Hair-brained

I do not consider myself to be a vain person when it comes to my hair. I usually cut- yes, cut- and color it myself and have never been too shocked or disappointed with the results. 

Until now.

This is the box of hair color I bought recently. I have tried the foam before with positive results. If you cannot read the box, the color is "Medium Ash Brown".

The color is new for me, as I wanted to go a little darker than usual. Truthfully, in my pre-color life I had darkish brown hair, though it has not been seen since I tried to color my hair with the Sun-In in a box and it turned orange. That was in 8th grade. My hair has seen a lot of colors since then, but never this:

 

Can you see it? It's black, yep BLACK!!!

Okay...I'm sharing this photo so you can see the magnitude of my hair disaster:

Even this picture doesn't capture just how black it is. My husband has black hair and mine is now darker than his. HELP!

Does this mean I have to pencil my eyebrows black, too?!?

I Believe I Can Fly

So be strong and courageous!

Do not be afraid and do not panic before them.

For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you.

He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

-Deuteronomy 31:6

These Few Simple Words

I'm just going to share a few quotes I pinned to my Pinterest board, "Worthy Words" recently. You can check out all my boards by clicking on the Pinterest link at the lower left corner of my blog. I hope they make you smile, like I did...and that some of these ring true for you...they sure did for me!

My Daughter is a Teenager

Recently, my daughter celebrated a birthday. She turned 13. It was a very fun time in our house, slumber party, family celebration, jokes about PG-13 movies she could now legally see (definitely only joking!), and most importantly, realizing that while she is now 13, she has "decided" not to fall into the sterotype we call "a teenager". Go Rachel.

My daughter is breaking the mold in many ways, and I am proud of her. The choices she is already making show a commitment to Godly living and a decision for Christ that I did not have at her age. I think I can safely say that many kids her age now do not share her views on modesty and purity, but she is determined to stand for her choices and I am determined to encourage and support her.

I decided last year that it was time to stop being in denial about how old my kids were getting and just embrace each age. I'm doing pretty well with that philosophy, except when I break out the baby pictures. I mean, just look at this kid! It really does feel like I blinked and she went from this:

To this:

But, I guess if she has to grow up, I'm glad she's growing in the direction she is. We trust our kids to the God who entrusts us to raise them. We teach them about Him, and His boundless love for us. We pray for our kids, play with our kids, walk and talk with them through all of life's challenges and gifts. And one day, we let them go. I know that day is coming...but not yet, thank goodness! I am happy she is 13, only 13. I love her and am trying to enjoy this time with her so I do not blink and find we have already reached another milestone.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 1:4

Apricot Jam

I had my first experience making jam the other day. A friend gave me some apricots from her tree, and while I would never put a plain apricot in my mouth, I am in love with apricot jam.

I followed this recipe from Little Green Cottage Designs, Best Apricot Jam Recipe, modifying it for the amount of apricots I had on hand. Here is my modified version:

26-28 apricots washed and cut in quarters

6 cups sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Place the apricots in a large pot or saucepan with a scant 1/2 cup of water and 2 cups of the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Turn heat to high and boil the apricots until they are soft and then add the remainder of the sugar and the lemon juice.

Boil over low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Let cool slightly in the pot, then fill jars, cool and store in the refrigerator. I used half-pint canning jars, but did not use any preservative methods, so this jam should be eaten within a month.

The jam will thicken when it is cool.

I was able to fill six half-pint canning jars.

This jam is so delicious on toast, waffles, ice cream, bagels...ohhh, the possibilities!

A Spice Salute

This is a shameless plug for one of my favorite products, 21 Seasoning Salute, from Trader Joe's.

I always have a jar of this in my kitchen. I use it in my roasted carrots and to season chicken, whether it's in the pan or the pot. I've also added it to rice, soups, other veggies, and we use it as a better alternative to season Top Ramen.

It contains spices that you'd expect like onion, garlic, basil, rosemary...and some maybe you wouldn't, like orange peel, carrot, cumin, cayenne, and oil of lemon. What it doesn't contain is salt!

Here's my simple, yet delicious recipe for Roasted Carrots:

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Now, you can mix everything up in a bowl like you should, or be lazy like me, and mix it all on the baking sheet. =)

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 425.

Mix together baby carrots (enough to serve your group) and oil (olive, canola, or grapeseed)- enough to coat the carrots. You want to coat them, but not drown them!

Sprinkle coated carrots with coarse salt and the 21 Seasoning Salute and stir to mix.

Set your rack one level up from the middle and roast carrots for at least 20 minutes or until done. Check and stir along the way. They should be tender and look roasted...you can do this! These are yum-O!

Just one of the many products I love from Trader Joe's. And no, I don't work there (how fun would that be!!!) I just enjoy shopping there! Don't even get me started on their cornbread...

Let Freedom Ring!

Here's hoping you all had a fun and safe 4th of July! We had a great time with friends, bbq'ing at our house, relaxing, kids in the pool, eating waaay too much (yes!), and seeing some fireworks.

I am so thankful to live in a country where I can speak my mind (as cracked as it may be sometimes), pursue my dreams, live in freedom and worship God without fear.

And it is because of Christ's work on the cross that we have true freedom, a freedom that cannot be taken away by any person, group or government. Thank you, Jesus!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.    -Galatians 5:1

Grace is Nine

Ahh, my youngest is nine today. I cannot be in denial, I don't want to be, except that I can no longer pick her up. She can practically pick me up. That part just plain stinks!

To Grace: You bring so much to my life - laughter, drama, bugs (ugh!), brains (you're welcome!), energy, a stubborn streak, and our shared love of math, just for starters. I am so in love with you, darlin', and blessed to be your mommy!

Getting her ears pierced

   

 With her birthday present 

  

Grace Loves Tomatoes (aka the Instagram Demo)

 The other day, I was randomly snapping photos with my iPhone of my daughter, Grace with some tomatoes on a cutting board. (Don't ask!)...Anyway, she loves tomatoes and loves the camera, so we had fun with it. Then, by chance, I found out about an app for iPhones called Instagram. You can apply any of about a dozen different filters to your photograph. Then you can share it through email, Facebook, or followers on Instagram, etc. It's a free app (the best kind), and I have to admit, I am hooked!

See for yourself with "Grace and the Tomatoes":

  

two different filters applied

to the same photograph for comparison

Fun stuff! Look out world...as Paul Simon would say...I got an iPhone camera, love to take a photograph! Oh, wait...he said Nikon camera. Well, goodbye Kodachrome, hello Instagram!

Parenting 001

This article by Kevin DeYoung is so good, I had to link it to my blog. I want to read it over and over again. You should read it, too. It's a (very) funny, fresh, and freeing viewpoint on parenting. (Click on the link below)

Parenting 001

Rachel...This One's For You

My darling Rachel,
   Please forgive me for being so very late in saying "Happy 12th Birthday" to you on my blog. I hope this little video makes you feel better. I love you, Lu! You are precious to me!

Easy and Cheap Recipes

Here are a couple of recipes I've discovered recently. These are all easy to prepare, cheap, and actually liked by every member of my family. They also use ingredients that with the exception of a couple, are staples in my kitchen.


"Maple" Syrup
I really like this maple syrup recipe, not just because it costs less than what I can buy at the store. We tend to go through a lot of the stuff thanks to our affinity for crepes, waffles, pancakes...you get it. This recipe is made without corn syrup, and in my opinion, tastes really good! It does need to be refrigerated, but can be warmed up as needed.


1 3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
1/2+ tsp. vanilla (I always like MORE vanilla!)
1/2 tsp. maple flavoring


Combine sugars and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the stove, but allow the saucepan to remain on the burner for several minutes, stirring occasionally (make sure the sugars are completely dissolved).
Remove from burner and allow to cool a little, then add the vanilla and maple flavoring, stirring well. Cool completely before pouring into container (I use a store-brand syrup bottle!)




Cake Mix Cookies
This is another super easy recipe, and a great way to use up that cake mix that is just sitting in the pantry, or those leftover nuts from another recipe (or the half-eaten bag of chocolate chips...because your family thinks your pantry is a snack bar). You could also just buy a box of cake mix, such as German Chocolate Cake (yum!), since on sale or with a coupon you can usually get them for around $1 per box.


1 box of cake mix (any flavor)
2 eggs (better if you have Piper Crazy Chicken Farm eggs!)
1/2 cup oil
Optional ingredients: nuts, chocolate chips, m&m's, coconut, etc.
Optional: Flavoring such as vanilla, orange, etc. if you are using a white cake mix.


Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. I did this by hand with my strong arm (cough, cough) and a wooden spoon.
Drop by spoonfuls or cookie scoop onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until done. Let cool slightly on cookie sheet before removing to a wire rack. Or just eat them as you are taking them off the cookie sheets!!!
If you manage to not eat them all at once, you can frost them or make ice cream sandwiches with them.


I saw a variation to this recipe where one egg, 1/4 cup oil, and 1/4 cup water was used instead of what I listed above. I have not tried this variation, but am curious to know how they differ. I wonder if the cookies come out flatter...they are probably a little healthier with the smaller quantity of oil. All in all, not a big difference, so you can choose.


I think I need to go make some cookies now!

The Swim Princess turns Eight...and Mommy makes a Pool Cake!

My second baby had a birthday last Saturday. She turned eight...thankfully not fourteen! We let her open her family presents in the morning, because patience is still a hard-fought-for virtue in this house...and hey, that's just what we do!

My thanks was a kiss from the dog! (not really)

Actually, Grace wouldn't stop thanking her daddy & I for her presents...it was so sweet!

Then it was on to Grace's pool party, which she had been talking about non-stop fuh-evah! Which means that I had been cleaning and improving our home a little too much (can you say *cough* frustrated perfectionist *cough*) Well, I am much improved from my previous self...

So, the house was clean, except for the nasty, hairy cat chair (doesn't something always get missed?) and the kids arrived, and it was a wonderful party. The weather was windy and a little on the cool side, but the kids had fun getting in the pool, squealing about how cold it was, getting out of the pool, jumping on the trampoline, and then getting back in the pool. I edited the other kids out of the pictures to protect their privacy, but really, they were there! =)

The fun part for me, with a little anxiety thrown in for kicks, was making the cake. We decided to make a pool cake to fit the theme of her party. At first, I was just going to frost it blue and call it done. Then while looking for party ideas, I saw a picture of a pool cake with, of all things, blue Jell-O! Why not? So I made the cake, and we made cupcakes, too, because I had made this cute three tiered cupcake stand, so we had to have cupcakes to put on it! Rachel frosted and decorated the cupcakes (which came out super-cute...she even put bathing suits and sunglasses on the teddy grahams!) and I worked on the cake, which was not without it's disasters. Poor Craig got an earful the night before the party and I had to apologize to him later. But by the grace of God and the miracle of frosting, it all came together, and yes, I did get that Jell-O to become a pool. The 8 year olds were impressed, my 8 year old was impressed, and that's all that mattered to me!

What could make a day like that any better? Going out to dinner...to one of Grace's favorite places, "Good Times." In fact, we went there for her birthday dinner last year. It looks like a 50's diner, with lots of movie memorabilia and "I Love Lucy" episodes playing on the TV. The food is fantastic, too. We always have a good time when we go there (oh, sorry about the pun)!

So, that's Grace's birthday. She is eight now. Oh, how the years go by!

I love you, Boo!

I started it...she finished me

Me to Grace: "Just to let you know, you cannot turn eight this weekend. I forbid it. Seven is a nice number."


Grace to Me: "I could turn fourteen."

Our Garden of Promise

We have a garden again this year. I'm very excited. Last year, we planted a garden in the only spot our one acre will allow us to...a sloping plot of ground towards the front of our property. The garden did okay for a first effort, but this year, Farmer Beloved & I were determined to do better!


We borrowed our neighbor/friend's rototiller, and Farmer B got to work. Truth is, the work was hard, but I think he had fun with that rototiller! Then we, I mean he, surrounded the garden with chicken wire to keep out the wild rabbits that hang around here. They'll not be free-mealing off my veggies!


Here's Gardener Grace and Gardener Rachel helping plant the seeds.

Before long, Grace disappeared, and it was the three of us planting.

So far, we've planted tomatoes, green peppers, basil, carrots, red and yellow onions, radishes, garlic, green onions, potatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, green beans, corn, and an artichoke plant (we're told they do very well here). Later in the year, when the weather cools, we have lettuce and other seeds still to plant after we harvest what's in the garden now.

My favorite time is the very first veggie that is harvested to be eaten. It always tastes the best! Isn't it wonderful that even with our average gardening skills (well, I will say that Farmer B is awesome at most things), and soil that is nothing to brag about, yet God still blesses our efforts with these amazing vegetables, providing us with food from our own garden, that we for a season, don't have to go out and buy. I'm even thinking of learning how to can and store the excess so we can use it later on...isn't that a kick? 

Here's myself and Farmer Beloved after working hard in the garden (you can guess who worked harder!)

Don't you love our hats? Sooo stylish, and they protect our heads from burning. I wear mine every time I go outside now...I just wish I could keep it from blowing off my head when the wind picks up!

Oh, and for those of you that think you need a big space to garden, container gardening is the "in" thing to do right now. So go buy yourself a couple of large, cheap teracotta pots, throw some mixed seeds or plants in there...you could even have a themed pot, like a pizza pot or herb pot...and get gardening!