A Matter of Wife and Death

Several weeks ago, I mentioned that I had read A Matter of Wife & Death by Ginger Kolbaba & Christy Scammell. This is the second in the series and to a great extent my response was similiar to the first book in the series, Desperate Pastors' Wives.

The series features four pastor's wives from small town Ohio. The four women get together for lunch at a Cafe several miles out of town. The friends share their own individual challenges as well as their shared challenges. Jennifer is still struggling with her inability to get pregnant. Lisa's teenage daughter is, well, being a teenage girl - an attitude problem. Mimi is overwhelmed with a colicky baby and feeling ignored. And Felicia is trying to figure out how to keep her job and stop her son, Nicholas, from biting.

Early in the book, the wives attend a regional meeting for pastor's wives. While there, Jennifer has an arguement with the "Pastor's Wife Diva" - Kitty Katt. A short time later, Kitty is found dead. Jennifer is suspected of murder. The remainder of the book deals with the consequences of Kitty's death and the difficult decisions each woman must make as well as their own situations.

The book is quite appealing and is revealed in such a way that it certainly kept me engaged. I found it difficult to put down the book and go to sleep each night. I enjoyed revisiting each character, even though I felt they were a bit stereotyped. Yes, we pastor's wives have special challenges to our lives. There are times when it is feels that the whole world is watching and judging you. There are some things which you can only discuss with your husband. And there are special challenges to raising children in this kind of situation. However, every marriage has unique challenges. Every marriage has situations you can only discuss with your husband. And, in my experience, if it feels like the whole world is judging you - it's probably just a few people and is usually mostly perception, not reality.

In particular, I got frustrated with Mimi's story line. Mimi is isolated in dealing with her colicky baby. But, that has never been my experience. When my children were born I had many offers of help and support. In every church I've been in, when a family (pastoral staff or not) has a new baby there are constant offers of meals and help with caring for the new baby. I have found this to be an area where churches are particularly empathetic and supportive. It surprised me that there was no one offering to give Mimi a bit of relief and that there were no suggestions of what might be causing the colic. I kept thinking, "Where is her support system?"

As for the other wives' situations, while I found them to be engaging, I also found myself thinking, "Oh come on. Anybody could figure this out." I knew very quickly what was causing Nicholas to bite. I also found myself frustrated with Felicia for not communicating with her husband better. This didn't ring true for me at all. Most ministerial couples give their marriage the utmost importance, and, therefore, nothing is kept secret. The story line I enjoyed the most was Lisa's. The teenage angst combined with the pressure of watching your father's work struggle at very close range -- this I felt was the most realistic of the bunch. I also really enjoyed how Lisa handled that situation -- wise parenting.

Overall, despite the flaws, a good read. I enjoyed my visit with the PWs and look forward to the next book in the series.

Thankful for Help

There are many things for which I am thankful. But, today I'm going to keep it simple.

Today, I am especially thankful for my husband. He has been an amazing support during the last several, very difficult months. And last night, even though he really didn't want to, he did it again.

I had this huge stack of coupons to sort and organize. This stack accumulated over several months. When my father went into the hospital last Fall and I had to be with him, I simply did not have time to clip, sort, & organize coupons. There were other things that were more important - like clean clothes and spending at least a little time with my children. So, I saved my coupon inserts, thinking - Dad will be out of the hospital soon I'll have time to do this then. One week turned into 2, and then 3 weeks, and then 4 and then we realized he wasn't going to come home. He was going to die. And we dealt with all that goes with it, and then it was Christmas and then it was time to put away the Christmas stuff. Then there was all the catch up to do. You get the idea - there was a lot to do!

So, by the end of January, when my brain began to function again, I had 3 inches of coupons collected. Ugh. What an overwhelming task. And because it was overwhelming I kept procrastinating. Finally, about a week ago I managed to get them clipped. But, then there was the task of organizing them. Through all of January and February, every time I went to the grocery store I felt guilty about those coupons. How much money could I be saving us, if I just had my coupons clipped?

So last night, when he had a little unexpected extra time, I asked for help. I asked for 30 minutes. I sorted clipped coupons, while he culled expired coupons from my box. Then we began to put them in order and put them away and before we knew it it was well past 30 minutes. But he hadn't complained or insisted that we stop. The task took more than an hour of our time, but he never complained. He just kept on helping.

And for that, I am extremely grateful. There are a few more from this week to do, but I can handle that on my own. Now that I've gotten started, I'm more motivated to keep it going.

Thank you Lord, for a husband who is willing to help, even when he doesn't really want to.

For more gratitude, be sure to visit Thankful Thursday at Grace Alone.

Great Blogger Resource for Newbies

I cannot tell you how happy I am to discover this great blogging resource for Blogger. I have been wanting to convert to 3 columns for a long time. I wanted to do it with my old blog, but never could find enough time and the right information to get it accomplished.

Oh, but thanks to The Blogger Guide I have finally managed to convert. It was wonderful.

I am pretty new to this blogging thing and know nothing about HTML, except that it holds the code to making this whole blog thing work. I needed a resource that would help me convert without incurring any costs. I'm not making money on this blog, though I have hopes of doing that one day. So, I didn't want to have to pay a web designer.

Enter TheBloggerGuide. I found this page with fairly easy step-by-step instructions on how to change the code. I carefully followed his instructions, clicking back and forth many times to be sure I was following it exactly - I knew one wrong keystroke would mess up the whole thing. When I got to the bottom of the page, I saved my template, moved my widgets around and ta-dah! It worked.

I am so happy. And, so very grateful to TheBloggerGuide for his very clear help in accomplishing this task.

If you're new to Blogger and need a bit of help changing to a 3-column template, this is definitely the place to go.


This website definitely worked for me!

Please note: Works For Me Wednesday is now hosted at WeAreTHATFamily.

What's on Your Nightstand - February

Is it really the end of February already? How can that be? I just posted about what I was reading in January a week ago. Hmm. I don't think I got a month's worth of stuff done. I've gotta do better next month.

Well, last month I posted about my current struggle to find fiction reading that interested me. Well, thanks to the commentors from 5MinutesforBooks I received some great recommendations. Thanks especially to Amber & Nise' for recommending Debbie Macomber. I'm currently reading The Shop on Blossom Street and really enjoying it.

So, on to the current list. Here's what I'm reading:

Finished in January:

• The Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie
• A Matter of Wife & Death by Ginger Kolbaba & Christy Scamell
  (My review here.)
  

On my nightstand right now are:

• The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
• Reader's Digest - March
• The Mysteriuos Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
• The Lumby Lines by Gail Fraser
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (ahem, still untouched from last month)
• Building Faith at Home by Mark A HolmenOpen Heart, Open Home By Karen Mains
• Amazaing Grace by Eric Metaxas

Sitting beside my rocker in the living room are:

• my Bible
• The Daily Message by Eugene H. Peterson
• Experiencing God Day by Day by Henry & Richard Blackaby
• Leading Your Kids to Christ
  

And, I've been reading these books to or with my children:

• 100 Bible Stories; 100 Bible Songs created by Stephen Elkins
• Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor
• Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy by Jane O'Connor (my daughter has fallen in love with these books)
  
• Leonardo the Terrrible Monster by Mo Willems
• Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
• The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems
• The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! by Mo Willems (can you tell we like Mo Willems?)
• Scooby Doo! in Jungle Jeopardyby Jesse McCann
• Magenta's Visit by Alice Wilder and Michael T. Smith
• Blue's Big Pajama Party by Adam Peltzman
• The Best Mouse Cookie by Laura Numeroff
• Spider-man 3: Spider-man's New Suit Adapted by N.T. Raymond
• Quest for the Tower by Michael Anthony Steele (a LEGO book)
  
• Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley
  

So, that's what I'm reading. In true UnfinishedMom fashion - most of the adult books have been started, but are unfinished at this point. What are you reading these days? What are you reading to your kids?

For more of what others have on their nightstand go here.

Potato Storage

Storing potatoes has always been a bit of a challenge for me.

I've known for a long time that they should not be stored in the refrigerator. My mom, from whom I learned most of what I know about cooking, always stored them in the basement. always assumed it was because there wasn't much space in her kitchen. A few years ago I read somewhere that I shouldn't store onions and potatoes in the same place, either. Hmm - this one confused me. If I'm not supposed to store them together why do I see those nice wooden bins at kitchen stores that have a spot for onions and a spot for potatoes too??

Then, some time ago, someone told me that you should also put a ripe apple in the bin with the potatoes. I can't for the life of me remember why you're supposed to do that. Anyway, this week I happened to get my weekly "Notes from the Test Kitchen" email. I love this weekly email.

One of the things I love about The Test Kitchen is they are scientific about their recipes and the tips they give. They test and refine recipes a zillion times before publishing them, and their tips are always well tested as well. Last week I learned about mushroom storage. This week I learned about potato storage.

I've always wondered if those old tips I'd heard on storing potatoes were accurate or not. So, I was particularly interested in this article. They stored a bag of potatoes in various conditions - dark, cool, light, warm, with and without an apple. As it turns out, YES, potatoes last longest in a cool (less than 60 degrees), dry place. Now I just need to find a place in the basement for mine. My kitchen is too warm, even in the winter, for potatoes. Where do your potatoes live?

For more great kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.

And for more tips on being a tightwad visit Tightwad Tuesday.

Mushroom Storage

I recently came across a really good sale on mushrooms. And in my excitement over the deal - I, um, bought a few too many. Like 5 packages of mushrooms - that's a lot of mushrooms! When I got home I realized, "Oh my goodness! I've got to find a use for these now!" So, what to do with all those mushrooms? And equally important -- how to keep them decent for the longest amount of time possible?

Here's how I used them:
1 pkg used for steak subs
2 pkgs to make cream of mushroom soup from this recipe.
1 pkg sauteed and used in chicken casserole
1 pkg sauteed and served with steak for Valentine's Day dinner

In the meantime, I also discovered from America's Test Kitchen that the best way to store them is in the refrigerator in their original packaging. Don't take them out of their package until you're ready to use them. They stay fresh much longer this way.

For more great kitchen tips visit Tammy's Recipes.

Seeking Him

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God

and His righteousness

And all these things will be added unto you.

Allelu, Alleluia.

Still praying for God to make me into a woman who seeks him first.

Cornstarch with No Mess!

I have a new favorite product!

I have been making this stir-fry recipe for more than 12 years. And for more than 12 years, every time I made it I had a mess on my kitchen counter. Every time I measured out the cornstarch it made a mess all over the counter. I tried several different brands with a varitey of packaging - it didn't matter. I still had a mess. The closer I got to using up a box or container of cornstarch, the bigger the mess. There just didn't seem to be any way to get a spoon of any type into the container and back out with the cornstarch without ending up with cornstarch everywhere. Very frustrating.

But no more. I have discovered the wonders of the new Argo Cornstarch container. I was nearing the end of one container, so about a month ago I bought a new container when it was on sale and I had a coupon. I finally opened it this week and have used it several times already.

Let me just say -- "I love this new container!" I managed to make my family's favorite stir-fry without having cornstarch all over the counters and floor. It's wonderful. If cornstarch is on your grocery list. I strongly recommend this.

And no, I didn't receive compensation of any kind for my use or admiration. I'm just very happy to now have a cornstarch container that doesn't leave me with another job to do.

Check out more Things I Love over at the Diaper Diaries.

Laundry Day

I hate winter laundry.

What is it about doing laundry in the winter that I hate so much? There is so much of it! With all the long sleeve shirts, long pants, long underwear, long pajamas, sweatshirts, sweatpants, sweaters, and socks and more socks -- there's a whole lot of laundry to do in the winter. I know I spend twice the amount of time on laundry in the winter that I do in summer.

And I know I'm not alone in my winter laundry hatred. There must be enough of us out there to form a club. And the thing is - I don't have a big family. There are only 4 of us. How does a family with 6 teenagers ever get ahead of the laundry in winter? I should be more grateful that I don't have that amount of laundry to do, but I'm just not. I hate winter laundry.

I was singing "the laundry blues" recently, when I happened across the following email while doing some cleaning at my Dad's. This little story, reminded me of my own grandmother, who was born in 1904 and surely experienced the winter laundry blues often.

Years ago an Alabama grandmother gave the new bride the following recipe for washing clothes. It appears just as it was written, and despite the spelling, has a bit of philosophy. This is an exact copy as written and found in an old scrap book (with spelling errors and all).

1. Bild fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water.

2. Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert.

3. Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boilin water.

4. Sort things, make 3 piles.
1 pile white,
1 pile colored,
1 pile work britches and rags.

5. To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boilin water.

6. Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and then bile. Rub colored don't bile, just wrinch and starch.

7. Take things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then wrinch, and starch.

8. Hang old rags on fence.

9. Spread tea towels on grass.

10. Pore wrinch water in flower bed.

11. Scrub porch with hot soapy water.

12. Turn tubs upside down.

13. Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs. Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.

Kind of puts it all in perspective doesn't it? Reading this definitely put a smile on my face. My favorite part is #13 - rock a spell and count your blessings. The next time I do laundry and I'm finally finished at the end of the day I think I"ll do exactly that. I'm still trying to figure out what "...scrub hard, and then bile. Rub colored don't bile" means...

Hmmm. Winter laundry? Somehow it doesn't seem so bad now. That electric washer and dryer sitting in my basement are definitely working for me. There's a suggestion at the bottom of the page: Paste this over your washer and dryer and next time when you think things are bleak, read it again and give thanks for your blessings.

An Electric Washer and Dryer - definitely works for me.

Whole Wheat Banana Chip Muffins

These are my daughter's absolute favorite muffins. I make them about once every 2-3 weeks and freeze them for her.

Whole Wheat Banana Chip Muffins

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 1 C white flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ C white sugar
• ¼ C canola oil
• ¾ C skim milk
• 1 egg
• 2 bananas, mashed (approx 1 C)
  
• ¾ C chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Combine flours, baking powder, salt in large bowl.
2. In small bowl, mix together, sugar, milk, egg, oil, banana.
3. Set oven for 375°; grease muffin pan.
4. Mix together dry and wet ingredients.
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full (about ¼ cup)
   
7. Place pan in oven; raise temperature to 400°. (Here's why)
   
8. Bake 20 minutes.
9. Turn out of pan almost immediately; do not cool upside down (they squash)

Notes:
Makes 12 muffins.
I've done these with a few minor variations all with good success. Sometimes I've added or substituted ¼ cup brown sugar with the white sugar; sometimes I add ½ cup applesauce; I find if I leave out the oil and just use applesauce they come out too dense. These make good tall muffins.

For more great Kitchen Tips go to Tammy's Recipes.