 On Wednesdays we share the wonderful things in life! How are you doing? Hanging in there? I hope so! This quarantine hasn't been easy for anyone I've spoken to in the last several weeks. The things that seem to be getting people through are family, music/the arts, and food - 3 of my favorite things! Which is why for today's Wonderful Wednesday post I'm sharing three of my go-to recipes. These are easy, yummy, and healthy recipes that kids can help make...but only if you want them to :) The recipes from each website are written pretty solidly, so I'll be providing a link to the original recipe and sharing my alterations for our personal household taste. Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs This recipe comes from DamnDelicious.net. We're not big green bean people in my house, so I add some extra carrots and potatoes to the recipe. I also reduce the amount of honey and soy sauce to 1/3 cup and add some ginger and 1/2 cup of ketchup to the sauce. What I love most about this recipe is all of the optional changes that you make to the sauce. Want it Spicy & Savory? Use the original sauce recipe with these modifications:
Looking for an Asiany Flair? Use this sauce instead:
You can even eliminate the veggies and use only chicken thighs! Use your imagination, it won't steer you wrong. Sheet-Pan Pineapple & Shrimp Fajitas This super yummy recipe is courtesy of CleanFoodCrush.com, which quickly becoming my go to website for new recipes. We had this for dinner last night and I totally should have taken pictures. Alas, I didn't. My bad. I only make a couple of changes to this recipe. Sometimes we like a little heat in our meals, so I add some red pepper flake or jalapeño or habanero peppers to the sheet-pan. I also tried something new last night. Instead of having this as a fajita, I put it over shiritaki noodles. It adds a different texture more than anything. I would definitely try it again. Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies Okay, so maybe this isn't necessarily a healthy recipe, but what would a recipe post be without some dessert? These cookies come from BonAppetit.com and with only 6 ingredients, they're perfect! Seriously, I don't make any changes to this recipe. Ever. So go make them. Right now! You can thank me when you're face is covered in powdered sugar and you only have 3 cookies left 20 minutes after they come out of the oven. :) Have you made any of these recipes before? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Happy Wednesday, friends!
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 These are my hyacinths! I snapped this picture after a full day of snow and freezing rain the previous day - they are so resilient!
I'm always amazed in late February when I see the first signs of these lovely flowers popping up through the snow. It's a wonderful reminder that winter is coming to an end and the warmth of Spring is on it's way! I look forward to these hyacinths every year for their adorable pedals and their intoxicating aroma - though I am the first to admit that they can be so strong that they're kind of "stinky", haha. There are pink, purple (blue), and white hyacinths in my garden. This year though, my white hyacinths have turned Yellow! I've never seen a yellow hyacinth before, but like everything else in life, flowers change. What doesn't change, for me at least, is what they bring: Promises. The promise of warmth. The promise of longer days. The promise of time spent outside. The promise of fresh air coming in through my open windows. The promise of birds singing me awake in the morning. The Promise of Spring! Summer might be my favorite season (yes, I love the heat and I'll take the humidity over cold any day), but I love Spring with all of its newness, freshness, and growth. The beginning of Spring this year has been dampened by the pandemic, but these hyacinths remind me that God is here and so is Spring! Happy Wednesday, my friends!  On Wednesdays we share the wonderful things in life! I should've posted this one last week as it was closer to the actual anniversary, but I didn't think of it in time. So, I'm sharing it now. One year ago (on February 28th) my now husband, Chris and I were on vacation when he surprised me by proposing. I will be keeping the details of his proposal to myself as it was a private moment for us and I would like to keep it that way. The ring, however, is has a story of it's own. This is my engagement ring.  My husband made it - yes, made it - from the first bass string of my Grandpa’s piano.
My Grandpa passed away almost 2 years ago now. He was a huge influence in my life as a musician. I even lived with him and my grandma my first year and a half of college. Losing him was very hard on me and Chris' decision to make this ring is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. By the way, if you want your own piano string jewelry, you should head on over to his Etsy shop where you can find earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Sorry no rings though, I kinda want this to be a one of a kind. :)  I saw a quote a while back that said, "Make today so awesome, yesterday gets jealous." It's been a very full year so far and there have been a few times where I could've let life overwhelm or frustrate me, but here's the thing. I have the power to choose how I respond to those things in life. YOU have the power to choose how You respond to those things in life! Today, I choose to make my day so awesome that not only does yesterday get jealous, but tomorrow tries to be even better. What are you going to do today? Happy Wednesday!   Wonderful Wednesday is a time for us to share the wonderful things of life. Yes, it's February and I'm about to discuss Christmas. But this is too good to hold onto until December, so please bear with me. Every year, like most teachers, I get gifts from students and their families. Teacher decorations, candies, gift cards, etc. One student gave me an awesome pair of piano socks! This year was no exception. What made it different was a note and gift I received from the grandma of 2 of my students. The youngest handed it to me and said, "This is from Grammy". My heart melted. And then melted some more when I read the note.  The note and gift themselves are beautiful and I so appreciate them. But when I saw that the card was signed "Love, Grammy", it just brought me to tears. (The tears are welling up now thinking about it.)
See, I had a Grammy. She was my mom's maternal grandmother, my great-grandmother and I had the honor of knowing her until I was 19. Most people don't get to have their grandparents in their lives that long let alone a great-grandparent. Having the grandma of my students sign her name Grammy and not "M and G's Grandma" or "Mrs. So-in-so" just made so many things feel worth it. (Where are my teachers at? You feel me, right?) This is what I love about what I do. My students are family. Their families are family and what is more wonderful than that?  It's Wednesday morning and I've just finished my morning routine (more about that to come!). While I was drinking my coffee, I started thinking about all of the things that have happened over the last several weeks.
I started this blog and got my Tpt store up and running. My students have been sharing so many stories in their lessons. I'm (finally) able to exercise regularly. I'm practicing regularly. So many good, funny, wonderful things are happening and I want to share them with you! On Wednesdays I will be sharing something wonderful from my life. A story, a photo, a recipe, who knows what the week will bring! This week is I have a cute little a story from one of my kindergartners: "Miss Christie, guess what." "What?" "I am so fast! I can run faster than the gingerbread man!" "Oh yeah?" "Yeah, I can run 100, but he can only run 20, so I'm going to catch him because I'm so fast!" "Nice!" Happy Wednesday! |
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