Making a House a Home

In my opinion, there is something so nice about a freshly vacuumed floor. I just love the lines that the vacuum cleaner makes and the way the carpet gets all fluffed up. Then, when you first walk across it, your footprint is left behind. I like vacuuming when no one is here, just so I can sit and enjoy looking at the carpet. HA! I know. I sound silly, but it does my heart good to see clean carpet.

When we first married, I asked Mr. U what part of keeping a home meant the most to him. His answer? Vacuuming!!! Before we married, I could not have cared less about vacuuming (just ask my mother!!). But, for Mr. U, I’d happily do it. You know what? As it has turned out (much to my mother’s surprise), I LOVE vacuuming!!! Look what I had been missing out on all my life!! Who knew?

My vacuuming days are usually Mondays and Thursdays (unless company is coming, then I’ll pull my trusty Bissell out and do extra vacuuming). Yesterday, however, I didn’t have time to vacuum (all those errands I had), so I vacuumed today. So, here I sit, at the computer, drinking a Diet Coke and enjoying all the fluffy carpet and wishing that I could walk on air for a bit so that it would stay just like it is- lines and all.

I just love a freshly vacuumed floor.

Our lunch today was absolutely delicious!! I wish y’all had been here to eat with us. Food always tastes better with lots family and friends around, doesn’t it?

Here are the recipes that I promised from our meal of balsamic marinated chicken, mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. Enjoy!!!

The balsamic marinated chicken recipe I actually shared in this post. Boy, is it good and easy!!

Mashed Potatoes
Red potatoes, washed and diced
Butter
Milk
Garlic
1 T mayonnaise (that’s a Southern secret, y’all!!!)
Pinch of salt

Put your potatoes in a pan, cover them with water and bring to a boil. Let them gently boil for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain the potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Add about ¼ cup of milk, ¼ cup of butter, a pinch of salt and garlic to taste (either fresh minced garlic or dry granulated). With a potato masher, mash the potatoes and mix in the ingredients at the same time. You may need to add more milk or more butter (or both!) depending on how you like them. When you have mashed the lumps out, taste the potatoes and see if they need anymore garlic. If so, add it in and stir it up well. Now, stir in 1 T of mayonnaise. Yes, this seems strange, but TRUST ME!! You can’t taste the mayonnaise, but they make the mashed potatoes even creamier!!! Now just serve them to your family!!

(I mentioned using red potatoes, but that’s just me. Be sure and try whatever kind of potato you have on hand. Homemade mashed potatoes are SOOO much better than the boxed ones!!)


Roasted Asparagus
Fresh bunch of asparagus
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Trim the asparagus ends by holding each stem by both ends and gently bending. The asparagus will “pop” into two pieces and the bottom half that breaks off is not as fresh as the top part. Discard the bottom pieces and rinse all the top pieces in a colander under cool water. Dry on paper towels then place them on a cookie sheet. Drizzle asparagus with about 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper.. Using your hands, toss the asparagus around until each piece is coated with olive oil.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15- 20 minutes or until you smell the asparagus cooking in the oven.

This seems to cool quickly, so be sure and cook it right before it’s time to sit down and eat.

Today is a busy day in our household. I have many errands to run this morning, so I've already started lunch. Why lunch? Well, Mr. U is a pastor and we live right next door to our church and everyday he comes home for lunch. We decided about 6 years ago to make lunchtime our main meal of the day. So, come dinner time, we may have a sandwich or some leftovers, but we eat our biggest meal of the day in the middle of the day. We really enjoy it like this.

Anyway, since I have to leave early this morning, I got up and got some chicken marinating in a balsamic vinegar marinade. Just making the marinade made me hungry for lunchtime- it smells soooo good! Mr. U will grill the chicken for lunch. Yummmy!!!

Also, I chopped some red potatoes. I chopped up about 2 pounds of them after washing them. I like to leave the skin on them because there is so much fiber in the skin. I am leaving them in a cold pot of water on the stove. When we return home later, I will simply have to turn the eye of the stove on to get these potatoes cooking!

Last, I have the asparagus all ready to cook, too. I bought some fresh asparagus two days ago and can't wait to eat it! The stalks were very thin and green- perfect, in my opinion!! Asparagus isn't hard to cook or prepare, so there isn't anything to "ready" before I leave this morning. When I return home, I will rinse them in cold water and "snap" off the ends that are no good. Then I will roast them in the oven.

Oh, forgive me, I have to run. I will share recipes with y'all later this afternoon after our meal. Have a blessed morning and get in the Word!!!

Laundry. We all have it. Some of us have more of it than others. Some of us have dirtier laundry than others- especially those of us with boys!!

I LOVE the Spray n' Wash Stain Stick!! I unscrew the lid and swipe the stick on any stain and they ALWAYS come out. No joke. Ring-around-the-collar comes out. Grass stain? Yep, I get that out. Ink? Not a problem. Greasy burger dribble on your favorite shirt? Stain Stick removes it ALL!!

Sometimes I put it on the stain when I'm putting the laundry in the washing machine. Most of the time, though, I put use the Stain Stick on the stain when I take the garmet off and I just toss it in with the other dirty clothes until laundry day. Whether I'm pretreating an item of clothing or putting it on a stain I just discovered as the washing machine is being loaded, it doesn't seem to matter- this stuff works for me.

Stain Stick is such a huge laundry helper!! I always make sure that I have this in my laundry room!!!

Oh my, y'all. I just stumbled across this site called Nutthoney's Homemaking Page. Y'all have GOT to go check it out!! Her site is chock full of cooking, cleaning and other homemaking links. I just had to come share with y'all. This is just too good to keep to yourself!!

Well, it's finally happened. Have you seen it at your house? Have you noticed? What? You don't know what I'm talking about? Well, here at my home, the sun is shining just a tad bit different than usual.

This happens about this time every year and I always look forward to it. Something about the way the sun is shining is out of the ordinary. Almost more clear. For years, I thought my mom and I were the only ones to notice this phenomenon. I've recently discovered that others notice it, too. So, while this may sound like strange ramblings on this post, I am ECSTATIC. Why? Do you know what this means? Fall is coming!!! Not anytime soon, mind you, but it is on it's way.

So, to celebrate the fact that the sun is shining in a rather uncommon manner today, I am going to light my favorite fall candle tonight!! Which one? Aaahhh- Pumpkin Pie by Yankee Candle. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! I'll be thinking of y'all tonight as I enjoy it's scent and while I'm STILL working on "the afghan".

Okay, I am NOT the craftiest person I know (that award goes to my sister!!). But, I can spot an easy, doable-even-by-me craft a mile away. Over at Mary Ann's House, she has the CUTEST and EASIEST craft idea that even I can do! No joke!! Head on over and see for yourself. Then let's all get busy!! :)

Today, August 10, Dairy Queen is doing something special!!! Here's what their site says:

On Thursday, August 10, stop by a participating DQ® location and buy a Blizzard® Treat. All proceeds will be donated to your local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. With help from you, our loyal Blizzard® Fan Club members, we could raise over $2 million on this one day.

So you and your family just may want to take a trip over to DQ and enjoy a Blizzard today!!!

And, let's face it, any excuse to eat a Blizzard is good enough for me!! :)

Have y'all ever heard of The Voice of the Martyrs? They are a wonderful ministry that works hard to keep all of us comfortable, well-fed, "I-own-8-Bibles-all-my-own" American Christians aware of what our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering for His Name around the world. Very sad stories, but they are true. We need to remember to pray for our fellow believers that are in chains for the gospel. They suffer what we will, hopefully, never personally experience. While it is hard to read of their persecution- and often it is gruesome- I think it is necessary. We all get so caught up in our self-made worlds, that we fail to see outside of our own little sphere. Look. Read. Try to imagine what Christians in Iran, China, India, etc, go through on a daily basis. Then, pray. Pray for God to give them great strength to stand. Pray for God to save their persecutors. And pray that we will stop looking at ourselves long enough to realize that this world is all about the Lord God Almighty.

Remember their chains.

Let’s get the facts straight. I am not athletic. I am not an outdoorsy person. I don’t camp. I like hotels. I like the mall. I like tearooms over ballgames any day. BUT, I do have to exercise. Not only does Weight Watchers tell me that I am supposed to, it’s just plain old good for me!!! Plus, add to all that that exercise blessed my family by making me healthy to care for them!!

Here’s just SOME of the benefits I found at the Mayo Clinic site in their excellent article entitled “Aerobic exercise: What 30 minutes a day can do for your body”:

-Increases the diameter and number of small blood vessels.
-Avoids overheating.
-Reduce your risk of coronary artery disease.
- Reduce your risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure).
-Improve blood fats
- Reduce your risk of stroke
- Reduce your risk of developing some cancers
- Reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes
- Ward off viral illnesses.
- Lower your blood sugar levels if you have diabetes
-Manage your weight.
-Strengthen your heart muscle
-Improve blood flow to all parts of your body.
-Relieve chronic muscle pain and fibromyalgia
-Boost your mood.
-Build strong bones.

My favorite form of exercise is walking!! I love to walk outside with a friend and talk or walk alone with headphones on. I love to walk on a treadmill, on a street near the house or on a high school track- doesn’t matter. But, I am most often not able to do any of these. Mr. U usually exercises the same time each morning that I do and I let him use the treadmill. So, I will pop in a workout video and do my second favorite form of exercise- Walk Away the Pounds with Leslie Sansone!!!

The next time y’all are exercising, remember that not only is it good for YOU, but it’s also good for your family. You are making your body healthier so that you are better able to take care of your husband and children and you are also setting a great example of how to live a healthy life.

So, I’m wondering, who exercises on a regular basis? What do you do for exercise? If you don’t exercise regularly, get motivated and be healthy for your future and your family!!!!

After all “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Tammy over at Tammy's Times is hosting a summer salad recipe swap!! What fun!! Pop on over to her blog and get all the details of how you can share your favorite summer salad!!

I posted this a little while back, but since it's our favorite, I just HAD to post it again. We just love it here at our home!!


Spinach Salad
1 bag of triple washed spinach (so you don't have to wash it yourself)
1 can of mandarin oranges (I like the BIG can!!!)
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup zesty Italian dressing

Put spinach, mandarin oranges and red onion in a serving bowl. For the dressing, carefully combine mayonnaise and Italian dressing until completely mixed together. Serve dressing on the side.

Everyone seems to really like this very simple salad (even those non-spinach eaters!!). You could even put in some sliced fresh mushrooms or even some sliced avocado. Recently, we grilled chicken and chopped it up into bite-size pieces and tossed it in with the salad. YUMMYY!!!

I just discovered a wonderfully encouraging new blog!! Head on over to visit Melissa at Desiring to be a godly woman and read her post on “The Godly Woman in your Life”. She seems to have a good grasp on what we, as women following the Lord, should be learning and teaching each other.

I definitely think this blog will be worth reading in the future!

While you're there, be sure and tell her "hello"!!

We had the rare opportunity to visit another church tonight. On the Sunday we have Homecoming, our evening service is always cancelled. So, we visited another church in our area.

While the people were friendly, they weren’t warm and welcoming. All I could think was, “This is definitely not a church I would want to join”. As we left, though, I couldn’t figure out just why the people weren’t warm and welcoming. Sure, they all came up and shook our hands and smiled at us, but not one person introduced themselves. No one even asked our names. We felt like cattle being herded through the masses. “Hi! Nice to have you here!” smile… smile… “Glad you could join us!” smile… smile…I felt like I was looking at a bunch of smiling mannequins.

Though I didn’t have the best visit at this church (and please don’t ask me how the sermon was), I did learn several things about what members of a church, no, what Christians in a church should act like toward visitors.

- When you greet someone, smile. Not a quick smile, but the kind of smile you would make toward a friend. One that shows you are interested in them.
- Make and keep eye contact. LOOK at the person you are talking with. Don’t keep looking around at what all of your church friends are doing.
- Say more than just “Hi, my name is Mrs. U.” Something like “Hi, I don’t believe I’ve had a chance to meet you yet. My name is Mrs. U. What is your name?”
- Then, carry the conversation forward a bit. “Oh, Nancy, it’s very nice to meet you! Do you live in this area? Oh, over in Danville! Why, I drive through there all the time. It’s such a lovely town. How long have y’all lived there?” And let the conversation progress a bit.
- When you end the conversation, say something like “Well, Nancy, it sure was wonderful getting to meet you. I hope you and your family are able to come back next week. I’ll be looking for you. Oh, and I would love to introduce you to some of the ladies in my Sunday School class next week!!!”

Now, this is just a sample of what you could say and, of course, you could say a lot more. But it is A LOT more warm and friendly than I experienced tonight. Tailor a conversation that fits you. Some of us will often become friends with someone right away and, in that case, get their address and send them an encouraging note during the week. Some people are able to speak to new people a whole lot easier than others. Some people are more shy. But we ALL should push ourselves out of our comfort zones and out of the little “cliques” that often form in churches.

Ladies, we call ourselves Christians, followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But are we acting like Him? How would Jesus react/ act toward new people that He was around? Truly, He would be “kind”, but don’t you think He would also be “warm and welcoming”? Let’s all ask the Lord to give us awareness of new people around us at church and that we MAKE the opportunity to reach out to them and welcome them in.

In my post yesterday about scents, I failed to mention how much I LOVE to smell nice. I especially like to smell nice for Mr. U. However, in the almost 8 years we've been married, it has been very hard finding a scent that we both LOVE. He tends to like the warmer smells (vanilla, bergamot, etc) and I tend to be drawn toward flowery or clean scents (peony, plumeria, gardenia, green tea, white tea, etc), so choosing one that we both like has been hard.

Well, today I think we may have found a scent that we both like!!! It is by Bath & Body Works and is called Breathe Romance. It smells somewhat warm, but also has a very clean scent that I am drawn to. I bought the body lotion, so if this goes over well, I may go back and buy the fragrance mist, too!!!

So what about you? What fragrances do you AND your husband like? Have you found one that you both enjoy to smell on you? :)

Oh dear. I just read over at Dead Theologians a very sad article. Reticent Extrovert was at the public library and discovered some "young teenage girls" looking at some horrible sites. Ladies, do you KNOW what your children are looking at online? Don't just assume that "oh, they are at the library. They can't look at anything bad online at the public library." Oh, guess again, mothers!!!

Anyway, I think the upcoming posts from this link should be very eye-opening. I, for one, need to be more aware of cults and not just turn a blind eye to them. They exist- even here in my small town. Oh how I want to protect my family from being blindsided by something that could so easily lead them (us) astray.

Our church is having Homecoming this weekend. Homecoming is a time when old church members usually return to meet up with old friends and often hear a previous pastor. This year, however, Mr. U will be preaching- always a treat for me to hear him!!

After the service, we will have a covered dish supper. I am taking a chocolate cake (Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake) and a hashbrown casserole. I made the cake layers tonight and put them in the freezer and I will put the frosting (or "icing" for some of us) on the cake tomorrow night. A lady in our church owns a bakery and told me that it is easier to frost the layers when they are frozen PLUS the layers are more moist when they thaw. YUM! I've been doing it this way for years. People must like the cake because I never have any extra to take home with me!!

The hashbrown casserole is sooo easy and delicious!! I don't make it often, but when I do, it usually gets eaten quickly! I will put this together in my 9 x 13 pan tomorrow night. I pull it out to come to room temperature Sunday morning (about 45 minutes) and then bake it. I LOVE when I can prepare things ahead of time. Oh, and here's the recipe. It's always a crowd pleaser. My husband LOVES to have this with a big, juicy steak off the our grill.

Hash brown Casserole1 (32 oz) bag frozen hash browns
1 can cream of mushroom soup
12 oz grated American cheese
8 oz sour cream
½ cup chopped onion
1 tsp salt
2 cups crushed corn flakes
½ cup melted butter

Grease casserole, empty hash browns and smooth out. Mix soup, cheese, sour cream, salt and onion together and spread over potatoes. Cover with cornflakes and drizzle with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

(Just in case y'all wondered, NEITHER of these recipes are Weight Watcher friendly!! LOL!! But it IS a special occasion, right? )

Caffe Vanilla Frappuccino

Smooth and sweet, you fit in to almost any crowd. No one would suspect you of being a coffee tweaker!

Oh, how I LOVE fresh smells! The smell of a freshly mown lawn, homemade bread coming out of the oven, freshly picked flowers in a beautiful vase, just washed babies, clean laundry, etc. You get the picture. That's why this post from Homeliving Helper meant so much to me. Lady Lydia's article entitled "Home Scents" really points out some much needed areas that we all need to keep clean and tidy in order for our home to always smell clean and welcoming. Well, don't just take my advice, read the article for yourself. Then let me know what part of her ideas you are going to actually use in your home.

For four years in a row, I have planted sunflower seeds in the hopes of having beautiful, smiling sunflowers to grace my table with. After all the failures, I FINALLY have sunflowers growing!!! I don't know what I did differently this year, but it worked!! I am so very excited to have these growing in my yard!! These aren't very tall- maybe 2 feet. I would LOVE to be able to grow the GIANT sunflowers one year, too!! I am just too happy to have discovered these this morning. I went out to weed a part of the garden, I looked up and there they were!!! Happy yellow sunflowers saying "Good morning!!!" in all of their glory!!!!

The Lord sure does grow some awfully nice flowers, doesn't He?

Tami over at Time with Tami recently asked "How about you? What is your favorite room in the house - and why??" Good question, Tami!!!

My favorite room, by far, is my kitchen. Not because it's the most beautiful, but because it's the most FUN!!! Our kitchen is very small and I hardly have any counter space, but I love to get in there and "play" and create wonderful, healthy (and sometimes not-so-healthy! LOL!), great tasting meals!!! I love to look out my back window and see the tomatoes that are VERY slowly turning red. I have sunflowers that making their way out of the soil, too. We have two dogs (Martin and Katie) that I watch play in the backyard. So, while it's not my dream kitchen, it's the kitchen that I dream in!!

So, what about YOU? What is your favorite room in YOUR house? Why? Share your story and link and let's share and learn from each other!!

Thanks, Tami!!!