Lazy Girl's Cooking

I hate to cook. Cooking, to me, is a chore. It has to be done, but it isn't something that I enjoy. Tonight, however, my daughter said that she wanted to help. I have to give her credit, she is a big help when it comes to the kitchen! We added a little music courtesy of my Pandora app (Summer Oldies station) and we had a nice little time!

Here is what we made:



It was delish!

Here's how we did it (remember I am not a cook...this is the lazy girl's guide to a good dinner!):
Ingredients:
Turkey bacon (1 slice per piece of chicken)
Chicken breast
Salt
Pepper
TexJoy's Mesquite shake


We got chicken breast, not tenders, so we cut them to smaller tender-sized halves and sprinkled with a little salt and pepper, and some mesquite shake. The wrap turkey bacon (because it's better for you!) around each piece of chicken. Next heat a splash of olive oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken until it is browned on both sides. EASY!

We served with some rice-a-roni and tomatoes.

My girl had a blast wrapping the bacon around the chicken and felt like she was really cooking!

The Gift of Time

Today I was given the most precious gift anyone can receive. Time. Time is the one resource that no one can control. We cannot rewind it, pause it, or even speed it up at our will. As parents, we really appreciate and understand how short childhood is. We, or at least I do, realize how valuable time is with our children.

My daughter and I have been praying every morning and every night that she would get to stay home with me in the summer. Since she was three years old, she has been made to spend the summers with her dad. She goes for six-weeks, which is a long time for a little girl (and for a momma!). It is a major source of stress for both of us, and many tears are shed over it. Most kids long for school to be out, mine dreads it.

Today we learned that she will be home with me all summer. We literally cried we were so thankful and happy. Together we said a prayer of thanksgiving and talked about how thankful we were. Then planned out all the fun things that we could do together. I am going to really have to remind my daughter that we need to continue to thank God that she is home.

As for me, I am consumed with a feeling of inadequacy. I desperately want to show Jesus how thankful I am; I want to repay him for this gift for which I have begged. Then I kick myself, because obviously Jesus gave me (and you) an even more precious gift when He died on the cross for our sins. I guess these little (big to me...) miracles remind us of the major miracle and serve to renew us and refocus us on His will.

I am scrambling in my mind to find a way to properly thank Jesus. I know that it cannot be done. We can never repay Him for all the unconditional love we receive. I do know that He wants a personal relationship with us and for us to live for Him. In place of praying for my girl to stay home for the summer, I will now pray for open eyes, ears, and heart in order to understand what I can do to live for Him. I will continue to pray this with my daughter, also, because it is important that she sees this as an answered prayer.

Time on earth is so short compared to the time we will spend in Heaven. I fully recognize that Jesus has heard our prayer. I hope that I will remain focused on doing His will. We are all touched by God working in our lives. I pray that you can recognize where He is working in yours.

Farewell, Spring Break!

As a teacher, I enjoy the breaks that most people leave behind when they grow from student to adult. Thanksgiving is sometimes an entire week, Christmas and New Years allows me two weeks, and we know how much teachers enjoy their summers! The second semester, however, is a long, epic, tiring battle complete with cramming for testing, mock testing, and actual state testing (Texas Education, anyone?) I think Spring Break is sweeter for its timing during the part of year when we are all (students, teachers, parents, administrators, etc.) burned out. Yes, Spring Break is our oasis in the desert that is the second semester.

My Spring Break has been refreshing and fun. While we did not plan a getaway vacation, we did make many day trips and had a memorable time. Lucky for us, Texas living means that we are enjoying 80 degree weather! Each day we enjoyed some time by the pool. Getting back to school will be hard. But it's all downhill from here!

To Hire or Not to Hire...

I am pretty proud of the fact that at the young age of 23 I purchased my first home. I love homeownership, but am now understanding my friends who chose apartment living. My yard needs mowing, flower beds need weeding, and there are oak leaves everywhere! It's pretty much always like that. It is just such a daunting task. And one that I really don't enjoy. I've paid someone to mow the yard and even pull weeds, but as a single girl, I can't afford to do that often! My neighbors all have regular yard boys, husbands, or both! I try to keep up, but I just can't!

As a teacher, I get a lovely week off every March in the form of Spring Break. I always try to talk it up in my head that I will conquer the flower beds and this year I even planned what I would plant if I got them all cleaned out! Needless to say, we are well into spring break and I haven't done much. It's hard to pull weeds when there is a perfectly good pool to sit beside and read! This afternoon (after getting home from the pool) I did pull a few weeds and scooped two bags full of leaves. My back is killing me! MAYBE by Saturday I'll have it all cleaned up and out and ready for planting. If I was a bettin' girl, I'd bet against me.

How do other single girls get it done? Maybe I should rethink my budget and move a little money out of my clothing allowance and into a paycheck for a yard boy? Maybe not. I wouldn't want my flower beds looking better than me! Right?