I don’t make a habit of keeping secrets from my husband. Or doing things behind his back. Honesty and communication are two huge parts of a working marriage. Everyone’s got a squeaky wheel from time to time, but I really think that if you are communicating and being truthful with one another you can work through almost anything.

There is one thing though that my husband just plain does not approve of. I’ve known it from the start. I kept away from it the entire time we were dating and engaged. Well, wait. I might have had one slip, but that’s all. I promise. My respect for his opinion is much higher than my need want for this. All through college this was a major player in my life. I partook…a lot. He did, too, in his early days, but…

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. – 1 Corinthians 13:11

And for the most part, once we got married and were in such close quarters (with him living in what had been my domain and mine alone), I thought I would give it up to.

Then there was Friday. He had some things to do after school. A student was testing and then he wanted to get some things arranged in his room.

I’ve got time.

Hours, maybe. As I drove home, I developed a plan. He would be out of the house for a while. I could get by with it. I knew I could. Even though I knew that later that night I would be admitting it to Kevin. The smell would stay on me. And the smell is unmistakable.

I pulled into the parking lot, ran inside, and emerged with my spoils. I wondered how my clandestine activities might have appeared to anyone watching, but once I was home, what other people thought was the last thing on my mind.

I dug into the paperbag. Here I was. Home. In private. No one could see me. And in my hand was the thing I had been missing for so long.

I thought about my husband. He has his reasons for wanting to stay away from it. It was in abundance in college. Literally at our fingertips wherever we went at OU. Always available. A little on the trashy side, maybe. Poor quality, there’s no doubt. But there is something about it that reminds me of high school. Of being behind the bleachers during a football game. The taste…

Mmm.

I know it’s not respectable. I’m not sure what it says about me that in a moment of weakness this is what I turn to. I thought I had broken the habit.

You know what my addiction is, don’t you?

.

.

.

Friday night, for the first time in years, I enjoyed the cheap, canned cheese taste of a Classic Nacho and a greasy Crunchy Taco (and later, a refrigerated one, as I was taught) from Taco Mayo.

EDIT: Apparently, searching for the terms “closet taco” will land you here now. Mission accomplished.

*Thought about this after posting. There is a big football game in a week. I’m talking about poultry, birds, flying things. Ya know. In case there was any confusion.

If this lady can do one thing, it’s roast a chicken. A few years ago I decided to try out a recipe from Real Simple on Aaryn, on one of our Gilmore Girls nights. The recipe was for a roasted bird with lemon, honey, and olives (never mind that the skin was a little burned) and I was sold. It was easy (as long as you thawed the thing through before throwing it in…noted) and so downright tasty. The ease of a quick prep job beforehand and throwing it in the oven without much more of a thought is something I can really get behind.

Not long after that, I was in our local supermarket when they announced a markdown on their rotisserie chickens. The yummy birds were marked down from what was usually between $7 and $14 (depending on size) to $1.50. I had been in the store to get some chicken and other ingredients for soup anyway, so the markdown on the chicken in the deli was just one less step for me once I got home. And so I began my delicious foray into the world of chicken soup and all its variations.

However, chicken is chicken and it can get old. My husband likes to find something he enjoys and stick with it, so I don’t want to mess with things too much, but I would really like to try some new chicken recipes. Preferably things that focus on the bird itself and not casseroles, etc.

What is your favorite roasted chicken recipe? Do you like to stuff it with something? Have a rub that makes it magical? Is there something you anoint yours with halfway through that sends it over the edge? Do tell!

It was a long weekend. And not the good kind either. Today was a long, crazy day and I’m hoping the rest of the week shapes up pretty quickly because I’m in no mood to deal with stragglers. Plus, I have a trip to Virginia Beach to look forward to, Lord willing. It is looking like we may get some nasty ice around here. Nothing like me and Kevin deciding to visit family back east to put mother nature in the mood for a good freeze. Thanks a lot, lady.

On with the show…

• Allow me to complain for a moment without giving you all the satisfaction of a related link. Ahem. Why can’t I escape The Besters? And The Worsters? And the “How Did You Pay For That?!”…-ers? It seems that whatever place I am in life there is always someone around me like this. Have something wonderful happen? Don’t worry, something better happened to them. Once. It doesn’t matter when or if it’s relevent, it happened. Tragedy strike? Don’t look to them for sympathy. They lost their mom and their best dog on the same day. And heaven forbid you show them vacation photos. Sheesh. “Well, I don’t ever have the time to go somewhere that far away.” or “Who did you get to help pay for that?” or maybe they’ll tell you about that one vacation 10 years ago that was easily triple the price of whatever you did.*tap*

  *taptaptap*

  Anyone listening? You ready?

  Get some self-esteem. It is a sad, sad situation if you have to belittle others at every turn to make yourself feel better. I’m sorry for whatever happened in your past to make you behave in such a way now. But you need to grow up and stop.

  Good grief.

• Oh, hi
• Coffee makes you dance around like a goat! (educational AND fun!)
• The Spohrs have their beautiful Annie. Blessings on you all.
• smitten kitchen has this divine sounding Mixed Citrus Salad w/ Feta & Mint. Yum.
• As you may know, about 6 months ago I stumbled upon the blog of my cousin, Misti. Through her I’ve learned of my cousin, her brother, Curtis, his wife Stephanie, and their little girl, Zoe. Not long ago Curtis announced that they were expecting on his blog. Last week, the baby was delivered at 26 weeks. This little girl and her family have all been in my prayers and I hope they’ll be in yours, too. Welcome to the world, Miss Ashleigh.
• Food Network Humor is my new favorite blog. Oh my. And this — Amazon Product Recommendations: Ina Garten Edition

Have a great week, y’all!

Nothing weird about craving a grilled peanut butter sandwich with fried bananas and just a touch of Nestle syrup, is there? I inherited my crazy food preferences from my dad, but I will say that he’d never go this far.

What a beautiful day this was. I didn’t think that Green Gables could be topped, but the drive around PEI might have done it. We had set aside one day to see as many lighthouses as we could. The fog got a little ridiculous throughout the day, something the locals told us was uncommon. I guess I should be glad that this wasn’t 200 years ago. Because I’m pretty sure if some strange woman (me) wandered onto someone’s island bringing a dark cloud of fog that swept over the entire landscape, she’d soon find herself at the bottom of a lake.

Here we go, our day driving around the island:

These bikers stopped in front of us to wait out the fog.

These folks were drying their Canadian flag in their backyard.

You see that fog? It’s creepin’ on in.

We were kinda up in a lot of people’s driveways. You never knew where you were going on this map.

I took a sea shell from this beach. Shh.

Anne fans, recognize this hotel?

Think back to Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (or Anne of Avonlea, as it was marketed in the States)…

Certainly not a canonical scene from the books, but beautiful nonetheless.

After driving past Dalvay-by-the-Sea, we went on to Charlottetown to have dinner. I can’t remember the name of the place, but it was a little pub that we stopped by. There were hardly any people there (or anywhere) and I was still having some trouble figuring out the schedule these people live on. This establishment at least had a few people sitting outside enjoying their dinners though. It looked promising. Being that we weren’t locals and it felt ridiculously cold to us outside, we chose to dine indoors.

Kevin started with a crabcake.

And I went with the sashimi, which was pretty, but a mistake. Way, way too warm.

Now, for some reason I didn’t end up with pictures of our dinner, but I had this ENORMOUS bowl of mussels in a tomatoey brine and Kevin had…a burger.

Back to the resort we went for our last night in that huge room, with the daunting drive ahead of us the following day. Blech.

And since you made it all the way to the end, here’s a fun surprise:

A few days ago I responded to a little meme floating around on some of my friends Livejournals and they asked me some questions. I thought I would share them here as well since it’s NaBloPoMo and all and I’m sure that somewhere down the road I am going to run out of topics of my own (one day left, score!). Thank you, ladies, for providing me with a little blog fodder.

From Lauren, lovely lady who moderates GodlyGals with me…
1. What was your favorite wedding present?
That’s a tough one. The ones that have seen the most use have been my Fiesta ware (six in Shamrock, six in White). I’m pretty utilitarian so the things that I have been able to use the most have been most appreciated. Oh, and I love the mattress that my grandparents bought us. We picked it out about a year ago. It was nice to finally get to use it once we got married (Kevin requested that I not sleep on it until we were married and he moved in). It’s the best.

2. Have you and Kevin thought about any potential baby names? You know, for way on down the road
We do, but I’ll never tell until the babies come along. I will say that Kevin has given a firm “no” to one of my favorites — Clementine.

3. What is your surefire, go-to recipe for potlucks/covered dish events (idk what they call them out there)?
Potlucks Well, I have got Kevin’s grandma’s recipe for chocolate pie down so I might need to stick with that. But my grandmother’s recipe for “Southwest Salad” is a hit (it’s not your average taco salad). I always like to bring that. I’m pretty famous for bringing weird stuff down home to my meat and potatoes family. “What’s that?”

4. Did you and your brothers get along while you were growing up, and did your relationship change (other than obviously you were all older and more mature) once you left home?
First off, “more mature” is a stretch. As kids, I hear that my middle brother and I got along until my baby brother was introduced into the mix and then it was all out bedlam. We fought. ALL THE TIME. Hitting and kicking and screaming. After a while I got tired of it, played the “you can’t hit a girl” card, and just let them go at it. Up until just a few years ago I’d still take part in the arguing, but even that has slowed down now. The boys still fight. And our relationships have changed pretty much only in that we don’t talk to each other as much anymore.

5. How do you feel about public speaking?
I kinda like it. The first time I had to speak in public was in high school and back then I broke out in a nervous sweat, got the cotton mouth, and my hands shook uncontrollably. It took a few years for that to change and I was able to calmly present a motion before our school board to have some grading standards changed (we won!).

On the surface my personality is not sanguine. If you break past my exterior though, that’s what you’ll find. In the past few years I have found that I really enjoy speaking in front of a group and am able to do it confidently. And strangely enough, on the Compare People application on Facebook, I’ve been ranked the best public speaker amongst all my friends. I find it interesting that this is something people would think about me. Even if I do enjoy it, I don’t do it that much.

And from Rose, another lady I met through GodlyGals (waaaay back in the day)…
1. Do you have kids’ names picked out? Care to share them?
See above.

2. Where’s your next vacation planned?
This spring break (which occurs in mid-March in Oklahoma) Kevin and I are taking our first long roadtrip east to visit some of his family in North Carolina. I’ll be documenting the whole trip as we try to hit as many hole-in-the-wall restaurants that we can find (with Guy Fieri as our guide). We’re going to visit Grandmother in Clinton, NC, Aunt Sue in Raleigh, NC, and Pop Pop and Miss Phyllis in Currituck, NC.

3. What’s your spiritual gift?
In one of those really extensive tests (that includes things that not all people consider a spiritual gifting) I had 5 at the top that I scored very highly in. Tied for 1st place were Pastoring, Faith, and Discernment and tied at 2nd were Hospitality and Leadership. I have never asked anyone else who is close to me and that I trust spiritually what they thought about those results, but I think it would be a good idea to do so. It seems that people who work with you in ministry or see how you work could give some good insight into what they see you presenting strongly.

I feel that discernment and hospitality are the two things that come the most naturally to me. Discernment is something that it’s been clear I was gifted with ever since I was very young. I believe that is one huge factor in why I turned out the way that I did. My parents and grandparents have always been quick to say that I needed very little correction and had a very strong sense of “right” and “wrong” from the time I was small.

I guess you can see how the Pastoring and Leadership have shown themselves in my life. Faith, yes, I can see this. It’s Kevin’s highest gift on the list and helps me to understand why we are so compatible. We both trust God and that He will always come through. Period. For me, that sometimes makes it difficult for me to relate to Christians who regularly doubt and question the will and work of God.

Also, I don’t believe that people necessarily only have one gift. I think sometimes people have one gift right then, right when God needs to use them in that way.

4. What’s your biggest regret?
The ways I treated some of my friends in high school. I threw away some friendships I wish I hadn’t.

5. What’s the most common way people find your blog?
Honestly? Searching for the RoutanBabymaker3000. Look it up It’s helped me build a huge following in eastern Europe.

This is our first year that Kevin and I will attend Thanksgiving as a married couple and we’re bringing his grandmother’s famous chocolate pie with it. I don’t know if I am free to give the recipe out for this one. It’s probably some big family secret. But I’ll give you a clue. There are basically two ingredients. You just have to know how to mix them and how to tell when it’s perfect to pour. Oh, and you have to be an accomplished meringue maker.

I love the word meringue. Is it just me? Look at it. MERINGUE.

And the peaks. I love it when the meringues begin to peak. Only that by the time I’ve got them doing their thing I no longer have any muscle control in my right arm from the vibration of the hand mixer. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrweeeeeeeee! (Hand mixer sound.)

After a long day of driving around the island, visiting all the tiny towns sprinkled across the coast, we were tired and hungry. Down the mountain we came, back into Bar Harbor to change clothes and find some grub.

I want to learn how to make these hats.

Specifically the one that looks like a fish consuming a human head.

This is the Quarterdeck, the restaurant we ate at our first night in Bar Harbor.

This particular evening we decided to check out a local lobster pound. It’s not like the ones you’ll see on the side of the road. Like I stated before, Bar Harbor is a very touristy town. I loved it and want to go back, but you need to know that before going there. Don’t worry, it’s nothing along the lines of Branson or Gatlinburg. They know what their market is though.

This is Stewman’s Downtown.

Kevin and I have this thing where we try the spinach and artichoke dip at every restaurant we visit. Whenever they don’t have that, we’ll sometimes go for the crab dip. And if you’re a restaurant that doesn’t have dip, you aren’t worth my time.

At Stewman’s we started with their seafood dip.

It was creamy and cheesy and dreamy and…mmm. I don’t remember what Kevin had that night, but he thinks it was the lazy lobster. I was slacking on my photographer responsibilities. Can you blame me though? I had a roasting pan full of Prince Edward Island mussels to dig into.

As my mother would say, we left that place “fuller’n'a dog tick.” True.

After dinner we headed back up the street to where we parked (a little church’s parking lot) and I spotted something. Can you see it?

The moose. Do you see it?

Let’s talk about this moose. I loved him. Though I’ve never been to Alaska, so much of Maine reminded me of what I have seen of Alaska on TV and in movies. I’m a huge fan of Northern Exposure (even though I was all of 9-years-old when that show went off the air; last fall I rented the entire series from Netflix and watched the show while I designed my save-the-dates and later my invitations) and anything about life in Alaska. For years during high school and a little while after I planned on completing my education degree and moving to Alaska to teach. And make bank. And live alone in a cabin in the woods like a real pioneer. All while freezing my tiny tookus off and spending a fortune on delicacies–like bread. So anyways, Maine was exciting for me because it’s a little like Alaska, only on the east coast.

Sadly, I didn’t see one solitary moose on our honeymoon. Hrmph. That’s why I liked this guy so much.

I cannot, for the life of me, think of a better place for us to have taken our honeymoon. The food was fabulous the entire time. Everywhere we went. And all the places we visited had incredible scenery. Sigh. I love the Maine coast.

(This was our last full day in Maine. That’s right. It means that tomorrow you have our trek through the abys–I mean, New Brunswick and our arrival in PEI to look forward to. Don’t get too excited.)

Tonight’s dinner:

1 lb ground turkey
1 can green beans
4 russet potatoes, mashed
2-4 slices Provolone cheese
butter
salt
pepper
Worchestershire sauce

Cook and mash the potatoes while you are browning the meat. Add salt, pepper, and Worchestershire sauce to meat, to taste. Add salt and butter to the mashed potatoes, to taste. Mix green beans in with meat and cook 5 more minutes. Pour meat mixture into the bottom of a casserole dish and cover with Provolone cheese. Top the cheese with the mashed potatoes. Place in oven preheated to 400 degrees. Cook for 30 minutes or until top is nicely browned. May brown under broiler for the last 5 minutes if needed.

There you go! A quick, easy meal that makes my dear fellow very happy.

Tomorrow we’ll be back to the honeymoon!

Truth is that I need to coffee more on Monday than Sunday, anyway. This weekend (ever since I bought that box of candy canes) I’ve been enjoying peppermint mochas. Mmm.

• Mountain Rose Herbs lists “50 Ways You Can Spice Up Your Life” – some great tips here on herbal baths, remedies, tea, etc.
• They also have a number of recipes for relaxing winter baths. I must try these.
• Been reading my series of posts covering our honeymoon? No? Get caught up: Day 2 – Pt. 1, Day 2 – Pt. 2, Day 3, Day 4 – Pt. 1, and Day 4 – Pt. 2.
• Christopher Walken covers Lady GaGa – Oh, the hilarity.
• This is an instance where a Google ad really worked. All I’m going to say is BACONNAISE.
• Another group of Compassion bloggers are headed to El Salvador. Shannon reminds us to keep them in our prayers.
• Ronnica is in Turkey! Go check out her blog as she posts about her experiences there. Personally, I’m hoping for more food photos.

Short week at work, but likely a busy one with all we have going on. Best thing? The week ends with my birthday. I should probably come up with a list of things that I’d like to have. One of our good friends (the minister who married us) has a running list that he updates. And it’s LONG. Perhaps I should do that?