Seasons

Today, as I sat and watched a good friend get married I had a thought. I am in an interesting season of life. When I was in college, it seemed as if everyone in my little world was in the same stage of life...we were all just trying to graduate, keep ourselves sane, have a little fun along the way, make some memories, try not to go broke, and still pass all the classes. The "big" life events were all the people getting engaged. Then, for a couple years we were in the "go-to-a-wedding-a-week" phase where we were either sending a gift or attending the couple's big day. Now, we enter a new stage. Ryan and I were counting the other day and we listed at least ten couples we know having babies this summer. My friends and I have been to dozens of baby showers. It is a new stage and it is fun to watch my friends as they expand their families and see them first be nervous, then get excited, then be overwhelmed a little, then blossom into a beautiful new family. Then come the facebook posts...."Praying that (insert child's name here) sleeps longer than two hours tonight"..."Does anyone have any potty training ideas" and so on. I just love watching. It is interesting because as I watch this unfold around me, other important people in my life are entering other stages. My parents have now started a new stage of life without kids and I LOVE how great they are at it. They are traveling and discovering how much fun it is without kids again. Ha ha. BUT, whenever we arrive at their front door...the time we spend together is so much sweeter. AND, our family has expanded. Our cozy little family of four has grown to six and it is a riot to sit around a table with my sister, brother-in-law, my own love, and my parents and play cards or joke. Nothing sweeter in the world. So, no matter what stage I am in, I am going to enjoy it for the time God has me in it. I know the next stage will come and go and if I am not careful...I will miss it.

The Brady Bunch

Yesterday night during church I developed a really nasty headache. I have been battling with these painful headaches for almost a full year now. So far the doctors do not have any answers for me so I have had to kind of figure out what triggers them and ways to talk myself out of them. Well, last night's headache stretched into today. I was supposed to go into work with my hubby and help him out with some marketing stuff but he looked at my face and said, "stay home." Well, before he left he grabbed me and said, "Relax, eat breakfast, and watch an old movie you like." For some strange reason, no Cary Grant movies appealed to me, no Rock Hudson, or Jimmy Stewart, or even Doris Day movies called out to me. Not sure why that is because I usually crave a good dose of those classic, truly talented people. Today I found myself nursing my headache with a LONG dose of the Brady Bunch. Now, I find it hard to believe anyone who reads this has never, ever watched the Brady Bunch; but, if for some reason that is the case, let me give you a run down on the show. It is a sugar-coated, sickeningly sweet, pun-filled, poorly-written sitcom about the "ordinary" family living in the 60s-early 70s. There was never a crisis that came up that Mike, Carol, and even sometimes Alice (the housekeeper...which by the way, how many "ordinary" American families have a housekeeper?) could not solve in under 30 minutes of television. The house was always clean, the dinner was always ready right on time, the kids rooms were NEVER messy (unless that was part of the 30 minute crisis). However lame and ridiculous the show is, it tops most anything that comes on the television these days. So, I guess, no matter how stupid and silly the scrapes the Brady clan finds themselves in is...I will keep watching. Ha ha...even if it makes me gag.

Being a kid

It is funny the way kids behave. I have no kids of my own but I have done my share of babysitting, been a caretaker for my cousin for a summer, taught Sunday school and now teach school. They get so wrapped up in whatever they are doing, they forget EVERYTHING but the game they are playing at the time. They would rather wet their pants than stop playing their game to hit the restroom. It is something I forget to remind kids to do until suddenly they are standing there doing the "potty dance" (or as the case was at Sunday school a few weeks ago, the deed is already done and the kid has already moved on).

Why do we lose that when we grow up? Hear me out...I do not suggest that grown ups do the "potty dance" because we are too engrossed in what we are doing. We grown ups get bogged down with work and the house and the schedules, but do we take time to get wrapped up in our relationships? How often do we call our parents, grandparents, long lost friends? Why don't we? We get too busy, too regimented, too scheduled and we loose that childish ability to get lost in something fun that we forget all else.

Quietness

This past weekend you may have noticed a drop off in blog posts. That is because on Thursday we left for a weekend getaway to Georgia. We had an amazing time getting away from it all and spending quality time together as a couple. We went to a secluded little inn out in the Georgia mountains. It was so beautiful. One of the most wonderful parts of the vacation was the QUIET. There was no traffic at all so when you slept at night all you heard was rain, thunder, crickets, frogs, NATURE. It was beautiful. Also, the inn had NO televisions at all. So, as a couple, we had time to talk, get re-connected, go outside and spend time walking and talking, and we even played some card games together. It was a sweet, precious time together and I would do it again tomorrow.

It was a marriage retreat...so what did we learn???? 1. We decided to make eating dinner together at the DINNER TABLE a priority. We discovered how much we had to say to each other when we SAT at the table and had the television off. It was a good thing to realize. 2. We need to make time to have fun together. We are married, we love each other, we are a family, but how much time do we spend having fun together? I think every couple should take time once and a while in their relationship, evaluate how things are going, get alone together, and then make the changes that you see need to be made. Change is not easy, but God wants to be included in your marriage...ask HIM to help.

Reasons to Smile

There are so many reasons to smile in this life. Now, beyond the eternally wonderful reason to smile at the gift of eternal life, there are some smaller, more inconsequential things to be happy for. Here is my list.

1. Eggs--there is never a bad way to eat an egg. Scrambled, boiled, fried...all are good.
2. Deodorant--I am daily thankful for the fact that I live in a modern world where there are things like running water, soap, and DEODORANT.
3. Wii Resort--Never again will there be an awkward time when you invite friends over to the house...just pull out the wii resort and challenge your friends to a game.
4. Droid Phones--Today I downloaded "whack-a-mole" for my phone and am an addict now. Fun times. It is just like being at Chuck-E-Cheese.
5. Pedicures--There is nothing that makes me feel like a real princess than having a nice long pedicure and then getting a design painted on my toe nails.
6. Sun Tea--Tea that has been brewed in the sunshine and then poured over a glass full of ice. There is nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day.
7. Mini Golf--It is such fun and it does not matter how bad you are at golf because you are just enjoying the people you are with and the game you are playing. In fact, if you are bad at it, it may make the trip even more fun.
8. New Carpet Smell--We just got a new rug for our living room and when I walk in the door the room just smells so fresh and clean.
9. Five Mile Creek--Classic show from the 80's. It is the complete package. It has adventure, thrills, history, romance, and comedy. It is a shame more of the modern world has never come in contact with this show.
10. Sour Patch Kids--Nothing makes a movie more fun than a box of Sour Patch Kids to share with the one you love.

Welcome to the Hot Seat

I do not consider myself to be the best in social situations. Do not get me wrong, I am not a backwards cave-dweller who has no concept of how to carry on a conversation; but I am also not a Chatty Cathy either. But, of all the social situations that I find myself in, the one I consider to be the most awkward is the hairdressers' chair. After the "what are we doing with the hair" conversation I am dead in the water. You can tell that she is straining to come up with a topic and I am struggling to try to engage her but also not to distract her because I do not want her to chat so much that she forgets what her original task was. It is just not a fun situation. Then of course once you are free of the chair you face the next socially awkward situation of manipulating your way out of the salon without buying their high priced hair products (while also trying not to tell a lie that you "already have that shampoo" or "maybe I will pick some up next time:") Probably the only situation worse than that is the dentist asking you questions while your mouth is full of drills and paste and other horrible things. Maybe someday I will learn to do these tasks with more grace and ease, but for now, I am Miss Tongue-Tied.

Soccer IS OVER

World Cup season is over. It ended with quite a rivalry between Ryan and I. His "people" are originally from Spain and my ancestors on my mom's side are Dutch. So we razzed each other and trash talked each other and in the end he did his victory dance. Well, in order to celebrate the end of the World Cup, we were invited to a party and I provided the deserts. I got a lot of requests for the recipe for "Dutch Victory Cake" which of course has now been renamed "Dutch Consolation Cake." It is simple to make, but be aware that the flavors need time to marry so you will want to prepare this about 3-4 hours before you plan to serve it.

Ingredients:
1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. peanut butter chips
4 1/4 cups cold milk, divided
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 pkgs (5.9 oz each)instant chocolate pudding mix
1 carton cool whip
4 Nestle Crunch Bars, crumbled

Directions:
Prepare the cake according to package directions. Cool on a wire rack. In a heavy saucepan, combine chips, 1/4 cup milk, and cream. Cook and stir over low heat until chips are melted; Stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature. Place the remaining milk in a mixing bowl; beat in the pudding mixes on low speed for 2 minutes. To assemble, crumble half of the cake into a 4qt. trifle bowl or large bowl. Layer with half of the peanut butter sauce, pudding, whipped topping and candy bars; repeat layers. Cover and keep in fridge for at least 3-4 hours before serving.

Very yummy and can be customized to suit dietary needs. For instance, the lady who hosted the party cannot have milk chocolate, only white. So, simply exchange the chocolate cake for white cake, the pudding for white chocolate pudding or vanilla, keep the peanut sauce because it is amazing, and then put another type of candy bar to provide the crunch. The Hershey's brand cookies and cream bar may make it taste yummy. Enjoy.