This Week's Menu

I used to think that fish was for fancy people.  That's when I bought my seafood at the fancy store.  Then, I lowered my standards and got real.  Walmart has a ton of seafood that is frozen and we've been pretty pleased.  I bought some white fish there a while ago to make the bacon-wrapped dish below and it was amazing.  I served it to friends, and one them raved about how good the fish was.  Her dad and grandparents were fishermen, and she's pretty uppity about her seafood.  I took that as a good sign that it's ok stuff.  Maybe I should say that I have it on good authority that the fish at Walmart is good.  That's why we're able to have more seafood more often and I love it.  Here's what I'm planning to make this week:

Shrimp tacos, fruit

Roasted white fish wrapped in bacon with lemon mayo and asparagus, rice

Tomato basil pasta with sausage

Cream of broccoli soup, strawberry and goat cheese salad

Burl Tells Me How He Feels

I was talking to an older friend of mine.  Her children are grown, and she's working in a daycare right now.  She was telling me a story that I can't remember, but I remember what she said in the middle of it.  Since I started going to counseling when I was in elementary school, it rang true to me.  She said, "I really don't care about teaching them about colors or shapes.  I think it's more important to teach children to express how they feel."  Right on, sister, right on.  Lately, Burl has busted out with some pretty hilarious statements.  He's telling me about his emotions, and I'm loving it.  Here are the latest stories: 



The most frequent emotion that Burl has is sad, or at least that is the one that he tells me the most often.  I've noticed that he tells me that whenever he's bored, so he might have bored and sad mixed up.  I'm pretty sure that he got that mix-up from me.  I'm constantly mixing up bored and sad.  I'm not too concerned about that one, but I think it's cute whenever he says it.  I'll say this: it always starts a good conversation.



One time after I had to give him a discipline (gosh, I hate that word, but I'm using it for this space), he told me that it hurt his feelings.  That ignited another good conversation about why he gets in trouble for disobeying.  I think I got my point across clearly, or at least I hope so.  He can save the rest for the counselor.  

A few weeks ago, we ordered a new car seat for Fern.  She was upgrading to a face-forward one, and we were all excited about it.  Burl and Fern climbed on John as he adjusted the straps for her little frame.  A few weeks later, I was loading a DVD that I bought for Burl.  It was the Curious George movie.  Both of these things were very exciting to Burl, and they got the same response, "I so proud!"



This might be the deepest one.  I have titled it Introspective at 2.  Burl was looking out the window as we waited at the drive-thru pharmacy for his antibiotic.  Poor Burl had a double ear infection.  I heard him say something and had to have him repeat it to me, because I was sure I did not just hear this from my not-yet-three-year-old.  I did.  He said, "I thinking about my life, Mama.  I thinking about my life."  

My least favorite but probably the most important moment was when he correctly called me out.  We were cleaning toys, and he was dragging it out.  Every toy he picked up to put away got played with.  My patience was running low and I quickly gave up the opportunity to train him.  {Picking up toys seems to be the hardest thing to train.}  As he was taking a load of toys to his room, he was being silly and dropped them across the kitchen floor.  I was frustrated and it showed.  He started picking up/playing with the toys, and he told me, "be nice, Mama, don't be mean."  He nailed me, David and Goliath style, right between the eyes.  That led to a Burl-Mama talk where I got to apologize and tell him that I was wrong.  He spoke clearly about it with me, because he's Burl.  That's how he rolls.  

He can't say the c/k sound, but he can talk about feelings and emotions accurately and it makes me to proud.  I love talking with him, especially when I get to hear about what's going on inside his little world.

Women's Retreat, 2013

I spent the weekend with 57 lovely ladies from my church on a rowdy church retreat in the mountains.  Not only did a bunch of my favorite friends go, I got to meet (and play Nertz with) some new faces.  It was grand.

The fun started on Friday night when I met Patty.  Our ride of just the two of us, turned into five of us; our early departure turned into barely making it up there in time; and our quick stop for dinner at a local cafe turned into being sat at a nice restaurant where we were serenaded by that guy there with the guitar.  According to him, we look like a crowd that enjoys Brown Eyed Girl and Wagon Wheel.  He could not have been more spot on.  When he launched into Rocky Top, I had to pass him a couple bucks and tell him a nice thank you.  Thanks for the stories, dude.  Sometimes it's as much about the journey as it is getting there as it is the destination, and I mean that in the least cheesy way possible.  

It took little to no time for us ladies to relax and have fun.  On the way up there, Kathryn read us an article about some study that talked about the healthiest thing we can do for our bodies or something like that.  It said that over exercise or eating well or anything like that, men need a wife to be healthy and women need to be with women friends.  So much good stuff happens from those things.

Well, I don't need a study to tell me how much I needed this.  I'm all about some girl time.  All ranges of emotions were felt deeply this weekend as we talked, talked, and talked some more. If there is one thing that I love about my church it is that the women serve and nurture one another well.  

Women's Retreat 2013, you did not disappoint.  Good times were had, fo' sho'.

My Favorite Homemade Detergent

First things first, I got a little earthy and made my own laundry detergent today.  Someone teased me about being granola or getting back to the earth or something like that, but I told them that I started wearing more makeup so it balances all out.  That's right.  I've added one more thing to do before I walk out the door, but what I'm really trying to say is: I made my own laundry detergent today.  Stay with me here.

There are certain things that I just don't think we should have to pay for.  Toilet paper, fast internet, haircuts, and detergent are all things that every person deserves as their part for waking up and joining the human race.  Unfortunately, I've not received any of those for free.  I have, however, started making my own detergent.  The last batch that I made was in July.  It cost less than $20, maybe even less than $15 and it's lasted me this long.  Over seven months.  I add Bizz (a bleach for colors) to the white loads, but it still works great.  

I highly recommending going and getting the recipe and saving some money.  Don't forget to pat yourself on the back for feeling like one awesome, earth loving person.