Blog is moving!

It's amazing how a little encouragement can impact your day. 


"The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged." ~Acts 28:15


Some days, a little extra encouragement goes a long way!

Also, I(we) have a new blog - come on over and visit Tom and Elizabeth's blog.


Have a great weekend, everyone!

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe...

Hello everyone!

This weekend, I will be playing the role of Mrs. Beaver in a production of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. As an added note for anyone involved with Homeschool Performing Arts, Dan DuPraw will be playing the role of Mr. Beaver. We are excited to be onstage together (along with my sister and many others) in this production!

Below, you will find more information about the show. It's been a CRAZY busy week, and today is only Monday! Anyways, hope to see some of you there! J Also, here's a small preview of Mrs. Beaver... 

= = = = = = = =

Step into the wardrobe and experience a contemporary ballet of the well-loved story of Narnia. "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" will be performed by Reflections of Grace, a dance ensemble under the direction of Sarah Grace McDaniel.

Performances held at Grace Community Church in Hudsonville, Michigan on Thursday, August 18 and Friday, August 19^th. Performances begin at 7:30pm, show runs approximately an hour and a half (including one 10-minute intermission).

Doors open at 7:00pm – general seating. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $5. 

All proceeds will be given to “Bring Me Hope”. www.bringmehope.org

Peaches, housing and humanity

Well, first batch of peach jam done.

7 jars per hour.

I am just loving Pomona's Pectin! All that jam has only 1 1/2 cups sugar in it, and it tastes great!  There are more peaches to be done, but personally I'm an even bigger fan of raspberry-peach jam. It look so pretty in the jars - like you've bottled up a taste of a glorious sunset! Maybe I'll just slice and freeze the rest of the first batch of peaches.Home searching continues. We went through one promising home this week - beautiful hardwood floors, lots of character (including some stained glass windows and a picket fence, a built-in studio or school room downstairs), gorgeous brand-new kitchen and bathrooms, a huge laundry/mud room - the owners had obviously taken care of it. However, after going through it twice, realizing there things like old and potentially leaking plumbing, OLD electrical, old roof (potential roof leak damages on the 2nd floor), and who knows what else (90+ year-old home), I literally watched it sink out of our budget and into oblivion. I was a trifle frustrated at myself for getting so excited about this home. The initial look was so great!I realize humans can be the same way. They can look beautiful, polished and tidy. Welcoming and warm at the initial glance. But once you really start to see what they are made of, you may discover their hearts are in need of being made new - from the inside out, not the outside in. It's a sad thing, really. You realize their potential and can even get frustrated - "Lord, don't they know how precious and beautiful they are?!". Tom and I couldn't afford maintenance and upkeep on that house. Thankfully, that house isn't a human. However disappointed I could be over this experience, it also serves to remind that every interaction we have with others is an opportunity to encourage, love, and speak the truth of Christ - whether we use words or not. :)I discovered I really DO love wood floors... and picket fences... and stained glass windows. Thoughts for the future, perhaps. Wherever we live, we want the atmosphere to "feel" similar to how it felt inside that house - pretty colors, warm floors, beauty and the "extra touch" that makes a welcoming atmosphere in every corner. We may end up renting an apartment to start off life together, which is fine with me... but wherever we live, it's great to remember that those touches are the externals. No matter how pretty those details are, it still doesn't make up for the foundation and building blocks of a true home. Personally, I believe having both are possible, by the grace of God, and I look forward to seeing how He will move us and WHERE He will move us. For now, back to freezing peaches.... and who knows what today will bring? 

Modified raspberry muffins... :)

So, I was given a pint of raspberries and went on a whim of muffin-making. Raspberry muffins are pretty, and especially delicious when the berries are in season. 

This is a slightly modified recipe I got from allrecipes.com - I like messing around with recipes. I was slightly conservative with my "messing", since this was my first time working with the recipe. Next time I'd try modifying the amount of sugar and mess around with some different types of flour... maybe a bit more cinnamon, too. 

This recipe makes about 36 muffins. 

1 cup butter

1 cup cane sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups King Arthur flour

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder

1 tsp aluminum-free baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 cups fresh raspberries (straight from the bushes!) :)

Streusel:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup regular oatmeal

1/4 cup cane sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup butter

Cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs. In another bowl, mix sour cream, milk and vanilla. 

Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture until just moistened (this was lots of fun).

Gently fold in raspberries.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

Combine streusel ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over muffins.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-22 minutes.

Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing.

Yum! 

By the way, Heidi (a blogger whose talents I hope to emulate someday!) at "Frantically Simple" just posted a recipe for homemade deoderant here. I'm going to make a 1/2 recipe - excited! :)

Cherries

Well, I'm in the middle of pitting (to freeze) about 40 pounds of cherries. 

Just thought I'd share. :) I probably won't eat cherries for awhile now. Haha... but they are yummy!

A bit of randomness

Sometimes you have days where you try to conquer too many things.

My brain is tired. I am grateful tomorrow will be a new day. So here I sit with a cup of (herbal) tea, trying to deflate.

My sister leaves for China in the morning, so I gave her a back massage to start her trip right. I probably need one, too. :-P

Thankfully we can still laugh - we laughed super-hard before she went to bed.

Some days you just have to laugh more.

I love my cousins. 

In other news, Homeschool Performing Arts officially announced their season. So now I can publicly declare I'm looking forward to assistant directing...

Watch out, world. The McDaniel sisters are BOTH involved this year. There's no telling what may happen. :)

Oh - I might pick and freeze blackberries in a couple days. Yum.

I think I'm ready to sleep now. Good night, world. :)

Homemade deoderant?

So, has anyone had any success with making homemade deoderant sans baking soda?

Aluminum is something I have tried to avoid putting in my body. Partly because once it gets in, it doesn't come out and partly because controversy exists about aluminum's link to Alzheimers, breast cancer and the list goes on. Besides aluminum, in almost all deoderants I've found triclosan, propylene glycol, parabens and other sketchy ingredients. Personallly, I don't want these concoctions of toxins daily slathered on one of the most sensitive areas of a person's body (and I just sounded like Dr. Seuss... brilliant...).

I did try making deoderant last winter - aluminum-free baking soda, coconut oil and a couple drops of lavender oil. It worked, but after a few days of application, the baking soda was irritating my skin - and honestly, who wants irritated skin there? Constant friction and my poor skin would be red and irritated for several days. I used it all, slowly. After trying to put up with the constant red, I tried putting it on every other day (using a commercial deoderant or a salt crystal on the opposite days). However, it still wasn't idea. So I've searched around internet world. Kitchen Stewardship blog has a great article here about homemade deoderant, but it seems very similar to my recipe. Perhaps I'll try less baking soda next time. 

Does anyone know of any recipes for homemade deoderant that do not include baking soda?