Is Company coming?

The other night, after the kids went to bed and because the hubster was gone to a work dinner, I spent a good chunk of time cleaning my kitchen counters. Let me tell you, it was long overdue. And, I cleaned everything off the front of my refrigerator and put away/threw away/put back where it belonged, everything else.And, I spotlessly cleaned all the surfaces too. I'm telling you, my kitchen hasn't looked this good since the last owners owned this house, seriously!
Wolfgang and Princess came down in the morning. The conversation went something like this:
Wolfgang:OOOOOOoooooo, look at that. The kitchen is very clean. Thanks Mama!
Anne: Your welcome, Wolfgang. Doesn't it look nice? (feeling very proud of myself, I must add)
Wolfgang: Yep, almost as good as Quin's house. (Anne's little pride bubble bursts)
Princess: Wow, Mama, what happened to our house? There's so much room. And, I never knew the refrigerator looked like that! Is that really the color it is? Is it new? (she has never seen the refrigerator completely empty of pictures and, shall I say it, yep, crap!)
Anne: No, honey, it's not new, just clean.
Princess: Did we get cleaning people?
Anne: Nope, just Mama.
Princess: Hmmm, okay then.
Wolfgang: Well, I like it.
Anne: Good, I'm happy to hear that because we all need to work together to keep it looking nice.
Wolfgang: Well, I'm not sure I like it THAT much!
Now, move back to when the hubster got home at night.
Hubster:Hey, did you have your lady friends over today? The house is clean.
Anne: (feeling disgruntled because apparently the only time everyone thinks I clean is when company is coming. oh wait, that usually is the reason. but still...) Thanks, I just did it for our family and it was A LOT of work. (I almost added a deep sigh and the back of my hand against my forehead for good measure, but I held myself back)
At this point, Hubster took the hint and just complimented the house and then changed the subject. Smart man.

Chicken Enchilada Dip

I made the famous chicken enchilada dip for MOPS this morning and once again, it was a hit. I continually find it puzzling that something so easy inspires such devotedness. Anyway, here's the recipe for those who asked:

Chicken Enchilada Dip

INGREDIENTS
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1 envelope taco seasoning
Tortilla chips
DIRECTIONS
In a 2-qt. microwave-safe dish, combine the first eight ingredients. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 4-5 minutes; stir. Microwave, uncovered, 3-4 minutes longer or until heated through. Serve with tortilla chips. Yield: 3 cups.

Valentine's Day Revisited

Here is my favorite Valentine's activity that we did this year. In the beginning of Feb, I purchased 4 little mailboxes from the dollar spot in Target (oh, I really should have had that on my 10 things I love list!) and then put our intials on the front. So, we each ended up with our own mailbox. They sit on my kitchen counter and the idea was to put an encouraging note or a special little something for a family member in it as often you want. And, I mean little as the mailboxes are quite small.
The trick was to put the stuff in the mailbox without anyone else seeing you do it. Then, you put up the person's flag and wait for them to find your surprise. The kids LOVED this! They liked the notes as much as the little treats I put in. And, they got really creative with their own notes. (My favorite was from Wolfgang nand said "Mama, I like you and you are vera nice). Princess had trouble with the 'waiting until someone sees their flag is up' and would announce to everyone within hearing distance "YOUR FLAG IS UP!!!!" Ah, the impulsiveness of a 4 year old, gotta love it!
I was telling Princess that now that Valentine's Day is over, we would be putting the mailboxes away until next year. She promptly stomped her foot (a way too often occurrence in our house these days) and declared "Well, you can put yours away, but mine's staying up forever!"
I don't know about forever, Little One, but a few more days won't hurt. Gotta spread the love!

10 Things I Love in Honor of Love Day

OK, Trish, I took your challenge. And, I did not include any obvious ones.

1. Reading; I just love reading books.
2. Diet Soda; yummy
3. My chocolate amber perfume; I just love the smell
4. New socks; they're so soft and cushy
5. Overhearing the kids making philosophical comments, usually about God and His works
6. My family picture on the mantel
7. Trying a new recipe; especially desserts
8. Having a girls time out
9. Chocolate; need I say more?
10. Baths; especially when I can read in the tub. Only made better when I can have good chocolate in there too. Bath, reading, chocolate...aaah, heaven!

Saturday Rush

We won't talk about weigh in today. Nope, won't do it.
But, I will talk about my great time at the gym. I ran again! Yeah. My legs (at 9:53 tonight) are freaking tired! But, I did run about 12 minutes and even worked up to a 6 mph speed. Granted, I didn't stay there long and this time, no one high fived me when I got off the treadmill (what? I didn't mention that before? I'll have to tell that story next). But, I felt a great sense of accomplishment when I gingerly stepped off the treadmill. I say gingerly, because my legs felt like rubber when I was done. Oh yeah, going down the stairs at the gym, not a fun time. Yikes! Guess I'm going to have to try and do this more than one time per week.
Anyway, the first time I ran last week, remember after my fantastic weigh in (that I want to relive again), well, when I finished, the lady next to me on the treadmill said "Way to go! Well done!" and high-fived me. I almost fell off the treadmill. Mostly because my body was tired and I am not the most coordinated at that point and I couldn't believe someone was talking to me. Maybe the fact that I counted down the last 10 seconds out loud (even though I thought I had done it in my head) and gave a little 'woo hoo!' when I finished. Then my running neighbor said "I had 6 miles to run today and didn't think I'd be able to do it, but I saw you running and you challenged me to keep going". I wasn't quite sure how to take it, but decided to make the best of it and accept the compliment, grin and say "Yeah!" (cause you know I just am the BEST conversationalist once I've run and have massive amounts of sweat running down me).
Oh, and by the way, did you know that at my gym, the treadmills are not the nicest to, shall we say, fluffy women who are running? As in, have you ever watched the Nature channel and heard the noise a herd of elephants makes running on the African plains? Yep, that's what my lovely treadmill sounded like last week. I started running, heard this noise and thought "That poor shmuck who's making that noise must be soooo embarassed." Then I realized it was me. Dang!

Two Things

First, if you have a chance, go to this site and read this entry.http://asoftplacetoland-kimba.blogspot.com/ (the one that says "Do you know how much you matter?). I very much identified with the author and really liked what she had to say.
Second, I have a great husband. Even with everything going on in his world right now, this morning when I said, "You gotta hear what happened at MOPS this week, something really bothered me", he sat right down on the bed and gave me his total attention. It took about 5 minutes to explain (and I folded a load of laundry while we talked, bonus!) but I felt really important because he took the time to listen. He didn't try and fix anything, he just listened. Sometimes, it's the little things that mean so much. Thanks Honey!

The Day You were Born

Was there music playing the day you were born? Check out this website to find out what the #1 song was on any given day.
http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInhistory/selectMonth.htm
The day I was born, it was "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell and the Dells. Never heard of it? Me neither.
Hubsters was "You Just Keep Me Hanging On" by the Supremes. His mom did say he took a while to be born.
The #1 song on the day we were married: "The First Night" by Monica. OK, never heard this one either. What the heck??
How about the #1 song the day I graduated from High School? "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston (back before she was such a mess, you know, BBB? Before Bobbie Brown)
The #1 song on the day Hubster and I were engaged: "Something About the Way You Look Tonight/Candle in the Wind" by Elton John. Everyone say, awwww. :)
It's fun, try it. And let me know what are the songs of your life!