Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

Getting ready for an upcoming wedding, I am trying to do as much as possible ahead of time so I am not stressed out when we get close to the big day....hahahahaha... I know right?

We are going to have a house full of peeps (well.. actually only 4, but it will be crazy so it will FEEL like a house full). Anyway, I decided since I had an extra day off this week and it is raining so I can't do yard work (I think I subconsciously procrastinated it yesterday, KNOWING it was supposed to rain today), I decided to clean a few things that I don't normally clean, like the light fixtures. This way, I don't have to do it in a few weeks and I don't have to worry about my mother seeing an inch of dust bunnies on them (we won't even talk about what is under the couch... I almost lost an arm to them last night!!!) 

Since I am vertically challenged, I needed to stand on a stool to reach the fixture that is hanging in the dining room/library. I have a not-so-trusty stool that I frequently use to reach things in the tops of the kitchen cupboards. This stool has let me down before and today I was reminded of the time when I vowed that this stool and I were done... FOREVER....

Almost a year ago we moved into the house we are now calling home. You know how it is when you are moving into a new home... you are tired and cranky and you just want to get things put away so you sometimes do things that you know in your mind you shouldn't do....

I had some sleeping bags and pillows that I was trying to convince that the top shelf of my closet was going to be their new place of residence... they were being uncooperative as I tried to just toss them up on the shelf... so I thought to myself, "I'll show you"... ok, maybe I said that out loud... 

I grabbed my not-so trusty stool just to give me a little elevation and hopefully a little leverage to FORCE the bags up on to the tippy top shelf in the closet. I got the sleeping bags up there ok and thought there was just enough daylight above them to force the pillow on top of the bags so that I could free up the shelf space for something else that I would probably never use, but wasn't quite ready to part with....

This stool is simply a board with two legs on each side, so it is good for elevation, but as I found out, not so good for leverage... I was on my tip toes trying to be tall enough to force the pillow into a tiny space on TOP of the bags. As I leaned back slightly to get a swing as it, the stool rolled forward, readjusting my center of gravity. (I have enough problems with gravity when my feet are firmly planted on  solid ground) I fell backwards, landing IN the shoe rack that I had just unloaded my high heels on, banging my head on the wall, which then propelled me forward into the clothing hanging on the hangers. I reached up to catch myself, only to get my hands tangles in clothing and hangers and drag them all down with me. 

I am now laying on the floor of the closet with all the shoes, parts of the show rack, clothes, hangers and to add insult to injury, the dang pillow... sitting there on top of me, mocking me! 

My 14 year old son heard the racket and comes running into my bedroom, takes one look at me and yells... "Dad.... Mom down" and walks back into his bedroom. I'm pretty sure he left me laying there, alone in my shame, so he could go into his room and laugh is butt off in private instead of further bruising my ego by doing it in front of me...... he's such a good boy  :)

Nothing like this happened today with my not-so-trusty stool, but I did have a near miss, which reminded me of why I should just get rid of it before we have another "Mom Down" incident and something fatal happens!

What Constitutes An Increase?

In preparing to teach a lesson to 15 and 16 year old kids about finances, I have discovered that there are lots of ways to present this topic. I have really been pondering it a lot this week and feel strongly that I need to focus on teaching them about the principle of tithing.

Although we have some general guidelines, it seems to still have a lot of gray area and be open for interpretation.  There are always questions such as:

Do I pay my monetary tithe based on net or gross pay?

Do I pay tithing on money that was a gift?

What constitutes an “increase” in my life?

 I feel this is a topic that can be deeply personal and what you base your offering on is ultimately between you and the Lord. I am in no way implying that I have received special revelation and claim to be an expert on this topic. This is just me sharing my new outlook based on some ideas that came to me while prayerfully preparing a lesson.

We participate in an annual interview to declare our tithe status to our church leader, but we are not required to provide financial information to prove whether we are truly a full tithe payer. So it is up to us an individuals and families to decide what our status is. That is where the gray area comes in. Each individual has the opportunity to decide for themselves where they stand with the Lord and what they feel is the right way to calculate what constitutes a full tithe.

So in preparing this lesson, I am anticipating some hard questions, because this class is very thoughtful and they like to keep me on my toes with the thought provoking questions that they come up with. With that said, no matter how much I prepare, I am not likely to be fully equipped to give them a black and white answer since it is so personal and between them and the Lord (and perhaps their religious leader).

In pondering, however, I have had some time to reflect on this and take stock of my own personal attitudes toward paying tithing and have had some new ideas come to me that I had never considered before, that relate to this idea. I want to share a few thoughts that have come to mind as I have prayerfully considered this upcoming lesson. I do not mean to imply that my thoughts here are the hard fast rules to paying tithes. This is only meant to be thought provoking in a way perhaps you, like me, had never thought about before.

As this thought was starting to form in my head, it was like trying to blow a gum bubble with gum that I had just put in my mouth. I had to chew on this for a bit before I understood what the bubble was going to look like.

Let’s base this on the idea that every increase in our life is a gift from God, and we are asked to give back 10% of that.

The question I have been pondering is…. What constitutes an increase? Is it solely a monetary increase? Or is there a way to somehow calculate  ALL the Lord has blessed us with? Are there other increases in our lives that we should be including in our tithes?  Confused? Me too!!

My train of thought is somewhat in line with the “pay it forward” concept. How much are our lives enriched by acts of service and kindness?  How many times in a day does someone cross your path and in some small way uplift you? Those tender mercies that I believe come from a loving Father in Heaven prompting someone to take action on our behalf….You know what I am talking about… a smile, a compliment, a hug, a dandelion picked from the yard by a child, a gift, a visit from a friend, a plate of cookies.. right when you needed it most…. The list could go on and on….

So how do I quantify THAT increase in my life? It’s nearly impossible I think, to put a price on those other increases in our lives that we often take for granted or even more shamefully have a sense of entitlement about. This exercise has helped me to be more cognizant of those types of increases in my life and when I am called upon to “be the good” in someone else’s life, I will now consider it an opportunity to tithe my time, talents, and anything else I have been blessed with, to increase the richness of someone else’s life.

Rotate Your Food Storage (Without Your Family Knowing They Are Eating It)

Recently I taught a class on how to rotate your food storage without your family knowing they are eating it. Manipulative, you say? Absolutely! It's a mother's right to trick her children into doing what's in their best interest. You know that game that we play as adults.... "Guess what we did when you were gone, mom?" (admit it... you totally know this game because if your children aren't old enough to play it, you have done it to YOUR mom)... Well now I give to you the ability to come right back at them and say "Guess what i put in your meatloaf when you were growing up"   Two can play those games...LOL
I had lots of people, who couldn't attend the class, ask me if I could do a handout or something to share the information.
It's never quite the same in print as it is in person because you miss all the conversation on the topic, (and all the admissions of experiments gone wrong) but here are a few of the highlights of what we discussed at the class:

Store what you eat and eat what you store.
It in no way benefits you or your family to stockpile food that you don’t know how to cook or that your family won’t eat. If you are going to store it, have a plan on how you intend to cook it. Keep in mind that you might not be able to simply use the stove or oven like you normally would, so I encourage you to experiment with other ways to cook your food such as a crock pot, dutch oven, BBQ grill, etc...
It can also potentially be a negative experience for your family if your bodies aren’t used to some of the food, so you need to have it be part of your diet on a regular basis. Our bodies need time to adjust to certain foods and by introducing it in your diet now, you will know if any family member has any allergies or unpleasant reactions.


Food Tips and Trick

Instant  Potatoes – can be used as mashed potatoes, in casseroles, add to potato salad as a filler so you don’t have to use so many potatoes, use as a base and ladle soup over it in a bowl to make the soup a little more hearty. Can also be made very runny and added to soup or gravy to thicken. Make the potatoes a little on the thick side and add cheese, pepper, ham, and form patties for fried mashed potatoes (this is how we use our left over mashed potatoes and they are a big hit at our house) Make sure you keep an eye on the expiration date for potatoes that have butter flavor added as they will go rancid over time.

Oatmeal – Oatmeal, add to favorite cookie recipe, add to favorite meatloaf recipe to make meat go farther, also soaks up some of grease, add to taco meat to go further (put dry oatmeal in blender to disguise it when using it in other recipes). I have added this to my meatloaf for over 25 years and my oldest child (nearly 24 yrs old), just recently found out, only because I told his wife my trick and she said something about it at a meal when we were eating it.

Beans – put a few cups of dry beans in a crock pot and fill crock with water. .(I am a working mom, so I need the beans to be ready in the morning so I can toss them in soups) Cook on low over night.  Rinse well in a colander before using in recipes The juice from certain beans cooking can become toxic, so I just rinse them all as a rule of thumb. You can use these cooked beans for any recipe that calls for canned beans such as soups/chili or you can mash them for re-fried beans … I also add re-fried beans to my taco meat to make the hamburger go farther, you can mix re-fried beans and rice and even some oatmeal for great burrito filling. It’s so much easier to use them if you have them ready, so I always cook twice as much as I need and freeze the extra. Put them in an airtight container or a freezer bag.

Rice – Rice with gravy, fried rice, casseroles, add a handful to any soup recipe, burrito filling. You can also use rice as a base for recipes that call for being served over noodles, such as Stroganoff. We had quite the discussion about rice and it did come up that certain kinds of rice will still be a little crunchy even when fully cookes. Experiment with different varieties to find out what your family likes the best.

Dry onions – any recipe that calls for chopped onion or any recipe you need to add a little flavor to, it's quicker and easier than peeling and chopping onions. It is chopped super small so most of the time you don't even know there are onions in the dish.

Powdered Milk – Hot Choco mix much better than store bought. If you can't do chocolate, you can still make the recipe with the cocoa and use other things to flavor such as flavored syrups, crushed up mint candy, caramel, etc.. You can substitute as milk in most recipes (not pudding, or gravy) 2 Tbps/1C water = cup of milk in recipe. I have a quart jar next to my stove so it's handy to add it to most recipes. If using in soups, add some flour or instant mashed potatoes to thicken. If using as actual milk, you can add a little vanilla to it for better flavor.

72 hour kits – Rotate food in them by using them as snacks to cut back on some meals during conference weekend. That way you always know the food is fresh and no bugs or rodents have gotten into packs. Rotate batteries in flashlights (I store mine in flashlight backwards so they don’t get bumped in the on position and run the batteries dead.) Rotate water if you store in 2L bottles at conference time so you always know how old your water is.


Other Storage Tips:

Use your empty canning jars to store food/water.  Oven canning (Google how to) works well to preserve dry foods in canning jars. Just don’t put in anything that has moisture content or it won’t last. You can also “can” water, so that you have safe drinking water or clean water for first aid. Don’t store empty bottles, put SOMETHING in them! It takes up the same amount of space and most people have empty bottles hanging around already.

Don’t store plastic buckets/ water bottles directly on concrete. Chemicals will leach into plastic and contaminate food/water. Put boards, pallets, or cardboard under them to create a barrier from the concrete.

Refill empty liquid laundry detergent containers with water (don’t let the suds run out) and you have soapy water ready to go in case of emergency. You can wash dishes, laundry, or people with the water. (Not for drinking, but it frees up your other water for drinking/cooking if you don’t have to use that water for hygiene/cleaning)

Use soda can dispensers to rotate canned foods or write DOP on lids with sharpie to help keep canned foods rotated. Most exp dates are only when the manufacturer guarantees nutritional value. Generally, canned foods, that are in undamaged cans, can be used long past exp dates.

Chicken and Homemade Noodle Something Something.

Several people have recently asked me for my recipe for Homemade Chicken & Noodle something something. I say it like that because it is quite a versatile recipe.  Those who know me, know that I like things simple. This is such a simple recipe that can be used in many different ways. It saves me having to have several chicken noodle this or that recipes... I just use the same recipe and modify it slightly for different dishes.

I usually like things simple but I take the time to make the homemade noodles.. it's totally worth the effort, but if you are in a hurry, you can just toss in some egg noodles. In my opinion, the noodles totally make or break the yumminess of the recipe.

My family doesn't like celery, so I skip that ingredient and add frozen peas about 15 minutes before I serve it.

For the dough for dumplings, you can make regular biscuit dough, or you can mix some pancake mix up to a thick dough or for even quicker dumplings, you can break up Pillsbury biscuit dough and drop on top about 15 minutes before you want to serve it..

for a pot pie, you can make homemade pie crust for the bottom and top crust, or you can get the pre-made crust from the grocery store. If you are doing it as a pot pie, use a lot less water and more flour to thicken it up.

My family prefers to have it over mashed potatoes. You can do real mashed potatoes or instant mashed. If you do instant mashed, make them thick so they will withstand all the juice in the soup.

It all depends on how much time you have and what you are in the mood for.

Another tip to make it easier,... I put the chicken breasts in the crock pot and cover with water and cook them overnight. Then I pull them out of the water and can shred them with a fork while they are warm.  Save some of the water to use in the soup.

So here's the basic recipe:

Chicken Noodles over Potatoes

Put 3-4 inches of water in large pan. Dice ½ onion, 1 ½ cup carrots & celery (each.. more if you want). 1 can chicken broth + 1 can water. Boil 2 chicken breasts – strain water and add water to rest of soup.

Boil til veg are tender, add chicken and noodles. Salt & pepper to taste along the way. 

(you can make in stock pot and then move to crock pot to keep warm until ready to serve.)

Noodles:

3 eggs + 2 half shells of water, a sprinkle of garlic salt, 1 ½ cup flour. You can add more until you can roll out to ¼ “ thick. Flour the top a little and fold over both edges to the middle. Be sure to flour wherever the dough touches so it won’t stick, especially under the dough. Cut into thick strips ¼” or so (I use a pizza cutter to cut the noodles). Unfold them and let sit while veggies are cooking. In a hurry, you can also use egg noodles from the store.