{ Lemon tree and Pineapple juice }

I try to start all my mornings with a devotional.  It helps to set the mood for the day and things usually run smoother, but I'm human and sometimes I fail and don't get to my reading until right before bed.  That's ok, God forgives me and understands :)

Our weekend was filled with random thunderstorms, beautiful shows of lightning and loud booming thunder that at times seemed to rock the house.  My perfect kind of days, if I'm behind honest!

It actually got so dark in the house, that it was 9am and seemed to be 9pm.  Crazy!!

Sunday we dropped Jasmine off at work, and there is a Home Depot not too far, so we popped in to see if we could get some more items for our raised beds.  Well, raised beds is what we would love to have, but sometimes you need to go with what you can and whether we get exactly what we wanted, is yet to see.

However, we are simple folk who are easily pleased, and as long as I have a little area designated for my veg and herb garden, I'm ok.

If you remember when we were stationed in Arizona, I often mentioned our lemon tree.  It was our pride and joy and while we were at Luke, we were blessed enough to live in two different houses, both with lemon trees.  I mentioned the Beauty of Growth, I asked you How does your garden grow, I mentioned the Things I see and Do, I showed you when my lemon tree just randomly fell apart and I then talked about the reason it DID seem like it was falling apart, in my It's Raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring post.  I showed you how many lemons we had on our first lemon tree on base, and it all started on our Home Sweet Home post where I first showed you the walkthrough AND the huge lemons we got off the tree.  So, if you're interested, or bored, you have a lot of lemon tree and home posts to go browse through.

The scent of the flowers was one of my absolute favorite things.  You would take one step out the back door and were immediately overpowered by the beautiful gentle scent of the lemon flowers.

I think you can understand just how much I loved the lemon tree, so when we were at Home Depot, we spotted some baby Meier Lemon Trees and I just HAD to have it.  There was no way I was going to walk out with that baby in my hand.  I don't usually make spur of the moment purchases because we can't justify expenses like that, but she was only $13 and I started imagining the lemons and this gorgeous lemon tree filled with beautiful flowers.....yeah, I had to have it.

As you can see it already has a few little lemons growing on it.

I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to keep it alive, I will do my absolute best.  I've been researching online and figuring out how much water it needs, how much sun and all that.

If you do have any ideas and advice on keeping Meier Lemon Trees alive in my area, PLEASE leave them down below.

Right, now let's shift gears and talk about pineapple.  I have a tip for you.  If you buy the full pineapple like I do, and peel it and chop it up for your family, don't throw away the pineapple skin.

I used to, until I found out that I could use it to make juice.  What is better for you than pure, fresh, natural juice?

Some of you may already know this or do it yourself, but for those that don't, here is the how to.

You'll need the skin from the pineapple you peeled, water and you may need some sort of sweetener if you find the pineapple is too bitter.

Pop the skins into your blender and add water.  I start off by adding just about half so that I don't end up with water spitting all out of the blender and all over the counters.

Blend for about 2 minutes or so.  Then using a strainer, pour the juice into a different container.  You want to get as much of the pulp out, and obviously don't want he actual skins in there, just the goodness, vitamins and the taste.

And that is it.  Delicious, natural juice using what you already have on hand :)

Right, I am now off to pick Jasmine up from work and then I have to rush home and get dinner done.  I don't like when she gets off around 4pm because that's usually when I start my dinner, so on days like these we eat later than usual.

Tonight's dinner is one of our favorites Ono's Hawaiian Grilled Chicken and I'll either do Potato Salad or the Ono's Macaroni Salad.

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of Tuesday.  It is pretty warm here today, 88 degrees so I'm going to grab my lemon water and some grapes from the fridge and head out the door.

See you all tomorrow :)

The Beauty of Growth

I'm often amazed by the way nature works.

It's so easy to completely take it for granted, to overlook the beauty of a simple growing plant, but have you ever just stopped and looked, really looked at the process and the change it goes through?  The different stages?

I never used to until we moved to this house and I found myself with a beautiful lemon tree in my back yard.  Since then I've been astounded by the changes it goes through, by the bad times and the good times cause see even the lemon tree goes through stages where it's not so pretty, where it's limbs are poorly and break off on their own.

But it also picks itself right back up and starts blooming, little green shoots here and there, beautifully scented flowers that turn into the cutest little green lemons before growing, and growing and growing some more into big juicy yellow goodness.

Truth be told, the day we have to leave this base, I think my lemon tree is the only thing I will miss.  I will have to take as many lemons as I can with me and keep the seeds for planting, maybe I'll be able to grow it in our new home, would be nice to have a reminder of my tree.  

Have you ever smelled the sweet flowers?  The scent is indescribable, I spend many an hour out there under the tree, surrounded by the scent and the pretty flowers.

Some of the leaves and branches look sickly, so I'm going to have to do some research and found out what I can do to help this poor tree out.

I think one of the reasons I love it so much is because I always have readily available lemons for my baking and cooking.  Here I am using the lemon peel to make my Greatgrandma's Rice Pudding.

I think I'm going to step back outside and revel in it's beauty for a little bit longer.

I love my life!

Do you ever sit down and say "I'm so happy, I completely love my life"?

I find myself doing that quite often. I'm not rich in the wealthy, money kind of way, but I am absolutely filthy rich in love from my family. I don't think there is anything that I would change about who I am and where I live....well maybe that part yes, you know I really don't like Arizona LOL....but other than that I'm content and I'm happy and I am thrilled to be on this roller coaster we call life.

I try to live every moment to the fullest, try to live without leaving anything undone or put off for a better day. So far I think I've succeeded in becoming one of the happiest women alive. No really, I'm not joking, that's how I feel. Do you ever get that feeling?

So I'm sitting here this morning and my back is feeling so much better, after a hot bath Curt rubbed some Icy Hot on the painful areas and I took to bed....what a difference it made. Thank you for your well wishes :)

I've done no housework today, other than the small things like cleaning up after breakfast or throwing in a load of laundry, thankfully with all my cleaning done the previous days, I can get away with a day or two of minor tidying up, which is just what I need right now.

But you know, I couldn't pass up the opportunity of picking some fresh lemons for a Lemon Pie later today. My tree is over filling with ripe, yellow, citrusy scented lemons, so much so that some of the lower branches are dipping to the ground.

Let's take our bowl and go pick some nice ones for our pie, shall we?

Oooohhhhh I'm already drooling just thinking of that pie for dinner....but you know what? This picture made me realize that my camera lenses has a dirty spot. See it there on the middle right? Looks like a smudge doesn't it? Guess I'll be cleaning that before I forget.

I updated the food blog with another recipe this morning, Creamy Oven Chicken and later today I'll have the one for tonight's dinner up......I'm making Beef and Bacon Pinwheels. Yum!

Now let's talk, a couple of you have asked me how I get so much done during the day and quite frankly I don't know how to explain, see for me, I don't think I'm getting much done, I think that over the years I've come up with a Daily Routine that works for me and as the kids get older and start school etc, I just adjust it to whatever is going on. As a matter of fact, my routine sometimes changes from year to year according to what is happening around me.

For the most part though, it remains the same, here it is for those who were curious. One trick I've learned over the years.....ALWAYS schedule in time for yourself, give yourself an hour to do whatever you want, be it reading or knitting or crafting or just sitting down with a big bowl of ice cream watching trashy TV. It works and it recharges you during the day and does wonders for your attitude....try it.

And don't think that if I veer off the schedule the earth will end, it won't....some days I don't need to do laundry do I use that time for something else, or there will be no errands to run, so I'll do yard work or look through cookbooks or plan my menus or something.

One thing is for sure, I don't leave any minute of the day free.

Right now I have laundry finishing up and I'm going to figure out some lunch for Curt and I, he goes in to work in about two hours.

Thank you for stopping by and chatting with me for a bit.....


Feeling - Inspired

Drinking - Nothing right now

Writing - Ideas for the family vacation this summer

Thinking - that I need to drop the extra pounds I've put on from the holidays...UGH

Contemplating - A sandwich or a salad for lunch

Knowing - that life is wonderful

Listening - to the sound of the keys on the keyboard as I type

Jumping - for joy that things are back to normal after the crazy holidays

Savoring - Nestle Caramel Chocolates...mmmmm

Resisting - The temptation to eat chips

Eating - Nothing yet

Hiding - from nothing

Prayer Request and a Lesson in Lemons!

Well ladies here is what is going on with the passport. After all this running around and the Home Affairs in South Africa telling my father to come in this Tuesday and pick up the passport to mail to me, it turns out that they took the passport, finished it and mailed it back to the South African Consulate in Los Angeles.

I called up the consulate yesterday morning and talked to the lady in charge of the passports, she was extremely understanding and sweet, according to the list of passports she has and the reference number given to me by the Home Affairs in South Africa, my passport is arriving on Monday morning. THIS coming Monday morning and then the consulate in Los Angeles overnights it to me.

I don't think I need to tell you how stressed out this whole thing is making me since we're leaving a the end of the week. If that passport doesn't arrive on Monday, I can't go home and it's not just a huge disappointment but it will be $6000 down the drain. I'm praying....hard. I'm begging and praying and hoping and pleading, I've put it in the Lords hands and I know that He's watching over this issue and He's going to make it happen for me. Of course prayer and lots of it helps, so this is where you, my faithful readers come in....I'm in desperate need of prayers, I need that passport to arrive in Los Angeles on Monday morning.

Some people will say that "not even prayer will help you", I say "Just sit back and WATCH the power of prayer in numbers".


Now for our lesson in lemons, I tell you, having that Lemon Tree out back has been one of the best things that base housing has ever had to offer us. We've spent countless times out there exploring, learning, watching and smelling the wonderful citrus emanating from it's flowers and fruit.

So yesterday while turning the sprinkler on, Nicholas and I noticed that the grass under the tree was littered with the tiniest of green lemons, I just couldn't bring myself to leave them there or to throw them out, so I picked up this small glass container and we filled it to the top. It sits on my windowsill as a decoration but also giving out that beautiful lemon scent.


I have to love my grass, because really it's mostly clovers or whatever LOL

But hey, it makes for a soft padding under your feet and who am I to complain right?


One of the tiny baby lemons Nicholas picked up, he wouldn't let it go, he kept saying "Awwwww, it's so little"


Here's another view of the tiny one.....


Little hands and Little Lemons, the perfect combination


Not until I saw this photo did I realize that I had a hung nail on my thumb....yeah laugh all you want but I'm sure if you didn't notice it before you're all squinting at the monitor now trying to see it. HAHA


We brought the little container inside and Nicholas wanted to cut open one of the lemons to see what they looked like inside. Tell me is that not the cutest little lemon ever? I mean look at the segments, so perfectly made.

God truly is an amazing being, when I see things like this it reminds me of how much attention and detail He put into everything that He created.

But now what to do with all those chopped up little lemon tops???? What to do? What to do?



Hand them over to the 5 year old who quickly arranged them as hats on the heads of his Funkey's. He said it was Christmas hats LOL Then told me very strictly that I was to take a picture of his creativity and post it on the blog to teach us a thing or two.....though the only lesson I learned is that when those things dry up and fall off, you will be stepping all over them and then cursing under your breath at the squishy mess left on the floor, because you know, it means mopping AGAIN. *snicker*

I wonder if I could make Little Lemonade from those LOL



Let me tell you, that beef stew I made in the crockpot yesterday was SO SO GOOD. Oh man, the kids loved it and asked for more too. If you're looking for a quick (well, relatively speaking since it's in the crockpot hahaha) stew recipe, this is it. Check out my Slow Cooking Thursday post yesterday for the recipe.

I think tonight's dinner is Homemade Pizza.


Curt has been working weird hours for the past month and a half....they're doing night flying. I know the other air force wives know exactly what I mean especially since it doesn't matter which part of the base you live on, you still have the loud thunderous jet engines screaming all night long.

But anyway, he's going in at 2:30pm and not getting home until 3:30 or 4:oo am. For lack of a nicer way to put it "It SUCKS". It really really really really sucks big time. We don't see him, we don't spend time with him and the kids miss their daddy. It puts a huge strain on the marriage too, we tend to get snippy with each other because of the situation, it's just the stress of it all.

I do know that I'm blessed enough to have him here with us where some military spouses are not. So for that I'm greatful and thankful and it gives me the strength that I need to put up with anything as long as he's home and safe.

I'm closing off this post sending out prayers for all of those in the path of the tornadoes. We have friends in Greensboro, North Carolina and I'm praying that they are safe today.

Before I leave I want you to go over to Adopt a Troop in Prayer. This wonderful website allows you to sign up and adopt a soldier to pray for daily, it's the least we can do for the troops overseas putting their lives at risk for us back home.

I already have a soldier that I'm praying for daily, but if you don't want to adopt one specifically you can also go to the Prayer Wall and leave a prayer for our troops.

Prayer for Those in the Armed Services

O God of Mercy, we beg You now to protect in a special way those who are fighting for us and for the country we love. Bless them and take care of them. If they are tired, give them strength. If they are wounded and suffering, give them comfort. If they are lonely, touch them with Your gentle hand and let them know that You are near them. Grant them strength, wisdom and help through Your power and Your limitless love. Amen.

When life gives you lemons......

I never really took notice of lemons, I mean, I would go to the grocery store and buy lemons and bring them home to use in my cooking, but I hadn't the foggiest idea of what the tree looked like, how they started growing etc.

Since moving to this house and having the beautiful lemon tree out back I've become fascinated watching the lemon evolve from this tiny little pinkish bud into huge gorgeous yellow beauties. So I figured I would take some pictures to show you exactly what it looks like.

Who knew the tree would become so educational, especially to the kids.....so come with me out back and take a look:

These are the tiny little buds that you first see sprouting all over the tree.....

From those tiny ones they start developing into these longer ones.....


When I first saw this guy I thought "poor thing is bad" but I realized that it wasn't, that was an actual lemon developing from that longish bud. See the fully grown ones in the back?

How amazing is that?


I have a couple prayer requests for you, not for myself but for some dear bloggy friends and family.

If you could go over to Heidi and say a prayer for her and her baby.....she really needs our comfort and support right now.

Susanne has had surgery for her hand and now begins the process of healing, so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

My sister in law's sister, Roxanne, just had a baby girl, she was born premature and is still in the hospital in the incubator at least for another 4 to 6 weeks. Please say a prayer for Kyara and for Roxy.


There's not really much going on here, nothing very interesting, the house is finally done so I've been enjoying reading and watching my Netflix movies. I'm frustrated though because I sent in the "Address Change" to the Post Office about two weeks ago and I'm still waiting for my mail to be forwarded to this address, in the meantime I have 3 Netflix movies sitting somewhere in limbo.


One of them is the last one for "The Tudors" Season 1 and I'm just DYING to watch it. I really got into the series after I read "The Boleyn Inheritance" and I have to tell you, if you're thinking of watching them, just know that they are brilliant but there is quite a lot of sex scenes in there. It's crazy how there was so much sleeping around and mistresses and cheating in those days, even worse that it seemed to be accepted and condoned by some. But setting that aside, Jonathan Rhys Meyer does an excellent job as King Henry VIII and I absolutely love Maria Doyle Kennedy as Queen Katherine of Aragon.

The new Season starts March 30th on Showtime, I'm so thrilled.

In between all these movies I'm also reading a lot, practically devouring anything to do with the Tudors and historical books, but I also picked up one that I can't wait to read.

Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

Before Green Gables is the story of Anne Shirley's life before her arrival at Green Gables-a heartwarming tale of a precocious child whose lively imagination and relentless spirit help her to overcome difficult circumstances and of a young girl's ability to love, learn, and above all, dream.

Published in 1908, L. M. Montgomery's coming-of-age classic Anne of Green Gables has enchanted generations of readers, both children and adults. The story of the spunky red-haired orphan from Prince Edward Island is known to millions, and copies of the eight titles in the series have never gone out of print.

But when readers first meet Anne, she is eleven, and has just been sent from an orphanage to meet her new family. No one ever learned the events of Anne's life before she arrived at Green Gables.

Until now.

And that's it, I'm going to do the dishes from lunch and clean up a bit around the living room before I go exercise, it's been a week since I did my last Slim in 6 Weeks and I don't want to completely stop it.....this is what happens when you move, things tend to get put on halt or left behind.

Have a wonderful day. Please don't forget about the giveaway on Thursday, for my readers who participate in the Slow Cooking Thursday specifically.

God Bless,