Love This Soup!

I got a great recipe for soup from one of the ladies at work. There is something very addictive about this soup; you'll find yourself craving it.

Sausage, Bean and Green Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
1-1/2lb Italian sausage
1 med. onion, chopped and 2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot and 1 potato, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 cans white beans, drained
4 cups of green leaves (I use spinach, but you can also use broccoli rabe or any greens)
2 quarts chicken stock

In large soup pan over medium heat, cook sausage (take out of skin) in olive oil. Let brown and add vegetables, bay leaf and beans. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 5-10 minutes to soften veggies. Add greens and cook another few minutes. Pour in chicken stock. Stir and cover pan. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 15-30 minutes.

That's it! I serve it with a thick, hearty bread. If you try this recipe, drop a note and let me know what you think! And for those of you in other countries, can you get these ingredients easily? If not, what would you use for a substitute?

The Reality of Reality Television

Is there anyone in the United States who hasn't heard of Jon and Kate? They are a couple who had twins, and then (I think) they adopted sextuplets. So now they're Jon and Kate Plus 8 and they have a reality television show. And now, (coincidentally just before their season premiere) Jon was caught in an affair, except he wasn't, and Kate is a monster and her attitude and actions drove him to the affair which he didn't have. This is reality?
There are so many things wrong with this whole situation!
Let's start with the fact that these people have a television show because they have a lot of kids. Apparently enough people are curious as to how a large family lives that it warrants a TV show. Had I only known! I could have had a show titled, "Jill and the Boys" or some such catchy thing as that. I can tell you how a large family operates. Pretty much like a small one, but on a bigger scale.
Second, where's the reality? Is it reality to have television cameras in every corner of your lives? To have cameras in your children's faces twenty-four hours a day? Not to mention, I don't know how long this show has been going on, but I've seen a few pictures recently that show just how much things have changed since it started. Kate had normal blonde hair and looked like an average housewife. Now she has a frosted blonde reverse mullet, with bangs run amuck down the side of her face. Seriously, the first time I saw their picture, it took me a minute to figure out which one is Jon.
And speaking of Jon--why on earth would you invite television cameras into your life, and then be surprised (or outraged) when they catch you doing something you're not supposed to do? Hello! That's why they're there. Contrary to common beliefs, they aren't interested in where you buy your gas or how many cups of coffee you have during the day. They want to catch the bad stuff. They want to see the dirt.
I think reality television is a dangerous trend. We're like a bunch of voyeurs, peeping in on other people's lives. And on the other side of the camera are people who want the world to know every little fault and foible of their personalities. They don't hide the flaws. They flaunt them. They glory in them.
As for me, I don't want to know anyone that well. They can keep their flaws to themselves. And I don't want anyone knowing me that well either. Some of my private life is just that--private.
But there's another, darker shadow lurking just below the surface. It scares me because, if it's true, it shows a much worse side of our lives. This whole affair thing broke in the news right before their season premiere. It makes me wonder if this really happened recently, or if they saved the story until now because it made for publicity. And if your life appears to be imploding, why would you continue to air it on national television? M instinct would be to scale back and try to fix the problems in our life. Not use it to share with millions of viewers. If that's the price of fame, it's much too high. Great ratings are not worth the sacrifice. Fifteen minutes of fame isn't worth the destruction of your family. And regarding that fifteen minutes of fame--do you really want to be known for destroying your family?
The reality is, some prices are much too high.

A Male Perspective

Here's a couple of pictures from our jaunt yesterday. These were actually taken when we got home and were cleaning the boat, because I forgot to take my camera with me on the water. I'm still getting used to having one that I don't throw away. : )
Living with six males gives me a unique view of the world and everything in it, including my life.

When you ask a girlfriend or a female in your family a question, whatever answer they give is usually wrapped in cotton and delivered gently. We're very aware of hurting each other's feelings. That doesn't mean we're not honest with each other, but we're careful how we say things. And we want to be encouraging. I think as females we try to sense what's needed and that's what we provide.
Not so with males.
They tend to be brutally honest. And sometimes they give their opinions even when you haven't asked them for it. Or don't even want it.

Example #1: We had a VBS workers' meeting after church a week or two ago. There were about forty people there, and I had a lot of material to cover. Any of you that have gone through a Madison Baptist VBS know what I'm talking about. I tried to be enthusiastic, keep it funny and light, but also give all the information I needed. When we got home I asked Matt how I did.
"If you had been my girlfriend or wife, I would have wanted you to be a little more reserved."
It's not like I was screaming or doing cartwheels while talking. I did not scratch myself in public or tell rude or inappropriate jokes. I didn't swear. Perhaps I should have been more reserved by sitting down and not speaking at all????

Example #2: The morning of our Mother-Daughter Luncheon I was having breakfast with the boys and chatting with them. And I was nervous about speaking at the luncheon. As I got up to leave the room, Nicky said, "Hey, Mom. You've got two red spots on your face."
"I know. I'm breaking out."
He looked shocked. "Breaking out? You mean, like, zits?"
"Yes, son. They're zits. This is why women wear makeup. So they can cover them up."
He eyed me critically. "Well it's not working. I can still see them."
I didn't ask his opinion after I finally got my makeup on that morning. I didn't want to know.

Example #3: We were driving to church when I heard Joel say, "Love you."
"I love you, too." I smiled at him.
"What?"
"You said 'I love you', and I said 'I love you, too'."
"No, I said 'Limo'." He pointed to the vehicle passing through the intersection. "Look how long it is!"

They certainly have me grounded in reality. And I don't think I'll ever have too high an opinion of myself or my abilities. But does it really take six males to keep me humble?

A Family Day

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day yesterday. In addition to remembering the ones who died preserving our freedoms, we also spent some much needed family time together. We went out on our boat for a couple of hours, which is always a lot of fun. Last year Hurricane Fay raised water levels to the point that no boats were allowed on Lake Monroe or the St. John's River for most of the summer, so we missed being out there. The only drawback is, I'm radioactive red this morning. We weren't out there that long, but it was still enough to make me look like a lobster. I don't think it's bad enough to peel (except possibly my forehead) so maybe this will be the start of my summer tan.
Later on in the afternoon we grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and brats. And we also had the requisite watermelon. It's been a long time since all of us took some time from work, church duties and schooling to just spend time together. All in all it was an awesome day.
How did you spend Memorial Day?
By the way, I'll try to post a picture or two later, after my camera finishes charging.

So This Is Love

Thursday I was putting the finishing touches on the printed program for our luncheon last Saturday. It was one page, printed front and back, and folded in half. When you opened it up, the inside of the cover was blank, and across the page was the schedule of the program. I showed it to Terry and he commented that I needed a poem to put on the blank page. Well I'd already thought of that, but my mind was also blank, and I could not come up with a poem that fit our theme to save my life. I had also scoured the internet and several resource books I had, and I still couldn't come up with a poem. It was going to have to stay blank, I maintained.
Friday morning Terry called me at work and said, "Hey, check your email. I found a poem for you." It was a great poem that fit the occasion perfectly. Where did he find it? He wrote it. That's right. My wonderful husband thought I needed a poem, so he wrote one for me. And here it is.

Everything is new with no memories to regret.
Time seems to last forever; there's nothing to fret.
The days are long the nights are short.
No responsibilities, no worries. No care of any sort.

School days are filled with laughter.
It's time to play and time to learn.
Kindergarten, elementary, and on to high school,
But life begins to take a turn.

Boyfriend, girlfriend, mom and dad,
Relationships and principles are hard to grasp.
Listen to whom? Following what?
Choosing direction is not an easy task.

I think with graduation that I've finally arrived.
Then comes college days, wild and crazy;
And also filled with decisions
That will affect my future family.

Wedding bells ringing, love is in the air.
Life will now be easy, without a care.
Until children now enter the scene. m
How many should we have? One, two or three?

Another summer, winter, day and night.
My childhood flew; my youth took flight.
Now my little ones are grown.
But what about their future? What seeds have they sown?

The house is now empty; we've plenty of room to spare,
We hope our grandkiddies will want to spend time there.
The days are getting shorter; life is drawing near the end.
Time no longer lasts forever, what with night just around the bend.

Ah, but this is just the beginning! The regrets of this life will soon be past.
In Jesus Christ a new season begins, and only what's done for Him will last!

Terry gets the wonderful guy of the year award for this one! I love you, Honey.

Ups and Downs of the Weekend

We had an absolutely fabulous time at our Mother-Daughter luncheon Saturday! Our theme was Redeeming the Time, and the tables were each decorated for a different time in a woman's life.



This was the "Newborn" table, complete with teddy bears and little knitted baby caps.



This table was decorated with antique to signify the later years of a woman's life.




Pattie and Theresa were doing a last minute run through for their skit, "Time Saving Tips from the Experts". Their tips included everything from dressing your kids for church on Saturday night so they're ready to go Sunday morning, to ripping out your lawn and replacing it with gravel so that you don't have to waste time doing yardwork. They were both hysterically funny!



Petrea and Sharon did a terrific job on all the decorating. Here they were taking care of a few last minute details before we started.

I wish I would have gotten a picture of Lynn and Vicky. They put the menu together and, although they had some help, they cooked most of the food themselves. It was absolutely fantastic food--much better than catering--and we had so much left over that we had a fellowship after church Sunday night to finish everything off.

The down side of the weekend? My trip to the "spa". There are some real spas and some hair and nail salons that slap "spa" into their title in order to charge more money. Guess which one this was? I wasn't really pampered and the quality of the services I got--I won't go into all the details. It wasn't horrible, but it took forever and I didn't get much to show for the time invested. As far as pictures of my haircut, I didn't take any because she cut so little off, I don't look any different than I did before. She wanted me to start growing it out (I did for the past year, but I gave up on it two months ago and cut it again) because my hairstyle is boring. (According to her.) I was tempted to tell her that, as a pastor's wife, I'm supposed to be boring. Hehehe.
But it could have been much worse. She could have ruined my hair or done something really weird to my nails the night before our luncheon. I used the time I was there to go over my notes for speaking at the luncheon, so it wasn't a total waste. Just not the luxury I was expecting.
Tomorrow I'll tell you how my husband really stepped up during this hectic weekend. Just a little example of how he was willing to help do whatever was needed to make our luncheon a success.

Lap of Luxury

One of the items I got for Mother's Day was a gift certificate to a salon/day spa. I've always wanted to go to one, and I can't wait for my appointment this afternoon. I'm not getting the full treatment, but I am getting a haircut, manicure and pedicure. I've gotten all that done before, but never all at the same time. I'll have two hours of "me" time after I get off work tomorrow afternoon. I've already instructed my family not to call unless it's an emergency because I won't be answering the phone. I'm just going to relax and pretend that this is normally the way I live my life. And since I have to speak at our Mother-Daughter Luncheon tomorrow, I'll pray that they know what they're doing with my hair. Have a great weekend. I know I will!