Granola Recipe

Here is the recipe:

1 cup honey
1/3 cup canola oil
1/8 tsp salt (I don't use)
4 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats (or a little more)
1/2 cup of almonds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1 cup cranberries, craisins, or raisins (or any dried fruit)
A dash of cinnamon and/or nutmeg (I do both, generously)

I vary these ingredients depending on what I have. Sometimes I use sunflower seeds and the original recipe calls for pumpkin seeds. Also, the only thing I really measure is the oil and honey.

Heat oven to 300 and grease a baking sheet. Combine honey, oil, and salt in small saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir until hot and blended about 2 minutes.

Mix oats, almonds, and various seeds in large bowl. Stir honey mixture again. Drizzle over oat mixture while stirring. Continue stirring until oats are thoroughly coated.

Spread mixture on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Stir. (This is when your hair catches the scent.) Continue baking, stirring every 5 minutes, until golden brown, 10-18 more minutes. I go for 10 or 12 minutes.

Cool and stir in raisins or dried fruit. It takes a while to dry and cool. That's when it will become crunchy and like granola. I stir periodically while it's cooling then store in an airtight container.

Wah lah! Let me know how yours turns out!

My hair smells like granola....

..... because when you spend a lot of time at home, you might make a lot of things in the kitchen. So instead of spending $2.80 x 2 every week at the store for boxes of granola, I have been making it. It's really good! And easy! But the smell gets in my hair when I stir it. I could think of worse hair scents though.

Anyway, yes, I have been at the house quite a bit. I have actually gotten a job though! A tutoring job. I'll be working with a company whose clients are learning disabled and will go to their home a couple of times a week to work with them. I wasn't looking for a job whatsoever, but this came around and it is a financial BLESSING, let me tell you! It starts in a few weeks. I was planning on subbing and going to school, but now I will do this about 12 hours a week and go to school on Tuesdays.

Aside from getting a job and making granola, I registered for classes. I have 11 hours total and only have to go to class one day a week thanks to some weekend intensive courses. I'm really excited about it and feel the relief starting from finally beginning to do what I have been MADE to do. Praise God. It's something I pray for you to find too- your true calling.

Jack asked me what I was doing this afternoon and I retorted "wishing it was this time next month." I'm getting really tired of not being busy! I'm at my best when I have a schedule and it's pretty full. Granted, we are planning a retreat for 18 people this weekend, but that doesn't count. And never mind that our house is practically ready to sell because I've been able to do a lot. And forget the fact that I'm extremely rested and have almost read all 7 Harry Potter books. And please ignore the fact that this is the only day since May that I might have even thought the word "bored." I shudder at that word. I thought that word today so I went to Target and I didn't need that word anymore. Shudder. I bought a baby gift and paper towels. It was exciting. And I caught a whiff of granola every once in a while.

This part is for my cousins and mom and aunt:
I was cleaning out my nightstand yesterday that was FULL of cards and letters. Jill, there were so many from you! There were tons from my mom from when I was in college and lots from Mamaw when she "felt good." I suddenly found myself weeping over the letters from her. Her handwriting. It was a good feeling, although unexpectedly sad because I didn't realize I miss her so much. I opened a "Thinking of You" card; she had written on lined paper and put it in the card, but on the card itself she wrote in the bottom corner

"In Spirit, as you go- I will be with you."

It was what I needed in that moment on that particular day, and the Holy Spirit used Mamaw's words from 10 years ago. And I knew that indeed she was with me, through her letters and cards. It was a very sad but Holy moment.

Now that you are weeping too, please know that I also found this in my nightstand:

Daily Bread

I am trying to be good about updating! (ahem, ML!)

I woke up anxious today. Actually, I went to bed anxious and tossed and turned all night. I fell asleep and then woke up again when a HUGE storm came through right around midnight. I think it went on for about an hour. I really felt like we were going to be Dorothy and Toto and just get swept up in it. It ended but I was awake enough to not feel sleepy anymore.

I was thinking. And thinking. And tossing. And turning. And thinking.

THINKING!

I hate it when I can't switch my brain off.

We have had so much going on lately. Nothing bad. Just enough to stir up some questions and doubt and fear and guilt. It's hard not working, and it's our choice for me not to work. I got the syllabus for a class today and it's GOOD I'm not going to be working during school (except for subbing.)

I know it's good to wrestle with things. I want challenges. We both do.

I will close with these lyrics from Jill Phillips' song "Daily Bread." It 'just happened' to come on today when I needed to hear it the most.

There’s a restlessness in the soul of man
Nobody’s tamed it yet
You never fail to keep any promises
But somehow we forget

That you’re always right on time

You feed us all with a silver spoon
And like your foolish kids
We start worrying about what we’re gonna do
When the hunger comes again

But you’re always right on time
With an open hand
You have exactly what I need
Daily bread
Daily bread

You have the wisdom and the patience
We need the grace to see it clear
Too soon and we take it all for granted
Too late is more than we can bear

So you’re always right on time

With an open hand
You have exactly what I need
Daily bread
Daily bread
Daily bread

Linky Link

Click here and it will direct you to Steven Bridges' blog post about Bo and Laura's wedding. Wow. So beautiful.

seven seven OH seven

Yesterday was our 2nd anniversary. I started to mix it in with the 4th of July post, but thought it needed one all by itself.

What a lovely day it was. Jack worked tirelessly writing and studying for his sermon. He worked without ceasing to bring home the bacon for our little family. I slaved over the yard, pulling weeds, spreading some new mulch. I sweated as I cleaned up the garage and pruned the holly bush. Yes, it was a lovely day indeed.

We even got the hole in our ceiling fixed.

It was from water damage from all the rain. But now the roof is fixed and the ceiling, so I look forward to the next rainy day.

Anyway, after all the home improvements and hard labor, we went down to the Old City to Pasta Trio. Have you ever been there? It was so weird, fun, and interesting. I've never been to a place where we got there before the chef. We arrived at 6:30; he arrived at 6:45. We wanted to eat then because we were going to try to make an 8:20 movie. Not happening. The chef was also our server. He had trained at Johnson and Wales, so at least we had that going for us. He said he uses all fresh ingredients, blah, blah. Some other people (servers, hostesses?) came in around 7 carrying boxes of groceries.... I had just ordered scallops thinking "oh, maybe he got them from the Shrimp Dock or something." Nope, I saw frozen scallops in the groceries. Sigh. Let's just say we got there at 6:30 and didn't eat until 8. It was fun though, we weren't mad. Just hungry.

This is Jack waiting. And waiting. And waiting.


I must say, though, as bizarre as the experience was, the food was really, really good.

The frozen scallops:
I played with this on iPhoto, so please forgive the funky-ness.

We left Bizarro World and drove around Old North and Forth and Gill. It was lovely. We stopped by to see Patrick and Caroline for a few minutes at their Old North house.

It was a really great 2nd anniversary. I'm excited to see where we will be in our lives on July 7, 2010. God has been so faithful and so good!

Happy 4th

This was at our 4th of July get together with the King family. Good times were had by all, like Camille.

This is Ellen, thinking of what she should do next.


And the four little girls in their sweet dresses. I love this photo and the way iPhoto enhanced it!

Day #2

Hey, hey, look at me posting two days in a row. I'm sumthin'.

Check Pioneer Woman for today. Especially if you are a girl. Or woman. And if you have a daughter. Or are a mother. Symbiosis. Something men can't understand about their wives relationships with their mothers. They don't need to understand, though. It's a special, secret sort of thing women have. I remember when I was a freshmen in college EVERY female I knew had daily phone calls with their mother. The first time my mom came to visit, the girls in my dorm were jealous. One girl stomped out and said, "That's it. I need to talk to my mom!" Some days now, two years into marriage, if I haven't talked to my mom I feel like I've gone most of the day without brushing my teeth. I could talk to her for thirty seconds and feel better. Just to touch base. Just checking in. Just brushing my teeth.

I spent some time at the pool today and it was perfect. I am reading Harry Potter and today was one of those days that I was like "this is what this summer is for... this is special, I'm not going to get used to this because I'm not going to have it probably ever again." And I didn't feel guilty and I kept reading.

I am making Chess Bars and brownies for the weekend. They are smelling pretty darn heavenly right now.

I wish NPR had a TV station because that is the kind of news I want to hear about! People, interesting stories about a whole gamut of things, and world news.

That is all.