My Weekend

First Dodger game, complete with a win in the 12th. (And only one mass freak out moment from the air horn...)


Dinner at an amazing Chinese Middle Eastern restaurants with friends.


Picking about 25 pounds of blueberries to be enjoyed among us all. (And a bee sting. Boof. And yes, I still want to live on a farm.)


Naptime, but certainly not enough of it.

Add in Chinatown, El Toro, Boba/Cupcake/Fro-Yo, Mario Kart, and a photo shoot. A weekend that will go down in history. What about you?

Childhood Dreams.

I remember very clearly wanting to live on a farm when I was a little girl. I would imagine wearing overalls and pigtails, and going to pick vegetables and collect them in my wicker basket. I thought I would gladly get up at 5am to milk the cow and collect chicken eggs. I really have no idea where this desire came from, but as you can see, it's been evident in my life for quite sometime.

On this general idea, my dear friend Brittney posted a blog the other day about a dream. A good dream at that, her ideal homestead. She then asked, "What's your dream?" I am very inclined to answer, having been seriously discussing this with Jon not an hour before I read the blog. Coincedence? I think not.

Okay, no surprise, I want to live on a farm. Well, okay, maybe not an actual farm, but somewhere I can play farm. I want to live on land. Green land. Lots of beautiful rolling hills with fields up to my knees where I can play with Adelaide and have picnics with Jon. Somewhere I can have an actual huge garden. Somewhere we can have an orchard of fruit trees. Somewhere with a back porch where I can sip lemonade and watch the sunset (and apparently behave like an 80 year old). And since this is a dream, we'll go all out, right? A wonderful house that Jon designs. (Although a cool old farm house that we get to fix up would be alright if we aren't millionaires that get to design our own home.) I'll let him decide the details of this one, as long as there's plenty of windows that allow for tons of natural light (but any good architect should do that anyway, right?) and a huge amazing kitchen with a breakfast nook/bay window, and french doors that open up right into the garden. Sigh.

And I love what Brittney wrote. She mentioned the fact that God gives us our desires and that she's confident one day He'll provide. I had said the same thing to Jon. "God either gives us the desires of our hearts, or he changes our hearts to want different things." So, I'm with Britt. One day, I'll get my dream house, or God will change my heart and give me a desire for something different, but just as wonderful. And for now, I'm feeling satisfied with my garden planters (more on that later...). So, let's hear it. Dream homes?

Good Eats

Currently reading:


Currently studying:


All in the attempt of planting a small, yet successful garden. Nothing too crazy here; a few tomatoes, some peas perhaps, a couple peppers, and, well, a lot of herbs. And some beautiful climbing plant that will look lovely all flowered. It's a simple goal, but an honest one.

Let me just say, 'Animal, Vegetable, Miracle' has really challenged me. It follows Kingsolver and her family as they try to go a year only eating what that raise, grow, or buy from people locally that raise and grow themselves. It seems an extreme concept, but we as Americans have forgotten where our food comes from. We think it's gross that vegetables come out of the ground and are covered in dirt, yet we digest McDonalds like there's no tomorrow (and there's not likely to be one if we keep eating that way...) Middle America is dying, and it's because we have no respect for the farmer and what he's doing for us. Fresh produce, in season. A simple idea, but a powerful one. A healthy one. A revolutionary one in this day and age. So, that's my goal. Buy local, eat in season, and avoid buying "fake" vegetables (tomatoes any time of the year besides summer, for instance?) that grew in some false environment and cost an arm and a leg in oil to have shipped to me. So, I'm frequenting the farmer's market, and planning my meals around what's in season, instead of what's in stock. And this week, that consisted of some amazing oranges, strawberries (that I was assured were picked that morning), swiss chard, and multiple kinds of peas. The strawberries?



Well, they were quickly put to use.



So, everyone, I know it's a tough gig, but someone's got to do it. If we want to actually enjoy our food, we should probably eat food that actually tastes good. I know, crazy concept. But one I'm gladly willing to try. Bon appetite.

Strawberry Glace Pie
One Pie Crust (your good ole' standby recipe works perfectly)
3 pints of strawberries
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 cup water
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese

Make pie crust and cook until golden brown. Set aside.

Mash enough strawberries to equal one cup. Combine with the water, cornstarch and sugar in a pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Cool.

Whip the cream cheese (a few seconds in the microwave greatly helps this process) and smooth over the pie crust. Add the whole strawberries. Pour the cooled strawberry mixture over the top. Refrigerate for 3 hours.

Enjoy immensely.