Spinach & Strawberry Salad

Today I thought I would share one of my favorite salad recipes. I first had this at a Ryan's restaurant we have across town, I don't know if Ryan's is a national chain or just around here. Anyway, I make one variation to my salad. They toss in sunflower seeds.... I toss in Pomegranate seeds. I absolutely adore pomegranates, but I used to eat them only occasionally because preparing them meant that my hands would be stained for days by the juice, plus it was very time consuming picking out each seed.

Well along comes Martha Stewart (the domestic goddess) to save the day: just click on her picture to watch a video of the simplest and fastest way to open a pomegranate.

These are all the things you will need for the pomegranate~

And in less than 5 minutes, you will have this~
Now, to make the salad, you will need some freshly washed spinach leaves ( I prefer the baby spinach leaves), some sliced strawberries and red onion, pomegranate seeds and poppy seed dressing (I use the Naturally Fresh brand).

Toss them all together and ENJOY!

After you have eaten all your greens.... you might want to reward yourself with a nice slice of Chocolate Emergency cake, click here for the recipe ...

And by the way, the left over cake goes great with coffee the next morning ;-) Would anyone care for a slice?

Hope your day is a sweet one~Rhonda

I'm an Audrey

You are an Audrey -- "I am at peace"

Audreys are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me
* If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure (hummph ....well aren't I just sassy)
* I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this
* Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit (mind your manners, please)
* Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and nonjudgmentally
* Ask me questions to help me get clear
* Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery (well, who is?)
* Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings
* I like a good discussion but not a confrontation
* Let me know you like what I've done or said
* Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life

What I Like About Being an Audrey
* being nonjudgmental and accepting
* caring for and being concerned about others
* being able to relax and have a good time
* knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around
* my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator
* my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now
* being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe

What's Hard About Being an Audrey
* being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive
* being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline
* being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally
* being confused about what I really want
* caring too much about what others will think of me
* not being listened to or taken seriously

Audreys as Children Often (yikes... a psychologist would have a field day with this one)
* feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant
* tune out a lot, especially when others argue (still true to this day)
* are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves

Audreys as Parents
* are supportive, kind, and warm
* are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective (what?..who me!?... Nooo!)

As I was blog surfing the other day, I found a fun little personality assessment at HelloQuizzy. Funny how strangely accurate the descriptors are.

If you have a few minutes, hop over and take the test yourself, it is good for kicks and giggles.

Let me know how it turns out. ~Rhonda

"Hello Ollie"

Yesterday we were able to spend a little time outdoors and I took my camera out to get a few shots of my chickens as they scratched around. I would like to introduce you to Oliver or Ollie for short. He is our new King of the roost~Just a few short months ago he was this tiny little chick I could hold in my hand and now he is a beautiful mature Rooster.

Ollie is the little dark chick near the top of the photo. Such a cute little peeper:-)

A few weeks ago I lost 6 of my flock to a vicious dog attack. I was devastated! Among the ones that perished was Henry, my almost 3 year old Rooster~

Henry and I had something of a love/hate relationship. I had to be on constant guard with him because he had flogged me several times. At those times, with my legs in such pain, I could have killed him myself.... But I didn't... because I respected the fact that it was his job to challenge all who entered his flock. He was the protector of the hens and I admired him for doing his job so well. He died defending the girls and for that I owe him a debt of gratitude.

The remaining hens are adjusting to their new leader. They don't "flock" (pardon the pun) to him the way they did Henry, but he is still young and in time will make a wonderful leader as well.

In addition to taking pictures of Ollie and the girls, I photographed my newest creation~

A pedestal to support the bird bath my Aunt Sherry gave me for Christmas. I used a couple of large trunk sections from the tree that fell on our coop area back in October. I think it turned out pretty nice.

Thanks Aunt Sherry! I love the bird bath and can hardly wait to watch the birds play in it this Spring.

I hope everyone's New Year is off to a great start! ~Rhonda

Ringing in 2009

I must admit that I was sound asleep when 2009 was ushered in. I drifted off to the sound of fireworks over the lake. Heaven only knows how long the party goers revelled out there in the 20 degree temps, but I was perfectly content to celebrate New Year's in my dreams.

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Christmas....we had such a good time visiting with family. We celebrated with lots of Reindeer Games~

We were fortunate enough to be visited by not one but two Santas this year :-)

And of course there were Angels all around as we remembered the true reason for this wonderful season...

Yesterday, as I talked to my son about the up coming New Year, he expressed sadness when he realized that 2008 was going and would never return. Even at 6 he senses the bitter sweetness of the passage of time. I told him not to worry over the time that was gone, that we had a wonderful year and we talked of some of the best highlights and the fun things that the year had brought us. Then we talked of the year to come... the events we were looking forward to and the fun still to be had.

I hope I helped him to focus on the hope for the New Year and the promise that the days still to come hold. For at its simplest that is what time offers us~ memories of events, joys, love and sadness that have already transpired and tantalizing thoughts of what we are yet to behold.

Happy New Year my friends! May it be a year filled with the fondest of memories~Rhonda

Merry Christmas

We are on the road today, heading out of town to spend time with family. I want to wish each of you a wonderful Christmas time, full of warmth, love and blessings.

I also wanted to express my heartfelt thank you to each who spoke a special prayer on Tracy's behalf. I feel truly blessed to belong to such a caring and supportive community. Giving of yourself is the greatest gift any of us can give, and so again I say "Thank you" for taking the time to lift her up before the Lord.

Merry Christmas, my friends~ Rhonda

Prayer for Tracy

Today I am sending out a call to prayer for a wonderful young woman~Tracy.

Tracy is a dear friend of our family that has been diagnosed with a malignant tumor in her left breast, T5 bone cancer which came from the breast cancer and a kidney tumor. She is undergoing a 3 phase treatment plan which includes:

1st - strong, triple-drug chemotherapy
2nd - surgery after chemo is completed
3rd - radiation to take care of any remaining cancerous cells

She is currently in the 1st phase of treatment and has been since November 5th. I chide myself for not bringing her before the wonderful prayer warriors I have come to know here in the blogging community before now. The latest update that I received yesterday said this~

Well, God is good!
After good lab results (I was really worried about them because I am trying to catch a cold again) and a positive doctor's appointment (he really thinks the tumor is totally shrinking), I was able to start my 3rd session of chemo today.
So, I am staying on schedule - yippie!!!

My Neulasta shot is scheduled for late afternoon on Thursday, 12/18.
I ask that you pray for me especially on that day and a few days after.
This is the shot that kicks the production of bone marrow into high gear.
This is the one that "kicks my butt" each time due to horrific bone pains.

We will keep you posted if anything changes.

Tracy

Won't you please join me and the rest of Tracy's family and friends in prayers on her behalf for the success of the treatments and the easing of the pain that the necessary treatments cause.

Tracy does not have a blog, but I know she would appreciate any prayers and words of encouragement you would like to share.

~ Rhonda

Moon Watching

A Wonderful Sight

December 12 — The Full Cold Moon
Sky watchers will be dazzled by an exceptionally high, bright, and large Moon. In fact, this Moon is 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full Moons this year. Why? The Moon is both in its full phase and at a point in its orbit that is nearest Earth, called its perigee. When these events occur together, the Moon is closer to Earth than usual. The effect? The Full Cold Moon will appear especially large near the horizon as the Sun sets. The Moon is also high at this time of year; when it's overhead (near midnight), it will light up the landscape. Take a magical stroll and see your world at night. You won't need a flashlight!

Thought I would pass along this note from the Almanac Bulletin~Enjoy!

Article and Photos~The Old Farmer's Almanac