Strawberry Bread

Strawberry bread
Preheat oven to 350

3 cups all purpose four
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups sugaar
4 eggs beaten
1 cup cooking oil
2 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
Mix it all up by hand.
Add berries last and fold in gently.

Bake fro 35-45 minutes in small loaf pans or about 1 hour and 10 minutes in 2 large loaf pans.
Remember each oven is different so be sure to UNDER set your timer so you don't OVER bake!

My Notes-
When the loaves are cooling,I cut a section out of the bread lengthwise down the center of the loaf  (but keep the cut shallow so you don't cut through the bottom of the loaf!)and fill with cream cheese.

The School Of Life Teaches Again..

agoraphobia

–noun Psychiatry .

an abnormal fear of being in crowds, public places, or open areas, sometimes accompanied by anxiety attacks.

 

I had a client recently with this disorder. She was very upfront and honest about it. I was thankful for the opportunity to meet her yet I realized I had zero knowledge on the subject,or how to help make being in my chair easier! Once we got chatting the appointment went very well. She shared with me her struggles with agoraphobia,praised her patient husband and 3 happy children and her new style was cut and dried before she knew it. Victory! She had survived,she felt beautiful AND she had fun! Victory! I love my job....;)

  compassion 

–noun

a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

 

 

Feelin' Chesty...

I SCORED at a garage sale today!

I got a chest freezer for $25!

Funny thing..I wished for a chest freezer a few weeks ago when I realized trimming the food budget means buying in bulk.

We are true carnivores at this house and meat is a huge percentage of the food budget!

Plus fishing season is coming soon..

If it goes as well as last year we will fill that freezer full of salmon in a week!

All that zucchini in the post below equaled 16 cups of grated zucchini!

I froze it in 2 and 4 cup sized for making my Mom's recipe for chocolate zucchini bread.

I love watching people wolf it down having no idea how healthy it is..

especially people who claim to dislike zucchini..he he

Seems I lost that recipe when I had the computer bug a few months ago,

damn internet.

I will post it after I call my Mom and get it

:)

I found a great deal on strawberries and made a few loaves of strawberry bread today.

I filled one loaf with cream cheese-it's beyond words it's so good.

Are you drooling?

Do you want the recipe?

I will try to freeze the rest of the berries before I am tempted to make more bread.

It disappears fast!

The rock tumbler is still tumbling in the garage.

Week one of medium grit sand accomplished.

Now it's in week one of polish grit.

Then one more week of another polish...

But

The rocks are starting to look impressive!

Smoother than river rocks and soon to be shiny like gems for jewelry!

Back to work tomorrow..

pray the back to school rush is gentle on me

:)

Friday...Again ALREADY?!?!

I have done my best to savor every little bit of falling in love and starting a relationship. We have been together 2 1/2 years and yet we still have so much to share and learn as a couple.I love the newness of it all,learning how to communicate and how to best be supportive of each others' needs despite life's ups and downs.I saw a great quote once that explains what I'm feeling-"I can tell you in an instant that I love you but it will take me a lifetime to show you how much". I feel lucky that I get to learn how to love and care for a man that loves me as much as Vern does!I might sound old fashioned but I take great pride in keeping my man happy and my house in order (as much as possible,keep reading..)!
My newest lesson hit me today. When Vern works 7 days a week for more than 2 weekends in a row..I need to pitch in more with housework! I didn't realize how much he does before I get home in the evenings!We have our hands full taking care of Del AND his house and yard! So I am switching gears and preparing to do some meal planning tomorrow and some much needed dusting and cleaning before I go back to work for the week. The make ahead meals were a life saver last week, so I thought I would do a few more for this week. As for the house,I will bleach and vacuum what I can and sanitize and windex the rest.The deep cleaning will have to wait. I appreciate my hard working man,I will continue to do my best to support him anyway I can :) Even if that means I have to keep cleaning up after his 48 year old brother..*sarcastic sigh*

 On a lighter note,I wanted to share this weeks harvest from our garden! The little corn were so delicious despite the fact that they looked a bit funky! haha Tomorrow I am grating and freezing all that zucchini for bread this winter.Thankfully this year I have a food processor,thanks Vern!

AND THEN..
I found these cute little things at Rite Aid and couldn't pass them up..

I am going to spray paint them...just not sure what color yet. Perhaps I will see what we have in the garage..
I want to use them for planters yet...they would be cute inside too...like maybe with sand and candles or magazines...or a houseplant. Hmmmm? Any suggestions creative friends?
PS- I edited my mole and crow's feet out of the pic above for the "Botox" effect(haha) and erased under eye circles! Did you notice? What do you think? I don't think I look different enough to ever consider getting stuff injected in my face!

After a long day..

We still found time to celebrate!

Congrats Babe!

You are an awesome Dad,

you have been a VERY patient ex husband.

I am excited to watch you continue to enjoy being a father,

without being made to feel like a monthly paycheck.

As always,

I am here to support and love you,

no matter what,

with all my heart,

forever and ever

:)

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Happy Birthday Trevor!

The zoo was a blast!

We had fun hanging with the birthday boy and his girlfriend Shelby today!

Yes...

I rode the camel!

It was a bumpy ride and very short

But..

Check another one off the bucket list,

-Ride a camel.

haha

Manic Monday

I am officially sold on the "Make Ahead Meal" meal thing. It's the working woman's dream! Today I took a meatloaf out of the freezer at lunch and it was a delicious homemade meal by 6pm. Did I mention I also worked a 12 hour day? Vern even said it "Wow,you worked a 9 hour day and still made a delicious dinner? You are amazing!" I love it when I have a happy man with a full tummy :) I have to give him credit though,he put the meatloaf in the oven and steamed broccoli,what a great man! I will be making this a regular habit. 1 day of cooking = 8 effortless,budget friendly, homemade meals,I'm hooked!

Tomorrow is the big day..Trevor is 18!! I am so excited to go to the zoo! I really,really hope that they (Trevor and his girlfriend Shelby) don't change their minds and decide not to go...I would be secretly crushed! There is also an aquarium and flower gardens at the zoo too! Oh and I want to ride a camel! My 4G memory card in my camera will come in handy tomorrow! haha Listen to me-geesh! Who's birthday is it?! LOL! Although....Vern and I have reason to celebrate too! We are officially done with all financial and legal matters with both of our ex's!!!! Yay! Ironically enough I had a friend request from my ex husband on Myspace this evening. Somewhere between realizing who had sent it and the decline button I saw he had added a little note asking about the dog...how nice. How many times must you tell someone to go away? I thought the timing was a little humorous though.

Something strange happen in my fridge.So strange I am willing to admit it on the internet. We had a few cloves and bunches of garlic in a plastic sandwich baggie in the fridge. I think they had been forgotten about 6 months ago. I noticed tonight they sprouted green starts!
In a baggie.
In the dark cold fridge.
Weird!
So I took them out and set them in a shallow dish of water in the windowsill. We'll see what happens. I didn't plan on growing garlic in August! I don't even know how! Sounds like another "Google"project.....