We Interrupt Our Regular Programming...

The Hayleys are staring down one of the more hectic weeks we've had on our schedule. Three holiday parties, a marathon, a critical meeting at work, a client deadline, end-of-month work tasks, small group, and two event committee meetings.

Whew. I'm tired just from typing all of that!

The good news is that after midday on Sunday, The Boy has a two-month break before his next marathon and we don't have any more holiday parties for the remainder of December. So this week is a crucible, of sorts, for us.

And with that in mind, we're taking a bit of a break from The Hayley Daily (unless something truly hysterical happens!) until our normal life is back to smooth sailing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Hayleys are off to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Hayleys (and extended crew). Then we're back to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family - hosting a family get-together at our home here in Dallas.

I'm amazingly calm in the midst of all the related Family Holiday madness. We've been cooking and cleaning, raking and working (from home). And even though we're not 100% ready for all of the festivities, we're 200% ready to see everyone and have a bit of fun.

So....

From the Hayleys, we wish our American friends a very happy Thanksgiving! To our non-U.S. friends, we wish you the spirit of this uniquely American holiday: family, fellowship, food and thankfulness.

Be blessed!

Conquering Turkey

Conquering turkey and it's not even Thanksgiving?! Yes, indeed, I am.

I ended up with the leftover turkey from my office potluck (fortunately only about 3 lbs worth) and pondered how to use it creatively. Very important since we'll be eating turkey again on Wednesday (with The Boy's family) and Saturday (with my family).

Even though I love turkey - turkey bacon, turkey meatballs, ground turkey - even I know that there's such a thing as Too Much Turkey.

So we've had Chipotle-Cheddar-Spinach Turkey melts and turkey nachos. And Sunday night, in a flurry of "clear out the pantry mode" I stumbled upon the yummiest leftover makeover yet: Red Beans and Rice Soup.

This is so simple to make that I'm almost embarrassed to share my made-up recipe. Seriously.

Red Beans and Rice Soup

• 1 pkg Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice mix
• 3 c. chicken broth (more or less to your preference)
• 4 c. water
• 1 c. chopped leftover turkey

Put all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook at a low simmer for 20 minutes. Serve piping hot with cornbread and Tabasco to taste!

It's a Miracle

I thought I was doing well to get my work email inbox under control yesterday - from 40 emails to 8. That's impressive, my friends.

But not nearly as impressive as what I was able to do with my personal email inbox:

It's a miracle. And I didn't even have to visit Miracle Max!

Getting What We Needed

The Boy and I had a crazy week last week (I say that a lot, I know). But it really was over the top.

So much so that I called an emergency family meeting via teleconference because I was about to have a breakdown from the stress of it all.

Of course, we sorted it out and have a good, lower-stress plan moving forward into the holiday season. Chief on that list was getting some rest over the weekend and working on some needed projects together.

Let's just say we somewhat accomplished that goal: we did complete one project (first major Raking of The Leaves) with the help of The Niece. And we did get some rest. Make that a lot of rest.

Grocery shopping? Nope.
Holiday food prep? Nope.
Catching up on email? Nope.
Sorting scrapbooking photos? Nope.
Cleaning the house? Nope.

We did veg on the couch, get some exercise and go to church. We went to bed early, slept in later than normal and I read two books and a magazine.

I guess that's just what we (I) needed - a little down time and an empty schedule.

I'd Say I Want a Do-Over, But...

This has been a crazy week. Just crazy on all fronts.

From the high of completing the half-marathon to the low of our main furnace unit going out, a jam-packed social calendar and more deadlines at work than seem possible, we have been up and down more than the Dow Jones average.

Toss in being behind in "life" - as in, laundry undone, floors not swept, furbabies ignored, empty refrigerator - and you have one huge mess.

This has been a disaster of a week and there's nothing I'd want more than to get a do-over, but...

...I don't want to live through this week again!

Ah, Reality

So much truth here:

{Thanks, Dad, for sharing this!!}

My Favorite Marathon Man Photo

Yeah, we all think he's a nice guy. But take a look at this photo of Marathon Man from last weekend:

Can't spot him? Here's a close-up:

That's right - our friend, S, caught Marathon Man man-handling a slow-poke runner out of his way!!

Awesome.

When confronted with the photo...after we all stopped laughing...Marathon Man had this to say in his defense:

Well, I did say sorry.

By the Numbers

My 2nd half-marathon.

Final time: 2:40:09

Last year: 2:46:24

Not a bad race - not a bad race at all. So much for feeling unprepared!

You can tell that I knew it was a better race even as I was on the last .1 mile turn:

I've noticed that when I run, it's all about the numbers for me - not my pace (well, not significantly about my pace) and not about my placement. I'm totally focused on the numbers associated with my run-injury-free run-walk program.

I'm constantly thinking about 0, 3, 5, and 8. Those are the key numbers when I transition from run to speed walk and from speed walk back to run.

The strange thing is that these numbers don't slow me down - they help me concentrate on what I need to do for the next two or three minutes. Anything is possible for a two or three minute stretch. And if you string enough two and three minute stretches together, you have a half-marathon.

And hopefully, come February, if I string enough two and three minute stretches together, this girl will have her first full marathon.

{Can I get a Whoo-hoo!?! No? How about You have lost your mind!?!}

Expect The Unexpected

Whenever we travel, we always expect that things won't go 100% according to plan. The key is to stay flexible and to remember to laugh when things go awry.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, nothing about our trip to San Antonio went according to plan. Unless, for some reason, our plan was to be late and stressed.

And The Boy certainly didn't laugh when I urged him to be "That Guy" and cut in front of a line of slow-moving cars so we could merge back on the interstate.

{I suppose the jerky self-important driver in the Hayley Household is That Girl...me!}

Anyway, we have found one thing that was completely unexpected and simply hysterically funny.

We usually share a hotel room with our best friends to cut down on travel costs. Important when you consider that a race usually requires a 2-night stay on top of the $100+ registration fee.

So you can imagine our surprise and dismay when we got a look at the new modernized hotel room, particularly the bathroom door:

Let's Just Get Something Clear...

...we're barely ready.

Here we are, at another race on another weekend in another city. And I must say, that after all these years, you'd think we would have our act together.

But no.

We didn't pack until late last night (after the Mavs game), the best friends arrived late, we left a bit late this morning and because of bad traffic, nearly arrived too late to get our packets. (hmmm....LATE seems to be a common theme!!) And horrifyingly, Marathon Man managed to get out the door without any running socks in his overnight bag.

At least that was discovered before we checked in, so we were able to buy new socks at the race expo.
As I said earlier, I'm barely ready for this. Tomorrow morning at 7:15 we're all off on a marathon (in my case, a half-marathon), ready or not.

You might want to say a little prayer for us...this could be ugly!

Word of the Day

Maybe of the month. Certainly at least Word of the Week.

MEH.

No energy, no drive, no passion. Just...indifferent.

Anyone have an idea for where I can get my bucket refilled?

Signs of November

My mom emailed yesterday, sharing her disbelief that Thanksgiving is just two weeks away. And I had to agree! Where did the fall go?

Here in North Texas, fall has just arrived - cold temps last week (finally) forced me to turn on the furnace. Of course, it's now the upper 70s, so I seem to have jumped the gun. I knew I shouldn't have taken pity on The Boy and The Niece and their 22 layers of clothing. Six days of 55-60F daily highs doesn't mean fall is in full swing!

But somehow our trees got the message. When pruned and trimmed our trees and shrubs Sunday after church, they were decidedly green. When I went outside to meet with our arborist yesterday, our crepe myrtles had put on their fall attire:

So I celebrated by hanging suet for our birds. Hopefully it won't melt before the real fall cool-down arrives.

And speaking of birds, another sure sign of mid-November is this bird, staying nicely chilled in our freezer:

Bring on Thanksgiving!!

101 Recipe: Leftovers Meet Cookbook

I'm still working through my cookbook collection (I'm sure I mentioned that I have a lot of cookbooks), trying to cook one recipe from each. This one comes from Cooking through the Ages, a cookbook produced by FBC Tyler (Texas).

Colder weather has tempted me to turn the oven back on for comfort food. And what better comfort food can you ask for than something that also uses leftovers? Perfect for a busy night.

Tex-Mex Cornbread Casserole

• Cornbread mix
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 c. milk
• 1 lb leftover beef fajita meat (or 1 lb ground beef, browned)
• 1.5 c leftover fajita vegetables (or 1 medium onion and 1 green bell pepper, chopped and cooked into beef mixture)
• 1/2 c shredded Mexican cheese
• 1 can creamed corn
• 2 jalapenos, chopped

Preheat oven to 425F. While oven is heating, pour 1/2 T. blended oil into a cast iron skillet and place in oven to heat. Combine cornbread mix, eggs, milk and half of the corn. Remove skillet from oven - it should be sizzling hot. Pour in half of cornbread mix. Top with remaining corn, beef, vegetables, cheese and jalapenos. Pour remaining cornbread mix on top and return pan to oven. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

This photo doesn't do the dish justice. At all.

Now that's comfort food, Texas-style. Can I get an Amen, dig in?

Because He's Cute

Though he is cute, I'm not talking about The Boy.

The other cute boy in our house, Ben, is too precious when he's sleepy. Especially when he's sleepy on a cold day.

Can I get an Awwww?

Dear Orville and ACT and Jolly Time...

...I'm breaking up with you. I've found something cheaper, just as easy and, more importantly, healthier.

I am no longer a slave to the boxes of microwave popcorn. I've figured out how to make microwave popcorn from scratch.

Brown Bag Microwave Popcorn

• Popping corn
• Brown paper lunch sack
• Tape
• Seasonings of your choice.

Yes, that's really all you need. Now, here's how to make it - trust me, this is just as easy as unwrapping the cellophane from a purchased bag.

Measure 1/4 c. of popping corn.

Place popping corn in lunch bag. Fold edge over twice and seal with tape. Gently press to remove excess air.

Pop in microwave for 2-3 minutes, or until popping slows to 2-3 seconds between pops.

Carefully open bag and serve popcorn with your choice of toppings - or none at all.

Delicious! And super-cheap!

Gift Idea - And How-To

It's hard to believe, but I've already finished pulling together holiday gifts for our clients.

{I'm almost done with the Hayley's Christmas gifts as well, but that's another story.}

Just like in my private life, I'm always looking to save a penny when it comes to how the company spends money. It's not that I don't want to spend money - I just don't want to waste money. There's only so much to go around, after all.

So this year, instead of paying a supplier to create customized wine gifts for our clients, one of our owners challenged me to find a way to DIY the same type of elegant gift.

Step 1: Purchase wine. Silently cheer when a great vintage is found on sale.

Step 2: Work in your favorite graphic design program to create a custom label. For our holiday-themed label, I used a variety of digital scrapbooking papers and embellishments to work up a 3x4" label in Photoshop. I then printed the labels onto full-sized (8.5x11") label sheets. After printing four sheets to a page, I trimmed the labels to size.

Step 3: Remove the protective sheet from the label to expose the adhesive. Working carefully, place the label over the wine bottle's back label. Smooth out any air bubbles and press firmly to adhere.

Step 4: Admire your work! Doesn't this look great?

This is a great way to personalize anything that comes in a bottle, like infused vinegars, olive oils, homemade lemonades, and the like.

Now I'm inspired to work on some other crafty-fun gift ideas!

Another BIG Surprise

Not to be outdone by my big surprise, The Boy had a Big Surprise of his own waiting on me...new-to-us furniture for the library/family room!



These weren't here when I left for work!



A colleague of his was unsuccessful at selling some furniture on Craigslist. Instead of paying $200 for used furniture, The Boy was able to get it for free!

He's good, that one.

While I was downtown at an event, The Boy collected the furniture, unloaded it at home and rearranged the sitting room. All by himself.

Like I said - he's good, that one.

So now our previously-practically-empty sitting room has a new couch:

And a new wingback chair:

And a new coffee table:

As with any new-to-us furniture, this lot definitely needs a bit of work. The couch and the wingback chair will certainly not remain the same. They are ubercomfortable, but not exactly our style color-wise. I'm thinking about making my own custom slipcovers. Something like this: 

As for the coffee table...do I have to tell you that I'm planning to paint it? I'm thinking something neutral but slightly shiny, like a blue-grey. My inspiration is the lampshade from my new office lamp in the same room:

Won't that look amazing? Now to find some time for new projects and someone who will let me borrow a sewing machine for a month or so!

Latest Acquisition

A huuuuuuge box was waiting in our foyer for The Boy and I this week.

I love surprises - don't you?

However, this wasn't technically a surprise. The box contained something very special that I'd ordered for the Hayley House. But since it was a dark and stormy day (seriously), I was indeed surprised because the package was dry, in one piece and inside the house.

It's the small things in life, right?!?

I'd been hunting for the perfect "thing" to hang above The Boy's dresser in the master bedroom when I received a discount offer from Canvas People. Just what I needed!

So I zipped to their website, uploaded a photo and waited seven days to receive an 18x20" custom canvas print of one of our favorite shots:

I love this photo.

It looks perfect above the dresser, don't you think?

Even better - with the special promotion, it only cost me $69 (including shipping and handling) for a custom piece of art for our bedroom!

It's Cold! Bring on the Soup!

More leftovers+fresh produce wizardry. Thank heavens it's cold enough to enjoy a nice steaming bowl of spicy soup.

Quick and Easy Tortilla Soup

Staples from the Pantry

• 14 oz low-sodium beef broth
• 14 oz low-sodium chicken broth
• 14 oz stewed tomatoes
• 14 oz Rotel
• 14 oz tomato soup
• 2 t. cumin

Fresh Produce

• 2 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 yellow squash, chopped
• 2 t. chopped garlic
• 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

Leftovers

• 1 lb. cooked chicken
• 1 c. onions and bell peppers (I saved the fajita grilled vegetables from our party and used those. If you don't have leftovers, you could chop a small onion and bell pepper)

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. Serve steaming hot, topped with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese and crushed tortilla chips.

As The Niece said: Amazingness!

Challenge Issued...Challenge Accepted

I'm tackling another 101 in 1001 Challenge: Take a multivitamin daily for a year.

Even as I type this, I'm slightly depressed. I thought my self-imposed challenge was to take a multivitamin daily for one month. What on earth was I thinking?

Anyway, it's on. It's me versus the multivitamin.

{Title reference: Friends episode 4.12}

You Don't Say

We've joined a small group Bible study at our church. Instead of meeting in Sunday School classes, the small groups primarily meet off-site throughout the week. (It's a strategy based in necessity - there's not sufficient space on the church campus for a Sunday School program.) We love it because it feels very much like our church in the UK. We feel right at home.

Anyway, in our last small group meeting we played an icebreaker to help the newbies (us) get to know everyone. When it was The Boy's turn, his question was:

What is your greatest accomplishment?

I just looked at him and said: You know there's only one correct answer.

The group laughed and said that it was obvious The Boy had a great wife.

The Boy gestured to me and said, Well, you can see that my greatest accomplishment speaks for itself.

It's an Addiction

The Boy and I went to see a movie (Red) after church on Sunday. On the way over, I suggested that we could stop and get gelato on the way home.

Me: So I guess you'll have to decide - popcorn or Paciugo?

Him: Why do I have to decide? And who said you have a say in this at all?

Me: I just can't imagine that you'd want popcorn after lunch, and certainly not gelato, too.

Him: I like popcorn. And I like Paciugo.

Me: You are addicted to popcorn! What are we going to do about that?

Him: Feed it!