That first lick...

Around here in Arizona, the heat is creeping up upon us. We're not there yet, but the sun is warm, and the sunshine warmer. Some days we have eighties. Most nights are still deliciously cool. We love sleeping with the windows open and waking up the cool morning with a hot cup of our favorite Hawaiian Hazelnut coffee.

The warmer temperature have us thinking about all our favorite summer activities. Kate is signed up for her first swim lesson. The grill is going full tilt. And then there is our favorite dessert-- ice cream...

Kate had her first taste of it when my parents were in town a few weeks back. She loved it. She screamed for more when it was done. My daughter likes her food. Maybe it's genetic :)

Bees through the drive-thru

I read a very interesting article on the mysterious decline of the bee population that is relevant or related to our challenges in nutrition and the growing obesity rate. Read it here

The Current Count

8 biscuits

at least a dozen muffins

a few rolls

1/2 of a berry pie, but not the crust

1 plate full of apricot bars

and currently:

a mango, peeled and sliced

2 warm chocolate chip cookies last night

6 whole grain muffins this morning

When her family leaves, Penny gets depressed. Then she eats too much. Off the countertop, off the stove, off the floor-- wherever it is, she'll find it and eat it to prove to you that your love isn't enough--but that you are making it up with your baked goods (or fruit...)

Delight

The precious gift of my daughter reminds me daily of His beautiful design in our lives~
We are so blessed by her daily smiles, her giggles, her *new* giving us kisses, her waking up hugs, and the general joy she sprinkles around.

The Beautiful Madness

March is a beautiful month.
March is a mad month.
No matter where I am or how old I am or how much I know about the teams, it gets to me every year.

We started off our annual March Madness with our brackets in hand, the flatscreen blaring, hot paninis, cold beer and a platter of crunchy crudite, pepperocinis, olives and marinated mushrooms last night to ease our angst/excitement.

Layered Paninis

1 ciabatta loaf, sliced almost through (like a hamburger bun)
Pesto
Salami
Prosciutto
Fresh Mozzarella, sliced
Basil
Parmesan shavings
Italian seasonings

Preheat over to 400 F
Lay the open loaf on a long sheet of foil. Layer both interiors of the bread with pesto.
Layer slices of salami, prosciutto then fresh mozzarella on one side. Sprinkle with basil and Italian seasonings. Layer parmesan shavings over the pesto on the other other side of the loaf. Close sides of bread together. Wrap in foil. Then rewrap loaf in an additional sheet of foil. Press on bread packet to adhere the ingredients together several times firmly.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until cheese melts.
Let sit unwrapped for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
Slice thin slices and serve.

According to...

Emily, "Skim milk is, like, empty calories"

Nice try my dear. No, they're not. Now it's not as good for you as milk with some fat, but it does have some merit :)

Motherless Mondays

Again...when the cat is away, Kate will play...things just "happen" when I am at work:

On Monday it was getting a sense of humor-- giggling at Mason's antics with a toy skateboard

then on Thursday it was pedicures...thank you Auntie Janelle

then on Friday it was more time with Grammy...

Post-gorge update

A little of this. A little of that.
Full.
That's all we have to say after the festival today.
Little Miss had her first taste of many types of foods....hope the infant food police don't come after me! She didn't seem to mind.

The Power of Web Words

As I have sought to become more connected, I have joined the masses of communicators.

I finally caved and got on Facebook.
Then I got on Twitter.
And I joined LinkedIn.
Then I invited all my friends.
Some are clamouring "What is this?" or "Do I have to?" and "Why should I do this?"
Others raise the concerns about web safety, which of course, we know is nearly impossible, but not improbable. One person emailed me an article about Twitter as she tried to discover it's purpose/purposefulness.

Ultimately we are talking about the power of words.

Here is an example of what can happen.
My husband starts his new job. He meets the president of his company. She greets him saying "I've been looking forward to meeting you. You have a beautiful family." He's never met her. She has a web crawler that searches for the name of his company. It led to my blog post and then to my blog. Very interesting.

Just goes to show you that Scripture is right when it talks about using wisdom when "talking", whether it is with your tongue or with your keyboard.

I can't wait!!!

I have been waiting for two years to have a repeat experience... and needless to say, my toes are wiggling with excitment, perhaps even more than my daughter's wiggle :)

This weekend we are going to the West of Western Culinary Festival.

Stupid name, I know.

But the food is phoenamenal.

That is why we are going with the Phoenamenal crew.

March 11 is...

National Registered Dietitian's Day!

Congratulations to my colleagues who work so hard in a field that strives to improve the health and wellbeing of Americans.

For more information, click here.

Edwards

Dane Ortlund has written a profound book, A New Inner Relish, (thanks Steve for the recommendation) on Christian motivation by unpacking the truths found in Jonathan Edward's writings. Travis has been pushing me to consider the "why's" of Christian obedience-- something I can tend to drift into is mere moral behavior changes and this quote speak directly to what we should be looking at to motivate us to change:

Edwards is pointing out that while one may hae true affections for God which are a result of the benefit that one receives by them, yet authentic affections are those which are primarily based on the intrinsic beauty of God-- the 'supreme excellent nature of divine things.' In other words, gratitude is not enough. The love a person feels for God is an immediate experience. The believer does not first calculate all that God has done in the past and then act in response to careful consideration of such things, despite the quite real power of such truths. While believers must certainly make a regular habit out of preaching the gospel to themselves and reviewing God's mercies, and supremely the cross of Christ, the very ability to do this effectively is a fruit of something deeper. Fundamentally, obedience is the fruit of seeing God. Affections and obedience naturally follow a divinely-given vision of the moral beauty of God. The point is that there is no such thing as any kind of true affection for God which has not first experienced the breathtaking reality of the love and glory of God in Christ. After one has been forgiven and regenerated andunited with Christ, then one sees the power of gratitude , the incentive of adoption, the motivation of profit. ~ pg 70

Tradition continues

My mother and grandmother would load us up in the station wagon on a weekday morning.
This was no ordinary errand though.
Twice a year we would go to the Stride Rite store down in Del Marco Plaza near my grandmothers.
Then we would either get to go to McDonalds for lunch or Baskin Robbins for ice cream afterwards.
When my Mom and Dad were here we took Kate to get her first pair of shoes.
They have come a long way from the white leather soled shoes though.

According to,...

Mason: "Ooh, Mom, will they give us a Corvette?"
when Ashley told them they were getting a loaner car from the dealership.
Don't you love the optimism of youth?

"Hey"

I think this would be what she would say if she could talk....