Frankly my dear.....

Last March Carmon entered my name in her contest and I WON!! I got to pick $25.00 worth of books from her nice store. This is just one of them and I am reading it for the very first time.




You may already know that I am a late bloomer when it comes to reading good books and classics. Better late than never, right?! I'm actually quite embarrassed by my lack of reading but at least I have something to show for the last several years, I gave birth to and nursed 5 children in 10 years, phew! Donna tells me not to be embarrassed...she says: "people just don't blog about math and science." I have just started GWTW and I really like it so far.

Guess what? I've never seen the movie either. I've seen bits and pieces and know parts of the story but never start to finish! I am excited about that. I love reading books first.

Salmon and Science

My friend gave me this recipe and it is a keeper!

It is a perfect low carb dinner and could probably be used if you're flushing your fat away.

From Muscle & Fitness, April 2006 (thankfully, I didn't have to actually read the magazine. The recipe was torn out already. :P).

Spicy Salmon

1 purple onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. canned chipotle peppers
1 T. minced fresh cilantro
2 C. baby spinach
4 4 oz. salmon fillets
Salt and pepper to taste
Lime slices to garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Mix onion, garlic, peppers, cilantro and tomatoes together in a medium bowl.

Cut four 12 X 12 inch pieces of foil and place 1/2 C. spinach in the center of each. Top spinach with one salmon fillet, then 1/4 of the tomato mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring the two opposite sides of foil together and fold over to seal. Fold remaining two sides to seal.

Place packets seam side up on baking sheet; bake 15-20 minutes. For rare salmon, cook 12-15 minutes. Open packets carefully, allowing steam to escape; serve garnished with lime slices if desired.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
228 calories, 38 g protein!!!, 1 g carbohydrate!!!, 8 g fat, 3 g fiber.

Enjoy :-)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




This video was a perfect supplement and a perfect end to our final chapter in the Apologia Physical Science book. It is very well done and sent shivers down my spine. We (humans) are very small in light of the universe.

Thankfully, our Creator cares about each one of us and knows the number of hairs on our head. Not only does He care for us, we were created in His image and for His glory.

A Meme

I tagged myself. Found at Donna's blog.

I AM: Just Janet

I SAID: Yes, Jesus. I will follow you

I WANT: To obey Jesus,

I WISH: you would too.

I HATE: swearing /cussing / vulgar language

I MISS: my sisters

I FEAR: dying young

I HEAR: CeCe Winans in the background

I WONDER: why Christians like to stand on the cliff with their toes way too far over the edge

I REGRET: not being more bold about my Savior

I DANCE: often

I SING: horribly

I CRY: at movies and commercials

I AM NOT ALWAYS: kind :(

I MADE: spaghetti for dinner

I WRITE: horribly, but I don't have to tell you that, do I?

I CONFUSE: myself often

I NEED: Jesus

I SHOULD: get up and fold laundry

I START: projects

I FINISH: my husband's sentences

I BELIEVE: Jesus is the way, and the truth and the life

I KNOW: I love the clothing at Coldwater Creek

I CAN: jog for two and a half minutes on the treadmill (lame, I know)

I CAN'T: knit

I SEE: 3 really cute little girls running through my house

I BLOG: when I can

I READ: slowly

I FIND: pennies and Polly Pockets all over my house

I LIKE: caramel frapawhatevers from Starbucks

San Diego Pictures

Pirates of the Caribbean Party





The view from our room





Dave and Janet

Happy Birthday x 2

Today we celebrate two very special birthdays.

Hannah is 14 today!




and







Danielle is now 11!

















They will open presents, we will go out to dinner as a family and I will be serving brownies and icecream after dinner. Oh, and we hope to get some free stuff today. Krispy Kreme donuts and maybe a Starbucks Frap!

Lauren (3) was sure to wake them at 6 AM to wish them a happy day. Dani got up but Hannah quickly locked her bedroom door and crawled back in to bed.

I am blessed to have such precious daughters. They are sweet, kind, happy and full of life.

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Happy Birthday, Dani!

I love you,
Mom

This is Worth Another Post

HT: Donna

I have not laughed this hard in a long time. He stole my moves!! I was a big dancer 'back in the day'. I am off to watch and listen to this on our main computer. It has a subwoofer and a larger screen.

Enjoy

Life is Busy

Things are busy around our house these days. We leave on Thursday morning for an Interstate Battery Convention in San Diego. (and my husband is currently sick with the intestinal flu)



I hope to visit this lovely place while we are there.

We will be gone until Tuesday so I won't be posting for a while.




I will have you know we have two large dogs. Both of them will eat you alive if you attempt to rob our house.


Happy Donna? hehehe.

It's Over!

And I did it!! : D

I made it 10 days on my cleanse.

Here are a few highlights:

* I lost 12 pounds.
* I feel GREAT.
* I am very happy to be caffeine free, Nutrasweet free and sugar free.
* My face is no longer puffy.
* My friend Tammy is my hero. She did it with me and lost 10 pounds. She was a constant encouragement.
* I am excited and proud and can't believe I stuck with this.
* It was probably one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life. Seriously.
* My joints feel great.
* I am sleeping well.

Today I am drinking orange juice and sipping homemade vegetable soup. Both are delicious and you'd think I was eating a Filet from Ruth's Chris. I will wean myself today and tomorrow, gradually introducing a few real foods. Friday or Saturday I plan on treating myself to a salad at Chipotle. I am craving something with FLAVOR! In the Southwest that means Mexican food.




So long for now. Feel free to ask questions in the comments.

God is good!

Take a little trip over to Candace's blog!

You will be rejoicing.

Doxology

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

Cleanse Update

Inquiring minds, like Dana, want to know! :)

I'm on day 5 of my cleanse and other than the obvious, like I can't eat food, it is going extremely well. I have lost 8.5 (I have a digital scale, ok? and every fraction of a pound matters) pounds and I am feeling great. I have followed the cleanse exactly as it is outlined in the book. I drink the tea at night, the salt water in the morning and my yummy lemonade ALL day long. The first three days of the cleanse I suffered headaches in the afternoon. I think they were from the lack of caffeine and the toxins that were being released in my body. I have been able to workout three times this week but due to the headaches I took it a little easy on things that would rattle my head. I noticed today that I became very fatigued while doing an exercise that involved a large muscle group (quads, hamstring and gluts). I don't think I have enough juice to work the large muscles.

One more thing I want to share....I have been known to take three Advil at a time to get rid of a bad headache (shameful, I know). The other day I was feeling discouraged about my headaches and knew it would be better to take an Advil than to give up the whole cleanse. So I took one Advil, it worked immediately and the headache was completely gone. I credit the cleanse for the effectiveness of the Advil. I have also heard of people who are on major meds being able to adjust the dosage or go off them completely. Amazing.

Another thing....my friend is doing this with me and having a buddy is making all the difference in the world. We are suffering together. ;-) She is losing as fast as I am, in fact, she thinks this is a competition. Bring it on, girl!!



CHEERS!

Spring

"Springtime" by Claude Monet



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spring
by Robert McCracken

Today is the day when bold kites fly,
When cumulus clouds roar across the sky.
When robins return, when children cheer,
When light rain beckons spring to appear.

Today is the day when daffodils bloom,
Which children pick to fill the room,
Today is the day when grasses green,
When leaves burst forth for spring to be seen.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
~Margaret Atwood


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is lovely here in Arizona right now. I plan on taking the little girls to the park tomorrow. We are going to enjoy Spring! And they will smell like dirt!
:-)

Cleansing!

Have you ever read/tried The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs? I am giving it a try this week. I officially started last night.

Great website here. Purchase the book here.




According to Burroughs the purpose is:

"to dissolve and eliminate toxins and congestion that have formed in any part of the body.

to cleanse the kidneys and the digestive system.

to purify the glands and cells throughout the entire body.

the eliminate all unusable waste and hardened material in the joints and muscles.

to relieve pressure and irritation in the nerves, arteries and blood vessels.

to build a healthy blood stream.

and to keep youth and elasticity regardless of our years."

*****************

Janet's Top Ten Reasons to Cleanse

10. I eat way too much junk food
9. My joints ache
8. I am a Diet Coke addict
7. Therefore I am addicted to caffeine
6. My cholesterol is slightly over 200
5. I am over weight and hope to lose ALOT!
4. My digestive system is not what it ought to be, nuff said
3. Free and fresh lemons in the backyard
2. I enjoy torturing myself

and the number one reason for Janet to cleanse is "To keep youth and elasticity regardless of my years" Hey, I just turned forty!


******************

I will not share the gory details of this cleanse with you. If my husband had a blog he would and he would do so gladly. I will answer a few questions if asked and would love to hear from anyone who has tried this themselves. All I will say is that so far I feel great and empty. :)

PG-15

My daughter is almost 14 and her friend, Jessie, is 14 so I made this PG-15. Pass this one up girls or ask your parents and discuss it with them. :)

I really think this should be read by young people who have their parent's permission and are mature enough to handle this sort of information. Young people need to be told about the consequences of sin, not try to figure it out on their own. So, in our household this is PG-14/15. It may not be the case in yours but I wanted to give you fair warning.

Frank Turk aka CenturiOn aka a Pyromaniac team member linked to this article by Ann Coulter. She says some very bold things and I happen to think she is spot on.

She really should not refer to our Savior as "that Christ fellow" though. Otherwise, I agree with her wholeheartedly.

Puzzles!

You know what happens when you turn off the television and computer? Children begin to enjoy life. They sit together, talk and do a beautiful puzzle or two.

I bought these puzzles when I was at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art a couple of years ago. I was thrilled to find the gallery and more than thrilled to find Claude Monet was the featured artist. I also got to see a few Renoir paintings. It was amazing. I was alone at the gallery, Dave was in a meeting, so I grabbed the headset and enjoyed every single picture while listening intently. It was so much fun. There was also a lovely gift shop filled with everything art! Toys, puzzles, posters, t-shirts, games and so on...a home schooling/classical schooling mother's dream. I came home with these two puzzles. Aren't they lovely?

Piatnik is an Austrian company. The webpage is not easy to navigate, as I "no sprechen sie deutsch".
Unless of course you click on the 'English' button ;-)

You can purchase these puzzles here, if you are interested.

I am also a fan of Ravensburger puzzles.

I guess you could say I'm a puzzle snob.

The Germans (and Austrians) have a way with puzzles, don't you think?

Have you done a puzzle lately?

Resurrection Sunday

Luke 24

He Is Risen

1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them,[a] came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly[b] perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”
8 And they remembered His words. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying[c] by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

***************

I hope you will go to the Spurgeon Archive Webpage and read this amazing sermon by Charles S. Spurgeon preached on April 8, 1855.

At the end of the sermon he is gives three doctrines that are taught relating to the empty tomb.
Here is the second one:

"A second doctrine here taught well may charm thee, if the Holy Spirit apply it with power. Behold his empty tomb, O true believer: it is a sign of thine acquittal, and thy full discharge. If Jesus had not paid the debt, he ne'er had risen from the grave. He would have lain there till this moment if he had not cancelled the entire debt, by satisfying eternal vengeance. O beloved, is not that an overwhelming thought?"

***************

And here is one of my favorite Resurrection hymns found at The Cyber Hymnal

Low in the Grave He Lay
by Robert Lowry

Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,He arose a Victor from the dark domain,And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.He arose! He arose!Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior;Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,He arose a Victor from the dark domain,And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.He arose! He arose!Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Death cannot keep its Prey, Jesus my Savior;He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,He arose a Victor from the dark domain,And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.He arose! He arose!Hallelujah! Christ arose!


**************

My prayer for you is that you celebrate the risen Lord every day of your life.

Love Janet.

The Lily

I am going to Costco tomorrow morning to buy two Easter Lilies, one for my mother-in-law and one for Dave's grandmother. The lilies are very big (Costco style) and beautiful.



Here is a webpage with some information on the Easter Lily.

This poem came from that webpage.

Enjoy.


Easter morn with lilies fair
Fills the church with perfumes rare,
As their clouds of incense rise,
Sweetest offerings to the skies.
Stately lilies pure and white
Flooding darkness with their light,
Bloom and sorrow drifts away,
On this holy hallow’d day.
Easter Lilies bending low
in the golden afterglow,
Bear a message from the sod
To the heavenly towers of God.

-Louise Lewin Matthews

Esther Jean

I absolutely love this picture of me and my mom. It has a special place on my refrigerator. I see it every day. I look for it every day.

This is how I remember my mother. Tender, loving, beautiful and kind.



Today would be her 72nd birthday. I wanted to post this picture to honor my mom and so my sisters could see it. It has probably been a long time since they've seen this picture.

It sure would be fun to celebrate this birthday with my mother but God in His infinite wisdom had other plans for Esther Jean. His plans are not always completely understood but they are always perfect.

Romans 8:28-29

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

I Wish That Mockingbird Wouldn't Sing

at night....

My sick, three-year-old daughter was not nearly as annoying as this little guy last night.

The weather is perfect at night right now and my husband loves to sleep with the windows open. I am, however, a very light sleeper. The mockingbird was making the funniest sounds last night around 10:30. I was grumbling and complaining and my husband was chuckling. He thought it was hilarious. More than anything, he thought it was funny that I was letting a little bird annoy me and keep me up.

********

Southern Lullaby
Written By: Unknown
Copyright Unknown

Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird.

And if that mockingbird don't sing,
Mama's going to buy you a diamond ring.

And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Mama's going to buy you a looking glass.

And if that looking glass gets broke,
Mama's going to buy you a billy goat.

And if that billy goat won't pull,
Mama's going to buy you a cart and bull.

And if that cart and bull turn over,
Mama's going to buy you a dog named Rover.

And if that dog named Rover won't bark,
Mama's going to buy you a horse and cart.

And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

******

Here's Carly Simon's version

Lauren and Libman

I just finished mopping the kitchen, something I don't do nearly enough!

Lauren walked up to me while I was mopping and with a little whine said

"Mama, my body hurts".

I am suspicious because she happens to love the taste of medicine and vitamins. I am just sure she is indirectly asking for one or the other.

I respond "ok baby, tell me how it hurts".

she says "well, my body hurts inside my head".

I say with a giggle "Oh really, your body hurts inside you head, that's interesting, do you think you are a little hungry, would you like a yogurt?"

She decides a key lime yogurt sounds delicious and I continue my mopping. About 10 minutes pass and she comes back to me crying and says:

"Mama, will you make me a bed on the couch?"

ding.ding.ding. light bulb now on. finally looking up from the mop.

I go to her and kiss her forehead. She's burning up and her body inside her head still hurts. Bravo Mama! :(














About the mop. Have you ever tried one of these?

It is indeed a Wonder!

Charles Wesley

I love the hymns of Charles Wesley.

A few of my favorites include:

* And Can It Be That I Should Gain
* Christ the Lord is Risen Today
* Come, Thou Almighty King
* Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
* Jesus, Lover of my Soul

Read about him here

and here

Are you familiar with the beautiful hymns of Charles Wesley?

Do you have a favorite?