My Heart's Desire

Beef Stroganoff Recipe

This is one of our favorite recipes passed down from my mom and spiced up from my sister.

1 - 11/2 lbs of cubed beef (I have used all kinds)

3-4 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

Season Salt to tastes

Ground or fresh Garlic to taste

Brown meat with seasonings and vinegar above in skillet on medium high heat.

Add

2 cans  Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 - 3 tsp  Dill Weed

Heat on medium low heat until heated through.

Just before serving stir in

4-5 Tbsp Sour Cream

I serve this over rice but can be served over egg noodles as well. (Egg noodles just remind me of tape worms...kind of a childhood aversion.)

Hope you give it a try and enjoy!

Spring has sprung!

It is amazing to me the feeling of renewal that comes with spring. Having been a CA native until 4 years ago, I don't really remember the onset of spring all those years. Here in KY it is one of the most beautiful things following a cold hard winter.

The buttercups are blooming, cardinals are singing and the garden is calling. This week my order for berry bushed arrived. So I have planted 5 thornless blackberries, 1 golden Raspberry, 1 Black Raspberry and 4 Nanking Cherry bushes. I have 4 blueberries left to plant.  I also got 28 onion sets, 22 Sugar Snap Peas, 3 White Cauliflower and 3 Purple Cauliflower planted. I am praying that my gardening efforts are more productive this year. I will begin more seedlings in the basement under grow lights this week as well as seeding a lettuce bed and building 4 new garden boxes for blueberries and 2 more 4x4 beds for more vegetables

By the way I am in a small subdivision, living on 1/3 of an acre. We will see how all this goes over with the neighbors. All of my planting are in raised beds except for the berries due to our rocky clay soil. Our subdivision was stripped of all topsoil during building 15 years ago and nothing has improved.

I am enjoying the pleasure of the warmth of the sun on my face, the feel of the soil in my hands, and the sounds of the birds as they search for worms. AHHHH! Spring........God is good! I hope to enjoy the fruits of my labor in the coming months!

Marcia

Wit and Wisdom #2 - Provider

"You will never be happy if all you do is think about all the things you don't have."  - Christy, Age 16  from Wit and Wisdom from the Peanut Butter Gang

If Christy can figure it out at the young age of 16, why is it taking me so long? As much as I try not to be tempted by the things of this world, in it creeps, in the back of my mind. Stuff is just that, stuff! More has never made me happy, and it never will. I need to throw off the temptation of this world and focus on that which is lovely. For me this means reading less magazines, that are filled with ads about stuff I do not need, less TV watching with commercials about stuff I do not need, less window shopping, which tells me I need more stuff. If you do not know it exsists it is really hard to want it.  This also means not hoarding what I have. The Lord is my provider, not the things of this world, only He will truly make me happy. May I learn this lesson!! Finally!!

Marcia

Wit and Wisdom

I was recently at Goodwill (which I consider far more fun and worthwhile than any mall) when my son found a book in which he was interested in buying. I think it was the peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the cover that did it. It is called Wit and Wisdom from the Peanut Butter Gang by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.. I have fallen in love with it and will be sharing bits and pieces here over the next couple of weeks.

This book is little quotes from kids about all kinds of things funny and wise. A few adult quotes are thrown in for good measure.

My quote for the day is from Agatha Christie

"One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is, I think, to have a happy childhood"

I have been pondering this....

Though I do not believe in luck, I do believe that a  happy childhood is one of the best things we can give our children. All too often in this world our children are forced to deal with adult sized hurts and pains, broken homes, abuse, sex, worries, carrying stresses. I do not believe that we can shelter our children from all pain in life, but all too often we allow them to carry burdens that are not for children to bear. I confess that I have been too careless in my discussions of money issues in our home. These discussions with my husband need to be in private. I have seen how this has been a burden for my oldest son.  I want his childhood to be one where his biggest worries are which sport to play, which book to read, and how to explore this wonderful world God has given us, not that we are short on money. I just believe there should be balance. May we all be giving our children a happy, loving childhood filled with dreams and possibility and let them be kids, adulthood with all it's challenges will come soon enough. A happy well adjusted child will look to the future with hope as he or she becomes an adult.

Marcia

Airline Whine!

My hubby and son got trapped in CA! Yep! All because of the ice and snow in Atlanta. So.... I spent two hours in the airport here in KY getting he and my son home.....only we have to wait until tomorrow night...and I get to drive to Cincinnati to pick them up tomorrow night....late!  OK whine over.....

Praise, we actually GOT a flight !  In CA 15 minutes after I got thing arranged they announced for everyone to go home or to a hotel because no one was going to fly out for at least  2-3 days because all flights were completely booked. Praise, they get to enjoy one more day with family in CA .

I guess I just miss them and can't wait to have them home.

Marcia

Praise, No longer broken hearted.

Thank you all for praying for me.  My heart is still a bit sad, but I have eternal perspective on my relationship with my friend. I will be ok one way or another, if our friendship is mended or we need to part ways. Sometimes God allows these things to protect us from ourselves, and also to remind us that He is our faithful friend that will stick closer than a brother. My focus is on Him, and He will workout the details.

God is so faithful!

Marcia

The Joy of One/Date with my son

I have been the most blessed woman these last few days. My DH and oldest son went of to CA for a family wedding, since we could not all afford to go, I stayed home with my youngest son. Though I am missing my DH and son terribly, (only 26 hours left until I see them), I have been so blessed by sharing special alone time with my youngest son. We have been bowling, video games, dates for dinner, shopping (Toys R Us of course) and lots of special time to talk. We even learned how to play dominoes. He has been such a hoot. He has taken my arm and walked with me "like men do in the movies, like the prince did in Enchanted". He has kissed my hand "like Daddy does" and opened doors for me. He is 7 years old by the way. I have seen beautiful glimpses into his tender little heart and found out much about his inner thoughts.

If you have never enjoyed "dating" your kids, I highly recommend it! He has even asked when we can do this again. Sometimes it takes a quiet car, conversation over food, and uninterrupted time to find out our child(ren)'s inner most thoughts. My youngest is soooooo active all the time that he hardly ever slows down to just chat. I truly thank God for this rare 4 days alone with my sweet Zeke! I look forward to some time with my oldest soon!

Marcia

Prayer Needed for a Broken Heart.

I could really use some prayer and I know what wonderful prayer warriors you all are. I have developed a friendship with an incredible lady over the past year and a half. We have tried to be completely honest with one another. Today I called to check in with her since I had not spoken to her in the past 2 weeks. Her "honesty" was a bit brutal and hard to take today. I let her know how I felt and left the ball in her court for the next contact as she is trying to deal with some issues.

I know the enemy would like to cause this to be bigger than it needs to be. Please pray that I would not become bitter and that we would be able to remain friends. I am not certain if this is really possible but pray for wisdom for us both. I have spent most of the day in tears battling feelings of hurt and bewilderment.

Thanks

Marcia

Christmas Blessings!

What a wonderful Christmas celebration we had yesterday. For the first time in 4 years we were able to celebrate Christmas with my Mom. She has been here to help care for her sister with lung cancer. It was an amazingly memorable time, simple but memorable. On Christmas eve night we had hot chocolate and sat in front of the fire while my husband shared the truth of the Christmas account and the joy of the best gift we could ever be given, the gift of salvation! My boys were in awe and really connected their own personal faith and salvation to what my husband shared. We shared in prayer and went off to bed.

Christmas morning we began with prayer intitiated by our oldest son before we opened gifts. We had a wonderful breakfast and began to cook our evening meal. We were joined by two young friends from the local seminary and bible college as well as another of their friends. To have my mom here to hug, kiss and shower with gifts was the best. She was beaming all day! We are both strong women and have our share of confrontations, however, she is wonderful woman who gives love, time and of herself freely. She left to continue her caretaking of her sister early this morning.

I hope you all took time to enjoy those you love this Christmas!

Marcia

Update - Prayer Warriors

I am sorry I have not posted sooner. We have been inundated with doctors, hospitals and birthdays.

My Aunt Malinda was deemed well enough to undergo lung surgery on December 12th following multiple heart tests. She had a portion of her lung removed and they discovered cancer and completed the surgery by removing her entire upper lobe and well as surrounding lymph nodes. She is in the middle of a very long and painful recovery. Cancer was found in some of the lymph nodes but not all. She has the least aggressive form of lung cancer and will be undergoing Chemotherapy for the next 4- 5 months. We have been at the hospital everyday since surgery and most of them with my 9 and 7 year old with me. We have averaged about 8-12 hours per day and at least 2 hours of driving back and forth. Today I decided for the well being of my kids that we needed a day at home. Hopefully she will be going home in a day or two.

My youngest son's birthday was the day of surgery, my aunt's daughter's birthday was Sunday and my husand's birthday is today. Oh....and Christmas is coming very, very soon. No tree or decorations up and completely exhausted. But praise God I am alive and well enough to be writing this post.

Please continue your prayers for my Aunt she needs to gain strenghth, courage and weight before beginning Chemo.

Thanks again prayer warriors!

Marcia

Prayer Request

My Aunt Malinda is facing lung cancer and surgery. However, the review of her EKG showed significant heart issues. She is going to have further testing to determine if she can withstand surgery or if she will need to have heart surgery prior to the lung cancer surgery. Her tests are on Tuesday. Please pray for healing and wisdom for the doctors.

Thanks prayer warriors!

Marcia

New addition to our family!

After much thought and prayer we have ventured into the land of pets! We have added the most beautiful little girl to our family. Her name is Bailey Sarah and she is of the Beagle variety. Needless to say that we have had our hands full the last few weeks getting acquainted. She is 6 mos old and just a joy. She is crate training and working on sit, stay, up, down and pottying outside. She is at least 50% trained in all except for stay, which is about 25%. If any of you have any training tips please feel free to share with me. Our boys are overjoyed with our new baby girl and have even taken to cleaning up her messes occasionally. Here is a photo of our beautiful baby Bailey!

Still alive and kickin'...so watch out for my feet!

I have had a busy few weeks. I have adjusted to serious low carb living and have already lost 16 lbs. I have been feeling great and cannot wait to visit the doctor in a few more weeks and have an update on bloodwork. My dh had been low carbing too! He has lost about 22 lbs in that same time. Loosing or not I know that this is the way I have to live for he rest of my life. It was only difficult a few times. For the most part I have been eating and being very satisfied. I am so grateful for the opportunity to change my health without medications!

Marcia

Choosing to be Thankful

The Lord has seen fit to see our family beset with challenge after challenge after challenge in the last few weeks. We are choosing to be thankful for His many blessings.

We began our school year on August 3rd! Our boys are doing well getting back into the groove. We even went on our first fieldtrip of the year! We learned about aquatic ecosystems with one of our local parks programs.

I was recently diagnosised with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.  Along with it comes many answers to certain health issues as well as some new concerns. The new concerns are a higher risk for heart disease and diabetes. They even wanted to put me on diabetic medications now, even though my blood sugars are ok. My other option was to begin living like I am diabetic, since I am becoming insulin resistent due to the disorder. Boy this is a challenge as I am a baker and a carb-a-holic.!!! So I have had to drastically reduced any sugar and carbohydrates. However, I am thankful that this disorder was discovered before diabetes became an issue and that I have the opportunity to change now!

Last Thursday my husband's car died!  Yes died! We bought it the month before we were married and that was nearly 12 years ago. It only has a resale value of about $500 - $1000 in perfect condition.  It needs an new transmission at about $2000. Well we cannot see putting more money into it if it is not worth it. However, we will be trying to live on one car. We have many, many scheduling conflicts as my husband often works until 1 or 2 am, we have many doctors appointments and therapy appointments with my oldest son, and church. Right now I am waking the kids up and going in to pick up my husband (35 miles away). However, I am thankful that we are blessed with at least one car that is working. We are praying for wisdom and guidance.

In our society we are often swayed into believing that we deserve good health at all times....yet we as sinners deserve only death and punishment. In our society we are often taught to believe that anything that is an inconvenience to us is a terrible trial....yet we are only promised the things we need for life. A working car is not a necessity for life.  I fall into the temptation of oh, woe is me quite easily but lately I have been convicted! Am I not to accept all that God has for me, both blessings and hardships? I am choosing to be thankful in all circumstances, after all I have yet to suffer to the extent Paul, my brother in Christ had!

Marcia

Dog Attack Update

Thanks to all who visited and posted on my blog! The young lady attacked by the dog this week is doing much better. She is off of he pain medications and is beginning to heal. Her husband has banned her excercise to the treadmill at least for now. The dog is going to have to be put down as it charged at a worker where it is being quarentined right now. It must have had a horrible past to become so aggressive. Nearly everyone in our neighborhood has a dog and all are well trained, happy and a joy to have in the neighborhood. Thanks for all the love and concern it was a very scary incident. I am so grateful to God that his timing is perfect! Remember to have some method of defense with you as you walk for exercise or with your children. There are unfortunately animals out there that are not safe!

Marcia

BLOOD CURDLING SCREAMS!

Whew! What a day! I got to meet one of our neighbors under the worst circumstances! We we quitely enjoying our lunch on our upper deck. Everyone had just finished and went inside when I heard a blood curdling scream for help! We have no fences between our back yard and our neighbors so I ran downstairs and across the yards to the street on the other side. A woman was standing shaking from head to toe with blood running from her hand and legs. She was walking in the neighborhood and a dog came charging out of a home and attacked her. She was bitten 5 times on her legs and 2 times through 1 hand. I grabbed the car keys and the boys and took her to urgent care. We are grateful to God that we were in the right place at the right time to be of help. She is fortunate to not have to have any stitches but is on pain medication and antibiotics. Another good thing to report is that the dog's owner returned him to the shelter they had gotten him from and it has been determined that he is too aggressive to adopt out to another family. I am so glad that it did not attack one of the many small children in the neighborhood or the outcome could have been much, much worse. Please always remember to take a stick or pepper spray with you as you walk for exercise and be aware!

Marcia

HELP! Dehydrator Questions

I am thinking of getting a food dehydrator. I am interested your recommendations. So please let me know what model you use and how happy you are with it. Let me also know what I should be looking for in a dehydrator. I know all of you are a wealth of information!

Thanks in advance!

Marcia

Whew! What a month!

I have had quite a month. I have so wanted to sit down and blog, but each time I did ....I didn't. My Mom flew in from CA for three weeks. We had a wonderful time. I so enjoy her visits! With the price of airline tickets increasing so much we may not get to see her as much as we would like. We took time to visit some aunts and uncles while she was here. My dear husband came home from Management Training the first week of June and hit the ground running. He worked three weeks at his previous restaurant and is now finishing up preparations and staff training at his new restaurant. He is currently working 70 + hours and 6 days per week. He will drop down to 5 days and 60 hours per week once the restaurant is open and settled in. Don't you just love salary jobs!  I have been trying to adjust to him being home, but not really being here. Hopefully, with God's grace things will get more settled in the next month and we can begin to get some routines in place.

Marcia

Overcoming Obstacles

My oldest son just finished a very special bike camp call Lose the Training Wheels. He has cerebral palsy and has been riding a bike with training wheels since he was 5 years old, (He will be 9 next week) He has been unable to get the balance thing down. We found this organization on the internet.... www.losethetrainingwheel.org . I highly recommend it! In 5 days (1 hour and 15 mins per day) Nathaniel was able to ride a two wheeled bike without training wheels!!!! It has given him such a sense of accomplishment. They are able to work with almost any child with disabilities, provided they are self supporting and ambulatory. They have an 80% sucess rate as well. Here are a couple of photos from the week long camp! I am so proud of all of his hard work! Go Nathaniel!

Marcia

Thinking outside the box with square foot gardening!

I am trying out the square foot gardening method this year. I am training my vining crops, cucumbers, melons and squash to grow vertically on a trellis. Well the other day I went hog wild and bought 50 strawberry plants. So I researched space saving ways to grow them. I combined my strawberry planters with my trellis. Take a look at what I came up with.

Here's how I did it!

1 - 10 ft  3" PVC Pipe

1- 10 ft 1 1/2" PVC Pipe

2 - 3" x 1 1/2" PVC T Pipe fittings

2 - 3" PVC Drain covers

Strapping and screws

Nylon Trellis netting

Zip Ties

I cut the 3" pipe into two 5ft lengths and drilled 25 1" holes into each Pipe. Capped clean cut end with drain covers and coffee filters to keep dirt in but allow for drainage. Fit T's onto rough end of 3" pipe. Strapped pipes to raised bed frame. Measured inside length between 1 1/2 T fitting and cut 1 1/2" pipe to fit. Insert pipe between fittings. Secured netting to pipes with zip ties. I will fill 3" pipe as I go planting the strawberry plants that are to arrive any day. Top of T pipe is open for watering. It can be covered as well if you have critter issues. TADAH! My trellis will not only hold up my vining plants it will be growing strawberries for me to eat and pick without getting down on my hands and knees.

Hope this gets you thinking of how to make things do double duty. I am growing 3 cucumber plants, 3 squash, and 3 cantaloupe in a 2x4 raised bed as well as 50 strawberry plants. Now that's what I call maximizing space.

Marcia