2014

Today seems like a good time to update. Through 2014 there have been many big changes in lifestyle, attitude and location.

After 5 years and 9 months of renting an apartment in Bloomington we FINALLY bought a house!

It was a short, and mostly pain-free, process this time. The Lord knew what I needed to do to manage my fear of the mortgage process long before we even started. Were there doubts? Yes of course. We looked at so many houses and thought we knew what we wanted. The house we chose is the perfect one for us.

It's taken no time at all to feel comfortable. Officially we moved in Oct 15.

The oldest has moved to his first apartment and seems to be doing okay. The youngest is with us for now. Again, a year with a lot of changes.

Thinking back over the past 9-1/2 months, we've weathered some storms... some weather-related, some not. And I don't think I regret how the storms have shaped me. I wouldn't have asked for most of them (ok, maybe I wouldn't mind repeating the big snow storms of January & February).

For the past few years I have coasted through my spiritual faith. Sometimes it was even a conscious choice. I did notice when I didn't go to church... usually terrible weeks at work and home. I noticed when I did actively seek God. One of the things I was able to do this year, as I began to give up my fears, is begin to sing through my anxiety, especially at night. Of course in the middle of the night it was silent singing so as not to disturb Mike or the neighbors. And I noticed that it helped more and more. As I focused on the word I sang, my ability to focus on my journey with Jesus increased, as did my desire.

So this is a post of thankfulness along the journey of life.

Sunny Saturday

A slow Saturday morning with a few things to do. It's Father's Day weekend so I will treat my hubby special, and call my dad tomorrow. Many things are different in the past year, but still many the same. I have joined Twitter and Pintrest... but still standing on the sidelines of both. Seth still lives at home. Brandon is in the last year of his countdown to be 18 and depart from us.Twelve years working for the same company for me; four years for Mike. Seth bought a car last fall, and Brandon also obtained his license.

Visited Phoenix, Arizona earlier this spring with my mom. Just a girls weekend with no special agenda except spending time together. It was wonderful. The only difficult time for me was the flying. The older I get the more worried I am about weird things... air travel, heights... But I have another trip planned for later this year. I need to get saving for Mike to have a ticket to visit his siblings. Wonder if I could surprise him with saving enough money? It's worth a try...

Random Thoughts

I am sitting in my cube on a Sunday afternoon that is rapidly becoming evning. Why?  Because I have an exam to pass in a few days, and reading at home is difficult.  Turns out reading here is also fraught with the Peril of Distractions. Actually I have studied some. Not enought yet though.

I have an irrational fear. It's almost a phobia. It's extremely embarassing to admit. But I faced it and though it took about 2 hours longer than it should have, I finally have submitted the mortgage application that I planned to do about two weeks ago. I cannot express in words the fear that this process produces in me. Multiple episodes of tears, panic attacks, shame, significant avoidance of anything related to it. I would rather lick a toilet bowl than work on the application to be preapproved for a mortgage. Well, maybe not. But sometimes it feels like the bathroom would be a better option. Why am I afraid?  It is a personal rejection if they say no? No... nothing personal about it.. fit the criteria and you are offered $, or don't fit and continue to rent. I have no idea what will come of this application.  Last time we did this I was convinced that we could not possibly qualify, and we did... but that was in 2004.

Ok, back to my reality... this horribly dry textbook about Property and Liability Insurance. Chapter 7 look out!

Graduation Day

Well it was Graduation Day a week ago. Seth has a high school diploma. So many emotions... memories... angst... frustration... smiles... hot weather... laughter... food and more food. Pictures soon

Apartments & Appliances

MBM - Click here to find out what this is.

This is my first Memorial Box post, although I can think of several times in my life where God arranged specific circumstances in specific places for his glory.  This particular instance happened on Dec. 17 or 18, 2011. We live in a good sized apartment with a full size refrigerator. We've lived here since Jan. 2009, and generally it's a pretty good place to live.

That Saturday and Sunday I was really busy doing "stuff."  Mostly pre-Christmas stuff.. shopping, etc. For whatever reason I didn't cook on Saturday or Sunday. Sunday evening I thought about it but the thought of fixing a big meal wasn't very appealing since I was prepping for Christmas Eve & Day... which is usually just fine with my teenage boys. They are good scavengers and there was a lot of random food available.

Monday morning Mike opens the freezer for some sausage for breakfast and said "The freezer is broken. Everything is thawed." Ugh... not what you want to hear on a frantic Monday morning at 5:45am. We both realize that the fridge has been running nonstop for most of the weekend. There is still a bit of coolness in the freezer & fridge so not too worried.

He calls the landlord company after they open, and they send someone right over. The maintenance guy takes a 2 minute look at the back of the fridge and says, "Oh, it's just the thermostat pooped out. I can install another one in a jiffy." Which he does.. and tells Mike it will take several hours for everything to cool back down to normal temps.

Fast forward to Monday night... I get home from work and the fridge is still running. It seems marginally cool-ish, but in the interest of not losing all the food I have Mike pick up a cooler and some ice on his way home... just in case. I was also thinking this would lessen the burden on the poor old fridge.. so it could cool down quicker.  I cooked a bunch of the meat and repackaged it with a slight change of plans. I should mention that both freezer and fridge were PACKED with food for the holidays & the boys time off school AND my parents had visited earlier in December and had brought Pacific halibut and cod that my dad caught... about 30 lbs. of fish. I thank God for the quick resolution to this whole giant problem. Whew!  Drama and nightmare avoided!

NOT!
Tuesday morning... cue the loud drum/horn music indicating doom and destruction. Nothing is cold and even the partially frozen stuff still in the freezer is completely thawed. Double Ugh...  I call the landlord from work and leave a message.  No call back. I call again around lunch time. The girl tells me "Oh, we thought that was a leftover message from yesterday about your refrigerator." I say no... its still a problem and now everything is warm and ruined.  (Keep in mind this is Tuesday, Dec. 20... just a few days from Christmas... when my cooking and baking efforts start ramping up... and it is 2 more days until payday.)

She says they will try to have someone come that afternoon. I get home around 5:00 and still no one has been by to check in.  I call the landlord's office again. "Oh my" she says, "I'm sure he will come first thing in the morning."  The maintenance guy comes around 5:30 and declares that the fridge has died a slow death and we will have to get a replacement.... maybe on Wednesday.

I start bargaining with God... shouldn't we just go get one of our old refrigerators from the storage unit and plug it in? Isn't there a vacant apartment where we could store something? Couldn't a cold front blow in tonight and we could set things outside to keep cold? It is December in Illinois after all.  Nope, nope and nope. Of course the whole idea of salvaging any of the food was ridiculous... grasping at straws I guess.

Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 they arrive with a new refrigerator. It's lovely, brand new from Sears. It's even a little larger than the old one. It even is noticably cold within a couple of hours! Awesome!!  but we have nothing left to put in it and no money to go to the store with. Now... don't get me wrong... We had plenty of cereal, crackers, bread, tuna, etc. etc. that could have been made into a meal. My whiny heart just didn't want to deal with it.

I was chatting on Facebook with my brother, and then he quit responding.  It was time for me to leave to pick up Mike from work so I signed off and gathered up my stuff and headed out the door. My phone rang and my brother's voice said, "Are you close to Hwy 150?"  "Um.. yeah, why?"  "Well how close?"  "Pretty close.. Why?"  "Ok, is that South Main Street?"   "Yeah, I think so."  "Ok sis, head that direction."

I follow my brother's directions and he says "Find the BP gas station."  I say, "David, I don't need gas... just a listening ear while I vent all this frustration away."  "No really, go the BP station on Main Street."  (I know it well... it's just in front of our storage unit.)   "Ok, does it have a Western Union sign?"  "y.e.a.h.... ? "   Ok, well there's a gift for you inside.  Go out to dinner tonight, go to the movies, or even the grocery store if you want... just go spend it.  Call me later when you get the money since I've never done this before and I'll tell you more of the story."  Click.

Ok... I walk inside and go to the counter. I say to the man, I am supposed to receive Western Union money but I've never done this before.  He just stared at me and said  Come back tomorrow. I am new and don't know how to give the money.  Hmmm ok God... what does THAT mean??

I walk back out to the car... Well I really should be getting over to pick up Mike from work... I'll figure it out as I go.  I dial 411 and ask for another Western Union location, which connects me with their customer service info. I ask some questions and find out I can go to any of their locations. They give me a couple of addresses which are on the way.  I stop at Kroger and go to their counter... but there is a sign saying they are on a 30 minute break.

Hmm next address is Kmart. Do I really want to go to Kmart two days before Christmas? I've got 20 minutes before Mike gets off work so I decide to see how long the line is.  Wow.. only 1 person in line. I get to the counter and tell my tale. Ok, fill out this form... done... cash! The customer service man at Kmart was so pleasant, harried due to the season and yet wanted to make sure everything was done correctly and showing another co-worker how the process worked.  Wow... talk about humbling. The amount was so generous. Walking back out to the car I felt like a troll and a frog... or a frog troll. I had been so focused on myself and my situation, negativity abounding.
I race to pick up Mike (late now) but can't wait to share the whole story! Yippee!!  Ketchup, milk, eggs, cheese.

Fast forward to Tuesday, Dec. 27th.  I had carefully shopped and saved all the receipts in hopes of getting some sort of reimbursement from our landlord company. $383 and change. Some of it wasn't replaceable, like the fish. It's out of season and like $26 per pound. I called and he offered half of the cost, applied to our January rent. That seemed reasonable-ish... but I now focused on things outside myself. I thanked him for the help and offered to fax the receipts for verification.  (I still have them in my purse 6 weeks later!)

I have to say that I work for a large national insurance company, in their home office. And my cubicle is about 50 feet from the Claims dept. I know a few people over there because we share copiers and printers. I ran into Lori and normal chit-chat... how was your Christmas, etc. I mentioned the frantic last minute grocery shopping and the short version of the fridge death. She asked how the process of the claim was going.. assuming that I had done that. "Oh, we have renters insurance but our deductible is high on purpose.. too much hassle for $300."  Her eyes just about popped out and she said, "You have to call that in right now! It's a non-chargable non-deductible claim."   I explained that we had been partially reimbursed from the landlord anyway so wasn't going to take advantage.  Oh no, she says... this is what your insurance is for. What???  I reluctantly call in the claim, and within 40 minutes I had a check in my hand.  Oh my...  God's provision is so abundant and overflowing. I still can't believe it happened... and it's only been 6 weeks!  Wow...

The fridge works fabulously... shiny, clean, full of everything we like.

Oh.. and the story of how my brother's family was blessed to have more money than they expected is for another day.

Thankfulness

An earlier post about the forced gratitude, but this one is about the things I really am thankful for.

My husband. We've been together 11 years now and I think we know 95% of what there is to know about each other. (I had to leave the other 5% open since there is always something to learn :).  He really tries to understand me and tries so hard to make my life easier. We often have different timeframes of when household things should get done and differing opinions on parenting techniques. But none of those are deal-breakers. He believes in me and encourages me to find outside interests. We both love books and sitting on the porch reading, or laying in bed reading, or finding a new used bookstore... always high on our lists of things to do together. We don't often read the same books, but just the act of being together in a similar task is relaxing in itself. He's honest with me when I want honesty, and is willing to gloss over difficult subjects when it's called for. He is not perfect and we do have disagreements. I do the same complaining as others do. Love covers many annoyances.

My sons. One from my body, and one by choice. They are as unique as two snowflakes, and are at a stage where their maturing toward adulthood is more apparent. And yet even on days where one or both are difficult to like, I see seeds of promise in each of them as men. The oldest is mine by blood. In him I see reflections of many men in his family lines. He is quick to smile, usually slow to anger, not very competitive, likes to make life easier for mom (which always gains points!). He ambles through life without many goals. He's physically strong and generally a marshmallow. He freely gives hugs. My younger son is not of my flesh, and yet our personalities are so similar. He wants to control his own life without interference and be independent. When he turned 11 he really thought he had arrived and that he could now start being in charge of himself. (He was sorely mistaken.) He chafes against being underage for anything. He is fearless and will challenge any authority that he thinks is wrong. He is competitive about everything. He has a contradictory statement for anything... abrasive. And he loves little kids. He was a great mother's helper for his aunt and younger cousins a few years ago. As a high schooler he has babysat at adult parties and will play and play with little ones and believes he's having a great time. He hates that he has a second cousin who just turned 2 that we haven't met in person yet.. and can't wait to hang out with him. Right now he doesn't want children of his own, but I believe that he will be a good daddy someday... a LONG time from now!

To be continued at a later date...

Christmas 2011

Welcome to those who have stopped by for the first time. So happy about Christmas time. Trying to drink in the moments of family today. Just the four of us.

So there it is.. the fake tree. I grew up always having a tree we cut as a family event, that my parents would leave up for weeks and weeks, and then finally we would have a burning party. Decorating the tree was an event with my mom.. pulling out each ornament, one at a time for my brother and I to place. I still have a lot of my childhood ornaments. I remember my dad with some version of saw... cutting off a few branches at a time to put in the fireplace until only the trunk was left and could be put in the garbage. I was well into adulthood before I saw how dangerous it is!

Now we have an artificial tree. (Artificial seems like the PC term.) Doesn't have an odor of freshness, but is convenient. The heavier ornaments are secure. No one has to remember to water it or worry that it gets too warm. No one has to vacuum around presents to keep it looking nice. No pets this year means no monitoring the lower branches for slobber or missing items.

I expected this week to be relaxed and quiet. Work was that way... Home was not exactly what I planned. But no matter the circumstances, we are here at home. We have all the things we need (and probably several that we want under the tree). . The sun is even shining. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Gratitude

November is full of reminders to be thankful/grateful and it almost seems overdone to me. I'm blessed to have a family, a home, 2 working vehicles, good health, a good job , food in the cupboard and friends who care about me. So why does the canned Thanksgiving thankfulness irritate me this year?  I think it's kind of like Valentine's Day.

Don't get me wrong, I love hearts, romantic dinners with Mike and mushy greeting cards. But it's the idea that one particular day (or month of November) is the time to remember it all. This year "thankfulness" seems to be in my face on Facebook and other blogs. It's that moment of guilt that says "Oh, I should be doing that and publicly thankful for that too". My heels just want to dig in and say NO!

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving Day. It will be just the boys and me. Mike will be working a shift that is not conducive to having a big sit-down feast. I'm looking forward to making their favorite foods, the smell of roasting turkey and stuffing, and the to eating until WE are stuffed.

I am thankful for Mike, Seth and Brandon... because each brings something to my life that I could not get anywhere else. God knew that I needed each of them to make my life complete.  Thank you Father, for the gifts you have given me. And when I seem ungrateful, please give me that poke in my brain to remember what I have been given.

Autumn

Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year... I guess it's the transition to something new. Strange to see myself liking the transition since I often don't handle change well. I am enjoying the cool mornings and comfortable afternoons. The colorful trees and brown corn stalks.

This is my wallpaper at work.

Although the more I look at it, it looks like a trail I wouldn't really take unless I knew where it led. Too much chance of spider webs to the face... and maybe something scary that could jump out at me.

Midwest sunsets are a thing of beauty. Spectacular a couple of evenings ago, but couldn't get my camera out quickly enough.

10 Year Milestone

Our 10th wedding anniversary was May 27, 2011. We didn't really do anything too exciting... pizza with the boys. It's the milestone that makes me happy. The boys were 5 and 8 when we got married. Now they're both taller than me. I think Seth is about 5' 10" and Brandon about 5'8". Seth probably has a few more inches in him since his grandpa, uncle and dad all grew after they were out of high school. I'm just glad his feet stopped growing! Brandon keeps stretching and stretching physically... the sky is the limit I guess. He has an uncle who is about 6'4" and a cousin who is 6'5".

Five years ago we couldn't have imagined moving 2300 miles away from everything familiar. Now we're hear and settled. Shortly after getting married we got a dog, and then had multiple pets until just a few months ago... very strange to be pet-free.

Ten years ago I was pretty healthy and Mike was strong and muscled from a physical job. LOL It seems so long ago now. I cherish the pictures of our early months. The picture below was taken by our neighbor, and then she gave it to us when she found out we were moving. Note that Brandon is standing on his tiptoes to seem a little taller.

We had only been married a few months when the morning of 9/11/01 became infamous. Seeing all the news coverage this month has got me thinking more & more about how things changes, and yet how they stay the same. Not sure if I'm ready to think about how the next 10 years will change for us. The most obvious is that the boys will move out and be on their own and Mike and I will have a quiet, boring life. Ha!

Hmm how did I make it through the summer without posting?

We didn't vacation during the summer. The tall one got a job that lasted a month, and then spent the days lounging.  The slightly shorter one spent as much time at the homes of his friends as possible. He came home to shower & change clothes about twice per week, and to try to get in some driving time now and then. All is well health-wise. Mike got a bit of a promotion at work in late August so that's been nice.

We have been living with road construction about 50 yards from our apartment. Literaly construction of a new road. And with construction comes the death of the swamp and then the invasion of various horrible insects.  The ants have been the most persistent. We have spent the entire summer battling various sizes & colors of ants. They like the poison so we keep putting it out. Theoretically the bulk of the construction on our street will be done by December... not holding my breath for that.. but it would be nice. Today they poured a new driveway for our parking lot. Would have been helpful if they had used any extra cement to fill the hold in the middle of our parking lot, but of course the landlord corporation would have had to pay for it.

In August we decided to shake things up a bit and rearranged furniture. Partly this was in hopes of getting rid of more bugs & ants. It did help, but we did such a good job of moving things around, we are still putting away... a bit more every day. I have thrown away so much junk! There is something so freeing in realizing that you have no need for paper piles.

I did realize at some point that I really haven't prayed much in a long time. Not really a reason for this, but I confess that it did take me a long time to realize that I missed it. I am working on being thankful and praying for my boys.

Fish

From http://www.recipe.com/, they credit Family Circle magazine.
Forgot to take my own picture so here is the website version.

18 Ritz crackers
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
4 tilapia filets (about 1-1/2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Oven at 425. Crush crackers in a zipper sandwich bag, then add basil, Parmesan cheese and olive oil. Zip the bag shut and smoosh everything together.

Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray and place filets on it. Brush a thin layer of Dijon on each filet, then press a handful of cracker mix on each filet. Bake 12-15 minutes. Check fish with a fork to see it the thickest parts are flaky - and it's Done!

We've had this twice to rave reviews. Most of my guys don't care for Dijon mustard at all, but they don't mind the little bit in this recipe. I didn't use salt, but substituted some lemon pepper sprinkled between the Dijon and the cracker mix.

The interesting thing is that the mustard must do something to the fishy smell that you normally would have. There is ZERO smell, and of course clean up is easy. I plan to try this on halibut and trout.

April Drama

Usually I love April... It's officially spring and even though there is usually a lot of rainy days, there are peeks of sun that keep getting more frequent. Except this year...

It's been a busy month. Let's see, starting April 4th, Mike started a round of doctor appointments that hasn't ended yet. In fact each appointment seems to spawn 2-3 more! Being insulin-dependent for 40+ years does take a toll and we knew this time would come eventually... but knowing that in the back of your head doesn't do justice to hearing the doctor say "Hmm.. we need to explore..." this or that possibility.

In January Mike had 2 doctors... a general primary care doc and an endocrinologist. Now he has at least 7! Now - I am NOT complaining - actually just the opposite. I want him to be healthy and to be with me a very long time.

So.. here it goes. Back on February 1st Mike's PCP (primary care physician) recommended having an updatd echocardiogram to see how his heart murmur was doing. No big deal, happens every few years. But, due to an impending blizzard, they wanted to do it ASAP - meaning that same day. As always, nothing remarkable is said during the test.

Winter continues. 5 weeks go by and Mike goes back for the next appointment. Dr. PCP says "When is your appointment with cardiology? I don't see it in the system." Mike says, "Don't know what you're talking about. I don't have an a cardiologist." Dr. PCP says, "Didn't they call you with results of your echocardiogram? You need to be seen by a cardiologist." Dr. PCP is very flustered and leaves the room. Mike broke the cardinal rule of doctor appts. and used his cell phone while the doctor was gone. He called me to say that Dr. PCP seems a little frantic and I'll let you know as soon as I find something out. Dr. PCP comes back and tells Mike he has an appt. scheduled for April 4th, a few weeks away. Okay.. so not too urgent...

We spend the rest of March waiting for spring weather to appear, go on a fabulous vacation for Spring Break to Washington DC and Virginia, and return home to the beginnings of spring thunderstorm season. Somewhere in there he also acquired a dermatologist and a podiatrist. The appointed day finally rolls around and we go to meet the cardiologist, Dr. P. She reviewed some records and asked some questions... and says she suspects the source of the heart murmur, the aortic valve, needs to be replaced... likely within a year.

Hmm... lots to think about. First order of business is a series of 4 tests to see more specifically how damagaed the valve is. Another echo, a Holter monitor, a Doppler on his legs, and a catheterization with dye. the first 4 are non-invasive and really don't entail anything on Mike's part except showing up for the appointments. The "cath" is planned for one day, outpatient procedure scheduled for Tuesday, April 19th. We know that if "something" is found during the procedure, they will attempt to fix it. All the pre-requisite worst-case scenarios are discussed and paperwork signed. Mike and I both were a little nervous, but my biggest prayer was that they would find something and be able to fix it.

Chalk that up to the "Be careful what you pray for" category. They did both halves of his blood vessels.. veins and arteries. Ultimately the dye showed that his aortic valve is not as damaged as feared, but the left descending artery was 80% blocked. The LAD is also sometimes called the "Widowmaker" as it feeds most of the blood to the lower heart muscle, and if 100% blocked there is too much damage to the heart muscle... that is, death is immediate.

They give me an update at the 90 minute mark to say that this is what they've found and per our signatures on the paperwork, they will be fixing it, which usually takes about 30 more minutes. I find my way to the cafeteria and back (without too much getting lost) and right at the 30 minute mark, the doctor comes to tell me Mike is in recovery and doing well.

Eventually I am shown the way to his room on the cardiac care unit. The procedure was done with wakeful sedation, so he was just a little bit tired. The surgery people weren't completely happy with his blood's ability to clot at that time so they left an IV sheath type thing in his vein for the cardiac nurses to take out. I wish I had a picture of how funny it was... Nurse 1 with her intern, Charge Nurse with another intern, and 1 more intern watching from the foot of the bed. Nurse 1 tests his clotting ability.. sample doesn't have enough blood. Intern #1 had watched and now begins to take sample #2. She does fine and the blood has cooperated... time to remove the sheath. However, there is some question as to whether this hole is the vein or the artery, and if it is the artery, it could spring a big leak and cause some problems. Mike points out that he remembers that they did the arterial portion first and it is the upper hole.. and the one in question is the venous one marked with V on the tape, which they have now removed & discarded. None of the nurses really believe him... "better safe than sorry" they say.

Now, 4 sets of nurse hands converge on Mike's groin to make sure there is enough pressure to cut off blood flow if indeed this is the apocalypse and Mike's femoral artery should burst while taking out the sheath. Mike looks at me and laughs... "If I were younger and SINGLE, this might be fun!" His slightly groggy brain finds this highly funny and he giggles to himself, which causes his whole body to move around and the nurses have to wait for him to be still... 20 minutes of lying perfectly still with 4 sets of hands pressing down along his groin & leg "just in case." All is accomplished without incident and he was adorned with those lovely plastic bandaids.

I brought the boys to see him Tuesday evening and we spent an hour together. Wednesday morning I got the boys to school, and then spent the morning with Mike, just waiting to be discharged. He decided the bed was not comfortable enough so he was in the recliner and I was in the bed watching House on tv. Kind of a strange show to watch while you are in a hospital.

They let him out after lunch and we drove carefully home. He missed 3 additional days of work on doctor's orders. On that Friday, Apr. 22nd, he sees endocrinologist Dr. K, who wants him to be on a continuous monitoring system with his insulin pump (read that as additional dollars per month). We are considering this and will likely do a 72 hour trial of it soon... but not sure we are ready for another expense.

On Wednesday, April 29th he saw a vascular doctor (who is in league with the cardiologist), who will work on the apparent lessening blood flow to his legs. She explains that the Dopper tests from earlier in the month show that he has a problem in both legs, but wants a little more detail... so more tests. Lo & behold they schedule him for the next day! I'm more nervous this time because of the immediate nature. It's supposed to take a month to get scheduled. However we finally now have a 3 week break from doctor appointments. Mike's next visit is May 19th for 1 month follow up on the stent. Here's to a quiet 3 weeks!

Cooking up a storm

I've been in a cooking whirl since last fall. Trying new recipes, new ways of doing old standards... and the best part is that it has been well-received.

This is one of our new favorites: Double Onion, Kielbasa & Potato Roast with Mustard Sauce

I am a fan of quick easy dinners, and generally speaking we're not picky eaters. I saw this one in a Woman's Day magazine email and printed it out last September. What could be better than meat & potatoes?! I've made it 4 times so far and it just keeps getting better.

Here's the recipe - and then my comments in color.

First, the sauce....
1/2 cup of reduced-fat sour cream
2 Tablespoons of country-style Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon of little water.

Stir together & chill. I have found that a little less mustard, or a little more sour cream is a better fit for my guys.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Takes a longer time so make sure to get it heating up. Position oven racks to divide space into thirds.

2 leeks, chopped
1 large sweet onion, cut into ½ inch thick wedges. Don’t worry about separating the layers as the cooking process does this.
4 teaspoons oil (I use olive oil)
4 large carrots, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces (I use whatever is on hand. If I have baby carrots, I just cut them lengthwise)
5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cut lengthwise in quarters, then halved crosswise
¼ teaspoon each of salt & pepper
1 turkey or beef kielbasa (14 oz.), cut in 2 inch pieces, then halved lengthwise
2 rimmed baking pans

I use 15 x 2 cookie sheets/jelly roll pans, lined with foil to make cleanup easier. My local stores tend to sell leeks in bundles of 3 so I use all three. Chop the leeks and onions & combine in a large metal bowl with half of the oil. Toss together and then dump onto pan #1. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Chop carrots and potatoes and combine in the large bowl with the remaining oil. Dump this onto pan #2. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Place onions on top rack, carrots & potatoes on bottom rack. Roast for 15 minutes.

While this is roasting, cut up kielbasa. I have found with 2 teen boys and a husband who all enjoy meat that it works well to double the meat. Last time I did 1 beef kielbasa and 1 polish sausage.

When the timer rings, remove the pans and toss ingredients around each pan. Add the meat to the carrot/potato pan and arrange as flat as possible. Recipe says to put them both pans back in the oven but I find that the onions are getting crispy and seem pretty soft so I don’t put them back. Put the meat/carrot/potato pan back into oven on bottom rack for 15 minutes longer, or until vegetables are fork tender.

Once this is done, everything goes back in the big bowl and is tossed together. Everyone serves himself, sauce is available, and usually we have enough for seconds for everyone.

Pseudo-cleaning

I am happy to report that I successfully crammed all the Christmas stuff back into the boxes and tubs from whence they came in December. The tree was carefully taken apart and put into its box, and now it's all back in the storage unit.

It feels like I've done a major clean-up/cleaning out of junk, but really it's just the extras that I put out for a month, and then put away. And now I'm left with the same dingy carpet, piles of laundry and pantry-with-lots-of-random-items-that-don't-go-together that I had in late November.

I think I'm ready for a major clean-up/purge event... or at least I'm mentally preparing for one.

2011 - The beginning

Our holiday season is modified a bit due to Mike's work schedule on weekends & holidays so today is our "New Years Day" celebration of relaxation & junk food. We are watching old movies (1980's) on Netflix, and munching homemade chex mix & cheese dip & cookies.

At the end of 2010 I spent several weeks in a stressed-out knot of emotion & frustration. I am working on letting it go and working toward enjoying a few specific moments each day. Less expectation = much less stress!

A new post?

It's finally time for a new post. I've thought about what to write and planned a few sentences but so far it's not working out the way I like. So... starting from scratch...

It's a quiet Saturday afternoon. Brandon is with Addi for the afternoon and then babysitting in the evening. Seth helped me at work this afternoon and we got it all done in record time. Buster is snoozing in his crate - his choice of sleeping place. And I am sitting here eating marshmallows. Planning to bake a texas cake brownie in a few minutes... planning dinner (hamburgers on the grill)... cleaning the kitchen... the usual Saturday stuff.

Football season is in full swing. Brandon is doing great for his first season. He's number 22, third from the left in the picture below.

More soon, I promise!

Random Saturday Thoughts

Hmmm not really planning to write but feels like I should since it's been more than a week. The dog is snoozing at my feet. The boys are playing Xbox and not fighting! Mike is on his way home from work. Gave the dog a bath. I should have worked on baby quilts but haven't yet.

A few photos I haven't posted before from the trip to Woldhuis Farms in March.

Brandon really liked the pallet mover with his last name on it. Takes little to amuse that boy!

Last Friday of May

I took today as a vacation day and will therefore have a 4-day weekend! I've only checked work email once so far.

Yesterday was our 9th anniversary and we celebrated with Pizza Hut with the boys. Brandon wished us a happy anniversary and I responded "Happy anniversary to you too." He had a puzzled look on his face so I said "Happy anniversary of becoming my son!" He rolled his 14-year old eyes and grinned.

We're going to take a drive this afternoon and just look at the countryside. Happy Friday everyone!!

stream of consciousness

The last day of school is looming over me like a giant tower waitin to fall. I'm not looking forward to summer wtih the boys at home. Fortunately Brandon will have football camp starting in a couple of weeks... although I'm not sure I'm ready to be a high school football mom. My youngest in high school?? And it seems so strange to think about football when the summer hasn't even started yet.

I think of football in terms of cool drizzling Friday nights... back in 1983. Wearing Saxon scarlet and columbia blue (we couldn't just be fire-engine-red and light blue!). Everything had to be red and blue... and so much better if you wore a Saxon football jersey and had matching ribbons in your hair and matching laces in your Nikes. Rarely sitting in the bleachers, we had to circle the field all during the game... to see and be seen. Oh the memories... Even at the time I knew that I would have been content to sit on the bleachers and concentrate on the game, but as a girl that was not looked kindly upon. Girls weren't supposed to care about the details during the game... just whether we win or lose.

I am looking toward a rather bland day. It's 8:10am and I have already caught up on work email, read a few blogs, talked with a co-worker, and now I really don't have much to do. I guess I can look forward to lunch... I did brown bag it today.