So, the red beans turned out good. But, I don’t think I’ll be making it again. It takes too long to soak, boil, and cook. It’s way too much work for beans. But thank you to those of you who left suggestions and emailed me recipes. It was much appreciated.

In other news, Saturday evening was spent with my friend DM, who was kind enough to take our Christmas pictures. I had such expectations….after seeing his recent shoots with some of my friends. However, I think the Thomas family was his greatest challenge yet. Our four legged, furry child was not cooperating in the least. She wouldn’t stay still for a millisecond and insisted on letting her tongue hang out for the entire photo shoot. Not to mention the fact that Matt and I are not “picture people”…but for some reason, I had a glimmer of hope for my little family to take a good picture. The photography was great…but the subjects need a lil’ help.

Beans, Beans...the magical fruit! The more you eat...the more you....

A few months ago, three large bags of dry beans appeared in my pantry closet. After closely inspecting them with disgust, I discovered the bags consisted of chick peas, lentils, and red beans. Matt had officially decided that we would incorporate beans into our diet….cuz well, they’re apparently chalked full of proteins and necessary nutrients. Bleh.

I put it off for a long time….and ignored his pleas to attempt to try to make something with these beans. He officially got tired of waiting and took it upon himself to try a recipe with the dried chick peas. Much to my surprise, they were actually edible…and quite good. The next day, I went to work and my quad-buddy, told me that she ate beans all the time…cuz well, they’re chalked full of proteins and very good for you.

For some reason, when SHE said it, it sparked my interest. I went around the office asking for recipes for red beans. Since a lot of my co-workers are Hispanic, they had lots of recipes for red beans…since it’s staple food for them. But, most of them suggested re-fried beans with canned beans. No one knew anything about DRIED beans.

So, I decided I was going to take on the challenge and figure out how in the world to make red beans and rice with dried beans. I soaked them for a day and half…and the dumb beans still weren’t tender. I cut up onions, bell pepper, and chunks of ham…threw it all in a crock pot overnight…and they STLL weren’t tender. Matt suggested we boil the whole concoction on the stove for a while…so we did that…for 45 minutes and the beans finally softened. I threw it back in the crockpot and they’ve been cooking with all the rest of the goodies all day long.

I’m anxious to see what it looks like once I get home. And, if it’s any good…I’ll share the recipe in the next blog. Here’s to hopin’ it turns out good cuz if not, I haven’t a clue as to what I’m going to do with the rest of this 3 pound bag of dried red beans!

Encouraging word of the day:
O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:8

I decided to change up the word of the day a little bit. In my office we have a memo board hanging in my quad. As of late, the air in the office has been full of negativity and people's spirits have been very low...including mine. So, I took it upon myself to use the memo board to write encouraging quotes. Now, my quad buddies take it upon themselves to find quotes as well and we all use it as a tool to mutually encourage each other in not-so encouraging circumstances. So, I thought I'd try doing the same thing on my blog.

God knows these are HARD times. I'm sure lots of you are dealing with the economic crunch and other personal issues that plague our mind with worry and lives with stress. So, I figured we could all use a little encouragement...a little reminder of where our hope lays.

All that being said...Today is BF's first day back to work after maternity leave. I'm quite sure she'll be too busy answering questions about Madison to check out the blog today...but just in case she tunes in today....I hope you're having a great day, Sonia...and I hope it goes by fast for ya! Rest assured that Maddicake is in good hands...and she'll be squealing in delight when she sees you when you get home! (like she always does!)

The other day I read a blog post by my blogger-buddy, Sibil. In her post, she admitted that she’s in a weird place with her blog. She longs to write the unadulterated truth, but fears how her readers might react to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth…so help her God.

I’ve felt the same way many times. I’m not sure my feelings about posting the truth are the same feelings that Sib has about posting the truth.... My feelings are based on one simple question…How much is too much? Often times, I’ve found myself becoming a backsliding blogger just because the things that were going on in my head…and in my life…didn’t consist of blog appropriate material. It seems weird to censor yourself on your own site. Sometimes, you just want to say it like it is. We put ourselves “out there”…but how much is too much?

It’s both nice AND weird to know that there are people out there who tune into my blog that I don’t know on a personal level. On one hand, it’s kinda cool to know that someone thinks my writing is entertaining enough to come back and check me out again. On the other hand, it’s kind of scary to know that just by the things I write on this blog, perfect strangers have opinions about who I am, what I say, and what I do.

I think blogs like “DOOCE” are so hugely popular because professional blogger, Heather Armstrong keeps it real…and her REAL is really entertaining. This is also why reality TV has become so big over the years as well. People like to watch other dysfunctional people because it’s nice to know they’re not the only ones with dysfunction.

I’m not sure I’ll ever come to a point where I will let it all hang out. But, I do promise to continue to write as much as I can about the day in the life of SueVee.