Friday, October 31, 2008

I fall over laughing every time I watch this!!

Hope you get a kick out of it too. We've been re-enacting this around here for weeks. Everytime we need a laugh one of us brings it up.

You gotta watch. Especially if you were ever tortured with watching Lawrence Welk.



Oh, and by the way, Happy Reformation Day!!!!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Yummy and Oh so quick!

Souptacular08


I have had a "hankerin" for some lentil soup lately. I keep the ingredients in the cupboard just in case I ever decide to make it. This week I finally did. I put it on my menu plan, and actually followed through.

I don't know why I put this off for so long. It's so quick and easy and DE-Licious!


Lentil Soup My Way ( serves 4)

Extra Virgin Olive oil (enough to lightly coat bottom of pan)
1 whole onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, peeled and diced
8oz mushrooms, sliced
1 box Vegetable stock (I buy the kind without tomato as the base)
1 1/2 c. lentils
2c. water
1T. tomato paste
1t. chicken base
1T. dried parsley
1/4t. thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Extra Virgin Olive oil
Parmesan cheese

Over medium heat saute onions until slightly translucent.
Stir in carrots, mushrooms and garlic and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until mushrooms are softened and onions are golden.

Add stock, water, chicken base and lentils. Simmer over low heat until lentil are tender (around 20 minutes).

Add parsley and thyme, taste for seasoning, simmer an additional 10 minutes.

Garnish in bowls with a drizzle of EVOO and Parmesan cheese. Serve with crusty Italian bread.

YUM!..makes me hungry for it all over again.

I'm a cook that never measures so I've had to guess on the measurements here. If you like your soup a little more soup-y add more water.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Home School Forgetfulness


We've done some form of homeschooling now for the past 5years (this is our sixth...time flies!) Every year I make the resolution to take more pictures. I want to take more pictures. I plan to take more pictures, but have I remembered to carry a camera? No.

Until now.

I thought I loved my camera. It was a good price and took excellent quality pictures. The batteries even lasted a long time. Perfect. So I thought.

The problem was with the user. See, it wasn't one of those tricky knows-a-special-moment cameras. Unfortunately it was the kind I actually had to pick up and use. The problem was I was always, ALWAYS forgetting it.

Then Hubs and I made a trip to the zoo (together! what a shock, he's usually working) and his camera somehow made it into my purse-even though neither one of us remembered to use it. When I realized what happened I left it there thinking I'd remember where he put it. He still hasn't asked for it.

The thing about leaving his camera in my purse? Now I actually use it!

I know. Brilliant!

His camera has found a new permanent home in the side pocket, the former lonely abode of feminine products we ladies use ;) Move over mini's, there's a new kid in the town! His name is Samsung.

The best part is this camera is smaller than my old one, uses less batteries (unless one forgets to power it down ...), and still takes pretty okay pictures. I now have pictures of all those places we go-even the happy accidental educational experiences: Like the day we went to the library and realized we were just in time for story time.


For more of what Works-for-Me visit Rocks in My Dryer.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

This is how we do it...Halloween



Or..maybe how we DON'T do it.

People are always shocked or surprised to learn we don't celebrate Halloween. Our young family never has, and never will.

What we do instead? Nothing. We go about like we do any other day. Sometimes we've made it a point to go somewhere just to get out of the house, but otherwise we do nothing. Except maybe talk about Martin Luther nailing up his 95 thesis.

I could go on and on about why we don't do Halloween. Maybe I even will.

You wanna know what gets me the most riled up? It's the fact that people act offended when they find out we don't celebrate Halloween.( I only tell if we're asked.) They raise their eyebrows at us, clam up and say, "oh." or completely forget and have to be reminded over and over again that we won't be participating.

I don't condemn those of you that feel Halloween is okay. I would never dream of pounding you over the head repeatedly with my beliefs. So please! Don't look at me like we're freaks because we don't trick or treat.

Recently someone told me to not think of Halloween as Halloween. Instead, we should think of it as a celebration of friends getting together and having fun.

WHAT?!

Can we really remove ourselves from the true meaning of all those things that embodies this day? nah..I dont' think so.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Kitchen Remodel

I was looking through my pictures today and found some pictures of the kitchen remodel. Sorry, nobody thought to take pictures of the living room.



First one: What the wall looked like before primer. I hated this wallboard. This looks especially bad due to the fact it's the area right behind the stove.





This next one of the kiddos cooking. Yes, we were actually cooking so things are allover the counter. You can kinda see what the walls looked like.






Last but not least is Oh-so-lovely Me painting the first coat of color. Doesn't really do me or the paint color justice,but you get the idea.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Every light in the ...

...blog is on. But no one is reading. Hmmm. Kinda makes the whole "blogging for me" a reality.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Stuck between a ...

rock and a...cold place??? Sorry that's all I can come up with for this one.

The weather has finally hit a point where I'm thinking, "It's time for some heat." We had to install a new oil tank so that was last paycheck's "freemoney." So while we've got a new tank, there's not actually any oil in it.

Luckily we've been having Indian summer for the past few weeks until Friday. It went from temps in the mid 70's (and humid at night requiring a little cooling) to needing heat the very next day. I used the plug in oil filled radiators while we were home, but since we went to mom and dad's last night I turned them off. We got in about an hour ago. At first it felt pretty good in here (compared to outside.)
The more I sit here though, the colder my fingers and toes and backside is getting.

Brrrrrr!

Hubs comes home tonight. I'm going to try to talk him into getting the oil tank filled now instead of waiting until next month. It's no fun trying to use these heaters. The floors are cold. He stays in a heated apartment through the week. He doesn't have to be here to babysit the house.

My fingers are stiff from being chilly and my nose is cold. I'm going to the couch to cozy up in a blanket.

Friday, October 17, 2008

The most DELICIOUS

Ya know,...not to toot my own horn but,..."toot toot."

I sure come up with some good eats.

Fridays are co-op days, and because they are busy, I try,when I'm on the ball at least, to have a quick meal planned for Friday evenings. I had been out of the habit of planning my meals, but after spending the last few weeks coming up empty of ideas at meal time, I decided it was time to start planning again.

This Friday's menu was Chicken Apple Salads. This has been one of our favorites ever since our first trip to Panera and they had a salad with apples on the menu.

Just as I was about to start I decided I wanted a different dressing. Some kind of honey vinaigrette sounded good to me, but I didn't know how to make it. I turned to the Internet and came up with 8 ba-zillion recipes.

Now what?

I did what all cooks do- I guessed. I looked at a few recipes, and thought, "I can do that."

It turned out to be the most delicious accident I've had for a while.

I wanted to take a picture of the salad....but I was sooo HUNGRY!!!!

Here's what I did:

Chicken Apple Salad

-1 chicken breast per person, cooked and chunked (I used only 2 v. 3 since we aren't big carnivores)
-mixed greens or your choice (we like spinach, and "early spring" greens)
-1 apple, cored and sliced into thin rings (we had Macintosh on hand)
-chopped walnuts (1-2 tablespoons per salad)
-Feta or Goat Cheese crumbles, 1-2 TBS per salad(we prefer the goat cheese for it's mild flavor)
-dehydrated onion flakes to taste (a way I sneak a little savory in and my Non-onion eater will still eat it)
salt and pepper to taste

Honey Vinaigrette Dressing:
I used a Pampered chef dressing mixer which has ounce markings on the side
and mixes the ingredients beautifully.

1 ounce Raw Honey (which according to google is roughly 2 TBS)
3ounces Olive Oil ( I used light instead of EVOO)
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. paprika
4 t. Balsamic vinegar
1-2 t. fresh lemon juice (we like things kind of tangy, use your best judgement)
Salt to taste ( I used my palm to measure...maybe a 1/4-1/2 t??)
Pepper to taste

Arrange Greens on plate, sprinkle with onion flakes, cheese, salt/pepper
top with cheese and walnuts
place 3(approx.) apple rings on top, ( I also used a squeeze of the lemon on top of the apple to add a little zing and prevent browning)
drizzle on dressing ( start with less, you can always add more)
top with chicken breast pieces
Inhale.

You can store leftover dressing in the fridge. The oil and honey mixture may become thick, just let it come back to room temperature and it should thin out ( or place in a mug/bowl of warm water to speed it up.)

Sorry I didn't take a picture. Maybe next time.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

My Confession

I'm the head and not the tail.
I'm above, not beneath.
I'm blessed going in and coming out.
I'm blessed in my basket and blessed in my store.
I am the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus.
He has chosen me for His own.
I am highly favored.

I am a winner not a loser.
I am saved, forgiven and whole.
I am of a sound mind.
I walk in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

I AM LOVED.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

This is how we do it

...all hands are in the air..." (10 points if you know this song.)

Have you ever wondered how other people do things? Am I the only wierdo that thinks about what other people eat, watch on tv, or clean their home with? I can't be.

In light of my curiosity about others, here is a list of "How we do it."

1. Food-
We eat as naturally as possible. I make most foods from scratch. I ALWAYS read labels (I have since I was pregnant w/ 10yo...11years ago.) I don't buy foods with MSG, "natural flavorings," high fructose corn syrup, or hydrogenated anything. Nope. The rare exceptions would be the occasional candy corn, or bag of chips...all things in moderation. Even the healthy stuff. 8P (j/k) I DONT buy pop tarts, fruitloops, Eggos, or pizza rolls. All that junk is ...ewww...it just makes me shiver.

2. Cleaning
I am a neat-o-holic.

My name is _ _ _ _ _ _ and I am a clean freak. (admission is the first step.)

Unfortunatly, I live with a house full of messies, so my stuff isn't always as neat as I like. I'm the kind of person that disinfects my tooth brush on a regular basis. I like things to be not only neat, but clean and sanitary. Hand sanitizer is in all my vehicles, my purse, and anywhere else I can stash a bottle in case of lack of access to soap and water. (For the record, I prefer soap and water.)

I make my own cleaning products. I don't use nasty harsh chemicals. In fact, I've hardly ever used the typical arsenal of cleasers. It used to be just comet, some bleach spray, and a little lysol for the floors. Now I blend baking soda, borax, vinegar, bleach and plain old water to make all my cleansers. I alternate between homemade and Arm&Hammer Essentuals laundry detergant (with a tiny bottle of T-d- for the emergency type uses..truly I can do without it.)

I love a freshly vacuumed floor. My dream is to own a Dyson, but Hubs is much too cheap to see my side of this. Frugal...yeah...lets just say he's frugal.

We do a daily tidy up and our deep clean on Saturday. We don't leave the house on Saturday until it's done, even if that means staying home all day.

TV
Okay, ...this is a long one. I'll make it short by saying we are currently watching 1 or 2 hours a day, in the evening at bedtime. I can't help the fact that I like to unwind before bed with a little boob-tube.

Our watch list is this:
Heroes (eery and creepy in a comic book type way)
PBS type shows, (nat. geographic, discovery, history etc...)
Food Network (we like this channel a lot but only DVR Good Eats. We just love A.B.),
Turner Classic Movies - I like that old stuff and my girls do too. We DVR what we want to watch and then view at our convenience.
We also love LOST (but, ...I need to check when the new season starts.) Occasionally we DVR something off another movie channel. Basically we LOVE our DVR. It's mostly what we watch.

Disney used to be a regular around here, but I find most of the shows to be utterly repulsive. Zach and Cody are obnoxious, Wizards of...says it all right there, and the rest is too mouthy or teenager-y (IMHO). Watching this channel is a rare thing.

Maybe I'll think of more later...Oh! I know..worship, play, drive...the list could go on and on.

Now it's your turn. Tell me about you.

Again

Okay, day two of the crabbies. Today I was aware and at least was fighting the feeling. What is with me?

Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow, I will spend some time soaking, pickling, and marinating in the Lord. I always feel better when I do.

In the meantime, want to know what I think is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world? The sounds of voices lifted in spontaneous (non-lead) worship. It's the way I imagine heaven to sound.

The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”

Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created
.”

-Rev. 4:8-11

Monday, October 13, 2008

Had a bad day...

(insert that parting music from American Idol here...)

I had a bad day yesterday. I really did. I started off just fine, with church and a family lunch, but then Hubs was home and didn't go to church or to lunch so we rushed home after we ate to 'spend some quality time.'

Lets just say that's when things went downhill. As soon as we walked in the door he was picking on 5yo and shoving his laptop in my face asking me to 'fix it.' Then he started yapping about finances(not that I hadn't handled them right, but rather like: there never seems tobe enough), and arguing with a credit card company. All of this without a proper hello. (Did I mention we hadn't seen him in two weeks due to work?)

All those things were enough to put me on edge (nervous), but then I read some news that took me by surprise, and made me all the more edgy (irritated). The day kept spiralling downhill until around oh,...11pm. Then I guess it started to go back up when it was finally bedtime.

I hate days like that!!! I hate even more that I allow myself to have them.

If I set my face 'as flint' when those smaller things start to build up, I can choose to have a better day. When I choose to let circumstances get the better of me, I usually end up totally blowing it. Yesterday was the later.

Today I woke up and felt clearer. Much lighter and ready to face the day.

I haven't' had one of those day in a while, don't like 'em, don't wanna repeat it. Nuff said.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Great News!

And don't I hate to be left out of the loop. I had to find out through myspace...
Gee thanks.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Boredom Busters

I may be in need of a few tips from some of the readers.

What do you do to keep from getting bored when the weather is too nasty to be outside? (that doesn't involve computer, tv, or bookreading?)

How do you stave off the winter blahs?

How do you combat the "I have nothing to do" days?

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Cure for the Common Cold

It's official. The first cold of the season has struck my home. 5yo was the first to come down with it. Sniffles, drippy nose, a touch grouchy. By day 3 I thought she was on the mend, just as I was starting to feel the worst affects of it. Friday night, she woke up crying.."It hurts, it hurts!" I didn't know what at first. She said it was her head, but wouldn't be consoled. Then the truth. Her ears were hurting. At 2am, in a dead sleep, all I could think about was relieving her so we could all rest. All of us were awake. She was pretty loud.

I tried a snuggle, warm air, ...finally I remembered the ibuprofen and ear drops I had squirreled away and the rice sock I had made. She eventually went back to sleep, but before long was awake again. We slept very little.

To make a long story short, we didn't do the ER (although it crossed my mind...middle of the night loud crying can push one over the edge). I bought some garlic ear oil, benedryl, and liquid echinacea/astragalus. Sunday morning she woke up humming.

My ears are a little touchy too. We spent the whole weekend in our jammies in front of the tv. Not much fun, but we got our rest and are feeling much better.

10yo hasn't had so much as a symptom, but I've been dosing her up with the immune supporters so she hopefully won't catch it.

I hate to be sick. HATE IT! This time I guess I took it lying down a little. I usually am very militant about prayer, positive confession, and HERBS. Next time...for sure.

Monday, October 6, 2008

I getta kick outta you!

"I get no kick from champagne, mere alcohol doesn't faze me at all..."

I do get a kick out of you. All of you. All of those in clicks and search query's thrill me. The ones I especially like are when someone specifically clicks in CC Mommy factory. That means they were here, looking for lil' ole me.

Besides that one, I get a lot of clicks on scripture quotes and references. Which truly thrill me the most. It means that other people are thinking about the same things I am.

Speaking of scriptures...there's this thing that this blogger does, that I simply LOVE. She does a picture and a scripture. I love that. No comments. Just scripture. I've done it a few times, but still...I just love that she does it too!

10 points to the first person who can give me another line of the above song. Think hard...and no googling!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Some Random Favorites

Raindrops on Roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings....

Okay so I totally just ripped of Julie Andrew's character in the sound of music. I can't help but think of that song though when I think about things I like. (Have I mentioned I think in music? only about a dozen times.)

So here is my randomly generated list of favorite things:
1.four years old
2. Followed closely by 5 years old
3. Then three years old
4. who am I kidding? babies are pretty darn cute too.
5.A hot drink on a cool morning.
6. sleeping in late and waking up to a comfortable day of daydreaming and jammies
7.food with garlic
8.a night sky filled with stars
9. talking to a friend underneath that night sky
10. worship so intense that I forget my feet are still touching earth
11.floating in a still, ripple-free swimming pool when I'm the only one in it
12. warm sunshine across my shoulders and back, making my hair feel warm and cinnamon-y
13.fresh tomatoes picked hot right off the vine and popped into your mouth.
14.digging in the warm earth then filling the hole with a plant and watering it until the soil grows muddy
15. singing in a room with great acoustics without worrying someone may actually hear me (the lobby of walmart is great, but the greeters always smile and wave so, I think they hear me...)
16. having my 10yo sing along in harmony
17. freshly fallen snow in the moonlight that no one else has walked through yet
18 walking through that fresh snow and breathing in the cold crisp air, daydreaming about spring, and looking up at that big big sky
19.Fresh sheets
20. sitting down to a long hot shower and letting the water roll over my head and face