Proverbs 31:12

She gathers wool and flax and works with eager hands

Today, I had a  yummy mid-morning snack.

Recipe adapted from the back of the Hodgson Mill Flax Seed box:

• 1/4 cup Millled Flax Seed
• 1-1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Couple shakes of cinnamon
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 -1/2 cups finely chopped apples
• 3 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (I think I’d skip the nuts next time)
• 1/4 cup cut up butterscotch chips (mini-cinnamon chips would be better)

Blend dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine egg, vegetable oil and milk. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in apples and nuts and chips. Batter will be thick. Fill well-greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-20 minutes (Mine only took 14 min. in a dark muffin tin) or until top springs back when touched. Yield: 12 muffins

Okay, onto WOOL!

Love,

Jess

I “gathered” wool from Mill End Factory Outlet.  I looked for felt fabric that I loved, but I guess modern felt is made of 100% Acrylic. So, I purchased a yard of Ralph Lauren wool from the remnant pile. Beats finding a sheep to sheer, no?

I picked up a box of flax seeds from the grocery store. Thanks to my Mom I figured out that flax is all over the place in the health foods niche. Nice. I guess I’ve spend too much time buying Jell-O and non-dairy coffee creamer to notice.

Anyway, let my eager hands work!

I’m thinking muffins with flax and some sort of accessory with the wool.

I had to literally buy thread and needles to even entertain the idea of making something with fabric. Plus, do flax muffins taste like cardboard?

We’ll see how it goes!

Love,

Jess

This week I was inspired by a blog called Craft-Werk (Sonja from Dublin, Ireland).  She posted a tutorial about using recycled earrings (the lonely single earrings from all the lost pairs) to create pendants. I so happened to have some lonely broken bead type “junk” laying around.

Feeling justified here for keeping every single piece of old or broken jewelry item dating back to 1997.

Here is my version of Craft-Werk’s jump ring necklace.

Lovely, isn’t it? I like the part where it’s free. Free, of course, when you already bought a few bead making supplies, earrings (in the first place) and/or a silver chain. Those things were on-hand for me this go round.

Anyway, loop stray sparkling beauties hiding in the bottom of your jewelry box onto your favorite chain! They will thank you for showing them off!

Love,

JEss

Proverbs 31:12
13 She selects wool and flax 
and works with eager hands.

Hang on a second, I need to go sheer a sheep and pick some seeds, then eagerly mix them together. Oh wait, I live in 2010, in suburbia, with not a clue what to do with wool and flax.

Research needed.

Wool

Did you know that felt was made from wool? I love felt. I guess some ancient people put clumps of wool in their sandals so they wouldn’t get blisters. By the time they walked a long way, the wool turned into felt under their feet. Flash forward a few thousand years.

Now look, it’s pretty…and less smelly I’m sure.

photo credit from Wikipedia

Flax

Flax can be used to make linseed oil, vitamin supplements and even a type of hair-do product. One of the oldest clothing remnants ever found was made from flax fibers.
And look, it’s pretty too…

Eager Hands

I don’t have seeds of flax or clumps of wool to put into my eager hands. I do have the opportunity to gather supplies for useful purposes.

To me, Proverbs 31:12 is basically like going shopping at craft, fabric or thrift stores. Hmmm…yes I just made thrift stores biblical.

Well, my hands to love to create with materials that I have on hand or that have been eagerly albeit thriftily gathered from my surroundings (garage sales).

I’ve done my research. Now, it’s time for homework.

Create with wool and flax.  I’ll show you what I come up with next week. I see felt in my future…

Love,

Jess

Well, I am up before the sun. I fed my 3 month old babies, Claire and Leah. They help me get up while it’s still dark. I stayed awake after putting them back down to sleep.

I dressed myself in my gray imitation Uggs boots and my light blue fleece robe without a tie. (Ry always steals my robe ties for part of a costume, mostly Ninja Turtle headbands I think). I stumbled downstairs and made coffee. It is still perking.

Now, I am upstairs in my office “closet” on a laptop, wondering, what am I doing trying take on all the Proverbs 31 wisdom?

Well, I have to start somewhere. So, why not at the beginning.

Proverbs 31:10

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

First things first. I am a wife. But, what is this noble character business? All I can think of is a wife that is brave and knows how to curtsy.

Noble Definition: possessing, characterized by, or arising from superiority of mind or character or of ideals or morals

Noble wife, okay. I possess decent morals and most of the time I think my ideals are solid.

Am I worth far more than rubies? Let’s see, just to be cheeky, I’ll try to figure out my salary!

According to Salary.com my yearly income, in my zip code, as a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) of 4 kids is $133,544. Salary.com put together some of the responsibilities of SAHM and listed them in an hourly form. Below is an example of the hours.

Housekeeper	16.5
Day Care Center Teacher	14.7
Cook	13.1
Computer Operator	9.2
Facilities Manager	8.6
Van Driver	7.3
Psychologist	7.2
Laundry Machine Operator	7.2
Janitor	7.1
Chief Executive Officer	5.5

I am sure there are more responsibilities like nurse, referee, and gift shopper. Not to mention, all the extra pay that would ensue from literally being available for 24 hour on call services like bad dream cuddling, wet-bed changing and late night baby feeding.

The point of Proverbs 31:10 isn’t lost on me entirely. I realize that a wife of noble character is worth more than anything or any service money can buy.

Well, I better go throw some jeans on and ingest some of that coffee I smell downstairs. The big kids are up and so is the sun.

Love,

Jess

Wisdom from the Ages

Proverbs 31: 10-31 is a passage from the Bible that is actually a Hebrew poem about wisdom. The poem describes a woman that makes very wise and loving decisions about how to live her life. She serves others, she is a business woman, she is thoughtful and the list goes on.

I want to study the traits of this wise woman found in Proverbs 31. I am a hands on learner. Reading can only get me so far. I will task myself to try all the wise things the Proverbs 31 woman does in her wise, wise life.

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

¹³ She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.

¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.

¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.

¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.

²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

²² She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”

³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

³¹ Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

I am using my New Year’s Resolution, Enrich, to act as a guide for the love and logic behind my Proverbs 31 task.  However, I’m going to need a whole lot more than love and logic to get me through the process. I am going to need a lot of faith.

Love,

Jess

P.S. How much are rubies? And how the heck do I use a spindle?

I filled a baker’s tin with Scrabble tiles to send a loving message to my family.

Red winter berries bring my sideboard “mantle” just a touch of color.

To add a hint of love to my bedroom, I created a LOVE banner for the old farmhouse window. I made the banner from #4 coffee filters (folded in half) and scrap ribbon. The lettering is made from cut-out pieces of card stock that have been mod-podged with micro-beads then hot glued onto white card stock circles.

Here is a close up of the LOVE banner

Hugs and Kisses. I propped up these Xs and Os on the wall “grate” decor above the sideboard in the dining room. I glittered paper Xs and Os (glitter is a verb right? haha, within the crafter’s mind it is I guess) on the kitchen table. I swear I had glitter between my teeth after dinner that night!

I could totally be done decorating for this season, but, I something tells me I’ll keep fluffing my “love” nest until February 14th.

Love,

Jess

Okay, so I’m not a “baker”. You know the type, homemade everything for anything (MOPS, potlucks, neighbor gift, dessert, birthdays). At times, I’ve been envious. But, I know my place in the store bought section of the potluck line. I am glad that “bakers” have a gift and can use it to provide lovely goodies for their loved ones, really, I am.

I, on the other hand, have been gifted with the skill to get messy. Hence, the nick-name, Messy Jessy, that I self-proclaim from time to time. My blood pressure does not rise nor does my voice at the mere sight of Play-doh encrusted table tops, paint filled hands or craft glue pooled on random pieces of paper.

Which brings me to my point. I can bake with kids. Splats, missed measurements, over blended ingredients…whatever the case, I’ll do it. Why? Cause it is darn fun! It’s like playing kitchen but for real. Since, I have no expectation of something “turning out” I can relax and let the experience of baking with kids be super rewarding.

Our pink heart cookies (above) actually turned out and I am pleased that our efforts paid off. However, I think I ate way too many of them…also a valid reason I am not a “baker”.

A few tips, if you are wanting to try baking with little ones:

1. Use pre-made dough or measure your dry ingredients on your own before the madness begins. If you are like me, your brain will shut off because it’s too busy making sure no body slips off the chair or can reach for the sharp knives, to notice if you put 2 cups of flour or 4 cups of flour into the bowl already.

2. Allow plenty of time. Plenty, plenty, plenty. Baking with little kids is not something to do on the way to your event, in which, you signed up to bring the baked good in question.

3. Use timers. Okay, fairly obvious here. But, I promise, you will get distracted sweeping up spilled sprinkles that weren’t supposed to come out until frosting time or playing legos in a different room entirely & forget about the oven!

4. Bake with LOVE & PATIENCE. If the words, “Don’t touch that! Careful! Let me do it!” even cross your lips…it might be time to take a breather. Chill…it’s just frosting! However, in the area of hot stoves, electrical outlets/appliances and sharp knives…you get to be as demanding as ever. Cause Mama said so, that’s why!

5. Pour milk and enjoy! Let your kids eat their creations (before lunch if the case may be). Waiting until after dinner would just be torture!

Love,

Ahem…Messy Jessy

I am okay with any excuse for chocolate and candle light, you? Valentine’s Day is notorious for romance but I want more! Am I coming across as high maintenance or what?

Seriously, what good is ONE day of romance if the rest of your days are filled with sub-par loving conditions? I am blessed beyond words to have a dh (darling husband) that shows me love everyday (does putting away clean dishes and getting quick shoulder rubs speak volumes, to you, as it does to me?)

Anyway, February is coming upon us and thus LOVE is in the air when it comes to decor. Although red hearts and glittery XOXOs can’t actually show us love, they sure can deliver a sweet reminder to show love to one another.

Here are some photos of a few of my Valentine’s Day decor.

Okay, gotta run, my babies are calling for me. And yes, it is impossible to keep Molly out of the conversation hearts. I might be rethinking the placement of that candle holder.

Love,

Jess

This post is linked up to Blue Cricket Designs

I love the feel of a pieced together home style. A little of this and a little of that. New with the old. Pastels with the bold.

Claire’s sheets are white with multi-colored polka-dots.

I purchased the big “C” at JoAnne’s and painted it pink. The sticker on the small plate displays the definition of GIGGLE.

The blanket was a gift from the NICU. The sweater was worn by my mother Lucy as an infant. The lamb was a toy I played with at my Grandma Mary’s house. The plate, a family pattern, was past down to me from my late Uncle Wayne.

I made her nursery space very personal and unique by selecting a few meaningful objects to decorate Claire’s side of the room.  I love what a big impact her wall decor has for such little financial investment.

Look around to what you may already have in your home lurking in the attic — it may be just the personal touch you were looking for in your decor!

Love,

Jess