Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS
3 cups cold cooked rice (1 cup dry long-grain rice yields 3 cups cooked)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup ham, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp jarred minced garlic (or 2 minced fresh cloves)
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 small head broccoli, stem discarded, florets chopped
2 eggs
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the ham. Cook, stirring occasionally till ham is lightly browned.

Add onion. Cook for 2 minutes until onion is fragrant, then add the garlic, and cook an additional 30 seconds or so.

Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Push the ham and vegetables to the sides of the skillet with your spoon, and add the eggs, scrambling them, then incorporating them with the vegetables.

Add the rice, and stir everything together. Add the soy sauce, and stir till rice is hot, and everything is mixed together.

Serve immediately.

I got this recipe from http://penniesandpancakes.blogspot.com/

March 10, 2013 0

Friday

Hello everyone! Today we have beautiful sunshine with temperatures in the low 30’s. We are going to the Horn’s after school. I am making a simple vanilla cake with caramel icing. I got the recipe from Mrs. Faye at http://theblessedhearth.blogspot.com/ I think it looks really good and can’t wait to try it.

We have a doctor’s appointment on Monday at 9:45 to go over the results of the blood work. I would appreciate your prayers concerning this.

Well, that’s it. Just a quick little post. I have cake to bake. Enjoy your day and God bless.

March 8, 2013 4

Monday

Hello everyone! Seems like time goes by so quickly. I wanted to give you all an update on Hubby. He is doing some better. We did go to the doctor on Thursday. They did some blood work and we are waiting on the results.

We had a very busy but great weekend. Chuck and his family came and spent Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday with us. Irma and her kids were gone to N.C. to see her family. Her dad has been diagnosed with cancer. Anyway, Chuck and kids went with us to church on Sunday. We had a really good crowd at church. Several visitors, which is very unusual for us.

Today was school as usual. I had hoped to work on Sam’s quilt but just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Probably won’t happen today. I have all the squares sewn together now and am ready to start putting it all together. I think it looks pretty good. I will take a picture and show you all when it is finished. I gave Alexius her quilt this weekend. She slept under it Saturday night. When they were leaving Sunday evening, she forgot to carry out her overnight bag. Chuck carried it out for her. He asked her if she had forgotten anything. She said, “No, I got my quilt.” She wanted to make sure she didn’t forget it.

We have been cold here today. Morning wind chill temperature was zero when we got up. We did have sunshine though but it still has been cold all day. I think I am ready for warmer temperatures. I got a new seed book in the mail today which we have already looked through. Looking at all that beautiful produce always gives me the fever to go play in the dirt. Well, it won’t be too much longer (I hope).

Enjoy your evening and God bless.

March 4, 2013 7

Wednesday

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a good day. Things are kinda slow here. Hubby is still sick-YUCK! He has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I would appreciate your prayers for a healing for him. He does feel better today than he has in 2 weeks. I can see an improvement every day just not as fast as we would like.

Yesterday another ice storm came through. Everything was covered with ice. This morning though all is gone. YEAH! We have some sun with temperatures in the upper 30’s. We are supposed to get more snow come through Thursday and Friday. I know, though, spring is just around the corner. The birds are singing so pretty and the air just has a different feel to it.

Not much else going on here. School, laundry, housework. You know, just the usual stuff. Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 27, 2013 4

Wintry Mix

We awoke this morning to a wintry mix.

Not a lot going on here this week. Grace has had a little sore throat and congestion going on this week. Hubby has been dealing with something going on with his tummy. Not exactly sure what. I think a trip to the doctor might help but he thinks for sure (today) that he is doing better. We’ll see.

Yesterday, Julie and I went to C-burg while Grace and Hubby stayed home. I was hoping to find a few twin size flat sheets at Goodwill to use as the backing for the quilts I’m working on. I did find one but I don’t think it will be for Sam’s quilt but hopefully it will work for one of the other ones. We picked up a few things at Wal-Mart, paid a few bills and came on home. I’m glad we got all that done yesterday before the storm hit. We also downloaded sheet music for Julie. The song is titled Hope’s Song by Rebecca St. James. She wants to play and sing this song at church for Easter. She’ll have to work pretty hard on it though as Easter is just around the corner.

Julie and I spotted a few of these colts foot blooming yesterday. I took this picture from an older post of mine as we did not have the camera with us yesterday. It is always so exciting when we see these starting to bloom. They are (to my knowledge) our first wild flowers to bloom in spring. YEAH!

Well, I guess that’s about it. I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

February 22, 2013 4

Homemade Air Freshener Spray

DIY VANILLA AIR FRESHENER SPRAY

You will need:

1 Cup Water
3 Tablespoons Imitation Vanilla Extract
Mist Bottle

Combine the water and the vanilla extract. Place in a mist bottle. To use, spritz some of the spray up into the air as needed to add the warm cozy smell of vanilla to the room.

I got this recipe from http://www.themakeyourownzone.com

February 20, 2013 0

Homemade Furniture Dusting Spray

HOMEMADE FURNITURE DUSTING SPRAY

1-3/4 cups water
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon lemon essential oil (about 8 to 10 drops)

Combine the ingredients in a clean spray bottle of at least a 16 oz size. Shake well to mix.

To use, spray onto wooden furniture and wipe off with a soft cloth to dust and clean the surface.

I got this recipe at http://www.themakeyourownzone.com

Youll have to keep shaking this mixture as you use it to keep the oil and water mixed together, which really isnt a big deal. You already have the bottle in your hand to spray it, just give it a shake too!

February 20, 2013 0

Spring

Friday these beautiful red winged blackbirds stopped by our feeders for a little snack. They are usually the first birds to return in the spring. They are a week earlier this year than last year. Hopefully, that means an early spring. However, this morning was no indication that spring is on its way. Wind chill temperature -10 degrees with snow on the ground. Well, the snow is gone now and the wind chill now is 5 degrees so we are warming up some.

Not much going on here. I have started work on Sam’s quilt. I have all the 5 x 5 in. squares cut out and am ready to start sewing them together. School has went well this week. Did I mention to you all about the last batch of homemade laundry soap I made using the laundry bar soap instead of fels naptha? Well, those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that in the past I have had trouble with the homemade laundry soap. My clothes seem to get a dingy look and the towels became really non-absorbent. I know, strange stuff, but strange happens a lot here. I guess it is our water that causes these problems. Well, so far I have had no problems using this batch. It is a little bit different recipe than I have tried before but I think the real difference is using homemade laundry bar soap. I will try to remember to keep you all updating as to how it is doing.

Well, I better get busy. Church tonight and the menu is baked potato bar. Sounds delicious to me. I really like baked potatoes. Enjoy your Sunday and God bless.

February 17, 2013 3

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap

HOMEMADE LIQUID LAUNDRY SOAP

1 Bar of Ivory Soap, Fels Naptha, or homemade laundry bar soap-grated= I use 2 cups grated homemade laundry bar soap
4 cups of Water
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
3 Gallons Warm Water

1. In a saucepan, bring the 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the grated bar soap and stir until the soap is melted.

2. Fill a large pail or container with the 3 gallons of warm water. Add the washing soda and the borax. Stir until mixed.

3. Add the melted soapy mixture from your saucepan to the pail and stir.

4. Transfer to smaller containers, or cover your mixing container or pail with a lid, and let set for 24 hours, giving it a few stirs during that time.

4. Use 1/2 cup to 1 cup per load.

I have found that 1/2 cup does most normal loads but for heavily soiled laundry I use 3/4 to 1 cup.

I got this recipe from http://www.themakeyourownzone.com/2010/10/homemade-laundry-soap-what-you-need-to-know-plus-2-recipes.html

February 16, 2013 1