Glensheen Mansion

One of the things we love to do when we visit an area is dive into its history. Again, thanks to Chad and Nikki for a great recommendation! We went to the Glensheen Mansion on a mini road trip to Duluth, MN. It was so beautiful! They have kept it much as it was when the family lived there. You can tell they sent the 7 kids off to school--the furniture still looks good. :) We weren't allowed to take pics indoors but the grounds are gorgeous too!
"Front" of the mansion--the side facing the lake is considered the front in MN.
Mom and Me :)

Beautiful Minnesota

Games all sorts!

We are a family that loves to play games. It's so much fun to go home and have everyone share new ones that they've learned and to play old family favorites. We enjoyed rigorous rounds of volleyball, competitive tournaments of ladder ball and late evening board and card games. I walked away with such a wonder and appreciation for my family. It's amazing to see all of us together, living in various parts of the country, with all of our different personalities, getting along and laughing and having a good time. There were great conversations about the Lord, the Body of Christ, raising kids, marriage, jobs, singleness (yes, Ben that is about you), etc. I praise the Lord for my family. It was so neat to have that time with them and to learn ways to pray for each person and family group specifically.

Ladder Ball




























Canoe Races

































Board Games

Home Again

We are home again after a whirlwind 2 weeks in Minnesota! We had so much fun! It was the first family reunion my dad's side of the family had. There were cousins' spouses I had never met, kids I had never met and Ralph had not met most of my Uncle Rick's kids. While we were there, I took Ralph to some of the places I loved growing up--they were quick peaks but it was fun to do. I'll tell you about some of the neat places we saw in upcoming posts but here are a few pics to get us going. :)I just love these pics of the grandpas cuddling with their grandchildren!

Coffee is essential to any family gathering! We even got mugs because it just wouldn't be family without the coffee flowing. :)

Blueberry Boy-Bait

Now my instructions for this particular course were as follows, "rich." Normally in our house that means chocolate. However, I was in the mood for fruit. This presented a dilemma. I therefore turned to Nigella Lawson and her How to be a Domestic Goddess. I knew she could help me. J I found this recipe for Blueberry Boy-Bait—seemed appropriate for a date night. J It is fantastic! You should all try some.

Blueberry Boy-Bait

{from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess; pg 126-7}

For the crust:

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing dish

2 ½ cups whole milk

2 teaspoons sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

5 large egg yolks (and keep the whites for the topping)

1 5-cup oval or round dish, buttered

For the blueberry filling:

12 ounces blueberries

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons lemon juice

For the meringue topping:

5 egg whites

7 tablespoons sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

To make the bread crumbs, simply process some stale good white bread to rubble. [I used some homemade bread I had on hand that was a day or two old. Mmmm] Preheat the oven to 325 F and put in a baking sheet.

Heat the butter and milk in a saucepan until hot but not boiling. [I did not have whole milk, I used 2 cups skim and ½ cup half-and-half.] Stir in the bread crumbs, sugar, and lemon zest, take off the heat, and leave to steep for 10 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks very thoroughly and pour this bread-thickened custard into your greased dish. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until it's firm on top but still with a hint of wobble underneath. Let it stand for a few minutes to let the top form a skin while you get on with the blueberries.

Put the fruit, sugar, flour, and juice in a saucepan, and stir to coat. Heat to a robust simmer and cook until you've got a thick jammy sauce, stirring every now and again to prevent it catching. You should still have plenty of whole blueberries visible. Take this off the heat and set aside while you make the meringue topping.

Whisk the whites until stiff but not dry, then add half the sugar, a spoonful at a time, whisking as you do so. Fold in the remaining sugar with a metal spoon. Pour and scrape the cooked blueberries onto your set custard base, spreading evenly. Then dollop over the meringue topping, making sure you seal the edges well so that no dark syrup bubbles up and seeps out. Make peaks with the back of a spoon, sprinkle with a little sugar, and put back in the oven for a further 20 minutes or until the meringue is burnished and crisp. Underneath, however, it will still be desirably yielding.

Serves 6-8.

Pork Chop N Potato Dinner

We love tinfoil meals! I was a little afraid that it wouldn't qualify as romantic so I went the extra mile on our table. I received some really nice tablecloths from a friend when she moved and was downsizing. One of which was a really pretty white one. Since my dishes are white I was afraid they would get lost on the table, so I pulled out the silver chargers I got at Christmas time. I love my ice tea goblets so those went on next with the coffee cups and saucers that match my plates. My mom had sent me some cute napkin rings that complement my plates well so those came out. I wasn't sure what to do for a center piece because I really wanted fresh flowers but I was trying to only use things we had on hand. I headed for the back yard. There was only one sad looking rose on the rose bush but our neighborhood and backyard is full of these tree/bushes that bloom late in the summer. Ah ha! I snipped a few of those and then found this bowl and candles a friend had used for the center pieces at her wedding. They were very blue and coordinated well with the menu (blueberries in the salad and dessert). I filled the bowl with water and floated the flowers on top. The candles went on next. It was great because it was a low center piece, easy for visiting over. J Yeah, a free arrangement! I didn't have blue napkins so I used red because red is obviously romantic and red, white, and blue always make a nice statement. J

We have a fun cookbook from Better Homes and Gardens, the
New Grilling Book. It had this great Pork Chop N Potato Dinner recipe! It was nice to have the meat, starch and vegetable all together and easy. I modified only slightly—I only had 7 potatoes and had bone in pork chops. J Not bad really! They were so flavorful and moist! They re-heated nicely for our lunches the next day too. What is your favorite all-in-one dinner?

Salad

I don't know about you, but I find it hard to keep our salads interesting. They often get routine after awhile. We have one that we like to make in the summer: spinach, blueberries, feta cheese, olive oil, and sometimes vinegar. Well, you read how my feta cheese looked yesterday. L We didn't have any fresh spinach. We did have romaine lettuce, blueberries, the Romano cheese, and multiple types of vinegar (white, white wine, red wine, cider, rice, etc). I threw that all together (I picked the white wine vinegar) and it was yummy! Do you have a favorite salad recipe? I'm always in the market for a new one!

Crostini’s

Crostini's are by far my most favorite appetizers to make! They are easy and so tasty! The night of our date night I decided to make up my own based on what I had in my cupboards. Ingredients I thought I had: loaf of French bread, basil pesto, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO as Rachael Ray would say), garlic cloves, roasted red peppers, and feta cheese. Well, the French bread was so hard it crumbled when I attempted to slice it and the feta cheese was the wrong color and texture. L I did have hot dog buns so I got creative and cut them in half. I then infused the EVOO with the garlic cloves I had and then brushed my now garlic EVOO on the hot dog bun halves and broiled them until browned. I brushed those with my basil pesto and placed slices of roasted red pepper on top. I had Romano cheese so I shredded some of that on the tops and placed them back in the broiler for a couple minutes. They were so good! We loved them! Not bad considering I had to change my original "recipe" a few times along the way. The creativity inspired by our recent attempts at frugality was even fun. Normally, I would have just ran out and got what I didn't have (probably more than once) and planned a more elaborate meal. It was fun being forced to use what was already in my cupboards and then to have to get more creative yet. J What recent kitchen problems have you turned into successes recently?

Creativity in Marriage

I am working my way through a marriage book by Lysa TerKeurst
Capture His Heart- for Wives to read. Ralph and I decided we needed to make focusing on our marriage a priority before Nugget comes to ensure it's a habit after. Right now it's easy to have husband/wife time if we feel we aren't getting enough—we just cut everything else out. That will not be so easy after Nugget comes. We picked one of Lysa's suggestions to try. We sat down and came up with things each that the other person could do to show us love. They were written on slips of paper and put in jars for us to pick each Sunday.

Last Sunday night, the one I picked requested a romantic homemade dinner complete with candles, music and a rich dessert. Given my recent revelations about my creativity, it seemed appropriate. J The menu:

• Crostini's
  


• Salad
  


• Pork n Potato Dinner
  


• Blueberry Boy-Bait
  


• Apricot Peach Iced Tea
  


• Coffee
  

I had a ton of fun making it and will share the recipes with each one over the next couple days!

How do you create?

I have been reading a lot of blogs lately reminding me of the importance of taking the time to provide myself with a creative outlet. I was starting to think that I had let all my creative hobbies slide. I haven't made jewelry since high school. I can't remember the last time I scrapbooked. I have an unfinished buffet in my dining room. I haven't sewed since junior high. I used to work with clay and create gifts for holidays, birthdays, etc. All of these things create messes I currently don't have the energy to deal with. I still occasionally make cards. Then last night I had an epiphany.

I was making Cheesy Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches with some modifications due to what food I had on hand versus what the recipe called for. I realized that this was my creative outlet. It had never occurred to me that my cooking or baking was my creative outlet because I don't create the recipes. There are some amazing foodie bloggers out there that do this very well. I, however, can modify with the best of them to create something especially for the two/three of us. J When I am cooking or baking a lot, I do not get the urge to create because it is being fulfilled. Out of necessity, I will be cooking more at home over the next few months and will have to be more creative and less exotic than I have been. I am looking forward to it.

What do you do to satisfy your creative urges? I really do believe we all have them in some way, shape or form. I think it is part of being made in the Image of the Creator. Share your creativity with me. Think about it if you have to—I did. It may not be obvious to you because I think we too often compare ourselves to those around us. I don't create like other people and you might not either. Praise the Lord for our uniqueness!

Musings from my heart . . .

So I was struck with the realization that I am going to be a mother in a few short months. This may sound rather obvious to some of you as I am after all pregnant and having been trying for a couple years to get there. However, in the process of becoming parents we chose not to focus on that but rather on what God had in front of us right then (whatever moment we were in) and to do it to the best of our abilities. This has led to me "finding myself" and maybe even defining myself in a lot of roles that motherhood will change. Am I ready for this?

My Amanda (to distinguish her from all the other Amanda's in my life) pointed out to me that I have worked harder than the typical woman to obtain my college education and career. I had a calling that I had to fight tooth and nail for and was not quite sure how I would get to. God was faithful but did not make my way easy. I never stopped to reconcile/consider my desires to obtain what I needed to accomplish my view of my calling (which has changed more than once) with my desire to be a wife and stay-at-home mom.

Now I am a nurse who is good at her job and I take pride in doing my job well both as a ministry and to the glory of God. I think I even define myself by this at times. I am also expecting my first child and want to be at home making it a wonderful place for my baby and husband.

I am also starting to merge into my husband's business as more of an active partner instead of the cheerleader I have been. I do not know how to be my husband's business partner and I do not know how to parent. I have observed great parents (my own, my grandparents, my siblings, my in-laws, etc) but I have never done this before.

I love my job and the people I work with. I work with American heroes everyday who include me as one of their own. I am entrusted with the care of former American heroes and their love ones. That's heady stuff. From where I stand now, I will be sad to leave those people and what I accomplish there. It will be a slow exit—part-time for awhile before I completely leave.

I like to be perfect at what I do and while I know I am not perfect at my current job, I am really good. I am starting two new ventures in which I have no experience and little training where I will make lots of mistakes and will most likely feel very discouraged at times. Not to focus on the negatives, but I know that those things are inevitable in any new venture. It is intimidating.

Of course, once Nugget is where I can see and hear and hold him/her it will help. I have been so focused on tasks that I am just now starting to focus on realities and emotions. Good and necessary but I am finding things I did not expect to think and feel. It brings to mind Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and without cure. Who can understand it?" Not that I feel my musings are particularly wicked, but I know I do not completely understand my heart and I am so grateful for the Lord's leading and grace. I apologize for the wandering nature of this post, but it was on my heart today.