Getting Dum dum lollipops when we go to the bank to deposit a check…
Just going out for a drive together…
Scrounging for an after-church snack when we already ran out of snack food…and inventing our own, which was actually very tasty!
A cool breezes blowing in the window when you don’t expect it…
A phone call from a friend, and all the “catching up”…
The ability and opportunity to work, and the good feeling you get after putting several good hours in…
Remembering phrases Mom used to say like, “If the job’s worth doing, what?” (We meekly and solemnly answer) “It’s worth doing right.” And, “If we had macaroni, we’d have Macaroni ‘n’ Cheese, if we had cheese!”
Reading God’s Word, and knowing it is powerful, and has all my answers (Wow!)…
Seeing the words, MOM and (upside down) WOW!
Taking walks with my husband (minus the five ticks from the most recent walk!)…
Hearing the doorbell whenever someone walks in pizza shop next door…
I am so thankful for the simple things in life. God is so good to us!
I Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
We live in a beautiful apartment which we love, but there is no yard, nay even patch of grass we may call ours. While this frees us from the responsibilities of grass-cutting and yard work, it also eliminates the option of planting a garden. No worries, however! My kitchen windowsill has become quite the greenhouse! We have aloe vera, lavender, basil, and cilantro there. Our “indoor garden” also includes two pathos plants, a Christmas cactus, and two jade plants placed in various other strategic places throughout the house!
Do you love the scent of fresh cilantro like I do? Just bury your nose in those precious sprouts! Hmmm...
Today, I have a few thoughts that have been firing in my mind recently. I guess you could say that they are about as random as you can get…
A New Fad
Since the weather has been warmer lately, Andrea and I have gotten off of our morning latte/cappuccino kick. For a worthy substitution, I found a good recipe for an icy coffee drink. Thank you, internet!
As a side note: Did you realize that the internet (specifically allrecipes.com) can make any dunce a master chef? As long as you can read and follow directions, you can just about create anything gourmet. I mean, since we have been married, this couple has made out of this world meals and treats…just from following directions from the internet. Many of you have gotten a taste of these things from reading our blog in the last several months, but again, that’s just a taste. Together, we have made: pretzels, Italian hearth bread, cinnamon rolls, deep dish and brick oven pizza, flour and corn tortillas, southern-style biscuits, and Italian beef. Not to mention all of the other things Andrea has made for dinner. I think that’s pretty neat.
Anyways, I found this recipe for an iced coffee drink, and adapted it a little to our liking:
2 shots of espresso (or about 2/3 cup strong coffee)
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 cup of ice
To mix, pour the espresso, sugar and milk into the blender, then blend on low for about thirty seconds. After that, just drop the ice into the blender, and blend on “super high” (ice crush setting) for another thirty seconds. It’s as simple as that! And believe us, it is much better tasting than the syrupy, overpriced concoction they sell under the Starbuck’s name.
The Green Fields of France
I have been doing a little reading the last couple of weeks on the First World War (1914-1918). As Americans, the war itself didn’t mean as much as World War II, mainly because we were not involved until the last year and a half. However, to the rest of Europe, it meant everything. To put everything in perspective, Europe officially refers to the men of the generation that fought in the war as “The Lost Generation.” They say that because literally, a generation of young men from the UK, France, Belgium, and Germany were butchered on the Fields of France. Even today, nearly 100 years later, the land that represents the old front lines of that war is permanently scarred. Near places like Ypres, Belgium and Baupaume, France farmers still uncover land mines and unexploded artillery shells. Today the land is very solemn and surreal; to the point where it is almost unimaginable the loss that was suffered by millions upon millions of men.
Ypres,Belgium, 1916
Ypres, Belgium, Today. "In Flanders Fields, where the poppies grow..."
My Trusty Razor
Around this time, four years ago, during my freshman year of college, I purchased my first electric razor. I honestly cannot believe it has survived this long; and believe me, it has been through a lot! The main thing it survived was the Fairhaven Guy’s Dorm–that is a miracle in and of itself. It has also been to two foreign countries (Mexico twice, and Canada). In Mexico, it almost saw it’s end. The family that allowed me to stay with them when visiting Andrea two years ago had this little dog–Buddy. I can’t say they didn’t warn me about him! Well, I left my Norelco razor out one day and he decided to have a little heyday with it. I returned to the house to find it in a million pieces. They offered to get me a new one, but it wasn’t really there fault, so I thought I might try to salvage it together. Well I did! To this day, though, it has a small piece that ol’ Buddy tore off.
Yes, it has been through a few deep cleanings and reassemblies, but it still hasn’t cost me a dime since I bought it. The best part of all is that it still works almost like it did when I got it!
Did I totally miss an important notice before we moved to Southeast Pennsylvania? The weather seemed fairly normal through last summer: a few scorching days amidst the regular “dog days of summer.” I first started to notice a difference in the fall–maybe around October. The trees began to change colors in early October, then they stayed that way for weeks before they dropped. We thought that was great! I am used to the “peak” of the fall colors lasting for a week or less, then everything is grey until May. Not here!
Well, we were HAMMERED with snow this year! Did I say hammered? It was crazy! December was full of snow, then everything basically thawed out through the month of January a little. In early February, amazingly, it all of the sudden turned 85 degrees and humid…wait, that is when we were in Mexico. Anyway, while we were in the Yucatan, two HUGE snowstorms in a row decimated the mid-Atlantic. We flew back to a car buried underneath two-and-a-half feet of snow, and a town crippled from the barrage. Over the next month the snow slowly melted. In fact, the last little bits did not melt until we were on our way to visit family in late March–yes, the same snow!
Now–almost 90 degrees???! Where did spring go? Do they not have that season here? It wasn’t three weeks ago when there was still traces of snow on the ground! The trees are nearly all full with leaves already, the spring flowers are past their peak, and we are outside sweating as we take an afternoon stroll…in early April. Yesterday’s high temperature was 88 degrees, while today’s is supposed to be around 84 degrees.
…On the other hand, the early summer we have been experiencing will come crashing down sometime this evening. A cold front will be moving in, causing 45 degree temperatures and heavy thunderstorms. It should be interesting…
Here is a picture that we took yesterday at a park near our home while walking around in the hot weather:
