Found: YUMMY Pork Rub

We found a great recipe over on all recipes.com

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pork-roast-with-the-worlds-best-pork-loin-rub/

But, I cannot seem to Pin it from there, so I am trying it here:

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 4 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 4 1/2 teaspoons onion salt
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper (cayenne)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

Directions

1. Stir together brown sugar, sugar, black pepper, salt, ginger, garlic powder, onion salt, dry mustard, crushed red pepper, ground red pepper, cumin, paprika and thyme in small bowl. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the brown sugar mixture* evenly on all sides of the pork roast; use your fingers to rub into pork. Place roast on rack in shallow roasting pan. Roast, uncovered, until internal temperature is 150 degrees F., 40 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from oven. Cover with foil; let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

Footnotes

• *Note: Store remaining brown sugar mixture in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 months; use on pork roasts or chops before roasting or grilling. Recipe makes about 3 1/2 cups dry rub.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 386 | Total Fat: 13.2g | Cholesterol: 69mg

McKenna needs our help.

McKenna

(portrait provided by her family)

Dear Readers,

I’m interrupting my normal posting (or lack thereof) to share with you this story that is very true and very serious. This story is dear to my heart because I know her and her family personally and I know personally how hard health problems can be! McKenna and her family are friends of ours. She is only 12 years old and she and her family have been dealing with her health problems for years. It has gotten so bad lately that she has had three near-fatal seizures in the last 6 months! McKenna and her families only hope is to get a medical dog that would help her prevent these seizures. The dog is ready and trained for McKenna, the only thing that they are waiting on, is the money. It cost $10,000 (US) to get this dog. If there is any way that you can help, even donating a couple of dollars, please do so here under McKenna Vogt.  This is not a hoax. This is a true life story. Usually you hear these stories but do not know whether they are of actual people in need and you don’t know where your money goes to. You would know in this case. Please read the full story in McKenna’s mother’s exact words below:

Dear Friends and Family:


McKenna was diagnosed with Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes on October 15, 2007. After a stressful year of trying to regulate her blood sugars through a constant carb diet, and insulin shots, we were able to put her on a Diabetic Insulin Pump. We had great hopes that this would “normalize” her life somewhat and regulate her sugars. Since then we have found out that McKenna is very sensitive to insulin which makes it very difficult to regulate her blood sugars. We have watched her struggle through school work, spending mass amounts of time in the nurses office and trying to keep up with her sugars that make her so ill.


One year ago, McKenna was watching tv with her grandmother and her mother, when she fell over, unable to move. Her blood sugars had fallen so low that she was paralyzed. We had no idea that is was a type of seizure, nor the damage that those cause. We made adjustments worked closely with her doctor and did all that we could.


Recently, McKenna’s diabetes have caused some serious medical issues. With her insulin sensitivity, we have found that it is an exhausting process. We test her through the night, every two hours and then make adjustments. This past July while at Girls’ Camp, McKenna’s blood sugar fell too low, she had a horrible seizure and she couldn’t breathe. We were able to get her the help she needed and then we carried on with camp. We had no idea, she should go to the hospital. When we returned we went to the doctor and did all the necessary medical tests. In October, she had another seizure and was placed in the hospital. This time her blood sugars were too high and she went back into DKA (diabeticketoacidosis). She was very ill. They released her from the hospital, however we were not able to get her blood sugars down to the appropriate range and it took months to remove the ketones from her body. She missed 31 days of school. We then, under the direction of her Doctor, went through a battery of tests to try to figure out what is wrong with McKenna. So far, we still have no answers.


Three weeks ago, we woke McKenna up to get ready for school. We left the room and carried on about our business of getting ready. We felt very uncomfortable, anxious, like something was wrong. Tanya went in to check on McKenna who by then was completely paralyzed, lying on the floor, appearing as if she had had a stroke making a horrible sound because her mouth was paralyzed also. She couldn’t respond and we knew she was having a horrible seizure. We called 911, we gave her glucose and we waited for help, all the while holding our baby as she appeared to be slipping away from us. Her blood sugar had fallen dangerously low again causing another seizure that was almost fatal. They told us that once she was given the sugar, it would take 15 minutes to an hour and she would regain her memory and functions. The clocked ticked by and that just didn’t happen. She couldn’t remember her name, she didn’t know who we were, she didn’t know where she was, nor the date or time. Her brain was functioning right with her body. It was painful to watch. There was a communication error between her body and the messages being sent from her brain. We watched and waited. Then they ran a CAT Scan, a CSPINE and we waited. She was later admitted to the PICU at Cedar Crest. It took over 12 hours for all of her functions to come back and longer than that for her memory retention to work. Three major seizures in 6 months is a lot. We also are fully aware of the repercussions these episodes will have if we cannot get them to stop.


We know that it was a miracle that McKenna didn’t suffer brain damage. We know the doctors were surprised that she is functioning normally now. We know that her life was spared once again. We know that the Lord has a plan for her and already knows when she will return to Him. We know that she was His first and in the end if we have done our job right, she will be His again and only He gets to decide when that is. It is very humbling. In the meantime, we feel we need to do everything possible to help McKenna and to try to improve her quality of life.


They currently have Diabetic Service Dogs that can be trained to help people with uncontrolled diabetes. The dogs are trained specifically for the person that they will work for, so in this instance for McKenna. They take samples of her saliva when she is high and when she is low. They train the dog to recognize those scents. The dog will then wake McKenna up, or warn her when she is too low and when she is too high. The dog will go with her wherever she goes. Studies have shown that these dogs can detect blood sugar changes 1 hour before a continual glucose monitoring system can. The can detect the blood sugar change even if she is swimming in a pool and the dog is waiting by the side of the pool. The night time is what scares us the most. We sleep pretty light trying to listen for her, but we don’t always hear her. McKenna is afraid of the night times now. We are hoping the dog will help us during that time. We want to get her this dog. It is very expensive and so we need help raising the money to get the dog. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to donate money for the dog please click on the following link and then click on the donate button, next to McKenna’s name.


http://www.pawsibilitiesunleashed.org/home/donations


We appreciate any sacrifice that can be made whether it is monetary or if you can include her in your prayers, or if you would be willing to forward this email on to your family and friends. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.


Love,


The Vogts

ill...

I've been ill.  So have Owen and Cora.  I haven't posted daily gratitude in a week or more.  But, I am not doing this to create another source of guilt.  I truly want to learn from it.  I want to become more joyful and thankful.  I want it to be where I go first.  So, no beating up on myself.  I will just post today's gratitude and move forward

daily gratitude

1.  I am thankful that Greg can take Cora to see the doctor this afternoon.  She has missed three days of school and needs to get healthy.

2.  I am grateful for fizzy bath balls.  It feels really good to sit in the hot water and soak in the moisturizer and relax.

3.  I am grateful for the sunshine which is shining brightly and melting the snow that fell on Sunday.

Daily gratitude, January fourth

daily gratitude, january fourth

1. Chocolate! Tonight I indulged myself with two chocolate truffles. I am grateful to the student and his/her parents for giving them to Greg.

2. I am so thankful that Owen's headache appears to be gone.

3. I am grateful for a kitchen that has begun to be cleaner and more organized so that I may be able to craft an item or two this week. Kelly

daily gratitude, january third

daily gratitude, january third

1. Today I am grateful for my husband and how hard he works both at his job and here at home.  Tonight after work he came home and mopped the kitchen floor.  It was a big job as the floor was in horrible shape.  He does this all the time and I am so grateful for it.
2.  I am grateful for the great tasting mountain water we get to drink here at our home.  I don't drink enough of it, and that is inexcusable because it is delicious as well as good for me.
3.  I am grateful for the game night my family and I enjoyed last night.

daily gratitude, january second

daily gratitude, january second

1. I am grateful to be focusing my scripture studies onto the New Testament this year! I am so excited to learn more.
2. I am grateful for the amenities I have because I was born an American. Having safe drinking water, healthy food to eat, medications, vaccines and shelter... Plus so much more.
3. I am grateful for the sunshine that came out today. Kelly

Daily Gratitude - Day One (Jan. 1. 2011)

The only way to form a habit is to try.  To start.  To do that thing daily.  I often tie myself up into knots over the things which I don't or 'can't' do.  It is time to find some freedom from my own thinking.  From myself.  It is time to decide to try.  It is time to say 'I can, I will, I do' iustead of 'I can't, I don't'.  Today that means I will start working on my new commitment and write

daily gratitude, january first

1.  I am grateful that my family and I are safely home, in our own home, after two weeks away.  I love my family... both the one I was born into and the one I married into... but it is wonderful to be back within the walls of this house, in this town, in this state.  I love it here.  I love this mountain.  And I love being here with Greg, Owen and Cora.  I am lucky.
2.  I am grateful for the artistic inspirations I have found in the form of bloggers.  These women are creative forces with their art and their lives.  They think.  They go inward.  They search their souls.  They take all that they know and put it into words, art and photography and share it with me.  I am awed.
3.  I am grateful for Girl Scouts.  As a girl I was blessed by good leaders and good friends who shared the experience with me.  Now, as a leader I am blessed even more because I can share it with my own daughter.  It is fun.  And I love the chance to play and learn together.

Saying Hello to 2011.

I am a poor blogger.  I don't make it a habit to sit at the computer screen and write my thoughts, or share my family's experiences.  I want to.  I just don't do it.  So I have been pondering the things I hope to learn in 2011 and how I can utilize this blog as a tool.  Some of my favorite bloggers have schedules that they keep.  Perhaps they do one book review a week, or share a LO every Thursday.  I love the idea of it but don't believe I would stick to the schedule I set.  Instead I am going to start with only one thing.

daily gratitude

I am going to post three things for which I am grateful.  It may be only a list.  That is okay.  I simply want to acknowledge my gratitude.

I still hope to share my art, relate stories about my family, highlight my thoughts... but my only commitment to the blog is the daily gratitude.  Three things.  Every day.

48 Things - a few more

44. Baking Soda/Vinegar/Hydrogen Peroxide.   You buy these items in bulk and you can clean almost anything for next to no money.

45. Quiet Nights.  My family all go to bed much earlier than I do.  I love the silence late at night.

46. Cleaning closets, drawers or cupboards.  I know it is strange but I like the process of cleaning these, and purging some of our excess.  I hate other household chores so why I enjoy this one is beyond my understanding.

47. Glee -- yep, I am a Gleek!

48. TURNING FOURTY EIGHT TOMORROW!

48 Things continued

21. Laughter, Girls' Night Out & Sleepovers.  Thank you Holly, Tammy, Lori and Kristy!  I had a great overnight escape with my friends Friday night and Saturday.  Crafting and laughter.  It was a blast.

22. Sushi.  I am still exploring and gaining courage to try various types when I have the opportunity.  Love most of what I have tried!

23. Toilet Paper.  Don't laugh.  You are grateful too!

24. Memories.  It is enchanting to visit with the people I loved in my past.  To fly, to travel, to study foreign languages, to be a child...  It is a blessing to have a mind which allows for memories to carry me into my past at times.

25. Aspen trees.  I miss the glorious colors of autumn in Michigan.  (Along with pumpkin spice donuts, cider mills, the sound of leaf blowers and the chilly wind.)  But I do love the golden yellow of our beloved aspen trees.

26. Rules of language.  I know people do not like the constraints of grammar.  But without it books would not be the treasures that they are in my life.  I make my share of grammatical errors.  Still, I like the rules.

27. Timeliness.  I hate being late.

28. Willow Tree Angels.  My angels are so beautiful.  They each express love to me -- particularly the ones my children gave to me.

29. My loveseat.  This oversized piece of furniture is my favorite place to sit in my house.  It is soft and comfy.  :)

30. Shellfish.  Yum!

31. Recycling.  It is one simple thing that anyone can do to help keep our world beautiful.

32. The color orange.  Not pumpkins or oranges.  That shade of orange that is a little bit red and a little bit pink that you see in the sunset.

33. Tulips.  Their growing season is far too short.  But I love these colorful and fragile flowers.

34. OU Football.  Duh!  :)

35. Teasing my husband about boring baseball.

36. Scents.  Who can resist the smell of cookies in the oven, or a baby while still wet from the bath? Spring roses in bloom.  The air right after it rains.  Greg's lasagna in the oven.  There are so many smells I love.

37. Soap Operas.  OK.  I admit it.  I love soaps.  I like that the characters stay with you for years.

38. Seeing the pattern grow as I create cross-stitch.

39. Seeing the glimpse of the child who still lives in Owen.  He is so grown up most of the time.  But once in a while I still see the little boy -- the playful side of my serious son.

40. Cora's funny side.  Puberty is starting and with it the moodiness.  But she is also still my funny daughter who so easily makes the rest of us laugh.

41. Being an aunt.  I don't see any of my neices or nephews often enough.  But I love them all so much, and I love my role as 'aunt' to all of them.

42. Adult-only Dates with my Husband.  We dont venture out of our home to have dates often enough.  But I love it when we do.  I cannot wait for Saturday (my birthday), when I can have a whole evening, overnight and morning alone with him.

42. Fluffy White Clouds in thos Colorado Blue Skies.

43. Being a Military Veteran.  I am more proud of this job than of anything else I have done.  (excluding being a mom, of course)

48 Things for Which I am Grateful.

1. Greg, Owen and Cora -- I am myself when I am with them and they accept me exactly as I am.

2. Good Friends. -- My friends make me laugh, are my sounding boards, remind me of the places I can go, take me back to basics, trust me. They keep me balanced.

3. Blogs -- There are some talented bloggers whom I follow. I read their posts and they inspire me. I get my creativity from them.

4. Blue Skies. -- Colorado has expansive blue skies and my mood is always brightened by sunny days with blue skies.

5. Season Premiers.-- Sad but true. I am very grateful that some of my favorite TV shows are back on with new episodes this week. I am especially excited for this one:

6. Birthdays.  They give us an opportunity to think about the course of our lives, and remind us that it is never too late to change our thinking.  I am reminding myself of this right now.

7. Good Movies.  There are some movies that linger with you for years.  Maybe forever.  There are several which I love, such as:  Good Will Hunting, the miniseries Winds of War & War and Remembrance, The Sound of Music, and my all time favorite:

I have always loved Robin Williams - he is brilliant.  But this movie showed me his range as a dramatic actor.  And it also introduced me to another actor who I love.  Robert Sean Leonard.  And now I get to watch him weekly on House.  Dead Poets Society is a gut wrenching, inspiring, beautiful movie.



8.  Clean, Tasty Water.  I didn't realize how good water can taste until we moved here.  The mountain fresh water is delicious.

9. Teachers.  These wonderful people take on the giant task of guiding, leading, and teaching my children everyday.  They are paid next to nothing and are overworked.  But they share their knowledge curiosity and love with my kids.  I am so grateful for teaches who care.

10. My dad.  My dad has always been a rock.  He stood with my mom through trials that most people would not survive.  He held her up, gave us kids strength, worked hard inside and outside of our home, and always made his love known.

11. Time with Friends.  My friends are my greatest source of laughter.  I am so happy that tomorrow I get to go for an overnight outing away from home with my friends Holly and Lori.  Yippee!

12. Janet Evanovich.  I have so much fun when I read her books.  They are a raucous riot of laughter.

13. Computers.  What did I do before the internet?

14. Kisses.  Who doesn't love kisses?

15. Indoor Plumbing.  We are spoiled -- those of us who have indoor plumbing.  There are so many who don't in this world.  And, yes, many of them are right here in the United States.

16. An Attic (even with its current infestation of animals).  ... because I have a roof over my head.

17. Mexican Food.  Not healthy or low calorie, but yummy!

18. Learning to Make Smoothies.  Twice today I created delicious and very healthy smoothies.  I am planning to do more of this.  Breakfast and snacks.  Or at least one of the two.

19. Oxygen.  It isnt something I take for granted.  And I am grateful that the medical community is able to see my needs and meet them.

20. Patterned (scrapbook) paper.






to be continued ...

Nearly 48

I will be 48 on October 2nd. The last few days I have been considering that number a great deal. It sounds old, and yet I feel young(ish). I don't feel 10+ years older than the other parents of kids at the schools, but I am. When did it happen?

When my mom was 48 I was 27. I was nearly 30. She had me at 21 and I had my kids when I was 33 and 36.

I have been dwelling on that number. Turning 30 and then 40 didn't bother me at all. I breezed through the decade marker with nary a thought about whether I was getting old. So why does a silly number like 48 bother me so much?

My grandma died when she was 78 and my mom when she was 62. I am not so very far from those numbers. Is it the thought of old age or death that bothers me? I truly do not know. But, I will ponder it and write about it and hopefully process it.

In the meantime I plan to make a list of 48 things for which I am grateful today. I will start it today, and add to the list during the next 12 days until I reach 48.

Have any birthdays bothered you?

Book of Stories

I have been a journaller and a scrapbooker for quite some time but over the last few months I have realized that I am capturing events, but rarely am I relating the stories of our lives.  I am attempting to change that focus and luckily I found a perfect class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking.  It is called Book of Stories and is taught by Karen Grunberg (the blogger I mentioned in an earlier blog post).  The class started today, and I am thrilled.  I know it is going to make me a better storyteller.

Do you wish that you journalled more about your feelings, your stories, the stories of your family?  Or are you a scrapper who never goes beyond the chronological events of your life?  I think you can still sign up for the class (I think it was $25).  And after only one day I know it is going to help me.  Once again I owe thanks to Karen.

Portraits for Friends

Yesterday I was honored to photograph a family of 6 ... friends whom I have been lucky enough to photograph several times in the past. We went down to a park in Green Mountain Falls and found some great ways to use the sun and shade and wind. It was so much fun. I often think I should do this more often.

I am by no means a professional, and I don't know the camera I have well enough, AND I don't have the camera I wish I had, BUT having said all that... I am proud of these photos. I will share a small selection.

First we used the bridge and gazebo.

I used a warm filter on this one. If they like it, I will do other shots for them.

I love this one, and I think they have a similar one from a few years ago.

Playgroud shots are always fun for me.

There are MANY more. But this is a sampling.

Me @ 45

These photos were taken in 2008, but the LO was done a couple of months ago. I put a lot of effort into making this feminine. The bling is a merger of three different bling sets that I cut apart and put together the way I wanted them. The bird is a clear sheer which I have glued to cardstock, then I layered on the Happy rubon. The edges are punched with on of my favorite border punches. I think this LO expresses my scrap style ... strong yet feminine, strong but sweet.

Zapata Falls

Back in May my family and I went to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It was such a great way to spend Mother's Day... camping with my dad. On the last day we hiked up to Zapata Falls and the creek and falls were still frozen over. We walked over the ice through the canyon and saw these incredible falls. 40 feet, mostly frozen. The ice was blue in places. It was stunning.

On the LO I was drawn to one of the lovely Precocious Paper flowers. I think it is the juxtaposition of winter and spring. Ice and flowers.

Easter Colors

Our Easter was filled with fun. My dad came to our home and visited with us for the day. After dyeing eggs, eating tons and watching our blue dye foam up from the baking powder we added just to watch the scientific reaction... I wanted a LO that reflected the fun. So, here it is. Fun colors and lovely butterflies.

Outstandling Leader Award

At the end of May our local service unit held a meeting for all the leaders in the area. It was a lovely evening with friends. But the best part of the night came after dinner. I was given the Outstanding Leader Award -- and I was nominated by Cora and Pattie (my co-leader)!

This LO is about that evening. I love the feminine details on this one. Flowers and bling and pins. It is on cream cardstock... wish it didnt look dirty in the photo.

70s Photos, Mini Me, and Tessa's flowers

This LO is one of my favorites. I found this photo of me when I was about 3 years old and I finally saw what everyone else already saw. My daughter looks like me. Then I found this great 70s paper, a photo of Cora and I together, some paint and a flower from one of my favorite bloggers. I love the whole 2 page spread!

Floatin' Fun

This LO is of the kids at their swim lessons a while back. I went very simple, and just enjoyed the bright color of the pool water and two handmade flowers.

I added bling to the letters, and I think it feels very watery.