Parent job description :-)

There is an autistic young man at kiddo's school. He is somewhat engaged with the world and from what little I have seen him he seems like a likeable young man. Whenever he sees me in the hall, he pretty much always says "who's mom you are?" Yes, that's the syntax, yep, as accurately as I can record it. I always say "I'm kiddo's friend, not his mom" or "I'm the mom to three cats, and the friend of kiddo." The autistic guy has no reason to know better; he's never seen kiddo's mom at school and probably will never see her. After all, she doesn't even know how to get to kiddo's school without my getting her directions...arrgh.

But I AM a parent, and so is hubs. We have poured thousands upon thousands of hours into kiddo, and at least six figures worth of money to educate and care for this precious cargo God put on our doorstep eight years ago.

So I think we qualify for this job description. If you are a parent, or just play one on TV like we do, you should read this. God appreciates what you do, even if you feel kind of ignored or unappreciated at times. Remember that, okay? :-)

Not self hypnosis

Just a challenge to me and to everyone. I have been suggesting to kiddo that they think of three good things that happened to them today (or any day). Kiddo has a helluva lot of pain from their life, but things to be joyful about as well. This isn't an attempt for any of us to ignore the very real problems and seemingly insurmountable obstacles put before us at present, but to recognize and acknowledge the good things that are happening too.

Three good things:

1. hubs fixed the garage door, and very promptly
2. after kiddo works out hard, the brain chemicals are such that they are very nice to talk with for about twenty or thirty minutes...I cherish that time. (then right back into the abyss, but I know it and recognize the pattern, at least)
3. cheese bread with garlic is really yummmy on homemade wheat bread in the new toaster oven!

I dare ya...think of three good things about today. Bet you can! :-)

A variation on the meatball recipe

In the paper today, I saw a variation on the meatball/grape jelly/chili sauce recipe.

They used cranberry sauce. I would guess you might want to use the jelled kind rather than the whole berry, unless you want chunks of cranberries floating around in the sauce.

They also added a dash of cumin to it.

Sounds pretty good to me...we'll have to try it for the next potluck. And on a totally unrelated note, pad thai is calling...it's been a long while since I've made any. Perhaps I'll go searching for new pad thai recipes, but the New York Times one has served me well for a long time. Just so darned easy.

Life's hard...

...God still loves me. Doesn't feel good at all right now to say the least, but I still have faith. Sometimes I don't know why I do. I just do. There is still much to be thankful for.

Also an important post, but not mine...

This kind of goes with this. Helpful and important advice. If you read the first one, this one goes hand in glove. Written by her hubby.

Very Easy Broccoli Soup

This is a version of soup I saw on the "Living Like Daniel" Yahoo group. I rarely if ever stop by there, but this recipe was quite useful. Of course I changed it...*L*

Heat up a couple cups of broth, a can would probably work just fine, or half of one of those quart asceptic containers.

Then cook around sixish cups of broccoli in the broth. I think florets are best, but you could just use chopped broccoli too, I imagine. To me, this is a perfect use of maybe a pound or so bag of frozen broccoli florets.

Puree a can of white beans...cannelli, great northern, whatever. In this case I did not drain and rinse the beans, so you might want to use low salt beans, or not add additional salt depending on what your sodium needs are.

Once the broccoli is cooked, dump in the white bean puree, and use some salt (if needed) and white pepper. I guess you could use black pepper as well, but I like white pepper for cream soups.

Then puree the whole thing. I just use a stick blender for this right in the pot.

Add a cup of cheddar cheese. I wouldn't use the nonfat cheese, but you could use 2% cheese if you wanted. Probably sharp cheddar would have the best effect, but I used what I had instead.

Nice and very easy.

Christmas food...

We're dining with friends...and bringing

Grape jelly/chili sauce meatballs

Pecan cobbler

Cranberry Cake

Orzo Salad

Banana Nut Bread

that chocolate pecan candy (under "classy looking gift" if I remember correctly)

and a Goat Cheese Gratin with Yukon Gold potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach, and cohja (sp?) cheese. yep, that was the challenging one that we hadn't done before, from the current Rachael Ray magazine. I'm not a huge RR fan, but the recipe sounded cool...and I liked the magazine, I'll admit it...

all these recipes are on this site if you are looking for them...if you can't find them lemme know and I"ll look for them with you! :-)

What kind of Christmas tree are you?

You Are a Minimal Christmas Tree

You're not a total Scrooge, but you feel no need to go overboard at Christmas. Less is more, and your Christmas reflects refined quality.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

This is a very important post

Read by thousands. Hey, she has a potty mouth sometimes, but this could save someone's life that you know. Read this. Please.

depleted

Warning; this post might be a good one to skip over.

The last few years have really taken it out of me. My reserves are low and my anger is often high. Feel pretty non-understood, not that this is a word. I know God understands, but a human face on that would help. I'm not saying this to get a comment out of anyone...I'm saying it more to be real and to acknowledge my feelings as being at least somewhat legitimate.

Several weeks ago when talking to a long time friend I mentioned something in an aside about the number of miles hubs and I drive every day to take care of kiddo (100 minimum) and somehow the amount of money we spend to pay tuition, gas, etc., came up. It was what is for us a huge, overwhelming number that leaves us gasping for financial breath every month, and frankly sinking beneath the waves quite a few of them. They were really surprised about both the mileage and the number. Somehow that felt really hard...like not even our close friends understand what we are going through.

People talk about vacations, buying cars, etc., and frankly I feel so left out. I am tired of a seventeen year old TV and a refrigerator that isn't working that great. I am tired of a roof that needs replacing pronto.

But Lord, you must have some kind of plan for me, and some kind of peace for me. Help me keep discovering it.

And my apologies to anyone who actually reads this post. Consider it only an honest cry of sadness (like what, Psalm 88 I think it is?) and hopes for the Psalm 89 after it.

I know we are making a difference, but it is still excruciatingly hard and so very lonely many, many times.

Please don't take this post the wrong way. I'm grateful to God anyhow. Take it more as maybe a weak example of how anyone can be honest with God even when things suck and still be loved and accepted. Sure am glad about that last part. Or maybe it's an honest statement that might help someone else at the holidays, the time where stereotypically all is supposed to be wonderful and you might not feel quite that wonderful today.

If you're where I'm at, maybe this will help.

And if you read this, don't stop there, I can tell you from experience. Read this, too. Pardon the french, but you can't tell me that the psalmists didn't have a helluva lot of problems, too. I am comforted by that realization.

Major yummy...and majorly rich

I had a special request from kiddo to make Pecan Cobbler. This is a very rich recipe. I have seen a bunch of different recipes like this on the 'net, but I would use this one because the oat flour makes a big difference. I did the oat flour in the food processor because I have been told that doing it in the blender can scratch up the inside of the blender if it is plastic (oatmeal being all exfoliating and such). ;-)

Personally, I would probably bake it a bit longer than the hour timeframe, but watch it carefully, of course. I baked it an hour and it was a wee bit runny. However, it flew out of the pan at the church potluck, and kiddo gave it a seal of approval. Of course, kiddo would rather I left the crust out entirely. But then it wouldn't be cobbler, would it? :-)

Kiddo wanted me to get vanilla bean ice cream to go with it, but hey, that doesn't really work with a potluck. So whipped cream it was. I'll bet cinnamon ice cream would be good as well.

Not what I expected

Today was the first time I sang before a mic in my life. And I lived through it. Actually, I wasn't scared. That was surprising in and of itself. Next time I'll ask for a different monitor mix, but hey, in music city, I'm more than a little self conscious.

God was gracious, because I didn't know I could do that. Years ago, performing on my instrument before hundreds or (once in a while) more than that was fine with me, but singing was not something I wanted to do in a small group. But it was okay. I think worship was not as scary up front as I thought it would be. Yay God.

Apronage for Sale

Well, I have finally posted some aprons for sale on my etsy site.

Lots more cut out and ready to sew, so you'll see lots more soon including some very cute holiday ones, if I do say so myself. Just right for Christmas dinner, and shipping is really fast on these since they go right in a nice big envelope.

Thanks!

Yummy, classy looking, and easy gift

Well, waiting on customers to need additional product (believe me, I made lots of it today), but I took a small break and made a special treat that I think will be a classy gift.

I think the name is unfortunate, but the candy is gorgeous and works great.

I didn't go as precisely as they said with the "checkerboard". I bought some Ghiardelli for the chocolate (next time I'll try the bittersweet as listed, but I used semi-sweet and you'll probably like it just fine unless you want to go a little further up the "adult palate treat" scale. For the white "chocolate" (as we all know, this isn't actually chocolate) I used Baker's white chocolate which I broke in half and laid on its side in the pan in a random pattern with the semi-sweet chocolate.

A couple toothpicks held together was just fine for the swirl.

My experience though was that the stated time was too long for toasting the pecans. Check them earlier to ensure that they don't burn.

Be sure to use the salt. It adds that last part of the "sweet salt crunch" trinity. I used kosher salt, which worked just fine.

Neat and easy gift that looks very classy.

Melting ice

No, it didn't snow here and the ice storm we often get later in the season is NOT early.

Here's something in case it helps anyone else, really briefly before I get back to the holiday onslaught...

There is someone who has helped me a fair amount this year. Not a real conversant person, rather detached. But I didn't let that stop me from trying to say thanks. The last time I saw that person I gave them a candle and said how much our family appreciated their help this year.

The person really did come alive at that point...got a joyful look on their face and animatedly conversed with me for a good while, making their appreciation known clearly. My guess is that they are not thanked often, and this made a very obvious difference in their life. I have to admit it was very surprising to have them react in that way.

I left our conversation feeling not only glad that I had so obviously blessed them more than I had thought, but also thinking of others that I wanted to bless and thank as well.

If you know someone that you don't think of as very engaging, don't let that stop you. You just might end up being surprised, as I was...and pleasantly so.

hard

Kiddo is still working toward something that we have given up hope that his mother will do what is needed to get it done.

Truly, I pray their heart isn't broken over this. So much pain and broken promises already in their young life. If it happens, it will be a miracle from God. We are staying out of it...at least right now.

Don't have time to look it up, but...

...there is a psalm that goes with that Joel stuff I posted a while back. At least I think it's a psalm. Joel talks about God restoring the years the locusts have eaten. The psalm in question basically says...please, Lord, give us as much blessing now as we have had trials and sorrow for the last few years.

Please, God? I'll love you no matter what you do, but pretty please? thanks

The race is on...

After waiting a while, I did actually get that new account. They had purchased a competitor's products right before I called. Hubs said "didn't you feel intimidated when you saw the other stuff in the store?" I said "no, I figured as quickly as they answered my call to gauge their interest, they knew they wanted my stuff instead." It's kind of an old account, actually, but enough of that...this is a public blog. I ain't going into that here...but these guys are the good guys...

When I brought my first order in there Friday, they actually applauded as I came through the door. I figured someone famous came in behind me...after all, this is Nashvegas! But they were welcoming me there.

They sold a very significant amount of product in the first business day, and I have already had to restock with a bigger amount of stuff. And a third of the stuff I brought over is already spoken for with one customer. Yikes.

This could get good...and also quite tiring. But a good kind of tiring.

The owner went out of their way to let me know how happy they were to have my stuff in their store. That was super cool and not what I expected. Usually it's just business, ya know?

So if I don't blog much for the next month or so, you'll know why... ;-) Lord knows we need the money. It is really, really hard to make ends meet, because kiddo's school bills are so very high. God will provide, somehow...

As sucky as things have been as of late, it is nice to have some positive stuff going on, and I am grateful.

short, sweet, to the point...

the answer's right here

Today's potluck

First of all, if you have a potluck or a hors' de ouevre type party coming up, and you have NO time in your busy schedule just like myself, you should consider the easiest meatball recipe on earth. Three ingredients, and two of them are available at Aldi, which means that the cost involved is low. This is by no means my original recipe, but you should try it anyway.

Here goes...
Buy four bags of mini meatballs at Aldi. They'll run you less than 8 bucks and you won't even have to make them. Also grab a jar of grape jelly there--the 32ozish size.

Then run over to your local K-Roger or similar store and buy a couple bottles of chili sauce. It's right there next to the ketchup, and generally available in a super cheap store brand.

Get out your crock pot and dump the meatballs inside. The new plastic liner bags are fab for a crock pot and will make cleanup positively heavenly.

Then mix the jelly and chili sauce together in a bowl to get the lumps out, and pour over the meatballs.

A few hours on high, and your creation will be ready for the masses. If you have an at-work lunchtime celebration, for example, just plug it in before you start the day and things should be bubbling merrily by lunch time.

I also took the Cranberry Cake and the lovely Orzo Salad.

Thanksgiving on a deeper level

Darn it if that John Piper character doesn't usually speak to me in a major way. I had a very stressful family situation earlier this year and a message of his just happened to be on my mp3 player that next morning as I recoiled from the "kryptonite" moment that had seared itself on my brain from the deep wound that had been dealt.

=====================
"O hear this, all you who grew up in homes where there was only charge after charge after charge against you, and almost never an encouraging word. Hear this, all you who are so burdened by your own self-indictments – who seem to be wired to bring constant charges against yourself with oppressive and paralyzing effects. Hear this, you who rarely if ever say a positive, praising, thanking word, but criticize and murmur and grumble and gripe and complain till no one wants to be around you. Hear this: Romans 8, especially verse 33, is God’s remedy, God’s medicine, God’s cure for the paralysis that comes from charges against you – whether from yourself or from other people or from Satan, and for the ugly, sinful side effects of being a cynical, self-absorbed, whining, critical person.

The remedy is the utterly undeserved, freely given grace of never being charged successfully with any fault before God. Who can make any charge stick against God’s elect? Nobody? Let yourself feel the force of that freedom! Feel the clean, clear, morning air of: All charges dropped. You’re in a courtroom. You know you are guilty. You are awaiting a terrible sentence. Your future is over. Then, to the gasps of the courtroom, the judge says, "All the charges against you have been dropped." This is not meant to make unbelievers in this room comfortable on the way to destruction. It’s meant to help all of you love the one who bought your freedom."

=======================

At any rate, here is his Thanksgiving meditation, reminding me of how strong and mighty and powerful it is to be weak, dependent and empty sometimes. Ah, the mystery and contratiction faith is to those who observe our lives...I just hope I don't muddy the waters too much so folks can see the clear picture despite my many failures...

========

Ganging Up on Gratitude
The Bishop and the Atheist Warn of Too Much Thanks
A Thanksgiving Meditation

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By John Piper November 21, 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are days of strange alliances in evil. That is what evil has always done. Remember how Pilate and Herod were adversaries until their common abuse of Jesus knit them together? “Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other” (Luke 23:12).

That’s the way it is with the bishop and the atheist. They are united in blasting the power of God and the cross of Christ as putting poor Christians in the pitiful position of permanent gratitude.

The atheist is Christopher Hitchens who just published the book, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. He recently debated Dinesh D’Souza, a fellow at Hoover Institution at Stanford University. In the debate Hitchens said that those of us who believe in the God of Christianity are “condemned to live in this posture of gratitude, permanent gratitude, to an unalterable dictatorship in whose installation we had no say."

The bishop is John Shelby Spong, the retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. In his recent book, Jesus for the Non-Religious, he blasts the miserable condition of gratitude that the cross of Christ has produced for centuries.

What does the cross mean? How is it to be understood? Clearly the old pattern of seeing the cross as the place where the price of the fall was paid is totally inappropriate. Aside from encouraging guilt, justifying the need for divine punishment and causing an incipient sadomasochism that has endured with a relentless tenacity through the centuries, the traditional understanding of the cross of Christ has become inoperative on every level. As I have noted previously, a rescuing deity results in gratitude, never in expanded humanity. Constant gratitude, which the story of the cross seems to encourage, creates only weakness, childishness and dependency.” (277, emphasis added)

What can we say to this ganging up on gratitude?

To the Atheist:
Permanent, unalterable gratitude to an infinitely glorious Creator who loves us is what we were made for. The fact that we had no say in our creation is what creation means. It’s also what birth means. Neither God nor Mother Nature gives anyone the choice to be created or born. There is a lesson in that. We are dependent. That’s not debatable. It’s just the way it is. But if you embrace the reality of dependence and follow it all the way to the free gift of salvation through Christ, it is not condemnation but liberation. It does not feel disempowering to be called a “fellow-heir of God" (Romans 8:17).

To the Bishop:
“Yes,” Bishop Spong, “‘a rescuing deity results in gratitude.’ That’s true. We cannot stop the mercy of God from doing what it does. He has rescued us from our selfishness and its horrible endpoint, hell. Our hearts cannot stop feeling what they feel—gratitude.

You say this encourages “weakness.” Not exactly. It encourages being strong in a way that makes God look good, and makes us feel glad. For example, Jesus said to the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul responded, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. . . . For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9). So his dependence made him stronger than he would have been otherwise. He is strong with the strength of Christ.

You say this “constant gratitude” produces “childishness.” Not really. Children do not naturally say thank you. They come into the world believing that the world owes them everything they want. You have to drill “thank you” into the selfish heart of a child. Feeling grateful and saying it often is a mark of remarkable maturity. We have a name for people who don’t feel thankful for what they receive. We call them ingrates. And everyone knows they are acting like selfish children. They are childish. No, Bishop Spong, God wants us to grow up into mature, thoughtful, wise, humble, thankful people. The opposite is childish.

In fact the opposite is downright cranky. C. S. Lewis, before he was a Christian, really disliked the message of the Bible that we should thank and praise God all the time. Then everything changed. What he discovered was not that praising and thanking made people childish, but that it made them large-hearted and healthy. He said, ‘The humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds praised most while the cranks, misfits and malcontents praised least.’ That is my experience. When I am ungrateful, I am selfish and immature. When I am overflowing with gratitude I am healthy, other-oriented, servant-minded, Christ-exalting, and joyful.

To the Atheist and the Bishop:
You both seem to assume that the affection of gratitude is puerile and unsatisfying—something we need to grow out of if we would be deeply joyful and useful people. Presumably you feel that way because, in your experience, being self-sufficient and being thanked is more satisfying than feeling dependent and thankful. I have tasted this pleasure you seem to prefer. It is the pleasure of power—the pleasure of being above others so that they must give you thanks rather than the other way around.

This is what Jesus warned against when he said, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors” (Luke 22:25). “Benefactors”—people who don’t want to say thank you to others, but like it when people say thank you to them. Your discomfort with gratitude—your sense that it is an unhappy and dissatisfying disposition—is not auspicious for your souls. It is very dangerous.

May I humbly invite you, and others you have influenced, into the lowly ranks of the dependent, thankful, happy, children of the living God on this Thanksgiving Day. There is great grace. Great forgiveness. All-supplying mercy. All-satisfying Beauty. Inexhaustible wisdom. It is all in Jesus Christ. And it lasts forever. May we say together, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable Gift.”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© Desiring God

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God. Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

Cranberry Cake

This is FAB. My friend Lynette made this for a gathering a couple of years ago and we were all hooked. So long as you're not opposed to butter *L* you'll love this.

Cranberry Cake

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 t almond extract
2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2/3 cup walnuts or pecans

Beat eggs with sugar until light in color add butter and almond, beat until smooth. Add flour until just combined. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 45-50 min. til done.

Because I can't find frozen Cranberries, I buy them at holiday time and freeze my own

The show went well

Thanks to you fab peeps who helped. About an average total which considering high gas prices and a competing show (Junior League, what WERE you thinking????) is quite good. Didn't sell a lot of expensive stuff, just "cobbled a lot of crumbs together and made a cake" as I used to say as a sales manager. Sold a LOT of aprons though...ten if I remember right. That was cool. There were a couple that I could have sold several times over if I had had backstock. Many thanks to all and thanks God for the moolah, you know we need it major league.

Let's get it started!

Biggest show of the year starts in about eight hours. Yep, it's late and before some shows, this one included, I'm always up late getting ready and feeling as if I missed the mark on lots of prep. But the fact is that I have a ton of product and have worked very hard and prayed just as hard that the show goes well. I have friends and hubs helping me in the booth tomorrow, and I am blessed.

So even though I'm tired, I'm PUMPED! Let's get it started in here, let's get it started in here (do you hear me singing that tune? driving my fellow peeps crazy? well, you will soon!)

Thanks, God for the good attitude going into this, and for all the ways you have helped me. I don't say that enough.

Kiddo stopped by the house tonight after going to a play at their school of their dreams with hubs. Kiddo was in a really tender and nurturing mood. It was good. Nice to see in the midst of all the pain, grief and anger they have to deal with. I am grateful.

Okay, off to a few hours of sleep and an early departure to the show. Ciao...

I think this may be a random character generator... *L*

...at least in my case, that is. If you use this for your blog, don't just paste the html in as the fine print has a spam generator. However, I have noticed others with lower "ratings" so perhaps there is a small nugget of accuracy. Don't overstate the size of that nugget, though...*L*

As one friend said "I'm just glad mine didn't say 'Preschool Board Book'". Mel, that would be EXTREMELY inaccurate...

Peaceful weekend...

...hubs, kiddo and I left town and rented a cabin for a couple of nights. It was an awesome place. It had two decks, a wraparound porch, jacuzzi, hot tub, fire ring, and NO PHONE!!!! It was probably a year old or so...and the owners had really shown a lot of attention to detail. It was perfect for us. No financial hangover either; for what we got, it was an outstanding deal financially.

It wasn't much of a vacation time wise, but it is the most we're going to get at least for now, money wise. Hopefully we can go back there soon.

Didn't do a single productive thing (well, I did plan for shows, but I wasn't TOO bad.) *L* Realistically I shouldn't have taken the time off, but I did anyway.

Here are some photos...since they're hawking their cabin online they probably won't mind. Just message me if you want more info on where it was.

When we got back, hubs' stress peaked badly...it wasn't fun. Kind of wiped away some of the rest we had. Unsettling. But I still really enjoyed the weekend.

Bumper Sticker

Haven't done a bumper sticker lately...

how about

"I believe, help my unbelief"

that would be good about now. :-)

Last Night's Potluck

The lovely orzo salad...

...and rice casserole

Except I put cheese on it, so it wasn't that healthy. Mea Culpa

amen to that...

Chuck Grassley wants to know about tremendous, scandalous waste in these 501 c 3s. I don't usually comment about this kind of stuff on the blog, but yeah buddy, go get 'em. They richly deserve the scrutiny...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107/ap_on_go_co/televangelist_probe

What M-cat wants to look like...

...If Emily (otherwise known as M-cat for "mom cat", everyone's mom including mine) received all the food she wanted and is constantly begging for, she would look like this. And not the kitten on the left, mind you.

Saying goodbye

to hopes and dreams.

Hubs and I have set aside something we have longed for...not for us, rather for kiddo.

It's no longer prudent to chase it. We see it clearly.

I still have faith, but I also have a ton of unbelief on this one.

Lord, please still our heavy hearts on this one, and comfort us somehow in spite of a deep pain that we feel. You can still do a miracle.

I'll still follow if you don't, though. There are other, smaller miracles happening every day and I just have to pay attention to them right now. My mourning on this one is deep, but it's clearly the right thing to do.

Somehow we will put this in perspective, someday. I pray we will, anyway. Tragic.

Something good happened...

it was fun. A new account. Will be a good one, Lord willing.

He's a bad, bad man...

The last few days I have felt like poo poo. I fell asleep around 4 after taking kiddo home from school (yawning all the way and feeling yucko) and then slept straight through like the dead till the morning.

So hubs came home and was looking for food to eat. I had made a lovely chicken noodle soup which was in the fridge. He had partaken of a bowl the day before and liked it a lot. I also had a nice large cooked chicken breast tucked away for easy consumption.

But he saw a container of guacamole and sat down in front of the tube with the last handful of saltine crackers we had.

Four or five saltines don't get one far when they are using guacamole and crackers for dinner...so hubs went scavenging in the pantry. He found some peanut butter crackers, individually wrapped in packets of six...he won these for a golf "prize" at a tournament.

Necessity being the mother of invention, you can guess what he did next.

Strange thing was, he LIKED the combination.

And he talked ME into trying it.

And I liked it too. So weird. I must find a healthier way of doing this.

He is a bad, bad man...*L* I told him he was a sick freak. But what does that make me? ;-)

Still feeling oh so exhausted...

Hopefully lots of rest, good meds, and good food/exercise will help.

Stuff I do...

Here's some slideshows that explain stuff I do and stuff I make...

Easy Peasy Cookies

One box cake mix (pick your fave flavor)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened (i.e., one stick)

1 egg

Mix everything together till nicely blended.

Split dough in half, wrap in saran wrap and chill in fridge...an hour is good.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, flour or powdered sugar an area to roll the dough out, or get a couple sheets of wax paper or parchment paper and roll the dough out between them for less to clean up.

Roll it to 1/4 in thick and then cut out into shapes, decorate them with sprinkles if you want at this point, and then bake on a cookie sheet for 7 to 9 minutes depending on your oven.

You can ice them after cooling and put decorations on afterwards if you prefer.

Feelin' nasty

Hopin' I feel better soon.

Bugs

I have read this verse many times...

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm
my great army that I sent among you
Joel 2:25 (NIV)

and I read it with great hope, hope for restoration after so many stresses especially of the past two years.

But I didn't really focus much on this other verse in the chapter before this...

What the locust swarm has left
the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left
other locusts have eaten.

Joel 1:4 (New International Version)

Yeah buddy, as they say in the South, that is where we are at!

That doesn't sound like a great spiritual tidbit to chew on but it makes me realize that yes, God does understand the massive stress and seeming abandonment we have felt, and is promising to restore us. I'll take that...and grab ahold of it with a fierce grip.

"Wash Me" taken to a whole new level

Take a filthy dirty car window. Usually you'd scrawl a request for water and soap. This guy has a whole different, much more creative, idea...

Easy peasy pumpkin muffins...

One white or yellow cake mix
One can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix, just straight pumpkin).

I used the splenda reduced sugar cake mix and it worked fine.
I also added powdered ginger, freshly ground cinnamon, a dash of powdered cloves and allspice.
I added three T flaxseed meal for nutritional value and fiber, but obviously you don't have to.
Also, i would think that chopped nuts would be really nice, as would dried cranberries, cherries, raisins, or other similar ideas.

Mix together...batter will be quite thick.
Makes 18 muffins.

Bake at 350 for 15ish minutes.

Can't get much easier than that... *L*

This is also an extremely cheap recipe. If you bought the items from Aldi I think you would be hard pressed to spend more than around ten cents per muffin...or thereabouts. Cool!

We're thinking...

...that kiddo broke their hand. They punched a bowling ball (like usual) at the bowling alley, it's not normal but it's normal for them, ya know? It's par for the course to act up at the bowling alley if things aren't going well. Pounding the table, bowling balls, ball return, it's all stuff we're used to seeing. However, the kiddo seems to be in quite a bit of discomfort and then would only bowl a couple games during the "bowl for three hours for really cheap" special at the alley, complaining of pain.

Hope kiddo's mom gets it xrayed. Sure wish I could do something about it. Their neck is in a lot of pain too, hope eating pain pills is not the extent of the "treatment" for that...so far that's all there is on that one. Arrgh. Kiddo got hurt the other day, can't really go into it here, but kiddo did not have anything to do with it happening to our knowledge. Lots of stress...so what else is new? :-)

Anyone else need this post?

If you know me you'll know why I have linked to this post... ;-)

You'll even know why I linked to this one too... ;-P

Sushi Tutorial

"A Fridge Full of Food" (see link on side) posted a nifty sushi tutorial. I think I'll try this one more time...Thanks to this...

Tonight's potluck

...was moved to last night. Actually, our small group cooked and served the evening meal for a homeless shelter for families last night. We did a taco bar...we really try to stay away from spaghetti and lasagna because we know they get served those meals ad nauseaum.

I brought the rice and beans. I got some nice comments on the spanish rice. This is a variation of a recipe from simply recipes that is more kid friendly. I mean, what kid is willing to get chopped up onions and tomato pieces in their rice? Unfortunately, not that many, so here's my variation. Very inexpensive and tasty. The recipe doubles easily but if you need to feed a large crowd cook several double batches because a double batch is about all that will fit in a conventional cook's large pot at home. Now if you have a huge pot, all bets are off!

Spanish Rice

a few glugs of olive oil
2 cups of white rice
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Three Cups chicken stock (I used that nice concentrated stock paste, but bouillon or canned broth would probably be just ducky, watch the salt content, though...)
A scant cup of canned crushed tomatoes
A little oregano
Salt if needed/desired

In a large skillet brown the rice in olive oil on medium or high heat. Add the onion and garlic powders. Cook a little while to make sure the rice gets nice and toasted. This is important for the flavor.

In a sauce pan bring the stock to a simmer and add the tomatoes, oregano, and salt if needed. Add the rice to the broth. Bring to a simmer and then cover, lower the heat, and cook 15-25 minutes (based on the length of time your rice package says to cook the rice). Then turn off the heat and let the rice sit, covered, for 5-10 min.

Easy peasy!

Brush with fashion greatness

After my dentist appt (yay! no work needed beyond my cleaning!!!--that's a good one for me), I went to an uppity fabric store I hadn't yet visited. Fortunately there wasn't anything I absolutely had to have at that point, because it was up to $29.98 a yard for some stuff, and more for others. They had nifty patterns though.

I saw the great Manuel checking out...with a handler or assistant. That was kinda cool. Here's more about him...

But hey, par for the course in Nashvegas. I've worked with, sat by, shopped alongside, went to cross country meets week after week, with stars or folks who ended up being superstars, or their wives or exwives. Heck, even a very famous NASCAR driver.

And here in the Music City, we leave 'em alone. It's an unwritten rule. And I like it that way. They're off the road, they're at home relaxing or seeing their family, and that's how it oughta be.

I hear Nicole Kidman, known around here as "that Australian lady married to Keith Urban" (ha!) likes shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond in Cool Springs, and hanging out at Bread and Company in Green Hills. Apparently Keith and Nicole decided their main base oughta be here and just bought a bunch of land or a farm or something.

I just hope people continue to leave them the heck alone. You KNOW I will...

Hmmmm

All I can say is, it doesn't seem to get any easier, a big situation has happened we're dealing with. That's all I can say now. We had nothing to do with it, but we are dealing with it. That is a familiar situation. Not to sound corny, but I just keep asking God to take care of it and to help me have lots of joy anyway...:-)

Market

Guess I never posted about market. I try to cobble as many sales together as I can, but it is difficult with hardly anyone there. Three vendors just GAVE me stuff this week...that's a record. They hadn't been able to sell it. Of course I gifted them with some cucumber soap in return...

So many vendors have little to sell because of the drought. And it's too hot to sell scarves...and it's October! If there isn't a cold snap soon I won't sell them at all, crap...

Jekyll and Hyde, as "normal" (but it's not normal!)...

Yesterday morning I picked kiddo up at their abode to take them to school. Kiddo was pleasant, conversant, witty, nice to be around. Asking them a question invoked a response, rather than an outburst of loud and angry "I don't knows" or simmering rage. In this situation, kiddo makes me think "yeah, this kid really needs to be in a better school, and they could handle it."

But I know better.

After school the more predictable rages came again. This is "normal" for kiddo, but it's not normal in real life. A gentle question will get a "I don't know" in rage or a completely frustrated kid. I expect teenage angst, but this ain't it.

As I dropped kiddo off, they opened a zippered cooler to put a couple wrappers in it so they wouldn't be on the floor of the car (I didn't ask kiddo to to this, they just did.) The zipper didn't open easily so kiddo angrily attempted to basically rip the zipper open, trembling and raging. Somehow kiddo managed to knock a number of other things on the floor too, including my cell phone.

Told you, I know better. The second example is pretty much standard for this poor kid. Please, Lord, help kiddo get the help they need. They deserve it, and with health insurance it is easy to get now (kiddo's copayments are between $3 and $5, not exactly overwhelming...hell, I'LL pay 'em!) Sorry for the outburst. Lord, please deal with my unbelief, I still believe.

Tonight's potluck

In the refrigerator, there was leftover chicken, a couple turkey drumsticks, some celery, carrots, and some onion.

Sounds like a noodle soup waiting to happen.

So I put it in a large pot, added some water, some of that lovely chicken base (essentially evaporated / concentrated chicken stock), quartered an onion, cut up a few carrots, grabbed all the celery leaves and a couple of ribs and cut them up, and added bay leaves, parsley, italian seasoning, freshly ground pepper, and some of that light salt (hey, gotta control the salt around here). The turkey drumsticks and leftover chicken pieces are also simmering merrily.

Around lunch time or so (maybe earlier) I will cool it and take out any good pieces of meat, and put the broth in a large container and put it in the fridge. I'll come back after the school run and skim off the fat, and add some cut up carrots and celery, and diced onion, and I think a little lemon juice (which seems to be prevalent in most chicken soup recipes I've run across). Then, of course, the noodles.

Whether I like it or not I need to make a whole bunch of spanish rice too. When I asked my next door neighbor vendor at the market for some organic tomatoes and handed him some money, he brought me a huge box of tomatoes. Way more than I paid for. We're doing taco night at the homeless shelter next week, so I volunteered for the rice and beans.

To go with the spanish rice maybe I'll make some borracho beans. I have some lovely borracho bean seasoning direct from Texas, and I think I'll just take some canned beans, rinse them well, and add some of that seasoning and maybe a little beef broth. I have a nifty looking three bean organic bean blend that would look nice, along with some black beans smooshed up a bit. Cheese of course will make it more interesting to folks...so maybe I'll do that.

I have some lovely poblano peppers from another organic grower at the market and I can see them living quite happily in the rice, and in that chile relleno casserole I make (just click "recipes" and you'll see the post with that delicious and cheap recipe).

What would you do with ten grand???

Yesterday at church our pastor asked "what would you do if someone gave you $10,000?" He asked lots of kids to mention what they'd do with such a gift. You heard the video games, etc., kind of answers, but also a couple funny ones...

(14 year old kid) "I'd increase our food budget". (both he and his brother look well fed) ;-)

(13ish year old kid with nine, count 'em, NINE siblings) "I'd get my own apartment."

Me, I'd buy a fridge, fix my roof, and keep on helpin' kiddo. Oh, and I would like a vacation for Christmas, Mr. Santa... :-)

What would you do?

Save the celebrity children

Click here! :-)

Not entirely deserved; aka the cheese alert

A friend at church told me yesterday that I was a "rock" for having stood strong throughout the major disruptive events of our life in the past couple years.

Not really. Here's my cheesy phrase alert; you've been warned.

I'm clinging to THE rock. It ain't me. And strength must be defined by being extremely weak and knowing it, and trusting someone a lot stronger.

That does sound entirely cheesy; but it is something deeply experienced over the last stretch of time. Somehow it has become very real to me during this time. There really isn't anything else out there to cling to, and that's the truth. Wish there was sometimes, but honestly, there isn't.

Going through hell has made me want heaven all the more. And I am so grateful for friends who have encouraged along the way. Thanks guys...you are appreciated more than you know.

Thought the stress was over

but here we go again. Kiddo and my mom. Prayin like crazy.

Insane psycho people

have invaded our life. somehow I am still pretty peaceful in most cases, which is good. No real resolution is possible other than through the miracle of God, which is quite possible but is certainly nothing I have to do with. At peace with the inability to change things.

Crazy day...

Tons o stress. It has abated. Pray for kiddo. thanks.

Feeding the dudes meat, without going bankrupt...

...Here are things I do to satisfy the tastes of the meat eaters in my house. Kiddo is eating low carb a lot (thankfully not all the time) and between that and lots of exercise has lost fifty plus pounds as a result. Hubby is wanting meat items, too, of course. These aren't rocket science but maybe there's a few useful nuggets here...

*If at all possible have a freezer. If you can't afford a new one, try looking around for used. We found a full sized freezer years ago listed on an employee bulletin board at hub's work. $25. Seriously. It is ugly, but works like a charm. If you put it in the garage or basement (which is where ours is) who cares how it looks anyway?

*Shop the sales. I load up on stuff that is dirt cheap this week and freeze most of it.

*Be willing to do a little work. I bought whole pork loins for two bucks a pound, and cut them into nice thick chops (boneless, and less fat than other pork chops) with my electric knife. Took only a few minutes and I had around 32 boneless chops for about sixty cents each. With a few other ingredients, still a whole lot cheaper than a value meal...and of course far more nutritious! :-)

*Try marinades. This is good for lower fat cuts o' meat too. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, just some vinegar and oil, and some spices. Or be really easy about it and marinate stuff in readymade italian dressing. I recommend marinating in a double ziplock bag for good coverage.

*I do buy a fair amount of the closeout meat since I can freeze it right away. Has worked very well and is cheap cheap cheap.

*Frankly, another thing I do is buy stuff that I like that has no meat, like soy meat substitutes that are pretty darn good nowadays, or cook up a bunch of spaghetti with mushroom sauce that neither of the men-types complain about (heck, let's throw a few soy crumbles in that sauce too, or maybe a lot of them...*L*...but then again, don't tell 'em...). I substitute tofu for some of the ricotta and other cheeses in manicotti, enough cheese to get a good taste but enough tofu to really cut down the fat (low fat tofu in the asceptic paks is pretty good). Sneaky? Heck ya, whenever I can... *L*

The one thing I do NOT do is buy crappy cuts or fatty cuts. Boneless skinless chicken breast? Yep. Chicken quarters? I don't care how cheap they are, I rarely buy them. Regular ground beef? Naaaaah. 93/7 ground beef or turkey on sale? Yep, and I mix it with soy crumbles whenever appropriate, but don't tell the boys...:-)

Tonight's pot luck...

A Bisquick pie. Just go over to bisquick dot com and look over the impossible type pie recipes, and put one together. Don't bother to use their exact recipes, just mix up the eggs and Bisquick the way they say and add other stuff. I used eggs (use an egg and whites to cut down cholesterol if you want), drained a can of spinach thoroughly, and used cut up chicken, mozzarella cheese, and bacon bits. Bake according to their recipes. I used half a can of spinach per pie and made two...so one was available to freeze and use later. Be absolutely sure to drain the spinach thoroughly! I always used frozen spinach before but figured canned spinach would work for that, and yep, it does. They also have vegetarian ideas...and use the reduced fat Bisquick (well, I actually use the K-Roger stuff) if you like.

A couple of roasted chickens...hey, that was on sale. I marinated 'em in italian dressing.

Canned baked beans to which I added smoke flavoring, bacon bits, and some BBQ sauce.

Broccoli was on super cheap sale so I'm gonna shred the stalks and shred some carrots and make broccoli slaw...Here's a bunch of broccoli slaw recipes, grab a few and combine the bits you like into something groovy (that's how I plan to do it)...apparently broccoli is a lot more nutrient filled if you eat it raw, so why not! So long as I use light mayo so as to not obliterate its health benefits...;-P

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,broccoli_slaw,FF.html

Grabbing things through serendipity...

...yep, I'm always on the lookout for things that can be analogies, or speak to my situation, running them through the filter of discernment (hopefully!) along the way.

Today I saw a TV show (documentary) where an alcoholic took an entire bottle of tranquilizers. The person did it on camera. Days later in the hospital, after nearly dying, the person vehemently denied they took the pills, and blamed their mother, quite vociferously. Basically they said, "my mom must have slipped them into my drink." Yeah, right. Gee, remember your mom was thirty minutes away from your house? Gosh, musta been telekinesis from a remote location...;-P

The distraught mother, in a hospital waiting room, was told by another family member:

"She doesn't want to take responsibility for what she has done, so she needs to dump it on you instead."

Precisely. A moment of supreme clarity for my particular situation.

Always interesting

Who doesn't like to learn more about themselves, or have things confirmed that they already deduced? Thanks to Mel over at Praise in the Storm
http://praiseinthestorm-mel.blogspot.com , I went to Personal DNA and checked myself out. Here's their take on ole nashbabe...



You are an inventor.

• Your imagination, self-reliance, openness to new things, and appreciation for utility combine to make you an INVENTOR.
• You have the confidence to make your visions into reality, and you are willing to consider many alternatives to get that done.
• The full spectrum of possibilities in the world intrigues you—you're not limited by pre-conceived notions of how things should be.
• Problem-solving is a specialty of yours, owing to your persistence, curiosity, and understanding of how things work.

You are advocating.

• Being social, empathic, and understanding makes you ADVOCATING.
• Some people find being around others exhausting—but not you! You are energized by spending time with friends, and you are good at meeting new people.
• One of the reasons you enjoy conversation as much as you do is that you often learn about yourself while talking things out with a friend; you realize things about your own beliefs while discussing them with others.
• You have insight into what others are thinking and feeling. This ability allows you to be happy for others, and to commiserate when something has gone wrong for them.


They even gave me some recommendations...:-)

• While it's important to think about others, don't forget to take some time for yourself, and occassionally to put yourself first.
• Take some time to spend with a few close friends; although it's difficult to find people to trust, it's worth the effort.
• When you have great ideas, it can be hard to relinquish control, but it can also feel good to take the pressure off and enjoy someone else leading the way.

Today was market...

...and it was slow.

There was a lot more good stuff to it, however. My vendor friends and I had an important and helpful conversation that really helped us both, I think.

Hubs and kiddo were very helpful setting up and tearing down. Kiddo even said the night before "Do we need more time to set up in the morning? I can get up earlier if you want." Never mind that the kid is already getting up at 5:30 on Saturday mornings to help. I was deeply touched and said "thank you, that is so kind of you, but no, please don't get up any earlier."

Plus, I got an order for a custom apron from a regular customer. That's always fun.

I need a lot more stock for the booth, for wholesale, and for upcoming events. I also have a special project that needs a bunch of attention too.

Lots of work in the fall as usual...my challenge is to actually get some rest and realize that I DESERVE rest. Yes, that's not what the adults in my life told me when I was a kid, and it is deeply ingrained in me. But I DO deserve rest, darnit! Just need to learn that...

A dead giveaway

You know your life is too frantic and stressful when you put your shirt on backwards and don't notice for two hours. What a putz I am! ;-P

Commemmorating 200,000 Miles...

...our little green import (affectionately nicknamed "Kermit") has now reached its 200,000 mile mark.

We bought it from a pastor friend at 135,000, so I guess that means 65,000 miles have been piled on the thing in the last few years.

The major problem with it when we bought it was that it was the car of a fan of a vile NFL team. We exorcised that problem by applying an insignia of the correct NFL team ;-) which was meant to exorcise the demons of that vile team. *L* Oh, yeah, and we had to fix the AC. Compared to the first item of business, that was not a big deal... ;-)

The view out the front windshield is the most constant thing of my day...many miles...Kermit, I salute you! ;-) Could ya give me 50,000 more? Pretty please???

Ya can't argue...

with someone who's insane.

This is my problem. Hopefully I will be able to stay safe and secure both physically and emotionally. I have learned from some other situations that there's "no negotiations with terrorists."

'Nuff said. But what if they have hostages? I don't wanna be one, and I don't want anyone else to be one either...certainly not a largely defenseless person.

God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.