Simple Joys

Welcome to Simple Joys on Chief 187™Chatter.

My family and I just returned from a magical trip to Disney World. It is my policy to not write about material things that are very expensive in Simple Joys because they aren’t particularly simple. In this case, I’m breaking my own rules a little bit because the joys my family and I experienced deserved to be shared.

Family vacations can be stressful and wonderful all mixed together. This one was not exception, but, I can tell you this unequivocal by, having a relationship with Simple Joys made this the best vacation I’ve ever been on in my life!

Spat-free Vacation. My husband and I are professional fighters. Not boxers or mixed martial artists, but the kind of fighters that husbands and wives become when they engage in marital spats periodically.

We excel at this type of activity especially when packing, driving to the airport, when over-tired, surrounded by our less-than-cherubic children, in-laws/parents, assorted tourists, and, well, each other.

But something miraculous and wonderful happened this vacation. We didn’t fight. We didn’t banter. We didn’t spat. We simply got along really well. Like we really like each other. Like we’re still passionately in love with one another. And, like we truly respect one another. It was bliss.

Taking a family vacation and not having one single spat was a Simple Joy I had not experienced in twenty-five years, but one I could definitely get used to easily.

LegoLand. My children are Lego fanatics, all three of them. I can’t lie to you, I am, too. I’ve written about Legos since Chief 187™Chatter began because they offer endless opportunities for Simple Joys.

Our trip to Disney World also included a few side trips one of which was to LegoLand Florida. This was a decent amusement park, certainly not on par with Disney, but a fun place nonetheless. What provided the most awe for all of us was the meticulous detail in creating city after city and scene after scene made entirely of Legos. Discovering each vignette was a Simple Joy I was so pleased to share with the entire family!

SeaWorld. If you’ve never been I have to highly recommend this venue. Part amusement park, part live entertainment, and part education, this place is a phenomenal place for making fantastic experiences.

Sea mammals, exotic birds, and engaging trainers come together to offer awe-inspiring reactions. I was moved to tears by messages of conservation, compassion, and love. I was laughing so hard at one show that tears streamed down my face in sheer delight!

My children and I touched a sting ray, reached for dolphins, learned about the arctic wildlife, and saw several species of sharks. Each adventure was better than the next wand we all lamented that we didn’t have enough time there.

Enjoying SeaWolrd was a Simple Joy we’ll never forget.

Meeting Mickey Mouse. It was our last day. We had met some fairies including Tinkerbell, Donald Duck, and a green army man from Toy Story, but we had yet to meet the mouse. Until the last day when , within minutes of arriving, we saw that Mickey Mouse was signing autographs and taking pictures.

He was dressed in the Sorcer’s Apprentice outfit from Fantasiaand his line was relatively short. Upon seeing Mickey Mouse my daughter squealed in excitement.

Once my children got their turn with Mickey Mouse, the awesomeness of the moment struck me hard. My sons were showing miles of smiles and my daughter was star struck and anxious to hug, touch, and speak with her favorite star.

Upon leaving my daughter snagged another hug from Mickey Mouse prompting me to get one, too. Seeing my children in full bliss was a Simple Joy that was worth every penny of this vacation. Truly.

Home. Our vacation was fantastic. We enjoyed most every moment and reveled in having my husband with us the entire time – no work, no school, no homework. We had an idyllic time. But, no matter how nearly perfect the vacation was, we all missed home. The boys missed their Legos, the little girl missed her Disney princess dolls, and my husband and I missed our bed – we were sleeping in twin beds during the vacation like we were in a 1950s sitcom, don’t ask.

Enjoying the vacation was a Simple Joy indeed, but all being happy to be home at the end was a Simple Joy that is priceless.

These Simple Joys were years in the making – years of planning, years of saving, and years of anticipating. We know we are very lucky to have been able to do this trip. We are thankful.

But what I learned is that my living with Simple Joys in my life has given me a great, fresh, and wonderful perspective on life, my life. That the times at home, with my husband, with each child, and my friends culminate in an attitude of gratitude that permeates my life.

Writing down my Simple Joys works for me. Whether it does for you or simply recognizing them in your life will make a difference.

I wish you all Simple Joys.

Monday Media Blog-Favorite Disney Movie (non-Pixar)

Welcome to the Monday Media Blog on Chief 187™Chatter.

My family and I were fortunate enough to take a fantastical trip to Disney World last week. We were surrounded by beloved characters









like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck,

and Tinkerbell.

The longer I was there, the more I realized how much Disney has permeated our culture. Not only is Disney World perhaps the happiest place on Earth, but having Disney around you creates happiness wherever you are.




Wholesome family entertainment needs not mean boring. Disney offers a quality, interesting, and highly riveting package be it movies, television, or music.

This week’s focus is favorite Disney movie (non-Pixar). It can be live-action, animated, from your childhood, or a new release or anything in between.

Please join me tomorrow for the ever-popular and often heart-warming Simple Joys on Chief 187™Chatter.

Friday Music Blog-Texas Edition

Welcome to the Friday Music Blog on Chief 187™Chatter.

After short track racing in Martinsville and a week off for Easter observances, NASCAR fires up their engines at Texas Motor Speedway for the Samsung Mobile 500 on Saturday Night under the lights!

Texas is an interesting focus for the Friday Music Blog as many singer/songwriters came from there and far more have sung about the Lone Star State.

This week list your favorite songs that have Texas in its title and/or lyrics. In addition, also include singers, songwriters, or bands that hail from Texas.

Be sure to check back on this blog throughout the day and weekend as selections are continuously added.

In fact, I encourage you to use the articles here at Chief 187™Chatter as your source for entertaining reading, easy, tasty, and accessible recipes, a strong resource for movies, and so much more!

If you will be doing any shopping this weekend or in the near future with Amazon, please use my link located on the right hand sideboard of this page. Simply enter Amazon through the link, browse, add items to your cart, and check out in one fell swoop and I reap a small reward with no extra cost to you. The Amazon link helps me defray costs monthly and keep my site free to all of you.

Would you like to show your love of Chief 187™? There are over 60 items to purchase at my online store located at http://cafepress.com/Chief187. From classic t-shirts to practical and eco-friendly water bottles, stickers and notecards to aprons and wall clocks, there is something for everyone, including mommies-to-be and babies! Many items are co-ed or specified male or female. The items feature a neat design heralding all of the different headings I write, my website name, or my image!

Thank you for your continued interest, readership, and support! We have 96 followers of Chief 187™Chatter currently! But whether you officially follow the site, are a daily visitor, or only come sporadically, your presence is noted and very much appreciated.

Please join me on Monday as I begin another week of all new, fresh, and original posts at Chief 187™Chatter!

Tantalizing Thursday-Texas-Style

Welcome to Tantalizing Thursday on Chief 187™Chatter.

After a long and refreshing off week from NASCAR, it feels wonderful to get back to normal and prepare a meal that complements the venue of the week.

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers will compete at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas for the Samsung Mobile 500 under the lights on Saturday night.

Texas does everything bigger and better and that includes breakfast! My good friend Chef Eddie delved deeply into his recipes to find this gem that was acquired years ago in a super-secret way. So secret even Chef Eddie cannot remember how he came by it!

Breakfasts/Brunches are a great way to start race day although a meal this hearty could also be served as a dinner with a fruit salad!

Texas Breakfast Frittata
Recipe obtained by Chef Eddie

Chef Eddie explains that this recipe, “feeds six people or one VERY hungry person!”

Ingredients:

10 to 12 inch oven proof skillet
1 dozen large eggs
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Tabasco Sauce
Nutmeg
Splash of milk
8 oz. package shredded Mexican-blend cheese, divided use
½ pound Tennesssee Pride sausage (because I am a Tennessee boy)
3 scallions, sliced thin, with part of the green tops
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 medium tomatillos, diced
1 small can diced green chilies

Directions:

Set the top rack of the broiler about six inches from the heat source and turn on the heat. On the stove top, brown the chorizo over medium heat. If the sausage exudes more fat than you want, remove it from the pan, pour off the excess fat, and return the browned sausage to the skillet. Add the chopped vegetables and sauté until softened to taste.
Crack 10 eggs in a large bowl (a rule of thumb is one egg for each inch of the skillet’s diameter), and whisk to blend with splash of milk. Add salt and pepper to taste and add a few gratings of nutmeg and several dashes of Tabasco. Add ½ the shredded cheese and the can of diced green chilies and blend.
Pour egg mixture over the sautéed vegetables and browned sausage in the skillet and cook until the eggs are beginning to firm up but are still slightly liquid in the center. Occasionally run a heat-proof spatula around the edge of the skillet to prevent sticking. When the egg mixture jiggles only slightly when the skillet is shaken, take the skillet off the stove and sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheese on the top. Add the chopped chipotles and place pan under the broiler. Be careful, it’s hot.
Broil until cheese melts and top begins to brown. Watch closely to prevent burning. Remove from oven and let rest for five minutes to finish setting up.

About plating Chef Eddie exclaims, “Eat that sucker like a pie!” He also reminds that with all of his recipes; alter the ingredients to your own taste. Another reason Chef Eddie and I get along famously, we both have the same philosophy about cooking!

And speaking of pie, it is now obligatory that I post a dessert to go along with the main course offering on Tantalizing Thursday.

My research showed plainly that Texas Sheet Cake is enormously popular. Here is a wonderful version I found online.

Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
Recipe found at http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Texas-Sheet-Cake

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 cup butter, cubed
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream


• ICING:

• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons baking cocoa
• 3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions:

• In a large saucepan, bring the butter, water and cocoa to a boil. Remove from the heat. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; add to cocoa mixture. Stir in the sour cream until smooth.
• Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
• In a small saucepan, melt butter; add milk and cocoa. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Whisk in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Pour over warm cake. Cool completely on a wire rack. Yield: 15 servings.

Editor's Note: This recipe does not use eggs.

Originally published as Texas Sheet Cake in Taste of Home February/March 2003, p35



This Texas-sized meal should satisfy appetites on race day and, with any luck, the day after as well!

Special thanks to Chef Eddie for lending me one of his fantastic recipes. It’s always a pleasure to work with him and feature his wonderful recipes on Tantalizing Thursday.

Please join me tomorrow for the week-ending and always popular Friday Music Blog on Chief 187™Chatter.

Favorite Beverage/Libation

It is Spring Break this week for my children and husband. We are spending an inordinate amount of time together. That’s a wonderful thing, truly it is, but it can be a bit taxing. What? I can’t lie to you!

Since everyone is home we are going through drinks at a mad pace – we all love water

first and foremost, but from milk to juice and soda to wine, we are running the gamut on all kinds of liquid refreshments.

This leads me to an informal poll for my readers. What is your favorite libation? Are you partial to your favorite beer, a soft drink that you’ve come accustomed, or a hot beverage?

Do you drink certain favorites at different times of the day? Do you save certain beverages for vacations or weekends? When you have a special occasion, do you have a

special beverage you splurge?

Lastly, for you NASCAR fans, do you chose a beverage based on your favorite driver’s sponsor?

If you, too, are celebrating Spring Break with your loved ones, I hope this piece finds you well, gives you a chuckle, and provides a moment of entertainment. If you are not on Spring Break, I hope this piece served a very tiny respite from your normal routine.

Either way, I look forward to your responses!

Please join me tomorrow for a Texas-sized and delicious offering on Tantalizing Thursday on Chief 187™Chatter!

Simple Joys

Welcome to Simple Joys on Chief 187™Chatter.

Holidays can present the best of Simple Joys or a trying time that requires Simple Joys to rescue one.

Whatever you rely on Simple Joys, try to create, find, and revel in them so holidays and every day can be strung together with wonderful memories of Simple Joys.

T-ball practice. My middle child started his first season of T-ball last week with our town’s Little League program. He was so excited, filled with anticipation and rarin’ to go. The boy was quick to assemble his newly acquired equipment including glove, batter’s helmet, and cleats, and giggled when I instructed him to wear his athletic supporter or “cup”.

The child’s experience eclipsed his expectations and I have a thrilled T-ball player in the house. Watching my son’s eyes, seeing him become part of a team, and hearing him chatter how much fun T-ball is on the ride home from the field are all Simple Joys I hope to experience the entire season long.

Little League Practice – Minors. My oldest son never wanted to join team sports. He’s been a Karate student since Kindergarten and a swimmer since he was three. Each year I’d ask if he’d like to join soccer or basketball or anything when the forms came home from school and each time I was met with the same adamant, “No!”

Then, last summer while playing a leisurely game of “baseball” with plastic bats, a small yard, and the neighbor children, my son decided he’d love to try out for Little League. Something had clicked with the boy coordination-wise and he was able to hit and throw better than he ever had.

His passion to join never wavered at summer’s end, nor through the fall and winter. We signed him up (and little brother as the previous section revealed) and the boy had his first practice last week.

Although it was obvious my son has much to learn about the game, techniques, and more, he was fully present for his first evening practice. Attentive, active, trying hard, and listening to instruction, my son was fully participating. When he returned to the car I asked him if he were happy on his team. “YES!” he nearly squealed. I was truly never happier for him because he had finally found a team sport that gave him great pleasure while working him hard. Seeing my son so blissful is a Simple Joy I’ve waited for a long time and one that I would like to continue to experience for the rest of my lifetime.

Bubbles and Digging. My little girl gets taken here, there, and everywhere. To keep herself occupied when her brothers were at their respective T-ball/Baseball practices, my daughter got creative. First she cajoled her oldest brother to blow bubbles I had provided so she could chase them. Watching her I found myself a wee bit envious that something so simple could provide so much joy. But then I realized how much joy they were providing me and I smiled from the inside out.

When her oldest brother was at practice at a different field, we spectated on a gravel walkway where bleachers were located. The area butted up to a wooded area and on the seam between the two my daughter found a mound of dirt and a stick. She started digging with focus and so contentedly that even though she was getting dirty, I cared not. Watching my daughter enjoy herself with such reckless abandon and at the same time with such focus is a Simple Joy I hope will continue to expand as she ages.

Family. I couldn’t be with my family of origin for Easter. But I was lucky to be with my husband’s parents. Since he and I have been a couple for twenty-five years, these special people are like second parents to me. We always have a great time when we are together and I so enjoy watching them interact with our children. Being with family for Easter and having a grand time is a Simple Joy I never tire.

Cadbury Crème Eggs. I was talking via Twitter to my good friend Mark last week about Cadbury Crème Eggs. I relayed the story that when I was a young child I did not like eggs prepared any way. These confections debuted during my childhood and my mother bought some to try. I had seen the commercials and the “goo” inside looked like

“real” egg yolk. I told my mother no thank you. A year or two later she finally convinced me to just try the Cadbury Crème Egg. I did begrudgingly… and loved it! From that point on Cadbury Crème Eggs were equated with Easter for me. To this day receiving one from the Easter Bunny is a special Simple Joy I experience year after year!

I hope you all had a joyful and fun-filled holiday weekend. I am so very thankful you all tune in here for Simple Joys at Chief 187™Chatter. You all are a big part of my Simple Joys.

Monday Media Blog-Nighttime Soap Operas

Welcome to the Monday Media Blog on Chief 187™Chatter.

This week NASCAR leaves the historic short track of Martinsville for the newer, 1.5 mile track of Texas Motor Speedway.

I’ve never been to Texas but, although I know there is so very much more than this there, I cannot help thinking about the television nighttime soap opera Dallas.

Dallas was the first nighttime soap opera I ever watched and really the only one. It was rich, extravagant, and naughty.

The program mixed cowboy hats and haute couture, sweet love stories with tawdry sex, and played the ancient struggle

of Cain versus Able in the guise of two brothers named JR and Bobby.

I loved every moment of the over-the-top series and understand a new generation of the program may be debuting this summer.

This week’s prompt is your favorite nighttime soap opera. There were oodles to choose from that aired in the 1980s that featured big hair, big egos, and scandalous storylines! Jewels, shoulder-pads, and outrageous stories were bigger and more colorful than ever before. If you had a favorite, your spouse did, or you can now admit you had a guilty pleasure, tell about it here.

Please join me tomorrow for the popular Simple Joys here at Chief 187™Chatter.