Every year, we spend Thanksgiving week at the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Its too cold to get in the water, but it is beautiful and empty and a perfect time to go to the beach. We eat Thanksgiving dinner each year at Bubba's Seafood Shack, then we shop all Friday at the mall and Wal-Mart. It is the best shopping experience I have all year. Let me tell you, Wal-Mart at the beach is empty the day after Thanksgiving, which is reason enough to go just to find an empty Wal-Mart to enjoy.

But this year, I wont be coming back here.... my blog is going dark.


For some time now, I have ignored the fact that my home computer is dying. Even I could no longer deny the truth when I turned it off the other night and sparks flew from the cord. Yes, sparks...... as in... electrical fire sparks. The computer is dead, and I don't want to buy another one right now.


I know... I know... they are on sale at the empty Wal-Mart the day after Christmas and are pretty affordable.... but I still want to spend money elsewhere right now (did I mention the shower in master bath must be replaced and buying a nice rug for all 4 doors is not cheap, and, after 11 months, I am starting to buy curtains for the whole house... which might require a second mortgage...)


BUT... the biggest reason of all....


I am in the middle of doing a bible study, The Frazzled Female, by Cindi Wood (which I highly recommend) and if I could sum the study up in a nutshell, I would say: God gives us each a limited amount of time, energy and sanity and then allows us to choose how we spend that limited, time, energy and sanity. It is up to us to choose wisely. Maybe there are wiser things for me to do with my time than to spend so much of it on the computer......


I always thought of the blog as my modern day front porch. You know, in the old days, our grannies might sit on the front porch and visit with the neighbors, now today, instead of sitting on the porch, we visit blogs.... I realize I have been spending too much time on the front porch and need to get up and go back in the house now... and turn my attention elsewhere.


But I have enjoyed spending so much time on the porch.... I mean computer....making friends.... visiting others... and I will still be visiting and emailing you occasionally....

and maybe I will update occasionally....maybe....

EDITTED TO ADD:... your comments are so sweet....perhaps we should just call this a break.... maybe at the first of the year, after the busy holiday season, after some curtains are up, and I feel less rushed, more in control of all the things God is calling me to... I will have enough time and energy (and sanity) to include a little time on the porch in my routine again...

A little checklist

A woman who does not have sound thinking:

is impulsive

lacks discretion

follows worldly philosophies

is driven by her flesh

lacks follow-through

is self-centered

is discontented

has emotions controlled by circumstances

seeks escapism from problems

is easily provoked

falls apart in a crisis

easily loses hope

says whatever she thinks without thinking first

is highly opinionated

speaks roughly with profane or crass talk

is overly concerned about what other people think

has unpredictable behavior

is morally careless

procrastinates

is given to extremes

is a pleasure seeker

is easily distracted

yields easily to temptation

struggles to develop consistent life disciplines

enjoys mindless entertainment

looks for the easy way out

thinks about the short-term rather than the long-term

is demanding

fritters away time

makes decisions based on what is easiest



A woman who does have sound thinking:

is restrained in her thoughts, her tongue, her eating, her spending
and her reactions

is calm under pressure

is purposeful in the use of her time

is a good steward

is morally chaste

has a well-ordered life

show good judgment

doesn't "lose it" under pressure

responds in faith versus fear

guards her heart and mind

evaluates what she reads or hears in light of Scripture

is mentally disciplined

resists temptation

shows delayed gratification

demonstrates others-centered living

is diligent and faithful in her responsibilities

is intentional

is modest in dress and behavior

hopes in God

gives thanks in all things

makes wise, biblical decisions

prays

demonstrates the Spirit controlling her flesh


Nancy Lee DeMoss on the Revive Our Hearts radio program discussing her Book: God's Beautiful Design for Women: Living out Titus 2:1-5

What I've been busy cooking lately:

Twice Baked Sweet Potato (WW recipe!)

Bake 3 sweet potatoes for about an hour at 400, or until soft. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and cut each potato in half. Remove the potato part and collect in a bowl, while saving the 6 skin halves. Mix the potatoes with 4 ounces cream cheese, a teaspoon of vanilla, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, and one tablespoon of butter. Use a hand mixer to make them smooth. Spoon the potato filling back into the 6 skin halves, and top with a tablespoon of chopped pecans. Bake for another 5-8 minutes


Whipped Sweet Potatoes (Recipe from Tyler Florence on Food Network)
This is my new favorite recipe!
Pre-Heat oven to 375. Bake 5 medium sweet potatoes, for 30-40 minutes until tender.
Throw 4 bananas, unpeeled into oven with sweet potatoes and cook for another 20 minutes or so. Take out and let cool and peel.
Do not turn off oven.
When cool enough to handle, mix sweet potatoes and bananas with 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature and 1/4 cup honey. Mix until light and fluffy.
Put mixture into casserole dish.
In separate bowl, Mix 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, 1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped and 1 stick of butter until coarse mixture forms.
Sprinkle on top of casserole and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.


Sweet and Spicy Pecans

Pre-Heat oven to 325.
Mix one pound of shelled pecans with three egg whites, tablespoon of chili powder, tablespoon of Cheyenne powder, teaspoon of cumin and three tablespoons of brown sugar. Mix well and spread pecans in single layer on baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes turning once or twice until brown on all sides.
Let pecans cool.


Mini Oreo Cheesecake (WW recipe!!)

Preheat oven to 350.
Line 12 cupcake tins with cupcake liners and put one Oreo in bottom of each cupcake holder.
Mix two blocks of non-fat cream cheese with 1 tablespoon Vanilla, 1/2 cup of egg beaters and 1/3 cup Splenda. Mix well and put in cupcake liners on top of Oreo.
Bake for 20 minutes. Crush two Oreos and sprinkle on top.
Let cool completely, then put in fridge overnight.


Chicken Pitas (WW Recipe)

Cut Pitas in half and wrap in foil.
Throw into hot oven for 5-10 minutes.
Cook Chicken breast, adding Greek seasoning to taste (found in spice aisle).
Cut chicken into strips and add to inside pocket of pita bread.
Add lettuce, tomato, cucumber and plain fat-free yogurt.

Devil Food Brownie

Make Brownies according to package.
Make devil's food cake according to package in sheet pan.
Spread one can of cream cheese frosting on brownies.
Put sheet cake on top.
Spread can of chocolate frosting on top of cake and sides.

Its a good time for some chocolate

Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding
Cooking Light Magazine
11 WW points for the entire pan


Preheat oven to 350°.

Arrange 1 3/4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed Hawaiian sweet bread (Buy it in the Deli section of grocery store)in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until toasted.

Remove bread from oven;

Combine 2/3 cup 1% skim milk with 2 tablespoons Splenda/sugar blend (I use a little less) and 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa; 1 tablespoon Kahlúa (coffee-flavored liqueur or substitute very strong coffee) and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and ½ cup Egg Beater in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Add bread, tossing gently to coat. Do not over mix. It will turn to mush fast.

Cover and chill 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Pre-Heat oven to 325.

Put bread mixture in pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with 1 ounce semisweet chocolate (or just use a bag of large chocolate chunks), coarsely chopped.

Place in a larger baking pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch.

Bake at 325° for 35 minutes or until set.

I think it is even better when cooled.

Did I mention I love this front door mat?

I heard that my mother in law dropped by my house while I wasn't home today....

and I heard she complimented my husband on my new front door mat....

then I heard that she confessed that she bought me the exact same mat for Christmas.... (My love for a monogram and need for a nice front door mat is no secret.... and we shop at the same place)

to which my husband replied, "just send it back. she already has one....."

which caused me to ask my husband if he had lost his ever loving mind....

Then I heard my brother in law might get the new mat... or maybe she'll just keep it for own front door.....

But....I have a kitchen door, after all! and a garage door! and a back door!

Now....what is the most diplomatic way to tell my mother in law to go now- right NOW!- and get me that mat.... because I really do love it! I love it enough to have it at another all my doors!

And my brother in law wont love it like I do....

And I love it enough to take it from in front of her door.... in the middle of the night.... when its really dark.

I'm just saying... if this mat is missing... it would be a good idea to start looking for it at my house... because I do love it.

Is there anything better than the Original - homemade- Chex Mix

Heat oven to 250°F.

In large bowl, mix 3 cups of rice Chex, 3 cups of Wheat Chex and 3 cups of Corn Chex cereals, 1 cup peanuts, and 1 cup small pretzels; set aside.

My inspiration: Winn-Dixie has Chex cereal on sale this week for 4 boxes for $10.... AND.... there is a $1 off 2 boxes coupon in paper....

In ungreased large roasting pan, melt 6 tablespooons of butter in oven. Stir in 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt, 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder.

Gradually stir in cereal mixture until evenly coated.

Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Spread on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes.

Store in airtight container.

Menu Planning Monday

Monday: BBQ chicken in oven. Put whole cut up chicken in large baking dish. salt and pepper, add one bottle of BBQ sauce. Cover with foil and cook at 350 for 1 hour. Uncover, spoon on sauce and cook another hour.

Tuesday: Roast in crock-pot. Salt and pepper roast, add can of beef broth and can of cream of mushroom suit and one chopped onion. Cook on low for 12 hours. Serve with rice. Freeze left overs.

Wednesday: Chicken Cakes from one-half of an already cooked chicken from freezer. I got the recipe from Big Mama

Thursday: Grill cheese sandwich and soup.

Friday: left overs


Visit more Menu Planning here

A little bit of a warning....

Remember my Fall decoration? I now have some new information to share...

Candy corn catches on fire. Literally. It catches on fire.... who knew?

For those of you who do not spend Thanksgiving Day at the beach.....

Hosting Thanksgiving?

Need organization?

Visit Katie

My guy did not win, and I am still a little bitter, but...I've adopted a new rule

Melissa has a new rule in her house....

"This is our President. We will respect the office and position that he holds. We will pray for the office and speak life over the office. It is the system that God intended for our nation and we will pray over that system no differently than we would pray had McCain won, Palin won or Elmo won. The office is to be respected"

It is now the new rule in my house too.

Go read the entire post at Melissa's (it was on November 6, you may have to scroll down)

Menu Planning Monday

You can see more weekly menus here.



I'm tired.

My menu is tired.

So instead of me telling you what I am planning this week....why don't you tell me what you are planning for dinner this week?

And tell me how you do dinner.... do you plan a week's dinner each Sunday? Do you go to the grocery store each day or once a month? Do you go to the cheapest? Shop weekly sales? Use coupons? Pay a little more for a closer/less crowded store? Cook ahead and freeze dinners for later? How often do you try new recipes? Eat dinner early or late? Does your husband help cook? Do you just cook the same things over and over?

I'll go first.

I usually shop at Winn-Dixie, a little more expensive but a nicer/less crowded store with almost no check out lines. I figure the money I pay is for the time (and my own sanity) I am saving. I do fight the crowds at Wal-Mart for non-food items like dish soap and paper towels, things that can be stocked up.

I usually plan one week of menus at a time, usually in my head only, and I spend a little time looking at the sale ad and going through my coupons in preparation for my Friday evening after work trip to Winn-Dixie (The store is closer to work than home- easier to do on my way home each Friday).

I would like to try new recipes once a week, but its typically every other Saturday when I have more time to spend in the kitchen. If it goes well, the new dish is added to the line up.... but it still feels like I just cook the same things over and over.

It works best for me to cook a big dinner each Sunday, use the leftovers for a casserole during the week, get something in the crockpot and freeze left overs for later. I sometimes cook extra on Sunday just to freeze a meal for later.

My people like to eat dinner early (5:30p to 6:00p), and Husband mastered a few dishes of his own and will cook occasionally, especially the things I cant cook, like fish. He is really good at helping me cook. For instance, I can make something in the morning before work, put in fridge with directions, and he will get home first, finish the dish and/or put the casserole in oven. Of course, this helps greatly, but still requires me to be on top of things to get it prepared in the first place.

But why is it that when I get busy, the menu planning is the first thing to go, and I am left staring into the fridge, hungry and tired (and cranky and gumpy), at 7:00 p.m?

I need some new ideas.

Seriously, I want to know what goes on at your house for dinner.

Spill it.

I would put up Mr. Linky if I could figure out how...

Maybe you would like to do your own post and tell us to come visit in the comments?

Remembering past Christmas kindness. . .and planning future kindness

One radio station in my area has started playing nothing but Christmas music..... Christmas music....

Really?

Christmas?

Already?

One Christmas, when I was 19 years old, I was a waitress working the overnight shift at Denny's in Las Vegas. It was a terrible time for me. One of the regular customers, an older man who worked for the newspaper, surprised me with a Christmas gift. It could have been a stick wrapped in pretty paper and I could not have been happier. But it was a bottle of nice perfume, my only bottle of perfume, which was an unaffordable luxury to me at that time.

Now, 20 years later, God has blessed me and turned my life around, every Christmas, I think of sharing that kindness that I was shown so many years ago.

There are so many things I want to do and there are so many people to share Jesus with.... so many people who need to be remembered.....the mail person, the trashmen, the waitress I see each week at my favorite place, will anyone get them a gift? Will anyone tell them about Jesus? Invite them to Christmas eve service? Invite them to church at all?

But then I get overwhelmed.... and good intentions and plans never make it out of my head.

Smelling Coffee has some great ideas.... the answer is to start now!

"....Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.....Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face. I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.....Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again....."
Portion of Senator John McCain's speech on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

To see the whole speech look here

But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I've had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he's left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he's coming or going. I've decided that there's nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That's it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It's God's gift.

I've also concluded that whatever God does, that's the way it's going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God's done it and that's it. That's so we'll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.
Ecclesiates 3:11-14 (The Message Bible)

Menu Planning Monday- Back by popular demand.......A Menu!

Sunday: Fresh fish! Husband is cooking! Fish he caught himself!

Monday: Easy Potato soup in crockpot. Saute chopped ham and one teaspoon of minched garlic in skillet until brown. Add to crockpot with the following, 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 12 ounce can of evaporated milk, can of cream corn, can of whole corn drained, bag of hash brown potatoes (in cold case near bacon). Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Stir in 1/2 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese before serving.

Tuesday: Dinner on the run- Chick Fil A- and home made doughnuts for bible study snack. Take refrigerated biscuits (the cheaper the better) and cut out hole in middle. Drop into hot oil for 2 minutes or so, turning over once. Top with powdered sugar, or sugar and cinnamon or melted chocolate.

Wednesday: Ground beef enchiladas. Brown ground meat and drain. Add taco seasoning, roll into a tortilla with chopped onion and shredded cheese. Put flour tortillas in baking dish. Pour small can of enchilada sauce over. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and add shredded cheese. Cook another 5 minutes. Serve with sour cream.

Thursday: Home made Pizza. Use refrigerated pizza dough, add jar of pizza sauce, pepperoni, crumbled breakfast sausage, mushrooms, green pepper, onions and a lot of cheese. Bake about 20 minutes until brown.

Friday: Left overs

No kids lunch this week... I'm exhausted just planning this menu!
You can see more weekly menus here.