That Can’t Be All

What can you do?

Stephanie Rodda

This week I read a number of articles. Among others I read about the plight of children and sex-trafficking, the effect on children’s brains who spend their first years in institutions, the results of poverty on children’s educations and the issues that could accompany trans-racial adoption of children.

I found myself wondering if people will ever understand that our children are worthy of our best resources because they ARE our best resources. And when I say ‘our’ children I mean the children of your community, your city, your county, your state, your country, your world. They are all OUR children.

Throughout history and unfortunately still in modern times children are exploited, under-valued and over-looked. They are often mistreated, neglected and abused. Instead of being treasured they are considered disposable trash.

This is a cycle, an ugly, hungry, devastating, cruel cycle that continues generation after generation unless we intervene, unless we…

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Zentangle: Day One

I’m trying something out this year to help bring out my creative side called Zentangling. I used to be a major doodler back in high school…zentangling is a higher form of that.                                                                                  My One Word for this year is Release. I just tangled it. This is my second tangle ever.

It’s been forever!

Wow. The last time I posted was almost a year ago. What is up with that? Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with this blog…it’s just that at times throughout the year I wish I had ways to document things that are happening or things I’m doing and this is one way to do it. I am no scrapbooker and photos on a camera are just hundreds of photos without anyway to document what they’re about…

So. Here I try again.

I have ideas…thoughts…things I think the world should know (jk!)…and hopefully 2015 will be the year they get out here.

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Muffins – Pinterest (Fail?)

I’m in a quest to try as many of my Pinterest pins before I die….although that might be difficult because I can’t seem to stop pinning. So many recipes, crafts…things to do…. Anyways, I saw a recipe for a healthy banana oatmeal muffin here.  I had all the ingredients…especially some bananas that were well past their prime. Now, I’ve made many, many muffins in my life but never tried one without flour. And I really am trying for more healthy cooking.
They were quick and easy to make…but not so much a hit at my house. Middle son (who usually woofs my banana bread) said they were just all right. The little ones ate them…but not the whole thing and didn’t ask for more. Out of a dozen muffins I ended up giving four to the chickens two days later. I think it was the texture of the muffins that threw us off. I didn’t really like it. It was kind of like eating a mushed together oatmeal. Oh well, I’ve seen another one that has some added flour…and maybe if the oats were pulverized first?

And no, that’s not my hand. I just forgot to take a picture first.

52 Week Money Challenge (Pinterest)

52 Week Challenge

I’ve seen this pin floating around on Pinterest for awhile as a fairly painless way to save some money. Start with a small amount of money each week and keep adding to to it to end up with over $1300 at the end of the year. Sounds good doesn’t it? I would love to have some money saved up for my summer vacation. Unfortunately, I don’t usually start thinking about it until its close to school being out and by then it’s too late. My plan however is to do it backwards…$52 now….the down to $1.  It’ll be less painful to put in a smaller amount of money as the year progresses. If I let it go all the way until Christmas I’m pretty sure putting in a couple dollars a week will be easier.

The new is here!

2 Corinthians 5:17 New International Version (NIV)

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

A New Year

Hard to believe another year has come and gone. I think there really is some truth to that thing people say about time moving faster as you get older. Seems like I just blinked and a whole year has passed. Scary.

I do like the New Year though. There’s nothing like a fresh start…

I found a website called MyOneWord.org where you choose a word to focus on for the year. The idea of course being that you don’t make an incredibly long list of resolutions you’ll probably never complete but choose  one word that focuses on your character and helps you create a vision for your future. Sounds easy, huh?

I’ve spent the past couple of weeks trying to decide on a word and have finally settled on Generosity. In the beginning the words I came up with were peace, calm, and simplicity because I’d really like those things to be what my life is about. However, one of the things suggested on the website is to take it to God in prayer to see what He thinks. Interesting how it changed up because the words in the beginning were were pretty much about me and what I want to make things easier for me. After praying about it this word generous kept popping into my head. This was also just days after hearing how much our healthcare costs have gone up. Being generous to others was not exactly at the top of my priority list. I want someone to be generous towards me! :). Of course, right after seriously considering this word an opportunity was placed right in my lap.
A woman on our local freecycle group put out there that she wasn’t able to provide Christmas for her kids. I was able to get together food (yay for food storage!) and buy a couple of small gifts for her kids. At the last minute I put some cash in a stocking for her (definite God urging because it was two days before Christmas and I still had more shopping to do).

Well, ever heard the saying that you can’t out give God? Two days later I had unexpected cash given to me…more than what I had given to this woman. I’m a little excited to see what God has in store.

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Luke  6:38

Be Thankful

Today I am thankful for the technology that’s out there to help me hear God’s voice….a Bible app that reminds me that it’s Satan’s plan to make me weary but God’s plan for me to be encouraged and strengthened through developing an intimate relationship with Him through reading His word….and wonderful blogs that remind me to be thankful.

EPH 6:10 NIV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

This week in the Little Farm in the Middle of the City

My oldest daughter stayed with us over the summer while she was on break from school. She was had me laughing so much because she swears we have a little farm going right in our backyard. All summer she was taking pictures of the chickens and their antics (and their eggs!) and texting them to her friends. Or pictures of strawberries just picked or tomatoes we were eating minutes after they came in from the yard.
Or new kittens running around the house.

It’s so funny because from my perspective what have going is so small compared to the acres of what I see others online growing. But the real city city girl from the Bay area and her friends see what we have as such a big deal because we can walk out into the back yard and get eggs that are an hour old or eat a tomato right off the vine.
Anyways, this week I harvested more Rond de Nice zucchini (although that’s it for this year because one of the chickens got out and decided to sunbathe on top of the plant), some tomatoes, a few small white peaches (delicious!), and some grapes. My peach trees are only two years old…pretty small with small fruit.

Also gave a couple of the smaller sunflower heads to the chickens. They weren’t really worth the time trying to get out the seeds. I did make some grape jelly with the my grapes and some grapes a friend gave to me.

I’m back to work this week so time in the garden is going to get pretty limited. I did get some green beans in to the ground a few days ago. The goal is each week to try and start something new since we can grow year round.

Today’s harvest and one of the sad realities of having animals

Today’s harvest included some tomatoes, nasturtium flowers, a Rond de Nice heirloom zucchini and one egg.

However, I may not be getting many eggs for a bit. Depends on how traumatized my girls were early this morning when a raccoon attacked them. Two dead hens and five who are fortunately not injured but acting shell-shocked.

I think what bothers me most is the fact that raccoons don’t seem to even eat them. They just tear them up. I’m going to be picking up feathers for days.
Also, time to rethink how they will be housed. We live in a small university city of about 64,000 people but still have lots of wild life….the raccoons live in the sewers. They’ve just never been an issue because we always had Abby, our Golden Retriever, in the backyard to protect them.

And protect them she did. She was a force to be reckoned with when it came to her chickens. Unfortunately, three weeks ago we had to have her put to sleep because she had cancer. And now the coons think they can do what they want.
I don’t think so.