Life!

In just a few short days, Stephen, Ian and I will be on a plane heading for San Antonio, Texas. Our living room right now has open, half packed suitcases on the floor, my lists of things to do, things to pack, things to buy, are scattered around the house, and I'm trying not to be overwhelmed with what needs to be done. Oh yes, and two of my best friends, Moriah and Chloe, are staying with us for the week while they work in the area. Bring it on! :)

And yes, I really am sitting down to write a blog post. :P

Ian is sleeping, and I've decided to take a short break to update my blog while I eat my lunch. :)

Stephen just bought me an awesome little camera, which I am thrilled about! All of these pictures are taken with it....I'm still learning, so bear with me as the quality won't be superb!

I gave Ian a bath the other day, and for the first half he loved it, but then the screaming started and he was one upset little boy. :) Once I wrapped him up in his towel, and he realized he wasn't dying, he was quite happy and content to lie on the floor while I finished doing some things for myself. :P

I always enjoy having Mo and Chloe stay with us, and this week especially has been such a blessing! Since I'm more busy than usual, with packing and preparing for our trip, they've been more than happy to hold, entertain and spend time with Ian. It makes it so much easier for me to get things done!

Quesadillas.... (above picture courtesy of Chloe)

A cup of tea in the evening is, to me, the perfect way to relax and enjoy myself. There's nothing like a cup of tea while reading....or watching a movie...

or playing a game.....or talking...or just because! :)

I've been planning to make a quilt for Ian since before he was born, but as I never got around to doing it then, I'm making it my winter project (one of them, at least, I'm being fairly ambitious with my winter projects this year! :P) I love learning new things, especially new skills with my hands, and I'm quite excited about taking on a rag quilt!

I met this dear friend for tea (well, Earl Grey tea for her, a mocha for me :P) yesterday. It was so fun to catch up with her and visit for a while! There is somethings so satisfying about conversation, I don't know what it is, but a good conversation can be almost as filling as a good meal when you're hungry.

For those of you who don't know why we're going to Texas.....back in June we made a film called Accountable, and submitted it to the Independent Christian Film Festival in San Antonio, Texas. We received the thrilling news in September that our film was accepted as a semi-finalist, and this next week, we'll be going to the film academy and festival where it will be playing!

Now I must get back to packing, cooking, cleaning, preparing, shopping.....until next time!

Mocha Fudge

It is just after six this am. I wasn't planning on getting up this early, I went to bed late, and was pretty tired when I did that. However, Ian was on a completely different schedule, and as he was blissfully sleeping most of the evening last night, (the majority of it in his grandpa's and uncle's arms), he is now wide awake, and very happy to just reflect on how great his little life is right now. :)

I've been asked to post the recipe for my favourite fudge here. I hardly even remember where this recipe came from. I believe it originally came from my Nana, one of those amazing family recipes that you don't want to lose. We of course don't have the original recipe, due to our first fire, but I think I've made it enough times to remember it. :)

Mocha Fudge

1 cup butter

3/4 cup cocoa

3/4 liquid coffee

3 cups brown sugar

4 1/2 cups icing sugar

In a saucepan, slowly bring the butter, cocoa, brown sugar and coffee to a rolling boil. Boil together on medium for five minutes. Remove from heat. Slowly add icing sugar. (Optional: you can use a sifter or a sieve to get rid of any lumps in the sugar before you add it). Mix thoroughly. Pour into a buttered 9x9 pan. Chill. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I was totally confident that I would remember this recipe easily, since I've made it many times, but as I started to write it down, the details seemed a bit fuzzy. I'm nearly one hundred percent positive that all the measurements are correct, and if you follow what I've written here, it should turn out beautifully. If not, my sincerest apologies. :)

Note: Even if for some reason it doesn't turn out, with that mixture of ingredients, it's still sure to taste amazing and would make an incredible fudge sauce for ice cream! :)

Final word: I really, really hope that my disclaimer does not in any way hinder your trying out of this recipe! Please try it out and let me know what you think! I will be quite disappointed if I don't hear any results! :)

Ramblings from my Life

(Taken on our honeymoon, on PEI)

Today's one of those lazy days where you don't have to do anything, and it's okay to just sleep in, relax, get things done, or not. Stephen's home today, which means I got to make a nice breakfast for the two of us, and we got to enjoy Ian more together.

I love weekends, especially weekends in fall!

I went for a walk with Ian during the afternoon. We have a little mountain right across the road from us, it rises above Vernon, and provides an amazing panoramic view of the entire city! I love going up there and thinking, talking aloud as I mull through things. It feels like everything's more clear when I go up there, looking down on the city, and all the busyness, but not really a part of it.

On the way back, I collected some of the amazing fall leaves that are on so many trees around here. I'm having fun collecting leaves and pressing them, getting them ready for who knows what! Cards, wall decor, table decor, and anything else I can think of.

I simply adore autumn! I love the colors, the weather, having jars filled with canning, harvest from the garden, fresh apples....

Stephen, Ian, and I just got back from a trip to Alberta, Ian's very first big road trip! It was such a good time! Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures the whole time we were gone, but the memories are still there.

The drive out to Alberta was like driving in a post card for 6 hours! The trip through the Rockies was amazing! The dark green of the trees that carpeted the mountains were brightened by the golden orange of trees turning to their autumn colour. The blue sky was laced with gauzy, white clouds, and when we stopped the car, a slightly cool breeze was just enough to cool and refresh. It was one of those trips that felt almost like something out of a story book, I hardly wanted it to end, except that I knew at the end of the journey were friends, family, and an amazing weekend!

I wasn't disappointed. The saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder," really is true! It was so good to see my family again, and my "extended family" of the fellowship that I was part of when I lived in Southern Alberta. The weekend was such a good one! Although I missed most of the teaching (for some reason, Critical Thinking didn't intrigue Ian enough that he would quietly sit through the sessions! :P), I was able to take some of it in, and the visiting I got in with friends was so satisfying, along with the games of volleyball I got to play! :P

Our trip back was so good too! After the weekend, it felt so good to have some alone time to just talk and enjoy each other's company. Ian was such a good traveller, and slept most of the way home.

Not having a camera handy, I tried to take mental snapshots of the scenery. I got to drive for a few hours in the Rockies, and as Stephen and Ian slept, it was like time slowed down and I just revelled in the beauty that surrounded me. The sun was beginning to go down, but it hadn't quite started to get dark yet. Everything around me was touched with golden sunlight, and with the mountains towering on either side, trees surrounding me with beautiful colors, the sky a pale blue with clouds floating across it....it was one of those moments that you almost wish could last forever because it's so beautiful.

But such moments do come to an end. And life does move on. And now we're back to ordinary life....for a little bit, until we start preparing in earnest for our next big adventure...only this one takes us to Texas for the San Antonio Christian Film Festival!

So that's a little snapshot of my life right now. One thing I love about writing is that sometimes it's so easy to be discouraged about things, or feel like things are nowhere close to where they should be, but when I write, I sometimes realize just how much I have to be thankful for! I've been struggling with ungratefulness lately, feeling so discontent with the way things are, and yet I have so much! It's so good to sometimes have a quiet time to just take a step back and re- focus on the way things really are.

So I think I shall sign off, enjoy a delicious cup of tea, and get some things done around my little home while Ian is still sleeping. :)