Dar's Chicken Salad

I was never big on chicken salad until I had it at my friend Dar's house.  She didn't give me the recipe at the time- she basically just told me what was in it and I've tried to re-create it multiple ways over the years.  I just like to call it "Dar's Chicken Salad" because she was a good friend who is up in heaven now.

My latest spin on this chicken salad is to use a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking it myself.  Not only is a rotisserie chicken TOTALLY delicious, but it also saves me some time. :)

You should make this, today.  Here's my (current) version with approximate measurements (I usually just eyeball it), but feel free to doctor it in your own special way- that's totally something Dar would have done.


Dar's Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
1 Rotisserie chicken
1 red apple
1 green apple
1 c green grapes
1 c red grapes
1/2 c craisins
1/4 c ranch dressing
1/2 c mayonnaise

First you have to skin and de-bone the chicken.  Prepare to get greasy!  Cut the apples into small pieces (I like to leave the skin on because it makes for a colorful salad!) and cut the grapes in half.  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and toss with a wooden spoon.  Add ingredients as needed to your taste- I usually just eyeball all of it so the measurements above are just estimates.

Enjoy with sourdough bread or crackers!  It's addicting!

How old are you?

One of my 5th graders today noticed a zit on my cheek and says:
"What is that, a bug bite on your face?"

To which I replied: "No, it's a zit"

She gets this really confused look on her face and says "Wait, how old are you?" like she can't imagine an adult with a zit.

Oh honey- I hate to break it to you....

Nostalgia

Today I was giving a voice lesson and my little student wanted to sing "On My Own' from Les M.iserables.  She loves the song (really, who doesn't?) but she's WAY too young for me to assign it to her and I really want her working in her head voice anyway so it's not right for her right now.  My response to her was that I wasn't going to assign it for voice lessons but that she should ALWAYS feel free to sing anything that she loves to sing because if you love to sing it, it's good for the soul.

Why is it that I hardly ever take that advice?  I remember in high school I'd sing all day and night- all of my favorites that NEVER got assigned in voice lessons- M.iss S.aigon, G.rease, Les Mis.erables etc. etc. I hardly EVER sing like that anymore.  (Which my neighbors probably appreciate!)

Teaching private voice lately has made me want to sing that old stuff that I used to sing (my students are way into musical theater).  One of them was singing "Till There Was You" from "The M.usic Man" and I was transported back to high school.

It never ceases to amaze me how the older we get, the easier it is to romanticize the past.  High school really feels like such a distant and fuzzy memory to me lately and it's like I can barely remember the parts that I didn't like but the parts that I loved are amplified- this crazy nostalgia is so funny!  It must be one of the consolations of aging- nostalgia and selective memory!

Nieces and Nephews

I have six now. Three of each. They are all awesome and I had a really great time seeing all of them when we went home to visit. I have some funny videos too but my computer isn't cooperating at the moment, so I'll just try to upload the pics for now.

Abby and Kyle's oldest, and the oldest of the six, Ryan, turned 3 in July and we got to help him celebrate!
Their youngest, Gracie, celebrated spaghetti night in a BIG way:
My brother Aaron and his wife Megan's oldest, Wyatt, spent some quality time with Aunt Rachael and Uncle Justin:

And Henry, their baby, caught Uncle Justin in a more lively moment :)
We got to meet Neve Noelle, Graham and Marie's newest addition and the youngest of the six- she is an ANGEL baby!

And their oldest, Audrey, in the bouncehouse at Ryan's birthday party:

Three of the six getting in some quality snuggles with their favorite aunt (I'm allowed to say that since I'm the only one who isn't "mom" to any of them) :)

Love them all!

DON'T JUDGE ME HULU!!!

Listen, I know my readers (ahem...mom) want to see pictures from our Iowa trip. I'll get to it, I promise. The pictures are actually uploading as we speak. I just have to vent about Hulu going all judgey on me just now.

So I like to put something on the computer while I'm cooking- I made a delicious turkey meatloaf tonight and so I had a random episode of Grey's anatomy playing while I cooked- I was hardly watching it, but it's sometimes nice to just have the company of one of your favorite shows playing in the background.

Then, once the food is in the oven, I switched to "Bachelor Pad". I know I know- crappy television. But I got sucked into the last season of "The Bachelor" which then lead me to get sucked in to "The Bachelorette" which then lead me to "Bachelor Pad"- because characters carry over and I'm interested in seeing what happens to them.

Listen, if Hulu had in some way judged me for watching "Bachelor Pad" I probably would have chuckled and agreed with it. But that's not what happened.

So the first episode of "Bachelor Pad" was in THREE parts- I actually heard on the radio that when it aired on TV last night, with regular commercial breaks, it actually lasted longer than "Dances With Wolves". I knew what I was getting into, but Justin was out playing basketball and I knew he had a meeting with a friend later tonight, so I had the time to kill.

It was long and ridiculous (and seriously, Vienna is a witch!) and then it comes to a close and the credits are rolling and all of a sudden a message from hulu pops up that says:

"Need a break? You've been watching for more than 3 hours."

Um, seriously? DON'T JUDGE ME HULU!!! First of all, I wasn't watching for more than three hours, I was watching for about 2 hours and 2o minutes. Secondly- WHY ARE YOU JUDGING ME??"

Seriously.

June Gloom!

Happy First Week of Summer. It's 58 degrees and foggy. Yuck!

I'm not really mad about it, it's just funny. It's this time of year when I really ACHE for the hot midwestern summer. Soon enough I suppose...I haven't started a countdown yet but I think it's a little over a month before we head back to Iowa for a visit. I can't wait to spend some quality time with the family- it's been too long!

In the meantime, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by what's ahead. I have this week off (although plans every night this week- I think it's a sickness) and then next week I head to Forest Home with my youth group girls. My girls are going to be FRESHMEN women next fall so we go to HIGHSCHOOL camp- wow. It seems like just yesterday that they were quiet little 5th graders. I've always thought that it made a lot of sense how our church has leaders track with the kids from 5th-12th grade, but just recently I realized that another benefit to this tracking is that we as leaders get attached to our group of kids! I'm looking forward to having some fun at camp next week- but I'll miss my husband!!!!

I get back from camp on Friday and then Sunday we (Justin and I) are heading up to Yosemite for five days. Justin went up with his dad a couple of years ago but I haven't been. I'm really looking forward to some quality time with Justin, camping and proving that I'm tough! :)

When we come back from Yosemite it will be July- craziness- and only about two weeks before we leave for Iowa. This summer is going to fly by- I guess I'd better hold on tight!

Pictures from Mom's Bday Weekend

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of my trip to Cedar Falls. I absolutely loved getting to see everyone especially my DARLING nephews!

Here's Wyatt with Grandma (my mom):


Wyatt in his Easter outfit:

Me and Henry:

Henry in HIS Easter outfit:

And a funny video. Not much happens in the video- before I shot it Wyatt was saying "Oh No!" really dramatically, so you can hear my mom and I saying it- trying to get him to say it- but he's a little punk so he wouldn't do it. :) He's super cute though, so I thought I'd share!



Love those Hawkeye jammies!

I am NOT a Hypochondriac

I just like to discuss my injuries and ailments. Mainly with my husband. Repeatedly. Until he gives me the amount of sympathy I desire. :)

Two recent cases:

1. A dark bruise on my arm. I like to point it out to him regularly and comment on how I have no idea what I did to inflict it. He humors me by saying something like "Wow, honey, that's really bad" in an EXTREMELY mock-serious tone. I suppose I continue to point it out because I'm not satisfied with this patronizing response.

2. Yesterday on a five mile walk with JoAnn my left eye started to itch really badly and I kept sneezing. When I got home my left eyelid was visibly swollen and puffy. Twice last night I made him look at it- both times insisting it was getting worse despite the Benadryl and both times he was reluctant to agree that it was worse.

This afternoon he came home right before I went for a run and I pointed out that now BOTH of my eyes are swollen and puffy (which they ARE) but he would not agree that the right one was- just that the left one was. I got back from my run and showed him again- I said "Look- you CAN'T deny that they're both puffy".

Here comes the mock-serious tone:

"Oh, wow! They are both SO puffy! And wait- what's this on your ARM? HOW did THIS happen? OH no!"

Hrumph.

My eyes really are swollen and puffy. Really.

I Am a Bad Blogger

But oh well.

It's funny because I read other people's blogs and get annoyed when they don't update for a week or so. There's one blog that I check regularly that hasn't been updated in almost a year... so when you look at it that way, I guess I'm not SO bad.

Time is flying by- probably largely due to the fact that I've been out of town the past two weekends (doesn't time seem to go by quicker when your usual routine is disrupted? I think so.) Last weekend my generous brother flew me out to Iowa for the weekend to surprise my mom for her birthday. It was pretty cool- she was VERY surprised and happy to have all of us together. It was a whirlwind weekend but I had a great time seeing my nephews Wyatt and Henry and since I'm too lazy right now to get the pictures I took off of the other computer, you can click on that link and see my little nephews on my sister-in-laws blog (she would be an example of a GOOD blogger). :)

After my last post I did get cleared for an HSG which turned out normal (meaning my tubes are not blocked) and we got the all-clear to start trying again. Back to square one- yippee. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that my tubes are ok, it just seemed anti-climatic. So now we're in month two (obviously month one was not successful) of starting to try again. I'm just trying to chill out and keep busy with school (not hard to do this time of year!) and not obsess. It's waaaayyy too easy to obsess about this stuff, as anyone who has gone through these types of things can tell you.

We (Justin and I) just got back this afternoon from a weekend in Carmel Valley. I had to go up for a music conference so Justin came along and we had a great time. The conference was fun and I got lots of fun ideas that I'm excited to use in the classroom. We stayed in a cute hotel and our room was actually kind of like a cabin complete with a fireplace. The furnishings were a bit out-dated but it had a nice cabin-like feel and was plenty comfortable. I skipped out on the social events of the conference last night after the sessions were over and we went out for dinner at a little Irish pub in Carmel. We met this guy who was putting good music on the juke box and talked to him about music for awhile and just before he left he paid for our dinner! Awesome! We also played darts which was a lot of fun (especially since I won...which Justin was not happy about) Hahahaha! It was a great weekend and I felt blessed to have a husband who is also my best friend. Good times.

6 weeks left until summer vacation and lots to do so hopefully it will fly by. I'm looking forward to coming to Iowa sometime in July- can't wait to see the family.

WAY TOO SHORT....but sweet

Mom came to visit last Saturday and left Thursday. I was not ready for her to go back to Iowa! I LOVE MY MOM! We had a lovely time- a spa day that included a massage and a facial, wine tasting and even a Segway tour! She also came to school with me Tuesday-Thursday which was really nice. It's lonely sometimes being a music teacher in an elementary school- there are rarely other adults in your classroom so it's nice to have someone (especially another music teacher!) observe and comment. Friday morning, the day after she left, I got up and made my breakfast and accidentally cooked two eggs as I had the previous mornings when I was cooking for mom- it made me sad. I'm really lucky to have a mom that I love being with. During one of our conversations while she was here she asked me if I have any friends that I talk to every day - I was like "um, you!" My mom is my best friend.

And since I'm already on the verge of tears just writing this, I have to bring up the book she gave me which had me in tears just looking at the cover:
She claims that she found it "hopeful" but I told her that it's sad. Mom, I love you, and any book that ends with the main character thinking about her deceased mother is NOT a hopeful book for me! :) But I know what you meant.

Now I'm crying. Over and out.

It's Getting Better All the Time

I can't believe we are more than halfway through March already. Less than 3 months of school left and only a week left before spring break. Wow.

I've been feeling much closer to normal- physically and emotionally- these last couple of weeks. I'm still prone to fits of sadness and (although I hate to admit this) bitterness. It's hard losing a pregnancy, especially when you're 30-going-on-31 and it seems like EVERYONE around you is pregnant. It's hard. But I'm tough, or at least I try to be. And I don't like feeling sorry for myself, so it's been a rough couple of months but I'm feeling much more normal these days.

****TMI alert- if you are squeamish about girl stuff, don't read this paragraph :) ****
I was talking to my friend Katherine yesterday and said how it was weird but I was actually excited when I got my period this week. I've been a little nervous because I thought it would come about a week earlier and I've read online (bad idea) about people who didn't get a period for two months after their HCG levels normalized. Luckily that wasn't me, but I giggled with her about how it was weird to be "happy" about bleeding from your vagina. :) Crude, I know, but you have to admit it is weird and sort of funny- especially since it was NOT funny two months ago. :(

So now I have an ultrasound with the OB/GYN next week to decide if I am ready for the Hysterosalpingogram (aka HSG, this is the dye test where they check my tubes). I'm surprisingly not that nervous. Maybe it's because I'm feeling physically normal and am hopeful that she'll give me the green light to go ahead with the HSG which would mean "trying" again as soon as next month. We'll see. If I don't get the green light, I know I'll be bummed, but what can you do? Wait, hope, trust.....that's going to have to be my mantra.

In the meantime I'm navigating a social life filled with pregnant people, one of which happens to be one of my best friends here in SB- JoAnn. We actually got pregnant at the same time, about a week apart and were THRILLED to get to do this together.... now it's just weird. Of course I'm still thrilled for her- and I know I'm going to LOVE little Olive/Cosmo (those are their names, so cute) but it is a little tricky in the emotion department. As my sister-in-law so rightly put it: Every milestone she hits will be a milestone you aren't hitting and that will be hard.

No two ways about it- that sucks. But you know what? I love babies. I've always loved babies and kids (hello, I'm a teacher) and none of the babies/kids I've loved have ever been "mine". How much more will I love my best friend's baby? So much.

Wait, hope, trust.

God Bless Rachael's Uterus

My neighbor tells me that this is what her 3-year-old prayed last night. They had tried to explain what an ectopic pregnancy was so he was trying to use the "lingo" in his prayers last night. So sweet.

Today it has been four weeks since I initially started spotting- the first signs that something wasn't right. I spent 10 days thinking it was a miscarriage and that we'd be able to start trying again soon, once it resolved. My HCG levels kept increasing which lead my doctor to do an ultrasound which lead them to discover that it was actually an ectopic pregnancy. Now we have to figure out if my tube is worth keeping at all and will probably need to wait until May before we start trying again...ugh.

It's beyond disappointing at a time when I really don't need more disappointment. However, the Lord continues to bless us and teach us.

We are so blessed by our friends and family. I know it's so hard for our family to be so far away but we know that you're praying for us and I love that you check in on us- being away is hard but it's good to know we're on your minds and in your prayers.

Our friends here in SB are amazing. Marissa has prayed with me, for me, brought me lunch, dinner, Sydney (baby fix!), and amazing friendship. JoAnn has walked with me, cried with me and given me space when I need it, while making sure I know she's there. Donna is at the ready with advice from someone who knows and Katherine has listened to me whine and feel sorry for myself ad nauseam (which can't be fun). Stacy has walked with me, sent me cards, texts and a two-year old at my door (more baby fixes!).

God is good and He provides.

Another Video

I had to post this one also for two reasons: You can hear Audrey's sweet little voice which I LOVE and because of the funny interaction between the two of them pushing the table back and forth- the beginning of a beautiful friendship. :)

Cuties

We've been back from Iowa for a week so I guess it's time to post some pictures. :)

Unfortunately the entire Clark clan got the flu, so there weren't a whole lot of Kodak moments. I did capture some good ones of my nieces and nephews that I'll share.

This first one is of Wyatt- my brother's little boy. He loves hats, which I guess includes a shirt tied to his head. :) He's super-cute and had a blast with his new slide! Notice the crackers in his lap- don't leave home without them!

This next one is Wyatt with Daddy on the carousel at Coral Ridge Mall. Wyatt saw the Carousel and was all about the "Neigh's" but when they tried to put him ON one of the horses he FREAKED. Here Aaron is trying to get him to enjoy the ride- clearly it's not going over well.



Now we're in Davenport- here's Justin with the Clark grandkids. From left: Audrey, Gracie and Ryan. Audrey belongs to Graham (Justin's brother) and Marie, Gracie and Ryan are Abby (Justin's sister) and Kyle's kids.Ryan and Audrey had a lot of fun together- here they are at their table- Ryan must have said something hilarious.
And the little dolly- Graciebell. This little cutie wakes up smiling- it will melt your heart!


A little video. I find this hilarious. 2 year olds disagree.