75 cents worth of service

75 cents won't buy much these days, but look what it scored me yesterday at Walmart...

Granted they were 75 cents each, but all the other small and not nearly as cute and cheery-colored pots were $3+ each, so 5 pots for less than $4 made my day...it's really the small things, people! :)

These were just perfect for the little "happies" I had in mind as I attempt to live out Philippians 2:3-4. (If you read my last post I'm trying to serve at least 1 family member, 1 friend, and 1 stranger each week--a little plan to help me ditch the good intentions and actually get on with being less me-focused and more others-focused. 

So these pots plus some left over vinca plants (that I've had sitting lonely on the patio since I planted our front flower beds a month ago!), a little ribbon, and a note helped me get of my comfortable box, over my silly fear and go introduce myself to our neighbors. Yes, that's right, I said "introduce." We've lived in our house for three years (!) now, and I have yet to take time to meet, let alone get to know, anyone on our street except for our next door neighbors on our right. Shameful.Pathetic.Ridiculous.that my neighbors fall into this "stranger" category as I seek to serve people. I'm praying for courage, and to be honest, simply the desire to really reach out and care for those outside of my "normal" sphere.

After I play out several inane scenarios in my head, I convince myself of three things: my neighbor really can't be that scary, I can stand awkwardness for 5 minutes, and seriously, who would refuse a flower in a cute-even-if-it-was-only-75-cents-pot?

Time to dig in.    

I drag myself out the door feeling like I've got fifty pound weights on my ankles, and you know what? My-82-years-old-two-doors-down-neighbor was not at all scary, the awkwardness lasted less than a minute, and she happily accepted the card and little potted plant as she graciously invited me in to chat for a few minutes.

Yes, I know stopping by to say hi and deliver a plant seems simple and insignificant as far as "serving" someone goes, but I'm praying that this small step will just be the first step in developing a friendship with this lady, getting to know her, and being able to find more ways to serve and show her Christ's love.

Now I've got 4 plants left and more stranger-neighbors to visit...        

His mercies are new every morning!

Dew on the squash leaves.
The first bloom on one of my tomato plants. 
And those petunias just make me happy.

{Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you?} Matthew 6:28-30

First Crop!

Picked my first strawberries this week! perfectly ripe and sweet!

And I've got more on the way...

It doesn't really hurt my feelings too much that Paul won't eat strawberries...more for me! :)

In other news...here's my little garden--that was planted extremely late and may be a bust...though I'm really hoping for better luck!

{sweet potatoes, squash, and tomatoes}

Thanks to my hubs for digging up all the grass, tilling, and making the box!

Squash is blooming. That's a good sign, right?!

 

I realllly want some tomatoes! Please, grow!

{My granddaddy would be proud, I think. He always had the biggest and best garden. We think he even invented the tiller--at least he built one before you could buy one. You can see a picture of it here. Pardon my bragging. One more example of why my brother told his kindergarten teacher that his granddaddy was "a genius"! :)}

I guess, I've taken a break from the mounds of homework for long enough...back to it! Happy weekending to you!

A House Guest & Success

Meet Izzy.

We've been keeping this big baby all week for my mom while she and my sister are in Springfield, MO at basketball nationals.  Caroline's team is actually playing for the championship right now.  So wish I was there!! Anyway, Reggie has had a friend this week.  They are so funny to watch.  Izzy doesn't realize that she is about 10 times bigger than Reggie, and plays with him like she would any other huge dog.  Reggie apparently has trouble remembering his size as well because when they start playing, he gets scared, lays down stiff as a board (playing dead I guess), and then as soon as Izzy walks off, he runs up to taunt her again.  He's a peewee instigator, and Izzy is a rambunctious giant.

 

Instigating from his perch on top of the couch...

"Mom, why do you always let her win?!"

Our house guest will depart tomorrow.  Reggie is going to be bored out of his mind.

In other news, I have SPROUTS!!

I'm still waiting on the sweet pea flowers to peek up.

Squash

Tomato

String Beans

Happy Saturday to you!

Weekending...

Just a few snippets from this past weekend...I love slow, easy Saturdays...

{making apple butter}
two words: YUM-O. :) I may or may not have eaten with a spoon what wouldn't fit into the jars...
recipe adapted from here. I halved the recipe and yielded a little over 2 pints.  
First, I peeled and quartered 7 granny smith apples and put them in the crockpot. (You can cook them with the skin on so you get all the good nutrients and then just pick it out later.)

Next I drizzled 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla over the apples.  Then just covered and cooked on low for 2-3 hours.  The original recipe said to cook for 8 hours, but my crockpot always cooks everything faster so my apples were definitely done in 2 to 3.  Also, the original recipe said you would have to mash the apples with a fork after they finished cooking, but mine were completely mushy--I just stirred them with a spoon.  Then stir in 3/4 cup white sugar, 6 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cloves.

Cook on low for another 30 minutes to an hour.  Then spoon into jars!

 {Tie a pretty ribbon on, and I'm thinking these would make lovely happies.}

Note: I didn't boil the jars to properly seal and preserve the butter so I'm not sure how long it will keep in the fridge.  But I have a feeling it won't need to keep long because I finding plenty of excuses to eat it! :) 

{attempting to start a garden}
I'm planning to build a small raised bed in the backyard soon.  Let's just hope these seeds sprout. I have my doubts.  And so does Paul.  But he won't be too disappointed if these plants flop...it's not like he eats vegetables anyway. I mean really, who doesn't love a fresh tomato or squash from the garden?  I could totally be a vegetarian.
 

 

 

And now we wait...wish me luck!

{replenishing my supply of laundry detergent}

I've been making our own laundry detergent for about 4 months now...works just as well as store-bought, super easy to make, and a huge $ saver!  My sister-in-law has been making hers for probably a year now, and I know several other people who do it too.  If you'd like to give it a try, here's the recipe which I adapted from the one on this super cute blog
 

1 cup borax

1 cup washing soda

1 bar of soap, grated (such as Dial or Ivory)

1-2 drops essential oil (optional for added fragrance)

Just mix this all together and then put in a blender or food processor to get it to a smooth consistency.  Note: If you have a mediocre (at best) blender like I do, you will want to blend only small portions at a time so that your blender won't get clogged.

You only have to use 2 tablespoons per load...at first, you may feel like you're not using enough because you are so used to using a large scoop of the store-bought, but trust me, 2 tablespoons will do the job!  One recipe is enough to wash 32 loads.  

So how much does this DIY actually save you? Well, it depends on which store-bought brand you currently buy.  I did some calculations and bottom line is: with this recipe, your cost is 4 cents per load!  Liquid Tide can run as much as 35 cents per load--almost 9x the cost of the DIY.  And even if you buy the cheap stuff like we used to (i.e. powdered Arm & Hammer which is 9 cents per load) it is still a huge cost savings--less than half the price.  Yes, I'm a nerd.  I like to find ways to save money!

 

Hope you enjoyed your weekend, and your week is off to a wonderful start!  

egg-in-a-hole + this & that

We enjoyed breakfast on the back patio together this morning...I betcha can't guess whose plate is whose... :)

The "Egg-in-a-Hole" is a breakfast treat that we used to eat at my sweet cousin Laura's house when we were kids. Don't know why I haven't made one before now--YUM.
<Have you ever had/heard of an egg-in-a-whole?>


While we were eating, I noticed this tiny bead of water on the chopped off stalk of my basil plant...you can also see a *tiny bit* of new growth. [Kelly (my sis-in-law) told me that if I cut the stalk completely instead of just snapping off the leaves, it would produce more...let's hope!]

on to the "this & that"...

Paul started school today, so we spent the morning printing out syllabi, organizing notebooks, and ordering his textbooks. If all goes as planned he should be finished with his B.S. by the end of next summer. YAY. [just a side-note: he is off work until September due to a lack of orders--good: allows him to focus on getting started well this semester; bad: no $.] Then he left for a flying lesson...not sure if everyone knows this or not, but he is pursuing his pilot's license--he wants to be a commercial pilot eventually. And he is so excited about it--which makes me so excited about it! He started flying in May, and was hoping to have earned the 40 hours he needed for his private license by the end of the summer. However, he ended up having to switch instructors and airports a couple of times which set things back a bit. But as of last week, he is now getting into a regular routine of about three lessons a week. And, I have to tell y'all the story about his new instructor--when they met for the first time, Paul said they both kept looking at each other, trying to figure out how they knew each other. They finally realized that Paul's step-dad coached them in little league basketball, and they played football together in 8th grade! Hadn't seen each other in years. Neat to see how God brings things full circle. He is so pumped about flying. I can't wait for his first solo flight--I can go up with him!!

Here is a pic of the kind of plane that he is training in: Cessna 152

       

I also started school today--or had orientation--my first class is actually on Thursday night, 5-9pm.../yuck/. I'll also have class on Saturdays 8a-3p.../double yuck/. Orientation lasted from 4-7p, and when I left, I was def on INFORMATION OVERLOAD. *But* I'm really excited about what I'm going to be learning, and so far, I've been super impressed with Union U and its people!

This past weekend, one of my roomies--Diana-- from sophomore year came for a visit...SO good to spend some unhurried time with her! We really had a pretty low-key weekend: stayed up late Friday night just catching up; slept late Saturday morning; shopped a little that afternoon; played a game of Farkel--in which Paul had a last second stroke of luck to beat us both!--, baked some cookies, and watched a movie that night. [Side note: I introduced her to Nutella at breakfast Saturday am and she's hooked...consider this your formal introduction, if you've never tried it. GO.BUY.SOME.NOW.] She will soon be joining the National Guard--eek! but I so admire her confidence and determination. She's one of my favorites, and it was so good to catch up for a couple of days.

Right before she left on Sunday am.     

One last thing, I have to tell y'all that I tried Iowa Girl Eats' recipe for sweet potato fries, and we--yes I said WE-- are hooked! [Y'all know this is a breakthrough for Paul. He ate sweet potatoes-a vegetable. They were NOT fried.] The recipe is SO easy and simply delish--I've already made them twice. Just slice up your sweet potatoes--I like mine pretty thin so they get a bit crunchy--drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt and black pepper. 425degrees for 15 min., then 450degrees for 5min, stirring occasionally. Did I mention they were divine? Also, I tried her recipe for French Dip (Sandwiches) a la Crock Pot. It was super easy and also yummy. (Although my roast cooked much, much quicker than the 8 hours she says--mine was done after about 3.5 on low.)

Thanks for enduring such a random post. I just had to squeeze it all in. :) 

lately...

Life lately for us:

Our niece, Taylor, had her first slumber party with us!

{my kinda girl}

{in the ball pit my mom snagged at a garage sale}

{BFF=Bessie}

{rise & shine!}

the '62 Lincoln Continental Paul bought to fix up & sell on Ebay--the auction ends this Sunday--hoping for enough profit to go on a little vaca!

us at Paul's brother's wedding at the Lichterman Nature Center.

enjoying the patio blooms

 

{a bit unruly}

{basil}

photo shoot with my sweet friend Robin & her little chickadee, Olivia Carrington.

[I just love her name.]

a kitchen table re-do that took me entirely too long to finish. many thanks to my mama who helped 
tremendously with the sanding & staining!

{before}

{he was very interested in the project}

{after}

 

I can't believe how quickly the summer is passing! And to think that this time last year, we were scrambling around finishing up wedding details...