My All Time Favorite

This one song has ministered to me more than ANY other song over the years. I first heard it about 6 years ago in college. I was single and seeking to serve the Lord... and decided to spend 3 months living in the Ukraine as a short-term missionary. Now even more so... after marriage, and a baby, and a big move to Central America to serve the Lord... this song means so much to me... and reminds me why I'm here... especially when I have rough days!

ummm... is that a CENTIPEDE???

IN MY HOUSE???So in case you don't know, centipedes are poisonous, and are easily differentiated from millipedes, which are nasty... but harmless. Centipedes have only one pair of legs extending from each body segment, where as millipedes have two pairs of legs extending from each body segement.


We have seen many millipedes crawling across our floors over the past 8 months. I am always grossed out, but not worried. But last night I spotted this crawling next to my bed... and to my horror I discovered only ONE pair of legs... blue legs I might add... and a red head... and it was about 5 inches long... and in my bedroom...

Amazingly, I still slept fine. Thank you Jesus.

My Husband Rocks!

In a period of 2 hours yesterday, my husband built this huge (8 feet long!) work table for me! It has a really thick and sturdy top and it is about 35" high... perfect height to stand and work (which will save my back when I'm cutting & ironing fabric!). He also ran to the store after he was done to buy me a drafting chair because standard office chairs aren't high enough for my table. He's going to build the shelving later in the week, and a small stool for me to put my sewing machine pedal on! OOOOOHHHH I LOVE THAT MAN!

amazing

the water. was on. all day.

Today was the longest the city water has ever been on in one stretch during the day since we moved here. I took 4 showers just to enjoy the sensation of actually getting clean & getting all the shampoo out of my hair. just awesome.

the before...

Tomorrow is the day! My hubby is leaving first thing in the morning to go to the little hardware store, Comasa, to buy wood to build my worktable. It's going to be 8 feet long and 28" deep! Later in the week he is going to install shelving all the way up the little cove area. Here is my official craft area "before"...

And here are some baskets I found at El Machetazo which I will fill with various craft supplies and sewing notions!

I'm sooooo excited to get started! I am going to sew new curtains for our windows and make a table skirt from the same fabric to go all the way around my table (at least that's my plan). I also bought a bulletin board which I will cover with fabric and put on the wall! EEEKKK! I can hardly contain myself (can you tell?)

starting your own WAHM business... ever thought about it?

It's so easy to get started selling your bows, personalized baby clothes, jewelry, whatever it is that you make! Here's how!

Step 1: Select a hosting provider. These companies provide you with a website complete with shopping categories, shopping carts, e-commerce solutions, etc. Each company provides similar services... I am most familiar with Pappashop, and know that they offer a site for as little as $10 per month. Providers: Pappashop, MerchantMoms, ShoppePro, Designer218, EcoChic Hosting. (I recommend Pappashop because I have worked with their company before and they are wonderful!)

Step 2: Find a Domain. (www. yourstorename .com) When regestering your business with your selected hosting provider, they will offer to register your domain for you. You'll need to think of a name that is not already taken, and the registration fee for a year is about $10. (to search for a domain that's available you can go to http://www.domain.com/- but I recommend actually registering your domain with your new hosting provider... makes everything easier!)

Step 3: Dress up your site with a gorgeous web template. This is the funnest part! Just check out these adorable sites from Restored316Designs! You simply order your design, and Lauren will customize everything to create a gorgeous store front for your new business!

Step 4: Set up your store! Your hosting provider will give you all the instructions to add items to your store, set up the shopping cart, and begin selling your handicrafts!

Step 5: Tell everyone you know & start selling!

It's so easy, fun & inexpensive to begin your own WAHM business! And you can always email me if you have additional questions, I'd love to help you get started. mommychroniclesblog (at) hotmail (.com)

cabin fever

I don't get out.

Most days not even to take a walk. It's the wet season here in the tropics of Panama... and lately it's been raining all day. And when it rains, there is always thunder & lightning... and hits down hard and close... a local was even killed by it recently about a mile from here! So I'm also paranoid now.

We don't have a car. There is a ministry vehicle, but we don't have access to it at will. It's always being used in one way or another... and the fiesta buses just aren't safe. So we don't go anywhere.

I'm just going a little koo-koo in this tiny cement house all day. My only outing is to the grocery store- which is a chore- not fun. My husband is out all the time doing ministry stuff... and for the most part, I love being at home. But once in awhile the walls feel as though they're going to close in on me completely.

Ug. It's hard, on days like this, not to have a pity party and long for my "old life" (my Egypt) when we had 2 cars, and money to spend, and I could go the JoAnn's fabric store any time I wanted... or Target... or Cold Stone's!

So instead, I blog.

quick & yummy

Here is a quick and simple dinner that I make when I'm short on both time and ingredients. I learned part of this from a church friend back home, and it's been in the recipe notebook ever since! It's not the healthiest or lowest calorie/fat thing to make, but once in awhile it hits the spot.

Fried Chicken Filet with Lime, Peruvian Garlic Rice & A Veggie

Ingredients

*boneless, skinless chicken (as much as you need to feed the family)

*eggs

*italian seasoned bread crumbs

*limes (about 1 for every 1-2 people)

*oil (I use olive oil to make this a little healthier)

*white or brown rice

*6 to 12 garlic cloves

*a green vegetable of some sort (we usually go with raw bell peppers)

Directions

Chicken:

-Filet each chicken breast in half (so you have two thin pieces)

-Crack a few eggs and whip with a fork

-Coat each chicken filet in the egg mixture

-Lay the filet on a plate of bread crumbs until both sides are evenly covered

-Meanwhile, heat up a skillet of oil on medium heat

-Once hot (flecks of water should sizzle and pop) add the filets of chicken to the oil

-Turn a few times and remove when cooked through

-Chop a lime into wedges... and put a few on each plate

-Before eating... squeeze lime onto the chicken! YUM!

Rice:

-For every 1 cup dried rice, mince 6 medium garlic cloves

-In a skillet, heat a Tbsp or 2 of butter and then saute minced garlic

-Once the garlic is golden brown, add the dried rice to the skillet &

toast rice with butter and garlic for a few minutes

-Add water (2 cups water for every 1 cup dried rice)

-Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer until steamed

(optional- if using brown rice, add a chicken bouillon cube to the water)

Veggie:

We are in the habit of eating all of our vegetables raw, to preserve the nutrients... but of course, fix a veggie or salad as you normally would.

Then go on a nice long walk to work off the fried chicken. :)

Anna's Words...

... in order of appearance...

1. tickle (sounds like tick-a)

2. dog (sounds like d-uh)

3. uh-oh

4. good girl (sounds like guh-gil)
(this is in reference to Scarlet by the way)

5. no (this is my new favorite... yeah good times)

6. thank you (sounds like tay-tuh)

Notice any important missing words... like, I don't know, MAMA for example???

it's happening...

it's not going to be a big, beautiful room like the Pottery Barn space shown below, but my husband is going to build me a "craft area"! We rearranged the furniture in our bedroom and created room for a 6 foot long work table. He's also going to build shelves to hang on the walls so I can store all of my crafting supplies right there within reach. It's not ideal to turn part of our bedroom into a work area, but I just desperately need a place to be creative or I'm going to burst! And since we spend very little time in our actual bedroom, it won't be too big of a deal to lose a portion of it to my new craft space. Hey, my husband has the whole front bedroom as his office, so shouldn't I get a little place of my own? Well, that's what I'm telling myself anyway. So construction begins soon... and you better believe I'll be posting photos! I'm so excited and it will be done just in time to begin sewing Christmas gifts! Yay!