Yesterday I renewed my love for thrift stores once again. Several local thrift stores do a half-off sale on government holidays… Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, MLK and President’s Day. It’s a wonderful thing! Some things that you can get great deals on that you might not think of…
Pyrex bowls, shower curtain, tablecloths, decorative pillows, punch bowls, kids books….
My unexpected find yesterday was a replacement for my broken medium-sized Pyrex nesting bowl. I got it for $1.50. yahoo!
I just read this helpful article to keeping your produce fresh.
Gretchen introduced me to AllRecipes and I use it all the time for just about everything. A few bonuses about this site:
- The recipes have been rated 1-5 stars. I usually scroll down to find the ones with high ratings.
-There is an ingredient search. So, if you have cream of mushroom soup, frozen peas, and chicken, you can find recipes that use those ingredients.
-Once you find a recipe you like, you can read the reviews of the recipe. The reviews usually mention good substitutions or hints for making that specific dish. You can find the reviews under the star rating when looking at the recipe.
I learned from my mother-in-law that you can disinfect a dishrag in the microwave. Dampen the rag and microwave for 2 minutes on high. I do this with my rags when they get stinky, before placing them in the laundry.
In a world of Super Targets where you no longer need to know the butcher, baker, and candlestick maker, it is easy to live an isolated life (I still love Super Target). I think that with many broken families and no enduring esteem for deep family relationship, there are many lonely people in America.
Take Melaina, who is 9 and 3/4 :). She had met me one time before she showed up at my door today during naptime. Melaina is in a single parent and pretty low-income home from what I have gathered. Previously, she had come with our former neighbor, Princess, who was in a similar home situation. I had been kind to Princess, and so when she was in the neighborhood 6 months ago she showed up at my door with Melaina. This time, Melaina came alone. I invited her in, asked her name again, and took her to the kitchen for a snack. We chatted about random things. She shared that she told her mom she wanted to come to this particular community center so she could visit me. Wow. I was really shocked.
On the other hand, I was really excited! I love that this little girl felt that my home was a welcoming enough place that she requested to visit it again half a year later. She didn’t stay long, but said she’ll come back, and I think that’s probably true.
All this to say… even when your floors are torn up and all you want is a break, let people come in and feed them whatever you have on hand. I am learning that seemingly insignificant things make a difference. And, don’t be discouraged if you sent the last Melaina who came to your door home. I actually was thinking, ” I will tell her the kids are napping and to come back another time.” And, sometimes, you really do have to set good boundaries and send people home. However, for me today, it was an excuse. I’m glad I didn’t say it.
We have this Farmer’s Market off of Lyndale in downtown Minneapolis. The website said they were open daily from 6-1, so I went last Wednesday and yesterday. Apparently, almost everyone only sets up stands on the weekends. However, there is ONE guy who sets up in the middle of the week. He has fabulous deals on produce. Yesterday I bought the following items for $11.50: Grapes, 9 HUGE Asian pears, 4 bulbs of garlic, 5 vine tomatoes, 1 eggplant, a bunch of bananas, 5 limes. I think that was all from yesterday. Last week, for $13, I got 9 different types of fruits and veggies.
You can save a lot on fresh produce at random vegetable and fruit stands. You have to use things faster than from the grocery store. However, with a little planning, not much goes to waste. Also, I like to support local suppliers (even if they do have to get their stuff from far away this time of year in Minnesota).
If you do not know about Farmer’s market etiquette, I will tell you a little. (The first time I went, I didn’t really know what to do). All you do is walk up to the table and browse around to pick the particular carton of produce you want and then hand it to the seller. Then, they bag it for you and either hand it to you or set it on the table if you are looking at other things. I just wandered back and forth, picking things occasionally, in between telling Ruth not to run off with Byron in the stroller. The seller added it all up for me and then I paid him at the end.
Oh, and take cash. Some of the flower stands took Visa, but I think that is not common.
Okay, for Gretchen’s sake, I wanted to let everyone know that I made her choose the name Chef Girly Moon.
I thought she should do “chef” and then something else since she is the expert chef of the blog. She mentioned that one of her daughters was talking about being GirlyMoon or something. So, I told her we should combine the two. There you have it.
Yes. I posted this on a Wednesday…. and it didn’t even occur to me that it wasn’t a Friday until today. oh dear.
We are planning to feature a recipe we like each Friday. Today, in honor of warmer weather in Minnesota, I am choosing a great pasta salad Gretchen found on AllRecipes.com and tweaked a little.
Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 16 oz package bow tie pasta
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 red pepper, diced
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sesame seeds stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and set aside. Boil pasta according to directions. Rinse until cool and transfer to bowl. Combine oils and seasonings in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Shake until mixed well. Pour dressing over pasta and vegetables. Toss to coat evenly.
Top 5 Things I Couldn’t Live Without Under $5
Top 5 Favorite Movies
Top 5 Baby Names You Love But Won’t Use (or maybe will)
Top 5 Songs I Could Listen To Over and Over Again
Top 5 People Who Have Influenced Your Life in a Positive Way (to be a WHAM)
Top 5 Things That Stay in Your Purse at All Times If I had a purse…. I use a backpack for a diaper bag and a purse
Top 5 Moments That Changed Your Life Forever
Top 5 Obsessions You Have Right Now
5 Places You Would Like to Go
5 People I would like to see their Top 5
Top 5 things I couldn’t live without under $5
1. Burt’s Bees chapstick
2. Smoothies
3. Green tea frappucino
4. Dark chocolate covered graham crackers
5. classic books from Barnes and Noble
Top 5 Favorite Movies
1. Napoleon Dynamite
2.
Top 5 Baby Names You love but won’t use
1. Marcus
2. Vann
3. Greta
4. Oliver
5. Adelaide
Top 5 Songs I could listen to over and over
1. Anything by Anberlin (Ready Fuels, Paper Thin Hymn)
2. Take Away by Mainstay
3. Anything by U2 (Mysterious ways, Sweetest Thing, etc.)
4. Stop and Stare OneRepublic
5. Here I am to Worship
Top 5 People Who have influenced your life in a positive way (to be a WHAM)
1. Lukas Naugle
2. Becky Johnson
3. Chris Kopp
4. My four girls
5. Marian Fisher
Top 5 things in my purse at all times
1. Checkbook
2. Chapstick
3. Credit Card
4. pen
5. license
Top 5 moments that changed my life forever
1. God’s glorious saving of me from my sin
2. Going to Whitworth
3. Marrying Lukas
4. Having 4 girlys
5. Moving to Minneapolis
Top 5 Obsessions right now
1. itunes
2. running
3. shepherding my kids
4. learning what the Bible has to say about comparing
5. learning about the slave trade that is still around
5 Places you would like to go
1. The Beach (any beach but one with a clear blue color and a great surf would be wonderful… also one with cold beverages would be great)
2. Italy
3. Spain
4. Peru
5. Argentina
5 people i would like to see their top 5
1. Lukas
2. Christa
3.
