Hi, All! I’ve really had quite the adventure while living in Ireland over the past few years. The latest discovery is more about myself and how Ireland has affected me. Here is my discovery/confession- I am a butter snob! Yes I said it;  Butter Snob! It is official. Butter Snob Butter Snob Butter Snob!

I didn’t grow up eating butter, it was a rare treat. It was, after all, the age of margarine. I’ve been able to travel home to the States a few times and have tasted butter now that I am grown. Wow! There is no comparison! I was first taken aback by the color of American butter- it’s almost white, while Irish butter is a lovely warm yellow. Then there is the texture- American is a bit… well, I couldn’t eat it. So let me tell you about the Irish butter, its texture is smooth and creamy. It’s not heavy but nice like Big Bird’s feathers would be if you hugged him.  The taste… oh really, just gloriously buttery. It’s what butter should taste like.

I think part of the reason is they are grass fed cows and the grass is always -and I mean always- a shade of green. In some areas the cows outnumber the people 4 to 1.

Here is another confession- my 1st year of living here on the Emerald Isle, I ate my weight in butter! The fantastic bread here was just a tool and an excuse to eat butter. The way the Dad on A Christmas Story felt about his leg lamp? That’s how I feel about Irish butter, oh glorious butter!

Now don’t think I am slagging all things American. I love America! I am American and proud of it but this tiny green island has us beat in the butter catagory.

Just a side note: one pound of store brand butter is about 3.25 but I was so excited I got the butter pictured for 1euro! that is about $1.50. Best deal in Ireland I have found so far.

2. It Snowed by Meaghan Smith

3. Soul Cake by Sting

4. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! by Chris Botti

5. A Baby Changes Everything by Faith Hill (Sooo glad we’re doing this in church this year – for the last five years it’s killed me when the service ends and this hasn’t been sung – it’s the whole message!)

Bonus: Yazala Abambuti – Actually, this is “Come, Thou Fount”…but it’s on a Windham Hill Christmas CD. I’m trying to find more info about it – like, who sings it…Absolutely beautiful.

Here is my list from last year:

Being a Music Ambassador throughout all the Land, I feel it my duty to offer you delicious selections for you to search for on your cute, compliant computer.And if you have suggestions, let me know!

Time to Make Cookies Playlist:

Accordion Bells – Leo Kottke
Another Christmas Song – Stephen Colbert
Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Lady Antebellum
Carol of the Bells – William Joseph
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen – Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan (Hey, I didn’t name their band!)
The Carols Those Kids Used to Sing – Statler Brothers (What my mom listened to while we made Christmas candy)
Go Tell It On The Mountain – Lorie Line (Oh, the memories I have of us playing this arrangement at church! Fun!)
Soul Cake – Sting (SuperBoy’s Christmas favorite currently)
The Complete Nutcracker Suite – Philip Aaberg
Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies – Harry Connick Jr
Deck the Halls – Larry Coryell
Auld Lang Syne – James Taylor

Sigh at the End of the Day:

Angels From the Realms of Glory – Barbara Higbie
Christmas is Coming – Vince Guaraldi
Christmas Time is Here – Sean Harkness (or the Vince Guaraldi one)
December Morning – Jim Brickman
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow – Chris Botti
Little Drummer Boy – Steve Erquiaga (love this one)
New England Morning – William Ackerman
Oh, Christmas Tree – Michael Ruff & Snuffy Walden
Sussex Carol – Sorry I don’t have artist’s name, but it’s Windham Hill produced
Walking In The Air – Windham Hill Christmas
Winter Wonderland – Phillippe Saisse
Yesterday’s Rain – Snuffy Walden

Singing Loud for All to Hear (In My Car):

Winter Song – Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Willie Nelson
It Snowed – Meaghan Smith (My personal Winter Season Theme Song)
Sleigh Ride – Wilson Phillips (Overproduced harmony fun!)
The First Noel – David Archuleta
Do You Hear What I Hear – Kristin Chenoweth
The Christmas Song – The Carpenters
I Need a Silent Night – Amy Grant
Dream a Dream – Charlotte Church (Pull out that Opera voice!)
O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Sugarland
Baby Changes Everything – Faith Hill
Silent Night – Sarah McLachlan

You’re Too Lazy to Download Individual Songs:

Search for anything produced by Windham Hill
Artists with great albums:
Harry Connick Jr
The Carpenters
Faith Hill
Chris Botti

1. Quinoa – a complete protein (unusual for a plant food), quinoa has replaced rice in my diet. Quinoa is now sold in pretty much any grocery store, including Target, but I buy the large bag at Costco. Make it with reduced sodium chicken broth and it gains flavor. My favorite variety of quinoa is Seeds of Change Uhuni Quinoa & Whole Grain Brown Rice. It comes in ready to heat pouches – stick in the microwave for 90 seconds and you’ve got your side dish. (Trust me, when you’re battling to make the right choice in what to eat – quick cooking is a GREAT asset!) I buy these at Costco.(When you eat a rice/quinoa mix, you are getting carbs from the rice…just so you know if you’re tracking protein/carbs!)

2. Pork Tenderloin – my favorite dinner is this spiced up pork tenderloin. It’s actually a meal the whole family loves it! Serve with brown rice or quinoa and veggies and you’ve got a healthy meal. *Recipe below!

3. Planter’s Wholesome Nut Mix (just changed its name from South Beach Diet Mix) – my evening snack. Replacing mindless cereal eating with a snack of macadamias, almonds, cashews and peanuts has saved me hundreds of calories. (I have to buy this version, where the mix is in pouches, because if I buy the can of them…I eat them!)

4. Zone Chocolate Mint Bars – My morning meal and the only protein bar I like. Every morning. Zone bar and coffee. If you tell your brain enough times that “this is what I eat for breakfast”, that’s what I eat for breakfast. Or is that just my brain?

5. String Cheese – ‘Nuff said.Best varieties are found at Woodman’s. A store I hate, but will make a special visit to, just to get the smoked string cheese varieties from Wisconsin.

*Spiced Up Pork Tenderloin

2 16 oz oz pork tenderloins
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp chile powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
Olive Oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp fresh garlic, finely chopped
Tabasco sauce (optional)

Serves 8ish

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix  salt, pepper, cumin, chile powder, and cinnamon. Coat pork with spice rub.
3. Heat tablespoon of olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat and brown pork, turning, about 4 minutes.
4. Stir together brown sugar, garlic and a little Tabasco and pat on top of tenderloin. Place pork in roasting pan and cook. Because I double the recipe, it usually takes almost an hour.

Physical:

1. Workout 6x
2. Find new outdoor track for 5K
3. Complete class goal – go to Zumba!

Kids:

1. Trick or treating!
2. Do Science experiments with all three
3. Begin new book: Minstrel in the Tower

Intellectual:

1. Finish EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey
2. Finish Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff

Budget:

1. Coupon deals – Sunday…have finished by Monday
2. Balance checkbook for Oct
3. Pay November bills

Carrying Through:

1. Laundry
2. Meal Plan

Future Plans:

1. Start Christmas list
2. Start Christmas card idea
3. Plan 12yo’s bday!

-Stroller
-Diapers/Pull-ups
-Diaper wipes
-Pajamas x3, plus extra for the 2 yo
-Pants x3, plus extra for the 2 yo
-Shirts x3, plus extra for the 2 yo and the 4yo
-Dresses for church x3
-Shoes for church x3
-Hair ponytail holders or barrettes
-Favorite stuffed animals x3
-Underwear x3, plus extra for the 4yo
-Snacks for the car
-Juice or water bottles x3
-Car seat for the 2yo
-Booster seat for the 4yo
-Socks x3
-Tennis shoes x3
-Sandals or flip flops
-Camera
-Phone
-Medicines (allergy, headaches, bandaids for wounds)
-Clothes for the mom
-Shoes for the mom
-Hair dryer, hairbrush, hair products
-Makeup
-Books for mom to read in the twenty minutes she can in the car
-Toothbrush x3
-Toothbrush for herself
-Toothpaste
-Cash
-Tickets
-books for kids for the car trip
-Toys for kids for car trip
-Swimsuits x3
-Swim arm bands
-Swim inner tubes

What the Dad Packs:
-Socks
-Pair of shorts
-Two shirts
-Razor
-Toothbrush
-Underwear

We met friends there and had a hot, dizzy, really fun day. SuperBoy did his best to be brave and went on easier kid rides, but also tried the Whizzer and the Viper. 11 yo daughter went on the Raging Bull and Viper, Demon, Whizzer, etc. and did really well. And 9yo went on what she wanted to go on.

Tips (things I didn’t know before we went):
-There really is no way around it, you’re going to pay a ton for food. Figure on about $10 per person for a meal. Unless you want to tote a cooler along in your car (which I am set against, so…) They do have vouchers you can buy online for a meal for 4 – which our friends did and I might do if we ever go back again. This way, you don’t wait so long in line and the food was plenty.
-There are kiddie rides for toddlers….middle kid rides for younger kids….easier coasters (Whizzer, Demon (4 loops, but shorter), Viper (goes up and down with hills) – Whizzer is the best try it out coaster. There are even two easier coasters, if they’re still hesitant about any bigger ones.) Raging Bull, SuperMan and Batman are the bigger favorites. The Dark Knight – I wanted to like this one, and maybe it’s just that I’m getting old, but this one jerked my neck around so badly…not good. It’s in the dark, and you speed down a short length, then it jolts you on an abrupt turn, over and over again. Not scary, but not good for middle-aged necks!
-We didn’t realize it til we got there, but the Hurrican Harbor waterpark is connected right with Great America. So, you pay for the ticket for one, you get the other park too. Not sure you’d have time to do everything in one day, but you could try!
-Look online at their site for ticket deals. We got ours 2 for 1 since we went on a Thursday. Around here, there’s also a kid’s reading program through schools where you can get a free kid ticket (homeschoolers can do it too).

Look at our awesome, over-ambitious lattice!

(this was taken a couple weeks ago – things are progressing nicely since.)

Yes, I dragged him to a couple stores. As the parents of three kids, we seldom have time just to ourselves – so even a trip to CVS and Walgreens is considered a “date”! Here’s what I wheeled and dealed last week.

I walked out making $2.70 buying the above items. He was also impressed with the $1.19 shorts we bought SuperBoy!

April closed out well with $26 left over in my budget for food. We’ll see how May goes! And now I’m going to yawn with boredom over my own post. See ya!

You pay $1.25 a week and you pick a meal plan. Ours is the family plan for any store – but you can choose a plan for 2 people, or a Weight Watchers Points plan or even a “I only shop at Aldi” plan (or Wal-Mart…etc). There is one sheet of paper that has seven dinners listed with simple instructions. Then the second sheet of paper has your complete grocery shopping list. This is where it comes in super handy! A single piece of paper, already set up for me?? Yay!
The recipes have been well received by the family. We especially enjoyed the Swiss Chicken and stew.
Here is the link to the site (and, yes, if you sign up through this link, I earn a little commission.)

Try it and let me know how you like it! If you go to their site, you can get a sample of the menu, so you can see how it works.
Pros: New Meals, easy to follow shopping list. No thought involved! Great meals so far.
Cons: Doesn’t necessarily match up with sales in stores. Adds rolls/bread to practically every meal! (we usually don’t – but not a big deal, just cross off the item!)

The Edge of the Divine; Patty, Sandi
SASR (Short Attention Span Review): This was a review book I got through Booksneeze.com – a site you can sign up for, request a copy of a book and review it on a blog and one commercial book site. So, it’s not really a book I would have sought out on my own, I’ll admit. But I did appreciate Sandi’s honesty and words of explanation about her journey in weight loss and her explanations of how she relied on God and His faithfulness to sustain her. Sandi had a long history of weight issues, and finally went through with a weight loss surgery. The book speaks of her emotional issues – with her family and with her Christian audience – and her physical issues. While I appreciated the book and her truthfulness, I found the book to have quite a few loose ends – how did her journey eventually turn out? (In other words, if it’s a weight loss journey, what were her goals and did she accomplish them?) A minor complaint, I realize!
Rating: 7