Grilled Teriyaki Salmon

I love grilled fish! I love ordering salmon when I go out, but for some reason I've never made salmon at home. Well, I decided to make salmon last night and this recipe was delicious! I paired the salmon with a delicious wine and sauteed onions, mushrooms, and zucchini.

1/4 c. Olive Oil
1/4 c. Fresh Lemon Juice
1/4 c. Soy Sauce
1 t. Mustard
1 t. Ground Ginger
1/4 t. Garlic Powder
4 Wild Salmon Steaks

In a glass pan, combine the first 6 ingredients. Mix well. Set aside 1/4 cup for basting and refrigerate. Place the salmon in the glass dish and let marinate for at least 1 hour in refrigerator. Drain and discard marinade. Grill for 10-15 minutes on low heat or until done. Enjoy!

Where is Your Treasure?

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

-Matthew 6:21

As I dig deeper into God's word, I can't help but do some self-examination because I want my life, my thoughts, my actions, my words and everything else to be pleasing to God. So many times I fall short because there are numerous things in life that are vying for my attention and pull me away from God. We have to constantly ask ourselves:

Where is my heart?

Do I have an eternal perspective or am I investing in the here and now?

Proverbs 4:23 tells us that a person's life is a reflection of his heart ("Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life"). This word picture is clear: the heart is a well from which all of life's issues flood from. Be real with yourself and with God and truly examine your heart. As believers, we should carefully inspect what we let in and out of our hearts and pay attention to and apply God's word in our lives so that we will keep our hearts with all diligence.

You might be asking yourself why I am writing about this topic. Well, after spending some quality time with the Lord (read Matthew 6:19-24) and doing some self examination, I have realized that I all too often have this mindset:

'If I only I had that, then I would be set'.

Security and satisfaction cannot be found in temporary things. 

Thank you, Lord for allowing me to be transparent and real. Thank you for continuing to pursue me...even though I get distracted by earthly things. Thank you for the greatest treasure of all: through Jesus we can enter eternity fully pardoned from sin. Give me strength, Lord as I follow hard after you...

I took this picture the other day while pulling weeds in the yard...who would have thought a weed would look so pretty!

Make Your Own Mayo

I've never liked mayonnaise...never will. But, I am married to a man that eats it on his sandwiches! I decided that since I already have all of the ingredients for homemade mayo in my kitchen, why not try to whip up a batch for him! I can't tell you if this recipe is good or not since I don't like mayo, but Jake seems to like it.

Ingredients:
2 Egg Yolks
1 T Apple Cider Vinegar
1 t Dry Mustard
1/2 t Salt
1 1/4 c Olive Oil

Directions:
Using a whisk, mix yolks, vinegar, mustard, and salt. Add olive oil drop by drop at first and then graduating into a thin stream.

Fuse Camping Trip

This past weekend, Jake and I went on a camping trip with a few couples from our Sunday school class at church (the class is called Fuse). We had a BLAST! I haven't been camping in years, but I have wanted to go so badly for a long time because camping is a wonderful childhood memory of mine.


We went to Locust Lake State Park in Barnesville, PA. The campground was nestled in between the lake and the mountains. We spent the weekend biking, hiking, swimming, laughing, and cooking over the fire. 

Even though the temperatures have been super hot lately, we were really comfortable the whole time we were there since we were in the mountains. At night, the temperature was perfect for sleeping.

 The whole gang!

We didn't shower all weekend...I was thankful to take a long shower when we got home on Sunday!

We enjoyed sitting around the campfire in the evenings. One of the guys played the guitar, so we all sang worship songs together around the fire.

 Jake standing next to our little 2 person tent. This tent is small and made for backpacking, but we love it!

One of my favorite campfire treats: the banana boat. You carve out the middle of the banana and stuff it with chocolate, marshmallow, and peanut butter. Wrap it in foil and cook it in the coals for a few minutes! Delicious!

Jerri Came to Visit!

Jake's mom, Jerri, came to visit for 5 days. While she was here we had the hottest temps so far of the summer.

I made this colorful salad for one of our lunches.

In an attempt to stay cool, we visited Crystal Cave. It was 56 degrees in the cave and over 100 degrees outside.

We took Jerri to see Lock Ridge Furnace, which is just a few miles from our house. Lock Ridge is a former iron works that started just after the Civil War and closed in the 1920's. The remnants have been nicely preserved and the grounds have been maintained as a park. 

The furnace (now a museum)

This building below used to be the carpentry shop

They stored oil in this building below and it was also a weighing station. When I took this picture I was standing on an old wagon scale.

There are so many historical buildings in this area. For some reason, I have become fascinated with all the old doors. There are some really neat doors on some of the buildings.

We took a driving tour of Bucks County. We stopped at this old Civil War museum in Doylestown. I quickly snapped this picture as I was walking by it on the sidewalk. You can't see it that well, but I love the whole door way. 

This building below was the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works. This is a working history museum producing mosaics in the same way that Henry Mercer did in the 19th century.

Relaxing on the couch!

Who needs coffee when you can have this...

1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon Juice Plus Complete in Vanilla
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
A few spinach leaves or kale
1/2 cup frozen fruit (I like mixed berries)

Best Laundry Soap Recipe

I've been experimenting with my homemade laundry soap. I've made different liquid and powder versions, but this one is the easiest and it seems to do the job:

Powdered Soap for Top Loading Machine:

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (Not Baking Soda!)
½ Cup Borax

Grate soap until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons.

Yields: 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)

Recipe costs approx $2/batch which is $.05/load!


It's the little things in life that make me happy...Like this shelf in the "laundry" corner of the basement (Notice the iron is still in the box!)