Living In Grace

WFMW - Fast Dinners

Working from home is a kick ... except when the days go past 15 and 16 hours and - what the heck - the family still wants dinner? !So, I pull out the slow cooker in the morning and throw in a package, or two, of (still) flash frozen boneless and skinless chicken thighs (about $5.00/bag at The WalMart), a bottle of italian dressing, BBQ sauce or some marinade from the store, 2 cups of water and slow cook all day on low.

Add some instant rice and veggies, and voila! Real food, without a pizza crust.

Happy family? Happy Mommy.

Cheap? Happy Pocketbook!

For more Works-For-Me-Wednesday tips ... visit Shannon at RocksInMyDryer ....

WFMW - Fast Dinners

Working from home is a kick ... except when the days go past 15 and 16 hours and - what the heck - the family still wants dinner? !So, I pull out the slow cooker in the morning and throw in a package, or two, of (still) flash frozen boneless and skinless chicken thighs (about $5.00/bag at The WalMart), a bottle of italian dressing, BBQ sauce or some marinade from the store, 2 cups of water and slow cook all day on low.

Add some instant rice and veggies, and voila! Real food, without a pizza crust.

Happy family? Happy Mommy.

Cheap? Happy Pocketbook!

For more Works-For-Me-Wednesday tips ... visit Shannon at RocksInMyDryer ....

Pizza Box —

Code Yellow Mom, fondly known as Code, adapted a game she saw on a pizza box into this meme...further proof that anything a blogger comes across is fodder for a post! Barb over at Chelsea Morning was sweet enough to tag me .... and wait days (like 8 blog years) for me to get around to posting :)

Love and hugs Barb!

What was your favorite thing about being a kid?

My dad was the Kool-Aid dad. He would take all the kids on the block out in the street every night and taught us to play football, and baseball. When I was smaller and couldn't play, I got to be the "spotter". It was my sole duty to stand on a chair, where I could see up and down the street - and yell "CAR" every time I saw one, so the street could be cleared. It was a proud day, when someone younger took over "spotter" duty, and I got to play 3rd base.

What was your favorite subject in school?

What subject didn't I love? I was one of those that just loved school. Period. Now, in the 5th grade I had a teacher who hated me. Mrs. Istanbulan. She was evil and mean, and hated me. But, I survived and still loved school. So there.

Who was your best friend when you were 10?

Lisa Kilmer and Bonnie Buff. Lisa had polio and wore braces on her legs, but was the coolest, most fun and loving person I knew. Bonnie and I were best friends from kindergarten, until 6th grade when we both moved to different states and lost touch.She had curly hair and looked exactly like Buffy on Family Affair. Twins.

If you could be any animal what would you be?

A monkey. No reason, except they are goofier than heck.

What would you change about your school, occupation, life right now?

Uh, simple. I wouldn't need a kidney transplant. Otherwise, everything else is just where I want it.

What's your favorite color?

Purple. Royal, deep, wrap me up in silky satiny purple. Like an eggplant. But not as yucky.

What's your favorite type of crust and favorite topping on a pizza?

Ground round, cheese, fresh chopped tomatoes and red onions on a hand-tossed crust. However, if I was in California - Numero Uno pepperoni and sausage, extra cheese. Hands down. Gosh, Billings needs a Numbero Uno Pizzeria and an In 'N Out Burger, and a Sonic and a Waffle House and ... oops! I digress.

So, that's my combo special! Now .. who to tag ... who to tag ...

I tag ....

Leslie at Into Australia

SuperMom at What Makes a Housewife Desperate

Brenda at Rocking Chairs and Rainbows

Boomama

Sarah at In the Midst

Pizza Box —

Code Yellow Mom, fondly known as Code, adapted a game she saw on a pizza box into this meme...further proof that anything a blogger comes across is fodder for a post! Barb over at Chelsea Morning was sweet enough to tag me .... and wait days (like 8 blog years) for me to get around to posting :)

Love and hugs Barb!

What was your favorite thing about being a kid?

My dad was the Kool-Aid dad. He would take all the kids on the block out in the street every night and taught us to play football, and baseball. When I was smaller and couldn't play, I got to be the "spotter". It was my sole duty to stand on a chair, where I could see up and down the street - and yell "CAR" every time I saw one, so the street could be cleared. It was a proud day, when someone younger took over "spotter" duty, and I got to play 3rd base.

What was your favorite subject in school?

What subject didn't I love? I was one of those that just loved school. Period. Now, in the 5th grade I had a teacher who hated me. Mrs. Istanbulan. She was evil and mean, and hated me. But, I survived and still loved school. So there.

Who was your best friend when you were 10?

Lisa Kilmer and Bonnie Buff. Lisa had polio and wore braces on her legs, but was the coolest, most fun and loving person I knew. Bonnie and I were best friends from kindergarten, until 6th grade when we both moved to different states and lost touch.She had curly hair and looked exactly like Buffy on Family Affair. Twins.

If you could be any animal what would you be?

A monkey. No reason, except they are goofier than heck.

What would you change about your school, occupation, life right now?

Uh, simple. I wouldn't need a kidney transplant. Otherwise, everything else is just where I want it.

What's your favorite color?

Purple. Royal, deep, wrap me up in silky satiny purple. Like an eggplant. But not as yucky.

What's your favorite type of crust and favorite topping on a pizza?

Ground round, cheese, fresh chopped tomatoes and red onions on a hand-tossed crust. However, if I was in California - Numero Uno pepperoni and sausage, extra cheese. Hands down. Gosh, Billings needs a Numbero Uno Pizzeria and an In 'N Out Burger, and a Sonic and a Waffle House and ... oops! I digress.

So, that's my combo special! Now .. who to tag ... who to tag ...

I tag ....

Leslie at Into Australia

SuperMom at What Makes a Housewife Desperate

Brenda at Rocking Chairs and Rainbows

Boomama

Sarah at In the Midst

A Broad Blessed in Guatemala …

Toni is back from Guatemala, so run over and be blessed by what she wrote.

A Broad Blessed in Guatemala …

Toni is back from Guatemala, so run over and be blessed by what she wrote.

Herding Cats

Do you ever just sit back sometimes and wonder if God picks you out of a crowd, and decides it's your week to learn something... anything?

And, when you don't seem to get it the first time ... He loves you enough to keep trying ... and trying ... and trying?

This past week has been one of those - I didn't just get hit by the stupid stick, but by the whole darn forest - weeks, I think. If anyone could wear out the Almighty, it seems it was me.

I've been getting abit complacent over the last couple of weeks, in things church-y because of my schedule. Things at work have picked up, which means I have been online and working 18 hours a day ... and watching my Bloglines e-x-p-l-o-d-e. I currently have 237 things to read and comment on. 2.3.7. Yikes! I'm sooooo behind on all of your lives, and I miss you tremendously!

On top of work this week, let's take a look into the Magic Mirror and see what else has happened ....

• Saturday and Sunday were spent fighting the fight for school supplies and back to school things. The high point came, though, when Kati tried on "the ugliest green shift I've ever seen Mom" and pronounced she l-o-v-e-d it! Being the self-righteous, told-you-so-mom that I am, I made her proclaim "Mom, you were right! This shirt is awesome" just loud enough for all the other tired, battle-weary moms around the dressing rooms to hear ...


• Monday was an 18 hours work day, interspersed with breaking up the back-to-school fights jitters while ...


• Tuesday was spent as a 12 hours work day, filled with "what if no one remembers, likes, tolerates, hangs out with me" discussions.


• Oh, and we got a puppy. Sparky, the Wonder Pup - a cute, little Golden Retriever pup. The kind that doesn't sleep through the night?


• Oh, and there was that huge fire that started Tuesday night close enough for us to pack up the house and cars, again, to prepare for evacuation.


• Wednesday sees us racing the kids to school and kicking them to the curb for 8 hours dropping our beloved youngsters off for 8 hours of intelligent study and high-level social interaction. Then, we go home to check the status of the fire - and find out we have no power. Now, did I mention it's 101 and the humidity levels are high? Ugh. Evidently, the main feeder lines to Billings are in danger, so they had to fireproof them - which means no power for s.e.v.e.r.a.l hours. J and I set it out for 2 hours, then get out and go to a coffee ship, with air conditioning, on the side of town with power for 2 hours until the kids get out of school. No internet, no power, nothing until about 4:15 that night. Ugh.


• Thursday and Friday are a blur of work 18-20 hours, sleep and start over, as well as watching this thing happen with my foot - where it's numbing and swelling for no reason. Another thing to chat with the Dr. about Monday ...


• Last night, I broke a tooth. First time ever. Ugh.

I have to laugh ... really, I do. I am, by far, not a drama queen.

But, this week has felt alot like herding cats.

So now, I will take the rest of the afternoon to simply sit here and revel in catching up on my Bloglines ... to see how everyone else's week has been going.

I've missed y'all ...

Herding Cats

Do you ever just sit back sometimes and wonder if God picks you out of a crowd, and decides it's your week to learn something... anything?

And, when you don't seem to get it the first time ... He loves you enough to keep trying ... and trying ... and trying?

This past week has been one of those - I didn't just get hit by the stupid stick, but by the whole darn forest - weeks, I think. If anyone could wear out the Almighty, it seems it was me.

I've been getting abit complacent over the last couple of weeks, in things church-y because of my schedule. Things at work have picked up, which means I have been online and working 18 hours a day ... and watching my Bloglines e-x-p-l-o-d-e. I currently have 237 things to read and comment on. 2.3.7. Yikes! I'm sooooo behind on all of your lives, and I miss you tremendously!

On top of work this week, let's take a look into the Magic Mirror and see what else has happened ....

• Saturday and Sunday were spent fighting the fight for school supplies and back to school things. The high point came, though, when Kati tried on "the ugliest green shift I've ever seen Mom" and pronounced she l-o-v-e-d it! Being the self-righteous, told-you-so-mom that I am, I made her proclaim "Mom, you were right! This shirt is awesome" just loud enough for all the other tired, battle-weary moms around the dressing rooms to hear ...


• Monday was an 18 hours work day, interspersed with breaking up the back-to-school fights jitters while ...


• Tuesday was spent as a 12 hours work day, filled with "what if no one remembers, likes, tolerates, hangs out with me" discussions.


• Oh, and we got a puppy. Sparky, the Wonder Pup - a cute, little Golden Retriever pup. The kind that doesn't sleep through the night?


• Oh, and there was that huge fire that started Tuesday night close enough for us to pack up the house and cars, again, to prepare for evacuation.


• Wednesday sees us racing the kids to school and kicking them to the curb for 8 hours dropping our beloved youngsters off for 8 hours of intelligent study and high-level social interaction. Then, we go home to check the status of the fire - and find out we have no power. Now, did I mention it's 101 and the humidity levels are high? Ugh. Evidently, the main feeder lines to Billings are in danger, so they had to fireproof them - which means no power for s.e.v.e.r.a.l hours. J and I set it out for 2 hours, then get out and go to a coffee ship, with air conditioning, on the side of town with power for 2 hours until the kids get out of school. No internet, no power, nothing until about 4:15 that night. Ugh.


• Thursday and Friday are a blur of work 18-20 hours, sleep and start over, as well as watching this thing happen with my foot - where it's numbing and swelling for no reason. Another thing to chat with the Dr. about Monday ...


• Last night, I broke a tooth. First time ever. Ugh.

I have to laugh ... really, I do. I am, by far, not a drama queen.

But, this week has felt alot like herding cats.

So now, I will take the rest of the afternoon to simply sit here and revel in catching up on my Bloglines ... to see how everyone else's week has been going.

I've missed y'all ...

Gee - I thought clouds only made animals ….

Wow, my first post in a week. Where has the time gone ... so much going on and I have no place to start telling y'all what has been going on. So, for now, while I regroup and get my thoughts together and ready to get back to the bloggity goodness again ... I leave you with a quick word cloud, as seen at Miss Brenda's, Barb's or Robin's ....

 

Gee - I thought clouds only made animals ….

Wow, my first post in a week. Where has the time gone ... so much going on and I have no place to start telling y'all what has been going on. So, for now, while I regroup and get my thoughts together and ready to get back to the bloggity goodness again ... I leave you with a quick word cloud, as seen at Miss Brenda's, Barb's or Robin's ....