Wednesday, July 11, 2012

MoonPie and RC Cola | A Sweet Southern Treat!


Holy cow were these babies good! 


Father’s Day is always a difficult time for me as far as gift giving goes.  I have a father who is extremely hard to buy for.  He has just about everything and even if he didn’t, he would never admit to wanting anything.  I guess most men are that way – especially Dads.   Anyway, as Father’s Day began to come into focus this year, I was at a complete loss as to what to get him.
Well, thank goodness for Pinterest because it totally saved my bacon this year! About a week or so before Father’s Day, I was browsing through pins on pinterest when I ran across a link to a recipe for homemade MoonPies!  Homemade MoonPies??! How absolutely awesome is that?!  So anyway, as soon as I saw that link, I knew that that was it – that was the golden ticket!

I have so many wonderful childhood memories of my Dad, my sisters, MoonPies and RC cola! We lived in Alabama back when I was a kid and on the weekends, my Dad would let us girls {me and my two sisters} walk to the store {about a mile round trip} and buy MoonPies and RC Cola {because you just can’t eat a MoonPie without an RC Cola!}.  And sometimes, we would get to have boiled peanuts {which is my all-time favorite southern treat!!} and RC cola instead - it just depended on my Dads mood, I guess.   It was a special treat for us girls – a treat that my sisters and I would sometimes have to arm wrestle our Dad for.  Even though it was the three of us against his one arm, we never won; he was as strong as a bull {and still is, mind you!}, but he wasn’t a mean bull, he was a gentle one and even though my sister’s and I didn’t win, he’d usually give in and let us get MoonPies or boiled peanuts anyway.   

So, thanks to Pinterest, I had my gift idea – MoonPies, RC Cola and salted peanuts {for dumping into his RC Cola, of course!}. By the way, I had to go with salted peanuts rather than a bag of boiled peanuts because, believe it or not, in Texas where I live, boiled peanuts are pretty much unheard of - crazy, I know!  So anyway, I was totally psyched about this gift -  I knew that my Dad would be delighted with a nostalgic gift such as this!









Madi was also pretty excited! She couldn’t wait to get started and I was so thankful for her help because, turns out, these babies aren’t that easy to make – well, sorta easy, but really time consuming.  But!!  Boy, were they worth it – the finished product tasted just like the store bought, sweet southern treat I’ve enjoyed so many times before!  



Marshmellow filling  - sorry for the poor quality photo, I took it with my blasted cell phone.

MoonPies before they were dipped in chocolate!

Another shot of the MoonPie, pre-chocolate coating.

 MoonPies after being dipped in chocolate - another cell phone shot, sorry.

Madi and I wrapped them up and placed labels on each. 
  Dad's gift basket completed!

Because we hadn't seen my Mom since before Mother's Day {they were gone to Savannah, GA for a few months} we weren't able to give her her gift until the same day we gave Dad his Father's Day gift - July 19th.  Mom's gift was ALSO a pinterest find!  I modge podged a photo of my her and my Dad to  an 11' x 14" canvas.  It turned out pretty good; it almost looked like a painting rather than a photo.

Jack giving Dad his gift basket.

Dad - not really sure what it's about just yet.

He's eyesight ain't what it used to be. Lol!  It took him a minute to figure out what the labels said - I think the one he picked up just said "Happy Father's Day", so he had to pick up another one ...
NOW he's figured it out!   I love his reaction here - his big ol' smile!  It says it all and makes me :) big!

Wordless{ish} Wednesday | Thistle

The Thistle



In a patch of baked earth
At the crumbled cliff's brink,
Where the parching of August
Has cracked a long chink,

Against the blue void
Of still sea and sky
Stands single a thistle
Tall, tarnished, and dry.

Frayed leaves, spotted brown,
Head hoary and torn
Was ever a weed
Upon earth so forlorn,

So solemnly gazed on
By the sun in his sheen
That prints in long shadow
Its raggedness lean?

From the sky comes no laughter,
From earth not a moan.
Erect stands the thistle,
Its seeds abroad blown

-Robert Laurence Binyon



Monday, July 9, 2012

From a Swimmer to a Runner

I officially withdrew Madison from Swim Belton today.  I can honestly say that after 3+ years of swimming, her Dad and I are a little sad to see it come to an end.  But, at the same time, we are very happy and very proud of her for the new direction she is taking in sports - Cross Country.  Going from a swimmer to a runner hasn’t been easy so far, but with our encouragement, Madi’s running is getting better with each passing week.  We just pray that Cross Country is good to her {as long as she’s putting in the effort, we’re sure it will be} and that she finds what she is hoping for in the sport.
One of my favorite swim photos of Madi.  I’ll miss watching this girl swim – especially that nice butterfly stroke she has!

Madison:  We love you and we are proud of you no matter what you choose to do in life.  As you know, one of our rules is that - if you choose it, follow through with it.  I know we push you pretty hard and expect a lot from you, but I want you to know that we do it for YOU!  We do it, not only so that you learn to dedicate yourself to something and work hard at it, but also so that you learn integrity – the importance of following through with the commitments you make in life.

Cross Country was a choice you made {a huge twist in the Johnston’s game of life}, but it’s one that involves our whole family because you need {for now} to be pushed.  You need constant supervision so that you put in the work/miles.  I’m pretty sure that one day running will become something you want to do, not something you have to do because we make you. But, until that day, just know that your Dad and I will be right beside you; supporting you {first and foremost}, encouraging you, pushing you, and yes, sometimes downright yelling at you in frustration because we know you can push harder!  But, also know this; that we’ll be doing all these things because we care about you, we love you and we want to see you succeed in everything you choose to do in life.