Is Your Glass Half Full?

Are you the kind of person who tries to see the bright side of even the darkest of situations?  Do you look for positive attributes in people before you focus on the shortcomings?  When life throws you lemons, do you make lemonade??  Then your proverbial glass is half full!

I think we need more "glass half full" people in this crazy and scary world we live in.  I wear my optimist badge proudly and try my best to influence those around me positively.  I've even been compared to a little bluebird sitting on someone's shoulder whistling a happy tune:)

A while ago my husband was going through a particularly difficult work situation.  It was relentless, stressful, and didn't show any sign of ever changing.  I took this photo, framed it, and presented it to him as a gift for his office.  He took one look at it and asked me why I gave him a picture of a half empty glass of juice!  I knew I had my work cut out for me.

We put this photo on a shelf where he would see it every time he lifted his eyes up from his desk.  I also wrote him lots of notes of encouragement to combat the darkness that was swirling around him.  God helped him so much during and after that trying season.

So, if you're a glass half full person, how are you using your perspective to "brighten the corner where you are?"  I'm throwing down a gauntlet with this post to challenge you to be used for good in the life of someone who needs some encouragement!

Back to School Organization

We all want our children to succeed in school, right?  Part of that process involves a student's ability to bring papers home, do homework, then bring them back to the teacher.  That may sound like a simple process but for many youngsters it's not.  Here are a few simple tips to help your child get organized and have success in school!

1.  Go through the contents of their backpacks every day...
together!!  Then you can sign permission forms, look at all the classwork, and get the homework pile ready!  Let your child talk you through all the papers and "stuff."  If this becomes a routine, your child will know that you are seriously interested in what's going on at school.  And the backpack will not become a disaster area.  Kids need to be taught organization, it doesn't come naturally!

2.  Have a designated place for all school papers.  It could be a folder(s), basket, or drawer, but pick a spot and keep important forms there for quick reference.  Teachers will send home contact information, classroom policy sheets, school event info, field trip forms etc...  Keep it in one place at home.

3.  Establish a routine for homework, either right after school or after dinner.  Don't assume they have it all done, ask about every class and what's going on.  Ask to see books and worksheets.  Help your children with their work and if it's beyond your level, be honest and find them the help they need.

4.  Let the teachers know that you WANT to hear from them if they see a negative habit forming in your child.  If homework is not done a few days in a row, or if your child failed a quiz because he was unprepared, you want to know! Email is a very helpful and quick way to keep communication going.  

I assume you all know how important it is for students (young and old) to be eating healthy meals and getting enough sleep - that's common knowledge, right??

What other helpful routines have helped you with your children and schoolwork?

Tony's Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Here's an easy, flavorful, and beautiful way to preserve summer!  My dear husband created this dish.

Start with 5 red bell peppers, core and slice them.  Then lay the pieces on a rimmed baking tray with insides facing up.

Cut up one small sweet onion and lay the slices on top. Continue the layers with one cut up carrot, an ear or more of fresh uncooked corn cut off the cob, 6-8 cloves of  cut up garlic.

Cover generously with salt and pepper.  Then evenly drizzle 1/2 to 3/4 cup good olive oil over the pieces.

You could add fresh herbs like basil or oregano if you like.  Tony doesn't. He thinks it has enough flavor on its own.

Bake it at 375 degrees for 40 minutes until the peppers are soft and are starting to blacken.  They need to roast very well in the oven, no more cooking is done after this.

This is what it looks like out of the oven!

Process all this with 2 cups of chicken stock in a good blender to puree your soup.  We have a convection oven so we double this recipe regularly to make a lot of soup at one time.

It freezes beautifully and is lovely to enjoy in the middle of winter!  Preserve some summer today!!

This same concept works with tomatoes to make a fantastic roasted tomato soup.  We freeze lots of that also.

Some Favorite Bushes

When we bought our house in 1997 we inherited overgrown ugly evergreens and rhododendrons that enveloped the first floor of the house.  I didn't know anything about plants or landscaping at that time, but I knew that I didn't like anything growing around our house.  We had a friend cut down all the huge bushes with his chainsaw and paid to have them hauled away.  Eventually we hired a landscaper to make a plan for the front of the house and start making it look nice.  He worked hard to remove all the roots in the ground, cut the curved bed out of the grass, and then plant some nice bushes and small trees.  I saw what he did and thought to myself, "I can do that!"  So began my adventures in gardening...

I started small with plants that get the light they need around our house.  And I made sure that there was room to walk between any plants and the house.

Here's my absolute favorite bush, Potentilla.  It's a slow grower with soft green leaves.  It bursts into bloom in the spring and continues to give some flowers throughout the summer.  I have 3 varieties, buttercup, apple blossom, and mango tango.  

Hydrangeas are my second favorite bush, maybe that's why I have so many of them.  I love the huge snowball blossoms and I even like the green color of the leaves.

This is Festuca.  The variety is called "Elijah Blue."  It has blue spiked leaves and sends out small brushes as it blooms all summer.  It's a slow grower and accents the front of our house nicely.

What are your favorite bushes?

Peaches & Cream Pie

Here's a great summer dessert recipe from my sister Eileen and my niece Bonnie.  I'm sure fresh peaches or other summer berries would work in this pie.  I love recipe cards so instead of listing the ingredients, I'm posting a photo of the card!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then we've got lots of words represented here.  Thanks to my sister for letting me photograph her as she lovingly prepared this pie for us!  It is really delicious!!

Homemade Fruit Fly Trap

It's that time of the summer when fruit flies are everywhere. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them.  And just when I think I've gotten rid of them, poof, a whole new batch shows up.

I tried this homemade trap and it works wonderfully!  If you hate fruit flies as much as I do, try this and let me know how it works!

Use a gallon size plastic bag and snip a very small bit off of one corner.

Then fill a glass with about 1 inch of apple cider vinegar.

Place the bag over the glass with your snipped corner facing up over the top of the glass.  Put a rubber band over the bag to hold it in place.

Fold the snipped corner end down into the glass, BUT keep it above the vinegar level.

The fruit flies simply cannot resist the smell of the apple cider vinegar.  They fly in to the glass through the small hole in the plastic, but they aren't smart enough to figure a way out.  They die in the vinegar.  I am so happy that I don't have to put up with fruit flies in my kitchen anymore!

Summer Corn Salad

My husband Tony created this beautiful and fresh salad that we enjoy as an accompaniment to meat and fish. His corn salad is a staple on our summer menu.

Here's how you make it!

1.  Mince 1 carrot, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1/2 cup red cabbage, a handful of parsley, cilantro, and chives.  You could add some jalapeno for heat, or omit the cilantro if you don't like the taste.

2.  Boil 6 ears of corn and cut the kernels off the cobb.

3.  Put all ingredients in a bowl, and add the juice of 1/2 lime, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

4.  Adjust seasoning and add more oil or lime juice if needed.

This stays fresh about a week in the fridge.  I put a generous scoop of corn salad on some greens for a quick dinner salad.  You could add chick peas, tomatoes, green beans, or any other vegetable you like.  It pairs nicely with steaks, grilled chicken, or fish.

Baked Salmon

One of our favorite fish meals is baked salmon.  We start with a piece of good quality thick salmon with skin on one side.  Tony  drizzles some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce, then rubs them over the surface of the fish.  Next he slices some butter pats over the top.  Then he sprinkles salt, pepper and garlic powder and some cayenne pepper.

We bake it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or so until it's flaky and beautiful like this...

Fun Personalized Ice Bucket

Here's a guest post from my friend, Jill.  This is a great idea for a personalized ice bucket.  She says it's a fun little piece she's added to her outdoor entertaining!

It all started with this ice bucket I picked up at a sale for $2.  It doesn't match my taste, but I wanted a tall ice bucket, and this fit the bill.  I knew I could craft up something wonderful!  So I pulled out pictures from a cruise we took with my husband's family (28 of us!) and went to work!

First, I cut a piece of clear contact paper that was about 2 inches longer than the circumference of the bucket. Next, I removed the sticky part and set it aside without trimming it to the required height.

Then I cut the backing to the exact size I needed to cover the bucket, laid it out flat, an assembled a collage from our trip. 

Using double-sided tape, I placed each picture exactly where I wanted it.

Then I flipped it over to trim the pictures to the size of my rectangle, and placed the sticky side of the contact paper directly onto the collage.  (Contact paper comes off easily, so if you get any bubbles, you can just peel it off and try again.)  Since I didn't trim the contact paper ahead of time, there was no worry about trying to place it "just right" on the collage.  I simply trimmed it to size after it was stuck to the collage, leaving the 2 inch overhang to secure the collage to the ice bucket.

Voila!  I love how it turned out, and I now have a great way to display favorite photos from our family cruise!