Isn't it beautiful? I love Naan. I have existed on Naan alone at times in my life. Like the time we drove five hours from New Delhi to Jaipur and stopped on the 'highway' to get something to eat, I waited until I knew I could get Naan. The time when the lunch menu in the tent city convention hall was suspect, I would look for the Naan vendor. Naan, I love it. However, I need practice, much practice. The lady at Spices of India, an ethnic grocery store in Tulsa-yes, I said Tulsa, said that cooking Indian food Easy. Baking Indian bread Not Easy.

I am currently working on a traditional Indian dish that will be perfect to cook in my Crock Pot. I made the dish, on the stove, last night and my family loved it. However, it is a little time consuming and I think it would be even better if the chicken could cook all day in the spices. Wow!! If you could have smelled my kitchen last night, Amazing, and in a good way. Just a hint I used these ingredients and ground them up in my coffee grinder.

The smell, the fragrance, it was perfect. It reminded me of all the good things about India. I loved the food, I liked the Le Meridian in New Delhi, I loved the Turkish Steam Baths that are available in the hotels. I also liked many of the vendors I dealt with and I liked Indian design.

However, the smell of India, the country, is something I am not too fond of, which is too bad because it is impossible to get the smell off of anything you take to India for a very.long.time. even a book. The only way I have to describe it is to imagine burning trash or a smoldering landfill with cooking smells and fuel exhaust mixed in. Lovely huh?

The best was checking into my hotel room in Jaipur around Midnight, opening the door and immediately thinking the toilet had backed up. I set my bags down and looked out the window. I found the source of the smell. My room was a corner room that overlooked the tash lot. Cows, dogs, and people were rummaging about, YUM! I remember that night because I actually broke down and cried because I still had SEVENTEEN more days to go before I flew back to the states. I called my friend LouAnn and cried to her, telling her I could not go on, I was not going to make it. Oh, the dramatics of jet lag!

I never did go to tourist areas since I was there to visit factories and potential vendors. Maybe that is why the smells were so strong, I was where the people of India actually lived and worked.

I got to go to a leather tanning factory where they made high end design leather products for Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Stetson, etc. The offices were nice but touring the factory? I would give anything to have taken pictures but I think I was a little freaked out. We had gotten stuck on a small street just before arriving to this leather tanning factory due to a festival float going down the same street. We were unable to turn around because we were boxed in by large container trucks. It was my Black Hawk Down moment. Let's just say they were not happy we were there.

My trips to India were wonderful experiences for me. It broadened my outlook on cultures, food, customs, and product design. I always looked forward to the Indian food and at the same time was anxious to get to China for the more structured environment. But how many people can say they fed a monkey that was sitting on the Ancient Red Wall in New Delhi, India?

He spit at me by the way....but it could have been worse.

My dad's wife has a daughter, Sarah, who is a singer in NYC. She entered First Tracks recording contest and could win a record deal. A furreal record deal!!

She needs lots of votes in order to win. You can vote for her entry here and you can vote every 24 hours. You have to enter your email address but it is guaranteed not to spam. Please help her.

I have never met my stepsister Sarah but I know from her mother that this is a huge dream of hers. So maybe all my friends could help. I would think that might make a great ice breaker when I finally do get to meet her don't you?

You can listen to her recorded track here.

Last Saturday each of our girls had a friend spend the night. This was the first time TD's daughter had invited any of her friends over to our house and both of our girls were excited. They all played great together! It is amazing how different girls act with each other when there is more than three. Just from past experience three is a very bad number for girls. Someone will always end up with hurt feelings. I wonder if there has been a study done on this topic, "The Devasting Dynamic of Three Little Girls"?

Two weekends ago both girls had been very successful with making their own loaves of bread. They did everything: activate the yeast, stir in the flour, knead the dough, watch the dough rise, and their favorite part-the punch down. The only help they got from me was helping them stir the flour in and transporting the loaves to the baking sheet for the final bake.

I cannot sing the praises of Suzanne McMinn and her homemade bread technique enough. I have made some form of her bread every week. So simple and I have yet to have a problem.

After their friends were invited and confirmed, I told the girls that we could make homemade pizza dough and each person could make their own pizzas. They thought it was a great idea so when their friends came over at 4:30 we got started. I used the French Bread Recipe and adjusted it per the pizza dough instructions.

The girls made three batches of pizza dough. They also helped cook the sausage and shred the mozzarella cheese. TD bought pepperoni slices and Boboli Pizza Sauce.

Anna and her friend rolling out their dough. Anna's friend really liked making hers into a smooth ball.


TD's daughter made "bones" for her crust by rolling up the edges.

This is what it looked like before all the toppings were put on. It smelled so good!!

I made two more batches and this time I didn't let it rise for the full hour. We wanted a thinner crust and it worked perfectly. Our friends came over later and we made adult pizzas. We used fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, sauted red onion and red peppers (soooo good), roma tomatoes, sausage, and pepperoni. My pizza was so good and delicious I didn't take the time to get a picture of my masterpiece. So here is Anna and her friend chowing down.

Wouldn't it be great, if getting ready for work, we could smear some glitter blush on our eyelids, use tinted glue as finger nail polish, apply bubblegum flavored lipgloss and think, "I look FANTASTIC." ?

When you look this great who cares if you used a hairbrush.

The BEST game ever. Though I will probably no longer be getting flowers for Valentines. I have proof that working on my house has gone to my head. I ranked "window seat" in my top three right after Big Cities and High Heels. I thought "window seat" was referring to a w-i-n-d-o-w seat, the one that you build in front of a bay window. I didn't even get that it was window or aisle? and I lived in an airplane 5 months a year......

What a great night! Our friends came over and she brought the game. She and I had worked together but our husbands had just met once before. It was fun. I would highly recommend this game.
And check out my new header. I guess I really was the only one that knew it was condensation on the lid of a crock pot. Because my friend is a super talented Graphic Designer, she gave me a great idea to use a vintage crock pot. I got my old one out and took some pictures and then played in Paint Shop Pro. I was feeling all creative today. It is just before 9 and TD and I are going to bed. Kids went to bed at 7. Saturday night was too much fun for everyone.

This is a family favorite. Some of us could eat this soup every single day. The chicken stays moist and the flavors blend together nicely, making leftovers almost better than the first serving. It can be made spicy and hot or it can be toned down to satisfy even a delicate palate. (I actually used palate, I think that is the first time I have written that word outside of a spelling test)

I should just call this Multiple Can soup due to the simplicity of this recipe, just open cans and dump. It really is that simple.

I use the following ingredients:

• 3-4 frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cans Cheddar Cheese soup
• 1 can Mexican Corn
• 1 can white beans
• 1 can spicy beans, I used Ranch Style with jalepano peppers
• 1 can Rotel, I used the Lime and Cilantro flavored and we loved it!
• 1/2 can Chicken broth
• Generous dashes of Taco Season, if using a packet the whole packet
• Several dashes of Cumin
• Several dashes of Garlic Salt
  

Dump all the canned ingredients into the Crock Pot. Stir and add the Taco Seasoning and Cumin. Before I put the white beans into the mix I rinse them over and over.

See all those bubbles? Yea, if you don't want those bubbles inside your intestinal tract, I found that it really helps to rinse canned beans. Otherwise, enjoy this soup on a night when you are alone or wanting to be alone.

Lay the chiken breasts on top of the soup mixture. Generously sprinkle the Garlic Salt and again sprinkle the Taco Seasoning.

Cook on high 4-6 hours or low for 8. After cooking take the chicken out and cut up into small bite size pieces or shred. Put chicken back into the crock pot and mix with the soup.

Serve with Fritos and cheddar cheese. I love to add a spoonful of sour cream too. TD sometimes adds more salsa but the Lime and Cilantro Rotel was perfect.

So we took the girls bowling instead and they had so much fun.

Mercy Me was going to be at the Mabee Center which seats 11,000. The tickets were only $10 and there were 5 bands performing. Tickets went on sale at 6 p.m. and the concert started at 7. We had a babysitter for the 4 year old and it was just going to be the four of us.

When we got to the Mabee Center the parking lot was closed. TD found a way in and that is when we found out it was sold out. The girls were so disappointed, and so was I and TD was in disbelief that a Christian concert would sell out that fast.

We decided to go bowling instead. This is the first time just the four of us have done anything together and it was great! The girls really like hanging out with each other, and without having to entertain a 4 year old TD and I were able to relax and enjoy watching the girls have fun.

You can't even tell that Anna has Tylenol and Motrin coursing through her body to bring down a low grade fever can you?

There were times when Anna threw dropped the bowling ball I thought she would create a hole in the floor.

TD's daughter kept getting better each time she threw? rolled? her ball.

Anna has enough excitement for the both of them to make up for the 9 year old's quiet enthusiasm of a shot well done.

The area of my life that is the hardest for me, being a stepmom, was actually pretty great last night. I am so thankful for our family and what a great match God brought together with our girls.