monday morning madness

Written at 10:11 this morning.

Today is normally Frank’s day off, but as usual, they asked him to come in. No problem for us, we love the automatic time and a half for every hour he gets on these days. However, yesterday started earlier than normal and was busy as usual, and I would have enjoyed cuddling with my sweet man for one morning this week, but nonetheless, duty calls and we answer! (Actually, the alarm goes off at 5 am and he gets up and goes to work…) I wake up at 7 and its cold in our little home. I know the furnace was set to come on, but clearly it did not. It surely is not 73 degrees anywhere in our 31 foot length of living space and I search for slippers and pad down to the commode. I race back to the warm quilt in my empty bed and attempt to nestle into a slumber to no avail. At 7:30 I call Frank. “Honeeeeeeeeey!” Click. I really hate AT&T and their awful, call dropping service. I call back and we check in about the furnace and work for the day. Sounds like he may get some good hours. After we hang up, I get distracted by face book for a minute (or ten) until I can’t take it anymore and decide since the furnace isn’t coming on, I may as well just be cold outside, taking a walk.

It’s a beautiful Texan morning, albeit colder than most mornings I’ve experienced here so far. (And by far, much warmer than it is back home in Prineville this morning!) Speaking of home, I decide to text my father, who I believe can fix anything, about this annoying furnace situation. He starts firing back a few questions like, do you have propane? (haha! We do-- but still, good question!) Hungry, and in an effort to keep the healthy kick going this morning, I start some oatmeal and coffee for breakfast. I decide to cook my oatmeal in the microwave because it will be faster, so I follow the directions and start trying to find the owners manual for our trailer on the laptop, in hope that some more light will be shed on the furnace situation. After a few minutes, I got up to retrieve my oatmeal and discovered an oaty, goopy mess all over the microwave. Great. The paper towel is literally cooked onto the rim of the bowl. Awesome. Guess I will be cooking the old fashioned oats the old fashioned way after all!

The owners manual won’t open on the computer because the file “may be in use in another location or is corrupted.” Again, awesome. The oats are simmering as dad calls to do some more “hands on” trouble shooting. I start fiddling with the fuses, noticing there’s a read light on next to one of them. As I try to pull the fuse out, the red light turns off and the furnace turns on. I touch the fuse again and the red light comes on and the furnace turns off. Hmmmm… After a few more minutes of searching for a pair of pliers, taking a bite of oatmeal, then hunting down a screw driver, grabbing another bit of oatmeal, then fetching the flashlight, another bite of quickly cooling oats, the furnace starts working correctly. Dad encouraged us to have our batteries tested anyway, just to make sure there isn’t anything wrong with them. We hang up, I finish my oatmeal, and sit down and decide to write about it. My morning now seems a bit silly to write about after having done so, but I think there is something comforting in knowing that we are not alone in our Monday morning madness. I have no idea why Mondays need to be difficult for most of us, but they live up to their reputation all to often, don’t they?!

fall photo shoot

We had a little fun on Sunday with the iphone. I realize we haven't posted many pics lately, so we played catch up for ya... ;)

Happy Fall from Texas!

Much Love,
Frank & Alita

Exciting News!

The Bathams are a buzzin! Some crazy transition has come up in the last week, and we’d love to share it with you. We are both so excited about what this buzz means, and before you go there-- no, we’re NOT pregnant! ;)

As you probably know, Alita was hired to work at the Boys and Girls Club at the beginning of September. To say the least, the last month has been difficult as we strived to transition to a new schedule of Frank working at 6 am and Alita working all afternoon, as late as 8 pm. The club Alita was hired to work at is about a 30 minute drive from home, without traffic. Combine that with the low pay and stressful environment, and the transition that was exciting at first spun into a difficult, profitless venture for this newly married couple.

We talked a lot about our options, weighed the pros and cons, and consulted with God about our difficult decision. Alita struggled most with starting a job and quitting it so soon, especially after three months of trying so hard to find a job! But it didn’t take long to see a better opportunity presenting itself in a two-fold plan.

Part one: throughout the month of August, Alita worked at the office for the RV park a couple hours a day which resulted in only paying for our electricity at the end of the month. (MAJOR blessing!) Alita spoke with MJ, the park manager and she agreed that having Alita around 10 hours a week would be a good thing. Rent paid. Sigh of relief.

Part two: the same week Alita accepted the job at the Boys & Girls Club, she also signed an agreement to become a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. She thought she could do both jobs part time and make a pretty good income. But the hours and stress of the BGC didn’t allow for much time or mental energy to focus on Mary Kay. After comparing the jobs side by side, Alita & Frank knew that Mary Kay would prove to be a much more profitable business over time. In addition, Mary Kay allows the flexibility that seems so imperative to our schedule right now. Mary Kay is a job Alita can take anywhere the we end up. And the income potential is exponentially higher than just about anything else she is qualified for.

Needless to say, Frank and Alita are extremely excited about the potential this endeavor holds and your support would be much appreciated! Alita’s Mary Kay website is: www.marykay.com/alitab.

Much Love,
Frank & Alita

PS- To receive an email outlining more details about this job opportunity, please email Alita at alita.batham@gmail.com.

Alita's Curry

Cooking always makes me feel better. Lately I haven’t been able to cook much because of some circumstances that will thankfully be changing soon! (More about that news in a blog to follow.) Last night I had the time to create something, which is one of my favorite ways to cook. I like following recipes, but there is something about creating something off the top of you head that is fun, especially when it turns out well.

I had some coconut milk and chicken broth in the fridge that needed to be used. I also had some broccoli, carrot and onion that needed to be consumed as well. I picked up some boneless, skinless chicken thighs to complete the creation and I was off and runnin’!

I started out by sautéing the chopped chicken thighs in a little olive oil in the cast iron skillet on medium high heat. When they were browned I, sprinkled a little curry powder over them and let it cook in, then I removed the chicken from the skillet, lowered the heat to medium and threw in sliced onion and some crushed garlic, along with about a cup of sliced broccoli and half a cup of sliced carrots. (Next time I’m throwing in a chopped red potato and some sliced mushrooms… mmmhmmmm!) As the veggies cooked, I sprinkled more curry powder (about 1 teaspoon), cayenne pepper (just a tad bit) and 1 tablespoon of corn starch over them and stirred it in, until the veggies softened.

Next, I poured the chicken broth over the veggies (maybe a cup? A little less?) and brought it to a simmer. Then, I poured about 1/3 cup of coconut milk into the skillet and stirred it in, letting it all come back to a simmer. I threw the cooked chicken back in the mix, along with a couple cranks of sea salt from the salt grinder. After a taste test and a little more curry, dinner was deliciously ready!

I think it would be fun to come to your house, open your fridge and pantry and see what I can come up with. Who’s up first?! ;)