stuff i tell my sister

Happy Sunday to all ~

http://youtu.be/BGbiHrAc1a0 (Lucy & Ethel sing “Friendship”)

It’s Friendship ♪ ♫Friendship ♪It’s the perfect blendship ♫

We have not had much of a winter yet in Oklahoma.  It is cold today though, so I thought I would post a  couple of quick and easy “warm your bones” recipes.  If you happen to be one of our friends living in a warm state, I suggest you turn that air conditioner to COLD and pretend you are in  Oklahoma!

Tom Bill’s Soup

(Tom Bill was a lovely grandfatherly man that we had the privilege of knowing through the years.  He is reading this from heaven now, and I’m sure he’s smiling 😉

1 to 2 pounds of ground beef (OR NO ground beef would be good, too!)

Chopped onion, to your liking

2 to 3 cans of minestrone soup (plus add the designated water it calls for on the can)

1 can of Ranch Style beans

1 can of Rotel Tomatoes OR dice green chiles (IF you have a sensitive stomach, you can leave these out)

Season with salt and pepper

Brown your ground beef with the chopped onion, season, add all other ingredients. Let it simmer for a few minutes.  You may garnish with cheese and black olives.  Serve with cornbread, crackers or over corn chips.

Red Hot Cider

1  can of frozen orange juice (add water as directed on can)

1 can of frozen apple juice (add water as directed on can plus an extra can)

1 movie theater box of red-hot cinnamon candies

Pour all of the above in a large pan OR into a crock pot.  Cook on low and stir occasionally until the red-hot candies melt.  You may add cloves or cinnamon, if you like.

Well I just cannot leave you with the juice can recipes without sharing a funny story.  Many years ago, a nephew  lived with us for about a semester.  We lived in Newcastle, OK, his OU campus in Norman was close by. He was studying mechanical engineering, I believe.  He was great with our little boys and also very willing to help in the kitchen. One afternoon, he asked if he could help prepare dinner and I asked that he make the lemonade.  I handed him a can of frozen lemonade and a pitcher to mix it in.  Pretty soon he turned to me with a puzzled look on his face and said, “It says to add three cans of water to this?” To which I replied, “Yes, or maybe an extra half”.  And then he asked his real question, “What “can” do I use?”  😉  I’ll let you ponder on THAT one, now……and let me know if you try the recipes!

Living in Rogers County, just outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the current buzz is about Garth Brooks being in court this week.  If you are not familiar with the saga, in a nutshell, Mr. Brooks lost his precious mama, Colleen, several years ago to cancer.  He wanted to honor her name and help his city of Yukon at the same time.  He met with the CEO of their local hospital about giving them a generous donation. In return, the new Women’s Center would be named after Colleen Brooks.  They corresponded back and forth until Mr. Brooks and they came to what I would call, “a gentlemen’s agreement”.  Fast forward to now.  There is no Women’s Center.  His mother’s name was not honored as formerly discussed.  He wants his money back. The hospital says there was nothing in writing specifically designating where this money HAD to go.  End of story.  Well, not really. The end of the story will be when the jury trial in Claremore ends.  But it’s where I jump off of the story and onto another for a minute.  How I was raised.  Responsibility. Honesty.  Integrity.  Accountability.  Hard work.   A handshake and looking someone in the eye is an agreement that you don’t break.  You just do what you say you are going to do.  Period.  If you mess up, you try and right your wrong.  It really shouldn’t be that hard.  (in theory)

To Mr. Garth Brooks and to his lovely wife Trisha Yearwood, who is by his side through this journey.  Your mother would be so proud of you for standing up for her and for yourself.  I hope your day (s) in court turns out favorably.  Regardless, her name is still honored.  It’s honored by each story streamed of the deceit and  of  you trying to right this wrong.  She is honored by the way you seem calm and continue to show kindness to the  reporters and fans, while your gut must be in turmoil.  She is honored by the way you treat and love your family.  She is honored when she sees how your town of Owasso embraces and protects you.  Colleen Brooks is honored with every song you sing.  She is honored because you are still you.  And you continue to live her dream.  She would be so proud.

Partial Lyrics to “It’s Your Song” by Garth Brooks….for his mother ♥

I find myself staring at a blank page this morning.  My head is usually so full of things I want to say that I get ahead of myself, but today, I got “nuttin”.  SOOOOOO….I will share a quick little story of 29.5 years ago.  When my husband married me, I already had a house in SW Oklahoma City.  It was the perfect little house for a newly married couple.  We started noticing one day, that our electricity was flickering off and on, and then noticed that the more the wind blew (which is A LOT in Oklahoma) the more “off and on” power we were getting.  I called OG&E, described the problem, and they said they would send someone out to check it.  A couple of days later when I got home from work, I found a note on front door from the OG&E man.  This is exactly how it read, “SHOULD HAVE YOUR PROBLEM FIXED.”  I immediately went into panic mode.  Great, with not a lot of money in savings, who knew what an electrician would charge to come out, let alone fix it!  I showed  Marvin the note when he got home and then one of us (it’s been 30 years, I can’t recall EVERY detail!) called my dad to ask about his electrician.  A day or so later, David Henry the electrician, made a trip to our house.  He said everything checked out perfectly and wanted to see the note that OG&E had left.  We read it again, “Should have your problem fixed.”  We looked at each other and then got a HUGE chuckle out of the fact that the guy meant “HE” had taken care of the problem.  ONE word made all the difference in panic, expense and a lot of trouble.  Unfortunately, it also showed that we were glass half empty people instead of glass half full!

This has come up in conversation many times over the years and it was a very impressive lesson, especially for a newly married couple.  But I will leave you to ponder on this now…..on my blank page morning….ONE WORD.  One negative word you might speak or write can send someone’s life into a spiraling crash.  On the other hand, that one “positive” word could change their life forever and a day.  Choose.

As my hubby, of almost 30 years, was leaving for work around 5 this morning, it got me thinking about boiled eggs.  Try to hang with me for a second.  We had been together about ten years and were still living in Newcastle, Oklahoma, at the time this occurred.   With two little boys, I was rushing around trying to fix a quick bite to eat AND get us out the door in time for small group.  ~TUNA~ That would be an easy sandwich if it weren’t for having to wait for the eggs to boil.  I never like eggs in my tuna, but there are little things you dismiss when there’s more than one in your family and my hubby liked them.  I was already leaving out onions, as I detest raw onions, so I couldn’t fuss about eggs.  Finally I voiced it, “We can have tuna if you can pass on the eggs just this one time?”  And that’s when the world stopped for a moment.  Marvin, my husband, looked at me and said, “That’s fine, I don’t like eggs in the tuna anyway.” WHAT?!?!?!?  I explained that for ten years the only reason I’d been putting eggs in was because he liked them, to which he replied, “Well I never said anything because I thought YOU liked them.”  As silly as all of the above sounds, it really was a changing point in our marriage.  Communication is vital.  Not just in marriage but in every relationship.  Both of our sons, now married, are very familiar with the “egg” story.  They also hear,  “Your marriage will never stay the same.  If it’s not growing, it’s going stale. You have to work at it everyday.” After almost 30 years, you’d think we’d have it down, but honestly I think with all the extra “life stuff” maybe it’s even more difficult.  So we are still pressing on and trying to move forward…without the eggs, of course!

Don’t marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can’t live without. ~ James C. Dobson

The Art of Non-Conformity, Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life you Want and Change the World, by Christ Guillebeau

So my sister, Renae, told me about this book MONTHS ago.  The author states, “If you’re feeling stuck in something and have always believed THERE MUST BE MORE TO LIFE, this book is for you.”  I had never given much thought to the folks we deal with daily.  How many of them prevent us from succeeding more than helping us.  Through this book, if you are willing, the author will help you set goals, break through fear barriers and begin your new legacy.  I know it must sound a bit corny to read this, but if you study this book with an open mind, it can get you started in a good direction.  On the flip side, if you cannot read it open-mindedly, save your $.

Here’s a little idea of the book from chapter two:  1. Creating Your Ideal World ~ an exercise to write out your idealized, perfect day. 2.  Radical Goal-Setting = FOCUS.  One year goals, Five year goals, Lifetime goals  3. Plan for Serendipity:  Plan for people you love; planning & thinking time; adventure goals( and so much more listed in this section). Plan to LEAVE OUT ~ Drama & Whiny people; busy work that lacks value; schedules set by other people; unnecessary obligations that we do out of GUILT. (ouch!)

It is incredible at how  much is wrapped  up in these 240 pages. I cannot make a dent in summarizing it. He reminds us that personal accountability and working hard are key.  Also, if you suffer from life avoidance, this author can open you up instead to “life purpose and planning.”  ( There is even a chapter for one year, self-directed alternative graduate school experience.) To quote the author at the end of the book, “It’s far easier to be a cynic than a believer. Whatever you decide, don’t do that.  Stand for something! Come join the living world.  The rest of us are waiting.”

If you are looking for a “set your pants on fire” motivational book to kick-start your life, this might just be the one.  It’s why I started this blog…..think about joining me! Thanks Renae, for this great find!

The partial article listed below made me giggle this morning. One of our very first purchases after getting married was a KIRBY vacuum. It was expensive, very heavy, plus we had to finance part of it!!! When friends/family need a new vacuum….they usually call me. Even co-workers of my husband’s call me when that time comes for them. When I visit other people’s house, yep, I ask what kind of vacuum they have and “do you mind if I try it?” I didn’t really ASK for this position, I just acquired it. I am visual…therefore I vacuum a LOT….I guess you could say it’s a curse that really “sucks”.  ~ smile~  Maybe it’s because I prided myself as a youngster in knowing how to SPELL “vacuum”.  It is tricky word.  I can hear the conversation now when I die:  “Wow, she really knew her vacuums…”Regardless of the reason for this honor I’ve been deemed, I’ll take it.  It’s very close to being crowned the queen of brooms….but not quite.

“Financially Fit Home: Reliable Kirby vacuum sweeps away most of the competitionReliable Kirby vacuum sweeps away most of the competition!By Ed Perratore, Consumer Reports
Top honors in Consumer Reports brand-repair surveys and stout metal parts designed to be rebuilt instead of replaced could make the high-scoring, $1,350 Kirby Sentria upright the last vacuum you buy.”

(and in case you are wondering…a decent less expensive vacuum I had for a couple of years was the Hoover Windtunnel.  I’m now on year two with my Electrolux and I LOVE it!  It will even vacuum bare floors and is great if you have indoor pets…I know…enough already, it’s just a vacuum cleaner….)