Remembering…

Well if you haven’t noticed, I have been a little MIA on the blog for a while…Okay, for a long time. I guess I haven’t really wanted to write about what has been going on because it wasn’t that great.

Over the July 4^th weekend our little Scioscia lost her battle with Feline Leukemia and moved on to a better place with the assistance of our vet. It was hard for us…really hard… like I still cry now thinking about it hard, but we both feel at peace with the choice we made. She never was in pain but her quality of life had just deteriorated to a point that it was just not worth making her stay around and fight, because she would have.

It was so peaceful and we stayed with her the entire time. If you ever have to make the choice of putting a pet down, stay with them. My family did this with out beloved dog of 12 years, Emma, and now with our little Scioscia. I held her the entire time and told her that we loved her, that God had a strong body waiting for her and that we would see her again. The vet prepared us for some of the biological things that can happen with death, but Scioscia just laid her head down and fell asleep in seconds. I think when you prepare your pet and tell them that you will be ok, they are able to let go of their physical body. Their loyalty is a hard thing to break.

We buried her in her favorite place in the backyard, between the two queen palm trees in the corner. It is nice to have a place to look at and remember her. I feel in my heart that there is life after death and there is no doubt in my mind that even little animals get to go there after their time on this earth. I remember after finding out that Scioscia was sick God telling me “The reason I gave Scioscia to you was because I wanted to her to have as much love as possible during her short time on this earth.” I will never forget hearing those words and I am pretty sure that if God wanted Todd and me to love the heck out of Scioscia, we did a good job.

I think anytime you lose a pet, a friend or a family member it makes you question what comes after this earth life. Everyone once in a while I still have a panicked moment of “what if I never get to see her again?” but then something comes over me, something calm and reassuring. It fills me with warmth and lets me know that our brief time on this earth is not all there is.

When Scioscia died, I think she let both Todd and I know that she had moved on in a way that would speak loudly to us.

For Todd it was with the Angels winning their game the day she died. Not only did the Angels win, but their game was televised, something that rarely happens in Arizona. He told me that night he was sure it was Scioscia telling him she was alright now.

I had found some comfort in a poem called Rainbow Bridge:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.... 

The afternoon after Scioscia died I was spending time with my sisters when my sister Laura called me outside and pointed to the sky. There, for just a brief few minutes, the most incredible full rainbow filled the sky. All I could say was “she is telling me that she is in heaven.”

To our wonderful Scioscia,

You will never be forgotten. Your time on this earth was so brief but you filled our life with such joy. If we had the choice to do it all again, even knowing the grief we would feel, we would do it in a heartbeat. Thank you for loving us so unconditionally.

We love you,

-Todd and Heidi

May 6...

If you are my friend on Facebook you probably have a little bit of an idea why May 6^th has been one of the worst days of my life to date. It was one of the most emotional draining days I have ever had and all I can say is good riddance it is in the past.

Friday was a little bit of a busy day for House of Jaramillo. Todd was scheduled to have his second go at shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum and a rotator cuff.  He decided since we both would be home for a three-day weekend, it would be the perfect day to schedule Scioscia’s teeth cleaning at the bet.

The day started out normal; I dropped Todd off and then ran home, picked up Scioscia and took her to the vet. After spending a little time with Todd in pre-op I gave him a kiss and settled down in the waiting room.  About 45 minutes after leaving Todd, the vet called me and said Scioscia had lost about a pound and she was a little worried about the weight loss. She said she wanted to check Scioscia for Feline Leukemia. At first I hesitated, I hadn’t noticed anything strange about Scioscia’s behavior and thought the vet was just trying to get some extra money. I even had her ask another tech that had seen Scioscia before if she thought she looked too skinny. Scioscia regularly fluctuates between 4 and 5 pounds when we take her to the vet.  Even though the tech didn’t notice too much of a difference, the vet was still convinced something wasn’t right. I agreed to let her do the test.

About 15 minutes later I got the worst call of my life. “Heidi, this is Scioscia’s vet, she is testing positive for Feline Leukemia.”

My heart started to race. How could this be possible? Just an hour earlier she was rubbing up on my legs begging me to give her the breakfast she so very much loved. Now she was the vet with leukemia? I felt so alone sitting in the OR waiting room. I tried to hold back tears as the vet explained in non-emotional medical terms what this meant for Scioscia…

“weak immune system….tumors”

She said it was important that they still clean Scioscia’s teeth to help clear out any bacteria. I hung up and sat numb for a moment trying to process what she had just said. I so desperately wanted Todd to be right by my side knowing what questions to ask and telling me it would be ok. Even though he was only yards away, I felt like we weren’t even on the same planet.

I called my mom and could hardly get the words “leukemia” out before the tears started to choke out. I called my sisters, both immediately said they were leaving work to come sit with me. I declined telling them by the time they got to the hospital Todd would be out of surgery.

I tried to get comfortable in the couch I had been sitting in. I suddenly felt panicked. Sitting in that waiting room, nothing seemed safe anymore. The certainty I felt that everything was going to go smoothly turned into paranoia.

“What if things are not ok with Todd in surgery? What if the leukemia makes it so Scioscia can’t handle the anesthesia? How am I going to tell Todd about Scioscia?”

I felt cold and it seemed my whole body was shaking. The seconds seemed to stretch for hours as I battled the big pit of sadness that opened in my stomach.  I tried desperately to hold back tears. Sitting in a hospital waiting room isn’t the place you want to be crying.

My fear only increased when the receptionist received call saying they needed Mrs. Jaramillo in a consultation room. I had just seen the doctor come out and talk to someone and couldn’t figure out why I needed to be in a consultation room. Sitting in the empty room I prayed for strength to just make it through the next few hours.  I am sure the relief was apparent through my red-teary eyes when the doctor told me Todd’s surgery went great and they were just stitching him up.  

“It shouldn’t be long until he is awake and you can see him.”

I waited. A half-hour passed. I waited. An hour passed, patients came with their families, the anesthesiologist grabbed lunch. Nobody came to tell me about Todd.

I thought about Scioscia and cried. I thought about telling Todd about Scioscia and cried. I thought about why Todd wasn’t out of surgery and cried. I felt completely wound up.

Finally a nurse came to tell me that the anesthesia was making Todd very sick and he still was not fully awake. I waited another half hour before I could actually go back to see him.

I held my breath as I turned the corner into Todd’s recovery room. The poor thing was completely green and his eyes were barely able to stay open. I sat with him for about 15 minutes feeding him ice chips; the truth about Scioscia was hanging over me.

“Todd, when you are more coherent I really need to tell you something”

He didn’t really process what I said. A half hour later when he started to get some color back into him and between the nurse coming and going out of his room I let it out.

“It’s about Scioscia. The vet called me and she has leukemia.”

I packed up Todd in silence. The combination of anesthesia and nausea didn’t lend for a great discussion about what our game plan was.  We loaded Todd into the Jeep; I sobbed the whole way home.

Immediately at home I started to jump into research mode. I scoured the internet for any and all information I could get about Feline Leukemia. I cried when I read about the tumors. I cried when I read how it can be spread to other cats.

I called the vet at 4:30 to tell them I was coming to pick up Scioscia. I couldn’t wait for their call. I felt like I needed her with me right then.

So here is where we stand now. There is no cure for Feline Leukemia. Scioscia will not live as long as other cats. I have accepted those truths. However, I have hope in the fact that Leukemia is not a death sentence like it used to be. By Sunday night I already had my game plan in motion and a number of holistic herbs and supplements ready to ship on Monday.  My goal is keep her immune system as strong as possible. Cats don’t actually die from the Leukemia, but from other infections that their immune systems can’t fight off. If I can keep her healthy and stress free, there is a good chance that we have a few years left with little Scioscia. The vet was actually surprised Scioscia had lived this long without proper treatment. She is my little fighter.

When I was taking my shower of Friday, God spoke to me loud and clear. (Yes, God usually talks to me when I am in the shower/tub. I think it must be the time he knows I won’t be distracted and able to pick up the message)

 “The reason I gave Scioscia to you was because she deserved the most love possible during her short time on this earth”

It was the first time I felt peace and calm the entire day. I know that loving Scioscia unconditionally is very much something Todd and I can do for her.

I will update you on how the treatment is going,

-Mrs. J

Hear that?

I never thought I would ever say this, but one of my favorite things about springtime is Spring Training. I love driving by Tempe Diablo Stadium and watching the current year being placed under the “Big A.” I love opening day watching everyone get excited to see the new players and the returning favorites. I love soaking up that not-too-hot-yet Arizona sun while catching an early afternoon ball game.  Most of all I love sharing an afternoon at the ballpark with Todd.

Now, growing up I was not interested in sports at all. I never watched them, never really played them…well I did try out for basketball once…and I did run track in Junior High. However, the best part of track was meeting boys from other schools at the track meets and let’s not get into it, Todd, but I didn’t make the basketball team. INTRAMURALS!  Yeah, I had priorities in school

(Maybe I will explain the Intramurals thing later)

Anyways, along comes Todd and he is a baseball FAN-A-TIC. Angels Baseball is practically a religion to him. When I first met him the most I knew about Angels was probably ‘Angels in the Outfield,’ which I guess is a time in Angels’ history most fans would like to forget.  At first I started to care about Angels’ games just to impress Todd. I watched a whole game once because he had to play an away soccer game and couldn’t watch it. I sat there for two hours sending him text updates. Probably the first sports event I watched all the way through to actually watch the game. I was determined though, because I liked Todd and Todd like the Angels and I wanted Todd to like me so I liked the Angels. This would be a good time for me to tell you not to ask me for relationship advice.

The first Angels game Todd took me to was a spring training game. I was more concerned on what I was wearing than anything else. I wanted to look cute for Todd and still support his team.

I had fun, but I don’t think I really started to enjoy baseball until we actually watched a game in California.

It was so much fun being there with the crowd cheering and just the energy of the stadium, the fact that one of Todd’s student’s parents let us sit in their Diamond Club seats wasn’t hurting at all.

But the real reason I started to love Angels’ baseball is because of how much Todd loved it and wanted to share it with me. How can I not just love everything Angels when it makes my husband so incredibly happy and he wants to share that happiness with me? 

 It makes me feel so important to him to know that he enjoys taking me to games; he enjoys sharing one of his favorite things ever with me. I love that he doesn’t try to escape from me to an Angels’ game, but rather escape with me so we can lose ourselves for a couple hours in the fun and carefree feelings of watching baseball.

Happy spring,

Mrs.J

Guess it is time

Playing Catch Up…

I guess I should probably play a little catch up with everything that has been going on in our lives. See, the problem is that I go do all these fun things and I forget to take pictures of everything. Then I am left here trying to explain all the incredible things we did. So, unfortunately I don’t have a ton of pictures of the last month and half, but I will post what we have.

We spent MLK weekend in California visiting Todd’s family. I wish we could get there more often. Any time we have a three day weekend, I try to give Todd first dibs on going to see his family before we make any plans. Anyways, we enjoyed that trip so much. The weather even cleared up enough for Debbie (my amazing, incredible Mother- In-Law) and me to walk around San Clemente’s farmer market on Sunday.

We found a cute little bakery and split a yummy cookies and cream cupcake.

We also got to meet one Todd’s best friends, Jason and his wife Kimi’s new little baby.  They did not disappoint. Little Luke was beyond perfect; they are two very talented baby makers. I think I could have cuddled him all day.  We went to Baby Gap to buy a little gift for them since we wanted to give them something when we were actually able to meet Luke. If I didn’t have baby fever already, walking around Baby Gap and seeing those cute clothes made it a million times worse.

March first I celebrated my, eeek, 25^th birthday! The only picture I have from that is of the birthday flowers my sister Laura got me.

 It really was a fun day though. Katie and Laura came to meet me for lunch; poor Katie only had enough time to buy me lunch and then she had to go back to work. I felt so bad she didn’t get to enjoy lunch with me. Laura brought me balloons and flowers. It was a great break to the work day. That night Todd, Laura and Katie all went to Kabuki with me for sushi.  That weekend we made an escape up to Three Sisters’ Lodge and spent a couple days relaxing. Most of the snow had melted, but we did find one hill where Todd and I tried to race up. How he was able to stop from sinking in the snow is beyond me. I just gave up and ended up crawling up the hill.

I call this "The Great Race"

We also celebrated the first game of Spring Training. That I do have a few pictures of and I think it is worthy of its own blog…I mean it is the Angels after all.

-Mrs.J

The Key To His Heart...

For Valentines I surprised Todd with is favorite food, BBQ chicken pizza. I even made my dough before work so it could rise during the afternoon. When I got home I just threw on the toppings and let it bake. For dessert I made him cream cheese swirl brownies I cut into hearts and served with ice cream and a little caramel sauce.

Here comes the bad news.

I have no pictures of our Valentines delicious dinner; I had it all planned out in my head how I would bake this delicious pizza in the shape of a heart and then wow you all with my domestic abilities. However, when making my pizza dough I just wrote down the ingredients from the blog I found it on and didn’t think to look to see if I was making one pizza crust or two, most recipes made enough for two.  I even thought all day about what I would make with the extra pizza crust. Then after I punched down my dough, and despite the screams of my cooking guardian angel, I decided that it couldn’t be enough for two pizzas. Guess what, I was very wrong. My cute little pizza heart turned in a massive puffy dough heart with sauce, cheese and chicken. Needless to say I left the camera in the case. If you want to look at pretty pictures check out Pioneer Woman’s take on the BBQ Chicken Pizza. Todd still said it was delicious and he loved it.

Then desert happened…and it looked cute…and it looked delicious…and then it tasted delicious…and then it was gone and I didn’t take a picture. Trust me it was yummy and cute.

So really I have nothing to show you about how my Valentines went, but I promise it was perfect.

Before we fell asleep last night I asked Todd if he remembered our first Valentine’s Day. He, of course, said no. So I told him the story. It was when we were still at Graceland University and Todd kept saying he wasn’t my boyfriend but still spending every single day hanging out with me and making out with me. I was still trying to convince him that he should probably wake up and see the awesomeness that would be having me as a girlfriend. I went over to his apartment while he still was in class (He let me have a key and wouldn’t call me his girlfriend, really?!) and I made him Engagement Chicken and mashed potatoes. He came home from class with a card and some daises. He told me he told the lady at the shop to give him whatever flowers were there because he didn’t want to take flowers away from people who were trying to buy roses for their girlfriends. What a romantic. I still remember what his card said though. That was when he first gave away that he really was falling for me.

It said. “Heidi, you are peach. I have had a lot of fun with you this year and hope to have more fun in the future. Love Todd” He shouldn’t have said future; it was all downhill from there.

I still have the card and some of the daises. What can I say, I have been smitten by Todd from the moment I saw him in a crowd outside an ice cream social 5 years ago.

How was your Valentine’s Day?

-Mrs.J

P.S.

That Engagement Chicken Recipe is seriously the best and the only way I roast chicken. It is so easy and such a delicious way to impress people if you are cooking for them. I ALWAYS allow extra time to roast the chicken though, the lemons inside make it not cook as fast. I recommend slicing the lemons up and still add for extra roasting time. Sometimes chickens just don’t want to roast.

Time for a

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I know I should probably write about how much I love my husband, I do and I will recap our weekend and Valentine’s Day coming up, but I wanted to write today about another very important Valentine that Todd and I have in our life; our beautiful baby girl Scioscia Michelle Jaramillo. (Yes, we give our cats middle names, deal with it.)

I can hear everyone now, moaning and groaning “we get it Heidi, you love your cats. We are thankful that Todd married you and saved you from a life of collecting cats and an inevitable episode of Animal Hoarders.”  Just bear with me. Valentines is now forever in my mind the anniversary of when Todd and I adopted Scioscia.

 Last year Todd and I decided that we needed to find a little friend for Nunu who was lonely after she moved out to Queen Creek and went from having one loving dog and one spastic cat as company to having nobody. We felt sorry for her home alone all day and thought she would like a little company. We started scouring Pet Finder and even found a little kitten that we thought would be the one. We called and called and nobody would call us back! Even though Todd was pretty bummed I convinced him to go to PetSmart on Valentine’s Day because they were having a weekend long adopt-a-thon.  That was when I first set eyes on Scioscia.

Originally I was looking at the other cat in the cage with her and really trying to get it to like me because it looked more like what Todd wanted. However Scioscia, who was named Keila at the time, would not stop rubbing on my hands, purring and just in general being the most loving adorable cat ever, even though she had a little bit of a gremlin face. Todd knew I was attached the moment I picked her up and even though I ho and hummed it, he said he knew we were taking her home. She has been a perfect cat for the last year. It is funny because even though I was the one who originally fell in love with her, she is such a Daddy’s girl it is ridiculous.

The amount of love that Scioscia gives Todd and me is just incredible. We come home, she purrs. We wake up in the morning, it is like she never thought she was going to see you awake again. You give her breakfast; it is like you just gave her the meal of a lifetime. You walk out of room and come back in; it is like she thought you had left forever. She really is so loving and you can’t help wonder why she would be. How can something that was abandoned be full of such love?

Scioscia is a rescue cat. She was the smallest out of a litter of cats that was given up alongside their mother after they were born. Everyone was adopted except for little Scioscia. Anybody else would be bitter but, this is the most amazing thing about rescue pets, they never stop giving up hope that there is a family out there for them who will love them unconditionally. When they find that family, they give every ounce of their being into being loyal and loving. I see it in Nunu and I see it in Scioscia; they just want your love and they will give you the world.

I hope that next time you are looking to adopt a pet you might start out by looking at rescue pets; some animals like Scioscia who never even got the chance at a home and some animals like Scioscia’s mom who were given up by what should have been a forever family. I am so grateful for the rescue organization that took care of Scioscia and the foster mother who raised her for the first 7 months of her life. These organizations are angels to pets in need and we should all be thankful for the work they do. Also, please, please, please spay and neuter your animals. There are so many innocent pets out there that are put down because of pet overpopulation.  

Tonight I am going to be giving my Scioscia and Nunu extra love, although I don’t know if that is possible!

-Mrs. J

I am

How heavenly does that look? Can you believe this is located in Arizona? This is my parents' house sitting in the beautiful Hualapai Mountains (pronounced wall-ah-pie) in Northwest Arizona and it is one of my favorite places to escape to. We call it Three Sisters Lodge.

 When my family moved back to Arizona from Virginia, my parents had a hard time deciding where they wanted to live. They didn't have anything tying them to a certain place and while all their children were in Phoenix, it wasn't really where they wanted to live. They decided they would build their own little home up in the mountains outside of the town we lived in before moving, on a patch of land they had purchased a long time ago. Little did we know that it would turn into not only a favorite place our immediate family, but one of the best get aways for aunts, uncles and cousins.

My mom designed the whole house with family get-togethers in mind. We each have our own bedrooms and since she raised three girls, the bathroom is Jack and Jill style with two showers and toilets in separate rooms sharing one double sink area. This is perfect because the three girls can all being getting ready by the sink and mirror and Todd can still take a shower.

I seriously love this house. You get up in the mountain air and something in your just relaxes. All you can think about is sitting on the deck looking at deer, laying by the fireplace reading a book or siting by the fire pit outside and laughing with family. There are many times we don't even head down into town. The wild life up there is ridiculous; deer and elk are regular visitors.

They have a tendency to come right up to you and see if you have any tasty morsels you would like share. They also have a tendency to eat my mother's garden leading to Mama McLarty chasing them off with a hose!

I guess this is time I let in you in on a McLarty family secret...we are by today's family standards major weirdos. Why? Because my family goes beyond loving each other and actually likes each other; like we actually enjoying spending time together and call each other friends. This includes having impromptu jams sessions in the loft.

Bet you didn't know I played a mean bongo set and Todd was a pro on the tambourine. But really, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my family to death even if people think we are little bit on the strange side.

I was telling my mom the other day how much Three Sisters Lodge just feels like home. It is funny because even though I have never lived there, I still have it listed as "home" in my cell phone. I know I have my own house that is home, but I think it just goes to really show that home is where your family heart is.

I am off this afternoon to lovely Three Sisters Lodge to enjoy some Arizona snow and some relaxation.

Enjoy your weekend,

Mrs.J

It is that time

We had an incredible New Years Eve this year. Over the last couple of years, New Years has kind of become my holiday but this year I passed it on to my sister Laura. After hosting Christmas I was just exhausted and needed a little bit of break. Isn't it funny how you clean and prepare so much for company and after they leave you are left cleaning and preparing everything again?

Laura and Katie threw the best New Years Eve dinner party. Some of our good friends Brei and Garret even came all the way from New Mexico to celebrate with us. It was a fancy dinner party so we all dressed up and then enjoyed a dinner themed with luck and prosperity for the upcoming year.

We even were able to set off fireworks, which is surreal in Arizona. The girl's had a Debbie Downer neighbor who we are pretty sure just waited around until midnight to complain at anyone who dare celebrate. I guess she is one of those neighbors who just likes to rain on everybody's parade.

So now we come to that infamous part of the New Year in which we make goals for ourselves for things we want to get better at doing. I think Todd and I have some good ones this year and hopefully if we both push each other, we will be able to accomplish them. Without further adieu, the House of Jaramillo New Years Resolutions.

Todd
-Wants to get back into the habit of working out. We did pretty well there for a while and then remember this? Yeah, that kind of put the kibosh on any working out for a long time. I wanted to keep my bandage as clean as possible and I didn't think sweating in the gym for an hour would be good for it. Needless to say Todd lost his work out partner. Then when my arm was back to normal I hurt my food (I swear not an excuse, it was I get for loving high heels) and wanted to let it heal before putting too much stress on it. Now we are in good shape and ready to rock. It is a little hard having motivation right now because when Todd gets home it is already dark outside, I am hoping with longer days comes more action.

-Wants Heidi to learn how to golf. Before we got married Todd made me the promise of if he bought me golf clubs I would go with him to the driving range any time he wanted to go. I don't really know why I agreed, I guess I like new stuff. No, but for reals, I would love to learn how to golf. I went with him once to driving range and thought I would be the next Tiger Woods (minus the 30 mistresses, I need to find a new golf legend to compare myself to) and needles to say, I was not. So this year Todd wants to teach me how to golf. Being the incredible wifey I am, I think I will try and help him out by being a good student with a great attitude.

Heidi
-I mostly just have one major resolution that I think will help me reach all of my other goals. I want to try and be more proactive with my time. I have a habit of just shutting off during the work week and not really accomplishing things that need to get done until the weekend. The problem is then, I have a huge to-do list on the weekend and then we don't always find enough time to go play and relax. I think if I just make myself do a little housework every night during the week, I will be surprised at how much I get done. This resolution also comes with the fine writing that I will not watch as much TV. Television just sucks your motivation right out of your soul. The only show I have to sit down and watch really is Glee, everything else I am fine catching On Demand when I have some free time.

I really wish the days would start getting longer again. It is so hard to want to do anything when it is dark at 7 PM and there are still a few good hours of time in my day. Maybe we should start our resolutions in Spring and not the first few weeks on winter...Happy New Years!!!

What are you resolutions for this year?

Mrs.J

Perfect for that cold night…

Arizona has been way too cold for my liking this winter. I know I really can't complain when the rest of the country is in blizzard warning and I am bundling up for 58 degrees, but when your body lives through 110 degrees during the summer it can't handle anything below 65.

I wanted to make something yummy and warm for dinner last night and also had a bunch of leftover turkey from the holiday. I decided on chicken tortilla soup, and let me tell you, this soup is so beyond delicious. It also is pretty healthy for you since the base is just chicken stock and canned tomatoes. You top it with fresh cilantro, avocado, cheese and the best part, freshly fried corn tortilla bits.



Seriously? Like yum. This is probably the worst part of soup for you, but since you add just a few, it isn't too bad. The really problem arises when you try to keep yourself from munching on the cooling ones while you keep frying them up.

Do you like the fresh tortilla chips they serve at Mexican restaurants? You know, the fresh ones served still hot from being fried and nicely salted? These little strips taste just like that. So amazingly delicious.

 I would give you my recipe, but I mostly just cook my soups my taste. I really can't tell you how much of everything I put in there. I started by sauteing some garlic and onion, then added a box of chicken stock and a can of petite diced tomatoes. I let that simmer for a good hour and added seasonings to get a yummy flavor. When I had a nice soup base I added corn, black beans and the turkey. You really could put any veggies in there. Here are a few recipes around the blog block that are pretty close to what I made if you want to try it out.



Whitney in Chicago



Good Life Eats

I let everything cook on low for about 45 minuets while Todd and I rode our bikes to Quick Trip to buy a lottery ticket. The whole way home we talked about what we do if we won the money. Since we both were a little chilly after being out in the cool night, the soup was the perfect way to warm up.

You could probably cook this in the crock pot, but there is something about how fresh this soup tastes and I think it is best served on a night when you have some time to let everything cook right then and there.

Ahhh, so good!

Mrs.J