What a Gift, Your Friendship & Bread

So much sweetness in this life...

 

Family.

Friends.

Faith.

Food.

Yep, I am a foodie.

I love it.

My hubby and I love trying new recipes,

and 10 days ago

we received a new one,

Amish Friendship Bread.

I had never heard of this bread before,

 so I was pretty excited to receive it,

but also a little nervous to try it.

Ooh, the pressure...

My friend gave me a bag of dough,

that came with 10 days of instructions.

What if I mess up the recipe and my friend asks me how it turns out?!

What if I tell people about the bread, then ruin it and

I don't get to give any out?

Can you believe I was nervous about bread?

Well, I was!

I'm a “what if” girl.

I have a tendency to let fears get to me.

I'm an often quiet, shy girl,

who sometimes worries about mistakes

before

I even make them!

I'm a lot of other things too.

I just have to

to remind

myself sometimes.

I'm a creative type.

I'm a wife, mother, step-mother, and friend.

 I’m a personal chef, chauffeur and a baker.

I’m a college grad and homemaker.

A former school teacher, a scrapbooker and a maid.

I’m a freelance/blog writer and avid reader.

I’m a child care coordinator, and personal events planner.

I’m responsible, compassionate,

careful, and loyal.

I’m a nifty, thrifty, crafty girl,

And a savvy problem solver might I add.

I wear many hats.

I try lots of things.

I have experience.

Yet, even after

knowing

all of the things that

I know,

I still

at times

spend time

worrying

About the things

that  

I don’t.

I am smart

enough to know,

some things just don’t matter.

Who cares if I make a mistake,

life will go on.

And as I have gotten older,

 I have learned to worry

(a little) less

and to say

who cares

(a little) more.

The days goes by so fast,

 and

I shouldn't stress about silly things.

Sometimes I get it right.

Sometimes I don’t.  

I don’t have to

worry about everything

and care so much

because I know that

God

cares enough for the both of us.

Yet, still,

I have my moments

and on occasion

I'll find myself nervous,

only to discover

that I worried for no reason at all.

Everything turned out better than expected.

Just like ~ this bread ~ last night.

And

even if it wouldn't have turned out perfectly,

I would have been just fine,

after all...

making mistakes is part of the growing process…

in the kitchen,

and

in life.

And I do realize that the best part of this bread,

Wasn't the  bread itself,

but the

friendship

that came with it!

30 – 3 things old seen new…dinner trays repainted, journals retyped, new blossoms on our old bush   

31 – a gift on a paper, in a person, in a picture…a card I found while cleaning that was given to my hubby a few years ago, my mother-in-law’s call (who’s bday was today), a drawing along with a hole in the wall, because my niece unexpectedly tacked a picture up for me in my office

1 – a visit from a friend, his time and love, putting together a puzzle with the kids

2 - hubby won a trip, she’s happy to go because she loves him, the power is in believing

3 – clarity, expression, revelation

4 - invitations made with my little one, a newly hatched bird in her cage, crumbs she left… because she was home

5 – a blouse from my friend, the bench that my hubby made with me, her red heart blanket

Chocolate Stuffed French Toast

 My mom bought me a Pillsbury recipe book for my birthday.

It has so many yummy ideas.

The first thing I had to try was the

Chocolate Stuffed French Toast.

It was a really easy and fast recipe

made using my two favorite ingredients -

chocolate & bread.

Mmmm...

 The first Step was to slice the french bread.

Then spread Honey Nut Cream Cheese on one side

of each of the slices.

Then I sprinkled chocolate chips on every other slice.

Next, in a bowl I mixed:

2 1/2 cups of milk

1/4 cup of brown sugar

3 eggs

Then I placed two slices of bread together and dipped them into the bowl mixture.

Afterwards, I placed the bread into a 13x9 glass dish

and poured the remaining ingredients over them.

I covered the recipe with foil and placed int the fridge over night.

The next morning I melted 1/4 cup of butter and poured it over the recipe,

and baked it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Then I flipped the toast over so both sides would have a crunch,

and baked for an additional 15 minutes. 

 I set out toppings in different bowls.

We had melted chocolate, syrup, whipped cream,

bananas, powdered sugar and nuts.

 It was pretty yummy.

I can't wait to try it again!

Next time I may make a few changes.

I will not pour the remaining egg mixture

over the bread to soak over night.

It was a little too soft for my taste.

But all in all,

it was a delicious new recipe!

****************************

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”"

John 6:51 ESV



Apple pie is healthy, it has fruit doesn't it?!

I give myself the chance to take a break from exercising regularly and eating healthy around the holidays.

October thru December, I rarely step on the scale.

It's not very healthy, I know,

but I sure enjoy it!

I bake lots of goodies, and keep the holiday trays filled.

We live large…oh, yes!

My husband and I both have a sweet tooth!

We have lots of memories of yummy desserts our mothers used to make for our families.

I also have fond memories of baking with my mom and Nina for the holidays.

Making goodies for the holidays has always been a tradition for the women in my family,

and I intend to carry it on with our girls.

Since I love to bake, we bake all year long, but during the holidays I get to make traditional recipes, and try many new recipes that I don’t during the other months.

So needless to say, when January 1st arrived I was ready to get back into shape!

A few days ago, I finally decided to suck it up

(since I am getting tired of sucking it in :)

and I got on the scale…

I cried some…

Not really! 

But I did decide to get right back into a health regime.

Recently, I had my first trip back to the grocery store since the holidays,

I planned to spend more time in the produce section...but I didn’t.

…It’s a process!

You see…

I still had one pie crust left in the fridge.

So I had to buy apples for the pie crust, and vanilla ice cream to go with the apple pie.

(Because that is one of my hubby’s favorite desserts.)

Joc and I hurried home to bake this and surprise Matthew with a yummy after-dinner-dessert,

and the apple pie recipe that we used was delish!

Sweet Apple Pie

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp of cinnamon

1 tbs flour

1/4 cup of apple cider

2 tbs butter
4 cups of sliced apples

pie crust

bake at 350 for 90 minutes

Unfortunately, we had leftovers,

 so my diet didn't start the next day either,

but it was well worth it!

The Chew

The Chew

has become one of my favorite shows on television.

I love the variety of recipes that they offer.

I love the tips they share that make cooking and baking

healthier and easier. 

I love how they mix in current events...

but the best part, 

just might be

the cast.

I mean,

 I am, really, loving the cast!

I have my favorite TV shows that I like to watch,

but I have never been a faithful viewer when it comes to talk shows,

cooking shows, or reality shows.

It's different with The Chew.
They have my attention.

The show is like a big crock pot of
YUMMY

that keeps me coming back for more.

The cast members' personalities compliment each other so well.

It's hard to find a show where all of the cast members are likable,

and have such great chemistry together,

but The Chew has done it.

Clint

...from current events to food, he is just so passionate! (He is the reason I checked the show out in the first place, because I enjoy What Not to Wear!)

Daphne

 

...a sweetheart that adds lots of facts and lots of giggles to the show ~ a real treat.


Mario

... Mr. Chill... has a laid back personality, but is a super genius in the kitchen!

Michael

...is also very talented, but I'm especially loving his silly personality and the fact that he laughs at every ones jokes - including his own!  

Carla

 

...the dessert queen. She is down to earth and honest,
she could be compared to 'the sprinkles on top.'
A fun bonus to the show.

So if you haven't caught an episode yet,
I recommend set your DVR to record an episode on ABC
or log onto the
The Chew !

Happy Chews-day friends.

Snowman Pancakes & Porcupine Wives

I saw this on

Pinterest.

My kids love pancakes,

 & I love a chance to create,

 so I had to try...

They came out so cute!

Also, I wanted to share a post that I read a few days ago.

 Are You A Porcupine Wife?

I am happy to say,

I am NOT a porcupine wife.

I may have my (less than perfect;) days,

but I know that

I make a choice

to be intentional in my marriage

everyday.

&

That's the beauty

of God & growth.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Each of us has that right, that possibility, to invent ourselves daily.  Maya Angelou

When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you, understanding will keep you. Proverbs 2:10-11

Happy Sunday!

A Happy Heart on Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I thought I’d share a few last minute ideas from the weekend.

My stepdaughter Trinity turns 10 this week, so we had cake and ice cream with the family yesterday.

I made her this quick banner using scrapbook supplies.

She loves chocolate cake, so I used a store bought recipe and decided to turn her cake into a spider cake.

My hubby was home, so I made him a yummy little sundae with the left over cake pieces!

Then afterwards the kids made haunted houses out of milk cartons.

The best part was when my brother handed Trinity her jar of fish as part of her gift, her laughter turned to tears of happiness.

She is such a sweetie.

It ended up being a pretty busy day, because we also had a photographer come out for our family pictures, but somehow we fit  everything in, including time to make caramel apples!

No matter how crazy it gets with the holidays and birthday parties, I always end the day with sore feet, but with a happy heart...

because together truly is the best place to be!

Tonight we are making hot dog mummies and then we’ll head out to Trick or Treat.

Hoping you have a SPOOKtacular night ya’ll!

(Sorry I had to fit in a little silly Halloween word in somewhere :)

Thanksgiving Projects & Prep

The first Thanksgiving project this month was

working on centerpieces.

I visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels and Dollar Tree for various items to create a bouquet for each family to take home.

I figured I would use Christmas colors & flowers, so that they could be set out all month in each of my siblings homes.

 

 

Because I love to scrapbook, I thought it would be fun to add a photo of each family member to their bouquet.  

I have seen many cute ideas on various blog pages and in magazines for the kids' tables. Jocelyn and I used a few of those ideas and decorated a turkey cup for each child, placemats and pilgrims hats to hold the crayons. 

We will be eating at my parents' house this year. My husband is preparing an extra turkey. I made a pecan apple salad, a pumpkin pie, turtle tassies, sugar cookies and helped the girls make some turkey cupcakes.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is already here! I'm sure tomorrow is going to be yummy and fun.

Have a great day!