Table Thanks

I finished the table runner for Joel's mom today.  She wanted one for Christmas, but since it's so far away I thought in the meantime I would make one that could be used the rest of the year.  This is a little thank you for having such wonderful in-laws.  They adopted me into the family, and I know how much Nathan loves his Grandpa and Grandma as well.  He's really excited to see them this weekend.

Love Revisited

There's a Scottish proverb that says...

Thee lift me, and I'll lift thee

And we'll both ascend together

I think this is the perfect way to describe a happy marriage (or any meaningful relationship, really).  They always say your companion should make you want to be a better person.  I have been thinking a lot about this lately, and feel very blessed to be married to my best friend.  I'm grateful that Valentine's Day is a nice reminder of that love, but that it's not the only time there's evidence of this love.  What a dreary world it would be if we only felt loved once a year.

In the meantime, my husband got a fortune cookie yesterday for lunch that said, "Flowers will brighten the day of a close friend."  This may be one of the few times I actually have no complaints about the "fortune."  He decided to heed the wisdom of the ages......thanks, sweetheart.

On a different note, I show you this cake not because of the fancy decorating (sorry, you can't see me chuckle as I write that), but because of the flavor of it.  My husband loves strawberries and all things cinnamon.  Betty Crocker has a new cake mix from Cinnabon called Cinnamon Swirl.  If you like cinnamon you'll love this cake!  There's really nothing fancy about it- It's just 2 9" round pans with some fresh strawberries in the middle and a cream cheese frosting.  It's rather yummy though.

Since I'm on a Strawberry kick:

If you want a fun drink that incorporates strawberries, here's one my husband and I really like  (from The Taste of Home Cookbook):

Strawberry Cooler

3 c. Water

5 c. Sliced Strawberries

3/4 c. Sugar (I used Splenda blend)

1/4 c. Lemon Juice

2 tsp. Grated Lemon Peel (optional)

1 c. Ginger Ale (the diet tastes just as good to us)

It's pretty simple:  Blend everything except the Ginger Ale in a blender in batches until smooth.

Pour it into a pitcher and wait to put in the Ginger Ale until you're ready to serve.  They suggest serving it over ice and using whole strawberries as a garnish, if desired.

Written Gratitude

I've mentioned this before, but my friend has enrolled herself and others in a Service Boot Camp for the month of February.  The charge is to write letters to people that have touched your life- one of those purposes can be to express appreciation.  My first "official" letters are in conjunction with this lovely holiday that is right around the corner (um, tomorrow).  The first person I wanted to thank was the lady that takes care of Nathan in the nursery at church.  She's so wonderful and patient, and Nathan loves going to nursery every Sunday.  I added my own twist with a couple of Heart Krispie Treats to go along with the note of appreciation.  (I couldn't help myself).  The treats are also going out to our neighbor and some friends, but it's Nathan Nursery Leader that receives my first letter.  If only all women were like her in their tender care of children that our not their own.  

For the Love of All Things Pork

When we moved to Ohio I was sad about 2 things- living further away from family/friends and the lack of Wegmans.  I love Weggies!  It's not just any grocery store.  You can only understand after you've had the full experience and then have been made to live without it.  For those of you within a reasonable driving distance consider yourself blessed.  The closest one to me is in Erie, PA (not that I looked it up or anything).  But I digress.....the whole point is that I still get their Menu Magazine with their recipes, and this past Sunday we tried their Italian Pork Roast, and it was quite delicious.

This 10 pound pork shoulder is seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic & fennel seeds sitting on a bed of sliced oranges and onions (let sit over night in the fridge), and then slowly cooked for 8-9 hours at 275 F.  It's a beauty.  Meanwhile, we've been eating all things pork ever since- pork tacos, barbecue pork, ginger pork sandwiches.  We usually eat chicken (cheap and quick), so it's a bit of a welcome departure. 

Had anything tasty lately?

Shimmering Table Decor

I made a table runner top this afternoon.  It has my two favorite colors in it- blue and purple.  I particularly like the blue material because the gold in it shimmers.  Who doesn't like a little sparkle on the dinner table?

I now have 3 quilts and a table runner that I need to layer and quilt.  Sigh.  I've been putting it off, but it looks like it's time for some serious top stitching.  I need to crank out some of these projects before my husband goes crazy from all of them being spread out all over our room. :)

Happy Saturday to Us

We had a little BBC drama marathon day at our house.  Stina had never seen Elizabeth Gaskill's Cranford and Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, so we started with those ones and then, just because it's so good, we watched Elizabeth Gaskill's North and South. It was a BBC feast.  If you haven't seen them then you're missing out on the finer things of life. :) 
In between the movies I accompanied a girl for her vocal festival, helped clean the Columbus Temple with Stina and managed to finish the baby boy quilt front, so all in all it was a fabulous day.

My inspiration for this quilt was this scrap from a quiet book I made a while back.  I always thought it was cute, but wasn't sure what to do with it. 

 I made up this quilt pattern to accommodate the size of the giraffe scraps.  Sashing seemed like the best way to do this.  I'm thrilled with how it turned out.  I know it was a success, because Nathan loves to point to all of the animals.

Decorating Beginnings

One of my goals this year was to learn something new (I'd like to avoid my mind turning to mush).  I signed up for a basic decorating class with a friend of mine.  Last night was our first class- we learned a bunch of introductory stuff and started decorating cookies.  I used my Grammy's sugar cookie recipe for the cookies- yum.  It uses sour cream with a hint of nutmeg. 
Don't laugh- here's my first attempt. :)

I practiced some more and they look a lot better today, but I thought I would show my humble beginnings, so that hopefully by the end of the class we'll all be able to see some major improvement.

Catching Up

First, it's officially February.  I completed my goal of no sugar for the month of January.  I even went to an ice cream social and held out, so I'm proud of myself.  So far I haven't binged on chocolate yet, so I think we're doing alright. 
Second, if you're looking for something great to do for the month of February, my friend has a Service Boot Camp going on all month long.  I loved it last year and this year promises to be just as good.  It'll help fight the winter blues (or in our case- the ice storm blues).
Last but not least, my husband has informed me that a true "connoisseur" of Muppets would prefer the Bohemian Rhapsody- so enjoy: