Need Recipes?

We receive a seasonal magazine called Kraft Food & Family. It is a good source for recipes ideas that are simple and often quick to prepare. Best of all, it's FREE!

Click HERE to sign up and get your copy!

Those of you have read my blog for any length of time know that I'm a journey to better eating and healthy living. There are many recipes in this magazine that use processed foods as the magazine's primary goal, I'm sure, is to sell more Kraft products. Still, for dinner ideas or helps when you are just trying to get dinner on the table, healthy or not, this magazine is a big help - especially if you just need ideas for putting adding variety to your table. As I've learned more about nutrition, I've taken these recipes and subsituted better food choices for some of the ingredients (fresh homemade salsa for canned salsa, homemade salad dressing for salads, etc)

It also gives my kids a good source for coming up with ideas when it's their turn to fix a meal. My daughter fixed Orange Chicken in the crockpot yesterday and it was fantastic! She added rice and sauteed green beans to finish it off. Everyone wanted seconds and I enjoyed not having to make dinner!

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
From Kraft Food & Family

Prep Time: 10 min
Makes about 4 servings.

8 small boneless skinless chicken thighs (1 lb.)
3 Tbsp. flour
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1/3 cup Original Barbecue Sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. freshly grated gingerroot

Directions

TOSS chicken with flour in slow cooker.

STIR in all remaining ingredients; cover with lid.

COOK on LOW for 6 to 8 hours (or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours).

Serving Suggestion
Serve with hot cooked rice and steamed green beans.

To Double
Serving a crowd? Prepare as directed, doubling all ingredients and increasing the cook time to 8 hours on LOW (or 6 hours on HIGH).

A Good Description...

This is just so good...I can completely relate. From XBOX WIFE. This is Mrs Brownstone's description:

Between being a housekeeper, a cook, a chauffeur, a washer woman, a tailor, a nanny, a teacher, a tutor, a secretary, a gopher, a banker, a nurse, a wife, a lover, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law, an aunt, a friend, a provider, a volunteer, a church helper, a prayer warrior, a cheerleader, a psychologist, an organizer, and a social activities director...I don't have time for a paying job!

Perspective

The journey we are on in life can sometimes seem so ordinary, so plain, and so uneventful. The daily grind and rhythm of our days can seem to take on on a hum-drum feel and we can get so easily lost in the sameness of it all. At times, our present and our future can appear to hold no purpose, anticipation, or excitement. Our lives can appear boring and meaningless.





Many people I know, including myself, when faced with this apparent reality, start looking inward and backward. There is a flurry of energy to attempt to relive the past, to look over the shoulder, to see where we've come from, and how we ended up exactly where we are. Unfortunately, looking back for many folks only results in sadness because it leads us back to the conclusion of our current circumstances and position. Our pasts bring us right back to face our same realities - which appears to represent a lack of substance and no apparent trigger point. What appears to be most real is only the bare road from which we've come.





But please don't miss it!...don't be so focused on the road ahead or the road behind that you miss your chance. Tunnel vision can rob you of current opportunities available in your life that you should snatch up and to take advantage of.

Just to your right and to your left are opportunities - Oh! if you will only choose to see them!

Opportunities to climb a little big higher...above your circumstances and to have a more heavenly outlook on the road you travel...




Opportunities to take a risk and walk out on water...with your hope and trust resting on the power and love of Jesus Christ...




Opportunities to have sweet fellowship with other brothers and sisters who are on the same journey as you...




Opportunities currently with in your reach to release those things that you've been holding on to that are only weighing you down.




Opportunities to feel alive...to enjoy a thrill...for no good reason...even if it results in a slight tumble every now and then...




Opportunities surround us everyday. They are just to our right and to our left, we just have to lift up our eyes and take a look around.

Opportunities are there waiting for us to take advantage of them. We just have to pay attention.

Opportunities await you and I. It's all about our perspective.

It's all about what we choose to see.





Don't forget as you walk through your life and make decisions as to which opportunities you will take and which you will reject or ignore...

... other people are watching you to see how you handle your journey...

Learn how to have a healthy perspective and how to live your life without tunnel vision.

Learn how to be grateful for every opportunity available to you - whether to your right or to your left.

Learn how to take advantage of thrills and moments of pure joy...don't pass those moments up...not even one.

Somebody's watching you...learning from you...believing in you... copying the actions you make and attitudes you adopt in the situations that come your way.


If you, like me, struggle to maintain proper perspective as you walk through life, consider these verses...

Psalm 106:1
Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Strive for a life that looks for looks for the silver lining in every cloud. You might be very surprised at what you find.


I just realized that I've blogged on the subject of perspective before. If you are interested in reading more on this topic you can here
, or you can check out this post from Katherine @ Raising Five

Am I A Quitter? - Part III

So, since that fateful race, in an effort to not be a quitter, I have done many things...but I have not done them well or for the right reasons.

When I became an unwed mother at the age of 19, I was determined to finish college in the prescribed four years. I was determined to finish - even it meant that I graduated with the wrong degree. (WASTED TIME)

When I went through labor and refused all drugs so that I could do it naturally, I was determined to finish - even though the people who I so desperately wanted to prove myself to weren't even in the room. (PLEASING PEOPLE)

When I got my first job out of college and realized a month before I started that I'd made a mistake in my choice, I was determined to take the job and finish - even though I prayed daily for God to put me in the hospital with two broken legs so that I would have a legitimate reason not to go. (NOT WILLING TO ADMIT A MISTAKE)

When, three job later, I finally found what I thought to be the perfect job, I was determined to finish - even though I had to arrive at 6:30 am and couldn't leave until 6pm....eating lunch only at my desk...having very little time for my daughter. (WRONG PRIORITIES)

When, I stayed committed to making a certain relationship work that I'd invested much time and energy into, I was determined to finish - even though I knew it was going nowhere and wouldn't provide me or my daughter with the kind of God-focused marriage and family life I so desired. (SETTLING FOR LESS THAN GOD'S BEST)

I could go on and on...the point is this...

I've learned that the goal is not only finishing, but finishing well. Finishing well requires focus. Focus requires self-control. Self control is a fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-24 (NIV)

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Many of the things that I start and don't finish are begun on a whim, without a thought given towards the commitment involved or the time required. I jump in without thinking...or praying.

Some of the things I have finished, I have not finished well because my focus was singularly on my desire to complete MY goal in comparison to completing the goal the Lord had for my life.

Our lives are not lived without mistakes. Every experience we have, God can use for his glory. He weaves our good and our not-so-good together to make a beautiful tapestry. But, oh how I want to avoid unnecessary pitfalls or wasted time.

I so want to be one of those people that lives a life of focus. A life that embodies self-discipline. I desire to go the distance in the purposes that God has given me. I don't want to live my life only to leave loose threads, rough edges, or unfinished tasks. I want to finish and I want to finish well. It makes me sad to think of times in the past when I haven't.

When I look around at all of the projects and tasks that I have yet to complete, it makes me sad to think that I will fall prey to every distracting activity that comes my way and not keep first things first.

What can I do? How can I change?

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

How do I know which race is mine. Only God can tell me. How can I get this information from God? I have to spend time with him, I have to read his Word. No person, radio program, book, or BLOG can give me the specific direction that He can.

And then I have to R-U-N! My feet must then act on the Word I have received from the Lord and the power from Him that is at work within me.

1 Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Life is hard. Life is tough. On the day when I finished that 800 meter race in third place, it was difficult for everyone. My legs weren't the only ones burning, my lungs weren't the only ones taut and tight, my thighs weren't the only ones that felt lifeless and heavy. The difference between first and third place was a matter of effort.

Running with perseverance and purpose is HARD.

Running to win is DIFFICULT.

Running with success requires SELF-DISCIPLINE.

I don't think I'm a quitter, I think I get easily distracted. Isn't that like Satan though? If he can't convince us to quit, he just keeps us distracted.

Jesus is calling me to run with him, to keep from being distracted, to live my life with purpose. He's calling me - not just to finish but to finish well.

Am I the only person whose working on focusing on the things in my life that are important to God? I don't think so. Keep at it if you are in the same boat. This life is a journey. We are constantly learning and transforming. We can rest assured thought that...

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Thanks for following me through this last week of confessions. I think I've wallowed enough. I'll have something positive to post tomorrow...I think.

Pray for...

Rachel of Home Sanctuary and her sister, Katherine, of Raising Five. They experienced a tragic loss over the weekend.

I actually had the opportunity to spend time with Rachel at the Deeper Still Women's Conference in Nashville, TN this weekend. I can't imagine coming home to news like this.

Be sure and pray for their families this week.

Am I A Quitter? - Part II

OK...so where were we....oh yes! My Dad came to watch me run the 800 meter race...

I started out and established a good pace. I remember rounding the first curve and thinking that I felt full of energy and that my breathing had a good rhythm. I remember hearing the pace of the girls behind me and thinking that I had a chance.

First straight away...even after the curve where I had the advantage of being in the inside lane, I was still in the lead. Now I started to get a bit excited. Maybe I had a chance!

Second curve...my adrenaline started flowing and my heart pounded a bit more. Surprisingly, I was still in control of my body, driving it forward with each step and each swing of the arm in the direction of the stands. I felt powerful.

Second straight away...words cannot express the pride that welled up in me as I heard my dad's voice in the stands yelling out, "Go Chrystal, go Chrystal!...You can do it... keep it up...pace yourself...GO....GO....!!!

Third curve...a sense of pride welled up in me...no one had passed me yet....there was a chance...a real chance I could take home a medal....

Third straightaway...that familiar feeling started to rise....my lungs began to burn, my legs filled up with lead....I willed my arms to pump faster, harder. I was still in the lead.

Fourth curve...all of my power floated out through my nostrils, the capacity to control my breathing and my pace disappeared. My body and my flesh took over as I slowly realized that now even getting to the finish line might be a real issue. I held on to the lead by a thin shred.

Fourth and last straight away...in the distance, I heard my Dad yelling, "Chrystal...don't give up....keep going...COME ON...COME ON....KEEP THE LEAD....YOU CAN DO IT".... This time his encouragement fell on deaf ears. My appendages cared nothing for his words and they, not me, my heart, soul, or will, was running the show.

I heard the steps of the girl closest to me increase a tad in speed. She was after me. Halfway up that straight-a-way, she passed me and took with her the last bit of resolve I had....I had lost...and a distant voice cried out in anguish.

"AWWWWWWW....CHRYSTAL....!" I heard the rising devastation in my dad's voice.

Now...I had given up...

A second set of feet closed in on me. When I say that I was barely walking...that's exactly what I mean. Now I was entering the phase of embarrassment. Not only was I losing, but I might not even finish...AND I DIDN'T EVEN CARE ANYMORE....

"CHRYSTAL....FLOOR IT....RUUUUUUNNNNNNNN!" That was panic setting in. He knew what was about to happen.

I attempted to set my eyes on the finish line but it seemed too far...I let my eyes fall to my feet willing them to lift up, move forward at least six inches, and then "clunk" down. All I owned at this juncture were two slender pieces of stone that were supposed to be my legs.

Completing the last thirty feet to the finish line seemed to take me three hours. Everything was moving in slow motion. The voices from the crowd, were unintelligible.

When my right foot crossed that white line, I came to a screeching halt. I had finished. I was devastated because I had not finished well. Worse, although I had finished the race, I had not finished my desired course - my desire to run well. I felt that I had failed myself by robbing "me" of taking home a first place medal. I had a third place medal but it wasn't my best.

I truly feel that on that day (and every time my whole family laughs as my Dad tells the story again and again) I did not give my all. My flesh was weak and I did not dig deeper and rule over it. I achieved something but nothing of what mattered to me.

Ever since, I have been obsessed with finishing. I evaluate myself within the context of whether or not I have given my all...

Click here for PART III

Am I A Quitter? - Part I

Ok ya'll...I'm continuing the confessing I started last week...

I've been thinking this week about all the things that I have started and haven't finished. I love to try new things and I get excited fairly quickly when I learning something new. Maybe it's a form of adult-onset A.D.D. There are reminders all over my home of things that I've set out to do but are yet incomplete.

Two years ago, I started a quilting class with my daughter. The quilt is in my closet folded up - about 1/8 of the way from completion.

I have three scrapbooks started. One for Sumo, one for Kano, and for the family. None of them have more than 6 - 8 pages.

I've started cleaning my closet more times than I can count. The back of the closet hasn't been touched for the last three years.

I have a pile of items to sell on Craig's List of Ebay. The pile is growing faster than the items sell.

Books are a passion of mine. However, I buy them faster than I can read them. Being less than 10 minutes from a Barnes & Noble doesn't help my case, neither do my visits to the annual homeschool book fairs (yes that's plural). Add to that, the reading that I need to do to keep up with my children's learning journey is piling up too.

Recently, I've taken on a part time job of sorts. I'm doing an editing project on a book. I've had a year to do it. Why am I feeling rushed?

I've started more Bible Studies than I care to remember. The Believing God Bible Study by Beth Moore is still on the book shelf that it sat on when I started it two years ago. Both summers since, it's been on my "to do" list.

And let's not forget the story that I started on this blog that is yet awaiting the next part. I think I ran into a writer's block and just never picked up where I left off.

Although I enjoy my life and never quite get stuck in a rut or fall to boredom often, does this mean that I'm highly distractable, undisciplined, or lazy?

Mulling over this question I'm reminded of a situation in my young life that exemplifies the issue.

When I was in high school, I ran track. Although, my true desire was to be a sprinter and join the elite on the 400 meter relay team, the reality was I just wasn't fast enough. So, I got put in longer distance races. Instead of being on the 400 meter relay team, I had to run the whole thing by myself. This race still has an element of sprinting to it. I mean you have to run a quarter mile full speed! Needless to say, this was a struggle for me too. The same folks who were running 100 meter dashes and could keep it up for awhile, were the same people who entered the quarter mile races. I ended up discouraged at many of the track meets. I wanted to run.

So, my coach started me running the 800 meter. She obviously thought I was a glutton for punishment. Now I'm sure, that in some higher level track programs, the 800 meter is a sprint too. However, in high school, in my day :), it was considered to require a little more than speed. It also required more endurance.

I hated running this race.

I hated feeling like my lungs were going to pop out of my chest cavity and that I was going to pound on them with my spikes on the asphalt. My head hurt, my thighs ached, and my arms would be on fire. It was miserable. And that was when I was running the race at a track meet. Practices held triple the torture.

I had to run longer and faster in preparation for my performance at a meet. The 800 meter became two miles for practice in endurance, and 200 meter dashes eight times for speed. I would leave the track every evening dying a slow death. But, I wanted to run.

One of the funniest stories we tell over and over at our family dinner table is of the time my dad came to watch me run the 800 meter...

Click here for Part II

Summers with Bessie

We've been slowly ramping up to our regular schedule. Each morning we wake a little earlier, and each day we gradually add back some component of our routine. It's the traditional school year again, and we are trying to return to our regularly scheduled programming. There's only one problem...

Bessie's not here...

Each summer and short spurts of time during the school year, we get to be a whole family. Bessie makes her way here from over four hours away and we all relish in her presence.

Gracie enjoys the privilege of sharing "sister-time"...staying up late and having someone to burn the midnight oil with (the girls think we don't know:).



Sumo enjoys having someone around who doesn't mind playing with his toys and helping him to create imaginary scenarios.



Kano enjoys having someone who doesn't mind holding him as long as he wants to be held.





Even the cousins miss out on playing with both of their "big cousins".



We all miss her.

The peril of a blended family. Try as you might, things are never quite right. Either one parent or the other misses the child caught between two homes. Blocks of time pass and from one visit to the next we've missed two inches or a shoe size. It's not easy.

We are so blessed that God has done such a wonderful tying of the heart strings. Every summer we go through withdrawal. I miss our late night talks,




Gracie misses having someone to laugh with at comedy TV after the littles have gone to bed, Sumo misses his buddy,




grandparents miss opportunities to dote,




and Daddy misses his chance to catch up on the life of his little girl.




Bessie is a one-of-a-kind, made-to-fit, can't-be-replaced, member of our family. We miss her....even the quirky parts....


(She's gonna kill me for including this picture)

So Bessie...I know you are reading the blog...This one's for you. You are loved and you are missed.

WFMW: Brand Loyalty

Much of the time I'm NOT brand loyal because I'll try anything to save a buck, but there are a few things that I rarely, if ever, compromise on.

First, Secret deoderant. When you want to ensure that you won't have an embarrasing moment - this is the only way to go. Now there are non-antiperspirant alternatives (for those afraid of antispirant due to Alzheimers concerns), but that's information for another post on another day.

Second, Total Raisin Bran. I've tried all different kinds and this is the one that is the best. It tastes great and give you a high value of much of the good stuff (specifically fiber) that most of us struggle to include in our daily diets. Check it out here.

And lastly, BRAUM'S MILK. I'm always on a journey to find better food choices. If you want milk from hormone free cows at a price that won't make you choke at the register, Braum's is the way to go. Unfortunately they recently raised their prices to be more in line with everybody else's but they are still the cheapest around North Texas....by like 50 cts to a dollar!

Check out some of my other recent Works-For-Me-Wednesday ideas:

• Tips for More Energy
• Freecycle
• No Fuss Shopping w/Kids
• Carrot Cake Muffins
• Mommy's Tip Jar

Or simply click HERE to see view all of them!...

Be sure to check out Rocks in My Dryer for more Works-for-Me Wednesday tips.

In Search of Farm Fresh Eggs

It's official...I've finally flown the coop!

Over Labor Day weekend, I made my second trip to a local farm in the area for farm fresh eggs.

I tried my first batch about three years ago when a lady in my homeschool group offered me a dozen to try. I was shocked at how different they tasted from the regular 'ol eggs from the grocery store. Made me kind of suspect b/c the taste was so different. So...in the back of my head, everytime I go to the grocery store, how I could get my hands on the real thing again.

Now I'm trying really hard to be balanced. We can't afford to eat all organic, so we don't attempt to. I just try to get what I can when I can and to make good choices when they are available....But seeing is believing.

The real eggs I've had are more "potent". The egg on the left is the one from the hen cage-free and bug eating. The egg on the right is the one from the hen caged in a warehouse and I'm sure pumped with some growth hormones.

Now, in case you're thinking that I have some "hookup" to find someone who has egg-laying chickens, please know that I wasn't raised in the country, neither was anyone in my family. I don't know of any farmers first hand or even farmers that are a friend of a friend kind-of-a-thing. I jumped on www.localharvest.org to find a farmer near me.

My kiddos made the trip with hubby and I. They are not used to being on farms either.

Sumo was convinced that they were gonna bite him :)

So this post is here to encourage anyone who goes to Whole Foods and sees the prices on organic eggs and shivers in their boots. There are options. The price of a dozen regular eggs today at my local grocery store - $1.59. The price of these organic eggs - $1.50. I stocked up on four dozen to last me either until my local grocery runs a sale I can't resist or until I can make the drive again to the farmers.

For more info on why to "get into" making healthier food choices. See the links in this post.