The stand-in... Green Tea

I have a love affair with sugar.  I don't eat it by the spoonful, but several weeks ago when I started the South Beach Diet, I realized just how much sugar I was consuming on a daily basis. 

Start with my daily fave - Emperors Bride hot tea (found only at The Tea Room on Broughton Street.)

Each cup gets approximately 2 teaspoons of sugar goodness and the result is a caramelly-divine cup of amber heaven.  I know a thing or two about tea.  Born and raised in Savannah, GA, sweet tea runs through my veins.  Additionally, I am a hot tea connoisseur - this status is achieved only after years of intense study and tasting.  I completed my studies at The Tea Room in downtown Savannah and at other various imposter tea rooms over the years.  I also have a British friend who has furthered my education on "proper tea" (PG Tips)

and the process through which different classes of people in England take their tea.  Milk into the cup first and then the tea for commoners; alternately, tea first and then milk for those in a higher class.  Don't mess with me - I know my tea.

This does not constitute good tea... 

If you are drinking the above featured dishwater, please stop now, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200 and go straight to 7 East Broughton Street, Savannah, GA...

Tell them Mrs. Murphy sent you.

Now comes the sacrilege.  Sadly, trying to cut back on the decadence of sugar, I decided I must forego my first love, Emperors Bride.  Splenda is not an option, it destroys the depth of flavor in my Emperors Bride, so I cannot consciously cheapen my little slice of heaven by adding the packet of yellow.  Thankfully, I discovered that I can cut out sugar and still have my hot cuppa' in the morning if drink green tea.  It  gives me the jolt I need, plus it adds loads of antioxidants and flavonoids, revs my metabolism and fights against all sorts of deadly demons (cancer, heart disease, etc. etc.) - and can be improved with the slightest sprinkling of the yellow packet.

So, if like me you are trying to cut down on sugar, green tea might work for you.  Here is my pick for best flavor... 

(Please note that this in no way will ever come close to the sheer satisfaction nor heavenly transcendence of a cup of Emperors Bride tea.) This is only a mere stand-in, a shadow in the midst of perfection...

If it's any consolation...

I've decided that the only way I can get even a teeny bit accepting of my littlest going off to kindergarten is through purchasing adorable school gear.  Today, I began my acceptance with this cute shark lunchbox monogrammed with his sweet lil' name...

Maybe I feel a little ok with it now ... yeah, that's pretty doubtful. 

My new BFF...

Mother's Day...

My mom loves red poppies, so when I found this outdoor dinnerware at Target, I knew I had to get it. 

Just waiting to get an invitation to come over for something yummy!  Bon Appetit!

We love our teachers....

For Teacher Appreciation Week, we had to do something sweet.  We bought some plants from the cute little nursery on Goshen Road...

Wrapped them up in paper sacks and tied with wraffia...

Miles picked this one for Mrs. Kelly... he said she would love it.

So we wrapped it up cute and he signed his name... (love love how he draws a big bubble over his 'i'.)


Here he is with his special flower for Mrs. Kelly - love him!

Precious!  I could eat him up!

Miles and Mrs. Kelly...

Miles loves Mrs. Kelly.  He sometimes says, "Mama, what if we lived next to Mrs. Kelly?"  and "Mama, can I spend the night at Mrs. Kelly's?"  This little child melts my heart. 

Here he is with his favorite Mrs. Kelly...

Wild Man #7

Owen Murphy, corner kick!

Jaime's front porch...

Doesn't this just sing SPRING!?!

This is Jaime's front porch.  It makes me happy - so it had to be photographed.  I love the way she antiques her terra cotta pots.  

 

Some of you green thumbers out there would recognize this as potato vine.  This was brand new information for me, but now I am hooked.  Gotta get some of my own so that it can be all sweet and swirly on my front porch!

New fave...

Half price at Johnson's.  Love love....

Pepper Jelly - Getcha Some!

Never had pepper jelly?  Where are you from?  Lawd child, let me educate you! 

Pepper jelly is a savory/sweet condiment that us southerners use with cream cheese for the perfect little snackin' treat when we are pinched for time.  Now if you run across green tinted pepper jelly, don't be afraid - it isn't my favorite, but it will work if you are desperate. I prefer the pepper jelly pictured above.  This is produced right down the road by Mama's Jam N' Jelly.  It has a classic golden color and the texture is more like jam than jelly - which makes for easy spreading.  To serve, arrange a block of cream cheese on a pretty pickle/relish plate and place the jar on the side with a bagel spreader - or feel free to spoon some of the pepper jelly directly onto the cream cheese and arrange some Ritz Crackers on the side (the salty-butteriness of a Ritz is perfect with pepper jelly and cream cheese.)

Order your own for $4 a jar from mamasjamnjelly@yahoo.com.

Enjoy!

Presley...

This precious child belongs to my friend Jaime.  I thought she looked as sweet as lemon chiffon in her yellow dress.  Sweetness!

Tea cup Heaven - right down the road at the Guyton Thrift Store...

Our last First Steps Easter Egg Hunt...

I admit to being more than a little attached to First Steps Preschool.  This is my fourth year with them - and my last year.  Owen attended their 3 year old and 4 year old programs and so did Miles.  We are in our final weeks of Miles' four year old program.  Graduation will be on May 24th.

The teachers at First Steps are the sweetest ladies you will ever come across.  From the time they take your child from the car, to the time they buckle them back in, they are taught, loved and encouraged.  The school is precious and I have loved every second of it.

The Gang

 (Left to right: Ivan Duncan, Miles Murphy, Jaxson Brown.)

The Easter Egg Hunt takes place at Mrs. Debbie's parent's house off Hwy. 30.  Imagine the sweetest little farm with lush green grass, chickens, a gazebo, hay ride and garden.  The grass in covered with teeny little kiddie tables and picnic blankets just waiting for little children to sit "criss cross applesauce" while enjoying all of the yummy treats.  It is the best Easter Egg Hunt I've been to and one I will never forget.

Here is my little Miles - he has no idea that his mama is suffering from bittersweet happiness right at this moment. 

And they're off!

Miles and Presley... 

God bless the teachers at First Steps Preschool!

Brothers...

Only having a brother is better than being one. 

God bless these boys.

Anxiety is my name...

Hello, I am Mrs. Anxiety Murphy. Nice to meet you! I might look all put together, especially when I give you my stock answer, "sure, I can come/do/cook/make/attend that!"  In reality, I am a psychological people pleaser and have not yet learned how to say "no, I just can't."   I am like most over-committed mothers/wives/friends who have the best intentions... I look the part, but I am usually freaking out inside, knowing that I've promised too much of myself all over the place.  God bless us people pleasers!  It isn't until later that I realize that I really can't handle all of these obligations and I become quite overwhelmed.  Thus begins the typical stages of panic.

A couple of weeks ago, the classic over-committed scenario unfolded - multiple things to cook, multiple places to be and all for one mama to do.   

Lessons Learned:

1. Psychological people pleasers end up going postal - and not at the post office.

2. I need to dust off my Day Planner and use it for everything.

3. Misery comes to those who try to be everything to everyone all of the time.

4. When I over-commit, I over-guilt because of a shortage of time for my husband and family.

5.  My new stock answer is "Sorry, I can't."  No looking back.  (My real friends are beaming - I can just feel it!)

Strawberry Pretzel Salad...

In case you need this recipe in a hurry, didn't want to make you read the entire blog on Strawberry Picking to get to the goods!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Not to be confused with something healthy - like a real salad!


1st layer Ingredients:
3 cups crushed (very crushed, almost powder-like) pretzels
1 c.+ butter, melted
3 rounded tablespoons white sugar

2nd layer ingredients:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 (8 oz) thawed container frozen whipped topping

3rd layer ingredients:
1 (6 oz) package strawberry flavored jell-o
2 cups boiling water
20 oz. fresh strawberries or 2 (10 oz) packages frozen strawberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter and 3 tablespoons sugar - I do this in a food processor; mix well and press mixture into the bottom of a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until set. Set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and 1 cup sugar. Fold in whipped topping and stir until completely combines. Mixture will be thick. Spread mixture onto cooled crust.

In a medium bowl, dissolve jell-o in boiling water. Stir in fresh or still frozen strawberries and allow to set briefly by refrigerating. When mixture is about the consistency of egg whites, pour and spread over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set.

Enjoy the oohs and ahhs!

How to make 50 PBJ's fast...

If you are ever in need of feeding a lot of people peanut butter & jelly sammies and you need to do it in record time, I can show you how it's done....

First, buy the jumbo size peanut butter, five loaves of bread, an extra large jelly and 3 of those huge aluminum pans with plastic covers.  You will get 22 slices out of each loaf, which is 11 sammies per loaf of bread (not a lot, huh?)  You will also need a spreader - not a knife.  I have this fabulously flat, blue plastic spreader that I use and it makes fast work of spreading peanut butter. 

Lay out your bread on a covered table...

Now start with the spreading... I recommend doing the peanut butter first and all at once.  So lay out 50 slices of bread and get going.  (This tends to attract on-lookers.)

Now the trick to the jelly is to dump it into a bowl and mix/break it up so that it spreads easier.  (See, this is my favorite blue spreader!)

It works perfectly!

Note:  Have a small child (8 yr. olds work best) to top each peanut butter'd slice with a jelly'd slice.  This saves time.   

Stack 'em up and run to the store now (if you've forgotten the aluminum pans like I did), but first cover them to keep them from getting stale.

P.S. The Dollar General on Hwy. 30 sells these such pans and therefore I didn't have to drive to the very distant and far away town of Rincon (7 miles.)

Load 'em up!

Easy peasy!

Finally!

Studier's Honeypot...

If you are from Effingham, you just might recognize this sign on Midland Road.

Sure, they have great go-cart races on Saturday nights, but have you been in to see their totally cute honey store?

You should stop by....

It's almost adorable as Presley, posing for me in front of the honey...

And speaking of honey... we tried (Jaime and I) to buy the smaller jars, but the larger ones were so cute - and they were wrapped in raffia... and we just couldn't help ourselves!  If you are in need of honey, stop on by - Jaime and I both could fix you up!

Art is good...

That Easter Bunny is a funny fellow.  This year, among the various other things in his basket, Miles found Crayola Glass & Mirror Markers.  This is how the mural on my mirror began - with two little hands and lots of imagination.

See me?  I am "Mom" with the pink dress and yellow hair.  These boys of mine, they are good. 

You are probably thinking how brave I must be to unleash two hyenas on my bathroom mirror (ok, yes, I am brave,) but it was only a little bit smeary when we finally decided to clean it off.  Extra Bonus:  This windex workout tones up that flaggally-waggally arm giggly-jangle that us mamas tend to collect before bathing suit season.