What I Made Wednesday {Homemade Shrimp Cocktail Sauce}

Fat Tuesday is over and the fishy season has begun for many. We're Eastern Orthodox so Easter for our family isn't celebrated until May 5 (silly Julian calendar). But, I didn't want to waste an opportunity to share with you a great, homemade cocktail sauce. It's tangy, citrus-y and delicious. If you're looking for my delicious Fish & Chips recipe and homemade tartar sauce, click here. It would be so perfectly yummy for the Lenten season.

What You'll Need

3/4 cup Ketchup
zest from 1 Orange
1/4 cup Orange Juice (best if fresh)
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
2 - 3 Tablespoons Horseradish
Dash of Tabasco or Cayenne Pepper Sauce 






What You'll Do
No recipe is easier than this one. Just dive right in and grab a medium bowl to stir.

To your bowl, add the ketchup.

Zest that orange skin but stop when you get to the white pith.

 

Squeeze, baby, squeeze. One medium orange should get you to the 1/4 cup you need. Super Hubby thinks the sauce is too citrus-y so if you want to reduce the amount of OJ, be my guest.


I've been known to use OJ from a carton, in a pinch. Don't tell! It's fine, if that's all you have, but the sauce really does taste fresher and more lively if you use the freshly squeezed juice. Just sayin'.

Oh, don't forget, a little bit of lemon juice goes a long way. 

Add the remaining ingredients to your own liking. Horseradish can get spicy.

What You'll Need to Know to Finish

Once all the ingredients are incorporated together, place in a serving bowl and set in the fridge for about 15 minutes. This will help the sauce come together.

Grab some tail-on shrimp (thawed, of course), cut-up some lemon wedges, plate, and serve. Enjoy!

The Root of All Purpose

If you have never struggled with realizing your purpose in this life, then STOP READING THIS. Let's just call it a day, OK? I'll see you tomorrow for What I Made Wednesday. Oh, and congratulations on figuring it out. If you'd like to dispense some wisdom to the rest of us, then please leave some advice in the Comments section for us wanderers still trying to figure it all out. Hasta Mañana!

Now, for the rest of us: the ones that continue to search, seek, and ponder the questions, "Why am I here?" and "What is my purpose?" Since ancient times people have always been the same in their desires to knowing the secrets of the Universe. But what if the revelation is simple, not complex, easy, not hard. What if the answer lies in just 4 little letters? L-O-V-E.

On a recent shop-therapy session, this plaque caught my eye. I stood under the fluorescent lights of Marshalls and read every single phrase over and over again. Without exception, each and every nugget was exactly what I believed in and how I lived. I wouldn't have added or deleted a thing! I couldn't put it down so it permanently attached itself to my fingers as it hitched a ride up to the cash register and has since found a home in my laundry and craft room.

Today, I re-read all the phrases and I noticed something rather significant. The word "love" shows up a total of 6 times on this little plaque. I don't think this is a coincidence. There must be something to this, right? Even in the Bible, the first fruit of the Spirit is love. So, can the answer to one's purpose be rooted in love? Can we Cliffs-Notes the meaning to life into the simple phrase "To Love and be loved"? Yes, I think we can. And, if we follow this 2-bullet to-do list, everything may fall into place quite nicely. If our actions are performed out of love and we accept and welcome love from others, this may be the only purpose we are responsible in achieving. Love teaches us. Love can lead us to our passions, and can open our eyes to ways in which we can leave our mark in this world. 

But it starts with you. In order to give love, you must first come from a place of love. You must first love yourself; not in a conceited-kind of way, but in a way that gives respect to yourself, making sure you give yourself what you need, whether it's time, space, or a new pair of shoes on occasion. The way you love yourself is the way you will love others. Remember that the next time you feel guilty for taking that bubble bath or forgoing laundry chores for some coffee time with girlfriends.

Be good to yourself, dear reader, and the world will be good to you beause you are, in turn, good to others. "To love and be loved." Yes, it is that simple.

  

Gratitude Journal Monday

Girlfriends are so important in helping make a woman's life stronger and more fun. We gain strength from our best buds as we share our troubles and triumphs; figuring out the world, our kids, and our husbands. It's a give and take, a ritual of friendship that lasts through the years. I'm so lucky to have a few that are the best!

401. I'm grateful to be spending the day with my bestest bud who is such an awesome friend.
402. I'm grateful for Panera, where we'll be having breakfast and where I can make up for missing her birthday (sorry).
403.I am mega-grateful for the Children's Place sale we stumbled upon so I could stock up on some great clothes for Kiddo for even greater prices.
404. I am grateful for friends that encourage me, lift me up, and are honest with me when I need to be put down gently.
405. I am grateful for the smell of Spring that is distinctly in the air today, giving me false hope for an early change in seasons. 
 

Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 81.

Goodbye glorious week that just made me feel happy, simply happy.
Goodbye reflecting on that happiness and realizing it came about, not because something big happened in my life, but because I just lived life simply.
Goodbye naturally cleared driveway thanks to the rain and warmer temperatures.
Goodbye loving this fiction book (I know, shocking) I'm reading, given to me by a friend - thank you!
Goodbye to stepping out of my comfort-zone, trying new things, and throwing caution to the wind.

Hello feeling the joy of having really great friends.
Hello long weekend, thanks to parent/teacher conferences.
Hello being in a really good place in my life right now and wondering if I want to risk upsetting that with a change of focus.
Hello going to a Whirley Ball birthday party for one of my son's awesome friends.
Hello attending a smoochie baby shower at a primo Italian restaurant - yum and pass the cannoli.

The lesson I learned this week is how reflective I am as a person, and how non-reflective most people can be. I think about things A LOT. I analyze, I evaluate, I ponder on just about everything and yet, it's hard to find people who want to discuss on those epiphanies I so delight in exploring. Is it that most people aren't deep thinkers? Is it that they don't have the time to think into the deep crevices and corners of ponderance because the busyness of life has overtaken the dreaming parts of our brains? Maybe? But, I've got my thinking cronies and I love them with all that I am. The discussions are revolutionary, if I do say so myself. I will not change because it is who I am. At times I can find myself to be alone, but alone I will never be, really, as I'll always have my thoughts to keep me company.

Make sure your thoughts are the kind of company you want to keep. Happy Weekend! 
   

Phoning It In

I'm phoning it in today. My son has a half day of school today so in between drop-off and pick-up, I'll be visiting my Grandmother, sharing time, a few chuckles, and some breakfast sandwiches from McDonald's (her favorite). Then, there's parent/teacher conferences tonight and tomorrow. Kiddo will be spending the night at my parents' house since there's no school on Friday, lucky duck. They love him so much and spoil him rotten. I'm spoiled, too! Spoiled with a 25-page report card (God, I do love this school). So, there it is. No big, mind-blowing revelation. No deep post that hits the inner core. Just a simple "hello" and "see ya tomorrow". Toodles!

What I Made Wednesday {Bursting Heart: Love You More}

Does it get any sweeter than when you have the following conversation?

Me: "Love you, Kiddo."

Kiddo: "Love you more, mom."

Me: "Love you most."

Kiddo: "Love you mostest."

It's those times I want to remember forever and celebrate today. For all the smoochiness in the world, this project is dedicated to loving mostest!

What You'll Need

 

Heart-Shaped Punch
Panoramic Photo Frame
3 contrasting cardstock papers
Letter stickers
Glue stick (not shown)
Scissors (in case you need to cut the paper)








What You'll Do

Take the frame apart and save the glass for another project (a 2 for 1).

Trace your cardstock to the right shape to fit the frame and cut.

Go ahead and place it back into the frame, without the glass, remember?

Get cozy with your puncher and start punching away. I actually only ended up needing about 4 in each color.

 
 
Fold each and every heart perfectly in half. You're working with cardstock so it may be difficult to get a tight crease. If you find this to be the case, take a pencil you have laying around and use it to help make the fold tighter by running the edge of the pencil over the fold.

Glue each heart, alternating colors, half back, to half back, so you end up with a stack of folded in-half hearts. When opened you should have a fan of hearts.

Lay the fan out and apply glue to the end hearts on each side of the fan. Stick it right smack dab in the middle of your cardstock that's already in the frame.


 
What You'll Need to Know to Finish
Now the easy part, take your letter stickers and start spelling out "Love You" to the left of the fanned heart and "Love You More" on the right side of the heart. I ran out of "O"s so I had to use zeros. I don't think anyone will notice.

It's always a good idea to work backwards when getting letters placed where you want them.

Now, how cute and easy was that?

 


 

I Am Enough

Linking up with Ashley Stock from Little Miss Momma to write my "Enough" statement. I encourage you to sit a spell and write your own.

I am caring.
I try to be kind.
I aspire to judge not.
I give many chances.
I fear not being enough.
But, I am enough.
I am my son's biggest fan.
I am my husband's best friend and he is mine.
I care for and protect my family with a fierce heart.
I am a warrior of righteousness.
I am enough.
Some days I fall short.
Some days I soar to the moon.
Most days I just hover.
But, I am always enough.
I believe.
I trust.
I love.
I die to self.
My actions have purpose.
I follow my heart.
I can do hard things.

My expectations are high.

My intentions are good.

My forgiveness is constant.

My friends are few.

But it is enough.

My hands are busy.

My mind races.

My creativity is infinite.

I am blessed in knowing my true self is always enough.