This past week our weather has been like the summer days I grew up with in Idaho. It’s a reminder of just how hungry we can all get for summer weather!

The seeds we planted last week are sprouting, much to mom’s delight. I’m pretty sure she willed them to grow extra fast so she could see their heads pop out of the ground before she returns to the land of ice.

The kids get to enjoy their grandparents for a few weeks and boy are they happy! Taylor’s already gotten grandma to get out her needlework and let him help, and that was after he’d gotten grandpa going on his erector set - all within the first day of them being here. Not to be out done, Cidnie was quick to display her finished quilt since their last visit and had them watching New Moon with her Saturday night.

We spent yesterday evening in the yard pulling weeds and planting seeds. I’m happy for the help and I know mom is happy to get her fingers in the dirt, which is still covered with snow at her house. The weather has been perfect, right down to the rain this morning that watered the new seeds.

I’m always reminding myself of how many treasures there are in the simple things.

I’m still tying to wrap my brain around it being Spring Break. The time is flying by. This time of year indicates how close the end of the school year is. I know when my kids return next week there’ll be a couple weeks of testing preparation push before AIMS in April. Once AIMS testing is over it’s a free for all until the last day of school, which comes the third week of May. The mere thought that April is the last full month of school left makes me almost nauseous. I swear we just started this school year, I can scarcely believe it’s already on the wind down.

The kids kicked off the break by dipping in the pool - a balmy 60 degrees right now, though they seem immune to temperatures. They’re anxious for the break and the weather turn. We’re supposed to enjoy 80’s all this week! Yay! I enjoyed an afternoon in the yard yesterday too cleaning the pool and was reminded how much the sun takes out of you. I laid down on the couch and found myself waking up an hour later with the pup curled up snoozing right alongside me.

We like trying new things, especially during breaks from school to help us keep the kiddos busy. So when Blake found this recipe for Mt. Dew Cupcakes we had to try it out. They turned out really well! Very moist and super tasty, although I wouldn’t recommend eating a bunch at night. *wink* Was soda always this versatile? I rounded out my cravings with a fresh batch of homemade toffee. Things definitely got off on the right start for our break.

Now it’s upward and onward, continuing to enjoy the week of wonderful weather and lazy mornings. My parents are coming to visit at the end of the week and we’re all looking forward to that. We love to have family come. Last night on our walk we got talking about our summer trip to Idaho and my son started jumping up and down pleading to make sure we stay at least two weeks! I can’t believe it’s already just around the corner. I’m not completely convinced that someone isn’t pulling a trick on me, things seem to be moving exceptionally fast these days.

This morning I broke in my new fruit juicer attachment for my Kitchenaid. Let me tell you, “Fresh Squeezed” is NOT the same as homemade, fresh squeezed! Nothing compares to the quality, flavor and sweetness of unprocessed, fresh squeezed, orange juice. Nothing.

So, what caused me to finally break in my new spinning fruit juicer? Well, I have great neighbors, many of whom own orange trees. Suffice it to say my basket was flowing over. As I’m not great at eating fresh fruit, I needed to find a way to use them. Don’t get me wrong, I love fruit but I’m super picky about sweetness. A tart strawberry can take me off the market for even trying another one for long spell. Oranges are a gamble. A really ripe one can be sweet and totally awesome, but get a tart or bitter one and I’m right back with the signing off for a spell page.

The greatest thing about my attachment was zero learning curve. It was obvious that I just had to plug it in to the front of my Kitchenaid and tighten the holding screw to keep it in place. I did find out quickly some lubricant was necessary. So I sprayed some cooking oil on the connector:

You can see the black lines at the top of the spinner, that’s where the spray went and instantly all the squeaks went away.

Then it was on to the juicing. I cut up 20 oranges of various sizes and held the halves up to the spinning device. I found the best speed was about 2. The seed/pulp catching tray caught the big stuff and the spinner did all the hard work.

I filtered the first few cups into the pitcher through a mesh cloth.

Then I got smart and put the cloth over the bowl:

I ended up with 1 quart of juice from 20 oranges (for reference, I’d average my sizes as medium), not bad for roughly 20 minutes worth of work this morning, minus a few interruptions to get the puppy out of the flower bed. *wink*

Looks like grapefruits and lemons are next.

Oh, and another fun tip I’ve learned and tried with success is freezing excess juice into ice cubes. You can add these to recipes and drinks to enhance flavor or cool a drink without diluting it. It’s so easy and works great.

So this morning I learned what a trillion dollars looks like, and how a new and unknown element may be the biggest reason for weight gain as well as the inability to lose it.

All in all, a good Monday morning!

Don’t Forget!

Of all life’s lessons, perhaps few are greater than the one of remembering to say thank you. I’m constantly amazed at how powerful these two words are and the good that can come from sharing them. Want to put a spin on it? Try starting with these two amazing words, you’ll be glad you did.