Silly Curry

It is silly really to be scared of little powdery stuff called curry.  I am silly and so for many years I've been afraid to use it in my cooking.  I've only happily eaten curry dishes that others have cooked up.  Now I live on top of a cheerful mountain.   There seems to be few opportunities for me to enjoy one of my favorite flavors.  Today I had a craving for broccoli and started to cook some.  Then another craving came for curry.  A silly thought entered my head that said, "Why not sprinkle some curry on the veggies."  So I unwrapped the plastic from the curry I bought a while ago.   I decided to make my mother-in-loves white sauce too.  I sprinkled the colorful, aromatic, wonderful powder of deliciousness in the sauce.   The result was amazing.  It is silly to be silly about such simple things as curry.  I'm so glad that for a moment in my kitchen I stopped all silly reservations about curry cooking!

Genealogy, I am doing it! My genealogy...

I can vividly remember the first time I went to a family history center.  I went as a teen with my church youth group.   I’m sure my leader’s intention was to inspire the young women to do their own family history.  The opposite happened for me when we walked into a dimly lit room.  The walls were lined with micro fish viewers.  The viewers were lined with white haired older women.  The room smelt stale and was very quiet.  We were told to keep our voices down so the women could concentrate.  We weren’t there very long before I started to feel stressed.  I couldn’t imagine ever sitting there with the women in front of me looking at pages and pages of boring messy handwritten censuses!

Fast forward to today.  Emi likes to find the silver hairs growing on my head when we snuggle.  I can see myself looking through hundreds of old censuses just to find one family member of mine.  I enjoy seeing different handwriting styles as the times change.  I love to see the occupations of the parents and how many children lived in the houses and the ages of everyone there.  Genealogy is seeping into my blood and I feel driven to piece the puzzles of my family together.  I feel connected to family members  who lived and died before I was born.  I want to see their names and how they link to mine.  I want to find out all I can about each one of them. 

Last week I found the WW1 draft registration card for my great grandfather online.  It was handwritten and he signed the bottom of the card.  I was so excited to see his handwriting!  He didn’t get drafted and was married later that same year.  It felt wonderful to learn a little about his life.  The smallest details are so sweet to me.

My sister, Anna sent me a package full of information about our family on my mom’s side.  She said it includes copies of newspaper clippings.  I am excited to get the package and feel like a child anticipating  Christmas morning! 

Chocolate is overrated???

I've been trying to convince myself that chocolate is overrated. Why? Well, I'm trying to be "good" by eating healthy. Chocolate is my downfall. It has a way of reeling me in, taking over and sending my calorie counting worries somewhere far in outer space. So... I've been trying to say goodbye to my friend. This is a difficult task. Chocolate is right there with me when I'm happy, sad, bored, having a great time or feeling a bit lonely. Chocolate is my faithful companion. I love the aroma, flavor, the fact that it makes most food taste amazing and how it slowly melts in my mouth. Chocolate is like a great pair of shoes you can wear with almost anything and look great. I've seen chocolate included in every kind of dish except for vegetable. Sorry veggies... on second thought... we don't have to feel all that sorry for the veggies at this party. They had cheese fondue. Lets just say if you can't be chocolate.... be cheese!

My plan was working quite well for the most part. That was until the girls and I went to an amazing surprise party for one lucky eight year old. The party host thought the girls would enjoy a chocolate fountain. She was absolutely correct! They LOVED it and I loved watching them indulge in what is arguably the most amazing thing to touch human lips.

I learned a few things while watching the children express their chocolaty delight with my faithful friend. I'd like to share this knowledge with you... just in case like me, you forgot or are trying to forget just how wonderful life can be.

All good things are delightful when dipped in chocolate

Technique is oh so important

Keep your eyes on the chocolate at all times

Smother, yes smother your food until it can't hold another drop!

It is ladylike to take big bites. Girls open WIDE!!!

Get chocolate all over your face and smile like you just don't care.

Make mama proud and eat healthy food... covered in chocolate !

Don't waste

Get every last drop.

and if your mom still does your laundry.... wipe it all over your shirt!

Simple Things

Yesterday was a little different when I picked the girls up from school. I rode my bike and brought scooters for them to ride home. That in itself is not earth shattering...
Somethings about the ride home got me thinking a little more about the little things. Little things we are to busy rushing around getting things done to notice.

Shortly after we began our ride, Emi noticed something next to the sidewalk. She threw her scooter down and picked up someone's abandoned drink bottle. "Mom can we pick up trash and clean the earth?" she said. "Well no honey, we don't have a bag to keep it in. Another day.. OK." was my response to her. We rode a little further when she found an abandoned shopping bag. So now she could clean up the earth. :) Loa pointed at pieces of trash and Emi ran to pick them up until the bag was bulging. We continued on our ride until...

Emi threw down her scooter and crunched some brown, crunchy leaves. Then she started kicking them into a pile. Loa and I quickly joined in. The girls took turns jumping off a short wall into the pile. They threw leaves into the air and a breeze sent them twirling all over. I smiled as I thought of the little things we would have missed if I drove the car to pick them up...

my first post

Well some of you thought this day would never ever come!  Thanks to my pushy friend Kara our family blog is born.  So look forward to keeping tabs on our family as I post all the latest breaking news.