1/15/2011

Weekly Wrap Up

On The Heart and Mind: Cleaning, organizing. Purdging all things. That includes clutter in my mind. Meditating on the things that bring honor and glory to the Lord.
On The Home Front: As mentioned above decluttering. Winter seems to bring that on.
Dear daughter had her MRIs last night. We find out the results on Thursday.
We went thrift shopping this week and really hit the jack pot! I love Christmas. I love giving unique gifts and I love the hunt for the gifts. Most of the gifts I give are second hand items redone. Not something I can just go to the store and buy. So I hunt throughout the year for items to turn into gifts. This week I found a whole bunch of Christmas stuff. All of this and 9 books for 2 bucks!!!!!!!!!!! If you click on the photo it will be larger. See the black and white fabric? It is beautiful! DD wants to make a bed coverlet with it.



Arn't these trees sweet? The Santa box is wooden and there are 4 of them. They will make great gift card holders. The snowman is a door hanger and is brand new.



This stocking is perfect! Its needlepoint.
Can you see the wire and metal stocking? Its a country style stocking. It will make a nice package for a gift. There are two wire edged ribbons also. I have enough ribbon for next Christmas already!
Another view of the ribbon and wooden boxes. The Snowman plaque will be redone.
I already have stars like this. Its a votive holder. I love the look. This one will be a gift. Its brand new.

This is a wooden tree with cute country style decor. Not sure who its going to yet but it will be part of an early Christmas basket to someone!


Books!



In Our School: Feel like we are just treading water. Keeping up but not thriving. Much prayer has gone out this week as to how to do school well in the midst of change. We watched a great documentary this week called Blindsight. I highly recommend this as a family film. http://www.blindsightthemovie.com/characters.html We are also watching a series on Egypt by National Geographic. We finally got that fish dissected! I recommend not buying the one that is preserved. It was so hard to cut open! A fresh caught fish would have served the same purpose and been so much easier.


My Craft Corner: Yo yoing along! Really. Cannot wait to have enough to start constructing a few gifts! Here is a web site for free blog templates for Blogger. I love this site! If you like to change on a whim its easy with this site. http://www.backgroundfairy.com/
In The Kitchen: Using this a lot this week. That was a small turkey! For crock pot lovers I recommend : A Year of Slow Cooking http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ , The Crockpot Blog http://www.thecrockpotblog.com/ , 365 Days of Slow Cooking http://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/ For me the crock pot saves time and ensures a hearty meal at the end of a busy day.
I have started a cooking blog here. http://morningstaracademy.mycookingblog.com/ It is my goal to get my recipes organized. I like the way I can type in a recipe, import recipes ect. It will take time to get all my favorites on here but I think it will be worth the effort. I like that I can share the recipes easier with others. Especially my family.
I found a new way to make the best caramel sauce! Its creamy and yummy! And oh so simple to make. You take one these. (Sweetened Condensed Milk) Remove the label. Place it in a large pot of boiling water. Continue to add water as needed. Boil for 3 hours. Carefully remove. Open slowly as the gooey goodness will come out quickly. Store in the fridge. Its amazing on ice cream or with fruit! ( or right off the spoon!) We also made this yummy dessert. We named it Baked SMores. It’s a graham cracker, butter , sweetened condensed milk and chocolate and marshmallow delight!
On The Healthy Side: Chocolate is healthy…right? Sigh…so it was not a good week. Stress and good eating habits are not in the same sentence in my life at the moment. Should be but are not.
I am reading: City on Our Knees by Toby Mac. Really enjoying this book. This is real life out there for Jesus stuff.Chronological Bible. I am right near the end of David’s reign. What an amazing man he was. Colossians in a Year. Thank you Ann! This is yet another goal I am going to enjoy reaching. http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/01/the-seven-habits-of-highly-effective-bible-memorization-habit-1-for-a-new-year/ and Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul. My sister reads these. This is the first time I have ever looked at them. I like the book so far. Short stories that lift you up, make you think, and turn your thoughts to Jesus. And I just added this one today. Got it at the book sale for 50 cents. Praying God’s Word Day by Day by Beth Moore I love Beth Moore books and this one seems to go with my theme for the year to do devotions, prayer and scripture daily. It’s a year of devotional prayers.


Behr playing with the birds. Trust me is mutual! The birds tease the cats and enjoy the game.

12 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great week. Hope your daughter is ok. I'll have to check out those crockpot sites. I use my crock-pot a lot. They are the best. :)

    JoAnn

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  2. Wow! This is an update :) Lots of info.

    First off, I will be continuing to pray for your daughters test results and health. May you feel at peace.

    I LOVED how you shared about the caramel. Was that really 3 HOURS? I just want to make sure :)

    ...and I use my crockpot a lot, too!

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  3. Wow, Tina, lots going on at your house! Re the fish, another benefit to using a fresh one is that it is in "living" color, rather than all gray. Monochromatic organs are rather difficult to identify, don't you think? :)

    No Bible No Breakfast has been a standard at our house for decades now. Each of our kids gets a Bible at age six, and NBNB is the standard practice from then on. To date, I can't remember anyone ever having to miss out on breakfast. How are you doing memorizing Colossians? I have done ch's 1 and 3... ages ago... Lester Roloff used to require 60 chapters memorized by graduation in his girls' school. I wrote them down in the back of my Bible and started working on them years ago, then... what happened? I don't know, but it's been a long time since I have done a whole chapter!

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  4. Love that picture of the cat and the bird!

    Oh, and I was finally able to pull up your site again from home.

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  5. Great update - lots going on!

    Blessings!
    Sharity

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  6. HI TIna!

    I'll keep your dd in prayer, let us know if there's anything else they find out. You will figure out a new "normal" for your homeschool schedule. These things come up in life here and there, some more severe than others. But it will work. (I know you know that, just want to encourage you!)

    As always...WOW on your thrift shop finds! You're amazing :-)

    I truly LOVE that caramel sauce idea...that is SERIOUS trouble in a can! 3 hours? Really? hmmm...

    Love the cat and the bird...I suppose as long as the cage door is locked tight, the bird enjoys the game...

    Blessings and {{{HUGS}}}, my friend!
    Lori

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  7. Hi, Tina, I think I gained five pounds looking at your yummy pictures. :)

    Thrift shops are fun; I don't have anyone to go with in a household of guys. But sometimes my husband will humor me. We did just get a Goodwill literally across the street from us in the strip mall!

    You asked me about our bed. I can say that it is very nice. We've had so many people tell us that they love their Sleep Number beds. Other than some stiffness if I sit for too long, my back is pretty much back to normal. I'm not afraid to go to bed at night anymore. :)

    Our old mattress was a Simmons Beautyrest, and we started disliking it after just a couple of years. It was a plush top, which didn't help, either. We had it for nine years, and my back pain was the catalyst for replacing it. The crazy thing is, when we started looking for a new mattress, the one we really liked was a Simmons. We went back home to double check the mattress already on our bed, and it was the same thing! That's what prompted us to go to Sleep Number. And they had a special, so we got one of the mattress sets 40% off. I think it's worth saving up for.

    Blessings,
    Christine

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  8. Wow, what a find! And of course I love the cat picture with the bird. When we had birds, our cat really enjoyed them, too. One time one of the birds escaped while we were gone. When we came home we found the bird and cat just staring at one another. I was amazed that the cat did not try to kill the bird! I kind of miss our birds, but my kids were small the birds more work than I could handle at the time.

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  9. Ohhh how much is going on in your world. I am lifting you, your dd and family in prayer.

    I am going to HAVE to try the carmel idea! It sounds yummy. Hubby did that when he was a teen and talks about it once in a while. I have never tried it.

    As for the fabric. I REALLY want to know what colour is the pattern. I have one that is olive green and it is my curtains up stairs. I want to get one in Red and have it in my room. [0=

    Ohhh I need to find a copy of the Beth Moore book. That is a wonderful find indeed.

    Keep us posted.

    Love you my SSiC
    In Him<><
    -Mary

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  10. Loved catching up. I pray you get a good report on the MRI.
    I always have been in awe of your thrift store finds...AMAZING!!!!
    Hope you have a great day!!
    Be blessed,
    Chasity

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  11. What a good shopping spree! That is amazing.

    I pray all is looking good for your dear daughter.

    The nice thing about dissecting fresh fish is that you can eat it afterwards. I don't like the idea of killing an animal only for dissections; if you eat it, then at least it has not been wasted even if no one learns anything from the dissection.

    Have a great weekend!

    Annie Kate

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  12. Hi,

    The Polymer marbles is a really fun and easy kit. Here is a kit from amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Science-Marble-Laboratory-Kit/dp/B0041VHPT8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1296132300&sr=8-3
    There are lots of different sets if you look over there.
    You have so much great stuff in this post. Love your thrift store finds and the carmel sauce. The fish disection looks interesting. I agree that a fresh fish would be easier. However, don't rely on my family to catch it. We are pitiful fishermen. We did catch a boot, snapping turtle and eachothers lines last time.
    Blessings,
    Dawn

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Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Psalms 143:8