This is a recipe my sister-in-laws mom recommended. I am absolutely 100% pleased I tried this recipe! It is now going to become a staple in our home because not only is it super easy it’s super yummy!

To try it out I only used 1 chicken breast which fed me, my husband, and our toddler (who eats pretty well for an almost 3 year old). The original recipe called for 2 chicken breasts and next time I will definitely use that many so we have left overs

The only other change I made was getting rid of the flour. I don’t see the need because the sauce stuck just fine to the meat. It was uber flavorful! I also didn’t do it in the crockpot, just cooked the meat in a pan over stove top.

I made some rice and steamed some broccoli at the same time with my Aroma Rice Cooker & Food Steamer. I seriously use this thing at least once a week! It was the perfect addition to this savory meal.

In no time at all you have a healthy, amazingly declious dinner! You can easily make this into a Paleo meal as well (shout out to my sis-in-law Mal!)

By the time lessons are done and everyone’s showered, dried, dressed & snacked, I’m beat. By 10 am!

Nonetheless, lessons have been great for the kids, and I’ve had a pleasant feeling each time I recall them learning to swim… until a recent Friday. I went to fetch our Ergo (baby carrier) from the van and discovered… wedged behind one of the Captain’s chairs…

THE SWIM BAG.

From the Saturday before.

AAAAAAHHHGG!!!

Horrified, I hauled it inside and gingerly unloaded the bag directly into the washing machine.

In truth, it wasn’t as bad as I feared.

When I unzipped it, a faint odor of chlorine escaped along with the smell of damp peanut butter crackers.

Still… Wet clothes & towels rotting in the car for 6 days?! That’s what I’d call a homemaker’s badge of shame!

Popsicle sticks and a Sharpie

My method for labeling plants and seeds: inelegant yet effective.

KK will be able to second-parent-adopt the babies, so they’ll have the two legally-recognized parents that they deserve. That we deserve.

Closer to friends and family

Closer to all my healthcare providers and the hospital we’ll deliver at

Closer to friends and family

Opportunity to find a house/apartment without stairs, so I wouldn’t have to worry so much about my future mobility or lack thereof

Closer to the farmer’s markets

Closer to the airport

Closer to friends and family

Potential for using public transport at least occasionally

Closer to a few bakeries that offer gluten-free goodies

Closer to more alternative families (there are some everywhere, I know, but there’s a greater concentration intown)

Closer to free/lowcost cultural events and field trips

Closer to friends and family

Benefits of staying where we are

…uh…

Not having to come up with a $20,000 cash ransom before we’ll be allowed to leave?

We get to continue working on our cooperation skills by sharing a single bathroom sink? Even though KK sticks her elbows out like Peter Pan when she’s brushing her teeth?

This makes my head hurt.

Last weekend with my parents, I chose three tomato plants, one pepper plant and a bunch of seeds for the garden (pictured above along with some from my pen pal Danielle). Everything is pretty straightforward except the vining plants, which will need a little trellis to grow up into. The trellis will need to be a weekend project in the coming weeks. Ahhh…projects like this make me realize how little we know about gardening…but that’s the fun of this project, right? (Right?!) Naoto is very excited for the daikon radishes and I’m most looking forward to our tomato varieties, the golden beets and the lima beans…I love limas!

Today I am working on repotting some flowers I bought yesterday. Now that we are spending more time out there, I want to make sure it’s not a giant mess of outdoor furniture and empty pots (which it is now). Off to work!

still playing a bit of catch up from april. ya ready?

week 16

tuesday | april 16:

so proud of my dude for being proud to be drug free. i pray he keeps this same attitude when he’s having everything shoved in his face.

wednesday | april 17:

33 has been good to me so far. gonna keep that up for the rest of the year.

thursday | april 18:

oh how the sun spills in.

it’s beginning to look a lot like moving…which means drive-thru dinners. and this is where i keep my atm card while i wait.

friday | april 19:

took a day off work to do some personal stuff and preparation for the garage sale tomorrow. one thing was heading to my uncle’s house to pick up some things. mom and i got a large cabinet, a treadmill and a ladder in the back of my yukon. we rock at spacial organization!

signs are happening. soon we hang them around the ‘hood.

saturday | april 20:

and there ya have it, the moving sale. a ton of stuff went and we made about $500! anything that was leftover was hauled off to snowline hospice. i didn’t take anything back to the new house….felt so good!

sunday | april 22:

today is a full day of movie making. we have a car chase happening here.

just keeping the actors in the shade and comfortable.

just waiting for his scene.

take 4.

and that’s a wrap folks. the final scene was finished today! if you want to see SHIFT, here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP0PrMuJcSE

his good and patient attitude all day earned him some iPad time. his choice: tom &  jerry episodes on youtube.

and then i treated the boys to ice cream at thrifty’s.

week 17

monday | april 23:

now that SHIFT is in the can, gibson has been tasked to pack every day after school.

tuesday | april 24:

when my guy fill sup my gas tank, he also fills up my love tank.

wednesday | april 25:

we got the keys today!! the paint looks perfect and marshall loves the room to run.

this is my bathroom mirror. the size is incredible, compared to what i had in the old house. and my favorite feature is the window. natural light and morning air are what i need when i’m getting ready for work.

ran over to ikea with my mom and the boys to pick up my craft desk and some other fun goodies!

inspiration for my bedroom came from the very first display in the store. i need to pick up that script fabric and instead of black pillows in the back, i want turquoise.

“don’t bother me, i’m working.”

marshall’s still afraid to get up there.

thursday | april 25:

after work, mom, dad, the boys and i headed to the new house to assemble my desk, gibson’s new desk and work some other little things before we started really moving in.

i’m so happy over here that i’m doing cartwheels.

friday | april 26:

sometimes, when you need to prop open a door, you just need a target bag and an empty apple juice box. (my dad’s genius idea, becasue that’s how we roll.

making trips down the street. marshall counted and it is exactly 60 seconds between the old house and the new house. i made 3 full trips before 10am and we made a total of 16 trips on friday, just filling up the back of the yukon and getting boxes into the closets they belonged in. my mom is the best.

my new clock from ikea. it’s the very first thing i hung up.

saturday | april 27:

it’s moving day! here’s a tip i found on pinterest. it works with adult clothes too, but we used large hefty duty trash bags. this was a LIFESAVER!

the friends who helped us move were rock stars! because of all the prep work we did, they got all the big stuff in easily. well, the piano took all 4 of them to lift and carry. we fed everyone pizza and are so grateful for the help!

sunday | april 28:

today is a “put-away” day. figuring out where accessories will go is top on the list.

i still can’t believe this whole closet is mine. i don’t have to share. and when i install the shelf below, i’ll have even more space!

bathroom is done! those shelves are wooden spice racks from ikea that i picked up years ago. they still sell them!

my vintage collection of goodies is going up next!

so thankful that i kept my grams standing mixer. and it still works!!

these it is. (it’s changed a bit since i added my gram’s sifter)

so many things on my list. and all the time i need! gonna make good use of my next two days off.

happy days!

Martha Stewart Weddings // Rue Magazine // Hair and Beauty Tips // My Sweet & Saucy // B.LOVED

Oh man. Here’s the verse I was dreading — the exercising one. Bah. Let me see if I can make it NOT about exercising…

(Just kidding.)

(Kind of.)

“Gird” is a weird word that we don’t use often. In fact, I’ve mostly only heard it in reference to girding one’s loins in preparation for battle. In ancient times, men would pull up their robes and tuck them into their belts to allow more freedom of movement in battle. (I mean, imagine wearing a maxi dress in a sword fight. You’d hike up your dress, too!) So “to gird” means to surround with a belt, or to fasten with a belt; eventually, however, both the verb and the entire phrase just came to mean preparing for action or for a difficult task. And here in the Proverbs 31:17, the more literal translation is also “She girds her loins with strength.”

This whole idea creates a weird image in my mind. I begin to picture her literally tying up her dress for battle like the warriors, but then I get stuck on the word “strength.” How do you surround your loins with a belt of strength? It started as a literal image in my mind, but then I wonder if it’s more figurative. I cannot wrap strength around my waist.

(Unless I exercise.)

This verse is cool, albeit convicting. It seems to apply to any kind of strength, including physical, mental, and spiritual. The physical is obvious: keeping house and raising children requires physical exertion. She girds up (prepares) herself for hard work every day, and her body is strengthened. You can apply this also to intentional exercise, and I think you should. Being a homemaker in modern, Western society does not typically require the kind of physical labor that Jewel was accustomed to. Frankly, being a homemaker today can easily lead to flabby thighs and bat wings, no matter how busy you are with being domestic. I see it happening to me, and I’m still trying to work out a way to incorporate exercise into my routine with a busy baby underfoot! So yeah, this verse is about exercising. (Bah.)

But it’s also not. Jewel is daily going into battle against her selfish flesh, against the schemes of the enemy, against the culture; essentially she’s waging war against the spiritual darkness that is relentlessly trying to invade and conquer the little and big hearts living in her home.  So she must figuratively gird up her loins, or, as Peter instructs:

Therefore, prepare [literally: gird up] your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:13

The task before us is great. We must be ready; we must intentionally seek to strengthen ourselves against the enemy. How? Well, we can’t do it ourselves:

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

The very best and most important thing you can do for your family — and really for everyone you come in contact with — is to stay grounded in Him. Gird your loins and make your arms strong, for we go into battle every day.

♥ ♥ ♥

My Son, is she a strong woman? I don’t mean the kind of strength that the world recognizes…the sarcastic and pushy kind. I mean the kind of woman with inner strength and fortitude, regardless of her circumstances. The kind of woman who is not shattered when her world shatters, but who looks up with bleary, blurred eyes and says to God, “I trust You and I praise You. Tell me what You would have me do, and I will do it.” Now that is a woman.

My Love, as per usual, I wish I were the woman I am recommending to our little guy! However, I take confidence in the working of the Holy Spirit as He refines me, and I am thankful for the wonderful example of strength and fortitude you are to me every day. I love you.

My Lord, You are the Source of all wisdom and strength, and only You know what each day holds for me. I ask for Your guidance as I face the enemy each day, and I pray that You fill me with Your supernatural strength to withstand his attacks and to guard my home.

♥ ♥ ♥

—————————————-

(This post is part of a series on Proverbs 31. Click here to see all posts in this series.)

The queen of everything still has to work for a paycheck, and she’s older now, not able to do it all like before. Though I’d love to do all my own gardening and preserve my home grown food, and cook from scratch, and raise chickens, and compost, and butcher my own meat, that just ain’t happening for this girl especially after selling myself outside the house for a forty hour work week. I am so grateful and lucky to have a job! Still, the queen never laid claim to supermom or über-mom titles, she is merely the queen who sees. The queen with no support system. I’m also tired of reading books and seeing movies about how bad our food and medicine and water and politicians are. I want changes.

What the queen sees is people who still need roofs that don’t leak over their heads, and food in their bellies, and work to do, and we have an abundance of STUFF that needs to be taken care of. For some reason which I am currently investigating, my little brain is stuck on the year 1937. I would postulate the advances we have made since then have not necessarily been the best, or read: progress may be failing us. Progress hasn’t failed the capitalistic top 1% because they own all the money. And that top one percent can “lose” or misplace massive amounts of money, millions of dollars, and not even be called on the carpet for it. I’m telling you, if I misplace a dollar, I freak out. There’s justice and fairness for you. It’s all about the money.

I’m not saying we need to throw out capitalism completely, but as individuals we could make it less about the money. I just think there are more opportunities than we think, and it includes getting your hands dirty, and sweating, and working hard, doing things our own way like our grandparents and other forebears did. Opportunities might not be about a “job” or a paycheck earned from some other entity. Opportunities might be about enterprise and what people can do when they tell the government to go to hell and let me grow and eat and share what I want.

And I’m not saying we don’t need some rules and regulations for safety but it’s gotten so completely out of hand, our country looks like some kind of mistaken identity farce Shakespeare would write, or the worst kind of Abbot and Costello routine, “Who’s on where?”, because we can’t even remember the first thing. The American government expects us to forget what was said every four years anyway. It’s that bad.

When it’s that bad, it calls for a new approach, to maybe throw the bathwater out, to uncurdle the mayonnaise, to call a revolution. A revolution begins with demands.

Here’s what the queen wants and I don’t think it is too much to ask for every human person:
1. A safe home for every person. Period.
2. Clean water to drink, cook with, swim in and bathe with, not filled with toxic chemicals like fluoride, chlorine, heavy metals, and the residue of other people’s medications.
3. A fresh green grocer who sells food grown in the neighborhood to the neighborhood. Walking distance from my house. Open every day.
4. A bakery that uses whole ground non-GMO grains and flours and offers sweetener choices such as honey or evaporated cane sugar in the products. Walking distance from my house. Open every day.
5. A bakery that offers conventional sugar options for those who can eat them. Walking distance from my house. Open every day.
6. A dairy store that offers a choice of fresh raw milk or pasteurized milk, goat and cow; fresh and aged cheeses; other dairy products; and eggs, from small dairies within a ten mile radius of the store. Walking distance from my house. Open every day.
7. A butcher who offers grass fed, pastured meats produced on small farms within 20 miles of the store. Walking distance from my house. Open every day.
8. A deli store that offers prepared broths from meat with bones, soups and stews made with same, prepared meats and home-cooked grandma’s style side dishes for the tired worker. Walking distance from my house. Open every day.
9. Food sold from the above vendors stored only in glass jars or dishes with straight sides, no fancy curves in the glass, and no “linings” inside the glass. Glass and only glass. For which I’d gladly pay a deposit and return for refund.
10. The same vendor options for every community or neighborhood.
11. Subsidized motherhood. A time for a mother and new family to breastfeed and wean the child without financial worries.
12. Full tilt boogie breastfeeding, as long as the mother and child need it, in public if necessary. No ogling allowed.
13. Hands-on schooling free from government interference and testing. Teach music, gardening, cooking, art, vehicle maintenance and repair, physical education, how to find resources (technology – how to use a library or search engine or who to ask), and how to share that knowledge with others through their voices and through writing. Guaranteed they will learn to read and write and add. No conferences allowed.
14. No industrial farms or food production. Farm subsidies will go to small production farms and neighborhood gardens.
15. Green belts around every town, city, and neighborhood. Employ new vertical technology for urban gardens.
16. Gardens and chicken coops in every yard.
17. “Communal” living opportunities with garden space.
18. Senior centers built around garden spaces and swimming pools.
19. Home generated electricity-energy and the education and funding to do so.
20. Appropriate and affordable transportation and pathways when and where people need it.
21. Once we’ve done this for America, we could help make this function for every community in the world. Or not; we shouldn’t feel pressure to help other nations/countries unless they want it and ask for it. Some communities may be doing just fine without Americans. I am absolutely not talking about loaning money and providing weaponry.

I know, right? The queen of everything, cranky and sassy as she is, wants a lot. And if you are laughing out loud and saying it will never work, that’s only saying you aren’t willing to look at different ways to make this world work. There are always new ways if one wants to improve. Yes, it will require cooperation. We will have to know and work with our neighbors. Once folks have had enough of being poisoned with every drink of water and every bite of food, are tired to death of being sick and tired from the pharmaceutical poisons called “medicines”, they will try new ways.

New ways can and will – they must! – include the new technology. Ideas from many cultures and eras must be employed to take the most advantage of the entirety of our knowledge, and not knowledge based on commercially and politically funded junk science “research”.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts where I’ll explore some new ideas on how to help make the queen’s demands reality.

G’day Guys =)

Gardening is an important part of your homemaking tool belt, but many of us don’t have those skills. If you’ve grown up in an apartment, or your parents weren’t gardeners, chances are your involvement with gardening has been limited to houseplant murder.  Even if you’re a pre-beginner, you can give beautiful living gifts you have grown yourself with things you have at home.

I love gift giving. Though a lot of the tips on LadybirdandFriends are about cost and resource saving, my main motivation for this is to be able to splurge when it counts – on lovely gifts, holidays, wine, and most of all, time: having the time to give generously to my friends and family when they need me. Through being smart with our resources, there are so many opportunities to make much of little, and be thankful for what we have. Not to mention the satisfaction of learning a new skill, or doing something we thought we couldn’t. Sat-is-fact-ion! Do do do..

Friends who bake together, stay together!

My friend Qian is currently building a house. It has been a long and slow process for her and her partner Marcus: doing up the designs, negotiating with builders and tradespeople, and trying to get the best finish. Qian is a self-made girl, coming to Australia from mainland China on her own to study Engineering. She really is a great success story. She has learned fluent English, has a high ranking job designing and managing communications projects for our public transport system. Somehow she manages to find time to work on her postgraduate studies to become a Chartered Engineer. It’s not surprising she has been recently nominated for a young engineer of the year award.

Yet amongst all this, she also manages to be a really fantastic human being, who is always thinking of those around her – remembering birthdays, asking how things are going, and always with a laugh and a smile to share with those around her. So! I think Qian deserves a lovely housewarming gift, don’t you?

Qian’s Lucky Jade Plant

You’ll need

Some good quality soil or potting mix

Small used containers – eg. yogurt pots, butter or margarine containers etc.

A trowel (mini spade). (If you don’t have one, use your hands or sacrifice an old spoon to the cause).

Cuttings from another Jade plant - ask around. You’ll be surprised how common these plants are, as they are very easy to grow. If none of your friends or family have one, flea markets are a good place to find them cheaply. You’ll only need to buy one..

Secateurs or scissors

How to 

Take your washed container and pierce some small holes around the bottom with a pointy knife or pin. Fill with potting mix or soil.

Take a couple of cuttings and remove any leaves in the bottom 5 centimetres by twisting with fingers or cutting with scissors. Be careful not to damage the stems.

Insert the trimmed edge of the cutting about 4cm into the soil and gently press the soil around downward to hold in place. Give a sprinkling of water to just wet the soil.

While the plant is small, it is best in a protected position with a bit of light, such as a patio, but will do well in most situations as long as there is sufficient light and it won’t be knocked over by the wind.

The Jade plant is believed to be lucky, especially in terms of business and financial matters. Keep a Jade plant close to the door of your home or business to welcome good energy in.

After a few weeks in the plastic container, the Jade plant will have developed a small root system. Place it into a bigger decorative pot with more potting mix. You can even get creative with these Upcycled Planter Ideas, which can be done for no or low cost.

This simple propagation method can be used with most succulent plants – a loose definition being cacti or any plant which stores its water in its leaves.

Bigger plants are more impressive to give as a gift, and also easier for the recipient to keep alive, so if you know someone who is starting to build a house, now is the perfect time to start a cutting for them! Ditto for plants you’d like to give as Christmas gifts.

But Wait, There’s More!

You know all those little Jade leaves we pulled off our cutting before? Don’t throw those away. Believe it or not, even these tiny leaves can be used to grow a plant from. I have just placed any tiny offcuts into a clean Lean Cuisine tray to grow a little bigger. I plan to use all these in a future Vertical Garden project using all upcycled ingredients.. stay tuned!

A little nursery of succulent offcuts from planting out cuttings

Bonus Homemaking Tip: Keeping House Plants Alive

People often say to me that my house has a very ‘welcoming’ ‘peaceful’ or ‘homely’ feeling even though it is probably the smallest home of anyone I know, and is not new or fancy, and doesn’t have any views to speak of. My theory is that it is because we have many healthy house plants calmly filtering the air, removing impurities and toxins, and just generally making us feel good.

Now, if you have killed houseplants in the past, take heart. It’s not as hard as you think.

• Light is the most important thing to a plant’s survival. Some plants can survive on very low light, but all need some to survive. Make sure you place in a sunny spot, or open curtains / move the plant to a sunny spot when you can.
• Water. The leading cause of indoor plant death is not lack of water, it is too much water. If your plant is unable to drain off the excess water, this will sit in the plants root system, which causes root rot and causes the plant to ‘suffocate’ and die. Make sure your plants are able to drain, eg. have holes in the pot and a saucer, or if not, be very careful not to over-water. Depending on the plant, a watering 1-2 times a week should be enough.
• Air. Inside air, especially if air conditioned, can be too dry for most indoor plants, many of which are native to rainforest areas, which is why they can survive on low light. Plants such as orchids rely on moisture in the air as part of their water intake. Mist plants at least every second day with a hand sprayer, and you will see the difference in foliage. If your plant gets dusty leaves, give these a gentle wipe with a damp soft cloth as needed.
• Nutrition. I killed a lot of plants, mistakenly assuming all I had to do was water them. Plants need vitamins and minerals just like we do. If you’re not a gardener, fertilisers can be pretty scary. I recommend Miracle Gro Max Feed. It is really simple to use – comes with a little measuring spoon. I’ve just reclaimed a plastic water bottle which I keep with the fertiliser (clearly marked as such). I scoop the granules in, fill up the bottle, and shake. Then I simply apply to each plant about once a fortnight with its weekly watering. It helps to keep the plants green, and gives them the necessary elements for growing new leaves. Note that LadybirdandFriends is not sponsored by any commercial entities. I only recommend stuff that works for me.

It’s as simple as that! Happy potting!

Plants sitting on top of my dryer help cover ugly electrical cords.

Plants brighten up our tiny kitchen. Don’t mind the mess!

This Peace Lily hangs from our shower rail.

Orchid (not flowering right now) and palm rest at the end of our bath.

Bedside Peace Lily

I’m a former public school teacher turned homemaker, so I’m good at evaluating and assigning grades. For this challenge, however, I’ve had a hard time evaluating myself. So, I pulled out the calculator: 78%. I earned a C. Not terrible, not great. I was hoping for an A.

Let me focus on the positives.

My Victories:

• I only went out to eat once for lunch.
• I spent more intentional time with SG.
• I kept the house tidy.
• I spent more time in prayer and reading the bible, although not every single day.
• I greeted the Huzz with a kiss every afternoon.
• I was motivated to tidy up (fold clothes, do dishes, etc, during naptime) so I could blog and have time on Facebook.
• I cooked dinner every night except date night.

My Struggles:

• I went to the grocery store 3 or 4 times last week…that’s AFTER I made what I thought was a thorough list for my “first and only trip.” Ha!
• Connect with the Huzz after SG’s bedtime.

I’m glad I challenged myself. I’ve learned a few things. Everyone’s life is different. Just because I read something on someone’s blog doesn’t mean it’s right for me. (As much as I loved that post!!!) I felt like a withering flower, trying to stay home all week. And by the way, something popped up every day. Seriously… we left home Monday-Friday.

I did have some wonderful and precious moments because of this challenge. Little things I caught myself agreeing to do because of those two index cards challenging me on my fridge.

A simple little moment: SG spread out two couch pillows on the floor and asked me to sit on one while she sat on the other. “Let’s sit on the pillows together and drink our smoothies!” Before the challenge, I would probably have said no (too much housework to do at that moment or I need to do ___ first.) Instead, I said yes, sat, and savored the moment, complete with my two year old beaming because I focused all of my attention on her.

The Huzz came home from work and I forgot to give him a kiss: “Where’s my kiss?” he asked.

The Huzz and I zoned out after bedtime several nights in a row before I said, “Hey, we’re supposed to be connecting!” We decided to sit down and have coffee together after SG goes to bed and just chat. We haven’t done it every night, but it has been wonderful! I enjoy having his undivided attention.

Good things. Positive things.

The Huzz and I discussed my week in review. In general, I keep the house clean, I’ve been cooking more, SG is happy, loved, and well rounded, I keep to my weekly eating out budget, and I love my husband. We both agreed that our life is very blessed. Yes, I can make small changes. Can’t we all? There’s always room for improvement. But, I need to be who God created me to be. After all, I am “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). And I will rest in that truth.

I will end by saying I’m glad I did this. I learned some things about myself and was encouraged by the Huzz encouraging me to be who I am. I LOVE that man!!!

Until next time, my friend.

More contrast of weakness and strength showed up in my daily Bible reading.  In Mark 5, the madman was delivered of multiple demons.  Jesus cast out these demons from a man who was physically strong yet mentally weak.  Adjacent to that passage, the hemorrhaging woman was physically weak yet mentally strong.  Jesus healed both.  In their weakness, Jesus made them strong.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

God reminded me that in my weakness, He is strong.  Currently, I’m leading a homemaking ministry called Home Matters (www.homematters.or.  Any of my college roommates would testify that I’m weak in homemaking, yet the Lord in me has made me strong in this area.  Other areas of personal weakness include having deep & healthy friendships.  Yet, in His grace, I have strong friendships with Godly women.  I’m weak at “having fun” but strong on “getting it done”.  I’m weak on relationships, yet strong in tasks.  I’m weak emotionally, yet strong mentally.

I want Christ’s power to rest on me (2Cor12:9).  So I need to “push through the crowd” (as the hemorrhaging woman did) and just “touch His garment”.  He has the power to heal my weaknesses.  He alone can make me whole and strong.

Do you want that power?  Are you willing to push through the crowd?  When you are healed, will you tell others (like the madman)?  What weakness do you have in your life which needs Jesus’ healing power?

I am so excited!!

I have a Beautiful Dinning Room table that my Momma bought for me for my 25th wedding anniversary.  I love my table.  With Mom gone it makes my table even more special and I protect it like a lioness!   I always cover it with pretty table cloths and place mats.  I love to dress it up!

Then everyone comes home from school and work and it’s dinner time.  My beautiful table cloths and place mats usually get dirty pretty quickly.  My family tries so very hard to keep it nice for me … they know how I love it.  To remove the table covering before every meal would be so irritating and time-consuming and then of course it wouldn’t be there to protect the table.

So, when I found these plastic trays at the dollar store today I was SO excited!  Now, at a dollar a piece they are not of the highest quality and they are a bit flimsy.  I think though, if you don’t carry them by the handles they will go nicely from the kitchen to the dinning table.  There is even room to sit the silverware beside you plate as you carry it from the kitchen to the table.  I think that this will go a LONG way in keeping my table coverings neat and pretty!!!

I Love the Dollar store!!

It’s the little things in life that make me happy!  I know, I’m a dork!  LOL

I bought 3 of each color so the kids could have their pick.

They are fun bright colors!

I am showing a picture with a full size dinner plate and silverware so you can see how big the trays are!!

2nd warning: this post is truly written from a married woman with small children’s point of view.  I can’t prove it, but I think it’s written this way because I’m a married woman with small children.  And I wrote it.
Recently I read a book in my book club where the author goes on a 3 month hike in order to overcome life challenges and “find herself” or something like that.  I have issues with books where the author has a life crisis, leaves everything and everyone and “finds themselves” while on an excursion in Europe or in the woods for an extended amount of time.
These books frustrate me because most of us can’t/won’t do this but still have life changing experiences we have to live through along with complex relationships with spouses and kids and friends and annoying neighbors.
I want a book where the author makes it through the day by blasting music in the laundry room; who sings Carry On at the top of her voice while driving to the school to volunteer; who gets in the car and wonders what would happen if they just kept driving, but doesn’t; who would give anything in the world to take a 3 month walk in the woods but instead gets up, makes her kids breakfast and lunch, figures out dinner and does everything she can to smile at everyone and not take out her angst on those around her.  At the end of the “leave everything books,” there is a sense of accomplishment: I did something amazing.  At the end of my book, there would be the fact that what the author did that’s amazing is get up every single day and do the same thing and know that she would keep doing it and find her sanity in the middle of THAT and have to keep finding it.  (But always suspecting that it is somewhere behind the dryer with the lost socks.)

Sometimes we can get a weekend away, but instead of preparing for our trip by getting a divorce, selling all of our possessions and buying a tent, we arrange frozen meals, babysitters, finish laundry, and leave activities for everyone involved all the while knowing that we will be coming back to exactly what we are leaving.
Is there a book like that out there?  Would anyone read it?  Is it written as fiction?  Does everything come together at the end for her or is it more honest and she admits that she knows once she gets through this stage of life, the next one will just have a different theme song…
In my lowly opinion, it takes real strength to stay sane while visiting the same dinosaur museum 3x a year for the last 10 years.
Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your attention.  Now if you don’t mind, I must go read up on the two hypotheses that explain Cretaceous extinction and try once again to learn the correct pronunciation of creatures that died THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO CAN WE JUST MOVE ON?

Vintage Pyrex may be becoming an addiction.

Hey, this is a small house. An extra five people in it is a lot of people! Not only Lisa, but we had my Bridesmaid and her partner and D’s Best Man and his wife.

Eventually there was just my Bridesmaid and myself left in the house (everybody else moved on to D’s Dad’s so that we could get ready without D seeing my gown). We vegged for a while and then we got ourselves ready for my now Mother and Stepfather in law to collect us.

Arriving at the scene of the crime – John Ray House, Braintree, Essex

My only scare of the day: The Best Man dashing out to the car park and saying:

“Gemma; D doesn’t want to see you…”

Liz and I exchanged looks of horror; my heart was almost literally in my mouth.

“… in your gown, until the ceremony. He’s asked that you wait in the hallway until he’s called through.”

Phew. Talk about hair-raising!

(There is actually a photograph of D placing himself in the “Naughty Corner” with his back turned. Sadly I don’t have it on my laptop!)

So Liz and I stood there with our teeth chattering, greeting guests and getting photographed a lot until we were told it was safe for us to enter. We were both interviewed briefly, and then this happened:

I’d chosen this melody – Watermark by the fabulous Enya – as it always reminds me of happy times spent with my sister. It was the only entrance music that felt “right” to me.

The marriage itself was a very relaxed affair; vastly due to the very nature of our guests, but also – in part – because the lovely Registrar kept losing where she was in her “lines” and making everybody giggle.

First kiss as Tribble and wife

There was confetti (mostly dumped straight into my cleavage by my new Mother-in-Law amidst much laughter) and then there was the reception:

The White Hart Hotel

There was the meeting of new friends:

There was also a bit of Doctor Who silliness, courtesy of my good friend David:

Well… they ARE!

Much fun was had by all, and Tony (who is a counter tenor) even performed a little bit… and then we all sang Spike’s Let Me Rest In Peace as we were driven by the Best Man to our various neccessary locations.

It was such a beautiful, happy day. No pomp, no circumstance, no fuss. Just two people in love getting married bathed in the love of a small gathering of friends and family.

With this ring…

I can’t believe that we have now been married for a whole year – and it’s been the happiest year of my life. Thank you, D, for loving me just the way I am.

Here is a photo journey through our Sunday…

Day 18: Sunday 5th May
Dinner: BBQ
Expenditure: £0

Day 19: Monday 6th May
Dinner: Salmon and roast potatoes
Expenditure: £0

Day 20: Tuesday 7th May
Dinner: Toad in the Hole
Expenditure: £0

Day 21: Wednesday 8th May
Dinner: Spag Bol
Expenditure: £60.82 food

Day 22: Thursday 9th May
Dinner: Chicken and mushroom in red wine risotto
Expenditure: £11.84 food

Day 23: Friday 3rd May
Dinner: Cheesy Pasta
Expenditure: £3.80 swimming, £5.20 bus fare, £10 girls night out, £2.99 mesh feeder for self-weaning

Weaning food for Miss E

This week has been better financially speaking, I used up all the BBQ food over the week and even bought some Asda smart price food, something I’ve not wanted to do in the past because I was worried about the quality being poor. But the 40p for 1kg rice bag I bought was great and I couldn’t tell the difference between that and the much more expensive white basmati rice. We’ve been trying to wean Miss E (post to follow) for the last week or so and the big food shop on Wednesday was mostly fresh fruit and veg for her as I spent Saturday cooking and blitzing and freezing food for her. Not that she’s really shown any interest in being weaned but at 5 and a bit months old I know it won’t be long now. Swimming on Friday was well worth the nearly £10 it took to get there and for the entrance fee, Miss E really seems to thrive in the water (unlike her Mummy). I managed to find the time to write a meal plan for this and next week incorporating many of A Girl Called Jack’s recipes. My longterm plan is to keep my food budget to around the £50 per week mark like it used to be five years ago before the recession pushed prices up. The £10 spent on my girls night out on Friday was a bargain as I’d been feeling a bit down towards the end of last week and it was just the boost I needed! I’m actually starting to look forward to seeing what bargains I can grab foodwise so hopefully this challenge will become something more permanent.