Skateboard Party Theme

     We are having the party at a bowling alley, but the theme for the invitations and cake are skateboarding. Here is how I made both.

Invitations Materials: Poster board, notebook paper, duct tape, scissors, pencil, marker, pen.

Step 1)  Make your pattern
     Find an image online that you like. If your a talented artist you can just draw your own. To copy the image without a printer, hold the paper up to your monitor. Tape in place, and trace. Cover the back side of your drawing with duct tape to reinforce it, and cut out.

Step 2) Trace pattern onto poster board for as many invitations as you need. Cut each one out in a square 1st to made the detail cutting easier. Practice the wording on your pattern so you are sure to have enough room and good spacing.

Step3) Decorate and fill in each invitation.

     It took me about an hour start to finish to make 6 invitations. Once you have the 1st one finished the rest go quickly. Total cost $0.50 for the poster board. I already had all the other materials on hand. I could have made 24 invitations out of the one sheet of poster board. Since I didn't need that many I can use the left over for other projects making the cost of the invitations pretty much just my time.




Cake Ingredients: 2 cake mixes (plus ingredients needed as directed on box), 2 tubs of icing, food coloring, card board, wax paper, box tape, foil shreds, trucks-axles-wheel combo off a skateboard.

Make cake according to package directions. Cook in one 11x9 and one round cake pan. (I mixed the cakes together and split between the 2 pans. I should have made 2 rounds, as the cakes overflowed the pans, but hey, whatever)  Freeze the cakes after they are cooled to make cutting and icing easier. Cut the round cake in half and place at the ends of the 11x9. I used trimmed pieces of the cake to give the edges a "lift" like a real skateboard.

To make the base I had trimmed a piece of cardboard to be bigger than the cake. Then I laid strips of box tape sticky side up across the board and secured them in place with duct tape (you could use more box tape, I just wanted the look of the duct tape).

 Then I spread the foil shreds around, pressed them into place, and trimmed the extra long pieces.

 For the actual cake "platter", after I placed the cut cakes together, I traced around them on another piece of cardboard. (There was wax paper under the cake, don't put the cake straight on the box that's just gross.)
Then I wrapped the cut out board in wax paper and taped it in place.

 Place the cake onto your "platter" and decorate as you choose. I used multiple icing colors. To keep the icing from mixing together, I chilled the cake in the freezer between colors. Once it is completely decorated, place the wheel assembly onto your base and the cake onto the wheels. (This part is a little tricky and requires 2 people or good timing, patience, and balance. Once the wheels are in the correct location the cake will sit sturdy, it's just a matter of getting them in the right spot.

Destruction is the costly outcome of neglected maintenance.

      “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

     Matthew 7:24-27   New International Version


     I want to put a spin on this that I'm not sure if I've ever heard a preacher do before. So often it seems this is used to focus in on the house on the rock. I want to focus on the house on the sand. In my minds eye I can see these 2 houses sitting side by side in a beach front residential area. Identical houses. They were built the same, by the same builders. Then they were bought and moved into by different families. As happens often, storm after storm comes through this beach front community. Every time, each house stands, "undamaged". Until one day a hurricane comes through. One house stands and one falls. Why? They are right  next to each other, they are identical, they have both survived storm after storm. The reason is, the family in the standing house did maintenance to their house after every storm. Checking for water damage and cracks in the foundation, repairing leaks and filling cracks. When they saw signs that a big storm was coming they took precaution and boarded up the house, sandbagged and reinforced their foundation. Whereas the family in the house that fell, took it for granted that the house had survived every other storm, so this one should be no different.
    The house that fell did not fall in one day or in one storm. Erosion ate away at the foundation, making the weight of the house crush in on itself. At any point in time, that family could have called in an expert to repair the foundation, and restore the house to it's original state. They could have done the research and done the work themselves. They could have asked a friend to help them out. Instead they chose to do nothing. Its the lack of maintenance that caused the house to fall. They probably saw their neighbors maintaining their house, and preparing for the storms. They probably laughed at them. I can see them saying; "Why are you wasting your money?" "Why are you wasting your time?"  When you take the stability of your home, or your health or your faith for granted, you are guaranteed to be overwhelmed by the consequences.
      Just because you have knowledge that you can confess your sin and you will be forgiven does not give you license to commit the sin. Would you knowingly damage the foundation to your home just because you can pick up the phone and call a repair man? What is the cost? In a Money based society we all think about the cost of maintaining a vehicle or a home to get better gas mileage and better utility bills. We need to put just as much thought into maintaining our relationship with God. Strengthening our spiritual foundation.
      When you find yourself off the path, and realize your in quicksand and your foundation is eroding away, you have 3 options.
1) Sit still, accept where you are, and slowly sink.
2) Freak out. Whether that means partying it up with the best of them, or defiantly trying to get out on your own. Either way you cause yourself to sink faster.
3) Admit you stepped off the path. Call out to God and to godly friends and family. Grab hold of the rope they throw you, and let them pull you out.
     What do you chose to do? Are you willing to make the commitment to to maintain your foundation? Do you know your foundation is in danger? Are you ready to repair it? Take that 1st step. Reach out for help and grab hold of the hand that reaches back.

Chicken Vegetable Pasta

    "Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content."
                       1st Timothy 6:6-8 New King James



      The following amounts will serve 8-10. I split my finished sauce in half and froze half for another meal. You could also cut the amounts in half to make a smaller batch. The whole process took me about an hour and a half. However, it was my 1st time to make it and after the fact, I saw how it could have been done in just about 45 min.

                                           Ingredients

      1/2 an onion                  5 Roma tomatoes           Salt
      2 zucchini's                   2 Tbsp minced garlic      Pepper
      1/2 an 8oz tub of  fresh sliced mushrooms           Italian seasoning
      1 lb chicken (ground, cubed, or shredded)          4 Tbsp sour cream
      4 Tbsp butter                 4 Tbsp Flour                 2 cups milk

         The 1st step is to prep your vegetables. Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Get out a  baking sheet and a loaf pan. Slice the onion into strips or chunks, based on your preference. (I used small strips so the kids wouldn't get a 'big bite' of onion.) Spread across baking sheet. Peel the zucchini, and slice into approx 1/4in thick circles. Add to baking sheet, then top with the mushrooms. Drizzle 3 Tbsp of the olive oil over vegetables, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to your preference, then toss or stir to coat. (Don't toss unless you are using a deep sided pan. This seems self explanatory, but I can see someone tossing their food across the kitchen, and getting mad at me!)  Next slice your tomatoes into chunks. The original recipe said to quarter them, but I cut each quarter into 3 smaller chunks.  Put tomatoes into loaf pan and add 2Tbsp minced garlic and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle with pepper and Italian seasoning, and stir to mix. Place in oven and cook 15 minutes uncovered, stir and cook an additional 15 minutes uncovered. The finished product is pictured below, and could easily be eaten by itself. (I sampled it, and it was so good I almost quit making the rest so I could just each the veggies)

 Step 2 is where I lost some time. I had figured it would only take about 15 minutes to cook the meat, sauce and noodles. Wrong! Although the actual cooking time isn't that long you gotta wait for the pan to heat and the water to boil and blah blah blah. So as soon as you get the veggies in the oven get your noodle water on to boil, and your chicken on to cook. (I used ground chicken because that's what I had on hand, however grilled cubed chicken breast would have made this even better)
   Step 3 is your white sauce. Pretty simple to make. Melt 4 Tbsp butter in sauce pan (I chose a pan that would be large enough to hold all the sauce ingredients at the end) Stir in 4 Tbsp flour, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. I added it all at once and used a fork to mix it with. Next add in 2 cups milk. (The original recipe said add it all at once, but I recommend slowly adding it in while whisking, because I had to spend extra time getting the lumps out. I've made white sauce before and thought you were supposed to add the milk a little at a time. I should have gone with my gut on that one.)  Stir frequently to avoid sticking to the bottom while the sauce is thickening. After the sauce is thick add in 4 Tbsp sour cream and whisk together.
   At this point your noodles should already be on to boil, and your chicken should be just about done.

 Step 4 is add it all together. Start by adding in your tomato mixture and whisking it together. It will be a little clumpy, but the whisk helps mix it better than a spoon. Next stir in your chicken. In the case of ground chicken, I used the whisk again, to make sure it was evenly mixed.

 

 Lastly, add in your veggie mixture. Stir gently, just enough to mix it all together but not tear apart the zucchini.

 Fill each bowl with noodles and top with your sauce. Yummy!

 

The work of my hands.

      "And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!"    Psalm 90:17 New Living Translation

    I paid bills and ran errands today. While out running errands I decided to get Alana her new bunny, since Atwoods had some very cute ones that won't get to big. The only problem was, Connor's guinea pig "JayJay" was in the rabbit cage. We had planned to keep JayJay  in a tote, since that's what he had been kept in at the school (where we got him from). The problem came when I got him home, in his previous tote, and realized he could jump out. Which he did about 2 seconds after the tote hit the floor. The one we had planned to move him to was bigger across the bottom but shorter. We were about to leave on Christmas vacation and I didn't want a rodent having free run of my house while I was gone. So, since Alana was rabbit-less at the time, (She had to give her rabbit back to the people we got it from, because I didn't know it was a Flemish Giant when I got it, and it got HUGE) we decided that would be the best place for JayJay. Now I had to remedy JayJay's home situation. I am to cheap to go buy an actual cage, because a good one costs about $40. So, I bought some screening material for $4, and modified the tote we had planned to use.

 I used a box knife to cut out the center section of the lid. Then I stretched the screen under the lid and up around the sides, and duct taped it in place. I went under the lid so JayJay couldn't climb atop something in the cage and chew on the cut section of the lid.

 Then I used the box knife to cut a square big enough for the water bottle spout to fit in. The two holes for the wire clip were the easiest part because all I had to do was spin the knife in circles until the holes were big enough. I should have done that for the spout also, but it was an after thought.

 The lid still clips in place, as shown by the green on the edges, so JayJay is guaranteed not to knock it off.

Now he is safely contained and still able to breathe. We had tried just setting the lid slanted when he 1st arrived. However, when I moved the lid to check on him after just an hour, the smell was enough to choke me. I was surprised he could survive it! So after all that I made the kids clean the rabbit cage and took Alana to choose her new bunny.

This is "Caramel". Not sure if its a boy or girl, but it will only get about double that size. So it should be quite content in its cage.

     After getting back from the store, I started on dinner. I don't cook very often, and when I do it's almost never from scratch. Tonight I was feeling brave, or creative, I'm not sure. I had an Idea in mind what I wanted and started looking up recipes online. Nothing was 'just right', so I took part of 2 different recipes, and part of my own imagination and made a chicken vegetable pasta in cream sauce. It turned out Amazing! Well I thought so anyway. Connor, my normally picky child, took 2 bites and said "This is good!". Alana was not so impressed, she decided to go eat with the neighbors, since she is staying the night there. James is not home from work yet, so I don't know what he will think of it.

If its a hit with anyone besides myself, I will post the recipe. I took pictures as I was making it, and made notes to how I was making it. It seems any time I make something GOOD, I can never re-make it. Its normally just throwing things together to taste as its cooking. So my plan from now on is to make notes. If its no good, they can go in the trash. If it is good, I can make it again.

New year, New goals

     "I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. My friends, I don't feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Jesus Christ has done." Philippians 3:12-14, Contemporary English Version.
     This is a verse I refer to often, it seems to be perfectly suited to my 1st blog post, and for new goals. I don't generally make New Year resolutions, because I don't feel anyone is more likely to complete a task or goal, based on the time of the year they start at it. The biggest factor is if you have a true desire to complete the task. I have come up with a few goals for this year, and it has taken a few weeks to even be certain I wanted to call them goals. It's really making the decision that the rogue thought in your mind may actually stand a chance at being achieved if you just get down to business. So here are my goals.

     1) Read my bible more. I'm not going to be specific as to every day or so many chapters a month, because that is only setting myself up to fail and get discouraged.
     2) Start blogging regularly. This is mainly to help me see where I've been and where I want to go. I want to blog about happy things I want to remember, triumphs I have made over struggles in my life, and the insights I intend to receive from my increased bible reading.
     3) Get my lazy rear exercising. Whether that means going for walks alone, or taking the kids hiking, or working out in front of the T.V.  I need to get my body in motion. I'm not getting younger, unfortunately no one has discovered how to make that happen yet. So it's time to face the inevitable, you don't magically stay fit and energetic. You have to work at it.  (on a side note, why does everything in adult life require work? I really dislike that word)
    4) Get organized.  I say this every year. I think I may get a little closer each year, however like in the scripture, I have not yet obtained my goal. I need to pick 1 project at a time and complete it. Really, for my sanity, it is extremely important. Clutter makes me anxious and being anxious makes me hateful and snappy to those around me. Which brings me to the next goal.
    5) Be nicer! Not "yeah sure you can come live with us" and run up our bills, and take advantage of us nicer. Sorry if I burst anyone's bubble on that. Nicer, as in being more aware of the things that seem to come out of my mouth without being asked, or told. If you know me than I don't need to explain further. Actively pursuing goal number 1 should benefit this goal.
   6) Stop drinking. This is not really a new goal, but a continuation of a goal already in progress. Aside from wine tasting in Branson, it's been about 2 or 3 months since I've had any alcohol. That is not to say my goal is, I will never again consume any alcoholic drink. I have however, come to realize, I seem to have a slight problem with moderation. Well, maybe more than slight, but that's not really the point. The point is, for me less is better. So never would be best.

     So far those are completely obtainable goals. Things I have complete control over whether they can done or not. I also have the list of  "If it's God's timing" goals. I could say, if its God's will, but that always leads to debate. I know these are things that would be in-line with his will, but that doesn't mean this is the time for them to happen.
   1) Buy a house. I am ready to be settled. Our current house fits us well (except we need another bathroom), but I am ready to get organized in a house I don't have to worry about packing up and moving from. Plus I would like to be able to do minor "remodeling" type things, like painting walls, building fences, planting trees, and the like.
    2) Have a job where I am home when the kids are home and work when they are in school.  This is the biggie. I am thankful to have a job in the 1st place, but I don't see this current job getting me the hours that would allow me to be home with the kids. It's hard to keep up with home-work, chores, and extracurricular activities when you work during that time. I know I'm not not the only one who deals with it, but I believe God has put it on my heart I need to be home in the evenings. (Part of that is for my own motivational factor, because if I don't have to be up with the kids, or up to go to work, I sleep, sleep, sleep and sleep some more.)
  3) Go to school. I have been thinking about this for several months. Yesterday I was encouraged by someone to go to school if only one class at a time. She thought I may be good at what she does. Last night I had a strange dream, about something completely unrelated to that, but when I got to thinking about the meaning of the dream, it fit perfectly into me doing what she does. I may tell about that in another blog but it's to long to add in here.

So, as for now, that is my list of goals. I may come and edited it, to add more as they come to mind or seem appropriate. I'm not sure anyone else really cares about my goals. I do believe blogging will help me be accountable to myself though, and that's the most important part.