break time

just a shout out to all our peeps out there, siesta and i will be taking the next few days off, to recharge with the Lord and of course, to have a couple of cat naps.

right back atcha later in the week!

update - note to self:


do NOT buy the $2.99 box of hair color instead of the $10.99 box, UNLESS you are in a risk-takin' mood. the result is a little bit tabby-cattish. i knew i was in trouble when the color going down the drain in the shower was a nice shade of purple. i guess it is true about looking like your pets, though!

however, i do have the moose sweatshirt to match! happy week ya'll.

score!

so yesterday, after 2 days of pressing hard to get everything done so that i can go out of town next week, i went to the bank, then a quick stop at my local thrift shop. right as i walked in the door i spotted this gem!

i have never, ever had a jewelry box. i guess i usually think they are kind of big and boxy and boring. but i love the cream vinyl and PINK insides!! the lady who donated it was still in the store, so apparently i scooped it up pretty fast :)) i decided to set it up so that it's open all the time, and matched it with the cute teapot clock i found a couple of weeks ago...a $4 investment that makes me VERY happy.

i don't actually have much jewelry, but, it's a start :)

happy weekend guys!

hallelujah

i was deeply disturbed yesterday to stumble upon this poem in the new york times. i was sucked into it at first, because of the language and especially the beauty of maira kalman's artwork. but the excitement soon turned sour when i realized it was a worshipful rant aimed at our new president.

for the record, the source of my upsetness is that the word "hallelujah" comes directly from the Hebrew language. it means "praise Yahweh". It is an exclamation used chiefly in songs of praise or thanksgiving to God, and as an expression of gratitude or adoration.

it occurs to me that somehow, our country has confused a political role with the role of our Father in Heaven. this in no way speaks criticism to the president himself, except for the possibility that he endorses such idiocy, at a time when our hurting country needs a Savior. instead, we have a generation of people prompted to stand for SOMEthing. a people - all of us - misdirected, i fear.

so last night at the Jeremy Camp/Bebo concert, my heart REJOICED to hear jeremy break out into the song "hallelujah." i felt my spirit soar, as if God said "praise ME and i shall deliver you."

i wish mr. president well. may he be given the wisdom to lead our country with honor and grace through whatever lies ahead.

but even more, i PRAISE YAHWEH for his ability to lead us into eternity, and care for us in ways that no man ever could.

wow. i guess i have been on the pulpit this week.

beboness

ah. sooooooon. 4 hours and counting.
can hardly wait, bebo, my friend.

new song

last night, i decided to show up at the tuesday night prayer group at our church. i hadn't been there for a LONG time, i think the last time i went was when i was feeling sick and worried about my bladder.

anyway, the place was kind of rocking. i had heard that there was a "fresh annointing" going on, but i guess i wasn't sure what that was all about.

anyway, i digress. we all kind of went up to the front of the church near the altar, and jeremiah, our worship leader, led us in a few songs. it was kind of like being in the front row of a concert or something, and i started to feel myself "let go" and just enjoy the music and start daydreaming about the Lord.

suddenly, a couple of things happened. #1 - i started to speak / sing in tongues, which i can assure you i have NEVER done. ever. without thinking about it consciously and deciding to do it. so, that was kinda neat.

then, and this is the thing i want to tell you about, i got a terrible burden, a LONGING in my heart, to sing and worship with ALL OF YOU GUYS! i know! how weird is that!! but i just had a vision of many of my friends standing right there with me! and we were all so happy! we were just singing and swaying away and feeling warm and glowing in the Light of the Lord!!

there. i just thought you'd all like to know what you did last night ;) i hope it leaves you feeling as wonderful today as it did me.

happy happy joy joy

so lately i have been pondering about happiness. i guess it comes from trying to distinguish the differences between worldly things and heavenly things. i do consider myself a happy person, probably because on most of my days i do happy things. or that in my older years, i've just LEARNED it's easier to have a cheery outlook than a negative one. i read that the word "happiness" is a derivative of "happening" - meaning it relates to what is going on at the moment, ie circumstances. it sure is true that when things are going MY way, i am happy! and since i tailor my world to be mostly "my way" when i can choose, then MAN! i'm always happy!

but what about joy? can i say i have joy? not related to where i am or what i'm doing or who i'm with? hmmmm. that is a tougher question for me. i know that joy is a fruit of the Spirit of God, and i know i HAVE God in my heart...so really, i should CLAIM my joy in Him more often! when we know God, we have the RIGHT to joy. whether our surroundings are great, or not. because HE Himself is joy. and the promises He makes to us are always for good.

so, i googled to find out how many times joy was found in the bible, i found this definition, which was pretty neat:

Joy is the happy state that results from knowing and serving God. A number of Greek and Hebrew words are used in the Bible to convey the ideas of joy and rejoicing. We have the same situation in English with such nearly synonymous words as joy, happiness, pleasure, delight, gladness, merriment, felicity, and enjoyment. The words joy and rejoice are the words used most often to translate the Hebrew and Greek words into English. Joy is found over 150 times in the Bible. If such words as “joyous” and “joyful” are included, the number comes to over 200. The verb rejoice appears well over 200 times.

Joy is the fruit of a right relation with God. It is not something people can create by their own efforts. The Bible distinguishes joy from pleasure. The Greek word for pleasure is the word from which we get our word hedonism, the philosophy of self-centered pleasure-seeking. Paul referred to false teachers as “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4).

i like that "joy" is derived from "rejoice." kind of different than "happening" eh? so if joy is related to God, and to rejoicing or celebrating God and our relationship with him, then being happy doesn't seem nearly as good!

whew. so here i am today. not super "happy" because not everything around me is exactly like i wish it was, but joyful because i know that i am in God's good standing, and that He has some awfully good things in store for me.

wishing you a JOY today that is deep down, too!

soaking it in

reflections on the week are so much sunnier when the sun is shining. after 2 full days of full beams, and warm almost balmy weather, i can find a mostly good outlook. kind of unusual for me in the middle of winter!

i am loving that life has slowed down enough to enjoy, but is still busy enough to not feel stagnant. i'm learning to appreciate the pace of things, rather than wish for something else. this weekend is wonderful, because i had absolutely NO "must dos." i probably have neglected some important things, but i did get my taxes ready to go to the tax people. that's the earliest i have ever been ready, so i am impressed with myself.

i also had lunch with my 2 best art girls. whhhhhhheeeeeeeeee. so much fun to share life with them. it was good for me to talk out some sad things, and look forward to things to come (like the new baby boy that cass is waiting patiently for!). love those girls.

then, lou and i did a teensy bit of thrifting. naturally, we found things. we both bought the same lamp (well, not exactly the same, as there were two of them), because we are twins. i am such a geek, but i could NOT wait to get home, and get the bleach in the sink, and wash my finds. i love buying dirty things!! unearthing the REAL beauty beneath is way better than going to a mall and buying something that is already clean. THAT is a weird self-discovery thought!!



the lamp is just perfect for the other nightstand in my newly different bedroom. of course, i just slapped a simple temporary shade on it. perhaps i can get a fun one at ikea in a couple of weeks!


today one of my clients "unveils" the new fundraising packet i made for them. it's very rewarding to work with people who share your God. i pray that He will bless their efforts!


morning coffee with my new/old cup and saucer. don't you love the pattern and colors?


and finally, i am almost finished with the granny square afghan. i just need to finish tying ends. i keep thinking, should i use it? in the bedroom? in the living room? save it for a special room? it is the most time consuming crochet project i have made to date. i am feeling like i don't really want to mess it up because it's so perfect right now.

siesta of course, has other ideas.


happy day all!

of God and ikea

every year around this time, i just sort of lose it. i am a sunshine girl, and these grey days become almost too much to take. i am starting to figure out that i need to plan more activities to help ease the grey.

so i'm holding out for february, with a few fun things coming up. not the least of which is a 4 day trip to lovely minneapolis.


my partner for the trip is my dear friend sher, who is my "spiritual mom." sher is everything you'd want a mom to be, loving, beautiful, fun to be around, and someone you can tell your deepest stuff to. we have traveled together before, but not for a couple of years, so this will be especially good. we are going to a conference called "dream big" which is about expecting the biggest of things from God for 2009! i cannot really explain in depth, but i have reason to believe God is planning to rock my year. because He said so. however, the verdict is still out on how obedient i will be! i hope this conference helps me to stay on the path! funnnnnnn.


on the way up to the cities, i plan to take sher to digs, a favorite stop in northfield. digs has everything a girl could want. cute books and trinkets and kitchen stuff and yarn and FABRIC. i need to get a digs fix.


i'm also hoping for an ikea moment, if we have any spare time. i know, ikea is more like a "day" trip, but if i focus, perhaps i could just come home with one or two new inspirational finds. i usually kind of hyperventilate when i go there, and stand in the middle of the store paralyzed. i must overcome!

ah. forward is a good place to look, isn't it? happy friday all!

snack time

hey, what is everybody doing for the super bowl? any good recipes to share? i need some inspiration. i will probably make my sausage wontons, they are pretty much always a hit. some people put actual ranch dressing in them, but i use a pkg. of the dry mix without liquid ... you can warm them up the next day too, if they make it that long.

let me know what you're eating, and who you are rooting for!

Sausage Wontons

* 1 (16 ounce) package wonton wrappers
* 1 pound sausage
* 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup chopped black olives, drained
* 1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix (or 1 cup dressing)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a miniature muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. Insert wonton wrappers into the muffin pan so as to form small cups. Bake 5 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow the baked wrappers to cool. Remove from the pan.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the sausage, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, black olives and Ranch-style dressing. Fill the baked wonton wrapper cups with the mixture.
4. Bake the filled wonton wrappers 10 to 15 minutes, until the sausage mixture is bubbly and slightly brown. Watch closely so the wonton wrappers do not burn.

heartwrenching

i know there are lots of good blogs out there. lots. but something about this one makes me just in awe.

stephanie was burned terribly in a plane crash last summer. she nearly died. she is still only partially recovered, and has a long painful path in front of her.

she just started blogging again. and many of us are glad she is back.

http://www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/

me and louise

okay. louise and i. shwew, it's hard to use bad grammar even when you want to!


anyway. today i am thinking about louise pruitt. she's the lady that owned the gorgeous yellow suitcase i found this weekend at goodwill ($2).

i'm still in my yellow phase. truth be told, i've always been in my yellow phase, it's just kind of more fashionable right at the moment. in Heaven, my room is yellow, that i know :)


okay, back to the suitcase. it's a samsonite in MINT condition. well, one corner is kind of bent. it doesn't bother me at all.


what i love most is the inside. kind of a buttery yellow, with a faint polka dot finish. louise went and added a cute silver nametag, and signed it with her pretty handwriting. which is staying. because i love it.


now the fun part, the dreaming of how to take her to the next level. i'm thinking patchwork, because she has a dEEP curve which would be hard to make happen with one piece of fabric. whatever i do choose, i just hope it still stays yellow. louise would want it that way.

conundrum

CONUNDRUM UPDATE:
the boy responded to request for hootie concert quite nicely. he likes his voice, his new song on the radio, and even partially his hootie past. i'll let you know how the choice to attend the concert affects our romantic holiday - we got tickets!!

i just saw that darius rucker (former "hootie") is going to be here in SF on ... valentine's day.

dang.

not only do i think my honey would not like him much, i'm not sure that seeing one of my favorite favorite favorite cute singer men on valentine's day would exactly make me concentrate on phillip. i could be wrong.

:)

thrifting away

boy. tough week. it's so funny to wake up and not remember who you are or where you are!! that happened to me this morning.

then i remembered it's FRIDAY. friday is good. i think i might run over to a thrift shop or two over the noon hour. yesterday, after a meeting, i stopped at one of my fave shops, and picked up a few little treasures. oh, the love.

may your friday finds be lovely also :)

look at me!

i have a new necklet on today :)

i made it.

now, if i could just get a new neck...!

DIY for somebody else

i have decided that make-it-yourself gifts are the only way to go. no more malls, no more gift certificates and shopping cards, no more.

so i'm collecting ideas. somebody posted somewhere after the new year (i like how i reference my sources) that if you collect christmas gifts every month, starting in january, you'll have a wonderful, joyful, peaceful, less hectic december. i liked that idea.

so. you cannot make these too early. but you can make these. i think maybe for my brother. your brother might like them, too :)

oh ps. recipe here is from apartment therapy. don't go there. you'll never leave.

Homemade Caramels

Ingredients
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
* 2 teaspoons sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling on top. Sea salt is found in specialty food stores under the name "fleur de sel." You can also experiment with artisanal salts if you like.
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1/4 cup light corn syrup
* 1/4 cup water

Equipment
* 8" square baking pan
* Parchment paper
* Candy thermometer (or a deep-fat thermometer)
* Wax paper for wrapping or paper candy cups

Yield: About 40 caramels.

Directions
* Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper and lightly oil the paper.
* Bring the cream, butter and sea salt to a boil in a small saucepan; remove from heat and set aside.
* Boil the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan; then cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 248°F, the firm-ball stage.
* Carefully stir in the cream mixture—the mixture will bubble up. Simmer, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. The temperature should not go higher than 250°F.
* CANDYMAKER TIP: To get the caramel consistency you want, test by dropping a spoonful of caramel into a bowl of cold water. It will form a ball, which you can test with your fingers. Stop cooking when the ball is the consistency that you want.
* Pour the mixture into the baking pan and cool 2 hours.
* OPTIONAL: You can enrobe your caramels in tempered melted chocolate; sprinkle the top with some grains of sea salt (pretty salts make a difference); or press in some culinary lavender buds.
* Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, folding ends or twisting to close like taffy.
* ALTERNATIVE: Pour the caramel into individual candy cups.

sigh

girl movie nights are the BEST.

if i were obama

i would have had tracy chapman instead of itzak perlman (?) at my inauguration...

Dont you know
Theyre talkin bout a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
Dont you know
Theyre talkin about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper

While theyre standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion

Poor people gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people gonna rise up
And take whats theirs

Dont you know
You better run, run, run...
Oh I said you better
Run, run, run...

Finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin bout a revolution

question of the day

who will be my 100th friend on facebook, that is the "question of the day" today.

i am currently holding strong at 99 friends. in the running for the big 100th one is carey's brother mike, and another mike from high school who has "poked" me, but not asked to be my friend. what is THAT about?

kriminey. my world is not 100 people wide. i'm lucky to have 16 people on any given week that i communicate with. it's almost hard to believe i have known 100 people in my LIFEtime. i seriously must be old, because 100 seems like alot.

new day

i slept in past my usual 6am this morning, and as i sat down to the computer, i started contemplating the day. i kept thinking to myself "it's a new day today" - which was a kind of weird thought to have, because i am not a huge obama fan, or as i stated previously, "into" politics. however, i do recognize the new "wave" of expectance coming over our country. there is just change in the air. i started to think about how i form my expectations in life. i guess i think they are a huge part of who we are, and who we become.

This is neat, huh? i do like the unity that obama seems to bring among races.

many times, i base my expectations on what i have done or experienced before. last night for example, i went to a prayer meeting about the Holy Spirit at our church. we have a similar conference every year in january. as i was getting ready to go, i realized i was NOT excited, because i have seen the speaker before. it was as if i was expecting what would happen based on the SPEAKER, not on the Lord.

as it turned out, it was a good evening for me. there was an alter call, and i was able to pray and release some burdens. i experienced the warmth of the Lord. my evening really had nothing to do with the speaker, and everything to do with Jesus. i realize that i had set my expectations incorrectly. if i had come to the meeting EXPECTING an encounter with the living God, perhaps i would have had an even stronger visitation?!

so, today is a new day. ready or not, President Obama has a new vision for our country, and will begin to craft his vision for us as best he can. we will either support or rebel against those ideals i guess, and a "new" america will take shape accordingly.

i am ready for new also, but not surprisingly, my devotional for today suggested i should aim my expectations in a different direction. may you experience a day unlike any other day today also, in expectation of the things of Heaven.

Jesus answered and said to him,
’Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God’ — John 3:3

Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, "I have to do this thing or it will never get done." That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us "in the light as He is in the light . . ." (1 John 1:7).

the truth fits