frijoles

having grown up in sunny so cal i have never known life without one of my favorite ethnic foods...mexican! i have tried throughout the years to make refried beans from scratch. but i never could find a recipe that worked, or my skills were sorely lacking, take your pick! a few weeks back i saw on my friend andrea's pinterest account a recipe for slow cooker refried beans, and i knew i had to try it!

yesterday i did just that, and let me tell you...they are amazing! such an easy recipe, so tasty, and so easy! and because i am so grateful for this new recipe in my life i am willing to share it with you. now, i don't usually share recipes on here, so to do so within one week is a bit odd, but they truly are foods i am grateful for. i hope you enjoy and become grateful for this recipe as well. (i actually did not add the jalapeno or the cumin, one because i didn't want to and the other because we were out of it...still, so delicious!)

Slow cooker refried beans

·                     1 onion, peeled and halved

·                     3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed

·                     1/4-1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped 

·                     2 tablespoons minced garlic

·                     3 teaspoons salt

·                     1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

·                     1/8 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

·                     5 cups water 

·                     4 cups chicken broth

-Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and chicken broth and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.

-Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency. 

early birds

tonight rachel and i went to see 'the help'. we were supposed to meet several other people from our ward there (girls night). we were told that we should meet at 7:15 pm. we opted to go a little earlier since they have a farmer's market on tuesday evening and i was curious as to what all they had there. so, we were there at 6:55.

we spent a few minutes looking at the vendor's wares, then decided to get our tickets. it only took us a minute to realize that the movie actually began at 7:05. someone was misinformed! (our friends)

needless to say we purchased our tickets and then went into the theater.

i am grateful that we tend to be early rather than late to pretty much everything. it's just how we roll.

and i am grateful that our friends weren't too late!

the good, the bad, and the ugly

august has been a rather interesting month. a month of new life and death, of trials and successes. usually august is somewhat of a sleepy month - it's hot out, it's fairly quiet, and pretty much uneventful (except for last year when amy had gav and then they moved to oregon).

but this year is different...we have had seven people that we know either die or have someone close to them pass away - some unexpectedly, some not.

we have had a sweet granddaughter born into our family; and her parent's best friends had a daughter two days before! and there have been other births as well that we know of.

it is just an odd mix.

along with that rach ran her marathon - a gigantic accomplishment. craig and angie moved, had darci, and he began school again. sam applied for a job with a gaming company (here's to hoping!) and rylee began kindergarten. for amy's family - gav turned one, brad started a new job that will hopefully give him an opportunity for work when he finishes school.

and then this last weekend, pat suffered from his kidney stone, rachel's car is in the shop (ac problems, not good at this time of year), etc., etc. on top of all of that i decided to feel insecure in many aspects of my life. do we ever, ever feel totally happy with who we are? if you do i am really sincerely happy for you, because i am tired of this feeling.

it sounds like i am wallowing, but i'm not...this post has a point.

the point is that i don't believe in wallowing. i believe it is wasted energy. i believe that we are blessed at all times in our lives, we just have to take the time to look around and recognize those blessings. i mean, really, i am grateful for my blessings, and not in a 'look at me, i am better than you' sort of way, but in a sincere, meaningful way.

i have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. i know that God, our Father knows us and loves us and wants to guide us and direct us. i know that my Savior, Jesus Christ, lives, and that He did all that He did because He wanted to glorify the Father, and because He loves us, His brothers and sisters. i know that families can be together forever. i know that my family likes and loves me - even when i am undeserving. i know that no matter what may come in the future for our family my husband and i are there for one another, like we have been since we met.

so what if my health isn't the best? so what if we aren't going to have a lot when we retire? so what if we are upside down on our house? and so what if i feel inadequate in my calling, and sometimes in life?

the point is that we keep trying; and that we look for those things that matter - because those are the things we take with us at the end of this life anyway. we are blessed, and that is all there is to it. and i am beyond grateful for those blessings.

aunt dimity

several years ago rachel made a discovery which i am grateful for. that discovery has kept me company for many hours. it is the series of aunt dimity books by nancy atherton. they are a fun read! we actually have most of the series... because we love them. i just finished reading 'the family tree', which is, i believe, the most recently added to the series.

the thing about it is the 'main' character is dead. the other main character who is alive in the book is lori shepard. she solves all kinds of mysteries in a little town in england called finch.

each book also comes with a recipe. i haven't made most of those recipes, but the one we use all the time (well it would be all the time, if we could afford it calorie-wise) is uncle tom's butterscotch brownie's aka blondies. they are delicious. so much so that i am willing to share the recipe here with you!

Uncle Tom’s Butterscotch Brownies 

Preheat oven to 365 degrees.

½ c. melted butter

2 c. dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1½ c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. vanilla

¼ cup butterscotch chips - optional

¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips – optional

Butter a 9” square cake pan.  Mix all of the ingredients together in large bowl, combining them well.  Spread mixture in the cake pan and bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until dry on top and almost firm to the touch.  Let cool for 10 – 15 minutes, then cut in 2” squares.

if you want a delightful, clean read...try the aunt dimity series, and make some blondies to accompany you during your read!

p.s. there is a new one out! yay! 'aunt dimity and the village witch'...something more to be grateful for!

see rachel run!

quite early this morning we went to san leandro where rachel ran her first official half marathon! it was quite the experience. there were a lot of very physically fit people there, and some that were, well, not so much...but they still ran! it was a wonderful sight to behold.

i loved watching as all the half marathoners gathered together; anticipation ran high, energy was flowing, some were serious some were giddy with excitement. rach was focused, happy and ready. then the countdown began, as she passed by us she smiled and waved excitedly.

i felt like i was taking her to kindergarten again - sending her off on her own and trusting that the world would treat her right. do we ever lose those motherly instincts? i kind of doubt it.

while she ran pat and i went in search of some food for breakfast, which took much longer than it should have, but that isn't important. we also rested in the car (pat recuperating from kidney stones last night and a trip to the er, which got us home at 11 pm). when 1 hr and 45 minutes had passed we decided it was time to go to the finish line. i sure am glad we did!

we were there for about 2 minutes (she ran it in just under 2 hours, not bad, eh?) when in the distance i saw our daughter, running her heart out, beaming at her accomplishment...i was so proud of her. i began waving excitedly (as only a mother can do). when she saw me she smiled that dazzling smile of hers. a few seconds later she crossed the finish line, where we ran to greet her and give her a hug.

there was a moment - the moment - when she crossed that finish line where i welled up with joy inside for the accomplishment she has made (which nearly turned into overflowing tears, but i restrained myself), for the distance she has come since a year ago. she set a goal and she accomplished that goal. 

rach is becoming more and more confident, more strong, and more able to handle whatever life throws at her. actually, i don't know if life can throw things at her, i think she throws things at life now. so, look out life, rachel's coming! ;)

i am grateful for those moments when the success of others brings you such great joy that it is indescribable.

knowledge

we found out that a friend's baby passed away yesterday morning. she was 7 weeks old.

the friend is Rachel's pampered chef distributor/mentor, Deb. we have only known her since may. when we met her she was 7 & 1/2 months pregnant. she was at our home twice just prior to having her little girl. (this is their 4th child) i met her last week, rachel held her several times, and she was a sweetheart.

we are saddened by their loss. i was able to send an email to Deb this morning expressing our sorrow to her. she replied with this...
Thank you.  I am without words too.  Words are not strong enough to express my sorrow.  You met her.  Saw her sweet features and a face that showered us with love.  Its over powering right now.  Thanks for your condolences.  I am at a loss and don't know how to process this loss.  For now I just sit with family and friends around me.  Its all I can do. 

we have so much to be grateful for...the knowledge that families can be together forever is the greatest knowledge that we have; how to get us there is the other greatest knowledge we have, along with who provided the way.

now may not be the time to share this knowledge with them, but it will be shared. how could i not? they are in desperate need of this wonderful knowledge.

new basket!

Rach and I have been on a hunt lately - for a cute basket that is large enough to hold our stray blankets (that we use in the winter, certainly not now). We went to JoAnn's, Michael's, Pier 1 (who no longer has baskets at the one in Manteca), TJ Maxx, Beverly's and finally to Michael's again - only this time in Modesto.

Finally! We found one! Or should I say "Eureka!" Now our strays are all snug as a bug in our new basket! I am grateful that 1) our hunt is over, and 2) we have a central place for our blankets.