Unplugged

**Edited to add: I unplugged on the 20th and again on the 27th. Friday's are busy days for me as I have to get employees payroll, run errands, and the like. I think I need to unplug on a day other than Friday to get the real feel of unplugging. Although I will say, I wanted to check the blogging world on the morning of the 27th sooooooo bad. This is my post from uplugging on the 20th**

I took to this challenge a little early. Kimba planned it for the 27th, but I needed to break early. Yesterday, I did not blog at all. I did not look at my blog nor did I look at anybody's blog. Oops. Let me correct that in saying I did go to Stretching a Buck to help a friend. I had promised I would help her work through the Kroger ad and coupons in a money saving adventure. We had computer issues, printer issues, couldn't find Kroger card issues, and trying to use our brain in general issues. It was awesome.

What led me to getting off the computer yesterday is just way too long to go into. I will say I've had lots of issues over the past week, and I've needed to pray more. I had thought about fasting, and out of the blue, I remembered fasting didn't have to be just food related. Honestly, the computer is more of an issue than food. And I've known, too, that I've not controlled all this blogging and computer time stuff as much as I thought I could or would. Oh, I've been telling myself I'm keeping it within the limits I set for myself and before the Lord, but I was the only one I was fooling. Late Thursday afternoon, The Bob got home early from work. A very rare treat. He was outside with Fep and Moose doing "stuff". I seized the opportunity for a little nappy napperstein. As I was on the couch trying to nap, one of my children came in the door and did not see me on the couch. So, they went immediately to the computer. I had to let them know where I was. Did you catch that? I did. They went immediately to the computer! Hello! Eye opener!

Honestly, yesterday was easier to stay off the computer, because it was a busy day. Busier than I had planned. But I know, I really know, if I had visited the blogging world, time would not have been used wisely. I probably would have missed folding a load of laundry. I probably would have missed time with my family. I probably would have missed time with the Lord.

I think I need to unplug a lot more...

Proverbs 31:27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Great Words

"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make a life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture, or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a person humanized or dehumanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming."

~Goethe~

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up others according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29

Sadie

This is Sadie. She's my Mom's dog, and I love her. She is the sweetest, kindest, calmest little dog. Calm is important, because my dog, Dixie, she's not calm so much. I love Sadie so much, in fact, that I like for her to visit us from time to time. Just because we are not dogs on the furniture type people, she's very considerate and waits for me to put down a blanket for her before jumping up on the furniture. She likes to join in when Fep has a sleep over with her girlfriends. She snuggles in nicely, don't you think?

Sadie does have a little bit of a feisty side that she only exerts when necessary. Like when she has to go in her kennel. She hates that. Hates it. Despises it. Loathes it. Anyway, she was becoming quite the escape artist, so my Mom tried keeping it secured with a sock (or stocking?) tied around the latch. She was able to chew that up. Now she has a little pad lock on it so Sadie can no longer escape. Who has to put a pad lock on the dog's kennel? My Mom says it's the German in her. She also gets feisty when she has to deal with Dixie.

I'd get feisty, too, if a dog were trying to eat my head.

Ye Olde Budget...

It's linky linky time again with Phoebe! I love her frugal linky parties, and this week is on budgeting. I am very passionate about budgeting. So passionate, in fact, I have been teaching some local home schoolers the joys of budgeting. Some people hate budgets, but not me. I think it goes along with my list making personality.

My earliest memory of budgeting comes from my Mom. She would use a steno pad and keep track of money coming in and money going out. I was always a bit fascinated by that even as a child. Really. The Bob and I have been married for 14 years, and we started budgeting very early on in our marriage. Though not the case when I was single (that's another story for another time), we have always been careful with how much debt we get our self into. There's a plan in place to get it paid off as quickly as possible if/when there's an occasion that we do take on any debt. Right now, other than our house note, we have no debt. It's a beautiful thing. Getting our house paid off, which should be in about 9 years, will be heaven.

We follow a combination of Dave Ramsey and Larry Burkett. We're probably more Larry Burkett than Dave Ramsey. If you've never heard of Larry Burkett you can go to his website at Crown Financial Ministries. Larry is actually deceased now, but the ministry he started is still going. They have a ton of free stuff to help people in budgeting. Following a budget over the past years has gotten us through hard times with our business and helps keep our checkbook balance where it needs to be. It makes us mindful, extremely mindful.

I hope I don't sound like we have it all together and that we're all that and a bag of chips? To be honest, we still struggle with the discipline of some things. Like oh say, saving. Not retirement saving, but saving saving. This year, we are really, really trying to focus on saving more. It's one of our top priorities. Considering the economy and the state of the Nation, it may be more of a challenge, but it's challenge we're willing to tackle! Also, I'm trying to tackle the grocery portion of the budget. I may never be a Phoebe or Gayle, but I know I can get it down. I'll keep you posted on that. Actually, if you see this post from yesterday, you'll see what I'm working on to accomplish that :)

A beautiful site...

I stumbled upon this site through Phoebe's site. It is a beautiful place. She takes the sale ads matching up online coupons and Sunday paper coupons. She does all the work for you, People! I went to Kroger today and took $23 off my bill. For the first time ever, I planned my list around what was on sale and used the Stretching a Buck site. That alone saved me 23 smackeroos. And I didn't even have any Sunday paper coupons. And my sick computer would not print out the online coupons. I have since remedied my sick computer and next time I'll be printing out online coupons. Next time I will so have the Sunday paper coupons in my hand. I know if I had the extra coupons that I could have probably saved another $10 or so. Yep, it's a beautiful place.

Behold the Krispy Kreme Doughnut

Yesterday I had the privilege of going to Krispy Kreme. I love Krispy Kreme doughnuts. They make me very, very happy. In my previous blogging life, I put a post up about my love for the Krispy Kreme. And when Heathahleewas recently telling Missyabout my previous blog while we were in Nashville, it is the one post she mentioned to Missy. She didn't mention my very sentimental post about my Dad or something else of great meaning and worth, she mentioned my post on Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Heathahlee must love them, too. I love them so much that I feel they are worth another post.

Because Krispy Kreme is about 35+ minutes from my house, I don't go often. Plus, it's in a bad neighborhood. Plus, I joined Weight Watchers back in the fall. But yesterday, I was taken to the area where the Krispy Kreme bakery is located. Our accountant's office is less than 5 minutes from Krispy Kreme, and I had to run by and drop some stuff off to our accountant, so my car mysteriously pulled into the Krispy Kreme before going to see Deb, our accountant. Everyone enjoys it when I go, because I get doughnuts for everyone. I take them to Deb, I take them back to the office, and I bring some home for friends and family. I like to share the love that way. Again, it's been a looooong time since I've visited Krispy. I told Deb a few weeks ago when it was mentioned I had not brought Krispies in a while that when I joined Weight Watchers, everybody else joined Weight Watchers with me. Being that I'm down to my goal weight, I decided yesterday to splurge. And splurge I did. I ate two lovely, beautiful, melt-in-your-mouth, delectable doughnuts. I could not have enjoyed them more. Deb was so happy to see me walk in her office with that Krispy Kreme box that she was shoeing other clients out the door. Well, not really, but I think she wanted to. And her eyes did light up, real bright, at the sight of that pretty green and white box.

When you eat Krispy Kreme, you MUST go to a bakery or store. The ones they sell in the grocery store will not do. I never ever buy those. Never. And don't go for the fancy schmancy ones. Just get the basic glazed and chocolate. They are the best ever. Although my Mom loves the sour cream ones, and they are pretty good. But still, I prefer the basics. Look at them. Aren't they lovely?
Look at Moose enjoying them. He almost looks giddy...

One more shot of them before I go. They are worthy of one more look. Until we meet again...

Why I'm ready for Spring...

I think picture comparison will sum it up quite nicely...

This is now... Everything is dead, dry, drab. It's enough to get you down.

But just around the corner, it's coming... Beautiful green. Sunshine. Flowers.

I'm so ready for this...

It's all in the plan, man...

Phoebe is having a menu planning linky. I'm joining in.

I am a list maker. It's what I do. And I cannot even fathom going to the store without a menu plan and a list. I have a really, really good friend that does go without a menu plan and a list, and it boggles my mind. Although, part of me does appreciate that go with the flow attitude. Anyway, go with the flow isn't me so much.

Phoebe gave us the following questions:

How many weeks do you shop at a time? It has been one week at a time, but I'm trying to move it into two weeks at a time. Heathahlee is shaking her head right now. She shops two weeks at a time, and I am CONSTANTLY picking her brain over what she does to do that. I'm going to get it to two weeks if it kills me. And it probably will.

How do you keep track? A list on the fridge of what we run out of or are low on is always running. Then when I make my menu once a week (again, moving to two weeks), I write out what I need for those recipes.

How do you decide what to eat? Ummmmm. What sounds good. Really. I know some people shop around sales, and I should do that, but I don't. I do like to try and have, much to my family's "delight", one bean meal a week. I love beans, my family not so much. They'll learn to love them though :)

How does this help you? If I did not menu plan and make a list, I'd never have what we needed in the pantry on a consistent basis. Never.

So, that's it, and to me, it's pretty elementary. But for people like my non menu planning, non list making, good friend, maybe it's not?

Fish Allison

Fish Allison. That doesn't sound very appetizing - does it? Oh, but it is. This recipe is from one of my fav-o-rite cookbooks ever, and it comes from The Crown restaurant in Indianola, Mississippi. The official name of the recipe is Catfish Allison, and it calls for catfish. However we used it on tilapia last night. It was still really good. I really think you could do this with any fish. I may try it with salmon in the future.

Fish Allison
6-8 fish fillets - I only use the amount of fillets I need for my family (4) - and remember you can choose the fish :)
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
4 T. butter/margarine
6 T. mayonnaise
1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
generous dash of hot sauce
1/3 cup chopped onions

Mix the cheese, butter, mayo, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and onions. Poach fish in simmering water for 4-5 minutes. When finished poaching, place fillets on baking pan and cover with 3 T. of the cheese mixture. Broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese mixture is lightly brown.

My children aren't big fish eaters, but they like this. Also if you are using a smaller number of fillets you can cut back on the measurements for the mixture. See Gayle at Grocery Cart Challenge for more recipes :)

Remembering Beth

I rarely watch Extreme Make Over Home Edition, but last night I watched it. The new home was for a woman who had a child born prematurely which inspired her to take photographs, really nice artistic type photographs, for people who had preemies. She would spend the day with some people capturing some beautiful pictures of the parents and their child. The children may not always live. There was a mother they interviewed whose child only lived that one day. She talked about how important those pictures were to her because they were proof of that baby's life. They were a physical reminder for not just for the mother but also the world. I cried the whole hour I watched that show. The whole hour.

On Mother's Day 2003, I lost the baby in my womb at 6 months of pregnancy. Heathahlee and I were recently talking about my baby, Beth. I told her I learned that some people view loosing a baby at any point in pregnancy a "miscarriage". Some people will tell you really foolish things like "It was for the best." Some people will even dismiss your pain because the baby was never alive outside your womb. The world, most of my friends, and some family, have moved on. They never think about Beth. They never talk about Beth. But a mother's heart never, never forgets. And not only can my heart not forget, but I have a very special physical reminder in that I have pictures. I have photographs. They are photos done at the hospital...the type that they do with all newborns. I received them in the mail weeks after loosing Beth. The hospital was very tender in my loss. Unless the parent puts on a special outfit for the baby, most newborn photos are done in those "nice" hospital gowns. To my surprise when I received my pictures, the hospital had put Beth in a pretty little white smocked dress. They treated her with all the dignity and specialness that her little life deserved.

At my husband's request, I have not used my family's names on this blog but only our nicknames that we actually go by. But in this situation, I can give my third child's name. I am pleased to do so...

Elizabeth Reagan Stewart

May 2003