January Reflections: Fun

I grew up on the West Coast and saw the ocean almost every day. Whether it was driving to college in Seattle, or looking out my parent's kitchen window. The ocean was part of life.

Oh, how I loved it! So peaceful and serene...so uplifting and exhilarating.

After I got married, God directed our paths away from the shore, via the United States Army, and moved us inland to reside in various landlocked states. We lived quite happily; content and thankful for dry land too. Then, this summer, we were transferred back to the coast. The East Coast this time, but still the coast. And the ocean lover in me jumped for joy.




I say all this in order to share some of the best "fun" memories of the year (after being prompted by Corrin at The Glorious Impossible); memories of visiting the beach and feeling sand beneath my toes.

Though I spent 20 something years in the Pacific Northwest and that area will always hold a special place in my heart, let me tell you: rocky, stony covered beaches are SO OLD. We have sand out here! Sand, people!! Real sand! Real slip-between-my-toes, fit-into-every-crevice, give-me-a-natural-pedicure sand. Beautiful. Glorious. Sand. 

To save face, the beaches out here are really just different. Not more beautiful or peaceful, just different, each holding a loveliness all of it's own.

It's especially fun to think of those days at beach, when the weather is below freezing and there is still snow on the ground. I could go for a little sun and sand right now.

Instead I'll go enjoy an unmentionable cocktail with a beachy theme.

Thankful Thursday: Brotherly Love

My dear little boys seem to love each other more every day. Their faces light up in each other's presence. Joyful greetings are shouted, whether coded in baby babble, or clear 4 year old speech. Smiles spread across their mouths and laughter echos through the house. I'm so thankful for moments like these ones.

Sure, there are times of fighting, crying, arguing... sometimes more than I'd care to admit. Our sinful natures are present from the get-go, and even the young ones struggle to put themselves and their desires first.

My prayer then, for my children, as well as for myself is that we would learn to imitate Christ and the wondrous love He displayed for sinners like us. I'm so thankful for Christ's completed work on the cross, and for the perfect example of brotherly love.

1 Peter 4:8, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins."

John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."



Wordless Wednesday: Self Timer Masterpieces

Wordless Wednesday: my hubby, me and my camera

Aren't these fun? Oh, I just love the self timer button on my camera!

Linked with Wordless Wednesday's across the board

Snow

Living in the South is enjoyable on so many levels. But I think the snow is maybe the best so far.

Why?

Because snow in the South means the city shuts down, the Army base closes, and we get a free day, a snow day, a stay at home and drink hot cocoa day.

And I love it.

And this seems to happen regardless of the amount of snow... 2 inches or 10 inches... or like this morning where nearly everything shut down before the snow even started falling.

See why I love the South?

January Reflections: Homemade

Two thousand ten was a year of homemade goodness in our house. While I have almost always made things from scratch, from pizza crust to vegetable soup, this past year I really stepped it up a notch.
Why in 2010? Because in 2010 we had cable for the first time and I developed an addiction for the Food Network. Sad, but true.

Or maybe not so sad, when you consider that watching people cook while I did the household chores, paid bills, and nursed babies whet my appetite (haha) and helped me discover a hidden love for food and cooking.

Well... I've always loved food, but now I love it with new measure. Aged cheese, fresh herbs, well trimmed meats... and then cooked up in my own kitchen...oh boy, music to my ears. And stomach. I'd call myself a foodie, but then I'd run the risk of sounding like a food snob.

Which I'm not. Not completely anyway.

While I love dabbling with new ingredients and creating gourmet meals, practicality keeps me from going to Snooty-ville. As much as I'd prefer to proudly purchase high end ingredients, my pocketbook demands that I make the best foods possible for the lowest prices possible. Not as easy as it sounds, but I do my best. It's a challenge I enjoy... though I frequently dream outloud to my husband of the day I can buy blocks of aged pecorino romano and freshly butchered lamb chops.

For now, it's pork chops and cheddar.


Anyway...


One thing I started making fom scratch this year was a good basic roux. I have found this to be an amazingly delicious way to thicken soups, make cream sauces, and even rev up a regular old casserole. It is the perfect alternative when you're tempted to use the "cream of" canned soups, and so much more delectable and creamy when you've made it from scratch.

Another food that's been consistently homemade this year is granola. Trial and error, as well as tips from Dolly's and Emily's recipes, I've come up with our family's favorite granola. Even the boys ask for it every morning instead of cereal. I suppose I should write it down for you, but I'm not sure if I can remember it. Now that I'm a whiz in the kitchen (wink wink) and know my ingredients, it's often just a mix of what we have in the house.

But here goes:

Homemade Granola

• 4 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• 2 cups Quick Oats (this is just to add different textures in the granola)
• 3/4 cup Coconut
• 1/2 cup Chopped walnuts (or sliced almonds)
• 1/4 cup Brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Mix together in a bowl. Then on the stove top melt together

• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tbls Butter
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1/4 cup Jam or Maple Syrup (which ever I have in the house, I've also substituted with orange marmalade or boysenberry syrup)

Once butter is melted, add

• 1Tbls Vanilla or Almond Extract

Combine dry and wet ingredients together till well mixed. Smooth out on two cookie sheets and bake at 300 for 20 minutes, stirring after half way though.

 
 
Linked with January Reflections at The Glorious Impossible