Waffles

Sometimes a person just doesn't know what to fix for dinner.  When that happens, it's waffle time!  Tonight we whipped up a batch of waffles, boiled a few eggs, and cooked up some homemade raspberry syrup from a bag of raspberries that have been kicking around in the freezer since last fall.  Voila . .Breakfast for dinner!

Marcy's Waffles

3 cups milk (you can use half milk/half water if you like)
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil

Beat together until well mixed.  Stir in until blended:

1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup oat flour
3 Tbs. baking powder

Cook in pre-heated, well seasoned or greased waffle iron until crisp and golden brown. 

Homemade Raspberry Syrup

1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Mix all together in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes.  Mash strawberries with a potato masher.  Remove from heat and serve over hot waffles, pancakes or French Toast.

Youth Leaders

Last night DD4 and I attended a very nice "Transition Meeting" to celebrate all of the beautiful Young Women in our Stake who will be graduating from High School this year and moving on to college, jobs, and even missionary service.  The main purpose of the evening was to celebrate these Young Women and their accomplishments and to introduce them to the Relief Society Organization that they all will soon be members of.  I'm excited for DD4 to become a member of Relief Society when she leaves home this fall.  I'm also very grateful for all of the wonderful Youth Leaders who have been there to teach, guide, love, plan activities, chaperone activities and just plain old be a supportive friend and example to my daughter throughout her teenage years.  Many were there last night, and many others were not, since they have gone on to other responsibilities.  I can't help but think of and be so very grateful to all of the wonderful men and women who have taught and advised all of my 6 children in the past 20 plus years.  They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I'm very grateful to everyone who has been a part of my family's village.

Little Kong and Birds

The sad news of the week is that for the past few days, Little Kong, or Bird Bird, or Little Bird (all of the names for DD4's Parakeet) has had a bad leg and has not been able to grip the perch with the one bad foot.  She has still been eating and singing, and we were hopeful that she would soon mend, but yesterday morning when we uncovered her cage, we found that she had died sometime during the night.  It was a sad day.  Goodbye to our happy little birdie.  It is sad to walk by the empty cage.  We missed the chirping when we all gathered together for our nightly scriptures and prayers last night.

It has caused me to stop and think.  Birds are one of the beautiful creations that we sometimes take for granted.  When was the last time I really stopped and listened to the birds?  Or thought about how empty the world would be without bird song?  I'm grateful for birds.

Joy

I am grateful for my middle name.  It is a daily reminder for me to look for the good things in life, to help others to be happy, and to be happy myself!

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
 2 Nephi 2:25

Did you know that there are 120 verses in the Book of Mormon that talk about joy?

Insulin

Insulin is a  hormone produced by the pancreas that helps to regulate carbohydrate (especially sugars) and fat metabolism in the body.  Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscles and fat tissues to absorb gluclose from the blood.  

Insulin stops the use of fat as an energy source by inhibiting the release of glucagon.  When functioning correctly the body provides in a constant proportion to remove excess glucose from the blood, which otherwise would be toxic. When blood glucose levels fall below a certain level, the body then begins to use stored sugar as needed energy source.  In other words, Insulin helps our body to use the energy that we get from the food that we eat.

When the body is no longer able to produce insulin, or not enough insulin, diabetes mellitus results.  Biosynthetic "human" insulin is now manufactured for widespread clinical use using recombinant DNA technology. More recently, researchers have succeeded in introducing the gene for human insulin into plants and in producing insulin in them, some of which have delayed reaction times.  These different insulins make it much easier to regulate blood sugar levels on a consistent basis.  Unfortunately, insulin cannot be taken orally because it would just be digested by the body, and would then no longer be useful in regulating the blood sugar.  There are several companies that are working to develop ways of protecting insulin from the digestive tract, but in the meantime, patients with diabetes must rely on daily injections of insulin.

We have several family members who use Insulin on a daily basis.  I am grateful that we have this medication to allow them to live normal, productive lives.

Home Blessing Hour

source

I grew up knowing that "Saturday is special day, it's the day we get ready for Sunday." (from the song written by Rita S. Robinson) Saturday was always the day my mother vacuumed and dusted and mopped and scrubbed, and all of us kids were to change the sheets on our beds, clean our rooms, and take our turns helping with the other chores.  So, of course, when I married and began my family, Saturday was naturally the day that I chose to do most of the major cleaning.  The problem was, DH usually had other ideas of how we should spend our Saturdays, and didn't want to be home all day cleaning or waiting for me to clean.  I'm not a naturally clean and tidy housekeeper, so this has always been a struggle for me.  As the years passed and I became a stay at home Mom, I read many books on cleaning and organizing, developed many different versions of job assignments and job charts, and tried to teach the kids to do their part and help out.   Our kids were often involved in Saturday sports activities,  there was the grocery shopping to be done, and we often only had one car.  I did try to divide the tasks up all during the week, but what is a busy Mom of six kids supposed to do?   Just the best that she can, which often ended up with Mom staying up until the wee hours of Sunday morning trying to get the kitchen floor mopped at last, especially when I started working part time again.

Several years ago a dear cousin introduced me to FlyLady.  FlyLady has a whole website full of cleaning and organizing tips and routines.  She encourages you to take baby steps, and to start with the simple task of shining your kitchen sink.  Fly Lady's Weekly Home Blessing Hour is a list of several tasks that can quickly be done once a week in about an hour.  Her suggested day for the home blessing hour is Monday, but you can choose any day that you would like to do the tasks, even breaking them up to do on different days of the week.  (I still try to do most of my Home Blessing Hour on Saturday.) You can sign up to receive encouraging emails with Fly Lady's Daily Flight Plan that gives suggestions of simple tasks to do each day to keep your home a pleasant place to be.   The tasks focus on a different area of the house each week, so no area is ever totally neglected.  There are also fun ways to get the kids involved.  Most of all, FlyLady is always encouraging, reminding you to not get down on yourself, to just take baby steps, and that you're not behind.  Just jump right in and start where you are.  Even just fifteen quick minutes of cleaning blesses your home and your family!

I almost never get everything done on the Daily Flight Plan and the Weekly Home Blessing list, but I love having the suggestions and encouragement, and they never make me feel guilty for what I haven't done. You may already have your home carefully organized and in tip top shape, but if you by some chance have been looking for a bit of help, you might just want to give FlyLady a try.

Obedience

This past weekend I have been very grateful to watch on TV the proceedings of the 183rd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  There have been many wonderful messages shared by living Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.  These messages are available now to watch or listen to and will soon be available in written form.  I invite you to check them out for yourself.

Sunday morning, the Lord's living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, presented his main address to the church and to the world with his usual love and humor.  His main message was that life is simpler if we always obey.  He illustrated his thoughts with a personal experience from his own childhood when he did not obey, and started a fire that could have had devistating consequences if not for the efforts of many adults who valiantly fought that fire.  Obedience brings knowledge, happiness, peace, progress, prosperity and eternal salvation.  Other speakers shared similar messages emphasized that obedience to all of  the Lord's commandments is essential.   We are not entitled to pick and choose which of God's commandments we should obey.  Faith in God and personal prayer and study of the scriptures will bring us direction and peace in our lives in this troubled world.  Obedience to God's laws brings us blessings and happiness.  Sanctity in marriage, families and devotion to our children are of prime importance in enjoying peace and happiness in our lives and in the world as a whole.  

I recently attended a workshop where a sensitive topic was being discussed.  It was continually emphasized that the workshop was meant to be a place where everyone should feel comfortable, safe, and accepted.  The presenter stated that she personally believed that no one was a sinner.   I do feel that everyone should be entitled to their own personal beliefs and values.  But I believe that God is real.  I believe that life has a purpose.  Part of this purpose is to learn and grow and be obedient.   Obedience to laws and commandments brings blessings, and disobedience brings sorrow and consequences, no matter what the world teaches or believes.  I am grateful for prophets and apostles who have accepted the calling and responsiblity to share the messages that God, our loving Heavenly Father wants us all to hear and know today. 

This weekend I have taken copious notes of the things that were mentioned and marked specially those things that I feel I need to do or improve on, and I plan to review my notes often.  I don't feel shamed or guilty or discouraged by the things that I have heard this weekend.  Instead I feel loved, accepted and encouraged. Life can be good, it can be better, and I believe that I can become a better person too.