a week of experimenting...

So, on my trips to visit my (second ;)) cousin, we have fallen into the habit of experimenting in the kitchen.  The last time I was in Omaha (in October for our 30th birthday blowout weekend!), we tackled Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon -- or as we referred to it, Beef Booya.  I'm sure Julia would not have been impressed with our nickname. haha.  And yes -- we were indeed inspired by the movie Julie and Julia.

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What I'm Loving -- Edition 2

I think it's time for another What I'm Loving post!

Up first -- got2b smooth operator smoothing lotion (click what's new, then smooth operator).  I looooove this stuff! 

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ummmm...

so, apparently it's been a year since I last wrote. wow. I seriously had trouble for a few seconds figuring out how to start a new post. haha.

Sometimes I figure Facebook does a good enough job updating my friends on my life. But, I think some of you that (used to) read my blog may be missing some stuff? Though you probably gave up on this blog a long time ago...

So a quick catch up.

~ my girls' Bible study
~ THE MOVE to Illinois
~ Lost and Found Ministries
~ a new Ford Escape!
~VBS planning and Summer planning begins

I'll try not to ramble too much about the above items, but I needed a bit of a list to hit the highlights. :) And, yes, my list is random and out of order. Much like I live my life. Does this surprise anyone? I think not. :)

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what i've been up to.

to my, ahem, roaring crowd of 2... a little update. this may be a long post about a lot of little nothings.

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what i'm loving...

My Messy, Thrilling Life. Brin at Freeman House writes a really great blog. Those of you that follow Pioneer Woman and MckMama will find that same little something over at Freeman House. But, she is closing her blog on her 30^th birthday next month. I am incredibly bummed, because I just discovered her a couple months ago! I’m busy trying to read her archives and I’m finding some really great words of wisdom and some yummy recipes buried there. I’ll be sad when I can no longer check in on her blog… She really is an inspiration on so many levels.

Greek yogurt. Yum. My favorite right now is Greek Gods Honey. Greek Gods has other flavors… but I love the honey flavor too much to stray. Plus, I have this thing against Pomegranate potpourri (it’s stinks, okay?) and it’s all I can think about when I see the carton of yogurt. I’m not a fan of figs… so, the fig flavor is lost on me, as well. But, the honey… Yum. It’s just a distinct hint of honey flavor behind the yogurt. And I love the firm, creamy texture Greek yogurt has as opposed to the thinner versions.

This Wicked Stitch Designs camera bag. I'm really in love with this bag. This bag company is pretty darn cool with some great bag designs... but the best part is that you get to pick the fabrics you want used in your custom bag! But, I would lovelovelove to have this exact bag.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I read this book quite awhile ago, but it's been on my mind lately. I think I need to pick it up again and reread it. Unfortunately, I lent it out and I'm pretty certain I'll never see it again... but that's another story. Anyway, I'm usually much more into crime and political dramas and suspense books. But this book... oh, this book. It's the retelling of the story of Hosea (yes, that Hosea, from the Bible). It takes place in the Gold Rush of 1850 where a kind farmer marries a prostitute. An unlikely relationship becomes a story of love, trust, and hope. The story is also a reminder of God's unconditional love for us. hmmmm... looks like Amazon has a few used copies for about 3 bucks. Time to order a new copy.

wild Olive tees. Very cool Christian tees! A little bit funky, a little bit classy, and an awesome message. Plus, 10% of the profit from each tee goes to non profit organizations and charities. Currently, they are spotlighting Shaohannah's Hope. I'm loving the "rooted" tee...

Crested Butte Ski Trip

So, as I mentioned in an earlier post... I went as a leader to Crested Butte with the TBC youth. What a fun time! It was great getting to know Shaun and Abby (our youth pastor and his wife) and Guy (another adult leader) better. It was a whirlwind trip, but full of memories. Of course, I'm sure the most memorable is the missing van keys. But, I'll get to that in a moment. We started out Friday night, so that we could drive straight through the night (hoping the kids would be less restless and would sleep -- in other words... leave the drivers alone. ha) We had an uneventful drive up until we got to Monarch Pass. It was a bit of a tense drive going over. But, we made it just fine. Here's a photo from my passenger seat (I drove the dead-of-night-middle-of-nowhere-Amarillo-to-Raton portion). The van/trailer in front of us is Shaun, Abby, and several kids:

Once we arrived in Crested Butte, it was time to grocery shop. Note to self -- Do not grocery shop after a 20+ hour drive with 18 teens. Talk about delirious decision making. The remainder of our time was spent skiing (well, for some!), playing Catch Phrase in a huge circle, cooking and eating, and hanging out. I did attempt to ski, but between my ineptitude and a so-so instructor, I was doomed. Someday I may try again. But, the second day of skiing of was a great day for the skiiers (lots of powder), so I chose not to weigh down any of our team with a crappy skier. :) Instead, I hung out around the lodge, drank overpriced coffee, and went down to the town to browse the cute little shopping district:

The day of our departure promised a storm in the afternoon. So, Shaun and the rest of us leaders decided leaving first thing Tuesday morning was wise (the kids were supposed to get in a half day skiing). So we start the packing up process with a departure time of 10:30. About 9 am, one of the girls asks for the van keys. Shaun can't find them. We do a little searching. Still no keys. More searching. No keys. Turn the couch cushions and Shaun's room upside down. NO KEYS. Okay, time a for leader meeting. Start looking at contingency plans which range from the ridiculous to the plausible to the most inconvenient. At one point, we think we've found them in the console of the (locked) van. Call a locksmith. Turn out to be Shaun's Xterra keys. Tear the van apart. No keys. We've moved on to just laughing at this point. What else are we going to do? The locksmith turns out to be our saving grace. He moves mountains for us to get things moving in the middle of the day, the day before Christmas Eve, in a small town. After many many phone calls with the rental company, the locksmith, the Gunnison (nearby town at the bottom of Mt. Crested Butte) Chevy dealership, and others, we find out we can indeed get a new key made. So starts the shuffling of kids down the mountain. I sit with a group at the Gunnison McDonalds, Abby sits with a group at the condo while Guy drives back and forth getting us all down. Shaun goes with the towed van to get our keys remade. After an hour or so at the McDonalds, Shaun calls me -- we have a key, he's on the way, Guy is bringing in the last of the kids, and we have a full ten minutes to get on the road before we lose daylight mid drive and therefore don't want to risk Monarch Pass. By the grace of God, we make it safely and we are officially on our way. At the time we originally planned to leave before our early departure decision was made.

We had some amazing kids on this trip. Such a fun group and also well-mannered. They were great at offering to help cook or clean up. Always remembered to say thank you to Abby and I after we cooked for them. And we also got a few compliments on a well behaved group from various locals. Including at the McDonalds where I contained half of them for over an hour during the van madness.

We pulled in to TBC right on time and I rushed home to do laundry and start the second part of my Christmas vacation... Omaha! The rest of the Ski Trip photos (nothing real exciting and all from my camera phone, but pretty nonetheless) can be found in my Facebook album.

MckMama's Rebel for a Cause

I just donated a small amount to MckMama's raffle-way, Rebel for a Cause. She has teamed up to create an AMAZING giveaway based on raffle tickets sold to donate money to three incredible ministries. MckMama has blessed me so much on her blog and in her story of her sweet baby Stellan and the miracle that God performed in her womb. And in her incredible sweet way, she has created a way for her blog readers to recieve something while supporting these awesome ministries. I would be totally blown away if I won this incredible Canon package; but more than anything, I just wanted to be a part of this in some little way. And, yes, my donation was very small. But, one thing that I have learned while raising money for missions trips... God takes a small amount and simply multiplies it. There is no other way to explain it. It just multiplies. Like the fish and the loaves of bread. So, God, multiply my donation and send it on it's way to bless many hearts.