HappyGoStuckey

Italian Herb Bread

September 11, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey Leave a Comment

I’m still having just a bit of trouble getting every single post to import from my old blog, so I’m going to repost a few recipes I would hate to lose over here in the mean time.

This is a wonderfully quick and easy recipe, it uses all pantry ingredients and it makes two loaves. Also, you do not need a mixer or a bread maker to prepare this bread–just a bowl, a spoon and and oven (plus 2 loaf pans!) Have I sold you on it yet?

Try it next time you are making Italian for dinner. It also makes a great accompaniment to Beef Stew, Vegetable or Tomato Soup or a Big Salad!

Italian Herb Bread

makes 2 loaves

1 envelope Active Dry Yeast (Not instant)

1 3/4 Cup Warm Water (110-115 degrees)

4 Cups All Purpose Flour

3 Tbs. Sugar

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Garlic Salt

1/2 tsp. EACH of Dried Oregano, Dried Basil and Dried Parsley

Garnish: 2-3 tbs. Melted Butter

Directions:

Add yeast to warm water in a large bowl. (Take one tiny pinch of the sugar and add it in to the yeast mixture at this point.) Stir to dissolve and wait 5 minutes. Blend in all remaining ingredients, (except butter) and stir until smooth. Cover with a thin towel and set aide to rise or double in bulk, (about an hour and a half.) Punch Down and turn dough out into lightly floured counter or board. Knead until smooth and large bubbles have disappeared. (Don’t fret too much about this step. Just fold your bread over and press down and then fold it over the other way, trying to get out large bubbles of air. It will still be airy and fluffy, this is a good thing.)

Divide Dough into 2 loaves and place in 2 lightly greased 9×5 loaf pans. Cover and Let rise again with Towel until doubled (about another hour)

Bake at 350′ for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pans and brushed tops with melted butter. Allow to cool slightly before slicing your husband a piece so he can see how awesome you are.. don’t tell him how easy it was.

** I do both my rises in the microwave, (off of course.) The microwave guards against drafts and then the bread does not take up room on my counter!

Happy Baking!

Recipe Adapted From Homemade Harvest, Gooseberry Patch

Little Sacrifices and Big Blessings

September 9, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey Leave a Comment

(This post is not an announcement of any kind. I’m reflecting on motherhood. Don’t worry mom- I wouldn’t tell you like this!)

One moment you realize you don’t feel so good. Then you realize you haven’t felt “so good” in several days. Hmm.. come to think of it, you’ve been a little extra tired lately. Strange. Coffee doesn’t taste all that great either. Actually, nothing does.

A short while later– a drugstore purchase, a quick trip to the bathroom and then a few minutes of waiting and then… GASP.

Pregnant the test says, Buckle Up for the Wildest Ride of Your Life, it should have said. You’ll never be the same again and you won’t want to be, it could have said. I guess “Pregnant” takes up less room.

From that moment on, you become intimately acquainted with both the unbelievable blessing and the regular sacrifice of being a parent. From the early days of constant nausea to the later days of packing 18 lbs. of gear just for a quick trip to the store, you realize that what that sweet person said was true, “You’ll never realize how selfish you are until you become a parent!”

Some of the sacrifices are big, and obvious… like the way you are no longer able to finish anything. Finish a meal. Finish getting ready. Finish a conversation. Finish a chapter. Finish a thought. You die to your former way of living always just as a couple, in order that you might live a new life as a family. The newness brings CHANGE. It brings discomfort. It brings sacrifice. But it brings SO MUCH BLESSING.

Some days in the midst of a time when things have been particular crazy, or when it feels like He and I haven’t had enough “us” time– I have found myself almost a bit “nostalgic” for earlier days. An older photo of us will catch my eye and I’ll stop and remember what it was like to be “Lance and Cindy” for a minute or two. (Now before you get all upset and think I’m ungrateful for my amazing kiddos– hold on, I didn’t say I was proud of it! just keeping it real!)

Thankfully, almost immediately, God shakes me of this mental mourning days past as I look around at all that surrounds us. Baby Dolls in strollers. Goldfish. Princess Sippy Cups. Dress-up Shoes. Well-Loved Board Books. Hairbows. More Hairbows. Little girls rolling around on the floor together, one minute hugging– the next minute pulling hair. Little evidences of these cherished gifts we have been given.

More importantly, the SOUNDS that surround us wake me from this irreverent hyper-nostalgia. The giggles. The chatter. The sounds of Little People being walked across the playroom floor. Tiny feet running from across the room, just to hug. The singing. Yes, even the squabbling.

I know that to some it seems crazy. I’ve seen their looks as we slowly move through Target, stopping again to pick up the last thing that Abby has chucked over the side of the cart. But they have no idea– that I really would never go back. I would never trade what I have for the life I used to. The daily gifts of being mother to these precious lives infinitely outweigh what little freedoms or sometimes even elements of pride I “give up.”

The word SACRIFICE means to die. The OED defines it as, To surrender or give up (something) for the attainment of some higher advantage or dearer object. And then also, the surrender of something valued or desired for the sake of something having a higher value. My children. My family. Our opportunity to glorify God is that higher value. They are that “dearer object.” and there is NO sacrifice too great.

So on those days when you feel like you just. cannot. function. with. any. amount. of. generosity. When you feel poured out and empty and have nothing to give to anyone at all. When you feel like you just NEED A MINUTE ALONE. Take that minute (or two.) and ask for help. Ask for remembrance of what gifts these little “mess makers” truly are. Ask for strength. Ask for God to love them through you. Ask for HIS peace.

For on any given day, no matter how poured out we feel, He knows. He not only knows, He has felt way beyond our deepest feelings of exhaustion and sacrifice. And He is enough, friend. His grace is enough. In our exhaustion, we lean hard on Him and find REST in ABUNDANCE.

^“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Our “Pinteresting” Fireplace

September 3, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey Leave a Comment

This home is the first we have ever owned. It is absolutely more than we thought we would have for our first home, but God dropped it right in our laps when we were searching. When Lance first had a serious interview at his current job, we were still living in NC, and we viewed the home online from the kitchen table of our cozy little apartment. The house was available as a foreclosure but was still out of our price range. But just looking at the pictures online, we fell in love with the Cape Cod style and the huge porch. I envisioned a thousand afternoons sitting outside, drinking iced tea.

Because of the price, we forgot about it and ended up moving into a temporary rental townhouse while we searched. After a few months, our house was lowered in price by thousands, making it a LOT more possible. As we proceeded, it became evident that this was OUR house and though there were many areas that needed cosmetic updating, we jumped in with both feet.

Well, regardless of the fact that we haven’t been able to do as much as we thought we would do right away, we have made this house a home. Though many of our projects turn out to be more involved and more expensive than Pinterest would have us believe (as they always are with a 30-yr old house!!) the project we did this weekend turned out great!!

Most of our house trim has been repainted, but our living room has not. The trim is dark, there is paneling and little light from the huge windows because we have so many trees. Although it’s very cozy, we recently realized we HAD to do something. After reviewing several tutorials on whitewashing fireplace brick, I knew that was the first step.

I found this tutorial to be the most helpful-– mostly because it looked a lot like our fireplace.

Having an unexpected weekend at home because of the kiddos, we got all the necessary equipment (which wasn’t much!) and then we re-bought the paint after we SPILLED IT ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR!!!!! We put the kids to bed Saturday night and got to work! We finished in just under 4 hours, not including the cleaning of the fireplace brick beforehand– which wasn’t too bad either.

So here’s what I know.

1. I LOVE IT. I really do. I can envision where to go next SO much easier now that this part is done.

2. As far as “where to go next,” there is no doubt about it, it now HAS TO BE DONE. No question. Now that the fireplace is brighter, we have to move forward with the paneling above it. I’m not 100% sure if we will just paint it, or try to remove it. That second option scares me a little.

3. I’m so thankful for a husband that trusted my research enough and was willing to do something so permanent to a main focal point in our home. And that he kept us going in the last 30 minutes when I was falling asleep while painting! Ha!

And now for the fun part: pictures!!!

Some BEFORE Shots:

Sorry about the Soot. We had our fireplace cleaned after this shot. And the fireplace screen covers most of this!

Now for AFTER!!!

(Keep in mind, we don’t get a lot of light in there– so accurate pictures are tough.)

And a little before and after comparison!

So though this is only Phase 1 of our Living Room, redo- I think we are on the right track!

No Use Crying over Spilled Paint…

August 30, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey Leave a Comment

WHEW! Does anyone else feel like that was ONE LONG WEEK?!

Last weekend we ended up canceling our 6th Anniversary plans to sit on the couch with these two cuties— I couldn’t help but reflect on our wedding day when I saw this picture. No doubt of the two days, that one 6 years ago was a better one for me– appearance wise. Ha! But when I realized what an accurate picture of MOST of life and marriage it is– I was comforted by the fact that we truly have found happiness and love even in the difficult (even messy) times.

I know, I know — Lucy has a SERIOUS pout. Bless her. We spent most of Sunday attending our little sickies– which came, as it usually does, with the added bonus of tons of extra cuddles. They struggled with a stomach bug most of the weekend and then bounced back pretty quickly. We did not get sick and we are SO GRATEFUL.

After we put the kiddos to bed, we got takeout from the restaurant where we planned to eat dinner, Bonefish Grill. We LOVE Bonefish. Many nicer restaurants do not do takeout well. There is definitely an “art” to it. But, Bonefish definitely has it down pat. The staff was so very nice to us, everything was delicious and still hot!!! And they even sent us an extra treat and a handwritten note to wish us Happy Anniversary, once they knew why we weren’t coming in. So– we put a blanket on our floor and had a good-old fashioned living room picnic. It was truly perfect, given the circumstances and I am so thankful that we were able to have a nice quiet evening celebrating all the Lord has done in our marriage and in our family.

If this looks like a lot of food, that’s because it was.

In OTHER news, I FINALLY spray-painted the handle for that little bright yellow foyer table which has, sadly, been without a handle for months. But no more! I chose a Brushed Nickel Metallic paint and I LOVE that it has a bit of sparkle to it. It’s going on this weekend!!!

So, one would imagine that having two littles with a stomach bug would cause pretty catastrophic messes. But let me just say, we RIVALED them in epic proportions not once, but TWICE this week. TWICE.

First, I spilled an entire 1/2 gallon of sweet tea all over our counters. I completely knocked it over out of sheer clumsiness. It flowed faster than I expected it would and cascaded over three sides of the island, getting into every single nook and cranny of the bead board. Every little groove, in every single drawer and ALL. OVER. THE. FLOOR. Oh. MY. What a sticky mess! It did cause me to reconsider my use of generic paper towels. I’m wondering if Brawny or Bounty would have been a bit better. Unluckily, for me, I had a SECOND opportunity to wonder this tonight.

We had planned to go out of town for my cousin’s wedding tonight and be gone this weekend but Abby came down with a second, unrelated sickness and rather than take germs to their special day, we decided to “pull in our sidewalks” and have a little stay cation. SOOOOOOO, we planned to tackle a little house project I’ve had in mind for awhile. It required a gallon of very nice white paint, so to the local Benjamin Moore store I went.

And then tonight. Something tragic happened.

(might want to take the kids out of the room for this one, parents. It’s scary.)

Oh. My. Word.

That is (all but 2 cups of ) a GALLON OF BENJAMIN MOORE PAINT ON OUR KITCHEN FLOOR!!!!

I am speechless.

Well, about 3-4 rolls of cheap paper towels later (see what I mean?)

and a bunch of Clorox wipes

and a LOT of elbow grease

Our floor resembles SOMETHING like it should. Our poor table and chair legs will never be the same, but I wanted to paint them anyway. Just not exactly like this.

But I’ll say this: WE ARE NOT GIVING UP!!!!

We are totally attempting this project tomorrow anyway.

Stay Tuned. I promise to have excessive before and after shots and all that jazz.

But just for fun, here’s one to get us started.

BEFORE:

And…. after. Yikes.

Oh yeah, Today at the end of my morning walk, I was pursued by two very large, very angry, barking, snarling dogs and I had to mace them just before they attacked. I then spent the remainder of the morning wondering if I hurt them and hoping I didn’t.

I can’t make this stuff up. I promise.

Happy Friday! I hope you all have a GREAT weekend. Beware maniacal dogs, cheap paper towels, and counters that are slightly narrower than you thought

Apple Oatmeal Scones with Maple-Cinnamon Glaze

August 28, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey 4 Comments

So it’s the very end of August, but it’s still RATHER hot outside.

I think I have blow-dried my hair ONCE in the last three weeks. Because how else should you combat rising temperatures but go around looking like a half- drowned rat all day? I kid. Actually, I have “gone curly” a LOT this summer. Also, the sock bun has been my best friend. I’ve also been a big fan of the good ole’ standard– the pony tail. I’m bringing my cheer days back. Not really, because those days involved an entire can of Salon Selectives Ultra-Hold and well, I’m just not that girl any more.

But enough about my hair, let’s talk about something really interesting. FALL. More importantly, FALL SCONES.

Anyone who knows me– knows I’m a scone girl. Not only is it one of my absolute favorite baked goods–but my grandmother was 100% British– so HEY! It’s in my genes, man! Many people don’t care for scones, but I would say–maybe you havent had a really good scone! Don’t go to Starbucks– or even Panera and get your “first ever” scone. Make them yourself and see what you think! You haven’t had a GOOD scone, until you’ve had one fresh out of the oven. Okay, enough chatter.

Mmmm. Look at that! Oatmeal Scones studded with Diced Apples which have been bathed in cinnamon, sugar and a bit of melted butter

Then topped off with a simple powdered sugar glaze, with a smidge of maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon. Fall perfection! And technically, these would be great in September, before we are all fully in “FALL MODE.” I’ve always thought of September as a “Apples & Cinnamon Month,” because clearly- October and November are definitely for Pumpkin. But I could eat apples and cinnamon any time really.

Apple Oatmeal Scones with Maple Cinnamon Glaze

(Makes 8 Large or 16 Small Scones)

Preheat Oven to 425′ and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper– or leave un-greased.

Now, I make these in my food processor because they come together almost instantly and the dough is less handled and therefore more tender. But you could also mix them by hand.. That works as well.

Whisk (or Pulse) together:

2 cups of All Purpose Flour

2/3 cup Rolled Oats

1/3 cup of Sugar

1 Tbs. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon (add more if you REALLY like cinnamon!)

1/2 tsp Salt

Drop in:

6 Tbs. cold Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces.

Cut in the butter with 2 knives, or a pastry blender, or if you are using the food processor.. just push that little pulse button a couple of times.

Your mixture should be like breadcrumbs with some larger pea-size pieces.

Now for the apples:

Take one apple, peeled, cored and diced and mix together with 1/2 tbs. melted butter, a pinch of cinnamon, and a pinch of sugar. Taste them, they should taste like “apple pie” apples.

Mix them into the dry/ butter scone mixture.

Whisk together and add all at once:

1 large egg

1/2 cup of half & half or cream. (Milk will not work as well. They will be drier, not flaky.)

Now you want to knead your dough only slightly until it all comes together.. (again if you’re using that food processor, just press pulse a couple of times. Gosh, I love that machine.) Don’t OVER MIX!

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and pat the dough into either one or two circles and cut into wedges. If they aren’t perfect, don’t sweat it. Scones are a beautiful food, especially when they are rustic!

Place the wedges about a 1/2 inch apart on the cookie sheet.

Bake until the tops are light golden brown, 10-12 minutes.

After they cool for about 5 minutes–

Mix 1/3 cup Powdered Sugar with 1 tsp. Maple Syrup and a dash of cinnamon. Add a bit of milk if you need to thin the glaze. Whisk together with a fork and then drizzle over the warm scones. Serve warm or cool.

*These freeze beautifully.

Recipe Ingredients:

2 cups of All Purpose Flour

2/3 cup Rolled Oats

1/3 cup of Sugar

1 Tbs. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

6 TBS. Cold Unsalted Butter + 1/2 TBS. Melted Butter

1 Apple

Dashes of Cinnamon and Sugar

1 Egg

1/2 Cup of Half & Half

1/3 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 tsp. Maple Syrup

More Milk as needed to thin the glaze

Holding Out Hope

August 26, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey Leave a Comment

We’ve had a lot of “This too shall pass..” moments around here lately.

Most of them just minor inconveniences. Fridge Breaking (It’s fixed.) Car breaking again (also fixed.) Toaster breaking in the middle of the morning waffle toasting (it’s been replaced.) Hole in the Ceiling (appears to not be a major “roof” issue– fingers crossed on that one.) Oh, and the dreaded stomach bug over the last few days, (It seems to have left one child and hopefully will leave the other in the next day or so. It could have been so much worse.)

All of these were inconvenient. Most cost money we didn’t want to spend. But God provided in every. single. circumstance. But the whole, “If it’s not one thing it’s another” phrase? It seems to have been so much at one time. I found myself making a mental “gratefulness list” just to survive and keep some shred of sanity.

Thankful for the temporary use of a small fridge. Thankful for the time and ingredients to bake muffins to replace our toast. Thankful for the repairman that saved us over $1,000 just because we shopped around. Thankful the ceiling issue may be due to the air conditioner, and thus– covered by home warranty. Thankful that both girls were not actively… getting “sick” at the same time. Thankful for a sale on gatorade and jello. Thankful for a found coupon that saved us $10.00 on a new toaster. Thankful for the generosity of others. Thankful for the home we have in which we all get to share our life (and even all these problems) TOGETHER. Thankful that we are healthy. So thankful we are healthy.

However.

There’s another element of this. We’ve had another struggle that causes all of these to sort of pale in comparison. It’s definitely what I was most thinking about when I wrote this last month. There has been this mountain in our way for close to a year now. We’ve been faithful to pray about it at every turn. We’ve taken the necessary steps to “eliminate” this mountain from our lives, but only after we felt confirmation from God about the proper course of action. But mostly, we have just found silence. Encouraging silence, to be sure. The encouragement that He is moving, though we cannot see it, but silence still. There was a time back in April, when we had an opportunity to go in a completely different direction, somewhere we once called home and we. just. couldn’t. do . it. Though nearly every bit of evidence appeared to point to the fact that this opportunity was the wise course of action, we just couldn’t find peace regarding the new opportunity. And though we know that was the right decision, it did make it difficult to return to our current circumstances, not knowing how long it would be until God opened the right door.

Well, we wait still and I have to be honest and say, that the waiting is so hard. In the last few days, it has become evident that our current situation may end abruptly… before God has revealed our next step. That is very difficult to accept. The unknown just got a lot bigger. I find myself desperate for some unbelievably encouraging words to share with the one I love. Some truth about our future, but the fact is… This is a bit of a Red Sea. And we are waiting for God to part the waters for us. And only HE knows how He will, and when. And our job? Sit back and wait for Him to open the door. And praise Him in the interim.

I read this post this morning, When Seemingly Worse is Better than Sameness, and though it’s mainly about the complete disarray that comes in a Home Renovation, I found it completely applicable to our lives right now. Because I KNOW. I know that when dealing with a home project, things appear to get way worse before they start to get better. That’s us. That’s where we are with this. Sitting in a pile of chaos, waiting for the beauty and order. Knowing that something AMAZING is just around the corner.

Someone wise said to me yesterday, “Tell Lance, He isn’t Job. He is Joseph.” It took me until this morning on my walk to think of that again and wrap my head around the fact that it’s true. Though it may seem that all of this is for evil. (And believe me, it does. We are confident that this is as much a spiritual battle as anything else.) God will mean it for GOOD.

Redemption.

We see just a fragment of what He is doing. Just a small shred of His plan for our lives. All of this… all of these trials give us every opportunity to trust in Him. We have the special gift of putting feet to our faith. We are able to hold out HOPE that He is active and that He truly will bring His purposes to pass. And that we will not be left alone. We may be left uncomfortable for a while. But not alone. And Praise God, not without Hope.

6 Years

August 25, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey Leave a Comment

I made this photo video for Lance for our Anniversary and I’m pretty proud of myself, since he’s the technical side of our marriage. Complete with old pictures and sappy music, it’s the 2013 version of a Mix Tape. I love it. If you have 7 minutes and 30 seconds, you might love it too.

I would love to tell you more about how these six years have changed my life. I would probably tell you how much being married to Lance has made me a better person, a stronger believer, and a lover of many things I did not previously love– such as red peppers and a long list of other foods. However, I have to run because today we are taking care of our two sickies– in other words, we are living life. But, In the words of Ben Rector, (who is incidentally the artist of the 2nd song and has a GREAT new album out, The Walking in Between, which you can purchase HERE!)

“There are way too many love songs

And I think they’ve got it all wrong

Cause life is not the mountaintops

It’s the walking in between

And I like you walking next to me”

(From I Like You)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDUY_IUIyss&w=640&h=480]

Happy Anniversary to my One and Only!!!

(Music Sources: Home by Phillip Phillips & Forever Like That by Ben Rector)