Monday Menu ~ Breakfast Wraps

Here's a yummy meal to throw together.  Works great for an on-the-go breakfast...or dinner.  Or just a dinner at home when you feel like having breakfast for dinner.  Or a breakfast at home when you feel like having breakfast for breakfast!

here she is in the assembling stage, another unflattering picture, another yummy taste

Breakfast Wraps

*burrito-sized tortillas (I like the Smart & Delicious Tortillas: 12 grams of fiber (!) per tortilla!)
*scrambled eggs (about 8 eggs for 4 servings, put a little cream cheese in the eggs as they are cooking.  extra yum.)
*sausage (either ground sausage, cooked and drained, or sausage links, cooked and cut into rounds.  I use the turkey sausage links to save a little fat. gotta save the fat for the good stuff...like real butter in my chocolate chips cookies.)
*grated cheese (cheddar, Colby-jack, jack, or whatever you like)
*diced onions (I have nothing to say in the parenthesis, just a need to be consistent and have them.)
*tator tots (cooked according to package directions.  cook 'em till they're crispy.)
*anything else you like:  diced tomatoes, avocados, jalapenos, hot sauce...

~heat burritos in microwave until warmed through.  on each tortilla, spread a line of scrambled eggs down the middle.  Top with some grated cheese, sausage, onions, and tator tots.  Wrap up tightly.  Garnish with any of your extras, or stuff those inside with the rest of the stuff.

~If you are taking these to go, lay them on a foil sheet square and wrap tightly.

~If you are going to the trouble pleasure of making these, make a few extra and wrap in foil.  That way when your ravenous child is looking for his 6th meal of the day, you can heat this up and give him something truly filling.  Something that will last more than 20 minutes before he opens the refrigerator and stares at the food.

Thinking About the Lord...

I woke up with this song stuck in my head this morning...is there much better to have stuck in your head?  I'm thinking of a couple of you specifically who have had heavy, heavy needs lately.  A little thank you in advance to the One who is answering!

Doing It Again

Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts.  My head is so full of them.

I have been slowly burning out these last couple weeks.  Just getting a bit worn out from "doing it again".  Shuttling kids, hosting kids, coaching kids, cooking for kids, shopping for kids (well, things for kids, not buying kids), staying up late for kids, waking up early because of kids, and another day starts and I'm doing it again.  And the thing is, I love all the things I'm doing.  I love being a mom.  I love my kids' friends.  I love cooking.  But the monotony of "doing it again" was wearing me thin.  I wish that were literally true...let's be clear:  it was wearing my energy thin.  My waist size remains painfully the same.

Then Brad and I entered the discussion of what we were going to do for our anniversary.  And, oh, how I would love to get away with him and just be a couple.  But we looked at another child heading into braces, back-to-school expenses, life, and realized we would have to do something very simple.  That's fine.  But then we looked at the calendar, and began to realize that time is working against us.  The most precious products of our marriage are the very thing that is standing in the way of us going away and celebrating a lot of years of marriage.  And I love their busyness.  I love their full lives and the joy they have in it.  Our weekends are filled to the brim until November.  So we'll probably take a late get-away, and that's okay.  But between the time of talking about it and me being okay with it, I found my mind wandering to all the things I wish we could do.  I day dreamed about being on a quiet beach far, far away.  About sleeping until I felt rested.  About eating food that other people prepared.  About not doing laundry.  About not cleaning the kitchen 43 times a day.  And the more I day-dreamed, the more disgruntled I became about the busyness of this season.  I just let my attitude wear me out even more than my physical schedule.  And then Brad's work schedule kicked into ultra-craziness.  With the one act of a server going out, his week turned into demanding more of him than one person should give.  He worked a 26-hour day...straight through, slept a couple hours and got up and did it again.  So then that added to my bad attitude, because I just missed my man.

Then a simple question from a friend:  "Have you and Brad decided on a get-away?"

And with that simple question, the floodgate of my frustration was opened.  I told her exactly how I was feeling about that.  About how frustrated I was with the lack of time, the "too busy".  I can't stand the "busy" that people find themselves in.  And now I'm one of them.

She was sweetly encouraging, and asked if I had read this post by the beautiful Melissa Moore-Fitzpatrick. 

I had seen it, scanned it, and had not read it.  Why?  Because I was "too busy" and it looked like something that required close reading.  So I went back and read it.  And I had tears flowing.  It is right where I've been.  It so sweetly, so articulately describes the "doing it again" in a way I will never forget.  Being present.  Doing it again.  You need to read it.  Even if this isn't right where you are, I'm sure there are words in there that will touch you.

Now I'm saying that to myself many times throughout the day.  "Thank you, Lord, that I get to do this again."

And my attitude?  It's much better.  Still too busy.  Still would love to get away with Brad.  But knowing that time will come.  And for now, I'm just going to do it again.  And be thankful that I can.

Monday Menu ~ S'Mores Variations!

I have been a very absent blogger this week!  I have just kind of lost my bloggin' mojo.  Actually, it's not very lost...it's just buried under piles of pom poms and uniforms and cheer lists and taxi driving and orthodontic appointments and back-to-school shopping (sweet mercy, that's worthy of a post all its own).  How can I get this mojo back??

And menus?  I don't even want to think about cooking these days.  It's too hot, I'm too busy...just like most people.  So when another Monday came and I thought about putting something on here, it was just too much.  I have trouble enough deciding what I'm having for dinner tonight.  But when I saw this beautiful article in my new Food Network magazine, my heart did a leap, and I just had to share this.

The traditional S'More is so good.  Years ago, while camping, a friend added peanut butter to her graham cracker, which opened a whole new world of S'More-ness to me.  Over the years, I have progressed to just putting a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on my graham cracker, saving the step of spreading sticky peanut butter.  Recently, someone mentioned to me that they like to put a square of a Caramello candy bar on their S'More.  Genius!!  And then I see this beautiful spread:

Oh, I wish you could enjoy it in all its splendor.  These are some beautiful pictures.  Why didn't I think of these???  In case you can't read it, here are the variations:

"Elvis S'Mores":  graham cracker, toasted marshmallow, banana slices and peanut butter.

"Cinnamon Toast S'More":  cinnamon graham cracker, toasted marshmallow, butterscotch chips and white chocolate.

"Mint Chocolate Chip S'More":  chocolate graham cracker, toasted marshmallow, mini chocolate chips and a peppermint patty.  (YES, PLEASE!!!)

"Caramel Apple S'More":  cinnamon graham cracker, toasted marshmallow, apple slices, and a Rolo candy.  (GENIUS!!)

I think there needs to be a S'More buffet in your near future, and you need to invite me.  A beautiful spread of all these wacky ingredients, and people can create their own perfect S'More ~ much like a chocolate fountain station, or a fondue station...oh, I'm all these words further in the post, and I'm still salivating for that Chocolate Mint S'More.

I may have to experiment with that very, very soon.  Hope you all can too!!

Running Through Puddles

Yesterday Brenna and I ran another 5K together.  It was a perfect collision of running one step at a time, cool, damp weather, and happy luck!  We set out just to do a gentle, easy run together and not worry at all about where we came in, and I purposed not to chase anybody.  This same run last year was smack in the middle of our crazy heat, and I believe it was 97 degrees at the start!  This year?  A glorious 67 degrees!  Perfect.  It had rained a throughout the day, so the ground was all nicely wet, providing some great puddles to run through.  I love, love, love running in the rain.  So although it didn't rain on us while we were running, it was still the perfect weather day for me.

Brenna is such a trooper.  She hadn't really been preparing much for this, other than a 4-mile run she did with me last weekend.  She made it the entire way without stopping, surprising even herself.  At one point she said, "When we get to that corner up there, can we slow down??"  I told her we'd figure that out when we got to the corner, and sure enough by that point she had decided to just keep going.  I say this often, but I love that girl's ability to just work harder when something gets hard!

So here we are at the start:

And here we are coming into the finish:

And here we are right after:

Notice that I am sweat-drenched and looking rough and Brenna looks very much like her "before" shot.  Youth!

And when all was said and done, I took first in my age group and Brenna took first in her age group, even with a mediocre time.  What do you know!  And, knowing how wacky I am for numbers, this is pretty cool:  I am 40 years old, and my favorite number is 3.  My race number was 340.  I was the 40th runner to finish the 5K.  And our time was 26:27, which delights me in the sense that I love sequential numbers, too.  Do I think it "means" something?  Absolutely not.  Just kinda cool for the OCD piece of my brain.  AND!!  They did a drawing at the end, and drew my number for a free pair of Asics!  Woo-Hoo!  Of course, I just bought my new running shoes last week...but I'm thrilled that my next pair is free!

While Brenna and I ran, Brad and Beth hung out waiting at the finish line.  Beth decided to take some pictures of some pretty flowers she found:

And, of course she found a little creature to befriend:

It was a busy 26 minutes for this beauty:  cheering at the send-off, photographing flowers, befriending snails, cheering at the finish...

Alex, meanwhile, was about ready to descend into the orchestra pit for his last performance with The Pirates of Penzance.  And he has now joined the family running...he, to my great surprise and delight, is doing cross country!  He has ran himself silly this last week and has loved it.  I am excited to see him loving it so much!

My brain just completely decided, all on its own, to just stop thinking.  I guess that means I should also stop typing.  All done.

My Mom ~ The Original "Benjamin Button"

Last weekend my brother and I were going through a bunch of old family pictures...and laughing until our sides hurt!  We can laugh at my mom, because if she was here she would be joining right in with the laughter.  For sure.  I mean, how could you not??!!  And as we looked through all the high school pictures and wedding pictures, my brother made the startling discovery that our mother was the original Benjamin Button.  You know, the guy who aged backwards...started as an old man and grew more youthful?  Yep...the pictures speak for themselves:  here's the proof:

approximately age 17.  bless her heart.

I'm guessing this is about 1974 ~ a couple years after surgery??

her early 40's, in Hawaii ~ rocking a pink gingham bikini under that mu mu!

Yep, moving in the youthful direction!

But then...

Back to the glory years.  This is exactly what my brother would look like if he dressed in drag.

Now, Brenna was born 2 1/2 years after my mom died.  After they took her from me and laid her in the little baby warmer, she was turned with her profile to me.  My friend, Debbie, said to me, "Oh, Leanne, look at her!  Look who she looks like!"  I was stunned to see how much this little baby girl looked just like my mother.  Most of my mom's last year we watched her lying in a bed, and much of that was her sleeping.  I spent countless hours just watching my mom's profile as she slept.  As you can gather from these pictures, my mom held a pretty strong profile!  Brad and I both stared at this brand new baby girl, and then I had to look away...it was just so overwhelming to see my mom's face in my newborn daughter.  Emotions were running thick and heavy in that room.  And that was the same reaction from everyone that knew my mom.  A sweet gift in so many ways.

As Brenna has grown (Brenna Kay, appropriately), she has held that name and likeness well.  She has so many endearing characteristics of my mom.  She has her sweetness, her gentleness, her...slowness to get a joke, she even throws a ball just like my mom did.

And if you know my Brenna, you will recognize the likeness in these pictures of my mom:

If I could stage a picture like this with Brenna, I bet you would see the twin-ness of these two!

the long, lanky legs with a bony knee?  check.

and, strangely enough...there is a striking amount of Beth in this picture.  I guess those Bryan genes run strong.

So there you have it.  She went from a beautiful child, to an...interesting stage, and back to beautiful again.  I'm going to keep these pictures in my mind during these next few years.  As we pay for orthodontic treatment, teach the use of contact lenses (if that becomes necessary),and keep in close touch with a great hair stylist, it will all be done in the hopes that Brenna never has a picture like the one at the top for her children to discover.

How Old IS She??

The time has come, and I will keep this mercifully short.  I have so much I want to say, but this is the end of a long couple days, complete with the first cheer practice in the books tonight!  Oh, I do love these girls.  And I'm so glad the first practice is over.

I will save the whole research part of it for another time, but I do have so much more to say on the topic.  Right now all I can incoherently utter is some form of "Bears" and "High V" and counting to 8 and...that's all.  Sweet mercy, those are two paragraphs that are as scattered as my brain.  Enough!

This handsome woman is my great grandmother, Eva May Bryan.  She is 40 years old in this picture.  MY AGE!!!  I struck the same pose and tried to find a family resemblance...I'm sure it's there somewhere.  Please don't respond unkindly to that.  I just lobbed a sweet pitch to hit right there.  Would you look at the forearms on that gal?  That is someone who you address as "Yes, ma'am" or "Whatever you say, ma'am."

Anyway, thanks for participating.  And I will be back soon with a more detailed discussion on where my brain is.  As soon as I find it.  My brain that is.

And, for whatever it's worth, I had the thought of teaching Grandma Eva one of these cheers and waving those pom poms.  I imagine she would not take to it too naturally.  But I bet I could get her to have a good time trying.  Then again, that doesn't look like a woman you get to do anything she doesn't want to do.

So, good night.  More to come, so much more...