No Soup For You! I ate it all...

Welcome to My Life Without Ranch and also, because I left it at home, welcome to My Life Without My iPhone. It is sometimes difficult to understand dependency until you are forced to be without your vice for an entire day. I play music on my phone, check the weather, peruse social media and I do many other things…it’s basically a security blanket. I wasn’t even worried about it this morning when I realized I didn’t have it…that only lasted about 10 minutes…I am just going to do my best to make it through the day and then have a very dramatic reunion with it when I get home…there may be tears.

In other news, I made a recipe as I always do that I’d like to share with you…





This is Turkey Chili Taco Soup. I like making soups because you end up with just one dish and it’s especially convenient when you can just throw everything into a pot and be done with it. All you do here is brown ground turkey, add the onions and corn to sauté and then add tomato sauce, chicken broth, refried beans, Rotel, taco seasoning and kidney beans. There may be a few more ingredients in it so I got it from skinnytaste.com if you want to look at the specific details. I will say that the only kind of bean I like is a green bean and I absolutely LOATHE kidney beans so I used half a can of black beans instead because they are smaller. I try not to be a baby about beans so at times I will slip in a black bean or a chili bean every once in awhile because they are filling and good for you but I just can’t make myself like them. I think it’s the texture of beans (I also hate ALL peas) that I don’t like. Ick…I can’t even think about it. Anyway, despite the bean-ishness of this soup…I quite enjoyed it. Like I said, it’s chock full of ingredients that stick to your belly and it had nice flavor. You can always add as much or as little spice you want by varying what level of Rotel you get. I’m a baby, so I always go with mild. As you can see, I topped it with some crunched up baked tortilla chips and shredded fat free chips. It makes a lot too…I have already eaten leftovers.





This weekend was a nice one…my parents and brother (with the help one weekend of John Morgan) have been working non-stop building a duck pond and cage for Waylon & Willie…the newest members of the family. They got everything but the aesthetics done and it all looks really great. You can tell it’s almost summer in Alabama because even though I was only sitting outside near the pond a few minutes Sunday night, I am covered in these monstrous mosquito bites. I can’t believe how big the ducks have gotten. I know that baby animals grow really fast but I’ve never seen anything like it. They are still cute though. It’s really pleasant sitting outside with the ducks and the waterfall. I just need to wear some bug spray.



We ate at a restaurant near the river Friday night and so I insisted on taking some pictures with the nice scenery. That one is of me and my brother David. I can’t believe how grown up he is. Ugh…I’m such a mess. He is going to be 18 in December…I can’t even believe it. He is one of my best friends and he is such a good person! I’m going to definitely need the waterproof mascara when he graduates next year. Anyway, I thought it was a good picture, so I thought I would share.

I have another kickball game this week and then I am headed out early Friday afternoon to the Conference on Southern Literature in Chattanooga. My aunt Linda owns a bookstore in Signal Mountain, TN which is right above Chattanooga and she will have a booth at this cool conference with several writers from the South…I will get to meet people and hear lectures and panels. It will be good for me to go…to be in that setting…I need it. I am missing a few things but that’s ok…I am making the right choice in activity.

I wish you all a merry week!

Bye!

“The time that I've taken
I pray is not wasted…” One Sweet Love-Sara Bareilles