Salmon, sweet potatas, and sprouts....

Salmon is so good for a special treat at our house....Everyone likes it here...Grace makes me laugh ("tastes like chicken!) ha and I wouldn't like it often but on occasion it is quite good! Especially with our favorite sweet potato chips...and brussel sprouts happen to be a 4 out of 5 here...meaning Grace doesn't like them! haha Here's a great recipe for the Salmon and marinade and Sweet potato chips....Sweet potatoes are packed with Vit. C and I know Salmon on occasion is very healthy...especially for your eyesight!
5 Salmon fillets (Be SURE SURE SURE you only buy Wild Caught, if you are buying any fish that is farm raised it doesn't have the natural nutrients in it and we want to support our US fishermen!) I buy them in frozen packages when it's on sale but you could use fresh and cut it into fillets yourself...
Marinade recipe:
1 Tb. Soy sauce
1 Tb. minced fresh ginger (I used 1 ts. dried)
2-3 Scallions(green onions) minced
1 Tb. honey
2 ts. Rice vinegar (I used Balsamic because I didn't have Rice, or you could use Cider Vin.)
1/4 C. orange juice

Mix in a 9 x 13 shallow dish, place Salmon fillets in marinade and then turn with tongs so marinade covers both sides. Let sit 30 mins.

Heat 1 Tb. oil in large enough skillet for Salmon (I used a large Electric skillet) place Salmon flesh side down first if you're using skin on. Saute 5 mins. per side. Flip after 5 mins. and saute 5 more mins. Remove Salmon to a plate skin side up. Lower heat on pan and let sit while you peel skin off the cooked Salmon. Pour 2-3 Tbs. water into skillet and add remaining marinade, bring to a slow simmer. Add Salmon back to pan the side down that you removed the skin. Turn off heat and let sit at least 5 mins.










Sweet potato chips:
Place your baking rack on lowest rack in your oven. Preheat oven to 425*.
Slice 3 long Sweet potatoes into thin slices. Place in large bowl and pour 3 Tb. Veg. oil over the potato slices and toss with Rubber Spatula. Sprinkle lightly with Salt and Pepper. Place chips on two baking sheets as flat as you can get them without too much overlapping. Place baking sheets of potatoes on bottom rack and set timer for 15 mins. (this will create a lot of steam from you vented burner, don't worry it's just the water in the potato evaporating) Flip potatoes after 15 mins. and bake another 10 mins. Some of the thinnest chips will get quite dark, these are my FAVS!! Remove chips and serve!
Dipping sauce for sweet potato chips. One part Mayo to One part Ketchup. We use 2 Tb. to 2 Tb. and stir together while they bake! Delish..this sauce is delicious on Turkey burgers too!
Add some Brussel sprouts or your favorite veggies and voila...30 min. meal!! (sorta) Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE!!

THIS GIRL TURNED 10 YEARS OLD OVER THE WEEKEND!! She had a great weekend and we all did too!
When the girls in the house turn 10 they get to get their ears pierced so she was anxiously awaiting her day! she was pretty nervous too I'd say but was pleasantly surprised that it was a pretty easy ordeal and well worth it! After taking her own time to decide she chose small diamond studs (not real of course) to start out with! they look so cute! and go with everything (her words) ha it was fun...My mom always comes and treats to the earrings and then lunch! what a fun way to start out a Birthday weekend!!!










Ladybug Birthday cake....had to be a white cake inside (Cherry Chip) and Chocolate icing! she's not too fond of Vanilla icing for some odd reason! She was so giddy and so excited all afternoon! We gave her this outfit on her actual Birthday since it was her actual Birthday the day before her family party! She admired it in the store about a month ago so I went back and snapped it up! She likes anything with a Peace sign on it lately! and the bright yellow was something else on her...









It's always fun when the kids are young enough to thoroughly enjoy opening a present and you can see the excitement in their face when they open something! She LOVES horses and auntie Roz got her the movie Secretariat...she was GEEKED...and if you look closely you could see that I must have been pretty excited as well haha It was great movie by the way and I have to be honest I didn't know the story of the Secretariat!










Water bottle with her name on it! LOVED it...ha they are allowed water bottles on their desks at school and this was just the perfect size! plus no mistakes of another child mixing theirs up with hers with her name on it! Get a load of the GIANT headband flower...LOVE IT...I bought it after she admired it in Target and it makes that bright yellow outfit pop even more!! (Plus it helps that her big sis has a few headbands with flowers on them...not that large though)










We got her a new pink and white CD/boom box for her room...I almost got her an MP3 player but part of Grace's passion for life is MUSIC...she sings and sings and it amazes us in the van when we're driving down the road and she is singing along word FOR WORD...or she'll correct someone and say no no the word is this.......she is very musical and I just couldn't stand it if she was singing away with headphones on yet! haha Plus the updated Christian music for kids is so much fun to listen to!!

I LOVE this girl...she is truly the Sunshine of our lives..anyone in this house would say that about her! She exudes energy and delight for life from 6 a.m. until she falls into bed at 8:30! She sees the good in everything practically, she has a quit Wit about her and can make anyone crack up (even if they don't want to!) and she LOVES to Praise the Lord with her singing and music...she is a DIE HARD animal fan...and if it's quiet I can probably find her watching Pet Keeping with Marc Marone on tv! or she's got all my laundry baskets upsidedown throughout the living room with an animal or two inside for viewing! Everytime Macy's looking for one of her belts or scarves you can probably find it tied around the neck of one her stuffed animals for a leash! We love her fun spirit and it's been a delight from day ONE until now 10 yrs. old to spend life with her!

It's snow fun....brother and sister!

We were still celebrating snow over the weekend...but it's warming up now..I could smell that smell reminding me of Spring the other day. My bird feeder was loaded and the sun was shining!! I like the snow, but I like the sunshine with it! What this meant for us is...perfect snowman making snow! Every year Grace says "We have a tradition of making a giant snowman!" and I guess she's right...we have done this for many yrs! I'll have to drag out photos of previous years snowmen!














It's a rare occasion Grace can talk Jordan into going out to play in the snow anymore now that he's older...but on this day she got him to go! She's been talking alot about when he leaves for college...must be on her mind as she sees us discussing college mail etc. She and Jordan had a ball (hahaha pun intended) and made a FANTASTIC snowman!! it was perfect rolling snow but heavy...Mike had to help them load the body pieces up...they went FOUR body pieces high this time!

Even Lucy got in on the fun...she LOVES to watch kids from the window and she whines and barks and they throw snow at the window because she winces when they do! silly dog! she's a hoot to watch when she's looking out the window! when some birds came along she was going nutso! I don't ever let her in this living room but she was whining so bad to look out! so I gave in!

Here they are commencing to roll....that bottom part is bigger than Grace! she was encouraging him to keep on rolling because the snow was so wet it was hard to roll it!! I could hear her inside "come on Jordan...get that baby rollin!"

Here was the end result...we have this cool Snowman kit with buttons for eyes and noses and coal and a scarf set and hat! They added this broom that I always question why we own it when I see it since it's such a sad and useless broom....guess not for this case!! It warmed up so much that late at night I saw the Snowman leaving and by morning.......HE WAS KAPLUNK ON THE GROUND!! but it was worth the fun of building it and watching it! All of our snow is melting away this week...getting warmer and warmer...I think that's the case in many areas!! Spring will be upon us before we know it!!

And this picture just makes me want to go "HMMM?" no doubt if Jordan is boxers or briefs....lol I'm told it's the style...I sympathize with my parents now...lol

True friends....

So...my family was gone to church last night and Grace stayed home and fell asleep by 7:30 and I was in a hot bubble bath and I hear the dog barking....her alert that someone is home or here. Well it was just about the time we get home from church so I hear someone knocking on the backdoor...so I yelled out "Macy use the key I'm in the tub!" Well....the next thing I heard was the door to the sun porch closing...a minute later the phone rings (and I'm sure some one's locked out and calling me to let them in)...but no....it's my best buddy Leanne's hubby "I left you some medicine on the back of Mike's car...be well!"
THIS was the medicine!! he knows how to care for a sick woman believe me!! I'm thinking the two mixed might be pretty tasty?? an orange float?? would taste good for this sick girl!! THANK YOU DANNY......YOU KNOW YOU ARE THE BESTEST!!!

Valentines and sickies....

It's hard to believe Valentines Day is in less than a week! Not that we make a real big deal but Mike does usually get each of the kids a Chocolate Heart full of candy and I make a nice dinner. We do have a few Valentine's Day decorations and it seems to me in the past I've taken down the snowmen to make way for Valentines stuff but this year we have SOOO much snow it seemed appropriate to keep the snowman stuff up! Nice to have a reason to decorate!















I was in Hobby Lobby the other day (I love that store) and found this adorable frame for $2.38 ...it wasn't in the Valentines Day section but the clearance but I thought it would be so cute to put out for Valentines Day....I'm waiting for some new pictures from Christmas and Winter to be developed so I'll put a cute Winter picture in there I think when they are done! and I'm burning some tea lites called North Pole I got at Yankee candle on the cheap after Christmas...they smell sooo good....sort of like baking Vanilla cookies! mmmm















This is a little twig tree I have, I bought some fake twigs at Hobby Lobby of course, added some beaded twigs and a set of tiny lights called Rice Lights. The ends are the size of rice for craft projects and I had snowflakes hanging off but changed them out for hearts and left up my lighted snowman...I think he's liking the hearts hanging nearby! That's a candle in front of the snowman I received as a gift for Christmas from a friend. It's a Home Interior candle called Peppermint White Chocolate and it smells DIVINE....ya know sometimes lighting a flavorful candle wards off the cravings for baked goods or candy.....and sometimes causes you to CRAVE IT! haha

We've all had our turn being sickies the last few weeks....all accept Jordan!! here's hoping! First Mike had terrible bronchitis and then Macy had a cold and ear infection, Grace is just getting over a terrible sinus cold and cough and I think I did alot of lovin and snuggling with her and she was kind enough to share the germs......I felt the sore throat coming on yesterday...and then a sinus headache and then I laid down and fell asleep at 4:30 p.m. and woke up at 7:00 p.m. on the couch....took me a minute to register that it was DARK outside....I walked out to the kitchen to find supper dishes done (Luckily I had put Veg. beef soup in the crock pot), lunches being made and the girls doing their homework and a bowl of soup waiting for me! wow.....

I woke up today feeling like a crumb....terrible stuffy nose and my head felt like it might explode! The sore throat has eased off alot but this headache is long lingering......and it is causing pressure to my ear.....but it's not as bad as it could be...seems a bit more mild than some have had it....I'm taking Vit. C, Vit. D. and I drink an energy Vitamin drink with B's in it so hopefully that's helping....and I've fallen in love with this new tea...Lipton Green tea Super fruit! I love it and so does my whole family...I've been making a pot of it instead of a mug lately so we get more use out of the tea bag! haha

So......not much happening here other that alot of tv., tissues, reading and hot baths!! Not all bad...but I did feel like a fish out of water today laying around all day.....I did get the house tidy this morning and the dishwasher going and some laundry started and then once I hit my bed I was there for the day...lucky for me Mike worked home today on the books for work so he brought me scrambled eggs in bed!! (smile)

Stay well my friends.......keep warm and enjoy the coziness of Winter!!! <3

Daybook..

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...Snow, lots of snow! and it snowed a little more today too! I think it's pretty, especially sitting inside by a fire!

I am thinking...that I'm really tired and I think I'll go take a bath and crawl into bed with a book.

I am thankful for...being cozy with my family on a Sunday afternoon.

From the learning rooms...lots of Winter reading, Grace and I have been reading about Penguins lately.

From the kitchen...Nacho bar for Superbowl snacking. Mike is downstairs with friends watching the game and Macy and I are cozy by the fire watching a movie! ha The food is good though!

I am wearing...Track pants, a turtle neck and sweatshirt.

I am creating...some order I hope, this place is a mess! Monday morning will definitely be calling me to the laundry room and the dust cloth!

I am going...to get Grace tucked into bed, fall into a hot tub and relax!

I am reading...The other side of the Ocean by Karen Kings bury


I am hoping...to wake up Monday morning refreshed and ready for face the week, for some friends who have been sick to feel a-ok and for some new plans we have at home to work out and fall into place!

I am hearing...LOUD LOUD voices from the downstairs with cheers and jeers watching the Superbowl!

Around the house...Laundry, food, clutter, dust bunnies .........haha you get the picture!

One of my favorite things...Cozy weekends at home together by the fire, watching movies, playing games, and eating yummy warm winter foods!

A few plans for the rest of the week: Laundry (did you gather I'm behind on laundry? ha), Bible Study, prayer group, some errands, appt's and lots of family time I hope!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...My sled team!

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