It's Time for a Happy Blog!

I asked God to please give me ideas for a happy blog. I don't like being "deep" all the time. I like laughing. So, this blog is mostly just a happy blog about various subjects.

First of all, for those who read the blog, "Do They Call it the Am I Going to Wear a Pink Ribbon Room?" The mass in the pink ribbon place simply disappeared. No real explanation from the doctor, it is just gone. That was a double happy thing.

Now, people won't understand the next story unless I tell the face story. Sorry to those of you who already know the story. A couple months back...May-June, I was diagnosed with an invasive-aggressive cancer on my nose. I had never heard of this kind of cancer I'm a nurse, so you would have thought I would of it, but only 1 in 1,000,000 women get it. The National Institutes of Health does not paint a pretty picture about it and recommends radical surgery...like removing half a person's face. I was not overly excited about that prospect, but tried to be positive and optimistic. It turned out well and at this point people would not even notice the scar unless they looked close. Anyway, a few days back, I felt strong enough to go to the grocery store to get a few things. As I parked, I was sending up a quick prayer that I would not see anyone I knew. The reason for the quick prayer was because, having been on high doses of steroids for my anaphylaxis, I developed what they call a moon face. I don't really know why they call it that. The moon looks much too small to compare with the size my face gets when I am on that many steroids. I prefer to call it a "Baboon face". It got so big this time that it was hard to sit and talk because there was so much chin and it was hard to turn my face from side to side because I get this extra face going on from my cheeks to my ears. My face had gotten a slight bit smaller, but I REALLY did not want anyone to see me. As I'm walking across the parking lot, I see someone I know. I said, "seriously, God?". So the person says, "Hi, Dawn." Gives me a friendly hug and says, "You look great!" I was speechless for a moment and cocked my head to the side and said, "I have prednisone face, and just yesterday a doctor told me I looked awful." I have a tendency to say what I am thinking. He said, "I didn't notice that. Your nose is amazing. I wouldn't have even noticed that you had surgery. It is a miracle." OK, every time I see this guy I think, "God, I messed up again." He has a way of kindly bringing my attention to things I need to do better. I mean, here I was, just a few months after I dodged a huge bullet, so to speak, complaining about my face. Prednisone face goes away. It should be gone on September 29th. Not that I am counting the days...well, truthfully I am. Now, every morning when I see my face in the mirror, I say, "God, I love my nose and thank you that I still have a face." It's all about perspective.

My last subject is about recipes. I LOVE recipes. I read cookbooks like other people read novels. I have developed a secret recipe. It is for granola. I have made it umpteen times and change it a little each time. There are two ingredients that make it a step above other granola. My younger son, who lives with me loves it. He knows the secret ingredients, but he does not tell anyone. He lets people eat some and when they ask for the recipe he tells them, "Sorry, it's a secret." Well, I got to thinking the other day that if everyone kept their recipes a secret, there would be no recipe books. I am not quite sure what specific sin I am committing by not sharing the recipe, but I am sure I am committing one, or maybe more. SO I am going to share the recipe on my blog. I told my son and he was shocked. However, it is the right thing to do.

The secret of the granola is in the vanilla, the cinnamon and how much you put in. If you are using real vanilla, use the amount given. If you are using imitation, you might want to use a little more. The amount of cinnamon used depends on a few things. Cinnamon gives some people, like me, heartburn, so the amount listed is for people who may get heartburn. If you don't, I suggest you put more in because it has great benefits for the heart!

Mix together-
9 cups old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 cup chopped almonds (you can use any combination of nuts to equal 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup sun flower seeds
1 1/2 cups ground flax(there are more health benefits with ground flax than the seeds)

Spread onto 2 jelly roll pans-the pans that look like cookie sheets only they have 1 inch sides. Cook at 300 for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook until just before it boils-
1 1/2 cups honey
3/4 or 1 cup canola oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
Add 2 tablespoons vanilla
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Mix with cooked cereal.

Bake at 300 for 7 minutes longer. Dump in a large bowl.

Mix in
3 cups crisp rice cereal
1 1/2 cups chopped dried apricots or dried apples...basically any dried fruit you want. I try to use whatever I dried during the summer/fall.
1 1/2 cup dried cranberries-you can use whatever other fruit you want, but I am partial to dried cranberries.

Let cool. Stir it up as it cools to keep it from clumping. Enjoy.

It was fun writing a happy blog. Hope you all enjoyed reading it and that you enjoy the granola!

Have a great day! By the way, did you know that if you say, "I am great" like you mean it for the first couple hours after you wake up, you end up feeling great! It works every time for me!

My happy mom with my happy sister, Joyce. I think they are two lovely ladies!