And the research is complete!

If you remember, I was performing some very serious research, and making MWC proud by following proper professional research protocol.     Here is my final report

My  Massage Therapists

Objective:  Compare and contrast 3 massage therapists in my town in order to confirm or refute my claims that Spa A was the "best massage  I've ever had" 

Research elements:  Spa A, Spa B, and Spa C

Methods:  I visited each spa for a one hour massage.  A 2 or 3 week rest period was observed between each massage in order to ascertain they were close enough together to remember each massage well enough to do an accurate comparison.

Observations:  

My first visit for the purpose of this experiment was to Spa B.  It was a lovely salon and the massage therapist was warm and friendly as well as professional.  The music was peaceful and relaxing.  The massage therapist did an excellent job, however, she was not as good as my first massage at Spa B.  She did not apply quite enough pressure to ease my muscle aches and a huge negative was hearing someone enter the room to get something from a supply cabinet while I was on the table.  As my face was down, I do not know who entered but it felt awkward and definitely disrupted my relaxation.

A couple weeks later I happily returned to Spa B with great anticipation.  I was led into a much larger room this time and was told another therapist preferred the smaller room so we'd be using the couples room.  It did not have quite the ambiance as the smaller room and the music was not very soothing.  It was a more energetic mix of music than she'd chosen previously. As before the therapist was professional and friendly, but not overly warm.  However, her hands are still magic and I very much enjoyed the massage.  I did have some significant soreness and aches though the day following.  It went away though and I did feel more comfortable and looser than before I went for the massage.

Spa C was a massage like no other I've had.  The experience itself was not necessarily a pleasant one. It was my first time visiting a male massage therapist and I was a little nervous about it. He was very talkative and was more focused on the results than any relaxing.  I didn't find him as discreet in his use of draping as I would have preferred and he did not use oil on his hands so some of the massage techniques felt rough. I told a friend I was "literally man handled."    However, there are two aspects about the experience that I did prefer over the others.  First was his choice of music. Typically massage therapists choose a soothing Asian type music.  He used instrumental music and I recognized many hymns in his repertoire.  Second, his results!  The tightness in my back and shoulders has been signifcantly better in the days following my massage.  He also worked on the adhesions I'd been developing since my abdominal surgery in the spring.  He has freed me from the ever present pain I'd been dealing with whenever I rolled over in bed or made certain movements during the day.

Conclusion:  Spa B is the winner for the massage experience and Massage Therapist B undoubtedly has magic massage hands, thus it is accurate to say "Spa B is the best massage I've had" and I have not shamed MWC by my hyperbolizing or misrepresentation with my words.  I have not yet decided what to do about Spa C.  The results have been quite positive, however, I'm not quite sure they are worth the price of the manhandling.  I'm still collecting data in regards to the longevity and the rewards of the benefits.

In honor of the first day of fall

2 apple pies in the oven and making my house smell divine.  Missing my apple trees in England today!!

Baking day in the IP

Decided to give the  IP a baking day.  First project...corn bread muffins from a Jiffy Mix box leftover from another recipe.  I got directions from a post on a FB page.  Bad advice.  Definitely overcooked and a funny texture.  They worked fine though crumbled into the chili and cheese.

Sweetness LOVES banana bread, especially with peanut butter and chocolate chips in it.  (A treat she discovered in art class in England.)  After seeing many posts on the FB page for my Instant Pot and stumbling upon a large bunch of overripe, price slashed bananas at the grocery store, I decided to make her some.  It was dense and moist..moister than when baked in the oven.  Only change to make next time....stir in the WHOLE bag of chips. :)

The best thing I can offer to this world is not my force or energy, but a well-tended spirit, a wise and brave soul.

Shauna Niequist

Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living

Groupon loves Scientific Research

Why else would they send me an email announcing a one day sale on yet another massage therapist that is just a couple miles from my house??

So in the name of Science, I'll be adding a 3rd massage therapist to be sure I've got an adequate sampling in my quest for accuracy of speech in my declaration of having found the best massage therapist in town.

I can't wait to tell MWC.  He'll be so proud of my due diligence in this endeavor.

It Still Works!

Well, for the first time since I drank the Kool-Aid, I turned on my oven this week and am happy to report, it still works.  First, I baked this bread using whey from making yogurt.  I served it with a spaghetti squash dish...made in the Instant Pot of course!

And again to make Sweetness's birthday peach crisp and to caramelize some BBQ sauce on  the ribs that were first prepared in the Instant Pot.

A Sweetness special request dinner - no vegetables!  Happy girl!

And how does the cook feel about the use of the oven?  Well, I'm happy I have another month before the next birthday girl and the need to back a cake!  The kitchen was hot, hot, hot!

Theology (no matter how orthodox), a belief statement (no matter how biblical), and propositions (no matter how exact and correct) are all useless if they don't lead us to the reality which is God and to the astonishment that ought to be a regular occurrence in the believer's life.

~Steve Brown, What Was I Thinking? Things I've Learned Since I Knew it All

All in the name of research....REALLY!!

 Earlier this summer, upon reading some good reviews of a local spa, I bought a Groupon certificate for a massage.  It was half price for a 1 hour sports massage.  I couldn't pass up that deal.

I think it was the best massage I've ever had. In fact, I practically fell asleep on the table.  Alas, that Groupon offer is gone but another place I've heard positive things about is now offering a similar deal-- 40% off of one hour massage.  So I bought one and have an appointment.

MWC is an advocate for accurate speech.  So I have asked myself more than once, was it REALLY the best massage I've ever had?  Could I be mistaken?  Could the one at this different salon REALLY be the best one I've ever had?

MWC is also very scientific minded and puts great store in properly conducted research.  I am certain my observations and opinions based upon an appointment weeks ago, can no longer be trustworthy or valid for such an important comparison study.  So out of respect and love for my husband, I did what any self respecting researcher would do...I set up conditions to be more accurate.

So in the name of VALID research, I will be going to Spa B in two weeks for a one hour massage followed two weeks later by a return visit to Spa A so that I can do a proper comparison of the two.

I'm sure MWC will be so very proud of my sacrifice in the name of good science and my desire for accuracy in my speech.  I can't very well claim its the best massage I've ever had, if I've nothing to compare it to.  And this way,  after my research that is, I can at least ACCURATELY say, "Its the best massage I've ever had in this town."

Because sometimes the Kool-Aid spills

Given my current IP obsession and all my posts singing its praises to get others to drink too, I feel its only fair, that I fully disclose that not all is perfect in the IP world.  I have had a few "misses".

In the spirit of full disclosure:

Our artichokes were disgusting and tough.  We ended up throwing them away.  Not to be discouraged though, I bought these babies and we will be trying again.  This time I will use the steam function and cook them a lot longer than the manual recommended as I suspect that was my problem.

I love eggs and avocado together. Avocado toast is a favorite breakfast so when a post for a baked avocado/egg popped up in my newsfeed on Facebook, I decided I had to try it.  I decided to attempt it in the IP.  Not a good move.  Can you say disgusting?

 I decided to give it a try again and decide if the problem was the IP or the actual dish itself.  This is the baked according to direction version.  Definitey prettier and a much better texture...but only slightly less disgusting in flavor.

 Final verdict:  Warm avocado is the culprit and is just a wrong, wrong, wrong way to eat it.

“By accepting God's love for us, we fall in love with Him, and only then do we have the fuel we need to obey.” 
― Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality

Cheesecake Factory of my own

One perk...or pitfall..of participating in the FB group with other Instant Pot fanatics, is the plethora of photos of cheesecakes made in the IP.  They are adorable and get rave reviews.  So I did what I usually do when faced with a new food to make...I jumped on the bandwagon...AND texted my BFF LFT and asked her for a recipe.  She sent me her favorite..a classic New York cheesecake from a blog called This Old Gal. (and for the record, that blog has THE BEST recipes!)

 I've never made a classic cheesecake before so I got organized and laid it all out to be sure I had it all

Classic graham cracker crust.  I got it a little too thin in the middle.  On the next one I made I shook the crumbs around for even distribution before pressing them down.

After mixing the cream cheese part, I covered the pan with papertowel and foil as directed.

Full disclosure...I am a blonde AND have senior moments.  In order to get the pan down into the Instant Pot, a "sling" is required.  I made this one out of foil.   However, I failed to fold it into the pot and ended up with a sealing failure.  Steam pouring out the sides was my first clue.  A frantic text to LFT set me to rights.  I turned it off and started over again.

Voila!! Perfectly baked cheesecake with no cracks!

Sour cream topping finishes off this classic New York cheesecake.

Pure Yumminess!!!

After making 2 of the classic cheesecakes (I gave the second to a neighbor), I attempted an Oreo cheesecake.  I did not have the same success.  It is tasty but the texture is not quite right.  A little Google research tells me my mistake was most likely in overbeating the eggs.  It cracked almost immediately as it came out of the IP.

It was however tasty, the texture was just off.  Serving suggestion was to top with whipped cream and crushed oreos.  However, I made the crust extra thick so skipped the Oreos on top.  It got a 4 thumbs up from my family...even from Sweetness who doesn't like Oreos.  (I didn't know such a person existed, must less in my own family!!)

Passion for pasta

Because contrary to what my current drinking the Kool-Aid-esque IP obsession would suggest, good food can be made in other ways.  Case in point, homemade spaghetti I made with my mama during a recent visit.  It was delicious!!  I own a Bosch universal and not a Kitchen Aid so this is not an option at my house without a new kitchen gadget or application of my cooking lessons for homemade pasta in Italy

Lessons in Italy by our fabulous host, Massimo.  Pasta the way his grandma did it every day of her life.  It was delectable...and so fun to make!

I guess the decision as to which version I attempt could be decided by Amazon!  Will they practically give away a pasta maker any time soon?

IP Yogurt

We go through a LOT of yogurt around here.  Having lived in Europe, we have come to appreciate plain, non-flavored yogurt without all the added sugar.  I decided to give the yogurt feature a whirl last weekend.  It was a bit time consuming as far the IP was concerned but required little effort on my part.

Yogurt is a two step process.  First boiling of the milk- or steaming the jars if you are making individual pots of yogurt.  I opted for the large pot.  I poured in 1/2 gallon of milk and pushed a button and walked away.  Two hours later it was heated and had cooled down to the proper temperature for the second step.

The second stage requires 8 hours of incubation after stirring in the yogurt starter (in my case, a big spoonful of yogurt already in my fridge.)  It had a lot of liquid whey and I found removing the lid without adding more liquid from condensation a challenge.  However after I strained it in the fridge overnight, it was thick and creamy and quite tasty.  Although a little more tartness would be my preference. In future,  I will try playing with the incubation period to hopefully get a thicker consistency to start with.  

1/2 gallon of milk yields 2 quarts of yogurt..making it basically half the price of 2 quarts of plain Greek yogurt from Costco.

Happiness is....

The moment your shy child who has begged to move back to your old assignment EVERY single day since you left says, "Now I want to stay here forever Mom!"

I may or may not have tears rolling down my face after such a declaration.

So thankful we have finally found something of interest for Sweetness and with a group of people who make her feel welcome and a give her a sense of belonging.

Answered prayers for sure!

Diving into the IP cult

Since its arrival, the IP has been used daily.  Its arrival was timed perfectly with my birthday gift...a new recipe holder made from an old wine barrel.  It holds my IPad and cookbooks perfectly as I work.  *Sunshine and Sweetness are just added beauty perks for this photo op.*

I have used the IP for boiling eggs (I'll never make them on the stovetop again!)  Even Sunshine was incredulous as to how easy they were to peel.

Quinoa cooked on high pressure was a wonderfully easy and the plumpest and tastiest I've ever made.

This yummy pasta dish was thrown together quickly between a doctors appointment and date night with MWC.  With no prep work done ahead of time, it was on the table in 35 minutes...even with the pasta needing a tad bit more time (user error) and my having to run a second pressure cook on it for a couple minutes.

Sunshine and Sweetness are not accustomed to sandwiches for lunch...having not had to pack any for school so many years..and prefer taking leftovers or mac and cheese for their lunches.  Making homemade is too much of a pain so we've relied on the organic boxes from Costco for the past year.  No more.  Macaroni and cheese was super easy.  I am still on the lookout for THE recipe we will use regularly but we did enjoy this batch.  It was simply a matter of making the macaroni and water in the IP and stirring in milk and cheese.  I thought the recipe as posted was a little bland and stirred in some parmesan.  I will be playing with different types of cheese and probably try a sharper cheddar in future.

I will also have to learn to adjust amounts..or they'll be taking it every day of the week or feeding their entire class.  This batch was too large and has lasted several days.  Leftover mac and cheese just isn't quite as good as freshly made.

And because not all meals are pasta...this delicious Mongolian Beef recipe was gobbled up in one sitting.  This one - served with rice - will definitely be a repeat performance at our dinner table.

Tribute to Frog Prince as he flies the coop

Another One Leaves the Nest

With my apologies to Queen

Frog drives happily down the street,

His car’s gassed and ready to go

Tinted windows, and I can’t see him,

But I know he’s ready to go.

Am I ready? Am I ready for this?

One more chickie goin out on his own
Out of the door, off he goes

Taking a part of my heart.

Another one leaves the nest
Another one leaves the nest
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one leaves the nest
Hey, I'm gonna miss you too
Another one leaves the nest!

How do you think I'm going to get along?

Without you, when you’re gone.

You’re such a force within our home,

It’s not the same when you are gone!

Are you happy? Are you satisfied?
That’s just what I want for you.
You’re all grown up, and out the door,
You’re my little boy no more.

Another one leaves the nest
Another one leaves the nest
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one leaves the nest
Hey, I'm gonna miss you too
Another one leaves the nest!

Another one leaves the nest

Another one leaves the nest

Another one leaves the nest

Another one leaves the nest

Hey I’m gonna miss you too

Another one leaves the nest!

There are plenty of ways you love a son

And want to have him around.

You can hold him.

You can push him.

You support him when he’s up

When he’s down.

But you’re ready, yes you’re ready for this.

You’re standing on your own two feet.

Out the door, and off to life you go,

Taking a part of my heart.

Another one leaves the nest
Another one leaves the nest
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one leaves the nest
Hey, I'm gonna miss you too
Another one leaves the nest!

I drank the Kool-Aid on Amazon Prime Day

I didn't realize I was drinking the Kool-Aid.  I just thought I was finally following in the footsteps of my own personal kitchen guru and BFF "LFT" and taking advantage of a great deal by buying the Instant Pot she'd been recommending to me for several months.  I quickly learned I was just one of 215,000 that took advantage of the deal and have since entered the IP cult.

LFT has told me she has used hers every day since she got it.  I'm following in her footsteps on this one.

It arrived one hot sunny day and has been a workhorse since its arrival.

I joined the FB page for Instant Pots.  I'm pretty sure the membership was at 80,000ish when I joined.  Its now over 90,000.  That's a lot of Kool-Aid since Amazon Prime Day.  LFT shoulda bought stock!

I started playing immediately and did the water test to check the pressure.  All systems go.

 A sane person would start with some simple recipe like boiled eggs or steaming vegetables.  I've never professed to be sane...especially in the kitchen where I have no qualms trying out new recipes on unsuspecting guests or making alterations to recipes on first attempts...so my first attempt was a little more involved....Texan chili which I found on another blog.   LFT told me the IP would make my meat super tender and my dishes more flavorful. She was not kidding.  The meat in this chili literally dissolved in my mouth (which was awesome given my TMJ makes chewing big chunks of meat difficult!).  The chili was delicious straight out of the pot and just got tastier with each passing day.

It was love at first pot.

A little catch up

How have I not been here since January?? Easy....life.

Today someone told me I should blog.  "Well," I blushingly responded, "I actually have a blog."  Maybe I should get back to it a bit. I enjoy it so I'm not sure why I neglect it.

It would take pages to play catch up for all of life's trials and blessings of the past six months, so I'll just share the highlights.

In March, during a routine colonoscopy, the doc discovered I had a hot dog sized appendix which needed be removed.  It was a time of testing ...and gratitude...as it was confirmed that I was spared not only cancer, but significant complications due to its early discovery.  I am thankful for the excellent medical care I received and for the Lord's mercy to me in sparing me a more formidable path.  (I'll share photos of the other highlights but I shall spare you the gory photos of my legendary appendix.  They are not for the faint of heart.)

MWC and I celebrated 30 years of marriage in May.  He surprised me with a romantic getaway (which we took in late June) to several CA places we enjoyed while he was in grad school in the early days of our marriage.

Selfie at Lovers Point, Pacific Grove, CA

Catalina Island

And in early June, Frog Prince graduated from USAFA.  Words can not express our gratitude to the Lord and our pride in Frog Prince for this accomplishment.  We, his entourage of 20 family members and friends, enjoyed celebrating with him in Colorado Springs.

The Parade Contingeny of his entourage.  

The long awaited moment...MWC commissioning our son.

Some day, I may look at this photo and not get teary....but not today.

Father/son salute

Graduation Day

Day 28 - Smile

Getting back in the pool today, seeing my friends (and being treated like a long lost celebrity! ha!) definitely brought a big smile to my face today.

Day 27 - Telephone

Swan gave us bookends to commenorate our time in England and our family's traditional engagement photos.