Recipe Box

I love recipes. Healthy and non. It really is a hobby of mine to collect, try, and organize them. I ask Shannon weekly what he would like on the menu and it's the running joke that he will ALWAYS, without fail say, "Orange Crumbed Chicken." It really is delicious and quite healthy especially if you opt for the coating to be almond meal or crushed cashews instead of the whole wheat cracker crumbs. If you're not worried about the carbs, serve over the Citrus Rice. It is such a delicious combo. If you are worried about the carbs, I more times than not skip rice and go for "riced cauliflower." With seasoning, it is just as satisfying as rice for me. (Side note: If you don't have Orange Juice on hand, you could always substitute honey or even apricot preserves.) Give 'er a shot. It's yum.

Orange Crumbed Baked Chicken

2 TBSP OJ

2 TBSP Dijon Mustard

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup whole wheat cracker crumbs, panko crumbs, or almond meal

1 TBSP grated orange zest

1 shallot, finely chopped

¼ tsp ground pepper

1 lb of skinless boneless chicken thighs or breasts cut into strips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine the orange juice, mustard, and salt. On a sheet of wax paper, combine the cracker crumbs, orange zest, shallot, and pepper. Brush the chicken on both sides wih the mustard mixture, then dredge in the crumbs, firmly pressing the crumbs to coat both sides. Place the chicken on the baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes; turn over and bake until cooked through. 15-20 minutes more.

Serve over Citrus Rice

Brown rice prepared in chicken stock

Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange

Salt and pepper

Toss to taste with citrus vinaigrette when finished. 

Psst...trying to be healthier but have a sweet tooth? I just tried some amazing raw brownies for the first time the other day thanks to my friend, Annie. You should give them a try here! But...if that's not your thing, you should try these scrump-didily-umptious brownies I made for the first time last week and ate 85% of the batch by myself...spread out over a few days of course. :) They're cake-like brownies made from (drum roll please...) sweet potatoes. Not yams. Sweet potatoes. There is a difference. I actually prefer the flavor of a sweet potato over a yam. There is zero guilt while eating them and THEY WERE SO GOOD! I actually used 1/4 cup of raw honey instead of 1/3 cup and next time I want to increase the cocoa a bit for an even stronger chocolate flavor. Seriously. Give them a shot. Recipe here. Julie ALWAYS amazes me over at PaleOMG.  

Stares

Well let’s see. K girl fell through the back of her chair and made a huge blunder. She refused to whisper, sit, or obey. She whined and threw a fit. K boy was fussy, whiny, was dissatisfied by any food or drink (even though it was his lunch time), threw everything he could get his hands on, and eventually moved to a full-out cry. She tells me to shut up. Children sitting near us with their families are sitting oh so quietly. No snacks. No toys. No fuss. Sitting. Not laying. Not squirming. SITTING! You could hear a pin drop. If I weren’t there.

Stares.

My strap to my dress broke. I escape to the bathroom to rig it to last a few more minutes. Everything in my big "mama bag" was dumped out by a little K boy. I frantically try to collect all of my things. He wants food, he doesn’t want the food. Throws it. Angry. K girl wants to dance in the aisles. Speaking in one volume: loud. Couldn’t hear anything being said. Nothing. She’s being disrespectful and sassy. Out of control. 

More stares. Sympathetic stares. Annoyed stares. Judgmental stares.

Of course I take my children out in the hall to try and not disrupt others who have the luxury of listening. And of course it is not a fun time in the hall way. Quite the contrary. It is time to chill out. We sit. Or shall I say I make them sit? To realize it is never fun to be outside of the chapel. It is a privilege to be in the chapel. It was all a fight. No, no. A nightmare.

I take my fussy children out to the car and stand there ready to burst into tears but trying to remain composed. Call Shannon at work for some moral support. No answer. I decide that I would stay and take Keshlyn to nursery cause she could use some extra churchin'. I spent the last 2 hours of church in the hall with a fussy, whiney, baby. Fun. Cries the whole time.  Doesn’t feel well. I feel sorry for him. But to be honest, I feel more sorry for me. Breaking point. It’s all pointless. Or so it seemed on these 2 past Sundays which I have just described. 

I complain a lot. I know it. It's not a good thing, but somehow I feel like I have some legitimate things to complain about sometimes. :) Like the rationalization?

At least my kids do cute things too...it's just that sometimes it doesn't seem to cover up the negative. Luckily sometimes it does. 

Kyden is saying, "hi," "momma," "dada," "yeah," "thank you," "eat, " "banana," He signs eat, please, thank you, mom, dad, bath, hat, milk. He mimics every sound you make. Adores cars and making them go "vroom." Loves animals and making their sounds. Smiles constantly. Is squishy and handsome. 

Keshlyn is writing pretty well. Getting better at reading. Composing lots of song lyrics! :) Dances like a crazy person. Loves to read story books with me. Says "Mom, I'll take care of it" when Ky is doing something naughty. Is a great big sister. Very helpful. Loves shoes. And makeup. And cooking. She makes me laugh a lot too. (When she's not making me weep as I pull my hair out). The other day she asked when the baby was going to come out. She then said, "If it's a girl, her name should be Shamequa." Seriously!? 

Memory Lane

When Shannon gets home in the morning he'll see this on the garage door.

Followed by this once inside.

And when he turns the corner he'll see these.

 

Each one is numbered (1-7) to represent the corresponding year of marriage. Throughout the day he will pop the balloons in order and inside is a strip of paper woth a memory from that year as well as a corresponding mini date to do immediately. I'm pretty excited!!!! It's a day full of celebrating.  Here are a couple of them to give you an idea.

Balloon 2: 2007- Yay for graduating from the Academy! Ok Mr Frefighter, what do you need when you're on the job and there's a fire? That's right- H2O! Well, baby you're SMOKIN' HOT so let's go splash in some water to cool off! (And yes, I am very witty. I know.)


It may sound cheesy to go swimming early in the day just us two but we usually have kids when we go swimming so it will be nice to get cozy together in the water for a change!


Balloon 7: 2011/2012 so you remember when we sold our house!? Last week!? I am excited to move to Logandale and start the next chapter of memories in our life together. I want to be in a place where we are out in the open and can actually see the stars. The stars remind me of the first time I came to visit you in 2004 and you took me to the park. We laid on a blanket in the cold and we looked at the stars as you told me for the first time you loved me. Will you stargaze with me tonight on the roof? Bribery...there's dessert! :)




Happy Anniversary to us!

Every Day is a Fairy Tale

Once upon a time this handsome young man decided to serve a mission for the Lord. He was sent to a foreign land: Kentucky! The last 3 months of his mission he was able to choose to serve in my town. He got to know my family and on the very last day of his mission, everyone in church lined up to shake his hand and say their good-bye's. I'll never forget that day; and Shannon remembers that day very well also. I shook his hand and said, "have a nice life." I walked away and that was the end of it...I thought. a couple months after returning to his home of Logandale,NV, I received a letter from "Elder Phill." We soon became phone pals and then met up in December of 2004 in Las Vegas as "friends." The day after he picked me up from the airport He told me he couldn't live without me (I seem to have that affect on people. I'm pretty awesome.lol)... and the rest is history. 

I think about those words, "Have a nice life." I had no idea the reason why his life would be so nice and amazing was because I was going to be in it! :) Yeah, I'm tooting my own horn. So what? I think about our 7 year journey so far and can truly describe it as a fairy tale. I'm not saying life hasn't had it's challenges and I'm not saying my little animal friends come through my windows when I sing, but our life together is truly a fairy tale. We make each other laugh and smile. He's the one I want to talk to when I'm happy and when I'm down. We don't really fight. Argue sometimes, yes. But, fight? Not really... Unless you count the slight frustration I get when his toots are super stinky or his irritation of running late because he's waiting on me to get ready. He is constantly serving me and showing that he loves me.  I try to do little things for him to show him I love him as well. I feel that he does so much more for me than I do for him, but hopefully he's not keeping score. :) We keep our marriage fresh and cherish date nights together. He still gives me butterflies. 

I wanted to share a journal excerpt and just couldn't choose one. But as I flipped through my journal from 2005 until now, I got a little choked up to see in my writing how much I am madly in love with you, Shannon. From our engagement until the most recent journal entry, they're all so very similar. In 2005 I wrote, "I melt in his love. He is the most incredible man I have ever met."  A couple of years later, I wrote, "Shannon is the most Christ-like man I know." And just recently I read my writing, "Shannon is still the most amazing man I have ever met. I love him dearly and I would walk the earth for him." 

My love, I can't wait to grow old together and continue our journey through the wrinkles and the  laughter. I love you!!!! 

Engagement photo

Wedding Day: June 9, 2005

2006

 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Flirty Flashback Friday

I still like to dress nice for Shannon. I enjoy getting ready knowing that he'll be home from work for the day. I enjoy flirting with him and answering the phone in a "sexy voice" when he calls. We will have been married for 7 years in July and I'll tell you something very true, it keeps getting better as time goes by. Marriage is so fun. We complete each others thoughts and know each others little quirks. It makes it all the more fun. Actually, I learned something new about Shannon a few days ago. 1) He prefers strawberry jam over grape. Had no idea he had a preference. It is now noted. And 2) He feels uncomfortable telling me heart-felt things out loud but can easily express himself to me through writing a note or card. I really had no idea it made him nervous to share heart-felt things to me face to face. He feels silly. So I guess that is why he's so great at leaving me tender messages in text or on a post-it when he leaves for work. I never knew it was difficult for him. But I have always known how he feels about me and he is very sincere.

I'm so grateful I kept the emails he sent me during our long-distance engagement. I came across this email the other day and I just thought to myself, "I am the luckiest woman in the universe. He is all mine. Forever."

From: Shannon Phillipenas
Sent: Sunday, March 6, 2005 11:16pm
To: bootyliciouskesh@hotmail.com (YES, this really used to be my email and no it doesn't still exist! It was  

              quite fun to write on college applications! Ok, ok. You can stop laughing now. haha!)

Subject: hola senorita

Future Sister Phillipenas,

so i just got off the phone with ya and you were a bit blue so i thought that i would try to pour out some sunshine on your soul tonight. but just so you know, my goal (i know that you like those) and of the things on my to do list for life (i also know that you are a big fan of those) my goal is to make sure that you are the happiest gal on this side of the mississippi! I can't promise a great deal of worldly possessions (i'll try), except maybe a lawn of dark green grass (occasionally it turns yellow out here, sorry) but you can bet one one thing, that you will be happy. i think that with you its what you see is what you get, and i am quite impressed with the person i see, so i know that i am going to be the happiest fella on this side of the mississippi with you as my eternal companion. i am truly thankful that i have such a wonderful person that was put in my path...

i just want you to know that i luv you very much and consider myself the luckiest man ever... one of these days i am no longer going to have to type that or tell you over the phone. i can show you and tell you in person. always remember there is a wonderful life awaiting you here in las vegas, so endure this next semester and then everything will be smooth sailing (ok there might be a few waves here and there and the occasional rough water but in the end it'll be ok.)
luv ya eternally,
luv
shannon

I know there are MANY love stories out there in the world, but I'm being honest when I say that mine is my favorite. *happy sigh.

(This perfectly depicts our marriage...always goofin' off!)

Like our pictures and you're local? Visit kandylanephotos.com

The Toddler Talk on Toenails

Today in JoAnn's we're standing in the ribbon aisle mulling over which ones would contribute the most to my current project and standing in arms length of me were two people- a young man and young woman in the 18-21 year old range. Both were dressed a little eccentric and by the few sentences I had heard them say, they were looking for ribbon for what sounded to be costumes. The man was homosexual. It was obvious in his mannerisms, talk, and dress. He was wearing thong flip flops and had beautifully pedicured, bright fuschia toenails.Keshlyn, being the observant little toddler she is, loudly points at his toes and says to me, "Mommy, that's silly. His toes are pink. Boys don't wear nail polish!" The young man pretended not to hear. Me, suppressing a giggle due to her cute comment and the awkwardness of the situation, I simply say in a sweet tone, "Daddy doesn't wear nail polish on his toes, does he?" The guy just kept chatting with his friend and they walked further down the aisle.

You know, you have to admire toddlers for calling it like they see it and for being brutally honest. I of course want to teach my children things like smoking is bad for you and cursing is not appropriate, but I also want my children to be tolerant and accepting that others are different and we all make our own choices. But of course in the toddler stage everything is generally black and white to them. They take everything you say at face value. So in the past when Keshlyn has asked why Daddy doesn't paint his toenails and I have answered with the explanation 'that boys don't wear toenail polish,' she took my word for it. :)

Keshlyn's other phrase lately that is cracking me up when she makes a mess or destroys something: "it's not a big deal, mom." She says it so timidly too. It is really quite cute.

To My Darling Debbie!- A Mother's Day Post

Happy Mother’s Day...another one of those holidays that are added to our calendar and appear in every planner you buy in the store. Where did it come from? How did it start? Check out this link. It's pretty interesting. What started as a day to celebrate ancient Goddesses evolved into women in America fighting for this Mother's Day to be adopted into our "culture" by our government. It was quite the to-do. Anna Jarvis would roll over in her grave if she knew how commercialized it is. That was one thing she felt strongly about and fought against: the commercialization of it as a holiday. She did not want that. She wanted it to be truly a day to celebrate, honor, and comemorate all that our mothers have done! Check out the history here.


My mom used to repeat this phrase to me, “When you have kids of your own, you’ll understand.” I used to think, “sure. Ok.“ But she was so right. I’ve thought about my own mother, Debbie, a lot lately. Being a mother myself, I sure have become more grateful for her in my heart. I look at the sacrifice that I have to make, the love that I have for my children, the experiences that stretch me in my calling as a mother and I instantly think, “Wow. Another person did all of this for ME!” How much more humble can one become than one who realizes that they are who they are because someone on this Earth brought them into this world? To Debbie Sue (she hates her middle name and I find it endearing): I owe you much gratitude for all that you’ve done for me. I want you to know that there are billions of mothers in this world but to me, you are the MOST special because you are mine. Thank you. I love you.

Just a couple of the many journal excerpts remembering my mother.

Dear Journal Excerpts:

December 22, 2004

"My mother is one of the greatest people I know. She has the biggest heart of anyone I know. She never buys anything for herself and this is why I love the buy for her. My mother busts her tail to buy for my brother and me. She never buys herself a thing and never thinks of herself. She always sacrifices everything to buy her children things that they need and even things she wants them to have. This selfless act alone brings me to tears at this very moment. I hate to see her always have to hand me something or money. I want to see her be able to reap some of the money that she so earnestly works for. Money isn’t everything, and I’m sure that she realizes that, but for someone to be so kind, and to work so hard in life, it seems like she could be able to enjoy just a bit of her own money and buy herself a new pair of tennis shoes if she wanted to instead of having to wear a pair with holes in them." (I remember this my Senior year of High School. My mom is a cook so she stands on her feet in kitched 10-12 hours a day. It killed me to see my mom be so selfless and be in need herself yet continuously she gave me money for Senior year things- yearbooks, slideshows, cap and gown etc…)



May 28, 2006

"Mom needs someone to treat her like the special lady that she is. After all the many sacrifices she has made for her family and trials she has went through in her marriage, she deserves someone to treat her right and love her beautiful smile… I think about my mom so much that her inner struggles are my inner struggles and I can’t wait to see the day when my mom’s hard work and faithfulness will yield her great celestial reward. She will be treated and recognized as the queen that she is. To see her final happiness and glory is enough reason to make me want to live in such a way that I will be able to live in the celestial kingdom just to see her rejoice for eternity… I think we feel so much the pain of those we love that when they succeed, we feel as though we have too. I think that’s really what it’s all about… Love is the plan of happiness."

Memories of my Mother:

1. I loved that mom would always send me cards in the mail when I was away at Murray State. It always made me feel loved!

2. My favorite part of everyday well into High School was at the end of the day, mom and I would sit on the couch and talk about our days. Just she and I. I could open up and talk to her about anything in the world. I looked forward to that time with my mom.

3. My mom was such a goofball! I miss that! I miss my mom cutting up and cracking jokes. She was such a nut that she would make herself laugh so hard that she would “horse laugh” and because her “horse laugh” was hilarious I would snort. My snort would make her laugh and it would go on and on. *Sigh. I miss those days. Mom, you’re much too serious these days! You need to find your inner goof again! haha :)