Typical Monday

Laundry overflowing.

Laundry gathered, sorted and 1st load of 5 chugging away.

Folded laundry from last week sitting on bed waiting to be put away.

Kitchen floor swept.

Five of six kids coming today making a ruckus in the playroom. Waiting on the 6th to arrive.

Cookbooks out, looking for something to make for supper.

Dusting that didn't get done on the weekend still there and waiting. Ugh.

Ginormous stack of flyers and weekend local papers sitting on the kitchen table finally sorted and put in the recycling box this morning.

Craft supplies waiting to make a craft later this morning with the kids.

This book and notepad waiting for a quiet moment so I can get to the chapter for tonight's study. Found out late last night that I'm leading. Feeling just a leeetle bit of pressure. Help, Lord! I can't do this without you!

The big purge and sort taking over the laundry room. Have to finish that SOON!

Blind number 2 of 3 from the bedroom reno sitting in bathtub waiting for it's "bath". I'm still finishing up the cleaning for that so that I can post a suitable picture of the great reno job hubby did.

Apples sitting on counter waiting to be cut for snack.

Dishwasher loaded and running.

Homemade chicken soup simmering on the stove for lunch.

My eliptical looking lonely in the corner. It might stay that way today. Sssshhhh. Don't tell Linda and the 30 x 5 challenge police! They can see if you do your 30 or not, you know! She's got connections with the guy at the North Pole!

Oh, oh, third poopy diaper of the day needs to be changed. NOW!

And it's not even 10 a.m. I think I need a nap!

30 x 5 Challenge

I know, I know. I'm a huge procrasinator. And whoever told me I would grow out of it, well, you were wrong. I'm still putting off things until the last minute. My latest thing that I let go till the very last second was this great idea that my friend Linda at Second Cup of Coffee has started called the 30 x 5 challenge. It's about pledging to move for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week for the next two weeks.

Now as per my MO I procrastinated because it was a crazy day with a meeting in the evening so I didn't get to it and then Friday found us in the big city for an appointment. After the appointment, however, we had time to hit the humungous, 2 story mall. So someone please tell me that shopping walking like a maniac in the humungous mall in the big city yesterday counts as moving. I was under time pressure so I really did hoof it and it was for more than a hour, so please tell me, all that effort counted towards the 30 x 5! Hello? Anybody? Surely there is someone out there that knows this can be an aerobic workout! And hello? Lifting and carrying those bags? That takes some effort right?

Well, if it doesn't count then I've dug my hole, made my bed, or whatever else cute saying that basically says I have procrastinated to the last minute and now I have to make sure that for the next five days I have to move.

So it's a good thing that Linda, the smart cookie that she is, has made this little challenge not just for committing to move but also that we can encourage each other. Oh yes she did. So if you're like me and procrastinated to the last second, or you haven't heard of it until now, you can still jump on the band wagon. (Hey, jumping counts as moving, right?) It's not to late, just go on over and visit Linda and she'll get you on the list. It's over 60 strong already. Surely with all that encouragement even someone like me can do it!

Now I'm off to get on the elliptical because even though the saying says that I've made my bed and now have to lie in it, that is not true in my case. I have to go make nice with that thing in the corner of my basement. Sigh. Maybe I'll lie in my bed in half an hour.

Friday's Fave Five #30

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five. The perfect place to reflect back over your week and find your five favorite moments or things. If you're joining us for the first time we welcome you. If you need the details you can go here first if you'd like.

So here we go:

1. For the very fact that we've made it #30 and I'm enjoying it more than ever, Friday's Fave Five meme is on my list. Can you believe we've been doing this for 30 weeks? Amazing. I never thought that when I started this that I would so enjoy this little meme and so look forward to it each week. I love how it slows me down and causes me to look for the little things in my week that make life wonderful, no matter what they might be. Sometimes I'm so busy and sometimes feeling so overwhelmed that it is like a refreshing drink of water to do this each week. And then I get even more uplifted when I visit with you all and read what has blessed and touched you and made you all happy. What a wonderful way to end each week. And to have all you, old friends and brand new friends, join me each week just blows me away. Thank you for joining me in this.

2. Hubby blessed me with this beautiful little spring bouquet. He knows how much I love tulips and he got me these for me and I tell you, it was perfect timing. The perfect pick me up right when I needed it most. Thank you, Sweetie!

3. Strawberries. They are finally here. Big and red and luscious. My favorite way to have them? Take a lovely, large red berry, dip it sour cream and then in brown sugar. MMMMM, heaven on the taste buds.

4. Quiet Time. Oh how I have enjoyed that small space of time called quiet time this week. The poor little babe in my dayhome has had a rough couple of weeks. Between cutting several teeth, ear infection, tummy issues that come with meds, poor little duffer has been pretty whiny and needy. And of course, along with his fussing the others tend to think they also need to turn up their volumes. So that blessed hour between 1 and 2 p.m. when all are laying down with not a sound in the house has been greatly appreciated by myself.

And then I go watch recoreded John & Kate episodes in the evening. LOL. Go figure. I don't get it either. One of life's little mysteries.

5. Time at the Library. I love making a trip to the library. I could get lost in there for literally hours. I find it absolutely relaxing.


So what where your favorite things from the week?

Tell Me Thursday

Yesterday I learned of a fun site called Tell Me Thursday. It's a place that two moms started because they wanted to know the stories behind some of the Wordless Wednesday pictures. Imagine my surprise when they asked me to make a post telling me the story behind my photo from yesterday. What fun!

Well, the story behind my photo basically stems back to the crazy decision we made the Christmas before last to hand a 16 year old boy his very own camera. Life has not been the same since. Nothing is sacred and no one, not even four footed, furry family members, are safe. You never know what unflattering thing you might be doing that will not be caught on camera with a well planned, stealth-like ambush. Close ups and zoom shots seem to be the feature of choice with this boy.

So in this particular shot, Muffin was just relaxing on the back of the love seat minding her own business, when in the blink of an eye, a few inches from her nose, appeared an apparently vicious piece of plastic with a missing hand known as a dinosaur. But Miss Muffin is starting to know her master well, and just gave that vicious monster the stare down while patiently waiting for the camera flash.

So that's the story behind Muffin and the Big, Scary Dino. Thanks ladies, that was fun. For more of yesterday's featured pictures and the stories behind them, you can visit TMT here. Or if you did a Wordless Wednesday and would like to join in, here are the directions on how you can participate!

Wordless Wednesday

Some things just defy explaining.

For more Wordless Wednesday go here.

Awards

I'm been really busy the last few day and in a bit of P*M*S fog so have not blogged. As I was sitting here for I don't know how long, trying to think of something to blog about, not a thing was coming to me. So I ran through my drafts folders hoping there was something in there. And, I'm embarrassed to say I ran across a few posts on awards that had been passed to me, and for some reason got missed being acknowledged. Bad me. I'm guilty of being an idiot. So to all who gave me these wonderful awards I say "Thank you, thank you". They really do bless me. I really have no excuse except that somehow the it just kept getting scrolled down in the folders until I totally forgot. I'll blame it on the P*M*S*. It gets blamed for a lot of stuff around here, so this can just be added to that!

So here we go, remember some of these go back to last December.

From Mo at Our Slice of Paradise, a new blogging buddy I met through Friday's Fave Five. Thank you!

From Barbara at Stray Thoughts Barnabas Award. One of my blogging buddies almost from the very beginning of my blogging addiction hobby.

From Carol at She Lives. She's bold, she's funny, she plays bass, she blogs straight from the heart. My blogging bud from waaaay back.

And Chappyswife from Journey to the Prize. My blogging friend whom I have a real connection with. We seem to face a lot of the same things and understand each other.

From Daja at In Other Words. Another new blogging friend whom I've met through Friday's Fave Five. She's a lovely missionary blogging mom of six. Six!

From Faith at Gold in the Clouds. I love reading about Faith's family, kayaking and hiking adventures, and her insights into the Word.

Again, thank you Ladies! Please forgive me for being so remiss in acknowledging your lovely thoughts and awards!

Typical Spring Around Here

The first day spring on Friday was everything that the perfect first day of spring promises to be. Warm, sunny, a slight breeze blowing. There was no snow left on the ground from the warm winds that have been blowing for the last week and half. Only the occasional small dirty snow pile, like on our front lawn, was visible. The only evidence of the shovelling of a big driveway all winter long that was left.

Yesterday was a gorgeous, downright balmy, warm, go without a coat 16*C (60*F) day. Biking, walks, playing catch in the school yard and yard work was the order of the day for many in the neighborhood. Then by early evening the light spring rain came washing away the dirt from the winter and the dust that blew in with all the wind we'd been having. It smelled so good.

And then this morning a reminder of where I live, all while we slept in innocence of what the dawn was bringing, this is what we woke up too:

The 2 beautiful days were no dream. They really did happen. Welcome to Spring, Alberta style!

Friday's Fave Five #29

Welcome, welcome. It's Friday's Fave Five. I've been looking forward to this all week. It's become a great part of my weekends, sitting with a cup of tea or coffee and reading everyone's favorite things from their week. If you're new here, details are here. If you've done a Fave Five post don't forget to sign on to Mr. Linky!

1. Today is SPRING! If you missed the memo, today is Spring. I can't remember the last time I've ever looked so forward to spring. I love winter too, but this year it just seemed to really be long and hard and cold. I'm so looking forward to daily swinging open the windows, to the sun warming the skin on my arms because I don't have to wear a coat, the longer days. And yes, I'm even looking forward to spring cleaning, although around here it is a more drawn out affair as chasing after 6 dayhome kids sorta takes priority in the days. :v)

2. Movie night with my sister. Man, we haven't done that for so long. It was so fun to have her over and break out the junk food, the pop, and watch The Guardian together. Mind you, it tooks us a bit longer to get through the movie due to all the pausing and rewinding 'cause we'd get chatting. LOL. Such is the way of sisters.

3. This blessing absolutely was my favorite thing. Hubby and I are still excited about how it came about. I can hardly wait.

4. The bedroom reno is done! We moved the last of the furniture back in today. I'm so proud of my hubby for the good job he did refinishing the hardwood of two bedrooms. He's never done it before and it turned out beautiful. As soon as the last of the dust is dusted and everything is where I want it, I post some pics.

5. With spring comes the Spring Reading Thing. I look forward to Katrina's reading challenge each year. I love to go through my books and to be read lists and decide which ones I want to read. And I love to go look at everyone else's lists and invariably my own list might change and I can count on my to be read list to grow by leaps and bounds. But mostly I just love to read. And provided the spring weather co-operates, I'll be able to do it on my deck soaking up the sun! Go on to the next post and have a peek at my list.

What were your favorite things from your week?

Spring Reading Thing 2009

It's that time. Oh the fun this week going through my unread books and my TBR list and deciding what I wanted to read this spring. I think I finally decided. But I'm going to say right now, things might change up as I read all your great lists and see titles that I've just got to read now! LOL. So far here is what it looks like:

"How the Scots invented the Modern World" by Arthur Herman. The true story of how Western Europe's poorest nation created our world and everything in it. How the Scots created the basic ideals of modernity. Sounds interesting. We shall see.

"Why the Sky is Blue" by Susan Meissner. A mother, a duaghter and a night that changed them both forever. This amazing story of sacrifice and redemption is told by two women, mother and daughter, in their own unique and decisive voices.

"Oceans Apart" by Karen Kingsbury. A regrettable mistake. A terrible disaster. an unexpected chance to forgive.

"My Heart Remembers" by Kim Vogel Sawyer. United by blood, divided by time, willthree orphan-train siblings ever find one another again?

"A Time to Gather" by Sally John & Gary Smalley. Book 2 in the Safe Harbor Series. Drawing on the insights of bestselling marriage expert Gary Smalley, the series explores the joys and struggles of marriage, family and faith.

"Every Now & Then" by Karen Kingsbury. Book 3 in the 9/11 Series. He's on a desperate quest to rid the city of heartache, but first he must find a way to deal with his own.

"The List" by Robert Whitlow. Recommended by my friend. Have no idea what it's about as the cover is missing. It's my surprise pick, I guess. :v)

"Clutter-FREE Christianity" by Robert Jeffress. For a book tour, it looks very good. It's time to cut through the clutter and get to the heart of what it means to please God.Dr. Jeffress points you toward a revitalized fiath centered on becoming more like Jesus in action, attitude and affection.

So there you have it. The initial list. What are you reading this spring? Join the fun and put your link up at Callipider Days.

Beef Stew Deconstructed

We love a good beef stew at our house. Well, all of us except the one who shall remain nameless who won't eat beef or pork. I don't know how she ever ended up in this carnivore, steak loving family. Anyway, we love the stews made on top of the stove, in the oven, in the crockpot. The ones with beef, pork, or lamb. The ones with potatoes and whatever else veggie our hearts desire. But our absolute favorite way have having beef stew is deconstructed. What is deconstruction? Well, very simplified, it's just a fancy schmancy way of saying that you take the parts that make the whole of a dish and make them individual rather than melding them all together. This is so easy and so yummy. I serve this in the center of a mound of mashed or whipped pototoes volcano style and whichever veggie is your favorites in stew.

SUSANNE'S DECONSTRUCTED BEEF STEW

-1 kg (2 lbs.) stew meat, cut into 1 1/2 " cubes
-2 Tbsp. oil
-1 1/2 onions, chopped
-2 cups water
-1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
-1 large clove garlic, minced
-2 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. sugar
-1/2 tsp. paprika
-1/4 tsp. pepper

-1/4 cup flour
-1/2 - 3/4 cup hot water

Heat oil in a large saute pan or dutch oven. Add the chopped onion. When the onion start to sweat a bit (starts to get a little transluscent) add the meat.

Turn your heat to almost high at this point so that the meat can start to sear. When the meat juices have started to flow and bubble (pictured below),

add the 2 cups of water. You don't want to meat juices to start to diminish as this is what will add tons of flavor so watch this part just before adding the water carefully. Add the next 6 ingrediants and bring to a gentle boil. Cover, turn heat to low and let simmer 2 hours. Peak every once in a while to make sure the liquid level is staying the same.

Now I'm going to give you a secret that my Mom passed to me to make awesome gravy. Never again will you have pale, tasteless gravy if you make it like this. Put the flour into a small frypan or small pot, turn it on medium heat and stay glued to the floor in front of the pot. Stir every once in a while. You are looking for the flour to start turning a nice golden caramel color. It will take a few minutes and it will turn all of a sudden. Watch carefully, stirring especially once you notice it changing color. You will start to smell the flour cooking. See how it's starting to get golden underneath right where the spoon path is?


Just before it's the caramel color, remove it from the heat. It will continue to turn color from the hot pan. This is the color you are looking for.

Now whisk in 1/2 cup of hot water. Secret number 2. If you don't want lumpy gravy, always add cold water to cold flour or hot water to hot flour. And whisk quickly. Just look at this gorgeous color.

And no, this roux does not have one drop of beef in it yet. Just imagine the nice color and flavor this is adding to your gravy.

Now stir this in slowly to your stewing meat. Let it simmer for a good couple of minutes. At this point I like to add lots of fresh cracked pepper. But it's your call. Taste for saltiness, too.

Now don't forget to put a nice big hole with the back of your spoon into your mound of potatoes. You'll want to get as much stew into there as possible! Trust me!

See You in Row 9

I'd call it the luck of the Irish but I'm neither Irish nor do I really believe in luck. As Shalee so eloquently stated yesterday in her post entitled Luck 'o the Irish, "Okay, so I don’t believe in luck. I give all the credit to God". I totally agree. But I tell you, yesterday, St. Patrick's Day, definitely worked in my favor.

Remember yesterday, I gave you a couple of videos shot at New York's St. Paddy's Day Parade of my favorite quintet group. And linked to their site and lo and behold I "accidentally" found out that they were actually coming to my city? I was just a tad excited. Well you'll never guess what happened when I went to check into the tickets.

But let me back up a bit in my story. Because I still can't quite believe it and I'm still giddy with with how this all came together and what happened at the ticket center. When hubby and I first heard this group on PBS last year we both immediately took a liking to them. Me, because they sing a mix of Irish folk song & ballads and classic songs and hubby, because he's a singer/musician and has been in bands, recognized their talent and the talent of the way the show is put together. We both said if they ever come to Canada and our way we would make a real effort to go see them. But their tour last fall did not bring them into Canada. Sad, sad, sad.

So hubby, being the sweetie he is, ordered me the DVD. And it has gotten plenty of constant use. In fact, my 14 year old girl, keeps stealing it to watch on her DVD player. Which tells you the universal, across generations appeal of this group. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, PBS again played that show from last year and for whatever reason, I watched it. Again. And then they mentioned that Celtic Thunder would be going to Canadian cities in their spring tour. Well, that perked my ears right up. But they only mentioned Vancouver and again I was bummed. So then I got the brilliant idea to google their Canadian tour dates. And lo and behold, the first link led me to the city my oldest girl is going to bible school in. Okay now that's exciting. But bummer again. It's on a weeknight. And it's a 7 hour drive there. And the tickets were $345.00. Ouch.

So I went to another link and found, oh my goodness, that they were coming to the big city near us. Okay a little better. That's only a 2 hour drive. But it's still on a weeknight which means I would have to close dayhome early and then we'd be getting home way after midnight. Not conducive to an awake day the next day. But could I swing it? So I went to a ticket site listed and again $345.00. That ended that right there. With hubby not working there is no way we could ever do that. Never mind adding the gas for the trip in there. And you know what? I don't think I would ever want to pay that for any show. To me that is INSANE for us!

So after pouting for a day, I let the whole idea go and played my DVD instead.

Fast forward to yesterday. When I posted their performance from last year's St. Paddy's Day parade in New York. When I went to their site to link I saw that they sell tickets right on their site and they encourage you to get them there so that you don't get an expensive scalper site. So out of curiosity I clicked on it wondering how much the big city tickets would be through their link. People, it was $70. All I can say is somebody out there is majorly scalping people. Whoever you are, shame on you! Anyway, right below the big city name is, be still my heart, my city. What???!!! How did I not know this? So I click on the link and at the venue in my city tickets are $69.50 for a floor seat. What? Whoo Hoo! That still is a big chunk when hubby's not working but I can juggle and forgo some other stuff for the next couple of months to make it work. I could hardly wait to tell hubby.

So now the story gets really fun. As soon as dayhome was done, we scooted down to the ticket center to get tickets. As we went to pay for them, we almost didn't clue in to the amount the clerk was telling us. We just looked at him. And then asked him to repeat it. Guess what?! Because it was St. Patrick's Day they had a special on. We got the tickets for half price!!!! Did you miss that? Let me say again. HALF PRICE! You think I was excited yesterday. Hubby and I giggled all the way home. We couldn't believe it. What were the chances of all that coming together like that and that we'd find ourselves at the ticket center a half hour before closing on St. Patrick's Day? Luck? No way. Co-incidence? I think not! Thank you God!

So pretty soon hubby, daughter and I and even my son, will be sitting in row 9 enjoying the show and probably still talking and giggling about the blessing the Lord provided. I just hope I don't embarrass myself singing out loud to all their songs.

Top 'o the morning to ya! Happy St. Patrick's Day. To help celebrate, I've got green muffins in the oven, green juice and potato soup on the stove for lunch. And of course, what is St. Patrick's Day with out some good Irish folk songs. And it's got to be sung by my favorite group as of late, Celtic Thunder. And as chance would have, they happen to be Irish! I could listen to these guys all day. And today I will!




As a side note: can you believe the youngest of the group who starts off singing this was only 14 when this was taped last year? Amazing voice.



And can I say that in linking for you all on their site, I just found out they are coming to my city. Can we say excited? I'm off to buy tickets!

Melissa, one of my newer blogging buddies, from Sew blessed with 3, has tagged me with award/tag combo.

The rules are to list 7 things I love and then to tag 7 people. I'm going to do this as other than my husband and family whom go without saying.

1. Jesus

2. Sam, the dog and Muffin, the cat

3. tulips

4. being the first to crack open a brand new book

5. libraries

6. purses/bags

7. chai tea

I'm going to tag some new bloggers I've met in the last little while: Mo, Willow, Betty, Jientje, Lisa, Karyn, & Tabitha.

Book Review - "Rescued"

Contemporary, relateable, intense, shocking, thought provoking. If any of these words describe the kind of read that you like you won't put this one down easily...

For the rest of the review go here and scroll to number 9.

Friday's Fave Five #28

Hi and welcome to Friday's Fave Five. I know, I changed the banner. Again. But I didn't like last week's. When I saw it on the blogs, it seemed so blurry to me. So I've got a brand new one, and I love it. Tulips are my all time favorite flower and they totally speak spring to me, which I am very much longing for. So feel free to grab it and use it for your Fave Five posts.

If you are new to Friday's Fave Five and need the details they are here. Otherwise, just jump right in. Don't forget to sign on to Mr. Linky if you've done a Fave Five post!

It's been a really busy, really overwhelming week. Sometimes when it's like that the good things seem to slip by me. So I'm glad this was here for me to take a pause and remember the good things from the week. So here's my list:

1. Canadian Tire Money. After mentioning it a few times to Barb, she finally said, "What on earth is Canadian Tire money?" And it dawned on me, my American friends wouldn't know what it was. We have a retail store here that is basically an automotive/tool/housewares/sporting goods store called Canadian Tire. When you buy gas at their gas stations you can get something like 7 cents back on the litre (4 litres to a gallon FYI) in Canadian Tire money that you can spend at the store on anything your little heart desires. It beats out the deals other stores offer of 3 cents immediately off a litre if you have their club cards. We always get our gas here and hubby is wonderful at saving the bucks.

It's my on my favorites list this week because it purchased me these two goodies. Gotta love free!

2. Tulips. As I mentioned above, I loooove tulips. And I bought my first little bouquet yesterday. I just love them. They make me smile. They bring spring. They don't cost an arm and a leg. The colors are incredible. I think you get that I love them. ;v)

3. Three pretty baskets all in a row.

To go towards my big closet clean up, purge and organization mentioned in yesterday's post, I again found myself at the Canadian Tire store and picked up these lovelies for $3.74 each. Regular $15. I'm loving that store this week! These will go on the shelf above the hanging clothes.

4. Warm Spring weather. Now warm may all be relative to where you live but today's 10*C (50*F) weather was heaven. Just this past Sunday was -24*C with windchills into the -30's and blizzard warnings flashing red on the weather network. So this was welcome indeed. And it's going to be basically the same for the next week. Outside time is definitely going to be priority around here. And today it let me have a fun little impromptu photo shoot with my kitty who was also enjoying the rays.

Uh oh. That look tells me the photo shoot is over. LOL.

5. God's Word. It is living and applicable to all I go through. It brings hope, comfort, joy and direction. Specifically this week: 1 Corinthians 13:13 Message Bible translation

"Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly.

And the best of the three is love."

What are your favorites from the week?

In which my bedroom regurgitates all over the house

My bedroom has spewed it's contents. It's as lovely as it sounds. This renovating stuff really does overtake one's home and days. Even though it's my hubby doing all the renovating it still spills all over the rest of us and our daily lives. Case in point. This is now my hallway:

Looking down the hallway towards my daughter's room is my great big dresser. Then turning the other direction looking towards our room is my husbands great big highboy dresser. Try putting away folded laundry into them monstrous things with about 10 inches of clearance to squeeze your body into. I guess that is one incentive plan to not gain any weight. Because I tell ya, 5 pounds and I won't have access to my hallway or things in my dresser!

And of course there is all the tools that go with the job all over the place. And this, oh my goodness, is the spare room that just got renovated:

When I took this pic a couple of days ago it was actually not bad compared to today. Now the whole of the contents of my closet have also exploded into here. It makes me wish now I would have participated in one of Laura's Monthly Organizing Round-Ups in which she did closets. Sigh. I knew it would turn around and bite me someday. Well today's the day, I guess. But I can tell you, all this will not be going back into my room. I am going to get vicious this weekend and show no mercy and clear some of this stuff out! You might want to say a prayer for me. I tend to attach a lot of sentimental stuff to things so it makes the whole purge and sort thing quite hard.

So back to the renovating tour. Can you believe we actually still had to sleep in our bed which was still in the room. Hubby hung plastic to keep the dust away from the half of the room he's not working on. And we cover the bed in drop cloths during the day to keep it free from the floor dust as hubby sands. And thank goodness we thought to do that added bit because at one point the sander caught the plastic sheet and pulled it down and all that dust suddenly saw freedom and took off through the room and the hallway at warp speed. Sigh, I do believe dusting is also on the to-do list this weekend.

I don't know if you've ever slept next to a draping, wall to wall plastic sheet hanging right next to you, but I'm telling you it is not fun. Talk about claustrophobic issues rearing up. And then I had visions of the darn sheet falling down in the middle of the night without me knowing and suffocating me. Yeah, like I said, issues rearing up. If you look really close you can see hubby working behind the wall of plastic.

And this is what he's doing. Taking out the ugly berber carpet that was there before.

There is really nice original real hardwood under this but it is ugly orangey-yellow. So he's stripped that and then sanded it, revealing this gorgeous hardwood. We decided to go au-naturel and just put varnish over. No stain. And it's lovely! Here he's putting on coat number two of about four or five.

It dries a beautiful blonde natural color.

So that's what happening around here and why the ole blogging might be missing a day here and there. With dayhome still going it's just a lot trying to keep 6 kids amused and avoiding the end of the house where all this is happening. But I'm definitely not complaining. It's just a fact of life right now, and thanks to my wonderful, hard working hubby I'll have two new bedrooms when it's all said and done.

Hmmm, I Wonder....

If the color of this makes me smile when I make tea and makes me want to drink tea more,

is it too much of a leap to hope that the color of this will make me happy and cause me to smile when I use it and make me want to use it more?

And I suppose it would be a gargantuan leap to hope it will it make my kids smile and want to spend some quality time with it?

Wherefore Art Thou Spring?

About a month ago, at the grocery store, I came upon a deal I absolutely could not refuse. Five thick strip loin steaks for under $20. Now I don't know about where you live but that is next to a miracle. It's basically about half the price. So I grabbed a package (and now totally wished I have grabbed two or three) thinking that surely spring was right around the corner and we'd have some grilling weather soon. Well a month later, and winter still hanging around, those five little steaks were calling my name out every time I opened the freezer.

Finally Saturday night I couldn't stand it anymore. So I heeded their call and put them in the fridge to start thawing for Sunday dinner, thinking I'd grill even if it was a little cool outside. And then it happened. Sometime in the middle of the night gale force winds howled and we woke up to blizzard warnings and this covering the bar-b-que.




Sigh. I should've known better. Isn't there some kind of Murphy's Law for grilling that says if you roll the dice with expensive steaks too early in the year, the bells will ring somewhere and set some cosmic occurence into motion whereby a blizzard will blow in for sure.

But I had them steaks thawing. And I would not be deterred. So I did what any good little wifey who promised her hubby steaks for dinner would do. I broke out the George Foreman grill. Not as good as the Bar-B-Que but it'll do. So Sunday morning before church these babies got a soaker bath in in some marinade and back in the fridge till we came home.



Then into the George Foreman, also known as the tanning booth, they went for 13 minutes (almost well done).

Yummy. Can't you just hear the sizzle and smell that goodness?

Fresh cracked pepper and a tiny dollop of butter melted on top and they were done.

Served with a mountain of these:

we could almost forget the -22*C (-7*F) outside and taste the spring and forget about this outside:

Almost. Now if we could just feel it, darn it.

OVEN ROAST VEGGIES

-4 large or 6 medium potatoes cut in large chunks

-3 large carrots, peeled and cut in 2 inch sticks

-1 large onion, peeled, quartered and each quarter cut in half

-1/2 tsp. granulated garlic (or garlic powder)

-2 tsp. seasoning. I used Watkins Potato Salad Seasoning this time. You can use any that you would like such as Italian, Greek, Cajun, Mrs. Dash, etc.

-fresh ground pepper to taste

-1 tsp. dried or 1 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley

-1/4 cup oil

Mix all in a small roaster or 13x9 pan and bake at 450*F for 40 minutes or until tender. Taste at the end of baking and then salt to taste if desired.

Ye Olde Book Blog

Other than book tours, I have started to do my book reviews on my book blog, "For the Love of Reading". It just seemed easier to have the review there. If you're interested in those, the link is always in my sidebar and I've got them categorized by the year and as of now I can't link to a specific book and you have to scroll down. One of these fine days, I have to reorganize it so that I can link to specific books. In my spare time, of course.

If you're interested I've got reviews up for the following:

"Between Sundays" by Karen Kingsbury
"On Sparrow Hill" by Maureen Lang
"Skid" by Rene Gutteridge
"I Do Again" by Jeff & Cheryl Scruggs
"Dinner With A Perfect Stranger" & "Day With A Perfect Stranger" by David Gregory
"Blue Heart Blessed" by Susan Meissner
"An Irish Christmas" by Melody Carlson

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

2

Timestamp: 2009-03-07 16:45:21 UTC

Congratulations to Grace of Serious Whimsey. Hoping winning something will help make that bad cold feel a little better! :v)

Friday's Fave Five #27

Hello, welcome. It's Friday so that means it's Fave Five. Please join us as we look back at our week and find our five favorite things from our week. If you need more details it's here. If you've done a Fave Five post don't forget to sign onto Mr. Linky so that we can come and visit! And feel free to grab the new button. Oh and by the way, if you didn't know I'm giving a book away, well I am. You can go here for that.

So on we go. Here are my faves from the week:

1. This post by my friend, Carol at She Lives. I am giving you fair warning: tissue alert!

2. My spunky new tea kettle. My old tea kettle bit the dust last week. So this is the one I got. Everytime I look at it it makes me smile. I'm not sure why. But it's just so chubby. And it's red. Red makes me smile.

3. Haircuts. I don't know about you but with my short hair it seems like all of a sudden overnight it just is too long, doesn't want to do what I want it to do, and seems blah. I can hardly wait for a hair cut at that point. And last Saturday was the day. Can everyone hear my hair go "Ahhhh"?

4. Picking a paint color and not be disappointed when it's up. This was definitely a favorite. Oh if you only knew our history with picking paint. I am so indecisive. I just like too many looks and can never make up my mind. So a highlight was for sure, getting the paint up on the wall and actually liking it.

5. Evenings. A bit of a rough week in dayhome this week. Little ones not really sick but not themselves, 2 kids with ear infections, some with busy weeks makes for more chances for emotions to run. I've been very thankful for some quiet evenings this week to relax and renew for the next day. And a nice cup of tea from the cute kettle helped in the evenings.

What have been your favorites from your week?

Book Tour -"Dinner with" & "A Day with" A Perfect Stranger"

...and a chance to get a copy for yourself!

I was so excited when this book tour came around. I remember my daughter requested these books for Christmas one year and she really enjoyed them. But I forgot we had them and then she had the audacity to up and move away to bible school and take her books with her so I never did get a chance to read them. Sheesh, teenagers. But then the tour came and here's my chance. Unfortunately, the tour started this Monday and I didn't get the books until Tuesday so I've only just begun the first one. But let me say, from the small amount I've read this book has totally captured me and I cannot put it down. It's a novella, so it is not a long novel but boy it packs a whole lot into it's short form. I am loving the concept so far and can't help but imagine myself in the shoes of Nick who recieves a strange invitation to have dinner with Jesus of Nazareth. What follows is a conversation over dinner that is challenging Nick on faith, God, life and other topics. Can you imagine talking face to face with Jesus about all of these?

*Update: I had originally asked Kay to do a review for me when I knew I wouldn't have the time to read both books. But as is the life of the busy bible school student who has a paper on Elijah due first, she got it to me as quick as she could. So if you are interested in her much more indepth review go here. She does pretty good reviews, if I do say so myself. Just scroll down to #5 & 6.

Publisher's Summary:

You are Invited to a Dinner with Jesus of Nazareth

The mysterious envelope arrives on Nick Cominsky’s desk amid a stack of credit card applications and business-related junk mail. Although his seventy-hour workweek has already eaten into his limited family time, Nick can’t pass up the opportunity to see what kind of plot his colleagues have hatched.

The normally confident, cynical Nick soon finds himself thrown off-balance, drawn into an intriguing conversation with a baffling man who appears to be more than comfortable discussing everything from world religions to the existence of heaven and hell. And this man who calls himself Jesus also seems to know a disturbing amount about Nick’s personal life.…………..

"You’re bored, Nick. You were made for more than this. You’re worried about God stealing your fun, but you’ve got it backwards.… There’s no adventure like being joined to the Creator of the universe." He leaned back off the table. "And your first mission would be to let him guide you out of the mess you’re in at work."………….

As the evening progresses, their conversation touches on life, God, meaning, pain, faith, and doubt–and it seems that having Dinner with a Perfect Stranger may change Nick’s life forever.

Publisher's Summary:

What if a fascinating stranger knew you better than you know yourself?

When her husband comes home with a farfetched story about eating dinner with someone he believes to be Jesus, Mattie Cominsky thinks this may signal the end of her shaky marriage. Convinced that Nick is, at best, turning into a religious nut, the self-described agnostic hopes that a quick business trip will give her time to think things through.

On board the plane, Mattie strikes up a conversation with a fellow passenger. When she discovers their shared scorn for religion, she confides her frustration over her husband’s recent conversion. The stranger suggests that perhaps her husband isn’t seeking religion but true spiritual connection, an idea that prompts her to reflect on her own search for fulfillment.

As their conversation turns to issues of spiritual longing and deeper questions about the nature of God, Mattie finds herself increasingly drawn to this insightful stranger. But when the discussion unexpectedly turns personal, touching on things she’s never told anyone, Mattie is startled and disturbed. Who is this man who seems to peer straight into her soul?

I've been given a copy to bless someone with, so if you would like to read "Dinner with a Perfect Stranger" leave a comment. As usual please make sure there is some way to get a hold of you either through a blog link or email address. Sorry but I do have to limit it to Canadian or U.S. addresses. If you're international and have someone with one of those addresses I can send it to for you, feel free to comment. Open until Friday midnight, March 6.

"Dinner with A Perfect Stranger" is available here and "A Day with A Perfect Stranger" here.