So is This Mad Hostess Any Better??????

The answer to the question, "Is this Mad Hostess any Better?".....

Yes, I think.

I mean I am still a work in progress.

I love having company and it doesn't terrify me anymore. I don't freak out when people knock on the door any more. I am getting a little better at the cooking thing, although I could use some new recipes!

I know a lot of my "getting better" is because of God and to my family. God because He has answered my prayers over and over again, to please forgive me for being a knucklehead, perfectionist and selfish introvert. Also, God has blessed me with a new found joy in having my house full of people. I really have learned to like it and hope to have many, many, many years of laughter and joy fill my family's home.

Then my family has encouraged me and really pitched in. My girls are getting a little older now, so it isn't so hard to work around them and they love to help. Most of all, they've fallen in love with having folks over. That I believe is one of the greatest gifts of all. Don't you think kids should remember a home full of friends and laughter. Silly games and serious discussions? What about when church folks come and they hear prayers to God beign lifted up...and later how they hear they are answered. This is one benefit of having folks over I would have never imagined...the blessing it has been to my kids.

I still struggle, don't get me wrong...I am who I am. But with God's help...maybe one day this blog will be tittled "The Joyful Hostess". :)

How to take care of a Wood Floor

New house, new wood floors to take care of... so I posted on my Facebook status, how do you take care of your wood floors?

Here are some of the things suggested to me:

Swiffer
Bona
Bruce's Hardwood Floor Cleaner and Dustmop

Tried the swiffer wet, but my husband doesn't like the scent. Swiffer dry works miracles in corners. For some reason hair collects there. My 5 year old is a swiffer working machine!

Bona--I haven't tried yet. Highly recommended to me by our Texas cousins and I trust their judgement. But haven't been able to afford it just yet and I just saw someone returning one to Bed, Bath and Beyond...so little nervous.

Bruce's Hardwood Floor Cleaner and Dustmop- $19.99 for the starter kit at Home Depot. $8.00 for a spray bottle refill. Had it for almost 8 weeks, cleaning the floor two times a week and it is just now needing to be refilled. (SPECIAL NOTE: I do not clean floors this much normally, BUT we have seeded our lawn in from just dirt and it has been a little dusty at our house)

This stuff WORKS.

It is a little more time consuming b/c you have to hold the spray bottle and mop at the same time and can do a 4x4 space. I think the slower process helps me to do a better job. Insert 5 year old...5 year old is great at mopping floors too! :) This stuff really works! I give it a two thumbs up for works well. Mixed reviews on the easy to use part.

New Beginnings...

2010 has been full of blessingsand full of moments of anxiety too! That's part of the reason that I haven't been blogging as much.

We put our house on the market and if you know about doing this work, you know it is hard work. I remember having to apologize to my family and to God several times for my bad behaviour. If you are a perfectionist it is this very kind of thing that can make you crazy. At some point you have to realize that you are on someone else's time table (a buyer) and ultimately God's timetable for you. Our house sold in 8 days, but it came at a time when my husband, Ty, and I couldn't have been busier with his job(s), our family and the committments we have to our community.

After we got our house repaired, packed up, sold and signed a short apartment lease, we realized that the home we were hoping to build had run into some delays. Although we loved the house and really enjoyed the building team that we were going to work with, we realized that this wasn't going to work for us. We spent several weeks feeling pretty unsettled.

So what did we do when we felt really unsettled? I probably behaved badly again and was a complete stress case, but I did manage to pray and ask God for direction. Wouldn't you know it, within two weeks we had money down on another house, being built by great builders and it is a better layout for us than the first house. (The first house is still great though!) Like I said, God's timetable. His better for us, is often better than we can often hope for or imagine for ourselves.

Now our family is stepping out and doing something that we have been hoping to do and praying about for several years. We love Jesus and we hope to start a church (from scratch!) in our community. Exciting days and new beginnings...

This is for you Angie! :)

Well, I've been thinking about writing on this little ole blog for a few weeks now..but with the prodding of a friend, I decided it was time to write it again.

So, in honor of this friend...I thought I would repost my .....

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

One of our favorite meals to share with others when they need a meal for a new baby, illness in their family, just because they need a night off or they are missing a loved one that has died.

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 1/2 cans cream of celery soup (low sodium is fine)
1 can of mixed veggies
1 box pillsbury pie crust
dash of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix together chicken, soup, veggies. Place bottom of pie dish. Pour ingredients in pie crust, adding a little salt and pepper to taste. Place top of pie crust on top, be sure to cut a small vent in the pie crust pastry. I like to make design a flower or initial or something.

Love to serve this with fresh fruit.

It is very easy to make two of these at one time, make one for your family and take one to another family or freeze it.

Getting a house ready to sell.

No one is ever ready to sell their house. As far as I can tell, making improvements on your home, especially to sell, is a never ending process. In some cases it is because we haven't kept up with maintaining things as we been homeowners, but it is also because you have to convince someone to buy the place you live in. Which means, clean walls, clean carpets, decluttering and depersonalizing. Honestly, for this perfectionist, I may have met a the task that has taught me more about myself that I care to know.

First of all, I can't stop messing with perfecting things. It's ridiculous. I get up early, I got to bed late...I do and redo. While the perks of having a neat and tidy home are nice, our house doesn't feel lived in. Which makes me sort of sad.

I've spent a great deal of time talking with folks that have sold their homes and this is the conclusion I've come to:

We can prep and plan and perfect all we want, but ultimately, the right buyer is going to walk in and take the house regardless of all our perfecting. For me this is really what I would call "a God thing". He just knows what we need.

I have had to spend a lot of time apologizing to God just lately for my bad form and perfecting nonsense. This is ultimately about Him and what he wants for our family. And we have to believe that what He wants for us, is better for us. than we can imagine.

These are delicious.

Kraft Oreo Truffles

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/kf/recipes/easy-oreo-truffles-95085.aspx?cm_mmc=eml-_-rbe-_-bst_rcps_2009-_-NA&pf=true


I haven't made them myself yet. But they are delicious. Try them out!

Paula Deen's Italian Chicken and Vegetable Soup

My friend, Kathryn, recommend this soup to me. Here is the thing, my husband absolutely loves soup. It makes his heart sing. So the smell of this soup simmering on the stove made for a very happy husband! Anyway, it tasted as good as it smelled and was delicious with a loaf of bread from the local grocery store bakery. We had snow this weekend, so it was perfect for dinner last night and leftovers for lunch today.

Thanks Kathryn for a great recipe!

Paula Dean's Italian Chicken and Vegetable Soup
from Foodnetwork.comIngredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup sliced carrots (about 3 small)
2 1/2 cups sliced zucchini (about 2 medium)
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
2 (14.5-ounce) cans chicken broth
Grated Parmesan, optional
Directions
In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add onion and carrot, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Top each serving with grated Parmesan, if desired.

January Card Swap!

Our card group has grown to over 20 ladies. Here are the results of our latest card swap. Please forgive my photography, it was late when I took the pictures.

I love all the cards. It shows all of our different personalities.

Yummy Ham and Potato Soup

When I saw it had over 3,000 reviews and 5 stars, I figured it was really worth a try!

Follow the link below....

It was yummy!

Enjoy


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Delicious-Ham-and-Potato-Soup/Detail.aspx