Taco Salad (Redneck Style)

I made this Taco Salad on Friday afternoon for Friday night dinner. It was really really good. It's kinda a little redneck but seriously was VERY good. Try it and let me know what you think.. "I kinda thought it was also pretty.. and thats inmportant! The other HUGE thing is that my kids even like it and ANYTIME I can get brock to eat lettuce is a GREAT Thing.

1 Sm. head iceberg lettuce

Tomatoe's (I used cherry tomatoe's because that is what I had, about 12)

Chopped green onions

1/2 c. Catalina salad dressing

1 can chilli beans (drain them almost all the way but don't have to be drained till dry)

2 c. shreadded cheese (I used cheddar)

1 pkg. Doritos or Fritos (use these not just toritilla chips, you need the flavor they bring)

1 can sliced olives (Opt.)

1+ c. Catalina salad dressing.

Layer first 3 ingredients in bottom of serving dish (I used a tray). Pour the 1/2 cup of salad dressing over the top of the first three layers. Layer the rest of the ingredients on top of that. Pour the rest of the dressing over the top.

*note: The recipe suggest that it's better having been made the night before, but I'm not big on wilted lettuce or Way to soggy of chips. I made it at about 12:00 and thought it was just right for dinner at 5:00ish. The recipe also calls for Italian dressing but I used a reduced Fat Catalina and liked it A LOT better.

Make it, it will make you happy and let me know what you think. It looks like it will feed an Army but my family finished it that night.... I did not serve it with anything else. Just Taco Salad night!!! It was a fun different twist.. I WILL FOR SURE MAKE IT AGAIN!!!

Sunday Frightmares Lagoon.... way fun!!!!

What a great Sunday. Because Cassidi works at Lagoon, she gets discounted tickets from time to time. We had some for this weekend so we decided to hang out at Frightmares all day Sunday. We played a few games, ate, watched a few shows and went to some haunted houses (spook alleys if you ask Debbie lol). Brock, Debbie and I had a perfect day while Cassidi worked in a haunted house.
We saw Cassidi in the haunted house she was working in.... she was all dressed in black clothes with her face painted. Debbie recognized her right away in a pitch black room with strobe lights and said.... "Thats Cassidi thats Cassidi" haha There were scary people in every corner jumping out at us and people with chain saws chasing us around. Oh yeah... Debbie grabbed some girls boobs by accident in a very dark room... oops.

If you have ever wondered about Frightmares at Lagoon dont wonder anymore and just GO..... it was so worth it but make sure you spend all afternoon and night there. We saw the shows they perform during daylight and would have been even better at night with the fog and lights they use.

Wow.. GORGEOUS and so grown up. and 1 recipe you HAVE to try.

Cassid's Senior year homecoming. She looked GORGEOUS and she is such a grown up. She had a blast!!!

I made the Chicken Salad. It is so so good. Sam had it on croissants and on crackers for a couple days. Yummy and inexpensive to make and make lots.

Coy and Norma... you probably will be getting this one night when you come for Thanksgiving. I am thinking of items that FEED LOTS.. I am so excited to have everyone here!!

Chicken Salad:

cooked chicken, cubed (I boiled about 4 chicken breast and salt and peppered them)
Chopped Celery
Chopped Olives
Grated onion (GRATE not chopped, I used 1 and it was plenty)
Mayonnaise (Use a lot, the chicken will soak it in, I used almost half a jar of Miracle whip Light)
Salt * Pepper
Lemon juice (a lot of squirts..ha)
Worcestershire sauce (probably a couple tblspoons but up to you)

Use desired amout of each ingredient for salad. Mix together and serve on croissants. Delicious!!!

I even loved it and I usually don't LOVE what I make!!!

Funny Story

A couple of weeks ago I took Debbie to the dentist to get her tooth she lost in the accident recapped. She lost the cap chewing a granola bar and the doc wont do a root canal until her other issues are healed up.... anyway...
We get in the car and Debbie asked "What is that SMELL!?!?!?!" I said its my new air freshener you dont like it? My hell it stinks bad what is it? So I pull it out from under my seat and I accidentally pulled the tree out of the plastic all together so now it was REALLY strong. As Debbie is gasping for breath with her head out the window she said "HOLY crap if you hung that on your side mirror we would still smell this thing in the neighborhood when we get back from the doctor" haha... if you know Debbie you can imagine this display of emotion... lol She said it smells like the old incense people used to cover up the odor of pot after they smoked it. (I have no idea how she knows this stuff it made me worry lol)

So we get to the dentists office and sit in the waiting room. I know you all know in great detail what a dentist office smells like...... I look at Debbie with a funny look on my face smelling this stinky place and I said "lets put our new air freshener in here" we both smile and I ran out side and got it out of my car. Just as I walked back in the nurse called Debbie in, I slipped the SMELLY air freshener into the magazine rack right by the door entering the dentist rooms and front desk. After the doc was done we come back out and WOW the whole waiting room was filled with the smell of the air freshener.... haha.. I bet the front desk people were all asking each other.. " WHAT IS THAT SMELL?????"

As Debbie and I were leaving the office we were laughing hard wondering how long it will take for them to find out what that dang smell is... oh man... we have so much fun.

Just another day in the life.... we love it.

Update on Debbie

Just a quick update on Debbie and her progress. We are still making headway and gaining ground on a very difficult healing process. As the dust settles on her wounds there are a few things that still linger and are very limiting for her.
I think the worst thing is she still gets very dizzy. I know what your thinking.... she is blond and this is normal.... I keep telling her that lol... the unfortunate reality is that this will probably be the longest lasting issue she has. She says that her house is clean from the waste up because she cant bend over.
She still has blurry or double vision out of her left eye. She has a hairline crack just below her eye and to the far left and this is what gives her the lingering black eye. The black eye is slowly getting better but the vision is not. Our doctor referred us to a neurological ophthalmologist but getting into the anything is 3 to 6 months out so we are not sure what to do. She really shouldn't drive because of this problem.
Her jaw still has soreness and will lock up from time to time. Getting much better but still nagging at her when she yawns or eats.
Headaches...... lingering, long lasting headaches. Not all the time but when she gets them it seems to last for days.
There are slight memory recalling problems. Coming up with words or names she sometimes draws a blank. The doc says this is also normal and takes time to heal. I say its old age but Debbie is still extremely sharp but .... this accident dumbed her down to my level for a couple of months lol
Sleeplessness and anxiety have been terrible for her lately. Even Ambien isnt doing much anymore. The doc is helping her with a couple of different things recently so we shall see. He says these are normal things after going through a trauma like she did.

Part of the side effects of all of this is Debbie cooks like crazy...... not just cooks dinners but cooks, bakes and anything she can think of. Desserts, dinners, lunches... I think I have gained 10 pounds 'helping' her with her anxiety.

Honestly, the kids and I LOVE Debbie so much and can see slight improvements almost every day. She still has her bad days but her good days are getting better and more of them. We had no idea a head injury could do this and take so long. We still consider ourselves very fortunate!!!!!!

this is a test....only a test....

So I can't sleep and I am doing my grocery list. I am actually going to do a 2 week grocery list and hope I can make it the entire 2 weeks. Here is my menu for the next two weeks.. Give and take a day or two because hopefully Sam will take us out once!!!
I have been VERY anxious lately and I have been taking my anxiety out mostly in the kitchen. I have been cooking, cooking, and cooking, and based on my grocery list I don't think it is slowing down.. I have also been walking a lot trying to get rid of the anxiety. I did go to the doctor on Friday and he said it is VERY normal and shoudl be gone in a few weeks.. Sam said it was great having me cook... I think the fall changed me into "Martha Stewart"... OH PLEASE NO!!! ANY WAY
Happy Cooking..

Monday: Spaghetti, Broccoli (like spaghetti factories..my favorite), garlic bread

Tuesday: Taco Salad's, and to drink... Shots of carrot juice. I bought cute little shot glasses and we have a juicer and carrot juice is so so good for you but I figure will me a lot more fun to drink it if we put them in cut shot glasses...

Wednesday Roast, taters, carrots, rolls (crock pot meal... my favorite, and Sam's. He LOVES to come home and have the house smell like it does when you cook a meal in the crock pot)

Thursday: Baby back of ribs on the gas grill...(there is a story behind these I will have to post after I try to cook these on Thursday!!!) pistachio salad, cheesy potatoes, and rolls to goop up all that bbq grease and the cheesy potato grease.. I will be walking morning and evening to get this meal off me..

Friday: Marinated Chicken, zucchini, corn on the cob, fresh green beans.. ALL ON GRILL. (buy boneless skinless chicken, put in zip lock bag and marinade it in Lemon Herb marinade and grill..so good)

Saturday. Lasagna (BROCK AND JOSH'S FAVORITE) Every time I ask Brock what he wants for dinner he has two answers.. 1st Lasagna, 2nd Spaghetti.... with my Broccoli again and crusty bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic... and cucumbers for Brock also.. HE WILL BE SO HAPPY THIS DAY.

Sunday: Enchilada Casserole.. new recipe..I will let ya know. Trying to do lots of Mexican lately because of all the great tomatoes and peppers from the garden....FRESH Salsa.. my family probably thinks.. Serious!!! Salsa AGAIN.

Monday: Chicken Salad on Croissants... (I have not made these for years but kinda sounded easy and good for a night and will make great left overs for Sam's lunch) we will do a side of garden fresh veggis.. I ALWAYS DO SIDES OF VEGETABLE.. Cassidi's friend Brian LOVES that..

Tuesday: Chow Mien. ( I NEVER make chow mien but I happened to have some left over chicken from dinner the other day so I made Sam some chow mien for lunch... Sam and I ate it all for lunch and Brock saw the ruminants and wants to try.. so Chow Mien it is...

Wednesday: Sloppy Joes, chips and dip... (CASSIDI'S NIGHT TO COOK, once a week she wants to start cooking something really easy so she has some clue how to cook)

Thursday: Shepards Pie, rolls, and something peach I am sure!!

and don't tell the kids but I have a few other stuff for Sam and I to have for lunch. Most days he will east left overs from the night before but I am going to try to do a Real thinly cut steak sandwhich on a heavier roll maybe sourdough may fracotta, I will see.

then we are back to the weekend without Brock.... So tomorrow is grocery shopping like a mad woman. I still am seeing double out of my left eye so I don't like to drive a lot.. That is the reason for two weeks of grocery shopping rather than 1 week..

Wish me luck this will be A LOT of grocery's..

I love to cook I just HATE to figure out what I am going to cook and HATE HATe hate GROCERY SHOPPING SO half my battle is over..\

*this is where the "test" comes in. I am going to try to make all of these and I will report as much as I can and see how off schedule I got ( I know that will happen) How many nights I said FORGET IT Let eat cold cereal) and how many nights I do it Perfect... Stay tuned in.. we will see!!!

Sam's Honey Do's!!!!!

Sam is such a good sport.

Trivia question...

You know the best months to plant a tree in Utah?????

Any month that has a R in it.. I am dead serious. Give that some thought..

Cassidi's LAST homecoming!!!!

It's homecoming weekend for Cassidi. She is a senior so this will be her last homecoming dance. They have the football game tonight and the dance tomorrow night.

I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE IS THAT OLD. We will post some pictures in a couple days.

ENJOY your homecoming all you Seniors, you will never forget it!!!

and so it begins.

Here is our first eHarmony commercial. For any of you that are reading this or watching this and are single. JOIN eHarmony. I am sure you will find as much happiness as I have found with Sam. I Love you honey!


*disclaimer, for the people that know Sam and I or one or the other they know we are NOT actors. YES I AM TRULY MARRIED TO SAM AND WE TRULY LIVE IN THE HOUSE AND TOWN THIS COMMERCIAL WAS SHOT IN. Wow I had no idea there was so many "haters". I found love on the internet and truly want everyone to find this much happiness.....GO AND GET IT!

Just so you know!!!

So since I have been staying at home since the accident people are very "curious" about what I do with my time. HOWEVER IT'S NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS!!! I thought I would share a typical "Debbie, Day!".

Cassidi usually goes to school at 7:00ish and Brock at 8:30ish. Sam goes to work between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.

• I get up and when everyone is gone their separate ways I usually go on a 40 minute walk. Some time's I drive to where I am going to walk or I just walk out the front door and go around the neighborhood.
• I get home and I usually go into the bedrooms and gather clothes and put a load of laundry in.
• I then get ready for the day, as my bath water runs I make Sam and I's bed and straighten up our room.
• I usually make some kind of something for dinner after I get ready, salsa, peach cobbler, something. I cook A LOT more when I stay at home.
• I clean up my "cooking" mess and I get Sam something for lunch.
• Sam comes home and has lunch.
• After Sam's lunch I usually run errands...grocery store, dry cleaning, stuff like that (this is tricky because I am still quite dizzy, and most of the time see dbl out of my left eye, from the fall so I don't like to drive very far or very often).
• I get home do some cleaning and the kids come home from school.
• My family likes to eat dinner.. VERY VERY EARLY. Like around 5 - 6. So I start preparing dinner very very early.
• Sam comes home, we eat dinner, we clean up. Usually do a little yard work and then all the normal stuff that other families do.

So at this point I think.. HOW DID I THROW A FULL TIME JOB IN HERE.. HA. I watch very little television (but I am watching the Whitney Houston interview this afternoon) and I do a heck of a lot of laundry. I hope people also remember that I can't put my head below my heart or I get so so dizzy!!!! So bending over and cleaning floors (I hate mops), or pulling weeds, or cleaning ANYTHING below my waste is very difficult for me. I AM STILL VERY MUCH ON THE DISABLE LIST (but, I am getting better each day)

I am also still recovering. So there are days that hardly any of the above get done. There are days I am dizzy, I am tired, I am sick to my stomach (this quite often).

So NO I do not sit around my house, I do not watch soap opera's, I do not make Sam cook dinner, I am very much a CEO of this home and family in Kaysville Utah. Why I am explaining all of this is beyond me. Maybe I feel guilty I am at home!!! Maybe I want everyone to know that I am not as lazy as it seems right now! I just want to get better and get on with my "normal" life. However, this staying at home is kinda nice!

by Erma Bombeck (who lost her battle with cancer)

If I had my life to live over...

• I would have talked less and listened more.
• I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
• I would have eaten the popcorn in the "good" living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
• I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
• I would have never insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
• I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
• I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
• I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
• I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
• I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for a day.
• Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the ONLY chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
• There would have been more "I love you's" ...more "I'm sorry's"..but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it..live it..and never give it back.

"STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF. Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what.

Instead, lets cherish the relationships we have with those who DO love us. Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with.

And, what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, as well as spiritually. Life is too short to let it pass you by.

WE ONLY HAVE ONE SHOT AT THIS AND THEN IT'S GONE.

I love this and wanted to share it!!!

Serious??? SERIOUS??

I am having some issues with this.. Some BIG issues.. and the reason EVERYONE in the state of Utah is NOT having a hard time with this makes me scratch my head.

If I am republican or democratic or liberal or none of them is NOT the point here. The fact is the President Obama is the President of the United States... hands down, voted for by the people and if you like him, hate him, tolerate him.. does it matter now??? He is OUR PRESIDENT. I have NEVER and repeat NEVER gotten a letter like this before and my oldest right now is a Senior in high school. Serious we have the option to "Opt out" for our children to hear a statement on education from THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES...

I should not be angry at all because some school districts in the state you have to sign a permission slip to LET them listen and watch. ...

So this is my chance to say to Davis School District... YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!!

my email from Brock AND Cassidi's school.... "gag me"... I AM FRICKEN BLOWN THE HELL AWAY!!!!

U.S. President Barack Obama plans to deliver a back-to-school message on
Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m. The message will be directed at students
specifically on the importance of education. U.S. Education Secretary
Arne Duncan said Pres. Obama will challenge students to work hard, set
educational goals and take responsibility for their learning. Duncan
has asked schools throughout the nation to watch the speech together.
It is being broadcast live on the White House website, www.whitehouse.gov.
It will also be shown on CSPAN.

Davis School District supports providing students with the opportunity to view the President¿s address. As a courtesy, we want to provide you with the option to opt out of having your child participate, if you choose. Please return this signed letter to the school by Tuesday morning if you do not want your student to view the address. Alternative activities will be provided for those students.

Things are looking better

I just wanted to give a quick update on Debbie. Although she still has quite a few issues (I laughed as I typed that one) she is doing much better. Instead of 1 step forward and 2 steps back its more like 2 steps forward and 1 back now.

Debbies main problem now is she starts feeling better, like the last couple of days, and she cleans the fridge, cleans the house, washes the baseboards, laundry, shopping, works in the garden, cooks the most fantastic meal for her family then sits on the couch with me about 7 and says....... "I dont feel well tonight" haha..... honey I wonder why???

She still gets bad headaches from time to time but less frequent, her jaw locks open now and then and is still sore, she still has 2 cracks in her eye socket and the lingering black eye is still there, still gets nose bleeds here and there.............. but looking at my wife and I see her bright eyes again and that glowing smile that lights up the room........ thats how I know she is getting better.

I love you Debbie and so glad things are getting better. Still a ways to go but your doing great!!

Cassidi got asked to go to homecoming. If you can read this it says "I'm dying to go to Homecoming with you" and the painted dead body on our front porch..... haha... it was cute. Cassidi is doing well starting out her senior year and is exploring becoming a teacher or a dental assistant.
As you can see, Brock is still Brock. He is going to kill me for posting that picture. He is wearing Debbies pink nighty that covers his whole body. We went to get a soda at Maverik and he wanted to wear it inside.... haha... such a crazy kid. He ran out of gas and fell asleep watching TV and I couldnt resist a snapshot. Bad Sam Bad Sam


Taylor came over a couple of weekends ago and we got these toys out of the garage. Its so good to hear Taylors laugh again and to spend time with her. We miss you Tay.

Sam, Brock and Debbie go to church!!

Had to share this story!!!! Keep in mind I am not ONE OUNCE prejudice so this makes this story all the better!!! This is copy and pasted to an email I sent to Sam's mom but it really happened to us TODAY!!! Worth reading it all!!!

Oh Norma:

I can hardly wait to tell you this story!!!

So last night Sam and I were in bed and I said to him. "Sam, we need to find a church to go to."

We had talked a lot the past few months about finding a church that would fit us both. There is a church that we see a lot of people hanging out at many days in the week right down the road from us. So this morning I got on the Internet to find us a church and find what time they started.

So I am googleing Kaysville Utah Churches.. A LOT of Mormon churches come up and 2 or 3 others. So I start asking Sam about the churches. One of them was a Baptist church. He said he liked the baptist church and that sounded great.. So we had to hustle to get ready for church.. I MEAN hustle we had about 20 minutes for the worship to start.

SO... this is where the story gets quite funny.... You have to picture this.. Really picture this.

Brock, Sam and I in semi dressy clothes.. I was in a skirt with a white blouse and white flip flops, Sam in some khaki slacks with a polo shirt on, and brock in some dressy shorts with a polo on and we are off to take a look at this Baptist church and see if it is a "fit" for us.

*side note... Kaysville is VERY conservative. Probably 90% White, Mormon population.. Very Republican, very NON flashy in all ways....

Sam, Brock and I pull up to the church and we were surprised that there was not a ton of cars. There was a farm house behind this quite large Baptist church and Sam is explaining to me what a parsonage is and stated that this farm might be a parsonage and we were talking to Brock about etc. etc. etc.. We were a little early for church so we were just sitting there talking in the car. Well next to us pulls up a car and 2 black woman that were EXTREMELY dressed up get out. Well we were excited that people were showing up and get out of the car.. I said to Sam as we walked in.. "those ladies are really really dressed up, I hope I am dressed okay.".... OBOY... here comes the rest of the story.

We start walking up to the church and there was about 5 people at the doors to the church.. All black, all VERY VERY DRESSED UP. Men in three piece suits and the woman in all white dresses, with white hats, and white gloves on.. etc.. One of the men was unlocking the door.. In my head I thought.. Okay STRANGE.... It's ten minutes before church is starting and the doors are locked.. So all of the people walk in the church and one of the men look at Sam, Brock and I and nudge his head like he was saying.. "GO IN.."... HE DID NOT SMILE, HE DID NOT SAY WELCOME, NOTHING.....NOTHING AT ALL..

It was NOT the welcome Sam and I thought we would get.. HA HA..

We walk into the church and I could see into the kitchen and there was a LOT more people, they were also ALL black and VERY VERY dressed up. They were doing dishes and stuff like that. I still did NOT think anything of it.. We walk upstairs right behind the people that were ahead of us when we walked in the door.

Sam said to me "Debbie that woman looked at you like you were meat on a stick!!"...

Norma, I was determined to give this a try and kept thinking to myself... This is Kaysville, Utah there could NOT possibly be a church like this HERE.. So we walk in the chapel and it surprised me to see the preacher already preaching. Yes, the preacher was black and so was EVERY SINGLE person in the chapel.. Needless to say we stuck out like snow in July or even worse maybe a giraffe in your back yard!!!

Sam, Brock and I sat on the back row as the ENTIRE congregation turned around and stared at us.. I am chuckling inside at this point.. We sit down and I squeeze Sam's leg.. HARD. Brock leans over to me and whispers in my ear "Mom, I am scared"... I was thinking to myself.. I am not scared but I am blown away and I seriously any second expected a camera crew to run out and say... SURPRISE YOU ARE ON CANDID CAMERA.. Well that did not happen..

At this point the 3 of us obviously know we are not fitting in and these people do NOT want us there.. I said to Sam.. "do you want to go".. Sam said.. "YES".. and I said to Sam.. "HURRY!!!""

We stood up.. everyone watched us and walked out of the chapel doors, hit our car, and laughed for the rest of the day.. I am still laughing..

Talk about a strange strange experience..
I just wanted to share this bizarre experience.. Hope you enjoyed the story..

Love you,

Deb

Appreciate what we have when we have it.....

As most of you know, I am not from Utah. I have lived many places like Kentucky, Arizona, Iowa and Wyoming. I have been to a few funerals but I have never been to a "viewing". It seems like going to a viewing is more of a Utah thing or maybe a Mormon thing as the first thing to do after one passes away.

So yesterday, Debbie and I go to a good friends dads viewing. It was actually very nice and a good experience for me. We walk into the funeral home and there is a line of people. At the end of the line there is a TV playing a slide show of digital pictures of the past. As we moved along there were other pictures on easels with pictures from many years ago..... the dad giving away his daughters in all of their weddings and grand kids sitting on his lap. Other black and white pictures from when he was a young adult just starting life with his wife.

As we moved even closer there it was... the open casket with the deceased very visible. His Widow standing right next to him with her head turning to hug people then turning back to her husband with her eyes fixated on him even though people were talking to her. She was is good spirits and smiled a lot but always had her eyes return back to her husband.... the look on her face looking at her deceased husband was something I will never forget.

I dont mean to have a heavy blog but this experience brought me back to Debbie and her accident. It could have been so much worse and I thank God that she is with me. Had she hit a little harder or a little further towards the temple and I may have been that person staring into the open casket at my spouse.

So..... lets all enjoy life and the people in our lives while we can and every time we can. Smile more and have lots of fun.

I will get off my soap box now.... happy weekend everyone

Zucchini Part Deux..

Zucchini days continue here in the state of Utah.

Grilled Zucchini (I actually love these)

If you have small zucchini which I like the best. (like the size of bratwurst) cut the zucchini long ways. That prevents them from falling through the grill. If you have larger ones (like small trucks) cut short ways.

• cut zucchini
• place in zip lock bag.
• Put in about a half a bottle of Italian dressing into zip lock bag.
• Marinate for about half hour
• place on grill till done.

ALL THINGS ZUCCHINI!!

Help.. I have zucchini coming out of my *@@!!!!

I am going to give you a few of my very favorite zucchini recipes. I don't know about the rest of the World but in Utah August and September brings zucchini. It kinda feels like EVERYONE has zucchini.. One plant seems to be enough to feed an entire block.

The big zucchini I use to bake with. Ya know the ones the size of a child's leg or even body.. Here is what I am trying today...

Cassidi and Brock.. First day of school today. They had zucchini cake when they got home!! They are going to have zucchini EVERYTHING for the next few weeks.. LUCKY THEM.

RECIPE...
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients:
•1 cup vegetable oil
•2 cup sugar
•3 eggs
•2 tsp. vanilla (I always use pure vanilla extract)
•2 cups flour
•1 tsp. baking soda
•1/2 tsp. baking powder
•2 tsp. cinnamon
•2 cups grated zucchini (leave skins on)
•1 cup walnuts
Preparation:
Mix oil and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition; blend in vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients ad to egg mixture and ad zucchini.. Mix well.. Pour into cake pan and cook at 350 degrees for 55 minutes..

VIOLA... YOU HAVE ONE LESS ZUCCHINNI!!!

The Best Doctors Appointment Ever........

Debbie and I just got back from a doctor visit with some great information. Yesterday we were still scrambling to see some kind of specialist until my assistant came to work. Judy suggested I call this doctor in Layton that she took her grand daughter to. I call and they just had a cancellation minutes before I called for the following day at 1. I was excited that someone was actually going to see us.


Today we went, they xrayed and the doc came in and talked to us about what had happened. Debbie told the whole story of what hit, what hurt then and what hurts now and when it hurts. He shook his head as she was talking then said with a smile "this all makes sense and is all connected... let me explain why". He went into great detail but I will hit on the main subjects......

• She has a small crack in her eye socket just below her left eye (which usually happens in impacts like this) and that is why she has pain in her eye and double vision in her left eye.


• Then she has inflamation in her left TMJ in a spot where it will lock open if opened all the way and will also cause pain when chewing and thats exactly what was happening. She is not supposed to put pressure on her jaw at all and put her on a soft food diet for 2 weeks.


• She has an infection in her left sinus under her left eye.... yes the one with the crack in it... so this puts pressure on her entire left side of her head creating more problems with her eye, jaw and ear.


• Dizziness.... because of the infection in her sinus and jaw it spreads to her ear and creates a balance issue when she moves her head.


• Headaches and Neckaches.... needless to say... all of these other issues creates stress on the muscles all around the head and neck.

So the doctor puts her on several medications as you can imagine. One for pain, one for inflamation and one for infection. I think we are now finally on the right path and correct understanding for what the hell is going on with my wife. Thank God for sure! What great timing to find the right doctor at the right time.

So we picked up prescriptions and came home. I took a picture of the diet that Debbie has been on the past few days.

Even though Debbie is having a bad day we are so very excited that we have a path to follow and an understanding of what she is experiencing.

My "new" life....

I live a charmed life. I am aware of that. I have a husband that treats me like a Princess and treats my kids like his own. I grew up in a loving home with GREAT Parents and a fun and safe childhood. My children are healthy and get to enjoy all of the rights of passage each child experiences in their adventure to adulthood.. I live in a country that gives me freedom of almost EVERYTHING... My life is CHARMED... ITS EASY.... I AM BLESSED!!! I know that.
The last few weeks have been hard on me... HARD. I cry more than normal (a lot more). I am tired, I hurt, I am scared (more than anyone would ever know) and I sometimes don't feel connected to my surroundings. I know that is hard to explain but I feel non connected to my body at some points. It's a new strange place for me.
So, how do I deal with this? I am an optimist. Everyone that knows me at all knows I do NOT have a bad attitude about things in my life (AT ALL). In fact at some points in my life this has been a detriment to my life, always expecting the best, always seeing good in almost everything. It has gotten me in some trouble in life. But, that is how I am and I like me that way.
So I am dealing with my "new" life, my injury, my anxiety and being scared in about the same way. Thinking some where, some day we will laugh about this. We will say 'WE MADE IT THROUGH THIS" and we will say.. "IT WAS NOT THAT BAD". Until that day I am trying. I am trying to live "normal". I am trying not to bore my husband to death because he wants to live like we use to. I am trying to get my kids ready for school like every other mom and smile about it.
THIS IS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS I HAVE DONE... I am getting there.. I will do this day by day, doctor appointment by doctor appointment, and hour by hour...
I promise not to complain too much, go out as much as I feel like it, appreciate the tiny things in life and cherish every minute I feel like the "old Debbie".
AND THANK GOD EVERY SINGLE DAY THAT I AM STILL HERE!!!

Trying to get back to normal.......

A quick update on Debbie. My poor wife is struggling on a few things. She just wants to get better but seems to be a big hill to climb. Her nose bleeds from time to time from her damaged sinuses, headaches way bad, her jaw locks up a few times a day yawning or just eating, gets very dizzy if she tilts her head left, right or back, upset stomach from time to time and sleepless nights on top of all that.
We have scheduled a few doctors and specialists but very hard to get into them. Neurologists are 3 to 6 months scheduled out. TMJ docs are about 2 weeks but got her an appointment for next week somehow. Step by step my wife will get better. She has her good days and feels pretty good for the most part as long as she doesnt bend over...... then the next day is bad again.... she is getting frustrated but hanging in there. I feel so bad for her.... her eyes tell the whole story and I can tell when she is having a rough time just by looking at her beautiful greens. I love you honey hang tough girl!!

So the last few days we have been trying to do a few things just goofing off and taking our minds off things for a bit. Cass has been busy working so much every day that she is missing out on fun family things. Cass is getting a bit burned out on the Lagoon thing working full time and then some. Paychecks are good but no time to play.

Brock ordered a medium snow cone. We couldnt believe it... yes the large is much bigger than this... haha. FYI... snow cone place is right across the street from the Farmington Maverik

Sunday we went up to Snow Basin Ski Resort up towards Eden Ut. We at lunch then took a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain. Debbie struggled for a few minutes with the pressure on her sinuses but did ok for a little while. That was a fun ride.

Debbie Brock and I out on the deck on top of the mountain over looking Eden and the whole valley. All in all it was an incredible day and just beautiful. The lodge below has a live band every Sunday and they serve lunch and drinks as we sit and listen on the grass. So dang fun. We now know how to kill a Sunday.