Fall Update...

This is a sneak peek 

of the Minister's gift basket

 that I just finished.

(2:32 a.m.)

 This is a large one,

because Bro.Jackson's 

wife & 3 kids

will be with us this weekend.

 The above is a pic of

"E" & Brie

at the Harvest Party/Hayride

The girls dressed as Nerds.

Eloise helps me tutor 

my kindergarten student.

After she finishes her workbook pages

Miss "T" loves to create things.

This is her latest "Fuzoodle"

I probably won't be able to post until sometime next week, due to the fact that "Youth Explosion" is this weekend. We have skit practice, 4 services, and a "lock in" to get through in the next 3 days!

Love & Prayers,

Me

The Path to My Blog....

. . .is paved with good intentions.

I know you have heard all the excuses before,

 so I won't bore you with all the details.

Suffice it to say that

 the pictures that follow are just a sample

 of all the goings on  around here.

There were also several things 

that I didn't remember to photograph!

The above is the "Blessing Tree"

that hubby and I made for the big

50th Anniversary shindig

for

Bishop & his lovely Wife.

 This is a picture of the honored couple

& the fruits of 50 years of commitment.

Since we didn't want to hang around for hurricane Isaac

we took the opportunity to go on a little trip.

I will be posting about the recovery 

in neighboring Braithwaite in a later post.

I do not want to gloss over it.

I feel like it would get lost in this mix 

of random reverie.

My latest kitchen adventure:

 Griddle style corn cakes & greens,

topped with a

Tomato & grilled ham salad 

&

Buttermilk Vinaigrette

 This picture is long over due!

Eloise is opening a package

 from our dear sweet blog friends

 over at B-skep Chronicles.

 This little ray of sunshine 

"Brie"

now comes to my house 5 days a week

while mommy works.

Her daddy is a Marine,

 so he is working very hard too.

 These three children were guests in my home 

 For Approx. 3 weeks.

 Keep them in your prayers.

 Finally....

The Biggest News:

Eloise is officially in the youth group 

and sporting braces.

Not pictured:

the 5 yr. old I watch on weekends

&

the 4 kids (ages 5-14)

that I tutor in order to finance 

the aforementioned braces.

We have also been sorting through

 and getting rid of a lot of clutter.

After much prayer and family discussion,

we have decided to downsize.

Come this spring we will be putting our

"Way Too Big for Three people"

home up for sale.

This is not an emergency or sad event.

It is a choice we are making,

that will possibly get us to the 

"debt free" status quickly.

Maybe with less debt & clutter

I might have more time 

to keep my blog up to date....

....don't hold your breath!


BY THE WAY:

HUBBY HAS LOST 45 LBS
IN 6 MONTHS
&
I HAVE LOST 36

There's a First Time for Everything...

This is the first time
that I have ordered clothing
from the internet.
Eloise selected the styles and colors
and I took measurements
and e-mailed them.
The suits were hand made
by a woman in California
and arrived on our porch within 4 weeks.
She made them between
vacation and church camps.
We love, love, love
our new
 modest swim/active wear.
The fabric won't absorb water
and the leggings are sewn into the skirt.
In case you are interested:
http://modestactivewear.blogspot.com/
My good friend
over at
Living the Good Life
just posted a link
to another site
where modest swimwear
 can be purchased.

Last week I had the opportunity to meet one of my new blog friends in person.
I also got to meet her lovely daughter.
This was a first for both of us. We are both normally too cautious to do something like this, but we are of the same faith, we have been communicating through txts, and we met at a church conference with about seven thousand people, so we felt safe.
It just wouldn't have been right for me to travel 13 hours,
 come within 20 minutes of her house and not meet her.
We were able to eat lunch and chat for a while.
She also brought me some goodies.

Jodi & her daughter brought me
everything in this pic minus the cookbook.
 I figured it would make a nice background, 
since "Pioneer Woman" is also from Oklahoma.
The freshly ground coffee smells heavenly!


If you are looking for my post about PEAK,

you're going to have to wait just a little while.

I'm still unpacking!

Try again at the end of the week.


BTW: I've lost 22 lbs.
so far.
My doc says I need to lose about 25 more
in order to get off diabetic meds.
Almost half way there!

Love & Prayers.

Our Latest Discovery....

Since we don't get much any time off

 for vacations,

we pretend like we are tourists

every Saturday.

The Whole Foods market 

where we shop 

has a wonderful massage therapist,

who gives $1/minute massages.

Hubby, Eloise, & I

each get 5 minutes

before we pick up a few groceries.

Another Saturday tradition is 

playing like we are restaurant critics.

Sometimes this can be disappointing,

but not this week.

We found a cute little burger place

that serves locally grown,

grass fed beef.

If you opt for the burger with a bun,

your meal will include

fresh bread from a local bakery.

The above pic was my low-carb

burger(actually on the menu)

dressed with creole tomatoes 

and wrapped in lettuce.

This came with a baked sweet potato.

Hubby and Eloise split a regular

on bun 

with fried onion strings on it.

All Excellent.

This is the only place we've found 

that serves grass fed beef 

in a totally casual environment.

The fans and ice trough in the middle of the table

made eating on the patio a truly

pleasant experience.

Here is a link:

Straight Stick Ranch Burger Company

We Are Free To Be Random...

Unfortunately hubby had to work 

this 4th of July.

He was doing maintenance on the diesel trucks.

This was good news to Eloise,

 because the trucks are parked at the marina.

She and hubby found a stick,

 an old rusty hook,

 a coke can tab

 and a discarded piece of fishing line.

With the makeshift pole

and three shrimp

(donated by 2 young men who felt sorry for her)

Eloise caught 4 crabs after 2 got away!

One of them didn't come out without a fight.

That little guy tried to pinch her foot

 when she got him on the deck,

so she stepped on his pincer.

He then swung around and got her with other claw.

She beat him with her stick till his arms fell off.

Was that image too violent?

Sorry.

btw: the pic is dark, because

 hubby's phone doesn't take good pics.

I love old photos.

This one is of Hubby's

Grandmother & her three sons.

(far left is my father-in-law)

I'm sorry I couldn't enlarge it 

without distorting it.

Hey...

I think they're on to something.

Maybe we can attach a card reader

 to the offering bags!

LOL.

I warned you in the title that this would be random.

;-D

Hope you had a happy Independence Day.

STOP!.....

Don't automatically shred your junk mail.

Luckily my hubby opened this one.

I usually just shred if it looks like junk.

This was the easiest $5 I ever earned.

All I had to do was write "zero"

in the slot that asked how many T.V. 

sets we have in our home.

I also filled in the box that asked 

why the viewing journal wasn't complete.

I sealed the post paid packet 

and will hand it to the mail lady

when she passes tomorrow.

 I read everything and 

the company is ok with

 people keeping the money, 

as long as they mail the survey back.

SISTER MONIQUE:

I posted the links for the "squash books"

at the end of my previous post.

Also, if anybody used the "liquid hand soap" recipe I posted a few months back, I have added instructions(to the original post) on how to fix the consistency problem you may be experiencing.
Link to original post:
http://tofuandcornbread.blogspot.com/2012/02/heres-nifty-trick-we-learned.html

Oh What Fun...

 I have had a blast making

 "squash books"

with Eloise.

In case you are not familiar,

squash books are what happens when

scrapbooking meets origami.

(Shh...This one is for Sis. M.W.)

There is so much more 

that I could have done,

 but I was nervous.

It actually wasn't nearly

 as hard as I had imagined.

Below I will post a link to the tutorial.

It is very basic.

I used 8"x8" paper,

so I ended up with a 4"x4"

The tutorial calls for 6x6,

which yields a 3x3 book.

I do not recommend this.

As it is, I had to print my photos

 in wallet size.

The Tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWh-n4JdAqI&feature=fvwrel

After you have the basics down pat 

and you want to learn how to do

 a more intricate squash book look at the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PPau-F_G3k

Hope some of y'all try it

and share your creations with us.

We had so much fun.

Some crafts are nerve wracking,

but this was fairly easy.

You can purchase "Zip Dry"

 and chip board 

at your local craft store.

I scored the chip board

 with my rotary cutter,

 then bent,

 and finished cutting.

HAPPY CRAFTING!

Transformation Report....

A couple of posts ago,

I wrote about the changes 

we have made.

I am pleased to announce 

that hubby has lost another 15 lbs.

and I have lost another 3 1/2 lbs

 That brings us to a total of

25 lbs. lost for hubby

&

10 lbs lost for me

(went down 1 skirt size!)

 This is not the fastest way to lose,

but for the most part

(minus my little episode Sun.) 

we are both feeling great.

We eat little bits every couple of hours

and we never feel hungry.

We even allow ourselves little treats.

Once we figure out how to 

squeeze in a little exercise 

and a little more sleep,

we will be well on our way 

to being the fit & healthy family

God created us to be.

P.S. Congratulations to all of my friends who are winning the battle of  the bulge. Y'all are looking great. Keep up the good work.

We will be headed to Camp

at 4:00 am

so I won't be posting for a few days.

Be sure to check next week

for all the details!

We Believe...

In case you were wondering.

Oh So Tempting...

 One of our friends went to work
 "down the road".

He was given some freshly caught shrimp.

He texted to make a deal.

He would share his shrimp if I would cook them.

 He requested a fried shrimp po-boy,

so I dredged them in flour with spices,

then in an egg-milk mixture.

After the egg, 

I ran them through some bread crumbs.

 I fried them in peanut oil

and drained the excess oil on paper towels.

Our guest was then able to dress

 and eat his sandwich.

You will be proud to know that

I was a good girl.

I grilled my shrimp in olive oil 

with asparagus, garlic, peppers, and herbs.

I did splurge a tiny bit though.

I added a teaspoon of butter to the pan

at the end of the cooking process. 

Drum Roll Please....

 We are pleased to announce the results

 of our big "conversion".

We have been eating lots of yummy food,

feeling great,

and 

LOSING WEIGHT!

I had a sneaky suspicion 

that hubby was losing weight, 

but only confirmed it today.

He has dropped approx. 10 lbs.

(I say approx. because our scale is a cheap one)

I have lost about 6 1/2 lbs.

The above pics are of my lunch/dinner

 for my trip to and from Houma tomorrow.

The sandwich is tomato with

 fresh basil, sea salt, & roasted turkey breast.

I am having so much fun helping my family 

to discover new flavors.

It really does help to know that many of our 

friends are on this health journey with us.

It seems funny to think that we are trying to make our church smaller!

Miracles Never Cease....

(Chicken Picata w/ artichoke, tomatoes, capers, etc...)

 For those of you who personally know me,

 it is a well known fact

 that my hubby and daughter

 are purely carnivores

and

purely junk- food- ivores.

It has been source of contention in my home

 for quite some time.

 (Beef, avocado, sprouts, & spinach rolls)

After having a family pow wow 

a week ago,

the other two thirds of my family

 decided to willingly surrender!

 (15 grain bread, low fat cheese, lean meat, pure joy)

We now drink a low fat,

fruit & protein filled

smoothie for breakfast,

then we eat several veggie & fruit filled

 mini meals throughout the day.

(the above pics are just a sampling) 

Words cannot convey

 the long awaited joy that I feel,

 knowing that I am

not serving my family foods that will

harm and possibly kill them.

This is truly a

Happy Mothers Day!

 Eloise & Cousin planting seeds.

 Some seeds that Eloise started earlier this year.

This is an old picture.

The plants are bigger now.

We actually used the sweet Basil 

in the Chicken Picata dish at the top.

This is a bonus post:
      I just wanted to share how industrious and resourceful my little darling is. About once a year, I go through my closet and get rid of all shoes that are really unbalanced. For some reason the outsides of my heels wear out really quickly. After a while, I can't walk in them comfortably because my feet fall to the outside. This in turn causes my ankles to twist, my knees to hurt, and my back gets all out of whack.
Anywho... I recently did a shoe tossing. After I dumped three pairs of shoes in the garbage, I returned to my closet to wipe down all of the keepers. I suddenly became aware of a whirring noise. Upon further investigation, I realized that Eloise had rescued the cast off shoes. She was using the "pedi paws" spinning pet-claw file to even out the heels. Now I can get another season out of my favorite sandals.

 I love that kid. 

Hidden Treasures....

P.S. be sure to check out Eloise's challenge on our homeschool blog:

www.ecoledefamille.blogspot.com

Eloise is home schooled,

as many of you know.

We love the freedom of schedule,

but sometimes need a change of scenery.

 A couple of days ago,

Eloise & I decided to go for a bike ride.

We would do lessons & lunch.

Our destination was the park.

While on our journey,

we noticed flower and veggie plants

peeping out from behind

a local non-profit building.

It seems that the organization has a team of

gardeners who grow stuff 

to sell at a farmer's market.

The proceeds benefit the organization

It is so good to see

that the land will be put to good use,

since there is so much of it 

post-Katrina.

Eliose and I plan on going back

to see if we can learn more about 

growing food,

since Gran & Grandpa 

have a few empty lots

We had a great time,

and will definitely do this again...

before it gets too hot!

Happy Easter Y'all!

The tomb is empty

and we're so glad about it.

Hard Work Pays Off....

Eloise & I arrived in the parking lot

of Krispy Kreme early this morning.

We were picking up over 300 

freshly glazed morsels of deliciousness.

Why?

Because our tiny little school of 5

(1 student + 4 teachers)

could not afford a much needed new violin

for it's music department.

After a school meeting, in the kitchen, 

Eloise decided that she would 

earn the money.

On Tuesday Eloise got dressed

 in her "outing" uniform 

and we drove all over town

taking pre-orders.

She sold 26 Dozen;

mostly to local businesses.

We then contacted Krispy Kreme 

to arrange our early morning pick-up.

Eloise delivered all of them before 

9:00 a.m.

surprisingly they were all still warm.

And all of her customers were happy.

As a mommy I was proud of her hard work.

Even though she only raised half of the $250

she needed, the Gran & Grandpa Corp.

stepped up and offered her a matching funds grant.

They were impressed with her enthusiasm

and the fact that an eleven year old 

sold enough orders in one afternoon to net $125.

(I did not do any of the selling)

All I can say is ....

look out youth department!

In just a few months your

 newest member will be

 running circles around you

in the fundraising arena.

P.S. I will post pics next week

 when her new violin arrives from California. 

My mouth is watering just thinking about

 the wonderful aroma that was in my car. 

We didn't even get to keep any, 

because a person at one of the drop off sites

 didn't get a chance to order

 and was very envious of her co-workers,

 so we graciously sold her our dozen.

Oh well. I guess the Lord knew we needed the dough, but not all that sugar!

LOL

Test Kitchen Winner....

We recently cooked this lovely  Indian  style recipe.

 I have been wanting to try it out ever since I saw it on a friends blog:

"Diary of a Homeschool Mom"

Thank you Jessica,

for grabbing this recipe off of 

Pioneer Woman's site,

and then sharing with your buds.

We love it.

(we as in all three)

(as in all infernally picky three)

If your taste buds aren't accustomed 

to a variety of flavors,

 then this might not be the recipe for you.

***The only problem I had was buying the Cardamom.

I don't regret it now,

but I was not sure I wanted

to spend $12 for 1 small bottle,

when I didn't know

if I was even going to like the dish.

I do 

and I have also discovered 

that there are plenty of Indian dishes 

that call for it.

Anyhoo....

On with the recipe:

Butter Chicken

4 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 
bite size pieces)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 whole lime, juiced
1 whole onion, diced
1/4 c butter
1 can (14.5 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
1/2 pint whipping cream
1 bunch chopped cilantro
2 c (or more) basmatti rice

Combine first 9 ingredients and marinate overnight.
Saute the onion in the butter until soft.  Add marinated chicken, cook about 10 minutes (will still be a little pink).  Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook for 30 min. over med-low heat with the lid on.  I added an additional 1/4 tsp each of coriander, cumin and cardamom.  Add the whipping cream (Light cream or half n' half works too) and cilantro just before serving over basmatti rice.

* Recipe was not all that spicy (hot) in my opinion.  You could add more cayenne if you like spicy foods like me.

The previous ( *) statement was Jessica's,

but we agree.

For those of you who prefer more traditional fare:

I recently made a big pot of beef stew.

To me this is a comfort food.

It was loaded with barley, lentils, veggies,

and of course tender chunks of beef.

Everyone has their own method,

so I won't bore you with the details.