Scrambled eggs with leftover taco-seasoned ground beef, topped with melted sharp cheddar.
..because moms have to eat, too :)
Simple Lunch: Scrambled Eggs with Taco Beef & Cheddar
Fridge Snapshot : Prolonging the Life of Poultry
An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry. – George Eliot
This is my current fridge interior. Yes, that bag says “Chicken Guts” and, yes, there are two whole chickens being brined in that enormous metal bowl.
After roasting these brined chickens tomorrow, their remains will join up with “Chicken Guts” and be boiled into gallons of lovely homemade broth.
Meanwhile in Washington…
Bwak! Bwak!
Work: Evaluating Our Hearts
As part of the children’s school, we’ve been reading through CMI’S Christian Character Curriculm Vol. 2. This is from the lesson on Virtue:
“How would living (working) to please God differ from what we commonly call ‘good works’?
The former follows our submission to God, while the latter, all to often, are done to find acceptance with God.”
Eh… I don’t quite agree with the implication that “good works” is negative — it is a phrase positively used in scripture. I do, however, appreciate the opportunity to evaluate the motivation of my own heart. I’ve rewritten this quote to help apply it to me:
“Am I doing this work because I love God, or because I’m trying to get Him to love me?”
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. – Ephesians 2:4-10
Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. – Colossians 3:23-24
Undefeated: Seven Strategies for 7Wonders
7 Wonders is my new favorite game to play during our Family Time. After three games, I am still undefeated. Booooooooooyah!!!!
I’m a noob, but these strategies seem to be working:
1. In the first Age, focus on resources. Get as many free resources as possible as early as possible, especially ones my neighbors do not have (then they have to buy from me to purchase structures). Also, I buy resources needed to facilitate the building my Wonder.
2. Build Wonders early, if it is beneficial to so. While it may sound glorious to build a Wonder, sometimes the benefits from doing so are more easily obtained in acquiring the right cards.
3. Opt for cards that support other future cards. For example, I choose the “Baths” card over “Pawnshop”. During the first Age, these foundational cards are often free.
4. Don’t spend resources on military unless my neighbor’s military is going to drastically make me lose points. No matter how many military cards I have, I can only get 5 points for a win against my losing neighbor per round. If a neighbor only has one military card, my having six military cards will give me the same number of victory points as if I would have two military cards.
5. Choose Scientific Structures wisely to rack up points. Because points are scored twice and based on sets, opt for a card that will add to a set or a match. If a Scientific card is not attached to a set, it’s only worth one measly victory point.
6. Pay attention to the cards in hand. I often forget to look my cards carefully to make sure I don’t have duplicates (which are illegal.) My eyes tend to get big over the victory point value, and I fail to see I already have that card in my pile. I then end up having to “burn” the card for coins, only slightly better than forfeiting my turn. Also, don’t forget to look at Commercial Structures before purchasing new resources. Some Commercial cards are only used once, where others give resources throughout the game. To prevent these victory-point-costing-mistakes….
7. Keep cards neat! Just long division, sloppy columns lead to mistakes. It is important to see all of the information on the cards, so arrange them in columns accordingly. Also, by keeping the cards around me neat, I don’t accidentally lose my cards to my excited, grabby kids. When we play at our house, we put our chosen cards above our city cards to signify we are ready for the next phase of the round. One person, chosen at the beginning of the game, always flips their chosen card first. Each flip is settled one at a time. Coins are placed in hands during purchases, not thrown on boards. When cards are sloppy or people go out of turn, valuable cards get shuffled to the next player or end up in the burn pile… not that the other players mind!
What are your 7Wonders strategies?
Christmas in July: Used Books from Amazon
Crying Over Spilled Oatmeal
Leah spilled her oatmeal as she carried her bowl from the dining room to the kitchen.
I heard the splat.
I sighed and grabbed a wet wash cloth.
“Hey, Mom! Look! It landed in the shape of a heart!” she said.
She took the washcloth out of my hand and cleaned it up by herself.
I hugged her and swallowed hard as my contacts started to blur. What if I had yelled at her when I heard the oatmeal fall? I might have missed out on this moment, and she may have been afraid to spill and make mistakes in the future — the opposite of what I want for her.
Yesterday, Aiden, who earlier in the day had adamantly insisted that his parents don’t love him, got a monster thorn in his foot. He limped home, crying.
I tweezed it out of his very dirty foot, and then washed and dried his feet.
He climbed into my lap (he doesn’t really fit anymore.. it was more like being sat upon, but I didn’t mind at all) and put his arms around my neck and said, “Thanks, Mom. I DO know you love me.” His words had really hurt me, and they were apparently still on his conscience. What if he hadn’t stepped on the thorn? Would he have had a chance to make things right? What if I had yelled at him and refused to help because of his negligence for not wearing shoes outside?
In my childbirth class last night, the last one of the 12 week series, there was discussion over how disgusting it will be to change diapers. “Yeah, but you’re not just changing diapers, you are showing your kids you love them,” I said. “You are showing them you’re there for them even when they stink the most.” I hope my students remember this at 3am when they are down to their last diaper in the pack and are washing crib sheets.
If we just go through motions without love, overly-sugared spilled oatmeal, up-the-back poopy diapers, and why-aren’t-you-wearing-shoes-while-you-play-outside?!?! foot thorns can be pretty annoying.
Be thankful for and make the most of every opportunity, and humble yourself enough to allow the spills, stink and stickers get to your heart.
I need to be reminded of this, too.