Late Sunday Dinner and the Letter H

I am so sorry dinner is late this evening for those of you who have been waiting. NASCAR kind of took precedence and I wasn't moving from my spot on the couch early! Yes, NASCAR as I have said, makes me happy.

For dinner this evening, we had beef savory short ribs, fresh asparagus, rice and gravy. I picked this recipe for today's dinner so I didn't have to be strapped to the stove during the race.

Savory short ribs recipe:
2 packages boneless short ribs (or the amount needed to feed your family)
1 medium onion sliced (I used a red one and a white one I had in the fridge)
Oil for browning
2 cups beef broth
5 ounces horseradish sauce
Salt & pepper to taste ( I always use Paula Deen's special blend)

Heat oil in dutch oven or electric skillet. Sprinkle meat with salt mixture. Add chopped onions and beef to pan and brown. Add horseradish sauce to 2 cups warm beef broth and mix well. Pour over browned meat. Turn dutch oven to medium low or about 250 on an electric skillet for about 3 hours until meat is tender. Check once in awhile to ensure there is still stock in the pan.

Remove meat and make gravy. At this time you can serve dinner over rice or noodles.

Our letter today is the letter H for Happy. When we are happy, our face shows it, our family shows it, the work we perform, everything we do shows our happiness. How do we find happiness especially in today's difficult times? We need to find understanding to be able to acquire consistent happiness.

Proverbs 3:13 tells us that when we find wisdom and can gain understanding how blessed we are or how happy we are.

What makes you happy? To me it is obvious to many people that money made them happy or gave them a false sense of happiness because we can see the damage the Madoff scheme has done. I mean people are loosing everything and then killing themselves over their loss. I have to ask, did they have true happiness?

We lost everything not once, but three times in our marriage, yet through the difficult times we have clung to each other and I have trusted the Lord knows what He is doing. I am still here, I didn't even think of suicide. We once lost our vehicles and had to buy a junker for hubby to go to work, so he would drop me and my bicycle off where I worked and I would pedal home, all 12 miles and I hated it, but I didn't give up.

We got up, dusted ourselves off and moved forward. It incidentally happened right after hubby got out of the service, we moved to Arizona for a job and it fell through during the 1980's recession.

We lost everything again in the mid 1990's when our home was in foreclosure due to stupidity on our part and drinking on his part, we were blessed our home sold right before it hit the auction block. Whew! Where was I that day? On my knees telling God His will be done!

Then, we separated for many months, loosing so much and yet, I kept going because I had friends and co-workers and others who kept encouraging me and what was funny was when they told me years later, I was encouraging them.

What makes me happy? Having an electric skillet that isn't all scratched up or that sticks and that cooks perfect all day. An excellent cut of meat for my family and fixing them Sunday dinner even when the race is still on.

Nascar racing makes me happy! I am not happy that the race was called due to rain and the winner just happened to be in front for one lap when they called the race. I am not happy that this year Petty Racing has no Petty family member driving thanks to new corporate sponsors.

I am happy that the kids and I sat around in PJ's all day, shared chips and dip, reading stories and cranking the sound up each time the race restarted. It isn't like being there, but it is fun and the kids love it.

How about wearing sandals in the middle of cold and wet February in Washington? Yes, I wore these to church this morning and yes, my feet were cold, but when I saw these in my closet I was like, 'oh yeah, I am wearing cool sandals to church, uh huh!'

These aren't just any sandals, they are Kenneth Cole copper colored Reaction Sandals, that I bought before I broke my foot in Arizona and I probably paid way to much for them, but I love them!

Having the day to be lazy makes me happy! Laughing with my husband makes me happy! Talking to friends on the telephone makes me happy!

Happiness is what we make it and how it affects all of those who come into contact with us.

What makes you happy? I'd love to hear from you and what genuinely makes you happy!