Sunday, February 27, 2011

would you rather?

all weekend i've thought about the fact that i should be in LA right now - working the oscars with my dear friend. however, here i am - still in muskegon under yet another foot of snow (ok, maybe i'm exaggerating a little bit, but not much). i've thought about how much fun it would be to see all those celebs walking the red carpet all decked out. my hearts desire is to get a photo of me with bob newhart (since missing an opportunity at the emmys last year!). my mind has raced with all the fun i know i'm missing out on. since embracing the fact that i wasn't going to find a flight to LA for under $450 i have been playing the "would you rather?" game in my head - it has gone something like this....

would you rather be cleaning the toilet or telling brad pit where to sit?
would you rather be watching more snow fall or be in a tank top?
would you rather be vacuuming or directing on the red carpet?
would you rather be yelling at the kids are hanging out with your friend?
etc......

however, i have to say in the midst of the disappointment i have had such a blessed weekend celebrating with friends, hanging out with my family and watching season 3 of alias. although, i may have missed out on one opportunity i had others that made up for it ten fold including making oreo cupcakes with my little girl! as i sit here thinking about how we laughed and made such a mess together and out of nowhere telling me, "i love you mommy" i realized how much i would have missed out on had i not been here. so, as i sit and write this i am playing a new game of "would you rather"....

would you rather laugh, sing, dance, create, bake with lilly or "work" the oscars?
would you rather watch caleb read his story or watch fake smiles & bodies walk a red carpet?
would you rather celebrate a 33rd & 1st birthday of dear friends or watch as people pretend to be friends?
would you rather have to wear a winter coat in MI or be around for the 1st snow in over 30years in LA?

needless to say, i have had an amazing weekend and i am so thankful for my life, friends and family. i also realized the most disappointing part about not being able to go had very little to do with the oscars and everything to do with "being" with my dear friend. at least we have next year :)

here is the link to where i found the recipe for the cupcakes - they are DELICIOUS!!!!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

"lost in new york" by caleb diller


today we joined many other families from churchill elementary for the 2nd annual book fair at barnes & noble. caleb was one of many students who was picked to read a story they had written. although he was very nervous - he did a wonderful job. i'm so proud of him! for you proud grandparents, dave video taped his reading and you can view it here.


Friday, February 25, 2011

granola time

our family LOVES granola. so, i have been working on creating a great granola recipe that everyone will enjoy. the best part about making granola is that you can't really screw it up and you can add just about anything you want to the mixture. i thought it may be fun to share lilly's and mines most recent granola concoction (the best, to date, if i don't say so myself).

Ingredients
4c. old fashioned oats
1/2c. sliced almonds
1/2c. unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2c. unsalted raw pumpkin seeds
1/2c. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. veggie oil
1/4 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix oats, nuts, brown sugar, salt & cinnamon. In a small saucepan warm (don't boil) oil and honey, whisk in vanilla.

Pour honey mixture over oat mixture and stir well with wooden spoon. We use our hands to mix it too - it is REALLY important to make sure the wet and dry mixtures are evenly distributed. Spread granola over a large jelly roll pan.

Bake for 40 mins - stirring gently every 10 mins. DON'T OVER COOK! we made this mistake the first time we made it :) if you are adding and dried fruit add it after it is cooked.

Let cool completely on wire rack and then ENJOY!!


Let me know if you decide to make it - I would love to hear how your next batch turns out. If you are a mom with kids this is a GREAT recipe to make together, lots of measuring, pouring, mixing with relatively little mess!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Thank You For This Chicken

My hubby, Dave, posted the following earlier this week on his blog and I thought it appropriate to share on my blog too :) I haven't really wanted to delve into sharing about our choice over the last couple of months to drastically change how and what we eat. Mostly because I don't think I wanted the added pressure to "live up" to whatever precedence I may be setting for our family. With that said, I was blessed to read what Dave wrote this past week and realized that we have made some pretty drastic changes in our food preparation and consumption and that this is something to celebrate not hide from.

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Recently at the dinner table our son Luke offered the prayer before dinner and surprised me with his words, “Dear God, thank you for this chicken, the farm it came from, and please look after all of the other animals.” In this prayer Luke reminded us of some things we had forgotten.

Our food comes from somewhere.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but with all of the instant “food” so readily available to us, it becomes easy to forget (or even know) where our food comes from.

In being reminded that our food has an origin, we’ve begun asking: “Where does our food come from?” Asking this question has been a bit like opening Pandora’s Box. “Just exactly what kind of plant grows a Twinkie?”, “Do these cookies really come from tree-dwelling elves?”, and “If this apple is labeled, ‘organic’, then what kind of apple is this?… ‘Industrial’?”

Our questions have led us to make some changes in the food we purchase. Each Tuesday Misty stops by Grassfields Farm on her way home from work to pick up milk, eggs, and whatever meat they have available (we started back in January). After our first experience we instantly appreciated the taste and quality of the food but even more have grown to appreciate being able to build a relationship with those who grow/raise our food. Participating in this local farm has reminded us that we are part of a bigger creation and that we have a responsibility (and privilege) to steward what God has made.

I recognize it is in part due to our “affluence” that we have the opportunity/choice to purchase food from a local farm. Not everyone has the means of transportation to connect them to locally grown food (we live in a part of the country where farms are still common, unlike many of our cities which have become “food deserts”). Further, fresh/clean/whole food is more expensive (a cheeseburger from McD’s is 99 cents, and a head of broccoli costs close to 2 dollars). As a result, we’ve had to make some choices in the food (and amount) we purchase.

Instead of buying 2lbs of beef from the grocery store we purchase only 1 lb. at the same price from the farm. In buying less food we have begun to look at what we eat differently. Don’t get me wrong, we have plenty to eat, but having to purchase less food means that we cannot afford to think of food in terms of “mindless consumption”, instead food, animals, and the farms they come from become a “gift”.

Another gift of purchasing local food has meant that we’ve had more prep-time in preparing meals. At first this may sound more like a chore (we are all busy with the hurriedness of life) however, purchasing ingredients to make our meals has caused us to slow down. Lilly, peeling carrots for dinner, has developed a deeper appreciation for the food we eat and Caleb, chopping lettuce for salads, has caused him to be more curious about eating “leafy greens”. Instead of Mom “heating up dinner” our meals have become a family affair, full of conversation and meaning.

Is this something we do each night? No. We still have evenings where soccer games and gymnastics cause us to eat on the run, but those times are becoming less and less. We may never be able to fully live off of locally grown food however our hope is that as we do our part to steward the food resources in front of us we are able to create better, more intimate connections with our community, our kids, and our Creator.

That is something to be thankful for.
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well said dave!!