Tuesday, May 31, 2011

I love and adore my children BUT.....

BUT.....I must admit being able to hear my own thoughts without interruption while on the back of my husband's bike was shear BLISS this weekend. Mommy and Daddy time alone, out and about is few and far between, but when we are able, we savor every moment! God Bless Mother in-laws!!
A month ago if you told me I would be on the back of a motorcycle exploring the country side feeling like a giddy teenager I would have laughed and said NOT Likely! But I am absolutely loving my husband's new toy! The freedom and peace I feel when we are just riding and exploring far exceeds what I ever would have imagined to feel! Like I said I absolutely adore my two girls but I am now starting to appreciate that sometimes Daddy and I need to just have a little ....non children time!
Do I feel guilty.....maybe a little.....will it stop us from doing it when ever the oportunity arrises?.....not a chance! :-)
Here is a glimpse of the beauty and serenity we were able to share and enjoy together!














NOTHING man makes can be more beautiful than what God has made for us to enjoy! I am always SO grateful to see such beauty and esp. to experience and appreciate it with my husband :)



Blessed!


Dee










Friday, May 27, 2011

Kefta Kabob Recipe















Kefta Kabob Recipe


1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. ground lamb (can use all beef if prefer)
2 tbs. chopped parsley

1tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. sumac (optional but highly reccomended I LOVE this spice!)

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. 7 spices or garam masala
olive oil for pan frying

1 diced jalepeno (optional)


Combine all ingredients except olive oil. Shape meat into 2-3 inch ovals or shape onto skewers. Cook on grill for 3-4 minutes on each side and be careful while turning not to break the meat. Or heat a pan and add 2-3 tbs of olive oil and add kefta ovals, cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until browned and cooked through.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Fun in photoshop

I love playing around in photoshop programs!! I know I in no way do professional jobs when it comes to photo editing but I have fun with it, so so...so there!!


I have a standing rule when it comes to editing my daughters pics. When she gives me this "oh take me away from this awful place, no one understands me!" look....it MUST be edited in Sephia! LOL




Flowers Before....


and After..... I don't know why I love this so much but I want to frame it and put it in my daughters room :-)









ok I'm done playing.....for tonight :)


But I leave you with a few words that are much too brilliant for me to ever come up with..... ;-)






To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury; and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart;
to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasion, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.




~William Ellery Channing





Blessings,




Dee
















Monday, May 23, 2011

Zucchini Cigars with Proscuitto

I guarentee these will fly off your table with guests!! You can NOT eat just one!!

















Zucchini Cigars with Proscuitto



You can serve these with a warm with a marinara sauce to dip in as an appetizer or put them on a green salad instead of croutons.


For about 36 sticks:



1 zucchini, about 8 "(20 cm) long
1 package of dough samosas, frozen and thawed (can be replaced by the phyllo, or spring roll wrappers)...I used Spring roll wrappers


3 tablespoons melted butter


1 / 3 cup (80 ml) freshly grated Parmesan


3 thin slices prosciutto, roughly chopped




Cut zucchini into 2 crosswise and remove the 2 ends.Cut each half lengthwise, sliced 1 / 4 "(0.5 cm) thick. Cut each slice into sticks 1 / 4" (0.5 cm) thick and discard the part center where the seeds so that each stick has the skin.We should have about 36 sticks. Spread dough sheets on a work surface and brush lightly with butter.Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese dough sheets in single layer.Put a few pieces of prosciutto across a short side of each strip about 1 "(2.5 cm) from bottom edge.Place zucchini on a stick of prosciutto, leaving ends extend from each side of the strip of dough.Roll gently with filling down center and brush lightly with butter on top of dough and zucchini beyond.Place, seam side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, at least 1 / 2 "(1 cm) away.Repeat with remaining of dough sheets and the remaining ingredients.(These rods can be stored in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, 1 day.)Just before serving, heat oven to 450 F (230 C).Bake approximately 8-10 mins until golden.

Photo Challenge: Yellow

Everytime we go for our walks I am always tempted to yell out a warning to all the pretty little flowers in our path that not one will be spared from this little blue eyed storm! Literally if you look after where she has been, it often looks like a storm has past! But I think that, that smile will help them all want to grow right back :-)






Take a look at all the other beautiful entries at iheartfaces! Gorgeous!


Sunday, May 22, 2011

Not surprised one bit!


Read below to see what this monkey did to me this morning!! Ahhhh motherhood!





Backyard view of a beautiful double rainbow we had tonight!



A little friend visiting!




Happy Sabbath everyone! :-)


Not surprised one bit that we are still here the day after a certain false prophet's mis-calculations but I am grateful that this incident has brought attention to true teachings of Christianity. I am grateful and glad to see people stand up and speak out that the false words of Harold Camping where not words of a Christian but of a man who simply was wanting to bring attention to himself and not to the Lord!


A dear lady of whoms blog I often visit captured a billboard that summed up the incident nicely http://farmingonfaith.blogspot.com/ . Simple and to the point....I love that!



This rainbow we had as well this evening I also think summed up the event nicely....looking at it made me think of God's promise, Grace and Mercy tonight....he still has much for us to live. His time is not yet and we still have much time to enjoy this glorious gift of life that he has given us. Please do not waste not one minute! Trust me I say this as much to myself as I do to anyone who may ever read this! It has become something I constantly remind myself of.



On a lighter note allow me to share with you the wonderful way I was woken up this morning by my one year old.......have you ever heard of the term "a wet willy"? When a person licks thier finger then sticks it in someone else's ear to gross them out......well this morning my dear precious little one topped that disgusting sensation to wake me up by sticking an open tube of lipstick with the lipstick part up, into my ear as you would a wet willy or a Q-tip! Talk about a very rude awakening! I have NO CLUE where she found it and what possessed this little thing to do that but alas she did and it took me quite a time to get it OUT of my ear as well as my hair! And she just stood there with her adorable 1 yr old baby smile! (pic above of the culprit...)




So yes that was my glorious wake call today.....I'll let you know when enough time has passed where I am able to laugh about it..... :(





May you all have a glorious night with no rude wake up calls of your own coming morning!!




Mark 13:32 & Matthew 24:35-36







Thursday, May 19, 2011

A few more garden pics...
Hydrangeas in rear and I believe it is Yarrow up front


Salvia


Here are pics of the Flowers AFTER they bloomed. CLICK HERE

Grow Garden GROW!! :)








I have been slowly crawling my way into the wonderful world of gardening. I absolutely love it but whether or not I have a green or black thumb I think is yet to be seen......
Yesterday we finally got a short break from the rain so I planted some poppy seeds I had picked up. Will those Poppy's decide to Pop up?? Your guess is as good as mine. I am never quite clear with the direction they write on the back of the packages, and the search I did online proved fruitless. I thought for sure on youtube I would find some sort of video with clear instructions but All I founnd was mainly starting seedlings in containers or quick how to's from businesses mainly only on to promote their company. Well for now I guess I'll be going off trial and error but at least that makes it a little more exciting for the wonderful world wide web to watch!!......NOT! ;-)
But here are some pics of what has poped up so far from last year (sadly I can't even remember all that I have in there!) I know I have at least Hydrangeas, Salvia, yarrow, rosemary.....and, uhmmm....yeah so anyways here are my before pics.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Greek Chicken Souvlaki




Heres a family favorite in our home to start out the grilling season! Quick and easy as well as kid friendly!




Greek Chicken Souvlaki


chicken BS Breasts or thighs cut into large chunks
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil

zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp sumac
small pinch crushed red pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
large pinch black pepper

1 tsp minced garlic
veggies of choice cut into large 1 inch chunks
skewers-wooden or metal


Place all ingredients except veggies into a large zip lock bag. Let marinade for 30 mins to an hour. Skewer meat and veggies onto a skewer (pre-soak skewer in water if using wooden ones)Discard marinade. Grill on med high heat until no longer pink in center turning once half way through cooking.

Serve with pita bread and choice of sides!

Monday, May 16, 2011

New to Blogging and not sure where to start!





Oh Lord what am I getting myself into?? hahaha Well I thought I might have a hand at this Blogging world and see what I may contribute. So please to who ever may one day read this....Please bare with me!

An little about me. My name is Deanna but my friends call me Dee. I am a mother of two very precocious, lovable, adorable little girls! And a loving wife to not only my best friend but what I consider to be my God sent! I COULD NOT ask for more in a family than what I have in my crazy trio! They give me enough greys to make the hair dye companies billionairs but as my title says....My Cup Runneth Over and I wouldn't change a second!!

My "ME" momments (which are slippery little suckers!) usually consist of anything in the subject of food/cooking, random photography of anything and everything that catches my eye, gardening, and last but not least, learning to surrender to our Lord!

I hope I am able to share with others some of the things that I have found joy in learning and collecting along my way.

I welcome any new friends and family to join me. Comments are of course welcome and encouraged! But please be gentle since this is all very new to me and I have much to learn!

Love and Blessings!

Deanna