Chalk It Up Festival

When most people think of sidewalk chalk, they imagine little kids doodling on their driveways... when the artists of the Chalk It Up Festival think of sidewalk chalk, they dream big!

This past Labor Day weekend, I participated in the Chalk It Up Festival in downtown Sacramento. The Chalk It Up Festival takes place at the same park every year on Labor Day Weekend. Each year, local artists will come and decorate one of over 200 squares of sidewalk with sidewalk chalk. Each square is sponsored by a local business, and the artists will work on their squares all weekend long. The festival is hosted to raise money for children's arts education programs.

Besides walking around and looking at all of the chalk drawings, there are also craft and vendor booths, food stands, music, and activities for kids as well.



Prepping my square.

My drawing took just over two hours to complete. I was able to do a sidewalk square on the inside of the park, a bit smaller than the outer ones, but in the shade!

I used a photo I had taken a year or so ago as the inspiration for my drawing. After I had drawn a grid in my square and over the original photograph, I had to do a little photo editing in my head to figure out how I would make it work with sidewalk chalk, and with the colors I had.

 I'd never done anything like this before, so it took a little bit of experimenting to find out the best way to make things work. I used a couple of towels to rub in larger areas of chalk, as you can see, and I used a few brushes and my fingers to do the smaller, more detailed areas. My fingers were pretty chaffed at the end of the day!

Water also helped in creating different shades of chalk, and spreading it out more. If you mixed it just right, you could get your chalk to achieve a more paint-like quality, which was great for making it look more smooth.


I love this picture!


The underside of the flower and the shadowing were the hardest parts to figure out how to do. I had (mistakenly) not picked out a dark brown or black color in my set of chalks I bought, so I had to figure out a different way to do the shadowing. I ended up using purple and light blue to do it, and I really liked the way it turned out, especially on the petals.




Finishing up...

  I almost ran out of white chalk towards the end, but thankfully, I had just enough to finish up. My fingers were definitely tired by this point, but I was pleased with how it had turned out.

 I also discovered just how messy sidewalk chalk can be! Both of my rags were completely blue (they looked as though someone had tye-dyed them!) and my feet, knees and hands were covered in blue chalk as well. It took a couple of days to completely wash out the blue stains from my hands.



Finished!



Overall, though, I was happy with the way it came out, and I had a great time doing it. I'm definitely going to try and do it again next year.

You can view more photos of the drawings from the Chalk It Up Festival online at www.chalkitup.org .



Seven Reasons Why I Like Pinterest

It's a time waster, really, it is.

If you've never heard of Pinterest, in short, it's a social media website which acts as a giant corkboard. After you make your account, you can begin sorting through images and "pinning" them (saving them) to your own boards. It's the same concept as tearing a picture out of a magazine and stashing it away in a file or notebook for later.

1. The difference between Pinterest and all of those magazine cutouts that are stuffed away in a box in my drawer is that Pinterest is... organized. *angels sing* I love organization. Everything is sorted into categories (DIY and Crafts, Education, Books and Movies, Food and Drink, etc) or you can search for something specific. As for what you are pinning (saving), you can create as many boards as you like, allowing you to be as organized and specific as you want.

2. Pinterest is typically a gold mine of ideas. Notice that I didn't say good ideas; you'll need to do a little searching and looking and clicking and reading to find exactly what you're looking for, but you can find some really great ideas on Pinterest. I admit that using their search engine can be difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it and find the right phrasing for your search, you are almost guaranteed to have more ideas then you know what to do with. Need a new recipe? Check. A craft to do for a rainy Saturday afternoon? Check. A knitting pattern for a pair of socks? Check. Ideas on how to paint your nails? Check. Photography tips? Check. Want to make your own soap? Check. Need a new exercise plan? Check. I think you get the idea.

3. Pinterest is a time waster. Why is this something I like about it? Not sure. It just happens to be handy for those days and times when you don't really feel like doing anything.

4. Pinterest is a time saver. I know, I know ... didn't I just say Pinterest was a time waster? Ah, yes, yes I did, but it actually can be both. For example, imagine your birthday is coming up in just a couple of days and you have invited all of your friends over for a party, but you still have no idea what to do. Just search "birthday party ideas" or "birthday party ideas for teens" or something similar and you have instant ideas. Again, remember what I said earlier in #2 - they might not all be good ideas, but you certainly can get a few good ideas, or modify what you find to fit what you need. Any way you go, you've just found something (hopefully) that will help get your creative ideas flowing.

5. Pinterest is easy. Its a simple idea and a simple design. There are just a few basic things you can do... create your own boards and pin things, comment or like something someone else pinned, or browse and search for pins... it doesn't take long to learn how to use it, and once you do, there's really not tons of hidden features and programs.. just one simple idea and purpose.

6. Pinterest is endless. This is part of why it's a time waster - the pages go on forever, or so it seems. You can just keep scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. I thought once that I had reached the bottom of the page and then a little bar popped up at the edge of the screen that said "Fetching More Pins" and suddenly, there were more pins on the page and I was no longer at the end... or what I had thought was the end.

7.  Pinterest helps you create a reference of good ideas. Once you pin something, it stays on your board forever, or at least until you move it or delete it, so you can consistently go back and scan your boards for ideas and inspiration. I use Pinterest to store recipes, craft ideas, quotes I like, traveling tips, little odds and ends, scrapbooking/art pages that I like, and so on. 

So there you have it. My top seven reasons why I like Pinterest. Want to give it a shot? Sign up here, or check out my boards here.  

Do you have a Pinterest?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

I've been waiting to find this recipe for a long time.

A recipe for chocolate chip cookie dough that is meant to be eaten unbaked, with a spoon. Yes, that's right. As in shoveling it into my mouth RAW. I believe that is the best way to enjoy it.

 It's not as though I don't eat raw cookie dough that is meant to be baked, I do. It's just that with an eggless recipe, with a recipe that is meant to be spooned into your mouth with absolutely zero bake time ... well, now I have an excuse. :) I tried a number of different recipes... and this one was the first one I found that actually tasted like cookie dough. In fact, I am beginning to crave it now as I type.

Ingredients:                                                                                     
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
A pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (you can use a little less if you're not big on vanilla.)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
water

Directions:

In a medium-large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Then stir in the flour, salt, vanilla and chocolate chips. Add water one tablespoon at a time, stirring between each, until it has reached a cookie dough consistency.

Makes 1.5 - 2 cups of cookie dough.

And that's it! You're done, just like that.

It's almost too simple. Who can resist a big bowl of cookie dough just waiting to be consumed with a giant spoon? You could spread it on graham crackers or pretzels or plop a few chunks into your ice cream (that is really delicious!) ... but I usually don't take the time. I just start scooping it out of the bowl and straight into my mouth. YUM.

*This recipe was first found in Family Fun Magazine.*

I've been doing some updates...

I've been in the process of importing my blog from Ecuador (2011) and my blog from Panama (2012) into this blog, so everything can just be together. It will just be easier.
They are all being backloaded right now, so they will be up soon, and then I'll probably delete the original blogs I had for them. You'll be able to view all of the posts from each trip under the tags "panama 2012" and "Ecuador 2011".

More regular posts coming soon!

Panama!

Just as a little recap from Miami, Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in intense drama training. We trained for two to three hours in the morning, and four to five in the afternoon, with just a few breaks. In between that, we had language and cultural training, and of course, FUAGNEM every night.

On Thursday, we left for Panama. Check in went really smoothly, as did our flights... it was only a few hours long, maybe three I think. I was SO SO SO excited to finally get to Panama! Our hotel is big, but our rooms are small. :) There are seven of us in our room, and we don't have beds either, just mattresses on the floor, which is fine. We also have hammocks on the balcony, which makes up for not having beds. :) Panama is a beautiful country, and our hotel really is smack dab in the middle of the rainforest. It is great, so peaceful, with really, really amazing views and you can see all kinds of monkeys and other rainforest-y animals outside of our windows.

Today was our first day of ministry, and it was really amazing. Our first stop was a school, which had somewhere around 200 or 300 kids, from preschool up on through sixth grade or so. One girl shared her testimony, and then we performed our drama. Our stage was a little bit small, so we altered a few parts a little bit, but it was totally fine. We got to go out and talk and play with the kids for a little bit. I started playing with some of the littlest kids... they were so cute and fun even though we couldn't talk to each other. I let them play with my China Doll fan, and I painted their faces. There was one little girl who came over and sat on my lap, but wouldn't talk to me, wouldn't even smile. I asked her teacher her name, and it was Michelle. Her teacher says she hardly ever talks to anyone. It was sad, but at least I was able to give her lots of hugs, and paint her face.

When we got to our second drama site, some kind of open-air shopping mall, I realized I didn't have my camera. All of our leaders and LITs tried to help me think of places where it could be, but after we had emptied out my bag and searched the bus, we deemed it must have gotten knocked out of my pocket in the school. One of our leaders called the school, but no one answered. They assured me we would go back and look for it, but in the meantime, we had to perform the second drama. We got to perform in the mall, and then we talked to the people again, as we always do. A couple of people came to Christ, and I got to talk to one teenager about my age who accepted Christ.

After lunch, we went back to the school, and sure enough, we found my camera right away! I'm still not sure what happened, or how it even fell out of my pocket, but at least we found it. No more putting the camera in my pockets!!!

Our third ministry site was some sort of basketball court. I had prayed at the beginning of the day for God to give me someone to look out for to talk to after one of the dramas, and I felt that I should look for someone who was pregnant or had a young baby. At the mall, I had seen a bunch of ladies with little babies, but none of them were able to stop and talk. As we were doing the drama at our third site, I was watching the audience, and there was no one that had a baby or was pregnant... I thought, "Well, maybe it's just not going to happen today." About five minutes before the drama was over, I saw a lady walk up and sit down, and I thought, "Hmm. Maybe that's her... she looks pregnant."

After the drama, I took a translator and went over to talk to her. I explained the whole drama to her, since she hadn't come in until right at the end, and then I asked her if she understood. She said yes, she did, and she wanted to accept Jesus as her Savior. I was so excited for her, and we prayed together, and then I asked her if she was pregnant, and she said that yes she was (She was 8 months along). We got to pray for her baby too, and then we went back to the hotel for dinner and FUAGNEM.

The food here is really good, and of course, FUAGNEM is as well. I got asked by my leaders tonight to speak at FUAGNEM when they asked for some people to come up and share stories from the day, so I did. (I hate speaking in front of crowds!) Now, I'm getting ready to go up to my room - curfew is in just a few minutes.

Thanks so much for praying for us! We are seeing God do amazing things and we are having so much fun. I will update again when I can. :)

Miami - Day 1 Recap!

I was scheduled to leave Sacramento at 12:30am on July 2nd, but we sat waiting for over a half hour after we had boarded the plane before we actually took off. I had a layover in Houston around 6am (that's Houston time) and I felt kind of sick, but I'm feeling a lot better now. I arrived in Miami around 11am (Florida time) and there were leaders waiting for me at the airport. We got back to the hotel just before 1pm, and I was able to check in, get my name tag and devotional and such, and eat some lunch.

We just had some free time in the afternoon while everyone was arriving. I was able to meet up with a couple of old friends from last year, as well as meeting all the new people on my team this year. :) Everyone seems really nice :) We had pizza for dinner in our rooms, and finally, FUAGNEM (Fired Up And Going Nuts Every Minute, our evening youth service) at 7pm. I was SO excited for FUAGNEM. After FUAGNEM, we had team time and drama tryouts.

I got the part of the China Doll. It's one of the toys in the drama. Ironically, that's the costume I had to bring as well - but I'm excited about my part in the drama. :) After drama tryouts last night, we went up to our rooms, got ready for bed, and had tuck-ins. Tuck-ins are basically when one of our LITs comes in and talks and prays with us before bed. We didn't end up getting to sleep until after 12:30..... or maybe even 12:45. Thankfully I was able to sleep well, even in the hotel bed.

Please be praying for strength, health and rest for us - our days will be filled to the brim with training and FUAGNEMs and team times and such. Also, pray for team unity and that our team would continue to bond - so far, it seems like a really great mix of people, so thank you for praying! And pray that we would be able to learn the drama quickly and be able to perform it well!

Thank you so much for praying! I'll try to update again tonight. :)

Before I go..

I feel like it would be incomplete for some reason not to write one more post before I take off. So here I am. I am so, so, so excited. :)

It is still hard for me to believe that we'll be leaving for the airport in just one hour. How crazy is that? How did we go from filling out applications, to fundraising and buying plane tickets, to shopping for needed items, to packing, to... to finally being ready to go? Where did the time go? How did this happen?

I'm all dressed in my trip shirt and such, bags packed and waiting. I still feel like I'm a little bit in a dreamlike state. I mean, WOAH! Is it really here already? I feel like I'm just waiting for someone to jump out and pinch me to wake up, to say, "Just a dream, Rachel - It was just a dream." But, no! It's really happening... and I am so excited.

As a random side note, I have decided I do not like late-night flights. Usually whenever I fly somewhere, we get a flight as early in the morning as possible, so it's like, wake up and then go straight to the airport. When it's late at night... well, its just ongoing waiting all. day. long. After I got home from church today, I have been just waiting, waiting, waiting - everything is ready to go, just counting down until it's time to go. I've been getting more and more anxious as it gets closer. ARGH! All of this waiting is driving me nuts. :)

My flight leaves tonight, so please be praying for safety and health, not only for myself, but for everyone on our team.  I'll try to update as much as I can while in Miami and Panama.

Again, thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. :)

Next stop - Miami, Florida!

I leave tomorrow...

It's true. I can hardly believe it myself, but time has gone by SO quickly! It feels like we are still weeks away, but slowly I am coming to understand that I leave in only a day and a half.

I am so excited. I am almost finished packing - my big suitcase is done, and my carry-on bag is nearly finished. Just a few more small things to add and I'm ready to go.

Now, on my list of things I like to do, packing is somewhere around #523. And packing everything you'll  need to spend three weeks in another country into one suitcase and one backpack - well, it's not an easy task. Thankfully, after much sorting, folding, shopping, and procrastinating, everything is packed away and even ORGANIZED!



Packing, packing...




... and DONE!

 Now that I'm finished packing, I am just getting more and more excited as I wait for the big day to arrive. I have done everything I can think of that needs to be finished before I leave, and I am so excited!



Please be praying for us as we head out in the next few days! All of our Leaders and LITs are arriving today to do some prep work and training before we get there, and all of the students should be in by Monday evening. Please be praying for safe travels and that everything would go smoothly and according to plan. Also, our team will be meeting together for the first time upon arrival in Miami, so be praying for team bonding and unity. While we're in Miami, we'll be training for two days to learn the entire drama, so pray for us to be able to pick it up quickly and perform it well. Last, but definitely not least, be praying for health, safety and that God would be preparing our hearts, minds and bodies for Panama. Pray that He would open the hearts of the Panamanians to hear the Gospel and respond to it.

God is going to do amazing things on this trip. Thank you SO much for your support and prayers - they mean the world to all of us going.

Time flies, doesn't it?

Eleven days from now, I will be in Miami, beginning training for our trip to Panama. I am incredibly excited!

Many, many things have happened since I last posted about the trip. 

I finished paying for the trip (Yay!) with help from Dad. (Thanks, Dad!).

Our packing list was sent out! Mine is nearly six pages this year, because I am going on the extended trip. We have been shopping a lot this month, picking everything up and making sure that I have everything I need. We received our costume assignments as well - I was assigned to bring the costume of a China Doll. That doesn't necessarily mean that I'll be the China doll in our drama - once we're in Miami, we'll have drama tryouts and our leaders will decide who should play which part, and we'll switch costumes after that.



T-shirts for our trip came in the mail. We'll be wearing these to travel to Miami, and again when we travel to Panama. They are a light green color... almost minty. It is hard to tell from the pictures. :)

Team lists were eagerly awaited, and finally arrived the beginning of this month. I am on Team 6! I have already contacted some people on our team, and everyone is great. I am excited to be able to meet everyone when we arrive in Miami.



Back of the shirt

I started packing yesterday, and I am a little overwhelmed with the idea of having to pack for three weeks. I am fairly sure that everything I need will fit in my suitcase, and I have been working out various ways to pack things for a few weeks now, so it should all work out eventually.

That's about it for updates right now. The rest of this week and all of next will be left to finish packing and finalizing little details. I am so excited to be going to Panama, and I can't wait to see all of what God is going to do while we are there.

I will try to update once or twice more before I leave, and I will definitely try to update while I am on the trip if I can.

Thank you, everyone reading this, for your support. You are so important to me, and I couldn't be going on this trip without you!



"Do you have a bowl?"

I sponsor a child through Compassion International, a little girl. Her name is Erika.

Last summer, I went on a missions trip to Ecuador with Susie Magazine and Big World Ventures and I had the opportunity to meet Erika. First, let me say that meeting her was one of the best things ever. It was such a special opportunity and I loved it. Second, since having met Erika, I think about her much more often than I did before. That's not to say that I didn't think about her at all during the time I sponsored her at first... it's just to say that at first, she was just a little kid in another country that I was helping. Unfortunately, it wasn't really like it was that big of a deal to me. I wrote her letters and I loved her little pictures she drew for me, but I just didn't really think about it all that much.

After I met her last summer, that changed. I think about her every day. She's not just a random little girl anymore. She has a face, and a laugh, and a personality and a smile, and a hug. She's real.

I was doing the dishes a few days ago, which isn't that uncommon. I mean, its not really something we think about, right? The dishes are there, we use them, we wash them, we dirty them again, and so on. Just a part of life. But as I was standing there in our kitchen, looking at the pile of dishes I was currently washing, I started thinking, "Man. We have so many dishes. What's up with that? How do we dirty these so quickly? I mean, really. It's such a chore. Things would be easier if we had less dishes. Or just used paper plates." And so on. But in the middle of that random chain of complaining thoughts running through my head, I remembered something. A story.

Last summer, when I met Erika, I brought a couple of gifts for her. A coloring book, some crayons, a stuffed bunny... just little things I thought she would like. And she did like them. But after we had played with them for awhile, and played on the swings and such on the little playground, she stopped, suddenly, seriously, and asked me a question. Some of you know that I do not speak Spanish well. Actually, I barely speak Spanish at all. I just smiled at her at first, and motioned to the slide again, thinking that's what she wanted, but she just repeated her question, her big, brown eyes staring up at me.

So I brought her over to a translator, and said, "I can't understand what she's asking. Can you help us?" Erika asked the translator, and the translator just smiled. "Oh." said the translator. "She wants to know if you have a bowl for her brother."

A bowl. A bowl?

"A bowl?" I asked.

"Yeah. For her brother."

"A bowl. Like... a cereal bowl?"

The translator just smiled again, and nodded. "Yes. Just like that - I'm guessing you don't have one with you, do you?"

I was a little taken aback by it. I slowly shook my head no. "No, I ... I .. no. I don't have one." The translator nodded and said something to Erika, who in turn nodded, and then grabbed my hand and ran back to the slide. I didn't think much about it the rest of the time I was with her, but later that night, as I was going to bed, it came back to me. She had asked for a bowl for her brother. A bowl. Why? Did they not have any dishes? Or maybe just not enough for everyone to have their own. Maybe she and her brother share a bowl. Maybe they all share just one bowl. I don't know. I'll probably never know.

How often do we take what we have for granted? I mean, she's just a little girl. When I was her age, if I could have asked someone for one gift, just one thing, it would never have crossed my mind to ask for a bowl, or anything of the sort. I probably would have asked for a dollhouse, or a new book, or something like that. And she had asked for a bowl. On top of that, not even a bowl for herself! A bowl for her brother.

And as I stood there in the kitchen, staring at the dishes, my perspective shifted. So many bowls. Cups. Plates. Forks, knives, spoons. Measuring cups. Mixing bowls. Plastic containers. Water bottles. All of these dishes piled up on the counter. And you know what? If I hadn't done the dishes that night, would we have had dishes to use the next morning? Yes, we would have. And probably even the morning after that. We probably have enough dishes to last us days without washing any, and they don't even have enough dishes for each person in the house to have their own.

We have so much excess, so much more than we need. And we view it as a hassle, just another chore to be done. We may grumble, complain, or we might just do the dishes and not even give it a second thought. But as I was standing there, washing these dishes, I changed my mind. Shouldn't we stop looking at them as a chore, and start viewing them as a blessing? All of this excess, this overflow, aren't they all blessings? The cups and plates and forks and spoons and the bowls.

Erika thanks me in her letters for sponsoring her, and she thanks me and tells me she is grateful for my help and that she is doing well in her lessons, and thank you for sending me letters, and thank you for the picture, and thank you, thank you, thank you. But sometimes I wonder - shouldn't I be the one doing the thanking?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Suprise Cookies

These cookies are so good. That is, if you like peanut butter and chocolate, which I believe is one of the best combinations there is. They are a little complicated, and take some time to make - not just a whip-it-up, throw-it-in-the-oven, kind of recipe, but they are well worth the extra time. Soft, chocolaty cookie on the outside, sweet, creamy peanut butter on the inside. Yum.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt (I left this out, just because I almost never put salt in cookie recipes.)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus you'll need more at the end for rolling)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter (you'll need to divide this into 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup powdered sugar


1. Preheat the oven to 375*F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set this aside.

3. In another bowl, beat together sugars, butter and 1/4 cup of peanut butter until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the egg, beating to combine. Stir in the flour mixture. Set this aside as well.

4. In a medium bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and 3/4 cup of peanut butter, until smooth.

5. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Pull off about a tablespoon of the chocolate cookie dough and flatten it with your hands. Take a little less than a teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture and place it in the center of the chocolate cookie dough. Wrap the cookie dough around the peanut butter center and press it closed. Roll the cookie into a ball, and roll the cookie in sugar.

6. Place the cookies on the baking sheet. (They will spread somewhat, so be sure to space them apart with room for spreading.) Flatten each cookie with the bottom of a glass.

7. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool. I made about 25 cookies from one batch.

Like I said before, these cookies were delicious. In mine I substituted some of the cocoa powder for chocolate chips, and I liked having the chocolate chips in the dough. I used four tablespoons of cocoa powder and four tablespoons of semisweet chocolate chips. (If you do that, you also have to take out 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1/4 cup of butter).

Also, when I made these the first time, I had way too much of the peanut butter mixture for inside the cookies, and ended up dumping a bunch of it. Next time I make these, I'm going to try doing 1/2 cup of peanut butter with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

For a peanut-butter and chocolate lover, these are a must have. In fact, I think I might make a batch this afternoon. :)

*Disclaimer: I found the recipe and picture on Pinterest, linked from this blog.

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

These cookies are similar to your average chocolate chip cookie, but they are just a little bit fluffier and have a bit of a different texture. The flavor is a little bit sweeter as well. Also, these cookies stay softer longer than a regular chocolate chip cookie would, which is great for me, because I love soft cookies. (Also, the cookie dough for these is delicious!)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 small package instant vanilla pudding (3.4 oz)

2 eggs, room temperature

2 cups chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugars, butter, vanilla extract, and vanilla pudding mix. Beat until creamy. Add eggs. Add the dry ingredients and still until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375*F for 8-10 minutes.

These would be great for a cookie exchange, or a party, or just a quick afternoon snack. This recipe made almost 50 cookies for me, and it took me less than an hour. They were so simple... but sometimes the simple things are the best.

"Success" Poem

Success is...

being strong in times of weakness,
having faith in times of hopelessness,
shining brightly in times of darkness,
persevering in times of struggle,
being patient in times of waiting,
being always loving, always forgiving, always trusting, always believing.

-Anonymous


and just for fun, I'm adding a couple of not-so-recent pictures I've taken.

In Nevada.

Nevada sunset.





DIY Post-It Note Goal List

I enjoy crafty projects. I am not always very good at them. But I like them.

About a week ago, I tried my hand at a Do-It-Yourself Post-It Note Goal List. It's a really simple idea,  easy to do and easy to personalize. After I made it, I decided to test it out for a week  before I actually blogged about it. It looks nice, and it keeps things neat and organized, so that your list looks like this :

My finished project.

and not like this:

For starters, you'll need an 11x14 inch sheet of thick drawing paper or cardstock, a pencil, some markers, a ruler, a few Sharpies, and of course, a nice block of Post-Its.

Supplies.

You'll probably find yourself needing other items as you start working on this, but you can decide that for yourself. These are the basic supplies you'll want to have handy.

Sketch out the design you want to use with just a pencil first. I'll demonstrate how I set mine up, but you might want to do yours entirely differently. I started with a 1/2 inch border, then made one large box at the top for my header (4.5 x 10 inches). Inside the header, about a half of an inch from the edge of the header, I made one, 3-inch box.



My outline.



On the rest of the page, I made six more three inch boxes. These will be where the Post-It notes go, so if you want to use slightly larger or smaller post-its, make sure to adjust your sizes accordingly. I have a thing with everything on a page being evenly spaced, so I spent more time than necessary making sure the boxes were just perfectly spaced. I finally ended up leaving about a quarter of an inch between each box, and about 1 inch between the rows.

 After you're satisfied with how your sketch looks, trace over the lines with Sharpie, or some other sort of marker to make sure it stands out.



The next part was my favorite. I got out my colored pencils and markers and decorated the header and in between the boxes. You can doodle and decorate however you like, just make it so that YOU enjoy looking at it. If you like the way it came out, you'll  be more inclined to use it.







My finished page.



 Next, we can finally break out the Post-Its. First, you must decide on a time frame for your goals, or to-dos, or whatever you have decided is the subject of your list. I decided on weekly goals, but daily or monthly could work just as well.

In the box at the top of the page, get a Post-It and write in your timeframe. Mine is in the picture below.  





Don't forget, whichever time frame you choose doesn't need to be permenant. If you decide later you'd rather a shorter or longer timeframe, just replace the Post-It Note with a new one.



 Now make six goals, writing each one on its own Post-It. Stick those Post-In Notes in the little boxes you drew. Hang it up somewhere you'll see it often, and when you've completed one of the tasks/goals, take off the Post-It and dump it.

Like I said, I used it throughout this past week, and today I am finishing the final goal, which was writing two blog posts during the week. The list was easy for me to use, since it was just hanging there in front of me every day, rather than being in a notebook which can be closed and stuffed away in a drawer. Not to mention the satisfaction of pulling off a Post-It note with the completion of each task.




**Credit for this idea goes to this blog.

M&M Cookie Bars

I found this recipe about a week ago, from this blog. I have made them twice already, and the second batch is already almost gone. :) We devour them quite quickly around here.

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• M&M's (I use about 1/2 cup per batch)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350*.




Cooling in the pan.


2. Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar.
3. Let it cool off slightly, and then beat in the egg and vanilla.
4. In a smaller bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Stir this into the wet mixture.
5. Pour into a greased 8x5 baking dish (or similar size). I used an 8x8 baking dish and spread the dough a little thinner - but I got more cookies out of it. :)
6. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Watch them carefully though - if you bake them too much before you put the M&Ms in, they won't stick as well.  
7. Pull them out of the oven and top with M&Ms, gently pressing them into the dough.
8. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the top is set. The cookies shouldn't wiggle if you shake the pan back and forth. They should be a very light golden brown on the edge, and white in the center.
9. Cool completely in the pan (about 5 minutes) and then slice. I sliced my cookies fairly small, so I got 25 cookie bars.

 These cookies are actually pretty fast and very simple to make. At first, it took me some time to figure out how long to cook them for and get the perfect amount of softness and chewiness. They are worth the effort, though, and would be great for a party.

Cake Batter Pudding Cookies

I found this recipe a few weeks ago through a site called Pinterest. I was a little hesitant to make these cookies at first because I wasn't sure how cake batter, pudding mix, and cookies would all taste mixed together. I am so glad I tried it because the cookies were soft and delicious. :)

Cake Batter Pudding Cookies

• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix (lemon flavored pudding mix tastes good too!)
• 3/4 cup yellow cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• a dash of salt
• sprinkles

Directions: 

 Preheat the oven to 350F.
 In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking soda, then set aside.
 In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together.
 Add in the budding package and cake mix and beat until well - blended.
 Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
 Next, add the flour mixture from the medium bowl slowly until well incorporated.
 Mix in sprinkles to your own liking.
 Roll into approximately 1" balls and place on greased baking sheet. I just used a spoon to make small blobs of dough on the tray, but if you find the dough too sticky to work with, try refrigerating it for 5-10 minutes.
 Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.



From Chef-In-Training

 It is a rare moment where I forget


From Pineapple-Grass

to take a picture of something I've baked,

but this happened to be one of them. I found the picture on the left from the website where I got the recipe from. The one on the right I found in a Google search, but it was more along the lines of what my cookies looked like.



And the Winner Is....

Kendall's favorite pair of TOMS.

About a week and a half ago, I announced a giveaway on my blog for the book 'Start Something that Matters' by Blake Mycoskie (the founder of TOMS shoes). Last night, I put the names of each person that commented in a hat and drew one out, and Kendall is our winner! You can see the original post and book review here.




And since this post feels so short, I'm going to go ahead and share some of my recent photography with you.

 





A Year With Jesus: By R.P. Nettelhorst

"Christ's words are of permanent value because of His person; they endure because He endures." 
                                                                                  -W. H. Griffith Thomas

A Year With Jesus is a simple devotional that focuses on drawing lessons and reflections from the words that Jesus spoke. Not stories about Jesus. Not facts and figures. Not Jesus' purposes, or what others said about him. Just His words.

Each devotional covers just one page, short enough to complete in less than ten minutes. As is suggested by the title, the book contains 365 of these quick devotionals. One thing I noticed about this book right away is instead of numbering the devotionals by dates, they simply put "Day 1." "Day 2." and so on, allowing you to start at any time of year.

The book is divided into ten sections, the topics covering: Love and Hate, Truths and Lies, Arrogance and Humility, Friends and Enemies, Belief and Disbelief, Patience and Impatience, Deserved and Undeserved, Good and Evil, Fidelity and Treachery, and Life and Death.

The devotionals start out with an excerpt from Scripture, usually 5-10 verses - something long enough to draw some truth or lesson from, but no so long as to exhaust readers that have trouble with long passages of reading. The devotional part of each day covers the second half of the page, and usually does not extend past a couple of paragraphs.

The author keeps the devotional part of each day's reading short and to the point in order to let keep your focus on Jesus' words. He provides insights on each days Scripture passage, explains the text, and leaves with an application for daily living, or an idea or theme he found in the passage. His ideas and applications are thought-provoking, and although simple, often bring to mind a situation in which I can use a certain verse or concept.

I'd recommend this book to someone who was looking for a daily devotional that would provide a specific study (words of Jesus) and thoughtful insights. You can pick up a copy of the book here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A Little Bit about Panama

Panama is a beautiful country with a rich and diverse culture. I am so excited for the opportunity I have to travel there.

Panama has a tropical climate, with two main seasons : Wet and Dry. We'll be visiting Panama during their wet season. The average temperature for Panama during the time we're visiting is between the 70s and 90s, with 80- 90 % humidity. That's definitely way more humidity than I'm used to, but I'm sure I'll survive. :)



Some Panamanian fruits



Panamanian meals are simple, typically including meat, coconut rice, and beans as well as local fruits and vegetables. Some of the most common produce includes yucca, squash, and plantains. Breakfasts often consist of fried corn tortillas filled with eggs, meats and other goodies. Fresh fruit, eggs and toast are often served as well. And, if you're big on coffee, I've heard Panamanian coffee is delicious.  



From an Embera village.


We'll be staying in a hotel that is located in the heart of the tropical rainforest of Panama, near the Panama Canal and the River Chagres. We'll be visiting a few Embera tribes along the Chagras River.




Panamanian sloth



Panama also has many diverse species of animals and other wildlife. Panama is home to many different types of birds, including quetzals, macaws, amazons, parrots, toucans, and the national bird, the harpy eagle. Panama also has many different kinds of monkeys - white-faced capuchins, squirrel monkeys, spider monkeys and howler monkeys. Tropical fish, sea turtles, whales, dolphins, sloths, anteaters, and a host of other interesting animals can also be spotted.

Please continue to pray for my fundraising! Only 142 days left until I leave for the trip. :)

TOMS Book Review and Giveaway!

"To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

Inside each of us, there is a desire to succeed. A desire to make a difference. We don't want to be purposeless and empty. We want to be remembered. We want to do something that matters. We want to change the world. But often, I think we look at it from too broad of a perspective. We sit at home and think, "One person can't make the whole world perfect and fix all of it's problems. I can't fix everything, so I just won't do anything."

In 2006, a man named Blake Myscoskie visited Argentina on vacation. While he was there, he got used to wearing the national shoe, called the alpargata. The shoe was a soft, casual canvas shoe worn by almost all of the local people. Blake loved the shoe, and thought it would have a great market in the United States, but pushed the thought to the back of his mind. After all, he was on vacation - he wasn't supposed to be working. Later on his trip, he met a woman who collected shoes from donors and gave them to kids in need. He was heartbroken to find out that many times they didn't have enough shoes to give out, or when they did, they weren't the correct sizes, and many kids were still left barefoot after her shoe drop-offs.

He wanted to change that. The idea he formed was simple. He would start a shoe company that sold shoes similar to the alpargata. For every pair he sold, he would give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. This was the basis of the TOMS story. In his book, Start Something That Matters, Blake Mycoskie shares his story while creating a guidebook to anyone interested in starting something that matters - something that makes a difference.

He gives six elements that give you somewhere to start as you create your idea, and then he shows you how to apply the concepts and elements. He devotes one chapter to each key trait, focusing on that trait, how he used it, how others are using it, and how you can use it. The six elements he gives are finding your story, facing your fears, being resourceful without resources, keeping it simple, building trust, and giving.

Each chapter is relatively short, but is packed with stories, advice and interesting (and entertaining!) tidbits along the way. Blake Mycoskie brings you along on his journey with TOMS, while showing you how to embark on a journey of your own. All of the chapters include stories from the TOMS business, as well as stories from others who have started their own businesses, organizations and companies. He also mixes in lots of tips on how you can use his six elements for your own dreams and ideas, questions to jump start your brainstorming, and advice and insight he has learned and gained along the way.

The book was definitely encouraging and inspiring. Everyone wants to do something to make a difference - and everyone can. It all comes down to taking the first step. Toward the end of his book, Blake says "The most important step of all is the first step. Start something! What if that idea in the back of your head is a really good one, one that might end up helping tens of thousands of people? You owe it to the world to act. Or maybe it will help only a few people : The same advice applies. ... Just because the first step is a very simple one doesn't mean that it can't lead someday to something profound."

I'm giving one copy of this book away (United States residents only, please)! All you have to do is leave a comment with a link to your favorite pair of TOMS. You can find all of their styles on the TOMS website : http://www.toms.com/. On February 14th, I will randomly choose one comment to win a copy of the book, Start Something that Matters.


*I received two copies of this book free from the TOMS company, one to keep, one to give away. The opinions in this post are mine, I was not paid to review the book, nor was I required to post a positive review.