Flashy Girl

I don't usually like the camera flash. I don't know how to use it so the pictures doesn't look weird & ultra bright. But, I think these flash pictures are funny. Her big eyes, wondering what the bright light was flashing at her, crack me up.

Garden Blooms

Yesterday I took the kids & the dogs on a walk about the neighborhood. It was my first time doing this - all 3 kids+ 2 dogs sans stroller. We had great success & did it again today.

Anyway. In their liberated state of being strollerless, the kiddos were gathering things on the sidewalk, such as rotted flower blooms.

Then we came to a neighbor who is a fellow flower lady. She saw the collection & wanted to add to it. She cut some blooms from her garden & gathered from her table. We came home & arranged them for our own table.

Thrifty Thursday: Give It Up

One way to save money is to give up various "extras". You can do it to save money because you need that money for the things you need. And, you can do it when you don't really need to; in order to have more ability to bless others. In light of the earthquake in Haiti, folks are all thinking about we can/should do.

I don't believe there is something inherently good about living a life of denial or extreme simplicity. But, we should be living sacrificially. We should be willing to regularly give something up for the sake of another. For our families, for our church family, for our friends, for our neighbors, for strangers, for the fatherless. Our time, our money & stuff, our emotional energy.


The apostle Paul exhorts us to bear each other's burdens.
I am sure I am going to ruin this quote a bit, as I can't find my book to look it up... But, I read Tim Keller's book, Ministries of Mercy a couple years ago, and he had a great quote from Jonathon Edwards. Edwards said that, if we are really bearing each other's burdens, that requires us to feel burdened. Once I read that, it was so obvious. But, somehow I hadn't thought of that before. If you are helping someone, but never really inconveniencing yourself, you aren't really bearing their burden.

So, applying that to my budget, it is good for me to give up stuff that I want and will miss. Not for the sake of self-denial. But, so I can use that money for someone else's need. Something specific that we are trying to save our money for is adoption and the care of orphans around the world.


Here's the money saving sacrifice that I have begun. I know to some (most, all?) of you it will seem so ridiculous that I even did this... And, it is not really quite burden-bearing to give it up, just a small sacrifice.
We used to have a glass of wine nearly every evening. Or perhaps a cocktail or some sort of adult beverage.
The dollars can really add up. We can use those dollars every month to help support on orphan home. The plan is to do that through World Orphans. Check it out & let me know if you want help us support a home!

While He Was Out

Scott is in Europe for work. For a week. We are only a couple days into it.

So far, while he was away -

I ate Lasagna for dinner for 3 nights. I finally put the rest into the freezer this evening & called that done for now.
I have beans soaking. I'll eat those for a few days now.

I did my bread baking - Oatmeal Molasses.
I baked my comfort food - lemon poppy seed bread. I like to eat junk all evening, when my husband is away.

I tasted my lemon bread. What? It is nasty. I better have another piece, just to check... No good. Ugh. So, I tried my still-warm oatmeal bread. Yuck. Bitter. The molasses is too strong?

The next morning the problem occurred with everything I ate. Oh good. Maybe I didn't totally mess up all my baking. Maybe it is a personal sinus problem. But, now I take no pleasure in eating lemon cake & chocolate chip cookies. That is a great disappointment to me.

The rain continues on. And, that means the ants keep coming in. My husband loves to kill ants. And, he is missing it. It's very sad.

When I let the dogs out during a break in the rain, they surprised me by deciding to tromp around in the mud. Then came racing back inside. I have muddy paw prints all over my floor. And, I had stinky (really) stinky dogs. I don't bathe animals. So, I hit them up with some doggy shower spray & it seemed to work okay.


Yesterday morning I got a great surprise when I went in to get Moira up from her sleep. Poop all over her crib. She was thrilled to start her day with a warm bath. My guess is she'll try that trick again soon.

I have begun to make Valentine's decorations. Gillian is so excited. Pink & sparkly silver & hearts is the theme.

I am sewing. I have 8 baby carriers partially made that need to be finished. Then I can sell them in my Etsy shop. (What Etsy shop? I don't really have one yet. That's why I need to finish this stuff!)

Be a Tourist

We drove down south through a rain storm to see Scott's family for the weekend. Our longest day there, was the only sunny one.

We went into San Diego to be tourists & take the Old Town Trolley tour. I have seen a lot of the city several times. But, it was fun to be a tourist & learn a bunch of new stuff.

It was also nice to be contained & not have to do any chasing down of the kids.

We didn't really have too much time. But, we walked a little bit in Old Town & also got lunch.

The kids rode a cool Carousel in Seaport Village. Gillian rode with Auntie Kim & loved it!

Moira hung out on the sidelines with me.

Peyton was happiest to be getting off. Daddy held him throughout the ride. But, he was still quite concerned.

Thrifty Thursday: Less is More

I am trying to practice this a bit in the kitchen. Less of the pricier ingredient in your meal, is more money left over.
For example, when I bake Chocolate Chip cookies, I have been putting about 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips in them, instead of the full 2 cups.
When putting the ground beef in the chili, or the spaghetti sauce, or the lasagna, use less.
More beans, less ham in the soup.
More potatoes, less chicken in the curry.
Less mozzarella on the pizza.
I am using less shallots, more plain ole' yellow onion.
What else can be decreased in the various recipes you gals make?

Birthday Delivery

It was my mom's birthday! We made it over to Corralitos during a little storm break & then back home to Watsonville during another lull. Now the storm is pounding again.

Tuna Casserole Re-arranged

Today we had an updated take on the retro tuna casserole. Well. I don't know if it is an update, as in better. But, we liked it. And, it seems more modern.
I got a panini pan for Christmas. (But, unlike that picture, it is pesto green. SO pretty.)
My kids like tuna. They don't like it on a sandwich. Just with the mayo & some almonds, maybe celery. My husband & I usually eat ours with Trader Joe's Wasabi Mayo & have it with lettuce on bread.
But, today we had it kinda 1950's ish. No greens or funny spices. I mixed in shredded cheddar cheese & piled it on bread. (Still Emily's Artisan...) & cooked it up on the Panini press.
It only seemed right to serve frozen peas on the side. (They were steamed, though. They weren't frozen anymore.)
I was surprised how much I really, really liked the meal.