XM Radio, Books, and Travel

Each week, I spend at least 10 hours traveling in my car.  While I live a short distance from  Lafayette High School, it takes about a  half on hour to commute to work. On most days, I am listening to XM Radio. In my car, I have a notepad to list books I want to read.  One of the books I discovered while listening to the XM, A Serious Call to a Devote and Holy Life by William Law. I'm still researching about William Law.  XM radio is a must for road travelers. The following is a link about William Law. 

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/innertravelers/law.html

Birds of a Feather....

Above is a picture of my two cockatiels; PearlJam and LuckyBird, in front of my granddaughter, Riley; and grandson, Luke.
My son Tony, gave me LuckyBird for my birthday 17 years ago. LuckyBird, named so due to the many times he survived attacks by a ferret, a chicken hawk, and other fatal accidents, was only 5-6 weeks old when I got him. I taught him how to eat, fly, talk, give kisses, etc. I read an article once about how the scientific community has agreed that birds have human emotions. Of course, the emotions are not easy to detect; humans emotions are readily visible... our eyes, mouth, and body posture, give away our feelings and thoughts in an instant. But birds have set beaks, their eyes focus differently than ours, they have wings in place of arms and hands, and they're covered with feathers. But I can tell immediately if either of my birds are happy, sad, depressed, hungry or angry. LuckyBird can talk, so he can communicate with me with words. Female cockatiels don't talk, but PearlJam will purr when she's happy, and depending on the circumstances, she will screech loudly when unhappy, and make other sounds that lets me know what she needs or wants.
Both birds are free to fly in the house. I don't consider them ornaments in a gilded cage, that I cover up when I want them to be quiet. I have a cage in most rooms in my house, and if they're not on my shoulders, they hang in their cages.
LuckyBird wakes me up every morning with... "I love you, LuckyBird", then gives me little kisses on the cheek; and then, "Wanna take a shower?" He won't shut up until I get up and get in the shower with him. He perches on my shoulder and lets the water splash on himself. PearlJam isn't as brave. She has to have a dish outside the tub where she will bathe. Both also sit at the dinner table with me, and will eat anything I eat. They both get upset when I put my make-up and shoes on... they know I will be leaving shortly and both start "crying" and flying around me, as if to keep me from leaving. They understand commands like "go downstairs", "get in your cage", "do you want a treat?", "wait here", and more.
LuckyBird can whistle "Lord I Lift Your Name On High", some Mozart tunes, as well as whistle a wolf whistle and the Keeneland call.
I adore my little birds, and don't know what I would do without them. They're my constant companions, and I feel very blessed that God put me in charge of these two little creatures!

My Bubby

I don't have any recent pictures of Carson, but here are two from the past. The one on the top was his puppy training graduation and the one on the bottom is the picture we saw that made us want to adopt him. When we adopted him, they told us that he would not shed, would only be 20 lbs and was a jack russell shih tzu mix. After a little over a year we realized that he did shed (alot), he would be 40 lbs and he was a jack russell spitz mix. Oh well...we love him and he is such a sweetie.

Lazy Jackson

No matter the time of day, when I come home,  Jackson greets me at the back door.  He is a sweet dog.  At dinner time, he waits under our table , waiting for crumbs.  As he has grown older, he sleeps most of the day.  His favorite place to nap, the cool hardwood floor.

Tasty Tuesday

Shrimp and Okra Gumbo

Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

10 tablespooons fat free, less sodium chicken broth

1 cup chopped onion

4 ounces smoked ham, chopped

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

2/3 cup diced celery

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 fresh okra pods, sliced

1/4 cup water

1/2 teasooon ground red pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 ground allspice

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

3/4 pound peeled and deveinded large shrimp

2 tablespooon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1.  Heat 1 tablespoon in oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add flour; cook 1 minute or until lighly browned, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Add broth; stir with a whisk until thick.  Pour into a bowl; set aside.  Wipe pan clean with paper towels.

2. Heat remaining 1 talblespoon oil in pan over medium heat.  Add onion and ham; cook 10 minutes, stirrring occasionally.  Add bell pepper and next 4 ingredients ( through orka)  cook 5 minutes or until  vegetables are almost tender, stirring occasionally.  Add broth mixture, water, and next 6 ingredients (through tomatoes).  Bring to a boil  reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Stir in shrimp; cook 4 minutes or until shrimp are done.  Sprinkle with parsley.

Recipe from April 2010 Cooking Light

Financial Peace University

Everyone I know is feeling a financial pinch these days. Prices have gone up faster than a hiccup... everything; from groceries, to gasoline, to utilities, etc., and my income has not increased accordingly. So, I decided to take a look at my budget and make any necessary adjustments to keep up with the economy. And I didn't like what I saw.
I found out that my church was having a moderator for Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and signed up to attend. This being my second time. The first time I attended the seminar, I was in debt and didn't know how I would ever get out of it. After semi-practicing the lessons, not only did I learn much about finances, insurance, savings plans, and tips on how to avoid emotional, impulsive, or splurge spending, but I was out of debt, including paying off my home mortgage, car, and motorcycle.
Soon, though, I went back to some of my old habits of "wanting" instead of "needing", and my finances got a bit out of control again. So, I'm back taking the class and applying the learned methods.
I can't say enough about how informative this class is. It allows me to have hope that I can still manage my finances, and stay out of debt. Now... only if I can learn to practice what I learn on a daily basis, I can be a millionaire in no time!
God commands us to be good stewards over our finances. And boy, is it ever hard to do!
Peace and love,
~Edie

Sunshine Today :)

Wow! What a glorious day! Sunshine warmed my face all day long as I rode the motorcycle along Kentucky backroads. I saw fields of daffodils, dogwoods have bloomed, and while stopped due to a road block, I even saw a hummingbird!
It's amazing what one notices while rolling down country roads without having steel all around you. Some sights I want to hold on to forever, others I would just as soon forget. For example, the horizon is visible in all directions. Sometimes a rainbow pops up, others the cloud formations are incredible.
I went by a farm on Leestown Rd., and was surprised to see a camel, as well as several bisons. What in the world is a camel doing on a Kentucky farm???
We ride wayyyyy back in the country, and the dwellings always makes me wonder who the people are that live there. Some farms are actually huge estates, with beautiful thoroughbreds grazing on the lush fields. But in the backwoods, some houses seem uninhabitable. One of these days I'm going to have to snap a bunch of pictures of these dwellings.
Tomorrow is going to be another sunshiny day, and once again I will hurry in the morning to get my work done, and then on to a new adventure!
God is good! I'm very thankful for His opportunities and blessings He throws my way each day!