Sunday, January 30, 2011

Time Well Spent

Tonight’s message at church was taken from a passage in the old testament.

Ecclesiastes 3
1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.



We all know that there are so many distractions from day today and many unimportant things steal away our time. Pastor pointed out a few things that are important to spend time focusing on:

  • Spending time with God in His word and through prayer.

  • Spending time ministering to others.

  • Spending time making an honest living.

  • Spending time in seeking to do the will of God.


What are some other things that you think are important to spend time on?







Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Snow Snow Go AWAY!!

In my book winter and snow are over rated. Especially now that Mike has a longer commute to work. Waking up to snow yesterday morning wasn’t a surprise we still didn’t welcome it! Mike shoveled and cleaned off the cars before breakfast. Of course until it was time to go to work the cars needed cleaned off again so I took my turn…

Our pretty tree in the front yard

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Back yard this afternoon

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Out front this evening as the snow fell, and fell and FELL…

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Once  I knew that Mike was close to home I took another turn and shoveled a spot for him to park in.

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And finally at 9pm, Mike took his turn again and shoveled and cleaned the cars off again. I’m sure tomorrow morning we’ll have to clean things up some more but hopefully the snow is done for awhile, maybe even until NEXT winter!! :-)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Dishwasher

We knew when we moved in the the dishwasher that came with the house wasn’t going to last forever. Mike wanted to replace it right away but me being the tightwad that I am thought it could wait. That worked until Saturday when I put the soap in and went to push the soap door(I don’t know the proper name) shut. Something inside snapped and while we could have made do we decided that after 9ish months it was time to get replaced.

So Jerry(Mike’s brother) came over tonight to assist do most of the work that comes with dishwasher uninstalling and reinstalling. He’s the best and between him and Mike we are back up and running. 1 load of dishes down, many more to go…

Out with the old…

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And in with the new!! :-)

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Monday, January 24, 2011

Modern Appliances

Sure do come in handy and help make our morning caffeine fix happen!!

 

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I *think* I’m ready to face the day!!

Dishwashers also come in handy and since ours broke Saturday we are headed to Lowes(our favorite store) tonight to buy a new one. Stay tuned for something new and shiny!! :-)

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Whole Wheat Quick Bread

Saturday I was feeling in the mood to bake but I didn’t want it to take a lot of time. I ran across this recipe on www.thefrugalgirl.com It’s one of my favorite websites to visit and the bread looked easy since it didn’t require yeast. After tasting the final product I think it’s a keeper. I’m not sure I like it for sandwiches but it’s pretty good with apple butter and Mike said he really like it with honey. I bet it’s make great french toast as well!!

Quick Wheat Bread

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel (I’ve never added this, but it might be tasty for a breakfast bread)

1 3/4 cups buttermilk or sour milk (I actually used a combo of plain yogurt and buttermilk today)
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients (except the brown sugar) together in a bowl. I like to use a wire whisk for this purpose.

 

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2. Mix the egg, milk, and brown sugar together. I did this right in the measuring cup, as you can see, and I use a traditional set of manual egg beaters.

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Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix gently. If you mix non-yeast batters too much, you will end up with a tough, chewy product. Mix just until everything is combined, and do not feel that you must remove every single lump. Lumps are good(in this sort of bread, at least).

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4. Scrape the batter into a greased loaf pan

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5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

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Because of the consistency, let the bread cook for 15-30 mins before cutting…

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Although I didn’t so if you can’t wait I’m sure it won’t be the end of the world. Enjoy with your favorite topping. Mine was apple butter!!

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Saturday, January 22, 2011

Lasagna

A perfect Friday night supper with enough left over for us to eat this weekend!!

My ingredients: minus some oregano & cheese for on top

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Cooking my whole wheat noodles

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Mixing my sauce together

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Mixing my cheeses, eggs & parsley

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The layering process

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Cheese & more cheese!!

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Ready for the oven!!

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Ready to be devoured…

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Per Mike my best lasagna yet! :-)

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Now I just can’t wait for spring/summer when I’m going to attempt to grow fresh herbs. I can’t help but thing that will make this even better!!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Oatmeal Craisin Muffins

Every morning I get up and amid the morning rush I make myself a bowl of oatmeal. So after awhile I get tired of that option and like to switch these up. I figured a oatmeal muffin would be the next best thing!! Plus it’s full of lots of healthy ingredients!! I of course did my normal and changed the ingredients all around. Hopefully the end result is still tasty!! You can find the whole recipe here.


  • 1  cup  whole wheat flour (about 4 3/4 ounces)


  • 1/3  cup  packed brown sugar


  • 3  tablespoons  untoasted wheat germ


  • 1  tablespoons  ground flax seed


  • 1 1/2  teaspoons  baking soda


  • 1  teaspoon  ground cinnamon


  • 1/2  teaspoon  salt


  • 1 1/2  cups  quick-cooking oats


  • 2/3  cup  craisins


  • 1/3  cup  chopped nuts


  • 1  cup  low-fat buttermilk


  • 1/4  cup  plain yogurt


  • 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract


  • 1  large egg, lightly beaten


  • 1/2  cup  boiling water


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Is it breakfast time yet??!!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A Little Fun A Little Work

Fun and work are both a part of life. Of course there is ALWAYS more work than fun but I guess maybe that makes the fun more enjoyable.

Last year when Mike had off for all the bank holidays I took vacation days as well. It’s fun being able to kick back and spend a day together. Yesterday we found ourselves sleeping in til 8(ahhhhh) eating breakfast in bed(compliments of me) and then heading down to Frederick to see what we could see. Yours truly sadly only took a single picture the whole day. :-( But I headed of to some websites and collected some pictures to show you what we were up too…

First stop was The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center. Not a huge place but it was nice moseying around the place, plus it was free to get into. What was not nice is the fact that I was almost backed into while trying to get there.

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Next stop was The Frederick Coffee Company & Cafe where we sat awhile enjoying our lattes and playing a game.

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Yes this is the only picture I took all day. The table at which we sat!

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After lattes we headed to Francis Scott Key Mall were we found some good buys for Mike but nothing for me, which is pretty normal since I’m so picky…

Walking around a mall makes you hungry. The time had come to head to Bonefish Grill. Mike had heard good things and we ended up getting a gift card for Christmas that we could use there.

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The food was EXCELLENT. We both had salmon with a different sauces on top. Me a mango salsa and Mike lemon butter. We ended our meal with a piece of key lime pie. If you're ever in Frederick you’ll have to check the place out!!

We then stopped by Hagerstown Outlets on the way home where we once again found some good buys for Mike. I guess I’m destined to shop at Target…

And then to end the day we made a quick Brusters run for our favorite – ICE CREAM!!

And then it happened, we woke up and it was Tuesday. And there was snow and ice. And we had to go to work… And get groceries…

And make supper…

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And wash dishes(Mike’s job)…

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And clean bathrooms a bathroom…

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And wash towels…

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And exercise…

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And last but not least find time at the end of the day for devotions…

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Not all exactly fun things. But pretty much a day in the life of Melissa & Mike :-)

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Good Bye 2010 – Hello 2011

I must admit that 2010 was a good year. Probably the best year of my life! So many good things happened to me and I have been so blessed!! I thought I’d do a  little big picture recap of some highlights of our 2010 adventures…

Of course we had lots of snow…

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And a very important question was asked…

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We had birthdays…

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Went to ball games…

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And bought a house!!

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Despite being busy we still had lots of fun!

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Bridal Showers at work & with friends…

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Walks in the park…

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Hikes in the woods…

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Engagement Pictures

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Wedding Vows…

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Babies Born – nephews, not ours ;-)

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So many trips to so many places…

Hershey

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National Harbor

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DC Zoo

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Pittsburgh

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Philly

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Gettysburg

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Bethesda

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Grove (where both Dads works)

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November in Disney

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December with family

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And now looking forward to new adventures in 2011 with my favorite man!

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