It has been a fun weekend so far, and it is only Saturday! Jeff has a rental car from his business trip, and it is a covertible :). So fun! Last night, we drove the covertible with the top down to a fun restaurant that we love to go to. We met my parents there, and had a wonderful visit with them. The food was so good, as always. The restaurant sells crafty things, and has other shops around it. It is in a beautiful park-like setting, so we walked around for awhile, and then sat and talked. The picture below is my Mom and Dad. I thought it was a really good picture of them.
We enjoyed sitting in a gazebo near the restaurant. The weather was so beautiful last night, and there was a gorgeous sunset. Evie played near the pond almost the entire time we were out there. I was sure she was going to fall in, but she didn't!
I was really glad that Jeff was home so he could come with us. We had a really fun night with my parents. I am really thankful that we live so close to them now. It has been great!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Pears, pears and more pears!
Do you think I am going to be busy?? Jeff came home from a business trip today, and we went over to the neighbors and picked about 3 bushels of pears. We barely made a dent in the tree. I bet there were about 20 bushels worth of pears on it. I figure this should keep me busy for a bit. I am planning to can some pearsauce (like applesauce, but made with pears), and I want to freeze some for putting in cobblers, smoothies and crisps. Pears actually make really good ice cream. I use frozen pears, and blend it in my Vitamix. The texture is creamy like ice cream, and is really sweet. I add peanut butter too, which makes it extra good. It may sound weird, but you can't knock it until you try it :). Jeff thought it sounded gross at first, until he tried it. Now he is hooked! We are going to the beach tomorrow, and we are going to see about getting another 1/2 bushel of peaches. The pears are still a bit unripe, so I will have a few days to work on peaches before the pears are ready. And then there is the salsa I need to make, and then apples are going to be ready. Hmm, I wonder if I can figure out a way to clone myself.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Beautiful weather
It is starting to feel like fall! The air has been cooler, and we have had almost nonstop days with sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. Ahh, I love fall. The pears are starting to get ripe here in our area, and so I am hoping I can get some from our neighbors. Their tree is so loaded that the branches are bowing. I am still wanting to get one more 1/2 bushel of peaches, so we are hopefully going to get some this weekend. I am hoping to make salsa soon. My tomatoes are starting to come on more. We have friends that planted 4 tomato plants, and ended up having 13 volunteer plants come up too, so they are going to have a bumper crop. They said they would be glad to give me some. That would be great! I love the fall growing season. There is so many wonderful veggies and fruits.
Evie and I were laughing this morning at our hummingbirds. They get very territorial around this time of year because they are getting ready to migrate south. They fight like crazy right now. One will be on our feeder, and be trying to drink while looking around. Then another one will swoop in and fight with the one on the feeder. Today they were fighting worse than usual, trying to get to our feeder. In what looked like a hummingbird knock-down drag out fight, they weren't looking where they were going and both ran into the window! Evie and I watched them, and I made the point that they sure weren't very good at sharing :).
I took this picture the other night. Can you say, "Awwwww." :)
Evie and I were laughing this morning at our hummingbirds. They get very territorial around this time of year because they are getting ready to migrate south. They fight like crazy right now. One will be on our feeder, and be trying to drink while looking around. Then another one will swoop in and fight with the one on the feeder. Today they were fighting worse than usual, trying to get to our feeder. In what looked like a hummingbird knock-down drag out fight, they weren't looking where they were going and both ran into the window! Evie and I watched them, and I made the point that they sure weren't very good at sharing :).
I took this picture the other night. Can you say, "Awwwww." :)
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Productive Weekend
I got a lot done this weekend. Evie helped me bake. And boy did we bake! We baked gluten free zucchini muffins, homemade granola, popovers, and homemade gluten free bread. I took a picture of Evie helping me, and then she wanted to take a picture of me :). I am shredding zucchini. Exciting huh? My kitchen was so trashed, but my wonderful hubby helped me clean up. Isn't he sweet? I also cut up half a bushel of peaches and froze them. Yesterday afternoon I made a small batch of soap. It is a recipe I have never tried before. It is made with olive oil, coconut oil and castor oil. I scented it with peach fragrance oil, and it smelled really good. It has to cure for 6 weeks, so I won't really know until then how it turned out. I also made a shea butter/coconut oil mix for my hair (and scented it with vanilla...yum!). With all that baking, my house smelled SO good!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Friends
I'm at a really weird place in my life when it comes to friends. Growing up, I had a best friend who I did everything with. She knew everything that was going on in my life, and I knew everything that was going on in hers. We were close even after we both got married, and then we slowly drifted apart. I have tried to reconnect that friendship, but we are two very different people now. When Jeff and I got married, we were really adventurous, and wanted to see the country. When we were married for one year, we bought a silver Avion camper and moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota. We moved away from all of our friends that we had had growing up. We had no jobs, and just lived off of savings while we tried to find jobs. We explored the amazing country out there, and tried our best to find jobs so we could stay. There were just no jobs out there. We moved to Kentucky after Jeff got a job there, and we stayed for a year. Then we started missing being near our families, so we moved again, about 2 hours from our families. We built a house in the country, and thought we were going to settle down. The area where we lived was very small town. Everyone we met was related to someone else we met. People had all grown up together, so Jeff and I had a hard time ever really fitting in and making friends. We moved again 2 years ago, and now live where we grew up. We love being here, and we love being close to our families. The hard part is that it seems so much more challenging to make friends now. I'm not sure why that is. I know that I am not a cookie cutter person, and neither is Jeff or Evie. We have different thoughts about things, and we have not had a typical life. I'm okay with that, and know that God made us the way we are. Plus I don't want to be like everyone else. That would be boring! Jeff and I figured we would make our friends at church when we moved back near family, because that is how we usually made friends in years past. We found a church where the preaching is amazing. We always walk out of there getting something out of it. The fellowship there is really lacking though, and there are very few people our age with kids our age. We had been going to a church where the preaching was okay (not great, just okay), but the fellowship was amazing. We know that we could have formed some great friendships. We visited a lot of churches, and basically it boiled down to those 2 choices. I'm seriously wanting to connect with people. Do you choose a church based more on fellowship than preaching? Ugh, it is frustrating. I find that my closest friends right now are online friends. I am really thankful for them, and they are a great group of ladies. It is crazy that I can be friends with people I have never met in person before. Maybe that is the way friendships are in the 21st century. I would really love to have some "live" friends too. When you get older, is that just not possible?
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
My Hairtoys Arrived!
Hooray! My Flexi-8 clips have arrived! They actually came yesterday in the mail. We ordered them Friday night, so that is what I call lightning fast shipping! I was expecting it to take 7-10 days, so I was super excited when they came in the mail so fast. The small one is great for half updos. It is actually the extra small size. I love the fact that the clips flex. There are 3 notches in the clip stick so you can select how much or how little hair goes in the clip. If you click on the picture, it will enlarge it so you can see the clip more closely. Isn't it pretty?
The other one is the large clip, and I love it! The blue is so pretty, and the clip works great for many different updos. It is also very comfortable to wear. It didn't feel tight or anything. I can't wait to try out a bunch of new styles :)!
Sierra also had her hair done today. She had a much needed bath! She was starting to smell like a dirty dog (even though she didn't look it). I wish I would have taken a picture when she was soaking wet. She looks hilarious because her face and legs look so skinny! She is still wet in this picture (and is still wet now, 4 hours later!), but she sure smells better.
Evie kept asking me, "Please can I be in a picture, please can I be in a picture?", so I took her picture too :). I laughed so hard later after seeing this picture. Is it my imagination, or does it look like Sierra is smiling????
The other one is the large clip, and I love it! The blue is so pretty, and the clip works great for many different updos. It is also very comfortable to wear. It didn't feel tight or anything. I can't wait to try out a bunch of new styles :)!
Sierra also had her hair done today. She had a much needed bath! She was starting to smell like a dirty dog (even though she didn't look it). I wish I would have taken a picture when she was soaking wet. She looks hilarious because her face and legs look so skinny! She is still wet in this picture (and is still wet now, 4 hours later!), but she sure smells better.
Evie kept asking me, "Please can I be in a picture, please can I be in a picture?", so I took her picture too :). I laughed so hard later after seeing this picture. Is it my imagination, or does it look like Sierra is smiling????
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Flowers And A Thoughtful Husband
I haven't been a very good blogger lately. I have been trying to get back into the groove of homeschooling, and I have been peeling and cutting up peaches, so I have been busy! I am going to buy one more bushel of peaches tomorrow. So far I have 20 quart bags of peaches in the freezer. I made a peach cobbler today. We weren't able to go to church today because Evie has been coughing and has had a runny nose. I wanted her to rest, and I didn't want her to share any germs with the other kids. We watched some preaching on tv, and then later this morning Evie sat at the bar and played with playdough while I made cobbler. My kitchen smelled so good because Evie's playdough is homemade, and is scented with some amazing smelling essential oils that her occupational therapist sells. So the kitchen smelled like that and cobbler :). I made the cobbler gluten free/dairy free. I started Evie back on a gluten free/casein free diet today. We had been letting her eat pretty much all dairy and gluten for awhile. I'm ready to go back to gluten free/casein free with her. I can really tell a difference in her behavior when she eats no gluten or casein.
Jeff brought flowers home for me on Friday night. He said it was "just because". I had a stressful week with Evie, and so Jeff was wanting to cheer me up. I thought it was so sweet of him. He brought me 6 beautiful roses, and they smell so good. We also got to go out on a date, and Jeff's mom and dad watched Evie. We really needed that. We went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants near us, and then we went for a walk and talked. We need to do that more often.
Jeff also surprised me by telling me he wanted me to pick out something to buy that I wouldn't normally buy for myself. He said I don't ever buy anything fun for myself, and so he wanted to pamper me. I thought that was so incredibly sweet of him. I have wanted a Flexi-8 barrette for awhile, but thought I would wait until Christmas to get one. He ended up having me pick 2 of them, and he bought them for me! It felt like Christmas! These are the 2 that I picked out. The first one is in a small size for partial updos, and the other one is large for putting all of my hair up. I can't wait to get them! I have such a sweet and thoughtful husband!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Beautiful Monday
It has been such a beautiful day today. The windows are open in my house, and it is starting to smell like fall! Right now I actually have some alone time, which doesn't happen very often! Evie is at a nearby sprinkler park with a friend. Her friend's mom called and asked if she could take Evie, so she is going to be gone for a few hours. I'm sure she is having a blast too! Yesterday afternoon we went to the park as it was a gorgeous, cool day. We walked along the river, and Evie had fun chasing all the geese :). I laughed when I saw the picture of Evie, Sierra and I because Sierra was the one with her eyes shut! Normally the people are the ones with their eyes shut. I guess it was too bright for her. Evie kept saying she wanted to take our picture. We told her she could, but she ended up cutting off part of Jeff's head. She still did a good job, considering she is only 6!
I am surprised at how early the schools in our area are starting. Most are starting either tomorrow or Thursday. That just seems so early to me. I am thankful to be able to homeschool Evie. I love how flexible it is. I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn and get her ready to go. I love that! She is now in first grade, and we are homeschooling more often now. I would like to start doing it 5 days a week once September starts, but I am slowly working our way back into it. It is going well so far!
I am surprised at how early the schools in our area are starting. Most are starting either tomorrow or Thursday. That just seems so early to me. I am thankful to be able to homeschool Evie. I love how flexible it is. I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn and get her ready to go. I love that! She is now in first grade, and we are homeschooling more often now. I would like to start doing it 5 days a week once September starts, but I am slowly working our way back into it. It is going well so far!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Farmer's Market
It has been a fun day. Jeff and his dad went to a Promise Keepers conference, and were gone last night, so Evie and I went and stayed with Jeff's mom last night. We went out in her garden and picked some veggies, then we went and searched for a specific weed. I have been looking for Stinging Nettles to make a tea with. The tea is supposed to be really good for allergy and sinus problems, and is also very tasty for putting in certain dishes. I thought we found some, but then came back and looked at pictures on my computer and realized it wasn't the same weed. Hmm, I guess I need to print off a picture and take it out with me. We went to the Farmer's Market this morning, and had a wonderful time. I bought a huge bag of yellow squash and zucchini, and also a big bag of green beans. All were organically grown, so I was excited about that! Evie kept eating the raw green beans the whole time we walked around. She loves raw green beans (so do I!). I bought a pretty bracelet and a candle for a friend of mine who is having a birthday tomorrow. I also bought a bushel of peaches. They aren't ripe yet, so I am going to have to let them ripen before freezing them. The weather has been so cool here that the peaches are having trouble ripening. Hopefully they will ripen soon. They sure smell good sitting in my garage!
I have been freezing so much produce that my freezer is getting super full. I love that! I do have a lot more stuff to put in there though, so I am going to have to get really creative. I don't even have the peaches in there yet, and I usually freeze pears and apples in the fall. It is going to be crammed. What a blessing though. There is nothing better than a crammed freezer! It will be so nice to be able to eat the produce all winter long. It helps me to eat healthier with all of this food available. This is the most produce I have ever frozen before. With food prices going up so much, I figured every little bit I could do to save money would help!
It was a beautiful and fun day! I'm glad my hubby is coming home though. I miss him!
I have been freezing so much produce that my freezer is getting super full. I love that! I do have a lot more stuff to put in there though, so I am going to have to get really creative. I don't even have the peaches in there yet, and I usually freeze pears and apples in the fall. It is going to be crammed. What a blessing though. There is nothing better than a crammed freezer! It will be so nice to be able to eat the produce all winter long. It helps me to eat healthier with all of this food available. This is the most produce I have ever frozen before. With food prices going up so much, I figured every little bit I could do to save money would help!
It was a beautiful and fun day! I'm glad my hubby is coming home though. I miss him!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Vacation Bible School
It has been a busy, but good week. Evie has had a lot of fun at VBS, and we have really enjoyed the tent meetings at church. Last night was great. It was awesome to be able to spend time worshipping God! I had a slight hair malfunction during prayer though. I sat by this really sweet, quiet teenage girl. We were sitting in the very front row, and there was a fan right in front of us blowing right on us. I thought my hair was blowing behind me. I didn't realize that all during prayer little pieces of my hair were flying in her face! Needless to say, I apologized all over the place! Note to self....wear hair up tonight!
Writing about that hair snafu reminded me of some other funny hair moments. Some have been downright embarrassing. I remember one time I was briskly walking down the street and walked by a guy who had a button down coat on. My hair blew into his coat and got stuck on one of his buttons. It yanked me back, and I don't think he ever even knew! He just kept on walking! Then I remember when I was visiting Jeff at college, and we went to a chapel service. As we were hanging up our coats in the very busy lobby, I somehow got my hair tangled all around the hanger. Jeff had to carefully untangle it, and it took him awhile. We sure got some funny looks! Anyways, that was way off the subject of VBS and our tent meeting wasn't it :)?
The kids had their face painted again last night, so this time I took a picture. They gave each kid a shirt on Monday, and Evie's is so long it looks like a dress! Well, at least she can wear it for a few years :).
Writing about that hair snafu reminded me of some other funny hair moments. Some have been downright embarrassing. I remember one time I was briskly walking down the street and walked by a guy who had a button down coat on. My hair blew into his coat and got stuck on one of his buttons. It yanked me back, and I don't think he ever even knew! He just kept on walking! Then I remember when I was visiting Jeff at college, and we went to a chapel service. As we were hanging up our coats in the very busy lobby, I somehow got my hair tangled all around the hanger. Jeff had to carefully untangle it, and it took him awhile. We sure got some funny looks! Anyways, that was way off the subject of VBS and our tent meeting wasn't it :)?
The kids had their face painted again last night, so this time I took a picture. They gave each kid a shirt on Monday, and Evie's is so long it looks like a dress! Well, at least she can wear it for a few years :).
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Busy Week
I have a lot going on this week. Our church is having revival meetings every night this week, and the revivals are held in a big tent. We went last night, and the meeting was great. I found out this morning that there was a tornado warning going on while we were at the tent meeting. Hmm, I'm glad I didn't know that! Not that God wouldn't protect us, but I'm just really glad I didn't know that :). There is also Vacation Bible School at the church, so Evie is going to go to that all week long. Last night she came out of VBS with her face painted. She looked so cute. I wish I would have taken a picture! I always ask her teachers what the snack is going to be, because I try and be really careful what Evie eats. Last night I asked one of the guys in charge, and he said they were going to have bananas and strawberries. I thought that was great, and didn't give them the snack I had brought. I thought, "Wow, no food coloring or sugar! She can eat that!" Evie got in the car after VBS and was so excited because they had given her (and all the kids) Oreos and milk! Groan! Yep, nothing like getting them all hyped with sugar and sending them home. She was up until almost 11:00 last night because she was so hyped. I'm thinking I will give them the snack tonight, regardless of what they tell me it is! Anyways, I have a lot going on so I'm not sure how much blogging I am going to do this week.
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