Some Favorite Quotes

   I have always loved quotes, those perfectly worded phrases that capture everything you are feeling have never yet failed me, and if it were up to me I would spend all day reading and memorizing them.
 
   Since I sadly don't have the time to read all day I assumed I can at least share a few of my favorite quotes with you today.

  And without further ado here goes,

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand it is at the end of your arm. 
Audrey Hepburn.

Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light. 
Dumbledore.
 
There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.
Aristotle.

Why not go out on a limb? That is where the fruit is. 
Mark Twain.

A room without books is like a body without a soul.
Cicero.

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought, and the thought has found words.
Robert Frost. 
  
  I love all of these quotes, they're among the ones I have written down somewhere where I can treasure them and love them till the end of my days. 

The House of Many Faces

  Our house is filled with many faces. I don't know if other people see faces in almost everything, but I do.

  So today I am going to show you all just a few of the faces that live in our house and to start it off here is our adorable face that smiles at us all in our living room.

  Then we have a very annoying face that resides in our upstairs bathroom, it is always very hard to try taking a comfortable bath with this snoopy thing staring bug-eyed right at you.

 

  And last but most definitely not the least is this charmingly gruesome monster that rules the refrigerator, scowling at anyone who opens the door.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

1. When was the last time you relocated? Did you move yourself or leave it to the professionals? Are you happy staying put or is there a move in your future? Best thing about moving to a new city or town? Least favorite and/or hardest thing about moving house?

  The last time I moved was probably five years ago and I did not mind at all, our new home had stairs and I was extremely delighted, we had used to live in a double wide and stairs had always seemed so delightful to me. Having a room upstairs was a dream come true. In fact as soon as we had moved here I ran up and down the stairs so much I could hardly walk the next day due to extremely sore legs.

  My least favorite thing about moving is always packing and unpacking, that chore is miserable.

2. When were you last 'moved to tears'? Explain.

  I had to cry buckets of tears at a particularly sad movie.

 I like sad movies but the crying part is miserable so I have no idea why I watch them again.

3. Do you have rules about eating in the car...any forbidden foods? What's the last thing you consumed in your car? Your go-to car snack when traveling long distance?

  Car eating rules are always strict, absolutely no sticky snacks are allowed and everyone has a bag to dispose their garbage, but other than that we have jolly-good times on trips eating plenty of not so good for you foods.

  I don't know what the last thing I ate in my car was, but the last thing I chewed in my car was gum.

4. Share a favorite song relating to cars and/or driving.

  I highly dislike music or songs when we are driving or traveling, I am more of a look out the window and think kind of girl.

5. What's your most frequently visited drive-thru...Starbucks? the bank? the pharmacy? some other window?

  I haven't ever visited a drive-thru of any kind.

6. "He who hesitates is lost"...would you agree? When it comes to making decisions do you generally act quickly or do you more often than not fall into the 'lost' category?

 I kind of like thinking things through before I do something so I won't regret it.

7. When was the last time you got lost? Was it stressful or an unexpected happy adventure?

  I don't get lost, or in other words I never stray off the path enough to get into trouble, getting lost never appealed to me.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

  I am one of those people who wake up with an extremely parched throat in the middle of the night. So lately I have started the habit of bringing a glass of water to bed. A few nights ago, after getting into bed and setting a glass of water on my headboard (I have the kind of bed that has a compartment headboard) I fell asleep, and like usual I woke up at midnight with a very dry throat, too lazy to sit up I just swished my hand towards the headboard trying to find my water, My hand connected with the glass and sent it, and the icy water it contained flying through the air. It landed with a triumphant splosh onto my pillow. I was too tired to get more water so I simply sipped the few droplets that remained in the glass and spent the rest of my night on a soggy pillow.
  When I woke up that morning I have to say my face was really clean. I may have accidently discovered the perfect treatment for acne. My pores have never been better.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

1.  I recently read here about four secrets to happiness from around the world. They were-

Overcome your fears by facing them head on, allow yourself to relax and reset, work to live versus living to work, and find the good in life. Not sure if these are the actual secret to happiness, but which of the four do you struggle with most? Which one comes most easily to you?

  Overcoming my fears by facing them  head on is probably the hardest and quite frankly, that whole saying never really made much sense to me.

  The easiest one is finding the good in life, it was put there and it is up to us to ignore it or seek it and fully appreciate it.

2. How would you spend a found $20 bill today?

  Since I absolutely love writing, doodling, drawing, and other random things, buying a stack of notepads would be the perfect thing to do.

3. Ego trip, power trip, guilt trip, round trip, trip the light fantastic, or trip over your own two feet...which 'trip' have you experienced or dealt with most recently? Explain.

  My latest "trip" has been tripping and almost falling when fleeing three angry cows, no matter how inviting wading in a creek in a cow pasture sounds, you should always consider the fact that it is called a cow pasture for a reason.

4. If you could master any physical skill in the world what would it be, and how would you use that skill?

  If trapeze counts then I would love to be able to do professional trapeze acts, I have no idea what I would use that talent for but it would be positively delightful to go flying through the air.

5. As July draws to a close, let's take inventory of our summer fun. Since the official first day of (North American) summer (June 20th) have you...been swimming? enjoyed an ice cream cone? seen a summer blockbuster? camped? eaten corn on the cob? gardened? deliberately unplugged? watched a ballgame? picked fruit off the vine? taken a road trip? read a book?  Are any of these activities on your must-do-before-summer-ends list?

  I did not achieve many of those things but I have eaten a ice cream cone, read a book, ate corn on the cob, and if watching my brother and his friend counts, then I have watched a ballgame.

  Nothing else is really on my summer list so I guess I had a pretty good summer.

6. The Republican Presidential candidates will debate on August 6th. What's your question?

  I don't really have anything to ask, partly because I don't really pay attention to what is going on in politics. I don't even know who the presidential candidates are.

7. What's your most listened to song so far this summer?

  Not including church hymns I don't listen to any songs with lyrics. I only listen to classical and  instrumental music. My favorite one would have to be  "Spring Charm" by Adrian Von Ziegler

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

  Some minor things I had wanted to do this summer were having a water fight, I never had one but I did wade in the creek for 15 minutes before fleeing for my dear life. I also spent some time at a lake which was a lot of fun. I had wanted to bike on the trail but never did, but I did get to ride here around home. I had wanted to walk through the woods. I didn't ever do that but I did get to walk the trails and soak up all of the beauty of nature. I had wanted to pick lots of raspberries, I didn't, but I did get to pick lots of blueberries at one of the most serene, gorgeous places I know of.

  My point is though I might not have gotten anything done exactly as I wanted to, in a sense I got everything achieved plus more, and that in my opinion was a summer very well spent. 

Sweet Hungarian Pork Chops

  Mm-m! The smell of dinner drifting through the house is definitely a very comforting thing indeed, and today's meal incorporates fresh veggies in a delightful sauce that covers a bed of noodles and spreads lazily over a luscious pork chop, one can easily imagine how incredible the aromas are!

  Sweet Hungarian Pork Chops

1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) chicken broth, divided
2 tbsp sweet hungarian paprika
2 butterflied pork chops
3 tbsp flour
1/3 cup sour cream
6 cups cooked egg noodles ( 6 ounces uncooked )

  Heat the half of the oil in a non-stick skillet and add the onions and the garlic and cook while stirring for two minutes, then to your pan add the tomato, peppers, paprika, and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, cover and simmer on low for five minutes.

   Heat the rest of the olive oil in another non-stick skillet and fry the meat 1 minute on each side. Stuff with a few of the veggies. Bake at 350º for 5 minutes.

  In a small bowl mix together the chicken broth and flour. Bring veggies back to a simmer and stir in your broth/flour mixture. Spoon a little over pork chops and return back to oven for two more minutes.

  Add veggie sauce to noodles and serve with pork chops on top.

  I thought this was absolutely delicious and wouldn't change anything, but garnishing with a parsley sprig or two would elevate the dish's elegance.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

1. Is your home air conditioned? If it's not air conditioned, is that by choice? Did you grow up with air conditioning? If not how did you cope with the heat? Share about a time or place you remember as being too hot-the temperature kind of hot, lest anyone be confused.

  Our home is sadly not air conditioned so our cooling depends on fans, windows, and plenty of cold drinks.

  I remember when I was a little girl around the age of three and four we used to live in a log house in the Ozarks, we didn't have air conditioning and the hot weather attracted many unpleasant things like snakes, chiggers, ticks, and various other biting creatures. I don't think I ever minded the heat too much because I used to always be playing in the mud, having water fights, and evenings when it was especially hot we used to go to my uncle's house and go swimming in their pool.

2. What's something in your life right now that falls under the heading 'up in the air'?

Can't think of anything.

3. Your favorite light and airy dessert?

  Ooh my Mother's Pineapple Fluff , delicious mountains of pineapple pudding with "snowy" whipped topping peaks.

4. When did you last feel like you were 'floating on air'?

  To be quite honest it was this morning when I woke up to an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day.

5. Airport, airmail, airtight, airhead...which have you most recently encountered? Explain.

  Hmm you know those packs of food, craft supplies etc. you might buy that are wrapped in totally hard, clear plastic? Well while trying to rip off that kind of plastic from a pack of erasers I managed to break my nail, injure my finger, and finally pull part of the airtight plastic off just to see another layer underneath.

6.  Have you ever been to the Alps? If so where did you go? If not, is this a destination on your must-see list? If you were headed that direction this summer, which of the following would be your preferred activity...a gentle walk, a serious walk, a bike ride, a boat ride around one of the lakes, or summer snow skiing?

  I have never been to the Alps but I would most certainly want to go.

 The thought of having a boat ride sounds like fun, though I would be concerned about the possibilty of drowning the entire time.

7. What is one saying or phrase that was considered 'cool' when you were growing up?

  I liked saying groovy and far out, just to see my Dad roll his eyes.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

  We went back to school shopping a little while ago where I had to make the difficult decision what I would buy, and what I sadly had to leave there. I ended up coming home with a big bag full of tablets, pencils, art supplies, and lots of other school supplies.

  I think that even when I graduate from school I shall still go shopping at the back to school sales, a body can never have too many notebooks, office and craft supplies...... Indeed I know.

Strawberry Cream Parfaits

Sometimes a certain smell, or hearing a certain song transports me back in time, but recently it was a certain flavor that did that.

We made a special pudding for dessert and with the first bite I was transported back to when I was a little girl, about four years old. Bare feet standing in our tiny kitchen in our little log house in the Ozarks as my Mom gave me a a Schwan's  Strawberry Sundae Crunch Bars from the freezer compartment of our ancient brown refrigerator. I can even see the bungee cord she used to use to keep the door shut.

Anyway the flavor of this pudding tasted just like I remember those wonderful bars to have tasted.

  Here is the recipe if you would like to try your hand at making this pudding.

  Strawberry Cream Parfaits

1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 package (3.9 oz.) instant strawberry pudding
1 carton (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed
12-14 golden oreos, crushed


In a small bowl beat your cream cheese, pudding mix, and milk until the mixture has thickened.

Then in parfait cups or large wineglasses layer a tablespoon or so of oreo crumbs,  pudding mixture, the whipped topping, another layer of pudding, more oreo crumbs, and then a dollop of whipped topping on top.

 Enjoy!