SAHW: Reason Two

I love being a SAHW.

I love being a full time help to my husband.

I love that my job gives me flexibility.

I am a SAHW because it gives me the freedom and time to help others.

I love to help others.

I love to do jobs that others don't have time for.

I love to free up SAHMs (stay-at-home-moms) to do their most important jobs.

I love to be able to serve at my church.

I love to have the time to minister to any child or student who allow me to adopt him/her.

Helping my husband ... helping others.

I LOVE MY JOB!

Tuesday Transformation with a Twist

Discipline is a constant struggle for me.

Figuring out a workable schedule in order to prioritize my responsibilities

is a constant battle.

I think that I have landed on a good schedule.

I want to put Bible reading first.

I want to prioritize my health and exercise.

I want to make sure that hubby gets a good breakfast and a satisfying lunch box each day.

The new schedule:

Hubby rises at 4:30 to exercise.

I get out of bed and make his smoothie minus the frozen pumpkin.

I hope back in bed to do my Bible reading and prayer.

Then when I hear the blender, I wrap up my time and head to my exercise from 5:30-6:30.

Then make lunch ...

then make breakfast and enjoy with hubby.

When hubby heads out the door,

my day is started right.

The Bible has not been crowded out.

My exercise is not interrupted.

On to the rest of the day.

I am sure I will still have my struggles with the schedule and discipline,

but for now ... it is working,

and I like it.

The transformation is in my day and my outlook.

I start right and it sets the tone for the day.

Vegetti Spaghetti

Found a new and exciting toy last week.

Enter - the Vegetti.

I had seen a lot of recipes for spiralized vegetables recently.

I would make the recipes with julienned veggies instead,

but to tell you the truth - I am just not that patient when it comes to this style of food prep.

When our menu called for Alfredo last week,

I broke down and bought the Vegetti.

In went the Summer Squash - 

Out came beautiful ribbons perfect for my Alfredo sauce.

Yes, the noodles passed the hubby test,

 and he even commented that he may look forward to zucchini season this year.
I think he has a lot of stir fries and other Asian dishes in mind.

Knowledge

Knowledge is Power.

You have heard it, right?

I love knowledge.

I would still be in college today if time and income permitted.

I just love to learn things.

I am friends with my dictionary.

I use google regularly.

I am thankful for knowledge.

I was so excited when one of my survey companies offered me a product trial.

I love free paper towls, free tp, free shampoo ...

but this was even better.

A fitness tracker.

For one week I got to wear the Metria IH1.

It was a patch worn on the back of my arm.

At the end of the week,

I mailed the device back.

About a month later, I got to read my results online.

I learned how many calories I burn on a normal day.

I learned which of my exercises gave me the best bang for my effort.

I learned how well or how poorly I slept nightly.

The knowledge has helped me immensely.

I have calculated my daily calorie needs many times using online BMR calculators.

The calculations usually equal 1400 calories.

When trying to lose weight, I would just cut from that each day.

My Metria results showed me that my BMR (I looked at my Sunday reading)

is more like 2200 calories.

When I cut calories from 1400 I was actually losing weight, 

but also slowing my metabolism by cutting too many calories.

I can now "diet" with knowledge.

I LOVE IT!

Do you have a fitness tracker?

Which one?  Fit Bit, Polar, Garmin?

Does it help you?

SAHW: Reason One

The Stay-at-home wife ...

a lost breed for many years,

but it appears to be making a comeback.

Why would someone choose to be a stay-at home wife?

Don't I get bored?

Perhaps you have never thought of it,

but some of my readers are my young nieces and nephews

as well as some of the college students in the area who are nearing the point of making such decisions.

I have to say,

that the decision seemed easy when I first made it.

I wanted to take Titus 2:5 literally to be a "keeper at home."

I also figured that within a year my family would grow.

I knew that I wanted to care for my own children.

But 12 years later, why?

One reason:

I want to be a full time helpmeet.

My hubby works very hard.

He fixes tractors.

He fixes our home.

He writes.

He preaches.

I stay at home to make his life easier.

His home can be calm and clean.

I have the energy to make breakfast, pack lunches, and cook dinner each night.

I am available when he needs me to run errands.

I am able to work with him on house and church projects.

I can research healthy living foods and exercises.

I have the energy to get up with him in the morning.
I can do many house projects and the yard work to free up more time for him.

There are many reasons why I take my job seriously.

I will share them with you over the next week.

I share for many reasons.

I want to encourage girls to make the decision to care for their homes.

I want to remind myself of the value of my work.

Thanks for letting me share with you.

Step by Step

Step by Step and Board by Board ...

I plan to start my next house project today.

It may not be quick, but my goal is to do a little at a time.

The project:

the back porch.

Right now it is all white - and peeling.

The plan is the strip the white paint off the steps and floor and possibly top railing

and stain it brown - like the front porch.
Then we will freshen up what is left with white.

The baby steps include stripping one step or board each day.

I meant to start yesterday, and didn't, so I am going to do two steps today.

Some of the paint has already peeled,

but the rest needs some encouragement.

I found a homemade paint remover recipe online and I am going to give it a try.

Hopefully I can update positively later tonight.
If it works well, maybe I can up my daily goals.

Paint Remover

1 c water

4 Spoonfuls of Washing soda

enough flour to make a paste

Brush on - let sit 30 minutes - rinse and scrape as necessary.


**UPDATE**

I finished a little more than one stair.

I think the remover worked well - except for the temperatures here.
I combined the paint remover with a heat gun.
I had a little less time today than planned, so I will hit it more tomorrow.

Little Power Bites

I have long desired to make mini cupcakes, or mini muffins, or mini quiche - 

but did not have a tin to go with the desire.

Recently I found one for $1 and went for it.

I am glad I did because this recipe is so good!

Gluten free - dairy free - sugar free - and packed with protein.

It does have some odd ingredients,

but if you happen to have them on hand - give it a try.

They aren't sugar free with the chocolate pieces of course - 

but I make my 6  first and then add chocolate for the man of the house.

Banana Chia Bites

3/4 c almond meal

2 Tbsp coconut flour

2 Tbsp chia seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 large ripe banana, mashed

1 egg

1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 Tbsp unsweetend almond milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped pecans (or mini chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a mini-muffin pan.

Combine dry ingredients.

Combine wet ingredients.

Add wet to dry - stir to combine.

Fold nuts or mini chips into the batter.

Spoon into pan and bake about 15 minutes until tops start to turn brown.

Remove and cool before transferring to a cooling rack.

This weeks menu:

Sunday:  Italian Pork

Monday: Grilled chicken; roasted sweet potatoes

Tuesday: Summer Squash Noodles with Tomato Alfredo Sauce

Wednesday:  Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken

Thursday:  Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Friday:  Tilapia

Saturday:  Pizza

Welcome 2015!

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2015!

Excited about a trip back out west ...

plans to publish 2 more books ...

celebrating my 40th birthday ...

getting stronger and healthier each day ...

enjoying each moment given ...

I don't think that you should wait for the New Year to make resolutions,

but it does give pause to think about making necessary changes.

There is always something that I can do better.

Until Next Year

Today the decorations were tucked away ...

greenery taken down,

wreath boxed,

5 manger scenes put away,

the tree moved back to the bedroom and left with just lights and red hearts.

And prep for a little New Years gathering after prayer meeting:

Chicken Nuggets

Ants on a Log

Cuties

Banana Chia Bites

Looking forward to a new year.

A Little Help in the Kitchen

There are some days when gluten free - mostly dairy free - low carb cooking

just eats up a lot of time.

Last week, I enjoyed having one of my nieces help me in the kitchen on Monday.

She was browning sausage for our soup and it was nice to have the extra hands.

While hubby was home last week,

we also did a lot of cooking together.

We tag team on breakfast so that everything is ready at once - 

the eggs aren't burnt, the avocado hasn't browned, the bacon is still hot - 

and the Teeccino is served with the breakfast.

On Christmas Day - 

We put together a pizza and my favorite cranberry Waldorf salad together.

But I also had some "cheats."

Ah - a rotisserie chicken from Walmart.

Perfect for Chicken Salad with mayo and cashews.

Perfect atop a bed of lettuce for a phenomenal chef salad.

Perfect as a snack when the next meal is just a little too far away.

It is one of hubby's favorite - is cheaper than eating out - feeds us more than one meal.

It is also a great help when we can't find a "safe" place to eat.

This week's menu:

Sunday:  Italian Sausage and Green Beans

Monday:  Sweet and Sour Chicken

Tuesday:  Shepherd's Pie

Wednesday:  Salmon Chowder

Thursday:  Tacos

Friday:  Chili

Saturday:  Tuna/Avocado Lettuce Wrap

Chicken Casserole