Expiration Dates

I just saw a new warning message on my printer.  I've had this printer for years and have never seen this, but it said, "Ink cartridge about to pass expiration date.  Please replace soon."  Seriously!  They've got to be joking!  An almost full cartridge that they want me to throw out because it "might" be too old?!  Do they know what I paid for that sucker?  Of course they do!  They want me to buy more!  I'm sorry, but that gets my ire up.

There are some expiration dates that can't really be ignored.  Food.  Food past the expiration date does creep me out.  And I'd have to add anything I'd give to my kids.  But ink in the printer?!  Really?!

Do you jump through hoops because of expiration dates?  Tell the truth!

New Skillet Love

After several years, my very used up, cheap skillet's last leg gave out.  Spending a lot of money on a skillet is not my preference, nor is having another piece of junk skillet!  So it was time to shop.

I went to my end-all/beat-all store--Target-- and started the search.  I quickly sized up an idea of the price range, size, and features.  Because I'm lazy and not a "cook", I knew I wanted non-stick, dishwasher safe.  I also knew the whole peeling, non-stick surface had left a bad taste (pun intended) in my mouth!  Honestly, I'm not even sure if they make that kind any more.  I don't have cable, so I don't see commercials and I also neglected to do an internet search.  So, not a lot of preconceptions.  I just wanted to make a good purchase and go home!


They don't make it easy on us though, do they?  Shapes, sizes, features, even price range are rather extreme.  Some of us just don't need all that!  T-Fal was one of the predominant brands at Target.  I'd heard the name.  I hadn't heard anything bad, that I could remember.  They had a good size, at an okay price--I wouldn't call it cheap, but I guess considering they last a few years, that's acceptable.

So I bought it.  Funny...I kept thinking about my mom and her one cast iron skillet she had and cooked out of her whole life.  I wish I had that skillet!  I know I bought one when I first left home, but it was NOT the same and didn't last long.  Sigh.

So in the end, I love my T-Fal skillet.  I haven't washed it in the dishwasher yet, but it's doing the cooking job pretty well.  Now, if only I could perform food miracles in it! 

Do you have a favorite skillet?




Disclaimer:  Though I'd love T-Fal to pay me for my opinion, there's no sign of that on the horizon.  This is just my experience. :)

Parole Denied

Anyone who has ever been a victim of a violent crime will tell you that regardless of how much time passes, there is an anxiety and difficulty in processing new information about "it".  First, you are registered with the state and assigned a number.  You are told by form letter of your rights.  You are told that your input matters.  You wait.  A lot.  


As a Christ follower, you think about forgiveness.  You think about fearing the Lord, more than man.  You think about redemption.  You hope that the person on the other side of the bars is repentant.  Then you find out they aren't.  Decades later, multiple parole hearings. 

Even though you wish things were different, you find yourself relieved to get another form letter:  Parole denied.  And yet...

What does life in prison compare to life separated from God?  I'm grateful today that I know a loving God who longs to be in relationship with me.  Me, who deserves death, but for His sacrifice.  My sentence has been commuted. 

Romans 6:23  "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Trimming Home: Painting Furniture Black

My new paint looks fabulous, but the black furniture that I had concerns about, now looks even better!  Who-da thought painting the walls would make everything all sparkly feeling?!  I was so inspired that I grabbed a roller and brush; my handy-dandy-always-keep-it-on-hand high glass black paint and rescued a few stragglers that had yet to be transformed.  There was that horribly marred up end table from my grandfather, and a bookcase from Sam's Club.  Finally transformed.

There are a lot of reasons painting furniture black is a great idea.  The fact you can touch it up with a sharpie being foremost.  It's just super relaxing, in a home with children, to know you can roll on a fresh surface coat every now and then with little effort.  Just like the little black dress, black furniture fits every occasion, style, and budget.  And it always looks good.  Well...there is the dust issue, but we'll just be thankful for swiffer dusters (they're machine washable, you know!) and little girls who like to use them.

I forgot to take the before picture of the table, but take my word for it; it was a mess!

What do you think?  Sweet black high gloss paint!

Two Learning Styles and Bible

We use a few different resources for our Bible study (which you can read about on my Homeschool page), switching back and forth depending on the topic.  Right now we are going through "Wrong Way, Jonah!" Discover 4 Yourself Kids book from Kay Arthur.  I love her books because the Biblical foundations are sound.  Period.

What I haven't enjoyed so much is some of her particular nitty-gritty such as marking words a certain way, or using a lot of fill in the blank.  With my oldest, my son, we struck right at the meat of the matter, passing over the fluff, but now little daughter is on board, with her very individual learning style, and I'm realizing some of that fluffy goodness is just the thing for her!

Now here is where I really saw my own personal growth:  I let boy skip the markings, while girly got busy.  He read the passage to her (because he learns well from reading) and she totally mastered the word breakdown.  I sat back and realized this was one of those ah-ha moments, and tried not to grin like a silly Mama who just snuck a cookie.

Then, as if that wasn't fabo enough, I realized that I, too, write like a fiend in my Bible.  All my sermons notes are crammed in the margins and I MARK STUFF UP!  I don't color code or have a marking key, but I do have a special "won't bleed through the pages or fade" pen!  Maybe I'm more like my daughter, than my son.  Or she's more like me.  You know what I mean!  Ah-ha!

Getting Home Ready for the Holidays

I'm in!  I'm excited to follow Aby's 28 day challenge to get my home (and hopefully myself!) pulled together for the holidays.  With my large family coming for Thanksgiving, every bit will help. 

So what about you?  Are you in?

Un-Halloween

We're just not into Halloween.  Many reasons.  Allergies, beliefs, stuff...  But, we love an excuse to have a special night!  So this year for our Un-Halloween we got us a "can't be beat" frozen pizza, "plop it on the pan" cookie dough, caramel dip and apples, and our favorite Halloweenish movie:  "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", with Don Knotts.  It doesn't get much better than that, unless you consider that we also...

...turned off the lights, whispered when the doorbell rang (only once!), ate  by the light of the TV and then had a serious (is there any other kind?) Super Mario Kart race.  My two loves and me.  Perfect night!