A Simple Woman's Daybook - September 14th Edition

For Today...

Outside my window... a cloudy, gray morning - but warm and muggy!
I am thankful... for so many breakfast choices today! Pumpkin waffles... Homemade granola... What to choose?
From the kitchen... yummy leftovers... but nothing new...
I am wearing... black workout capris and a blue t-shirt. Guess who's planning to hit the elliptical soon?
I am creating... a Christmas present... Ha ha ha - sorry! Can't tell you what it is!
I am going... to decorate for fall this weekend. Yikes. It seems so soon!
I am reading... "So You Want to be a Innkeeper" and "The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus Christ." Interesting...
I am hoping... for cooler weather.
I am hearing... birds, geese, the garbage truck, and the dog's snores.
One of my favorite things... already working on some Christmas presents! Woo-hoo!
A picture thought I am sharing:
Isn't this a funny picture? They were sitting on my desk, looking so cute - so I snapped their pic! They've been hiding in our church the last couple of Sundays - whoever finds them each week gets a free entry into the Annual Neighbor's, Inc Duck Race. I just think they make a hilarious photo opp!

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Yummy granola for breakfast.
2. Working out. A novel idea.
3. Catching up on reading for work.
4. Exercise balls. They make sit ups do-able.
5. Dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Thank you, Trader Joe's.
6. Pink clouds and blue clouds in the evening sky. So pretty.
7. The neighborhood kids playing with my dog - frisbee, tricks, wanting to walk her on her leash. So funny.
8. New moisturizer and eye cream... I think I like it so far...
9. A nice walk this evening. Bugs were much fewer than the last time we tried to take a walk!
10. Book group tomorrow!
11. Pumpkin muffins! Lord have mercy, they're good!

Life Psalm

"Let us, then, be up and doing
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait."
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Dreams are not enough. They must be backed up with effort. Success is as simple and as profound as that... We must be doing something about bringing our dreams into the world every day, even if we only have fifteen minutes out of every twenty-four hours to concentrate on our calling.

"As long as you're actively pursuing your dream with a practical plan, you're still achieving, even if it feels as though you're going nowhere fast. It's been my experience that the very moment I feel like giving up, I'm only one step from a breakthrough. Hang on long enough and circumstances will change, too. Trust in yourself, your dream and Spirit."
--A Simple Abundance

This is for all of you who are supporting my dream - and sharing your dream with me! You'll get there - just keep plugging on!

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Rally Sunday at church! A good vibe all around this morning.
2. Jake's solution to my forgetting a lighter for our candle during prayer time, in confirmation class - he "lit up" the candle application on his phone and placed it on the candle holder! Ha ha ha!
3. Tommy telling me funny stories (he's maybe 10 years old... so cute).
4. My new clothes came in at REI - smartwool long undies and windbreaking fleece pants. Sexy, I know!
5. A trip to Whole Foods. I love that place.
6. The hubby made home-made granola - the house smells SO GOOD!
7. Manwich and brown beans for dinner - a childhood classic. Gotta love comfort foods.
8. Magazines! I got 2 in the mail this week - so nice to ignore the rest of the world and enjoy looking at house decorations and new recipes...
9. A new musician, Forest Sun - we've been listening to him all weekend.
10. Clean laundry for the week! ha ha ha.

Pieces

Here are some pieces to my Saturday - a good one!

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Waking up laughing at the dog.

2. Then going back to sleep.

3. Pumpkin waffles for breakfast - Yes, fall is here and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

3.5 And the hubby's comment, "Well, you hit another recipe out of the ballpark! I think when we do have a B&B, you should sell a book of your breakfast recipes..." Cute!

4. A mom and daughter holding up traffic, helping a turtle cross the road. So funny and cute!

5. WI Badgers won! And yes - Bailey was wearing a jersey... though not very interested in the game...

6. The woman at the Renaissance that was SO excited to find a frog, that she picked it up, cuddled with it and KISSED it! Whoa. I like animals... but there IS a boundary.... I guess I'm thankful for her excitement and love of God's creatures... and for the laugh it gave me when my hubby and I both looked at each other with raised eyebrows!

7. A beautiful sunset.

8. All kinds of new music on the ipod due to free downloads!

9. Dirty feet. It means we had a fun afternoon at the Renaissance Festival.

10. More pumpkin waffles for dessert - with a little cinnamon ice cream. Oooo la la!

Friday Fave Five - September 11th

Friday Fave Five time! Take a moment to look over your past week and find five things you loved and were blessed by, then link up to Living to Tell the Story to share yours! Here are mine:

1. A weekend of rest and relaxation. I had 3 days to myself last weekend to sleep in, read, and pamper myself. It was great!

2. A Labor Day Bluegrass Festival - so fun! It's at a local park - so we spend the day outside, listening to music, eating scallop tacos and yummy ice cream cones! The crowds are always fun to watch and so friendly! This is becoming our Labor Day tradition. (And my hubby wore his "my wife rocks" t-shirt! Lots of funny comments!)

3. Wednesday, we volunteered at Feed My Starving Children with youth and parents from our church. We had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings first and then went and served. What a fun evening with a bunch of fun people!

4. Awaking to a surprise from my hubby yesterday morning - a bag from a favorite store on my dresser... When I opened it, it contained a dress I've been eye-ing all summer! So fun! (And no, my hubby doesn't normally buy me dresses...)

5. Trying lots of new recipes over the last week - Sweet and Spicy Pork Tenderloin (yum!), White Chocolate Strawberry Trifle (delish!), Funky Spaghetti (fabulous!), Coconut French Toast (mmm. mmmm. mmm.). I'm getting my "cooking mo-jo" back! Ha ha ha.


Things I am thankful for today:

1. Several silent reminders of 9-11. We will always remember and mourn that day... but at least we all do it together.
2. A new pair of jeans. Praise God! Ha ha ha.
3. A yummy reuben sandwich.
4. Date night!
5. Beautiful weather for sitting on the patio!
6. Being told we were "such a sweet couple" as we walked through Stillwater, holding hands.
7. Stopping at the grocery store at 10:30pm for pumpkin so we can make pumpkin pancakes for breakfast!
8. A vanilla walnut candle on clearance - I can't wait to light that one!
9. A new CD by Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons!
10. Looking forward to the Renaissance Festival tomorrow!

Courage

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face... You must do the thing you cannot do."
--Eleanor Roosevelt

"Make no mistake, when you start on the path to authenticity, Love will change you, transforming your life in countless ways. Your family and friends may not notice the changes in the beginning because they're so small. But you will, and you'll know that miracles are taking place. Love will sustain you when passion's path takes unexpected twists and turns. Love will dissolve your fears by creating opportunities you couldn't have imagined before you began the search to discover and recover your authentic self. And when doubt, despair, and denial threaten to dismantle your dreams, Love will rear up in your defense. The next time you feel frightened and fragile, stand very still. If you do, you might feel the tip of an angel's wing brush against your shoulder.

"...Today if you feel afraid, take comfort in remembering that courage is fear that has said her prayers... Dreams are gifts of the Spirit meant to alter us. Trust that the same Power that gifted you with your dream knows how to help you make it come true."
--Simple Abundance

My greatest fear is usually failure. Whenever I think about trying something new - that's where it ends. What if I fail?

My latest dream, though... The fear isn't there yet... Everytime someone asks, "what if it fails?" I've been able to say, "it won't!" Ha ha ha. I don't know if that's wishful thinking - or the courage to take the risk and make it come true... Or silly naivity on how the world actually works.

Either way, I love the quote "courage is fear that has said her prayers." And I'm praying!

What is your fear when pursuing a dream? What helps you to push forward when the going gets tough?

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Surprises!
2. A new dress. Ooo la la!
3. Fun "crafty" projects at work.
4. Being ready-to-go for Sunday morning (first day of Confirmation for the year)!
5. Unexpected help moving tables today. Thanks Andrea!
6. Making my own "God's Inbox." 7. Offers to help do handywork, paint, and shop for our future Bed and Breakfast - you guys crack me up!
8. Date night tomorrow!
9. Chats with Diane - they help me feel sane.
10. A BEAUTIFUL sunset - a big ball of fire in my rearview mirror on my drive home... Gorgeous.

Ladies of Grace - September 9

It's that time again - time to link up with Walk A Mile and share a moment in your week when you have noticed grace in your life. Maybe your heart was softened by an act, a word, or a simple awareness of another's situation... Or maybe you were offered grace when you least expected it. God's grace touches us in so many ways! If you'd like to share a story, please do! This is part of our journey through this world together...My story happened tonight. All day long I've been wondering what I was going to share for my Ladies of Grace entry this week... All to find out, it was about to happen!

While I was volunteering at Feed My Starving Children tonight, with some very cool people from my church, I ended up at a station away from the rest of my group... This always happens to me! We rush to a station so that we can all work together - and of course, there's always one or two too many of us. Since I'm usually the coordinator of our group, I step back and see where else I can fit in so that they can still work together.

(I really don't mind. I always have fun. It's just a little bit of a bummer.)

So, tonight my hubby and I joined another table with a mom, dad, and daughter. Then along comes one other woman - also an "extra" from her group looking for a table to work with. So we start working, asking what groups we're with, teasing each other about how we work together, singing along to the radio... When she realized Mike and I were married, she immediately asked if we had kids. I told her nope. Then... She told me about her daughter in 4th grade and how she was in the process of trying to have another. She's been trying for a long time for this one, and is on her "last shot." I took that to mean she must be trying some kind of treatment or procedure - and this is the last time...

In the middle of dumping my dried veggies into the bag, I asked her her name and if I could keep her in my prayers. She smiled and said she would like that very much.

Maybe there's a reason I was separated from my group tonight... You never know...

If you think of it tonight, can you send up a prayer for Lynn? She could use it!

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Crosswords.

2. Thom got a job!!!

3. Eating lunch with our UMW (United Methodist Women) ladies. So fun - and great dessert!

4. Pastor Penny in her gardening clothes! Very cute.

5. Office supply stores... It's like a toy store for me.

6. Feed My Starving Children - we packaged over 17,000 meals in 1.5 hours tonight - that will feed 49 kids for an ENTIRE year!

7. Church friends. So fun.

8. Hair-nets. They make for great (embarrassing) pictures!

9. The kids that came with us tonight - Lydia, Jake, and Matt - so fun and such hard workers!

10. Being home after a LONG day!

Yummy Wednesday - White Chocolate Strawberry Trifle

Another AWESOME recipe from that funny little cookbook... "Intercourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook" by Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge. The hubby scarffed this one faster than I've ever seen him eat a dessert! His comment? "It's like strawberry shortcake - but so much more!"White Chocolate Strawberry Trifle

1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks; large
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 oz cream cheese; softened
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp espresso; instant, dissolved
4 oz pound cake
3 oz white chocolate; shaved
3/4 cup strawberries; sliced, around

Mix the sugar and egg yolks in a blender for one minute.
Add the vanilla and blend one minute.
Add the cream cheese and blend until smooth.
Chill.
Beat the whipping cream until stiff.
Add the cream cheese mixture and chill.
Slice cake into 1 x 3-inch strips.
Dip the strips in hot espresso.
Layer half the cake strips, white chocolate, cream cheese mixture, and strawberries in a clearbowl.
Repeat layers.

Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Enjoy!