Friday's Five Fave

Ok ....this is my first try at this so hereeeeeeeeee goes !

1. In honor of Good Friday .........

I thank Jesus for all He has done for me (for the world! John 3:16-17)

2. I am surrounded by beautiful spring flowers !

3. My min-pin Abby is my fave !

4. Spring isn't my favorite season ........but I am glad it's here ! GA is SOOOOOOOOO beautiful in the spring !

5. And last , for this week, my current fave song :-) Derek Webb "Wedding Dress" you can look it up on youtube and have a quick listen for free !

Well .... it wasn't fancy . But not bad for my frist try !

Have a blessed Resurrection Weekend !

Everytime I say I want to try to post with some regularity it seems LONGER between postings ! It is silly really !
I have been trying to stick with menu planning fairly loosely ; mostly in my head . I have not been posting it. But with my DH home last week and this week failure to plan is certainly planning to fail . I may occasionallly be able to tell the kids that it is fend for yourself night but that will just not do for my hard-working man . LOL
Case in point , this morning it is 22 degrees and he is in the shop , handling all manner of tools and frozen steel . While we are in the nice warm house , cats and all . I am getting ready to have a cup of "Pure Empower-mint" tea (my fave!) My hubby has to be drinking coffee and adding and subtracting layers of clothes through out the day . He is a good man and a hard worker !
I am trying to participate in FlyLady's decluttering olympics . Yesterday didn't go so good but as MS marla says ...you are not behind , jump in where you are .
I did do a major closet clean out . Then I got stuck thinking about how much $$ I had spent on those clothes I was trying to purge , Ironically 1/2 of what was in the basket I actually bought new 1 ;-( ! I am the Good Will diva for the most part ! LOL
I also started doing Breaking Free Bible study by Beth moore . I am LOVING it . She encourages you to dig into the word and explore it . Think for yourself and then own it . there are a few questions that are introspective enough to sting a little . But we are hanging in there ! LOL
There are only 6 of us in the group and that includes the facilitator !
Back to the idea of menu planning...
I made Beef Stew in the oven for after church on Sunday . It turned out spectacular ! I used beef I had gotten on the markdown sale at my local grocery . I added 2 bags of frozen "for stew" veggies . The recipe on the veggie bag called for tomato soup and I couldn't find any so I sub-ed some beef broth (with no MSG) and some organic speg. sauce I had in the fridge. It cooked in the cast iron dutch oven at 250 degrees for about 5 hours . YUM ! I made some quick garlic cheese bread out of some hogie rolls . It is SO nice to have something new to add to the usual winter rotation .
I am ALWAYS looking for suggestions for after church meals to help keep us from going out . My DH is out of town allot with his work and that means he eats out all the time. So it is good for him to have nutritious , home cooked meals for body and mind . And on the financial side there are usually 6 of us and even at the Chinese cheap lunch , that adds up fast !
OK ........I guess I have prattled on long enough .
YA'LL have a great week and I will try to get get back here next week and post a menu plan . :-) Maybe I will manage to spend less at the grocery that way .

A new year !

I am very excited to have a new year ! I am trying to get back into menu planning , organizing and baking ! The weather is definately co-operating on the baking end ! Wowzers ! It is SERIOUSLY COLD ! It isn't expected to crest the freezing mark today . This is GA folks...it ain't supposed to be this cold . I am Thanking God for the sun-shine tho' and least I can open the curtains and park the car in it ! Yes...simple pleasures !
Looking forward to posting more here too . See ya'll back soon !

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 !