they still say the darndest things

Even at this age, Boo can still crack us up! The other day she had a doctor's appointment in a fayn-cee medical building. You know.. those kind with marble everywhere.. it felt more like an upscale hotel than an office building. Anyway.. the three of us got into the elevator and the doors closed. There were mirrors on all three sides and maybe the door. I can't remember. But anyway. We all stood there in silence looking over the situation. When out of the quiet, Boo says...

"So! You want me to start criticizing your clothes?!"

We were all rolling when the doors opened.

Maybe we've been watching a little too much TLC?!

voted

I did early voting today. I had to wait a while. But it was ok. Probably a drop in the bucket compared to election day.. especially as hot as this election has become. I had a weird thought today. I wish McCain had'a picked Condi Rice. I like Palin, but Rice has sooo much more experience behind her.. and an impeccable record.

Yeah.. I know.. who asked me?

I approve

I got a new camera the other day. I mentioned it in the post below. We had an old digital camera.. our first one. It was a Sony and it had a tiny viewing screen on the back. At that time, we still wanted to look through the little hole like in the olden days. Anyway, we liked the camera o-kay, but we tended to get some blurry shots no matter how hard we tried otherwise. And with such a small screen, we didn't always catch it until it was too late. Fast forward a few years and the batteries in the old Sony were ca-put and we knew we either needed to buy new (expensive) batteries or start all over.

We decided to start all over.

I know somebody that has a Panasonic Lumix camera and I liked it so that's what we got. I played with it once and was amazed that I couldn't figure out how TO take a blurry picture. It has an image stabilization that other brands don't. Love. It. And a big screen and no viewing window thing. And it takes a zillion pictures on one charge. It's got a lot of buttons on it and at first I was a little stressed out about it since I'm a point and shoot girl. But I read the book. *gasp* I know. And figured out a few simple things and presto... it's pretty cool.

Nope.. nobody paid me to ooo and aaaahhh about this camera. I'm not one of those bloggers that gets cool stuff for free to tell how great it is to the masses. I don't have masses. I have few. So my few peeps... I like it.. a lot. I'm Kay and I approve this message.

and another

Boo lost another tooth last night. I think getting the two pulled kind of opened the flood gates so to speak. Actually, I think it gave the others a little wiggle room so they could do their thing. We did the Oragel ritual and Daddyman gave it a yank and out it came. She's a ninny. She can't do it herself. I remember HATING doing it myself when I was a kid. So glad he's willing to help a girl out.

She has her four top front teeth and then two spaces on either side of those. Her biggest comment last night....

I can do a buck tooth grin with nothing in the way. Nice.

**************

On a side note, I feel like I have nothing of value going on/to say lately. We bought a new camera the other day. LOVE. IT. Ya never know when you might need one. The hubby has commented that he's created a monster, since I've taken more pics recently that he has to download for me to post. I don't know how to do that. My techy-ness only goes so far.

wheeeere oh where can she beeeeee

There she is! In Boo's cabinet... trying to catch a snooze! This is one of those pics I never expected to take when I brought home my first kitty. I had no idea the work she would put into hiding in snug corners to nap. Cracks me up!

fun mug and something yummy to put in it

When I was a kid, I collected many things with mice. And that continued on when I married. Thankfully I 'outgrew' that phase and now I just have a select few tucked away for my private viewing. When the movie Ratatouille came out, I thought they were the cutest things ever. Yeah.. I know.. they're RATS.. but they're still cute. I saw these mugs at a Disney store in Amarillo while we were on vacation. I thought about getting them, but they were a bit pricey. Not long after returning home, Miss Boo and I were in the Disney outlet near us, and I found the same set of mugs on clearance! Much better. So I snatched them up. Each mug has a different pic and saying on it. This one is my favorite.

But what's a cute mug without something yummy to put in it. These are my faves.

YUM!!! And nice to drink on cool days too!

nippy morning

It's brisk.

A little slice of cooler weather.

And long sleeves.

And a hoodie.

I am sooo not a fan.

hand made calendars

Kisses of Sunshine is hosting a carnival today about crafty gift ideas and even though I'm not super crafty, I found a fun one... so fun, I keep one for myself too!


A few years ago I was really having a hard time coming up with an original gift for my IL's. And I got a fun idea. Calendars. Homemade calendars. Homemade scrapbook/personalized calendars. I made them the first year and waited for the reactions. It's been made known to me that I must make these every year. They went over very big! Each year the themes differ, of course. The first year I just used a hodge podge of pictures from the past. Last Christmas season, I used pics from our summer vacation to Colorado. Last year I included a travel guide of sorts with descriptions of each month's photos written out. It was a lot of fun. And of course, since it's scrapbooked, there really aren't any rules. Just have fun!

I will give these tips. I buy my blank scrapbook calendars at Current Catalog for cheap. And I use 8 1/2 by 11 paper turned on it's side and punch a hole in the top centered over the hole in the calendar. I also use some red scrapbook tape that comes on a roll that is the stickiest stuff you've ever seen to adhere my completed pages to the blank calendar page. Easy as pie!

So hop on over to Kisses of Sunshine for more fun ideas!

the best pumpkin spice bread EVER

When fall starts rolling around, I find myself wanting fall flavors. And nothing fits the bill better than pumpkin bread. But for the longest time, I didn't have a pumpkin bread recipe, but now I do. And it thrills me to make it. Shhh.. don't tell anybody, but I make it year 'round. It's soo yummy I can't save it for one season!

It's called Pumpkin Apple Spice Bread. I found it in a cookbook called Eating for IBS, but don't let that scare you off. It's completely delicious and moist and definitely worth the work. I'm not gonna sugar coat it.. this recipe is some work. Nothing about it is hard, but it just takes some time and measuring. But your patience will be rewarded!


First off, preheat your oven to 350. Also get out 2 loaf pans and spray them with non stick spray. There is no need to flour them. The bread comes out just fine without it.



I included a fun pic of most of the ingredients. I think I forgot the flour, sugar and apples. But it's most of them anyway.



For the topping, combine in a small bowl and set aside:

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

5 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon canola oil



Put the following in a large bowl and whisk together:

3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ginger



In a large bowl beat together well with an electric mixer:

16 ounces can pumpkin

3/4 cup canola oil

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

8 egg whites (2 tablespoons of carton egg substitute equals 2 egg white)



Fold into we ingredients:

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped (about 2 cups)



With a wooden spoon or spatula, add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring the batter by hand until well blended. Pour batter into two greased loaf pans sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle crumb topping. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool on racks for about 15 minutes. Invert from pans onto racks and cool completely. Slice. Freezes well! As a matter of fact, I always freeze both loaves and we just pop off a slice and zap it in the microwave to warm it up. Yum!!!



For more fall flavors, head on over to Linda's place at 2nd Cup of Coffee!

foliage

Fall "foliage". This is the prettier pretty tree in our front yard.

This is the ugly not quite as pretty tree in our front yard. Ah... Texas in the fall! This is the part where y'all that live somewhere with nice pretty fall color can really "laugh out loud".

get one free

It must be teeth season at our house. She had two pulled on Tuesday. I guess that made one of it's long overdue neighbors get the wiggles. It came out last night after a little Anbesol and some tugging by Daddyman. Hurray... that one didn't cost us big bucks at the dentist.

Or under the pillow.

We told her this one was a freebie after the payment she received for the other two that just got pulled. That brings our average back down into reasonable territory. It's not a quarter like I got growing up, but it's also not so much we have to put it on a debit card for her either.

2 for 10

Boo had to go to the dentist the other day. You see, she's 13 and she's only lost 4 teeth. Yeah.. four! Her future orthodontist checks her teeth periodically so he'll know when she's ready for braces. We saw him a few weeks ago. She had some internal crowding.

So she had to have two teeth pulled. We did that Tuesday. Her dentist gives them their teeth in a teeny tiny treasure chest. My husband was asking me where the teeth were because he wanted to see them. Ya know.. the guy thing.. like looking at a train wreck. (well they were kinda cool because they still had the roots attached) I told him the little yellow chest was on our dresser. Yep.. our dresser.

My husband got a ten out to put under her pillow. I asked him why he wanted to put a TEN under there. He said it was either that or a 20. It was all he had. oh. I guess it's ten. He put it under her pillow while she was brushing her teeth. She found it. All over. I guess we just need to write her a check or something next time.

The pretense fun is all over!

what's normal?

I've had the classic, The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee for years. But never read it.

Now I'm reading it.

Wow.. it's very good. He is very detailed in some things that if you aren't careful you could think are too simplistic for an explanation etc, but the more I read, the more I'm reminded there's more to things than what is on the surface. I am becoming more and more drawn into this book. Sometimes when I read books like this, I almost feel like I'm sitting down to a feast. Delicious!

And yet, I get sad sometimes. Because when I read these types of books, I know I'm the only one my age reading them.. or so it would seem to be. You see.. I read a lot of books by people like Andrew Murray and E.M. Bounds etc. What is one of the major things they have in common...??? They're long dead! LOL I don't read much umm current writing. There are some exceptions, but not many.

I feel people today are missing out on so much by not giving these older writings a chance. I came to know God through this type of writing. It is Life to me. So much that's written today is for women only or men only or teens only or this group only or that group only. And I just don't get it. Walking with God is not a gender specific thing. I don't know how to get into this mindset that God has a special word for me because I'm a female. I know that sounds strange. But to Him, there is neither male nor female. (Galatians 3:28) And yet when it comes to study, we so often segregate. I don't read as a female, but as a child of God. And He never fails to show me Himself.

So next time you want to read something that nourishes your soul, take a stroll over to the 'classics' section at your Christian bookstore and try something different. It might just change your life!

travel tips

Antique Mommy is doing a carnival today about travel tips. She's got some great ideas of her own, but has invited others to join in. It took me a while to decide if I had anything to share. But before long, my mind went into travel mode and I thought of several things we just naturally do.

There's the easy stuff like DVDs and CDs. One thing we did with our daughter was give her a brand new spiral notebook when we went on a road trip. I included a zip pouch of pencils, map colors (they don't melt and don't make a mess like those awful markers) and those crank up crayon things. Love. Those. She could write, draw.. whatever she wanted to do. I would include books she's currently reading and maybe a couple of kids magazines too. I used to put all of this in a tote bag and that bag never left the van the entire trip. Those things were ONLY for the van. And so when we got in to go, she was ready to play with them again.

Now that she's older, Nintendo DS and movies work well. But mostly just DS. She will play for hours. Since she's older and school work and study take up so much of her time, she's delighted to spend several hours hooked up to the DS and we don't mind, since she's quiet and not asking how much longer 'til we get there.

But to answer that dreaded question... how much longer 'til we get there... enter the GPS. I totally 'heart' our GPS. Even though we've had ours a while and it's not the newest or the fanciest, it does show the ETA (estimated time of arrival) in one corner. So our daughter can glance up at that and know what time we should arrive. Of course, stopping for meals etc bumps the ETA a bit. But even that is a good lesson... don't piddle. It's almost like a game for us sometimes.. how fast can we eat so we don't ruin our ETA. My husband has commented that it's cut down on MY complaining and wondering about how much longer we'll be in the car too. A-hem.. I guess I'm not that great a traveler either.

the holiday blues

The holidays are coming. Every year around this time I begin to get a little sad. I haven't liked the holidays since I grew up. There is a lady I know at church and she and I talk about how we're both scrooges when it comes to November and December. So I know I'm not the only one.

I just get tired during this season. Everything is go go go. And I'm just not much of a go go go kinda girl. And everything points to 'the perfect family' and there is no such thing as 'the perfect family' and sometimes that is a struggle for me. I'll want things to be just a certain way and it will never be that way. And I remember when I was in high school and both my grandparents died on one side.. that just radically changed everything. And then years later my mother died. And right after that, Bub died. And it changed everything again. And the same happened on my husband's side as well. As the older generation died, it left the younger generations wondering what to do with themselves at times... not really knowing how to carry on the things of the past. And it just comes off feeling awkward and sad sometimes. I don't even really know how to explain it.

I just never look forward to this time of year. I guess I mean Christmas mostly when I say this.. but Thanksgiving is just weeks away, so I guess in my mind it's all coming. I go through the motions. We do all the decorating, shopping and cooking. We try to make it 'fun' for BooBoo. She loves it. This is all she's ever known it to be. But I am always secretly happy when Dec 26 rolls around and it's over. Gosh, that sounds sad, doesn't it? I don't mean for it to. This is just what's on my mind today. Boo's out of school today for a break and I just haven't felt like I had anything to post lately. I don't know if the holiday blues will cut my postings down or not. I certainly don't want to post how much I dislike the holidays and am counting the days til it's over every day til 12/26, ya know?

Anyhoo... like I said.. I pretty much just got nothin' today. Hope my posting mojo gets back soon. I think mojo is a blogging word.. I would never say that in real life. :-D

I've been tagged!

Kathleen at Sassy Granny tagged me! Thanks! Although I have no idea what I'm going to say. We'll see....

See the cute little tagged badge for all the rules...

Let's see, 7 quirky things about me... gee.. how will I ever keep it down to seven??? lol

1. I hate to fold whites. Those little bitty pieces take forever. I usually save this duty until near the weekend and leave the basket of washed whites laying around and my hubby and daughter fold them for me. Sweet!

2. I'm reading The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee.

3. Sometimes reading blogs makes me so sad I almost want to quit reading. The gravity of people's problems moves me often to tears.

4. Sometimes I think about stopping blogging myself. I enjoy it, but it takes a lot of time. And on the flip side, sometimes I don't want to put the effort into 'building my readership', which incidentally I couldn't have cared less about when I started on this little bloggy journey.

5. I love living in Texas even though people stereotype us unfairly. (no we do not all drive Cadillac convertibles with horns on the front, or wear boots.... with or without spurs)

6. I like to give and receive hand crafted gifts. I make scrapbook calenders for my IL's, my fam and for me every year for Christmas. And I want to try to buy some neat personalized gifts from Etsy for some relatives this year, if I can get it together.. we'll have to see how that one goes.

7. My hubby had to drag me kicking and screaming into the 'Internet Age'. I hated the idea of the internet at the beginning. Now I would say I (along with my family) are pretty obsessed with it. How did we ever make it before we could just sit down, do a search and find an answer to a question in like ten seconds??? I don't know either.

Now let's see....I'm supposed to tag 7 people.... hmmm.....

1. There's Karen at Gberger. I've enjoying getting to know her and grieve along side her in the loss of her daughter.

2. There's Donna at Way More Homemade. She and I actually got to grab a bite to eat together the other day. She's a hoot!

3. There's Jennifer at Smelling Coffee. I'm always blessed by everything she says!

4. There's "Lolly" at Eating Our Way Around DFW. Always fun to see where she's eaten lately!

5. There's Michelle at Because I Love You. She's another Texas girl and she has a heart for grieving moms.

6. There's Jill at Jill's Blog. She's new to me.. found her recently while I was blog hopping. Would like to get to know her better. : )

7. And last but not least, there's Susan at How Can I Keep From Singing? We have something in common as we both lost sons to the same disease.

This is fun! I hope everybody plays along. It's always fun getting to know you girls a little bit better! Happy Friday, Y'all!

how much longer????

How much longer until the elections are over??? Some days when I look at my email 'in box', I just scratch my head and wonder if we can all hang on til this is finally over. People on both sides of the fence have very strong opinions, feeling and convictions about this race. It's one of the most heated in a while. Sometimes I wonder if it's because there is a lot at stake. But then again, I'm the most un-political person I know.. so I really have no idea if that's true or not. It's just how the media is making us feel.

An aside here~ even though I am un-political, it doesn't mean I don't vote. It just means all of this mess doesn't consume my every thought, as it does some people. Having said that, let's move on.

Yes, I am worried about our country. Yes, I'm concerned about how things are going. But I've also been praying and listening to God. And very often He uses simple things to speak. An example, I remember memorizing "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24. That is a simple, short verse but I can't begin to tell you how many times and in how many ways God has brought that verse to mind and taught me something new from it.

Something I read a while back that's in my sidebar is Me, Myself & Bob by Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales. I know you're probably wondering what Veggie Tales and the story of a creative visionary with a heart for little kids and some stories to tell and how his dream went belly-up has to do with anything political. Well.. here goes. This book is sort of like that verse. God has used it to show me so many things. Sometimes I'm amazed at what God can bring me to see from things that can seem unrelated. This book is about his building of Veggie Tales.. the company, the employees.. how it grew and grew and how he struggled to manage something that felt like it was getting out of hand. Until finally near the end of the book, he describes the trial that finally ended it all for him. He talks about how this changed his life. Finally he wasn't in charge of all that stuff and he felt like a big weight had been lifted off of him. He went into a time of humbly seeking the Father and He began giving him new stories to tell and opening up new doors. And he was happy and pleased in the end with the way things turned out for him, since he was now having a vibrant relationship with God and was seeing God move in his work in a way he hadn't seen before. And then the verdict was overturned. A verdict that seemed so cut and dry in the first place. A verdict that should have been an easy win for him and Veggie Tales. The one that ended with him losing everything and walking away. But do you know what Phil did??? He laughed! Because he could see the end result.

When I look at where things are now politically and how serious things look for our country, I get scared. And I think surely God sees this and is going to work things out in our favor because where would we be otherwise. It seems so cut and dry to us sometimes. Much like the trial. It was obvious in our eyes what the right verdict should have been, but God had other plans. What if He doesn't see fit to work this election out the way we see it? What if He does things in a different way... a way that seems hard and difficult? A way that seems to be the obvious wrong 'verdict'. I hope we can be drawn to the Father in a more real way... that we can begin to see Him working out His plan, even when things look bad.

God is bigger than the boogie man... even if he's the opposing candidate and he wins.

Works for Me Wednesday-organized purse

One of the small things that can get on my last nerve is digging around in my purse for all that little bitty stuff that gets lost in the bottom of my purse. You know.. the baby nail clippers - love those, the inhaler- yep, I have asthma, lipstick- for the few days a week I might actually be wearing makeup, pill holders, lotion and other odds and ends. Well, that's just my list, but I'm sure you've got your own little list of things that regularly get lost in black hole that is called a purse.

See... it's a mess. And the longer that stuff is in there, it gets under stuff and I can't keep it where I want it. It's just bad, people!
Enter the clear make-up pouch! I got mine at Walmart for almost nothing. I can keep everything in one place and find everything right there at my fingertips.See.. isn't that much better now? There's the wallet and then there's the pouch. Not a big pile of junk that's going to end up under and around and lost down there somewhere. A friend told me about her little pouch and how well it worked for her. And now it works for me too! Find other tips and tricks at Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.

the one about the little girl in the bathroom

When my husband and I were dating, we went to visit his folks. Nine hours away. We had a nice visit and on the morning we were returning home, they took us to Bob Evans. Fine dining at it's best, folks! Anyhoo... we had some breakfast. After eating, we both made the required pit stops and then we were heading out.

While I was in the ladies room, doing my thing, this little girl came in. I saw her walk by through the crack in the door, and she was pretty young, although my judgements on age were probably pretty far off at that time, since I hadn't had much experience with little kids at that point. Anyway, she was pretty young. So she goes into her stall and I guess she's doing her thing too....

...because next thing you know, I heard ummm exaggerated straining noises and she hollers out "I'm having a baaaaaaabyyyyy!". Cleary this little girl had seen a few too many episodes of 'A Baby Story'. Anyway, I just about died. But then I had to pull it together so I could go and say good-bye to the future IL's and hit the road. I was too embarrassed and mortified to actually tell them what I'd heard in the ladies room, so I kept it in until we hit the road. Then I told hubby-to-be what I'd heard. He and I both died laughing. Years later we finally told his folks about that odd trip to the loo.

You know how sometimes someone else blogs something and it brings something to mind. Well that's what happened here. Angie at Bring the Rain did a post on funny things kids say and even though my children have given me plenty of funny stories over the years, this little story about a girl I don't even know just kept popping into my head over and over. And besides, it's a freebie since my own kids didn't come up with it. So here ya go! Now maybe I can think about something else! LOL

take offs and landings

After dinner tonight, we were all wanting to 'get out', but didn't want to go shopping and we didn't have anything in particular in mind. The hubby mentioned the opening of a 'park' near the airport for observation. So we headed to the airport. It was a chilly, breezy evening. There were all types of people there. Men with big fancy cameras. People with binoculars. People with their small dogs. Families...and lots of kids. Everybody was doing the same thing. Watching planes.

It was a lot of fun. I haven't flown in a while and it reminded me of how it feels to hear the engines roar and know I'll be off the ground soon. Or to watch the ground beyond the wing until I feel the bumpy landing and the brakes locking down the plane.

It also reminded me of growing up. We always had a fascination with going on a plane, although we never traveled as a family in that manner. As I grew up,I went on one school trip by plane. And flew to visit my parents while they were on vacation once. And I've flown numerous times as an adult. And of course, our daughter is accustomed to Daddyman flying for business every now and then, too. We haven't flown as a family yet, though.

But the glamour and mystique seem to be over. I remember how people used to dress up to fly. Not so anymore. I also remember how my grandmother went on a long flight that was the first of its kind and she received a medallion and the red carpet was rolled out for her and the others on the plane when it landed. She felt so special. Now it's everyday.

As our daughter watched the planes, her heart was filled with the wonder of being shot into the sky and traveling to some far off place, much like mine did when I was her age. I watched her eyes glisten and listened to her day dreaming out loud about wanting to go places I wouldn't have even thought of at her age and it made me want to toss our schedule to the wind and plan a big trip *somewhere*. I guess the mystique isn't really gone, if we'll just let go of our too-grown-up hearts.

that Dillards lady

I've been shopping for fall clothes and things appropriate for church for Miss Boo. It's getting harder and harder to find modest clothes lately. I usually go to Penneys just because they're cheaper, and especially for jeans and tops, since they only last one season at best because she grows. I hate to spend a big wad on one top. Unless of course, it's a really special top.. and she usually has one or two of those every season.. but not a whole wardrobe of them. But lately I've noticed the things at Penneys are hmm shall we say more hookery, if that's even a word...or grungy or something or other. I just haven't been pleased with the selections lately.

So Wednesday, it was off to Dillards. They had some cute stuff. I found some jeans and some cute tops and appropriate church things. Some of it was even on clearance. So I carried my arm load of stuff to the cashier. She was a nice lady. Very chatty. And she could tell by my armload of clothes that I had a daughter...or at least that's what one would assume. Anyway, she went on and on about how she didn't have a daughter. She'd only had a son. And she just kept talking. And you know how it is when these ladies are talking sometimes and you're just half listening and uh-huh'ing and yeah'ing in the appropriate places. Well, that's what I was doing. But she was just going on and going on. At one point she asked me if had other children, and I told her I just had a daughter. I don't want to go into it with everybody that comes down the pike. But then she went on and on about me not having a son. This whole conversation was WEIRD the way she was almost pressing with things. Fiiiinally, I just said "I used to". She said 'oh'. And that was it. Strange.

Well, I brought everything home and she got to try everything on. The jeans didn't fit. I think I bought three pairs. And one top didn't fit.. the neck scooped way too much and didn't cover her properly. (major pet peeve with girls clothing 'design' these days...but that's another post!) And I think a slip I bought for her didn't fit. So I had quite an armload of returns yesterday. Guess what... it was the same lady. She remembered me and asked something like "didn't any of that stuff fit?" and "Are you bringing it all back?" I assured her I had kept the items that worked. She started talking again while she worked on my transaction. But this time it was about how I was her first customer of the day and how my returns were putting her sales in the hole (not her words, but definitely the point she was making). She asked me if I had any more shopping to do. I assured her I looked over the store very thoroughly the day before. She stressed to me that if I found anything else in the store I wanted to buy, that I should bring it back to her and buy it from her. I said thank you and left.

Both of these exchanges were some of the weirdest I've ever had with retail staff... especially at a more 'upscale' department store.

stress and rest

First off.. do you like my new 'do'? I decided it would be fun to do some holiday headers. And since I make them myself, they're FREE! I've already got a cute photo I'll probably use during Christmas if it will work well in this format etc.

-------------------------

I've been really stressed out lately. There are things going on and I find myself thinking and figuring and struggling to know what the right thing to do is. And I've found myself being logical and weighing the pro's and con's and I'm just so tired.

We were never meant for that sort of thinking. I know sometimes people say 'well, God gave me a brain' and although, yes He did, He never meant for us to use it to figure out our own way. And that's what I've been doing lately. Working on this problem. Figuring this thing out. Wondering about this or that. That's always been what I thought my 'safe' word was.. wondering. It's not actively figuring, it's just thinking. I don't think God buys into my thinkin'!

But I spend too much time thinkin' and not enough time falling on my face before God. I guess that's what I'm confessing. That I need more of Him and that He's been showing me patterns in myself that I don't like and drawing me closer to Himself. And showing me I need to let go of my thinking and listen to Him. I like that.

He is the answer to struggle and lack of 'rest'... Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

one stack at a time

Stacks of paper are common at my house. Either it's the math scratch paper, or it's the diagram hubby drew while brainstorming for work or general junk.. we've got a lot of paper. And most of it's trash.

But there are the other stacks of paper... the ones that need a home. I have a corner of my desk that used to be all stacked up with that kind of stuff. It was coupons, receipts, school papers, kid stuff, the stray recipe, computer notes for me.... you get the idea.. the stuff I needed to be able to find at times but couldn't. Well, that's not true. I could.. but I had to dig through the pile to find it. And it took time. I hate wasting time hunting for stuff because I can't get organized.So I decided to find a way to fix my mess. I sorted my stack so I could get a good idea of my categories...just how many piles I really had to work with. Enter the ascending file folder holder 'thing'. I gathered my folders and put my titles on them, filled them with my goodies and put them in my little holder. Presto! No more mess. And I can find what I need in seconds. LOVE. IT.Don't you think this is much better than a big pile o' paper? I do!

courtship

I watched the show 17 Kids and Counting last night. It's new on TLC and features the Duggar family of Arkansas. I am fascinated by them and I admire them. I'm fascinated of course, by the number of children they have and how they run a smooth ship and have happy, productive children. And I admire them for their religious beliefs.

Last night's episode was about courtship. Their oldest child, a son, is 20 and engaged. It showed him asking the girl's dad if they could get married, his proposal and showed them together holding hands. And that's all we're going to see. Holding hands. Because they're saving their first kiss for their wedding day. In the world today where anything goes and 'sex' is everywhere, these two are taking a pretty unpopular stance. But I admire them for it.

Boo and I went through Passport to Purity together a while back. We didn't do some of the dating parts, but we may do that sometime. She has no interest whatsoever... so I'm not in a rush. And at school they're doing True Love Waits and a book called Dateable. When you put all this info together, she's getting a very strong picture that you need to wait until you're old enough to be serious, to even enter a relationship and what the criteria for a dating partner/potential mate are.

I so wished she could have watched the Duggars last night (she was supposed to be going to sleep lol) as they are doing it right in regards to instilling in their children the desire to be pure and not give themselves away sooner than they should. It's sad to me that this family is seen as a freak show because of their religious beliefs (not talking about the quiver full movement here) and the fact that they are a clean cut, happy, productive family. I've seen much smaller families that can't pull that off! LOL

It just stuns me now far we've strayed as a country sometimes. And yet I don't know why seeing this fresh faced family is the thing that brought it to mind last night when it's splattered across the headlines, on billboards and on just about every TV show currently airing.

2 Chronicles 7:14and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

We need to pray for our country.

kinda like fall, y'all

Well, it's beginning to sorta kinda act a little bit like fall. We're below the high 90's for our highs now. It's been raining and it's in the 60's at the moment. Every year when fall starts rolling around, one of the first things I want to eat is chili... since of course, chili is 'winter food'. We'd sweat to death if we ate it in the full heat of summer.

So I've decided to jump at this little dip in the temps and make chili for dinner tonight. And because we don't eat red meat, that would usually present a challenge. But thank you thank you to Rachael Ray for creating Indian Summer Turkey Chili for her block party special. I piddled with the recipe until we could eat it without fire shooting out of our eyeballs liked it. Unlike some turkey recipes, we can't taste the difference. I'm. not. kidding.

Here's MY adaptation:

1 package ground turkey BREAST - leanest I can find
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon grill seasoning for steak
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1/2 an onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup Kraft Hickory Smoke BBQ Sauce
1 can kidney beans, drained - optional

1. Place turkey meat in pot. Season meat with: chili powder, grill seasoning, cumin and worcestershire sauce. Begin browning.

2. Prepare the onion and pepper. Add to meat when it's beginning to brown. Continue cooking through.

3. "Deglaze" with broth and add tomato sauce and bbq sauce. Add beans, if desired.

4. Bring to a bubble and let simmer for a bit.

YUM-O! Can't wait for dinner tonight!

a miss manners moment

We went to eat dinner tonight at a little Chinese place in a nearby suburb. We eat there pretty often.. so much so that one of the waiter's knows our order before we even sit down. Every now and then we like to mix it up a little bit and get something different.

We were eating and just generally chilling out toward the end of our meal and Boo started bugging Daddyman for some of his Sprite. The two of them have this funny bond between them... the cutting up and general silliness can get pretty bad. (I've been known to say "all right you two...!) Tonight she kept asking and asking for some of his drink. She was drinking water, which she always does because she her tummy can't tolerate a whole carbonated drink order like that. Anyway.. back to the nagging... she kept asking and Daddyman finally put his glass near her but began to take some long sips. I was thinking he's going to drink it all right there in front of her...just for spite. But nope!

He finished his last long sip and then licked around the end of the straw real good and then told her she could have some. She sat there stunned for a second. (At this point, I'm laughing my head off as quietly as I can.) And then she drank the rest of his Sprite. Miss Manners would be sooo proud.

I can see the black tie event invites just pouring in.

lessons from a watch

I know people everywhere are concerned about the financial crisis in our country. I am too. But just like Antique Mommy, I think not enough energy has been put into just how we got into this mess.

Let me tell you a little story...

When I was quite young... probably late teens... I saw this watch I really wanted. But I couldn't afford it. It cost something like $100 or something like that. It was gold and a Seiko and had a little chain and it was just a thing of beauty. And it fit me. Another big consideration because I had and still have super thin wrists and not just any old clunker watch looks good on me. But this was perfect. I made many trips to the jewelry counter at Sears to gaze upon it's loveliness. But I could only gaze, because I couldn't afford it.

So I hatched a plan. I could see if Sears would issue me a credit card. So with my parents permission, I applied. And wouldn't you now it... yes they would! I was elated. I bought my watch with my new credit card. I excitedly awaited my first bill to come in the mail. Would you believe it... they told me I only had to pay ten dollars. Ten dollars! I was thrilled! At this rate, I could have this watch paid off in less than a year and I would barely feel a thing.

So I paid my minimum payment for quite a few months without looking at my balance... not like I was oblivious to how things worked or anything. When I finally looked at my balance, I was nowhere near getting my watch paid off! I was stunned! I probably wasn't even half way there.

So I had to hatch a new plan. This time I would give until it hurt a little bit. After all, I wasn't making that much money. But I gave a lot more than the minimum payment and finally began to see my balance going down. I had the watch paid off in no time. When I calculated the actual cost of my watch, it made me a little sick to my stomach. But it was a lesson learned. You can't get something without giving up something... and 'credit' wasn't really created to benefit me, as much as the lender.

I've continued through life being very conservative with things. My husband grew up that way as well. When we bought our first (and only) house, I worked and we put all of that money in savings and put a down payment on it... not a huge down payment.. but something. Even though 15 years have gone by, and we could move on, we haven't. Other people would be shocked at what our house payment is... and jealous. Where we live isn't perfect... oh the stories I could tell. But it has allowed us to send our daughter to a wonderful private school in our area that we could otherwise not afford, had we grabbed up our McMansion when we finally felt like we had two nickels to rub together....like a lot of financially strapped people we know. It has allowed us to save up for our new car purchases. It also allows us to give charitably to causes we are interested in. It's not all going down a rathole to a bank somewhere.

Antique Mommy has posted a three post piece on finance. Click here for part one, part two and part three.

go pink

Even though pink is my favorite color, I'm not writing today about what a wonderful color it is. Nope.. something a little more serious. Today was my annual smashing squishing pinching mammogram. And as much as I dread sitting in that little waiting area in that funny little 'pancho' waiting my turn...feeling ever so ummm unsupported... it's an important thing. And as much as those slabs of ice ice cold plastic and metal plates just send shivers down my spine and make me want to put on a sweater rather than a funny little gown, it's important.

So if you're putting it off... if it's past time for you... go ahead and have it done. I was pleasantly surprised by my mamo clinic this time. They moved and got some new technology and I was in and out in 20 minutes. Yes I was! So GO PINK, ladies!

organizing herbs/spices

Ever since I've been 'in charge' of my own kitchen, I have hated searching for and retrieving herbs/spices for recipes. H-A-T-E-D! It was always a mess and it took me forever to find what I needed. I could 'organize', but it wouldn't take very long for everything to be a mess again. And then every night I'd be digging around for what I needed... fussing and fuming about what a mess things were in.

I brought up this point with my contractor when we were redoing our kitchen. His suggestion.. and something that he assured me his wife LOVED when he redid his own kitchen, was the corner cabinet/lazy susan spice rack thing. Well.. I thought about it for a while and then decided to go ahead and have one put in my new kitchen. But you know what.. I still hated it! HOW in the world does one organize a CIRCLE? I was stumped until....

...I 'discovered' the label maker. I made labels for all my spices so my eye can travel across the lids of all the jars where I put the stickers and look at (basically) one font to find the spice I need. I also organized them in alphabetical order with the most used things in front....putting things used less often on the back row near the other things starting with that letter.

Since I've done this, I can find my spices quickly and I haven't had to reorganize or straighten up my spice shelves even once! And it only cost me the price of a label maker, since it didn't require any special new shelves or bottles or jars etc. AND of course, the label maker is a multi-tasker. Alton Brown would be so proud!

Putting labels on my spice jars works for me...for other kitchen tips and tricks, visit Works for me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer here.