Music at Luckyhill and a YUMMY pasta dinner

Sometimes I have so much I want to write, I have to stop and ask myself, "Okay...is that a JOURNAL entry type of thing, or something to put on a BLOG?" I laugh at myself.

Today, I have a couple of things to say, but I will try and be brief.

I have taken music lessons since the beginning of time...not really, but it seems like it. I just LOVE music SOOOOOO MUCH! I have taken private vocal lessons since I was eight years old. I absolutely LOVE singing! I keep thinking that my love of music is something I need to share when I go to Ghana. However, I repeatedly tell myself I am CRAZY for thinking this! African's already LOVE music! By nature, they have music and rhythm talent and a love of music already. Music is part of their culture! What could I possibly teach or show them about loving music that they don't already know? Today, when I was at my singing lesson, my WONDERFUL teacher (she is a wonderful person AND a wonderful musician, having trained with the best of the best around the world!) expressed that she really things I need to share my music with the people of Africa when I go there. I was taken aback! We spent a lot of today's lesson talking about what I can do to bring music to Luckyhill. I prayed inside, asking Heavenly Father if this is something I should be thinking about. I felt that it was! So, I am preparing music and ideas and bringing supplies to bring music to musical people! It seems so strange to me that we would both feel strongly about this, but I will trust in The Lord and do what we both feel I should do! I have learned that God knows best! So, I should just follow Him. That is what I plan to do in this situation, too. It doesn't make any logical sense, but I will do it! One thing my teacher said to me today is that music, more than anything, brings people together. It softens people's hearts. Maybe I am just supposed to use the music I bring to soften someone's heart, or to reach out to someone with whom I would not otherwise be able to connect . I don't know for sure, but I DO know that I need to prepare to share my love of music, and I also KNOW that what my teacher said is right! Music speaks to the heart.

So, today was our "day off" work. Ryan had to go to work to meet people (wait, didn't I just say it was our day off?! HA! What a joke!) and didn't want to be there alone (I understand that!), so Bryttan and Taiger went with him while I was in my singing lesson. After my lesson, I knew no one would be home so I ran to the store. What a fiasco! There is a FUNNY story about that, but I won't share it now. I bought things to cook dinner tonight! Then, I raced home and CLEANED like mad to have the house nice before everyone got home. It was so nice to have some time with an empty house! I got the living room and kitchen CLEAN, floors swept and mopped (gotta love hardwood floors! SO NICE to keep CLEAN!) and started dinner. When everyone else arrived home, Bryttan helped me finish getting dinner ready. Then, we actually had a SIT-DOWN DINNER! YES! I am TOTALLY serious! Bryttan set the table and the four of us ate like a "real" family! It was great! Everyone LOVED the dinner I cooked, too! We had salad, carrots, grapes (for Taiger), fried Polska Kielbaska (is that even how you spell it?!) (also for Taiger...he LOVES that stuff!) French bread and tomato pasta (a family fave!) Much to every one's chagrin, I took some pictures with my Mom's cell phone. Although they are completely uninteresting, I will be posting them with this entry.

Taiger LOVES eating with his hands! Whenever anyone asks why I don't MAKE him eat with a fork (which he does, if he is in the mood, it's not like he doesn't know how...he just doesn't LIKE to!) I tell them that in Ghana they eat with their hands! Since Taiger will be in Ghana in a few months, I am just letting him get used to it! If that doesn't stop the comments, I say that since he is part Ghanaian, maybe it is in his genetic make up to WANT to eat with his hands! Okay, so it is a LOOOOONG shot...But I can't get the kid to use a fork! As a Mother, I have to have SOME arguement as to WHY my child won't use a fork! Besides, I also add, his Aunt BeQin eats with chop-sticks! Maybe the poor kid is confused! HA HA HA!

Want the recipe for Tomato Pasta? SO EASY! Cook one pack of angel hair pasta as normal. Drain water and leave noodles in colander for now. In the now empty pot, put a little butter and some crushed garlic...I used about one and a half teaspoons. Add a dash or two of crushed Basil leaves. Let that cook for a second to get the garlic cooked some and the butter all good and garlicy. Add half of a LARGE CAN of diced tomatoes. Stir it all up. Add the cooked noodles. Pour the rest of the can of tomato over the noodles. With forks, mix noodles so the sauce you made in the bottom of the pot coats all of the noodles. Add some grated Italian cheese (whatever you like...sometimes we use Parmesan, tonight we used an "Italian Cheese Blend" because it was on sale at Albertson's!) and a little basil and stir up. To look nice, I added some more cheese and basil just to make it look "finished". NOTE: The noodles should not be all red like spaghetti, so don't panic! You used enough tomato...trust me! Try it and see! Yummy, huh?!
It will look like THIS!:

Okay, so that blog entry was anything BUT the "brief" I said I would try and be. There are some other topics about which I want to write, but this is LONG ENOUGH! HA!

Thanks to everyone who reads my blog!

Why I have not been blogging as much...

Christmas is upon us, and although this should be a time I am blogging MORE, I have found I have been blogging LESS. Christmas is a time when people's hearts are a little softer, their thoughts are turned to those in need. Because serving others is a major part of this season, I should be blogging now more than ever!

Christmas should be a time of joy and laughter. Yet my Christmas has been shadowed slightly by feelings of guilt. Because of this, I have not been as quick to blog. I have sat at my computer many times this season, only to become frustrated with my own thoughts and unable to find the words to express my feelings.

So, in the quiet of my house in the early morning, when everyone else is still asleep, I find myself again at my computer, determined to express my feelings without frustration or shyness. To just say them like they are. I know as I write my thoughts are going to be a jumbled MESS, but I just want to get them out there.

The feelings of guilt are because I am spending so much on myself and my son when there are so many people who need it more! Then, I feel guilty for wanting to help others instead of giving my son many Christmas gifts. He is my SON, and I want him to have all he needs, but does it make me a "bad mom" because I want to help others rather than get him tons of dinkey toys he will never use? My son is going to have a good Christmas, better than most 3 year olds! But I know I could buy him MORE THINGS. Is it bad that I think "this is enough" and want to save the rest of the money I have (as a single Mom going to school, I really don't have a lot of money to throw around...to be honest, I have about $600.00 TO MY NAME, about $300.00 of which has gone into Christmas gifts for Taiger and my family and one close friend)? As I am out shopping for him, I refrain from buying more and more, thinking instead of our trip to Africa, and how we will need the money to buy airplane tickets and suitcases, and I would like to save my money for those things. Does that make me a bad Mom, or a Christmas Scrooge because I am not buying my son a mountain of gifts? Does it make me a bad Mom that I am spending more on my endeavors to help others than I am my own son?

These are the feelings of guilt I have been experiencing. Guilt for spending so much on silly gifts my son doesn't NEED, and then guilt for wanting to spend money on others rather than on my own son.

Back from the land of the lost, and Taiger's Third Birthday party! Woohoo!!

I have not been very good about blogging on here! Sorry! The reason for that is that I have another BLOG on which I have been blogging a lot lately. If you want to check it out, the address is sixteensmallstones.blogspot.com. It is dedicated to Taiger's and my volunteer work and volunteer spirit, really.

Things are going well for my son and me. He turned three a couple of weeks ago!!!! What a big boy! I will try and put some pictures on here when I get a chance. He had a fun Speed Racer party with all of his little friends from our neighborhood. It was fun for everyone. Taiger HATES loud noises and excitement, so I wasn't sure how he would do with having a party. However, it was a strange party when kids came late and some left early, so it never got too loud and crazy (although crazy enough for me! LOL!). The one time it got a little wild, Taiger went off alone and played with his new cars while everyone else ate cake and played. I kept an eye on him as he played alone and he seemed happy so I let him be. After a while, one of his little friends joined him playing with the new cars and from there things went smoothly. I was grateful it was fun for Taiger and everyone and that it went so smoothly (albeit a little different with people coming and going so much, but we are layed back and go-with-the-flow so we just made it work and all went well!).

We are still planning our trip to Africa this summer. Our other blog is more updated with more information on that trip, so if you want to hear about all that, be sure to keep checking our other blog.