I've changed my name!

You may of noticed that I have changed my blog name. I feel like this name suits my blog better. It is more of what my blog is about. My days as a homemaker....my cooking, cleaning, crafting, daily life as a stay at home wife. There are very few stay at home wives anymore....and many people think 'wow that would be boring' or 'what do you do all day'. Well, this gives people insight into my life and that it is NOT boring (well, maybe occasionally!) and I have plenty to do (I just have to make sure I get up off my butt!!)

Things that make me happy....

Things that made me happy today....


Yellow irises (I think) from my backyard



Pink roses from my side yard




Homemade bread




Hot homemade bread with strawberry jam (finally!!)





Todays dishtowel is Monday and Laundry day!! I still hadn't caught up from being sick and had several loads to do. I try to dry them outside except for towels, underwear and washclothes. Today was sunny enough to dry two almost 3 loads. I got it all folded, put away and hung up!! Go me!!! I also got my bible study done today, the book of Mark.

ARRRRGH!!

I'm so annoyed!! WHY are my two pictures in the last post HUGE?? I've changed their size on photobucket.....even reposted it....... oh well..... just ignore the huge pics!! :) click on them and you can see the whole thing!

Sunday

In order to post a blog a day I will be focusing on..... dishtowels :) Yes, dishtowels!! When we got married the oldest lady at church made us embroidered dishtowels... featuring a day a week. They are sooo cute and so retro!! And Ryan and I both love Mrs. Clara!! (the lady who made us the towels).



Today's towel is Sunday. A woman resting. Not that I'm saying today is a 'day of rest' as used in the old testament (which would of been sabbath a Saturday, not a Sunday!!!) However, today is when most people take a break from work to worship God....and take a nice looooong nap in the afternoon!! I pretend the lady on the towel is reading her bible :) So today I'm going to worship God, take a nap, and read my bible. Hope everyone has a GREAT Sunday!!


Another picture: table set for a couple we had over Sunday for lunch.


Friday morning I made something I had never made before, strawberry jam!! Strawberries are really cheap here, like 1.78 a pound. I think it's because they are Louisiana strawberries.... I don't know. Well, I had bought a bunch of them planning on cutting them up mixing with sugar and freezing them. But, then I remembered that my Mom used to make strawberry freezer jam and it didn't require any fancy (expensive!)tools so I called her and asked how to make it (it's on the box of pectin!!) It made about 4 quarts. I made some to give away and some to stick in the freezer. It tastes FABULOUS!!! Especially on 'best bread in the world' which I will be making tomorrow.....mmmmm hot fresh homemade bread with cool fresh strawberry jam!!

All Things Spring!!!

I'm finally feeling better....and it's the start to a new week!! Today is BEAUTIFUL weather and of course my hubby's day off so he is outside mowing the lawn. I caught up on all the housework (somewhat!!) and was going to go out front and clean out some flower beds/landscaping but was to tired after washing dishes (remember I was sick for a week!!). So, I decided to do some lazy gardening.

What is lazy gardening you ask?? It's what I do every year. Hubby plants a real garden and I buy 2 big planters and lazily plant what I want to plant!! :) No tilling,weeding, walking too far to water... all I do is dump 2 big bags of dirt and then plant my plants and wa la!! All I do to water them is fill my watering pot and water them when I take the dogs out back to go potty! This year I planted, yellow bell peppers, red bell peppers, jalapeño peppers and hot banana peppers!! I love peppers but they cost SOOO much at the grocery store!!

This week I am not giving myself a schedule... I'm just going to get as much done as I feel like I can do. Still having problems breathing and have to stop and blow my nose every two steps!! LOL!!! I will give you a hint as to what's coming next week on our new schedule..... "No TV Thursdays!!" ooooohhhh, intriguing!!

Roxie outside playing (she's hard to get a good picture off!!)


Samantha outside playing!


Some of my plants:


more of my plants:


My hot hubby mowing the lawn, (shhh, no he doesn't know this in in here!!)


Enjoy the pictures, I have to run to the grocery store and get a few things for dinner tonight; pumpkin muffins and tuscan style scrambled eggs!!

Cloth Napkins!!

I've finished my first one....one down 7 more to go! :)

Here's it is unfolded:

Here it is folded and compared to a paper napkin:

I didn't intend on them being the same size! They just ended up that way!! LOL!!

Pictures!!!

Finally I have some pictures!! I'm feeling a tad better this evening and hoping that I feel well enough tomorrow to get some (basic) housework done.

anyways, here's my apron. Yes, that is jellyfish fabric :) I LOVE jellyfish, they fascinate me, at one point in my life I was going to be a marine biologist. This was a practice apron, I needed cheap fabric because I didn't want to ruin expensive fabric :) I'm not to thrilled with how the apron looks on me. I've ordered two patterns from the internet and am making another and hopefully aprons for all my family for Christmas (I have 5 females in my family!!)


Here are the apron patterns I ordered, aren't they adorable?!

Sick, sick, sick, sick!!

My goals for this week are NOT happening!! I am SICK!! Like sore throat, sniffling, coughing, chills yuckyness!! And now I seem to have started sneezing! :(

Update from my previous post. I'm doing better... I had had 2 hours of sleep and I am VERY emotional when I am exhausted. I really, really want to go to the funeral. But, I'm not sure that I can. I'm afraid I will have a breakdown. All I will see is my sisters funeral. Everyone at church is upset over this. She will be dearly missed.

I've finished my apron!! I actually finished it on Monday... it only took me one day!! (all day!!) I will post pics of it later. I'm now making cloth napkins so that we can use them instead of paper napkins to hopefully save some money. Haven't mentioned this to Ryan yet....hmmmmm :)

I'm Not Sure I Can Handle This...

A wonderful sweet lady from church passed away last night. Very unexpectantly, she was in the hospital for pneumonia and was expected to come home in a couple of days. She was just a marvelous person.

This is the first person to have died that I have really known and cared about since my sister died 3 years ago. These feelings coming up are ones I have pushed very hard to get to hide and I don't want them coming back. I got a call in the middle of the night from my dad when my sister passed away. This wasn't quite a 'middle of the night call' but a 6:30am when I have only been in bed since 5:00am call. Feels the same.

Just total unbelief. I'm really scared I'm not going to be able to handle this... and Ryan is not home today and will be at the prison all day today. I need someone.

Monday

Well, it's Monday....and I have a headache. For whatever reason I seem to always be getting headaches on Mondays.... I'm not sure why, but it's annoying because this is my husbands day off!! I've started drinking a cup of caffeinated tea to see if it helps keep it away. We'll see!!!



So, how did I do on my goals last week?? Not very well, I'm sad to say :(

1. I only managed to exercise once!! However, I am trying to organize and plan our days better (more about this in another post!!) and hopefully that will be getting some exercise in!!

2. I studied my bible 4 times this week, not bad!! Just one day away from my goal!!

3. I decided to hold off on working on the public prayer, I am starting to study prayer this week.

4. The only thing I did on my apron was cut it out!! LOL!! I'm not sure how to do darts!! I haven't sewed since I was like 13.... so almost 10 years ago!!! (no, mine will not be nearly this cute!!)

This week will be a little bit different because we are going to a gospel meeting monday and tuesday night and Ryan will be at the prison all day tuesday to teach. But, this gives me time to start planning next week and the things I want to change.

Happy Monday everyone!!!!!

A Living Sacrifice

by Lindsey Anne Jensen
Saturday, September 1, 2007

The world places an enormous amount of emphasis on our external appearances. How many commercials on TV do you see that are advertising some sort of clothing, skin, hair or makeup product? We should, of course, take care of our bodies, but that shouldn’t be our number one focus. According to 1 Corinthians 6:19, our bodies are a temple of God. We should want to look attractive and pretty, but we shouldn’t pour all our energy and time into it. We should condition our bodies and mind to do the Lord’s work. Romans 12:1-2 says:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

When people in the world see us, they should sense that there’s something different about us. If we dress, talk and act just like the world, there will be no drawing power. They might think, “If they’re just like us, what’s wrong with the way I am right now?”

Don’t Conform to the World in the Way We Dress

Girls, especially teenage girls, tend to have a problem with low self esteem. I admit to struggling with this myself. It’s very easy to view yourself as not being good enough. They often try to find acceptance, and in many cases they may look in the wrong places, or the wrong way. There are girls who have boyfriend after boyfriend, just because they want to feel really special and loved, even though they are not ready for a relationship. This might also prompt them to dress in a way that is flashy or immodest to attract attention. They just want to “fit in” and be “cool.” Sadly, many times to fit in you must wear things that shouldn’t be worn by a good Christian girl. The apostle Paul taught:

Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire (1 Timothy 2:9).

When we walk into a room, our appearance shouldn’t shout “Look at me!” but we should be respectable and cleanly attractive. 1 Peter 3:3 says, “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of the hair, putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear.” In God’s sight, all of us are special and loved, and if we can know and accept that, and are able to love ourselves, we won’t be looking in the wrong places, or in the wrong ways to be accepted (cf. Matthew 22:39).

Don’t Conform to the World in the Way We Act

We shouldn’t try to act in such a way as to attract attention from other people. The apostle Peter taught, “But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (1 Peter 3:4). Many times we have known a girl to laugh very loudly at a comment, and then glance around to see if anyone is noticing her. It’s not attractive when someone is always bragging on themselves, or acting arrogant. (cf. 1 Samuel 2:3) We need to be humble (see James 4:6; 4:10, 1 Peter 3:8).

Don’t Conform to the World in the Way We Speak

Our speech needs to be pure. In Colossians 4:6 it says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” If you get together with a group of girls, many times there will be gossip going around. You’ll hear things like, “Did you hear?” “Did you see what she did?” And so on. It’s extremely easy to get caught up in gossip; and if we don’t watch ourselves, we’ll be right in the middle of it, adding our own, “Well I heard?” The Bible clearly teaches that gossip is wrong. Our Lord said, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account of every careless word they speak” (Matthew 12:36). If you take time to think about it, this is very sobering. We must learn to guard our tongues, and not fall into the trap of gossip.

Present Yourselves as a Living Sacrifice

Instead of focusing so much attention on ourselves, we should try to look for ways that we can serve others. There are numerous areas in which girls can serve the church:

Helping the sick: Prepare food, baby-sit for sick parents, send cards, visit, and help with various household chores.

Mothers with new babies: Prepare food, offer to baby-sit older children so the mother can rest, help with children in worship services, and help around the house.

Elderly: Talk to them and keep them company, clean house, fix meals, and remember special occasions, such as birthdays and holidays, sit with them during worship services.

Hospitality in your community: Visit new neighbors, take along a welcome basket that includes information about the church, and help them become familiar with the area.

Hospitality to visitors at worship: Welcome strangers, if there are children, offer to help them find their Bible class, sit with them in church, and send them a thank you letter for visiting.

Conclusion

It’s a very big challenge to try to follow God’s will, especially when friends are pressuring us to do things that are not godly. But, let’s accept the challenge, and stand up for what’s right, because in the end, when we have a home in heaven, it will all be worth it. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).


Excellent article!! Check out the website http://www.women-of-hope.com/ for more great articles!!

Side note: I LOVE roast chicken. I make it on Sundays with potatoes and carrots, so that lunch will be all ready when we get out of worship. We have gotten 5 meals out of it!!! 2 on sunday, lunch on monday, chicken sandwhiches on tuesday and wednesday!! And I'm now making chicken broth out of the bones/leftovers! One chicken under 5$!!

Nursing Home Visitations

I'm trying to get the ladies to start a visiting group for the nursing homes in the area. I'm sure many people (like myself!!) feel lost and not sure what to do or where to start with nursing homes. We've all probably had a loved one in a nursing home and that was a very sad arrangement and because of that we are reluctant to go. Or, for me I'm scared of getting old, alone, and lost so to visit makes me think of things I don't want to think of. However, we are commanded by God to do this, James 1:27 says Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. We could be the bright spot in someone's day.

I was trying to find ideas of what we could do or bring and when I called to speak to the activities director they told me many, many things that they need, or the residents like to receive. That was SO helpful for me. I now have soooo many ideas to bring back and to talk to the women about doing! Things such as making mobiles to hang over residents beds, spring arrangements for the dining hall, fruits, kleenexes, lotions, stuffed animals. WOW!! The things we can do!!

So, I encourage you to get out there and see what YOU can do. I feel like God cleared the way for me to do this and become less uncomfortable about it!

When Life Hands You Lemons.....

Make lemon poppy seed bread!!

I had about 5 lemons left over from making lemon bars for Friday night company and did not want to waste them. We certainly did not need any more sweets so I decided to make lemon poppy seed bread for some women from our congregation. Sister Rosie, who has cancer; such a smart, intelligent, Christian women, Sister Helen who has the 'bug' that leaves you coughing for a while; a very sweet women and Sister Jackie who fell a while back and broke a hip and is now house bound. I'll deliver them tomorrow after ladies class. This is a big step for me. I honestly hate visiting, I feel uncomfortable and never know what to say. I'm stepping out of my comfort zone :)
(now, I have 2 lemons left, what do I do with them?!)

The finished bread.

Check out my food blog for the recipe :) http://candicem-healthyliving.blogspot.com/

I've decided to start making weekly goals for myself as a way to get done what I need to do: this weeks goals are:
1. Exercise 3 times this week. Doesn't matter what as long as it is something active
2. STUDY my bible 5 times this week.
3. Work on leading a public pray next month for ladies bible class (stepping out of my comfort zone!!)
4. Work on making an apron (me, sew?? yep, me!!)

So, there we go. I will complete them :)