Long time

It's been a long time since I have entered an entry. Life has been crazy!!! Here are some highlights of the last few weeks.
- God has provided some work for me with a new sewing job (temporary) and it's paying for my new Baby Lock sewing machine. Praise the Lord for His provision.

- I have been using some of my extra time making gifts for the giving season of Christmas. I will post some pics after they have been given.

- My application is in for nursing school. Gasp*** Breathe***

- Volunteering in Jubal's school. I love it!

- And the last big adventure...drum roll please..... taking care of my husband who had an appendectomy Monday night. He got to come home yesterday and is on the mend. Whew! That was a wild ride. I am so glad he is feeling better.

Poor guy

Incisions on the belly

What have your latest adventures been?

My first Shoulder bag

I have wanted to learn how to sew a shoulder bag for a while now and could not find a good tutorial on the internet. However, last week, Sew Mama Sew posted a tutorial for one and I tried to make it today. My efforts were successful and I finished my first shoulder bag in a couple of hours.

It was really easy and I added a little flower applique for a personal touch. I am so excited about it that I will hopefully crank some out over the next couple of weeks. If you are wanting a cute handmade bag to add to your collection, I highly encourage you to try this one.

On a roll!

This is a fantastic dinner roll recipe that I tried tonight and they are delicious. They are called Sweet Dinner Rolls and I got them from Allrecipes.com. They are made from yeast and so they take a little planning but they are so worth it. If you do not have a bread machine, you can mix the ingredients and knead until smooth and elastic. Then let the dough rise for an hour before shaping. If you have a bread machine, it's so easy peasy.
Happy Baking!

• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup warm milk
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Place water, milk, egg, 1/3 cup butter, sugar, salt, flour and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough/Knead and First Rise Cycle; press Start.

When cycle finishes, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12 inch circle, spread 1/4 cup softened butter over entire round. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place, let rise 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden.

Cabbage soup recipe

I love cabbage. It has such an yummy earthy flavor and I love to find new ways of using it in my cooking. Recently I found a great recipe called Rustic Cabbage soup (101cookbooks.com) and it is so good! So, here it is. If you don't like cabbage so much, I encourage you to try it. I think you would like it in this soup. The bouillon in the recipe can be found at many health food stores. If you can't find it, a veggie stock will be just fine.

Rustic Cabbage Soup Recipe

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
a big pinch of salt
1/2 pound potatoes, skin on, cut 1/4-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
5 cups stock, preferably no-salt Rapunzel Herb Bouillon
1 1/2 cups white beans, precooked or canned (drained & rinsed well)
1/2 medium cabbage, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch ribbons

Warm the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the salt and potatoes. Cover and cook until they are a bit tender and starting to brown a bit, about 5 minutes - it's o.k. to uncover to stir a couple times. Stir in the garlic and onion and cook for another minute or two. Add the stock and the beans and bring the pot to a simmer. Stir in the cabbage and cook for a couple more minutes, until the cabbage softens up a bit. Now adjust the seasoning - getting the seasoning right is important or your soup will taste flat and uninteresting. Taste and add more salt if needed, the amount of salt you will need to add will depend on how salty your stock is (varying widely between brands, homemade, etc)...

A beautiful day

Guess what Jubal and I did today after school?

Pumpkin Muffins

Here is a great recipe I found on Pioneer Woman's website. Jubal helped me so this one is good to make with the kids. They are so moist and yummy and pretty healthy too! You can top with cream cheese frosting or just a cinnamon/sugar mixture.
Happy Fall Baking!

Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins (With Cream Cheese Frosting)

Muffins:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 heaping cup pumpkin puree or just plain ol' canned pumpkin
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional!)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease 12 muffin tins.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter with two knives or a pastry blender until all incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Add raisins. Fold gently until mixture is just combined. Pour into greased muffin pan—batter hardly ever fills all twelve unless you keep it down to 1/2 full. Sprinkle generous amounts of cinnamon-sugar over the top of each unbaked muffin.
Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool. Ice with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup softened butter
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 pound powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients on high until soft and whipped. Spread onto completely cooled muffins, or place into a large pastry bag with a large star tip and go crazy!

Store in fridge, as icing will soften at room temperature.

A new home

Okay, I am guilty. I am guilty of having some plastic bags in the house ;). My excuse: I really like having them to use as trashbags and picking up after the dog. For years I have just stuffed them in a back corner somewhere, out of sight, and sometimes out of mind.
Well, I was inspired a couple of weeks ago and now they are stuffed in a cute little sack in my kitchen. I got the idea from this tutorial and it turned out really cute. The other neat thing about it is that you can use any fabric scraps that you may have. I have quite a stash of scraps so I was eager to use some up. So now, all my plastic bags that were stuffed in a corner are now hanging in their cute happy home in the kitchen. Nice.

Good Bye Taco bell!

I love taco night at our house. It's so easy to prepare and the fam really enjoys eating them. So tonight, I had it all ready and I was going to have dinner ready a little earlier so that we could have time to play before Jubal's bedtime. I got all my ingredients together but could not find my Taco Bell taco seasoning. Hmmm....where did I stash it? I looked in all kinds of places in the kitchen and could not find it. I concluded that the cashier forgot to put it in my bag. Bummer! Should I run to the store? No, I don't feel like hurrying out the door, wasting gas, waiting in line, and having a late dinner. Of course! The internet. So I did a search and found a wonderful recipe (on allrecipes.com) for some homemade taco seasoning. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. It was wonderful! And I can pronounce the ingredients. So naturally I would love to share it with my blog friends.
You will need to double the recipe to make enough to season a pound of ground beef. There will be some leftover as well. For every pound of beef, chicken, or tofu, add 3 tbsp. of the mixture and 2/3 cup of water. You can also add about 1/2 tsp per batch of flour to thicken it up a little. Cut the amount of red pepper flakes/powder in half if you don't want it to be too spicy hot.

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1/2 tsp fresh minced garlic)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes/powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Cookie Dough Find

I like to make my own cookies. It's so much healthier than the cookie doughs in the store and a lot more satisfying. However, there are days that I feel a little lazier and don't want to labor that much in the kitchen.
A few months ago, Ingles had a sale on some organic cookie dough from the Immaculate Baking Company. I bought it, tried it out and it is SO GOOD! So I thought I would promote them because of the reaction my family had to the cookies. They are made from all natural ingredients and there are no hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup. So even though a sweet tooth can be a dangerous thing, you can feel good that the ingredients are in pure form.

Disco Pajamas

The other day I went through my big bin of fabric to try to simplify. I cleaned out a bunch of fabric but still have a fair amount left over. So, I am trying to make some fun things with what I do have. My first little project was pajamas for Jubal. They turned out really cute too. I think they look like they come out of the disco era. When my little red head wears them, it is super precious! I got the pants idea from this tutorial:
www.instructables.com/i/How_to_Sew_Your_Own_Pajama_Pants/.
It is super easy and quick. I think I made his pants in about 30 minutes. I like that kind of project! For his little shirt, I took an old white t-shirt and appliqued a star onto it. I encourage you to try making the pants. They are well worth it.

Snow!

We saw our first snow today. I love this time of year!

Headband tutorial....finally!

Here are quick and easy to understand instructions for making a headband. Sorry it has taken me so long to post this. If you end up making one, let me know how it goes. At the bottom of the page, I included the website that I got this tutorial from. Have fun!!!!

• Main Piece: Cut 1 rectangle from your fabric as shown in Diagram 1. The width range of 4.5" (11 cm) to 12.5" (32 cm) results in finished headband widths ranging from 2" (51 mm) to 6" (15 cm), respectively. Multiply your desired finished headband width by two and add 0.5" (13 mm) to determine the exact fabric width to cut.
• Connector Piece: Cut 1 rectangle from your fabric as shown in Diagram 1.

Note: Any grainline orientation should be fine, but laying the long sides of the rectangles crosswise (i.e., perpendicular to the selvage) will use the least fabric yardage.



Diagram 1

Sewing

1. Fold the short sides of the main piece in half with right sides together and, using a 0.25" (6 mm) seam allowance, sew the long raw edges together to create a tube as shown in Diagram 2. Repeat with the connector piece.



Diagram 2

2. Turn the main piece right side out and press so that the seam is positioned at center back (CB). Repeat with the connector piece. Use a safety pin or loop turner to turn the pieces right side out if needed.
3. Insert the elastic inside the connector piece using a safety pin or loop turner.
4. Sew the elastic and connector piece together at one end with a 0.25" (6 mm) seam allowance as shown in Diagram 3. (On the other end, just leave the end of the elastic sticking out for now; you can pin the end of the connector piece to the elastic to keep it in place if needed).



Diagram 3

1. Mark the short ends of the main piece about 0.375" (10 mm) away from each long (folded) edge as shown in Diagram 4. In between the markings on each end, make pleats as needed so that the width in between the markings matches the width of the connector piece, which in this case is 0.625" (16 mm). If your main piece is on the narrow side, try one knife pleat in the center; if it's on the wide side, try multiple knife pleats. You can also try an inverted or box pleat as shown in Diagram 4. Pin o r baste stitch the pleats to secure them.

Diagram 4

1. Lay the main piece down with the front side facing up (i.e., CB seam facing down). On top of the main piece, lay the connector piece down with the back side facing up (i.e., CB seam facing up), aligning the edge of the connector piece that is sewn to the elastic with one of the ends of the main piece. The connector piece should be laying on top of the pleated portion of the main piece and should fit just within the markings you made on the main piece. Fold the short sides of the main piece 0.375" over the connector piece (the folded sides will overlap), and sew all layers togethe r with a 0.25" (6 mm) seam allowance as shown in Diagram 5.

Diagram 5

1. Turn the headband right side out and test the fit by trying on the headband while stretching the elastic to the unattached end of th e main piece. Cut elastic to desired length.
2. Repeat Step 4 with the other ends of the elastic an d connector piece.
3. Repeat Step 6 with the other ends of the connector piece and main piece.
4. Turn the headband right side out.

**www.alteredcloth.com/blog/2007/07/how-to-make-a-h ead band-version-2-the-wide-headband.php

Beware...some major transparency

***I hope that whoever reads this is challenged and encouraged to trust in God's ways. He loves us so much and knows what is best. His timing is perfect. This is a testimony of how God is teaching me this invaluable lesson. He is so good!

Ever since I was a young girl, I dreamed of getting married to prince charming, having a handful of kids and living happily ever after. Being a homemaker and mommy has been a desire of mine for as long as I can remember. Well, I married my prince charming 11 years ago and had a son 5 years ago. My dreams and hopes seemed to be coming true.

For the past 3 years, I have experienced some of the hardest challenges I have ever faced regarding my desires. At this point, a future of having more children doesn't seem to be in God's plan for my life and family. It seems my Lord has other plans....plans that are beyond my control and plans that I don't fully understand. In the midst of this inner battle, Jesus has given me peace and direction. I read an incredible book and it helped me to understand that if life isn't going exactly the way "I want it to", trust God to lead me in the way He wants me to go. Set new goals and pray about them. Deep down I wondered if I even had other goals. If so, what were they? How could I figure them out? I really believe that God has given me the desires that I have but He also knows what is best for me in His time and in His way. He made me and He deserves my devotion and trust.

I have prayed over this so much and the Lord has reminded me of a few things. First, I have a husband and a son that I love very much. I need to invest my life in their lives and be thankful for what the Lord has already given me. He gave them to me and I need to treasure them. Second, I don't need to focus on what I don't have but what I do have. Third, I believe that God has given me a love for babies for a reason. I may not be able to use it directly in my personal life but I can share that love in other ways. As a result of this love and passion I am pursuing the realm of nursing. Now I dream of one day being able to put my love for babies and mommies to work and help them during a very life-changing time. (As well as loving my growing 5 year old miracle baby ;) I am excited about my new journey and looking forward to the things God is going to teach me. I don't know what the future holds, but God does and that should be enough for me. I still have days that I struggle with my biological clock and emotions but I rest in God's peace. He knows and understands how I feel. I am SO thankful for His hope. I choose to focus on Jesus and the things that He has planned for me. Sometimes those plans are not always what we plan or even dream of. This life is not my own, it belongs to the God I serve. What greater privilege do I have than this?

It's that time of year

It's that wonderful time of year where the weather is getting cooler, the leaves are falling, and germs are spreading. I am always interested in learning new remedies that are natural AND effective for curing different ailments. A few weeks ago, Stephen started getting some sinus yuckiness so he started eating pieces of raw garlic. It seemed to work very well. He noticed a big difference in a short amount of time. So I decided to try it. I started getting a sore throat today so I made some garlic lemonade and ate a couple of garlic pieces. (Watch out world!) Immediately I can tell a difference. I am going to keep eating it this evening to see how it goes. If that works....hallelujah!

Some benefits of garlic:

High in Antioxidants
Good for healthy cells
Decongestant
A natural antibiotic
A wart fighter
Helps with high blood pressure
Can help get rid of poison ivy

So I encourage you to look into the benefits of garlic. If you find some cool things, let me know!

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Presenting......Cocoa Crackles!

This is a fun recipe to do with kiddos. They are pretty healthy too which is a definite plus. I got this recipe out of a cookbook Jubal got for his birthday. The book is called Yummy Cookies by Sesame Street.
If you are looking for something fun to do today with your kids, this is a great activity to try. What a fun way to bond with the little ones in your life.

Cocoa Crackles

3/4 Cup all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated or cane sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease to cookie sheets.
Stir together both flours, cocoa, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla until well blended. Add flour mixture and beat until blended.
Place powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll heaping tablespoons of the dough into balls. Roll balls of dough in the sugar until they are coated. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
Bake for abou11-13 minutes or until cookies are set. Cool cookies on sheets for a couple minutes and transfer to cooling rack.

Cozy Ginger Scones

I found a great recipe on Organic Valley's website. It is fairly easy and the result is fantastic! If you like ginger, this is the way to go for a yummy breakfast/brunch food.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon lemon peel (grated)***
11 tablespoons Organic Valley European-style Cultured Butter (cut into bits)
3/4 cup Organic Valley Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tablespoons Organic Valley Heavy Whipping Cream
2/3 cup crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

***I increased the lemon peel to about 1 1/2 Tbsp. for a more lemony flavor.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly butter baking sheet. Blend flour, sugar, baking powder and lemon peel in a food processor. Add butter and cut in (using "pulse" button) until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Make well in center; add 3/4 cup cream. Using fork, stir until just moist. Mix in ginger and cinnamon. Transfer dough to floured surface and gently knead until smooth, about 8 turns. Divide dough in half; pat each portion into 3/4-inch-thick round. Cut each round into 6 wedges and transfer to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Brush tops with remaining 2 tablespoons cream. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Coconut Rice and Beans recipe

I am really excited about this recipe. I got it off of 5 dollar dinners.com. I love beans and I LOVE coconut so this recipe sounds so good. I haven't tried it yet but I will be soon. I will let you know how it goes. If you try it, let me know what you think!

1 15 oz. can of lite coconut milk
About 1/3 cup of pineapple juice from a can of pineapple
1/2 cup of water
1 cup uncooked white rice
Salt/Pepper, to taste
2 cups cooked pinto beans
4 carrot sticks, peeled and cut into circles
Honey drizzles
2 broccoli heads

Directions
(1/2. Cook about 1 cup of pinto beans in 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium high. Cover and cook for 1.5 -2 hours, or until beans are soft. Remove from heat, drain liquid.)
1. In medium saucepan, bring coconut milk, pineapple juice and water to a rolling boil. Add 1 cup of rice and return to boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium low and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 5 more minutes (do not uncover!). Fluff with fork before adding the beans.
2. Combine beans and rice in saucepan.
3. Steam carrots in steamer, or cook in 1/2 cup of water in small saucepan. Drizzle with honey to sweeten them up a smidge!
4. Steam broccoli.
5. Serve Coconut Rice and Beans with Honey Sweetened Carrots and Steamed Broccoli!

Dinner's on!

Here is an idea for a yummy dinner for those of you who are looking for new ideas. Stuffed peppers. I have never been a fan of stuffed peppers but I really loved these. I think it's because they are used with a different kind of pepper and stuffed with fresh veggies and beans. We had gotten some huge sweet red peppers from a friend and the banana peppers are from our garden. We stuffed them with cheese, rice, black beans, sauteed onions and garlic, and a little taco meat that I had left over. Can you tell we like Mexican food?
After we stuffed them, Stephen was so nice to grill them. Yum! Happy cooking.

A pretty good crop

I am so excited about our garden this year. It really gave us a good crop and I only had to water it once all summer! I think moving it to a different location in our yard and leaf mulch were the key ingredients. (Tip: if you get leaf mulch from an outside source, make sure you watch out for poison ivy!)
I planted 3 early girl tomato plants, 1 heatwave, 1 grape, and 1 roma. I got enough from the early girls alone to restock our canning supply. Great!
Now that summer is coming to a close, I can concentrate more on fun little sewing projects, recipes, and fun field trips. What an exciting fall it will be!
How has your summer been?

Salsa

Here is a yummy recipe for tomatillo salsa. It's one of my favorites!

• 1 1/2 lb tomatillos
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 2 Jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
• Salt to taste

Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well.

Cut in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.

Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, peppers, sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator.

Serve with tortilla chips. Yummy!

Jubal had a great first day in Kindergarten. I am so proud of him. I cried all day and wondered how his day was going. When I picked him up he gave me a great big hug and said "I had a super duper duper super fun day!" That made the day golden.

Big changes ahead

Today is a reflective day for me. My little guy goes to kindergarten tomorrow and I am having some very mixed feelings today. Apart from doing my best not to cry in front of Jubal, I have such a heavy heart because I am going to miss him a lot. I am also so excited about the things he is going to learn, the friends he will make. I also pray that he will be used by Jesus in his new class.
We met his teacher yesterday and she seems very nice. The assistant is nice too. It was funny because they both remembered that we will be riding our bikes to school some. They also remembered Jubal's name too. That was impressive. Jubal is nervous but I think he is excited too. He got really hyper once the shock and nervousness wore off after meeting the teacher.
Being a mommy is a hard job. We deal with behavioral issues, we take care of their boo boos, we feed them, we train our children the best we can in being good kids and making good decisions. We even try to teach them things they can do to become more independent. Yet, when the first day of kindergarten rolls around, it's one of the hardest things yet (for me anyways). I feel really good about his school, his teacher, and the things he is going to learn. But I am still going to miss my little buddy. I can't believe how time has flown. God has taught me to cherish these days and to cherish Jubal. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for me, Stephen, and Jubal. Big changes ahead and many more fun memories to look forward to as well. Sniff....sniff....sniff......

New products

Props to Jesseca Bellemare and The Modern Baby Co. for new baby cuties! She has started all new items with vibrant fabrics and fresh designs. Check them out at www.themodernbabyco.com. Another cool thing is the onesies are organic, super soft and super cute! Let me know what you think!

A cool find

We are so blessed to have a fantastic grocery store here in Asheville. It's called Amazing Savings. They sell organic (and some conventional) food at very discounted prices. Some of it is outdated but it's still good for the most part. The fun of it (apart from the prices) is you never know what they will have. It's different week to week. I love it! This week I went and found an incredible thing called Soap Nuts.

I have never heard of it before so when I found it, I was immediately sucked in. To educate you a little, soap nuts are the shells from the fruit of the soap nut tree. This tree grows in the wild in India and Nepal. When the nuts are in the water, they release a substance called saponins. It's a natural substance that works like soap to clean dirt and oils from textiles and other surfaces. The other cool thing is that I can reuse the nuts up to 3 times in the same day. What a great money saver and a healthy alternative too. So, if you see any soap nuts, now you know what they are. Have a great day today! Enjoy your family.

Sweet taters alive!

My family loves biscuits. So when I found this recipe I was excited to try it. It turned out really yummy and with a healthy twist....sweet potatoes!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted cold butter
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cooked mashed potatoes

- Preheat oven to 450
- Combine dry ingredients
- Cut butter in small pieces and add to flour
- Using fingers work butter into flour
- In small bowl, combine milk and sweet potatoes
- Add to flour mixture and stir until it forms a ball
- Turn dough on floured surface and knead 14 times
- Roll dough 1/2 inch thick and cut out biscuits
- Bake 8-10 minutes

Enjoy!!!!!

Interesting random facts

Nonculinary uses of lemons:

• Lemon juice cleans piano keys and copper pots, brightens porcelain, absorbs odors, and removes lipstick and wine stains.

• Half a lemon, from which most of the juice has been squeezed, makes a fresh cleaning pad for faucets and sinks. Use it with a little salt as an abrasive.

• Equal parts lemon juice and beaten egg can be boiled briefly and scented with rose water to make a natural face lotion.

• Undiluted fresh lemon juice is just the thing to clean water spots and stains from your automobile chrome.

Before there were so many lotions and ointments in stores, people relied on commonsense cures. These remedies were recommended in the 1800s:

• If you cut yourself while cooking, apply molasses to the wound to bind it temporarily.

• For relief from a toothache, apply a poultice of gingerroot to your cheek on the side of the tooth pain.

*Copied from the online Farmer's Almanac, August 6, 2009 edition.

Stay tuned....

Wow, it's been a while. I sure have missed blogging. Our computer got infected with a virus and so I have been out of the cyber world for a couple of weeks. So, I have had some time to think (uh-oh) about what to write next. I will have some fun things to post over the next couple of weeks such as recipes, sewing finds, and things God has been teaching me. Keep checking in when you can.
On a different note, I want to send out best wishes for my friends that will be delivering little miracles in the next few days. I am so excited for you and so thankful that God has given you this beautiful opportunity. It's amazing being a mommy and I know you beautiful mamas are going to be fantastic in your births and beyond. I am praying for you ladies and I can't wait to see pictures!!!!!
Have an amazing, God-filled day!

A cute idea

The other day I saw a little girl that we know wearing a cute little dress. I asked her mom where she got it and she replied, "I made it out of a pillowcase." What a cool concept and a great way to recycle pillowcases. That roused my curiosity so I did a little searching on the internet and found a great tutorial posted on one of my favorite blogs, Sew Mama Sew. Here is the link in case you are interested, www.jenleheny.com/pillowcase-dress-instructions.

I ended up making one for a precious 2 year old little girl I babysit. It turned out really cute. I didn't have a pillowcase on hand so I just sewed 2 smaller pieces of fabric together to mimic a pillowcase. I also added a little applique (designed by Jesseca Bellemare of "The Modern Baby Company") on the bottom. It was easy and fun. It's definitely worth a try!

Our little visitor

The other night Stephen found a critter in our back yard. I wonder if that's why my zucchini flowers are disappearing...... He was kind of cute though. ;)

Little pesty problems

About a week ago, I noticed some of my tomatoes were getting holes in them and turning into brown mush...yuck! I didn't know what was going on. Then I picked one and found the answer. It was an earwig. I had no idea they liked tomatoes. After some research, I learned they like to eat tomato leaves and zinnia flowers. Sure enough, so I would have a pretty garden, I had planted zinnia seeds right next to one of my tomato plants.... bummer! Fortunately, they typically don't destroy the plant, they just ruin a few pieces of precious fruit. So I have been experimenting with a couple different things to get rid of these gross bugs. I ended up putting little bowls of soy sauce mixed with veggie oil next to my plants and haven't seen them in a couple days. Another remedy is to use beer because the earwigs like the yeast in it. Then the yeast makes them die. And for you adventurous people out there, you can also go out in the evening/early morning and pick them off by hand.
I also got a recipe for a bug repellant for your garden from the Farmer's Almanac. This solution is good for a lot of bugs that like to "share" the garden with us humans. So, if you are having some similar bug issues, I highly recommend using this solution. Just mix 1 tsp. dishsoap, 1 cup veggie oil, and 1 gallon of warm water. Spray on plants as needed. It won't hurt your plants or veggies, but it should keep the bugs away. Watch out bugs!

Grandma's quilt

My grandmother made me and Stephen this quilt for our belated Christmas present. She made most of it by hand. She is an amazing lady! What an inspiration. I am so proud of it that I wanted to post it. It's definitely going to be in our family for a long time. What a family treasure.

I love it when God provides for His children in ways that are so personal and loving. We had a provision like that over the weekend. To give a little background, I love playing the piano. I haven't had one for a long time and have missed playing and have gotten pretty rusty in the process ;). This past mother's day, Stephen and Jubal surprised me by telling me that they wanted to get me one. We found one but it didn't work out. We were a little disappointed but knew that God would provide one in His time. Then a few weeks ago, I took Jubal to the dentist and came out of the office with a big dentist bill that we will be paying on until the end of the year.....bummer...God will provide, God will provide.... He always does. Because of that, I thought it might be a while before we could get a piano.

Stephen found another piano last week and we went to look at it over the weekend. It was in great shape but they were asking a few hundred bucks for it. A good deal but still not feeling a peace about it. I was trying really hard but I just wasn't feeling it. On our way home from looking at the piano, Stephen mentioned that I had a message from a dear friend about a piano she saw. I called her back and she saw one at a yard sale for 50 bucks! I called the owner, we went to look at it, and we are now the proud owners of a beautifully used piano. I am so happy. When I sit down to play, I am just so thankful that God knows me so intimately to provide something that brings me joy like a piano. Hopefully my neighbors will be thankful too ;).

What are some ways that God has provided for you? I would love to hear.

Some garden pics

We moved our garden spot this year and it has been a good decision. Everything is filling out and doing so well. I took a few pics so you can see how it's coming along. I planted the seeds I harvested last year to save money but all but 3 died. Bummer. I think my excitement got ahead of me and I transplanted them too soon. Oh well. Another lesson learned. I also bought Early Girl tomato plants this year and they are doing so much better than the other varieties I have planted in the past 3 years. Hopefully I will get enough fruit to replenish my stock of canned tomatoes. I also learned that tomato plants do not like to be watered a lot so I haven't watered them as much. It appears to be working.

Early Girl tomato plants

Sunflowers growing

The pink tape around our garden is to keep our little Texas out. He was sneaking some green tomatoes to snack on. Silly dog.

Do you have a garden? If so, how is it doing this summer?

Winter Coat

No, this is not another dog. This is the hair I brushed out of Texas' coat this morning. I wonder if he can run faster......

Taking a moment......

Worthy is the, Lamb who was slain

Holy, Holy, is He

Sing a new song,

To Him who sits on Heaven's Mercy Seat

Holy, Holy, Holy

Is the Lord God Almighty

Who was, and is, and is to come

With all creation I sing:

Praise to the King of Kings!

You are my everything,

And I will adore You…!

Clothed in rainbows, of living color

Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder

Blessing and honor,

Strength and glory and power be

To You the Only Wise King,

Holy, Holy, Holy

Is the Lord God Almighty

Who was, and is, and is to come,

With all creation I sing:

Praise to the King of Kings!

You are my everything,

And I will adore You!

Filled with wonder,

Awestruck wonder

At the mention of Your Name

Jesus, Your Name is Power

Breath, and Living Water

Such a marvelous mystery

Holy, Holy, Holy

Is the Lord God Almighty

Who was, and is, and is to come,

With all creation I sing:

Praise to the King of Kings!

You are my everything,

And I will adore You!

-Gateway Worship, "Revelation Song"

Yummy Stawberry Bread

I had some strawberries that needed to be used quickly so I hunted for a recipe that sounded like it would satisfy the Janes' tastebuds. I succeeded in that endeavor so I want to post the recipe for my readers. It is really really good and I hope you can try it sometime. If you do, let me know what you think. It comes from http://www.joyofbaking.com/.

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (150 grams) natural cane sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 cup (55 grams) toasted walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place the oven rack in the middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of an 8-cup loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inch).

Place the walnuts (or pecans) on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes or until brown and fragrant. Remove from oven and let cool completely before chopping coarsely. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until softened (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and sour cream (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries and walnuts.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake about one hour, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 1 loaf

A pair of Rain boots

Reading a friend's blog gave me the idea to post this....thanks, Maggie ;)

When Jubal was 4, he was having a hard time understanding why he has some clothes that were labeled 3T. He is 5 now and the 4T size is still baffling him. The concept that if it still fits, you can wear it, no matter the size is really stumping him. It's gotten kind of funny. I have tried to make it fun for him since he was kind of upset when he discovered it. (He is such a detail-oriented little guy.) He has not said anything about it in the past few weeks so I thought maybe we were through that little phase. Well, I was wrong....

Last week we bought him some new rain boots. He was sitting on the floor and I was watching him admire his new frog boots. Then he looked up at me in complete 5 year old innocence and said, "But mommy, I am not 13. The boots say 13. That's not right."
Too cute! I love it..... Kids are great!

Do you have any cuteness to share about your kiddos?

Fun Pillows

Since we have gotten our addition mostly done, I have been so excited to look for some cute, inexpensive, and colorful pillows to go in the living room. I looked in so many stores and just realized that I could not spend 15-20 bucks (minimum) for 1 pillow. So, I went to my favorite fabric store, Asheville Cotton Company and looked around last week. After much pondering, walking back and forth in the store, and more pondering, I found the right fabrics for my pillows. The total for fabric and stuffing ended up being around 27 bucks. That's about $6.75 per pillow. I say that's pretty good. I finished them up today and I am happy with them. They make a nice addition to the couch.

The 5.2 Project

I am so excited to be announcing the launch of a new website called the "5.2 Project". I am still learning about it myself but I wanted to add props for it because God has started a really cool thing in a dear friend of mine. She has been through some incredible trials in her life and God has literally worked miracles in her life and her family. Here is an excerpt from an email she sent me to give you an idea what it is about:

"The “project”… is a way of life based off of the little boy who offered Jesus 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and encompassing the bi-lines “Know what you know, Live what you know, Share what you know. You’ll see many venues for participation.. straight from home taking only moments of your time. There are several blogs including one for prayer requests, one to share a thought from your devotions, one (VERY importantly) for offering praise, thanks or something that you know about God… strictly to simply praise Him!!!!"

I would just really encourage you to take time to read about it and if you want to participate, please do. I think it's a very practical way to share what God is doing in your life to help encourage believers and to share about Jesus to those who are searching.

What a great way to grow closer to God and share in that journey with others.

Let me know what you think if you get a chance to look around.

http://www.the52project.com/

Eat your Greens!

10 reasons to include leafy green veggies in our diets:

1) Reduce risk of heart disease and cancer

2) Rich in vitamins, folic acid

3) High in fiber

4) Rich in potassium

5) Good source of iron and calcium

6) Boosts the immune system

7) Helps protect eye function

8) High in Antioxidants

9) Good for the bones

10) Cheap and easy to fix!

Some ideas for fixing greens are - saute them with fresh garlic and onions in olive oil, make a salad, add cooked or raw greens to burritos, lasagna, quesadillas, and soups. Add any leafy green as a side in dinner. It's a very inexpensive way to contribute to meal times and to your health.

What are some of your favorite leafy greens? Feel free to share any recipes too!