Uninspired

I am laying here with my foot up and my laptop feeling uninspired.

I cannot find anything good to read, nothing in my to be read pile catches my interest, which is kind of shocking. I read through bloglines half-heartedly, and was somewhat comforted to see that life at My Quiet Corner was not off to a raring start to the week, and then felt bad about that. I read the news and just got mad, so that did not help.

Then I wondered why, with all the marvels of modern medicine, the only pain reliever they give pregnant women is Tylenol and ice. I have news for them: IT DOES NOT WORK!!!!! I am wondering if there is a medication and they just withhold it to be mean, some kind of weird experiment to see if pregnant women can handle more pain that some other subset of people. Probably far fetched, but when I woke up in fiery pain last night I was seriously wondering. I was also wondering if they could possibly make the ugly shoe they gave me any nicer, because really, it just does not cheer me up to look at that.

Sigh.

I am also wondering why my foot hurts more when it gets hot that when it is cool. Freaky but true.

I guess what I am saying is it has been a long weekend, and I think today will be long too.

But I cling the facts that:

• I fell on my back, not my front, baby is safe
• God has answered my prayers on numerous occasions to bring pain relief
• You can now measure the bull nose of one step to another my simply measuring the bruises on my back - how weird is that?
• I have a neighbor who offered to do all my grocery shopping for us.
• My garden is all planted
• Serious medical intervention was not required.
• The Lord is good, always.

In other news, I have pictures on the camera of our fruit trees, and I will try to show you those this week. Our backyard smells wonderful as everything is in bloom!

Updated to add: I am thankful to be able to take the "beauty boot" off for resting, I really only need it for walking so that the offending toe is protected. Great name for the shoe Jen, I love it! Definitely helps the perspective!

Just a bit of excitement....

So last night, actually it was not even 7 yet, I decided to go downstairs for a glass of water. Even though I can currently drink water by the bucket I try to be classy.

There was no problem with this until I somehow or other missed the bottom 4 steps and landed flat on my back on the steps and slid the rest of the way down. While my back hurt, and my hip hurt, my little toe was screaming. So off to Urgent Care we go!

Might I say that I have never been in and out of Urgent Care in less that 45 minutes until last night? That includes filling out the new patient paperwork!

The doctor was great, declaring my back and hip in fine shape. The toe, however, is another story. It was at a slightly weird angle, not enough to need to be set, but enough to make it clear that all was not well. The doctor opted not to x-ray it because the treatment would be the same for a break or sprain (although he was very certain it was broken), so he buddy taped it to its next door neighbor, gave me a highly fashionable navy shoe, and told me that all I could have for pain was Tylenol and ice.

I liked him right up until that last point. Then, well, not so much.

So today I am sitting here with my foot propped up, and am watching some lovely shades of blue appear on my toe. It is not the best day, but my sweet husband stayed home to take care of us. He has had a tough morning of playing stickers with Miss Pear and bringing me ice. He is such a sweetie!

Pizza Casserole

I was able to make this delicious meal straight from the pantry (which I stock with sales) except for the red peppers (2 for $0.33), pepperoni which was purchased on sale and stashed in the freezer, and onions that were a big bag of about 8 to 10 for well under $1. So this recipe ended up being quick, easy and frugal for me, so I thought I would share!

Pizza Casserole

1 1/2 cups pepperoni
2 tsp butter
1 medium onion chopped
15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 can of mushroom pieces drained (I am the only mushroom lover in our home, so I substitute 2 chopped sweet peppers)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
2 cups tiny shell pasta
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (yes, second amount).

Place pepperoni in 1 and a half cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes, drain (this takes a lot of grease out, so don't skip it).

Melt margarine in saute pan, ad onion, saute until soft. Add tomato sauce, mushrooms, sweet peppers if you are using them, oregano and basil. Stir, remove from heat.

Cook pasta per al dente directions. Drain, turn into 3L casserole (I use 9x13), add parmesan cheese and toss well.

Sprinkle with first amount of mozzarella cheese (or toss this in with the parmesan cheese).

Scatter pepperoni sauces over top.

Cover with tomato-onion sauce.

Sprinkle final cheese amount over top.

Bake, uncovered at 350F for about 30 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned.


To make ahead up to 24 hours in advance, prepare casserole (do not bake), cover, and chill. To serve, bake as above.

To freeze, cover unbaked casserole, label. Freeze up to 2 months. To serve, thaw and bake as above.

Baby Peaches

One of the many things we have thought about when planting our backyard out is what we love to eat and what we can grow here. We all love peaches - especially if they find their way into a pie with some ice cream on top! So when we discovered that peaches would indeed fruit here, and were available in a dwarf variety, we were thrilled! We planted a honey peach, and were assured that the fruit would live up to the name.

If you look carefully at the pictures below you might be able to see baby peaches - they are green and look a bit out of focus because of the peach fuzz.....



Could you see them?

Being INhospitable...to germs, again

I am not really sure what the scoop is, but Miss Pear is under the weather and stuffy. Not a full blown cold, just enough to make her cranky and forget how to listen. I was suspicious all day yesterday that she was sick, and it was confirmed last night, at bed time, when she did not fall asleep until 11PM!!!!! We turned her lights off at 7:30 ish, and she just laid there and chatted to herself and her stuffed animal. Do we have the only child in the world who cannot fall asleep at bedtime when she is sick? And then still gets up at her normal time????

I tell ya, I could have inhaled a pot of coffee straight from the carafe today had it not be for the fact that I am pregnant.

We even took Miss Pear outside after supper to play in the backyard and burn off energy while I planted the last of the garden (woo hoo! although now I think I have found a place to plant some thyme, oregano, lavender, and possibly chamomile), and do some weeding with a handy tool that lets you stand up and do the work. Maybe I should have had Miss Pear do the weeding??? (just kidding).

So, I think I will go nap now.

Gardening for Dummies

At least, that is my level of gardening. I have grown roses with great success in our old home, but here I was determined to have a vegetable garden. So this is my first year of full fledged gardening (even though I did get a few meager tomatoes, carrots and lettuce last year).

So when I read Amy's post this week about her gardening research, I was thrilled! Not only because she confessed to having a black thumb, but because after a year that did not quite meet her expectations she was willing to try again.

When we moved last year I did try to plant some seeds, but by the time we fixed the irrigation issue it was simply too hot and too late in the season to be successful. I was disappointed, but determined to try again.

So far this year I have planted green beans, yellow beans, two kinds of carrots (the first of three mini rows of each), and a lettuce mix (again, the first mini row of each). Oh, and homemade pickle cucumbers - any ideas why I would possibly have planted those???? Tuesday evening I planted 4 kinds of tomatoes and 3 kinds of peppers (sweet green/red, sweet golden, and jalepeno for jelly!)

So far the carrots are making an effort to break through, but a dear friend of mine would call them belly carrots because you have to be on your belly to see them!

And as you can tell in the picture below, the lettuce is making it's leafy presence known too!

Okay, so it is just a little presence, but still, it is sprouting!

And we are finally seeing the first of the bean plants

I am hoping to finish planting the basil and cilantro this week, and then I am done except for the weeding....sigh. And I will likely see if there are places I can squeeze in some herbs still. I would definitely like to plant some chamomile and lavender as I love those, and hopefully some oregano too.

I did try to start my seeds inside this year, and that was a colossal failure. Without having a south facing window to put them in or a permanent light over head, they got leggy, and while I think most of the peppers are salvageable, the rest are not, so I lost a good number of seeds, but I learned something important, so that counts too. Here in southern California I can plant my seeds directly outside by early March, so there really is no reason to start ahead, even though growing up that is the way it was done by the women who gardened because the season was so short. For the seeds I did plant I simply put a thin bamboo skewer beside each seed so I knew where to look, then did the same thing for each seedling so I knew where to expect stuff. I am planting in a raised flowerbed so it is not the traditional row garden.

Before my husband and I married I never had a garden to learn in or play in. No one taught me how to garden or plan or anything like that. My husband comes from a long line of gardeners. And it encourages me so much that they just smile and answer my rank amateur questions and encourage me along, rejoicing in my feeble successes, and commiserating over my failures, assuring me that it has happened to them too. I am not sure I believe that last part, I think they are just trying to make me feel better, but you know what? It works!

So are there any other newbie gardeners out there? What are your plans?

How about you experts? What is your favorite thing to plant?

Bounce Static From Your Skirt

I am finally returning to Works for Me Wednesday after a LONG break, basically because I finally have something to share!

Easter Sunday we were heading out the door for church when I realized I had REALLY bad static cling in my skirt, the light flitty spring ones that are actually two layers, and one layer was as static-laced as the other - it almost looked like I was wearing culottes! I kid you not!

And we have no static guard to help.

Humidity was below 20% so it was not just going to fall out on its own.

So I figured if Bounce sheets were good in the dryer for keeping static in out of your clothes, it was worth a try.

There was no time to change so I asked my husband to rub the inside of my skirt with a bounce sheet. He looked at me kind of weird, but agreed. And it WORKED!

The funny thing was that as soon as he was done with my skirt our daughter (almost 3) walked up to him and said, "My turn!" Her dress was almost as bad as mine!

So, using a bounce sheet to get static out of your skirt works for me!

Simple Strawberry Jam

This morning I made a quick batch of strawberry jam. There was nothing special about the recipe that made it fast - I buy the no sugar pectin (but still add a bit), and just follow the directions that come with it.

The jam was so quick to make because the berries were prepared and frozen when they were at the peak of the season (and therefore rock bottom price), and are now just waiting for me in the freezer when I need jam. I do not have a cold room or a big enough fridge to store jam if I make a year's worth when the berries are in season, but if I clean and prepare the berries, then freeze them using the zip top bag method, freezing flat of course, I can freeze lots of berries - enough for fruit syrup and jam all year!

It is surprising how your time is cut down when you do not have to clean and cut your berries! Although this year I think I will lightly run them through the food processor before I freeze them as that is how we prefer our jam - not all big chunks of berry and syrup, but both in every bite!

So at least I got something productive done this morning in amongst caring for my patient (husband) and playing with my daughter, even though for some reason all three jars refused to seal! Plus, I am convinced that home made is much better for my family!

Head over to Tammy's for lots of great kitchen tips!

P.S. If you know of a way to save on the cost of pectin I am ALL ears!

An Unusual Easter

Our Easter this year is definitely going to be one we talk about each year.

It is a record breaking heat wave - temps into the 90's Saturday, Sunday and today, and on Saturday when we turned our air conditioning on we found out it was broken. Ummm. Oops.

So Sunday we decided we would just put chicken fingers in the toaster oven, and rice-a-roni in the microwave for supper and eat outside! Sounds great, so we headed outside to play because at that point it was cooler outside with the breeze, and we have a water table to play in. All of a sudden, right before I should have gone in to start supper, the breeze died, and it felt like all of those 90 degrees! So we loaded up into the car and headed to Burger Kind and their air conditioning. We were comfortable and well fed.

It was a hot night, but by about 10:30 it got cool enough in the house to sleep comfortably.

This morning I called the repair company that our insurance said they would use when I called on Saturday, and I almost wept with relief when she said someone would be here between 10 and 1! At 10:30 the repair man arrived, and at 11 our air conditioner was working and had its spring check up. The house was still an extremely comfortable temperature at this point, so there was no sacrifice at all today!

I am very grateful we found out this early in the season and not when there would be no breeze or relief from the heat in sight!

I was emailing a friend this morning, and said that yesterday was a testimony to how far the Lord has grown me. Rather than fuss and fret about our meal I just made alternate plans and headed out to play. A few years ago I probably would have felt like a failure, now I just laugh about it - in fact, I had to call our families (who are in the middle of huge whiteout snowstorms) and tell them about our fancy supper so they could laugh with us!

Oh, and I think I will roast our chicken next weekend - it is supposed to be cool!

What fun memories do you have from Easters past?

Happy Easter

Easter is one occasion when whatever words I come up with seem so inadequate to mark the sacrifice of our Lord.

So I will keep it simple, and wish you a very Happy Easter.

And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Hebrews 9:22-29

Preparing for Easter

Today will be spent preparing for Easter.

The kitchen will be cleaned, destroyed, cleaned, repeat.....as we prepare what we can today.

Tomorrow afternoon will see our oven filled with roast chicken, pineapple meatballs, and a sweet potato casserole. Veggies will be done on the stove at the last minute, rolls, coleslaw, and angel food cake will be made today.

It is actually a simple meal - the meatballs are made and frozen simply requiring an exceedingly simple sauce. I am not making dressing (or stuffing) for the chicken as we are having a heatwave, and that just seems like it would be to heavy and too much food for us. I like to do as much as possible to day before so that I am not rushed and crazy for Easter - after all, I would much rather focus on our Lord, whose sacrifice is overwhelming!

I also will get to prepare overnight French toast tonight, and a special basket!

Updated to add: Change of plans, we are in the middle of a heat wave, temps in the mid 80's, and, after I had used two elements to get supper ready and had it in the oven, plus a cake ready to go in right after, we found out our air conditioning is not working. So we are thinking we will barbecue tomorrow instead! Oh well, at least we have an angel food cake to go with fresh berries and whip cream! (Oh, and praise the Lord, we have insurance for our air conditioner, so hopefully the repair or new unit will be completely covered!) I think the Lord is trying to teach me to take it easy right now.....either that or to keep being more flexible!

Sharing From My Stockpile

Every once in a while there is a need, and I am always happy when I can meet that need with items from my stock pile (from coupon clipping at grocery stores and CVS).

The last two weeks of this month our church will be collecting toothbrushes for refugees in Uganda. Believe it or not, this is a big need there! I had not thought how hard it would be to meet back hygiene needs in such conditions! And as I looked in my toiletries stockpile I have a nice selection to share - but have two more weeks to find some more good sales!

Even though Miss Pear is not always aware of why we do things, I have bundled the toothbrushes with a rubber band so that she will be able to be the one to put them in the collection box. I think it is a concrete way to show her how we share what we have however we can.

Of course, I still end up with more free stuff that we can use (I never thought I would hear myself say that), so I keep a box in the garage of stuff that is more than we can use, or good stuff, but not great for us (we all have weird hair that requires specific shampoo), so I am always slowly filling a box, and there are numerous families we can share it with. One family is a widow with grown children, two of her daughters are married to pastors and one of her sons is still in college, plus they aways know people who need stuff, so I love to drop off a box at their house when we are nearby.

The reason I share this is to encourage you to not only be diligent is handling your family resources as well as possible, but also to encourage you to share your bounty when you can! It is always extremely appreciated, and it will be stuff that has fit into your grocery budget that you have probably picked up free at CVS! :-)

English Muffins

Yesterday I finally attempted a new project - I made English Muffins using the recipe from More with Less. While I was not able to eat supper last night my family reports that they were a great success. So for tonight's supper I turned 6 into mini pizzas and served them with coleslaw! Another recipe from More With Less (on the sidebar if you are interested) and another hit! Although I did add pepperoni!

Do you use the More With Less Cookbook? What are your favorites that I just have to try?

The Mother Load

Ages ago I did a quick post where I basically shared some articles I loved, found helpful, or piqued my interest (or made me laugh too, that is a sure way to get my attention!). I loved it, got a great response, shared a couple favorite blogs with you, and cleaned out a few bloglines - you certainly cannot beat that mulitasking! And then I never did it again. Until now!

One Blog I love is the Mother Load. And not just because she does Freebie Friday, although it is a rare week I miss that! She is a mom just like us trying to take care of her family well without breaking the bank. I get great ideas from her, and wanted to share a few articles that I had marked to save. (Oh, and she is spring cleaning right now, so if you need some help getting going, definitely pop over!)

I LOVED her post on "Ask Frugal Mama: Getting to Know Your Dishwasher" as she shared how it is no longer more expensive to run our dishwasher than do the work ourselves. She also share some tips for caring for your beloved dishwasher (yes, I have a very close relationship with mine, why do you ask?) This article is probably single handedly responsible for our clean kitchen right now as my energy is on the low side - I just load up the dishwasher and put it through. (Naturally I buy my detergent on sale with double coupons and have carefully read the instruction manual for loading for maximum efficiency, but do you want to hear the funny thing - my husband can out do me in loading the dishwasher any day of the week - funny and true!)

As you know I am a big fan of making my freezer work well for me and my family, I particularly enjoyed the articles "Get to Know Your Freezer" and her article "Running and Energy-Efficient Freezer".

I laughed, understood, and took notes when I read Getting Ready for Unexpected Guests.

I found the article "A Few Words About Convenience Foods" very helpful, and it definitely got me focused on this budget drain! It is so much easier to eat healthier cheaper with a little planning! I know that if I follow the tip to package things in one serving portions that the first few months of nursing will go SO much better!

I saved the recipe posted with "When the Pantry is Bare" because it sounded like something we would like, I am pretty sure I could hide frozen veggies in it, or at least beside it, and I always have all those ingredients on hand!

And I will have to try the Apple Pie Muffins!

"Baby Steps Series: The Art of Stockpiling" was very helpful, and I was not new to frugal shopping when I read it! The companion article called "Baby Steps Series: Storing Your Stockpile" is also good, and got me thinking about how I can better store our stockpile of stuff.

These are just a few of the posts and articles that got me thinking and helped me. They are all ones that I will be saving onto my computer file of household articles for future reference and help! I hope you enjoy them too!

If you read the Mother Load too, what articles did I miss? What are your favorites?

Right on target...

...I guess?

Apparently things are progressing right on target, we went to the park this morning to play with friends, and I had my first bout of low blood pressure for this pregnancy. (I am thrilled because last year we did not get this far, and this appears to be very normal for me.)

On the plus side, at least it is not high blood pressure! And I got to freak out my friend just a bit....