New Adventures

So blogging friends, I may not be back for a while. Life has taken on a new adventure called nursing school. It's going to be busy and full of learning (and reading) ;0).
I hope that I will be able to write an entry here and there but I don't know if it will be very often. Thanks so much for reading my posts. It's been fun. Have a great rest of your summer and be encouraged: God loves you so much!

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeazy

The Farmer's Almanac published some great ideas using lemons. I thought I would make a blog post out of it. Fun stuff.

• For a sore throat or bad breath, gargle with some lemon juice.
• Clean discolored utensils with a cloth dipped in lemon juice. Rinse with warm water.
• Toss used lemons into your garbage disposal to help keep it clean and smelling fresh.
• Use one part lemon juice and two parts salt to scour chinaware to its original luster.
• A few drops of lemon juice in outdoor house-paint will keep insects away while you are painting and until the paint dries.
• Remove scratches on furniture by mixing equal parts of lemon juice and salad oil and rubbing it on the scratches with a soft cloth.
• To make furniture polish, mix one part lemon juice and two parts olive oil.
• To clean the surface of white marble or ivory (such as piano keys), rub with a half a lemon, or make a lemon juice and salt paste. Wipe with a clean, wet cloth.
• To renew hardened paintbrushes, dip into boiling lemon juice. Lower the heat and leave the brush for 15 minutes, then wash it in soapy water.
• To remove dried paint from glass, apply hot lemon juice with a soft cloth. Leave until nearly dry, and then wipe off.
• Rub kitchen and bathroom faucets with lemon peel. Wash and dry with a soft cloth to shine and remove spots.
• Fresh lemon juice in rinse water removes soap film from interiors of ovens and refrigerators.
• Create your own air freshener: Slice some lemons, cover with water, and let simmer in a pot for about an hour. (This will also clean your aluminum pots!)
• Fish or onion odor on your hands can be removed by rubbing them with fresh lemons.
• To get odors out of wooden rolling pins, bowls, or cutting boards, rub with a piece of lemon. Don’t rinse: The wood will absorb the lemon juice.
• Save lemon and orange rinds to deter squirrels and cats from digging in the garden. Store rinds in the freezer during the winter, and then bury them just under the surface of the garden periodically throughout the spring and summer.
• After a shampoo, rinse your hair with lemon juice to make it shine. Mix the strained juice of a lemon in an eight-ounce glass of warm water.
• Mix one tablespoon of lemon juice with two tablespoons of salt to make a rust-removing scrub.
• Before you start to vacuum, put a few drops of lemon juice in the dust bag. It will make the house smell fresh.
• Get grimy white cotton socks white again by boiling them in water with a slice of lemon.
• Clean copper pots by cutting a lemon in half and rubbing the cut side with alt until the salt sticks. Rub the lemon onto the metal, rinse with hot water, and polish dry.
• Suck on a lemon to settle an upset stomach.

Some Randomness

I made black bean burritos for dinner and I love roasting sweet potatoes to put on them. When I opened the oven to check on them, I thought it looked so cool so I took a pic. Am I wierd?

I also got some fun boots at a yard sale last year for 50 cents. What a deal! I wear them to work out in the yard and to take after the chicks.

Speaking of chicks.....

They are turning out to be quite pretty young ladies. At least I hope they are ladies ;)

Garden update

Here are some pics of our growing garden. We have had some issues with a few tomatoes and peppers getting some brown spots on the bottom but it doesn't seem to be spreading too much.

This pepper plant is new for me. They are purple peppers. I can't wait to try them out.

The yellow squash with the green tip is supposed to be acorn squash. We'll see!

I am so thankful for all this food and praying I get enough tomatoes to can this year. If not, that's what the farmer's market is for ;).

This is an Amish paste tomato. They make the best tomato sauce....yum!

Do you have a garden this year? How is it going?

Honesty

The more I walk with Christ and the more I fall in love with Him, the more the truth of God's word makes sense. I see the compassion and care Jesus has for me. For a long time I viewed God's word as a bunch of rules that I had to live by in order to be close to God. **sigh** Thank God I no longer have this at the forefront of my thinking and living. Trust me, I still struggle with it at times, but God is graciously showing me when I do so that I can give it to Him. What a freeing thing!
A very powerful truth in scripture is being honest. Not only being honest with others but being honest with ourselves. I truly believe that when we honestly look at ourselves, our need for grace and love from Christ, we can accept our faults and move on. God's grace becomes more beautiful to us. When we accept our faults and know that they are covered by Precious Blood, honesty becomes a lifestyle (among other things). Our defenses come down, our pride washes away, and we are more willing to face the truth of who we are and how we relate to others. We even look at others in a totally different way. Being offended becomes less and less and insults do not overwhelm our thinking. I used to feel that I had to be perfect in order for God to know that I loved Him. I would have so many excuses for my sin instead of owning up to it. Silly right? In writing it looks that way, but I think it's such a common mindset in so many believers. After I grasped that there is nothing I can do or can't do that earns the right to be God's child and walk in His grace, I don't feel the "need" to offer excuses to make myself feel and look better. Excuses can be forms of lying. God detests lying lips. He is glorified in honesty. What if more believers knew they were safe in God's grace and began to open up more and share struggles, fears, sins, temptations, as well as victories, answered prayers, and hope. I think American churches would change for the better. I think people that have questions about who God is or even people turned off to God would see Christianity differently. There would be more healing and less judgement.
My challenge to you: share yourself with people. Be open and honest the way God wants you to. Let God permeate your thoughts and let Him help you become the honest person He wants you to be.

Things that make you go.....eeeek!

This is what I stumbled on last night after Jubal got out of the tub. I ain't gonna lie, it made me squeal. I love having a boy ;).

Life

Life is a big journey. I love that. I love that there are times that are so hard that I just don't think that I can make it one more second. I love that those are the times that draw me closer to Jesus. I love that in those times, I rely fully on the grace of Jesus. I love knowing that Jesus is shaping me more into a vessel that He can use to share His glory.

I love the beautiful, happy filled times. The times that don't seem like they can get any better. Times where I just feel like running through a flower-covered field and raise my hands as high as they will go, and joyfully yell at the top of my lungs. A place where I can tirelessly dance like there is no tomorrow.

Life is full of those times. I am so thankful for them. I am so thankful for my Jesus who loves me no matter if I am going through a very difficult time or a very exuberant time. He loves me. He has paid an incredible price for me. There is nothing beyond that. There is no next level. I don't have to prove myself to Him. I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to wallow in my guilt of sin. I don't have to be judgemental. I can freely be myself, freely love, and freely forgive. I can share my struggles, I can freely admit when I am wrong and know that God loves me no less. I can walk in the present. I can freely share what Jesus has so sacrificially shared with me. There is so much more to life than wasting my time thinking I am better than someone else; pointing my finger at actions of people that make me uncomfortable. I can freely love them the way God wants me to. After all, I am no different than they. I was made by the same Creator and I need His grace. The same Jesus died for me and forgave me. His love is a gift. A gift that I receive with open arms. This gift has been so graciously given and for that I am so thankful.

Reusable Snack Bags

I found a great tutorial from We Wilsons Blog. It is super easy and takes only minutes to make. If you are looking for ways to cut out plastic and trash, this is a great way to do it. You can use a cotton/cotton combo or you can use PUL/cotton fabric combo to make the bags waterproof. I don't have any PUL in my stash so I just used cotton. These will be great for pretzels, chips, crackers, dried fruit, etc. I couldn't believe how easy they were!

Here are step by step directions in case you want to try one or many.

1)Cut out 2 rectangles of desired fabric and desired size. A sandwich bag has a good basic measurement.

2) Put right sides together and sew short ends together.

3) Turn right side out. Iron

4) Measure velcro the same width as the top and bottom of rectangle. Sew each strip on side of fabric that you want on the inside.

5) Fold rectangle in half inside out. Sew sides together. Trim excess.

6) Fold right side out and you are done! Easy peasy.

**Note: I do not recommend using the sticky velcro. It's not good for sewing machine needles.

A homemade rainforest

Jubal has a project in school that he has been working on for the past couple of weeks. He had to pick out an animal, write about it, and make a visual for it. He will presenting it in his class this week. He has been so excited about it and we have had so much fun preparing it. He picked the sloth and we made a miniature rain forest habitat. He had to research the habitat, foods, a description of how it looks, why or why it wouldn't be a good pet, and an interesting fact. Simple and fun. Here is a picture of how the little project turned out.

If you are looking for something fun and educational to do this summer, this is a great idea.

Lentil soup with a twist

I found this incredible recipe on Cookbooks 101. It is so delicious. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Another good soup to add to my collection..... Serve with Naan or wheat rolls and you have a yummy and easy meal for the fam.

Coconut Red Lentil Soup

1 cup yellow split peas
1 cup red split lentils (masoor dal)
7 cups
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons butter or ghee
8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced (you can also use a yellow onion)
1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
one small handful cilantro, chopped

Give the split peas and lentils a good rinse - until they no longer put off murky water. Place them in an extra-large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the carrot and 1/4 of the ginger. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft. You may need to add a little water throughout to keep it from getting too thick.

In the meantime, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is quite fragrant. Be careful though, you don't want to burn the curry powder, just toast it. Set aside. Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions, the remaining ginger, and raisins. Saute for two minutes stirring constantly, then add the tomato paste and saute for another minute or two more.

Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add this to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so. The texture should thicken up, but you can play around with the consistency if you like by adding more water, a bit at a time, if you like. Or simmer longer for a thicker consistency. The thicker this soup got, the more I liked it.

***I made a couple of adjustments to this recipe. I used all yellow split peas and I added the curry powder to the onion and butter mixture instead of toasting it first. I also added 1 veggie bouillon cube after the peas were tender. The soup turned out great.

Our new girls!

Well, after a few failed attempts, I finally purchased more chickies. They are so funny and pretty wild from being free range with the previous owner. **It was a hoot watching Stephen and I round 'em up to get them in the coop the first night we had them**. America's funniest home videos anyone? We named them Daisy #2, Chicken Little #2, and Bacon #2. Fun.
Here are some pictures!

Texas is doing great too. We put a collar on him that has a high pitched beep and it has been a success. Sweet.

12 beautiful years

I am a little late but hey, better late than never right? It's hard to believe that this past Sunday, Stephen and I celebrated our 12 year wedding anniversary. The coolest part of the whole celebration is that it truly feels like a celebration. I am SO IN LOVE with him it's incredible. It's a love that has gotten stronger through the fun and hard years that we have been together. I wouldn't trade it for anything. He is my best friend and have I mentioned that I love him? I praise God for what He has done in our relationship. It has been one incredible adventure and I am looking forward to many more chapters to it. Stephen is my hero and I am so proud to be married to him.

Here we go!!!!!

Last weekend our little family went camping and cheered Stephen on in his mountain bike race. He did great! Jubal and I managed to dodge some lightening and sheltered ourselves from the downpour while waiting at one of the rest stops. On the other hand, Stephen had the joy of riding in the glorious weather. Thank you, God for keeping him safe.

We had to cut short our camping trip because of the weather but we still had a great time. It was nice to come home to our cozy home and soft bed ;0).After we got unpacked and settled down for the evening, I ventured to open our little pile of mail. One letter stuck out to me. It had AB Tech on the envelope along with the word Admissions stamped on the front. Interesting. I was thinking maybe I forgot to turn something in with my nursing school application. I opened up the envelope and began to read it. Here's what it said. "The evaluation of all records pertaining to your application to the competitive allied health programs at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College has been completed. Following is the final outcome of your application to the Fall 2010 program:

Associate Degree Nursing: ACCEPTED INTO PROGRAM!!!!!!!!!"

I had to read that sentence a few more times before it dawned on me that I was accepted. Praise God. I am in. I am so excited/nervous/preparing/dreaming. I am so thankful that God has opened this door for me to walk through. For those of you who prayed, thank you. God is good. I am so excited. I will start in August and that's all I know so far. I meet with my advisor in a couple of weeks.

It's crazy to think the one career that I never thought I would be doing, I will be going to school for in a few short weeks. God is so incredible.

Hopefully I won't be using needles as big as me. I don't know if I could handle that ;)

Try this again

Well, friday night my chickies met their demise. Poor chickies....they tried so hard to run away from that big black fluffy dog. Yes, that would be my dog Texas. I was really mad at him for a couple of days but now I am better. Instinct bites sometimes. Oh well. Will try to find some more girls to add to the unlived in coop. I will post pictures when we get them. Hopefully they will last a lot longer......

Here they are!!!!

These are our precious chickies! They are so precious. We started with 3 but unfortunately lost one over the weekend. Hopefully the other 2 will live for a long time. So far so good....
Their names are Chicken Little (black one), Daisy (smaller red one). Bacon was the other red one...may she rest in peace ;).

Pics of the coop

The chicken coop is complete! Hooray! Just a few more finishing touches and the chicks will have a wonderful home. Pics of the chicks coming soon!

Hard workin' boy

So cute!

Happy Spring

I found a fun and super easy recipe to celebrate the spring season. Here it is!

Bird Nests (makes 1 dozen)

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup shredded coconut
Handful of M&Ms or similar candy

Melt chocolate chips according to package. Mix in coconut. Spoon onto wax paper. With spoon make a small indention. Place 3-4 eggs on top. Let set.

Spinach Quiche Recipe

I have been using this recipe for years and have really enjoyed making it for the fam. Whenever you have a little time on your hands to make a yummy and versatile meal, I highly recommend this one.

Single 10 inch pie crust (preferably homemade...yay!)

1/2 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 eggs, barely whipped
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3 cups mix of fresh chopped spinach, broccoli, green/red pepper
2/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella
**The cheese is very forgiving so you can substitute or just use one kind of cheese.

Line pastry. Bake at 450 for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake additional 4-5 minutes. Remove.
Reduce oven to 325. In large skillet saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Set aside.
Beat eggs slightly. Stir in yogurt, whipping cream, salt and pepper. Stir in onion mixture, veggies and cheese. Pour into pastry. Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked through. Let stand 10 minutes.

It should turn out something like this.......

A different kind of chip

They look kind of funny but oh do they taste delicious! Kale chips is the name, eating them is the game. Have you ever had them? If not I highly encourage you to try them. They are super easy to make and a healthy delicious snack. Here is the recipe.....

Take a bunch of kale and wash it off. Dry the leaves extremely well as the moisture will keep them from getting crisp.

Cut the leaves off the stem and cut into smallish pieces.

Put leaves into a bowl and toss in olive oil (about 2 tbsp.) until well coated. Place on baking sheet and sprinkle some sea salt all over the leaves. You can add other spices if you wish.

Put into 200 degree preheated oven. Let bake for about 45 minutes to an hour. You can check the kale half way through and stir the leaves up a little bit so they bake evenly. Then turn up the oven to about 350 - 400 for about 10-15 minutes or until the kale is a deep dark green and crispy. Take out of oven and cool. If the leaves are still not crunchy at this point you can keep baking them until they are. Just watch them closely because it's easy to burn.

Store in a sealed container and keep in fridge or cool place; if you don't eat them all first.
Enjoy!

God's grace

Have you ever been through a situation in your life that just ticked you off? Then after a while you begin to see how God's grace was so evident in it that you feel so humbled? One of those experiences happened to me this week so I thought I would share.
I finished up our taxes about 2 1/2 weeks ago and we ended up getting a bigger refund than expected. Thanks to our energy saving additions..... Stephen and I were both so excited about it. Thank you God for providing for us to have a little cushion in savings.
Then last Friday I received a letter from the IRS stating that I didn't claim some income from 2008 and we owed quite a bit of money. I was upset because I always claim our income. So after a couple of days calling, waiting in line, waiting on the phone, and trying to figure out what was wrong, I found out that somehow the IRS doesn't have the income documented. Theories aside, it's just not there. Unfortunately I can't pull out my 2008 return because it's gone from our computer virus last year. (Lesson learned: print out everything!) Any way I turn I can't prove that I filed that particular income. It's me vs. the IRS. Guess who's gonna win. Bummer. So I have had to suck up my pride and accept the fact that maybe I messed up somehow. All that to say, yesterday while I was waiting at the IRS office, God told me that He provided the money for the fine through our return this year. Gulp. Sigh. Relief. Thank you God for providing the money. Thank you that it happened at just the right time. He is so good. Even though our return won't be as big as I thought it would be, God is going to take care of us anyway. He is so good, all the time: even in those circumstances that make us upset and frustrated. Is there anything in your life right now that God is showing His grace to you? I would love to hear!

Misc. fun

Jubal loves Leggos. He has gotten some cute little sets in the past couple of years and has done so well at putting them together. This past Christmas he got a big set from my folks. He loves it! He put it together once already and then took it apart. One day this week when he didn't have school, he was motivated to get a lot of it done. He finished it a couple days ago. It's definitely blog-worthy to post a picture. However, the picture does not give his hard work justice. There are lots of little parts.
He put together most of it himself. I just sat and watched for moral support. Cute.

It's really good.....I promise...

Here is a recipe worth posting and it's really healthy too. It's made from one of my favorite veggies.....cauliflower! The name is Curried Cauliflower Soup and it's from Vegetarian Times. It's so easy and delicious. It's definitely a keeper for my family.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tart apple; peeled, cored, and diced
1 tbsp curry powder
1-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into 1 inch pieces
4 cups veggie broth
1 tsp honey
1 tsp rice or red wine vinegar

Heat olive oil in pot. Saute onion. Add apple, curry powder, and garlic. Saute for a minute or so. Add cauliflower and broth. Simmer 20 minutes. Remove from burner and let sit for 20 minutes. Put soup into blender and puree until smooth. Place back into pot and add honey and vinegar. Serve.

**The curry powder makes the soup have a little kick so you can add 1 tbsp of yogurt to your bowl of soup to help ease the spice.

Cute craft....no sewing required!

Have you seen those cute canvas wall hangings for rooms in your home? I love them. So, I got an idea in my head to try to make some for Jubal's room. I have heard of using styrofoam sheets as the base of the hanging. I went to the craft store to buy some but I changed my mind very quickly when I saw the price of one sheet: $5.99. I wanted to make four so you do the math. So I walked around trying to find an alternative. Sure enough I found a pack of 4 cork boards and the price was so much cheaper. It even came with mounting strips to hang the boards. I love it! So here is step by step how I made these cute little wall hangings for Jubal's room. If you are looking for something fun, easy, and cute to make for your child's room or even your own, this is a great way to do it! Get your creative juices together and make your own custom made wall art.

Supplies you need:

Fabric scraps of your choice
Glue gun
Rotary cutter or scissors
Ruler
Iron

Cut out your fabric to fit onto the cork. This cork is 12 x 12 so I cut my fabric piece 14 x 14. This gives you room to wrap it around the edges of the board. Iron the fabric so that it is wrinkle free.




Place the cork onto the wrong side of your fabric piece and center it the best you can.





With a glue gun, dot some glue on the corners and fold the fabric as shown.




Glue the sides




Turn over to see how cute it is!



Hang on the wall the way you like it and you are finished.
Easy peasy!

Chicken fun

I remember the days when my mom would buy a whole chicken/turkey and I would watch her prepare it for dinner. I would usually start feeling nauseous seeing the giblets being taken out and the raw meat in her hands. I never thought I would try it myself one day. Well, here is proof that a girl's gag reflex can stay subdued......I bought a whole chicken the other day and actually cooked it. As I was washing it off and holding it in my hands I knew my mom would be proud. Smile.

I was at Ingles shopping for basic things and I saw that they had Tyson chicken on sale. If you look closely at the picture, with a magnifying glass ;), you will see that the chicken I bought was only $3.45. I had to do a quadruple take on it. (The meat guy probably thought I was crazy...no comments please....) You can't beat that price for dinner plus a couple more bucks for potatoes, carrots, and an onion. Perfect.

In case you have never cooked a whole chicken, it's really easy and I highly encourage my fellow carnivores to try it. It's so easy too. All you have to do is wash the chicken off with cool water, pull out the giblet bag and plop the chicken in the crockpot (or roaster).

I made a concoction of spices. It included thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. About 1/2 tsp each, give or take. Rub it on the chicken.

I also made a broth from an Edward 'N Sons "Not Chicken" bouillon cube. I thought it was funny since it's an imitation chicken broth and I was using it on REAL chicken ;)
No, I have not been cooped up in the house too long.....

I added potatoes, carrots and an onion. Pour 2 cups of Broth over all the food. You may need to add water to cover the veggies so they will cook evenly. Do so at your discretion.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on High for about 4-6 hours. You will enjoy a delicious tender chicken for dinner. The fun part is you can create more dinners with the left over chicken and broth. Have fun!

In the works....

**Deep Breath*** I decided to try my first quilt. I have wanted to do one for a long time but have been intimidated by the whole process. Since I have gotten a little more sewing experience in the past year, I thought I would give it a try.
We got a new bed for Jubal after Christmas so this has been a perfect chance for me to have a go at making a quilt. I got the top done today and am very pleased with how it's turning out. I will post when I get it completely finished. I used some really cute fabric designed by David Walker called Robots. The design is adorable and fun. Let me know what you think!

Note the pirate ship in the middle ;0)