Bubble Up Pizza

 

This is a super easy, different kind of pizza. I got the recipe from See Mindy Mom on You Tube. 

You will need a regular can of biscuits, breakfast sausage( I used turkey), one cup of pasta sauce (not pizza sauce),and two cups of shredded mozzarella.

Preheat your oven to 350. 

Spray a 9x13 pan. 

Cook breakfast sausage. One it is cooked I like to use this handy, dandy little tool to separate the sausage into smaller pieces.

 

Cut each uncooked biscuit into four pieces and cover the bottom of the pan.

Pour cup of pasta sauce on top, and stir until all pieces are covered.

Spread cooked sausage on top.

 

Sprinkle mozzarella on top.

Cook for 25-30 minutes. 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

The Eagle Has Landed

 

My middle grandson loves all things superhero. Over the last year he has been amassing a collection of superhero Golden Books. After reviewing his collection he realized that he did not have a Miles Morales book. Now for those of you who don’t know Miles is the second Spider-Man. Who knew that there were two? 

I told him that I would order it on Amazon along with another book in the Scaredy Squirrel series. ( If you haven’t had an opportunity to check out the Scaredy Squirrel series, I highly recommend it.)

According to Amazon both books would be arriving in two days. So when I pulled up to the mailbox and saw a box there I assumed that both books had arrived. I immediately called my grandson and announced that “The eagle has landed.” Now for a moment he was unsure what that meant, but when I asked him if he knew what i was talking about it didn’t take him long to figure out that his books had arrived. 

Later he confided that when he heard the word eagle he wondered if a book about the villain “The Vulture” had arrived instead. He reasoned that eagles and vultures were both birds. I thought that was pretty clever on his part. 

A few minutes later when I opened the box I was disappointed to find that only one of the books had arrived, and that the coveted Miles Morales book was missing. According to Amazon it was running late, and might possibly be there in two days if at all. 

I had to break the news to my grandson, but consoled him with the fact that our Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping book had arrived. (And it was just as cute as the first book.) When I arrived at his house the next day we came up with a Plan B where we would order the book off of the Target website if it didn’t arrive from Amazon. 

Two days later I was out running errands, and I called my daughter to ask her to check the Amazon website to see if the book would be arriving that day. A few hours later as I was turning onto my county road I got a phone call from my grandson. 

He spoke only five words, “Mimi, the eagle has landed!” Needless to say “the eagle” was perched precariously inside my mailbox, and I was able to deliver it the next day. 

I’ve found with this little guy it’s fun to introduce him to words, and phrases he does not know. He’s like a little sponge, and definitely has an aptitude for language. On the flip side I got a real kick out of his message, and realized how blessed I was to have him in my life. 

Wild Flowers

“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these?”

Luke 12:27

Comfort Revisited

 

I’ve recently come across two different books that address the idea of physical discomfort. In both The Comfort Crisis by Michal Easter, and What Doesn’t Kill Us by Scott Carney both authors put themselves in situations that result in physical discomfort. 

They compare all our modern technology to days of old when things like air conditioning, and power tools were nonexistent. Somehow people survived and thrived even with the physical, discomfort in their life. 

This got me to thinking about physical discomfort in my own life, or perhaps I should say the lack of discomfort in my pretty cushy life. Most of us take advantage of hot showers, climate controlled rooms, and a comfy bed at night. 

Why would we want to do anything different? How could hanging outside in the sweltering heat actually make us a better person? Well I’m not actually sure it would, but the mindset of always having to be comfortable might get in the way of doing something that might benefit you in the long haul. 

I know that I go out of my way to avoid discomfort. While on the other hand my husband seems more tolerant of it. He does not shy from hard, physical labor, and somehow seems to work through the discomfort to achieve his goals. I’ve always admired this about him. 

My excuse has always been that I’m cerebral, and don’t like physical labor. Now this may be true, but it also has held me back from trying new things which might be physically taxing. Somethings like exercise, which is actually quite beneficial for me, is something I have to force myself to do. 

I’d much rather lie on the couch, i pad in hand, searching the net. My brain gets a workout each day gathering new bits of information. I don’t find that the least bit uncomfortable.

After reading that there actually is some science to back the idea of the benefits of discomfort I’ve lingered a little bit longer outside in the cold. There’s some connection between stronger immunity and cold weather. Maybe that’s why my mom used to bundle me up, and take me outside for fresh air during the cold winter months in Boston when I was a baby. 

As I help Chuck clear limbs from our land I push myself to work a little bit longer than I might want to. My habit has been to quit as soon as it becomes uncomfortable, which technically doesn’t take too long. 

After working on strength training at the gym coupled with lifting my youngest grandson quite regularly over the last year and a half I’m stronger than I want to give myself credit for. I’ve learned that sitting around being comfortable is probably the worst thing you can do as you age. 

Physical activity forces the body to rebuild, and not just break down. Now I have learned over the years to listen to my body, and not to over do and cause injury. I thinks it’s a fine line between pushing yourself a little harder, and not going too far. 

How do you handle discomfort?

Throwback Thursday- Settling

 

There is a really clever series of commercials about the "Settlers." Rather than upgrade to a better television service they settle for an inferior viewing experience. Do you ever find yourself settling? 

I remember one of the first times I settled. As a senior in high school I had fallen in love with the 1974 Cutlass Supreme. My friend's sister owned the car, and I just assumed that after I graduated from college so would I. Unfortunately for me they changed the body style of my dream car right before I graduated. 

But in reality it didn't matter much because I made so little money as a beginning teacher that I settled for a used, brown Chevette. The reality of economics hit me hard when I realized that there were many things I probably wouldn't be owning on my salary. I had given up pretty easily on my dream. In fact, I think that experience was the start of a series of decisions that were basically settling. 

Vlad Zachary in his book, The Excellence Habit, states, "We settle one step at a time." When we are children we never question whether our dreams will come true. We confidently declare that we will be a ballerina, a doctor and a mom when we grow up. We seem to have a blind faith that we can achieve it all. 

However, as we enter adulthood we may find ourselves beginning to settle on our dreams or forgetting them all together. The question as to whether we have settled might be one to ponder, and reconsider in planning for the future. 

Culinary Challenge

 

Oh the culinary challenge of feeding a five year old- yes the struggle is real. Thank goodness for peanut butter and jelly, and also bacon. 

The other day I was asking my middle grandson what foods he actually liked because based on past experiences he disliked most everything I had ever offered him. 

Here is his list:

My good cheese-“You know the one where the white is mixed up with the yellow.” (Colby Jack)

Carrots

Pepperoni

Pickles

Sunflower seeds- “You know the ones you spit out.” (Which I’m pretty sure at his age he basically sucks the salt off them and spits them out, but according to him he really loves them. Lol!)

Peanut Butter and Jelly

The next morning he had bacon for breakfast, and since he likes to eat bacon by the handful I’d say we can safely assume it belongs on the list too!

I was discussing this with my daughter, and said his list was kind of like a capsule wardrobe where you limit the number of pieces in your closet. 

I’m not sure exactly what you can make with carrots, in the shell sunflower seeds and pickles, but if you know please share your recipe.

Failure

I was listening to a podcast about the power of consistency which led to the mention of the book The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. As is often my practice I like to check out the reviews for books, and get a sense about whether I might want to read the book myself. 

Interestingly there seemed to be two directions that the readers took in reviewing the book. Several people did mention that the book was life changing for them. Many people focused on the idea of small steps and consistency, and I would like to address that idea in a future post. 

However one reader, James Rutter, really emphasized the idea of failure, and how it can motivate or deter individuals. For him the following quote by John Burroughs gave him a whole new perspective, and allowed him to make positive changes in his life. 

“A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.”

I began to think about my own views about failure, and why it had such a negative connotation in my life? I’ve never liked failing, and have pretty much done everything I can do to avoid it.

 

As I reflected on my childhood most of my failures seemed to revolve around misbehavior. Getting in trouble for disobedience was never a pleasant thing. Whether it was “the look” or a spanking most of the time I tried my best never to get in trouble. Having a younger sister close in age often resulted in sisterly squabbles that ended in punishment. 

When I started school, and began to be graded on my work, failing , or should I say not failing became priority one to me. Most subjects came fairly easily, although math and the metric system were a real challenge. Each time I received a grade I would judge myself to be a worthy or not depending on the grade. 

Over time I began to notice that I rarely attempted things that I was not naturally good at. Things like sports, singing, and drawing all took a back seat so there would be no failure involved. 

Even things I was relatively good at , and liked were limited primarily to what I knew. Venturing out in the culinary world took a lot of reassurance from Rachel Ray that I could handle a large chef’s knife, but even now a bag of frozen shrimp has made its forever home in my freezer because I’m not really sure what to do with it. 

I did not grow up in a home that relished failure. Once I heard about a father who every night at the dinner table asked his children what they had failed at that day. This was not done to berate them, but rather a way to process lessons learned, and what the next step might be. 

I wish I didn’t feel so bad when I mess up. I seem to find that happening more and more as I march through my sixties. I find myself worrying about future cognitive decline, and seem to beat myself up for my failures. I have set such a high bar, and have failed to acknowledge the unrealistic expectations I have set for myself. 

Our book reviewer James Rutter had this to say about what he gleaned about failure:

“I have failed many times…MANY times. You learn through failure. It’s a part of life. You show me someone who has never failed and I will show you someone who has never been successful. You reach success by failing. Although I have failed many times I am NOT a failure. I will never be one and therefore I will never blame somebody else for my circumstances.”

The word failure seems so harsh, although in reading it’s actual definition it seemed rather benign. What if we all really are failures just due to our human nature, but it is okay because we are not expected to get it “right” every time. Failing is just a part of life, like breathing and laughing. We all fail, but generally pick ourselves back up, dust off the dirt on our pant legs and either run home crying or get back on that bike and try again. 

I’m not going to be so worried about failure, and when I do fail, because it’s inevitable, I’ll just keep on moving forward using the lessons learned to make things easier or better in the future. 

Who knows, maybe that package of shrimp might be on its way out of the freezer sooner then I thought! By the way any frozen shrimp tips would be appreciated.