Tuckered Out from the Taco's

I was hoping when I posted today I would be coming to you with a great story about all the money we raised for the Mexico Mission trip, but, unfortunately not.

I need prayer. I am incredibly discouraged. We have members of our church who every other year go to Mexico on missions to help the lost & needy. We do all sorts of fundraiser events. This year alot has not been done at all and the donations are down 3/4 of what they normally are....should I take into consideration the gas prices? food prices? Sure I can do that. Yet, we still, at the Lord's commission need to seek and save the lost--He promises us to take care of us no matter what! He said, don't worry about what you eat and drink, find the lost and needy bring My message of salvation and help them.

Maybe it is just me. We should have made alot more money than we did. We were slightly over what we spent in money. The last time I did a cafe, we made a lot of money and we ran out of food. This time we bought enough food and only 1/3 of it was used.

I don't even know what to say. I am really discouraged. This took a lot of time, planning and work. I guess I just expected more.....this is my place to reveal how I am feeling and I am really discouraged that we put alot of time and effort and money. We busted our butts & sweat our butts off and maybe 25 people ate {not including the missions team}....

I know the Lord will encourage me. I know I will do another one. I am just really discouraged at the moment.

Call Me Superwoman

Good Tuesday Evening to all of you!

It has been quite the busy two days. I was going to get into something yesterday on here and was side tracked {called housework}. Yesterday was dusting day in the living room and my living room is the biggest room and there is much to dust. Then there was the daily swiffering & vacuuming and such. Dinner yesterday was simple: spicy chicken strips, elbow macaroni & broccoli smothered in Barilla sauce. Nonny is not a sauce fan so she had french fries. Oh and I had washed all the curtains from my other apartment {upstairs} and brought them back upstairs and hung them {they were my landlords}...oh and laundry, Monday is whites.

Today, somewhere, somebody must have taken the kryptonite out of my house because it was like SHAZAM! I had unbelievable drive to do alot. I woke up this morning, did the usual and before I even turned the computer on for work I took all the unpacked boxes out of the office and set them in the kitchen and started going through them. I woke Nonny up {had to do that twice} to get her ready for school {starting the count down, her last day is Thursday and its only an hour!}....Sent her off to school and then on my first break I started laundry {weatherman predicted rain so I hung the clothes in the house--kind of upset because it did not rain until tonight!}. Tuesdays is light colors {2 loads of them}--ok ok I can drive you a little crazy with some of my schedules---but it keeps me on track---it really does. On my lunch break I rearranged my bedroom {after I took everything out of it} and now all the boxes that need to be unpacked are in the spare bedroom! So you can't even get in there now, On my last break I vacuumed both rooms and did dishes. Well...........I did 2 rooms and worked 8 hours! Then Nonny and I had dinner, Kielbasa---Nonny don't believe me when I tell her that it is sausage, she does not believe it she says "Can't be this isn't gross".....The normal chores were done and then the phone rang---uh oh----yeah, you know those family members that call like once or twice a year and tell you about a family event {yeah, today is Tuesday and they were calling for Friday}, it was a paternal cousin saying "Oh we are having a birthday party for _____, and wanted you guys to come" "when is this?" I ask, "Friday" My head started spinning---yes, Friday, this Friday? I have the Taco Cafe coming up, grocery shopping and cooking and.....And I hate to say it but then when you don't bring the best gift, because you had 3 days notice and you don't drive and you follow a strict budget---well, then you are the talk for quite some time {doesn't she work? didn't she know________ don't like that? her daughter has nice clothes...} yeah, yeah, yeah...Yes I work, and I work. No, I don't know _______ don't like that because I see her semi-annually and yes my daughter has nice clothes---because they are budgeted out in the budget way ahead of time---AND most of her clothes come from other people and the Salvation Army & JC Penney 60%-75% off---so I don't spend alot of money there---whew, I really needed to vent and didn't even realize it......so if we don't go it will be chaos, but, I have to grocery shop on Friday--have to. So forgive me for losing it a little....I just get a little annoyed by it all. I don't think we will be going just due to the fact this was really short timing don't you think? I hope they understand that...I really do. Forgive me Jesus for everything above, I do love my family even if I only see them once or twice a year. I do love them. I pray that they come to know You one day---really soon. Amen.

So tomorrow is Word of the Week Wednesday.....I will find one yes I will!

Oh and garbage and recyclables had to be done tonight and we are still breaking down boxes, believe it or not---oh and I was going to change my showerhead {because I bought a nice new waterpik handheld and no I didn't budget for it, President Bush bought it for me in my stimulus check} but my wrench does not have any grips so I can't get the old one off---can you believe it? It just goes round and round...I have a friend who will take care of that for me, he is really good at all that fixer upper---so till tomorrow, love you all, don't forget to leave your comments!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Today was Moving Up Day at our church. I am a teacher in the Primary 2 Class {grades 2,3,4} and I only had one of the kids moving up, but, I believe I am getting 2. It was a nice day, my good friend's daughter and another woman's daughter are graduating high school and moving on to college. One will be going to Manhattan and the other to Plattsburgh I believe.

We had an awesome {yes that it was I said} awesome thunderstorm with lightning all during worship & praise this morning and I have to say that it was awesome to have that going on---Knowing the Lord is in control of all things and us worshiping Him while this was going on...just awesome.

Nonny did her bible study, I blogged and blogged surfed a little. My friend Ess, she is on the ministry team for our food pantry and there was work to be done so, Nonny, another lady from our church P and I went to help out. The pantry is in need of a lot of items. We have a toiletry ministry {toilet paper, deodorant, toothpaste, soap, shampoo....} that is suffering and has been for a while. I talked with the Senior Elder at our church today about a Bake 'n Take and a Toiletry drive to do next.

It was a simple dinner, Nonny had her Chicken ala Nonny {see recipe in Recipe Box} and I had some spicy baked chicken strips with linguine and broccoli.

This week is going to be busy, alot going on. I have a Taco Cafe coming up at the church that I am hosting & cooking for on June 29th and all the proceeds will go to the Mexico Mission. They are leaving late July and they need lots of prayer and support. I have involved as many missionaries as possible and have even had a couple of teen volunteers which is awesome! I will shop Thursday for it, my own shopping Friday night and start cooking on Saturday for the Cafe. There is a Christian cafe that just opened next to our food pantry that I just found out about--so I want to check that out Saturday before going to cook.

We played Uno once getting home and both Nonny and I shared doing the dishes. We had another thunderstorm and my step-mother's area was on a tornado warning with actual sitings of funnel clouds....so that was nerve wrecking for a minute.

Oh and my friend who leads a dance ministry at our church, well they did an excellent dance to "Gone" by Switchfoot today at church.

Sorry for jumping around so much!

I will be back tomorrow for listing my chores and getting ready to shop for both the Taco Cafe and my own grocery shopping.

Hope : What Job Did

I am going to start a word study. I am hoping to do it on Sunday nights. Depending on my schedule it will either be Sunday or Monday nights. I believe the Lord is leading me to do this.I would like to start all the studies in the Old Testament and then move to the New Testament.

The word that will start it all off and we will study it till we can get no more out of it is {drumroll please}

HOPE

So I will start out with a definition from Merriam-Webster {woo hoo} and then starting with a Scripture concerning hope.

Definition:

1. To desire with expectation.
2. Trust {there it is}
3. Desire together with expectation in getting what is wanted.

Scripture concerning hope from the Old Testament:

"Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him" Job 13:15

I must say from my own view that Job does impress me right off. This man had everything and then had everything taken away and no matter what happened and how it happened....he stayed faithful. He is definitely someone who loved the Lord with all his heart, all his mind, all his soul and all his strength. His own wife even told him to "hand in the towel", just give up. Yet he didn't. His friends surrounded him and told him all the reasons why he should just give up, not trust in the Lord, not hope in Him, yet Job continued. He stayed steadfast and faithful, all through it.

So here we have this guy...can you picture him, going about his day, praising the Lord? I can. He is abundantly blessed with family, favor and "things"....then BAM! all gone!!! His children, his animals, his home, his everything just gone....gone. Yet through it all Job had something I am very impressed with---very intrigued by he had: HOPE, hope that His God whom he had been faithfully serving would get everything that the Lord told him to expect. He would get favor, abundant blessings, eternal life, love, forgiveness......all those things the Lord promised, Job held onto during his time of trial & tribulation. Do I hold onto those things? Hm. I don't know if at first I could be as honorable as Job---I think I might have a different attitude, especially in the beginning---but Job taught me something---HANG IN THERE--HOLD ON TO THE PROMISES---this is just a season. No matter what anyone says--stay faithful to the Lord and you will have eternal life, stay faithful to the end--hold on, His promises are true. How about Abraham and Sarah? How about King David? How about Moses? Their hope, in what the Lord promised them, kept them hanging in there? Didn't it? What a wonderful God! He gives us that hope, by following through on His promises. He has showed us what it is like to hope and receive! He promised a Saviour that would overcome the world! That would establish His Kingdom---this is what King David held onto--Isaiah, Jeremiah---the hope they had--it kept them going. Our Lord fulfills His promises.

What do you think about Job and his hope? Blog it to me!

Saturday June 21, 2008

Today, I must say we did pretty much nothing outside the house. It was really muggy. We stayed in and I finally {I think} got all my clothes hung up in the closet {did I mention I have a huge cedar closet in my bedroom? Oh I do} ...My bed is made, dinner is done {Chicken ala Nonny}, dishes are done, swiffering is done....chores are done.

Nonny has been having pain and swelling in her left knee for some time. Finally, her PCP sent her to an orthopedic specialist. She has something called Osgood Schlatter {sp?} knee---alot of people who play "hard" sports get it. It looks like, in the xray, a tooth growing on her knee--lol, yes giggle. Then because of the swelling he did a lyme screen and that came out normal...so according to his message that he left Friday, we have to go see him again because he said the Osgood would not cause the swelling...Also on Friday was her follow up with her PCP concerning her asthma...the maintenance drugs seem to be doing good work and doc is changing the rhinocort to nasonex --why you ask? Because the copay for the rhinocort was $50!!!! So that with 2 maintenance drugs, albuterol, my 2 medz...two weeks ago in medz alone I spent $140.00--in copays. Not including the PCP & other doc visit copays...

Then after all that we went to Homegroup. Had a good time, we are studying the book of John and have a workbook that goes with it. We discussed chapter 3. It was really good stuff...Nicodemus meeting Jesus at night...John the Baptist telling his disciples, don't get mad at Jesus, did I not tell you that He is the Christ?

My good friend, we will call her, Ess, she had to get 4 teeth pulled so she was in quite a bit of pain when I saw her yesterday...she went to the dentist planning on 2 out and walked out with 4 out.

Work was ok, typical Friday...Nonny had a 1/2 day of school so she was home by noon. I am so happy we did not plan anything for today, it was a nice relaxing day.

I have been blogging my butt off and searching other people's blogs...hope to hear from you soon!

Chicken ala Nonny

Tonight for dinner was a creation of my daughter's, hence the name Chicken ala Nonny. It's chicken, any type, tonight we used thighs. Poured some chicken broth to cover and cooked in the crock pot on high for 1.5 hours and then low for another hour. In the last half hour we added, frozen broccoli, peas, corn and baby carrots---my Nonny's favorite veggies. Then we had mashed potatoes and gravy on the side.

This is when it is pretty much done:

Chef at work:
Here is the completed dish, on my new dinnerware:
And this is what my Nonny thought about her creation:
Again the recipe is simple:

Chicken thighs {or whatever chicken you like}
Chicken broth
Frozen or fresh veggies {we used broccoli, corn, peas and baby carrots}
Spice to taste, I chopped up some garlic, used onion powder & black pepper.

Clean your chicken, put in the bottom of crock pot, pour chicken broth over chicken till covered. Cook on high for 1.5 hours and then low for 1 hour, in the last 30 minutes add veggies and let cook.

We had mashed potatoes, gravy & applesauce to complete the dinner. You can have whatever you want with it.

I love crock pots, because you can do other things while the food cooks!

Bronx Zoo Pics!

Here you go! I told you I would post them! Enjoy

Remembering The Things We Take For Granted

My heart aches every time I look at this picture. This is Kathina Thomas. She is 10 years old and she was murdered by a 15 year old high school student.

I was "surfing" blogs and came across one I enjoyed and added it to my blog list. The blog was things/people we take for granted. The blessings the Lord has given us....

Let's do this: Let's remember to hug those we love and tell them we love them every chance we get. I sit with tears right now running down my cheeks as the thought of the anguish of this young girl, her Mom, her family.....remember those we love---never ever take for granted those the Lord has given us.......

Go right now, this second, right now and hug someone, pick up the phone and tell someone you love them---and thank the Lord above for the blessing of them.

And lets not forget the 15 year old....His Mom, his family, those that love him. This tragedy has effected many lives---2 lives gone and many in anguish.

I think it effects me and those around me a little more....because it happened here. Really close to home. Here.

New Apartment, New Chores, New Organization

I am still working on organization---I can get better at it now, because I have room to move. There are things I need, shelving units....I also need a new kitchen table. We are using a fold up card table right now as our kitchen table. If we have anything with any kind of sauce on it, it stains the top of the table if we drop something on it.

I have cabinets, cabinets, cabinets. I didn't have cabinets in my last apartment {really I didn't} so this is a huge blessing for me. I have a walk in closet and spare bedroom and full basement and so much to get going on. The walk in closet {which really was the smallest of the 5 bedrooms} has everything in it right now--things that need to be unpacked--things to put away. It also has a linen wardrobe and our former microwave cart that will either be used for tools and arts & crafts or as a start of our "other" pantry {details later}.

The spare bedroom sits with its door closed right now because whatever didn't fit in the walk in closet now sits in the spare bedroom. The desire for this room is not only for overnight guests, but maybe for people who have nowhere to go, missionaries to our country/state {they do come here}. I do also feel that if a parent has a child who will be in college through my church or extended church family and it will be easier for them to commute from my home or the parents now live somewhere else--I will have this room available........

I had a dining room and living room in my last apt. This apt has them combined...I just made it a huge living room.

Then there is my room and Nonny's room and my office. I work out of my office and the home computer is in my office.

whew! Now, the chores are changing here and there. I do know that things that MUST be done daily are:

• Bathroom: wipe down sink and toilet with clorox wipes. swiffer floor and vacuum bath rug.
• Kitchen: Swiffer the floor, wipe down trash can, empty kitchen recycle bin, dust bust around and under cat dishes and around litter box {empty dust buster}.
• Living Room: must be vacuumed everyday and the entrance way swiffered.
• Nonny's Room: vacuum rug....she gets these little pieces of paper EVERYWHERE.

Now this list does not include the usual: dishes, countertops, table....etc....These things I have found I need to do due to Nonny's asthma & my own comfortability. I have also found that now that I work from home, the chores are alot easier to accomplish. Now if I can just get the packing done!

I will soon blog my "weekly to do list" when I get it organized.

The Bronx Zoo

We could not have asked for a better day. The picture above is of the sky when we left our home at 5:15 that morning. It was clear and cool {just the way I like it}. I have ALOT of pictures and I will post a little at a time here and there and let you know all about it {or whatever info I have on it}.

We woke up at 4:00 am, was out of the house at 5:15 am and we walked to the school and made it there by 5:45 am. We were the first to arrive {the middle pic is of my daughter's school, I never saw it that empty}. The buses were supposed to be there at 6:00 but did not get there till 6:15, so needless to say, with the late comers, head counts, pairing up the kids to the chaperones--we left a little after 7:00 am. I was paired up with one of my daugther's friends Dad, and I had one other child besides my daughter and he had one other child besides his daughter, so there was 6 in our group and we had a blast. The tigers are my favorite, the gorillas are my daughter's. She loves the way they ape you. She was having a ball with one as she clapped or made faces the gorilla would do them back. My tigers were in nap time when we arrived there, so I have pics of them sleeping. We did the entire park---the entire zoo, yes, we did....This was not our {Nonny and I} first trip to the zoo, but, it was the rest of our group's---so it was fun telling them all we had experienced on other trips and what was not there before. The Madagascar animals were not supposed to open till Friday June 20th, but, they did open late Thursday afternoon and we were the second group of "first" visitors ever to Madagascar and we had a blast, there were species of monkeys and cats I have never seen in my life---our God has an awesome imagination!

I will keep posting about our trip and putting up pics. The top pic is the girls we had for the day, the first one on the left is my Nonny. This was taken at lunch time at the Pepsi Pavilion by Tiger Mountain.

Getting Ready for the Bronx Zoo

OH yah! Tomorrow is the big day! I get to be a chaperone with Nonny's school trip to the Bronx Zoo, we love it there! Yes, been there before! And now I have a digital camera, so look out! You know I will be posting pics like crazy!

We have to get up at like 4:00 in the morning because we have to be at the school by 5:30 to do head count and the bus leaves at 6:00. I don't know what movie they will be playing on the bus, but, I am sure at some point I will be dozing off....

I am bringing a book and blanket! My camera and extra batteries, snacks & drinks. Have to make the list!

It will be an adventure! We won't be getting back here till around 8:00 pm and then I have to get up and work and Nonny has to go to school!!! ;o0

It will all be worth it. Pray for us tomorrow that it does not storm! It has been cold and damp lately here. Pray for us for a safe journey and a wonderful time in the Lord!

I will probably be back here tonight putting up my check list so I can make sure I am getting everything!

If you have never been there or have and want to check out the website here it is:

www.bronxzoo.com

Word of the Week: Faith

I was just thinking that if I got something going here daily or every other day, I would blog more. I want to blog.....

So Wednesday I am choosing as the word of the week and I choose for this week: Faith and what does the Merriam-Webster dictionary define faith as?

1) Loyalty to duty or to a person {being faithful}
2) Belief in God
3)Firm belief even in the absence of proof
4) A system of religious beliefs

I am pretty much concentrating on #3 and my Scripture {one of my favorites} is:

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

Did you read that? Nothing will be impossible for you.

I believe what Jesus is saying is: If you believe in the power of My Name and you have a mountain that is holding you back, tying you down, keeping you from the work He has called you to do---He is saying tell it to go in His Name and it will go. And have faith that it went.

I know mountains I have that need to go---mountains I used to have that went. I had a mountain of addiction, hatred, unforgiveness, betrayal......Do you have a mountain you would like to tell to go.....well tell it to go....

In the might Name of Jesus, Mountain of ___________ move and throw yourself into the sea. Thank You Jesus that it is gone....thank You I no longer have to look at this mountain. Thank You that You live inside me and want the best for me and You have given me guidance and direction and have given me the power by Your Holy Name to remove the mountains in my life that hinder me. Thank You Jesus.

Do you have a mountain you would like to talk about, blog about? A mountain that you have a mustard seed of faith to get rid of?

Faith: hmm, things hoped for but yet unseen, our hoped for eternal life, Heaven, rivers of milk & honey......no more tears, no more worries, no more sickness, no more pain......no more mountains...except the beautiful mountains that are from our Lord....yes, I have that faith. Do you?

Father's Day

Well.....this is a really, really tough one for me. My earthly Dad is no longer here. He died June 14, 2002.

He was a wonderful provider...it took him to die for me to realize how much I love him. My Dad was just not an emotional person. He was very hard to please and had few words....unlike me of course :O)....wow! Do I miss him. I went up to his gravesite on Saturday, because it was 6 years since he passed and Father's day and well, if he were here he would be 72 years old on the 28th.

He had a laugh that went through the house, and when he laughed, you just laughed, you had to....He worked hard, he was a truck driver for many years, I think he was afraid of money--if you know what I mean--he grew up very poor and I think he was afraid of that happening with us....We were poor in my eyes, but in his eyes we were pretty good. But, he was so good at it, I didn't even realize we were poor till I was an adult. He had some serious ways, traditions---he could make a homemade stuffing that could knock you off your chair--really it could :O) He had a lot of varieties for it too, spicy, sausage, mild, chicken....He always made Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter dinner. He was the patriarch, he kept us together. The whole family saw each other at least 3 times a year because nobody passed up the invitation of dinner at Dad's, you knew you were in for a treat!

Our family does not do much lately anymore. I don't see them too much at all--except funerals and that's only if my family liked the person--isn't it awful. I try to make ways to bring us together, but, everybody thinks I am wierd and they don't think they can hang out with a holy roller. Well....I just know---I miss my Dad, that's something I know. If my Dad was here, they would be hanging out with this holy roller....yeah, they would.

Lilah-Jayne

This is our spoiled cat, Lilah-Jayne. She is 3 years old. We have had her a little over a year now. She is very dear to our hearts.

Here I Am Part II ???

Hi Everyone,

Please forgive me. I am so busy with unpacking and rearranging and setting up. My daughter's school year is ending--this coming September she will be in her last year of elementary school! This week we are going on a school field trip to the Bronx Zoo, it will be our second time there. I am one of the chaperone's and I invested in a digital camera, right on time for that.

My new apartment is big. It is 5 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom, backyard and big cellar. The smallest bedroom {which was the size of my bedroom upstairs} is now a walk-in closet, then there is an office, Nonny's room and a guest room.

I am working from home now, so, it is easier to get housework done during the day. I have alot and I mean a lot on my mind.....so I will be a blogging away! I have to go check out some friends blogs and I will be back!

Oh and I am working on my family tree which is proving quite interesting also.

And.....for dinner tonight is: Cajun Smothered Chicken and Rice! yummy!