I love Paris

I miss Paris. 
I miss it every day. 
I miss it in the spring, summer, fall and winter. 
That is all for today.

Avacado Pasta

I LOVE this pasta.  Not only is it healthy, it tastes amazing AND it is simple!  I found the original recipe over on Oh How She Glows blog, which is an excellent blog for anyone looking for great vegetarian or whole food recipes.  I have several from her site that I make regularly.  I made a couple changes to the original, but which recipe don't I change? 

2-3 ripe avacados
1 lemon juiced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 tsp onion powder
1/2 to 1tsp salt and pepper to taste
1/2 Cup fresh basil, MUST be fresh
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 diced tomatoes
12 oz of your favorite pasta, I usually use spagetti noodles

Cook noodles as package directs.  Put garlic, lemon juice, and EVOO into food processor and process until smooth.  Add in seasonings, fresh basil and pitted avacados and process again until smooth and creamy.  Stir in the diced tomatoes at the end, don't food process them.  Toss over your pasta when it is finished cooking.  You don't even heat up the sauce which makes this a super quick meal you can make in the time your pasta cooks! 

Ironing Out The Wrinkles

I have this problem.  It is my ironing board.  It just stares at me smuggly from the center of my laundry room because I am forced to work around its bulking, gloating presence.  I got this ironing board back 11 years ago.  Since I had never ironed in my previous 20 years, not sure why I thought I might start in the next 20.  I suppose young love does that to a person. I envisioned lovingly ironing out my husbands shirts.  That vision faded and the ironing board sat unused for many, many years.  We moved.  5 times.  Along it came.  Lugged to each new place, then promptly tucked it behind some door.  Then last winter I decided to make wax paper hearts with melted crayons and the old forgotten ironing board got pulled out to shine in all its useful glory.  When I attempted to fold it back up, it wouldn't go.  I tried all the usual pounding, hammering, and banging but it would not colapse back down.  So now it sits there taking up half my laundry room filling the room with its arrogance.  Mocking me that it will not be cast aside again.  I have considered just throwing it away but the thing is so big it won't fit in our garbage.  Maybe some night I will have some wine, take it out to the country....okay farther out to the country than I already am....and drop it off.  If it is lucky, a passerby may take pity on it and bring it in. 

Fall is here!

I am not usually one to wish away summer warmth but this year I was ready for it to be over.  Not because I hate the sun and warmth and the glow of a nice tan but because I need clothes.  Not just any clothes.  Clothes that cover me.  Sweaters.  Big, bulky body hiding sweaters...and Jeans.  Ahhh glorious jeans.  Any garment that allows me to cover my arms and legs and doesn't leave me weeping in the dressing room. 

A Higher Education

I have had some interesting conversations recently regarding college.  I must confess that I didn't realize college was optional until I was in my teen years.  My parents had always spoken of it very matter of factly and I assumed that is what everyone did after high school.  Since finishing my own degree I have mostly assumed I would push my children towards college as well.  After spending a lot of time thinking about this I dare say I might be on the verge of changing my mind.  There is a part of me that wants them to go.  It feels a bit like a pat on the back for me if they do attend.  After all, it will be due to the amazing education they receive from me.  Then when I look at the people around me, many who do not have a 4 year degree, make very good livings and don't have that dreaded student loan payment every month.  They are able to support their families very nicely and seem relatively well adjusted.  Then there is me, and many like me, who have that expensive piece of paper that says we have accomplished something and yet do nothing even related to what we are educated to do.  I would not say I regret having my time in college.  It was an amazing time of building friendships, traveling and learning so much.  But when I think about the most important and life alterning things I have learned they have very little to do with where I went to school.  It is all from God.  God is the one who imparts wisdom, joy, peace, and love all of the things I want for my own children.

My Cleaning Nightmare

We are involved in a coop for the next few weeks with some homeschoolers from our area.  It is great fun.  Each week is a different topic and we break the kids up by ages and teach different groups each week.  This upcoming Fridays topic is science.  We are doing all kinds of experiments and I volunteered to have it at our home.  That was a big mistake.  Not because I don't like having people over, because I do very much.  The problem is I wasn't thinking.  We need to use our entire house and our garage for all these people.  This means I have to have the entire house AND the garage clean by Friday.  I have never, in all the years we have lived here, had my entire house clean at the same time much less the garage on top of that.  This means I am in for a nightmare week of trying to keep my kids from messing up what I have finished. 

I decided to start in our basement since that is an area that isn't used much and won't be challenging to keep clean.  The problem is I only make it down there to clean about once a year and it is scary dirty.  I spent all day cleaning it yesterday and just ended up angry because it is not clean yet.  I decided I must just move on to another area now.  Next up is our bedroom and bathroom.  That is another area that I don't get to often.  I am sure you are wondering what I do clean.  I find it is better if you don't ask such questions. 

Birthdays

It is official.  As of last Sunday I am yet another year older and pretty sure not any wiser.  I am starting to wonder if I will ever have a birthday where I am not painfully aware of each new wrinkle.  Isn't there some sort of government program out there where I can opt out of all future birthdays?  I can still age, but just not have a single day marking the turning of another year.  A day where I am forced to reflect on how I have more aches and pains and am not nearly as wise as I had expected to be.  On the bright side I have 361 more days until I have to think about all of this again!