A Bushel and a Peck

Patty Piper picked a peck of pickling cucumbers;

A peck of pickling cucumbers Patty Piper picked;

If Patty Piper picked a peck of pickling cucumbers;

Where's the peck of pickling cucumbers Patty Piper picked?

Well, they're right here!

Now then, I'm not exactly sure how many cucumbers are in a peck, but I do know that a peck signifies a large quantity of a dry good, and there are 4 pecks in a bushel. So, if I've picked 29 cucumbers, would it be safe to say that I've picked a bushel AND a peck? I don't know. But all this math is making my head spin.

So far this summer, I've made tomato, onion and cucumber salad, cucumber sandwiches, cucumber and dill sauce for salmon, and I've pickled them just about every way possible.

And there are more cucumbers growing out there in the garden right now! It's been raining for 2 days here. I'm scared at what I might find out there tomorrow. Seriously, I can't even seem to pick the cucumbers fast enough. They definitely seem to be growing the best out of anything else that I've planted in my garden. I've picked a few onions and tomatoes (hence, the tomato, onion and cucumber salad), but other than that, nothing else is growing anywhere near as fast and as plentiful as the cucumbers. And here's the really funny part in all of this... I'm not a super big fan of cucumbers. I planted only 1 cucumber plant this year, but I planted 3 yellow squash plants and I've not harvested a single squash yet... What's up with that?

Next week, I shall pick some more cucumbers and I shall make cucumber water, Gyros with tzatziki sauce, Rachael Ray's Tuna Burgers with Asian Hot & Sweet Pickle Salad, tomatoes stuffed with cream cheese, dill and cucumbers, and I might even try my hand at making California Rolls. I appreciate everyone who's already sent me cucumber recipes. Keep 'em coming!

Taking Flight

There's a family of Purple Martins living in my backyard. They leave each winter and come back each spring to nest in my bird condo. Purple Martins are awesome creatures. They have a call that is so beautiful. They mate for life. And once they pick their home, as long as their landlord (which is me, in this case) maintains the property, they return each year to build a new nest and have more baby birds. So this spring, I was thrilled to see that my tenants had indeed returned to my bird condo for yet another year. Guess I'm a good landlord!

Just 2 weeks after I noticed they had returned, I spotted 5 eggs in the nest. And not even 4 weeks after that, I heard the baby birds inside the nest. It was difficult for me to tell whether all 5 eggs had hatched and whether all 5 babies had survived. When I checked on the babies, I could only see 3.

But based on the video I shot today, it would seem that all 5 babies are alive and well. The video I took is of the mother and father teaching their babies how to fly. I love it! It gave me goose bumps to stand outside and listen to the mother and father calling out to their babies, showing them how to leap off the railing of the birdhouse and how to land again. I'm a little sad to think that the family will be leaving soon, but I am so hopeful that they will return next spring again.

New Recipe!

Any time I come across a new recipe that is actually good (and by good, I mean that the recipe will actually get made more than once), I like to share it. Now, this recipe might be a bit challenging for some, but the end result is worth it. So, hang in there with me through the many difficult steps. I promise, you'll be thanking me when it's all said and done. Ready?

This recipe came to me via my good friend, Emily. Thank you very much, Emily, for sharing! It's called Diet Cupcakes (which now that I type it out, seems like a bit of an oxymoron). But let's press on...

Step 1: Get a box of cake mix. Any flavor. Any brand.
Step 2: Open the box of cake mix.
Step 3: Pour the dry cake mix into a bowl.
Step 4: Get a 12 ounce can of diet soda. Any flavor. Any brand.
Step 5: Pour the diet soda into the bowl with the dry cake mix.
Step 6: Stir.
Step 7: Bake the diet cupcakes according to the directions for cupcakes on the box of cake mix.

Whew, are you all still with me? That was a tough one... Seriously though, I tried these and I liked them a lot. Emily used Devil's Food Cake with Diet Cherry Coke (I think!). And they were really good. One suggestion that Emily offered is that you may want to add slightly less than the entire can of diet soda so that the cupcakes won't turn out too moist.

Another variation on these cupcakes, which came to me via my Mother-in-Law (thank you, Mom Consuelo) calls for 1 box of spice cake mix, and 1 can (15 ounce) pumpkin. Mix the 2 ingredients together and bake according to the directions on the box.

And there you have it... Happy baking!

Just to be clear...

God is not the author of evil in this world. And God does not make bad things happen. But sometimes, bad things do happen. When one bad thing after another started happening to me and my family, yes, I questioned a lot of things. I'm not proud of that. But I did it. Admitting here on my blog that I called out to God in anger was not my way of saying that I was angry at God or that I felt like He had made these bad things occur. Quite the contrary. What I was trying to say was that I was angry at the power of evil in this world that was attacking me, my family, my sense of security and stability, and my marriage. And so yes, I yelled at God because I was angry. Angry not at God, but at the evil that had penetrated my world. I yelled out to him because I needed his help, more than ever before. And the bottom line here is that when these bad things happened and I called out to him, God was there for me and my family, loving us and guiding us, every step of the way. He never left us. And I believe that when we were hurting, God was hurting too, right along with us. And when we cried, God cried too. And when we rejoiced, He rejoiced. And I just wanted to say that, just to be clear...

"Be strong in the Lord and in his great power. Put on the full armor of God so that you are able to fight against the Devil's evil tricks. For our fight is not against ourselves but against the powers of darkness at work in this world." Ephesians 6:10

And in the end...

As many of you already know, the past few months have not been easy for me and my family. We have struggled with a lot of difficult things. And when I say a lot, I really do mean a lot... Have you ever heard of the list of the Top 10 Biggest Causes of Stress for Adults? Here's the list:

1) Death of a spouse

2) Divorce

3) New marriage

4) Injury or illness

5) Marital problems

6) Moving

7) Death of a relative or close friend

8) Loss of job

9) Financial problems

10) Retirement


Over the past 5 months, we have experienced 5 out of 10 things on that list.

#4 on the list... Isaac fell at a park on Palm Sunday and had a serious injury to his mouth, which required a trip to the ER and 3 subsequent trips to the dentist.

# 7 on the list... In March, we lost a dear friend from high school to Cystic Fibrosis. And 2 months later, her father passed away from brain cancer.

#8 on the list... I lost my job tutoring a little girl after school because her father lost his job. Then about a month later, Hector lost his job, which in turn brought about #9 on the list. And if I'm being completely honest, the loss of income and the financial problems that came with it didn't really help with the already-shaky areas of #5 on the list.

Add to all of that the fact that my dog Maisy lost her 9 month battle with cancer. Saying goodbye to Maisy was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It's been 3 months, and I still miss her and think about her daily. And now my other dog Molly (who's 91 years old in human years) is honestly depressed from the loss of her "sister." Her health is deteriorating rapidly and she is fading, and I fear that I will be saying goodbye to her sooner than later.

I'd really love to be able to say that I've handled all of these stressful situations with grace and dignity, with my faith remaining unshakable the entire time while I also maintained a sense of focus and perspective that my problems were somewhat trivial to what others in the world are suffering through. But I am human, and flawed, and I rarely handle stress in a positive or constructive manner even when I'm trying to deal with only 1 stressful thing. And so I cried, I threw fits, I yelled at everyone in my home and then I yelled at God, I took long walks in the freezing snow and pouring rain just to be by myself and yell at God some more, and then I would eat (gosh, I especially hate that part of all of this). And when I hit the lowest point and I didn't know what else to do or say or what to pray for anymore, I started to reach out to my friends and family, and they were there for me. They said what I couldn't say. They prayed what I couldn't pray. They gave me the words that kept me going. Email after email, letter after letter, phone call after phone call, my wonderful friends and family gave me these words:

"When peace like a river attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul."

"The Lord your God will always be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. So do not fear anything or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:6-8

"Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you may go." Joshua 1:9

"The Lord if my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

"Trust in the Lord, and he will grant you the desires of your heart. Trust in him, and he will do this for you. Be still before the Lord, and wait on him." Psalm 37:3-5

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and let no harm come to you. Plans to give you a future full of hope." Jeremiah 29:11

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

"So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you." Isaiah 41:10

"Your father knows what you need before you ever ask it. So do not worry. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things will be given to you. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." Matthew 6:8b, 31-34

"The sufferings of today are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us tomorrow. For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him." Romans 8:18, 28

"Do not worry about anything. But in everything, through prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind." Philippians 4:6-7

"God, hear my cry; listen to my prayers. I call out to you from the ends of the earth when I am afraid, and you carry me away to the highest mountain. You are my protection." Psalm 61:1

"Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me because I need your protection. Let me hide under the shadow of your wings until this trouble had passed." Psalm 57:1

Through God, you gave me those words. You prayed for me when I could no longer pray. You encouraged me when I could no longer do that for myself. And through that, I finally was able to let go of all of the stress and negativity in my life. I laid it all at the foot of the cross, and asked Christ to take this heavy load from me. And he did just that. He took it all from me. He took the pain and the stress and the fear from my heart. And he filled it back up with love and forgiveness and strength and peace.

And in the end.... Well, in the end God did exactly what he promised he would do. He took care of me. He took care of my family. He never left me. He never gave up on me. He held my hand the entire time. I am humbled. And every time I think about this great big world, filled with so much hurt and pain, and the fact that God was there for me every step of the way, well that just makes me feel even more humbled. I am blessed. And I can honestly say that my marriage is stronger today than it's been in years. Spending the past few months with my husband has proven to be a true blessing from God. We were given the gift of time to be alone together, to reconnect and rebuild our marriage. And I'm thrilled to share the news that Hector received a wonderful job offer yesterday, which truly is a huge answers to prayers; our prayers and your prayers on our behalf. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

"Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted to us in answer to the prayers of many." 2 Corinthians 1:11

Taste Test

Have you ever noticed just how many different flavors of Pringles there are? Seriously, there's a lot of them. So, as a fun and interesting way to start off our summer break, I decided to buy 7 different varieties of Pringles, and set up a taste test to see what The 5 Aces thought about them. Here's how they stacked up (pun intended):

Extreme Screamin' Dill Pickle - 1 thumb up, 4 thumbs down
* Let me just say that I am the only person in our family who likes pickles, and I LOVED these chips. These were my favorite of the group.

Ketchup - 2 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down
* They tasted more like tomato soup than ketchup. Still, the flavor was not too overwhelming, which made them enjoyable for Hector and I. I thought these would have been Avery's favorite, but they weren't.

Loaded Baked Potato - 3 thumbs up, 2 thumbs down
* These were Hector's favorite. Strong sour cream and bacon flavors, but a little weak on the cheese and chive flavors. The most surprising thing about these chips was that the texture and main flavor of the chip matched that of a baked potato skin. It was an unexpected, but nice, surprise.

Restaurant Cravers Mexican Layered Dip - 4 thumbs up, 1 thumb down
* These were really good, and by far the majority favorite. I had to pry the container of chips away from Hector, and then from Avery, so that I could get some more... HA! These were Avery's favorite of the group.

Pringles Original - 4 thumbs up, 1 thumb down
* I really wanted to throw in 1 flavor of chip that I thought Samuel might actually eat and enjoy. I mean, how can you go wrong with Pringles Original? But sadly enough, Samuel refused to sample any of the chips. Which is why there's always at least 1 thumb down on all of these. :-( But these were Isaac's favorite.

Not included in the picture are the Pringles Extreme Blastin' Buffalo Wings and Extreme Hoppin' Horseradish. Hector and I were the only ones willing to try both of these. He and I both really enjoyed the Blastin' Buffalo Wings, but the Hoppin' Horseradish chips were Horrible! And I like horseradish, but these were NOT good. My advise... stay away from them!

Last Day, Hooray!

The last day of school has arrived. The first words out of Avery's mouth this afternoon when she got into the car after school were, "I can't wait to go to 2nd grade!" And the first words out of Samuel's mouth were, "I don't want to go to 3rd grade." Oh well...

Years ago, I started a tradition in our family where I take a picture of the kids on the last day of school standing in the dining room next to the bar. Everyone takes a picture on the first day of school, but I think the last day of school is cause for just as much (if not more) celebration. Plus, I like being able to see just how much they've grown within a year's time. So, here they are...

Samuel's last day of Pre-K and Avery's last day of Preschool 3 (above).

Samuel's last day of Kindergarten and Avery's last day of Pre-K (above).

Samuel's last day of 1st Grade and Avery's last day of Kindergarten (above).

Samuel's last day of 2nd Grade and Avery's last day of 1st Grade (above).



Oh my, how they've grown! And I must say that the award for the biggest changes from one year to the next most definitely goes to Avery. She has changed so much over the past year! She no longer looks like a little girl... she looks like a young lady. Man, the thought of my little girl becoming a young lady makes me want to cry sometimes. I'm not going to cry though because the kids are out of school and summer has officially begun! Woo Hoo!