I’ve made the Maple-Glazed Salmon twice now and oh how delicious it is.

Maple-Glazed Salmon

4 salmon filets, 6 oz. each
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon mustard powder

Grease 9×13 casserole dish. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper and place skin side down in the dish. In a small bowl whisk the melted butter, maple syrup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder. Pour over salmon. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes or until done. (I had to cook the salmon a couple of extra minutes. But, I would still start with 12 minutes and then check cause you don’t want to overcook and dry it out.)

After dinner, we had one lone piece of salmon left. We ate up all the sides so today’s pictures is just salmon, maple salmon.

Perfect for a sunny day
and for the glare of snow;
Perfect when their light-weight
and stay up on your nose.

Perfect for protection
from harmful UV rays;
Perfect to look cool in,
no verbal statement made!

Perfect for adding confidence
no matter what the case;
Perfect accessory to impress,
adding character to each face!

Amy Millis

Sunglasses are 100% necessary in southern California. We don’t leave the house without them! And Hope likes to wear them indoors too. She’s been known to eat lunch and take a nap with them on.

The train was a hit!

Since today is the last day of January, we’ve got to sneak these in to start our beach blog series off on the right foot.

Our California girls…

Hope spent all her time playing in the sand. Let’s just say the water was like ice and there was no way on earth she was going in!

Parasurfing. Quite amazing to watch.

Dave got a polarizer for Christmas that really helps capture the blue skies.

NY Grandma soaking up the sun.

NY Grandpa at his finest.

Hope, you are our bundle of joy. Happy, happy 2nd birthday.

Love, Dad, Mom and Lauren

“You can be angry at what time you didn’t get with her, or you can be grateful for the time you had with her.”

That’s TOUGH.

But so, so, so true.

Sometimes I think Dave and I had it easier. Meaning we had such a long time to figure out how we were going to deal with Carmen dying. I think about people who suddenly, unexpectedly lose a child or a spouse. Or have a child kidnapped and never found. Or have a child who endures extreme pain for years and years. Carmen was unaware and unresponsive, a blessing to her. I don’t know…I just think that there are worse things. I suppose that’s helpful to me. Tay Sachs was BAD but it could have been worse. Yes, that is helpful.

I am grateful for the time we had with her but I do wish that we could have had a longer time of happy, healthy Carmen in this life. We really only had a few months, from 6 to 10 months, before Tay Sachs started taking over.

Death, dying and losing family and friends is easier to think about in the context of eternity. It’s easier to be grateful for a short time on earth when Heaven is waiting and eternity is a very, very, very long time.

Carmen, photo taken by Rashmi Pappu

You can read his updates here.

Thanks!

Let’s see…

Art class for Lauren. Prime and paint a coffee table. Baby proof the rest of the house. Come up with meal plan for next week. Naps? Laundry. IKEA-run for an organizer system for NY Grandma and Grandpa, who are staying with us for the rest of the winter. Pay bills. Pickup NY Grandpa from the airport. Oh…and remember in the midst of it all to practice patience, grace and love.

Lauren, you have a very handsome date and Dave, you have a beautiful one!

I LOVE it.

I made a triple batch of buttermilk pancakes (some with blueberries and some with chocolate chips) last week and it took me a fraction of the time I usually set aside for pancake making. Plus, I didn’t burn a single one. The cast iron evenly distributes the heat much better than my old nonstick.

Not sure what all my girls will remember from their childhoods but pancakes will most certainly be on the list!

We are not getting paid or reimbursed in any way for this post. We just like to pass along good product ideas when we come across them!