Coffee Punch and Chocolate Chip Pie February 28, 2007

I am not a coffee drinker, but I had this punch a while back at a friends party. It was very good and I highly recommend it. The recipe can be halved if needed….its good for you to..haha!

Coffee Punch

Ingredients:
2 Quarts Strong Brewed Coffee, cooled
2 Cups Milk
½ Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Vanilla
½ Gallon Vanilla or Chocolate Ice Cream, softened
Whipped cream & bits of chocolate (optional)

Instructions:
Combine coffee, milk, sugar, and vanilla, stir well.

Place in refrigerator and chill completely

Place ice cream in a large bowl

Pour coffee mixture over the ice cream and stir gently.

Top with dollops of whipped cream and bits of chocolate or sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg (if desired)

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Ok and if you need a dessert to go with that coffee punch here is a good one:

Chocolate Chip Pie-super easy
From my mom’s kitchen…

2 eggs
½ cup self-rising flour
1 cup of chocolate chips
1 stick of butter
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of coconut (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS: Combine eggs, sugar, and flour in a bowl. Mix well.
Melt the butter and add to the mixture.
Add the coconut and chocolate chips.
Pour into an unbaked pie shell.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or
until golden brown on top.

Home Improvements February 26, 2007

New Desk———— “NEW” TV Armoire———–Our crazy book case

The weekend for us has been full of “home improvement” projects. One of my bosses gave us his entertainment center that is really beautiful and has worked out perfectly in our living room since we have quite a bit of space. Then his wife discovered that in their new built in cabinet their old television would not work for that space because the tv stuck out too far so we inherited their television along with the cabinet because it fits perfectly in the armoire. So Friday night we made a trip to their house on lovely Cantrell road in the Heights area and loaded up the television. We have spent quite a bit of time with them lately..haha!

Saturday we made a trip to the new Target and found a desk we both love. R’s previous desk was a microwave stand with a screwed on additional piece of particle board. So our “office” is improved somewhat. We still need to reorganize the book cases and put up some of our pictures on the wall…etc. I’m excited that stuff isn’t in the floor as much.

Sunday was eventful with making room for another television that we have no idea where to put. See the new television (from my boss) fits perfectly in the armoire, but we have to do something with the television that is in there already. So now we have 3 large televisions that are at least 26+ inches and one small one in our bedroom that is hardly ever on. Anyway we’ll figure it out eventually. We also have 2 other armoire entertainment centers that we have no idea what to do with so one is in the front bedroom with my television before marriage in it and his is still at his dad’s in his old room. It looks like maybe a spring cleaning and garage sell may be in our future soon. UGH!!

Anyway I am attaching pictures of the new stuff…enjoy! We are still waiting patiently for our new sofa, chair, and ottoman to arrive from the store. I’m so excited!

Called and Accountable February 23, 2007

Honestly it hasn’t been that great of week to even be worthy of writing about in my opinion. I have not been in the greatest of moods and you would think with this beautiful weather I would feel great! I am sure its the devil trying to grab hold of me because I have actually been focused on studying God’s word and enjoying a new Bible study. This happened to me a couple of times before when I first began a Beth Moore Bible study with a group of women. I started seeing everyone as “attacking” me and I became defensive, unhappy, and miserable about everything. I had to be very faithful with my study, prayer, and support from my group of ladies. In the end I learned so much and God had blessed me completely.

This new Bible study is called “Called and Accountable” by Henry Blackaby. Its very good and challenging. Our leader grouped us up with a prayer partner for encouragement and it really is a struggle for me because my prayer partner is someone I have viewed as a person that I could not make myself like. God does have a wonderful sense of humor for “forcing” me to pray sincerely for this person. Its been amazing to see the results of the prayers and how this person has suddenly become friendly to me. I am seriously not good with new people so this Bible study is hopefully going to help me crack open the shell I live in daily. I love my safety nets of life!

Anyway, it is a test of faith for me to make it the next few weeks with this Bible study group. The devil is presenting major obstacles and challenges to keep me from it. Pray that God will slam the door in his face!

Great Quote February 16, 2007

I believe this is one of the best quotes I have ever heard and should be so true for every woman. Some may not agree, but I find it beautiful.

“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.”

(author unknown)

Happy Valentines Day! February 14, 2007

I hope everyone has or is going to remember their sweethearts, spouses, love interest, and all of the above on this special day. I confess that it is not a holiday that I look forward to and its not one I miss once its over. I see it mostly as a way to get a present from your loved one and I see that most women use it as leverage to either make or break a relationship. I would rather be appreciated any time of the year that isn’t considered a “holiday” by my sweet honey. Out of the blue surprises are what touch me most.

I do admit that I look at this special love holiday more carefully and with a greater respect since I found my Valentine. He deserves to be treated special any day of the year, but God gave us the man that invented Valentines Day so I will celebrate it with a happy heart. I woke up 45 minutes earlier than normal this morning (5:15 a.m. ‘Bleck!”) to make the day start off special for my sweetheart.

I pampered him with a breakfast of homemade pancakes, bacon, and orange juice. I snuck a few surprises into his work bag so that he could find them periodically during the day, but oh no he’s a snooper he found them all this morning. Ha! I’m not sure how much he appreciated my singing card that blared out “Wild Thing” when you open it. I had it stashed inside his laptop. So he found that at work this morning in front of some co-workers. (I enjoyed that immensely!)

Valentines is not as bad as it appeared when I was single and still searching for that one true love. It has much more meaning when you find that one person God created just for you and no one else. I look at the single life differently also and how difficult it was to make it past this holiday. So if you know a single person give them a little extra love this time of year because it is not as easy for them as it may appear to us on the outside. For those married people..enjoy today! Kiss and love on the one God gave you as your lifetime Valentine.

Recipe: Sweet & Sour Chicken February 13, 2007

My friend Jenny G. sent this recipe to me this morning. Her husband’s aunt made it for their luau last summer and everyone loved it. Thank you to her for this great recipe!

SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN

(picture for motivation purposes only) ——–>

Cut up chicken
1 envelope onion soup
1/3 bottle russian dressing
1 small jar apricot preserves

Mix onion soup, russian dressing, preserves. spread over cut up chicken pieces placed in baking dish.

Bake at 350 until brown, at least 1 1/2 hours. Enjoy!

New Furniture February 12, 2007

Richard and I made our first big purchase as a married couple this weekend. It is something we have discussed at length and spent countless hours sitting on living room furniture in nearly every furniture store in the central part of this great state. I don’t know about him, but it is something I have prayed about continually that the Lord lead us in the right direction. It may seem silly to some people to pray about your furniture, but it is not to us at all. I always remember my former pastor’s wife praying over a dog for Bro. Mel and that God answers even our smallest of prayers. Ha! Only she would understand what I just said…

Anyway…we found the perfect couch, chair, and ottoman for our home that best suited both of us. We went with leather because it is the most durable according to all those furniture stores I mentioned we visited. We also have Trixie, our basset hound, that is not actually able to jump on the couch, but in case she accidentally tried to the leather would hold up better under her huge claws. Plus if and when we decide to add little ones to our family we believe leather would be great with kids. The cloth would stain, tear, and every other thing I can possibly think of happening with kids. We also purchased the warranty that protects the leather if its punctured so that if it happens they will try to repair it, but if its unrepairable they will replace our entire set. I thought that was a good deal for an extra $100.

If anyone knows of someone nearby that needs an old couch and chair we have one available. I will be honest and tell you that it is really not in good condition. It has seen its better day, but I am sure that someone could possibly recover it or buy a cover to hide its issues. =) If not it is going to SOS as soon as our new furniture arrives which will be around the first week of March. The old couch is cloth in a small check of cream & taupe. I will try to attach a photo later of the old couch and chair.

We are so excited about the new furniture! I attached a photo for all to see…enjoy!

Snow Photos February 7, 2007

Our house covered in the first snow on February 2nd, 2007. It was significant coverage, but our little house looked so cute. We are blessed to have a home of our very own and we take pictures as often as possible when new things arise. As you can see we have done zero landscaping except the two trees in the front that have not grown much. The house was mine before we were married and will be 2 years old this June. I hope we can landscape at least some this coming spring!
February 2nd was also a big day for my dad. He had his knee replaced and also turned 60 years old. How awesome is that..? Happy Birthday to my daddy!

Knee Surgery Update

Thanks to all of your prayers my dad has done beautifully with his knee replacement surgery! It is painful, but we see improvement daily. The surgery was last Friday and he was doing so well the doctor allowed him to be discharged a day early on Sunday.
I spent the night at the hospital with him on Saturday night. He would get good and asleep after not resting much all day and you could clock the nurse coming in to turn on the light, check his temperature, and blood pressure. She was driving us both nuts! At 5:15 a.m. on the very early Sunday morning the doctor made his rounds and woke us up again. It was a miserably long night of being awakened!
Why do all the medical research books say that we need a good 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, but when they put you in the hospital they wake you at least every 2-3 hours? It makes no sense to me.
My mom and dad will be staying with my sister during the next couple of weeks for him to attend physical therapy easily. He was not happy about not being at home, but it will save a long drive everyday for my mom. He is very sore and contrary right now, but he truly has improved. Hopefully he will have the staples and sutures out by next week sometime and be able to rest more.
Thank you all again for your prayers!