The Preachers Wife

Today’s fury has left me longing for a nap. I’m currently waiting on a young one to tutor and all I can think about and dream of is that warm, comfy bed in the next room. Oh to sleep the sleep of a thousand sleeps.

Today has been a crazy day. We’re overhauling our dining room and by overhauling I mean crazy, copious amounts of work. Our home’s previous owners lacked, well to say it lightly, common sense. Our walls are terrible– wall paper on top of wall paper on top of wall paper on top of dry wall. And not to mention the thousands of little holes every where. How many pictures does one need to hang anyway? Then, to top it off, those not so pretty swinging (saloon style- no joke) doors were installed that were all of 2 feet long. However, they were attached onto thick pieces of wood that were not only nailed into the wall in 5 places but also glued. Ain’t nothin’ coming outter my house wit outta fight. It’s always amazing to me. This house has been such a learning experience for us. Every turn of our head some new insane twist darkens the plot of our home makeover edition. Wouldn’t it be nice if Ty Pennington came up and said, loudly because that’s the only way he can talk, “Alright people. Let’s tear her down!” Some days I believe it would actually be better than trying to right the many, many wrongs in this house. Perseverance!

I really believe that once we get our home the way we love it and want it, the Lord will call us to pastor, work, or to move some where other than this area. I think He’s got a great sense of humor. He might even give a little wink as we thank Him for letting us complete our renovations because He just knows… bless their little hearts, they’ve worked so hard and now, I’m going to put them some place else.

Christmas is upon us! My shopping is done, my wrapping is done, one Christmas dinner is done, and I’m ready for Christmas Day!

This year, we started planning early, I mean early. 7 months before Christmas come upon us, we were already buying presents. Next year, though, I plan on making the goon majority of the presents with a few bought items with them. Really, who can afford to buy for 30 people every year? Well, no us at least.

I’m off to the grocery store EARLY this morning so that I can get the few little things we need for the rest of the week. I refuse to go later in the day due to the fact that the store is crawling with disgruntled parents, grandparents, and people in general- toting around their children (because they are out of school) trying to do last minute shopping and fighting for the last Barbie. No thanks.

Oh my! We are under a winter storm warning. Not a snow advisory but a WINTER STORM warning. Ice, snow, sleet, freezing rain, cold, cold cold. Hm. I’m none too excited about it.

I love snow, really I do however, I’m not in love with it when it brings it’s nasty counterparts ice, and freezing rain. Now that’s a relationship I’ll not get into. We have a dislike/disdain relationship.

So, with my Hubby at the firehouse for the evening, I’m here washing up stuff just in case we loose power. (While we’re talking about it add a little prayer that we’ll have power!).

Well I’m going to go make sure our outside furniture is covered as much as possible. Yuck!

I can’t believe it has already been a year since I last put up our Christmas tree. This year has flown. I can’t remember all of the things I did this year to make it go so fast. Maybe that’s a sign I should slow down? Probably not.

So, in the spirit that is Christmas Hubby and I set a whole day aside to decorate, watch Christmas movies, drink hot chocolate (however, somehow we never got to it), play Christmas songs, and enjoy a little time together before we became insanely busy.

That’s precisely what we did.

We are still newlyweds (the typical broke newlyweds) but somehow we have managed to scrounge up some cash in the year to get some decorations. For whatever reason, I adore the decorations and it always gives me this warm fuzzy feeling inside. My Darling Husband knows this and participates with all of the festivities that I conjure up. He’s a wonderful man. Take a glance at our “hard” work in just one room.

The holiday season is upon us. Black Friday ads are playing repeatedly on tv, everyone has a sale or a must have item, Christmas shopping is about to get ugly, money will be spent that some never had in the first place, and the little ones will be receiving more toys than they really need.

Is this really what the holidays are about? It’s a bit disturbing.

Don’t get me wrong, we all like to get presents, especially something we really want. But we’re all spending money on material items that at the end of the day don’t add up to much. I’ll be the first one to step up, raise my hand, and say “I have spent too much money on Christmas presents this year.” I even had a budget that I strictly stuck to. Yet, I’m looking at my list of presents to buy and wondering why those simple gifts really matter?

I’ve decided, with the full support of my husband, that next year we’re making our Christmas gifts for our family and friends. It’s too much otherwise and we all forget the true meaning of Christmas.

And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel   multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:9 - 14

And in the sweet words of Linus “That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.”

For whatever reason, I find myself laughing at the most inopportune times. Last night, hubby and I went across the county to attend an ordination ceremony for a pastor friend of ours. When we got there, I thought someone was getting saved because everyone was gathered around one person. Soon I found out that the poor gentleman that was surrounded had gone into a diabetic coma due to high blood sugar. The paramedics were called but thankfully so were the volunteer fire departments. They arrived first and got him awake somehow. I kid you not, it took the ambulance 35 minutes to arrive. It’s a good thing that he wasn’t having a heart attack because he would have died.

Service was supposed to start at 6PM however, due to the circumstances, it started 6:30′ish. Finally we were underway and my pastor (he also went for the ordination to officiate) preached a good message and we all went and prayed for the couple and their children. Then, the deacons wanted to speak. During all of this the little ones of the church were becoming restless, we were running on 8PM and low blood sugar. A little girl in front of me was wanting to play with her mom’s cell phone. Mom shook her head no. And, no joke, right as the deacon starts to cry about something (to be honest I was enthralled with the battle in front of me) the momma grabs the cell phone out of the little girl’s hands and said “I said no.” The little one looks up and said “Well, that’s not very nice.” What did I do? The spit, lips flapping, trying to be quiet laugh. Yea, none to lady-like and certainly at the wrong moment.

Oh well, I needed comedy relief. After 2.5 hours of the uncomfortable pews, runny nose, cough, headache, shoes that were far too uncomfortable, and not to mention noisy teenagers behind us, you might laugh too. I settled back in and decided I needed to pay attention to the person behind the pulpit. Then I decided I might have ADD.

I was at Walgreens this morning and the hoards were out. Every momma in town, and grandma’s too, were stocking up their pantries. I was so amazed and amused at the fact that in one aisle, people were calling out products “Baking soda!” and a reply would soon return “It’s 2/$1!” People were stopping others asking where they found THAT item! As I drove home, I thought about how willing to help most frugal shoppers are. Now, yes, there are a few bad eggs in each batch but still they are still some of the most helpful people around.

Things I must finish today:

Making yogurt

Making apple butter

Walgreens

Study out my Wednesday night lesson

Make bread

Post on blog

Mop floors

Bake pumpkin pie

Make chili

Lots of kitchen work to do today so I’m off to the grindstone. Happy Monday!

Monday has rolled around once again… *let’s all take our collective sigh*

I’ve been hurried around the house washing all of the rugs. It seems as though this time of the year always brings in dirty rugs. Go figure? I’ve found that a regular and good ol’ hot water washing keeps my rugs looking nice year round. I was hesitant at first becauseI figured good regular washings would ruin my rugs but thus far, a year later, they are still going strong and look pretty much brand new. So, yeah!

My husband and I have been dilligently searching for new ways to save money. I’ve tried making homemade bread in the past however my tries were, well, let’s just say not so wonderful. BUT, BUT, BUT I’ve found a recipe that works well for me. Yippee! My husband LOVES the bread and brags about it to everyone he sees. Ha! So, I guess I’ll keep the recipe, I think it is a winner. To boot, it’s pretty much fool proof. Yesterday when we returned from a visiting church (Hubby was asked to preach) we warmed up some chili and made grilled cheese with this bread… Heaven! Give it a try, homemade bread can be a little scary but this is so, so, so simple.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups flour, more or less, divided
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 2 cups very warm water, about 120°
• 2 tablespoons softened butter

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Beating at low speed, add the water and butter. Continue beating at high speed for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup flour and beat 4 minutes longer. Stir in 3 cups flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes,, or until dough is smooth and elastic, adding a little more flour as necessary.

Place dough in a large buttered bowl, turning to butter top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise for about 1 hour in a warm place, free of drafts. Punch dough down; knead until smooth. Cut dough in half, cover with the mixing bowl, and let stand for 15 minutes longer. Roll each half into a 12×9-inch rectangle. Starting with the narrow edge, roll up, turning ends under to make loaves to fit pans. Place rolls seam side down in greased loaf pans, 9×5x3-inches. Cover pans with clean towel and let rise in warm place until double, about 45 minutes. Bake loaves at 400° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped with fingers. Remove from pans to racks; brush with butter for a soft, more flavorful crust, if desired (I really suggest this step, yum). After I brush the butter on, I immediately place it in foil and let it sit until it cools. For whatever reason it makes the bread seem softer, who knows, it may be in my head.
Makes 2 loaves of white bread.

Happy Baking, and Happy Monday!