Simple Recipes & Crafts, Devotional Musings, & A Celebration of the Sweetness of Life
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Real Life Marriage: Sibling Spats
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Eats and Empties (Week 14)
The Eats:Chipotle black beans (She Likes Food)
Funfetti cupcakes (The Sweet Occassion)
Teriyaki meatball bowls (Meal Prep in an Instant)
The Empties:
Pound of black beans
Old brown rice
Carton of 18 eggs
Old garlic
Two pound bag of medium cheddar cheese
Carton of Greek yogurt
Pasta shells
Can of crushed pineapple
Powdered sugar
Tuna
What went to waste:
A bag of freezer burned peas (composted, though)
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Grace for the Martha's and for the Mary's
Monday, March 31, 2025
Strong(er) in March
What's about the same? I am still reading my Bible and doing the Bible recap. I am fasting for Lent (from a food and a few activities). The goal of Lent is to focus more on Jesus and grow stronger in my faith. I hope it is doing that, but I am not sure right now.
What might not be getting stronger? Although my pull-up program reps are increasing, I am not sure I am getting stronger (Bomgren, 2023). I am getting tired of them and without seeing progress, I am tempted to quit the program. Shall I? Is it serving me? I have yet to decide.
I am still running. I am thankful for that. I have been having a few weird health things, which makes me worry that I will not be able to run like I want to run. I also caught a cold this past week. Boo!
I did buy more collagen and running fuel. I do not like the new running fuel brand, but if I have a hope of getting stronger, I have to fuel! We will see how things work out for my race in a few weeks.
Overall, this month, I feel like I am getting hard, not strong. Truth strength is not hardness. Hard things snap and break. Strong things handle the load. They are flexible (to an extent). I want to be that kind of strong.
The thing is that I am not strong on my own. I can only be strong with the strength that Christ gives me. As Tara-Leigh Cobble (2025) says in The Bible Recap “True strength and courage is established by being mindful of God's presence in our lives.” May I grow in my awareness of the Lord, even as I seek to grow stronger in the every day of this life.
References:
Bomgren, L. (2023, October 4). How to get better at pull-ups (12 week guide). Nourish move https://www.nourishmovelove.com/how-to-get-better-at-pull-ups/
Cobble, T. (2025, March 23). Day 082 (Joshua 1-4) -- Year 7. [Audio podcast episode]. In The Bible recap. https://thebiblerecap.podbean.com/e/day082-year7/
Sunday, March 30, 2025
What I've Been Listening To and Watching This Month
Lent and Fasting with Dr. Darren Whitehead on That Sounds Fun (a helpful discussion about the value of fasting)
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Eats and Empties (Week 13)
The Eats:
Greek yogurt chicken salad (All Recipes)Honey BBQ chicken with citrus slaw (How Sweet Eats)-Made by my husband
Mexican meatloaf with potatoes and vegetables (Meal Prep in an Instant)-Frozen for the future
Sourdough discard bagels (Acts of Sourdough)-our first batch of this calendar year
Tuna pasta salad (Tastes Better from Scratch)
Chipotle pepers in adobo sauce
Container of cottage cheese
One pound bag of frozen corn
Bottle of cumin
Frozen full-of-veggies white chili (Oatrageous Oatmeals)
Container of Greek yogurt
Three 12 ounce packages of frozen green beans
Old honey
Head of iceberg lettuce
Frozen jalapeno
Bunch of kale
Frozen light and fluffy egg casserole (Meal Prep in an Instant)
Half gallon of milk
Grape Nuun tablets
Old onions
Old peanut butter
Five pound bag of potatoes
Frozen slow cooker vegetarian lentil chili (Budget Bytes)
Frozen half-loaf of sourdough bread
Can of diced tomatoes
Frozen tomato paste
Two cans of tuna
Pound of ground turkey
Frozen leftover turkey from Thanksgiving
What went to waste:
An entire bag of onions molded!
Monday, March 24, 2025
What I Learned from the Ideal Week Exercise (And I Didn't Even Do that Much of It)
Besides that commute, I don't really have a lot of other things to move around right now. Sure, I could probably optimize my work day a little bit, but overall, my life is just one of wake up and attack the day, except where I create my own margin. That is what the ideal week exercise showed me: that I have a little more control and power over my time than I exercise. Time is not the master, I am (and hopefully, Christ in me).
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Eats and Empties (Week 12)
The Eats:
Colcannon (Budget Bytes)Corned beef (The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook)
Instant pot split pea soup (Healthier Steps)-Our favorite split pea soup recipe!
The Empties:
Head of cabbage
Corned beef brisket
Green onions
Head of iceberg lettuce
Lemon
Half gallon of milk
Onion powder
Five pound bag of potatoes
Radishes
One pound bag of split peas
Nothing that I know of !
Monday, March 17, 2025
Rest
Rest. Oh, that elusive thing that of which I never seem to have enough, and of which when I have it, I always want more. And to be fair, sometimes when I have a chance to rest, I don't take it, but choose to work instead. But God. God created rest, and he said it's good for us. Guess what? Science proves it. Go figure.
I continue to learn more about rest as God impresses the need for it on my heart. For example, there's the walkie talk analogy Dr. Becky Kennedy (2024) shared on her Good Inside podcast with Laura Mae Martin. When you're productive, you're holding down the walkie talkie button. To hear anything back, you have to let go. "That's how they work," she says. And so it is with God, with intuition. When I'm busy, busy, busy, I don't hear from God. I get out of tune with my body. I don't know what I would want or need if I could rest. I have to really stop and pause, and linger in order to tune in, in order to hear. Oh, how I didn't like to hear this, and oh, how I needed to hear it!
Later in the podcast, Laura Mae Martin talked about babies and music. She reported that her baby's music teacher said that babies don't hear music when it is playing. They hear it when it stops. Might that be true of life? That we don't "hear the music"/see the good unless we actually stop and get quiet? This thought convicts me.
As I continue my running life, I realize more and more the importance of rest days. Yes, some days I want to go out and run more, but then I remember the bigger workout on the calendar tomorrow. I must rest today to have energy for that tomorrow.
Rest days are crucial not only for saving energy, but for gaining fitness. Exercise breaks the body down. On rest days, the body rebuilds. As Amanda Brooks and Laura Norris (2023) say in Tread Lightly, "When you're resting, that's where your body can actually then really take in all of the work and like slingshot you forward." Hmm. I guess I really can do too much work and get to a place that I can't recover from it.
I do not think that rest will ever necessarily come easy to me, because laziness is not rest, and I think I, as a human, tend to swing towards extremes. Understanding more about rest and its purposes, though, convict me to pursue it, motivate me to find pockets for it. May it continue to benefit me in all the ways that God intends, the above of which I am sure are far from the whole of what He intends for this good gift. After all, He originated it. He was the one who rested on the Sabbath and insisted that the ground lie fallow once a year every seven years. It should not come as a surprise that He, the Creator of the Earth, knew the science of why rest would benefit it!
References:
Brooks, A., & Norris, L. Hosts. (2023, June 16). How to run faster! (No. 19). [Audio podcast episode. In Tread Lightly. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tread-lightly-podca/episodes/Episode-19-How-to-Run-Faster-e25d9k6
Kennedy, B. (Host). (2024, August 19). There's power in setting boundaries. (No. 166). [Audio podcast episode]. In Good Inside with Dr. Becky. https://www.goodinside.com/podcast/8939/theres-power-in-setting-boundaries/
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Eats and Empties (Week 11)
The Eats:Anaheim green chile salsa (Food & Wine)-frozen for future use
Banana oat flour muffins (Fit Foodie Finds)
Homemade pizza sauce (Budget Bytes)
Hummus and red pepper soup (Turnip the Oven)
Macaroni and cheese (Meal Prep in an Instant)-Frozen for future use
Steamed artichokes with dipping sauce (The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook)
The Empties:
Anaheim pepper
Old apples
Jar of applesauce
Artichokes
Sourdough discard bagel (Acts of Sourdough)-a holdover from marathon fueling
Five pound bag of carrots
Two heads of cauliflower (some frozen for future use)
Cauliflower rice
Twelve ounce bag of gourmet cheddar cheese
Two pound bag of sharp cheddar cheese
Pickled chiles
Cilantro
Costco container of cinnamon
Frozen chicken broth
Frozen chickpeas
Two 24-ounce containers of cottage cheese
Container of Greek yogurt
Can of crushed tomatoes
Head of iceberg lettuce
Frozen kidney beans
Mayonnaise jar
Half gallon of milk
Seventy ounce container of picante sauce (Salsa)
Old protein powder
Pumpkin butter
Sprinkles
Two cartons of strawberries (most sliced and frozen for the future)
Tomatillos
Can of tomato paste
Zucchini
What went to waste:
A little bit of onion that went bad
Monday, March 10, 2025
Real Life Marriage: The Sacredness of Firsts
I expected to kiss when I got engaged. I saw value in making a kiss meaningful, but I had no intention of saving my first kiss until marriage, that is until my boyfriend, now husband, told me that was his intention. Since I also held to the value of the man being the leader in the relationship, I went with it.
A dear friend asked me sometime around our engagement if I thought that marriage would be overwhelming. She expressed concern after hearing how little (physical or otherwise) my fiance and I shared. (In addition to sharing little physical intimacy, I held to strong beliefs about not sharing details of my finances before marriage, for example.) I told her that I was, and I wasn't. I saw marriage as a commitment, and I figured that might be the safest place to expose some of that stuff. It was, and it wasn't.
Because of my strong boundaries, marriage brought with it a lot of firsts: first kiss, first intimacy, first sharing of finances, first house buying etc. Some of that was challenging. I had to faith the truth, and untruth of some of my assumptions. Some things required some figuring out. Still, by God's grace, I don't regret those decisions. There is a sacredness about having all of those things with my husband. There is a bonding factor that engaging in those firsts with him brought to our marriage. Now, when I look back on the firsts, I see him. I see us. There is no comparison. There is no, "That other guy." There is only us.
I am not here to impose my values on others, but I would like to commend saving "firsts" for marriage, not in an ascetic "I kissed dating goodbye," way, or a legalistic, "we can't." Rather, out of respect and reverence for marriage and the sacredness of that covenant, I suggest waiting for things. Firsts are special. They only came once. One-hundred percent, waiting it is worth it, because the sacredness of the future marriage is worth it!
Saturday, March 8, 2025
Eats and Empties (Week 10)
The Eats:
Carne asada street taco bowls (Meal Prep in an Instant)Simple French lentil soup (The Full Helping)
Sourdough sheet pan pancakes (Coco Et Sel)
Two pound bag of frozen broccoli
Old brown rice
Bag of baby carrots
Five pound bag of carrots
Two 32-ounce boxes of chicken broth
Old celery
Chia seeds
Old chili powder
Frozen easy stovetop mac and cheese with jumbo shells (Great Value box recipe)
Twelve ounce bag of frozen green beans
Half gallon of milk
Twelve ounce bag of queso quesadilla cheese
Frozen onions
Homemade pizza sauce (Budget Bytes)
Frozen ricotta stuffed shells
Head of romaine lettuce
Smoked paprika
Dry white beans
Whole wheat macaroni noodles
What went to waste:
Nothing that I know of
Monday, March 3, 2025
Afghan 84
Another one is done! I started this one using the yarn from afghans 80 and 82, and then had to make a run to Hobby Lobby to get more. (Thankfully I got there in time to get the last three skeins on the shelf!) All in all, this was, as the pattern claimed, an easy afghan. Although I started the edging with skepticism as to how it would turn out, I ended up liking the way it turned out.
Hook: size J Boye ergonomic crochet hook
Yarn:
I Love This Yarn! turquoise
Pattern: Crochet baby blanket with easy border (Melanie Ham)
Finished size: 39 x 41 inches
Saturday, March 1, 2025
Eats and Empties (Week 9)
The Eats:
Chunky lentil and vegetable soup (Budget Bytes)Fajita bowls (Meal Prep in an Instant)
Oil free crispy potato wedges (Plant-Based and Broke)
Ranch dressing (How Sweet Eats)
Roasted red pepper hummus (Kim's Cravings)
The Empties:
Top roast and tri-tip meat
Black beans
Old dried chives
Frozen chocolate muffins (The Toasted Pine Nut)
Old clementines
Fresh broccoli
Two pound bag of frozen broccoli
Two pound bag of shredded cheese
Two 32 ounce boxes of chicken broth
Carton of a dozen eggs
Marshmallows
Frozen onions
Red bell peppers
Five pound bag of potatoes
Head of romaine lettuce
Can of petite diced tomatoes
Slivered almonds
What went to waste:
Chunky lentil and vegetable soup (Budget Bytes) in a jar that I filled too full and put in the freezer, resulting in shattering of the glass and needing to throw away the soup
Friday, February 28, 2025
Everything I Read in February
17) Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear by Max Lucado—This is a typical Max Lucado book—conversational, kind, devotional; like a chat with a friend. It’s also personal, sharing some of Lucado’s own burdens and blessings, and weighty, in that it packs in some truth from God’s word, specifically Psalm 23. The book challenges reads to look to the Lord, who is not only the Good Shepherd, but also the Light. While I didn’t use the study guide for this book, it does have solid questions that could lead readers deeper into letting go and living for God. This world is not the believer’s home. Heaven is, and we who call ourselves Jesus-followers would do well to heed the call to drop our burdens and live lighter as we journey our way there.
19) Because of You by Becky Wade—Short and sweet, this is the Christmas romance story of Britt Bradford's employee Maddie Winslow and her longtime crush Leo Donnelly. Maddie has liked Leo for ages, but felt guilty about it, because Leo was her best friend Olivia's husband. Between the grief of losing Olivia tragically years earlier and the awkwardness of now, Maddie has not been sure what to do about her feelings. When a Christmas outreach opportunity brings Maddie and Leo together, sparks fly. Maddie learns to make peace with the fact that the Lord gives and takes away. Together, they consider the joy God has set before them, and that growing in relationship to each other might be part of that gift.
20) Sweet on You by Becky Wade—Wade weaves mystery, suspense, and intrigue into this last book of The Bradford Sisters series. Zander Ford returns from his overseas travels to mourn the sudden death of his uncle Frank and finds a mystery on his hands. Britt Bradford wrestles with the idea that everyone keeps proposing to her: that Zander might want to be more than her best friend. The Bradford parents return from their mission trip. Nora marries John Lawson. Clint and Nikki start dating. The conclusion to all the stories is pretty dramatic, focusing on deep spiritual truths and the power of vulnerability. The second book in this series, Because of You, was probably my favorite, but I have to give the author props for the way that she tied up all the loose ends in this series closer. Props to her!
21) The Astronaut’s Wife: How Launching My Husband Into Outer Space Changed the Way I Live On Earth by Stacey Morgan—An engaging and insightful book, this memoir describes Stacey Morgan’s life not only as astronaut’s wife, but also an armed services wife and mom of four. Using an engaging writing style that goes back into the past while narrating the present, Morgan vulnerably shares her story. She writes of her hopes and her hangups, of the value of community, having fun, etc. The peak into the life of an astronaut returning during COVID may be of special interest to some. All in all, this was a good book with nuggets of trust that a reader can apply to everyday life, since few will be astronauts, or astronauts' wives.
22) The Best of You: Break Free From Painful Patterns, Mend Your Past, & Discover Your True Self in God by Dr. Alison Cook—This isn’t a theological book. It’s a psychological one, written by a doctorate level professional with both personal and work experiences related to being human. With that being said, I think this book does a great job of integrating faith and psychology. It is very easy to read and very accessible. (I would recommend this book before Aundi Kolber’s Try Softer—also a helpful book, but much more technical.” Each chapter begins with a vignette and ends with reflection questions that help readers explore further and apply concepts. Cook’s basic premise is that a strong sense of self is necessary to both knowing God and serving others. This might seem a bit backward, but for women who have been accustomed to ignoring themselves and playing small, this is a concept worth considering. All in all, I think this is a book that points directly to God, and correct theology or not, He is where the best lies, and in the end, He is who matters!
24) The Attachment Parenting Book: A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Child by William Sears, M.D., and Martha Sears, R.N.—Admittedly, this book is not quite what I was looking for. I was looking for a book about attachment science and forming healthy relationships between parent and child. This was more of a baby rearing book, and a dated (24 year-old) one at that. Still, I think it was interesting to read about the Sears' stance on attachment parenting (eg wearing babies in slings) and promoting attachment and bonding through proximity and attuned care. It is a bummer that the book is written primarily to moms, but it does promote respect for the hard work of moms and encourage fathers to be involved in parenting, too. For that, I give the Sears' kudos. I will probably look more for attachment theory books than attaching parenting books to inform my work, but if anyone wants an attachment parenting book, here is one!
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Strong(er) in February
Monday, February 24, 2025
Powerlessness and Prayer
Saturday, February 22, 2025
Eats and Empties (Week 8)
The Eats:
Comforting pork stew with dumplings (Molly's Home Guide)Slow cooker vegetarian lentil chili (Budget Bytes)
Cajun peanuts (Cajun Cooking Recipes)
Bag of baby carrots
Five pound bag of whole carrots
Thirty-two ounce box of chicken broth
Chocolate tart cherry seed balls (Rise and Run)
Dozen egg carton
Greek yogurt
Twelve ounce bag of frozen green beans
Old ginger
Frozen Middle Eastern lentil vegetable soup (More with Less Cookbook)
Half gallon of good milk
Half gallon of milk that soured
Five pound bag of potatoes
Frozen Scottish inspired mushroom lentil stew (Oatrageous Oatmeals)
Can of diced tomatoes
Can of tomato paste
What went to waste:
Nothing that I know of!
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Afghan 83
Hook: size J Boye ergonomic crochet hook
Yarn:
Caron Simply Soft white
Loops & Threads sage
Scrap yellow and black
Pattern:
Crochet sunflower blanket (The Caffeinated Snail)
Finished size: 36 x 36 inches
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Eats and Empties (Week 7)
The Eats:
Buttermilk oatmeal pancakes (All Recipes)Chocolate tart cherry seed balls (Rise and Run)
Easy eggless baked oatmeal (Mommy's Home Cooking)
Matzo ball soup (The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook)
Perfect Welsh rarebit (Easy Cheesy Vegetarian)
Northern style lasagna (Good Housekeeping Family Italian Cookbook)
Peanut butter chocolate lava cakes (Sally's Baking Addiction)
Roasted broccoli with blue cheese (KTA Super Stores) and balsamic glaze (Love and Lemons)
Strawberry white hot chocolate (The Speckled Palate)
The Empties:
Jar of applesauce
Bottle of balsamic vinegar
Blue cheese
Two pound bag of frozen broccoli
Thirty-two ounce box of chicken broth
Frozen chicken broth
Can of chicken noodle soup
Dates
Green onions
Herbal chai tea
Box of lasagna noodles
Twelve ounce bag of mozzarella cheese
Three pound bag of onions
Twelve ounce bag of Parmesan
Frozen Pumpkin pizza (Food Faith Fitness) (Using ultimate no-knead whole wheat pizza dough from Handle the Heat)
Frozen sourdough chocolate chip muffins (Living Well with Mandy)
Sunflower seeds
Sweet potatoes
Twenty-eight ounce can of diced tomatoes
White chocolate baking bar
What went to waste:
The half gallon of milk soured, but I am working to use it up, so it is not wasted yet!