The High Line

Our first day in New York we had some free time as soon as we arrived. I believe in planning activities for trips to make sure we get the most out of them, but it's a goal of mine not to over plan. Matt likes having blocks of time to work in some of his favorite pursuits, yet he's not big on planning ahead. We've found a good middle ground where I plan the big events (when we need tickets before they sell out; when we need to know showtimes or schedules for tours, etc.) and I also plan blocks of "free time" so Matt can lead us on a journey to the things he enjoys (with some level of spontaneity).

After checking in at the hotel, Matt wanted to stop by the concierge's desk to get some ideas. Right off, the concierge mentioned a place Matt had heard about and wanted to see. Off we went. 

These are shots from the High Line...

 Unique Architecture

 An Ice Skating Rink in a Dome

 More neat architecture

 Older buildings with neat details as well

 NYC style parking garage (space is at a premium)

 The High Line: An old railroad track turned into a park-like walkway

 Technically Graffiti (I thought this one was neat with all of the faces)

 Not looking my best, but it was hot that day...the hair was going up!

 Recognize this face? (painted on a building)

 The city streets of NYC aren't all that pretty :)

 Empire State Building

 Painted on the side of the building...haven't seen this sort of thing in other places. 

 We were in the Meat Packing District and you could tell :)

This was taken while sitting on a wooden bench, in miniature amphitheater arrangement, like I'd sit on to watch the polar bears swim at the Memphis Zoo :) What about this view would be entertaining?

I'm glad we planned in some free time. We had fun wandering out on our little adventure to the High Line.

Overwhelming

This week has been a bit overwhelming for both Matt and me. Coming off of a wonderful anniversary trip and headed into a week-long vacation, we hit the ground running. 

Matt's boss was in from New York for the day on Monday. He had an internal auditor in yesterday and today. When someone from the company is in town to work with him, Matt serves as his host. He picks him up from and drops him off at the airport. Matt hosts him for dinner each night as well. He is their single mode of transportation. Although it makes for long days and in a week like this one, makes for a long week, he likes the men he works with and enjoys hosting them. 

When Matt works late, I tend to work late too. Right off the bat I gain at least two hours back. There's no meal planning, prep, cooking or cleaning the kitchen. Knowing that, I get motivated to get involved in projects and tasks that take more time, make more of a mess and yes, tend to bring on more frustration. 

This has been a productive week for both of us. I think I've benefited the most because I finally finished a few things I've been trying to find time to do. 

When I know I'm leaving town for a week or more, something within screams that I need to get my house in perfect working order. I know how good it feels to walk in after a long trip only to be reminded of how squared away everything is at home. In the past, when it was only me, I would work all day and stay up all night before a trip, if necessary, just to get everything done. 

Since I have perfectionist tendencies, that means I'd have a few things on my list and the list would grow as I go. I'd clean, then see something else I hadn't noticed, I'd take care of that and then see something else...before you know it, I'm getting side-tracked cleaning to the microscopic level. 

Fortunately, having Matt in my life and learning to let some things go, I'm not staying up too late tonight. At least, I'm not staying up late to clean. It's finally time to relax. 

Just to give you an example of my tenacity this week, I ironed three days. Ironing is not my favorite. 

Almost everything is marked off :)

Totally Thrown

It would seem our attempt to make the most of our days in New York has totally thrown off my sleep schedule. On the first day of our trip, we began the day at 4 a.m. only to end it at midnight. The second day it was more like 1 a.m. when heads hit the pillows.

Since then, I haven't been able to drop off to sleep until midnight. (Our regular bedtime is 10 p.m.) 

This morning I was so out of it that I almost stayed in bed, thinking, "Matt only needs something for breakfast. I don't have to get up yet." Determined to dig myself out of bed to be sure I had time to take care of breakfast, I got up, stumbled downstairs and got breakfast ready. That's when the fog lifted and I realized Matt needed lunch too. I had totally forgotten. Fortunately, I had just enough time. 

Our trip was amazingly good. Packed full of activity and fun. With a full few days of chores, planning and packing ahead of me (we're off to Memphis next), here's to hoping my sleep schedule returns to normal soon...

One Year

One year, today...and it's hard to remember life without him. God has blessed me greatly by giving me Matt for a husband.

He has the kindest, gentlest heart, an understanding way, certainty in spiritual leadership and decision-making for our family...there is so much more I could say...he is faithful, wise, intelligent, hard-working, insightful, talented, genuinely interested in people, teachable...it's just a bonus that he's so handsome and fun!!

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart! 

I love you!!!

Catch 22

When it comes to me and expressions of affection, there is a smother factor. :) In my entire life, there is only one person who's ever outdone me in the affection department.

That one, brief momentary experience in life is what I try to draw on to understand the affects my affection has on people who need less affection than I do. That moment was when my niece was about 4 years old. 

The back story: My niece was born not even wanting to be cuddled or held the way most babies do. I remember that every time one of us picked her up and attempted to nestle her on our shoulder or cradle her in our arms, she stiffened her neck, arched her back and pulled away, almost removing all contact. 

My sister is a very attentive mom. She noticed this right away and immediately decided she'd shower this little baby with affection until she decided she liked it. The net result: by the age of four years old, in a single moment in time, that sweet girl out-affectioned the undisputed champion of affection smotherdom. 

I immediately gave my sister the news that her job was done. My sweet niece equalized and never again had a moment where she out-affectioned me. She is just right in that area. I, on the other hand, am still prone to smother the ones I love. :)

Guess who is the primary recipient of that now?! I try to remind myself, "He can't handle my level of affection: watch the smother factor!" 

So, you may ask, "Where lies the catch 22?" The more loved I feel, the more I appreciate my daring husband, the more fulfilled and secure I feel in his love...the more affection I express. The smother factor shoots up and I risk squashing his motivation to express affection towards me. Ouch!

I recently attempted to reassure him it would get better if we are able to have children...that I'd have other little people to shower with my affection and his portion would probably shrink to a manageable level. A thought crossed his mind, but he said little. I married a smart man. :)

God has a unique sense of humor... ;)

A Special Blessing

If all goes well, we'll close on our house in Oakland next month. Matt and I are very grateful to the Lord for meeting our needs over the last year as we've waited for a buyer for this home. 

This is not the best photo, but it was the easiest to get my hands on for this post. :)

For 10 years, I enjoyed this sweet little house. There is so much to remember: Hosting Christmas dinner for my family. My first house guests: my friend Beth and her baby girl, Lydia. My niece's birthday party with friends one year. One of my nephew's birthday parties with family. Hanging out with friends. 

Then with Matt: An early Thanksgiving dinner with our friend group the year we met. Making my first special Valentine dinner for him, a candlelight dinner for two. Several conversations, sitting in the living room, figuring out what our future together may hold. 

Trying on my wedding dress with the help of my sister, to show her and my Mom again before the big day. Packing up the car for the road trip to Maryland to begin our life together. 

The Lord provided this house as a blessing. It has been a special blessing indeed. 

The house may no longer be ours, but we'll always have the sweet memories...

Signs of the Times

After buying our first canvas picture, there was a good sale on them on the website I like. Naturally, I caved and bought another. 

Although I didn't have in mind exactly where I wanted to hang it, after it arrived I was thrilled to find the perfect spot.

For quite some time, I wanted something to hang next to the cross in our kitchen but had no idea what to put there. The light background of the picture makes this photo look striking against the dark wall.

Matt's reaction when he got home: "Wow, there sure are a lot of pictures of us in this house." My response, "Oh"..."I hadn't realized that, but yes, I guess there are." Oops!

The subtle (or not so subtle) signs of a happily married woman...

Ready for the Weekend

About a month ago, Matt mentioned that he'd like us to celebrate our first anniversary in New York. To be honest, I was a little surprised.

My surprise had little to do with Matt. I just thought that would be an incredibly eventful way to celebrate and I'm not accustomed to making much of special days. (Though it is my preference.)

One of Matt's first comments was that we'd take in a show...or two. He asked me to look at what's currently running and get an idea of what I'd be interested to see. 

We're scheduled for two shows and two tours. We decided to keep the rest of our time open so we can play it by ear. Some of our best trips have been ones where Matt planned as we went.

I must admit...I'm looking forward to making some good memories on this little getaway. 

I'm ready for the weekend...

Sweetest Thing

Before Matt and I married, during our premarital counseling in fact, it occurred to me to ask him a particular question. You see, one of my primary love languages is touch/affection. Knowing from conversations with other people who are wired differently than me that they prefer not to be touched when they sleep, I wanted to know Matt's preference. My question was: Would you rather fall asleep touching or not touching? He quickly replied, "Touching." I was surprised, pleasantly surprised. 

Some nights I feel the light touch of his foot reaching to rest against mine, some nights I rest my cheek lightly on his shoulder, but one of my favorite things is hearing the sheet rustle as he's trying to find my hand to hold. :) Those little moments are some of the sweetest things in marriage.

My Favorite

Since I was a little girl, this has been my favorite Bible verse:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not onto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.  Proverbs 3:5-6

In most cases, I remind myself of this verse and apply it whenever I find myself questioning what comes next. Recently, though, it seems God is putting this verse in front of me. It has come up in a sermon at church, on my Facebook feed and that's all it has taken to keep it in my thoughts since I have it memorized. 

Now it's time for reflection to figure out that with which I need to be trusting in the Lord. :)

Good People

On occasion, I'm invited to dinner with Matt and his co-workers. About once a month, a lady comes down from the Philly office to meet with Matt and the manager of the plant next door. I like her and we get along well. 

At times, we get off on tangents talking about our mutual interests and I wonder if we've completely left Matt behind. I begin to feel a little self-conscious that he may not be enjoying himself as much as he would if we stayed on other topics of conversation. 

Most recently, Matt's boss invited me to join them for dinner after work since he knows I've been helping out with some filing and other administrative support over the past month or two. I was glad to be included. Knowing they'd already had all day to talk and catch up, I jumped right in asking all I knew to ask about his interests. 

As it happened, I stumbled upon a couple of his interests I wasn't aware of previously. He has a huge garden that he planted and maintains. His wife isn't into it so much. He also enjoys cooking. 

It didn't take long before he began sharing a few of his favorite recipes. He talked of all the variety of ways he uses the vegetables from his garden. Knowing he tries to make healthy recipes, I was ready for him to pass a few of his favorites along to me. :)

In the end, I was a little uncertain of how much Matt enjoyed our dinner. The gardening and cooking chatter isn't normally his kind of thing. When I asked him, Matt said with a sweet grin on his face, "I'm glad you bonded." 

I'm glad Matt works with genuine, caring, hardworking, good people.

A Habit for Life

My original plan was to read back and forth between two books, one on marriage and the other on parenting. One for our current stage of life and one to prepare for the future. 

The first two books on my list were "What Did You Expect?" (marriage) and "The Father Connection" (parenting). They were both good and I'd recommend them to anyone interested in learning more or being challenged in these areas.

When I finished reading those books, I looked back at the Table of Contents. That's where I put my name in the book and the month and year I began reading it. I was not pleased with how slowly I progressed through those books. Even though I began well, by reading a chapter a night, most nights, I did not persist long enough for that to become a habit.

My hope this time is to hold myself accountable to reading a minimum of a chapter per day. Last night, while Matt worked at home for a while, I managed to get a few things done around the house and still had enough time to read two and a half chapters. :)

After choosing another marriage book ("The Four Seasons of Marriage") and a new parenting book ("A Mom After God's Own Heart"), I was beckoned by another. Yes, I am currently reading three books. The third is another parenting book ("The New Dare to Discipline"). 

It's hard to find time to sit still and take time to digest what I'm reading. I do believe it's one of the most important things I do all day, so I intend to persist this time and hopefully make this a habit for life.

The Real Deal

We met long ago while we were in college...We worked together for a few years. She's a little younger than I am chronologically, but her stage of life is beyond me and has been for years. Our paths in life have kept us moving in different directions, doing different things in different places, but there remains something fundamental we have in common. We're both children of the King. 

She has my respect for the way she lives true to the Word. She loves God, her family and her friends. She lives life well. She's faithful to attend and serve in the church. She cares well for the needs and best interests of her husband, children and friends. She's generous, loving, kind, supportive, faithful, creative, full of joy...She is the real deal. 

Much of what I've seen of her has been from outside observation over the years, but even after much time had passed and life kept us apart with all that fills our days, she was there to support me during our wedding season. She is the kind of friend who knows how to love faithfully from a distance and I respect and appreciate that in her.

When I saw on Facebook her plans to attend a marriage retreat with her church, I was interested immediately. One of the frequent recommendations in Christian marriage books is to plan a trip once or twice a year to go on a marriage retreat to give intentional effort to building a deeper bond in your marriage.

After talking with Matt about it and finding that he was all for it, I asked her if we might be able to sign up. The idea of going on a marriage retreat with like-minded believers from another church was inviting...especially when it means reconnecting with an old friend.  

Unless the Lord leads us otherwise between now and then, we plan on going with them in January and I for one can't wait. We now have more than the foundation of our faith in common as friends. We are both married ladies and we can spend some time around one another as couples. :)

I don't know what this trip will bring, but I'm grateful for old friends who are the real deal.

Friendship

No matter what else may be going on in life, I know God has blessed me with good friends, faithful friends. Being so far away, time has shown me there are people in my life who love and support me, who will be there for me when I need them, who are the rare kind of friends that don't come along often. Godly counselors. Committed to love and prayer. Lifelong friends. Sisters in Christ.

You know who you are. We talk often. Distance doesn't seem to matter.

Thank you for being you. I love you, dearly. 

A flower from our garden.

Church Discipline

Even though I've been to seminary, twice, there wasn't much discussion in my classes about church discipline. It doesn't seem to be all that popular even among the most conservative of churches.

Recently, though, Matt and I happened by chance to end up studying the same Bible book: I Corinthians. Today, we also happened to read the same chapter: Chapter 5. 

When I read that chapter, it's there is black and white. No ambiguity at all. If someone in the church is professing to be saved and is living in immorality, the church is to disassociate with that person. It says, "Don't even have a meal with that person."

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth because they were tolerating this kind of behavior in their midst. He says he has already judged the person who was living immorally. So, why do we as Christians say so often, "It's not my place to judge." I Corinthians 5 says, yes, it is our place to judge other professing believers, just not unbelievers. In the last days, it will be our job to judge even the angels, so why would we not be expected to judge others here and now? 

Why do we struggle with this so much? Are we cowards? Are we afraid of offending someone? Do we not get that loving truth is what God uses to convict people of their sin, not blind love and acceptance? 

When I was reading a chapter in The Father Connection, the author relates a story to illustrate a point about what it takes to be a good father. This is the story: 

A godly couple talked on more than one occasion to their teenage daughter who had become very promiscuous. She was recklessly involved with multiple young men and even brought them home to her parents' house when they were out of town. No matter how much they prayed and talked with her; no matter what approach or how loving they were towards her, the daughter persisted with her behavior. 

One day the father sat down with his daughter and lovingly explained that she either curtail her behavior or she move out. She packed a suitcase and left that night. Her parents had no idea where she was, who she was living with or what she was doing for days and weeks on end. Finally, in the middle of the night, someone called. When the father answered, it was his daughter. 

She was crying, babbling about this or that and finally ended with "Daddy, I want to come home." He immediately said, "Where are you? I'll be right there." When he arrived to pick up his daughter, he simply took her home. He didn't lecture. He didn't remind her the rules of their home. He didn't ask what had happened. He just loved her, forgave her and welcomed her home. 

Between that story and the passage in I Corinthians, it seems to me one of the purposes of church discipline is to challenge someone to choose. Be one or the other. Live like the world or turn from your ways, strive for holiness and be in the church. Don't have one foot in the world while professing Christ. 

The passage directly states that a little leaven will leaven the whole lump. Meaning a little sin in the camp will spread through the whole group. 

We take God's word seriously in so many areas, why do we steer clear of this? 

Wipe Out

As a housewife, you can imagine how much of my days involve cleaning and maintaining our home. Finding the simplest, most effective way to clean is a preoccupation with me, because I prefer spending as little time as possible keeping up the house. 

Left to myself, I'd devote more of my time to side projects. That's more my style. 

As it is now, I have time management issues just like everyone else. I'm having to find a balance with where I put my time to make sure everything gets done in a respectable amount of time, no matter whether there is something I'd rather do with my time.

It seems I'm either doing great with maintaining the house and have several projects half done...or I spend the day on a project only to start a new one the following day. All the while, the house is suffering. 

All of that is to say, these have recently become some of my favorite things: 

Over the years, I've appreciated the value of Wet Ones for those sticky hands that are left from eating in the car. On several occasions, Matt and I have appreciated my girl scout type preparedness on the road. 

Windex wipes is a product I bought a while ago that I wasn't sure of it's best use. Now, I can say it is handy to have to spot clean our bathroom. Since I use powder make-up from foundation to finishing powder, the vanity can be dirty again the day after I clean. I love using Windex wipes to touch up the vanity, mirror, tub edge and outside of the toilet; it's a simple, quick fix to clean up a room we use constantly. 

At one point, I used Windex wipes on the hard surfaces in my car to get rid of the dust. Unfortunately, they were not completely effective. Using them helped, but I was always frustrated that the wipes didn't grab all of the dust. Admittedly, when I know the results will be less than satisfying, it takes me longer to get around to that task again.

Recently, Matt bought a three pack of Armor All wipes. They work great! (What a relief since that's what they are made to do. Note the sarcasm. :) 

About three weeks ago, I used the cleaning wipes and followed with using the protective wipes. The hard surfaces looked as good as they would in a new car. They were perfectly clean and shiny...and stayed that way until the first speck of dirt was detected a day ago. Now those are the kind of results I can handle.

My latest love of wipe is the Clorox disinfecting wipes. I've used them on occasion to clean the kitchen counter top, but recently I decided to begin using them daily to finish off the clean kitchen before bed instead of using a reusable rag as I always have in the past. When cleaning the refrigerator a few days ago, I used the Clorox wipes and the job was SO much easier. My latest effort was to clean the microwave. I can't tell you how quickly I was able to clean the appliances than the time it formerly took. 

You may be reading this, laughing, wondering why it's taken me so long to figure out the best products to achieve the best and easiest clean. I'm just glad I'm finally figuring out some of the best tools for the routine jobs I have around here!

I'm still in the hunt for newer, better products to make this part of life easier. My next goal: finding the perfect vacuum cleaner.

In the meantime, I'll continue investing in a variety of wipes to wipe out all our dirty messes :)

Encouragement, A Blessing

Today, I am grateful to fit in clothes I haven't worn in a while. Although I'm a good way away from my goal weight, I'm thankful the Lord has heard my prayers and helped me research and implement an effective plan for getting healthy (and returning to a healthier weight).

Receiving encouragement from the Lord is such a blessing...

The Church at Corinth

In my quiet time, I've been reading in I Corinthians. When I came to Chapter 2 and read about the Holy Spirit, the passage struck me in a deeper way than it had previously.

Although I recognize that the Holy Spirit is a person of the godhead, I've always thought of Him more in practical terms. That He serves the purpose of teaching, reproving, correcting and training us in righteousness as we read the Bible. That He helps us understand Scripture. That He prays to God through Jesus what we do not even know to pray. That by the Seal of the Holy Spirit we know we belong to Jesus. I've thought of the Holy Spirit primarily in terms of His function. 

When I read I Corinthians 2 this time, the words settled in on me: "Who knows a man but the spirit of the man?" Even though I know that God sacrificing His son, Jesus, and giving us the Holy Spirit is so we can be in a personal relationship with Him, I have only thought with mind and heart of God the Father and Jesus the Son in relational terms. It dawned on me while reading I Corinthians that intellectually I see the Holy Spirit as relational, but practically, I see Him in terms of His practice and function.

My point is that for the first time I grasped with my heart that we have the Holy Spirit from the Father because only the spirit of God can know God fully (Just as only the spirit of a man can fully know a man). God the Father is offering us the most deep and interpersonal connection we could ever know by having His Spirit within us. He could have stopped with the sacrifice of His Son. He could have stopped with giving us His word, the Bible. Our God wanted more than that, He wants more than that. He wants the deepest level of intimacy in relationship with us that is possible. The only way for that was for Him to give us His Spirit. There is no other way to know Him deeply. 

What a treasure we have to have a God who is so interested in being close to us. What a treasure we have to be indwelt by the Spirit of God, to be able to know Him deeply. How vulnerable that makes Him to being hurt or grieved by our sinfulness. For me, this is a new level of appreciation and gratitude for God and who He is.

Good Eats

Matt has been a good sport lately as I've made some fairly radical changes to the way we eat for dinner. In an attempt to cook and eat more healthy foods, in more reasonable size portions, I've had some concern I'd be asking too much of him. He likes the way I cook. Of all the things I do around here, it seems that's his favorite. 

My goal has been to make the food we eat radically healthier than what we've eaten previously without sacrificing taste. So far, it really hasn't been as hard as I expected. The supply of fresh fruits and vegetables helps tremendously. I'm hopeful wintertime won't present a significantly greater challenge, though it may.

Since moderation is the key word, I am not completely cutting out chocolate, ice cream or fried foods. I simply have a goal to consider such foods a "special treat" that we can partake of on occasion. My goal is once a month. We'll see how that goes. 

In the meantime, there are still some foods in the frig, freezer and pantry that don't meet the new goals. Over the weekend, I came up with a way to use some of the less healthy supplies in a moderate fashion. Inspired by a recent commercial advertising garlic bread pizza, I came up with this: 

It's a slice of Texas Toast with sauteed mushrooms, peppers and onions, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and sweet Italian sausage. I must admit, it was delicious.

After serving Matt a meatball sub the next night (I did not partake), he said, "You've been hitting it out of the park all week." Here's to hoping I continue to find good recipes as I search...

True Style

One of my good friends here in Maryland is a photographer. She mentioned shortly after meeting her that none of her pictures at home are in frames anymore. She loves photos on canvas.

We've frequented her and her husband's home, so I've looked at all her canvas pictures. I see why she likes them. 

One of my favorite sites is Shutterfly. I've ordered photo books and prints, but that's about it up until now. Recently, I ventured out and decided to check out what a photo on canvas would look like. 

I admit, the way some pictures are cropped for certain size canvases there isn't enough room for the image to wrap around the sides and still look good. Since I don't plan to frame my canvases, I had to choose photos carefully. 

After a little thought and consideration, I ordered this: 

It's larger than it appears (16"x 20") and looks perfect in our bedroom. Matt loves it!

Thank you Scrivener Camera Works for taking the shot and Hannah for the inspiration!

The Four Seasons

The latest book I've been reading is The Four Seasons of Marriage by Gary Chapman. He also is the author of the Five Love Languages. Let me just say, I'm enjoying this one. 

It seems to me a lot of people get married without having a clear picture of what to expect. Often couples struggle because they don't know or understand the purpose God has for marriage; they don't realize they should expect difficulties and challenges in their relationship; they haven't learned how to respond to those challenges when they happen; nor have they learned how to cultivate and maintain a good marriage. 

Often it is an unwillingness to adjust and change that continues to feed conflict in the relationship and sometimes causes a marriage to spiral down until both feel hopeless and give up. Chapman's book explains the four seasons of marriage detailing the emotions, attitudes and actions of each stage. 

He helps couples assess the season of their marriage and offers strategies for moving their marriages into the seasons of Spring and Summer. So far, I've read about the seasons and have completed the assessment. I'm looking forward to reading about the strategies he suggests to help couples stay in Spring or Summer most of their married lives. 

Check it out...

Marvelous Marinades

These are my favorite Lawry's marinades so far: 

Both are fantastic with steak. 

If you try it out, be sure to marinate the meat overnight, turning once mid-way through. For the Balsamic Herb marinade, I cut a slit in the side of a NY Strip, stuffed it with some blue cheese, marinaded it overnight and grilled it. It was fantastic!

If you're not a big fan of blue cheese, neither am I. The cheese was not too strong for this dish and it tasted great.

When I used the Signature Steakhouse marinade, I didn't do anything extra to it. Just marinate it overnight, turning once, then grill it. 

I've tried other marinades, but only one was as good as these with the meat I used. Unfortunately, I can't remember the marinade! I only remember the meat was pork chops. I think it may have been this one: 

They have marinades for chicken, veggies and fish as well. Give it a try and see what pairing you like best!

Brand Snob

Like anyone else, I want to spend as little as possible when I shop. If I can get the same quality product for less, I'm all for it. In some cases, though, I find I'm a brand snob. 

In the past, I've tried the store brand and found it to be lacking for some foods. That experience has led me to become extremely preferential to certain brands. 

The main brand I used to be a snob about was Kraft. For salad dressings, barbeque sauce and cheeses, I only wanted Kraft. That is still the case; however, I must compromise on occasion due to stores only carrying Sargento for some kinds of cheese.

Now, I find I've added another brand to the category of brand snobbishness...

Yep, it's Quaker! 

Some of the products I like are pictured (granola, oatmeal and Oatmeal To Go bars), but I also like their granola bars and brown sugar cinnamon squares cereal (and this from a girl who hates cereal!).

I admit, for certain individual items there are other brands on my list: Daisy sour cream, Mahatma rice, Mott's apple sauce, Oscar Mayer bacon, Yoplait yogurt and Pace salsa.

My latest love of brand? Lawry's marinades. YUM!

At present I believe I have about 8 bottles in the pantry...