simply Amazing!!! I had never been to a play let alone a Broadway Musical. I was enthralled. I wanted to go back again. I loved it! It simply gave me chills and goose bumps. I can't even express how much I enjoyed it. It is a behind the scenes story of the good witch Galenda and the bad witch Elphaba based on the book "WICKED" by Gregory Maguire. If you EVER get a chance to go to the musical you must go! We spent the little extra to be in the mid section of the mezzanine. We could actually see the actors faces and not just see bodies moving on stage. Well worth the extra $$. I was riveted to the stage I didn't want to look away. I just hated when it ended. I could have sat there for ever watching. I can't wait to go to another but I just don't see how it can be as amazing as this one. It will be hard to beat. If it comes back again I will probably have to go see it once more. Has anyone else seen this musical? Tell me about your first musical.  Has anyone else read a Marliss Melton Book? let me hear from you. Tell me what you think.

Fall.. Soup.. Books!!

    The first day of fall is finally here. We can look forward to cooling days, bonfires, hockey, football and many other wonderful winter things. Today is also World Rhino Day, a to bring awareness to the plight of the worlds rhinos. And to ensure future generations will be able to go see a rhino in the wild or even see one in a zoo at this point. It is becoming critical for the rhinos. Over 600 rhino have been poached in South Africa this year alone, last year 668 were poached. The numbers are increasing dramatically every year. This week is also Banned Book Week. This is a foreign concept to me. Why ban a book? If I don't want to read it or don't want my child to read it guess what I don't.. or i don't allow them to. I know its an out there idea, but it's how I roll. And If my child happens to read it behind my back... um its a book. I would rather her read a book than smoke a joint behind my back. Why does someone else feel they have the right or even the authority to dictate what someone else shouldn't be allowed to read? I don't understand it. If you have a better 'learned' explanation please let me know because its beyond my little minded scope of understanding.
    First day of Fall kicked off with a great start. The weather was superb cool and breezy. I'm looking forward to grilling more. Whoever gets excited about grilling in the summer is completely insane. Grilling in 100 degree weather is not for me. Give me 60's or 70's even and I'm thrilled! Ohh!! and soups!! Fall and Winter is perfect soup weather!! Soup is one of my absolute favorite things to make and to eat. YUMMM.. what's one of your favorite soup recipes? I have several, though none are my own. I've gotten them off the Internet, from friends, or from old cookbooks. I love learning new ones so please share a recipe! Here is one of mine :) as soon as its cool I'm making this. It has become my absolute favorite. And I guess it is probably not for everyone but I adore it:

African Chicken Peanut Stew

2-3# chicken legs, thighs or wings (boneless is best used in this)
3Tbs vegetable oil
1 large onion
a 3in piece of ginger peeled and minced
6-8 garlic cloves  chopped roughly
2-3# sweet potatoes (tho you can substitute with regular potatoes if preferred) Peeled cut into chunks
1- 15oz can crushed tomatoes
1qrt chicken stock
1c peanut butter
1c roasted peanuts
1tbsp ground coriander
1tsp cayenne or to taste
Salt and pepper


1. Heat oil in tall soup pot over medium high heat. Salt chicken parts, pat dry and brown in pan. Don't over crowd so do a few at a time until done. Set aside.
2. Saute onions in the oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic and ginger and sate for another 1-2 mins. Then add the potatoes. Stir well to coat and combine.
3. Add the chicken, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, peanut butter, peanuts, cayenne, and coriander stir until its mixed well. Bring to a simmer cover and cook for about an hour. Check to see if chicken is done and potatoes are tender. Cook another 30 mins if not quite done.
4. Take chicken pieces out to cool until they can be pulled apart by hand. Throw away the skin and shred the meat. Put shredded meat back in the pot.
5. Taste to see if you need more salt or cayenne. Then add as much black pepper as you can stand, it is supposed to be peppery.  Enjoy!

     Well as the day is drawing to an end I think I will snuggle into my couch and read one of my favorite authors Marliss Melton. I'm currently reading her SEAL Team 12 series. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE a good series! This one is probably one of the best ones yet. Her characters grow with each book and you learn new things about each one. You can't wait to find out what happens to them in their own book. They have a depth to them that is very compelling and I enjoy the stories. I enjoy learning who each one is and look forward to hearing about them. If you would like to read a Marliss Melton book here is her  SEAL Team 12book list and be sure to check out her website for latest releases and monthly contests. So until next time....

Where has the Time Gone?!

WOW I logged in here and seen how long it has been since I last posted. Where did all the time go?! We are now going into the 4th week of school already? Really?!! How did that happen? I could have sworn I packed my little girls off to their first day of school last week. No wonder I have lost track of my blog I have lost track of time and maybe even my mind! ( I say this with a big smile) In all this time I probably can write a lot. First off we have adopted a new kitty.. meet Marshmallow:

We adopted him from Needy Paws. He has been a super special addition to our family. When we adopted him he was suppose to be a she haha.. we found out the mistake when we took him in to be spayed and was told he needed a neuter. The poor guy was sent home without either because he was still too small. We have since gone in twice more and still no neuter for our little guy. The Vet says he is hiding them and he may have to go look for his bits. That's Marshmallows next big adventure. He also loves to play fetch with his big purple mouse and he really enjoys cuddles first thing in the morning. What else has been going on around my chaotic home... well we have been feeding the deer and watching his antlers emerge. They started out as tiny little nubs on June 8th and became 6 points the last time I seen him on September 10th. The 2 does he was traveling with have left him and at least one of them have had a fawn. I hadn't managed to get a picture of the fawn but I remain hopeful! We have a family of raccoon! As adorable as these guys are I have to say I am NOT happy about them being on my porch trying to pilfer any bits of cat food that may have fallen through the cracks. Sadly raccoons are very bad to carry a very bad zoonoses that I don't want my kids any where near called Baylisascaris procyonis. So I am going to set my live traps and catch the whole family and find them a new place to live further into the woods. Also I was asked by the HAWK Center's Director if I wanted to attend the AWF Awards in Bryant and help with the booth and the birds. That was really awesome. I took a lot of pictures of Tito HAWK's Barn owl Ambassador and Kate their Red Tailed hawk Ambassadress. Here is a great shot of Tito I managed to capture while at the AWF Awards. I have been taking a lot of pictures and posting some of my favorites to that site. I really enjoy all the time I spend at HAWK Center. It truly is a learning experience every time I am there. Right now there is a juvenile Mississippi Kite (MIKI) he came in with a broke toe that is now healed, but he still wont fly. He makes the most adorable calls that ever was made. 
      This video  was shot just a few days ago. it starts of a bit blurry but gets clearer. He only calls once but its sooo darn cute. The lady feeding him is the director. I was attempting to feed him earlier but I learned a valuable lesson.. I must remove my hat first because he thinks I am a big scary bird with a big scary bill. So lesson learned. He is easy to feed and such a sweet baby. I hope he learns to fly soon so he will be able to 'go home'. He has made baby step progress in that he has made attempts to fly when just a day or two ago he  wouldn't  even do that. So maybe my big scary hat did something good! If you would like to follow HAWK Center you can by clicking HERE.  It will take you to their Face Book page right now since they are working on their web page. Also I have been knitting tons of scarves. I don't know what I'm going to do with them. Maybe give them away at Christmas. And I have of course been reading. I can't seem to read enough. I feel like a black hole sucking in as many books as I can. Devouring and eating every word as if it was my last. I can't seem to slow down or stop. It is becoming hard to find books at the library and buying so many is going to get me in trouble with the family! hmmm Intervention? HAHA nahhhh I just need to go to a new library!!! Until next time....