Works for Me Wednesday - Helping Verbs

I learned this little diddy when I was in the sixth grade and it helped me all the way to high school when we were stilll learning the same thing. My teacher taught it to us to help us learn our "helping verbs." This has helped both my second and third grader this year as they have had to learn about helping verbs as well. In my best singing voice, to the tune of Jingle Bells, here we go! As my son says, "and a 1 and a 2 and 1, 2, 3, 4 hit it!"

Be (jing)

Am (gle)

Is (Bells)

Are (Jing)

Was (gle)

Were (Bells)

Been (Jing)

Being (gle)

Have (all)

Has (the)

Had (way)

Do (Oh)

Does (What)

Did (fun)

Can (It)

Could (is)

Will (to)

Would (ride)

Shall (in a)

Should (one)

May (horse)

Might (open)

Must (sleigh)

And for an added bonus, a little directional help for those of you who are trying to teach your kids North, East, South and West in order. Make sure they Never Eat Soggy Waffles. They are bad for you and taste yucky! :)

The Princess Teacher is off to get her Royal Family ready for the school day!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week ended up not turning out like I planned on meals. . .go figure. But we only ate out once! :)

Monday - Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday - Hamburgers and Cauliflower Bake
Wednesday - Turkey Chili
Thursday - Dinner with the gals; kids to eat grilled cheese and tomato soup with babysitter
Friday - Hansel's Camp-Out in the backyard; boys are going to be roasting out hotdogs and smores
Saturday - Breakfast for Dinner; Pancakes and Sausage
Sunday - Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 medium onion sauteed in 2 T margarine
1 can crm of celery
1 can crm of chicken
1 can crm of mushroom

3 soup cans full of milk
Cook 1 large bag of broccoli pieces in boiler, drain broccoli and cut up 1 roll of jalapeno cheese and put on top of hot broccoli. Add to soup mixture. Heat till hot. May be frozen.

On Saturday, we celebrated my son's Ninth Birthday and I made him the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake that Organizing Junkie Posted. It was very good. I am not a big cake eater but I thought it was good enough to meet my peanut butter and chocolate needs! the icing was the biggest surprise. . .pudding, peanut butter and Kool Whip. Surprisingly a great treat.

If I Had a Soapbox. . .This Would Be It

Have you ever had people coming over and the things that you were supposed to do last week or the week before suddenly became very important. We had small group at our house last night and I walked into the bathroom to realize that the towel rack had not been fixed. I beckoned my Prince Charming and Fix-it Man into the bathroom. He said do you want me to fix it or make it look fixed? I said, "Whatever it takes."

Sorry for the interlude here, but I think we do this in our life as well. We make things look good or appear to be fixed, but if you put a towel on that towel rack or lean up against it. . .guess what . . .the weight or pressure on the the towel rack sends it to the ground.

This is true of our married life, the way we interact with our kids, as well as our hearts that have been hurt. We spend a lot of money, time and energy trying to patch things so it will appear to be perfect. The fact of the matter is that you can patch all you want, but when anything that bears weight on that towel rack comes along, it will come crashing down. When the pressures and hard times come into that marriage (believe me they will come), that marriage will not be able to stand if you have been trying to patch it to make it look like it is fixed. Interesting statistics tell us that the first five years of marriage and about 5 years into the empty nester stage will try our marriages like never before. There will be more divorces during this time.

We need to do the things that will fix the marriage, that will repair our broken hearts and will send our kids to the next level in their spiritual being. This may mean that we have to give up some pretty hard things that are keeping us bound in chains. We may have to give up some of our selfish ways. Let me tell you from this only child. . .that ain't gonna be easy! I am the ultimate "only child."

I think one day when we face Jesus we are going to be reminded of all of the things that we meant to fix. Let's fix them today in His strength so that we will be prepared when the guest arrives.

Colossians 3: 12-14 (NIV)
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Menu Plan Monday

I am miles away from being caught up on work, home issues, and thank you cards but we have to eat dinner don't we? And what would we do without our handy dandy Menu Plan Monday!? You have transformed our life, Menu Plan Monday.

Monday -Chicken Packets my word Gretel has been having a fit to have these and I planned to have them on Saturday but chicken patties won my tired bones over., broccoli and cheese

Chicken Packets-
This is a tribute to my dear friend, Tanya who taught me how to make these. I miss you!

crescent rolls
1/3 package cream cheese
1 lb. chopped (I use my mini food processor) boiled chicken breast
couple of T of green onions
butter
Italian Bread Crumbs

Basically, you combine the chopped chicken, cream cheese and green onions, salt and pepper if you wish. You roll an 1/8th of your mixture into a crescent roll triangle. Sprinkle or dredge with butter and roll in Italian Bread Crumbs. They are a little salty if you mix too much so use according to your taste buds.

My seven year old loves to make these and has enjoyed making these for awhile. It is a fairly easy straight-forward recipe that is fairly healthy.
Tuesday -
Spaghetti and Meatballs (Night One) - my daughter loves meatballs and my son loves spaghetti, green beans and french bread
Wednesday - Hamburgers and Cauliflower Bake
Thursday - Chicken Pot Pie
Friday - Turkey Chili; crackers, cheese
Saturday - Race for the Cure; leftovers
Sunday - Hansel's 9th Birthday
Heart-Shaped Waffles or Peanut Butter Pancakes and sausage for breakfast
(Hansel's favorite food) Spaghetti (Night Two), green beans spiked with brown sugar and butter
and rolls

Funny Story: One evening I fixed, I kid you not, Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce out of a can with no hamburger meat or any added spices. I made some spaghetti noodles and handed it to eight year old Hansel on a plate. After he was finished oohing and awing after every bite he told me it was the best food I had ever made and he was going to leave me a tip! I laughed so hard I cried. I love an easy to please eater! :)

Clappy Shoes Hiatus Over

I did not know I was taking a break from my blog until it happened. Sorry about that. Every time I went to post something I just felt like I just didn't have it in me.

It has been a little wild lately. I know that many of you have experienced that dizzy, life is turning too fast to keep up feeling before. After the tree landed on the house, we have had a lot of extra To Do's in life. If you have ever read the book, Margins, just don't correlate that book with our family because we do not live life with a lot of margin. So when something that is not planned happens we just have to buckle our seat belts and hold on for the whirlwind.

So besides a continuation of the Arkansas Chainsaw Massacre we went on a marriage retreat in North Carolina. If you have never visited Asheville, North Carolina. . .you need to go asap. It is beautiful this time of year and it is a really fun town to visit. We went to Billy Graham's Retreat Center, The Cove. It was not only beautiful and refreshing, but there was some amazing food there. . .especially if you like Country Cookin' like me. Amazing Sweet Tea!! Oh, and I learned a lot about marriage as a pastor's wife. That was the point, right?

"Prof." Howard Hendricks and Chip Ingram were the speakers at the retreat. Chip Ingram founded Life On the Edge Ministries as well as Walk Thru The Bible. Howard Hendricks is a prof of a bazillion years at DTS and has been married 62 years! The tools they gave us for our marriage were awesome. Prince Charming and I have been to several marriage seminars before, but this one was exactly what we needed to go deeper. We have some invaluable tools and have had a time of refreshment so we are back in the saddle. I am thankful for the time away from the chaos and life's demands and I feel refreshed to be the wife that God intended for me to be.

Anyway, all that to say I am glad to be back to my regular posting and "normal life" with hopefully a little more husband/wife communication going on!

Menu Plan Monday

We are still on the mend from the after effects of Ike in Arkansas and another lightning storm that came through on Friday. I told Jonah to get off the ship because the seas were getting too rough. . .if you catch my drift! :)

Monday - Chicken Pot Pie.. . .love it because it is a one dish meal!
Tuesday - chili, crackers and yummy weight watchers cheese (what is going on around here!)
Wednesday - thaw out frozen lasagna, french bread, green beans spiked with butter, brown sugar and Worcestershire :)
Thursday - Grilled Cheese, apples and caramel dip
Friday - Crunchy Baked Chicken, hot buttered egg noodles, broccoli and cheese, crescent rolls
Saturday - White Bean Chicken Chili, fritos
Sunday - leftovers and small group

Have a great week cookin up some love in the kitchen!

Aftermath of Ike in Arkansas

My room with my bed pushed to the side.

What I discovered when I woke up.

I felt the dust and insulation from the ceiling and heard the crash before I knew what happened. It was a pretty scary night. It sounded like our house was being picked up and put back down like something out of the Wizard of Oz. My husband, the quick thinker, bolted up and said I think a tree hit our house. We darted out of bed and turned on the light to see a tree limb sticking right through the roof, nestled right above where I was sleeping. I never say, OMG, but that is exactly what I said. . .and I was really crying out to Him.The second of three trees that came down.

We gathered the kids in the living room and realized that the winds that were howling before we went to bed were really giving the trees a beating. Somewhere shortly after that, another tree came down on the top of the other one. It sends chills up my spine to see how close to death we came. We are so fortunate to have survived the aftermath that "Ike" sent in to Arkansas.

That is the corner where our bedroom is.

We are so grateful to our church family who came very quickly to our home to help us cut up all of the trees and get them off of our roof. We are so blessed by our God. A neighbor came over when we came out for the first time to see the damage and he remarked how he cannot understand how we were laughing and ok with all that had happened. It goes back to the sermon that Prince Charming had just preached the week before (which he is not allowed to preach again for a very long time). It comes from James 1: 2-4 (NIV)

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Some pics of our church family and kids who came to help.

We are forever grateful for the hand of God in our lives this weekend. I know that there are many more who will come back to their homes to just find rubble or water seeping through their most precious valuables and we are praying that God will touch you and give you His strength to persevere through this tragedy and possibly to consider it pure joy.

I Registered

(no, not to vote. . . I did that last month remember and I donated my organs and they did not even give me a discount on my drivers license renewal :)), but for a half- marathon today. What is wrong with me? I have been going back and forth to try to decide if I wanted to pursue it. With a little peer pressure, I registered forty five big ones! I am scared to death. Someone, anyone talk me out of this exercise sickness that has come over me.

Part of the reason I have been wavering is because I have some major shin splints that has stopped me from running before. The word on the street is that the pain from running will subside after I break a running barrier or a leg . . .whichever comes first. I am at four miles and I have not been able to break the barrier. I have to ice down my shins right after I run and for quite awhile after I run. I am going to persevere though. All two of you that reads this blog will see pictures of me at the half marathon on December 6th. . .possibly crawling through the finish line. . .but I will finish! :)

In honor of the little frog and my perseverance, I will re post this anonymously written poem:

Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl;

The one was wise, and a cheery soul.

The other one took a gloomy view

And bade his friend a sad adieu.

Said the other frog with a merry grin,

"I can't get out, but I won't give in;

I'll swim around
till my strength is spent,

Then I will die the more content.

And as he swam,
though ever it seemed,

His struggling began
to churn the cream

Until on top of pure butter
he stopped, And out of the bowl
he quickly hopped. The moral you ask?
Oh, it's easily found! If you can't get out, keep swimming around!

My pot runneth over!

Last week was my sister-in-laws wedding and I helped make the lasagnas for the rehearsal dinner - about 12 of the "no boil noodle" lasagna recipe I posted yesterday. I felt like I was in a catering business! It was really fun though.

The menu was Italian. We served kind of a Greek salad (ok, not so Italian. . .but yummy), amazing green beans made in the crock pot, lasagna and Parmesan bread. We had little bowls of rosemary garlic seasoning, olive oil and Parmesan cheese to dip their bread in on each table.

It really was quite the night. There were beautiful white lights on the porch wrapped with toule and real ivy from the yard. It was a beautiful night, the weather was PERFECT for dining outside and everyone looked like they had a great time.

I am so thankful to have married into a wonderful family! My pot really doth runneth over. . .and my in-laws are not my enemies :)!

Psalm 23:5 (King James Version)

5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Psalm 23:5 (The Message)

5 You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.

Now, that's what a call a blessing! I hope your "pot runneth over" today!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Homemade Pizza topped with pepperoni/bell peppers/onions/tomatoes, etc.
Tuesday - Biscuits, sausage and gravy and a game of Rummy with the kids
Wednesday - Chicken Fettucini Alfredo - you will not believe how amazing this stuff is; well you might if you look at the ingredients; my hubs and I made this earlier in the year and it is really good
Thursday- Chicken Caesar Salad - I love this stuff!!
Friday - possibly a date with my Prince Charming; otherwise we will be eating grilled cheese.. . .Prince Charming, you don't want to just eat grilled cheese do you? :)
Saturday - Chicken Pot Pie
Sunday - Taco Salad

This is a lasagna recipe that I made last week for my sister - in laws rehearsal dinner. It was REALLY good and it is really easy to make. . .except when you are making 8 of these! :)

Lasagna

(this is one of my favorite recipes and the best/easiest lasagna ever)

1 lb. bulk sausage

8 oz. small curd cottage cheese

1 egg

1 lb. grated mozzarella cheese

1 jar (32 oz.) Ragu chunky garden style spaghetti sauce

8 oz. sour cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Make meat sauce by combining sausage and spaghetti sauce. Create cheese sauce by pureeing cottage cheese, sour cream, egg and Parmesan cheese in blender. In greased 9 X 13 put enough meat sauce to cover bottom of pan. Layer UNCOOKED noodles, 1/2 meat sauce, 1/2 cheese sauce, 1/2 mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering again ending with mozzarella cheese. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 1 hour until cheese is brown and bubbly.

I usually make two batches of this to freeze for later or for a friend in need.

It's pretty bad

when life has gotten in the way of my blogging! You know there are things that can wait and blogging isn't one of them! :) I am at my in-laws in the midst of madness and confusion. I made 8 very large lasagnas today, made some really cool luminaries and am rearranging furniture without trying to be "the bad guy." Hard and fun times!

I will post pics of how hot I look in my dress next week. . .minus the sucking in that I will be doing and tripping over my 3 inch heels! Should be interesting!

Ok, worry about me!

The week is underway and I realize that I cannot even put together a menu for the week because it is so crazy. Between visits with friends for my birthday and "the wedding" I will just be winging it. I have great hope of fitting into the dress after this week's "slim menu."

Family, here are the options for the week when you are hungry:

• frozen fish
• chips and salsa
• yogurt
• tuna fish crackers or sandwiches
• cheese tortillas
• frozen vegetables with cheese
• Ramen noodles
• popcorn
• Two cans of Chef boyardee
• hamburger helper in a box

I think that's it. This is pretty sad, isn't it? Family, make sure to take your vitamins, you are going to need them.

Don't Worry About Me

The only thing I have posted this week was my menu. Does that tell you anything? I can definitely tell that we are out of the chute now!! There has been so much going on between work, home schooling the kids, church and home that I think we have gone mad. I have been exercising and eating healthier too which takes a lot of brain power to stay on target.

You see, my sister in law is getting married in a week and I have to fit into this dress. If I don't, she said that I have to wear a corset. I have to get into that dress. I am not wearing a corset.

Must go to bed. . . I am beginning to feel like I might go eat a big bowl of ice cream.

Love,

Menu Plan Monday

This is a huge birthday week for my family. My birthday is on the 5th so I expect lots of ecards! :) If you want to read something morbidly funny, read my post from last year about my birthday.

That's all I ask . . .just an ecard from my friends. Prince Charming, you are not off the hook with just an ecard though. I will post my list on the fridge or I will email it you if that is more convenient! ;) Ok, back to my menu planning.

Monday - Roast, potatoes and carrots in the crockpot; using Marie's Easy Slow Cooker Recipe
Tuesday - BBQ sandwiches, coleslaw and beans. . .momma going to run tonight!
Happy Birthday, Brian!
Wednesday - Elders Meeting and the kids and I will chill out at home with omelets
Thursday - marinated lemon chicken, brown rice and broccoli in the steamer with shredded cheese
Happy Birthday Moms!
Friday -

at my in-laws for Birthday Bashes!! We are going to have a "Cheetah Themed Party" (like the design, not the girls) at Gretel's (7 years old) request. I need to get myself together. Any ideas are welcome! I am really excited though because I have bought some fun gifts for her that I know she will LOVE.

Saturday - coming home from in-laws and probably eating there
Sunday - Happy Birthday, Gretel!! I think she would like to eat salsa all day. Still not 100% if we are doing anything outside of celebrating with family this year. I am a big birthday basher, but I think this year my limit is one per child. We will see though. I am always pulling stuff at the last minute.
We may just have a taco salad, salsa fest today! :)

Being Chased by God

The Wild One!

We found "the surrendered one" studying the Bible on my bed.

Yes, this is a boy cat but we were lacking "boy clothes" obviously.

I have been going back through my study that I did this summer with an awesome group of ladies in my community. It is by Mary Kassian and it is called Vertically Inclined. To sum up the study in my own words, it is about your relationship with God and how it goes through various stages and series of peaks and valleys.

There were quite a few lessons that I missed and it was such a good study I thought I needed to go back in and fill in the blanks. In this particular lesson that I was going back through today it talked about how we often ask, "why" when we have trials. She goes through all of the great heroes of the faith and had verses to back up the times that our Bible heroes asked, "Why?" As I was doing my study, my silly cat was walking though the yard and I was reminded of when they first came to our house. Really bare with me here through my ADD moment.

There are always going to be those, "Why" moments in our life. For instance, right now I am going through a job change. My hours are going to be cut down to half of an already part time job. My question is, "Why, Lord." Mary Kassian says that we should not just ask "Why me" but "What now, Lord." Not the, "What now, Lord?" where I have my hands on my hips, shaking my finger at Him screaming, "What now, Lord!" but what do you have for my life now Lord. How can You work through this situation?

Back to my cats. About two weeks before Christmas I found these two cute kittens outside my door. I had been asking my husband for a cat for Christmas. He could not believe two weeks before Christmas there were two cats outside the door. Of course, I squealed in delight and ran to bring them inside because I knew this was God answering my little Christmas prayer. :)

The cats had two different reactions to becoming part of our family. The first little kitten was so funny. We (my daughter and I) ran outside to get him and he ran for a just a split-second and then flopped down on the ground as if saying, "I surrender, just take me in. . .pet me and make me your own. Please dress me up to your hearts content, but please do not give me a heart attack by chasing me around anymore."

The other was a little more difficult to catch. First, he ran under the car. Of course, with my expert cat skills I grabbed a stick and played with him to try to coax him out. To no avail, he would play for a second with my cat charmer and I would try to grab him and he would get away. He was so lightning fast. I wish I recorded myself trying to catch that cat. I chased him around and around that car.

Finally, after giving up for awhile I went over to talk with my neighbor when the cat came strutting over to me. I interrupted the conversation rather abruptly (while my neighbor looked on in horror I do believe) to try to catch the cat again and he ran up the tree in her yard. Right as he got about 5 feet in the air I finally caught him. He was trying to scratch me and get away. He was madder than a hornet and as wild as can be. I ran him over to my house before he clawed up my arms and put him inside my house all the while exclaiming how I caught the cat and was so proud of myself.

I reminisced sort of happily today as I saw "the surrendered cat" walking through the yard. I wish I was like him. No not hairy and fish-breathed, but surrendered. I wish I was not that wild one kicking and scratching all the way home. I wish that when God chased me that I would give up quickly and say, I know you have good plans for me. Please take care of me like I know you desire for me to be taken care of. No, I have to be caught and soothed into submission. The Lord is still trying to tame my wild heart, but I think He got a little closer today. Teach me your ways, o Lord. Help me to know that Your plans for me are good. Tame my wild heart.

Menu Plan Monday

And we're off! The first day of school. The races have begun. . .the gates are open and we're coming out of the chute!

And we have Menu Plan Monday to start off the race.

Monday - Chicken and Dressing in the crockpot, crescent rolls and green beans

Tuesday -
snack 100 calorie pack crackers or cookies
lunch - leftovers and Capri Sun
dinner - Chicken Stir Fry with brown rice

Wednesday -
snack popcorn and water
lunch - turkey and cheese wrapped in tortilla on George Foreman
dinner - Wet Burritos from Happy to be at Home/refried beans

Thursday -
dinner - leftovers or breakfast for dinner (pancakes or eggs and bacon)
To Do: put beans on for tomorrow's dinner

Friday - friends coming from Texas; Yee Ha!
snack - popcorn and water
lunch - turkey sandwiches, Capri Sun and 100 calorie crackers or cookies
dinner - Beans, fried potatoes and corn bread

To Do: cook roast for tomorrow's meal;

Saturday - BBQ, French Fries and Cole Slaw

Sunday - after church - eat lunch out to get my friends back off to Texas :(

Next weeks lunch to remember: pepperoni and mozzarella wrapped in crescent rolls
Back to School Story for your reading pleasure! :)

A Back to School Story for Your Enjoyment

This is my eight year old now. . .going on 24!!! This is a story about him just three years ago.
My son, now going into third grade took me for a loop the first day of kindergarten. We lived in the Big D at the time. We had a 45 minute commute on the toll road to a very nice private school. He would go two days a week, but we paid the price of a college if you ask me. I felt very good about our decision to send him there because he was on track for learning Latin in the third grade. You know the basis of our language might be helpful for his career as a doctor. He could be the next Doogie Howser, MD. You never know.

Let's rewind a couple of years, it was the very first day of kindergarten for my first born. I do have to tell you we rolled in about 3 am from a family reunion the night before. I stopped at Kroger to get some frozen waffles about 2:30 am just to make sure we had a great breakfast to get his day started off right. . .in what like 3 hours? Are you catching on to what might happen here?

I took him to school that morning. I have pics of how adorable he looks in his cute little private school uniform. By the way, all they accept as clothes are Lands End, but we were in seminary for pete's sake. Who has extra money for Land's End?

All day I wondered how he was doing. I wondered if he was getting along with the other kids and making friends. I figured I would pick him up and get an amazing glowing report at how well he took to the new Latin vocabulary words and that he was a natural.

I started on my way to get him. I was in the line with all of the other pimped up cars and I saw smoke spewing out of my 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee. (By the way, I have one for sale.) The smoke was pretty thick and I thought I better move this puppy out of the car line before we all explode. I pulled to the side, cut the car off and called on my trac phone to get help. My hubby started making the trip to rescue the family.

In the meantime, I still needed to pick up my son, so I walked across the parking lot to get him. I am sure that he was expecting a car, but all he had was me so I walked in the school to get him. His teacher found me quickly, and said, "Are you Hansel's mom?" I said yeah a little haggardly, but still expecting the praise report to come gushing now. She said,"Hansel had a little trouble today. You will need to talk with him at home about some of the things he did today. He taught all of the other kids "potty" words like poo poo and pee pee during lunch." I said I was so sorry and I would definitely talk with him at home and we would straighten this out.

I steered him away from the teacher and back to see if I could get my car and child under control. Right before I escaped into the parking lot, the "Head Master" stopped me. He said, "Is Hansel your son?" I am thinking, no. . .he is a neighbor's kid and I am just picking him up for today. I gritted my teeth and said yes. The Head Master said, "We had a few problems with him today and he will not be able to go to this school with this kind of behavior." I apologized and said, "We will straighten this out." He said that Hansel's teacher left for a few minutes and he had to check in on the class and asked that the class quieten down a little. Hansel blurted out, "You're not the boss of us."

No!!! This is not my child. The Head Master was actually quite ticked off about this little five year old telling him that he was not the boss. I don't know where he gets that kind of attitude??? :( So I told the Head Master, "Talk to the hand." Just kidding.

I was pretty much in shock at this point. Hansel has a lot of energy and sometimes gets a little ahead of himself, but I had never known him to be downright disrespectful or rude. I am not sure what was wrong with him. All I knew was that my car had just about caught on fire, my first born child's first day of kindergarten was a disaster and I was having to patiently wait for a ride home. I felt a little delirious. Several people stopped to see if I needed help and really hitching a 45 minute ride at that point did not sound appealing with someone I did not know.

Finally, hubs came to pick us up and I cried all the way home.

So, if today is your child's first day of kindergarten. . .lower your expectations just a hair and take it from me . . .it will probably not be this bad.

New Year's Resolution Revisited

I was thinking the other day. . .I wonder if I have accomplished any of my New Year's Resolutions and I am glad that I posted them. I am revisiting and going to highlight what I have accomplished thus far. I still have 1/2 month of August till December to get the other ones accomplished! The proof is in the pictures!!!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

2008 New Year's Resolutions

I am blogging on this basically for my own accountability and reminders of what I am working on! It never hurts to share your deepest passions with all of cyberspace when you need a little accountability. Cheaper by the Half Dozen started this blog topic and has some great resolutions if you need help thinking of something. :)

I am reminded in a post by Wellblog on the subject of New Year’s Resolutions. “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”—Prov. 16:9 (NIV) I am keeping that in mind as I think of all that I want to do this year.

She also added in her post that they are doing a Bible study curriculu m (Faithlink Dec. 30, 2007, copyright Cokesbury) and it had this quote: “While a lot of people who make New Year’s resolutions do break them, research shows that maki ng resolutions is useful. People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions.” (Quote by John Norcross, a researcher at the University of Scranton).

Spiritual Goals: How do you measure closeness with Jesus? My only guess is that you look more like Him each day. That’s the goal. The ways that I might attain this. . .
1) Consistent Quiet Time – my time is before bed because I usually hit the hay before hubby; It has been better this year than in a long time. . . not perfect, but on the right track
2) Memorizing Scripture with my family through Awana
3) Praying without ceasing

My vertical relationship will impact my horizontal relationships: reaching out and ministering to others

Family Goals:
1) More Time with my Hubby (You know . . .time)
2) To play with my kids. . .you know to get down on my hands and knees in the floor and play. . .they don’t want presents, they want my presence!! That is going to be my reminder this year. Presence not presents! I am still working on this. . .the other day I taught them how to play rummy which is much more enjoyable than Chutes and Ladders!
I was dugout mom for Gretel's t-ball team this year. That was a lot of fun.

3) I would say to clean my house better. . .nah!! Not important, right!? Maybe I could get a house cleaner in 2008! Woo Hoo!
4) Continue to pray and seek the Lord for wise counsel on our school decisions for next year. Decided to home school both this year. The Lord provided my sweet friend to tag team home school this year. Thank you, Lor d!

5) Continue with my meal planning because they save everyone from chaos during the week. It also saves our family money when I am able to think ahead. Yay!
Who can meal plan with this crazy crew???

6) Take a family vacation somewhere. Celebrate our 10th anniversary somewhere tropical even if I have to decorate the bedroom like a rain forest! 
7) Remember my family’s birthdays and try to get a card to them on or before their birthday. We will start with family first and then work our way to friends. Baby steps!

Physical Goals:
1) Continue with my crazy exercise program; it not only benefits me physically, but emotionally, mentally as well as socially! Wow, now that’s a keeper!
2) Eat well. Look for healthy alternatives to my faves: chips and dip and cookies!
3) Drink water. Like a camel. I will look young when I am 100. Now that’s for thinking ahead!
4) Run or walk in at least one 5K like the Race for the Cure. . .possibly a summertime 5K as well would be fun. Yay! This is me at the end of the Tax Run in our town.

5) Look for ways to push myself physically-like buy a bikini and look in the mirror every day with it on. Never mind. . .erase that mental picture! 

Personal Development Goals:
1) Possibly take classes to get my teaching certificate back; I am studying for the Praxis to get my license back as we speak
2) Continue blogging at least 3 times a week.
3) Work hard and diligently at my job with Apartment Life. Look for ways to honor God and help others in what I do. Take every thought captive when working with applicants.

This is a pic of some of my co-workers. It's not too hard to be diligent with all of the fun that we have between work!

4) Garden this Spring throughout the fall. Very enjoyable. Very rewarding.

Looks like a wild year. And my God always brings on a couple of extras in there. My hope is that my security will lie in Him only this year. . .not things, people or any other distractions. . .only in Him!

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”—Prov. 16:9 (NIV)

Menu Plan Monday

We had a great Olympic Party on Saturday! We were originally planning for Friday, but I double booked myself. I made Swedish Meatballs and they were really good. My small group friends all made incredible things. We represented Russia, Sweden, Mexico (of course), France and Thailand.

Monday - Trixie at Farm Home Life reminded me to make Chicken Fajitas
Tuesday - hot dogs and homemade french fries from the gobs of potatoes we have around here
Wednesday - probably fast food; honey if you wonder where I am until Saturday. . .I will be at my moms; you are in charge of eating everything in the fridge and pantry.
Thursday - on your own
Friday - on your own
Saturday - on your own
Sunday - on your own
Monday - Happy Tummies had this awesome recipe for Honey Chicken Shish Kabobs

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 5 small onions, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces
• skewers

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken, garlic, onions and peppers in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (the longer the better).
2. Preheat the grill for high heat.
3. Drain marinade from the chicken and vegetables, and discard marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables alternately onto the skewers.
4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Turn and brush with reserved marinade frequently.

My Etsy Shop Experience

My Etsy Shop is finally up. I have had a lot of people ask me questions about Etsy since I started talking about it. Etsy is a place where all types of artists display/sell their crafties. There are so many things on Etsy and many of them are amazing. You would not believe the talent in this world. It is similar to ebay minus the fact that you cannot bid on an item and the items are all handmade.

When I thought about pursuing this Etsy experience I literally thought that I would craft some jewels, click some pics and pop them online. No, just in case you are wondering what all is entailed, it is not like that at all. It takes a lot of research and time. I read somewhere that it is not for the faint of heart and I do believe that.

Look at me, all I have is two items for sale and that was probably 30 man hours. My biggest obstacle has been my camera. It takes horrible pictures. It was a purchase that I was forced into when my last camera went kapput. I have read and read and done everything I can think of. Tomorrow I am going to a friend's house who is a photographer who can "shed some light" on this dilemma. No pun intended or maybe just a little one. :)

I have learned lots of terms: lightbox, white balance, macro and delete delete delete!!!

The other obstacles that I have faced are pricing, shipping and handling including setting up a paypal merchant account, as well as jewelry terms. Girls, I just buy a bunch of beads, some wire and start stringing them! I have had to go back and figure out what I have been using. This is really wild stuff. I am hoping to at least make enough to get my time back! :)

No, really the entrepreneurial wild woman in me is having the time of her life. The perks is that you get to think of creative displays and get to do your hobby and call it, "WORK." Waaaaahhh! :) Really, honey, I can't cook right now. . .I am working ;)

Dread!

What do you dread doing and you put it off until the last possible minute? Mine is dealing with the outside world. . .mainly government agencies. Isn't that awful? I really did not realize what a phobia I had of government agencies until I put this post together, but I really do. Yesterday was the most amazing day. There were several things on my to do list and I took them head on like a bull in a rodeo. I was proud of myself and I think my kids think I am a bit crazy.

My To Do List:

• Mailing UPS package: The hours for sending UPS packages are 8-9 am and 4:00 - 6:00 pm. That's it! There are no other times the darn place is open. Can you believe it?
• Getting New Drivers License after having lived here (in a new state) over 2 years!!!!!
• Going to the Post Office to mail several packages
• Going to the grocery store with my kids (and I use very specific coupons)

These are pit stops along the way:
I had to send two huge packages through UPS and the UPS lady was actually helpful and she said that my options were the following. If you have a phobia like I do, here are your UPS options.

1. They can pick up your package for a PRICE.
2. You can take it your UPS Store between the slivers of time that they are open.
3. The final option is to flag down a UPS driver and hand it to them.

You would not believe who I got behind (with my packages not taped, but my labels available in my car). Yes, I was screaming and raving and my kids were like, "What is it?" I said,"God loves me, there is a UPS driver right there." I squealed tires pulling into the bank parking lot and showed the guy my untaped packages and HE TOOK THEM FROM ME!

Mailing UPS package: The hours for sending UPS packages are 8-9 am and 4:00 - 6:00 pm. That's it there are no other times the darn place is open. Can you believe it?

I went into the Revenue office and I thought God had abandoned me for a short moment. After having to order my lost marriage license I thought I was cocky walking in with all of my paperwork all neatly folded. Nope. . .I could not find my birth certificate or passport. I had been carrying around my passport because I thought if the police pulled me over even though I had the wrong state on my license they would still be nice to me since they knew I was a US citizen. My logic is quite irrational when I put it on the screen, but hey I didn't need that passport because I remembered it just in the nick of time when I was about to give up and walk out on the drivers license.

I was so giddy at having found all of my documentation that I decided to donate my organs and register to vote!!! Yay! I even asked for a discount since I did all of that, but apparently there is no discount for such noble things! That's a shame.

Getting New Drivers License after having lived here (in a new state) over 2 years!!!!!

I was having such a hunky dory time after those two things I thought I would press my luck. No Whammies! I ramped the side of the Post Office Parking lot only to see a bazilion cars. Ugh! My blessings have just run out. I get out walk into the Post Office and no one and I mean no one was in there . . . just two jolly postal workers smiling at me. God does have a plan for my life!!

Going to the Post Office to mail several packages

Ok, the last dreaded, groaned about chore. Before I could do it. . .I had to gear up with some high energy, low fat Sonic food. I treated my kids to take the whineys away. It didn't work. . .my luck stopped there. They asked for everything in the store and were only successful on about three of the, "ok, just get it's."

My dreaded tasks are finally over. I do not have to fear being pulled over anymore other than the ticket I get for high speeds or going down one way roads that I might incur. Other than that, I am bracing myself for the next government agency encounter. I have zapped a little of the fear and dread though having one good experience after another.

Thoughts Everywhere!

Today, I have been all over the place with my thoughts so I thought I would track them on my blog. Stick with me here. . .

Woke up thinking about hub's XBox/Rock Band/Guitar Hero Birthday Party last night. Did he have fun? Was he really surprised? Did they keep my friend up all night who volunteered her home for the all guy party?

I found out he had a great time and yes he really was surprised. I finally pulled it off after 10 years of being married to the sneakiest man on earth. Yay!

My thoughts slowly went to the condition of the house as well as of my heart. Both in shambles. I have not done much to the house except make it worse, but I did do my devotions this morning. By the way, I have changed the way I say the time spent with God from "Quiet Time" to "Devotions" because although it is by no means quiet at my house I am still quite devoted to Him! :) He assured me that although I am not 100% loyal to Him He is still my Jehovah-nissi (banner) and His banner over me is love.

Through my devotions, I decided my in-laws sign business is definitely biblical because they make banners! :) Yes, a random, but amusing thought.

I moved on to my work thoughts. I have been working (telecommuting) with a ministry for several years and have discovered that my position with one of the metros (not my whole job) is indeed about to come to an end. My boss assured me that it was not something that I have done/not done it is more about having someone local vs. telecommuting.

Obviously, my thoughts are all over the charts with this. I absolutely want what is best for the ministry because this is something that God is doing a great work in and I want what is best for the ministry as well as my own life. Just like your kids. . .you just want what is best for them even if it means a little heartache along the way.

So, I have been trying to decide what the Lord wants from me in my work. Whatever it is Lord, have Your way in me. I have decided to get my teaching license renewed through either taking the Praxis or a couple of courses at a local college this year. Either way, I am looking at a year to decide the correct course of action. I have been thinking for awhile that I need to get my teaching license back regardless if I go back to teaching or not. I just think it is safe to have it close just in case something happens. After all, it is a shame to have a degree and not be able to use it if need be.

I have another post floating around in my brain but I don't have the umph to construct it. More to come though!

Love you and hope you are having a great week!

Menu Plan Monday

Are anyone else's kids on summer break making them a little loony? This is especially not a good sign since I am home schooling both of them this year.

Monday - hot dogs and watermelon :( Not much of a menu, but hey it's food. . .well sort of
Tuesday - Happy Birthday To You! Special birthday dinner for hubs;
No Hints and I will not be able to reveal what I make until after dinner besides hotdogs on Monday always make you appreciate anything you get during the week!
Wednesday - eggs, cheese and Canadian bacon with English Muffins
Thursday - We did not get to try the Sweet and Sour Chicken Packets on the grill; I will serve rice with this and maybe some egg rolls
Friday - Ladies Night at church; eating at yummy restaurant in town; family on your own
Saturday - Small Group Olympics Party; Need to bring something from a different country that is represented at the Olympics. . .does anyone have any ideas?
Sunday - Taco Salad

Recipe Update: Last week I made the most awesome potato soup. I guess I cannot really say that I made it because my Prince Charming helped, but I take credit since I found the recipe. It really was good and you should definitely try it if you like that kind of thing. I made cornbread and salad to go with it.