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Winners and other loose ends

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So I’m a slacker.  And a procrastinator.  Maybe you all can convince me that the extra wait increases the suspense?  I didn’t think so.  How about this: yesterday I was busy sucking paint fumes while I made the bathroom look shiny and new.  Is that a better excuse?

Here are the winners from 2 drawings that I left hanging:

  • Winner of the last GOTW is Jennifer M., who  received 2 credits for joining PBS plus 2 more credits from me, each good for a free book of her choice, shipping included.  I hope you’re loving PaperBack Swap, Jennifer!
  • Winner of the first Persecution Project drawing is Petersonclan, who blogged about the fundraiser here.  The girls ended up raising well over $700 thanks to generous readers who donated or ordered VF products from our Sale page!
  • Winner of the second PPF drawing is Justine, who blogged about the fundraiser here.  Congrats, Justine!

And since somebody mentioned Vision Forum (oh, was that me?), I have some single-use Vision Forum coupon codes to share.  Each of these is good for $25 off any order of $75 or more.  If you’re feeling adventurous, you might consider using one on the 50% off Henty sale to bring your cost down even more…

The first 2 codes have been in my sidebar for a few days and may have been used already.  Try ‘em.  The last 2 are new today.  All expire today, so don’t be a slacker like me.

  • GM9755N7549J
  • 9M54G3P57393
  • CA48DDN876LG
  • JPLE3JN42469

If you received a code that you won’t use, maybe you could leave it in the comments for another reader?

30 Days of Nothing: day 29

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The month of September is almost gone.  I spent $180 on Friday, divided rather evenly between Costco, WalMart, HEB (the other grocery store here in San Antonio) and the produce terminal.  That sounds like a lot, but our pantry is just as full as it was a week into this experiment so I think I’m still buying and keeping more than I really need to.  This brings our total for the month – including TP, pet food, diapers, children’s ibuprofen, etc. – to

drumroll…

are you ready?

11 people, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 2 rabbits, 1 tarantula, 1 snake, 3 praying mantids…

OK, the tarantula, snake and mantids eat free, but anyway, The Total:

$563.  I feel good about this number.  I could have kept it lower by skimping on Friday’s shopping, but I wanted to keep it real by shopping for the full week.  This doesn’t take into account our savings by not spending at gas stations, coffee shops and fast-food restaurants.  We don’t do those things often, but even the occasional small splurge can really add up over the course of a month!  It also doesn’t take into account that we are eating an enormous amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, a far healthier diet than we have ever had before.

Aside from produce (which will probably run out by next Friday) we have nearly enough food and non-food consumables to take us through 2 weeks, well into October.  Maybe I can talk hubby into 60 Days of Nothing…

God blessed my weekly trip downtown with some extra goodies from the produce terminal: tons of peaches (~25#) and oranges (40#), 16# of beautiful tomatoes, plus strawberries and asparagus – not to mention the standard plums (20#) and bananas (15#).  We have broccoli, carrots and orange bell peppers left from last week.  Good stuff, all of it!

We have cheese and 2 varieties of sausage plus pepperoni to make pizza for the next two Fridays; and enough meat to eat it every other day for nearly two weeks.

Speaking of pizza, Friday Night Pizza is back!  They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and since I have put off ordering the lower element for our oven we’ve invented a new way to cook our crusts.  I have to say we’re quite taken with the results.

mmmm…Pizza

We make our dough the same way, but then we roll pieces into personal size crusts and cook them on the griddle, flipping to brown on both sides.  We did it once on a dry griddle and once with it greased.  I hate to admit it, but they tasted better cooked on a greased griddle.

Then we top them with spaghetti sauce, sausage, pepperoni and cheese, and slide the under the broiler to heat the toppings and melt the cheese.  I like slices of fresh tomatoes on mine.  :)   Kaitlyn emphatically does not.

This is a bit labor-intensive, but many hands make light labor and we can turn out plenty of pizza in less time than it used to take us to bake 5 big ones.  We think the results are much tastier – more like the kind you buy at a pizzeria.

Incidentally, I think the meat and cheese go further on individual pizzas.  Shhh!  Don’t tell.

Have you actually heard Chuck Baldwin’s message?

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Our family is voting for Chuck Baldwin this November. I am starting a series of posts that will run until next November dealing with Chuck’s positions on the issues. I hope to post 1 or two a week and will highlight what I perceive to be the strengths of the Baldwin/Castle Campaign and why my family is content to vote for these two D.C. outsiders.

If you want to know more about Mr. Baldwin I would encourage you to visit his (non-campaign) website Chuck Baldwin Live, which is the home of his weekly column, his radio show, as well as many of his sermons. You may also subscribe to his columns and receive them via email from there.

I have started off this series of columns with a Baldwin campaign video from his campaign website and will end it by encouraging you to go and read his positions on education generally and homeschooling.

Finally I will leave you with a quote from our sixth president John Quincy Adams:

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” — John Quincy Adams

She’s so big

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Rachael turned 4 way back in July, and she’s getting so big now.  She even has proof.  She was eating a banana the other day and we had this conversation:

Rachael: Mom, remember when I was little I used to call these bo-manas?

Me: Yes.  What do you call them now?

Rachael: Now I know that how to say it right: ba-mana!

Busy day…

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Sick kids and a trip to town.  I’m so thankful for children old enough to babysit!

For those of you with no older children, be patient.  I remember thinking it would take forever to reach this season in life, and here I am.

Vision Forum Ministries responds to the CBMW’s Double Standard

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Today on Doug’s blog is the first part of Vision Forum Ministries response to the double standard used at  the CBMW (Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood) when it comes to Biblical Family and Gender Roles.

USA Today’s Dr. Gushee asks:

Is it now your view that God can call a woman to serve as president of the United States? Are you prepared to renounce publicly any further claim that God’s plan is for men rather than women to exercise leadership in society, the workplace and public life? Do you acknowledge having become full-fledged egalitarians in this sphere at least?

CBMW Answers:

The Bible calls women to specific roles in the church and home, but does not prohibit them from exercising leadership in secular political fields. Therefore we must be careful to not go beyond the teaching of the Bible. A president is not held to the same moral standards as an elder of a church. While it is a blessing from God to have ethical or even Christian political leaders, the Bible places no such requirements on secular governments. Even though the Bible reserves final authority in the church for men, this does not apply in the kingdom of this world.

Vision Forum Ministries Responds:

…Note that the 1996 statement by CBMW wisely reminds the Church that those rare and non-normative examples of role reversals in the Scripture such as Deborah (Jud. 4:4-23) are reminders of male abdication “worthy of shame.” They are not meant to be examples for emulation, CBMW argues, nor does their inclusion in Scripture justify the suspension of the duty of men, not women, to lead. Yet this is precisely what semi-complementarians such as CBMW’s Executive Director David Kotter are attempting to do in 2008 by excluding the numerous patterns and precepts found in Scripture that demonstrate the complementarian mandate for male leadership in the civil jurisdiction while attempting to justify support for Sarah Palin based upon the non-analogous and non-normative example of the Israelite prophetess Deborah.[11] CBMW has done an about-face on Deborah by using her example to justify Sarah Palin’s bid for the vice presidency while stating in 1996 that it was a sign “worthy of shame”…

Just a small example in my opinion of how the church has lost its mooring to distictive, Christian political thought. Click here for the rest of Doug’s article.

30 Days of Nothing: day 25

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30 Days of NothingWith just 5 days to go, I have to admit that I’m a little underwhelmed by our experience so far. Either we didn’t take it far enough, or we’re more frugal than I thought. I just don’t feel like there’s been a huge change. I haven’t battled with overpowering urges to spend. I haven’t felt guilty for telling my children that no, they may not buy themselves candy this month – even with their own money. I haven’t died for lack of chocolate. Not yet, anyway.

On the other hand, I feel quietly ecstatic over the painless change in our grocery expense. We’ve saved hundreds of dollars while eating more nutritious and more delicious food than ever.  We’re wasting less food than ever.  Desserts have not suffered; fresh fruits and vegetables that used to be strictly rationed are now free for snacking; instead of nervously watching the meat portions at dinner I can generously dish out hearty servings of casseroles. My fridge, pantry and cabinets have never been neater, and grocery shopping has never been easier.

This was a good change. Rather than the radical 30 day lifestyle shift that I expected, I have found this to be a rather comfortable improvement of our lifestyle – while spending less. Wow.

I’ve found myself stopping to analyze every purchase, no matter how small.  I hope it’s a habit that will last.

And I’ve seen God’s providential hand in tiny things: the hair ponies that I decided not to buy, and then found a forgotten package at home. The shampoo that I forgot to buy and then found an extra bottle buried in the cabinet. The eggs and milk given to us by a brother-in-law just to say thank you for past favors, though he knew nothing about our 30 Days of spending less.  The bounty of leftovers that my sister-in-law left behind after Tuesday’s potluck.  The endless packages of diapers and wipes that friends have given Bethany.  Each of these was like an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

I know that God is good and that He cares about the small things that are important to us, but these little reminders are so sweet – like hearing “I love you” from someone whose love you never doubted in the first place.

Cheesy broccoli rice casserole

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This one is fast and easy, and surprisingly hearty if you use enough broccoli and cheese.  You can add chicken if you feel the need, but try it without.  My kids rave about it!

  • 3 cups rice (we like parboiled)
  • 6 cups water or broth
  • 2 tsp. salt

Cook rice as usual.  While it’s cooking, saute:

  • 1 onion, finely chopped

and steam:

  • 3-4 heads of broccoli, broken into small florets

You’ll also need:

  • 1# grated cheddar
  • 1 large can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup (yes, there it is again. I know, I know…)

Now stir it all together in a 6 quart crockpot.  If you feel the need for meat, add:

  • 2-4 cups chopped cooked chicken

Heat thoroughly and serve with a salad.  Yum.

A lesson learned the hard way:

Don’t take a shortcut and decide that since you like your broccoli crisp-tender, the broccoli will get cooked enough when you heat it in the crock pot.  Bad idea.  Bad, bad, bad.  Remember the smell of cooking broccoli?  That smell will be trapped in the rice.

To everyone who tried my cheesy broccoli rice casserole at church last Sunday: Sorry, y’all.

Chocolate memories

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I just remembered a tidbit from my childhood.  I told my kids this morning and they loved it, so I thought it might be a good idea to store it here in my longterm memory banks blog.

Back when I was 11yo, I went on a babysitting job with my best friend.  She was 12 and an old pro, but I had never been allowed to babysit so I felt very grown up and privileged.

We babysat.  This was where I learned a little toddler-diapering trick that has stood me in good stead over the years.  This was also where I witnessed an adorable bit of toddler cuteness as the mom was giving us instructions before she left:

Mom: Here is Miranda’s plate with her dinner.

Miranda: Dinner!

Mom: She can watch a bit of TV after she eats.

Miranda: TV!

Mom: She can have 2 cookies for dessert.

Miranda: Cookies!

Mom: Her bedtime is at 8:00.

Miranda: Not yet!

Gina told me that the parents in this home allowed her to snack on whatever she wanted and they had given me permission as well.  I imagine my jaw hit the floor when I heard that.  In our house, I remember the menus being strictly planned.  “Don’t get into that cheese!  I need it for Thursday!  Don’t each all of the peanut butter – it has to last til next Friday.”  There was no free snacking in my childhood memories.

I peeked into the freezer and found – oh, joy! – a bag of chocolate chips!  What treaure!  What luxury!  At my coaxing, Gina and I nibbled the entire bag.

It. Was. Good.

And then the parents returned, and we went back to Gina’s home.

But the story doesn’t quite end there, on such a happy note.  Apparently the parents later discovered the missing bag of chocolate chips.  Gina told me later that they changed the rules and began setting out preplanned snacks for Gina because they feared she was not making wise choices.

I’m sorry Gina.  But it was worth it, wasn’t it?

the bedroom bonanza

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OK, I should say up front that I have no idea what a bonanza actually is, so maybe this has nothing at to do with a bonanza – but it’s a fun word to say, and works well with bedroom.  The alliteration pulls it all together, don’t you think?

But there is a bedroom something-or-other going on here.  8 of our children are evenly divided between 2 bedrooms (the baby still sleeps in her little bed in our room).  We have chosen not to divide them by age, because we feel that leads to some “clique-ish-ness” wherein the older ones and younger ones, finding themselves segregated, begin to resent the presence of each other and territorial disputes arise.

I should also mention that even though my house is not and never has been spotless, perhaps I have a touch of CDO.  You don’t know what that is?  It’s like OCD but with the letters in alphabetical order, the way they should be.  I say this because in my little world, letters and numbers ought to be arranged in a sensible order.  My blog links are in alphabetical order.  I once tried to keep our music CDs in alphabetical order but gave up because I was feeling tempted to violent crimes, but that’s another story…

We have an age-integrated family, so the children were divided in a very neat and orderly fashion.  Bedroom 1 held Child 1, Child 3, Child 5, and Child 7.  Bedroom 2 held Child 2, Child 4, Child 6 and Child 8.  Don’t worry.  We use names on most occasions, but the symmetry of the numbers was too beautiful to overlook.

But things were divided more evenly than we intended.  We have 4 messies and 4 neatniks.  There were 2 of each in each bedroom.  This might sound like a workable arrangement, but alas! it was not.  The neatniks drove the messies to distraction.  The messies drove the neatniks to violence.  Tempers flared up, tears fell down, and people were Not Happy.

So now we’ve switched things up a bit.  The numbers don’t look as neat and orderly: children #1, #4, #5, and #8 are in one room, #2, #3, #6, and #7 in the other; but one room is clean and the other is a mess.  The psyches of the children seem far more tidy as well, and now I only have to harp on the residents of one bedroom to Please Clean Up So I Can Find a Path To The Bed.

And really, the numbers aren’t so bad.  The ranks of the residents of each bedroom both add up to the same total: 18.  My world still makes sense.

GOTW: Free books of your choice

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Call me lazy, but my excuse is that I’m still recovering from the trauma of losing internet and my hard drive.  Everything is back to normal, but I’m still scrambling to make up for lost time.

My Giveaway of the Week required absolutely no preplanning on my part: I’ve told you before about Paperback Swap.  Trade books you don’t want, and choose the books you want from any member at all.  There are over 2.5 million titles to choose from (including many hardbacks and audio books), and the books are your to keep – unless you choose to swap them again.

They also give free credits for referrals.  Each credit = 1 free book, and I get 2 free credits for each new member I refer.  New members also get 2 free credits right away when they have listed 10 books available to swap.

So here’s the giveaway.

I’ll split my free referral credits with one new member who joins Paperback Swap through one of my links and list her first 10 books before midnight, Thursday (September 25).  If only one person joins, we’ll each get 2 credits and I’ll give one of mine to her.  If 5 people join, I’ll get 10 credits and will give 5 of them to one of the five, randomly chosen.

So you get free books for joining, with a shot at more free books right away.  Get it?  It’s a free-for-all!

Feel free to leave a comment if you enter, but don’t worry too much this time: PBS will notify me automatically when you have listed your first 10 books, because I will be receiving free credits along with you.  Just be sure you enter through one of my links.  If you want to be extra safe, put “kittykait” in the referred by field when you fill in the form.

If you’re already a member, you’ll just have to sit on your hands this time – unless you want to chime in about the beauty and wonder of Paperback Swap.  How many free books have you received?  What was your most exciting find?

“Kim” Ranch Chicken

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King Ranch Chicken

I re-invented this by accident one day when I had no idea what to make.  I just threw some compatible ingredients in the pot, and behold – out came something that tastes suspiciously like the popular dish.

A very flexible recipe that makes enough to feed a small army.  Like ours.

  • 3-4 cups cooked chicken, chunks or shredded
  • 1-2 cans black beans, drained (optional, but stretches out the food. save more by cooking dry beans yourself.)
  • 1 large can cream of chicken soup (like it or lump it. or make your own from scratch.)
  • 3-6 TBS chili powder or taco seasoning, depending on your family’s desire and tolerance for spicy food.  We use even more, but we’re Texans and you’re probably not.  Buy a huge container of either at Costco for less than $4.
  • corn or flour tortillas
  • grated cheddar or col-jack cheese

Combine chicken, soup and seasoning, then layer into a 6 quart crock pot with tortillas and grated cheese.  Stretch it with extra tortillas or beans.  Skimp on the cheese if you must, but if you buy at Costco you won’t need to.  :)

Heat thoroughly.  Maybe  2 hours on high or 4-5 hours on low?  You know your crock pot better than I do.

30 Days of Nothing: day 21

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At the produce terminal on Friday, I got:

  • 8 lbs. of white seedless grapes
  • 17 lbs. of oranges
  • 20 lbs. of tangelos
  • 18 lbs. of bananas
  • 30 broccoli crowns
  • ~25 orange bell peppers
  • 12 lbs. of plums

All for the bargain price of $36!  I also spent $47 at Costco on milk, cheese, eggs and tortilla chips.  This brings our total for the month to $383, with plenty to get us through the upcoming week.  This includes all non-food expenses too: paper products, diapers, pet food, and any other incidentals available at WalMart.

I’ve also learned something new about operating out of a smaller freezer – our big freezer is so unreliable that we unplugged it and emptied it, and are now using just the little freezer above the fridge. I have found that I can not only save time, but can also save an enormous amount of space if I cook meat before freezing it.

When I shopped at WalMart on Thursday, I bought (among other things) 10# of ground beef and 10 # of chicken legs/thighs.  Rather than freezing them as they were, we browned the meat in an 8qt. stockpot with 5 onions and about 10 cloves of garlic, then drained and divided it into 6 meal-sized portions.  This will be perfect for either spaghetti or the Mexican food that we enjoy so often, and takes up far less space in the freezer!  It will also defrost much more quickly.

While that was being done, we dumped the entire 10# of chicken into the roaster and set it on 300 degrees.  After a couple of hours I switched it off to cool.  A bit later I deboned it all and bagged it into 3 portions for enchiladas, casseroles, etc.  This saved even more space than the ground beef, since I was doing away with not just grease, but bones, skin, etc.  I could easily have fit twice as much chicken in the roaster, and might just do that next time.

Now instead of struggling to fit enough food into our little freezer to last the week, my freezer is well stocked but neat and orderly with plenty of extra space for spontaneous purchases.

Wait, that might not be such a good thing…

Is Sarah Palin the New Deborah?

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From the article “And therefore, Sarah Palin, who affirms so much that is good, true and praiseworthy, may well be another Deborah in that she is living proof that the Republican Party is gutless, effeminate and cannot find godly men willing to take a stand on pivotal moral issues – or that the ones who do will not be allowed to run for the highest office….”

Do you agree or disagree with the article?

If not why?

read more | digg story

30 Days of Nothing: day 19

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So far our food expenses – which have been relentlessly creeping up toward $1,000/month – have totalled $300 for the month, including $100 at Walmart just yesterday.  I’ll probably spend another $100 today between Costco (just cheddar cheese, eggs and milk) and produce at the terminal downtown.  After that, we’ll be set for another week and will have just a few days left in the month!

Not bad for 11 people with no garden.  We’ve had meat nearly every night, and have eaten far more healthy foods than usual: beans, rice, chicken & ground beef, milk, cheese, eggs, and tons of fresh fruits and vegetables.  The only substantial changes have been no junk food, no eating out, and no unnecessary non-food purchases.

Of course “unnecessary” means different things to different people.  After a bit of discussion, hubby and I agreed that our experiment was not to make a radical change in our lifestyle for the month, but rather to control unplanned consumer spending.

For example, we did buy:

  • toilet paper
  • disposable diapers and wipes
  • foil
  • shampoo, conditioner and body wash
  • cat litter
  • laundry detergent
  • 18 metal forks, at 6/$1.  We have more company than forks nearly every Tuesday, and simple courtesy required us to acquire more.  At this price, it made no sense at all to buy plastic.  Anyway, we like using real flatware.  :)
  • a classified ad to sell our Yorkie pups (a preplanned business expense)
  • a service call to repair our internet.  We were already paying for the monthly service, so it didn’t make sense to pay good money for nothing.  And we do earn more from our internet than we pay.

On the other hand, there were many things we normally would have bought but didn’t.  A few examples come immediately to mind:

  • fabric and notions for new sewing projects
  • a 3rd laundry bin
  • paper napkins or paper towels – no longer necessary since I made 3 dozen (and already have the fabric to make more)
  • new (newer) shoes to replace worn ones
  • a $10 yard sale stroller that is exactly what I’ve been looking for
  • new dish towels and dish cloths to replace my sadly worn rags.  I will buy these as soon as the month is up.
  • a 6″ sub sandwich, free w/the purchase of a large drink
  • bobby pins to try out new hairstyles in a book
  • chocolate – except plain cocoa for cooking frugal desserts from scratch

I commented to hubby just yesterday that I love having the fridge, freezer, and pantry so neat and orderly – something that is only really possible when they have significant empty space.  This seems like a far more efficient and economic way to operate.  We don’t need a big freezer, we don’t have dry goods long enough to worry about weevils or pantry moths, and nothing is lost and rotting in the back of the fridge. We are wasting far less food than we ever have!

This feels like better stewardship than hoarding 3 months’ worth of food where we’ll never remember to use it in time.  I realize that keeping a store of emergency food is wise and can be done without waste, but that’s not what we were doing.  We were simply wasting both food and space.

I think we’ve learned something from this little experiment, something that will stick.  I wonder what else we’ll learn in the 11 days to come?