This week of the year has always been full of birthdays. Sometimes I get confused about whose birthday is on which day. And it is also a sad week for me, because my ex-step-mom and step-brother both had birthdays a week apart. Both have past away.
My ex-step-mom, Terrie was not nice to me and so when she passed, it didn't bother me. But as I get older, I am understanding more about why she was so cruel. I suspect she was bi-polar and I remember many depressed days that she had. Her kind moments were when she would take me shopping. She rarely ate and so I know she had malnutrition and nutritional inbalances that most likely caused her depression and blow-ups. I now often wonder what kind of person she would have been if she was diagnosed properly. Would she be a good cook, creative, more involved.....?
My ex-step -brother, Troy and I weren't close growing up. I got along with my ex-step-sister well. I looked up to her, wanted to be like her, and was for the most part her shadow. But her and her brother were typical siblings always fighting. Of course, I always took my step-sister's side. To make matters worse, Troy and I were in the same grade and our birthdays were in the same month. He was a couple of weeks older then me, but I was taller. lol One of my favorite memories is playing with his super cool stretchable Hulk with him. The three of us stretching his limbs across the living-room.
Troy really enjoyed taking apart things to see how they worked. This drove my Dad crazy. He was also very creative and could draw and build things. We use to play in the woods in the winter time in Oregon. Lots of marshy areas and rotted stumps. He one time found a stump that looked like a castle. He found some pine cones and turned them into people. He gave me the pine cone people and showed me the castle. I was tickled. We build some great forts together in the woods. He had a problem with fidgeting and tapping objects. It drove both his mom and my Dad nuts. I can't remember what age he was put on Ritalin. Ritalin led to other problems for Troy in his life.
When we grew up, we drifted our own ways and I never seen him again. But he remained with me in spirit and I often wondered about him and what if he was raised differently. I had compassion for him and hoped that someday he would have a wonderful life. After I had my children and one showed signs of ADHD as a toddler, memories of Troy's life helped me to make the decisions that I did. I remembered the way we ate and Hostess, Doritos and Pepsi were our staples in our diets. I didn't want my children to go the same route that Troy took and so I looked at natural ways of dealing with ADHD. Now my ADHD toddler is now a normal tween.
Troy passed away last Fall. If Troy was alive, today or tomorrow he would be celebrating his 42nd Birthday. The one regret that I have, is losing my chance to tell him that I loved him unconditionally and that I wished the best for him. I wished I knew if he had love, was happy in life, and if he believed in God. You know, all of the little things in conversation that you take for granted.
Happy Birthday Troy! And Happy Birthday Terrie!
And for the living..... Happy Birthday to....
- Dad (my father-in-law)
- my best friend, McFly Rachel
- my nephew, Timothy
- my niece, Shantelle
- and other friends from my past
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Menu for July 5th to the 11th - No menu this week
The holiday through my planning off. It is just as well, since this was the paycheck that rent came out of. Grocery shopping consisted to eggs, butter, rice flour and produce. We went to the asian market to get the groceries and found some fantastic deals. I still can't get over the fact that I bought 25 limes for a $1 and 4 lbs of roma tomatoes for a $1. You now know where we will be shopping first.
I am finally getting to the point that I need to mix up some more gluten free baking mix or just pay the money and get the large bag of Pamela's Baking Mix. The cost of the two expensive ingredients I would need to buy is about the same price....powdered buttermilk and almond meal. I usually use my electric food processor to grind the almonds and blend the flour together, but it is in storage and a hassle to pull out.
So for my menu this week, I am just going through and using the recipes that I didn't get around to and trying them out.
I am finally getting to the point that I need to mix up some more gluten free baking mix or just pay the money and get the large bag of Pamela's Baking Mix. The cost of the two expensive ingredients I would need to buy is about the same price....powdered buttermilk and almond meal. I usually use my electric food processor to grind the almonds and blend the flour together, but it is in storage and a hassle to pull out.
So for my menu this week, I am just going through and using the recipes that I didn't get around to and trying them out.
Gluten Free Sourdough After A Week
I am still experimenting with my gluten free sourdough starter and what I can make with them. I keep trying to make biscuits and it keeps flopping. Thinking I have to now switch back to the pancakes and cakes for awhile. On day 4 my starter was acting a little weak and so I added a tablespoon of whey and it perked it right up. So far the pancakes and Wake Up Cake were wonderful.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Adventures in Sourdough
I discovered fermentation this last year and enjoying it. My husband wasn't too thrilled about my kitchen pets like I was and the children love to see what our kitchen pets are doing when I care for them. The kefir has lots of uses. Both the kefir and Kombucha have been working well for our health and getting probiotics. Do to finances and the cost of our gluten free bread, I just haven't bought any. We have been craving it and so it opened my eyes to ways I can make bread in our RV without heating it up with the oven. I one day made Gluten Free Fry Bread. It was good and so I continued to search for recipes. And then I found sites about Gluten Free Sourdough. I was thrilled, because four years ago, gluten free sourdough starter had little or no information about it.
Gluten free sourdough is easy to start, just make sure that you will be home and that your distractions are limited. You have to remember to feed it once a day and stir it 3 times a day for 3 to 5 days. After that you can refrigerate it and feed it as you use it. I suggest you read about how to care for it, because I am still experimenting with mine and don't have the answers yet. I am starting out with easy recipes first.
The one thing I noticed is that there are different consistencies with sourdough starters. Some make it up to have more water contents and it is like a pancake batter consistency and some have less water consistency and is like a sponge. During the Alaskan goldmine days, the miners would keep their sourdough starter thick enough to store next to their bodies day and night. I started with a wet consistency and am now thickening it up a little to see where I like it, so I am not sure what ratio to feed mine daily yet. I am on day 4 and thinking that it will be time to refrigerate it now. It is smelling a little drunk now.
The sites that I found to be the most helpful are
Thinner and wetter consistency
http://web.mac.com/simplyalaskan/iWeb/YukonRiverLodge/Blog/FB5D067E-C864-4077-9F78-9E0790557701.html
Thicker consistency
http://www.redstaryeast.com/best_recipes/37/7/GF-Sourdough-Starter
Sourdough for beginners
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm
A good wedsite about sourdough
http://www.sourdoughhome.com/startingastarter.html
The recipe that I stared with was the wetter one from the Yukon River Lodge site. I liked the easy to remember ratio.
What I did:
1 package of active yeast to 2 cups of warm water (the temperature that yeast like). Stir and add 2 cups of rice flour and 2 Tblsp of sugar. Stir again. I started mine in a half gallon size jar with a plastic canning lid placed on top. Don't screw the lid down. You want the gases to escape, but to keep bugs and contamination out. (don't let it come in contact of metal). Store on the kitchen counter top. The first day I stired with a spoon 3 times a day. I made pancakes the next morning, but they were too thin. They were good with lots of holes, so there was still hope. I then moved it into a quart jar and fed it 1 cup of water, 1 cup of rice flour and 1 Tblsp sugar. Stir (or shake) 3 times a day. The third day the consistency was watery so I changed my pancake recipe. I used the starter in place of the liquid portion of the pancake batter. Then it was too thick and so I had to add liquid (milk, water, yogurt, kefir) until I had a pourable thick consistency of the pancake batter. They turned out wonderful and thick. We ate them with and without syrup. Now that it is day 4, the girls want me to make muffins.
I would love to hear about your adventures and recipes you used with your starter. There are other ways to ferment without the bakers yeast using kefir and kombucha, but I was not that adventurous yet.
Gluten free sourdough is easy to start, just make sure that you will be home and that your distractions are limited. You have to remember to feed it once a day and stir it 3 times a day for 3 to 5 days. After that you can refrigerate it and feed it as you use it. I suggest you read about how to care for it, because I am still experimenting with mine and don't have the answers yet. I am starting out with easy recipes first.
The one thing I noticed is that there are different consistencies with sourdough starters. Some make it up to have more water contents and it is like a pancake batter consistency and some have less water consistency and is like a sponge. During the Alaskan goldmine days, the miners would keep their sourdough starter thick enough to store next to their bodies day and night. I started with a wet consistency and am now thickening it up a little to see where I like it, so I am not sure what ratio to feed mine daily yet. I am on day 4 and thinking that it will be time to refrigerate it now. It is smelling a little drunk now.
The sites that I found to be the most helpful are
Thinner and wetter consistency
http://web.mac.com/simplyalaskan/iWeb/YukonRiverLodge/Blog/FB5D067E-C864-4077-9F78-9E0790557701.html
Thicker consistency
http://www.redstaryeast.com/best_recipes/37/7/GF-Sourdough-Starter
Sourdough for beginners
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm
A good wedsite about sourdough
http://www.sourdoughhome.com/startingastarter.html
The recipe that I stared with was the wetter one from the Yukon River Lodge site. I liked the easy to remember ratio.
What I did:
1 package of active yeast to 2 cups of warm water (the temperature that yeast like). Stir and add 2 cups of rice flour and 2 Tblsp of sugar. Stir again. I started mine in a half gallon size jar with a plastic canning lid placed on top. Don't screw the lid down. You want the gases to escape, but to keep bugs and contamination out. (don't let it come in contact of metal). Store on the kitchen counter top. The first day I stired with a spoon 3 times a day. I made pancakes the next morning, but they were too thin. They were good with lots of holes, so there was still hope. I then moved it into a quart jar and fed it 1 cup of water, 1 cup of rice flour and 1 Tblsp sugar. Stir (or shake) 3 times a day. The third day the consistency was watery so I changed my pancake recipe. I used the starter in place of the liquid portion of the pancake batter. Then it was too thick and so I had to add liquid (milk, water, yogurt, kefir) until I had a pourable thick consistency of the pancake batter. They turned out wonderful and thick. We ate them with and without syrup. Now that it is day 4, the girls want me to make muffins.
I would love to hear about your adventures and recipes you used with your starter. There are other ways to ferment without the bakers yeast using kefir and kombucha, but I was not that adventurous yet.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Menu for June 28 - July 4th, 2010
This last week-end we enjoyed a nice relaxing week-end staying home. Pat did service the AC and temporarily fixed the kitchen sink, and we did run errands, but other then that we watched TV or swam in the pool. It was too hot to do anything other then stay cool.
Refrigerator is working well last week with the new interior fan and after being fully frosted. Now to see how long it runs well. The ice cooler is in the trailer now and is working well for beverages. The water isn't supper cold, but it is colder then tap water. We use 4 two liter bottles that we freeze in the club house freezer.
The next two weeks our extra money goes towards rent. So my grocery budget was tighter then normal. I did find some nice cheap recipes to try that don't take much room in the refer. I am going to try to make a cool aide Gatorade using orange juice to keep our electrolytes up, since we are sweating so much. I bought some powdered milk so that I can mix up what I need for recipes instead of using rice or soy milk that will need refrigeration. I wasn't able to buy lunch meat this week. I have one package in the freezer for Pat. The girls and I will just have to eat differently for this week.
I am also making cold neck ties and am thinking of selling them. My sewing machine is in storage and so I am borrowing the girls child sewing machine. My first one is ready for the crystals. Earlier this week, I made a napkin holder that I tied to the cabinet handle. I made it with plastic canvas and thought of my grandma the whole time. She was the plastic canvas queen. :) I also am planning on making some hot pads, because the ones I have seem small and they don't have a loop to hang them with.
I like some flexibility and so I don't assign days. Here is a legend of my notes.
- = Monday - Friday
* = Weekends
gf = Gluten Free
Of course we eat leftovers when we can. I love having leftovers, less work. :)
Breakfast
-Cold cereal
-Grits
-Hot Cereal
-Eggs
-Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes - Or maybe this version (One of these weeks I won't let the heat suck my energy and I will make this.) I use gf flour blend and cut down on the cheese. I also am adding turkey ham.
* Crock Pot Breakfast Supreme
* Breakfast Scramble
Lunch
- Split Pea Dahl Good - Except the peas needed to cook longer.
- Citrus Salmon Salad (will post the recipe later this week)
- Bean and cheese burrito
- Beans, rice and terriyaki bowls
- Chili over potatoes (or something else)
* Lunch Meat Sandwich
* Sausage Italian Sandwiches - Sausage links, pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese
Dinner
- Sweet and Sour Lentils- Good
- Bombay Chicken 'n' Rice - Used seasoned steamed rice instead Good
- Blackeye Pea Gumbo - Trying out this recipe Good
- Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken - Always a favorite
- Slow Cooker Puffy Pizza Casserole - Family is craving Pizza. Found this recipe to try out. And it was great.
* Beef Stroganoff Really good!
* 4th of July - BQ something, coleslaw and potato salad
? Cowboy Stew (Third post down) from A Man, A Can, A plan. It is a great RV cookbook. lol Good camping dish.
? Cowgirl Beans
Refrigerator is working well last week with the new interior fan and after being fully frosted. Now to see how long it runs well. The ice cooler is in the trailer now and is working well for beverages. The water isn't supper cold, but it is colder then tap water. We use 4 two liter bottles that we freeze in the club house freezer.
The next two weeks our extra money goes towards rent. So my grocery budget was tighter then normal. I did find some nice cheap recipes to try that don't take much room in the refer. I am going to try to make a cool aide Gatorade using orange juice to keep our electrolytes up, since we are sweating so much. I bought some powdered milk so that I can mix up what I need for recipes instead of using rice or soy milk that will need refrigeration. I wasn't able to buy lunch meat this week. I have one package in the freezer for Pat. The girls and I will just have to eat differently for this week.
I am also making cold neck ties and am thinking of selling them. My sewing machine is in storage and so I am borrowing the girls child sewing machine. My first one is ready for the crystals. Earlier this week, I made a napkin holder that I tied to the cabinet handle. I made it with plastic canvas and thought of my grandma the whole time. She was the plastic canvas queen. :) I also am planning on making some hot pads, because the ones I have seem small and they don't have a loop to hang them with.
I like some flexibility and so I don't assign days. Here is a legend of my notes.
- = Monday - Friday
* = Weekends
gf = Gluten Free
Of course we eat leftovers when we can. I love having leftovers, less work. :)
Breakfast
-Cold cereal
-Grits
-Hot Cereal
-Eggs
-Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes - Or maybe this version (One of these weeks I won't let the heat suck my energy and I will make this.) I use gf flour blend and cut down on the cheese. I also am adding turkey ham.
* Crock Pot Breakfast Supreme
* Breakfast Scramble
Lunch
- Split Pea Dahl Good - Except the peas needed to cook longer.
- Citrus Salmon Salad (will post the recipe later this week)
- Bean and cheese burrito
- Beans, rice and terriyaki bowls
- Chili over potatoes (or something else)
* Lunch Meat Sandwich
* Sausage Italian Sandwiches - Sausage links, pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese
Dinner
- Sweet and Sour Lentils- Good
- Bombay Chicken 'n' Rice - Used seasoned steamed rice instead Good
- Blackeye Pea Gumbo - Trying out this recipe Good
- Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken - Always a favorite
- Slow Cooker Puffy Pizza Casserole - Family is craving Pizza. Found this recipe to try out. And it was great.
* Beef Stroganoff Really good!
* 4th of July - BQ something, coleslaw and potato salad
? Cowboy Stew (Third post down) from A Man, A Can, A plan. It is a great RV cookbook. lol Good camping dish.
? Cowgirl Beans
Monday, June 21, 2010
Menu for June21st to 27th, 2010
- Late start this week. I will be dropping one of the dinners, because we ate something other then what was half way planned. I just don't know which one I am dropping yet.
Last week fell apart on me towards the end. Defrosting the refrigerator only gave me a little over a week for the same fruit flies in the refrigerator problem to come back and I was having tummy troubles on Friday. A friend in the park suggested a full freezer and refrigerator defrost. I went home and tossed out the dinner in the crock pot, leftovers, mayo, lunch meat, produce and other things in question. (No wonder we spend too much on groceries!?%@#) Saturday we picked up a battery operated interior fan for the refrigerator. Now we see how long this holds up.
We finally finished off our liter pops and filled them up with water. We used the club house freezer to freeze them and now have them keeping the water, ice tea and pop cool. Seeing if this works without spending any money. Krogers has dry ice and I am wondering how well that works.
The girls have been hunting gecko's. E had the first one for a couple of days before it jumped out of her hands while handling it. V caught a baby and it was easier to handle. It seemed to adapt better then the older one. We let him go after a couple of days, because V thought that he was missing his parents. They were eating and drinking water in captivity. They seem to like cockroaches and crickets. They learned it was important to wash hands after handling them.
Father's Day we had a nice breakfast on Saturday, V bought P a ball so that he won't use hers in the pool to float with, E made a nice picture frame at church and then bought P some of his favorite gum and we took the van through the car wash so that he was driving a clean car this week. He really misses his truck.
This week I start off the week with a migraine. Menu planning isn't as easy when thinking hurts, but it is necessary to have a plan. It's really hot and feels like an oven almost all of the time. We don't think that it makes a difference between 95 to 100 degrees. Hot is just hot!!!
I like some flexibility and so I don't assign days. Here is a legend of my notes.
- = Monday - Friday
* = Weekends
gf = Gluten Free
Of course we eat leftovers when we can. I love having leftovers, less work. :)
Breakfast
-Cold cereal
-Grits
-Hot Cereal
-Eggs
-Eggs
*Eggs, ground sausage patties, and potato with onions and toast (P request) - didn't get to it last week, because we didn't have eggs.
*Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes - Or maybe this version (One of these weeks I won't let the heat suck my energy and I will make this.) I use gf flour blend and cut down on the cheese. I also am adding turkey ham.
Lunch
-Egg Salad
-Tuna Salad
-Vegetarian Baked Beans with Hot Dogs
- Beans, rice and teriyaki bowls
-Lunch Meat Sandwich
* Oregon Tuna Melt - Hoping to try it this week. (trying this out and eating them in corn tortillas instead of the bread) Very good
*Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches
Dinner
- Tater Burgers - (it was good, we really liked it) Ground beef, onions, can mushrooms cooked together. Top with cheese, tomatoes, Catchup and mustard Simple and delicious
- Bombay Chicken 'n' Rice - I will be using this recipe for rice pilaf instead of a mix. Good
- Blackeye Pea Gumbo - Trying out this recipe Good
- Lazy CP Chicken - Chicken breast and any old sauce in the crock pot. My favorite to prepare :) and it is good
- Bean Cheese and Rice Squares - Heard this was a good recipe. I have wanted to try it out for quite awhile. Good
* Cowboy Stew (Third post down) from A Man, A Can, A plan. It is a great RV cookbook. lol Makes a good camping dish.
* Slow Cooker Puffy Pizza Casserole - Family is craving Pizza. Found this recipe to try out. Good
Last week fell apart on me towards the end. Defrosting the refrigerator only gave me a little over a week for the same fruit flies in the refrigerator problem to come back and I was having tummy troubles on Friday. A friend in the park suggested a full freezer and refrigerator defrost. I went home and tossed out the dinner in the crock pot, leftovers, mayo, lunch meat, produce and other things in question. (No wonder we spend too much on groceries!?%@#) Saturday we picked up a battery operated interior fan for the refrigerator. Now we see how long this holds up.
We finally finished off our liter pops and filled them up with water. We used the club house freezer to freeze them and now have them keeping the water, ice tea and pop cool. Seeing if this works without spending any money. Krogers has dry ice and I am wondering how well that works.
The girls have been hunting gecko's. E had the first one for a couple of days before it jumped out of her hands while handling it. V caught a baby and it was easier to handle. It seemed to adapt better then the older one. We let him go after a couple of days, because V thought that he was missing his parents. They were eating and drinking water in captivity. They seem to like cockroaches and crickets. They learned it was important to wash hands after handling them.
Father's Day we had a nice breakfast on Saturday, V bought P a ball so that he won't use hers in the pool to float with, E made a nice picture frame at church and then bought P some of his favorite gum and we took the van through the car wash so that he was driving a clean car this week. He really misses his truck.
This week I start off the week with a migraine. Menu planning isn't as easy when thinking hurts, but it is necessary to have a plan. It's really hot and feels like an oven almost all of the time. We don't think that it makes a difference between 95 to 100 degrees. Hot is just hot!!!
I like some flexibility and so I don't assign days. Here is a legend of my notes.
- = Monday - Friday
* = Weekends
gf = Gluten Free
Of course we eat leftovers when we can. I love having leftovers, less work. :)
Breakfast
-Cold cereal
-Grits
-Hot Cereal
-Eggs
-Eggs
*Eggs, ground sausage patties, and potato with onions and toast (P request) - didn't get to it last week, because we didn't have eggs.
*Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes - Or maybe this version (One of these weeks I won't let the heat suck my energy and I will make this.) I use gf flour blend and cut down on the cheese. I also am adding turkey ham.
Lunch
-Egg Salad
-Tuna Salad
-Vegetarian Baked Beans with Hot Dogs
- Beans, rice and teriyaki bowls
-Lunch Meat Sandwich
* Oregon Tuna Melt - Hoping to try it this week. (trying this out and eating them in corn tortillas instead of the bread) Very good
*Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches
Dinner
- Tater Burgers - (it was good, we really liked it) Ground beef, onions, can mushrooms cooked together. Top with cheese, tomatoes, Catchup and mustard Simple and delicious
- Bombay Chicken 'n' Rice - I will be using this recipe for rice pilaf instead of a mix. Good
- Blackeye Pea Gumbo - Trying out this recipe Good
- Lazy CP Chicken - Chicken breast and any old sauce in the crock pot. My favorite to prepare :) and it is good
- Bean Cheese and Rice Squares - Heard this was a good recipe. I have wanted to try it out for quite awhile. Good
* Cowboy Stew (Third post down) from A Man, A Can, A plan. It is a great RV cookbook. lol Makes a good camping dish.
* Slow Cooker Puffy Pizza Casserole - Family is craving Pizza. Found this recipe to try out. Good
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Yum Sauce From Eugene, OR - My variation
I never follow directions like they tell me to. There is something that we have to substitute for our gluten free diet or that we don't have on hand. This is one of those recipes that I only had some of the ingredients they called for, but was determined to make anyway. I am happy to report that I liked my variation much better then the restaurants. I really am not a huge fan for Cafe Yum, but while visiting a friends house, she doctored up their sauce and I liked it much better. I have made my notes in red. I got the recipe from this sight and she also has her own adaptations listed there.
Original Yumm Sauce:
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup almonds (I used cashew butter. Normally when a recipe calls for a nut, I use what ever I have on hand.)
1/3 cup brewers yeast (I used Nutritional Yeast, because brewers yeast is made from barley and not gluten free. * See note below)
1/3 cup garbanzo beans - drained (I used instant humus)
1/4 cup soybeans (didn't have any and just skipped this one all together)
1/2 cup water (not sure how much water I used. I kept adding it in little by little to keep the consistency smooth.)
1/2 cup lemon juice (I used a squirt of Minute Maid pure lemon juice, because it is strong.)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder (I used garam masala, an Indian spice, because I was out of curry.)
Blend nuts, beans and oil in food processor. Then blend in yeast and liquids one at a time. Puree until smooth. Voila! (My food processor is packed and so I cut in the cashew butter with the oil and then kept blending in the other ingredients and kept adding water to make the consistency smooth. I also microwaved it for about 2 minutes to heat the sauce and allow the ingredients to melt together.)
This sauce is great with rice or pasta. It can also be used as a dressing for salads, a topping on soup & chili, a spread for sandwiches, a dipping sauce for veggies, a basting sauce for grilling, or a mayo alternative. It's really quite versatile! But best of all, it's egg free, dairy free, wheat free, gluten free, sugar free, cholesterol free and low in sodium. There are nuts in it, however, for anyone with allergies to nuts. My kids love it! I'm sure if you make it you'll find a ton of creative uses for such a flavorful, yummy sauce. Go for it!
* According to this article, the restaurant Cafe Yum uses Nutritional Yeast and not Brewers Yeast. They claim the sauce is gluten free and so I am assuming that they do use the Nutritional Yeast.
Original Yumm Sauce:
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup almonds (I used cashew butter. Normally when a recipe calls for a nut, I use what ever I have on hand.)
1/3 cup brewers yeast (I used Nutritional Yeast, because brewers yeast is made from barley and not gluten free. * See note below)
1/3 cup garbanzo beans - drained (I used instant humus)
1/4 cup soybeans (didn't have any and just skipped this one all together)
1/2 cup water (not sure how much water I used. I kept adding it in little by little to keep the consistency smooth.)
1/2 cup lemon juice (I used a squirt of Minute Maid pure lemon juice, because it is strong.)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder (I used garam masala, an Indian spice, because I was out of curry.)
Blend nuts, beans and oil in food processor. Then blend in yeast and liquids one at a time. Puree until smooth. Voila! (My food processor is packed and so I cut in the cashew butter with the oil and then kept blending in the other ingredients and kept adding water to make the consistency smooth. I also microwaved it for about 2 minutes to heat the sauce and allow the ingredients to melt together.)
This sauce is great with rice or pasta. It can also be used as a dressing for salads, a topping on soup & chili, a spread for sandwiches, a dipping sauce for veggies, a basting sauce for grilling, or a mayo alternative. It's really quite versatile! But best of all, it's egg free, dairy free, wheat free, gluten free, sugar free, cholesterol free and low in sodium. There are nuts in it, however, for anyone with allergies to nuts. My kids love it! I'm sure if you make it you'll find a ton of creative uses for such a flavorful, yummy sauce. Go for it!
* According to this article, the restaurant Cafe Yum uses Nutritional Yeast and not Brewers Yeast. They claim the sauce is gluten free and so I am assuming that they do use the Nutritional Yeast.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Menu for June 14th to 20th, 2010
Great news! The cold box is acting like a refrigerator again. Defrosted it and am only keeping mayo on the top shelf. Right under it, I am keeping my dairy products. I also took out the crisper trays and putting all of my veggies and eggs down there. With out the trays, there is more room. I guess I will have to keep an eye on it and defrost periodically. Hopefully I can time it when we don't have much in there. :)
I planned out my menu Thursday and then things got changed. I spent over my budget. Seen a great sale that was too good to pass up. The whole brisket was on sale and so we asked the butcher to slice it up into steaks. We cooked 1/3 of it and got beefed out this weekend. I am actually looking forward to my vegetarian dish on Monday. At least my freezer is stuffed at the moment.
I was planning on getting a large bottle of pickles so that I can make pickled eggs for the girls. But I didn't see any on my shopping adventure this week. I will try again next week.
Also trying to hunt down a Bean Breakfast Cake that I use to make that I got from the Oregon Extension Office. I was going to try converting it to gluten free and try it in the mini crock pot. It is definitely a recipe from Eugene, and uses peanut butter and banana's or applesauce. I did find a gluten free bean recipe online, but it is not the same one.
One of my girls is missing bread. Gluten free bread here is so expensive. I miss Trader Joe's and their $3 rice bread. I checked out the gluten free bread mix. For the price, why bother. I am really thinking about bringing out my bread machine and making it from scratch. Just not sure where I would store it.
I like some flexibility and so I don't assign days. Here is a legend of my notes.
- = Monday - Friday
* = Weekends
gf = Gluten Free
Of course we eat leftovers when we can. I love having leftovers, less work. :)
Breakfast
-Cold cereal
-Grits
-Hot Cereal
-Eggs
-Crock Pot French toast - didn't get to try it last week. Had leftover steak instead. (trying this recipe out) Too sweet and didn't like the bread pudding texture
*Eggs, ground sausage patties, and potato with onions and toast (P request)
*Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes - (didn't get around to making this last week and am trying a different recipe) I use gf flour blend and cut down on the cheese. I also am adding turkey ham.
Lunch
-Egg Salad
-Tuna Salad
-Vegetarian Baked Beans with Hot Dogs (The girls loved it and it was easy) 1 can of Baked Beans, 4 cut up hot dogs, and a squirt of BQ sauce. Heat up and serve. Good
- Yum Sauce - Another Eugene, Oregon thing. Has Nutritional Yeast in it. Trying to make ourselves unattractive to mosquitoes. (I made my own variation and liked it a lot better then Cafe Yumm's sauce. You can view the post here) Good
-Lunch Meat Sandwich
* Oregon Tuna Melt - (trying this out and eating them in corn tortillas instead of the bread) Good
*Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches
Dinner
- Caribbean Blackeye Peas - (We loved it)
- Crock pot Meatloaf and Mini Crock Pot Corn Bread - Any meatloaf recipe done in the crock pot will do. (trying out the meatloaf recipe) Good
- Crock Pot Chicken Makhani - I follow this recipe, but always using my own variations. Family favorite
- Beans and Rice - Thinking with Teriyaki
- Slow Cooker Puffy Pizza Casserole - Family is craving Pizza. Found this recipe to try out. Yum
* Beef Kabobs Always good
* Chili Kraut Dogs
I planned out my menu Thursday and then things got changed. I spent over my budget. Seen a great sale that was too good to pass up. The whole brisket was on sale and so we asked the butcher to slice it up into steaks. We cooked 1/3 of it and got beefed out this weekend. I am actually looking forward to my vegetarian dish on Monday. At least my freezer is stuffed at the moment.
I was planning on getting a large bottle of pickles so that I can make pickled eggs for the girls. But I didn't see any on my shopping adventure this week. I will try again next week.
Also trying to hunt down a Bean Breakfast Cake that I use to make that I got from the Oregon Extension Office. I was going to try converting it to gluten free and try it in the mini crock pot. It is definitely a recipe from Eugene, and uses peanut butter and banana's or applesauce. I did find a gluten free bean recipe online, but it is not the same one.
One of my girls is missing bread. Gluten free bread here is so expensive. I miss Trader Joe's and their $3 rice bread. I checked out the gluten free bread mix. For the price, why bother. I am really thinking about bringing out my bread machine and making it from scratch. Just not sure where I would store it.
I like some flexibility and so I don't assign days. Here is a legend of my notes.
- = Monday - Friday
* = Weekends
gf = Gluten Free
Of course we eat leftovers when we can. I love having leftovers, less work. :)
Breakfast
-Cold cereal
-Grits
-Hot Cereal
-Eggs
-Crock Pot French toast - didn't get to try it last week. Had leftover steak instead. (trying this recipe out) Too sweet and didn't like the bread pudding texture
*Eggs, ground sausage patties, and potato with onions and toast (P request)
*Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes - (didn't get around to making this last week and am trying a different recipe) I use gf flour blend and cut down on the cheese. I also am adding turkey ham.
Lunch
-Egg Salad
-Tuna Salad
-Vegetarian Baked Beans with Hot Dogs (The girls loved it and it was easy) 1 can of Baked Beans, 4 cut up hot dogs, and a squirt of BQ sauce. Heat up and serve. Good
- Yum Sauce - Another Eugene, Oregon thing. Has Nutritional Yeast in it. Trying to make ourselves unattractive to mosquitoes. (I made my own variation and liked it a lot better then Cafe Yumm's sauce. You can view the post here) Good
-Lunch Meat Sandwich
* Oregon Tuna Melt - (trying this out and eating them in corn tortillas instead of the bread) Good
*Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches
Dinner
- Caribbean Blackeye Peas - (We loved it)
- Crock pot Meatloaf and Mini Crock Pot Corn Bread - Any meatloaf recipe done in the crock pot will do. (trying out the meatloaf recipe) Good
- Crock Pot Chicken Makhani - I follow this recipe, but always using my own variations. Family favorite
- Beans and Rice - Thinking with Teriyaki
- Slow Cooker Puffy Pizza Casserole - Family is craving Pizza. Found this recipe to try out. Yum
* Beef Kabobs Always good
* Chili Kraut Dogs
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Menu for June 7 -13, 2010
Adjusting to my RV living with the cold box instead of a refrigerator. It was so hot yesterday that the temperature in the refrigerator was almost up to 60 degree's. The good news is, I only threw out 2 slices of lunch meat. I moved the mayo, sour cream and half and half next to the ice at the top. I also decided to buy more canned meats and store the lunch meat in the freezer until the outside temp. cools down. We also have two small fans blowing on the back of the refrigerator. Still waiting for the interior fan to come in on order. Praying that one of those helps.
We had to pay rent and so things are really tight. Another frugal week. But we are looking forward to payday on Friday. These times sure remind me of when we first got married, pay check to pay check.
I like some flexibility and so I don't assign days. Here is a legend of my notes.
- = Monday - Friday
* = Weekends
Of course we eat leftovers when we can. I love having leftovers, less work. :)
Breakfast
-Cold cereal
-Grits
-Hot Cereal
-Eggs
-Eggs
*Egg and Bacon Sandwich (as V requests)
*Crock Pot French toast (trying this recipe out) Too sweet and bread pudding texture
Lunch
-Egg Salad
-Tuna Salad
-Vegetarian Baked Beans with Hot Dogs (The girls loved it and it was easy) 1 can of Baked Beans, 4 cut up hot dogs, and a squirt of BQ sauce. Heat up and serve.
-Salmon Rice Salad (didn't make it last week) (trying this recipe out) Good
-Lunch Meat Sandwich
*Spam Sandwich
*Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches
Dinner
-Alligator Stew without the alligator. (didn't make it last week) (trying this recipe out) Will be making this in the Crock Pot. Good, but definately a winter recipe
-Cajun Dirty Rice (didn't make it last week) (trying this recipe out) Good
-Chinese Fried Rice I like to start out with this recipe and add what I have and omit what I don't have. Of course I don't make it with the pork. I usually make it with a Chow Mien, but it has been too hot to do both. Family favorite
-Curried Lentils and Potatoes (Trying out this recipe) Will be making this in the Crock Pot. Good, but needs more spice
-Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes Will be converting this to Gluten Free and will be cutting down on the dairy portion. Also will add ham. Another one I am doing in the crock pot.
*Honey Chicken (I didn't get to make it this week) Angie made this when she had us over and it was sooooo good.)
*Gourmet Hamburgers - not sure how I am going to make these yet.
We had to pay rent and so things are really tight. Another frugal week. But we are looking forward to payday on Friday. These times sure remind me of when we first got married, pay check to pay check.
I like some flexibility and so I don't assign days. Here is a legend of my notes.
- = Monday - Friday
* = Weekends
Of course we eat leftovers when we can. I love having leftovers, less work. :)
Breakfast
-Cold cereal
-Grits
-Hot Cereal
-Eggs
-Eggs
*Egg and Bacon Sandwich (as V requests)
*Crock Pot French toast (trying this recipe out) Too sweet and bread pudding texture
Lunch
-Egg Salad
-Tuna Salad
-Vegetarian Baked Beans with Hot Dogs (The girls loved it and it was easy) 1 can of Baked Beans, 4 cut up hot dogs, and a squirt of BQ sauce. Heat up and serve.
-Salmon Rice Salad (didn't make it last week) (trying this recipe out) Good
-Lunch Meat Sandwich
*Spam Sandwich
*Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches
Dinner
-Alligator Stew without the alligator. (didn't make it last week) (trying this recipe out) Will be making this in the Crock Pot. Good, but definately a winter recipe
-Cajun Dirty Rice (didn't make it last week) (trying this recipe out) Good
-Chinese Fried Rice I like to start out with this recipe and add what I have and omit what I don't have. Of course I don't make it with the pork. I usually make it with a Chow Mien, but it has been too hot to do both. Family favorite
-Curried Lentils and Potatoes (Trying out this recipe) Will be making this in the Crock Pot. Good, but needs more spice
-Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes Will be converting this to Gluten Free and will be cutting down on the dairy portion. Also will add ham. Another one I am doing in the crock pot.
*Honey Chicken (I didn't get to make it this week) Angie made this when she had us over and it was sooooo good.)
*Gourmet Hamburgers - not sure how I am going to make these yet.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Frugal Menu Plan
May I was down and frustrated with everything. I think I was a bit homesick. We went to visit our good friends for the week-end. It really helped me come back with a better attitude and refreshed. The girls are even practicing kindness to each other. And I feel like I had a dose of being back home in Oregon, even though it was Oklahoma
Things have been really tight and it looks like funds will be tight for the summer. I decided we were going to eat very frugal, but at the same time limit what needs to be refrigerated, because the refrigerator isn't keeping things as cold as 40. It likes to wonder up to 50 degrees on hot days. I have lots of not so nice words for that cold box. Also it has been very hot and hard to eat. I pulled recipes off of
http://frugalabundance.com/
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/
And looked up for ideas off of
http://www.5dollardinners.com/
I created a menu plan for breakfast, lunch and dinner this time. I felt victory at the checkout when the grocery bill only came up to $50. What a change that was. Felt wonderful. It isn't the healthiest menu, but when people keep getting sick from the food in the refrigerator, it is time to thing outside of the cold box.
Breakfast (didn't assign days)
-Cereal
-Grits (girls love them now with maple syrup)
-Hot cereal
-Boiled eggs
-Poached eggs
-Hash - for the weekend
-Chorizo with eggs - for the weekend
Lunch (didn't assign days)
-Egg salad
-Veggie beans and hot dogs
-Salmon rice salad
-Spam and egg sandwich
-Tuna Salad
-Lunch meat (thinking of dividing this up into daily use and putting it in the freezer)
-Lunch meat
Dinner (didn't assign days)
-Taco Style Lentils/Mixed veggies with ranch/corn chips Good
-Alligator Stew/Baby Carrots/potato chips (actually split pea, but thought the kids would love the name.) Great for winter, not a summer dish
-Cheap, easy, fast chili/Crock pot corn bread/Greens Good
-Oriental fried rice/Chop suey (cheated with canned - had on hand) Favorite
-Texas Dirty rice/corn/corn chips Good
-Honey Chicken/Potato salad (fell in love with Angie's chicken) - Saving this for the week-end when I can buy chicken without storing it.
Things have been really tight and it looks like funds will be tight for the summer. I decided we were going to eat very frugal, but at the same time limit what needs to be refrigerated, because the refrigerator isn't keeping things as cold as 40. It likes to wonder up to 50 degrees on hot days. I have lots of not so nice words for that cold box. Also it has been very hot and hard to eat. I pulled recipes off of
http://frugalabundance.com/
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/
And looked up for ideas off of
http://www.5dollardinners.com/
I created a menu plan for breakfast, lunch and dinner this time. I felt victory at the checkout when the grocery bill only came up to $50. What a change that was. Felt wonderful. It isn't the healthiest menu, but when people keep getting sick from the food in the refrigerator, it is time to thing outside of the cold box.
Breakfast (didn't assign days)
-Cereal
-Grits (girls love them now with maple syrup)
-Hot cereal
-Boiled eggs
-Poached eggs
-Hash - for the weekend
-Chorizo with eggs - for the weekend
Lunch (didn't assign days)
-Egg salad
-Veggie beans and hot dogs
-Salmon rice salad
-Spam and egg sandwich
-Tuna Salad
-Lunch meat (thinking of dividing this up into daily use and putting it in the freezer)
-Lunch meat
Dinner (didn't assign days)
-Taco Style Lentils/Mixed veggies with ranch/corn chips Good
-Alligator Stew/Baby Carrots/potato chips (actually split pea, but thought the kids would love the name.) Great for winter, not a summer dish
-Cheap, easy, fast chili/Crock pot corn bread/Greens Good
-Oriental fried rice/Chop suey (cheated with canned - had on hand) Favorite
-Texas Dirty rice/corn/corn chips Good
-Honey Chicken/Potato salad (fell in love with Angie's chicken) - Saving this for the week-end when I can buy chicken without storing it.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Making Friends
Making acquaintances is easy. Making friends is harder. My oldest daughter makes friends so easily, while my youngest struggles with it. She gives up at the first awkward silent moment. We decided that it was important for her to learn how to make friends and so each day we go to the park, she has homework. So she brings her notebook with her to take notes. When we get home, she has to tell us the name of her friend and 5 different things she learned about her new friend(s). This is helping her to ask questions and listen. She uses her notebook to write her new friends name.
I am enjoying getting to know the other mom's. I have met a lot of other mom's that are moving from other places across the country. I find a lot in common as we are making fresh starts. Some are at peace with the move, some are nervous and others are bitter. For the most part, I am at peace with our move and I hope that I show it. But I notice that my heart is reserved to new friends. As much as I love and miss my friends in Oregon, I do know that I need to make new friends. This is something that I am struggling with inside.
I have been really bad about bringing my camera, but with the magic of the Internet, I found some pictures of an event we didn't make it to. But we did go to the park later that afternoon. She posted some pictures on her blog of the event and you get to see how green it is. We really like that park.
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jaminacema/776342/
Sorry, couldn't get the link to work correctly. You can copy and paste to the browsser at the top of your page and it will take you there. The name of the blog is "Just Call Me Jamin!" It is a blog that I had been following for a couple of years.
I am enjoying getting to know the other mom's. I have met a lot of other mom's that are moving from other places across the country. I find a lot in common as we are making fresh starts. Some are at peace with the move, some are nervous and others are bitter. For the most part, I am at peace with our move and I hope that I show it. But I notice that my heart is reserved to new friends. As much as I love and miss my friends in Oregon, I do know that I need to make new friends. This is something that I am struggling with inside.
I have been really bad about bringing my camera, but with the magic of the Internet, I found some pictures of an event we didn't make it to. But we did go to the park later that afternoon. She posted some pictures on her blog of the event and you get to see how green it is. We really like that park.
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jaminacema/776342/
Sorry, couldn't get the link to work correctly. You can copy and paste to the browsser at the top of your page and it will take you there. The name of the blog is "Just Call Me Jamin!" It is a blog that I had been following for a couple of years.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
First Couple of Weeks in Texas
We arrived the day before Easter with New Beginings in our thoughts.
Our first assignment was to find where we were going to live with our 5th wheel for a month or two until we find out where work was going to put us. We found a park in the center of everything we need. The park has two other homeschool families. One has left for a couple of months. The kids have made lots of friends in the park that we are at.
Next assignment was to move our stuff that we had shipped into a storage unit. The girls had to help and they did a fantastic job. We were all beat when we finished. They definately earned ice cream that day.
Pat has worked hard at trying to find work. He has had interest for protential clients and one small job, but that is it. He is now switching gears and is at the unemployment office and the Lutheran employment office to check out job listings. We will be working on his resume tonight. Job hunting always beats down ones confidence level and I am praying that Pat will be able to hold strong. I am understanding a little myself as I am working up my confidence level to get a part time job evenings and week-ends. It has been about 13 years since I worked outside of the home. Knowing what you ones skills are and what they are worth are one thing, puting it on paper to look good is another matter. Just praying that God opens the door to employment quickly! Bills are just about due and money is getting smaller.
We have been making connections and friends with homeschoolers. We have already been to one park day, a nature walk and are planning on attending two park days this Friday. I am really liking one of the online homeschool support groups very much. There are so many of the down here and they share information. Sometimes the event might be hosted by one group and have several groups attending it. It is a nice atmospher to live in. We are trying to get connected into the Keepers of the Faith Group for girls ages 10 to 13.
We started school again, but without unpacking the boxes in storage to find the curriculum. Which is fine for now, we needed to review and get into a routine anyway. We have been working on flash cards, spelling, reading out load, mad libs, and doing a unit study about the state of Texas. The girls are really enjoying it.
I am also checking out different grocery stores. I found Whole Foods, Albertson, and Walmart. Fred Meyers is using the name Krogers and Safeway is using the name Tom Thumb. Still need to check out a couple more stores. But there is no Trader Joes or Winco. Nothing even simular to a Food 4 less and can't find any bulk bins for dry goods. The one area where I am a little disappointed, but I will make due.
Our first assignment was to find where we were going to live with our 5th wheel for a month or two until we find out where work was going to put us. We found a park in the center of everything we need. The park has two other homeschool families. One has left for a couple of months. The kids have made lots of friends in the park that we are at.
Next assignment was to move our stuff that we had shipped into a storage unit. The girls had to help and they did a fantastic job. We were all beat when we finished. They definately earned ice cream that day.
Pat has worked hard at trying to find work. He has had interest for protential clients and one small job, but that is it. He is now switching gears and is at the unemployment office and the Lutheran employment office to check out job listings. We will be working on his resume tonight. Job hunting always beats down ones confidence level and I am praying that Pat will be able to hold strong. I am understanding a little myself as I am working up my confidence level to get a part time job evenings and week-ends. It has been about 13 years since I worked outside of the home. Knowing what you ones skills are and what they are worth are one thing, puting it on paper to look good is another matter. Just praying that God opens the door to employment quickly! Bills are just about due and money is getting smaller.
We have been making connections and friends with homeschoolers. We have already been to one park day, a nature walk and are planning on attending two park days this Friday. I am really liking one of the online homeschool support groups very much. There are so many of the down here and they share information. Sometimes the event might be hosted by one group and have several groups attending it. It is a nice atmospher to live in. We are trying to get connected into the Keepers of the Faith Group for girls ages 10 to 13.
We started school again, but without unpacking the boxes in storage to find the curriculum. Which is fine for now, we needed to review and get into a routine anyway. We have been working on flash cards, spelling, reading out load, mad libs, and doing a unit study about the state of Texas. The girls are really enjoying it.
I am also checking out different grocery stores. I found Whole Foods, Albertson, and Walmart. Fred Meyers is using the name Krogers and Safeway is using the name Tom Thumb. Still need to check out a couple more stores. But there is no Trader Joes or Winco. Nothing even simular to a Food 4 less and can't find any bulk bins for dry goods. The one area where I am a little disappointed, but I will make due.
Monday, April 19, 2010
New Title To The Blog
Finally came up with a new fitting name for our family blog. The old one was outdated the moment we left Oregon. We arrived with Bluebonnets welcoming us as they painted the side of the freeways. So, now our blog's name is "Living Among The Bluebonnets."
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Moving Camping Trip - Last day
We woke up in Odessa, Texas excited to get on the road one last day. Except, I was so excited, that I couldn't sleep. The wind was plowing making travel laboring. But we were going to make it no matter what. We were determined and when the girls were whining about being hungry, we fed them whatever chips that were in the vehicles. We weren't stopping except for gas.
We arrived in Weatherford, Texas after 4pm. We stayed two nights in a RV park called Cowtown and then we moved to a KOA in Arlington, Texas where we are paying a monthly rate.
The girls like it here, because there are lots of children living in the park. They already made friends with a homeschool family that has been living here for four months.
We arrived in Weatherford, Texas after 4pm. We stayed two nights in a RV park called Cowtown and then we moved to a KOA in Arlington, Texas where we are paying a monthly rate.
The girls like it here, because there are lots of children living in the park. They already made friends with a homeschool family that has been living here for four months.
Moving Camping Trip - Day 8
We happily left Deming, New Mexico, leaving behind the cold, strong wind. We seen lots of desert, with plants. We to see boarder patrol along the way through New Mexico.
We continued on Hwy 10 until we reached Las Cruces and then we traveled South on Hwy 10 crossing the boarder into El Paso. Had to stop and have lunch at Dave's Grill. Very yummy and good. After lunch, we saw our first look into Mexico. At first I didn't realize that it was Mexico, because the river was as small as the Long Tom River. I am sure that it would be a 30 second swim across at the longest. It looked like a canal. The first thought that I had was, "Oh, that must be the poor part of town." and then my thoughts turned to, "But wait, HUD housing is nicer then that and there is no windows." At that moment, Pat told us on his walkie talkie, that it was Mexico. Vicky was with me and talked about what she saw. She said, "Mom, I empathy the Mexican people." Very sweet. We also saw Boarder Control at watch through El Paso.
After leaving El Paso, we drove many miles through no-where. Eventually we turned onto hwy 20, heading North East. Finally, at dusk, we reached somewhere in the middle of no-where. Somewhere in the middle of no-where ended up being Odessa, Texas.
We continued on Hwy 10 until we reached Las Cruces and then we traveled South on Hwy 10 crossing the boarder into El Paso. Had to stop and have lunch at Dave's Grill. Very yummy and good. After lunch, we saw our first look into Mexico. At first I didn't realize that it was Mexico, because the river was as small as the Long Tom River. I am sure that it would be a 30 second swim across at the longest. It looked like a canal. The first thought that I had was, "Oh, that must be the poor part of town." and then my thoughts turned to, "But wait, HUD housing is nicer then that and there is no windows." At that moment, Pat told us on his walkie talkie, that it was Mexico. Vicky was with me and talked about what she saw. She said, "Mom, I empathy the Mexican people." Very sweet. We also saw Boarder Control at watch through El Paso.
After leaving El Paso, we drove many miles through no-where. Eventually we turned onto hwy 20, heading North East. Finally, at dusk, we reached somewhere in the middle of no-where. Somewhere in the middle of no-where ended up being Odessa, Texas.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Moving Camping Trip - Day 7
We left Mesa, Arizona's sunshine and into New Mexico with strong winds and rain sprinkles. Felt very much like the Oregon coast.
The rest of Arizona was beautiful, but when we went into New Mexico it became flat and boring. The only excitement to see was the dust/sand storms and the Border Patrol. We were really excited to see two of the Border Patrol vehicles on the side of the road with their lights on. Finally happy to see my tax dollars at work. This attitude comes from seeing how Oregon's social services and Oregon Health Plan are drained by the Mexicans. It is illegal to ask if a Mexican is in the US legally, but they qualify for the social services easier, because they are considered a minority. And I have seen more Mexicans in Oregon and California than I have seen in Arizona and New Mexico. I was surprised about that.
The people in Arizona and New Mexico are really nice.
Tonight we stayed in Deming, New Mexico.
The rest of Arizona was beautiful, but when we went into New Mexico it became flat and boring. The only excitement to see was the dust/sand storms and the Border Patrol. We were really excited to see two of the Border Patrol vehicles on the side of the road with their lights on. Finally happy to see my tax dollars at work. This attitude comes from seeing how Oregon's social services and Oregon Health Plan are drained by the Mexicans. It is illegal to ask if a Mexican is in the US legally, but they qualify for the social services easier, because they are considered a minority. And I have seen more Mexicans in Oregon and California than I have seen in Arizona and New Mexico. I was surprised about that.
The people in Arizona and New Mexico are really nice.
Tonight we stayed in Deming, New Mexico.
Moving Camping Trip - Day 6
We left Banning and took Hwy 10 East. Past the hundreds of windmills that looked like an army of them. The wind was at our backs and travel was far easier. The sun was shining and the temp was around 70 to 77 degrees. The Mojave desert wasn't as pretty as it was around Yucca Valley at first, but as we traveled further east in California, the variation of plants were greater. I seen a short cactus that was in bloom with fuchsia pink blossoms, but that was only over one of the small passes. I was very disappointed that I didn't get a picture of it.
We were very excited to reach the boarder. We had lunch just off the road, but isolated a bit. We were next to some red ant hills. Pat heard motor cycles and then lunch was over and we hit the road. We went over the river and we were in Arizona. All of a sudden we were seeing large cactus standing with their arms straight up. Pat gave the kids a goal to look for the ones that look like people. The hills were also very beautiful. Liz was taking lots of pictures.
We had a tire blow out on the trailer about 30 minutes before Phoenix. We felt very lucky to have had it happen at that point, because we hit Phoenix at rush hour. When we got the spare on, we were back on the road again and through the heart of Phoenix. Phoenix is a beautiful city and very clean. We were very blessed having GPS, because the Hwy kept splitting. If we didn't have it, I know we would have been lost about 5 times taking the wrong split. By the time we arrived in Mesa, it was dark. We spent the whole day looking forward to getting into a hot tub, but we arrived at the KOA 30 minutes after the Pool closed.
We traveled a total of 310 miles.
We were very excited to reach the boarder. We had lunch just off the road, but isolated a bit. We were next to some red ant hills. Pat heard motor cycles and then lunch was over and we hit the road. We went over the river and we were in Arizona. All of a sudden we were seeing large cactus standing with their arms straight up. Pat gave the kids a goal to look for the ones that look like people. The hills were also very beautiful. Liz was taking lots of pictures.
We had a tire blow out on the trailer about 30 minutes before Phoenix. We felt very lucky to have had it happen at that point, because we hit Phoenix at rush hour. When we got the spare on, we were back on the road again and through the heart of Phoenix. Phoenix is a beautiful city and very clean. We were very blessed having GPS, because the Hwy kept splitting. If we didn't have it, I know we would have been lost about 5 times taking the wrong split. By the time we arrived in Mesa, it was dark. We spent the whole day looking forward to getting into a hot tub, but we arrived at the KOA 30 minutes after the Pool closed.
We traveled a total of 310 miles.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Moving Camping Trip - Day 5
This morning we left Barstow at 9 am and traveled South on a really hilly Hwy 247, Hwy 62 and then West on Hwy 10. Yes, I said right, West down the to San Bernardino Valley to visit my brother.
We seen more Joshua Tree's, wild Yucca's, and finally a white cactus that was completely covered with spines. We seen a dried up lake with salt on the surface. We seen another area with millions of windmills in an area that was so windy that it had permanent signs for wind warnings. Reminded me of the coast on a very stormy day. I put my arm through the steering wheel so that the wheel wouldn't jerk so much. Finally made it to a KOA in Banning, just northwest of Palm Springs.
Took pictures of the Joshua Tree's and it's blossom. Elizabeth took tons of pictures.
We seen more Joshua Tree's, wild Yucca's, and finally a white cactus that was completely covered with spines. We seen a dried up lake with salt on the surface. We seen another area with millions of windmills in an area that was so windy that it had permanent signs for wind warnings. Reminded me of the coast on a very stormy day. I put my arm through the steering wheel so that the wheel wouldn't jerk so much. Finally made it to a KOA in Banning, just northwest of Palm Springs.
Took pictures of the Joshua Tree's and it's blossom. Elizabeth took tons of pictures.
Moving Camping Trip - Day 4
Yesterday we traveled a total of 401 miles. A long slow day. Hills are soooo very slow. Our poor truck is boarderline for not being strong enough to pull our trailer. We went over the Tehachapi Mountain Range at 25 mph. I felt like the pioneers as we slowly went up that range. If only we could have one of those semi-trucks push us up 10 mph faster then we are able to go. Pat turned on the heat in order to keep the engine from over heating. There was another 5th Wheel who passed us and soon we were passing him and their truck had the hood up. A reminder not to push the engine. Once we made it over, we seen the hills loaded with wind mills. We were all amazed at the sight.
We left Lodi and traveled Hwy 12 and then turned onto Hwy 99. All along Hwy 99 we seen many orchards along the way. Many more grapes for wine, raisins, grape juice and fresh grapes. Lots of Almond orchards. And when we made it to Bakersfield, and turned East onto Hwy 58. Soon we seen our first orange orchards. The oranges were ripe, golden, and beautiful. The rolling mountains were beautiful with purple flowers painting them. Then came orange flowers painting them. I was so taken by the purple, that I didn't get the camera out until the orange hills. The contrast with the green was beautiful.
On the other side of the pass was the Mojave Desert. Vicky didn't hink it was a desert, but wondered why it was so dead. lol It was actually green with lots of stage brush. We seen our first Joshua trees. They are oddly cool looking. We made it to Barstow at 9:30 and set up in the pitch black of night.
We left Lodi and traveled Hwy 12 and then turned onto Hwy 99. All along Hwy 99 we seen many orchards along the way. Many more grapes for wine, raisins, grape juice and fresh grapes. Lots of Almond orchards. And when we made it to Bakersfield, and turned East onto Hwy 58. Soon we seen our first orange orchards. The oranges were ripe, golden, and beautiful. The rolling mountains were beautiful with purple flowers painting them. Then came orange flowers painting them. I was so taken by the purple, that I didn't get the camera out until the orange hills. The contrast with the green was beautiful.
On the other side of the pass was the Mojave Desert. Vicky didn't hink it was a desert, but wondered why it was so dead. lol It was actually green with lots of stage brush. We seen our first Joshua trees. They are oddly cool looking. We made it to Barstow at 9:30 and set up in the pitch black of night.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Moving Camping Trip - Day 3
Woke up not feeling well today. My kidneys were sore and I was achy all over. So we got a late start. We left Fortuna almost 11am.
We traveled 101 South Redwood Hwy. Very hilly and winding road. Pat had to stop at a Bigfoot store practically on the road. We took pictures with Bigfoot and Shreck. We got to enjoy more Redwood groves. Richardson Grove is extremely awesome.
We went through two very hippy towns, Willits and can't remember the other one. Read a sign that said, "Don't forget the magic." I thought it was odd and then the next town if finally hit me. I was hungry by then and was thinking about the magic that might be added to my food if I stopped.
Stopped in Cloverdale for a late lunch and drove down Main Street where my Grandmother use to own and operate Rosetta's Cafe. I remember being a waitress in the parade when I was kindergarten age and another time had chicken pox and spent many days in the back room of the cafe. We seen Citrus trees and healthy palm tree's.
Turned onto Hwy 128 at Geyserville and followed it all the way through the Napa Valley Wine Country. So breathtaking!!! Green hills and so many vineyards as far as the eye can see. Some were less maintained and had wild mustard coloring the vineyard yellow with it's golden flower. I really liked the towns Calistoga and Helena. They were very upscale towns. We also seen large aloevera, and two different types of cacti. One was in bloom loaded with flowers.
Before we got to Calistoga Vicky seen a Quail and Pat and Elizabeth seen another one. We did see a dead Coyote and a dead raccoon along the road.
We turned off onto Hwy 80 and took that Suison City. Then we took Hwy 12 and traveled to Lodi. Along Hwy 12 we seen miles of so many large windmills that it was breathtaking. We also went over the Sacramento River and the girls and I were surprised about how large the river was. Pat use to live down in Sacramento and told us the story about Humpy the whale that enjoyed the summer up the Sacramento River.
We traveled 101 South Redwood Hwy. Very hilly and winding road. Pat had to stop at a Bigfoot store practically on the road. We took pictures with Bigfoot and Shreck. We got to enjoy more Redwood groves. Richardson Grove is extremely awesome.
We went through two very hippy towns, Willits and can't remember the other one. Read a sign that said, "Don't forget the magic." I thought it was odd and then the next town if finally hit me. I was hungry by then and was thinking about the magic that might be added to my food if I stopped.
Stopped in Cloverdale for a late lunch and drove down Main Street where my Grandmother use to own and operate Rosetta's Cafe. I remember being a waitress in the parade when I was kindergarten age and another time had chicken pox and spent many days in the back room of the cafe. We seen Citrus trees and healthy palm tree's.
Turned onto Hwy 128 at Geyserville and followed it all the way through the Napa Valley Wine Country. So breathtaking!!! Green hills and so many vineyards as far as the eye can see. Some were less maintained and had wild mustard coloring the vineyard yellow with it's golden flower. I really liked the towns Calistoga and Helena. They were very upscale towns. We also seen large aloevera, and two different types of cacti. One was in bloom loaded with flowers.
Before we got to Calistoga Vicky seen a Quail and Pat and Elizabeth seen another one. We did see a dead Coyote and a dead raccoon along the road.
We turned off onto Hwy 80 and took that Suison City. Then we took Hwy 12 and traveled to Lodi. Along Hwy 12 we seen miles of so many large windmills that it was breathtaking. We also went over the Sacramento River and the girls and I were surprised about how large the river was. Pat use to live down in Sacramento and told us the story about Humpy the whale that enjoyed the summer up the Sacramento River.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Moving Camping Trip - Day 2
Post written by Liz and Sheri
Today is March 28th, 2010. It is Saturday morning and we left Bandon at 10:35 am. We said good-bye to Bandon, cranberry bogs, Myrtle Wood, and the Oregon Beaches. We didn't get to stop by Cape Blanco, but we did wave to it. Cape Blanco is the furthest West you can go on land in the lower 48's.
Today we found the walkie talkies and had better communication between vehicles. While driving through Sixes, Pat announced "Sixes are hot!!!"
Near Fort Orford we seen a family with a large Flat Traveler taking pictures by the ocean right off the road.
The day on the Southern Coast was absolutely beautiful. A perfect 60 degrees on the beach. We got a little pink in places.
We made it to the California Border and a mile into California, we all yelled out the window, "Good-bye Liberals!!!"
At Elk Prairie off of Prairie Creek Road, we saw a large herd of elk. Vicky saw a small herd of deer near Cresent, California.
We decided to stop for the night in Fortuna, California in a RV Park so that we can do some more laundry. Pat is really tired. Last night he woke up at 3pm and couldn't go back to sleep.
Our route today....
-Stayed on 101 from Bandon and into California.
-Took Redwood Hwy and the scenic route called Prairie Creek.
Total miles traveled today - 217 miles
Today is March 28th, 2010. It is Saturday morning and we left Bandon at 10:35 am. We said good-bye to Bandon, cranberry bogs, Myrtle Wood, and the Oregon Beaches. We didn't get to stop by Cape Blanco, but we did wave to it. Cape Blanco is the furthest West you can go on land in the lower 48's.
Today we found the walkie talkies and had better communication between vehicles. While driving through Sixes, Pat announced "Sixes are hot!!!"
Near Fort Orford we seen a family with a large Flat Traveler taking pictures by the ocean right off the road.
The day on the Southern Coast was absolutely beautiful. A perfect 60 degrees on the beach. We got a little pink in places.
We made it to the California Border and a mile into California, we all yelled out the window, "Good-bye Liberals!!!"
At Elk Prairie off of Prairie Creek Road, we saw a large herd of elk. Vicky saw a small herd of deer near Cresent, California.
We decided to stop for the night in Fortuna, California in a RV Park so that we can do some more laundry. Pat is really tired. Last night he woke up at 3pm and couldn't go back to sleep.
Our route today....
-Stayed on 101 from Bandon and into California.
-Took Redwood Hwy and the scenic route called Prairie Creek.
Total miles traveled today - 217 miles
Moving Camping Trip - Day 1
This one Liz and I wrote together.
On Friday, March 26th, 2010 we say good-bye to our home at 2:35 pm. Two doors down from us is another home that lies empty from a foreclosure also. They were trucks taking all of the left behind items. Next they will be at our home doing the same thing.
We are sad saying good-bye to friends, neighbors, family, our home, our town, etc.... , but we are also excited to be on the road to start our grand adventure.
On the way to Reedsport we went through several showers. Looking in the rear view mirror we saw a rainbow that was horrizontal from ground to the top of the rear view mirror. We thought it was so cool looking. We also saw elk at the reserv near Reedsport.
Route leaving our house from Springfield.....
-West on Hwy 105 to Eugene.
-South on I-5 to Curtain.
-West on Hwy 38th to Reedsporth.
-South on Hwy 101.
Tonight we stay in Bandon at Bullards Beach. Our favorite Oregon Campground. :)
On Friday, March 26th, 2010 we say good-bye to our home at 2:35 pm. Two doors down from us is another home that lies empty from a foreclosure also. They were trucks taking all of the left behind items. Next they will be at our home doing the same thing.
We are sad saying good-bye to friends, neighbors, family, our home, our town, etc.... , but we are also excited to be on the road to start our grand adventure.
On the way to Reedsport we went through several showers. Looking in the rear view mirror we saw a rainbow that was horrizontal from ground to the top of the rear view mirror. We thought it was so cool looking. We also saw elk at the reserv near Reedsport.
Route leaving our house from Springfield.....
-West on Hwy 105 to Eugene.
-South on I-5 to Curtain.
-West on Hwy 38th to Reedsporth.
-South on Hwy 101.
Tonight we stay in Bandon at Bullards Beach. Our favorite Oregon Campground. :)
Friday, March 12, 2010
Surprise!!!!!
I have to brag! I have such wonderful friends!!!!! They threw a surprise going away party. They planned it all out on FB and I had no idea.
One friend made two cakes. One was made in a horseshoe shape with the shape of Texas on it in the center. It was so awesome. She made another gluten free cake for me and the girls. Yummy! Rich, delicious CHOCOLATE! Glad she knows I LOVE CHOCOLATE!
Another friend bought our pizza. So very sweet. Same friend also wrote out cards about facts of Texas. The girls will get to memorize them. Did you know that Dr. Pepper was invented in Texas? Had to drink Dr. Pepper just for learning that one!
We were all pleasantly surprised. Made us feel special and was just what we needed, especially after the week we have had. And it was a nice ending for such a weird day.
Good news - Ella, our gray cat, is spending her first evening in her wonderful new home with no kids. I am sure she is loving it.
One friend made two cakes. One was made in a horseshoe shape with the shape of Texas on it in the center. It was so awesome. She made another gluten free cake for me and the girls. Yummy! Rich, delicious CHOCOLATE! Glad she knows I LOVE CHOCOLATE!
Another friend bought our pizza. So very sweet. Same friend also wrote out cards about facts of Texas. The girls will get to memorize them. Did you know that Dr. Pepper was invented in Texas? Had to drink Dr. Pepper just for learning that one!
We were all pleasantly surprised. Made us feel special and was just what we needed, especially after the week we have had. And it was a nice ending for such a weird day.
Good news - Ella, our gray cat, is spending her first evening in her wonderful new home with no kids. I am sure she is loving it.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Groups Can Get Along
So far I have signed up with 3 homeschool yahoo groups where I will be moving to. They are very friendly, welcoming and lots of activities planned. There are even more then that, but I have not had time to follow them. I did notice that they are all resource friendly, even with each other. On the groups link page, you will find the links to the other groups. People post other groups activities and what other groups have to offer.
I received a phone call from one of the board members of one of the groups. She was making sure we were a homeschool family, welcoming us, and did we have any questions. I found it to be a nice sweet change. She also volunteered that there were a lot of wonderful homeschool supports and that there was no competition between the groups, that they were very supportive and resourceful. Wow! My vision! It can be done! It's possible! It's feasible! It's normal! And it is the proper attitude to have - to be welcoming, helpful, and resourceful even among other groups. :)
Pat did a funny analogy this morning. Do you see Albertson's going to Safeway's parking lot and going up to the cars and telling them that they can't shop there or they won't be able to come back to Albertson's and buy their exclusive lean ground beef? Or do you see Boy Scouts telling one of their cubs that he can't bring his brother to the family banquet at the park, because he is part of the Camp Fire Organization. Don't we teach our children that they need to be friends with more then one person and to not exclude others? Don't we want our children to distance themselves from people who are controlling or manipulating? We don't want them peer pressured into doing the wrong things, even when they are very convincing. The serpent was very convincing to Eve about the apple.
Everything is not tolerable. Just because someone says they are doing things in the name of God, doesn't mean it is from God. Do you really think that God wants His people banned (branded, excluded, revoked membershiped, excluded, or what ever you want to call it) from fellowship with one another? And then when someone is banned or excluded, showing any emotion is chastised as unchristian-like. People are quick to judge the victim and tell them to be quiet and pleasing to God while they are being mistreated. Do any of these chastising Christians read Matthew 18:17? (If he still won't listen, take it to the church) or Matthew 21:12/Mark 11:15 and 16? (Jesus displays his anger and throws a tantrum in the temple, because they turn it into a market) Jesus even had boundaries and set limits. Don't be quick to judge, chances are your informer is leaving out important information. Everyone has a side of a story and it should be heard before taking sides.
I continue to pray for the homeschool community in Eugene. I really want what is good, moral, and peaceful. We are all adults and almost all of us want the same thing. But in order to achieve it, everyone needs to not only want it, but make it happen.
Stepping off my soap box now.
(and now after a couple of days of thinking and praying about it, I am posting it.)
I received a phone call from one of the board members of one of the groups. She was making sure we were a homeschool family, welcoming us, and did we have any questions. I found it to be a nice sweet change. She also volunteered that there were a lot of wonderful homeschool supports and that there was no competition between the groups, that they were very supportive and resourceful. Wow! My vision! It can be done! It's possible! It's feasible! It's normal! And it is the proper attitude to have - to be welcoming, helpful, and resourceful even among other groups. :)
Pat did a funny analogy this morning. Do you see Albertson's going to Safeway's parking lot and going up to the cars and telling them that they can't shop there or they won't be able to come back to Albertson's and buy their exclusive lean ground beef? Or do you see Boy Scouts telling one of their cubs that he can't bring his brother to the family banquet at the park, because he is part of the Camp Fire Organization. Don't we teach our children that they need to be friends with more then one person and to not exclude others? Don't we want our children to distance themselves from people who are controlling or manipulating? We don't want them peer pressured into doing the wrong things, even when they are very convincing. The serpent was very convincing to Eve about the apple.
Everything is not tolerable. Just because someone says they are doing things in the name of God, doesn't mean it is from God. Do you really think that God wants His people banned (branded, excluded, revoked membershiped, excluded, or what ever you want to call it) from fellowship with one another? And then when someone is banned or excluded, showing any emotion is chastised as unchristian-like. People are quick to judge the victim and tell them to be quiet and pleasing to God while they are being mistreated. Do any of these chastising Christians read Matthew 18:17? (If he still won't listen, take it to the church) or Matthew 21:12/Mark 11:15 and 16? (Jesus displays his anger and throws a tantrum in the temple, because they turn it into a market) Jesus even had boundaries and set limits. Don't be quick to judge, chances are your informer is leaving out important information. Everyone has a side of a story and it should be heard before taking sides.
I continue to pray for the homeschool community in Eugene. I really want what is good, moral, and peaceful. We are all adults and almost all of us want the same thing. But in order to achieve it, everyone needs to not only want it, but make it happen.
Stepping off my soap box now.
(and now after a couple of days of thinking and praying about it, I am posting it.)
Friday, February 12, 2010
Moving to Texas
We are packing up and moving out of this state. We are planning on leaving in March and heading for Texas. Our spirits are high and hopeful. Oregon just passed for more taxes that will effect us as a small business. The economy here is tough and competition has moved into Pat's area of business. We are already drowning financially. We took a hard blow in 2008 and 2009 that used up our savings. Finally to a point that we can't take another blow.
The last two years we have stretched the dollar as far as we could. Amazingly, with Gods grace, we found ways to eat naturally gluten free on a extremely slim budget. Hoping that in Texas, I can enjoy a monthly trip to Whole Foods for a couple of gluten free snacks. I haven't had gluten free pretzels for over a year now. It will be nice to get gluten free donuts for a rare treat once every couple of months again. I know that Pat is really looking forward to Texas grown steak and barbecue.
The kids are looking forward to the wildlife in Texas. I think Pat and the girls will be searching for alligators when we get there. lol I can't wait for a field trip to the cotton fields and mills and to see how they process sugarcane. Pat wants a field trip to the US Mint.
No worries about homeschooling. Texas is a wonderful place to homeschool, with lots of homeschool groups and opportunities to connect socially.
Trying to think of a new name that will be a better fit for this blog.
The last two years we have stretched the dollar as far as we could. Amazingly, with Gods grace, we found ways to eat naturally gluten free on a extremely slim budget. Hoping that in Texas, I can enjoy a monthly trip to Whole Foods for a couple of gluten free snacks. I haven't had gluten free pretzels for over a year now. It will be nice to get gluten free donuts for a rare treat once every couple of months again. I know that Pat is really looking forward to Texas grown steak and barbecue.
The kids are looking forward to the wildlife in Texas. I think Pat and the girls will be searching for alligators when we get there. lol I can't wait for a field trip to the cotton fields and mills and to see how they process sugarcane. Pat wants a field trip to the US Mint.
No worries about homeschooling. Texas is a wonderful place to homeschool, with lots of homeschool groups and opportunities to connect socially.
Trying to think of a new name that will be a better fit for this blog.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Friendship with Genuine Christians
To my friends. From my heart. Read the whole thing to appreciate the real message.
When I was in school, I had an older step-sister who was very popular. She was a cheer-leader. I looked up to her and wanted to be just like her. I tried very hard, but it didn't work. I was not her and trying to be like her was an expectation that I could not live up to. Finally I realized that being myself was much easier. I wasn't popular, but I got to be real. I enjoyed the friends that I made and it was nice to get to know them better, because my guard was down.
I still notice the same thing in the Christian world. There are a lot of perceived as "perfect Christians." We look up to them and wonder how they do it. They seem to have it all put together. Homeschooling, discipline, child rearing, house work, life...... it all is a breeze. And then we try to be a "perfect Christian" and hope that others see us as a "perfect Christian."
The truth is that there is NOT perfect Christians." We ALL sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all have hangups and issues. Some are yelling at the kids, having a bad attitude, swearing when we injure ourselves, not submitting to our husbands, not getting the housework done or dinner on the table, etc......... We strive to be better Christians, but we still fall short and get disappointed and embarrassed with our issues. If we hide our issues, then we set our expectations even higher and feel even more disappointed and alone when we fail yet again.
We should be genuine Christians. What is a genuine Christian? It is a Christian who shows others the real person, short comings and all. They don't hide their issues, they talk about them, learn how to deal with the issues more effectively. They gain better friendships. They surround themselves with others who care. They forgive themselves easier.
An example - I yell at my kids. I can blame it on hereditary, my up-bringing, or lack of control. I have struggled with this and at times have felt that this issue keeps me separated from God, because I just can't get a handle on it. It use to make me feel a failure as a parent. I use to hide it as best as I could. But that is just living in the dark. One day a friend didn't realize that her window was open in her car as she yelled at her kids. The first thought that I had was, I am not alone. Instead of pretending that I didn't hear anything, later I let her know that I was happy to see that moment, because I too struggle with it. Uncovering it led to many more opportunities to discuss the frustration that leads to the yelling. And I was now living in the light.
How do you become a genuine Christian? By surrounding yourselves with others who are genuine Christians. In the beginning I was surrounded by the perceived as "perfect Christians." Most of them were quiet and reserved. I too was reserved. But my need for social interaction, led me to always reach out to others. Remembering that at times I was awkward, I continued to be friendly towards people who were awkward. One of my dearest friends were one of these mom's who was dealing with feeling awkward. She felt she couldn't say anything right. Instead of ignoring the awkwardness, I opened dialogue with it when I first met her face to face. I told her that I agreed with her opinion. At first her face had the expression of "what did I do now?" But after the third time I met her, we realized we were friends and now consider her one of my best friends. She too felt she needed to reserve herself around this group of women. She was not the only one trying to break the awkwardness. You can learn more about a person one on one. Then people let their guard down enough to show a little more about themselves. Slowly a group of women were meeting one on one, families entertaining for dinner, a night with just the mom's, and even potlucks and camping together.
This group of genuine Christians grew closer and when one of us were struggling, we prayed and gave support. One mom sent out an e-mail stating that all of us together was her best friend, because each of us had a piece and put together made a wonderful best friend. I too feel the same way and am very blessed to now have a sea of genuine Christian friends around me that love me for who I am, even with my short-comings and faults. I too love my friends and feel blessed that God made them the way they are. Thank you friends for having the bravery to share who you really are, even your faults. Your faults have been a blessing to me. Just knowing you have them has released me from the bondage of being a failure and has helped me to work on my frustrations more clearly and feel it has made me a better Christian.
Go welcome and be friends with the awkward girl. She has many blessings of friendship to offer.
When I was in school, I had an older step-sister who was very popular. She was a cheer-leader. I looked up to her and wanted to be just like her. I tried very hard, but it didn't work. I was not her and trying to be like her was an expectation that I could not live up to. Finally I realized that being myself was much easier. I wasn't popular, but I got to be real. I enjoyed the friends that I made and it was nice to get to know them better, because my guard was down.
I still notice the same thing in the Christian world. There are a lot of perceived as "perfect Christians." We look up to them and wonder how they do it. They seem to have it all put together. Homeschooling, discipline, child rearing, house work, life...... it all is a breeze. And then we try to be a "perfect Christian" and hope that others see us as a "perfect Christian."
The truth is that there is NOT perfect Christians." We ALL sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all have hangups and issues. Some are yelling at the kids, having a bad attitude, swearing when we injure ourselves, not submitting to our husbands, not getting the housework done or dinner on the table, etc......... We strive to be better Christians, but we still fall short and get disappointed and embarrassed with our issues. If we hide our issues, then we set our expectations even higher and feel even more disappointed and alone when we fail yet again.
We should be genuine Christians. What is a genuine Christian? It is a Christian who shows others the real person, short comings and all. They don't hide their issues, they talk about them, learn how to deal with the issues more effectively. They gain better friendships. They surround themselves with others who care. They forgive themselves easier.
An example - I yell at my kids. I can blame it on hereditary, my up-bringing, or lack of control. I have struggled with this and at times have felt that this issue keeps me separated from God, because I just can't get a handle on it. It use to make me feel a failure as a parent. I use to hide it as best as I could. But that is just living in the dark. One day a friend didn't realize that her window was open in her car as she yelled at her kids. The first thought that I had was, I am not alone. Instead of pretending that I didn't hear anything, later I let her know that I was happy to see that moment, because I too struggle with it. Uncovering it led to many more opportunities to discuss the frustration that leads to the yelling. And I was now living in the light.
How do you become a genuine Christian? By surrounding yourselves with others who are genuine Christians. In the beginning I was surrounded by the perceived as "perfect Christians." Most of them were quiet and reserved. I too was reserved. But my need for social interaction, led me to always reach out to others. Remembering that at times I was awkward, I continued to be friendly towards people who were awkward. One of my dearest friends were one of these mom's who was dealing with feeling awkward. She felt she couldn't say anything right. Instead of ignoring the awkwardness, I opened dialogue with it when I first met her face to face. I told her that I agreed with her opinion. At first her face had the expression of "what did I do now?" But after the third time I met her, we realized we were friends and now consider her one of my best friends. She too felt she needed to reserve herself around this group of women. She was not the only one trying to break the awkwardness. You can learn more about a person one on one. Then people let their guard down enough to show a little more about themselves. Slowly a group of women were meeting one on one, families entertaining for dinner, a night with just the mom's, and even potlucks and camping together.
This group of genuine Christians grew closer and when one of us were struggling, we prayed and gave support. One mom sent out an e-mail stating that all of us together was her best friend, because each of us had a piece and put together made a wonderful best friend. I too feel the same way and am very blessed to now have a sea of genuine Christian friends around me that love me for who I am, even with my short-comings and faults. I too love my friends and feel blessed that God made them the way they are. Thank you friends for having the bravery to share who you really are, even your faults. Your faults have been a blessing to me. Just knowing you have them has released me from the bondage of being a failure and has helped me to work on my frustrations more clearly and feel it has made me a better Christian.
Go welcome and be friends with the awkward girl. She has many blessings of friendship to offer.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Where am I? Why?
Where am I? I have been very quiet lately. Why?
I have been very depressed these last months. The economy is and has really effected us in the last year. First we denied it, then we panicked, then there was hope, then there was hopelessness, and now there is plain old acceptance that changes are going to happen and they are out of our control. I am glad that we are in God's hands, His love, and His plan.
The hardest part of all of this is loosing our home. It's humiliating, it's depressing, it just plain stinks. We are packing up our belongings not knowing where we will be moving it.
How do you blog when there is nothing to be thankful for? You don't. So that is why there are not any new postings.
I have been very depressed these last months. The economy is and has really effected us in the last year. First we denied it, then we panicked, then there was hope, then there was hopelessness, and now there is plain old acceptance that changes are going to happen and they are out of our control. I am glad that we are in God's hands, His love, and His plan.
The hardest part of all of this is loosing our home. It's humiliating, it's depressing, it just plain stinks. We are packing up our belongings not knowing where we will be moving it.
How do you blog when there is nothing to be thankful for? You don't. So that is why there are not any new postings.
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