Monday Motivation

Ever since this came across my feed I have been listening to it almost every night.  Thought I would share with you in case you haven't seen it yet or just want to enjoy it again.

A group of Nashville singers all recorded parts of this on their personal cell phones and they masterfully put it together.  It is inspiring and beautiful.

Here's hoping all is well with your soul.

Have a wonderful week!

Isolation Increase

What are you going to do with your isolation?  We have a little challenge going on at my house.  We decided when we emerge from isolation we want to have a new skill, to have learned something new.....get it?

.....to have increased during this isolation

I think I have mentioned before how I used to be super flexible.....like super flexible.  And now I think twice about buying a shoe with a buckle because I don't want to have to bend over to put my shoes on.  So I am stretching everyday - here's my goal

photo from https://www.powerengineeringint

Just kidding.....I just want to be able to

photo from ood a yogo

I can touch my toes but I am working on getting nose to knee.....wish me luck.

One of my daughters has decided to learn to

Circle Society Skates

Yep, we've made space in the garage and she's practicing in her new Amazon Prime skates.  Watch out for a rollerskating powerhouse when she emerges from isolation

The other daughter has always wanted to do a heel click

In fact, it has been a long time running joke in our family.....so she is practicing.  You'll be able to invite her over for celebrations post isolation.

So for the above three we would appreciate you keeping your fingers crossed none of us break or pull anything that requires medical attention.

The other two in the house have selected more tame goals

One has decided to get 10,000 steps a day and the other is learning to play a song on the piano.

Surely those two things won't increase our co-pay chances.

If you so desire, join us and choose something for your isolation increase.

Should be fun......have a great weekend!

Stay safe!!!

Common Substitutions

If you are like me your creativity in the kitchen has gotten ramped up a few notches out of neccessity.  I keep pulling out recipes and having everything but one ingredient.  So I spent some time on line researching common substitutions and thought I would share them here.....just in case it may help you too.

Saturday, I made poppy seed chicken.  I had every cracker EXCEPT Ritz crackers.  I substituted panko bread crumbs and it was just as good. The recipe linked here calls for cheese.  I don't use cheese in mine but maybe it is a good addition.  My family loves this served over rice and with any green vegetable on the side.

Sunday, I decided to make crockpot Mississippi Pot Roast.  I had everything except Lipton Onion Soup mix.....so I substituted a beef boullion cube, some onion powder, a pinch of celery seed and a pinch of pepper

If you want the whole list of substitions listed on the All Recipes site, click here.  I pulled out some of the more common ones for you below:

Brown sugar

1 cup, packed

1 cup white sugar plus 1/4 cup molasses and decrease the liquid in recipe by 1/4 cup OR 1 cup white sugar OR 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 (10.75-ounce) can

1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of celery, cream of chicken, or golden mushroom soup

Cream (heavy)

1 cup

1 cup evaporated milk OR 3/4 cup milk plus 1/3 cup butter

Egg

1 whole (3 tablespoons or 1.7 oz)

1/4 cup liquid egg substitute OR 13 tablespoons mayonnaise OR half a banana mashed with 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Flour--Self-Rising

1 cup

7/8 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Honey

1 cup

1 1/4 cup white sugar plus 1/3 cup water OR 1 cup corn syrup OR 1 cup light treacle syrup

Ketchup

1 cup

1 cup tomato sauce plus 1 teaspoon vinegar plus 1 tablespoon sugar

Lemon juice

1 teaspoon

1/2 teaspoon vinegar OR 1 teaspoon white wine OR 1 teaspoon lime juice

Sour cream

1 cup

1 cup plain yogurt OR 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough cream to make 1 cup OR 3/4 cup buttermilk mixed with 1/3 cup butter

My palate is not developed enough to realize if an ingredient is slightly off so most of these substitions work out well for us.

Hopefully, it will be a help to you too.

Is your Worship looking different these days?

I have to tell you I don't think it is any coincidence that God gave us the word Worship for our blog focus this year.  We all started the year here talking about focusing on Worship.....worship that looks a little different from how we traditionally think of it......this is a quote from the blog post where I rolled out Worship being our word of the year

"And, of course, worship can look so many different ways.....and it really is all about our hearts."


And haven't we come to live out those words in these last few weeks?  My family has all gathered together in our living room each Sunday morning and watched the Church of the Highlands service. We have joined in on the worship songs, the prayers and enjoyed the message.  This looks a lot different from what we are used to doing on a Sunday morning.  But the main thing is we are still studying, praising and worshipping God.

Many churches are in the same position.  They are not meeting together physically.  I encourage you to find a service you can stream or YouTube so you can still enjoy a time of worship.  

Several pastors have come together and decided to pray the same prayer .....united in prayer.  To find the prayer and join in go to www.united714.com.  You can find all the details there plus print out prayer guides to join in.

Also, the Bible Study I attend, Bible Study Fellowship, is moving to an online study format.  If you have ever done BSF before you know what a great study it is.  If you have never done it before, I assure you it is a wonderful Bible based study that you will love.

To join in on an online study go to www.bsfinternational.org for more information.

The main thing is stay connected with people.  Especially in God's word as much as possible.

On Saturday morning I had a great call with four close friends.  We did a group Facetime call.  An hour flew by as we all got caught up on what's going on in each other's lives.  It was just what I needed.

Make contact with someone who brings a smile to your face, some lightness to your heart and make the best of this quarantine time.

Have a great week, everyone!!!

Living Room Exercise

Literally, I have been sitting and working every day this week.  So when all the work is done we push all the furniture back and do an exercise video.  I thought I would share with you a girl we ....and by we I mean my daughter....found. 

We've been doing these

This is Madison and she has all kinds of workout videos called Madfit.  The one above really spoke to me.  It is called Full Body Workout no Jumping.....YES!!!!! I hate jumping.  And I am pretty bad at it.

Did you happen to see my leap I posted on Leap Day

We only took 437 photos to get this one mediocre one.  So I am pretty much finished with jumping for 2020.

The other thing I like about the Madfit videos is they are 10,15 or 20 minutes long......very good

And you do an exercise for about 45 seconds to 1 minute and then you get a 15-20 second break.....very, very good

Y'all I am so good at the breaks.  I rock a break like no one else!!!

She has all kinds so I am sure you could find one you like.  Just go to YouTube and search MadFit.

They are short little videos but there's a lot packed in.  I have been sore.  So I am pretty sure that means it is working.

It really has felt good to move a little bit and stretch out this tired body.

Check it out if you need a little break in your day.

Have a great weekend.  And remember to reach out to your peeps and let them know you are thinking of them.

Take care of yourselves!

Go Audible

Now is a great time to try Audible on Amazon if you have not tried it before.  You probably don't want to be borrowing books from a library right now and they are probably closed anyway.  So why not try listening to an audible selection.

If you want to know how it all works click here

You can try it for 30 days for free.  If you have an Alexa or similar device, you can listen on those, or your phone, an ipad.....lots of choices.


Today I am sharing some great books to listen to if you decide to give it a try

If you want a well developed life and family drama try



The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

If you want a fun read written and narrated in dialect try this next one.
Great narration on this one and I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I had been butchering the dialect.


Gloria by Kerry Young

I loved this next one.  Just a great solid novel.  Tiny suspense, dry humor.....great story



A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

I really learned a lot and enjoyed this next biography.  If people's real life stories are your thing, try this one



A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranson

And if you just want a good enjoyable chick fiction, you will love this next one.  Plus it is the first in a series of three so you can continue with book two and three if you so desire.



Slightly South of Simply by Kristy Woodson Harvey

There's a few audible selections to get you started and very pleasantly pass 10 hours or so......trust me ......it is addictive.

Stay well, friends, and hang in there!

Perspective....

Are you on reset?  I am totally on reset.  So many of my past times revolve around retail.  Even when I am not buying I truly enjoy just walking around various stores and seeing what is new, getting ideas for how to use the stuff I already have, I just enjoy stores.

I also enjoy crafting which, of course, involves me going to stores for various materials.

You guys know I even enjoy a grocery store run.....it's one of my favorite things to do.

All that said to say I am totally having to reset my spare time.

I think we all are.  It is a bizarre time, but we can totally do it. 

So maybe make a list that starts with

I wish I had time to:

and fill it in.  Some of the things you come up with are not going to be doable or advisable at this time as we are supposed to be staying put.  But I bet there are things that we can do

So here's a look at my list

I wish I had time to:

1) Exercise (ok, I actually hate exercise but I always use time as the excuse) - but there are all kinds of Youtube videos and exerices on line.....so this is doable

2) Sew - instead of buying tuna maybe I should have purchased myself some fabric, but I am pretty sure there are some scraps around here that I might could utilize in some way

3) Read - yes....that stack of books by my nightstand.  I am on it.

4) Do something for others......I am not sure how I am going to execute this one yet, maybe there is something I can be doing now that will be of benefit to someone when all of this settles down.  In our virtual church service yesterday, we were reminded of how isolation can lead to depression for lots of people so at a minimum, maybe we could all reach out and check on someone and let them know we are thinking of them......Oddly enough these phones we all carry around can do more than text and scroll social media - we can actually call people.  I know.  Totally bizarre, right?


Now if none of that strikes your fancy, here are some other homebound activities

- finally get rid of all those old makeup and skincare products
- seriously purge your clothing and shoes
- that linen closet......maybe it could use some organizing and purging too
- update your Christmas card list.....you'll be glad in a few months
- that one drawer in the kitchen, you know the one, organize it
- mend those clothing items that you are not wearing because the button is missing, the belt loop needs repairing, the sock has a hole in it
- we've pulled out a puzzle and have that going on the kitchen table

Right now I am off to spend some time on Pinterest to find some things to occupy my mind and time.

Hang in there! And for sure let me know if you come up with some fun way to pass the time!

Granted it will be an odd week, but it can still be a good one.

Remember our worship focus for the month


if you need to be reminded of how important it is to praise God even in the tough times, read Acts 16 and how Paul and Silas worshipped in some of their toughest times.  Great thing for us to do too!

WYH ------Should be as popular as LOL!

Do you know what WYH means?  Wash Your Hands!  We are all talking about it right.....I mean everyone has been telling us it was important since pre-school.

So now social media and the internet are full of catchy things to do while we wash our hands

sing the happy birthday song

sing the abc song

sing Jolene by Dolly Parton

sing Staying Alive by the Bee Gees

recite the Preamble to the Constitution

list the 10 commandments

Hey, these are all good options and there are many more.  But I thought we, as a group, might do something else.  How about every time we wash our hands we pray for God to end the spread of this virus, to protect our country, our city, our families?

Join me and ask others you know to join with us......let's pray while we wash our hands and trust God to work a wonderful miracle.

Have a great weekend.....stay safe!

Amazon Find

Amazon......honestly, they sell just about everything.  I mean you can fall down the Amazon hole and spend hours looking at products and reading reviews. But you still just never know, right?  Is it really worth the money, does the product really work, should you put it in your cart????!!!!

Well I thought I would show you something I purchased that I really liked......just in case you are in need of one too.  So I had a traditional surge protector by my night stand.  I needed to plug in my lamp, my phone, my watch, my air pods, my heating pad and two computers......so I found this and ordered it

360 Revolve Surge Protector

There are two USB ports on the very top for your devices

It has a low profile so it fits nicely behind furniture

And one outlet on each side rotates for those tricky plugs

I ordered one to give it a try and then we ordered three more for everyone else in the house.

It is amazing how small little adjustments can make life easier.  I am really enjoying this find and if you need one, you might give this little guy a try.

Let me know if you have tried something that I might like.

Talk to you on Friday!

February Book Review

Welcome to the February Book Review.  I have three reads for you this month and I liked.....maybe loved them all.

First up,



The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. This by far is one of the prettiest covers I have seen in a long time.  That was the initial draw to this book.  Then I read the summary and thought this might be good.  It was VERY good.  The story chronicles a brother and sister as they live through their mother's breakdown and their dad's seriously questionable decisions.  If you have not done an audible book yet, this is the one to start with.  Buy this and own it in hardcover and then listen to the audiobook as well.  Tom Hanks is the audible reader and he is phenomanal.  Truly this has been one of my favorite books this year.


Then Amazon recommended this one for me and I say well done, Amazon, well done.





This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. This book is a little Tom Sawyerish......maybe a bit modern day Tom Sawyerish.  A group of kids escape a tough children's home and take to the river to find a new life.  They are all just trying to take care of each other and stay safe.  They, as you can imagine, encounter all kinds of people along the way.  It is a good story.  I definitely became attached to the characters and pulled for them like crazy.  It is a good story and I enjoyed it.

And I finished the month with another winner




The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. Ok, I loved this one! It is set in the Kentucky hills and is all about a packhorse library. It is based on a true story. Eleanor Roosevelt creates this traveling library to improve literacy in remote areas.  These ladies take up the call and the difficult challenge of delivering books in an unwelcoming environment.  While all of this is going on there are relationships, family dynamics and pure meanness all in the mix.  It was a great story.  Deep, well developed and highly engaging.  It was one of those I couldn't wait to get back to.

It was a good month.  You can't go wrong with any of these.  Happy Reading!

Have a great week!

Springing Forward

It  may as well be a nationwide basketball game.....basketball may very well be the only other thing that I am this bad at doing.

I do not spring forward very well.

But here we are.  The weekend is upon us.

At least there is some good news. Do you know what Monday is?  It is national take a nap day.
I plan to participate and encourage you to do the same.

Sorry this has to be short today.  I am starting early on the whole nap thing.  You know how I like to work ahead and this will be no exception.

I have to start resting up for the big spring forward.

Have a wonderful shorter weekend.

I'll see you back on Monday!

March Gift Guide

Do you have any occassions that you will need to purchase a gift for this month?

Well hopefully the following will help you out.

Welcome to the Gift Guide for this month


If you need a Beauty gift,

Cream in Your Coffee

It's a creamy pinky brown and most people really seem to like it. You should be able to find this at any retailer that carries MAC products if you want to purchase locally.

If you need a Home related gift,

EO Hand Soaps

We stayed at a fun little place over in Georgia and these were the bath products they had.  I loved them and have continued to purchase them.  They also have shower gels, bath salts, and bubble baths. I have linked to Amazon but if you are more interested in local purchases Specialty Grocery Stores like Earth Fare, Sprouts and Whole Foods will sometimes stock them.

For the Men this month

Men's Soap

You can add on this mesh pouch to keep their bar shower ready

Mesh Soap Pouch

Locally, Sweet Pineapple on Airport Road also carries this line.

Now for the Kids this month

Darla Book

Danny Book

Both of these books invite kids to participate as they read the story.  They help Danny or Darla make the right choices.  There are 8 stories in each book all based on the power to choose.

If you need a gift for a Girlfriend

Target Pajama Set

These PJ's are super soft and they wash great.  Three color choices are available - grey, black and navy.  We have these and I highly recommend.

Well there's all your gift ideas for this month.  Hopefully, that will help you tick some items off of your list.

If you need to reference the previous gift idea lists, just click here for February or here for January.

See you back on Friday.

March - Focus on Worship

Welcome to March! I hope the weekend was good for you.  We ended up with two sunny days and I must say it was wonderful.

Today we are rolling out a new focus on Worship for the month of March.  Here is our verse for the month

This is a familiar verse for most of us.  But it is just an amazing account to me.  Paul and Silas were in trouble.  They've been accused and arrested.  Here's the thing.....if I am honest I am probably praying one prayer - please get me out of here.  But Paul and Silas take to worship.  Paul and Silas are able to focus on the greatness of God and to pray and sing. Paul and Silas are able to be witnesses, while they were in trouble, to other prisoners.

As we go through March, let's try to focus on God and not our circumstances.  Let's worship Him when the day is going a little rough, or uncertainty takes hold, or news that is hard to handle comes our way.  Let's Worship God and watch the miracles He will do.

Remember, I have a worship bracelet for one of you who subscribes to this blog.

I am really enjoying wearing mine

This month's winner is

LMW8**@****

Congratulations, your bracelet is on its way to you.

Have a Worship full week!