The First Month of Summer

I've done it again...let another month slip by without an update! It's a bit hard to believe that one month of the summer has gone by already, too. We've had some ups and downs this month, but I'll stick to the highlights here.

Most notably, we spent a couple of weeks in May travelling, first to ABQ for Mark's sister's graduation from high school, then in the Denver area to spend time with Damon and Diana. In ABQ, most of our activities revolved around the graduation festivities--honors assembly, party, graduation--but we also, as usual, indulged in all of our favorite foods. In addition to the usual (Dion's Weck's, Blake's, we discovered a new place that's now on our must-do list--Chile Rio. If you live in ABQ and haven't been, go--it's great! And, thanks again to Grandma for taking us there!).

We even made two trips to the mountains--we spent Mother's Day with Mark's family in the Jemez Mountains and, another day, took the tram up to Sandia Peak. Oh, how I miss the mountains! We also spent some time with my side of the family--I especially enjoyed an early b-day shopping trip with Grandma, and we were able to see the condo my sister was in the process of buying (now she's moving in--how exciting!). My Dad returned from Uganda a day or two after we got to ABQ, so I got to go with my mom to pick him up at the airport and greet the rest of the team. Even better, the missionaries we work with in Uganda, Reuben and Florence, were in ABQ too, so a big potluck for everyone who has been to Uganda was organized as well. I was so happy to be able to go and reconnect with the people I traveled with (and others!).

Here are a few pictures:

Group photo from the Uganda dinner.

Katie before her graduation party.

Katie's gift from  us--some "money soap"...could be $50 in there!

After graduation.

At Jemez Falls.

I think I told them to "do something cool"...

The men of the family.

Heidi, Hannah, and Zach when we stopped for fry bread.

At Sandia Peak--what a view!

Katie and I hiked over to the rock house, too!

Me and Grandma on Mom & Dad's back patio.

Mom & Julie.

The stained glass window Grandpa Mike made for us--amazing!

In Colorado, we enjoyed more mountains and beautiful scenery, as well as more relaxation. I love being back in ABQ, and it was a treat to be there in May rather than December (for the first time since we moved out to OH), but we are always super busy when we're there. So it was nice to have a few days to just hang out. It turns out that I basically only took pictures of some food there, but I'll only share this one:

One of the tastiest foods we tried--bacon peanut brittle.

Also since I last posted, two major issues in our life have been resolved: my contract at my current job was unexpectedly renewed, which is a huge blessing, and we finally sold our old car, which is such a relief! Not only am I thankful for those things, but I'm also trying to be more thankful on a day-to-day basis. I seem to struggle with getting bent out of shape when things (even relatively minor ones) don't go my way, and I want to cultivate an attitude that instead recognizes God's provision and acknowledges all I have to be thankful for, even in the midst of a struggle. We've got some family and friends who are going through some seriously difficult times, and I want to get better about not taking things for granted. I also want to find ways to offer my support and love to those around me who are working through challenges.

As for the rest of our summer, I know we'll do a bit more travelling, and I've got lots of ideas about what else should be done (reading, cleaning, cooking, etc.) I'll try to take note of some interesting things to post about as I go!

A room with a view

The semester is over, and we're finally having a nice stretch of spring weather--highs in the low 70s and sun in the sky. For the last few days, I've been really enjoying this beautiful view from our balcony:

Mark's Recital and Family Visit

After a long season of preparing, Mark gave his first degree recital here at BGSU last Saturday, 4/13. He did an awesome job on a really cool program! We also had his parents and brother in town to see the performance and spend a few days with us afterward. While they were here, we sampled some of the best food BG has to offer (South Side Six, Reverend's, and Stone's Throw Tavern), and we also took a little field trip to the small town of Tontogany for the best ribs in Northwest OH at Doc's. Other than that, the guys went to another recital on campus, Mom and I played some cards and took a walk at the Simpson Garden Park, and we all spent some time hanging out at our place. I didn't take any pictures of the weekend, but Mark's family did, so courtesy of Mom, Dad, and Damon, here's a look at all the excitement.

Damon went to the dress rehearsal and got some pics.

Look at all those cables!

And more equipment waiting in the wings for the second half!

Thankfully, Mark had great tech support and help setting up and tearing down.

View of the whole recital hall (obviously before the audience arrived--we had about 40-50 people there!)

I really liked the two drum-kat pieces! (This is still during the dress rehearsal)

Here's Mark playing the hardest piece on the program.

Performing a world premier!

He talked in this piece, too!

Very cool piano duet.

Relieved that it's over! (Notice the cute sign by the door?)

At Doc's.

Our only group shot!

The famous ribs.

My pizza--topped with BBQ sauce & ribs.

At the park with Mom--should be beautiful in the summer!

Thanks to everyone who came out to see the recital or watched online or prayed for things to go smoothly--we really appreciate all the support!

Easter Dinner

Happy Easter!

With Mark's recital just under two weeks away, he's been quite busy this weekend with practicing. Since we were working around his practice/rehearsal schedule, we had a low-key Easter today just the two of us (although we did have several kind invitations to join friends/family, we weren't able to work it out this year!).

Here's what we had for dinner: homemade french bread, twice baked potatoes, ham, and roasted brussels sprouts. Later on, we'll have carrot cake for dessert!

Of course, the day isn't about food, but it is nice when new recipes (like the bread and brussels sprouts) turn out so nicely.

Since I spent most of my day at home (in and out of the kitchen), I did have plenty of time to reflect on how truly thankful I am for Christ's redeeming work on the cross and His continued work in my life.

Ah, Spring...

Though the calendar says spring, our weather still says winter! I'm super ready for warm days, sunshine, and the pool, but I decided that since we got several inches of snow today instead, I should have some fun with it. After work, I went out back and made a snow family. They're a bit dirty and lumpy, but still more successful than my previous attempt two winters ago!

Mark took this for me from our balcony.

Can you see the little dog on the bottom left? :-)

Homemade Sandwich Bread

I've also been experimenting with making sandwich bread. I haven't bought any from the store for over a month (maybe two?), and so far, everything I've tried has been edible. But today's bread was nearly perfect! A nice, tall loaf, with great flavor and soft texture. Hooray! It's not 100% whole wheat, but it seems like it's really hard to get a 100% whole wheat loaf to turn out well at home. I will probably keep experimenting with other recipes, and perhaps try increasing the whole wheat in this one, but I figure homemade bread with no additives must be better for us than the stuff at the store, even if mine is only half whole wheat!

Today, we had ham and cheese sandwiches on this bread for dinner. I'm already looking forward to my usual pb & j for lunch tomorrow!

Incidentally, this recipe also came from Frugal Girl!

Best Homemade Granola

I've tried a few homemade granola recipes over the last year, but this is hands-down the best one. I think, with more experimentation, I'll be able to modify it and make other versions (like banana walnut or pumpkin spice). It seems that the ratio of sugar/syrup and oil to the rest of the ingredients is a key factor in getting the right texture.

The original recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated, but since only the most current recipes remain accessible online without a membership, I went looking for a blogger who had posted about this recipe. And I found this version from Frugal Girl. Two great things about it: you don't have to constantly stir it, and it actually clumps together. Also, because of the high amount of vanilla, your whole house will smell divine while it's baking!

The first time, I followed the recipe pretty closely, including the raisins, adding in some ground flax seed and omitting the coconut (from FG's version). The next batch, I tried walnuts instead of almonds and added in a mashed banana, but despite reducing the oil and syrup a bit, it was a chewy rather than crunchy. Next time, I'll try decreasing the liquids even more. In this current batch, you'll notice that I opted to include the coconut but leave out the other fruit, and customize it with each serving. This morning, I added fresh strawberries. I also have raisins, dates, and dried cranberries to choose from as I keep eating. Yum!