Sunday Shoutin'

No, this isn't a post about getting kids ready for church. Although the title would be appropriate for that sort of post. Hmmm, might be a blog post for later..........

Below is one of my favorite songs of late. Perfect for getting to worship our Lord and Savior on a Sunday morning (or if you have Saturday church...it would apply as well).

Lately, many 'worship' songs are "I, I, I" songs, as I call them. Yes, we need to acknowledge what He has done for us in song. But, sometimes all we sing are "I, I, I" songs. The song in the video below is a pure praise and worship song. Praise-full, worshipful, dance worthy worship, in my humble opinion. Basically, this song makes me happy to be singing to our God.

Enjoy At Your Name (Yahweh Yahweh) by Phil Wickham.

That Awkward Moment In Which I Clean

Cleaning. I think we've talked about this before.

I'm not the best at cleaning. I wait, people. I wait until I begin to realize how filthy a particular item looks. And, sadly, in some instances, it takes a long time for me to see filth. [hangs her head in shame]

You see, finding/seeing filth is just not my gift. You see, I am gifted in looking over such things. In my home, in other's homes, at work...you name it. Nope, all I see is what is in front of me. I mean, really, why would I look for dirt/filth?

True confession time....I am about to show you something that would completely embarrass a sane person. Seriously, if you are a "neat-freak", I urge you to run! Run to my house and help me...you know you want to.

It wasn't until I saw a friend's facebook picture of a loaf of bread on top of her stove. Yes, I saw the bread but what I saw underneath the bread rocked.my.world. I'm not sure what the proper term for this is called but I'm calling it a rack. The rack is the thing on gas stoves that holds the pan above the flame. Now, that we have that settled...her rack was spotless. Spot.less. Mine, not so much. So, I asked her how she keeps them clean. Her reply? Dishwasher. Dishwasher? Honey, mine would not come clean in a dishwasher. In fact, I am certain throwing them in the dishwasher would make the gunk stick even more! sigh.

Norwex. I will use my Norwex Envirocloth, which is a antibacterial microfiber cloth and Norwex Cleaning Paste. Yes, that is what I shall do. So, I did.

Let me explain Norwex. Norwex is a company which sells cleaning products through consultants, which I am not. One would think, I, who has a love-hate relationship with cleaning, would not be so excited about Norwex products. Well, I am. No chemicals involved when cleaning with Norwex products. Just water and a Norwex cloth will do in a situation. Excellent for people or loved ones with allergies.

I first found Norwex when we needed to purchase a new washing machine. Mine died. A slow, pitiful death...but death nonetheless. We opted for a front loader. I wanted to start my machine out right and not clog it up with a bunch of gunk I know regular laundry detergent can do. Long story short, I found Norwex laundry detergent. It is highly concentrated and it dissolves so amazingly quick. I only use any where from one teaspoon to a heaping teaspoon per load. Yup, that is it. The price can be a little intimidating at first but when I figured it out, I am saving so much money in the long run! A ton of money!

If you are interested in finding out more about Norwex, go here. You won't be sorry!! [I love my dusting mitt, my envirocloth, my handtowels, my laundry detergent, my tea towels, my window cloth, my..... I had a party. They have an awesome hostess program! But, I digress...]

So, on with the embarrassing show.....

Here is where those who are 'neat-freaks' should look away. Really. Look.away. For those brave enough, carry on.....

This is my embarrassing mess of a stove.
Look at all that baked on crud...shutter.

Ewww!!!! Obviously, it has been a while.
Don't judge me, people. :)

First, I grabbed my Norwex Kitchen Cloth.
See the mess in the back is already cleaned up with just water and my cloth.

What little I couldn't get clean with just water and my cloth,
I used Norwex Cleaning Paste.

Cleaning Paste on my Envirocloth.
Before...

After...well, during.

Can you tell which half I cleaned?
And, I didn't have to scrub until I thought my fingers would bleed!
A huge plus in my book. This was two swipes. Two.

Done.
Granted, some spots refused to be removed.
I'm thinking it is because I waited so long to clean the racks
and it was so 'baked' on it will take my husband's muscles to get it totally clean.
 

So, even though it is not totally spotless, it is so much better than it was. I'm not blaming the Norwex products at all. I'm blaming my gift of overlooking filth. Note to self: keep on top of these sorts of things! I may need to get some Norwex Oven & Grill Cleaner to finish this project.

If you have any questions on the Norwex products, just contact Jen.

Frittata

Frittata.
That's a fun word....let's all say it together. Fra-tta-ta.
Good. ☺

What is the meaning of this fun word, you ask? It is an Italian egg dish. Basically a glorified flat omelet that starts out on the stove and ends up in the oven.

I purchased a book called Deliciously G-Free (gluten free) by Elisabeth Hasselbeck. The author has celiac disease. I do not. But, I believe I might have a slight intolerance for gluten. At one time I eliminated gluten from my diet for almost three months. Man, did I feel great! Then, Thanksgiving and Christmas were upon us. [insert dun-dun-dunnnn] Now, I just want to feel better and as a bonus, try to loose some weight. [which was a huge plus the last time]

I really like the recipes in Deliciously G-Free. The author did all the work for me. However, as far as all the different flours go, I have no idea where to start looking for all those flours! Seriously. I don't live in a large city. I live between some cornfields. I was a little disappointed there wasn't a shopping guide. But, I will do some checking around to find some of these flours. Author Elisabeth Hasselbeck does have a previous book about her journey with celiac disease. Perhaps her earlier book would have given me the info I desired. This is the only thing lacking for me in this cookbook.

Enough babbling from me...let's get on with the recipe!

Frittata

(there is that fun word again!)

Serves 4

10 eggs
1/4 c half-n-half (I didn't have any so I just used 2% milk)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded & diced (didn't have so didn't use)
1 c canned black beans, drained & well rinsed (I didn't use this...personally I think beans are...ewww!)
1 c grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese (I used cheddar)
(I cut up some turkey bacon and used that with the onion. I was going to also use some cooked & cubed potatoes in it but totally forgot...oops!)

Preheat oven to 350
Place eggs, half-and-half, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk well; set aside.

Heat an 8" ovenproof skillet* over medium-high heat. Add 1 T olive oil, onion and green pepper (this is where I added the bacon and probably the cooked potatoes if I would have remembered!). Cook, stirring occasionally until tender...roughly 5 min. Transfer to a small bowl.

In the same skillet over medium-low heat, warm the remaining 1 T olive oil. Add the egg misture and cook for 1 min until the edges begin to bubble. Using a spoon, pull the cooked egg edges toward the center of the pan, allowing the raw egg to run to the edges of the skillet. (You might want to tip the pan a little to get the maximum 'run-age') It doesn't say this in the recipe, but I didn't this probably 5 times before I went to the next step. I wanted to make sure my eggs were going to be done in the middle. Nothing says 'gross' to me more than an undercooked egg. shiver.

Scatter the cooked veggies (and meat if you are like me), beans (ewww) and cheese over the eggs.

Transfer skillet to the oven and back for 10-12 min or until the frittata is firm in the middle and does not jiggle when you shake the pan. Remove from oven and let set for 5 min.

Dig in!

*If you don't have one, just wrap your non-ovenproof handle with foil. At least that is what the PBS cooking shows tell me...

There you have it. A glorified flat omelet! There really isn't anything that special about it expect it is just something different. Oh, and it is deliciously good. So, the next time you are trying to figure out what to make for supper, try this fun-word recipe for Frittata.

Grace

Grace. God's grace. Grace for others. Really, what is grace?

I've heard people define grace as receiving something [good] we don't deserve. Example of the ultimate grace would be God's grace. We sin, He forgives. We don't deserve it but He graciously gives us grace.

Giving grace to others has been defined as giving others something [again, good] they don't deserve. Example of human grace could be someone in 'power' has made a mistake that effects you. You could either hold a grudge, and grumble and moan, or show grace and forgive.

But, do we extend this grace to ourselves? Are we so hard on ourselves that we cannot give ourselves grace? Does perfectionist come to your mind when I ask those questions? Yeah, me too.

I believe we are all perfectionist in one area or another. Some, it might show up in more than one area. What are we doing to ourselves? There is nothing wrong with trying hard and doing our best. But, when we mask it on the outside while we are a mess on this inside, it will get us nowhere fast!

I've been reading [slowly so I retain it] Grace for the Good Girl ~ letting go of the try-hard life by Emily P Freeman. Let me take a moment to inhale and exhale. It is that good. It is packed full of many things I want need to remember.

I've been reading this book since late fall. Not because it is a slow read. I need to retain this information. It isn't a book to read in a few days. Infact, I am planning on re-reading it soon. This time I'll be packing a highlighter!

Author Emily Freeman keeps it real. She keeps it truthful. I see so much of myself in this book it is a little creepy. How did she get inside my head? Yet it is comforting to know I'm not the only one with masks covering up what I don't want people to really see about me.

I know this post is not doing this book justice. There are just so many things about this freeing book it makes it hard to put into words all I'm feeling. I cried when Emily wrote about seeing a trusting friend and counselor. She confessed (pg 125) she didn't know how not to be this way. The coping, masks, and fear was all she knew. She was waiting for him to unveil a multi-step program on how to live, real and free. Instead, he said the next freeing words, "You're not this way. This may be how you cope, but this is not who you are." Insert tears rolling down my face when I read this. I agree with Emily. Those are freeing words.

{This is not a book I received to review. The author nor the publisher knows I'm posting about this book.}

Follow up...

This is a follow up to the last post entitled, "Oh the things we learn".

I learned one cannot exchange coconut flour for all purpose flour with the same ratio.

What.a.disaster. A perfectly good waste of ingredients, natural gas (oven) and time. Sigh.

Anyone out there want to help this girl out? I still have some coconut flour left (which is healthy therefore my purchase) and want to know how to convert a few recipes.

I will say I googled chocolate chip cookies coconut flour and found recipes. But some used a few weird ingredients, and, to be honest, the pictures looked gross. So, I just thought self, just take a traditional recipe, use the same amount of coconut flour as the recipe calls for all purpose flour and you'll be good to go. Just add more eggs. (I knew to add more eggs when working with coconut flour but apparently that isn't enough info)

Self, you were wrong. Oh.so.wrong.

If anyone knows anything that could help out this girl, please comment. I'm begging. I'm pleading. I'm on my knees. ☺ And, what is one thing you've learned today?

Oh, the things we learn

What I've learned from our first born, Writer/Cos Daughter:

1. Conditioner. Use conditioner after shampooing. Every time. Every single time. Why you ask? Great question. The shampoo makes the hair follicles open up. The conditioner closes them. Why is that important you ask? Well, it makes your color last longer...assuming you color your hair. I may or may not color my hair to cover gray so this may or may not be a huge deal for me. Plus, if the hair follicles are open, then all the product used for fabulous hair when styling is going to get sucked into those follicles and make for some pretty icky feeling hair. Just saying. I may or may not know this from experience.

2. Being the oldest isn't always the easiest. Yeah, we parents are still learning. She is a young adult now but being a young adult still is a time of needing guidance. She is a great young woman. She probably feels like we will never let her grow up. But, we are. She just doesn't quite realize how hard letting go is for parents. We're letting go. She is making decisions. Life is how it is supposed to be.

Things I've learned from our second born, Dancer Daughter:

1. A dancer falls. Up the stairs. Over a not so obvious 'thread' in the carpet. Or over a crumb on the kitchen floor. Anything. And nothing. She just falls. Never hurt physically, just maybe a little embarrassed. But, that is okay. We've all learned to laugh...even her. She is humorous and tripping over nothing just adds to her humor. When she falls, she gets back up. Laughing. My prayer for all my children is when they fall, they'll laugh and get back up.

2. Faith, prayer, listening, and obedience. I watch her with amazement as she trusts God with everything. Faith being lived out.


Things I've learned from our youngest, Firefighter Son:

1. Passion is a great thing. Find your passion and dream big. Yes, he knows reality. But, his dreams are attainable. Within reach. I watch in amazement as he walks toward his dreams. I smile as I see his passion. Passion for dreams is something one should hang onto...no matter what curves "life" may throw.

2. Don't take life seriously. Laugh.
He is a young man of few words so I thought I'd match his personality above by not using so many words! ☺

PSA

Here is your Public Service Announcement for the day.

I wish I could get the video to post on this site without being gigantic. Sigh. Trust me, it was enormously big! So, follow the link at the end of this post to The Doctors TV show. Henry Winkler, known as Fonzie to those of us from the 80's, talks about Dyslexia. He found out he was dyslexic when he was 31 years old.

This video clip is very informative especially if you have a child or know of someone who has Dyslexia. It gave me a visual aid as to what our daughter goes through.

Now, go. Click on the link and learn something new today! ☺

(The link is trustworthy so don't be afraid to click on it. You won't get a virus. Or if it would make you feel better, look up "the doctors tv" in google. When you get to the site, type Henry Winkler in the sites search box. You'll find the video that way.)

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/main/home_page?init_type=Feature&init_id=5734