Chocolate and Halloween

I'm going to mess with you. Well, not actually me but Kristin from Rage Against the Minivan.
It's about those bite-sized brown candies you might be passing out at the end of the month. (I know, your mouth just watered a little bit.)

Interestingly, after watching a commercial for Wal-Mart showing aisle after aisle brimming with candies, I wondered about different treat options. Then I popped over to Kristin's blog during my lunch and read her article.

I think you ought to read it too.

"The inconvenient truth about your Halloween candy and forced child labor"

There are a lot of links to follow if you want (go ahead, be an informed consumer) but here are two that I found helpful right away.

The first is the answer to the question "Alright, I'm not buying any of the mainstream candy to pass out. What should I give instead?" This link should help you plenty.

"Ideas for an ethical Halloween"
psst...the Divine chocolate is sooooo good

The second is for when the treat bucket is empty and you've snatched all the dark chocolates from the kids' secret stash.

Stop Chocolate Slavery

One note on that link. The website does seem to be a little outdated; 2009 is the latest date I can find. But the chart for cocoa products is still a great place to start. Also, don't follow the Facebook group. It isn't moderated at all. :(

Here is my favorite quote of Kristin's article

The bottom line is this: profit margins are likely going to take a dip if these companies really step it up, and it’s likely that chocolate prices will go up, too. But I think that we, as a society, need to be willing to see this through, even if it costs us something. Because no bar of chocolate is worth robbing a child of their education and childhood.

It Got A Little Muddy

We went to another race yesterday near Atalissa. 

It was raining.

The whole day.

But that didn't stop the racers.

 Ben's race course was 3 miles long. Because of the mud (rain=mud), it might have become the longest three miles ever. We only got to see him come through once.

I couldn't tell if he was smiling, mad or crying when he rode past. The kid was exhausted.

 Bill's race was sort of the same except it was 8 miles long. Rain, mud, single track, slippery hill climbs made for some interesting riding for Bill.
The kids bunkered down in the suburban during Dad's race while I waited it out in the back of the trailer wrapped in a blanket. I waited and waited, noticing the mud falling off other riders' bikes in sheets.

Here comes Bill!

 Oh. My.

 Dear Bike, The land owner called and wants his top soil back or a check. Either one, he's  good with.

 So this is what 4th place gets you...

Tweet @washing machine #getready

 Ben recovered enough to get out of the truck and grab his 3rd place plaque!

We arrived back home. The sun was shining. Neighbors were in shorts. We were covered in mud and looked a sight. I wonder if our neighbors are still disturbed by us?

There was no way our little at home pressure washer was going to knock miles of mud off everything, so we took them on a little trip to the local car wash and hosed them down, including the riding gear. 

Once home, I put the sopping wet, mud-laden clothes in the washing machine, added a half cup Borax, closed the door, pushed a bunch of buttons and hoped for the best. Wouldn't you know it- those babies came out cle-ean!! 

Dear Jean Makers, Please make all of my boys' jeans from riding gear material. I *heart* it!

He Rocks the Headband

Des Moines Color Run

Want to see some colorful pictures?  Okee-doke!

Audrey and I, along with a couple of her friends, ran in the Color Run this past Saturday in Des Moines. It's a 5K (3.1 miles). You wear at least a white shirt and as you run the course there are color stations where volunteers blast you with dry paint powder! It's not called the Happiest Run for nothing. At the end all the runners gather together for a big color throw. They countdown 3-2-1 and everyone tosses their little bag of color in the air. YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY A COLORFUL CLOUD FOR 30 SECONDS!! It was awesome.

Here are Audrey's pictures and her captionings.

On our way to Des Moines

Our numbers :) 

this wasn't a timed race

First look at the runners

there were 27,000 of them

Star

this and the next pic are apparently very important for any major high school group social event (for girls, anyway)

 Freshman feet

The 'team'. Just kidding, we only wanted $5 off the admission fee.

It's true. And I'm part of the team because you need a captain that's 18 years or older.

The photo bomb level in the picture...:) makes me laugh

I'm not the photo bomb but in case you were wondering, yes, I did wear Nerf protector glasses the entire race.

Wait, we haven't started running yet...

 After the color explosion

The family that Color Runs together... does laundry together

I can barely see. If you notice a general pink haze to the pic, that's because the cloud sort of remained for a while.

 

 I'm... normal!

Borrowed this from my friend, Nicky. THIS is what the color explosion looks like from the outside!

The Color Run is a blast! Go for fun! Go when, hopefully, it's a bit warmer than what we had 40 degrees. Brr! 

Luke took one look at me when I got home and quizzically asked, "Where've you been?" He didn't want a hug.

I've washed out all our clothing (the collar on one of my shirts is still green) except for our white shirt which I've sprayed with vinegar and ironed, like the Color Run people said to do to keep the color in. 

The girls are already planning their outfits for next year... What about you?

Green Tomato Salsa, Mac and Cheese- It's All Good

Today I'm linking up with Jessica at Keeping up with the Johnson's for her PinterTest party. The idea is to pin less, do more. If you're on Pinterest, you know what I mean. 

Here are two things I made recently.

Green Tomato Salsa

source: Food.com via Mindy Ward via Pinterest

My garden from earlier this year did okay for our first real attempt at gardening. I got enough tomatoes to eat, share, freeze and lastly preserve. I was left with quite a few green ones and decided that besides lining them up on the window sill and hoping they turn ripe, I'd make some salsa with them. Turned out to be a great idea!

Gather your ingredients, including the tomatoes.

Chop 'til you can chop no more.

Realize you are not going to be able to finish the job that night and prep all the rest of the ingredients into other containers. Then discover that to fit that big stockpot in the fridge, you are going to possibly have to rearrange shelves. Then do a little dance because you didn't have to!
Go on a hot date the next night!

 How pretty!

Finally, cook it down. Heat up a water bath canner you borrowed from your friend. Fill jars. Wipe rims. Apply lids and rings. Cross fingers that you are canning correctly. Cross fingers that it will actually taste good.

I had a little leftover in the bottom of the pan and left it out for Bill to try. Verdict? Great! WooHoo!

After fifteen minutes I pulled the jars from the canner and started hearing that little tell-tale pop of the jars sealing. Yippee!!

I would definitely make this again next year.

Mac and Cheese Bites in Mason Jars

via Annie's Eats via Mindy Ward via Pinterest

The next recipe involves adorable little 4 ounce mason jars!

I saw this recipe and thought it would be fun to make it for school lunches. Sure I could have just used muffin tins like the original recipe did, but aren't these sweet? And heatable for Bill. (For the boys', I heat them in the morning and send them in their lunch bag.)

For this recipe I had to hunt down a cheese product called Boursin. Never had Boursin before. Tried it on a cracker. Shared it with Bill. Ruined our tummys before supper because we were devouring it! 

Ahem... 

I was concerned that the garlic flavoring would overwhelm the regular mac and cheese flavor, which would be a no-no for the fam. It didn't. 

No step by step pics for this, just a good 'ol IG photo.

Verdict? Pretty darn good! To do it again, I would leave out the cracker crust and just stuff the jars full of mac and cheese. That was the boys' least favorite part. And as much as Boursin is awesome, Boursin is a wee bit expensive, so I'd try to substitute something else. Maybe cream cheese? (Thoughts anyone?)

Watching Cousins

We watched my sister's kids a couple weekends ago. They were going to Minneapolis for the Vikings/Niner's game. We had just gotten back an hour before they arrived from Minneapolis (of which I still haven't blogged- kids are cuter). 

We had a pile o' furniture from IKEA and Bill was determined it was going up that night. So with ample help, commentary, and a few foremen on the job, it all got done that night. (It was a late night.)

Bill had this much help!

He obviously has put together IKEA furniture before.

"Me and Uncle Bill will have this bed together in a flash. Good thing, too, 'cause it's waaay past my bedtime (but don't tell Mom)."

The next day it was time to watch some dirt bikes and do some other stuff.

"Uncle Bill is pretty much awesome. He has tools and can teach me how to ride a dirt bike. I love him."

Valor is taken with dogs. He would stand at the window, climbing his little legs up the wall to pull himself to see out and see Lucy. Or we'd be eating and he would hear her bark and then say "uh", which is "woof" in 13 month old speak.

 "The best place for me to see you, Lucy, is in Uncle Bill's arms since I do love you but not your enthusiastic kisses."

 "Uh!"

 "If only I knew how to pull down and lean forward at the same time."

 Smore's are our go-to dessert

"mMmfgh" which is yummy in 6 year old, mouth full of smore's speak

"Is it done yet?"

No, we're not done yet... Uncle Bill had one last thing for Valor to do- learn to walk. He, meaning Uncle Bill, was determined to get his nephew walking. So in one good training session, Bill, Ben, Valor and later a cheering section got to see it happen.

Now we're done!

Psalm 25

Grace for when I can't let go of the past...

Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;

according to your love remember me, 

for you are good, O Lord.

Blessing for when I swallow hard the pride...

Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

Comfort for when the path seems random...

He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

Prayer to pray when I don't know what to pray...

Show me your ways, O Lord,

teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and

teach me

Why...

For you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all.day.long.

verses from Psalm 25

We're done with the summer read through of the Psalms but I'm back in them again. This time around I'm making lists.

 

In the midst of all this grasping for words to tell the world who He is, I felt challenged to find out exactly who the Psalmist says He is. So far, who He is and especially what He does is way longer than any other list. I'm overwhelmed by what HE DOES. It's this paying attention to what He does, who He is that will cloak my words, not by stumbling through, but with truth and authority that comes from Him. Make most of Him with His own glory!

You could read through them again with me and try making your own lists.

Here's what my Psalm lists are categorized as:

• Who God Is
• What God Does
• Who the Wicked Are
• What the Wicked Do or What is Done to the Wicked
• Who the Righteous Are
• What the Righteous Do
• Blessings of the Righteous

Go through chapter by chapter and write down what you read relating to each category ( add more categories if you want to).

Now what to do with these lists once you've taken time to write them out: read through them. 25:1 "Lift up your soul" to Him. Ask Him to examine your heart. Pray them. Don't know how to pray? Then use the words straight from what you read. You probably want to say what it says anyway so why re-invent it? God doesn't need flourish-y language to know your heart. A prayer to start with is 25:4,5 (see above) or anything you are drawn to in your reading. You might need to get humble and ask for forgiveness. He wants you there. Then you are teachable, guidable. He's no ogre... "All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful" v. 10. Leave the questionables up to Him. You say to yourself, 'Gee, I just don't know about this enemy thing (or whatever).' then that's not your thing to worry with. 'He (meaning the Lord) will instruct him (meaning the person who fears the Lord or you, hopefully) in the way chosen for him (him specifically). Then look for Him to work it out. And make a list. A thankful list. And pray the thanks back to Him.