Happy New Year

What a wonderful way to begin a new year with two more beautiful days of vacation ahead and no commitments to be anyplace other than home with my family!

And like the true Southern girl I am - - not - - - I have the blackeyed peas on the stove cooking. We will cook some greens (cabbage) later. I was raised in upstate NY but when I married my husband who was raised in Georgia, I found out about this Southern tradition. You cook those items to give you prosperity in the New Year. The peas represent coins and the greens represent folding money. Of course we don't believe that but traditions are what make a holiday special. Plus we have joked that my deceased mother-in-law would come back from the grave if I didn't have blackeyed peas and greens cooking for her son on January 1. She would always call us that day to make sure of our menu. It was a concession on her part to "let me" cook cabbage rather than collards. We still miss her even though it's been over 12 years since she left this earth.

- - - - - and I know you are going to be excited to hear this - - - - our freezer is again organized and this time - - inventoried!!!! I did that yesterday. We have a chest style freezer so it is easier for things to fall to the bottom and get forgotten. This year we have done pretty well in keeping up with what's in there. However, I did need to shuffle some meats around to get the older dates on top. I know I have told you in the past that we buy meat on sale and then vacuum-seal it in serving or cooking portions. The up side to all of it is we can definitely make quite a few menus out of the pantry and freezer until the next big sale.

I have done all this good organizing with good intentions. Someone ask me in six months - - - or even three months if I am updating my pantry inventory lists - - - subtracting & adding as things are cooked or bought! haha

And with those resolutions, let me go and exercise - - - I am so becoming one of my dear friends. She is a great role model - - - who is settling back in on the mission field again today after being home with her family for Christmas vacation.

(And my Scripture (last verse) today is a continuation of my younger daugher's thoughts.)

"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward - to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back." Philippians 3:13-14 (The Message)

Quesadilla

You may not be able to tell but our spices are now sorted in alphabetical groups, e.g., anything from A - C is on the top shelf. This is not OCD. It is better time management. I would love to regain all the time I have spent in the past going through most of the jars to find the one I want. Now I just have to look at one small shelf at a time. And so my mind will not have to remember the proper location, there will be a cute little label attached to the front of each of the shelves. The food pantry closet is to the left - - - and those shelves have been cleaned and rearranged this week, too. At the end of this year with the beginning of the next around the corner, it's always nice to try and start January out the way you would resolve to live in 2010.

And yes, this seems like it will be the food blog again today. Within the past 2 or 3 years, we have discovered quesadillas - - thanks to our younger daughter. I buy the tortillas that are wheat or multi-grain so we have fiber and protein in the bread. My favorite quesadilla to this point has been a philly cheesesteak-type combination. However, there is now a tie or a close second. Today we used thin-sliced barbecue from Couch's (near Chattanooga), light Mexican blend cheese on one side of the meat. On the other side of the meat, a few thin-slices of sweet onion, a bit of Sweet Baby Ray's Barbeque sauce, and some mozzarella cheese. Oh my, oh my, oh my is that good to the tastebuds!

. . . and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat . . . . 2 Samuel 17:29a

Organized by Lists

This is the week I start getting ready for the New Year - - - making new file folders for paid invoices - - - beginning a new Excel spreadsheet for $$$$$ saved during the year. That is something new I started in 2009. You can set it up however suits you best but mine totals on separate sheets for each month and then has a cover page with month summaries and the annual total. On each month, I list the store and the amount saved - - either in coupons or sales. Let me tell you it can get pretty impressive to see what you saved. My husband said it's not all true sales because he wouldn't have paid the original price to start with on some of the clothing! However, I can still sort on Excel with just the grocery stores and we recognized that the budget was stretched considerably.

I don't know about you but I like to shop name brands. Years ago, I went with the generic store brand on Cream of Chicken Soup and I ended up with a casserole that had a slightly greenish tint due to the incorrect amounts of food coloring they had used in the soup. Yesterday I was checking out a generic store brand and although the price was half as much as the name brand, the ingredients were not the same. It was kidney beans. The name brand had 100 calories per serving. The generic had 160 per serving! It appears they had put fructose syrup in addition to the sugar. So - - - - - if you save more at the cash register but the nutrition is not as good - - - - have you saved? You will end up paying in poor health and doctors' bills in the future to save a few cents now.

Our stores seem to be "pushing" us to switch to generic brands. Juices are another item. On one brand, I saw stamped in small letters - - apart from the label - - that it was made from concentrate from either China or somewhere in South America. My question - - - how can it be as good as American grown and still be half price after it's imported? hmmmmmm . . . I am going to do a further investigation on some and then if I find many more nutritional deficiencies, I will write to the main office. I am sure they will take notice of my one letter - - ha!

So do you use coupons? I do but often some expire. I don't let those bother me but rather focus on what I have saved. Does anyone else track their savings? It's encouraging to do so.

Which brings me to a similar area - - - - organization!!!! How I wish some of the books I have read in the last few years had been available to me years ago. I did not grow up learning to "stow as you go", i.e., put stuff away or carry it to another room as you head for that location. That it is easier to keep it picked up as you work rather than doing it once a week. So there is something you may not have known about me or were able to figure out by being around me.

One thing I have learned though is to keep lists. It makes your day more productive. Prioritize the things most important for you to complete each day. The book at the beginning of this post goes one step further and divides the lists into four quadrants. DO, GO, WRITE, & CALL. CALL would be the phone calls you need to make. WRITE are the notes, emails, & maybe your bills. GO are the errands - - - or I am using it for anything outside the house that requires leaving the driveway or yard. DO is just about everything else either at home or work. Really it would be better to keep a separate list for each place.

This book is one of the better ones I have read. It gives ideas on dealing with things that side-track and steal your time - - - everything from interruptions to bits of ADD & OCD. My favorite analogy in here is when your day is compared to a bookcase. hmmmmm - - wonder why that was appealing? haha Basically time is like a bookshelf. There is only so much space to put stuff. You can group that stuff in an orderly fashion so it can be found quickly and easily. You can leave a little space at the end of each shelf so another item can be added. Relating this to your schedule, you should group "like" activities together and you should build a cushion of time into each segment - - or remember that a project generally takes longer than originally planned. That way you have built some flexibility into your schedule without your schedule running your life. Calendars and lists are tools to help us more efficiently use the time God gives us. The benefit is we are more relaxed at the end of each day.

I can tell you all this but still have to confess that I haven't mastered it yet! However that doesn't keep me from trying. My biggest "failure" in this area is my Christmas letter did NOT go out this year. So how did I get it done last year after our daughter's wedding at the end of November but could not complete it this year? And those are the mysteries of life.

Behold, I shew you a mystery . . . 1 Corinthians 15:51a

What's Under Your House?

The wonderful, beautiful holiday is over and it is time to get back to regular life. In our case, we are working on the house - - - again. As long as we have health, we will be working on this house. Today's project - - - rather the project for the rest of the winter is "under the house". We need a new moisture barrier rug (black plastic) and more insulation put up under the floors. Those are the easy things. First we are hauling out anything anyone has ever left under there over the past 30 years - - from roofing shingles to chunks of concrete. Next we are going to level out the dirt. When the house was built, all that was dug out was the area to set the blocks for the foundation walls. The rest of the floor is sloping with drop-offs in some sections. Not only will it be aesthetically more pleasing but it will be safer, too. - - - when we are done. There are quite a few benefits to the project when it gets finished besides helping it for resale one day and for energy conservation while living here. It is an excellent fitness program. There is no need for a gym membership or a personal trainer to help you burn more calories and sculpt a better physique. You just pick up a shovel or hoe and start working.

Another result is how it affects our eating habits. We are choosing foods for fueling ourselves for work rather than just for the pleasure to our tastebuds. That means a few more carbs can be consumed. We did just that a few minutes ago with the Layered Chicken Dinner. Layer sweet sliced onions, canned green beans (rinsed and drained) - - (we use two cans but one is sufficient, too), and one cup raw rice. Top with chunks of uncooked chicken. In a separate dish, mix together one can Cream of Chicken Soup, one cup water, 1 - 2 tablespoons real bacon bits, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, and some black pepper. Pour this over your layers. Cover and bake at 350 for 90 minutes. Cook uncovered 10 more minutes. You could use onion powder rather than onions and you can add mushrooms, too.

Speaking of food, we had a feast yesterday with my daughter's in-laws. Lasagna, barbecued ribs, baked potatoes, baked beans, tossed salad, and one of the best pizzas I have ever eaten. Our son-in-law made his own crust in the bread machine. Desserts included homemade fudge, banana pudding, and three or four other things. The fellowship was as delicious as the culinary delights. As I've mentioned before, we were blessed with a wonderful son-in-law AND his family who have become our friends.

Now it's time to get back to some fun inside stuff - - like laundry, paying bills, etc. Praise God for a this house and a job and energy to do it all every day!

Hard and honest work earns a good night's sleep. Ecclesiastes 5:12a

December 23

Now my husband is officially on vacation, too. We met for lunch at Oliver's. They have THE BEST grilled chicken in town. It was a very nice date for the two of us. He gave me White Diamonds for a gift - - - the Elizabeth Taylor fragrance. Don't you think it's romantic for a man to pick out a perfume for the woman in his life? I do. Let me tell you something else just as romantic - - that is when the man works to make the home secure and hopefully water-proof against rain. He and I went from the nice lunch to digging in our front yard to install an underground drain. We have this one corner of the house that insists on letting water in the basement. Maybe this time we have stopped it. Working together on a project can make us almost as happy as going on a date - - - even if it does take a lot more energy. Love for your spouse can be manifested in many ways and my husband knows that acts of service rate high in my book. Do you know each of your family member's love language? If not, you should read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. It will help parents understand their children and will help adults understand their friends. It's another one of my top 10 favorite books.

I just had a very, very few errands to run this morning and am thankful to be home this afternoon. The stores and roads are extremely crowded but most everyone seemed patient and in a good mood - - - - except the driver of the car from the Atlanta area. My thought was she could go back home if she was in such a hurry to be somewhere but maybe it would be better to pray she finds the peace and comfort of Jesus this holiday season.

Now it is time to just relax with a good book or two and enjoy the time at home with my family.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it. Ephesians 5:25

Vacation Again!!!!!

Our church gives us a great benefits package. They make employment with them as appealing as possible. It has enabled me to have paid holidays and quite a few vacation days since I have been on payroll there over ten years now. At 5 o'clock today, I punched the time clock and don't have to go back until January 4 - - and I will receive full pay for both weeks. Isn't that wonderful? My husband gets the same schedule beginning around lunchtime tomorrow. It is worth saving days until the end of the year and then getting a long break to rest or travel or do some projects at home.

Speaking of travel, I am going to connect you to my sister's blog to see most of our Gatlinburg pictures. There is no sense in me posting them since I would use the same ones she did. The two she did not post are the ones I have shown you. Santa was in the lobby of the Wyndham timeshare and insisted everyone sit on his lap - - no matter the size of the person. He must have had bionic legs!

I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day . . . John 9:4a

Pretty Plumber

Have you ever heard the expression, "The faster I go, the behinder I get!"? I think it is supposed to mean that when you do things in a hurry, you are apt to make mistakes and have to go back and correct them. Whereas if you do things at a "normal" pace, you might not make any mistakes and will get done in better time.

Well, that definition is not the one I am looking for. Ours is the more we repair in this house and the faster we work, the more repairs need to be done. It is one thing after another and in some instances more than one at once.

The good news is the den door is done. Now the "public" bathroom sink drain has new pipes. Our neighbor, my sister, and my wonderful husband get credit for the last project. We still have a leak in the basement that will require some outside digging - - - and now a kitchen overhead light fixture to replace. It sounds like a green Christmas for the hardware stores and some more manpower on our part. We are ready to finish with repairs so we can move on to some face-lift stuff - - - like painting walls!

Praise God for the energy to do this and pray it holds out a few more years until we finish it all.

Let them repair the breaches of the house. 2Kings 12:5b

P.S. Gatlinburg pictures should be on my next post.