Success

Success means a lot of things to a lot of different people.  Heck, success meant a lot of different things to this girl over the years.  Each day has its own successes and failures and over the different phases of my life these have varied greatly.  What I'm getting at (I've been told I'm long-winded) is that I had no idea how simple a success could be and how happy I could be about little things in life.

Take for instance my life 4 years ago:

Success meant having a phone conversation with my deployed husband (this was my Christmas card from him!) that didn't end in frustration due to crazy lag in the connection and nothing to talk about when you hadn't talked in a week.  It meant getting through a 12 hour shift without having to call your boss because a ship was deviating from course too much or had sustained some damage from seas you told them not to go into.  (we always told them, they just didn't always listen...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

But today, success is something completely different.  It's having a clean kitchen counter.  A toilet that doesn't have a ring of yucky stuff in it (what is with the water here?!).  It's getting a 30 minute workout AND shower in before Eli wakes up from his nap.

Today's success? Well, we went and had lunch with some great people and Eli fell asleep on the way home (despite me singing up-beat songs to him encouraging him to stay awake).  I successfully pulled my sleeping baby out of his carseat, carried him upstairs and deposited one sleeping baby in his crib with not so much as a peep out of him.  Ahhh, the bliss of silence :)

Success in the kitchen hasn't changed much for me over the years.  So, what is a successful dinner? Well, today it is one that is no fuss and makes you remember not only your Moma but your Nanny; Chicken noodle soup!

Bring a pot of water to a good boil.
Add about a cup of egg noodles to the pot and let them boil for 5-7 minutes.  If you aren't too concerned about salt, add some salt to the water before you cook them to season the noodles a bit. I think they taste fine without it though!
After they are to your liking (careful not to burn your tongue while you test the noodles, you'll need those taste buds later!) drain the water and then return the noodles to the pan. 
Add a can of Cream of Chicken soup and if you want it creamier (who doesn't??) add about a half a can of milk. 
Place this back over low heat and stir in a handfull of frozen peas (mmmmm, tasty little bursts of flavor!) a pinch of black pepper and as much crushed red paper flakes as you like...I was a two shake girl today.

Let this warm through and then dig in! This made about 2 servings (big bowls!)


So, if the kitchen is a disaster, the laundry doesn't get done or I am unable to do anything else today, I will still consider this day a success because I have a sleeping child and a bowl full of memories.