Green Girl's Favorite Green Beans!

Ok so these are my absolute favorite green beans ever, but if you have any health concerns- STAY AWAY!
These green beans are cooked on the grill (although you can cook them in the oven if it's too cold outside).

The history of this recipe:
When I was in high school, my mom was cooking for a few people from church. When she got home from work to begin preparing the meal, she realized that the oven and stove top were not working. She can make any bad situation better with a little quick thinking. She decided to throw the meal on the grill. Including the green beans!


Ingredients:
-Fresh green beans separated into individual serving sizes
-1 stick of butter (margarine will work, but it burns easier and tastes completely different)
-salt
-pepper

Directions:
1. Pull out a square piece of tin foil. (One tin foil square will be needed per serving)
2. Place one serving of green beans on the tin foil
3. Add 1 chunk of butter to each serving (usually 1 tbsp)
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
5. Pull the two sides of the tin foil up together and then begin folding them down towards the green beans-several folds will be needed. Then fold each side inward using the same folding so the butter won't leak into the grill.
6. Grill the green beans on the top rack of the grill on medium heat for 20-30 minutes, then serve.

These green beans remind me of my favorite season of the year which is summer and remind me of my husband and the love we share. We both love green beans and we would eat them every day if we could. Unfortunately, our garden didn't produce them like we had hoped this year. :( 

Remember to eat healthy, but eat well. Love life, love the day, and love yourself.

Remember to love,
~The Little Green Girl

Amazing Grilled Chicken With a Dry Rub

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."
-George Bernard Shaw

One night we were having a large group of people over for dinner and the group kept growing. I was stressed out about how to make a great tasting dinner and have it be exciting and less boring that just plain grilled chicken.

I googled recipes for a chicken rub and came across one that I liked. I did not have time to write it down so I winged it. I am also winging it right now while I am typing this post, but it's something along these lines and you can change it to taste. :)

Dry Chicken Rub:
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-4 tbsp (or more) paprika
-1 tbsp garlic powder
-1 tbsp dry parsley flakes
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
-2 tsp onion powder

1 lb bonless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl
2. Heat grill to medium heat
3. Rub mix onto chicken and coat completely
4. Grilled until thoroughly cooked (don't over cook this or the rub will blacken)
5. Take off of grill and serve!

This is a great recipe for a quick and easy dinner! My friends talked about how great it was and I was please with it myself.

Have a great week, be happy, and

Remember to love,
-The Little Green Girl

Alone

"He alone is great and happy who requires neither to command nor to obey in order to secure his being of some importance in this world."
-Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I like being alone sometimes. I like processing my thoughts and feelings. I like the silence.

Living in someone's house with more than just my husband leaves me little time to actually be alone. Little time to think through my thoughts and feelings. Little time for just ME.

Marriage is the greatest gift I have been given in my life thus far. I have a best friend that I spend 24/7 with, never get tired of, laugh with constantly, and learn from and grow with. It is amazing. I love not actually having to spend time by myself. I love being around someone constantly. But there are those moments; the small moments where my brain feels knotted, my heart feels like it is my brain and I just need time to decipher the messages that are getting mixed in the mess.


I am not a quiet person by any means. I am talkative (to say the least), rambunctious, goofy, and sometimes just downright weird. I have a love for life that can't be described. It's like an addiction with the day. I want to be with people and out and about, but there are those days-every month or so, that I just want to be lazy, sleep, be alone. My solitary confinement.

People who know me assume that when I am having days like this that there is something wrong with me. They think I am sad or irritated, or too quiet. They don't realize that sometimes my body and brain just need to power down to rejuvenate after going like the Energizer Bunny for months on end.

There is nothing wrong with me. I am still happy, I am still in love with the day, I am still me, just not on steroids! :) When I have a day like today it is best to just let me be alone; to let me be on a date with myself.
When someone is just trying to be nice,  but are constantly talking to me- I might come across as mean or short, but I really just have no desire to talk (for once!).

I am glad that the house is empty. I am grateful that I am able to relax before work, and that I have nothing to say to anyone and I'm not feeling forced to talk. Now is my time to relax- my time for me- my time to be alone.

Remember, being alone is not a bad thing if you can find the joy within. Find the serenity and peace of the silence. Find the happiness that can come from sincere reflection and sort out your feelings. This helps me become a better person. I reflect on ways I can be a better person and I start then and there. Right here, right now.

Today is a great day. I have had time to think and relax, to learn and grow from within, and to celebrate the fact that today is the start of College Hoops. :) Let's Go Tarheels!! (And Utah State Aggies- My Alma Mater). 5pm is Late Night with Roy Williams. I can't wait!

Toodles my friends.

Remember to love,
The Little Green Girl. <3

Our new baby!

"Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls."
 -Mother Teresa

So we have been very excited about adding a little something to our family for a while now. We are forbidden from having a dog where we are currently living, and no one liked my cute little guinea pig, so we have settled on a kitten! They are easy to take care of, they are loving (which was the argument against my guinea pig), and they are low maintenance- unlike dogs which need to be walked daily and have to be let out to use the restroom. I would love to have a dog- don't get me wrong, but at this point in our life, our cat is the perfect choice.
So without further adieu-

Our Nameless Cat!

If you can't just love that little face then I don't know what you will love! That thing is so stinkin cute!! We have a few more weeks before we get him, but I can't wait!

Bring joy into your life-

Remember to Love,
The Little Green Girl

Blessings

"A sense of blessedness comes from a change of heart, not from more blessings."

-Mason Cooley

    I always think about happiness in life and what causes me to be truly happy. I realize that I am happy because I recognize my blessings. When I see the things that I have in my life that are excess, the things that I don't need, but that I have, it makes me grateful, humble, and happy.
    For some of us, we don't have excessive commodities and luxuries beyond our wildest dreams, but everyone, from every walk of life, can be grateful. Growing up, I did not have all of the fancy things that other kids had at school, but I wasn't alone. That was a blessing to know that other kids experienced what I experienced. There were times that I hated the fact that I lived in a trailer, but at least I had shelter, when so many others struggled to keep warm. That was a blessing.
    I know that the glass half empty/glass half full analogy is over used, but do you ever look at the fact that there might be one drop of water in the glass and recognize it as a blessing? So what? You don't have nice clothes or nice cars or nice houses or maybe no house at all, but do you look and think- I have a beautiful child, I have love, I have shelter from the storm, I have a job (even though the pay and hours are undesirable).....it's not always about viewing the glass as half full or half empty, it's about recognizing that at least there is water in the glass. At least there is that one small drop to wet your tongue when all else is gone.
    Not everyone who will read my blog will believe in God or the Bible to be the word of God, but regardless of beliefs, it is a great literary work with heroes, wars, sacrifice and love. So if you don't believe in the Bible or God or you think it's false then just read the following story as a literary work of fiction and not one of truth- because I know that the Bible contains the words and works of Jesus the Christ and God his father, but it is still a great story without faith and knowledge that it is historically accurate and true.
    One story that I would like to tell from the Bible is that of Job (Joe-b) who loses everything he has and faces excruciating pains and health problems, but doesn't blame God or the world for his problems, he simply looks at the only thing he has left which is his troubled life and recognizes that God gave him everything he had including his life and if God see it fit to take those blessings away then he had all right to do so.
    Job was wealthy and had mansions and many children who were also rich. Job recognized the hand of God for giving him everything he had, but Satan felt that if Job weren't so rich and were really tempted and tried, that he would blame God and fail his faith. Satan was allowed to cause Jobs houses to fall and crush his children (consistent with an earthquake)- yet he praised God for knew that his family would be in the Lord's rest. Satan, felt that enough had not been done to test Job and that by physically inflicting him, he might turn against the Lord and Satan would win. Satan was allowed to cause large Boils to cover every inch of Job's body. Job never speaks against the Lord even through his mourning.
    And here is my favorite part: Job's friend that comes to mourn with him says "Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty:" and he continues to tell him that God will rescue him for his faithfulness.
   Let me point out that this is a man who has lost EVERYTHING. He has lost his land, his houses, his servants, his children, and now his health. This man has no water left in his cup-not even a drop. Even in the depths of despair Job never gives  up and he is always optimistic that God will rescue him and he sees his blessings as his friends, and his life.
   Just remember that while we may never experience extreme trials such as Job's, we face our own trials and tribulations on a daily basis. If we focus on the things that are lost or the things we don't have, then how can we be grateful for the blessings that surround us?
   From a shelter bed, to a trailer bed, to a house bed to a hospital bed- find one blessing- find one drop in your cup. And thank whatever powers you believe in for having that one precious drop of water. That one thing may be the difference between finding joy and being grateful for happiness, and a deep despair that leaves us bitter and lonely.
   The choice is ours. We can choose to be happy and grateful and recognize what we have in life, even if it's only one good thing, or we can choose to be sad, lonely, depressed, and all but give up on our search for happiness in this life- but you choose.

I am grateful for many things in my life. I am grateful for my friends who make this life worth it, for my husband who is my rock and source of all the laughter in my life, for Christ who is the ultimate source of happiness in my life and who has seen me through the loneliest and darkest periods that I have faced, for a nice house to be living in, and for the job that I have when so many others are facing unemployment.

I am blessed in life. I have more that I could ask for in my life and I hope that you can find the blessings in yours.

Be happy and remember to love,

~The Little Green Girl

The Little Things

"Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow."
-Swedish Proverb

        Do you ever find yourself fretting over the smallest little thing? I know I have days that I feel are completely trumped by one small obstacle. Last week we were helping friends of ours move and I was so utterly crabby that I couldn't hide my irritability from anyone, even when I tried my best. Some of our friends walked in and the husband immediately said "Lauren what's wrong? You don't look happy." Well thanks pal! :D I decided that I was not going to let the little things become the big things because then the big things will become colossal and then I will FREAK OUT and go CRAZY. Just kidding, but really, I can handle anything if I ignore the small things and make the big things the small things. That would make life so much better. If everyone did this then I think the world would be a pretty happy place for a larger group of people.
        This morning I woke up with a huge pimple on my NECK! So weird and gross. I was bummed a little since I have a wedding party to attend tonight. I ended up just ignoring the huge mountain growing on my neck and hang out with a friend who was having a much worse day than I. I couldn't even think about my pimple with everything that she was going through. Needless to say I look amazing for the wedding and the mountain is covered to the best of my abilities and I had a great day regardless of a bad zit.

I guess the whole point of this post is to, in some round about way, remind everyone to let go of the small things that don't matter, like silly pimples, or rude people in public, or anything else that comes to mind, and remember to love the life you have, for it is all you have. Tackle the big challenges so that they don't become so large that you bust from them or give up, and let the small things go.

Remember to love,
The Little Green Girl

Summer Fun

"Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it."
-Russel Baker

Talk about a love for life! This was one summer I will never forget. Some wonderful things happened during the summer I filmed these clips. I was back and living in my hometown for the first time in years. I was working with wonderful people. I traveled to Yankee land for my first time since I was little, and the man of my dreams proposed to me. What was not to love about that summer?-Nada

Here is a funny video that my friends and I made. We were making fun of the little children who never listened on the slide and did the most outrageous things. I hope you enjoy.
Remember to love,
The Little Green Girl

Pasta Clarizio

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body."
-Benjamin Franklin

There is a special place in my heart for this recipe. When I was in high school, my family was struggling financially. We were hungry and had very few ingredients around the house. So we all pitched in and made this simple meal and named it after our family.

This little dish is one of my favorites. It's simple and quick and easy enough for anyone lacking great cooking skills.

Ingredients:
-1/4 cup Olive Oil
-1 Can of black olives (any will work, but you will have to cut them up)
-4 cloves of garlic (minced)
-1 box of linguine or spaghetti noodles
-salt/garlic salt to taste

Cooking directions:
-Using large pot, bring water to a boil and add noodles. Turn to medium heat and let noodles cook through.
-In a large pan, add olive oil and bring to medium heat (you don't want the oil too hot or it will burn the garlic). Add the minced garlic and saute until slightly browned and remove from heat. Add the black olives (without the juice) and be careful not to let the oil get you because adding a water based liquid will cause the oil to pop and splatter.
-Drain the noodles and return to the pot. Pour the olive oil, garlic and olive mix over the noodles and mix thoroughly.
-Add salt or garlic salt to taste.

Hope you love this simple family favorite.

Remember to Love,
The Little Green Girl

Back to it

It has been quite some time since I have blogged about anything, but I am back and ready to blog like I have never blogged before. I am going to have a few focuses on this new and improved blog. The overall goal will be to promote love. It may be a love of learning, or a love of food or a love of life, but find love however you can. The new blog will include things like a DIY section. Another will be a recipes section. A third section will include stories from my daily life.
I hope you will enjoy the new blog.
Remember to love,
~The Little Green Girl