Thought for the day. . .

Don’t argue with an idiot; people watching

may not be able to tell the difference . . . . . .

Sometimes all you can do is pray. . . . .

Ever worry too much?  Ever feel so overwhelmed that you don’t know where to start?  Ever have a friend or loved one in the hospital or going through a really bad time in their lives?  Ever been through a really bad time yourself?  Someone close to you ever died?  Someone you love seriously ill?  Are you seriously ill?  Are you mad?  Are you sad?  Are you in the depths of despair?  Learn from Jesus: Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane just before he was to be arrested and crucified and He knew what was coming. . . . .

Jesus told his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”  He took Peter, James, and John with him.  He plunged into a sinkhole of dreadful agony.  He told them, “I feel bad enough right now to die.  Stay here and keep vigil with me.”  Going a little ahead, He fell to the ground and prayed for a way out: “Papa!  Father!! you can- can’t you?- get me out of this.  Take this cup away from me!  But please, not what I want- what do You want?”  Mark 14 : 32-36 (The Message Translation)

Spagetti w/ garlic toast

We eat spagetti weird around here. My husband’s allergies are such that he avoids tomato sauce, especially seasoned tomato sauce. So our spagetti is prepared in 3 completely separate pans: spagetti noodles, sauce, and meat. Then it is assembled on each person’s plate in the manner to which they are accustomed. Husband gets noodles and meat smothered in sprinkle cheese (parmesan). First born gets noodles, meat, small serving of sauce, small sprinkle of cheese. 2nd born gets the traditional noodles, meat, sauce, sprinkle cheese combo- the one you get in restaurants. 3rd born gets noodles, sauce, only a sampling of meat, and oodles of sprinkle cheese. I am a sauce lover so if there is not sauce left on my plate when I’m done with the noodles, something was not assembled correctly. I also occasionally stir-fry a few peppers and onions and maybe a slice of pepperoni or two and add to mine as well!

Oh, you wanted a recipe??? Oh, almost forgot!!!

We prefer angel hair pasta because it cooks in only 3 min. but any pasta will do.

ruralmomof3’s spagettie sauce? (this is also my pizza sauce recipe)

Take a  regular size can (12 oz or so? not the little can) or two small cans of tomato sauce and dump it into a pan.  Add the following:

• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp minced garlic or one pressed clove or equivalent of garlic powder (garlic is not absolutely necessary)
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley

Bring this to a simmer and serve.  If you are worried that your kids only eat spagetti sauce and ketchup for veggies, you can sneek some stuff in your sauce. 

• jar of strained baby food carrots or some shredded carrot
• finely chopped spinach and tell the kids it’s fresh basil (hee, hee)
• finely chopped onion (just get into the habit of ALWAYS putting onion in your ground beef)
• mushrooms
• bell peppers
• even corn or peas (if you think you can get away with it!  Good luck!!)

Meatballs

Our meat usually consists of browned hamburger that is browned with chopped onion.  You can make meatballs if you want to be fancy.  Just make your basic meatloaf recipe- turn it out onto a cutting board, flatten it into a rectangle, and cut it into desired meatball size squares.  Pick up each square, give it a slight roll in your hands, and throw it on a baking sheet or in a skillet.  Brown and serve!!  The trick to round meatballs is turning them often so I don’t recommend the baking method if you have to have round meatballs.  The smaller the meatball, the faster the cook time.  If your’s are golf ball size or bigger, be careful that you have cooked them thoroughly!  No one wants cold in the middle meat balls with their spagetti!!

Garlic toast-

I prefer to be lazy when it comes to garlic toast.  I wait for the sale on the already prepared kind in the freezer section or buy the clearance rack kind in the bakery!  If you prefer to make your own or have leftover bread, buns, etc to get rid of- Here you go!

Spread bread or buns or whatever out on a cookie sheet.

Butter each piece well.

Sprinkle with your favorite garlic spice blend (if you don’t have one, you can soften a stick of butter and stir in a tsp minced garlic and some parsley- don’t forget the parsley because the little green flecks will keep you from putting the leftover garlic butter on your cinnamon toast tomorrow morning!)

For a crisp toast, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake in 400^ oven until browned.

For a soft toast, sprinkle with mozzerella cheese (or american, or colby, or whatever) and broil for a minute or two until the cheese melts.

 

 

ENJOY!!

Me and my BIG mouth. . . .

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a BIG mouth! But in this instance I’m speaking of all of our big mouths and not just my own. . . . awe. . . you were hoping for one big honking story weren’t you?!!!!!

James 3 (quoted and paraphrased portions of the chapter) says this:
Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged by God with greater strictness. We all make mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way. . .. . the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. . . . . . People can tame all kinds of animals but no one can tame the tongue . . . .sometimes it praises our Lord and sometimes it breaks out into curses against others. . . . blessings and curses from the same mouth is not right! You can’t draw fresh water from a salty pool.

Now think about that last sentance. . . . if you mix salt water and fresh water together what do you get? Salt water slightly watered down but it’s still salty. . . . .if you mix blessings and curses what do you get? Hmmmmmm? Got ya’ thinkin didn’t I!!!! (got me thinking too! LOL)

Lord, I ask you today to keep one hand on my shoulder and one hand over my BIG mouth! Thank you Jesus!

-amen

Quote to ponder for the day

We must begin and end every day with praising God, we must give Him thanks every morning for the mercies of the night and every night for the mercies of the day; going out and coming in, we must bless God. – Matthew Henry.

The Difference a Prayer Makes

I got up early one morning

And rushed right into the day;

I had so much to accomplish

That I didn’t take time to pray.

 

Problems just tumbed about me,

And heavier came each task;

“Why doesn’t God help me?”, I wondered.

He answered, “You didn’t ask”

 

I wanted to see joy and beauty-

But the day toiled on, gray and bleak;

I wondered why God didn’t show me,

He said, “but you didn’t seek”

 

I tried to come into God’s presence,

I used all my keys to the lock;

God gently and lovingly chided:

“My child, you didn’t knock”

 

I woke up early this morning

And paused before entering the day;

I had so much to accomplish

That I had to take time to pray.

-author unknown- Taken from A Woman’s Call to Prayer by Eliz. George

Patricia Parker

My friends mom died on Friday.  I didn’t know mom well but I knew her well enough to be very sorry she is gone.   She was a “say it like it is” gal no matter what. . . . (makes me think a bit of myself, ya know?) 

Her cancer was an aggressive one.  If I remember right, she was first diagnosed early summer of this year and gone already.  Her symptoms started off  (I spoke with Pat in July) with an injury to her breast- she whacked a cabinet door into her breast and the bruise just wouldn’t go away. 

I’ m writing about her today to help myself mourn her loss but also to remind you: 

If you have a sore that won’t heal- badger your doctor until he/she gets you a real answer!!! 

If you have a funny feeling that something just isn’t right- badger your doctor until he/she gets you a real answer!!

Doctors should be able to find an answer or refer you to someone who can!

Pat’s life was a life lived for Jesus and for that I’m forever going to miss running into her in the grocery store and running into her at the Goodwill- buying things for her grandson. . . . .   A life lived for Jesus is all that matters in this world!

Mono

Just checking in to let any of you regulars know that my 1st born has been diagnosed with Mono and I have been pretty busy running to the doctor, lab, etc. lately.  My #2 kid is exhibiting similar symptoms and so I’m watching him as well. 

For those of you who are checking out this post wanting info on Mono, here it is:

Symptoms:

First born complained of just not feeling well for a couple weeks nearly a month ago.  Football practice had started and he wasn’t able to keep up with the other kids, said it “hurt to breathe”.  I just figured he was not in as good of shape as he’d thought and that he probably inherited my lack of stamina so I let it go.  The first day of school, he had a hard time getting ready to go which isn’t like him on the first day but it was also his first day at the middle school so I thought he was nervous.  When I picked him up after football practice at 5:30, he was exhausted.  He also complained of pain on the side of his neck and a headache.  His coach expressed concern because first born wasn’t even able to complete warm-ups.  The second day of school, I kept him home and took him to the doctor.  He presented at the dr office with headache, temp of 101, extremely swollen gland on the side of his neck, and his “hurts to breathe” was actually an extremely red/infected throat.  The nurse practitioner diagnosed him with tonsillitis and an upper respiratory infection, prescribed Keflex (inexpensive antibiotic), and told him to rest and drink lots and he’d be ready for football again come Monday.  Over the weekend he vomited numerous times and complained of a stomach ache and head ache and even though the “hurts to breathe” complaint subsided he was just not recovering like he had in the past for similar ailments.  Monday came and I could not get him out of bed for school- he was whiny, cried at the drop of a hat,  still complained of headache and stomach ache.  We went back to the nurse practitioner and she checked him over again.  His throat was less red, his gland was less swollen, and the stomach ache/vomitting was probably from the antibiotics.  She assured us he was recovering, just not as quickly as we had hoped.  He went back to school that Tuesday.  Wednesday he went to school an hour late, just exhausted.  He did not practice football at all that week.  By Friday he seemed better.  He spent the night with a friend that night.  He came home pretty tired but I figured he probably stayed up all night with his buddy.  Sunday, we went to church as usual.   He came to soccer practice with 2nd born and watched that.  Monday he went to school pretty okay, still very whiny and crying over the littlest things.   I went to town that day and spent the day playing catch up on errands.  At 3:00, my cell phone rang.  It was the school nurse saying that first born had stayed after for football but now was not feeling well enough to participate.  Tuesday, he made it through school and went to the chiropractor with his dad.  He was just not himself though.  When he got home, he said his left side hurt him all day at school.  I decided that this was enough.  I researched on the internet, spoke with friends who’s children had mono and had determined in my head that he most likely had it.  He went to the doctor on Wed (this week).  Doctor did a physical exam of his abdomen, checked his testicles, listened to his lungs, looked at his throat, spoke with him about how school was going, etc.  and then ordered a blood test, urine test, and a cat scan of his abdomen and pelvis.  This was at 2:00.  By 5:30, all the tests were done and he had a diagnosis of Mono with an enlarged spleen.   Prescription for steroids to help the spleen recover and strict orders for no horse play or strenouos activities were given.

A word of advice for those going through this or something similar with your kid:  If you go to the hospital or lab for multiple tests, find out if the tests all will require giving blood or having something put into your vein.  If this is true, tell the first lab tech who works with you that you have multiple tests and what they are.  Ask that first lab tech to put /place an IV line  in the vein and leave it there until all the tests are completed.   This will keep you or your child from getting poked multiple times- they can draw blood from there and put medicine in from there.  

Wish me luck as we get the house disinfected, take all our vitamins, and help these boys recover!