Completely Overwhelmed

As I was making coffee this morning, my husband went online and reserved a UHaul to pick up the chilren's beds. So much for the long bath and prayer session.

I was not at all prepared to have anyone enter our home, but the generous friends who gave us the beds helped to carry them in. And they brought their vacuum cleaner. And they vacuumed our kids rooms and saw the cheerios in their closets. And they walked through our living room (Christmas tree still up) and didn't mention the general feeling of a disaster area.

I was so extremely embarrassed, but more than that I was completely overwhelmed by how much there was to be embarrassed by. I have never been SuperHousewife who dusts every two days and vacuums every morning, and to be sick and or stressed for much of the last month and a half has really left my home in shambles.

When the friends left and my husband took our oldest to church this evening, I finally got that long bath and prayer. I gave all my burdens to the Lord, but I keep picking them up and worrying about them. Thankfully this is Britcom night on PBS, so I can escape across the Atlantic for awhile.

I've lost almost 3 weeks!

Moving the bookcase was a very bad idea. I spent as much of the next 2 weeks in bed as possible (3 kids 6 and under don't let Mom stay in bed too much!). This week we all had colds, my head has been too foggy to focus on much more than homeschool and sleep.

Today the fog cleared a little and I was appalled at the disaster area my home as become! What a mess! I tried to straighten up a bit, we were going to receive hand-me-down beds for the children tomorrow, but my friend's truck is not available to accomplish the move of the beds. I was too exhausted to keep straightening up without the threat of People Seeing the House, so I laid on the couch tonight and watched Jeeves and Wooster with my husband. Nothing like a little British comedy to help one ignore one's troubles. Tomorrow I have planned a long bath with A Mother's Rule of Life, followed by a bit of "Lord, I Can't Handle This" prayer.

I don't know how I'll ever get the house into order. The vacuum has been broken for 2 weeks, the floors haven't been mopped in 2 months, the playroom is a disaster, the bathrooms need a good scrubbling, and there's just STUFF everywhere. I don't know where to start. I am overwhelmed, but I'm going to read a little Adrian Plass, and drift off to sleep.

Book Addicts Anonymous

Hello, my name is Georgetta and I am a bookaholic.

I love to buy books. I love to order books at Amazon, half.com, christianbook.com, abebooks, etc. I tried to stop buying books for one of my husband's pay periods and I was not successful. I am praying about giving up book buying for Lent; this would be rather drastic for me (I would keep my wishlist on paperbackswap though), but it would be helpful to our budget.

So, in preparation for this, I ordered a book about Lent (Small Surrenders). I didn't want to spent $3 on shipping at half.com, so I ordered from Amazon...of course buying 2 books instead of one so that I could get the free shipping at the $25 purchase. So, I spent an extra $8 to save $3.

Does anyone else want to join Book Addicts Anonymous? (Isn't BAA a great acronym?)

Recipe: healing bath salts

6 drops essential oil or essential oil blend
about a tablespoon almond oil
about 1/3 cup epsom salts

Stir the ingredients together. Run a bath. Soak for a few moments and then add the salt mixture. (Don't add it while the water is running, or the oil won't disburse, it will just float on top of the water.) Enjoy the aromatherapy! The salts are great for aches and pains, and they may help you sleep well after your bath, too.

Note: a little oil will float on top of the water. That's ok. It will softly coat your skin when you exit the bath (nice for eczema-prone skin). In my experience, this recipe makes the oils disburse more than when I don't use the salts.

Greek Layered Dip

2 8 oz tubs of hummus (we used one original and one sundried tomato basil)
5 leaves of dark red leaf lettuce, chopped
1 can of garbanzo beans, drained
6 oz. kalamata olives (be sure they are the pits-removed variety)
8 oz feta cheese
6 big basil leaves
6 or 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
pita chips

Mix the two tubs of hummus and spread in a square 8x8 dish.
Sprinkle the lettuce over the hummus.
Mix the garbanzo beans and the olives, and put them on top of the lettuce.
Mix the feta and basil (you could do this an hour ahead of time to let the basil flavor blend into the feta). Sprinkle it over the garbanzo beans.
Arrange the tomato halves in neat rows across the dip. Serve with pita chips.

Taco Soup with Black Beans

1/2 pound sausage
1/2 pound hamburger
1 tablespoon baking chocolate (trust me)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chipotle pepper -- ground
1 large white onion -- chopped
14 ounces crushed tomatoes
14 ounces diced tomatoes (sometimes I double this)
14 ounces black beans, canned (sometimes I double this)
1 1/2 cups beef broth, reduced salt
1 tablespoon buttermilk powder (or a packet of dry ranch dressing)
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces sour cream
1 avocado
1/2 cup cheddar cheese -- shredded
2 tablespoons cilantro -- fresh (optional)

Brown the sausage and hamburger, adding the chocolate, cumin, and chipotle pepper when it's about half browned, then adding the onion for the last few minutes.

Place sausage, hamburger, onion, tomatoes, beans, broth, buttermilk powder, and salt in crockpot. Cook on high for two hours or on low for four hours. Garnish individual bowls with sour cream, sliced avocado, cilantro (optional) and grated cheese.

Some people like to put tortilla chips on top, but we feel there are enough carbs in here already!

Avacado Cannellini Salad

This is so easy, and so delicious.
Two cans of cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
2 avocadoes (or 1 large)
diced roma tomatoes (2 or 3)
diced green onions (1 or 2)
any italian herbs (basil, oregano, chives, etc)
salt & pepper

Toss these in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

Optional: serve with Italian herb croutons on top.For a southwest variation, I use one can of black beans, and one can of cannellini.