FLORIDA's STATE Lego League Championship!!

by Robin

http://media.fit.edu/load.php?fn=lego-live-cable-flash-201002

We will be live tomorrow via the web, from 9:30 - 4:30pm, down at the Florida Institute of Technology - Clemente Gym. We hope to be in those final matches at 4pm. We're in baby blue shirts with our team name & thundercloud.

AWARDS at 4:30 - 5:30pm

GO THUNDERBRICKS!!!

PS: As a Mom, I am beyond excited and nervous all at the same time. I think I'm more nervous than the kids. I've cooked for an army today to work out my nerves.

HOW NOT TO DRY HERBS

by Robin

Don't put your oven at 400 deg to cook fish sticks and then add your fresh cilantro next to it.



It will take only a couple minutes before you get burnt cilantro that you have to throw away.



I guess I probably should have read some expert's advice on how to do this before I ruined a good bit of cilantro.

Lettuce (Let us...)

Psalm 95:2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.



This was fresh from my Garden #2 last weekend. I've been eating it, mixed with some iceberg, all week in my salads. I can't wait to add some fresh tomatoes as well.

Gen 2:8, 15

"Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ......The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. "


Jack cutting in 4 more feet of garden to make up for the other plots that I'm going to let die off. I'm down to 1 big garden. 1 source of water. 1 place to edge & weed. The size is 22' x 8 '.


We also had to rearrange my beams around the edge. It looks sharp now.


Set up the source of water & spacing for plants.



We put out Texas Sweet & Red onion sets. Goodness!! I had no idea how many of those suckers I bought. I thought about giving away the 3rd row's worth, but then put them in the ground anyhow.



Nothing is under the cups, they're just out to mentally help me space out things.


I have some previously grown parsley, thyme, chocolate peppermint, serrano peppers and 1 old bell pepper plant that were potted for 48 hrs and re-homed. Sage & Rosemary were not touched. All varieties of tomatoes will be on the right-side. I found some baby Romas popping out of the ground right before we went to till. I scooped them up and saved them.

Everything was watered before we lost light. Now, we shall wait & see what grows. (More seeds to be planted at a later date as well.)

Ephesians 5:25-30

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy,




cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.





In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.




After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body."

My hubby really surprised me beyond words. We were suppose to do NOTHING this year for Valentine's Day. Dave Ramsey would not approve of these gifts. (Promise me you won't tell him!!)

I was working hard in the backyard on Saturday when Jack called me to the garage to help him. When I saw the box with flowers, I thought it was a mistake and for my neighbor. Sheesh. Two, yes... two dozen absolutely beautiful roses. One more beautiful than the other. Pure and spotless. Without stain or wrinkle. Absolutely gorgeous.

And the card had just the right words on it. Plus, there was a small box of fine chocolates to boot. Good chocolate. Not that waxy junk from W___ M____.



He did really good, but then I came home from singing at church Sunday morning and opened the garage to find a new tiller for me. Awww..... this man really knows my heart. LOL. Plus lots of manure too.

He cooked us lunch, help me till up the garden and then we had our Sunday evening date where he got some yummy fried oysters.

Jack loves me so much!! Thank you sweetie!! I love you too. More than words can say. You did REAL good.

Hope everybody else was as blessed as I was.

CABBAGE GAMES

by Robin

Yes, I play with my food.

BEST CHICKEN SOUP for the INFLICTED!

by Robin

Last week, Jack was very, very sick with the flu. Most likely it was swine flu since it responded so well to Tamiflu drugs. While he was asleep for days, I created an awesome soup for the sick.



First, you put on a HUGE pot of boiling water. Do not worry about measurements at this point. Leave room to boil your chicken. Add in all sorts of scraps from your potato peel, celery leaves & ends, onion, cabbage, carrot and garlic skins. I also put in a couple of serrano peppers which will add a little heat for the sinuses. All these things will help flavor the water as well.



After the chicken is done (hour or so), remove it and let it cool until you can debone it. Then, get another huge pot and strainer. You're going to strain out all the skins and gather just the broth for your soup. That broth is packed with vitamins & minerals the body is craving.



While all that was cooking, hopefully, you were busy chopping up all those veggies in the food processor. Don't worry about mixing & keeping separate. I just layered veggie upon veggie.

After the broth is strained, back on the stove, add your shredded veggies. Debone chicken and add that too. Now, you want to salt/ pepper to taste. I also add in some herbs at this point, like oregano or Italian spices.

Add some egg noodles (or rice) to build it up, if you'd like. Remember, this will eat up some of your broth. If I add rice, I put it is already cooked. This pot has egg noodles.


Here's why it is so good FOR YOU.....

Onions (Red in particular) - ease constriction of bronchial tubes
Red Pepper - have a substance similar to that found in cough syrup
Cabbage - maintains healthy estrogen levels (benefits me only at this house) AND helps with Jack's healing ulcers (erosions).
Chicken is low in fat and doesn't seem to upset the tummy like red meat.
Potatoes - make me happy & fill you up.
Carrots - good for the eyes, filled with Vitamin A
Celery - lowers blood pressure.

Yes your kitchen is destroyed after making this, BUT, you can make plenty to freeze for when you're sick again. It thaws & reheats very easily. Great for give-aways to sick friends & still have leftovers for your own family.

(Almost) WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

by Robin

A persons bedside table sometimes looks like a window into their world. I thought I'd share mine after I had a good laugh looking at it last night.








No, I've never read the "Home by Choice" book, but I hope to one day.
Yes, I love the Esther bible study.
I'm partially through Robert Maybury's book. Economics for kids. LOVE IT!
Yes, I do read the Constitution from time to time. Helps me teach my Civics class.

SUMMER PLANS

by Robin

What can I say? Life happens. Swine flu descends upon households. Ours is no different. Poor Jack has been very sick since earlier this week.

Meanwhile, life goes on for the boys and I. It seems like we've been busy for months, honestly. I just keep praying for strength through the next couple months and then we're on break. I've promised myself the summer off from teaching. No choreography for summer musicals at church either. No Lego League or homeschool meetings. Nothing that holds me down. I want to wake up every day and put on a bathing suit instead of regular clothes. I want sunblock to be the new makeup. Fixing my hair will consist of 1 rubber band. I want to be barefoot or in flip-flops for months. I want to soak in the sun. I want to play at the beach. I want to fish when Jack is off work. I want to pick fresh veggies 10 feet off my back porch & enjoy cooking again. I want.......... Margaritaville without the margaritas, although fruit smoothies would work.

Anyhow, Jack caught me staring out the window and dreaming my little perfect dream. He asked me, "What's wrong?"

I had nano-seconds to decide whether to say "nothing" or tell him the truth. You know how we women are. We don't want to share or seem like we can't handle it all. We let pride get the best of us and then we're unhappy when we take the world upon our shoulders. So, I went for it.

"I'm unhappy." I said. He stared at me, probably frozen by the fear of what I meant by that. So I continued. "I need to get out for a couple hours. Away from the boys. Away from swine flu. Away from chores. I don't need another country. I need to run errands by myself. Please."

Now, let's think about this rationally... I put 'please' after asking to run errands by myself. It's a little strange, but that's where my sanity was in the moment.

Jack readily agreed and I was on my way. I shopped for Turbotax, birthday gifts for a sleepover tonight and a couple small impulse bargains. I cannot lie. That Kit kat at the checkout totally called my name, aloud, in a thick French accent,... and in the privacy of my car, I ate the entire thing. I haven't eaten any serious amount of chocolate since Halloween (which led to my fibromyalgia attack, swelling in my lower back, throwing a disk out and putting me in the hospital with severe pain, then physical therapy). I have to say, it was sooooo delicious. How I missed chocolate, but I digress....

I ran another couple errands before making it back home less than two hours later. I felt totally refreshed and ready to tackle the next couple of months. I can do this. Spring is just a month away and summer is only two. (LOL - FL humor) Testing is at the end of April. Co-op school lets out in early May. Yes... I'm just a few months away from my summer plans.

I'm just a few months away from my summer plans.

Isaiah 40:8

Photos by Robin

"The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God stands forever." - Isa 40:8

Loss of almost everything in the garden over the 2 week freeze. Time to start over again.