Monthly Archives: July 2016

A Week of Volunteering Fun

You all are probably pretty tired of me saying that we helped out in the kitchen serving the young adults at their conference this week but I believe I might have a different audience each day, so I feel the need to say it each day. ;)

Yesterday was our busiest day because I made Enchilada Pie for the fifty attendees and volunteers. We even prepped it the day before by making the sauce before we left on Wednesday. It was great though.

I also made the corn salad I shared this week. They seemed to enjoy it. I did realize though, since I followed the directions to the letter, that I don’t like that much lemon juice in the dressing and had to add some sugar to even it out. So, I’ll have to go back and update the recipe.

I also made fresh sweet tea which seemed to go over well also. I think the ‘floats’ and ‘sundaes’ will be enjoyed today. :)

(As you might be able to guess, I did not get any pictures taken of the conference; I was a bit busy. :D )


Last night Sean and Tiffany had two of the young ladies over for the evening and to spend the night. We shared dinner with them and an old favorite movie. Mike and I went to bed before they did, of course. :) They made some popcorn, which I encouraged before going to bed. Funny thing is that Mike woke up because he smelled it, only he thought it smelled like cheese. :D It told him it was popcorn and we went back to sleep.

Shortly thereafter we awoke to a thunder storm. I think it was around 1:30 a.m. Tiffany said they went to bed soon after that.

Then yesterday while at the conference a bad storm passed through with torrential rains! The tornado sirens went off. (Living way out in the country I have forgotten what it was like to have the sirens go off but just kept on working. ;) ) Many of these young people had not been exposed to things like this before and stood at the doors looking out for a bit while it poured!!!

On our way home we saw MANY tree limbs downed. In many places, only one lane was usable. We were counting ourselves pretty blessed as we were able to make around them . . . until . . . we got within a mile of our home. That’s when we had to find another route, as there was a large tree across the entire road.

So we backtracked and went around another way and were please when there were no trees or branches blocking our path. Unfortunately, we did have some activity on our property. First, the trash can was knocked over and trash spilled out. Odds are a local animal helped the trash situation.

Storm Damage ~ Lifeofjoy.me
This is the pile Mike picked up from the yard.

Then I saw the shingles in the yard. I looked up at the roof and didn’t see anything amuck. Then I saw more shingles and a couple of skirting pieces. This cause me a bit of concern.

I proceeded to walk around the side of the house where at first all looked normal but then I saw the messed up area. I walked around the back and saw this:

Storm Damage ~ Lifeofjoy.me
The piece hanging sideways caused me a bit of concern.

 

The back had a bit more mess but it really wasn’t that bad. We just had straighten and re-align the pieces and set the grill back upright.

I guess the most annoying thing was the electricity being out. Thankfully there was a breeze and the sun was mostly hiding behind the clouds, at least most of the time. But working outside still made us sweat. :(  But thankful once again that the electricity came back on before too long and we were able to take proper showers.

IMG_3421
Shiloh wasn’t happy that she wasn’t out with us. We let her out shortly after I took this.

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Well, gotta run. It’s the last day of the conference and then I have a mound of laundry to do this weekend! :D I hope you have a good one.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Are You Stressed?

Are you stressed ~ Lifeofjoy.meFor those of you that haven’t visited previously this week, we are helping at our church’s young adult conference, so it is a busy week.

The article I’m sharing with you today is a good one about how to eliminate stress in your homeschool. I thought it would be a good idea to share them now, so that you might be able to avoid stress in your homeschool or at least be prepared, should it strike.

Without further adieu, here’s the link to the article. Please go and read it, it really is good.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

An Off Week

It’s a busy week here with Mike and I volunteering in the kitchen at the young adult conference this week. I don’t have any time for tangling, so I’m scanning in a couple of OLD ones I did in my calendar two years ago. They aren’t my best ones, which is one reason I hadn’t shared them before now.

I had just begun shading and was nervous about it. I didn’t want to mess up the line work I’d managed to get down on paper. ;)

Here they are, all three, as they appear in the tangle*a*day calendar.

An Off Week ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Here is a larger picture of the first one. I believe it is basically Gneiss. I like this tangle a lot.

An Off Week ~ Lifeofjoy.me

This next one is an odd version of Mooka. It almost looks like worms – gross.

An Off Week ~ Lifeofjoy.meShading that one is a bit odd.

Then there’s the last one which really has some potential with more shading. ;) I believe I’ve used Cubine, Keeko, and Florz in this one.

An Off Week ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Well, there you have it, a quick post with some simplistic art, that anybody can do. I hope it will inspire you to give it a try because really, anyone can do it. :) You can find the stepouts (directions) for these tangles on tanglepatterns.com.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Corn, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Corn, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad

A different kind of salad, good in the summer when corn and tomatoes are fresh. Nice not to have lettuce for a change.

I tried this one a few weeks ago for the first time. I love fresh corn! Thus this salad looked pretty good to me. It is super simple to make as well.

The key here is fresh corn. The first two times I made it with really good sweet corn. This time, unfortunately, it wasn’t as good because the corn wasn’t as good. Oh well. ;)

It only takes a few simple ingredients: corn, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

IMG_3397I only made one-fourth of the original recipe today but I’ll give the measurements for the entire batch in the recipe.

First shuck the corn and cut the kernels off the cob. You can cook it first if you like. I recommend you cut a bit off and taste it to see how sweet it is. If it is bland, boil it in some water with some sweetener. I learned this the hard way!

Corn, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad ~ Lifeofjoy.meI cut the kernels directly into the bowl I’m going to use to serve the salad.

Next cut the tomatoes. I like small bite-size pieces, so I do more than cut them in half, which is what the original recipe directed.

Corn, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad ~ Lifeofjoy.meCut up the mozzarella cheese and then add the rest of the ingredients. I usually cheat and just use a sprinkling of garlic powder instead of the minced garlic. I sometimes use lemon juice from the bottle I keep in the refrigerator for emergencies. ;) (I have yet to make this with fresh basil though.)

Corn, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad ~ Lifeofjoy.meStir and serve!

Corn, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad ~ Lifeofjoy.me

This really is a nice refreshing salad and a nice change from the regular lettuce salads.

Corn, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad

Ingredients

  • 4 ears of corn, shucked, cleaned, and washed
  • 1 10.5 oz package of grape tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into small bite-size pieces
  • 10 leaves of fresh basil, sliced thinly or use a sprinkling of dried
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Remove the corn kernels from the cob with a nice sharp knife.
  2. Place corn, cut tomatoes, and mozzarella pieces into serving bowl.
  3. Add the basil.
  4. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. (or if you are lazy like me, simply add them to the bowl but it would probably taste better combined in the jar first 😉 )
  5. Pour over ingredients in the bowl, toss and serve.
https://lifeofjoy.me/corn-tomato-and-mozzarella-salad/

I hope you enjoy this one as much as Mike and I have. (Sean and Tiffany won’t even try it. ;) )

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Loving Through Frustration

Loving through Frustration ~ Lifeofjoy.meWhen you spend a lot of time with someone, there are bound to be times of frustration. The important thing is not to take things too seriously. If you are tired and sore and hot or whatever, odds are the other person (or people are) is as well, and that means that it is possible that someone will say or do something that frustrates the other. Really, don’t take offense at this! Give grace, as you would like to receive it as well, I’m sure (well, I know I do anyway).

This week, Mike, Sean, Tiffany, and I have the privilege of serving at the young adult conference. Mike and I will be in the kitchen but Sean and Tiffany will be wherever they are needed most. ;) It is going to be a wonderful time. We work well, as a team. Mike and Tiffany can almost read my thoughts as to what needs to be done.

It is a blessing to serve the body of Christ together. BUT, we already know, that there will be moments of frustration. We know not to take offense and not to get upset. It will all cool off very soon. :)

We’ve been getting prepared for conference for the last several days. Consequently, I’ve been on my feet quite a bit. This means that having worn my wedgie shoes to church yesterday, my feet swelled up. It wasn’t pretty. Thus when we finally got home after doing the final setup after lunch, I needed to park my behind in my recliner and keep my feet propped up. Well, everyone in this household was also tired and sore and in need of resting up for the coming week. So when I asked for Mike to get me some watermelon, he wasn’t very hip on the idea.

Loving Through Frustration ~ Lifeofjoy.meI will admit that I whined and was a bit sarcastic, which is my natural response to just about everything-the sarcasm not the whining. Then I just let it go, deciding that I didn’t need to have any. Just a short time later, Mike got up and got us some. It was yummy and sweet of him to do.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we can still love even when frustrated. Be cautious not to say things out of frustration because you will probably be sorry for uttering them if you do. And if others say something, when they are frustrated, give them grace and try to think how you might feel or what you might say in their position.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

 

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Celebrations, Menu Planning, and Such

Celebrations, Menu Planning and Such ~ Lifeofjoy.meLast weekend we celebrated Brian’s 25th birthday with a pool party at his house. And of course, I did not get any pictures. :\  It had rained off and on all weekend. We prayed that it would be nice and the water would be nice for us to swim, since it is the first time we’ve gone over all year. Actually, it’s the first time we’ve swam all year.

We had a nice visit. My mom brought Mud Pie, which I should be sharing the recipe with you in a couple of weeks. :) And she and Dad also brought a watermelon. It was an okay watermelon but very refreshing. :)

Monday was Independence Day here in the US of A. We actually did not do much. If I remember correctly, it either rained or was supposed to rain in the morning so they guys did not finish powerwashing the house in preparation of painting it.

Several years ago I started instigating the watching of National Treasure and National Treasure 2, even though they are not July 4th specific. I really enjoy this tradition and I believe Sean and Tiffany do as well. Then we watch Independence Day. Now I will throw out my disclaimer here; we did NOT have this or watch it when my children were young! There is some language in it that is not suitable unless you have CleanPlay or something like it but I always enjoy the feeling of patriotism that I get when watching it.


Celebrations, Menu Planning and Such ~ Lifeofjoy.meThis week I worked on the menu for the next two weeks because of the conference next week. I needed to buy the majority of the groceries this week because Tiffany and I will not be able to do our usual grocery run next week, because of the conference. Mike and I will pick up the perishables at the end of the week but after volunteering all week, we will not want to do much of a grocery run for ourselves. Thus, I had to know what we would be eating in order to buy the staples and freezables.

Today, Tiff and I will be going out with one of the guys from church to get the groceries for the conference. I believe it will be a long day but we will have fun doing all that we must do. :)


I got my hair cut again this week. I think she did a pretty good job but then I always think they do a good job until I go to fix it a time or two. It’s at that point that really know how good of a cut I got. ;) Unfortunately this time, I can already tell that the front isn’t quite short enough. Hopefully that will be the only “problem” with it. We shall see.


I tried a new breakfast dish last weekend. It was a kind of trial run to see if it is something we want to do for breakfast during the conference. It is a crescent bacon egg and cheese ring. It was really quite good. I will probably be sharing that recipe in the weeks to come as well. :)

Well, I need to run. We have a busy day ahead of us. So I hope you have a great weekend.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Word Games Help with Spelling and Vocabulary

Games for Spelling ~ Lifeofjoy.meAs I have probably shared before, I liked to use games in educating my children. One of the games they really enjoyed the kids really enjoyed was Upwords. This is like scrabble with one very big difference. You can change one letter of a word already on the board and get the full points for the newly created word. This is good for younger players because they don’t have Games for Spelling ~ Lifeofjoy.meto come up with the whole thing on their own. It is a fun game and one my children actually enjoyed playing. ;)

Scattergories is a good game for vocabulary and can be adapted for school subjects and particular topics. It is a game where there are 10 items listed that you have to come up with a word that fits the item/category but all must begin with the same letter, which is decided by the roll of a die and there is a timer.

Another game I found, but never got around to printing out, is Alpha. It has several games you can play using the cards, tiles, or dice that you can print out. Here is the link to the download page. And here is a link to the page of links to the different game directions.

Here is a good article I read about how one mom also incorporated games for spelling and vocabulary practice. It’s a really good article. I recommend you take a few minutes and read it. ;)

Until next time, God bless,

 Michele ºÜº

 

DC#274

iamthedivacztThis week’s Diva Challenge is to use our country’s colors. I live in the United States of America whose colors are red, white, and blue. Our flag has red and white stripes and stars on a blue background in the upper left corner.

I decided to use a black tile with white gelly roll pen, and red and blue neon, and glitter gel pens. I wasn’t sure which would show up better on the black tile, glitter or neon pen, so I used both. It’s really odd because when I tilt the tile one way I can see the glitter markings but when I tilt it another way, I can see the neon markings. So I’m very glad I used both pens.

I decided to put some Ahh for the stars but went with blue ink instead of white. I chose Meer for the stripes. I used the white pencil that comes with the black tile kit (I really need to learn what kind of pencil it is so I can stop describing it this way.) to do some shading. I used red and blue prismacolor pencils to shade the red meer and put some blue around the ahh. Unfortunately they don’t show up very well.

It’s not a great tile but it is decent. :)

Here it is before shading.

DC#274 ~ Lifeofjoy.meAnd here it is after shading.

DC#274 ~ Lifeofjoy.meHmmm. The colored pencil shows up a lot better scanned and larger than what I could tell holding it. ;)

I want to thank in advance, those of you that will take the time to comment. It is a great encouragement to me and I know it takes time. You all are a great community!

Until next time, God bless,

 Michele ºÜº

A Menu for a Month

Menu for a Month ~ Lifeofjoy.meA couple of months ago I planned out a menu for an entire month. I have done a couple of weeks at a time before, when I needed to plan around vacation, conferences, or some such activities. This time I found it was even more helpful than previous times.

I was planning to do another one for this month but am trying to not have meats or sweets and it is very hard to plan. I have also found that my family does not want to follow suit this time. Thus I’m struggling to plan, even a week in advance.

I took the previous month I planned and made it into a printable/downloadable calendar for this month for you. I hope I can figure out how to make it available to you.

One thing you should know, and will quickly realize after you see it, is that we like to have pizza every week. :) I went for a period of time when I was on a particular diet that did not allow the bread or cheese, that we did not eat pizza for a while. Eventually Sean said he missed it and, of course, I did as well. So I put it back on the weekly menu.

I put links on the calendar for the recipes that I’ve put online.

Menu for a Month ~ Lifeofjoy.me

I figured out how to upload the menu but am struggling to get a copy of it active on this page though. All those lovely blue links should take you to the recipe on my blog. :\

16 July Menu

It’s getting late so I will work on it again later. At least you can see what it looks like and download it if you so desire.

Until next time, God bless,
Michele ºÜº

Respect

~ Lifeofjoy.meYes, I’m here talking about respect again. I think it is necessary to talk about it because I think it is something that many of us do not fully understand. But it is necessary to understand because in Ephesians the Bible tells wives to respect their husbands.

The television is quick to make husbands look inferior to their wives. Wives frequently mock or belittle their husbands, which when done in public is extremely detrimental to them and to the marriage.

The Bible simply states that a wife is to reverence or respect her husband. The thing is, it does not say that husbands are to earn the respect of their wives, just that the wife is to respect her husband. Much like the husband is to love his wife. This can be a challenge, especially when one doesn’t quite understand what respect even is.

I find it easiest to understand what respect is by observing or thinking about disrespect. I can easily recognize disrespect, so if I can see the disrespect I can begin to understand what respect is.

Matt Walsh wrote an interesting article, “Your Husband Doesn’t Have to Earn Your Respect” about this. I recommend you go read it.


~ Lifeofjoy.me~ Lifeofjoy.meToday is Independence Day, here in the USA. I am so very thankful for this country I live in and to the founding fathers, their families, and other colonists for the sacrifices they made. I am also thankful to all the men and women who have served our country in the military to keep us independent.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº