Tea in the Garden

This morning, I attended a Spring Tea put on by the Women's Ministry of my parents' church. It was held in the yard of a couple who attends the church. I would say I am speechless as to the beauty of the morning, but obviously I'm not speechless cause I'm writing a post about it. But you get the picture as to how impressive and breathtaking the morning was.

First, you pulled into the horseshoe driveway whereas you were greeted by men of the church dressed in black dress pants and white shirts. They opened your door for you, took your keys, gave you a claim ticket and then valet parked your car in the neighboring orange groves. Yeah, I'm not kidding.From there you walked on a pebble stone pathway through the side garden into the backyard. The yard was absolutely breathtaking. Rose bushes in every color imaginable were in full bloom. Flowers adorning the trellis that we entered the yard through. Amazing. Simply amazing. Sidestepping our tour for just a moment...The house had a wrap around porch that added such character and beautiful sitting areas with newly painted wicker furniture. The home owners have done a phenomenal job in creating such a beautiful yard and haven to relax in. It was hard to stand in the midst of all the beauty and not covet. :)Back to our tour through the garden...As we continued on the pebble pathway through the garden, we entered through a gate into the backyard, where the the tea was to be held. The tables were gorgeous. There were round tables, adorned with pale yellow table clothes and accented with black, white, and more yellow. Those colors together are simply beautiful. Fresh yellow roses and white petite daisies were the center pieces. Once the event started, we were welcomed and given encouragement to simply enjoy the surroundings. We then had scones, tea, and fellow shipped with the ladies at our table. It was hard to concentrate on any of the conversations going about as the yard was amazing, so beautifully manicured, so well kept. Taking in the beauty of all the details that had been so carefully thought out and color coordinated. I sat taking it all in and was very appreciative for all the hard work that went into making it such a lovely place to be. Following the time of fellowship and delicious scones, we had worship, followed by a message. The guest speaker for this event was none other than my Mama!! And she did a phenomenal job at delivering the message the Lord had given her. The details and awsomeness of her message will be saved for another post altogether as it deserves a post all of its own. But she did an amazing job and I'm so very proud of her. Following the message, the men, who had been serving us water, iced tea, and hot water throughout the morning, now cleared the tables of our scone plates and served us lunch. The lunch was chicken salad on croissants, a crisp green salad with a vinaigrette drizzled about, and a small bundle of red seedless grapes. All very delicious. Dessert was chocolate dipped strawberries and a petite lemon cake. It was absolutely lovely. The tea came to an end and the photographer and creative person in me wanted to capture the beautiful programs that were printed with some of the beauty of the table. It was such a lovely morning. Even at this late hour of the evening, I am still in marvel of the beauty of the house, the gardens, the message, and just the morning overall. It's probably the most beautiful event I've ever been to, and I can't wait until next year!!!

Possible Closing of State Parks

On Friday, California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, proposed closing many parks statewide, in attempts to save $143 million dollars a year and help California's failing budget. A list of the possible closures can be found here at the end of the news article.

We've been to a few of the parks on the list, and if indeed they do close, I'm glad we got the chance to explore the state park before they close.

It's sad that these beautiful parks and beaches would close. What's even sadder is that in this failing economy where families are having to cut back financially on family adventures and entertainment, I bet more and more people are turning to the State Parks for something to do. And soon, that option might be lost.

Closing state parks, making cuts to our education, all in attempt to help our States failing budget. Why is there never any mention of paycuts to the governor or all the other elected officials?

Penne Pasta

I tried a new recipe last night for dinner and it was YUMMY! The entire family gave it a thumbs up, so it's officially a keeper and will be put on the menu rotation for another night down the road!

Penne Pasta with Sausage and Roasted Peppers

5 Red bell peppers
2 onions, cut into 1-inch dice
3 TBSP minced garlic
8 Sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes, with the juice
Salt and Pepper
1 box Penne Pasta cooked, and drained
Grated Parmesan cheese
4 TBSP Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425.

Wash the peppers and roast until skin blackens and blisters. I simply laid them on a cookie sheet. Transfer to a bowl and over with plastic wrap. Let cool for 30 minutes. Remove skin, stem, and seeds. Cut into 1-inch squares and set aside.

Heat 2 TBSP (I used a little more) in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Add onions and saute over medium heat until tender. Add peppers and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add remaining Olive Oil (I needed a little more) to the pan and brown sausage meat, breaking up with a spoon for 10 minutes or until cooked. Add the pepper mixture. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer and cook for 7-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Combine cooked pasta with the sausage mixture and heat through.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Land of The Lost

I LOVED this show as a kid. Absolutely LOVED it! And it's been years since I've seen any episodes.

I had been looking forward to the release of the upcoming movie at the theaters next month until I saw a trailer and realized that Will Ferrill is in the movie and it pretty much looks stupid.

Imagine my excitement on Monday afternoon while I was surfing about the internet on Steven's iPhone on the way home from camping and discovered that the Sci Fi channel was doing a Land of the Lost Memorial Day Marathon! Praise the Lord for technology because I was able to set our TiVo to record enough episodes until I got home to set up a season pass to tape every single one that would be airing. Our TiVo taped over 20 episodes on Monday and there's still more to record in the coming days.

The funny thing is, is now that I am an adult, that show is the cheesiest show! The graphics and stage sets are all very, primitive. Of course they were taped over 30 years ago and technology and film has come A LONG way over the years, but it's funny to watch it now and see just how bad it was when as a kid it was the absolute coolest!

Hannah and Rachel have enjoyed watching them and really like the show. And I have to admit, it's a nice break from the usual afternoon TV shows they watch, every single day of the week. LOL.

California Still Has Morals

This morning, the California Supreme Court voted 6-1 to uphold a certain Proposition that we Californians voted on last November.

This is a HUGE answer to prayers on behalf of married couples everywhere that still value the traditional marriage between a man and a woman.

It's nice to know that 1) our State still has some morals and 2) our votes last November didn't return void.

Home. But Ready to Go Back.

So we're home. We arrived home mid afternoon yesterday and within half an hour of being home, the car was unloaded, camping gear was completely put away, the laundry was started, and baths for the girls were in the works. I love the fact that our camping stuff is so organized that we literally just throw it all back onto the shelves into the garage when our trip is over.

As always, we had a great time. Anytime that we can get away from our normal day to day tasks it always great, but it's even better when you're able to spend a few days away with family, and in this weekend's case, we were with church family.

There were five families camped on two spots right next to each other. They are the 'regular' spots that reservations are typically sought after for. The sites are huge and kinda secluded a bit with the shrubs and brush along the sides. The sites are also right across from the restrooms and showers which is really nice, especially for those middle of the night trips to the restroom. :)

The weather was great. The mornings started out overcast, much like today in the Inland Empire. But by 9:00, the sun was brightly shinning and stayed that way for the remainder of the day.

Our days were spent relaxing, midday trips down to the beach, lots of game playing, and lots of just sitting and fellow shipping with friends, oh and lots of great food! There is never a lack for good food or good snacks when you're camping with the church friends!

So this morning, the last of the laundry in the form of beach towels and blankets are being done. And clean clothes are being put away. And wishing we were going back again soon!

Taking A Few Days Off...

Ahhh....see this. This is the view I'll be enjoying this weekend. And tomorrow afternoon cannot get here soon enough. We'll be camping this fine Memorial Day Weekend with friends from church. But between right now, and the time we'll leave tomorrow afternoon, I have a ton to do. Lots of food preparation to get done, some laundry, oh and packing of clothes, stuff like that. So I'm taking the next few days off and will be back next week...refreshed, relaxed, and ready to face the busyness that faces me with the last couple weeks of school.

Have a great Memorial weekend!