Gardening

I am currently reading all I can about my local area in preparation for starting a new garden this summer. After living with the green thumbs of Germany, I now have a great desire to get out into the soil and plant some flowers! It was really satisfying to see fruit from my labor last year and I hope to be able to get to see the same again this year.

A couple of things I have learned tonight: one, is that I live in zone 7/8. ATL is kind of on the border and several things I have read have categorized ATL as one or the other. Knowing what number zone you are in proves to be helpful for knowing what plants and flowers will do well in your region and the numbers will make more sense when you are looking through catalogues! Want to know your zone? Click here.

From LewisGardens.com, here is what is recommended for this month in preparation:

February
Now is the time to start planning your gardens. A few planning tips for the vegetable and flower gardens are listed below:

• Grow corn in a block of at least three rows, as it is wind pollinated.
• Plant taller plants at the north side of the garden to avoid shading smaller plants.
• Think of where your vegetables were planted last year and try to rotate your crop - do not plant the same vegetables in the area it was planted last year.
• It may be too early to start many seeds indoors. Starting seeds in February may mean leggy, scraggly plants by the time they are ready to be transplanted outdoors (once the ground has warmed up).
• Time to order seeds and perennials from catalogs and/or nurseries.
• Apple and pear trees should be pruned now. Remove all water sprouts (those little "sucklings" that grow from the root and around the base of the trees). Prune all branches that are shaded out by larger, more mature branches.
• Some houseplants are poisonous! The following are plants that may be toxic to humans and animals when ingested:

1. Lantana
2. Philodendron
3. Dieffenbachia
4. Poinsetta

I got my SpringHill Nurseries catalog in the mail today. It's really helpful to have a catalogue to look through. If you order by 4.22.09 your entire order is 1/2 off and they even have a section where if you buy one set of flowers/plants/etc. the second set is $.01. They even have some pre-planned gardens, too, if you are a newbie to gardening and want something a little more fool proof.

Persecuted Church

Want to know what the top ten worst countries of persecuted Christians are?

World Watch List 2009

• 1. North Korea
  
• 2. Saudi Arabia
  
• 3. Iran
  
• 4. Afghanistan
  
• 5. Somalia
  
• 6. Maldives
  
• 7. Yemen
  
• 8. Laos
  
• 9. Eritrea
  
• 10. Uzbekistan
  

How can we help our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted every day?

Voice of the Martyrs was founded over 30 years ago by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand who:

"....was a prisioner in Romania for 14 years for his faith in Christ. In the `60s he and his family were ransomed out of Romania for $10,000 and came to the U.S. where he began traveling, educating the free world of the atrocities committed against Christians in Communist and other restricted countries. VOM's five main purposes are based on Hebrews 13:3. They are:

• To encourage and empower Christians to fulfill the Great Commission in areas of the world where they are persecuted for their involvement in propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ. We accomplish this by providing Bibles, literature, radio broadcasts, and other forms of aid.
  
• To give relief to the families of Christian martyrs in these areas of the world.
  
• To equip local Christians to love and win to Christ their enemies who are opposed to the gospel in countries where believers are actively persecuted for their Christian witness.
  
• To undertake projects of encouragement, helping believers rebuild their lives and Christian witness in countries that have formerly suffered Communist oppression.
  
• To emphasize the fellowship of all believers by informing the world of atrocities committed against Christians and by remembering their courage and faith.

On their blog you can read about what is happening to the persecuted church around the world daily so you can PRAY. Did you know there are about 171,000 Christian martyrs per year? That means they have died for their faith (oftentimes along with being tortured) and that is not to mention the ones that lived to tell about it. You can get a free subscription to their magazine that gives you the same type of info only in a different format. Or, you can subscribe to prisioner alerts that gives you information on how to WRITE to Christians around the world and their governing officials who are in prison and are persecuted simply for being a Christian.

Why be an advocate for these Christians by praying for them and writing to them or their elected govering officials? VOM writes:

"By becoming an ‘advocate’ you are entering into the vital and important ministry of intercession and solidarity with those who suffer for their faith in Christ. As an advocate for our brothers and sisters in chains you will be encouraging them when you write to them in prison and supporting them when you write to officials on their behalf.

Your involvement testifies of the love and unity found among followers of Jesus Christ throughout the world. It is a witness to both your imprisoned family and to the authorities you write to or who may censor letters intended for the prisoner.

Your involvement is evidence to our persecuted family that they are not forgotten. Often the oppressors try to brainwash these Christians into believing that they are forgotten, that they are not loved and that no one knows about them. Through this isolation and loneliness the devil can prey upon their faith. When a prisoner learns others are protesting on their behalf or when they receive your letter, they know that someone cares.

You involvement can result in better treatment for a prisoner. The authorities in many nations are very sensitive about their image abroad. When they realize that outsiders are monitoring a prisoner’s situation, conditions may be improved.

For this we have a scriptural mandate. Read and pray through the following verses, which will help you understand the role you are undertaking. This is no doubt front line spiritual warfare and you will also need to pray through all your thinking and letter writing.

Hebrews 13:3, Matthew 25: 34-40, Matthew 5:10, 1 Peter 3: 13-17, 1 Peter 4:12-14."

No Such Thing As Fairness...

Large Family Mothering (she has 14 children!) has a great post on not teaching fairness to your children.  I have heard of this same concept listening to a podcast who was hosting the Duggar parents who have 18 children.  I think it should apply to smaller families as well. BTW, you should check out the official Duggar website. It has pictures of their home and tells how they function on a day-to-day basis.  It's pretty incredible if you ask me!

Read the post to know what I am talking about...Creating Contentment.

First Prayers

I've been urging Hannah to pray over her own snacks or during mealtime when we are together.  It usually goes something like this, "God. Food. Amen."

Tonight, as we were praying before bed, I asked if she wanted to pray and maybe to tell God some things for which she is thankful. She has been reluctant to expand up until now, so it was neat to see what came out of her mouth.  It went something like this, "God. Jesus.  Food.  Take a bath.  Brush teeth.  Toys.  Amen."

Worn Out Woman

I read these four posts tonight from Biblical Womanhood and was encouraged by them.  I thought I'd pass them along to you with hope you might find a nugget of encouragement, too.  (I found pt. 2&3 most helpful.)

Guest Post: Ten Tips For Avoiding Burnout

From Exhaustion to Rejuvenation:  Overcoming the Worn-Out Woman Syndrome Pt. 1

From Exhaustion to Rejuvenation:  Pt. 2

From Exhaustion to Rejuvenation:  Pt. 3

Feeling Better

Hello, everyone!  

Like so many others, I have been really sick for the past week and a half. It has been no fun.  But, as of today, I am finally feeling well enough to write and hope to be fully recovered within the next few days....

AND THE WINNER IS.....

Congratulations Julie for winning the apron giveaway!

Of the sixteen people who responded (there were 17 comments, one person commented twice) yours was the number that was chosen by random.

Please respond within the next 24 hours to exchange information for mailing your prize!

If I don't hear from you within the next 24 hours, I'll choose another winner using the same random number generator.

Congratulations!

First Bloggy Giveaway!

Would you like to win this child's apron?  

You could give it to your child or as a gift to a friend!

To enter:

• Leave your name/a way to contact you in case you win in the comment section below.
• Respond to winning within 24 hours (or I'll pick another winner).
• Leave a comment letting me know what you would pay for this if you were to see it for sale on ebay, etsy, or local consignment type store.  I am thinking about selling these for a little extra income on the side and want to get a feel for a cost.  (If you would like to see some more aprons to get a better idea, click here and here to see some others I have done.)

I will pick a winner Friday, January 20, at 5pm EST.

*FYI, this would fit a larger toddler or smaller elementary sized child and is not reversible.  It does have a velcro top strap with two adjustable sizes.

More Aprons

These really are addicting to make.

This is my first elementary sized child's apron that is reversible-

side one...

side two...

Toddler apron that's reversible with the same fabric.

I've been practicing with fabric I've had around my house.

It's official.  I am making 22 children's aprons starting this week for our church's children's choir.

My pastor's wife and I found an AMAZING upholstery fabric store that sold us 5 yards of fabric for $5.  They even gave me 2 yards of fabric for free.  Upholstery fabric!  I can't wait to make more ;)

Lentil Tostadas

We have made Lentil & Veggie Tostadas several times now and they make a delicious, filling meal.  Plus, it's relatively quick to make them, which is always a bonus.

In case you didn't know that Better Homes and Gardens has all of their recipes on their website, you should check it out at: www.BHG.com.

If you want to make this recipe even more scrumptious and wholesome, make your own tortillas (original or variation) and sprout your lentils before you eat them.  See links below on sprouting:

Why Sprout?

Brown Lentils

& Frugal and Easy Sprouting: The Colander Method

Ingredients:
1-3/4 cups water
3/4 cup dry red lentils, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 to 2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 tostada shells
2 cups chopped fresh vegetables (such as broccoli, tomato, zucchini, and/or yellow summer squash)
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese (3 ounces)
directions

1. In a medium saucepan stir together water, lentils, onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, and cumin. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until lentils are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Use a fork to mash the cooked lentils.

2. Spread the lentil mixture on tostada shells; top with the vegetables and cheese. Place on a large baking sheet. Broil tostadas 3 to 4 inches from the heat about 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings.

Master Bath Cabinets

My nephew says he has to have a little camo in every outfit.

My Mom says there has to be a little black in every room.

I leave the camo to my husband and I am working on the black.

In my house, black is definitely the new black.

 Our bathroom has two french doors that separate two separate sinks. 

 It's a really unusual layout.

Anyway, I was totally bugged by these cabinets and couldn't wait to paint them.

If we didn't have a toddler that would get into the stuff underneath our sinks (I don't use locks because they are a hassle) I would replace the mirrors with something a little more chic and modern.  However, they store almost all of our bathroom supplies in them since each sink has one above it.  So, they had to be painted too.

Doesn't it make all the difference?

I love it.

Bonus: My Hobby Lobby has an amazing three rows of super clearance where everything is at least 66% off.  So, I went and bought some picture frames, a metal basket to hold my blow dryer, and a candlestick holder that is perfect for holding jewels and rings.

I took the Nesters advice and only put pictures of my hubs and me in our frames in our bedroom.  

It's a sacred place.  

No kids.

Check out her bathroom makeover here.

Babes

So that grandparents don't go through withdrawl, 

here is a picture of my two babes from Sunday afternoon.

BTW, it feels GREAT GREAT GREAT HERE!

We brought out our patio furniture last night and had supper out in the backyard!

Praise God for great weather and for bringing us to ATL!

Making Broth

After you cook your chicken in the crock pot and disinfect the surfaces from handling raw meat (btw, I added something to the very bottom of the post), get ready to separate the bones from the bird itself.  

• Get out whatever serving platter or dish you are adding the chicken to and simply pull the meat off of the chicken and leave the bones in the crock pot.  
  
• Eat supper, relax, clean up-whatever you normally do...
• Either add just cold water or whatever else you want to use to make the broth super yummy (in cooking terms it's called a mirepoix).  I added 16 cups of water, 1 onion, a couple of carrots (whole and peeled), and a few stalks of celery.  You can add 2 T. of vinegar to the mix but I spaced it and forgot.  Turn it on the lowest setting and do nothing to it until the morning (that's the best part)!  According to a chef's standards, a mirepoix is typically 50% onions, 25% carrots, and 25% celery and the size is determined on the cooking time- larger for longer cooking and smaller for shorter cooking time. A white mirepoix is made by replacing the carrots with parsnips and adding mushrooms and leeks (OnCooking, pg. 197).
• In the morning, strain the broth from the rest of the ingredients.  Be sure you have a big enough bowl!  I didn't check it and as I was pouring didn't realize I was wasting some of it! You can additionally skim the top with a small skimmer if you want to get little pieces that may have strained through.
• Put it in the refrigerator to cool and have the fat rise to the top.  
• Skim the top and discard the fat.
• Freeze it, keep it in the fridge for two days, or use it immediately.

Sally Fallon has some simple broth recipes (at the bottom of her article) to make some from different meats and veggies.

The Cottage Smallholder has a great crock pot recipe to cook the whole chicken while making broth at the same time.

A couple of other notes about broth.  First, Sally Fallon states in her article Broth is Beautiful that:

Science validates what our grandmothers knew. Rich homemade chicken broths help cure colds. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons--stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.

Most broths that you buy on the market are loaded with preservatives, MSG, and hydrogenated oils and end up being pretty terrible for you.  Plus, they don't have all of the minerals and good stuff that is supposed to be nourishing to your body when you make food!

When I was in college I took a cooking class and got this great (really expensive) textbook that I use for a wealth of information from time to time. I am really glad I didn't turn it back in at the end of the semester!  Their principles for stock making is this (pg. 198):

• Start the stock in cold water (makes blood and other impurities dissolve).
• Simmer the stock gently (185 degrees F).
• Skim the stock frequently (this is how you get a pure looking stock; they rise to the top).
• Strain the stock carefully (use cheesecloth for the purest looking stock).
• Cool the stock quickly (keep in a metal container, fill the sink with cold water and put the pot in it).
• Store the stock properly (sanitized container and put in the fridge).
• Degrease the stock (scrape away with a spoon).

Does anyone else have any good stock recipes or tips for me to try?  Please share!

Cheap Disinfectant

After you have washed and cut your chicken, use a really great and cheap homemade disinfectant that won't harm you or the children in your home with toxic chemicals.  Want to know what it is?  Hydrogen Peroxide and Vinegar!  This is the best stuff ever.

I put my vinegar in a small spray bottle, buy one HP spray bottle (it comes in a spray bottle in the store now!) and keep on refilling each one when it runs out.  It costs $.98 for a tall bottle of HP and just over $1 for a gallon of vinegar.  

The good news about using these together is that you can wash your fruits and vegetables with it, spray it all over your countertops, and on your cutting boards to disinfect them.

Also, a word about cutting boards.  Unless your dishwasher has a setting that is labeled disinfectant or displays a temperature that gets to disinfecting degrees, your plastic cutting boards are not completely bacteria free, especially if you cut your meat on them. Furthermore, wooden cutting boards get a really bad rap when they shouldn't.  Did you know that the wood has natural bacterial killing properties in it that when bacteria are left overnight they actually are found dead in the morning?  Plastic does not offer this same guarantee.  I still recommend using two separate boards for meat vs. everything else, but consider switching from plastic to wood as well.  Read how to take care of wooden blocks here. 

As for my house, I have one big wooden board I keep out on the counter top all the time and use it all the time.  I have plastic ones that are smaller that I take out for meat or when I need more space.  I rarely even put it under running water to wash it and just wipe it off and spray it with the homemade spray bottles.  Works great.  Also, after the kitchen is cleaned up before we go to bed, I just spray the V&HP one right after the other all over my kitchen sink and countertop surfaces to prepare them for in the morning.

*Oh, an addendum, you can also spray vinegar from your bottle into your stainless steel coffee mugs to clean them, get rid of the coffee smell, and get the stain out!

Crockpot Butterfly Chicken & Rub

I am making a whole chicken in my crockpot today.  

• First, wash the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  Discard giblets if they come with it.
• Second, butterfly the chicken:  If you want to see a quick, easy tutorial of how to do this click here to see bon appetit's video.

• Next, apply a rub underneath the skin.  The skin should just lift up while staying attached.  Use your fingers to rub it all over.  
• Then, (from Easy Crock Pot Recipes) place the chicken, breast side up, into a crock pot.  Cover the cooker and cook on low for 7 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer registers 170F.  Remove the chicken from the cooker and let the bird stand at least 10 minutes before carving. Discard the vegetables in the slow cooker.
• Remove bones to save for making bone broth.  
• Eat it!  Yummy!

Here's the rub I used from Cooks Illustrated magazine:

CITRUS CILANTRO WEST SPICE RUB

(makes about 3 Tablespoons)

1 T. juice from orange

1 T. minced fresh cilantro leaves

1.5 t. juice from 1 lime

1.5 t. EVOO

1 small garlic clove

1/2 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. chili powder

1/2 t. paprika

1/2 t. ground coriander

for extra spiciness, add 1/2 t. cayenne

Family Room Corner

I have been feeling really tired and ill lately.  After resting for much of the day yesterday (and right before we were going to start a Friday night movie) I got a splurge of inspiration to redecorate the little corner of my Family Room.

Here's what it looked like:

(Yes, the top middle photo has an old cheerleading picture in it from when I was in HS.  I brought the frame back from my mothers' house and still haven't replaced it.)

Here's what it looks like now!

*I used sticks from outside that were lovingly placed there by my nephew ;)

*I took an old message board (that had been sitting around for three years) recovered it (using hub's staple gun) using extra fabric from my pillows and used the string that was originally on it to staple gun a picture to hang off of it.

*And, this morning I sewed a runner from some old fabric I had sitting around the house.  I love knowing how to sew!

The only thing I bought recently at Home Goods was the spiral topiary that came in a three set package. Other than that, it just took a little rearranging.

CHEAP n' easy Dog Bed

If you go into IKEA and almost to the check out lane, look to your left or right, and you will see the fundgrube (as it is called in German--I like to think fun grub!), or in English, the as is section.  This is where all of the super sale stuff is located.  Now, you have to pick and choose because some things are broken, but others are in great condition!  We bought our TV/computer cabinet in that section for half off (which was several hundred dollars because we were paying in Euro at the time) simply because there was a tiny chip at the bottom.  No one would ever notice and it doesn't matter anyway because I will probably end up painting it soon anyway ;)

Last weekend I was rummaging around in the fabric bin and I found three pieces of fabric designed for couch cushions.  One is black that will be going on our chair up in our bedroom, one is blue that matches our wedding quilt made by Michael's grandmother, and the other is white, as pictured above.  They were $2, $2, and $1.  I brought them home and put a pillow inside of the white one and made a comfy dog bed out of it (fits great inside of the cage) to replace the towels and blanket that used to be inside.

If you have an IKEA, you've got to check it out!

BTW, I broke my vow of staying away from IKEA for a year.  I was protesting because I was so sick of it being the ONLY place for us to shop in Germany.  I had the place memorized.  It was TOTALLY weird pulling into the parking lot last weekend and reading all of the signs in English.  "Ooooh!  That's what that says!"  Weird when I got the catalogue in the mail, too.  It's nice not having to read it along with a dictionary and a calculator to convert cm. into in.

I LOVE AMERICAaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!

There, I said it.  I just had to get that off of my chest ;)

Borders

In case you were wanting something to do on Saturday's, Borders (check their website for your location) has kid Saturday's where they throw parties and have a toddler reading hour.  Here is February's calendar.  This Saturday they are having a Valentine's Party and the 21st is Elmo's birthday party (if your child loves Elmo like mine does).  I am sure B&N does something like this and your local library should have programs going on throughout the week.  

Anyone know of other places that I could take a toddler to for some cheap fun?  Please share!

Cheeser...

Enjoying a Snack afterward... it makes for a fun date.

Protest

Do you want to know how my child protests going to bed?  She takes off her diaper.  Ugh.  It's perfectly dreadful.  It's all a ploy that she has figured out to get us to come back into her room.  She's smart.  Pray for us in our bedtime battles that have just begun at 21 months.  Nothing makes me feel more exhausted than standing my ground that she must stay in her bed and go to sleep.  From 0-20 months she was a great sleeper.  Starting 21 months (literally overnight) I ask myself where my child has gone...

Montessori This Week

First, let me introduce to you my newest, most well-loved Montessori Blog:  The Wonder Years!  She does a great job of putting together lessons for her two girls.  Check her out!

We've been doing lots of kitchen activities lately -

(I categorize water work in the kitchen as well for our house).  

Cutting, rolling, etc. with dough

Transferring water with a turkey baster

Pouring water from pitcher to pitcher 

Transferring corn kernels with a spoon

Sorting:  I put one color ball in each heart shaped (Valentine's...) hole and she had to sort and match the pom pom to each color.

Making bubbles with a child-sized rotary beater.  

Fun fun... and it takes a lot of coordination for her to do this.

NOOO PICTURE, MOMMY!

OH, NO!  The "no picture, Mommy" girl is starting to show!  

Sad day for me :(

Gamma bought some flowers to go into her crocs.  We were trying to show her with a picture and Hannah just wouldn't have it.  She was MAAAAAD at me for taking this.

Try #2 of the Crocs.

#3 of the Piggies that are back and better than ever.  Note: she's wearing more crocs-fuzzy crocs.  We have matching pairs.  And I love every minute of it!

Try #4:  

(from Dumb and Dumber) "There you go and TOTALLY redeem yourself!"

Um, yes, I want to pinch you forever!

Indoor Play Places

We've had some rainy weather here as of late and so the need for indoor play places has become a major need!  I read SavySource Blog for the ATL area (they have a blog for other areas, I believe) and their post on the best places to play indoors and we I think we hit the jack pot.

Passed out in the car...

Doesn't she look big all of a sudden?

This is at a McD's close to our house.  This is where we went before we found....

THIS PLACE!

NO LIE: we played for hours in this big gym filled with jumping things and bouncy things for $5.00 total (that's all three of us!).  It's amazing.  And, there are two close to our house.  Bonus: you can bring in your own food to eat even while they serve their own snacks that you can buy.

Wouldn't this be perfect for a 6-12 month old?

These were so much fun.  This is just one room...

They had basket ball too...

And, a section just for toddlers.  How GREAT is that?!?!?!

We LOVE THIS PLACE!