Angel Food May

It has been a while since we have purchased food from Angel Food. I think the main reason is that the last time we went to a distribution site that was very disorganized and it involved standing in a LONG line in the heat for over an hour. But we discovered a new site that is very close to where we live and we picked up the food today. If you are interested in seeing the menu for June, or want to find a distribution site near you, click here.

Here is what we got for $30.00:

2.5 lb. Lean Chopped Beef Steaks (5 x 8 oz.)

5 lb. Leg Quarters

2 lb. Chicken and Corn Bread Stuffing Casserole (Ready to Cook)

28 oz. Salisbury Steak Dinner Entrée

1 lb. Boneless Pork Chops (4 x 4 oz.)

1 lb. Corn Dogs (6 ct.)

12 oz. Deli Sliced Honey Ham

5 oz. Chunk Light Tuna in Water

32 oz. Frozen French Fries

1 lb. Frozen Sweet Corn

15 oz. can Musselman’s Apple

Sauce

15 oz. can Pears

8 oz. Dinner Roll Mix (Makes 8 Nice Rolls)

7.5 oz. Mac ’n Cheese

32 oz. Borden's 2% Shelf Stable Milk

Dozen Eggs

Blueberry Pie

What A Day!

My appointment to see the orthopedic doc about my shoulder was this morning. I was already in a twit before I even got there...worried about what was going to happen. Then when I pulled into the parking lot, I almost lost it. Every parking spot was full and I joined ten other vehicles circling around slowly...doing our best vulture imitation...watching eagle-eyed for an open space. 

Finally...FINALLY...five minutes late for my appointment...out of the corner of my eye I saw reverse lights as a car backed out.  Ah..ha!  I quickly zipped over and captured my prize...albeit a little crooked because the parking space was in the wrong direction...but nothing that a little reverse-forward-reverse-forward wouldn't fix.

When I made it inside, I realized why the parking lot was full.  I think that half the population of Jackson must have been sitting in the waiting room. Thankfully they were not all waiting to see my doctor, but still.

After filling out what seemed like enough paperwork to begin work on my autobiography, I settled in for the wait.  Fast forward and hour and a half later and I'm in an exam room sweating bullets. The doc finally makes his appearance.

The bottom line was a shot or an operation. I chose the shot. I'm not sure that I made the right decision...especially when they walked in the room with the syringe with a six-inch needle! Okay...so maybe I'm exaggerating a little...but not much. I pray that I NEVER have to go through that again. It was bad. It was beyond bad. It is almost eleven hours later and my shoulder is still hurting.

So now I wait and see what happens. If you think about it, please say a prayer for me that I don't completely fall apart anytime soon.         

Ouchies and Summer Fun

I have been having some physical problems for a few weeks and everything else has kind of been pushed to the background. Something is going on with my shoulder that is causing much pain. It's my right arm, so at times I am limited in what I can do with it...including getting dressed and working on the computer...not good. I have been to my family doctor about it and he has given me some medicine that works short-term, but now I have to go to an orthopedic doctor...yuk. Hopefully something will get resolved soon.

  

Then last week I endured a torture session of having an ingrown toenail surgically removed and I'm still having to take care of that until it heals. I won't go into any details about all that, but suffice to say that it was not pleasant, although the doctor and her staff were super nice and attempted to make me as comfortable as possible. The doctor had a great sense of humor too and that always helps. When she started the procedure, I told her I was going to close my eyes.  She said, "Oooo...me too!"  Ha!

Our summer calendar is filling quickly. I bought advanced movie tickets for the 10 summer movies the local theater is offering for 50 cents each and I will be taking BK and all four grandsons.  We have done this for several summers and it's always a lot of fun. I also have them all enrolled in Vacation Bible School in a couple of weeks. 

Last night, we started the Wednesday night summer activities for all of them at church. We pick the boys up and eat at the church (if you have never taken five children out  to eat, you haven't lived). Fortunately, they are all good kids and I don't have any trouble with them. Then they all go to their classes. The two older ones are playing Bible Baseball, which is a cool game that encouraged the kids to learn Bible Trivia (hmm...is anything in the Bible considered "trivia"...well...you know what I mean) and then afterwards they go to a fun activity like skating or swimming or a baseball game.  The BK and the 5-year-old have classes where they hear a lesson, make crafts, sing songs and basically have a blast.  The "baby" (he's 3, so not a baby anymore, but I guess he'll always be the baby) goes to nursery and plays.

BK will be taking a six-week dancing and tumbling class this summer on Tuesday nights. This will be her first time to do anything like this and she is SO excited.  

The Summer Reading Program will start in June and will meet every Thursday night. They have fun programs planned with magicians and clowns and many more fun things. We love the Children's Library at our local library and go to story time once a week.  BK has grown so much in the two and a half years that we've been going...and I don't just mean growing up. I started taking her before she was two years old and while she had fun, she was so shy and didn't want to get far from me.  Now she is so outgoing and has so much fun singing and dancing, sitting on cushions listening to Ms. Mara read, making crafts and exploring the books to pick out a few to bring home each week. 

Here are a few pics from a few weeks ago at the library. They made paper-plate turtles and finger painted.

The Long and Short of It

Check out BK's new haircut.

Here is before.

Here is after.

She looks so grown now.  Oh my, where did my little girl go?

Sometimes It's The Little Things

Once upon a time, there was a very shy young woman in her early 20s. Although she was intelligent and could very well have done anything with her life that she dared to dream, her lack of self-confidence was crippling. Married at 17 and with a baby at 18, her path seemed to have been chosen and her destiny set.

Who is this young woman? She could be one of many, many young women who find themselves in seemingly hopeless situations because of bad choices, either their own, or others that are out of their control. 

But this particular story is mine...and it could have ended very differently if not for the concern of another woman.

I don't exactly remember when I first met Ms. Jean.  She was an older lady who attended my church. For some reason, Ms. Jean made the decision to befriend a shy and sometimes sad young woman. 

I can remember going to her house for visits. She was such a lovely lady...filled with the love of the Lord and southern hospitality. We would sit talking and that is when she began to speak words of affirmation into me. 

Her words were not flowery nor meant to flatter. She simply went about the business of helping me to see that I was competent and well able to do whatever it was that I wanted to do.

You know, a funny thing happened. I started to believe her. A tiny little light flickered inside and hope was born. I ventured out a little and found success. Eventually I ventured out a little more and found even more success. If I ever doubted myself, I would see Ms. Jean's face as she she said matter-of-factly, "You can do it." Even all these years (decades) later, I still hear her words from time to time. 

This friendship had such a profound impact, I cannot imagine what my life would be like today if Ms. Jean had not taken an interest in me. And it makes me realize how much little things can mean to someone. When we share ourselves to invest in others, lives can truly be changed. 

If you could find the shy young woman in our story, she would tell you that it's true.

  

Preparing an Emergency Go-Bag

For years I have read about the importance of putting together a "go-bag" - an emergency kit that allows you to relocate quickly in case of an emergency or disaster.  While I already have most of the recommended items in my house, they are not all together in one place and would take time to assemble...time that I might not have in an emergency situation.

Rod Ellis wrote a great article explaining in detail how to prepare a go-bag and how the items in the bag can be used.  I am determined to get our go-bag ready...just in case...and this article is proving to be an enormous help.  If you are interested in reading it, click here.

Trying Something New

Sometimes I just get tired of cooking the same things. Yesterday we took a rare trip to Sam's. They have some neat things there...I could spend WAY too much money if I'm not careful.

Here are a few things that I got:

There was a lady giving away samples of this wonderful fajita meat. One taste and I was hooked. This is a 24 oz. package of steak, flame broiled and seasoned to perfection. Warm it in a pan for about four minutes and you are good to go. I love fajitas, but I don't fix them much because Mike doesn't like all the veggies that I use. I knew that I could use this meat for other things, like yummy steak salad. When we got home from Sam's, it was past our dinner time, so I had to fix something quick. I grabbed a bag of frozen hash browns and put them on the stove to cook. When they were done, I warmed up the meat and put it on top, with a side of corn.  Quick and delicious! This is not the most frugal alternative ($8.66 for 24 oz.), but I can get at least two meals from the bag and I figure that's not too bad for steak of this quality and convenience.

I haven't used this cornbread mix yet, but it looks SO good. It's a 5 lb. bag and will make five 8x8 pans, all you add is water. There is also a recipe on the back for a cornbread loaf that is baked like bread in a loaf pan. I can't wait to try this...maybe tonight. The cost breakdown is $1.25 per pan.

BK is so excited about this treat...Del Monte Fruit Chillers. There are 28 in the box and they are 24 cents each. The box is sold on the shelf and you freeze when getting it home. It says that there was 3 1/2 lb. of fruit used for each box, so maybe they will be more nutritious than Popsicles.

Broken Shoelaces...and other Emergencies

Lesson From a Broken Shoelace

by Blair Massey

It was 6:30 in the morning and my husband was getting ready for an early morning business breakfast meeting. He looked sharp in his blue shirt, navy blue tie and charcoal grey suit.

I was heading downstairs to get our coffee when I heard a loud moan from the bedroom closet. My husband's shoelace had broken. Fortunately I was prepared. I immediately went to the utility room and retrieved an extra set of laces that I had purchased when I bought the shoes. My husband threaded them into his shoes, grabbed his travel mug of coffee and flew out the door to his meeting.

There is a valuable lesson to be learned from this broken shoelace. Being prepared can prevent big headaches. If I had not purchased that extra pair of laces my husband would have been late for an important meeting, and that would not have looked good at the office.

While no one can anticipate every need or emergency, it is possible to be prepared for most situations. When I worked outside the home I had a job in outside sales. Because I was meeting new clients all the time I always had to look my best. In my desk I kept a pair of hosiery, a small bottle of hairspray, a comb, lipstick, an umbrella and clear nail polish (for fixing runs in my hosiery). In my car I kept a road atlas, a flashlight, batteries, road flares, water proof matches, change for bridge tolls, a rain poncho, a blanket, jumper cables and a first aid kit. To this day I still keep these items in my vehicle. 

As the manager of my home it is up to me to make sure that I am adequately prepared for emergencies, whatever they may be. Here are a few examples of the things I have done.

• Placed a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.

• Put together a first aid kit.

• Created an evacuation plan and kit.

• Placed emergency phone numbers in an easy to find location.

• Have several homemade dinners in the freeze for times when we are down with the flu or we come home late from an activities

• Kept up on the laundry, ironing and mending so that my family has the clothes they need when they need them.

• Have an ample supply of shampoo and soap so that no one is caught in the shower without them.

Being prepared doesn't mean that you need to start a stockpile of toilet paper (although having a good supply in each bathroom can be very important!). Rather, being prepared is about understanding the needs of your family and then making sure that you have the necessary items, like extra shoelaces, available to meet those needs. This is just one of the ways that, as the manager of your home, you can make your home a blessing to all who live there.

Christian Home Living expert Blair Massey publishes the popular Christian Homemaking newsletter with over 20,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to get organized, manage your time better, and provide a peaceful, beautiful home for your family, sign up for her FREE newsletter now at www.christian-homemaking.com