This might be tomorrow's project

Market on the Move is supposed to have cucumbers tomorrow. If so, I'm going to get some and make pickle relish (the kind you put on hot dogs). I've never made relish like this before, but why not try?

sourceI also expect Roma tomatoes there tomorrow, and if so I'll try to get a case of them to make more plain canned tomatoes. We're going through them a lot faster these days than we have in the past.

Happy 170th birthday, Relief Society!

Relief Society is the women's auxiliary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it was organized 170 years ago next week.

Every LDS woman 18 and over is a member of Relief Society and friends are always welcomed.

The anniversary is celebrated every year, usually with a dinner, either casual or formal. In addition, there is usually entertainment of some kind, such as a speaker, or some kind of activity.

We had four stations where we learned about the history of Relief Society, which was surprisingly interesting.

I can always remember how many years it's been because I remember the very big celebration for the 150th birthday of Relief Society. I was living in Germany and was overdue with my third child. He's my missionary now and is just about to turn twenty. :-)

Where, oh where, can my [connector] be?

Here is the after-market filter that arrived in the mail today. Three of them came, actually. Now I need the connector that is attached to the old one . . . which NO ONE CAN FIND!!!

[Absolutely not for the sqeamish or faint of heart] Our pampered chickens

Be aware--there is a stomach-turning picture below. Look at your own risk.

We are keeping our chickens in their run because the garden is starting to come up and those girls would love to nip off every tiny green leaf.

For some reason the three human girls decided the chickens need to have some tasty worms despite their not being able to go scratch around in the flower bed for their own.

That means the big girls have been digging in the flower bed in order to find earthworms to feed to the chickens.

See what I mean about pampered chickens?

This is what was proudly shown to me this afternoon (you have had adequate warning):

"Mommy! Come look outside in front!"

That was Sophia and she wanted me to see the tree in the corner of our front patio. It's in bloom! I think a week from now will be even more spectacular, but to a seven year old, the first sight of it was the best, so here it is from a seven year old's point of view:

Meal Plan Sunday

Monday: Lasagna Buns

Tuesday: Jambalaya with smoked sausage (Zatarain's + sausage)

Wednesday: Super-Easy Chicken Enchilada Skillet

Very tasty!!

Thursday: Spanish Eggplant (from the freezer) over rice

Friday: Pizza

Rare pictures of me

Before--July 2010 near my all-time high weight

Today--down 29 pounds from my all-time high, 15 to go

That shadow behind me isn't helping . . . .

My tough seven year old

Monday after Family Home Evening Sophia said, "Watch me do push ups!" I thought she would put her knees down, her fanny up and rock back and forth a couple of times. NOT! She put her toes out, held her body like an ironing board and pumped up and down, counting until she was at seventeen, then dropped. She can go higher, but for some reason likes to stop at seventeen.

Busy week

That is the corner of the screen I looked at for 20 hours this week. The actual screen is confidential, but I think it's okay to show you the corner. This job involves listening to sound files online and my other job involves talking to people in a foreign country. Who would have ever imagined my ESL minor attached to my education degree would bring jobs like this to me?

A first for 2012!

No, you're not imagining things--we got FOUR eggs from our chickens today! Spot (the layer of green eggs) has been molting since mid-January and chickens don't lay when they're molting. In addition, the short days of winter suppress something in the chickens' brains that keeps them from laying an egg every day. We haven't seen a green egg since mid-January and haven't seen even three eggs from the non-molters since some time last year. This is a banner day!