Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp

Good Tuesday morning!

Is anyone else having trouble getting the kids out the door to go to school? Anyone? At 7:50 a.m., I yelled to Josh and Roxie, "I love you, but get out of the house!" Three minutes later, they slowly ambled to the truck and left.

I guess I could take it as a compliment, but at this time, it feels much more like they just want their beds... the house... and not their Mom.

And I kind of feel the same way.

It isn't that I am not ready for summer and everyone to be home. I just want the school year to be officially over.

Yep. I want it in writing. OFFICIAL!

RANDOMNESS #1- I read the following in a blog this morning. I've sent you to Kelle Hampton's blog on several occasions (Enjoying the Small Things). If you recall, she has two daughters, Lainey and Nella. Nella is two now, and she was born with Down's Syndrome... and Kelle had no idea until she was holding Nella in her arms she was going to be a Down's baby.

I love her blog because she SO lives in the moments of being mom to two little girls. She makes the most ordinary events (grocery shopping, taking a walk, driving to the beach, etc.) so extraordinary.

And her pictures... Don't even get me started!

She has written a book entitled Bloom, and these are a couple of excerpts.

"It has taken me awhile to grasp it all, but I have finally arrived at the grown-up place of life-is-what-you-make-it and there are lots of things in life we go through that aren't comfortable or ideal, but they could be so incredibly worse, and a simple life of comfort does nothing to change us, mold us, make us into better, stronger more beautiful versions of ourselves... ."

"I have been reminded so much these past couple of weeks of just how wonderfully blessed we are, and the older I get, the more I embrace change as an opportunity to learn just what I'm capable of."

And later, her sister Carin tells her, "'So many people fear hard times,' she said. 'They go through their life solely seeking comfort and avoiding personal growth at all costs because it hurts. But I promise you, Kelle. I promise - if you can find a part of you to believe me and trust what I'm saying - you will be happier than you've ever been... because life is all about how you look at it.'"

I would have to undergo a total personality replacement procedure to be able to think like this. I have "light-bulb" moments, fleeting seconds of time, where I feel I can look at life differently and pick out the good in the bad situation or see the extraordinary in the ordinary, but it is not who I naturally am.

I have to work at it.

But I do think there's hope for me. I tell myself, "At least you're partially aware of your natural inclination of looking at life in an 'Oh, no. What's going to go wrong next?' sort of way. If you were totally blind to it, you couldn't try to improve."

Yes. I really do talk to myself that way... out loud... in private... and sometimes in public.

It is 8:38 Tuesday morning, and I have a whole day ahead of me. I can choose to look for the blessings or brace myself for the bad.

And even though I started the day telling the kids to "get out of the house," I'm going to choose to look for the many blessings.

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials." James 1:2.

RANDOMNESS #2 - There's nothing as sweet as a 70 year-old beagle girl getting a belly rub from a 15 year-old chick on a stormy, gray Monday.

Or at least, that's how it appears.

RANDOMNESS #3 - On our way to Inland Lake Saturday afternoon, Mike and I saw many, many farm animals. Horses, cows, goats, chickens and ducks. I wanted to stop and take pictures at each and every house/farm because all of the animals were incredibly close to the fences for some reason. I would not have even had to get out of the truck.

But Mike kept saying things like, "There are cars behind me." And, "It's just a cow." And, "We're never going to get to the lake if we keep stopping to take pictures of barnyard animals."

But I persevered and finally got some chicken pics.

And that made me happy!

Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp

I know this is Mother's Day Weekend, and while I'll be taken out for one meal, I know I have several more to prepare. This one looked good to me.

I'll admit it now. I've never cooked shrimp. I don't eat shrimp, but my family loves it. For some reason, shrimp is very intimidating to me. I have no idea why I feel this way. (Probably just another personality defect.)

This weekend I'm going to overcome my fear of shrimp!

You will need the following:

1/3 cup olive oil
1 lemon, zested then half cut into thin slices
3 to 4 fresh thyme springs, leaves removed
Sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Spaghetti, pasta, couscous or rice for serving
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound fresh shrimp, medium-sized, deveined with tails off
5 cloves garlic, minced

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In an 8" x 8" glass baking pan, combine olive oil, lemon zest and thyme. Olive oil should liberally cover the bottom of the pan. If it doesn't, drizzle in a little more. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Bake in oven for 10 to 12 minutes, checking every few minutes. If it looks like it is getting too brown, remove and proceed to the next step. Meanwhile, cook pasta, drain and toss with a pat of butter.

4. Remove pan from oven. Add butter and move it around a little to melt.

5. Add shrimp, garlic and thinly sliced lemons (do not squeeze them). Toss to coat with oil mixture. Bake for 8 to 10 more minutes or until shrimp turn pink and just start to curl. Check often.

6. Serve over pasta.

I can do this. I know I can. It's just a pound of little shrimp. (And after I master the shrimp, I may try a lobster. Just kidding. We all know I'm not going to do that!)

EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! - I wanted to remind you of another simple, easy meal to make this Mother's Day Weekend. Don't forget about crock pot baked potatoes. Individually wrap each potato in foil, place in the crock pot and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Set out all of the fixins' and enjoy a Baked Potato Bar with your family!

Have a fantastic Tuesday. I'll be back tomorrow with Seasonal Traditions, Wednesday Wisdom, Randomness and more.

Take care, and I'll talk to you in the morning.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda