Embroidery

So it's all over and done with. I am so pleased to be able to say that I got $250(as well as A LOT of potential orders)! I'm on cloud nine:)

Shower Corsage

LOVE. IT.

Too bad I won't have another opportunity to wear one!

A little humor for you...

One, of many, favorite passages from A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson- our latest book-club selection:

After reaching a mountain top, the author found a man taking mysterious readings of some sort...
"He noticed me watching and said, in a tone that suggested he was hoping someone would take and interest, "It's an Enviro Monitor."
"Oh, yes?" I responded politely.
"Measures eighty values-temperature, UV index, dew point, you name it." He tilted the screen so I could see it. "That's heat stress." It was some meaningless number that ended in two decimal places. "It does solar radiation," he went on, "barometric pressure, wind chill, rainfall, humidity- ambient and active- even estimated burn time adjusted for skin type."
"Does it bake cookies?" I asked.
He didn't like this. "There are times when it could save your life, believe me," he said, a little stoutly. I tried to imagine a situation in which I might find myself dangerously imperiled by a rising dew point and could not. But I didn't want to upset the man, so I said, "What's that?" and pointed at a blinking figure in the upper left hand corner of the screen.
"Ah, I'm not sure what that is. But this-" he stabbed the console of buttons- "now this is solar radiation." It was another meaningless figure, to three decimal places. "It's very low today," he said, and angled the machine to take another reading. "Yeah, very low today." Somehow I knew this already. In fact, although I couldn't attest any of it to three decimal places, I had a pretty good notion of the weather conditions generally, on account of I was out in them. The interesting thing about the man was that he had no pack, and so no waterproofs, and was wearing shorts and sneakers. If the weather did swiftly deteriorate, and in New England it most assuredly can, he would probably die, but at least he had a machine that would tell him when and let him know his final dew point."

He is merciless and HILARIOUS. And he totally made me want to buy a lot of overpriced gear and hike through some beautiful mountains.
Book club tonight:)

By the way, who decided that this September was going to be the busiest month of all time? I am plumb tuckered out and it isn't over yet.
I really shouldn't be on here right now. I need to be preparing food for tonight and for the baby shower tomorrow morning, but I miss having time to sit and write out my thoughts. So I am taking some whether or not I should. ...not that I really wrote down many of my own thoughts. I wrote down some of Bill Brysons to be exact. But that is good enough.
Love to all!

P.S. Didn't ever get around to reading the August chapter in The Happiness Project, nor have I read September's chapter. No new goals, no thought about goals at all. I am oficially falling behind! I really should work on catching up because I am so close to finishing. I am terrible about starting grand projects like this and then getting distracted by other shiny, new projects. There is just too much I want to do!

I'm back in the saddle again

Projects, projects, projects. I knew I would get around to this sort of stuff again when the summer ended!

Happy.

Mom and Alton Brown know best

I've been making my mom's meatballs for years now. I've always thought they were pretty wonderful, but she IS my mom and you know how that goes. Anyway, I had all of the ingredients to make them yesterday but I totally blanked out on the temp. and time. Then, of course, I couldn't find the recipe so I went to the Internet to find something similar. Alton Brown has one that is remarkably similar to my mothers. Way to go mom- would be Food Network Star! Alton's had Parmesan cheese and slightly different spices than my moms but I had already added the parm a long time ago on my own. I thought he had something with the red pepper flakes though so they got added into the rec. that I now have on file again. The meatballs were fabulous as usual and I figure it's about time I share:)

Meatballs(part mom, part Alton, part me:)
1 1/2 lb meat(can use all ground beef or a combination of different types you like)
1/2 cup Parmesan
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp dried basil(I actually use a little less)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup breadcrumbs(I use a bit more- not quite 1/2 cup)
1/2 small onion FINELY minced

400 degree oven
Mix all ingredients with your hands.
Form into uniform balls (use a Tbsp measuring spoon if you need to).
Place on baking tray- make sure they are not squished up next to each other!
Bake for 20-25 min.- until nicely browned.
**Tip- use the hollowed out bread(see below) for homemade breadcrumbs:)

Add the meatballs to your favorite sauce, let them simmer for a bit and they are ready to go.

Last night I served mine on crusty, whole grain baguettes(hollow out one side of each baguette-to make eating the sandwiches easier) with fresh spinach, REAL Parmesan cheese and sliced mozzarella(If you make this recipe, please get the good stuff for me!!!) I put them under the broiler for a minute and they were BEAUTIFUL. I wish I had taken pictures!
There are so many options(other than spinach and cheese) for topping them. I actually baked some eggplant to add to mine last night, but I totally ruined it!!! Oh well!

Make them sometime and think of me...and my mom....and Alton Brown.

"I will both lie down in peace, and sleep, for You alone O LORD make me dwell in safety -Psalm4:8

Reading Crazy Love by Fancis Chan right now. I'm not far enough into it to say whether or not I love it, but I certainly do appreciate the first chapter so far. The author is encouraging all of us to shut up for a while, take a step back, and look at our God- really look at Him and be in awe of what we see.
I also happen to have joined a class on Job where I worship. Last night, during class, I was looking at some of the things God said in answer to Job at the end of the book. It is God, Himself, showing us how big He is and how little we are. It's amazing and humbling. Tonight, the foundations of the earth.

"Now prepare yourself like a man:
I will question you, and you shall answer me.

Where were you(Job) when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
Who determined it's measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
To what were it's foundations fastened?
Or who laid it's cornerstone,
When the morning stars sang together,
And all of the sons of God shouted for joy?"
Job 38: 3-7

I, for one, am glad I was not asked all of this directly by God.

Back to Chan... "This is why we are called to worship Him. His art. His handiwork, and His creation all echo the truth that He is glorious. There is no other like Him. He is the King of Kings, the Beginning and the End, the One who was and is and is to come. I know you've heard this before, but I don't want you to miss it."

We can all rest easy tonight knowing that we are cradled by a strong, powerful God. He will gladly shoulder our troubles. Peace is ours for the taking(right Mo?)
Enough said. Goodnight:)

Just realized: This fits in nicely with the "Think on these things" post. I declare that this is the first of the "Things that are true" posts. Truth #1- Our God is an awesome God!
Now, really, enough said.

July and August rolled into one

Wow. So it has been more than a month. Yikes. We had swimming lessons for two weeks and then a trip to South Carolina for two weeks and I guess I didn't find any time for the computer(to speak of) during all of the craziness. Gretchen's goals for August were all about money. I did work on that a bit. Anyone who knows me knows that money is a tough subject for me. We've got debt...debt from our college years, debt from medical bills, debt from buying big-ticket items: new(to us) van, air-conditioner, etc. Trust me, there's more. There is no point in going into it all. We work on it, but it is a long, slow process. I work really hard to be frugal with our money. I'm just not a "spender", so I struggle with knowing exactly what to do to improve our situation on my end. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are more things I could do, but I also want to stay sane. Really, the only thing I needed to work on diligently for the month was my ATTITUDE about our money issues. I pretty much stink at keeping my attitude where it should be in that area of my life. I think I did a good job this month though. My goal was to acknowledge that I am doing a good job and to give the rest of it to God. It's one of those things that we have all heard our whole lives... "Be anxious for nothing". Living it, well that is an entirely different matter. It's a choice. I just had to decide to do it. I'm not saying that I won't have issues with that particular problem any more, but I'm all about celebrating my victories- and this month I was victorious.

So, on to August. Her goals in August are all spiritual. I absolutely intend to read the chapter and see if I can formulate any goals of my own based on her ideas; but I have another idea for my main goal this month. Back to the word celebrate... I want this month to be about celebration. I've gotten too much bad news lately to know what to do with it all. In typical fashion, upon hearing the latest bit of blech, I prepared to wallow. There is just too much pain, too much confusion, too much, too much, too much. Oddly enough, I never got around to the wallowing. Instead, all I seem to be thinking about these days is the "knock the breath out of you" beauty of the promises God has made to us. I feel too filled up by them to stay quiet about it all. :) And why would I try? So, I'm asking for your help. I want you to bring it. Bring me all the positive you can find. Help me celebrate! Not winning today are you satan? How does that feel? Hurts huh? Well, deal. There's more of that coming your way.
O.k., if it doens't excite you to tell satan off, there is something wrong with you.
I for one am pumped.
Have an awesome day!!!