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Showing posts from June, 2011

Home Economics

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The cost of food is second only to the Mortgage in our household. It's quite difficult to buy healthy, nutritious foods and stay within a sensible budget. I would LOVE to buy all organic foods and never buy another thing that came in a box or a can. I suppose, that is possible for some - but for me, there are financial and time constraints that prevent an all inclusive, militant Natural Diet. Around the new year this past December, God started working on me about what I was buying and where I was shopping. Our family was spending over $800 per month at the grocery store. I was shopping at a premium grocery store and buying organic whenever possible. While I justified this as a health benefit - I was spending outside our means. Last night I went to the local discount grocery for milk, bread, cheese, cereal and fruit for the last time of the month. I came home and added up the receipts for the month of June and was pleased to find that my efforts got the food bill down to just

Dear Dad

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My Dad and Mom's Engagement Photo 1973 My dad passed away in December 1998 after battling lung cancer for almost 2 years. Our oldest son was born that year, Dad saw him a few times but the cancer had spread to his brain by that time - so I'm not sure if he really saw him. Lately I've been having dreams about him. He's there, but he's not. I see him at a family function, but can't get to him to talk to him. I find "evidence" of him working on stuff at my house (he was a carpenter), but can't find him anywhere. Something is going on in my brain, and I s'pose I need to get this off my chest. So here it is... Dear Dad, I miss you. I wish you could meet our oldest son now, you would really like him. He is extraordinarily bright and would be able to talk Sci-Fi with you all day. He loves to read and is now playing baseball! Our oldest daughter would surly have had you all wrapped up. She is a little snarky and so very pretty - just the wa

Happy Joyous and Free

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What do you think of when you look at this picture? Admittedly, I think "MESS!" Sometimes it's hard to get out things like finger paints or a whole bin of blocks because I'm just not in to the big clean up! I don't really know that much about anything. With children, I just try to do the right thing and hope for the best. I'm a big kid at heart, so having 4 children and a few daycare kids is fun first. My kids range in age from 12 to 18 months, so it's hard to plan universally appealing activities. Most of our day is spent in what may be categorized as "Free Play" or "Provider Directed Learning." I see a big push for keeping children busy. Most children are enrolled in pre-school at age 3, Mom's that are home with kids are busy hauling them from the park to the zoo to the playground. At home there is a feeling of guilt on the part of the parent if every moment is not spent reading to, or playing with the child. Trust me, I

Fennel - what?

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If you've ever seen this stuff in the store, you may have wondered just what to do with it. That's me, always. I am fairly adventurous, and try to buy things that I don't know what they are! Today it was Fennel . Here's a copy of the recipe I used this evening. I only had 2 large bulbs of Fennel, so I substituted with a pound of sliced mushrooms. Yes, it really did take SEVEN cups of broth (I used chicken bullion). This made an enormous stock pot over half full of Risotto. I have a family of 6 that put a good dent in it, but we did have left overs. Give it a try - and let me know how you liked your first fennel experience! FENNEL RISOTTO 4 bulbs fennel 1 tablespoon butter 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cups uncooked rice 7 cups vegetable broth 1 cup heavy cream 6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon dried parsley, if desired freshly ground black pepper to taste Cut the base off of the fennel bulbs, and cut a cone shape into the base to remove the co

It's Good to Be Queen

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Yesterday, I played Queen for a Day. Without much preparation, I took off before most of the kids woke up and spent some time doing what I wanted to do, on my time table. I went to the gym and ran 5 miles. I suppose I could have braved the rain, but as Queen, I opted for a more civilized approach. After dressing and putting on full make-up and hair (after all a Queen must look her best), I went over to Barnes & Noble for coffee. I like to order a small coffee there, then doctor it up a little with some non-fat milk and Turbinado sugar . They don't yet have Stevia , bummer. I sat there and read my book , nearly finished it to. No interruptions! I then walked over to Scheel's for a little look-see with all the time in the world. I looked at all the nifty bikes, the gear, and of course the clothes. While Scheel's has everything you need for any sport you choose, their prices are YIKES. No way I'm paying $44 for a tank top to sweat in. I did, however, fe

The Big Salad

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I may have overdone it today!

Face Palm

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It's been a hard week. Our 12yr old was gone on a mission trip and came back Tuesday, it's been 100 degrees each day, oh - today it's 50 and RAIN - and I think my *nearly* 4 year old finally cracked up. No, one FacePalm just won't do.

Ouch

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Ouch. This has been me lately. Around the first of April I had a cracked tooth extracted. Pretty emotional for me, really. I work really hard on good health, and loosing a tooth was a tough blow. It hurt me for over a year - had I gone in for a look much sooner, I may have only had a crown. I waited long enough that it cracked clear down to the root. Had that tooth pulled on a Wednesday and ran a 10k on Saturday. It wasn't that bad, really. Pretty sore for a few days, and I didn't really want to get any cereal or granola back there for a bout a month or so. One. Clear in the back. No big deal. Well...now it seems there are a more. It's never a good sign when Doc takes a look and says "Oh...yeah...THAT'S a cracked tooth." An x-ray proved it, and it sounded like a ton of money coming from that doctor. Since the new one is in the middle, you can't just pull it without doing damage to the others around it. So I asked - "What if I just have it

Servanthood

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I guess it took a little Kutless to remind me of what I really am. Sometimes I get a little down about my day-to-day. I'm sure nearly everyone does! I stay home with our children, I babysit a couple more here and there. A couple of years ago, I decided that I wanted to even home school our older kids. This tends to put me in a position of servitude. Ever hear your mother say "I'm not the maid!" That's how I feel. A lot. I'm sure most people feel unappreciated at their jobs. Really, the only difference is that I don't get to close the door on an unfulfilling workday and go elsewhere. I was making a Race Day play list and I came across this song. Great Kutless tune. What it reminded me of, is of what a whiner I've become lately. Wah - wah , poor me. Cleaning up after everyone, cooking all the meals, wiping butts, cleaning clutter. Sob. Whine. The most important Man in history set out to save, to teach, to serve. Jesus of Nazareth, the

No Excuses

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I know that eating green stuff can be scary. For me - it's the "how the heck do I cook that!?" part that is a stumbling block. BEHOLD - the answer to my problems! These veggies are clean, cut and ready to dump in the pot. Also, there are recipes on the back of the bags. Could it be much easier? We eat what's on sale around here, and most varieties of these bagged beauties rotate sales each week. So this week - bags of spinach were 4/$5, Cut N Clean Greens were $2.69, and the sliced mushrooms were on sale for $1.49. So, no excuses - fresh veg is affordable and easy if you want it to be.

America the Beautiful

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I received a package today from Amazon.com. Wow - what a wonderful country we live in! Me, a home schooling, babysitting, mother of 4 can shop and have the things I need delivered to my door. I can even get it at a bargain basement price! My ball glove came, hooray! Our 12yo son is playing his first year of little league and I've been trying to play catch with him to help his ball handling skills. We only had one glove, so I ordered one that has some pink laces in it. He, he... I'm not real swift at it, but I'm sure I'll get better! Hanging out at the ball field sure has a way of making you love this country. Just having the freedom to sit out in the open air and relax for a couple of hours in the evening is a blessing! Seeing the Mommas and the Daddies clapping for sons in matching pants and shirts, listening closely to Coach, hustling for the ball and sometimes hitting a double - WOW! As I looked around the ball park, it really struck me how fortunate we are.