MENU: 7/31/14 - 8/6/14

There weren't any new recipes on our last menu, but I did end up trying some new things that are worth sharing.

* fruit salad with honey lime dressing - Thea has talked about this salad in the past and our neighbor had just given us a bunch of blueberries, so we gave it a try. I made it as directed, but you could certainly change the fruits up if you wanted to. We doubled it, then added bananas to the leftovers for smoothies and popsicles.

* dairy-free creamy spinach artichoke dip - A little experiment using ingredients we had on hand and that Teebs could eat during his time of being dairy-free.

* raw cashew cream - This was the dairy substitute I used for the dip.

And here's what we'll be having for breakfast and dinner over the next week.

BREAKFASTS
* doughnuts (we have these at church, though we always have some dry roasted almonds, fruit, and/or cottage cheese at home or on the road first)
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings/yogurt, fruit, & spinach smoothies x3
* egg, potato (I often bake an oven rack's worth once a week and pop them in the fridge for breakfasts,other times I dice them right before cooking), & spinach or kale scramble x3

DINNERS

* leftovers

* tacos (seasoned meat, crockpot beans from the freezer, served in a tortilla, bowl, or over a pile of greens) 

* pea cheese salad over spinach and tomatoes/toast (we never ate this last week)

* grilled salmon/rice/roasted broccoli
* pasta with sausage and tomatoes/cuke slices
* lentils & rice/garlic green beans
* zesty chicken (crockpot)/potato wedges/peas & corn

SNACKS & DESSERTS

* produce 

* nuts - pistachios & dry roasted almonds

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department & a West Bend Stir Crazy to pop them in)

* apple bars

(This post contains affiliate links.)

7/31/14 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that Teebs slept in today.

What's something that you're thankful for?

A DAIRY-FREE COOKING EXPERIMENT

Do you know what's in this jar?

As I mentioned in the menu I posted a few days ago, Teebs is dairy-free for ten days. Maybe longer, depending on how things go. We're not making any changes to how we eat during those ten days and are just eating dairy-free meals or leaving the dairy out of his portion of what we eat.

However, I had to experiment. Why? Because a friend offered up a jar of marinated artichoke hearts on Facebook a few days ago, which I claimed, and another friend said it looked like a good reason to make spinach artichoke dip. I've never made spinach artichoke dip before, but it sounded delicious and I wanted some ASAP. Teebs couldn't eat it, though, so I searched Swagbucks for a dairy-free version and found one on Paleo Spirit that called for cashew cream.

Cashew cream. That's what's in the jar.

I'd never made it before, but I had cashews and water, which are the only two ingredients needed for that particular dairy substitute, so I made a batch of cream and stuck it in the fridge on Friday night. I finally made the dip, which we scooped up with raw veggies, this evening and it's yummy! The Ws who aren't fans of artichoke hearts didn't like it, but that's no surprise, and other Ws are just neutral. I, however, have been shoveling it onto cucumber slices and eating it like candy.Warm creamy dip with crisp, cool cucumbers ... perfect texture combo! Teebs had some on bell pepper slices, but has eaten a bunch right out of the pan with a fork, which means we'll definitely make it again if he has to stay dairy-free. Otherwise we'll have a tasty dip to serve when we have dairy-free guests, attend potlucks where people with allergies often have few foods to choose from, or just want a batch for ourselves. Click the links in the beginning of this paragraph for the recipes if you want to try some yourself!

WHERE IS MY FOCUS?

There's a theme that keeps popping up in my life.

It's in the chorus of Fix My Eyes, by for KING & COUNTRY.

Love like I'm not scared
Give when it's not fair
Take time for a brother
Live life for another
Fight for the weak one
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall but above it all
Fix my eyes on you

It's in an old quote from my pastor that I see when I scroll through my old "worth repeating" and "books I finished" (which includes quotes I like from the books) posts a couple times a week.

Faith is the root of our salvation. Works are the fruit of our salvation, which come from being well-rooted. 

~ Brett Meador

It's in the occasional (including recently) times he points out that you never see fruit straining to mature. It just sticks to the vine or tree and growth happens effortlessly.

It's in The Complete Green Letters, written by Miles J. Sanford, which Beep and I have been going through for a few months. It reminds me over and over and over again to just abide, to rest in who I am in Christ and what he's done for me, and spiritual growth will happen naturally.

I could do so many good things. In fact, I should do good things. But ultimately my focus needs to be on Jesus, not on the good things. When my eyes are fixed on Jesus, when I view life through the lens of the cross, all those good works, things like helping the needy, focusing on others, and standing up for what's right, will happen anyway.

Does that mean people who don't believe in Jesus or who have different religious beliefs than I do can't do all those good things? Of course not! There are a gazillion people from a myriad of backgrounds and beliefs doing countless noble things with the best of intentions. I'm thankful for that!

I just know that if my focus is on all the good things I could be doing, then I'll be overwhelmed by all the needs that are out there and either stretch myself too thin as I try to do too much or become unable to choose and end up doing nothing. If my focus is on all that I am doing, then I'll be prideful about the difference I'm making and/or critical of those who aren't doing the same things. I'd much rather focus on Jesus, then seize the opportunities to make a difference that he puts in my path. I fail, I get spiritually bored or distracted, I do the right things for the wrong reasons, I do the wrong things for the right reasons ... but that's where my heart is. To to be well-rooted, to rest, to have my eyes fixed on Jesus.

I'll leave you with two videos. The first is an audio version of Fix My Eyes, the second is the band talking about how the song came be and what it means to them.

(This post contains affiliate links.)

MENU: 7/24/14 - 7/30/14

We tried a couple new recipes last week, neither of which were on the menu, but both of which used up some ingredients that needed to be eaten.

* quick creamy zucchini soup - I really liked this and the original recipe said it freezes well, though I haven't tried it yet. Just another way to use up the zukes you have growing in your garden!

* Mexican baked eggs with black beans, tomatoes, and chiles - This was a spontaneous substitute for last week's tacos. My version is double the original recipe, as I wanted enough for everyone and some leftovers, but you could easily scale it back if you wanted to. Making it in ramekins, which is how it was made originally, would be a fun way to serve it.

In other food news, Teebs is at the beginning of a ten day experiment of eating dairy-free. Doctor's orders. We usually have one morning a week that isn't oats or eggs, but I'm not going to strain my brain coming up with a dairy-free muffin, pancake, granola (he doesn't like it dry and can't have it with yogurt either), or casserole this week. We'll just have eggs one morning more than usual. Everything else we'll be eating is already dairy-free or we can easily leave the dairy out of his portion. If this experiment ends in ten days, then no biggie. If eating dairy-free ends up being a long-term thing for him, then I'll start putting more thought into which things I want to find substitutes for and which things we'll just let go.

So, without further ado, here's what's on tap for the upcoming week.

BREAKFASTS
* doughnuts (we have these at church, though we always have some dry roasted almonds, fruit, and/or cottage cheese at home or on the road first)
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings/yogurt, fruit, & spinach smoothies x3
* egg, potato (I often bake an oven rack's worth once a week and pop them in the fridge for breakfasts,other times I dice them right before cooking), & spinach or kale scramble x3

DINNERS

* leftovers

* tacos (seasoned meat, crockpot beans from the freezer, served in a tortilla, bowl, or over a pile of greens) 

* pea cheese salad over spinach and tomatoes/toast
* green salad with shredded chicken, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese
* ham/rice/peas and corn

* baked potatoes with various toppings
* rice, kale, & eggs 

SNACKS & DESSERTS

* produce 

* nuts - pistachios & dry roasted almonds

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department & a West Bend Stir Crazy to pop them in)

* zuke cookies (never got around to making these last week)

(This post contains affiliate links.)

7/24/14 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for times when my my worlds collide, when friends from one part of my life get to know (or I find out they already know) friends from another part of my life. I love small world moments.

What's something that you're thankful for?

A FUN NIGHT WITH FRIENDS

We spent Saturday evening with Michael, Sachi, and their boys. It was a fun evening of archery, a trampoline, swinging, climbing, sliding, playing with sprinklers, shooting Nerf guns, getting pedicures and spa treatments, chatting, laughing, and eating a bunch of good food.

Oh, and getting presents.

A long time ago I gave away some fabric on Facebook. It was a bunch of random corduroy that Granny had given me years earlier, fabric I kept because I thought I'd eventually do something creative with it. Then one day I remembered that I don't get creative with fabric and decided to pass it on to someone who does. Sachi claimed it, then I forgot about it.

Until last night.

Check out what she made.  Here is a purse she made for herself, which made three random solids and a crazy print turn into something super cute (which says a lot for this non-purse girl).

And here is a big library (or whatever I want to use it for) bag she made for me.

The solid corduroys are colors I wouldn't have chosen myself and the paisley one is really fun, but I never do prints. Or at least I don't wear them. Now, however, I have a useful bag that reminds me of both my grandma and my friend. I love it!

This is the second bag a friend has surprised me with that is made from fabrics I'd never have chosen, but that I absolutely love. I think my friends are better at getting me out of my proverbial ruts than I am. I love how we're all wired differently and I'm thankful for the people in my life who are creative in artistic ways. They impress me!

Anyway, enough about handmade bags.

The guys shot arrows.

One daughter of a tomboy mom got some post-(very minor) injury pampering from a daughter-less mom who likes to do girly things.

These two struck a pose.

The moms shot arrows.

We made the kids pose for a picture and got one with all six kids looking at the camera and smiling on the first try. Miraculous!

We tried a fun shot of the adults, but Tim's the only one who came out clear ... and he looks sorta crazy. It was fun to take anyway.

Then we took a more mature, subdued picture of the adults. One that I didn't realize was photobombed until this very moment. Ha!

I love this family and hanging out with them was a perfect way to end the day! 

MENU: 7/17/14 - 7/23/14

We only tried one new recipe last week, but it was good.

sun-dried tomato turkey pasta salad - This is another version of pasta and that sun-dried tomato turkey we were given, but this time it was a cold pasta salad. The little Ws all loved it.

BREAKFASTS
* doughnuts (we have these at church, though we always have some dry roasted almonds, fruit, and/or cottage cheese at home or on the road first)
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings/yogurt, fruit, & spinach smoothies x3
* egg, potato (I often bake an oven rack's worth once a week and pop them in the fridge for breakfasts,other times I dice them right before cooking), & spinach or kale scramble x2
* maple cluster granola as cold cereal or over yogurt

DINNERS

* leftovers

* tacos (seasoned meat and crockpot beans from the freezer) 

* spicy pesto chicken/rice/spicy Asian zuke slaw
* coconut chicken (crockpot)/rice/squash
* rice, kale, & eggs

* dinner with friends

* fruit and/or veggies for a potluck

SNACKS & DESSERTS

* produce 

* nuts - pistachios & dry roasted almonds

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department & a West Bend Stir Crazy to pop them in)

* zuke cookies

(This post contains affiliate links.)

7/17/14 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that we haven't had one late or missed bill in two years of unemployment and underemployment.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

7/15/14 - TEN ON TUESDAY

Clean towels - We have white towels that get grubby pretty quickly from little hands that didn't get washed thoroughly and I recently found a way to get back to super white. We wash laundry in cold water and neither bleach nor Oxi was getting them totally white. Now I toss in a cup of vinegar and a cup of baking soda with the detergent and they come out white as snow. I'm not sure if it's more of a bleach alternative or a stain remover, as I haven't tried it on any non-white laundry, but I'm happy with the way it's working on our towels!

Dad & Debra - These two came up to celebrate the big boys' birthdays last month and we enjoyed having them here. I'm pretty sure God wants them to move near us, but they're in denial. Or something. It couldn't possibly be that they prefer living where they're at. Nope, not possible.

Father's Day - I know I posted a picture of Tim and the little Ws on Father's Day, but you didn't see how many pictures it took to get that one. It was a lot. We started with one in tears over something ridiculous and ended with one hamming it up so much that they were never looking at the camera. It was hysterical! I present Evolution of a Father's Day Picture.

Abortion signs - Some person or organization put up anti-abortion signs along the freeway in our neck of the woods. Some other person or organization cut all the text out of them and/or wrote comments over the top. I am confident that both groups have good intentions and truly believe they're doing the right thing, but I'm pretty sure that few, if any, people are going to determine their beliefs about abortion because of a poster a stranger displayed on the freeway or because another stranger destroyed the posters. I'm all for standing up for what you believe is right, but neither of those approaches seems like it would be particularly effective. I could be wrong, though. Have you ever changed your views on an issue, not necessarily abortion, because of a poster or someone's response to a poster?

Last birthday - My 38th birthday was last month. That's the last birthday my mom had. I'm not emotional about it or anything. In fact, my neurotic junk that's related to her death stopped once I passed her diagnosis age. I find that's how most things related to it go - the anticipation of a milestone is often harder than the milestone itself. Anyway, I'm fine, but it is a little strange to wonder what it would be like to know this was my last year of life. Perspective.

Garden flop - We had a huge (well, at least for a residential lot) garden when we lived in Beaverton and I've missed it. Our current lot is smaller and doesn't have such a big sunny spot, but I planted a small garden this year. Twice. Things either didn't grow or got eaten by critters shortly after sprouting. So frustrating! We do have some tomatoes, thanks to a friend who had three starters she didn't need and some volunteers from the compost that I transplanted, one zuke that survived, some pumpkins from a friend's starters, three wimpy kales, three wimpy basils ... and that's it. I'd planted tons of cukes, zukes, basil, kale, spinach, lettuce, beets, and green beans ... but they flopped. I don't know what we'll do next year, but I really miss having a nice garden. Maybe I'll just make my own starts.  Meanwhile, we've been given some goodies from friends' gardens and that's been a treat!

Hedbanz - Some friends recently gave our family Hedbanz. We've had fun playing, but it quickly became clear that the game can't be played with Teebs in the room. In case you're unfamiliar with the game, you stick a card in a band around your head. Everyone can see each other's cards, but no one can see their own. The object of the game is to guess what card you have.  Like this.

Unfortunately Teebs thinks it's great to answer everyone's questions by identifying what's pictured on their cards. Stinker.

Humility - It's good to remember that no matter how powerful, knowledgeable, experienced, or influential that we are, the world wouldn't stop revolving if we were to drop dead.

Sometimes, when you're feeling important,
Sometimes, when your ego's in bloom,
Sometimes, when you take it for granted,
You're the best qualified in the room,
Sometimes, when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow this simple instruction,
And see how it humbles your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it, up to the wrist,
Pull it out, and the hole that's remaining,
Is a measure of how you'll be missed.
You may splash all you please when you enter,
You can stir up the water galore,
But stop and you'll find in a minute,
That it looks quite the same as before.
The moral in this quaint example
Is do the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember
There is no indispensable man.

~ Anonymous, quoted in Finish Strong: Living the Values That Take You the Distance, written by Richard G. Capen, Jr.

On the roof - Devon had to get on the roof to clean off some things that were up there. Dream fulfilled.

My thoughts - Your difficult circumstances can explain your feelings, but they don't justify your bad behavior.


(This post contains affiliate links.)

THE POST WITHOUT A TITLE

I thought about titling this post "NINE WEEKS", but then you'd all have thought I was announcing a fifth pregnancy.  

I thought about titling this post "FRAUD", but then you'd all have thought we were the victim of a crime.

I thought about titling this post "PARTNERS IN CRIME", but then you'd all have thought I was a criminal.

I thought about titling this post "SHOCKING NEWS", but then you'd all have thought we'd decided to become eggplant farmers.

I thought about titling this post "HOORAY!", but then you'd all have thought Tim had signed a contract for the upcoming school year. 

None of those things would have been true.

I'll tell you what is true, though. 

NINE WEEKS ago I made a spontaneous decision.

I chose to commit FRAUD, to deceive most of my family into believing I was doing something that I wasn't actually doing.

I included Devon in my plan and we became PARTNERS IN CRIME.

You may want to sit down to hear our SHOCKING NEWS.

But I'm confident you'll say HOORAY! when you hear what we did.

Ready?

Are you sure?

Ok.  I'll give you some hints through pictures we took tonight.

First clue.

We put on shoes.

Any idea what we did?

Second clue.

We used a stopwatch.

Figure it out yet?

Third clue.

We worked up a sweat.

Got it?

If not, then I'll tell you.

We completed C25K. That's Couch-to-5K, in case you've never heard of it. It's a program that takes you from being sedentary (hence the couch part of the name) to running three miles or thirty minutes in 9 weeks.

I told the fam that Devon and I were going for a walk one night, then sat him down on the curb and told him my plan. Neither of us were runners. Both of us would benefit from aerobic exercise. I wanted to spend more time with him, as he was still in public school when we started. He loves being sneaky and I didn't want anyone to know we were doing the program until we'd completed it. So, in heat and rain, mornings and evenings, and in various neighborhoods in our town, we did it.

Each workout starts with a five minute walk and by the end of the program you're running a solid thirty minutes after that walk. We were so incredibly pathetic at the beginning! We could hardly run our 60 second intervals, which included 90 second breaks after each one, without feeling like we were going to go into cardiac arrest and have our legs fall off. For the last week, though, we've easily run for thirty minutes straight. Devon is running about 2.50 miles and I'm running about 3.00, as I run a little bit faster and will sometimes go ahead of him for a while, then loop back and rerun a section of the course with him, then run ahead again and repeat the process. 

Devon has been a champ, reminding me to slow down sometimes, particularly in the beginning when I'd think I was a female Prefontaine and start picking up speed early in the run. He's powered through on some hot runs, kept going on a couple runs when he was tired, grumpy, and would have rather been doing anything else, politely told me when he didn't want to talk, chatted with me about all sorts of stuff on most of our runs, and helped me find as many sprinklers to run through as we possibly could.

We set three goals to keep ourselves going. At the end of the first and second three week periods Devon was rewarded with the candy of his choice. Skittles and Starburst, respectively. The reward for completing the entire program is going to be for both of us - a Cold Stone date where, thanks to gift cards, we will each order as much ice cream as we want.  

We showed the pictures in this post to the other Ws as soon as we walked in the door tonight and confessed that we've been deceiving them for the last two months. They were totally surprised and impressed, especially Tim and Silas, who are both naturally athletic and can randomly decide to go run a couple miles when they haven't exercised in months, yet know that Devon and I aren't wired like that. Such a fun surprise!

I think the best part of the whole thing was a couple of weeks ago when I overheard Tim say something to Devs about how they should run together, even though the only way Devon's gone with him and Silas in the past is if he got to ride his bike while they ran. Without missing a beat, Devon said, "I hate running!"  I was in the other room and just chuckled, giving him a sneaky wink when I walked by a minute later. The fam had no clue that Mr. I Hate Running had been running for almost two months. Ha!

Anyway, we're going to keep running, but we'll make it be about distance, rather than time, from here on out. I'm going to come up with a few different routes that I know are three miles, then we'll just run them in whatever amount of time it takes us.

And that's that.

One person who hates running and has tried unsuccessfully to do it a few times in the past ... and one person who hates running and has deliberately avoided it in the past .. have faithfully run three times a week ... for nine weeks ... and aren't going to stop.

MENU: 7/10/14 - 7/16/14

I had a couple dessert and snack recipes that I wanted to try last week, but it was just too hot to spend time baking. We did try a couple new things, though.

* pasta with sun-dried tomato turkey & veggies - Someone gave us sun-dried tomato seasoned turkey, so I threw together some warm pasta, sauteed veggies, and turkey for dinner one night. It turned out pretty good!

* roasted mushrooms with garlic, thyme, and balsamic vinegar - I don't think I've met a roasted veggie I don't like (and, yes, I realize mushrooms aren't actually vegetables ... but whatever) and these were a yummy addition to our collection of roasting recipes.

* Maria Lo Pinto's pizza dough - This is a recipe my mom had written out, but I don't know if Maria was someone she knew personally or not. Whoever she was, she made a good pizza dough, our second homemade crust recipe. We used it for pesto chicken pizza last week.

I've been trying to eat from the cupboards and freezer as much as possible the last few weeks in an attempt to use up our stockpile and spend less at the store, so here's what we'll be starting and ending our days with for the next week. 

BREAKFASTS
* doughnuts (we have these at church, though we always have some dry roasted almonds, fruit, and/or cottage cheese at home or on the road first)
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings/yogurt, fruit, & spinach smoothies x3
* egg, potato (I bake an oven rack's worth once a week and pop them in the fridge for breakfasts), & spinach scramble x2
* easy cranberry granola as cold cereal or over yogurt

DINNERS

* leftovers

* tacos (seasoned meat and crockpot beans from the freezer) 

* tuna lettuce wraps (in the form of a salad)

* cheesy green beans/rice

* tortellini salad with pecans, cranberries, and feta
* chicken salad sandwiches/carrots
* Cuban black beans & coconut rice/cuke & tomato slices

SNACKS & DESSERTS

* produce & hummus

* nuts - pistachios & dry roasted almonds

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department & a West Bend Stir Crazy to pop them in)
* vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce

(This post contains affiliate links.)

7/10/14 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that Tim left at 6:00 this morning for a full-time summer job!!!! I'm thankful that it pays more than minimum wage, which is what a lot of summer jobs pay.  I'm thankful it will cause us to not only meet our financial goal for summer income, but to exceed it. I'm thankful that the extra money can be put aside for holidays, inservices, furloughs, snow days, and all other days that sub jobs aren't available, just in case Tim doesn't land a full-time job in the fall. I'm thankful for the friend who helped connect us to this job. I'm thankful that someone covered the two meals Tim ended up working through, as he hadn't known he'd be working for 12 hours when he left the house in the morning.

What's something that you're thankful for?

FEAR, FAITH, FOOD, AND THE NON-ALLITERATIVE EMPLOYMENT

I have a friend who I do my financial freakouts on. It only happens a couple times a year, but she's been in similar situations and understands how I feel, won't let me wallow in fear or self-pity, and never takes me sharing the nitty gritty details as any sort of manipulation. So, what generally happens is that I dump all my thoughts about the situation on her, she agrees that it stinks, gives some practical suggestions and some spiritual encouragement, and then I feel better and we both move on with our day. I'm thankful for her!

Two days ago I was feeling a little bit panicky and discouraged about the job and money situation around here, so I vented to this particular friend. There's no current financial crisis, but, with the exception of a handful of basketball games to officiate, Tim hasn't worked in three weeks and that's going to catch up to us. I was getting worried about how summer was going to play out and wondering how to handle a particular financial situation.

Our basic needs have always been met, some lesser needs have also been met, and we've often been blessed with the fluff of life. I should have faith that God can handle this particular season, but I sometimes struggle with knowing when faith in God becomes plain old irresponsibility on my part. I should be responsible with the resources I have available to me, but I can't be so focused on the future that I'm afraid to deal with the present. I don't want to be so faith-filled that I'm irresponsible, but I also don't want to be fearful and call it responsibility.

Anyway, I crunched numbers after the conversation with my friend. All of our expenses for July were already taken care of. We have enough money for our August expenses. We have enough money for another expense. We have money to put toward our September expenses. How cool is that?! By the time September ends Tim will either have a job or sub money will start trickling in.

Then, because I like lists and charts and plans, I broke down the amount of money we still need in order to get through September into weekly and daily (weekdays, actually) amounts. Seeing how that amount can be paced over eight weeks or 40 days helped me to relax a little. It felt much more manageable. That's the responsibility part.

The faith part is that I'm choosing to trust that God will provide work and/or give us creative ideas for cutting back expenses and/or help us figure out creative ways of generating income. Why? Because he always has. I'm writing down all the ways the summer money comes in because it helps me to keep trusting.

That was two days ago. Yesterday morning I discovered I had a small credit that could be applied to the random expense we had. Yesterday afternoon a friend offered up a coupon on Facebook that I was able to apply to the random expense. I'd forgotten to apply a discount I qualify for to all parts of the expense when I was crunching numbers. So, despite the fact that I forgot to add one small portion of that expense when I working on our budget (Oops!), the discount, credit, and coupon made my final bill about $25 less than I had planned on!! Thank you, Lord!

This morning Tim, who is on day three of working a four day tournament, woke up with two games on the calendar. Then he got called in for an extra game on the front end of his day with just enough time to get to the game before it started. Again ... thank you, Lord!

In related news, do you remember when we went off food stamps in the spring? Unfortunately that was short-lived. We had one glorious month of buying our own groceries and it went well. I spent a grand total of $200, started couponing again, and was able to afford razors (which meant I got to shave my legs) for the first time in seven months. It was fantastic!

Then we had a reality check. If we continued paying for our own groceries, then we were going to run out of money sooner and have to get back on food stamps within a couple months. If we chose to keep using food stamps, as our caseworker had never taken back the ones we asked her to and said we should just use them up because they'd already been applied to our account, then we'd probably be able to pay all of our other bills through the summer. Ugh. I hate those choices. While I'm so grateful for the help we've received from the state, I'm waaaaay ready to be fully supporting ourselves.

We chose to use the remaining balance of food stamps and the goal is to not apply for them again once the balance is gone. Hopefully Tim's income will be enough to live on once fall rolls around. If not, then we'll figure out some other solution. We just need to be done with food stamps. We haven't had new money applied to our account in four months, but we had a big balance when we thought we were done. So I stocked up on some non-perishables and things that could be frozen, an now we're just using food stamps for some fresh produce, eggs, and dairy products. It's not ideal, but the stockpile and some food from friends have meant I've only had to spend about $60 on groceries to feed our family for two weeks. Not too shabby!

And in more related news, here's a non-update on the job hunt. Tim has applied for countless jobs, some he's totally qualified for and others that would be a little stretch. No response from any of them. The charter that's been talking to him since the spring said they couldn't hire an administrator after all, but that they were definitely interested in him, then thought they could and started looking at applicants, and now we're in the middle of a two week period they said they'd call in to schedule interviews. He's also registered online with two temp agencies for summer work, but nothing has come of either registration. He visited a third one on Thursday, but they didn't have work that day, were closed for a long holiday weekend, and he's busy officiating through tomorrow. So, he'll check back there on Wednesday.

That's probably more than you wanted to know all at once, but I get asked frequently about the job situation and a little less often about the financial situation, so I wanted to give one big update.

I HAVE A CHALLENGE FOR YOU

I've been meaning to issue this challenge for several weeks and a recent conversation with a friend gave me the kick in the pants to actually type it up.

Ready? Here it is.

Send one positive or non-superficial message to one person this week. 

That's it.

One message. One person. One week.

Well, I would love it if you'd do it every week and I would be thrilled if you increased the number to something higher than one, but for now I'm setting a low standard with the hope that more people will accept the challenge that way. People can always do more if they want to, but this challenge is simple enough that anyone can do it.

I started doing this almost a year ago and it's been good for me to intentionally seek out meaningful interaction with people. My life is filled with people, I have no shortage of face to face conversations, and the internet allows for tons of lighthearted interaction or brief dialogue about things that matter, but in the midst of all that contact with humanity it's actually pretty easy to settle for superficial communication.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love chit chatting about trivial things and just shootin' the breeze, but I think it has to be balanced with something more substantial, something that shows people matter to me. Yes, meaningful conversations are already part of my life, but I wanted them to be a bigger part, to seek out those types of interactions, to be one who strives to shows more of an interest in others' lives than in talking about my own (and I'm the first to confess I talk about my own little corner of the world a lot).

So, are you up for it? Not sure where to start? Here are some ideas.

Who - Someone you have a general respect for. One of your family members. A person facing difficult circumstances. Someone from one particular circle in your life (then someone from another circle the following week). A person who said or did something specific that you appreciate. The first person who comes to mind. Someone who gets on your nerves. Someone from your childhood. Someone you interact with professionally, whether the professional is you or them. A neighbor. Someone who teaches any type of class that someone in your family is part of. A person you only interact with online. The oldest or youngest person you know who could comprehend what you're saying to them.

What - Make it be about the other person, not yourself. Tell someone what you value about them. Ask for an update on a hard situation someone is going through. Thank a person for something they've done. Ask someone to share three good things about their day. Share an encouraging quote or verse that's relevant to the person's life. Tell a parent something positive about their kid. Ask what one thing is in someone's life that's going well and one thing that's challenging. Encourage someone who is trying to reach a goal that seems impossible. Point out someone's strengths. Ask someone what one of their dreams or goals are.

When - Before Saturday ends. Then again between next Sunday and the following Saturday. And again. And again. And again. And starting over again without any guilt if you miss a week.

Where - Anywhere a written message can be left. In a private e-mail. Through a note left on a car windshield. On a Facebook wall. On a napkin at mealtime. In a handwritten card sent through the postal service. On a homemade poster taped to a front door. In a text message. In a card delivered to a person's workplace.

Why - First, because everyone needs to know they matter to others and they won't know unless we show them. Second, because we all need to think past ourselves. Third, because meaningful interactions and relationships don't happen without effort.

If you take the challenge, then I hope it's as rewarding for you as it's been for me!

SNIP

Naomi has been wanting short hair for a long time. Really short. For a really long time. As with the boys and their funky hair, I made her wait a while for her first major cut to make sure she understood what she was getting into. Tonight she asked for hair that was "short like Devon's" and that's what she got.

She started with this unruly mop that had been completely ignored for a couple of days, save for a few buns to keep it all temporarily contained.. 

Needless to say, it was a tangled mess, so the first step was to hack off huge chunks of long tangles. Then we kept cutting. And cutting. And cutting. Until we ended up with this.

She took a quick shower, jammied up, and came out looking like this. 

It's short like Devon's, we fixed the uneven patch in the back, and she's a very happy girl. 

I love seeing how the little Ws choose to express themselves through their hair! 

MENU: 7/3/14 - 7/9/14

One new recipe this time, then the things we plan on eating for breakfast and dinner over the next week.

* tuna lettuce wraps - I made this as a salad, as that's easier for Teebs to eat, and it was good. Seasoned tuna, bell peppers, onion, and lettuce with some lime juice and sour cream for the dressing.

BREAKFASTS
* doughnuts (we have these at church, though we always have some dry roasted almonds, fruit, and/or cottage cheese at home or on the road first)
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings/yogurt, fruit, & spinach smoothies x3
* egg, potato (I bake an oven rack's worth once a week and pop them in the fridge for breakfasts), & spinach scramble x2
* Barbara's pancakes/cottage cheese and fruit

DINNERS

* leftovers

* tacos (seasoned meat and crockpot beans from the freezer) 

* pesto chicken pizza
* roasted mushrooms with garlic, thyme, and balsamic/brown rice and lentil salad over spinach 
* cheesy green beans/rice
* pasta with sun-dried tomato turkey & veggies/balsamic roasted brussels sprouts
* broccoli & bacon salad (taking to a potluck)

SNACKS & DESSERTS

* produce & hummus

* nuts - pistachios & dry roasted almonds

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department & a West Bend Stir Crazy to pop them in)
* new recipe

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7/3/14 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for times of feeling hopeful about whatever situation is discouraging in that particular season of life.

What's something that you're thankful for?

BOOKS I FINISHED: JUNE 2014

Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller, written by Sarah Miller
This novel, which I first saw when I was working in Devon's school library and checked out from the public library, is written from the perspective of Annie Sullivan, the young woman who was Helen Keller's tutor. While obviously a great story of perseverance and love, I also enjoyed learning more about Sullivan's past and gaining a better understanding of the family dynamics in the Keller home.

An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny, written by Laura Schroff
This true story is a great reminder that we have no idea how far-reaching the impact of a small act of kindness may be and that people need each other. I loved it.

Finish Strong: Living the Values That Take You the Distance, written by Richard G. Capen, Jr.
This book is filled with great quotes from other people and lots of good things to think about. Some of the topics addressed are perseverance, community, authenticity, commitment, trustworthiness, humility, and compassion. Here are some questions Capen asked some friends and his readers. I think they're interesting questions and the answers probably say a lot about who we are.

* What three accomplishments do you consider to the be the most important in your life?
* If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what two or three values would you want to remembered for?
* Who have been your mentors, and what did they teach you?
* Name an unsung hero whose values you admire?

The Mozart Question, written by Michael Morpurgoand illustrated by Michael Foreman
This is another book that I was intrigued by at the school library. It's a quick read of historical fiction that you can get through in one sitting. It's the story of a boy who sneakily learns to play the violin, how those lessons impact his family, and why, as an adult who performs regularly, he's never played Mozart publicly. I liked it and will have the big boys read it.


THE BOOKS I BAILED ON

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, written by Brene Brown
I've heard nothing but good things about this book, so I'm sure it's great, but I just couldn't get into it.

The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War, written by Daniel Stashower
This book still intrigues me and I'd like to read it another time, but it's basically a big history book and I realized I needed some literary fluff after reading several chapters.

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