Add your own pizza toppings?

O.K. call me stupid but I NEVER thought of doing this!! I am definitely going to try this out.

I usually try to make my own pizza because it is healthier but we like parlor pizza I don’t always have the time.
I may just have to deliberately set aside toppings through the week so we CAN do this! Some weeks though we do have bits of this and that to add to a cheaper cheese pizza.

Have any of you done something similar?

Romance Novels and the Christian

In my closet I have boxes full of “Christian” romance novels, which I started collecting in my teen years. I have every book of a particular author intending to pass them on to my daughter when she turned 13. I spent hours filling my mind with stories of love and romance often finishing a book in one day. I then would re-read my favorite parts over and over. As I look back, I remember my favorite parts were usually describing some romantic gesture or “innocent” affection between the lovers.

I was raised in a good, separated, Christian home. My mom was very careful in what I was allowed to read, usually reading/skimming books before passing them on to me. But in this one area I feel she might not have realized how reading this type of material can shape your thinking and views on what a godly relationship should look like, as well as inflame feelings in a young girl that should lie dormant until the Lord brings her man on to the scene. One verse that comes to mind is Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” Sounds as if we should spend a great deal of time and effort guarding our heart, doesn’t it?

I am certain some of you are thinking that I am making WAY too big of a deal out of this. I mean, aren’t these books full of Christian values, morals, purity!? Doesn’t it give us a good picture of what godly relationships should look like, what it’s like to fall in love, how to know when it’s not right…or that it’s just good clean entertainment? Maybe you’re right…maybe you can read these books and get something totally different out of them…maybe you are such a strong Christian that your views and expectations are unruffled as you read…Maybe, but it was not true for me. 

I personally know ladies that have been dissatisfied with their relationship with their husband because he was not “romantic” often inflamed by her unrealistic expectation of how he “should” be. Is it right to read (or even watch) things that will only contribute to this problem? How would you feel if your husband looked at an picture book full of naked ladies and therefore becoming bitter with you because you did not measure up? Is it a secret that women like romance and men like the physical relationship? I do not think so. When will Christians admit that there is little difference in romance (outside of your marriage) for women and images for men?

Dr. Julianna Slattery, psychologist and author of Finding the Hero in Your Husband, said that “For many women, these novels really do promote dissatisfaction with their relationships. There is a neurochemical element with men and porn, but an emotional element with women and these novels. I have met women that are addicted to these novels.”

Now she is talking about the romance novels that are not “Christian” but I would like to argue that they are one in the same without the graphic descriptions and some religion throwed in. I always tend to be leary of those things that are of the world that are cleaned up and polished for Christians. Mark those things and avoid them.

The same principle could apply to a many number of things. Having a little girl, I watch out for movies she watches and books that she reads that encourage thoughts about love, romance and all the fluttery feelings that go along with that. Praise the Lord she wants to fall in love, get married and all the blessed emotions that come with marriage but it is not time for it yet. The desire she has/will have is natural and of the Lord so I need to do nothing to encourage more of those feelings as she has no outlet. I can think of a great many a movie that are generally thought of as clean that have little girls full of thoughts of marriage, love, kissing etc. For some reason it is considered cute in a little girl but if a little boy were to watch another movie and come away with the same desires it all of a sudden isn’t cute?! Hmmmm…something to think about.

Another point to bring out about these things is they can also foster desires for undue attention. The beauty, glamor and attention the heroine receives is certainly opposite from what the Bible says in I Titus 2:9 “…that women adorn themselves…with shamefacedness…” Have you ever compared this verse while your daughter was playing dress up and dancing, doing ballet or twirling for attention? This same verse also says “…not with gold, pearls, or costly array” Are we teaching a double standard to our young girls when it’s o.k. to live out their fantasies via books and movies and pretend play but tell them they are not to carry on like that in real life? I think so.

So how do I sum this all up???

It is sad to think that we could miss seeing the “Hero in our husband” because he didn’t romance you like Prince Charming in the book you read last night. No poor husband could measure up nor could we. I encourage you to embrace the husband you have, be all that you know *he* wants you to be and appreciate the *romance* HE can offer. Even if it is remembering to put the toliet lid down! We could all escape via our thoughts and find another situation better than ours if we tried hard enough. On the flip side, couldn’t dear husband find a better wife than you?

I’ll close with this Scripture:

“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee or forsake thee.”

Note: I realize this is not a popular teaching, but I felt I needed to be true to what the Lord has been laying on my heart and at the encouragment of my husband decided to post. I am surprised at how very little there is written on this topic as I feel these things should be obvious to us Christian women. I am afraid society has done a fantastic job in programming us to think as the world does on a great many subjects. I pray we consider these things, talk to our husband and break with society and truly be a people that has purified themselves unto Jesus to become a peculiar people.

 

Frugal Friday – Give Away!

Today I am hosting my first give-away! Just leave me a comment on a way you’ve been frugal this week and I will have my children pick a name at random and will announce the winner here on my blog NEXT Frugal Friday May 16th!

The book I am giving away is Jonni McCoy’s “Frugal Families”

This is a great book with tons of ideas for saving $$ on decorating, moving, pets, even cars and insurance! Get tips on getting out of debt, making money from home, and teaching your children how to be frugal!

Don’t forget! Leave me a comment on a way you’ve been frugal this week and check back NEXT Friday, May 16th when I will announce the winner!

Check out all the frugal tips over at Biblical Womanhood’s Frugal Friday!

I found it!

…the perfect bread recipe!
I was skeptical when this recipe claimed to be light and fluffy. I thought I had tried almost every “Light and Fluffy” whole wheat bread recipe out there but this recipe proved me wrong.
To this recipe I added 2 Tbls of lecithin and 1 Tbls of gluten.
I’ve made this bread twice and both times they turned out perfect loaves of whole wheat bread.
It’s especially yummy fresh out of the oven…ahem… slathered in BUTTER!

If you try this recipe out let me know! I’d love to know if others liked the recipe!

Moving the furniture around

You probably have noticed that I changed my theme…For those of you that know me really well, you know that when I get depressed, bored, ill, ornery, discontent etc. I like to move my furniture around. My blog is no different. So you all will likely see my theme change many more times just like my home in which no room stays the same for over a month.

I guess I took an unintentional blog hiatus as I did not post for a week. We have been extremely busy and then when I sat down to post everything came out sounding off…(Forgive me but I do have those days…I have not yet arrived at perfection…Almost but not quite ) Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Baby Girl quit sleeping through the night. Or maybe it was feeling overwhelmed with our school schedule. I guess it could have been for no reason at all. I have been known to get out of shape and not really know why!?

Anyway, that explains the new theme # ___ (I lost count) and now you’ll know why the theme might be different a month from now

Quit Wasting Food

How’s that for a catchy title!? LoL

Most of us HomeMakers try to be frugal, to make the most of the one-income our husbands work so hard for. We do that in a variety of ways…coupons, rebates, sales, etc. Did you know that you can save $$ w/out leaving home and w/out clipping coupons?

Quit wasting food!

Research shows that the average American family throw out over 400 lbs of food every year! Hard to believe isn’t it? I’d say most of us don’t even realize how much food is wasted in our homes. Think about it: How much fruit got throwed away because it was mush or turning colors? What drinks got washed down the drain? What about that meat in the freezer that got freezer burned? How about the food that is scrapped from everyone’s plate and fed to the dog? What about the leftovers that NO-ONE wants to eat?

So what’s the solution? Here are some ways we can save money on groceries before we ever leave our home.

1) Menu planning ~ Visit hereto find out the why’s and hows of planning a menu. Every week I menu plan I notice how much $$ I am able to save and how few groceries I really need to buy!

2) Cut out grazing between meals. Once the children know they do not eat between meals they will eat their food at meal time. Offer a set snack time w/ 3-4 choices that you planned out previously on your menu. Fruit is a favorite around here.

3) Offer 1 glass of drink such as juice, tea, or milk and then the second glass offered is water. This will help eliminate filling up on drink. The cost of juice and milk these days is ridiculous!

4) Be aware of the expiration dates and be sure everyone knows they need to eat/drink ______ before they can eat/drink ______. Also, there’s nothing wrong with rationing some food items to make things last through the week.

Just a few of the things we try to do around here to save 400 lbs of food every year

Works for me Wednesday

With 6 people in the house dirtying cups and they never remember who’s cup is who’s it seems as if our dishwasher is always full and our cabinets empty.

A friend offered this solution…Buy several different glasses and/or cups (perhaps you already have different colors) and assign each family member their own color. Brilliant! Then you can always know who’s cup is sitting on the coffee table or has been left out in the yard. And a bonus for the kids…no worries of swapping cooties!

O.K. Maybe it’s not BRILLIANT but it Works for Me!

Check out other neat ideas over at www.rocksinmydryer.net

 

 

Homemade Pizza a HIT!

Last night was pizza night, as per my Menu. I had never made either recipe before and was beginning to think it wasn’t worth all the trouble to prepare. I told Dearest that if the pizza wasn’t knock down good I wasn’t going to bother with it again!

As it was cooking it smelled wonderful and actually it looked just as good but I wasn’t sure how it would taste.

Well, it turned out SCRUMPTIOUS! That is not an exaggeration! Everyone (even my at-times-picky children gobbled it up) raved at how good it was. Dearest commented that it was just as good or better than Papa John’s. I consider that a complement considering that it was HEALTHY!

I wish I had taken pictures! Forgive me, I’m still getting used to this blogging thing! Next time I make pizza I will take pictures.

So, don’t let the extra prep time put you off…As Mikey said, “Try it you’ll like it!”

P.S. The children’s pizza was cheese only. On ours I put fresh mushrooms, bell peppers and onions. I made no changes to the dough, but in the sauce instead of using fresh tomatoes I used canned, whole plum tomatoes which I pulsed a couple of times in my food processor.

 

Menu Plan Monday – Week 2

Last week we went to the in-laws for one meal and then had an unplanned event so 2 meals are carry-overs from last week.

BREAKFAST ~ eggs (cheese omelet, boiled, fried), cheese grits, oatmeal

LUNCHES ~ P.B. sandwiches, fruit, salad, left-overs

SNACKS ~ fruit, carrots, homemade WW bread, Ovaltine

MONDAY ~ (carry over) Veggie Pizzas w/ homemade pizza sauce and WW dough, salad

TUESDAY ~ Fend-for-yourself

WEDNESDAY ~ Pinto beans and corn bread

THURSDAY ~ 40 clove chicken, mashed potatoes, collards, salad

FRIDAY ~ (carry over) Grilled chicken salad, P.B. sandwiches for the little guys

SATURDAY ~ Invited to a birthday party w/ a meal

SUNDAY ~ Out-of-Town Company is bringing a meal of KFC, potato salad, biscuits. I’m making Strawberry Shortcake.

If you’ve never done a weekly menu, be a first timer over at Menu Plan Monday. I am really enjoying posting my menu here, as I am more apt to stick to it knowing I’ve announced it to everyone!

Sharing…

Here’s the picture I captured as I quietly opened the back door

so as not to disturb our human bird feeders.

 

Baby Girl crawling

 

I saw a great bumper sticker today that said “Somedays I wish I was a missing person” LoL We’ve all been there haven’t we?

We’re off to my in-laws for supper. Yipee! don’t have to cook tonight!