Science class pictures

 

So we had a blast.  Lots of kids, lots of chairs.

This is the cutest little boy.  I have really enjoyed watching him grow up this year.  Sorry the picture is blurry.  I have a hard time getting non blurry pictures of children.  lol

One of the fish at my friends’ house.  Very pretty.  Very blue.

Getting ready for class.  I’m not exactly sure what was going on in Sweet Pea’s mind.

Little Bit was trying very hard to NOT smile.

This is our college age friend on the left explaining how to use the swabs and petri dishes.

And yes, Little Bit was trying very hard to listen.  See all of those petri dishes in front of her?  They are all growing right now.  We are going to be seeing what they are growing on Saturday.  We swabbed hands, and doorknobs, and toilet handles, and piano keys, and phones, and dogs, and refrigerator handles, and the fish tank, and computer keys, and…. yeah, we swabbed a lot.  It was fun.  I can’t wait to see what happens on Saturday. 

Hugs,

Melinda

Busy Day

Today was a busy, but really good day. In case you didn't know, today is our 15th wedding anniversary. 15 years married to this guy, this wonderful, quirky guy who loves to make me laugh, and just overall loves me.

But I digress from the point of my post. (If I have one. I'm not really sure.)

We had Science Class this morning with our friends, and then we went to the business expo offered by our local chamber of commerce. Last year, I was a bit naive as to what to do. This year, I made Sweet Pea actually talk to and ask questions of the businesses that were represented. I feel like we both learned a lot.

For example, I now want LED light bulbs, and we may be researching certain credit unions for refinancing options. I also bought a jar of jam and apple butter, and the best coffee cake I've ever had.

We also met Jacob Turk. He is running for a seat in the US Congress, and I believe that he is the right man for the job. It appears we will be joining his campaign in some form this year, even if it is just to hang flyers on doorknobs.

My brain is refusing to work anymore. Sleep well my friends.

I love you Dale Hollis. 15 down, and only 85 more to go! :D

Hugs,

Melinda

Repost: Study of Cells

I KNEW IT!  I knew we had studied cells before and even made "models" of them.  I even knew I had posted pictures of it!  But I could not find it for the life of me.  Well, guess what?  Here it is!

Hugs, Melinda: Study of Cells:

I wonder if I should try this again before Saturday's microscope lesson?

Hugs,
Melinda

Science class

A college age friend is teaching part 1 of a science class today. We're doing part 2 on Saturday. It's all about cells. Saturday, we're breaking out the microscope. :D

Random thoughts from a Wednesday night Bible study.

Could we sometimes be accused of over thinking parts of the Bible too much? Are there times that we should just accept the "hard" things with the faith of a child?

Heaven time does not move the same as earthly time.

(NLT) 1 Peter 4:7-8 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

I know I'm not doing this and should.

(NASB) Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."
Wow. I think we take this verse out of context entirely. How many others are we using for our own benefit? How do we have a whole-istic view to the Bible, and not just a one verse view approach?

Sent from my iPhone

Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

10:15 PM

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment.  I've been on a weight loss journey since June 11, 2011.  That's when I really decided to take charge of my life and of my health and to lose weight once and for all. 

 

The benefits have been great.  Fantastic even.  Number one, I'm losing weight.  Then there's my clothes don't fit because they are too large, the better health, more energy, reduction in thyroid meds, feeling better, having more confidence in myself, all of that stuff.

 

There have been some downsides, although some of them are just inconveniences, and mostly to me.  There's the fact that my clothes don't fit, and if I'm not careful, my thyroid levels get out of whack again.  There's the whole, eating healthier costs more issue, which is mostly true if simply because produce can be expensive.

 

Back to why I'm overwhelmed.  My clothes don't fit.  I've spent some money this year getting good clothes that do fit.  And I needed to put them away.  Which led to a whole let's clean out our drawers and closets and reorganize everything, because even though it's the middle of winter, it's time for some spring cleaning, right?

 

Going through my closet meant pulling out my mom's clothes.  Her work jacket with the angel pin.  The black formal dress she wore.  Her club jersey.  Her sweaters.  Her bison jacket that she wore when she was sick.

 

I can't wear them.  They are at least 2 sizes too big for me.  But I can't give them up either.  They mean so much now.  I miss her.  I miss her horribly. 

 

I have a trunk in my room right now ready for me to pack them up, but I don't know that I can.  I don't know that I'm ready.  At least in my closet, I can still look at them daily if I want.  If I put them in that trunk, does that mean I'm packing up the last of my momma?

 

I don't have the answer, and maybe I should just go to bed and deal with it tomorrow.  I don't know.

 

The other reason I am overwhelmed is because I met with a personal trainer tonight.  He worked me hard.  Well, at least harder than I've been worked in a while.  And it's odd, because I actually feel somewhat athletic.  And I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.  When am I going to get fed up with this new healthier me?  When is it going to stop?  When will I go back to eating junk food again and just being lazy in front of the computer? 

 

And while I'm sitting here thinking all these things, I know I don't want to go back.  I can eat salad now (and DO!).  Eating too much junk food, especially anything really sugary or really greasy makes me feel ill for at least 24 hours.  I can't have seconds and thirds anymore, because I'm enjoying my firsts. 

 

So would I want my mom to live through that horrible sickness that is cancer again?  Would I want her to live in a semi-Alzheimer's state of mind, or as a stroke victim?  The obvious answer is no. 

 

My momma, my best friend, my mentor is in Heaven.  She is with God and she is singing with the angels and she is holding my angel baby.  She is playing cards with Maw-Maw Milly, and she is swinging high on that swing set.   Praise God.  She is home.

 

So, I guess I've worked through this.  I'm going to go in my room and pack up that trunk, and I'm going to be loving every precious moment I had with her.  Thank you God for my momma.  Please let her know I love her still.

 

Hugs,

Melinda

 

 

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Christmas is coming!

I bought several ornaments to paint this year. I'm going to be doing the snowmen handprints that seem to be real popular right now. But we had done a craft with Pom-poms last night and I thought, "why not take the leftovers and put them in one of the ornaments?" Sweet Pea helped me, and said I needed to post a picture online. So, here you are. Pom-Pom ornament!

Hugs,
Melinda

WoF Part 5, the end

I'm almost through talking about the Women of Faith Conference. I really enjoyed my time. I enjoyed worshiping God in a way that was freeing.

Patsy Clairmont got to speak again, because Marilyn Meberg was ill that weekend. Previously she had told about her struggles with agoraphobia, and how God helped her through that. This time, she told about when her son had gotten sick with the bird flu and was in a coma for 21 days. She really struggled.

Funny note: she was wearing a scarf and she called it a "parking garage for chins."

But back to her topic. We don't help suffering people by giving them simple answers that don't help. Tell them you don't understand and say you're sorry. She gave us 4 ways to help people: 1) Prayer matters, 2) People matter, 3) change can be good, and 4) we need each other.

She said, don't underestimate what God has given you to do. She told the story of the cleaning lady who was singing "Jesus," and how that helped her so very much. She also said that change can be good, even if it's not in a package you expect. Her son had been in a coma for 19 days, and on day 20, he had gotten a new doctor who changed some medicines, and she did not like it. But on day 21, her son woke up.

We had another drama presentation by Deborah Joy. She reminded me that my children, my home is the great cathedral I am building. People may never know who I am, but if my children are godly and lead others to Christ, then that's all that matters.

One of the last things that we did was each speaker got to give a nugget of information, a reminder of something that they had said to us that they wanted us to remember.

Brenda Warner said, "remember Zach who should not have lived. Slow down. Love them without sight. We need each other. Life is hard, but be flexible."

Sandi Patty said, "Look from a different perspective. God isn't saying no to your dreams. He may be saying yes to a dream you can't see yet."

Patsy Clairmont said, "Prayer matters, people matter, change can be good, we need each other. Never give up."

And Mandisa reminded us that we have a wonderful freedom in Christ.

And that was it. That was the end of the conference. It was a good time for my soul and my heart, and I will be forever thankful that I had the opportunity to go.

Hugs,

Melinda

Reposting: Lump Free Gravy

In honor of Thanksgiving, I am reposting this.

So, after a L-O-N-G break from Works for Me Wednesday, the carnival hosted by Shannon where bloggers from all over blogosphere get together and share the tips that work for them, I decided to share my secrets for how I make perfect lump free cream gravy.

And no, it's not canned. I actually got the technique from my Betty Crocker cookbook.

Tip #1: Invest in a good whisk. It's so much easier than a wooden spoon or fork.

Tip #2: Remember your proportions. 2 Tbsp fat, 2 Tbsp flour, 1 cup liquid. For cream gravy, this is 2 tbsp butter or margarine, 2 Tbsp Flour, 1 cup milk. For brown gravy it would be 2 tbsp fat drippings, 2 tbsp flour, 1 cup beef broth or other appropriate liquid.

Tip #3: And this is one of the biggest secrets. When you get ready to make your gravy, put your liquid in the freezer and get it REALLY cold. I have pulled milk out with a ring of milk crystals. It works people!

So..... Put your butter in the pan and melt it on medium high heat. When it is bubbling, whisk in your flour. This mixture is called Roux. When that is bubbling (it sort of looks like pancake batter. Sort of.), then pull your milk out of the freezer and slowly and completely whisk that into your roux. If you are using a whisk, you are almost guaranteed lump free gravy. You almost have to boil this for about a minute to get your gravy.

Now, here is the twist. You sort of have to watch it at this point. You don't want it too thin, but if it boils too long, it will get too thick and be like glue. Remove it from the heat when it is the consistency you like.

Personally, I don't add salt or pepper when I'm making my gravy. My husband doesn't like salt, and I don't like pepper. But if you add nutmeg when you're cooking, this makes the basic bechamel saucein a lot of Italian dishes.

And that's all of my secrets to a perfect lump free cream gravy. Serve over biscuits, toast, whatever your imagination desires. :D

Hugs,
Melinda