A Coffee Saga

I woke up this morning and proceeded to make myself a yummy latte. Or, at least that was the plan. I went through the normal routine of filling up my moka pot with water and the necessary amount of freshly ground beans. Assembled the unit and placed it on the stove. I then poured the milk into my great little milk frother. I frothed the milk and put it into the microwave to heat it up. Got my favorite latte mug ready for the yummy goodness that was being made with such care and love. Pulled out my Toffee Nut Creamer put just a touch of that on the bottom of the cup. Then I patiently waited for the coffee to brew. However, it was not brewing as it should. By this time, the pot should be finished and ready to pour but when I peaked into the top of the pot, it was not even close. The coffee was not coming up the little spout. It was just sputtering pitifully. So… I guess I overfilled the little cup that holds the coffee grounds. I did not think it was too full but I was so very wrong. A few minutes later, I was extremely determined to save my little latte that I add some more Toffee Nut to my latte cup and poured the pitifully sad amount of coffee that actually sputtered through the spout into the top of the moka pot into the cup of creamer. I added the frothy milk and then took an anticipatory sip. Hoping, wishing, optimistic that the precious coffee I just brewed even though it was equivalent of sludge (yes that is a technical term) would taste at least semi delectable. Like maybe one of the lattes you get from the vending machine at a gas station. No such luck. Sadly, it was bitter and frankly disgusting. I was ready to cry. I wasted precious coffee and did not get to enjoy my morning cup of delightful bliss that I was so eagerly anticipating. My wonderful hubby saw my sadness and offered to go get me a latte. Yeah! So, I got my yummy delightful cup of bliss, Pumpkin Spice to be precise. And with that, my day got a little better.

Starbucks has some very yummy Latte flavors here are my absolute favorite : Gingerbread, Pumpkin Spice, and Cinnamon Dolce.

Quiet Times

One of the most important essentials of mommyhood is time with the Lord in the Bible. Seriously, I am very sure one cannot be a successful parent without Christ. And with that being said, spending time with Him is crucial. I feel like I never have the time to spend time with God but I try to make sure I do anyway every day, even if it is only for a few minutes. I know that those precious few minutes are going to be the best few minutes of my day. Without that time, I really am no good to my kids. I can have no patience at all and will be distracted without keeping myself focused on the Lord. Usually that time does not get to happen until the end of the day but I take it. Just reading a little bit can bring me back into alignment and will guide me in finding the answers I need with whatever I am dealing with.

God’s Word is amazing. It is living and transforming, it is written and spoken, it is history and present and future all wrapped up into one. It applies to life as much today as it did when it was written. I need God’s Word in order to be transformed. If I am not transformed and renewed in my mind and sprit, no matter how much physical rest I get I will not be capable of being the best mommy for my munchkins.

So with that, I challenge you as much as I challenge myself - if you are not already. I challenge you to read just read a Proverb or a Psalm. Alternatively, pick a book of the Bible and just read 10 verses or 15 verses or whatever. Begin reading with a simple prayer that God would speak to you through whatever you are reading. Then read. Try to remember what you read throughout the day or the next day so that you can find ways to apply whatever you read to your life. That is how the Word is active and living in us. If we do not apply God’s Word to our life, it is just words on a page.

Romans 12:2

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Isaiah 40:31

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Psalm 63:1

“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;”

My Crockpot - My Personal Chef

I love my crockpot! If you do not have a crock pot - you must get one. I use mine at least once a week on most weeks. It is my personal chef. It slaves away all day for about 8 to 10 hours cooking for my family and friends. All I have to do is "tell" it what I want for dinner. I can throw practically anything into it and get a yummy dinner.

Today, while it cooked our dinner; I cleaned up the house a bit, did a load of laundry, schooled the kids, checked emails, played with the kids, took the kids to the park for PE, and then hung out with friends that came over for dinner. I know I did more today but now I cannot remember. When our friends came over for dinner, all we did was put on the potatoes for mashed potatoes and steamed the veggies. And all day, we had the wonderful smell of dinner. I use my crockpot often when we have friends over, it helps me out tremendously so while they are here I can focus on them and hang out instead of trying to finish up the meal and get stressed.

So would you like to know what was for dinner? Well here it is a very simple dinner.

• 3 - 4 lbs cheap thin cut steak like top round or what ever is on sale. It can be a tougher cut because you will be cooking it all day.
• 1 cup of water
• 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
• 2 envelope packets of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

• First, get your morning coffee. Get your munchkins their breakfast so they aren't upset with you that you are making dinner in the morning when it is breakfast time.

• Second, put a crockpot liner in your crockpot so you don't have that much to clean. (Have you seen these? Very cool plastic liners that are made by Reynolds. I love them, yes they cost a little bit of money but, if you have ever had to scrub the crockpot a few days later because you put it in the garage to get it out of the way and then forgot that is what you did with it, you will understand. - Okay, okay cut me some slack, sometimes I can be very ditsy.)

• Third cut the meat into smaller portion sizes. I cut each one into six smaller pieces but you can go as big or small as you want. Throw them carelessly into the pot. Don't worry you can't hurt their feelings.
  
• You can do this the night before if you remember. Just cut it up and put it in a ziplock baggie in the fridge.
  

• Mix all the other ingredients together and pour it all over the little cuts of meat. Think of it as a long luxurious mud bath for your meat. - Just kidding.
  

• Cover the pot.

• And then, VERY IMPORTANT: PLUG IN THE CROCKPOT AND TURN IT ON TO LOW for 8 hours
  
• If you don't plug it in or forget to turn it on, you will hate yourself in the middle of the day when you realize - it's not cooking. Dinner is not being made and you have to come up with plan B. I hate plan B. It is never as good a plan A.

The meat will be tender and seasoned and yummy. The gravy will be done. No flour or cornstarch to mix in. No constant stirring to make sure the lumps are out. Nope, you have perfect gravy and perfect meat. Then serve that with the mashed potatoes and well need I say more? Oh yeah, and don't forget to eat your veggies.