Hubby is coming!

I didn't have much time to blog, because we are getting ready for my husband to join us, here in the US, for a few days!

God opened the door for my husband to find a job in Canada. He will be self-employed, which is a big change for us. He has always been employed and so this is a new chapter. Please pray that all will go well and that all the transitions will go smoothly. He will have to work a lot of hours, which he always did, so that will not be new. However, having to do all the paperwork, book keeping and so forth will be very much different for him. The good thing is that he really does enjoy his job in avionic engineering.

We will now be only a few hours apart! This is great news for us, since we are now on the same continent - yeah!

We are looking forward to celebrate Easter together as a family. In that spirit, I am wishing all of you a Happy Resurrection Day!!!!! He Is Risen!!!!!!

New Gluten Free Recipe

In my last post I talked about my new stand mixer. This time I would like to share a recipe for a gluten free cake. Of course I really just wanted to use the new mixer ;-)  It works really good and I am happy with my purchase.

Aside from the fact that I wanted to try out the mixer, we all had a real craving for something  citrus-y. For Dinner we had Rice with Broccoli with Orange and sausage with Mango chutney and a salad with Mangos, Romaine lettuce and Sunflower seeds. It was very good but I think that is where our craving for something citrus-y started.... Probably because we are all sick and our bodies just need vitamin C.

So anyway, I had some Oranges that need to be eaten so I decided to make an Orange cake with orange cream frosting. (I would suggest to use the zest of oranges only if they are organic)

Orange Cake

2 1/2 cups of flour mix ( see the bottom for what I used)

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups sugar

zest of 2 oranges

2 oranges, whirled around in the food processor

4 large eggs

1 tbs vanilla 

I started by grating the orange peel into a bowl. Next I peeled the oranges out of the remaining peel and put them into the food processor. I processed it until it was like a sort of orange juice, I have some kids who don't like " pieces" in their cake :-)

Then I beat the oils, orange peel, and sugar until smooth and added the eggs. Then I poured the oranges from the food processor into it. It gets very liquid-y so be sure to turn the speed down on the mixer.

Now I added the flour, after that was worked in, I added the baking powder, salt and vanilla.

Pour into a large loaf pan and bake at 350 for about 40 min. You may want to check before that, depending how hot your oven gets.

Cool for 20 min and then put the glaze on. 

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Orange

a few tablespoons of heavy whipping cream

Again, grate the peel of the orange. When you are done add the powdered sugar and the juice from the orange. While mixing it add a little heavy whipping cream until you have the desired consistency. You can also you milk, half and half or water instead of the whipping cream. That is just what I happened to have on hand.

It was very delicious! The light taste of coconut complements the orange taste. The cake has semi- dense texture. I think that is due to the coconut flour. It didn't last long in our house. It was almost half gone before it was even cold :D

 Guten Appetit :D

An Amazing Find :D

Two days ago I went to the Goodwill store with my lovely daughter Nina. She needed to buy a dress for the senior formal. We thought we start looking at Goodwill and so we did. She was by the dresses and I looked around in the store. Since they were in the middle of rearranging the order in the store, it took me a while to find things. When I heard something metallic clinging. One of the ladies who work there brought a stand mixer to put into the shelf. I happened to stand next to it and so I looked at it first. I have wanted to get one of those things for almost the whole two years we are here now. They are so great and durable. I had one hand held mixer that died after only a few short months and started to make strange noises after running for only about two minutes or so. After it finally died, I bought another hand held which was a little more expensive but not really much better. So there was this really nice piece of kitchen equipment that had eyed (though from different companies) for quite a while now. I looked at it and was surprised to see that it was still in really good shape. After I looked at the price I put it in the shopping basket and guarded it jealously. The price tag was $ 15 ! I did struggle with myself while I kept walking through the store. It was really hard to justify buying it, because I didn't really need it. I have a hand held mixer that is working at the time. I could use the money better on Nina dress and accessoires .... finally I caved and just bought it. 

So here is the newest addition to my little kitchen

    By the way, Nina never found a dress at Goodwill. We ended up going JC Penney where she found a very beautiful dress  :D                                                                                       

     

Beauty products

One night, quite a while ago, I was getting ready to go to bed. When I reached to grab my face wash it was just about empty. So I made a mental note to buy new face wash the next day. After the washing took place I needed to put cream on because my skin is very dry here, especially in the winter. To my utter dismay I saw that my face cream was empty - rats. Then I remembered that heard some talk about using just a little coconut oil. After checking the cupboards I found it! I opened the lid and was pretty reluctant - just a few hours before I had used this same coconut oil to fry my pork chops and now I am supposed to smear this in my face???? Okay then......I got over it and tried on my face. Just a little bit, after all I didn't want to look like my pork chop. The next day I forgot to buy all my face stuff and so I used the coconut oil again. To my surprise my skin started to feel really soft! 
When I finally remembered to buy all my face stuff I was quite surprised. Just when did all this stuff got so expensive? Well, okay maybe I don't need to buy the face cream - I still have more than enough coconut oil.... I ended up not buying any face stuff, instead I went home and did some things on the computer. I remembered Sheri's Blog and so I went over there and saw the recipe for homemade facial wash. I have tried it for at least 6 months now and must say it is great! It really cleanses the skin without overdrying it and there are none of the harsh chemicals or ingredients I can't even pronounce. I know what is in it  :D


I have now put the face wash in an empty, clean hand soap bottle. I use one squirt and massage it into my skin. Make up on and all, I even wipe it gently over my eyes. It takes the mascara right off. Then I take a wash cloth and really hot tap water. Well, at least as hot as I can take it. Then I get the wash cloth wet, wring it out and lay it on my face. I do this about six or more times. The final time I wipe the rest of the face wash of and dry my face. Then I put a little coconut oil on and viola` I am done! 


Give it a try, it makes the skin look and feel really good!


Here is what you need:


1 Tbl Castor Oil

4 Tbl Sunflower Oil        







Now you just have combine the two and you are ready to use your freshly made facial wash. 

 

Now the oils can go back into the fridge and face wash can go onto the bathroom shelf.

 

 Here is face wash and my face 'cream' aka coconut oil. I hope to find a smaller tub for it.

Home Remedies....

It is Tuesday and we have started another week....I was hoping that we are done being sick, but I think I was wrong. Yesterday my little guy got his award at cub scouts. That was really cute. Unfortunately I didn't bring a camera, so unless some else who was there sends me a picture, I won't be able to post one. In order for us to be there, I had to have my girls take over the library for me for about an hour. They agreed and we all were at the library at 4 pm and had to stay until 8:30pm. Of course it got rather busy when I left with Jeremy for his awards. So sorry girls! They did very well though, thanks again :D     
When we got home last night, half of us very completely beat and the other half rather grumpy. That was a very good sign that we are not quite well yet. Then today I took Nina to church so she could help watch children for the moms group, I felt pretty bad and was really glad to hear that I wasn't really needed. My throat is still pretty sore.
It is not as bad as Jamie's, who has laryingitis. I am gargling with Tea Tree Oil. 

Sore Throat:

4 drops of Tea tree oil

1/2 cup warm water

mix in a glas and gargle three times a day. 

Here is a note from Wikipedia

Tea tree oil has beneficial medical properties when applied topically, including antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral action,^[2] and is also believed to have beneficial cosmetic properties.^[3] Tea tree oil is usually used diluted, as reactions are common with pure tea tree oil, but it can also cause irritation for some people even when diluted. Tea tree oil is toxic when taken internally, and so should never be added to food or drinks.

I don't think it tastes good, really the taste is less than appealing, but it is very helpful and a great remedy for many other ailments......

So, all that said, my little guy woke up with an earache. Another reminder that we are not yet done with illness.... I made him some ear drops and now at least the pain is gone.
I am pretty sure that everyone has heard about olive oil and garlic. That is what I used. I usually buy garlic already minced in a glas jar, it is so much quicker and lasts for a long time.

Ear drops:

2 Tbs Olive Oil
1/4 minced garlic

Stir together in a small container (I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup) and I warmed it up in the microwave for about 30 sec. Then let it sit for at least 30 min. Now strain it. Done!

I put about 5 drops in Jeremy's ear and put a cotton ball lightly on top of it. He was laying on his side, so that the ear that was hurting was up. Jeremy had to lay like this for about 10 min, I think the longer the better. So I was glad that he fell asleep again and the oil had a good long time to do it's work. 

 He is doing much better now, the ear ache is gone and he is playing Wii.... Now if I could get him to blow his nose, so that he doesn't get another earache......

$99 Membership for free!

I was very excited when I got my regular email from Freely Educate. This lady has really good deals for schooling and other things. As the name suggests, it is free. So I would encourge you to hop over to freelyeducate.com  I just had to share this with you all, I just signed up and it still works, but I would think it is only for a limited time. 

Here's a Coupon Code to Get a Membership to MightyBookJr.com FREE ($99 Value)

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