Chicken Stew

Good Tuesday morning!

The Gallery Pic is one of 112 photos I tried to take of Mia (our visiting dog friend) before her owners took her home. Mia is the definition of perpetual motion. This is the second best photo I got during our dog shoot. Even with my super-duper BRAND NEW CAMERA, everything is a blur!

RANDOMNESS #1 - Did you know you aren't allowed to wear ANY KIND of earring during basketball practice/softball practice OR basketball games/softball games? Roxie, Monica, Amy and I knew this... and yet we all forgot and allowed the girls to get their ears double-pierced anyway!

Can you say rookie mistake? We get to wear bandaids during practice this week, but when games start next Monday, the earrings must come out for a couple of hours. That's about three to five weeks EARLIER than the acceptable healing time the Earring Piercing Technician at Claire's instruction sheet indicated.

I am already dreading the "putting in of the earring" after the game. Totally, completely dreading it!

RANDOMNESS #2 - Roxie is loving the Babies Documentary. If she says, "Ahhh" one more time, she's going to have to watch Part Two alone tonight.

However, because of the African moms, I don't think we will EVER have a fight about wearing or not wearing a good supportive foundational garment in the future. And for that I am thankful.

Also, she has picked the wrong babies as her favorites. She likes the Mongolian baby and the American baby the best, and it is painfully obvious the African baby is by far the star of the show. BY FAR! (We've decided to argue about this issue instead of the good supportive foundational garment for the moment.)

RANDOMNESS #3 - I'm going to my rheumatologist today for my regular appointment. In theory, it should be my FIRST visit, but I was diagnosed with early-onset osteoarthritis 11 years ago, so it is my 1,000 visit.

Fun fact for you... Everytime you go into the doctor's office, they give you a sheet with a picture of two skeletons. You have to circle all the joints on the skeleton with a black pen that are currently causing discomfort or pain.

On one of the skeletons I am always, always accurate. But on the other skeleton, I like to have a little fun. I circle things like the place where the ears would be, the nose, etc. Oh, and I use a red pen I bring from home.

It's my little way to brighten my rheumatologist's day a little. "Now, Belinda," he will say. "Am I to assume your ears have arthritis in them?" And we just laugh and laugh. Actually, I laugh and laugh. Hmmm. Could it be I'm the only one who finds this little tradition amusing?

I probably need a moment or two alone with my chart today... just to make sure he's written accurate information about me in case another doctor ever takes a gander. Hmmm.

Chicken Stew

This dish is adapted from my friend's mom's recipe, Shelby Dutton. As with many family recipes, Melaney can make it in her sleep. She knows just how many potatoes to add, etc., etc. But I had to play with it (just a little) last night after Melaney, daughter of Shelby, sent it to me, and I made it my own. EXCELLENT, Melaney! Excellent.

You will need the following:

1 rotisserie chicken
(Melaney cooks her own and takes it off the bone in long strips.)

2 1/2 cups chicken broth
(Melaney uses the broth left over from cooking the chicken.)

8 medium potatoes (cut into chunks)
(This will be enough to feed a family of five with a little leftover.)

1 whole yellow onion
(Melaney chops her onions, but my family just likes the flavor, so I put a whole peeled onion in the bottom of the stock pot.)

1 medium can of tomato sauce
2 cans shoepeg corn

1. Bring the broth, onion and potatoes to a boil. (Add salt and pepper for taste.)

2. Once the potatoes are fork tender, add tomato sauce, corn and chicken.

3. Cover and simmer.

Guys... This is good stuff. I'm making a pot as a gift this afternoon. It's a perfect fall meal. Thank you, Melaney!

Have a fantastic Tuesday. On Wednesday, I'll be back with Wisdom, a Party, Event, Devotion OR Tradition, more pics and much, much more. Wednesday is definitely our "busy" day on A Simple Life.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda