Day to Day Adventure: 1/9/11 - 1/16/11

Friday, January 14, 2011

Delurking Day!

Hey all you lurkers out there!

That means YOU!  I love to hear what people think of my blog but I know most days you are busy busy busy!  Today is delurking day so I am calling all of you to comment so I know you are out there. 

I am going to make it FUN for you. 

I am stuck at home recuperating so I have some time on my hands.  Reading books, working on crafts & watching movies are going to be my sanity savers for the next few weeks.

So . . . .

tell me your favorite book or movie.  The one you read/watch over and over again!  Remember this is a family friendly blog so make sure your comments are okay for little people to read.  Thanks!

Join in the fun & tell me some thing fun about you and if you like/dislike Day to Day Adventures!

I will start  . . . .

I love anything written by Lori Wick but my favorite book by her is Pretense.  I have probably read it 10 times or more.  Anyone like her too?

Playing games & being Lazy!

It’s over.  Surgery is done.  Tuesday was a haze.  Drugs work well on me & I don’t really have a memory of real pain.  I know there was some because Steve told me I was NOT a happy camper coming out of La La Land.

But we made it home and I haven’t budged since then.

The most amazing thing(why I am amazed I don’t know) is that I don’t have much pain.  Sure my arms hurt from the crutches & my good leg is sore from being the weight bearing leg.  I’ve had so many people praying for me and my recovery that I know God is answering our prayers!

But considering the doctor tacked down a piece of torn cartilage & shaved off some bone that was causing the tear I should have some pain.  But I just don’t.  As my “nurses”—Steve & Michael have helped me they were really scared of hurting my leg.  It just hasn’t been a problem.

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I wasn’t sure about laying down flat so I slept in the recliner for the first two nights.  But last night I got to hop down the hallway to my bedroom and lay down on my bed.  It was heavenly and I didn’t move all night.  Best night of sleep I’ve had in a while.

Joshua has been keeping me company this morning & we’ve been playing Blink.  I love lazy days of playing games.  I love not being in constant nagging pain.  I love my family & the great way they are taking care of me. 

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For other Finer Things check out Amy’s Finer Things

Thursday, January 13, 2011

SNEAKY SQUASH

One of our favorite side dishes with any meat is Potato Boats. 

These are super easy.  I like them because of the flavor and because it allows me to put in a vegetable that we wouldn’t normally eat and the family doesn’t even know it! 

SNEAKY!

Potato Boats

7-10 russet potatoes(medium)—washed

1 acorn squash

1/4 cup butter or sour cream

salt to taste

Wash your potatoes, poke them with a fork and bake them on 400 degrees for about an hour. 

While the potatoes are baking cut the acorn squash in half & remove the seeds.  If you have a steamer that can be used on the stove use it to steam your squash.  Another method would be to put your squash in a glass bowl with a little water & microwave it for 5-10 minutes.  It is done when you can push a fork in the flesh  easily.  Scrape the squash flesh(yellowy orange part) in to a mixing bowl.  Discard the skin. 

When the potatoes are done, cut them in half.  Scrape the flesh(white part) in to the bowl with the squash & place the skins back on your baking pan.

Add the butter or sour cream to your squash/potato mixture.  Add salt to your taste.  Mix well.  Add heaping spoonfuls back to the skins of you potatoes to make your “boats.”  Place the pan of boats back in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes to heat & make the tops crispy.  BE CAREFUL not to scorch them! 

We love these with Lemon Chicken or BBQ Chicken and a salad. 

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Rejoicing

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 
Philippians 4:4
I want to whine. 
 
I am tired. 
 
Things are difficult.
 
I want to be up and part of my family.
 
So what do I do with that verse in Philippians that just jumped off the page this morning?  I know it is one of those times I must be obedient and then . . . .my heart will follow. 
 
 

If I compare myself to a child then I know I need listen to what God is telling me.  He knows best, just as I know what it best for my child. 

I rejoice the waiting for surgery is OVER.

I am rejoicing that I have friends and family who love and care for my family.

I am rejoicing  . . . . as I work through recovering.

Our Family

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Posted at Wordless Wednesday

Beautiful Mess

Mama to 4 Blessings

Homegrown Families

Shining to Save

Monday, January 10, 2011

More than you’ll ever know

There are a lot of people lifting me up in prayer to day.  I just wanted to say thanks & I know things are going to just fine.  This song is one of my favorites & brings so many of you to mind every time that I hear it.

More than you’ll ever know—Watermark

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Something brought you to my mind today
I thought about the funny ways you make me laugh
And yet I feel like it's okay to cry with you
Something about just being with you
When I leave I feel like I've been near God
And that's the way it ought to be...

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CHORUS:
'Cause you've been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
'Cause you've spoken the Truth over my life
And you'll never know what it means to me
Just to know you've been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you'll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah
More than you'll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah

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You had faith, when I had none
You prayed God would bring me a brand new song
When I didn't think I could find the strength to sing
And all the while I'm hoping that I'll
Do the kind of praying for you that you've done for me
And that's the way it ought to be...

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You have carried me
You have taken upon a burden that wasn't your own
And may the blessing return to you
A hundredfold, oh yeah...
A hundredfold, oh yeah...

 

Linked up at Grattituesday at Heavenly Homemakers

Spice Muffins

These are one of our favorite muffins to have in the morning.  We pair it with scrambled eggs & fruit!
 
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Spice Muffins

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz sour cream
2 cups whole wheat or white wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Cinnamon topping
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Beat the eggs & sugar.  Add applesauce, vanilla, salt and sour cream.  Add flour, baking soda and baking powder.  Stir until all is moistened.  Mixture will be lumpy.  Pour in to oiled muffin pan filled 2/3 full.  Mix brown sugar & cinnamon together for topping.  Sprinkle over the top of batter.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  They freeze & reheat well. 

Shared at

 
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Planning & Shopping for a Month of meals

The way I have shopped for groceries has changed over the years.  When we were in college I didn’t do a lot of planning or organized shopping. 


More kids came along and I exchanged teaching in middle school for homeschooling my little man.  Wow that was 13 years ago.

I learned somewhere along the way about once a month cooking & shopping for that.  It revolutionized my grocery shopping.  Some months I would cook and freeze food but I always planned meals out for a month at a time.  Some of my friends thought I was crazy.  It was a huge day(or two) of shopping but totally worth it.
Benefits?
Fewer trips to the store—when you don’t go to the store you don’t spend money.  Hard to spend too much if you don’t go anywhere.  Staying home is a good thing. 

I knew what I would/could fix each week—I wasn’t as much worried about what we would eat each day as having the ingredients on hand so we could make several choices.  This worked GREAT for the first 3 weeks of the month but the last week things would be getting a little tight.  Eventually I would plan for 5 weeks and shop sometime during the 5th week.  Then we didn’t “run out” of things and resort to unplanned store visits.

How to Plan?
1.  Print out a calendar and make note of any special considerations like practices or meetings.  Those nights you might grab take out or plan to have a crockpot meal ready so it is fast & easy. 
2.  Choose nights to assign a certain meat or type of meal(Mexican, Pasta etc).  I like to plan 2 weeks of meals and then repeat it to make planning simple. 

3,  Make it as simple as possible.  Choose meals your family loves & you like to fix.
4.  Make a list of needed ingredients(non perishables) and how many you need for the month.

5.  Divide up the list based upon what store you normally buy those items at—try to only go to one or two stores or you may just loose you mind!

    
6.  Add the perishable items needed for this coming week. 

7.  Carve out a period of time where you are fresh(and your children too).  Make sure to take snacks & drinks along!

8.  Take a look at your refrigerator, freezer and pantry.  Do any cleaning out and rearranging before you leave.  It is rotten to have grocery sacks everywhere & need to clean up a mess in the the refrigerator.

9.  Each week figure out what perishables you need and make a quick stop to pick those up.  Doing this on days where you are already in town works great for saving on gas & time.

This method saving me money in gas and kept me from spending extra money on things that weren’t on my list.  By making such a large list it keeps you focused on what you are truly there to purchase.  It is a hugely satisfying feeling to put all that food away & know that you can manage to feed your family for quite some time in coming month.

For other Money Saving Monday ideas go to
B&B Button

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Quiet Week

I am having surgery on Tuesday on my hip.   So this week will be full of some different kind of activities.  We won’t be traveling, camping, or any of our “normal” adventures.

Things I will be doing

Learning to navigate with crutches.

Taking naps

Balancing on one leg

Having sore muscles

Reading books aloud with the kids

Watching movies

Eating meals graciously provided by friends, family & my church family

Watching it snow

Things I won’t be doing

Cooking

Cleaning

Teaching a normal schedule

Putting weight on my left leg

Going to the store

Life is going to be seriously different for a month or so.  But hopefully after that we can have a “normal” for us kind of spring and summer.  I am so looking forward to that!

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