The Mothership

This was tasty! And warm! And filling! And Hearty! And healthy! - ya like my retro, festive glasses?!?! We married this stew with brown rice to cut the spice. But it was also fine all on its own.  Ingredients:  1 Tablespoon of oil 1 onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 2 cups of chopped kale 2 cups of spinach 1 32 Oz of broth  The juice of 1 lime Salt 1 package of soy chorizo, pulled out from the skin 1 sweet potato, chopped 1 can of diced tomatoes  1/4 cup of chopped sundried tomatoes  1 cup of Brown rice Salt/seasonings  In a pot Sauté the onion in oil for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.   Add the garlic for just a minute to release the aromas.  Add the kale, spinach and lime juice. Add salt to taste. Sauté for 2 minutes.  Add the chorizo, sweet potato, tomatoes, 2 cups of broth, sun-dried tomatoes and salt to taste.  Stir and Bring to a boil. Cover, turn down to low, and cook for 20 minutes.  In a small pot, add the rest of the brot...

Yesterday was hard people. In so many ways. But today...today was so good!  I start my days in quiet journaling, studying, and listening for God. Today, however my soul needed something different. I put on some of my favorite tunes and just started writing my gratitude for people. Basically, I cried for the good part of an hour...crying and writing. By the end of the set, my heart was lifted higher, I knew things could only moved forward and not backward, AND my children were fed and miraculously ready for the school day with little help from me.  Our morning routine of filing in the car, grabbing all the necessary things - only to come back in the house for no less than two things - ensues...but everyone is calm and sweet. We say sweet goodbyes for the day to the older two and then my youngest and I make our way to school. On the way I can remember thinking, “I hope nobody asks me how I am and actually mean it. I don’t think I have the vulnerability in me today.”  Well -...

So there was this tree... I have seen many of the red ones around town as the leaves changed from their bright green to their vibrant fall foliage. My friend, Micah, pointed it out to me as I was walking with him. Micah: "Look at that TREE! Isn't it just beautiful So fiery!" Me: "It's just standing there saying, 'I'm RED!"" It was just casual conversation, but have you ever noticed how the Lord will speak to you in stanzas...which eventually speaks directly to your heart in a fully formed poem?!?! This was one stanza. Another stanza was just the noticing of each red tree before and after this short conversation. And then another stanza tonight. I attend a Family Group - which is a small group feeling, but it's actually a large group setting.  Tonight my friend, Sarah, spoke on the "Waiting" of the holiday season.  The anticipation of HIS coming and arrival to bring us peace, love, comfort, and all the things he died for, a...

 If you like soup, pumpkin, and curry, this soup is for you. As you know, I’m a fan of one pot meals. So here is another one for our rotation.  It was a cold day today and we had no plans for dinner. My students and I scooped out pumpkins today and I had never baked a pumpkin to use it’s innards before (which is super easy btw). I didn’t want to waste them and I wanted soup.  So here is this concoction!  Recipe: 1/2 large white onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely 3 celery stalks, peeled and chopped 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped 1 cup of green beans, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped 2 stalks of kale, torn 1/2 cup of frozen peas 1/2 cup of barley 1 can of diced tomatoes, no salt 1 can of pumpkin 1 smoked chicken sausage, chopped 1 large container of vegetable broth 1 tsp. Of honey Water Salt 2 tsp. Of curry powder 1&1/2 tsp. Of paprika *sundried tomatoes would be good but optional *you could substitute 1 cup of quinoa...

Everyone has them... Some show them more than others... Some show more of them than others... Emotions...I have them big and small...and for all the days. Some people process their emotions in different ways - silence, yelling, tantrums, and the most common for me...TEARS.  Big fat ones all the time stroll down my face for happy, sad, compassion, joy, tired, hangry, exhausted, hormonal, angry, embarrassed, scared, nervous, or just processing life... All of these emotions bring the same result...TEARS And you know what, I don't think I'm worse for wear because of them; my tears or my emotions.  I hear from my old self and others, apologies for tears. Apologies for emotions.  And I'm not sure that's the appropriate response. Since when do I need to apologize for the way I feel? Everyone feels differently and it manifests in everyone differently.  It's what we do with the emotions, how we react, that warrant an apology.   I believe a lot of u...

Among most people who are raising smaller humans you can hear a mantra, "I'm just tired..." And I'm not sure that it goes away - encouraging, I know.  When you have an infant you are exhausted because of loss of sleep. And the days can be long. And as they grow older you get more sleep - so to speak. But the days can still be long. And see, I'm thinking there is a culprit at the head of the game of tiredness...the things I find where I am loosing my patience the most... Teachable moments...they draw their weapons and yell " I'll be your huckleberry "...(movie reference) every single time. The amount of opportunities for me to have a teachable moment with my children is exasperating. It’s not just once a day - more like 20 times a day...per child. "Hmmm, I haven't had to teach or model or reinforce anything today." said nary a parent. And that's not to say that I haven't had awesome days filled with wonderful memories ...

 I'm not sure if it is because of my lackadaisical ways through the summer - but man it seems like this summer is eating a whole through our path of normal order and structure.  At the beginning of every summer I always am so relieved to have a free schedule. I feel like Julia Andrews in the Swiss Alps.   My regular mode of planning every event is thrown out the window. As we move through the summer days we seem to leave a wake of forgetfulness and that feeling of perpetual "no responsibility."  It's like I think we are on a really long vacation. I'm good with it, really, but clearly I am not a responsible adult when structure isn't a top priority. Also, I'm convinced the pool has an under-layer of THINGS that have collected...like a whole underworld litered with pretzels, water bottles, clothes, and all the torpedos you could ever dream to dive for...like a scene from Ninja Turtles...you could totally survice if you needed. You might be in "su...

My grandmother was KNOWN for her salsa. My mom and I spent lots of afternoons trying to figure out the secret to her recipe. My mom finally duplicated it...I have not been able to and since this isn’t my mom’s blog, i don’t think i can divulge the secret. I like to make recipes with fresh ingredients that don’t take a lot of time and that are healthy. I try to make things from scratch when I can - especially fresh easy recipes. However, when it comes to salsa there are so many brands and they all do the job for my late night cravings of tortilla chips and the tomatoey goodness. However, a lot of brands can be full of sugar, preservatives, and other ingredients that are just not needed. This recipe takes less than 15 minutes to put together and is always a crowd pleaser. If you gather all the ingredients and use a good chopper or food processor before you begin it takes even less time. I always make one too many trips to the refrigerator. This recipe is written for the food chopper bu...

To my friend whose life has changed since Thanksgiving...hearing your voice speak THAT word... such an ugly word; chemo...cancer. And they both mean the same thing essentially...poison in the body. And yet, might I say, you are NOT changed for the worst. This disease is only that, a disease.  You have NOT let it define you! I will never know a day in your shoes, and nor will I ever pretend to know what your mind, heart, and body have been through. But there are some things you have taught me these past 7 months. You have taught me... there is absolutely NO excuse to not getting my laundry folded...not even the fitted sheets. my excuses for NOT exercising carry no weight...they are just empty words. what humility looks like...accepting and receiving help is not easy - at least I know not for you and me. how smart and clever you are. I knew it before, but the amount of information you keep in your head - even after children and chemo - is astounding. that children are const...

  This took some prep work, but I enjoy reciepes I can come back to and don't take a long time to assemble. Lots of pans going at the same time get me all hot and bothered because I get interrupted a bagillion times and then loose my place and then inevitably I miss an ingredient or a crucial step. I also enjoy fresh food and in the summer I enjoy anything not super hot. Turning on the oven does not appeal to me. I made the hummus in the morning and then made the tzatziki sauce in the afternoon. Then after I got the kids plates assembled I could make mine more easily. The kids liked the items deconstructed, because who under the age of 10 likes all their food to touch...no one liked the olives and two liked the sauce...they all ate the pita and hummus...and some ate the tomatoes and spinach. Be warned - this makes a lot of hummus and tzatziki sauce...which is fine because we eat all the hummus, but had to share with some the sauce. Recipe: Hummus : 2...

I've been a Stay at Home Mom (SAHM) for the better part of 8 years. For the sole reason to take care of my babies. To create in them a firm foundation. To be a constant for them.  To be able to serve other mommies while having my own babies. And man have I loved it.  I am a people person and yet a homebody.  I have thoroughly enjoyed having little ones in the house. My wonderful husband has worked so hard to provide for us so that I can stay home. God has provided so abundantly, and for that I am so thankful. When I was growing up I always imagined my dream job being a SAHM, but when I imagined it, the kids were always little babies! They were never older than 4 - in my dreams. And guess what...they grow up! And so do I. My youngest turns 4 in a few weeks. I have decided to go back to work. It is not full-time - in fact it’s super convenient for me - but yet it’s still time. This community is one such that I am blessed to be a part. I am truly excited to begin. But ...

My kids eat pretty well at home - I mean if the stars align, there is a possibility that everyone will remain in their chairs and that gravity won't work against them, finding their bottoms on the floor once again. Or the reminders to "Take another bite" will be minuscule...but all in all, they eat and they sit at the table and they come back to do this about 5 times a day. So naturally I think "I just don't feel like cleaning up another mess today," or "I'm tired of packing 4 lunches...let's go out" But eating out with these fine humans is a whole other ballgame...a game I enter with prayers that THIS time we enter into this restaurant will end differently than the time before... and ALMOST every single time I am reminded that I was wrong. I am fully reminded of why we don't take our three out to eat unless the whole dining experience can take less than 45 minutes from sitting to standing. It's like dipping your toe in i...

I like that name...slimnastics... I typed in "exercise" to see what words were synonyms and this was one of them. Ok, people...I have something I want to say... It might be news to some of you, but to those of you who know me, maybe not so much of a surprise... I do not like exercising... I don't. I know.  Super motivating. I am just in aw of people who say, " I do because it's my one hour of peace "...or " I thrive on it. I NEED to do it. " I have yet to be in a workout that is actually peaceful for me...even Yoga, yes calming, but yeah I'm not buying peaceful. AND I also have never said the words, "I NEED to go workout, I've missed it." P-sh! I get it. One hour without someone pulling/climbing/whining all over me is quite delightful and filling, but not peaceful for me. I enjoy being active, and with other people, and such, but the actual act of getting myself to the gym or outside to run by myself...It's just hard m...

Normal is relative... Regular - to an extent - is relative... Without context most circumstances are relative. Before kids I was busy and tired. After kids I'm busy and tired. I don't think either was more or less tiring, it was just different times of my life and different energy was needed for what I was accomplishing for the day. This can be said for my time with Jesus. I have always wanted to spend time with him.  But my time availability is all relative.  And excuses can be made for each time of my life for not meeting with Him enough...but in reality, it's what I had energy for...and I think as long as you are pursuing Him, it is enough.  It is not a measured work of actions how much time you spend with Him.  Each person is different and each relationship with Jesus is unique.  Not everyone comes to him in the same way.  And I have not been able to always continue my routines whether they required more or less time. Change has been inevitable. ...

So, I love the "pull-up and receive my groceries without even stepping foot out of my car indulgence" ...but each indulgence comes with a consequence...or maybe a few... I am QUEEN of awkward interactions - and I am an outward processor so I outwardly process the awkward moment usually RIGHT in front of the person I had the awkward moment with - make sense?  Pretty much, I'm a weirdo, and I'm ok with it because hilarious things happen and I get a front row seat to the chaos. So, when I pull up for my hand delivered groceries I think to myself, "This is extra time I have to...reply to an email...check Facebook...take a picture and send it to my friend...take a video to send to my friend...sing a crazy whack song with my kids just to have fun..." and it never fails... The poor person delivering my groceries catches me off guard - which I'm not sure why because it's not like I didn't know they were coming - and it's like awkward magic....

I really do like spaghetti squash...I do.  But the texture to just eat it plain is hard for me.  So I keep playing with a casserole type of variation with it every so often.  I am trying to only buy grass fed beef - so I buy it as long as the budget allows.  We don't eat a ton of red meat, but when we do we think it is important to be grass fed. I usually prepare my squash before I need it to cook and just set my oven with an automatic start time because...LIFE! Squash it up! Ingredients: spaghetti squash, halved and un-seeded olive oil salt & garlic powder 1 lb of ground beef 1 zuchinni, chopped into bite size 1 yellow pepper, chopped 1/2 an onion, chopped cumin 1 bar of monteray jack cheese, shredded dried oregano cherry tomatoes, halved spinach Recipe! Baste your halved squash with olive oil and sprinkle eat half with salt and garlic powder. Place face down on a greased cookie sheet. Cook squash in your oven for about 1 hour and 15 min...

This post took me awhile to formulate. I even took notes and reflected on past journal entries. It is neat to see how God works over time and you don't notice it until you go back and look at all of the details. So I will save you all the back & forths and try to compile my thoughts One fall October morning at a ladies study, we were asked to pick up one of the leaves that were piled in front of us, that drew us in.  So I started for one and jokingly said to another lady, "Oh! I was going to pick that one!?!" I think I threw her off guard and she put it down not knowing my humor...so I picked it up so I didn't look like more of a jerk...anyway, it's funny because I ended up picking up two and this one seemed to reveal more to me than the other one.  At this time in the year, I felt like I was in a lull with God - not in a bad way, but in a "I'm happy doing these things you've laid on my heart and I am enjoying them, but what's next...