Well we passed the 2 month mark since Loys death . Thanksgiving Day will be 3 months . UGH , I am dreading the week . The 24th would have been his 50th birthday . Then a few days later Thanksgiving .
We are going to some friend home for Thanksgiving Dinner . We also have another family of friends coming along . It will be a busy , boisterous day . I hope and pray , just what our family needs ! Our friends don't have anything that Loy made and I think that will help .
Ok , on to cheerier things ...My DH gifted me with his old i-pod . He got one that holds twice as much ! Sooooo...now I get to try to learn use it . We all listen to Christian music ...but different styles ! We all have our own preferences . I think my daughter would listen to alot of secular music (oldies) if she could . But it is a rule established in our home about 10 years ago .
We have our last video secession of the Esther study tomorrow night . Then Monday we will have a dinner and watch "one night with the King"
I can't remember what I signed up to bring to the pot-luck dinner . HMMM... too much in my head I guess !

It has been almost 3 weeks since my brother died . We do believe he is alive in our hearts and alive with Christ but we are missing him here allot ! In some ways it is still sinking in for me . This is my first bit of time not slammed busy . I still have several thankyou cards to make out and send . And my house needs attension desperately ! I did some minor grocery shopping yesterday (since we were out of kitty food) And I think I will bring dinner over to my mom and dads tonight . Mannicotti ! Ummmm.... Publix had Paul Newmans marinara on a B1G1 sale . So I bought 4 ! LOL . If we are in a real press , I just fry up some meat add the sause and pour over cooked noodles . Done ! Of course we perfer homemade meat balls , salad , fresh bread ...but life calls for a quick , thought free meal occasionally !
I started the Beth Moore Ester bible study ! I am very excited about it ! I am going to look around the NET and see if anyone out there is blogging about it ! :-)
Have a great week ~ Lora

In loving memory

My only brother died Thursday . He was in a motel room in TN getting ready for work . One of his co-workers said the last thing he told him was "here's a peach for ya Doc , I'm going to see the sunshine" Wow ! He could not have known how prophetic that would be ! He got to go see the SONShine !

Loy was a believer . We didn't always agree on everything but on the basics that make a difference in where your eternity will be spent we did ...so I have hope that I will get to see him again .

Yesterday was the funeral and it was so hard ! So hard to see my parents heartache . Their only son gone at 49 . He was married but the never had children . Very sad . He loved my kids allot though and we have many pictures . We are seeing again the value of good pictures ! There were 2 boxes of photos to go through at my moms ! It was hard but it allowed us to think of him in good times .

I had allot of people tell me I needed a release and I guess this is one way to do that . It isn't that I didn't cry , I just didn't act like others imagined I should I guess . Loy is gone , we are not and that leaves much to be dealt with . I have my mom and dad to support and watch-out for . My kids , who will miss their uncle greatly . My husband , who worked with him for over 20 years ! Was his friend , sparring partner , and much more . He stayed with Loy while the paramedics did all they could do . He watched his friend and brother in law be pronounced "gone". He has awful heart-ache . He has allot of anxiety about going back to the same job they were on and having to figure out how to work with other guys . Wanting other to care that he wants to go home with all his appendages each night .

Loy's wife will need a miracle to make it thru this . She has never been on her own . She does not even grocery shop by her-self . Thankfully , she is about 14 miles away from us and we can help if she will let us .

There is much to do in the days to come . We have another trip to make to the air-port . And life has to get back to some semblance of normality for every-one . Going back to work . Starting school again . ETC....

So if you are reading this , pray for us ! I know this happens all the time all around us . I will try to pray harder and understand more . I am learning as I go here . But my God grant me a teachable spirit !

random survey

~~~~~~~~~~FOOD-OLOGY~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is your salad dressing of choice? Raspberry vinegarette
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Cracker Barrel
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Buttered noodles with cheese
What are your pizza toppings of choice? extra cheese, , olives
What do you like on your toast? cinnamon and real butter
Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate!
~~~~~~~~~~~~TECHNOLOGY~~~~~~~~~~~~
How many televisions are in your house? 1
What color cell phone do you have? PINK
Do you have a laptop? yes
~~~~~~~~~~~~BIOLOGY~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you right-handed or left-handed? right
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? yes, my wisdom teeth years ago.
What is the last heavy item you lifted? My BWB canner full of water !
Have you ever been knocked unconscious? yes ! Once while pregnant !
~~~~~~~~~~~~DUMBOLOGY~~~~~~~~~~~~
How many pairs of flip-flops do you own? 2
Last person you talked to on the phone? My friend Cindy
Last person you hugged? my son
~~~~~~~~~~~~FAVORITE-OLOGY~~~~~~~~~~~~
Season? fall
Holiday? Thanksgiving
Day of the week? Tuesday (I usually get to stay home that day)
Month? Feb.
~~~~~~~~~~~~CURRENT-OLOGY~~~~~~~~~~~~
Missing someone? yes
Mood? tired
What are you listening to? my dh and dd conversing
Watching? the blinking cursor
Worrying about? sleep
~~~~~~~~~~~~RANDOM-OLOGY~~~~~~~~~~~~
First place you went this morning? down-stairs
What's the last movie you saw? Monsters vs Aliens
Do you smile often? not enough
Do you always answer your phone? nope
If you could change your eye color what would it be? emerald green
What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? cherry lime
Do you own a digital camera? yes
Have you ever had a pet fish? many times , many kinds .
Favorite Christmas song(s)? Carol of the Bells,We Three Kings, O Holy Night
What's on your wish list for your birthday? Grain mill
Can you do push-ups? no
Can you do a chin up? nuh-uh
Does the future make you more nervous or excited? excited
Do you have any saved texts? several
Ever been in a car wreck? several
Do you have an accent? sweetly souther
What was the last song to make you cry? standing in the gap

Plans tonight? sleep
Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? yes
Have you ever been given roses? lots , my hubby is romantic !
Current hate right now? the powerlessness of the American people opposed to the supposed leaders !
Met someone who changed your life? Jesus ! And my first born !
How did you bring in the new year? Church
.What song represents you? Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Would you go back in time if you were given a chance? absolutely!
Have you ever dated someone longer than a year? yep !
Do you have any tattoos/piercings? certainly
What songs do you sing in the shower? What ever God wakes me with
Ever had someone sing to you? yes !

Do you like to cuddle? sometimes
How fast can you run? zero , sad , i know

Have you held hands with anyone today? yes !

Who was the last person you took a picture of? Larry
What kind of music did you sing in elementary school? pop
Are most of the friends in your life new or old? new
Do you like pulpy orange juice? if I made it

What is something your friends make fun of you for? my hiccups
Have you ever ridden a elephant? no
Do you like to play Scrabble? on-line
What are you saving your money up for right now? tires
When is the last time you ate peanut butter & jelly? last week . Grape jelly , creamy pb.
What were you doing at 12am last night? cleaning
What was the first thing you thought when you woke up? turn the alarm off QUICK !

1/2 way thru June

Gee ... I am glad I kow God says He is making the time short for the benefit of the saints ! Because it is alittle disconcerting to watch it whizz on by !
This is the day I have put EVERYTHING else off to stay home and get some MUCH needed cleaning done . I have done terrible lately and i am getting to the point I do not like my home . Not a fun place ! It seems like as soon as we made a plan to get rid of clutter it piled in on me more oppersively then ever !
The princess is gearing up for VBS . The prince is driving me bonkers waiting for a new air-soft gun he ordered . And the ceiling fan in the kitchen DIED this morning . Sigh . My hubby looked at the bright side and said " it lasted a long time" . And it did ! I just want a good deal on a new one . And I spent time browsing on-line today looking at different styles . I think I will go with antique brass (like the cabinet hinges) or white . Not sure . I have to have flush mount and I don't want to spend more than $100 . Hmmm.....
Guess I better run ! Gotta clean the other side of the kitchen now , this concludes my break . :-)

The princess turns 20

Our princess turns 20 on Sunday ! WOW ! It is so hard to believe ! And it is harder to believe that she still doesn't have her license ! I am making her drive once everyday this week . To or from work or church (since we have church stuff all but Monday and Friday this week!) It's interesting . She is scared but I am praying that she will become more comfortable as it gets to be more familiar .
We will do a family dinner Saturday or Sunday . And she has requested that I make this cake . Looks tasty ! And not TOO hard . She wants to make a couple of changes . Omit the coconut , for the princes benefit . And add a layer of raspberry jam to the layer . I bought a Wal-Mart cake for her one year that was white cake and had a thin layer of jam between the layer . It stuck in her mind as her favorite ! LOL
She almost asked for an Oreo cake ...because I make the best one ever ! But her ex-intended made a point to say that was his favorite . So , since she is not completely healed from his abandonment she opted for something else . It has been hard watching her walk thru all that mess . But , on the bright side , there have been so many women that have share a testimony with her about how they were sure that a particular guy was THE one and God said NO in one way or another . But HE brought something better . How HE is faithful and worth waiting for His best for you . It has been very encouraging to witness !

volunteers !

The Prince and I have been working hard in the garden trying to keep ahead of the weeds ! Ugh ! Some days it feels like they are winning ! But it is lovely to see all the veggies coming in . We have one cuke the is big enough to come in but we are letting it get bigger .
Speaking of cukes ....I was showing the prince the deluge of morning glories at the base of the fence between the garden plots . And telling him they could stay as long as we head them up the fence when they start vining . He looks down and says "yea , but what's that ?" I said "morning glory" he said "NO that triangle shaped leaf?!" I looked where he was pointing and lo & behold !! There are about 15 baby cucumber plants all in a bunch ! They must be the off-spring of on that got lost in the weeds at the end of the season last year . You know ...when you can't imagine how you can eat another cucumber , maybe for the rest of your life ?!? LOL .
God is SO kind . He knows just how long it takes to make our mouths water again at the thought of fresh veggies ! We are SO fickle . Manna never seems like enough . Shame on us !

Anyway ...I am going to leave the baby cukes there . I might take one or two and try them in a pot since I have wanted to try that and these guys didn't cost me anything . :-) I am very excited !

I hope to take some pictures tomorrow and get them posted on the garden progress ...so...be back soon !

Monday June 1st

Hmmm....a brand new month started .Saturday I will start on a new year . And i am trying to start a new schedule . Lots of new stuff !
I tried my small pressure cooker for the first time today . I thought it was a bit scary . I did find some great sites on-line to help me out . It has a weighted gauge and it jiggling around kind of freaked me out at first .

I have spent 2 days (in part) blanching corn and cutting it off the cob . Then scrapping the cob and putting it in zipper bags to either freeze or can . My freezer space is a commodity , so I am hoping to can most of it .

I am making dinner for our pastors family tonight . (And we will eat the same) Turkey Breast roast , creamed corn , sliced tomatoes , coffee cake . Now I gotta go make the coffee cake ! I found a great recipe here http://www.tasteofhome.com/SiteSearch/FacetSearchResults.aspx?search=coffee+cake&st=2&vw=1&page=8&rs=10&sort=0 I went with a regular cinnamon type . I saw one that looked great ! But I realized I do not currently own a bundt pan ! :-/

Odd huh ? Better run , if I sit down too long I will be napping ! Ugh !

I keep saying I will spend 15 min.s a day catching this thing up ! And I will ...one day ! LOL
I guess you can check my FB if you really want to know what's going on !

I have had the princess home sick most of the week . I have been uber busy with grad parties , ceremonies and life in general !
We had a bit of a scare Wed. Our Abby feel down the stairs out front ! It had been so wet and humid when it wasn't actually raining that the steps had grown a coating of algae ! Her little feet went right out from under her on the third step ...she tumbled the other five ! Very scary ! She had a scrap very close to her eye , lots of blood ! It looks much better today . Especially after she had her grooming appt yesterday . They always do a great job !

DH has to work Sat. to make up for the holiday so we get less time together this weekend but a least it looks as if it will be a beautiful one as far as the weather goes !

Ya'll enjoy !

Flylady to the rescue

OK ...I have been "following FlyLady" for a while now . Mostly just reading the e-mails . :-( But she has "flywashed" my thinking . I do concider things as I move them , wash them and even browse the at the store .
I have been intending to start trying to do the missions with her too . So , finally , today I started ! I wiped down and cleaned off the kitchen counters . It took a whole 15 mins ! So , to stay motivated , I stopped to blog it . LOL
Now I have the trash can sitting on the front porch soaking . It was yesterdays mission to give it a good cleaning . I know she always says " you are not behind , jump in where you are" But it was pretty gross , so I decided to do it anyway .
It is a good feeling ....I don't feel like I have not accomplished anything . I think I will go throw some wrinkled (but clean) laundry back in the dryer so I can fold it . There are like 4 baskets down in the dungeon , I mean the garage . LOL ...at least I hope it can be a garage again someday .
SIGH ....one thing at a time ! :-)

Anniversary

Today , May 5th is our 19th wedding anniversary ! Today marks the point at which I have been married to my husband for 1/2 my life . (Since I was 19 when we got married) Strangely enough my DH will not have been married to me for 1/2 his life for quite some time to come since he is a few years older than I am .
As we wished each other Happy Anniversary on the phone this morning he told me it would be great to actually get to say it face to face . And I reminded him that it has happened a few times !lol . I had hoped to be able to present DH with a new lap-top for our Anni. but it will have to wait . But more on that later .
I would be glad for any suggestion on celebration strategies that I might make use of this week-end when we are reunited . :-)
Blessings !

A different kind of day

Well...this has been really different for me . DH is off on a job . I dropped the kids off at church Wed. at noon for thier mission trip to another state and came home to an accusing look from the dog , wondering what I had done with the kids ! LOL No,really , she searched the whole car ! LOL
Several little things that the kids usually do have fallen to me . Trash duty , feeding the livestock , vacuuming etc .... It adds up ! Then there came the point where I was done with all the little chores I intended to do for the night and realized I was quite alone ! Yes , it is enjoyable for a short period of time , but not too long ! Then I got to thinking ...my baby is 14 ! What ever will I do when the house is empty for real ???!!!??? Getting a dog is not the answer ...we have 3 !~lol
Ah, well , well cross that bridge when it comes ! I am sure the good Lord has something planned out I had not even thought of yet !
Better go get back to listening to the windchimes !

Saturday

Well , here it is Saturday ....not sure how it snuck up on me ! Wow ! I didn't even get my menu posted this week (again) .
Today we have been doing outside stuff . I have been working around the pond . Mulching , pulling weeds watering my new flowers etc... I seriously under bought mulch ! I got 3 bags and needed 6 . I still have more to do out there but it is looking better .
We had a roofing guy come look at our roof today . We had an incredible storm come thru on the 10th of April . It dropped real , honest to goodness , golf ball size hail ! Scary stuff ! Then last Monday the 13th we had another front come in that had gust over 50 mph ! That's some serious wind !
Or neighbors lost a tree . And we had a few dead limbs drop out of the Pin Oaks out front . But they just went to the ground , not hitting anything .
We are now waiting for the insurance adjuster to come out and look it over .
Well ...I am only in for a water break . Rick is out tilling the garden since it is finally dry enough to get in it and I am going to work on the porch for a while . It is SO cluttery . I keep saying "this week I am going to follow FlyLady to the letter ....but I don't . Next week we are in the master bedroom ...where I need the most help ! So maybe this week , I really will !
Sigh ....of course I am having to work with the sunshine too . My dryer DIED ! Rick thought it was the belt but told me to go ahead and be looking for one since it was already running on 1/2 heat and I could probably buy one for less on Craigslist than he can fix that one for . When he got home he pulled it out to see and the gears disintergrated ! So it is a loss ! Oh well ...just praying I find a great one at a great price and God blesses it for us !
Have a good weekend ! Be back Monday . (I hope !)

God Pixels

Driving the other day I saw a field that looked like it was brush painted with delicate strokes of periwinkle . Oh , it was delightful ! Then I had the idea that those were "God pixels" ! Why "God pixels" ? Because I knew that in each brush stroke there were 100's maybe 1000's of tiny purple flowers . Each one having beauty and value of it's own ! But lending its-self to be apart of the "bigger picture" . A Devine masterpiece !
The wonderful wall paper I have on the desk-top of my computer is made up of pixels . And it too reminds me to "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness"
Surround yourself with things that point you towards the Lord always . Even your every day stuff , like screen savers . You can also buy or make things like kitchen towels , aprons , note cards and much more to surround yourself in those things that point you towards the Creator and keep you with Eternity prospective .
A similar desk-top wall paper can be found here for those interested ! There are several scripture pictures if you just click around the site . :-)

MPM

This week I will be experimenting with things I can put in the freezer . Our church has requested each lady out of our SS class to bring a "casserole type" meal that can be put in the freezer at church for some of the people who need a meal . Mostly single and elderly that live alone . I think it is a grand idea . But I have really only frozen soups ...so I am not sure what to make ! Any help greatly appreciated !!
I have a recipe to try tonight , and if it is good I will share it .

Monday - Freezer-Mate Casserole (will review)
Tuesday - Chicken and rice
Wednesday - Taco Bell (out)
Thursday - Cornbread and "old skool navys"
Friday - Home school talent show and fellowship . I am not sure what to bring for a crowd ! Again , any suggestions ?!
Saturday- Venison roast , home made biscuits , salad and pinto beans with onion
Sunday - Enchilada a'la crock-pot , served with chips and salsa and cheese dip and possibly salad

I made rice pudding that did not come out right , so I am putting it in a bit of milk and heating it for a hot cereal .
I will also make a batch of waffles to keep in the fridge .

For snacks , I hope to get some muffins made and some banana crackers ...and if we like those I will post the recipe on here !

Happy Sunday

Happy Sunday all ! It is a beautiful day here in GA . It is in the upper 60's , sunny and very spring ! All the Daffodils are either in full bloom or almost done already . Everywhere you look there is white and pink and yellow blooms ! My baby peach trees are getting their new leaves . Right now it just looks like a slight green ruffle going down the miniature trunk . They are a year and a half old and about 3 ft high (still in pots) .

Church was wonderful today ! God gave us one of those rare days of pure praise ! Several people came down for prayer for physical ailments . And then things just went right back into the praise and worship . We danced and cheered and almost lost my voice from all the singing . But oh , the joy . We just get a glimpse of practicing what we get to do for all eternity .

I will be back tomorrow (Lord willing) with Menu Plan Monday ! See y'all then !

just a random Thursday

Well , I got back before too long this time !~LOL
This has been a busy week . Yesterday the prince and one of hs compatriots had an outside science class . They dissected a frog . The prince was pretty appalled ! He loves frogs and I had already told he he could exempt that one for our Apologia Bio labs . He also seems to have a hard time with the formaldehyde smell .
I also had to get the princess early and try to straighten out a mess with her eye wear . They lost the order for one of her pairs of glasses . But they did have one pair in and the new contacts . I shudder to think what her life would have been like in days long ago . (before vision correction)
My Abby is still in heat . We are on week 2 and it is so annoying ! She has such discontent . Poor girl . We are strongly weighing the possibility of getting her spayed . We had not because I wanted to get her bred but we tried twice and she was not receptive . And as I told DH I would most definitely want to keep a puppy , and we do NOT need another dog ! We will have no more big , outside dogs after these guys go . Tho I will always have a pet in the house for companionship I guess . But since the kittens are not quite a year yet , I could easily be in my 50's before we need another cat ! Wow , what a thought !
On another note , I am getting interested in the CVS game . I think I mentioned that in one of my last posts . I missed the body wash ...they were out of it by the Tuesday dead-line . But I did get the Sure . Can't wait to see next weeks now ! :-0
I have a ceramics class tonight ...I will try to post some pictures tomorrow if the camera batteries hold out . Hubby has the charger with him this week . It was an oops .
I am not cooking tonight so the menu is getting swapped around a bit . We are all going separate directions . I think I will still do the turkey breast tomorrow tho ' Yum !

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Taco Soup served with sour cream , cheese and tortilla chips

Tuesday - Speg. with home made meat balls and home-made
(bread machine) Bread

Wednesday - sandwiches (deli-type) served with mac & cheese w/carrots

Thursday - crock-pot chicken and rice (I have a class)

Friday - turkey breast roast with cranberry sauce and baked cauliflower (this recipe includes broccoli , I omit it and sub-in extra cauliflower.

Saturday - venison cube steaks (not sure what to do with these yet ...any suggestions ?? Please !??

Sunday - corn bread and beans after church (crock-pot meal using a Honey Baked ham bone...yummy !)

I need to get our eating out back under control ! So I am trying to plan better and easier to stick to menus . I will be looking thru the sale ads to plan next week out as well . I shop at the end of the week and try to get two weeks worth .
I am going to try the CVS ECB deals . And am also looking for a way to organize my coupons so that they are more usable .
Big goals this week ...but I know so many of you are with me !
Have a wonderful week !
Love , Lora

life gets too busy to blog !

Well , once again it has been a while since I have been on here ! SIGH ~ I just get busy ! I have been going to classes on Sunday evenings and some Saturdays . My mom was sick . Yada,Yada ! Anyway ...Mondays are my only official day at HOME so I am taking time to update ! Yeah !
Lets see...The Prince has bowling on Tuesdays . It is going well ! He likes it OK . It works for a PE credit and it's not too expensive . Plus , We got him his own shoes at a thrift store for less that $5 ! So now we don't pay for shoe rental on practice days ! :-)
Our princess and her intended have been going to IHOP (church not pancakes) on Sunday evenings . But last night he had an issue and they left early . Not sure if they will go again . She may have to wait until she is driving on her own . Maybe it will spur her on ! LOL We are now aiming for before her birthday in June ...she is just not worried about it !
DH was in town last week . And it was very kind of the Lord to arrange that ! He ended up working on my car 4 different evenings . Our neighbor , who is a mechanic by trade , lent his expertise and they got it working correctly again ! Yeah ! I am so glad . It is such a great little car ! I treated it to a wash and vacuum the very next day . My DH walked by and asked whose car was in the driveway (confession : I and the prince tend to not mind a piggy mess {read ARE SLOBS here} )
We are planning to participate in "Decades day" with a local homeschooling group . The prince has the 1950's . And he intends to attack the project from a military view point . Could be worse I suppose .
This is the 3rd day of rain here in GA . I peeked at the forecast and it is supposed to be warmer and only partly cloudy tomorrow ! I miss the sunshine ! I am a southern girl thru & thru ! That also changes my menu . I will be moving the taco soup to tonight , since it compliments the cold weather well !
Better log off for now . I have much to do and little ambition . Sorry CC , I have been listening in those classes and even taking notes ! But my solar cells need charged up ! LOL

crazy week ... but God gets the glory !

Last Sunday we got word that Crystal River was ready to film the next video and they would need my DH . So ... we started making arrangements to make it all happen so we could go to Orlando , FL . We had pretty much everything lined up except calling our dear friend to take care of pet care . (there's only a handful of people my min-pin wont try to eat , or at least convince them she will!) Then Tuesday we get a call that the video is being re-schedle for another time . So , we went with that . But our week/weekend was already cleared out .
Wednesday , I took Kitty to the vet . He is 15 and I was afraid that the cold he caught from the kittens might do him in ! I got meds and needed to watch him close ....but I really didn't get to !
Thursday I went to get my dad to take him to take his drivers exam . He passed with no problems ! Yeah ! But my mom had stayed home sick from work and when we got back she was much sicker than when we left . Even tho' we were only gone a couple of hours . We made a doctors appt for her and ran to the store for somethings she needed . When we got back from the store she looked even worse ...GRAY ! She wanted us to call an ambulance and she was pretty scared .
It turns out that she had diarrhea since about 5:30 the previous afternoon . Then sometime in the night she started bleeding rectally . But she wanted my dad to pass his test with out additional worries . She had actually lost a dangerous amount of blood !
I already had Thursday cleared and one of our fellow HS moms was going to have the prince in the afternoon ...and she volunteered to pick up the princess once all this got in motion ! Thanks HC !! I rode in the ambulance with my mom . I had to ride up front and also had to concentrate alot so I wouldn't get car sick ! LOL , not a touch I wanted to add ! Anyway ... on the way there the dispatcher radios that the hospital we were in route to was turning patients away because they were full . The paramedic suggested we go to another one since that is where they would send us anyway . But I asked to go to the first one with the thought that that one has all my moms medical records . I could tell how NOT thrilled they were with my decision . But I stuck to it .
When we got to the hospital we were told to expect to be turned away . But we were waved in ! Then we were told to expect an hours long wait . But a nurse followed the stretcher in and started getting info . then they told the medics that she would have a room in a few minutes . In about 10 minutes we were in a room ! The staff was very attentive and kind . I was so surprised !
After several hours of tests and treatment the decided to admit my mom . The Doctor came in and told us how full the hospital was and that we should expect her to spend all night in the ER since there were no beds .
A half hour later I went to the nurses station to get something for mom and the nurse said ..."Oh , they have a room almost ready . Someone will be down to get her soon."
How cool is that ?!?! Soon they had her in a private room and had her situated . I was able to wait for the nursing staff to change shifts so I could meet the night nurse . And I went home knowing my mom was in great care ...GODS ! He had ordered things so well .
When I got home my wonderful children had straightened up the house so I wouldn't be stressed out . And the princess had made a simple , but satisfying dinner for herself and the prince . Oh , I am SO blessed !
Later I realized that God had taken care of another very personal matter for me . It further allowed me to think on what need my attention most and just deal with things as they came . (E-mail me personally if you can't stand the curiosity!)
Mom came home Saturday , having been diagnosed with Colitis . The bleeding stopped and she is resting . We are still waiting for the biopsy results to see what the cause was . It could be Salmonella or a virus .
When my DH came home Friday we stayed home and had a nice eat-in night . The princesses beau was sick so we all stayed home ...it was rather nice !
And Saturday ,since the calendar was cleared for filming, we had a relaxed day trying a new restaurant and going to see a movie . At a regular theater ! Gasp ! That NEVER happens ! We went to see TAKEN on the recommendation of one of hubby's co-workers . It was good and opened many discussion avenues for us with the children . The language was rough . I usually will walk out on one that takes the Lords name in vain (and this one did once ) . I am actually thinking of writing a letter to the lead character and asking him to consider negotiating scripts to not use those phrases . He may not know it still offends some people !
What do you think ?

BUSY

Our days filled up when we started school back in January ! Now we have weekly and monthly extra science . Bowling league one day a week . Church two or 3 times a week etc .... so ....my poor blog gets pushed aside .
I have still been menu planning (mostly) DH is out of town alot right now and I am much more lax on the meal dept. when he is gone . My kids love to tell me about it too ! LOL
I am also in a bit of a de-cluttering mode ! Praise God , someone must *seriously* be praying for me ! I am still overwhelmed if I look around , but bit by bit I can pick one small project per day .
I was blessed by finding the bookshelf I wanted on CraigsList for a very low price . I am moving the old one to my bathroom to become the new towel shelf . My old towel shelf is going to my moms for the princes room there . It is a kids entertainment center so I think it will actually save space for him there .
We had a couple of 70 degree days here ! I had almost forgot how much I love that median range ! A light jacket in the morning , ss in the afternoon . Ahh...and ,today, I miss it already ! It is 55 & cloudy now . I started out in ss , but now I have a blankie around my shoulders ! LOL I did pick out clothes and will change next time I am up-stairs .
We got the kittens fixed ! Yeah ! But the downside is now they seem to have a sneezy cold . Yep , both of them ! :-(
What else has happened since my last post ? Hmmm...oh yes , I found out I am a bonafide stress eater ! Might seem obvious to others , but until last week I would have said "no , not me" . Then some icky stuff happened between me & DH and the diet plans went right out the window . I had done well the week before ...even lost 2 lbs ! But that will NOT be the case this week I fear . And , of course , If I am not eating right , my mood suffers . SO , I am beginning to come out of the cloud/funk now . But I am still apprehensive about what is coming this weekend when DH gets home . I sincerely hope this will not be a ruined Valentines ! Sigh ~ OK , the cloud isn't gone completely ~
I will be posting my menu soon ....better late than never !
And next week I will try to get it out on time ! Next week is payday for us so that also mean the regular grocery trip . The last trip was made while our house was in the middle of flu-crisis . I am so glad that is past !

Menu Plan Monday (on Tuesday)

I just couldn't get this out yesterday ....I have become pitifully addicted to this goofy game called PathWords . I spent way too much time on there yesterday . Sigh ~ I did beat my own high score , tho' ! :-) LOL

OK on to the menu !

Monday - Homemade bacon cheese burgers , served with deviled eggs and pineapple chunks .

Tuesday - Grilled Cheese with banana and mandrin orange salad and refried beans with cheese and chips to dip with

Wednesday - Chicken and rice , honey glazed carrotts and apple cake for dessert (I made one last week and it got gone fast !) Thanks Elise !http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001468apple_coffee_cake.php

Thursday - Venison Chili with cornbread (or frito's if I get by the store)

Friday - Left-over chili . The kids go to their Grandmas and DH comes home so it is for a whole other audience ...except for me ...and I don't mind having the same thing twice!

Saturday - Venison roast shredded in gravy served over brown rice , with baked sweet potatoes , real butter and cinnamon and brown sugar

Cooking Saturday to eat Sunday ....
Augratin taco bake (new...found here...http://www.recipezaar.com/Au-Gratin-Taco-Bake-279296) served with chips and salsa , sweet tea and sugar cookies for dessert .

Last Saturday I cooked a whole big batch of french toast and pancakes , that along with some cold cereal is our breakfast menu for the week .
Lunch is usually leftovers or what ever you can find . I rarely buy special lunch items . I do like the .75 cent frozen pizzas at Ingles (usually $1) . LOL yea , weird , I really do like them ! My mom calls them cardboard pizzas :-)

Titus 2

There seems to be much talk about Titus 2 . Being a Titus 2 woman or having a Titus 2 ministry . I recently finished a bible study that carried that theme as an undercurrent .
I found a unique bent to this idea . There was a lady in the grocery store that had 3 young children in the cart . They were rambunctious and she was frazzled . Probably a pretty normal sight . But I choose to give a few words of encouragement , assure her I had lived thru that stage and since my youngest is now 14 I can tell her she will one day look back on this time with fondness . Since the kids paused to listen to me too , it gave everyone a short break , and the woman began to look at these precious children as potential teenagers . And at the aggravation of the day as a "this too shall pass moment" . Admittedly , I never mentioned Jesus . And it was a fleeting moment really . It was a true Titus 2 moment . I was blessed ; I hope she was too .

soup weather !

Well , after weather that has felt more like April that January we are coming into some real soup weather . I wish dear hubby was going to be home to enjoy it ...but since he is not I will make the one soup out of the Harry and Davids gift set my mom got me for Christmas that he would not eat ! You see my DH is veg-a-phobic . Oh , sure there are some he will eat . And more now than ever before ~ we have made progress ! But he won't eat black-eyed peas and they are in this Tuscan Chicken soup mix . LOL

I love the practical gifts I got this year ! Almost all kitchen stuff . New baking sheets , a new muffin pan and a new knife set ! The one I had was like 20 years old from Fingerhut , with blue plastic handles ...it matched the country ducks I used to have in the kitchen at the old farm house we lived in . Hmmm...I will have to tell ya'll about that old house sometime ! It was interesting !!
My non-kitchen gift was the net book . I am finding it very useful ! Can't hardly wait to take it to the prayer room at IHOP tonight .
Better get moving ....the kitchen is not going to clean its-self . And the princess has her intended coming over to break biscuit with us tonight ...garlic cheese ones to be exact ! LOL

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Canadian bacon & onion Quiche
Tuesday - maybe McD as a treat to the prince , the princess has to work late
(but if we end up eating out for lunch we'll do left over black-bean soup)
Wednesday - Tuscan Chicken soup with garlic cheese biscuits
Thursday - French toast , green shakes and oatmeal choco-chip muffins
Friday-Venison bacon burgers (new recipe,will post if good) with marinated slaw and scalloped potatoes
Saturday- open faced Lasagna sandwiches ....will post link
Sunday- our favorite Chinese place after church

I am going to try to be more consistant in my posting (esp. MPM) this year . I have had things I wanted to post everyday for a week now ...but no time ...well actually today I would have had time but I found this game on FaceBook called Pathwords ....neat game , and of course I have to try to beat my brothers score . LOL

New Years blessings ! Ya'll be sure to leave a comment to let me know you've been around . :-)