Monday, July 25, 2011

Stick a Fork in Me and Call Me Done

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(image from ikea.com) 

Y’all, I’m here to tell you that this foot thing is wearing me out.

Done, over it, finished.

Though, I admit, after talking to someone today with a ridiculously awful ankle injury that makes mine look like a day at the park, I quit whining and repented.

The orthopedist has cleared me to let the pain dictate my activity level. 

So far the pain is dictating a gracious little activity, leaving me even less of any significance to report in Blogland.

Except perhaps that a nutella s’more is a culinary wonder.

And it has only 4 Weight Watchers points.

Actually, I did hobble into my kitchen this morning to prepare super-healthy, really-yummy (I promise) Oat Bran Muffins. 

After putting them in the oven, I sat down to my Beth Moore Bible study homework and neglected to set the timer.

Regrettably, these muffins were a tad overdone, but if I liked them burnt toasty, I’m confident they’re good properly baked.

On-One-Foot Oat Bran Muffins

(So easy you can make them while standing on one foot!)

(adapted from somewhere in Blogville that I can’t remember; if it’s you, these are delicious!  Thanks so much!)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oat bran

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 egg

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp. vanilla

2 T. oil

1 1/4 cup skim milk

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 berries, raisins, or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400*.  In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients.  In a small bowl, whisk egg, honey, vanilla, oil, and milk.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix in almonds and berries.  (Blackberries were fabulous.)  Bake for 16-20 minutes, NOT 25.3 minutes while you read Isaiah.  Take them out on time, top with a little butter, and then read Isaiah.

Be blessed!

Ginger

Linked up at Tasty Tuesday!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Jail Break

Thanks to these,

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DD#1 and I met my sister and niece

in a nearby town for a small adventure.

They’re visiting for a few days to relieve the servants help out.

While they explored the shops,

I spent a lot of time here, people-watching.

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I did hip-hop into one store with *hallelujah* a chair! where I took in some gorgeous eye-candy.

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Seriously, I’ll take one of everything, please.

Next door is the cutest jewelry store ever-- arranged by color.

The greens are my favorites.

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I bought myself a little bling.

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Later, we ate a fabulous chocolate chip cookie from the cutey-patootie Sweet Shop Bakery.

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(Photo credit: my niece; my armpits had completely given up by this point.)

I’m off to the orthopedist later this week for a second evaluation.  Pray for mobility!

Be blessed,

Ginger

Saturday, July 16, 2011

What to Do When You’re Stuck

1. Join Weight Watchers so you won’t eat constantly while you can’t exercise.

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2. Find a new favorite blogger and realize you’re from the same hometown.

3. Feel slightly homesick.

4. Remember that it is 999* degrees in your hometown with approximately 177,659 gnats.

5. View unfinished projects.  Decide you don’t really like the white chair as much as you thought you would.

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(Ignore clutter in this picture.)

6. Shop for fabric online because new cushions might restore your chair’s mojo.image

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(Which one do you like best?)

7. Lament again that Mom’s sewing lessons didn’t really take.

8. Sigh heavily.

9. Listen to slave laborers daughters whine about helping their poor, invalid mother.

10. Offer heartfelt prayers of gratitude for them anyway.

Be blessed,

Ginger

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Change of Plans

Remember this?

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It’s now this:

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Yep.  Party’s over.

After two weeks of hobbling, I finally had it checked.

Big-time foot sprain with ankle involvement.

Three weeks minimum off the foot.

Occasional crutches or zippy cart thingy at the grocery store.

Better be good or be in a world of hurt once school starts.

Thank heaven for slave labor teens who know their way around the kitchen and laundry.

I’m sure that in here somewhere are profound lessons  about resting. 

In the meantime, I’m trying to figure out how Big Red is going to manage his projects and mine—like 22,000 snap-beans that need to be canned.

Um.  I’ll get back to you.

Be blessed,

Ginger

 

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Waiting

In one of the Esther videos, Beth Moore reminds us that

we can wait on a person or an event,

and we will be exhausted.

Or

we can wait on the Lord,

and our strength will be renewed.

The waiting in this verse stands out to me.

Our God is worth the wait.

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Be blessed today.

Ginger

Linking up at Scripture and a Snapshot

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Folly Beach Love

For the first time in several years, our family spent a few days at the beach.

In our house live:

one red-head

one ghostly pale-face

two beach bums,

so going to the beach doesn’t quite have the same ring to some of us that it does for others.

Until this year.

Because this year, we discovered some secrets to beach love.

1. Washer and dryer.

No sand in sheets.

No sand dirty laundry piles at home.

2. Separate bedrooms

No hormonal teens forced to share half a hotel room.

No parents forced to share half a hotel room with hormonal teens.

The catch? (‘Cause we know there has to be one.)

Our affordable condo was located on the wrong side of a super-scary bridge.

(No picture because I was too busy mentally gripping before-mentioned teens who would have died of embarrassment if their mom had touched them on the super-scary bridge.)

Once we crossed over, here’s some things we loved: 

Gentle waves:

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Cool pier:

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Love at the beach:

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Beach read. The next person to check this out of our library will have authentic Folly Beach sand between the pages.

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Beach toes Smile—and beach broken toe Sad smile (which meant I hobbled across super-scary bridge in a moon boot.)

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Secret to pale-face beach love: beach umbrella.  Some strong ocean breezes nearly sent this umbrella and me soaring to Maine like Mary Poppins.

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Beach food. Jack’s Cosmic Dogs=retro-cool restaurant.

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Sadly, I neglected to take pictures at the ice-cream shop where we stopped nightly.

I was too busy licking peach ice cream from a waffle cone. Yum.

This week we’re anticipating some July 4th fun with family before summer and school planning start to overlap.

Hope your summer is going great!

Be blessed,

Ginger

Friday, June 24, 2011

Five Minute Friday: Wonder

I’m linking up today at Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday, writing for 5 minutes off-the-cuff about the assigned topic.

(Sounds like the sort of thing an English teacher would like, doesn’t it?)

Today’s prompt: Wonder

Go.

Wonder, wonderful. 

Wonderful is a word we throw around a lot: wonderful meal, wonderful day, wonderful life.

What it really means is wonder full, full of wonders.

So I can say, God, You are wonderful, full of wonders, and really mean it.

Full of wonders.  Full of miracles.  Full of strength.

Full of everything I am not, full of thoughts that are not mine.

In Him is fullness of joy.

His wonders never cease;

they spill over the rim of His presence, splashing me with awe,

with questions,

with satisfaction.

His complexity makes me wonder at Him,

wonder at myself

and my smallness,

makes me wonder why I would ever presume to know more than He does.

I wonder why I don’t instantly, confidently trust Him.

Lord, open my eyes to Your wonder.

Stop. Time’s up.

Be blessed today.

Ginger