Marriage

“There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.”
― Martin Luther

I love being married.  Can you tell? 

My hubby is my best friend.  We can talk about everything going on in our day - the good and bad. We have fun doing things that other people find arduous - painting and decorating rooms, taking care of the yard, cooking, cleaning, etc.  We get through stressful situations with humor and a smile.  We enjoy simple pleasures - like sitting on the patio talking about our day, going for a walk, and sharing an ice cream cone.  We love traveling together.  Concerts.  Family.  Friends.  Our dog. 

My parents are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary today!  Wow.  We've been married only 6 years...  I can't imagine 35!  My parents have had their ups and downs.  They both have very strong personalities.  But they've been an example of what it means to stay by each other's side during the good and bad, better and worse.  They've demonstrated strength and love through all 35 years - and we, their daughters, have learned from that. 

It's apparent through the men we've chosen to have by our sides.  Em and I have amazing husbands, and even Kayla (while only in high school) has had a pretty cool guy by her side through all of high school.  Our guys respect us, accept us - flaws and all, and let us continue to be the people we are.  They love and adore us.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for teaching us how to love and be loved!  We love you!  Happy Anniversary!

Today I am thankful for:

1.  Mom and Dad.
2.  Marriage.
3.  My hubby.
4.  A day with a former youth group member - Kelsey!

5.  Aveda facials.  Splendid.
6.  Sharing an ice cream cone at the Grand Ole Creamery with the hubby.
7.  Chicken tacos.
8.  Watching "The Hangover."  Too funny.
9.  The dog jumping and spinning as she catches her frisbee.  Show off.
10.  A new singer, "Daphne Willis."  Very good!

Take Half

"Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough."
--Charles Dudley Warner

"I have a rule of thumb my mother taught me about packing for a long trip: lay out everything you think you need, and then take half the stuff and twice the money.  I've found that even the times I don't have twice as much money to bring along, I can still take half of what I think I need and never miss the rest of it.

"If this rule of thumb were adapted into a life lesson, you might say that when setting out on any new adventure - whether it's a new job, a move, or going back to school - you should take half the stuff you're holding onto.  That could be "stuff" in the form of old habits, ideas, or hang ups.  Or it could be literal stuff, as in draw a line down the middle of your garage and pick what's going with you and what's going to be donated to people who need it.  Then, instead of taking twice as much money, take twice as much energy and inspiration.  Do whatever it takes to boost your drive to go after your new purpose, your new direction, your new goal.  Elevate the level of intensity for going after what you want to twice what you think you need, and with all that extra baggage gone, you'll be surprised at how fast you get there."
--Mia Parker, "Less is More"

What a great reading on the day we celebrated graduations at our church!  What great advice for all of us - but especially those setting out on new journeys, new beginnings, becoming the people they want to be!

This gives me a great idea for my sister's graduation gift...  Hmmm... Interested, Kayla?

Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Cream Cinnamon Honey from the Farmer's Market.
2.  Celebrating our Sixth graders moving up to Junior High with new Study Bibles - I'm so excited to have Jack and Lydia joining the youth program! 
3.  Our graduates:  Joe, Katy, Carly, Kelly, Andy, Ronnie!  (And thinking of Katie and Rebecca, too, who are no longer members of our church - but still in my thoughts and prayers!)
4.  Being invited to a former youth group student's Eagle Scout Ceremony - I'm so proud of you, Clayton!
5.  Keeping in touch with kids from my last church, being invited to their graduation parties - I'm really looking forward to seeing them and catching up!
6.  The hubby's home safe and sound after a weekend of camping!
7.  Long naps on rainy afternoons.
8.  Our orange lilies are blooming!
9.  The dog is FINALLY snoozing after playing, playing, and playing some more...  The frisbee and the ball are retired for the evening!
10.  Sitting with my feet up, a cool breeze coming through the window, chatting with the hubby, and sipping white wine.  Lovely.

Animals

"Pets are family, too.  In the discussion about family and friends, pets deserve a prominent place [in our finding happiness].  Animals have much to teach us about how to share and experience love.  The closer we get to our pets, the more joy they give us.  In their book Companion Animals in Human Health , authors Barofsky and Rowan note that people who have a loved pet in the home are 22 percent more likely to feel satisfied than those who don't..."
--"Secrets Happy People Know" by Young Lion, Inc.

Well, anyone that already knows me knows my pet gives me joy and happiness!  Bailey makes me laugh everyday...

But today I'll tell you something else that I love...  A good petting zoo!  Ha ha ha.  I love playing with goats (especially the tiny pygmie goats!), sheep, baby cows, donkeys, llamas, chickens, ducks, horses and ponies, etc etc etc!  I had the chance to represent my church today at a community park event and our table was right next to the petting zoo.  Guess where I kept disappearing to?  Yep.  So fun.  Even in the rain, I adored all the animals.

They make me happy.

What's making you happy today?


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Meeting friends at the Farmer's Market.
2.  Rain jackets.
3.  Sugar Snap Peas.
4.  Petting zoos.
5.  Bubbles.
6.  Phone conversations with old friends - especially when they contain fun information!
7.  Good windshield wipers and tires.
8.  Coffee cake at Starbuck's made with REAL FOOD - no more chemicals!  And they taste so much better!
9.  The movie "Paper Heart."  So cute.
10.  The smell of bread baking...  Mmm....

Friday Fave Five - June 4th

Wow - it's the first time in months I'm doing the Friday Fave Five!  Basically, it's a chance to look back over your week and find five things that made you smile, made you feel grateful, or gave you joy.  If you'd like to link up to share your Fave Five, join us at Susanne's blog, "Living To Tell The Story."

Here are mine:

1.  Sharing my new love of Indian food with my hubby.  We went out last Friday and ordered two new dishes and shared - tasty, spicey, yumminess!

2.  Getting flowers planted on our patio! It always makes summer feel "official" when our red pots, white Adirondack chairs, and pretty flowers are on the patio.  We even decided to try a little cherry tomato plant this year...  Wish us luck!

3.  Going to a Saint Paul Saints baseball game on Sunday night.  The Saint Paul Saints are our minor league team  - and their games are so fun!  They have so many entertaining things going on around the stadium between every inning, that you don't even have to like baseball to have a good time!  (Like pigs in tutus and karaoke singers, games between audience members, and wandering "nerds" and "lumberjacks"!)  After the game, we got to watch our first fireworks of the summer - Yeah!

(It rained for the first couple of innings...  but then the clouds broke and it was a gorgeous evening for a game!  We were so glad we didn't let the rain keep us away!)

4.  Having my parents and sister over for dinner on Monday - smoked ribs, cedar-planked mashed potatoes, pomegranate mojitos and white chocolate strawberry trifle!  So fun!  A great way to celebrate Memorial Day!

5.  A funny day on Wednesday - lunch at the Pool and Yacht Club (where I am always the youngest person in the room by decades!) with a classy lady from our church... to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings with my confirmation boys and their dads!  Quite the contrast in conversation, food, and atmosphere!  Who says my job is boring?!

It's been a great week - and the next one looks busy and fun, too!  Hope you have a wonder-filled Friday!
Megs

Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Sleeping in til 8:30am.  Lovely.
2.  The hubby coming home for lunch before he left on a camping trip for the weekend.
3.  Getting laundry done.
4.  Time to read.
5.  Sunshine!
6.  Trader Joe's Indian dinners... not bad.
7.  Invites to Graduation Open Houses...  Goodness, I have to figure out how I'm going to do this!
8.  This video clip - it's been making me smile for weeks! 

9.  Free Aveda samples.
10.  Watching a movie with a glass of wine...

Pet Peeve

Wanna know one of my biggest pet peeves?  Women, and young girls, who make every decision based on what a guy wants.  Ugh.  I recently complimented a former youth group member on her new, shorter haircut and her response?  "Thanks, my boyfriend likes it, too."  My response?  "Do YOU like it?"  "I don't know..."

I see this all the time and it makes me sad that these girls only find value in themselves when they make their boys happy - or when they get noticed by boys.  Ladies.  There is SO much more to life!  And trust me, you will be happier when you do find the boy of your dreams - if you are happy with yourself, first!

Today, my morning reading was about how so many women "settle" for a life with a man that only reflects his worth... and never reflects her own beauty as a person.

"Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of a man at twice its natural size," Virginia Woolf observed.  It's time we found a mirror, mirror to do that for ourselves.  Married or single, you have to 'go cold turkey.'  Pull away from his view of you until you can commit to an exclusive, inclusive relationship with your Authentic Self.  The reembodiment process spiritually induces this life-altering, life-saving choice.  Today, pick up a mirror and look into it until you see Spirit's truth reflected back.  You are a woman of great style and enormous substance.  Did you know that?  You are a woman of beauty, intelligence, vision, warmth, power, influence, strength, wit, generosity, compassion, and soul.  And if you don't see this, you've been looking for your worth in all the wrong faces..."
--Sarah Ban Breathnach, from "Something More"

I write this as someone who still gets giddy when her husband tells her she looks "beautiful."  I get it.  I know the rush that comes when your love gives you a compliment...  All I'm saying is I hope you find a way to look in the mirror and see the beauty yourself first.  It'll mean so much more when he's just "agreeing" with you!  Ha ha ha.

Have a wonderful Thursday!  Here's hoping when you look in the mirror today, you'll see the remarkable person you are!
Megs

Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Strawberry jam (which is funny... I used to HATE jams with seeds!)
2.  Blogging again - it's nice to read and write for a few moments in the morning.  I forgot.
3.  Emailing some of the fun people we met on our trip this year!
4.  A pastor who's willing to stop what we're doing and pray for a friend.
5.  Good, productive ideas!
6.  Being happy.  Not grumpy.
7.  A day full of busy work - and getting most of it done!
8.  Going to a Blegian beer-tasting tonight.  Fun!
9.  My birdies still visit my window at work... even though their bush is gone...
10.  Bubbles.  And more bubbles.  And giving away bubbles to kids.  So fun!

Yummy Wednesday - Chicken with Morel Mushrooms

Last spring, the hubby started finding morel mushrooms at work...  he brought them home by the buckets!  So we had to quickly find recipes to use them in.  We did them sauted in butter, wrapped in bacon, and breaded...  But these.  Now these are yummy mushrooms!  This is by far my favorite way to eat morels! 

Chicken with Morels 

From "Barefoot in Paris" by Ina Garten

Serves 6.

You need:
1 ounce dried morels, soaked for 30 minutes in 3 cups very hot water (or about 10oz to a pound of fresh)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup chopped shallots (I use about half that - it's a very strong flavor!)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 cup Madeira wine (or dry sherry works, too!)
1 cup (8 oz) creme fraiche (you can get this at Trader Joe's)
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsps freshly squeezed lemon juice

To make:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lift morels carefully from the hot water in order to leave any grit behind in the liquid.  Rinse a few times to be sure all the grittiness is gone.  Discard the liquid and dry the morels lightly with paper towels.  Set aside.

Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Dredge them in flour and shake off the excess.  Heat half of the butter in a large saute pan and cook the chicken in 2 batches over medium-low heat until browned on both sides, 8-10 minutes.  Remove to an ovenproof casserole.

Add the rest of the melted butter to the pan along with the shallots, drained morels, and garlic.  Saute over medium heat for 2 minutes, tossing and stirring constantly.  Pour the Madeira into the pan and reduce the liquid by half over high heat, 2 to 4 minutes.  Add the creme fraiche, cream, lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, and 3/4 tsp pepper.  Boil until mixture starts to thicken, 5-10 minutes.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 12 minutes, or until chicken is heated through.

We like to serve it with thick, crusty bread - perfect for sopping up the extra sauce.  Yum!  Enjoy!


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Homemade muffins.
2.  Exercising.
3.  Waking up to the sound of rain on the window and a cool breeze.
4.  Lunch with Norma - she's always full of good stories!
5.  A quiet afternoon.
6.  Dinner with the confirmation boys and their dads at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Very fun.
7.  Talking with my sister about my upcoming trip to Alaska - I'm so excited!
8.  Sharing a Belgian beer with the hubby before bed.
9.  "America's Got Talent" - it does show some really cool talent!
10.  Looking back through pictures from the past two months...  So many fun moments!

Catch Up

Ok - I'm back!  I'm ready to blog!  I'm tired of disappointing all of you who continuously send me emails - wondering where I am, if I'm ok, if I've dropped off the planet... and I'm ready to get back into my routine of gratitude and uplifting reminders that "life is good" indeed!  It's summertime - so why not?

Instead of going back and trying to fill in the past two months - I'll just do a quick catch up here.  So hold on - here's the exciting stuff that has been going on in my life!  (Yeah, that was sarcasm - could you hear it?)

April
**A dear friend, Morgan, came to Minnesota for a weekend to surprise another friend. I got to pick her up at the airport and spend half a day with her - so fun!  We went to my parents' house and visited with my dad and sister, Kayla, then headed to a favorite diner (Edina Grill) for a girls' lunch.  Our parents were friends before we were born out in Colorado, so we've known each other all our lives, but very rarely have opportunities to see each other - so these visits are a lot of fun! 

**I got to preach for the Easter Sunrise service at our church.  Too fun!  Let's just say it included noisemakers and audience participation - a great way to wake up on a holiday morning!  Alleluia!

(Pastor Penny let me bring home the flowers that she placed on the altar from her own garden. They were THE most beautiful tulips I have ever seen!)

**My hubby's 13 year-old nephew, Brandon, decided he wanted to spend his spring break at our house this year - the entire week!  We had a lot of fun - cooking yummy meals (many of his favorites - strawberry empanadas, chipotle mac, tacos, pancakes, guacamole and chips, etc), the hubby and he got to go to Mall of America and ride the amusement park rides, play disc golf, go hiking, camp out for a night, go rock-climbing, etc.  It was a busy week - but a lot of fun.  He's a great kid!  Saturday night, his mom and her fiance came up and we all went to our favorite restaurant (San Pedro Cafe) for dinner - a fun night was had by all!

**A few happy hour dates and casual dinners out with friends...  Always much needed.

(An evening at Sea Salt Eatery in Minnehaha Falls.  Scallop tacos.  Yum.)

**The hubby and I got up early one Saturday to go to another favorite restaurant - all the way across town in Minneapolis! Zumbro Cafe is a wonderful little neighborhood spot for breakfast and lattes!  We spent the morning eating in the cafe, watching people, and walking around the quaint little neighborhood, playing in the gift shops.  So fun.
**Our god-daughter's birthday party!  Woo-hoo!  We had a lot of fun hanging out with her family and friends, eating yummy food, and playing with her new toys!  Her mom is the queen of cupcakes - a wonderful birthday treat!  We got Elly the game, "Ele-fun" - a game where an elephant shoots butterflies out his trunk up into the air, and you try to catch them with butterfly nets.  So cute.  Elly just wanted to sit on my lap and ooo and aaahhh as the butterflies flew through the air.  I loved every minute of it!

**A visit with the kids from church to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Science Museum.  Very cool.  I love that museum - it doesn't matter what you go see, you'll have fun.  The best part?  The musical stairs.  On our way to the cafeteria for lunch we got to climb the stairs - each stair is a note.  So we all took turns running up and down and jumping around, composing our own tunes.  Even Pastor Penny got into it.  So fun.  After the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, they had several pages from the St. John's Bible - an absolutely stunning, beautiful, handwritten Bible.  Someday, I will own some prints of it.  Beautiful, I tell you.
**Dinner with our friends Henry and Joan, and their kids Marcus and Isabella.  Let's just say there was a lot of Wii playing between my hubby and Marcus (4 years old) - and Marcus was winning, but offering lessons to my hubby!  Ha!  (Marcus was so excited to continue playing after dinner that when my hubby told him he had to finish all of his dinner first, he crammed everything into his mouth...  swallowed... and promptly threw it up at the dinner table.  Once it was cleaned up, he asked my hubby - "can we play now?")  Ha!  It was a very entertaining evening!
**I preached again in April on the topic of "Celebration - Happy Birthday to You!"  The sermon was about how each one of us is unique, special, loved by God, and worthy of celebration.  I thought it would be kind of a "puff piece" - but I had more responses and requests of copies of this sermon than anything I've preached before!  I guess it's something we all need to hear once in awhile...
**And... We finished the month with my belated birthday present - and Amos Lee concert!  Woo-hoo!  We went for dinner at the Loring Pasta Bar - a very cool, eclectic kind of place.  And then went next door to the Varsity Theater for the concert.  It was clear this was the last concert of the tour - Amos seemed tired and a little ready to be done...  But man, does he have a gorgeous voice and soulful music.  Love him.

May
**The St. Paul Farmer's Market opened.  We've been going every Saturday morning to buy as many groceries as we can!  So far we've tried: asparagus, rhubarb, tomatoes, potatoes, scallions, butternut squash ravioli, butternut squash fettucini, honey, cinnamon honey (for my homemade bread!), gelato (too many flavors to list - but maple bacon and salty caramel are my faves!), cinnamon bacon, chicken breasts, rainbow trout, bison meat, cranberry orange chip dip (yum), farm fresh eggs, and we've bought several started plants (parsley, cilantro, mint, basil, rosemary, and thai basil).  Uff da.  That's just in May - there's so much summer to come!

(We've planted a bunch of herbs to use in cooking.  So fun!)

(I've been bringing rhubarb home to prep and freeze...  hoping to make strawberry rhubarb jam when the strawberries ripen!)

(Rainbow trout and asparagus from the market...  A fresh summer meal!)

**We've started going to beer tastings at our local liquor store.  So fun!  The first one had a couple of Belgian beers - so we got to compare them to what we tried in Belgium.  Now, this week, we'll be going to an all-Belgian beers tasting.  So cool.
**The hubby's mom and her friend, Beth, came for a weekend.  Once again, entertaining = yummy food!  Country biscuits with strawberries and Grand Marnier, and chicken and morel mushrooms, to name a couple dishes.  We spent an entire day exploring St. Paul - driving up and down Grand Ave and Summit Ave, playing in Whole Foods (that was a funny experience!), visiting the Como Park Conservatory and seeing the latest flower show, and ending the day where else?  At San Pedro Cafe!  Delish!

(We couldn't pass up a rummage sale... and I got this pretty blue pitcher!)

**My baby sister, Kayla's, prom.  I got to take her to get her hair done at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis before the big event!  So fun seeing her all dressed up and being there when her boyfriend came to get her.  They both looked great - and ready to have some fun!

**On Mother's Day, my family came over for dinner.  Asparagus, proscuitto, and smoked mozzarella pasta.  Oh yeah...  I'll be posting that one!  We gave mom her lace table runner from Amsterdam.  So pretty.  And we played a rousing game of "fan tan"!  Way too funny!

(These are classic facial expressions from my parents!)

(Mom's feeling good about her deal!)

**The hubby and I decided to check out Stillwater's Rivertown Days on a Sunday afternoon.  It was a beautiful day to be outside, fun to walk through the craft and art booths, and we finished off the afternoon with a beer on a restaurant deck - watching the boats on the river and soaking up some rays.  Perfect.

**Our Book Group decided to put down our books for an evening at meet up at a Lebanese restaurant.  Very fun!  I tried a sampler platter.  It was good, but probably not my favorite ethnic food...  And yes, ladies.  You were all right about the tahini.  I won't do that again!
**I took a group of 15 to Feed My Starving Children - a local charity that uses volunteers to bag meals for hungry kids all over the world.  Our group, combined with about 40 other people, bagged about 11,000 meals that night - which will feed 33 kids for a year!  So cool.
**I got to try another ethnic food!  My friend, Jill, and I went to the India House on Grand Ave in St. Paul.  Ohmygoodness - I LOVED it!  I had shrimp in curry and coconut sauce with some garlic naan.  Jill and I had a great time chatting - it's so easy to lose track of time once we start talking...  So fun.

**My sister, Kayla's, last-ever high school choir concert.  I sat with Mom and Dad and kept a close eye on them - waiting for them to start crying!  I have to admit - their senior song was a tear-jerker.  It was really good!  And of course, they did an encore of "Bohemian Rhapsody" - head-banging and all.  So fun!  At the end, the alumni come on stage to sing "Amazing Grace" with the choir... I was determined not to go on stage this year (I did it last year) - but Kayla was almost throwing a fit on stage begging me to come up.... so I did.  It was cool.  Kayla and I held hands as we both sang our last song ever with the Eden Prairie choirs.  A good night.

(Kayla's in the center with the black headband.)

**I introduced the hubby to The India House.  Double yum.  Then we went for a walk on Grand Ave, and ended back at the Grand Ole Creamery for an ice cream cone.  We shared a chocolate banana malt cone, sat on a bench and watched the world go by.  A perfect evening.

**First baseball game of the season - we went to see the St Paul Saints!  So fun!  It rained for the first 1/2 hour we were there... and then the sun came out, we ate brats and drank beer, enjoyed the game and all the silliness that happens at Saints games, and ooohed and aaahed at the fireworks after the game!  Loved it.  On the way home, we stopped at the Happy Gnome for one last beer - it's a place where you can always try something new.  I tried a Odell's Bourbon Barrel Stout - dark beer that tastes like Bourbon.  Crazy good.

**The month ended with my family over for a Memorial day dinner - smoked ribs, cedar-planked mashed potatoes, asparagus, homemade salsa, and strawberry trifle dessert.  It was a good, fun, night!

And today I am thankful for:

1.  Snooze buttons.
2.  Yummy bran muffins.  (Watch for the recipe - it's not your usual bran muffin!)
3.  Our church secretary, Diane - she let me know I didn't need to come into the office today and we worked on stuff via email.  Lovely.
4.  Paychecks.  Gotta love 'em.
5.  Graduation parties - I can't wait to see some of my old youth group kids!
6.  Summer mornings.  I love waking up to cool breezes and bright sunshine!
7.  Yoga.  I've started doing it twice a week again via DVD.  It feels so good!
8.  Frozen marinara sauce - makes for a yummy, quick dinner!
9.  Our dog, Bailey - she's loving summer, too.  She can't seem to stop playing ball and frisbee!

\

(She's catching some shade between the brick wall and the hose box...  Apparently this is her new favorite resting spot between frisbee tosses!)

10.  I'm back!  And it feels good.  :)