Happy to be at Home has a weekly series of "Day 1 in So-and-So's Kitchen." Now, I know my way around a kitchen, but I don't cook. My wife Brittany, however, does. And last night was just way too good to not share.

This will not become a regular thing--I don't imagine--but I may get her to reveal a few more "secrets" she has tucked away in her apron.

And if you weren't aware, I'm Gluten-Free, so these recipes will be too.

So, without further ado:
Brittany's "I Think I'm in Heaven" Waffles
(Adapted from "Gluten-Free Quick & Easy" by Carol Fenster, Ph.D)

One "I Think I'm in Heaven" Waffle to whet your appetite

First, you need to mix up some Gluten-Free Waffle Mix:

1 1/2c Sorghum Flour
3 1/2c Potato Starch
3 c Cornstarch
1 c Sugar
4 T Baking Powder
4 t Baking Soda
2 t Salt
2 t Xanthan Gum

Makes about 4 batches of waffles. Store mix in the freezer.

Now you can move on to the "I Think I'm in Heaven" Waffles

2 c Waffle Mix
4 T Butter
2 Eggs
1 t Vanilla Extract
1/2 c Milk (add more if batter is too thick)
2 t Lemon Juice

Throw in a bowl and mix until smooth, adding lemon juice last. Coat waffle iron with cooking spray or brush with melted butter, pour on waffle batter, cook. They cook fast.
Top with your favorite waffle topping (sliced strawberries and whipped cream.... yum) and enjoy!

The name is my (Brittany's) contribution. In the book they are just listed as "Waffles."

Makes about 8 waffles on an 8" round waffle maker. Extra waffles can be frozen.
Not that you'll have any <smile>.

Unfortunately, our waffle iron was a tad dirty from our last--failed--attempt at making waffles. So, in the spirit of a "Wordless Works for Me Wednesday on Monday" post, I'll share with you our super-effective way of cleaning off the waffle iron... and it got the whole family involved (something I hear is good to do):

Nevil: Doing His Part

After we'd washed the waffle iron, I stepped up to the plate... literally.

Luke: Doing His Part

So there you have it. Enjoy!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

...I'm also into cats.*

We left the house at 6:30 this morning to go get fingerprinted for the FBI so we can move forward with this adoption process. That gave us an hour to get to our appointment.

And then we hit traffic. At 6:35.

What?

For the next twenty minutes we slowly inched our way forward. It was like driving on the 5. I kept telling my wife that I left California for a reason.

It would be cool to be able to tell you all that I kept my cool. I mean, we only had an appointment for the three of us--my best friend had to get printed too, and he had work to get to--and if we missed this appointment it would be two weeks before we could try again. And I hate driving. And the trip was supposed to take 35-45 minutes as it was, so this 20 minute parking lot was cutting it close. And I tend to get lost if I haven't been to a place before, so I needed the extra time that was quickly ticking away.

I didn't keep my cool.

I lost it.

This adoption stuff is killer. Brittany's stressed out too, and that only adds to my stress. It ain't pretty. And it wasn't pretty in the car.

And the three car pileup that had blocked three lanes of traffic wasn't pretty either. But by then, I didn't care. Whoever had caused that accident had also interfered with my adoption, and the lives of the hundreds of other people stuck in traffic that morning as well, not to mention any fatalities. People were in my way, and there are few things in life as annoying as people who are in my way.

To make it worse, all these people were potentially pushing back my adoption date even further. Get between me and my kids? I'm not going to be happy with you.

And I wasn't happy.

When I finally got to work my blood pressure was up, and and my feathers were ruffled. And then I read Judy's post...

[insert you reading her post now]

I wish I was there. I do.

But I'm not. Not by a long shot.

We made it to the appointment on time, we got through everything really quickly, and I'm pretty sure my friend got to work in plenty of time. So, to add salt to the wound: It all worked out beautifully. Everything was great, except my attitude.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. ...because I'm an evil man.

I wish I could be a perfect husband, friend, and father, but I'm not.

The "salt" stings, but I've heard that salt helps wounds heal. And perhaps that's why God so often blesses us despite our severe lack of faith--to heal our mistrust, to teach us that He is trustworthy.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

*So obscure no one gets it. That's fine.
You'll get used to my apparently disjointed comments as well.
Or you'll roll your eyes like my wife <smile>.
If you're dying to know, Google the phrase.
You are responsible for what you watch.

Do you ever get the feeling like your life is on a "rinse/repeat" cycle? You know, that nagging feeling like you did this whole "life" thing yesterday and will get up and do it again tomorrow?

I get that feeling from time to time as I make my way down the dark hall to the shower in the morning. In fact, I get that feeling sometimes when I lie down at night.
[Aside: Oh my. I had to look that up again: "Lie" means to "speak with the purpose of deception" or to "assume a horizontal position." "Lay," on the other hand, means "to put something down {in a horizontal position}" or to "be in a horizontal position." ...no wonder I'm confused. English can be crazy.]

I'm not the first person to feel this way. I think the author of Ecclesiastes felt that way too--you know, the whole, "everything is meaningless" mantra. And with this comes the realization that your past successes don't matter a lick if you mess up the present.

For instance: It doesn't matter that you haven't lost your temper for the past week if you lose it now.

There's a quote that fits perfectly with this, but I was unable to find a proper citation, "The problem with the Christian life is that it's so daily."

That's the problem with the homeschooler's life too.

So, what's the solution? How do we deal with the monotony and repetition of life?

Here are a few ideas, but please share yours as well:

1. Enjoy the change. As mundane as life can seem, change is all around us. Our kids get older, the seasons shift (unless you're in California <smile>), and "markers" come and go, such as birthdays, holidays and major events.

2. Accept the newness of each day. Even if you're not religious, the fact remains: His mercies are new every morning. That statement has more practical application for those of faith, but just as our past successes don't matter as much as our present choices, the same is true of our shortcomings. The fact that the past holds less significance than the present makes every moment an opportunity for life to get better.

3. Mix it up. I'm a creature of habit. I love sticking to a schedule so my brain doesn't have to think too much. I just automatically do the same thing... which is why, when driving, my wife has to remind me to keep going straight if I normally turn at an intersection. I get on autopilot. But if you're feeling like you've ended up in the doldrums, shake things up. If that means running off to the park or picking up ice cream, go for it.

So, yes, life is daily. And, sure, we could get discouraged by that fact, or we could see it as an opportunity.

Have you seen the movie Groundhog Day? If every day was the same you could spend it learning to toss cards into a hat, or you could see how much good you could do.

May I encourage you to do the latter.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I don't text.

I don't even own a cellphone. I'm either at work or at home, and I am almost always sitting in front of a computer connected to the internet. So, I don't need a cellphone or texting. And I'm way too cheap to pay for either.

However, a few people have cell phones and a couple of them like to text.
[Aside: It's odd to me how some nouns become verbs--e.g. "I blog on my blog," or "I text."]
One of these texting fiends is my brother. He has a cellphone, but most of the time it is a portable, nine button instant messaging system. And other than his friends, the thing he texts most often is "Cha Cha" (242-242). You text in a question, any question, and a few minutes later some college kid who wants to make twenty cents has googled [verb] the answer for you.

It's free to use (if texting is free for you).

And this kind of thing is becoming popular. I read today that Google will do a price check for you (text: 466453). Pretty cool, I guess. People are eating this kind of thing up.

In fact, you could try out 27563 (ASKME) and compare it to Cha Cha. There are other options if you want to pay money for the service.

Madness.

But useful.

Let me give you a perfect example: If you were to whip out your little phone and type something like: 9(44)(666) (444)(7777) (555)(88)(55)(33) (44)(666)(555)(9999)62(66)(66)?

You might get back:

luke holzmann
filmmaker writer expectant father

Because, you know, texting doesn't allow for proper capitalization or punctuation. See how easy that was?

On the other hand, if you're looking for well thought-out, and properly typed, answers to a Sonlight homeschooling question you think the world should know, you can ask our Sonlight expert Judy.

P.S. My latest Heart of the Matter article is up. If you haven't yet, I encourage you to give it a read.

[Title link here]

I don't have an Uncle Bob.

Though I do have an Uncle Scott, Pete, Dave, Ken, and Martin, so "Bob" would fit right in. And really, this post has nothing to do with uncles or extended relatives at all, so I'm going to drop the topic entirely. But we will come back to the idea of "Bob" in a moment. But first...

I ran across a very interesting post by Christine on Welcome to My Brain.net that fits in nicely--at least, in my mind--with yesterday's post. Give it a little read and watch the embeded video. Or don't, if you're sick of the topic... no skin off my nose. Though I found it interesting... the video and post, not the skin on my nose.

Okay, on with this post.

If you have never been introduced to Weird Al Yankovic, allow me to do so: Readers, meet Al. Al, meet my readers.

Not only is Weird Al incredibly funny, cleaver, and talented, but he's also educational. Ever wished there was a way to get kids interested in Bob Dylan and Palindromes at the same time? That's what I thought. Thankfully, Weird Al has made a song just for you:

BoB

Learn stuff and have fun doing so--the epitome of education. Find something you enjoy and imparts knowledge in a way that is practical and beneficial, and Bob's your uncle.

Oh, speaking of finding such things (fun, knowledge imparting, practical and beneficial), Sonlight has recently added a sweet new feature to your online shopping experience: a Wish List! Go ahead, check it out.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I try to keep an eye out for great blog topics throughout my day. The problem is that I will think of something and say to myself, "Self, that is a great idea you just had. Hold onto that for me." And then I go about my work.

When it comes time to blog, I turn to myself and ask, "What was that great idea I had earlier?"

And my self will answer, "Huh?"

That seriously just happened.

Thankfully I have a slew of Other Posts of Note to draw upon in time of need.

I came upon a great article about the current mortgage problems that points to an unlikely--or not, depending on your view--source: God.

Well, not really. More accurately: It's people's misuse of theology that has likely helped lead us to where we are today.

Lyn Hallewell

The article is really interesting. For instance, I had not heard that the "Prosperity Gospel" can actually lead people to start living a more fiscally responsible life. That definitely brings to mind the concept of the Lord working in mysterious ways.

But just as I need to learn not to trust my brain to remember important details, I'm finding I need to learn to let God deal with things His way. My brain just can't handle it.

I once heard a guy give his testimony saying that what convinced him that Christianity was true was a book about Bible Codes.

What?

So even if God decides to use cracked pots like us, I feel like the above article should give us pause. We need to carefully watch our doctrine. But at the same time, I guess the other lesson I'm learning is that there is grace enough for people who don't quite "get it" either.

...in the end, I'm just feeling a little torn in my brain: We must be careful, but God gives us grace anyway.

Wisdom, please.

Thoughts?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I often wake up with the realization that I was just in REM and dreaming. I've become used to the sudden shift from dreams to reality, and it doesn't bother me much--except I'm usually rather groggy because of the interrupted cycle.

I'm sure this is super fascinating to you all.

Point being: I don't tend to remember my dreams much, but when I woke up this morning it was so good I just had to share it:

My crazy dream--that involved getting lost in the wilderness, trespassing, the characters from Lost, a large cathedral, and a flying boat--culminated in everyone turning into Veggie Tales characters and singing a nice upbeat closing song reminiscent of "Following the Leader" ...the last line of which was:

......we always should have known:
There are always more flight paths
Than roads could ever go.

A bit too much WoW? Perhaps.

But it is true: You can go far more places flying around than you can following a path. ...which is the popularity of flying mounts. <cough ahem>

I don't have time to discuss dreams much more today, but Jess has an interesting discussion about the topic on her blog.

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll see you all on Monday!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

If you can handle a mild profanity, I found this particular xkcd comic applicable. If you'd rather avoid profanities, please don't click on the link. Thanks!