Work – one hour at a time

I have a part time contract job. It’s not exactly fun, though it is interesting work. It’s kind of tedious and repetitive, and due to the nature of the work, I can’t listen to the radio! My plan of setting the timer for an hour is working really well for this project.

So far today, I’ve spent two complete hours (with a half hour break between the two) on my current project. Because it’s working so well, I’m almost done with the current assignment and should finish it up this afternoon. Then I’ll have to wait to receive my next assignment.

I exercised this morning! I’ve been lacking motivation to exercise as it’s so cold outside (for my Arizona blood, at least). Yesterday, hubby and I ran all the way to and from Blockbuster so we could return a movie (2 miles round trip). Today, I rode 8.5 miles on the exercise bike. My legs are sore!

Hubby is working a lot of hours this week as he’ll be missing four days of work for our Christmas vacation and doesn’t yet have enough vacation time to cover it all. He left early this morning and will be returning late tonight and this will probably be the norm for the next two weeks. Though I’m disappointed that I won’t be seeing him much during the week, I have to praise the Lord that we will be missing very little (if any) of his paycheck at the end of the month. God provides!

Profound? Nope!

I keep thinking I need to post something profound if I’m going to post anything at all. However, I’m not perfect and neither is my blog. Since this is a blog about my attempts at homemaking, I’m going to post the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The good – Homemade bread almost ready for the oven. We have Bible study and a fellowship meal tonight.

The bad – Hmmmm… Is there any? I honestly can’t think of anything that I would call “bad” right now.

The ugly – I still didn’t have a productive day. I meant to. Intentions are good, right? I found out yesterday that my brother (deployed) has been stationed somewhere different this week, which is why he has all the internet access. Usually, we’re lucky if we get to talk for 15 minutes. Today was his last day with such privileges, so I spent most of the day chatting with him. I don’t regret it. 🙂

Here are a couple of new recipes that we tried this week.

Thirty-five Calorie Muffins These were easy, cheap, and came out well. I added blueberries, much to my husband’s delight.

Easy, Basic Waffles I have tried and tried and tried to find a decent vegan waffle recipe. The past attempts have always tasted disgusting, didn’t hold together, or wouldn’t cook all the way through. These were perfect!

Apple Spice Syrup I cannot say enough good things about this recipe. It was pretty cheap, as we had everything on hand except the frozen apple juice concentrate. It was easy to make, quick, and tasted oh so good! I’m not a fan of imitation (read: cheap and unhealthy) maple syrup and this is the perfect alternative. How can you go wrong with the apple cinnamon combination? I LOVE this recipe.

TVP Sloppy Joes I didn’t follow this recipe exactly, as we were out of onions and I had a store bought barbecue sauce. I used red bell peppers instead of green and it was really tasty. I had never thought of adding bell peppers to sloppy joes, but it worked.

All new recipes this week were definite keepers. I’m making waffles again this weekend just so I can eat more of that yummy syrup. I don’t even have to make more syrup, as the recipe made way more than we can eat in one meal and just needs to be reheated.

I’m off to go preheat my oven for the Amish bread.

Today’s report

My plan for today worked well (during the times I was following it). My brother came online again today and we had some things we HAD to discuss. Therefore, I worked for two full hours today with one half hour break plus lunch. Tomorrow will be more productive, I promise.

Here’s what I accomplished:

  • Morning devotional
  • Washed and put away dishes
  • Cleaned off and scrubbed kitchen counter
  • Made the bed
  • Picked up dirty clothes from bedroom floor
  • Updated December’s budget
  • Found and set up the nativity scene that’s been passed down from my great grandmother
  • Straightened bathroom counter
  • Changed towels in bathroom
  • Vacuumed living room, hallway, and master bedroom
  • Folded load of laundry
  • Picked up the trash on the patio (we have kids living above us)
  • Cleaned off dining room table
  • Filled out an online customer satisfaction survey for our current auto/renters insurance company

Not too bad for the first day. Tomorrow I have to start an assignment for my part time job, plan next week’s menu, and create a shopping list. If I have time left in the day, I’m going to clean the bathroom.

Time trials!

In response to my insight yesterday about how I spend too much time playing and not enough time doing… I’m going to try something today. The computer seems to be (well, is) my biggest addiction. So, I’m going to set the timer on our microwave. One hour of productivity. Then I get to play for half an hour. After the half hour is up, I’m back to another hour of productivity, and so on and so forth.

I’ll report back at the end of the day to see how it went.

Baby steps. Baby steps.

My “older” brother

Confession time – I have a really bad habit of letting the day get away from me. I try to exercise in the mornings, but other than that, I have no set schedule. I need one. The days are sneaking by and I’m not getting much done. While my hubby doesn’t mind, I don’t think this is what God intended by allowing me to become a full time homemaker.

Today was another one of those days when time escaped unnoticed. However, I have a good excuse for once. 🙂


My brother. My 23 year old dj-ing, photography loving, on-the-other-side-of-the-world brother was online. I love my brother and couldn’t pass up the chance to talk to him via IM. We had a good three hour chat.

Even though I’m three years older than Josh, he’s been through a lot more life experiences than I have. He’s been married, has a child, joined the Army, and is currently serving his second deployment to Iraq. Me? I’ve been married for three years and moved across country to attend college. Compared to him, I’m sheltered.

I always wanted an older brother. Though I’m the oldest by age, we think of ourselves as older brother and younger sister. Josh takes the lead on our roadtrips, looks out for me, and is just generally an all around wonderful brother.

Have I mentioned how much I love him?

December?

It can’t be December already.

My computer says it’s December first. Walmart has been playing Christmas music for a month. The malls are crowded with people shopping for gifts. KLove is playing Christmas carols. The neighbors have their house decorated.

And yet… it’s 73 degrees outside. We’re running neither the heater or the AC. My patio door is wide open to allow the fresh air to circulate through the apartment.

18 days until we leave for (cold!) Michigan. We’ll be staying with hubby’s parents for a week. I can’t wait, as we haven’t seen them for two years!

But December? Is it really?

Pursuing righteousness

I’m discovering the beauty of Bible translations other than the KJV. I was raised reading the KJV and just recently started branching out into more modern translations. Old verses are coming to life!

“Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor” (Proverbs 21:21, NLT).

I pray that I will always pursue righteousness and unfailing love! I know the only place to find both is in the arms of God. I want to always seek righteousness, unfailing love, and the face of God. Please Lord, guide me in seeking You.

Count your blessings

Happy Thanksgiving!

No matter how the world celebrates the holiday, this is a good time to stop and remember the blessings the Lord has granted for the past year. Even the simple act of waking up each morning is a gift from God.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

May I always remember to rejoice, pray, and give thanks in ALL circumstances. God is good!

Amish White Bread: Success!

I’ve only baked bread from scratch a few times. Each time, the bread doesn’t rise much and it never looks like real bread with the golden brown rounded crust.

Until today!

I used this recipe and it turned out really well! I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 2 cups of white flour like the recipe suggested.

I don’t have a bread maker, so I mixed and kneaded this loaf by hand. I’ve always wondered if my method of kneading is why the bread doesn’t rise properly. I’m still not sure if that’s why this loaf turned out fluffy versus my earlier attempts, but I watched this video to see how an “expert” does it.

Success! Hopefully it tastes as good as it looks.

“She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household…” (Proverbs 31:15). Thank you Lord for helping me bake bread today!