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I Hear Voices

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Last Sunday morning, I was chatting with an older couple at church while they waited for the service to start. I asked them if they were excited about the Super Bowl, and the woman said she was excited for The Voice afterwards. I had no idea what she was talking about, so I asked for details. She gave me an account of what the show is like, she named the judges (I don’t know who they are at this point; they were some names I recognized, but people I wouldn’t), and gave me a rundown. Huh, I thought.

I found it really funny that someone older than my parents was more “in touch” than I am. I don’t watch TV (I stream a few shows) or the news, I don’t read any major headlines, and, basically, if it isn’t on Twitter or Facebook, I probably didn’t hear about it. As our famous line from this summer’s beach trip goes, “Do they play that on KLOVE?” If not, I probably won’t recognize it. I’m out of touch, and I’m okay with that.

Fast forward to yesterday. David Grace, a musician friend of ours posted on his Facebook page that he had auditioned for The Voice and that it might be a good idea to watch the February 13th episode. David sang at our wedding, and we still love to hear him play.

Photo by Sledd Weddings

I’m so excited for the opportunities this will create for him. In a matter of seven days, I’ll go from never having heard of The Voice to tuning in; you should, too. It’s on NBC at 7:00 pm.

2012/5k/friends/fun/running

Is Mud a Color?

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Still donning pink in my hair, I have recovered my camera and am ready to share some fun photos from The Color Run! Please keep in mind Mr. Gray’s tendency to put the camera on sport mode and snap, snap, snap. So many photos! I’m going to let the photos do the talking, but I’ve thrown in a few of our quotable moments from the day as well.

Chronological order attempted

(At packet pick up) I didn’t get a wrist band. I think I need a wrist band to trade for color.

LC: Want me to bring you a longsleeve white shirt?

Me: Please.

LC: No Targets are open; I’m at Dollar General. Will that work?

Me: Absolutely.

LC: All they have at the dollar store is lime green. Can we put that under our white shirts?

Me: Sure!

I still don’t know why I didn’t get a wrist band in my packet.

Mr. G: Why couldn’t we bring the regular stroller again?

Me: I don’t want it to get all color-y.

Mr. G: Do you think there’s going to be color everywhere?

Me: I don’t know; maybe.

I hope they give me a wrist band.

I don’t have a bib; they’re not going to let me run.

Hi, there wasn’t a wrist band in my packet when I picked it up. Thanks!

Who’s timing this?

There’s no way I fell and H didn’t.

I can still taste yellow.

I’ll set these [gloves] here and come back to get them.

Those purple people are giving out hugs to get the color!

I went to The Color Run and all I got was brown.

Is there color on my teeth? Now? Now? Still?

I need to move to where I can get some on my face; I don’t think I have any on my face.

It tastes like chocolate milk? I don’t like chocolate milk. Wow. That tastes like barf.

I guess you just aren’t destined to see me at the finish line.

baking/chocolate

Cuttin’ Up

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

It isn’t often I need a pastry cutter, but every time I do, I think, man, I should really buy a pastry cutter. This morning, I was making chocolate streusel as part of a last minute recipe change (ie, I was already baking what I was changing–it was in the oven), and my usual alternatives were not working too well. Generally, I just whip quickly with a fork and come behind with a butter knife. Wasn’t happenin’ fast enough. In my haste, I decided maybe a whisk would work better.

It did, except for the whole catching-all-the-ingredients-in-the-inside-of-the-whisk dilemma that followed. The butter knife made another guest appearance and all was well–until I got over zealous with the broiler.

Note to self: buy a pastry cutter.

Baby Gray/freezer/Recipes/spaghetti

Freeze, Please

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

One of the first meals I cooked for Mr. Gray was spaghetti. He loves spaghetti and requests it often. Luckily, it’s easy, freezes well, and, as you can see, Baby Gray loves it, too!

I’m not a from-scratch spaghetti sauce maker, I’m more of a Sanda-Lee-semi-homemade kind of girl. I usually buy a chunky, veggie-filled sauce and dial it up a notch. Our favorite spaghetti sauce additives are mushrooms, spinach, and zucchini. I make sure there are plenty of chunky tomatoes, too. While I’m at it, I make way too much–on purpose. Then, I get a gallon freezer bag, scoop a little sauce in, and lay it flat to freeze.

It thaws very quickly, stores easily, and is just as delicious as the first time I made it! Ta-da! Dinner in thirty minutes or less!

After we eat, we have the following conversation:

Me: Was your spaghetti good?

Baby Gray: (With feeling) Yee-ah!

Like father, like son, I guess.

Baby Gray/crafts/gifts/Valentine's Day

I Love You S’more!

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

When I set out on my quest to find a cute valentine for Baby Gray to give to his friends, I struggled with just what I wanted to do. I pulled inspiration from his Halloween treats, and came up with these cute s’mores.

They were super simple; next year, he can probably do almost all of it himself. ~~Who am I kidding? There will be no repeat valentines~~.

We gathered our supplies:

Graham crackers

HeartMallows

Hershey’s miniatures (only the plain milk chocolate pieces are needed)

Cellophane bags

Stickers (optional)

Curling ribbon (not pictured)

Then we assembled the bags:

Break one graham cracker in half to make two squares
Add graham cracker pieces, three HeartMallows, and one milk chocolate bar to the bag
Tie and curl the ribbon to seal
Decorate with stickers if desired

We haven’t made our cards yet, but some of the ideas I’m toying with are:

I like you s’more every day!

We’ll be friends forever s’more!

I love you s’more than words can say!

Baby Gray/firsts/ice cream

Documentation

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Friday evening, we headed to Austin so we’d be in town for The ~~Mud~~ Color Run Saturday morning (more to come; I forgot my camera at Rev this morning). We had a family outing involving Baby Gray’s first ice cream cone while we were there. That’s kind of a big deal.

Things were a little dicey at first.

It didn’t take him long to get it figured out, though.

Before we knew it, he was double-fistin’ the cone and spoon, and I was wondering if I was being photographed or not as we documented this momentous occasion.

And that, my friends, is the longest photo montage of a child eating ice cream you’ll ever see.

boil/egg/peel/Recipes

I Got a Peelin’

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

(Woo-hoo! That tonight’s gonna be a good night…)

Now that I’m not the only one with that in my head, here we go. I feel like I’ve written this before, but maybe it was just individually to people who have asked; if I’m repeating myself, sorry.

I can peel hard boiled eggs like nobody’s business. Now, you can, too.

First, put the desired number of eggs in your pan. (Please ignore the egg timer; I was testing a hypothesis and photographing my secrets at the same time–I’m a busy lady, multitasking is essential.)

Cover the eggs with water; the water line should be a centimeter or so above the top of the eggs if they were to sit on the bottom of the pan (they don’t; they float a little).

Put the pan on the stove on high heat. Bring to a violent, egg-clanking, rolling boil.

Allow the water to boil a minute or two (I usually leave it until I remember I’m cooking eggs, but a minute is plenty). Then turn the heat off. Leave the pan on the hot burner and set a timer for 25 minutes.

Now you can walk away, go about your business, do some laundry, have a dance party with your toddler, or whatever floats your boat for a full 25 minutes. The water will still be warm, as will the eggs, when the 25 minute timer rings.

Head to the sink with your pan full of water and eggs.

Use the edge of the sink to drain most of the water out of the pan while leaving the eggs in the pan.

Turn the cold water on high and begin to run it into the pan while shaking the pan to crack the eggs. Keep the water on high and pick up an egg to begin with; find the beginning of a crack and run water over it. Using your finger, make the crack a little larger and allow water to flow into the crack. The water should be between film under the egg shell and the hard boiled white of the egg.

Once the water is flowing under the film of the egg, continue working the shell with your fingers, being careful not to tear the film beneath the shell.

Voila! A perfectly peeled hard boiled egg!

Repeat the steps for any remaining eggs. It’s important to work quickly; the warm eggs play a key part in the separation of the shell and the egg.

Another note, I have heard many people talk about the age of the egg making a difference in how easily it peels. I’ve tested it. As long as you have a warm egg and cold water, it works pretty well. The older eggs are a tad more complicated, but nothing big.

2012/books/goals/reading

Sci-ence Fi-ence

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

I’m not a Sci-Fi fan. Not at all. I must admit, though, when perfectly level-headed, non-Sci-Fi folks started telling me to read The Hunger Games, I was a little curious. These people don’t like Sci-Fi, either, I kept thinking. Maybe I should give it a try. I’ve resisted all the other fads so far, what can this one hurt?

After downloading the sample of the first book, I was hooked. I couldn’t get the full book downloaded fast enough! And so it was with the second and third book as well. I can’t recall the last time I read a book I couldn’t put down, much less a series. I read all three books in a week.

The final book was my least favorite, although, I’m not totally sure why.

For as much as I loved the books, I’m not really excited about the movie. I don’t care for Sci-Fi movies. I’m sure I’ll see it when it comes out on video (wow–how old am I?). Mr. Gray loves Sci-Fi movies, so we’ll meet in the middle with a home-viewing.

If you’re on the fence about the books, go for it!

2012/friends/goals/Proverbs 31

Break Down Here

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Proverbs 31 Ministries is a really neat ministry based on the foundation of the Proverbs 31 woman. I love to peruse the website and glean encouragement from other wives and mothers. I just recently discovered they have a Facebook page, also! I love their little tidbits in my newsfeed. Yesterday, this was posted:

Married? Include your single friend in get-togethers. Be sensitive about how much you talk about your marriage/kids. Offer to help fix her home or car. {Single? Ask to babysit or cook dinner for your married friend. Encourage her as a wife/mother. Invite her out on girls night.} Pray for each other!

Wow! I have so many friends in so many places in life. I love this! I needed this.

Part of my focus this year is to be a better friend, and this helps me erase those barriers of married, single, with kids, without kids, with old kids, with young kids, etc. I want to break down the barriers and embrace all my friends! I want to make time for them. I want to show them I value them. And–I’m going to!

blessings/friends/generosity

It Just Takes One

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

This summer, I was reconnected with one of my friends from my younger days hanging out at Grammie and Papa’s house. She and her husband Stephen are waiting to bring their son, Camp, home from Africa. You can read all about it on her blog. While you’re there, pay particular attention to this entry aboug Give1Save1–Wynne and Stephen are the featured family this week! Not everyone can give $30,000, but what if 30,000 gave $1? That’s the idea behind Give1Save1–it just takes ONE dollar to start something!

To recap:

Read Wynne & Stephen’s full story here.

See Wynne’s post on Give1Save1 here.

See the Elders on Give1Save1 here.

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

–James 1:27