Meant to be

Soon after Glenn and I started dating we had a conversation that I was reluctant to have.  But because of what was said that night, I knew that we were destined to be together.

Growing up my mom had to feed 9 kids every morning.  We usually came into the kitchen to see a huge pot just like this on the stove top.  Usually it was filled with oatmeal or rice.  But sometimes.....sometimes it was filled with a delicious porridge like mush called (please don't come after me blog police because this is really what it is called, I don't have a crass bone in my body) Lumpy Dick.  Dick is an English/British term for a boiled pudding, and because you mix egg yolks and flour to make lumpy dumplings the name is justified.

So back to Glenn and I on one of our first dates.  We were talking and I said "My mom makes a delicious breakfast that we all love and you will never guess the name!".  (because why wouldn't you bring up Lumpy Dick in front of a cute boy you wanted to impress?)  As soon as I said it I instantly regretted it, because of course he wouldn't know what it was and now I would have to say it.

Without missing a beat Glenn said " What, Lumpy Dick".

Our eyes met and I knew it was destiny.  Seriously, very few people know what Lumpy Dick is, and I couldn't believe he knew the name of this porridge that was near and dear to my heart.

My mom grew up a Farmer's daughter in the small town of Preston, Idaho.  Glenn's mom lived there for a few years as well.  I guess between the Idaho connection and having a Mormon Pioneer heritage, they both had Lumpy Dick in their cooking repertoire.

I never mentioned this to anyone else I dated.  They probably would have run the other way.  But not Glenn.

He was crazy enough to marry me.

Work

Emry's backpack.........

is the only reminder of the past 10 years.  The computer, laptops, cords, plastic boxes and wires have all been sent back.  The cell phone bill now comes to us. 

I thought I better give an update lest people think we're homeless.  The night Glenn lost his job I actually felt weird getting into bed.  We have no job, how dare we have a roof over our head.  Yes I am a worrier by nature.  Type A, organized, somewhat controlling, better safe than sorry type of girl.  No job means no home right?

Like I mentioned before Glenn was offered a job in sales at a concrete company the week before the layoff.  He's always willing to take on extra work.  But instead of being a part time gig it immediately turned into a full time one.

He is working longer and harder than ever before and guess what?......He's happier than ever.  Cisco was good to us, but change can be a great thing and Glenn was more than ready to move on.

He is polishing his resume', taking classes for the mandated hours in Taxes, getting ready for Tax Season, selling concrete and enjoying his break from Corporate America.

It was slightly unnerving to no longer have the giant umbrella of Cisco taking care of us.  But after a few days I realized I had nothing to worry about.  Glenn is nothing if not resourceful.  Combine that with loads of talent, smarts, charm (cause that never hurts right?), and a commitment to his family and I feel we're in good hands.

I am not sure what the future holds as Glenn is still mulling over his next move. 

But I trust it will be a good one.

Adults always ask kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas. - Paula Poundstone

Lord of the Rings

I definitely have a cheap hippie vibe about me.  I shop at the Goodwill (but only on holidays when everything is 50% off), garage sale, grind my own wheat, make lentil soup, a lot, spread the word that I will take any and all hand me downs, go far too long without a hair cut (I am going on 10 months right now), and always figure out a way to get a deal.

I am not sure if cheap is the right word.  More like thrifty, frugal & earth friendly.  Here, here, & here are a few more examples.

But there is one very fancy and worldly thing I own that I just LOVE! My wedding ring.  It's a 1 karat super sparkly diamond that I am unashamed to say I absolutely adore.

If my nails are done (by me of course) and my ring is clean, I could be wearing sweats, no make up and a pony tail (aka, my everyday look), and I feel super put together.

Other than my kids, it's the only thing I have to keep track of.  Seeing how I am a scatterbrain it really works out well for me to not own anything nice.

But even keeping track of one thing in my life can apparently be a little overwhelming.  I have lost my Ring ....... twice!!!

The first time was in 2003 a few months after we moved to Temecula.  It was my birthday and I had the afternoon to myself while Glenn watched our 2 little girls.  I got a massage and then went to the library.  I was just enjoying the peace of walking the aisles and reading grown up books.  In the library bathroom I was washing my hands when I realized something wasn't right.  Didn't I usually catch something on my finger.  I looked down and gasped out loud.  My Ring!!!!  It was gone.

I ran out of the library and sped with screeching tires back to the Spa where I had gotten the massage.  The girl at the counter interrupted the masseuse and she looked in the room for my ring.  As she was looking I felt it, I knew it wasn't there.  She came out and apologized that she couldn't find it.  Thanks & bye, gotta go.

I sped back to the library, running a very yellow, slightly red light and like a crazy woman ran up to the front desk (just ignoring the long line and person she was helping).  I am not even sure what I babbled.  Something along the lines of  "My ring, I lost my wedding ring, Wah!!!"  In an instant she had it in her hand and told me a lady had just turned it in a minute ago.

How much do I love Temecula?  Soooooooo much.  People here are good & honest.  I never got to thank that lady but I will always be grateful to her for bringing back to my life my one cherished possession.

The second time I lost it in my house.  I looked EVERYWHERE, except where it was.  I was crushed.  I prayed so hard (again, although not while speeding).  I went to bed that night so sad.  The next morning I got out of bed, walked straight to my sink, opened the cupboard underneath, took out the bag that held the clasps to my hot rollers, and there inside was my ring.

The strange thing about this whole experience is I was just led to it.  I didn't even have a plan as to where I was going to look.

Both of these experiences absolutely strengthened my faith in prayer.

Of course God cares about us making right choices.  Serving, being obedient, following the commandments, being faithful, just, moral, patient, prayerful, committed, and honoring what we know to be true.  He wants our priorities to be on our family & faith and not on worldly possessions.

But He also wants us to be happy.

My ring is not going to get me into heaven, but it makes me happy. If I concentrate on all I know I should do in this life, if I put importance in all the right places, then sometimes....... sometimes He lets us enjoy a little sparkle.

Flawed

As much as I'd love for my kids to live in a rainbow & pony filled world where everyone is nice,  wears appropriate clothing, lives the golden rule and wants nothing but the best for their future ................ I am a grown up and know sooner or later they will be exposed to the all the dark sides life has to offer.


In the meantime I'd love for them to have a positive attitude, what good does complaining do?


Lately I've heard way too many rumblings of how evil this world we live in is.  Just today in a Bible study class an elderly man went on and on about the woes of today.  He wasn't wrong, but it made me feel so protective of this world that my kids are barely entering.  So do we give up & throw in the towel?  How would we even do that anyway?  "Kids don't even try because this world is crap". 

Instead of complaining at how corrupt our government is, how promiscuous teens can be, how schools are failing, how kids spend all their time playing video games and the filth that's on T.V., be a part of the solution.


Parenting is WAY harder than I ever imagined.  But I can't think of anything I'd rather do than read with the kids, or watch them play at the park, or help them figure out their "impossible" homework, or make a mess with them in the kitchen because they are "definitely old enough to crack eggs by themselves".


It's exhausting and demanding.  Thankless and tiring.  Mind boggling and expensive.


I've for sure done my fair share of complaining.   I complain that the kids clothes are on the floor ........ again.  I complain that the door is left open and flies are all over the house ...... again.  I complain that they put clean clothes in the hamper, haven't taken the dog on the walk, won't be nice to their brother/sister, insist on leaving every light in the house on,  won't come when called, have lost their shoes for the millionth time.  Sadly enough I could go on and on.


My kids may need work.  But the world?  This world is great!  I will not turn them against this time that they live.  I will encourage them to work hard and make a difference.  To be honest and have integrity.  To set goals and strive to accomplish them.  To see the good in people.  To beautify the earth one piece of trash at a time.  To read.  Always read.  To pray and believe.  To persevere and never give up.  And to have faith that their actions alone will make a big difference.


Most of all I will teach them of God's love for them.  That he created this earth for them.  That of course this world, this time, has flaws.  Huge flaws.  But even with all it's flaws they can embrace life and be positive. 


I can be an example to them.  I try so hard to be a wonderful mother.  Sometimes I do great and other times I fail miserably.  But I love them.  With everything I have I love those three.

This morning I told Emry to sign my name to a paper that she would get later that day that had to be turned in.


I am just representing how I myself have flaws, big flaws, but she can still love and embrace me.  Either that or I am sending her down a road to a life of crime and deceit.

(edited to add:  after school Emry told me she didn't turn in the permission slip "I didn't feel good about forging your name" she said.  I felt really bad ....... and proud)

This is what happens............

 ..........when you go leave a 10 year old in charge of helping her sister do her homework.  Emry got frustrated with Lila & wrote a note to the teacher about how difficult Lila was.  Lila scribbled out the note and was bawling when she told me she would get in trouble for messy work.  I patched it up and begged them both to not act their age.

....... when you have a spoiled dog.

...... when kids tire of the swingset, the park, legos, destroying the house.........

....... when you leave said spoiled dog for a few hours (tell me he's not crying)

....... when you missed the day they taught you how to close a car door correctly.

...... when you have a daughter that thinks everyone is her friend and loves her "helping" them play in the sand. (I am pretty sure he would have liked to do this job alone)

....... when you have naughty children that jump one too many times on your coffee table and break the top off & the wood is so nice you can't bear to get rid of it & Oh yeah, you have a very handy husband.

...... when you have a daughter that apparently catches flies and loves to take their picture.

 .....when you have a son who wants to be exactly like.....

......Him.

Just like Jessica Fletcher

 I fell in love with food blogs a few years ago.  Growing up I would pour over cookbooks in the library.  I would take them home and read them the way kids devour Harry Potter these days.  I would make copies of pages, hand write recipes, anything to make sure that one day I too would be able to recreate  'Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Gingersnap Crust & a bittersweet chocolate sauce'.


Once I even left a pile of cookbooks (and maybe a hundred photocopied recipes) at a place I was temping as a receptionist (back in the day when all you needed to do was answer & transfer phone calls, no silly computer skills necessary or clearly I wouldn't have gotten the job).   After the job ended I had to sneak back into work to get the cookbooks & all of the (possibly illegally) photocopied recipes.  All those Murder She Wrote & Perry Mason episodes I watched as a kid sure came in handy.


I never utilized the internet when it first came out.  I was too busy changing diapers & playing at the park.   Once Ethan started school though one of my goals was to start a blog.  I envisioned a food blog because I cook a lot & I love food.


Upon starting my blog I realized pretty quickly that it couldn't be a food blog.  Who wants  pictures of chocolate chip cookies with raw chicken and kids homework in the background?  Who wants to look at empty dish after empty dish because I keep forgetting to take pictures of the dishes I made?  And who has the patience to photograph food when all I seem to want is to eat it?


I am a true food lover because my food must be eaten ASAP and not treated like a pawn to be photographed.  That's what I tell myself to make me feel better.  It works.


So this blog is just the random happy, confusing, sweet, scary, heartbreaking moments of my life.  Basically it's pictures of my kids.  And Brutus.  And delicious food if I can bear to wait 2 seconds to snap a picture before devouring it.


Here is a sweet picture I snapped Sunday morning as we were all getting ready for church.  Glenn teaching Ethan how to tie his church shoes.  He is 6 years old but because his mother buys him nothing but sandals, velcro sneakers & Ugg boots, he has never needed to learn to tie his own shoes.  His sisters would have you know that this mother also completely babies him.  She sounds like the worst!

In honor of the great food I will never photograph, here are some food blogs who do a great job.

http://annies-eats.com/

http://vanillakitchen.blogspot.com/

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/

HERE is the recipe for the bread (above) I managed to photograph before inhaling.

Birthday Granola

For birthdays of those I love I give homemade granola.  It's like gold to me & I can only bear to part with it  when I know it is going to a loving home.  I gave my friend Sara some for her birthday a few weeks ago & when her husband, our good friend Ryan went on & on about how great it was, well, if you know me, flattery of my baked goods will get you everywhere!


I based my recipe loosely on THIS granola.

Here is Ryan, 3rd from left.  He lives for surfing, his 2 adorable daughters, his lovely wife Sara, a baby boy (possibly named Ulysses?)  due next month, and laughing with (at?) his best friend Glenn.

2 adorable daughters, Jordan & Taylor who I have to keep my eye on as I am aware of their sneaky plot to steal Brutus.

Glenn & Ryan.  I am going to guess they are making up clever slogans for 'The Most Interesting Man in the World'.


Today that's YOU Ryan!  Happy Birthday!!!!  Love, The Wallworks

Dog Beach

A few weeks ago we went to Huntington Beach.  We found a beach that allowed dogs and enjoyed the day in the sun.

 Emry & Lila with Brutus and their cousins dog Eclipse.

  Lila & her cousin Nathan petting a new friend.

 Emry & Lila making friends.

Ethan & his cousin Nathan "surfing".

Our Brutus, who didn't love the water.  But of course that didn't stop the girls from forcing it on him.

You can tell Ethan is really concentrating by the way he holds his mouth with his tongue out. 

Nutty Cookies & Kids

Just thought I would share a cookie recipe that we all love around here.  These are really moist & heavy on the peanut butter.  You can find the recipe HERE.


I made some changes that will not affect how delicious these are.  I used 2T sugar instead of 1/4 cup, & 1/2 cup brown sugar instead of 3/4.  I also used whole wheat flour instead of white.  We ate about half the batch and froze the rest.  Lila likes her cookies straight from the freezer.


Oddly enough I felt like baking after spraying for ants all day.  I don't even want to talk about it.  Other than to say after cleaning my whole kitchen top to bottom why I would  want to make a big ol cookie mess and tempt fate with bringing out sugar, I do not know.


You'd think that after taking my kids swimming and making them cookies they would jump straight into bed. 

Obviously a hoop dress just had to be made at that moment.  I don't ask questions.  I just take pictures and tell them I will lose it if they aren't in bed in 5 minutes.  No more making costumes!!

Until today. 
 





        
 













A midget is giving Ethan a piggy back ride.  It needed to be done!                                                                                                                                                             

Dinner on a (few) dimes(s)

It's a billion degrees here but that doesn't stop me from making one of my favorite dinners.

Soup is the catch all dinner, it always works.  Lately I've let the sales dictate what I buy.  Let's break down these ingredients


eggplant                $0.88
cauliflower            $0.99
onion                     $0.40
bell pepper            $0.33
1/2 acorn squash   $1.25
dried beans            $1.39
tomatoes                $1.29
fresh dill                 $2.29


Total                       $8.82

I just simmered everything together (after soaking and precooking the beans) and came up with a wonderful dish.  Too thick to be a soup, but with enough veggies beans and squash to feel like a complete meal.  Towards the end it had a little too much liquid for what I was going for so I threw in about a third cup of some random tiny grain in my cupboard.  Also threw in spices (literally threw them in, not even sure what they were).  Topped with fresh dill and parmesan.

Full disclosure-  Emry & I are the only ones eating this.  Full disclosure-  Emry is my favorite child.  I froze separate bags in the freezer for easy thawing and eating.  It made about 20 good size servings.  That equals out to about $0.44 per serving!!  Next year I will definitely remember to grow more fresh herbs as that was the most expensive part of this meal.


It was delicious and the rest of my family is missing out.  


When you buy dry beans and a few veggies on sale, dinner is not only ridiculously cheap, but super healthy as well.  


Plus, after such a virtuous dinner, you can have dessert.  For me that would be frozen berries mixed with yogurt and tons of granola on top. 

Considering  what I spend on greek yogurt and all the ingredients for granola, it's a good thing I save money somewhere.

No-Labor Day

We have great friends who host a Labor Day Party in their Cul de Sac every year. 

It's great to know the kids are having the time of their lives.  It means us adults can chat the day away knowing they are all watching out for each other.  Aren't they?

Honestly I love it here.  The day was perfect.  I truly feel uplifted  not only by all the happy kids, but by all the love & friendship I have found here.  Our friend Ryan routinely calls Temecula 'Paradise'. 

Pretty much.

Labor Day 2010