Benefits of a handyman's wife

The other night I'd just had it with my knife drawer. It was unorganized and posed to be a dangerous situation at times. I have knives I don't use and I am pretty sure all of them were wedding gifts circa November 1990!

I mentioned to my ever-so-talented-with-a-power-tool husband that I'd like to call our cabinet maker and order a knife organizer for the drawer and would he take measurements. He did one better.

We headed out to the shop and he pulled power chords out of the ceiling(seriously-some retractable doo-hickey!), set up saws on the tailgate and hooked up the sawdust sucker upper thing (some sort of huge vacuum). The guy even has an air purifier out there! How did I not know this?!?!?!

He started cutting, measuring, cutting some more, lining the knives up, gluing, nailing, sanding, oiling, and 2 hours later...voila! A knife drawer!
I am getting rid of over 1/2 of my knives because let's face it...how many do you really need? Now they are safe and organized! I'm not spoiled at all :)

My beautiful friend at:

has done some guest posts and today was mine :) She rocks and I love her!

Check it out here:

http://justanightowl.com/2010/03/08/day-98-sandis-guest-post-2/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JustANightOwl+%28Just+A+Night+Owl%29

My ride

This here is my husbands "return to glory days toy". He had one when we were dating. It is a 1971 Toyota Landcruiser. He sold it right before we got married and had regretted it ever since. A few years back he got the urge for another one and found it on E-Bay. It was baby blue and totally rusted out. He's completely restored the thing. It's fun in the summer!


Not so much in the winter. This is what I've driving this week because my car looked like this:

I was backed into a couple of weeks back in a parking lot. Hit-and-run. His is bumpy and drafty (did I mention it's about 38 out in the mornings?). Mine, well, let's just say I'm grateful for the little things...like HEATED SEATS :)

I hope I get my ride back soon!

Stuffed Bells

Growing up my mom made stuffed bell peppers and stuffed zucchini straight from our garden. I always loved the vegetables from her garden. I, however, did not end up with that green thumb and in my part of the world you better have one along with a green house!

Anyway, I saw these bright, big, beautiful bells at Trader Joe's and instantly thought of stuffing them. It was very basic and easy and a hit with the fam! Even my youngest boy (who we call a carbivore because he pretty much just likes carbs) said, "Wow, not bad mom!".

I used:
Ground turkey fried up on the stove with salt, pepper, & onions
Bread Crumbs
1 egg
1 Diced zucchini
Cheddar cheese
Dash or two of Worcestershire Sauce

Stuffed the bells and topped with extra cheese. Poured a bit of chicken broth in the bottom of the pan and baked at 350 for about 45 minutes!

If nothing else, I thought the were pretty :)

I need a TIME OUT!

I'm not throwing a fit. My kids aren't driving me nuts. I haven't lost it. I'm not even hormonal. The fact-of-the-matter is I need a time out from the "To-Do" list! You know the one you don't have to make because it's the SAME EVERYDAY?!?!?!

What I would give for some time to do nothing! (Except read lovely blogs and sip something hot & yummy). Yet, in all the joys & giggles of blog land I've come to realize that I even need a time out from this! To sit in silence maybe. Or just read a chapter in the book I've started. To just be. Even right now, I should be catching up in the office because my 4 lovely darlings will be home in about an hour and it's payroll day. But no, I'm sitting here kinda whining I guess. Tea is brewing and buttery Girl Scout Trefoil cookies are waiting for me.



I don't want the "To-Do" list to go away, I'd just like it to keep working while I take a time out! The clock is ticking...I'm not gonna complain anymore though. Without work to keep the company going I wouldn't have work to do in the office, and of course we need the work so we can live. So, time to be thankful, pull my big-girl-pants up and get my booty in the other room and work.

Thanks for joining me on my mini time out!

Provision in Obedience

My devotional time this morning began with a quiet house, hot cup of coffee, and....the book of Numbers & Mark. I will admit that Numbers is not one of the more inspiring books for me to read, and as I checked my reading guide for today I was a little disappointed.

Silly me. God never disappoints when we are ready to meet with Him! I had to write about this today because of my silliness and because of how He spoke to me with regards to this season in my life.

Numbers 28. God is instructing Moses about daily burnt offerings and other burnt offerings in addition to the daily ones. As I was reading it occurred to me...that is A LOT of animals! I thought to myself, "The Israelites would have had to have an abundance of animals!" Then the light went on...let it sink in just a minute......

God instructed them to do something, yet He is the one that provided the abundance. All the Israelites had to do was obey. He would do the rest!

Mark 8 went along with the same idea. Jesus fed the multitude with 7 loaves and a few fish even when the disciples grumbled. Jesus' compassion for the people seeking Him overwhelmed Him to provide for their basic need.

This was an encouraging start to my day. God has called Doug and I to venture into a new season. If we don't step up to the altar we will miss His blessings!

God will provide the blessing as long as we obey the calling!

I DID IT! All week the previous post stayed in the back of mind and pushed me to the gym. I was hoping for 5 days, but I made it 4. I pushed it hard those 4 days though and thanks to one of the trainers at the club on Friday I just about tossed my breakfast! You know you are working hard when you get to that point.

Now with a trophy now in place of a swirl I'm determined to keep it there!