Friday, August 26, 2011

Rice Soup and Wuddup n' Butter

If you come to my house and say the words "Rice Soup", my kids would go nuts and ask you where it is. I grew up eating what my kids call rice soup (not sure what we called it when I was growing up) and Wuddup n' Butter. I thought I would share with the world some really easy and yummy recipes that my kids and I think are awesome.

Rice Soup
It is basically a hot rice cereal, but we eat it any time of day.

2 cups of leftover white (or brown) rice
1 cup milk
3 tbsp (approx) of sugar - to taste
cinnamon
dried fruit (raisins, dried cherries, dried blueberries...)

Put the rice, milk, and sugar into a pan and heat until it is almost boiling. Put into bowls and sprinkle cinnamon and dried fruit on top. Stir thoroughly and serve. This makes 2-3 servings.

I actually like to put the dried fruit in the pan, but Tabitha isn't fond of it that way. I almost always make extra rice when we make Chinese so I can make this the morning after for breakfast.

Wuddup n' Butter
Not sure where the name really came from, but it's what my Grandpa George called it.

slices of bread
room temperature salted butter
karo syrup (the clear kind)
small bread plate or large ramekin
butter knife

Get a plate or ramekin and pour in some karo syrup. Put a pat or 2 of butter on top of the syrup (depending on how much karo you poured out - just eye it). Mix with butter knife. Now there are 2 ways of doing this. The neat way or the messy way. Grandpa always did the messy way. The neat way is to spread this on the bread and then eat. The messy way is to just dip the bread in and eat.

Yes, it's yummy, but no one ever said it is good for you, but neither is cake...

I hope all of you enjoy making these. I know I do

Thursday, August 11, 2011

2 Corinthians 4

What I got out of this chapter first of all is that ministers of physical churches are using the word of God for their own benefit. They take passages and twist them, making people think that they are supposed to be giving their money to the church, which they are not. (See my blog post on tithing).

Also, Satan has blinded all unbelievers, which is why every time I write on my blog, I am persecuted. You have to be in Christ to understand what I am saying. Only Christ can open your eyes and ears, and he will only give you a little at a time, so you are not overwhelmed. If you are not in Christ, you are blinded and deaf. I am trying my hardest to help open the eyes and ears, so that others can know what they are supposed to be doing.

2 Corinthians 4:
1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
5For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
8We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

9Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

10Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

11For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

12So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

13We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

14Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

15For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

16For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Long hair and anti-feminism

I have almost always had long hair. The only time I didn't was in 4th grade, when my Mom and family friend (hair dresser) convinced me that I should cut off all my hair just like theirs. That was the worst! My thick hair went into a frizzy mess and we even went to lengths to perm it! AHHHH!!!!

Anyway, where I am going with this is that if you are a Christian, you should have long hair, because it is God's glory.

1 Corinthians 11 says:

4Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
5But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
6For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

7For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man.
9Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
10For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
11Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
12For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
13Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
14Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
15But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

Also in 1 Corinthians it explains that women should not be the head of anything. It is absolutely terrible that people think it is OK that women are preachers in churches or that they are in charge over men.

1 Corinthians 11:
3But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

14:
34Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.
35And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

Being a feminist is a sin. Women are to obey their husbands. There is a reason that God made men more intellectual and women are better suited for the home to be with the children that God blesses them with. Throughout the whole Bible, it speaks about this, yet people purposely ignore these verses, so that they can merrily go through life, doing whatever they want to.

I do my absolute best at obeying my husband. He always knows where I am going if I am out and we are honest with each other about our finances. I ask before I go shopping to make sure he is OK with what I am going to spend money on.

When you are married, you submit yourselves to your husband. That is the exact reason that I had the very old version of vows recited at our wedding. I knew that is what I was supposed to be doing; love, honor, obey, and cherish my husband.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Big savings!

I posted about this on my Facebook page and thought I should share this with the rest of the world.

. I have realized that by the simple acts of just breastfeeding and cloth diapering, I have saved over $10,000 in the past 6 years!


There is a laundry list of things this also includes besides just formula and diapers. There are diaper wipes, rash cream, extra trash bags, extra fees for trash pick up, training diapers, gas for late night runs to the store when you run out of something unexpectedly, bottles, artificial nipples, liners, bottle brushes, and pacifiers. 
 
This is just the tip of the iceberg!
 
We save even more than that by not going out to eat more than 1 time a month, growing and storing our own food, sewing our own clothes, making our own soap and household cleaning supplies, never buying clothing, household knicknacks, or fabric unless it is on clearance or without a coupon, treating our small illnesses at home homeopathically, not going to the doctor for "well visits" or even "sick visits" (why do you need a doctor to tell you your child is healthy? Why do you need a doctor to tell you that your runny nose and cough is a virus?), and just plain staying home. As Eric says, " You are a STAY AT HOME mom, not a go everywhere under the sun all day mom...".
 
I am planning on saving even more in the near future by never buying kleenex or paper towels again. I bought a bolt of unbleached muslin, on sale of course, from JoAnn Fabrics, and have slowly, between other projects, been making reusable paper towels and hankerchiefs with my serger. They are a cinch to make. You may be thinking that it makes more laundry, but it doesn't. Just thrown the hankerchiefs in with a load of whites and the papertowels in with a load of towels. I will tell you that I do air dry them so they don't shrink, but that is a cinch to do too! I bought a couple of these and have them hanging off the shelf brackets in the room off of our master bath. I air dry tons of things on them like swim suits, lingerie, wool socks, cloth diapers, and anything else cotton I don't want shrinking in the dryer. I have even taken the curtain off of the window and use the curtain rod to hang up my cotton skirts to dry by the sun and with help from the air conditioner vent as well. That does 2 things efficiently. Drying my laundry and adding moisture into our air.
 
All of these little things add up to big savings!

A REAL clean.

As of today I have made 7 batches of soap. I made some with and without fragrance, 1 batch of face soap, and 1 batch of shampoo. Yes, I know there are things in the store you can buy, but I have never found anything that doesn't dry me out and make me itch. Also, did you know that hardly anything that is sold as soap today is not really soap? It is detergent. All of the nice smelling body washes and hand liquids are detergent. If you read the label, you will not find (lye) sodium hydroxide on the label. Soap only needs 3 ingredients. An oil, some water, and lye.

Since I have been using my homemade soaps, I have not had any dry, cracked, or peeling skin, like I do when I use commercial "soaps". I also have not had to use any lotions, which are very bad for you too!
The shampoo bar has made my hair very soft. The face soap (complexion bar) made my skin very soft to touch and is not as oily as usual. The hand/body soap is so rich with bubbles that I started using it in the shower this week, along with my crocheted soap saver, and my skin is extra soft and my heels are, dare I say becoming less scratchy? I'm hoping this means that some day soon I will no longer have to file my heels to make them smooth.

The only downsides I see in making your own soap is the fact I have to be very careful with the lye, since it can cause chemical burns and then I have to wait for the soap to cure for 6 weeks.

I do feel like I am doing a science experiment every time I make soap, since I have to wear elbow length gloves, goggles and a face mask. I also only make soap when my husband is home and he takes the kids out of the house.

Now I totally understand why there are little handmade soap shops that people rave about, but could never afford. Making your own is so easy and if you find the right supplier for your oils and lye, very low cost as well.

Friday, August 5, 2011

The beginning of the end.

CAUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do not read this post if you have a weak stomach, are an animal rights activist, or can't fathom where your food comes from, other than the grocery store.





This post is about my first attempt at dispatching a rabbit...

and how wrong it can go!

I have been arming myself since before we got our meat rabbits on how to humanely dispatch a rabbit, skin, and butcher a rabbit. I learned 90% of it from YouTube. I really was convinced that it was not going to be that hard to do. And I was somewhat right. Once Clover was dispatched it was all downhill from there. Getting to that point, well you could say that there was screeching, bashing, crying, shaking, sweat, and finally blood.

First the screeching. I was so careful not to hurt Clover while I put his hind feet in the rope harness I made. I slowly hung him upside down and calmed him just like the videos show, then everything went wrong! The poor rabbit never made a sound in his life that I know of until he started freaking out. I was so afraid someone was going to call the cops because of the racket, so I quickly picked up the piece of wood, my weapon of choice, and hit him where everyone said it was supposed to be an instant death. But no! Not for me, he just kept screaming! So I hit him 4, yes 4!, more times and it still didn't work. (After skinning him, I realized I was hitting his shoulder blades because there was a HUGE blood clot there). I didn't know what else to do, so I cut him down and saw he was definitely injured, so I couldn't just do this another night. I put him back in the pasture pen and ran to Eric. This is where the shaking and sweating come in. I begged him to come out and help me, so he got the kids preoccupied and came out. This is where the crying comes in. I just broke down. I knew as soon as it was dead I could handle it, but the dispatching is just too much for me. He tried hitting once also, with the same outcome, more (but mild) screeching. So we opted for the broom method and that took 2 tries, but the deed was finally accomplished. This is where the blood came in.

After this I re-tied him to the post, skinned, and gutted him. There was a lot more meat than I had imagined.

We decided to call it a night, since it took us an hour from start to finish for just 1. So, I put the other 2 back and they will just have to be dispatched tomorrow or Saturday.

I hope I haven't offended anyone and am truly sorry for hurting Clover, since that was not my intention. I was just supposed to make a quick hit and it was supposed to be all over.