this and that

I had my first lecture yesterday in Anatomy and Physiology. I will go ahead and say, Dr. Low is awesome. He speaks on a level I can understand. He doesn't teach with the assumption that you should know the material already. He's a "real" teacher and I think I'm going to like his class a lot.
I've been moving right along on my medical terminology. Doing pretty well. I have a feeling my trouble class will be Texas Government. I really don't care to learn anything about government. I have 3 tests and an article assignment for that class. That will make up the entirety of my grade. So far, I haven't found the first article to use. Yes, I've been looking.
Today's agenda: studying, chiropractor's appointment, and work at 5:00. I think somewhere in that mix I'm going to try to fit in a haircut. I need a touch-up. Of course, I am so unpredictable, I may come out with a bob. You never can tell. I enjoy the fun, swishy, sassiness of a bob. Keep in touch and I'll keep you posted.
Yesterday I decided to come home after my stretching and cracking (chiropractor visit), instead of trying to kill 5 hours in Tyler. That could only be expensive. So when I got home, I unloaded a few groceries from my trunk and turned to find a beautiful golden staring at me. Castle and Lemon had managed to squeeze through the gate of the fenced area of the yard where we left them and were loose in the yard. Who knows how long they'd been out. They may have come out when they saw me drive up, either way, glad I came home to get them back in the house. Of course I had to bathe them first. Lemon's bottom was a filthy, muddy mess, and they both stunk. Now they are fresh and fluffy and clean.

Let's see. Today's recipe/tip will be:

Crock Pot Chicken
1 whole chicken
whole or baby carrots
new potatoes or russets
little flour
seasoning of choice, salt
rice or egg noodles
Set your whole chicken in the crock pot in at least an inch of water. Add carrots and potatoes. Sprinkle your seasoning, I tend to use the Watkin's onion & garlic pepper, and salt and close the lid. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Once the chicken is done, Take the broth from the chicken and put in a small sauce pan. Add a little flour and whisk until thick. Serve the chicken, veggies, and gravy over rice or egg noodles.
It's really easy, especially if you use minute rice. And it's a good idea to keep a can of broth in case you don't have enough liquid from your chicken.
I like this recipe because I only have to do about 10 mintues of prep work altogether.

God's blessings to you and thanks for stopping by.

Busy Sunday

Ok, so today's post is going to be short and sweet.
We went to church. Heard a fabulous sermon from Dr. Tilley. Went to eat a whole lotta food at Bea & Norvil's. Got to see a whole lotta family. It was good to see Terry and Marja and Kellie and the kids. We haven't seen them in a while.
There were a total of between 45&50 people there. It's hard to count with everyone moving around.
And here's the sweet part, we had wonderful desserts, including birthday cake.
Now, I'm trying to get in a little medical term studying and prepare for my first real A&P class tomorrow. I hope my professor doesn't blow my mind.

Oh yea, another sweet thing: I got the most precious kisses from Luke. He is a doll. Can't wait to see him again soon.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

God's blessings on you and thanks for stopping by!

Saturday morning

It's finally here. You know what I'm talking about people. Saturday morning. The time when you're suppose to sleep in, be lazy, and just do whatever you want. Well, I was awake at 6:30. Cody had to go to Carthage to help put up Steve's fence. He's such a sweet brother to go help. And of course, since I was awake I don't actually sleep any longer. Lemon is wanting attention too. That's not condusive to rest either.
I've got to get up and moving around. I need to get to the grocery store-ICK- and get the stuff I need to make a hashbrown casserole for tomorrow's Williams' Sunday Lunch. There are suppose to be about 40-50 people there tomorrow. I guess I should probably double the recipe. After that I have to swing by and get the September birthdays cake from Snowflake. If you've never had a cake from Snowflake Bakery, consider this your official suggestion. They are wonderful. Leslie does an amazing job. So yummy.
Since there are 8 birthdays in the month of September, we celebrate them all at once. And we're tacking on the the 1 year old's from this past week. Luke and Sarina just turned a year old, already! Can't wait to see them dig into their cakes.
After all of my morning running around, I'll have to cook the casserole and then get myself ready to go back to TJC this afternoon. Cody and I are going to watch Hali and the Fillies play some more volleyball. They did a really good job yesterday. They beat Laredo in the first 3 games, but struggled a little with San Jac. Mostly made some little mistakes. It was enough to give San Jac a 3 game - 2 game win. I'm not sure who they play today. One game at 1:00 and the other at 5:00.
Sometime today I need to also do some studying. Those medical terms aren't going to memorize themselves.

I guess since I mentioned the casserole, that will be my recipe/tip for today.
Creamy Potato Casserole
24 oz. of frozen hash brown potatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 Tablespoon chopped onioin
1 cup grated cheddar
salt and pepper to taste
Thaw potatoes at room temperature. Add all other ingredients except grated cheese. Pour into buttered 9x9. Top with cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10.
That's it. Pretty simple and so very yummy. It ought to be. It IS a Bea Williams original.

I hope you all have a great Saturday. Go find something to do.

God's blessings on you and thanks for stopping by!

Day 2

So I've been thinking throughout the day..."what will I blog about tonight?" Unfortunately nothing profound came to my brain so I decided to start with one of my favorite "go-to" recipes... Get your paper and pen.
Easy Chicken Burritos
1 can of chicken breast
1 can of corn mostly drained
1 can of black beans drained
1 cup of salsa
Heat the above items in a skillet, serve in warmed tortilla, top with grated cheddar cheese and a dollup of sour cream.
That's it. Of course the purpose of this recipe is to be simple and quick, and cheap. By all means if you have left over chicken from the night before, chop that up and throw it in. If you have pintos in the pantry and not black beans, use that! If you have Ro-tel in the can and no salsa, use that! I think you get the picture. It is fabulous. So yummy. So filling. Such a big skillet full. It really does make quite a bit.

That will be the handy tip/recipe for today. I have quite a few. Don't miss them in upcoming posts.

To change the subject entirely...
I start my anatomy & physiology class tomorrow at Jacksonville College. I'm trying not to be too nervous. It is a small campus, so I'm assuming that will translate into small classes, which will, in turn, translate into more personal attention and a good grade. An "A" would be perfection! (FRIENDS reference) I'll be A&P'ing on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from now until December 9 or something close to that.
After class tomorrow I'm going to drive to TJC to watch my wonderful niece Hali play some Panola Volleyball. I'm kind of excited. She's an upperclassman, in the junior college world, and will hopefully get some good hits. So I'll go to class at Jacksonville in the morning with my Panola Volleyball shirt on. Hopefully I don't get off on the wrong paw with my professor.

My second little tidbit I'd like to share is borrowed from my husband, who borrowed it from 1Kings.


God's Ways: Ordinary and Miraculous

1 Kings 17:2-7

God declared, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," (Isa. 55:8). And in fact, one of the biggest frustrations of the Christian life has to do with a lack of understanding about God's ways. There are times when we could really use a miracle, and yet He does not come through for us. Unmet expectations lead to confusion, disappointment, and even anger. Why did God let me down?

There are two schools of thought regarding the miraculous. Some people don't believe God works miracles at all, while others are convinced that if He's not doing the miraculous every day, then something is wrong with their faith. We need a balanced perspective, which we find in the Bible.

God works in both supernatural and ordinary ways, and He determines the method. Elijah ate food miraculously delivered by ravens, but his water supply from a brook was completely natural. When the water dried up, the Lord could have made more spring from the ground, but He didn't.

Sometimes God uses ordinary means to move us in a new direction. The curtailment of his water supply opened the door for Elijah's next "assignment." When the Lord withholds miraculous intervention and lets your brook dry up, He has something else planned for you.

Seeing the work of God in the miraculous is easy, but He's just as involved in the commonplace aspects of life as He is in any supernatural event. Look for His "fingerprint" in the day's mundane activities. He is there, opening and closing doors, drying up one opportunity but initiating another.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.

I have to brag on my husband for a minute. He sent me this in an email yesterday with the subject line: You are "His" fingerprint to me.


How awesome is he?! It was so timely, as all of God's messages are.  So I hope that it touches you now as it did me yesterday, and again today as I reread it.
It would appear something profound came up after all. :-)


God's blessings on you and thank you for stopping by.

First post...EVER

You've all seen those movies and t.v. shows. You know, the one with the narration by some woman who seems to be full of opinions and ideas. And they always sound so put together and "with it". Well that's me, except for the put together and "with it" part. I love those women. You've seen "Julie & Julia". She's full of thoughts and ideas and she decides to put them in a blog. I am in no way committing to a bazillion recipes in a year BUT this blog will be about whatever. I want to put my thoughts, however lame or insightful they may be, my favorite recipes, I have a few, and borrow thoughts and recipes from other women who are much more interesting than myself.
So be prepared, if you're going to read this blog, there will be up's and down's. I can guarantee it. It just depends on my hormones and my mood on any given day. There will be great food ideas and recipes. I'm always in a food mood. And there may even be some sewing thoughts thrown in from time to time.
Today, there's just going to be the introductions.
I am Julie Williams. Or as my little blonde princess friend likes to call me: Julie Willyumz.
I am a fairly newlywed. I've been married for a year, 3 months and 2 days...ish. I married the most perfect man for me. He gets me. And he even thinks I'm funny, or at the very least he pretends to think I'm funny. And that's more impressive than really believing it because it's harder to do. We have two sweet, very hairy, golden retriever; Castle, who will be 2 soon, and Sweet little Lemon. She's 20 weeks. Oh, and the two outside cats: Phoebe and Ursula. Yes, those are FRIENDS characters.

Eventually we hope to add a baby or two to the Williams home, but for now, this is our family.

If you're reading this now, I want your input. Most likely I'll use what you say to help fill another blogging day. I want cooking tips and ideas. I want stories of your kids and the sweet & funny things they do. I am starting back to school at the ripe old age of 35 and 11 months. Might as well call it 36. So this will most likely be my outlet. Pay no attention to the errors in grammar or spelling, and more than that, punctuation.,;!?

Until next time....