I'm trading my sorrow
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

Though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Menu Plan Monday September 15-21

Monday 9/15 Potato Soup ( I made this for lunch yesterday, soup is always so good the next day)

Tuesday 9/16 Chicken Pot Pie

Wednesday 9/17 Leftovers

Thursday 9/18 Pizza Night (I love pizza)

Friday 9/19 Dinner with Friends

Saturday 9/20 Chicken and Veggie Pasta (I haven't made this in ages, it is so simple and so good, the first time I made it I didn't read the ingredients carefully and I used a whole stick of butter the recipe calls for a half stick, it's very rich and yummy with a whole stick but just as tasty and less guilt-ridden with a half stick)

Sunday 9/21 Dinner with Friends

Ice Cream

I bought store bought ice cream today, the first time in months. I've been really wanting ice cream but have resisted since I didn't want to give into pregnancy cravings and gain a lot of unnecessary weight, which seems to be piling on no matter what I eat. In truth, I always want ice cream pregnant or not. I tried fruit juice bars to satisfy my ice cream cravings and while lower in calories and tasty, it's not the same.

I'm having friends over on Tuesday for dinner, I was trying to think of a good dessert when I decided to just keep things simple and serve ice cream, plus there might be leftovers for myself later on. I might make a homemade chocolate or caramel sauce to go along.

I was going to make ice cream, because I love homemade ice cream and I love using my ice cream maker, while it may not be a low-calorie treat I know that it's natural when I make it myself.

I decided against making ice cream when I realized that it will cost me nearly double the cost to do so.

pint of heavy cream $2.80
dozen eggs $2.20
quart of milk $1.75 ( I would have bought the half gallon at $2.50)
I have sugar at home and all the "extras"

I decided to save myself time and money and just buy ice cream, I like Breyers since it's all natural, read the label it's great. Of course if another brand is on a super sale I'll go for that but my first choice is an ice cream with a short ingredient list.

I must have spent 10 minutes in the ice cream aisle, freezing my hiney.
All the brands (all three of them, you got to love selection on Guam)were $4.00 give or take a quarter. The price didn't bother me to much though, the size did! Did you you know that they now sell ice cream in 1.5 quarts?! What ever happened to 2 quarts or the 1.75 quarts size, the price is the same the container is smaller. I dug around in the freezer and found a container in the back that was 1.75 quarts, there were a couple left. Perhaps homemade ice cream isn't more expensive if I calculate the quantity made. I just may need to do a test and find out.

The nerve of Ice cream companies selling me less ice cream and charging the same amount!

It could have been a frugal choice.....

I'm doing my very best to be ahead of the game (not true, I just am trying to stay busy while my husband is away)I've spent the last two days making my Christmas cards. Oh they are going to be so pretty, I can hardly wait to send them out (3 more months)I make my own cards because I like to and because it's a very frugal thing to do. This year it was not so frugal, I could have made all my cards for mere pennies, I have several Christmas themed stamps I have lots of paper and I have stacks and stacks of old Christmas cards just perfect for being remade into new Christmas cards. But no I've spent LOTS of money more than I've ever spent on any crafting project. I do have my husbands permission and blessing and our gift fund is paying for it but still I do feel a little bit guilty about my splurge this year when I didn't need to. I have bought:
2 ink pads
glitter
paper
ribbon
special super sticky adhesive
A new stamp set - it is oh so lovely and can be used for many projects not related to the holidays
small clear page protectors (I'm making a small "brag book" of sorts, it's a card but with a few pages inserted for my letter and pictures

Everything I bought (minus the paper) can be used again and again for other projects.

I can't help feeling guilty with myself, what could have cost me literally pennies by using what I have has turned into a project that costs well over $80.

Yes they will be beautiful cards
Yes I'm having a great time making them (I'm quite proud of my efforts)
and Yes I'm feeling a wee bit wasteful and I'm not sure it was worth it.

I'd post a picture of my Christmas card but I want it to be pretty surprise for my family.

Money was not an issue, we set aside for Christmas expenses but my frugal spirit is torn. What do you all think about a splurge like this?

Cooking Class Disaster!

I've been teaching a cooking class, it's been a lot of fun and I've met a lot of neat people but today I had a Cooking Class Disaster! The theme of today's class was healthy snacking. I made my healthy oatmeal cookies with flax seed and wheat germ ahead of time that way participants could taste them but I wouldn't be strapped for time to make them during the class and I really wanted the oven for my granola bars the highlight of my class. I made the granola bars first so that way we could move on while they were baking. Usually I haul all of the ingredients from my pantry to the class and I make several trips to and from my car, this time around I decided to consolidate and I mixed up all my dry ingredients for the granola bars ahead of time, that way I would only have to bring the liquid ingredients and I could leave my boxes and bags of flour and other ingredients at home. It was a pretty good idea, except that I forgot to add the oatmeal (A key ingredient) and of course I didn't bring the ingredients with me because I was saving space and time by mixing it ahead of time. I also forgot my mixing bowl, so while teaching the class I'm trying to stir together granola batter in a short square Tupperware container and right away I realize that the batter doesn't look right, it's awfully liquidey, and when I poured it into my baking pan I saw that I had about half the amount of batter that I normally do and it doesn't really look like the granola bars that I've made several times in this past. And right after I put it in the oven I realized that I forgot to add the oatmeal the MOST important ingredient. I went ahead and baked them anyways, it turned out like a fruity nutty unrisen cake. I apologized several times and told everyone in the class that they really were tasty granola bars and they should try and make them again at home.

The rest of my snacks took a whopping 15 minutes to make so we stood around and waited for my granola bar disaster to finish baking. We had ants on a log (celery with peanut butter and raisins) we made yogurt parfaits, and veggie sticks with homemade ranch dip. I felt terrible just standing around and waiting,I'm usually over prepared and we have too much to make and eat.

worst class ever, if I was a student, I wouldn't come back.

Stamp Something Challenge

It's been a long time since I've participated in a Stamp Something Challenge I just bought a new stamp set on eBay, I have big plans for my Christmas cards with this set which is so pretty and so versatile. After playing around with my new tree set I decided I might as well make something with a purpose and decided to join in on a challenge. I scanned my card instead of taking a picture, my camera has been acting up lately. I was going to stamp a sentiment on the card but I was afraid I'd ruin my pretty picture so I left it as a nature scene with no sentiment. I've never made a card quite like this before and there are a lot of stamping "firsts" for me. I layered my stamped images which I've always been afraid to do and I used a reverse masking technique, totally fun to try out new methods.

Menu Plan Monday September 8 - September 14

I have a couple of crafty girlfriends, we've been going to each others house the past several weeks and making cards, sharing all our crafting supplies and gadgets, and chatting it up. Last night we decided that when we have "crafting days" we should do dinner also, all our husbands are out and none of us really like eating alone, so this week I'm being treated to dinner with my friends twice! Next week it's my turn. Crafting and Cooking two of my favorite hobbies, it's so nice to have found some friends who share my interests. On to this week's menu:

Monday 9/8 Soup and Salad, I may add in a half a grilled cheese sandwich (those have been a favorite lately)

Tuesday 9/9 Dinner and crafts at my friend Liz's house

Wednesday 9/10 Tomato and Sausage Risotto (something new to try)

Thursday 9/11 Dinner and crafts at my friend Jessica's house

Friday 9/12 Pizza Night

Saturday 9/13 Ravioli and Salad

Sunday 9/14 Leftovers

Cardboard Testimonies WOW!

Watched this video in church today, so many emotions! I was deeply saddened and than filled with immense joy every few seconds. We serve a good and gracious God.

Free Chris Tomlin Song

We just received the new Chris Tomlin Album in the mail, we pre-ordered it since we are big Chris Tomlin/David Crowder/Matt Redman/Passion Band fans. It's a super awesome very worshipful album.

I was just at the Walmart site checking out any possible Free samples when I found that they give away free music downloads. Right now you can download Chris Tomlin's new song Jesus Messiah for free.

It's a fabulous song, we have sung it in our church and I love it, I was so happy to see that Walmart is offering it for free (probably this week only)

Go now, download it for free, you'll love it.

homemade gift wrap

I love it when my crafting hobby saves me money. I've been invited to a baby shower this weekend for my neighbor. After digging through my box of gift wrap supplies it became clear that I needed to head to the store and buy some "baby" gift wrap or try and make something on my own. True to my frugal ways I decided to take the challenge and make my gift wrap. While my husband thinks it's the greatest thing ever to receive a gift wrapped in newspaper or a brown paper bag I really didn't want my gift wrap to look that frugal. For lack of supplies I did use a brown paper bag but I tried to dress it up a bit. I stamped "bubbles" all over the front, hoping that they look like polka dots. I than used a letter stamp set which I thought could be interpreted as baby blocks. Not satisfied with my baby blocks I cut out a baby rattle (the best I could, it's a little plain but it still looks like a baby rattle)
I added ribbon for the handles, I wish I had pink or white ribbon but the cream doesn't look terrible and again I was working with what I had.
My gift wrap definitely looks homemade but I don't think it looks half bad.

A delicious change of plans

I had big plans for my menu this week I was going to try out new recipes and do my best to enjoy eating for one (or two I guess.) Well my plans for the Chicken-Sausage Asparagus Saute over Cheesy Grits (from the May 2008 edition of Everyday Food) was not going to happen once I saw the prices and selection at the grocery store. Chicken-Sausage on Guam? forget about it! there is no variety whatsoever. Grits? no way! but I was probably going to substitute cornmeal and make a soft polenta instead. But the real kicker.....Asparagus nearly $6 a pound! I decided to pull the plug on this meal plan. While at the store I picked up a package of mushrooms for $2 which I know sounds expensive but the last few weeks a package of mushrooms has cost well over $5 and one week they were $7, produce prices are never a constant here. I didn't have plans for the mushrooms at the time but I knew I could put them to good use.

Well tonight I made a delicious mushroom soup, accompanied by a grilled cheese sandwich. I had a tasty, simple, and satisfying meal. I was pleased with my meal substitution I still got to try a new recipe and I didn't spend a fortune to do so.

My husband's a funny guy....

I love my husband. Sometimes I just don't understand him. This summer I started a tradition of making a card and hiding it in his sea bag every time he goes out to sea, even if he's leaving just for a short while. He's been in and out to sea several times this summer. Usually just a couple of weeks at a time. Every time he packs up to go he usually finds his card early, hidden amongst his folded t-shirts or stuffed in his toiletry bag and every time he makes it a point to roll his eyes at me and shake his head in an effort to make it clear to me that he doesn't want or need a homemade card.

Well this time around I hid his card in a Ziploc bag of tea bags (He hates the coffee on the boat so he takes tea with him). Before he left he asked me in a very nonchalant manner "What no card this time", I told him it's a surprise, and if there was a card I wanted him to find it while he was under the sea and missing me. I'm not sure if he thought my comment was cute or annoying.

The truth is he LIKES my homemade cards. I just received an e-mail from him and I NEVER receive e-mails this soon after he leaves. Short and sweet: "Where is the card, I couldn't find it?" And to think that I thought he didn't care for his homemade cards. Make's my heart glad to know my efforts are not in vain.

Menu Plan Monday September 1-7

Just for fun I'm trying out a couple of new recipes. Several days ago I went to a Pampered Chef party and won a recipe book, I'm trying out the Aloha pizza in the book.

Monday Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Tuesday Wraps

Wednesday Ravioli and Salad

Thursday Leftovers

Friday Aloha Pizza

Saturday Chicken-Sausage Asparagus Saute over Cheese Grits - I searched for several minutes on the Marta Stewart website and couldn't find this recipe from my Everyday Food May 2008 issue, In frustration I did a Google search for the recipe

Sunday Leftovers (I'm sure I'll have plenty of leftovers to finish off)