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Showing posts from May, 2018

Lessons from the Garden

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I originally wrote this post in 2011.  I have to say the changes I made for my home and family were exactly what I needed.  Today life is very different for me.  My homeschooling journey is complete, we are an empty nest and enjoying more freedom.  I'm grateful for the time and energy I did spend on focusing more intently during that season of my life.  It was very much worth it!   ******************************* After 2 days of rain the sun came back!! And so did the weeds in my garden! I spent hour and half in the garden weeding today. My son Isaac helped me as well, so together we made great progress and I think the weeds are under control (at least for right now :).  You know I use to hate weeding with a passion, so much so that I rarely did it and my garden always ended up a jungle by the end of the season. Then one year I decided it was important to me have a well tended garden. My dad use to say, “Any job worth...

Breakfast Recipe Ideas

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I'm still on vacation and this week I wanted to share with you a few breakfast recipes.  My typical Menu Monday does not include breakfast meals.  So I thought I'd share a few ideas today.  ************************************ I've always liked this recipe because it's something you can make and have on hand all week long. Refrigerator Pancake Batter 2T yeast ½ cup warm water 4 cups flour 1 ½ t baking soda 2t baking powder 6T sugar 2t salt 6 eggs ½ cup olive oil 3 cups buttermilk In a small bowl combine yeast and warm water and let this sit for a few minutes to activate. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar & salt. In a medium bowl beat eggs and add oil and buttermilk. Add yeast mixture and buttermilk/egg/oil mixture to the flour. Stir to combine. Cook these pancakes at a slightly lower temp and a little longer cooking time than regular pancakes. The batter can be stored in the fridge for a week or so. Ma...

Summer Time Beverages

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With hot weather on its way it's always nice to have a cold beverage in the fridge. I know water is always the best choice, but sometimes it's nice to have a little change. Here are a few of my favorites (and I really try and keep them on the healthier side :).. *********************** Watermelon Lemonade You will need some watermelon, lemon juice (from the bottle), honey and water. Cut up 4 generous cups of watermelon chunks.. Put in the blender and puree until very smooth… Now make 2 quarts of lemonade. Measure into a one gallon container a ½ cup of honey…. Put a small amount of boiling water into the container to dissolve the hone. Stir and add 1 cup of lemon juice.. Now add water to the 2 quart mark ... Now add the pureed watermelon and mix well.  I divided the mixture between 2 2-quart jars (because this fits better into my fridge)… Pour over a glass full of ice and enjoy a nice refreshing glas...

Start Walking!

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When I turned 50 I decided it was time... it was time to get more fit. I decided it was time to focus on my health more than I had been doing. The easiest thing to do was to start walking. Of course that is when I realized how very out of shape I was! :) I did not let that stop me. I've been a big fan of walking because it can be done without equipment, no membership needed, and it can even be done in the home. I don't think there is anything wrong with equipment or gym memberships, I'm not knocking them, but they can also be obstacles when starting a journey to fitness. Something you have to wait for, or wait until you can afford it, etc. Walking can be done right now. One thing I would recommend is a good pair of shoes. If you start walking and enjoy it you'll put a lot of miles on and good shoes are a must. The other item I purchased to help motivate me to walk was a FitBit. I love the motivation it gives me. You don't need t...

Favorite Chicken Recipes

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We are off on our vacation so there will be no Menu Monday. Instead I thought I'd share a few recipes with you to inspire your menu making. These are definitely tried and true recipes. I've made them countless times and they are always a hit with my family. ************************************** Ranch Chicken Tacos 3lbs chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I cooked mine in the crockpot all day) 1T chili powder 1T cumin 1 cup ranch dressing Salt & pepper, to taste 12 to 15 flour tortillas (you could also use taco shells) Taco trimmings: tomatoes, lettuce, chopped onions, sliced olives, salsa, cheddar cheese After chicken has finished cooking use 2 forks to shred the meat. Sprinkle with seasonings and mix. Add ranch dressing. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Use this as your filling for tacos. *NOTE you can use other types of chicken such as thighs or even a whole chicken that has been deboned.    ...

Grocery Haul for Two and Homemade Pizza

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This will be the smallest grocery haul ever. Tobin and I are heading off for a little road trip and we only bought what was needed to get us through until we leave. I will be gone for a couple weeks. We are heading south to see our kids and then soak up some heat and sunshine and meet up with friends. I am really looking forward to this much needed escape. :) But don't worry, I have blog posts already scheduled for you while I'm gone! :) OK, here is what we picked up at Winco.. Milk (certainly the smallest amount of milk I've ever bought! Ha, ha!! :), half n half, hamburger buns (they went in the freezer), grape tomatoes, bananas, apples and oranges.  And bran which I bought in the bulk area.   We have fruit and veggies that I'm working to use up before we leave.  So I only bought what I knew I would need.   The grand total for Winco was $10 Next Stop was Costco.. Ha, ha!!  Yep th...

Wednesday Snap Shot

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I've enjoyed a nice lazy morning today. Wednesday is my hubby's day off and we both decided to just take it slow this morning. But I'm up an at it now and just started my 2 nd load of laundry and got the sheets changed and the kitchen cleaned. Not a bad start to my day :). I had the best Mother's Day. It was totally unexpected by me. I'm not one who makes a big fuss on Mother's Day. I don't have expectations on my children and they know this. I've told my children what honors me the most is that you all live godly, God honoring lives. I don't need flowers or gifts or anything else like that. No matter what I always hear from them, one way or another. It may be a phone call, a text or a visit. My oldest son called me on Saturday night and wanted to come up and spend the night. I said sure, no problem. He does this often as a way to get a break from his hectic life in the city. When he came he had some of my fav...

Finding Joy

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There are things in life that bring us much joy, but sometimes joy can be elusive and there is little to no joy. You would not think that joy is something that needs to be found, but I've discovered this year, more than other years, that it is often something that we need to seek. Towards the end of last year I was searching and thinking about my 'one word' for the year. I do this every year. Some words I quickly forget, others are a reminder for me to focus on throughout the year, but this year it has been a word that I have had to find. My word, as you may have already guessed is “JOY”.  Last year was a difficult year. I started having double vision and was quite concerned about it. That led me to a trip to my doctor which in turn led me to more doctors and countless tests and procedures to figure out why. This process led to the discovery of a large hiatal hernia and intermittent bleeding ulcers, which led to an emergency trip t...