mhmm monday

Today’s mhmm comes from this website.

Pizza Poppers

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 cups Italian mix shredded cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup diced pepperoni
1 cup browned sausage
1 cup pizza (or spaghetti) sauce
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients, then stir in milk and egg. Fold in cheeses and meat, and let stand for 10 minutes. Pour or scoop batter into greased mini muffin tin. Bake 20-25 minutes. Yields 48 mini muffins. Serve with warmed pizza sauce.
Enjoy!

Blessings

Beautiful Thing ~ week # 13

Last week, I booked a luxurious night The Zielman B & B, which is just a fancy way of saying I slept over at my daughters.

As I arrived, I was greeted by my handsome son-in-law who as the bartender of the Zielman Pub & Bistro had the specialty drinks listed and made me a Raspberry Arnold Palmer.  We sat down and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner, chatted, er, I mean listened as my daughter kept the conversation flowing. Took our dogs for a relaxing walk throughout the town. Watched a movie and continued to have great conversation before we headed to bed. Had a wonderful sleep and woke up to a delicious breakfast treat before we set off for a “Pretty Woman” day of shopping in London.

My son-in-law switched hats from host to chauffeur, taking us anywhere we wanted to go.  We shopped until we dropped, treated ourselves to star bucks and had the loveliest time ever.

What was your beautiful thing this week?

Blessings

Stumped

I really can’t remember how it began and whether it was Darcy or Kyle, it might have even been Krystle, who started it. But we’d play this game quite often when were driving for an extended period of time, or sitting in the hot tub.

Like I said it’s a made-up game and so I’ve made up the name “stumped”. It’s simple really… the first person mentions an actor and the next person names a movie that that actor is in and another actor from that same movie. If there are more than two people, you continue going around the circle, if there is just the two of you simply go back and forth. Until one of you cannot think of a movie that that actor is in, without repeating actors or movies. There are two ways that this game can end…if an actor or movie is mentioned that one player does not know, the person who mentioned it must come up with a different actor/movie that both players know, or if an actor/movie is not known the game simple ends and the other player is stumped…Simple right?

Here’s an example:
me: Christian Bale {who was in}
you: Batman Begins {with} ~ Michael Caine {who was in}
me: Austin Powers International Man of Mystery ~ {with} Elizabeth Hurley {who was in}
you: Bedazzled {with} ~ Brendan Fraser {who was in}
me: Blast from the Past {with} ~ Christoper Walkin {who was in}
you: Stepford Wives {with} ~ Matthew Broderick {who was in}
me: Ferris Bueller’s Day off {with} ~ Jennifer Grey {who was in}
you: Dirty Dancing {with} ~ Patrick Swayze {who was in}
me: Ghost {with} ~ Demi Moore {who was in}
you: G.I. Jane {with} ~ Viggo Mortenson {who was in}
me: Lord of the Rings {with} ~ Sean Bean {who was in}
you: The Italian Job {with} ~ Mark Wahlberg {who was in}
me: Date Night {with} ~ Steve Carrel {who was in}
you: Bruce Almighty {with} ~ Jim Carrey {who was in}
me: The Mask {with} ~ Cameron Diaz {who was in}
you: Charlie’s Angels {with} ~ Drew Barrymore {who was in}
me: Never Been Kissed {with} ~ David Arquette {who was in}
you: Scream {with} ~ Matthew Lillard {who was in}
me: Without a Paddle {with} ~ Seth Green {who was in}
you: Austin Powers Goldmember {with} ~ Kevin Spacey {who was in}
me: Seven {with} ~ Gwyneth Paltrow {who was in}
you: Shallow Hall {with} ~ Jack Black {who was in}
me: Kung fu Panda {with} ~ Angelina Jolie {who was in}
you: Mr & Mrs. Smith {with} ~ Brad Pitt {who was in}
me: Ocean’s Eleven {with} ~ Casey Affleck {who was in}
you: … {thinking}… {thinking}… STUMPED

It helps if you watch a lot of movies ~ which we do and you know your actors ~ which we do ….. It’s also a great way to learn more movies and actors.

What do you do on long car trips? How do you spend your time?  

Blessings

Take a Break

I’m writing this with a packed suitcase at my feet, {♪♫♫ all my bags are packed and I’m ready to go ♪♫♪♪♪♫} as tomorrow the hubs and I are headed to Jamaica.

Do you find it hard to take vacation? No? Lucky you. Cause, you see, I do. I have a hard time with it; not because I think I'm so important that I have to be at home or things fall apart, but because I feel guilty. I mean really, since I am not gainfully employed, what do I need a vacation from?

So for the next two weeks, as we’re on vacation, I plan to soak up some warm Jamaican sun; savour late-nights conversations and sleep-in kinda mornings; eat delicious meals that I have not had to cook; revel in the fact that I do not have to clean up; enjoy sunshine-filled walks with the hubs; and drink in the beautiful scenery.

But let’s be honest here since I am slightly OCD…. whoops I said let’s be honest… I have serious OCD. And because I am one of those peoples, I have this deep compulsion to follow through with my mhmm Mondays and my beautiful thing Saturdays even while I’m away… and because I’ve pre-written those posts, I added a few others too, that are sitting in the queue and will be posted during my holidays… Enjoy!

So while I am away, I’m not going to worry about the checklist of items that will need to get done around the house when we return. I am just going to take this time with my husband and appreciate the many wonderful memories we’re making.

We’re not meant to do it all, to be constantly on the go, never re-charging our mental, physical, and spiritual batteries.

How about you? What do you do to re-charge?
Blessings

mhmm monday

Today’s mhmm comes from this website a delicious way to do homemade chiecken wings.

Easy Crockpot Sriracha Honey Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
4 pounds chicken wing drumettes, frozen
3/4 cup sriracha sauce (Huy Fong Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, the one with the rooster on the package)
3/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
juice of one lime (about 1/4 cup)
Directions:
In a 5 quart slow cooker on low add sriracha sauce, butter, honey and lime juice. Stir to combine. Add chicken wings. Stir until wings are well coated. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
Remove wings from slow cooker and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle sauce from slow cooker over wings.
Set oven to broil. Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 2-3 minutes until the sauce starts to caramelize. Remove from oven, serve and enjoy.
COOK’S NOTE: If you like a thick sauce coating, transfer the sauce to a saucepan and boil it until it cooks down, approximately 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then brush or drizzle the sauce over the wings.
You can also layer the sauce on the wings. Coat wings with sauce, broil for 1 minute, remove from oven. Coat with sauce, broil 1 minute. Add more sauce, broil until sauce is caramelized.
Enjoy!

Blessings

Beautiful Thing ~ week # 12

The Docks is a restaurant/bar in the quaint little town of Bayfield, where they, by far, make the best wings … ever!

We haven’t been there in a while, so it was decided that it was time to treat ourselves to 55 cent wings offered only on Thursdays… we invited our son who lives in Bayfield to join us.

With excellent food, great conversation, a welcoming atmosphere and the wonderful company, made our time together most enjoyable!

What was your beautiful thing this week?

Blessings

Devotions

When I open the devotional book, “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young it says,

~ TRUST ME ENOUGH to spend ample time with Me, pushing back the demands of the day. Refuse to feel guilty about something that is so pleasing to Me, the King of the universe. Because I am omnipotent, I am able to bend time and events in your favour. You will find that you can accomplish more in less time, after you have given yourself to Me in rich communion. Also, as you align yourself with My perspective, you can sort out what is important and what is not.
Don’t fall into the trap of being constantly on the go. Many, many things people do in My Name have no value in My kingdom. To avoid doing meaningless works, stay in continual communication with Me. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. ~  

Luke 10:41-42

{New International Version {NIV}}

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered,
“you are worried and upset about many things,

but few things are needed - or indeed only one.

Mary has chosen what is better,
and it will not be taken away from her.”

Psalm 32:8

{New International Version {NASB}}

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

The words wash over me.

Not words of condemnation, but gentle and calming words. Words that give me a glimpse of what I've missed and what is needed. Words that assure me: when I choose to be intentional about my time, He will take care of all the rest...important and urgent, or not.

So I read these words of life and commit again to being intentional each day.

Blessings

Spring!?!

It’s official.

Spring has sprung! ... how do I know?

Have I seen any robins? No.

Any tulips, daffodils, crocus or any other spring bulb blooming? No.

Are the birds, rabbits or deer acting twitter pated {dictionary.com describes ~ twit·ter·pat·ed “excited or overcome by romantic feelings; smitten.” Origin: 1942; first used in the movie Bambi;}? No.

Is it when the date on the calendar marks the official spring equinox? No.

um, ok, have I received my Kraft What’s Cooking magazine with a delicious looking rainbow layer cake on the front cover in the mail. YES!

I love reading this recipe magazine from cover to cover and dreaming of all the yummy foods to try!

How about you, what signifies the beginning of spring for you?

Blessings

mhmm monday

Today’s mhmm comes from this website.  {Found it while bunny-trailing through other recipe blogs, I just love it when I find new recipe websites...}
 
Smoked Cheddar Butternut Squash Soup 

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
coarse salt and fresh black pepper
6 cups cubed squash (from about a 2 pound squash)
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 apples, diced (I used Gala)
1 heaping cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese, plus more for serving
1/3 cup half & half or heavy cream, optional
chopped chives or green onion, for serving
Directions:
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, a few pinches of salt and pepper and cook 6 - 7 minutes, stirring often.
Add the butternut squash and broth. Season well with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook 25 - 30 minutes, stirring often.
Stir in the apples. Puree the soup with a stick blender or in batches in the blender holding the top down with a kitchen towel so it won't blow off from the steam.
Return the soup to the saucepan over low heat and stir in the cheese and half & half. Bring back up to heat.
Serve garnished with a sprinkling of cheese and chives.
Enjoy!

Blessings

Beautiful Thing ~ week # 11

For the past 6 years, our son Darcy worked at the Little Inn of Bayfield. He started in February of 2008. 

And worked liked crazy.

In October of 2011 he stepped it up an notch and as well as being a line cook, he also became the night keeper.
 
And last month, he gave notice that he intends to find other employment.

So, we took the opportunity to celebrate this accomplishment in his life.

Most of us faithfully remember to relish and capture our children's ‘firsts’, like first steps and first words ~ but we need to learn to recognize and savour the often fleeting the bittersweet ‘lasts’ - those milestones that can so often go unrecorded.

It’s sometimes hard to recognize the lasts ~ but when you know your journey or time at something has come to an end, it is a definite cause for a celebration!

As he begins this new adventure the words in Jeremiah 29:11 {New International Version {NIV}} “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” remind us that this is just the beginning!

What was your beautiful thing this week?

Blessings

Make the choice

A few weeks ago, there was a particular day where I was feeling grumpy. Do you ever have those days, weeks, ok let's be honest, after all we're friends right? It's been a month where nothing is right and no matter what, I've just been cross? I don’t know it if was because of a lack of sleep, hormones, or just a random bad mood but, whatever the reason, I haven't had to many good days.

Battling with an auto-immune disease, some days are harder than others. For the past month or so my body has been hurting, I’m feeling tired and quite grumpy, I’m just not myself. Pretty much every morning, I would struggle to haul myself out of bed. It’s been a rough month in that department. It seems to take more effort than I have to simply take a step.

I've fallen into a weird pattern of telling myself that whatever is happening right this second is the way it will be now and forevermore, amen.

If I'm having a bad day, the rest of my life looks bleak.
If I'm a grumpy wife, my husband got gypped for life and just doesn't know it yet.
If I'm uninspired, I've lost my mojo. {and it's never coming back.}
Forgot something important? Early-onset dementia.
Can't string together a decent row of words? I used to be smart.

What if...
 ...things don't change, ...you don't feel better, ...the person who hurt you never apologizes, ...your dream doesn't come true, ...people misunderstand you, ...you feel like you haven't been successful, ...hard work doesn't pay off, ...your family isn't your closest ally, ...you feel unprepared for current circumstances, ...your loved ones reject Christ, ...your heart gets broken, ...life's harder than you thought it would be?
 
...and when life feels overwhelming, it can either be met with lies or met with truth.

This morning, as I sat with my cuppa tea I was getting angry with God and having my own little pity party and all of a sudden God whispered to me, “It’s a choice, Anita”.

It is a choice to have joy despite being in physical pain. I don’t have to let my body determine my mood. That truth was very freeing to me. I have to intentionally choose to be joyful even if I am not feeling well! And by tonight my attitude was different. I kept reminding myself “I choose joy.” And it worked!

And the best thing?
 
I can apply the practice of choosing joy to everything! When I come home to a messy house ~ I choose joy. When my plans for the day get changed ~ I choose joy. When my husband hurts my feelings ~ I choose joy. When I’m waiting in a long line at the grocery store ~ I choose joy. When I’m disappointed ~ I choose joy. When I’m in another active cycle dealing with symptoms ~ I choose joy!

What about you? Are you choosing joy too? 

Blessings

Messy, messy, messy...

Yesterday was a mess.
 
It was one of those days when I really would’ve liked to throw in the towel. I find that there are a lot of those days in this active season of my illness. It’s frustrating to put all my effort into things and barely manage the status quo.

Some days are just like that.

Or maybe it's just me?

Even though I had big plans to be productive today, I'm choosing to accept another day of survival mode. But that's okay, because if there's one thing I've learned in the past year, is that life goes on.

I like things in our house to be tidy, or at least presentable. But as much as I appreciate neatness and order, I am not so good at maintaining it. I don't like to clean, and while my house isn’t usually messy, it’s not overly clean either.

It is easy for me to blame my untidy home ~ where dust bunnies are permanent residents and coffee mugs can be found piled around my desk ~ on everything and anything else.

Sure, part of me {the part that hates cleaning} loves this quote. Who needs to mop once a week when there are people to see, books to read, wines to drink, blogposts to write, and dogs to walk?

Cleaning does seem like a necessary evil at best, and a nagging enemy at worst ~ reminding me of my inadequacy. I can't do it all ~ keep a clean house, cook homemade meals, stay fit, volunteer, and don’t get me started on bookwork. So cleaning is usually the last on the list. I don't live in filth, of course, but somewhere in between.

I’ve started to grow tired of just surviving my days and obsessing over the cleanliness of my homes is not worth it. There are many more valuable things we can do with our time than mopping once a week. I’ve come to realize that our homes matter. Perfection, of course, doesn't.

Anne of Green Gables perhaps said it best when she pleaded, “Can I go right now – without washing my dishes? I'll wash them when I come back, but I cannot tie myself down to anything so unromantic as dish-washing at this thrilling moment.”

I too can think of nothing so un-romantic as the dishes. Especially when there's anything else to do, anything at all.

Blessings

mhmm monday

Today’s mhmm comes from this website {which is one of my favourite recipe websites}
 
Cream of Leek Soup with baked croutons 

Ingredients:
2 medium sized leeks, white and light green parts only
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 10 oz. can chicken broth
1 can water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream
salt and seasoned pepper (like Montreal Steak Spice)
grated cheddar cheese ( for garnish)

Directions:
Wash leeks and cut lengthwise into slices. Then turn and cut into slices again. Cut across slices to form a fine dice.
Place in a frying pan with chopped onion, butter and olive oil.
Sauté over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until leeks and onions are soft but not browned.
In pot, cover cubed potatoes with chicken broth and water, and bring to a boil.
Simmer potatoes until tender.
Add leeks and onions and stir well.
Using an immersion blender or beater, puree' leek potato mixture until fairly smooth.
Whisk in cream and sour cream and season with seasoned pepper and salt if needed.
Heat gently, stirring well until heated through. Watch carefully that it doesn't boil hard or burn on the bottom.
Spoon into soup bowls.
Top with a sprinkle of cheese and oven baked croutons and serve.
For the Croutons:
2 or 3 day-old buns or slices of French bread, cut into cubes
1 tablespoon butter
Seasoned salt
Melt butter in a frying pan.
Add bead cubes and toss or stir over medium high heat until bread begins to brown.
Add a sprinkle of seasoned salt and toss.
Spread out bread cubes on parchment paper on a small baking sheet
Bake at 350º for about 15 minutes or until crisp and browned.
Serves 4
Enjoy!

Blessings

Beautiful Thing ~ week # 10

My son-in-law and daughter gave me these

as a way to say thank you, for all the “work” I do at the center.

These “just because”  gifts are the ones that melt my heart, bolster my spirits and help me realize that what I do, does actually matter!

These are the type of gifts that most everyone loves and is definitely my beautiful thing this week!

What was your beautiful thing this week?

Blessings

Morning ?!?

I’m so not a morning person.

If you are a morning person, then I’m just a wee bit jealous of you. I try to be a morning person. Seriously, I do. But when the alarm goes off, generally speaking I give myself another five, ten, ok let’s be honest here, 45 more minutes to actually throw off the covers and get out of bed. 

I’m guessing that makes me not so much a morning person.

I really don’t like to talk to anyone in the mornings after I wake up, so I usually wait until the hubs has left for the bus, and then when he returns I am ready to start talking with him. He’s good with it; in fact he prefers that I don’t get up, as I only end up getting in his way and messing up his morning routine…

But there’s one thing that changes my perspective about getting up in the morning ~ and that’s devotionals. There is nothing like a morning devotional that gets my heart in line with what God has for me for the day. At the beginning of the year I made a “bucket list” type idea ~ 14 goals in 2014 to aspire too. One of the goals is to “Develop a better discipline in my life by spending time in God’s Word each day.”

Reading the Bible is an amazing way to start my day. It gives me the daily bread and help needed in everything I could end up facing throughout the day. So each morning, I find myself at the table with a warm cuppa tea, reading through my daily devotional, spending time in the Word and talking my plans for the day over with God. And then I can begin to live out my day intentionally according to the time I have spent with God in the morning.

Reading daily devotions to lead you to the Bible and to prayer; is a great way to stay connected to God every day!

Blessings

Epic Fail

So I didn’t quite accomplish my goal of going Facebook free for February.

Cue the sad music… ♪♫♪♫♪♪♫♫♪♪♫♫

Since Facebook is the only way I can connect with our son who lives Orillia, I wasn’t able to be completely off of Facebook.  But, I did however become more aware about how many times I actually checked status updates and notices. I was more intentional about how I did spend my time. I purposefully spent more time reading my bible, journaling and placing my focus on other things.

It’s a struggle to admit that I failed, especially since I made my announcement public. When we fail at meeting our goals, it’s really easy to slip into believing that we’re failures at everything and give it all up. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Since I know where I’ve failed, I can begin again and make a new goal, one that is perhaps more attainable and that it is ok to adjust my goal, even in the middle of it. I needed to realize that rather than going Facebook free, I should just try to reduce how many times I check in. I’ve come to realize that I felt bogged done by my Facebook interactions and that I do have a mild addiction and need to keep it in check.

While I find it extremely important to make goals, I also find it extremely important to be able to handle it when it doesn’t go the way I want. Goals are goals, not laws. We all have bad days, and we need to give ourselves grace.

So rather than focus on not meeting my goal 100%, I’d prefer to celebrate what I DID accomplish.

And going forward. I plan to make my Facebook interactions more purposeful… While I don’t plan on deleting my page all together, I do plan to continue with being more aware of how many times I check it. I want to be more purposeful in who I accept as friends, who I follow and who will ultimately end up being deleted. Cause really, can one person have 506 friends… really?!?

Scaling down my Facebook interactions is one more way for me to live an intentional life. 

What do you when you fail at your goals?

Blessings

mhmm monday

Today's mhmm is so simple and so, so delicious!

My daughter shared with me this super-easy way to cook roast beef. I had always made roast beef the traditional way, of placing the roast in the pan with onion & water, cooking it in the oven for 4 hours and then adding cut-up carrots and peeled potatoes, bake for another hour or so and ta-da dinner is ready…. but then she gave me this idea!

Pulled Beef {slow-cooker style}

Ingredients:
1 3-4lb beef roast {any kind}
225 ml BBQ sauce

Directions: 
Place roast beef into the insert of your slow cooker.
Pour BBQ sauce over roast.
Cook roast in slow cooker for 4 hours on High setting or 6-8 hours on Low.
Once roast beef has cooked, using two forks gently pull apart beef and set on warm for another hour.

Enjoy!

Blessings

Beautiful Thing ~ week # 9

Last month we celebrated Wayne’s 55 birthday. 
 
We gave him tickets to an NHL game at the First Niagara Center in New York to see the Buffalo Sabres against the San Jose Sharks.

Having never gone to one before we were both excited and a little nervous. Thankfully we had two pro’s to come with us!

So early yesterday afternoon, we {Krystle, Gerard, Wayne & I} drove to Buffalo to see the game, spend the night in a hotel room and have a wonderfully wonderful weekend together.

To be honest, I am not a hockey fan. But as we entered the arena, found our seats, and watched the players on the ice warming up, I must admit I started to get quite excited.

It is very different actually sitting the arena watching the game as opposed to watching it televised. First off, I kept waiting for the announcers and honestly found it difficult at the beginning to focus on where the puck was at all times. By the third period, I began to feel a little bit like a puck bunny as I cheered and rooted for the team. 

Time spent with “the kids” is always a beautiful thing…..

What was your beautiful thing this week?

Blessings