Simpe Joys

I am reminded by my husband that I have not

shared a Simple Joy post in some time.

He keeps up with these things, and I am glad that he does!

We all need some accountability in our lives,

and when it comes to my blog, I guess he is

my accountability partner....and that is wonderful to me!

This is me...well, the top of my head anyway, and our 3 year old we affectionately call "The Terminater" He is such a sweet, cuddly little boy,

who has the MOST amazing laugh that God ever gave anyone!

Hearing him when ever I can, getting that laugh to boil out of him,

laughing right along with him,

THAT is a simple joy in my life.

well, actually, it is a HUGE joy in my life,

but for today, I will count it as my simple joy.

Some Random Thoughts

I am in transition.

For the last 3 weeks, we have had

"visitors"

as Gus-gus would say

in Cinderella.

And now I am on the "down side" of

"life as I know it".

And in some ways, I am NOT ok with it

and in some ways, I am completely "ok" with it.

I love life with just my amazing husband and me.

And I love life with a house full of fun,

 munchkins and

children!

I want to share with you life as "I" know it.

It can be full of life, busy, tooooooo busy,

boring, restful, lively, lovely, wonderful

and quiet.

I, am fine, with all of those!!!

Is that weird???

No?

OK!!

I. am. content.

I am content....that sounds weird, I know.

But it is the truth.

It has taken me a looooong time to feel this way,

but it is my truth now.

And I believe that it is what I am SUPPOSED

to be.....content.

After all, do you really want to live life without

contentedness? I don't!

I love life!!!!

I REALLY do!

And I love coming here, sharing with you,

and showing you the fun things I do in my

contented, crazy life!

Truth told!

Soooo, here is a picture of some of my contented life.

Well, 3 pictures.

How sweet are they!!!!!!

And let me tell you....

they are NOT the only 3 reasons

I am content in this life....

there are so many, many more reasons

that I am content....

from the great north of the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan,

to the deep south of the Louisianian state,

I am, one content woman!

Is it my "comfort zone"?

I don't believe so, for, the truth is

that I have 3 children.

One (and her family)

lives 7 hours NORTH of us.

One (and his family)

lives 16 hours SOUTH of us.

One (and her husband)

lives 15 minutes from us.

And besides our family dynamics,

I am called on to sing, teach,

and speak to crouds of people

more often than I am ever

comfortable with.

I have a strength though.

One that goes before me.

One that expects me to find that contentedness

in what ever situation I am in.

God is good, life is good, I am in

love with my husband,

and in love with life....

does it get any better than this?

Not this side of heaven!!!

Simple Salad Recipe

This is a salad that I make for my husband quite often.

I, cannot partake, sadly, due to a raw tomato allergy...

bummer, right!?!

Oh well, such is life.

Tomato, Cucumber Italian Salad

1 tub grape tomatoes

1/2 long English cucumber

3 scallions (greens & whites)

2Tbl good balsamic vinegar

2 Tbl good extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

1 tbl chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

Cut the tomatoes in half and put in a med. size bowl.

 Cut the cucumber into cubes that are about the same size as the tomatoes.

 Add to the tomatoes.

 Cut up scallions into a fine dice.

 After adding the scallions to the bowl, pour on the vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley.

 Mix well, and allow to sit for 20 minutes or so, while you fix the rest of your dinner! Mix again just before serving!

Have a great day everyone!

"Restarting Windows"

That is what my laptop said to me when I picked it up today.

I left it on when I closed it up a couple of weeks ago,

and it waited patiently for me to come back to it.

Here I am, dear laptop, ready to jump in and

restart my life....

As it was before visitors.

As it was when it was just my wonderful husband

and myself working too many hours,

being way to busy while at home,

going here and there, catching our breath at times,

missing our family so much it hurts,

grateful for our friends,

grateful for the Lord's many blessings,

and as always....

planning another party.

This time it is pre-planning (not VERY pre!)

for our Easter Dinner!

I love (as you know) having family in our home...

combined with friends, it is simply heavenly!

I began work today (ok, ok, s-h-o-p-p-i-n-g) for the

Easter table....I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

I  scoured the local Goodwill store and a second hand

store and found a few 'treasures' that I have big plans for!

I have a picture for you of what I purchased!

Can you guess what they will become?

I will give you a hint...NOTHING will look the same!

Hope that you will have an amazing week,

I plan to be very busy and sharing it all with you!

Snow in March

It is snowing here.

It is March.

It is NOT supposed to snow here

In March.

I am grateful...

That it is ONLY snow.

But wishing for spring.

For my yard...

For my Flowers...

For my plants...

For my grilling time...

For my ability to paint outside...

For spring.

But,

alas,

it is snowing.



Roasted Asparagus

I made Ina Garten's recipe last night as a side dish for our Dinner.

It was a big success!

Thought I would share the recipe and photos with you today.

I (as you already know) LOVE to make things special for the loved ones in my life...so candles in the center of the table are a must!

The recipe was very easy...probably one of the easiest dishes to make

 that you will find. It looks like you went to alot of trouble, but really, turning on the oven, putting a pan full of asparagus in and waiting until it cooks is the work level for this one!

 Hope you make something amazing tonight for those you love....

or even for yourself! You are, afterall, worth it!

Here is the link for her recipe:

 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/parmesan-roasted-asparagus-recipe/index.html

Paula's Roasted Butternut Squash

Finally, a non-link post!

I make roasted butternut squash often,

and have people ask me for the recipe.

I do not use a recipe, I just "do it",

so I thought last night I would actually take photo's and

write the recipe down for those who wanted it!

First, peal (this is not easy, so use a very large, heavy, sharp chef's knife to make it the easiest possible.

Now, cut the squash in 1 inch cubes and place in an OVEN SAFE frying pan with about 1/4 cup of good quality olive oil.

 Peel 3 cloves of garlic (that is the amount I use for a large squash) and put it in the pan with the squash.

 Add a large pinch of salt to the pan.

Chop fresh rosemary,

I used about 1tble chopped.

Fresh cracked pepper to taste.

 You are going to cook on the stove top until the squash is caramelized.

 The place pan in the oven for 45 minutes with temp set at 400*

You can add water or chicken stock in 1/4 cup amounts to the pan if the squash is browning to quickly without cooking thru.

And this is what it will look like! The garlic is completely edible and will be mellow and almost sweet from the roasting process.

Have an amazing Thursday everyone!