All Things Hold Together

Dana has a great post up today called, “A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unhappiness.” I highly recommend it.

I added some code to my blog template to make it so that I can show only part of the post here and the reader has to click on the link to read the full post.

(Read full post)

Sometimes I write long posts about things that some people might not care about.

Like if someone stops by to check out my homeschooling posts, that person might not want to read my faith posts.

Also, if someone wants to just check in once and a while, it will be nice for that reader to be able to just scan the posts and just read the ones of interest.

This is basically a test post to see how it works.

Here goes.

I often talk about using natural products. One thing that I always have a tough time cleaning naturally is the toilet. It is such a nasty, germy place and it never seems clean enough. (And when it is, one of my little boys comes along and makes sure that it doesn’t stay that way for long. How hard can it possibly be to aim it in the bowl?)

Unfortunately for me, or perhaps fortunately, I cannot go back to my strong chemical cleaners because they will trigger a migraine. I am stuck using natural methods.

Recently, I started using baking soda and vinegar. The problem is that the toilet never seems clean enough.

Then I figured out a trick.

When I go to clean the toilet, I turn off the incoming water and flush. This way the bowl is pretty much empty. Then, I sprinkle about a half cup of baking soda all around inside. Next, I pour over the baking soda some white vinegar (1/4 -1/2 cup). (The kids love to watch this part because it gets all fizzy.) I scrub it all over with my toilet brush, turn the water back on, and flush (after the tank fills).

I have found that without the water in there to dilute the baking soda and vinegar mixture, the bowl comes out sparkling clean!

Bonus tip: I buy a 12 lb. bag of baking soda at Costco and keep it under the bathroom sink for all of my cleaning needs. Straight up baking soda works great for cleaning the tub.

For more Works-for-Me Wednesday tips, head on over to Shannon’s place - Rocks in My Dryer.

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Ephesians 5:22-24

One of the things that non-Christians (or at least, non-Bible-believing Christians) have a hard time understanding is the roles of husbands and wives.

Once I was asked if I really believed that a wife should submit to her husband.

It’s as if one can accept that I believe in creation, or that I believe in the resurrection, or that I believe in tithing, but it is unfathomable that I could believe that my husband is the head of our home and that I should submit to his authority.

I don’t really see what the big deal is. My husband is not a louse. If he was a drunkard, or an adulterer, or abusive, then I would understand their shock and disbelief, but everyone knows that my husband is a nice guy, so why is this so hard to accept?

Then on Sunday, I had one of those “a-ha” moments.

We were in the car leaving church and Bob asked me how my knee was doing. I thought it rather odd since my knee hadn’t bothered me in days, so I said, “It hurts; how did you know that?”

That day, we were late for church so, we had to split up. I, along with Little E and the D, sat in front of Bob and Big E.

When we stood up to pray at the end of the service, he noticed that I was favoring my good leg.

To understand how amazing that was, I have to tell you that my husband is not very observant. I do not mean that as an insult, it is just not one of his strengths.

Despite that, he cares enough about me to take notice of how I am doing.

This is why it is so hard for people who are not trying to live a Biblical life to understand how I can give up my autonomy and submit to my husband (or why I would want to).

See, not only are wives commanded to submit to their husbands, but husbands are to love thier wives “just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” *

Christ died for his church!

Wives may be called to submit to their husbands, but the husbands have a pretty heavy responsibility, too, here.

Neither my husband nor I am perfect in living up to our Biblical roles in our marriage, but we strive for the selflessness that really sets apart Christian living from worldly living.

I don’t say that in a boastful way, or a way to put others down, just as an explanation for why it is so hard for others to understand how a woman can submit to her husband, and why it is not oppressive or otherwise hurtful to her.

A good Christian husband does not take his position of authority and exploit it to his wife’s detriment. Instead, he cherishes her. He cares for her. He notices when she favors one leg as she stands because the knee on the other leg hurts.

The Carnival of Homeschooling is over at About Homeschooling this week. Beverly creatively worked all of this week’s homeschool-related blog post links into a theme that educates us about Autism, and shares that her grandson was recently diagnosed.

Be sure to check it out.

When I went to the grocery store today, this song came on when I turned on the CD player. I almost forgot how much Kutless can rock.

For those who prefer something a little mellower, Kutless has a song for that, too.

I know that I have posted this video before, but I really love the talk Jon Micah gives at the beginning about God’s love and grace.

The songs “Treason” and “Sea of Faces” are both from the album Sea Of Faces.

Kutless also has a great worship album called, “Strong Tower.” Even if you are not into the rocking style of their other albums, this is a beautiful worship album, with a contemporary sound.

They have a few other albums, too, but these are the two that I personally own and love. I am sure that the others are great, too, though.

This week I am going to repost something that originally appeared on my old homeschool blog. This is still one of my favorite tips for getting by on less.

This week I share a tip that has been a lifesaver for our family in the past. Buy an economy bag of yeast and one of flour, so that you always have it on hand. That way, even if there is some kind of emergency and you are out of cash, you can still enjoy delicious homemade bread. Once I hadn’t gone to the store yet and there was nothing for dinner, so we made homemade soft pretzels for dinner! They were so tasty and filling, we didn’t want anything else.

We belong to Costco - a wholesale club. Every month, I buy a 25 pound bag of flour. My bag of yeast I bought months ago and I keep it in the fridge. It has long since paid for itself, so I basically have yeast for free now, until it goes bad. [Ed.: That first bag of yeast never did go bad. I had it for over a year and only replaced it when it ran out.] For use in recipes, 2 1/4 teaspoons of the yeast is equal to one packet.

Now, wholesale clubs are not right for everyone, but if you find that the club has many of the products you use a lot of, it can be a real bargain. You must do a cost analysis and - this is the biggie - do not buy things you don’t need just because they look good and are a deal. It is not a deal if you are spending money you otherwise wouldn’t have.

Even when money is really tight, I can still make the following French Bread recipe, which uses only flour, water, yeast, and salt. Even if we have nothing else to eat - which thankfully has never happened - we still have great bread. Sometimes we only have pasta and sauce to eat, which is kind of a blah meal, but with this awesome fresh bread, we have a feast worthy of a king.

The recipe calls for egg white to be brushed over the dough. It makes a difference in how the crust tastes - it is crustier with the egg - but I have made it without the egg when we had none and it was still good bread.

French Bread
5 1/2 to 6 cups flour
2 packages (or 4 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups water (120 - 130 degrees)
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water

In a large bowl (or the bowl of your mixer) combine 2 cups of the flour, the yeast and salt. Add the warm water and beat on low - medium for 30 seconds with an electric mixer, scraping bowl. Beat on high for 3 minutes. (If you have a stand mixer with dough hook, set to dough setting (2 on Kitchen Aid) and mix for 3 minutes.)

Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. (For stand mixer with dough hook, add remaining flour a little at a time, while mixer is set to dough setting, until the dough is no longer stick and clings to hook. Continue to let the machine knead the dough for another 2-4 minutes.)

Shape the dough into a ball and place in lightly greased bowl, turning to grease the top of dough. Cover and let rise until double in size (about 1 hour).

Punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half, cover and let rest 10 minutes. In the meantime, lightly grease your pan (or spray with cooking spray) and sprinkle with cornmeal.

Roll each portion of dough into a 10×15-inch rectangle and roll up jelly-roll style. Seal well and taper ends by pulling slightly. Place seam down on prepared pan. Mix egg white and tablespoon of water in a small bowl and brush over loaves. Cover and let rise until nearly double (35 to 45 minutes).

Using a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal slits about 1/4 inch deep in each loaf. Bake in 375-degree oven for 20 minutes. Brush on egg white mixture again and continue baking for 15 to 20 minutes more. Until bread sounds hollow when you tap it with your fingers. Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Leftovers make great french toast. And if the bread goes stale, you can cut it up for awesome croutons. Waste not, want not.

For more Frugal Friday tips, be sure to head on over to Biblical Womanhood.

Bob and I received a pasta maker as a wedding gift over five years ago and I just used it for the first time - yesterday!

I wanted to try my hand at making homemade crackers, so I went to Google to find a recipe. I found this post that suggests using a pasta maker to roll out the dough for the crackers.

I thought, I have a pasta maker. So, I dug it out.

I loved using that thing so much, I decided to make homemade noodles, too! (To go in homemade Chicken Noodle Soup.)

Wow! I think I am addicted!

This weekend I am going to make homemade pasta to go with the Chicken Parmesan I am making.

(Don’t buy shredded mozzarella, though. Usually the blocks are much less expensive per pound. Plus, it tastes so much better!)

I love playing around with making my own stir fry recipes. Last night, I made Mandarin Chicken. It was so good. I didn’t measure the ingredients exactly, so I hope you like a little bit of this, a little bit of that recipes.

This recipe can be made with just chicken or with added vegetables, such as carrot, onion, and broccoli.

First, take skinless, boneless chicken breast and cut it into small pieces. Put flour into a plastic zipper bag, with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste. Add the chicken pieces in and shake to coat.

Heat some oil in a skillet. Add the coated chicken pieces and brown well on all sides.

Meanwhile, open a can of mandarin oranges. Drain juice into a measuring cup or bowl. Add to the juice some honey (around 2 - 3 tablespoons), a dash or two of soy sauce (to taste), and a few shakes of ground ginger (1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon). Mix well.

If you are going to add vegetables, put them in the the meat and stir fry until tender-crisp. Add the juice/honey mixture and stir. After it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer. The flour from the meat will cause the sauce to thicken.

When everything is just about ready to eat, add in the mandarin orange segments and gently stir to warm through.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

Do you use a feed reader for blogs? I never did, but then I started cutting down on internet time and I needed to streamline my blog-reading process. There are a handful of blogs that I love to keep on top of because they always keep me in the know.

I tried a couple of different feed readers, but I love - LOVE - Google Reader.

I find the layout really easy on the eyes. Plus, I can organize my feeds into folders because I follow political blogs, frugality/finance blogs, and homeschool blogs, and I am not always in the mood to read all of them at the same time.

In Google Reader, the title of the post is a clickable link to that post on the blog itself. And the title of the blog is a clickable link to the blog’s main page, if you need to go there.

There is also a great feature, which I just discovered. You can “share” the feeds you liked and then create a blog post from your shared links.

I just did one as an example with some posts from my blog. Let’s see how it looks:

You can customize the color, title, and a couple other things, too.

Blog reading made better!

For more Works-for-me Wednesday tips, visit Rocks in My Dryer.