Quote from Forum Archives on April 6, 2005, 5:48 pm

Posted by: jhbreneman <jhbreneman@...>

HEART TO HEART NEWSLETTER
ENCOURAGEMENT TO WOMEN
Compiled especially for YOU with LOVE by Lois Breneman

 

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4/6/05 FURNITURE REMAKES, COOKBOOK, KITCHEN TIPS, CONSEQUENCES

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IN THIS ISSUE:

FURNITURE REMAKES

A LITTLE ROUND TABLE FOR BEAUTY AND STORAGE

COLORFUL NO-WASH ELASTICIZED TABLECLOTH

PERSONALIZED FAMILY COOKBOOK ~ A TREASURED GIFT

SHEPHERD'S PIE

KITCHEN TIPS ~ A BAKER'S DOZEN

SALT WATER SOLUTION TO CLEAR OUT SINUSES

DO NOT CALL LIST

WHEN THINGS IN YOUR LIFE SEEM ALMOST TOO MUCH TO HANDLE

A SAFEGUARD AGAINST ANY MORAL TUMBLE

CONSEQUENCES OF A MORAL TUMBLE

LIFE

LAUGH MORE

HELP MOMMY VACUUM!

HELPING WITH OUR BABY HANDS

TWO BRAND NEW BABY BOYS BORN IN VIRGINIA - 3 HOURS APART!

 

 

FURNITURE REMAKES
By Kathleen Wilson - Home Decorating Columnist - Author, "Quick Decorating Ideas Under $20" - Editor, The Budget Decorator - www.TheBudgetDecorator.com - Used by permission 
 
One of the biggest problems budget decorators face is having attractive furniture even when the budget doesn't allow for new. Sometimes, we just have to make due with what we have! Here are some great ways to transform what you already own, or can cheaply buy to fill your furniture needs, and make it look great!
 
Upholstered furniture
 
Generally, when you think of your sofa and chairs, you figure the only way to remake them is to slipcover or re-upholster. While I am a big fan of slip covering, (could be 'cause I have 8 kids!) there are easier ways to dress up your couch or chair!
 
*Cover just the bottom cushions with a fabric that coordinates with both the piece, and the room. The bottom cushions are usually the ones with the most wear, and this technique appears very custom. Choose your fabric in the same intensity as the couch fabric. For example, if your couch is a muted green, choose muted gold or muted blues or the like for the cushion covers. However, if you have a bright white couch, feel free to go with clearer, brighter colors. Also, use a color that is seen in the rest of the room, to pull it all together.
 
*Distract! Now that you have the cushion covers in place, add pretty distractions in the form of throw pillows and throw blankets. Again, use colors from the room.
 
*Paint the wall behind the piece a similar shade and intensity of the couch. This will take focus away from the couch, and it will appear to disappear into the wall.
 
*Lastly, be sure to spend some time creating other focal points around the room to draw the eye away form the piece.  Make a pretty display on your coffee table, drape a piece of lace over your mantle and fill with candlesticks … just remember to keep that eye moving, and it will forget all about the tired sofa, and see it as a well worn friend of the room instead!

Case Goods
 
You have several choices when it comes to the case goods such as tables, bookcases, and armoires.
 
*One of the cheapest and highly recommended is paint! You can paint almost anything these days, even that cheap laminate furniture! If you have a non-porous piece such as a photo laminate bookcase, prime it first with a specialty primer such as BIN or KILZ. Your paint technique of choice will now adhere properly, and you can transform it in anyway you like!
 
*Need a cheap table? You can disguise even an inexpensive card table with my techniques. I needed a small breakfast table in my kitchen for the little ones, but couldn't put out a couple hundred dollars, and most tables were too big for the area anyway. I bought a small card table at my local Wal-Mart for just a few dollars and disguised it. I used tubes of fabric shirred onto the table legs to hide those hideous things, then layered tablecloths and placemats over the tabletop. The layering adds a sumptuousness to distract from the meager proportions of the table. I used accessories to further distract, and voila!  A sweet little breakfast table for less than $25 dollars!
 
*You can get even more creative with used wood furniture by covering drawer fronts with fabric and a staple gun, gluing broken tiles or dishes on in a mosaic, or decopaging images cut from gift-wrap onto the surface. (Plain white glue works fine for this, and remember the dollar shop when searching for gift wrap!)
 
I hope you got some great ideas to remake your furniture in style, and on even the tightest budget!
 
Kathleen Wilson is an author, national columnist, and editor of The Budget Decorator. For hundreds of free ideas and to sign up for her free online newsletter, please visit her at http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com 
 

 

A LITTLE ROUND TABLE FOR BEAUTY AND STORAGE

By Lois Breneman, © 2005, Heart to Heart Newsletter, [email protected] 

A little round table, decorated with a pretty tablecloth down to the floor, is a great accent to any room, providing function and aesthetic beauty.  It can be made to look Victorian, feminine, masculine - you name it - to match any color scheme.  A little round table will add a lot to any room - a bedroom, living room, family room, sunroom, even a bathroom if it is large enough - all with just a few dollars.  You may want to get several little, round, wooden tables at a store such as Walmart.  These tables are about 2 feet in diameter with four wooden legs that you attach yourself - very simple to assemble.  You can find them for as little as $4.98 on sale.  Round tablecloths and round slabs of glass to fit the tables are often located on the shelves right next to the boxed round tables.

 

If you decide to make your own round tablecloth, use a sheet to make a seamless tablecloth.  If you do need to piece it, however, sew the seam off to the side, rather than down the center.  

You can also cover the tablecloth with a round piece of glass, a round doily, or a coordinating square piece of fabric.  Top it with a floral centerpiece, family photos, books, candles and/or houseplants.  I would advise using a piece of round glass over your tablecloth if using houseplants, so you don't soil the cloth. 

 

Now, the storage tip!  You guessed it!  Store things under the table.  No one will see it unless they peek, but that's okay, you're making good use of space!  Cereal boxes, cracker boxes, a crock-pot, you name it!  If you have toddlers, keep appliances may be better than snacks! 

 

A round table and tablecloth would make a great gift, if you know the color scheme of the recipient.   

 

 

COLORFUL NO-WASH ELASTICIZED TABLECLOTH

By Lois Breneman, © 2005, Heart to Heart Newsletter, [email protected] 

 

        I enjoy colorful tablecloths, but don't enjoy having to launder them so often, as is necessary when you have people and food in one place - especially with children.  So when our children were small, I tried to figure out a solution for our oval kitchen table.  Of course, after I thought of this idea, I saw it in magazines! 

        This idea works well for a round or oval table, but not where there is a corner.  Using a pretty fabric, I cut it two inches larger than the table all around the edge.  Using 1/4 inch wide elastic, I sewed it around the edge, stretching all the way, even along the straight edges, especially stretching hard around the curves.  Then I cut and sewed a heavy piece of clear vinyl in the same way. 

        The fabric tablecloth gets placed on the table first, then the vinyl one and you'll never need to wash your tablecloth!  If you would rather do this sewing procedure only once, purchase one of the many beautiful vinyl prints available in stores.  Then don't worry about the spills!

 

 

PERSONALIZED FAMILY COOKBOOK ~ A TREASURED GIFT

I wrote this first paragraph below in a previous Heart to Heart Newsletter and received a reply from Ellen Rachel (Shelton) Lockhart in Virginia about a special gift she received.  Ladies, this would make a wonderful gift of love and memories for family!  If you start now, you have a few days more than 8 months before Christmas!  Ellen Rachel says it was "absolutely one of the neatest, most treasured, and favorite gifts of all time!" ~ Lois

 

Lois: I have plans to type out lots of favorite recipes from our family some day and give it to each of our children and their spouses in the form of a personalized family cookbook.  That will be a treasured gift that I'm sure they will all enjoy.  Little stories would add a special personal touch to the cookbook!"

 

Ellen Rachel: My Mom, Rhonda (Michael's Mom), Michael's sister-in-law's mother (Evelyn), and Michael's brother-in-law's mother (Dee) put together a family recipe book two years ago for Christmas.  Michael's brother's wife (Mary), Michael's sister (Rebecca), and I each got a copy from our respective mothers that year.  This was a coordinated, secret effort that took place through Rhonda among Virginia, Arizona, and North Carolina.   How they pulled it off, I do not know, but I am so glad they did!!

 

That book was absolutely one of the neatest, most treasured, and favorite gifts of all time for me!!  It is something that I just adore every time I think about it, and much more when I use it! 

 

The book is just beautiful, and my Mom included so many wonderful recipes that our family has enjoyed throughout the years.  Almost every recipe has a little story with it about why it is special to our family.  The other mothers did a few stories like that with their recipes as well.

 

I cannot even tell you how many times I have made my mother's recipes.  I have also made several of Rhonda's and Evelyn's.  I love to cook anyway, but having a special book like this to pull recipes out of is all the more fun. 

 

If you would like to look at the book sometime, I'd be glad to let you see it.  It's a large, 3-ring leather book filled with recipes printed on wonderful scrapbook stationary, stickers, etc. in protected covers.  My mom's section of the book opens with a picture of Michael and me and a personal note from Mom; that is the first section in my book.   Rhonda's section opens with a picture of Rebecca and her husband and some Scripture (Dee's recipes are included in this section); that is the first section in Rebecca's book. And Evelyn's opens w/ a picture of Todd and Mary and a poem--the first section in Mary's book.

 

One day when/if my brothers get married, Mom and I would like to do a similar project for them.  And one day way down the road, when our son Addison marries, I definitely want to do the same for him.  I just wanted to share the wonderful experience our family had with such a book! 

 

 

SHEPHERD'S PIE

Compliments of The Best Cookbook Anywhere Not Just Beans.com - www.notjustbeans.com

 

1/2 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 can peas, drained or
1 can mixed vegetables for carrots and peas
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
4 cups mashed potatoes
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

 

Brown ground beef and onion. Add carrots and cook until tender.  Drain grease and add peas. In a casserole dish, combine tomato sauce, salt, pepper, sugar onion powder, garlic powder and chili powder. Mix well and add the beef mixture. Mix again thoroughly. Top with mashed potatoes and then grated cheese. Bake in the oven uncovered at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until the cheese melts.

 

KITCHEN TIPS ~ A BAKER'S DOZEN

 

Kitchen Timer ~ Use your kitchen timer to speed you on your way!  Set it for 30 minutes and work, without allowing yourself to be sidetracked.  When the timer goes off, reset it for 15 minutes and read, exercise or do something fun.  Reset your timer again for 30 minutes, etc.  In just a few hours, you will be amazed at all you have accomplished by focusing for 30 minute work segments.
 
Cold Grocery Items ~ When you go grocery shopping, ask the cashier to pack your cold food items in doubled paper bags and the other items in plastic bags.  You will find that the doubled paper bags help to insulate the cold food.  When you unload the groceries, you will know to grab the paper bags first!  

Savings on Meat ~ You can save money on your meat if you occasionally shop in the late afternoon or evening.  Depending on which grocery store you use, many mark down the meat at the end of the day to get rid of it.  Ask your meat department manager when that magic time is and shop for meat accordingly.  Since most grocery stores are closed for Christmas, the meat managers want to sell as much as possible so it won't set over Christmas.  Mark your calendar now so you remember to check out the meat savings on Christmas Eve for as much as 50-75% off in many cases.   Wrap your gifts early so you can wrap meat at a great savings to freeze on Christmas Eve.

 

Oil in Squeeze Bottle ~ Keep olive oil in a honey bear squeeze bottle or a similar bottle in your cupboard near the stove, without a lid.  That way when you need a little oil for cooking, you can just grab and squeeze it using only one hand.

 

Terry Cloth Hot Pads work much better than stiff ones, because they are much more flexible for picking up a hot pan or dish.  One or two layers of fleece between two layers of terry cloth can be made into a very usable hot pad, depending on the thickness of each layer. Finish the edges with bias binding.  I've had two favorite sets of pot holders for many years, but the binding wears out, so they are on their third bias binding. 

 

No More Rust ~ After using a Brillo soap pad, wrap it in aluminum foil.  It won't rust!

 

Celery Keeper ~ If you don't plan to use your celery within a week, wrap it in aluminum foil before storing in the refrigerator.  It will keep more than twice as long!  This is a tip I've learned in recent years that works great!

 

Onion Odor ~ After peeling and chopping onions, run your hands under cold water, then rub them back and forth on your chrome faucet for a few seconds.  The onion odor will be gone!

 

More tips provided by The Frugal Shopper - www.thefrugalshopper.com - Used by permission:

 

Leftover Safety ~ If food has been contaminated with germs from a person's mouth, it should be tossed. For instance saving baby food when you have fed the baby from the jar is hazardous. (It's best to remove only a portion of yogurt or baby food into another dish if you may not use it all at once.)

 

You can reheat small portions of leftovers in the same pan. Wrap individually in foil and place in enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.

 

When converting your favorite recipe for microwave cooking ~ reduce the liquid by one-fourth. Liquid does not evaporate in a microwave as much as it does in a conventional oven.

 

Dishwasher Savings ~ To save on electric and water only run your dishwasher when full. When adding dishes take a handful of baking soda and sprinkle the dishes and bottom of dishwasher to absorb odors. When you run the dishwasher there is no need to add detergent to the first cycle receptacle - only to the 2nd one that stays shut until the second cycle starts. The baking soda will take the place of the detergent in the first cycle.

 

 

SALT WATER SOLUTION TO CLEAR OUT SINUSES

(An idea shared by Becky Noell of Virginia, which I have found to be very helpful.  This has also been highly recommended by two family physicians - the husbands of "Heart to Heart" gals.)

 

Boil about 2 cups water, add about  1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt, stir and let cool.  Store the solution in a sterilized covered cup such as Tupperware to keep in the bathroom.  Using a bulb syringe, such as the aspirators used for babies' nostrils (not the pointy kind), slowly squeeze a little solution into one nostril, while sniffing the water up into your nose.  Repeat with the other nostril.  Wait a few seconds and blow your nose to clear out the sinuses.  Use this procedure each morning and night.

 

 

DO NOT CALL LIST

If you call the National Registry (888-382-1222), you can have your phone number added to the Do Not Call List to cut down on being hassled by telemarketing companies. You must call from the phone you want to have on the list, and you need to be ready to give the number of the phone you are using. By making this call, your phone number will be put on the list which will prohibit MOST kinds of unsolicited calls. The list will be in affect within 31 days after you call and will block your number for 5 years. Remember, you must call from each phone number you want on the list.  It's quite easy and only takes one minute. ~ Thanks to Linda Bahn in Pennsylvania for this information!

 

 

WHEN THINGS IN YOUR LIFE SEEM ALMOST TOO MUCH TO HANDLE

Author unknown ~ Contributed by Linda Crosby of Virginia

         When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

         A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full.  They agreed that it was.  

        The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.  He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  They agreed it was.  

        The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.  The students responded with a unanimous "yes."  

        The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.  The students laughed.
         "Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.  The golf balls are the important things - God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions -- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
         The pebbles are the other things that matter -- like your job, your house, and your car.        The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.  If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
         One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

 

 

A SAFEGUARD AGAINST ANY MORAL TUMBLE

        Not one of us is immune to a moral tumble, but there are measures we can take to help prevent that from happening in our lives.  Each one of us knows at least several Christians who have taken a moral tumble of one kind of another.  This list below can be a vital tool to be used as a safeguard against a moral failure.  There are numerous moral tumbles a Christian can take, other than sexual, and this list can be helpful in any situation.  Just think of the Ten Commandments.

        On Sunday Dr. Greg Huffman gave an excellent message on this topic.  He explained how first the devil excuses us as he tempts us into a moral tumble - then after we fall, he accuses us of our moral failure, telling us we aren't worthy of the name, "Christian," and often we eventually lose fellowship with the Lord.  I'd encourage you to make copies of this list and keep it handy for yourself and to share with others.  This applies not only to pastors, Christian leaders, counselors, physicians, but to every single Christian.  Share this list with your husband and children, depending on their age.  Pray together with your husband and separately for each other in this regard.  Satan is on the prowl!

        You can go to www.shenandoahbaptist.org to hear Pastor Huffman's April 3, 2005 morning message on this topic, as well as other messages.  

 

CONSEQUENCES OF A MORAL TUMBLE

By Dr. Gregory Huffman ~ Used by permission

 

Whenever I feel particularly vulnerable to sexual temptation, I find it helpful to review what effects my action could have:

 

• Grieving the Lord who redeemed me
• Dragging His sacred name into the mud
• One day having to look Jesus, the Righteous Judge, in the face and give an account of my actions
• Following in the footsteps of those people whose immorality forfeited their ministries and caused me to shudder
• Inflicting untold hurt on my best friend and loyal spouse
• Losing my spouse's respect and trust
• Hurting my beloved children
• Destroying my example and credibility with my children and nullifying both present and future efforts to teach them to obey God (Why listen to a man/woman who betrayed Mom/Dad and us?)
• If my blindness should continue or my spouse be unwilling to forgive, perhaps losing my spouse and my children forever
• Causing shame to my family
• Losing self-respect
• Creating a form of guilt awfully hard to shake – even though God would forgive me, would I forgive myself?
• Forming memories and flashbacks that could plague future intimacy with my spouse
• Wasting years of ministry training and experience for a long time, maybe permanently
• Forfeiting the effect of years of witnessing to my relatives and reinforcing their distrust for Christians that has only begun to soften by my example, but that would harden, perhaps permanently, because of my immorality
• Undermining the faithful example and hard work of other Christians in our community
• Bringing great pleasure to Satan, the enemy of God and all that is good
• Heaping judgment and endless difficulty on the person with whom I committed adultery
• Possibly bearing the physical consequences of such diseases as gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, herpes, and AIDS; perhaps infecting my spouse, or, in the case of AIDS, even causing his/her death
• Possibly causing pregnancy, with the personal and financial implications, including a lifelong reminder of my sin
• Bringing shame and hurt to these Pastors, Elders, and Deacons (list names)
• Causing shame and hurt to these friends, especially those I've led to Christ and discipled (list names)
• Invoking shame and life-long embarrassment upon myself, reproach never erased!

 

LIFE

There is no use in doing a kindness if you do it a day too late. -- Charles Kingsley

 

 

LAUGH MORE

Children laugh an average of 146 times a day;
Adults laugh an average of 4 times a day.
Put more laughter in your day!

~ Contributed by Valerie Nichols in Nova Scotia

 

 

HELP MOMMY VACUUM!

Today my daughter shared a cute story with me about Justin Daniel, who just turned two years old.  He absolutely loves when she vacuums, and will push his own little vacuum back and forth intently behind her, saying, "Help Mommy vacuum!  Help Mommy vacuum!"  He loves to vacuum the steps with her hand held attachment or push any broom or duster around. 

 

A few days ago as Joy and Justin stopped at the vacuum outlet, she had to carry Justin into the store, because he had fallen asleep in the car.  Normally when he wakes up by himself he is a very happy little boy, but if he is woken up he can be quite grouchy.  Well, Joy carried him, half asleep, into the vacuum store, but when he looked around saw all those vacuum cleaners, he said, "Ahhhhh!"  He wanted down and joyfully exclaimed, "One, two, three!  Oh my!!!"  By then he was walking around the store examining all the wonderful vacuums, talking non-stop saying, "Baby vacuum!  Big vacuum!  Help Mommy vacuum!  On, two, three - Oh my!"  The salesman told Joy there's another little boy who loves vacuum cleaners so much that he comes to the store every week just to play!  Justin thought he was in "Vacuum Cleaner Heaven," until his mommy had to carry him out of the store, crying!  I told Joy she's got it made!  He can do all her vacuuming some day, if she can just keep his interest going!  Of course, there are always family job charts too!  Justin's mommy knows all about those!

 

This reminds me of a grandson of friends of ours in town.  Morgan loved vacuum cleaners so much as a young boy that he collected them!  Now, that would take up a lot more room in a house than stamps, Hot Wheels or baseball cards!  Morgan even visited the Bissell plant in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on several occasions.  The company knew of his great interest in vacuum cleaners and his grandfather told me they've been sending him a vacuum cleaner for Christmas every year!  They also gave him a savings bond for college when he was very young and when it matures it will go a long way to pay for his education!  Today Morgan is almost fifteen and recently put together a central vacuum system, but he also loves music and plays several instruments (piano, saxophone, oboe, clarinet, and other wind instruments). 

 

We never know where a child's interests will take him or her, but it is certainly good to help each one cultivate as many good avenues of interests as possible. ~ Lois

 

 

HELPING WITH OUR "BABY HANDS"

By Linda Bahn in Pennsylvania ~ Used by permission

 

A visiting pastor recently shared an illustration that has blessed my heart and it illustrates my joy in teaching others. You know how a two year old will "help" bake cookies. Then they are all excited when they get to share the cookies with Daddy. That is how it is with us and the Lord. He doesn't really need us to do anything, but he allows us to use our "baby hands" to serve Him, then He blesses us with the joy of serving! He is so gracious.  He is worthy of glory and honor and praise.

 

 

TWO BRAND NEW BABY BOYS BORN IN VIRGINIA - 3 HOURS APART!

 

Alec Paul Larson who was born March 31, 2005!  Congratulations to Mike and Jen Larson on the birth of their second son!  Congratulations to the grandparents, Ken and Trisha Farris!

 

Holden Christopher Hodges was born March 31, 2005!  He is the second child of Christopher and Amy Hodges.  Congratulations to the parents as well as the grandparents, Joe and Joyce Cronin! 

 

 

   (¨`·.·´¨)        God bless and keep you in His care!

    `·.¸(¨`·.·´¨)         Your "Heart to Heart" friend,

          `·.¸.·´                    Lois

 

The purpose of the Heart to Heart Newsletter is to bring godly and practical encouragement to women through creative ideas for the Christian family – regarding homemaking, marriage, children and much more.  You may receive this bimonthly newsletter by sending your name, city, state, country and the name of the person who referred you to Lois Breneman at [email protected].

 

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