Monday, September 30, 2013

The very BEST gluten-free coffee cake


A cookbook from my collection
Nearly two years ago, I stopped eating wheat.  No, I don't have celiac disease, nor has a doctor ever told me I'm gluten intolerant.  I stopped eating wheat as an experiment, just to see if it helped me to feel better.  It did, within just a couple of weeks.  The inflamed feeling I'd had in my stomach for a long time went away.  And then, within a couple of months, the pain in my hips and shoulders had also gone away.  That was enough for me to leave wheat out of my diet on a pretty much permanent basis.  I just feel better without it.

At first, I didn't bother with learning how to bake gluten free.  I just didn't eat anything with wheat or barley in it.  I didn't want to buy a bunch of expensive ingredients and go to the trouble of learning a new way to bake if this experiment didn't work out.  By now, though, I've learned to make gluten-free all-purpose flour and I am doing a lot more baking than I did.  I like to keep my GF baked goods in the freezer and just pull out a muffin, a cupcake, or a cookie as needed.

Back at Easter time, I found this amazing blog: The Baking Beauties  while searching for a gluten-free cinnamon roll recipe.  I found this recipe: Best Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls  and it is absolutely fantastic.

So, when I was craving coffee cake a couple of months ago, I revisited Jeanine at The Baking Beauties .  Her site did not let me down!  I just wanted a simple, plain coffee cake with a yummy, crunchy streusel topping.  And this is the recipe I found:  gluten free cinnamon bun cake</>.  It is, quite simply, the perfect gluten free coffee cake.  Exactly what I was looking for.  The cake is nicely textured and the topping is absolutely wonderful.  I cut it in squares and freeze it, then microwave a square for 30 seconds when I want coffee cake.  My hubby loves this cake too and comments that one would never know it is gluten free.  He's right!

I should note that I have never added the icing drizzle on top.  I think the coffee cake is just perfect without it.

I have also made a variation of this cake by sprinkling fresh blueberries on the top before adding the topping.  I'm sure it would be good with raspberries or apples as well, maybe even peaches.  A keeper recipe for sure!

Goals for week beginning 9/30/2013

This beautiful graphic is from Little Birdie Blessings.
Another Monday!  And tomorrow is the start of a new month.  Here are my tentative goals for this week:
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study
* Continue work on Sunday School lesson 10
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5
*  Read 1 or 2 chapters in  Following God With All Your Heart
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs
*  Keep up a good water intake
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night
*  Post at least four times in my regular blog, and in my Christmas blog as time allows
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house, especially zone 4
*  Spend at least 15 minutes a day reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time
*  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do
* Plan and prepare for a getaway with my hubby
*  Write several encouraging notes to friends and family
*  Harvest basil and make pesto to freeze

And here's how last week went:
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study -- not done
* Continue work on Sunday School lesson 10 -- DONE!
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook -- not done
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5 -- not completed
*  Read 1 or 2 chapters in  Following God With All Your Heart -- not done; read about half a chapter
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows -- DONE!  (Yes!  Exercised twice and went walking 3 times!)
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs -- DONE!
* Finish and mail Darrin's birthday gift -- DONE!
*  Keep up a good water intake -- DONE!
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night -- not done
*  Post at least four times in my regular blog, and in my Christmas blog as time allows -- not done
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house, especially zone 4 -- not done
*  Spend at least 15 minutes a day reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time -- not done
 *  Hopefully have a fun fall outing with our local daughter and her family  -- DONE!
 *  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do -- DONE!
* Begin a back-on-track challenge -- not done

If you read between the lines, you might deduce (correctly) that I spent a lot of time working on Darrin's birthday gift rather than doing other things.  In addition, Mr. T had a doctor appt. on Thursday which I accompanied him to, and he got out of work early on Friday so we did some errands together (one of which was in a favorite lakeside town, so we went for a walk and spent a little time soaking up the sun and the glorious view from a bench!).  It doesn't take too many out-of-the ordinary events to derail my week!

The week ahead looks busy, so I don't expect to accomplish everything on my list, but I do hope for a fairly productive week.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Goals for week beginning 9/23/2013


This gorgeous graphic is from Little Birdie Blessings
It's a mystery!  How Mondays come around so quickly, I'll never know.  The weeks just have a way of flying by.  Here are my tentative goals for this week:
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study
* Continue work on Sunday School lesson 10
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5
*  Read 1 or 2 chapters in  Following God With All Your Heart
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs
* Finish and mail Darrin's birthday gift
*  Keep up a good water intake
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night
*  Post at least four times in my regular blog, and in my Christmas blog as time allows
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house, especially zone 4
*  Spend at least 15 minutes a day reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time
 *  Hopefully have a fun fall outing with our local daughter and her family
 *  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do
* Begin a back-on-track challenge

And here's how last week went:
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study -- DONE!
* Begin work on Sunday School lesson 10 -- DONE!
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook -- DONE!
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5 -- not completed; reviewed Isaiah 26:3-4 instead
*  Read 1 or 2 chapters in  Following God With All Your Heart -- DONE!
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows -- exercised only once, but I am thrilled about this.  After months of not getting to it, I found time to exercise once.  And if I can find time to do that  once, I can do the same  3 to 5 times per week.
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs -- DONE!
* Finish Darrin's birthday gift -- not done, but well started
*  Keep up a good water intake -- DONE!
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night -- not done
*  Post at least four times in my regular blog, and in my Christmas blog as time allows -- DONE!
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house -- DONE!
*  Spend at least 15 minutes a day reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time  -- not done, but I started this project!
 *  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do -- DONE!
* Begin a back-on-track challenge  -- not done

Last week took a couple of very unexpected twists and turns.  I am hoping that this week will go more smoothly, but when we seek to follow the Lord, life is always an adventure.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Butterscotch Delight ... and Pumpkin Delight too!


Photo from Taste of Home
In every new season, I like to browse through my older issues of Taste of Home, Quick Cooking, and so on, for the particular season.  Right now, for example, I am sporadically looking through the August/September and September/October back issues of my collection.  I find that this gives me fresh inspiration in planning my menus.

This past weekend, I tried a couple of new recipes for the potluck lunch at church.  One was for the Apple-Feta Salad which I shared earlier.  The other was this one: Butterscotch Delight, a creamy layered pudding dessert.  I've made similar recipes many times and have even learned to make the crust gluten free, but (other than the pumpkin variation I've shared below) I have mostly used chocolate or lemon pudding.  Back in August I tried this variation: Chocolate Peanut Butter Dessert and it also is very delicious.


But back to the butterscotch.  We really liked the butterscotch flavor for a change -- it seems like sort of a fall flavor.  And it went over really well at the potluck, with just a small amount left over.

With fall flavors in mind, I thought I would also share the layered pumpkin dessert that's become a tradition in our family.  Here it is!


PUMPKIN LAYERED DESSERT

Crust:
1 cup flour
2 T. sugar
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix together ingredients and pat into a 13x9-inch pan or dish. Bake at 350ยบ for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

2nd Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
half of a 12-oz. tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

Beat cream cheese and sugar well. Fold in whipped topping and spread on cooled crust.

3rd Layer:
16-oz. can of pumpkin
2 small (3.5 oz. I think) pkgs. vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup half & half cream (or use evaporated milk or even regular milk)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves

Beat these ingredients together and spread the pumpkin mixture over the cream cheese layer. Chill for 1 hour.

4th Layer:
remaining 6 ounces of whipped topping (from the 12-oz. tub mentioned above)
Chopped walnuts

Spread the remaining whipped topping over the pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

This wonderful dessert has been a favorite at our Thanksgiving dinners for years! In 1995, my youngest daughter's best friend, Emily, spent the Thanksgiving break with us, and the two of them made this dessert together.  I believe it was originally from a Gooseberry Patch cookbook.  It was a new recipe to us then, but it quickly became a tradition. God took Emily home to heaven in the summer of 1996, so this tradition is doubly sweet to us as we remember her and the wonderful Thanksgiving we spent together.

I did want to add that during the fall in recent years, I've seen pumpkin instant pudding in the stores.  You could certainly use that rather than taking time to make up the pumpkin mixture, but the real pumpkin will be much, much nicer.  Enjoy, and happy fall!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Apple-Feta Tossed Salad


Photo by Taste of Home
I tried a couple of new recipes for our church potluck on Sunday, and both were keepers!  I made this salad: Apple-Feta Tossed Salad and it turned out absolutely delicious!

I should note that I did change up the dressing from what the recipe specifies.  I was working from the recipe in an older Taste of Home magazine, and it called for 6 tablespoons of olive oil and only 2 tablespoons of vinegar.  [The recipe as printed on the web site calls for no oil and 6 T. of vinegar, which was too tart for several reviewers.]  I also thought 6 T. of oil sounded like too much in the magazine recipe, and 2 T. vinegar sounded like too little.  So, I used 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and 4 tablespoons of vinegar.  I also used dried minced onion (about 2 teaspoons) and dried minced garlic (about a half teaspoon) and skipped the blender, just shaking the dressing up in a jar and making it a bit ahead of time so the dried ingredients would soften.  It just seemed easier to me, and the dressing came out perfectly.

The candied, peppered walnuts are a terrific part of the recipe and they are so easy to make.  I think this salad would also be good with blue cheese rather than feta, and I would like to experiment with different apple varieties like Ginger Gold or Honeycrisp. 

This salad was absolutely delicious and there were just a few tablespoons left in the huge bowl when the potluck was over.  I'll be making this again (probably several times) during apple season.  It's a keeper!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Goals for week beginning 9/16/2013


Photo by Photos Public Domain
Monday again!  Here are my tentative goals for this week:
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study
* Begin work on Sunday School lesson 10
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5
*  Read 1 or 2 chapters in  Following God With All Your Heart
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs
* Finish Darrin's birthday gift
*  Keep up a good water intake
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night
*  Post at least four times in my regular blog, and in my Christmas blog as time allows
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house
*  Spend at least 15 minutes a day reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time.
*  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do
* Begin a back-on-track challenge

And here is how last week went:
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study -- DONE!
*  Finish Sunday School lesson 9 -- DONE!
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook -- DONE!
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5 -- not done; learned Proverbs 18:24 instead.
*  Read 1 or 2 chapters in  Following God With All Your Heart -- DONE!
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows -- not done
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs -- DONE!
* Continue working on Darrin's birthday gift -- DONE!
*  Finish the cookbook I'm making for a wedding gift -- DONE!
*  Keep up a good water intake -- DONE!
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night -- managed this several nights
*  Post at least four times in my regular blog, and in my Christmas blog as time allows -- not done
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house -- not done
*  Spend at least 15 minutes a day reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time -- not done
*  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do -- DONE!
* Begin a back-on-track challenge -- not done

If you've read my previous post, you know that last week was quite a challenge for me.  I just didn't feel that I accomplished much.  After thinking it over and spilling my thoughts out (wow -- that just conjured up a picture of dumping out Scrabble® letters and trying to make sense out of them!) I came to the conclusion that the key to my difficult week was the fact that we're now getting up an hour later than we were -- though 5:30 is still plenty early by most people's standards, I'm having to adjust to it.  I'm trusting that this week will be a more encouraging one.

Where did it go?


Photo from Photos Public Domain
 My week, that is.  Time flies, I know.  But where did it go?

An untimely interruption of my slumber Saturday night (due to a barking dog at 3 a.m.) had me pondering that question as I drifted back to sleep.  Just where had the preceding week gone?

I decided to try and answer that question as best I could for any who may have been wondering why I didn't post after Monday. ... and also for my own information.  Here's some of what's been going on:

1) Getting up later.  As I think about it, I realize this is where some of my time went.  Mr. T was working 1.5 hours away and so, for months, we've been getting up at 4:15-4:30 a.m. every weekday.  Now he is working 15 minutes away and so I've been getting up at 5:30 a.m.  -- and so, there is where 5 hours of my week have gone.  But the extra sleep has really been helping me feel less tired, so I guess it's a trade-off.

2) Time with the Lord.  I try and spend a good bit of time in prayer,  Bible reading (and journaling about what I read)  each morning.  In addition, as I've shared before, I try to do at least one other spiritual growth-producing activity each day -- be it memorizing Scripture, working on a Bible study, reading a chapter of a helpful book, or making pages for my Scripture based notebook of verses that help me get to know God better.  I vary the activity with how busy my day is otherwise.  If I have a day at home I will work on a Bible study.  If it's a day when I'm out of the house a lot, I will read a chapter in my current book or make a page for my notebook, etc. 
Graphic by Little Birdie Blessings
3)  Preparing Sunday School lessons.  For many years I taught children's Sunday School classes and loved it.  I would work on my lessons throughout the week, studying and meditating on the Scripture, planning learning activities, making visuals and posters, doing seasonal bulletin boards.  It all took lots of time.  But it pales in comparison with preparing to teach ladies, which I have been doing now for probably eight or nine years.  Again, I love it and feel sure that's what God has called me to do, but oh, the time it takes!
Photo from Photos Public Domain
4)  Errands for others.  Part of the responsibility we take on when we begin helping our aging parents is to help them with chores and errands.  In my case that includes cleaning, some cooking, bill-paying, grocery shopping (as well as making a grocery list), making sure my dad remembers to and gets to appointments,  and other errands too numerous to mention.
Photo from Photos Public Domain
I'm not complaining; it's just reality and part of what God has for me right now, and I'm happy to do it.  But it does take time and it can be exhausting.  This past week I spent a lot more time in the car than I like to.

5)  Planning and scheduling.  Planning each week as best I can, making a daily schedule, planning menus ... it all takes time.  But it is far more than just busy work.
 
If I didn't make an attempt to make sense out of my day, to take note of what needs to be done in each week and to try and do it in the most efficient time frame, I would accomplish far less than I do.

6)  Creating.  I've said before that I seem to need to do something creative every day, whether it be cooking, writing, crafting, or just finding a creative way to teach something or a creative solution to a problem.  This week I finished 2 creative projects -- a personalized cookbook
 
 and a small framed cross-stitch wall hanging.



  Both of these are for gifts.

7)  Maintaining.  That's all I seem able to do right now.  Maintaining my weight and my current level of fitness.  Maintaining the current level of neatness in the public areas of the house.
 
Maintaining enough food in the pantry and on the table.  Maintaining enough clean clothes for our needs.  Oh, what a struggle it is trying to keep my hubby's work clothes even somewhat clean.

8)  Thinking.  There's lots to think about -- goals for the future.
Photo from Photos Public Domain
Household projects, homemaking necessities, plans for an October getaway and a couple's retreat and, Lord willing, a trip to Nevada in the spring, Christmas gifts to make and purchase, seasonal decorating projects, future Bible studies, writing projects, blog posts, and so on.  I have more ideas than I can ever possibly act on, but if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time, right?

The activities in these categories seem to sum up where the week has gone.  In the coming week, which I will post goals for later, I hope to accomplish much more.
This gorgeous graphic is by Little Birdie Blessings.  I find it very meaningful that she used forget-me-nots in this graphic.  Never, ever forget that God will give us "strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow.  Truly, His faithfulness is great!
I love what Elizabeth George wrote in A Woman After God's Own Heart:   "God’s mercies are new every morning and His faithfulness is great!  So every morning remember that your goal is simple: you want to have just one good day of living your priorities.  Then keep focused on following God’s plan for your life for just this one day.  For just one day, try putting first things first.”  By God's grace, I intend to do just that today and every day this week!

Monday, September 09, 2013

Goals for week beginning 9/9/2013


From my personal collection of antique cards
Another Monday rolls around!  Here are my tentative goals for the week:
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study
*  Finish Sunday School lesson 9
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5
*  Read 1 or 2 chapters in  Following God With All Your Heart
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs
* Continue working on Darrin's birthday gift
*  Finish the cookbook I'm making for a wedding gift
*  Keep up a good water intake
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night
*  Post at least four times in my regular blog, and in my Christmas blog as time allows
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house
*  Spend at least 15 minutes a day reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time.
*  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do
* Begin a back-on-track challenge

And here is how last week went:
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study -- DONE!
*  Start Sunday School lesson 9 -- started reading it; that was all
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook -- DONE!
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5 -- not done; memorized Hebrews 11:6 instead
*  Read last chapters in A Woman's Call to Prayer, begin reading Following God With All Your Heart -- DONE!
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows -- did quite a bit of walking
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs -- DONE!
* Start work on Darrin's birthday gift -- DONE!
*  Start work on a cookbook for a wedding gift -- DONE!
*  Finish making homemade padded mailing envelopes -- DONE!
*  Keep up a good water intake -- not done
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night -- not done
*  Post at least four times in my regular blog, and in my Christmas blog as time allows -- DONE!
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house  -- DONE!
*  Spend at least 15 minutes a day reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time  -- not done
 *  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do -- DONE!
*  Enjoy a time of spiritual refreshment and fellowship at a ladies' retreat -- DONE!
* Begin a back-on-track challenge  -- not done.

We will see how the week goes!  I'm still pretty tired from the weekend, so I may not accomplish all that I hope to.

Thursday, September 05, 2013

Asian Corn & Edamame Salad


Last week I was looking for a quick and easy salad that could be made ahead for our church potluck on Sunday.  Since I needed to prepare the salad on Friday afternoon (we were gone all day Saturday), I wanted something that would keep well in the refrigerator.  This salad, which I found in a back issue of Country Woman magazine, filled the bill perfectly: Asian Corn and Edamame Salad.  I changed the name a bit; in the magazine it was called Asian Corn Succotash, and to me succotash is a side dish served hot with cream or butter, not a side salad served cold.

My granddaughters (10 and 12) actually chopped the red peppers for this, made the dressing,  and put the salad together.  It was very easy to make.  I used canned whole kernel corn -- the crisp and sweet variety in the store brand, which I find to be excellent (it does not contain sugar;  it's just the name of the corn variety) -- and I also used the steam-in-bag frozen edamame (also the store brand) which made it even easier.  I skipped the red onion and just added a bit of dried minced onion to the dressing.

The salad turned out delicious and it was very pretty and unusual.  I will definitely make this again!

Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Green, green, it's green, they say

The back of an envelope; this calendar page featured art by Rebecca Barker
Those words, which I think are from a 1960s folk tune, were going through my head as I worked on this little recycling project -- handmade bubble mailers.  These handmade padded mailing envelopes are a pretty "green" craft -- in fact, they are twice green in that they use not one but two recycled components.

I wanted to send a little handmade necklace to a friend, but had none of the small bubble mailers on hand.  I didn't have time or inclination to go to the store and so decided to try a tutorial I had saved some time ago, and make my own mailing envelope.  I had actually saved several different tutorials, but the one I've linked to above is the one I used.

Scrapbooking paper or wrapping paper was my first thought, but one of the other tutorials suggested using the heavy paper from magazine covers.  That would be nice, but I had another thought -- why not try using some of the beautiful calendar pages I've saved over time?  Some of these I have framed, others just tacked up as they are.  But I still had a stack I couldn't bear to throw away and no real clear idea how I would eventually use them.  So I tried using one and it worked so well I made a bunch of envelopes in 2 different sizes -- 5x7 and 6x9.  I often use padded mailers to send small items to faraway family and friends, and I know they will enjoy receiving these special homemade ones.

I had lots of bubble wrap on hand, recycled from various boxes of goods from here and there.  So that is my second "green" component -- I was re-using another on-hand material.

A couple of helpful hints:  I did find that, in using the calendar pages, the 5x7 envelopes didn't really need to be lined with bubble wrap.  I did use it on a couple of them but then decided it wasn't necessary.  I did add it for all of the larger envelopes.  I also found that the bottom seam on the envelope -- the first seam you glue -- really should be reinforced with tape before mailing.  I had glued it with rubber cement and clamped it with clothespins overnight, and it looked fine when I mailed it.  But when my friend received the envelope, that entire seam was open!  Don't know if it was due to heat, humidity, or what, but it was open.  Thankfully, the necklace survived the trip just fine!

But it could easily have been otherwise.  So that is why I recommend taping that bottom seam shut.

Here are some of the envelopes I've made:
Envelope front; from calendar page featuring art by Shelly Reeves Smith
Envelope back; from calendar page featuring art by Rebecca Barker

Envelope front; from calendar page featuring art by Rebecca Barker

Envelope back; from calendar page featuring art by Rebecca Barker
Envelope back; from calendar page featuring art by Rebecca Barker

Envelope front; from calendar page featuring art by Shelly Reeves Smith

Envelope front; from calendar page featuring art by Rebecca Barker

Envelope front; from calendar page featuring art by Rebecca Barker

Envelope back; from calendar page featuring art by Shelly Reeves Smith

Envelope front; from calendar page featuring art by Shelly Reeves Smith

Envelope front; from calendar page featuring art by Rebecca Barker
I am so pleased to have created something beautiful and useful from what might otherwise have been thrown away!  In addition, I love the idea that I can share some of my favorite artists with my friends.  Do you have magazines or calendar pages in your stash?  If so, you might like to try this project also!

Monday, September 02, 2013

Goals for week beginning 9/2/2013

This beautiful image is from Free Christian Wallpaper
Not only a new week, but a new month as well!  I love fall, and Mr. T and I have some fun activities planned for September and October, but I have mixed feelings about September's arrival.  The summer went by so fast!  And fall inevitably means the arrival of winter!  At any rate,  here are my weekly goals:
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study
*  Start Sunday School lesson 9
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5
*  Read last chapters in A Woman's Call to Prayer, begin reading Following God With All Your Heart
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs
* Start work on Darrin's birthday gift
*  Start work on a cookbook for a wedding gift
*  Finish making homemade padded mailing envelopes
*  Keep up a good water intake
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night
*  Post at least four times in my regular blog, and in my Christmas blog as time allows
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house
*  Spend at least 15 minutes a day reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time.
*  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do
*  Enjoy a time of spiritual refreshment and fellowship at a ladies' retreat
* Begin a back-on-track challenge

And here is how last week went:
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study -- DONE!
*  Finish Sunday School lesson 8 -- DONE!
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook -- DONE!
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5 -- memorized verse 4; still thinking about trying to memorize this entire psalm.
*  Read 2 chapters in A Woman's Call to Prayer -- DONE!
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows -- managed a few walks
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs -- DONE!
* Start work on Darrin's birthday gift -- not done
*  Start work on a cookbook for a wedding gift -- bought needed materials
*  Bake cookies and muffins -- DONE!
*  Make some homemade padded mailing envelopes -- nearly finished these
*  Keep up a good water intake -- DONE!
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night -- nearly managed this
*  Post at least four times in my regular blog, and in my Christmas blog as time allows -- DONE!
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house -- DONE!
*  Begin the large project of reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time -- not started, but I did buy a photo album in which to store some of my clipped recipes
  *  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do -- DONE!
*  Enjoy some weekend time with friends --DONE!

Again this here are not as many  DONE!s as I'd like to see, so I'm surely hoping for a more productive week ahead.  It doesn't look super busy so far.  We will see!

Sunday, September 01, 2013

September Goals

Back cover, New Hampshire Troubadour, September 1947
 Time to set goals for a new month!   Here goes:

SEPTEMBER GOALS
* Continue reading through the book of Psalms, journaling as I go.
* Continue reading A Woman's Call to Prayer and start a new book
* Memorize at least 4 Bible verses.
* Continue study of 2 Samuel
* Exercise at least 15 times; walk as often as possible
* Get to bed by 9:30 pm each night.
* Limit sugar.
* Drink enough water each day.
* Keep up with Kelly's missions in homemaking zones of the week.
* Spend several hours updating my A-store.
* Write at least 4 encouraging notes to friends and family.
* Post several times weekly in one or both of my blogs
* Finish some UFO craft projects
* Make a birthday gift and a wedding gift
* Declutter several closets
* Work on crafts for gifts or sale
* Complete a back-on-track challenge
* Enjoy time at a ladies' retreat

And here is how August went:

AUGUST GOALS
* Continue reading through the book of Psalms, journaling as I go -- DONE!
* Continue reading A Woman's Call to Prayer - DONE!
* Memorize at least 4 Bible verses - DONE!
* Continue study of 2 Samuel - DONE!
* Exercise at least 15 times; walk as often as possible -- not done, although I did fairly well with walking
* Get to bed by 9:30 pm each night --- not done
* Limit sugar -- didn't do too badly with this
* Drink enough water each day -- did okay with this but not the best
* Keep up with Kelly's missions in homemaking zones of the week -- did okay with this, but again, not the best
* Spend several hours updating my A-store -- not done
* Write at least 4 encouraging notes to friends and family -- DONE!
* Post several times weekly in one or both of my blogs - DONE!
* Finish some UFO craft projects -- not done
* Declutter several closets -- not done
* Work on crafts for gifts or sale - DONE!
* Complete a back-on-track challenge -- not done


Here's hoping for a productive September!