Fruitful Friday?

 

Does a strawberry smoothie at Sturgis Falls count as a "Fruitful Friday?" Because Jay and I had 3 of them today.  Just sayin'....  We're out and about enjoying the most beautiful summer day we've had this year.  But I'm trying hard after several scoldings to get back on this bloggin' train - so see you Monday? 

Things I Love: My Dad

I realized today that I didn’t get my dad a Father’s Day gift.  It’s 3 days past Father’s Day, and it just now hit me. I didn’t even remember a card – that’s really unlike me.  I’m usually the one on the ball with gift-giving for holidays and special occasions. My brother’s the one who shows up with a gift wrapped in the Walmart sack he just purchased it from.  Not me.

I spent Father’s Day with my dad at the site of my parent’s weekend cabin being built.  Although it’s only currently a big hole in the ground, it’s a place I see spending many future days.  I can’t wait for weekends watching my dad be a Grandpa and teach my kids to fish, swim, and hike through the woods.  The cabin can’t help but become a place full of memories.   

Of all the dads out there, I think mine’s pretty great (I think my mom is too, for the record, but it’s not Mother’s Day, now…is it?).  My dad is the kind of guy most people meet and instantly admire.  He’s genuine, hardworking, and has a heart for helping people. 

- - -

Every year on my birthday, my Grandma likes to call me early in the morning and tell me about the day I was born. Her favorite part of the story makes her cry, but the story’s not complete without telling it.

“And then your dad brought you out, all bundled up, and he leaned over and kissed your forehead and said ‘I’m always going to take care of you little girl, I’ll always love and protect you’ And he sure has, Kelsey, he sure has.”

It’s true, he has. 

Dad, you are a great many things to me.

(In no particular order)

Coach.

Although stomping inside and pouting after you made me run after each ball I flung over your head might not seem like the best way to show my appreciation.  I did. I appreciated every game of catch, every softball practice, and every event you were present for on the sidelines. 

Financial Guru

You taught me from a young age that debt is a four-letter word in our household.  You stressed the importance of saving and opportunity cost (though you didn’t call it that at the time). But when it came time to enter the “real world” you gradually released my training wheels and let me ride – I’m not sure if I’d have stayed on two wheels if you’d had flung me out on my own without guidance.

The Voice of Reason

You’ve seen me run the gamut of emotions when it comes to making a decision or handling a situation.  In my most distressed and confused moments, I can call you and you know just the right thing to say.  You have a gentle way of presenting all sides of the story, and I always feel better after talking to you. 

A Handy Man

I hope by the time I’m old like you, (ha!) I know how to do a fraction of what you can. You’ve shown me that a little elbow grease goes a long way, and that I’m smart enough to figure out just about anything myself.  From our first project of transforming an old kitchen table to my little cottage that was a diamond in the rough – I learn so much working by your side.

Mr. Right-About-Everything

You are obnoxiously right about any topic we debate.  Do deer shed their antlers once a year?  That’s ridiculous.  But apparently true.  From trivial topics to serious stuff – your answer is always right.  And it annoys me!

A Giver

Although you’ve never gone right out and said it, you’ve made me believe my talents are a gift from God.  Your example has taught me to use my gifts to help others – in big ways and small. 

A Protector

Since I was a little girl, you’ve let me know I’m loved and watched over. I’ve always known I have two special angels in heaven taking extra care in what I do.  I know from time to time, you’ve called on them for reinforcements, and those beautiful angels have wrapped their wings around me.

A Father

As I’ve grown up, I can’t remember an important moment that you haven’t been a part of.  You’ll always be the reader of bedtime stories, and the one who taught me to ride a bike.  You’ll always be the one who had confidence in me, even when I couldn’t find it in myself. And you’ll always be the dad who calmed my nerves with a game of catch and father-daughter dance practice the night before my wedding day. 

Thank you Dad, for keeping your promise to your little girl. 

Good Dancing or the Best Dancing?

I Like to Read

I'm currently reading two books on my Kindle. One of them is by acclaimed author Cormac McCarthy callled Blood Meridian. The other is by Lemony Snicket and is part of the fictional author's A Series of Unfortunate Events series. Blood Meridian is considered by some to be one of the best American novels ever written. Lemony Snicket is technically a series written for children and young teenagers. Blood Meridian is, thus far (like all of the Cormac McCarthy books I've read) AWFUL. Lemony Snicket's books are AWESOME (I've read them once before).

Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" in all its glory.

So what makes a good book? Some people will tell you it's the writing. Yeah, I suppose writing matters. If I spent my entire walk through your book tripping over commas and bumping my head on typos, it will distract from my enjoyment. I get that. That said, I just finished a great book called One Day by David Nicholls. There were an alarming amount of typos, but I cared so much about the two central characters of the book, I couldn't leave their world even when the book wasn't in my hands.

"If you're going to read only one book about grocery carts, make sure it's The Road." --Oprah

Other people will tell you it's the idea. Another one of Cormac McCarthy's overrated books is called The Road. It won a lot of awards. Oprah liked it. It's about the end of the world. It also sucks. I love post-apocalyptic stories as much as anyone, but this one is about a man and his boy walking through a dead world with a shopping cart. Every now and then they have a tense moment. Yippee. Sometimes when I walk through Hy-Vee with my shopping cart I bump into someone I don't know but who knows me, and it's tense for a bit until I remember who they are. That doesn't mean that I should spread that story out over 250 pages.

The situational plot doesn't really matter. Whatever neat concept the book is going for doesn't matter. A plot can involve dinosaurs, furniture, or British people, but the only way a book will be good is if it features characters I like. That's the problem with Cormac's books. No one is likable. They all kill each other. Also, he doesn't use quotation marks. I don't know why he doesn't do that. Being a literary author, I'm sure he has an overly pretentious reason. I probably wouldn't understand his overly pretentious reason because he probably stated said reason with too many big words.

This book is violent, sexist, racist, and filled with a bunch of drunks, but somehow it still manages to be boring.

On a happier note, do you know what has a compelling story? Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. If you would have told me a rather dark story about an evil Count Olaf making the lives of three orphans miserable could be funny, sweet, and meaningful, I would have said, "Olaf is a good name for a Count." Then I would have taken your suggestion and read the first book. Then I would have enjoyed the first book and read the next twelve of them. The three orphans laugh together and support each other at every turn. The books make me literally angry at the naive, stupid adult characters in the book not named Olaf. The author also has some of the best random asides of any author ever. For instance, he started chapter three in the fifth book of the series "The Austere Academy" with the following:

"The expression “Making a mountain out of a molehill” simply means making a big deal out of something that is actually a small deal, and it is easy to see how this expression came about. Molehills are simply mounds of earth serving as condominiums for moles, and they have never caused anyone any harm except for maybe a stubbed toe if you were walking through the wilderness without any shoes on. Mountains, however, are very large mounds of earth and are constantly causing problems. They are very tall, and when people try to climb them they often fall off, or get lost and die of starvation. Sometimes two countries fight over who really owns a mountain, and thousands of people have to go to war and come home grumpy or wounded. And, of course, mountains serve as homes to mountain goats and mountain lions, who enjoy attacking helpless picnickers and eating sandwiches or children. So when someone is making a mountain out of a molehill, they are pretending that something is as horrible as a war or a ruined picnic when it is really only as horrible as a stubbed toe."

Source: Snicket, Lemony (2009). A Series of Unfortunate Events #5: The Austere Academy (pp. 31-32). HarperCollins e-books. Kindle Edition.

Compare that to Cormac McCarthy, who would write something like this:

I am a character. I don't have a name. The book will keep calling me the Kid or the Man or something. I'm talking right now but you don't know I'm talking because there are no quotation marks. This will get very annoying as time goes on because I'm not doing this for any reason. I'm so sad.

Source: McCarthy, Cormac (2013). Cormac's Next Crappy Book (pp. all of them). HarperCollins e-books. Kindle Edition.

A good book for you to read this summer.

I will leave you all with this: summer is coming. You need to find something to read. Cougar Town won't be on TV until the fall, so you need to keep your brain occupied. You can only handle so much exercise before your heart explodes so start reading. I'd suggest you read Lemony Snicket because it's great. I'd also suggest Harry Potter. Or, if you're an adult that refuses to acknowledge most of the best stories are kids stories, read The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon or Catch 22 by Joseph Heller or, better yet, anything the great Kurt Vonnegut ever produced. You can even read Cormac McCarthy. I know a lot of people like him. Either way, just read. It's good for you.

The master: Read Breakfast of Champions or Slaughterhouse-Five.

This is just a great picture of Ian and me...

Iowa Girl Eats

Hey all you blog lovin' peeps!  I found a new foodie blog that I'm enjoying these days.  We tried two recipes off the blog this week, and both were delish. 

The blog is called Iowa Girl Eats and you should definitely check it out.   What I especially like about the site is that each step of the recipe includes a picture, which helps us recipe reading impaired cooks. 

Recipe #1 was Mozarella Stuffed Bruschetta Turkey Burgers. 

Speaking of recipe reading impaired, I totally botched these the first attempt when I didn't quite read the recipe fully, but after a quick trip to Fareway, round 2 was a success.  The burgers turned out great and it was a nice escape from the traditional tasting burger. 

An image from Iowa Girl's site, but ours turned out looking this good.  Hard to believe. 

Our only modifications were that we skipped the balsamic vinegar glaze, the bruschetta was plenty flavorful on our own.  We also learned that these burgers are not such great 'leftover' food, so next time we'll make only enough for that night.

Recipe #2 Cheesy Chicken and Brocoli Casserole


Ever since we've got gluten free (yes, we're still at it) casserole dishes have been sort of non-existent.  Most casseroles call for "cream of ___" soup, and most of those soups contain gluten. Darn.  There ARE some gf "cream of" soups, but my experience with them and baking is that they are, for lack of a better term, nasty.  So needless to say I was pumped to find Iowa Girl's casserole didn't need any of those things. 

 Okay, that's not the finished product, that's just the chicken. But Jay and I agreed that this seasoned chicken would make a yummy main dish for a meal on it's own.  Breadless nuggets? Barbeque sauce? Skewers?

Our meal was major yummo.  We substituted the flour with cornstarch and used a gf chicken broth from Trader Joes.  Jay especially loved this recipe, and I think it will be on the "you should make that again, Kels" list. 


Thanks again to Iowa Girl Eats for all of your delicious recipes, we'll definitely be trying some more!