A Peaceful Dwelling: August 2014

Monday, August 18, 2014

Easy Tortilla Soup

4:48 PM |

If any of you are part of the Vitamix club, please stand up. Great!! If you stood up go ahead and give yourself a huge pat on the back. Before 2012 I thought the almighty Vitamix was just some fancy pants blender that old rich people bought from infomercials late at night. That was before. Once my husband and I started dating in June of 2012, I discovered that the Vitamix is much, much more. The Vitamix represents a blender, but it performs so many tasks that calling it a "blender" doesn't do it justice. My husband received our Vitamix from his parents after he moved back to High Point following graduation. They have blessed us with so much and continue to do so, but this is one of our favorite gifts to this day! I would be here all day if I listed all the reasons why I love our Vitamix so let's not waste time with that when I can sum it all up into one sentence...I can cook a whole meal in 10 minutes. Let me break that down; I can cook. A whole meal. In ten minutes. I'm not sure about you, but I've been in drive-thrus longer than that.

I get to actually cook (well measure things out) good whole foods for my family and not slave away in the kitchen for a few hours. Which I do love by the way, let's just clear that up, but some days I don't feel up to baking hand crafted biscuits or preparing the finest deer roast around. I'll use tonight for an example, it's been a busy day for both Zak and I, I haven't had much energy today, there is a beautiful storm outside, and we were both in the mood for a good soup. So out comes the Vitamix cookbook. We chose the Easy Tortilla Soup. And let me say...I mean easy. I'm on my third bowl right now as I type this. I strongly encourage you to pull your machine out and give this recipe a try, you will love it!! Enjoy!

1 Roma tomato
1 celery stalk
6 baby carrots
1 garlic clove, unpeeled
1/2 vegetable bouillon cube
1 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cup tortilla chips, lightly broken
1 cup packed fresh spinach

1. Place tomato, celery, carrots, garlic, bouillon, taco seasoning, and water into the Vitamix in that order
2. Select Variable 1
3. Turn machine on and increase speed to Variable 10, then to high
4. Blend for 7 minutes
5. Reduce speed to Variable 3 and remove the lid plug
6. Add corn, tortilla chips, and spinach
7. Replace lid plug and blend for 10 seconds
8. Soup is ready to serve!!

Bonus: I add crumbled tortilla strips on top of mine to give it a little edge

How easy?!? This recipe makes almost 5 cups of delicious soup! Also, this is a Vitamix recipe so all credit goes to them, maybe one day I'll venture out and create my own recipes!

The Vitamix during Step 4

Easy Tortilla Soup

Ignore the baby mess in the background

And I was craving Orange Fanta

A Partial Boober Family Reunion

1:38 PM |

This past week we had the privilege of hosting part of Zaks family at our home for a few days. His mother, brother, and nephew were all able to come down at the same time and have a nice visit. Nat and Embry (brother and nephew) flew in at 9 on Sunday night, we picked them up and had fun talking and playing at the house that night. The next morning we all corralled in Memaws van (she was so sweet to let us borrow it so that we could all fit into one vehicle) and picked up Joyce from the airport. We enjoyed a huge breakfast from Smith Street Diner and went home to unpack and start our week together. As always, Joyce brought down too much stuff for everybody, she is constnantly going above and beyond for us. I received more amazing Chico's tops and a pair of fabulous earrings, Zaylen and Embry scored a ton of books, clothes, and toys, and the boys got some of their old yearbooks and books from their childhood. She is way too good to us!! We all had a lovely week together! We visited the zoo, went to the science center, ate at some awesome restaurants, and really enjoyed time with each other! Everyone left Friday morning, but they all got to their destinations safely and we are looking forward to seeing them next time!

The boys catching up on Shark Week

Zaylen got a new toy

Anna and baby Weston came by for a visit

Talk about baby fever!!

Boober Family

This watermelon was so big we had to buckle it down

Best of friends

Zaylen in the baby swing

Cousins

....watermelon

Cousins swinging with Grandma

At the park

Pirate Zaylen

Sleepy baby

Cousins at the zoo

He loved the goats

Well you can't tell by his facial expressions, but he did

Monday, August 4, 2014

A Summers End

10:32 PM |

I don't even have to look at a calendar to know that summer is coming to an end. I can tell by the lesson plans sitting on our coffee table, how my "honey, please do list" is practically bare, and by the flooding of back-to-school sales ads in our mailbox. This is always a part of the year that tends to have higher emotions and a mix of sadness/happiness (you know that weird feeling). While I am glad for my husband to return to work, I sure am going to miss him being home all day. And while he is ready to get back to his kids, I know he will miss being here with us during the day.

Zak starts back next Wednesday. Ughhh I am so not ready for that. Where did our summer go?? Of course the first week he goes back will be spent in useless meetings and dealing with a mountain load of paperwork, but I'm sure he will enjoy seeing his co-workers, meeting new ones, and preparing for his kids to have a successful school year. I've grown spoilt to having an extra set of hands around. I have a feeling my house will be a disaster area and dinner will not be made from scratch that first week alone. Who knows, there may possibly even be tears. For those who don't know me that well, I'm a firm believer in the power of crying. I have cried over which shade of grey I want my guest bathroom towels to be if that tells you anything. I'm not ready for this change, however, I've got to suck it up and put my big girl britches on.

While we are on the subject of school, I just want to take a minute to thank all of our teachers!! Until you are a teacher or are close to a teacher to know behind the scenes, you really can't have full appreciation for what they do. Until Zak started teaching I had NO idea what teachers really did. I came across a post a few days ago where a woman was ranting about how it's not fair that teachers don't work in the summers but yet they get paid. She works 8 hours a day and a lot of over time, and that's every week year round. She doesn't get the time off that teachers do and her office job takes more skill. Take a minute and let that soak in. I was scrolling down to type something back to her, but as I was going down the page I noticed many teachers had already wrote what I intended to. They laid into that girl!! My husband is one of the hardest working men I know. He is at work before his kids, he teaches all day, most days staying after to help struggling students or finish paperwork, then some times even brings work home. He attends games, he has coached the swim team, and he has at least one/two meetings a week. He has to be on call in case any of his pupils need him, he's gotten a call during the night before from a kid who needed his help. Oh, and he sacrifices pay during the school year so that we can have an income during the summer months. And let me go back to the "teaching" part. Teaching isn't just standing in front of a whiteboard talking and writing. I don't even understand all the components, but teachers are educating our future leaders. They are preparing them for real life. That's a heck of a lot more important to me than some big company accountant sitting behind a desk all day. I apologize if any of you are big company accountants who sit behind a desk all day, that job is important too. Many of us wouldn't have the knowledge we do without those teachers we had over the years. Some have been overly strict, some way laid back, and some just off the handles, but there are several teachers who shaped me into the woman I am today and I am eternally grateful for their encouragement and support. I still keep in touch with a few of them, they hold such a dear place in my heart. Teaching is a special job that truly is meant for a select group of people, and I am proud to be a wife, friend, and family member of teachers who are making a difference for a better future.

That's my sentiment for the day. Now, where did the summer go?? Although the days of sleeping in, swimming, and relaxation are almost to an end, we have new and exciting things to look forward to. My family can get back into the daily grind, we get a schedule back, and fall and Christmas are just around the corner!! I'll let you in on an embarrassing moment...I got in trouble today for singing a Christmas tune, oops.

Well I'm off to enjoy my last week of summer with my husband and sweet baby. We have some preparing to do for the arrival of Zaks mother, brother, and nephew, as well as getting in some good family time together. I hope you have all had an amazing summer and are ready for the exciting changes that August brings!

xoxo
Cursty