Long Lake, WA


i'm back! i've ignored this little place all month. honestly, it's been kind of nice.

it's been a very busy month for us - - vacation, moving alison to college, back-to-school for madison and 2 weeks of training in virginia for lawman.  for me, that has meant lots of organization has been required in order to get everyone where they needed to go, with all that they needed, and in a timely fashion.

shall we get you up to speed? vacation was a week in and near spokane, wa visiting family - - parents & siblings. we loved that we got to spend 4 nights with lawman's sister. she and her family live on long lake. what a beautiful place. lots of good times were had, memories made and plans to get together again.

when we returned home, we had just one week to finish preparing to move alison to college. what a lot of work! a blog friend told me months ago that it would take $500 to get her into her dorm room. she wasn't kidding! thank heavens for coupons for bed bath & beyond. i've become a frequent customer! as a matter of fact, i'll be going there today with alison for what i hope to be one last purchase for dorm decorating items!

alison is happy as a clam with campus life! she went through sorority recruitment and pledged a house. she's got a great roommate and absolutely loves her suitemates; it's as if they've been friends their whole life! and, one of them pledged the same house she did so they will now be sister's forever. the one drawback to college life is that lawman and i have been bleeding money for 2 weeks! someone get a band-aid! for all you moms/dads out there who plan to send kids to college someday, plan early otherwise you will find yourself stressed to the hilt and your student saddled in debt. not good. (that is not the situation we are in; thank heavens!)

madison is back at the high school and so far so good. she's looking forward to football season, which officially begins next friday evening, and performing at half-time with the dance team. they've got some new uniform pieces and hair accessories which are very, very cute! she does miss her sister though. i knew that would be a big adjustment but they've been quite good about keeping in touch via texting! it's great to have such an easy way to keep in touch with the college girl.

lawman is in virginia for 2 weeks for training. what an experience! earthquake early this week and a text from him early this morning said "it's here!," meaning hurriane irene had made her presence. he's currently in lockdown until tomorrow. hope everyone weathers the storm out safely.

as for me, i've been busy just trying to keep all my ducks in a row. i have been sure to allow myself some time in the evening for reading. i so need that.

hope you're all doing well and i'll try to keep this spot a little more current in the coming weeks.

beauty in your every day

Find the beauty in your every day. Do you? It's so easy to put the blinders on and just go, go, go, causing us to miss so much. Today, I paused a moment on the way home. Take a look below.

It's been hot as blue blazes here. Literally. Sunday, just 35 miles east of us the heat index was 120 degrees. Fortunately, here, we were a mere 112. Due to the intense heat, it's not unusual to have a few storms pop-up. That's what happened today. I spotted this on my way home from work. Such a cool sight. Just like a giant mushroom.

Find the beauty in your every day.

Do You Know the Changes I've Seen?

We're 5 weeks into summer here at our place. As much as I love summer and the change of pace, with it comes a few things I could do without.

Extra Laundry ~ specifically beach towels. Between swim team practice, afternoons at the pool and swim meets, it's easy to do at least 3 loads of towels in a week. And yes, they use them more than once.

Food ~ where does it go? My grocery expense goes up but I swear it doesn't last. It seems that the food disappears faster than I can buy it.

Leisure Time ~ it's hard for me to sit down and relax in the evening until late. When it's light outside I feel like I need to be busy. It's a different story in the winter; when it's dark at 5:30, I'm ready to put my pj's on and call it a day.

Menu Planning ~ typically, I love menu planning. It saves me money and headaches. In the summer, I find it hard to do. It's too hot to cook or eat.

I sound like a Negative Nancy, don't I?

January Heat Wave

The calendar says January but our thermometer said it felt more like May. The mercury said it was 73 degrees today. I couldn't stay in the house. I told Madison to call a friend and we were going for a hike.

We went to the Oregon Trail Nature Park and got some exercise, fresh air and plenty of sun.

Sunday Night Special

Tonight's episode of Extreme Home Makeover was filmed about 40 miles west of us. We wanted to watch it, in hopes of possibly seeing some volunteers that we knew. So, I told the crew that we would eat in front of the t.v. tonight; a rarity in this house.



I wanted tonight's meal to be finger foods so it would be easy to eat -- sandwiches, celery sticks and chips with Buffalo Chicken Dip, and orange slices. The dip was a new recipe and definitely a keeper. So good in fact that I may have to make it again next week for SuperBowl.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
1/2 c. shredded cooked chicken (or 1 can of chicken)
1-8oz. pkg. cream cheese
1/2 c. ranch dressing
1/4 to 1/2 c. hot sauce (I used a scant 1/4 c. so it wouldn't be too spicy for the kids)
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Soften cream cheese to room temperature. Mix cream chese, hot sauce and ranch dressing. Spread into an oven proof dish sprayed with cooking spray (I used a shallow pie plate). Layer chicken on top of cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes (check after 20). Serve with a sturdy dipper -- celery sticks, 'scoops' type chips or crackers.

Family Fun Friday

Remember that imposter I told you about? Well, she's still in my house and I'm guessing she won't be leaving anytime soon. I noticed this past week that she doesn't want anything to do with family time. She'd prefer to be on her own, in another room, with a book or a tv. Once-in-a-while I'm ok with that but not every single day. So, I came up with a plan.

I told everyone on Thursday to plan on a family activity Friday evening after we had our standard dinner fare of homemade pizza.

Pizza time came and went and that little imposter thought she could just disappear and we'd never notice. Wrong. I called her back to the kitchen table for our activity. Origami.

Last weekend I found a book about origami at the used bookstore. I thought it might provide some inspiration for projects that we could do together plus I was taken with some of the items photographed in the book.

We are not professional origami-ists so we started with the basics. A pencil or crayon.

Our oldest gal wanted to make a hat.

I wanted to make a container. With the help of the girl with the hat above, we did it. Out of newspaper we made 2 containers, one big, one little, and they'd be perfect for holding popcorn, peanuts in the shell or chips. I think I might have to make several of them and use them to hold some snacks during the SuperBowl next week. You can see it below. It's holding our stash of homemade goodies right behind the wine glass.

Just as we were finishing this little paper folding project, there was a knock at the door. A friend stopped by to have a cocktail with us. It didn't take the imposter 2 seconds to announce, "Family time over." and she split.

Piles, Piles and More Piles

It's nearly the end of the week and I can tell. There are piles all over my house, not all of which are bad. The laundry is done (and now put away). Lawman is the official cheese shredder tonight as he preps dinner. The coinage from the patrol car found its way into the house and into our big change jar. The girls bed & bathrooms are a mess. Ah, but the weekend is close at hand at which time order shall be restored.

There's an Imposter in my House

I wish someone would tell me what happened to my daughter. You know, the sweet 12 year old girl who has lived with me her entire life.

I think there's an imposter living with me instead.

My girl is sweet and loving. Always willing to spend time with me on the couch, read a book, watch a movie and give hugs. I haven't seen that girl in about 2 weeks.

Last night at dinner we tried a new recipe - Brown Rice Patties. Everyone thought they were good except the 12 year old imposter. She said, "Does anyone else in America eat this for dinner?" I reassured her that Heather's family does because I got the recipe from her blog. The imposter would prefer spaghetti or chicken for dinner. I reminded her that we had roast chicken for dinner on Sunday or maybe the imposter missed that meal because my daughter was sitting in her seat. Note: imposter ate two of the brown rice patties.

Later in the evening the imposter was snuggled up in a blanket and reading a book. I got right next to her, put my arm around her and gave her a squeeze plus a kiss on top of her head. She said, "Get out of here."

Again, much later in the evening I approached the imposter. However, I do believe my daughter had reappeared by this time. I asked if she'd like to sit in bed with me and read together. She said, "Sure." Not only did I get to read with her but she also let me blow-dry her hair, a real treat I can assure you.

So now I'm thinking, "Oh, thank the Lord. My daughter is back and that imposter has fled."

Not so. The imposter was back this morning eating breakfast at my counter. Either that or my daughter has turned into a true teenager within the last couple of weeks.

Weekend Recap | Menu Plan Monday

We've had a busy weekend. Packed full of stuff. Friday night high school basketball where all 4 of the high school teams won ** what a difference a couple of days can make in the weather - sunny skies and temps in the mid to upper 40's ** good reading, courtesy of the used bookstore and the public library **

lunch out as a family on Saturday at some place that is not a fast food joint, a real treat for us ** soup supper with our Sunday School class with plenty of good food, including my favorite bean spread on pitas ** lots of laughs while playing Wise & Otherwise **

a first date for B2 (also a first for the mom & dad so it made us a bit nervous too); the boy, a 17 year old who we approve of, came over and talked to Lawman on his own and asked for permission before he asked B2 to go out, how's that for an act of bravery from a teenage boy? ** football playoffs.

And, after a fun-filled weekend, it's time to plan my menu for the coming week. Lawman is recovering quite nicely and is up and around now. I'm hoping that he'll be willing to help with dinners this week, at least on the days I work til 5:00. Just having the prep work done when I get home will make a huge difference.

Sunday - Roast Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Broccoli Salad (I add raisins and sunflower meats)

Monday - Brown Rice Patties (Heather's recipe, see here and here), Applesauce, Salad

Tuesday - Chicken Tacos (taco meat is already cooked and in the freezer) -- soft tortillas, shredded lettuce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, chips & salsa

Wednesday - Surprise birthday party for a friend and they'll be feeding us.

Thursday - Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, garlic bread

Friday - Homemade Pizza

Saturday - Dinner at the annual Chamber of Commerce meeting

Stop by Organizing Junkie for more Menu Plan Monday.

A Word of Wisdom

Last night my girls went to the high school basketball game. I didn't go, but provided the taxi service to and from.

When I picked them up, the first thing out of the eldest's mouth was, "I hate girls. They're so mean."

Without going into details, let me just say that an upper classman made a remark to her friends about something eldest had said. And, she said it loud enough that my girl and her friend heard her.

It's difficult to know what to say at times like this.

I told my daughter something that a very wise woman once said.

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people. Eleanor Roosevelt

The Party's Over

The first weekend of the new year. It's been a grey day here -- fog this morning and then the temperature dropped and the wind blew in.

With this first weekend of 2009 comes a dose of reality. Monday will mean that our family needs to get back into routine. No more late nights of movies or mornings of sleeping til 10:30. (I haven't been sleeping that late! Only the girls.) Their alarm clocks buzzing at 6:30 will be a rude awakening.

These candlesticks belonged to my grandmother, Rachel. They were always some of her favorites. They are usually at home on my kitchen shelves yet today I decided they should be put to use. She would have enjoyed that. Why do we have items in our homes that hold special memories/meanings yet we wait to use them for "special" occassions? Every day is a special occassion. I vow to take a minute or two each day, okay maybe more like a few times a week, to do just a little something extra to make it special; light a candle, pour the syrup or juice into a little pitcher for serving, use the good dishes or put on some soft music while we have dinner.

Speaking of dinner, we had a very yummy one this evening complete with candles burning and music playing. On the menu was Caribbean Jerk Chicken, Orange Rice and salad. It was so tasty. I did have to improvise, again. I didn't have enough soy sauce for the chicken marinade so I did part soy sauce, part teriyaki; not as much rice as the recipe called for so it was part rice, part barley. No one but me knew. Our salad this evening was so refreshing. My body is craving vegetables and fruits. Too many sweets over the holidays. It is possible to get too much of a good thing.

One of my goals for 2009 is healthy eating. This would have been evident if you had seen my grocery cart today. It was full of vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, raw honey, organic sugar and fruit. I took some extra time in the kitchen when I arrived home to do some prep work - cut up cucumbers, green peppers for the coming week and prepared salad for dinner.

I have spent hours pouring over my healthy cookbooks during the past week to find inspiration for new dishes to try. I'll be posting my menu for the upcoming week tomorrow, so you're welcome to stop back by and see what we'll be eating. It's quite possible that I'll be sharing new recipes here frequently over the next few weeks.

Improvising

Last night we spent the evening with friends enjoying dinner, sharing the past year and looking forward to the new.

My contribution to the dinner was dessert. Chocolate fondue. We received a chocolate fountain as a Christmas gift from a family in Germany (their daughter was an exchange student here in 2006 and lived with us). A chocolate fountain is not something that I would have ever purchased for us but thought it would add a fun element to special occasions. Not only did we get the fountain, but they also sent chocolate to use in it. Really good German chocolate.

So dinner is over and I excuse myself from the table to begin the preparations for dessert. It doesn't take me long to realize there is something I forgot to consider.....the electrical plug-in. They don't operate on 110 in Germany like we do. I realized the fountain wasn't going to work. So it would be necessary to improvise.

Improvise I did and it turned out fine. Melt the chocolate, prep the fruit and cake then call everyone into the kitchen to enjoy. Mmmm. Adding a dark melted chocolate to strawberries, pineapple, bananas, pound cake and even marshmallows adds a special element.

Now to today. It's a new day and a new year. B3 had a friend sleepover last night and I promised them I would make waffles for breakfast. A late breakfast. More like a 10:00 brunch. Know what? It's 10:30 as I type this and they're still sound asleep.

Lawman and I enjoyed the breakfast/brunch without them. I realized as I was getting my ingredients out that I was out of flour. Completely out. So again it would be necessary to improvise. So I did. And, since I mentioned here that I wanted to replace refined flours with whole grains, it worked out great. I found an open bag of whole wheat flour and that's what I used. Waffles turned out great. Lawman and I liked them but the real taste test will come when the girls wake up. I'm not going to mention that I used something other than regular flour and see if they even notice.

Here's the waffle recipe.

Grandma's Waffles

• 2 cups flour (whole wheat)
• 1 T sugar (optional)
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 eggs, well beaten
• 2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. butter, melted

Sift dry ingredients together. Combine eggs and milk and slowly add to dry ingredients. Add butter; stir until just blended. Pour onto lightly oiled, hot waffle griddle and cook until golden. Serves 6-8.

With the improvising I've done in the past 24 hours, I'm wondering if that's a sign of things to come during 2009. I would say it's making do with what I have on hand and that's about keeping life simple. As Martha Stewart would say, "That's a good thing."

My Post-Christmas List

Here's a few things I learned this Christmas.

1. Start shopping for gifts before Thanksgiving.
2. It's ok to send Christmas cards out after December 25. Friends & family will still be glad to hear from you.
3. If gifts don't arrive on time via US mail, it's ok. This just extends the celebration.
4. Purchasing gifts for each other (spouse) while shopping together is ok. Just don't wrap your own.
5. If you don't get the homemade rolls made for Christmas dinner, Pillsbury croissants work just fine.
6. After 3 days of being together 24/7 we could all use a little space.
7. When playing board games with a 12 year old there's no reason to read the rules. She already knows them all.
8. Watching hours and hours of movies together is a good way to spend an evening.
9. After spending days in the kitchen preparing food, it's ok to tell the family they are on their own for dinner. I am not cooking -- no way, no how!
10. It's ok to eat more than one slice of pie for dessert. More than once a day.

School's Out

In honor of the first day of Christmas vacation, the girls staged a movie night last night. They moved to the bed at 4am when one of them woke up and realized they had fallen asleep in front of the t.v. Ah, to be young again.

A Moment of Quiet Among the Madness

Lawman and I found a moment of quiet last night. Something that seems difficult to do during the holiday rush.

Christmas carols playing, a glass of wine and enjoying our Kathe Wohlfahrt insence buring snowman we picked up in Germany in 2002.

Discussion of the New Year; healthy eating and new goals.

Today there will be rushing with wrapping and the last of the shopping but that stolen moment of quiet will see me through.

I Love a Good Book

I am a reader and this is the stack of books on my night stand.

There's always a stack. The titles will change but the stack never leaves. Some are books that I have selected, a couple are books that my SIL read and recommended and one was a gift.

Not only do I always have a stack by my bedside but I also read 6 titles a year for the book club that I am a member of. Our selection for this month is Joy in the Morning by Betty Smith. I hate to admit it but I won't have it finished by the time we meet. Tonight. I am enjoying it though and I will finish it.

Not only will we be discussing that book but we will also be selecting the books we will be reading in 2009. We are supposed to bring suggestions. I have a tendency to always have a running list of books that I want to read and it's quite lengthy. I'll be considerate and limit my list. Here are my top suggestions.

• Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
• The Alchemist by Paul Coelho
• The Shack by William P. Young (I've read this one.)

Have you read any of these? Are there others you would recommend?

Visions of Sugar Plums

Our family had never made a gingerbread house and I thought it would be a great Sunday evening family activity.

What was I thinking?

All week I had asked the girls to please leave Sunday evening open for a family Christmas activity.

By 6pm I had everyone assembled in the kitchen with gingerbread, frosting and decorating materials laid out. Oh this was going to be such fun!

Suddenly my bubble burst.

Just listen to the comments that were made (by 15 and 12 year old daughters) and you'll know why.

Can we just do this already?

This is dumb. Why do we have to decorate a gingerbread house?

What's the purpose of this thing anyway?

I'm starving. What's for dinner? I forgot to eat lunch.

Who invented the gingerbread house? They must have had NOTHING to do.

I'd rather watch a movie.

Can't you and Dad just do this?

Ok, so it wasn't all visions of sugar plums like I had hoped but I'm sure that in about 10 years they'll look back on this and laugh. They'll probably feel guilty that they didn't humor their mother and decorate the dumb gingerbread house.

Lawman and I had fun with it. And maybe we'll laugh at the memory in 10 years too.

Changing My Attitude

As the Thanksgiving holiday is fast approaching, I've been giving much thought to what I am thankful for.

When I take the time to actually think about this, my list is long. However, I find that as I go through my day, I don't always have an attitude of thankfulness.

I get frustrated. With things that don't even matter.

no parking place

waiting in line

crazy drivers

not getting a return phone call

children not doing what they are asked (the first time)

not as much fun money left in the budget as I would like

etc.

In reviewing that brief list above, it's pretty obvious that in the grand scheme of things, none of the items on my list matter. At all.

So, if they don't matter, why do I expend the effort to be frustrated by them?

I've challenged myself to make a conscious effort to have an attitude of thankfulness for the remainder of the month and to thank my Maker for the bounty He provides. I always remember to thank Him for the BIG things but there are many little things I fail to give thanks for and maybe that's because I take them for granted.

Starting today, I'm going to find something to be thankful for each and every day. They may be big, they may be small, but either way I am going to give thanks.

It has been said that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. I'm already behind for the month but I'm willing to start now and maybe, just maybe by early December my new attitude will be habit. Will you join me? Or at least hold me accountable.

The Economics of Pizza

It was one of those days. You know the kind....long day at work, brain is fried by 5:00 and you arrive home with no energy yet everyone wants dinner. Not only that but it was a gray and wet day which does not afford oneself to large energy reserves.

My drive home was filled with contemplation. Do I go home and make dinner or order out? It turns out that what I had on today's menu wouldn't work because I didn't have all the ingredients and I did not want a last-minutetrip to the grocery store. What could I make?

I remembered that I had a box of Jiffy Pizza Crust Mix in the pantry and I knew I had some pepperoni in the freezer. Maybe I could make pizza rather than order out...

Yep.

I arrived at home and immediately donned my apron. Time to mix pizza crust - 2 minutes; Pull other ingredients from pantry, fridge & freezer and let dough set - 5 minutes; pre-bake crust - 4 minutes; add toppings & bake - 20 minutes. In just over 30 minutes I had a fresh baked from the oven pizza for my family. Same amount of time I would have waited for the delivery guy to show up at my front door.

My pizza saved me some cash -- pizza cost $3.10 to make; theirs would have been at least $20 plus tip. For less than $6.00 I had pizza, sides (veggies, sliced peaches) and dessert (chocolate pudding).

Oh yeah. I win. Shake your booty. Shake your apron. (Say it like a cheer!)

And the girls were thrilled to have pizza.

The Grinch of Halloween

I was in costume yesterday. Something similar to the Grinch. Or maybe it was the Wicked Witch. Or the Hulk.

B2 has a costume party to attend on Halloween night. Of course she needs a costume. And of course, nothing that we could "create" at home will do.

Let me just say that I hate Halloween costumes for 15 year old girls. Why is it not ok to be CUTE at that age? Why does everything for teenagers have to be sexy? And why do teenage girls (one in particular) see nothing wrong with spending $60 on a one-time outfit that isn’t even NORMAL clothes?

I had a major headache and a foul mood to match it by the time we got home from shopping yesterday. I did not behave well. Just ask B2. I was the Grinch, the Wicked Witch and the Hulk all rolled into one. What girl wouldn't be thrilled to have such a mother?

Thank heavens for small favors. B3 wanted to be a nurse. We borrowed her costume from our friend, Dina, who is a real nurse.

If there had been a bottle of wine in my house when I got home yesterday, I would have drank it all. Again, thank heavens for favors or I would have had a headache this morning.

And if you're wondering, it was not my $60 which purchased a cute sailor outfit.