Work? What? What have I been doing for the past 11 yrs if not work?

So back to work. I remember kind of liking Mondays (and totally feeling guilty about it) when my oldest was a wee one and in daycare.  Well now I have been a SAHM for 10 yrs and 11.5 months. Today I end that cycle and move onto a new phase. One where I get paid for the work I am doing.  I am only subbing and today (my first day) is only for 3 hrs. But oh man how I have dreaded this day

Here I go.

There is a reason- words to remember

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.

They may seem like a godsend and they are.

They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die.

Sometimes they walk away.

Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.

What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done.

The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,

because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.

They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.

They may teach you something you have never done.

They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.

Believe it, it is real.

But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must

build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.

Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

TODAY

THANK THE PERSON WHO IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

HAVE BEEN PART OF YOUR LIFE

Even if a small way you can make them feel

That you are indeed thankful for their

Presence as well as the beautiful moments that they have given -

No matter if they are your reason, season, or your lifetime.

Food tastes better when it's pretty (or when your kids aren't crying that they don't like it)

Eating is something I enjoy far more during the Winter vs Summer.   With the sun sitting so low in the Winter sky the beams cast a glow on my counter top right around lunchtime.  This makes my food look that much prettier (plus it helps that there are not 4 kids running by saying "I'm starving, I'm going to die, When can we eat?, I don't liiiiiiike egg stuff, can I have your orange?)

Lunch today- Egg Salad and oranges

Egg Salad Recipe:
4 hard boiled eggs sectioned
heaping kitchen Tbsp of mayo or miracle whip
(not the measuring kind, rather the eating kind)
a squirt of brown mustard
salt to taste
and a pinch of sugar (this is the secret ingredient)

Eat on toasted bread or bagel with a heap of fresh spinach and a tomato if you like (which I don't)

Enjoy.

Panakuken

Today's weather calls for comfort food

Panakuken  
(German Baked Pancake) 

In a blender:

6 eggs
1C Milk
1C Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Vanilla
3 Tblsp Sugar
2 Tblsp melted butter for pan


Mix all ingredients together until smooth

Bake 400 uncovered
in a 9x13 pan
for 20 minutes or
until edges are golden brown
and pull away from sides

With my family of 6 we easily clean up one pan of this easy recipe and could eat a whole other pan.  My two younger children love eating it throughout the day as left overs (hot or cold)

I serve it with syrup or berries with whipped cream. 

NOTE: This should be eaten directly from the oven as it comes out so nice and fluffy, but quickly falls.  So be prepared ahead of time. 

Chasing Chikadees (with a 40 below windchill)

Good frosty morning to you and yours. I woke this morning to a phone call (6am) from the school district telling me school was 2 hrs late but teachers (my husband) had to report on time. Well he had long since gone to the gym. I ran around the house and turned the kids' alarms off with hopes that they would sleep in a bit and crawled back into bed. When I finally emerged from the cocoon that was my bed I ventured outside (only to feed and water the chickens) along the way I decided to snap a few shots. Birds don't have the option of sleeping in and wandering to the fridge for a quick snack to go with their coffee. They have to get up and get to work to survive. The have to persevere and the colder it is the more so this is true. Conditions may not be ideal but they continue to work to survive and when Summer rolls around they again will be singing their happy tunes.

 If you want to eat you have to work for it

Even if the conditions are not ideal

We could learn something from birds

 Coming in for a landing

 White Breasted Nuthatch

 Fancy meeting you here

 I'm going in

 This little guy found a patch of sunlight

 Sitting in the sun, trying to warm

Against a cold blue grey sky

 A finch stopped by to say hi. The best way to attract finch to your yard is to serve up Thistle Seed

 

See, it really was cold out there this morning

I came in and my right hand ached from the cold and my cheeks stayed rosy for an hour

But that is what Minnesotans do- challenge the weather 

(and we even win sometimes)

 

It was a moment - a moment I took a breath

In the middle of me throwing an adult temper tantrum over having to put away the Christmas decorations and my complete dislike for this chore, I caught a glance out of something - this sunset.  It stopped me, I inhaled and for a moment it was ok..........  but just for a moment.

(Decorations are put away and I have had a chance to get over it all now.  I am fine, now)

New Year/ New Day/ New Possibilities

Photo Credit: Julie Saari

The moment when you first wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the twenty-four hours.  No matter how weary or dreary you may feel, you possess the certainty that, during the day that lies before you, absolutely anything may happen.  And the fact that it practically always doesn't, matters not a jot.  The possibility is always there.  ~Monica Baldwin

Taken December 2, 2011 
Near my house
Grace Lake, Mn


copyright TIMTB 2011

Space for my (introvert) girlie -a tiny hideaway- it was easy

Left over tulle from a birthday party
Ribbon from gifts given by Debra at Sojourner
A set of butterfly wings left over from a Halloween costume years ago
Christmas lights straight off the tree
A staple gun from the garage
and about a half hour.

Now a trip to the store for a larger pillow and a fun fabric to cover the pillows in and we will be set. A hideaway for my girlie who just needs time away (from school, her 3 brothers, the world). I am not an introvert but I am trying to understand.