Chickafinty ~ A Life in the Laundry

You think I'd have got the hint by now

Have no idea how many times I have started another blog *somewhere* i.e typepad/Blogger/Vox/Diaryland etc etc etc only to discover that I have the time and energy to maintain ONE blog, not many.  But, of course, when we started homeschooling I just had to have a separate blog for it.

Well, surprise, suprise, I only have the time and energy to maintain one blog.  Today I am importing everything from "A  Little Bit of Everything" into Chickafinty.  We're back to one blog.

Read on, McDuff.

32 to go...

I am delighted to say that after 7 years of blogging, I'm only 32 visits short of a magical 3000 hits!  Woo HOO!  I know some bloggers get that in an afternoon, but hey, 3000 is still 3000 no matter how long it takes.

I wonder who gets the magic 3000?

It could be you!!

Get Real 09

I *think* I am strong enough to do this.

Lusi has a challenge running over on her blog: a challenge to Get Real and tell it like it really is, and not be some sort of mythical superwoman who has it all together.  It's not about breast-beating, nor wallowing in self-pity, but it is about honesty.  We are none of us superwomen, just ordinary mums who have moments of great encouragement and periods of feeling as though we're not making the grade.

Here's my first go at being "real".

• I baked a cake and some cupcakes on Thursday night and they're still in the pantry in a container uniced...really
• We ate McDonalds tonight as I am heading for a bad patch and couldn't organise my way out of a paper bag...really
• I've opened a Bible maybe twice in the last week...really
• I'm a leader at GFS this year and I have never felt more inadequate for a task in my life...really
• I know that I ought not feel like that as it is clear that God has called me to this work, but I do...really
• My entire desk space, all 3.3m ² of it, is covered in stuff.  There is enough room for the keyboard and that is all...really
• I didn't get to church today...really
• The three washing baskets in the laundry are full to overflowing and the kids are close to having nothing to wear...really
• I haven't made our bed for several days...really
• I haven't checked under Chickabid's bed...really
• I have overcommitted at church and now I need to scale back, but I lack the courage to actually 'fess up and say it...really
• I started to sew some clothes for The Duchess, but then the sewing machine blew up and as I haven't even touched one for years and years I have blown over $50 on patterns and material and notions that now appears to be a waste and I feel like Meg in Little Women...really
• I swallowed pride and asked for help from the LSBS girls and Pepper was gracious enough to take on the sewing project I had already cut out...really
• I put bicarb soda on some staining in Chickabid's room yesterday, and now Mister Bear is vacuuming it off for me while I piddle around on the internet...really
• Really. Perfect wife, perfect mother, perfect ambassador for Christ?  I don't think so.  Not so far this century.

I'd like the organised home, the organised homeschool, the perfect life, but I don't think it is going to happen this side of eternity.

But then there is this:

2 Corinthians 12: 9 - 10

⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

If I could do it all by myself I wouldn't need God.  I can't do it by myself, only by his grace and strength.  Now if I could just trust Him more and block me out of the picture, things might be different.

A time for praying

Please uphold Kenzie, Dusty and Deacon Stanfield in your prayers today.  I've been following Kenzie's story since earlier this year whne they lost baby Maddox to Trisomy 18.  You can find a link to Kenzie's blog over in the sidebar or go here.

Kenzie is pregnant with their precious daughter Faith Clare.  Kenzie's has gone into preterm labour at 26 weeks.  Please pray for this little family who have endured so much. 

"Thy will be done"

On my heart tonight

My dear net-friend Cheryl - the one who designed the old Chickafinty banner - is going through a really tough time that suddenly got so much tougher.  My heart bleeds for her and I go cold inside every time I think about the journey that she has faced since Christmas...and the journey that stretches before her. 

Heather and Mark facing their own crisis today.  Their dearly loved daughter Emma has been rushed to hospital.  If you care to, please pray for them tonight and for the peace which passeth understanding.

If ever I felt the tyranny of distance, I feel it tonight.

Love me some words

Your Vocabulary Score: A+

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

snagged from kiwiria

WFMW- Easiest Dinner in the World

I stumbled across this by accident.  I got some lamb chops out of the freezer cos I *knew* I had a casserole base in the pantry and I'd planned to make it for dinner.  Chops defrosted no problems but could Ifind the casserole base in the pantry?  Nope.

ON the off chance that it might work I just grabbed a jar of prepared pasta sauce (Bolognese with bacon I think), poured it over the chops and bunged it in the oven for about 35 minutes.  It came out absolutely fantastic.  Served it with mashed spuds, corn on the cob and baby peas and the whole family raved about it.

Check out more WFMW at Shannon's!

WFMW - Scuzzy Kitchen Sponges/Dishcloths

Works For Me Wednesday Tip (Yes, I know it's Thursday, but it's still Wednesday at Shannon's place)

When kitchen sponges get scuzzy and revolting and smelly, like when **somebody tips something disgusting down the sink on top of your sponges etc, I have found a great way of freshening them up almost instantly and in an environmentally friendly way.

• Sprinkle both sides liberally with bicarb soda
• Pour on a sensible amount of white or cleaning vinegar
• Mush around in your hands while it's fizzing
• Rinse out in hot water and voila, sponge is clean and fresh smelling and ready for immediate use
• A quick wipe over the sink with the bicarb and vinegar laden sponge will also bring the sink up shining (two cleaning jobs for the price of one)

Incidentally, if anyone knows how to get the WFMW picture/button thingy complete with linky onto a blog post I'd be grateful for some instructions in the comments :)

(** I have two somebodies at my house and some truly revolting stuff has disappeared down the drainpipe at our place before.)

The time has come

I am going to start a rework of my whole blog from the ground up.  It's been the same way for so long because doing anything seems to take such a long time - time that I simply don't have.  Had a really good look at the page last night and there's so much fluff sitting on the page that's just fluff.  Blogrolls need revising, booklists need a rework, archives need a tidy and I could go on ad nauseum.

I'm going to strip everything back and then build from the ground up.  Don't worry if it looks a bit bare for a while - things will improve.

Finally

Have finally managed to get my stat counter working properly!  It's only been about 7 months, give or take a day.

Now I really am going cos Mister Bear and I are going to watch Underdog.