Currently reading...

• articles on how to survive a road trip with back pain

Currently eating...

• Smoked sausage roll from Rise 'n Roll

Currently drinking...

• Kiwi Strawberry Snapple - old school!

Currently missing...

•  Auntie Barb & Cousin Monique

Currently watching...

• nothing on tv, but we did just receive a mammoth antennae that will allow us to actually get local channels

Currently rearranging...

• kitchen, front room, and living room - mentally

Currently stressing...

• planning packing for the road trip

Currently baking...

• nothing; four very ripe bananas ended up in the freezer after I talked about making banana bread for days

Currently lamenting...

• the extremely short lifespan of our kiddie pool

Currently enjoying...

• www.thesaurus.com

Currently harvesting...

• spinach, lettuce, strawberries, raspberries, basil

 Currently attempting...

• to figure out multiple annoying technological problems affecting me simultaneously (computer won't charge; phone won't send pictures to email or facebook)

Currently anticipating...

• being with Roomie Sarah

 Currently singing...

• How Can I Keep From Singing

Currently dreaming...

• about space (not of the outer variety) and working at my former job (recurring dream)

Currently creating...

• margin

Thursday night.

Trash night.



"Honey, did you take the trash out to the curb?"  "Honey, can you put new trash bags in the trash cans?  Please?"

10:00  Bedtime

Routine

Routine is comforting.  But it also gets boring.  How do I find the balance?

Tomorrow is the last day of school.  Finally.

Then Routine goes by the roadside.  Wayside?  Curb?  I don't always remember quotes and phrases.

In fact my memory is sadly awful.

A new season begins:  Summer!!



Time for staying up late and sleeping in.
Time for ice cream and an inflatable kiddie pool.
Dining al fresco.
Time for adventures and spontaneity.  Vacations.  Road trips.  Making memories.
Family time.  Sunshine.  Beach time.
Sunscreen and mosquito repellant.
Maybe even camping.  Finally.



It will fly by.  No, seriously.  Summer Break is only two months this year.  That makes my heart break a little bit.  If I dwell on it it's over before it even began.

So I'll stop to enjoy it.  I'll slow down to soak it up.

I'll relish the noisy neighborhood, because it means kids are living and loving summer.

I'll appreciate the dirty laundry and dirty hands and dirty fingernails, because it means my toddler is making memories.

I'll savor the flavor of fresh fruits and vegetables, because it means the Lord has provided a bounty in our own backyard.

I'll inhale the aroma of a multitude of flowers that are mixed in the same bed of dirt as weeds that need to be pulled.

I'll pause to cherish the moments.  All of them.

I'm calling these treats Rhubarb Bars because it's fun to say.  Go ahead, try it.  Rhubarb Bars.

Told ya so!

I have loved anything with rhubarb since I was a little kid living in Minnesota (that was a L O N G time ago!!) where we used to grow it in our garden.  But this is the first time I've actually done anything with it (other than eat it).

I got the recipe from a co-worker who got the recipe from a friend who works at a fabulous local restaurant with a well known bakery.  They aren't particularly attractive looking, but they taste soooo good!  I may have eaten an entire row the evening I made them.  Shhhh...

Since some friends asked for the recipe I thought I'd post it here.  Enjoy!

Rhubarb Bars

2 c flour
3/4 c powdered sugar
1 c butter

4 eggs
2 c sugar
1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 c rhubarb diced

Grease cookie sheet (Texas sheet/jelly roll pan) and press mixture of first three ingredients onto pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  While baking, prepare filling of five remaining ingredients.  Pour filling on hot crust and bake 40-45 minutes until light brown.

I made them in a 9 x 13 pan, but it may require adjusting the baking time.  You can also substitute some strawberries for the rhubarb.  Other notes:  I used margarine instead of butter (I always do), and the crust was still great.  And I didn't use the full amount of sugar called for.  I rarely do.

Do you have a favorite rhubarb recipe you'd like to share with me?

• I can't get enough of fresh locally grown produce.
• I can't get enough homemade zucchini bread. I just don't like the dirty dishes that come along with baking or cooking.
  
• I have a guest bedroom again. Yep, roomie Leah moved back home Saturday.
• Cherry flavored coffee is my new BFF.
• Josh & I celebrated 300 days together Sunday.
• I have to look into flights to Dallas. My dear friend Heather got engaged, and I'm in the wedding!
• Visited Elkhart's "farmers market" - the American Countryside Market. It was better than I expected. I had low expectations.
• I need to clean my house.
• I need to find some creative outlets; I feel my spirit slowly dying.
• I also need to find a new job. Budget cutbacks are making mine part-time starting in January.
• I heard Miley Cyrus coming out of my boss' office the other day. Some may say that is reason enough to search for a new job.
• I would wear flip flops every day if I could. Etiquette says they are not proper. I say proper schmoper (schmopper?). That's just the kind of gal I am.
• I think that Volkswagens will also hold a little piece of my heart.
• I really want to see "Julie & Julia", but I'm waiting til it goes to the Five Buck Club. Waiting eagerly!
• I love when I can hear my neighbor playing guitar.
  

1. I'm craving a pop tart (strawberry).

2. I'm up way too late (after midnight).

3. I had a nice evening with roomie (BW3's, A Lot Like Love, reality dating shows).

4. I'm trying to figure out what to do next (job/career).

5. I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow (D. O.).

6. I'm eager to see Jen & Andy's new place (should be theirs in about 15 hours).

7. I'm addicted to SoBe 0 calorie lifewater (bottled flavored water).

8. It is Josh's final week of grad school (school free for the first time in 3 years)!!!!

9. I'm currently obsessed with the concept of growing your own food (gardening).

10. I had the best coffee this morning (Michigan cherry that Josh shared with me)!!