Nov. 20, 2009 - ~A DEAL OF A DEAL!
This year the Christmas card photos we will mail out will be FREE!
I followed the directions at moneysavingmom.com and found out this morning that my orders have shipped!
Here are my confirmation slip totals......
Order Summary:
Items - Qty. - Price
Photo Card, 5x7 - 50 - $ 39.50
Subtotal: $ 39.50
Shipping: $ 0.00
Tax: $ 0.00
Order Summary:
Items - Qty. - Price
Photo Card, 4x8 - 50 - $ 24.50
Subtotal: $ 24.50
Shipping: $ 0.00
Tax: $ 0.00
Order Total: $ 0.00
As you can see I had to place two separate orders, but I did not have to pay shipping. The first order of 50 cards was for 5X7 size and the second order of 50 cards is for 4X8 cards. It took me about 45 minutes to follow the directions and put the cards together. And my total saved.........drum roll please....... $64.00!
Merry Christmas!
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Nov. 18, 2009 - ~Three brothers photo shoot
Have a coke and a smile!
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Nov. 17, 2009 - ~Sharing links so you'll be blessed too
Let me say something about my Lord..... He is good. That is not sufficient..... He is AWESOME! There, that's a little better 
Here's a lesson in threes...... For some encouraging words, please read the heart of one of my dearest friends. She writes honestly, from what she lives.....
Thoughts on Phil 2
and then Saturday I had the privilege of joining some other ladies in a lesson along the same lines as the above and below links. The transparency was absolutely refreshing! These ladies want to please the Lord and have successful families. Who doesn't? It was neat to watch the older rally around the younger in help w/o judgment.
My husband spoke a quote to me last week. A quote that has been meandering through my mind for days. It goes something like this: 'When there is too much sound doctrine and not enough Love there is division. When there is too much love, but not enough sound doctrine, there is confusion.' I could write a page in regards to this quote alone, have seen it lived out in lives and churches and have experienced it personally as well. God is good!
And for another link along these same lines go here:
GUILT GRACE AND GRATITUDE
You will NOT be sorry
Blessings to each today!
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Nov. 16, 2009 - ~You're eating what?!
I decided to add some sprouted wheat berries for our newest smoothie creation. It took me a few days to sprout the wheat berries. I then added them to our ingredients for the fruit smoothies for our lunch yesterday.
Sprouted wheat berries taste like healthy candy. I;m not kidding. We use the prairie gold wheat for making bread and sprouting, I think the stronger variety would have a much stronger taste. In the past I have sprouted my wheat for salads and for snacking, but yesterday I sprouted for the smoothie....YUM!
Here's a photo of the sprouted wheat berries, a handful of spinach, a cup of apple juice, and 1-2 cups water. After this, I added a bunch of mixed frozen fruit, half a banana, and a goodly amount of honey (3-5 TB). And on the second batch I added Just barley since I forgot that ingredient on the first batch. I usually add barley and a little spirulina..... and they almost always come back for seconds......
Sprouting unlocks the nutrients and makes them readily available. On top of that you're not cooking your grain either, so you're eating a living food instead of a cooked up dead food. Wheat berries are CHEAP when purchased by the bucket through a co-op group and there is a multitude of ways grains can be prepared. YUM....YUM.....YUM!
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Nov. 13, 2009 - ~First time Truffles
Basic Truffle Recipe
Here's a photo of the finished product:
*truffles and photo by JoI am now a truffle fan! These were better than fudge!
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Nov. 12, 2009 - ~YUM!
Cooler weather began to roll in yesterday and it brought with it a mood....... The mood for soup. Just love the Fall weather and soup! So an hour or so before Hubby arrived back home I began the making of the Salmon Chowder. Oh how I love thee!!!
It's sprinkling and a bit on the dark side as I type this morning. I love it when the rain rolls through and I love the crisp weather that meandered down during the night. Lovely, lovely, lovely! Time for cocoa and marshmallows
And although the weather has been cooler, we're continuing with the smoothie tradition. This morning I added walnuts to Hubby's smoothie. I've decided that seeds and nuts are just too jam- packed with nutrients to ignore them in the smoothies any longer. I also added a handful of from the garden salad to the smoothie since we were out of spinach
So our newest smoothie creation goes something like this:
*Aprox 2 cups frozen peaches
*Lrg handful of garden lettuce
*1/2 a banana
*2 tsp spirulina powder
*2 tsp JUST barley
*2+ TBsp walnuts
*1/2 cup apple juice
*1/2 cup water
*honey to taste
And this morning, when I mix up the childrens smoothies, I'll add a small green pepper to the whirl as well. I've got a few extra from the garden that we haven't used and it should do nothing to the taste of the smoothie. Do nothing to the taste, but surely adding to the nutrients!
Have a great day! Gotta go make the morning smoothies......
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Nov. 10, 2009 - ~Homemade
Homemade bread........
This is what happens to homemade bread when the baby opens the door during the baking process
Twas yummy lathered with homemade honey butter too!
Then there was the homemade laundry detergent....... It's been 6 months since we've made laundry detergent. 3.00 goes a L-O-N-G way in homemade! Yes that's .50 per month! Amazing......
And then - the homemade veggies from the garden......
We harvested three days worth of lettuce, 1 radish, and 3 green peppers. Last nights salad was YUMMY!
One of my favorite 'down-time' activities is to blog search and see what others are doing that's homemade. There's something so fulfilling about making instead of buying.......
Have a wonderful day!
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Nov. 9, 2009 - ~Here I go speaking my mind again!
This morning I woke up, stumbled into the kitchen and began preparing the morning coffee. It was 5:30. Then I focused my attention on what to serve hubby for breakfast..... The chickens gave us two fresh eggs, so I grilled up some toast and scrambled the eggs for hubby. And during the dutiful event my mind was processing....processing.
The first round of thoughts began by way of a verse:
"She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family...." That was a comforting thought considering what was taking place in my kitchen.
After that the thoughts continued on..... comparing recent events and happenings with scripture and God's view of things. "If a man does not work, he does not eat..." was another. And I thought of how easily we become dependent on people, our sights off the Lord, and become slaves....
"Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?"
So here's the deal. The 'guvment' don't take care of me and mine. Reason being, I'm not looking to 'the man' for provision. I'm looking to God and the way I see it he's doing a mighty fine job. Gary and I have seen some hard times. We've been there done that. We made lots of mistakes and LEARNED from them. Our parents never instilled in us the ethic of take what you can. My mother worked HARD. She was a single mother that supported me on her own and NEVER took a government handout to help. I was not blessed with free medical or dental, but then again I was never cursed blessed with a mentality that would handicap me for the rest of my life.
Things were different in days gone by. Families took care of each other. Grandparents lived debt free, instilled the same values into their children, and everyone lived well by obeying the rules of the Bible. Granny would have 10 or 12 children to help take care of her and even in her old age lived in peace and safety. Things were different before we looked to 'the man' to take care of us and I believe the start of that downward spiral took place during the great depression.
So this morning I will head to the kitchen and continue on...... I have grain that needs to be ground today. We'll have fresh baked bread for lunch. Soon, I'll head out to the garden and harvest some lettuce, peppers, and a radish or two. That will make a mighty-fine organic salad. I was able to dust the shelves in the living room this past weekend and today will organize the troops to dust the dining room. There's laundry to wash, dry, and fold, and I have to mix up some homemade laundry detergent. There's work to be done and I'm not going to sit on my rear complaining, hoping the guardian angel of complacency will show up and grant a wish.
I'm geared up, as you can tell, so our biblicl knowledge will include truths about laziness and wisdom. The children will love it! They love when Momma gets fired up and teaches them truth. I'll speak loud and bold and strong, because that's what I do when I get fired up. Tell me my husband should be doing that and I'll tell you I am his help meet. He's out bringing home the bacon while I fry it up in a pan. God is good and we live life as a team. Jo will live life beside me, preparing at least half the food that is prepared and Bub will finish the huge amount of yard work he's been doing in between his filming adventures. The littles will dust and sweep and I will pray that they learn good work ethic and the wisdom of organization. There are improvements that have to be made in these areas and sometimes I am at a loss for what to do and how to do it. But there is one consolation...... we press on!
Philippians 3:14
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
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Nov. 8, 2009 - ~The Theatre and FILM
The girls and I were able to attend the Cinderella show on Saturday. Some friends of ours were in the show, one playing the lead role of Christopher, and the group did quite an impressive job!
These were taken before we left.
And this photo was taken at intermission.
Other friends have recently been involved in a faith based film project as well. I wish I had photographs, but I do not. Jamice headed out for some hands on experience and soon found himself very much involved. They were scheduled to put him behind the camera on Saturday working as a Cinematographer and he's made some local connections as well. He has many upcoming adventures, and his knowledge of film - the in's and out's of everything, just floors me. It's passion I tell ya! Whatever ye do, do it to the glory of God!
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Nov. 5, 2009 - ~An interview......
Here's a gentleman that has been using kiddie pools to garden since the early 70's. He gradually left traditional gardening and worked his way up to 8 pools, providing food for his household.
*photo of Grandpa w/ kiddie pool gardens off to the side
I'd like to ask him all the in's and out's, the who's and what's - the why's and how's, yet little is known about Grandpas adventures with kiddie pool gardening.
What we do know is that as Grandpa (my husbands Grandfather) aged, he began the pool gardens and worked his way up to 8 of the pools. And we do know that it is most definitely addicting, just by our own experience!
We are on our third or fourth gardening season with the pools and I see the appeal of it all. It's easier on your back and legs, MUCH easier to weed, has fewer issues with bugs and absolutely no issues with gophers. We've learned the joys of pool gardening and we've learned there are some things you don't do. You don't plant potatoes, onions, or garlic. And as far as drainage goes - we need plenty!
To my shame I missed the pool buying season again! They NEVER go on sale in this part of the country. I've tried holding out for the sale for two years and I will not miss the opportunity to buy again! Eventhough I said that last year, I mean it this time
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Nov. 4, 2009 - ~My Boy
This morning finds me sipping coffee and checking email. I am hoping to grab a couple photos of the garden when I go out to water. It's surprising how much a garden grows when you're not watching
Big Bub set out at 5:30 this morning to work on the set of a new film. He'll be there for two days and may be an extra in the film tomorrow. He's hoping for some technical time today - can't wait to see how it goes......
Here is his latest creation w/ a special guest appearance by a very special someone. I'm so proud of you boys! Keep pressing on!
FEAR semon illustration/ from Jivie on Vimeo.
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Nov. 3, 2009 - ~Time flies when you're having fun....
It's been a full week and I hope to write more when life slows down a little. I'm trying to remember that the blog is not the most important thing. So, here's a timely update and then I'm off for the most important things....
Saturday Gary's cousin tied the knot, as they say.
even got a photo of this cute little couple, hardy-har-har.
Proof that we're still here ;) The garden's still growing and we're actually harvesting many vegetables. We took the week off from school last week and we'll be schooling on and off this week in some new locations, but I'll write about that in a few days and hopefully be able to share some photos as well.
Blessings to everyone!
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Oct. 27, 2009 - ~Just for you Misti >wink<
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Oct. 25, 2009 - ~P is for pajamas and plants
It has been such a nice birthday weekend. Gary made a special dish he's been making for over 20 years - Spanish style steak. A thin cut steak wrapped around stuffing and served with black beans and rice - YUM! Part of the fun of birthdays is to see what the birthday person will request for the special day. We've got one that requests Burger King almost every single time and another that requests homemade spaghetti and meatballs.
Jo made my chocolate CHOCOLATE birthday cake and the cute little hat I'm wearing above. And this little fella was falling asleep in the middle of singing the happy birthday song. I've never had one doze off while singing! He was OUT by the time the cake was served...... ADORABLE.
And since it's been nearly a week since the last garden update, here goes.....
The pool (towards the back of the photo) is the pepper pool, which has several pepper plants, as well as 2 heads of cabbage, and some teeny-tiny developing beets. The front pool has 6 or 7 radishes, 5-8 heads of lettuce, 1 broccoli, and 7 heads of cabbage growing. I recently fudged and bought the cabbage from our local feed store. They were waving their cute little leaves and calling my name. Apparently they had heard of our pool gardens and vegetables are dying to get in!
Here's our lettuce pool, which is beginning to explode with greenage. Every couple of days I thin the pool a bit. We really should have purchased a few more pools just for the lettuce and spinach! They love the pools and we sure do love them......
And here's our newest endeavor for the winter garden which will be harvested between December and January - Lord willing. Two rows of beets and two rows of collards. The row in the middle was the spinach that didn't take, so I planted some more this afternoon. We'll transplant all of these in a couple weeks and keep our garden growing through the New Year. At this time we're not sure if we're going to continue planting in the pools or if we're going to plant in hubby's vegetable garden area. He's had the area covered for several weeks now and all the weeds and bugs are just about gone. If we add the fertilizer from our chickens we'll be able to plant in that area when these are transplant ready and they'll have plenty of nutrients to keep growing.
Have a blessed week this week my friends. I'll talk w/most of you on the F&B!
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Oct. 22, 2009 - ~Recent activity....
The days have been full here lately and this week has flown by! In between our daily school schedule, new exercise routines, gardening, and taking care of situations like this:
We have managed to press on, getting ready for family this Thanksgiving.
The top of the cabinets in the diningroom are just about complete. They need an added touch of something.....haven't figured out what that something is exactly, but when I do that part will be marked off the list of to-do's 
And if you're wondering..... the stain came out of the quilt. Thanks to many, many, friends who chimed in to help me I will be able to dress the girls beds with their matching quilts this Thanksgiving. Matching quilts which were a gift from my mother who will be visiting that day. Thanking the Lord for stain sticks, but not so much for markers.......
Have a beautiful day!
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Oct. 19, 2009 - ~Fall Garden update
Here's the lettuce and spinach. We should be able to begin the harvesting in 2-3 weeks and have lots of Salad for Thanksgiving! This is the smallest pool we have, so I'll be planting more lettuce again soon.
Here's the radish section.
These are the amazing pepper trees. Yes I'm calling them trees because they are as tall as I am, not saying much, but for a pepper plant that says a lot I think! We gave growing peppers another try, after a previous failure,and they've been producing ever since, providing about 4 peppers a week. Notice the size..... recently they began to pick back up to their normal size as well.
So far the Fall garden has nearly been free. We had extra seeds from previous plantings (some are working....some are not), and our compost has been brewing for several months now. We decided to try a little pellet kit we found on sale and I went ahead and bought a few dollars worth of seeds as well, so I think we've just about approached the $10.00 point in recent days.....
My helper and I planted beets, collards, and spinach today. I hope the seeds are not too old and everything sprouts quickly. The pellets were a lot of fun for the little helper, a new experience. It was fun to see them blow up and expand when the water was added.......
It's a beautiful day today - perfect planting weather!
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Oct. 18, 2009 - ~Thanksgiving plans still underway....
The Thanksgiving table runner is complete!
*See below a few days for the matching napkins*
Here's a close-up of the edges:
Last week I dusted off the top of the dining room cabinets and this week they will be decorated. I can't wait! I've got all these ideas floating around in my brain space!!!
Had to share these photos as well..... even though they will not be used for Thanksgiving holiday. Opened up a package from a very special someone today and it was FULL of these pretty little table linens! Also enclosed was a gorgeous vintage apron. I have to remember to take a photo, but it's so pretty I want to take the photo with a live model, so I have to wait.
And look at this little guy! Notice the denim?????
I think he'll go perfectly with our other creations. And he was a dollar at Wally World!
Now I'm off to enjoy the remainder of this beautiful brisk day!!!
Ezra 3:11(a)
With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD :
"He is good;
his love to Israel endures forever."
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Oct. 16, 2009 - ~A childhood story of deep emotional scarring.....
When I was young my mother was a NUT! A health nut. That season of her life lasted for several years. She was a lean mean jogging machine running 5 miles a day. I stayed home wishing there was something interesting in the refrigerator. All I found were cute little baggies of neatly chopped carrots and celery. And I'll never forget the time I ate her precious watermelon! Wew - was that an ordeal! I guess it was the fact that I ate the entire thing all by myself. I was probably going through sugar withdrawals......
Once she told me she would buy me and a friend Burger King. I sat there thinking it was some kind of trick. She assured me she would buy us each a hamburger, fries, and a coke. I was blown away! Then she told me 'the catch'. All we had to do was to slip on our shoes and walk there with her. That seemed like such a small thing to me. I mean, we passed Burger King in the car nearly every single day. Well, about 2 miles in to that 5 mile walk I thought I was going to die! And to think I had to do it again on the way home! That woman is a genius.....
So now that little whiner has grown up and is doing the same..... I am walking. Walking and loving it! I feel so good and even had two days I had to fight the urge to walk twice! Each week I kick the workout up a notch and I am feeling such difference in my muscles. Poor things were hardly being used. And the craziest of all thoughts..... I actually thought about purchasing cute little baggies for chopped carrots and celery!
Hubby and I walk and on alternating days I add 15 minutes with the hula hoop. My goal for this week was to do this 6 days and I am on track. Praise the Lord! I am so thankful for this!!! As far as diets go..... that's a big No-No for me. I am not fond of diets. Maybe there's some emotional scarring from my youth, lol. Though I have noticed I am making much better food choices that are more consistent than normal. Hmmm...... interesting.
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Oct. 13, 2009 - ~Easy breezy nutrition
Last week we had smoothies every morning (except one) for our breakfast. It's one of the easiest, and cheapest ways, I've found to get extra nutrients in to these little sweetums running around here. They *LOVE* smoothies! We made blueberry smoothies, chocolate smoothies, chocolate chip smoothies, and berry spinach smoothies.
Here's a partially eaten berry spinach smoothie
And some blurry evidence of it's goodness:
Most of our smoothies have yogurt, but this one does not. We just added a bunch of fresh spinach leaves in to the blender - just below the halfway mrk. Then added the mixed frozen fruit (peaches, pineapple, etc), some frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, a banana and some indian gooseberry powder, a goodly amount of honey, a cup of o.j. and enough water so that it will mix (1-2 cups?).
This was yummy and exploded with berry flavor!
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Oct. 10, 2009 - ~FREEDOM
Our eldest baby (okay so he's not a baby anymore) just finished a project he's born working on. It may not be up here too much longer but I'm allowed to show it for a time.
~Smitten Momma
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Oct. 9, 2009 - ~KEEEYOOT!
Don't you just love it when an idea pans out?! One of the hardest things is to spend lots of time on a project and it be a total flop. So I had this idea.......
We really want to spend a little extra time on the little things this Thanksgiving, but I know that we'll have to begin our work now so that it does not turn in to 'an event' and we lose sight of what we enjoy most about Thanksgiving..... our family.
So we decided to make some cute little Napkins and either a table cloth or a runner for the table. We've got several other ideas we'll be implementing as well and are very excited about each of them. I hope to finish the projects WEEKS before the holiday so that there will be NO stress Aren't those napkins just KEEEYOOT?!
Here's a close-up:
Jo and I worked for a few hours on the napkins yesterday and I finished the fringe while helping the boys with their school work today. Once they were washed and dried I got extremely excited! We're going to have denim running through the entire house by Thanksgiving time
On another note..... a certain someone (pictured above) lost his first tooth today! These are certainly exciting times we live in.......
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Oct. 9, 2009 - ~Kentucky Math Lesson
Our friends in Kentucky shared this on their facebook and I just know we can use all the help we can get so....... enjoy!
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Oct. 7, 2009 - ~What's growing....
The garden, quite frankly, was hard to get to the past few weeks. I just did not feel like it. Boy what an attitude change I have now! Now I want to plant everything everywhere and I don't want to stop! What happened? A little sprouting is what happened......
I cleaned out the pools a few weeks ago and just last week added our compost and some seeds. Well the seeds are sprouting and that's all that's needed to kick this gardener in to high gear.
There are three pools that have been planted so far. The smallest pool (above) is our spinach and lettuce pool.
Then we have another pool that we've planted radishes, broccoli, and more spinch and lettuce (we eat a lot of spinach and lettuce). I'm not sure how the broccoli is going to do in the pool....not sure if it's quite deep enough, and hoping hubby gets to the big garden to plant more soon.
The third pool has carrots and our yummy green peppers.
These pepper plants have absolutely amazed me! We planted these from seed in the spring and once they began producing they have not stopped! I had read that pepper plants produce 3 or 4 peppers and then they stop. I've got 4 or 5 plants in the pool and they have produced and produced and produced! The peppers are about half the size of regular peppers, but it's free food all the same!
The weather has been so lovely lately. Fall is here and some days the weather just screams praise! Yesterday was not 'cool', it was rather warm, but we were blessed w/ lots of rain. The garden loves rain and I'm excited to see what has sprouted today. We took a trip to the park w/some friends yesterday and the children played and played. For much of that time it rained and they were soaked! It's not often they have the pleasure of playing in the rain since most rains are accompanied by lightning but yesterday we had none.
I only wish I had brought my camera. I suppose I'll have to store those memories in my heart!
Now it's off to make some fruit smoothies with spinach for breakfast! I've already ground my wheat for banana bread as well. Today is for baking and school!
Blessings to all today!
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Oct. 5, 2009 - ~Fit pitchin' little monster.....
So we had some wonderful adventures this past Saturday. There were several community yard sales that were being held and we were able to catch one of them. We were blessed with some great deals and it was a fun family outing!
Some times I love going out in public. There are so many people to meet and talk with and in general I'm a people person. But every now and again I see or experience something that makes me cringe for the future. It was on our last loop through the subdivision when it happened...... There were cars parked in front of the houses and a sign that read: 'One Way' (which was the way we were going). We turned the corner, drove a bit, and were face to face with another car that was doing the same heading the opposite direction. We were absolutely and totally stuck!
Here we were just 20 feet from freedom and this car is in our way. We sat there for about 10 seconds with the impulse of putting our BIG van in reverse. That was settled quickly though due to the fact that there were about 8 cars waiting behind us......all going the correct way. So we were stuck and motioned to the guy and gal in front of us (the ones that were going the wrong way) to please move 'that-a-way'. To which he motioned w/his hands that he was stuck, with what appeared to be an attitude of 'oh well looks like you have to move because I'm not moving'.
Not wanting to think the worst of the guy I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and jumped out of the van to go talk to the nice fella (hubby had his hands full with a 2 ton vehicle). I sprinted up to their car and informed him, very nicely using the word sir, that there were 8 vehicles behind us (it is quite possible he didn't see them) and we couldn't move. I mean sometimes you just have to know that maybe the person you're talking to really isn't a jerk. Right?
To which he responded: 'What do you want me to do about it?' I looked at him and knew at that moment his mother and father did not give him enough spankings! I said: "Oh, O-kaaay"(in a surprised tone because once again it was our initial gut instinct which was right). That's when I sprinted back to the van (I'm sprinting because I know that this is a bit of a volatile situation. People get angry and there is at least 1 angry brat in front of us and not telling how many angry brats behind us) and grabbed my cel phone when I realized the house on the corner next to us had a police car. A few of us, including the police man started talking, and the lady at the house came out and asked the man to move. To which he did in a very interesting way and all the eight cars were free to go.
People are interesting, aren't they? They pick pieces of dirt to sink their feet in to. It's a pride thing and they do not want anyone telling them what to do. Some times it's obvious..... like the fit pitchin little monster we ran across this fine morning. And some times it's much more subtle, but either way we've got a bunch of people running around out there that are use to getting what they want and they do not care if they're right or wrong. I am sure he was cussing us all the way out the subdivision. In his toddler mind he is right. He's not thinking about the one way sign or the eight vehicles obeying it. He's thinking that all those people needed to move because HE wanted through. He dug his feet in deep and by the grace of God there were no more angry little brats behind us.
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Oct. 3, 2009 - ~FB having issues so I'll post this to the blog for now....
Bub is busy filming today. Trying out some new techniques while working on a project. I'll call this one: 'Using what you've got'! Made me chuckle...... had to share
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Oct. 2, 2009 - ~Just a peek now
Here's a little peek at yesterdays pumpkin bread
The recipe came from one of my favorite cookbooks (MOMYS) and I altered it a little by halving it, adding a little less sugar, fresh ground flour, walnuts, a handful of chocolate chips and sesame and poppy seeds. Truly it should be called Pumpkin cake because it was too yummylicious to be called bread
Overflowing were the fragrances traveling through the house yesterday. Fresh black bean soup coming from the crockpot filled the air and the afternoon Pumpkin bread sent my senses soaring! What is it about Fall?! Don't you just love soups and breads and the cool air?
One of the children said everything smells so clean. So fresh. That it truly does!
Here are the recipes from yesterday cooking:
Black Bean Soup (in crock pot)
2 lbs. dry black beans
1 lb kielbasa or meat
fresh greens, chopped small (I used kale)
2 small onions
1-2 green peppers chopped (we still have peppers coming from our Spring garden!)
minced garlic (lots)
italian seasonings
Last night we served this over rice. Tonight I may serve this with cheese, sour cream and some soft tortillas.
Pumpkin bread (we halved this recipe and added nuts, seeds and choc chips)
4 1/2 c sugar
6 eggs
3/4 tsp bake pwdr
2 1/4 tsp salt
3 tsp bak sda
1 1/2 c wtr
1 1/2 c oil
1 lrg can pumpkin
5 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp each cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg
Combine sugar, oil, eggs, wtr and pumpkin. Sift flour and dry ingredients in seperate bowl. Gradually stir in to pumpkin mixture, blending well and pour in to well greased pan. Bake at 325 for 45 min.- 1hr.
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Sep. 30, 2009 - ~YUM
Our school day is about to begin. We have a three day school week ahead of us with some gardening thrown in for good measure. Lord willing we'll get some lettuce and spinach planted today or tomorrow.....
One of our favorite things around here are smoothies. We make all sorts of smoothies and usually make our own yogurt for the smoothies as well. This morning we made a new to us smoothie and Jo is perfecting the second batch as I type. YUM. YUM.
This is what's needed for one blender batch of smoothies:
*1 banana
*1 cup yogurt
*1 cup milk (or half milk half wtr)
*1 heaping teaspoon peanut butter
*2 heaping teaspoons cocoa powder
*1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
*LOTS of ice
*2+ TB honey
(Modify to your taste. Add more chocolate, less peanut butter.....whatever you like.)
The children said we should name this Reeses smoothie. MMMM....MMM....good!
Our favorite smoothies, those we make consistently - on a weekly basis, are blueberry yogurt smoothies and carnation instant breakfast smoothies w/yogurt. We also make fruit smoothies (no yogurt), usually on the week-ends when Dad's home, but not on a weekly basis. Smoothies are great for breakfast or lunch and they are SO healthy.
I have a friend that makes spinach and strawberry smoothies regularly and her children love them. The smoothies have a green color, but they only taste the strawberry's. I can only imagine the nutritional content these children are receiving from all the spinach and strawberry's! Smoothies are a yummy and FUN way to impart extra nutrition to our families.
Have a blessed day!
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Sep. 29, 2009 - ~Lovely weekend
Today is Tuesday. I thought it was Monday...... time is flying by so fast I've lost a day somewhere!
This past weekend hubby and I took our first overnight/weekend trip in 14 years (I think). Early Saturday morning we arrived at our destination. An old bed and breakfast which has been converted to an Inn with private suites. Everything was so nice, so clean, and so very well placed - In the middle of town within walking distance to everything!
We quickly hit the shops after unpacking and realized we had scheduled our little get-a-way during the annual sidewalk sale! We purchased a few boutique items for a dollar (YES 1.00!!!) and headed off to find a few other deals (which we did for $1.50!!!). All in all the little sidewalk sale cost us about 10.00 and our first hour or two were quite chipper because of our finds......
Our first meal was at the Goblin, which was quite deceiving from the outside. Looking like a little cafe/coffee house, but once we peeked in to take a looksy we realized how big the little place was. The food was YUMMY, the service was fantastic, and the enviroment was so very nice and cozy, decorated with libraries galore.
Then it was off to continue the window shopping and bargain hunting...... and before we knew it evening was upon us and we were becoming a little tired.
So we walked a few blocks to our quaint little Inn to settle in for the night. Next to us was the cutest little pizza shop where we purchased our late dinner. We split a large greek salad and sme enormous garlic bread knots and watched some old movies and home improvement shows (not a good idea because that makes you want to do home improvements!).
The next day we walked around some more and enjoyed breakfast at the Lakeside Inn where we were initially contemplating on staying. We were once again blessed when our waitress came out and told us the good news, to our absolute surprise, that our meal was FREE!
There was one more stop before we headed home and that was to check out the Antique mall we had read about. This is the Antique Mall......
Isn't it adorable?! The dealers had these little shops made up from sheds. Some were pretty ordinary, but many were simply adorable! Some had patios, walkways, porches..... . Some were made up of 3, 4, or 5 of these sheds placed together with pure cuteness!
This design/idea is very similiar to what my parents are planning next to the old cabin they've renovated. Grandpa is planning bunk houses for the kids and grandkids to stay while we're there. He's not using sheds, but it's the same basic concept. Our bunk house will be made first since we're the biggest and the furthest away. Can't wait!
I've never seen a cuter Antique Mall.....have you?!
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Sep. 23, 2009 - ~THIS WEEKEND!
Hello everyone! Just wanted to post this update and a video in regards to a girls/young ladies conference that is coming to Vero Beach this week-end. We were able to attend last year and I have to say that it's a lot of fun and the entry rate is unbelievable (you know how we love a good deal)!
If you're looking for something you and your daughter can do together, this would be it! And I hear that there are churches that will be busing young ladies to the event as well. Suffice to say...... you could round up a group and go together!
Here's a promotional video that shows pieces of the last conference (this is the third). And I hear they are having the same speakers as last year and I must say one young lady (about half way thru the video here) had us in stitches the entire time. No exaggeration...... she's a riot and these girls will BLESS you!
Passion for Jesus spring 09' conference from Jivie on Vimeo.
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Sep. 22, 2009 - ~Proof
Just thought I'd post a couple photos before school is completed and we head off to Bible Study.....
Today we did a Noah's ark craft
But this is the real reason I decided to post today......
This little fella is our comedian. And this is yet another photo of him blessing me with proof!
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