The dreams that we dream really do come true...

Ok, you don't have to sing the Cinderella song, but listen to this:

Last winter I got onto this kick of entering some recipe contests online. I saw that a winner of a recipe contest in my Food Network magazine was a mother of four, and over the last ten years or something won thousands of dollars from winning recipes in contests. "Shucks," I thought, "I can do that!"

So last March I started on what I thought, in the back of my mind, would be a fruitless effort.

It takes a while, you see, to find the right kind of contests (Miracle Whip contests, hot sauce contests, no thanks!), enter your recipe, read over, rewrite, etc. But I did about 10 I think. I just made sure to only bother with the ones that had substantial prizes, so that IF I would happen to win one, it would be worth the hours I spent typing. (None of your piddly $50 prizes, or year's worth of flour tortillas for me, I'm going for the big bucks).

Months passed. Never thought one nanosecond about it.
Until..

Wednesday of this week, Luke was being quite awful. And by quite awful I mean I was on the verge of tears by the time Ed came through the door. The mail had piled up over the last couple days, and I never got around to it until Ed got home. When lo and behold, I get a Taste of Home envelope, a magazine, and a little scrap of paper saying "Thank you for entering our "Citrus" recipe contest. We have awarded you second prize and your winning recipe is located on p. 33. You will be receiving a check shortly."

That's it. No warning, I didn't even know what recipe I entered that won, so I turned to page 33 to find out, and there it was! 2nd Prize: $300!! For my Best Lime Tart ( I think I had a more creative name than that, but I'm not going to complain. They could've called it poop tart for all I care!)

 Here's where to find the recipe at a grocery store near you!

I feel like Jo in Little Women when she finds out she won "5 whole dollars" for her first story, or Anne Shirley when she first found out her book was being published. Not that it's a cookbook, but it's a start.


If you would like to try your hand at entering that favorite recipe of yours, check out these recipe contests.
It couldn't hurt.
Or if you want to come visit me for your own taste of my Lime Tart, you're more than welcome. Cheers!

Ode to my husband...

My husband is a rare find. Handsome, hardworking, knows how to have a good time, handsome, LOVES playing with the boys, handsome, loves learning, goes to the grocery store for me, adventurous, makes breakfast for me, handsome, ....

Recently I've been overwhelmed by indeed how wonderful he is, and how much I have learned from him, and how much more I still need to learn. He just started a new job in which he works longer hours and has had to work the last two Saturdays, and even though he's probably more tired and overwhelmed than I can imagine, he comes home and shovels without complaint, runs to the grocery store for me without complaint, reads Luke at least 8 books before going to bed, and tells me he loves me everyday. Did I also mention he's handsome as anything I could ever dream up?

If I had to do all the work he does, being tossed into a job full of unrealistic deadlines, and all the home stuff he takes care of, and only getting 6 hours of sleep sometimes, I would be a wreck. A very cranky wreck. I'm the one that has it 'easy' in comparison.

So my goal? Cherish every minute I have with him. Stop complaining about how tired I am looking after two little boys. Help him. Show my appreciation more. So many times I find myself comparing my worth to his in our little family, who does more, etc. SILLY! God made man and woman on purpose, and it does take two, doesn't it? One thing is for sure, I would NOT have such a wonderful life if it wasn't for him.

Luke is "done, bath!" He even knows how to let the water out. Time to go!

Have a wonderful day, and remember with me to cherish the family and friends in our lives~

some more lists...

As I've been catching up on some of my favorite blogs, they are so very similar to what I've been thinking about...lists.

How much i hate them...

How much I can't live without them.

I am the kind of person that needs to write a list of everyday things just to get them done. And if I do something that's not on the list, I write it in JUST so I can cross it off and feel some sense of accomplishment. I know I'm not alone in this. I get it from my father, who at any moment can pull a torn off piece of envelope from his chest pocket and cross off something that's been on there for 2 months.

the point of lists is to do the things on them. it's so funny to find lists from long ago, and see what got done and what didn't. But I like getting things done.That's why my favorite lists are grocery lists that say 'milk, eggs, butter,' and daily lists that say 'breakfast, lunch, dinner' because these things ALWAYS get done.

The lists like 'take shower, read Bible, vacuum' get done, sadly, on a much less regular basis.
Then there are the mental lists that keep me from resting even when I've been sick for 3 days.
Then there are the lists I write for my husband. Lists of things to give to my mom the next time I see her. Lists of people to write letters to. Lists, lists, lists. Can't live with them, can't live without them.

Here, though, are some that YOU dear reader can help me accomplish.
1. Have people over for dinner at least once a month (please feel free to invite yourself, as I sadly don't get around to making meal dates half as much as I should)
2. Praying for specific needs of people (again, please let me know if you need prayer for a certain situation)
3. Playing piano...just for fun, just for me and my musical soul. (You can help me do this by simply asking me/reminding me to do it.)
4. Be more open and flexible in my schedule to help others when they need it.

And as my past experience suggests, short lists have a higher percentage rate of getting accomplished.

As I sign off, my list is: make Evan stop crying, blow my nose, take medicine, ... And take time to truly REST on this Sabbath. May you be in better health than this household is =: )