Five Minute Friday: Home

An apt topic for this weekend's writing, as I've only just returned from a vacation from Parts West, from my hometown. How can I limit it to just five minutes?

Home

Home is where the heart is. If so, my home is with my loved ones. It's with my husband and baby.

Home is familiarity. That city, that state, that region--I spent my formative years there and they are my home as nothing else will be or can be. To be in my culture of origin--Colorado is so different from the South!--and feel at home not like an interloper is good. To smell that smell of pine trees and wind that comes (literally!) from mountaintops to valleys. (I remember Uncle Janis used to say "That's the smell of fresh air!" There's nothing like coming back from Away and smelling that smell again.

Oddly, I found my Mother-in-Law's house to be my home as well. We arrived there after two days on the road and it felt so relaxing to arrive. I felt at home. I dawdled in the shower. I washed clothes. I knew without asking where the laundry pre-treat is and that I was welcome to use it.

And now, in my own house where I've lived for 4 years, I am home. My kitchen. My bedroom. My living room. Here I am housemother, saimniece, hostess. Here is where I cook and clean and live large moments and tiny moments.

Five Minute Friday: On Forgetting

(forgive me: I've been away on vacation for three weeks.)

On Forgetting

I'm a forgetter. I've always been a forgetter. I forgot about Color Days in pre-school. I forgot homework throughout my school years. I've forgotten to pay bills. I've forgotten to deposit paychecks. I've forgotten my husband's birthday (although I had a one-month-old at the time). I forgot the time my baby was born (though I was high on morphine at the time). Like I said, I'm a forgetter.

I've had to learn to discipline myself to take notes and write lists and keep a calendar and keep on with those disciplines. I have to put effort into remembering responsibilities. Learning to lay off myself when I forget something important has been hard, but I've had to do it! Making one mistake, just one, doesn't mean I should quit trying. It's just one mistake. Keep trying! Keep working! Get better! Strive! You can do it!

You know what else I've had to learn to do? I've had to learn to trust the Lord's sovereignty. Is God not sovereign? Is he not sovereign over all things...even memory? I work hard and put strenuous effort into remembering, but if I forget something (usually an item from my grocery list), I can do without or get it later. Usually I remember just in time--and I praise my sovereign Lord for reminding me. I trust him to help me remember when I cannot.

7 Quick Takes 2011-05-11, Volume Three

::1:: Do you remember the movie The Emperor's New Groove? All it took for the wicked king to realize his humility and the dignity of each person was to be turned into a llama for a few days. The movie is so.funny. I am relating to it these days...I want my groove back, and Baby keeps interrupting my groove. Perhaps I am simply too idolatrous of My Groove and need to realign my heart to God's priorities: to serve and love others. Sigh. Sanctification is good...but it stinks.

::2:: I've gotten a lot less fussy about stains. I've got milk on my shirt all the time, whether fresh milk, slightly old milk, or slightly digested milk. If Baby spits up on me...meh, I'll wash the shirt. (He's not much of a spitter-upper, thankfully.) If Baby spits up on Husband...oh boy, get the man a clean washcloth, because YUCK.

::3:: In Baby News, do you know what his new skill is!?!? Smiling! He smiles at me at least once a day, and has smiled at his Daddy twice...both times on purpose. What a thrill. I know the emotion was in his heart but we humans are communicators, and it's nice to see the affection on Baby's face, a connection between his heart and mine. Yay. Oh, yay!

::4:: We're going on a road trip in a few weeks. Will Baby make it, strapped in his car seat for 6-8 hours a day (except for food/diaper breaks)? We shall see.

::5:: This road trip...we're headed West to Colorado and Kansas. In Colorado, the plan is to go to Vail for the Teva Mountain Games. We need to bring winter clothes for Baby because it snowed there last night. (And the temperature is to hit 90 degrees here at home today.) Winter clothes? In June?

::6:: I was asked months ago to write for a Pro-Life blog. It was founded by a man in my church, a very logical, absent-minded-professor type. I'd be the only woman writing for it. I was unmotivated to write during my pregnancy, but now I'm fomenting some thoughts for that venue. Perhaps I'l take the plunge after all.

::7:: You know those laundry bags you buy for small items and unmentionables? I bought one the other day for baby socks, because I read somewhere that they can get sucked into your washing mashine drain and clog up the works...anyway, I love it. It was 97 cents (of course I didn't buy the name brand, are you kidding?), and I love it. I'm going to buy several for my mom. (Why? Because she loses socks in her dryer. It's truly amazing. I remember being a girl, and about once every six months, we'd dump out the lawn and leaf bag [yes, the lawn and leaf bag] onto her bed and try to match some socks. Neither my sister nor I have ever lost any socks in the laundry in our own homes...it has got to be something with her dryer.) She'll be able to wash clothes and put all the socks in a sack and hopefully they'll all come out of the dryer.

In this Moment

Right now I am lying on the sofa with Baby napping on my chest. He fussed and squirmed for a while, and cried his tired cry, but didn't nap. So I broke a rule: I nursed him then let him drift off to sleep. And now, instead of helping him learn to sleep on his own, I'm just laying here on the sofa, with Baby napping on my chest.

He's grown so much in these 7 weeks (7 weeks ago you were still inside me? 7 weeks ago, at 1:51, I was getting a bolus of IV fluid in preparation for my epidural?)...he's grown so much in these 7 weeks and I know the time will soon come that he doesn't fit on my chest and will have troubles that pure cuddles won't cure. So I lay here on the sofa with Baby napping on my chest. He breathes, sighs, dreams of nursing, and I'm working at pondering all these things in my heart.

Spring Catch-Up

It's been a while since I've posted. You know, I read all these great blogs and sometimes think I have nothing cool or worthwhile to say. And then I get in the habit of not-posting. Or I get really, really busy, and just get in the habit of not-posting.

Honestly, it has been a busy month for me. I've worked extra hours because of the exhibit-change-over. I worked extra hours because of Atlanta schools' Spring Break increased our attendance. I worked extra hours because one of our staff couldn't fulfill their shifts. I worked a lock-in Friday night (wheee! clock in at 5:30 pm and clock out at 9:30 am and sleep about 3 hours in between! yay for caffeine!).

When I'm feeling taxed, then writing here goes out the window. I have other things to do, like dishes, laundry, meal planning, and cooking. Folding clothes. Straightening up the house. Hanging out with my husband.

But here's a post for y'all. Would you like some short-quick-to-the-point Deep Thoughts? Good; here you go:

• I had coffee with a good friend I haven't seen in 5 years. It's so good to see her again and catch up. I sensed in her the same changed I've been sensing in myself: I've gone through some really hard seasons in the last 5 years, and have grown up a lot, become more refined, more sanctified. So has she. Her fun and goofy and silly personality is still there, but there's also a delightful calmness and peace that was there before but is more apparent now.
• A dear friend has, in the last month, had a baby (her 3rd girl! hooray) and spent about a week in the hospital with her. The baby had (has?) RSV.
• Spring is springing here in Southeast Tennessee. The redbuds are blooming in spite of the chilly overcast drizzliness we've had the last week and a half; the pears are trying their darndest to bloom. All we need is two, maybe three, hot and sunny days and spring will dazzle and delight us.

That's about all that comes to mind. Have a good Lord's Day, everyone.

Ham Loaf

I'm inspired to write about my evening's cooking...at least the Ham Loaf part of my cooking.
Here's a photo of the recipe.* Actually, it's a photo of an email of the recipe. If you care, you can read some of my commentary when I emailed the recipe to my mom.



Start with 1-3/4 cups of milk. Notice the measuring cup. My sister gave it to me for Christmas a while ago. See how the cup looks like it's got stairsteps? Those are the 1/2 and 1/4 measurements...I love those measuring cups!

Next, add two eggs and 2 tablespoons brown sugar:

After the eggs and brown sugar, it's time for the dry mustard. 1 tablespoon. Isn't that a cute mustard tin?

Be sure to add the salt.

Next, I mixed what was in my bowl. That giant fork? We called it a granny fork at Mia Cucina, one of my previous employers. I use it a lot for whipping and mixing things like this.

Then, add 6 slices soft bread, cubed.

Since I used up all my bread, I had to put another loaf in to bake.

Add 1-1/2 pound ground pre-cooked ham. This is my food processor, grinding my ham. Janis and Christine gave us that food processor for a wedding gift. Thanks, Janis and Christine! I like it a lot!

You should also add 1 pound ground beef. I didn't take a picture because my hands were all beefy and gross, so feast your eyes on this instead:

Put it in a casserole to bake. Doesn't that look like Alice's meatloaf in The Brady Bunch Movie? Hah! It looks a little gross, I admit. But believe me, it tastes great when it comes out.


Just for kicks, here is a photo of the unbaked ham loaf looking mighty pink, like it's out of a 1960s cookbook with full-color photos!

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Ham Loaf
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine in large mixing bowl:
1 3/4 c milk
2 large eggs
2 T brown sugar
1 T dry mustard
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 slices soft bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1-1/2 lbs ground ham (pre-cooked)
1 lb. ground beef

Shape into a loaf in an oven-proof dish.

Bake until firm and lightly browned, about 90 minutes. Meat should reach an internal temperature of 175-180 degrees on a meat thermometer.

A List of Short Posts all Rolled Into One Post

For my birthday, I received a Lodge Reversible Grill/Griddle. Last night, I made pancakes on it. Love it. It cooks so well!!

I want these biscuits. Right NOW.

The last few days around my house have been like a sewing sweatshop. I'm sewing, sewing, sewing! BUT last night I sewed fleece for the first time, and sewed a zipper for the first time...I sewed a zipper onto fleece. Something cozy is on it's way!

I recently got a promotion at work. Now I teach art lessons, science demos, and story time. It's been good so far.

Obligatory Post-Thanksgiving Post

I've been cooking all week, including cooking the turkey and carving it the evening before Thanksgiving. So, all I had left to do on Thursday was the last minute stuff. It got done.

Things that happened Thanksgiving morning before the meal:

• Monkey bread was baked and served for breakfast-snacking.
• Cheese ball was put out for breakfast-snacking.
• Chocolate-Pecan Pie was compiled and baked off.
• Apple juice was simmered with 3 cloves and 1/2 cinnamon stick (simple, easy cider; if orange peels simmer for too long they turn bitter).
• Table was set.
• Butter was put onto butter dish early enough for it to get soft for the meal.
• Potatoes were boiled and mashed.
• Green bean casserole was baked and topped with French fried onions.
• Peas were steamed.
• Crescent rolls were baked.
• Turkey was plattered and reheated (and still didn't get dry!)
• Martinelli's was poured (yes, we had a bottle of wine, but we didn't serve it. Long story).

The only food-related hitch was that the peas overcooked. I couldn't find regular crescent rolls this year, only the "big and buttery" ones...I didn't read the baking instructions beforehand, and they needed 10 extra minutes to bake...those were the 10 minutes that overcooked the peas. Oooooh well. I'll write that down to remember for next year's turkey dinner.

It was a great meal. It was a really nice day. I loved it. Some of the people I love were there, some new friends were there, and a lot of the people I love were elsewhere. Still, it was a great day.

Binging

I just binged on apple slices. At least it wasn't a package of freakin' Oreos...but I still have that uncomfortable full feeling. It is roughage, at least.

In related news, I HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND cutting your apples in halves, and then using a melon baller to scoop out the core. It was speedy, neat, easy, and attractive.

Sweet Tea

Now that the weather is changing, I am drinking sweet tea. I'm sure some imagine sipping a tall, icy glass of sweet tea while sitting in a rocking chair on the front veranda of a beautiful antebellum Southern mansion.

Not me. It's getting chilly, and now I want sweet tea. (Also, I can't buy coffee yet. Payday's not for a while.) (Anyway, if there are any Aussies reading this blog, this post should be right on time for your spring- and summer-time.)

So here's my recipe, adapted from Paula Deen. (Hers is too sweet.)

Krista's Sweet Tea

• Bring to a boil 2 cups water in medium saucepan. As soon as it boils, take it off the heat, put two family-size teabags in, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes or so.
• In two-quart pitcher, dissolve 1/3 cup sugar in some hot water. Tap water is fine.
• When the tea has steeped, pour it over into the pitcher. Stir.
• Fill the pitcher with cold tap water.
• Serve over ice.

Yield: 1/2 gallon (2 quarts). Double the recipe for a 1-gallon pitcher.

Green (through no effort of my own)

I've been trying to be a little more mindful of the resources I use. No, it's not because I'm a perfect, wonderful ecologist, but because we just don't have the money to buy paper towels and other products.

So, I've returned to cloth napkins. We are out of paper and we just can't afford paper ones right now.

And, when I cleaned the toilets, I used some of my cleaning rags to wipe it down (exterior) instead of some of the (expensive) TP. (I put them RIGHT into the washing machine with all my other whites and washed them HOT with BLEACH!)

So that's something. The trick will be to maintain this little bit of conservation when we have a tad more money again.

(Hopefully) Meal Planning Success

After 3+ years of working and trying and getting frustrated over a (darn!) meal planning system, I believe I've finally hit upon a system that (hopefully) will work:

Google Calendar.

I've got this week planned, shopped for, and scheduled. I've got next week planned and scheduled. Woo hoo.

First Room on Checklist? Done!

So that's done. It's not the best mopping job I've ever done, but at least it's done, right? Next room:

Bathroom:
-shower
-mirrors
-counter/sink
-toilet

But I'm not starting it for another 10 minutes, due to my 30 minutes on, 10 minutes off housework policy. (That is, it's the policy today.)

Back to Reality to do List

We got home (from that mysterious place called "away") just 7 days ago. I was tired, my body had had too much changing and fast pace and rich food and lake/boat/dock time. I got a cold for the first time in 5 weeks (if you have to have a cold when you're traveling, be sure to get one on the very last day).

I'm finally feeling better, and so I'm going to hit my house hard and whip it into shape. Here's my clean-but-not-deep-clean-because-I'm-trying-to-do-the-entire-house-today house to do list:

Kitchen
-stovetop
-sweep
-mop
Bathroom
-shower
-mirrors
-counter/sink
-toilet
Bedroom
-make bed
-pick up floor
Dining Room
-clean off table
-dust
Living Room
-clear clutter away
-dust
-water plants

Wish me luck! I'm going to play my housecleaning music, too. That will help, I'm sure.

Grocery Sack Recycle Updade

I was given a Chico Bag just a few weeks ago. I signed up for an online giveaway and received another reusable grocery tote in the mail while we were gone.

With those factors, and the renewal of committments that comes with being away for a while, I've not used a new sack at the Wal-Market since we've been back!

All three times I've been to said store, I've asked the checker just to stack the groceries on top of the turntable-o-bags they have there. I load the items into my cart, pay the bill, bag the stuff into the bags I brought, and keep the receipt out in case I need to prove I didn't steal the groceries. It's worked great, and I intend to keep it going.

Shower Cleaner

I just used a 2:1 mix of baking soda:borax to scrub down my shower.

The verdict?

No terrible fumes that require me to set up a fan to blow air through the bathroom!
Just about the same amount of elbow grease needed to get rid of hard-water stains.
Much less expensive than commercial cleaning products.

I'll keep using it. But I have to be CERTAIN to CLEARLY mark my little recycled sour cream container as "Tub Scrub" because borax is pretty toxic when ingested, according to wikipedia. I'm going to lock it securely when we need to baby proof*; even though it's so white and clean-looking, it's not a food (duh, right?) and shouldn't be used around food. That's good to remember.

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*No, this is not an announcement of bun in my oven. I'm not expecting.

Saturday Chores: 3:06pm

Accomplished:

~Both beds made up
~All sheets organized
~Load of whites in dryer
~Curtains and tablecloth out of dryer
~Tablecloth back on table
~Curtains to be put up after I vacuum the cobwebs from the moldings
~Nearly all dishes washed
~Lunch eaten (with Ian)

To do:
~Iron
~Vacuum Cobwebs
~Put curtains back
~Fold laundry (several loads!)
~and more

Saturday Chores: 1:41pm

This time, I did some Daily Chores before I started the timer for my Fifteen Minutes:
~Set a sinkful of dishes to soak. (In order to do this, I emptied a sinkful of dishclutter, scatter it with baking soda, scrubbed it out, rinsed it out, and filled it with hot water, soap, silverware, and glasses.)
~Started the washing machine. I have to wash my new red shirt for work on Monday*, and I don't want it to bleed into all my clothes, so I...took down my red curtains and took off my red tablecloth which are all verrrrrry dusty(!) to wash together.

Then I started my timer and began my Fifteen Minutes of Work to chip away at the Guest Bedroom Quest:
~Finished organizing all my sheet sets. I have a set of Queen sheets, two sets of Full sheets (one of which is on the Full bed), two sets of Twin sheets (one of which is on the Twin bed**), a flat sheet and two pillowcases for a Twin bed, and a set of flat and fitted sheets (no pillowcases) only for a Twin bed.
~Put all these organized sheets into the Linen Cabinet.
~Made up the Full bed, but have yet to pillow it up.

In the rest of this break (which is long, because this post is long), I am going to do the following:
~have a glass of water (I'm verrrry thirsty!)
~check the washer
~wash the dishes and set more to soak
~and then get back to my Guest Bedroom Quest using my Fifteen Minutes at a Time Strategy.

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*More about 'work on Monday' later!
**This is the very Twin bed that was mine in my single days. Yes, I moved from a Twin bed to a King bed when I married. Some of my friends slept in Full or Queen beds when they were single-but-not-at-home-anymore, but I decided not to. I never wanted to become accustomed to sleeping in the middle of a large bed ('hogging' the bed) before I was married. Anyway, we still have this Twin bed, even though Ian and I sleep in a King bed now.

Saturday Chores: 1:09pm

Accomplished in the last 15 minutes:

~made up twin bed
~found pillow, put two pillowcases on it (because its tick is cheap and plasticky which is uncomfortable throughout the night)
~pulled all sheets out of linen cabinet in order to organize them
~organized my full sheet set and put components into one of the pillowcases
~went and got paint cards and safety pins, cut one of the tan paint cards off the strip, wrote "FULL" cutely on it, and safety-pinned it to the pillowcase-bag

Liveblogging my Saturday Chores: 12:40pm

I'm waaaay behind on my chores. My housecleaning is suffering!

My strategy is to work for 15 minutes at a time (a manageable time period) and then take a 5-minute break before I get back to it. I'll post during the 5-minute breaks to let you know what I've just done.

Accomplished since 12:26:
~packed one more box of Christmas decorations

Small list, I know--but I'm trying to pack things well so that next year, unpacking will be a little more streamlined.

I have 3 minutes left of my break. I'm going to look at one of the links in my link lists and see what there is to see.

Ta ta for now!