A Simple Woman's Day Book November 30

FOR TODAY... November 30 Feast of St. Andrew

Outside my window... It is sunny and relatively warm. What were we thinking by staying inside all morning?

I am thinking... That it will be nice to get back into the normal routine as husband is going back to work today after taking off a week.

I am thankful for... a good cup of coffee in the morning


I am wearing... Jeans and blue cotton knit shirt with three quarter length sleeves

I am remembering... that I need to call and make my annual doctor's appointment

I am going... To make an effort to start getting up earlier.

I am reading... mostly blogs. I need to start another book.

I am hoping... for an Advent that truly prepares me and my family for Christmas

On my mind... It would be fun to make a ton of cookies for Christmas but I have a tremendous sweet tooth and little self control so am wondering if this would be wise.

From the learning rooms... I need to make a plan for 2nd trimester which starts in January. During December we can try and have more fun by baking cookies and maybe make a Ginger bread house. We will also work on typing which will be fun because ds1 will get to work on the computer.

Noticing that... the baby is crying. I better go.

Pondering these words... Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. Tradtionally this prayer is started on the Feast of St. Andrew and said throughout Advent until Christmas.

From the kitchen... An attempt at fried rice using leftover rice for lunch. Heated oil, threw in tsp. minced garlic, rice, and eggs. Not bad.

Around the house... There's always something that needs to be done.

One of my favorite things~ Finding something to make using leftovers.



A picture to share...




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Seven Quick Takes Vol. 6

~1~

We are going to my mom and dad-in-laws for Thanksgiving. They live about an hour away on the farm where my husband grew up. Then we are going to go to my aunt on my mom's side. She also lives on a farm in the same are. I am going to make whole cranberry sauce and sweet potato casserole to bring. We've been making cranberry sauce for the holidays for a while. I remember going to my aunt and uncle on my Dad's side and having home made cranberry sauce and just thinking that it was the homiest thing ever. I love cranberry sauce.

Sweet potato casserole was something we just discovered last year. I was looking up recipes for sweet potatoes for Christmas Dinner and happened to run across the recipe that is linked above. I had never heard of sweet potato casserole before. Both of these things are something that no one else makes in our families so we are always proud to bring something that is our very own.

~2~

There is always the temptation to be a little anxious about Christmas or more specifically about preparing for Christmas. I always want to make sure to use my time well and make the most of it for preparing for Christmas spiritually and materially. In theory, I think it is important to do a little each day and keep things simple. For example, I think it would be fun to do crafty things with the kids in preparing for Christmas. When I think of all the options there are for this I get overwhelmed, but if I just make a decision to do a particular thing and do it then I feel good because we accomplish something and create good memories. So, for me, I guess it's important not to get hung up on trying to make the right decision and just make a decision.

~3~

We need a new vacum cleaner. I'm thinking off a Eureka Boss. I did some research on line and it looked like this one may be the best for the money. I'm excited about getting a new vacum cleaner as the one we have now is about 15 years old and has lost a lot of its suction capacity. I love the rattling sound of dirt being sucked form the carpet into the vacum cleaner. It's very gratifiying to clean entry ways where this is particularly noticeable.

~4~

Hmmm ...let me think of Thanksgivings of childhood. In the morning we would watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Santa Claus was always at the very end. I remember that my Grandpa bought us a color t.v. especially so we could watch the parades in color. (That makes me sound old.) I also remember watching this at Grandma's house some years but when we got older we would go to my grandma and grandpa's house in the afternoon. There was one Thanksgiving when there was a lot of snow and we brought our sled. I ended up getting a bloody lip from falling off the sled I think.

~5~

I'm not going to read anyone elses's seven takes before I do mine. I think it makes it easier to think of things that way without being influenced by someone else's style or content. If I read some really good quick takes (and I usually do) it tends to make me feel self-conscioius about what I am writing and things don't flow as well. Does that make sense? I'm sure there are other seven quick takers out there that feel the same way.

~6~

My husband is taking next week off from work. This means a vacation for me as much as it does for him. I will try to get some ideas in mind of what I would like to get done around the house (Christmas and homeschool planning?), and of course some ideas for doing some recreational things as a family too (don't want to be all work and no play).

~7~

I am always encouraged by all the good people who blog out there. I can't get over the fact of how cool it is that blogging allows regular people to express their ideas in a somewhat public way. It is amazing how many talented people are out there who we would never know about if it weren't for blogging.

That does it for this week. Happy Thanksgiving and for more quick takes click on the logo above.

Mostly Happy Sunday Dinner

Yesterday I made pork roast for supper. It was a good old-fashioned Sunday dinner. Was it picture perfect? No. There were fussy children and I became a little stressed and grouchy when the food was done and I was trying to get it set out in a somewhat attractive manner while it was still warm. We had invited my brother over and he was holding the baby (one of the fussing children)and singing Billy Joel songs (loudly). This was sweet, but in my state of mind only added to the chaos.

We didn't really eat the meal together either. I had to go up stairs and feed the baby as soon as I was done eating, and my husband couldn't eat when I was eating due the need to get his blood sugar where it should be first (he is diabetic). My two-year-old daughter had a cold and seemingly little appetite and was the other one of the fussing children so my husband put her to bed early (while I was feeding the baby) which seemed to be fine with her.

However, I did get to see my husband eat when I was done feeding the baby. This meant I watched him while he was eating to see if he liked what I had made. He did. He's easy to please and it did turn out pretty well if I say so myself.

So I made a meal that I was proud of (I wish I had photographed it) ,but at the same time I once again got to practice letting go of the things I had no control over. Children (especially very young children) are good at helping us with this.

Seven Quick Takes Vol. 5

~1~

Dh has been getting into country music recently. He can't get the station he normally listens to on his radio at work any more so he is listening to the country music station along with his classic rock station. He never liked country music before and always disparaged it in his younger days. I on the other hand, while not super country music fan, have always enjoyed listening to country music every now and then, especially on my way home from symphony rehearsals. So country music has been the new thing that we have in common these days. When he gets home from work he tells me about a new song he heard and I usually know exactly which one he is talking about. I'm kind of amazed with how many country songs I know from my minimal listening. We even watched the Country Music Awards on Wednesday.

~2~

I finally took a nick out of baby's thumb when I was cutting his fingernails this week. I had done the same thing to my two older children and was trying to be really careful so the same thing wouldn't happen to baby boy. But alas... I was cutting his nails while he was nursing. He didn't cry at all but he did look up with a little bit of surprise and he did bleed quite a bit. (poor kid)Their fingers and fingernails are so little and their fingernails are so sharp when they need to be cut.

~3~

Last night I tried a new recipe. They were Jacques Pepin potatoes via Rachel Ray. Apparently they were a recipe he grew up with. They use baby Yukon Gold potatoes but any small potato will do. It turned out pretty well but I think its one of those things where you need experience to get things the right consistency. The trick is to get them soft enough to slightly "pop" them open a crack but not so soft that they completely turn into mashed potatoes. I tried cutting the larger potatoes to make the potatoes all the same size but it works better to have whole potatoes because they are less likely to fall apart. Don't get me wrong, even the potatoes that fell apart were scrumptuous but they look fancier when the potatoes stay together I think. Here is the picture from the recipe web site. I should have taken a picture of the ones I made but I didn't think of that at the time.

Anyway, it is always invigorating to try new recipes. I had the usual chicken with these but taking the time to try something a little different always makes me feel so much more creative.

~4~

We had a basement waterproofer come and look at our problem egress window yesterday. He says there are no guarantees but he was for starting with the cheapest solution first and adding more pricey things if they were needed. Dh and I were thinking more along the lines of going with what is more sure to work even though it may be more expensive. What the basement guy considered more pricey didn't sound that bad to us as we were thinking that things could get much more expensive. However, we forgot to tell him about the problem of sometimes water coming in at a particular angle so that it shoots directly into the basement window itself which is one of the worst problems because you can't do much but roll up the carpet in that area and put towels down until the heavy rain is over. A fix that included draining water out of the window well like a sump pump wouldn't work with water coming directly into the window so we may have to talk about putting in a new kind of wall for the window well that doesn't allow water to come in through the cracks like the railroad ties do. I still think it might not be as expensive as we were thinking at first but we'll see.

~5~

Last night I went to my every other week Thursday night adoration at the perpetual adoration chapel. My husband and I take turns going every other Thursday night. This has worked out well for us. We have chosen a night and we stick with it for the most part.

~6~

Yesterday I took my toddler to the library musical story time for kids under three. I left the baby napping at home with my oldest. It was nice to take this time to be alone with her. She was somewhat interested in the story time but she wanted to play with the puzzles which were right next to where the story time was happening. So she played with the puzzles while keeping an eye on what was happening at the story time and would participate when it interested her.

~7~

On Sunday we visited my husbands mom and dad. It was a nice visit. They are in their early eighties and I am so thankful for each moment we get to spend with them. I always pray that they will be around for a while longer.

FOR TODAY... from Julia’s Day Book

Outside my window... partly cloudy

I am thinking... how impatient I feel today and how I wish I could consistently get the baby to nap for a few hours at a time

I am thankful for... an understanding husband

I am wearing... maternity jeans even though I am not pregnant and a pink maternity t-shirt that really isn’t big enough for someone who is pregnant

I am remembering... that I have to call the bug man

I am going...to get lunch ready and then get my son off to his classes, then nap time for the toddler; we will see what the baby does

I am reading... The Children of Fatima by Leo Madigan

I am hoping... to get a chance to spend some time in peace and quiet today

On my mind... how my husband can be more involved with financial decisions; he’s expressing an interest and I am having a hard time letting go as I have been very much in charge up to this point.

From the learning rooms... trying to keep going until the week of Thanksgiving

Noticing that... I am finally getting that quiet time I so longed for.

Pondering these words... Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the freedom to do what we ought.--Pope John Paul II

From the kitchen... Lentil chili tonight as we don’t have any meat thawed or cheese for pizza

Around the house... need to catch up on house work after symphony week

One of my favorite things~ going for long walks with my family on Sundays

A picture to share...

A window in the Votive Chapel at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

Seven Quick Takes Vol. 4

1. Up early this morning. Since the time change I have been trying to get up at 6:00 regularly. My husband has been getting up around 4:30 to 5:00 to work a few hours on his second job. I went to bed fairly early last night so I was awake when he got up at 5:00 this morning. I have a full day today so I wanted to start the day with the Seven Quick Takes as to at least get this post in this week.

2. I have an orchestra concert this weekend. We are playing Beethoven's 3rd Symphony and a piece that is a musical setting of Martin Luther King Jr. 's I Have a Dream Speech. The speech is narrated by a local woman who has done much for the community.

3. It is a pain to find a place and time to pump milk while I am out away from the baby playing at the symphony. I try to get there an hour early so I can pump before rehearsal. I was planning on pumping in one of the dressing rooms but I found they were all locked. In past experiences this had not been the case. The stage set up guy came with me to see if he had a key to open them but he did not. So I had to explain to him that I was a nursing mother and I wanted to pump milk and that I reallypreferred a more private place to go than the public rest room in the lobby. He showed me a bathroom that I did not know existed which worked perfectly. I pumped after rehearsal too but when I was done the theater was dark and everyone except a few of the stage crew was left. What a lonely frightening feeling! I still hadn't packed up my stuff yet so I ended up doing that in the dark. Thankfully the lights back stage were still on. Another option is to pump during break but that usually doesn't allow for enough time and I am late getting back which I also hate. I have a car plug in so I could pump in my car but I found that it is really difficult to do this without seeing and if I turn on the light to make sure I have everything in the right place there is a good chance of revealing myself to someone I really don't want to. Waiting until I get home is longer than I would like to wait because it is an hour drive but maybe I'll have to do this. I don't want my milk to go down but then again it's not like it's every night.

4. I really want to finish a scarf that I started crocheting for my sister last year. The only reason I stopped is because the yarn got all tangled up. I had to cut the yarn and then my husband helped me get the yarn untangled. I need to make sure I know how to attach the cut yarn to the rest of the scarf properly now. I will look this up online when I get the chance. This is the first thing I have ever crocheted. It took a little while to figure it out but eventually I did.

5. I never got a chance to take a picture of the Jack O'Lantern's that dh and ds made last week. They were really beautiful.

6. I really love playing for the symphony but I feel really busy. For my two year old I took the whole year off after she was born. My baby boy is only 4 months and I have started up again. There is the pumping milk issue and I just feel more inclined to work on stuff around the house. It's probably really best for me to get away so I can appreciate being at home more. Yesterday I had no rehearsal and felt really good too stay home.

7. It feels like it is more difficult to get started writing this early in the morning. Its more difficult to think of stuff to write about. But that's it I made it through once again.

Seven Quick Takes Vol. 3

1. Pizza for supper tonight! I make pizza with home made, whole wheat crust. It turns out pretty well. Recently I have started pre-baking it for a few minutes before I put the topping on. This really helps with the texture which was rather soggy before. Now it has a nice chewiness. I started doing this my first year homeschooling after we had been to our first function with our homeschool group and the hosting mom had made pizza with home made crust. I had visions of being an earthy homemaker. I guess my vision of an earthy homemaker was someone who made home made pizza crust. The Earthy Homemaker: Sounds like a good name for a blog.

2. Grrrr. We are having problems with our window well filling up with water again. Last night while I was away my husband had to bail out water during a downpour, and a cold downpour at that. The most frustrating thing about this situation is that a large portion of the water comes from our neighbors yard. You see she has a bare track of land where her dog used run when he was out all day (that issue has been taken care of). The water forms a stream here which runs down hill and a large quantity of water drains onto our property as well as out into the street. We tried talking with her about it but said in not so many words that it was our problem. We thought we had a solution but we are having problems again. I'm going to try and call some dry basement specialists and see what they can do. My husband says fix it and then move. Maybe he's right.

3. On a better note the baby is starting to take a bottle. My son had some luck with this last night when Dad was bailing out the window.

4. Last Friday I noticed some comments on my blog for the first time. These were from Chelsea at Roots and Rings. It turns out Thru Pink Curtains had also left a comment way back in December. I never noticed until this week. It felt so good to get comments. It gave me a whole new motivation to blog. Thanks to both commenters.

5. Well we have two pumpkins that we bought last weekend. We will carve them into jack-0-lanterns tonight. Actually my husband and 14 year old will carve them tonight. That will give me something to post except I really need to get batteries for my camera before I can take photos.

6. I'm going grocery shopping tonight. That is, if I don't wimp out. I'll get batteries then,God willing.

7. It's windy, sunny and rather warm in my neck of the woods. Hopefully no rain for a while. Pray we find a good solution to our egress window problem.