If only...
Today is Good Friday. The day my saviour paid it all for my sins. This is a somber day for thinking Christians. Today is the day all the punishment of the world-past, present and future-was heaped upon Christ, the only innocent man ever to exist.
As a remembrance of today, I am making a cross on which I will nail all the if only's in my life. There are many. I am going to share a few.
I would be a better Christian if only:
My friends were better at holding me accountable.
We had tight-knit friendships with strong Christian couples.
My husband was more of a spiritual leader.
My church embraced my talents and gifts more.
My children told me "thank you" more often.
My sisters would quit treating me less like "the baby" and more like the incredibly enlightened "solver of the world's problems".
My household did not contain a TV.
My body were slimmer and I was prettier.
My life was lived a little more "my way".
My husband was in a Christian band instead of a blues band.
I am so ashamed that as I sat down to watch Beth Moore's "Breaking Free" all set to tackle the issues of my weight and really "break free" from some of the haunts in my past, God revealed the biggest hurdle in my christian walk. My big long list of "if onlies".
Some of you have heard glimmers of them and might not have realized how extensive the list is. The Devil has kept me beat down and chained with each and every one of these plus about 4 more DAILY.
Praise you Father, for revealing them to me. Praise you Father for promising a Comforter and Helper to guide us through life. Praise you Father for the tears streaming down my face right now. Praise you Father for loving me enough to allow your son to take the punishments I deserve. Praise you Father for giving me new mercies every morning and that you don't stop even when I get "too big for my britches" and think I don't really need them anymore. Praise you Father for a super-size helping of the humble pie I needed at a time when my heart was open to it.
Friday, April 06, 2007
"Quite", often!!!
Yesterday was "quite" a day. You may have noticed. I don't alter or edit my posts, okay sometimes a bit right after I post-but that is the extent of it. I figure those errors say as much about me as anything. Reading yesterday's post made me "quite" amused. If you don't know what I am talking about, good. Just enjoy the wonderful literature that is my blog.
A good friend of mine has a blog and she just casually slipped it into the bottom of her email. SNEAKY SNAKY!! If you are a real life friend and you have a blog and I have never commented('cause you know I leave no comment unsaid), I don't know you have it and you better 'fess up.
I have the full authority to take away birthdays(or add extras!!) and Christmas-just ask my kids.
Yesterday was "quite" a day. You may have noticed. I don't alter or edit my posts, okay sometimes a bit right after I post-but that is the extent of it. I figure those errors say as much about me as anything. Reading yesterday's post made me "quite" amused. If you don't know what I am talking about, good. Just enjoy the wonderful literature that is my blog.
A good friend of mine has a blog and she just casually slipped it into the bottom of her email. SNEAKY SNAKY!! If you are a real life friend and you have a blog and I have never commented('cause you know I leave no comment unsaid), I don't know you have it and you better 'fess up.
I have the full authority to take away birthdays(or add extras!!) and Christmas-just ask my kids.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
HARVEST!!!
I just harvested our asparagus crop. It was only one stalk, but very pretty. We have been working on our asparagus bed for a couple of years. Though we have not been very diligent, it appears that we need to buy quite a few more plants to be successful. However, I just picked the stalk and combined it with some from the grocery. Yum. I love fresh asparagus sauteed with garlic in olive oil (or butter).
There is quite a cold snap here and I am hoping the doom and gloom(cold weather snap) predicted for this weekend is wrong or that by some miracle, our new seedlings in the garden are hearty enough to take it.
We have had quite the busy work day at Erik's grandma's house. It was fun for our whole family to serve her that way. She is 92 and really sweet and funny. She calls my girls "hussies" and then apologizes because she says it didn't used to mean that. Then she giggles again and says "I know you don't like it when I call them that." I just love her to pieces, she can call them whatever she wants and I'll giggle with her. At 92, you can say and do what you want!
Hope you have had a blessed Thursday!
I just harvested our asparagus crop. It was only one stalk, but very pretty. We have been working on our asparagus bed for a couple of years. Though we have not been very diligent, it appears that we need to buy quite a few more plants to be successful. However, I just picked the stalk and combined it with some from the grocery. Yum. I love fresh asparagus sauteed with garlic in olive oil (or butter).
There is quite a cold snap here and I am hoping the doom and gloom(cold weather snap) predicted for this weekend is wrong or that by some miracle, our new seedlings in the garden are hearty enough to take it.
We have had quite the busy work day at Erik's grandma's house. It was fun for our whole family to serve her that way. She is 92 and really sweet and funny. She calls my girls "hussies" and then apologizes because she says it didn't used to mean that. Then she giggles again and says "I know you don't like it when I call them that." I just love her to pieces, she can call them whatever she wants and I'll giggle with her. At 92, you can say and do what you want!
Hope you have had a blessed Thursday!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
EASY Homemade biscuit recipe!!
So easy and so good. I have used buttermilk, soured milk (add 1 tsp vinegar to reg milk) and regular milk. I have used vegetable oil and olive oil. The resulting biscuits were always good.
Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups sifted self-rising flour
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup milk (or buttermilk)
Combine the milk and oil. Add the milk/oil mixture to the flour. Stir until the flour is mixed in.
Pinch off and shape biscuits into balls. Flatten each ball of dough with your hand or the bottom of a glass. You could roll out the dough on a floured board and cut the biscuits with a cookie/biscuit cutter, if you prefer.
Bake at 475 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Hat-tip to The median sib, http://themediansib.com who gives a hat-tip to her sister Joan,http://daddysroses.blogspot.com/
I love the median sib AND this recipe!! Try them both and let me know what you think!
So easy and so good. I have used buttermilk, soured milk (add 1 tsp vinegar to reg milk) and regular milk. I have used vegetable oil and olive oil. The resulting biscuits were always good.
Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups sifted self-rising flour
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup milk (or buttermilk)
Combine the milk and oil. Add the milk/oil mixture to the flour. Stir until the flour is mixed in.
Pinch off and shape biscuits into balls. Flatten each ball of dough with your hand or the bottom of a glass. You could roll out the dough on a floured board and cut the biscuits with a cookie/biscuit cutter, if you prefer.
Bake at 475 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Hat-tip to The median sib, http://themediansib.com who gives a hat-tip to her sister Joan,http://daddysroses.blogspot.com/
I love the median sib AND this recipe!! Try them both and let me know what you think!
Ode to Tabby
Yesterday was a hard day. I had a girl scout easter party to prep for and a Pampered Chef sales meeting that I was supposed to speak at. I woke up and was a busy beaver all morning long. The kids worked on homework and Lilly made little messes all through the house because she knew I was too busy to scold her much (she underestimated me and spent alot of time cleaning messes because I had an easter party I could take away if need be ( ;)
About 2, I finally was able to bathe myself and begin to get ready. It was then that I noticed our little kitty Tabby was acting very strange. She just was laying around in full view of the dog when normally she would hiss and stay hidden. There she was just lying by his food dish...odd. I chalked it up to her possibly being in heat-even though she did not have the typical symptoms. I told the girls to keep an eye on her and not let Toby "play with her". His play usually involves biting feet and tails. A little bit later I was looking at her a little closer and she just did not look normal. Erika then piped in that she was acting weird all day and even peed on herself and the floor a little. I made her a little pallet with food and water by the litter box and called the vet. I told them her urine was very concentrated and made an appointment for the next day. Then I re-emphasized how completely lethargic she was and did she think we had 24 hours to play with? We went on to the vet and got there about 3. We waited until 3:30 and I could tell she was getting worse and worse-but still no call back. Then she threw up and it smelled so horrid, I knew that was it. She was still breathing but I knew she would not be surviving. They took her from me, gave her oxygen and tried to save her. She had some sort of obstruction and they wanted to do something heroic-I knew she was gone and would not make it. I asked if we could see her while she was still alive and we went back and signed the papers for euthanasia which was not necessary because she died while we were petting her.
I am just devastated. She was such a sweet kitty. Cats are so low maintenance that it is easy to overlook symptoms. I wish I had noticed her lethargy yesterday-she was still hopping around and hissing at the dog but not her usual self either. I also wish the vet had just said there was no hope instead of charging me money to try to save a cat they knew had no hope. I wish I had had better composure and could say no-she only has a few more minutes, we are just gonna take her home. The only thing worse that taking your cat home in a box is paying money for 5 minutes of worthless intervention.
We had a backyard funeral and then went to our girl scout easter party. It was a good distraction. The party went well, I think all the girls had fun. Then I dropped the kids off at home and went to my sales meeting where I asked to be put off until next month. It was a hard day.
This morning Lilly's music class has been cancelled and I am totally relieved not to leave the house today.
Yesterday was a hard day. I had a girl scout easter party to prep for and a Pampered Chef sales meeting that I was supposed to speak at. I woke up and was a busy beaver all morning long. The kids worked on homework and Lilly made little messes all through the house because she knew I was too busy to scold her much (she underestimated me and spent alot of time cleaning messes because I had an easter party I could take away if need be ( ;)
About 2, I finally was able to bathe myself and begin to get ready. It was then that I noticed our little kitty Tabby was acting very strange. She just was laying around in full view of the dog when normally she would hiss and stay hidden. There she was just lying by his food dish...odd. I chalked it up to her possibly being in heat-even though she did not have the typical symptoms. I told the girls to keep an eye on her and not let Toby "play with her". His play usually involves biting feet and tails. A little bit later I was looking at her a little closer and she just did not look normal. Erika then piped in that she was acting weird all day and even peed on herself and the floor a little. I made her a little pallet with food and water by the litter box and called the vet. I told them her urine was very concentrated and made an appointment for the next day. Then I re-emphasized how completely lethargic she was and did she think we had 24 hours to play with? We went on to the vet and got there about 3. We waited until 3:30 and I could tell she was getting worse and worse-but still no call back. Then she threw up and it smelled so horrid, I knew that was it. She was still breathing but I knew she would not be surviving. They took her from me, gave her oxygen and tried to save her. She had some sort of obstruction and they wanted to do something heroic-I knew she was gone and would not make it. I asked if we could see her while she was still alive and we went back and signed the papers for euthanasia which was not necessary because she died while we were petting her.
I am just devastated. She was such a sweet kitty. Cats are so low maintenance that it is easy to overlook symptoms. I wish I had noticed her lethargy yesterday-she was still hopping around and hissing at the dog but not her usual self either. I also wish the vet had just said there was no hope instead of charging me money to try to save a cat they knew had no hope. I wish I had had better composure and could say no-she only has a few more minutes, we are just gonna take her home. The only thing worse that taking your cat home in a box is paying money for 5 minutes of worthless intervention.
We had a backyard funeral and then went to our girl scout easter party. It was a good distraction. The party went well, I think all the girls had fun. Then I dropped the kids off at home and went to my sales meeting where I asked to be put off until next month. It was a hard day.
This morning Lilly's music class has been cancelled and I am totally relieved not to leave the house today.
Monday, April 02, 2007
If you have a peanut allergy in your family-read this and know this!!
Dear Snickers with almonds,
You cannot imagine how happy I was to discover your new candy bar a couple of summers ago. At last I was able to share the goodness that was snickers with my dear hubby who is only allergic to peanuts-not almonds. We both loved this candy bar and it was a treat we were able to share. Wedded bliss.
Fast forward to last week when I was treating myself but did manage to share a tiny bite with my groom. I was having a little guilt because his bite was so small. Little did I realize, my selfishness probably saved his life. He said, "I know we eat these all the time, but my mouth feels tingly." I ruffled in the trash and retrieved the wrapper only to find "contains peanuts" all over the wrapper. He rinsed his mouth and spit out as much as he could, took two benadryls while I had a couple of mini-strokes.
I am fuming mad. Most people do not read wrappers of candy bars they have eaten a million times UNLESS there is a wrapper redesign. My husband's allergy is not anaphylactic-thank goodness or he would be dead.
I really think you should go ahead and redesign the wrapper and maybe even rename the "Snickers with almonds" to "Snickers that still has peanuts but we added an almond or two". Such sneakiness is very uncalled for in this day and age where so many people are allergic to peanuts.
No longer your biggest fan,
Janjanmom
Dear Snickers with almonds,
You cannot imagine how happy I was to discover your new candy bar a couple of summers ago. At last I was able to share the goodness that was snickers with my dear hubby who is only allergic to peanuts-not almonds. We both loved this candy bar and it was a treat we were able to share. Wedded bliss.
Fast forward to last week when I was treating myself but did manage to share a tiny bite with my groom. I was having a little guilt because his bite was so small. Little did I realize, my selfishness probably saved his life. He said, "I know we eat these all the time, but my mouth feels tingly." I ruffled in the trash and retrieved the wrapper only to find "contains peanuts" all over the wrapper. He rinsed his mouth and spit out as much as he could, took two benadryls while I had a couple of mini-strokes.
I am fuming mad. Most people do not read wrappers of candy bars they have eaten a million times UNLESS there is a wrapper redesign. My husband's allergy is not anaphylactic-thank goodness or he would be dead.
I really think you should go ahead and redesign the wrapper and maybe even rename the "Snickers with almonds" to "Snickers that still has peanuts but we added an almond or two". Such sneakiness is very uncalled for in this day and age where so many people are allergic to peanuts.
No longer your biggest fan,
Janjanmom
I am blogging while my homemade biscuits bake. I love writing that. When I remember my source, I will post it because it is very easy. My family still prefers grands-but that is too bad. No preservatives in my biscuits.
I have a confession to make as the reigning queen of vinegar and all its cleaning atributes. Our friends Mike and Sara gave us a recipe for a siding cleaner that rocks.(no vinegar) Well, we were going on our memories when we bought the ingredients and accidentally bought soft scrub which we did not need for the recipe. I have been cleaning like crazy with lemon scented soft scrub and loving it. I won't buy more when I run out but I figured I should 'fess up that I have been a cleaning fool with the soft scrub. It doesn't clean better than vinegar and baking soda but the lemony smell is delicious.
Time for biscuits and gravy.
Have a great morning!
I have a confession to make as the reigning queen of vinegar and all its cleaning atributes. Our friends Mike and Sara gave us a recipe for a siding cleaner that rocks.(no vinegar) Well, we were going on our memories when we bought the ingredients and accidentally bought soft scrub which we did not need for the recipe. I have been cleaning like crazy with lemon scented soft scrub and loving it. I won't buy more when I run out but I figured I should 'fess up that I have been a cleaning fool with the soft scrub. It doesn't clean better than vinegar and baking soda but the lemony smell is delicious.
Time for biscuits and gravy.
Have a great morning!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
I love the morning...
Erika made us eggs and toast this morning. Second morning this week. No supervision required.
I may be working myself out of a job. ( ;
Oh, and I have been reminded exactly 28 times today that it is April Fool's Day. I think a trick is expected.
May I remind you not to look down when someone points and asks what that is on your shirt.
Erika made us eggs and toast this morning. Second morning this week. No supervision required.
I may be working myself out of a job. ( ;
Oh, and I have been reminded exactly 28 times today that it is April Fool's Day. I think a trick is expected.
May I remind you not to look down when someone points and asks what that is on your shirt.
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