Corn Chowder - Sausage Cornbread

I truly couldn't be any happier than I am at this moment. 9:12 AM on Saturday, October 31st. I enjoyed a fast paced brisk walk with Sandy this morning, brewed a pot of coffee and am now enjoying my Christmas music (don't be a hater!) while I plan out my meals for the week and make a grocery list. The gorgeous leaves are falling from the trees outside and I'm wrapped up in a blanket as happy as a lark right now.

I am really embracing the spirit of Halloween this year, and I have Brooke to thank for that. She is so very excited about it - she LOVES dressing up and LOVES candy. There's something about the difference between my boys' tween/teen attitude about Halloween (just not a big deal anymore) and Brooke's absolute enthusiasm for it. I don't know.. somehow it makes me appreciate this holiday all the more. So, I'm pushing aside my utter disdain for the crazy candy consumption that is imminent and focusing on the pure joy that these kids experience on Halloween.

It has been a while since my last post - and even longer since the post before that. Somehow I approached and then hit 40 and all hell broke loose. First of all, the ol' metabolism just isn't as spunky as she used to be. For years I have listened to women say, "Just wait til you turn 40... it all changes!" And by golly, I hit 40 and almost to the day, things changed! I get it now. So I am navigating through that because I like to feel good, have energy, fit into my clothes, etc. Now that I'm 40, I have to work a bit harder to achieve that. Then I've been going through what I think might be part of this thing called a "mid-life crisis." Now, crisis is a bit strong... but there's something about turning 40 that causes one to reflect on 40 years lived. Am I where I thought I'd be at 40? Where am I headed? What do I want to be doing or do that I've not done yet? These are all questions that in some shape, form or fashion have resonated with me over the past year.

I think I mentioned in my last post that my mom went through two major surgeries last Summer. In addition to that, my kids were all over the place - all the while, I was trying to hold down a full time job and be everything to everyone. Well, when you try to do that, it catches up with you. It's impossible, especially if you've neglected to care for yourself in the midst of the craziness. So, last Fall, I made the tough decision to step out of my wellness manager role and into a part time wellness role. Fortunately, Children's made that transition very easy for me which enabled me to have more time to focus on my family. It's what I desperately needed as it gave me time to re-evaluate things and sort of figure out what I/my family needed. That said, I've made another tough decision. I've made the decision to leave everything here and move to Africa.

Just kidding.

Over the past few months, I have been itching to get back into a management role - to work full time again. This helps out financially, of course, but it also helps me - as a person - as I like to be busy - go, go, go is a pace that is natural to me. So, I start full time in just over a week and I'm really really excited. I think it makes me a better person. And I have to say that I am really thankful for the belief that Children's has in me. It makes me want to do a stellar job - to rise to every challenge - to be the best I can be. As great as I feel at work, it has caused me to think about the way I make my children feel at home. I tend to be a touch critical of my kids and in this go, go, go pace that we're in, I often don't remember to take the time to praise them as much as I should. So, I am going to really focus on parenting my kids the way that Children's has "parented" me - with open arms, lots of love, demanding, yes - but full of praise as well.

I mentioned above that this morning, I have been enjoying making my meal plan for the week. As a working mom of three, I HAVE to have a plan when it comes to meals and food. My boys come home from school RAVENOUS. It's actually pretty amazing how hungry they are. I think there's a word for it - HANGRY. Sometimes they come home so hungry that they're a touch angry - hence HANGRY. If I don't have a plan, then we are scrambling, they are disappointed and the evenings don't go as well. I have some great dishes planned for this week, several of which are crockpot meals. One thing I made a couple weeks ago that is always a hit and the ultimate comfort food is potato/corn chowder with sausage cornbread. It's a light chowder that is healthy and colorful and when you eat it alongside a wedge of sausage cornbread, it's lights out good.

First, you cook a package of regular breakfast sausage. I'm sure you could use turkey sausage or something other than regular pork sausage, but I use good ol' Jimmy Dean because I like the way it tastes and I only have just a little bit :).

 

 

The sausage is what becomes the bottom of the cornbread. You set that aside (drain off some of the fat) and then mix together corn, corn meal, flour and some other things... pour it all on top of the sausage and put into the oven to bake.

For the chowder, you saute onion and red and green bell pepper.

 

 

Gorgeous, right? Then, you add the peeled and diced potato, little bit of cream, water, etc. And the chowder starts to come to life.

 





It doesn't need long to cook. By the time the cornbread is ready, the chowder is ready. Put the two together and... SHAZAM!!! You have a miracle occurring right there on top of your taste buds!

My chowder is pictures with a little bit of Sriracha on top.  Mmmm mmm is this good!!!  Click here for the recipe.

What's In Your Oxygen Tank?

All five of us are down here on Amelia Island vacationing, and we're having a great time together.  The past year has been... how should I say... FULL (definition: containing or holding as much or as many as possible; having no empty space). We've experienced a lot - some major ups and some major downs. But like people do, we rolled with the punches and now we find ourselves back in our happy place... together.  I love the lazy mornings - watching each of my kids wake up on their own time and make their way slowly into the kitchen/living area with their sleepy eyes and messy hair.  I like that the beach house is small - no space goes unused and we're all together most of the time.  There's not a basement with a PS3 for my kids to go to... there aren't a pack of neighborhood kids playing just outside our window begging our kids to come out - it's just us ... in this sweet place... together.  I love it.

I have enjoyed my early morning runs here on the plantation.  There are endless routes around here - some on the gorgeous serene marsh side - some on the beach side - and some actually ON the beach... I have started running more often and occasionally enjoy a nice looonngg run. I enjoy my running time when I spend time with my thoughts - spend time in prayer - spend time thinking through the day... The best scenario for me is when I get up early enough to run, come back and turn on the coffee pot, grab a quick shower and then relax for a few minutes with my coffee and book (or my daily Skimm).  THEN I feel ready for the day.

What do you do to get ready for your day? To recharge and reboot? We live in a go-go-go society, don't we? And those of us in the throws of raising kids go all the time. All. The. Time. If we don't spend time feeding our souls, minds, hearts, bodies, etc., then we can't keep the ship sailing.  Trust me... I know.

Last Summer my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer. On top of this, she had open heart surgery  to replace her aortic valve.  Seven weeks after her heart surgery, she had a lobe of her lung removed. Fortunately, my mom made it through all of that with flying colors and she's doing amazingly well now. In fact, looking at her and looking at the way she lives her life, you'd be shocked to find out she had endured these health issues. Those of you with sick parents know what it's like to take care of your parents AND your own family at the same time.  It's nearly impossible. I would spend nights with my mom at the hospital, go home in the  morning to shower and say hello to my kids - go back to the hospital for the day - then home again to feed my kids dinner - then back for the night.  Doing this night after night for weeks took its toll - on me, on my marriage, on my relationship with my kids. Everyone was supportive but it was HARD... and I lost it a little bit.  I remember sinking to the floor by my front steps and just crying... Crying because I felt sorry for my mom - crying because I felt sorry for my family and crying because I felt sorry for myself. 

I was so busy taking care of everyone else - I wasn't taking care of myself.  After my little meltdown, I started saying YES PLEASE when someone asked me if they could cook a meal for my family (prior to my meltdown, I felt guilty accepting help from anyone.  After all, it wasn't I who was enduring the surgeries - it was my mom - I was fine... or so I thought) or YES PLEASE when someone offered to take the night shift so I could sleep at home or YES PLEASE when someone offered to take the kids for an afternoon or night.

Accepting help really did help ease some of the stress. This was a situation or period of time when I didn't have time for a run or hanging out with friends or any of the other ways I like to fuel myself... but in my real life when I'm not dealing with a sick parent or other major crisis, I do have times to fuel myself. I may have to look really hard to find time in my schedule for ME and it may not be easy, but it's do-able and necessary for me to function as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, employee, friend, etc.

There is a reason on a flight that we are told to put the oxygen mask on ourselves BEFORE we put it on our kids. How can we help them breathe if we are struggling ourselves to breathe?

I'd love to know what's inside your oxygen tank? How do you stay recharged and ready to deal with life at any given moment? And if you don't have an answer to these questions, I encourage you to explore some options for yourself - make sure you take some time JUST FOR YOU each day.  You'll be better because of it!