Atticus Said...

"Let me die first or I will die twice."

That's basically how I feel about my husband, should he die before me.
Although he says I am not allowed to die first, that he must because he doesn't want to live without me.

I have found the one whom my soul loves...without a doubt, for better or wor...well, there is no worse. Ever. We don't fight.  We are in tune about 98% of the time. The other 2% we may not be in tune we are deeply respectful and give the other space and support (which we do all the time anyway, but for that 2% we are more so).

My husband's first marriage was not a happy one. However his divorce was not terrible.
My first marriage was hell. My divorce was akin to crossing the river styx in a dissolving boat with Captain Hook at the helm.

A friend of mine (she), my current husband (he), and myself (me) are all divorced. We joke about our ex's, as all divorcee's are wont to do....
She got stupid.
He got crazy.
I got evil.

Stupid...stupid is just hard to manage, not impossible. You're not sure if they're zigging or zagging. But overall, they have no real direction or plan to hurt you. It just happens occasionally.
Crazy...crazy is the easiest, if not the most frustrating. No matter what, you are guaranteed for them to do exactly what you don't want them to do if it will benefit you in any way...because if it benefits you, it's obviously not benefiting them (this applies even if it is mutually beneficial).
Evil...evil is the worst. Evil can pretend to be nice. Evil can stab you in the back while staring you in the face, and usually take glee in doing so. Evil doesn't care who they hurt, so long as it benefits them AND hurts you. Evil uses kids against the parent. Evil lies to your face, to the lawyer, and will pass the lie detector test doing so because evil *believes* they are telling the truth.

So when I say I love my husband...I *love* my husband. He is the opposite of my first husband. He is thoughtful, caring, polite, intelligent, smart, hard-working, loves the outdoors, and loves me deeply.

After living through the hell that was my first marriage, the reward is my current husband.

I cannot fathom should he die before me.  I know he feels the same of me.
That's why he says he gets to die first. And why I must go first.

But if he should die first, I will die twice.

Smells of Heaven, and Chipotle Mayo

This morning I remarked to my husband, 'Can we just put chipotle, vanilla, coffee, and cinnamon randomly around the house? Maybe with a campfire background? Because I'm pretty sure that's what heaven smells like.'

Easy, Fresh, Chipotle Mayo

And the funny thing? I wasn't joking. You want me to immediately be at ease? put me in the mountains, surrounded by trees....or have some chipotle, vanilla, coffee, cinnamon or campfire where I can smell it and I just melt.

He and I both love those five smells. The husband would have to add whisky to his favorite smells...especially that liquid campfire smelling Laphroaig he loves so much.

Fabulous 4-Ingredient Whole30 Fajita Crackers

Now, I know 'Whole30' and 'crackers' do not usually go together in the same sentence. But if you've been reading this blog a while, you know I've made this cracker before.

Since that time, I have experimented greatly with this recipe...and well, it's pretty much perfect....except....

Churning at the Price of Butter

You've seen it at your local grocers or in your weekly ad:
Butter on sale! Only $3.99 a pound! Down from $4.50...such a bargain!

Yeah...I may be old, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't that long ago butter was $2.00 a pound, then $2.50 and on sale for $1.99.

Ah, to dream...those days are long past, I'm afraid. My question is, will it ever return?

The Prepping Economist

I hoard butter.
Seriously, I do.

At any given time, I have between 15-20 pounds of it in my freezer.
Cheese? Yeah, not as crazy but I still like to have around 5-10 lbs of it, frozen. Mozzarella, cheddar, Monteray Jack, etc. You just never know when the mood for a quesadilla or pizza will strike!

My Family's World's Best Carrot Cake

When I was a wee lassie, I remember my mother making this incredible cake with the best frosting. I knew it had carrots in it, but couldn't figure out why it tasted so good. I hated carrots.
Of course, it was all the sugar. I loved sugar.
Not to mention the cream cheese. Oh, glorious cream cheese!

Take Your Accolades...Fabulous Homemade Croutons

Croutons are just multi-purpose little pieces of fabulous. Being soup season, we go through croutons a lot. Who doesn't love a nice, hot, french onion soup with melty cheese and croutons? Or baked potato soup? Or pasta e fagioli? I could go on and on...

They real are not just for crowning your salad. Nope. They have multiple uses like:

Boston Eclair Cake Goodness

First, let me say this is NOT my recipe.  It comes from here.
But it is a fabulous recipe! OHMYGIDDYAUNT is this delicious.
But I warn you....more than one piece and you might go into diabetic coma.


And easy? Did I mention this was easy? Yes, it is...a tad time consuming...you really need about an hour, plus time to refrigerate...about an hour and a half total. Not long in the grand scheme of things.

But it's still easy!

If you want a breathtaking dessert to bring to a potluck, or to wow your boss when you have her over for dinner? This is it. Trust me.

I Am Only One

It occurred to me...that people only see things one sided. Their side.

But there is so much more to life, to vision, to this big, big, world in which we live.

There are more than two sides to everything.
Top and bottom. Yes. But there's also left and right.
Black and white. Yes. But there's also gray.
Up and down. Yes. But there's also sideways.
Water can be hot, cold, frozen, wet, dry, vapor gas, or steam.
One way isn't the only way.

Healthy Cooking

I've been a registered user of Mealime for a few months. Let me tell you, I love this site.  You can choose the number of meals/recipes you want to cook in a week, as well as narrowing down the types of meals you want.

Vegetarian? No problem.
Classic meat-based meals? Got it.
Lots of fish? Swim on down.
Paleo? Bring it on!

You can specify your allergies and restrictions, the number of persons eating, and the biggie....you can tell them the foods you DON'T like.

You get a picture of the finished product, an interactive grocery list where you can check off items you already have, and a recipe guide.

And you get this all for free!

You can join for $6 a month ($4 if you pay $50 at once for the year), and you get even more benefits like calorie and nutritional information, build meal plans from your favorite recipes, etc.

Here's a sample, simple meal of chicken and carrots:

You should try it. You've got nothing to lose, and if you DO like it, join!

(and no, I am not being paid to advertise Mealime. I just love it!)

Southern Ice and Northern Fire

Like most people, it's fun to laugh at southern drivers in inclement weather. It's like watching a toddler who just learned how to walk try to run, not understanding why he's suddenly face-down on the floor.

I live in the north. Today, it happens to be a temperature of -1 and the windchill is -15 (which is technically the temperature that matters because that's what you FEEL when you are outside). We haven't had snow in a month. That's unusual. Winters here are normally more snowy than this season has been. When we do get snow, it's 3 or 4 inches two or three times a week, or 7-12 inches all at once.

And you know what? This southern California-raised girl loves it. I love snow. Always have. And now that I live in the north, I want more snow.

The north has snow removal down to an art. It's awesome. Get 10" on Sunday night, main roads are plowed and you still have to go to work on Monday morning. It is just how it is. If it weren't this way, the northern states would close from Thanksgiving to the Spring equinox. But,