tina's snippets!

A recipe for you...

I thought I would share about a new challenge in my world...menu planning! More details on menu planning in another post.

While I am thinking about menu planning, naturally I am looking for a new recipe to try.

I found this one:

Banana Peanut Butter Dessert

1 stick margarine
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar

Mix the above ingredients together and press flat in an 8 x 8 pan.
Bake until brown.

3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
chocolate chips
2 bananas
1/2 cup peanut butter

Slice the bananas and place on the hot crust.  Put chocolate chips
between the banana slices.

Mix cornstarch and sugar; combine with milk.  Stir over medium heat
until thick. Remove from the heat, add the peanut butter and
vanilla.    Pour hot pudding over bananas.  The amounts of banana
slices, chocolate chips, and peanut butter can be adjusted to whatever
you like best.

How can that not be good for you? I need to add more bananas to my diet. The problem is that I can't touch them or sometimes eat them very well..my fingers will tingle and itch - my tongue will get itchy and swell...it has something to do with what's on the outside of bananas. Washing them helps greatly, but every once in a while - there's nothing that helps.

Oh and to make it weird - this has been since I was pregnant with Quinten. It never went away - strange what our body does eh?

Give it some thought..

I'm not sure how I got to this site - but I love it! Creativity Central

Honestly, I need to be taking a nap right now..but here my mind is wandering around the web looking for something to do.

I thought I would try one of their stretch-ercices to help stimulate some creative thinking. You can go to their downloads page and download a sheet. On the sheet there are categories on what area of creativity you would like to expand. I chose improvising. Not sure why, because I can naturally BS through anything but I thought this sounded good:
    Carry on an imaginary conversation between two items like a fishing lure and a fish; a bee and a flower etc..

So I chose a bed and a blanket. Here's my conversation I overheard...

Bed: hey, blankie, what do you think your larger purpose in life might be?

Blankie: oh beddie-boy - I have lived many adventures and I like a lot of them, why?

Bed: you seem to get around and I am always stuck in the same room, just wondering if you thougth there was anything more out there for me than being in this room.

Blankie: I hear you, but it's strange, I always come back to this room. Have you ever thought you might be so in the middle of the purpose for your life that it doesn't seem right for you? I mean, I may go out and fly through the air or wrap up a sick child, but I always come back here - it's good here.

Bed: You mean I don't have to leave here and go for a grand adventure to find my purpose..I don't have to live so FAR out of myself that i am lost and confused in order to find purpose and meaning?

Blankie: Nah, I think you are really close to your purpose. I think you are very grounded in who you are and are confident in your pupose. It's just that you're so close to it - you can't see it.

Bed: I never thought of it that way before. I guess because I am not glamorous like you, that my purpose seems boring.

Blankie: Are you kidding me? I may go to a lot of fancy places, but I don't have any say in where I go or what I do!! I am totally at the mercy of others - BUT YOU! Ahhh now you get to offer a place for people to rest and restore their souls every night and occasionally during the day. That's a big purpose for you to fulfill.

Bed: I feel proud of my purpose, thank you for your insight. I can rest on it.

Blankie: Yeah, I'm warm and fuzzy on the inside too! I'm glad we're soul mates!

Give it a try! Find a creative stretch for yourself.

Man that felt good!

Mood lights

This seems to be the theme of the blog this month..my adventures in procrastination!

I bought these dimmers for my bedroom and living room lights. I really don't like a lot of light at night. I really relax in a low lit room at the end of the day. Both of these rooms have ceiling fans with light fixtures as the main lights. They are so BRIGHT that I hardly turned them on even if I need light during the day.

Naturally, a dimmer is the solution! I bought the dimmers almost a year ago. They promptly went into some junk pile and were quickly forgotten. yet, I would remember them each time I turned on the light switch and said 'D***"

Larry is not a handy man. He hates manual labor. Now he will do stuff, but really does not like it at all! What's crazy is that he knows how to do all this stuff because his older brothers would torture him as a young boy and have him hold the light while they tinkered on everything. Me - I like any handy project as long as it doesn't involve sawdust. I hate woodworking..I am not a carpenter! I can do it, but mine goes back  to growing up in sawdust as well. So as a couple and me personally, you can see why I would procrastinate when I think of ALL that has to be 'handy-womaned' around here!!!

To make it even funnier...

Larry really hates electrical stuff. I like it because of the thrill of potentially being electocuted..you know the danger factor - not a joy of shock therapy!!!  Early in our marriage, I wanted a ceiling fan bad..so I got one for my birthday. It sat in the box for months!!! Larry did not want to do it. So .. up I went with a screwdriver and barely remembering circuitry from science class. I assembled and hardwired that fan in...it WORKED! But, you couldn't turn the fan off high. If you turned on the light, you got the fan on high as well.

You can imagine his anxiety when he called on his way home from work and asks..what are you doing?

'Well, I am playing with electricity,'

'I'm on the way home.'

AND IT WORKED PERFECTLY!!!

Ta-da!!!

All night I couldn't wait to get to the bedroom light!!

Finally, after being impressed with the effect of the new light in the LR -
DH sneaked off to the bedroom...

and you know what he installed...

end of the story!

Christmas in Spring!

Suprise! Merry Christmas to mommy!

While I was de-cluttering the zone #2 a few days ago I found a present for me.

It was a present Rebekah had made at school for me. At first, I saw it I remembered that her & I decided to set it up so that it wouldn't get crushed in all the presents during Christmas. I set it on the bookshelf and soon it was hidden from both of us.

Of course, I felt horribly guilty. And immediately called myself a failure as a mother and was getting ready to call in for the Parenting Police to revoke my license....

Well - OK - you can do that OR you can stinkin' CELEBRATE the sweetness behind this gift!

I was so moved when I opened up the gift. The antlers were a tracing of her hands. I will always have her hands at age 9...and a bookmark that has my online ID - queenbusick on it. Of course the card was full of hearts and I love you's...why would I give that up for a crap load of FALSE guilt?

No way...this was a treasure from my girl's heart of love and I got the gift! I will cherish it!

Cherish your day!

It's so true!!!

Some of you may know that this semester I am leading the Captivating study at Woodcrest. Captivating is all about the feminine heart and how God created it to be. Such a freeing book!

This week we were talking about Arousing Adam (ie men). That women are so designed to arouse men to be all that they can be! As a woman, there is nothing more enjoyable for me. Keep in mind that yes - it is sexual in a marriage context, but even in everyday relationships with males - a feminine heart that is truly alive can't resist doing this naturally!

I believe that this is one part of my heart that is pure and so right on track. I love men. I love their strength. I love it when they save the day for other women and their daughters. Men are just powerful creatures and I get crazy cheerleader thing going on that says

"YES!! YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES!!"

John Elderidge writes that it's this simple:

"Need him. And believe in him."

This is chapter was played out today for me by 2 preschoolers:


Liam and Quinten are a team!
Soon after Liam arrived it became a guy fest in this house.

They were talking tough. Playing guns & shooting each other with their Buzz Lightyear lasers.

Right before I snapped this picture they were both busy flexing their muscles for me. One would pose this way & say something in a deep voice (couldn't tell you what was said - but it was tough!) Each time I admired their display of strength it would encourage them to do more!

Even at a preschool level - they are real men. As soon as a girl (ok I know I am MOM), noticed their stuff and applauded their strength. They wanted to show more!

And what was even more fun...the more they got into showing me their strength..the more I got into telling them how masculine I thought they were! My heart was alive and with them in this game of life!

Now gals, I will have to go on to tell you, that this worked on my big guy as well. Last night, Larry was standing at the hallway, leaning with his arm up above his head and talking to me. I was listening to what he was saying..my attention was distracted that whenever he moved his arms, I could see the muscles ripple in his forearms A LOT! I kept him talking for a minute or two longer and he was picking up on the fact I was elsewhere...so I just said,

"You really are strong. I am watching your muscles and I love it."

I walk over and snuggle up for a hug & kiss. He's puffed up and proud of it and you know what happened next...I got a little more show!!

And that felt really good!

Clutter Zone #2

Before:

After:

So I start my fabulous little Clutter Zone #2 project. Larry walks by and says

'What's wrong with you? Are you drunk?'

Yep - that's the punchline!

Here are the results..got a whole bag of trash off this shelf, a bag of books to donate and McDonald's paperwork removed.

Felt good.

Now only if I would quit procrastinating on the big dog project!

CIAO!

Movin' Fast

Daily Takes - 4/10-4/15

Somehow this week I am racing!

I have a huge daily fast schedule that is filled each day. Somehow I managed to be gone every night this week or a good part of the day.

I am running so fast that I am literally 3 days ahead of myself and I am pleasantly suprised to find out the real date.

I woke up this morning thinking it was Friday. That I would be going to St Louis this morning...and it's Wednesday - I got other places to be.
OK - but some of this is a lot of fun and work. I am not complaining becuase tonight is - BLUE MAN GROUP! We are taking R to see the BMG for the first time. Larry saw them in Vegas & I saw them in Chicago. So, we are finally getting to see a show together!

Off to do something - hmmm maybe the dishes???

plucked through a book...

I've been running all day. Did the HR Block gig - bored had ZERO customers...pull my  toenails out..hate being bored like that...rushed to get the DS from my friends ... rushed to get home and study a few minutes before my class tonight...got dishes done..DD walks in the door..off to dance for pictures i.e. full make-up and all the costumes too...study a few more minutes..leave for class...visit with co-leader until 10:00 pm...stop at McDonald's..see my DH for a few minutes...wired and can't sleep..have to be at a meeting at 9:00 am!

Class was great tonight. I read a great little book today while doing NOTHIN' at work. 'How to keep a Spiritual Journal' by Ronald Klug (I think that's the first name). I was pretty inspired by this little book. I am pretty leary of anyone telling me 'how to be spiritual' because it usually involves a big to-do list and I am a failure in about 20 minutes. But, this guy approached it all from creativity and writing. So - who knows - it may appear here on the blog, but it inspired me to get out the paper and write down those deep internal emotions that swirl around inside me all the time...

I will leave you with my daily take from Sat..just becuase we are such darn cute girls - Rebekah & I:

MOI

Hunting...

How many egg hunts did you have this weekend?

As I am writing this I  think we are at - best guess 6!

We had a pretty crappy beginning to our Easter. This is my first easter in 8 years where I haven't been working and at church all weekend - so I had some pretty high expectations to celebrate the day meaningfully.

Last night, Larry & I went out on a date! We went to a adult arcade and played my fave virtual boxing game. Man I love that game. I feel so good after playing that thing! Larry laughs his head off at me because I get into 'it'. Whenever, I play I usually can draw a crowd.

I imagine it entertaining to watch. But, as I am going round after round more guys will start coming over to cheer me on. In the past, at Dave & Busters when there were two of these machines side by side - they would start betting who would beat the machine...What's funny is - I am wearing pink everytime I play this thing..not intentionally, but to hear bets being placed on the girl in pink to kick a** is hysterical!

We had some fun there and headed to the movie theater. We saw 'Wild Hogs'. WOW - haven't laughed that hard in a long time. If you are approaching mid-life manhood this is the film for you!

Again, as I loop around the story...back to Easter.

We got home and I took some sleeping pills last night because I haven't been sleeping well. Nothing new, I go through spurts where I don't sleep and I don't respond well to sleep deprivation AT ALL! This morning, I was so groggy that I could not wake up. I tried.

DH was motivating the rest of house to get ready for early church so we could have the rest of the day to ourselves. That was the original plan. But all of us were just too tired to get moving. You can imagine the yelling, grumpy and all around bad attitudes flying around. DH didn't feel respected. R had morning grump going on, Q had well Q busy body into everything going on and I was dragging. I finally was able to get upright around 8:00 am - we had to leave at 8:30 to get there in time. So - YUP - no shower for me. I was super grumpy and dizzy!

Why can't we just go to the late service? Change the plans!!! But, he would not be swayed. You can imagine how much I was not in a worshipful mood. Then, to make matters worse, I had no caffeine until I got to church and grabbed some coffee. As I was walking through the lobby, of course, everyone had to exclaim 'haven't seen you in so long!' in super Easter cheery voices. I am still in morning GRUMP - I just wanted coffee and my seat to wake up in...please don't talk to me...then I kept getting compliments on my hair! WOW really? Hmmm I shouldn't shower more often and just keep the insane bed head thing more often! Luckily, I can do make-up well..so no one knew how FAKE I was feeling.

Coffee and a seat. Ahhhhhhhh

The service was wonderful. It pushed me into worship and by the end I was able to worship with a whole heart. It was good.

As we were driving home, I look at DH and say 'how about Easter brunch?' The night before we had joked about who goes out for 'brunch'? apparently a lot of people do! I guess they are like me - I was not doing dishes and getting all the aspects of meal planning going on today. We had a pleasant time brunching and came home for the big hunt!

The kids were in great spirits and very fun! We had a great afternoon as a family complete with a two hour nap....

mmmmmm so good... need more coffee.....

Squishy & Turtle

 Squishy & Turtle & National Treasure?

This sounds interesting!

Friday night we all just needed the unwind factor. You know - sit on the couch - eat pizza and watch a movie. There hasn't been much grabbing our attention to watch as a family lately. With a 9 year old who understands everything - anything with the slightest amount of too much adult content is just inapporpriate for her.

As we were cooking pizza (yes the homemade kind - it was yummy!), Larry made a comment about how we should make a national treasure letterbox series. GREAT IDEA! We were brainstorming about it and he realized he borrowed it from his brother. Let's watch it!

What I love about this movie is all the historical places this film was shot in. I have always wanted to go to DC & Boston. Go to all the early American historical sights. I love early American history. Rebekah is just beginning to discover this for herself and I am loving watching it bloom. But, Rebekah does not like history, does not see the point in all these stupid facts - can't blame her and she's not wired to learn from the past - her mommy is, but not her.

She was completely immersed in this film. She loved the historical sights and they mystery with it. She loves mysteries and solving them - remember I said she's a trouble shooter? LOL

Didn't you enjoy all that to find out what squishy & turtle are?

As the movie went on we all ended up on the couch together. This is also something we did together before Quinten came along..and Quinten was in bed at this point - so it was just the 3 of us. Can you tell I am missing those days? Sighhhhh..... I was stretched out, she was on top of me and Larry was at the end holding our legs under the blankie. Ahhhh a perfect night!

After the movie, we were just sitting around and Rebekah announces 'You're Squishy!'

Now she has told me she loves to snuggle me because I am soft - so I am not offended. When I was pregnant she hated it because I wasn't soft!

So she grabs my neck and says 'You're my Squishy!'

Larry & I start laughing! She keeps saying it so cute!

Then she looks at Larry and says 'You're a turtle!'

I really started laughing! Larry was laughing too. She was just so thrilled to have us laughing she kept being silly about Squishy & Turtle! So we called her Stick because her legs and arms are so skinny and solid from dance - she's just a tough little stick.

As soon as she woke up the next morning she grabs me. climbs onto my lap and says...

SQUISHY!

Now I have to come up with some artwork to illustrate our family 'Squishy, Turtle, Stick & Ball (this is Quinten)'

What a tribe!