Thankful

As I woke this morning, I realized how blessed I am.  It's hard to take a step back from yourself and really examine the "normal" and "average" things we are blessed with.

 

I woke up in a country with clean running water, democracy, and freedom of speech.  This land is great, even when we are in a depression.  I'm not working, and we are getting by on the husband's small salary.. but we still have everything we need.  We still have food, shelter, entertainment, water, and the ability to do almost whatever we want.

 

Maybe our situation isn't as nice as other people's, but we're so blessed by what we do have.  I'm sitting in a comfortable easy chair at my computer, sipping Creme Brule flavored coffee, listening to the news behind me on one of our TV's.  This isn't the Ritz by any means, but God has blessed us with these things.

 

More importantly, He blessed me with His Holy Spirit, His Word, every bit of Him is available to anyone that wants it.  He blessed all of us with Him.  What more could you ask for?  Well, He then blessed me with the husband and his family.. God is good.

 

I think if you take a moment to think about what you've been blessed with, it will improve your whole attitude and mindset :)

 

Thank you for listening..

Green Apple Tea Rant

The question at hand: How hard is it to find one specific kind of tea?

The answer so far: Impossible.

Back in 2004 I was living with 2 girls in a great apartment in Nampa, ID.  Since we were all college students, we had various beverages LOADED with caffeine.  Soda, coffee and tea were everywhere and ripe for the taking.  I happened upon a jar of tea bags and started trying them.  One in particular caught my eye, and later tastebuds.  If memory serves correct it was Lipton Green Apple Tea.  Not like the Apple Tea that has cinnamon, but wondeful, juicy and sweet green apple.  It was a symphony for my taste buds, my mouth danced all over the cup.  I double used every one of those tea bags until the bags resembled mush.

Here's the problem: No one sells it.  For 5 years now I've been searching for the illusive Green Apple Tea.  I'm not even stuck on it being Lipton, I don't care who makes it.  I've vowed that once I find it, I will buy the store out of that tea.  Even searching online, all I get is "Apple flavored Green Tea," or "Apple Cinnamon Green Tea." 

I implore you, if you know of anyone that sells it, let me know.  My kingdom for a good cup of Green Tea!

Thanks for listening...

Stretching Martha Stewart

Friday is one of my favorite day in the whole week.  As it's payday for the husband, it's grocery day for me.  There is nothing sweeter than going isle by isle creating meals in my head in the hopes of pleasing him.  Today was especially nice, we were out of the house by 9am ~ attempting to beat the triple digit heat expected..  As I was walking up and down the isles at my local Walmart, I couldn't help wondering when groceries got so expensive!  When did a normal sized can of Cream of Mushroom Soup become $1.34?  I realize living in Idaho, our groceries are lower then most states due to our lower cost of living, but that is expensive soup!

This was a special trip with a few extra groceries on my list.  Monday is the husbands birthday and I'm planning an especially nice meal for him.  He's going to come home from work to intoxicating smells of homemade pot roast with all the wonderful little baby vegetables swimming and bumping into this juicy hunk of meat.  French bread loaded with all that unhealthy and delicious garlic butter, ready to throw into the oven while the meat rests.  Adding into this, some good Killian's Irish Red beer and a Double fudge chocolate cake {or pie, I haven't decided}.  What else can you ask for?

I realized today that I've started doing a trick that wives and mothers have been doing for centuries.  It's not complicated, but it becomes second nature to women who take care of the ones in their family, their loved ones.  It's also become instinctual when women have found themselves with more mouths to feed, and less money.  In times of economic depression, this trick really helps.  I've been stretching food.  Not stretching to the point of starving or depriving the husband of food he needs.  But stretching enough to make it last and have more meals for the buck.  All I need now is a kid on my hip and we'd be gravy.  I was putting away the groceries and in the back of my head I was thinking about what would go with what and how to make what we have really stretch.  Not thinking much about it, I separated a 5lb container of ground meat into 6 lumps.  I don't know why, but it made me happy when I realized what I did.  I guess after being with the husband for 5 years now, it still makes me smile when I find myself taking care of him and his home.

The one thing I need to learn right now, is how to make a good casserole with few ingredients.  I want to be the stereotypical mom who makes casseroles a couple times a week and they are delicous.  I think the joy of cooking is that you never stop learning and improving on the hobby.  I would like to be a good cook someday.  Not for fame, but for my family.  Selfishly, I want to be the kind of mom, that 20yrs after I'm gone, my children are still talking about a food that I made.  I want to be remembered for bringing the family together over a good meal.

Thanks for listening...

Reincarnation and Faith

I've been thinking a lot about what I believe, and what I wish was included into my religion.  It's not a deliberate thought, since what I believe in is whole and complete.  Just straying thoughts about what it would be like if some of the worlds religions were true in some sorts.

I definitely don't believe that when people die they are reincarnated.  It's a beautiful thought, that you live on in another form, giving you yet another chance to right the wrongs you've done in previous lives.  Even the thought of karma intrigues me.  Think about it, if you are a bad person in this life, the next life you might be a cockroach.  If I've lived an exemplary and selfless life, I might come back as a person and squash you.  They're beautiful thoughts that I wish I could believe, but I cannot.

I believe that when you die, you are taken to heaven.  You are then judged by God and then placed accordingly into one of two "places."  You either receive eternal life with your Lord and savior, or you are sent to eternal hell, forever cut off from God.  When I say heaven and hell, the images that come to mind aren't the same as what most people think.  I'm sure as I'm saying this, 1/2 the people are imagining white fluffy clouds and pudgy cherubs with wings floating by, as well as a fiery pit of lava with 1/2 naked demons poking people with pitchforks.  No offense to what people believe, but my mind races to something else.  My image of heaven {limited since we can't imagine heaven till we get there, and I hope to never go to hell}is a relaxed atmosphere {varies between a diner and a park} where I can baske in the power of my Lord.  Where I can finally know what I never knew on earth, things no one knew.  Where people are rewarded for being faithful by just being able to sit with Jesus and talk.  Hell is being without God, plain and simple.  Knowing fully that you were wrong and that you will never experience life with Him.  FOREVER.  Scary right?
 

*Interruption* Must finish making dinner for the husband.  Thanks for listening.