Pumpkin Cookies

Here's a recipe that I'm trying out today.

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin

1/2 cup margarine

1 egg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream the first 3 ingredients together until well mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Using a small or medium cookie scoop (spoon), drop the dough onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

My First Garden

Yesterday I started harvesting some of the herbs I planted. I got basil, peppermint, and thyme. Some of the others I'm still not sure what to do with. I tied them up and hung them in the laundry room to dry. I am hoping to get some medicinal benefits from them. I tried to make some peppermint tea, but while it was boiling I started playing the piano, so it got burnt, and was very nasty.

I am going to try to make some salsa and maybe spaghetti sauce this weekend or next week. We've got lots of tomatoes and hot peppers. I wish I had planted a little more variety, but this was just my first time, so I am glad that they came out as well as they did. I let some of the plants go to waste, unfortunately. The lettuce bolted and then died; the kale was ready, but I didn't really know what to do with it, so it died too. My organic carrots never came up, except for 2 teeny ones. The cucumbers were similar to styrofoam, so most of them were wasted. I did get a couple though. I guess I am going to be having lots of tomatoes and hot peppers!! I have some purple peppers that are getting ready to be picked, so I am anxious to try them.

Hello Fall... :)

Today is the first day of fall, and our A/C is still running. It was cool, and now it's warm again. I was really hot last night so after taking the A/C out of the window, Win brought it back in. I love him so much. He is so good to me. This past weekend we went to West Virginia for the independence celebration and to say good-bye to Kerai and Pelda. It was fun. I didn't do much, but it was nice to see everyone.

My poison ivy is finally gone; except for some dry skin. Yay! That was really terrible. Now I'm scared to go into the woods and pick up any type of plant. Don't want to get that again!!!

I went to a clinic last week and got an official pregnancy confirmation. I'm almost 16 weeks now. At the clinic they said that I was due in February, which is a month earlier than I expected. We'll see what the baby does. :) I haven't been sick, by God's grace, for awhile. I stopped taking the pills I was taking and am taking the prescription prenatal vitamins instead. They seem easier to take for some reason.

This Saturday I'm going to a garage sale and hope to make some money. Lynette, Becca, and maybe Jenn are going to be selling stuff. There's also a women's conference here in Indy with Nancy Leigh DeMoss, so I may be going to that, if I can get a free ticket. I've never been to a conference like that, for myself, so I think it will be neat. It's at the convention center downtown. That's one advantage to living in Indy; right where all the action is.

Our church bought a building and will be moving in next week, I think. Exciting. I'm going to be teaching a new age group, which I am very excited about. The 6 and unders, which translates to first grade and under. Yay!!! Crafts and stories will be fun again... Lynette and Aleks are going to teach the older class (9-11), and Becca will teach the middle age (7-8). I think it will work out much better. I am really excited about it. :) :) I need to start getting ready for my first class. I want it to be really good. Maybe bring in some treats or something.

Well, that's about the update of my life right now. The picture is from a few years ago in the fall. Me and Win need to go out and get some new pictures taken, desperately!!! :)

September is here???? already?

It seems like the summer went by fast, yet it also seems to have been long. Today I am writing with severe poison ivy. My fingers are really swollen and bubbly. I just took a shower with dish soap and apple cider vinegar. Then I rubbed everything down with alcohol. I don't feel itchy, but I just hope everything starts drying up. I am approximately 12 weeks pregnant. I haven't had much trouble over all. Last week I had a few days that I had really bad migraines, but then I was fine. One thing that has become a pattern is getting sick after eating supper. It's kind of weird, because I'll be fine, and then I gotta get in the bathroom quick. At least I can tell when it's coming a little in advance. Roger has bee living with us a little over a month now. I feel bad for him that he has to be here when I'm sick and tired. Oh well, I guess he could go somewhere else if he wanted to. This next week our church is making the major schedule change. We are going to have a worship service at 10 AM for those who have parents and a ride. Then at 6 we will have Sunday School and an "outreach" type service. I think it will be good, especially in the morning. We won't be there this first week, as we will be going down to Corydon to celebrate Labor Day with John Brown's in-laws, the Wisemans. We're going to have a mumu and camp out. Hopefully I won't be sick, and this poison ivy will be better. John and Carla had their baby. Her name is Liberty Dawn. She looks like Carla, a lot. Anyways, that's what has happened in this last month. My garden is still not producing. I don't know if it will get done before the cold comes. I guess we'll see. Becky Smith is now Becky Bailey. She had a beautiful wedding in WV. We went with my parents and Nate. It was nice. We stayed in a cabin and went to look at the New River Gorge. We told my parents about our baby while we were there. They were happy and worried that they weren't old enough to be grandparents... :) Nate wanted to get counseling... :) Grandma was really excited and let out a little shout when we told her. Well, that's probably enough for today.

This week

Last Saturday I went to my parents' house and helped Mom freeze corn. I shucked almost 266 ears myself. There were a few that my mom did, but I did most of them. By the time we were done my hand had a cramp. :) Today I came back to my parents because Win went to KY to work. He sometimes goes there to work for several days at a time. I have a garden and it is coming up really good right now. The tomatoes, especially, are getting big. I have cucumbers and kale coming up from seed. My carrots, parsley, and lavender don't seem to be doing anything though. I'd like to get pictures up, but right now I don't have the technology to do it. Win and I are teaching Sunday school at Victory Chapel with the 8-11 year-olds. It is quite interesting at times. We just recently had a VBS and had quite a turnout- 85-95 kids almost every night. Now our pastor is thinking about having a completely different schedule for church and trying more to reach out to the teens and children, rather than adults. It will be interesting to see it actually play out. I don't know how it will go over with everyone that already comes to the church. I think it will be a major- upheaval. Roger Kuk is somewhere on his way to our house. He left PNG on Thursday and should be here soon. We actually aren't sure when he is coming, but he should be contacting Win pretty soon. I'm not sure how long he will stay; probably a month or two. Freda is going home this month, so we are having a going-away party for her this week on Saturday. Anyways, that's what's going on at our house lately.

Extremely Overdue News... :)

Just to update anyone actually reading my postings- I have been married now for 11 months! I am going to try to put pictures and updates on my blog more frequently now... who knows if I will actually do it though. Right now we don't have the internet, so it's a bit challenging sometimes. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!!

Well, it's June 1st and I've been "on my own" for 6 months now. It's been really nice. I have one more month at the apartment that I'm at now and then I will have to find somewhere else to live. Lynette got married on Friday so now I have the apartment all to myself. The pool just opened last week or so and so I am hoping to take advantage of that opportunity. I went one day last week and used a tanner accelerator and got an accelerated burn. It still hurts really bad, but it's better than it was. It's been getting quite warm lately, which is great for those of us who love summer. I was working at Liberty Tax Service during tax season this year as a waver, but now that that's over I don't have a job yet. I am hoping to get a job at a home health care type thing. Aleks does it and recommended it to me. I am trying to get a car because for them to hire me I have to have a car so I can take them places. Anyways, enough about that. Here's a poem that I found that welcomes the new weather: "Summer is coming!" the soft breezes whisper;"Summer is coming!" the glad birdies sing.Summer is coming - I hear her quick footsteps;Take your last look at the beautiful Spring. Lightly she steps from her throne in the woodlands: "Summer is coming, and I cannot stay;Two of my children have crept from my bosom:April has left me but lingering May. "What tho' bright Summer is crownèd with roses.Deep in the forest Arbutus doth hide;I am the herald of all the rejoicing;Why must June always disown me?" she cried. Down in the meadow she stoops to the daisies,Plucks the first bloom from the appletree's bough:"Autumn will rob me of all the sweet apples;I will take one from her store of them now." Summer is coming! I hear the glad echo;Clearly it rings o'er the mountain and plain.Sorrowful Spring leaves the beautiful woodlands,Bright, happy Summer begins her sweet reign.