Fall Cooking

Hey There!! Fall is upon us! I actually broke down and turned on the furnace tonight. There was a little bit of a chill in the house when I came home. It's cold outside and they're actually calling for a little bit of the white stuff this weekend! Fantastic. (insert sarcasm here)

Anyway, I celebrated a birthday a week ago and from my Mom and Dad, I received an awesome dutch oven, along with a brand new set of some really nice knives. The dutch oven is cast iron and enamel coated. It's a beautiful teal color. 

For me, when fall comes, and it comes to great meals, I love anything that is hearty, and makes you feel warm and satiated. I love doing soups and chili's a lot!! As seen on my other blog, Crazy Cat Mommy's Corner, I shared with my readers how I make my own CHILI!! So feel free to take a peek over there, if you haven't already!

This week though, we were looking for something a bit different. My daughter found this recipe for White Chicken Chili from Taste Of Home. So head on over there and check it out. A little side note on the recipe--- It calls for Cayenne Pepper. I opted to go with crushed red pepper flakes. The Cayenne pepper was $5.99 at my local grocery store for a little bottle. Red pepper flakes were a little cheaper. Other than that, I found this to be a great recipe. We all agreed it was a keeper. If you try it, you'll find that it is a little more soupier than a regular chili. But it works. It's the mashed great northern white beans that give it its creamy consistency. But definitely worth a try. We all enjoyed it. 

Below we have posted pictures from my Twitter feed. I was sharing the process as I went along. My camera didn't quite capture the true pretty color of my new dutch oven though, but its still beautiful just the same!! I am looking so forward to getting a lot of use out of it for many years to come. 

To me, I find awesome positivity in being able to cook meals for my kids and have us come together for a new recipe I have found. I enjoy being able to bring all of us together for meal times and have that time together. With them being older now, we all tend to have different schedules. However, we always manage to find the time to have meals together when we can. I make sure that I cherish those times together. Family is so important. 

So, let me know if you try the recipe and how you liked it. Thank you for reading and remember, take the time to cherish the moments, and embrace the positivity! 

My new enamel coated cast iron Dutch oven!! #lovingthecolor pic.twitter.com/CTMlpUhew2

— Pamela Eberle (@crazycatmomma8) October 16, 2015

The beginnings of white chicken chili!! #fallcooking pic.twitter.com/3vL1GsMK7b

— Pamela Eberle (@crazycatmomma8) October 16, 2015

Almost ready!! pic.twitter.com/9nDdW5ujRr

— Pamela Eberle (@crazycatmomma8) October 16, 2015

Mmmmmmm!! White Chicken Chili!! pic.twitter.com/ulZSprLuZn

— Pamela Eberle (@crazycatmomma8) October 16, 2015

Everything Happens For A Reason

Sometimes disappointing things in life just happen. We don't know why they do or we may think the universe is just against us, but I have always held on to the faith that sometimes, everything happens for a reason. We might not always know the reason at the time, and we might not ever find out that reason. 

The week my cousin passed away, I had picked up around 72 hours at work because I had/have been having some financial difficulties lately. Between finishing out the week I was on and the new week that was coming up, I would have put in 96 hours total between both my clients.  It wasn't something I wanted to do, but I needed to do. I had prayed for help about a week or two prior, and all of a sudden, my clients other aide just up and left her, telling the agency she wouldn't be able to work for the next few weeks. I felt that was my sign, my help that I asked for. So I called my agency picking up whatever hours I could. 

So I finished up the Saturday of that week with a 12 hr shift. That was August 1st. I worked Sunday, August 2nd, a 12 hour shift.  Long story short, with the client I picked up the extra 72 hours with, when I got in on Tuesday for my evening shift, I found out her son had cancelled for the next week and a half starting with Wednesday, August 5th. I was upset and angry. But then, my mom reminded me "Everything happens for a reason."  On August 6th, when I would have been working a 12 hr shift, at 9 am in the morning, that's when I got the text from one of my aunts to call her. That's when I found out my cousin died.

 I was extremely grateful to be home with my two children and not at work. I was able to break the news to them and we were able to find comfort in one another. I was able to be there for my Aunt in her time of need. I was able to partake in helping create memory boards for my cousins services. Something I wouldn't have been able to do if I had been working 12 hour shifts. In a time of darkness, I was grateful to be able to have some positives that came out of it. 

As I have stated before, life is about trying to find the positive moments that you can, find what you're grateful for and blessed with. This weekend, my mom, my daughter and I were scheduled to go away together for an all girls weekend at my parents cabin which is located in the southern tier part of WNY near Olean, NY. 

We were looking so forward to it. It's especially pretty this time of year with the fall leaves changing. Well as the week went on, we knew it wouldn't be as beautiful as we had hoped due to weather. It's been raining, a little cooler and damp! 

But as I packed up my pumpkin cake I had just finished frosting, and waited for my daughter and her boyfriend to get home from school, I got a call from my mom. She sounded so disappointed. 

We have a very steep, stone hill that leads up to our cabin. To this day, so many years later, we often wonder why on earth we purchased a cabin on such a steep hill. Anyway, my parents had paid a guy to grate the hill and straighten it out as every few years, it gets pretty weathered and rutted. Well, it wasn't done as quickly as they had hoped. They actually expected it done much sooner than just this past week. 

So when my mom called me, the last thing I expected her to tell me was that we couldn't go to our cabin. As I said, the guy just fixed the road and turned the dirt and had grated it. He told my parents that with all the rain we had been getting, it might not be a good idea to go up the road because it is so wet. I am not sure if he was worried about our tires causing damage to the freshly grated road because of the potential for mud, or if was worried about the potential for danger trying to make it up in the mud. I still wanted to try and go. My mom has an AWD vehicle. I said "We can make it, let's go!!" I've always liked to believe we are unstoppable! Now that I'm writing this, and thinking about my cousin, knowing her, she definitely would have risked it and gone anyway. I don't believe she let anything stop her. 

However, my mom in her infinite wisdom brought up a very good point. In all the years we have had our cabin, driving there and never knowing what we would face once we got to that hill, no one has ever called us to tell us you might not want to come. But the fact that this guy called us and told us, my mom felt we should heed the warning. So as disappointed as we were, we decided it best to stay home. Now to break the news to my daughter.

She actually took it better than I thought. I mean, yes, she is 19 and a very mature 19. It's not like I was expecting her to stomp her feet and pitch a fit! LOL But, she was the one that reminded ME about finding the positivity!! 

I have only adopted this new mentality in my life recently. I am still learning to embrace it and accept it in a few different facets of my life. It's about a whole new journey for me. It's about teaching myself and learning to control the things that only I can control. It's more about me not dwelling in negative energy and focusing on the positivity. I was very proud of my daughter that in that moment, she reminded me of that with her attitude. That no matter what, it's all going to be ok. I feel blessed and accomplished that I feel as if my new outlook has been affecting her positively also!!

With the disappointment behind us, we made a new plan. My mom came over to my house with the plan to spend the night. She brought everything with her for what we would have had for breakfast the next day. We all got comfy, we ordered in Chinese food for dinner, played a game and made popcorn, and stayed up til 1 am having some quality family time. Oh and of course, no family fun time evening is complete with out good music!!

Yesterday, we had coffee and pumpkin cake, and later we made a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs, biscuits and juice. Mom stayed for most of the day and we enjoyed each other's company just as much as we would have at the cabin and I think that's what matters most. 

So as I sit here on my porch, sipping coffee on a beautiful, crisp fall Sunday morning, I am reminded life happens and life goes on. But if you dwell in the negative parts of life, you lose out on some of the wonderful blessings life has to offer. You lose focus on what is right in front of you. The next time something disappointing happens, take a step back and re-center yourself. Take a breath and take a moment to be grateful for what you have in that immediate moment. Your health, a loving family, and a roof over your head. Say thank you. Remember to cherish those moments and to always embrace the positivity. 

Celebrating Life

It was such a beautiful day yesterday. We spent it in Rushford, NY celebrating what would have been my cousin's 37th birthday. Most of us (some had to work or had prior commitments) all got together, found a spot overlooking Rushford lake, and we released balloons in honor of her birthday. We laughed, we cried and we celebrated. The weather was amazing! We couldn't have asked for a better day to celebrate her! She was such a beautiful soul with an amazing spirit, always living every moment of life to the fullest.

 The last time we saw each other was for another cousin's wedding. The time before that, Christmas. We really seemed to connect at that time, as she sat at our table for dinner. I enjoyed her company and her presence. She made us feel like kids again. We talked and laughed. We promised each other we would get together for lunch when she comes to town. We won't get to do that now. But I am forever grateful for the time we did get to spend together at Christmas and at the wedding. I can't sit here and dwell on the moments we won't have together, but rather cherish the moments we did have. 

Life is never a guarantee. We don't know when our time here is up. So we must always live life to the fullest and remember to always embrace the positivity.

Finding the Positivity

                                                   GOOD SUNDAY MORNING!!

It is a beautiful, cool morning here in WNY today! For the first time in my life, this morning, I sat up in bed, touched my feet to the floor and I just said "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."  I took in a deep breath and got up to start getting ready for the day.

Life is about living and trying to stay in a positive state of mind. I am learning that more and more. I know there may be times when that is difficult. We all have those moments. I find that, for myself personally, I have a tendency to be aware of all the bad things that may be going on around me, whether it be something locally, somewhere around the world, or to me personally. But I have learned that we need to find the positives in our day. I think when bad things are happening, we try to snuff it out, bury it down. When we do that, we tend to forget about the good that's happening, because I think we try to bury down all of it, and the good gets buried too. 

A few months ago, over the summer, before my cousin died, I was in a waiting area of a physical therapy center waiting for someone. A patient comes in and sits down next to me to wait. She was a stroke patient, and I have come to know her over time. I know what she has struggled with and what her current struggles are. She is able to walk, with the assistance of a cane, but she has no use of her left arm. I know that this has been hard for her because she so desperately wants to be back to normal. 

So as she sat down next to me, I gave her a smile and asked how she was doing. She sighed and said "Oh, ok. How are you?" I could tell she was disgruntled, but I smiled back at her and I said very happily "I am pretty good. I can't complain. Any day I wake up and am blessed with a new day, it's a good day." She just looked at me and said "Ugh, why bother."                                                           Sadly, it kind of reminded me of Eeyore. I felt bad for her, but yet at the same time, I thought a negative attitude and energy isn't really good for anyone. While I had the private thoughts to myself, I realize now that maybe I should have said them to her. She really had accomplished so much after her stroke and that's what she needed to look at. Focus on the positives!!

I take time to focus on my blessings every day. I am thankful to be given another day. I am thankful and so very blessed to have my children. I am fortunate enough to have an amazing Mom and Dad and wonderful family and friends. Life might not be perfect, but I am happy to have my life. I hope you take the time to do that for yourself too. If things get rough, just stop, breathe and take a few minutes to just think about the good things that are going on too. Don't let the good things get buried so far that all you can focus on is the bad. 

Thanks for reading. Take time today to cherish the moments, and always remember to embrace the positivity.

Embrace Life

Life – we all live it. The way we choose to live our lives is ultimately our choice. Some people are more fortunate than others. Some are not quite as fortunate. While some choose to live modestly, there are those that choose to live more extravagantly. However, being rich or poor monetarily isn’t what’s important. I think what truly matters is having good health, and having family and good friends that love and support you, no matter what. It’s also about the quality of life you live, being a hard worker to achieve that quality, yet to love life and enjoy it to the fullest.

On August 6th, 2015, I lost one of my seven cousin's. She was in Australia vacationing with her brother. They went to go on a scuba dive with a tourist group. They were with instructors. They were down in the water for about 8 minutes, at 20 ft below when my cousin signaled to her brother there was a problem. They quickly surfaced and had her on the boat very quickly. By that point, she had lost consciousness. There were two doctors present and they immediately began performing CPR. A team of eight people were taking turns working on her for 90 minutes. By the time the rescue personnel got there, they pronounced her dead.

My cousin lived her life to the fullest. There is no doubt about that. She touched so many lives, literally across the world and back. She worked, she traveled and she played. She had so many hobbies and things that she was in to. She saw so many places in the world that most of us only dream about.

For the last couple of years, I have been struggling with some issues in my life. For the last month and a half, I have struggled with losing her. I am the oldest of eight cousins. You never think that someone younger than you will cross over before you. So her death has really rocked my world. Her death has put many things into perspective for me.

For the last year or so, I have been on a personal journey myself. I have been reading some self-help books, I swear, at (almost) 43, I think I started going through a midlife crisis about 2 years ago. I pulled away from friends in my life and started focusing more on my family. I started trying to find myself and who I was. Then as I said, when my cousin died, life was put into perspective even more.

I have been trying more and more to not dwell on the negativity, but rather the positivity. I have been trying to be more mindful of myself and the moments I am in. I have been experimenting with some simple meditation techniques. Anything that I thought would just help release the negative energy and stresses I have been feeling so much of.

So this morning as I was sitting on my porch with an exceptionally delicious cup of coffee, I found myself breathing in the fresh air, fully and completely (probably for the first time in my life) taking in the moment. Being mindful and present and all of a sudden my cousin popped into my head....thoughts of her and her life and how she lived, never taking a single moment for granted. She embraced life. She cherished it.

As I sat there thinking about her, the idea for this blog was born. I am hoping that it will have a positive impact in my life as well as others that maybe struggling with some negativity in their lives or that just may be going through a difficult time and need some inspiration or some positive energy.

Thank you for reading. Cherish the moment and remember to embrace the positivity!