Philippians 4:6-7

Week 22 - Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

5 Random To-Do's

Tomorrow we leave.  Bill is leaving Panama for good; I am coming back.  Over the last week, I've had a million things running through my brain: things we needed to do, things we needed to pack, things we needed to finish, etc.  It has been stressful and I haven't been sleeping very well.  Since Bill finished work last week, I made many lists for him to get some things done while I was at work.  He's done a fine job.  So, since I'm stressed out with packing and can't think of anything better, I will share with you some of the random things I've asked Bill to do this week.

To-Do List
1. Put the leaf in the table.  I can't put the leaf in the table by myself...and since Bill won't be here when I get back, I wanted to have a bigger table just in case.  I probably won't need it, but I like to have extra surface area when I'm sorting or organizing...or if I have any last-minute dinner parties.

2. Box up computer and printer.  Bill won't be using his computer and printer anymore and since we keep the original boxes, I'd rather have him pack them up than the movers...or me.

3. Move freezer and put pantry door back on.  When we bought our big freezer, we realized that it wouldn't fit through the door of our walk-in pantry. So, we removed the pantry door, and the freezer door, and barely squeezed it in.  I don't want to do all that work to move the freezer out by myself.  So, months ago we began eating our freezer food just so we could move it out before Bill left.

4. Dismantle the guest bed.  Another chore I didn't want to do alone.  As we approach our final move from Panama, I like to start organizing and moving things around.  I need to have lots of room to do that and to stack boxes, so the bed had to be disassembled. 

5. Walk the dog.  Our poor pets are traveling tomorrow also.  The dog does NOT like to travel and although the cat has never traveled before, we are fairly certain she will HATE it.  Since we don't have a grassy yard here, we try to walk the dog sometimes.  I'll admit we aren't very good about it.  (That's why I know he will be much happier in Oregon.)  Anyway, since he has to be in his crate almost ALL day tomorrow, I wanted to be sure he got some exercise today.

There were a lot of other random things I asked Bill to do - and he did them all.  He was a big help in preparing for this trip.  I can't believe this is his last night in Panama!

Psalms 46:10

Week 21 - Psalms 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

It's important to be still sometimes...but it's also very difficult sometimes.

May 15 - A Day In My Life

Here is another day in my life.  This day started early because we were going back to Panama after a week in the U.S.  I like traveling (a lot) so I thought it'd be fun to share this day with you.

 I told you it started early...

3:00 AM alarms do NOT make me happy!

Closing up my suitcase, getting ready to go.

 

We returned our rental car before the office was even open.  

I didn't love the Jeep Liberty, but it served us well.

 

The day before, I tried to buy a bottle of water from a vending machine, but it was out of water and it wouldn't give me my money back...so I bought Diet Dr. Pepper instead.  However, I hadn't finished it so I had it with me in the airport - and since I can't take liquids, I was determined to drink some before throwing it away and wasting my money.  Diet Dr. Pepper isn't that great at 4:30 AM!

There weren't a lot of people on our flight.  We were the only ones waiting for a long time!

We weren't really awake yet - but we do like traveling!

 

Taking off from Birmingham in the fog.

Landing in Chicago

Waiting to board our flight to Houston.

Have you ever seen a white bag of peanut M&Ms?

When we were landing in Houston, there was another plane landing on a parallel runway at the same time.  The plane was too close to us, if you ask me!

 

Time check.

Enjoying one last taste of America before leaving.

   

Boarding a flight to Latin America and everyone immediately crowds the line - even when it isn't their BOARDING GROUP!!

 

Panama...here we come, again.

We flew in a Rolls Royce!

 

The cheeseburger was surprisingly good.

Enjoying my special treat (I always buy a People magazine when I travel).

This was our view for most of the day.

Landing in Panama.

I almost forgot the picture of me in a mirror - so I took this in the airport after we landed!

Hooray for Abby picking us up!!  It was nice to see her smiling face after a long day!

And it really was a L-O-N-G day!

Ephesians 2:8-9

Week 20 - Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.

Packing

Last week we had to pack in a hurry for an unexpected trip to the states.  I decided to make a video of our packing using time lapse photos.  It's something I've wanted to try for a while and I thought packing might be a fun subject.  This was a quick trip (1 week) so the packing is lighter than normal.  But, you can imagine this process on a larger scale for our longer trips.  I love to pack and you'll notice I do a lot of the actual packing.  Apparently, I also do a lot of pointing!!  The dog and cat get nervous when we get the suitcases out and you'll notice Ubi in the corner looking anxious and Bacon has to inspect everything from time to time.

Psalms 119:76

Week 19 - Psalms 119:76
May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.

God always loves us.  Sometimes when we are suffering, we might not sense His love, but He is always there.

Mike's Casserole

The recipe this month is called Mike's Casserole.  That's not the actual title of the recipe I use, but we renamed it several years ago.  The name it came with was stupid ("Yummy Make Ahead Brunch") - so we changed it to Mike's Casserole because our friend Mike loves this casserole (and he suggested the name).  It's an easy recipe that can be made the night before and then put in the oven for a tasty breakfast or brunch casserole.  It is always on my menu when I host brunches and it is always a hit!  We are trying to clean out our freezer and we happened to have hash browns and bacon so Mike's Casserole was an obvious choice!

 The ingredients.  Pretty basic breakfast casserole stuff.

Cut the bacon and fry (or fry first and then crumble...your choice).

 

Drain bacon on a paper towel - and stop Bill from eating it all!

Spread hash brown in the bottom of a greased casserole dish.  We have decided that the cubed (southern style) potatoes work/taste best.

Mix eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.

Sprinkle cheese and bacon over potatoes (the cheese layer is under the bacon (with an extra handful spread on top).  We use lots of cheese!

 

Pour egg/milk mixture over bacon/cheese/potatoes.  (Pour slowly because it can overflow if you pour too quickly!)

Again, I forgot to take a picture of it hot out of the oven.  This is what was left after we ate (but it didn't last long).  It is so delicious!

 

Mike's Casserole:

3 cups frozen hash brown potatoes (I use southern style, but if you prefer shredded, they work too)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I use mixed cheese like colby jack or mexican blend)

1 pound crumbled cooked bacon (It calls for 1 cup, but we think that's a joke!  I use a whole pound.  Also, it says you can use ham instead, but we don't think it would taste nearly as good!)
4 beaten eggs
1 can evaporated milk (12 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

-Grease a square quart-sized baking dish.  Arrange potatoes evenly in the bottom.  Sprinkle with cheese and bacon.

-In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, pepper, and salt.  Pour egg mixture over potato mixture (slowly).
-The dish may be covered and refrigerated at this point for several hours or overnight.
-Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes (or 60 minutes if made ahead and chilled) or till center appears set.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

The recipe says "Don't expect leftovers on this one, folks!" and that's true.  We rarely have any leftovers.  It is a VERY popular dish.

Dirty dishes.  This recipe does create a lot of dishes (including the square casserole dish that isn't in the picture), but since you can make it the night before, you can also wash the dishes the night before so it's not too bad.

Mike's Casserole

Taste: 5 out of 5

Dirty Dishes: 2 out of 5

Time/Effort: 3 out of 5

TOTAL: 10 out of 15