Five Hundred Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes

Why is it that a song writer can sum up my feelings so much better than myself and they don’t even know me?  So is the case even today.  As the song goes . . .

“Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?”

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights,
In cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.”

This marks the amount of time I have been married to Brandon Kyle Wilson, my husband of one year (Five Hundred Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes as of today). 
If we truly were to measure in cups of coffee we would have had a good year because we drink coffee like it’s going out of style.  Or to measure in miles would take us off the charts because between the two of us we have logged a lot o’ miles.  However, like the song says . . .

“How about love? Measure in love . . .”

Now as cheesy as that might sound truly what better way is there to measure our marriage?  But I must clarify this love comes not from ourselves but from the covenant love of God.  God sent His son, Jesus, to die for me so that my sins may be forgiven.  There is no other love greater than this and it is because of this love I am able to love Brandon.  Loving Brandon apart from Christ would never be enough, never be satisfying, and would never provide fulfillment. 

However, we live in hope because we believe according to Ephesians 5:32 that our marriage is more than just about us and the roles we play as husband and wife are a picture of Christ and the church.  As John Piper says, “Marriage is meant by God to put that gospel reality on display in the world.  That is why we are married.”

The past year as Mrs. Brandon Wilson has been a blessing.  It is more than I deserve to have a husband that loves the Lord more than he loves me and challenges me to do the same. 

I love you Brandon! 

“It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love.” 

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Fried Green Tomatoes (not the movie)

While I like the movie Fried Green Tomatoes as much as the next girl this post is not about the movie.  It’s summer for goodness sakes, I’m talking about the real thing.

I hate to admit it but I don’t like tomatoes.  I like tomato juice, salsa, chili, spaghetti sauce, ketchup, and most everything else made of tomatoes but not plain, old, raw tomatoes.  However, I do really enjoy fried green tomatoes.  Go figure.

On my way home from the vet today I stopped at Bennett’s Market.  As I was perusing through the fresh vegetables the box of green tomatoes caught my attention.  I recalled tearing out a recipe from Southern Living (June issue) for fried green tomatoes.  I picked up three and planned to add them to supper.  Brandon has been away for work since Sunday so I wanted to have a home cooked meal ready for him.

When I arrived home, I started digging through my stack of “want to try” recipes and found the one.  I had all the ingredients.  Hooray!  It was super easy and they only take 4 minutes to cook.  I definitely think you should try it!

Ingredients: 1 egg, ½ cup buttermilk (I’ll tell you how to make it), ½ cup SR cornmeal, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, ½ cup all purpose flour, 3 medium firm green tomatoes

Note:  If you don’t keep buttermilk (I don’t)here’s how to make it.  Pour 1 cup of milk and add 1 tbsp of vinegar then let it stand for 10 minutes.   Voila, buttermilk. (so for this recipe you need ½ cup of milk with ½ tbsp. of vinegar)

You need three bowls

1^st bowl:  ¼ cup of all purpose flour

2^nd bowl:  egg, slight beaten and buttermilk

3^rd bowl:  cornmeal, salt, pepper, ¼ cup of all purpose flour

Slice your tomatoes about 1/3 inch thick.  Dip a slice in the 1^st bowl (front and back), then the 2^nd bowl (front and back), then the 3^rd bowl (front and back).  Then drop in a cast iron skillet (really any skillet will do but you can’t beat cast iron) filled with ½ inch of oil.  I put my heat on medium.  Let the tomatoes cook about 2 minutes on each side.  Drain on paper towels. 

ENJOY!

We enjoyed them so much we decided to share!



When you’ve got limes, make limeade

I LOVE LIMES!  The flavor, especially in the summer, is one I can’t get enough on.  There are so many uses you might not have even thought of.  We marinate chicken in lime juice, squeeze it over tortilla chips, or simply drop it in a glass of ice water.  My good friend Emily has introduced me to yet another use that I thought you might want to try as well. 

I keep limes in my kitchen almost all the time.  Today I noticed they were starting to turn brown and if I didn’t use them I was going to lose them (and I sure didn’t want to do that) so I made limeade. 

I have made fresh limeade before with limes, sugar, and water which is quicker and easier.  So, if you don't have time for this recipe you can make it that way.  However, it seemed there was something missing until I tried this recipe. 

Ingredients:  Limes, Sugar, Water, Club soda

Step 1:  Simply take your limes and squeeze them.  As you can see I used a simple, cheap juicer.  I don’t have anything electronic and fancy like you see on Barefoot Contessa.  (Although that would be a good gift idea.  Anyone?  Anyone?)  You need at least one cup of juice and then set it to the side.

Step 2:  On the stovetop over medium heat mix 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water.  Stir continuously until sugar is dissolved which will be about 5 minutes.  Drop in the limes or their peeling for added intensity. 

Step 3:  Immediately turn the heat up and bring to boil.  As soon as the mixture starts to boil turn down the heat to a simmer and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.  Then remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture slightly cool. 

Step 4:  After the mixture has cooled, add the lime juice.  Place in the refrigerator until completely cooled, approximately 3 hours. 

Step 5:  Take the mixture out of the refrigerator and mix with ½ liter of club soda.  Sip and enjoy!

Options:  You can substitute the limes/lime juice with lemon or even orange. 

Other options:  You can change the ratio to make a larger batch; 3 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water, 2 cups of juice, and 1 liter of club soda. 

For your listening pleasure

I have added a playlist to my blog that I plan to regularly modify for your listening pleasure.  If it doesn't automatically start playing scroll to the bottom and click play.  Enjoy!

Love List

$5 well spent....

Does it seem like the life expectancy of a float never exceeds one summer to anyone else but me?  If I had a quarter for every float we have bought for the pool since I was a child I would be rich!  Holes seal the fate of one after another to the trash can.  If my mom said don’t jump on the floats once she said it a million times but somehow they still didn’t survive.  There were a couple of summers that my mom was brave and invested in some of the foam floats that were supposed to last longer and were more expensive.  However, that money went down the drain because they still seemed to disappear before the next summer.  So I suppose we’ve just given up and are prepared to buy a whole new set of floats each year. 

Which brings me to the point of my rambling.  I am going to give the credit where it is due to my friend Angel, or it may have actually been her mom, anyway they have discovered the best float for Summer 2011.  It can be found at Wal-Mart and Kmart and only cost $5!!!!!  It is my favorite float ever!  Why you ask? 

1. You are partially submerged in the water so you stay cool and refreshed.
2. It is a seat so you can sit up and talk.
3. It is a lounger so you can lean back and nap.
4. It has cup holders! 
5. And did I mention it’s only $5!!!!! 

 

So does this mean we’re rednecks?!

After almost a year of marriage we are enjoying the much needed slower pace of life for the summer. We have kicked it off right by spending lots of time outside. One of our favorite things about summer is that we have had more time to spend with our nephews Kase and Knox. Kase is three and he loves coming to our house. We think it’s because he loves us so much but Brooke (my sister) says it’s because we have a petting zoo. A few chickens, three cats, and a dog do not count as a petting zoo in my book but whatever. Anyway, the other day Kase spent the day with us. We had some things to do outside so we figured he could hang out and play in the yard with us. Not having kids of our own we didn’t realize that his attention span was pretty small so he got pretty bored with one thing after a little while. Brandon and I still had some things to do and I was running out of ideas to keep Kase busy. It was a hot day and so I had the idea to drag Brandon’s john boat to the back yard and fill it up with water. Brandon thought this was a ridiculous idea but being the stubborn person I am I did it anyway. Kase was having the time of his life splashing around in the boat when Brandon and I went to check on him. We quickly got into the spirit and dropped what we were doing to engage in a water fight. It may be a little redneck to use a john boat as a swimming pool but for the fun we had I’d gladly be called a redneck!

Brandon and I didn’t get everything done we needed to do but it was so worth it! To stop and not be in such a hurry with checking off a “to do” list and just enjoy the day with family is one of the top reasons I love summer! Please let this be a reminder to you. Take the time to drop what you’re doing and focus on the ones you love even if it is in a john boat.

(I have to add that later Brandon admitted it was a pretty good idea.)

Top O' the Morning

Ireland is a place I've always wanted to go and due to my wonderful husband, I recently was able to do just that.  Brandon helps to coordinate the Agriculture Study Abroad trip at Murray State.  This year was a trip to Ireland and I was able to tag along.  We were there for seven full days which to me was not quite enough.  The trip was booked through a great travel company, Discover Ireland.  At first I was a little leary of traveling with a guide but I would not do it any other way!  Our guide, Liam, was full of Irish history and charm.  Brandon and I discussed how much we would have missed out on had we not been with Liam.

Of course the trip was built around an agriculture emphasis which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I did grow up with an agriculture background.  However, I think anyone would enjoy the agriculture aspect of Ireland because so much of the country is rural and centered around agriculture.  The tour group did a great job of providing opportunities to see highlighted historical and tourist spots too. 

My top 5 favorite things about the trip

1.  Blarney Stone - If kissed you are to have the gift of speaking eloquence. 

2.  Muckross House - This property contains breathtaking view and historical love story.

3.  Springview House B & B - Mrs. Eileen was a precious Irish host!

4.  Random Castles/Ruins - You can be driving along a tiny country road off the beaten path and see the ruins of a castle.  Can you imagine?

5.  Irish villages - So many Irish villages that each have their own claim to fame along with a local butcher. 

I kept my notebook handy the entire time to take notes of what we did but also notes for a future trip (Hint Hint Brandon).  If you have the chance you definitely need to go.  And guess what, the flight is only 6 hours.  It takes that long to fly across the United States.