Kinda Perfect Day

Sunday night I broke out with 3 cold sores. I can deal with one, but any more than that and I look and feel like a troll. So after getting the kids off to school and driving carpool, I came back home and tucked myself back into bed. I fell fast asleep until 10:30 a.m.!

I expected that when I woke up we'd be having a snowstorm -- snow had been predicted to start Sunday night and snow all day Monday. When we woke up on Monday, the ground was dry, the forecast still predicted an all-day storm, but in the end, we got nada. Toole got 9 inches. Sheree got a bunch. We got nothing. So sad.

Nevertheless, my long sleep-in and the predicted storm set the tone for a cozy home day. I did the laundry, tried a couple of concoctions in my diffuser, made a variety of "clean" treats and listened to the Alto versions of The Messiah. It was quite nice and what I wish every day was like. Or at least one day a week. Actually three days a week.

It's not so bad folding socks when they're such Happy socks!

I diffused DoTerra's Holiday Joy for a while. But then switched to Cassia with some Wild Orange mixed in. Here's the recipe: Cassia filled to the imaginary line between the two "s's" in "Cassia." Add Wild Orange to the "a" in "Cassia."

My clean treats:

Homemade Chocolate Magic Shell
1/2 C dark chocolate chips and 1T coconut oil
microwave and stir every 30 sec. until melted. It really worked!
(Coconut Bliss ice cream is my favorite and doesn't have sugar or carageenen. Sweetened with Agave)
You can do the same thing with peanut butter...
Store in a cupboard -- not in the fridge.

Date Caramel
These don't really taste like caramels. But they were an okay treat.
Soak dates for 10 min. in hot water. 1 C dates & 1/4 C water in blendtec or food processor to make a paste. (Took forever. Not sure if having more would make a difference. I tried both ways of blending and had to keep scraping the sides over and over. Must be a better way.)

Roll into balls and freeze for 20 min. Drizzle with homemade magic shell peanut butter and freeze for 10 min. Dunk in magic shell chocolate and freeze.

Eating out of the freezer makes them too cold. But in the refrigerator they seem too soft. Pretty good for a sweet treat. But they didn't amaze me.

And while I'm listing recipes, Dan requested "My Salmon" for dinner. As opposed to "His Salmon." His salmon is on the grill and is the best salmon you've ever had. And the simplest. But I don't grill. So when I'm in the mood for salmon, I make it in the oven. It's also delicious, but totally different, and totally easy.

Dijon Salmon in tin foil packs
Preheat oven to 375*
One filet of salmon placed on tin foil.
Sprinkle salt, then at least 2 tsp of Dijon (or spicy) Mustard.
Top with a few slices of lemon and lots of onion slices.
I also like to add spinach into the pack. But my kids don't.

Wrap up the salmon in a tin foil packet -- folding over tops and edges.
Place each pack on a cookie sheet and bake for approx. 25 minutes.


It was a complete homemaking day. Top it off with Dan leaving out of town that night and I watched a couple more episodes of The Good Wife after the kids were in bed. I really shouldn't have without Dan. But it was soooo good! And actually, afterwards I remembered I actually should have watched Call The Midwife. Dang.