Welcome 2014

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I see upon a very very short review of this blog that I managed all of one post in 2013. Alas, I had hoped for better. But, like everything optional, just didn't find the time.

2013 was, what I consider, an extremely busy year. The Professor and I both did lots of traveling, I coordinated a week-long family reunion attended by appx 25 people (not as complicated as a wedding, but no small task), the Professor completed 5 or 6 classes and progressed significantly on his dissertation work, I changed jobs in the fall, our church responsibilities increased, I became part of a state focused political club and coordinated some projects for them, we continued our small group Bible study, we worked our way through much of the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Course (we highly recommend it!) and the list probably could continue on quite a bit.

I did discover another good and easy baking recipe, but I won't share it today because we are all still recovering from the Christmas festivities and need no inspirations for baking more sweets! Perhaps I will put it up later this year, assuming that this will not be my only post in 2014. :)

The year, while full of blessings, was not without its losses as we said goodbye to some dear people who completed their journey to heaven, both family members and long time family friends. While such times are difficult, we are thankful for the legacies they left behind of love and service to their Lord, their family, and their friends. On a MUCH lighter note, we also said goodbye to my first car as we downsized to a one-car family. It was a reluctant parting, but I sold it once to the Professor, before we were engaged, so I really couldn't complain. I'd already received several bonus years of ownership, and getting to sell the same car twice is no small trick! :)

The short summary of it all? God is good and faithful, as He has always been, and we thank Him for His abundant provision, protection, and blessings in the past year. We continue to look to Him for provision and guidance in the year ahead, and we pray that all who read this will do the same.

On the Wisdom of Today's World

Psalm 14:1a - The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.

That one sentence is an entire blog post in itself. Living life without God is foolish and vain.

• Ignoring His designing hand in all of creation every day is foolish.
• Trying to love your spouse unconditionally and sacrificially without God is foolish. Trying to build a marriage on any lesser love than the love that God commands is also foolish.
• Trying to raise children without acknowledging the foolishness of their hearts, the sinful bent of their natures, and the need for them to submit to their Creator and His ordained authorities in their lives is foolish.
• Trying to overcome anxiety and live joyfully and hopefully in a world filled with bad things is impossible without God. Yet so many people try... and it is foolish.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-29

Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

No one exists on this earth who was not at one time a foolish sinner. We all start that way. A Christian is a fool who simply acknowledged his sinful state to God, and accepted Christ's invitation for rest. Repent of your sin and leave the path of foolishness. Accept Christ's payment for your sin and choose the path of life and wisdom. A life that embraces the truth of the God of the Bible is a life that has meaning and joy-- a life worth living for all of eternity.

Best Discovery Ever - Easy Bread

Through the recommendation of a Facebook friend, I recently stumbled across this book:

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

 

 

After reading through the intro chapter and watching the demo video on Amazon.com, I was able to try out the master recipe and I was hooked. My next step was to pick up the full book at the library. I will likely buy it eventually.

 

This book is amazing! You need a bread machine no longer. The recipe takes some time to work through the first 1 or 2 times, but after you figure it out, it's a breeze, and the bread REALLY is a fast make. No long, drawn out yeast bread procedures.

 

 Basically the concept is that you mix up a large batch of dough that is good for up to 2 weeks. Then when you want bread, you pull off a hunk of dough, let it rise for 20 minutes, pop it in the oven, and poof! You have fresh, homemade bread that tastes great!

 

The first time I made it I modified alot. I used table salt instead of Kosher salt (but adjusted for the difference in volume that comes from using fine salt vs. coarse), I also used a round metal pizza pan instead of a stone, and I used normal, bleached, all-purpose flour. It still turned out fabulous!

 

The book includes recipies for all kinds of variations to a standard loaf, some with extra herbs and flavors, some different styles of loafs, as well as info on how to partially bake and freeze loaves so that they are ready to bake for dinner when you want them.

 

As you can see from the authors' website, there are a variety of resources and helps if you want to really get elaborate in your bread making.  So... check it out! You can find alot on line as far as the basic instructions, but go ahead and get the full book from your library. If you renew it once or twice you'll have plenty of time to try out a few things to see if it's something you want to stick with. Then, if you find you like it.... great item for the Christmas list this year. :)

 

Enjoy!

Fall Treat

On my to do list this fall....

Crock Pot Applesauce! As explained here:

http://womenlivingwell.org/2012/09/homemade-crock-pot-applesauce/

Simple and supposed to be yummy! One thing the post doesn't really bring out, that I read a few other places, is that it is best to mix the kinds of apples that you use in each batch.

I'll try to let you know how it turns out, but it has solid reviews so far! :)

In other news:
Professor NO has found a more professor-like job! Hooray! :)


----------------------------------------------
Update!

I tried the recipe and it worked great. It seems pretty foolproof.

I actually left it in more like 5 hours, but that might've been necessary because of my compulsion to take the lid off and stir throughout the 4 hour cook time. I used 5 Red Delicious, 3 Gala, and 3 MacIntosh. Don't know if the variety made a difference or not, but I like the result!

Summer Recipe - Pudding pie

Ok, in the summertime, I get a craving for cool desserts, but I've never been a big ice cream addict. Don't get me wrong, take me to Cold Stone Creamery (a place with good ice cream and lots of yummy add-ins) and I will have no shortage of tempting orders to decide between. But when I think dessert, I've always been more of the cookie/brownie type. However, the warm days of summer make cool desserts a little more tempting, and I've discovered the fabulous land of pudding pie. I love it for all of the following reasons:

1.) Cheap
2.) Quick
3.) Delicious
4.) Easy to make interesting, with minimal work. (See point#2)

Now you could follow the directions on a box of instant pudding and make a pie. Or you could add just a tiny spark of creativity, and make a layered dessert! My favorite method is explained below.

Use an Oreo Pie Crust two boxes of pudding (one Cream Cheese or vanilla and one Chocolate), one container of cool whip, and milk.

Step One - Mix the cream cheese pudding first. (Simple: add required milk to mix according to box instructions, beat, then pour into crust). Add it into the pie crust, but hold out maybe half a cup of pudding. Otherwise you'll fill up the crust before you get to all of your layers! Pop unfinished pie into fridge to set a little while working on your second step.

Step Two - Repeat step one, but with the chocolate pudding. Pour it gently on top of the cream cheese pudding, holding out a portion. (if you allow the pudding to pour too forcefully, you will pour a "hole" into the previous pudding layer and lose the smooth evenness of your bottom layer.) Layering in this order allows you to use the same bowl b/c having traces of the vanilla pudding mixed into the choc won't change anything. If you do it in reverse, however, the traces of chocolate will discolor the lighter pudding, even though it will taste the same. :)

Step Three - Dollop softened cool whip onto the top of the chocolate pudding and spread evenly to cover pie. You should use around half of a tub of cool whip.

Step Four - use pudding that has been held out to make one or two individual little pudding dishes. Layer them to mimic the pie, or keep the flavors separate! I usually prefer to repeat the steps of the pie.

Step Five - (may be best to withhold this step until right before serving pie) Drizzle chocolate or caramel ice cream topping across top of pie. Or decorate with sprinkles, crumbled cookies... be creative!

When you finish, you have a pie that has pretty layers alternating dark and light from crust to topping. Whole making/combining process takes maybe 15 minutes and you're done! Total price, maybe $5. If you shop coupons and sales - much cheaper!

Variation: A vanilla cookie crust also works nice. You lose some of your layered contrast, but the taste is still yummy! I do prefer either cookie crust over a graham cracker crust for this particular dessert.

Stretching and Changing

I haven't written in awhile, it's plain to see. It isn't that I haven't wanted to. I've thought about it quite a bit. But never long enough to compose a post in my mind that is worth putting up. I even started this draft a month ago. Why so busy?? Well.... (drumroll...) I have ventured out of my safe haven home and into part-time work. I'll back up and explain briefly.

After taking several months to get settled in to a routine with married life, and to try to work out the major kinks in getting adjusted to living with another person, we decided it would be wise for me to find some part-time work. After spending some time searching, I found a perfect fit with a job nannying for a little girl. I started in February just before her first birthday.

I only go in a few days a week, and my hours aren't very long and the job pays a good wage. She's a sweet girl and just getting to know all of the world and learning so many new skills and slowly learning words as well. She can almost say my name now, and this week she said "Drink please" all together, without prompting, for the first time! It was a great day. :) We have a good time together, but she still naps so I get a break or two most days. The job works great because it doesn't drain me as much as my previous jobs have, which means I still have some energy left to give when I get back home. It also leaves me with enough days, most of the time, to take care of all the household responsibilities and occasionally volunteer for other things. My employers are also flexible and often able to adjust my days  if I request it.

While the decreased time at home has been challenging, it has also been good at forcing me to learn to take my settled routines and now make them more efficient. I'm learning how to plan ahead better, amongst other things. I also try to cook 3 days in a row when I'm at home, and usually those leftovers carry us through the other days of the week, so that simplifies the kitchen routine quite a bit by reducing the prep work AND by reducing the guesswork -as I can spend alot of indecisive time figuring out a meal every night. :-P After working out that routine, our habits were upset again when the Professor's job transferred him to a different location that is open longer hours, including nights and weekends. His schedule now varies every week, sometimes opening at 5 am, sometimes closing at midnight, and most weeks the schedule is not steady. Meaning he will do both of these schedules within th same week.Trying to figure out how to adapt to THIS routine has been more challenging and is still one I'm working on. But it's stretching me, and that's always a good thing, right?

Overall, the job has been a blessing as we have been using it primarily to build up our savings, and secondarily to add a little extra "fun money" into our budget (once we offset the expenses in gas and occasionally some 'convenience expenses' that have been added by taking on a job). I still feel like my house is always undone and needing more attention than I can give it, but part of that will be a neverending battle as long as we live here because we don't have enough room to store stuff properly. I just try to remind myself that I'm practicing for the day when I have my own children filling much of my days and I won't have the opportunity to spend my "full time" on maintaining my household. :) 

Building a Marriage

I recently finished reading a book on marriage that I recieved... um... a little over a year ago. Don't judge me! It was a busy year involving things like wedding planning. Granted, you could consider a marriage book PART of wedding planning, but I read some other ones that I recieved first.

Anyway, I finally got to this one and thoroughly enjoyed it. Part of being a housewife includes building the relationships within the home, including the one with my spouse. This book was a great tool in that regard. It was thought provoking and very helpful. In fact, it's been the best marriage book I've read so far. I highly recommend it to anyone. Sooo... the link is included below. Check the book out for yourself!


What Did You Expect?

A Political Housewife?

Should politics be a big deal to the average housewife? After all, husbands and children have so many needs that fill up a wife’s time, and so do her responsibilities in outside organizations.
Does this sound like your life?

“Ok, so there are minor elections being held today…but I have 3 loads of laundry, company coming over tomorrow, a house to clean, grocery shopping to get done, and I promised Jimmy I would take him to the park after school. Of course, I still have to get supper on the table as usual and make sure everyone’s lunches are ready to go for tomorrow as well. I don’t have time to find out who is running for what office and go over to vote. It’s not a big deal. It’s not like this is the Presidential election or something. “

 If that sounds like you, then this post is for you! One of the things that makes the United States of America so unique is our free system of self government. While the politicians haven’t been making most American’s proud lately, we’re still better off than the vast majority of our counterparts around the world. (hmmm yeah, are you dying to move to that bulwark of freedom known as communist China? You probably would have to stop reading my blog. Facebook doesn’t go over too well either. Oh, and did you want more than one child? So sorry. And how about that flourishing economic giant called Greece? Yep, their stability isn’t exactly anything to bank on.)  So let’s stop and consider the process for a minute. People in cities, towns, and counties all across America run for office and get elected. It’s not to any major position… they get on the city council, become a county registrar, or sit on the local school board. Nothing big. But they get involved and they make choices that impact the regulations surrounding your local, daily life. Then after a few years they get ambitious, and run for an office that’s a little bit bigger. Then eventually they run for a state level representative office. After a term or two there, they might go ahead and shoot for a Governorship, or perhaps a Federal Representative or even a Senator. Next thing you know, over the course of 10 or 20 years, that person you didn’t bother to vote for (or against) is pursuing some of the highest offices in the land and is impacting BIG decisions that affect everyone.
 
So what is the application here?
 

Take the time to get involved at every level. Examine the issues, read about the candidates. Find ones locally that believe what you believe and support what you support. Then vote for them. Do your part to help move them along in the political process. If you want to have good men and women working for you in Washington, you have to start supporting them when they live in your town and work for you there.

 
Oh, you want to know why? Why should you delay those things you need to do, risk a messy house for company, or have a less then perfect meal prepared? Because, dear housewife, those men in Washington are voting on legislation that will build or destroy your country and your way of life. If you want your husband to keep his stable job and provide a nice home for your family, he and his company need to stay in business which is hard to do in a shrinking economy. He needs to be able to save his income for emergencies and your children’s college fund, not have a quarter of it taken away in taxes. You need to have freedom of choice as to how you educate your children, where it happens, and what they are taught. You need the ability as a family to decide what medical care is best, what doctor will work with you when you are expecting your next little baby, and to have the choice to allow it to live, even when medical science predicts that he or she cannot. You should have the freedom to attend a church that preaches exactly what the Bible teaches without the pastor being censored because the government thinks differently than Scripture.  
 

There are many many many people out there who believe the government knows better than the individual. They think that the government needs to take care of the individual, regardless of what that individual thinks, because they are smarter. YOU, my friend, may well be that individual one day. If you are a freedom loving American, don’t wait until you have no freedom left to get involved. (which means you need to get active ASAP, we’re losing many of our freedoms rapidly.) As we look at a minor election such as the upcoming Presidential primary… DON’T decide that it is a done deal, the outcome can’t change, and your vote doesn’t matter. Your vote does! Already the Iowa primary had only an 8 vote difference between first and second place. Don’t ever give up your privilege to vote. Strive to always be able to say, regardless of the outcome, that you did your smallest part to fight for what was right by voting for those who supported your point of view. If you can find ways to get involved in their campaigns, even better! But at least take a stand. There are millions of people in America who think and feel the way you do. If they all went and voted, what a difference their voice might make!

 

Will your voice be silent? Or will it be heard?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I pray you have a wonderful time of celebrating the Savior's birth. I'm including one of the most beautiful Christmas carols ever written for you to enjoy. :)

Pumpkin Dump Cake

So today I want to share another recipe I recently picked up from my mom. She didn't make it while we were growing up, but I wish she had! It is called Pumpkin Dump Cake. I would describe it as something like pumpkin pie cobbler. :-) I've never been a big fan of pumpkin pie, but this, I like. I want to incorporate it into our Thanksgiving tradition to replace said pie, but the Professor is too big of a fan of the pie. I can't eradicate it completely. HOWEVER, he is also a very big fan of this cake and I think he's going to be willing to let us rotate back and forth from year to year. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Happy baking!

Ingredients
1 large can (appx. 29 oz) of Pumpkin
1 can (12 oz.) of Evaporated milk
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups of Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 yellow Cake mix
3/4 cup melted Butter or Margarine

Steps
Lightly grease 9 x 13 pan
Preheat oven to 350*
Combine all ingredients except cake mix and butter. Pour into pan.
Sprinkle cake mix lightly onto mixture. (The mixture can be thin, so if you plop too much at once it could very well sink in.)
Drizzle butter all over the top (also do this carefully, for the same reason as the last step.) The butter will mostly cover the top of the cake.
Bake at 350* for 60 min or until done.
Allow to cool enough for the pumpkin mixture to set.

Is good to serve both warm or cool. Tastes good with cool whip on top. Enjoy!

Cake Mix Doctor - Stacy's Chocolate Chip Cake

Sorry for the posting break. I was knocked out with a cold for several days and then the Thanksgiving celebrations got a little busy. My presence might be scarce for the rest of the Christmas season as well. We will see. But for today....

I want to share with you a super duper yummy recipe. I got a terrific cook book from a friend called The Cake Mix Doctor. When you open it, there are pages in the front with pictures of ALL the delicious recipes and looking through those is enough to inspire a week-long baking spree. :) I have not normally been much of a fan of cake, but the kinds this book turns out are terrific because they are embellished with all kinds of good ingredients. :)


Today's recipe is Stacy's Chocolate Chip Cake.

It doesn't look all that impressive in it's picture, and it wouldn't have been my first choice to make, but it was the only one I had all the ingredients for one day. WOW, I was surprised at the incredible outcome. Made it twice and it is delicious! It's not super sweet, so it almost reminds you of a muffin, but yummier. Everyone who's had it so far loved it and usually needed a second slice. :) So here it is. Enjoy!

Serves: 16

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes

Baking Time: 58 - 60 Minutes for a Tube Pan; 50-52 Minutes for 8 in. loaves

(I've actually made mine in a bundt pan, following the tube pan guidelines. Worked fine.)

Items Needed:

Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan

Flour for dusting the pan

1 bar (4 oz.) German Chocolate -I've used all kinds of chocolate

1 pkg .(18.25 oz) plain yellow cake mix

1 pkg. (3.4  oz) vanilla instant pudding mix

1 cup whole milk -I've used 2%

1 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower.

4 large eggs

1 pkg. (6 oz; 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips. -I follow this guideline casually. More chocolate is always better. :)

Steps:

1. Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly mist a 10-inch tube pan (or three 8-in. loaf pans) with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.

2. Break the chocolate bar into four pieces. Grate the bar using a food processor or hand grater until the bar is finely grated. (If you are using a food processor, insert the steel blade and drop the chocolate pieces into the processor one at a time.) Set the grated chocolate aside. -I also grated a regular Hershey's almond bar once. Another time I just used already shaved chocolate that is for super good hot-chocolate. It worked great and was easy. I've seen it particularly in the check-out aisles at places like Marshalls HomeGoods or TJMaxx.

3. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.

Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute.

-Stop the machine, fold in the grated chocolate, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

-Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping sides as needed.

-Fold in the chocolate chips. The batter should look well blended and the chocolate chips should be evenly distributed.

-Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan (or divide equally among the loaf pans) smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

4. Bake the cake at 325* until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 58-60 min. for tube pan (50-52 min. for loaf pans). Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool 20 min. for a tube pan (5 min. for a loaf pan).

-Run a long sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a rack, then invert it again onto another rack so that it is right side up. (I just do whatever is pretty)

-Allow cake to cool completely, 30 min. more, then serve. (Cool loaves out of the pans on their sides.) I have followed these directions, and the cake is usually still warm. It makes it a little crumblier when you're cutting it, but the taste is LOTS better. I actually recommend warming it up just touch -maybe 7 seconds for a slice- any time you are going to eat it. The warmth brings out the flavor alot better.

Store the cake covered in aluminum foil or plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 1 wk. (I've also used a plastic cake holder with a snap-on lid and it worked great, cake stayed moist.) Or freeze it, wrapped in foil for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

Wilton Armetale

OK, so not everything on this blog is philosophical. Some is just fun, and today is one of those days. I want to introduce you to Wilton Armetale. This stuff is COOL. :)

When I was registering for my wedding, I was blessed to be recieving a set of china from my grandmother. However, it is an older set that I could not match, so I needed to find serving pieces that would complement it. I ran across Wilton Armetale at the store and loved the idea of silver-colored pieces, so I signed up for them without examining the product to closely.

Well, much to my delight, when ladies went shopping, they looked at it alot more closely and they liked what they saw! So I recieved tons of the stuff and it has been fabulous so far. WHY is this stuff so amazing, you ask? Ok, well I'll tell you. :)

It is versatile!

Yup, that's it, the favorite word of a cook, particularly one who hates dishes. :) The pieces are lightweight, but still sturdy. They are made to edure heat and cold, so you can use them on a grill, stovetop, and in the oven as well as in the freezer. The metal element of the dish keeps hot food hot when it is being served, and it keeps cold food cold. Envision with me a moment.... You have a piece of meat. You can oil the dish, put it on the stove and heat it up, add the meat and sear it. When you are done, you can pick up the dish and put it into the oven. When it is finished, you can take the dish to the table and keep your meat piping hot. The salad that you tossed up earlier in the day in your beautiful bowl has been kept in the fridge and now you can set it out on the table as well and the cool bowl will help keep your leaves fresh. You can also just set out food on a regular tray that isn't hot or cold, and it looks very nice.

If you want to go to their website, you can even watch a demo video where they cook an entire meal in these dishes. Regardless, just wanted to share with you the product because I love it. Might be time for you to update that Christmas list! ;-)

The Plan for the Professor NO Family

This will conclude my discussion on staying at home vs. being at work. Many of the points I have referenced do reflect the obligations brought about by the needs of children, but I don’t have any. So why not work till they come?

I have already mentioned the desire to invest in our marriage during its beginning stages, which is a big part of that. Two people becoming one isn't all that simple! But in addition, there are other factors.

• One is that I really am playing part-time secretary to the Professor. As he seeks to develop his career, he needs my help with more than just keeping house. If I join with him he will get much further than he will if I'm busy with my own work. The further he gets while I can help him, the better off our family will be in the long run.
• Additionally, we want to ensure that we do not count on my income to meet our monthly budget. The arrival of children is not always expected and it is tough when you are in a position where you are obligated for more payments than one income can support, thereby forcing a new mom to work even though her hearts desire is to be with her child. We are staying aware of that possibility and are striving not to be caught in that position.

After getting settled into the new swing of things and developing a routine, yes, I’m open to part-time and occasional work. We feel that we can fit it in around the regular routine without detracting from our home, and saving some extra money will also help our long-term family stability as well as relieve financial stress. But it is, and always should be, secondary to my first job as a wife.

Observations of the Proverbs 31 Woman and Work

As a Christian, I believe that all things should be considered through the lens of Scripture. Proverbs 31 is considered to be the classic passage that describes the Virtuous Woman, and it has a lot to say about work. In fact, we find out that this Virtuous Woman is VERY industrious and hard-working.

She works willingly with her hands, she brings food from afar, evaluates a field and buys it, plants a vineyard, she made fabric and clothing and sold it, and the list continues.

But in addition to those things, we also see that that the heart of her husband trusts in her safely, she does him good and not evil, she looks after the ways of her household, her children arise and call her blessed, and her husband praises her. In short, there is a broader context of her identity and her work in that it relates to her home and her family.

We can clearly see in this passage that a woman should be hardworking and skilled, she should develop the talents she has, but she should also remember that those things should complement her role as a wife and mother, (if she is one) and not detract from it.

And most importantly, as verse 30 says, “Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” A God-fearing heart is much more valuable than all of the skills.

Ultimately, I can try to do all of the practical things in the world to invest time and energy into my family, but without the Lord, it will not work. God is truly the One who can build a family and keep it together.

Psalm 127:1 Except  the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it

Benefits of the Housewife Path

A family is designed to function as a single unit and therefore the home can be a wonderful place. It can be a safe-haven and respite from the ever-present tumult in the world around us. It should be a place where family members can lean on each other, share joys and sorrows, and walk through life together.

But…

It is very difficult to do these things when family members hardly even know one another, which is how so many homes function today. The family is the foundational unit of society but it is in crisis all over America. Spouses are at odds with one another if they are even still married, parents and children are constantly fighting with one another, and the family is in turmoil. There is very little unity.

When my husband and I were dating and engaged, we felt many times like we were being pulled opposite directions. He had his responsibilities and obligations for work, I had mine, and the two didn’t always seem particularly compliant. My work required my focus and energy, and his did the same. I longed for the day when I could set my job aside and take up the work of supporting him and working WITH him, as a team. Joining forces in a supportive network, rather than having each of us flounder along on our own. We are thankful to have reached the point of being able to do this.

When we look to the future, it is also our desire that I can also be at home to invest in our children. To teach them God’s Word at HOME, not only leave it up to the schools and churches. To impart to them our core family values and a strong work ethic. To know them personally, understand what makes them tick, and help them when they are struggling.  We do not want to be Mr. and Mrs. Banks, from the classic Disney film, Mary Poppins. You remember them… they are the couple who has breakfast with their children in the morning, kisses them on the head, then heads off to everything else and leaving the children under the care of the nanny and domestic staff. At night the parents see the children for another hour then send them off to bed. Our society has substituted schools and daycares for Nannies, but otherwise, we are often the same.

There are other points to consider about staying home. One is that it isn’t as expensive as people think. There is lost income, but there are also lost expenses. Maintaining a wardrobe for work can cost more than people expect and car expenses pile up with mileage, gas, and maintenance that is needed more often. The convenience of eating out is in high demand when both parents are on a busy schedule, but with a little bit of practice, it is amazing the costs that an average wife can save by shopping some grocery sales, watching for coupons, and cooking most things at home. Many times the income change isn’t nearly as drastic as it is perceived to be.

Another reason we chose for me not to work full-time is that it gives me much greater flexibility in ministry. The Professor and I are actively involved in our church and there are people within that church that have needs. There are ministry opportunities that are waiting for volunteers to help. By freeing up the weekly schedule, I am in a better position to prepare for ministry events, as well as fill in when people are unavailable for their regular ministries. The church is God’s primary tool to organize believers to do His work, and having more flexibility to be involved with that is wonderful because my identity is that I am a Christian and my calling is to share the Gospel. 

Again, this is just a peek into our reasoning process and the points that we considered when making this decision. Let me please repeat that this is not a tirade against women in different circumstances. But I do believe that homemaking, when done diligently and intentionally, is an important and respectable skill that leads to many beneficial results within the home and family.

Have you considered its possibilities for your family?

A Working Wife for Professor NO?

When the Professor and I evaluated our future, we recognized that when I chose to marry, I took on a new job title.

A Wife.

That was my primary, number one job. The Bible describes the role of a wife as one of a support and a help to the husband so that, in a nutshell, was my job description. Any work that I did outside the home was to be my second job. Therefore, it must work around and not detract from my first job. When looking at the reasons that wives do work outside the home, we concluded the following things:

The reasons seem to be boiled down to about five categories:

1. Financial need – The bills must be paid. Current obligations/debts may be high, or sometimes the husband is not present or cannot physically be the breadwinner.

While the Professor’s income isn’t large, the most basic of our needs are met and our debts are paid so we do not have a dire financial need for me to be working full-time.

2. Personal fulfillment – utilizing schooling/training, making a difference in the world, being helpful/useful/important.

Biblically, my personal fulfillment should come from my position as a Daughter of the King and a child of God. I am complete in Christ. Therefore whatever role or job he calls me to should be fulfilling because in that role God has seen that I have an opportunity, in some way, to work out my part of the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. If I have agreed to be a support and a helpmeet to my husband as my primary job, then I can be fulfilled in that role, regardless of the education I have and the skills that I have gained that are useful in the workforce. I also need to develop a few skills that are useful in my home! J

 

3. Helping others – Some people have compassionate hearts and they want to teach, heal, or help the less fortunate or the injured, and they are skilled in those particular areas.

Helping others is a wonderful thing, but the first priority I have is to help my husband. Therefore I cannot help others at the cost of neglecting my own home. At this foundational stage, my husband is still developing his career and he needs my help with some things because his free time is very limited. Later in life, when more efficient daily routines are settled and established, I may have more room to consider an option for this reason, but it would depend on what stage our family was in, whether we have children, etc. There are also many outlets for a helpful heart through church ministry and charity that don't have the weight of a full-time position.

4. Desire for personal possessions – increase the standard of living.

We’d love to raise our standard of living, but if doing so means that our marriage will be built on the foundation of two people who come home from a long day of work only to have to split the workload of keeping the home, preparing meals, and managing our affairs, then it isn’t worth it. Such things hinder our ability to find the time and energy to invest in our new marriage relationship, to talk out the disagreements that arise without major tension and short tempers, and to spend time strengthening the bond that was sealed at the marriage alter. With a huge percentage of marriages ending in divorce, we don’t take it for granted that a healthy marriage happens without intentional investment. Divorce is not a word allowed in our house, but there is still a difference between just a lasting marriage and a thriving one. God designed marriage to be a good thing, and we want to experience the full blessing of it. The price of risking that simply for nicer things, just isn’t worth it.

5. Distraction / impatience – The family members drive them crazy or there are problems at home they don’t want to think about.

The need for a distraction isn’t an issue right now, but if it ever became one, running away from problems isn’t a solution.

If you are a wife, or if you have a wife, what about you? What is your philosophy? Do you have a reason for why you work? Is it a true financial need? Or does it just provide nice material perks? If it is not a need, is it worth the price that it requires from the wife’s first job?

Oh, ok… Really?

As I was in the throes of planning my recent wedding I was always receiving questions about the preparations, the wedding day itself, and our future plans. But as I began to break the news that the future plans did NOT include continuing work at my current job, people became extra-inquisitive. They’d ask if we were moving or what I was going to be doing. When I explained I was going to transition to stay-at-home life, or possibly part-time work, their expression grew slightly puzzled and they would say “Oh, ok.” A moment later they’d often follow up with “Really?”  Sometimes they’d ask “Is that what YOU want to do?” –implying that perhaps I was marrying an archaic, domineering slave-driver instead of a loving husband. I would try to add the explanation that I didn’t feel I was prepared to adequately care for a home while working full-time so we wanted to scale back my other responsibilities to focus on the home after the wedding. We would then evaluate the future as it came.

Eventually they would regain their composure and slip into the traditional, politically correct response that went something like “Well that’s great. You have to do what is good for you and if you can make that work then that’s great.”

I often felt as they walked away that they thought either :

1. I was marrying someone rich
2. I clearly planned to start having children ASAP,
3. I was lazy and getting out of work, which all adults have to do and therefore I needed to grow up, or
4. I was simply young and naïve and no idea what we were getting into.

This perception I had was reinforced by the occasional comments like 

• “Oh well, you just figure it out. I worked for years with a family.”
• Or “yes, that’s a nice idea, but most folks just can’t afford that.”
• “I can’t see you doing that, you are going to be bored real quick” (indicating there’s nothing to do at home.)
• Or sometimes they would just reiterate their question.. “So like, you aren’t working at all? Just staying at home? What will you do all day?” 

I had to bite my tongue so many times. I wanted to explain what we were doing, that it was a careful, reasoned decision and while it wasn’t going to be easy to make ends meet, it looked like we could and therefore this change was the best choice to make. I am proud and don’t like people to look down on me, but it’s probably good to have your pride challenged occasionally. And since the passing exchange of polite conversation doesn’t allow a 15 minute discussion on deeply-rooted philosophies of life, I had to get over what people thought. However, it is clearly a question in many people’s minds, so I would like to take on the task of answering it more thoroughly here.  

In the coming week or two I will post a short series explaining different talking points related to my job as a housewife and why we chose it. These posts are not written to convince people they are wrong for doing things differently. It is merely meant to explain our choices based on the goals we have set and to show where we drew our philosophy from. I hope that by writing about this I can

1.  Encourage others to examine their own family goals and strive to be proactive in establishing them, not reactionary; and 
2. Simply encourage other housewives.

But for today, I will wrap this up by answering the question asked in the title:

Yes I really am. And yes, it is what I want to do. I chose it, and I’m glad I did.

Charity Seeketh Not Her Own

One of the most important building blocks of any home is the relationship between a husband and wife. Since God created this relationship in the Garden of Eden, He's really the one you should look to when you're trying to improve it. He wrote the instruction book on it (The Bible) and normally when you get a new product, reading the instructions is a great place to start.

It's interesting to note that the Bible does not classify Love as a prerequisite for marriage. But it IS commanded to be a part of marriage. Now I certainly would not have married Professor NO if I did not love him, but that is cultural, not Scriptural. Love is a choice and an action and should be a deliberate part of a couple's relationship. This truth extends to the whole family unit as well.

One of the defining passages on love is I Corinthians 13. There are many facets that it mentions, but today I want to reflect on the part of how love seeketh not her own - in other words, love doesn't seek it's own interests and needs, but rather those of others. Here's where I recently observed this in the practical outworkings of life....

The other evening Professor NO and I were getting ready for bed. I'm a bit of a night owl, and tend to putter around tidying up all of the house, planning out the next day's events, activities, and attire, and chattering about everything that comes into my head. The Professor rises at a very early, pre-sunrise hour and does not share my night-time perkiness so much. :-P

As we crawled into bed he admonished me that it was time to sleep and he really couldn't carry on a decent conversation anymore. Kudos to him for directness and honesty. :) So I tried to settle down to sleep, but then one of us mentioned something about his work that day or the next, and he suddenly recalled the story of a customer he'd had. This particular customer apparently was in great error regarding the proper wheel-drive that is best for a vehicle to have when driving in the snow. The Professor is from the frozen tundra (almost) and HAD to help the poor misinformed customer out. Said customer didn't believe him till he cited his native residence, but finally all was corrected. However, this caused me to voice a long-held question that had been brushed into the corner of my mind on numerous occasions, regarding the differences of front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and four-wheel drive. This question began the Professor's evening class on vehicles. He began describing the difference between them, how they worked, and how it all pertained to driving in snow. I nodded and learned and became educated in a little more detail than I had, perhaps, bargained for. By now, I was the one ready for sleep. But he was just getting warmed up. Next thing I know, he brings all-wheel drive into the discussion. After learning I didn't know about that either, he defined it for me, which would have sufficed just fine. But then he launched into a discussion about traction and friction and the physics of moving cars and ice/snow and all kinds of thing I don't remember b/c I was fading out fast....

"honey?" I asked.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"I thought you had to sleep b/c you had to get up in the morning..."
He sighed. "Oookay. I'm sorry... I'll be quiet now..."
"Well, I didn't completely mean that, but it IS late, you already said you need sleep, and I'm getting pretty sleepy too." I answered.

We settled into a truce for the evening of no more rambling on things that put the other one to sleep and all was well in the NO household. But the whole event set me to thinking...

Simply put, we do the things that we want to. And what we want to do is based on our personal want-to priority list. This priority list is not always equivalent to our I-know-I-need-to-and-I-plan-to priority list. At the beginning, the Professor's priority list involved sleep so he could work. Conversation was a luxury not to be afforded, even though I wanted to talk. But suddenly, he had the opportunity to explain something (which he loves to do) and conversation became a greater priority than sleep. I have been guilty of the same on countless occasions.

When you boil it all down, these are the actions of people who are seeking their own interests. We find it very very hard to seek the interests of others when those things have no natural interest to us. But if we're to obey the command to love, for the sake of our homes and our family relationships we must deliberately practice doing just that.

I Corinthians 13:4-7
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Learning About Starch

The other day I walked down the laundry aisle in Wal-Mart to pick up dryer sheets, and two items caught my eye and stopped me. The first was this...



This was interesting to me because I had never seen it before in my life. Yet, I had just recently read an article here http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2011/02/make-it-homemade-liquid-laundry-soap-1/ that tells you how to make your own laundry soap -and this soap was a key ingredient. The recipe looks cool. One day I want to try it, when I have space to store the batch that it makes.

The second thing I saw was this:



I have never used starch. I have never seen it used. But Professor NO wears dress shirts every day and some of them could use some help in the stiffness department. After reading the directions on the back, I decided to pick it up and try it out.

Of course, one should never embark upon new adventures (especially with the husband's dress shirts) without surrounding themself with wise counsel, so I turned to Facebook. After all, I have 500 friends there... surely some of them know about starch! And they didn't let me down. Numerous people weighed in with pros and cons and tips of the trade. I also learned about alot of people who don't iron at all. :) I found out that opinions vary quite a bit and there is no one consensus about the worth of ironing with starch. However, I DID learn one valuable detail.... it can flake. Now, mind you, the majority of Professor NO's shirts are white, so this information is somewhat irrelevant. But I do iron other things at times, so I filed it away for a time when I needed it.

 Well, within a few days, that time came as I pulled out..... dark pants! However, by this time I'd already figured out how to outsmart the system and I promptly turned the pants inside out. If any flakes showed up, no one would see them. The plan worked great. I finished ironing, all was crisp and smooth AND I didn't see any flaking anyway.

Then I turned the pants right side out and discovered one teensy weensy little problem.... See, when you try to press creases into the front of pant legs while they're inside out, they turn into nice crisp inward-pointing dents when they are right-side out. And they are very difficult to re-iron. So much for outsmarting the system. Apparently I don't always connect all the logic dots in life.. But the Professor and I got a good share of laughs out of it all and I am now one more step down the road to being a seasoned housewife. Live and learn. :)

A Peek Inside

Oh, hello there. Welcome to the home of Professor NO. So glad you could drop by. On this page, I plan to jot about some of the adventures of our new home, as well as pass on various tips that might be useful to my fellow housewives.

Allow me to introduce the characters of this page... I'll give you two guesses to see if you can get them right. If you do, you can pat yourself on the back. :)

First, we have Professor NO. At the moment, the Professor's life is consumed with... um... less than scholarly activities - namely, paying bills and taking care of our family. He is my knight in shining armor. :) Right now his days are occupied with the rather mundane world of management and sales, while keeping an ear to the ground in hopes that something a little more academic in nature will come his way. He's also taking classes here and there to finish another degree, which will add to his professorly-ness. :) He does find an outlet for his teaching tendencies through educating Mrs. NO on a variety of historical topics that she did not make time to study voluntarily, and through involvement in several church ministries.

The second character is me, Mrs. NO...the ever-cheerful, always-serving, energetic and supportive housewife of Professor NO. -Okay, so maybe that character is the fictional one in this post, but the real one is also named Mrs. NO. I was formerly known as Miss School Secretary. People thought I was quitting work after marriage, but I really just decided to change career fields, with the full support of the Professor. But I'll explain more about that another day.

Together, Professor NO and I have joined our lives and become one with the purpose of more effectively fulfilling our calling in life as Christians to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all of the world. By establishing a family and setting goals for our family, instead of our individual lives, we want to work as a team and enable each other to minister in the ways where we have been most gifted. For me, a large part of that calling is holding down the home front and freeing him up to pursue teaching opportunities. His work to provide for our family gives me flexibility to be involved in ministry to others that requires advance preparation. In the future, it will also allow me to care for our children. This arrangement will also give us more time for each other, so that we can continue to develop our relationship and give it a strong foundation. Today's commonly hectic lifestyle is not family-friendly so we are seeking to deliberately carve out a place for our own to thrive. I hope you will enjoy the occasional notes that you will find here -serious, informative, silly, and philisophical.

Come visit again!