Corn Chowder

Looking for a recipe to use up some of your leftovers from Easter. Here is one my family loves.

1C chopped ham or bacon

1 1/4 C chopped onion

4C diced unpeeled potato

2C Water

1C grated or chopped carrot

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chicken bouillon powder

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp celery salt

2C milk

2-14oz cans cream corn

Mix first 9 ingredients in pot. Cook on med until veggies are tender. Do Not Drain. Add milk and corn. Still and heat through. Serve with warm biscuits.

*The above picture is not "my" picture, but looks very much the same!!

Green Peppers (actually any peppers)

One of my best girlfriends gave me this great tip. As many of you know, I live out of town, so when i get groceries I usually buy in bulk. Sometimes this can be a challenge at home though as there are times that things go bad in my fridge before I get a chance to use them. Peppers were one thing that I struggled with the most. After cutting into one, if I didn't use the whole thing, I would put it in the fridge and then next time I would go to use it I would find it all slimy and not very good.

So the tip is...

Wrap unused portions of peppers in paper towel before placing back in the fridge!!

The paper towel absorbs the extra moisture leaving your peppers crisp and ready to use next time!!

Dates on a Dime

The last date my husband and I went on by ourselves was... well... I'm not really sure to be honest. We have gone out for supper with another couple but as I type this I'm trying to run through the calendar in my head and I can't recall when we actually just went out together. Oh wait! I think we went shopping for bathroom vanities together when his parents were here back in November!

I was recently reading an article from the Jan/Feb issue of Focus on the Family on date nights with your spouse. The catchy phrase under the title was "Revive the fun of dating your spouse". Sounds fun right? Um yea... except for the park where you have to find time, book a babysitter, figure out what you're going to do and save up some cash. But according to this article you can make memories together without blowing your family budget and some didn't even require leaving the house... and I know that sounds too easy - but they're actually pretty good ideas!

So here is what they suggested for a Date Night Challenge: Three dates in three weeks... and by three weeks I mean three consecutive weeks - starting next week! Check out these date night ideas and start planning! If you have family around you, ask for their babysitting services... if you don't, consider asking some close friends to exchange babysitting services with you so you can both help each other out!

1. Coffee Q&A. Cost = less than $8. Prep - each of you write down some questions to ask each other that deal with stuff other than day to day life, your kids, work, home... you get the idea. What is something your spouse does very but doesn't know he does well? What is your favorite joke? A childhood memory they'll never forget. Head to Starbucks, order a coffee and grab a table. Each of you randomly pulls a question and let the conversation begin.

2. A Stroll Down Memory Lane. Cost = less than $10. Prep for the she - make some favorite finger foods for you and your hubby. Prep for the he - while she is making the finger foods get your kids into bed. Grab a blanket, light a few candles, plop yourself on the floor in front of the TV and watch a home movie (wedding, birthdays, vacations) or go through some old photo albums or year books.

3. Romance on a Roof Top. Cost = less than $10. After the kids are in bed, climb onto the roof with some blankets, an iPod and some snacks. Talk, snuggle, look at the stars... and enjoy each other's company.

4. Driveway Theater. Cost = less than $5. After the kids are in bed grab the baby monitor and head to the "Driveway Theater". Bring some blankets, drinks and a big bowl of popcorn and watch a movie on your laptop while sitting in your car/van. Take turns picking a movie using a DVD or Netflix (since you're still within range of your internet connection). The bonus is you get to wear your pj's!

5. Dollar Date. Cost = less than $20. The challenge is to spend as little as possible... then see if you can spend less next time! Start your evening with a dollar menu dinner at McDonalds or wherever else offers it. Head to the Dollarama beside Rainbow Theater and purchase 2 treats to share. Move next door to Rainbow Theater for a movie.

6. A Romantic Evening at Home. Cost = less than $20. Do your best to get the kids to Grandma's, an Auntie's, or a friend's house for a sleepover. Prep for the he - groceries for a romantic dinner that HE is going to cook. Prep for the she - while he is getting supper ready, you relax in a candle light bath. After dinner dance in the living room or watch a romantic comedy with a bowl of popcorn. It's nothing elaborate - but it's time alone with no kids :-)

If you have any other great dates on a dime please comment on this post to share with others - I'm sure you all have a great date night idea out there that others will enjoy. Now go talk to your hubby and plan out some date together (I don't want you doing all the planning). Pick one date each and then maybe the third together. Have fun and make sure to post your date night ideas!

Ways To Help

As many of you ladies know, our dear friend Helen has been fighting Ovarian Cancer. She was a HUGE part of the MOMS ministry when she and her family were still in Saskatchewan (They are now residing in BC). Recently Helen posted on her care pages ways that she has felt are good ideas of things that you can do to help someone walking the journey of Cancer and all that in tails. When I read this, I thought that the information was so great. So often we as the loved ones so desperately want to do something to help, but never know what to do. So I spoke with Helen to get her permission to share her thoughts on this. Below is her blog post.

WAYS TO HELP...

Posted Jan 19, 2012 3:53pm

I always get asked by people how they can either help me or what I would recommend for someone else. There are so many things that I can think of so I thought I would share with you all in case you are looking for a special way to help someone or encourage someone..

First and most important, if you are a believer, is to PRAY! Prayer, as we all know, is a powerful thing! When you tell someone you are going to pray for them, mean it and do it. Sometimes it’s hard to remember who and what to pray for, after all our prayer lists are long! Put little sticky notes around the home to remind you. Even if you don’t know specific needs of someone, just ask God to be with them that day and give them what they stand in need of for that time. He knows our needs!

Now to some other ideas, depending on if you know them personally or not, you can be the judge of what would be best.

-offer to go to their home during their treatment to clean up, do laundry, wash bed sheets..etc.
-Notes/Cards
-make meals -ask what the family will prefer or if there are any allergies and use disposable containers.
-do some baking for them -great idea if there are kids in house, for school snacks! I had lots of baking dropped off. TIP-do not pack in a container you need back. Get some foil pans from the dollar store. If meant for school, you can even wrap in individual bags for the kids. Someone did this for me and it was great…put into the freezer and it was ready for the kids to just grab in the morning!
-pick up groceries for them
-offer to drive them to and from treatment
-Email of encouragement
-I had a mom bring my girls home after volleyball practices so they could be on the team, that helped a lot!!
-a cute hat! I had gifts of hats, scarves, blankets..you name it!
-fresh flowers.. A friend brought me a gerber daisy after each treatment.
-pedicure giftcard…some salons will donate a pedicure for a cancer patient..just ask!
-if you know the family well, offer to take the kids out for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon…park (when the weather is nice!), movies, shopping, swimming…kids need to get away from the house and mom and dad are not always energetic enough to do that.
-encouraging bible verses
-buy a heating pad for bone pain..if they don’t have one. These work great!
-if they live alone, offer to bring them lunch and pick up something for the two of you…lunch and company are two great things together!
-offer to pickup some books from the local library for them. They can go online and reserve the books they want and all you have to do is pick them up!
-Canadian Tire money-*see note below!!
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and they have an Annual walk to raise awareness and funds. Find out if there is a walk to support the cause you are helping a friend with. If there is, start up a group..family, friends, co-workers, fellow church goers, school families..this is an amazing way to support your loved one and bring awareness to the cause.

-Cancer wards are mostly scent free areas, so no fresh flowers. A friend brought me a huge fake gerber for my room and another friend brought a bunch of 3 also...made the room a bit more cheery!
-packages of soft tissue..you lose nostril hair on chemo and your nose will be runny because of that!

Ideas for gifts/gift baskets:

Good hand lotion (skin changes during treatment)
Soft toothbrushes
Fuzzy socks (who doesn’t love new socks??)
New housecoat!!
Gum or hard candies(some get side effects that leave a metal taste in mouth…gross!)
Coffee gift cards
Journal and pen
Magazine/devotional/crossword book
Thank you cards for them to write notes of thanks to others
Look online, there are lots of websites you can buy items according to what type of cancer ribbon color…shirts/keychains/water bottles..great ideas! This will also help support Cancer awareness and finding cures for Cancer.

Gift cards:
Coffee-Tims/Starbucks
Groceries
Gas Cards(great for people going back and forth to hospital)
iTunes cards-they can upload music to listen to during treatment
Online shopping (not many have the energy to go out and shop)

Do not be hurt if you do not receive an email back, or a note of thanks. For me, I would of LOVED to send out individual notes of thanks to everyone, but in reality, I just didn’t have the energy to do that. Plus, I was very blessed that I was overwhelmed with help, in all areas!

Somethings I‘ve learned thru this is…
-STOP saying no to people when they offer help
-When going thru this, sometimes you just simple do not know what you need. It’s important for others to be creative in what they do, and sometimes to just tell someone what you are going to do. People used to ask me all the time, ‘What can I do for you’, I had to start telling them to be creative and just do. My brain was pretty much fried with all the info and back and forth to the Doctors that I didn’t even want to think anymore. Phone them and just say “I want to make a meal and I will have supper at your place on ______ night”, “I am free on Friday morning for 2 hours and would like to come over and clean your floors”, “What kind of baking do your kids like. I am baking today and want to do some for you guys and will drop it off tomorrow”. BE CREATIVE…all ideas will be welcomed!!

*GAS MONEY-Here in Kelowna, people can donate their Canadian Tire money to help Cancer Patients with fuel costs!! How fabulous is that?? It doesn’t cost you anything to help others!! If your local Cancer Clinic takes part, please contribute! If they don’t, perhaps you can get something like that going in your area??

I hope that you find this information as valuable as I did. Take care and blessings to all of you.

LOVE THIS!!

I have been introduced to this amazing blog. Today I was browsing the older posts and came across this one. If you are someone who hates to clean, but likes a clean house, this is totally for you! Enjoy!

The Daily Seven

Link to 5 Things God Uses

For those of you who aren't on Facebook... click on the picture link above and it will take you to the site where you can watch the full length of each session. To date we have watched the first four videos. For those of you who would like to catch up or just watch the series - it's fantastic and I would encourage you to watch one a week.

OTHER people's lives.

I am a HUGE TV watcher. I have a weekly schedule all set out and ready to go on my PVR and it's true that when watching TV we all associate with the characters on certain shows and enjoy watching the mishaps in their lives. It's real easy to feel good about yourself when looking at someone who has many flaws and bad things going on in their life... but don't we all? Isn't there someone out there looking at us and thinking they have it pretty good compared to us? My bet is there is. We need to put what is happening to us at the time into perspective. No matter what is happening to you... there is always something or somebody who's got it worse. I know you can't live your life like that, thinking you've got it pretty good at the expense of someone who has got it worse or that you need to keep your chin up because there's somebody worse off, because what is happening to you matters - you just have to keep it in perspective. What recently changed in my mind (and by recently I mean about 10 minutes ago) is that rather than focusing on the bad guy who will always make you feel better, why not focus on the good guy who will make you strive to DO better? We're always going to have bad days or moments, but He has a plan for everything that happens in our lives and we need to trust in that.

I was reading an article in Thriving Family this morning and just had to post this. It was written from the standpoint of a guy... but it could have been written by me, including leaving the note on the car... and yes, my own husband would have stopped that in it's tracks too! So, other than attending church early in my married life (or really any part of my life prior to 3 years ago for that matter) and loving the cooking show, which I do like, but don't go out of my way to watch... here you go! All credits go to Thriving Family Magazine and David Meurer.

Fast Cars and Furious Chefs by David Meurer

I like a TV show that features and enraged, spittle-emitting chef screaming at his cooks and hurling pans across the kitchen. The guy is one part culinary genius and one part crazed badger. True, I have my owon struggles with anger, but cmopared to that screaming chef, I am Saint Francis of Assisi spreading serenity through a forest of grateful woodland creatures. I think this is why I keep turning in. The guy makes me look good. Comparisons can let you cut yourself a lot of slack. If you set the bar low enough and only compare yourself with people who are spectacularly worse than you are, you can feel awesome about yourself without having to do the hard work of actually changing. I know this is a ridiculous rationalization on my part. The fact that I have not resorted to fits of kitchen-destroying rage does not diminish the times when I am surly because things aren't going my way. Early in my married life I was a fanatic about being on time. If we were one minute late for church, my jaw would be clenched for hours. I think God gave me kids who are prone to misplace their shoes to guarantee I would be late - a lot - and thus be forced to confront my inner jerk. Because my standard is Jesus, not some pan-hurling chef, I continue to work on my tendency towards anger. The bar is set high. So high, in fact, that I need God's help to reach it. My attempts are sometimes less than graceful. I recently found myself in a parking lot, scribbling a helpful note to the apprently blind driver of a bright red Corvette who had taken two parking spaces. My wife asked to see the note, which I reluctantly handed over. "Hmm," she mused. "I'm just not picturing Jesus using a term like blithering moron with the navigational skills of a diseased armadillo." Long pause. I really wanted to slap the note on the windshield of that car. And I would have set a really bad example for my wife and kids. Grudgingly, I tore up the note. Jesus set the standard. So each day I asked God for the power to be the husband and father He wants me to be.

* Thriving Family Magazine is published by Focus on the Family and will help you introduce Christian aspects into your everyday family life. If you would like to check it out and subscribe, please click HERE. Copies can also be found in the Power Hour Lobby at Lakeview Church.