Wednesday, March 28, 2007

WFMW!



Today is WFMW!

My Works For Me Wednesday tip is Easy Sunburn Relief.

We have used Olive Oil on our sunburns for the last several years. Not only does it provide cooling relief, it takes care of the sunburn too. This also works on wind chapped places. You wait half an hour or so before you apply it. It Works For Me!

For more WFMW tips, visit Mrs. Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Happy Tuesday!

So nice to be back! As a result of doing some bathroom work yesterday, here is a picture of our shower stall 200 tiles later:



We still have some tiles to put up as you can see, but we are making huge headway!

Today I have two things I would like to ask prayer over.
The first is my Mom, she has not been feeling well. Please pray that she will get to feeling better.

Please also pray for my friend Flibbertigibbet who has been sick.

Have a great day!
--Courtney

Thursday, March 22, 2007

FF!

It's Frugal Friday hosted by Biblical Womanhood

My tip is an excellent chocolate coffee shake!

Mocha Shake
Ingredients:
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 tablespoon sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee
1/2 cup milk
2 cups vanilla ice cream
Directions:
1. Place water, cocoa, sugar and instant coffee in blender container. Cover; blend briefly on low speed. Add milk.

2. Cover; blend on high speed until thoroughly blended. Add ice cream. Cover; blend until smooth. Serve immediately. About three 6-ounce servings.

Yummy!

Biblical Womanhood

--Courtney

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Good Quote.....

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. (Ecclesiates 3:1-8)"

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Teaching Tuesday Coming Soon!

I would like to announce the upcoming event of Teaching Tuesday! Basically, you will
post your favorite teaching tricks. The upcoming date will be Tuesday, the 27th of March. I will post my idea and a Mr. Linky. You will post your idea on your blog, and link back to me with the Mr. Linky. Please help me make it a success! Please do not link to my server with the picture. We can all use good ideas.....so hop to it!
Please also leave a comment to let me know you were here!


Getting excited!
--Courtney

Monday, March 19, 2007

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday Everyone! We are back in the loop after a nice weekend! We went to church on Sunday morning, and we rested Sunday afternoon. What a great day for a family to spend time together!

My mom has been working on Onesie dresses for Emma. You can see the instructions for them here at Lines From The Vine .

I need to run!
"True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost."
- Charles Caleb Colton


Have a great day!
--Courtney

Friday, March 16, 2007

Frugal Friday!

It's Frugal Friday hosted by Mrs. Crystal at Biblical Womanhood

My Frugal Friday tip is Easy Peanut Butter cookies with only 4 ingredients.

1 cup of peanut butter
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350^.Blend all ingredients, mix well until thoroughly mixed. Drop by rounded tablespoon on to a greased cookie sheet. Make fork marks on top by crossing the marks. Cook until spread out and not shiny. These will come out of the oven slightly gooey. When they cool, they are cookie consistency. Yummy! Enjoy!

For more great Frugal Friday tips, visit Mrs. Crystal at Biblical Womanhood

--Courtney

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

WFMW!

It is WFMW hosted by Mrs. Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.My WFMW tip is chocolate milkshakes without ice cream! My Mom found this recipe at Hillbilly Housewife. The recipe is:

Magic Milkshakes

1-1/2 to 2 cups ice water

1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 to 1-1/2 trays of ice cubes, as much as you can spare

2 tablespoons corn oil plus a 5-second squirt of non-stick spray for emulsification purposes


Place all of the ingredients into the blender, including the oil and the non-stick spray. Use less water for thicker milk shakes and more water for shakes that are easy on your blender motor. The blender should be about 3/4's full. Place the lid on. Process for a full 2 minutes. Pour into cups and serve. Makes 4 - 12oz servings. For preparation tips please see below.

I love this recipe because it makes very rich milk shakes without any ice cream. I don't always have ice cream in the house because the kids eat it so fast. With this recipe we can have delicious frosty milk shakes for a fraction of the cost of those using ice cream. And all the ingredients are on the pantry shelf!

For more WFMW tips, visit Mrs. Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.

--Courtney

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

TTTT!!!!!!!!!!

Today is the very first "Totally Terrific Teaching Tuesday!"
Basically, you post teaching tips for homeschooling! Please link yourself with the autolinky and leave a comment to let me know you dropped by!

Have fun!



Courtney

Sunday, March 11, 2007

A Tribute To My Dad....

*Edited at bottom*

Today is my dear Dad's birthday. I wanted to post a special letter to him.

Dear Dad,
Thank-you so very much for being there for us all these years. I personally have really appreciated it.

You are so very special to all of us. I enjoy the fact that you take the time to talk, teach and discipline us so that we will be better people. You impact all who are around you. You are a shining beacon of light for the gospel. You have been through so many things, yet you never complain. I love the fact that I was lucky enough to have you for a Dad.

I love you very much. Happy Birthday!
Your Daughter,
Courtney

*Edited to say: My Dad's birthday was on the 9th. I am very sorry I am just now posting this!

Courtney

Thursday, March 8, 2007

New Day.

I just love having a new day to start fresh from! All the old is wiped away and there is a whole new day waiting for life! Awesome!

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

His creation is wonderful! I don't know how anyone could doubt that there is a God....I will say it again: God's creation is wonderful!

1 Timothy 4:4 "For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,"

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Good Quote...

"Brothers and sisters are each other’s natural keepers. If they fulfilled their duties in this regard, the one to the other, life would show fewer wrecks. They should shield each other. They should be an inspiration to each other in the direction of all noble thought and better life. They should be each other’s guardian angels in this world of danger and of false and fatal paths."
J.R. Miller

--Courtney

WFMW-Kitchen Edition



It is WFMW hosted by Mrs. Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer

My WFMW tip is using cafeteria trays in your kitchen.
One way we use ours is in our refrigerator. We put the contents of the fridge on the trays, so when it is cleaning time, you just pull them out and wipe them off. Very easy!

Another way we use them is bread making/kneading trays. Simply place a wet rag under the tray so it doesn't slide and presto! A cheap rolling surface that can be ran through the dishwasher. They can be used as craft trays, puzzle making surfaces, breakfast in bed trays, etc. Have fun! We found ours on ebay!

It Works For Me! For more great WFMW tips, visit Mrs. Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer

--Courtney

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Roll Recipe!!

We experimented with a new dinner roll recipe last night. These rolls are not only gorgeous, but they are super easy to make!
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients


1 package active dry yeast (or 1 Tablespoon)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

About 3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Cornmeal (used to keep the dough from sticking to pan)

1 egg and a splash of milk (or water can be used)

Sprinkle fine sea salt

Proof the yeast using the first 3 ingredients.






Mix for about 2 minutes and then remove from bowl and knead for about 5 minutes by hand.






Transfer dough to bowl, cover with tea towel and let rise for about 40 minutes - the dough should rise slightly.






(The dough has risen)






Remove dough from bowl and cut the dough into four equal pieces.


Roll each piece into a small sausage-shaped roll (about 8 inches long). Cut each roll into four equal pieces.







Form each piece into a ball by rolling it between the work surface and the palm of your hand, slightly cupped, bringing the seamed edges under or on the bottom. Place balls on a baking sheet lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Be sure to space your rolls about 2 inches apart.






You can also form the balls into knots by rolling them out into sausage links and then make a half knot and place on the baking sheet.







Cover with damp cloth and let rise again for about 40 minutes.







Preheat the oven to 475°F.



Mix 1 egg and splash of milk (or water) and lightly brush each roll with the egg wash.


Place baking sheet in the oven and bake rolls until golden brown - about 12 to 15 minutes.



Transfer the rolls to a rack to cool - this will allow the air to circulate under and around the bread to ensure a nice crust.







Quick Tip:



Keep an eye on your rolls towards the end of cooking time. You may need to turn your pan around to provide even cooking or browning.



Enjoy!


Courtney

Monday, March 5, 2007

Adventures in Bread Baking...

Tonight we decided to try a new roll recipe.

Here is the recipe link:
Mrs. Catherine's Blog

Here is my finished product:



All in all a successful recipe!

We have been quite busy today. Along with the normal things, we hung 5 loads of laundry outside! Yippee!!! I love the smell of the clothes when they come in!
Joshua (You can read his blog here )also helped Mom with webwork for her About.com site.

I must run!

Have a good evening!
Courtney

Friday, March 2, 2007

Frugal Friday!!!


My Frugal Friday tip is Ribbon Bookmarks. You can make these for under 25 cents!

First, you cut a length of ribbon about 10-20 inches long. Coat each end of the ribbon with clear nail polish or Aileen's Craft Glue. Slide a bead onto the ribbon, then fold in half. Tie a knot under where your bead is.

Here is a picture to demonstrate:



Now, tie knots about an inch from the bottom of each loose end.



You are finished!
Here is what they look like finished:


You can put beads on the bottoms if you would like, but that is optional.

For more great Frugal Friday tips, you can visit Mrs. Crystal at Biblical Womanhood.

Prayer Requests:
Please pray for our family. We are having some issues right now and can really use some prayer.

Today I Am Thankful For:

Today I am thankful for the beautiful day we have outside and for our safety during the catastrophic storms that came through yesterday.

Scripture Meditation:
1 Kings 4:29
"Solomon's Wisdom
29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore."

Have a great day!
Courtney