Tri Dreams

Okay, so last year I took a huge step and committed myself to doing my first Sprint Triathlon...

and now I'm signed up for my 3rd one...only number two turned into a 'Fin-to-Foot' rather than an actual Tri...but I DID sign up for a triathlon!

anyways...so now I'm signed up for event #3 and pretty excited...not nearly as many nervous as the first one or the second...
just lots and lots of weird dreams...

the tri is over 4 months away and I can't stop having weird dreams about it...
so I should say I WASN'T nervous about this one until the dreams...
yikes,
I keep getting out of the water and my wetsuit has come off...

or I forgot to bring my bike and I don't realize this until I get done swimming and then decide to run the bike portion...

or someone has taken my shoes...

or I get there a day late...

or I sleep in on the morning of and show up right when my event starts with no time to set up my transition area...

or I fall into the water on the rocky entry, cut my legs up and then have to do the swim without my inhaler...oh, wait, that WAS my first tri...

and the list goes on...
and this is just month one...
so stay tuned for more versions of my Tri Dreams!

Baked Memories

flipping thru a cook book the other day...
yep, I read cook books sometimes....

I saw a recipe for a Puffed Oven Pancake....
it was on the same page as wonderful fluffy melt in your mouth supreme baking powder biscuits (that's a blog for another day!)

anyways....as I made my biscuits later that night I kept thinking about the puffed oven pancake...
...and remembering...

remembering yummy lazy Saturday's and this thing my parents called a German Pancake...

so I went back to the cook book and read the recipe...it seemed like it was very close to what I remembered as a little girl....

so I put it on the menu...
and then the husband asked, "What's a Puffed Oven Pancake?"

so I decided to make it up last night....

so happy that I did that...
and guess what...it was so easy...and it was all gone when dinner was over...

Puffed Oven Pancake aka German Pancake
2 Tbs butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 milk
1/4 tsp salt

1.  Place butter in 9-10 inch pie plate or oven proof skillet.  Place in 400 degree oven for 3-5 minutes or until butter melts.  Meanwhile, for batter in a medium bowl using a wish or egg beater, beat eggs until frothy,

add in flour, milk and salt;  beat until mixture is smooth.

Immediately pour batter into the hot pie plate.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and well browned.

Serving Options...
I heated up some apricot jelly in the microwave and Beau and I topped our pieces with butter, apricot jelly and powdered sugar...
the kids used just regular syrup and powdered sugar...
any type of fruit on top is so good...berries, pears, peaches...
nuts, whipped cream...
my dad use to eat his with lemon juice and powder sugar....

this was everything I remembered as a girl but better...better because it was so simple...

and here are a few pictures of the kids helping with dinner last night...

the boy child browning the sausage...and yes he's cooking in his red underwear...is there anything cuter than a little boys tush in red boxer briefs?
and taught the girl child to make scrambled eggs...she did the eggs all by herself last night...and they were great!

love my kids

just a short little share...

both my kids make me laugh out loud...

boy child...
last night he was building transforming lego creatures...
a lego dog that transformed into a lego duck by just rearranging a few of the lego pieces...
when Beau commented on how cool they were, he replied
"yep, I guess I was just made for art!"

girl child...
packing her bag for school this morning....
and this simple question just comes floating out of her mouth...
"Why is it called a book bag?"
really....really...Beau and I both just started laughing...
and then she figured out the 'why' all on her own...

menu for Jan24th-Feb 7th

okay so I didn't get a menu posted yesterday...

but I DID work in both the kids classes
put in a few hours at 'work'
do a few loads of laundry
make dinner for the family
help the kids with homework
go on a family walk around the neighborhood
eat dinner together (yummy dinner I might add!)
cuddle on the couch and read a stack of books with the kids
tuck the kids in and veg out with the husband watching MSW...

and the whole time I was creating the menu in my head

dinner items:
Mexican Lasagna (actually made it last night...so yummy)
Chicken Pot Pie
Calzones (girl child's choice)
Nachos (boy child's choice...again! using this meat)
Soup-probably minestrone since I didn't make it last week
Chicken Pesto Pasta
Meatloaf
BBQ Chicken in the crock with sweet potatoes
BBQ chicken sandwiches
Sweet-n-Sour Beans (super bowl)
leftover buffet-at least 3 times
Brinner-breakfast for dinner...
     to include either crepes or a puffed oven pancake..
     haven't made either in years and both sound so good
Ground Beef Stroganoff

lunch items:
salads with all the fixins
tuna noodle casserole...never actual made it off last menu
fish tacos
leftovers
sandwiches
Quesadillas

now I just need to figure out what day this week I'm going to actually make it to the store...hoping tomorrow am...

savoring the snow-ment

we took the kids to the snow on Monday
Martin Luther King Jr. Day

I forced...coerced...beg, pleaded, and cried...
nicely suggested for the husband to go...
the dog-kicking-snow-hating husband...
and guess what...
he didn't have the worst time in the world...

yes, he might have been ready to leave after about 5 minutes
yes, he would had preferred to be in about a hundred different places...
but he choose to spend the day with the family and some great friends in the snow...

can you see his smile?

the kids had a blast...
I had a great time..

and because he loves us...

he went and had an okay time...

and I enjoyed it all the more because I knew my husband was giving us a gift of doing something he really doesn't like at all because he knew the kids and I wanted him there...

and I didn't get a family shot of us all together in the snow...

Forgot One!

oops...I blogged my 2011 Goal list on Monday and forgot a biggie

I have promised Beau that I will be more aware of our finances...
and I have asked him to keep me accountable to that.

that doesn't mean I'm going to shop less...
I'm actually not a huge shopper,
I shop when we need something....
end of story...
well, my 'needs' do change when I walk into JoAnn's or Michaels...
but I am pretty good at not over-spending...

the problem is I tend to have the head-in-the-sand approach to money...
I spent the first half of our marriage being the one in charge of the finances and H.A.T.E.D. every minute of it...so when I finally handed it all over to Beau I took a 'vacation' from thinking about money...
when Beau would start to talk about money I would go into Charlie Brown Teacher mode...
'Wawah Wawwaa Wawawah'....

in the last few months I began to realize that I needed to be an active part in the decisions that are made with our families money...not that Beau hasn't been making good decisions...

but rather, I didn't want to have to ask Beau,
"okay, I'm going grocery shopping, do we have enough?"
I wanted to KNOW that since we had sat down together I could say,
"Okay, I'm going grocery shopping today!"  end of story...
because I know that there is enough, and how much we have to work with...

and since I have made the choice to be more actively involved with the finances I feel much more relieved...
Beau paid some bills yesterday and just had me come in and look over the bill-pay online to just show me where we stood till the next pay day...which is Thursday....
and we're good...
I used to be so concerned about payday
because that was the only day I KNEW we'd have the money I would need to do all the shopping before Beau started to pay bills...
now I know what things look like before payday...
I know what bills will need to be paid...
I know that next week, a week after pay day, we will still be good...
so I don't have to stress out about fitting grocery shopping into this week...
a lot less stressful for both Beau and I...

and I also think a way healthier way for me to look at money...
I had been scared of money because having been the one in charge when we had NO money really did a number on me...

no need to worry...God will take care of us...he did when we had no job and no health insurance...and he's been good a great job of it at everyone point along the road...
I had been make the choice that 'ignorance is bliss'
when really ignorance lead to me being stressed...
but knowledge is power...

so heres to being empowered in 2011...

2011-Resolutions...Changes...Goals

okay, so I know that we are half way thru January
but I never got around to posting any new year resolutions...
and I've been thinking about it everyday....
did I actual make any resolutions?
we didn't stand around at our Rockin' New Years Eve Party discussing our resolutions
(maybe because only 2 of us would have know what that even meant!)

But I have been thinking about the concept of resolutions...
I have never really made huge resolutions,
but I'm also not opposed to them....
last year I even posted on facebook this list...
but I called them 'goals' and not resolutions...
seemed less scary

2010 Goals:

*yell less & enjoy my kids more

*get healthy

*step out of comfort zone more often

*finish sprint triathlon in June

*get 50 blog followers 

http://chambersmade.blogspot.com

*stay connected with old & new friends

and I think I was pretty good with all of them expect the last one...I'm horrible about keeping connected with important people in my life!

so I've decided to make a 2011 Goal list...

*savor moments with my kids and husband

*continue to on the road to health

*Sprint Triathlon in June and in September
*live my life showing Christ's love by loving, connecting, and serving...

*make family menus and shop by them (at least 2 a month)

*get and STAY organized...one room at a time...I want to try to tackle one room every two weeks and see if I can stay on top of them...

so that's my list of goals...and since I need someway to stay motivated I plan to use my blog to keep me accountable on these...

so on the weekends I will post about a moment in the previous week that I savored a moment with my family...

I will randomly share highlights and lowlights and the in-betweens of keeping in shape

I will also randomly share about my Triathlon training and experiences
I will also randomly share my journey of love.connect.serve....

I will post my menu every other Monday

and starting next month I will share my organization journey with you...trying to figure out what room to tackle first....thinking bathrooms????

and now need to get ourselves all packed and ready for fun in the snow...second snow trip this year...and this time I will get the boy child to wear the proper gloves so he can enjoy the day....

menu....Jan 10th-Jan 20th

okay, so I realized that I haven't posted our menu from this past week...but I did make one and I have been loosely following it....

I decided to just create a list of meal options and not actually assign them to a night of the week...so at least I know the 'meals' that I have in the house, but it's more flexible for the family....

also having the kids choose at least one meal for the list and the husband so I'm not the sole one responsible for making the menu...and the kids get to help make dinner on 'their night'...they can help other nights too....I really do like to have the kids help with dinner prep as long as I'm in the right frame of mind...

I've also decided to print off the menu and put in on the fridge so I can see it each morning, process thru the day and decide what I think would work best for that day...and then if I need to get something out of the freezer I can do it in the morning, rather than remembering it about 4:45....

Breakfast for Dinner-two different meals...
     biscuits and gravy w/scrambled eggs ...and waffle bar
Nacho Bar; boy child's choice...beef done in the Crock Pot
     and would be his meal choice for all 3 meals a day 7 days a week!
Cheese Ravioli's with Marinara Sauce; girl child's choice
Veggie Stir Fry w/ rice and egg flower soup
Potato Soup
Minestrone Soup
Broccoli Rice and Spinach Salad w/swiss cheese and toasted almonds
Baked Mac & Cheese
Cheddar Roast
Chicken-n-Dumplings
40 Garlic Chicken
Mexican Lasagna
and of course leftover buffet

have also made a lunch menu list since the husband and I were grabbing lunch out too often...
~Paninnis
~Tuna Noodle Casserole (something we both love but the kids don't!)
~Stuffed Pita Pockets
~Fried Egg sandwiches
~burritos
~tacos

off to get the waffle batter started for tonights waffle bar....

Head Cold Theology

I'm not much of a theologian...
but I'm going to share with you my deep deep thoughts on suffering in the world...
some people use the pain and suffering of our human world to make their point that they would never, could never believe in a God that allowed such things...

and although the whole concept of God being the one that 'allows' pain is a whole 'nother blog...
I just wanted to share with you my "Head Cold Theology"

everyone breathes...to have life, to be a human being you must breath air...
to do this we use our nose and mouth...but normally we just use our noses...
and we concentrate so very hard on the idea of breathing otherwise we would stop...
no...we just go around breathing in and out all day long and think nothing of the wonders of breath...
and then WHAM!
we get a head cold and all we can think about is using our nose to breath...how in the world we were we just walking around the day before breathing in and out of our nose and not thinking a thing about how wonderful and free we were to use our nose....
we have no concept how wondrous and glorious our noses are until we lose the ability to take in air thru those two simple holes in the middle of our face are....

having a simple head cold reminds us for a few short days or weeks how much better life it with a nose....

life has pain...

pain is part of free will...

if we had no pain we would have no choice 

...and without pain we would never understand the beauty of life around us, the glories of God's creation is only magnified by pain...

pain in our lives allow us to turn to God and understand his love fully!  pain in our lives allow us to accept God's gift of salvation...without pain we lose choice...

the end...
you have now been graced with my very simple version of "Head Cold Theology!"
pass the Kleenex please!

back to the land of the living

wow!  that one knocked me out...
I started to feel it coming on Sunday night
ignored it and took a passel of kids to the snow by myself on Monday
...great way to break in the new mini!...

the boys eating lunch in the back of the mini....

and,Yes I'm crazy, and yes we had a great time!
probably should have stayed home and filled my body with vitamin C and fluids...
then ignored it some more and went into work on Tuesday, had some meetings that I for some crazy reason didn't want to reschedule...and then went to a birthday party on Tuesday night (should have sent the husband and girl child by themselves...)
then spent most of Tuesday night/Wednesday morning sleeping/not sleeping on the couch with a
sick-coughing-gaging-sniffling-oh-so-sweet-and cuddly little boy...
and then spent the rest of Wednesday in our jammies with me innocently thinking that I would be all better on Thursday...little did I know that I had just barely begun to feel the wrath of the nasty!
and then spent the next 2.5 days in my jammies...
vegging out to NetFlix
lessons I've learned so far in 2011
1.  When taking a passel of California children to the snow the hardest part is getting said kids into their snow clothes...
2.  I probably used up all my luck for the entire year when I brought all kids home safe and sound and free of any major wounds and broken bones...
3.  I need more jammies and an extra robe so my nastyness can be put in the wash while I'm wearing clean comfies
4.  I like love should possibly marry NetFlix
5.  I can't get enough of documentaries on NetFlix (and yes, I am a nerd!)
6.  If I get caught up in a good book it doesn't matter how sick and close to death's doorstep I am I will stay up WAY past my bed time to finish said book....
7.  I want need NEED the sequel to Hunger Games,

so if anyone has Catching Fire

and would let me borrow it for a day, I promise that's all I will need to finish it, I will be forever indebted to you!
8.  I need to go take a shower...

Bring on the Snow

just a Wintery Welcome...

 wanted to share our winter door wreath...
decided to give the ol' grape vine wreath a little break,
took a trip to the Dollar Store and WalMart with the girl child
bought a cheap wooden wreath (not sure what to call it, the straw colored ones)
some clear cellophane gift wrap stuff
and 50% off silver snowflakes (@ the Dollar Store I spent $2.25)
and then some 75% off sparkly sliver things from WalMart (spent $1.25 at WalMart)

cut the cellophane into 2x12 inch strips and tied them around the wreath
think I need to go get another role so I can do some more...you can still see some of the wreath thru the cellophane...
I also added some white WalMart bag strips to give it more depth...
and then stuck the sparkly things all over and hung the snowflake in the middle,
also had some silver beaded necklaces that we used for New Years Eve (have NO idea where these came from!) that I wrapped around too...

so now, even though we will probably have NO more snow in Redding this year (our New Year's Eve 'dusting' was a surprise) we have a wintery sparkly welcome on our front door!

all for $3.50...not bad...and I can probably just add some pink and red at Valentines day to change it up!

Rocked in the New Year

had a crazy New Years Eve Party,

so crazy that no one went home,
they were all passed out by 2am
they partied so hard we didn't feel it was safe to have them drive home...
since they were all 10 and under!

we hosted our first Kids Rockin' New Years Eve Slumber Party and I think it's not our last...
loved having a house full of great kids...

kids that will dance their hearts out to Just Dance....

New Years Eve Snowfall/dusting 11:45pm

kids who will run out in the snow barefoot to catch snow in their mouths!

kids that know and respect a good 'rock star' pose!

and a New Years Eve/4th of July/any time you need noise makers tip...

I had a LOT of leftover bubble wrap from our Advent Calendars...

I pulled it out and gave each kid about a 18 inches of bubbles...and when the clock struck midnight the popping started...and when the bubbles are popped 

magic happens...

the noise STOPS!...and unlike all those other 'poppers' there is just a little mess...(a large piece of empty bubble wrap opposed to the zillions of pieces of confetti and streamers)...

Happy New Year...

I will be back to blogging once the kids get back to school on Tuesday...