Chicken Rice-A-Roni Casserole

When Jeff and I first got married, I told him, "If I ever cook something you don't like, or that's not good, TELL ME so I don't cook it again, or I can fix what's wrong."  You know that Brad Paisley song that talks about asking for seconds to keep her from tearing up.  Well, I'd rather hear the bad news right then, than cook a meal for the next 30 years and Jeff have to eat it!  Once again, communication is everything.
The Chicken Rice-A-Roni Cassarole passed that "Can I cook it again? Test." Chris(Bro-in-law) ate two plates of it. . . I think we'll be seeing this lovely again!
When I decided to fix this I called mom.  This is a farnham family favorite.  She didn't have the recipe off the top of her head, so I did what any great wifey would do. . . I googled it.  Here's what I got from PlainChicken.com adapted from TastyKitchen.com.

1 box Chicken flavored Rice-A-Roni

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

3-4 cups cooked, chipped chicken

1 6oz can French fried onions

Preheat to 350 F.

 Prepare Rice-A-Roni according to package directions.  Cook chicken.  Add soup, sour cream and chicken to rice.  Stir to combine.  Spray 9x13 dish.  Spread rice mixture into dish.  Top with fried onions(YUM).  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

I had a different size dish, so I adjusted my bake time.  Smaller dish = thicker food = bake longer.

Now you've got 30 minutes to clean up, make sweet tea and, set out salad stuff. . . or take a nap.

I was supposed to photograph a wedding today...

Today I was supposed to photograph a wedding, but I’m not going. I’m not going because it’s a fake.

A month ago I had a groom found me on Wedding Wire and asked me to photograph his wedding on October 20. It was such short notice to book a wedding, I felt sorry for the guy. I slipped into emergency/priority mode and juggled some things around in my schedule to make myself available for their Greenville wedding. This client wasn’t the nicest in the world, but I was willing to overlook his pushiness and rudeness to help him out. He didn’t even send the right amount of money to me. He said his "financial manager" wrote the check for my services AND the band’s services. Too bad my groom was living in London at the time and his financial manager had just left for vacation. I was the only one who could solve the problem. His band wouldn’t even book the date until they had their money. SO I did what any business woman would do, I took care of my client. I took care of him to the point that I deposited his counterfeit check(I didn't know it at was fake) and wired his band the $2,500 they needed to reserve the wedding date. I only realized that this was a scam when it was too late…

How he got me:

1. I had asked many people, including my teller, “when does my check actually clear the bank?” everyone said it’ll clear by the next day. When the check cleared I was confident my client was honest with me so I proceeded with sending his band the money.

WRONG: The funds are available the next day, but that doesn’t mean the check has gone back to the original bank. It took a whole week for the check to show up as a returned item(FAKE) This means I sent the band $2,500 of my own money.

2. He was pushy and rude and always rushing me. I had text messages coming in at 3am in the morning and emails asking me “can I trust you with my money?” Of course you can trust me with your money! I’m an honest person and I would never do anything to compromise my business.

His doubt in me made me want to prove myself as soon as I could. His pushiness made me want to get this situation finalized at any cost, it even made me overlook the warning signs. He was so pushy because he has a very specific timeline of when he can get his money. If my check showed up counterfeit before I sent the money, he’d be at a loss.

3. He had his band contacting me an excessive amount, giving me unreasonable deadlines to get their money to them.

Turns out his band was a fake, it was him all along.

4. Did I mention I was packing up and moving my whole home the day all of this happened. As I was handling this situation, Jeff and I were getting the moving truck and loading all the boxes. I was stressed enough as it was. Once again I did what I needed to do to finalize the situation so I could pack up my home!

5. I was just flat out unaware that this type of scam could happen. It all seemed so real and I hadn’t heard any stories like this before.

Please don’t let this happen to you or people you know. Help them know the warning signs of FRAUD.

1. Someone contacting you over the internet

2. Sending you more money than is required

3. Anything dealing with Western Union or a money transfer. Stop right there.

4. Watch for these signs: rude, pushy, foreign, a quick deadline, “can I trust you?”

5. This person is a stranger, no matter what other details they tell you

6. They resist meeting you or have only called from a blocked number

7. They tend to target young adults and older people

I’ve spoken to many police officers, my Suntrust bank tellers, and Western Union. They were all aware of this fraud stuff. “It happens every day,” they told me. That’s quite disheartening and they said there’s nothing I can do about it now. The police department wouldn’t even take all the evidence I had(emails, phone numbers, etc.) to investigate the case. So really . . . what can I do now? I can provide you with the tools to be aware and avoid being a victim of fraud.

I’ve learned a lot from this situation. Look back at my last blog “The Situation,” I wrote this two days before I was officially scammed. To read more about what I’ve learned go HERE.

Thank you for taking the time to read. Please share this blog or info with your friends and family. Help them know the warning signs. If you know a photographer or wedding vendor, help them become aware of this new trend. Many police officers I talked to were surprised at all the detail that was involved in this scam. They had never heard about this happening to a photographer. Unfortunately, we are a new target for them.

What I've learned...victim of fraud

If you haven't read the post that preceeds this one, place read it here.  Things will make a lot more sense!
I’ve been going through Proverbs each day of October.  Trying to seek wisdom and grow in Knowledge.  The Holy Spirit can use our knowledge and wisdom to speak to us and guide us.  I was very excited about this quest and I knew many great things would come from it.  I didn’t know the lessons I would learn would be so hard and costly, but I understand that God’s reasoning is far more spectacular than mine.

After the scam happened, I felt harassed, helpless, and used.  This person had taken the money I had worked so hard to bring in to support my family.  This equaled the profit of 2-3 weddings for me, and with Jeff as a student THAT’S A LOT FOR US!  The scam officially happened on October 6…which means I should have read Proverbs 6.  Unfortunately due to moving, unpacking, and my emotional disappointment, I didn’t catch up to Proverbs 6 until a day later.

Proverbs 6:1-5 and 12-15 (HCSB)

"My son if you have put up security for your neighbor or entered into an agreement with a stranger, you have been trapped by the words of your lips-ensnared by the words of your mouth.  Do this, then, my son, and free yourself. . . Escape like a gazelle from a hunter, like a bird from a fowler's trap."

" A worthless person, a wicked man, who goes around speaking dishonestly, who winks his eyes, signals with his feet, and gestures with his fingers, who plots evil with perversity in his heart-he stirs up trouble constantly.  Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly; he will be shattered instantly-beyond recovery."

Even though the only thing I can do now is raise awareness about scams, God comforted me.  My prayer for this man is that he has a Damascus Road experience and completely turns from his sinful lifestyle and fully invests his life in Christ.  He messed with a loved daughter of the most high God, so we’ll see what happens.  To God be the glory.

I also learned that I can’t rely on Police or bank tellers to do their job.  I spent a whole day on the phone and in different offices trying to get someone to take action, but they just sent me to the next office.

We’ve got to be aware of what is going on in the world around us.  As disheartening as it is to hear about violence, fraud, and the latest crime trends, we must protect ourselves and know the warning signs.  I got taken, because I was naive about the situation, I had never heard about this type of thing happening to a photographer.  I thought I was being cautious about the check clearing, but I never knew about the available funds not really being available until the check clears the other bank.

God’s timing is the best.  If this scam would have happened any other time we would have had to dig into School Loans to pay rent and buy groceries.  I had just finished up wedding season so, there were actual funds to steal!  We were also moving from a place we had to pay rent into a home where there’s no rent.

The Situation

Here's a late night understanding that happened in the car while trying to run an errand to help a situation that is just plain weird and complicated.

Me:  "God this situation is beyond me and what I can handle."
Holy Spirit: "That's the point.  Give it to me."

It took a second for me to grasp this, but then a calming, sweet peace washed over me.  God is going to do what He needs to do with this situation.  In the end, God will get the glory and in the very end I will get to spend eternity with Him, so whatever works.  I'm going to do my best with the tools God has equipped me with. 

On another note, are you reading Proverbs??  I can't wait to see what God has in store for the rest of the month...and life.

31 in 31

"My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.
Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight, and ask for undersatnding.
Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD,
and you will gain knowledge of God.
For the LORD grants wisdom!
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He grants treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
He gaurds the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.
Then you will understand what is right, just, fair,
and you will find the right way to go.
For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy."
 Proverbs 2:1-10

Originally I had planned to type just the first few verses, but couldn't find a stopping place.  Proverbs is so jam packed with knowledge and wisdom.  As Christians we should thirst for wisdom because that brings us closer to God and allows us to follow his paths.
Here's the game plan.  October has 31 days and Proverbs has 31 chapters.  See, God made it so simple for us.  One chapter a day :)  If you chose to read, don't just read it to be done.  Read it to soak up the knowledge and wisdom.  Look at the comparisons of what a wise man does to what a fool does.  Ask God to give you wisdom each time you pick up His word.

ps. I know it's October 2. . . you better get started : )