2 Great Finds and 2 Great New Recipes

2 Great Finds:
1) The Green Bags I blogged about last month (see entry "A New Fav") are available at Walgreens for $10 (Actually $9 and some odd cents) Great Deal! I saw them there yesterday.
2) Scrapblog.com - I am loving this! A great free creative resource for making digital scrapbook pages, or invitations or announcements.

2 Great New Recipes:
BBQ Chicken Pizza - I threw this together so I'm not sure about portions for the ingredients.
Pillsbury refrigerated Pizza Crust
Cooked chicken, shredded (1 1lb)
BBQ Sauce (1 cup divided)
Red Onion (1/4 c ish)
4-6 slices of cooked thick bacon, diced
Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (as desired)

Depending on time, cook chicken one of the following ways:
a)Buy a cooked Rotisery Chicken from the store, shred what you need.
b)grill chicken on a george forman grill
c)place chicken in a crock pot with 1/2 c or so of BBQ Sauce

After cooking chicken, shred and toss with BBQ Sauce just to lightly coat, do this even if you cooked the chicken in the crock w/ sauce.
Follow directions on Pizza Crust package.
Assemble: 1/2 c sauce spred on crust. Add chicken, red onion, bacon, and cheese.
Bake as directed on Pizza Crust Package.

Chicken Wraps (Buffalo Style) - Yield 2-3 servings, I made this up from a salad I love, this is what fed Adam and I for dinner last night
1 lb boneless skinless chicken
4-5 flour tortillas (soft taco size)
1-2 cups shredded lettuce
1 tomato diced
1/4-1/3c diced cucumber
1/4 c red onion, thinly sliced
shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Ranch Dressing
Frank's Hot Sauce

I cooked the chicken on the George Forman Grill with a little salt and pepper.
While the chicken was cooking I cut the veggies.
Cut the cooked chicken into strips, toss strips in a bowl w/ hot sauce to taste. (if you don't like Buffalo hot sauce, try BBQ sauce or leave "naked" - I think adding avocado slices to the naked chicken wrap would be yummy).
Put a few slices of chicken in a tortilla with some lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cheese & ranch. Wrap up and eat up!
Makes about 5 wraps, depending on how full you fill each wrap you may get more or less.

We had Buffalo Wraps & fruit salad for dinner last night and it was AWESOME! It took me less than 20 min to cook, little clean up, healthy and tasty!

Stuck in a Chair

My Knee hurts today and I am confined to the recliner with an ice pack.
Not sure what is going on, just swelling I guess.
My Chiropractor doesn't work on Friday's so I am praying God brings some healing or relief before Monday. Tylenol isn't working one bit - I may as well be taking PEZ. So, it's ice and rest and hoping I don't have to go to the bathroom too many times.

I am going to post a couple of recipe finds and probably spend an insane amount of time playing around on Scrapblog.com

Ta Da! Amazing Peanut Butter Pie!

I promise to stop posting about Peanut Butter Pie after this. :)

I served this pie to 6 of our friends last night, plus Adam and I were judges. Eight votes later - The verdict is in...YUMMY YUMMY RICH SO SO RICH & YUMMY!!! Our friend Bob requested a PB Pie for his going away dinner (sad), I had never made one but gave it a shot. Bob had 2 pieces (how? I have NO IDEA, I could barely finish my piece it was so rich) - he loved it. The Recipe Passed the test!

I found a great recipe on Jif.com for Peanut Butter Pie. I actually found several on that site, also my favorite site Allrecipes.com, and a couple of other sites. It was hard to choose which one I wanted to try but I figure Jif probably has a good idea of how to make yummy things with peanut butter since PB is their thing.

I made my own crust b/c the tin pans the store bought crusts come in drive me batty, pet peeve I guess, anyway I really don't like them.

To make your own crust - 1 1/2 cups crushed oreos (or chocolate cookie of choice) and 6 Tbs. melted butter. Mix together and press into a 9 inch pie plate. Place in fridge while mixing pie filling. Fill & chill as directed in recipe. No baking required. Nice.

I also cut up 4 Reese's cups into tiny pieces and sprinkled them on the top after the pie was all done. It made it look SO pretty. :)

I did use creamy Jif for the PB. I think if I make it again I will try using Skippy Natural Creamy PB, I don't like natural PB (it needs more sugar!) but I used skippy natural for some cookies and they did have a more Peanutty taste to them. This pie is So RICH that I think the change in PB might make a yummy difference. We'll see.

Ok enough of my blabbing....
here is the recipe, ENJOY!

Decadent Peanut Butter Pie
Ingredients:
•1 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
•1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
•1/2 cup sugar
•1 (12 oz.) container (4 1/2 cups) frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided
•1 prepared chocolate pie crust
•1 (11.75 oz.) jar Smucker's® Hot Fudge Spoonable Ice Cream Topping, divided

Directions:
1.BEAT together 1 cup peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer on medium, until well combined. Gently mix in 3 cups whipped topping until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture into pie shell. Using a spatula, smooth mixture to edges of pie.

2.RESERVE 2 tablespoons of hot fudge topping into the corner of a resealable food storage bag; set aside. Microwave remaining topping on HIGH (100% power) for 1 minute. Stir. Spread topping over pie, covering entire peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until set. Spread remaining whipped topping (1 1/2 cups), over hot fudge layer, being careful not to mix the two layers.

3.CUT a small corner from bag containing topping. Squeeze bag to drizzle topping over pie. Place remaining 2 tablespoons peanut butter in a resealable food storage bag; cut bag corner and squeeze to drizzle in opposite direction from topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield: 1 pie (6-8 servings)

Closed!

Today was closing day. We are offically not the owners of this house any more. It is bitter sweet to say a final goodbye - but mostly SWEET! We are thankful that God allowed us to sell the house quickly and for a good price. Now when we go to Manhattan we can just visit and play with friends without the "duties" of checking in on a house.

Goodbye House.

Peanut Butter Pie

I am going to make a Peanut Butter Pie tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.
I have never made one before and honestly I have never eaten one before either.
A friend of ours is moving and we are sending him off tomorrow with a little get together - I asked him what he would like for dessert, anything he wanted - he has requested Peanut Butter Pie.

So I am researching recipes today trying to pick one to go with.
He tells me he doesn't know anyone who makes one, but likes to order it at restaurants.
Have any of you ever ordered Peanut Butter Pie at a restaurant and loved it?
If so, where? Maybe I can find their recipe online.

I am excited for this adventure - I like discovering new favorite recipes.

I think I may have narrowed my search down to 2 recipes, but how do I choose? I wish there were going to be enough guests that I could make both recipes and have people taste test and vote, but we will have WAY too many left overs for that, so I will just have to choose.

Hmmmm....
Let me know if you have Peanut Butter Pie suggestions.
I will post a picture of my pie and let you know what the taste testers have to say about it.

Preparing for Baby K

We finally got our furniture for Baby K.
Adam assembled it and now I have no idea where I want the furniture in the room. The room is small and the furniture is big, we only have 3 pieces - 4 if we get a chaning table and it is a puzzle.

Below the nursery pics are some pictures of her bassinet. It was my bassinet when I was a baby, 31 years ago! The white had turned yellow, so Adam painted it white again and then I made a liner for the inside that will also velcro off so it can be washed if needed. It turned out pretty good, and it didn't take long either.

Currently I am working on sewing some ribbon on white burp cloths to make them look "cute", you know it's important to have something cute to puke on - right? :) And I am beginning to wash clothes and blankets.

Baking...

My sweet husband has been talking about my baking at work. His co-workers have requested my apple pie. I haven't baked a pie or a cheesecake for awhile, we haven't had enough company over to warrant making such a large amount of dessert.

I just got home from the store where I bought some beautiful apples. I can't wait to do some baking tomorrow. My favorite apple pie to bake is a Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie, it is a one crust apple pie topped with a crunchy topping of brown sugar, oats, pecans and caramel topping - YUMMY!

On another note, Adam was looking for a new cookie recipe with two major ingredient requirements - Oats & Chocolate.
He found a recipe on Allrecipes.com for
Baker's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
I cut the recipe in half for a test run and they are AMAZING!
Probably our new favorite cookie around here.
You don't need to cut up Baker's chocolate, just use any semi-sweet chocolate chips.
We suggest 2 things when making these cookies:
1. Cutting back just a little on the chocolate chips
2. Skippy Natural Chunky Peanut Butter makes these SUPER Yummy!

Happy Baking!

Thank You!

Thanks to Keely for changing my blog background - I couldn't figure out how to do it but she hooked me up! Thank you Thank you

Thanks to my wonderful friends in Manhattan for a wonderful Baby Shower - The gifts were precious and I can't wait for Kaiya to enjoy them all. The time catching up with everyone was good for my soul - I needed some good time with good friends!

On Request - a Belly Bump Pic

These are not the best photos of my current Belly Bump but it's what I've got.
Keely - your request is fulfilled. :)

These pictures make me laugh because I have my house slippers on - I brought them as back up and I am so glad I did. My dress shoes were great but after hours of wedding activites my feet were aching and my ankles were swollen big time! I do wish I had remembered to change back into my dress shoes for my photo with the bride - oh well. Funny memory I guess. :)

Update #2 on Spray Tanning

Overall, I am a fan of the spray tan. :)

I will say - if you get a really bad sunburn, a week and a half is not enough time for your skin to finish healing and even though you may think you are not peeling anymore....you probably are and this is NOT a good time to get a spray tan. My shoulders look crazy where the tanner was sprayed on my former sunburn. Plus my skin was still peeling (I didn't know it) so guess what...skin peels = tan peels = white lines in crazy places and patterns.

OH MY....I am SO silly.

Anyway, I will spray tan again, just not anytime soon after a sunburn.

Update #1

So far I am impressed with the spray tan. It literally took her less than 15 min to spray me, maybe less than 10. There is no gross smell and that is saying a lot since I am pregnant and seem to be highly sensitive to smell. It actually smells a little like Almond extract you use for cooking. The gal said it the product label says it smells like Raspberry Almond.

A word of caution -
after being sprayed you can not get your skin moist or damp or wet for 8 hours (6 hrs. is suggested, 8 hrs recommended) the spray reacts with your skin to give you that glowing tan look but there is also a topical bronzer that is part of the spray I guess to the technician can tell where they have already sprayed and to give them a gage of how dark they are spraying you to become.
Anyway, I have had this on for a few hours and started crying while talking to my aunt on the phone (not about the tan but some life stuff) after crying with her for a few min. I got off the phone and went to the bathroom. The topical bronzer has been washed away from my tears and only where my tears ran did the bronzer run - I look like a Tammy Faye crying mascara nightmare only brown and not black.
Streaks down my checks all running to a common spot on my chin and then a straight line from my chin, straight down my neck to between my cleavage!
I called my technician immediately - sure she would think I am a total loon.
Turns out this happens to clients when they get in the rain too - she wasn't too shocked about it.
Her instructions to me were try to blend with a dry tissue. Use a damp cloth if I needed to, but cautioned me to know this dampness could just make it worse. It is just the topical bronzer that will come off in my 1st shower anyway and isn't my actual tan but the tanning solution does need to stay dry for as long as possible to "stick" she told me to wait as long as I could before taking a shower and if for some reason I needed some touch up tomorrow she would touch my tan up for free.

Who knew so much drama could come from a tan and a little water?
The blending with the dry tissue seemed to work pretty well, it is still unknown whether I will need a touch up. :)

Oh - and I am not orange at all - thank goodness!

Today's Adventure...

I'm trying something new today. It is vain and shallow, but I want to try it.

I am going to get a spray tan at a salon here in town. It's not a "Mystic" tan where you stand in a booth and a machine sprays up and down as you stand in a box.
A professional is actually going to "air brush" a tan on me.

The professional I am going to has very reasonable pricing - if vanity can be reasonable???

and she comes highly recommended by some other gals here in town.

After doing some research I have found that this not harmful to pregnant women or their babies so I am going to give it a try. I am assured that I will not look like an Oompa-Loompa, or any other orange colored things.

Here is the bio I found on my technician...

"We all know that having a beautiful, golden brown color to our skin makes us look healthier and feel more confident. Sunless tanning has recently taken off the last couple of years. I have tried every product on the market and finally found the “perfect” tan.
I offer an easy and effective way of getting a rich, dark tan without being exposed to harmful UV light. This fast drying, non-streaking formula has no “orange” color to it. It is an Aloe Vera based formula that contains caffeine, copper and bio-blend that helps correct and reduce environmental damage that accelerates skin aging. The DHA bronzer reacts with the amino acids in your skin to develop a golden brown tan over a 4 - 6 hour period.
This is not a booth spray tan. I am certified to personally apply this solution to you. The airbrush technique ensures that the solution has evenly covered your body and that there are no missed spots!"

Wish me luck!

I will post a before and after pic tomorrow. :)

Restless Legs - ARGH!!!

So it is 1am on July 5th. I was exhausted at 9:30, stayed up to watch fireworks anyway and then tried to go to bed at 11:00pm - only to get all cozy and Restless Leg Syndrome "kick" in just as I was about to doze off.

I am so annoyed. I hear this is a regular symptom of pregnancy for some reason. My legs and my feet are driving me crazy - I just wiggle and twitch and wiggle some more. I can't make myself be still even if I try. The more I try to be still the worse it is.

Maybe I should get up and do a little jig. hee hee

I read I may need more iron. I don't know if that is true or not but I know I need Jesus to step in right now and make my legs and feet chill out - I want to sleep but instead it's 1am and I am losing my mind.

This is weird.

All Done!

Well, I finshed the tree. It's not perfect but then again it's art so we could say it's perfect - it's subjective right? :)

Also, Adam hung the curtain rod so I could hang the curtains.

Now I am super antsy to pick up the crib and have it assembled so I can make her bed and see what it looks like all together. I guess for now I will rest.





I hate it that the Khaki wall looks so yellow/green in the pictures. I promise it does not look like that in real life.

Update on Tree Painting

So the tree is in progress. I am getting a little less scared of this project as I go along. Small steps - I just keep taking small steps and slowly it is looking more like a tree. :)

The art teacher from the school I worked at came by yesterday and gave me some pointers and then my friend Amy stopped by last night and gave me a few ideas as to how to paint the shadding on the tree. Both friends were very helpful - so far I have done all the work...

I am kind of proud - proud of my tracing/paint by number....

Adam is hanging the curtains now and we got a call today that the crib and dresser have arrived at the furniture store. As soon as the tree is done I want to pick up the crib and assemble it. I can't wait to see what the finished room is going to look like. :)

Am I Crazy?

Picture of bedding I ordered. Baby's Crib is different but the same dark wood.

Two close up shots of the bedding and the tree I am trying to imulate on the nursery wall.

The dark colored wall is actually a dark Khaki - and does not actually look green in real life.

Stage 1 of "The Tree"

I am NOT an artist in the sense of painting anyway.
I don't draw or paint or sculpt.

I have been working on the baby nursery and had this wild hair that I would like to paint a tree on the wall the crib will go on. A tree that will look like a tree from her bedding.

So here's the plan....
I scanned the fabric on our computer scanner and then went into Photoshop and played around with the tree a little bit. Then I printed the tree the way I liked it and then made a transparency and then borrowed an overhead projector to project the tree on the wall.

I have traced the tree and painted the base color of the tree. I now need to go back in and retrace the tree to define the leaves and branches and go in with a darker Khaki color and outline and shade the leaves and branches.

I think I am Crazy and I am nervous now I can't pull this off. I called the art teacher from the school I was working at and she is coming over this afternoon to give me a little art lesson.
I really hope this tree thing works out and looks cute.

If not then I am just going to paint the wall a solid blue again and call it good. :)

Above are some pictures of my progress so far.
I will keep you posted.

House Under Contract!

I forgot to share with you that our house is officially under contract!

Last week we had two offers and then two counter-offers and by Friday morning at 11 am we officially had the house under contract. We are very excited!!!

The buyers have 14 days to have any inspections done and let us know if there are any problems they want us to fix or repair for them. We are not expecting that the inspections will find anything since we have done so much work on the house. I guess there is always a chance for surprises but this should go smoothly.

Closing date is July 23 - one month from today.

Praise the Lord for selling our house - sweet freedom! :)

New Favorite - A Must for Produce lovers

I hate infomercials - I REALLY Hate them!

Not long ago I was shopping with my grandma at Bed Bath and Beyond and she really wanted to buy a box of Green Bags, "As seen on TV", for keeping fruits and veggies fresh longer.

Honestly, I thought, What is she thinking? Yeah, I'm sure these bags work just like any air tight container.

When you buy a box you get several bags that are a couple of different sizes, grandma gave me a few to try them out, so over the last couple of months I have used them a few times just to see what I think.

They WORK!

I love to buy green onions, lettuce, celery, and strawberries and these are often the produce items we don't use quick enough so I end up throwing some of them out.

I am most impressed with how long my strawberries stayed fresh. I was able to keep the same pint of strawberries fresh for almost 2 weeks! That is crazy!

The bags work great for lettuce and celery and do ok for the green onions.

Anyway - I am a believer in the green bags and think everyone who loves produce but can't eat it fast enough should buy these. You can wash them easily and reuse over and over again.

I can't believe I actually found an "As Seen on TV" item useful.

You can buy Green Bags online or at Bad Bath and Beyond. My guess is you can probably find them many places like Walmart, Walgreens, or other discount stores as well. Cost is about $10 or less for 20 bags. I suggest splitting a box with a friend - our small family does not need 20 bags. :)

You are looking for Debbie Meyer Green Bags
www.greenbags.com

Have you ever....?

I have heard that adding a little clear vanilla extract to a gallon of latex paint can really help curb the odor of the paint.

Have you ever tried this??

Does it work?

I am getting ready to start painting the baby nursery (with some help) and am thinking of trying this.

I would love some feedback - I'll keep you posted on my results.

Waiting...

My husband and I are trying to sell a house in Manhattan, KS.
It has been on the market for a little over a month now and people are looking at it all the time - in fact I have lost count of how many times the home has been shown.
Last night at about 7pm our relator called to say that we had 2 offers on the house!
One offer was in writing and is offically on the table. The other offer was verbal but the buyers have an appointment at 8:30am to put together a written offer.
Our relator said he would call as soon as he had the 2nd written offer and we could go from there.

Ok, so now it is 10:30 am - seriously, I don't think it takes 2 hours to write up an offer - what is UP????

I think I am going to make a phone call if I have heard anything by 11:00.

Am I being impaitent?

hmmmm...

Trying to Remember

I am hoping I can catch on to blogging again. In the past year and a half I have gotten married, moved to a new city, had two different jobs (at different times) and just haven't had a spare min. to really blog.

I am now a stay at home mommy - although baby K is still in my tummy. She will be here soon and so I am busy nesting and preparing for baby.

Hopefully I will get back into the swing of blogging, b/c I do love it. :)

SO much work...

Hope you all are doing well. It has been awhile since I have posted.
My husband and I have been working on the landscaping of our house and I wanted to share some pictures with you.

Landscaping Project (click here)

The first picture you will see is of our house 3 years ago before the front door was painted, before the storm door, and before anything was planted. We had to use a picture from 3 years ago as the start picture because we forgot to take a before picture just before we started the "rock wall" project.

We jumped into this project because we needed to add some good top soil to our flowerbeds, we had hard clay in there and no amount of compost, sand or stirring in new top soil was helping. A nursery suggested we either raise our flowerbed or dig our beds out 12-18" deep and then refill with good top soil. Both options were a huge task! We chose to raise the beds and it looks great!

We look forward to planting some colorful flowers this spring. Some of our shrubs will be yellow come the end of Spring and Summer, just so you know that everything planted will not always been the same shade of green.

One last note - doesn't my husband do an AWESOME job keeping our yard green?! I think it looks fantastic!

Try This!

New Favortie Recipe! My hubby and I LOVE this new meal!

Basil Chicken Over Angel Hair Pasta

I scaled this down for 2 people. It is perfect with a salad and a piece of bread or any side veggie. Healthy and de-lish!
the recipe is on All Recipies.com if you want to make it for 4 or more people.

Basil Chicken and pasta for 2....

4 oz. angel hair pasta
1tsp. olive oil
1/4c chopped onion
1/2 clove garlic, chopped
1c cooked & cubed chicken breast halves
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2Tb. Fresh Basil chopped (or 1-2 tsp. dried basil)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp of hot pepper sauce
Parmesan cheese to garnish.

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until it is al dente, about 8-10 min. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute onions and garlic. Stir in tomatoes, cooked chicken, basil, salt and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to med. and cover skillet.
Simmer 5 min., stirring frequently until mixture is hot and tomatoes are soft.

Toss Sauce with hot cooked pasta to coat. Serve with Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper to taste.

***Here's a great idea! I made my pasta ahead, only boiling it for about 5-6 min and then stored it in a zip lock bag in the fridge. Then I cooked up my chicken mixture and stored it in another zip lock bag.
Then later in the week I but the chicken mixture and the pasta in a large skillet and heated them through and then served them up (this will also finish cooking your pasta that you didn't cook for the full time before). You can have dinner in literally minutes with little clean up!

***I have enjoyed taking my raw chicken and seasoning it with a little salt and pepper and then cooking it on the grill, when cooked through let the meat "rest" for a least 5 min (so it will hold it's juice and remain tender) then cut into bite size pieces. Adds a yummy grilled flavor to the chicken.

A NEW fave...

Piztros! (click here)

You've got to eat here. It is fun and funky and not like the typical places to eat around here.

The food is GREAT!

Also the dessert is very tasty.

The ambiance is really cool.

My favorite dessert....

Pana Cotta, a creamy vanilla custard chilled in a chocolate cup with caramlized sugar on top...it is really big and we usually share it.

A Good Night's Sleep...

We just got an AMAZING new bed!!!!!
We were sleeping on a very old, very firm bed. I litterally felt as though I had been hit with a bat on my shoulders and hips every morning when I woke up. My bones and joint would crack and pop for hours.
Finally we both agreed that we were not getting the sleep or rest our bodies need to be healthy so we began to look for a new bed.

We are now the proud sleepers on a Denver Mattress called the Durango.
We LOVE it. I feel about 5 years younger when I wake up, ready to do anything. I can't feel my husband get out of bed in the morning because the bed has individual springs instead of springs that are connected to one another. The top of the mattress is quilted but not a pillow top.
Best of all, we got a King size bed - Oh my goodness, there's a TON of room!

We are sleeping like never before and couldn't be happier.

I'm Back...

This married life and working really keeps ya busy.
Just to update you all on a few things, I am still working for Victoria's Secret, I actually got a promotion and am now on the management team. I still get to work part time (which is usally about 25-30 hours a week) and I am really enjoying the ladies I work with. It has been a great opportunity to meet some new people and to get out of the house and have something, other than cleaning and going to Target, that I can be doing while my husband is at work.
Also we did find a church here. We are going to Eastside Community Church and we Love it. We are going to be in a young couples small group that starts on Thursday night. There are four couples in our small group counting us and the crazy thing it that I know two of the couples through my former job and we just all ended up at the same church within the last few months. The fourth couple in our group are really great too, I can't wait to know them all better and spend some time learning God's Word and heart with these couples.

The hunt...

Well I am offically married, it was a beautiful wedding a so much fun to share it with all of our close friends and family. My husband (I love saying that!) is wonderful and I love him So much (as I should).

We went on our honeymoon, came home, we have been going through gifts, my husband is back at work and I have been trying to put our house together, Christmas shop, cook dinner, clean and look for a job.

The job hunt is offically ON. I forgot how much work it is to get a job. I was at my last job for almost 8 years so I'm a little rusty. I would love to work with kids, maybe be a para or teacher's aid or work at a daycare or preschool. Jobs are few in those areas at this time of year. I am still applying a hoping for openings but I have decided in the mean time I think I will try out a retail job. Truthfully, I like working retail. It doesn't pay much but you meet lots of interesting people and usually you work with fun people. I need to make some friends around here.

We found a church that we are going to plant ourselves in and try out on a more regular basis, that hunt has come to an end or at least a pause.

I am looking forward to Christmas, celebrating the birth of our Saviour for the first time with my new hubby and my in-laws (who I totally love) and spending time with my family too.
Over the holiday we also hope to do some projects around the house, so if your in town come on by and we'll give you a hammer or a paintbrush or something.

Our next hunt...a new bed! Our current bed has a ditch in the middle of it, we just roll into the middle like we are wrapped in a taco. My back, shoulders and neck are screaming at me to get something different.

Merry Christmas!
love
Correnta

8 Days and counting....

In just 8 days I am getting married, to this wonderful man!



I can't wait to share the rest of my life with him. :)
Wedding details are coming to an end and the day is approaching...
8 days and counting...

Great Friends & Great Finds

My Roommate (top pic, gal on the far left) had a birthday at the beginning of October. Some friends and I surprised her with a trip to Chicago to see her dream...The Broadway musical, "Wicked"
The musical was/is amazing! The trip was so fun I so enjoyed my time running around Chicago with you gals

Ethels Chocolate Lounge...someone please open this store in my town!!! I will work there! I'm telling you people, you have got to check out an ethel's chocolate lounge near you, and if there isn't one, they hop on a plane to Chicago...it is one of the greatest places in America. And the chocolate is amazing!! Oh, if I lived on the same street with Ethel, I could be a city girl just to live by her.
I could go there every day for a taste of chocolate, a coffee and a chat with friends or read a book.

We had lots of other fun on our trip, seeing art, eating out, shoping, the L-train, people watching, laughing laughing laughing, and just enjoying time away from real life. Happy Birthday roommie, I had a blast celebrating you and your day.

Basically, my friends are awesome and Chicago is a great place to visit, I can't wait to go again.

Snap! Quick & Easy

Just to update you on Leviticus and Leprosy...
the traps worked and Leviticus and Leprosy have gone on to mice heaven, or something like that.
I'm going to set the traps again and wait a few days just to make sure they don't have any friends shacking up with them and then I'm going to clean up the mess they left for me. Oh Joy.

Meet L & L

(not actual photos of "my" mice)

Last month when I was getting the lawnmower out of my shed, I saw a little brown field mouse. I jumped and screamed. I meant to put a trap in there and kill it and set a second trap just to make sure there were not any other mice I had yet to meet.

I forgot.

Today I went to get the lawn mower out, which I discovered is not working. Anyway, there are 2 mice in there now, at least that's how many I saw today. They have gotten into the big bags of mulch I stored in there and have made quite the little home for themselves not to mention all the poop everywhere - crap!!!!!!!

SO, I did not mow the lawn, and my yard is embarrassing - beyond embarrassing, like I should be kicked out of the neighborhood, I did set two traps and I am totally grossed out!

I decided maybe the mice would seem less gross if they had names, I am going to name them Leviticus (b/c mice are gross and there are some gross things in that part of the Bible), and Leprosy because it's also a gross word.

I guess naming them didn't make them more likable. Shoot.

Well I hope Leviticus and Leprosy die soon so I can clean up the mouse poop, clean up the mulch and set more traps in hopes that if more mice come they will die upon entry.

Let's hope Leviticus and Leprosy haven't started their honeymoon!!!! Yikes! Baby mice are more nasty than grown mice, b/c they don't have fur, they are naked!!! Ok, I have to go throw up now (just kidding).

Yea, I'm Engaged!

How exciting! Last night I thought I was going to the movies with my roommate. I also thought that my boyfriend was driving to KC to meet up with his friends before they leave for their Guys Vacation weekend. I was out running errands, getting ready to go pick up my roommie for the movie when I got a phone call from one of my students. She told me she had been at Old Stadium and her car would not start. She asked if I could come help her out, jump-start her car or call AAA. Of course I said certainly and I headed over there. I called my roommie to tell her I would be running late.
When I arrived at Old Stadium Nessa was there waiting and I said, "Hop in, I'll drive you to your car." She asked, "Hey, can I show you something?"
I was puzzled. It's 107 degrees outside and I'm thinking, "Don't you just want to get your car moving and I am trying to make the 7:30 movie?" I could see whatever she wanted me to see she thought was important and worthy and that I would possibly enjoy it, so I went along. I parked the car and followed Nessa. She told me that what she had seen and wanted to show me was really cool and that I would love it or think it was neat (not sure what words she used but that was the general idea).

I said, "Oh my gosh! Can you see the new Jumbotrons at the new stadium from here?! Those things are awesome, can you see them all the way from here?!" I am such a dork! That is seriously how excited I get about K-State football we're at the old stadium and I just assume whatever she has to show me is related to football some how. She laughed and said, "What's a Jumbotron?" (by the way you can't see them - there are far too many trees and buildings and it's several blocks away...I'm a nut, what was I thinking? Duh!)
Nessa told me what she was going to show me was better than that. Now, I like to try and guess things and my imagination goes crazy when I know a surprise is coming...so as we're walking I start to think of a 2nd guess...think think think...I ask "Oh my gosh, is Bill Snyder sitting out here or something?" (My mind is really getting into the football spirit here...but it's a random mind b/c Why and When has Bill ever hung out at Old Stadium, especially when it's 107 degrees outside) I am Crazy, which I realize after the question came out of my mouth, so I laughed it off. Nessa said, "Just wait, you'll see in just a second."

Ok...here's the part of the story you really want to know. We turn the corner and start to head up the stairs to the top and as I look up there he is, My Boyfriend! He had been sitting and he stood up and we saw each other and I yelled from the bottom of the stadium, "SHUT UP!" Then I looked at Nessa and said, "SHUT UP! Are YOU Serious?" I was cracking up and very very surprised. Nessa gave me a hug bye (thanks sweetie for being such a special part of my day, I'm so glad you are part of my engagement story, I love sharing life with you!). I climbed to the top to be with my man. (sorry no names I always change people's names in my blog to keep a little privacy and I haven't come up with a good pseudo name for him yet)

So we are standing together at the top of Old Stadium, my favorite place in Manhattan (see Feb. blog archive) and he shares with me wonderful things about me and us and how wants to share life with me. We are both really excited, a little teary and shaky. Oh, he said, "I know this is one of your favorite places, so I wanted to surprise you and meet you here, and I'm hoping that this place will no longer be your favorite place, but that it will become one of our favorite places." Aaahhh...

Then he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife and I said, "Yes, Yes, Yes." He put the ring on my finger and we told each other, I love you, about a million times. I think I may have jumped up and down a few times like a little kid.

It's so amazing to me how much in life has changed in the past year and I am sure that I will be more amazed after this coming year passes.
I love the Old stadium. I have spent many hours over the past seven years going there on nice days, lemonade or coffee in hand along with my Bible and sometimes a journal - climbing to the top and sitting there hanging out with God.

I was just thinking the other day about how this time last year I went to Old Stadium early one morning. I was so sad and just needed some time with God. I remember crying out to Him, wondering if he was dismissing the desires of my heart (some of them being to be married, to be seen and loved) feeling like good things were only happening to those around me. I remember crying also b/c I knew God was blessing me every day but I couldn't "see" it and I didn't "feel" it. I prayed he would help me to see where he was at work in my life. I was crying so hard that day and I didn't have any tissue to blow my snotty dripping nose so I took my socks off and used them - they were soaked (gross, huh).

God heard my cry and the prayers of many others on my behalf. I witnessed him answer those prayers over and over again this past year, but never did I even think he would redeem that day a year ago with a marriage proposal a year later at that very place were I had cried out to Him. I guess Old Stadium is an Ebenezer in my life now - a monument to remind me of the faithfulness of my God, my Jesus, and a reminder that God hears his people and cares for them deeply.

Praise you Father for your faithfulness. Praise You Praise You - May my heart never forget it!

Finally I just want to say that we are getting married in Manhattan on Nov. 18th (of this year!) and our reception will be at the Alumni Center...located nowhere other than...THE Old Stadium...
How cool is that?!

(there is a pic of Old Stadium in my Feb. blog archives if you want to check it out...my blog is not cooperating right now for me to post the pic again)

Aaahhh.....

What a cute couple! :)
I love this picture.
It's silly and off center but really sweet and I just had to share it with the blog world.

P.S. Honey, I hope you're ok that I posted this without your permission. ;)

Update on Matt...

This is a journal entry from Matt's dad. He posted it about 4:30pm today.

Day +7 (July 20)

Matt had a pretty good night, but had rough morning. He needed platelets to try and get the internal bleeding (in his vomit and stools) stopped. They have actually raised the threshold of needing platelets from 10K to 40K, so he will likely be getting more transfusions until he can maintain that level.

He was doing well non-the-less, so Di and I decided to both head to the National Marrow Donor Program to speak at their monthly staff meeting. (They had asked us if we would last week) There were about 200 in attendance and another 150 on the phone. It was great to finally meet so many of the people that we've talk with over the last 5+ years. Alexandra even stood at the front of the room and said "thank you" to the crowd. We left right after our talks and headed back to the hospital.

Unfortunately, Matt was throwing up when we walked into the room. The mucusitis is getting worse and his lips are swollen and the pain has increased in his stomach and lips. This pain is the cause of his getting sick. He continued to have a "bad day" until about 2:30 and then turned the corner. He is doing pretty good right now. Hopefully that will continue through the night.

His hair is starting to fall out, he said, "I'm just not ready for that yet, dad" I told him he only had a day or two of it left but not to worry, it will be back before he knows it. More later.

Pray

Click here to view video from a St. Louis News Channel about Matt.

Only a few more hours until Matt will recieve his Bone Marrow transplant. The offical time of surgery is scheduled for 1:30am July 14th. Today there is a woman somewhere in the US who is having cells drained from her body and later they will be flown to MN. for the doctors to give them to Matt.

The road ahead is long. Matt is already sick from treatments to prepare his body for transplant and it is only going to get worse before it gets better.

If you watch the news clip you will be able to see and hear from Matt's parents and you will see Matt in his hospital bed taking medicine.

On their Web Journal they have asked that you take time to pray for Matt today, but also that you would take time to hug your loved ones and celebrate life today - for Matt.
Something to pray:
(a quote from the web journal)
"just believe with us these cells can take over this little child's body and make it new again. He is moaning from the pain fighting high blood pressure and fever as I write. The nights are long as he needs so much care and constant monitoring. He will be on morhine soon for the pain and is on TPN through his IV line for nutrition but he insists on standing in the shower and walking to the bathroom as much as possible. His sweet spirit soars with hope and more love for his family and friends than any of you can imagine. Thank you and celebrate life for Matt today."

Alex & Matt

Thanks for ALL your prayers.
Praise God we have Hope!

Yummy!!!

My new favorite recipe...and who would have guessed Salmon! Not me...but I love it. I actually made it twice last week and truthfully I'd eat it again tomorrow, but I don't want to burn myself out on it. I don't really enjoy eating fish, but I feel like I should for certain nutrient reasons. Well, now I get the best of both worlds.
You have to try this recipe - even if you're not sure. Let me know what you think.
Props to All Recipes.com and to Arnie Williams, who submitted the recipe.
Also, we have Dillions (Kroger grocery) here and they sell individual portions of Salmon for $1/4oz serving...amazing price!
I served it with roasted potatoes, and a spinach salad w/ dried cranberries and a sweet vinaigrette dressing.

Baked Dijon Salmon
Submitted by: Arnie Williams Rated: 5 out of 5 by 993 members
Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 35 Minutes Yields: 4 servings
"Salmon fillets brushed with honey and Dijon mustard, coated with bread crumbs and baked."

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
4 teaspoons chopped fresh
parsley
4 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, for garnish
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.
In a small bowl, stir together butter, mustard, and honey. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley.
3.
Brush each salmon fillet lightly with honey mustard mixture, and sprinkle the tops of the fillets with the bread crumb mixture.
4.
Bake salmon 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until it flakes easily with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, and garnish with a wedge of lemon.

Matt

It's me again...posting for Matt, my little cousin I told you about in my previous post titled, "a must read"

Matt very much wants strangers and friends to sign the guest book on his website. He wants to hit 500,000 signed guests before the 13th. He is getting close.

Please take a min. or two and sign his book, tell him how you found out about him, the city, state you live in and anything else you may want to share (an encouraging word, a prayer, a funny story, anything is fine).

go to www.alexandmatt.com
you can click on the guestbook link there.
also you can click on "journal" to read daily updates of their journey and prayer requests. Pray pray pray for this life saving transplant!

Matt will have his transplant on July 13th, they have been wrestling with the insurance company who did approve his transplant and then yesterday told the hospital it was not approved. I think they are back on track again and insurance is back to their previous verdict to cover the expenses. What a ride!

Thanks again for your prayers - also don't forget to sign the guest book - even if you don't know him he would LOVE To know you are praying and thinking about him.

A Virtual Pet??

Yeah, read my previous post entitled, "opps" then read this one.

So meet Sweetness...who it turns out is not so sweet but ended up costing me part of my blog template. Now underconstruction. Sweetness is a boring pet. All she does is eat fish and fall of the ice and jump back up. Sweetness also looks depressed, probably from the boring life she has. Who comes up with these things and how did I get sucked into it? Good thing Sweetness comes free and can be deleted. ;) Shh...don't tell PETA.

opps...

Well I am silly and in some down time today as I was cruising through some other blogs I ran across a blog that had a virtual pet on it...I thought this is silly but I think I will put one on my blog. Anyway I got it on here and it messed up my whole blog template. Then I deleted it and somewhere along the way I ended up deleting my "favorite Blogs" link and my "links" link.
Crap!
Well one of these days I'll get them back on there but it's not gonna be today.
Sorry.
Technology!

Here I am...And this is a MUST read...

Oh my, how time flies! I cannot believe it's been a whole month since I posted last - although I'm sure some of you feel as though it's been much longer than a month. I actually feel like I have several post ideas in my hip pocket these days, so I hope to be blogging more.

Currently I do not want to post about myself, but about a sweet little boy and his family that would appreciate all the prayers you could pray for them. The little boy is Matt (9 years old), my cousin, and he is in Minneapolis for a bone marrow transplant. After 5 long years of searching they have not found a perfect match but they have found a match that is close so they are going to try it. We are trusting God for Big Big things. We have seen the faithfulness of God in many ways, not to mention His healing touch in the life of Alex, Matthew's big sister, who is now five years past her own bone marrow transplant for the same health reasons.

I could type and type about how precious these children are (like all children). Please Pray, link to their website, just a click away, look left and click "Alex and Matt" or www.alexandmatt.com

Matt's mom, Diane, keeps a jounal on their webpage so you can keep posted of how things are progressing. They are now at the Ronald McDonald house and Matt is recovering from some surgery prep. like procedures to prepare his body for the actual transplant. Things are difficult, his body is under a lot of stress - this seems like such an understatement.

Actual Transplant is Scheduled for July 13th.

The journal entry Diane posted today reads:

I am happy to report, Matt is doing much better..still very sore from surgery and worn out, but pukes are gone and he is recovering as expected. The kid is one tough cookie...he scrunches up his face with pain, but hardly cries. His nurses are amazing and they share good jokes. So, it is getting better...can you imagine how many times I have repeated, "All things are possible with God" in just three days? I will detail more later as the day is packed with more tests. Alexandra is coughing a little, but got some arts and crafts time yesterday here with the RM crew and today gets to go Strawberry picking up at White Bear LAke with them, too. She needs a good distraction and is the best little nurse for her brother...I am quite proud of them both to say the least!

A few days ago Diane posted this verse, I think it is a good word to be praying for all of them.

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27
Posted by Diane Pearl

From left to right:

Austin (big brother), Diane, Mark

Matthew and Alex

My Sister's Wedding...

On May 20th my sister got married and I gained a brother!
So happy for you sis!
Anyway here are some photo's from the day...
I'm sure I'll post more.
Sis, you are beautiful! Bro, have you ever thought of modeling...you are one photogenic person - who knew? :) hee hee

Finally, I leave you with a pic of me and my new brother. We're offically family now, and just like any good brother he looks like he's at least willing to humor me. Thanks for being a good sport Bro!

sleepy = short

I'm really sleepy right now, but I have been wanting to post for some time now and never seem to have time, so I'm making time.
My guess is this will be a short post. Not because of lack of joy but strickly because I'm sleepy.

My little sister is getting Married on Saturday!!! She's all grown up, but she's still my little sister.
My main squeeze and I are driving down to her wedding, it's in Eureka Springs, AR. I'm so glad I will have good company for the long drive. ;)

I'd love to post a picture of the bride to be, unfortunately the only pictures I have of her on my computer are pictures of her in her wedding dress and since the groom has yet to see the dress, I must leave you in want. sorry.

Hopefully in a week or so I will be able to post wedding pics for all to see. It's a small wedding and then they are having a reception on June 3rd for the whole crowd. I think there will be some prime photo opps there, food, fun, family, friends and funky dancing!

In the mean time, I've been looking for a reason to post this pic of me and a certain someone I enjoy spending time with. Isn't he handsome?!

Among The Dandelions

Creation draws me to worship. Often when I'm not even intentional about finding God in creation...it (worship) just comes over me and my heart is drawn to a truth about the Creator. It happens to me, a lot.

A couple of weeks ago my lawn was attacked my dandelions. It drives me crazy to have weeds in my yard, especially my front yard. First I bought a little bottle of weed killer to spray individual weeds in my front yard, 48 hours later the weeds were still there plus more - that didn't work.
Then I bought some fertilizer to spread on my lawn that doubles as a dandelion killer - YES! I was so excited, this was going to work. Well, it did work, but only kind of and it took some time to take effect.
Finally, I decided to get a screw driver and a bucket and get down on my hands and knees and pop each weed out by the root, one at a time.

Guess who met me among the dandelions - God. I know it may sound strange or weird or over spiritualized but it's really true I had a worship experience while I was pulling up those weeds. Here are some of the ponderings of my heart while I worked.

It was a Tuesday. I was pulling weeds and thinking how much I wish my neighbors would work on the weeds in their lawns so the seeds would stop blowing into my yard and taking root. I'm telling you there are some serious "Dandelion Farms" on my street. As I was thinking this I had the thought that there is some symbolism between the weeds and sin, in my life and in the lives of others.
I was convicted about my attitude of I work too hard on my yard for it to be possible for weeds to grow here, and I work too hard for the yards of my neighbors to be affecting my yard. I started thinking if weeds represent sin, do I think that in my own life? Do I pride myself on my relationship with Christ and my time reading the Bible and doing good works and believe that with all that my life won't have some weeds in it? Let me just say that I KNOW that I sin, I fail, I mess up and I certainly do NOT have it all together. So because I know that about myself, how often am I willing to get down on my hands and knees with my tools and pull out each weed one by one?

Truthfully, sometimes I think, "Ah, I'll just take a quick walk across the yard and pull the yellow heads off the top so when people drive by it will look like a nice clean lawn."
Or, "I'll just spray the one's I can see, that'll be enough."
And then in the end, that only takes care of a few. And I have to take the hand that God is offering me and meet Him in the "dandelions" and he brings out the tools and when I let him, he'll pull them out, root by root. And then my life (my "yard") has moments of peace and rest and order - and always a reliance on God.

A friend said to me one day, "I don't like dandelions either, but ya know if you actually just look at them as a flower they're kind of pretty."
That maybe true of the actual weed, but in regards to sin, I think we do this sometimes, rationalize the sin, like, "it's not so bad, or maybe you should look at it this way? What's the big deal?"

I want people in my life who will come along side me and say, "Correnta, I care about you too much to let you leave all these weeds in your life. Let's get out some tools and get to work." Some times those words can come in gentleness and other times I think they need to come out in tough love (even though no one is ever comfortable with tough love - including me...eeeee, uncomfortable!). Thank you to the sweet people in my life who are willing to love me in the midst of my weeds but encourage me to also pull them out.

That Tuesday night, I was tired but I looked out across my yard and thought, "That was work, but it was worth it. Look at my yard!"

Guess what, Wednesday afternoon when I came home for lunch, 5 more dandelions had popped up in my front yard.
I thought, "Well, you can't get them all on the first sweep." So I got my bucket and screwdriver and went to work. All better.

Thursday, same thing.
Friday, even more! This was getting annoying, and then my heart started to ponder, "That's life on earth Correnta. You'll never be completely without weeds. But that's the love and grace of God, that 'while we were still sinners, Christ died for us' (Romans 5:8) and he offers us grace and mercy and forgiveness, 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.'(1John 1:9)"

I learned a lot more among the dandelions, but this blog is getting long. If you want to know you can ask me. I'd love to share.

Some scripture that I meditated on in the yard and since then...
1John 1:8- 2:2
Matthew 13:1-30, 36-43
Romans 5:8

Out of the Abyss....

Ahhhh Where did I go?? Well actually I got kind of busy with life and work. Hopefully this will be the blog that brings my mind out of the blog block and back into the blog world.



I just had to write today because tomorrow is a special holiday…Spring Game! And this year K-State is throwing a HUGE all day party to celebrate.
I not completely sure why, but for some reason I love football and K-State football tops the list – no matter how they’re playin’.

So tomorrow morning kicks off Fan Fest, a BBQ contest, a Carnival, Battle of the Bands (no, not “marching bands”), the K-State/KU baseball game, and then at 6pm………..KICK OFF! Purple vs. White.

You know, I’m not a coach or anything, I do know a few things about football, but I think the thing that gets me so fired up over the Spring Game is that it means it’s coming, the long winter is over, the guys are working hard and Fall is coming, Football is returning, OH Happiness!

Now nothing beats out Jesus, he is still Number One in my heart. But God knows all and He did give us football and for that I am grateful.

I’m sure this blog makes me sound crazy. But really it’s just like any other favorite thing, some people like amusement parks (I do like them) others of us would choose a K-State football game over an amusement park any day.

Enjoy your Saturday, and to those of you living in Manhappenin’ I’ll meet ya at the turf!
Bill Snyder Family Stadium that is!

I wish...

I wish I had time to blog....I want to update but there is so much to do and so little time.
Hope to be back soon.

Spring Break...

Tomorrow morning I will leave for Colorado. The organization I work for has been hosting a spring break retreat in Colorado for 4 or 5 years now. This will be our 3rd year at the Young Life camp Fontier Ranch in Buena Vista, CO. It very beautiful there, and restful away from all the business of life. Most of all I am looking forward to some extra time for me and God to hang out. I am totally drianed from this past week. I am also looking forward to getting to know some new students, many students going are new faces to me. Other things to look forward to, they have great coffee there and it is in every building hot and fresh and free!!! I usually have about 5-7 cups of coffee a week but at Frontier I usually have about 4 a day! I love it! :) Also there will be a speaker there talking about our "Inner life" and I've heard he may be talking about how to have rest in your inner life...after this week I think I better listen up!
Hoping for rest, relaxation, new friendships, and most of all resting in Jesus.
Hope your week is wonderful too.
This is a pic of some students and I at Summit last year.

A Thought...

Today I thought a thought I have thought many times but I don't think I have ever expressed out loud. What do you think about that? :)
Here's the thought, "Wind makes me irritable, or adds to an already irritable day."
Really I think that is true for me. Today was very windy, actually as the day wore on the wind intensified. I was a little cranky today but there were times I felt I had my crankiness under control, but when I would step outside, I was cranky all over again. I think the wind is antagonizing. Maybe something like a bully pushing me around or pulling at my hair. Like I said, I have thought these things about the wind before and never expressed them. Thank God for blogs (or not), maybe these were thoughts better left to myself, but too late, I am sending them into the blog world for all to read.

Cranky in Kansas,
C

Monday

I'm on my way out the door for work, but I'm just laughing at how silly my morning has been.
First I had a crazy dream about being unprepared for a task I need to so in May. When I woke from my dream it was 30min. later than I had wanted to get up and I was a little paniced from my dream still.
My shirt for the day has what I call a "lumpy" in it. What's a "lumpy?"
It's that bump you get just off the shoulder when you hang a damp shirt on a hanger to dry, when it dries there's this bump and it is just there until you wash it again. I tried to damp it with water, but it won't lay down.
And the topper of the morning, one last look in the mirror before I roll out and shinning at the top of my head is a little gray hair, it was like bight light just laying there, staring me in the face.
These things are all a little silly but isn't that just a Monday morning for ya.
Hope I'm able to find the humor in things as the day wears on, don't want to have a "case of the Monday's"
Oh, Office Space. :)

Hope your Monday is fabulous!

A Quote

Not much time today for a post but I thought I would share a favorite quote of mine. This quote inspires me to hope and to believe God (not just believe "in" Him but to actually Believe Him).

"Jesus calls people into an actual situation where faith is possible...because he knows that it is only through actual obedience that a man can become liberated to believe."
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

What does this quote stir in you?

A new fave...

Just so you know this is a downloaded image from Target, I am not the model.
Today is a warm wonderful day and I am sporting my Gaucho pants. Although some may think this strange little pant is ugly or weird, I say every day a gaucho pant day!
Several times today I have just thought, "I love it that I am wearing my gauchos." Really I have.
I feel so much freedom to move around and I think they're cute.
Today's new Fave: A Gaucho Day...with flipflops of course.

GROSS!

The following post is not so "sweet" and is atypical of the Sweet Spot.
Someone joked with me today that I "actually" wash my bed sheets. The truth is I am teased occasionally by several people because of my slight paranoia of dust mites. I thought I would educate you all on dust mites for several reasons. One, I think people need to know this. Two, I want to blog but can't think of anything to say and this came to mind today. Three, you may be glad to know you should wash your sheets and vacuum your mattress.

"We live surrounded in filth. Sorry, but it's a fact. All humans shed about 5-10 grams of dead skin each week. About 80% of the material seen floating in a sunbeam is actually flakes of skin.
House dust mites are nearly universal in occurrence - a typical bed mattress may have contain anything from 100,000 to 10 million mites. Ten percent of the weight of a two year old pillow may be composed of dead mites and their droppings. Carpets and household upholstery also support high mite populations. What do house dust mites eat? Human and animal skin flakes (Dermatophagoides - "skin eater"). So in some ways house dust mites are a good thing - they help stop us drowning in our own filth."
Source: http://www-micro.msb.le.ac.uk/video/mite.html
Here's a picture of our little "friend"

These are living things and they are eating stuff, which means they also have waste. Their waste is where they are which means although you may be glad they are eating your dead skin, they are still leaving behind some things too, nasty! Also these little guys are carriers of germs, the cold, the flu, whatever is going around or a part of what they are eating.
So now that I have totally grossed you out and possibly made you a germophobe. Here are some tips to keep your home sanitary. Keep in mind the following are extreme measures you should take if you are highly allergic to the dust mite...so for all of us who are not allergic I think washing your sheets every week or so and doing some weekly vacuuming may just be enough.

"Recommendations focus on "dust control." One must reduce the concentration of dust borne allergens in the living environment by controlling both allergen production and the dust which serves to transport it.
For the bedroom environment:
Replace feather and down pillows with those having synthetic fillings.

Enclose the mattress top and sides with a plastic cover, thoroughly

vacuuming mattress pillows and the base of the bed.

Daily damp dust the plastic mattress cover.

Weekly change and wash pillowcases, sheets, and under blankets, and vacuum the bed base and around the covered mattress.

Replace woolen blankets with nylon or cotton cellulose ones.

Frequently wash all bedding (blankets, mattress pads and comforters) in hot water (130 degrees F weekly). Also wash curtains.

Remove carpet and replace with wood, tile, linoleum, or vinyl floor covering. (If you have carpet, vacuum every day.)

Mattresses covered with "fitted sheets" help prevent the accumulation of human skin scales on the surface (an alternate to encasing mattresses and box springs in non-allergenic, impermeable, plastic covers). "
Source: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2157.html

More info than you ever wanted to know! :)

Think think (part 2 of 2)

In my previous post I mentioned reading and thinking...here are some thoughts rolling around in my head from my reading...

I began reading chapter 3 in a book called Revolution of Character: Discovering Christ's Pattern for Spiritual Transformation, by Dallas Willard with Don Simpson. It's alright. I am learning things and it helps that my co-workers and I are discussing it. I need the cooperative process time for retention. Anyway, here is something I read today that got me thinking... "God is not mean, but he is dangerous..." I'll try to give you just enough context to keep it short, but long enough that hopefully it won't be out of context.

"...Paul summarized the prophetic account of the human self and traced the problem to its root:... Roman's 3:10-18... The very last statement from this collection of Old Testament diagnosis of the human condition reaches to the core of the matter: 'There is no fear of God before their eyes.' Fear of God, the proverb tells us, is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). Although not the outcome of wisdom, to be sure, it is the indispensable beginning. One begins to get smart when he or she fears being crosswise of God - fears not doing what he wants and not being what he requires. Fear is the anticipation of harm. God is not mean, but he is dangerous....electricity and nuclear power, for example, are not mean, but they are dangerous. In a certain sense, if we don't 'worry' about God, we simply aren't being smart. And that is the point of this verse."

WOW! What do I think about that? Still not sure. I think C.S. Lewis was saying the same thing in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when he described Aslan as being good but not safe. Is my problem here just with vocabulary? Is it just that the words "good" and "safe" are more PC or palatable for me than "not mean" and "dangerous?"

A mediation question given at the end of the chapter is, "How can God be dangerous and still love you?" I found myself asking, "Is God dangerous? I'm not sure I can agree with that. I do agree that He is not "safe," is that the same thing?

Just now I checked out dictionary.com to find the meaning of danger, fear and safe, which also got me thinking about the word "awe," click on the words if you are curious too.

Other thoughts on this... In the end I agree, God is dangerous, he will not remove risk from my life, he will not remove all harm from my way, life in this fallen world will not leave me unharmed; but God does promise to go with me, even before me and behind me, I am not alone, I am not left to die or be destroyed and when I leave this fallen world there is a home prepared for me that is safe. All that said, I think I'll still choose to think of God as good but not safe rather than "dangerous" but "not mean." So how can God be not safe but still love me? In the midst of "danger" I am given the opportunity to see where Jesus is, to trust Him and cleave to Him. I also have the opportunity to know more of God, his love, his provision, his rescue, his strength, his sufferings, his refuge, his comfort and his victory; I think this list could go on and on. In safety would I really understand my need for God? I can even lose sight of that need in midst of danger. God is my Father and he knows what I need to learn and to grow and most of all what will bring glory to himself. So as someone who is scared of risk but in love with Jesus, I have found the dangerous parts of my journey worth it. Although, I really enjoy the safe parts! :) I have so many other thoughts and questions about "fear[ing] being crosswise of God - fear[ing] not doing what he wants and not being what he requires" and "In a certain sense, if we don't 'worry' about God, we simply aren't being smart."
Something in me says, what about grace vs. works (this is stirred with the word "requires" but I do long to please God, I don't think I need to be walkin' around shaking in my boots all the time waiting for lightening to strike, but I do think awe and respect are essential, this is God we're talking about - Creator of all things, Savior and Redeemer, etc.

Why do I have so much to say today....longest post ever!
Thoughts to come in shorter posts.