This Week at Morningstar

Yep it's a new title...since the meme Weekly Wrap Up is hostless and I tend to get to it about every week and a half I thought a name change was in order.



On The Heart and Mind. Thankful that we can be flexible. That this journey we call life does not have to be picture perfect or part of a list. That the Lord orchestrates my steps.

On The Home Front: Is it a cold or the flu? After doing some research I am thinking I have had the flu and not a common cold…Its been a long week!
These are the common symptoms of each. I do think the lines are blurred most of the time!
Flu symptoms
Headache - common flu symptom, can be quite severe.
Tiredness and weakness - common and can last a few weeks.
Extreme tiredness - common early on, and can be severe.
Aches and pains - yes and usually severe.
Temperature/Fever - yes ranging from 39⁰C/102⁰F to 40⁰C/104⁰F
Sneezing - occasionally
Stuffed up / runny nose - quite common.
Coughing - quite typical of flu, can be harsh.
Dry/Sore Throat - frequent.
Cold Symptoms
Headache - uncommon, but possible.
Tiredness and weakness - occasionally, but milder than with flu.
Extreme tiredness - uncommon.
Aches and pains - much milder than with flu.
Temperature/Fever - unusual.
Sneezing - a common cold symptom
Stuffed up/runny nose - quite common.
Coughing - occasionally, but not as severe as with flu.
Dry/Sore Throat - common

We were blessed to have Josh's gal friend here this weekend. Such a sweet gal!

Two of my children are part of a band ( two different bands) and both had performances this weekend. The oldest has been playing for a few years but the 16 yo is just coming out so to speak. They traveled an hour away to play at another churches Singpraiseation. ( yep thats what they call it) It was awesome. Will have photos and a fresh post all about her later on. It sure blesses this mommas heart to see and hear her kids living for the Lord.
Josh is on the left.

In Our School: We have reached the end of quarter 2. That seems amazing to me. I completed the gals grades for the quarter and am amazed at how well they did! ( we had a ton of life interruptions this quarter) I am considering a half work load week so we can catch our breath after this busy weekend and get some life stuff done around the house. The guys have started back to college ( Josh and Dad) So life is studious so to speak. But I need a mental break so half work load and some play time I think will give our school the boost it needs to get through the long winter doldrums.
My Craft Corner: Yo yos are populating rapidly. I experimented with different shaped yo yos just for fun. ( I was getting board with circles!) I will have a photo soon. I also made my own plastic yo yo maker! Honestly I cannot afford all the gagets out there and all the latest in fabrics. ( have you seen all the designer fabrics? and the cost of them? Oh my) Most of my stuff is made of fabric found in thriftstores or taken from old clothing.
In The Kitchen: Hamburgers with all the fixings, Spaghetti and Meatballs with homemade yeast rolls, Steak, Cereal ,( yep we do that sometimes), Pizza, Dinner at Church, and Mc Donalds.
I have noticed that most of the time we just post dinner menus. Thought I would post a bit about our lunches. This week on Monday I made tuna salad, chicken salad and seafood salad. ( that’s for the whole week). We eat these on bread or crackers or in a green salad. If there are noodles left over we add it to the noodles. Hubby and I came home from working in the pantry one day to find Nachos with all the fixings ready to go for lunch. Three wonderful children prepared a wonderful meal.
Breakfast at our house varies a lot. This week we had yeast rolls with bacon, eggs and cheese, cereal, Egg Casserole, and pancakes. Looking for some new twist on Breakfast Casseroles? Visit here : http://www.momswhothink.com/easy-recipes/breakfast-casseroles.html I tend to do the basic recipe. 4 slices or so of bread: cubed, 5 or so eggs, 1 ¾ cup milk more or less, ¾ cup cheddar cheese grated, and 1 to 2 cups of what ever meat I have left over in the fridg. ( ham, sauage, bacon, steak, ) I use a 9 by 12 pyrex dish ( I know its an odd size. Its just right for a family of 6) I cook it in a slow 325 degree oven until the top is lightly brown and the middle set. That’s 35 minutes in my gas oven. Do not over cook!
I worked on repairing some of my cookbooks. ( taping, cleaning, gluing bindings) I also put them all in one place.
New to us recipe: ( this looks a lot like tater tot casserole..)
Grated Potato Casserole
6 med. potatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. minced onion
1 pt. sour cream
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese
Crushed cornflakes
Melted butter
Cook potatoes, peel and grate or use a package of frozen hash browns. Heat butter with soup. Blend in sour cream, onion and cheese into soup. Stir in potatoes. Place in 2 1/2 to 3 quart casserole. Mix cornflakes in melted butter; sprinkle over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I had an utter failure this week with my bread machine. I am totally clueless as to why. The bread came out not mixed and hard as a rock. I rechecked my ingredients. I checked the machine. All seemed to be correct. But I turned right around and loaded the machine again. This time with a tired and true dough recipe for rolls.
On The Healthy Side: I have had a cold/flu all week. Feeling yucky. No exercise…just not enough energy.
I am reading: The Bible in Chronological Order,( into proverbs now! Loving every minute of it) City on Our Knees by Toby Mac, ( hubby is now reading it with me…excellent read) Colossians in a Year, ( finally getting into the meat of it and really loving it) and Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul. Watching The Truth Project each week with my church http://www.thetruthproject.org/ A Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis (because reading is fun!)
New words to me this week! Almug, or red sandalwood, is a beautiful pleasant-smelling wood that Solomon imported for the pillars of the Temple
Retinue: attendants accompanying a high-ranking person