---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, May 27, 2011

What I've Been Up To...

Have you entered my Giveaway??  There's only 2 days left to win!  Go here to enter!

I have to admit, I feel like I'm sort of cheating for this week's Pink Saturday post.  I wanted a chance to give all my blogging friends an update on our life lately, as well as link up with Beverly and all the other Pink Ladies today!  Even though it's only been a couple of weeks since I last participated, I feel like I've been out of the loop forever!

Anyway, the big news is that our life has changed dramatically (for the good) in just a week!  On Monday, May 16th, my husband accepted a job in Pendleton, Oregon.  We have lived in Eastern Oregon all our lives, except for the last 15 months which were spent in northwest Washington.  


So, we literally had 4 days to pack up everything!  We've got most of it packed and about 2/3 of it moved---we are 6 hours away so must move in-between work weeks!  Jamie started work this past Monday the 23rd, and we moved into our new place the day before yesterday!


We were so blessed to be able to move right back into the house that we moved out of 15 mo. ago!  I just love this house and will post some pictures once I get things unpacked.  It's a Craftsman home that was built in the 19-teens.  There are so many little things that just give it great character!


On the first day of work, Jamie was promoted to a different position than they originally hired him for.  He received a raise in pay and it turns out that he's doing exactly the job he was hoping for when he first applied.  He's really excited about all the new things he's learning as a Software Engineer, and I'm excited that we finally have him home for dinner in the evenings and home on the weekends!


So...since we've only been in our new house for a couple days, I've not been able to take any new pictures...  In fact, I was just going to say that I can't even find my camera but I just spied it over in the corner!  Ha!
Back row: Avalon, 2; Me; Lynzie, 11; Liam, 1; Jamie/ Bottom row: Cainan, 6; Elisha, 7; Selah, 4; Michael, 8



However, I don't think I ever posted our family's Easter picture..so here we are.  There's a couple of little pinkies there, as well as a few other great looking people! 


Hope you all have a lovely weekend and don't forget to enter my giveaway!  I'll be drawing a name on Sunday afternoon and will contact the winner via email so make sure I have a way to get a hold of you!


HaPpY pInK sAtUrDaY!  Visit Beverly and wish her a Happy 3rd Birthday!



Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Set Free to Live Free Mother's Day Contest


 Good morning!  I wanted to share with you all a contest I just found out about in conjunction with a great new book on healing releasing this month.  


Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, author of Set Free to Live Free  is sponsoring a “Set Mom Free” Mother’s Day Contest.  Everyone who enters is eligible to win a $100 VISA card, a bouquet of flowers delivered on Mother’s Day (for yourself or your own mom!) and an autographed copy of Dr. Dalton-Smith's new book. 

To enter, go to Dr. Dalton-Smith's “Set Free” Facebook page and click “Like” to become a fan.  Then  click on “Promos” at the left of the page. This will take you to the contest details.  Follow the directions from there to be entered.  Contest ends at 11:00 a.m. on Friday May 6th

                                    
 Here is the press release for Dr. Dalton-Smith's new book:

A Physician Shows How Our Physical Health
Is Impacted By Spiritual and Mental Choices

Discover the seven lies women believe about themselves and how they can overcome them

Author Saundra Dalton-Smith, a practicing physician, shows women how to break free from fear, insecurity, and other lies they tell themselves into a life of health and balance in Set Free to Live Free (ISBN: 978-0-8007-1993-7, May 2011, $12.99). Smith shares with readers how one patient reshaped her practice and approach to medicine. One day, a patient entered her office, and as Smith listened, she recognized she would need to work closely with this patient if she was to get better. She could not simply offer the latest medications, but would instead need to walk with the patient and help her become free from the lies that had impacted her physical health. Readers will journey with this patient and others as Smith shares how their triumphs became her motivation to see others free.

Imagine life with unlimited possibility, where fear, misconceptions, and insecurities don't have the power to rob us of our potential or our dreams. Many women have trouble seeing this vision, because they are bound by mental ties that keep them from living free. In Set Free to Live Free, Smith will show women how to break free from seven mental ties that hold them back: perfection, envy, image, balance, control, emotions, and limits. She encourages women to embrace spontaneity, be transparent, nurture their bodies, and cultivate a balanced life through compassionate and inspirational writing.

A study guide is provided at the end of the book outlining each chapter with discussion questions.

Saundra Dalton-Smith MD is a board-certified internal medicine physician who has been practicing medicine since 1999. She treats a predominantly female population and has firsthand experience with the struggles women face trying to imitate the American dream. Dr. Dalton-Smith has been an adjunct faculty member at Baker College and Davenport University in Michigan. She lives in Alabama.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life.  They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

Contact: Donna Hausler, Publicity Assistant

                                                             dhausler@bakerpublishinggroup.com


For more information, visit www.RevellBooks.com.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Japanese Tea Party




A couple months ago, I showed off my new Japanese tea set that Miss Sue Flay sent me in a Tea Cup Trade.  For a reminder of that post you can go here.  Today I'm using it to complement another great Japanese item:  the beautiful painting I won from the talented Mrs. Amy Van Gaasbeck in the Japan relief auction she held shortly after the earthquake. 
Amy has several of these great geisha girl paintings, as well as notecards, in her Etsy shop!

Here's that adorable tea set again from Miss Sue Flay.  The cups are teeny tiny---just big enough to hold about 2 Tb. of tea!  I love this whole vignette and love that it came just about the time that we all began praying for the earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan.  This set and painting will always serve as a reminder to me to pray for the dear people of that country.


Join me today at Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea Time Tuesday!

Blueberry Scones, Chili and What We Did Today

I've just tucked my kids into bed and am ready for a little quiet blogging time before my husband, Jamie, gets home from work.  The kids and I are all feeling very accomplished today as we got a lot done and each had an enjoyable day.  I'm hoping that Jamie will have had a happy day as well!
First thing this morning, I cut up two cantaloupes and served them in my new cabbage bowl.  I found this at a yard sale in Pendleton, Oregon Friday when I was visiting my mom.  I saw one similar on a blog a couple weeks ago and loved it!  (In case you're wondering:  one cantaloupe fits in the bowl.  I served everyone and then cut up the other one for the fridge! :)

Then I cut up a bunch of fruit and vegetables so we will actually EAT them while some of the kids played a fun game they made up.

They made paper pizzas and opened their own pizza shop. 

The living room was trashed but they had a lot of fun!

After I finished my produce-cutting adventure, I made 3 batches of blueberry scones.  Two batches will be eaten at breakfast tomorrow while one went into the freezer.  Recipe at the end of the post...

Avalon said, "Take a picture of me, Mom."  After I took it she said, "Me see Avi."

Then, because the kitchen wasn't quite hot enough, I decided to make 5 loaves of banana bread!  Recipe is Betty Crocker's...just a basic one.  All of these went in the freezer.

While the bread was baking, I made the rounds with my camera again.  Here Avalon is feeding her baby some cereal in her high chair.

Cainan is making more messes pizza...

Elisha's got his pizza baking on books from the kids' bookshelf.

A Ha!  Here's Miss Lynzie Mae, the dedicated artist, busy copying a painting from an encyclopedia.  She spent the afternoon in the kitchen working on her paintings.

I believe Michael said this was a Papa Murphy's Cowboy Pizza....

More by Lynzie...

Oh!  More by me too!  I made chili and cornbread for dinner.  Cornbread recipe came from the side of the box but I'll put my chili recipe at the bottom of the post too.

Avalon said, "I just LOVE tornbed!" (That would be "cornbread")

Because we had some strawberries in the freezer, I decided we needed a quick batch of strawberry jam to go with our cornbread!  You can make this delicious freezer jam in 15 minutes!  You can find my easy tutorial here

After I got all the other little ones to bed, I had a chance to go in and look at the paintings Lynzie did today.  This is her favorite of her hero, George Washington.  Looking good, Lynzie!

I love being a homemaker and am so thankful for the opportunity to be home with my kids and care for my family.  This beautiful day in the life of our family was made possible by the selfless sacrifices of:

and ultimately, the Lord Jesus.  Thank you, God, for this blessed life!

Blueberry Scones

(makes 8 scones)

1 cup blueberries or other fruit
1/3 c. + 2 Tb. sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, in cubes, slightly softened
2/3 cup half-and-half or cream or cold buttermilk **TIP: (I mix a couple TB. of bottled lemon juice with regular milk and let it sit about 10 min. for easy cheater buttermilk)

Topping:
1 tablespoon sugar (I used coarse decorator sugar)

Preheat oven to 400.

Sprinkle bite-sized fruit with 2 TB sugar; set aside.

Mix the rest of the  sugar with the flour, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender, mix in the butter until it looks crumby...(not CRUMMY...there's a difference!! :)  Stir in fruit and then buttermilk.
 

When it's all mixed together, set it in a big blob on a cookie sheet and form it into some semblance of a circle about 3/4 inch thick or so.  Cut into 8 wedges and either space them out on the sheet or bake them in the cut circle and recut on the lines after they're baked.  Sprinkle with coarse or regular sugar.  Bake 15 minutes or until golden in places and no longer doughy.


Chili


(makes about 10 servings...you can half this or freeze the remaining if you don't need this much)


6 cans beans (We like to use black beans)
2 cans refried beans
1-2 pkg. taco seasoning
1/2 c. bbq sauce
1/4 c. dijon or spicy mustard


Rinse 6 cans beans in strainer.  Place them in a pot with the refried beans and all other ingredients.  Add 2-4 c. water.  You want to start out with the chili quite a bit runnier than you like it.  Cook and stir often until it has reached your desired thickness.  This could be anywhere from a half hour to an hour and a half...depending on how much water you add.  The more water you add, the longer you have to cook it and the more flavorful it will be as the beans absorb the flavors from the other ingredients.  If you're in a hurry, just add a couple cups of water so there's a buffer there to keep it from sticking to the pan while it's heating up and dissolving the seasoning and you'll be good to go in about a half hour.









Bubbly Nature

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...