One Word Wednesday: Pink

Last Saturday I needed a break. Big time. I am up to my ears in boxes and messes right now in preparation for our upcoming move and I was feeling overwhelmed frustrated and more than a little sorry for myself.

Retail therapy! My husband and I hopped in the car and headed out for Chik-fil-A and a little treasure hunting at some local antiques stores. It's amazing how wandering around looking at junk can renew and refresh my spirit.

I loved the color of these vintage ballet slippers (and the primitive box next to them--you can see just a corner of it at the top of the picture) and immediately thought of my friend, Briana at "Sweet Dreams Are Made of These" and a photo challenge she and some of her friends have just started recently called "One Word Wednesday". Last week she gave us a "heads up" for this week's word: pink. Ballet slippers. Perfect. Ballet pink. 

Pink makes me happy in my world of being a mom of four boys. I don't get enough pink. Why don't you play along on your blog or on Instagram with the hash tag #onewordwednesday? I'd love to see tons of pink today.

P.S. I'd love for you to follow me on Instagram (@jillcdunn). You can see what my family is up to while my blogging is sporadic until after our move.

Super Delicious Alfredo Sauce

Here's a fancy iPad picture since I couldn't find my camera at the time. Don't let the crappy photo deter you. This stuff is so, SO good.

A friend posted an Olive Garden knock-off Alfredo recipe on Facebook and I read it and thought, hey, I have all those ingredients; looks easy. I'm gonna go for it. 

Boys howdy! Am I happy I did. Tas-TEE! I actually changed it up a bit, added more garlic, and made a few other adjustments and I won't ever make it any other way now. So good. The whole family loved it. So much in fact that I had to remind a few of them (multiple times) that licking the plate is rude. I finally threw up my hands and said, "Fine, if you're going to lick your plate, at least do it where I can't see" which resulted in one boy diving under the table and another turning his back to me and hunching over his plate. Yep, that good. So, without further ado I give you:

Super Delicious Alfredo Sauce

16 ounces of pasta, cooked al dente (I used bow tie at the request of my boys)
1 stick of butter (for the love, DO NOT use margarine)
1 Tablespoon garlic paste (or alternatively one tablespoon of minced garlic--about three smallish cloves)
1 pint of heavy cream
1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese--this is important. Do not use the powdery stuff with the green lid.
2 Tablespoons Neufchatel cheese (I used this because it is what I had on hand, feel free to use the full-on fat variety of cream cheese)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium. Stir in the garlic paste, stirring until incorporated. Add the cream and the cream cheese and heat, stirring occasionally, until the cheese has melted and the sauce starts to sort of foam up a bit and thicken (but take care not to boil it). You may have to turn the heat down a bit. Stir in the grated Parmesan until melted and season with the salt and pepper (more or less depending on how you like things seasoned). Immediately stir the sauce into the drained pasta and serve. Garnish with a little parsley or additional grated Parmesan cheese or a little cracked black pepper, if desired. Bon appétit!

Super Delicious

  At any rate, Kyle and Randy would approve.

Hung on a Line

Free printable 8x10. Click image to enlarge.

Troubles: everyone has them. Anyone who says differently is selling something. Of course life's troubles ebb and flow; now you see them, now you don't. But rest assured if you don't have any trials at the moment, you will soon enough.

Sometimes we are faced with huge, life-altering adversity and other times we experience those run of the mill troubles that are just part of life. Neither kind of trial is easy to deal with. If they were, they would be pointless--how would we grow? Usually we don't ask for trials , but as I have struggled with one thing or another during my life, I have found that the times that I have been happiest have not necessarily been the easiest times. Attitude makes all the difference. Some people are better at constantly maintaining a positive outlook. I'm not one of those people. I wouldn't say I'm a pessimist, but sometimes I am prone to the "why me?" philosophy. Case in point, my attitude has needed some adjusting lately. The last few weeks have been an ongoing pity party as I've been dealing with the stress of getting ready to move and managing my household. It has helped to count my blessings and realize that in the big picture, my troubles are pretty minute.

Years ago my mom shared some wisdom that her grandmother (my great grandmother) imparted to her. Grandma Hall used to say, "If all of our troubles were hung on a line, you'd choose yours and I'd choose mine." You know what? It's true. We are blessed to have an omnipotent Father in Heaven who tailors our trials to suit us. He  knows what we need in order to grow and to become closer to him. And while I don't think that He causes our trials, I do think know He's there to sustain us through them and to help tailor them to our personal growth needs. Through Him we can have joy, peace and even the hardest trials can be for our benefit.

I've shared this proverb from my great grandma with a few friends in the past. Awhile back a friend of mine asked me to make something that she could hang as a reminder of those wise words. I whipped up this simple little sign to print out. I thought I'd share it with my blog readers as well. I'm going to print it out myself and stick it on my fridge, because really, I have it pretty good.

Happenings

So, some stuff has happened lately. Quite a bit actually. I've been pretty darn busy. There are lots of pictures but stay with me here. There's big news in case you haven't heard.
 

1.  Specs got new specs. He is back out of bifocals now. We'll see if that helps improve his almost non-existent 3D vision (a product of his accommodative esotropia, possibly made worse by the bifocals).

2. We celebrated Pi Day with deep dish chicken pi(e) and chocolate mousse pi(e). Poo on you Pi Day naysayers out there. I mean, really, who doesn't want an excuse to eat pie? ;)

3. I celebrated the Ides of March by eating a Caesar Salad (and having a lunch date with some of my girls at Panera). Silly, I know. 

4. We celebrated St. Patrick's Day. (Are you seeing a trend here with the celebrating and the eating?) I love St. Patrick's Day. I've written about this before (here and here). I consider it a celebration of my heritage. Our good friend brought spinach puffs and green hors d'oeuvres 

Irish soda bread

and we shared a scrumptious feast of corned beef and cabbage and potatoes with soda bread,

Fruit salad: yummy, yummy!

green (and orange--don't want to exclude the protestants!) fruit salad and key lime pie for dessert. I know key lime pie is not Irish, and it's not even actually green, but again I ask you, who doesn't want an excuse to eat pie?! Every year we also like to celebrate by watching some of our favorite Irish movies like "Waking Ned Devine" and "Darby O'Gill and the Little People".

5. We got excited over the arrival of spring. Spring, glorious spring! Alabama springs may be some of the best in the whole world. We are going to miss them because. . .


6. We're moving! Last week our moving plans became official! Yep. We are moving across the country back to the frozen north. My husband took a faculty position at a university in central New York (SUNY Oswego: alma mater of Jerry Seinfeld and Al Roker in case you were wondering) and we are thrilled! This has been a long time coming and now that it's here things are moving pretty dang quickly. Our plan is to move at the end of June and we're nearly to the end of March already. Whoa Nelly! We will be taking a house hunting trip soon to check out what's available in the area. Exciting stuff!

A 1909 panoramic photo of the Oswego River and where it flows into Lake Ontario

Some of the campus housing--looks like a painting, doesn't it? So pretty!

Other happenings of note: I ate macarons (not macaroons, macarons) for the first time; Tank came in dead last in the Pinewood Derby but his car got the award for most artistic; I got a bad haircut (I'll spare you the pictures); Stretch had his spring band concert--awesome; my husband and I were able to attend a panel discussion  with Kim and David Lacks and a professor from Johns Hopkins about their grandmother, Henrietta Lacks and HELA cells. Fascinating!

P.S. My blogging may (or may not) be a little sporadic for the next couple of months as I prepare to move my family of six across the country but if you want to see what's going on with us more frequently, feel free to follow my Instagram feed. I'd love to see you there!

Five Picture Books for Presidents Day

When Washington Crossed the Delaware by Lynne Cheney with paintings by Peter M. Fiore
We love this book at our house. The paintings are beautiful and the text is both informational and inspiring. I think the historical quotes that Mrs. Cheney chose to include really bring a personal element to the story and contribute to its depth. This is one of those books that the patriot in me has a hard time reading without getting a little misty-eyed.

So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George and illustrated by David Small
I love trivia and random facts. Did you know George H. W. Bush hates broccoli or that  William Taft had to have a special bathtub because he was so big? This book is full of interesting facts and humorous illustrations about all of the US presidents. It's a fun read and chances are your kids will like it too.

 Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
Written in 1939, Abraham Lincoln was the Caldecott Medal winner for 1940 . It is written with young children in mind and covers the majority of Lincoln's life (but does not include his assasination) with special emphasis on his childhood. By today's standards some might consider it dated, but I think it is a sweet introduction for young readers to one of my personal heroes.

George vs. George: The American Revolution As Seen from Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer
The story of George Washington and King George is brought to life with clear and engaging text and beautiful, vibrant illustrations. George vs. George compares and contrasts the lives and times of these two powerful Revoutionary War leaders.  Schanzer does a great job of keeping the information interesting and accessible as well as presenting a fair and balanced view of both sides of the story.

Abe Lincoln's Dream by Lane Smith
From the illustrator of The Stinky Cheese Man comes this whimsical
story about a little girl visiting the White House who meets Lincoln's ghost. They go on a journey together swapping cheesy jokes and ultimately answering some of Lincoln's troubled questions about the state of the union. Abe Lincoln's Dream is filled with quirky illustrations and inspired by interesting bits of trivia and true stories and would be a fun and light addition to your President's Day reads. You can hear an interview with the author here.

Valentine's Day Feast

I made these fun heart rolls for dinner tonight. My kids were impressed and they made a festive addition to our Valentine's Day feast. They are really easy to make too. I'm all about easy on the days when I have as much going on as I did today. I came across a video tutorial here, but here's my own picture tutorial version for future reference.

1. Start with a thawed but still cold ball of Rhodes (or some other brand) roll dough.

2. Roll the dough into a club shape (so easy a caveman could do it)--fatter at one end and coming to a point at the other. You can do this on your work surface or between your hands, whichever you prefer.

3. Using kitchen shears, make an inch or inch and a half snip in the fat end

4. It will look kind of like this.

5. Now shape the dough a little more. Round the corners and maybe shape the point of the heart a little better. At this stage they look a little strange and sad, but don't worry. It will look better as it rises.

6. Arrange the rolls on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with more cooking spray and allow to raise for another hour or two. You can just kind of tell. You don't want to let them get too big because then the bread is yeasty and has a weird airy texture. They'll continue to raise a little as you bake them as well.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Usually I would let mine get a little browner than this but I was literally standing at the over with mitts in hand waiting for the timer to go off so I could rush out the door to an appointment. Brush with soft butter while hot.

8.  Pile in a linen lined basket and serve.

9. They are especially good with real butter and raspberry freezer jam.

Our fancy Valentine's Day dinner was: baby field greens with cherry tomatoes and raspberry vinaigrette, raspberry Jell-o jiggler hearts, whole wheat angel hair pasta with two sauces--traditional spaghetti sauce and puttanesca sauce--and meatballs and of course, the heart rolls.

This was dessert:

Yum.

I'll be honest. I pretty much hated Valentine's Day until I had kids. I even told my husband when we were dating that if he asked me to marry him on Valentine's Day I would say no. Now, with kids, it is so much more fun. Having a great husband (who surprised me with tickets to see a local theater production next weekend) helps too. And as with many things in my life, it's all about the food. Good food makes for a good celebration.

Did you have a special Valentine's Day celebration or dinner? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Some Days. . .

--driving your kids to school in your pajamas is your only option if you want them to make it on time.

--it's worth stopping to take a picture of the forsythia bush you see as you run errands.
--you wait in line at the post office, but you really don't mind.
--you wait in line at Walmart and feel like tearing your hair out.
--you remember what you forgot (or chose to ignore) in a moment of insanity: that you hate shopping at Walmart.
--all the groceries you just bought are waterlogged by the time you get them loaded into your car.
--you are waterlogged (and worse--your shoes are soggy) by the time you get into your car.
--Oreos seem like a good idea. A lot of them. But you only eat three.
--the power goes out for a couple of hours. So much for watching a movie while you fold laundry.
--an accidental nap makes you miss picking your kid up at the bus stop.
--a kind neighbor walks your child home from the bus stop.
--the homemade chicken noodle soup you made is just okay and you keep thinking about the Oreos.
--are soft sweater and fuzzy socks kind of days.
--you get joy out of little things like seeing your kindergartener's handwriting on his valentines.
--the future is uncertain and sometimes scary but you feel hopeful.
--all the children are asleep and the only sounds you hear are ticking clocks, the quiet patter of rain and the click of the computer keyboard. And you are content. 


What kind of day did you have?

P.S. I spiffied up my blog. If you haven't stopped over in awhile come check it out. I'd love to know what you think.