Speed... An Acceptable Drug For Young People

The card game Speed, that is.  My almost 12 year old and I have been playing this lots lately - maybe there's someone in your life this could be quality time with.

To play Speed, deal out two piles of seven cards and place them on the sides of the table.  Split the deck so each of you has 19 in a pile in front of you.  Take three cards from that pile to hold in your hand.  At the same time, each of you take the top card from the side pile at your right and turn it over into the middle.  From the cards in your hand, play onto the middle two piles one card higher or lower than the card showing (if we turn over a 5 and a 10, for example, we could lay down either a 4 or 6 or 9 or J).  When you've played a card, replenish your hand from the pile in front of you.  The object is to finish your pile first.  If you get through the side piles (you flip one over from them when you are both out of plays), turn the center pile over to become the new outside pile.

Enjoy!

Monthly Menu

Ever since Sean & I have been married, I've used a monthly menu plan.   (I've posted a sample before.)  There were some years it was more on the back shelf, but because it's a great tool  and makes my life easier, I've been pretty faithful at using it.  I've got four weeks laid out, and just cycle through them.  Monday is my grocery day, so I pull out the list, adapt the week's menu to suit our week, and make my shopping list from that. 

When setting up the plan, I kept in mind a balanced diet, our weekly schedule (piano after school Tuesdays means a shorter prep time, Friday can be a meal that's not great for leftovers), and food likes and dislikes.  I plan for six days - the last W means weekend, which for us is usually flexible; as long as I've got the fixings for one meal on hand, we're good.

Where there are two meals listed, I alternate and make one one month and the other the next.  I often switch up which chicken meal I make, too.  I have the Company's Coming Chicken Cookbook and like lots of the recipes in there.

Week One
M - Spaghetti
T - BBQ Steaks / Shepherd's Pie
W - Honey Baked Chicken
T - Lazy Perogie Casserole
F - Fish in Brown Butter
W - Burgers

Week Two
M - Tortellini Alfredo
T - Hamburger Helper / Meatballs
W - Parmesan Chicken
T - Lasagna
F - Tacos
W - Stirfry

Week Three
M - Van Raes Mac & Cheese / Penne Rose
T - Perogies & Sausages
W - Chinese Chicken
T - Hamburger Casserole / Canelloni
F - Fish Sticks & Fries
W - Frozen Pizza

Week Four
M - Roast Beef
T - Sloppy Joes / Hot Beef Sandwiches
W - Any Chicken Recipe
T - Chicken Lasagna
F - Pork Chops / Mexican Fish / Experiment with Something New
W - Chicken Fingers & Fries

Do you use a menu plan?  What are some of your family favorites or standbys?

Do You Have A Suzanne?

You know how some people are social and love people and always like to have people around?  That's not me.  I know that we were created to be social beings and that we were meant to function better in community, and I'm not saying I'm exempt - but I enjoy my own company, I always have lots of things I want to do and read, and it takes a whole lot of alone time before I'm seeking out company.  (Except for my husband, for whom I am sometimes needy.  But that's a whole different post that probably will never get written.)

I do have friends, and I enjoy getting together with them.  We are in a small group, and have really enjoyed hanging with those people Saturday nights this past year.  I'm in a book club, too, and count those girls among my closest friends.

But today I want to tell you about a new friendship.  A friendship that I am so thankful for, and that I would wish for each of you.

One day a few months back, a casual friend of mine (someone I saw at church and was in book club with), asked about the possibility of getting together on a regular basis... I'm not sure she knew exactly what she was looking for, but someone to talk with about some of the deeper parts of life and to have honest conversation with was sort of the gist of it.

We began to get together once every two weeks, and over the span of the last few months, she has transformed into one of the first people I would call if there was something serious going on in my life.  The friendship has deepened quickly and so genuinely that it's hard to believe it's only been such a short time.

What makes a friend like this?  For one, I think that the openness on both our parts has allowed us to trust and feel comfortable with one another.  I heard an expression once, I forget where, about putting your friendship for sale - not making the other person invest much to get anywhere with you, but making it easy for them to get inside.  We both came at it with an openness, and risked the vulnerability that comes with sharing much.

Another thing that goes along with this is intentionality.  We get together every other Wednesday - we put it in our calendars and plan to spend time together.  We also are intentional about what we talk about - we catch up, of course, and tell our stories, but we also (and this is a third thing) are accountable to each other.

One of the first things we did was talk about our goals - for all the different areas of our lives, both short term and long term.  This is a great exercise for anyone to do, but for us it provided that understanding of what we valued and were working for in our lives, and laid the groundwork for setting new goals each time we get together.  Sometimes they are more specific than others - sometimes life gets a little full and just getting through it well is enough of a goal for the next two weeks.  I keep my book with both our goals with my Bible and journal, and some mornings I pull it out - it reminds me what things I was going to work on, and it reminds me to pray for her and the things she was wanting to build into her life.

Our time together isn't forced, and we don't aim to solve one another's problems; sharing our own experiences and offering suggestions as we work through issues that come up sure is a help, though.  Whether it's spirituality, mothering, managing money, or relationships with our husbands or others, nothing is off limits, and everything is safe.

If you don't have a friend like this, I highly recommend you start scanning your acquaintances for someone who might fit the bill for you.  It's a rich relationship, and I am grateful for the day she asked.

counting up thankfuls

I've mentioned before that one of the books I have with me when I spend time with my Lord in the mornings is a Gratitude Journal.  I've written about my motivation to start one, on a summer road trip.  And I've mentioned the book One Thousand Gifts and directed you over to Ann's website to find some wonderful encouragement.

One thing I haven't done - until today - is list here what I am thankful for, and link it to Ann's weekly gratitude post.  This is what I wrote today in my Gratitude Journal today, and because I was inspired to start numbering them (to 1000 and beyond), these are # 345 - 349:

• A thoughtful gift from a thoughtful friend. 
• Following an impulse and finding it blesses others and me as well.
• Wedding showers and joyful times.
• Sunshine on the deck and painted toenails.
• No wind walks with Sean.

And this will take you to all my posts marked Thankful.

Attack of the Squirrels!

Or, Signs of Spring.

Here are a few shots from the backyard yesterday - you'll want to stay tuned right till the end for the squirrel bit.

Trees are starting to green...

 

Flowers are starting to sprout...

 

Birds are in the grass, searching for food...

And Sean's in the garage.  Taking apart and putting together.

On this particular spring Saturday, I was out at a costume sewing bee for the camp, and when I got home, these two had bought some paint and were about to begin a bird house & feeder paint job.

 

While taking down the duplex, a squirrel surprised Sean by jumping out of the building in his hands!  (He managed to stay on the ladder, happily.)  

About 20 minutes later, back comes the squirrel with four of his family members, to check out his houseless home.  They were stealthy on the way in, slinking along the branches nose to tail, then when they got to the tree they were chattering - I don't speak squirrel, but it sounded pretty ticked off to me. 

I was ready for an attack. 

After assessing the situation, however, they made their way over the neighbor's roof to another tree perch.  I'm still keeping my eyes open, though!

No bird (squirrel) house here, but can you see all five in this picture?

Leftover Soup

I made some homemade vegetable soup a month or so ago, and along with what the recipe called for, I threw in the leftover veggies that were in the fridge.  It was a yummy soup (a P90X recipe), and it inspired me - so for the last while I've been saving those last bits of veggies, chicken and rice that were not going to get eaten as leftovers, and threw them in the freezer.  I even saved some 'veggie broth' - the nice green liquid leftover from cooking broccoli.

The other night I felt motivated and I simmered some chicken stock with celery, onion and carrot for an hour, then added all my thawed soup fixin's.  It ended up a little thick, but I just added a bit of water, and it made a great lunch for Madeline and I three times this week!

I meant to take a photo for you, but ate it all up before I remembered...

So my questions for you are: Do you ever make leftover soup?  Everything but the kitchen sink soup?  Any tips on ratio of liquid to leftovers?  How do you season it? (I used a bit of salt and some fresh ground pepper.) Thanks!

Layouts

May is National Scrapbooking Month, and May 7 was National Scrapbooking Day.  A bunch of my hardcore scrappy friends and I spent a 12 hour marathon at the church working with all our pretty paper and goodies.  I'm happy I've got a few pages to show for it.  Some were mostly done before, and I just had to complete them.  A few others just need some finishing touches and then I'll post them, too.

Can't Judge a Pepper by its Skin

I was looking forward to eating all the fresh veggies I brought home the other day.

This red pepper, especially... yummy!

So sad... 

 

I grabbed the camera so I could take some pictures to illustrate the obvious moral here - don't judge by outside looks; they may not match what's on the inside! 

I showed M the pictures when she got home, how nice it looked and how disappointed I was, and her first comment was - "Just like some people!"  Glad she knows that lesson!

Books.

We went to Medicine Hat on the weekend (picking up and dropping off car parts) and had a nice mini vacation.  We stayed in a hotel, went water sliding, bought clothes for all of us, bought Sean's Father's Day present a little early, and had hours in the car to read.

So Friday I hit the library for some good lit, and came away after picking up two off the "Hot New Reads" stand.  Our public library has a system for getting the newest books into as many hands as possible - they offer them as seven day loans, as opposed to the usual three weeks.  Saturday I finished the first, and tonight I polished off the second.  Sigh. I hate finishing a good book.  Here they are, recommended by me:

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I'd give this one 4 out of 5.  A scenario that seems unthinkable, and how it changes life for Jack and his mom.  Worth a read.

 

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This one gets a 4 out of 5 as well, although I think I did like it better than Room.  I love learning history through fiction, and this was a great one for that. 

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Thanks, Emma and Kathryn for coming along on our road trip this weekend - it was wonderful to spend so many good hours with you!

What have you read recently that you'd recommend?

We're the Green Team.

No, not that green, the other green.  The most memorable part of last night, our first game of the season, was that two of our players hooked up with the other team, and the coach, who didn't have his team list with him, didn't catch it....  So they had 5 subs and we had one.  For the second half.   I think we're all sorted now, and should have more players tomorrow.

And I told them we were the green team.  That ended up being so very helpful.

We know the other coach because his son was on our team last year - this year he volunteered to help and ended up coaching, just like what happened to me 2 years ago.  I do think it's pretty sad that of all the kids playing, only three teams had people actually volunteer to coach.  The rest end up getting roped in. 

What is your funniest experience with a kid's sports team?

PS - We're the darker, "Irish" green.

Things that Matter

I like to blog about all kinds of things, but when I can pass on things that matter, things that might help you in your day, in your life, in your seeking for God and his Kingdom; those are the posts I am happiest to write.

So today I thought I'd share a few sites that are inspiring, helpful and encouraging.  May you find some gems within them that will make the kingdom come richer in your life today.

A Holy Experience - Ann Voskamp writes heartwrenchingly beautiful words, honest words that acknowledge struggles, but always end up facing the Father and offering hope.  She lives and writes a thankful life.  I've written about her before and recommended her book; I get daily emails with her blog updates, and they are one of the few things in my inbox that I read faithfully.  I've been meaning for a while now to blog about her Ten Point Manifesto for Joyful Parenting - I printed it off and need to get into the habit of reading it every morning!

Inspired to Action - the introduction that Kat writes about this blog says "Inspired To Action is dedicated to practically helping moms develop the habits and skills they need to effectively manage their homes and raise children who are prepared to change the world."  She's got an ebook called Maximize Your Mornings that's worth a read, and if you're into twitter, they've got a morning community to help you start your day off right.

(in)courage - those first two are individual blogs; (in)courage is a site with a number of contributers.  Many are authors themselves, but (in)courage is a community, and all the members are able to write for it. Check this one out - I'm betting you'll find encouragement of some sort here!

May you be blessed and encouraged and strengthened today.

 

What a great family.

For more photos of the family and our Easter and  birthday weekend in Winnipeg, clicking here will take you to the album on facebook.  (Click on the first one to see them all large.)

Sorry for neglecting you, Dad.

(sitting in my parents living room, Dad watching hockey, me on my laptop)

Dad:  What are you looking up?

Me:  Nothing.  Just reading blogs.

Dad:  You haven't been blogging much lately.  I understood when you were working out, but now that you're not...

Me:  We only took a break for a week - we're back at it.

Dad:  You should have written that - how were we supposed to know?

**********

Sorry, folks. Apparently I've been leaving you in the dark.  P90X update - Sean's bout with BPPV was minor and short lived, thankfully, so we've been back at it for a couple of weeks.  Three weeks left!  I did take the disc and workout in my hotel last weekend, but we also left them at home this weekend and are just skipping them completely.  In the ultimate compliment, my mom said my shoulders are looking like the boys' - my wiry nephews.  Made me laugh. 

In other thoughts, here's a thread from the blogs I was reading that resonates with me.  It's along the lines of what and how we think of ourselves.  Seth Godin had a post last week called Turning the habit of self-criticism upside down.  Why do we put ourselves in the best light possible when dealing with teams and bosses, but beat ourselves up in our own heads about all kinds of things?  He suggests taking responsibility for the things we 'learned from' at work, and, what struck me was be more supportive of yourself. 

In the same vein, my friend Jackie has been posting lately about making changes in her life - she wrote a post about how thinking about the things you are working towards is far more effective than the black hole of focusing on the negative things you are trying to move away from.

Focus on what I want to be & where I want to go.  Be supportive of myself & encourage myself that I can do it.  Life ends up being so much more positive... these are reminders I need again and again.

good things come in threes

On Tuesday, Madeline had her Battle of the Books.  BotB is where teams from a bunch of schools have to read the same 10 books from January to April, then compete to see who knows them most thoroughly.  Her team did very well - 5th out of about 20.  To make this event even more fun, they had a bunch of door prizes for the kids.  M won one of them - a nice bag full of goodies.

They also had two door prizes for spectators, and I won one of them!  Hooray for great books - I got one that I just finished reading and really enjoyed, and I already have plans for it... just don't tell my book club - they might all fight over my offering knowing I'm bringing the Hunger Games to our year end book swap!

This weekend I went to Saskatoon for a writer's conference.  They had door prizes, and I won again.  They had lots, and I think just about everybody took something home.  But still, I came away with something that I will actually use in my house.

Along with my registration, I send in an entry to the writing contest; a short work of prose, 2 pages, that included 4 specific words.  They announced the winners after lunch; I came in second.  Yay!  I even made a bit of cash for that.

So there's my run of three - it's been a good week!

10 000 Hours

I experienced a parenting fail again this morning.  A parenting fail is where the kid goes out the door to school and she doesn't have a smile on her face and on this side of the door, I'm thinking, "Why?  Why do I lack patience?  Why do I frustrate her and why do I let her frustrate me?  When will I learn???"

This happens too often for my liking, but thankfully, not as often as it used to.  And the negative effects didn't even last too long, amazingly, because I remembered something I read recently.  It was the "when will I learn" question that did it - that gave me the answer.  10 000 Hours.  That's the answer.  If you want to be good at something (like managing mornings with children??), it takes lots of practice and hard work.

I read this quote in Michael Hyatt's post on Why Real Creativity Requires Significant Work: "In his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell talks about the “10,000-Hour Rule.” The basic idea is that success in any field is, to a large extent, the result of practicing a specific task for 10,000 hours—or more." That has stuck with me all week, and rather than being a downer and causing me to think that I'll never get there, it has proven to be a motivation.  Keep trying, keep practicing.  Yes, I'll fail, but then I get a clean slate to try again.  To keep working on it, whatever the 'it' of the moment is.

I hope this encourages you.  Lots of what we do in life is hard work - keep at it.  Keep working hard at the things that are worth doing well...

I felt like myself.

Yesterday morning I went with a handful of other women to serve at the Chili for Children program.  We had a fun time getting to know each other over setting up and chopping veggies, walking over to the second location and finding a hobbit door...  None of these women had been to C4C before, and they were all quite impressed with the people who ran the show, the children that they were able to serve, and excited about the possibilities of doing this again.

Last night I went out on the Love Lives Here bus with 13 great people from church.  The bus hits the streets of North Central and the Core, offering warmth, food and drink and Jesus' love to anyone who needed it - there were a good number of 'divine appointments' and our crew got exposed to a whole range of what the crew sees on a regular basis.  None of these friends had been on the bus before, and by the end of the evening their eyes had been opened to a whole new side of life in our city; a side where spiritual forces do very real battle, where prayers and our availability and Jesus' name are powerful weapons.  Many of these friends are interested in going back; all were grateful for the experience.

These were two of the projects offered through our Westhill Serves weekend, and having just been to three of them (our whole small group went out to paint at the camp today), I am fully content that the reasons we put on this event is sound, and was met in a very successful way.  We do it because serving is one of the three main purposes of our church (Love God, Love Others, Serve the World), to give opportunities for people to serve, and to expose them to new ways to serve.

I was also struck by something else.  Feeding hungry inner city children is great, and I'm glad there is a group who does that; it's not my thing.  Loving on the street workers and gang members is important, and I'm so glad to know this bus is out on our streets while I'm safe in bed.  It, however, is not my thing either.  My thing - my thing - is getting other Christians to go and serve there with me - my thing is taking people to places they have not been, exposing them to what more there is in life and faith.  I want to see Christians 'get it' - to know how they can live an abundant life, fully loving and serving, fully experiencing all that God has for them.  I'm thankful for the chance I had to go on those projects yesterday; I'm trusting that the friends I took along were changed by God because of their experiences.

Sometimes I forget, in the details, that this is the part that fills me.

I'm thankful for this reminder of who I am meant to be.

On Hold

Our P90X workouts have been put on hold.

All those downward dogs and other movements and positions have given Sean a case of BPPV - Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.  He's got a good case of the dizzies, and we're going to take a break for a week to let that sort itself out, then get back to in.  Hopefully it will be gone before then.  We went in to the clinic Thursday after the second morning of waking up to the room spinning; he's got an appointment with our doctor this Thursday, so we'll see where it's at then.

We did just take our two month photos, and there are definitely some changes from our day one shots.  I'm trusting the short break doesn't get us too far off track.

Hmm... maybe since I'm not working out right now, I should go find some chocolate to eat instead...

Stuff & Materialism

I hate waste.  I don't like when I have to throw out leftovers; I'm uncomfortable with starting the shower or the vehicle early to warm it up.  (Yes, my ride came with a command start: yes, I sometimes use it.)  I don't buy a lot of clothes, and even at the grocery store, I usually only buy what's on my list.  Only the stuff we need.

My main reasoning for this is a sense of justice and awareness of what life is like around the world.  We in North America are consumers.  We take and eat and use and buy and throw away and replace, and think nothing of it.  It's normal.  It's sad.

I got a new phone this week.  My old one was not dead yet, and I was fine to keep it longer, but we went to the store just to browse...  The latest, greatest was on sale *free!* (because the other company just had a $0 promotion); they even threw in a $100 gift card.  How could we pass that up?  (And it was only on for one more day!)  So I got it.

I'm not opposed to getting stuff.  There is a time and a place for all kinds of different things.  But needs vs. wants comes into play, as well as the questions of where was it made and with what and by who, and were they paid enough?

I write about this because I have a need to sort out my thoughts on the subject, and maybe to see if anyone else thinks this way.  Partly, too, it's to encourage more people to think this way.  Do you need that item?  Does all your money go to stuff, or are you spending any of what you have to make life a little easier for those who don't have what they need, let alone what they want?

Some things to consider.  As for me, I will enjoy my new Blackberry Torch in its shiny blue case, but I will also stay aware of those in the world around me who don't have, and do what I can.

The Week That Was

Books - I just devoured book two in the Hunger Games trilogy.  So good.  If the library wasn't already closed when I shut the cover tonight, I might have run right out to see if I could find the third...  I saw it last week on the new 7 day renters shelf, but hadn't got the second book yet.  I picked it up yesterday and yeah, devoured is the right word for it.

I am still waiting for Ender's Game, which is our next book club read.  We meet this coming Thursday, so I hope it comes soon!  Another futuristic youth science fiction...

Movies - We saw two movies this week.  Sunday night Sean & I watched The Tourist with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.  It was fast paced, kept you guessing and wondering, and had some good surprising twists.  I quite enjoyed it.  Last night the three of us went out to see a show, and took in Hop on opening night.  The previews were inappropriate for the age of kids that were there, and lots of the humour in the movie itself was too old - I know they make these movies so that the parents will get some laughs, too, but if I take my kid to a movie, I don't want to be hoping she doesn't get some of the jokes.  It was a silly movie; parts of it were cute, and parts of it did have me laughing.  Overall I'd say don't waste your time and money, and play a game together instead. 

Disappointment - I talked myself into signing up for a triathlon this spring (a super short rookie women's event), and had the registration opens date of April 1 in the back of my mind for a while.  Friday rolls around, I think "Ok, I'm going to do this" and then see this: Registration for the See Jane Tri for the Cure is NOW CLOSED. Thank you for the quick sell out!!!!  Sigh.  On to other options, I guess.

Have you read those books?  Seen those movies?  Liked?  Disliked?  I'm curious to know what you think.

Ever Feel Blue?

I just read a good post from Michael Hyatt about things to do to get yourself out of a funk & thought it was worth sharing.  Hyatt is the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Nelson Publishers, and blogs almost daily with lots of quality stuff.

I hope you find this helpful, but really, I'm posting it here just so I can find it again when I need it.