Justin's Favorite Recipe: Oatmeal Fudgies

This recipe is legendary in Justin's family. It's a recipe that I think originally came from his Grandma Jan, and is usually made by someone in Justin's family for Thanksgiving and Christmas (and often several times in between). I'm pretty sure that Justin and Ryan could eat an entire pan in a day if they were given the go-ahead not to share. Anyway, I don't think this is a secret family recipe or anything, so I thought I'd share the oatmeal fudgie love

You'll Need:

For the bars:
-1 cup butter flavored shortening (I usually just use butter)
-2 cups brown sugar
-2 eggs
-2.5 cups flour
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon salt
-4 cups instant oats
-1/2 cup chopped nuts (if desired)

For the fudge:
-12 oz chocolate chips (I've also used 10 oz of dark chocolate chips and it worked fine)
-2 Tablespoons Margarine or Butter
-1 can sweetened condensed milk
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-2 teaspoons vanilla

Cook fudge ingredients in a double boiler or microwave just until melted and well blended (usually 1-2 mins in microwave). Set aside to cool. Cream together butter/shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Sift flour, soda, and salt; stir into sugar mixture thoroughly. Stir in nuts and oats. Press 3/4 of oats mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Pour fudge mixture over the top, then sprinkle with remaining oatmeal mixture. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into bars.

*Note- I usually do the oatmeal mixture first, in my Kitchenaid mixer with the awesome side scraper attachment that Justin got me for my birthday.

Source: amazon.com via Meredith on Pinterest

I'm a slacker cook, as well as an impatient one, so I don't sift or anything. Once that's pressed into the bottom of the pan, I make the fudge and then just spoon it on the top without waiting for it to cool.

Give these a shot--they're actually pretty easy and tend to be a crowd-favorite around here!

Monday Funny

Last night after our softball game, J and I came home and popped in a movie while he stuck a load of his work clothes in the laundry. Towards the beginning of the movie, Justin was trying to rewind to see something again.

"ARG! I don't know why it keeps going forward when I am trying to rewind. I'm definitely pushing the BACK button and not the forward button. This new DVD player is so weird," Justin exclaimed.

I looked at the remote for a minute, and watched as Justin did push the back button, but the movie would continue to skip on to the next scene. Then, I burst into giggles.

"Babe, you're holding the remote backwards."

Sometimes, it just feels good to laugh hysterically.

Snippeters

I know, I know..."snippeters" isn't a real word. Oh well. I'm not sure that "snippets" is either. So there.

-Tomorrow, I do the big dreaded 20 minute run for Couch to 5k. I'm nervous...I'm not sure that I've really ever ran for 20 minutes. Even in high school when I was playing basketball or softball, we never ran the mile or anything. We did conditioning, but it wasn't *just* running. Anyway, I'm nervous. I think I can do it, but I'm also kind of scared that I can't.

-Do you guys have the alarm clock fight? Seriously. Justin's alarms start going off every morning at 5-something AM. Which would be fine, except that they continue to go off until 7-something AM, which is when he actually gets up. And it irritates the ever-living-daylights out of me because while he can sleep through anything, I cannot. And half the time, by the time the first alarm starts going off, I have been asleep for approximately 15 minutes, after getting up with Lizzy {have I mentioned that she is getting all four of her molars, and we are in teething hell?} Anyway, Justin's alarm clock went off at 5-something AM this morning, and we had the following conversation:

Me (trying to shake Justin awake): Babe, your alarm is going off.
Justin: I know. I hear it.
Me: Well could you turn it OFF for God sake?
Justin: No, I love the sound. It is music to my soul. Ah OOOO Gah. Ah OOOOO Gah. Isn't that nice?
Me: Seriously? Turn off your stupid alarm. It's been going off for like half an hour.
Justin: Ah OOOO Gah. {Incomprehensible gibberish} singing along?

At that was the point in which I realized that he was TOTALLY still asleep. To be fair, I have some weird recollection of trying to wake Justin up in the middle of the night to tell him something he had to remember about giving someone a shot...which is obviously something that I have no knowledge about, but apparently I thought I was just little miss smarty pants at 3am. I might be just a little sleep deprived.

-I am totally wondering why I didn't add "Go to IKEA" to my 101 in 1001 list. I have never been there. Nor do I own anything from IKEA.

- Lizzy's pediatrician gave us unexpected food advice at our 12-month well baby. They have always been pretty conservative with food, (they recommended only purees until at least 10 months, while we went with an approach closer to baby led weaning, but did also use purees too), so I was really surprised that he told us that at 12 months, anything is fair game. Peanut butter, honey, anything. He says that these are the latest recommendations based on the research...but I'm not sure that we'll follow, especially when it comes to honey. Justin used to work at a bee farm, and he wasn't sold on introducing honey either. Has anybody else heard this?

Justin Says: Target vs. Wal-Mart

Me: Babe, another light burnt out today. We seriously need lightbulbs. Do you want to stop at Target or Wal-Mart on the way home?

Justin: Definitely Target. I would rather look at Target shoppers any day. It's not like there's a People of Target website or anything.

Gobbledy Gook

- We had softball practice last night! Kaitlin's parents were completely awesome and watched Lizzy at the last minute for us. We were practicing by their house, and it suddenly got really cold. Also, the field didn't have a dugout and I was worried about stray balls bopping Lizzy. Anyway, it was so much fun! I played softball through high school growing up, and I've missed it. It's funny how skiddish I am of the ball now though--I used to have no problem getting in front of grounders and line drives. Stopping them with my body was no biggie. Now, I find myself thinking..."Hmmm...is it really worth getting hit for?" And my answer is always NO. Ha! We got in the car afterwords, and Justin said, "Babe, you did really well! I didn't really have very high expectations, but you did better than I thought you would!" He meant that he wasn't sure if I was feeling 100% after Lizzy yet. But it cracked me up--was that supposed to be a compliment? ;-)

- As you may have noticed on the sidebar, I'm reading The Poisonwood Bible right now. I must have started this book half a dozen times before. I'd find it at the used book store, get it, try to read it, become disinterested, and take it back to the used book store. A few months later, I'd repeat the process. But this time, I am really enjoying it. I find that this happens to me a lot--sometimes, I'm just not at a place in my life where I can appreciate or enjoy a particular book, but a few months (or years) down the road, I am.

-We finally have a good variety of garden starts! The Jiffy greenhouses really didn't work all that well for me. However, what HAS worked well is germinating seeds in a paper towel inside a Ziplock bag. Basically, you get the paper towel wet, put some seeds on it. Then you fold the paper towel in half, and put it inside a Ziplock bag. Most of my seeds sprout in a day or two. Then, you just plant the seeding (along with that section of paper towel if the root had grown through the paper towel). Easy Peasy.

- I am not sure what to do with Lizzy during nap time. We have largely stopped swaddling her due to the fact that (a) she hates it and tries to escape and (b) she is rolling, and it's recommended to stop swaddling when babies are rolling. That said, she doesn't sleep well when she's not swaddled. I've only been getting her to take half hour naps lately. I suppose that we could be entering into the 4 month wakeful. Not sure. Any advice?

-Also, I feel like I am covered in baby spit up 100% of the time. I change, and she spews on me again. Blech. 

-About this time every year, I start jonesing to go wakeboarding. I want to go really, really badly. So badly, that I've been dreaming about it. I know it's too cold right now, but I can't wait until we CAN go. Speaking of, we probably need to get The Lizard a lifejacket!

Wedded Wednesday- Gender Roles

Wedded Wednesday is a collaboration
of married bloggers sharing their inspirations,
anecdotes, struggles and thoughts regarding
the amazing union of two separate people, as one.

Head over to Marital-Bless for other 

Wedded Wednesday bloggers

In college, I was a Sociology major. One of the classes that I had to take was Sociology of Gender Roles--and it quickly became apparent that the professor's thesis was that there was essentially no difference between men and women, and that any and all differences that occurred were socially constructed. Now, while I was able to regurgitate the material in order to get a good grade (even writing a paper critiquing gender stereotypes in Disney movies), the glaring problem with this whole idea for me was that men and women ARE different...down to their physiology.

Aside from their anatomical differences, Dr. Marianne Legato from the Partnership for Gender Specific Medicine Columbia University has talked about the idea that men and women are genetically different because of the Y chromosome, and the 21 specific genes attached to this chromosome. Dr. Legato says that one example is how men can typically drink more alcohol than women without becoming intoxicated--something that is related to a specific enzyme produced by one of those genes specific to the Y chromosome. Essentially, science tells us that men and women ARE different.

In our Bible Study yesterday, we were talking about the differing roles of men and women in marriage. It's a concept that mainstream society doesn't tend to look favorably on (though, I recently caught an episode of Millionaire Matchmaker, and was surprised that the extremely successful matchmaker was advocating for "traditional" gender roles within the relationship and often refers to men as the "hunters and fishers").  But, I do think that Biblically, men and women have different purposes in marriage. However, I think that we sometimes lose sight of the fact that different doesn't have to mean unequal. In my opinion, misinterpretation of the verse calling for wives to submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22), is the main reason for this perceived inequality, and one of the reasons that so many are hesitant to discuss the differing roles in marriage. {I highly suggest this article, which explains how and why this verse is often misinterpreted, and what it really means contextually}

I would argue that having differing roles in marriage doesn't necessarily mean an inequality-- you can have two different items that have different purposes, but have the same worth. And I believe that men and women are equal in God's eyes, though they have very distinct purposes within marriage.

The blessing of this all is that when we're together, my weaknesses are made stronger by Justin's differing strengths; Justin's weaknesses are made stronger by my strengths. I've said it before, and I'll say it again--we're stronger together than we are apart. Or, as Justin said last night, "We're like ears and eyes--one could exist without the other, but they sure work better together!"


So what do you think about gender roles in marriage? Do they exist? Should they?

Wedded Wednesday- Justin Says

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Wedded Wednesday posts and bloggers!

The blog has been seriously lacking in Justin lately...so I thought that I'd go ahead and interview him for my Wedded Wednesday post. Enjoy :)


1. So, as some of the blog readers know, your lovely youngest sister is getting married this summer to one of your best friends. What is the biggest piece of marriage/relationship advice you'd give them?

Don't take everything too seriously, except for the serious things.  Don't go to bed angry.  Don't drink when you're mad.  Always say I love you when you leave, finish a phone conversation, or go to sleep ( even if you're irritated).  And try not to grumble about your spouse. 


2. What has been the best part of being married? What has been the worst?

There is nothing like sharing a warm bed with a woman.  And I like not having to cook for myself.  I also have some pretty cool inlaws who like to take everyone to lunch, dinner, and a movie.  I'm not a fan of nagging.  Wives nag.  Nothing against them, they're wired that way.  And Meredith nags for good reasons.  So really, I just don't like having someone there to point out what needs to be done when I clearly don't want to do it. 


3. Do you feel like our relationship has changed since Lizzy was born? If so, how?

If it has I think that it hasn't been a big change.  I definitely didn't know about and/or expect a lot of what happened to Meredith's body during and after labor.  It was a huge eye opener for me and I have a lot more respect for women in general in regards to child birth.  I'm glad I'm a guy.


4. We've done a couple different Biblical Studies on marriage--The Love Dare, The Five Love Languages, Love & Respect, etc. Which was your favorite, and why?

I don't have a favorite.  All of them had some good parts to them and they had some cheesy stupid parts to them as well.  But it is nice to hear from other couples about their struggles in life and marriage and how they deal with them as well as getting tips and pointers, and insight to the woman's mind. 

5. If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?

I would be an underwear model.  Because this is America and I can be all that I want to be. 

6. Is your life today where you imagined it would be five years ago?

Pretty close.  I thought we would have a couple more kids by now.  I knew that I'd be doing something in construction.  And I knew we would own a house.

7. Where do you see yourself five years from now?

A couple more kids.  Maybe a wakeboard boat.  Lower car insurance.  Possibly a full beard.  And hopefully a six pack because my cooler is kinda empty and I want to be an underwear model. 


8. What's your least favorite meal that I make? What's your favorite?

That garlic chicken thing you made about a month ago.  I like garlic in certain things.  But the combination in that dish was pretty gross.  I do like the bacon cheeseburger pasta.  And the bar-b- que'd pulled pork is pretty good too.

{M here- obviously "that garlic chicken thing" was his least favorite, but unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about...I haven't really cooked anything that garlic-y since Lizzy was born}

Asked and Answered

-Alyssa from My Husband's Watching TV asked: Did you guys have any trouble getting pregnant?

M- I always feel badly telling this story because I KNOW how many people are struggling with infertility, but the answer is no. We weren't trying to conceive--I was starting to get baby fever (Justin already had it), but didn't feel "ready" to start having kids. I didn't think we made enough money to make it work. Justin had been encouraging me to pray about it. After trying unsuccessfully to refill my birth control prescription about 3 times, on Easter Sunday we decided that I would go off the pill in preparation for trying to conceive in 3-6 months, but we were still going to be using another method of birth control. Well, one time we didn't use the other method, and two weeks later I found out that I was pregnant, and was honestly, I was pretty terrified at first. It was just much sooner than I anticipated!

She also asked: What is your biggest fear/concern about being a mom?

M- All of it! But the biggest concern is more about making it work financially for me to stay at home. My mom also told me the other day that I was walking by 7 months, which is CRAZY to think about! Also, it occurred to me the other day that if my child ends up having any sort of eye issues, I am going to be in big trouble with my crazy eyeball phobia.

And: What does Justin do for you even though he absolutely doesn't like it? (i.e. shopping, painting toenails, etc...)

M- Justin's been a great sport about helping with almost everything I ask him. Although he does it, I don't think he particularly likes cleaning the bathrooms. Last night, he said, "I really don't understand why I have to do this. It isn't like company's coming over."

-Beth Ann from Life With Us in KS asked: What is his version of how you two met?

J-We were at a multi church campout at the lake and at lunch one day my buddy who knew Meredith, and who is now my brother in law, knocked my plate out of my hands and said, "stupid gravity." So I picked up what was left of my lunch and proceeded to eat it. Meredith saw that and instantly knew she could cook anything for me. And thats how she fell in love with me.

M- And Beth Ann, you nailed it...as I recall, we met about three days earlier when Justin and his brother were playing guitar. I remember that my youth group was full of total flirts, and so I called "dibs" on whichever one of them was my age. I actually thought that Justin's brother was the one that was my age, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was Justin.

And: What is his favorite way to spend time with you?

J-In bed of course. I'm not gay.

-Sara asked Justin a crazy long question about plumbing: Over the past few months our toilets have lost their oomph. They flush, but it takes forever for the water to leave the bowl and come back, and I fear soon they won't work at all! So gross! I'm hoping you'll have some ideas or DIY advice to fix them.

J-Give me a call. It could be a number of things and i dont want to type that long. I could probably write a short book trying to tell you what could be wrong. In short you should probably call a plumber. But give me a call and maybe we could figure it out before you have to call.

And asked me where I get all the crazy statistics about pregnancy complications. And the answer is straight out of the pregnancy book that I have, and it doesn't really seem to phase Justin at all. I don't know that I always tell him the crazy statistics, and if I did, he'd probably just roll his eyes at me.

Sara also wanted both of us to answer: if you could make a living wage doing anything(or nothing) you want what would it be and why?

M- Well I would love it if the government would pay me, even just for a little while, to be a stay at home mom! It would be a huge blessing to be able to raise our kids without having to worry about how to pay the bills! Aside from that, probably photography.

J-I would like to test video games or be a disney voice. But I would probably get tired of it not to mention fat. So I would probably stick with what I do now.

-Leah from Marital-Bless asked: At what point did you feel your faith was the strongest?

J-As long as I can remember I have believed in God. I think that I've always been just as strong as I've always been. Although I have had aha moments when my faith has been affirmed but I've also had moments of serious doubt. I do wish that I had a stronger faith though. Sometimes I wonder if it is strong enough.

M- I don't think I've ever felt like my faith was particularly strong. In a lot of ways, believing in God and trusting in him is a constant battle for me. I'm really trying to put things in God's hands this year, and turn to him when I'm in need, rather than trying to "fix" everything myself. And sometimes, I feel like I "get it", but then the next day, I find myself doubting or questioning again.

Also, I get frustrated sometimes because I don't always feel like my faith translates into actual actions in my life. And especially now, I have been thinking more and more about how I want Lizard not only to hear about Jesus, but to see us living in a way that demonstrates not only his love, but our faith as well.

-Leslie gave us two questions to answer about each other. The first being: What is your spouses most annoying habit?

J-Meredith nags and exaggerates when she nags and she is such a good arguer that I feel stupid when we fight. Even when she is wrong she can represent her wrong case better than I can represent my right case. I know that was more than one habit. But they all go hand in hand and always come out at the same time.

M- Justin chews (as in chewing tobacco). Often. I hate it, and it's beyond gross, not to mention expensive. I hate the circular arguments that it causes, and I just wish that he would stop.

And the second was: What's one quality/attribute that makes your spouse the "better half"?

J-She is a woman and remembers everything. I might lose my head if it wasnt attached to me.

M- If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that I'm a complete worry-wart. It's absolutely crippling. Justin doesn't worry like I do--he has inherant faith that things will all work out the way that they're supposed to. Sometimes, it's absolutely aggravating to me, but I'm also very thankful that we're opposites in that way because usually, he can make me trust that things will work out as well.

Friday Funny

First, I have a funny little conversation with Justin from yesterday to share, and then a funny email to share.

Justin: You know, "medium rare" really should be called "rare medium".
Me: Really? Why?
Justin: Well, the whole scale doesn't make sense. You have "medium rare" with the quantifier first, but then you also have "medium well" with the quantifier second.
Me: I am so not following you. They both start with medium--isn't medium the quantifier?
Justin: Well, I suppose that at least the first letters of the words go in chronological order with the scale like that..."well medium" doesn't flow as well.
Me: The letters are in chronological order?
Justin: Yeah, you know, like "a" is the 1st letter of the alphabet, and "z" is the 26th?
Me: Yeah, that would be alphabetical order.
Justin: Don't tell anyone about this conversation.
Me: Psh. Forget that--I'm gonna blog about it!
Justin: You suck woodpecker eggs. [Shout out to you dad, for that come-back!]

And for the record, I still have no idea what point Justin was trying to make...

_________________________________________________________

Now, on to the email forward, entitled "The Washcloth":

I was due for an appointment with the gynecologist later in the week. Early one morning , I received a call from the doctor's office to tell me that I had been rescheduled for that morning at 9:30 am. I had only just packed everyone off to work and school, and it was already around 8:45am. The trip to his office took about 35 minutes, so I didn't have any time to spare.

As most women do, I like to take a little extra effort over hygiene when making such visits, butthis time I wasn't going to be able to make the full effort. So, I rushed upstairs, threw off my pajamas, wet the washcloth that was sitting next to the sink, and gave myself a quick wash in that area to make sure I was at least presentable. I threw the washcloth in the clothes basket, donned some clothes, hopped in the car and raced to my appointment.

I was in the waiting room for only a few minutes when I was called in. Knowing the procedure, as I'm sure you do, I hopped up on the table, looked over at the other side of the room and pretended that I was in Paris or some other place a million miles away. I was a little surprised when the doctor said, 'My, we have made an extra effort this morning, haven't we? I didn't respond.

After the appointment, I heaved a sigh of relief and went home. The rest of the day was normal. Some shopping, cleaning, cooking. After school when my 6 year old daughter was playing, she called out from the bathroom, Mommy, where's my washcloth?' I told her to get another one from the cupboard. She replied, 'No, I need the one that was here by the sink, it had all my glitter and sparkles saved inside it.'

Never going back to that doctor. Ever.

Blessed!

The last few days have been hard for me (see tomorrow's pregnancy post for why), and darn near anything can make me cry lately. But my sweet, sweet, darling husband made my day today. He came home from work, and we both petered around making dinner and what not, when suddenly he popped out a little box wrapped in a brown paper bag with a message that said:

To My Mere-Mere: I hope you like it and aren't mad at me for it, but I wanted you to have it now and not later. I love you, Justin.

Inside the little brown box was:



Yep, that's right...the 50 mm f/1.8 camera lens that has been topping my Christmas list for awhile!!!! *Squeeeeeee* I can't wait to test it out!

For the record, J thought I might be mad because he told me that I should buy it for myself last week, but I told him NO...that we had bills we need to pay and a savings account to replenish after paying off our fridge this month, and that it could definitely wait until a Christmas bonus or tax return. Nevertheless...how could I possibly be mad at my sweet thoughtful husband for this?!

Justin Says...

Straight from J's mouth (er, hands)....

Alyssa (right?) from My Husband's Watching TV asked: What was the first thought that went through your head when you found out you were going to be a dad?

I was just very happy. I've been wanting to have kids since before we were married.

Megs from She Wasn't Pretty asked: Have you ever installed a toilet where there was radiant hot water heating? How do you prevent the wax ring from melting? The toasty warm tile floors are nice in the winter but now I'm starting to see a little of the melted wax around the toilet base. Not good, I'm guessing! :(

Your radiant tubing is too close to your toilet. It should have been installed at least 8 inches away from the toilet. Fortunately you can go to a hardware store or Lowes or Home Depot and buy a non wax ring. Or if you had a plumber do it you can call him and have him come and install it for you.

Kait from My Crazy Unpredictable Life asked: I want to know if Justin still wants to buy a duplex? And when he's going to convince my husband to get the heck outta the military and move home so we CAN buy the duplex?

Yes I do want to buy a duplex but that's when we get old. In the meantime, after Jesse gets out you can come buy the house next to us and we can be neighbors. But when we get old and our kids move out we should definitely buy a duplex or build one on some acreage. Just as long as you and Meredith put us back in our own rooms when we fall asleep drunk on the front porch. Or you could just leave us where we are.

Kait also wanted to know: What's the one thing you are looking forward to the most about having a little girl?

Being her superman.

Allie from A&E's 101 asked: Any tips on installing a new counter top/sink combo to an existing bathroom vanity?

If you're concerned about it not turning out the way you want it, then hire someone to do it for you. Personally I have never done it.

Emily from Imperfect asked: What's your favorite thing about your job?

I like doing something different almost every day. For example: one day I'll be on the excavator all day, and the next I'll be installing gas piping, and the next day I'll be installing radiant floors, and the next day I'll be running parts all day or helping our service plumber and doing some drain cleaning calls. Its just nice to be doing something different all the time. I was a drywaller out of high school and there are only a few aspects to drywalling . Don't get me wrong, I loved it but there's not a lot of money in it and the economy tanked right before I was going to get married. But there are so many parts to plumbing that I'll be learning all about it for the rest of my life. And I also have the knowledge for when I build a house of my own.

Taryn from The Colorado Desert had lots of questions! First up, she asked: What is your favorite thing about your wife?

She balances me out. We are exact opposites and I think that we work really well together. When we met at 16 she was the one that I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life together with and that still stands today.

Then: What is your favorite animal, color, food, tree, house plant?

Dog, blue and green, bacon, maple, and plants belong outside.

And: Shower or bath?

Bubble bath most definitely.













Alright it's really shower.

And finally: What is your favorite part of being in a band? Your least favorite part of being in the band?

I love playing music. And for the most part I enjoy playing with my family. But sometimes playing with family can get really annoying. We get off topic all the time and we knowingly inconvenience each other more than we should because we are family and we'll tolerate it more.

Lisa from Little to Big asked: How would you feel if you met someone for the first time and they humped your leg?

I don't know LISA what did I do? Now, I'd probably ask you to even it out and do it to the other leg.