What’s On Your Nightstand – July

A few months ago, I read an excellent book called Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10.   

I have always been interested in Navy Seals.  I have no idea why.  The book is a true story told by the survivor of a Navy Seal team in Afghanistan.  The book describes the training that a Navy Seal must go through.  Talk about intense!   It’s a riveting book – you follow them from training to their deployment.  You get insight into their thoughts and actions and how they operate.    The courage of this Navy Seal team is incredible.

Take a look at the description at the above link and happy reading!

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5 Minutes for Books is a site I recently discovered and have enjoyed reading.  They started a “What’s On Your Nightstand?” category for sharing what folks are reading or have read.  I thought I’d participate this month now that I’m reading much more than I have in a while.   You can read other people’s postings for “What’s On Your Nightstand” for July here.

Fascination with Pink Glasses

I want C to have more interactions with other kids around her age.    She does not get as much interaction because I don’t have her in daycare.  That said, whenever another child her age is around, the first thing that child does is go for the glasses.  I suppose it’s a fascination when the child sees a bright pink object available within reach.  The few times on playdates or in her weekly play class that her glasses do get pulled, S or I are nearby to intercept.  C usually stares at the other child and wonder what on earth has happened.  Only one time did she cry and would not go near the other child again for the day (and that was her cousin!).

I am hoping that at some age soon, kids’ fascination with her glasses and pulling at them will stop so that I don’t have to hover so close by to prevent her glasses from being pulled off her face or twisted around on her face.

Sicilian Chicken

My husband got lucky.  The new entree tonight had two of his favorite foods – olives and tomatoes.

I made a dish called Sicilian Chicken.  It was really easy – not much preparation at all.   The olives were Sicilian olives – I wasn’t sure where to find it in the grocery store, but it was in the dry foods section with all the canned olives.  Sicilian olives, according to the jar, are “cured in brine only without the use of lye or sugar for 9 months.  Then hand packed in a fresh brine with herbs and spices.”    The olives and the tomatoes gave the sauce a tangy taste which is offset by the sweetness of the golden raisins.

For the white wine, I used a Pinot Grigio around the 7 dollar range.  I couldn’t really taste the wine in the sauce though. 

It was a good meal which I’ll be making again in the future.

Here is the Sicilian Chicken recipe from Cooking Light (at myrecipes.com)

The ingredients are here you can check it out and then click on the recipe if you want to try this yourself.   The amount will vary based on number of servings.

Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Salt
Black pepper
Olive oil 
All-purpose flour 
Dry white wine 
Sicilian olives 
Golden raisins 
Balsamic vinegar 
Dried oregano 
Diced no-salt-added tomatoes, undrained 
Fresh basil

Enjoy!

The finished dish (in the saucepan).  I had not plated it yet.

Lists and More Lists!

I feel lost without my lists.  If I haven’t made a list and I’m heading to the store, to C’s doctor appts or about to embark on a day around the house doing chores, I’m bound to have forgotten something!

I keep lists all over the place – on my computer, on a notepad next to the telephone.

As the need arises, I quickly jot down what it is that I need to buy or do.  Then, when the time comes to spend a day with chores, to visit Target or the grocery store, or to visit C’s doctor, I’m ready with my list of items or questions!   I don’t need to try to remember everything at the last minute and get stressed by it.  I just go to the list(s) I need and go from there!

This has worked for my husband who never, ever makes lists.  If he mentions we are out of something, I just ask him to jot it down or type it in a file for me!

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Check out more tips on this Works-For-Me Wednesday at “Rocks in My Dryer.”

Tags, Categories, Suggestions?

One of the blogging organization things I’m still trying to figure out is the best way to set up categories and/or tags.   I’ve set up a few, but it seems that some categories are more common than others.  Does this mean that I need to break down my “family” and “parenting” categories even more, for example? 

Some other thoughts:

- Are tags better than categories?

- How would I use both tags and categories?

- If I only have 1-2 posts in a category for quite a while, does that mean I should get rid of that category and just post to “random” category?

- How granular should I get?

I seem to find myself creating new categories and then going back to old posts and adding the category to them.  I guess I’ll get more organized as time goes on!

2,000 Page Views

I just looked at the page views to my blog, and it’s reached 2,000!  

I’ve been writing in my blog since the end of April, and it’s been a good experience so far.  I love having a place to write down my thoughts, things of interest to me, etc.  I just cannot believe that people read my blog, but I guess it is not so uncommon as I read other people’s blogs, and I’ll add a comment or two once in a while.

There are many great blogs out there.  I especially like to read the ones having to do with others’ experiences on motherhood and the sites offering tips and tricks.   I recently set up Bloglines to help me read the various blogs all in one place.   Much easier!   I’ve have to set up a “blogroll” later on.

Can’t wait to hit the 5,000 page view mark!