Charities

I recommend Hotels Combined and sent $20 to World Vision!

You can shout and help too.

I got an email today from a someone who recently read my blog and saw that I support Feed My Starving Children - and she told me about this program through Hotels Combined. Hotels Combined is an Austrailan company that searches the internet for the lowest rates and availabilities for hotels. They also are beginning a campaign to give to charities when people mention them on their blog, Facebook, or Twitter. So... I'm mentioning them! And for this brief little message, $20 will go to World Vision.

So, if you have a moment, and want to painlessly give to starving children - post this on your blog! $20 can go a LONG way!

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Waking up in time - despite my alarm not going off... (Thanks to the dog for wanting her breakfast!)
2. My confirmation guys. So fun.
3. Candy corn! One of the best parts of fall...
4. Hitting all green lights on the way to church!
5. A two hour nap.
6. The act of cooking... Even when I'm home by myself, I really just like cooking.
7. Neil Patrick Harris hosting the Emmy's!
8. All kinds of ways to support charities.
9. A cooler day today... So nice.
10. The hubby's on his way home!

Another Saturday

Phew. A busy day.

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Making a nice breakfast, even when the hubby is out of town. Chai buttermilk pancakes!

2. Stopping by the Neighbor's Inc Duck Race. Such a fun family event!

3. Visiting my family for a bit.

4. The dog's excitement at visiting my parents - so funny!

5. The Georgia O'Keefe movie on Lifetime. So good. Yet so sad.

6. Baking cookies. Butterscotch and cinnamon. Great with coffee... otherwise a bit too rich for me...

7. Indulging in magazines.

8. Chuckling at the poor goldfinches that are in their "molting" stage. Their feathers are so disheveled you just have to feel sad for the little things! (Do you think they make fun of each other?)

9. More reading in bed - with a glass of wine. Lovely.

10. The dog enjoying the hubby's pillow while he's away...

Friday Fave Five - September 18th

Take moment to look back over your week and notice (and say thanks) for your favorite five moments! If you'd like, you can than link up with Living to Tell the Story and share your uplifting stories with others! Here's mine:

1. Date night last Friday, in Stillwater. I wore my new dress. We finally tried a little bistro/bar that we had wanted to check out for a long time (Ruby Begonia's. They have THE best french fries!). We planned to see the band performing that night... but they were starting too late. So, we walked down the street to the patio that overlooked the river and had a couple of beers and just talked and enjoyed the evening. Perfect. My favorite part? On the walk back to the car, a girl stopped us and told us that we looked like such a sweet couple. So cute!

2. Pumpkin recipes! Pumpkin waffles Saturday morning, and pumpkin bread and muffins Sunday night (I had to use up the rest of the can of pumpkin...). Yum!

3. Book group! It's been a while since I was there and it was so nice to hear what's going on in everyone's lives! Next week I'll look forward to actually talking about the book... Ha ha ha.

4. Spending my day off today cleaning the house and getting the fall decorations up. I didn't go as overboard as I usually do this year. Kept it simple. It looks and feels nice.

5. Dinner tonight was scrumptious! I was given more tomatoes from a church member's garden - a whole assortment of red, orange, yellow, and purple(!) cherry and grape tomatoes. They are the BEST tomatoes I have ever tasted, let me tell you! We used them in a pasta last week - a few nights in a row, cause they were so good. And tonight, I made a Margherita Pizza Bread with them and had a glass of yummy white wine. Wowza! Delish.

And... things I am thankful for today:

1. Sleeping in til 9am. So nice.
2. The hubby coming home for lunch before leaving for the weekend.
3. Pumpkin bread.
4. Being organized. It makes decorating for the seasons so easy!
5. A clean house. Time to relax.
6. New recipes to try this weekend.
7. Fresh tomatoes and basil (from my little plant - thanks Beth!). So good.
8. A fun book to read in bed.
9. Fall candles. My new one is "spice market" from Yankee Candles - yum!
10. Sinking into bed. I love that feeling!

Glories

"In the muddled mess of this world, in the confusion and the boredom, we ought to be able to spot something - an event, a person, a memory, an act, a turning of the soul, a flash of bright wings, the surprise of sweet compassion - somewhere we ought to pick out a glory to celebrate."
--Samuel H. Miller

On a hurried, busy, crazy day - reading this during Open Sanctuary was just what I needed. Thank you, God.

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Being a part of Neighor's Inc - and looking forward to their future.
2. The kind and caring people that I spent the day with (other Board members for Neighbor's Inc).
3. Little glass bottles of soda - I haven't seen those forever!
4. Unwinding from the earlier part of the day with a friend. Talking and laughing helped me to finish out the day!
5. Plans to go to a high school football game - I haven't been to one in YEARS!
6. The smell of lit matches. I love that smell.
7. Visiting with Diane. I'm glad she stopped by at the end of the night.
8. A nice chat with my sister - finally!
9. The memory of The Night of "L'il Abner." Ha ha ha. That was the longest high school play EVER!
10. Uncle Cracker's song, "Smile."

Ladies of Grace - September 16

So today is the day we share those moments in the week when we have noticed our hearts warmed and softened by acts of grace, or cold and hardened by a lack of grace. We share our stories through an experiment called Ladies of Grace, a blog carnival hosted by Walk A Mile, where we try to notice all the ways God's grace surrounds us in our daily lives - both in how we experience it, and how we offer it to others.

...And part of this experiment is being honest when we notice ourselves not being very graceful, when we notice our hearts hardening against a person, a situation, or an experience... So today, my friends, the honest truth must be told. I am a cold, hardened, ungraceful person today.

As I was leaving my house this morning, I found a note from our neighbor on my garage door complaining about our dog - and signed, "your friendly neighbors." At first I laughed - because they are anything but friendly. And then, I just got mad. Mad mad mad. They are loud, obnoxious, lazy, slobs - we have put up with their bad behavior and lack of respect for property for four years... and not complained. We tried to be graceful and accept that they don't share our ways of living. They have different standards and ways of doing things. We've tried not to start ill feelings between us. We've tried to "let it go."

But this morning, I wanted to write an endless letter to the association complaining about every thing this family has ever done to annoy and disturb our peaceful little life - and... yes. I would like them evicted. (Don't worry... nothing will happen.)

AHHHH! Cold cold hardened heart. This is not me. I have done no such thing. I will do no such thing. I will calmly attend to my dog a little more... and maybe start leaving them friendly (hopefully not sarcastic) little notes when I could be reporting them...

And so it goes. Sometimes, even I can be a victim of giving into such ugly ways. Which is why we pray, right?

I hope you're having a better day! God's grace does abound (sometimes we just have to look a little harder...)

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Sleeping in just a bit this morning.
2. Lessons in humility.
3. Fun finds at the church rummage sale - early. One of the few perks to working in the church building.
4. Teaching my pastor how to use Facebook - very funny.
5. Meeting with Jason today - he always makes me smile.
6. More cherry tomatoes! Yum!
7. A good cry. No worries - I just needed it.
8. A beautiful drive home.
9. Cinnamon ice cream - makes everything better.
10. A note from Cheryl. Makes me smile.

Yummy Wednesday - Pumpkin Waffles

Mmm. Mmmm. Mmmm. We tried these last weekend and they are to DIE for! A perfect way to welcome in Fall! I found these on the website http://www.smittenkitchen.com/. Heck. I just liked her name!Pumpkin Waffles

2.5 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

4 large eggs, separated

2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

3/4 stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

Vegetable oil or cooking spray for the waffle iron

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and preheat waffle iron.

Sift together flour, brown sugar, bakig powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth.

Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, whisk the eggs whites until they hold soft peaks.

Fold them gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Brush waffle iron lightly with oil, or spray, and spoon batter into waffle iron, spreading quickly.

(The recipe calls for 2 cups batter for one belgian waffle, my waffle maker holds 1 cups at a time - so be sure to follow directions for your machine! That goes for cooking times too! Mine was one cup for 5 minutes.)

Transfer the cooked waffles to rack in oven to keep them warm and crisp.

Makes about 8 pancakes?

Enjoy!

Authentic Success

"Authentic success is having time enough to pursue personal pursuits that bring you pleasure, time enough to make the loving gestures for your family you long to do, time enough to care for your home, tend your garden, nurture your soul... Authentic success is knowing that if today were your last day on earth, you could leave without regret. Authentic success is feeling focused and serene when you work, not fragmented. It's knowing that you've done the best that you possibly can, no matter what circumstances you faced; it's knowing in your soul that the best you can do is all you can do, and that the best you can do is always enough.

"Authentic success is accepting your limitations, making peace with your past, and reveling in your passions so that your future may unfold according to a Divine Plan. It's discovering and calling forth your gifts and offering them to the world to help heal its ravaged heart. It's making a difference in other lives and believing that if you can do that for just one person each day, through a smile, a shared laugh, a caress, a kind word, or a helping hand, blessed are you among women.

"Authentic success is not just money in the bank but a contented heart and peace of mind... It's earning what you feel you deserve for the work you do and knowing that you're worth it. Authentic success is paying your bills with ease, taking care of all your needs and the needs of those you love, indulging some wants, and having enough left over to save and share. Authentic success is not about accumulating but letting go, because all you have is all you truly need. Authentic success is feeling good about who you are, appreciating where you've been, celebrating your achievements, and honoring the distance you've already come. Authentic success is reaching the point where being is as important as doing. It's the steady pursuit of a dream. It's realizing that no matter how much time it takes for a dream to come true in the physical world, no day is ever wasted. It's valuing inner, as well as outer, labor - both your own and others'. It's elevating labor to a craft and craft to an art by bestowing Love on every task you undertake.

"Authentic success is knowing how simply abundant your life is exactly as it is today. Authentic success is being so grateful for the many blessings bestowed on you and yours that you can share your portion with others.

"Authentic success is living each day with a heart overflowing."
--Simple Abundance

That's what I needed today. Thank you Sarah Ban Breathnach.


Things I am thankful for today:

1. My sleepy dog - she went back to bed without me this morning! Goodness...
2. The routine of the school year.
3. Beautiful music.
4. A spontaneous dinner with the hubby.
5. A wonderful new print for our house - from a discount store. So fun!
6. Venting. Sometimes it's needed.
7. Book group. I love these ladies.
8. Funny dreams. The kind that make you do funny things - and your spouse tries to help... Until you realize you're just dreaming... Then you feel dumb. Ha ha ha.
9. Melissa is pain-free!
10. Beth H. made it home safe and sound from Japan after an interesting plane landing today!