First Fruits of the Year

Yeah! Today I picked the first fruit of the year, not counting herbs or garlic. My husband and I have been keeping our eye on these two squash for a few days and it is always so exciting after all the hard work to get to start picking vegetables!

These are a few of the garlic we picked last Monday, we gathered about 30 heads and I still have about 5 that are not ready. I love garlic and when it is fresh and virtually free it is even better!

Here are a few of my favorite things... Tomatoes! I so enjoy fresh tomatoes! Our goal this year to sun dry double what we did last year, can some stewed ones and try to make some tomato sauce. It is also a joy to bless others with them!

Our garden always saves us lots on groceries and this year with the rising cost of everything it will be an even bigger blessing. My husband has challenged me this year with not letting ANY go to waste. With as many plants as we have that is harder than you might think. One thing we, well actually Sydney, added to the garden is potatoes. She is growing them in this green bucket.

We also have tomatillo, zucchini,cucumbers, hot peppers, bell peppers and broccoli plants.

It's Hot in Texas

Well it may be spring still but it sure is HOT already in Texas! Our normally policy at home is that we do not say we are hot 'till mid June since it can be in the 100's well into August but this year we broke that policy.

I know for some who read this post they will think I am an ultra wimp, so be it, I am! You see we have had central heat and air for almost 13 years in this house and I grew up with it. We do set the thermostat around 78 and we try to wait to turn on the ac but with three kids one of which has asthma I must say AC is pretty much a necessity.

Anyways, Thursday the house seemed warm but with the heat index it was suppose to around 90 outside so I figured no big deal I just need to adjust to the rising temp. Then Friday morning it was really warm in the house, I checked the thermostat and it showed 90+. I set the AC to 75 and turned on some fans. A few hours later it was getting hotter and the air coming out of our vents was getting warmer. You guessed it, our ac was broken. I called our service company only to find out that it would be Saturday afternoon before someone could come out. We did our best to stay cool and boy we sure were excited when the door bell rang!

It was short lived though. Like I said, our AC unit is almost 13 years old and this time it is not cost effective to fix it. Every year for the last 5 years we have pumped money into it to keep it hanging on but alas this year it has a freon leak in the condenser motor and the outside motor is dead!

As much as we hate it we will have to have a new ac unit put in and it will be Thursday before they can get to us. One huge blessing is that the company we use lent us to window units to use until then and Scott and I went to Sam's and picked up some fans to help circulate the air.

Surprisingly they are keeping the house comfortable, they sure look ugly and are nosier than we are use to but the house is comfortable and I do not have to worry about the kids. Oh yeah, God blessed us with rain last night so that also helped cool the house off last night.

Learning to Live

"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting laundry." E.B. White

5-9-08 I read this today and it really went along with all the rambling and jumbling thoughts I have been having this week. First I agree with the above statement only if it falls in line with the Bible. Many things bring temporary "joy" or "pleasure" but they are not for me or any other person. That being said the past month or so I have allowed too much into my life. No bad things or ungodly things but they have been just as damaging because I have lost my focus and lost sight of my joy. I plan to try to slow down some this week as soon as I can and try to see where I need to make changes

5-17-08 Well it has been over a week since I started this post and so much has gone on. The past few weeks maybe even month I have felt out of whacks and I had plenty of excuses as to why. I had a list of external things that I just knew if only they would change things would flow better and I would feel better.

For starters our washer is acting up and I have to go out every cycle and make sure the water is turning off, my daughter has had health issues as well as my husband, I have had too many orders and in the last two weeks all three kids had dental, medical and eye exam. Choir is still going on, my youngest had his end of the year violin showcase, Mother's day, homeschool book fair and finally our church mother daughter banquet. Oh yeah I forgot to mention PMS.

All my excuses of why I have felt frazzled made such sense to me, they were so legitimate to me.

The first thing that caught me off guard was that I noticed I was praying about weird stuff at meal times. Long prayers that I normally covered in my morning devotion. I no longer felt calm in the morning and often could not wait for bed. I just kept asking myself what is going on?

Well on Friday the 11th I went to the Homeschool book Fair despite not wanting to. This is an event my daughter and I always enjoy together but this year I had so many other things that I felt I needed to get done and taking a day off to play was not one of them. However I went ahead and went mainly because Sydney REALLY wanted to go and I did want to spend time with her. Well we get there and I look at the classes they were offering. Can you believe it, The Power of a Focused Mother. Wow just what I needed. I was sure somehow the speaker, Renee Ellison, would show me what was going on. Little did I know God wanted me there and would end up showing me what was going wrong.

She opened with Where is your focus, what is your perspective, what is your child's perspective and then what hit me hard, would your child want you for a mom? I was sitting in a room full of people and God grabbed me and showed me it wasn't all the external stuff that mattered, what I was feeling was my fault. I had lost my focus. I was the problem. I sat and listened, cried, prayed and allowed God to use the speaker to show me what was wrong and how to get back on track.

Looking back I have to laugh at my excuses, I listed the items for sale on e-bay, I made all the doctors appointments and knew months ahead a time about all the events coming up. However I wanted to fit it all in and I wanted control. The reason I was praying so much at meals was because I had stopped doing my devotion in the morning. My heart was desperate to connect to God but I refused to make time. I had failed to keep my focus on God, my husband and my family.

I have spent the last week spending time with my kids and husband and reading my Bible. I intentionally refused to blog or list things on e-bay until today. I made my focus this past week on what mattered most. The kids and I worked in the garden, watched some movies, cooked some cupcakes, I took Syd to spend her Birthday money, and most of all I spent time with my Lord.

Meal Plan Monday

I have to say that the best meal this past week was a toss up between the Pizza Margherita and the pasta milano. My husband really devoured the pizza and everyone loved the pasta! What more could you want? This week we again are avoiding red meat and limiting other meats because of my husbands gall bladder, this is week three and it is getting hard to come up with new things! Any help would be appreciated!We are having some meat at lunch since he is at work otherwise my oldest son says he will die! Dramatic maybe but he is a meat and potato guy. One plus is that we are saving some money by not buying meat. If you are looking for ways to cut your grocery cost check out this post I wrote.

Monday Lunch Chicken and Rice soup and fruit
Dinner Chicken Marsala served with pasta and french bread my husband will have the noodles, sauce and maybe a few slices of chicken

Tuesday Lunch Chicken Salad and pickle spears
Dinner Vegetable pitas with fresh sprouts we are growing. Need to know how? Check out this post

Wednesday Lunch Grill Cheese sandwiches and baked chips
Dinner Black bean soup served with baked nacho chips
I will probably make this in the crock pot and we'll eat after church and choir practice.

Thursday Lunch
Dinner Egg drop soup, stir fry veggies and fried rice

Friday Lunch
Dinner Cheese enchiladas served with Spanish rice and re fried beans made without fat. Recipe below

Saturday Lunch
Dinner Vegetarian Pot Stickers I have never tried this recipe but it got 5 stars

Sunday Mother's Day- We are having my mom over but I am still undecided on what to serve. My mom is diabetic and my husband is currently not tolerating meat.

Enchiladas Recipe

A note about the tortillas. The corn tortillas must be softened before they are rolled and baked in the casserole. Frying them gently in a little oil greatly enhances the flavor of the tortillas, or you can wrap them in a moist towel and microwave them for 2 minutes.

Ingredients
Grapeseed oil (or another high smoke-point oil such as peanut or canola oil)
12 corn tortillas
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup of salsa (Mild prepared salsa or make your own using cooked or canned tomatoes, roasted green chiles, onions, cilantro, oil and vinegar. Do not use salsa made with fresh, uncooked tomatoes for this dish.)
3 Tbsp of tomato paste
1 cup water
1 cup of canned crushed tomatoes (preferably fire roasted)
Olive oil
1 lb of jack cheese, mild cheddar or longhorn or any mild yellow cheese, grated
A handful of cilantro
1 cup of sour cream
Half a head of iceberg lettuce
Method
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2 In a large fry pan at high heat add 3 Tbsp of grapeseed oil. Add a tortilla to the pan. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift up the tortilla with a spatula, add another tortilla underneath. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift again, both tortillas, and add another tortilla underneath. Repeat the process with all the tortillas, adding a little more oil if needed. This way you can brown and soften the tortillas without using a lot of fat. You do this process to develop the flavor of the tortillas. As the tortillas brown a little, remove from the pan one by one to rest on a paper towel, which absorbs any excess fat.

2 Sauté up the chopped onion and garlic, then turn off the heat. Add 1 cup of salsa. Dissolve 3 Tbsp of tomato paste into 1 cup of water, add to pan. Add 1 cup of crushed fire roasted canned tomatoes. Taste. If the sauce tastes too vinegary, add a teaspoon of sugar.

3 Put some olive oil on the bottom of a large casserole pan. Take a tortilla, cover 2/3 of it lightly with the shredded cheese, then roll up the tortilla and place it in the casserole pan. Continue until all tortillas are filled and rolled. Add sauce to the top of the tortillas in the the casserole pan. Make sure all are covered with the sauce. If not, add a little water. Cover the whole thing with the rest of the grated cheese. Put the casserole in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.

4 Garnish with cilantro and sour cream. Serve with sliced iceberg lettuce that has been dressed only with vinegar and salt. See Perfect Guacamole for a great guacamole avocado side dish.

Be sure to check out more meal plans at organizing Junkie

Saving Money At The Grocery Store

Do you remember when you were little and played store? You could fill your cart with everything you wanted without a care in the world. After all you had a kagillion dollars and nothing made you gain weight or raised your cholesterol. Boy those were the days!

Now you're all grown up, You have to plan your meals, make a grocery list, the store is no longer in your play room, what you eat does matter, and did I mention you have to pay using REAL money. So how can you ensure you are getting your moneys worth at the grocery store? Two words, price book!

The first time I heard the idea I thought there is no way I am going to write down everything I buy, calculate the cost and then keep up with it just to save a few cents. Then came the wake up call. I was so excited, my local grocery store had ketchup on sale. Yeah, at the time this was our kids all time favorite condiment for EVERYTHING! I should have bought stock in it. Anyways, I pulled out my coupon and proceeded to buy 4 bottles. After all it was on sale, the sign said so! In case you didn't know stores have what is called phantom sales. They raise the price of an item leave it there a few weeks and then put it on "sale" which is actually the normal price. Later when I was cleaning out my receipts I looked at an old one just to see just how much I had saved by stocking up. Imagine my shock when I found out I had actually lost money. It happens everyday to people on hundreds of items. Stores know most people do not track prices or keep up with how often items go on sale, and trust me you can not do it in your head and you can not trust the stores to tell you when something is on sale. You need a price book.

I wish I had created one sooner, it is easy and will save you hundreds of dollars a year. Now when I look at ads or run into an item with a sale sign I can look in my book and see if it is real and if it usually runs even lower later. Example: Kroger sometimes has Old Elpaso shells on sale for $1.29, sounds great right, not really, they also run a 10 for $10 almost weekly however they only include Old Elpaso taco shells about every 6-8 weeks. Knowing that I save my taco shell coupons for then and stock up buying enough until they go on sale again. My goal is to keep my pantry stocked well enough that I only buy items when they are at their best price. I am sure my shopping cart looks funny with 8 boxes of taco shells or 5 canisters of coffee but I am saving money and that's what counts to me. The other great thing about a price book is that they are useful for everyone not just couponers. I keep track of all the items I buy even produce and toiletries.

Making your own price book is cheap and easy. I started off with a small spiral notebook that fit in my purse and a pencil. You will also need a calculator to convert prices but do not let that scare you. It takes very basic math to do. Next you will need to set up your book. I currently use a small three ring binder with A-Z divider tabs. I have mine set up alphabetically by item name such as m-milk but others use categories such as m-meat or d-dairy. Each page in your price book should contain the date, name of the store, item name and the brand of the item, the size of the item, the price of the item, and then the unit price of the item. This is where the math comes in; the unit price can be discovered by dividing size/price. Some stores include this information on the shelf label but the often times will use different measurements so you have to convert to compare like items. An example is cheese, one brand may be listed by the ounce while the one next to it is listed by the pound.

Now that you have your format picked and pages made you can start filling in your book. If you have any receipts start with those. Fill in a page for each item you bought and then calculate your unit cost. Then the next time you head out to the store grab your book and start comparing prices and list some of the ones that you routinely buy even if you are not buying them right now. You can also use the grocery store ads. Be sure to check out all the stores in your area. It pays not to be store loyal. I shop at Sav A Lot, Alberstons, Kroger and Sam's. I live in the city and all these stores are located around my home of near where we have regular activities.

At first this may seem very tedious, however you will soon begin to discover the best deals emerging before your eyes and you will also see each stores pattern in the timing of sales, such as in my taco shell example.

Do not try to fill in every item you use your next trip to the store, you will overwhelm yourself and give up. Overtime you will find that your entries will slow down and your price book will now be a great reference to you. Armed with your price book you can now know when you are getting a great deal and stock your pantry and freezer accordingly. If you keep up with your book you should always get a great deal on toilet paper and you will never hear "we're out of toilet paper" crying from under the bathroom door.

Helpless Feeling

Helpless, that is the only way I can describe yesterday morning. I took Sydney in for her lab work and things did not go as smooth as I had prayed.

I am not one who feels helpless often and I do not get overly emotional but watching my baby girl hurt yesterday hurt so bad. I have a phlebotomy license and knew the tech was trying her best and was not at fault however when she started moving the needle around and I saw Syd's eyes water I wanted to make her stop! She got one tube after a little prodding but then Syd's vain just stopped. I have heard of this happening but never experienced it. She then moved the needle around some more to try to avoid re-sticking her but it was no use. She left to get another tech and immediately Syd was crying. As I watched the tears roll down her face I wanted to cry but knew she needed me to be strong. I hugged her until they came back. To be honest I wanted to pick her up like she was still a baby and run out of there but I knew we had to get the test done. The next tech came in used the other arm and immediately filled three tubes and we were done!

I felt so bad because I had told my girl it would be quick and pretty much painless. Boy was I wrong. After it was all done we went out to Denny's for breakfast and that seemed to lift her spirits! Nothing like french toast to appease an empty tummy!

The nurse practitioner called today and said everything looks great and all Syd's levels look normal. She will now add some snacks between meals and see how that goes. They think her body is just burning calories too fast plus she has low blood pressure and that is probably adding to the dizziness.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for her!