Recipe of the Day. . .

I love a good devotion and throw in a good recipe with it and that is like having your cake and eating it too.  No pun intended.  One of the hubbs nieces gave me this book for Christmas, I know that I have posted on it before but I thought I would share one of the recipes.  This is Hotcakes and Hallelujahs by Stacey Roberts.  I was reading a devotion from it this morning about giving thanks in all situations and how true that is.  The hubbs was downsized in May and he still does not have a job but we are not destitute just yet.   Because they let him go they had to true up all of his bonus for his quota attainment which was a lot.  We were able to add to our emergency fund for the emergency his company created.  I keep telling my very sweet hubby that God wanted him out of that situation and that God has a plan for our family.  We are not privy to his plan in advance we must trust him and have faith.  We are trusting Him and I am trying to get my hubby to take advantage of  this time off and enjoy his family.
Here is my recipe for today, these are Sabbath Day Spice Muffins

1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

Topping
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven 325.  In a large mixing bowl cream shortening, sugar, and egg.  In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.   Add the medium bowl to the shortening mixture slowly along with milk.
Grease muffin tin and fill with batter bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.  Let cool for a few minutes
Topping:  combine sugar and cinnamon.  Roll warm muffins in melted butter and then in the sugar mixture.  
This recipe says it makes 8-10 muffins.

I am going to try this one today.

This and That. . . .Random Thoughts. . .

The sweet B is going to the Vet today for her check up.  She loves going but she hates being probed.  She absolutely goes to pieces when we walk in the door, she is all wiggles and squeals.  When the Doctor gets in the floor to see her, she backs up into him and licks him under his chin.   She is the most loving and sweet dog I think we have ever had.  Our sweet Frito loved the hubbs and I, and she tolerated the boys but that was about it.  Cainie and Jake our labs, I guess they loved everyone too but they did not go completely to pieces like the B.  I miss all three of those babies, it seems like they took a piece of each of us when they left.
Nothing ever seems to go as I try to plan.  This Summer has certainly followed suit this year.  I have tried to plan a beach trip and another trip no where near the beach and neither one has worked out.  It has just not been in cards for us this year.  I do not necessarily have to go anywhere away from our house but, I want to try and do something fun with us all together.  I want my kids to have great memories to share with their own kids someday.  I am still trying to pull something together and we still may get to the beach, it just might be a Fall trip.   This does not include the college tours that we need to do this year.
I do have one more thing up my sleeve and I hope it will work out.  
The hubbs has a face to face interview the first of next week and he had two phone interviews this week already.   We are very hopeful for these two but, I know that it is in God's hands and it is his plan.  Keep the prayers coming, things are starting to come together.
Stay tuned. . . .

College Prep and Other Stuff. . .

Preparing to send a kid off to college is no easy task.  Sprat is two years away from going to college but there are still things that have to be done at this stage.  Sprat is supposed to be preparing by taking classes and being involved in clubs and the community during these couple of years before applying to college.  Our high school offers many AP and Honors classes for the kids preparing for college.  They changed things up this year and required the parents and students to attend an information session about the AP classes.  If you did not come to this meeting your student could not apply to take the AP classes.  I agree that parents have to be involved and that both parent and child should be aware of the commitment required to do well in these classes but, I think this may be a little far reaching.  The students were also required to sit in on a talk by the teacher about what ever class they were interested in.  If they did not sit in on that session then they were not allowed to apply for that AP class.  I say "apply" because they made the students write an essay on why they thought they deserved to be in this particular class and what they were going to do to excel in that class.   Again, I think this is just a little over the top for a high school.  They have now scared my kid to death about taking AP classes.   I thought the whole point of our education system was to encourage our kids to learn and want to excel and want to do their best.  Our high school seems to be discouraging our kids at every turn.  I wonder what would happen if all 450 students in my sons' class did not sign up for a single AP class?  I know that won't happen because the parents in our high school have been brain washed to follow the pack.  

Sprat is so afraid of taking those courses, he is afraid he will not do well and it will hurt his GPA.   So, instead of encouraging our kids to stretch their limits our school is trying to squelch them.   I am trying to encourage Sprat to stretch his limits but he is afraid because of what the administrators have told him.   He is taking honors classes, so that will help.  

Sprat will be a junior this year and this is the year to start applying for some scholarships.  We still have a few more tours to do when I can work them in.  Then he will start actually deciding on where he wants to go and start filling out those applications.  He already knows of two schools he does not want to go to, one because it is too big the other because it is in the mountains and is very cold in the winter.  How is that for choosing a college?   Everyone has their own criteria I guess.   At least he has an idea of what he wants and does not want.   I found this giant book of scholarships at my local used bookstore and it has a lot of scholarships that kids can apply for and some do not require essays.  There is one in there that only requires the kid be over six foot two inches in height.  There is another one for kids that are left handed, I cannot remember if that one requires an essay or not.  

By the time I get Sprat ready to go off to college I should be an expert on this stuff and Big T should be a breeze.  Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!!!!!

Stay tuned lots going on. . .   The hubbs made salsa last week and feel another batch to come. . .

Monday, Monday. . .

Went shopping with my niece this weekend.  I was showing her the neat places to shop for clothes.  We had a great day and shopped till we both dropped.  I told her mama she wore me out and she told her mama that I wore her out.  Ha ha ha ha!!!!  We are both like my mother and her grandmother, we go till we cannot go anymore. 

I remember marathon shopping trips with my mom.  We could go to the outlets and shop all day, I would be completely worn out but not mom, mom seemed to have endless energy.   We would always find the best bargains too.  I am still a bargain shopper but I tend to find my bargains online these days.  I also like travel bargains, I am looking for some of those this week.  I would like to take my kids somewhere neat and educational for a couple days since we did not get a beach trip worked in this year.  Football sort of starts to take over our lives this time of year but, I would not change that for anything, Sprat loves his football.   This is when I get creative on family fun.  Life would be so boring if everything worked out all of the time.    I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can work something out and, I will share our trip with you.  

One of Sprats friends called last night to go practice lacrosse since his friends' mom and I are friends too, we dropped the boys off to practice and we went for TCBY and a chat.  It is nice to have girlfriends to be able to just go for some yogurt and a chat from time to time.  The boys had a workout for sure, Sprat was soaked to the bone.  

The hubbs has some phone calls this week so everyone keep your fingers crossed and I will be posting updates on him as we find things out.

Teen Driver Interview for Insurance. . .

The Insurance agent interview went well and I am really glad that our agent required this.  I wish all agents would require it, it might change the way some of these kids act behind the wheel.  As a parent you can tell your child what a huge responsibility it is to drive a car and how important it is to pay attention at all times.   When another adult that is in authority talks to your kids about this "privilege" and, yes it is a privilege for a teen to be driving, if you let them think otherwise that is your first mistake.
 Our insurance agent is a retired city police officer and also a former military police officer and he takes his job of insuring young drivers very seriously, as he should.   He had a very frank talk with Sprat about the seriousness of being behind the wheel and communicating with his parents about where he is and following a curfew.  I hope that Sprat will take heed to what he heard yesterday and remember that every time he goes out the door and drives off that we will be in a panic until we know that he arrived at his destination.   He made Sprat set up a contact for him in his phone and told him if anything happens and he cannot get in touch with the hubbs or I he can call him.  That is true customer service and something that the hubbs and I value very much.  That is comforting to know that there will be someone out there that will be there for my kids if they ever need it.
If you sell auto insurance and you insure minors I hope that you will take some of what I have shared here and do the same with your clients, they will appreciate it.   This is our agents requirement before he will sign off so that the minor can go to the DMV and get their license.
I had heard from many of my friends that their insurance went up two thousand dollars or so and I was pleasantly surprised that ours only went up $800 a year by adding Sprat.   Our agent said that our company that we have our auto with was very good to minors and we have multiple policies with them so that helped too.  With everything going on with the hubbs and the job front I was so relieved to find out that it was not going to go up that much.  Whewwww!!!
Stay tuned for more on the job front, some new prospects showed up yesterday so we may have news there this week.

Next. . .

One down and three to go. . .  The hubbs received his first, thank you for applying but we have gone a different direction email yesterday.  He has three other jobs that he is in second and third interviews with so we are hopeful one of those will be the one.  He was not terribly upset over not getting this one because it would have required us to move to a different state.   The fact that he did not live in the center of the territory was the reason he did not get that job.  Personally, I think that is a dumb reason not to give someone a job.  If this person is the perfect candidate for the job and is willing to move if it works out why not put the best person for the job, in the job.  Instead they hire a less than qualified candidate just because they live in the optimal area.   That makes absolutely no sense what so ever to me, but what do I know I am just a mom/wife.
We still have three possibilities and who knows what tomorrow may bring.  We are hopeful that the job that is a perfect fit for him is still out there.  I have told him this is God's way of telling him to slow down and enjoy his family while he still has time.  While Sprat and I did the College tour the hubbs and Big T went fishing again.  They did catch some fish this time, Big T caught three and the hubbs caught one.   The hubbs said they had fun even though it was hot as blue blazes.  He has another fishing trip scheduled for tomorrow with his brother.
Today Sprat goes for his interview with our insurance agent.  Our insurance agent requires an interview with the student and the parents before he will sign off on an insurance policy for the student.  I do not think all agents do this but ours does.  He believes if he is going to give insurance to someone he should know them.  He knows the hubbs and I very well because he is a family friend and has been taking care of our insurance since we got married.  I actually think it is not a bad idea for the interview, this will help prepare Sprat for possible College interviews and certainly job interviews.

Update Tuesday. . .

Sprat came home from camp on Saturday and I spent most of the day airing out the funk.  Washed all grades of laundry and used almost an entire can of Lysol on what I could not put in the washer.  He had fun and I guess that is the important part.  He swears he took two showers a day but, I am not sure I believe all that.
We were treated to a great baseball game by my brother-in-law and his wife on Sunday after Church.  We had awesome seats and all you can eat food and ice cream and we were in the shade.  Shade was pretty important on Sunday.  We had several foul balls hit out way and scared the life out of me.  My head is a magnet for foul balls.  Every game we have ever been to, at least one if not more foul balls have almost hit me in the head.  My dear hubby has saved me on more that one occasion, by mere inches.   We had upper deck seats for this game and they also gave us wine and beer passes for the bar.  The hubbs and I rarely drink but when it is free and you have a driver we might indulge.  The over 21's got a different colored arm band for the bar.   The young man that was giving us our arm bands gave all of the adults a band without asking our age.  Big T of course he did not ask because he knew he was too young but, he asked Sprat if he was 21 and wanted an arm band.   Ughhhhh, Noooooo!!!   I guess because Sprat is tall he looks older than he is but he does not look 21, that of course is a Mom's opinion.   He is only sixteen.
Yesterday was College tour day for Sprat and I.  We took a road trip with a good friend and her son that is good friends with Sprat.   Our friend is interested in going to this College, Sprat not so much.  I wanted Sprat to see this campus because it is a larger campus than the one we went to earlier this year.  He needed to see that on some campuses that you cannot just walk out of your dorm and right into your classroom or be at your classroom with-in five minutes.   The food that this larger campus has to offer did intrigue him, they have really good places for the kids to eat on campus and they are covered by the meal plan.  It is a much larger city so there are more things to do around the campus and I did like that they offered a bus system for the students to get around and all they had to do was show their student ID.   Before the visit Sprat was sure he did not want to go to this particular College but after, he was not all that sure anymore.   That is the big reason we are going on all of these tours and visiting the different campuses because you just do not know until you see it for yourself.   I am amazed at the different perks that are offered to the students as well.  We had fun and it was really nice to be able to visit this College with friends.

Sprat listening intently at the College information session.

He really hates having his picture taken.

My very handsome boys at the game.

This was where the foul ball landed behind us.

By Monday it Will be Semi-Normal. . .

We pick Sprat up at camp tomorrow, I really have missed that bugger.  I hope that he has had fun at camp and did not get any migraines.  Big T's dream of being an only child will end and things will start to get back to normal at my house.  We do have a college tour planned for Monday so we will be busy then and I may not get to post so please stay tuned for college updates on Tuesday.
My hubby turned down his first job offer today.  It was sort of odd because they contacted him out of the blue and totally out of his field.  I think he felt pretty good being able to say, no thank you.
This is why if you are in the market for a new job you need to get it together and set up a Linked In profile.  The hubbs has had more interest from his Linked In profile than any where else.  The days of looking at the want ads in the newspaper are over, you have to be on the internet and networking to find that dream job.  It is all about who you know and who they know.  If you have been out of the job hunt game as long as my hubby has you will also likely need help setting up your resume and Linked In profile.   We did seek professional help to organize the hubbs resume, he had almost twenty-four years of statistics and accomplishments he had to get into a professional resume.  He has had many compliments from his former co-workers about how great his resume and profile look.  The majority of his contacts about jobs have come from recruiters and head hunters that have seen his resume on Linked In.  There are many professional companies that offer these services, I recommend you check them out if you are in need.  There is no shame in seeking help to get that resume together.

Funny How Things Happen. . .

My husband says I am sort of nesting, and no I am not pregnant, he says I am nesting because I have been cleaning.  I think part of me is just trying to stay busy so I am not dwelling on the job front and missing Sprat this week.  The hubbs is not complaining he was just making an observation.
This morning I decided I would start cleaning out the kitchen cabinets.  I threw so much junk away, I was amazed at how much has accumulated in the ten years we have been in this house.  I am not going minimalist yet, but I am getting rid of some junk.
The Hubbs and Big T took the boat out yesterday for a little fishing.  It was so hot, they had a few nibbles but no real takers.  Big T is enjoying being the only child this week, he loves fishing with his daddy.   Sprat likes fishing too but he likes to fish off the dock or pier rather than in the boat.  Me personally, I had rather deep sea fish, that is what I grew up doing.  I only started fresh water fishing when I met my hubby.
A little note on the job front.  Several more phone interviews for various positions, I am praying for God's hand to be in whatever offers come our way.   The majority of these opportunities will involve a move and we are all a little timid about that.  This may be what God has in mind for us though, so we are praying and keeping the faith.   The d365 devotion for yesterday, I feel, was written specifically for me.  It talked about planning and being in control and how God is really in control.  If I have learned one thing from my sweet hubby's displacement, it is that God is in control and we are living in faith that He will put us where He wants us to be.

Spring Cleaning and My Sanity. . .

While the hubbs was at his interview yesterday I decided to keep myself busy that I would do some Spring cleaning.   I started by cleaning up the kids school stuff, yes their school stuff was still laying in my living room.  I even had their stuff last year still in there.
I have a hope chest with two leather boxes on top of it and in my "ideal" mind their school papers would be in those boxes and periodically I would empty those boxes throughout the year.  Well, their boxes had not been emptied or even looked at in two years.  I spent the majority of my morning going through school papers and discarding what I did not want to keep.  I have a plastic box for each kid, for each year with their school things in them.  I have a great little storage area so I have lots of room to keep them.  Yes, I am a pack rat and I am a little ashamed to admit it but, I cannot help myself.  This is where my "ideal" little mind comes in to play again.  When the kids get ready to go off and start their own families I would like to go through their boxes and remember all the field days and special moments they each have had and then send them on their way with their boxes.  My reality may be ending up on an episode of Hoarding, surrounded by old magazines and plastic boxes full of memories.
I did get a lot of stuff organized and thrown away, yes, I did throw quite a bit of stuff away.   Next, I attacked my kitchen cabinets.  I have some crystal and silver on top of my cabinets as part of my decor.  I have not cleaned any of that in a while so they were pretty greasy from being in the kitchen.  I polished all of my silver and washed all of the crystal and everything looks really nice.  I feel like I have accomplished a little but, I have so much more to do.  I think today I will clean out my cabinets. I have so much junk and some of it really needs to go so that I can put away the things I really want and need to keep.  
As the hubbs starts his interview process my cleaning is going to be more intense.  I clean to keep my self distracted as long as I am distracted and busy I do not worry as much.

"Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age."  Matthew 28:20
My d365 devotion today.  He knows what I need and when I need it.
Stay tuned more on the job front, this interview went well and he is in the running and there are two other jobs that he will be interviewing for soon.

Times Have Changed. . .

Big day today, Sprat is off at camp, Big T gets to be an only child for a week, and the hubbs is off to his first face to face interview in 24 years.   He has had several phone interviews over these last several weeks some proved positive others proved he has too much experience for what ever these folks were looking for.  This is quite the daunting task for anyone on the job hunt after 24 years.  Many things have changed in the way you find jobs since my dear sweet hubby and I last looked for jobs.   You only get face to face with a possible employer if you have jumped through the many hoops of electronic submissions and phone interviews.  This makes your resume the most important piece of your job hunt tool box, it is one of the first things a prospective employer will see and evaluate before they decide to make contact.
My hubby was in sales so they want to see and know that he can sell.  They want to see proof of success in his field.  The hubbs went to a professional group to help him set up his resume, he had twenty-three years of success to put into one resume and make it stand out.  There is no shame in seeking help, anyone in a professional position should seek a professional to set up their resume and guide them through these murky waters.
This has been a very interesting experience, the job game has really changed since I was last in the job market.  This will certainly help us to help our kids when they start their application process for their first jobs and even their application process for college.  Many thanks for all those that are praying for us and the kind words.

Below is a quick picture of Sprat as we were dropping him off at camp yesterday.

Updates on the Job Front. . .

Updates on a few things.  Things are moving on the job front.  Lots of interviews and we hope to see some offers soon.   My hubby has worked very hard to get up and running on the job front after 24 years.  If you are facing this same thing my prayers are with you.  It is a slap in the face to be a loyal and high performer for almost 24 years and then be told they do not have a territory for you.  Please remember there is no loyalty with employers anymore and you must be prepared to be looking for another job.  I have learned through my very sweet hubby's situation that there are lots of resources out there if you are in need of resume or interview help.  We took advantage of the resume help and the Linkedin help.  My sweet hubby now has a Linkedin profile that is very professional and we have learned through this experience that networking is the key to finding a job.  The hubbs has made connections with recruiters and possible jobs through the Linkedin website.
We are feeling very hopeful that God is working and opening doors for my hubby.   My sister has pointed me to an online devotion site that I love, d365 devotions.   Check it out.
Stay tuned for more updates on the garden and the job front.  If you are a professional check out the Linkedin website, you never know when you might be looking for a job.

Pepper Poppers . . .

Our garden has really been producing this year, we have had good rain and lots of sunshine.  I think our tomatoes are going to do well also.  I am looking forward to the hubbs salsa and if you are good I might share his recipe with you, it is super secret don't you know.   He also makes pepper jelly that is so good.  If you have never had pepper jelly you need to try it, you might have seen it at Christmas over cream cheese or Brie with crackers.  It is usually red but it could be green too.  You can buy it in the grocery store and those fancy specialty shops.  Make sure you do not get the mint jelly because they have that too along the same isle.  Pepper jelly is a blend of sweet and hot and it is yummy with cream cheese and crackers.  I told you I do not can, well I fibbed just a bit, we have canned pepper jelly before successfully.  I hope we will get to make some this year.
Our peppers are just starting to come in and the hubbs is already picking them.  We had them stuffed on the grill over the fourth.  Several years ago we picked up a pepper popper grill pan, it has holes to put your peppers in to hold them upright on your grill.   This is a wonderful pan to have if you like stuffed peppers.   For our peppers, the hubbs browns some ground meat and then blends with a block of cream cheese and a taco seasoning packet.  This goes in the fridge to chill just a bit while he cores his peppers.  The cream cheese mixture needs to chill a bit so it will not run out of your peppers or be to mushy.  Once you have your peppers ready stuff them with your mixture, if your peppers are too small to sit up in the popper pan you can stick a long tooth pick through them to help hold them up.  We do this for the jalapeno peppers because they are usually smaller than the other peppers we use.  I like to dip mine in a little sour cream too when I get ready to eat them.  These are wonderful on the grill.

A New School Year Fast Approaching. . .

A little over a month left of Summer vacation and so much to cram in there.  Sprat has camp, a college tour, and lots more football practice.   Our Church is going to do some mini mission camps on Saturdays around our Church neighborhood.  A lot of our kids work and our youth leaders work too so we are going to fit our mission work in on the weekends.  How is that for teaching our kids to serve others?  I like it.  Maybe they will remember this when they get older and are on their own and not forget to serve.  I know I forgot as I got older, it took having my own children to remember that we should serve others just like Jesus did.
We have the best youth leaders at our Church, they really get our kids involved in the community and I think that is very important.   Our kids are going to host some date nights for the parents so that they can leave their children with our youth and be able to go and enjoy themselves.    They are going to offer these as we get closer to Christmas so that the parents can do their Christmas shopping.  We have done this in the past and it has been a huge hit.
We set up in our fellowship building and show age appropriate movies and have snacks and goodies.   They also do a craft and play games, the youth enjoy it and I think the kids that came did too.
We also have movie nights on the lawn with popcorn and slushies.   Those are a lot of fun for the whole family.
The picture below is when the youth built our Labyrinth beside our Church.  Big T taking his stroll.

Be Prepared for the Storm. . .Life Lessons. . .

I have debated and debated on whether to write about something going on in our lives.   You may or may not know that we are a single income family, I have written numerous times about how much I love Dave Ramsey and how his plan helped us get out of debt.  I have also written about my faith in God and how he works in our lives.   We are by no means a perfect family but, I know that God loves us and that he is constantly at work in our lives. I am writing this today to inspire and encourage others that may be facing similar circumstances.
My husband was a pharmaceutical sales representative with the same company for 23 years, I say was because he was just recently downsized.   Now we are a no income family of four.  We have not shared this with anyone but our family thus far.  We are a prime example of why you should use Dave Ramsey's plan to get out of debt.   To use Dave Ramsey's words, you never know when it is going to rain so, you better be prepared.   I always talk about how God works through our lives and this is a huge example.  I was able to take the Dave Ramsey class in 2012 and we had just bought a new car. Before taking his class I had dabbled in the envelope system but only got serious after taking the class.  Dave's class showed me that we had to get out of debt and how debt is bad.  In 2012 we started following a budget and using the envelope system to curb our spending and save for special things that we wanted to do.  I know that it was God that pointed us in that direction because he knew his plan for us.    I was able to pay our car off and get out of debt, except for the house, in two years.  Since our only debt is the house we have been working like crazy to get it paid off too.
I said earlier I do not want anyone to pity us because I know this is God's plan and because he got us on the Dave Ramsey road to financial peace, we are at peace financially.  If you have not checked Dave Ramsey out I encourage you to do so.  Dave Ramsey has a plan that anyone can work if they want, you have to want to get out of debt though and you have to be serious about it.  I am not being compensated in any way for this post.  This is just something that I am very passionate about and a plan that I believe in and that is working for my family.
This is a shining example of why everyone, even those professionals that think it could never happen to me, need to be preparing for the rain.   I am so thankful that God pointed us in the direction of Dave Ramsey because otherwise we would not have been prepared for this storm.   Not that anyone can be prepared for something like this but I feel we are better prepared than we were five years ago.  We had our six months worth of expenses emergency fund in place and no debt other than the house and our house payment is manageable.  As our storm rages there are so many emotions; there is anger, frustration, sadness, shame, and yes guilt.
This is why you have been seeing so many garden and recipe posts from me.  I have not really known how to talk about this but I feel like I need to talk about it because it is happening all over the country these days.  I have put my classes on hold for the time being, the hubbs did get a severance package and that is a huge blessing and we used my tuition money to buy him a new laptop.  His laptop was company property so it went back to the company.
I know this is God's plan and I do feel blessed that he is working in our lives.  He has blessed us with a bountiful garden this year and I am truly thankful.  The hubbs and I could live out of our garden and have been these last few months but the kiddos want meat and well, I cannot bring myself to raise anything to butcher just yet.
Stay tuned this and the garden will by my focus these next few months.

"There is hope in your future."  Jeremiah 31:17