Uphill

Phew, it's been a rough week/month/year. Sometimes it feels like the crap just keeps piling on, all on top of itself. Ever have a time in your life when you feel like your problems don't get resolved, just added to? Yeah, that's where I am right now.

I now have a black eye to add to all of my various other physical woes, thanks to a mildly aggressive Hyde. I bent down to pet him while he was on his bed, and I don't know if I startled him or what, but he jumped up barking, bent my glasses to shit and knocked me in the eye with his hard head, resulting in my aforementioned shiner. Sigh...

Anyone have any advice? I've never seen this type of behavior from him before. I think it might have something to do with his trauma from the attack, but I'm no doggie psychologist.

Anyway, I'm determined not to let financial woes/rabies shots/black eyes/fall colds get me down, so I've been trying to cheer myself up. I made a kickin' fall chili today-- I even incorporated some of my newly picked New York apples!

Here's my world-famous recipe:

1 onion, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
1 red bell pepper, chopped finely
2 medium baking apples, chopped finely
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & chopped finely
1 lb ground turkey
1 cup apple cider
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon mild chili powder mixture
1 can red kidney beans
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
olive oil
salt & pepper

Brown the turkey, drain excess fat. Combine the chopped onion, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper and apple, saute until soft with a dash of olive oil.

Combine turkey with vegetable mixture, add beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, cider, chicken stock, vinegar, chili powder in a large stock pot. Add salt & pepper to taste Cover and simmer for at least an hour.



Let me tell you, it's freakin' delicious. Despite an incident involving jalapenos and Sara wiping her eyes after chopping them (ouch!!!), I've been enjoying the process of cooking and tasting all of my homemade goodies. And the best thing about my chili? You can add any veggies you want to it, depending on the season and what you've got lying around the house. I usually substitute beer for the apple cider and the vinegar, but I figured they would give it a nice fall kick.

I also made an apple crumble and boiled some chicken for the dog. He's been really excited about the kitchen, getting under my feet to make sure that I didn't drop anything. What a helpful dude. We're trying to learn the command for "shake", although that's not going as swiftly as I'd hoped. And I'm trying not to hold the black eye against him, but I must confess that I'm still a little tentative around him.

And the last thing I did to cheer myself up today? Watched this video:



So cute. Always puts a smile on my face.

So despite my woes, I'm struggling to put on a happy face and do things that bring me joy and contentment. Taking the bull by the proverbial horn, as they say. Tonight I am FINALLY going see the Walnut's production of State Fair. It's about time-- the show closes on Sunday!



Thanks to mona for the Sesame Street video!