FloridaNative

About Me

~~~~~AN IRISH PRAYER~~~~~
May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.
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My name is Kitty, and I'm a native Floridian, wife to Greg and mother of two children (Steven 24 and Rachel 12 years old) and 5 fur-babies, Apache our Aussie, and all the kitties -- MiaMariaBonita (Mia) and Berger, and our newest additions, Skittles (Skitty) and Rubin (Rube), who we rescued from being homeless!  I work for a large energy company in Orlando, in the renewable energy field, where I've worked for the last 17 years.


Many of the recipes I've posted are my mom's or mine, with some from my favorite cookbooks or friends. The ones that say "Mimi" in the title - those are from my mom, and I have more of her recipes to go through and post. I am also in the process of posting recipe 'snippets' from magazines that I have had for years, just to have a safe place for them - this is making DH happy, as I am getting rid of 'old papers' in the process. It's hard keeping track of all those small pieces of paper plus they seem to multiply exponentially on their own.

Just to let you know too, I rarely get to send each individual who tries and rates one of my recipes a personal zmail. So I'll say it here, " Thanks so much for trying my recipe, and I'm glad you enjoyed it." If you didn't enjoy it too much :(  offering suggestions or other comments are welcome too, both for me and other chefs who might be thinking of trying that recipe. But, remember to be nice. We're all in this together !! :)

I LOVE playing the cooking tag games on Zaar, and I'm finding my new favorites are on the Diabetic Forum ~ healthy diabetic meals and lots of fun with the chefs on Zaar.

I previously co-hostessed for the Spring 2010 Pick-A-Chef (PAC) event ~ if you ever want a real challenge, host this event LOL ~ it will keep you on your toes!

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MY PERSONAL INTERESTS:
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I love the Lord Jesus Christ, my church and having church luncheons once a month!

I enjoy spending time with my family & friends.

I enjoy going to the beach, kickboxing, gardening, quilting & cross-stitch (when I have extra time), watching movies, cooking and hanging around in the kitchen.

I love to read ~ Christian fiction and inspirational books, historical fiction, and good old murder mysteries. I enjoy my cooking magazines, EatingWell and The Food Network ~ I love to look through these each month and try new recipes. I have been a 20-year subscriber to Southern Living Magazine (doesn't every southern girl get this?)

Our family spends a lot of time together so that leaves lots of opportunities for new adventures, especially in the kitchen. I really enjoy Zaar for that reason ~ finding new recipes and trying new things together is fun for all of us. My daughter says she wants me to teach her how to cook...if she only knew...but she got her 1st very own cookbook last year for Christmas, and we're working together in the kitchen. She has become a Zaar member (jillyray) and has posted a couple of her own recipes.

I also 'collect' stuff (much to my DH's despair -- hehe) - I especially like 'old' things, and have collections of pewter, transfer ware, and Depression glass. My active collecting today is hobnail milk glass items ~ they take me back to when I was a kid, and adding to a huge collection of shot glasses from around the world ~ I started with these in the early '80s. I love all things Celtic as I am half-Irish (the temper part) and DH is Irish/Scots, so I pick up things that catch my eye.

I've recently started collected cookbooks from the beaches ~ any beach I visit, I try to find a cookbook. This happened because I bought a beach cookbook for a swap partner in the Cookbook Swap and fell in love with it ~ it almost missed being packed and shipped to my partner LOL.

My favorite colors are cobalt blue, seafoam green and aqua - colors of the ocean.

I would love to visit Israel one day to see the land my Lord loves, and I dream of leaving the 'corporate' world and becoming my own boss in a business that leaves more time for family AND me! I'm thinking a catering company or a small restaurant...

I have a "servant's heart", and I like to make large meals for family and friends and just enjoy everybody while they enjoy the food. I like to make special treats and give them as gifts to friends and others who have blessed me with their attitude or small favors. I really enjoy giving to others.

I also have a 'tender' heart - I cry at TV commercials :) and I seem to have passed this on to my daughter. DH laughs at us...

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WORDS OF WISDOM that make me smile:
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"For God SO loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." ~ John 3:16

"People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone." ~ Audrey Hepburn

"We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same." ~ Carlos Castaneda

A BUMPER STICKER: "Destined to be an old woman with no regrets."

"Because NICE matters"

"If you can't pronounce it, DON'T put it in your mouth." ~ FloridaNative

"Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations." ~ Faith Baldwin

"Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way" ~ Native American saying

"May you always be overwhelmed by the Grace of God rather than by the cares of life." ~ Unknown

"Nature doesn't adjust to your skill level" ~ Unknown

"Don't carry a grudge. While you're carrying a grudge, the other guy's out dancing." ~ Buddy Hackett

"You'll never regret the angry words you do not speak" ~ Unknown
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2009 SWAPS:
Swaps: the 2009 Calendar Girls Swap, the 3rd Annual Basket of Herbs & Spices Swap, the H&I Swap, the Honey Swap, the J&K Swap, the 3rd Annual Garden Swap, the Cookbook Swap, the Annual Holiday Ornament Swap.

2009 WONDERFUL SWAP PARTNERS: Breezytoo, Lynne the Pirate Queen, & Lynne the Pirate Queen (2nd time!), **Tinkerbell**, NELady, Acadia, HokiesLady, UT Theta Chef. 

2010 SWAPS:
Swaps: the Coffee Mug Swap, the Coffee & Tea Swap, the Reusable Shopping Bag Swap (such a cute idea)..., the 4th Annual Used Media Swap, the Apron Swap, the 2010 Calendar Swap, the 2010 Secret Santa Swap.

2010 WONDERFUL SWAP PARTNERS: The_Swedish_Chef, 4-H Mom, DoryP, TLu, DeniseBC, Chef1MOM!Connie, Diana #2 & Celestial Shannon (SS)

2011 SWAPS:  The 2011 Herb & Spice Swap

2011 WONDERFUL SWAP PARTNERS:  hobbgal