Thankful for FRIDAY

Michael gets a CTO off on the weeks when he preaches. He preached last Sunday. Today (Friday) was to be his day off.....so he came home early! I was proud of him for coming home early - then I found out the whole staff went home early to celebrate the end of the inspection. ::snort:: 

We took advantage of Michael being home to go scoop swamp water. Into my new "vintage" ball jars....with soil, straw, egg yolk...and swamp water. I'm sure wonderful new things will shortly be growing on the counters....on purpose. 

We searched out a "little branch" for this year's Thankful Tree....I'm not sure THIS is exactly the branch I will use. We'll work on it tomorrow. I'm printing leaves this year here . We've enjoyed past trees we made...all the leaves we cut out and each filled in...but this house really doesn't have a wall which we want to tape or staple leaves on.  And Ann's leaves are ready to go.....so I plan to make an arrangement with some "small" branches and hang the leaves on them.......

Honestly, we try too keep a thankful heart year round (thus Choosing Joy); but it is fun to list things out in the month of November.  Rather than leaves and/or journals, I  like the idea below this year. 

Via Facebook 

We left the river park and headed directly to Papa Murphys for a Chicago Style stuffed pizza and a Gourmet Veggie pizza - hold the cheese. ::snort:: The African Queen and Road to Bali is on our schedule for the evening.

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

"Chick Pea" Tacos (Vegan)

We celebrated Michael's PT test with tacos (meat, cheese, and lots of it).  He was looking forward to this. I thought it would be an easy meal after the park. LOL  It's a good thing I've been cooking dried beans for the freezer.  As Nolan and I cooked, we discovered we had no Rosaritas. We like home-made better; but I'd gotten out of the habit of making them.   We whipped up some refried beans, started the rice steaming, started the taco meat simmering...and then I decided to try something new for Arielle and me. 

I didn't have chick peas, but I had pinto beans left....I used those and they were great. I have no idea if they would have been better with chick peas. This recipe is from The Happy Herbivore Cookbook - I LOVE this cookbook. 

Ingredients: 
1 T soy sauce (low sodium)
1 - 2 tsp lemon or lime juice
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp marjoram or oregano (I didn't use either)
1 15 oz can of chick peas drained and rinsed OR 1 1/2 C of cooked beans

Directions: 
Pre-heat oven to 400* F.

Grease cookie sheet - or line with parchment paper.

Whisk soy sauce, juice and spices together. Add beans or chickpeas and stir to combine.

Transfer to cookie sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 20 - 40 min until chick peas are as crisp as desired.

Spoon into taco shells and top with greens and tomatoes......

We do a Tijunga Taco here.....which will illustrate how essential the refried beans are to Taco night in our home.

Take heated tortilla, spread on refried beans, add a crunchy taco shell, add rice, greens, and taco fixins.....cover with salsa.... These little beans worked great in place of meat and I didn't miss the meat a bit...Michael said it reminded him of Chipotles.

I had thought of skipping the refried beans as we always have over 1/2 the can which doesn't get used....but they ate ALL the refried beans - all of them. I must keep making my own. LOL

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Yuuki Does Halloween

Yuuki LOVES Halloween. I wasn't home last year for Halloween. I was in Nashville, TN at the last PWOC International conference. I arrived early for board meetings and the start of selecting the last International board. Ah, the memories. I do miss the chance to connect in person with military spouses from around the world.

ANYWAY - I missed last Halloween and hadn't considered how Yuuki would respond to a parade of visitors. The ONLY time she barks or howls is when someone comes to the door. She seems to take it as her duty to warn us all......and she had a blast last night. We thought about putting her in a room...but you are knocking on our door....and it IS Halloween...the maniac barking, howling dog added to the fun for the night.

Someone would ring the bell...she would howl, race from the family room (where we were watching The Music Man) to the door, and then shower the trick or treaters with slobbery licks and wagging tail.  I tried to catch her on video but didn't really get the full fun.

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Park Day

I know many of my friends in a bubble. I didn't know most of them as children. I don't know their extended families. I will live at the same location with them no longer than 3 years. Our friendships occur in a snapshot of time; though many continue long-distance. This is part of the military lifestyle. I suspect it is true of many segments of our population these days. Nonetheless, it is  a privilege to get to know a piece of a new friend's history - to meet a sibling, parent or grown child, to see photos of past assignments or childhood, to be trusted with past memories.....

Today the girls and I met Stephanie and her mom at the Purple Park.  I hope to be the Grannie who travels the world to visit grand kids someday. LOL  I enjoyed meeting Abby's grandma (Stephanie's mom).

I neglected to take any adult photos - but this time I did get photos of more than Arielle sitting at the top of the slide. ::snort::

Sarah and Arielle

Sarah, Arielle, Stacia and Abby

Adam was tuckered out by the excitement

Arielle pushed hard this week as she was set to babysit tomorrow morning. She got her school work done. I pushed hard with Alex and Stacia so I could play in the a.m. One of the little boys Arielle was to watch has the bug....and so we will have a day free of book work to fill tomorrow...though Nolan will have book work....ah, the possibilities.

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

The COLD has Arrived

I cannot BELIEVE this feels cold...but it does. ::snort:: We didn't get rain - but it was chilly this a.m.

The kids insisted the house was FREEZING...though it never got below 72* inside.  It was pretty humorous to watch everyone do school bundled in blankets and huddled under their covers. 

I visited the audiologist today. Our hope was she would answer the question, "Does he mumble or am I deaf?" It appears I am not deaf. It doesn't necessarily follow that he mumbles, however. She said as we age our brain slows down and we are unable to process as many sounds at a time unless we concentrate. Um....deaf...slow brain....not sure how I feel about these results. I only KNOW  it feels like I'm underwater all the time and my ears are constantly popping. There is no fluid in them...so this is me. 

I stopped by Sunflower Natural Foods on my way home. It's much smaller than New Earth or Whole Foods....but it's closer. It has a neighborhood feel to it. I found organic produce and wheat berries. 

Arielle requested soup. It makes me happy to know it will  get cold enough around here for soup to be welcome. She suggested I make enough for us to put lots in the freezer for future lunches. 

EVERYONE ate this - no fat - lots of veggies....it was vegan...and they ALL ate it. I'm happy.

This is how we study the Middle Ages. We make chocolate castles - because OF COURSE everyone ate chocolate castles in Medieval times.

The inspection has begun on base....this may be the last one of Michael's career....that's something to celebrate. ::snort:: 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Another Week Begins

This is what our Sunday morning looked like. Right before service Stacia said those dreaded words, "Mom, I can taste throw up in my throat." Um - YUCK. 

 We really live too far from base to take her home - would have been home a bit and had to come back. Michael preached and Stacia and I rested in the van.  Michael wanted to be dropped off at home with Stacia after service. He has a full week coming up.

The kids and Michael had tried Dancing Tomato last week while I was in TX. They liked it so we went back today. The waitress remembered them. Oh the humor. Nolan and Zander EACH ordered a big pizza. I said, "There is no way you can EAT that."  The waitress looked at Nolan and said, "He ate it all last week." ::snort:: Arielle and I had Veggie Calzone minus the cheese. Yum.

THIS chocolate lasagna seemed like a candidate for a splurge....chocolate cookie crust, nuts and coconut, ice cream, whip cream, chocolate, more nuts.....we ordered one to share.  Arielle and I took delicate bites.

The plate seemed to move towards Nolan. He said gravity had shifted. ::snort:: 

Properly fortified, we headed to Sam's club and bought lots of produce. Our weekly box from the farmer is over for the season.  They didn't have squash but we got a lot of fruit, artichokes, onions and asparagus. I also bought a pack of Clorox wipes and Lysol to kick the germs Stacia is producing. 

I found my phone....between our mattress and the side rail....it's fully charged again. 

We spent the late afternoon watching The Hobbit and now we're ready for a new week. 
Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Finding Beauty

We often heard others say, "There's nothing to do," when we lived in Misawa. We never had that problem. There were gorgeous parks within minutes, plenty of beach options within 7 min, mountains and a gorge full of nature within an hour..... It's ironic I find myself feeling that way HERE. In San Angelo there was geocaching,  walking along several rivers, lots of friends....here it seems the big past time is shopping.  I really dislike shopping. It doesn't fit well with our commitment to live on 50% of Michael's salary. ::snort::

The morning was filled by Japanese with  Ryu and Kim and waiting for Jamin's Conference race results. As we waited we plotted a course for the rest of our day. EVERY suggestion involved 2 - 4 hours of travel or shopping. I begged we look for a few places near BEALE where we could enjoy nature, hike, play, unwind...no shopping! We're open for suggestions, y'all! I do not plan to live in the past, or develop a discontented attitude....I just need to find some things we ENJOY doing which are nearby.

Jamin was disappointed with his race results. We were disappointed with him. It was not his best time - and we were all surprised....YET...he made all conference. He'll have two weeks to train hard and rest well and show everyone what he has at NCAA Div 2 regionals. I'm so very proud of the young man Jamin has become. He's a winner.

I remembered a park "under the bridge." We all remembered oodles of soccer fields, but it seemed there may be water down there....Michael suggested we stop by  and then head to Sam's club....I begged to skip the shopping. We did. ::grin::

We found beauty - under a bridge with lots of traffic - but beauty.

Though I thought, "No Swimming" was posted, this rope told a different story. I began to look for a platform...Michael found it....

Arielle perfected the tree crawl....

Success - sort of - she's not at the end

 I would love to know what was in Zander's mind at this moment. 

  

She wouldn't be coaxed to stand on the platform...but did well to get out there....She yelled down to me  she thought this would be a good spot for an engagement proposal. I found her observation quite odd. I must quiz her further on this matter. ::snort::  I sure love these two. 

Sparkly water - took a bit to convince the youngers it WASN'T gold! 

We left the bridge park (not sure what it's really called) and decided to explore historic Marysville. I WAS excited to find the Yuba County Library!  We found The Candy Box and broke our  "no shopping" edict. We discovered a restaurant, The Brick, which has several vegetarian items on it's menu. Vegetarian is good as we can say, "no cheese please" and be vegan! We also found the Bok Kai temple....which provided strange solace on a day when several of us were missing Misawa.

 

I came home from Texas to a  shocking turn of events. Stacia has decided to be healthy too. I asked her what that meant and she said, "No Meat or dairy or chips and work out!" On a daily basis only 2 of the 6 of us at home are real "meat and potato" eaters. I'm toying with making more meatless meals.....cooking two meals a day can be wearing. I'd say the three are more "nutritarians" and I'm more vegan - but we're all healthier than we were last August.

I love being home with these five. I do find my mind running to the four I left in TX on Wednesday....and the two in OR.....

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...