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Peace On Blog

December 15, 2011 By 1 Comment

The last few weeks have left me drawing ever closer to my Heavenly Father as I sort out His call on my life and how I remain in Him, love my family and friends…and reach out to others through social media.

As a result…for the next month I am choosing to only post something here if it is something I feel directly led to post and I am compelled to sit down and write.

I have been concentrating on my friends and family I can see and  touch, more than those I connect with through social media…simply because that is where God has me right now.

My daughter comes home from college today and there so many family MOMents that will be happening in the next month…I am feeling so grateful and blessed.

May you and yours make time to remember the reason for the season – the gift of Christ!

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Thanksgiving Silence

November 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

 

Stop reading posts on the internet and go enjoy your family over the Thanksgiving Holiday!

I know I am!

Remember to pause in gratitude to your Heavenly Father for all His many blessings!

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Christmas Cookies The Lazy Mom Way

November 18, 2011 By 4 Comments
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OK – so I am so making some Christmas cookies the supposed “lazy” way!

Today I am trying the oh so easy turtle cookies and over the weekend I am going to have a house full of college students and we are SO GOING TO make the reindeer cookies! Jump over to I’m A Lazy Mom for detailed instructions on the reindeer cookies. I am following her little guide, only I am opting for creative antler making for the reindeer cookies and challenging them to use the broken bits of pretzels left over from my turtle cookies!

I’ll spring for some tiny chocolate covered pretzels too – but I like the idea of “one of a kind” reindeer with unique and possibly nibbled on antlers!

I just had to share because I’m A Lazy Mom hit a home run on this with me…I like creative over “la dee dah” – always have, always will. Any cookie making that carries with it fun and participation with my kids – even college age ones – is what I am talking about!

Thanks IALM – hugs galore to you! (I’m on to your little secret…you are not lazy at all, you just throw out the trappings and the posing!)

IMPORTANT UPDATE:  OH MY GOODNESS…just came out of the oven, splat – but all the pecans on…ate one and nearly fell on the floor from the joy of it all. I must leave the house or I will become a chocolate turtle, not as cute as this turtle…but fat and happy!

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Health Not Hips

November 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I have always (mostly) tried to live my life making sure that I remain in good health. God gave me this body and I better take care of it if I want to stick around to be a grandmother some day. Which I do!

Several years ago I did a Beth Moore Bible study about the tabernacle and that study helped me to realize that my body is God’s tabernacle and I need to care for it properly. I cannot do God’s work if I am not in the best of health.

My kids know all about how I feel about eating the right foods and drinking lots of water, but never in a militant way, just a smart way. In our home the policy is eat more of God’s food than man’s food. What I mean by that is a piece of lean chicken grilled is closer to the way God intended – a deep fried chicken nugget, not so much.  Strawberries yes, strawberry fruit roll ups – um…they don’t grow that way, thus not God’s food. The more man has touched something the less it is God’s food. That simple phrase, more of God’s food less of man’s food has been uttered in this home more times than you can imagine!

That very simple way of looking at the food we put into our bodies has worked for all of us, we all have a pretty good range of foods we enjoy. As far as exercise, we have always had the “move that body” rule around our home. If there is too much non-activity going on I send them out the door to move! We take family hikes, do yard work together, outdoor projects, bike ride – there’s plenty to do outside.  Inside we really enjoy playing Kinect together – we have had numerous track meets and we can all bust a move. There are always ways to get that body moving.

I never wanted to have a daughter that stood and looked in the mirror and fretted about her size. So we have never been weight conscious…we don’t even have a scale. We have always chosen to be health conscious. There is a difference.

If good health verses dieting is not something you have spent much time discussing with your children maybe you should. Introduce your family to the “God’s food vs. man’s food” and “move that body” philosophy – someday when you watch the grand-kids so they can go on a cruise they’ll thank you for it!

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Wordless Fall

October 27, 2011 By 3 Comments

There are days, and even sometimes weeks, where the word well runs dry. Anyone who writes knows this parched-ness and most of us fear it.

For me, I sort of embrace it and recognize that during the times of dryness I am more involved in the real world and choose not to pull away. If you are a writer you know what I mean.

Sometimes the pull to bury my head in words is so strong that I can be neglectful of the other joy giving things in my life.

So the ebb and flow of wordsmithing ceases to panic me, I see it as simply a gentle nudge to spend my minutes pursuing other loves and heart delights. Especially now.

My teen son’s idea of fun may be a bit different than mine, but spending time with him does trump the pull of the keyboard – always has, always will!

When he’s at school and hubby’s at work…a bit more time and care taken with home warming decor and fluff. A few more lunch outings and quiet tea times. More lazy afternoons spent running my hands over the ever thickening winter coats on our horses Honey and Dot. A choice to linger on the back deck contemplating the artistic handy work of my Father in the delicate hues of a sunset and colorful changing leaves. The sky is somehow bluer, the grass somehow greener when the bright vibrant colors of fall act as a contrast.

Oh…and I also have this relationship thing with my warm and cozy kitchen when fall crisply settles into our little ranchette. When fall arrives the desire to bake overtakes me – the aroma of pumpkin flavored this and that sweetly assaults those who enter our home. Mouth watering now… and too, the things I like to simmer and stir up on my stove top and in the well worn crock pots – amazing soups and favorite tummy pleasing taste sensations.

Forgive my less than regular postings here lately…but as you can plainly read…fall beckons me to other delights.

And I giggle.

 

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Horse Prayers

September 20, 2011 By 5 Comments

Hey Friends – I am quite preoccupied right now as I am caring for one of our horses…Dot.

She has an abscess in her hoof and she is in lots of pain and hobbling around and it is awful and I am at my wits end trying to relieve her and help! I have logged many hours caring for ill children and pets, but a 1,000+ pound mammal that lives in a barn out back presents a whole new set of challenges.

Even in her pain she is still a sweet horse, working with me instead of against me in all that I am attempting to do. The vet has been here and gave me my instructions and hopefully in a couple of days we will see some relief – or they may have to take more invasive measures. We don’t want that.

{heavy sigh}

I miss my daughter now that she’s away at college, but I really miss her right now as she is an amazing horsewoman and I know she could handle this much better than I.

I know it’s “just a horse” but if you would lift up a prayer that her hoof would quickly heal I would be so very appreciative!

Blessings to each of you!

 

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Sneak Out Of Your House Dare

September 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Psst…I have a dare for you.

Find a quiet MOMent, make sure everyone else in your home is doing something that will keep them busy.

Sneak out of the back door of your home.

Sit on the back step, or porch, or right on down in the grass.

Look around you.

Listen carefully.

What do you see?

What do you hear?

Me?

I see – trees, leaves and branches rustling in the wind, grass, strewn branches, bright sunlight, my rose bushes and bird feeder, a bird fly by, wispy shadows, a cobweb, a flying insect, my two horses lazily grazing, a bird fluttering from one branch to the next, a squirrel dancing towards a tree, my backyard oasis that fills me with joy.

I hear – wind rustling the trees, birds softly chirping, a neighbor using machinery, leaves scrapping against the driveway as they blow away, a car drive by out front, the wind is kissing my skin, something drops on the roof, more wind sweeping a branch against the house, gentle breezes, the sounds of life and breath and God’s whispers.

Taking just such a quiet MOMent…or two…can fully refresh and revive any moms day.

Praise Him for the simple, sweet pleasures found in your own back yard.

Big Hug!

Now…go love your family well!

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Tilapia Made Easy (and yummy!)

September 6, 2011 By 2 Comments
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There are some amazing women out there on the Internet who put a whole lot into their meal preparations for their families … and then there is me.

I’ve been a mom for eighteen years and I have cooked a whole lot of meals and I have made an art form of cooking good meals the simple way!  The fewer ingredients the better.  I invent recipe’s all the time because I basically take the foods and flavors my family enjoys and I experiment!

So, in the interest of lessening your time cooking I am going to share with you the way I make tilapia.  Short, sweet and healthy – but very yummy.

Take tilapia filet’s and lay them on a cookie sheet squirt your favorite salad dressing on top, I use lite Honey Mustard. Break up whole wheat bread crumbs and sprinkle them on top of each piece.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.

That’s it!

So simple, so tasty and healthy!

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Fruit Fly Catcher

September 1, 2011 By 2 Comments
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I am being driven slowly into madness.

By fruit flies.

They are evil.

Tiny red eyes evil.

Taking over my home evil.

Making me crazy evil.

(Yes, there are worse things…but they really are causing me much angst.)

Then a dim memory flashed. My parents gave me something they called a fruit fly catcher that they purchased from a Kentucky State Park. After a flurry of activity I found said fruit fly catcher, found out from The Bug Man (my hero) that I needed to fill the well with vinegar. (I’m told you can do the same with a cup, vinegar, saran wrap and a rubber band. Put a bit of apple cider vinegar in bottom of cup, cover and band with saran wrap, poke small hole in the saran wrap.)

Voila…trapped evil fruit flies.

Mwaaa haaa haaa haaa!

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Plant A Pineapple – Really!

August 30, 2011 By 2 Comments

When we lived in South Florida we bought a little home in charming neighborhood from this sweet elderly couple who had lived there nearly two decades and it was adorable.

This couple had quite the green thumb and we inherited some amazing plants that provided us with sustenance many months of the year. We had orange trees, lemon trees, grapefruit trees and key lime trees that were full to overflowing with fruit.

I used to write up our favorite key lime pie recipe on cards and mail boxes of fresh key limes to friends and family back home in Kentucky. Bringing others that kind of fresh fruit happiness was really fun.

In addition to all the citrus we also had two pineapple plants and I was amazed when they began to produce their fruit…if you have never seen the beginnings of a pineapple growing out of a pineapple plant you are missing a tender joy! Imagine your typical pineapple, then imagine it went through a shrink machine…itty bitty tiny winy adorable baby pineapples!

Well – I got so excited today when I bumped into Tickled Red … because now you and I can experience this tender joy right in our own homes!

Yippy zippy!

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