Goals: For the Next 2 Weeks (Jan 31- Feb 14, 2011)

We all need goals. If we don't, we really don't get that much accomplished. I have quite a few goals that have been sitting around in my mind for a while, but that's just it. They've been sitting and not going anywhere! I've decided to take action, in bite-sized pieces! For the next two weeks, I'm limiting myself to two goals. That doesn't mean that I'm not going to accomplish anything else, but it does mean that these two things are going to be accomplished. Putting myself out here on the blog is a good accountability (especially since my Moma reads it) :-)

Goal #1: Read the Bible daily, and don't put it off to right before bed time. I like to stay up late, therefore I'm really tired when I go to bed! I used to get in bed around 9, read my Bible, and then crochet or read until I turned my light out. It worked for me then because I keep my Bible on my bed side table. I've now gotten into the habit of reading/crocheting/watching TV/computer/etc. in the living room with the rest of my family. So I see the Bible right before I go to sleep, and I'm too sleepy to read! (When I get sleepy, it's really hard for me to read. It's like the moment I start reading my eyelids think they have to be closed that very second!) So, I might read a few verses and then go to sleep. I haven't really decided a set time yet. It might be first thing, might be in the middle of the day, might be in the evening. I just need to have it done before 9 pm, that way I'll know that it will be done before I get too sleepy :-)

Goal #2: Exercise! I'm going to preface this before I go on. I'm not trying to lose weight. I am at a healthy weight and am content in the body God gave me.

I just want to start taking better care of my body. I'm not really that active. I do house work and take a walk sometimes, but that's about it. We all need some amount of exercise. Osteoporosis runs in my family. I have a pretty good chance of getting it when I'm older. It is recommended to teen and young adult girls to exercise and have plenty of calcium and vitamin D in their diet (food and supplements) in order to prevent Osteoporosis, and if not prevent, at least have your body healthy so that maybe it won't be as severe of a case. Also, it's just a good thing to exercise. It's good for our bodies to have some physical activity. There's a treadmill in our garage that someone gave us. I'm going to start there, 30 minutes, 5 days a week. I'm going to start at a slow, comfortable pace and work up gradually. That way it won't be too much, too fast and in the process burn myself out on this.

So, these are my goals for the next two weeks. Care to share some of your goals?

Sunday Sermons: "Glimpses of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament" and "Love"

The other day I was thinking how I could use this blog as an outreach to others. Then I realized, our congregation puts recordings of the Sunday morning and evening sermons on the church website! If you are interested in listening to any of our archived sermons click here. There are sermons from September 2006 to the present.

The topic of this morning's sermon was "Glimpses of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament." Unfortunately, it didn't record properly, so I've decided to share my notes. They're a bit scattered since I'm the only one that uses them, but at least the scripture references will be there :-)

Glimpses of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

Genesis 1:1, 26
Genesis 11:7

There is one God, but 3 parts: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit

Jesus is distinct from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:31, 32
John 5:22

There are some things God just can't do
~Sin  ~Be tempted with evil

The Father in Heaven is God
Ephesians 1:3
John 1:1, 14

Jesus is God

The Holy Spirit is God
Acts 5:4, 9
Genesis 1: 1, 2
John 1:3-5

What does it mean that "the Spirit of God Hovered over the waters" ?
~Some say the Spirit "finished" the creation.

Ephesians 3:10-13 God's eternal purpose of Salvation
Philippians

We read of people, in the Old Testament, being filled with the Holy Spirit
~Joel: in the latter days, the Spirit will be poured over all mankind
Exodus 31 : Craftsman of the tabernacles
Micah 3:8
Luke 1:15 Elizabeth pregnant with John
~Samson

Isaiah 11:1-9, 10-11
Isaiah 10:5
Romans 15: 7-13
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Since it's the fifth Sunday, we have a fellowship meal and a devotional afterwards, in place of our evening worship. The devotional is usually lead by a guest speaker or one of the men of the congregation. Today my brother delivered it :-) He's leaving in August for preaching school, so the practice is good for him :-) He did a great job!

Unfortunately, I'm having problems pulling it up right now :-( But thankfully, I have my notes :-)

Who are we supposed to be?

Acts 11

What does it mean to be a Christian?

James 2:19-20
John 14:15
Matthew 22:36-40

Who is my neighbor? Anyone we come in contact with.

What does it mean to love?

1 Corinthians 13:2-13

Spanish-Style Everything Rice

Last night we had Spanish-Style Everything Rice and a green salad. This is another great recipe from Rachel Ray! We loved it!

Spanish-Style Everything Rice

Ingredients

• 1 large red bell pepper
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• A generous pinch saffron threads, about 24 (saffron was too expensive at our grocery store, so we didn't use it!)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup orzo pasta or broken pieces of thin spaghetti (we used broken pieces of gluten free spaghetti since my mom, brother and I all have Celiac disease)
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• A small handful golden raisins (we didn't do the raisins)
• 1 tablespoon EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 pound Spanish chorizo, diced (couldn't find it at our Walmart, we used mild Cajun sausage)
• 1 large Spanish onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 fresh chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup large Spanish, pimiento-stuffed green olives, chopped (don't like olives, didn't use them)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon sweet or smoked sweet paprika, a palmful
• 2 pinches cinnamon
• 1/2 cup green peas
• About 1/2 cup dry sherry (didn't use this either)
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry-roasted Marcona almonds or toasted sliced almonds

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Yields: Serves 4-6

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Preparation

Char pepper over an open flame burner or under the broiler on high with oven door cracked to allow steam to escape. Once pepper is blackened all over, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool to handle, then seed and chop.

Heat stock and add saffron to allow saffron to steep. Do not reduce.

In a saucepot, melt butter over medium heat. Add pasta and toast until deep golden brown and very nutty in aroma. Add rice, stir, add saffron stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook rice 16-18 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile, place raisins in a small dish and cover with very hot water to reconstitute – use just enough water to cover raisins.

Heat a tablespoon EVOO over medium-high heat in a large skillet. To hot oil, add chorizo and brown at edges. Once rendered, remove to a plate to keep the chorizo from drying out.

Return pan to heat and to the hot drippings add onions, chili pepper, celery, garlic, olives, chopped roasted red pepper and season with salt, pepper, paprika and cinnamon, toss and cook to tender crisp, 5 minutes.

Add chorizo back to pan with peas and heat through. Stir in raisins and deglaze the pan with sherry.

Fluff rice and fold into chorizo, peppers and onions. Top with parsley and almonds and serve straight from skillet at table into shallow bowls

The Best Yard Sale Deal EVER!!! : Lorrie Deb Vintage Dress

Today Balancing Beauty and Bedlam is hosting a Frugal Fashionista Fashion Show! This is my first time to participate in anything like this so I'm super excited!

Well, I must say, this dress is the best yard sale deal I have EVER made!

This Lorrie Deb vintage dress was a whopping $0.25!

These Gianni Bini heels were $1

The necklace was a graduation gift from my brother :-)

So the grand total for this outfit is $1.25!

And it happens to be one of my favorite outfits too :-)

Prayers for the Heck Family

I met the Heck family at Roundhouse back in September of last year. While there, everytime we had announcements or prayer, Shauna Heck was mentioned (she was not attending RH). She is the sister-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Heck. She has 2 small children and is suffering from cancer. A couple of weeks ago I found out that Mrs. Debby Heck (part of the Heck family that was attending RH), might have cancer as well. To my understanding they are still doing tests to know for sure. Please lift up the entire Heck family in your prayers! They are faithful Christians going through some hard times right now, and they could really use the encouragement.

Thank You, Mrs. Judy!



Mrs. Judy, our preacher's wife, very generously gave this yarn to me :-)

Red Heart Light and Lofty



Red Heart Soft Baby with white undertones

Red Heart Soft Baby in pink undertones

I see some baby projects in my future :-) 

Etsy Goodies

I love Etsy! Seriously this site is so neat. I could can spend a lot of time just looking at all of the beautiful things available. For those of ya'll who don't have a clue what I'm talking about, I'll fill you in :-) Etsy is a place to buy and sell all things handmade, vintage, or supplies to make all things handmade :-) Here is Etsy's "about" page. There is a little bit of everything on Etsy! The sellers range from amateur just wanting to sell a few things, to professionals who make their living from Etsy. Enough of my rambling. I want to share a few things on Etsy that I like :-)

These Sweet Cloth Baby Shoes are adorable and affordable at only $6.50! They can be found at the Hardy Party shop.

I LOVE this vintage top! So feminine and would look great with a pair of jeans or dressed up with a skirt. I would wear this with a tank top that is a bit higher, though. This top can be found at the Ande Mönster shop. At $20 this shirt is a good deal :-)

This floral crown was featured on Etsy's homepage a few months ago. I love the elegant simplicity of it! I think this would be lovely worn by a bride in place of a veil. This can be found at Whichgoose's shop and is $55.

These dolls are just precious! The actual dolls aren't for sale, but the patterns are. I think I might make one or two of these for my boyfriend's youngest sister's 8th birthday:-) And I'd love to have Belle for myself! These patterns can be found at KawaiiGurumi's shop. The cost is $30 for this set of 7 patterns. Patterns can also be bought individually for $5 each. Note: I don't like the "shells" that Ariel wears in her mermaid form. If I made these for myself or a friend I'd try to figure out a more modest top for her :-)

These are just a few things that I love on Etsy :-)

Unconventional: Dress With Pants?

A few days after Thanksgiving, I was out shopping with my Moma, Mamaw, Aunt Anita, and my little cousin Hannah. Browsing the sale rack Moma and I found the most adorable denim dress. I tried it on and it was too short, but we dedided to get it anyway, thinking we could get a little bit of fabric to lengthen it. Before leaving the dressing room I decided to try it on with my jeans, wearing it as a long shirt instead of a dress. I loved it! So, Moma bought it for me and saved it for Christmas:-)

In today's world, sometimes we have to be creative when it comes to being modest and still wearing what we like. Sometimes it means trying something that you wouldn't normally think of trying, i.e. wearing pants under a dress that is too short. I'm not saying that this works with everything. Sometimes I might LOVE something, but still put it back on the rack because I know that there isn't way to make it modest without looking tacky.

I really like experimenting with different outfits and wearing cute clothes, but modesty always comes first! As a Christian young lady, it is my responsibility to do my best to raise my Christian brothers up in my dress. In wearing immodest clothing, I am placing myself in front of my brothers in Christ as a stumbling block in their Christian walk! Yes, Christian guys have the responsibilty to control their thoughts and eyes, but we (Christian girls) have a responsibility to help them in their Christian walk, just as they have a responsibility to help us along.

Dressing modestly does not mean that you have to walk around wearing dresses that fit like sacks! But, it will mean that Christian girls will have to be mindful of anything that comes in our closets. I hope to give ya'll some ideas as well as learn from ya'll about being creative with our wardrobes while dressing modestly :-)






 

I just swept my hair back in a loose bun and pinned it with bobby pins, letting my bangs hang loose. I use Clinique makeup because it does well with my sensitive skin. For my eyes, I used a goldish brown neutral eyeshadow trio, black eyeliner and black mascara. I'm out of blush, so I used light pink lipstick on my cheek and just blended it for a natural look. My lipstick is a pink with a goldish tint. It looks best when worn with neutral eyeshadow. :-)







This outfit is also affordable! The dress (from Peebles) was on sale, I think it was $12, the long sleeve shirt (American Eagle) underneath is borrowed from my Moma, I think it was about $10, the jeans were $12 (WalMart), the scarf (Old Navy) was a gift, but the person who gave it to me is a bargain shopper, so I know it wasn't expensive ;-). The boots were a gift, I know that boots aren't cheep, but one could easily substitute a more affordable shoe choice :-) 

I hope this encourages you to try something new in your pursuit of modesty! :-)

Frugal Fashionista Fashion Show

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam is having a Frugal Fashionista Fashion Show this Friday, January 28, 2011. For more info just click the links :-) I think this could be a lot of fun!

My Projects: Baby Fun!

I've been on a baby item kick lately. Probably due to the fact that 3 of my cousins and 2 of my friends are having babies within the next few months! Also, I love simple projects that are easy to personalize and are fast to make. These hats and bibs definitely fit in that category :-)

Believe it or not, all three of these hats came from the same pattern! The pattern is the Best Baby Cloche from Aesthetic Nest. I used Peaches and Cream 100% cotton yarn. All of these hats are size 0-3 months. On the first hat, I followed the pattern exactly, only omitting the flower and threading the ribbon through the eyelet edge. On the second hat, I followed the pattern exactly. On the last hat, I followed the pattern exactly up to Round 11. On rounds 12 and 13, I just hdc in each stitch around. These hats were SUPER easy to make and took an hour to an hour and a half to make.



I made these bibs using this pattern from the Bernat website. I also used Peaches and Cream 100% cotton yarn for both of these. On the first one, I used a denim blue yarn and a yellow yarn. I changed colors every two rows. On the second bib, I used the same multicolored yarn as with the multicolored baby hat. The third bib is one of my favorites! The eyes of the duckie are very simple. I ch 2 and then did 6 sc in the second chain from the hook, join with a sl st to the first st. Join white yarn, 2 sc in each sc around, 12 sc. Fasten off leaving a long enough tail for sewing the eyes in place. On the bill I used a burnt orange color from Red Heart. I just made the pattern up for the bill, but I don't remember off the top of my head how I did it! On the last bib I used a denim blue yarn and used the surface slip stitch to stitch to free hand the "R" on the front. All of the buttons came from my Moma's or from my button stash. I believe some of them are vintage but I'm not sure.

Bacon, Leek and Tomato Spaghetti

   Occasionally, we like to watch the Rachel Ray show. I really like the last half of the show better because that's when she cooks the meal :-) Anyway, a few weeks ago she made Bacon, Leek and Tomato Spaghetti; ya'll, this is good!!! Moma and I were saying that the smell and taste of canned spaghetti sauce just isn't appealing to us anymore, now that we've tasted this!

Ingredients

• 3 leeks (we've substituted green onions when we didn't have leeks on hand; I haven't tried it, but I think celery would be tasty in this recipe as well) 
• 2 tablespoons EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 6 slices center-cut bacon, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced or chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 28-ounce can Italian whole tomatoes in purée (fresh tomatoes work well too)
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 pound spaghetti (we use Gluten Free)
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• A handful of fresh basil, thinly sliced or chopped

Yields: Serves 4

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Preparation

Trim tough tops and root ends of the leeks. Halve them lengthwise and thinly slice. Fill sink or large bowl with water and wash leeks, separating layers and swishing them around in water. Dry in a salad spinner or on kitchen towel and reserve.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.

Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat with EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add bacon and crisp. Add reserved leeks and garlic, cook 2-3 minutes to soften. Season liberally with black pepper.

Add tomatoes and purée to pan and mash up tomatoes. Bring up to a simmer and let thicken over low heat while you cook pasta. Stir in parsley.

Salt pasta water and cook pasta to al dente. Drain pasta and toss with sauce for a minute or so. Serve in shallow bowls with cheese and basil on top.

Here's the link to the recipe on Rachel Ray's website

Best Baby Cloche

   Recently I was looking online for a simple baby hat. Nothing fancy, just a simple cloche. In that search I stumbled on the blog Aesthetic Nest. This blog is is absolutely lovely! Check it out! Also, here's the link for the Best Baby Cloche pattern :-)