whatever is

on the heels of a tough emotional election week, i read a blog post the other day that picked a favorite scripture to sum things up.

i think i'll do the same today.


Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Phillipians 4:8

whatever is true?
in this time of uncertainty in our world, i believe that Jesus is true. He was, is, and is to come. and the security i get from knowing that is the TRUEST of truth i have ever experienced.


whatever is honorable?
my cute husband-to-be is honorable. after many, many years of not living honorably, he has made the choice to do so. he is a different man than he was. he is learning to live the life God meant for him, and that is honorable. i am grateful for his choice.

whatever is just?
treating people as you would like to be treated is just. it's good to remember, as we enter this season of giving. democrat or republican, black or white, it's "just" to offer a hand when we can. i hope that we all can find ways to practice that over the holiday season.

whatever is pure?
life, and the joy of experiencing new life. on the heels of the defeat of the abortion ban here in SD, a sweet friend has announced she is pregnant. and her baby-to-come is a pure joy to all of us that love her. thank you Lord!

whatever is lovely?
today, after i read her blog post, i think that chris is lovely, and her little furry friends are, too. susan is lovely too, in her tribute to her wonderful grandma. isn't loving lovely?

whatever is commendable?
the presence of good, and the acknowlegement of choosing it, is commendable. in these days of "talk tv," it's commendable to spend our words wisely. to speak of things that build up, rather than tear down. that's my hope for myself this week – to focus on the good, and to become a person that makes this world better.

happy monday all!

flipping over

with a couple of inches of snow under my belt,

a new anthropologie christmas email in my inbox,

an almost finished afghan on my lap,

and one more day in a horrendously long week to make it thru,

i guess i am finally giving in to the season.
so far, so good.

random acts

this has been a strange week. maybe it's all the talk of the election and "change" - or maybe it's the rumble around town that the bad economy has finally hit our little sheltered city.

dunno. but i've had some anxiety. the phone has not rung for a few weeks, and even though i am still "cranking" on some projects i had going, i have nothing coming up for the forseeable future (i take that back, a current client just called with a small job this morning).

why, oh why do i worry so? i have had a FABULOUS year. i was able to finance a big chunk of a new car, new appliances and new windows for mabel - without DEBT. that is amazing.

i have NEVER ever advertised. kind of funny for a girl in advertising, eh? but seriously, God has provided great clients for almost 7 years now. always. faithfully, to my amazement.

worry is dumb. i know this, and still.


so, i had set aside some $$ for a new couch. i finally found one at slumberland this past week on sale. but now, i feel too scared to buy it. maybe i feel guilty for all the stuff i already have. i don't know. is living with the old couch an impossibility? as you can see, siesta likes it. a LOT. :)

arrrrrrgh. pray for God's peace to come to me today, will ya? the world and its shifting sand is getting to me.


in other news, i have 115 squares done! i am darned amazed at me. i really enjoy granny squares, who knew? going to 121 and then we'll see if i need to make more. sigh. happy.

snow is coming, but right now it's sunny and beautiful out! thank you LORD for the wonderful fall we have had!

gettin' ready

hey all,

now that the election is over, it's time to get ready for winter. good thing, 'cause the first "winter storm" is set to hit SD in the next couple of days. so hard to believe, it's still in the 60s/almost 70 degrees here!

anyway, phillip and i have devised a plan. we are going to watch "Northern Exposure" from beginning to end (that is, if we can afford the dang blasted dvds).

if you can't already figure it out, both he and i are "tv" people. i grew up in rural SD LOVING my tv. loving it. to be honest, i did not have a normal childhood where i stayed over with friends, or socialized after school. but yes, i did have tv. and i did make friends there.

still, it's no wonder i love working at home and commiserating with you blog friends so much, eh?

well. i am excited. i HOPE the series is half as good as i remember it being. i hate how goofy stuff looks sometimes, when you look back. but my gut tells me that john corbett will NEVER go out of style :))

beam me up

today is the final day (supposedly) of beautiful, sunny 70 degree november weather. tomorrow is supposed to be 35 degrees colder, and rainy/snowy.

therefore, one of us thinks finding a sunbeam to lay in is a very very important thing to do.

i think i'll take her cue, and get my work done asap so that i can go spend a bit of time outside this afternoon :)

i'm voting for him

well, today is finally the big day. we've all grown kind of weary of the hype, and just want to get on with it, already.

last night our worship group prayed for 3 hours about the election, and it left me thinking about what i'm voting for. WHY i'm voting today, what it means to me.

i am voting for life. first and foremost, i'm voting for the right to life. i know, some people want to put that right in a little box, off to the side, and talk about the economy and healthcare and stuff. in my heart, i know that isn't the way it should be. i want to respect that life is an undeniable right that we all have, it's a tenet of our republic.

i am voting for people who want to see this land restored. revitalized. reshaped. i guess maybe all the candidates want that. it's just that i am voting for candidates who know that apart from God, they cannot do the big things that need to be done. it's hard to separate that factor out with a lot of the people you see. sometimes, you feel like you have NO choice, even though we always do.

i am recognizing that God set each person running for office into the position that they hold today, as well as tomorrow. he designs things for a purpose. he is not out of control, and he still knows the way, the good way. whether or not the candidate(s) that in my head i feel are the right ones win, i know that he has a plan for good, if we will submit and turn to him. that will never change, no matter who wins or loses. whichever candidate wins, we as americans should honor and respect that person, and pray for their righteousness. i'm voting for that.

i guess when it all comes down to it, i'm voting for hope. that's been a big buzz word in this election, but i think it's been a misdirected word, a hollow term. our hope can only come from one source. and i pray that today he shows himself to us, and leads us in the ways we should go.

guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalm 25:5

happy election day, everyone.

for cassie

go get yourself a bread machine, girl. you will never be sorry :) it's almost as easy as ordering out!

here is our "friday night tradition" pizza:

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

1 cup water
4 teaspoons olive oil or cooking oil
3 cups bread flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon active dry yeast or bread machine yeast
Cornmeal (optional, but i think it's good to use)

Directions

Add all of the ingredients except cornmeal to a 1-1/2- or 2-pound bread machine according to the manufacturer's directions. Select the dough cycle. When the cycle is complete, remove dough from machine. Punch down. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

For thin-crust pizza: Divide dough in half. For each pizza, grease an 11- or 12-inch pizza pan or a large baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle pan with cornmeal. On lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion of dough into a 12- or 13-inch circle. Transfer to prepared pan, building up edge slightly. Prick crust with a fork. Do not let dough rise. Bake in a 425 degree F oven 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Add desired topping. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until edge of crust is golden brown and the topping is bubbly.

For thick-crust pizza: Grease a 13- or 14-inch pizza pan. If desired, sprinkle greased pan with cornmeal. With greased fingers, pat dough into prepared pan, building up the edge. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until nearly double. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Add desired topping. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes more or until the topping is bubbly.Makes 6 servings.

good time to start

did you know that today is the start of
National Novel Writer's Month?




hmmmm.

anybody interested?!


:)

haunting

last night phillip and i watched "in the valley of elah" for the first time. i don't know why i never hear about these movies when they come out, but it seemed okay in the video store, cause i love tommy lee jones.

i was not prepared for the heaviness.

this is not a kid movie, but if you want to have a look at the war from the perspective of a soldier, and his father who thought he had a perspective because he was a veteran, but who found out he was not prepared for how things are now, this is the movie.

i cried at the end.

how's that for a recommendation?!

thursday cute

must stop thinking about stuffed animals to sew.

must not stop looking though :)

find these really really cute ones here.

babyness

i love babies. probably a good thing i don't have any, because i have no idea what to do with them :)

but when phillip mentioned that a co-worker from Africa was about to have his first, we both thought it might be a good idea for me to take a break from the gazillion granny square project, and whip up a blanket.

i bought the biggest, fluffiest yarn i could find, and it was absolute HELL to work with. never again. but it did come out kind of cute and yes, big and fluffy like i was hoping. since they had their baby girl yesterday, it is just the right timing, too.

now i have a million ends of big fat yarn to sew in. oh, and a box of matching confetti cupcakes to make :)

babies are good.

apply now

...now accepting applications for a suitable partner to go see this movie with sometime soon.

i loved the book, hoping i will love the movie even more!

boys need not apply.

new routine

if i had to do a photo essay to sum up my life right now, this one pic is probably all i'd really need. well, it would be better if it had a piece of pie in it. otherwise, life has settled into "cold weather" season quite nicely. evenings of crochet, reading magazines, and the new dvr are quite comfy and fun. i don't know why i resisted so much.


not that i'm keeping count, but i have 85 of these puppies done (well, the ends are not sewn in. i gave up on that after about 20) as of last night. i want SO BADLY to lay them out and see how they look, but i promised myself i would go to 100 first. will not be long.

in other news, the new print from nate duval that i ordered arrived last week. luckily, i ran across a perfectly nice 18x24 frame a few weeks ago for $2 at a thrift mart, so i was good to go with it as soon as the mailman dropped it off. whhhhhhheeeeee.


now, my view from the couch is looking pretty sweet :) good thing, since i'll be looking at this until about april 2009!

where have i been?

do you guys know Laura Story?

where have i been that i had never heard of her?

i guess it doesn't matter, because today she is just what i needed. she sings the song "mighty to save" so so so so well....

tip o' the day

if you're procrastinating with dealing with fall leaves everywhere, and you just cannot get yourself to go outside and rake them up, because you are sick to death of dead stuff, and you wait and you wait and you wait....

one day, you might find that a 74 mile per hour wind has come along fortuitiously and made the whole raking thing unnecessary.


hmmmph.

don't worry. be happy.

i worry alot. that is probably an understatement, but it's still a fact. i worry about whether next week will look like this week. i worry about winter coming. i worry about phillip's new job, and my old one. one thing i look forward to is the weekend, it seems i give myself permission not to worry so much.

anyway, i was a little nervous about church this sunday, because somehow i got involved in the decision to take a group of Jamaican workers on temporary leave in SF, out to lunch. i guess our church came to the rescue when a call came in that approx. 30 Jamaicans (along with 30 people from the Congo!) had shown up in COLD south dakota with a visa to work at the john morrell plant for a few weeks (months?), and did not have alot. so our pastor thought it might be a good idea to take a few people out to eat.

truthfully, i usually don't volunteer for this sort of thing - what will i say?! i don't speak jamaican! what DO jamaicans speak?! i am not a "people" person, to say the least. i would much rather hang out with cats and dogs. anyway, phillip advised me to jump out of my comfort zone, and we volunteered together.

so, it turned out fine. no, it was good. of course, a dear older couple from our bible study was standing right in the "greet zone" so that i was not afraid. the 4 of us teamed up, and by the time it was over, we had 13 people to 1) get to the restaurant; 2) buy the buffet for; and 3) get to their homes when we were done...it was crazy at KFC! but everyone (who thankfully spoke ENGLISH) was hungry and very nice. we sat with a younger man who had quite an entertaining personality, and a quieter older (my age?) woman who i immediately liked.

i even offered up to have her over, and cook a jamiacan meal together before they leave. we gave them our phone numbers, and we'll be giving rides to church/bible study for the next few weeks. oh. and praying. lots of praying, because it's hard work that they came for, and hard to be so far away from home.

but i'm sure God will figure out a plan, no need to worry, right?

temporary silence

okay, i am feeling pretty happy with myself right now. since last friday, i have not been able to make comments on my own blog. who woulda THUNK that would send my world into a spin?!

anyway, it's kind of hard not to say "hi" or "yes, that's red enchilada sauce" when you need to. but it reminded me of the time when i lived in an apartment, and my oven quit working. since my landlords lived out of town and i didn't want to "bother" them, or have them putzing in my house, to be honest, i did not call them. for FIVE years. i ended up using the oven for storage, which was sorely needed, and did not look back. sometimes, denial is a good way to deal with adversity.

this time however, i was determined to not just accept the duct tape on my mouth. so this morning, i accessed the "blogger help group" and low and behold, several people had the same trouble last friday, and one of them figured out the solution (switching their comment box to a "pop up" window). that worked!!!

schwew.

now if i actually had anything important to say :)
happy sunday!

friday food

yesterday, i had lunch with cass and kristie. chicken tortilla soup on a wet, chilly day. it was so yummy, that i came home and made some in the crock pot for supper as well! i did a couple of things differently from the recipe, i'll mark those on the recipe below. but for the most part, this tasted just like the restaurant!


ps. for some reason, i cannot make comments on my own blog anymore. which is kind of like having my tongue cut out. thankfully, it will still let me post! please keep talking to me, or i will go insane :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup In the Crockpot

• 1 pound shredded, cooked chicken ( i used 3 frozen chicken breasts)
  
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers ( i used 1/4 c. chopped green pepper)
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups water
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder ( i used a few red pepper flakes instead; don't much care for the taste of chili powder)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf (omitted)
  
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro ( i used dried)
• (i also added one can of black beans, drained)
  

1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet. (i just sprinkled some tortilla chips on top).
   
4. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup. ( i also added some shredded cheddar, and a dollop of sour cream ;)

comfort able

okay. so it's the first really crappy day we have had here, wet and rainy and cold. and i have been in and out and in and out and in, all day so far.

so i just ordered me a big ole fluffy down comforter.

am i starting to get kind of weak, or what?! i cannot STAND the idea of cold. not even the thought of it.

i am so in trouble :)

symphony time

i seriously love paula deen. i am just always captivated by how beautiful she is! don't you think? maybe it's the hair, and maybe it's the laugh, and maybe it's the accent, or maybe it's all three. it might be that i am even a little jealous that she lives in my dream city, savannah, georgia. dunno. anyway, in the midst of trying to figure out how to get the @#$%^& dvr to work, i saw her on tv yesterday. and actually WENT TO THE STORE to buy the stuff to make these brownies.


wow. wow squared. wow quadrupled. i did not use the foil, and they came out of the pan fine. but for the love of goodness, you have to cut them in 2" squares. any more than that and you will DIE of chocolate overload. oh. and eat 'em warm. if they are not warm, microwave for 10 seconds, then eat them :)

who cares if the dvr is hard to use, if you have these to distract you?!

Paula Deen's Symphony Brownies:

One 17.6-ounce package brownie mix with walnuts
Three 5-ounce Symphony candy bars with almonds and toffee chips

Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions. Line a 13x9 in cake pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Spoon in half of the brownie batter and smooth with a spatula. Place the candy bars side by side on top of the batter. Cover with remaining batter. Bake according to package directions. Let cool completely, then lift from the pan using the edges of the foil. This makes it easy to cut the brownies into squares.