Author: Angela Pea

Wife. Mother. Engineer. Cancer Survivor. Knitter of Marvelous Things. Rider of Multiple Bikes. Fabulous Cook. Reader of All the Books. Eternal Optimist. Perpetually Happy.
creative · faithful · healthy

Minutes – January 21

Angela Pea4 Comments

::faithful

Praying for

  • friends who still have the flu, and those who have contracted it in the past few days, that they all recover quickly and that it doesn’t spread through their households
  • my husband and children
  • our country, heading into a new term, for Divine guidance and a hearty dose of common sense
Grateful for
  • seeing Princess Pea this weekend
  • sunny skies
  • Girl Scout Thin Mints

::healthy

Lady Penelope
Lady Penelope

I pulled Lady Penelope out of the shed and took her for a cruise a couple miles over to city hall to pay the water bill.  She’s been a tad neglected lately, in favor of Princess Grace, the mountain bike.  May I freely admit that Princess Grace’s gears and hydraulic brakes have made me soft?  Oh mercy!  I totally forgot how much strength it takes to operate a fixed gear bike.   I was gasping by the time I got back to the house.   I should schedule regular rides with Lady Penelope to remind my legs how darned lucky they are!

Here’s something amazing.  Lady Penelope was the bike that got me started on my weight loss journey.  When I first started riding, I could barely make it around the block.  Now I think 10 miles is a ‘short’ ride!

First post at Suscipio will be this weekend!  Whoot!

::creative

Finished one of those mitts from last week; have one more that just needs the thumb knitted up.  And yes, I did pull out the sewing machine, but only to do some mending – reattach a strap to a duffle bag, fix a few hems and take in a skirt for Princess Pea. Oh, and I did manage to locate the hot glue gun and reattach the decorative gizmo to the center of the wood cross that Cherry Ames made us for Christmas.

::delicious

  • Steak, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Spinach Salad
  • More Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage and Zucchini (made two batches last week and froze one)
  • Blackened Tilapia, mixed veggies and a salad
  • Turkey, Tomato and Mozzarella Panninis
  • Chicken Noodle Soup, Cheese Biscuits
  • Tacos, Black Beans
  • Ham and Cheese Omelettes with Spinach, Grapefruit Salad

Ahhh…Grapefruit is in season!  Rio Star and Texas Rubies are NOT to be missed!

::fun

Well, the boys have a school holiday today.  The first call I get this morning went something like this:  “Mom, can we use the chainsaw?”  Seriously?  NO!!!  Since we spent yesterday afternoon cutting down dead trees, chopping them up and hauling them to the burn pile, I suspected the question would come up, which is precisely why the chainsaw is in the back of my van this very minute. Yes, I trust my boys, about as far as I can throw them, when it comes to the siren call of power tools.  They are teenagers and have all the common sense of rabid squirrels.  ‘Nuf said.

About those trees…We pulled down a dozen dead red oaks yesterday.  Damn drought.

::looking ahead

It’s time for the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show!!  Yee-haw!!  I love the Stock Show.  We may mosey over this weekend and check out the calves and pigs.  The Architect’s rescheduled race is Sunday afternoon, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for warm, dry weather!

Linking up at Suscipio – come join us!

 Record the Minutes.  Keep the Faith.

EMail Anglea Pea

faithful

Friday’s Letters – January 18

Angela Pea5 Comments

friday's letters

Dear Masterpiece Theater – thank you ever so much for Downton Abby.  I seriously want to dress for dinner like that.   Actually, I’d like to dress like that for strolling the grounds of my mansion, for horseback riding, for conversing in my library, for having a picnic at my summer-house…

downtonabbeyladies

Dear Mr. Waldo – Yeah for you and the new job!  I’m 100% convinced that it was my glowing recommendation that landed you the position.

I'm just too cute!
I’m just too cute!

Dear Kasey – You’re doing  a great job learning how to behave inside.  We haven’t had any accidents in several days.  However, you really need to stop drinking a lot of water and then running around so fast that it comes back up again.  Especially if you’re right behind me.  You do need to stop fussing with the cat.  He’s displayed amazing patience with you to this point.   Keep it up, though, and he’s going to smack you with those spiffy claws and you won’t like it one bit.  You are going to focus this week on learning NOT to jump up and pace on top of the pool table.  And?  No matter how cute it is, you may not sleep curled up on top of tall chairs in the sunroom.

Dear DirtBike – I am so, so sorry your mountain bike broke. You worked very hard building it from spare parts.  I am extremely thankful that you didn’t impale yourself on the crosstube when the frame snapped.  Trips to the emergency room stink. We will help you scour the lists and find a new frame, and I’m sure The Architect will help you put her all back together again.

Linking up with the Ladies at Suscipio.

Recognize your Moments of Grace.  Keep the Faith.

Uncategorized

Minutes – January 14

Angela Pea5 Comments

::faithful

Praying for

  • my friend Charlie, who is grieving the loss of his mother
  • Michelle and Judy Darling, who are both holding on in their battles against breast cancer
  • friends who have the flu, that they recover quickly and that it doesn’t spread through their households
  • my husband and children
Grateful for
  • more rain and cooling temperatures
  • the family quickly falling back into the routines of school and work
  • children who like love each other and actually say it out loud, every day
  • The Architect asking Princess Pea to be his confirmation sponsor – my heart exploded with joy!

::healthy

VitaminsRefocusing on my own health with simple things, like remembering to take my vitamins, getting enough sleep and scheduling time to exercise.  On the calendar. Yes, SCHEDULING exercise, because if it isn’t planned and written down, I tend to blow it off, and constantly ignoring the fact that a healthy body needs exercise will not help me live to be one hundred years old.

I’m also laying out a series of posts about Being a Good Steward of Ourselves to share over at Suscipio.  This should be exciting!

::creative

I have a pair of mitts on my knitting needles that need finishing, and I’m getting an itch to pull out the sewing machine and stitch something. Or maybe pull out the paper stock and work on our photo albums, which I haven’t done in eons.

::delicious

  • Baked Potato Soup with Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
  • Chili
  • Chicken Cacciatore, Spinach Salad
  • Garlic Lime Chicken, Broccoli and Wild Rice
  • Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage and Zucchini
  • Shepherd’s Pie
  • Warm Spinach Salad with Chicken and Bacon, homemade Bread

::fun

The Architect has a race coming up soon, so we’re all doing training rides.  DirtBike is teaching Kasey how to fetch.  I’m more concerned with teaching her to respond to her own name and to NOT tinkle in the house.  Princess Pea is coming BACK home this weekend for the Confirmation Sponsor meeting!  That’s a good thing, because she can pick up all the stuff she forgot to take back, like the belt to her coat and her yoga pants.

::looking ahead

Well, it’s back to school, so we’re focusing on remembering our routines, getting homework done in a timely manner and finishing all the necessary studying before bedtime.  I have a prebid conference for a huge sewer project that I have out for bid, and there’s a day trip to way north Texas for me later this week.  I enjoy the driving time, because it’s quiet and I can listen to books, or I can crank up the music and sing at the top of my lungs!

Linking up at Suscipio – come join us!

 Record the Minutes.  Keep the Faith.

EMail Anglea Pea