I’m Gonna Start Talking To Myself!

I stumbled across a woman’s story from a blog I frequent.  Her story has rocked my world.   Apparently I need that every couple months; my world to be rocked that is. I’ve become so bogged down by all that is petty in my life. I’ve been let down by friends, unhappy in the routines of wife/motherhood, and felt mediocre in every aspect of my life. I had realized the past couple weeks, that I do nothing well. I have felt that I’m average in everything. Oh, I’m a better wife but not a good wife. I’m a decent cook but not a good cook. I’m a middle-of-the-road momma but not a good mom. I’m a work in progress as a child of God but I’m not a good child. I could go on but I’ll spare you the petty drama. 

But the truth is, I’ve let discontent run rampant in my life lately. And THAT is sin. And it is SATAN. It is DISTRACTION.  Satan’s goal is to simply distract as many Christians as he can.  He doesn’t have to lead astray or sway me from my beliefs.  He knows that’s too tough a battle.  Ah, but distracting me from being an effective child of God.  Now that is easy.  Frighteningly so.

And after watching Rachel’s talk, I know it’s been all about me. And it’s all been petty. It’s been me, trying to find my purpose outside of what God wants for me. And truthfully? I don’t know what His purpose is for me, not the details of it anyway. But I do know my purpose overview: To love Him and to serve Him with Joy. (I’m writing it all over my house) So that is my focus now. Today I’ve stopped listening to myself and I’m going to begin talking to myself… (writing that one everywhere too) listen to Rachel. She’ll explain. Oh! And I’m saying “Yes!” today. =0)

Death is Not Dying

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Hits and Misses continued…

Okay, so JUST to clarify some Costco thoughts, I paid closer attention when I went there yesterday.

Costco’s sharp cheddar cheese is just over $4 for a 2lb block.  Words can’t express how much this family of lactose-lovers appreciates such a great deal.   A bloggy friend of mine mentioned Winco’s cheese prices and while I LOVE Winco and buy their cheese all the time, they do not carry a store brand sharp cheddar.  They have medium and mild but no sharp.  This has always brought me close to tears (dragging four munchkins to a separate store just for sharp cheddar would make even Super Nanny cry at the sheer inconvenience… nevermind the tired and grumpy 2, 4, 5 and 7 year olds who were “done” 13 minutes after walked into Winco) but with Costco’s great price and the fact that they are literally right next door to Winco helps keep the tears at bay.

Costco Toilet Paper.  I looked yesterday and there is only one type of Kirkland TP so we must be all talking about the same one.  I’m baffled though.  At first I thought I had a spoiled and pampered hiney that I had been unknowingly catering to.  But now even the kids are starting to complain about the chaffing.  What are your secrets? 

 I guess by the time we’ve gone through the 57 mega rolls we know have, our fannies will have adjusted and the soft, fluffy, soothing Charmin goodness will be a faint, distant memory. 

The nice thing I DO know about Kirkland TP is that I don’t have to worry about the kids clogging any pipes with it.  It’s the thickness of a 1 ply… and for this toilet phobia mama, that’s a good thing.

My Fabulous Almost-Free Monday

Today was FUN.  It was a day out with the kids.  I didn’t end up having to cook dinner.   And the icing on the cake? It was almost free!

The details.

A bowling alley in our area does $1 games in the summer (per person) and $3 shoe rentals.  The reason this works for our family is that out of our four kids, only Poppett has big enough feet for the rental sizes.  I didn’t bowl but helped the younger two boys instead.  That brought our bowling total to $7 for an hour and a half long game.  Fabulous.  The alley had food deals too… $1 pizza slices, $1 drinks and $1 french fries.  I opted to feed the kids lunch in the car before we went inside to save money.

Then, during naps, I checked www.spoofee.com and found out that Hot Dog on a Stick was celebrating over 60 years with free corn dogs (1 per person) between 5pm and 8pm.  SCORE!  Hubby was working late and so it was a perfect time to head to the mall for a free unhealthy meal with the kiddos. 

We wrapped up the day with free coffees and hot chocolate at Borders bookstore.  Another coupon found on Spoofee.

Seriously a great day. 

Tomorrow?  Free movie at Regal Theater! 

I’m positively giddy from all this free entertainment.

I love summer.

More Food

I realize my posts of late have been all about food.  But is that going to stop me from writing up another one?  No siree.  Ann Kroeker is hosting Food on Friday and I just HAD to seize the opportunity to write about food… because who knows when another chance will come up?!!

Since summer is upon us (or at least, I hear the rumor it is.  I have yet to see proof of it in my neck of the woods… June Gloom is going full force!), I thought I’d let you all in on my secret barbecue weapon.  Ever heard of BBQ University?  No?  Well, Steven Raichlen is the king of BBQ.  And he’s the man in charge over there.  On his website (and tv show.  But I never seem to catch his show) he’ll teach you all you need to know to become the master barbecuer in your home. 

Don’t believe me?  Think you’re husband won’t let you touch the grill?  Think the BBQ is no-woman’s land?  Well, I’m proof that that is all completely FALSE.  For many years, Hubby wouldn’t let me near the BBQ – as I’m sure is true in your home also.  And honestly, I was quite happy to oblige.  But then he sent me on a wild goose chase (after watching Steven’s show several times) of findingand purchasing Steven’s BBQ books.  Long story short:  I found.  I bought.  I read.  I practiced.    After just a couple BBQ meals, I was promptly handed the BBQ crown and gold-handled tools by Hubby. 

Steven has an amazing amount of recipes.  Seriously, it blows my mind.  Not just meats but veggies, desserts, sides, ethnic foods, vegetarian and on and on and on.  He’s amazing. 

One thing I’ve learned, I didn’t really need the books right away.  Just head to his website or his blog first.  He has a ton of recipes on those two sites that will keep you happy for a couple summers at least.  But there are techniques and recipes in his books that he doesn’t show you on his websites.  He wants to make some money after all.  So if you like what you see online, you’ll want to invest in one or twenty-seven of his books.  But don’t feel that you have to.  And certainly don’t wait for the book to come!   

Online he gives you lessons on the techniques of BBQ-ing on either gas or charcoal grills.  He also teaches all about direct/indirect grilling, how to smoke (the meat!), how to tell if the meat is done and everything else you might possibly need to know before firing up the ol BBQ. 

His dry rubs are amazing and his basic one is my go-to for those last minute BBQ because I just have to throw the rub on and head for the grill.  It has never failed me. 

Jalapeno Jerk Baby Back Ribs with Pineapple BBQ Sauce is a recipe we’ve become famous for within our circle of friends.  It’s a bit tedious but man does it ever pay off! 

Oh man, I just saw a recipe for Spit-Roasted Pineapple with Cinnamon, Sugar and Cloves and now I’m thinking I need to ask Hubby to figure out how to get a spit roaster going on our “q”… because that recipe looks scrumptious!

So head on over to Steven’s sites and then prepare to wow your hubby and/or dad on Father’s Day with your newly acquired BBQ-ing skills and recipes!

Store Brands: Hit or Miss?

First off, let me say I love store brands… usually. 

And often I choose the store brand above the name brand items because of the cheaper prices.  Many of their products are just as good as the name brands… but I’ve also found some that are not.  Some so much so that I’ve decided to give you a heads up about them.  Please feel free to leave a comment to add your store brand hits and misses too.   We’ll get a nice list going and can learn what to avoid or seek out AHEAD of time.

Target:   

Sandwich and snack-sized baggies  - HIT!!

Gallon-sized baggies – HIT/MISS  ~  They are a bit thinner than the brand names but so far I haven’t had a blowout.

Pantyliners – MISS!!  ~ “Hourglass” shape is too severe so the coverage leaves a LOT to be desired! And of course I bought the big box. =0(

Plastic-wrap:  HIT!!  ~ It sticks better than the brand names.  Except still some difficulting sticking to metal.  But then, so do the name brands.

Costco:

Toilet Paper- MISS!!  ~ They did a great job making it look like Quilted Northern and each roll is individually wrapped (I like that because I can stack them up in the closet and not worry about them getting dirty) but it is horrible!  Feels like 1 ply sandpaper… except somehow they managed to make the world’s thinnest plys ever so their “2″ is a normal “1″. Bleh!

Paper Towels - HIT! ~ Love ‘em… except they only come in the big sheets.  Hoping they come out with a “select-a-size”. 

Butter- HIT!! ~ Fabulous 1 lb packages with 4 wrapped quarters inside.  Tastes great (I can’t tell the difference between it and the brand name).  And I won’t be divulging the amounts of butter my kitchen goes through but I will say that at $2 or less a lb, I don’t feel bad about my huge amounts of baking… unless of course I EAT it all. 

Cheese – HIT!! ~ I love the fact that I can buy a 2 block chunk of sharp cheddar for under $3.  Now, it doesn’t quite have the zip that store brands have but the texture is good (not too “soft” like some store brands) and it’s still sharper than a mild or medium cheddar.  And at more than half the price of a brand name, well, it just gets my heart all fluttery just thinking about it.

Sams Club:

Butter – HIT!!  ~ Same thoughts as the Costco butter.

Liquid Detergent – HIT!!  ~ Great scent, great cleaning abilities, safe for all washers and half the price of Tide.  ‘Nough said.

What store brands have you tried?  And were they Hits or Misses?   Help a girl out and let me know in the comments.  I’d love to know! 

By the way, anyone tried the Costco version of Downey?  I just bought it but haven’t used it yet.  It smelled good.  Anyone?  If not, well, I’ll let you know what I think after I try it.

Happy bargain shopping!

Yum!

So I might be on a bit of a recipe posting spree.  I just can’t seem to help myself.  Or maybe I just don’t want to. 

Yeah, that’s probably it.

I just posted a recipe I co-created.  Because really I just merged two recipes into one.  But the result was gooey deliciousness (I hope that’s a word).  Lil Blue was happy to model the ins and outs of eating a Razookie. 

Similar to a Pazookie but baked in ramekins and a water bath… get it?  Razookie?  R for the ramekin?  I know.  It’s pretty lame but I don’t have time to waste coming up with a good name.  I’m too busy dreaming of my next date with one of these little steamy pots of chocolaty goodness. 

Feel free offer a slightly-less-lame title.  Anything is better than what I’ve got so far.

And It All Comes Crashing Down

Why is it that as soon as summer break is here and I actually HAVE time to be on the computer, my internet service decides to take a serious nose dive?!  It’s so bad that, our service provider has no idea why so many things are showing up haywire on their end and they’re sending someone out to take a look…. on Tuesday.  We called Saturday.  Ahem!

Anyway, I’m sorry.  I meant to get the Roasted Potato recipe up right away but I had some issues even getting on to check my email the last few days.  Bleh!  I so don’t like computer problems.  Or car problems for that matter.  Or any other kind of problems that are way beyond my ability to fix myself. 

BUT!  I have the recipe posted now.  You’ll find it over on the left side under “Cooking”.  I hope you used the last few days to gather your precious potatoes and dill weed from the store, fruit and veggie stand or your own garden.  Because your going to want to fix these as soon as possible.   

I’d like to confess the fact that I’ve had Dill Weed in my pantry for a long time.  I won’t even tell you how long but the great thing is, it’s held up fantastically.  And now I’m looking forlornly at the teeny bottle of it, wondering why it took me so long to actually use it and why in the heck I bought such a small bottle. 

Live and learn.

But cook in the meantime.

Summer Has Begun!

And I might just have some time to blog now!  I’ve missed you… I still go throughout my days thinking I should blog about this or that but somehow 5 bazillion things spring up between me and my computer.  I have time to read other blogs or write on mine and well, you guys are much more interesting than me. 

I’m hoping with the arrival of summer vacation my blogging will get back to “normal”.  Although I’d like to take the time to point out that for the Runningamuck household, school is never really out.  Because if we did, the dream of having 12 year olds taking college classes would have to die.

I’m just teasing folks.  They’ll be 14 at least.  Anything younger than that would be plain ridiculous.

Okay, okay!  So in all seriousness, Hubby and I will be happy for college graduations before their 30… or we’re 80… we can’t be toooo picky after all. lol.

Some exciting things that have kept me busy lately? Besides schooling a 2nd grader, a kindergardener, a preschooler and keeping a 2 year old from getting the puppy in repeated headlocks that is. 

We’re done with diapers!  Can I get an “Amen?” !!  I do the happy dance every time we walk through Target and don’t have to stop in the diaper department.  Yes, my dancing embarrasses my children but their young, they don’t understand the joy I feel and they’ll heal from it.  Or is it what doesn’t kill them will make them stronger?  Hmmm…. 

Our four year old, Tiger, is now an official 2 wheeled bike rider.  Actually, I can’t claim this one kept me busy.  He taught himself… in FOUR days!  I’m thinking if this is how it’s going to be from here on out, I need to prepare myself.  And start tucking extra money away for medical bills and all kinds of sports equipment… both the norm and the extreme. 

The PUPPY!   Lucy has single-handedly destroyed every thing in our backyard.  Let’s just say she loves her grown-up teeth.  She’s been soooo good, trains easily and is very well behaved around people… it’s just the plants, flowers (she particularly enjoyed my snapdragons), weeds, wood, plastic toys, bikes pedals, sticks, flip flops, newspapers, sunglasses, sprinkler heads, etc. that have to fear her.  I’m so ready for this stage to be over…

I’ve officially become a bake-a-holic.  I knew I enjoyed being in the kitchen before but I’ve become a maniac the past couple months.  I have to find “takers” now before I cook/bake so that it doesn’t sit in my house and get devoured by Hubby and I.  My goal is to take more pics and share them and the recipes with you all. 

I’ll end this post with a teaser…

Roasted Potatoes… ummm, I’m starting to drool just looking at it.  I just love this recipe!  The dill and other spices just make you want to inhale the whole bowl.   Stay tuned for the recipe….

It’s just one of those days

Background: last night our plumbing backed up. 

This morning, I’m waiting for the plumber.

I had to pass on my regular morning gallon cup of coffee because yesterday I forgot to wash out the grounds.  This morning, I can’t let anything down the drain.  That equals no coffee for me.

In lieu of my coffee, I ate two packets of poptarts (that would be FOUR total!) and washed ‘em down with a cherry coke.  I rationalized it all in my head as “just a treat to help me make it through a very, very rough day”.  

I’m still hoping, even after all the sugar and fizzy caffeine, that the Angel of White Chocolate Mocha’s will perform a fly-by blessing this morning.

I disconnected all the toilet tanks so that no one could accidentally flush before the plumber arrives.

Have I mentioned we’re waiting for the plumber?

I’ve chosen to “hold it” so far this morning.  Let’s see how long that lasts.

Lil Blue is still in pjs… not sure how that connects with our plumbing issues but I’m sure it does.  Because being the perfect mother that I am, who always has it together and is never late to anything, he would ALWAYS be dressed by this time normally.

The kids got to brush their teeth outside today.  I think their morning is going much better than mine… they got to spit in the dirt. 

I have food to fix for a weekend camping trip.  Nothing like a sink full of dirty dishes from cooking all morning that you can’t wash.

Is it wrong to pray for my children to all experience mild constipation for a day?  We be a mighty regular family… if ya know what I mean.

Did you know I’m anxiously waiting for a plumber?  Oh? I mentioned already?  Really? Hmmm.

Hubby had to go next door for his shower this morning.  Lucky for him, his sister lives there. Or is it lucky for me?

Poppett is in her first ever play tomorrow afternoon.  She had her dress rehearsal yesterday.  Last night, she asked if I could wash her play outfit in time for the performances.  “Piece o cake!” was my reply.   I might have to eat my words.  I might also have to run next door to run a load through the washer.

Lucky for me, my sister-in-law lives there. 

I have two extra munchkins on Friday mornings.  I don’t think they’ve ever used the bathroom before.  Murphy’s Law says they will today.

Just want to reiterate, I’m waiting for the plumber.

And my morning dose of I-Take-Things-For-Granted doesn’t taste so great. 

My bladder aches.

TMI?

At least I KNOW it’s not a case of white mice…

AIDOR, Day 2

Happy Tuesday everyone!  It’s Day 2 of “A Intentional Day Of Rest”.  It’s my week of extra daily chores that will enable me to take a true day of rest on Sunday, my Sabbath. 

Yesterday, I was able to buy the ingredients for our make-ahead Sunday dinner.  I also changed all the beds in the house and washed the sheets and blankets/comforters.  I lost track of how many loads of laundry it took after load #4.   Ahhh, it feels so good to have it all done. 

Today, I did another load of laundry in my quest to stay on top of it all so that this weekend will be laundry-free.  However, that’s about as far as I got.  Again, struggling to figure out exactly what I can get done this early in the week that won’t have to be redone before the weekend. 

We do have company coming over Friday evening for dinner so that will kick my cleaning into high gear.  That will move the major cleaning into Wednesday and Thursday and leave just some spot cleaning for Saturday.  But maybe that’s how I should be cleaning anyway.  Deep cleaning middle of the week so that just light cleaning needs to be done Saturday… well, along with the yard work of course.

So, the plan for tomorrow?  Bathrooms and kitchen.  Two things that will be easy to do a quick wipe down on later.  In fact, the kids already do wipe downs every morning of the bathrooms with good ol Clorox Wipes.  So after my deep clean tomorrow, bathrooms are off my list for the week. Yipee!