What’s For Breakfast…

and lunch…

and sometimes even dinner?

Let me explain.

This lovely little cheesy, potato-y egg bake has always been one of my favorite things to make for the family.  Fast, easy, full of protein. In fact, it’s also one that my family chooses to make for their families a lot. I’m pretty confident when I say, that when you make this dish, it’s guaranteed to be gone in a flash.

Unless…

you live by yourself now and are cooking for one.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. My cute kids are all exactly where they belong, doing exactly what they should be doing.

I’m just saying that it does change the dynamics of dinnertime around here when you don’t have five bear cubs or even one woolly  mammoth to feed.

I am learning–slowly but surely…to adjust.

It used to make sense to have double batches of cookies and triple batches of Chex candy and ten-person servings of rice, around–at all times.

Yeaaah…not anymore. It’s taken me waaay too long to figure out that what I make now, I have to be prepared to eat entirely or it’s getting thrown out–or worse, applied directly to my hips. Not to mention that when you eat the same meal for three days in a row–in order not to waste it– that meal loses it’s ummm…charm–shall we say? Blaugh.

Incredibly not awesome.

What to do?

I have discovered that if I want to have nice meals I have to cook in much smaller batches or know that the dish can be easily frozen.

For instance, this breakfast bake can be cut up into single portions and frozen for a week or so. Turns out, it is particularly good being reheated in the air fryer. Yum!

I’ll figure it out. Just takes a bit of tweaking the recipe or finding more room in the freezer.  I can always thaw out 3 or 4 portions at a time if the need arises.

I mean…I may just get a visit from a woolly mammoth or some bear cubs.

One never knows…does one?

 

Things I’m Loving Right Now

This amazing, lovely, ridiculous Mother’s day gift that was bestowed on me by one of my kids. Ten points to Gryfindor if you can guess which one. Haha.

A sweet, shy, tender little kitty that runs ahead of me to make sure the porch is completely safe before we venture out.

An open-faced egg salad sandwich…or two in the afternoon. Yum.

A rousing game of 5 Crowns with the family. It’s one of the few games they play that I actually…you know…get without too much hand holding.

A pretty little sign that gets to the point quite nicely. I mean…if you’re going to tell someone to scram, how cool is it if you can be polite about it?

A big sister and her baby brother.

Just the right card from one of my other kids. “Believe me.” Haha.

Family vollyball. Watching it…not playing it..as the sun goes down.

A whole website full of beautiful family friendly music that I can just leave on loop all day long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wilderness Merit Badge

I’ll tell you what…

if you’re brave enough to leave the calm, comfortable, gorgeous place that we call home here in Utah…

and move to the outer regions of the universe with it’s own particular wild hearted appeal…

then I would suspect you’re probably also brave enough to…

sleep in a tent in the utter wilderness, despite the hordes of ferocious wild creatures lurking about…

and possibly you’re even brave enough to…

fish for your own breakfast in the biggest pond I’ve ever seen, that could, in fact be hiding the Loch Ness Monster’s American cousin…

then most likely you are also brave enough to…

take whatever creatures you foraged and hunted and scared up and slow roast them over an open fire out in the middle of nowhere.

So, I’m thinking…

if you’re going to do all that brave stuff with wreckless, crazy, wild abandon, then you may as well do it an a lovely place like this…

that is even lovelier with you all in it.

I sure adore you guys.

I sure miss you guys.

I’m glad you were a boy scout.

Our Memorial Day

We do this day–this Memorial Day, pretty much the same as we have since I was much younger and certainly much more spry. I’ll confess that it is getting a little dicey trudging over the uneven ground that is the cemetary.

But if we didn’t go and do this thing we do…

I would miss it.

I would miss my great, great grampa…

Joseph Ellison Beck who ran a trading post in Spanish Fork and learned to speak to the Indians in their own language.

I would miss my great grampa…

Alfred RM Beck who was a beet farmer…

and great grama Sophia Beck who was a nurse and midwife.

They raised a huge pack of beautiful children.

I would miss my grama and grampa…

Elsie Beck and Clyde Mitchell.

Grama Elsie ran a boarding house and was the best cook in town.

Grampa Clyde was a sheet metal worker and loved to hunt and fish.

They had two children. Only one lived.

I would miss my baby uncle…my grama’s baby boy…my mother’s little brother.

I would miss my grama’s little brother…

Hyrum Beck who was a private in the army and never married. He died way too young.

And I would miss my own mom and dad…

Andrew and Marion Kirby–who honestly, I do miss every single day…

not just on Memorial Day.

Until they are all back with us again,

this is the way we will happily remember them…

especially on Memorial Day.

I hope your Memorial Day was peaceful and happy.

That’s My Baby!

See this cute guy? Well, he did something pretty dang marvelous this week.

In fact, he did the very thing that enticed him to move to Arkansas in the first place.

He did this thing.

Oh, my GOODNESS!! Not only is he cuter than heck, he is also one smart cookie!!

And see that teeny smidge of a teal tassel there on the right side? He is the only person in the whole class that even got one of those! I don’t actually get what it’s for, but if that were me, I’d be wearing that sucker on my forehead so no one could possibly miss it! Haha.

So not only is he cute AND smart but he’s also not even being a show off about it. I could probably learn a lot from this guy.  Ok, I guess I COULD learn a lot from this guy. Duh.

Congratulations my sweet son on earning your Master’s Degree. I love you and admire you and think you’re amazing and I am SO, SO proud of you and all your hard work!

But I’m still not calling you Master.

Miss you boy. Now come home.

Hey, a mom can try.