Posts

Showing posts from January, 2010
Image
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23
Image
I was so strapped for time (and energy) before we left for vacation, this feature in my Everyday Food magazine was a life saver to me. It's called the "grocery list." The magazine provides five recipes for healthy week-night dinners, easy to prepare, with similar ingredients and a shopping list for what you need, right down to how many pounds of broccoli you need to buy. In essence, they do all the planning for you. You need only shop and check, shop and check the list... and as long as you like all the meals they plan (or are so busy, you don't even care), it works out really well. Note: The portion sizes are planned to be exactly how much you should be having. Therefore, we found them a little small. ;)
Image
When we were doing our Christmas shopping last month, I stopped to get Norah a cookie (and to get myself some caffeine in the form of a diet soda). Norah picked one with colorful sprinkles because it was "pretty." She's had the same cookie before and there has never been a problem. It was just so much fun for her to eat a cookie with sprinkles, she never paid attention to the taste. This time, however, she took one bite of it and said, "Yuck! This isn't as good as the cookies you make. I don't want it." I was so flattered by the idea that I make better cookies than Mrs. Fields, I confess, I couldn't scold Norah for wasting the cookie. I took a bite of it, just to check, and sure enough, I think it was true. My cookies are better than Mrs. Field's (or, at least better than Mrs. Field's sprinkle sugar cookies). Norah also said, "Next time, I want to get a cookie like the ones you make." Awww... my baby is growing up! She&
Image
Resolutions Revisited It's been about a month since I made my resolutions for 2010 . I thought it would be a useful, though somewhat painful exercise to assess how well I am doing so far. Let Norah play outside. Does a trip to and from the Jeep count as time spent outside? Sometimes Norah will drag her feet through the snow or straggle behind us and pick up a stick in the yard on her way back into the house... Does that count? Keep a garden. I think I should get the Christmas trees back into the attic before I plant or even plan to plant anything that will actually rely on me to grow. Listen to Scripture. I am often too busy getting the can of beans from the pantry and combining it with the chicken broth on the stove. It seems incredible, but I don't have the time to also grab the CD player from the dining room and the Bible CDs off the shelf in the living room to make it possible to listen to Scripture while I work in the kitchen... Norah often fetches ingredients for me,
Image
"Man. I wanted two cookies. I thought they were both mine..." "Norah, there were only two cookies. You get one. I get one. That's what's fair." She's thinking... Chewing... "I know! You can go get two more cookies and then... we'll both have two! That's fair, too."
Image
I hoard picnic baskets. The picture above shows the three picnic baskets currently in my kitchen... and I have at least two more elsewhere. There's just something so romantic about them. Anytime I see one for sale in a store, I have to pull my spirit away from it kicking and screaming, else I'll buy it. I start to imagine all the memories that could be made around that basket, what crisp salads and sweet baked goods I could pack it full of... and then I can hardly help myself. These baskets embody the things most precious to me. These baskets actually exist because of them: quality time spent with loved ones over food close to nature . We use all the baskets we have for storage in the winter and we pack a picnic almost every weekend from May through the end August. But, still... I don't need this many. I've never filled more than two baskets at one time (but that's a record I think I will strive to break). I really should fill at least one of them wit
Image
Image
The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size. -Gertrude S. Wister One of my favorite Norman Rockwell paintings shows a farmer in a bare, black, muddy field. It's dark outside and cold and very windy, but the man is huddled over a little, yellow crocus flower, shouting back to someone at the house, obviously excited about this first sign of Spring. I know exactly how he feels. Every year, when I see the crocus in our flower bed, before I can even help it, I shout to Norah, "Come and see!!!" After our color-starved winters, these lowly flowers are precious to New Englanders.
Image
Our neighbors got Norah a toy laptop for Christmas. So now, nights, we each of us have our own screen. It's a sight to see. We're a typical, modern family.
Image
Do you see him? We've kept the feeder full through these winter months. And, every morning, as if by appointment, we see various feathered friends. The sparrows hop around the snow-covered ground, then flutter away when the blue jay comes fussing. But, sometimes, I wonder, who's watching who? A few of them seem to enjoy watching us pick, pick, pick at our breakfasts, too.
Image
This picture represents two rites of passage; one for me, one for Norah. First, Norah was old enough to help me put out the Christmas village earlier this winter. She's wanted to help me for years , but she was never tall enough and her hands were never steady enough. The second, and perhaps the most noteworthy thing this picture represents is that I actually let her help me. I used to care about every little detail of this village. But, now, with two kids and so much going on, I don't have the time or the energy to worry where all the little people go anymore. There are always dishes to be done, clothes to be put away, butts to be wiped, so I yelled from where I was in the laundry room, "Put the lady carrying the packages wherever you want, Norah!"
Image
We met up with our local home school group at Andie's Bounce Barn . Norah had a fun (and exhausting ) time playing with friends.
Image
We're leaving today. We'll be gone for two weeks! Dwayne has to be in Orlando, Florida for the AHR Conference later this month, so we are tagging along with him, turning another one of his work trips into a mini vacation. We are driving the whole way, leaving early enough to take the trip at a pleasant pace. We have planned to stop in South Carolina to see my family. My parents, brother and sister will meet Avril for the first time! Dwayne's parents live about an hour away from the resort where we will be staying in Florida, so we will see them on this trip, too... a lot of them, actually. They plan to split the cost of a two bedroom suite with us, so they can stay at the resort, too! Norah can't wait to see all her grandparents! She can't think of anything else! I've set enough material to post while I am away, so keep checking in. There will be at least something new to see everyday. Enjoy!
Image
My family loves good food. And, after eight, going on nine years of trying to budget for meals to feed them all, I have figured out that if I don't provide enough good food at home, we will, ultimately, go out to eat in order to find good food, even if we really "don't have the money." Therefore, I am trying to make more and more things that will tempt us to stay home and eat. I have found that spending a little more on groceries in order to provide a restaurant-quality meal or two at home is well worth the higher grocery bill each month, since we stay home to eat and don't need any extra cash to cover those expensive restaurant tabs and tips. Even fancy entrees like steak and fresh fish are much cheaper when you prepare them yourselves. I recently made Seared Steak with Brussels Sprouts and Almonds . It was incredibly delicious and unbelievably easy. Dwayne and Norah both wanted second helpings of Brussels sprouts! It was that good! So, try this.
Image
Personally, I think many Klutz products are overpriced, but one exception to this is their book How to Make Pom Pom Animals . With this book, you receive everything you need to make several adorable pom pom animals: a turtle, a teddy bear, a butterfly, a bumble bee (shown above)... and many more. Kids don't need to be able to read to understand how to put these animals together. They need only follow the pictures numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. It's something even the youngest kids can do with or without you. And, best of all, when you have used up all the pom pom and google eyes they give you, you can keep the book and use it as a guide to purchase some of your own supplies and reuse the books' instructions to keep making more animals! I cut small pieces of magnetic strips (available in most craft sections or stores) and glued them to the back of some of our animals to make them magnets for our fridge. So adorable!
"She could easily be paid millions there to do what she does best: delighting Republicans and infuriating Democrats." - Mark Greenbaum on Palin's deal with Fox News.
Image
He tries to look tough, but notice: he's wearing a floral oven mitt and he has cake batter on his shirt... Oh no. I'm shaking in my boots. ;)
Avril's eating baby cereal.
Image
Nature is what we know Yet have no art to say So impotent our wisdom is To her simplicity -Emily Dickinson
"When the system fails, it is my responsibility," Obama said. Everywhere we look these days, we see "Obama." In news articles and reports, his name is almost synonymous with government itself. Contrast that with the time Bush (or any other president for that matter) was in office. We may have questioned how much influence Bush had over anything at times, but at least, in our minds, we could separate the president's name from the government. We understood that though he cared about everything, the president wasn't actually responsible for everything . At least then, there were other people at work in Washington for our good, other people who had a huge stake in the game, other people who needed to do their jobs well to make "change" happen. We realized that the president couldn't do it all. Or maybe, the president realized he couldn't. And, this wasn't just because he was Bush (ignorant, incompetent, impotent and all the other things
Image
For three years running, Dwayne has gotten me Christmas gifts that I didn't ask for, didn't want and wasn't the least bit excited about at first. But, for three years running, I have eventually had to humble myself and confess to him that I really do love the gifts he chose, that they are perfect for me and that they have ended up making my life much more pleasant. Two Christmases ago it was my apple-peeler-corer-slicer from Williams-Sonoma. I felt jipped out of a decent present that year, until apple picking season rolled around the next fall and I peeled the apples for my first pie of the season with it. It makes the whole pie-making process so much easier and fun and pie-making is a very important tradition to me, so this, naturally, made perfect gift #1. Last Christmas, perfect gift #2 was a set of gourmet kitchen knives from Ergo Chef. As I was opening them, Dwayne was telling the story of how he "happened by" the store and how they were having an "un
Image
My baby's back and she fits like a glove. I felt vulnerable without her . It might have been my imagination, but men seemed to be more talkative to me this week. When I asked Dwayne if he thought that was possible, he said, "We look." I said, "You look!?" He said, "Umm.. No. I mean, I did.... Umm... A ring's a quick sign that says to single guys 'Move on." Humph! That said, we will see if things get "quiet" again now that I have it back on. If what Dwayne says is true, I expect it will. My size went up from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2, so they had to add some platinum to the band to make it bigger. I had a hard time dropping it off at the jeweler's, a harder time than I ever had leaving my kids in any nursery... and I always had a really hard time with that. I am not sure what that says about me, but I think my feelings for this ring have more to do with how sentimental I am about it rather than how much material value it has. I am so
Image
On the last snow day, Norah exhausted herself trying to break large chunks of ice (that form when the plows pack the snow together along the edge of the street). She kicked the blocks, jumped on them with both feet, hit them with her gloved fists, threw onto the sidewalk, all while grunting and mumbling like she was angry at them. When they finally did crack, she would throw up her hands and yell, "Yes!"
Image
Avril's old enough to watch the Baby Einstein DVDs now. We purchased one for Norah several years ago, then we were given another one a year or so ago. So, I had a lesson in contentment the other day... when I went to pull this DVD from it's case and let Avril watch it. For a moment, I remembered how sad it used to make me that we only had one of these for Norah. These DVDs aren't that popular now, but back when Norah was Avril's age, you may remember, they were all the rage. They were everywhere you shopped, on every shelf in every store. Wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam's even had a "special collection" that included every Baby Einstein DVD ever made. At the time, it was really discouraging to me to go through birthdays and Christmases and paydays and more birthdays and more Christmases... without receiving them or having money left over at the end of a pay period to purchase another one. It seemed so important back then, for some reason, tha
Image
I have been obedient, painfully so. I have been seeking, almost relentlessly. So, I was expecting God to bless... me. Yet, He has been almost pouring Himself out on my husband lately, so much so that I got jealous over what God was doing in Dwayne's life. Quietly then, God's Spirit rested a firm but gentle hand on my shoulder and asked me, "Is there any greater blessing you can think of, something that will bless you more ... than a husband who is filled with my Spirit?" "...the two shall become one flesh." So they are no longer two, but one. As Dwayne goes, I follow. As he leads, so goes our entire family. As he grows, I am blessed.
Image
Image
These cookies are very easy to throw together and very, very yummy. Using Devil's Food cake mix makes chewy, decadent chocolate cookies. The powdered sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness... and mess. Don't eat these cookies while wearing a nice shirt. It's hard to keep the sugar from sprinkling down as you take bites and when you go to brush the sugar off, it just makes a bigger mess. But, it's oh so worth it... Trust me. Cool Whip Cookies Cake mix of your choice. (We like to use Devil's Food chocolate). One 8 ounce container of whipped topping. Two Eggs 1 Cup Powdered Sugar Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your baking sheets. Beat together the whipped topping and the eggs. Add the cake mix of your choice and keep mixing. Dough will be thick and a little difficult to turn by hand. It's easier if you have an electric mixer. Drop the dough by spoonfuls into a bowl of confectioners sugar and roll them until they are coated with the sugar. Place th
The woman was a coworker of mine. I thought she was a friend. I knew she was troubled, that she had a past or rather, a present. She was a single lady, currently using and being used by a few different men in her life. She felt comfortable confiding in me about what was going on and I meant to help her. I knew that at least a portion of her suffering was of her own devices, since she enjoyed the night life, but I tried not to judge her too harshly for this. I thought her appetite was only natural since she wasn't following after the Lord. I was building a friendship with her when, by chance, she met Dwayne. He'd come to visit me at work and she'd passed us in the hall. A day or so later, she and I were sitting and talking at length, like we did. She began with compliments about what a Godly husband I had and what a great match I had made in him, but somehow, perhaps by force of habit for her, her attitude changed towards me. She was challenging me all of a sudden,
Talking, playing and smiling at us.
Avril's rolling around, pulling herself around and just about to start crawling.
Image
My resolutions for twenty-ten, in no specific order. Let Norah play outside. I am realizing it doesn't have to be a picture-perfect day. That's what coats are for. And, it doesn't have to be a formal activity like an outing to the park or a hike in the state forest. Norah needs to be free to simply explore her own backyard. We have a great stretch of rocks and woods out back, grand enough to inspire any five year old's imagination. Keep a garden. I didn't get to do this in '09, since Avril was born right when I needed to plant my vegetables. Listen to Scripture. I really don't have time to read it, especially since I blog incessantly. But, I have the Bible on CD and I think I will try and listen to it while I am in the kitchen. I may actually hear more Scripture this way, since I am in there all the time . Pray. I plan to use two books as "guides." The Power of a Praying Wife is an all-time favorite with notes in the margins and pages well-wor