Latest Reads

After much hesitation I have officially jumped on board the e-device craze and bought a Kindle Fire. I had saved up alot of amazon gift cards from surveys, etc and they had this crazy deal on a refurbished one so I bit the bullet and used gift cards to purchase it. Even considering it was "free", at least out of pocket I still had a little buyers remorse at first. But now, I am really loving it!

I love that I can do more than just read on it. It's no ipad, but it's pretty good for an e-reader tablet. And of course I am loving all the books. I have been able to find so many free downloads and have even borrowed e-books from our library. So I guess I am hooked on my Kindle.

So what have I been reading lately with this new contraption...alot of cook books or how to books, but some actual book, books.

1. I finished the Hunger Games Series: Kept my attention held and was a very captivating story, but very violent and can't say that I enjoyed all of it. I just wanted it to be over.  I thought it brought up some very heavy themes as to the human condition and what we are truly capable of.

2. Eat that Frog: this is one I borrowed from the library and I will say it is part of what helped me to get motivated to actually set the goals I have for my cookbook and blog. I am ready to start eating that frog! It is actually a really good book for those of us who never seem to have enough time to do what they want to do.

3. Right now I am reading In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham. This book is really good. I can't believe I was lucky enough to find a free copy. It is the story of Gracia and her husband who were missionaries in the Phillipines. While celebrating their anniversary they were taken captive, along with others, by a Muslim terrorist group. It is a very detailed account of their time in captivity. I can't imagine going through what they did, and I am anxious to continue reading and learn how she eventually escapes. It also reminds me of the humanity of "terrorists" and their need for the truth as well.

I haven't been reading quite as much lately just because it's the summer and I want to get outside and enjoy it as much as possible.

Girls Shopping Weekend

This weekend was a gift to my sister and I from my mom. Belated birthday gifts if you will. We got to hang out all day, seriously, we were going from like 10am to 8pm. Of course we had a few breaks to eat too. It was a good time. We shopped til we dropped! Again, seriously, I was so ready to crash by the time I got home.

I found a few good deals, but mostly it just amazes me how expensive clothes are. Goodwill is my favorite store! I was excited to find a super cute dress at this really cool thriftish store called Ragstock. It was only $8. It's really such a fun store. You never know what you can find.

We had a scrumptious lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and dinner with the men at Chevy's before we hit a few more stores and called it a night.

The Vietnamese Taco plate at Cheesecake Factory

My last purchase from Walmart. Fresh Basil and the official start of my herb garden!

Sunday was a great day to crash after our long shopping day. I tried to make a new recipe, but I think I needed more chicken and I think the cucumber yogurt sauce was a little too garlicky. It made my tongue burn. But the picture looked cool so I thought I would share anyway. They were Chicken Souvlaki Pitas with Tahini Sauce. Unfortunately that recipe will not make the cut, but on the flip side I get to throw something out. At least I've got the hummus nailed!

Our buffet style make your pita to taste

Along with my quest to stay disciplined at blogging I am trying to create my own "cookbook". Not one I've written, but a compilation of all the recipes we like and want to eat again and again. I have a billion recipes in folders that we like and that we haven't tried. So I am typing them all up so they'll be nice and uniform and one day I will print them out and make a binder. So far I've been on track with a few a day. As I come across some yummy ones I will definitely share them.

Til tomorrow....

The Lord is My Rock

Sometimes my mind just thinks of analogies for so many things. In bible study last week our group was discussing the memory verse.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." - Psalm 19:14

So the question was asked, "What does it mean for God to be your rock?"

Of course things were said such as a steady stronghold. But I immediately thought of a game of tag. So in my head I had us all running around and the "Rock" was the safety zone. You know, where you go to and you can't be tagged out. Jesus is our Rock, our Safety Zone. When everything is trying to take you out, He's the only place you can cling to and be safe.

So that's my analogy for today. Cling to the Rock!

Don't Cry Over Boiled Milk

Last weekend was a great cooking day for me. I made cheesecake ice cream, which is absolutely delicious! I also made pico de gallo for a taco night, a large batch of waffles to freeze for breakfasts, which we have been enjoying this week and a dessert for my dad for Father's Day (Coconut Lime Semifredo). I'd say it was a success. The only mishap was when the milk mixture for the dessert sort of decided to explode all over the stove. That put a slight damper on my progress, but now I have a nice clean stove! 

The stacks of waffles made before freezing.

I attempted some homemade whipped cream and fruit for Sunday's breakfast waffles. I think I need to add more sugar next time but the fruit was good!

Ever since I got married I have enjoyed learning to cook. While my mom is really good in the baking department I think I lean more towards everything else. I can make some ok baked goods, but I think I prefer just other things in general. I am loving learning the art of cooking and freezer cooking and making things that I thought only came in cartons in the store. It's really freeing and fun. And I am amazed at the simplest things that I never knew about food and cooking. Well...back to the kitchen to make dinner. Fajitas tonight....

Thoughts on Trials from a Tightrope Walker

Not sure if you heard about the crazy man, Nik Wallenda who became the first man in history to walk a tightrope across Niagra Falls. Granted he's the first that's been allowed to try, but he did succeed. It happened last Friday night. It's really a pretty cool story and John and I enjoyed watching it live.

ABC Story with more details and actual footage

In his interview after the walk one thing he said struck me as rather profound and applicable to our spiritual lives as well. There is a good chunk of his walk where he is getting bombarded with the mist and wind that the Falls generate. The video showed just how wet it was. When asked how that part was he replied that it was tough and he wanted nothing more than to run and get through it, but he had to just take it one step at a time.

It made me think how I like to respond to harsh conditions, to situations less than ideal. I like to be out of them as soon as possible. I think that's our natural inclination. But if he had followed his natural inclination then he probably would have fallen to his death (except for the harness he was wearing would have caught him). But still, it would have ruined his dream if he had tried to get through the rough spot in a hurry. Sometimes I think we are so bent on getting out of our rough spot that we do more harm to ourselves or those around us then if we just accept things for what they are and just move forward, one step at a time. Rough spots in life never last forever, though I will admit, some seem to last an awful long time.

So my advice to myself from this is to not be in such a hurry to clear the storm. That may in fact create another scenario even worse than the original. Just take it one step at a time and trust that God will get me through it.

The Big Move

May was a hectic month. It was the when the big move occurred. I am frustrated with myself that I don't have any pictures of our Uhaul, but alas, amidst the chaos of the move taking pictures wasn't my first priority. Packing was not fun. Our tiny apartment became even tinier really quickly and we had to designate 1 wall to stack all our boxes so we had room to still move around.

This was moving day. Just finishing up the last of everything in the morning.

The pantry was bare, minus a few last minute items

Taking apart the bed was a challenge in our tiny room as well.

Somebody help me...please!

Me and mom packing up the last of everything while the guys go get the Uhaul.

Overall it went pretty smoothly. We ended up making two trips with the truck. The only thing that gave us trouble was the couch, but it did make it. Which is good because I really like our couch. We moved up in the world. Left behind a tiny first floor apartment and now are in a much more spacious top floor (4th) condo. It feels like the lap of luxury to me.

A great moving in picture. There was no rhyme or reason to anything, but everything made it in.

Putting stuff away in the kitchen. We have a skylight in the kitchen which is amazingly cool!

Chuck putting the bed back together in our new bedroom.

Our view from the treetops

After things are more picked up.

Bedroom getting in order

Dad taking a much needed rest after a long day of moving.

Our dining room. New table for us. Gotta love garage sales!

Our living room with everything where it belongs, for the most part. It's so spacious. I love it!

I feel so blessed to be here. Even though we are still just renting I love this place. It suits our needs perfectly right now! Everyday I thank God for giving us this wonderful place to live. Did I mention we have a storage unit, and a garage space as well. So much space! I love it!