Sharing is Caring

Sausage & Peppers...see, I care.

First thing you wanna do is grill up your onions with lots o butter until soft. Yum. Set aside.
I always de-case my sausages, then, I brown them in a frying pan. Take them out once they are nice and brown on the outside and then slice them. Stick em' back on the pan for a bit longer on each side then remove and set aside.
Without rinsing the pan add 1 can of dark sweet beer. Let simmer. Now, I add some chopped garlic, fresh basil, cilantro, oregano, some brown sugar (to taste), a dribble of hot sauce(also to taste) and a small can of tomato paste. Next, add some sliced peppers. I prefer orange and yellow peppers. Let it all simmer for 30 minutes or so on low. Add back in grilled onions and sausage. Simmer a few minutes more. Serve over spanish rice. Thank me later.

Crooked Cake

Unlike the women who do these sorts of things strictly for enjoyment, I start out with the sole intention of being frugal. Some might have other words for it. I prefer frugal. I refuse to pay the amount that they want at a bakery for a pile of sugar so, I become determined to do it myself for $9.50. Then, after the process, I realize that I enjoy these sorts of things. I believe that the Lord knows that I would never have baked fondant cakes, built tv stands, laid a tile floor, etc. unless my bank account forced me to. Sometimes I feel like the karate kid who is wondering why Mr. Miyagi has him suffering through all this nonsense until the day when he realizes that He is molding him into something that might be able to stand a chance.
For this I am thankful. All this from a crooked cake.

Wiggy Eats

Once a month I often find myself with a wicked migraine. I'm sure there are lots of women out there who can relate. But I have found that what I eat the weeks prior can help me to avoid the severity of these headaches. Here is a small meal loaded with iron, protein and amino acids.
Filet Mignon and escerole with sweet potatoe and ginger sauce. MMmmm

Recipe for the Escarole is as follows:
Head of Escarole
2tbs sesame oil
Fresh grated ginger
Scallions
2 sweet potatoes
salt to taste
1/2 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp tamari
1 tsp lime juice

The Scent of September

I knew as soon as I woke up this morning that this was going to be the day. One of my favorite things in this life is a cool fall day with the sun beaming orange and gold, the house clean and a delicious apple pie scented candle evoking warm feelings flickering in the background. I try not to think of the long winter months that follow. For now, I'm in love with this very day.
Last week was so busy. The first week of school. It seems that this year is going to be even more challenging than the years past. Having Bryan home is wonderful. Thing is, he cannot survive on PB&J's and baby carrots for lunch like the kids can. Now every meal needs to be a 4 star, hungry-man sized spread. Also, I can't do the "cram clean" like I would do when he had a 9-5 job. You know, when I would clean the house at 4:30 just in time for him to arrive home and act like it was clean all day. Yeah, the cat's out of the bag now. The house is a complete mess at 1pm. I admit it. And now someone besides me and the kids knows it.
I love homeschooling these kids and I pray that the Lord has me doing it for years to come. I just hope I can figure out how to be a 4 star chef and a white glove house keeper while still being the best teacher possible for my kids. Only God can work this kind of magic.

Whooping cough-6 months later

Well, it's been 6 months since we first got whooping cough. I can finally say, with confidence, that it's gone!! We went to the ocean last week and I haven't heard a single coughing fit since. THANK YOU LORD!
Ugh. What a year. He has turned my mourning into dancing, and girded me with gladness. This year was filled with trials for all of us. In hindsight, I wouldn't trade it for anything.
There were times when I thought my husband was going off the deep end. He was miserable at his job and his bosses were making his life a living hell. I had moments when I thought I could've lost my daughter and my mother.The kids got whooping cough and I was never more anguished than I was watching them suffer through that awful disease. At the same time I got the call from my dear mother who told me she had breast cancer. All this lead to my own moments of feeling like I was going off the deep end. But my God is faithful. We drew closer to Him than ever before. Praying in earnest everyday, all throughout the day. My kids got to see His abounding love and mercy in full throttle. And suddenly, one day, the blessings started pouring in through the cracks of our sinking ship. Now we are a healthy, cancer-free, pain-free, burden-free, happy family once again. Bryan is working from home so we are all together, everyday. Even though we don't deserve any of it, we are being blessed with time, money, joy, peace and health. All because He loves us more than our hearts can fathom. He held us up through the storm and now we are watching as he makes the flowers grow.
I love my God. And I am so not afraid to say it.

It's Official

It's official. God has given us everything we need right under our noses. As soon as I gave the kids that pine needle tea they were better. And those of us who drank it before we got any symptoms never got the flu at all. Praise God.
As far as whooping cough goes, it has been a long and miserable journey. At this point, even though we still have some bouts at night (especially Leah) we are dealing with it fine since we know we are almost at the absolute end. It has been 7 weeks of a awful time physically (including mom's cancer), but spiritually we have never been on our knees this much.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Tamiflu

I don't want to speak prematurely here, but I wanted to share this information (in case it is as helpful as it seems) with those of you who may be facing the flu.
The main, active ingredient in the antiviral drug that we have all heard about on the news called Tamiflu, is shikimic acid. Supposedly shikimic acid is found in large quantities in most of our backyards! Pine needles have a reportedly high content of vitamin C and shikimic acid. I read that the natives taught the European settlers to use pine needles to keep them from getting scurvy and other illnesses. Needless to say, once I read this I was off like Little Red Riding Hood gathering berries. Excitedly, I skipped through the yard clipping the newest sprouts off my yellow pine. I made a tea and forced it into my newest patients. Evan was almost done anyway with his flu symptoms so it's hard to say if it worked for him, but Kaiya seemed to recover quickly with a much less severe case once she drank the brew. I also had myself and the other children drink up. So far, so good. It has been about 3 days. We'll see how it goes!
NOTE: Do not drink or consume pine needles if you are (or might be) pregnant!!

My Mom's Cancer

None of us ever could've imagined my mom in this position. She's young, beautiful, active and seemingly healthy. Not what you would peg as a "cancer patient'. But I'm seeing that there is no physical characteristics that puts someone into that category. I mean consciously I knew that, but I am realizing that subconsciously I may have thought otherwise. Once again, I'm learning how naive I can be. I find myself looking at everyone around me wondering what type of cancer they have.
But I haven't let the enemy steal my hope completely on this one. I know that it is not an absolute fate of doom. Matthew 19:26. As I understand it, she has a noninvasive form of breast cancer. Which basically means it has not made it into her bloodstream (praise God!). They will obviously still need to do some undesirable procedures (surgery, radiation, tamoxifin), but she is in a good position as far as the "C" word goes. This type of cancer is almost always curable. And my God is ALWAYS good. So what more is there?