No Blue Mondays Here

Good morning! I don't know about you, but I look forward to Mondays as a fresh week and a fresh chance. Mondays are right at the edge of a blank slate and it's up to you how you're going to fill it up. You can be negative, complaining, and miserable or positive, grateful, and someone who brings joy to those around them. The choice is up to you!

Me? I've decided that this week I am getting serious about taking care of myself. I had a bit of a wake up call during the last chapter of the Beth Moore study of the fruit of the Spirit. The 9th and final trait was self-control...not my strongest trait in some areas. Maybe I'll share more about that later in the week, but for now it's enough to say it comes back to my belief as a Christian that the Holy Spirit lives in those who are saved, thus making the body God's temple. So, the question then is, how am I doing at maintaining it? Am I providing a home worthy of God? Yikes! (Yeah, I'm going to have to elaborate in another post, because this doesn't do the line of thinking any justice at all.)

Anyway, when it comes to Mondays...and TODAY...

don't be this person...

be this person!

Our weekend began with a pizza delivered from Gino's. When we were kids Gino's had this amazing thick-crust pizza and we recently learned that they still do, but you have to special order it and pay a little extra. We thought we'd give it a try. Oh my goodness. It was every bit as good as we remembered. At our ages we probably shouldn't indulge in all that crust all the time, but what a treat! We enjoyed a bit of wine with it and watched a bit of television, but it was an early night for Tim as he had to work on Saturday.

I was just getting ready to head to bed around 11:30 when our daughter called in a panic because she was hearing a lot of banging that sounded like it was in her basement. Her husband works midnight shift so she and the baby were there alone. I woke Tim up and he went to check things out, taking his .45 with him. I paced on our back sidewalk, phone in hand in case I needed to call 911.

It turned out to be the screen door on their cellar door. Megan has been selling things the former owner left behind so they've been going in and out that way a lot. It could be that it just didn't get latched or given that it had gotten pretty windy, the wind may have just caught it right and popped it open. Either way, it was just the door banging open and closed. Thank you, Lord!

I slept in on Saturday for the first time all summer and was enjoying a lazy morning in my pj's when Megan called again. This time wanting to know if I'd watch Colton for 45 minutes or so while she and Cody mowed their lawn. It turned into more like 3 or 4 hours since they also trimmed the shrubs around their house and mowed our yard and my mom's yard.

Colton and I played outside for a while, but he was so tired and cranky. I brought him in and gave him some chocolate milk and something to eat and he sat watching a movie and playing with his cars for quite a while. He wouldn't nap, though. I think he finally did when he went home because he looked pretty bright-eyed in the pictures I saw of him watching a fireworks display that night.

My ankle was throbbing by the time Colton left so I tried to stay off my feet the rest of the day.

Sunday I worked on getting the laundry done and made a crock pot full of stuffed peppers while Tim worked on the sandbox under the jungle gym's platform. Colton is at an age where he'd really enjoy it now...and it would sure help the rest of us keep him busy when we're outside. We did a little work on the gardens, but it kept getting darker and darker and finally we got a good soaking rain. That ended any outside work. So we came in, enjoyed the stuffed peppers while watching TV and later we went for ice cream.

Today I am driving Megan to a job interview at 11:00. Say a prayer, if you would, that she gets it. It isn't far from home, it pays well, and they have a shift that would work around Cody's perfectly. Finding a good job would, I believe, go a long way toward helping her feel better about herself, too, which would be a VERY GOOD thing!

Before I go, I'll leave you with the recipe for the crock pot stuffed peppers. They are the best stuffed peppers I've ever had!

Ingredients

• 6 Large Bell Peppers (Any Color)
• 1½ Pounds Lean Ground Beef
• ½ Cup White Rice, Uncooked (I used brown rice and it was fine)
• 1 Sweet Onion, Finely Diced
• 2 Tsp Garlic, Minced
• 2- 10 ounce Cans Tomatoes with Green Chiles (I used diced tomatoes with peppers and onions instead and left out the fresh diced onion)
• 6 Ounce Can Tomato Paste
• ¼ Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1 Cup Chicken Broth
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• ½ Teaspoon Pepper

Instructions

1. Cut off pepper tops and remove seeds/ribs.
2. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, rice, onion, garlic, salt,and pepper. Stir in one DRAINED can of tomatoes with green chiles. (Reserve the liquid).
3. Evenly stuff peppers and place in slow cooker.
4. In a medium bowl mix reserved liquid, the 2nd can of tomatoes with green chiles, broth,tomato paste, and brown sugar. Pour over peppers.
5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.

One final Monday thought: