A Must See Video

 

I had been thinking about my new post for a few days; not sure which of my drafts to edit to create a full post. Then, a friend shared this video with me and I knew that this is what I wanted to share with you this week. 

It is a video about a very beautiful woman named Stephanie Nielson. Perhaps you have heard of her. She has been blogging about her life for 5 years over at NieNie Dialogues. It was in that time span that her and her husband got into a near fatal plane crash. 

Their story is inspiring. 

Enjoy the video.

With Love,

-Laura

When I am nervous my knees shake...conquering my fear of public speaking

I was asked to speak in church this past Sunday. It was an experience that I am always grateful for, but that does not change the fact that public speaking makes me very nervous.

My first experience speaking in front of a crowd that I can remember was waaaaay back in 4th grade. I had a speaking part in a school play (and by speaking part I mean I had one, 4-word line) and I thought my heart was going to jump into my throat. When it came time to recite my line, I was so nervous that only a soft, shaky whisper emerged. The strange thing is that when I got off that stage, I was so enamored by the feeling of being on stage that I wanted more opportunities to conquer my fear. Consequently, I pursued many years of dance, drama and debate in order to improve my comfort level in front of a crowd. 

I am happy to report that I have come a long way since those elementary school days. I am certainly not a professional when it comes to public speaking but I have learned to speak slowly, clearly and disguise the nervous shake in my voice. There is still one aspect that I cannot seem to control - my  knees. When I open my mouth to speak, my knees start trembling.  

So what's a girl to do?

Well, this girl always wears long skirts and prays that she will be standing behind a stand when she speaks.

Despite my shaky knees, I do enjoy the opportunity to improve my skills and abilities. Perhaps one day I shall have these knees conquered.

For those of you who find they have particular trouble with public speaking, I suggest you avoid listening to pieces of advice like "just picture your audience in their underwear" because those things do not work. Who wants that image in their mind anyhow? I will suggest checking out this list of tips for public speaking that was put together by Toastmasters International. It has been a great help for me to review this list when I am preparing for public speaking so that I know the important things to remember.

Believe it or not, public speaking can be a fun, enjoyable experience. Now if only I could communicate that to my nerves that send my knees into convulsions.

Happy Speaking.

Cheers!

-Laura

Please keep you hands and arms on the bicycle at all times...and enjoy a Vegan Banana Muffin Recipe

I'm back!

After semi-disappearing from the blog for a month, I have returned. I guess I forgot to leave a message saying that I would be gone. But, that's in the past.

The last month has been full of adventures. Our Little Man has hit some very exciting milestones; including pulling all of the wetwipes out of the container. We also had visitors for a couple of weeks. It was exciting to be able to introduce others to a taste of the Dutch culture that we have come to love so dearly. We made sure that our guests got the full Dutch experience: cycling, market, canals and herring among many other fun things. That said, I have realized that I was not born to be a tour guide. It was fun while it lasted, but I am happy to be hanging up my tour-guide-hat until we have some more wonderful guests.

In other news: 

Remember my plea for The Muffin Man to help my sad state? Well, it was answered! And it turns out that it is not a Muffin Man at all, but a Muffin Woman. Thanks to Gina over at Health Nuts Blog I made some fantastic (and healthy) Banana Muffins. Of course, I veganized it. If you would like to make the original recipe then go on over and check it out here. If you would like the vegan version then read on. 

(please note:  I cut the original recipe in half. The original recipe yields 2 dozen and that is just too much for our little family to eat. You could definitely freeze the extras, but we have a small European fridge which means there isn't room to freeze muffins. If you would like more muffins, feel free to double the following recipe.)

Vegan Banana Muffins

1.5 c. whole-wheat flour
1 1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T ground flaxseed*
1/2 c. Agave (you could try out Maple Syrup too. If you are not trying to make them vegan, stick with the honey as called for in the original recipe as honey will help your muffins to stay fresher, longer)
1/2 c. applesauce
1/8 tsp. vanilla
3 T water*
2 ripe medium bananas, mashed
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 325°. In large bowl, mix together dry ingredients. In separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in nuts (if using). Pour into greased muffin pans. Bake for 28-30 minutes. Transfer to to a cooling rack. When muffins have cooled, store in an airtight container.
Yields 1 dozen muffins.

*The ground flaxseed and the water are to replace the eggs. Gina suggested that you could also increase the apple sauce to replace the eggs. Apple sauce is NOT an egg replacer, however, it would work in this instance since there are bananas in the recipe which will fulfill the role the eggs would have played. I used flaxseed because I like the nutty flavor that it gives to the muffins.

Final Thoughts

Hubby and I both really liked these muffins. They tasted like Bran Muffins with banana. They are sweet enough for a treat but healthy enough for breakfast on the go. We will definitely make these again! If you try them out, be sure to let me know what you think and head on over to let Gina know how much you love her recipe.

Happy baking.

Cheers!

-Laura

Lucky In Love

What do you get when you combine this idea and this one?

This:

Thanks to the oh-so-talented-blog, Love Actually, I was able to put together something special for Hubby for March. Even though today is St. Patrick's day it is not too late to put something special together; I'm sure your lucky someone will appreciate it no matter what!

Cheers!

-Laura

Do you know the Muffin Man!?!?

Do you know the Muffin Man,

The Muffin Man,

The Muffin Man?
Do you know the Muffin Man
Who lives in Drury Lane? 

Seriously, if you DO know the Muffin Man, please send him my way because I am so utterly helpless when it comes to muffins. 

I just don't get it. I can bake cakes, cookies, squares, brownies, bread...you name it - but please, just PLEASE don't name Muffins.

I have tried so many recipes and they do not work for me. Too dry, too moist or too flat. I have had muffin tops that have fallen off and some that have fallen in, but NONE that have bounced back like the recipes say they should.

My most recent attempt was the worst one yet:

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

 {Unfortunately, this is not what mine looked like. This photo is courtesy of this link.}

I have been wanting to bake these tasty morsels since we moved here and finally tracked down some Poppy Seeds to bake them.

The recipe went together effortlessly. The batter tasted divine. I filled the muffin cups and placed the tray in my preheated oven.

The magic began happening and they rose - oh how they rose. And the smell...amazing!

With still 10 minutes left in the baking time I went and grabbed a book for Little Man. I made it back to an awful surprise. 

The muffins had shrunk and the tops were wrinkly.

What happened!?!?

Despite my disappointment, I let them finish their baking time and hoped that they maybe they would be edible.

Nope. Not edible. The outside was crispy...the inside dense, doughy and slightly hollow on the upper portion.

Definitely not what I was hoping for.

So, do you know the Muffin Man? Think he could help me!?!?!?

At least I can still bake a batch of cookies to enjoy.


Cheers!
-Laura

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

You know that song about the cat that just keeps coming back? Well, that's what winter seems to be doing to us. Oh, how I thought that Spring was in the air. Things were warming up. No more frost. Beautiful green fields. We went away for a trip to Rome, and I had expectations that we would return home to flowers peeking through the ground. When we landed in Amsterdam, there were no flowers - just frost and ice...and snow. Guess I will have to hold off bringing my open-toed shoes out of storage a little bit longer.

In the mean time, I will make the most of the chilly weather and enjoy some Vegetarian Black Bean Chili. I love Chili. It is a perfect cold-weather-comfort-food. That said, I am quite picky about my Chili. It needs to be smooth, thick (but not too thick), deep flavor, full of good stuff and no meat. Unfortunately, I find a lot of vegetarian chili's are too....froofy. So I found one of my favorites and changed it up a bit! Unfortunately, my computer crashed so there is no photo to post, but I can assure you it looks and tastes delicious!

The original recipe, if you're interested, can be found HERE

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

¹/₂ cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 small bell pepper, seeded and finely diced (I used half red and half orange pepper)
1/4 cup tomato paste (four big spoonfuls)
 1 15-ounce can black beans, undrained
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, undrained (or use two cans of black beans)
1 4-ounce can diced green chilies OR  2 green chilies, finely chopped (*See note)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
optional: cocoa powder **see note

Heat the water in a large skillet or pot. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook over high heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add tomato paste, beans and their liquid, chilies, cumin and chili powder. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until flavors are blended. (Insiders tip: Chili is one of those dishes that does get better with time. The longer you let it simmer, the stronger and smoother the flavor will become. 15 minutes is the MINIMUM time, but I usually leave it about 45 minutes.)

* I buy a jar of whole green chilies, that way I can add as much or as little as I want. You have more control over the spiciness of the Chili this way
**Yes, you CAN put chocolate in Chili. This will add a very deep, slightly sweet flavor to the chili. We love it, however, not everyone is a fan. If you want to try it out:
      -add one teaspoon - stir - allow to sit for 1-2 minutes - taste - repeat if desired until you reach the amount that works for YOU.

Happy eating!
Stay warm.

-Laura

Dating Rx....prescription needed!

I have a confession to make.

Hubby and I never dated before we were married.

*gasp*

Crazy, right? Now, before you begin thinking that Hubby and I married as complete strangers, let me give our little 'Boy Meets Girl' story in 10 simple steps:

1: Boy meets girl

2: Girl and Boy become friends, then best friends (...this continues for over a year)

3: Boy leaves for an internship in Texas

4: Girl stays behind and continues University

5: Boy receives job offer to work in Germany

6: Boy realizes he is madly in love with Girl

7: Boy buys ring and hops on an airplane to visit Girl

8: Boy takes Girl to the mountains, gets on one knee and pops the question

9: Girl says "Yes!"

10: Boy and Girl get married 3 months later

Bonus Step: Boy and Girl hop on airplane and move to Germany 2 days after 

wedding (a little stressful eventful)

Somewhere between when we met and when Hubby proposed, we fell in love. Because we were best friends we knew the good, the bad and the ugly in the other person and didn't want to live without it. Perhaps it was the time apart that allowed us to realize it. Since getting married, we have had fun "dating" each other as Husband and wife, but we have run into a problem:

We are running out of fresh, fun and romantic date ideas!

So, I thought I would put it out there for you all to see, hoping that you would have some wonderful tips or tricks on dates. A dating prescription, if you will.

When pitching ideas I ask that you please keep the following symptoms in mind:

- Dates cannot begin until after 7pm (bedtime for Little Man)

- We get around by bike

- Babysitters are nearly impossible to get as we don't live near family and all of our friends have small children of their own. The few babysitters available split their time between MANY families

-Due to the previous point, we will need more suggestions for 'Home-Dates' than for 'Going-Out-Dates'

Any websites, tips or tricks that you have to share would be greatly appreciated.

To get the ball rolling, here is a site that always has a few cute ideas. It's called Love Actually. I made their Valentine's Day Countdown which I LOVE and can be found HERE.

Thanks in advance for the prescription.

Love,

-Laura