Musings of a Housewife

Happy Mother's Day!

Sunday Scripture

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1: 3-9

Look What I Just Made!

Strawberry Rhubarb. YUM!

This is just a good ol' Betty Crocker recipe.  I found it reproduced here.

And here is my pie crust tutorial, if you want it.

Gourmet Hamburgers

If you love fresh burgers hot off the grill, this is a recipe you have to try.  I've adapted it from Ina Garten's Real Hamburgers recipe.

2 pounds ground beef (I like 85% lean)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 extra-large egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Mix together gently with hands or fork.  Lightly form each hamburger patty, pressing around the edges to seal so the juices don't escape.  If you're feeling especially indulgent, put a thin slice of cold butter inside each hamburger -- just make sure the butter is entirely encased in the meat.

Grill to desired doneness.  Shaddup, doneness is SO a word.  Remove to a plate and cover with slices of American or cheddar cheese, if desired.  Serve on Martin's potato sandwich rolls (cause there IS no other kind) with your favorite condiments.  YUMMO.

This is what we're making tomorrow for our Mother's Day dinner.  My inlaws are coming over, and I'm keeping it simple so my mother-in-law and I don't have to work too hard on Mother's Day.  If we're lucky, the men will clean up after us!

Happy Mother's Day!  I'm taking tomorrow off to enjoy my family.  See you Monday.

Links and Shout Outs

This Child - Darcie at Such the Spot.  I hope you have a Kleenex handy.  Having met Darcie in person, I can tell you that she is a beautiful person inside and out.  Reading this broke my heart and made my day, all at the same time.

What I Did On My Bloggy Vacation - Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.  Words of wisdom, my friends.

Disney on a Budget - Snapshot.  Now, before you guffaw, it actually IS possible to take a Disney vacation on a budget.  It takes some research and planning, but it's possible.  From value priced resorts to meal plans to value seasons, there are ways to keep costs down.

My good friend who comments under the name blackbelt has joined the dark side and started her very own blog.  So go on over and give her a big bloggy welcome.

And my 15-year-old cousin Brett has also started a blog -- Hitting Curveballs.  If you have teenage boys who are bloggers, or know of anyone who does, please send them his way.

And don't go too far.  Later today I'll be posting a recipe for gourmet hamburgers.  YUM.

Mother's Day Tea

Is there an apostrophe in Mother's Day?  I never know.

Today was the annual cryfest Mother's Day Tea at my daughter's preschool.  I don't know when I'll learn to bring a Kleenex to these events.

I arrived at the school on time and looking like a drowned rat, thanks to the monsoon outside.  I stood in line in the hallway with the other mothers as we waited to be escorted one-by-one by our children into the classroom.  I had tears in my eyes before I even entered the room.  When the little girl in line before mine came out to usher her mother into the room, she looked up with such love and adoration that I had to blink fast to stop the tears from spilling over.

Soon it was my turn to try to fit my adult-sized rump into a miniature chair. In my place was a pretty potted plant, a tissue-paper flower corsage, and a handmade card from my little princess. She was eager to tell me how she made the ladybugs on the pot with her thumb prints.

After we were all seated and welcomed, our children brought us each a plate of cookies and a single chocolate covered strawberry. Fortunately, the teachers passed out the lemonade so we moms didn't end up wearing it.

I had to fight my daughter for the strawberry. I told her that only a mother's love would cause me to turn over that delectable treat to her grubby little fingers.

After snacks, we were treated to a short presentation and then the teacher read a paragraph from each child about their mommies, and we had to guess whose was whose. It was clearly a fill-in-the-blank form with their answers at the end of each sentence. Mine read as follows:

"I love my mom because she plays Uno Attack with me. She is prettiest when she wears dresses. My mom likes to make Cheerios. My mom always says good night. My mom is funny when she is never funny."

I must say, this was quite the learning experience. First of all, if Uno Attack is so important to her, I probably should try to play with her more than once a week.

And I think she has seen me in a dress all of two times in her entire life. Evidently this has made quite an impact on her. I see a few new dresses in my future.

My culinary prowess is evidently lost on my child. I may just give up cooking and resort to Cheerios for dinner, if that is her meal of choice. Hey, more time for blogging, eh?

I was trying to figure out why, out of everything I say to her, "good night" is what she remembers most. Then I deduced that this is probably because I say "good night" with such glee, knowing that the house is finally ALL MINE for a couple of glorious hours.

And finally, and perhaps most sobering of everything I learned today, I am not funny. EVER. Perhaps I should just shut down this blog and take a job as a professional mourner or something. Maybe that would be better suited to my lack of humor.

Here is a picture - it was a self-portrait, so forgive the odd angle.

I'm Covering My Assets

I don't know about you guys, but I've had it about up to my, well, assets with the low-rise trend.  Not only am I subjected to the sight of other women bending over and baring their backs and their you-know-whats, but I am aware that I too have been caught on too many occasions exposing more than anyone cares to see and more than I care to share.

So!  I was thrilled to try out the new Hip-T.  Ya'll.  I don't know WHY I can't come up with a clever invention like this.  First there was the Chickie, and now the Hip-T!  What can we invent?  Let's come up with something.

When my Hip-T arrived, I wasted no time ripping open the bag and putting it on.  And I have to say, this is a pretty clever little invention.  It looks like a tube top of sorts, but you wear it over your hips, under your T-shirt, and it shows a bit below the hem of the T, giving you a layered look without the bulk.

I will say, it DID take some getting used to.  If it's not positioned low enough on my hips, then it rises up just like my T-shirt does, and I end up in the same predicament as I was without it.  But after I figured out how to position it correctly, it works like a charm! 

AND!  It not only serves to protect my modesty, but since mine is on the snug side, it helps hold in the infamous muffin top.  Two birds, one stone.  Yeehaw!

All that to say, I give the Hip-T two hearty thumbs up!

You can order your own Hip-T at www.myhip-t.com.  Or.  If you're feeling lucky, you can wait and take a gamble on my Hip-T giveaway, coming up in just a couple of weeks!

[cross-posted at Reviewsings]

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Do you like shimmer?  Check out Megan's post at Chic Critique today.

Are You A Survivor Fan?

Did you watch tonight?  I am officially speechless.  And I've never laughed so hard at Survivor.  EVER.  Poor Eric.

Two Big Announcements

First, I have the winner of the Georgie Designs gift card.  And second, I have information about an exciting opportunity for moms and mom bloggers to participate in various types of marketing programs and to choose the ones they desire.

First things first -- the winner of the Georgie Designs gift card is Lindsey.  Lindsey, congratulations.  You will be hearing from me soon.  For those who didn't win, you know where to go for beautiful, unique jewelry.

And a special thanks to Georgie Designs for sponsoring this giveaway.

And for my other announcement.  If you've ever wondered how you can get in on some of the fun reviews and giveaways other bloggers are promoting, here is your chance!  Maria Bailey of BSM Media has created a website that she hopes will be a bridge between moms and marketers.  It's called MomSelect, and the purpose is for moms and mom bloggers to connect with companies and select the types of marketing programs they want to participate in. 

Read this letter from Maria Bailey to get an even better idea what the program is all about.

All you need to do is sign up with MomSelect, check off the programs you would like to utilize, and then get ready to enjoy one of the perks of being a part of the blogging community!

Happy Mother's Day!

Not Working For Me Today

I guess it's too late to link into Works For Me Wednesday, but I saw this on several blogs, and wasn't inspired to join in until today.

So here goes, in no particular order, the things that aren't working for me today:

1) low rise jeans (but what else is new?)

2) plastic grocery bags (they spill my groceries all over the car, I am demanding paper from now on.  grrrrr.)

3) play-doh (it ends up all over my kitchen floor and ground into my carpet)

4) juice boxes (they spew EVERYwhere.  I'd like to shoot whoever invented those things.)

5) sisters (all they do is fight.  CONSTANTLY.)

And just so I'm not a complete and utter downer, here are a few things that ARE working for me today.

a) cocoa krispie treats (those are working for me QUITE well, thankyouverymuch)

b) my new Hip-T (see #1) (more on the Hip-T tomorrow at Reviewsings)

c) naptime (see #5) (ahhhh... sweet peace and quiet)

d) the weather (this morning was dreary, but now the sun is poking it's lovely head through the clouds, just in time for happy hour, not that I'm counting down or anything)

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Stay tuned!  I'm about to announce the winner of the Georgie Designs giveaway.  And next week, I have a really fun giveaway planned for those babywearers out there.  Just thought I'd dangle that carrot in front of your nose.  I know, I'm so mean.