Casting Away My Fears.

1 Peter 5: 6-7 says," Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for he cares for you."

This week just didn't start off very well. On top of what was to be an expensive issue with my car, old hurts were brought up from a personal issue and I still was feeling under the weather which has been going on for about 2 months.

When I found out that my car expense was going to cost me over $600, I freaked out. I didn't have that money to spend. When I told my Christian coworker friend all the issues that came upon me all of a sudden, she told me to look up the verse above, well actually just verse 7. This was all going down while at work. I have a handy dandy pocket bible at my desk (well, it's only the New Testament along with Psalms and Proverbs). I  stopped working and picked up my bible. I read the verse and then the whole little chapter of 1 Peter, chapter 5. I loved it. It was what I needed to hear that day. I read it over and over that day at work. I didn't think about how I was going to deal with my issues. I knew God would be there for me.

My car issues didn't cost me $600. It cost me $0. I took it for another opinion to get it looked at and it was a simple fix. I had a hunch it was just this simple fix. I just needed to get it to the dealership who would know best. When I found this out the very next day, I did my hallelujah Jesus dance around my house. It was actually kind of funny. In the meantime, I was dealing with the personal issue and that was getting better.

Then today came. I made it to the gym for 1 and 1/2 hours of a workout. An abs class and then Zumba.  I haven't felt well enough to go to the gym in about 2 months. While there I got a call from my Christian coworker friend asking if I wanted to have lunch as she was coming into my neck of the woods for the day. On my way to the restaurant I thought of God and began to shed a few tears and praised him. Because I was finally starting to feel better. Starting to feel a bit more like myself again. God is good. He is love.

I knew to give everything to God. But sometimes there needs to be something more that triggers your core. I feel it was this week. And 1 Peter, chapter 5. I am casting away my fears. I am viligent because my adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ( verse 8). Now when I see a lion walking around searching for his prey, I know I will be thinking of this verse.

What's a Rainbow?

According to Wikipedia:
"A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun."

Remember Roy G. Biv? Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet...all the colors of the rainbow.

God has many colors. I see God when I see a rainbow. Rainbows make me happy and childlike.

Last week, I was thinking of something that made me sad...I was sitting in my car at a shopping plaza getting ready to head to bible study. It had just rained. I looked up in the sky for some reason and saw a rainbow. I knew then that He was with me and my sadness disapeared. Jesus said for us to have childlike hearts.
   
And he said,"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children you will never   enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3 NIV

I guess its good that I become childlike again when I see a rainbow. It lets me see Him and know Him as I need too because without Him, I cannot face this life on Earth and will not see Him in his kingdom.

What do you see when you see a rainbow? When do you know He is with you?

More Stuff to Sell...

Okay, One of these days I'm just going to take a picture of the pile of stuff I have to sell. Seriously people...I've got a lot.

Necklaces $2
Topaz ring size 7 $2
Purses (brown $2 and green Nine West $4)
Brand new Croc flip flops size 7 (but are too big for me so someone with a size 8 could wear them. $8)
Brand new kitten heel shoe size 7 $4
Reebok Steeler Tshirt $5

Selling some of my favorite jewelry

I don't need all the things that I have. They just don't "fill me up". And I'm trying desperately to pay down some debt. So before I have my yard sale this year, I'm putting somethings out there for preview. Right now, it's some of my favorite jewelry. Most came from New York and Company and some from Avon. If you want to buy any from me, let me know. We can work out an arrangement to get it to you. These are items were never worn or worn once or twice.

Necklaces are $2.00
Earrings are $1.00

Tired.

I'm tired...of alot of things. I've been sick for most of this year so far...cold, sinus infection, influenza, ear infection, sinus infection, allergies, oh and there's more. I'm tired of it. I get so blue this time of year and I know that doesn't help with the immune system. I get stressed easily and when there is lots of snow to deal with, my stress levels goes higher. I have no motivation when it's cold and dreary out to do anything. I'm just tired of it all. I have so many different health problems. I'm only 34. If it's not one thing it's another.

I'm tired of the fact that some people might expect alot from me. I'm tired that I expect alot from different people myself. It's really all exhausting. I'm tired of responsibiltiy and watching my money. I haven't taken a vacation in what will be two years as my plans to NYC fell through. Couldn't have went to Hawaii this year with some friends and I was all ready to book my flight but in the end I decided that I shouldn't spend the money when I'm trying to get out of debt. GRRR!

Why is it that some people just have it easier in life. Sometimes I just don't want to be around those people. I get jealous. I get tired of my jealousy.

I feel exhuasted all the time. When I turned 30, it just kind of all started going down hill for me. When will it get better? OH I know I'm just singing the blues here and once spring rolls around, I'm sure I will get better. Just keep me in your prayers.

Recipe Challenge-Spinach and Cheese Casserole.

Spinach is a new favorite thing to eat for me. I'm not sure why but I just starting eating more of it. It's so good for you too. This recipe was a cut out from a newspaper or magazine...I just can't remember. You have to like spinach for sure.

Spinach and Cheese Casserole.

(It looks terrible when you first put it in the over but it's so good when done.)

2 10 ounce packages frozen spinach, thawed
1 onion chopped fine
2 gloves of garlic, minced (or use two teaspoons jarred minced garlic)
8 Tablespoons melted butter
6 eggs beaten
16 ounces cottage cheese (trust me when I say you can't even taste it if you don't like cottage cheese)
2 Tablespoons flour
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese grated
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Drain spinach well. Saute onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Mix spinach with eggs, cottage cheese and cheddar cheese, flour and the remaining butter. Add sauteed onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into baking dish and bake for 1 hour. Serves 8-10. (I made a small version of this recipe). Enjoy!

I'm In Love...

With Skye...the rag rug.

My sister Holly is busy making rugs. She's starting to name them. Holly named this one Skye and I told her I wanted to adopt the beautiful rug. She gave me Skye this past weekend when I was up home. You can see the post about Skye here. Skye's made of t-shirts, fabric and some sheets from a friend. I think she's made like 40 rag rugs so far. Man, I wish I had my sister's patience and talent. We've told her she needs to start selling them.

Thank you Holly for my beautiful rug!

What's for Dinner-Recipe Challenge-And a Sweet Dear Lady.

I love this dish my mom would make for us. This recipe actually came from our neighbor we had growing up...Faye Henry. She was like our family. Like another grandmother to us kids.

I remember every winter she would go to Florida and when she got back in about March or April she would have a little gift for me and my sisters.

I also remember going over to her house about every day after school to visit. We would play Yahtzee and drink ginger ale. I would usually run across our back yard and run up her back steps...I swear she had like 40 of them. Atleast to a little girl it seemed like a lot...probably really only 20. Her kitchen door was always open for me. I remember sometimes I would walk around the house outside with her and help her water flowers. She always had buckets at the end of the water spout to catch the rain water. We'd use that to fill up the watering cans. I'm getting teary eyed just remembering.

She died in 1994 and was 99. Her birthday was a week before my sister Holly's in December. She died just a little before her 100th birthday. She made a career out of being a Naval Nurse and spent years overseas. She also served in WW2. She was a dear, sweet lady. I can't play Yahtzee without thinking of her. And she sure did love her Yahtzee and now I do too!

Chicken Rice Casserole

Blend 1 can of cream of chicken soup and 1/2 cup milk. Stir in 4 cups of cooked, cubed chicken, 3 cups of cooked rice, 1 cup shreddded chedder cheese and 1 cup cooked peas. (I added 1 cup cooked chopped broccoli as well).

Put in casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until hot. Serves 6.

Recipe Challenge- White Chocolate Cheesecake

This recipe I got from an old roommate's mom. I made it probably 7 years ago and never made it since. I forgot about it until I was starting this challenge. It is so good and so simple to make.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

1 cup white chocolate chips
2 (8oz each) cream cheese
1 small container of Cool Whip (the french vanilla flavor works well too)
1 graham cracker or vanilla wafer already made crust

Melt white chocolate chips. Fold in with mixer cream cheese that has been softened at room temperature. Add cool whip. Put in pie crust. Let set in refrigerator at least 2 hours.



I topped then with grated white chocolate. Crushed cookies or strawberries would be good on top too.

Yummo!

Spending a day alone

Girl Talk Hop time. Today's question is...How would you spend a perfect day at home alone?

I've spent many days at home alone in my time. I love it. Peace, quiet, no one bothering me. I can do what I want, when I want.

When you live alone and are single, you get to experience this alot. And it doesn't bother me...unless it's a Saturday night and happens often. Which right now, that is not the case. I've been staying busy lately. Anyway...

A perfect day alone would consist of sleeping in. Sleeping in consists of getting up at like 9am. Sad, I know. I remember the days of sleeping in until noon. Then I would make myself a good and hearty breakfast with eggs, ham, hashbrowns and fruit. I would turn on the tube and watch TV for a couple hours. Probably Food Network or HGTV. Then I'd get to the computer and spend a couple hours on the net. Then I would spend time praying and reading my bible. After that, I would get out a book and read for a couple more hours. Then I'd probably take a nap. Reading makes me sleepy. After my 2 hour nap, I'd make myself some more food as I know I'd be hungry again. Actually, I'd probably graze all day on food. I'd do some things around the house that would probably need to be done...laundry, dishes, etc. I would take my time. No hurry. No need to be anywhere or tend to anyone. I'd do some crafting too while watching some more TV. Then it will probably be time for bed at about 11pm.

Sometimes this is really my life, if I'm not working. It makes me happy to be a homebody. I've become more of a homebody in the last year or so. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I get stressed out there in this crazy world.

How would you spend your perfect day alone? Hop on over to Girl Talk and see what others said or to participate.

Recipe Challenge- Chicken Stuffed Shells

I have to tell you, this was one of my favorite dishes that my mom would make growing up. Mom put this recipe in my cookbook she made. This is easy and a nice hearty meal on a cold winter's night.

Chicken Stuff Shells

1 box jumbo shells, cooked
4 cups diced cooked chicken
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced chopped onion
1 cup mayonaise, can use the low calorie version. Do not use Miracle Whip.
1 box stuffing mix, follow directions on box and prepare.
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup water

Mix all ingredients together except cream of chicken soup and water. Stuff shells with mixture. Put in baking dish. Mix the soup and water together in separate bowl. Pour over shells. Bake 1 hours at 350 degrees.

Definately could use left over turkey and stuffing from Thanksgiving for this recipe. I stuffed mine pretty full of the filling. I only was able to use 1/2 the shells.


YUM!

Check out the reason behind my recipe challenge here.

Things I swear by...

Hello. It's time for another Girl Talk Hop. They want to know things that I swear by...you know things like cleaning products, health care items, etc, whatever you can't live without. I have a laundry list of things.

1. Vitamin B complex. It gives me so much energy. It's to convert food into energy. If ever I feel very fatigued, I take this supplement and within a couple hours I'm not so tired anymore.

2. Vitamin D3. They say we don't get enough of it, especially if you live in stated that don't see the sun alot in the winter months. Helps with moods and your immune system especially. I take this supplement everyday. Since I've been taking it, I don't get sick as often.

3. Walnuts. I try to eat a handful of them a day. They help curb the appetite. Sure they are high in fat but it's the good for you fat. High in Omega 3 fatty acids. And your body needs that for heart health. Helps keep the bad cholesterol down (LDL-aka-lousy cholesterol).

4. Magnesium. When I was talking to my doctor a couple years ago about my PMS and moodiness/depression, she told me to take a magnesium suppliment. It works. Doesn't completely take it away but it helps. Magnesium is for nerve and muscle funtions. Hmm...makes sense to me that it would help my brain. It's also good for constipation as well. Even when I don't get enough fiber in a day...this keeps me regular. Hehe.

5. Glucosamine with MSM. You have bad knees and other joint pain, this works. It takes about a month to kick in but I'll tell you, when I forgot to take it...my knees will hurt all over again. I just tried to take Glucosamine but it didn't seem to help as much. I heard that the MSM with it works best.

6. Petrolium Jelly aka Vaseline. Great on chapped lips, and dry hands and feet.

7. Zumba. That's right. It makes me sad when I can't make it to my zumba classes for whatever reason. It keeps my weight under control, stronger, more toned, my heart conditioned and is my fun mood booster.

What things do you swear by?

How much is too much...

How many articles of clothing do you own? How many shoes, purses, earings, necklaces? Oh I have alot. I'm sure others have more than me. It kind of stresses me out...thinking about how much I own. How much money is sitting in my closet. Yep, that's right, sitting there. It's bad when you still have tags on some of it. Or, you still have it sitting in the shopping bag for a month or more.

You would think I would never have a problem finding something to wear but I have those days thinking, "I have nothing to wear". Yep, I'm one of those as I know many women are where you put about 5 outfits on and don't like any of them.

Do you find that you wear the same stuff over and over again, week after week, even though you know you have enough clothing sitting in your closet to not have to do that.

The other day, I realized I wore the same outfit to work for the past month or more. (this is what prompted this post) And here's the thing...I only go into the office every other day so I know I could change up my outfits more often because I'm not using up the clothes as quickly. When I'm home working, I stay in my pj's or just put on jeans and a bummy shirt. Maybe that's my problem... No, it can't be, when I dress bummy or just casual, I still end up wearing the same thing over and over. Seriously people, I could go two weeks or more and not do laundry. Yes and even have clean unders. Hehe. But I could never do that. I hate laundry piling up.

So, I'm doing a closet overhaul. They say if you haven't used or worn it in 6 months then get rid of it. (I try to use the 1 year mark for me on something. Or they say, everytime you bring something new into your house, get rid of something. Some items I just love.) It's just stuff, right. Doesn't make me happy. I can't take it to the grave with me. I don't get rid of things that I've treasured over the years...like all my homemade gifts from friends and family.

Just trying to live the more simple life.

How much stuff do you have in your closets? Do you get stressed looking at it all? If you do, maybe you should think about cleaning house. Ever have a shelf break because of all your stuff?

Here's what I have:
40 total of jeans/pants/shorts/capris (this includes all dressy and casual)
14 total of skirts and dresses
30 total of jackets/blazers/shrugs (I have 4 black shrugs. Why? My thinking..they all went with different tops)
205 total shirts and tanks (dressy and casual) Yeah that's a crazy number.
38 shoes and purses (I have 4 pairs of sneakers...1 is still only good.)
50 earings/necklaces/braclets.

And' I've got rid of clothes over the years and even recently.

Ever actually count all the items in your clothes closet. It might shock you...in a good way or bad.

Black Bean Burgers

This is such an easy dinner. You have to like beans though. If you buy the frozen veggie burgers from the grocery store, you won't after you've had these. They are so much better. Fresh tasting. I got this recipe from one of my magazines...sorry don't know which one.

2 Tbsp. oil
1 stalk celery finely chopped
1 small onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced ( I used 1 tsp.
minced garlic in the jar)
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet. (I used parchment paper).Warm oil in skillet over medium heat-high heat. Add celery and onion. Stir 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Pour beans into a bowl and mash into a thick paste. Add celery mixture, egg, cumin and bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Form into 4 patties and bake on baking sheet until set firm, about 10 minutes on each side.





Don't forget the beano...hehe!

Frustrated with myself

I hate that I'm a slow reader.

I started a book club and we are starting our 3rd year. It's been a blast. Here's the thing...sometimes I don't get the whole book read in a month. I hate that. I try to read every chance I get but sometimes I just don't have time or don't feel like reading a certain day or two. Maybe that's my problem. I need to pick up that book every day.

I have 200 hundred more pages to read in a book before this weekend. I know I'm not going to get it done. I feel bad. I'm the leader. I should be reading the whole thing. Some of the girls (I call them girls but they are women) tease me. I laugh too. If you can't laugh at yourself, then life's no fun. I know they are not being mean just being playful. That's ok...but sometimes I keep thinking about it and get mad. There have been a few books that I just couldn't get into but most of the books I like, I just can't seem to get them done.

I had a month and a half to read this book for January...but I didn't get it until close to Christmas...yeah it took that long to get here when I ordered it. I'm just still frustrated. I know I'm not going to get next months read either as it is a long book too. When I hear of people reading a book in a 2 weeks or even 2 days, I'm like "don't you have anything else pulling you away from your reading, like work, or cooking or taking care of kiddos?" I must have bad time management. Yet, I think I manage my time well at work. I'm hardly late for things and if I am it's only like 5 minutes. Seriously people, how do you do it? Sometimes I skim just to get done. I don't like doing if I can help it. I've always been slow at learning things and remembering what I've read too. I hated taking those apptitude tests in school and even when I took the SAT's. I felt so dumb. I never wanted to tell my scores to anyone else if they asked. I would always do so much better in the math and science portions.

Before I started at the community college, I had to take a test to see what level I was at for math, reading and english. Of course I had to start in the prep reading class. (I was out of school for 3 years before I started college) I was fine for the others classes. I became the star student in that class where everyone turned to for answers.

Well, I best get to reading and get off this computer.

I guess this post was just for me to vent. That's really all I have to say.

Recipe Challenge- Peanut Butter Cookies

Honestly I love peanut butter cookies yet hardly eat them or make them. Did you know you can make peanut butter cookies without the flour. Yep, just pb, egg and sugar. They are good and you can't tell there isn't any flour in them. This is good if you have a gluten allergy.

Anyway, I'm going to share with you the recipe that my mom gave to me in my cookbook she made for me. You can check out my previous post regarding my recipe challenge for the year. I was bored and wanted to make something this morning. I've been getting over a cold and living on soup. I made sure my hands were thoroughly washed, had hand sanitizer and walked out the room every time I needed to cough...which slowed down my baking. I'm giving them away. I don't need them around the house.

Peanut Butter cookies

1 and 1/4 cup of flour
3/4 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp. of baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup of peanut butter

Mix sugars, shortening, and peanut butter. Then add egg. Add dry ingredients.

Roll into balls in sugar take a fork and make the criss-cross design on them.




Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.



YUM!

Recipe Challenge in 2011

Okay kids...here's the deal. I love to cook and bake. I love to feed it to other people because well face it, I don't need to eat the whole batch of cookies I make (even if I halve the recipe.)

I have a lot of cookbooks and recipes that I have gathered through the years and well, I rarely use them or just make the same stuff all the time. When you are cooking for one, who wants to make a big dish. I like leftovers but not all week. :)

My mom made me a cookbook when I got my first apartment of all the dishes she knew I liked and that she made through the years. So sweet of her. I've only ever cooked a few things out of this which consisted of probably 40-50 recipes.




So I decided to challenge myself and cook everything out of it this next year. Then I looked at the recipe book I kind of made for myself. It is just a big photo book with cut out recipes from magazines or computer print outs from friends and such over the years.




Between both cookbooks I have 100 recipes that I'm going to cook and blog this coming year. If I like this challenge, I may just take my other "bought' cookbooks and make all the recipes out of them the following years to come. We'll see though. This won't turn into a food blog but it will take up most of my posts this year.

For the new year I'm going to share with you our dumpling recipe. My mom would make pork, saurkraut and dumplings every year for new years. We would have family over. There would also be corn and mash potatosas well. Oh so good. I didn't have potatoes in the house but everything else was yummy. Just as good as when my mom would make it. You make the port and saurkraut in the over and then when it has about 30-45 minutes of cooking time left you add in the dumplings (already made) to get that taste of the pork and saurkraut. I didn't make the whole batch because it makes a ton. I only did a fourth of the recipe. It was easy for the eggs as I had some egg beaters egg substitute and used that. Easy to measure out eggs that way.



Dumplings:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt

Mix and drop by teaspoon into boiling water. Cook 10 minutes, covered. Will float to top of water.

You can use these was a dumpling recipe for soups and stews I'm sure but we've only ever had them this way. Yummy.