Notes from Tammy

Happy fall, everybody!  Hope you’re enjoying the colorful beauty of this time of year.  It’s been dry here, so we don’t have a lot of bright colors, but occasionally I’ll drive around a corner and there’s a blazing yellow maple that’s just striking!  I’ll add my recommendation to Nanci’s… get out and kick through some fallen leaves!  That’s definitely my favorite part of fall!

The busy-ness at my house hasn’t stopped!  Since I last visited with you, we’ve done an extended family vacation at the beach, school has started, music lessons started, our church ministry continues and the holidays are fast approaching!

Bonus Recipes from Tammy

We planned a family vacation to the Outer Banks of NC in August.  It’s our favorite beach vacation and we try to go every year.  My mother-in-law lives with us, so the 6 of us were going.  Then I thought she might enjoy the chance to go with her other kids too, so I invited my sister- and brothers-in-law and their families to go along.  Rob’s sister and 1 brother said “Yes!!!!”  So we had 12 going.  Then his sister had to cancel.  I called my family to see if anyone could go along.  They couldn’t, so I called Nana and Papa to see if they could go.  As I mentioned before, my kids were adopted, and we have an open adoption.  Nana and Papa are their maternal birth grandparents.  It’s been 5 years since we’ve seen them, so Nana was more than ready for some grandkid love!  Papa couldn’t get away with just a weeks notice, but Nana had her plane ticket booked before she called me back to tell me she was coming!  She was just a little excited!!  She got to spend 10 days with us, and it was just wonderful!  She enjoyed being a part of our lives for those few days.  Nana said spending time with us was the draw to come, not going to the beach.  But on about the third day there, she said  “Ya know, I think I could live here.”   That’s what we think every time we go!

We ended up with 11 at the beach that week… 6 adults and 5 kids.  We rented a house near the beach, and it was awesome, once again!  With a full kitchen to use, we planned that I would cook two nights, my sis-in-law would cook two nights, we would have leftovers one night, and eat out two nights.  We were taking a medium-sized cooler, so I prepared my meals ahead of time and took them along for the freezer.  I didn’t want to cut my beach time short to make dinner!!!  (Did I mention I love the beach?)  I made Taco Chili and Pizzaburgers to take along for dinner.  I also made Tammy’s Favorite Chocolate Chip cookies, No Bake cookies, Granola bars and Chocolate Chip muffins.  I put each granola bar in a fold-top sandwich bag, and we could just grab how many we needed for a beach snack.  30 Day Gourmet saved me time and money, once again!

School started a week after vacation, and so far, so good.  My daughter is in 7th grade, and my boys are in 5th and 2nd.  The youngest has a GREAT teacher this year, and is doing much better in school.  We’ve had lots of meetings to make sure we’re all on the same page to help him learn to his potential.  We’ve changed doctors and counselors, and that seems to be for the better for him too.  He still has problem days, which is to be expected with his illness.  But this school year is going much better than I had thought possible, which is very encouraging!

I’m still cooking every Monday night for about 30 people.  Taco Chili, Ham and Bean Soup, Pizzaburgers, Italian Chicken, Loaded Baked Potato Soup, and BBQ Beef Loaves continue to be favorites.  A few weeks ago a woman going through the food line made a comment that she was planning to enjoy my cooking for the next few weeks.  I said I hoped she did.  She said she was sure she would, as I had the reputation for being the best cook in the church, from what she heard.  I was quite surprised by that!  30 Day Gourmet comes through for me again!

Final Thoughts

Well, I guess that about sums it up for me!  I hope to be more regular with my News, too.  Thanks for your patience!  And your encouraging emails… I appreciate it!  I enjoy hearing from you all!

Tammy