Diana's Household Diaries " Secret Summer Surprise "

I've decided to be generous and share my "Secret Summer Dessert" recipe with all of you.

This is one of my most requested Summertime desserts and I've made it four or five times over the last few weeks. I lost count.

Then I quit making it because, well, 

I just got tired of making it.

It's not very big so it goes fast. My photo of it doesn't do it justice but I'm just not talented like that. You know who you are. The Blogger's that make every dish look so beautiful. I've tried that.

It didn't work for me. Could be because I hate cooking so much that I just do it and serve it up!

This is so good, especially on a hot summer day. 

Lemon Torte

12 Graham Cracker Squares, crushed 

3 Large eggs, separated

1 Tablespoon Finely grated lemon peel

1/4 Cup fresh squeezed Lemon Juice

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/8 Teaspoon salt

1/4 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Whipped Cream (Whipped) Or I use

2 Cups thawed Cool Whip

Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with half of the Graham Cracker crumbs

In a medium saucepan, combine egg yolks, (Reserve whites in a medium glass or metal bowl, chill) lemon peel, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of sugar and salt. Mix well.

Cook over medium heat until mixture just begins to bubble, stirring constantly. It will be the consistency of pudding. Remove from heat and let cool.

Beat egg whites in chilled bowl until frothy. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Fold in cooled lemon mixture and Cool Whip.

Pour into pan and top with remaining Graham Cracker crumbs. Freeze for at least four hours. You will want it to be frozen solid.

For longer storage cover with foil but it usually doesn't last very long!

This tastes like a delicious sweet, lemony ice cream. You will get compliments on this dessert!

No need to thank me just try it, you'll like it!!

I don't share my secrets with just anyone you know!!

A Fun Birthday Dinner

After Balloon Fest Friday we all went out for a fun birthday dinner. My youngest daughter's boyfriend Anthony was celebrating his 19th birthday with us and Kate and I wanted to go somewhere special.

We kept seeing television commercials for Fujiyama Steak house and thought it looked like a fun place to go. Plus we all like steak, Kate and Ginny love Sushi, I had never tried it and wanted to so....

We asked Anthony if he may be interested in going there for his birthday. He said it sounded fine to him as long as he could have steak! Well, Kate and I knew that for crying out loud!!

Ginny was here visiting and Jake was on vacation so we took the forty minute or so drive to the steak house.

You have the choice of regular seating or Hibachi. We, of coarse, in unison, said "Hibachi". After all we wanted dinner and a show. And that is exactly what we got. 

First we ordered drinks. Ginny had Saki and I ordered a Singapore Sling. They are very good by the way! Everyone else ordered soda. Jake was the designated driver.

We were then served Mushroom soup. Some of us liked it and some didn't. I thought it very mild tasting and good. The next coarse was salad served with a Ginger Dressing, I think we all liked that.

Next came the Sushi. I think we ordered six or more different one's and shared them all. O.K. I like Sushi!!

I think my husband even liked some of it ! Anyway we all had fun sampling the Sushi. So onward to the meal. After we finished our Sushi and ordered more drinks, our Hibachi Chef entered the room with his cart filled with goodies. I have to say that we got very lucky with the chef we had as he was VERY entertaining. The Chef at the table next to us wasn't nearly as entertaining!

He was a great jester as well as chef, which in our family was greatly appreciated! As he was preparing our rice and noodles, we all got the chance to catch it with our mouths as he threw it in the air at us! Ginny and Anthony were the only two that were able to catch the rice!

I believe he was getting ready to toss some rice at Anthony , the birthday boy. Lets just say there was a lot of laughing and screaming going on and it wasn't just from our table. I think we were all having so much fun that everyone else was getting a kick out of it.

Blurry I know! But it was hard catching the shot of Anthony catching the rice, but he did!!

Alright, just for the few of you who may never have had a teen in your life, a rare photo of them smiling simultaneously!

We all had a great and enjoyable meal. Hibachi Steak, Shrimp and Chicken with noodles, rice and vegetables. 

My oldest daughter Ginny and myself.

We all had such a great time. This was a dinner that I'm sure we will all remember for a long time. I'm sure we will return again. And I think it was a pretty special birthday dinner for Anthony!

Here's a photo of Jake and I. So long for now!

"What Goes Up...."

I'm so sorry for my absence. I've hardly visited anyone as of late but it's because my husband has been home all week on vacation. I have lots to post about but just for now I have a few photos of last weekends Balloon Festival that I want to share with you.

First off, here's one of me that I didn't know my daughter Ginny had snapped! It was my daughter's Ginny and Kate along with Kate's boyfriend that went to the fest. The kids bought me a nice comfy chair to sit on. The weather was just perfect, a bit chilly towards the end but we just loved it after the heat wave this summer.

Here's the funny part, these are all Ginny's photo's. I still haven't uploaded mine yet!

I must say this was the most relaxing evening that I've had in ages! The crowd was very light. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. We had some delicious treats and saw some gorgeous balloons. I'm going to get some of mine up here soon. 

The next day we had some more fun. I'll save that for my next post, until then hope you are having a good weekend!!

"Happy Anniversary To Me"... Total Bilateral Knee Replacement, Post-Op One Year !!

They say that time flies. So true isn't it?

It's hard for even me to believe but it's been one year since I've had my knees replaced.

I went for my one year check-up with ex-rays. The bones have healed very well. This is what my knees looked like shortly after the surgery.

I know right? Pretty gross!

And here I am today. As you can see, no more swelling, no more staples, and most importantly, 

no more pain!

My scars are fading, slowly. But it doesn't bother me at all. I wear them with pride. I went through a lot to get this far!

I told my surgeon that it now feels as if I never had arthritis and my knees feel like just that,

my knees. They don't feel mechanical at all. 

I don't have to see him again for two years. How amazing is that?

I sort of get a kick out of people that will say "Can you do that with your knees?", because I can do more with my knees now than I could before I had them replaced!

It's a good feeling. I am grateful that this technology was available to me. I am grateful that my husband worked so hard to afford this for me.

My oldest daughter, Ginny, is flying in from Raleigh on Friday. We are all going to the Hot Air Balloon Festival in our neighboring town, this weekend. I will tell you this much. Had I not had my knees replaced last year, I would have had to use a wheelchair or simply not gone. I haven't been to the annual festival in years so I am looking forward to seeing all of the beautiful balloons while

"walking"! 

I will miss my mom. She used to love going to the festival. But I'm sure she will be walking right along side of me if only in spirit.

Happy Anniversary to me!!!

Shutting Down

Hey Blogger Buddies! Just a quick post tonight. I've been extremely busy this week and I don't see an end anytime soon.

I'm shutting my computer off for a few days. I am preparing for a visit from my oldest daughter Ginny.

She will be here next Friday for the weekend. I'm very excited. I will be back the beginning of next week at which time I will catch up with everyone's posts. I will miss you all!

I  have a very special anniversary coming up next week and I hope you will come back for a visit to share my happiness with me.

Until then, may God Bless You.

Love Di ♥

Diana's Household Diaries " My Constant Struggle, Floor Cleaning "

I am going to have a difficult time with post. You see I have a love/hate relationship with my floors, or anyone's floors for that matter.

First of all I don't like cleaning floors. We have a lot of floors and it's a lot of work. We have two cats, two dogs and two teenagers. I will have my two grandchildren on Monday for an overnight as well. I also clean floors at another house that I clean once a week. So you see I clean a lot of floors.

Here's the other problem. I despise dusty or dirty floors. And for some reason that I don't quite understand, I see every animal hair, speck of dirt, or crumb that may have found it's way to the floor. If I feel dust or a speck of dirt or crumb on my feet, I practically flip out. I'm not a phycoligist but I have a pretty good guess that this may be a bit obsessive. The good news is that I can ignore it to the point that I only do the floors one maybe two times a week.

We have a lot of wood floors in our house. Old wood floors. We only have one room downstairs that is still carpeted. The entire upstairs is carpeted as well as the stairs themselves. So it's a lot of work.

When cleaning my floors I always start downstairs in the living and dining rooms. They tend to collect a lot of "Tumblefur" as we like to call it, from the animals. Now I do have one of these...

It does work well, is very large so it picks up a lot of dust and it can be fun chasing the dogs around with it but I rarely use it as I am an old fashioned kinda girl and I still prefer using these...

Call me crazy, go ahead, I'll wait....

I just find that I am getting more dirt with the old fashioned broom and dustpan. For mopping my wooden floors I use the Rubbermaid mop.

By far my favorite choice and have used it for years. The mop head is replaceable. I have two of them.

This mop does a wonderful job and has a scrubber top as well. As for wood floor cleaner I like to use water and this...

It does a fine job on wood.

Now when it comes to my kitchen floor, I switch to this...

I've used other products in the past, all of which work rather well but I do like a strong, good smelling man so I have to use my Mr. Clean.

It also works well for general cleaning and smells so "FRESH" ! I also use Mr. Clean spray cleaner on my counters and such.

Obviously on my carpets I use a vacuum cleaner. I also have a small carpet cleaner that does a pretty good job. 

Before our daughter had her second nasal polyp surgery a few months ago, we ripped all of the carpet out of her room that had been there for God knows how long. It was there before we moved in almost 14 years ago. It was pretty nasty. The hard wood flooring in her room doesn't look very good but we'll wait until she moves out to do something with that floor. The whole room will need to be redone by then anyway.

It takes a lot of time doing all of these floors. There is a lot of furniture that has to be swept and washed underneath. I do take breaks and I rarely do the upstairs and downstairs on the same day. It's just too much.

I'm so happy that I'm getting this post out of the way. Floor cleaning is a very boring subject and I don't think it's fun work at all.

But it is an important part of keeping a clean and healthy household. I usually do my floors mid week or whenever I can find the time through the week. And of coarse I always do floors on Thursday's when I clean house for another family.

I promise I will try to have a more interesting post next time. Maybe I can get some ideas?

  

Diana's Household Diaries "The Adult Child "

I know I said I would post about floor cleaning this week and my OCD issues that go along with that but things change and they can change quickly.

Being a housewife or Household Engineer as I like to refer to the insurmountable tasks that go along with this Godly union, isn't all about cleaning.

Our jobs consist of many. One of which if we are fortunate enough to be blessed, is that of mother. I'd like to touch on that just a bit this week. No photos today just a cup of coffee and some thoughts.

Becoming a parent is and was the most exciting moments in my life. Each time being different of coarse, some easier then others. I'm not going to talk about the care and feeding of these wonderful babe's that are now adults. 

When I was much younger, before having children of my own, I remember people saying that you never stop worrying about your children even when they are long gone from the household. 

This couldn't be more true.

We nurture, love and teach our children the best that we can until that day comes. You know the day I am speaking off. The day they leave the nest.

I have one adult child that has been out of the house for fifteen years now. Another that's been gone for twelve years.

And yet another that is already making her plans for that day. Which probably isn't that far off.

I think that day will be the hardest for me. I will be alone.

My husband is only home on the weekends so I will be alone. But that's not what this is about. I do enjoy my own company, and I am sure that I can find things to fill my time with.

Today I am talking about the adult child that has run into hard times, road blocks, or deep pain.

Next to the teenage years, I find this to be the most difficult to deal with. What do we do?

We talk to them of coarse and hope that they are forthcoming with their feelings and emotions but this may not always be the case.

Matthew 6: 25-34 tells us we are not to worry. And while I read this over and over, and have actually come very close to mastering this, still I cannot help but worry about my children and the problems that they face.

When it comes to our children, worry is common place for many of us. Yet there does come a time when we must realize that we have done our jobs, hopefully, the best that we possibly could have through he years. And I'm sure that I'm not just speaking for myself when I say, I could have done better. But I hate "What if's" or "If only's".

I know I wasn't a perfect parent but I also know that I did the best that I could through each stage of my life. 

If I were physically capable of starting the whole process over now at 54 instead of then at 20, I'm sure I could have done a better job but that wasn't God's plan for me so I have to be satisfied with the knowledge that I have done the very best that I could have over the years.

So what does a parent do when an adult child is going through a painful situation or difficult choice? I find that it can be very difficult not meddling or giving my opinions freely. But I don't. 

Only when asked. I never try to tell them what they should do. They are adults and must decide what to do for themselves. I help if I can. But it's difficult when we can't.

I have offered my past experiences to them. I have told them that I have felt that pain. I have told them that this too will change and so will they.

Most importantly I have stressed to them that living life one day at a time, if  mastered, makes things much easier.

And I have told them to petition the Lord in prayer. After all, when it comes right down to it, God is in charge and as hard as it may be to see, ultimately, he won't let them down. It's the not knowing part that's hard to deal with. And the waiting. But sometimes it's just best to stop, step back and wait rather then make hasty decisions.

I firmly believe that the answers to all of our problems are in God's hands and will be revealed to us eventually.

Worry doesn't help. It does nothing but it can make you sick. I pray for my children everyday.

I wouldn't be truthful if I didn't say that there are days when I just want to stay under the covers all day. But for me I have found the best "Get things out of my head therapy" is to clean.

I've done a lot of that this week. And I have more planned for today. It helps me. I don't think my children have inherited this from me. Well maybe my son. 

So things around the "Household" haven't been going very well although things can always be worse. This post is a "venting" one for me.

I will sum up by saying that I guess all that we can really do for our adult children when they are going through hard times is to be there for them when they need us. And pray. Pray a lot.

I'm interested in knowing how you deal with adult children in times of trouble.