top 5

oh boy. a friend tagged me and this one is going to be tough.

you're supposed to share your top five food staples. absolute cannot live withouts. that's almost impossible because with my "well, it depends" personality, it all depends on the scenario. so without further ado my top 4, top 5 ;)

A. if i could ONLY buy five food items and my family had to survive on those 5 alone...
1. eggs
2. whole chicken
3. beans
4. cheese
5. spinach

B. if i was only thinking about the top 5 items that i currently always need to have in the house...
1. organic honey o's
2. bananas
3. organic plain yogurt
4. organic cookies (that's the hubby's)
5. cheese

C. if i had a top five that were ONLY for ME, but not for survival (see list A.)...
1. sriracha sauce
2. chai
3. chips (preferably something cheesy)
4. kefir
5. grits

D. if i only think about what the kids always want in the house...
1. organic honey o's
2. oatmeal
3. yogurt
4. apples
5. bananas

i know, that's totally cheating... what can i say, i'm no good at this :)

see what others picked.

stirring

i feel like the Lord is stirring some ideas in my heart...

...in the mean time, i want to know, what are some things you, or your whole family, do or participate in on a regular basis that impacts the community around you???

coffeehouse icing

i was asked to put a little icing on a cookie cake for a little farewell thingamabob.

through a series of not having "this" and substituting "that" a heavenly icing was birthed!

here's the recipe in all it's simple glory ;)

CoffeeHouse Icing

2 sticks butter
4+ cups of powdered sugar
1 tbsp half n half
1/4 cup hot-chocolate or chocolate milk mix
1 shot espresso
1 pump irish cream syrup

1. beat butter until creamy.
2. add remaining ingredients and beat until nice and creamy.
3. add more or less powdered sugar or half-n-half to adjust to desired consistency.

enjoy! :)

testimony

"... and we will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony..."

with all the Lord has done in my heart over the last two weeks, i had hoped that there would be a time open for testimonies yesterday at church. and indeed there was. my heart beat fast as one of the pastors said to think about giving a testimony, it took all of me to keep from jumping out of my seat and yelling "i do, i do!!!" :) so i just eagerly raised and waved my hand like a child who can't contain their excitement ;)

i got up, cried of course. fumbled through some words and read some scripture. sat down, wishing i had articulated better. i almost couldn't even remember what i had said. oh well. it was done and i had peace and joy after.

then following, during our 5 minutes break to meet and greet {and go potty}, i headed to the restroom to fix any makeup smudges and was encouraged by some women who said they appreciated what i had said. i was a little surprised. then more after church. then this morning my husband called and told how it had impacted someone else, then another note on facebook.

this scripture came to mind this morning.

I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD -psalm 40:1-3

i want people to hear and see the change that has happened in me and i want His name to be glorified!! i want my testimony to reach the hearts of others so that they may be encouraged and turn their gaze toward Jesus, and that's what happened. it would have been ok if i hadn't heard or seen the fruit of allowing God to speak through me and my experience, but He did and i'm so thankful.

oh how He lavishes His love on us!

more music

i just updated my worship music playlist with a few of my latest favorites. listen here, or click on the music tab above. :)

Warm Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Dip

I'm making this yummy concoction for a baby shower this afternoon. :)

1 10oz pkg frozen creamed spinach, defrosted
1 can artichoke hearts drained and chopped (about 6-8 hearts)
2 pkg softened cream cheese
1/2-1cup shredded cheese (farmers, mozzarella, or Monterrey jack)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 to 1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 to 1 tsp onion powder
dash cumin
dash cayenne pepper
dash all purpose seasoning
salt/pepper

mix all ingredients. place in oven safe dish. heat at 350 approx 20-30 minutes or until bubbly on the edges. serve with tortilla chips or toasted french bread.

Call me Crazy, but...

i'm just slightly suspicious of the newest picasa update. for those who don't know what picasa is, it's a free photo storage/editing program that you can download. it helps organize all your photos and you can even upload albums online and store those albums for others to see, etc, blah blah blah...

well the newest update is basically a facial recognition thing that lets you tag people in the photos and it will automatically sort the rest of the pictures, identifying who is in which picture.

call me crazy, but that's just a little too freaky for me! i know i already give so much access to my personal life via the internet, but for some reason this is a little toooo much. anyone else freaked out? i can just picture the little government elves gathering photos of all our family happenings and sticking them in a huge file (paperless of course). i mean if they already take pictures of all the mail i send and receive, why not make it easier to keep track of my every move with photo recognition software nicely planted in my very own home. ha! i love talking like a conspiracy theorist, although they probably use much bigger words than i can scrape up. ;)