Sunshine

Yesterday was a cold, rainy day....with even a bit of snow falling (and apparently some places near here actually had snow pile up on the ground). In the midst of the cold, wet snow I had to run out and cover my tomatoes. Brrrrrrrr!! Was thankful for my sweatshirt hoodie and toasty warm, hand knit socks!!
So today, waking to sunshine, made me smile. There was nothing I could do about yesterday's weather, so why worry about it? Spring is here, summer's coming, just keep going, ya know? That's life in general....we know what's coming, so why freak out over the little things we can't change and that, perhaps aren't what we think we are wanting right now. A verse that I love and that has been coming to mind a lot lately is Romans 8:28..."God works ALL things to the GOOD of those who love Him and are called by His name." Thunderstorms, snowstorms....oh the nutrients flood into my garden. Trials and tribulations.....oh the refining that occurs in my soul. Truly, my soul thirsts for the Lord in the dry and dusty places, and I know, yes, I KNOW He's got me.

Thank You, Lord, for the sunshine today, and for laundry snapping on the line, and for always knowing what is the very best for me! :)

life changes AGAIN

Whew! Been a while since I posted. We've been going through lots of stuff here. Hubby has not been feeling well for a long time and finally found a doctor that asked the right questions so that we've discovered that hubby has (possibly, still waiting on official diagnosis) partial urea deficiency. Basically, he is unable to process protein, so he gets a build up of ammonia in his system. He's missing some enzyme that breaks the protein down. So we've so far learned that he needs a low protein diet (we're guessing it should be around 25g per day). When his ammonia levels are up he becomes very fuzzy headed, lethargic, tired, etc. And visually, I notice his skin gets red and blotchy and his eyes get red rimmed. He is tired all the time and the slightest thing wipes him out. He replaced the seal on the bathroom toilet and ripped up just a small part of the floor (toilet was leaking) and he had to take an hour long nap after that (and he was out cold). He's still working full weeks, but says it's so hard to think clearly, so he's really struggling, which cause stress, which triggers the ammonia thing, which.....yeah, you get the picture. He did have a biopsy done, however the specialist didn't bother reading over the paperwork that the doctor sent over, so she assumed she was simply testing him for cehrosis of the liver/alcoholism, and was pleased to report that his test was negative. When he asked for what and she said 'alcoholism', he was NOT a happy man! We've gone quite a long time waiting for a diagnosis and had hoped that this biopsy would get us there quickly, and she flubbed it all as she didn't read the doctor notes. Ah, such fun. And so, the unknown continues and we are doing our best to cope. Interesting learning a whole new way of cooking! Whew!

Well, this is so short after such a long while, but kids need help with school. Will try to post again MUCH sooner!
God bless!

Chocolate Bean Cupcakes

1 ¼ cup sugar

1/3 cup margarine, melted (they said soy margarine)

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbs grated orange zest, optional (I didn’t use it)

1 15-oz. can black beans, drained, rinsed and pureed

1 cup flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 cupcake tins with paper liners (I actually ended up with 15 cupcakes….but I have a broken stone muffin pan, so I can do that!)

To make cupcakes, beat sugar, margarine and eggs on high 3 minutes or until thick and creamy. Fold vanilla extract and orange zest into pureed beans. In small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Fold egg mixture into beans, then fold flour mixture into beans by thirds. Fill cupcake tins two-thirds full. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 4 minutes.

I found this recipe in a magazine, but sorry, don’t know which one. I tasted the batter and oh my, it’s yummy! Can’t wait for the cupcakes!!

Scrubby Nubby Dishcloth

Scrubby Nubby Dishcloth

CO 41 (or any number divisible by 5 + 6 more stitches)

First 6 rows are worked in garter stitch

Throughout pattern, maintain k3 edging at beginning and end of all rows
scrubby block is worked p1,k1,p1,k1,p1

stst block is worked k5 on odd rows and p5 on even rows

rows 7-13: edging, stst block, scrubby block, stst block, scrubby block, stst block, scrubby block, stst block, edging

rows 14-20: edging, scrubby block, stst block, scrubby block, stst block, scrubby block, stst block, scrubby block, edging

rows 21-28: repeat rows 7-11

rows 29-36: repeat rows 12-16

rows 37-43: repeat rows 7-11

rows 44-50: repeat rows 12-16

end with 6 rows of garter stitch as worked at start.

If you try this pattern, please let me know how it works for you. This is the first pattern I've written, and I TRIED to keep it simple.

**Thank you to my friend Rebekah, who suggested making the blocks 7 rows tall instead of the original 5 rows. Changes have been made above.

Me and Wii

Well, today was day 12 with my WFP (Wii Fit Plus). I've missed 2 days, although on one of those days I was quite busy altering a sewing pattern, pinning, cutting, etc for over 3 hours....lots of standing, some sitting....if I counted that as light housework, I burned about 716 calories. And I did that twice, so that was good. There was one day that I just didn't do the it at all; I woke up with a gross headache and a mean, nasty attitude, and so mostly avoided everything. Anyway, you'll notice on the sidebar (and, bravely, on my facebook page) that I've posted a ticker on my weight loss. The only thing I'm doing differently than before was spending time on WFP....and usually it's only about 1/2 an hour (though trust me, I sweat). Sometimes I do a yoga and strength training routine and other times I just play games. I decided, for now, I'm just doing what I enjoy doing on there. The routine, I do in the morning, to stretch my back and get all the creaks out from sleeping. :)
I am so thankful that God hasn't given up on me, despite the fact that I sometimes give up on me. I am thankful that He gently called me to try again, and that He provided a way for me to do this. So, anxious to see what comes about from all of this. I am feeling better, my posture has improved, as has my attitude. I am doing this with a changed mindset, and I thank God for that!

So, here we go!

Mini Quiches

I made these this morning for breakfast. I started out following a recipe, but then just took off with it, so here's what I did:

2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup half and half or evap milk
1/2 cup mayo (btw, we LOVE the Best Foods Canola Oil mayo! Give it a try!)
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup cooked ham, bacon or sausage
4 oz fresh mushrooms
1/3 cup onion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 12 muffin cups + 1 small glass oven-safe dish with cooking spray.
In a food processor, chop up meat, mushrooms and onion (fairly small, but don't puree it!)
Combine eggs, mayo, salt, pepper, and flour in bowl and beat with egg beater. Add chopped meat-veggie mix and shredded cheese. Mix to combine.
Scoop batter(I use an ice-cream scoop with the built in scraper for making these and muffins) into prepared muffin cups and bake for about 22 minutes or until quiches are lightly browned and puffed. A knife inserted in the middle of one should come out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes (they will deflate, but that's okay) and enjoy!!

she said it so well!!

A homeschooling friend wrote a wonderful blog post about teaching our children to work. She put it so well, that rather than attempting to say the same thing in my own words, I'm just sending you to her blog. They are a Mormon family, and I just really appreciate their family....ethics....I guess you'd say. I was so blessed in reading her post. I've been thinking about this same thing lately, especially after catering for the weekend at the Air Force retreat. I fed thirty people for the whole weekend with only the help of....my children! I could take on this job because I knew that I could count on them to help me. Nothing major, just lots of little jobs, but without them, it would have been nearly impossible. And I would have taken it for granted, because that's just how we are, except that I was continually told what amazing children I had, and people really seemed glad (for the most part....there was one noisy, playful incident, but...yeah) that they were there. I realized that our requiring them to help out around the home has shaped them, they stand out in today's society. In a way, that's kind of sad. Both hubby and I were raised in homes where it was just expected that everyone in the family work together, I can't imagine it otherwise, so of course, that is how we have raised our children. And slowly I'm seeing that that way of life isn't the norm so much anymore. I can't imagine it, I couldn't....no, I wouldn't, want to live in a home where we weren't all working together as a team!! Anyway, here is Karen't blog post! Enjoy it!

please note that I have fixed the link as it was pointed out to me that it took you to a page on elder care!! Sorry about that!!