The Little Things

Howdy!  How does time fly by so quickly?  Hubby informed me that it's been twenty days since my last post.  So, to the one person who checks my blog frequently for updates, I apologize for the delay in posting.

There's nothing better than taking pleasure in the little things in life.  So, I've decided that this will be the topic of this entry.  There are no big things going on right now, and I'm okay with that.  In a few weeks, my hubby and I plan to take a trip to celebrate our eight year wedding anniversary, but I'll tell you more about that another time.  It's so hard to believe that we've had eight years together, and despite the ups and downs, they have been the happiest eight years of my life.  I wouldn't change a thing.  And most of the time, it is the little things about our life together that I love most.  So, I present to you: The Little Things.

One day, as I was getting ready for work, I noticed my husband's bar of soap on the ledge in the shower.  It's not uncommon for him to use absolutely as much of the soap as he possibly can.  Here is a great example:

When I saw this, I started laughing very hard.  It was wafer-thin.  I kindly set a new bar of soap out for him to use the next time he was in the shower.

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When the weather warms up, I don't like to wear socks.  I like to paint my toenails fun colors and go out in sandals whenever I can.  When the weather was in the 80s back in March, I had cabin fever and was wearing sandals for several days.  So, I decided it was time to break out the nail polish and paint the piggies:

I went with a periwinkle paint and a multi-color sparkle top coat.  Sadly, the weather turned cold again and I've had to keep my toes covered ever since.  The paint job has held up remarkably well, though!

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I read online somewhere that you can grow lettuce indoors all year 'round, as long as you are able to keep the plants in a sunny spot.  Our house doesn't have any great spots for growing plants, except for one window in the kitchen that I've put a low table in front of to keep plants on.  I planted four romaine lettuce plants in a glass bowl and set them out:

Sadly, not long after this was taken, the plants gave up and died.  But there's hope in the future, though--in the background are seeds for other delicious goodies I plan to plant, possibly this coming week.  So rest in peace, lettuces.  I'll plant my garden in your honor this year.

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Our back yard contains one large lilac shrub.  I say shrub, but it's taller than the roof line on our house, and it's getting hard for me to reach the blossoms.  The lilacs bloomed extremely early this year, so by the time I found them open, half had already passed their prime.  But I managed to find one good bunch that hadn't faded quite yet:

At a few stores, I have been having the good luck of finding old bottles.  I have never been interested in old bottles until now, and I'm starting to love the look and character of the old glass.  I have a collection of four now, and the one in the picture is from my collection.  It's an old blue Philip's Milk of Magnesia bottle.  I loved the color, and it looked so great with the lilac sprig inside.  I tied the last of a spool of purple iridescent ribbon around the mouth of the bottle and had myself a nice little fragrant centerpiece.  The lilacs only lasted a day inside, but they looked and smelled like the spring.  

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One day this week, we woke up to a surprise.  In my half-awake state, when I got up for work, hubby, who gets up a half hour earlier than me, grumpily told me to look outside.  I did, and this was what I saw:

The first picture is of the two trees in our front yard.  The next photo is of the view down the rest of the street.  Some kids must have been bored the night before, and decided to leave those of us in the neighborhood with a festive toilet paper surprise.  It was annoying, because they make the mess and we all have to clean it up.  But we know from past experience that they could have done much worse.  Living in the country with a booby-trapped moat can't come soon enough for us!  Oh, did I say booby-trapped moat?  I meant duck pond (insert evil laugh here).

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My hubby decided to take a day off of work and spend the day with me today.  We decided to take a trip up to one of our favorite hangouts--the Toledo Zoo.  We had a great time and a beautiful day to enjoy together.  Here are a few photos from our day trip:

The polar bears were particularly active today.  There are three in the exhibit, but the two above were having the most fun.  Check out the teeth on the bear on the right in the bottom picture!

It's not easy to look this good all of the time.

 

 Just too pretty to pass up taking a picture.

I'm not so sure that this zebra is happy to be a part of the carousel.

The new tiger cubs...being cute is hard work.

The giantest crab I've ever seen.

 Even weirder close up.  "Look out, I peeench."

The Conservatory.  50 degrees outside.  100 degrees inside.  Not kidding.  Hot for even me.

 

 I didn't know you could grow Cheetos in a pot!

 A springtime stroll through the beautiful gardens.

 Mother Tiger, enjoying the peace and quiet of napping cubs.

 Come on, let us in!  We want to watch TV!!

Twweeeeet!  I'll give you the bird stink eye if I want to!

And thus concludes my observations of the little things that make life interesting.  I hope you've enjoyed them, too!

God loves it when we delight in Him and His creations.  Every time I look around, I marvel at the world that surrounds us.  If you stop and really think about it, it's astounding and reassuring that my Creator is an awesome God.  I have no doubt in my mind that He created the heavens and earth, and not some big bang.  I will never be convinced otherwise.  Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."  Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart."  I will delight always in the beauty of God's creation, and it will always be a reminder of what a great and awesome God we serve!

Easter Fun

Not a whole lot going on right now.  I am sick with yet another cold.  Third one since Christmas.  It's getting old.  We had my husband's parents over last weekend for a visit, so I decided to be creative.  We were planning to grill shish kebabs, and I wanted to make some deviled eggs.  I saw this idea originally on Pinterest, so I decided that this would be a great time to make them.

I started out with six eggs.  I bring them to a boil, then cover the pan, turn off the heat, and leave them sit for twelve minutes.  Perfect boiled eggs every time.  (After they are done sitting in the hot water, I take them out and put them in the ice water to stop the cooking process.)  While waiting for the eggs to boil, I gathered my other items: Miracle Whip, McCormick food coloring, paprika, cider vinegar, and a bowl of ice water for the boiled eggs.

After the eggs are done, cut them in half and pop out the yolks.  I didn't match the bowl and the egg yolks.  That was just a neat coincidence.

I filled 12 oz tumblers with about 8 oz of water, added two teaspoons of vinegar to each glass, and dropped in the food coloring.  I think I started with three drops in each glass, then added three more.  I should mention that I don't think I've colored eggs since I was young...I know it's been since before I went to college.  So this was actually a learning experience.  Or, at least, relearning.  On a neat side note, if you put the egg whites in the water while the food coloring is swirled, you will get a sort of tye-dye effect.

So, I started out with the primary colors.  I dropped the eggs in and stirred to mix the water and food coloring.  I let the eggs soak for about five minutes each, then I placed them on a paper towel covering a plate to dry and absorb the extra coloring.

Then, I added food coloring to the existing colors to make secondary colors: orange, green and purple.

I let them sit and dry for another five minutes.  Don't let the different colored eggs touch--they will absorb the colors of the other eggs.

As the eggs dried, they darkened in color.  They continued to get brighter and more vibrant the longer they sat.  While they were drying, I mixed the Miracle Whip in with the egg whites (1/2 cup).  I spooned the mixture evenly into the egg whites, then sprinkled them with paprika.  Then I placed them on the serving plate, and voila!  A fun and tasty treat.  This would be something that you could make with kids--I'm sure they would like it.

On a side note, should you get any food coloring on your countertop like I did, there is a simple way of getting the dye off without permanently staining your surface: sprinkle baking soda over the stain, grab a small brush, wet it down, and start gently rubbing the stained area.  The color will immediately absorb into the baking soda, and come right off of your counter.  Pretty cool!

This weekend is Easter, or in some churches, Resurrection Sunday.  It is, of course, a celebration of Jesus' victory over death and the opportunity for us to be forgiven of our sins forever if we only accept Christ into our hearts and lives.  Once we do that, we are His forever.  As Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  If you haven't asked Christ into your life, now would be a great time!  You never know when tomorrow won't come.

I love how the jet streams in the pre-dawn sky created a perfect cross above the church.

Yay, It's the Weekend!

Ending My Lease
The time has come for me to part ways with the space I've been leasing at a shop in Bowling Green.   I was selling my items there, but was not making enough profit to justify the rent and gas it cost me to take my items up there to sell.  I will miss having space there, and it was a really neat little shop.  I wish the owner the best of luck in her future endeavors.
 
It got cold again!  Boooooo.

Lasagna & Chocolate Cupcakes

We haven't had much luck with the Weight Watchers recipes we've been trying lately.  That all changed tonight when I tweaked a Weight Watchers recipe for lasagna!  This is a great and easy recipe, although a bit time consuming.  For lasagna, though, isn't it worth the time and effort??  I haven't really ever made a real lasagna that I can remember, so for a first try, I was pretty happy with the result.  You need all of the basic ingredients, but I added ground beef and cheated by using our favorite store-bought pasta sauce.  Using fresh chopped parsley gave the lasagna a good, but not overpowering, herb flavor.  After my recipe doctoring, one serving (1/6 of the pan) was 9 points +, and a quarter of the pan was 13 points +.  Not bad!  And it could be a little lower if you use a leaner beef.

Smelled and tasted as good as it looks!

Here's a treat that I made earlier this week.  I know, chocolate cupcakes on a diet?  Well, these eliminate the calorie-laden oil and eggs.  Simply mix a 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix) and 1/4 cup of water with the cake mix of your choice.

For me, that was a no-brainer--chocolate!  The cupcakes were fluffy, slightly dense, moist, and chocolatey.  While there was just the faintest hint of pumpkin flavor, you really don't notice it.  My husband and I both agreed that they were tasty.  I am going to try a spice cake mix next with the pumpkin mixture.  I think it's going to smell like Thanksgiving soon!  Each muffin is 2 points +.

Sewing Project on the Radar
I came across an idea on Pinterest for a simple summer dress.  If I can get around to making it soon, I'll post pictures and directions on here.  Should be cute!

There are a few things on the horizon in my life right now.  Whether any of them will come to fruition, I can't say, but I'm hoping that a new season of my life will be starting soon.  However, I have no control over any of it, and I'm well aware of it.  But nothing stays the same forever: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:...a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak" (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6-7).  Life is unpredictable; thank God that He is the constant!

Getting Ready to Garden and Date Night

Hubby and I spent an enjoyable day working outside yesterday.  We accomplished quite a bit!  We started out in the morning to buy some manure to spread over the garden beds, along with a vegetable fertilizer for the beds, then we came back, picked up sticks in the yard, cut down some overhanging tree limbs above the garden beds, and split up to tackle our own projects: hubby with weed trimming and mowing, and me working the garden beds and erecting a trellis for my cucumbers to grow upon.  I was also able to harvest our first asparagus for the season! (I later heard from a neighbor that sprinkling water softener salt around the asparagus makes it grow like crazy, while eliminating any other growth around it.  I'll have to try this next year and let you know.)

Asparagus before I weeded

My first bunch of asparagus for the year

The beds after weeding and working--what plant wouldn't want to live here??

My cucumber trellis, made from the tree limbs we cut down

This early spring has been great so far.  I picked up four Romaine lettuce plants at Lowe's, but don't plan to plant it outside until after the possibility of frost has passed.  I need some new row covers but the stores don't carry them yet, since it's early for planting in this area (in general).  So, for the time being, the lettuce will live in my kitchen and grow.  I've read that you can grow lettuce indoors all year long if you want, but haven't tried it yet.  I suppose this is kind of a test. 

Lilacs in March??

After spending hours outside, working hard, I promised hubby that I would go with him to see a movie.  We went to see "John Carter" before dinner, and it was okay.  A little hard to understand if you are not a sci-fi person (which I am not), but a decent story line and great special effects.  Hubby is a big Edgar Rice Burroughs fan, so he desperately wanted to see the movie, and I finally agreed to go.  After dinner, we rewarded ourselves with dinner out at a Chinese restaurant here in town, and we had a good time.  It tasted good to treat ourselves after a week of trying new recipes, not all of which were that great.  All in all, a good day spent with my best friend!

I never doubt my husband's love for me.  It's one of the great things about him--having the courage to be a man who's not ashamed to love his wife.  Ephesians 5:28-33 talks about the type of relationship marriage should really be: "In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of His body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."  I'm glad I have a husband who honors God in his love for me!

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole, Chicken and Cheese Casserole, Chicken Piccata

Tuesday-Deep Dish Pizza Casserole (for recipe, click the title)
Tonight we tried the Weight Watchers recipe for Deep Dish Pizza Casserole.  Hubby and I worked together doing the prep work and had all of the ingredients ready for the oven in about 15 minutes.

We did the dishes as the casserole baked and the crust browned, and then added cheese and baked it for 5 more minutes, until the cheese melted.  It smelled so good as we were cleaning up!  The finished product was not disappointing, either.  It's a great food when you are dieting and still craving pizza like a Ninja Turtle.

I only used half of the amount of ground beef, and I bought Meijer brand refrigerated pizza dough and Meijer brand Italian diced tomatoes, but that was all that I changed in the recipe.  Upon first bite, I thought it needed a little extra help from herbs, but the more I ate, the better it tasted, and by the time we were done with our pieces, we decided we needed more!  So far, we have been very pleasantly surprised with the recipes we've tried.  I am more than happy to add this recipe to our rotation now too, and will probably continue to make this long after we part ways with Weight Watchers.  Very tasty, and highly recommended!


Wednesday-Chicken and Cheese Casserole (for recipe, click the title)
This was not as good as we had hoped.  Regardless, we were hungry, so we ate it anyway.  Our biggest complaint was that it was very bland.  It was easy enough to make, though--cook the chicken and macaroni at the same time, then mix all of the ingredients together in the casserole dish and bake for about 45 minutes.

We didn't have any low-fat cheese, so we had to use the regular shredded cheddar that we had in the fridge, which probably affected points a bit, but we hate to let the food we already have go to waste now that we are eating healthier.  I also halved the recipe, since it's just the two of us and used a can of cream of chicken instead of cream of mushroom (the nutritional values on the cream of chicken were slightly better than the mushroom--go figure).  I admit that I forgot to add garlic powder to the chicken, but I doubt that it would have affected the flavor that much.  I might try spices, such as mustard powder (frequently used in homemade mac and cheese recipes), paprika, garlic, and maybe a little seasoning salt.  I will have to play around with it if I make it again.  If you try it and add spices, please let me know what you used!

Thursday-Chicken Piccata (Original Recipe: Pork Piccata)
Nope.  Didn't like it.  So, I'm not going to share the recipe.  Sorry...I'm sure there are good recipes out there in cyberspace.

Review: Weight Watchers Parmesan Chicken Cutlets

Update: I have lost 2.2 pounds since we started last Monday.  Hubby, however, has lost a whopping 6 pounds since Monday!  

For dinner tonight, we tried a chicken recipe from Weight Watchers.  Very simple, and very good!  In all honesty, I probably could have come up with this myself, but they did it first, so I went with it.  I did make some changes, as I'll describe below.

For the recipe, click here.

This recipe is for four servings, and each serving is 4 points.

First, I mixed up all of the ingredients, minus the chicken, in a Ziplock bag.  I didn't have Italian breadcrumbs, so I used plain crumbs and added some Italian seasoning.  I also didn't measure the herbs, just added what I guessed would taste good.  It worked out well.  Once all of the ingredients were well mixed, I cut the chicken up into small strips/chunks and dropped them into the bag (or, my hubby did the cutting, since I managed to have a bad run-in with an old razor blade as I was getting the trash together to go out.  I always seem to find sharp objects on accident).  I shook the bag around to coat the chicken well, then sprayed the baking sheet with cooking spray and placed the chicken on.  I popped it in the oven for 25 minutes, and they came out golden brown and smelling great!  The coating gave the chicken a good flavor, and just a little crunch--just right, in my opinion.  Hubby loved it too, and requested that it go into our regular meal rotation.  Overall, I would definitely recommend this recipe for a flavorful chicken coating--and it would probably be good with turkey and pork, too!

On the menu this week:
WW Deep Dish Pizza Casserole (from Food.com, 6 pts.)
WW Chicken Piccata and Oven Fries (5 pts. & 3 pts.)
WW Baked Beef Ziti and Garlic Bread (7 pts. & yet to calculate points)
WW Chicken and Cheese Casserole (6 pts.)
WW Chicken Pot Pie (points value to come)