Hoppy Easter!

More "I am-ing"

A few things I want to add to the last post about I am.
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" Exodus 3:14

Just consider this...  If I am is God, then are we not summoning God power when we begin with I am.  If that is the case, perhaps it's time to be much more conscious of what we put behind it.  If we were describing God, would we say I am forgetful? Lazy? Mean?

No we would not.  So, let's not do that to ourselves.  Why would we want to focus God power on being negative about ourselves.  If you can't find a way to frame it in the positive, try 'I am figuring it out' or 'I am learning'.

Today: I am dusting. I am finishing a sewing project.  I am love.

Kitchen Update and Thoughtful musings

 Remember the basket to hold paper plates...  Well this is how it turned out.  After getting half way with the blue, I frogged the blue back out and went with black.  Turns out I couldn't commit to the blue.  I like it a lot, but what if I want to change the accent colors to purple and green or pink and light pink or...  Well you get the idea.  I just didn't want to be in the business of making paper plate baskets.

So, this is the finished project.  What do you think?  I love the natural and black together.  I decided on a double strand reverse single crochet edging because I like the chunky, unkempt look of it.

In other news...  They came to measure for the countertop today!  Woo.  It's all very exciting.  We picked out a new faucet, too.  More on that later.

So listen, I've been doing some research into "I am" statements and spending some quality time in prayerful consideration.  Here are my thoughts:  "I am" is an incredibly powerful way to begin a sentence.  "I" means you and no one else.  "Am" means is, without question or qualification.  Therefore we should consider carefully what we put after it.  For instance, I am tired.  I am sick.  NO!  This are not things you want to be putting into the cosmos or into your internal dialogue.  I am Strong.  I am healthy.  I am love.  YES!  That's what I'm talking about.  Find a way to frame your challenges in a positive way.  Feeling stumped? You can always say I am figuring it out, which if you aren't telling it like it is, you might just give yourself time to figure it out.

“There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be...” ― John Lennon

March Madness & a New Countertop

It's March Madness and my favorite husband is a junkie!  For years, as a family, we've had a bracket challenge.  Some years we pick round by round and some we go all the way through the bracket.  It always brings around some funny moments and this year is no exception.

Just so you know, I pick my teams based on how I feel about the names.  I don't know their records, I don't know their injury list, I just look at the two names and go with my gut.  I get teased about this a lot.  A Lot.  But, I do it anyway, because it's what works for me.

sorry about the blur.

To get my guys going, I added the phrase at the top.   Whew, am I a funny girl or what!  Though my picks have not all worked out, I'll always be able to say I picked Harvard and Wichita State.

Close up of a section of countertop.

On to the really big news of the weekend.  We picked a countertop! Yes, we did.  It's granite and I'm so happy with it.  It's among the only ones we looked at that both my husband and I could agree on.  It's amazing and wonderful and in about 3 weeks it's going to be here every day so I can look at it.

When my kids were little and they would get agitated by unexpected things, I started a habit with them where we would chant: Be Happy, Be Flexible, Be Free.  Sometimes we danced, sometimes we stamped our feet, sometimes we laughed at ourselves.  It was a way to get them out of whatever moment they were in, but it's also a good way to approach life.

Okay! Food in the Fridge

Here's a funny thing...  I couldn't remember if I've mentioned today's subject before or not and so I've just spent a few minutes re-reading previous posts.  I say "Okay" a lot.  I start sentences with it and everything.  I'm certain English majors around the world are cringing, but I think it's funny.  I had an Uncle who said Okay all the darn time.  Genetics are funny.  I am thankful to be at a stage in my life where I can laugh at my own ridiculousness.

On to the purpose of this post.  I have a busy family and these days it's rare for all of us to be home at dinner time.  My kids are virtually grown, but rarely cook for themselves and rather than leaving them to a lifetime of pb&j's or cheese sandwiches, I've come up with a few things to keep nearly ready food in the fridge for quick meals and I thought I'd share.  

It's the chicken, jar of diced veggies
and naked pasta, hee hee.

Chicken - We eat a lot of chicken.  A tip from Pioneer Woman is to cut the chicken breast like you do a cake layer.  Or, like butterflying a breast, but keep going to get two pieces that still have the chicken breast shape.  Why you might ask, well the breast pieces are too large for just one person.  And cutting them this way, they still look great, but are more reasonably portion sized.  After cutting, I saute with a small amount of butter and olive oil until cooked through.  You can also bake them in the oven, but I prefer the saute.  Once cooked, I cool, then wrap individually.  (Okay, this is chicken people and you don't want to risk salmonella or anything else, so cook the chicken thoroughly and cool safely to ensure good food for you and your family.)  I do this twice a month, so I make enough to last two weeks.  I take half of the individually wrapped breasts and put them in a large zipper bag and stow it in the fridge.  The other half, I put in a freezer bag and freeze, taking it out when the first batch is gone.  This chicken can become a sandwich just as it is, or it can be chopped and added to a salad, turned into chicken salad, made into a quesadilla, added to soup, rice, baked potato, eggs, etc. It's great I tell ya, it's great!

Another artistic view of same

Pasta Salad - My youngest thinks pasta salad is the bomb.  But if you've ever had pasta salad in the fridge for more than a day you know that all the dressing absorbs into the pasta and the veggies begin to soften right away.  Here's what I do, I make the pasta, cool it and store it in a large container in the fridge, naked.  I then prepare the veggies, mix them together and store them in the fridge in their own container.  When you want pasta salad, a spoon full of pasta and spoon full of veggies, add your own dressing and stir.  The veggies by themselves, especially in mason jars, will be fresh and crisp for days.  Naked pasta-the same.  Once the pasta is cool, rinse it with cool water and let drain - no sticking!   Here's my favorite part about this, I like odd stuff in my salads, like pickles.  Because I'm making a me salad, I can put whatever I want it in, including some very delicious dill pickle bites every time I want!!!

Just wanted to share, okay! OKAY!

BTW~ we went to look at more countertop options and I've come home confused.  I thought I was headed in one direction and ended up attracted to a completely different one.  Oh, geez.  So, I'm going to sleep on it, go to one last place tomorrow and then make a freaking decision.

Okay, here's another funny thing about me, I take really interesting pictures.  Just look at these two.  Clearly not a food blogger.  As my boss says, "We are all gifted differently."  hee hee, yes I am :)

Most importantly...      Have a great weekend people. 

Thankful, Thankful, Thankfully Better

I feel better.  Alleluia!

OmyGoodness... And a basket, too.

I don't feel well and I've reached the whiny stage. And the stage where I don't think I can be around myself a minute longer. AARRRRGH. (And the pirate noises stage, too, apparently.)

I'm currently crocheting a basket to hold the paper plates out of natural kitchen cotton, ♥LionBrandYarns. I'm definitely going to add blue (don't you love that vintage packaging?) in a stripe and I'm thinking of adding the orange in a small stripe, too. What do you think?  I'm pondering the orange because I don't really want to commit.  I like it, but we went neutral on purpose.  But, then again it's just a basket.

It's going to be one of THOSE days, is it?!

I'm working the basket in single chains and since this is the first crocheted piece I've been able to progress with since I broke my arm (and a small bone in my thumb, which is the troublesome part), I'm really thrilled.  Yes, it's been a long time since I broke my arm, but the tension it takes to hold the crochet hook was just so painful that I couldn't do it.

Anyway, point is, I've missed croceheting and I'm thrilled to be making something.  And out of cotton, which is a stiff yarn to work.  Woo!

I hope you find something that thrills you today!