Git ‘Er Done.

I woke up with great plans to conquer the world, reinvent the wheel and solve the majority of the world’s problems; however, I shortly found myself back in bed with a sore throat, cough and general malaise-esque yuckiness. Three naps later, I have finally dragged myself to the computer so that I can do something more entertaining than lying abed watching my fat cells multiply.

Unfortunately, we have the busiest of busy weekends ahead of us and today was supposed to be my day to git ‘er done! But, oh well. All the things on my git ‘er done list will still be there tomorrow; the only difference is that I will just have to git ‘er done in half the time! (Which might aid the in the dissolution of the aforementioned fat cells.)

However, all is not lost because I do happen to have some lovely pictures to share with you from yesterday’s mother/daughter outing.

Sarah has been contemplating getting her hair cut into bangs for quite a while and yesterday she finally geared up her courage to, well, git ‘er done.

Since we were going to one of the most beautiful salons ever, I took my camera along so that I could occupy myself with taking pictures of all sorts of beauty (human and otherwise) while Sarah and Linda went the through the Cutting of the Bangs Process.

So here then are pictures of Sarah, pictures of Linda (who is a church member and who actually lived in our house for three years!) and also pictures of Linda’s lovely salon. (Which I could take pictures of endlessly because there’s so much loveliness afoot. If loveliness can, indeed, be afoot.

The salon collage I created is followed by a few of my favorite “single” pictures. (I realize I posted a few pictures of this business when Sarah and I had our pedicures but I'm sort of hooked on it!)

I turned my camera to Princess Groovy Chick as the process began.

And the final result? Is she cute, or what?

Thanks, Linda, for an afternoon of loveliness!

Comments

Let me just say how wonderful it was to once again see Sue Guenther’s name pop up in the recent comments. Sue, we have all missed you around here and continue to send our most heartfelt hugs and prayers in your direction. Thanks for taking the time to sign in; we love you!

Kim wrote, “Awh...love..love..love..the pictures. So tell me, what photo program do you use?”

Kim, I actually have Photoshop Elements 6 but every I attempt to open it and learn how to use it, I get intimidated and run screaming from the room. However I have made it a life’s goal to (soon!) master that program ‘cause I know I’ll love it.

In the meantime, I adore using Picnik.com. It provides the funnest fun you can possibly have and it’s only $25 a year. Plus, there’s a free option that offers great stuff, too. (My favorite button is the “thinify” button.)

Jill asked, “Has Steve ever shared his story on your blog from his "wild" period? I'd love to hear about it and what made him change his ways.”

Jill, that’s a great question! I’ll forward it on to him and see if he would like to write something up.

The End Of Today’s Hoorays.

I absolutely adore this series of pictures of Nathan and Sarah so I put them together into a collage for a more potent blend of smiling opportunities.

These were taken just a few months after Sarah’s bone marrow transplant while her hair was starting to grow back in. I remember what a big deal it was for her the first time a barrette stayed in her hair—it’s the simple joys of life, isn’t it?

Nathan is coming home for Spring Break in a couple weeks (just in time for my birthday!) so as I look at my younger Nathan in these pictures, I get to look forward to seeing my older Nathan soon.

Hooray for sons. And daughters. And families. And dogs. And cameras. And Tuesdays.

And that’s the end of my hoorays for today.

Once Upon A Time. And A Lesson In Cheese.

Once upon a time, a shy, sheltered preacher’s daughter met an un-shy, non sheltered, fighter pilot’s son.

He was a 22-year old, recent college graduate and, up to a month before I met him, had been involved in a lifestyle of drug and alcohol abuse and playing rock and roll in bars and clubs.

As for me? When he first laid eyes on me, I was a 17-year old, socially backward, poet/songwriter who’d never been in a club or bar in my whole life.

Doesn’t sound much like a match made in heaven, does it?

But it was.

(And if you’re wondering, why yes, those were Ritz crackers on the table, enchantingly enhanced with lovely dollops of Cheese Whiz.  You can probably tell our wedding budget was not unlimited.  But hey, don’t knock it! Cheese Whiz is a tasty, food-like substance!)

Anyway . . .

The years went by.

Faster . . .

and faster.

 

And the passing years brought us the arrival of two small Smith-ette People.

 

The growth of their friendship over the years has been such a delight to Steve and me.

Aren’t we such a happy looking family?

Of course, we can’t leave out this little member of the Smith Family Clan.  (Or Smith Clanily Fan.)

 

 

Four years ago, Steve and I celebrated our 25th anniversary.

    

And if you’re good at math (unlike me) you have probably deduced that this year we’ve been married 29 years.

That means that I have spent twenty-nine years being married to my favorite valentine and twenty-one years enjoying the precious privileges of motherhood.

And so today, on Valentine’s Day, 2011,  I want to wish my dearest husband, my sweetest kids, and my darlingest dog (not to mention all of you!) a most cheery, chipper and chocked-with-chocolate Valentine’s Day.

Comments

I just had to post this comment in its entirety because it was such a delightful tale.  Who knew that our family would ever be recognized while we were out and about?  Susan, thanks for sharing!

Susan wrote:  A story for you - I was getting gas at the TA Travel Center on I-85 at the Gibsonville exit last Saturday afternoon and happened to glance at the gentleman at the next pump and thought he looked familiar. But after looking again just couldn't place where I knew him from. Then as he drove away from the pump I saw Snowy - it was Snowy's Dad! I contemplated chasing him through the parking lot to introduce myself as a follower of Sarah's site and Becky's blog but decided since the family still had several hours drive ahead maybe being chased through the parking lot wasn't such a good idea:) Have a great weekend!

Q. Debbie Jean said, Your home is so beautiful and so tidy!! Does it always stay that way?

A.  Debbie Jean, I guess I’d have to say that our living room/dining room area is usually pretty clean--most of the time.  The fact that we don’t have young children at home makes a big difference in that regard.  However, we have been known upon occasion to have messes and clutter galore, just usually in other areas of the house.

 

Q.  Anon said, Hmmmm, Lasagna recipe sounds wonderful, but could you use ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese?

A.  I actually wasn’t sure of the answer so I did a little research and found out some very interesting Cheese Informational Stuff!  Read and learn and then you can sound uber knowledgeable the next time the subject comes up.  (Well, if it ever does.  If it doesn’t, you can just have the satisfaction of knowing that you know something of great culinary importance.)

Here’s what I found on the Internet:

When a cheese maker separates milk or cream into curds and whey, the curds are used to make cottage cheese and the whey is used to make ricotta. That's why both cheeses, although similarly soft and mild in flavor, have such different textures. Both are considered "fresh" or unripened cheeses. Both are usually sold in the same type of round plastic container.

They can be used in many recipes interchangeably, but there are some distinct differences. Ricotta is a soft cheese that has a fine, moist, grainy texture. Cottage cheese is "lumpier", whether the curds are small or large. Cream is added to the curds to create the rich "creamed cottage cheese" we are all familiar with.

Some savory recipes such as lasagna or stuffed shells will accommodate either cheese. However, because of the extra liquid in cottage cheese, the end result will be runnier than if you use the drier ricotta. On the other hand, substituting one for the other in a dessert in which texture is crucial (such as cheesecake) can be problematic, unless the recipe specifies otherwise.

So now you know! 

 

Really Good Lasagna. Really Great Bread.

As requested by reader jmckemie, I’m posting the lasagna recipe that Vernie, my mother-in-law, has made famous—in our family, at least. (The recipe is from her church’s cookbook where it’s credited to Hannah McCord.)

The best thing about this recipe (besides the fact that it tastes marvelous) is that it’s perfect for preparing ahead of time. In fact, I think it tastes even better if you make it a day early and let the flavors blend. And meld. And organize themselves into a veritable cornucopia of yumminess.

And then on the day when you’re actually going to serve it, all you have to do is throw some garlic bread in the oven, toss together a tossed salad and voila’! You have dinner on the table. Perfect for when guests are coming over and you don’t want to have to disappear into the kitchen for long periods of time, wringing your hands over your perspiration-inducing preparations and muttering utterly dismaying stuff to yourself as you work your way through a 17-step recipe. (Was that a run on sentence? My apologies.)

Also--if you have any lasagna left over (and you wouldn’t, if I were eating with you) you can cut it into squares, flash freeze it (lay it out in rows on a foil covered cookie sheet and put in freezer till very firm) and transfer the frozen squares to a gallon Ziploc bag. Then when a lasagna hankerin’ hits, you can take out just one square for a meal-for-one or else half a dozen squares for a meal-for-more. It’s much more tasty and economical than buying frozen lasagna entrees.

How wonderfully simple is that?

So. Here’s the recipe being sent to you with the Smith family’s highest recommendations.

By the way, at the end of this recipe, I am going to share a top secret “bread recipe” with you that is so easy that you could do it in your sleep. (Although I do recommend at least a modicum of quasi-alertness any time you use your oven. Just sayin’.)

Luscious and Lovely Lasagna

1/2 pound hot sausage (Neese brand is really good)

1/2 pound ground beef (you could substitute ground turkey)

1 clove garlic, sliced thin (I take the Lazy Lady’s way out and use the minced garlic in a jar)

1 T. basil (dried)

1 (1 lb) can tomatoes

1 t. salt

2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste

1 (10 oz) pkg lasagna noodles

3 C cottage cheese

1/2 C parmesan cheese

2 T parsley flakes

2 beaten eggs

1 lb mozzarella cheese

1. Brown meat; drain fat.

2. Add next 5 ingredients

3. Simmer uncovered for thirty minutes.

4. Cook noodles, drain, rinse.

5. Combine remaining ingredients, except mozzarella

6. In a 9 x 13 pan, alternate layers of noodles, sauce, and cottage cheese.

7. Repeat layers, ending with mozzarella cheese.

8. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

9. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. And eating. And sighing with joy.

Okay, and now for the promised bread recipe. This was borrowed, taken, and otherwise hijacked from The Pioneer Woman’s recipe website. She calls it
The Bread which is also what we have opted to call it around these here non-pioneer parts of the country.

However. I have made a sight alteration to her recipe; instead of using the French bread, I substitute ciabatta bread. It’s way better. (At least in my humble, bread-loving opinion.)

I slice a (store bought) loaf in half the short way and then again the long way so I have four equally sized pieces. (One fourth of a loaf feeds Sarah, Steve and me; however, when Nathan is home, I double the quantity. I mean, College Dudes are nothing if not famous for their appetites for home cooked meals.)

The Pioneer Woman’s recipe calls for a stick of softened butter on each half of the French bread but I usually use just a quarter stick for each fourth of a loaf. The thing that ciabatta bread brings to the table (so to speak) that French bread doesn’t is that it has all those little holes and crevices woven throughout it that the butter just melts its yummy way into. (You can also add garlic salt to the top or crushed dried Rosemary.)

Follow the Pioneer Woman’s recipe exactly (right down to cutting it into strips instead of slices—I use a pizza cutter) and before you know it, you will have a most delectable sort of bread ready to serve. And although it seems high calorie, it’s really not too bad considering that (in my recipe, at least) the 400 calories of butter are divided up between three people. When you melt the butter first and then broil it, it gives just a little bit of butter a whole lot of flavor. (Well if, in fact, four tablespoons can be considered a little bit.)

So anyway, this bread would be great with the lasagna and is also very good served with soup on a wintry day. Or a summery day, for that matter! In fact I firmly believe that butter-slathered items can be served on any ol’ day they want to be served!

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Alrighty then. . . since I hate to leave you with just pictures of food, I’ll close out with a few non-food pictures as well. Your diets can thank me.

Yesterday was a snow day and the kids got a break from school. (I know that people who live in Chicago and other cold places are snickering about school being let out for two inches of snow but hey, what can I say? We’re Southerners here, people!)

Sarah was, of course, very put out that she had to stay in her pajamas all day, snuggle with her doggie and watch TV. (Well, she only watched a little bit of TV because she had writing and editing to do up in her bedroom; however, this is the picture I just happened to catch.)

Can’t you just see the misery eking out of every pore of her little ol’ body? Such a tough day for her. And for Snowy. All that lounging. And relaxing. And reclining. Sigh. I hate to see my child having such a difficult time.

She even found time for some quiet reflection—until it was interrupted by a Mom Type Person wielding a camera.

At any rate, even though you can’t really see the snow through the glass doors, it was a lovely day, indeed; lovely for gazing outside and counting blessings along with snowflakes.

Comments

Trine asked, 1) Does Sarah still use her ear aid (Not sure of the English word the thing she uses for her hearing)

No, she hasn’t worn them in a while and seems to getting along fairly well without them. They really bothered her (for a variety of reasons) each time she tried to wear them and since her doctor said she is borderline for even needing them, she’s opting to go without them. (For now at least.)

2) I remember you mentioned in a entry that you had contacted her doctor about something with symptoms and late effects?

Yes we did, but thankfully the symptoms resolved themselves quickly and turned out not to related to late term side effects after all.

Tears By The Sea

As a pastor’s family, we are often given the honor of being involved in the different passages of life that affect various members of our congregation.

Ten days ago, one of those passages came in the form of a memorial service for a church member’s daughter, Allison, who died of brain cancer at the age of forty-seven. She left behind a daughter in her teens and a son in his twenties.

We’ve been to numerous funerals and memorial services in our almost thirty years of ministry but this one will stand out in our hearts as being one of the most meaningful. (The following pictures are being shared with the family’s permission.)

After a church service that was packed to the walls and resonate with robust singing (Allison had requested a non-somber funeral), we went with Allison’s family and a few friends to a nearby beach for the scattering of Allison’s ashes.

Allison was an avid horsewoman and the family had arranged for one of her best friends to carry her ashes along the beach on horseback.

Steve and another pastor read Scripture and prayed . . .

. . . while Allison’s friend and Allison’s ashes kept watch.

And then at the place where Allison had spent so many contented hours, her ashes were scattered . . .

. . . and her memories were gathered.

Having accomplished her loving, lonely task, her friend turned her horse and rode away--but this time, without Allison.

Then it was time for family and friends to walk to the edge of the water and lay their roses down with the ashes.

A certain beloved (and weeping) cancer warrior joined them.

After Sarah had completed her sad and beautiful task, she walked over to stand near me. As she and I glimpsed each other’s tears, we both came to the realization that we were not just there as a mother and a daughter; instead, we were present in that moment as two cancer sisters who’d come to the sea to honor a third sister, whose beautiful life was cut short by an enemy that each one of us had done battle with.

Sarah and I stood and embraced for a long time, crying and praying and remembering. The cleansing air, the grief on the wind, the eternal waves—it was a moment she and I will not soon forget.

My tears continued as I saw Allison’s son say his final good bye. As I looked at him I imagined my own dear Nathan—so near his age—and I could only imagine what his feelings would be if breast cancer had taken me the way brain cancer had taken Allison.

The day held such beauty . . .

such sadness . . .

such hope.

As we all finally turned to go, I looked back and noticed one single rose.

Representing one single life.

Well lived.

The Rest of the Story

Just to give you a bit of the “story behind the story,” here is a little background about Allison and a very special mission in her life.

The following article about Allison’s Mission is from the
CHES Toy Drive in in Cape Hatteras, NC.

Many families have special Christmas traditions that are passed down and enjoyed year after year. Certainly one of the more enjoyable traditions the CHEC family enjoys is the annual CHEC toy drive. Every year, the CHEC lobby is filled with toys to be given to little ones on Hatteras Island. And every year, there seem to be more toys than the last, thanks in large part to another tradition started by a very special person.

Allison Fagley taught the children at her day care, Friendship Bridge, the importance of giving and they began their own Christmas tradition. Each year, the children would have bake sales to raise money that they would then spend on gifts for others. To the delight of CHEC employees, each year Allison and the Friendship Bridge van would pull up to the office. A seemingly endless line of young children would file in, with gifts they purchased for others their own age to add to the collection. Emails would fly out, “the children are here!” and employees would come to the lobby to see the kids and help them bring in the
toys that they had collected.

Something has been different the last two years. Though the CHEC lobby still fills with toys, there is no van, no parade of children with gifts. Allison was diagnosed with brain cancer and has been in that battle for years now. She had to give up the day care she ran for 20 years and move away from Hatteras Island to be closer to family.

However Allison’s tradition of giving continues. Parents of past Friendship Bridge students and friends of Allison still have the bake sales, still buy the gifts and still bring them to the CHEC lobby. Like many family traditions, the people and places change but the tradition itself remains.

Allison shown with her day care students after delivering toys in 2008

And finally, here are a few pictures from before and during Allison’s cancer journey. The picture in the bottom left corner is especially meaningful because her family told us that in the last few days of her life, Allison used a large wooden cross as a “telephone” with which to talk to Jesus. (You can’t see the cross in the picture but it’s what she’s holding in her hand.)

They said she would sometimes talk for thirty minutes at a time and always seemed so peaceful when she was done. It’s inspiring for me to think that even in the midst of her suffering and the muddling of her mind from the advancing cancer, she was still aware of God’s presence in her life and was able to talk to Him and find His comfort and peace.

But now? She has no cancer, she has no pain and she is finally able to talk to Him face to face.

And here on earth, our hearts have been made forever rich by the memories we will always treasure—memories of ashes and roses and tears by the sea.

How To Wear A Monocle

Important (and also urgent) announcement!

I am exceedingly sorry to have to tell you that it appears as though the paint fumes have gone to the head of the Really Renowned Remodeler of the Smith Family Master Bath.

Last night I wandered innocently into said bathroom to snap a few shots of the progress being made and before I knew it? Insanity had set in.

And I really did nothing to encourage it. Honest!

Steve already had a paint mask sitting on top of his head when I arrived, which is where he keeps it when it’s not actually being used as a mask. And all I did was set my lens cap on the counter. That’s it.

He took it from there.

But I must say that after he and I looked at the pictures I took last night, we had a Very Long Hysterical Laughing Moment. Watch this video and see if the pictures don't affect you the same way.

(I apologize in advance that the photos are not of sterling quality. In my defense I was: 1) standing on a ladder 2) laughing my head off 3) dealing with horrible lighting from a single work light that was perched on the countertop.

But hey, I don’t pretend to be a pro! If I were a pro, I would most likely not be spending my Monday evening in a bathroom with an insane guy!)

NOTE: To watch this full screen, click on the rectangle in the right hand corner of the screen.