What a Long, Strange Trip it's Been.

Can't believe it is November 8th already!  Spent the whole entire summer in Texas and LOVED it!!  Can't wait to move back home at the end of this school year!  215 days, 13 hours, 25 minutes, and 51 seconds until we move, to be precise!  YAY!!

It is sort of the end of an era.  Jode retires from a 21 year and some change career in the Army.  Emily graduates high school.  And a new day is dawning.  There is a mixed bag of emotions.  Bittersweet.  

The Army has been good to us, despite a few crazy neighbors, deployments and bouts with PTSD. (that is for a whole 'nuther post) We have lived in Korea and Hawaii, along with other beautiful places stateside.  We have made lifelong friends.  And now we pass this time.  

We wonder about where we will live in San Antonio. What job will he have?  Where will Em go to school?  Where will Mia, Gary and Ace go to school?  Ace will be starting kindergarten...another change. And we are all excited and ready to jump in, but it is a little bit scary too.

One of the brightest spots in our future for me is Shug's.  My mom and I have had a business together for 4 and a half years. (It is named for my Great Grandmother.  Her nickname was Shug) We have somehow kept it together across the miles and it is flourishing.  I am excited to get back and have fun working with her on Shug's and growing it along with Gypsy.

I am now making some things exclusively for Shug's.  Ornaments and banners along with some other fun things. We are in 3 locations in the San Antonio area, so if you are poking around down there, you should check us out in person.  Our website can show you the way (Shug's Online) or through our facebook page  FB Shug's.  

I have decided Gypsy will not participate in any events this year out here in Pennsylvania.  It is enough to prepare for this retirement, college applications, basketball for both girls, chess club for Gary, back and forth and up and down and on and on...

My work will be on creating fun new things for Shug's and custom orders, and launching our new website.  (*can't wait!)  

And now, 215 days, 8 hours, 55 minutes and 29 seconds til we move home...

Pressing on with JOY!

XOXO
Stef

Penny Lane

Meet Miss Penny Lane!!  

She is the newest addition to our family.  We didn't know much about training a dog or our kids because Hurley has had us spoiled.  He is a piece of cake.  The chillest guy I know.  For real.  Her, not so much.

When we got her, she was called Zoey and she was a trainwreck.  Matted from head to toe. Smelly.  Loud.  Hyper.  Her crate had scratch marks all inside that made us wonder how she had lived. The family who had her before had gone through some really hard life-changing stuff and weren't able to care for her anymore.  Jode and I brought her home and bathed her, then immediately called Ali to get her groomed.  She had to shave her pretty close, but we could tell she felt better.  She had a new life and we felt a new name was in order.  

She terrorized Hurley.  He hated her.  Feared her.  We all did. She took over his bed and he didn't dare ask her to move. She nipped at us all a few times. She was protecting her stuff.  She was getting used to us.

Each day I could see her relaxing a little more.  I knew she loved us from that first day, and we really loved her.  Still, it took us some time to adjust to each other.  She came from a family with one child to one with 4.  None of us knew that it takes a dog about 6 weeks to adjust.  We had given her 2.  I was struggling with the commitment I made to her previous owner and my fear that she would really hurt one of my children.  The boys are 5 and 7 year old rambunctious boys. They have that right.  

I talked with Ali.  She has a lot of experience with dogs.  She encouraged me that these behaviors could be changed, but I didn't really know what to do.  We waited with our breaths held until another incident occurred.  

So we put an ad on craigslist for about an hour and a half, and I talked with a few candidates.  I also told most of them I didn't feel it was going to be a good fit.  I hated giving up.  And we loved her.  On the day I was supposed to meet a possible caretaker, the light in the truck came on and we needed to take it in.  Jode and I talked.  We researched and learned that we needed to learn each others boundaries and teach these to our kids.  Duh!  We decided to make it work.  I called the lady and told her it wasn't going to work out and what we had decided.

From that moment, something changed in all of us.  She became a true part of our family. She and Hurley are the best of friends.  Now, she lays in my lap at night for a belly rub, something her brother has taught her.  We are still working on boundaries.  She has a permanent place in our household. She is a wild child.  And she is fabulous.     

XOXO
Stef

House Honey: Clean & Green (her post at the bottom)

So.  Here's my crazy.  Jode is out of town.  He left Monday and will be home tomorrow night.  I laid the smack down on my kids Monday night so they know that there's a new sheriff in town.  I can't have any nonsense while I am busting through my days and nights sorting through and purging all of our stuff.  My Mema called it "culling out."  With my last post on saying no to the good and realizing how much insanity I already have in my life, I have come to realize that my problem is an excess problem, not a lack problem.  We really have so much.  


My boys weren't putting their toys away so Jode and I bagged them all up (yep, ALL of them) and put them in the garage.  This was weeks ago!!  Guess what?  They haven't missed them.  And that got me thinking about the stuff I have tucked away and held onto and moved from Texas to Korea to Hawaii to North Carolina and now, finally to here.  Really?!?!  Do I really need to keep 30 nail clippers?  We have clothes hanging in our closet with tags still on them, never worn, and obviously forgot to wear them.  Stuff I have bought for gifts but never executed getting them off to their intended person.  And that makes me sad and makes me realize that I am right.  


There is too much stuff in my life, and too much stuff in my head.  It is an excess problem.  To much stuff overflows into every area of my life.  It occupies my mind, "I really need to tackle that linen closet one of these days!" every time I opened and closed that door.  (Guess what?  DONE!)  It occupies my body, "I need to go to the gym but I have so much to do." Taking something from one room to another and digging through something to find more something is exhausting.  It effects my work, "I can't focus on that until this gets done."  But I don't want to face it and it hangs over my head.  It effects my relationships.  "I will call such and such friend when I am done getting this cleaned up," or "I will take the kids to the park when I get done with this mess."  It was on my mind.  Always.  The stuff that needs purging. That linen closet has been on my radar for a good 6 months and my intentions have been there.  I bought the stuff to help me make it wonderful but I looked in and shoved it on one of the shelves.  I opened the door and looked in about 400 times over these months.  I looked and I got overwhelmed so I just shut the door.  (and leaned on it to make sure it closed all the way) Um. I am convinced it effects our waistlines and our bank accounts too.  Surely, it is an all encompassing state of mind...or mine maybe.




So after tackling mine and Jode's big closet, the closet at the front of our bedroom, under the bathroom sinks, all of the drawers and the hutch in our bedroom, I grabbed all of that stuff from the linen closet and put it on my bed, couch and floor and got going.  Khloe and Lamar helped me and so did those Jerseylicious gals!!  That's what it takes.  Good uninterrupted time, trash TV shows, and a dear friend who is in the same boat.  We have had marathon "culling conversations" and made great progress together!!  The things we have come across have been hysterical and made this process an even better thing.  Because we have laughed at ourselves and at each other, and kept each other from crying or talking ugly to ourselves.  Because we have grown from this already, learning that we really do have everything we need and we have already started to feel FREE! And it is incredible!!  


I can tell you that I am looking forward to next week, when I have the house all squared away.  It won't ever be perfect enough for my crazy perfectionist mind, but it will be good enough and my mind will be clear from the tasks hanging over my head.  I can work and give my businesses all of my focus during work time.  I can plan and create healthy meals for the beautiful people.  I can spend quality time with them when they are home.  And I can get outside and move my body because all I have to do are these things!!!  And I couldn't love that idea more!  It is time to stop the insanity!  Ditch the excess and free your mind!!  You really will feel better! 


Here's my friend's take on the task.  Give it a read!  She will make you laugh!  Guaranteed.


House Honey: Clean & Green: Stuff is everywhere. It is hiding under my beds, sofas, cabinets, it hides in drawers and every "organization" product that Ikea and the C...


XOXO

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe in This Post! : )

I have had just the best day!  Home alone!!  Well, Hurley is here, and I have had a few chances to see Jode as he ran in and out to hit the golf course.  His day has been pretty good too, I'm sure.  How great to work a half day and run off to play in a scramble, complete with lunch, prizes and a steak dinner!  Em is going to the new bakery downtown after play practice.  Her friend Audrey is working there and tonight is their grand opening!  Mia is going home with a friend who is having a party tonight.  Gary will be coming home on the bus and we will go pick Ace up from school after a little special time together....But for now, I am enjoying being at home all by myself.  


I had a great talk with a friend this morning and got all of my household things squared away.  The greatest thing about today is the freedom I am feeling.  Free-flowing love!  You see, I have been learning something lately.  I have learned that I have things that need my focus and I have been stressing myself out sifting through distractions.  (yes, some of you are saying, "well duh!  I have been telling you this FOR YEARS!"  It's just that I sometimes forget my lessons and need to really really really L-E-A-R-N these things myself.)  These distractions are all good things, but I have decided to say "no, thank you" to them and "YES" to the things already in my life.  I have 5 people that I love to take care of, 2 businesses that are so much fun I can hardly believe it, a house that needs purging (that's a topic for another post), and work on my own self.  I want to say no to the good things and yes to the BEST!  Once that was clear and decided, and I felt satisfied with my very thorough explanation to Jode (bless him!), I was free to just simply enjoy my day!  


I even got creative in the kitchen.  Last night I went to Aldi after I dropped Em off at work and found zucchini on sale. (*and by the way, grape tomatoes for 69 cents a box!  You're welcome!)  I bought some with chocolate zucchini cupcakes for Gary in mind.  It was a good day to experiment in the kitchen, and because these were made especially for Gary, it was a really great time!  When he got home, his little friend from across the street was ready to play and while Gary changed clothes, I sent her home with some cupcakes and a note about the ingredients and asking her mom to let me know what she thought about my little experiment.  Brenna came right back with half of her cupcake pressed against her little mouth and chocolate on her cheeks!  She said her brother was eating his and she said they were great!  Hilarious!  It had been about 45 seconds since I sent her across the street!!  Precious!  Since they think they are yummy enough, I thought I'd share my recipe so you can try it too!  

Don't get all excited.  I had a terrible time with icing because my bag was yucky.  Since I am impatient, they are not so lovely.  You can make them prettier.

And let's be real, if Em were home you would have much better pictures!

So here is the recipe:

Gary's Chocolate Zucchini Cuppycakes

{You're thinking, "wait a sec, Stef!  I thought these were healthy!"  Well, they can be "healthed" up some more, but getting veggies and yogurt into bellies is sometimes just a simple goal.  Just make these changes:  exchange applesauce for butter OR, better yet, use a can of pumpkin puree, which is great with chocolate.  Sugar can be replaced with Splenda or Stevia or Agave or Honey (you will have to reduce other liquids slightly to compensate for liquid in agave and honey) You can try gluten free flours, coconut flour or others in place of the flour; leave out the chocolate chips or exchange them for coconut or carob chips, nuts or dried fruit; Have you tried PB2?  It is a YUMMY sort of powdered peanut butter.  Just thought a little of that mixed in with the cocoa could be a good idea!  Anyway...here's the way I made them}


Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

2 eggs at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

2-ish cups grated zucchini

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream together butter and sugar, then add eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly after each one.  Add vanilla. (I think you could add almond or coconut or banana extract here instead for a different flavor)  

In another bowl,you should mix your dry ingredients, but I rarely do anything like that, so I added flour a half a cup at a time, making sure to mix it in and scrape down the sides (*with the machine turned off! Hello!)  Then add cocoa powder a little at a time (**Little tip: if you are using a mixer and don't know this, you will learn it for sure!!  Slow down your mixer all the way when you add powdered ingredients.  Start slow and once it is somewhat mixed, increase the speed or you will be wearing your ingredients!Didn't learn this today, but guess how I learned this?! ALSO, you could add a little cinnamon, ginger or chili powder to the cocoa for a yummy twist) OK.  Once that's mixed in, add your baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix it in and then add your yogurt.  I suppose you could use other yogurt flavors or plain greek stuff, but I had vanilla on hand.  Mix it up and add your zucchini and then fold in your chocolate chips.  

Fill your muffin tins with paper cups sprayed with Pam, or for you fancier friends, grab your silicone cups, then distribute your mix as evenly as you can.  I use an ice-cream scoop.  Bake them in your oven at 350 for about 20 minutes.  This made 24 regular sized cupcakes.  Let them cool before you frost them! (I don't think they really need frosting but I was feeling ambitious and my people will appreciate it)

For the Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (YUM!):


{to make this one healthier, mix your cream cheese with butter if you choose, and some sort of sugar substitute.  I think you will absolutely want to add a little vanilla extract too, and get your cocoa powder in there.  You could try creaming cream cheese with a ripe banana and cocoa and see how you feel about that taste.  Here's how I made it}

1 8oz. block of cream cheese at room temperature and

the other half of the stick of butter you used in the cupcakes.

Beat these together and add 4 cups of powdered sugar, a half a cup at a time, making sure to mix it in each time. Don't forget the tip on slowing down your mixer!!

Add a half cup of cocoa powder and mix that up.  As I was mixing this frosting, I thought 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon or ginger mixed in with the cocoa might be nice some day too.  You might try it and let me know!  

So that's it! 

The ones I quit piping got sprinkles to dress them up.  He loves sprinkles!

I surprised him (or annoyed him) with my picture taking, but look at those blue eyes!  Love that guy!

Nothing but blue skies!  Loving feeling free!  AND, it's FRIDAY!!  Doesn't get much better than this!

Have a FABULOUS weekend!

XOXO

Purposely Slow Thursday Morning

Hi there!! It's Thursday, and another overcast day in a week long series.  The weather out here in Pennsylvania is still dragging it's feet.  It won't commit to spring and it won't give up the April showers. I'm not complaining.  It's kind of nice.  A few extra days of comfy sweaters and hot coconut chai to warm me up!  


Today we have been working and playing.  Ace is watching Dragon Tales on my iPad and I have been doing a little sewing.  I repaired the favorite red blanket that hangs out down stairs, alternating between the basket and the couch, so that I could throw it in the wash.  I've also been embroidering a tote bag for Ace.  I was holding my breath when I started because I was using my last needle.  Wouldn't you know that we got through 3 colors and broke that needle!  UGH!!  I hate that! My machine makes an AWFUL sound!  


So we got ready to make a run for the PX and grab another package of needles, and then I got the bright idea to walk up there!!  Ace said that would be ok with him and as we walked out the front door, he asked me, "why are we walking there?"  I said, "why not?!"  


It was lovely!  We took the time to look around and listen to the birds.  We met a lady and her dog and talked about the groundhog that is out in the mornings.  We talked about the ducklings that were out and about.  We watched the stream and walked on a path.  Ace remarked how long we had been gone and how far we had  walked.  


It was only about 15 or 20 minutes when we got there, but I picked him up and put him in the cart so he could rest his legs while I found the needles.  Guess what else?! They were on clearance!  $1 and some change each!  I grabbed 3 packages and a fluffy little blue wind up chick that was in the Easter clearance for Ace...59 cents!  I didn't even have to break out the debit card! BONUS!


We headed back home with his new little chick in one of his little hands and mine in his other.  How I love this time with him!  Such a regular old every day activity...going for a walk...held so much wonder and magic and joy for the two of us!  


Seems like I am forever on my cell phone, checking email, texting someone, working on the computer, sewing or creating...I need to remember to take time to get outside a little every day.  Just to stop for a little while and go for a walk.  It doesn't have to be long or fast.  It just has to be. Because I got to see Ace enjoy the trees and the animals.  Because he is so smart and has great things to talk about. Because it is good for me.  Because it is wonderful and puts me in a good mood...Even when the skies aren't so blue.  :)  

Orange You Glad I Didn't Say, "BANANA?!?!"

Bananas are a favorite snack around here, but when the new ones come in and the old ones that didn't make it to our bellies look like this

Ewww!!  No one will eat them and banana bread or muffins are always great.  But, I have been keeping these peeled in a bag in the freezer for this day!!  A day I have planned for months but one of those "one day I will make this" kind of a day finally rolled around. 


I gathered my supplies.

I froze the yogurt in ice trays last night....

and thawed it in the sink in a little hot water for a few seconds to make the cubes easier to remove.

And put the fruit in a bowl

Then I put a little of each in a freezer bag.

And in less than 15 minutes, I had 14 frozen packets for fruit smoothies!

The girls can grab a packet and throw a little juice or milk with a scoop of protein if they wish, into the blender and have a healthy and yummy breakfast or snack!!  Wonderful!!  And I feel like I accomplished something great today!!

What do you make with yucky bananas?

Cross Thoughts

This past Easter season I spent much time thinking about the cross...specifically of Jesus the man, his brutal crucifixion and glorious resurrection. It was something I focused and studied purposely for 8 days during that time. We were not raised with the lenten traditions, and growing up I focused mostly on bunnies (& candy!!), but the cross has held a far more intimate meaning for me these past few years. 

I don't subscribe to any particular denomination.  For me, all religions are man-made institutions and I'm not a fan of labels.   I am a daughter of the Most High King, follower of Jesus Christ's teachings, a Bible believer, and a seeker of truth.  I am blessed to have been raised with a Christian foundation.  This has been my source of refuge, faith, healing, strength and freedom.

Jesus says in John 10:10 of my Amplified Christian Bible:

¹⁰The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it ^[a]overflows)."  

It is said this way in the Message, "A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of."

I am living in this place of gratitude.  More and better than I ever dreamed of!  And truly, ALL because of Jesus.  I am humbled.  I am grateful.  I am satisfied.    

On the Friday before Easter Sunday (Good Friday), I came out of the commissary on a quick stop for a few last minute weekend items to see this in the sky...

And I suppose this has been the inspiration for the crosses I am finding myself spending so much time making. 

A dear friend once told me that he felt the icon of a cross was such a vile representation of torturous and murderous injustice.  (my interpretation and paraphrase of his words)  I agreed then and I do now.  There were many, many people historically killed in this manner and that is awful and terrible and horrible. But the meaning of a cross for me has become "the" cross, and has since evolved into a two-fold thing of beauty. Because when I look, I can see the injustice and hatred and more misery than I could ever imagine and I want to turn away and not look...but then, I also see that my savior endured all of that pain out of incredible love for me, and most definitely, out of that same exact love for you! I can look and remember his sacrifice for my freedom, in much the way I can look at a memorial of a fallen United States soldier.  And I am grateful and humbled again. Just had to share.  

Much love,

Stef