Weekending

 Linking up with Holly and Sara for Hello Monday:

Had a nice, super cold weekend. I guess we're in what they call a polar vortex? It does not bother me! It's going to pass :). Now, I say that sitting literally right in front of the fireplace with gas powered flames that are mere inches and a glass partition away warming me. Will I complain to whomever is walking besides me outside? Absolutely. But from where I'm sitting, literally, I'm not complaining one bit.  

Friday I didn't sub- it was nice to have another day at home! Jacob was available during most of the day so he went with me to Sam's Club to get items for (mostly) Donnie's work. I had to run to Aldi for a couple of things and get gas. I ran on the treadmill and prepped for a dish I was bringing to a breakfast on Saturday morning. The prepping consisted of sauteing onions and cooking sausage. While those were cooking, I prepped something for us to have later on Friday- Buffalo turkey dip. I have a lot of leftover cooked turkey and I want it to get used. (I have a tendency to put leftovers in the freezer and then pitch them when doing a freezer clean out.) Jacob loves Buffalo chicken dip and I was sure that using turkey would not impact the overall flavor much or at all. 

While I worked in the kitchen, I listened to a podcast by Allie Beth Stuckey which was really uplifting to me and in case it edifies anyone else, I am sharing it here.  ABS is a Christian whose podcast, Relatable, concerns the intersection of the culture and Christianity. She had a guest on her show named Harmeet Dhillon who is the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the US Dept. of Justice. She referenced the importance of federal laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act.  One way where the latter act will be utilized- hopefully it won't need to be!- is if the mayor of NYC's tenant director Cea Weaver effectuates (or tries to) her desire to discriminate against people based on the color of their skin. Here is what Harmeet Dhillon said specifically:

"...when I look at Zoran Mamdani's, you know, tenant activist person, say, white people are going to have a different relationship to property in the future, that is directly at odds with the Fair Housing Act. You can't do that in America.... if I had to rely solely on New York law, I couldn't do anything about that then..."

Thank goodness for our current administration! I don't have skin (no pun intended) in the NYC property game. I'm just a simple gal from the Midwest living on her family's small plot of land who doesn't think that people should be discriminated against based on an immutable physical trait about them.  And is grateful for laws on the book which prevents such things and that we have staff in thein the US Dept. of Justice who feels the same way :).

Allie Beth Stuckey uses a phrase that I need to keep in mind about God and the world, "His eternal plan of redemption is always going off without a hitch." God knows what is going to happen and is in control. Whether private property, capitalism and/or  free speech become antiquated relics of the West, whether Christians are persecuted as the anti Christian zeitgeist among elites increases, whether chaos continues to be a goal of agitators, ultimately doesn't matter. I mean it matters a great deal to those of us here on earth. But eternally, it doesn't matter except how we react to what happens here on earth. As Christians, do we trust and love God, love others, speak truth, and strive to bear fruits of the spirit?   That is all that matters eternally. While that is no reason to not care about current events (and I would argue that one way to show our love for others is to be an advocate of and advance laws that don't pervert justice, that prevent chaos, that don't discriminate based on immutable characteristics, that protect the right to life for the most vulnerable, etc.), it is a reason to calm the anxiousness about the state of the world that can easily take hold of the heart. 

Anyway, like I said, it was just a great podcast to hear and it put me in a good mood that set the tone for me for the rest of the day.

Saturday, I slept in a little and realized I was going to  have to skedaddle if I wanted to make it to the breakfast at church on time. I sure was glad that I prepped the day before! I made sausage egg muffins and I already had the sausage and onions cooked. I just needed to whisk the cream and eggs and then put everything in muffin cups and bake. Thank goodness snow that was predicted didn't happen. Even s(n)o(w), I thought these paper muffin liners were perfect for the sausage muffins that I made. 

This Tupperware container was my mom's- it's super old!

I was just slightly late to the breakfast but not terribly so. One of the ladies, Libby, spoke very encouragingly for a short while and then we ate. I enjoyed some great conversation and got to know some of the ladies better. I was glad that I went even though I realized that I'd be late and I hate to be late anywhere...

On my way home, I stopped at the Farm on Central in Carlise since I pass it on my way home. We pass it every Sunday on the way to church but Sunday is the one day it's closed. The store is pretty small but is packed with a wide variety of produce and locally produced products like natural honey, home made soaps, natural herbal remedies and more.

 I could have spent a fortune! I did sort of spend a fortune on carrots- $6.99 for these but how was I supposed to resist??

And I had to buy the top seller in the store...

Once home, we planned on going to a movie theater to watch a movie there but as we were deciding on what to see, we found games to watch on TV. Donnie and Jacob's team, University of Cincinnati played number 2 in the nation (not anymore!) Iowa in basketball and won and then started watching football playoffs.

The guys decided to have Skyline Chili for dinner in honor of Cincinnati's win (Skyline Chili is a Cincinnati based iconic restaurant with locations in the tri state area) and because they like it.  I don't care for it all so I made myself a delicious salad with my new greens and carrots :)

Sunday morning, I slept in (I've been sleeping so well, thankfully!) and we went to church. Heard a good message and then I was home for the rest of the day. I relaxed, cleaned up, talked to my sister on the phone and then later Donnie's dad and uncle came over to watch football.