Lesson 40-Faith Like a Mustard Seed

So I found this really yummy Middle Eastern chicken recipe on thenest.com last week. I decided to try it last night. But I ran into a few complications. I love the spice rack we got from C & H for our wedding, but it seems to be lacking a few that I needed for my recipe. The first was tumeric. So I googled substitutions for tumeric. The most helpful answer I found was if you don't have it, don't use a substitute because that could drastically change the intended flavor.

The next spice I was missing was mustard powder. I had mustard seeds. I tried to be resourceful. Surely mustard powder is a by-product of mustard seeds, right? So I'll use my mustard seeds to make mustard powder. I poured some seeds into a Ziploc bag, pulled out our wooden cutting board and meat mallet and went to crushing the seeds.

But I came across a problem. Those little seeds weren't budging. And I wasn't getting any powder. So my manly Husband came to the rescue. He saw my struggle and was going to help. He took the mallet from my hand and too a whack. And another. And one more ear-splitting whack.




I looked down and he had split our cutting board right down the middle, and those pesky little mustard seeds were still seeds with no powder in sight. So I gave up. No Middle Eastern chicken after all.

And I thought it brought a whole new meaning to this verse:
He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

I'll let you know when I successfully make the Middle Eastern Chicken.

Lesson 39-The Growing List

I was apparently overwhelming Husband with all the little renovations to the house I have running thru my head. So he asked me to start a list. Last night I plopped myself on the couch with a notebook and pen and got to writing. He came by and told me I was getting out of control! I don't get it! It's not like I want them all done by the weekend, geesh! But I thought you might be interested in the checking out the growing--and apparently scary--list.

*Master Bathroom
- new mirrors
- new lights
- paint walls
- hang curtain hold backs
- new curtains (?)
- art work

*Master Bedroom
- new curtains
- reading lamps
- jewelry organizer
- art work for above bed
- more pillows

*Garage
- epoxy floor

*Living Room
- entertainment center
- photo collage
- replace carpet
- paint
- new light fixture
- throw pillows
- more art work

Ok, so the list is kinda ambitious. But we're gonna be in the house for a while, might as well make it a nice house, right? What projects are you guys thinking about? How do you get your Husbands on-board for your projects?

Lesson 38- Spring Cleaning III

It's time for part three of my Spring Cleaning series. This time we tackled the closets. For some odd reason all of our closets have our clothes in them. And for another odd reason, we have way too many winter clothes considering we live in a city that doesn't have seasons.

We both went through all the closets and took out all clothes we weren't wearing anymore. They were put in garbage bags and will very soon be taken to Goodwill to be passed on to a new, good home. Clean closets and a good deed!

Lesson 37- Spring Cleaning II

I'm back for part two to my very exciting series on Spring Cleaning. This time I tackled the junk drawer. Again this was a part of the house I did not touch when I moved in after we got married. I think Husband had some kind of strange pride in the junk drawer. I was ok with it, until it got to the point of not being able to open or close easily. Then I got frustrated and annoyed by it. Action had to be taken.



I took everything out. Then I made Husband go through everything. A lot was thrown in the trash. Some stuff put in the garage. And other stuff found new homes in the house. It looks a lot better, but I'm not convinced I'm finished with it yet.

Lesson 36- Spring Cleaning I

This week I'll be doing a little series on Spring Cleaning, cause it's that exciting time of the year! Oh joy!

While cleaning our bathroom the other day, I realized that our medicine cabinet was crammed full of stuff. And when I started looking at all that stuff I started wondering if it all really needed to be crammed in there. It was one of those spaces in the house that I organized when I moved in, but didn't actually pay too much attention to. Oops.

So I pulled everything out of the cabinet and started reading expiration dates. Husband had some stuff in there from 2001!!! Holy good grief! Needless to say close to half of the stuff that was crammed in the medicine cabinet ended up in the trash can. And now there's even room for me to store some stuff! Who'd've thunk it?!

Most toiletries and cosmetics have a shelf life of 12-24 months. Prescription medications will last 12 months; over-the-counter will last about 24 months. Make sure to watch your expiration dates! Aside from the fact it frees up shelf space, it could be harmful using past-dated stuff!!!

And here ends part one of my Spring Cleaning Series!

Lesson 36- The Last Dinner Table

I have a confession. I didn't really make a lot of changes from our March tablescape to the one we'll use for Easter. Oh well. There are worse things in the world right?

Basically I just added some eggs. But eggs are very Easter-y... Why are eggs associated with Easter? Maybe they were Jesus' favorite food? And bunnies were his favorite animal? I think I may be taking some liberties on the holiday.

My parents are coming for the weekend today! Very excited! What are your plans for the holiday weekend? Do you have any fun and cool Easter traditions?

Lesson 35- More Nesting

Our table needed a little updating for the upcoming celebration of Jesus' life. I added some eggs...but not just any eggs. I tried having just the plain plastic eggs in a vase, but the colors were too bold for the rest of table. I didn't like it. So I took said eggs (left over from this project)

and covered them in strips of newspaper using Mod Podge (isn't that stuff great!).

When they were completely dry (about 24 hrs later), I added them to a vase with Spanish moss at the bottom.

I love the look. It's very simple and different since it's not your usual Spring colors.