A Compliment of Sorts

Yesterday morning we took Patrick's folks to breakfast at Bob's Red Mill. They have some of the most delicious breakfast and lunch foods and are very reasonably priced. Seeing as how Patrick and his dad had just returned from New York we wanted to say thank you for the trip and all his folks have done to help us prepare for our next baby's arrival. One last breakfast before baby #2!
Anyhow, you have to order your meal at the counter prior to finding a seat, and help yourself to your own drinks and it was a busy Saturday morning. The lady behind the counter was a bit frazzled as we kept adding another carton of milk, another cup of coffee, a yogurt, and one of the staff was talking to her in one ear and we were talking to figure out who wanted what, "did we need another coffee?" She didn't seem THAT friendly, and told us it would be a half hour until we got our food. Okay. So, Patrick and I are standing there waiting for her to re-read our order to us and she tells us the total. I pull an envelope out of my purse that has some cash in it, and the lady behind the counter says, "Alright! Dave Ramsey!" I smile. Suddenly she is friendly and tells us that she took Dave Ramseys class and that she is flunking. She needs to take it again because she is getting an "F." We chuckle and smile and I realize that Patrick & I have been paid a compliment. We received a little pat on the back from a complete stranger who recognized that we are attempting to be responsible with our finances. Not a bad start to the weekend!

Mama said there'd be days like this . . .

Ever have one of those days? Everyone around you would have had a better day if you had just stayed in bed . . . except you can't because of the 21 month old little monkey who figured out how to open the gate to his room and is now skipping around your bed. Oh well. Need to feed the baby in the belly anyhow. And then the hormones kick in and an arguement with the husband while he's at work and then the waterworks start. And then monkey takes his diaper off and pee's on the newly cleaned carpets. I hate it when I yell. Anyhow, the day actually flew by and thank the Lord . . . because day's like this need to be few and far between!

Coffee note

I've had a coffee blog that I've been trying to post for a couple weeks. I've been tweeking it and playing with it and couldn't get the youtube code to copy correctly no matter how much I played with it. Wouldn't you know, today it finally copied correctly. So, that being said, I have an old post if you scroll down that just posted today. HAPPY TGIF!

Rain, Rain, Rain . . . It's Good to See You Again!

Oh the rain! It's back! I am a true native homegrown Oregonian. I never carry an umbrella and rairly do I ever remember to wear a coat. I love the rain. Period. There's a rather annoying song that get's stuck in my head from one of Luke's favorite dvds - BOZ. Hence the title to my blog entry. Anyhow, I like the cool weather as opposed to the 102 degree heat we had last week at this same time. I don't like to be hot, I'm miserable when I'm hot. I overheat really easily, burn, sweat, and swell when I'm hot. Maybe a little like menopause. Who knows. Anyhow, it's raining today and it makes me kinda happy. I love falling asleep to the sound of the rain in the gutters and cuddling under the covers on the cool sheets. Rain means jeans and sweatshirts and warm vanilla lattes and blankies on the couch. Happy Day!

It's Just Money!

Earlier this year my husband Patrick and I took a 13 week Dave Ramsey class called "Financial Peace University." I first heard about this course through a local mom's group I attended throughout the year. The first speaker at my mom's class back in October 2007 was passionate about finances, giving, helping people get out of debt etc. I was of course intrigued. At one point I was also watching a local morning show when who else appeared as a guest but, Dave Ramsey! I watched him and thought, how cool! So, Patrick and I checked out his website and found out that low and behold our church offered Dave Ramsey's class. We paid our hundred dollars cash, got our packet, lined up babysitting and were all set. We attended the first class and were wowwed! We learned about the seven baby steps and what happens when you start saving money early on in life, and how much borrowing with credit really cost, and the hook, line and sinker: how a $5 coffee cost $150 per month and if invested @ 12% from age 16-76 totals $19,371,943. OUCH. So Patrick introduced us to the entire class and our reason for taking the class was, "because his wife is a coffee junkie." Ha, ha, ha, ha.... but, hmmmmm, true. Then we were given our homework assignment, to complete a quickie budget meaning just one page of what it would take for us to survive every month. Another ouch.
Another week would come and we would be all set for class and then the "discussions" in the car on the ride home (we live 5 minutes from our church) would escalate into dare we say, arguements??? Or maybe just "lively discussions." Ha, ha, ha. It wasn't all too funny. There were weeks it was downright agonizing and tearful and all that had to be set aside as we walked into the house to greet the sitter for the evening and put our little boy to bed. I probably have never mentioned that my husband and I are both firstborns. We both lived on our own prior to getting married. And we were both raised in separate families who loved God, taught us right from wrong and in fact were raised very much the same in many, many ways. However, my husband being a man, and me being a woman have very different thoughts on how to operate our own household's finances. And taking this class revealed that we have different ideas about money. Not only that, but it revealed areas in our marriage where we needed to make changes because how we weren't paying attention to our finances was wrong. One of the verses that keeps replaying in both Patrick and my minds from our class is Proverbs 22:7 - The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. We don't want to be slaves to our finances. If we truely believe that everything is God's and He has entrusted us with "our" money, then we have a responsibility. This is an area we have been wrestling with and our character tested and stretched during this entire year. I expect this is gonna continue, especially after the baby comes and birthdays & holidays approach.

Change

This is my view from the driver's seat in my car. When I look in the rearview mirror, this is the reflection that looks back at me. And early, on this particular warm summer day we were on our way for coffee and a breakfast treat. However, as I went to the take the picture, Luke told me, "mommy no!" "No!" "NO!" He wasn't the least bit interested in having his picture taken what-so-ever. Silly boy. I can't believe how fast he's growing, and that 20 months after his birth, he still changes daily. Maybe I could learn something from that. I drag my feet with change. I like consistency, and people & things I can count on and change is unpredictable. And fortunately for me my second baby is arriving soon and that means . . . change! Time for me to grow and learn and stretch and know that change is good.

A New Recipe

I had four bananas that were sitting on my counter and they were starting to get brown spots and I don't like banana's when they are that ripe. Instead, I like them just a tad bit firm just past the green stage. So, Luke and I had a pajama day on Monday and I decided to tackle some projects such as washing his huge stuffed dog that he lays on while watching tv and drinking milk (therefore it's full of spots) and other miscellaneous projects. One of those projects including getting rid of those spotted bananas that were on the counter. So, I pulled out my banana bread recipe and realized I should check for a recipe in my new cookbook "Deceptively Delicious." Low and behold I found a banana bread recipe that included cauliflower. So, I set out to try it and see if my men would eat the new banana bread or refuse and demand the old recipe. It ended up being a huge hit and I would definately use this recipe again! I decided to see how long it would take me to defrost the cauliflower puree, mix the banana puree, make the recipe and get it into the oven. It ended up taking about 30 minutes from start until I got the bread into the oven and that to me was a little bit longer than I wanted, partially because I cleaned up as I went, talked to my sister on the phone for 5 minutes and paused to take pictures.







Step 1: (as modified to ingredients in my cupboard), mix and set
aside: 1-1/4 c. organic flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon & 1/4 tsp. baking powder.









Step 2: In large bowl mix 1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar, & 1/4 c. vegetable oil until well combined. Mix in 2 large organic egg whites, 1-1/2 c. banana puree, 1/2 c. cauliflower puree, and 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract.













Step 3: Add flower mixture and mix just until combined.








Step 4: Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake approximately 55-60 minutes until toothpick comes out clean

Good Coffee is Hard to Find

One of my favorite night time re-run shows is Frasier. I never watched this while it aired originally, but think some of the re-runs are hilarious! This is a clip from one of the shows where Frasier decides to boycott his coffee shop Cafe Nervosa because of a new folk singer. He soon realizes that finding a new local coffee shop isn't as easy as it sounds. Hmmmmmm. . . sounds familiar!