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Friday, December 5, 2014

High Five for Friday

It’s Friday!!!! I’m so thankful for the weekend!  I'm linking up with Lauren from The Lauren Elizabeth blog for High Five for Friday.  I have so many things to be thankful for from the past week.  

Here are my top five!

1.     I was able to serve lunch to some very special people yesterday.  My last post was all about my experience serving the homeless and how it completely changed my perspective.  It was such a good experience!  I can’t wait to go again.

2.     Last night I talked to my sister and my mom!  I miss my family so much!  We are all so busy that it’s even hard to talk on the phone for too long. 

3.     I made a list of Christmas gifts I need to buy, Christmas gifts I want to make, and Christmas cards that need to be sent out.  Hopefully this weekend I will get through all of those lists!

4.     We had a gorgeous day this week!  It was freezing and rainy the rest of the week, but that one day!  It felt just like spring!


5.     I ordered a bunch of candle making stuff last weekend to make Christmas gifts.  I’m way too excited about it!  Everything came so quickly!  I’m hoping to start making candles this weekend.


It’s been a great week!  I hope you all had a good one too!

Thursday, December 4, 2014

A Change of Heart

Today I was blessed with the opportunity to give.  During a hectic season where I often find myself thinking way too much about myself and the things I want, I was reminded that life is not all about me. 

I went to a place called The Daily Bread.  The Daily Bread is open every day of the week for lunch.  Those who need a meal are welcomed in and served some delicious food.  Today, I was able to serve them.  I happen to work for an amazing company that loves giving back to the community.  Two of us went to The Daily Bread instead of work for a portion of the day.  I was quickly reminded of how much I have to be thankful for!  I loved having an opportunity to reach out to people. 

I met people today who I will never forget.  I tried to learn as many names as I could so when I go back I can use their names.  This is so important to me.  I know how special I feel when someone remembers my name, especially if we have only met once.  I want the people I met today to feel special.  I want them to feel that they have value and that they are important.

One woman I met today was named April.  I wish I knew more of her story.  I hope to see her again next week.  I went to refill her drink and she said, “Excuse me.  Where does your joy come from?”  I was completely caught off guard.  No one had spoken more than a thank you or telling me what he or she wanted to eat until this point.  I took the opportunity to tell her I am a Christian and that I have Jesus in my heart.  We talked briefly for a few minutes.  I wish I had had more time, but maybe I will one day.  She nodded to everything I said with a smile.  Then before she left she walked over to me to say goodbye.  She looked me right in the eye and said words that went right to my heart, “Whatever you do for the least of these, you have done for me”.  And she walked away.  Tears filled my eyes.  I silently thanked the Lord for this reminder.   This was a beautiful moment that changed my perspective.  Suddenly, I felt more blessed by the people I was serving than I imagine they felt by me serving them.  That was unexpected and so humbling. 

Today was a great day!  Today opened my eyes to things I have never seen.  Today reminded me of how important it is to move outside of my bubble.  There are so many people who have needs.  Today reminded me, I can meet some of those needs.  I can be the light in someone’s day.  I can be someone who makes a difference in people’s lives.  I can show love to people who feel unlovable.  I can go out there and make a difference.  That’s what we are here to do.  It’s easy to get caught up in my life and what I need and want.  It’s much harder to remember other people and to take opportunities to make a difference in other peoples’ lives.  It can be as simple as a kind gesture.  There are so many ways I can change peoples’ lives.  I’m going to start taking advantage of those opportunities at all costs.  I’m choosing today to start doing things that matter. 

Bob Goff said something in his book Love Does that has really resonated with me.  He stated, “I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m more afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter”.  Those are seriously powerful and thought-provoking words.  I have battled with this for a while now.  I have questioned my purpose at my current job.  I know I love what I do and I’m successful doing what I do, but I didn’t feel like it mattered.  I didn’t feel I was making any kind of a difference.  But you know what, I’m here for a reason.  Instead of constantly questioning what I’m doing here, I’m going to be looking for opportunities to serve the Lord where I’m at.  While I may not do this forever, I’m here for a reason now.  There are plenty of opportunities where I am as well as opportunities outside of work that I can be looking for.  For now, I trust that God has me where I need to be.  When He sees fit to move me to something else, He will.  Until then, I’m going to find opportunities to serve Him right here, right now.   For too long I have been focused on succeeding at my career.  That’s not what it’s about.  I want to succeed at what matters.  That can happen while I’m in my career though. 

I think what this comes down to is where my focus is.  Is my focus on serving Christ at all costs or is my focus being successful at my job?  I know where I want my focus to be and I think that is going to come down to a daily choice.  Each day when I get up, I am choosing where my focus will go. 


Today has changed my perspective for the better.  I hope to always remember what I learned today.  I plan to continue serving at The Daily Bread.  I’m excited to see the opportunities God opens up for me while there. 

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Football Whoopie Pies

This past week I made football shaped whoopie pies for my husband to take to work for a meeting.  They turned out pretty well.  In honor of the Superbowl today, I wanted to share the recipe.

Here's how I made them-

Ingredients:

For the Cakes-
v  4 Cups Flour
v  1 Cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
v  2 1/2 tsp baking soda
v  2 tsp salt
v  2 cups buttermilk
v  2 tsp vanilla
v  2 sticks of unsalted butter
v  2 cups of brown sugar
v  2 large eggs
For the Filling-
v  2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
v  2 1/2 cups of confectionery sugar
v  4 cups of marshmallow cream
v  2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Use 2 separate bowls.  In the first bowl whisk together the dry ingredients, including: flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt until fully mixed.  



The other bowl will be used for the wet ingredients: buttermilk and vanilla and mix these together. 



Beat together the butter and the brown sugar on a med speed until it is fluffy.  This will take about 3 minutes.  

(Tip for softening butter in the microwave:  I forgot to take mine out ahead of time, but I hate putting butter in the microwave because it always melts too much and doesn't soften the way I want it to.  This time I put the butter in for 5 second intervals, 4 times for a total of 20 seconds.  In between each interval, I flipped the butter so each side was on the bottom for 5 seconds.)



Reduce the speed and add the eggs, one at a time.  Once this is mixed well,  alternate the dry mixture and the wet mixture, ending with the dry.  Make sure to scrape the sides to ensure it is mixed well. 



Don't get discouraged if you make a mess.  I sure did...



Use an ice cream scoop to drop the mixture on cookie sheets.  (I line mine with parchment paper)  Once I had the batter on the parchment paper, I used my fingers to push it into a football shape.



 Bake for 11 to 14 minutes, depending on the size.  You will be able to tell if they are done if you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.



Once the tops and bottoms are baked, let them cool completely.  While they are cooling, go ahead and make the cream filling for the center.

For the filling, I creamed the softened butter for a minute by itself.  I then added the other ingredients and beat it for about 3 minutes.

Once the tops and bottoms have completely cooled, use a piping back with large tip to fill the inside.  Don't overfill or the center will overflow.  (I definitely did that a couple times) 

Finally, I used some vanilla frosting to pipe the football design on top.  




That's all there is to it!  It's a really cute idea for any type of a football event or if you just want a chocolaty snack.  

Enjoy!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Back to Blogging

     Time certainly has a way of getting away from me.  Life surprises me more and more every day.  Let's back track a little.  I have so many things to share from the last two months.  It always makes me laugh when people stop blogging for awhile and then pop back up and say things like, "Sorry I have been gone so long.  I'm totally going to start writing again."  I don't feel as though I have a reason to apologize.  Life is beautiful and there have been so many moments I have been thankful for lately.  Although I hate not writing, I am thankful for the busyness of this season. 

     I am learning to be thankful in all of it; the tough days at work, the mounds of homework, the unending loads of laundry and piles of dishes in the sink.  The tough days make me thankful for the good days and help me to grow as a person.  The mounds of homework remind me to be grateful for the chance to be back in school, earning a degree that will be used in the future.  The laundry and dishes reminds me I have a home with someone I love very much!  The business of each day is a beautiful thing to me.  I don't want to complain about all of the wonderful things God has given me.  I want to rejoice in everything.

     We had a wonderful holiday season with friends and family.  We celebrated Thanksgiving here with two of our dear friends.  We were then able to go home for about 12 days to spend time with both sides of our family.  We celebrated my Dad's 60th Birthday, met our new beautiful niece and had tons of time playing with our 2 year old nephew, and spent as much time with our family as possible.  We rested as much as possible as well!  We needed a vacation!  It was so hard to leave and come back to work and school work, but there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed after being gone for awhile.

     I am now back into full swing here.  Classes started up again this week.  Work is going very well.  I have so many posts to share over the next few weeks.  A few great recipes and a few DIY projects.  We are also in the process of updating our apartment.  We just purchased our first new couch and love seat and are anticipating their arrival in the next few weeks.  But this has meant for a lot of rearranging.  The change has been so great for me!  I love seeing our home develop! 


     We received some amazing gifts this year that I am excited to share with you as well!  It's a lot of stuff for the kitchen and so many other treats!  I'm excited to be back with you!


Cutest face in the entire world...





Sunday, November 24, 2013

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

     I made a pumpkin pie.  It turned out beautifully.  Pumpkin pie happens to be a staple for Thanksgiving.  There is only one problem with pumpkin pie...I hate it.  I'm not a pumpkin fan at all; the smell, the taste, the texture...not for me.  But my man happens to love pumpkin pie and he needed one made for work, so I rolled up my sleeves and made one and loved every second of it.  Baking actually makes the world a better place. 


     Now I have not personally tried this pie, but Austin said it was great.  He is my ultimate taste tester.  He is honest in an encouraging way.  He won't hide his thoughts and tries to encourage with suggestions.  I appreciate his take on my recipes each time I bake.

     Usually I make my own pie crust.  I'll be honest, I consider it cheating if I don't make my own crust.  But I have been one busy girl, so I used a...store bought crust.  Wow, that was hard to type.  Anyway, it cuts down a lot on the time and time is something I am lacking these days.
Here is the recipe for this delicious pie.  Please don't follow my example by buying a crust.  Make your own...it's worth it.

Here is the recipe for Pumpkin Pie:

Serving Size: 2 regular size pies
Cook Time: Approximately 50-60 minutes
Oven Temperature: 425 degrees for the first 15 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees for approximately another 35-45 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Ingredients for Pie Filling:
·       -  1 (29 oz) can of pure pumpkin
·       -  2 (14 oz) cans of sweetened Condensed Milk
·       -  4 eggs
·       -  2 tsp ground cinnamon
·       -  1 tsp ground ginger
·       -  1 tsp ground nutmeg
·       -  1 tsp salt






     The best part of this recipe is that you literally put all the ingredients in the mixer until it is mixed together very well and divide it between the two pie crusts.



     I like to do different pinching methods with pie crusts.  As pictured above, I did one pie crust pinched further apart while the other was pinched closer together.  


     This is what the pie filling will look like after being mixed.





     Fill the pie crust and bake.






    That's all there is to it!  This pie is delicious and so easy.  It is the perfect end to an amazing Thanksgiving dinner.  Enjoy!