A Trick

I am about to share the greatest "trick" ever.

You know when your doorbell rings? And you look at your husband with eyebrows squeezed together and that expression on your face that asks, "Who is that?" After answering the door, you find a long-lost friend who is in town and happened to find your house and stop by. Or you find a favorite friend, or you find a neighbor. And you think in your head, "Oh crap, what can I offer to this friend to eat or drink?"

Ok, ok, who am I kidding? People just don't drop by anymore. You almost always know who is on their way to your house.

(Although, Josh and I just dropped by his grandpa's house the other day. I kept insisting we needed to call, and Josh assured me that people didn't call to warn his grandpa they were coming; they just came. Sure enough, his grandpa was thrilled to see us and gave us the grand tour of his garden and home).

So instead, you know those coffee mugs that sit in your cupboard that never get used? They just sit....

Here is the most amazing dessert for those coffee mugs, and it takes less than 5 minutes total for the entire dessert making process:

Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Yield: 1

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 2 mins

Total Time: 7 mins

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 tablespoons white granulated sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 egg
3 tablespoons peanut butter
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in an over sized coffee mug. Whisk well with a small whisk until smooth. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes and then take it out to check to see if it is done. If not, continue to microwave in thirty second intervals. Mine was done at 2 minutes. You don’t want to overcook it or it will become rubbery. You can also make this into two smaller-sized mugs. You can mix the batter all in one mug and then pour half into another mug. Make sure you cook each one individually.

I added mini chocolate chips to mine, and OH MY!

This is the easiest, yummiest dessert you can make.

So, whether you have an unexpected guest stop by, or you want to put your coffee mugs to use, you HAVE to try this recipe.

(Here's the link where you can find several other similar mug recipes, such as brownies, pumpkin mugs, blueberry mugs, or chocolate caramel mugs).

Old Guy

There is an older man who lives on the first floor of my apartment building. He smokes, so I often see him sitting on his porch as I come and go. Over the past three and a half years that I have lived there, this man and I have become "friends."

Through my observations and conversations, I know the following: he is married to a wife with an accent (England, perhaps?), he works very early in the morning and gets home in the afternoon about the same time I do, he smokes, he has a few grandchildren that his wife watches during the day, he likes to work on his car,  and he is always willing to strike up a conversation.

We've never exchanged names, but we talk every time we see each other. He calls me "Young Lady".

"Hey, young lady, how are you today?"
"Great day to be at the pool, young lady."
"Have a great weekend, young lady."

I've come to look forward to seeing Old Guy outside, and every time I go down the stairs, I take a peek to see if he's sitting on his porch.

Recently, Josh and I were headed to my place in separate cars. I was 10 minutes ahead of Josh, so I decided to grab dinner at Little Caesars quickly and figured I'd still beat Josh to my place. The Hot 'N Ready's were not so ready yet, though, so Josh ended up beating me to my apartment.

As I pulled in, I noticed Old Guy working on his car with another guy leaning against his car. Old Guy was having a smoke break, so both men were leaning on the hood chatting. I didn't bother to look at the second guy because I was in a hurry to find Josh and eat our pizza.

As I parked, I waved at Old Guy and noticed that the second man was Josh. Josh had quickly become friends with Old Guy in the five minutes he'd been waiting for me (this wasn't the first time Josh and Old Guy had spoken, but I was still surprised to see Josh leaning against his hood). As I got out of the car, Old Guy said, "You know, in all these years, I've never asked for your name. Your boyfriend just filled me in. You're a teacher?"

"Yes, I teach at Chatfield. My name is Shiloh. I know, in all these years, we've never introduced ourselves."

"My name is Phil. You guys ride your bikes a lot."

The conversation continued for a few minutes, and then Josh and I went upstairs to have dinner. I told Josh that Old Guy, I mean Phil, sure knew a lot of about me. I said, "I think he's been stalking me." Josh said since he lives on the first floor, he sees everyone coming and going and probably knows quite a bit about everyone.

Josh also told me that Phil said I had the most beautiful smile. Now I like Phil even more than I did before!

Breaking and Entering

My friend Alicia texted me a few weeks ago and asked if I would dog-sit her two weiner dogs for a week. A WEEK! She must not have gotten the memo that I'm not a huge fan of dogs. But of course I will help a friend, even if it involves dogs.

On Wednesday of this week, I picked up the dogs and brought them to my place. I had all their doggie supplies, plus a house key to periodically check on their house.

(The dogs have been great, by the way, but that's not the point of my story).

This morning, Josh and I decided to skip church (don't judge, but Josh is highly allergic to the dogs and he was having a rough morning of sneezing, itchy eyes, and crying eyes) and take the dogs to the dog park to let them run around.

Half way to the dog park, however, we decided to go to Alicia's house instead because she has a big yard and we could sit and relax while the dogs played.

Alicia lives about a mile from my place, so we were there within minutes. I unlocked the front door, put my car keys and the house key on the counter, and Josh and I both went outside through the back door. I kept the back door open, just in case. I didn't want it to accidentally lock us out or anything.

We played for about 30 minutes, and then Josh went inside to get the dogs some water. On his way out, he shut the back door behind him (do you see where this is going?). We played for a bit longer and then we were all tuckered out, so Josh called the dogs to come inside.

Josh tried opening the back door. Locked.

Yup, we were locked out. With my car keys on the counter. I called Alicia right away to see if they had a hidden key somewhere. No answer. I left a voicemail explaining our small problem while Josh started checking every single window to find a way into the house.

(Alicia warned us about the neighbor across the street who is the neighborhood snoop. He keeps on eye on his neighbors and tells everyone who will listen the important "news" so Josh and I did not want to start poking around the front yard. We were afraid he's call all the neighbors over to watch).

Anyway, Josh finally discovered the kitchen window was unlocked, so he pulled the screen off and got the window open. The window, however, was about five feet from the ground, so it wasn't easy to get into the house. Also, the window was right above the kitchen sink, which was full of dishes. This wasn't going to be an easy task.

We decided Josh was the best one for this window crawling experience, so we eventually got him hoisted onto the window ledge. Let's just say Josh's large frame had to squeeze and bend in unusual ways to get inside the house, and I was nearly in hysterics watching him/trying to help him get through the small frame. I held his butt and legs while he did gymnasts moves with his body.

He eventually squeezed in, crawled over the sink and dishes and made it into the kitchen safe and sound. He unlocked the door, and we were able to grab the keys. Josh put the screen back on the window, we locked the window this time, and quickly made our escape (in case any other neighbors were watching us "break in."

I texted Alicia and said, "Don't worry about the message I left a little bit ago. We broke into your house. Don't worry, we didn't break anything."

My Favorite Things

Here are a few of my favorite things (most recently):

Hummus-To be specific, Red Pepper Hummus with Sea Salt Pita Chips. Yummo. I have been eating this for lunch, and I look forward to it everyday.

Garbanzo-Speaking of hummus, Garbanzo is a fast-food Mediterranean restaurant that serves hummus and other deliciousness. I crave this place about once a week.

Salad with Cottage Cheese-Alongside my hummus and pita chips for lunch, I have also been having a giant salad. It's pretty simple and only 3 WW points. I dump the cottage cheese on top of my lettuce and then use a sweet onion salad dressing. Mix, add pepper, and I have a very filling salad for lunch.

Nashville-Love this TV show. I'm addicted.

Coupons-I mean, who doesn't love to save money. King Soopers sends me coupons every month for FREE stuff, such as Peanut Butter. Ummm, yes, I'd love to save $2.50 and get a free jar of my favorite food.

Crafts-Yeah, I've been a crafting machine lately (so has Shannon). I spend a lot of evenings making fun stuff. I'll blog again with pictures.

Reading-I don't have a lot of time to read during the school year, but as I head into my summer break, I am so excited to spend my time reading again. I've been reading several good books lately.

Wing Shack-Josh and I eat there every weekend when I'm in Greeley. I've blogged about this place before, and now I want wings.

Pink and Orange-Definitely my favorite colors, especially as I head into summer. You will see me wearing these colors a lot.

Flats-If you know me, you know I have a collection of high heels. However, I have recently fell in love with flats. Rarely do I wear heels anymore, and I have three pairs of flats that I am addicted to wearing. They are so comfy and cute.

Pinterest-I spend many an hour browsing through recipes and crafts.

Glue Gun-Josh got me a very nice glue gun for Christmas last year, and I use it all the time. This comes in handy with all my crafting.

Sewing Machine-I've been using this a lot, too.

New Living Arrangement-I rearranged my living room and dining room, and I have so much more room now. It opened up my living room and gave me more room to craft!

What My Mother Taught Me

Here are a few things my mom taught me that I am so thankful for. Of course, these are just a few of the many, many things I learned from my mother.

To Sew:
Growing up in Nebraska, most girls were a part of 4-H. I was no exception, and through 4-H, I learned to knit, bake, and sew. It was my mom, however, that really taught me to sew. She would sit down with me night after night to help cut the pattern, to help pin the pattern down, to help cut the pattern out, and then help with the very tough part of matching the pieces and sewing them together. I created many of an outfit with the help of my mom.

This dying art has come in handy for me, especially recently. My friend, Lauren, discovered I could sew (when I made her some towels), so she started sending business my way. I have sewn two different projects for her and made a few extra dollars by helping her out. I have also fixed some clothes and mended some hems.

To Cook:
My mother taught me to cook. We didn't go out to eat a lot when we were growing up, and my mom always had a home cooked meal prepared for dinner. When I was old enough, my mom started teaching me how to cook and soon passed the honor of making dinner off to me. I would get home from school and try my hand at a new recipe or two.

As a grown adult, I LOVE to cook. I love having company over, I love creating meals for Josh, and I love browsing recipes to find something new and exciting.

To Write Hand-Written Letters:
Without exception, my mom required each one of us to write thank-you notes whenever we received something from someone. While we moaned and groaned about this process, it is something I still do with pride today. It is not common to receive thank-you notes, so I send them with a smile on my face. It is so thoughtful to thank people for gifts and other things, and I will definitely teach my children to do the same. Once, I received a thank-you note for my thank-you note. I asked my mom, "Do I have to send her another thank-you card for her thank-you card for my thank-you card?" My mom chuckled and excused me from writing another note.

Apart from thank-you notes, I love to send hand-written letters periodically. It is so much fun to receive snail mail (another dying art), and I enjoy picturing a smile on that person's face when they get their daily mail.

To Work Hard:
At the age of 60, my parents never rest. Whether they are at work, at home, or out and about, they are always on the go. They give 100 percent of their time and energy to us kids and their friends and family. They drive to Lexington to help my mom's parents plant flowers. They drive to Cozad to take my dad's parents out to lunch. They drive to Denver to celebrate birthdays, graduations, bike rides, or just to visit my classroom for a day. They take care of their huge yard, they take care of their house, they work 45 plus hours a week. They go, go, go, and they instilled that love of work in us kids.

She taught me to love, to smile, to laugh, to care.
She taught me to clean, to do laundry, to plant flowers, to get stains out of clothes.
She taught me which foods can substitute other foods.
She taught me to be me.

And I love her dearly for everything. Happy Mother's Day, mom. I love you.

Playing Hooky

Last week, Liz and I took Friday off, and Josh skipped his classes and made it into Littleton around 11 a.m. Josh and I had a quick lunch, hit a few garage sales, and then we went to Liz's house. The new light rail had just opened by her house, so we hopped on it and took it to downtown Denver.

We had a purpose for our day of playing hooky.

Baseball.

And not just any baseball.

Chatfield Chargers baseball at Coors Field!

Our Varsity boys baseball team was playing a game of a lifetime (for most of them) at the Rockies field, and Liz, Josh, and I wanted to support this cool event (and any excuse to take off a day of work is perfectly fine by us).

Our boys won, the weather was PERFECT (70 degrees with a slight breeze), and the three of us had a blast.

After the game, we went with an AP, a secretary, two of the baseball coaches, and a couple of teachers to grab a beer across the street from Coors Field. After a couple of hours there, Liz, Josh, and I headed back to Liz's area where we had dinner.

 Doing the Running Man

This little day of fun got us super excited for this summer.