true colors...

And I'll see your true colors

Shining through

I see your true colors

And that's why I love you

So don't be afraid to let them show

Your true colors

True colors are beautiful,

Like a rainbow

~ Cyndi Lauper-True Colors

My youngest daughter has been asking me for several months now for me to paint her room. The color on her walls was from when she used to share the room with her older sister. The color was a pretty periwinkle that was picked out by me. ME! Not HER! And so, there is where the issue arose. SHE wanted to pick out her OWN color for her OWN room.

Being a youngest child of the family growing up I could strongly relate to this! You see, being the youngest has a weird set of dynamics attached to it. Being the youngest gets one initiated into the you-get-everyone-else's-hand-me-downs club..whether you like it or not! This includes everything from that  'too-expensive  dress that Grandma bought and older sister never wore it, but hey..youngest daughter still has a shot at wearing it' ....to..... every odd toy, trinket, book, junky-this-and-that, that sister and brother no longer want but don't want to part with ...to... sisters old bedding, shoes, hair prettys and even underwear! So, realizing that youngest daughter is entitled to a little "piece of her own" from time to time, I accepted her offer to paint her room. I figured, a gallon of paint.. how hard could that be?.  huh....

I started the conversation with daughter as such, "so, I think we should look at some paint colors to get an idea of what would be nice for your room." Before I could even finish, my daughters eyes lit up so big and she lept up into the air for joy! Finally! This was HER time to have a little piece of herself. She then continued to tell me that she knew exactly what color(S) she wanted her room. Um. colors? Yep! Colors!!

She didn't want any more "boring" color in her room. She wanted to jazz it up with 2 brightish colors of teal and green. We took several trips to the paint stores and each and everytime she came back to the same two BRIGHTISH colors of teal and green. Even with Dad's gentle persuasion, this girl was in no-way going to budge from her colorful choices. Her mind was set! Her colorful imagination was going to be splashed across her bedroom walls, whether Mom or Dad liked it or not.

Now, I took time to rationalize this colorful decision (purchase) ahead of us. "Do I really want to stare at those brightish walls everyday? Do those colors even match? Do I let her "win" this and not step in and change her mind??" But the answer that yelled back to me was... nah! Run with it! This young(est) girl is HAPPY!

I went to make the paint purchase this past weekend. I had them mix 2 cans of paint - one gallon of Simply Aqua and one gallon of Celery. I went home and got right to work. Several hours later a little girls room was transformed into a brightish room of "WOW"! When husband came in he gave me a "Whoa! This sure is bright!". Son came in and didn't make a sound...he just gave me wide eyes, and walked back out. Oldest daughter gave me an "oh, MY!"  But, when youngest daughter walked in and saw her finished room for the first time, the effort, the cost, the brightishness was ALL worth it! Her first words were, "I just LOVE it! It is so nice and BRIGHT!!"

Not all of us have the same "colors" inside each of us. Some of us (like me) tend to be sage, tan, and boring beige's. Others, like my youngest, thrive on the brightest, boldest, loudest colors in the crayon box. And, you know what? That is really fine with me. I love her vibrant personality and her brightish walls! After all, that's why I love her.

advice to a younger me...

All of us at some point in our lives have wished that we could write a letter to our younger selves. We have wished we could pass on the wisdom we have learned and help them to avoid some of the pain and struggles that we have gone through. I think that my own advice to the younger me would be quite simple. This is what I would say.

Wake up earlier more often and take the time to watch the sun rising over the hills.     

 Bend down to smell the flowers in the Spring.  

      Swim more in the Summer.   Play in the Fall leaves.   

Make snow angels every Winter.  

 Turn the TV off in the afternoon and go play with your dogs instead. 

    Don’t rush through those Sunday family dinners.

Savor every bite of food and joy in them.

Tell your Mom and Grandma you love them everyday and hug them every chance you can.    

Don’t complain about chopping wood with your Dad. Enjoy every moment you have with him.

   And don’t argue so much with your brothers. Life is too short to spend being miserable.

 Stop being so shy. Other people are just like you inside.

     

Smile more. Laugh a lot. Sing often. They are joy creators.

  Share a kind word every chance you get. Give your inner goodness to everyone.

              Don’t worry about the future. Instead enjoy this day God has given you.

Make the time to play with your young children. One day you will blink and they will be as big as you are.

            

            Quit wishing you were rich in money. Yet. rejoice at being rich in heart.

 Realize that happiness is simple. It is we who are complicated.

        

Know in your heart that God loves you just as you are. Know in your heart that you can love too.

      

Then go out and share your love with the world.

 When you do you will have the joy you have always longed for.

How I wish I could give this advice to the younger me, but I can’t. He probably wouldn’t have listened anyway. Still, it isn’t too late to follow this advice today and that is all that matters.

~ Joseph J. Mazzella ~

thai tuesday

Last night I made Thai for supper. I had never made this recipe before and wasn't sure what everyone would think. Well, it was a hit, especially with the kids! So I know it is a keeper!



Vegetarian Pad Thai

2/3 cup chili sauce (can be found in ethnic or sauce aisle)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons fish sauce (ethnic aisle)

1 teaspoon dried ginger or 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh (grated)

1/2 pound wide rice noodle (I didn't have, so I used fettuccine noodles)

4 teaspoons canola (or any oil you have) divided

1 package of tofu, drained and cut in 1" cubes (that is what I used. If you want this non-vegetarian, go for the meat- chicken would be awesome!)

2 egg whites

1 whole egg

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups fresh bean sprouts (rinsed well)

3/4 cup cut up green onion

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced

1/3 cup peanuts, chopped

1 lime

1. Combine chili sauce, brown sugar, water, fish sauce, and ginger. Mix well and set aside for now.

2. Cook noodles according to package. Drain.

3. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in large skillet (or wok, if you have..I don't have one, yet!) Heat to medium heat. Add tofu and cook until all sides are browned. Do same with meat if you choose to use it. Remove from pan.

4. Combine egg whites and whole egg in small bowl. Wisk well.

5. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in pan, over med-high heat. Add garlic. Saute for about 20 seconds. Add egg mixture and cook until soft scrambled eggs. Stir in chili sauce mixture and noodles. Cook for a couple of minutes, blending well. Stir in tofu (meat), bean sprouts, onion and 1/4 cup cilantro. Cook about 4 minutes longer. Sprinkle extra cilantro on top, along with peanuts. Serve with cut up lime wedges.

I served with:

Sweet & Sour Cucumbers

2 cucumbers, peeled and very thinly sliced

3 green onions, sliced thin along with 2 inches of green tops

2/3 rice vinegar (ethnic aisle)

1/3 cup white sugar

Combine all in a bowl and cover. Put in refrigerator for 1/2 hour, or longer. The longer you let sit, the better it will taste!





my son's coleslaw

My son was in the mood for some coleslaw this past cold winter weekend. (He must have had warmer summer picnic days on his mind!)  For dinner, this past Saturday, his request was hamburgers... and what better to go with hamburgers than coleslaw! We looked through my favorite Amish cookbook and found a recipe. Not having all the ingredients my son tweaked it a tad. The results? Fantastic!

So, here his recipe for super easy, yummy, coleslaw. Enjoy!

Coleslaw

1 small head of cabbage, shredded
1 small carrot, grated
1/2 cup chopped celery

Dressing

1 cup light mayo (the recipe calls for Miracle Whip..but, we chose mayo)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed

Shred cabbage into bite sized pieces. Grate carrot. Mix together. Mix dressing and add to cabbage mixture. Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat. You can make this WELL ahead of time and it tastes even BETTER!

"In a gentle way you can shake the world" ~ Gandhi

Fumbling through a People magazine, I came across the Books section. The first book that was being reviewed, and that caught my eye, was a book called Quiet by Susan Cain. The first sentence of the review went as follows- "Anyone who has an introverted child- or was one- knows these dreaded words: "He should really speak up more in class".  Yep and YEP!! I can and DO relate! The rest of the review sounded just up my alley and I instantly knew this was one book that I MUST read!

 Visit the authors website ... Susan Cain- The Power of Introverts.