Bathroom Before and After

I owe y'all some after pictures of our bathroom!  We finished it almost a month ago, and I am sure you are all dying to find out how it looks.  I will skip the details of putting in the recessed lighting, repairing the walls, and painting and cut right to the chase.

Interview by: Bubby, Rachel, and Hannah

I was helping in the toddler room at church this morning.  It was my first time in that room (usually I am with the babies) and I'll be honest-- I was a little nervous.  I've heard things about the toddler room... and from the toddler room.  Thumping...screaming...crying.  It's a scary place.  The Lord looked kindly on me this week and sent a blizzard last night, so toddler attendance was down.  Apparently staffing in the preschool room was too, because we had a couple of older kids in there.

Toilet Installation

I am going to skip a step-by-step post of how we installed our new toilet (a month ago) because if you just follow the instructions in the box, its pretty straightforward.  We had no major glitches, so I will just leave you with this pictorial representation of the switch.

Snowballs

I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for it to snow.  I know that there will be PLENTY of snow this winter.  There always is.  But...I always get excited about the first snow.

Interview With: Linda

Name: Linda

Aliases: Mom, Grammy, Nurse Linda

Occupation: Retired, part-time nurse at juvenile detention

Interview with: Kaden

Name: Kaden
Age: 4
Occupation: Big Brother/ Assistant Farmer

Pictures of Pictures: Christmas Gift Idea

Last weekend we made the trek to my folks' house to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family.   A good time was had by all:  walking the Turkey Trot, eating lots of yummy food, chopping down a Christmas tree, making chex mix, and (of course) the 5th Annual Holiday Table Tennis Tournament.  Congratulations, Tim, on your 3rd championship!

Sisters, sisters...

There were never such devoted sisters

Interview with: Tweetums

Name: Amanda
Nicknames: Mandy, Manna-Toes, Tweetums, Mandark, Mandacious, Bonecrusher
Age:22
Occupation: Actuary

Interview with: Sister

Name: Kelly
Nicknames: Kelly Michelle, Sister
Age: twenty-something (no... really!)
Occupation: Staff engineer

Searching

God has really blessed our church with lots of young families... and, consequently, young children.  And they just keep coming!   We have at least 4 expectant mothers in our church body right now.  There are more children than we know what to do with... almost literally.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

3/4 onion, chopped

3 T butter

6 c water

6 chicken bullion cubes

2 c frozen broccoli

8 oz package small noodles

1 tsp salt

1 lb Velveeta

6 c milk

Saute onions in butter.  Add water and bullion and bring to a boil.  Add frozen broccoli.  Cook until almost tender. Add noodles and salt, cook 3 minutes.  Add milk and cheese.  Heat on medium-low.

Bathroom Update

It's been a busy week for me with stuff at church and trying to take advantage of the remaining warm weather to do some things outside.  Now its cold and wet and we are working hard on the bathroom.

Light and Momentary Troubles

"Therefore, we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

The Mum is in the Ground...

I just wanted to bring peace to all of you flower loving gardeners out there that are concerned about my treatment of my Chrysanthemum gift.

It now has a safe new home IN THE GROUND where it will be much more immune to my black thumb.  I am much less likely to kill it now.

Now if I can just seem to remember to water my houseplants...

I Need Some Air...

Caution:  The following post/novel is very long and technical.  Unless you are really interested in DIY home improvement, I am going to save you a couple years of your life and recommend that you do not take the time to read it... unless you enjoy my color commentary of life... there is plenty of that in there.

Guess That Mileage!

This is the game where I show you some pictures, and you guess the mileage of our cars!

First contestant:

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

I just wanted to share with you all what has been on my mind lately.  For my immediately family and close friends, it will be no surprise that I can't stop thinking about the holidays.

Whenever the temperature dips below 60 degrees I start craving soup and pumpkin and want to crawl under a blanket and think about Christmas.

Warm Spiced Fruit

This recipe is so simple and so comforting. I tell myself that its healthy, too, because it has fruit in it.  It's great for brunches (think: Christmas!), and even as "sick food"-- it is yummy and feels good to eat when you have a cold.  I definitely would file this recipe as "something different."

Pumpkin

Today I'm thankful  for...

pumpkin!

Second Chances

I would like to take a moment to flashback to my post on September 19th.

This post made reference to some blogging tips by Pioneer Woman.  Allow me to quote her second tip:

Apple Pizza

APPLE PIZZA
Cover a pizza pan with a pie crust.
Slice apples and arrange around pizza pan in one layer.
Sprinkle with:
1/2 c sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
Combine until crumbly:
3/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c butter
Put on top of sugared apples.  Bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes.  Sprinkle with pecans and drizzle with caramel sauce, if desired.  Cut, eat, and enjoy!

Molasses Cookies

Pumpkin Dip

I haven't been blogging much lately, because I have been baking a lot and "helping" Tim with some home improvement projects.

Since the weather had turned a little cooler, I started craving comfort food like a crazy lady.  Comfort to me usually involves butter and sugar.  I made caramel apple sticky buns, chocolate chip cookie sweet rolls, a huge pan of pumpkin bars (with cream cheese frosting, of course), and an apple pizza.  In a half-hearted effort to protect my waistline, most of this food has been sent to work with Tim-- after I do quite a bit of sampling.

The Year of the Monkey...

... is over.  (Warning: the following images are graphic and may be disturbing to young children...and monkeys).

9(nine)

I washed 9(nine) pairs of blue jeans yesterday.

Blog and IE8

Some of you may have noticed some issues with this blog if you're using Internet Explorer 8.  It seems that there are a lot of widespread issues with IE8 and sites in general, and I have no idea if there is even a way to fix it.  I already have the template set to force to Compatibility Mode, and that doesn't work.  I'll keep working on it, but you might want to look into downloading a browser such as Firefox or Chrome.  I prefer Chrome because of its speed and process handling, but that's just my 2 cents.  Hopefully I can dig around a little more and fix some template issues, otherwise you IE8 users will see a black header picture!

In the meantime, bear with me if you load the blog and things look a little messy.

-Tim

UPDATE:  I changed the template, and it does load cleaner in IE8 now.  However, it still looks a little different and doesn't look quite as good as Chrome.  I think that's as good as it's getting.

Road Trip

Spur of the moment probably means something different to others than what it means to me.

What a Guy

You may notice that my blog is looking a little bit different.  I figured it was time for a fresh look.

I wanted a collage of pictures for the top, so Tim took it upon himself to make one for me.  Is that a quality guy or what?

one of those days

Do you ever have those days where nothing really goes terribly wrong, and no one really says anything terribly mean, and you maybe even started out the day thinking "It should be a good day today..." but then you somehow wind up crabby and anti-social and wanting to be anywhere but work?

Yeah, me neither.

The Results: A Weight-Loss Update

I just wanted to give you all the "official" results of my 30 day weight loss project.

I lost an inch in my waist.

Sausage Tortellini Soup

I think I owe y'all one more healthy recipe, so here it is.  It isn't super healthy, but it isn't super unhealthy either.  Its the best I've got!  I really don't have a lot of healthy recipes, so it has been a struggle to share good ones.

10 Random Things

10 Random Things You May Or May Not Know About Me

They Just Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To

We bought a matress and box springs for this full size bed frame from the 70's.

Old School

After a thought I had two days ago, and I question my mom asked me yesterday, when I came home from work yesterday, Tim and I immediately began digging through our college textbooks, which were among other boxes of memories.

Zephaniah 3:17

The LORD your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with his love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.

Blogging

My favorite blogger, Pioneer Woman, recently wrote this post.  I found it inspiring and insightful, and it encouraged me to blog more, because the more I do it, the easier it will become, and the more natural it will be and it will better reflect me.  And then I didn't blog for two weeks :)

"for special"

I remember growing up my mom would sometimes buy special foods or snacks because she got a good deal on it.  We would beg her to be able to eat these foods, but she would tell us we should save it for "something special"  such as company or a day off of school or a vacation.

Lettuce Broccoli Salad

LETTUCE BROCCOLI SALAD

Ouch: A Weight-Loss Update

I know that many of you were probably waiting for me to tell you how my weigh-in went last week, but I didn't want to tell you.

I gained weight.  3 pounds to be exact.  The same 3 pounds I lost the week before.  Boo.

Ice, Ice Baby: A Weight Loss Update

Well kids, here we are, almost halfway in to the 30-day Shred.  Its day 14, and I am still sticking with it.  There were two days were I did not do the Shred due to time constraints, but I made those workouts up by doing 2 on other days.  I don't have a scale at home, so I have to wait until I get to work tomorrow to weigh in for the official halfway measurement.  I can tell you that I weighed in last Wednesday (day 9) and I was down 3 pounds, so right on track.  I honestly have been trying to eat healthier, which is working out.  Tim worked late pretty much every day last week, so my meals weren't at very regular (or healthy) times.  That's ok... we're pressing on.  The Jynxer still needs her exercise, and she is not willing to do the video with me, so I go on walks with her about every other day, which is good additional exercise.

In addition to sharing healthy...er recipes, I wanted to share with you two of my weight-loss secrets.

Weight-Loss Friend: Ice Water

When my in-laws were visiting a while back, Tim and his dad hooked the water up to our fridge, so now we get cold water and ice from the door of the fridge!  We have not had an ice maker since we got married, so I feel like we are rich people now, living a life of luxury.   I can have a nice, cold glass of water pretty much whenever I want.  And I want it a lot.  The Mickey Mouse glass is also important.  It holds more water than our regular glasses, and I am very lazy.  When I am sitting on the couch blogging or reading my book, assuming I get up the same number of times to refill my glass, I drink more water with the pink cup, because I drink more in between refills.  It quenches my thirst, fills my tummy, and helps ward off attacks of the munchies that I am so prone to.  I have heard that drinking water also increases your metabolism.  Burning calories while sitting on the couch?  I am all over that.

Weight-Loss Foe: Ice Cream

We have this thing with ice cream at our house-- we just love it.   We used to have some in the freezer all the time.  This was mostly for Tim-- he eats it for snacks, dessert... and breakfast.  And then I started joining in on the snacking.  Then earlier this summer Tim suggested that we not have it constantly... I think he was concerned about gaining weight.  We went for maybe a month or two without having it in the freezer, and then we caved last Sunday.  Tim was coming down with a cold, and he is convinced that when he feels sick, eating ice cream makes him get better.  I know it sounds crazy, but it seems to work, mental thing or not.  So I got some ice cream.  Last night we were discussing how GOOD it feels to have ice cream in the house again.  I kind of never want to be without ice cream again.  And actually, Tim GAINED WEIGHT when we stopped buying ice cream.  Like anything, it is important to enjoy it in moderation, and that is what I have been doing.

So, that's where I am with the weight loss project.  I guess the moment of truth will be tomorrow when I weigh in.  But until then....I think I want some ice cream.

Garden Produce

I have been feeling pretty down about my garden, because I feel like it hasn't produced very much, and I haven't used what it produced very wisely.  But it has really produced a lot, and we have been able to use a lot of it as well.  And a lot of the stuff I didn't use was because it was rotten, which isn't exactly my fault-- it was all that rain!  So, to give you a garden update, here is a small sample of what has come from the garden.

Spinach Tortellini Soup

I just love this recipe because its EASY, its CHEAP, its FAST, and its HEALTHY.  Oh yeah, and its really, really, GOOD!  Does it get any better than that?

Spinach Salad

In the spirit of healthy recipes, and because I planted some spinach in my garden yesterday, I give you...

Tomato Dog

Correct me if I am wrong, but it was my understanding that dogs don't normally go for tomatoes.  Maybe some  spaghetti sauce if it has meat in it, but straight-up raw tomatoes-- most dogs I've met wouldn't give um the time of day.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

You know how you have those friends that are really good friends, and they seemingly have always been you friends, but you don't know how you started being friends?  Its not like you went to school or church with them, and they aren't your neighbors... God just mysteriously plunked them into your life, and they have been there ever since?  Its like God just gave you a random kiss seemingly out of nowhere... those kinds of friends are wonderful.

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

Allow me to introduce you to one of the tastiest ways to eat a vegetable.

I will admit, I was dubious when Laura gave me this recipe and said it was a great way to use up those monster zucchinis.  But Laura is a great cook, so I took the recipe--and the hint to stop leaving giant vegetables on her desk and in her car-- and tried it.

30 days

Because I just want to get rid of that last pesky 10 (ok, 15) pounds.

Because my "weight loss journey" has been going on for about 2 years and its taken me that long to loose 15 pounds.

Bbbbbbbbbbbbbrownies!

This is not the recipe of the week, but my in-laws are visiting and my sister-in-law and I decided we needed to make some nice, warm brownies since it was a rainy day.

We tried to do it P-dub style...

I Heart Lands End

It was far, it was hot, and it was intense, but it was SO WORTH IT!

Fresh Peach Pie

This one is really good, really easy, and really versatile.  I got it from my mom.

T-Shirts

I saw this great idea for t-shirts on Ashley Ann's blog, and I couldn't wait to try it.  I decided to make shirts for my sibs to give to them when we all exchanged birthday gifts at Christmas in July (confusing, I know).

Pearce Family Christmas in July

I decided to try to tell this story through pictures. Keep in mind I am not very good at taking pictures and I am even worse at remembering to take pictures. Here goes nothing:

Mad Tea Party

A couple of weeks ago, Katie and I were offered 8 mismatched placesettings for a Mad Tea Party, and we just couldn't wait to use them.  So we threw a party!
Since it is the middle of summer, we focused on iced tea instead of hot tea (although hot tea was available).  And since neither of us know when to stop and are the daughters of women with the gift of hospitality and hostessing, we went all out.  And we were very tired.  But it was very fun.  But we were very tired.  We should have taken the help that was offered (lesson learned).

Lemon Pasta

Recently I have fallen in love with The Pioneer Woman's blog, especially the Cooking section.  I stumbled across this recipe in the "Cowgirl Food" category.  It seemed strange enough that I figured I just might like it (I am working on trying new flavor combinations--I tend to stick with the same old kinds of stuffs because I know they're good).

Creamy Chicken Sandwiches

This recipe is another so-good-yet-so-simple recipe, and it is an easy way to feed a crowd.  It is very flexible, and amounts are approximate.  We can thank my mom for this one (and my mother-in-law for the mac n' cheese).

Fareway

I just wanted to take a moment and send some love to Fareway-- the grocery store.

Macaroni & Cheese

As I read and follow other blogs, I often feel inadequate.  How is everyone else's life so picture-perfect and cute?  How do they find the time to do all of that crafting, decorating, and cooking while taking awesome pictures of the whole process and then find the time to blog about it?!  Satan has somehow snuck the idea into my mind that in addition to having a clean, perfectly and stylishly decorated home, cooking fabulous (yet nutritionally balanced) meals, as well as doing my best to look attractive myself, being wifish also requires me to be an excellent blogger as well.  I am fighting this lie, and God continues to remind me that He wants me to be me, not someone else.

Family, Baseball, and Garage Shelves

Although we haven't been galavanting all over the country for 7 weddings in a summer this year, we have been keeping pretty busy.

My New Favorite

As we continue the egg saga we move on to my favorite egg dish yet: homemade pudding.  I don't recall ever having pudding from scratch before, although I had heard it was pretty good.  I always buy it in a box and mix it up with milk, and thought that was quite tasty, so I could hardly imagine that "from scratch" was such an improvement that it was worth the extra time, effort, and patience.

The Zucchini That Ate Manhattan

Excerpt from Grow Great Grub by Gayla Trail:

"Once or twice per season, a zucchini is lost in the tangle of leaves or just plain forgotten and I get stuck with the squash that ate Manhattan..."

Souffle

Since I have so many eggs on hand, I figured I would try to make a souffle.  I whipped out the good ol' Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (some may know it better as "the Betty Crocker Cookbook... not to be confused with the actual Betty Crocker Cookbook) and found a simple recipe.

Everyone has one...

... that friend that intentionally ruins every picture.  They pretend they will smile and be good while you frame the shot, then as soon as you snap the picture they cross thier eyes, stick thier tongue out, give someone bunny ears, or turn the other direction.  Aggggh!

Adventures With Eggs

Two weeks ago Fairway had eggs on sale for $.49 a dozen (limit 2).   We didn't particularly need eggs, but who can pass up a deal like that? Eggs keep for awhile anyway...I bought two dozen.

Then last week HyVee was having an AWESOME $1 sale on lots of things: cheese, Little Debbie Snacks, Ribs, bread...and eggs.  $1.00 for two dozen.  Again, who can pass up a deal like that?  Eggs are a cheap source of protein anyway...I bought two dozen.

"Hey Part-Timer!"

My job requires that I do a lot of traveling to our campuses that are spread around the state, so I am out of my office quite a bit.  Because of this, I often am chided for being a "part-timer."

Lost & Found

I was just doing my weekly ritual of sitting down to prepare the Sunday school lesson at 10:30 on Saturday night (not recommended), and I had a lot of ideas floating around, praying that the Lord would show me what to teach tomorrow.  As usual, the Lord was faithful to answer my prayers and the Holy Spirit pointed me to the parable of the Parable of the Lost Son.

The Results Are In

Well, kids, the roses have bloomed and the colors have been revealed.  And the winners are...

Meanwhile, back on the East Coast

Two weeks ago Tim and I took a trip out to Baltimore to see his brother graduate from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University.

Lettuce Entertain You

Recently Tim and I were gone for 7 days on a (sort of) vacation.  While we were gone there was lots of rain and it was really hot.  Apparently, rain + hot + Iowa soil + 7 days of not checking on my garden's progress = lots of plants growing a lot!!  Even my potatoes (which I was starting to give up on)!! And weeds!!

Plants & Transplants

God has blessed me with many wonderful co-workers that bless me with many wonderful plants.

Char gave me a beautiful pot of Gerbera daisies for my birthday, dug up some of her hostas so I could have some greenery in my fully shaded lawn, and even picked up some beautiful caladiums to match my daisies!  What a gal!

Garden Update

I was thinking that about this time I would be able to post an update on my garden, explaining how fast everything is growing and post a nice picture of lush, green plants.  Unfortunately, here is my garden update:

muchness

My friend Katie wanted to see Alice and Wonderland so she, Tim, and I took advantage of free popcorn night and went to check it out.

Garden Starts

I haven't been blogging lately because the weather has been so nice and warm, that I have been hard at work on my garden.  There isn't much growing in the ground yet, but here are some other pictures about what's going on.

A Good Gardener

I just read this article on a blog that I follow.  It was very good, and it is easily applied to many of our roles and endeavors in life.  I might even use parts of it for our Sunday School lesson about perseverance tomorrow.

Story Problem

Tim and Steph decide to have pizza for dinner on Friday night.  They cut the pizza into 8 slices.  Tim eats two slices and Stephanie eats two slices.  They then decide to go downstairs and watch a movie while the rest of the pizza cools before they put the leftovers in the fridge.

so much for that bath...

Believe it or not, this dog was clean 48 hours ago...

Vandalism

We found the following destruction in our yard the other day:

My Garden Inspiration

A couple of weeks ago You Grow Girl, a blog that I follow, had a contest to win Gayla Trail's new book  Grow Great Grub.  I did not find it necessary to enter the contest, since my wonderful husband got it for me for Valentine's day, but I thought the contest still sounded like fun.

Purim

So today was Purim...the Jewish holiday celebrating the book of Esther.  Kari--the children's ministry director-- "threw the idea out there" that maybe the 5 & 6th grade Sunday school class that Janice and I teach would like to learn about Purim and celebrate it.  Oh!  And wouldn't it be such a shame if we went to all the work to have a Purim party for our 9 kids and all of the younger classes missed out?!

Stephen, First of the Martyrs

This morning Pastor Bob preached an excellent sermon (as usual) and it was very convicting to me.  He has been doing a series on Acts, and this week he was in Acts 7, which is Stephen's Speech to the Sanhedrin and The Stoning of Stephen.  While I have read this passage before, I somehow have missed some pretty big things.  Part of the reason this sermon was so convicting is that is it about me.  Using context clues, it is pretty easy to see that Stephanie is the feminine form of Stephen, so it was about my namesake... or am I his namesake?  I'm not sure how that works, but in any case, it was challenging to me to think about whether or not I live up to my name.

Never Apologize...

I know that this is not a very Christian idea, but as someone who is trying to be a godly woman, it is a new concept I am trying to live by.

Newsletter

In my effort to not stress out about things and overwhelm myself this past Christmas season, some things didn't get done on time... this newsletter is one of them :)