Blue Hairs

  You may be asking yourselves who or what is a blue hair?
  The blue hairs are a group of ladies I have coffee with most days at 3:00.  Most of them are older, grandma age ladies, but when must of the women my own age are working you take what you can get.  LOL! Actually they are a bunch of lovely ladies who I have known most of my life.  In fact a few I have known since birth, friends of my mother's.  One lady, Bev, has become Bug's "adoptive grandma."  Bev's grandkids are older and live far away.  One of the Bug's grandmas has passed away (my mother) and the other one lives far away from us.  It works for both of them. 
  You may ask how did I start having coffee with this group?  Quite by accident really.  Every day the ladies have coffee at a certain convenience store.  One day I stopped in for a soda and stopped to talk for a second and the next thing I know they are tell me to sit down and that they are up there every day at 3:00.  It is mostly made up of widows.  It is kinda funny.  In this group is a lady I use to work for, my mom's very best friend and a good friend of mine mother-in-law.  Some friends of mine give me a hard time for going up there, but I think they are secretly jealous.  Don't you?

Pictures of just a few of the ladies.

 

  What is so funny, is most people think that these ladies do nothing but gossip.  Let me think of what they were talking about today; some major news stories,  the recent snow storms, what songs they want sung at their funeral's.  Another major topic they share is recipes and what day are they going to go to the casino that month and who is going to go and who is driving.  

  I really admire these ladies.  They look after each other.  When one is sick, the others with come to their aid.  When one rejoices a happy event, they all celebrate with her; likewise when one grieves, they grieve with her.  It is like one big family.  I am glad they added me to it.  I know when my mother passed away a year ago, they were by my side grieving with me.  I truly love these ladies.  Only in a small town.  I wouldn't want to live any place else. 

 

Love to all,   Sara  

Hubby & My Anniversary

 

On our wedding day

 

  Yesterday was my hubby and mine 16th wedding anniversary.  It is so hard to believe that it has been 16 years already.  It has just flown by, but it also seems like we have been together forever also.  I would say we complement each other very well.  He is strong in areas that I am weak and visa versa.  I has stood by me throw all of my health crisis's in the last 16 years and has never complained (and there has been many).  I don't know where I would be with out my hubby.  I love him to death.  When we got married, we told people that we were going to give this marriage 60 years to decide if it was for us or not, but we were going to stick it out for the 60 years first.  Well so far so good!

Made to Crave Book Club

  Recently I joined a book club that is studying the book Made To Crave; Satisfying Your Deepest Desire With God, Not Food.  This book is by Lysa Terkeurst.  It is a 6 week journey about how we can replace our cravings for food with a deeper craving for God.  I don't know if I have ever told you this, but I have some very deep rooted issues with food.  I think I always have.  It has been my comfort for a long time.  I don't feel happy unless my pantry and fridge and freezer are full to the brim.  As soon as I use something, I need to replace it with 2 others.  There was a time in my life where we didn't have food in our cupboard nor much for supper.  I think I still hold that fear.  I haven't been hungry in a very long time, but I still remember those days like it was yesterday.  I have never told anyone in my family about those days.  It was just my mom and I during that time.  I think that is also why I am a "food pusher".  I always cook way to much, especially for holidays and if you walk away from my table hungry, it is your own fault.  Because of this my family has also suffered.  My husband has gained probably 40 lbs since our marriage and our daughter also has issues with food.  Hopefully this can be a turning point for the whole family.  Please keep us in our prayers. 

Love to all,   Sara

Chicken & Mushroom Alfredo Pizza

Chicken & Mushroom Alfredo Pizza

    It is Parent/Teachers Conferences tonight at school, so that always means it's Pizza Night!!!  Tonight. Bug (my daughter) requested my homemade Chicken Alfredo Pizza.  I don't know if I would really call it homemade because I get a lot of help from the grocery store, but I do dirty more than just a pizza pan, so lets go with homemade.  If you won't tell, I won't. 

CHICKEN & MUSHROOM ALFREDO PIZZA

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS:  enough for 2 pizzas
Store bought pizza crust (enough for 2)
 1 (16 ounce) jar of Alfredo sauce
2 (4 ounce) can of mushrooms
1 tbsp. of butter
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 large can of chicken or 2 cups of cooked shredded chicken
2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded (if you like more cheese, add more cheese)

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Put Alfredo sauce in a small sauce pan.  Add butter, garlic, Parmesan cheese and black pepper.  Stir until Parmesan cheese is melted into sauce.
2.  Put dough on pizza pans.  Ladle sauce evenly between the two crusts.  You will probably have left over sauce, which is great if you have bread sticks with you pizza.  Next top sauce with chicken, splitting between the two, then the mushrooms.  Top everything with cheese. 
3.  Cook pizza according to the directions for the dough you happened to have.

Everyone loves this pizza!  I have been told it is even better than store bought Chicken Alfredo Pizza.  I don't know about that but the complement was nice to hear.  I hope you enjoy!

This is how the sauce should look after adding the butter, garlic pepper and Parmesan cheese.

Pizza with the sauce, chicken and mushrooms on it.

Putting the cheese on next.

The finished product!  Yummy!

 

 

What is great about this pizza is you can add anything you want to on it.  You like onions and black olives put them on.  Don't like mushrooms, don't put them on.  It's that easy.  Hope you like it! 

     As for as the Parent/Teacher Conference, Bug did very well!  Yeah!


Love to all,   Sara

Synod Assembly

  Holy Buckets am I tired!  I was out of town this weekend and I am still trying to catch up on my sleep.  My hubby and I had quite the adventure this weekend.  We were the delegates for our Church's Synod Assembly.  A brief explanation of what this is; is a meeting a Pastors and Delegates in the synod to discuss and vote on resolutions that are brought before the synod.  If the resolutions pass than our synod will send them on to the Churchwide Assembly.  I am sure I over simplified it, but that is it in a nut shell.  It is the taking care of business for our synod.

The hubby

 

This is the first time we have gone to the Assembly.  It was fascinating.  The theme for the Assembly this year was our Synod is at a "Crossroads".  There are many changes coming in the future on the ELCA, in everything from the technology we use, to the demographics of our congregations and to challenges that face our congregations and ministers.  I would go again in a second! 

 



Keynote Speaker Bishop Mark Narum, WND Synod       Bishop Bill Rindy, END Synod

 

  On Saturday night after the banquet, the former presiding of the ELCA Rev. Herbert Chilstrom spoke.  He was very captivating.  The title of his talk was "Always Being Made New".  The things this man has seen are incredible.  He was the first bishop of our church when it transformed into the ELCA.  After his talk, I had to go get his autobiography,A Journey of Grace, The Formation of a Leader and a Church; which talks about the formation of the ELCA and also of it's early days.  I can hardly wait to dive into it. 

Rev. Herbert Chilstrom

 

  It may take me a few days to recover but I will be back in action before to long.  But even after I catch up on my sleep, I will still have the same renewed excitement for our Church and where it is going. 

Love to all,   Sara

Rodeo Entertainment

  While at the rodeo, the entertainment was John Payne, The One Arm Bandit..  He was amazing!!!!  The things he could do with while just using one hand and arm.  He also had two buffalo that he had trained to do certain tricks.  The are such beautiful animals!  You almost had to see it to believe it.  I would of gone to the rodeo just to see him and would go again in a minute!  The link above would will take him to his home page.  If you get the chance to see his act, defiantly do it! There are some of the pictures from his show. 

This first picture is a pic from his web page.  I wasn't able to get a real close pic of him.

 

The buffalo going up on the trailer.

The buffalo up on the trailer.

John going up on the trailer.

The buffalo and John and his horse on the trailer.

Another one of them on the trailer.  

 The buffalo coming down off the trailer.

 John on the trailer

 Another on the trailer, waving his hat.

 His whole rig

 One of his trained buffalo

 John herding the buffalo.  They listened to everything he told them to do.

 It was AWESOME how he rode his horse without using the reins.

His buffalo were beautiful.  They are such amazing animals.

 

I wish you all could of joined us for this fun-filled day!  There is always next year.

 

 

Love to all,   Sara  

Rodeo

  The same day we went to the cattle show, we went to a rodeo.  WE HAD A BLAST!!!!!!  It was so much fun!  The family had not been to one in years.  Does anyone else enjoy rodeos?  I am just going to post some of the pictures I took.  Some are good, some not really.  It is not easy photographing the spinning animals, but they are sure fun to watch.



The princesses with the flags.

Saddle Bronc Riding

More Saddle Bronc Riding

Steer wrestling

Barrelman (Clown)

Saddle Bronc Rider

Shoe Scramble for the Kids

They had to race to find their other shoe.

The winner won a new pair of boots.

They were having a BLAST!

Tie Down Roping

Team Roping

More Team Roping

Girl's Barrel Racing

One of the cutest cowboys there!

One of the pickup men

The Barrelman

Bullriding  No Thank You

He was not happy someone tried to ride him.

Rid'em Cowboy!

More bulls

If you can't tell, bulls are my favorite.

Girl's Barrel Racing

Everyone waiting and helping a cowboy get set on a bull.

 

I would definitely recommend you and your family go to a rodeo if you have the change.  It is some good old fashion American fun. 

 

 

Love to all,    Sara