A Way To Pray Each Day

I want to pray more often, but I get overwhelmed by my list of things to pray about! And if there are too many things to pray for, I find I can't make it through the entire list each time - so things get left off or forgotten regularly.

This year, my one-word focus is Diligence, so I want to be diligent in my prayer-time too. I need a way to split up what I pray for each day {I've seen others do this}. I can still pray for any timely needs, but my general prayers for the day will have a focus that's listed out.

But then I have to remember where I put the list and find it before I pray each time {because my memory just ain't what it used to be}! I need something catchy and easy to remember. I finally came up with a list I like and have been using. All I have to do is remember what day it is - and I easily remember the day's focus!

I thought I would share it with you since it's helped me. I even made a picture in case you want to use the same idea! Feel free to pin it if you like it. :)

I just put the basics on the pic, but you get the idea. Obviously Friday Friends & Fam could include cousins, aunts, pets, and more. And Tuesday True Love might involve praying for a future spouse if you're not married. The focus for each day is general enough for you to fit in your own items.

What helps you with your prayer time?

This post linked to:

 ~ WFMW at We Are THAT Family

 ~ Thriving Thursday at Serving Joyfully

If you enjoyed stopping and smelling the chocolates with me, I'd love it if you click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS! 

I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far! Have a blessed day friends!

Pear Week ~ When is a Bartlett Ripe?

Ah - the end of Pear Week.  No recipe today.  Instead I wanted to share some tips I learned on how to tell when a Bartlett pear is ripe.  Methods are a little different for other types of pears.  I'll only address the Bartletts today since that's what I used for all my recipes!

I always thought that Barlett pears should be fully yellow and slightly soft to the touch when ripe.  Not quite.  When Bartlett pears are ripe, they start changing from green to yellow (so you could have both colors at the same time), but if they are soft to the touch in the center, then they are overripe and will go bad very fast.

You are supposed to "check the neck" to tell if they are ripe and at the peak of sweetness.  Grab the pear around the center and use your thumb to gently press in just under the stem.  If it presses in easily - it's ripe!  If it gives some resistance, it's not quite ready yet.

I learned something else interesting.  Bartlett pears ripen best off the tree.  So they are picked well before they are ripe.  This gives them the best texture and the sweetest flavor.  I could never figure out why our grocery store always had firm green Bartlett pears.  That's on purpose!  In fact, you shouldn't buy really yellow, soft, bruised Bartlett pears - they will be overripe.  You'll have to have a little patience and ripen the pears at home.  Once ripe, you can also store in the refrigerator to lengthen the time before it goes bad by a few days.

Whew - that was a little too educational for me.  I think we need a pear joke here.

If you had 5 oranges in one hand, and 5 pears in the other hand, what would you have?

Massive hands.

BAhahaha.  :)

Thank you again for joining me for Pear Week - I hope you enjoyed it!  I think I'll post a recap on Monday with all the links in one place so it's easy to refer back to when you have a bunch of pears to use up.

Did you learn something new today (besides the joke - LOL)? 

Just picture me checking the neck of over 100 pears to see which ones were ripe.  I'm an expert now - HA!  I'll picture all of you in the grocery stores now checking necks and nodding to yourself while other shoppers look at you like you're a little odd.  :)

Have a wonderful day friends!

WFMW ~ Finding Your *Voice*

 

Today's WFMW is all about blogging tips.  Be sure to check out the links over there - you'll find all sorts of helpful info!

When I very first started blogging, I e-mailed Kristen at We Are THAT Family and asked her for any suggestions for my blog.  She graciously answered and gave me some great advice!  In that message, she mentioned that it had taken a few months to find her *voice* on her blog.  That stuck with me.  I do think I found my *voice* after 3-4 months of blogging, but you could certainly find yours much faster!

If you take the time to think through some questions, you can start to find your *voice* whether you're getting ready to start a blog, finding your way as a new blogger, or changing direction on an established blog.  Here are some questions to consider:

~  What is the purpose of my blog? (journal, professional, resource, humor, inspirational, etc.)

~  Who is my target audience? (friends, family, industry, moms, Christians, etc.)

~  What is my relationship to my audience? (friend, teacher, mentor, expert, coworker, etc.)

On my blog, I write in the voice that I use to talk to friends.  I like to think that when you stop by here, you are stopping over for coffee or tea (and chocolate!) and we're chatting.  That's why my writing ain't always gonna be grammatically correct!  ;)  And you'll find me throwing in an LOL here and there along with a :) and an incorrect use of ... for a pause.  Of course I don't actually say "LOL" in real life, but I do laugh a lot and want to convey that!

My voice has changed a little over time.  It's the same friend *voice* but with a little more knowledge and confidence.  We do change over time!  If our blogs are a reflection of us, then we should expect our blogs to change over time as well.  That's OK!

Do you read certain blogs just because of the *voice*?  Have you found your *voice* on your own blog?

Be sure to stop back at We Are THAT Family (written in a warm, friendly, humorous voice) to see other great blogging tips today!

Have a beautiful day friends!

Almost A Guest Post, But Not - How To Make Your Own Lattes

As promised yesterday - here are my hubs' tips for making your own coffee house lattes at home!  He took these pics and wrote up some directions to put on his facebook and I thought it would make a great post.  He's letting me post this on my blog.  It's almost like he's guest posting - which he is not because he tells me he would never do something like that.  :)

Hubs makes these lattes for me every weekend (yes, I AM spoiled)!  Here are the directions - in his words:

The kind of coffee you want to buy is dark roast, e.g. espresso roast, Italian roast, French roast, African coffees.  Basically you want the kinds of coffee with dark oily beans.  Grind the coffee beans really fine.  If you decide to buy the pre-ground espresso in the can, go with a more expensive brand like illy.  Be warned - the cheap stuff in the cans at the grocery store tastes terrible.  I mean really bad.

I use a stovetop espresso maker because they make more shots of espresso in a brewing cycle.  Most kitchen and bath stores sell them. I got this one at IKEA. It was around $20.  Follow the instructions that come with it to brew the espresso.

While the espresso is brewing, start steaming the milk.  We already have a single shot espresso machine and I use the steamer attachment to steam the milk. You can buy a low-price espresso maker and just use the steamer or you can steam milk in the microwave. Here's one way to do it (http://www.ehow.com/how_4750814_steam-milk-espresso-machine.html). Steam the milk to no more than 160 degrees (I use our meat thermometer to check the temp) or it will scald.  You’re probably wondering: “Why don’t you just use the espresso maker side of the machine to make espresso?”  I used it when we first got it, but it was laborious to make more than one shot of espresso because you have clean out the espresso basket after each brew cycle.  Plus the grind of the espresso has to be just right or the espresso won’t brew right (too fine the basket clogs, too coarse the espresso flavor is too weak).  The stovetop maker will brew a very fine grind of espresso without clogging and, as I said above, you get way more espresso shots in a brew-cycle.

Also in this pic is the flavored syrup to add to the latte (my wife likes foo-foo). You can buy these syrups at any grocery store. 

As soon as espresso is done brewing, it's good to pour it into a separate container so it won't continue cooking in the espresso maker since the maker gets very hot.  If it stays in the hot maker too long, it will become bitter.  

The espresso is done brewing. Too bad this isn't smellivision. Good stuff!

To make a latte the way my wife likes (a "lighter coffee experience") which is like a Starbucks flavored latte, pour into cup in this order: approx. 2 tablespoons flavored syrup, 1 shot espresso (1/4 cup), then 1 1/2 cups steamed milk.  To make a bolder latte (a "normal" latte), pour 2-3 shots espresso and then 1 1/2 cups steamed milk.

The finished product.  This cup cost about a dollar to make (if you use organic milk; much less if not) and my wife says it tastes just as good as "Fourbucks". ;)

Isn't it lovely?  Such a treat!  Thanks hubs!!  Um, for the record though, my lattes do not cost four bucks (hubs rounds up).  :)

I'm linking this up to the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap!  Also linking this to DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land!

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Organizing Recipes

Works-For-Me Wednesday is all about organizing today. Um, organizing anything in my home is NOT my strength! Just ask my husband! But it just so happens that I forced myself to organize my recipes recently during my crazy Housecleaning Week! I thought I would share how I did it in case it works for you.

I had all my recipes (cards, torn magazine pages, printouts, cutouts from labels, etc.) jumbled together in a box. And I am the sort of person that MUST have the recipe in front of me no matter how many times I've made the dish! It always took several minutes to locate the recipe I was looking for. I wanted a simple way to organize that would not involve hours of typing or handwriting recipes.

So, armed with many page protectors and some binders, I organized those recipes! I put all of them into page protectors, grouping similar things together and sharing pages whenever possible. I used tabs to organize the different sections. I originally hoped to use one binder, but it filled up! I came up with an idea for 3 binders - A,B, and C.

The "A" Binder contains All the recipes we usually use.

The "B" Binder contains Beverages, breads, & breakfasts.

The "C" Binder contains...say it with me now...CHOCOLATE!

I'm able to find what I need so much faster and I can just pull the page right out of the binder. The recipe will survive because of the page protector (many of mine are looking pretty sad!)!

It might not be the best method out there for organizing recipes, but it works for me!

For more great organizing ideas, stop by We Are THAT Family and don't miss out on the great organizing giveaways!

Have a fabulous day my friends!

Works-For-Me-Wednesday: Frugal Tips

Frugal tips definitely work for me!! Today's edition of WFMW is all about the frugality. I was trying to think of what fabulous frugal tip to share with you when I realized that I have already shared a few on this blog. I thought it would be best to round up all my frugal tips so you could find them all in one spot! I hope you find a new tip that you can use!

Frugal Shopping Tips:

~ Thriftiness is the new black

~ Shopping at thrift stores

Frugal Food Tips:

~ Make your own instant oatmeal mix

~ Make your own ranch dressing mix

~ Low cost slow cooker recipes

Frugal Household Tips:

~ Make your own shower cleaner

~ Take your own family portraits

~ Homemade gift ideas for kids

For lots more frugal tips, stop by Works-For-Me-Wednesday hosted by We Are THAT Family!

Have a blessed and frugal day!!

Creative Concealments

Here's something fun and maybe you'll end up with a useful tip or two.

Melissa over at The Inspired Room has asked for our "Creative Concealment" ideas. She said:

Gather up your CREATIVE CONCEALMENT IDEAS to share on Monday. Don’t be shy. Show us how you creatively hide the uglies around your house! Do you throw a table cloth over something to hide stuff under the table? Stash unpleasant items in a pretty basket? Hide an electrical outlet and cords with a plant? Hang a curtain over something less than lovely? Toss a throw over an old couch to give it new life? Do you do anything clever or pretty to conceal something else? Come on. I know some of you conceal and you are masters at it. I’ve seen your blogs and I have seen concealments. Yes I have. You just didn’t know what they were called. Please, share your ideas to inspire us and add your post to Mr. Linky on Monday!

At first I didn't think I had one, but then I thought of two! They are both super simple and not at all fancy. I decided to share them anyway. And I hope to get lots more ideas from everybody else!

The first is simply a curtain covering a bookcase full of a jumbled mess. Since I don't sew, I had been looking for the right length to hang from a pressure rod and found this - I can tie it up to whatever length I need:


The second is something that my husband made. We bought an entertainment center from our neighbors, but realized that our TV was too small. Also, this is up against a wall with a window, so it looks a little strange seeing all the space around.



I have to admit, I did suggest buying a bigger TV to solve the problem! My husband had a better, much more frugal and creative idea...build a cover. He measured, built a simple wooden frame, stapled fabric to it, and attached metal plates.



He then attached magnets to the inside of the cabinet so the screen would just "click" into place.



And here's the finished product. The fabric is actually black - the picture looks a little different. We could have used any decorative fabric, but decided that we didn't want attention drawn to that space, so went with black. It almost looks like a projection screen and hides the ugly spaces.



What do you think? Do you have creative concealments in your home? Don't forget to stop by The Inspired Room for more ideas!