By the way...

Here's what I made today: chocolatey peanut buttery yummyness.  Also known as Brownie Peanut Butter Cups.  

Also, I LOVE this idea.  The wheels in my head are a-turning!

Today! (We're going to America...)

Well actually, yesterday, we drove down to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois.  John and Sarah drove down from Weston and picked the three of us up at 6:15 am, and then we stopped in Madison on the way and picked up Luke and Niki.  We arrived at the park about 10:15 ready for a full day of running between and riding roller coasters.  John splurged on the Flash Pass option for all of us, which allowed us to "reserve" rides at certain times, so you can then jump right to the front of the line when your time comes up.  So instead of waiting in lines, we would ride one roller coaster, immediately reserve another one for 20-40 minutes in advance, and then run over to the next one, and so one.  The guys estimated they got in 2-3 times the amount of rides and saved 4-5 hours of waiting in lines with the passes.  Very neat.  The guys favorite ride by far was Raging Bull.  I think they ended up going on it 4 or 5 times!

Thanks, John & Sarah, for providing this fun day for us! 

Rainbow Dinner!

What a colorful dinner we had this evening!  Bright yellow sweet corn, red-orange pesto parmesan chicken, and smashed purple potatoes!  I found this recipe and thought it would work out well with the leftover purple potatoes we had from the farmer's market.  They were very good (I'll try the recipe again in the future with red potatoes, as it was so simple and yummy!) and the whole meal was like a rainbow (a tasty, tasty rainbow)!  

Chai, Chai Again...

Today felt like Fall.  Much cooler, damp from rain showers, and cloudy.  This was a jeans and sweatshirt day - the first one since June.  This was a grilled peanut butter and jelly (plum apple butter) sandwich for lunch day.  This was a day to make something that smelled of cinnamon and spice to warm up and feel cozy.  This was a day for Chai Cake with Honey-Ginger Glaze.  Well, tomorrow, and the next day, and most likely the next day, will all be days for Chai Cake with Honey-Ginger Glaze.  This was another recipe from my new cake cookbook, Sky High: Irresistible Three Layer Cakes.  This was another home run recipe.  So much so that after the batter was made and poured into the pans and we each had a small taste from the scrapings in the bowl, it was determined that I had to make more just for us.  The cake was slotted to be taken to church for Welcome to Woodlands tonight, and I am not sure just taking two-thirds of a cake in would have been appropriate.  So as the cake was baking I made another half of the recipe and poured it in a muffin tin for cupcakes.  A chai latte is my favorite hot drink, and putting it in cake form, and then glazing it with a mixture of cream cheese, butter, confectioner's sugar, honey and fresh ginger is pure genius.  Kudos to Alisa Huntsman, Peter Wynne, and Tina Rupp.  They are my current food heros.

Zoo-Keen-ie

The other day at the farmers market there was a table with a basket on it, which was full of zucchini.  Well, the sign said each zucchini was only 75 cents.  So who in their right mind just wouldn't purchase the biggest, most gargantuan zucchini available, right?  I knew I would only be making bread with it, so I was going for quantity, plain and simple.  I really should have taken a picture of the massive ZUCCHINI I picked out (see, I even had to write it in all caps, just to get the point across!).  It was bigger than some of the weights I use during BodyPump!  Last night the guys watched some weird Austrailian Western Irish film (I did preface that with the word weird) so I was determined to take that huge ZUCCHINI and make it into tasty tasty bread.  I got over 4 cups of shredded zucchini, so I made two batches of the recipe.  At the last minute Justin requested some muffins with it, So I made one batch with walnuts and used mini loaf pans, and the other batch without walnuts into muffins.   They both turned out wonderfully.  I had little doubt, as it had over two cups of sugar in each batch!  We have to make sure to feed our sweet tooth!  (Oh, and on that note - I had a dentist appointment on Tuesday - still no cavities - hooray!)

Decisions Decisions!

I pretty much describe myself as a teeter-totter when it comes to decisions, in several ways.  I hate some decisions, but others just require a simple "yes" or "no".  I picture my 8 year-old self at the old Jail Park in Wausau, my butt firmly planted on that splintering yellow piece of wood, gripping the worn, red iron handles, and straining back to keep all of my weight on the ground, to keep from being rocketed into the air.  I don't like danger (failure), or the risk of danger (failure), or even the possibility of the risk of danger (failure).  I like to know all the angles of some decisions, to be thoroughly informed - to know that the person on the other side won't quick push back up, or worse - jump off, leaving me free-falling back to earth.  But if I'm completely trusting that other person, if all the details appear secure, I am all for launching myself up quite willingly and feeling that soaring - almost flying - sensation.  And once I make a decision I rarely waver on it.  All or nothing.  I don't like re-evaluating previous decisions, determining if it was the right decision, if it could have been done differently, etc.  What's done is done.  Keep moving forward (or upward, or outward - just not backward, please).  

Right now, I feel like I am that same little kid on that teeter-totter, knees bent and feet gripping the ground.  That twittery-nervous feeling in my stomach (seriously - I have that twittery-nervous feeling in my stomach), just before take-off.  I see myself warily looking across the plank at God, wondering if He's trustworthy.  Will this be a fun adventure?  Or will I plummet back to the ground, roll off, and fall on my face?  Will this be a time of building up, or a hard lesson in humility?  Either way, at least He's on the playground.

Nearing Summer's End

Labor Day.  Rather a bittersweet type of day in my opinion.  A nice long weekend, with an extra day to spend with friends and family, but also the signal of school back in session, leaves beginning to change, and the final days of wearing shorts for the year.  

This year's work-free day was quite busy.  Travis took Jennie (just a friend) to the airport very early this morning for her 6 am flight home.  We so enjoyed meeting her and having her stay with us this past week and hope to see her again (though it may be later than sooner, as she lives just outside Vancouver, BC!).  

Justin and I drove out to Rosholt this morning and I ran the 5K Labor Day Run at 9 am.  It was already very warm, and those rolling hills are a killer, but I was glad to finish it in a reasonable amount of time and always enjoy the race each year.  

Mom & Paul came down from Wausau for lunch and part of the afternoon.  We finished off much of our farmer's market finds - roasted green beans and potatoes, corn on the cob, and carrot sticks served along with shredded barbeque chicken - and a few final Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Crunch Bars (and my parents split the last piece of chocolate peanut butter cake - lucky ducks).

Later in the afternoon I tried another new recipe, for Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip muffins.  Very tasty.  Have you ever used cinnamon chips for baking?  I love them in scones.  Mmmm...scones...  I haven't made those in a LONG time, and now I have half a bag of cinnamon chips to use up - Great idea! :)  You'll see them posted soon enough!