crunchy granola

Easiest Granola Ever

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Heat to boiling

3/4 c. healthy oils (I combine olive, coconut and palm shortening)

3/4 c. honey

While liquids are heating, 

in a big ole'  bowl combine

11 c. total - any combination of oats, nuts, bran, germ, seeds, etc

1/3 c. brown sugar 

Once liquids have come to a boil

remove from heat,

add a tsp or two of vanilla

and pour the liquid over the dry ingredients

then mix well.

Divide cereal evenly between three 9x13 pans

and bake for 11 minutes.

Stir.

Return pans to oven.

Turn off oven and leave granola 'til morning,

then add some coconut if ya want

and raisins......

Store in airtight container

I've been making this granola for a few months now,

tweaking a recipe I found online (can't remember where)

'til I could come up with a formula to follow,

rather than an exact recipe......

It really is super easy!

The hardest part is

remembering to pull it out of the oven,

before turning on the broiler

for garlic bread for Sunday lunch.

oops!!

tagged

I've thought off and on

about buying tags to put in/on stuff I make.

They'd be cute,

but I'm also afraid they'd be itchy, 

and we all know

I'm a comfort girl...

Today,

when Lily came out freshly dressed

I said,

"Are you aware that your dress is on backwards?"

"Yeah. Sometimes tags itch me,

so I like to wear things inside out."

"Um. Lily. 

Momma made that dress.

It doesn't have a tag."

 I'm not sure if she confirmed my fear

or if I should just go ahead and order the tags!

painted rocks

I had time

and the weather was cooperative;

not too hot (high 80's)

and 

humidity wasn't too high (mid 60's)

so I laid a few sheets on the ground

in a shady but-not-under-a-tree spot

and set out all of my to-be-primed goodies.

(I hope I didn't forget anything!)

The 3mph winds were blowing my sheets a bit,

so I had Jeremiah put some rocks on the corners.

After reflecting, I realized the question he asked next

was completely legitimate,

"Are you going to prime the rocks?"

the fragrance of home

A lone candle flickered on the dresser.

Before I even stepped through the doorway,

I was enveloped by the faint scent

of raspberries.

Or rather, Colonial Candles of Cape Cod's

version

of raspberries.

And for just a second,

I could've sworn I was walking through the front door

in our Fort Smith home.

~

Once upon a time,

in a life far, far away,

I was a Candle Lady

and we had a nearly endless supply of scented wax.

Raspberry was Tyler's favorite fragrance,

(Spiced Plum was mine)

so I was sure to keep plenty of those on hand.

Every most work-days,

Tyler would arrive home

to find a candle (usually raspberry) burning on the stair post.
(oh, how I loved those stairs!)

He said when he pulled into the drive

and saw the flicker of light,

he knew all was right 

in our home.

My mom always ran to make the bed if it hadn't been made yet

as my dad was pulling up the drive;

we ran to light the candle.

~

It wasn't on the stair post

and he sure couldn't see it from the drive,

but this evening

 I lit one of our few remaining raspberry tealights

to welcome Tyler home.

I hadn't expected it to welcome me home, too.

one of my favorite things

is

walking in the living room

 to see my little ones reading.

one of my peeves

I just have to say it.

What is up with TVs in restaurants?

I mean

 really!

Can people not go without their telle

for an hour??

The magnetic pull of the blue box 

drives me bonkers!

It can be clear across the room,

totally out of hearing distance,

and still 

the eyes of all men and children

are on it.

Take, for example,

the time we went to Mazzio's years ago

and our entire family

was watching

bowling.

Bowling!

Once

we were the only table in view of a television at Western Sizzlin

so I asked that it be turned off.

The manager said they couldn't turn it off

because their guests wanted it on. 

I showed him that we were the only guests in the room

and we didn't want the TV on.

But policy is policy and the tube stayed on.

Crazy!

stepping off my box now...

my first daybook

I thought it might be nice to do a 'daybook entry';

I always enjoy reading Elizabeth's and Susan's

but I've never done one before;

figured it was about time...

Outside my window

it's rather overcast this morning

and cool - it's 80 right now

with a high of only 94 degrees today.

Summer is winding down.

I am listening to

the hum of the ceiling fan.

Surprisingly, not much else at the moment.

I am thankful

for my husband.

He loves me so much.

The past few years have been rough.

Very rough.

This year, especially so.

And yet, he is patient with me.

I have a hard time even believing

 that I will ever be 'normal' again,

but he believes for me.

I am wearing

a black ruffly shirt

which sounds like I'm all together,

but really, I wear the shirt as jammies, 

because I look like a cupcake in it,

but it is soo soft and comfy, I couldn't bear to get rid of it.

On the bottom half ~ black stretchy pants

athletic pants - but there's no athleticism here...

And of course, 

bare feet with purply-pink nail polish.

I prefer the hot pink, but the bottle is getting low.

I am thinking

that I'd better get my Letter of Intent

filled out and turned in today.

In the kitchen

there is tons of fruit;

sales have been good.

This week I got peaches, plums, and nectarines for $ .19 each

and grapes for $ .79/lb

I am reading

mostly education books right now.

A Charlotte Mason Companion, The Three Rs,

and Educating the Wholehearted Child

top the stack.

I'm very slowly working my way through

the Experiencing God study.

I am at the point in my life where I want to know

'book, chapter, and verse' on everything

so my Bible is being used as a reference tool right now.

I am pondering

"When home is ruled according to God's word,

angels might be asked to stay with us

and they would not find themselves out of their element"

 Charles Spurgeon

I am afraid angels 

would not be very comfortable

in our home

most days.

I am creating

school plans. 

At least that's what I need to be creating.

I've got the fabric all cut out for my next quilt.

Actually, I had the fabric all cut,

but then I found a few more fabrics

when I went to Joann's this weekend,

so I'll need to spend a few minutes cutting those out also.

I am looking forward to

August 25th.

That is Marcos' court date.

We are ready for our family to get back to normal.

I know it's horrible, but

I don't do so well with people living in my home.

When we lived in Germany, 

our dearest friends lived with us for 2 weeks

before moving back to the States.

I didn't start missing them for years.

Around the house

there is much to be done.

Always.

~

Speaking of much to be done,

I best get to doing it.

athleticwear

  

A couple of weeks ago

we went to the water park

with our homeschool group.

There was a dress-code

so as not to offend anyone.

(never mind that those who were likely to offended

probably wouldn't go to a water park anyways...)

The girls were supposed to wear a shirt over their suits

and either a swim skirt or shorts, too.

They don't really have clothes that I thought would be work,

(or that I'd want them wearing in bleach water)

so I made some little suits with ($2 a yard fabric - yay!)

thinking they'd be a one-time-use sort of thing.

But when they tried them on - my goodness!

So darn cute!

Not only have the suits been worn multiple times 

as swimwear (and dancewear)
they also double (triple?) as adorable running suits.

Or maybe it's just the girl

that is adorable....

special noodles

Jeremiah and Josiah made lunch today.

Special Noodles.

In their words, here is the recipe:

Take some noodles

(they can be left over from lunch

and you can make Special Noodles for dinner,

or

 if the pasta is left over from dinner,

you can make Special Noodles for lunch)

put some butter on them

and some Italian dressing

and some cheese

and warm them up in the microwave.

Mix it all up.

They are best when they're warm.

Usually, when they make their 'special noodles',

they just make a single serving;

today was the first time they fixed 'em for a crowd.

They were shocked at how long it took them to make lunch,

"How long is this going to take? 

We've been working on it for 10 minutes already!"

Thanks, Boys, for feeding us so well!

24 years

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary;

twenty-four years!

That's a long time for my sweet love

to put up with the likes of me.

Tyler,

you

are love;

you are patient

(oh, so patient with me)

and you are kind.

I don't know that I've ever seen you envious.

Maybe you've boasted a little

(when it's deserved ;-)

but you are not proud.

Rude? I think not!

You are definitely not self-seeking

and it takes a lot to make you mad!

You are as quick to forget as you are to forgive.

I know no one who rejoices in the truth like you.

You have always protected me,

trusted me,

and believed the best about me.

You have persevered when it would have been far easier

to walk away.

You 

are 

love.

Thank-you for loving me so well.

XO

the novel plan

Not only did I check out a novel

before leaving town,

I also purchased a couple of used paperbacks

from the library.

They were considered 'large'

so I had to fork over fifty cents each

instead of the 25 cents per book I thought I was paying.

Would you laugh if you knew I had 3 books

but put one back once I found out the new price?

I did.

Anyways.

3 works of fiction!

I wasn't sure which one to read

so I settled on the sofa

with my bum foot propped on the footstool

and set a timer for 8 minutes.

I was going to do 10,

but then that would equal a whole half hour

by the time I was finished

and that just seemed exorbitant.

The thinking was,

I'd give each book 8 minutes

and then,

whichever book I had the hardest time setting aside

would be the book I'd read.

I didn't have a hard time setting any of them aside.

So there went my fiction reading...

happy trails

The morning started with chocolate covered strawberries.

Truth be told,

I prefer my strawberries and my chocolate separate;

but every year

I eat one

just to make sure I still feel the same.

From chocolate strawberries,

I progressed on to 

a scrumptious Frozen Vanilla Latte

(I think that's what he called it)

made by Ton'

with cold-brewed coffee.

(is the whole weekend going to be about food??)

After a quick visit to the library

where I picked up

a

novel,

I headed to lunch w/ Tyler

(it may just be all about food....)

I wasn't very hungry,

so I just had Hot & Sour Soup.

Nobody makes it like TaiPei,

although, someday, I'm going to ask for the recipe.

And then

I

will make it like Tai Pei.

After lunch,

my weekend away began

with my first ever

professional 

massage.

I was greeted by the above sign

when I slipped behind the screen

to strip.

The massage was really nice,

but I didn't feel like jelly when I was done.

She had to keep telling me to let her do the work.

That may have something to do with the jellylessness.

That and I kept asking questions.

Can't shut off the learning, I guess...

She does this 'raindrop therapy massage'

that I'd love to try someday.

Seeing as it's a hundred bucks,

I don't expect it'll become a regular indulgence...

After my massage

I remembered I still needed a notebook.

I wanted a pretty one

(don't laugh, 'Net)

but didn't want to run into Hobby Lobby.

Then I talked myself into a $ .20 plain one from Walmart.

(I know ~ Walmart over HL??)

But when I stopped to get it

(and the roasted almonds w/ dark chocolate...

apparently it is all about the food ;-)

they didn't have one single cheap notebook

that was college ruled.

I could have grabbed a wide-ruled book from the house!

So I headed over to the cheap composition books.

Then I saw cute composition books.

And then

I found

this

which reminded me very much of my

California Dreamin' quilt

and we all know how I feel about that!

If I'd a been thinking,

I would have brought it along with me...

And now,

I'm agendaless.

Until I get hungry again...

Happy Trails

all photos taken w/ my iphone. don't worry - I was watching the road.

chocolate covered strawberries

Usually a springtime treat,

today was the first time I made

chocolate covered strawberries this year.

Tyler's co-workers love them

so I like to send a batch to work at least once a year.

I'd been feeling bad that it hadn't happened yet,

so Wednesday, when Tyler told me that Friday 

was Goodie Day ~ I knew just what to make. 

perfect!

unplugged - still

Being unplugged has been so beneficial for the kids

that we decided to continue our unplugging.

This week has been much easier on me than last week was.

Of course,

I've spent a good portion of the week

on my rear

with my foot either elevated

or in a bucket of ice-water.

All that down time has to be helpful, no?

(my heel is getting better, btw, and my SI joint is much improved, too)

Lexi was so excited to discover all the cucumbers we were given.
(thanks, Brenda!!) She keeps carrying on about how much she loves
cucumbers and says that "cucumbers are the yummy thing my ever eat!"

I haven't manged yet

to do any of the cleaning that I've been hoping to get to

but I have been sorting through things

in my mind,

so maybe when the time comes to dig in

it'll go fairly quickly.

I'm also beginning to think about what we need for school

and getting a tiny bit excited

to begin another year.

 Speaking of getting excited...

Tyler is giving me the weekend off.

As in completely off.

As in

I am going away

by 

myself

to rest, relax, and be rejuvenated

off.

I don't even know where I'm going yet.

And truth be told - I'm a tad nervous...

I've never gone away by myself before;

this is all very new to me.

Lexi's 'mouse-painting'

I think we'll probably stay unplugged
'til we start school back up
and  then
we'll just naturally partially unplug.
It's been good for me to think about my online time.
I tell myself that I don't have many real-life mentors
so I get my 'mentoring' from blogs.
And while that's true,
I have to admit 
that I've often used the internet
as a way of escaping.
And that, certainly needs to change.

suckers

I was about to leave the parking lot 

when a guy motions for me to roll my window down.

He's carrying a bucket and some papers.

It was broad daylight

and I am somewhat of a nice person,

so I stopped.

He tells me they are raising money to help people with addictions,

and could I spare a couple dollars to help do God's work?

I gave him what cash I had on hand,

which was only a few bucks.

He thanked me 

then handed me a paper

(to give to anybody I know w/ addictions)

and a blow-pop (cherry - of all flavors) from his bucket.

As I drove off,

I had to wonder if he was saying to himself,

"a sucker

for a sucker"...

the latest in the running saga

This is becoming embarrassing...

So.

In an effort to keep my children

- and myself -

from dying

running in 100+ degrees,

I ordered a walk / jog video

so we could train in the coolness

of our 85 degree living room.

I didn't think it'd be super training for a 5k,

but it'd help us get through this heatwave...

I don't know what happened,

but as soon as I started the video,

the back of my right heel 

- where the achilles tendon attaches to the heel -

started hurting

and by the time I was done with the DVD

I couldn't walk.

I've been hobbling & hopping 

and swollen

ever since.

For the past 3 days,

at the encouragement of my brother-in-law,

(a runner)

I've been subjecting myself to the excruciating torture

of soaking my foot in ice-water

multiple times a day.

I think it's helping.

I sure hope it's helping...

I'm not ready to admit defeat in this running venture yet,

but golly, 

I'm off to a lousy start!

7 quick takes ~ unplugged

1.

The kids are doing much better;

whining, crying, and bickering have definitely decreased.

2.

creativity has returned

3.

to the kids.

To mom? 

How would we know?

I cheerfully grudgingly set my ambitions aside

to help kids with their pursuits.

4.

Leap Pads

fall under the category of electronic entertainment,

even if they were purchased for educational purposes.

5.

I think being unplugged was harder on me

than on the kids.

First off, it's just plain easier to say 

'go watch a movie'

than, "sure, you can paint." 

Secondly, I felt really disconnected.

Which,  I was...

6.

Actually, I cheated.

Kelle posts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

I know this.

So I knew

there were two posts waiting for me yesterday.

And I read them.

I had to; 

Nella is going to stand - alone -

and maybe even walk any day now

and I couldn't stand not knowing...

(she's not doing either yet)

7.

I'm not sure what I was thinking,

but I had aspirations of accomplishing all sorts of things

while unplugged,

but the truth is

I didn't really find I had extra time at all.

you threw off my groove

This heat

is really throwing off

my laundry groove.

I'm used to throwing a load in the washer

before I head to bed

but lately

when I've gone to move it to the dryer

in the morning,

it's been

stinky.

Good thing clothes are smaller in the summer...

probably had to be there...

The totes of diaper fabric were sitting on the floor

and on the top of one of the boxes,

visible through the clear lid,

was a scrap of fabric from suits I'd made for the girls.

I'd kept it, thinking it would be good 

for the side panels of the training pants

I designed in my head

but never got around to making.

Lexi looked at it and said, "My suit's in there."

Then she turned to me,

scrunched up her face and growled, 

"Why did you put my swimming suit in that box?!"

I opened the box and handed her the scrap

and said, "Here, try it on."

The look on her face was priceless.

She moaned, "o-ohh. It's broken."

oops - hadn't expected that...

I quickly showed her that her suit was

 in fact

not broken.

The boys and I laughed for a full minute.

Definitely one of those times

you wish you had a camera rolling!

unplugging

We're feeling the need to unplug for a bit.

As is often the case,

too much electronic entertainment

and screen time

leads to 

self-centeredness,

laziness, lack of creativity

 and discontentment.

I tend to do better at enforcing

'none at all'

rather than

'a little bit'.

And a little screen time

always seems to beget more screen time.

I may or may not be posting;

this blog is a family journal, after all,

so it doesn't fall under the unplug category,

but I won't be visiting any blogs

or keeping up w/ facebook

or e-mail

so if ya need me  - call.

But you may have to leave a message;

who knows what we'll get into this week...

silly little nut

I could hear her playing right outside the (locked) door

and called out, "That you, Lex?"

"It's not Lexi. It's a banana." she replied.

"A banana??" I asked.

And she chuckled,

"I was just teasing. 

It's not a banana.

It's me. 

It's Lexi."

~

silly little nut

not my best moment

I'm not so sure about me and running.

I think

maybe I am too stupid to run.

Let me back-track just a bit

and say I broke my favorite jar 

within 2 minutes of getting up this morning.

That was a sign of things to come....

I had planned on taking the kids to the FLC to train

yesterday evening, cause running in the morning

clearly wasn't going to work.

Tyler didn't want to do that,

so I decided I'd just take them this morning.
Since

we would be running inside

(can you see where this is going?)

I didn't feel it necessary to get going first thing.

And I had to get over my broken jar....
Yes, I cried.
more than once.
I really liked that jar.

While showering

(because we would be running inside

and I wouldn't get too sweaty...)

I thought maybe I ought to call the church

and make sure there was nothing going on in the gym.

It was 11:00 by then.

That was my one smart move of the day.

The FLC was, in fact, occupied.

Well, crap!

We had to train today;
you aren't supposed to go more than 2 days w/out training
and I hadn't taken my poor kids running since Sunday.
And by golly Thursday is when I'm supposed to run
and we all know that I am a rule follower!
So we drove to the park.
I thought I remembered there being lots of trees around the track.
There were.
But by the time we got there,
it was nearing noon.
high noon.
Which means not much shade on the running path.
I told the big boys to go on
and I'd handle the 4 little ones.
I am a good mother like that.
May I just say
the next 27 minutes
did
not
go
well.
Lexi ended up in the carrier
(thank God for ERGO!!! seriously!!)
before we'd even finished the warm-up.
She cried every time I ran.
And Lily.
Lily is off the Run for God Team.
As I should be.
I'm not sure God wants the likes of me on His team!
I was one of those horrid mothers who yells at her children.
For being hot.
And not keeping up with her old, fat mother.
And wanting to hold my hand
while I was sweaty.
Not my best parenting moment for sure!
I gave up when my app told me to run one last time
and we headed for the car for the cool-down.
Hallfway hone, once the air kicked on in the car,
and I wasn't quite so hot
I apologized to her for being impatient and unkind.
Of course, she forgave me.
And then she said,
"Well, I wasn't being very patient or good either."
Maybe I'll let her back on the team after all.

I should probably also disclose the following:
I wouldn't take the kids running last night at 9:30
because it had only cooled off to 91.
No.
instead I took them at noon.
When the 'feels like' temperature was 104.

Like I said, I may just be to dumb for this running thing.

a few seconds of your time??

I introduced ya'll to Heather several months ago

when her boys were doing a read-a-thon.

(let me just say, those boys read a little lot more

 than I anticipated and we shelled out quite a bit of dough :-)

I really like Heather,

what I know of her from her blog, anyways....

and if I were being perfectly honest,

I would admit

that I am a teensy bit envious

of the work she gets to do with Heartline.

Lovingly educating pregnant and new mommas? 

Right up my alley.

Could you take just a few seconds,

go here

and click the 'vote' button on the left side of the page?

Better yet,

take a couple of minutes and actually read the page

and /or watch the video.

But at least vote.
Please!!

Your vote could help Heartline win a $50,000 grant.

Of course, Heather can tell you a bit more.

thanks, ya'll!!

lex's dress

ooh - she looks like a baby doll ~ I could just squeeze her

This is my favorite dress on Lexi right now.

I found it at a yard sale for 25 cents.

There was a hole on the side of the bodice 

where a tie had been

and on the other side, the tie was cut off,

but not neatly.

It was in kinda rough shape,
but it was so soft and lightweight

and feminine

and cool.

And I knew that the colors, 

while not exactly Lexi colors,

would look great on her.

 I washed it, 

picked the seam apart and took the tie out proper-like,

re-stitched both side seams,

and excitedly put the dress on my girl.

It choked her. 

Even with the top button undone.

And I knew 

she was never going to wear this dress.

 darn.

I really liked that dress!

 So I cut the neck opening bigger

and used a bit of fold over elastic

(love that stuff! good thing; I've got a ton!)

 and now I try to talk her into wearing it suggest she wear it

every time it's clean.

Fortunately,

she does like wearing it now.

But not nearly as much as I like seeing her in it.

Momma loves you, Darling Lex!!

~

many thanks to Brandon for the pictures!!

big fat D minus

Tyler got me up at 

O-dark-thirty this morning

to go run.

He'd been running his mouth last night

about me not being able to hang with him.

Whatever.

I kept up just fine on the group run Sunday

and I even had to carry Lily on my back part of the time.

Guess what?

I couldn't hang w/ him.

I only jogged the full 60 seconds one time.

I thought I might just die

right there in the cemetery.

It was so humid out there

I could not get a good breath.

Forget talking - even during warm-up.

The only reason I scored a D-

and not an "F"

is 

because Tyler thought I looked 

good

from the backside.

(not that I was in front of him all that much!)

He was grading on a curve

;-)

cutest.runner.ever.

Make that 7 runners, not six.

She needed shoes, too....

 I told Tyler it was money well spent

even if she doesn't end up running;

She just looks so darn cute!

 He said I'm such a girl.

meet the newest addition

to our addition...

I have been looking for a typewriter off and on

ever since reading this post

over two years ago.

We've got a few things listed for sale on e-bay,

so I decided to check there

and lo & behold,

I found the typewriter of my dreams.

And

I have a place to put it!

~

She was supposed to be green

but, as you can clearly see, she is blue.

(the seller maintains she is green... we are in negotiations...)

 Which is okay, too ~ but I would've preferred green...

She does look lovely in here, though.

I am loving how this space is coming together.

e.t.a.

run run, as fast as you can...

So.

Our church is hosting a Run for God

running / Bible study program.

The running part gets you 

'from couch to 5k' in 12 weeks.

Six of us signed up for it.

Six pairs of running shoes?!?!

What were we thinking??

sixty second s'mores

work for me!!

best. s'mores. ever.

you can thank me later :-)

~

oddly - Always Save and Dollar General brand cookies

beat out all the brands we've tried, including Chips Ahoy.

Lexi the story-teller

In keeping with tradition,

Lexi always asks, "Do you want a story?"

when she sits on the pot to pooh. 

I always say "yes" 

and settle myself on the step in the hall to listen.

I had the foresight this time to record the story as she went:

Once upon a time it was raining and pouring and we went swimming in the kiddie pool. It was green and somebody needed to dump it out. A monster dumped it out and watched a movie. Winnie the pooh. And we were scared. The monster was nice and we were kind and we weren’t scared any more. And we went to momma and we all hugged. And we jumped on the trampoline and it was fun. I was jumping too high. I love aliens. (Do you want to listen to the rest of my story?)    There was light in my room and a good monster in my room. He looked like a girl. He dressed up like me. And that was funny. 

Speaking of stories and Lexi ~ here's one on her:

We quit nursing when she was 22 months old;

I was ready - she was not.

She still asks to nurse occasionally.

Yesterday at nap time,

she was talking about nursing with such fondness

and her eyes were so bright and sparkly,

"When I was born, you used to nurse me.

You pulled up your dress and pulled out your booby

and I drank momma milk. 

I would (she pursed her lips and made slurping sounds)

like Tom.

I like momma milk."

I would have loved a video of that!

And then last night, after swimming,

she gave me a hug

and said, "Thanks for letting me drink momma milk!"

She's 2 1/2 and she remembers this??

from 8 months ago?

Needless to say, she had to check and make sure

that the milk was really gone

and I wasn't just holding out on her.