Herbs in the Kitchen

*~Oregano, Lemon Thyme, Parsley, and Basil (and breadcrumbs) for the Parmesan chicken recipe~*

"Life Changing Moments" link

My friend Sarah has just started a blog. Check it out!!! Her most recent post brought tears to my eyes as I read and my heart went out to her, but I praise the Lord for His grace, mercy and love to us. Read her post ... Life Changing Moments.

Comfort in the night ... my Jesus

The last couple days have been very trying, peeps. Ya'll know I'm single and sometimes it doesn't bother me too much, and sometimes, it really gets to me. Especially when someone I used to like has announced his engagement. So, what do I do when I'm feeling down (or when I'm happy, or all the time really:) )? I journal. Yup, I love writing: stories, journals, life, blogs, posts. :) I just love to write. But keeping the train of thought, I was rereading my journal from yesterday and today and I was so comforted by my Jesus' love and care that I just had to share it with you all! I'll give you a couple entries so you can get the whole flow of thought. :)

7-26-08
[The] silky water of the bathtub is scented with White Tea and Jasmine - Balancing bath salts [from Wal-mart]. A little purple plaid bag floats around, the bright red (silky) ribbon keeping the bath cookie inside. Four candles burn comfortingly and happily, one on the counter, three on the side of the tub. The sheer green curtain, brown softy curtain and plastic curtain are all tied back, safely out of reach of the hungry flames by a silky yellow ribbon. Fernando Ortega plays softly and comfortingly in the background. A newly filled glass bottle of iced tea rests on the floor, ready to bring sweetness to my mouth at a moment's notice. After [my bath] I will [use] Bath and Body Works lotion ... Velvet Tuberose! It almost smells like men's cologne. It is almost my favorite! Then after I relish the wonderful scent I will pull on my ... P.J.'s ... .
I hope the water will soak up and wash away the troubles in my heart. ...
I ... found out JA is to be wed ______.
The Lord is taking all chances of men I used to like away. The horizon is empty. I strain to see [my future husband], yet [he doesn't] appear.
The tears come and cries catch in my throat. I don't want to be alone.
Fill me Lord Jesus, with only You. That all else may be forgotten!

7-27-08
I'm sitting on a little plastic picnic table in the church nursery. TM plays happily on the floor while I sit here at the almost awkwardly small picnic table, drinking coffee and writing ...
Last night was slightly hard. I cried myself to sleep. I cried so much my nose got stuffy and I had to breath through my mouth, who knows what kind of icky, creepy-crawlies I ate unbeknownst to me. :) I cringe at the thought of eating spiders.
But as I cried I kept thinking about the Wait poem. My heart cried out in pain and uncertainty and the lines kept running through my head ... "He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine ... And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign..." ... "I could give all you seek and pleased you would be. You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me." ... "The glow of My comfort late into the night."
I cried and prayed and could see His eyes meet with mine. As I laid my head on my pillow and cried, it was almost like resting on His chest, His arms holding me tight, His tender voice tilling me He has a plan. ...

My Jesus amazes me so. So, I share that to say, be encouraged, singles and married alike, God has a plan, He'll never forget you, He'll never ask too much of you! Also read one of my favorite posts by my cousin Ash.

Hellllloooooo?!

This little guy/gal was on our screen the other morning. I love his eyes, they are so big, like a little kid trying to see inside the house. Or a little kid peeking over the side of a counter to see some cookies. It almost looks like he's smiling, too. These pictures crack me up every time I see them. Click on the pictures for a better view of his face. :)

Beauty that brightens my day!

*~::Greta Rosie feet!!!::~*

*~::Finally, a clothes line!! Remember what we used before?::~*

*~::The most beautiful bowl in the world!! I got it at the secondhand store. Its ripples make me so happy. The color makes me smile. I put it in my hope chest and look longingly for the day when I can use it. Mama bought one exactly like it so I can pull hers out of the cupboard and smile at it. :) ::~*

Well written post

Please go and read A Summer Evening at Leah's blog. It is very fun and inspiring. Don't forget to leave her a comment!

Tin tub and cross stitch

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Fabric

Edwardian Apron

Edwardian Apron

My new and improved necklace ... or necktie. :) Swavy huh?










































































Leah was sewing while I was pinning and then we'd switch. :)

Hello little sweet-y! She's so cute!!

Is it already July?!

I can't believe it's already July! Is anybody else still stuck on "Happy New Year!"? Okay, so maybe I'm not that far off but I'm so not up to July yet. But whether I'm up to July in my mind or not, it is July! So I flipped my calendar this morning and the picture made me giggle. So as you start your first day of July maybe this will bring a smile to your day as well! :)

Very good link

For those of you singles who are living at home, either with parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, or just a Christian family, I greatly recommend reading this article.

20-Something Reasons to Live at Home

Amazing, caring Jesus

Any of you remember this post? I do. :) I loved that cup. I used it every morning. The first thing I did when I got up in the morning was check to see if the dishwasher had been run and if my beautiful little cup would be resting, clean and shiny, ready to use. If it wasn't, then I took it out and hand washed it, then dried it, then filled it with coffee. I smiled every time I opened the cupboard and saw it. It made me very happy ... until I broke it. Yup, sadness among all sadnesses. I was bummed. I'd bought that cup (and three others almost exactly like it, just different colors) for my hope chest. But I loved it so much, the brown one was my favorite among the ones I'd bought, that I just had to use it right away. How could I put something so wonderful into a box to wait and wait and wait and wait and ... ? :) Yeah. So I faithfully loved it ... and broke it.

But having it break made me realize that I cared too much for my hope chest things. It was, after all, just a cup, a glass, 50cent cup, and it bothered me for days that I broke it. So I had to rethink some things. I prayed and asked God to help me keep my hope chest things in the right focus, which was not the "most important, dearly loved items" focus. I'd begun to put those possessions in a very high place in my life. Sound crazy? Maybe it was, but I long for and desire the day when I can unpack each and every piece with my new husband. Lovingly and caring-ly putting each one in the place I know I'll find it when I walk into my very own kitchen to make meals for my beloved husband.

After I broke it, I went to the Family Dollar store (where I'd originally bought it) to see if perhaps they would have just one left in the clearance isle. They didn't. So I asked the lady if maybe, just because they were out, they would be getting more in again. I smiled so nicely at her, hoping it would maybe help me out ... it didn't. She said that because it was in the clearance isle that they would never get them again ... ever (yes, she really, truly emphasized "ever" just like that). Needless to say I was quite disheartened.

So, as I said, I prayed and asked God to help me keep my life, my hope chest, my desires, my dreams, my God, my Jesus, all in the right and proper focus. And He did. What a wonderful Jesus! I still would miss having it and drinking out of it when I saw the pictures of it but I was content. God had answered my prayer and had helped me adjust my focus.

Yesterday I walked out to the Family Dollar store to pick up a shirt I'd been eyeing for a while. When I'd picked up the shirt I wanted I wandered through the store, just looking. I love to do that in our dollar store, we have such neat things! So in my wanderings I wandered over to the kitchen isle. Guess what I saw? Yes, the cup!! The cup that they would never ... ever get, never, ever again. It was there!!! Oh, how happy I was. I nearly shouted for joy (I did manage to contain myself, however :) ). I was so excited and happy that I was telling the cashier about how happy I was and how sad I'd been when I broke my first cup and how happy I was that they had it and ... He, obviously not understanding, simply said, very monotone-ishly, "Yes, they are nice cups." I was not, however, going to let it get me down. So I walked, (ever so carefully) back home, cups in bag. I bought two this time. :) One to stow away in my hope chest and one to use.

But as I walked I couldn't help being overcome with thankfulness, awe, shock, surprise. My God cared enough about the little dear-to-my-heart cup to allow the store to get a new order of the cups that they were never ... ever going to get again. I smiled all the way home. How many times do we think that God doesn't really care about that stuff? And how often are we totally shocked when we see that He does? I think that I, for one, should rethink my Jesus and never underestimate His love and care ... even if it's just about a little broken cup!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

*~::June 24, 2008::~*

Outside My Window...A gentle breeze blows, making the lacy looking coral bells dance in the sunshine.

I am thinking...About what a wonderful God we have, Who always provide what we need, maybe not always what we want, but what we need ... I shall NEVER be in want!

I am thankful for...My family and the joy and love we share in our house. I'm thankful the Lord graciously put my in the family I'm in ... how wise He is!

From the kitchen...M&M/chocolate chip cookies for piano students ... and the left overs for us. :) Yumm!
I am wearing...Bare feet, new jeans, a white spaghetti strap under my new favorite white spaghetti strap that has pink flowers on it with a pink silky ribbon, which is under my long sleeve khaki-colored snap up, the sleeves got hot so I have rolled them up. I have a new vine-y hair clip in my hair, cooking cookies gets hot, and just moments ago I was wearing an apron to protect my beautiful frilly shirt.

I am creating...Cookies!! :) But you already knew that.

I am going...To teach piano this after noon and then spend sometime doing different things around the house.

I am reading...The recipes for dinner (Texas Hash), the cookie recipe (Color cookies) and the timer on the stove that tells me how long it is until the beeping tells me the cookies are tired of getting baked.

I am hoping...That dinner gets done in time for my brother to eat with us (his wife-y is gone for the day so he's eating with us) and also for some time outside today, in the hot sun and warm breeze, smelling my roses and letting my feet enjoy the grass.

I am hearing...Fernando Ortege, The Shadow of Your Wings, playing on my MP3 player and the timer beeping on the stove ... just a moment please, I must rescue the cookies.

Around the house...The fans are blowing, keeping the air moving so we don't roast in the house. The breeze moves the curtains that adorn the windows.

One of my favorite things...Is (are) the little glass bottles holding roses in the window that I put there yesterday. They are so cheery!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: I'm not really sure. :) Teach piano, as every week. Work on my crocheting project, make an apron for cooking that I've been meaning to make for ever, etc..

Here is picture thought I am sharing...The new favorite shirt I was telling you about earlier. :)
Remember if you would like to participate be sure to visit The Simple Woman blog and see her guidelines.

*::Window Flowers::*

A little something to brighten your day ... Enjoy!!!