Lentil soup

Place one package dried lentils in crockpot, cover in plenty of water or soup stock, add a few dried red chilis, and turn on low. If you want meat in it, add a ham bone or ham hocks.

When you get back from work before 4 or so, or when the lentils are soft a few hours later, finely chop an onion, a cup each of carrots and celery, 1 cup finely chopped spinach, and 2-6 cloves garlic. Saute in olive oil until soft. Add to lentils, and keep simmering on low. For meat eaters, add 1-2 cups chopped ham and remove soup bone.

****If you have to leave the house until 5 or 6, throw all the veggies and meat in with the lentils and simmer all day, don't bother sauting them. Just add more water or stock for the veggies to soak up. *****

About 1/2 hour before you eat, add several chopped tomatoes, 3 TBS dry red wine, 3 TBS lemon juice and 1 TBS molassas and1 tsp basil. Also add lots of black pepper and salt to taste-probably 1-2 tsps or so, depending on stock, ham, etc.

Let finish simmering, and serve with whole wheat bread and a salad, or a grilled cheese sandwhich with tomato, lettuce and avacado.

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I am home today since my younger son Tom is 'sick'. He went trick or treating last night, and didn't have a very good time, since he didn't ask any friends to go and so had to go alone (with me). We came home with him grouching that it should not be on a week day when he can't go to his friend's in another town, and he drowned his sorrows in sugar. We did play a game together, and he was feeling better when he went to bed. But alas, overnight all the crap went through his system and he is paying for it today. Luckily he made the connection and said that was the last time he would hide his feelings in food.

SO I miss class (a quiz day) and had to move two appointments back to tomorrow. I hate doing that, but thus is the job of mom. Not like I would trade it or anything!

I am trying to get organized for Christmas. I am attempting to follow the flylady- www.flylady.com- but am having a hard time this year because of my schedule. I am out two days a week for school, and usually out another day with clients, then weekends were busy. The other two days I was trying to stop zoning out and get cleaning and catching up. Schedules are a lot easier to follow when your days are more consistant.

Schedules are very hard for me to keep up. Flylady has said again and again that it takes 27 days to start a new habit, good or bad. Why is it so hard to start and maintain a good habit, but so easy to start and maintain bad ones?

(Just got a call, and had to go pick up Nick from school, he was feeling sick as well. I suppose it was a good think I stayed home today after all. Maybe it wasn't the candy monster. )

I am always stalled at this point-Sitting in my home, trying to make a list for one thing -Christmas- then all the other things I have to do get in the way. I have a huge paper due in a month, two classes to study for, a presentation, trying to spend time with the kids, cleaning the house, spending time training the dogs (all 4 of them) clients, wintering the bees and chicken coop, (could I put the bee hive IN the chicken coop? :-O ) . Of, and I also agreed to write the newsletter for the NCFM-GNY (National Coalition of Free Men Greater NY) chapter. What was that sound daffy duck made when he would go bouncing off the walls? Silly me, what was I thinking.

Actually the news letter is the one thing I am really excited about. It is only once everyother month, and shouldn't take horribly long to put together. One article is already published for me to include, so I need to dig up a couple of other items and add some local interest things. I also will write a commentary as well. I was thinking of interviewing an author to add in. We will see. I think a week worth of nights after the kids go to bed would be plenty of time to get it done. It is, however due out in December, which is my really busy month, so I might need to schedule it in in bits of time.


SO, as you can see I get easily sidetracked. ;-)

Christmas. Today I will make my budget (HA me budget? Stranger things have happened!)I can't make a gift list until I know how much money I have to spend. That is my one chore today for Christmas.

Oh, and my new habit this year is not to call Christmas ~x-mas.

TBQ~