I've Got A Yummy Little Secret

So usually we’re pretty good about providing nutritious meals & snacks around here.  Ok, sometimes I give in to the RED #40 & offer them a Bomb Pop because well…they are just so yummy & every once in a really great while it’s not so bad to indulge.

But this right here is one of our FAVORITE snacks EVER!  Doesn’t it look SO good?

It’s not hard to make at all.  So here it is if you want to make it too. 

Peanut Butter (about a ½ to ¾ c. or so)

Cream Cheese  (same as peanut butter)

Banana (just one….a little riper is better)

Honey (a Tbsp or so…)

Then we just put out apples, graham crackers, pretzels or whatever is worthy of dipping in this fantastic concoction of goodness! 

And today, cuz I was feeling like they needed to feel a little more love….I put out a little Nutella in a bowl too.

It’s just about as close to Heaven as a snack could get really!!  I mean, what else can provide 20 minutes of complete silence?  (seriously, haven’t heard a word cuz their mouths are full)  Come to think of it, maybe I should charge for this recipe! 

10 Things I Love About Summer

I love, love, love summer.  I know it’s hot but I’ll take it any day over cold & rainy.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a good summer rain too but….hands down, summer is my season. 

Here are my TOP 10 things I love about it….

1)    The sound of lawnmowers & the smell of fresh cut grass (ok, maybe that’s 2 but they sorta go together so I’m gonna count them as one)

2)   Corn on the cob  (I probably eat it 3 times a week during the   summer)

3)   Flip Flops (need I say more??)

4)   Going for a walk at 7:30 at night & seeing families out on bike rides & people walking their dogs  (I guess it’s just that sense of community I feel that you just don’t get in the wintertime)

5)   Going to a Rockies game on a Saturday night & having the best hotdog ever, a Tornado & a cold beer

6)   Opening all the windows in the house (even when my husband wants the air conditioning on cuz it’s 102 degrees) 

7)   The smell of BBQ

8)   Hanging out with friends on the back porch & enjoying a great summer night

9)   Outdoor movies in our cul de sac with all the neighbors

10)  Getting the blow-up pool/slide out & watching the kids play for hours

I could some up with so many things.  Wearing tank tops every day.  Visiting different parks.  Going for hikes.  Driving up to Breckenridge for a long weekend (favorite place in the world)….well, in Colorado, anyway.  Taking our annual trip to Beaver Creek.  Making Smores.  The smell of a campfire.  (although camping really isn’t up my alley)  The thought of it THRILLS me (seriously!!)  But when it comes down to actually putting up a tent, sleeping in a sleeping bag, peeing outside & not showering for 3 nights…well….that’s where ya lose me.  (I think I would make a great SURVIVOR contestant actually…..I’d get big ratings!!)  J

I love the sunshine. Going to the Paris Street Market & picking up some really unique things for our home.  The taste of watermelon.  And those 6 weeks that cherries are all you want to eat because they are so sweet & yummy & temporarily precious!

I love the drive I take every single day where I look West & see the most MAGNIFICENT mountains, covered with snow, touching blue sky.  Honestly, I could make that drive every day for the rest of my life.  And I always wonder how many people drive that same way & miss the whole thing.  Destitute of the appreciation of what beauty really is. 

Theoretically or maybe just cosmically speaking, it’s not even really summer yet.  But it sure feels like it.  And I’m happy!  And that’s all I really have to say about that.

Too much time away

I’ve taken a break from writing for a while.  Words weren’t flowing as they usually do & I wasn’t feeling like doing it quite frankly. 

And then I realized that I’m not doing it for anyone else.  Sure, my words have reached China & Australia & that is just so stinkin’ cool really. 

But it’s more about doing it for my kids.  Writing about what is on my heart, in my head, on the tip of my tongue at any given moment. 

With all that the internet possesses that is negative, leaving words….stories…memories…for my kids, is something I can do HERE that I couldn’t have done 10 years ago. 

Maybe I’ve had a hard time with it because I don’t know the focus.  Should it be a testimony?  Should I focus on crafts?  Decorating?  Past mistakes that have been reconciled? 

Maybe my focus should be just not to have one.  Cuz sometimes, it’s hard to focus when you’re a mom of 3.   If these words just reach 3 hearts, then I’ve done my job well. 

If my words touch 3000 hearts than I will be even more grateful.

So instead of writing nothing, I’m going to write ABOUT nothing…for awhile. 

Some days, I may write about something earth shattering & awe-inspiring.  Some days, maybe I’ll just stick to the basics & write about baking cookies with the kids. 

I’ve always put too much pressure on myself.  Wanting to do everything.  And do it ALL well.  And then when I do that….chances are, I only do some of it with half a heart & that gets me nowhere.

So for today, I am going to appreciate my favorite tree in the world.  The one right outside our front door.  The one that has seen many more years than I have.  It’s branches dance with the breeze on these summer afternoons & bring us so much beauty even in the changing of a season as the leaves fall away.  I just love that tree.  Birds have made nests there.  Kids have climbed it.  Rest has been had underneath its full branches.

We pruned it a few weeks ago & it almost physically hurt to watch as the dead branches were cut away.  I knew it was for the good, that it would be even more beautiful in the coming years, but I didn’t like it at the time.

(Kinda like some parts of my life)

I have another story about this tree that I will share some other time.  For now, I’m just going to listen to the leaves rustle together as the breeze settles in for the afternoon & my kids are taking a much needed nap.