True Heart Award

"Those who receive this award are of the sweetest nature. They are kind, friendly, funny, loving, eager to share their love for Jesus with others, and brave in their efforts to reflect Him to this darkened world. They are the kind of folks you're blessed to know, even if it's only in the bloggy-sphere."

Mocha Mamma bestowed this award on me a couple of weeks ago, and although I'm not sure how deserving I am of it, I feel blessed that she thought of me for it. I feel blessed, further, by the people I've met through my blog and the Internet. It's such a privilege to know so many of you even if it is only through the screen on my computer.

I'd like to pass this award on to any of my readers who love to lift up the Lord in your blog. You know who you are!

School Time

A Good Book by Sir Walter Firle
AllPosters.com

Today is my daughter's first day of college. She will no longer be my student, which makes me a little sad, but I'm happy for her and glad that she is growing up. It is the final end of our homeschooling years and the beginning of a brand new journey for her. As the youngest of our daughters, she was my student for the longest amount of time, from sixth grade until her graduation day this past June. She was also my only student for the last two years. As an aspiring writer, she has already joined the newspaper staff of her new school and is totally ready to jump into school with both feet. She will be working part time, too, so her schedule will be a full one. We've discussed managing her time wisely, studying hard, but also giving herself time to relax and take it easy, taking a break from work and school for a little while. As her primary educator, I can only hope that I have given her the tools she will need in this next step she takes.

So, as I see our last child off to school today, I will try to make the transition as easy as possible for her, making sure she stays balanced in her time (she does tend to forget about relaxing) and yet keeps to her schedule of study and work.

I thank God for the years we were given of homeschooling our children and today we again reap the harvest of those years. As many of you are either sending your children off to school or are staying home to teach them in the next week or two, enjoy it. It passes by swiftly and is such a blessing.

Join the rest of us as we make our homes sing at Momstheword.

Great-Grandma's Visit

My mom and my step-dad arrived at our house early Saturday afternoon. One of our sons-in-law was kind enough to go to the airport for us and pick them up. We let them get a little settled in before we headed over to our oldest daughter's house for some yummy chili. That is when my mom got to see her great-grand daughter for the first time. Lorelei just loved her great-grandma, too. The above picture is my mom holding her.

On Sunday afternoon everyone came over for dinner and to celebrate my third daughter's 21st birthday. We had a Mexican feast of arracherra (not sure about the spelling), which is a tenderized flank steak that is marinated in adobo seasoning and lime juice, and cooked on the grill very quickly. We also had refried beans, guacamole, Spanish rice, and pineapple upside down cake for dessert. Later we played some games while Great-Grandma rocked her baby. She really had a good time with her, and with all of us!



On Monday, my daughters and I took Mom and Mike to Chinatown. My mom hadn't been there in many, many years (I was probably a teenager at the time) and my step-dad never had been there before. We ate lunch and looked around at all the shops. The above picture is of my youngest daughter on a sidewalk in Chinatown. If you look very closely, you will notice that the street signs are in English and Chinese. There are stores where you can buy groceries, herbs, fine jewelry, souvenirs, and Chinese clothing. We had a fun afternoon there. It's just like a town with offices, churches, and schools within the city.

We took them to the airport on Tuesday morning so they could go on to Minnesota to visit Mike's family. From the looks of the weather, my mom is wishing right now that she had brought warmer clothing. She has lived in the south for the last 24 years and has really acclimated to the weather there. She likes it hot and doesn't do well in cooler weather. It's not very warm here so I know it's pretty cool in Minnesota. As usual, my mom did some weeping saying good-bye to us but we are planning a trip to see her in October, when it will be cool enough for me down south!

We really did have a great time with them. I have more to share and some updates (and pictures, Alicia) on our bathroom. Have a great weekend.

Changing Things a Little

Hey, I'm back, with a new look, too. If you stick around here long enough and keep coming back, you will find that I like to change things a bit every once in awhile. I get a little bored with the same ol' thing. I'm like that with the arrangement of my furniture, too. And with hairstyles. I can never stick with cutting my hair regularly or letting it grow out permanently.

I also try at least 3 or 4 new recipes each month because who wants the same old hamburger every time? Well, actually that would be my husband. He likes his just plain and then he can add all the fixin's later on his plate. I like to add spices and extra flavor while I'm cooking them, using different kinds of ground meats. But, since hamburgers are his favorite, we stick with what he likes.

I have more to share about my mom's visit and the bathroom remodeling, but I'm a bit short on time right now. I'll post more tomorrow. Have a great evening.

Another All Posters picture.

Taking a Breather and Chocolate Cake

Well, I wanted to let everyone know that we are very close to getting everything done. The house is exceptionally clean and I just have to prepare some food so that I won't be spending all my time later doing that. Instead, I can enjoy my mom and step-dad more. Yes, this will be the first time that my mom will be able to see her first great-grandchild. She is so excited about coming and we are excited about her being here. I won't be posting much while they are here so I will be gone for a little bit. But I will post some pictures of our visit when I get back.

I also wanted to share a recipe for chocolate cake. I made it for our dessert last Sunday and it was so moist and delicious. It's also very rich, so you only have to eat a little to get your chocolate fix!

I got this recipe from a cooking magazine, although I don't have recorded which one it is; however it is attributed to Elaine Jarvi, of Makinen, Minnesota, who sent it in to the magazine.

Extra-Rich Chocolate Cake

CAKE:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee (This made such a difference in the cake! It gave it a richer, deeper flavor)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, stir together flour, 2 cups sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In medium bowl, stir together buttermilk, oil, eggs, and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Whisk buttermilk mixture into flour mixture. Whisk in coffee.
   
2. Pour into 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

I did not use Elaine's recipe for the frosting. Her directions included:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, cut up
1 cup chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In medium saucepan, bring 2 cups sugar, milk and butter to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Pour into large bowl. Add chocolate chips and 2 teaspoons vanilla; stir until chips are melted. Let stand 2o minutes or until room temperature. Beat at medium speed 10 minutes (now you know why I didn't use her recipe for the frosting) or until of spreadable consistency. Spread over cooled cake.
Makes 24 servings.

The recipe I used for my frosting was from my old 1980's Pillsbury cookbook.

2 squares or 2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1/3 cup cream cheese, softened
4 cups powdered sugar (I only used 3 because the frosting reached a spreadable consistency at 3 cups)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (I substituted coffee here)

Melt chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan very slowly, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds until melted. In another bowl, cream the cream cheese and add the melted chocolate. Add the remaining ingredients. Beat until frosting is smooth and of spreading consistency. If necessary, thin with additional milk (or coffee!). Frosts 13x9-inch cake or a 2-layer cake.

Graphic courtesy of All Posters

Little by Little

This post is an update from yesterday. My husband is the hero of the day because he was able to fix our oven. We didn't have to call a repairman or look for a new stove and we're so glad about that. On his way to work on Monday, he stopped at an appliance store and talked to a very knowledgeable employee there. All my husband had to do was replace the ignitor. It took him about 30 minutes. My husband is becoming such a DIY kind of guy!

While my husband was fixing the stove, I got the primer coat on the ceiling and walls of the bathroom. Today I hope to get both coats of paint on. I also got some of my grocery shopping done and cleaned out the refrigerator. We are getting things done little by little, scratching each task off the list as they get done. I love crossing things off a list.

Graphic courtesy of AllPosters.com

Making Your Home Sing Monday: Getting Ready for Guests

I plan on having a very busy week. No laying around for me like some in the house can! Next weekend we have some guests flying in to see our new grand daughter. And, no, our bathroom is not finished, which means that we will be working with only one bathroom. That is 6 adults sharing one bathroom. We are still working on it this week, though, and will hopefully have it completely painted by the time our guests arrive.
I do plan, otherwise, on being as prepared for our guests as I can be so that I can enjoy my time while they are here. I will be doing as much cooking and baking ahead of time as I can and I've made sure that my pantry is well-stocked so that I don't have to make any emergency runs to the store. My husband and I cleaned the carpet on Saturday and I will be working on cleaning the house throughout the week. My daughter even gave the little guy above a bath! He really needed it. I will be sharing the tasks that I finish or plan on finishing throughout the week. Oh, and it looks like my oven has died, which means that I either have to get it fixed or find a decent used one. So, I'm hoping on a fruitful week, getting lots done, with a good attitude, and making my home sing.

Join us over at Moms the Word for Making Your Home Sing Monday.

Sunday Scripture-II Samuel 22:3 and Proverbs 18:10

"The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge; my saviour; thou savest me from violence." II Samuel 22:3

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe."
Proverbs 18:10

Graphic courtesy of AllPosters.com

Yummy Cookies and A Big Reminder

My daughter made these cookies for us yesterday. I am enjoying one as I type and they are really big but very delicious. She used the recipe from Betty Crocker and they are called Easy Monster Cookies because you use 2 different cookie mixes to make them. However, I've seen lots of recipes around the Internet that use from-scratch ingredients. You can go here and here for a couple of different recipes, or just Google Monster Cookies. You'll get lots of hits.
And this is just a bonus picture LOL. I just need to be reminded every once in awhile of why I should wear an apron EVERY TIME I cook. Those are tomato sauce spots on my white shirt, in case you were wondering. Not the best quality picture but I took this picture of myself because there was no one else around at the time. I have several aprons and yet I still don't always take the time to go and put one on. Why? Because I always think that I won't be messy this time. Silly me.

They Are Growing-With a Little Help

I'm not going to pretend that I have a green thumb so I won't. It's just sheer luck and a little bit of knowledge that keeps my indoor plants from dying. My outside plants this year have seen better days, so I've decided to take some help from the store. There was next to nothing growing a couple of weeks ago until I decided to give my plants some food. This morning I went outside and this is what I saw:
Beautiful, huh? Especially since there was nothing but green there yesterday. And my morning glories are doing real well, too.
I have a couple of pepper plants that I thought were going to die on me, but I think they just might have a chance. I wish I would have thought to feed them sooner.

Making Your Home Sing Monday: A Little Adventure

My life has been pretty adventurous the last few days, and that's not usually my life. I'm used to being very busy but knowing what will happen from day to day for the most part. But, adventure can be fun, too.

Thursday night my sweet grand daughter spent the night at our house. Above is a picture of Lorelei when she got to my house to spend the night. Mama and Daddy needed a tiny break, so my daughter dropped her off Thursday afternoon and picked her up Friday. She said it felt very "weird" to be without her baby. I told her it would be that way for the rest of her life. Parenthood changes you forever. I think every mom and dad can attest to that. Lorelei and I had a great time together and she is a very good baby, although I am glad that I had my babies when I was younger! I was so tired by the time my daughter picked her up.
Yesterday, my two married daughters and I (with the grand baby) spend 2 1/2 hours together in the car, it was such a treat. It's not often that just the 3 (4) of us get to spend time alone together. We had a good time grilling, swimming, and eating outside until about 4 p.m. Just as we were about to start grilling again for our second meal, the sky got cloudy, the wind kicked up, and it began to rain real hard, all within a matter of minutes. We rushed to get the baby, our food, blankets, towels, coolers, and everything else to the cars in pouring rain. I had never seen a storm come so quickly. There were people running everywhere! I wish I had pictures to share but we were just worried about getting to the cars, besides the fact that I had no idea where the camera was at this point! We did lose our little grill, too. I'm afraid someone saw an opportunity and stole it. (The above picture is of Lorelei when we first got to the lake.)

Later, we stopped to get some gas and coffee, when we realized we never got to eat. While we were at the gas station, we decided to have some dinner at KFC next door. That's when another storm blew through and we barely made it inside once again. What a day! When we finally got home, we had to sort through all of the wet things and separate them among the 3 households. Everything had literally been just thrown into trunks and back seats at the lake. It was a mess but we had many hands to help and so we made quick work of it.

So, what am I going to do today? We are eating leftovers today, some from yesterday and some that I already had in the refrigerator. I will also be washing the blankets, towels, and other wet clothes from yesterday.

Join everyone else over at Making Your Home Sing Monday at Moms the Word.

Makeover Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Since Gail over at The Grocery Cart Challenge is looking for good lunchbox recipes this week for her recipe swap, I thought I'd keep with my zucchini theme and share a recipe I just found recently. It's a Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipe made over with less fat and calories in it and still tastes good. The original recipe had 209 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving. The makeover version has 137 calories and 4 grams of fat.

I found the recipe over at the Taste of Home website where you can find the recipe and see some feedback from other people who have tried the recipe. I'll go ahead and post the recipe here, too.

Makeover Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 40 mintues + cooling
Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each)

1 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups shredded peeled zucchini

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flours, cocoa, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and baking powder; gradually beat into sugar mixture until blended. Stir in zucchini. Transfer to two 8-inch x 4-inch x 2-inch loaf pans coated with cooking spray.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 mintues before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Honest Blogging

Today I was introduced to Blog With Integrity by Organized Mommy. I believe it is important to give credit where credit is due, but it can slip our minds. It's so easy to get caught up in the information we want to get across and then we forget to credit the person, organization, or website that we got the info or graphic from.

I remember this was drilled into our heads when I went back to school for my associates degree a couple of years ago. One of the first things we had to learn was that every piece of outside information that we used in our writing was to be cited with the proper accreditation, unless it was very common knowledge; such as, "Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and freed the slaves." Just about everyone knows this information so that would not have to be cited. As a homemaking blog, information such as, "Dusting your furniture and vacuuming your carpet periodically makes the air in your home cleaner." This is pretty common knowledge and wouldn't be something I would have to give credit to someone else about, unless maybe my mom, who taught me this concept; although I don't think she is the first to have said this :)

I use my own words when blogging. Otherwise it would read soooooo much better and I would be making oodles of money writing. What you read here is my own. I also try to be as respectful of other people's thoughts and words. So far I've gotten only respectful comments and thoughts from my dear readers. Thank you. I also like to put pretty pictures on my blog that I get from the All Posters Website and other places, or I like to link up with other blogger's articles and I try to remember to let you know where I got these things.

So, I have signed a pledge stating pretty much all of the above. I want to be not just a blogger with integrity but a woman who has integrity, too.

Summer Squash

Friday nights my husband and I usually make our trip to the farmer's market that is open from May to October. The produce is so fresh and looks so good. This week they had a special of all-you-can-fit-into-a-produce-bag for $1 on the zucchini and yellow squash. So what you see above is what I got for $2.
I shredded and sliced some of it to freeze for soups, breads, and casseroles.
On Saturday, I sliced some of the yellow squash that I kept in the refrigerator. I put about half a stick of butter in the bottom of my cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. I then placed my yellow squash in the bottom of the pan, seasoning with salt and pepper. When it was brown underneath, I flipped it.
After about 10 minutes, this is what I had. I sprinkled a little Parmesan cheese over the top and served it. My family loved it. It's a simple recipe but that's what summer cooking is all about to me. Fresh, simple flavors that let the taste of the produce come through.

I'm participating this week in Tasty Tuesday, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Making Your Home Sing: I'm a Cheerleader

In my last MYHS post I talked about working on remodeling the bathroom with my husband and learning to hang drywall-which we did-a first for both of us. We have worked on it a little bit each day and we have only 2 more pieces to put in. We would have had it all in but we ran out of drywall screws :( The next step will be to "mud" the walls and put in the drywall tape. I have heard that this step can get pretty messy, so, although I'm not really looking forward to it, I will be glad when we can say-"We did it!" Hopefully that will all be done this week. I want to get to the painting and putting in the new shower.

My husband is not the DIY type but he is getting pretty enthusiastic about all of this fixing up the house stuff. He is really surprising me. So, what I'm going to really try to do this week is support him as much as possible about it. I know we are going to hit some bumps in the road, as it were, but I don't want him to lose his excitement about this project. I am going to do my best to be his encourager and to cheer him on, even when I don't feel especially cheerful. Not only will my attitude affect his, as it almost always does, he will be more willing to take on more DIY projects in our home and feel more confident about his abilities. If I don't give him the support he needs, who will?

Join us over at Momstheword for more Making Your Home Sing Monday. And pray for our hostess, Nan, as she is feeling a bit under the weather today.

Sunday Scripture-John 1:1-3, 12,13

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made....But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

John 1:1-3, 12,13

Graphic courtesy of AllPosters.com