Here I Swap 2020

 

Mug quotation: "It’s got to go bang and it has to be fun, otherwise I won’t come!" - Karlsson, from The World’s Best Karlsson, by Astrid Lindgren

You guys. We have been swapping mugs for four years. 

FOUR. YEARS. 

 What started out as me being all millenial-ish AKA miffed that other people were having delightful little swaps and the Lutheran ladies weren't in on the fun has turned into all of us being one year away from a five-year-anniversary of mug swappery! 

 Earlier this year, a lot of you joined in the non-mug mug swap, where you sent e-gifts to our pastors, deaconesses and others on the front lines of spiritual care this year. It was great seeing firsthand how big the hearts of LCMS women can be. 

So here we are--finally--ready to swap real mugs again in 2020. Two things I ask in advance: (1) Please don't sign up in you aren't 100% committed to sending a mug. I like this swap. I don't like having to follow up with people because they didn't uphold their end of the deal. Don't be that girl. (2) Thank you in advance for your patience. I've got a four little children and a husband to care for, and this mug swap--as fun as it is--isn't my first priority. They are. So thank you for being understanding if I don't reply to a query or email super fast.

Now . . . are you ready to swap?

SIGN UPS ARE NOW CLOSED! 

 1. I'm going to pair you up with another Lutheran gal and send you both the information you'll need to know about one another (names and addresses, etc.). You're matched up with one person, and she's matched up with you.

2. Put together a little care package for her. Add as many goodies to the package as you'd like -- as long as it doesn't cost you more than $20.00 -- but you have to at least include a mug. (I mean, this is why it's called a mug swap.)

3. Stick that package in the mail! (But seriously, for real, because having to track people down who don't hold up their end of the bargain makes me grumpy.)

4. Give your mailman the friendliest wave ever while waiting for your package to arrive. He holds the keys to you getting that mug . . . and maybe the presidential election . . . so go easy on him. 

Make sense?

 If you're 21 or older, sign up by clicking this link and filling out the form. 

• Sign-ups close October 9, and you'll receive information on your swap friend by October 28. (Yes. It may take that long to send all the emails out. I'm a wife and a mom of a four-year-old, a three-year-old, a two-year-old, and a one-month old. Thank you for understanding.)

• Send the mug/package -- along with a little note with your name and how she can connect up with you -- by November 10.

• Post a picture of your swap package when it arrives. Use the hashtag #hereiswap2020 on Instagram, Facebook, or whatever socials you're currently digging.
  

• Finally, I'm hoping this swap remains a helpful, joyful way for Lutheran women to encourage each other, but unfortunately, I can't be held responsible for your partner's actions. If she doesn't send you a package, feel free to follow up with her via email or tag her on Facebook. Let the Law do its work.
• Now let's get swapping!
  

Here I Swap 2019

 Lutheran ladies, it's mug swap time! (I was going to post the "Let's get ready to ruuuuuuuumble!" video here but that didn't seem quite appropriate.)

Now read this next part closely.

Closer.

Closer still. 

A little more. 

There you go! 

1. Ready to swap mugs? You sign up here. 
2. I pair you up with another gal and send you both the information you'll need to know about one another (names and adddresses, etc.). You're matched up with one person, and she's matched up with you.
3. You put together a little care package for her. You're free to add as many goodies to the package as you'd like -- as long as it doesn't cost you more than $20.00 -- but you have to include a mug. (I mean, this is why it's called a mug swap.)
4. Stick that package in the mail! (But seriously, for real, because having to track people down who don't hold up their end of the bargain makes me grumpy.)
5. Instagram your pumpkin spice latte while waiting patiently by the mailbox for your buddy's package to arrive for you. Or don't. Whichever. 

Are you game?

 If you're 21 or older, sign up by clicking this link and filling out the form. 

• Sign-ups close September 15, and you'll receive information on your swap friend by October 1. (Yes. It may take that long to send all the emails out. I'm a wife and a mom of three 3 and under. You understand.)

• Again, after reading up on your new friend, head to Walmart or Home Goods or any place in between to put her fall swap package together, which must include at least one mug.

• Send the package -- along with a little note with your name and how she can connect up with you -- by October 15.

• Post a picture of your swap package when it arrives. Use the hashtag #hereiswap2019 on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Wait. Do people still even tweet? 

• Finally, I'm hoping this swap remains a helpful way for Lutheran women to encourage each other, but unfortunately, I can't be held responsible for your partner's actions. If she doesn't send you a package, feel free to follow up with her via email! A healthy dose of the Law never hurts, amiright? 

Are you excited yet? Sweet.

Let's get swapping!

Here I Swap 2018: Registration Open

Guys.

Guess what.

It's mug swapping time!

Year 1: 115 Lutheran mug swappers.
Year 2: 511 . . . in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. 
Year 3: TBD. (I'm scared. Yipe!)

This year, because some ladies were a little over all things fall -- turns out not every gal loves her some pumpkin spice lattes -- we're swapping Advent and Christmas mugs . . . and maybe even a recipe or two.

Also, not sure why Amy Grant doesn't sing that Advent is the mooooost woNDErful tiiiiiiime of the year but WHATEVER.

Now read this next part closely because things have changed a bit.

Here's how this swap is going down:

1. You sign up here. 
2. I pair you up with another gal and send you both the pertinent information you'll need to know about one another (names and adddresses, etc.). This is different from previous years. You're matched up with one person, and she's matched up with you. The end.
3. You peruse that information, which will give you a glimpse into her style, winter drink preferences and personality. You can friend her on Facebook if you want or shoot her an email introducing yourself. If you'd prefer to stay behind the scenes until she receives your package so that it can be a surprise, that's fine too! Either way.
4. You put together a little care package for her, based on that information. YOU MUST, AT THE VERY LEAST, SEND HER A MUG. Beyond that, you're free to add as many goodies to the package as you'd like -- as long as it doesn't cost you over $25.00. Again, this part is up to you.
5. Stick that package in the mail!
6. Channel some Advent penitence, and wait patiently by the mailbox for your buddy's package to arrive for you. 
7. Eat, drink and be merry . . . but not too merry. It's not Christmas yet!

Are you game?

 If you're 21 or older, sign up by clicking this link and filling out the form. 

• Sign-ups close September 30, and you'll receive information on your swap friend by October 30. (Yes. It may take that long to send all the emails out. I'm a wife and a mom of three under 3, so sometimes things take me a looooong time. Please be patient!)

• Again, after reading up on your new friend, head to Walmart or Home Goods or any place in between to put her fall swap package together, which must include at least one mug.

• Send the package -- along with a little note with your name and how she can connect up with you -- by November 15 so that she receives it in time for Advent and Christmas.

• Post a picture of your swap package when it arrives. Use the hashtag #hereiswap2018 on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. You can meet even MORE Reformation-lovin' ladies that way!

• Finally, I'm hoping this swap will be a fun way for Lutheran women to encourage each other . . . and enjoy a few Advent- and Christmas-themed goodies along the way, but unfortunately, I can't be held responsible for your partner's actions. If she doesn't send you a package, feel free to follow up with her! A good dose of the Law never hurts. :) 
• Enjoy!

 

Here I Swap 2017 - - Registration Is Open! -- UPDATE: And now it's closed!

YOU GUYS. THIS IS THE YEAR: THE 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF SWAPS.

No, wait. It's the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and that's cause for celebration! Hopefully you're doing plenty of that already -- hymn sings, anyone? -- but when it comes to this kind of awesomeness, you can never have too much.

That's why it's time for Here I Swap 2017. Last year, we had about 150 ladies sign up. Don't you think we can make it to 500 this year?

I do.

This year, we're swapping coffee mugs along with a little something that says the season of fall/autumn. (Bonus points if you can work in Reformation swag.)

Here's how it works:

1. You sign up here. 
2. I find another gal with similar interests and then send you her contact info and other pertinent information. 
3. You peruse that information, which will give you a glimpse into her style, theology and personality.
4. You put together a little care package for her, based on that information. YOU MUST, AT THE VERY LEAST, SEND HER A MUG. Beyond that, does she love pumpkin spice lattes? Get her a drink mix! Does she adore fall-scented candles? Send her one! Is her favorite hymn "A Mighty Fortress"? Order her an LSB from CPH! This part is up to you. Once you've got a mug, you'll simply need to piece together a fall-themed care package that you think she'll love -- and it can be as simple or involved as you'd like. 
5. Stick that package in the mail!
6. Channel your inner Katie Luther, and wait patiently by the mailbox for YOUR care package to arrive. While you're busy finding a gorgeous mug and putting together a kind fall-themed gift for your new friend, another woman will be doing the same for you!
7. You'll now have met two new friends -- one you've sent a package to and one who's sent a package to you -- and perhaps even recited your Small Catechism while doing so.

Are you game?

• If you're 21 or older, sign up by clicking this link and filling out the (short -- I promise!) form. 

• Sign-ups close August 25. You'll receive information on your swap friend by September 11. 

• After reading up on your new friend (feel free secretly to check out her social media pages too!) and getting a feel for her style, head to Walmart or Home Goods or any place in between to put her fall swap package together. Please spend at least $10.00 but no more than $25.00.

• Send the package -- along with a little note with your name and how she can connect up with you -- by September 25 so that she receives it in time for October and the Reformation. 

• Post a picture of your fall swap package when it arrives. Use the hashtag #hereiswap2017 on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. You can meet even MORE Reformation-lovin' ladies that way!

• Finally, I'm hoping this swap will be a fun way for Lutheran women to encourage each other . . . and enjoy a few fall-themed goodies along the way, but unfortunately, I can't be held responsible for your partner's actions. I'm hopeful people are signing up who will actually send their swap packages, but if you haven't received a package by October 15, please let me know at adrianeheins@gmail.com if your partner doesn't come through so I can check in with her. *If I find out someone didn't mail a mug, she's banned to swapping purgatory. But seriously, you'll be out of the running for a year, and it will take a papal bull to get you back in the swap. Or something along those lines.*

Ready? Let's get swapping! Sign up now! 

Here I Swap: Reformation Mug Swap 2016

I have a small . . . issue . . . with coffee mugs. It's not that I collect them. It's just that I can't part with them. 

But it's not an addiction. No, really. I can stop whenever I want. 

There may be something like 30 vintage Pyrex coffee mugs in a box in the basement. And we may have a small collection of dairy mugs that have udders for feet. And I'm not saying that we each have coffee cups from our grandparents' homes that remind us of them, but ok, we totally do. 

So naturally I think it'd be a great idea to add yet one more mug to the collection . . . by hosting a mug swap for women who love Jesus, the Reformation, its theology and maybe even a good beer and pretzel now and then. 

It works pretty simply. 

• You sign up. I pair you up with another gal and send you info on your partner. 
• You read up on her style and favorite color and what Scripture passages offer her the most comfort and then go find her a mug that will fit her to a T. 
• If you're feeling up to it, make it a little care package. Does she love chocolate? Toss some in the box! Does she have a favorite hymn in the LSB? Get her a little gift card to CPH! Does she thrive on welcoming people into her home? Add a little tablecloth. This part is up to you. You only need to send a mug, but adding a few personal touches won't hurt her feelings any. 
• Send the package by a specific date so that it arrives in time for October and any Reformation celebrations she's planning on doing. 
• Channel your inner Katie Luther and wait by the mailbox for your mug to arrive from the gal who got YOUR name and info. 
• Meet two other women who love Jesus, "A Mighty Fortress" and coffee as much as you! 

How's that for easy? And fun!

We may never stand before princes and councils and utter the words, "Here I stand," (well, actually, we might at the rate things are going), but in the meantime, we can definitely give thanks to God for the people He has placed in our life and say:

"Here I swap!" 

As Christian -- and specifically Lutheran women -- it can be hard to meet other women who make the same confession, and it's my hope this is a way to connect some of us as we look forward to celebrating 500 years of Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone. 

Details 

1. If you're 21 or older, sign up by clicking on this link and filling out the (short!) form. 
2. Sign-ups close August 25, and you will receive information on your mug swap partner by September 9.
3. Take a few days to check out your new friend's social media pages to get to know her and her style. 
4. Head to Walmart or Crate and Barrel or any place in between to find a coffee mug she can fill with java or tea and sip while reading her Treasury of Daily Prayer each morning. Spend at least $5.00 on a mug but no more than $20.00. This is a new friend, after all. She'll love a nice mug!
6. Send the mug -- and a little note with your name and how she can find you on social media so that you can connect up -- before September 23 so that she receives it in time for October and Reformation celebrations. 
5. Post a picture of your mug when it arrives. Use the hashtag #hereiswap2016 on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Heck, you might even meet a few other Reformation-lovin' ladies that way!

They make take "goods, fame, child and wife" -- pretty sure that goods includes cute coffee mugs -- but in the meantime, we can remind one another of our baptisms, add marshmallows to our cocoa and rejoice in new friendships made over a common faith . . . and maybe even a love of coffee. 

Update: The swap is now closed! Thanks to all who signed up! 

* It's my hope that this swap will be a nifty way for Christian women to encourage one another -- and enjoy a pretty mug during their morning coffee -- but unfortunately, I can't be held responsible for your partner's actions. I'm hopeful people are signing up who actually intend to send mugs, rather than just receive them, but please let me know (adrianeheins@gmail.com) if your partner never sends a mug so that I can reach out to her. 

pioneer woman's chicken pot pie

I can't function in chaos. I can't leave dirty dishes in the sink at night. I can't leave laundry unfolded before going to bed. The counter has to be cleaned off. The coffee maker has to be set to go on the next morning at 5:30 a.m. I have to clean my desk off at the end of the day, even if it's just to stack papers in a pile. I just reeeeeeally can't handle chaos . . . or disorder . . . at all. 

So when it was getting close for Baby Heins to arrive, I decided to do myself a favor and eliminate the chaos before it started by putting some meals in the freezer. Double a meal. Freeze one in a disposable pan. Voila. Disorder averted. Or at least reduced.

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie was just the ticket. 

Upside: I cooked one of our chickens for this recipe and got to feel all Ma Ingalls-ish.

Downside: We actually ate one of the pot pies before it made it to the freezer. 

Oops. 

Thus the part where you have to double the meal in order to have some to eat later. 

Chris grilled hamburgers to freeze. I made soup and some fettucini and a couple of casseroles and taco meat, some bread, even a pound cake because who doesn't need some dessert now and then after they've just spent all day smooching baby cheeks?

The pot pie, however, has been the big hit. A half a stick of butter. White wine. Heavy cream. I think you understand. Heck, you can even buy yourself a pie crust from the grocery store if you don't want to make your own. 

{Don't worry. Making pie crusts terrifies me too.}

So if you're like me and can't stand chaos, or if you're just hungry for chicken and veggies, or if you like cream and wine, or if you just want to whip up a meal and freeze that thing like nobody's business, this is your recipe. 

No disorder necessary!   

bring on the sprinkles: cake donuts

Merry fifth day of Christmas! While Wal-Mart is busy setting up its Valentine's Day displays, we're still Christmasing over here . . . all the way to Epiphany on January 6. 

But seriously. Wal-Mart employees were putting out Valentine's Day candy ON CHRISTMAS EVE. What the what? 

We're celebrating Christmas with donuts . . . delicious, carby donuts . . . which are at the very core of all my family holds dear.  Every now and then, on the way home from church, my dad would stop at Casey's, give one of us girls money and send us inside to get everyone a donut.

The only hitch was that we had to count the leftover change back to my dad before we could eat our delicious, sprinkled, glazed, cakey donuts. And for someone who stunk at math, that could mean the difference between the amount of seconds it took to shove a piece of a donut in my mouth and minutes. 

  

It was usually minutes. 

Sigh. 

You know me and math. 

Thanks to the kind Christmas gift of a donut pan from my mom, however, I can now eat donuts any time of the day or night. I don't have to wait until Sunday. Or even share with my sisters!

Unless it's National Donut Day. Then maybe. For old times' sake. 

While donuts from Casey's on Sundays after church will always taste special for a reason, these glazed cake donuts come pretty darn close.

No change counting required! 

Cake Donuts

2 cups flour

3/4 cup white sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

3/4 c. milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1 T. shortening

Icing 

1 c. powdered sugar

2 T. hot water

1/2 tsp. almond extract 

1. Set oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a donut pan. 

2. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir in milk, eggs, vanilla and shortening, and beat until well blended. 

3. Fill your donuts cups 3/4 of the way with batter. Bake donuts for 8-10 minutes or until the donuts spring back when touched. 

4. Allow donuts to cool before removing from the pan. 

5. To make the icing/glaze, blend together powdered sugar, almond extract and hot water. Dip donuts into glaze, and serve. 

** I'd recommend using 1/4 tsp. almond extract. Using 1/2 tsp. was almost a little overpowering! 

day 3 of farmacology: naps

One of the things you may not know about farm folks is that

we take naps, and we take them in really strange places. 

Farmers are notorious for working from sun up to sun down. But that doesn't mean they don't take a break here or there to recharge. 

My dad took a nap almost every day after lunch. Somehow, no matter how hard he was sleeping, he only napped for 15 minutes. Then he'd pop up, refill his coffee thermos and head out the door again.

Heck, I lay down for five minutes and I can be out for the rest of the afternoon. So that capacity clearly skipped a generation. 

But if you're chopping silage, you can take a 10-minute nap in the chopper while you wait for the next truck.  

If you're waiting for a cow to dilate so you can help pull her calf, you can lean your head back in the Gator and catch 40 winks. 

If you pull your truck up to your house after an 16-hour day and you're too tired to even walk inside, you can sleep in the pickup for an hour or two before getting up the energy to go in the house and shower . . . and then go to real bed. 

If you're planting or tilling, you can stop your tractor, turn off your phone and stay right there in the seat while you catch a nap. 

If you're milking cows in the parlor and you're waiting on the girls to finish, you can pull up a bucket, hold your head in your hands and get a good five minutes in before having to wake up. 

If you're stopping home for lunch, you can fall asleep on a . . . pile of dogs. 

The napping options are virtually limitless for farmers! You get up early, you go to bed late, you nap when you can. 

And where you can. 

If you can. 

Sometimes, even with the dogs.

** This post has been paid for my farmer . . . who has napped in all the places mentioned above. Except he didn't actually pay for this post. He just likes naps. **

Want to read more of my 31 day farmacology writing challenge? Click here. 

this week {August 24, 2015}

This week, we are:

• Focusing on all things silage. Silage time is kind of like Christmas on the farm, but you have to replace the presents, snow, special breakfasts and trees with a silage chopper, corn, trucks, tractors, two-way radios, a sturdy work ethic and long hours. 

The guys worked all week to tear the choppers apart and repair them, then to put them back together without any leftover pieces, which would be unthinkable if this were left up to me.

"Um, guys, does anyone know where this extra tire goes?" - me

or

"Do you really NEED these brakes or can you just kind of roll to a stop?" - me 

As you can tell, critical thinking and logical deduction are not my forte. I just make the coffee, which leads to the next thing that's defining this week.

• Living on caffeine. When everything is running the way it's supposed to, the chopper go-go-goes and the trucks run ride along side it. It means getting up at 5:00 a.m., and running until 12:30 a.m. the next morning and not falling asleep until 1:00 a.m. So if there's a watchword for the week, it's: gimme-all-the-caffeinated-things. Correction: watchwordS.

• Thankful for a forecast filled with sunshine. Silage is all about timing. The corn's moisture has to be just right, and the corn itself has to be a certain maturity. All the machinery has to be ready to go. The weather has to cooperate, and it can't be rainy. And when all those factors collide, silage can run like a well-oiled machine. A chopper, as it were. 

• Taking credit that isn't ours. It had been a long week. Silage hadn't started yet. There was one lingering issue to fix on the chopper, and the guys had spent hours working to figure it out. I'm not saying that when my mother-in-law and I showed up, the problem was fixed within minutes but . . . well, yes, that actually is what I'm saying. We'll just go ahead and take credit for it, even though we had absolutely nothing to do with it. Because we're fun like that. 

• Slightly amazed. Did you know that silage choppers have kernel processors that basically crack corn kernels so that cows can digest the corn more easily? Those four stomaches need all the help they can get! And come to think of it, that's almost as impressive as the pre-digested goat milk my mom fed me when I was a colicky baby. (Do I want to know who digested it first? I don't think I do.) 

• Good senses of humor. Silage season requires a lot of patience. Combine that with hard work and reeeeeeally long work days, and it would be easy to get testy or out of sorts. And yet every time I pop in at the dairy, someone is joking, teasing someone else, pulling a prank, spouting a good one-liner or smiling. It must be something in the silage dust, but whatever it is, we're grateful for it . . . and for good humor in general. 

• Digging two-way radios. Can you imagine what life was like before those puppies? How would you know when your truck was full of silage? Or when you're driving too close to the chopper and need to give it some room? Or that there are fresh-baked cookies in the shop to nab the next time you drop off a load of silage at the bunker? You wouldn't, that's what! 

• Grateful to be living in the country. Silage season requires a lot of time spent in trucks and choppers and tractors, but it also provides a lot of time to watch sunsets and see the stars to come out, to enjoy the autumn weather and get in healthy doses of sunshine. Add to that the animals that dash out of the ends of corn fields, and you've got yourself a full-fledge nature lallapalooza. Heck, if I didn't think everyone would assume I was crazy, I set up a lawn chair at the dairy, pop a chocolate milk and watch the magic happen . . . for hours. 

• Trying to keep Blackjack off his gimpy paw. Blackjack hurt his foot, but this hasn't kept him from hobbling around on three paws, regardless of how much we try to keep him calm. Then again, this affords him lots of benefits: like getting to eat the frosting off of people's cupcakes, sitting at the feet of kind people who order him his own hamburgers from McDonalds, and lots of time laying around in the air conditioned office. Wait a minute. Why walk regularly? He's got it pretty good!  

It may not be silage season where you are but . . . what's this week look like for you? 

10 must-haves when it comes to do-it-yourself coffee

My husband has this striking ability, when the phone rings in the middle of the night with someone from the dairy on the other end, to wake up from a deep sleep, assess the situation and answer coherently. 

I possess not one of those traits. 

He's exceptionally good at forcing himself to be alert. 

Those middle-of-the-night calls, however, are also part of the reason that he loves coffee the next morning. 

Me? I'm still trying to be a grown-up by drinking creamer/sugar/everythingever with a just a splash of coffee tossed in for good measure. 

Jamaican agriculture

Last week, thanks to my mother- and father-in-law, our family left behind the sub-zero wind chills, the frozen water in the dog bowl and the frost that crunches on the grass and exchanged it for Jamaican sunshine, clear water and Blue Mountain coffee.