Random Dozen Week #4

1. Tell me the absolute best way to watch a movie.
Snuggled up under a blanket in the basement with my sweetie and some good friends. (Just read that again...needs clarification...I'm under the blanket with JUST my sweetie and NOT the friends too!) Add some popcorn or a hot pizza and it's perfect!

2. Do you ever think about your own funeral? If so, do you have specific ideas about how you would like it to be?
Sometimes. Not very much. I'd like it to bring glory to Jesus Christ my Savior.

3. Are you more of a giver or a taker?
When it comes to my marriage, I'd say a taker. My husband takes such great care of me and spoils me to no end. I am blessed. (I really don't know how to answer this one.)

4. Vacations: planned activities and schedules, or play it by ear?
This has been interesting to try to figure out in our marriage. Perfect timing for this question. We leave tomorrow for a vacation of "play it by ear!" I am so excited! I will let you know how it goes!

5. What is one often overlooked item in your home that needs to be cleaned regularly?
Windows. They are so frustrating to clean and then it rains and they are dirty again.

6. Name a cause that means a lot to you.
The cause for Jesus Christ. Having a good, healthy church to spread the Good News.

7. Do you eat a regular old peanut butter jelly sandwich, or do you customize it? And by the way, jelly or no jelly?
I don't eat them very often. But when I do, crunchy peanut butter and raspberry jelly on some really good wheat bread. Yum!

8. If we were having a conversation in person, how would I know if you were nervous?
You can tell I'm nervous if I ramble or chew on my fingernails or bite my lower lip. (I'm getting better at the rambling thing. I used to say things that would just get me in trouble later, so I've learned to just keep my mouth shut.)

9. Do you have an elaborate bedtime routine, or just the basics of toothbrushing and jammies?
Pretty much the basics. This probably sounds weird, but sometimes I pluck my eyebrows when I'm getting ready for bed. (You wanted to know that didn't you?) Saves me time in the morning. I almost always read before I go to sleep. And then there's the whole process of getting all the pillows arranged just right.... Maybe all that isn't very basic after all...

10. Have you ever regretted something you wrote on your blog?
Just once. I deleted that post. Sometimes it really is hard to know where to draw the line. My question is always, how authentic do I dare to be? I will say that I am quite authentic, but some things just don't need to be out there in bloggy-land.

11. Has anyone ever told you that you look like a famous person or celebrity? Did you agree?
A few times...Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary on Little House on the Prairie)...No didn't agree with that, what with her blond hair and blue eyes and all. Gilda Radner...no I didn't agree. Didn't have the hair for sure. Rosie O'Donnell. Took that one as an insult. Yuck.

12. If you were going to dedicate a song to a loved one or friend, what would the song be and to whom would it be dedicated?
You Are My Sunshine dedicated to my kids, Caleb and Megan. I used to sing this to them when they were little. I can still see those sweet little faces in my mind's eye.

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are gray.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away

Go over to 2nd Cup of Coffee for some more Random Dozen fun!

What I've Been Up To

Listening to... our new, quieter refrigerator! And as a bonus... it keeps the food cold!

Thankful for... my husband who always loves me. Even though he knows all the icky stuff way deep inside me, he loves me. I am one lucky girl.

Enjoying... my shorter hair. And the cool fall weather.

In the kitchen... tomatoes waiting to be made into soup, I received a new recipe from a friend I think I will try tonight. I should make some fresh bread too.

Sewing... a quilted cover for my sewing machine. I'm using scraps from a wall-hanging quilt I made from Mary Engelbreit fabrics. The fabric makes me happy.

Reading... "The Piano Shop on The Left Bank." Kind of interesting, kind of not.

Striving for... a merry heart, a gentle tone.

In the yard/garden... Impatiens that have been beautiful, but will probably succomb to a freeze in the not too distant future. Purple mums that are about done too. Another season ending, another season beginning.

Praying for... a job for my newly married son and a few others I know are either in need of a job or just a different job.

In the CD player today... Charlie Hall's Falling Into Daybreak. Love Come For Me, Center, Marvelous Light, Your Glory Endures Forever, Micah 6:8... basically love the CD.

Watching... the leaves turning colors. Looking forward to seeing them in Wisconsin.

Just Finished Reading... the book of Job. Man. I wish I understood the reason for about 35 of those chapters.

Studying... Matthew in our Small Group. I'm looking forward to some great discussions ahead.

Over-indulging on... homemade salsa! Soooo yummy. And yes, there are chips eaten along with the salsa.

Trying out... a discipleship/mentor relationship with a young mom. Really new territory for me!

Gearing up for... winter in the Great White North again.

Looking forward to... a 10 day vacation with my wonderful husband! We haven't done something with just the two of us for this long in 18 years!

How about you??

This Made Me Laugh

Another funny from a Facebook friend. (Here's the other funny I "borrowed.") (I wonder if he knows I "borrow" his stuff...? Should I tell him??) Quote from said friend:

"Some people have a special gift of creativity. My apologies to any vegetarians who can't laugh at themselves."

H1N1 Invades the "100 Acre Wood" Causing Paranoria

(A Facebook friend posted this and I just had to post it here...)

Wednesday Random Dozen....

I thought I would jump into these fun questions from Linda@2nd Cup of Coffee again. It's kinda fun!

1. Please share one middle school memory. It can be good, bad, ugly, funny. Pictures or words, I don't care, just share.
I really wish I had some pictures of me from those years. (We called it Junior High back in those days.) I remember my mom encouraging me to sign up for choir. I am glad she did because I don't know that I would have found out how much I like to sing if I hadn't started singing in choir then. I didn't think I could sing because my older sister always told me I couldn't. (But then that same sister wanted me to sing at her wedding...hmmm...) Now I sing on our church's worship team and just love doing that.

2. What's your favorite Beatles song?
"Hey Jude" of course! :) My son even has it as the ring-tone for when I call him.

3. If I asked you to describe your most comfortable outfit, what would it be?
Do pajamas count as an outfit?

4. Would you rather host a party or be a guest?
I really enjoy both. Hosting a party is fun and I usually don't stress out over it, or if I do, the stress is short-lived. We recently hosted an Open House for the newlyweds, Caleb and Amanda. I had a minor panic attack shortly before it started, but my dear husband calmed me down and it turned out to be a great party!

5. Do you think we will move completely from traditional books to digital ones, and if we do, are you OK with that?
No, I don't think traditional printed books will ever go away. I haven't tried to read a digital one yet, but it doesn't seem appealing to me. One thought....you never run out of battery power when reading a traditional book.

6. Do you learn best by reading, listening or experiencing?
Experiencing mostly. When I sewed garments I would tend to just look at the pictures on the directions before I resorted to read the actual words. Sometimes it got me into trouble.

7. If you are (or when you were) single, what is the kiss of death for you concerning the opposite sex? (That is, what is one trait or behavior or habit or anything at all that immediately turns you off from considering that person a potential match for you?)
Someone who talked about themselves all the time and/or acted like they knew the answers to everything. Thankfully I haven't been single for a VERY long time.

8. Snacks. Salty or sweet?
SALTY. But I can't pass up a good Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie.

9. Look around you in a four foot radius. What object is around you that you didn't realize was there or forgot was there? How long has it been there? Ummm...I'm sitting in the family room and I don't see anything that isn't supposed to be there. Does that mean I am a little OCD? Or maybe it speaks to the fact that there are no children living here anymore. Yeah, we'll go with that one. :)

10. What is your favorite Tom Cruise movie?
I can't think of a favorite off the top of my head. I don't think I've seen too many of his films. "Top Gun" comes to mind and that was a long, long time ago.

11. You buy a bottle of shampoo and discover that you don't like what it does to your hair at all. What do you do with that full bottle?
I would probably keep using it, alternating it with a shampoo I liked, until my husband told me that was stupid and that I should just throw away the stuff I didn't like.

12. Your favorite Fall comfort food? (Last week it was beverage.)
Chili and cornbread. And I have been thinking about making Lasagna and last night I made yummy Baked Spaghetti. Oh, then there are the homemade soups... lots of yummy food I'm looking forward to cooking!

Recipes Requested

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about our Labor Day weekend and showed some pictures of the spaghetti sauce and salsa we made. I had a request for the recipes and am just now getting around to getting them written out. (Sorry Jackie! I hope you haven't been waiting with bags of tomatoes to use!)

First the spaghetti sauce:
This recipe is from a book called The Tightwad Gazette II. It was published in 1995. I kind of forgot about those books and should really get them out and find some "new" ways of saving money.

Anyway... on with the recipe.

6 onions
3 green peppers
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
18 tomatoes, skinned
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons each: oregano, sweet basil, and thyme (I used fresh)
6 bay leaves
3 12-ounce cans tomato paste

(Having typed that all out, you must realize that I rarely follow a recipe to the letter. I don't recall all the exact amounts. Kind of adjust to your taste.)

Grind (as you would with a meat grinder -- I used a small food processor) onion and peppers, and simmer in oil. (I thought it was weird to grind them, but it really makes for a smoother sauce in the end.)
In a large pot place tomatoes, garlic, salt, sugar, and onion-pepper mixture. (I just sauteed the peppers and onions in the same large pot before adding the rest of the stuff.) Bring to a good roiling boil.
(I had cut up the tomatoes the night before and put them in a colander to drain to try to avoid a very watery sauce. I also let it boil quite a while, maybe an hour? on a low temp to evaporate more water.)
At this point I was a bit skeptical, it sort of looked like the salsa Pete had made the day before. But then I added the tomato paste one can at a time, stirring it in before adding the next and it started looking more like spaghetti sauce. I think I added some crushed red pepper flakes too. It gives it a nice little kick, if you like that. I also added the herbs at the end. Keeps the fresh flavor.

Then I just put it in containers and froze.

The salsa recipe is from some college friends.

Home Brew Salsa
3 - 16 ounce cans stewed tomatoes (we used fresh tomatoes)
1-2 small cans green chilis (we used 2 whole jalapenos, chopped)
4 ounces enchilada sauce
6 green onion whites, chopped (we used white onions from the garden)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lime, squeezed
chopped cilantro

Simmer 15 minutes to blend flavors. (We also drained the tomatoes so it wasn't too watery. You can used green chilis and jalapenos. We were using what we got from the garden.) This we also froze. Well, what we didn't snarf down right away...

Let me know if you have any questions!

Happy Birthday, Zach!

Today is the birthday of a pretty special guy. REALLY special to my daughter, Megan. And because of that, special to the rest of us. Zach and Megan have been dating a little more than a year. Zach has been in our lives a bit longer than that. He and Peter have been meeting and studying the Bible and talking engineering stuff. I admire Zach's strong faith in God. He has definitely challenged me in my Christian walk. I think Paul knew what he was talking about when he told Timothy Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

That's Zach: he sets an example in speech, life, love, faith and purity. Thanks for sharing that with this family, Zach.

I just had to post this great picture of Zach. It's taken by the photographer for Caleb and Amanda's wedding. It makes me laugh.

Megan and Zach. Aren't they cute?

Happy Birthday Zachy!

My Daughter-In-Law

I goofed.

Two months ago today was my brand-new-daughter-in-law's birthday. I totally forgot to wish her a Happy Birthday on this ol' blog. Oops!

My hubby and I are so thankful for Amanda. Caleb chose well. She is just the sweetest person ever. And pretty darn smart, too! She has just started medical school and it's fun to ask her what she learned and to get the summary of the day. Impressive. She loves God and she loves Caleb. What more could we ask for? I told her at their rehearsal dinner that we had prayed for her since Caleb was tiny. We spent twenty-plus years praying for his future wife. It has been exciting to meet her and see how God has answered those prayers.

I took this picture on Caleb & Amanda's wedding day. Isn't she beautiful? I remember telling her she might as well keep smiling all day because she was going to get her picture taken a lot. Her reply was, "I don't think I can stop smiling!" It was such a happy day!

So, two months late --- Happy Birthday, Amanda!

An Even Random Dozen

I got these questions from Linda@2nd Cup of Coffee. Here is her pretty button for this post:



1. Which is worse: a long, boring meeting or standing in a return/exchange line after Christmas?
Both sound horrid to me. At least if I was in a boring meeting, I could pretend to take notes and doodle or write a list. Standing in line would be pretty unbearable though.


2. Except for maybe Rosie O'Donnell or Ann Coulter, nobody likes confrontation, yet we all have to deal with it. When you feel cornered and defensive, do you "bite back" or become passive aggressive?
I think it depends on who cornered me and what mood I am in. Unfortunately, if it's a family member, I will likely bite back.


3. Do you know anything about your genealogical background? (What country, culture, ties to prominent historical figures, or other stuff.)
My mother is 100% Swedish, so that makes me half Swedish. (You'd never know by looking at me with my dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.) My dad is of German heritage. I don't remember my percentage on that one.) His ancestors fought in the Civil War and he has medals from them. Pretty cool. My husband's claim to fame is the fact that his 9-times great-grandfather is William Bradford. The governor of Plymouth Colony. Quite awesome.


4. What is the quickest way a person can endear him/herself to you?
By having a great sense of humor and getting my humor. By being authentic. Honest.


5. Cake, pie, cookies, or ice cream? (Note there is no "all of the above" option. You must choose one. Feel free to elaborate on flavor or memories tied to this dessert.) If you'd like, you can share a recipe, but you certainly don't have to.
Cookies. No wait, ice cream. No wait, pie. no... Choose one? Okay I'll go with cookies. I finally found/created a recipe for the perfect Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. Here's a post about those yummy cookies.


6. Females: Do you regularly change your handbag to coordinate with your outfit?
Only if I am dressed up for a special occasion. I just don't like to take the time to decide which purse and which stuff to transfer.

7. Are you task-oriented or relationship-oriented?
Definitely relationship-oriented. I have been in situations with very task-oriented people and I try to talk and be more relational and it drives the task-oriented person nuts.

8. IHOP, Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel?
I like IHOP. Who doesn't like pancakes or waffles? (although my daughter-in-law was telling us the evils of carbohydrates recently...) I have never eaten at Bob Evans.

9. Have you ever left a movie in progress in a theater? Why?
Yep! The second Indiana Jones movie. (The fact I saw that in the theater shows my age doesn't it?) Temple of Doom. It was too violent. I have stopped watching a couple of rented movies too. All because of too much violence.

10. What is one area of life in which you would like to develop more discipline or organization? Attacking quilting projects. Eating and exercising. Ironing?

11. Was middle school fun or painful?
I don't remember it being strongly one way or the other. (maybe it's been too long?) I would say for my kids it was painful.

12. What is your favorite Fall beverage?
Can I say Iced Tea even though I drink it all through the year?

Just Because I Can

Gotta write a post right now. I am sitting at the airport in Kansas City and there is free Wi-Fi. So I have to post something. Just to say I did. And to appear to be a cool blogger.

I have spent a long weekend in Kansas visiting my kids. That's been a first for me (by myself). I am too wimpy to make the 8-plus hour drive all by myself, so I used the last of our frequent flyer miles to come down here. So even though I flew here, I still drove over 580 miles. 360 of those was to Columbia, MO and back.

Megan and I went to Columbia for her to meet with a friend of ours there who owns a tutoring clinic. Megan spend a couple of hours with him so he could help her know how to study for the PCAT exam she is taking in October. The PCAT is an entrance exam for Pharmacy School. She says it was a very beneficial trip. We also got to visit with some other friends while we were in town. The day was topped off with pizza at Shakespeare's (they have a really funny website, go visit it). Only the best pizza ever! With some of our best friends ever!

I think one of the funniest and funnest things Megan and I did was to get a pedicure. Just the busyness of the nail place was amusing. I wanted to take a picture or two, but didn't want to appear rude. Trust me. It was crazy. My pedicure was given by a 19 year old young man! A first for me. I think the funniest thing was the chihuahua running around with the nails on each foot painted a different color.

Well, I should post this and shut down to get ready for my flight. See you in Minnesota!

For your listening pleasure, I took this video while I was sitting on the front porch of where Megan lives. I call it "The Sound of Kansas."

Cicadas.

They sure can be loud.

In Kansas

This morning I flew to Kansas City to see my kids. I had a terrific lunch with Caleb and got to see my daughter-in-law when she had a break from classes. That was fun.

Tonight I went to a Navigators meeting with Megan. It was pretty awesome to see a room full of college kids (80 or so?) seeking and worshiping God. Megan sang on the worship team. Man I love to watch that girl sing and worship God Almighty. We sang a song that I had heard before and just love. It really can send you to your knees in worship. I will share the video with you. It's kinda long, but oh so worth it.

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!" The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

(Revelation 5:11-14)

We have studied the book of Revelation in our Small Group. While it is a hard book to understand, I find encouragement from it. Yes, we live in a sinful world and our country has really taken a sharp left turn away from God. But you know what? In the end... The Good Guy Wins. The Lord God Almighty WINS!

...been pondering the words to this hymn today. Powerful.

Labor Day Weekend

Another fun long weekend with my best friend. I never get tired of spending time with that man of mine.

Highlights:

• Picking tomatoes, basil, jalapenos, broccoli (I couldn't eat the broccoli... when I was cleaning it I found a bright green worm, so I searched carefully through it all, or so I thought. After I cooked it in the microwave and dumped it in the serving bowl I saw another worm. Cooked. Just couldn't do it. But Pete ate it. Ewww.)
  
• Seeing The Time Traveler's Wife. I was an interesting movie, but really weird. I wouldn't highly recommend it.
• Spending time with hubby cutting up lots of veggies, skinning tomatoes.
• Pete making salsa. Doesn't it look yummy?

• Bonfire with Mike & Jen. Love just relaxing by the fire and talking with good friends.
• Worshiping with our awesome church family. It did feel a little strange to have gone from 6 in our family at worship last week to just the 2 of us. Good thing I'm crazy in love with that husband of mine.
  
• Shopping in St. Cloud with that husband of mine.
  
• Being spontaneous at 8:30 at night (really a radical thing for us to do) and inviting friends over to watch Secondhand Lions. If you haven't seen it, you should rent it. It's a great movie!
• Making spaghetti sauce. Man it tastes good. I can't wait to add some spicy Italian sausage to it, cook up some pasta, and eat it along with a tossed salad and some garlic bread. Mmm.

What We Had For Supper Tonight

Yum!

God the Healer

In August I wrote about the shark attack on my niece, Julia here and here.

Julia has since moved to Mexico to teach in an American school there. (If you want to follow her blog go here.) She is really enjoying herself. Yesterday she posted some current pictures of her foot. It looks like it is healing really well. She is thankful for no infection.
She said her second graders have been begging to see the scar so she showed them earlier this week. I guess they were pretty excited.

Here's a picture of her foot after it was stitched up.

O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. Psalm 30:2