Spring Walk

Spring has finally sprung!
I love to take walks outside in early spring, when it's not raining, to enjoy the first spring blossoms and get excited for warmer weather. We've had so much rain lately, I'm surprised some of my plants haven't waterlogged their way out the door. But, I have some buds and leaves sprouting which gets me excited for the trees to fill out and the flowers to bloom.
I wanted to share some pictures  from my walk today.

I find magnolia trees so unusual. They have blooms before the leaves show up. Such and interesting tree.

  There's a geocache around here somewhere, I have yet to find. I'll keep looking though. Geocaching  is a lot of fun. Always love a good treasure hunt.

 Until next time.

Homemade Granola

Are you ready for another homemade granola recipe?

 I've been going through my pantry, using up all the goods I have in there and found some coconut from Christmas that I bought for cookies and put to the side and forgot. I thought it would be fun to make some granola with it.  My husband always buys these boxes of granola to put on his yogurt every night (the granola, not the boxes) that are around 6 bucks a pop so I thought in the spirit of using up stuff, I would make him some granola and save a few dollars at the end of the week.

This year I've made a bit of a plan for myself to save some money.  I wonder how much money I flush down the drain every month in unused product. I tend to have a habit of buying food with good intentions and forgetting I have it and forget to make what I've planned for it. I'm also a poor planner, but that's another story. I'm just like my mother when I see something new at the grocery store, I like to try it. I used to attend a bible study that I would share my new bakes and cakes but I've since stopped going, I have no where to share my baking. Baking is a lot of fun for me but since it's just the three of us, my waistline is protesting and my freezer is overflowing. Annnnnd, I digress.

Anyway, back to granola.

I made this this morning and I'm pretty pleased with it. It got a little dark but it's still yummy tasting and pretty healthy too!

Set your oven to 375 F
You'll need two sheet pans since this makes a lot and spray them with non stick spray
In a large bowl combine
4 cups Old Fashioned Oats (not the instant)
2 cups sweetened coconut
2 cups chopped up almonds
1 cup chopped up walnuts
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup vegetable oil ( I used Smart Balance Veg. oil.)
1/2 cup honey

Mix this all together well and spread out on both sheets.
Bake for around 20 to 25 minutes stirring it around frequently. Watch it! It turns brown pretty quickly and can burn on the edges. I learned that the hard way.
Take it out to cool when it looks nice and toasty brown. When you stir it it'll feel soft but the granola will get crunchy as it sits and cools. After it cools, store it in an airtight container.
It's really good and not too sweet. Great to put on yogurt or even a salad for some extra crunch. I love crunch.

 Did I tell you that's one of my most favorite words? I love to say it.

CRUNCH!

New Year New Goals

It's 2014.
I'm still a bit shocked as time seems to fly by so quickly. Last year just flew! I remember when my son was just a baby and thinking that the day when he's a teenager is so far away and I wanted to remember those moments forever because I know it's gone in a blink of an eye. Now, here I am and that time has flown and he's 13. My baby is almost as tall as me. *sad face*
2013 was a hard year for me. In fact the last couple years have been hard. Lots of ups and downs. Poor family relationships, illnesses, uncertainty, parenting and spiritual struggles to name a few.  I've been reading my favorite blogs and I'm a little jealous that  most of them, the year 2013, was one of the best years of their lives. I know that 2014 will be a good year. That's one of my goals for this year and I'm planning on it. To work on positive experiences dominating my life, even when it's hard as I tend to get swallowed up by the negative at times. I found a guy on Instagram and his profile said...."Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."  That really stuck with me. I'm wanting to start seeing the beauty that I've missed in the midst of my circumstances. Need to open up my eye balls.
Do you make New Years resolutions? I never do because they last all of 24 hours and then I feel like a schmuck for even trying to make them and then not keep them. I do like to make goals. Goals allow a little bit of wiggle room and lets just say the word...failure. A goal to me is like climbing a really steep mountain side. You can do it, it just takes a little time and conditioning of your body. You have to keep plugging away. I don't ever feel like a failure when I've made goals. I tend to be a goal oriented person anyway so it works for me. New Year Goals are better statements in my world and here are a few goals I've set for myself for this next year:

1) Blog more.
I originally began a blog to document crafts I've done and make some cyber friends. The blogging world was a perfect place for me. I could make friends but still stay my loner self. Sounded good but didn't work that way. The blogging world is a hard one to break into,at least I found it that way. I've met some really nice people and I've met some not so nice. Some who are out for the business and some for the love of the craft and people. You can usually tell who's in it to make a business and who really love the people who come to their blog and want to share what they know.  I wanted to fit in so badly I'm ashamed to say I've changed the name a thousand times (ok. not that many, but a lot) Started. Stopped. Started again. Stopped again. Got really intimidated. Stopped. Started. Got afraid I was going to offend people or make people mad and I would stop. I don't feel I'm a very good writer and I actually think I write like a 9 year old. Also, my interests would wax an wane. The blogging world is HUGELY intimidating and unless you have something someone wants or you're hugely controversial, nobody is interested in what you have to say.

  I started it to meet people since I tend to be a very private person. I don't share my personal life with many and trying to share on a public blog scared the bejeezus out of me. So I was really outright boring keeping myself to myself. Plus, I was always afraid of offending someone. . In this next year I'm wanting to be more transparent. Stop protecting myself so much and let people in. I'm terrified of rejection and loss so anything that puts me at risk for those two emotions I avoid. Like the plague. I'm wanting to get past that and be better. I think if you know better you do better. I want to be a better mother, wife, friend, human being. Adding more transparency is a good thing. Believe it or not, in this public arena, I feel it's safer than face to face. It's a good start. I hope it'll bring some healing but I think it will definitely be therapeutic. The big lesson here though is...I need to blog for myself. I do it for myself and to give an outlet to my creativity. It's not about anyone else. It's my space even though it's in a public domain. If I meet others along the way. Cool.

2) Read more.
Geez I love to read. LOVE it. But guilt always raises it's ugly head and I don't read as much as I would like to. Growing up, I always had to hide when I read. Mom, always felt I needed to get other things done than sit around reading. Which is ironic because she's was an avid reader. I always thought she felt guilty not being busy and if she saw me reading when that's what she wanted to be doing, she didn't like it. I need to kill that guilt beast. I'm nearly 47 years old! I can read if I want to, anytime I want to. Oh I remember  recess times at school. I spent the whole time in the school library, sniffing books and perusing the isles. I still love to do that. Yes, I shall read more.

3) Get outside more
I love to garden and go to the beach. I love to walk and hike on trails and be outside. Yeah, but don't take me camping. Eh. Don't like to camp. Give me bed and a potty indoors and you can take me anywhere. Which is another thing I'm wanting more of. Checking out this beautiful state. So many place to see and things to do. I've lived her nearly my whole life and I've yet to see most of it.

4) Make more memories and take more pictures.
 I feel as I get older I have less and less memories of things I did a month ago, a week ago...pft...a day ago, than I used to. I've fallen into a boring, predictable life, which I'm not complaining but predictable and boring doesn't leave you with a lot of lasting memories. Especially with my son and I've got to change that. I like boring and predictable cause...well...it's predictable and for a control freak like me, it works. But I'm pretty tired of it and now since I"m "middle aged" and can see the end of my life a lot clearer than before. It's time to start living. Agree? Yeah...

5) Craft and sew a lot more...
This brings me a lot of pleasure but circumstances and guilt have robbed me of this time as well. Guilt seems to be a bit of a problem for me. Yeah...that's going to change. Stupid Guilt monster.

6) Figure out my spiritual life
What the heck am I doing in this arena. I have no. idea. I've purchased a book called "Chasing God" that I'm pretty excited to read. It's about stopping. Stopping the chase. Let ya know how I like it.

Well, here are a few goals set for 2014 and beyond.
What goals have you set?  Do you set goals? Anything outlandish or scary? Let me know. ;0)

Fall is here...

Summer has wound down here in the Northwest and the air is getting crisp and cool. The leaves are turning the most brilliant shades of reds, yellows and oranges and every year I think THIS is the year it's been the most beautiful. Hubs says, "Isn't that what you said last year?" "Ohhhh..maybe..but THIS year? This is IT!."

 We had the most glorious summer this year. It lasted long and it was sunny pretty much most of the summer. I remember one summer it was cold and wet nearly the whole time. It's imprinted in my mind so any summer that's not like that one is a good one. But this year? "It was IT!"

The colors out and about are stunning. Fall is my most favorite time of year.

I wish the sun was out here but this is one of the most beautiful roads. When the sun shines it looks as if these trees are on fire.

 We have a beautiful view from our home and at this time of year the sun is setting right behind the mountains and make for the most outstanding sunsets. I marvel at the fact that no sunset has been the same since the beginning of time. Makes me think of my love for God and the everyday miracles He puts around me.  No matter how my day has been, I can always look to Him to finish it with beauty, wonder and awe.

What little miracles has God been putting around you?

Hot Fudge Spoon Cake Crock-pot Style

My little family and I like to go out to eat occasionally (yeah..more than that) and Applebee's  is one of our haunts. For dessert we like to get their triple chocolate meltdown , which is so. good. It's one of our favorite "going out" desserts as it has this melty chocolate saucey stuff  that comes pouring out of the center that each of us try and scoop up before the other. (We share one) It's a molten lava cake and I've never been able to recreate it, at least not as good as the triple chocolate meltdown. It's always too dry or the middle cooks and no yummy goo comes spilling out. No fun at all!

I wanted to make a special dessert for my son's first day in junior high and I found this crock-pot recipe that looked a lot like a triple chocolate meltdown and I thought I would give it a shot. I wasn't disappointed and will be making this again. Sooon!  You need about two hours and a crock-pot. You can probably find most if not all of the ingredients in your pantry. I think it compares to the triple chocolate meltdown eye to eye. Cheaper too.  This is so scrumptiously good that trying not to eat the whole thing was a challenge.

Hot Fudge Crock-pot Spoon Cake
 (you need two medium bowls)
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup  plus 3 Tablespoons baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup fat free half and half
2 Tablespoons butter melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup chocolate chips

In one of the bowls mix the flour, 1 cup brown sugar, the 1/4 cup baking cocoa, baking powder and salt.
Add the half and half , butter and vanilla. Mix really well. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spray your crock pot with non-stick spray and spread the batter on the bottom. In the other bowl mix 3 Tablespoons of the cocoa and the 1/2 cup of brown sugar and sprinkle it on top. Add the 1 3/4 cup hot water to the top but don't mix it in.
Cover and cook on high for about two hours or until the top inch or so of the cake is cooked.

  (adapted from Gooseberry Patch, Our Best Desserts, Hot Fudge Spoon Cake-Sara Plott)

 There's no eggs in this so no worries making sure it's cooked all the way through. So licking the bowl is over the top encouraged!
I let it sit for about 20 min or so before scooping it out so it would set up a bit. Oh.. and vanilla ice cream tops it beautifully!
This will be a common dessert in our house now and I'll save some bucks making it at home instead of going out. This tastes way better anyway.

  

Blueberry Scones

I'm always on the hunt for a great scone recipe. I loooooove scones especially when they're loaded with big plump blueberries. Oh man...it makes me drool thinking about that perfect blueberry scone. I want them more on the dense and sweeter side and loaded with buuuuuttter.( Yeah, my arteries and waste line don't love them so much.) Scones tend to be one of my go-to comfort foods and when I'm a bit down, I like to make them. The smell of the warm buttery sconey goodness and then a bite of the crunchy outside and soft inside makes me feel like I'm wrapped in a warm homey hug.

I'm always trying new scone recipes looking for juuuuust the right one. I actually found one that was sooo good! Just like Starbucks, which I love, but I lost it somewhere. I KNOW! You would think, since I love them so much, and find the holy grail of sconey goodness, I would keep that recipe by my side at all times. Welll that would be waaaay out of character for me so...*shoulder shrug* I'm on the hunt again. I'm hoping I run across it.. If anyone has a really good recipe, let me know. I found this recipe at the Food Network site. I changed a few things...more butter, less salt, buttermilk instead of cream and blueberries.

Anyhoo, the boys went to Wild Waves today for a last summer "Hurrah!" and I have a Saturday to myself. I injured my knee somehow and to make good use of my time, I thought I'd make scones. I also thought I would have two or five before the guys got home.

Blueberry Scones

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
5 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons shortening
3/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg
1 cup frozen blueberries

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in ( or use a food processor ) the shortening and butter. After combining the egg and buttermilk, gentle fold into the dry ingredients. Then gently fold in the blueberries. Use your hands, it works better and you keep your blueberries intact. Your dough will be a little wet, but that's OK. On a floured surface, gently place the dough and use a bit of flour to form a circle about an inch high in the middle. Cut this with a butter knife to divide into 6 equal scones.
Place the individual scones on a baking sheet and bake for 18-23 min or until golden brown on top.

(adapted from Alton Brown's Scone Recipe) 


These were good, but not the best I've had but I'm kinda picky. They were more on the cake side and a little too salty and not enough sweet for me. Don't get me wrong! They were good but I probably won't make them again.

Still on the hunt!

Finally, some rain.

Rain has finally come. I don't think we've had a good rain in a couple months, which is unusual for Western Washington. We nearly broke a record last month for the most consecutive days without rain. I think we were short 2 days, or something like that. As much as I complain in the winter and spring months about all the rain and no sunshine we get around here, I was jumping up and down when I heard the rain coming down and down and down last night. Sigh...so nice. Clean air. Watered plants. Sooo many of the pines on the hill behind our house are dying from lack of water.
My garden did wonderfully despite the rain. I watered faithfully and was rewarded with beautiful blooms throughout the summer, without the rain coming to destroy them. Until last night. I'm OK with it though. I was missing the rain.
I made sure to get several pictures to share before the rain came. I love to garden and I love flowers. There's something so spiritually fulfilling, digging in the dirt and the rich smell of good soil. The hard work pays off with beautiful blooms.

 My yard just exploded with beautiful flowers this year. We've lived here for about 8 years and the soil was just awful when we moved in, so I've been amending it every year at planting time. It's still not the greatest as we have horrible drainage issues but it's finally maturing and getting the look I wanted. I went through many many plants to find the right one that would work best for the conditions of our backyard.

 I have lots of hummingbird and butterfly attractors.

 

This rose above I brought with me when we moved to our new house. It was my favorite and I wasn't going to leave it. I love this little guy. 

 This rose I purchased for 5 bucks. It had no tag and was a scraggly little thing sitting all by it's little self.  Since I have a thing for outcasts, I grabbed it and it's one of my most favorite roses I've ever had. I still have no idea what it is but it smells and looks beautiful.

Never underestimate and outcast.

I love to collect plants that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. My little garden has been visited by many of these little lovelies this year. I can hear the hummingbirds in my trees making their little noises every morning and evening. They're very territorial, I hear.

I was a little worried about my hydrangeas this year. I'm finally getting some blooms on one. These are one of my most favorite flowers as well.

I hope you enjoyed taking a glimpse of my pretties.