Goodbye, May

May is mayhem month within my circle.

Each May we celebrate our  wedding anniversary, Mother’s Day, and the end of another school year. As a teacher, I  add my own brand of crazy to the May mix  which means graduations, final grades, parties, field days,  and post planning. The month is one long blur of activity, but June tiptoes in for such a sweet change.

Beach Time

Bear and I  spent  the first weekend of May at the beach  celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary. My beach of choice is Jekyll Island, Georgia. In all honesty, it’s not the pearly white sands and clear blue water of Florida’s gulf, but it is quiet and fairly close. There is history. There is quiet and rest. There are sea turtles. AND it is not a ridiculously long  drive to get there. That’s big in my book.

It just so happened our church’s monthly 24 hour prayer vigil was that weekend, and we spent our assigned hour of prayer time on the beach that Sunday morning watching the sun come up…Unbelievable worship! Quiet. Deep. And sweet. ( I love our monthly prayer vigils…I. just. do.)

Everything’s  better at the beach, I do believe.

Mexi-Mahi and  shrimp tacos, long walks,  reading on the beach, and a quirky little book store. The weekend  was perfect!

We returned home after our weekend of rest, and May madness ensued. By this past weekend, we were slap worn out. Really…

For that reason, we did as little as possible over Memorial Day weekend. I cleaned out a closet in one of our extra rooms and  emptied a couple of “catch-all” drawers that had taken on their own zip code…Heavens! Stuff. Clutter…

Bear installed a new ceiling fan (which I love),  and I read. It was a good weekend…

 

Over Night Oats…

Well, May had me searching for new breakfast foods since my local Kroger has decided to only stock our  favorite whole grain, low carb English muffin in minute quantities (I mean…small, ya’ll!)  I swear!  Bear and I are like the bread  nazis about this particular brand of English muffins because when we do see them on the shelf we grab two or three packages. We are almost bread bandits…We practically stalk the poor bread guy, and we are hitting the store several times a week looking for the silly things (which may be part of Kroger’s evil plan of world dominance- I knew bread would be our downfall.) I will not mention the name of “said” English muffins because. duh… I don’t need more people flocking to the local Kroger and taking the muffins from my paws. TRUTH!

But anyway…

I am not a trend follower so this idea of uncooked oats (the real point behind my rabbit chasing tirade)  mixed with yummy, healthy stuff in a jar for breakfast is probably on its way out, but WOW! Oh my goodness!   I love this idea. Over Night Oats have become my new  breakfast run-to. And it’s perfect for summer, I might add.  Throw the ingredients in a jar the night before, shake it up, and refrigerate!

BOOM!

Delicious, light, healthy, easy…no cooking! All of the things I love about food prep!

Hey! Don’t judge my oats!

I know they are not shown here in the prettiest, most   “Pinteresty” manner, but they are good. Pinterest is loaded with hundreds of recipe/oat combinations.

This just happens to be a yummy blueberry pineapple version of the basic recipe. It is made with  Chobani’s pineapple Greek yogurt and fresh blueberries.

Basic Over Night Oat Recipe

• 1 small container of Greek yogurt (5.3 oz , your flavor preference)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of milk (your choice – regular dairy, soy, or almond)
• 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
• 1/2 cup uncooked oats ( your variety of choice)
• Some type of fruit – whether fresh or frozen…about a cup
• Some people add some type of sweetener such as sugar, honey, etc… I don’t. I am not one who usually likes sweet foods for breakfast (Except for PANCAKES…but that’s another post all together…).

Remember to play with the recipe. The amounts I have listed work for me and my taste. I add the ingredients to a wide mouthed mason jar (or any dish with a lid that seals ) and shake or stir to mix. Stick that baby in the refrigerator over night and breakfast is handled.

BUT…when I can find my English muffins…well. you. know.

Books!

I Want God by Lisa Whittle

In spite  of the fact that Mayhem May was…CRAZY, I managed to complete a couple of books. Later this week I will spend some serious time sharing these in detail, but this one…is KILLING  me softly. (In a “beautifully bruise my toes and pierce my heart kind of way!) Lisa Whittle! Oh my heart! Girl! I am officially a soul sister fan!

I haven’t finished I Want God  yet because I am using it as part of my morning quiet time with my Chronological Bible reading. This isn’t going to be one I rush through. There have been some seriously deep Jesus moments with this book where I just had to stop, sit in silence, pray,  and pour my heart out in my journal. The big question the Lord is  whispering over me is, “Do you WANT me, Berta? Really want me? Because you can’t want your comfortable safe life and want ME at the same time.” Heavy. Sigh.

 

May…Crazy May…over.

But today is June 1st…The last day  of post planning for this school year, and then I refuse to plan for two months. I mean it…

Life is looking pretty sweet…simpler…for at least June and July.