The Best Ham and Potato Soup In The World

I could eat this soup by the pot-ful If I had an ounce less of self-restraint. It is seriously that good. I crave it if we haven't had it at least once a month.

I'm going to be really nice and actually share with you the amazing, super-easy, (hey, if I can do it, you can do it) wonderful recipe for this creamy potatoey goodness.

Delicious Creamy Ham and Potato Soup Recipe:



Originally found on Allrecipes.com, modified to fit our tastes. :)



Ingredients:
- 7 cups of peeled, diced potatoes
- 2/3 cup chopped celery (about 2 large stalks)
- 2/3 cup finely chopped onion (About 1/2 an onion)
- 1 and 1/2 cups diced ham chunks
- 6 and 1/2 cups of cooked ham broth ...

You see, instead of water, we fill up a huge pot of water ahead of time and boil the ham bone from our spiral-cut ham. It makes a savory broth full of healthy stuff that cooks out of the bone. It's also the secret ingredient for making a perfect pot of soup.

If you don't have ham broth, you can substitute water and 2 Tablespoons of chicken bouillion granules. But only if you're desperate.

Back to the ingredients!

- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- A dash of garlic powder to taste
- 2 teaspoons ground white or black pepper, or to taste (We usually use 1 teaspoon of black pepper. But I prefer 2.) ;)
- 10 Tablespoons butter
- 10 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups of milk


Directions:
(The soup base)
1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and broth in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the salt, pepper, and garlic.

(The white sauce)
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium heat (we usually do medium-high on our stove, seems to work more accurately). Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly until thick, for about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk so as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-ish (or medium-high) heat until thickened, about 4-5 minutes.

(The grand combining)
3. Stir the milk mixture (white sauce) into the stockpot (with the soup base) and cook soup for a weensy bit until it's all mixed together nicely. Serve immediately.

It's even better left over. I could eat it cold, it's so good. Mmmmmmmmm.

I hope you enjoy this soup! It's perfect for these right-before-spring, sort-of-chilly evenings. :)

I went somewhere with a friend my age this past Saturday, and she and I had such a wonderful time! I am still editing the pictures from our excursion, but once I get a nice collection I'll share them and tell you about what fun we had. :D Sound good? Okay. I'll see you then. :)

Pirate Loot {and other goodies}

Yesterday my Mom and I went shopping in 'civilization'... we went, we saw, and we conquered! :) And we came back with a whole load full of treasures in the hold... eh, make that the back of the van. :D

First we went to a friends' house to recover my sneakers. I'd left them behind when we played Ultimate Frisbee last week. (oops!)

Then we went to Smith & Davis ... where, I am thrilled to say, some of my jewelry is for sale now. We checked on the display to see how they'd laid everything out and looked to see what had sold. It looked pretty nice in there. :)



 I ended up selling them two of my stands to display the earrings on. But Daddy can make me another wooden one and I can order another copper rack from Fire Mountain to replace the one I sold. :) The section of the glass case to the right of the stands there is full of exclusively my jewelry...

pretty cool! :)

So, after we'd seen that, we got down to business and shopped 'till we near 'bout dropped. Whew!

Here's the glitteriest of my loot:

I took advantage of the 50% off sale at Hobby Lobby on their beads and stocked up a little bit... and I also found some beads at Jo-Ann fabrics that I'd been looking for, teal acrylic faceted clear ones. Very cute. :)

 At Ross, I found the prettiest skirt I've seen in a loooong time. It's absolutely adorable and twirly at the hem - and it makes me look so slim! (always a good thing) ;) I actually got two of them, one in black & ivory and one in brown & white. (The brown one is pictured below)

Photo credit goes to my sweet Mom for this shot. :) Modeled by Yours Truly. 

 And I was in Hobby Lobby walking down the aisle when I did a double-take. Does this chandelier on the canvas look familiar, by any chance?

It should. It's the same one that's on my blog header! :O! And it was 50% off. :) So... I got it! Now to find the perfect place to hang it... ;)

Mom and I decided in favor of assembling a delicious fresh lunch from the selection at the Publix deli... and guess what we had for dessert?

Sugar cookies with sprinkles. Boy, does the taste of those bring back memories or what? I grew up getting my 'free cookie' at Publix every time we went to the grocery store when I was little - and I usually got a sprinkle cookie.  *nostalgic sigh*

Mama has wanted to get some nice photo albums for a long time so we can actually do something with the thousands of printed photos of when us kids were younger, and she found some at Ross that are perfect!

Lastly, a photograph of an interesting perspective... my laptop sitting on my jewelry worktable with the glittering beads reflected in the glassy black screen of sleep mode. I just thought it was neat. :D

Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, pop over to Meditations of His Love (a devotional blog I write for with some other young ladies) And check out it's brand-new makeover!

Blessings,

I had a Brownie for Breakfast today...

I had a brownie for breakfast today.

And why I did it, I just couldn’t say,

But I played very hard on a field yesterday

It was Ultimate Frisbee on a rainy Friday.

We had so much fun in the mud and the grass,

I almost didn’t mind that my team came in last

We tried our hardest, but all to no avail,

And alas, when we lost, I held back a wail.

Afterwards, we cleaned up, and then we went back

To the house and the kitchen for a yummy snack

But the room was so crowded with Frisbee fans

That I hardly could get to my brownie pan.

I managed to grab one, but it was so small,

I felt that I’d not had a brownie at all.

In two bites, or less, it was gone from my sight

And then we drove home through the darkening night.

I rode home with Daddy; Mom was in the van,

Zipping along in our ‘Dodge Caravan’

Containing our brownies, so I had no chance

To fulfill my longing for chocolate romance

And when we got home, I felt like a dud,

I jumped in the shower and scrubbed off the mud

Then flopped into bed, and though I wasn’t mad,

I was remembering muscles I’d forgotten I had

But I fell asleep, slept all through the night

Then awoke just to see in the bright morning light

That I’d slept in so late that it wasn’t so early

I’d slumbered in bed until nearly 10:30!

At once I got up and went into the kitchen

And then once I got there – what did I see?

A shiny pan of brownies just waiting for snitchin’

Sitting there, calling and winking at me

I lifted the foil, and oh – there they were

Beckoning, and promising much tasty pleasure

So what’s my excuse? Well, what can I say?

But that I had to have

A brownie,

For breakfast,

Today.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I had a major dilemma this afternoon.

I'm currently on the South Beach Diet phase one (for two weeks) during which I am not eating any carbs or sugars. Then, today's lunch came along and threw a wrench into the works. Mama wanted to make a nice hot *delicious* lunch of homemade pizza, one of our favorite meals. I can't have pizza crust, it's a carb.
Thus: DILEMMA.

Mama was not to be swayed by a little problem like that, (harhar) so she set her mind to work on how we could make a pizza that I could eat. She began pondering what we could do as a substitute for her crunchy, amazing whole wheat crust... *drool* ... and came up with a happy alternative.

We opened up a can of black beans and heated them up on the stove. Then we threw in some leftover cooked chicken to give it a little more body. We spread out a layer of the black beans/chicken (using about half of the pot) in a glass pie pan, and topped that with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and my favorite pizza toppings.. pepperoni, black olives, and pickles. :D Yummmm.

And, we sprinkled the whole thing with parmesan cheese, garlic, oregano, and basil. Then, into the oven it went!

We broiled it for about 6 minutes, watching it carefully to make sure it didn't get too crispy. Then... out it came. I wasn't sure how the black beans would taste, topped like a pizza. But then I took my first bite.

Oh. My. Word.

It was AWESOME! I loved it! All my favorite pizza flavors were combined with a delicate chicken taste, subtly underscored by the mild black beans. Ooooooh. :)

I was only able to finish about half of this filling dish, and wrapped up the rest and put it in the fridge for tomorrow.

Hurrah for inventive mothers!

Starbucks: The Verdict

OOoooooooooooh Yuuuuuuuummmmm! :D

I must say, I am very impressed with the Starbucks Peppermint White Hot Chocolate. Delicious! :) However, next time I might order it *with* whipped cream on top. :D I forgot to specify that at the register (just naively assuming it CAME with whipped cream) and to my surprise it was whipped cream-less. :P Oh well. It was still mouthwatering.

I had a great time chatting with Kierstyn and Alex ... that was the first time I'd met Alex (Kierstyn's newlywed husband) and to my delight I found that he's a very nice guy. Yay! I am SO happy for both of them. :D :) :D

We ended up hitting Jo-Ann fabrics and I took advantage of some on-sale Lion Brand Yarn... I actually came home with a huge bagful... like I need more yarn. Ha! :D It doesn't help that some of the skeins I bought are the size of watermelons. (no kidding.) The check-out lady asked me what I was doing with all that yarn and I replied calmly "I'm replenishing my stash." *giggles* We ended up having a nice (albeit short) conversation in which I told her about my crocheted afghans.

Speaking of crochet... yesterday I saw a pillow at somebody's house that was crocheted. I examined it and noted what stitches were used, came home, and made one of the mini-blocks that it was created out of with my new yarn, and sat back and marvled. I was surprised at how I could make something without a pattern, just from seeing something else that I wanted to copy. :)

Now I just need to learn how to sew! :D But that's another story... :)

Ramblings of a Starbucks Newbie

Hello friends. :)

Tonight I am sitting at my old desktop computer in my bedroom, thrilled at the makeover we've given it. We finally got a wireless router so my brothers can go online with their laptops, and then invested in a whatcha-macallit that plugs into my desktop computer so it can also go online. So now, I can blog from my room instead of going upstairs to the loft. Yay! :)

I remembered why I never used this computer before when I tried using the new internet on it... the monitor fuzzed out after a few seconds and you could only barely read the letters... that is, if you were straining your eyes. I was concerned about damaging my eyesight! Thankfully, my dear friend Taylor's family had a monitor they weren't using and let us take it to use on my computer. We will probably return it to them when I get a new laptop. But anyway - we installed it and I LOVE IT! :) It's a huge dinosaur of a monitor, but it has such a nice big flat screen! I already adore how it looks. :)

Now, as for the subject of my post.

I have never been to Starbucks before in my entire 18 and 3/4ths -year-old life. Can you imagine? I do have an excuse in that I live in a small town that has been affectionately (and not-so-affectionately) called "the Land that Starbucks Forgot"... but then, I also don't drink coffee, so I've never had a burning desire to visit one.

Tomorrow afternoon, I will be up in a busier, thriving city and I am going to meet my dear friend Kierstyn (that I've known practically since birth) at Starbucks and spend some time catching up with her and her new husband. This means I'll probably want to order something to sip on while we chat.

So I surfed the web and checked out the Starbucks menu.

Mmmmm. They look like they've got a lot of yummy drinks there. No wonder they're such a smashing success! Much to my relief, I discovered that they DO serve other beverages besides coffee.

I particularly fancied the description of the "Peppermint White Hot Chocolate". Yum. ♥♥♥!

I think that's probably what I'll end up ordering. ;) How about you? Do you have any Starbucks Favorites?

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving, my family and I are at home by ourselves, (we were going somewhere but decided not to because Mama needed some extra rest time) as our extended family are in Michigan and Florida, but we're having an enjoyable time though... smelling delicious turkey aroma all throughout the house, wafting from the kitchen, into the living room, up the stairs and into the loft where I sit typing on the computer.... mmmm. :)

Mama and I are planning a number of tantalizing foods, including:

Turkey (of course!) roasted in the oven,
Gravy (to pour over everything)
Mashed potatoes (a must!)
Stuffing (yummmm)
Cranberry jelly
Corn casserole
Green beans
Raspberry Jello Salad
Apple Pie
Cherry Pie

MMMMMmmmmm!
Have a wonderful, homey, delightful, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :)

My Graduation Party

Well, here it is, the long-awaited Graduation Party post! :) First of all I have to say how much I appreciate the hard work of my mom, helping plan, get ready for, host, and then clean up from the party! :) I have such a wonderful mother. :)

And then I would have to say how much I appreciated all the dear friends who came to my party! It wouldn't have been any fun without you all! :)

Here is my bedroom before the party.... I re-arranged the furniture last month, so there was space to put a table in the center of the room where guests could eat.

In this shot you can see the pink balloons hanging on the wall... I was kind of going with a pink-and-purple theme.

I had to stand on my bed to get this angle... :D

One of the decorated tables. (pink ribbon, butterfly sequins and silver confetti)

Balloons and Streamer... ready for the party...

One of my cakes - I baked these myself the day before the party... I was literally in the kitchen all day long! - This is the strawberry one, with strawberry icing, strawberry fruit-by-the-foot, and strawberry skittles. :D Can you tell that .... *Somebody* likes strawberry? :)

This is one of the other cakes - it's a 2-layer vanilla with homemade icing and decorated with peppermint patties, green M&M's, and 'peachie-O's' gummy rings cut into quarters on the top and halves on the sides of the cake. :)

My mom came up with the idea for the petals. I would have never thought of trimming them the way we did.
And then the guests arrived! :)

Our kitchen, decorated, and filled with food and friends!

Our living room, full of guests! :) some of the people seated at the table are writing on our 'heart of wisdom' quilt squares. More on that in another post. :)

Here I am seated amongst some of my girl friends... we are looking at my old school portfolios, which contain some funny/sweet/memorable pictures of myself and my two little brothers when we were younger. (Much younger!)

The younger young ladies having a blast with my "Pollys" and stuffed animals... :) I keep some on hand for young guests to enjoy.

My beautiful, highly skilled, talented hair stylist, Allison, doing my hair ... Wow, is she good or what? :)

My Graduation 'Congratulations' cards... :) (some of them...) They are all so sweet and beautiful!

In looking at my homeschooling education experience, I cannot help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the hard work of my parents, especially my mom, in raising me. I am so thankful for their choice to teach me at home! Love you Mom & Dad! :)

The party was wonderful and I enjoyed it very much! So, there you have it. Hope you liked this post! :)

Home from the Vision Forum 2009 Father Daughter Retreat!

***Note: This post has a vast quantity of pictures***



The first thing I want to say is I had such an inspiring weekend at the Father/Daughter retreat! If you have never been to one of these lovely events, I recommend that you sign up for next year's retreat as soon as possible.

My father and I had the privilege of hearing encouraging, convicting, dynamic and instructive messages from Mr. Doug Phillips, Mr. Scott Brown, Mr. Geoff Botkin, and Mr. Voddie Baucham. Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin also gave a wonderful talk on what their father taught them about boys, which was something I enjoyed listening to very much.

Now, for the pictures that some of my dear friends have been clamoring for. :)

An artistic shot that I somhow managed to take in the hotel room mirror...

The Lobby of the Mountain Creek Inn, where the conference was hosted and all the guests stayed. Our room was on the third floor of the back building, seperate from the rest of the hotel, and to get to it my father and I had to climb up no less than 72 stairs. (Yes, I counted them) :P Perhaps next year I will not plan on wearing shoes with high heels.

Unfortunately, due to the rain, the Father-Daughter Unity Games on the grand lawn were canceled, but my father and I took the opportunity of the extra free time to visit the Overlook Garden, which to our delight was nearly at peak bloom.

It was raining just a little bit, but with our warm jackets and umbrellas that my very wise mother suggested we bring with us, my father and I spent a very enjoyable hour and a half walking through the garden, taking pictures.

There's me!

I particularly like this shot of Daddy.

Me and my umbrella, by the gorgeous native azaleas. My favorites are the pink ones. :)

Well, we returned to the hotel with plenty of time to attend the picnic dinner, which was inside this year. :)

I met some dear blogger friends and a few new ones as well! Here I am with Hannah from Waiting-Rose, Breezy and Emily Rose, and Cassie! :)

We were served delicious coleslaw, potato salad, hamburgers, hotdogs, fried chicken, pulled pork, and all the fixins. :) I decided on the Fried Chicken.

Here's the main conference room, all spread with checkered tablecloths. This is where we heard the messages and teachings from the speakers. I took this shot from the front of the room, close to where our table was located. Some dear friends of ours saved us some excellent seats in the front row.

The next day we got up early, had a delicious breakfast at the plantation room restaurant, listened to some very good messages by Mr. Voddie Baucham and Mr. Scott Brown.

Then it was time for the Victorian High Tea! Here's our table:

Here are Daddy and I at the table... I'm taking this one with my left hand...

The food was delicious and much more plentiful than last year - something I was grateful for, as it meant Daddy and I didn't have to go get lunch somewhere afterwards! - When I got to the rainbow petit four I decided to take a picture. :D

Left to Right, a Raspberry tart, a lemon square, a strawberry/vanilla petit four, and a chocolate/rainbow petit four. As well as these we were also served several varieties of sandwiches, fruit, scones, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, and of course, jellies and cream to spread on our scones and biscuits. It was very good. :)

After the tea, I had such a wonderful time talking to the Botkin sisters and their mother in the hallway. My Dad also enjoyed speaking with some other fathers while I and several of my friends had some good conversations with the Botkin ladies. :)

Here are some of the delightful young ladies I was fellowshipping with... Breezy, Rebekah, and Emily Rose.

Then, as we were heading out the door to go spend our free time, we ran into Jasmine Baucham and she very graciously signed our copy of "What He Must Be", and even let me get my picture taken with her! :) It was awesome to finally meet you in person, Jasmine! :)

Daddy and I visited the Azalea Bowl, and unfortunately all the rain had muddied up the lake and the Azaleas weren't quite all blooming yet, but nonetheless, we found things to photograph. :)

Ferns ~

Cherry blossoms ~

And oh, was I thrilled with this Lady Banks Rose! It was beautiful....

...And tiny!

Here are some of the azaleas that were blooming.

Daddy purchased some stunning flies for his fly-rod down at the fishing center by the lake...
Then it was back to the Plantation Restaurant for a mouth-watering Italian Buffet. Mmm!

I was very impressed with the Dessert Buffet... especially the chocolate eclairs.
After a very encouraging and interesting talk by the Botkin sisters about how to behave around young men and a convicting, inspiring message from their father, Mr. Geoff Botkin, about how Hollywood is infiltrating our 'christian' society, we had some fun and games. :)

First 8 fathers serenaded their daughters a cappella, then there was a contest of how daughters could help their fathers 'get ready for work', by combing his hair, tying his tie, putting on his shoes, and the best part... 'shaving' him with shaving cream and a plastic knife.

Daddy and I got to bed late but stayed up talking about things like marriage, children, and... fishing. :)

And breakfast the next day only raised my opinion of the food they serve there at Callaway.

After church, A large group of young ladies and I had our picture taken in the patio... I'm the one in the back wearing blue. I'm actually right next to Mckenzie, (She's also in the back, on the left) a dear girl I met last year at the 2008 Father/Daughter retreat!

Sorry about the delay in posting, it took me a bit to adjust back into normal life! Thank you all for the encouraging and sweet comments you've left me! :)

Love and Blessings,

p.s.

In case some of you are wondering how well I'm doing on my diet, ;) I only gained 2 pounds over the weekend and I'm going to work that back off during the next couple of days. :) In my opinion, it was well worth it! :)