Give

Boy, it's been awhile. Really - it's just been awhile since I posted anything. I've been faithfully reading my favorites everyday.

And, as I have been reading my favorites everyday, I have been feeling a tug to sponsor a child through Compassion Ministries again. My first husband and I did this years ago. And it felt sooo good. Many of the blogs that I read, Big Mama and The Pioneer Woman, have been writing about a trip to the Dominican Republic this last week where they had a chance (actually Marlboro Man and their two daughters) to meet children sponsored by this program.

If you were to come to my house right now, you would see an outdoor park located on my driveway: cars, motorized ATV's, slide, wagons, push toys, basketball hoop, tents, and various little do dads scattered all about. Now, I did not purchase all of these items. In fact, most were generously given to me by friends with older boys. Believe me, I am thankful - they each received Golden Spoon as a heartfelt thank you!

But, then check out those two other blog sites where they show numerous pictures of ramshackled houses, no toys littering anything, bare feet, ragged clothing, and some without a shred of hope on their faces. It will break your heart.

No child should live that way. I thank God for the pictures of the smiling children that know Jesus and have a hope that only I could dream of. They are not blinded by our "stuff" and are able to see the miracles that happen everyday. Although I know my God is alive and working, sometimes I can get caught up in all the "stuff" around me and "Forget all the benefits of the Lord" - which we are told not to do in Psalm 103.

Today, my husband is struggling for work. As a general contractor, life is up and down. I have gone back to work full time in order to secure our future. With our economy in a downward spiral, now is not the time to gamble with job security. Although I know we will be fine because God is and always has been faithful to our needs, I sometimes wished that we didn't have quite so much stuff. Life would be simpler without so much. Yes, I enjoy it, but I believe I could enjoy life on other terms as well.

I want to smile like a child in the Dominican. I've been there myself, and I know the hardships they face. I remember what fame was given to the only house on the street with an indoor toilet. We would leave in the morning to go build a church as chickens wandered about. We'd come home in the evening and eat chicken for dinner. The nights were spent singing praise songs to Jesus. A simple life. One that deserves food on the table, clothes on the body, shoes on the feet.

God has stirred in my spirit to give again to this important cause. I've seen the difference it makes.

The Older You Get

the less you have to fear being sung to on your birthday! I am one of those people who do not like all the attention of the wait staff at the birthday dinner celebration. Especially, when they focus on you for 3 rounds of "Happy Birthday" in various renditions.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I am happy to say it was quite uneventful.

I woke up to a beautiful 78 degree day. The perfect temperature in my book. Austin had his Tiny Tot gymnastic class. Carmen, Todd and I all went to help him maneuver through those long tunnels, do flips on the bars and walk the balance beam! How cute are 1 - 3 year olds doing gymnastics!

We then dropped off Carmen and took a long drive along the beach while Austin napped in the car. We stopped at our favorite breakfast burrito place and picked them up for breakfast at home.

The rest of the day I did pretty much nothing. But nothing is bliss when days are full of work, errands, cooking, cleaning, and chasing.

My mom and Kalie watched Austin while Todd and I went to our old Greek hangout for dinner. While we were dating, and just newly married, we would go to this place for gyros every Friday night and then watch a movie. So last night, we ate our gyros and went to see "The Duchess". I liked it, he didn't. Too sappy for him, but just right for me! I love any movie that depicts history, has a love story, and doesn't include lots of sex scenes, showing breasts, blood, violence, and horrid language. Some call me a prude. Whatever.

It was a nice evening, and a nice day all around. Today we are going to the pumpkin patch with Austin, and then hopefully resuming the nothing for the rest of the day schedule!

Blessings

I'm going to try and write down/journal blessings that happen each day. I know God is amazing, but in the low times, sometimes I forget all that He has done.

Right now, with the rest of the world suffering from this depressing economy, I too am pinching pennies.

So on to the blessings:

First, my husband gave me a "two for one" coupon for a favorite deli of mine. I was planning to have lunch at my old school with some friends, and decided to pick up lunch on the way. Perfect! I ordered our usual favorite: meatball sandwich with antipasto salad. The salad would be enough to have for dinner that night, and we always split the sandwich. When I got there to pick it up, the owner told me that I had read the coupon wrong, and I needed to order some specific item for it to work. I apologized for the error, and he gave me the price cut anyway! Blessing #1.

Next, I had planned on cooking short ribs for dinner tonight. Usually I don't shop at Ralphs anymore unless I have some great coupons. Which I did the other day. I had between $3.00 - $5.00 off for some meat, $5.00 off total bill if over $20, and a free carrot coupon. So I went to Ralphs and loaded up my cart. I divided my shopping into 3 sections so I could use my $5.00 off for $20 coupons several times (I had three of them). I also divided up my other coupons/meat. What would have cost me over $100 in food, cost me less than $50.

While I was there, I checked out the short ribs. $4.99/lb. Outrageous. I'm not spending that much! But today, when I remembered our dinner plans, outrageous became, "I guess I'll just by 2 packages. I mean, if we go out to dinner, it would cost a lot more than $16.00". So I went to Ralphs again. BUT.... what did my blessed eyes fall upon? A sale on short ribs. Now they were only $1.99/lb. I rushed home to sing the Hallelujah chorus off my front porch. Actually, I snatched up 8 packages. Three for tonights dinner, and the rest in the freezer for future use. What would have cost me $50.33 cost me only $23.00, and that was with a loaf of bread ($4.39) thrown in. Can you believe the cost of bread?
Anyway. Blessing #2.

I'm looking forward to journaling all the blessings God bestows on us each day. What a great way to remember, even in times of recession, that He provides for ALL our needs.

Austin's first birthday party

Lots of neighbor kids enjoying a sweet afternoon.

I've been locked out

of my Google account, and I have not been able to post for sometime. Of course, the biggest news is that my husband is home and I have a weekly menu once again! All is well in the household when the kids aren't starving and foraging for food.

Today was a wonderful day. I did something that hasn't occurred for over a year. I went to the movies! My mom and I went to church, picked up Subway and headed for the theater. We love having a movie marathon day. Before I got remarried and had another child, we would go to the show every couple of months and stay from 11:00 AM until 10:00 PM. With pretty sore bottoms, we would waddle out filled with popcorn and the latest flicks!

Today I was reacquainted with the love of movie marathon day! We saw Nights in Rodanthye (Diane Lane/Richard Gere), Righteous Kill (Al Pacino/Robert DeNiro), and Burn After Reading (Brad Pitt/George Clooney). They were all great. Burn After Reading was probably my favorite, but Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are hard to beat.

I came home to a little boy fed and in his pajamas after a day of swimming with Daddy. I had the pleasure of reading him his goodnight stories and giving him his bottle while I rocked him to sleep.

All is well, now that Daddy is home!

PS With all the Golden Spoon dinners while Todd was in Alaska, I've managed to lose 6 pounds. I'm starting back at the gym tomorrow.

My Kids Won't Starve

This week, even though I haven't had time to post my full menu, I plan on cooking.

I just finished making egg salad, a huge tossed green salad, and penne pasta. I'm going to use part of the penne for tonights dinner "Shrimp and Pasta in a creamy tomato sauce" from Pioneer Woman's site. I'll put a link up on my menu side bar.

Believe it or not, I actually bought Velveta cheese. I plan to use some of the penne for a quick mac and cheese. I've never done this before, so I hope it's as easy as microwaving the Velveta to get it creamy and stirring in the pasta.

I'm also roasting a bunch of stuff. I figured if the oven is on, and I have enough room, I'm throwing in onions, potatoes, butternut squash, carrots and sweet potatoes. That way, my kids will have something healthy to grab during the week.

I'll be linking other items like Enchiladas and Tenderloin with melted gorganzola cheese and a yummy pasta side dish with roasted garlic and tomatoes. Anyway, tomorrow I will (hope to) post the full week of meals.

I just spoke with Todd, and if luck has it, he'll be home in a week. Good thing I'm starting to get in the cooking swing of things again!

Of course, I have a quart of Golden Spoon for dessert, since I am cooking this week.

Getting Back in the Swing of Things

Like you, I have my favorite blogs I try to read every day. I used to read about 10 a day, but that was during the summer, when life was easy breezy. Now, with Todd gone (going on 2 months) and school back in session, I'm down to reading 2 every few days.

But...... I can feel life getting back into a routine. Which means menu planning will soon be happening again. I have enjoyed taking 2 months off from cooking. Can you imagine? I have eaten Golden Spoon for dinner more times than I would like to count.

But remember when I was working out like crazy every day. Well, I haven't worked out in over a month, and yes, I am still the exact same weight. Ugh.

Austin started walking this week. No wonder they are called "toddlers". He is so funny toddling around. He's about 50% walking and 50% crawling still. Dad hasn't seen the walking, so it will be quite a treat for him! He recognizes dozens of things but still isn't talking much. Babbling, yes. Talking, not quite.

My new school is a hit. I almost felt like I was dropped in Mr. Roger's neighborhood yesterday. I had crossing guard duty for 10 minutes before school. Now, this school is quite charming with its rosebushes out front and nice manicured lawns in front of all the neighborhood houses. As I began my crossing duty, the children were all behaved walking hand in hand with their moms and dads. Many offered, "Thank you teacher" as cars would go by and the parents would wave at me. As I was waving at a car going one way, the bus driver going the other way stuck his hand out the window, waving it my way, cheerily saying, "Have a great day!" I had to start laughing. It really felt like Mr. Roger's was about to start singing in front of the school, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day ......"

I really couldn't be happier. God had placed an assurance in my heart that this would be a good move for me, and of course, it is.

I went to Palm Springs last weekend, and will probably go again Saturday, so menu planning will still be on the "to do" list.