Proverbs 31 woman and I....

She had her servants to look after and I have mine.

In this corner: Servant Number One - the 2 qt crock - busily cooking away chick peas (garbanzo beans) to be added to salads for extra fiber and protein, and to make hummus. This appliance joined our household one winter day in AK - the "day after Christmas sale" - $5.

In this corner: Servant Number Two - the trusty ole rice steamer. This is a FRIVOLOUS appliance but one I use a LOT. I wanted one when I noted that all my favorite Chinese restaurants had them. One day our BX in MT had one mis-marked. I carried it to the manager to let her know that it was mis-marked and to find the correct price. She was in a SNIT and insisted that the marked price was correct....she wouldn't listen to me...so I bought it at the mis-marked price...paying 1/4 of the retail price for the thing. Today, it contentedly steamed up 8 cups of rice for dinner and to be used for lunches and stir fries throughout the week.

And finally: the oldest servant in our home - Servant Number Three - my workhorse - 6 qt Rival Crockpot. This poor crock pot has served me for over 23 years. The handle is melted. I think one of our movers stepped on it this last move because the plastic top has several long cracks running through it. I suspect it no longer cooks efficiently because of the cracks...but I'd like to find a new one of the same size and shape so I'd have two crocks for pot. Though the electric part of this one works....maybe I simply need a new lid for this one. Yes, I have a very hard time replacing anything that still has a semblance of life left in it. Oh, I know, it's not one of the cool colors...but nothing says late 70's/early 80's like harvest autumn orange. Here it heats up last week's BBQ beef. I must have doubled the honey because it was very sweet. Jamin mentioned it would make the base of a nice sweet and sour...so I added pineapple and served it over rice tonight. ::snort::

Two New Purchases

Sometime during this week and friend and I went out to lunch. Then we went shopping. I had been looking for a butter bell and the local kitchen speciality store called to say that theirs were in. This is NOT a butter bell...it's a norpor or is that nopro ::snort:: for less than 1/2 the price of a butter bell. I wanted some of the really cool designs but I wanted to be sure I liked this before I forked over money. So....on the left....darling honey jar; not sure it will work but I'm trying to find something less messy than a quart jar of honey. On the right...butter bell. You put water in the bottom of the crock, softened butter in the top....

and you have cool, fresh, spreadable butter when you want it...without the mess of a butter dish.

Two Full Days

Friday
Speech. Produce pick up. Sort produce. Produce delivery. Healthy Weight Loss class. Arielle and Nolan's Drama class. Cy worked. Pink Panther.

Saturday
The Brady Bunch (what did *I* ever see in this show - the littles love it?????). Curves. Paintball. Birthday party. Football. Car repairs. Shopping.

More details?
The boys were excited today to meet up with Mandy's husband, Marty, and son, Matt, for a few rousing rounds of paintball. The base has a great course (if you like wallowing in cockle burs and that sort of play). The price is right. Today there were quite a few trainees (active duty) and so they had a challenge...and fun.

Arielle attended a birthday party today. Emma's Spa...what fun. I love what Deja and family did for Emma's birthday. Instead of presents for Emma, everyone brought items to be donated to the children's oncology clinic where her young cousin is a patient. Did I say that I really LOVE this idea? We plan to borrow it.

Some people can sleep ANYWHERE....

She woke and dressed herself....Zander's shirt is 1/2 on and 1/2 off....and Arielle's sock is on her arm.

Why I need Curves

 I set the alarm to be sure I was up with enough time to get in a 45 min step routine before the busy day begins. The alarm went off, but I have two extra bodies in bed with me....no workout this a.m. Maybe tonight....{sigh} It has been NICE to workout at Curves without a toddler and pre-schooler wrapped around my ankle and offering "enlightening" comments. ::snort::

Boring , Boring Posts Without Pictures....

.....but I'm too busy this week to take pictures.


Today was our "quiet" day. The only thing I had to do was take the boys to House of Faith.

We did couch school. After delivering the boys, I spent the afternoon baking and cooking. I'd put 2 roasts in the oven last night and shredded them to make BBQ sandwiches for tonight....I baked 3 loaves of bread and a dozen hamburger buns, I made some salad dressing, got some strawberries in the freezer for smoothies.....did some laundry, dusted, made March roster for Veggie Sales, finished a Veggie Sales newsletter.....THAT sort of stuff that falls apart when I'm out of the home every day. Oh, thanks to Becky's blog I finally found a GRADUATATION ticker for Josiah and then changed my ticker to reflect Curves goal for me. I'm not sure I've embraced lowering the goal....however there seems to be an ongoing discussion about my height and so I guess I'm not quite as tall as I thought I was.....and an inch does equal 5 lbs. ::snort:: I know when I was 115/120 everyone was asking me if I was anoerixic....I took that to be a clue that it wasn't very appealing weight for me. ::snort:: Not a problem 4 pregnancies later. ::snort::

The one thing I did NOT get done, which was IMPORTANT, was to get the RV stuff off to Darshia...ARGH...tomorrow afternoon I will not go anywhere, nor allow anyone to call me, visit, or ANYTHING until I get that DONE and mailed!

Josiah has a nasty burn from the grill. He was home for dinner tonight - great treat! Mandy and 3 of her children dropped by. Hi, Mandy! She's going to try produce co-op tomorrow by taking 1/2 of one of my shares. We actually are getting through most of our produce these days...Jamin and I are both trying to do the 10 - 12 servings a day...adds up quick. LOL

That's it for tonight...I still need to count $ for co-op tomorrow, finish getting baskets arranged, and get STACIA to go to SLEEP. LOL

She is better again. I'm remembering last year at this time she would get "colds" all the time when we went to the park on windy days. Isn't she young to have allergies? I'm going to watch and see if this happens again the next time we have 50 mph winds.

Update

Stacia slept ALL night. She slept while I went to Curves the first time, slept when I was home and slept until I got back from Curves the second time.

Wait - did I say I was at Curves twice this a.m.? Yeah. I woke up at 4 a.m. I always do this when I have something to be at in the a.m. I got up and studied, had an orange and headed for Curves at 5:25. I discovered on Tues and Thurs they don't open until 7:00! ::snort::

Quick question since many of you seem to be familiar with Curves. Yesterday the trainer said to keep my heart rate between 70 - 8o% of max. Which I kept it at 80%. Today I was doing the same and the owner said I should keep it at 70%....because I'm new to the workout. Someone care to explain to me why I'd want to keep my heart rate at 70%?

Today is our "sanity break" in this busy 4th week....so I'd best get to it and sanitize.