Yesterday was quite eventful in the lives of Ben and Sarah.
Ben was hired by a Christian accountant who runs his own business. He saw that Ben's personality and test results were unique for bean counters, and his youth puts him at an advantage in marketing via technology. I am so thankful to God for putting him on a career path he's pursuing. His strenghs are his outgoing personality and his sales skills. He's been making great money selling Ravens jerseys lately.
Sarah finally got her Praxis scores back. The Praxis is a state test as a qualifying mark for teachers-to-be. She scored well above the national averages in reading, writing, AND math. She could hardly believe the highest of those scores was in algebra. "I can just SEE God in this, Mom! I mean, you're talking to someone who cried every night over algebra homework! Did you ever think I'd get higher in math than in reading? And I bet you're proud that I did so well in grammar, too, huh?"
I told Joel to see if her head was swelling as large as the loaf of bread we had rising nearby. He said her head was bigger. But I was just teasing. I am very proud of her.
It's time to celebrate the goodness of God once again!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Kitchen Komedy
It doesn't take much to amuse me. Last night I made a soup that was half storebought, half my add-ins. I thought it was broccoli- cheese soup frozen in a bag I got from Chesapeake Traders, but it wasn't. What appeared to be broccoli at 32 degrees was really jalapenos. Cheese queso dip--about two pounds of it!
So as it thawed, I cooked broccoli, then combined the two in a big pot on the stove. Next I convinced myself we needed protein in it, and quickly cooked three chicken breasts (also from frozen state which, save for the label, could've passed for tilapia. Thank the Lord it wasn't.)
The cheese "soup" was still too spicy, so I added in a jar of alfredo sauce and a lot of shredded cheddar. Perfect! And all day a loaf of bread from frozen state was thawing and rising on the counter. (A loaf I bought for fifty cents at BB's!) There is nothing quite like fresh bread. As it rose, I even had the privilege of telling Joel, who was curious about what made bread rise, about sin and how it leavens the whole lump. Anyway, bread is very comforting on a cold, grey, rainy, child-sick-at-home-resting day.
When all was said and done, I had a soup we all wolfed down , alongside a fruit salad and warm, golden bread.
Ben asked, "What is this soup?"
I said, "Well, I call it--"
He interrupted, "Uh-oh, here comes something corny."
I started to chuckle. "I call it Broc, Squawk, and Block in a Crock."
He grunted.
I started to explain, "Broccoli, chicken--."
He groaned, "I get it, Mom. I get it. I don't need it spelled out."
I don't know why that cracks me up. It just does. Do I need a life or what?
So as it thawed, I cooked broccoli, then combined the two in a big pot on the stove. Next I convinced myself we needed protein in it, and quickly cooked three chicken breasts (also from frozen state which, save for the label, could've passed for tilapia. Thank the Lord it wasn't.)
The cheese "soup" was still too spicy, so I added in a jar of alfredo sauce and a lot of shredded cheddar. Perfect! And all day a loaf of bread from frozen state was thawing and rising on the counter. (A loaf I bought for fifty cents at BB's!) There is nothing quite like fresh bread. As it rose, I even had the privilege of telling Joel, who was curious about what made bread rise, about sin and how it leavens the whole lump. Anyway, bread is very comforting on a cold, grey, rainy, child-sick-at-home-resting day.
When all was said and done, I had a soup we all wolfed down , alongside a fruit salad and warm, golden bread.
Ben asked, "What is this soup?"
I said, "Well, I call it--"
He interrupted, "Uh-oh, here comes something corny."
I started to chuckle. "I call it Broc, Squawk, and Block in a Crock."
He grunted.
I started to explain, "Broccoli, chicken--."
He groaned, "I get it, Mom. I get it. I don't need it spelled out."
I don't know why that cracks me up. It just does. Do I need a life or what?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Credit for The Simple Woman's Daybook Idea
I felt both hurried and lazy the last time I posted my Daybook entry (below). My apologies to Laurie who wasn't sure where I got the idea. It was not an original thought, so I should've gone the extra mile by mouse to find the link.
I gave credit the first time I posted, but should have gone ahead and referred readers to the link again. Here it is. http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/ It's a wonderful way to jumpstart a post if you have writer's block, which I seldom do, but one that I appreciate nonetheless as a pleasant prompt.
I gave credit the first time I posted, but should have gone ahead and referred readers to the link again. Here it is. http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/ It's a wonderful way to jumpstart a post if you have writer's block, which I seldom do, but one that I appreciate nonetheless as a pleasant prompt.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Up and Down
My emotions have been tossed like a salad this week. Up, down, up, down. I'm not saying "rollercoaster" where the highs are astronomical and the lows are pits of despair. But my emotions have been lifted easily into the air like lettuce and shredded carrots, and dropped like olives and boiled eggs to the bottom of the bowl.
Down: It's been a more difficult week at school than usual, emotionally and logistically.
Up: Our Middle East party was attended impromptu by the grandmother of a student who brought meat pie (a popular dish in Turkmenistan, his country of research). The grandmother was quite impressed with all the students' oral and visual presentations. (So was I.) Two boys and one girl dressed like Muslims. So cute. One boy kept pronouncing "hummus" with a long "u." I let it go during his presentation, but told him at our mini-feast that humus is dirt. Did he want me to pass the dirt?
Down and up: We visited my 30 year-old nephew in the hospital last Saturday two days after his aorta surgery. While he was up and about when we got there, he has not been released yet due to slow healing. More upsetting to me than his physical condition, though, is his spiritual state. Wow, the man is so deceived and needs Truth, which we shared clearly, but wonder the influence we had, given the medley of meds he was on. It was quite touching, though, to hear him say, "Aunt Zo and Uncle Paul, I'm really glad you came. You were the first people I wanted to see when I came out of surgery."
Down: Two weeks ago my husband said we'd probably just have to wait till the kids were out of college to buy a new carpet and furniture for the family room.
Up: Saturday, though, we drove up to Morgantown and found a gorgeous leather sofa for $600 less than the one we loved at Bassett. We haven't bought it; will we? I refuse to believe it till I see it anymore. And while we were at it (at the furniture mall) Paul was game for replacing the wobbly kitchen table and six chairs-- and said getting a carpet would be "no big deal."
Up: On Sunday afternoon I went to my parents' home to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, which is called Sukkot. For the past few years, they've been putting up (on their deck) a collapsible wood booth that Daddy engineered. My mom and others decorate it with corn stalks and harvest fruit, both real and fake. This year they invited my family and several of their neighbors. I was the only one in my immediate family who was keen on going, and I was keen mostly on seeing my folks whom I obvsiouly don't visit often enough, which is sad because they live only fifteen minutes away.
Down: I almost cried, in fact, when two different neighbors of theirs, when I introduced myself , said "Oh, I didn't know they had more than one daughter. I only ever see the one. Where do you live, out of state? " And when I told them where, it was even more awkward. I could go on, but I won't. I just feel the clock ticking away and the only time we're together is to celebrate something. I want to be part of a family that just "does life" naturally, not needing something on the calendar to bring us together. But then again, it's not just my side of the family. Paul doesn't see his family except when there's a wedding, heart surgery, or funeral, so maybe I shouldn't bemoan the unique sense of disconnection I'm feeling. Can anybody else relate?
Up: My little boy asked me to snuggle with him when we got home from school yesterday.
Down: He was feverish but cold.
Up: I offered him a heating pad for his cold body. He said, "No, thanks. I don't need a heating pad. I have a warm head."
Down: I felt like a loser of a mom by comparison to the women being honored by their daughters at our ladies' meeting last night.
Up: I sat next to my daughter who has turned out to be a lovely young woman in spite of my parenting. God is truly a Redeemer.
Down: I had a dream my husband was operating on me. He anaesthetized me to do heart surgery, but while he was at it, he reconstructed my bladder and sewed my jaw shut. Hmm.... I told him about the dream this morning when we woke up. "Don't get any ideas, " I warned him. Then I got up and skipped to my loo.
Up and down: I am staying home today to care for my sick boy and to clean parts of the house that have started writing messages to me in the dust and clutter. Messages like, "I can't breathe" and "Please give me oxygen." I'll be up and down all down, physically, caring for my son and my home while the rain comes down outside and I sing to lift my spirits up.
Down: It's been a more difficult week at school than usual, emotionally and logistically.
Up: Our Middle East party was attended impromptu by the grandmother of a student who brought meat pie (a popular dish in Turkmenistan, his country of research). The grandmother was quite impressed with all the students' oral and visual presentations. (So was I.) Two boys and one girl dressed like Muslims. So cute. One boy kept pronouncing "hummus" with a long "u." I let it go during his presentation, but told him at our mini-feast that humus is dirt. Did he want me to pass the dirt?
Down and up: We visited my 30 year-old nephew in the hospital last Saturday two days after his aorta surgery. While he was up and about when we got there, he has not been released yet due to slow healing. More upsetting to me than his physical condition, though, is his spiritual state. Wow, the man is so deceived and needs Truth, which we shared clearly, but wonder the influence we had, given the medley of meds he was on. It was quite touching, though, to hear him say, "Aunt Zo and Uncle Paul, I'm really glad you came. You were the first people I wanted to see when I came out of surgery."
Down: Two weeks ago my husband said we'd probably just have to wait till the kids were out of college to buy a new carpet and furniture for the family room.
Up: Saturday, though, we drove up to Morgantown and found a gorgeous leather sofa for $600 less than the one we loved at Bassett. We haven't bought it; will we? I refuse to believe it till I see it anymore. And while we were at it (at the furniture mall) Paul was game for replacing the wobbly kitchen table and six chairs-- and said getting a carpet would be "no big deal."
Up: On Sunday afternoon I went to my parents' home to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, which is called Sukkot. For the past few years, they've been putting up (on their deck) a collapsible wood booth that Daddy engineered. My mom and others decorate it with corn stalks and harvest fruit, both real and fake. This year they invited my family and several of their neighbors. I was the only one in my immediate family who was keen on going, and I was keen mostly on seeing my folks whom I obvsiouly don't visit often enough, which is sad because they live only fifteen minutes away.
Down: I almost cried, in fact, when two different neighbors of theirs, when I introduced myself , said "Oh, I didn't know they had more than one daughter. I only ever see the one. Where do you live, out of state? " And when I told them where, it was even more awkward. I could go on, but I won't. I just feel the clock ticking away and the only time we're together is to celebrate something. I want to be part of a family that just "does life" naturally, not needing something on the calendar to bring us together. But then again, it's not just my side of the family. Paul doesn't see his family except when there's a wedding, heart surgery, or funeral, so maybe I shouldn't bemoan the unique sense of disconnection I'm feeling. Can anybody else relate?
Up: My little boy asked me to snuggle with him when we got home from school yesterday.
Down: He was feverish but cold.
Up: I offered him a heating pad for his cold body. He said, "No, thanks. I don't need a heating pad. I have a warm head."
Down: I felt like a loser of a mom by comparison to the women being honored by their daughters at our ladies' meeting last night.
Up: I sat next to my daughter who has turned out to be a lovely young woman in spite of my parenting. God is truly a Redeemer.
Down: I had a dream my husband was operating on me. He anaesthetized me to do heart surgery, but while he was at it, he reconstructed my bladder and sewed my jaw shut. Hmm.... I told him about the dream this morning when we woke up. "Don't get any ideas, " I warned him. Then I got up and skipped to my loo.
Up and down: I am staying home today to care for my sick boy and to clean parts of the house that have started writing messages to me in the dust and clutter. Messages like, "I can't breathe" and "Please give me oxygen." I'll be up and down all down, physically, caring for my son and my home while the rain comes down outside and I sing to lift my spirits up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)