Hi there everyone,    I wasn’t home all day yesterday (Sunday) when I would have normally spent some time on the couch blogging.   And I don’t want to get out of the habit, so I will spend some time today and tomorrow in my “downtime” doing some blogging….menu plan for the week will be coming later today once I figure it out :)  as well as recipes from last week’s meals, and some thoughts that I’ve had recently. 

One of my sweet friends MommaofMany asked me on my facebook the other day why I haven’t been blogging my recipes.   Well, I realized that I really do want to be blogging, there just isn’t enough time in the day.   I prayed about it and God and I came up with a plan :)   Isn’t it awesome when God blesses us with a good idea? :)    I’m going to start doing some blogging on Sunday afternoons while we are relaxing….I can do that now that I have a netbook computer and can sit here on the couch watching football with my love and type away :)     So if you miss my rambling thoughts, my recipes, and sharing what is happening in my family’s life, you can come during the week and find out what has happened the previous week

So sorry to my friends and family that like to follow our family via my blog!   I’ve been busy and the computer time I do have I generally spend on Facebook.  But I got a facebook message from a friend the other day and she said that she really misses my blogging.   And I have kind of forgotten why I do blog…..I blog for a “journal” of sorts for my children to be able to look back at to remember different things of their growing up years.  Since I’m bad about taking pictures, I generally limit my blog to my cooking adventures, but that is important too, because my mom was an incredible cook, but she totally cooked by taste, touch and smell, and never followed a recipe (some of you are saying  “Gee, that’s where Lori got it from”  :)….and you’re right!  BUT I do try to write my “recipes” down so that my children can recreate them (and me too :)).

This past couple of days I’ve been making some new things, and I wanted to share them with my blogger friends!   For the sake of my archiving and searching purposes (yes, I come back to my blog to look up recipes too :)) I’m going to post them separately, but I did want to write a post letting you all know that I am back, and am planning on spending an hour or two each week keeping up with my blog…..helps me too

For any of my friends that have known me in real life, you know that I tend to dress “like a mom”…..one of my very dear friends whom I love very much has even told me that I dress like a grandma…..I am always clean and well groomed, but often wear clothes that are not the most “in”.   If you were to see me walking down the street you’d probably say “yep, that’s a mom”, some would say that appearances don’t matter, and as far as a person is concerned, that is absolutely correct!!!!   I would be just as comfortable with someone in a $200 pair of jeans and $300 blouse as I would with someone wearing the latest thrift store finds….I don’t pay attention to what people wear as long as it’s modest, and clean.   Well, these aren’t the appearances that I’m talking about.

Last night D and I went out to dinner to celebrate our 19th anniversary.   I knew that I wanted to go somewhere special, which meant one of our locally owned downtown restaurants.   There are so many choices that I just couldn’t decide (so many choices combined with a limited budget, meant we did have to be choosy, and do our homework ahead of time).   I finally narrowed it down to 3 choices, and around 3:30 yesterday afternoon I sent those choices to D via email and asked him to please help with the decision.    He decided on Fugazzis which is a bistro, that is owned by a Christian man, and we have had their food (take out, catering numerous times, and I went there for lunch with a high school friend one time).    One of the notable things about this particular restaurant is that you are served a bread and dipping oil plate when you are seated…..their breads are EXCELLENT, but their dipping oil….oh my goodness!!!!  It is incredible!   So I was excited that he chose Fugazzis

When we walked in, we were seated at a table for 2….let’s start with the table.   Well, first let’s start with yesterday while I was in the decision making process, I had posted on facebook looking for suggestions from my local friends and one of my friends from high school (that doesn’t live in the area :)) commented with “Make sure D___ takes you to a restaurant with table cloths”.   Well, the tables didn’t have table cloths…..they are brushed metal.  So, sorry, Alan, no tablecloths    When they brought out the bread and dipping oil, I immediately noticed how nice their bread plates were….they were white ceramic rectangles, with a small square dish with the oil.   The bread was perfectly placed, and when the waiter set the plate down he set it at an angle on the table.   Well, as each course of our dinner (we ordered the Fugazzi’s Intimate Dinner for Two which included salad, appetizer “sampler” plate, our entree which was filet mignon and  cilantro lime shrimp with pasta and grilled veggies, and dessert) was served, I noticed that not only was the food plated perfectly (imagine food network or Top Chef), but that wasn’t what was so beautiful….it was that the plates were placed perfectly on our table.   Our square dinner plates were centered in front of each of us, the rectangular bread, appetizer, and dessert plates were set in the middle of the table at an angle, etc.   It was visually appealing, it was clean and neat and organized (it would be Monk’s dream! ).      It was funny, (and probably shows just what country bumpkins we are :)) but the presentation of the plates on the table was almost as impressive to us as the food (which was absolutely incredible!!!).     SO, if you are in my city, and find yourself wanting a very nice, very tasty, moderately priced dinner, please keep Fugazzi’s in mind

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been hearing that Extreme Makeover Home Edition would be coming to a city near us and there has been a call for volunteers…..well, there were close to 4000 people that have volunteered to help with this build/rebuild.   Today  was the day that Ty Pennington and crew came to reveal to the family that they were being blessed with a new home.    Here’s one of our local newscasts about the reveal.   Also tomorrow morning from 6-10 am pacific time you can listen online to our favorite local Christian station and hear Joe & Cari interview the family, volunteers, crew, etc….Joe & Cari are in Fresno now doing the interviews.   This is SOOOOO cool!   I haven’t watched EMHome Ed. for a long while because it has gotten annoying to me (please don’t blast me, but I don’t think that some of their tactics that they’ve taken with complete tear downs/rebuilds are the best thing for many of the families, because many of the families have not been able to pay their property taxes, etc after the rebuilds), but I do plan to watch this episode when it airs in the future…..I can’t wait!

This afternoon D and I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things and we ran into a friend from church at the market.  We had talked to her in the produce department and had a nice little visit, then we were in the soup aisle, and I had grabbed a can of vegetable soup made from beef stock and put it in the cart.  Well, D said “vegetables are made from beef stock now?”….well, in true Lori-form I started laughing….and around the corner walked our friend.  She asked what was so funny, so D told her.  Then she shared that she likes to play with her husband’s mind and sometimes makes vegetarian chili with beef in it.   Well, that REALLY got me to laughing!   I thought that was hilarious!

Hey everyone, one of my really good online friends has written an e-book for the holidays.  Linda Maria has compiled her family’s favorite traditions, recipes, and decorating ideas for the holidays and is publishing an e-book for the busy Mommy for the holidays.   LindaMaria is a great momma and friend, and above all else she LOVES the Lord!  She is passionate about her faith, her family and she absolutely adores the holidays and pours so much of herself into them.   I’m certain that you’ll enjoy her e-book if you are looking for holiday ideas!   Please visit Linda Maria at Faithmom6 for more information about her e-book!

Overwhelmed with Joy is hosting another Holiday Cooking meme this year!   I participated last year and am REALLY looking forward to it again this year!   Can’t wait to share the holiday recipe that I’ve been waiting for several weeks now to share! :)   You can click on the banner below to participate.

Well, yesterday our country made the choice for a socialistic administration, and I was GREATLY grieved (I took to my bed weeping…ok, that is a slight melodramatic, but I did have me a good cry when I went to bed last night!).   When I went to bed last night I was so incredibly sad for our country.  For the affect that  the choices that our country made yesterday will have on life my children when they are adults in a few short years.  For the moral compass of our country…..I was/am VERY sad!   And while I was lying on my bed crying, I decided to take it to the ONE that could handle it, that IS handling it, and that understands my grief….I cried out to God!   While crying out in hopelessness, He reminded me that I have hope in Him, that what I’m actually feeling is helplessness.   He encouraged me to spend some time in the Word before turning to my fiction that I normally read before bed.   Well, He prompted my heart to read from Phillipians…..and let me tell you people, GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME, ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD!!!!!! :)   My God cares so much about this country, and about His people, this is the scripture passage that He gave me……

Philippians 1:15-20 (English Standard Version)

15Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Yes, and I will rejoice, 19for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

I am choosing to rejoice!  And if you are a believer, I think that God wants you to choose to rejoice!   God continues to reign supreme in our lives, no matter what happens in Washington, DC.   No matter what manners of socialism come down the pike for our country (oh how I pray that the congress will not allow some of Obama’s plans to go into action, and OH HOW I PRAY that none of the Supreme Court Justices decide to retire or pass away during Obama’s term of presidency, and OH HOW I PRAY  that our country will come to their senses in the next 4 years and vote a conservative into the oval office and into congress) God is still in control, and HE WILL reign supreme!   GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME, ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD!!!!!!!     And today, I am making the choice to rejoice in Him!

And readers, the votes are not done being counted in CA (at least from what I’m hearing on the national news…our local newscasts won’t begin for another 12 minutes) and we had two crucial ballot measures in CA that we voted for yesterday.  The first one was Prop 8 for protecting traditional definition of marriage between a man and a woman (to quote my husband) as God intended it!   The second one is Prop 4 for parental consent for abortion for girls in our state.   Please pray that this legislation passes!!!!  There are millions of babies that are murdered in our country by the lies that the abortion Doctors are telling these girls/women, and I am praying that here in CA they will start requiring parental consent so that these little girls will no longer be forced to go through this life altering decision alone.    I honestly don’t know if it will decrease the number of abortions performed in CA (I doubt that  it will, actually), but at least these children that are going through this alone won’t have to anymore!   So please pray for these two ballot measures.  These two ballot measures are HUGE not only in California, but also for the rest of you in the U.S….because as you know, what CA does, eventually your state will be doing also!

Today could really be one of the most important votes in my generation (at least up to this point in my life and 22 years of voting history.

Today is the day to make our voices ring out amoungst the liberals of this nation.  Today is the day to cast our vote for God and traditional family values.  Today is the day to say NO to infanticide, socialism, and the robbing of our family values.    Please take the time to cast your vote today.