I love the behind the scenes stuff – don’t you?
Here is a fun and behind the scenes article about how one of my new BFFs, Erin MacPherson, got the call about having her book, The Christian Mama’s Guide to Having a Baby, published.
Erin and I are working on some projects together, so as you get to know her, I know you will love her as much as I already do.
Plus, she has a ton of FAB recipes on her blog so I KNOW my bloggy friends will love her.
It was just a few short years ago that Roger and I were shopping at Ikea for bunk beds so that all our kids had a place to, well, sleep.
Now that 2/3s of the chickees have flown the coop, (one moved out the day I married Roger – nothing personal – Amamda at 18 didn’t want to share a room with a 13 year-old,) Roger and I were back at Ikea with all the other parents who have shipped kids off to college, this time to buy a futon.
You see, Roger has his own room now. (Don’t worry, our marriage is still good.) Now that he is working full time from home, he desperately needed his own office. Both of us working from the desk in our bedroom was, let’s just say, less than marriage enhancing…
So Justen moved into Kimberly’s old room, Roger moved into the boy’s old room, and I have an office to myself.
It was a lot of work, clearing out closets, building new furniture, and clearing out old bunk beds. (BTW, if anyone in the San Jose area needs a wonderful metal bunk bed set, leave me a note in the comments. Free to a good home…)
It was a lot of work, but I also noticed something else. It was pretty inspiring.
There is just something about moving things around, getting out of your rut, that makes you be more creative.
Just as Roger and I were talking about what we wanted to get at Ikea, (an add on to a desk, a bookcase for Justen, a futon for Kimber so she would have a place to stay when she came back home…) I started to think of all sorts of ideas for my ministry. An idea for a new speaking topic. An idea for a series of booklets that I want to create, even an idea for a recipe that I want to try.
All from moving some books around.
If you are a stuck in a rut, here is a question: What could you move around?
I don’t mean on your calendar. I mean physically move around.
Seeing things in a new way will spark creativity in other areas of your life. Rearrange your laundry area – it could spark a thought for a new article, or a new bible study topic.
Could you rearrange your work space, rearrange your books, or rearrange your garden?
Tell me – what could you rearrange to spark your next great idea.
“Mom, don’t freak out…”
Yes. Those are the words that every mother longs to hear.
One of my kids, (who has asked to remain nameless,) had a little accident.
OK it was more than a little accident. I mean, just look that that license plate.
Thankfully, no one was hurt. No one, except for my car. (BTW, I have to give it up for my 11 year old Toyota Sienna. It has had rocks reign down on it, a tree fall on it, and taught teens to drive. That is the Energizer Bunny of Automobiles.)
All this occurred just hours before I am suppose to leave for a retreat. On peace.(Go ahead. Laugh ironically. I did before I cried.)
I have to tell you honestly. I wasn’t feeling it.
There have been work issues, family issues, and health issues. Plus, we have been moving rooms around. (Want to test a family’s peace level? Have them switch rooms around. I. Dare. You.)
I was jumpy, my heart kept racing, and I was on the verge of tears all the time.
But if there is one thing I have learned about peace it’s this: You don’t get to choose your circumstances, but you do get to choose who you let handle them.
When I respond with my oh-so-human response, I continue to be jumpy, my heart keeps racing and I am on the verge of tears all the time.
But when I finally, eventually, start praying and remembering what God has promised me, that is the only time that I can even begin to taste anything resembling peace.
The verse I go to in times like this is Isaiah 26:3
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
It is conditional. I get peace because:
And when I do those things, I have peace.
So here is my question for you: What are the verse you rely on when you need to keep the peace? Because really, I am going to paste them up in my car. When it gets back from the shop.
Because if your trying to lose weight, you don’t need to know that you can make a chocolate cake in about the same time as a commercial break. (“You see kids, when I was growing up, you had six whole minutes right in the middle of TV shows where they showed commercials.” “No, you couldn’t fast-forward through them because THERE WAS NO TIVO.”)
With ingredients you probably already have.
It’s a dangerous thing.
But I, your fearless blogger, took a bullet for you and made this for all the boys at the house (I now live with all boys. Even the dog and cat are both boys. But they didn’t get cake.) We are moving rooms around upstairs so that Roger can have an office and I figured when boys clean their closet, the get chocolate.
5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (Microwave Safe)
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly before pouring in the milk and oil in. Keep mixing. Add the chocolate chips next and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put it in the microwave for 5 minutes.It will bubble up above the rim of the cut. Don’t panic! It will be all good. Remove with a hotpad.
This is what it looks like if you want to eat it all by yourself (after taking this picture, Roger and I put it in separate bowls. See how vitreous I am…)
Have you been in a slump?
Have you hit a brick wall?
This Saturday, Roger and I taught a conference on Marketing for speakers and writer. People traveled from all over the country to be there. They wanted to learn about the latest ideas about marketing and social media. They wanted to get inspired about what the next step is.
I would love to think that people wanted to come because of our brilliant teaching, but the reality was something much simpler: Sometimes you just need to get in a room.
You need to get in a room with other people who are trying to accomplish the same things you are.
You need to get in a room where there is energy and focus and the exchange of ideas and encouragement.
I love webinars, and recordings and phone conferences and online training. But there is something about being in a room you can’t replicate with a webinar.
So my question for you is this – where do your people hang. If you’re a writer, then it’s at a writers conference. If you are trying to learn to sculpt, it’s an art class?
What are you wanting to accomplish and where do you need to hang out to make it happen?
If you ever have to bring flowers to a friend, consider the arrangement that Gerry Wakeland – the president of CLASSeminars – brought to me and Roger Sunday night.
We were having her, and best selling author (and basically the woman who founded Christian women speakers,) Florence Littauer, over for dinner.
While the conversation was sparkling, the chicken to die for, and the bread pudding out of this world., this bouquet just tickled me. Look at it closely. Those little cards there? Those are Starbucks Cards.
Those Starbucks cards are taped to Starbucks straws and all arranged in a Starbucks tumblers.
It’s a Starbuckspalooza.
And why, oh, why, has FTD not picked up on this? This right here? This would be their best seller.
(Oh, the chicken in the picture? That’s Doodle. He has a bigger brother named Cock A, and a little brother named Doo.)
Speaking of Chicken – here is the recipe for Grilled Rosemary Lemon Chicken that we served:
Grilled Rosemary Chicken
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic
1 lemon, zested
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a food processor, thoroughly blend together the butter, rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Pour 1/3 of blended mixture into a small bowl for marinade. Cover remaining mixture, and set aside.
Lightly season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Rub chicken breasts with the marinade mixture. Place chicken breasts on a platter, cover, and refrigerate 3 hours.
Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate. Pour half of the reserved rosemary and lemon mixture into a bowl for basting. Cover remaining mixture, and set aside for topping cooked chicken.
Grill chicken breasts 4 minutes on each side, basting with rosemary and lemon basting mixture. Remove chicken breasts from grill, and top with small scoops of the remaining topping mixture.
Grilled Chicken over Marinaded Salad
This is a beautiful picture taken at our very yummy dinner at Treebones this weekend. Here is our recreation”
* 1 tbsp. lemon juice
* 2 tsp olive oil
* Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 2-3 cups of cherry tomatoes, sliced
* 1 cup of chopped cucumber and peeled
* ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
* 2 tbsp of finely chopped green onions
* 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
* 1 bag mixed spring salad
* sliced olives (optional)
* sliced red onion (optional)
* boneless chicken breast with skin on
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* dried rosemary and salt to taste
Combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Toss dressing with tomatoes, cucumber, feta, onions, olives, oregano and spring salad
Meanwhile, grill chicken with olive oil, salt and rosemary
Dribble plates with balsamic vinegar. Put salad/veggie mixture on plates and top with chicken. Serve with warm rosemary bread.
The Food? Fabulous.
The Bed? Super comfy.
The bathroom? A city block away from our yurt.
The number of times I needed said bathroom between 11 PM and 7AM? 3
The ROCKSTAR husband who wouldn’t let me walk alone because of the scary noises? Roger.
That’s true love girlfriend.
I’m taking the day off blogging because Roger and I will be camping.
Well, at least my version of camping.
We are going to be in Bug Sur on the California coast on Monday staying in a yurt.
A yurt is a tent with a hardwood floor, a sink, and a queen-sized bed topped with a handmade velvet quilt.
For those of you who have heard my camping story, you know that this is about as rustic as I want to get…
Oh, and if you’re worried that I am telling the world that I will be gone overnight and you think this is an invitation to burglars to come and rob our house. said house will be filled with assorted adult children and guarded by our killer attack dog:
“I’s guard d puppy fuds.”
We’re both working for Nickelodeon.
OK – so he has a major kids show and I will be a food writer for their parenting magazine, but still, I’m pretty excited.
So, for those of you who read this blog, let me tell you, a lot of it is due to you.
I have the world’s best agent, Rachelle Gardner. Every time I talk to her she assures me that I, in fact, am her only client and that she spends all of her waking hours working to make sure that I am completely happy. Well, I have evidence to the contrary.
Seems that she has another client, Erin MacPherson. I will excuse this little indiscretion on Rachelle’s part because Erin is super cool and real and funny. (And since you have amazing taste – I know this because you read this blog – you should absolutely check out her super-fun blog and new book here.)
Anywho.
Erin and I started chatting by e-mail and then she checked out my blog. That’s when she discovered me and my deep abiding love for all things tomato. After doing a little digging in the blog, she saw that roughly a quarter of all my post were food related.
Little did I know that for her day job, Erin is a writer/editor for Nickelodeon Family and Kids digital and edits their weekly food newsletter. Oh, and did I want to be a food writer for them.
Um, yeah.
So thanks to all of you and your love of all things yummy, I get to do a very cool job and work with a really cool woman.
Writing about food.
These are a few of my favorite things…
Oh – and if you want to subscribe to Parent Connect Food Newsletter sign up for it here. (My first issue – coming out next week – is all about how to use fresh tomatoes. Yum…)
