You SOOOO Owe Me!!

Another Kiera treasure:

Last week, I forgot to tell you about our apple blessing! We went out with our neighbor Tasha and her daughter Selene and gleaned apples from some darling people from our church. I just love them!

So we have a few boxes sitting here at home that I am working on. Currently going: dehydrator, crockpot with Apple Butter, and soaking overnight Apple Peel Jelly. I know. Overachiever. Maybe this is a warning that my second trimester might not be so easy. Who knows... (By the way copycat Brooke-- did you catch that? Get to work girl: dried apples, apple butter, apple peel jelly.....)

ANYWAY, Kiera has been eating her fair share of apples. And you know those fun treasures she sometimes surprises us with? Well!!!! Earlier today, her poop was ummm... runny. (sorry, I know, but this is my world...) AND TONIGHT I found APPLESAUCE in her diaper!!!! I laughed so hard, and Melia thought it was hilarious! I am talking brightly colored applesauce-- I could've served it up for dinner! (Are you sick yet?!!!) SO funny.

You owe me why? I really really wanted to take a picture.

But I didn't. And you'd better appreciate it too! ;-)

9 cents/lb pumpkins

Today only, the Food Pavilions have their pumpkins on sale for 9 pennies a pound.

Does anyone know of any better deals? If not, I am thinking I want to try to do this pumpkin puree, so gonna be pickin' up a few punkins :-)

Actually kinda proud of myself...Pizza

So, I know. Pizza is not that difficult. But I just don't really do pizza. Don't crave it, don't make it weekly, nothin' like that. But tonight I did. And Gabe was impressed. :-)

Since Rachael said she used Tammy's breadsticks recipe for a pizza crust, I did that. And I remembered something special from my Costco food court pizza making days: I docked the dough :-) I used my meat holder cutter thingamobob. It worked good. ;-)


And just so you know, don't knock the food court workers. They make just as much as most anyone else in there, so don't feel sorry for them. They start out at $10+/hr too! (We had this conversation at work last week-- the supervisor got a pity party from someone, and she desperately wanted to retort that "thanks, but I do make $**/hour, so no thanks!") And hey, now I know how to dock a pizza so I don't get air pockets...valuable time I tell ya...


Anyway, so I used my homemade pizza sauce, courtesy of Tammy again (she's a goldmine of good recipes too!) And loaded it up with grilled chicken, tomatoes on my side, and pineapple on Gabe's. Here's a before-oven pic:


And an after-already-been-consumed pic:

No, the tomatoes weren't actually green. They were yellow, and yummy. It was the camera...

It was good. I will admit that, from a non-pizza craver. And boy, apparently I am overdoing myself. Gabe said I made two "better than usual" meals today. The other one was chicken fried rice for lunch (I did it Karalee! I actually followed the directions and it turned out good! Woo Hoo! ;-) Maybe I'd better slow down, otherwise when the funky prego smell issues turn up, we'll all starve.....

What touched me today...

"We are held in the hands of the One who makes no mistakes."
Chuck Missler

Do I trust Him? Do I really really trust Him? Do I believe that whatever He wills or allows in my life is aimed at my best and His glory? No matter if I am looking at another C-section or breast cancer, do I trust HIM?

Right now? Yes.

Tomorrow? Probably not.

But that is why I am SO thankful that He is faithful to answer us and bring us back under His wing when we cry out to Him. So eternally thankful.

As heard on 20 Countdown Magazine....

Psalms 1:1
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

Mark Hall, in reference to their new song "Slow Fade," (which I LOVE!) that we need to love the law of our Lord and not excuse ourselves from it. What a powerful verse! I heard this and just had to come home and look it up-- it inspired me to post it :-)

Genesis 21: 6`

Genesis 21:6
And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me."

Can you just picture the joy in this verse? I came across it while working on my copy of Genesis, and loved the sweet sweet sound of God making us laugh.

Say What!???

I copied this from Wikipedia after hearing it on KLOVE yesterday.

"In September 2008, the European Parliament deemed Mr. Clean potentially offensive, because his build might imply that cleaning can only be accomplished by a muscular man."

I'm sorry- But what warped reality are they living in?

And, ummm.. can I move there? ;-)

Matthew 25: The Parable of the Ten Virgins

Mat 25:1-Mat 25:13 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five [were] foolish. They that [were] foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, [Not so]; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

So, if you read Kari's comment, read on. If not, go here, scroll wayyyy down :-) and read it.

Here are the questions that came to me as I was reading her thoughts-- and I don't know these answers for sure, but it made me wonder, so you get to wonder too! And honestly, I don't consider the lamps or oil being symbolic or the point of the parable, so that isn't what I was thinking about.

1. Why does the bible refer to them as wise and foolish? Not just unlucky, but wise and foolish. Pretty strong words. (All versions I checked either used these words, or prudent in place of wise) (If you question how strong these words are, do a quick review of Proverbs!)

2. How does the response, "Verily I say unto you, I know you not," change how you view the virgins in regards to being foolish?

3. Do you believe that the virgins represent only believers, because they are all waiting for their bridegroom, or that they represent unbelievers and believers because the bridegroom says "I know you not?"

4. The word "watch" is translated according to the meanings "to watch, or give strict attention to, be cautious, active." Do you think this means "to be actively watching/looking for His return," or that "we should live our lives and just not fall away?"

Now, to reiterate: Please, if you are going to comment, pray and meditate on this. Don't just react. See what God is telling you!
And I am going to be guarded in what I allow commented. Different views are fine, but if anyone comes across as being negative/judgemental to someone else, or heretical(!) I will moderate. Thanks for your understanding!

Comments on the Poll

I am just opening up this post to allow comments on the poll, and to say my piece quickly.

I really really enjoyed doing the discussion. I loved being challenged to find support or look deeper into what others were claiming. I normally am terrified of conflict, but God totally, through prayer, helped me to see that I should not be afraid of people disagreeing with me, but to welcome some fine tuning! And vice versa, that what He is teaching me is also good for others to glean from. We are all at different points in our walks with God, and "Scripture is alive and active" speaking to us where we are, making what we learn different, at different points. (Like for some reason, God just has me in an excited place about when Jesus is coming back-- and I wouldn't trade it for anything! But that doesn't mean everyone else is there too! Maybe He just knows I need some excitment in my cooking/laundry/dishes/cleaning toys day-to-day life:-)

Kari's comment that she would love to discuss other scripture's I used made me wonder if it would be fun to look at smaller portions together and share what God is teaching us. Personally, I found this to be so exhilarating that I would enjoy doing this. If I did, I would require that people commenting and sharing please do so prayerfully, and to meditate on the scripture to fully "get" what the Lord has for us. To share what God is teaching you is much more than just sharing what you think.

So anyway, let me know. And I will go by what the poll says, so make sure you vote :-)

Like-Larry's Chicken Strips

I know, I am late posting this, as I promised it weeks ago. I just couldn't come up with a good picture! But this one is decent, barring Melia's bizarre smile.

This recipe is originally from over at Baker's Dozen. She has lots of recipes that I have tried and want to try-- fun kid friendly ones. Crepes are one of Melia's favorite breakfasts-- "the ones that roll up, mommy." I tried the chicken recipe because my friend Brooke said she did and "they taste exactly like Larry's, only baked!" So, I had to try.

Now, I have to relate to you the only other time I have ever tried to cook Larry's. (For those of you who don't know me, my siblings and I all worked at this little drive-in called Larry's that just plain has the best boneless chicken strips anywhere.) I was still living at home, and I bought all the ingredients, heated up the oil, and proceeded to catch the stove-top on fire. And haven't tried since.

But when I read through the recipe from Baker's Dozen, I thought, "that is almost exactly like Larry's." As the following: BD recipe- flour, beaten egg, bread crumbs. Larry's- flour, milk, cracker meal. Basically the same thing. So, my recipe: flour, milk, italian bread crumbs. (Because two giant jugs of italian bread crumbs at Costco is approx. $4.50)

When you bite into it the first time, you will notice the italian seasoning. Maybe even the second bite. If you're really into it, maybe the whole meal. But not one time after that! We are truly enjoying this frugal recipe-- and a cheaper option is to buy the fresh strips when they are on sale, and freeze them up. Locally, Food Pavilion often has them for $1.78/lb when you buy 10 lbs. And yea, 10 lbs is a lot, but when I was stacking them in my freezer, I appreciated that I had several meals worth stored! Oh yea, and to make them even more like Larry's cut the strips in two or three pieces so they're small and skinny, and then beat them a little when you are breading them :-)

And... for those of you who really wish they could find Larry's sauces, I included the ones we have in the picture. Longhorn BBQ sauce and Minors Sweet and Sour, both available at URM cash and carry in Sunnyslope. No, I don't know which ranch he uses, and the tartar is made from scratch. Hope that helps. Ask Darcy or Shaun if they know about the Ranch situation :-) Or better yet, maybe they will comment with an answer!