Travels - A pound by pound review

Well, in the last few weeks we have been to WI, CO and IA (Iowa, I have no idea if that is the correct abbreviation. Anyone?). All the weight I've gained in a few weeks is proof! Sigh! No more fast food, please!!!! Okay, no more whining about the size of my butt! (for now).

Some highlights of our trips:

WI - getting the entire Graf family together as hubby's sister was home for a visit from Brazil. None of us could remember the last time this happened...5 years ago! The trees were in full color

for our drive there (in WI of course b/c we don't really have trees here). We also ate a ton of good food...that was the first pound!

In CO hubby's highlight was when they had to upgrade us on our car rental to an SUV. I teased him by asking why he didn't get the minivan (we were without kids on this anniversary/ EDGE conference trip...very spoiled. THANK YOU again to all our faithful babysitters, and there were many of you!). Anyways, this allowed some fun in the mountains with gorgeous views that can only be found off steep dirt roads (oh darn). The aspen trees were bright yellow and perfectly accented by deep green pines and blue skies. A picnic for two and some time to just be together without talking about kids and ministry...just what we needed! Oh and the conference was good too! We also had some great time with good friends and way too much good food, starting with a fried onion thing at Outback...that was the second and third pound.

In Iowa we joined nearly 400 students and staff from our region for our annual Fall Conf. It wasn't the same without you there Jess http://jessdager.wordpress.com/ but at least I still know what is going on in your life thanks to your blog! The teaching from Norman Hubbard was excellent and of course I looked forward the whole million hour drive to the baked oatmeal that would be awaiting me...it is truly excellent and I've only had it at Village Creek Camp. That was pounds three and four. I think Arbys and Taco Johns were the last one! Oh and the weather was excellent.

I never thought I'd be so obsessed with the weather, that is what living in the mid-west does to you though! I had no idea how spoiled I was in CA, and how much I was missing out as well. Fall is definately my favorite season, and not just b/c we got married in the Fall. I just love the cooler temps, blue skies and gorgeous leaves. The urge to go apple picking, start a new knitting project and bake up a storm all hit me with the first 60 degree day!

Good thing I don't have the urge to do laundry b/c after years of faithful service our washing machine went kaput yesterday. The boys are currently glued to the repairman (sorry repairman) while he is taking it apart and asking all sorts of questions I don't know the answer too about washing machines. Thing 2 is sporting his construction vest over his Brazilian soccer outfit over longsleeves and sweats. What can I say, he likes to get dressed up when we have important company coming!

This morning I was blessed by E. one of our EDGE women coming over for some informal "discipleship" time. I joked that when she is meeting with her women she can now teach them how to clean windows with the "help" of a 2 and 4 year old...because that is just what we did. I decided that instead of always going out of the home for our one-on-one times I could let them in on more of me by letting them in on my day to day life (they could decide what they wanted to imitate and not imitate on their own)! I'm sure E. picked up by the state of my filthy windows that cleaning windows isn't a daily occurance, but my nesting urge was egged on by the prospect of an extra pair of hands. But we did do some other "normal" things like make granola and play Cootie. She is home now recovering from her loss to T1 at Barnyard Bingo...but at least she has a full belly of gourmet mac n cheese and hot dogs. Here is the recipe for the delicious granola from allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Megans-Granola/Detail.aspx. I changed it a little (of course) by adding flaxmeal (yeah for Omega 3s) instead of oatbran which meant I could add a lot less oil and using brown rice syrup instead of honey.

Megan's Granola
SUBMITTED BY: annie9

RECIPE RATING:Read Reviews (122)
Review/Rate This Recipe
PREP TIME
20 Min
COOK TIME
20 Min
READY IN
40 Min
SERVINGS (Help)

Servings

US
METRIC
INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
8 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups wheat germ
1 1/2 cups oat bran
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups raisins or sweetened dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.
Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, and walnuts in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat. Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets.
Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Stir once halfway through. Cool, then stir in the raisins or cranberries before storing in an airtight container.

One last thought, my newest favorite blog is http://truefaced.com/blog/ if you haven't discovered it, check it out for some great thought provoking, Jesus loving encouragement.