Coolest Dream EVER!

Have you ever had a dream so real, so vivid that it touched you deep into your soul? Have you ever missed someone so badly that your heart ached at the thought of their name? Well, combine the two and that happened for me last night.

It was already a fairly sleepless night and I've been feeling rather unmotivated lately when it comes to losing weight (I need to drop 100 pounds) and also when it comes to housework. While not sleeping last night I did some serious praying to God. I asked that he place in me a motivation that doesn't quit. A reason to do what I know needs to be done. A pure desire and willingness. He did that in one dream.

Now, many of my dreams I would relate to as a old black and white movie. Little or no color and very little talking or sound. It's more like watching something happen as opposed to living it. Not this dream. Everything was sharp, clear, colorful and the sounds to go with. Mainly it was me, Gram, Papa and my little 'nephew' Jackson.

We were sitting in a living room much like the one that Gram and Papa used to have when they lived in Oregon City on Clairmont Way. Gram and Papa were sitting in their recliners and I was sitting on the floor playing with Jackson. It didn't seem odd to me to see Gram, I somehow knew she had already passed away over 20 years ago but it was her. I knew it was the morning that Papa was going to pass away. He was lucid and talking with me, nothing to deep, just recalling memories together.

Around that time Gram began to talk. She told me that today was the day, that her and Papa would finally be back together. I agreed. I told her that yes, I knew it was time for him to go home and while I would miss him greatly I knew he was going to be in Heaven and I was OK with that. I also told Gram how much I had missed her over the last several years. She told me that she knew, she had been watching me and was proud of the woman I had become. She was glad that I was growing up to become a woman of God and that I had found a husband who also had a strong belief in Christ. She told me how she had watched my children grow, how she was proud of all three of them. She was happy that I liked to be with all of my 'adopted' nephews and made sure I knew to take special care of Jackson.

The three of us talked for the longest time, just catching up really on what Gram had missed here on earth. Over and over again she reassured me that Heaven is such a wonderful place and I shouldn't miss her or Papa or my Uncle Nicky. Finally the three of us embraced in the strongest hug that I have ever felt. We began singing a simple song, three words, "Thank You Jesus" over and over again. I can still hear it in my head as I type this. She then told me it was time for her and Papa to leave me and return to Heaven where they belonged. In an instant I felt this weightlessness come over me and they quickly disappeared.

I awoke to something tickling my arm, at first in my dream it was Jackson climbing on me as he so often does but when I woke up it was really Wayne rubbing his hand on my arm. I told him about my dream, how it made me feel and how desperately I wanted to remember it.

I wish I could explain the feeling that it gave to me but really, words can not describe it. It was such a glorious dream and I am so thankful to God for giving it to me. With all of the struggles in life that both Gram and Papa faced I realize what breathtaking lives they both lived to the fullest. If they can do it under the circumstances they faced, surely I can do the same.

Heaven for the Halibut

Hubby and I were blessed to receive some VERY AWESOME halibut this week and while I could eat it baked, broiled, bbq'd or fried hubby really loves his fish and chips. Well of course that dinner was so epic, I felt it needed a blog post of it's own! So how is the best gosh darn kick Skippers and Long John Silvers in the no no parts fried fish made? SIMPLY. To many people try to add to many ingredients into their batter and you lose the flavor or the batter is to heavy and you wind up with a piece of fish in a loaf of fried bread. So come along with me on a little journey and you won't regret it!

This recipe is one I snagged from the Naked Chef himself, Jamie Oliver.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/fish-and-chips-recipe/index.html
(should the link at some point in time go bad I'll tell you now his basic recipe is 2 egg whites stiffly beaten.1 cup flour mixed with 1 cup beer, then fold in the egg whites. Because I use so much of it I do 3 egg whites, 1 1/2 cups flour and 12 ounces of beer). Flour, beer, egg whites and some good hot oil. It's yummy and so light and crispy. I do add a teaspoon of salt to the batter and I prefer a good ale with his recipe.

I heat my oil up to 350/360 degrees. Then I cut my fish (halibut of course is really great but cod works too!) into 1 1/2-2" squares.

Whip up your egg whites until good and stiff and set them aside. Mix together your beer and flour (and salt if desired) and fold in your egg whites. It's the carbonation from the beer and the egg whites that give this batter it's light and crispy texture. See the bubbles? You want that!!

If your fish is wet then pat it dry with a paper towel and then give it a dunk into your batter. Pull it out and let the excess drip off. Yes, the batter is thin, trust me, it's OK! Lay it down into the hot oil, I cook 3 or 4 pieces at 350/360 degrees for about 6-7 minutes. It will be golden brown on the outside when it's done and light and flaky on the inside.

Oh and the batter? There is a reason why I always make more. Onion rings? Yes please! Again, 350/360 degrees, 2-4 minutes flipping halfway. Times really depend on thickness.

This batter works well with pretty much ANY veggie that you can fry. Zucchini is really good too...I was sad I didn't have any tonight!! I do however have 5 more beers from the 6 pack I bought to make tonight's dinner and since I don't drink I see 5 more yummy dinners in my future!!!







Happy Eating!

Use All The White Boards!

So, if you know me, you know that I am one of the least organized people on the face of the earth. I'm forgetful and as a result over the years I have learned to cope with it by using white board, my trusty alarm clock and a date book. But these white boards I've realized are great little helpers! The nice hing is that I don't have to worry about losing little scraps of paper with notes scrawled on them (yea, that happens!) So I thought I would give you a nice little public service announcement by sharing with you the many white boards and their purpose that are in my home =)

To me this first board is the most important. As you can see it's a to-do list BUT, it's not for me. It's for God. Yea, that's right. I tell God what to do. OK, not really...I call it my "Prayer Board". On it I can write my prayers and praises. Once I write it down then it's something that I no longer allow myself to be worried about. I know if God wants to call on me he will. If a prayer is answered, I thank him for it. I can't tell you how many times I have prayed a prayer over and over and feel like I'm not getting any response from God (though deep down I KNOW that is not true). So I will write it down and it seems to me that when I physically write it down my soul is at rest and ease and I know that God will in HIS time answer me. It really, really helps. It hangs in my kitchen in a spot where it's seen multiple times a day. It's my constant reminder to not just be vigilant in my prayer, but to also be silent so that I may listen for an answer.

This is my basic shopping and meal ideas list (yes, I spelled ideas wrong on the board, not on purpose, just was likely to busy to notice when I wrote it on there!) It hangs on my fridge and I'm SLOWLY getting my daughter to remember that when she wants something, uses the last of something or sees we are running low on something to write it down. On the left side I keep a running list of meal ideas. One of the things that bug me is when I'm rooting around in my freezer or fridge and I see something that I had bought thinking, "Hey! This would make a great meal!" Sadly though because I forgot about it, that food went to waste and didn't get used. So I try and keep a running tally on what I have on hand and what it can be used for. That helps keep the waste down. That helps save money, saving money is GOOD! At the bottom you can see the food to make section, that way when I want to make snack foods, make ahead meals and the like I jot it down and make something when I have free time that week.

Here is my daily and on-going board. It hangs in my bedroom. As you can see I have a constant reminder on what I need to do everyday. Read my Bible, pray, find something I'm thankful for, make sure dinner gets made (I TOLD you, I'm forgetful!) Spend 10 minutes cleaning each of the rooms, spend 1 minute cleaning the bathroom and spend a few minutes working out. Yes, I know I have be thankful on there twice. Because it's important! The rest of the board I use for things that need to be done soon-usually that day, or within the week. If nothing else, it's once again a reminder of things to be done.

Here is a similar board that I have on the other side of the bedroom but it's for hubby. Since he's not forgetful like I am I just jot notes for him to do or leave him a love note.

This is the final board in the house. It's my daughters. Because she is older and more responsible she is allowed to do things after school or on the weekends but in case we aren't here or hadn't communicated plans already we use this. She lets us know where she is and if she has chores to do we write them here. She knows that it's her job to fill out the board and it works great in the summer or on non school days. It gives us the knowledge of knowing all the things parents should know and care about, it gives her the peace of mind that we trust her and doesn't make her feel like we're nagging on her.


So, those are the boards in my life. They help, they're cheap and I really like them. Now if I could only get a board to clean my house I think my life would be about as perfect as ever!!

Super Cheap & Easy Wrinkle Release/Fabric Freshener

This is something I've been doing for years and after being on Pinterest for a while I've noticed that one of the things that people love are super cheap and easy things that make life easier. Well, this is one of those things!

Have you ever bought a bottle of Febreze or Downy Wrinkle Release? Yea, they work, they smell great but what at the cost...yea, I don't like them that much!!! So years ago I came up with this easy solution that works GREAT!!!

What you need:
4 cups of water
5-10 dryer sheets (I use 5 Bounce sheets, if you like stronger scents use more!)
An empty spray bottle

OK, there are two ways to go about this and they both work just fine so it's really your preference. You can take a glass measuring cup and boil the water in the microwave or you can boil the water in a pan on the stove.

What you want to do is boil the water with the dryer sheets for a couple of minutes. Make sure you give it a few stirs along the way. Let it cool for at least 20 minutes giving it a stir every couple of minutes.

Once it's cool remove the dryer sheets and pour your happy little concoction into a spray bottle! Yes, it's kinda cloudy looking, depending on the type and strength of dryer sheets it may look really swirly but don't worry, it's gonna work the same! Now!! Got a wrinkle in something? Spray it down! Got a stinky couch? Spray it!

You're welcome!

Strawberry Cheesecake...sort of

So the hubby and daughter are out for the night on their "date" and after a good dinner of black beans and rice (see the post before this) mommy wants dessert! No problem, right? WRONG! For Lent I decided to give up junk food. Candy bars, ice cream, etc. I have always been a comfort junk food junkie eater but since I need to lose almost 100 pounds I knew that since I was feeling addicted if you will to junk food and relying less on God I knew it was something God was calling me to do. In doing that I knew that if I was going to be cooking or baking to be very careful of the amount of sugar and fat that I used. So I knew if I was going to have something I had to be good! I'm not going to break my promise to myself, let alone God and I knew that God gave me the gift of figuring out what goes with what when it came to food so I decided to trust that. The result? A healthy HEAVENLY dessert that I am so happy about!!!

6 large strawberries hulled
1 ounce cream cheese (I buy the once ounce single serving packets in bulk so I didn't have to worry about measuring)
1 tsp sugar

Whip the cream cheese and sugar together with a fork until light (just a couple of minutes since it's such a small amount but you will see it get a bit fluffier). With your fork gently cram (don't ask me how you gently cram, just do it!) the cream cheese mixture into each strawberry. You should have just enough for all 6. If you don't want to try and stuff them you can slice your berries in half and spread the mixture on it.

Result? Yummines!
Calories: 135
Fat: 7g
Cholesterol: 20mg
Sodium: 117mg
Total Carbs: 16-17g (varies on the actual size of the berries)
Fiber: 3g
Sugars: 12.4
Protein: 2g

EASY Black Beans and Rice

I LOVE black beans and rice. To make them however, well, it can be a pain. After seeing Cooks Country do a version today (it looked wonderful but again, to time consuming for me) so I had an idea to transform it, change it around, make it my own...and what do ya know! It worked! (Can you hear the angels singing?)

So what do you need?
1/2 Bell Pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 onion
(mince the above in a food processor until 1/4" or smaller but not paste like)
1 19-ish ounce can of black beans (drain but reserve the liquid, you will need it! You should have about 1 cup of the reserved liquid. If you don't then you will need to add enough water to get to that and if you have more use it and decrease your water if need be.)
2 cups rice (Thai Jasmine is my favorite but any long grain rice will work fine)
2 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 strip pre-cooked bacon finely chopped
2 tsp hickory bacon salt (if you do not have bacon salt, first of all SHAME SHAME SHAME! Go to http://www.jdfoods.net/ and buy some!! If you can't do it then use 2 strips of pre-cooked bacon instead of one and add in 1 tsp salt. But seriously, go get yourself some Bacon Salt...that stuff is AWESOME in a jar!)

OK, you can do this in a pan or in your rice cooker. I have a good rice maker so I chose to do that. Once your veggies are minced heat your pan on medium (or turn on your rice cooker) and cook them for a few minutes in the olive oil until they are starting to soften. Add in your bacon and bacon salt and cook for a few more minutes until they look like this:

Yea, my rice pan is sadly beaten up...still cooks good though!

OK, now I want you to put in the beans, the reserved bean liquid and rice. Stir it up and let the rice soak up the bean liquid for a minute. This will add more flavor to the rice. After a minute go ahead and add in the water and cook away! If you have a rice cooker just tell it to cook, on the stove I would bring everything up to a simmer, cover and then cook on low. Either way, to prevent everything from burning stir it two or three times during the cooking process, likely 20 to 30 minutes. Once it's done remove the lid and give it one final stir. Let it rest for a couple of minutes before stirring.

The finished product!

Good stuff!

Dinner, NOW with bacon!

So it's not any secret that I like carbs and bacon. The two go well together. The other night I was hungry, the family was hungry and I was tired. I boiled some bow tie pasta, tossed it with about 1/2 pound of cooked and chopped bacon and about a pound of cooked and chopped chicken breast...oh yea. It was good. Hubby thought it needed pasta sauce...yea, it would be good with that but it was fine just plain too. (And yea, I know, the picture isn't great...it's a cell phone camera for pete's sake!)