Days of Food :: 9

It seems fairly customary for a person to prepare a feast, a banquet, a display of special foods for the one he or she loves. Even a look at a slice of biblical history will tell this story :: Sarah readied a delectable meal for her husband & the three honorable guests, Queen Esther made great accommodations and preparations to present her king & love with several banquets that were surely the talk of the town.

The priority of the father who was welcoming home his prodigal son was to pull out all the stops :: he summoned for a banquet and the choicest of meats to be prepared.

Jesus celebrated around the table often with his disciples :: on one occasion he set up a welcoming campfire and made ready a breakfast meal especially for those he loved.

One evening this past weekend, my husband and I fed the children a wee bit on the earlier side. Read stories and then tucked them into bed or just firmly asked them to stay in their rooms! And then we headed back downstairs for what we've labeled an 'in house date'. We began these early in our marriage simply because we didn't have the finances to go out for a meal; but we continue now--every once in a while--simply because we enjoy it. We both expressed that this should take place more often, it's such a special time.

The fondue set came up from the basement and pieces of steak were set to cook & when finished, we enjoyed this with a Caesar salad and baked potato {with an array of toppings to choose from!}. While we don't eat red meat often, it's a favorite of my love's, so I oblige.

Good food :: great conversation :: an evening to remember....

Days of Food :: 9

Sorry!

Yep, the show has come and gone.

Nope. No pics yet. In the cast were those from an actor's union and so personal pics were prohibited during dress rehearsals. Mom didn't know this until dress rehearsal night. BUT, the theatre's professional photographer took excellent shots of each scene for publicity purposes and will be giving a CD of those to each person involved. So, just hold on a little and we'll post when they come in {knowing how theatres work around here, it could be several weeks!}.

The girls had a fantastic time! All 10 shows went very well and Jackie is proud to report that she did not drop the fan at all :: during rehearsals this happened a few times, so she was a bit nervous. She received many compliments on her solo & Janelle was complimented by the lead lady that she has great acting ability! They are both sad to see it end, but it was a fun way to spend the month :: they met people from all over the US, mainly from New York and now have emails to keep in touch.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, Jackie turned 18. We had the foresight to celebrate back in June since this month was full. But, hooray and happy birthday Jackie! And huge thanks to Grandaddy for bringing her friend Lauren down from CT for a birthday surprise and to see the show.

{Big breath in and then out} Now, back to normalcy, right?

Yes. A post about our school year plans is forthcoming!

Sorry!

Days of Food :: 8

The only person in our family who really enjoys french toast is my husband :: and then one of my daughters will eat almost anything. So, I'm not too sure why the need to try honey french toast kept bugging me!? The recipe is not difficult & the toast rather tasty in my opinion, though it's not my favorite breakfast food. But the vote around here is to leave this one alone. {sigh}

Maybe your family will enjoy it more...

Days of Food :: 8

Days of Food :: 7

A bagel shoppe close by has on their menu one the most yummy grilled veggie sandwiches. After trying one a few years ago, I was a bit determined to duplicate it to eat at home. While I'm not sure the ingredients are exact, the results are delicious! And this weekend in the grocery store, I passed the bagel section and the gotta-have-one-of-those RIGHT NOW feeling took over.

Okay, it wasn't really that bad, but I did come home with the fixings to make one of my favorite sandwiches.

Veggie Bagel Sandwich

tomatoes, mushrooms

minced garlic and/or garlic powder

olive oil

broccoli sprouts (or another kind)

Kraft's chive & onion cream cheese

favorite kind of bagel :: we enjoy the 'everything' bagels

Saute some tomato and mushroom slices in olive oil and garlic choice {not too long or the tomatoes become really mushy}. Toast your bagel, spread some of the cream cheese, top with the sprouts and veggies. Simple and tasty!

Days of Food :: 7

Glorious!

114. the earth is the Lord's....praise

115. a much needed soaking rain this week upon thirsty grounds and limp crops & plants....gratitude

116. time spent in His creation, beholding the splendor of it all...a glorious Amen to the end of our day

Glorious!

Days of Food :: 6

Ummm, smoothies. An easy summer breakfast and a great way to use up overly ripe fruit quickly. You know, the ones that sit in the fruit basket and kinda get forgotten :: or are in the waaay back of the fridge. Whatever the cause of super ripeness, today we used up bananas & kiwi along with some orange juice to make a delicious morning drink.

The theme of adding {okay, sneaking} power foods into my kiddos continues. Primadophilus is my way of replenishing the healthy bacteria needed in our digestives systems; especially if any of us have been on antibiotics. More information on the benefits of L.acidophilus. Primadophilus is easily found in the refrigerated section of your local health food store and comes in a powder form for children birth to age 5, chewables in an orange flavor and also capsules. As needed, I also add it in applesauce for the kids; it doesn't change the taste. Much more potent & helpful to our bodies than simply eating some yogurt with live bacteria.

So grab that fruit, add some milk or OJ and enjoy!

Enjoy a peaceful weekend....

Days of Food :: 6

30 Days of Food :: 5

Today I leave you with some fun food links that I've enjoyed ~

Happy Foody :: into primarily eating raw food? wondering about the benefits? great recipes here

Simply Breakfast :: a daily picture of what this lady has for breakfast

Smitten Kitchen :: the name says it all; wonderful pictures {I really enjoy food pics}

Nutritious Lunch Ideas for Kids :: scroll down for the quick-reference table, worth a look

World's Healthiest Foods list :: 129 of what this site says are the best in vegetables, legumes, seafood, spices & herbs, fruit, nuts & seeds, etc. each link then takes you to a storehouse of information on that particular food. great reference!

30 Days of Food :: 5

30 Days of Food :: 4

Don't you just love the convenience of eggs? Scrambled, poached, boiled, fried, over-easy, sunny-side up, ummm...what else?

In our home, having an omelet or a plate of fully-loaded {all the fixings} scrambled eggs means one of two things :: we're having a special breakfast or Mom forgot to plan ahead for dinner! Yes, I've been known to whip up eggs and pancakes as a quick meal in the evenings. And yes, that is what took place today except that it was actually planned {and we had mini bagels as our carb}.

My husband is out of town and for reasons really unknown to me, this is my excuse to kick back and take the easy road on providing meals. Oh well, the girls and I love eggs!

30 Days of Food :: 4

30 Days of Food :: 3

We enjoy making muffins around here. They're a great snack, quick breakfast food along with a cup of yogurt, and mini ones are wonderful for small hands. Plus...shhh, don't tell my children, but some good-for-you super ingredients can be put in without changing the taste too much. Such as wheat germ :: which is exactly what I did with these orange-cranberry muffins.

The youngest taste tester seemed to think they were just fine.

30 Days of Food :: 3

Almost Showtime!

Two days...a little over 48 hours until the first show!! To update, Jackie and Janelle had auditioned back in March at a local theatre for spots in the musical The King and I {wonderful, wonderful if you haven't seen it}. They got news shortly after that they made it in; beginning of April was full of writing up bios & doing head shots {which Mama did on her own & saved oodles of $$$} ::





And then we all waited until rehearsals began just two weeks ago. The pace has been fast, but the girls were prepared. They had watched the musical twice and already memorized their songs. If you're familiar with the production, Jackie landed the part of the wife who does a solo dance ('the fan dance') and Janelle got a speaking part in the children's ensemble (there are just a few). Yes, we're proud of them!

Above the excitement of receiving roles is the thrill of working with actors and actresses who have performed on Broadway numerous times. The lead role of Anna is played by a woman who did the international and national tour of the King and I; and the girls think the king in this show is just as good as the one in the original 1956 musical. The experience has been a tremendously enriching and fun one.

In the midst of it all, we've taken the time to teach priorities. Rehearsals were scheduled each day except Mondays and start time is 10 a.m. Well, this family goes to church on Sunday mornings. :o) We had the opportunity to show that it wasn't necessary to fudge the more important to get ahead; the girls still got significant parts and simply stated they would be ready by noon for rehearsals on Sundays.

In fact, this past weekend, the start time for the entire cast was changed to noon. Hmmm.....

We'll update after opening night!!

Almost Showtime!