Spring Is On Its Way...

Spring is on its way, at least for me that is. The tree in our backyard is getting new growth and the weather is warming up really quickly. My DH and I put in a flower bed this weekend and I am eagerly awaiting beautiful blooms later on this spring. The sky has been so blue and bright the last few days. It makes me feel like doing something outdoors, like go for a picnic or long walk. I also have the cutest little birds that have taken to build a nest under the awning of our back porch. Since my kitchen overlooks the back porch, I get to hear the little birds chirp and sing while I work in the kitchen. It is so refreshing.

On Thursday, my DH and I went bike riding at a local lake. The website said it was a "Bike and Hike Trail." However, it was more like a path through some tall grass and small trees. I enjoyed the ride; but, it was way more than I was picturing. In my mind, I saw pavement and flowers. In reality, there was a grass and limbs. My DH and I did have a good time though. Just how soon we frequent the "Bike and Hike Trail" again, I have no idea. For now, I will stick to my yoga and pilates for exercise.

Something New...

This past weekend, my DH and I went to Target. While we were there, I found this cute little table for 50%. It matches our dining room suit and our armoir in the living room. It fits perfectly into my dining room.

I really like the detail of the wood carving on it.

God and Uncertainties...

A few years ago, I discovered a wonderful quote from Elizabeth Elliot. I just ran across it again and am still 'wowed' by it. I am so glad that I found it again. God really does put things in your way right when you need them. Here is the quote:

"Waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty,
to carry within myself the unanswered question,
lifting my heart to God about it
whenever it intrudes upon my thoughts."
~Elizabeth Elliot

I can still remember a time when I (in many ways) clung to this quote as a constant reminder to let God handle my future. At the time that I discovered this quote, I was in the midst of being single and trying to be happy being that way. I have always wanted to be a stay-at-home wife and mom. Summed up, that was (and still is) my life's 'occupational' ambition. However, for a short while in my life I just worried and stressed about if I never met the right guy and God didn't have it in His plan for my life for me to marry. As I was reading Passion and Purity by Elizabeth Elliot, I came across this quote. It 'wowed' me and I still remember trying to let God handle all of my uncertainty. My mom can attest to my struggle with being happy where God had me then (which was single, with NO prospects might I add). In the early summer of 2005, I really came to terms with where God had me and was content being single since that was where I was supposed to be. I met my DH in September of 2005 and God began opening my eyes to show me that my DH was the one that He had picked out for me (and that my Mom had been praying for since before I was born).

Now after two years, I ran across this quote again. Today, I have different uncertainties and worries but the wonderful part is I still have the same God. The One who formed me in my Mom's womb, knows every hair on my head (even the ones that are turning gray) and has guided my every step even when I wasn't sure where I was going. He knows what I worry about and what scares me, I just have to keep resting in Him even when I am not sure what is going on. I have to lay my uncertainties at His feet and rest in the peace He gives.

Washroom Glimpses...

First let me establish a few things. I know that depending on where you are from, the word washroom has many different meanings. For me, it means my laundry room or utility room.

Now that that has been cleared up, I will proceed. Over the Christmas break, my DH took a day and rehung the shelving in the washroom for me. Since he was going to take everything off of the walls, I decided I wanted to repaint (it was a light mint green that kinda' worked my nerves). I wish that I had a before picture of the room, but I don't.

Anyway, my DH hung more shelves for me and reinforced them so I could put heavy stuff on the shelves. Before I had about 3 shelves total in the washroom. Now, I have shelves from ceiling to floor. Having the washroom finished has really helped us keep the house decluttered and the laundry more organized.

It is still pretty crowded, part of the reason is because we don't have a garage many of my DH's tools and his tool box are in the washroom. I have all of my crafting, sewing, and cake decorating supplies stashed away in the plastic containers. This is the main storage for the house (as you can see). My next project is to go through and put uniform labels on the boxes for better organization.

My DH is going to put another row of shelving above the "chest of drawers" in order to give me one more shelf because right now it is wasted space. The chest of drawers holds all of my table linens and candles.


Just in case you were wondering, I have a pretty big washroom. My DH also put up the bar that the hangers hang on. Before, they were in a basket. The space above the cabinets wound up being perfect for storing and displaying all of my vases.

And that is my FINISHED washroom!

Gumbo Troubles...

A few nights ago, I decided I would make the Chicken-Sausage Gumbo I had chosen in my menu. I guess I didn't quite read the directions very closely because I over looked the cook time (3 hours). So, as I stood in the kitchen at 6:15 thinking I was going to get the gumbo done by 7:00, I had a rude awakening. Needless to say, we had one of the meals that I had put up in the freezer for dinner. However, I did finish cooking the gumbo and we had it the next night for dinner. I was excellent (if I do say so myself). The recipe was involved, but not to complicated. The recipe made enough for me to put at least half of it up in the freezer for a later time.


Click here to get to the recipe on the Southern Living website.

Kelli's Banana Crumb Muffins...

I am not sure if it is better to have a long past about many things or several short ones, so I decided several short ones it will be.

Yesterday I tried out a new recipe from my friend Kelli's blog. Over the weekend she posted a recipe for some Banana Crumb Muffins and the pictures she had of them looked delicious. So since I had a few "quickly going bad" bananas, I decided to give the recipe a try.

The muffins are DELICIOUS!!!!!

Here is a picture of mine.

The recipe is really easy and great tasting. You can go to Kelli's blog for the recipe, it is under the "Five Senses Weekend" post. Thanks for sharing Kelli!

Word Art...

While browsing around on various blogs, I found this word art site called SnapShirt. It basically reviews your blog and makes the prominent words from your blog come up in art form. It is really neat. Try it out and leave me a message so I can see how yours looks.

Starting Something New (edited)...

I am going to be starting something new on my blog for Mondays. While it isn't original, I do think it is a neat idea.

Sunday - Pot Stickers and Fried Rice with Chicken
Monday - Chicken-Sausage Gumbo, Salad, and French Bread
Tuesday - Taco Bake and Salad
Wednesday - Sweet Chili Chicken, Rice, Green Beans
Thursday - Black Beans and Rice, Salad, French Bread
Friday - Chicken/Spinach Enchiladas, Refried Beans, Yellow Rice
Saturday - Chili, Salad, Corn Muffins

A Valentine's Day Funny...

On Valentine's Day my DH bought me a bouquet of roses. My DH said, he had bought the roses on the way to work and left them in the truck for a few hours (we have had cold weather). When he got into the truck he said it stunk to high heaven and when he smelt the roses he realized the reason it stunk. However, by the time he realized it, it was too late to return them on Valentine's Day.

When he came home he told me, "Well, you were going to get roses for Valentine's Day, but smell these. " He proceeded to hand me my roses to smell. As my nose got close, I smelt something equivalent of something dead. So on Thursday we went back to the store to return them because we thought maybe a frog was up in them and died or something. It was awful. Then the girl that worked there told us it was the Misty Limonium that was a filler in the roses. She told us it has a strong, stinky odor and that was what we were smelling. They still gave him the money back.

I was with him and he asked me if I wanted to pick out some more flowers, I told him that I would prefer to buy a flowery wreath for my front door instead. So for Valentine's Day my DH bought me a wreath I liked a JoAnne's. Now I will have this Valentine's flowers for months to come.

In Case You Thought You Missed Something...

In my previous post about the contents of my Valentine's Day box from my family I mentioned that I received a prenatal yoga DVD. For those of you who thought you might have missed something, I am not expecting a baby. I am starting an exercise program though (which includes mainly yoga workouts) in order to be healthy and in a workout routine when I do become pregnant.

I had a miscarriage in October, but while I was expecting, I was trying to find a prenatal yoga DVD I could do. My mom found the one in the package and knew I would like it for when my expecting time comes again.

Thanks for the curiosity!

The Valentine's Package...

On Valentine's Day I got a wonderful box from my family. Below is a picture of its content, all of the content was wrapped and looked all festive.

My parents sent me the new Norah Jones CD, a prenatal yoga workout DVD, and the very cute wallet and sunglasses holder. My sister sent me the 50th Anniversary DVD of Lady and the Tramp. My Grandma (aka Gram) sent me some cookie mix, spatulas, and some really cute recipe cards. It was so wonderful to open up the package and feel the love and the hugs that were sent through the package. I am so glad I have such a wonderful family.

I miss all of you and love you to the sky and back again! Thanks so much for my box of Valentine's "Happys."

My Valentine's Cake...

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. I hate I didn't get to post anything yesterday, I was soooo very busy. Everything went well though.

I got a Valentine's Box from my family in Florida. I haven't gotten to take a picture of its contents yet. I will have to post about it next. It was too fun.

For breakfast we had sausage, eggs, and pink waffles to get in the Valentine's excitement.

I made the cake a decorated it without my DH suspecting anything. This was really hard to do because he was only gone for 4 hours yesterday. I was in super-speed mode. I did finish all of the clues for the scavenger hunt and they all even rhymed.

Here is the clue I wrote for the bottle of bleach.
"I have the power to make something turn white.
I also help dulls look bright.
I am in a bottle, if you haven't guessed.
If I spill in the 'darks' it'll be quite a mess."

At the end of the scavenger hunt, I was hiding in the closet with his cake and the big "I Love You" valentine I made. It was a big rush because I had to be ready to go to dinner when he got home. However, I managed to be in the closet waiting, holding the cake and wearing the dress I was wearing when we got engaged.

Here is a picture of his cake.

We had a great evening. After he got home, we went to have Crawfish Enchiladas (my favorite) at a Mexican restaurant in town. We came back home and had cake for dessert.

A Cold and Blustery Sort of Day...

Today is a very windy day. It is cold but not freezing. Everytime I hear the wind blow around the house, I think of Pooh and his blustery day.

Valentines for my Valentine...

I have just finished my making the hearts that I will use for the scavenger hunt. Now, all I have to do is write the clues. They turned out really well. I was beginning to feel like I was in elementary school again, as I was cutting construction paper and playing with glue and glitter.

I had better get back to work now.

Valentine's Day Preparations...

While I do not have any little children to make Valentine's Day special for, I do have my Valentine himself. This is our first Valentine's Day to be married so I want to make it really special. So, I am working on some preparations in order to make this day go great.

First, I am going to bake my DH a cake. This cake isn't just any old cake though. It is his favorite, Paula Dean's Carrot Cake. I am going to bake it in the heart shaped pan my Mom sent me. I am not sure whether I will just prep the ingredients or actually bake the cake. I guess that that will have to depend on how the tomorrow goes.

Second, my DH loves Reese's. So, I bought a pack of the Reese's hearts and I am going to do a scavenger hunt for him so he can get to his present. I got him a game he has been wanting and he is not expecting to get it. So, I have to make all of my clues.

The third thing I want to try to do is something for one of my neighbors. She is a widow and none of her children live in the area. I think I will bake her a batch of heart shaped cookies or something to make her feel special. I would hope that someone would do that for my mom if I couldn't do it for her.

I hope that your day is good and productive.

A Musical Date

This evening my DH and I went on a date. We went to see an Irving Berlin musical, "Annie Get Your Gun" at the local school. We had a fantastic time. All of the actors and actresses were wonderful and did a great job in their parts. The musical is filled with songs I have heard through the years but did not realize where they were from. I can't wait until April when we will go see another.

One more thing...

I forgot to include one more thing my Mom put in my box.


My mom also sent me a heart cake pan. I plan to make a cake for my DH on Valentine's Day. I will put a picture of the finished product on here when I get it done.

Thanks Mom!

A Package From My Mom...

Yesterday was Monday. Like most Mondays, this one did not seem special. However, as I was getting dressed to go out for some errands, my doorbell rang. It was the UPS man and he was delivering a package to me from my Mom. I was sooooo excited that I started calling to my DH telling him my package had arrived.


When I opened the box, I discovered what all my Mom had sent me. Inside was a fleece blanket (which is great for car rides and movies), some tealights (which have the same scent as the diffuser my mom gave me over Christmas), some fun silver tinsel balls (that I will use to decorate my kitchen next year for Christmas), an Country Living Magazine (that has an article about the market in Canton, TX in it), a sweet note, and "the traveling item" (which happened to be a purse this time). This box of "happys" (as we like to call it) really brightened up my day and made feel hugged by my Mom.


Thanks Mom! I love you very much!

A Warm Bowl of Soup is Best...

Yesterday, my DH started getting really sick yesterday. He did not feel very well and spent most of the day in the bed with his work scattered around him. Last night around dinner time, he got really cold (I think was chills) because he had a fever. So for dinner last night, I fixed him a big bowl of Tomato Soup to warm him up.

He went to the doctor this morning and got some medicine. It is good that he has the weekend to get some rest and get better.

Welcome February...

I really can't believe that the first month of 2007 has already come and gone. I have always liked the month of February. It is such a neat month. My Mom always made Valentine's Day special. So, welcome February, I look forward to what you have in store.

A Praise...

"O Lord, my God,

I cried to you for help,

and you have healed me."
Psalms 30:2

I had a doctor's appointment this morning. I must admit, that all night I had very bazaar dreams about this appointment and was very glad when the morning came so I did not have to have them anymore.

Anyway, my DH & I went to the doctor. Upon reviewing the most recent test results and the facts of the situation, my doctor gave us really good news. I am so very happy and relieved. Thank you God, for answering our prayers. Thanks for all of your prayers!