Changes & Challenges Ahead.

With all my life's problems in the last year, I have totally blown almost every holiday except my son's fourth birthday and to beat it all that was the first 'real' party he has ever had. I know I feel so bad about it. I wanted him to have holidays with traditions and everything. Well Thanksgiving was no different. I tried to get everyone together for my son to have a family holiday but basically how I took it no one really wanted to come so I cancelled it. Though we still did have it early and not really how I wanted it. The food itself turned out really great though. I am proud of my moist and delicious Orange & Rosemary Turkey.

Anyway though I don't really have time to put together the Christmas that I wanted this I am going to work really hard to make it great. My husband has two and half weeks off too. So I want to prepare these next three weeks so I can relax too.

Basically I want to fix my home up, give myself a slight makeover, get my son back on track with his homeschooling, stock my freezer full of goodies, and to start establishing some of those traditions that I want in my family.

Whew! That may not seem like alot but I know it will be a handful when I break it down to finish in the next three weeks. :)

I defiantly don't want to be cleaning and cooking all the time like this past week. So I invite you to check back on my progress and see if I can get it all done. Not to mention we have very limited money to spend. So please pray for me to finish my goals especially since I am so late in starting them!

Weekly Menu Plan

So as I said before things are a little different at our house because my husband works second shift.

Breakfasts -(My son and I are the only ones who is up this early.So they will be simple.)
-Strawberry and Banana Smoothies
-Chocolate/ Peanut Butter/ Banana Smoothies
-Fresh Juice & Biscuits , Muffins, Or Pancakes

Lunches-(This is my husband's breakfast! He doesn't care too much for breakfast foods all the time.)
-Sausage & Cheese Biscuits
-Chicken, Veggie, & Noodle Soup
-Cheesy Potato & Sausage Bake
-Sausage Gravy over Biscuits & Fried Apples
-Salmon Patties, Veggies and Dip, Fruit
-Leftovers

Dinners-
-BBQ Chicken Legs, Tator Wedges, & Peas
-Chicken over Red Beans & Rice; Green Beans
-Steak With Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions, Steamed Broccoli with Parmesan Cheese and Butter.
-Meatloaf, Creamed Corn, Green Beans, & Rolls
-Roast with Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, Gravy, And Rolls

Snacks-
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Peanut & Jelly Sandwiches
Veggies & Dip
Fruit

Dessert-
Apple Crisp & Vanilla Ice cream (We'll eat on this all week. )

I tried to keep everything simple since I'll be busy preparing our house for my husband being off next week and Thanksgiving with family at our house Wednesday.
I'll try to post some pics later on in the week.

From His Word:11/12

Psalm 117

O Praise the Lord, all ye nations; praise him, all ye people.
For His merciful kindness is great toward us; all the truth of the Lord endureth forever.
Praise ye the Lord.

(From the NKJ version.)

Doesn't the chapter just say it all.
Whether something or someone has made you angry or sad. Or if you are the happiest you have ever been. Isn't absolutely amazing that we have some one so great, good and marvelous, looking out for us. We are so blessed to have God, so let us show him how much He means to us. By simply giving him the praise he deserves.

Making My Home A Haven:11/10

I loved these posts when Crystal did them. Now Monica is hosting a full week of it. So I decided to join in. I need to get a lot done in the next two weeks before the holidays. Not to mention my husband is getting some extra time off. ;)

First off today, Monica says to tidy or declutter your home. Well, that hit it exactly on the nail, of what I planned on doing today. Plus, a little baking on the side.

Here is my to-do list:

-Pray (I pray of the morning and have family bible study. At night is when I do my bible study.)
-Go thru each room and declutter all paper messes.
-Sort thru and load into the Blazer all the things that need to be sold.
-Organize home school stuff.

What I need to bake today:

-Chocolate Chip Cookies
-Blueberry Muffins
-Hoagie Buns
-Biscuits
-Tortillas Okay this isn't really baking! :)

I'll update later about what I have or haven't done.


Update:
I got everything done but the tortillas. My camera is on the brink again. I wanted to take some pics. I need a new camera. Maybe for Christmas. :)

Marriage

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Soaking Beans...

I read about the NT approach but to tell the truth, I haven't even read the book. Most of the information I have is from other bloggers. I first heard about NT, when I bought Jordan Rubin's book, 'The Maker's Diet'.

Since than just by the NT blogs. I have tried some recipes and a slight different approach in my cooking. You see my mom always cooked from scratch. In fact, my mom soaked her beans all the time but with baking soda instead of yogurt or kefir.

So I did a little experimenting.

I didn't soak my beans just rinsed and cooked. I felt bloated and my stomach was very upset. I didn't feel good at all. (I have digestive problems so I wanted to see how I reacted.)

Then ,of course, like my mom and I have always soaked our beans with a tbsp. of baking soda for 24 hours. I noticed a huge difference from the 'not soaking' method. I felt fine. Full but not gassy or bloated. Last, I tried the yogurt method. I have to say, I didn't feel any different than the baking soda method. I felt fine, not bloated.

So in the end, I think I'll save my yogurt for soaking flour and rice. I'll stick to soaking my beans in baking soda. This way also helps save a bit of money too.

Here are some pictures of the process of soaking beans with baking soda.

I soaked 2 pounds of pintos with 1 tablespoon of baking soda for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, I strained the beans and rinsed. See how nice and bright they look.

This is the soaking water from the beans. See how nasty it looks.

Here are the beans ready to cook in the crock pot. You can tell a lot of difference in the taste whether you soak them in baking soda or yogurt. They taste so much better than not soaking at all. And I can feel the difference too. I'll never 'not' soak my beans.

It really doesn't take too much extra time in the kitchen either. Just a little more planning. :-)

About Me: Ten Types Of Food That I Don't Want To Live Without.

I thought I do a little series about me!! :) (It is my blog, isn't?) lol.
I thought about this while I was fixing lunch. And, yes, I am weird that way.

1.) Spinach-
I crave this on a daily basis. I am guessing that I need the iron from it.
I love it in green smoothies, blender salads, sauteed with onions and garlic in olive oil, in salads, in about anything.

2.)Garlic-
Yes, I am constantly brushing my teeth to keep bad breath away. I put it in anything savory.

3.)Onions-
Same as the above two. I put it in everything savory.

4.)Yogurt-
In smoothies, with granola and fruit, with fruit and whole grain crackers, in salad dressings, in desserts and main dishes. Anywhere you can fit it in! (Oh I love to wash my face with it. Makes your skin so smooth and soft! Here is something not a lot of people might try but I did and it works. In looking for natural treatments for yeast infections, I found a article saying to help with the itch of a yeast infection, try applying yogurt. It works! But if you don't want to try that at least eat it. It is great to protect against yeast infections internally, you know, the good bacteria. But, alas, I am sure everyone knows that already!)

5.)Strawberries-
Homegrown or wild are the sweetest and the best.

6.)Cheese-
Good with anything, right? I love cheddar with dark chocolate fudge.

7.)Dark Chocolate-
Well, we knew this was coming.

8.)Whole Grain Pasta-
Topped with homemade tomato sauce. Or in a pasta salad. Or with some olive oil and veggies.

9.)Tomatoes!
I used to eat these just as they are, all the time when I was younger. Well, when they come from a garden, I still do!

10.)Fish-
I love it fried, baked, on sandwiches. I am just not that fond of Tuna!

What are some foods that you can't live without?

God Bless!
Rose Mary

For All Parents

My husband's grandmother gave this poem to me right after my son was born.
The author is unknown. She had it for a long time.

For All Parents

I'll lend you for a little time,
A child of mine, He said.

For you to love while he lives.
And mourn when he is dead.

It may be six or seven years,
Or twenty-two or three.

But will you, til I call him back,
Take care of him for me?

He'll bring his charms to gladden You,
And shall his stay be brief,

You'll have memories
As solace for your grief.

I cannot promise he'll stay,
Since all from earth return.

But there are lessons taught,
Down there I want this child to learn.

I've looked the wide world over
In my search for teachers true.

And from the throngs that crowd
Life's lanes, I have selected you.

Now will him give him all your love,
Nor think the labor vain,

Nor hate me when I come to Call,
To take him back again?

I fancied that I heard them say,
Dear Lord, Thy will be done.

For all the joy Thy Child shall bring,
The risk of grief we'll run.

We'll shelter him with tenderness,
We'll love him while we may;

And for the happiness,
We've known,will grateful stay.

But shall angels call for him
Much sooner than we planned,

We'll brave the bitter grief that Comes,
And try to understand.


Let me wipe my tears as they always fall when I read this. For all the times I've taken my son for granted and expected to much or pushed him away to do something meaningless.
Life is short, for we can not be burden with keeping our house if our children remains unloved.
I know we all have to do things to keep us afloat but let us take each moment captive when it comes to the ones we love.

Whether you are pregnant, have one or ten children; let us from now on cherish the time with them. For I've see a few moms around me loose their children, I've their hurt and regret. If I am still alive when God comes to call my son, I don't want to regret anything. So may God help me to see each precious moment I have with is yet another gift from God. Let me cherish my family in good and bad.

God bless you all.
And a wonderful day.

Natural And Enviromental Friendly Habits- Changes We have Already Made

I am in the process of simplifying our lives; by consuming less, eating healthier, not doing so many 'outside of the home' activities, hopefully homeschooling, hopefully soon to start a home based business, taking more part in our impact on the environment, and just over all trying to stick together as a family.

Here are some things we are doing now.

In The Kitchen-
-Reducing the number of electric appliances that we have.
-Reducing the amount of product packaging that we buy and trying to reuse and recycle the rest.
-Using rags for cleanups instead of paper towels.
-Using cloth napkins instead of paper.
-Rethinking how to cook to save more electric.
-Using glass jars to store things in instead of plastic.
-Composting.
-Reducing the amount of water being used.
-Making non toxic cleaning products.

Bathroom-
-Reducing the amount toilet paper being wasted. (You don't have to use gobs of the stuff! We just found this out! lol)
-Using jars in the back of the toilet to reduce the amount of water being used.
-Paying attention to about how long we run the water.
(Ex. How I shower: Make sure I have everything that I need first. Turn on the water. In the few seconds that it takes me to get in, the water is warm, most of the time. Get wet. Turn water off. Don't push the shower knob back down. 'Do my thing!' Soap up and all. Turn water back on to rinse. Not to complicated and saves so much water.
*TIP* In the winter, always keep shower completely closed so you won't get cold. )
- Using less beauty products. Making my own.

Laundry-
-Dirtying up less clothing. (We are trying to reduce the amount that seems to pile up.)
-Taking care of the clothing that we have.
-Using cold water and small loads to wash clothes more efficiently.
-Making my own laundry powder.
-Buying thrift and yard sale clothing first. Then just clothing on sale except for Hubby's work clothes.

Overall In The House-
-Using CFL bulbs everywhere.
-Turning on the light only when it is utmost necessary, And remembering to turn them off.
-Opening widows and using fans instead of air conditioning.
-Wearing clothing for the season that we are in. You know 'not wearing shorts and turning up the heat because you don't want a lot clothes' type of thing. :)
-Using heat only when necessary.
-Unplugging anything when not in use.

In the yard-
-Composting yard waste.
-Using rain water to water plants and animals(When fresh!).
-Not wasting water.
-Growing our own food. (Hoping next year can do this on a much bigger aspect.)
-Doing projects ourselves.(Like changing oil, repair work and yard work.)
-Feeding the wildlife. (Does stray animals count for this too?)

Other-
-Buying only what we need and just a small amount that we want.
-Trying to learn to become more self sufficient
-Learning about self care.(Herbals treatments and etc.)

I am sure I forgot something. I know we aren't that very far in our journey, like others are. We have so much to learn. But we are trying our best because not only are we helping the environment, making ourselves healthier, and saving money, we know that all these things help us move toward our goal of having a more simple lifestyle with my husband having a home business.

We are trying to lessen our amount of spending so when we do have our own business. We won't have to spend so much time working. It is not about bringing in tons of money but reducing the need for that money.

Oh, by the way it is not that we are lazy and don't want to work. I was babysitting and cleaning houses for my school things at only the age of eleven. I don't think many eleven years old can say that today. We always worked for what we have but in the past just spent more time working and blowing money than spending our time on more important things. Family. Our son is growing so fast, And my husband works. We hardly see him through the week. And the weekend flys by. In the end, it doesn't seem like we have enough time to spend together.

I know we'll have to make a lot of sacrifices. I have made so many already. But in the end, you can always earn more money and get more stuff. But you can never get back you time with your family.

Menu Plan:10/19/08

Our schedule is confusing at times. So meal times are not so 'black & white' as with some people's lives. My husband works second shift(evening shift). So he doesn't even wake up until noon! My son and I wake up at seven o'clock in the morning(truthfully we aim for seven but sometimes end up at nine.). So I tried in the past to simplify things for any readers to understand by listing common meal times. But that really isn't how we work! So from now on, I am going to go by how we really do our meals. Hope you can understand. :-)


Breakfasts- (My son & mine. At 7 am. Mon-Fri. Saturdays and Sundays we aim for just smoothies or a bowl of fruit and have a breakfast when hubby wakes up.)
Muffins & Smoothies (2)
French Toast & Smoothies
Egg & Cheese Biscuits

Lunches- (Actually this is my husband's breakfast and our lunch. My husband doesn't care too much for breakfast foods of the morning but prefers them of the evening at times. My husband has 'his lunch' at work about the time we have our dinner.)

Grilled Cheese & Soup
Pasta Salad
Salmon Cakes and Veggies
Hamburgers & Fries
Leftovers

Dinners- (We cook dinner around seven and my husband eats his when he gets home.)
Grilled Polish Sausage Links, Grilled Corn on the Cob, & Coleslaw
Spaghetti & Meatballs w/ Side Salad
Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Cheesy Peas, Carrots
Chicken Dumplings & Broccoli
Grilled Chicken Salad & Honey Butter Rolls
Pizza & Veggies , Dip

Desserts-
Chocolate Chip Cookies (A really good almost healthy recipe. I'll post later.)
Apple Pie

Snacks-
Crackers & Cheese
Fruit
P&J Sandwiches