Friday's Fave Five #85

Hello and welcome! It's Friday and that means it's time to look back and reflect over the week and find our five favorite things out of the past week. It's a wonderful way to get into the habit of looking for good things in one's life even when one is going through a hard week. If you need details they are here. Otherwise, just jump right in and join us.

1. Shelter. Last night while lying in bed listening to the rain and snow being driven by the wind so hard that it sounded like my house was being sand blasted, I was so thankful that my family and I had shelter from the physical storm outside. I don't think I ever remember ever being so aware what a blessing having shelter was.

2. Taking my Mom to Costco. I had the chance to take my mom along to Costco and just knowing she really enjoyed it made me happy. My mom is in her '70's and suffering from all sorts of arthritis issues. It was nice that she was having a fairly good day and we could enjoy a nice Sunday afternoon with a little trip to Costco.

3. Lunch out with a friend. I had a chance to take my friend out for a little lunch for her birthday. It was so much fun and I had the best sandwich. Grilled chicken, avacado and brie sandwich with a ceasar salad. Yum!

4. The library. Oh how I love this place. It's sorta like a little getaway for me. I love to browse and just sit there and read with a cup of coffee from the coffee shop they have. And even though I have a basket full of books at home that I need to get through, I usually cannot seem to get away without finding another great read to take home.

5. Going to the lake. Before the insane weather hit yesterday I was really enjoying getting to the lake for a quick walk here and there. I'm hoping to make it at least 4 times a week. Another little get away right in my own neighborhood. It's lovely walking around it and here too, I love to sit and read or just enjoy people watching. And my furry friend loves it there too.

What were your favorites for the week? If you join us and do a post, please link up. I encourage everyone to go around and visit and meet some new people. It's amazing how encouraging it is reading what other's were blessed by in their weeks. By the way, I've gone back to the linky page that displays on another page when you click on it. I'm finding the one that lists right on the post won't display archive lists. And I can't figure out why. So I'll just do the simple thing and go back to the one I know will work the way I want. Also, quite a few of you asked for my salsa recipes and I said I'd post it. Please forgive me, I have no excuse other than to say I've forgotten. I will try to get to that this next week.

The Dream vs. The Reality

In my mind and heart this is what spring looks like and this too. I can't believe just two days ago I posted all those lovely spring greenery pictures. My reality today is not so pretty. But it is spring in Southern Alberta. The north wind is howling and has been driving wet snow and rain at an almost horizontal position since yesterday. I kept waking up to it sounding like my bedroom wall and windows were being sandblasted. That's how hard it is pushing the rain and snow. Not a nice day. I don't even want to go out to take a picture of the difference of two days.

And joy of joys. We've sprung a leak. There is a nice drip coming from the ceiling right above my basement stairs. The bucket parked there is in. the. way. To say the least. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and praying that we have no seepage coming through in the basement anywhere before this lets up.

You're going to roll your eyes but I spent some of yesterday evening cooking things that we could eat cold in case the power goes off again. You just never know around here with spring snows because they are so darn heavy they knock down power lines. In the last blast a couple of weeks ago we heard there were more than 300 poles knocked down around the south. So of course, food was my first concern. LOL. I made sausages and fried chicken drumsticks and macaroni salad. I figure top that with sandwiches and cereal and we'll survive. Well, that along with a nice blanket and a good book and we'll make do.

Noooooooo! Are they serious?

I woke up to the sound of pouring rain this morning. Which is nice in the spring. But this is what was on my homepage this morning which just happens to be the Weather Network. Did one of you say the "s" word too loudly in yesterday's post?

Winter Storm Warning:

Summary

Intermittent rain changing to snow by Thursday morning. Snowfall amounts of 10 to 20 centimetres by Thursday evening in most localities. This is a warning that dangerous winter weather conditions are imminent. As the low moves east the winds will shift to north to northwest 50 gusting to 70 km/h and the precipitation will change to snow.

Do I dare whisper

that spring


may have sprung



in Southern Alberta?

Shhh, don't say it too loud. Mr. Snow may hear us.

Photo Hunters ~ Addiction

This week's photo hunt was "addiction". Right off the bat I thought my picture would be of my cup of coffee, for which I am totally addicted, but then the more I thought of it I realized there were so many I could actually do. Not sure what that says about me. LOL. Thinking there might be quite a few pictures of coffee, because I know I'm not alone in that addiction as evidenced by the flourishing coffee shops, I chose this one instead. Last summer I made my own fresh salsa for the first time ever, and I am totally addicted. What a difference in flavor. I am spoiled for life.

Friday's Fave Five #84

Hi and welcome to Friday's Fave Five. I'm glad you came and hopefully you will join us. If you need the guidelines they are here. Then don't be shy, just join in. I had every intention of doing a lovely post with a picture for each fave like I've seen some of you creative fave fivers do, but I didn't even have a chance to pick up my camera. It's been one of those weeks where it just seems to zip by and the next thing I know it's Thursday night and too late. Oh well. It makes me no less thankful for those things that brought me joy this week if I don't have a pic. So that said, here's my five for this last week.

1. A hubby who will do the chip and dip run when I have a huge headache I can't shake. What do ou mean a chip and dip run? Well, for some reason, when I have a headache I can't get rid of all day, if I have plain chips with a certain kind of dip, something in the combination actually helps ease and sometimes even gets rid of my headache. I know, I know, that is weird. But it works. And thank goodness for a hubby who will go out and get it for me.

2. Warm spring days. It has been sunny and warm all week. Love it. I have been outside every minute I can with the kids soaking it up.

3. Robins singing. Every morning I come out to get my coffee and hubby has the window open and the birds are singing away. Love their song!

4. New growth. My spring perennials are starting to peek through the ground and I love the fresh greenness of it. It's always a surprise each spring what will come up because I'm notorious for moving things around and then never remembering what I did and what seeing what survived. LOL.

5. The smell of fresh rain. It's lightly raining tonight, and I've got some windows open letting in that wonderful smell. When I was a teen I always used to think that that was exactly what God's cologne would smell like. :v)

What were your favorite five things from your week? If you do a post, sign on up to Mr. Linky so we can come and visit.

Random Dozen

Join us over at Linda's for this week's Random Dozen. She's up to more questioning fun.

1. Ever had any run-ins with the "library police?" Well, I've never been chased down for the money, but one time I did owe the library about $48 in overdue DVD fines. It was when they first started renting DVD's and the fine for them was over $3 a day per DVD. I took out about 6 of them and then promptly forgot I had them. Yeah that was a shocker. Now it's a paltry 35 cents a day fine. I have by the way, returned all those DVD's and paid the insane fine. I didn't rent DVD's for a long time after that.

2. Do you have a special organizational plan and place for wrapping paper, gift bags, etc., or do you just purchase whatever you need as you give gifts? I hate having to run out for gift wrap or bags at the last minute so I keep a stash on hand. Usually 2 of each size bag and a couple rolls of wrapping paper, one very feminine and one that could be masculine or feminine. And varied colored tissue papers.

3. Have you ever been in (first-hand witness) a natural disaster? Nope can't say that I have. I do remember Mount St. Helen's though and exactly where I was and how the ash was covering everything, yes, here in Southern Alberta. It was something.

4. What's your favorite Barry Manilow song? Oh Lid, how do I ever narrow it down? I've loved Barry Manilow songs since I was a teen (although lately, I can't say I'm too nuts about some of his statements). But I loved singing with his very singable sing along songs. I can't name just one but I'd say my top 3 are "Mandy", "I write the Songs" and "Weekend in New England". Now I have to go plug my curling iron in so I can sing along.



5. What's the best costume you've ever worn? I'm so not into dress up stuff and don't every remember really being into it. My Godmom, used to make us some pretty nice ones, old fashioned princesses, stuff like that. I remember gathering my dad's workclothes together one year and calling myself a hobo. LOL. And I had a pretty nifty, sparkly genie costume one time in a school play. My abs were a tad flatter at that time than they are at this moment.

6. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus? A little of both when I need it.

7. What's your favorite breakfast food? Bacon, baby, bacon. With eggs, with pancakes, with waffles, with toast. I don't care. As long as bacon is the main attraction! Unfortunately, I only let myself have it once in a blue moon. Usually I have yogurt with Omega 3 granola or oatmeal with brown sugar and milk.

8. Have you ever purchased anything from an infomercial? Sigh. Yes. Sigh again.

9. Have you ever crawled through a window? Hasn't everybody? What I want to know is: Has anyone ever got stuck in a window they were crawling through. Now that would bring some interesting answers. LOL.

10. Do you believe in love at first sight? Not sure on this one.

11. How many pairs of jeans do you own? Up until about a month ago only 2. Now all of a sudden I have 5. They must all of a sudden been breeding behind the clothes doors or something. Nothing near what I hear some people own but that's quite a few at one time for me.

12. If someone were going to bake a cake to honor/represent you, what would it be? (Think creatively, like Duff and Crew on "Ace of Cakes.") Oh Lidna, again. Creative and baking do not go in the same sentence when it comes to me. My brain just does not think that way. And I don't watch that show.

Book Tour ~ The Right Call

"The Right Call" by Kathy Herman

Publisher's Summary
It’s summer in Sophie Trace, the setting of Kathy Herman’s latest page turner, The Right Call. Based on 2 Peter 2:19b: “For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him,” The Right Call demonstrates how we’re all slaves to something—either to God and righteousness or to the flesh and its pitfalls.

Ethan Langley is home from college for the summer, eager to renew his friendship with Vanessa Jessup (Police Chief Brill Jessup’s daughter) and her infant son, Carter. Before Ethan is even settled his world is rocked by a random shooting that leaves four people dead, including someone close to him. Ethan tries to deal with his grief by staying busy and concentrating on his growing love for Vanessa. When a coworker from the previous summer, Stedman Reeves, seems somewhat obsessed with the shooting—but also sympathetic to Ethan’s deep loss—the two seem to connect.

While Chief Jessup is scrambling to find a suspect in the shootings, Ethan gets a late-night call from Stedman, who sounds panicked and needs to see him right away. Stedman confesses shocking details: due to a series of bad choices, he is going to be framed for the murders. All the evidence points to Stedman’s guilt, and he knows that there is no way he can prove his innocence. Stedman implores Ethan to go to Vanessa’s mother with this information.

When the wrong people find out that Ethan knows too much, those around him are placed in danger. What should he do? Going to Chief Jessup with the truth could save Stedman from doing life in prison—but it could be a death sentence for and Vanessa and Carter. He’s been dealt an impossible hand, but it’s his move. Will he make the right call?

Best-selling suspense novelist Kathy Herman brings this vivid story to life in her new book, The Right Call, the third book in the acclaimed Sophie Trace Trilogy. Filled with heart-pounding suspense that delivers heart-changing truth, The Right Call uses the perilous story of a young college student to reinforce the importance of walking closely with God, to be armed with wisdom and strength in order to face the toughest of circumstances.

My Thoughts:
This 3rd installment to the Sophie Trace Trilogy had everything. Edge of your seat suspense, a little romance, solid characters. I've really enjoyed reading this series by Kathy Herman. The suspense was right up my alley. Edge of my seat, fast paced, grabbing ahold of me right from the very beginning and holding my attention right to the end. I'm not a fan of the scare your pants off club but I do love a suspense mystery where I can't put it down because I just have to find out what's going on and what's going to happen. This is the kind of suspense that this book presents. And woven around the suspense is truths of life about our choices and their consequences, whether for the good or for the bad. I found the characters solid and believable as they struggled to understand what was going on around them. All in all a great read individually or as a series.

To see the book trailer you can go here.

Thank you to B & B Media Group for supplying the book for review.

To purchase "The Right Call" you can go here.

Photo Hunters ~ Covered

Today for Photo Hunters we're on the hunt for "covered". An easy one to show you would be the pictures from the spring blizzard that blew through here on Wednesday and covered us in snow


but I promised myself I wouldn't go there. Oops. I think I did just go there. :v)

So I went searching and my daughter provided the perfect picture when I caught her and the dog catching a few zzz's a couple of months ago. Something we did a bit of when the power was out and schools were closed for the first time in 22 years during said blizzard.

For more of "covered" visit the Photo Hunters.

Friday's Fave Five #83

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five. If you need info it's here. I almost put my snowflake button back up. Almost. But I thought that was just tempting fate a wee bit too much. I absolutely don't want a repeat of this anytime soon. Like at least until next January. Or maybe never. So we will stick with the spring one.

1. An unexpected day off in the middle of the week. And with no electricity to do chores, that meant a whole 3/4 day of reading and napping and a whole lot of nothing.

2. Electricity. You don't know how much you rely on something until it's taken away. I'm definitely liking and am thankful for my electricity.

3. Friends who pray with you and for you. I really, really appreciate my ladies group who are ever ready to pray for each other whenever there is a need.

4. Playing Scattegories with the kids. Haven't played this game in awhile but right now it's Teen Girl's favorite so I played a few rounds with her and Son. Lots of laughs ensued.

5. Dried Kiwi's and Pineapple. What a nice treat they are. Just a couple of slices and it settles a sweet craving. Yum. Better than turning to that handful of Cadbury Eggs or Licorice Allsorts. Not that I'll never eat those but these two cut that craving nicely.

What were your favorites from the week. Do up a post and link on to Mr. Linky linking directly to your post, not your home page. And then I encourage you to visit around. It's really uplifting to read other's favorites and it's nice to meet new friends, too. Have a great weekend everyone!

Spring Has Sprung? Really?

Well that was interesting. Nothing like a spring blizzard to turn ones life upside down exciting. The city was that far from declaring a state of emergency. (Imagine me pinching my thumb and forefinger together with barely any space in between.) It started snowing Tuesday before lunch and didn't let up until Wednesday noon. Wednesday morning around 7:30 the wind picked up and a few hours later it was snowing and raining and blowing. All. at. the. same. time! Fun times. The snow was soooo heavy and wet. Look at my poor electrical line to the house. This was it Tuesday afternoon:

And this was it Wednesday morning. It was so weighed down hubby had to go out and knocked the snow off of it. It's a good thing that other line was helping hold it up.

It was no surprise when the power went out. It wasn't just our house but pretty much the whole city. So no dayhome, no school, no work. Son and Younger Daughter were pretty happy. They are in finals at school right now. Because they didn't shut the schools right away they had to start heading out because one cannot be late for finals testing. After much nervous prayer by their mother, she let them go & they carefully drove to school because the radio hadn't yet announced their school's closure. Only to find that not even 5 minutes after they left, the officials, after humming and hawwing, had just closed the schools down. You have to know it is bad when they close schools around here. To put it in perspective, my kids have been in the school system since 1995 and I don't ever remember a school closure for them. It could be 40* below, with winds howling and dumping snow and as long as cars can drive they do not close the schools within the city. And the only reason they closed it this time, was not the blizzard itself, but because they had no guarantee when the electricity would be back on. So my two were exempt from their finals. And for Son that meant this is the second grade 12 departmental exam this year that he was exempt from. His big sister is going to be so choked when he brags tells her. Yes, the happy dance being done here today by at least two people.

But while it was all yeehaws about no school, the no power was no fun. You know, you really don't realize just how much a part of your everyday something is and how much you take it for granted until it is taken away. In our case, that was about 5 hours of no power. We live in an area where we're one of the first back on the grid. Lucky us. Because sitting with 2 sweaters on and a blanket wrapped around me and still being cold is not my idea of a good time. No power, no heat. And no hot coffee or hot drinks or hot food of any kind, no cooking, no making toast, no hair dryers, no tv, no laundry, no computer. Let me repeat that. NO COMPUTERS equals NO BLOGGING! And no phones. Even the cell phones were out for awhile. Thank God the toilets are not electric is all I can say!

Funny how badly you want food when it is unavailable. Sure there was granola bars and cold cereal but all of a sudden everybody was crying out for real food. And I had to go on fridge patrol so they weren't constantly opening the fridge and freezer, gazing sadly at everything they couldn't heat up and letting out all the cold. Dollars worth of food spoilage would not have made me a happy camper. You know what else? No delivery. 'Cause, you know, the restaurants had no power either! Oy Vay! And did I mention no blogging? I never realized how much my normal day depends on electricity. Let's just say I'm very thankful that I was born into this generation and not into the pioneer days. Oh and did I mention NO BLOGGING?!



So now the skies are blue, the birds are chirping and the sun is shining. And all that snow? It is melting. like. crazy. And now there is huge puddles and the grass is saturated under the down spouts and the city is has household flooding worries from the fast melt. Sigh. Welcome Spring in Southern Alberta!

Anyone know Nature's email?

Spring woes or winter woes. I don't even know anymore. Batton down the hatches, we have a winter storm warning out for my area. With 10 cm of snow predicted. That's 3.94 inches! I guess Nature did not get the memo that it's supposed to be SPRING! Darn I knew I shouldn't have dared to pack away the snow shovels. Someone told on me and now Nature is fooling with me. I wonder if Nature has a complaint department.

Monday Mish Mash

It was a pretty quiet weekend here at Living to Tell. Nothing really exciting happened which was just fine with me. It was just a kickback kind of weekend. No where to be, no running around, just being. Works for me.

Friday I got a delivery of chickens from a Hutterite colony. Their chickens are sooo good. And so big! Puts the ones in the grocery stores to shame. I ordered 6 of them and it came to just $51.00. Super cheap for the size that they are. Five I froze and one I made "Sticky Chicken" with. It is so easy and the chicken comes out delicious and super tender. I'll even give you the recipe.

The night before or early in the morning, in a small bowl mix together the following:

2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper

Rinse the chicken inside and out, drain and pat dry. Rub all over with spice mix. Place in plastic bag and refridgerate overnight or for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 250*F. Yes, you read right. 250*F. Remove chicken from bag and fill cavity with 1 chopped onion and about 3 or 4 the inner leafy sticks of celery. Place on rack in roasting pan breast side down and roast for 5 hours. When there is 1 or 1 1/2 hours left flip chicken over so the breast side skin can get crisp. Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before carving.

So easy and so incredibly good. You can feel free to play with the spices and you get a bit different of a chicken every time. This time I used Blazin' Pepper Bourbon Seasoning, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder. It's fun to play and know I'll still end up with a really great chicken. I added garlic mashed potatoes, some mixed veggies and made homemade gravy. One chicken fed the four of us with lots left over for sandwiches or a pasta meal. The grocery store chickens don't feed us that well.

After some housecleaning the younger girl and I went to the Christian bookstore for a look around and a chai tea. It was fun doing something with her that was just the two of us. And you will all be so proud of me, other than the chai teas, I didn't buy one book. Not a one. I was tempted but I didn't do it. It's a miracle. LOL.

Sunday was a totally relax day. Church, then just heating up the already cooked chicken lunch. It gave me time to do lots of reading, play a few rounds of Scattegories with the kids and basically be a bum. LOL. A weekend like that does a girl good once in awhile. It was perfect timing as I'll be busier than ever this coming week with a new 1 yr. old starting in dayhome. I finished the book "Tallgrass" by Sandra Dallas. It was so good. I am loving this author who was new to me this year. For a review of the book you can visit my book blog here. Just scroll down to number 12. I can't believe I've already completed 12 books this year.

A decision was finally made concerning the job. After much talk, tears, prayer and deliberation,and more tears, it looks like for now the dayhome will still be going. I was really hoping for a change but the timing is just not on my side right now. Although it is not the result I was hoping for, I do feel like a heavy weight has been lifted and now I can move ahead and focus on what I want to do in the dayhome rather than everything being on hold and up in the air wondering if I was going to close it. I know God is in control and in the right time a change will come but until then I will be content and be thankful that I have a good job right now and will do my best to glorify the Lord in what is placed before at this time.

And on that note, I must get ready for the kid's to arrive. Have a great kick off day to your week!

Photo Hunters ~ Vertical

Today at Photo Hunter's we are all on the search for vertical. I've had a super busy week this week so had to search out my archives. I found these pics of a water park we had visited on vacation a few years back. The first ride took me a long time to work up my nerve to go on because the drop, although short, was literally vertical. Scary stuff. My kids however took it on without thinking twice. Here's my oldest daughter and son taking their, oh, hundredth ride.

The next ride speaks for itself. No way did I get on that thing although my youngest daughter braved it and thought it was the bomb as far as waterslides go. I will stand at the end and be the official picture taker thank you very much.

Here come's my youngest having the time of her life!


Join us at Photo Hunter's for more vertical.

Friday's Fave Five #82

Hi everyone! It's Fave Five time. Boy this week went fast. It seemed like just yesterday the sink pipes were sitting taken apart on the kitchen floor while I tried to get turkey dinner on the table. What's life without a little excitement?! So if you're ready to roll here we go. If you need the details they are here.

In no particular order:
1. Cooking turkey dinner. In spite of clogged sinks, I really do love cooking turkey dinner. It's comfort cooking for me. It's tradition cooking, it's holiday cooking which means family cooking and to me it's not hard cooking. Except when the sink clogs. Then it becomes, shall we say, interesting cooking. But I really do enjoy it.

2. Even better than cooking turkey dinner, I love eating turkey dinner. One of my favorite meals. Turkey, stuffing, gravy and all the sides. Yummy. I can eat it anytime!

3. Celebrating Resurrection Sunday. Easter Sunday is one of my favorite holidays. I love celebrating the resurrection of Jesus with my church family and then continuing at home with a good meal and my family that I have been blessed with. We attend different fellowships but we still come together in the same spirit of celebration. I'm very thankful for my family, both immediate and extended.

4. An extra long weekend. With Good Friday and then my taking Monday off I had an extra long weekend. It was wonderful. Got lots of reading and relaxing done, and I think I'm pretty sure there was a big bowl of homemade popcorn somewhere in there. On Monday I took my Mom for lunch to a little tea room here in town that neither of us had been too. It wasn't the greatest meal for the price and I probably won't eat there again but the tea was awesome. And time with my Mom was what made it the greatest.

5. Videos like this in my email from a friend. Linda sent me this knowing my heritage is Hungarian. All my blood relatives are still in Hungary. What a blessing it was. I've always wondered what the spiritual temperature of the nation of Hungary is and knowing that they are square in the middle of revival was very exciting. So awesome to see in a former communist country more than 1300 young people get together and do such a dance to the Lord in a public square. I couldn't help but be looking for anyone that would look like my relatives in the crowd of dancers. But what made me smile the most was the little senior granny right in there with them. So cool. And recognizing the location knowing I'd once been there was really neat too. Thanks Linda! Not only was the video a blessing but knowing you thought of me was too!



What were your favorites for the week? If you do a post please sign on to Mr. Linky so that we can come and visit you. Have a great weekend, everyone!

The Post That Attempts to Explain Why I Am So Boring

I thought I had better check in. I noticed it's already Thursday and I've only posted once this week. Taking Monday off work always throws me for a loop concerning knowing what day it is. But after the great Easter dinner potato peel plug affair of 2010 I'm glad I had the day off. Sort of. It was spent taking my mom to appointments and then having a nice lunch with her.

It's been an odd couple of weeks months for me with blogging. I've really had nothing to say. Yes, me, the one who has in her lifetime been accused of talking too much. Can you believe certain people actually had the audacity to say that about moi?! My hubby and I have been in the throes of some decision making concerning my job and it's been hard. Trying to discern the will of God when it comes to stuff like this is hard especially when we are looking at things from very different ends of the spectrum. It's been hard because with a job like child care I want to do the best by the kids and parents so I go through a lot of guilt. If I'm thinking I might be changing jobs I'm already stressing way ahead of time how I will tell the parents. And I have had to fill spots in the dayhome because I have to work. And yet I'm stressed to the max worrying that I might have to give notice 3 months after they have started. And I don't even know if I'm taking another job. So I feel very torn and confused and steeped in guilt. I don't even know what I'm doing for sure yet but my mind and heart are consumed by this this day and night. It is always there right on the edge of my brain no matter what I am doing.

I've also had a one year old start this week so as anyone who's been around babies knows one year olds take. alot. of. work. I think I'm getting too old for this job. Hence the big decision we are trying to make. And as mentioned with my mom, I want to be there for my mom to be able to take her to appointments and help her out as she needs me as she gets older. But I have to work. Oh, how torn I feel. There are so many pros and cons to both staying in the job I have and in doing something else. Oops, there I go again. This decision takes over my mind like some kind of alien abduction thing going on.

So anyway that's my sad, sorry excuse at to why the blog has been, shall we say a tad bit boring as of late. Thank God for Friday's Fave Five. You guys don't realize how much I look forward each week to looking for blessings that I can add to the list of five and how much reading all your favorites lifts me up and gives me perspective. Thank you all for joining in on that with me. And on that note, we shall see you all hopefully tomorrow!

Easter 2010, Come and Gone

How was everyone's Easter celebration? I can't believe another one has come and gone. I love Easter but this year I was approaching it with a bit of trepidation. See, my oldest girl, wasn't going to be here. She had to prepare for a missions trip that she was leaving on today and it would have just been too time crunched to come home for the Easter holiday. This was the first time ever my little family wasn't all together for a major holiday. I tried not to think to hard about it. Tried to push it to the back of my mind.

To help me with that, I invited 8 other family over for Easter lunch. I figured if I kept busy that day I wouldn't have time to notice too badly she wasn't here. I had a plan. I had to have turkey because I needed to use up the one sitting in my freezer. So I thought I would cook that Saturday, nice and leisurely, and have it carved and ready to go for Sunday after church. I thought I'd keep it simple with just easy to prep veggies, carrots, peas, potatoes. Yup, nice and simple.

Yes, but this is my world we're talking about. First I forgot to take out the turkey Friday night. So instead of it being in the oven by noon on Saturday it was in the sink underwater starting the thaw. It made it in the oven at 7 p.m. At 1 a.m. I finally had it cooked and packed away and got to bed. Hubby graciously carved it Sunday morning before church.

Now we were supposed to race home immediately after church so that I could get the nice, simple veggies on the stove cooking all ready for the company coming at 1:30. Yup, nice and simple. Except we kept misplacing family members at church. Twenty minutes later we finally left. But the plan was still in place. I was patting myself on the back for my plan, simple was especially good now that we were a tad behind. But what's a holiday dinner without a few little glitches, right? I'm so smart having a simple plan. Pat, pat, pat on the back some more. That is until I proceeded to plug up the kitchen garberator and pipes with the potato peelings. And plug it I did. Big time. Not nice and handy a foot into the pipes. Way down somewhere in the basement. Way, way down. Never let it be said I do things halfway. It took my hubby and two brother's in law about 3 hours to unplug the thing. I very charitably let them take a break to eat. My hubby is still talking about the wonderful, simple Easter we had. I am now no longer allowed to garberate potato peelings. So much for nice and simple. It was interesting trying to cook for 12 people with no access to a kitchen sink. Fun times. But hey, I kept busy and didn't have time to dwell on the fact that my oldest wasn't there. Funny buy coincidentally neither did hubby.

In spite of it all, dinner was still delicious, albeit not quite on the table on time and with no pictures. We overate as par usual and had a lovely afternoon visiting, laughing (well except for hubby, he was concentrating too hard on trying to get that plug moving) and celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. I still missed my girl horribly but I made it through without tears. And we still had a load of dishes running in the dishwasher that evening. A lovely reminder that I am still very thankful for the day and age that God allowed me to be born in. For a while there I thought I'd be hauling my dirty dishes down to the river in remembrance of our pioneer predecessors.

Photo Hunters ~ Sweet

Today the theme "Sweet" and I'll bet there is going to be a whole bunch of Easter treats showing to make us all drool. So before I go to our sweet Easter treat, I had to do a picture of a different sweet.

Awww, now isn't that just the sweetest little doggy you ever did see? I wish I could fall asleep just anywhere.

Had I been on the ball when we were heading to the Greek restaurant the other night, I would have taken my camera so I could have taken a picture of the sweet and delicious tiramisu I knew I would be having for dessert! But I wasn't, on the ball that is, so if anyone from my family is looking, close your eyes so you don't know what sweet treat you'll be finding tomorrow! :v)

For your fill of sweet, go on over to Photo Hunters Headquarters.

Friday's Fave Five #81

Happy Easter everybody! I know it's Good Friday today and a lot of you won't be on today so feel free to just jump in anytime over the weekend if you would like.

1. "For God so loved the world, that He gave us His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 NIV One of my favorite scriptures and one that Easter brings us face to face with. This is what Easter was and is all about. Bottom line. God did it, gave up His one and only Son to redeem mankind back, because He loves us that much. And it's for all of us, whoever of us would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. As simple as that.

2. Catelli Smart Pasta. In our effort to eat somewhat healthier we have been eating more of the Healthy Harvest Whole Grain pasta but sometimes for some dishes the taste is just too heavy, and then I tried this pasta. Oh my goodness, it is sooo good. Doesn't have the heavy taste of whole grain pasta and yet has the same amount of fiber. And no sodium. I have to be cutting back on my sodium and this helps. It was yummy and very healthy. I made a great recipe with it that was easy and quick. I'll post it next Monday or Tuesday.

3. Greek food. I tried Greek food at a Mediteranean restaurant for the first time in my life this last week. Very delicious. It was at the one and only little Greek restaurant they have in town. They had a platter for two that had all sorts of different items in it. I think my favorite was the yummy pillow of phyllo dough that had a mix of cream cheese, parmesan and feta cheese in the middle that I can't remember the name of at the moment. That and the deep fried calamri dipped in tzatziki sauce. And drats, I forgot to take my camera!

4. Family time. So precious and sometimes so elusive in our busy days. As the kids grow the time is harder to get where we can all carve out that time with all our varied work and committement schedules but we try to really make a point of it. Of course, older girl now lives in another city so she is missing and we miss her dearly at these family nights, but I notice how quickly time seems to be going with the other two. My son will be graduating high school this year and youngest girl is 15. The time together with the two left at home is definitely worth it and precious. And they are lots of fun!

5. The first cup of coffee in the morning. I can't even tell you how much I love that first cup of hot coffee in the morning.

If you are joining in this week please link on up. Have a very happy, relaxing, refreshing Easter as we remember the death and celebrate the ressurection of Jesus Christ!

Book Tour ~ An Absence So Great

"An Absence So Great" by Jane Kirkpatrick

Publisher's Summary:
Inspired by the engaging stories told through her grandmother’s photographs taken at the turn of the century, award-winning author Jane Kirkpatrick provides a portrait of the tension between darkness and light in the soul of a young woman pursuing her professional dreams.

Despite growing in confidence as a photographer, eighteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele’s personal life is still at a crossroads. Hoping she’s put an unfortunate romantic longing behind her as “water under the bridge,” she exiles herself to Milwaukee to operate photographic studios for those ill with mercury poisoning.

Jessie gains footing on her dream to one day own her own studio and soon finds herself in other Midwest towns, pursuing her profession. But even a job she loves can’t keep those painful memories from seeping into her heart, and the shadows of a forbidden love threaten to darken the portrait of her life.

Author Bio:

Jane Kirkpatrick is an award-winning author of sixteen historical novels, including A Flickering Light, the first part of Jessie Gaebale’s story, and three nonfiction titles. Known for her unique insights into the exploration of community, family and faith of actual historical women, the Wisconsin native and her husband have called their ranch in Oregon home for the past 25 years.

My Thoughts:
I was very much looking forward to this sequel to A Flickering Light. I've always loved this author for her rich historical details and her characters. While An Absence So Great was the continuing story of Jessie Ann Gaebele I think it can easily be a stand alone novel and can be read without having to read the first. I do think reading the first definitely would just enhance the story though, as so much is revealed about the characters and why they are the way they are. I haven't finished this one yet, I've just have had a lack of time this last week to read but when I am able to pick it up I'm immediately drawn into the life of Jessie as she struggles to live her dream of being a woman photographer at the beginning of the 20th century and outrun her guilty feelings. Being an independant woman in the early 20th century was no easy thing and Jessie must learn from her mistakes and stand up for herself even at her young age. I appreciated the author's research into what it was like for photographer's when it was such a new art and business and all the dangers that went with it. And knowing that the story is based on the life of the author's grandmother just makes the story that much more interesting. Actual photograhs that Jessie Ann had taken are included and just enrich the story.

Thanks to Waterbrook Waltnomah Publishing Group for providing this book for review.

"An Absence So Great" is available for purchase here.

P.S. Please excuse the wonky print sizing. I don't know what blogger is doing and after several attempts to fix it it remains the same.