The Miracle Marriage.....Mine!

Today, Sal and I celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. Look at those two youngsters! We had no idea what our future would hold at that time. We didn't know that we would move 9 times in 18 years. We had no idea that we would be blessed with a gorgeous daughter. We certainly had no idea that we were tough enough and strong enough to withstand some of the road-bumps that we would encounter in our time together either....

Along with all the great times, laughing and loving, there have been some truly rough and tough times. Most of them brought on by me. I was a mess. I was 'married' to a job that almost worked me to death at times, that caused me to come home in tears on quite a few occasions, that kept me out til all hours of the night and morning hanging out in places I had no business being in. But I loved it. Being in radio is a pretty intoxicating (no pun intended) career. Back before the business came under hard financial times, you got to fly places, stay in fancy hotels, hang with celebrities and alllllll that comes with that lifestyle. And I drank it up! (Pun fully intended). There was excessive socializing, carousing, drinking and partying and again.....I loved every minute of it. All the while, my husband kept the home-fires burning because he knew it was 'part of the job'. It was becoming more than just 'part of the job' though. It was all becoming a problem and thanks to some truly divine intervention about six and a half years ago that took us to California, I finally got my life straightened out.

A little over four years ago, Sal & I walked into a church together in a small suburb of San Diego called Rancho Bernardo. Both of us began an amazing transformation almost instantly and both of us accepted Christ into our lives only weeks later. I gave up the firewater, I lost 140 lbs, changed my behavior, got my priorities in order and started living a clean life--inside and out. Sal & I were both baptized at sunset in the Pacific Ocean at La Jolla Shores back in August of 2007. God gave us a clean slate and a new life and with our baptism together, as husband and wife, we gave each other a clean slate. It has taken our marriage to a whole new level of awesome-ness.

So, Happy Anniversary, baby. I thank God for you and I thank you for stickin' with me. I'm a lucky, lucky, lucky lady.

Us this past December 2009

Lazy Daze Festival....

The Town of Cary Lazy Daze Festival is going on as I write this. Sal and I were up early to hit it first and beat the crowd. HA! It started at 9, we got there at 8:45 and it was already packed. Artisans to the right and to the left as far as the eye could see. There are some amazingly talented people out there doin' what they love, that is for sure. Booth after booth after booth of painters, sculptors, jewelers, wood carvers, sewers, tin-workers.....oh the list goes on and on. I bought one thing and that was a leather hair cuff. There was lots I would've loved to have if money were no object, but alas, not the case! Here are some pictures......

I love this mosaic mushroom piece...

Homemade wooden puzzles of all shapes....woof-woof.

....This guy makes guitars out of license plates. He'll
do whatever state you want. This was the
Wyoming guitar. There was a lady in his booth
ordering 2 California guitars (at around $300 each!)

This metal lizard was tooo cool....

Gorgeous metal flower picks to add to your garden....

This face jug cracked me up. The bug
on his nose landed just before I shot the
picture. He so belonged there!

PB&J 4-ever!!!!!

Cassie's been back at school as a 7th grader for about a week and a half now and I think we've fallen back into the routine pretty effortlessly. My big responsibility every month is to print out the monthly school lunch menu and post it on our fridge. There, Cassie will mark off the days she will take or buy lunch. That in turn helps me plot out my grocery list for the upcoming weeks. Bread--check. Cold cuts--check. Fruit cups--check. Peanut Butter--check, check!

There was an article in the local paper today entitled "Not PB&J AGAIN! Liven Up The Lunchbox". BLASPHEMY! I had to laugh because one of the sandwich 'alternatives' they have pictured and suggested is a cucumber sandwich. My daughter would be trading that off to some unsuspecting 6th grader for something else, I'm sure! I still to this day believe that the PB&J is one of the finest sandwiches out there. The wonderful balance of sweet strawberry jam (my fav) slathered onto a almost-too-thick layer of chunky peanut butter with it's crunchy and slightly salty yumminess......mmmmmm. Think about it, in culinary worlds, the PB&J was waaaaay ahead of it's time with the whole 'sweet and salty' combo!

Now, I don't eat it every day and neither does Cassie--she'll opt for ham every once in a while--but the PB&? is standard. '?' you ask? Yep. Cass is creative, I have to say. Sometimes it is a PB&J, sometimes it's PB&F (that's PB and Fluff--we called that a Fluffer-Nutter). Occasionally it's a PB&H (honey) or PB&AB (apple butter). They're alllll good!

I've been reminded by my middle-schooler that the insulated lunch bag is still a must and they have to be cool looking and colorful, too. Before we roll our eyes at the notion of keeping-up-with-the-Kardashians with our insulated lunch bags, remember when we were kids? We wanted the latest lunch box with the latest and coolest action figure or tv show on the outside, didn't we? Yep! Charlie's Angels, Battlestar Gallactica, Fat Albert--they were the good ones to have. Ya know what lunch box I had in elementary school? A US Mail lunchbox. I am pretttttty sure it was not one of the cool ones. But I do understand now that that US Mail lunchbox may be worth some money!!! I bet my Mom still has it....can you say....Ebay?!

This was my lunchbox!

Farm to Fork.....

The outing to the Farmer's Market this weekend netted quite a bit of fresh goodies: peaches, tomatoes, okra, corn, lima beans and one honey stick for my daughter (her weekly request) from the Bee Blessed Pure Honey stand. How can you not love their name?!

I. love. okra. Unfortunately for my waist-line, I like it fried and as often as possible. However I tried a new recipe out of the August edition of Southern Living magazine that showcased okra in an un-fried manner and it was outstanding! I used Chorizo instead of the smoked sausage only because I had it on hand. I think ground turkey, ground beef or cubed chicken would work wonderfully as the meat in this dish. It cooks up very fast, so it's a good last minute dish. Here's the recipe:

• 1/4 pound spicy smoked sausage, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1 cup sliced fresh okra
• 1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomato (1/2 lb.)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

Sauté sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until browned. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add corn, okra, and tomato; cook, stirring often, 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Post-Rain......

We've had some pretty hefty thunderstorms roll through our area these past few days and it looks like another is brewing in the distance for tonight. I wandered through the backyard and noticed how all the plants and flowers have enjoyed the extra dose of water. Everything is greener and some flowering plants that hadn't flowered in awhile, were flowering again! While I was out snapping photos, I got buzzed by two hummingbirds who, I'm going to assume, were saying 'thank you' for re-filling their feeder earlier today. I love those little guys, but they sure do make a lot of noise when they buzz an inch away from your head......

....a teeny-weeny little fern.....

honeysuckle...

I have no idea what this is, but I like the
gorgeous purple berries on it....

....even though it's still a hot-as-Hades August,
this reminded me of Fall.....

ahhhh...my gorgeous Hibiscus has been
blooming like crazy this week thanks
to all the extra rain....



"Almost any garden,
if you see it at just the right moment,
can be confused with paradise."

~Henry Mitchell~

Milling About.....

Yates Mill off in the distance.....

I finally went to the Yates Mill Historic Park yesterday out on Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh. I've driven past it for years, everytime saying "I'm gonna go do that tour sometime", and yesterday, I finally did. It was awesome! Yates Mill is a fully-restored 18th century, water-powered gristmill (where they grind corn into cornmeal and wheat into flour). It sits on a 20 acre pond that you walk part-way around to get from the museum building to the mill itself. At the mill, they show you how corn is shelled and how the huge granite grinders and all the other gears, including the monster water wheel outside, move to make cornmeal to just the right consistency. Their next big event is the Harvest Celebration next month, which I will definitely return for. I'm so glad I went and I'm glad my daughter came with me to see a little bit of history.

the dam and the water-powered wheel sitting idle....

Yates Mill from the backside in b&w. It just seemed
appropriate. I can't decide though which I like better.
This b&w or the color one below....


Yates Mill in living color

the view from under the Lake Wheeler Bridge....

other inhabitants under the bridge....ick.

old gears guide you down the mill path....

more gears in b&w....


...at the front door of the mill. Gorgeous.

Our Table Runneth Over.....

(gorgeous peppers....look at those colors!)

Sal and I went to the Farmer's Market again Saturday morning. I went specifically to purchase a pastry from the German Bakery there that I had seen the week before. It's called an 'Apple Purse' and after a fruitless (hahaha) on-line search to find a recipe, I knew I would have to buy one of theirs, eat it and figure out how they made it. It was a thick bread folded over a ribbon of apple filling. I gotta be honest....it was not good. And definitely not worth the $4 they charged me for it! I'll stick with my German Apple Cake recipe. Same premise and much tastier.

What we did walk away with were some other fresh goodies--peaches, butter beans and yellow squash. I also walked away with some pretty cool pictures of what will soon be the end of an amazing summer of yummmmmmy produce.....

Watermelon season is almost over.....

...in need of some brown sugar, cinnamon and butter....

...gorgeous tomatoes....

....all ears...

...and these make me think of Falltime....

I mentioned to Sal as we walked through that it would only be a few more weeks before the truck-loads of corn and melons were replaced with pumpkins. Orange globes as far as the eye can see. I can't wait to share those pictures with you.....it's insane!!!

Tail Lights.....

I am a recreational shutter-bug. I love snapping pictures while I am out and about. I don't have a big fancy camera, but I do have a point-and-click and a cell-phone with a camera and both have captured some pretty cool shots.

Some nights ago while my husband and I were out and he was driving, I was playing with my cell-phone taking pictures of the cars in front of us. We hit a bump in the road while I was snapping off a shot and this was the picture I got.....


I loved it, so I re-created the 'jerky' motion while taking more shots and loved how they looked.....

some police lights mixed in....

nothing but tail....

Fungus Among Us.....

While trolling the neighborhood over the weekend I ran across this little patch of mushrooms. Only these 3 and they we're so pretty. I think they are called Parasol Mushrooms. I assume for their shape as they would make the perfect little sun or rain protection for whatever ant, caterpillar or other teeny little creature that made it's way under it's ample-sized dome.

Parent and child.....

Since we're on the topic of mushrooms, let's move to edible ones. My all-time, hands-down, most favorite mushroom dish E-V-E-R has to be....my Portobello Burgers. Soooo simple but so slammin' good and tasty and good for ya, too! Here's a tip--Sam's Club carries the biggest Portobello's I've ever seen. 4 to a pack and they are 5-6 inches across for about $4. They are monsters. Try this recipe....you'll never look for a meat hamburger ever again! Promise.

Portobello Burgers

4 Portobello Mushroom caps
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 tsp dried Italian Seasoning**
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
Salt & Pepper, to taste
4 slices Provolone, Muenster, Swiss or
whatever white cheese you like
4 halves of jar or fresh roasted red peppers, blotted
**(use fresh basil and oregano if you have it!)


Carefully pull the remaining stem out of the underside of the mushroom cap, being careful not to rip or tear the cap.

In a zip-top bag, mix vinegar, oil, Italian Seasoning, garlic and salt and pepper, if using. Place mushroom caps in bag, zip up and carefully turn bag making sure all of the caps get coated in the marinade. Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes up to overnight.
Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Place mushroom caps, gill-side down, over the flame. Cook for 6-8 minutes and flip. Cook for another 5 minutes. Place roasted red pepper and one slice of cheese into cap. Cover and cook for another minute til melted.
Serve on your favorite hamburger bun with all the toppings you would normally eat on a burger.....or eat it just on it's own, which is my favorite way.

Getting Lost.....

Sundays are a weekly driving day for me. I grab my camera, peel the top back on the Jeep and go get lost. On purpose. Today I was particularly taken with these huge, round mountains of hay....

Bounty.....

Sal and I were up early this morning to hit two Farmer's Markets. One in Holly Springs and the other, the North Carolina State Farmer's Market--the big daddy one. I think we beat even the vendors to the one in Holly Springs because most of them were still setting up when we got there so we jetted off to the big one.....

I love the N.C. State Farmer's Market. It is huge and has everything. This trip we picked up some apples and fresh shelled beans. So much inspiration, so little time....and tummy space!

T's waiting for a little B & L!

An army of Okra....

Peaches galore....