Some Yummy Recipes

I just wanted to share with you what we had for our Memorial Day cook-out, because it was all just so scrumptious!





First of all, my sweet hubby loves baked beans made this way:





*brown 1 lb. of hamburger along with diced onions and green peppers (this was the first time I used frozen pre-diced onions and gr. peppers and it made the prep time SO much quicker and easier, and it tasted delicious). Drain.





*Add this (in a casserole dish) to 2-3 cans of baked beans, approx. 5 TBSP sugar, and approx. 1-1 1/2 c. of ketchup. Mix well.





*Top with strips of uncooked bacon. Generously sprinkle bacon with pepper.





*Cook at 425 degrees for approx. 1 hour.








With the baked beans we also had potatoes and onions:





*Peel and slice potatoes (long-ways) and place in casserole dish.





*Slice onion into several 'rings' and add to potatoes.





*Use 1-2 sticks of butter, slicing into 'pats' and laying all around potatoes.





*Sprinkle top with pepper.





*Cook at 400 degrees for approx. 1 hour.








Our grilled meat for this holiday was pork chops:





*Mix 1-2 cans of crushed pineapple w/ juice, 3/4 c. BBQ sauce, and 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon.





*Brush glaze over pork chops continuously as you flip them on the grill. This made the pork chops SO yummy!

I just wanted to share with you what we had for our Memorial Day cook-out, because it was all just so scrumptious!





First of all, my sweet hubby loves baked beans made this way:





*brown 1 lb. of hamburger along with diced onions and green peppers (this was the first time I used frozen pre-diced onions and gr. peppers and it made the prep time SO much quicker and easier, and it tasted delicious). Drain.





*Add this (in a casserole dish) to 2-3 cans of baked beans, approx. 5 TBSP sugar, and approx. 1-1 1/2 c. of ketchup. Mix well.





*Top with strips of uncooked bacon. Generously sprinkle bacon with pepper.





*Cook at 425 degrees for approx. 1 hour.







With the baked beans we also had potatoes and onions:





*Peel and slice potatoes (long-ways) and place in casserole dish.





*Slice onion into several 'rings' and add to potatoes.





*Use 1-2 sticks of butter, slicing into 'pats' and laying all around potatoes.





*Sprinkle top with pepper.





*Cook at 400 degrees for approx. 1 hour.







Our grilled meat for this holiday was pork chops:





*Mix 1-2 cans of crushed pineapple w/ juice, 3/4 c. BBQ sauce, and 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon.





*Brush glaze over pork chops continuously as you flip them on the grill. This made the pork chops SO yummy!

Ziploc Omlet Recipe

Here's a really cool recipe that even kids can do! Or, if you have guests for breakfast, why not get them involved in a fun breakfast treat? While I wish I could take the credit for coming up with such a neat idea, I got this from Robin on the Five In A Row message boards. Thanks Robin!





ZIPLOC OMELET





If more than one person is making an omlet have everyone write their name on a quart-size Ziploc freezer bag with permanent marker.




Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into the bag (not more than 2) shake to
combine them.




Put out a variety of ingredients such as: cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper,
tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc.





Each person adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shake. Make
sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up.





Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can
usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. For more, make another pot of
boiling water.





Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed! Nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffee cake.

What Exactly Does 'Being Healthy' Mean?

There's so much talk about becoming more healthy. But what exactly does 'being healthy' mean?





For the past several years, being healthy to me meant losing the extra weight I've been carrying around. But the older I get and the more I think about things I find myself researching and changing my thinking on so many different things I never even gave thought to before.





Yes, I do need to get rid of this extra weight. But before now I've been willing to take different things in order to help me get thin faster. Now, I'm not too keen on that idea. Who really knows what that stuff does to a person's body. If you are putting something in your body to change how it works (when there really isn't a sickness present) simply because you're impatient and not willing to put in the effort to change your eating habits and get in some daily exercise, then in the end you are no healthier than when you started.





But aside from me needing to lose weight, my husband is a very high candidate for heart disease. Both sides of his family have had significant heart issues and, like me, he also has some extra weight to get rid of. But besides getting in better shape, what else can we be doing to help ensure his heart stays healthy?





What is going to help our bodies function the way God intended them? What's going to help keep our minds sharp and our immune systems working strong? What's going to help ward off many of the diseases and health problems that are so common today?





I know that our lives are in God's hands and that ultimately only He knows when our time to die will come. But I also believe He gave us a brain and common sense to take care of ourselves and those we love. I feel it is my duty and responsibility to do what I can to find what is best for the health of my family.





So as I research and learn new things, I will post them here under the catagory 'Becoming A Healthy Mommy' so you can also learn how to best take care of yourself and your family. I don't claim that everything I find will be the gospel truth, but things that I think are worth looking into, I will share.





And if you're wondering where this thinking has come from all of a sudden, we have a friend who is a very young mother of a 7-year-old and 10-month-old who was just diagnosed out of the blue with stage IV melanoma cancer and given only 4-9 months to live. I had been looking into some things before, but now I am even more determined than ever to learn about what's best and healthiest for our bodies.

Wisconsin Parents Mad About School S*x Survey

NOTE: I have replaced some letters in the following story with *'s so my blog will not come up if someone searches for websites containing those particular words.





A questionnaire given to about 400 Port Washington, Wis., High School students about s*xual preference has prompted some parents to demand corrective measures from school officials, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.





The survey, approved by two teachers but never reviewed by the principal, asked questions such as, "If you have never slept with someone of your same gender, then how do you know you wouldn't prefer it?"





The assignment was intended to accompany the h*m*s*xual-activist sponsored "Day of Silence," when g*y and l*sb**n students bring attention to their s*xual orientation under the guise of eliminating discrimination.





Principal Duane Woelfel called the survey inappropriate and said it violated school policy, which requires parental notification for such topics.





"We were extremely concerned when we found out about it," he said. "We're going to make sure that it doesn't happen again."





The incident is still under investigation, though, and officials have yet to decide if the two teachers will be disciplined.





Lisa Krier, a parent of a Port Washington High student, called the survey a form of s*xual harassment and said she expects the teachers who are responsible to be punished.





"If somebody doesn't call them on it," she said, "it will continue."

What's In Season?

Two weeks ago I started attending Weight Watchers again. Back in 1997 I lost all of my extra weight (36 pounds) and was back to the weight I was all through high school and when I got married. However, soon after that I became pregnant with baby #2. Then baby #3. Then baby #4. Are you seeing a pattern here? If you want to get pregnant, go to Weight Watchers!





Anyway, our 'baby' is now almost 4 1/2 and I'm finding that I just simply can not use the excuse, 'I just had a baby' anymore. After reaching my highest weight ever, I knew that I had to go back to the only thing that has ever worked for me. I've tried it all... low-carb, different diet pills, etc. But until I make up my mind that I'm going to change how I live my life, none of it's going to work.





That's what is so wonderful about Weight Watchers. It's not a diet. It's a way of life. They teach and stress portion control and daily exercise. What a concept! If you don't change the way you're living your daily life, no matter what you do to lose weight, you're not going to be successful.





Some people can follow the WW plan at home without ever having to go to a meeting. Some use the WW e-tools and find great success with that. I, however, have never been able to be successful for any amount of time without going to the weekly meetings. I guess the support and encouragement, along with recipe ideas and other ideas, is what really motivates me to keep going on this journey. The group I am now a part of even has their own email loop going so we can support and encourage each other all through the week too! That has been a tremendous help.





Anyway, I know there are so many of us that need to 'remove' extra weight. I say 'remove' because if you 'lose' something you usually re-find it at some point. I do NOT want to re-find this weight again! I want it GONE FOR GOOD, so, I am 'removing' it.





Each week I will blog about some things I am learning through WW and about recipes or good finds that will assist us on this journey. I hope this will help many of us who are working at being healthy, strong momma's. Remember, our children will do what they see us do, and they will fight some of the same battles we fight if we don't get victory over them. This is one battle I hope my children never have to fight.





So, real quick, what's in season right now? What does the changing season bring us? Fresh fruits and veggies? Grilling? Ice cream? Swimsuits and less bulky clothes? Sometimes summer means we are less likely to take the time to plan our days and our meals. There are a lot of gatherings with family and friends, vacations, and summer-time treats that can sabotage our weight-loss efforts. But if we are not careful, we will enter the fall season in even worse shape than we are right now.





Summer is the perfect time to boost our weight loss efforts. There are all kinds of oppotunities to get outside and walk, work in gardens, play with our children, ride bikes, hike, swim, and so many, many other things. Exercise doesn't have to be a chore. Make it fun! Do something you really enjoy doing.





Also, there are so many delicious fruits and vegetables we can choose from during the summer. Grilling doesn't have to hinder us. Instead of grilling greasy burgers, how about chicken or corn on the cob or even potatoes. There are so many options.





So, we can either look at summer and think, 'Oh no', or we can think of all the advantages summer brings us and really make the most of it!

The Problem With Expectations

With Mother's Day so recently behind us I thought it would be a good time to talk about expectations. It seems so often we are hurt because someone didn't do what we thought they should or hoped that they would.

The saying about those we love are the ones who hurt us the worst is true. But have you ever stopped to think about WHY this is true? Could it possibly be because when someone we love doesn't do what we think they should, it hurts. When they talk about us behind our backs, it hurts. But when someone we don't really know or care about does it, we either get mad or just really don't even care. When someone we love doesn't agree with something we're doing, it hurts. Again, when it's someone we only know as an aquaintance, who cares what they think, right? I have found this to be very true when it comes to our decision to homeschool. Knowing our own family members don't agree with us hurts because we feel like they're not taking the time or they don't care enough to listen and understand us and it hurts. But when the cashier at Wal-Mart spews her little snide remard about how unsocialized our children will be, I really could care less. It's none of her business anyway.

So when certain holidays come around, we automatically set ourselves up for disappointment and hurt. Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas. These are days when people we love, or that love us, are SUPPOSED to do things for us and buy us nice gifts, right? Says who?! Let me ask you a question. Just who is it that made the rule that says we're supposed to go out and spend money on these particular days of the year, sometimes money we don't even have to spend, on other people just to prove that we love them? And if we don't, we're eat up with guilt, either self-inflicted or poured on us by others.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the occasional well-thought gift and special treatment. But I don't expect it. That only sets myself up for hurt and disappointment. What means more to me than having one day out of the year where I'm shown love is the million other little things throughout the year that my family does to show me how much they care for me. The hand-drawn pictures and cards from my children. The bushes my sweet hubby cut down for me because he knew how much I hated them. The bagel my precious 7 year old son made for me. The candle my mother in law gave me out of her Home Interior order because she knows how much I love them. The books my mom finds at yard sales she thinks I'll enjoy.

Those are the true expressions of love. Sometimes I get so frustrated with the world's view of what we 'should' do and the guilt that comes if we don't do what everyone else does or expects us to do. How ridiculous.

Listen, as long as we're in this world, people are going to hurt us. That's just part of being human. And you know what? They usually really don't mean to hurt us. But they're only human too, and those things are going to happen. Have you ever stopped to think about the times that maybe we unintentionally hurt or disappointed others? See, that's the thing most people aren't willing to do. It's much harder to look in the mirror than it is to point our finger. But that's exactly what we need to do.

As long as we're in this world the ONLY one that will never hurt us or do us any harm is our precious Lord and Saviour, Jesus. And until we begin to let go of our expectations of others and begin to trust only in Him, we will continue to be hurt and disappointed over and over. And in my opinion, it's just not worth it. What a waste of time to get hurt at others when they're only human.

Are some people selfish and thoughtless? Yes, they certainly are. Should we take the time and effort to show those we love how we feel about them? Absolutely! But we're not going to change anyone by getting hurt and pouting. That only hurts US. That robs us of our joy and peace. How sad for those who are so self-centered that they don't even see how they hurt others. How much more pleasing would we be to our Lord if we instead prayed for those who hurt us instead of allowing the hurt to take root in our hearts?

Just something to think about.