Everybody Ought to Go to Sunday School

I've been going to Sunday School for as long as I can remember. When I wanted to and even when I didn't! My parents had me dedicated to the Lord in an united pentecostal church before I was even a year old.

Two decades later, okay three decades later, I am finally making good on that promise. I am a mother of three and I too have dedicated my children to the Lord, but only now do I really understand what that truly means.

I've had it drilled in my head for years that if I want to enter the kingdom of God, I need to repent of my sins, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Ghost. Yes, as shocking as it might be, even I have sin. Come on, aren't we all born into the world sinners? That means you too!

If you pull out your bibles and dust them off you'll see in Acts 2:38 it says;

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (KJV)

Sounds pretty straight forward right? As much as I enjoy my BlackBerry, high-speed Internet and my Tim Horton's coffee, heaven sounds pretty good!

My family and I started attending a new church and as it would seem, bells went off. A light came and it was like duh! So like I said, I've decided to make good on that promise years ago and I have chosen to God in my life. I'm not perfect and I will never claim to be. There are 3 keys that will open those pearly gates.

1. Repentance
2. Baptism
3. the Holy Ghost

I've got the first key although I'm not sure you ever really stop 'repenting'. No man is perfect (or wo-man) so I'm sure we'll need to ask forgiveness from time to time. Just don't make a habit of it.

This Sunday, I will have the second key. Yep, I'm getting baptized. It's almost as nerve racking as having a baby, but hopefully no where near as painful! (that's a joke, poor taste or not, a joke!)

Some people get the gift of the Holy Ghost before there are baptized. Others get it when they are baptized and others get it a little later. That's the third key. the bible teaches us the evidence of receiving the Holy Ghost is speaking in tongues.

I'm really excited about Sunday and even more excited to know that I am that much closer to being ready when Jesus comes.

Scrap or Stamp Somethin'

Okay, so this isn't really new, but I hosted my first Stampin' Up workshop on January 31st. Wow, how fun was that! Charlene was our demonstrator and we (crafters and non-crafters alike) made beautiful mini mailboxes.

Anybody can stamp, and it doesn't have to be used for scrapbooking. Did I mention I haven't started a single page yet. Oops...I will, really! Stamps are great for various paper crafts. I especially like making greeting cards. Gift tags would be neat too.

Friends, food and fun. What more could a girl ask for?

AeroGarden week 4:Now We're Growing!

Wow, what a difference a couple weeks makes! No really!! In fact, once my herbs took off, you could definitely see a difference in size from the beginning to the end of the day.



Since the add nutrient light has come on, I know it's been 2 weeks!








I've had to add the next nutrient tab...








and top up the water.








This is so low maintenance that maybe I shouldn't even be allowed to call it gardening...but I will. Yep, I'm gardening.

I've reset the ad nutrient button for another 2 weeks. So now I only have one problem. What to cook?








I need to start harvesting these beautiful herbs so they keep growing. Let me refer back to the instructions on to harvest without killing the herbs. When I've built up enough courage to do it, I'll let know!

AeroGarden Week Four - My first video captured...and blogged.

We are into our fourth week with the AeroGarden. As I mentioned before, every two weeks you need to add nutrients and top up the water.

Again, have the 3-pod garden so I only needed to add 1 nutrient rather than the standard 2.

We are very excited while we await the final outcome.

We've heard good things about the cherry tomato seed pods and are considering those next!

Garlic, So Good for You...

I very much enjoy cooking with garlic. I used to buy pre-minced garlic in a jar for convenience. I started selling cooking tools for the Pampered Chef (love everything) and received a garlic press in my starter kit. I'd had garlic presses before, but they just made a big mess. This one actually pushed the garlic, juices and oils through while leaving the skin behind. Oh, didn't I mention you actually put the garlic in with the skin on. Keeps your fingers from smelling!

Anyway, I loved using fresh garlic so much, I would buy the mesh bags that had about a dozen or so heads of garlic. I got lazy, yes even with the best garlic press ever (it's made from gun metal!!). Although less enthusiastic about cooking, I still bought the same bags of garlic. Only now, they sat in the fringe until they shrivelled up and sprouted.

So here it is, I'm the proud owner of the Magic Bullet (purchased at Canadian Tire)and a silicone garlic peeler (available at dollar stores). I bought the big bag of garlic again and peeled the cloves and pulsed them in the Magic Bullet. Be careful to pulse and not puree. You'll end up with garlic paste.

Once your garlic is minced, put it in a freezer safe bag or use a Foodsaver if you have one (yes, I one one of these too!). Seal the garlic as flat as you can and then freeze.

Whenever you need garlic for a recipe, just break off a piece and you're cooking! Just remember to label and date your frozen parcels.

**You can do the same thing with ginger, but pulse and freeze with the skin on.

Brrr, I'm so over winter...

That's it. I've had it. Cold, cold, go away, and never come back!

It seems there's just no way of escaping. Well unless you have some of that disposable income I've heard of. Or maybe if you win the lottery. If I had 1 or the other, I'd be writing my blog from the white sandy beaches of Barbados. No I wouldn't be tanning, my tan lasts all year round!

I would be sipping cocktails while planning my next trip to Bridgetown to buy souvenirs for all relatives at home freezing. I would stuff my face with mango and flying fish, well not together yuk...or maybe...

Hello. Snap out of it. The closest thing to the sea I'm getting to today is a hot shower if I'm lucky. Jay has started having showers, How much hot water does an 8 year old need anyway?

Nope, I have resorted to hibernation. Not even shopping is incentive enough to get me out of my jammies. Dream on, for I am a brave soldier. Also known as a mother. Although I work fro home, I still brave the cold Monday to Friday to pick up Tre from kindergarten. I suppose I could wear my pj's to school, but I kind of sort of decided to dress less homely and more feminine as a New Year's resolution.

Well instead of sitting on the beach, I'm on the couch. Instead of sipping cocktails under the Caribbean sun, I'm sipping a cocktail in front of the pellet stove. And instead feeling warm sand through my toes, I'm knitting slippers to keep my feet warm.

AeroGarden Week Two

So it's been 2 weeks since I planted my very first 3-pod AeroGarden with the Gourmet Herb seed kit and the domes have come off. I know it's been 2 weeks because the 'Add Nutrient' indicator light came on. Somehow this brilliant machine knows to turn on the 'Add Nutrient' light every two weeks.

Now because we have the 3-pod garden and we're using a regular (good for 3-pod & 6-pod gardens) seed kit, there are a couple of little things to remember.

When you first plant the desired 3 seed pods, instead of adding the 2 provided starter nutrient tabs, just add 1. And each time you are prompted to add more nutrients, you only require a half dosage which 1 tablet. You'll find that the tablet are portioned 2 per baggie. I just took out 1 tablet and put the other tablet, still in it's non-resealable baggie, into a Ziploc bag.

Each time you add nutrients, you must also refill the water to the 'Fill to Here' tab located inside the garden bowl. To reset (turn off) the 'Add Nutrient' light, press and hold the 'Reset' button (located in the middle of the control panel) until the 'Add Nutrient' blinks, for about 3 seconds then release. Press and release the 'Reset' button again, the 'Add Nutrient' light will blink quickly a few times and then turn off. Now it has been reset for another 2 weeks.

**Be sure to read the baggies are they are labelled, starter nutrient and nutrient!

So I'm not yet reaping what I've sowed, but my indoor herb garden isn't dead. So far...

You know, if you really look at the 3-pod AeroGarden we have, I mean reeeaaallly look at it. With its shape and it being white, it really looks a lot like Eve, from the Wall E movie (cute movie by the way!).

Ebbonnie-Dawn