right here, right now…joy.

hello week. good-bye weekend. i feel like i need another weekend. seriously i’m finding that the days and weeks keep going faster and faster. before long…i’ll be old 😉 i feel like a happy broken record coming here each week and saying that joy is everywhere and that i feel so….loved. joyful. at peace. excited. at home. seriously, y’all (i’m not southern but i just felt like saying that), God is so very faithful. months ago, one of my intern people told me about how when he was praying for me that he saw a book where i needed to focus on the page at hand rather than look ahead to the end. i think i’m finally starting to live like that and trust God like that. saying hello to the new adventure right here, right now and not trying to make another adventure happen on my own.  so, without further ado, here are some snapshots of joy…

816. knowing that people have my back

830. more swings, more swings (cute little kiddos on the playground)

871. eating brownies with a spoon from the pan with my people

876. melting into peace

879. moments where my heart stops in a good way

880. memories i want to hold onto

888. closing my eyes to soak up the moment

908. bananagrams and cribbage and laughing and fabulous people

938. watching life!

and before you run off…don’t forget to comment because it makes my heart happy to hear from you all! did you watch life? what was the highlight of your week? anything I can be praying for you about?

p.s. i’m SO close to 1000 gifts. 🙂

 

Pocket Full of Thoughts

• Ha, I so need one of these….
• So excited about this new start because I am totally living out a “second chance” myself: a movement of people that would let radical integrity and radical grace consume them in their life and leadership.
• Took a nap on the couch tonight…so comfy and safe
• No cocoa for brownies….but popcorn when I woke up hit the spot
• New to me, free clothes make my heart so happy. seriously. 2 pairs of running tights and 2 under armor long sleeve shirts (plus, one with the thumb hole things!!! I am so set for running in the minnesota cold….) not to mention a cute tank top, other clothes and a fun bag.
• This looks totally awesome. I miss my bike and I heart Africa.
• Feeling the days slipping by so fast…
• We leave for debriefing and Cape Town on Saturday–what!?
• Why am I still up? Oh right, I took a forever long nap tonight.
• What are you up to?

 

White Chocolate Deliciousness

I spent the night baking!  Finally!  I haven’t been in the mood to bake for so long and I definitely missed it.  I am so glad and my heart is happy that this part of me can be expressed with joy instead of sadness/heartache at remembering times of baking with others.  I love baking, baking with people and giving food to others. I made some brownies for those who watched Titanic and then I made banana bread with white chocolate and brown sugar from the States (woot! the brown sugar here is different…and you can’t get white chocolate in “chip” form here).  I included the recipe for the banana bread below since I think it’s the best and super delicious especially with white chocolate chips.  Enjoy!  Any recipes that you recommend?

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Banana Bread

5 T butter

½ cup sugar

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg, 2 egg whites or egg replacer works fabulously!

1 t. whites

1 t. vanilla

1 ½ cup mashed bananas

1 ¾ cup flour

1 t. soda

½ t. salt

¼ t. baking powder

½ cup heavy cream or soy milk

NOTE: These are REALLY good with white chocolate and many people like them with chocolate too, but I like white chocolate.  Estimate how much you want in there.

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray the bottom of the loaf pans (2 reg. or 4 small).
2. Beat butter in a large bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add sugar and brown sugar.  Beat well.  Add egg, egg whites, and vanilla.  Beat until well blended.  Add mashed bananas.  Beat on high 30 sec.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder.  Add this flour mixture to butter mixture alternately w/cream.  End with flour mixture.
4. Pour the batter evenly into the loaf pan.  Bake until brown, toothpick inserted in center will come out clean.  Baking times: Larger Loaf pan—1 hour 15 minutes.  Smaller Loaf pan—45 minutes.  (I don’t know if I buy these times…each oven is different and I usually find it needs more time.  Just stick a knife in it and when it comes out clean then it’s ready!!).
5. Cool on wire rack in pan.  Remove from pan after 10 minutes.  Cool completely on wire rack.  (Nah, go ahead and eat some after the first 10 minutes…YUM!)

A little late…

I meant to post this on Saturday or Sunday, but due to circumstances including the internet sporadically going out and well life, I didn’t post.  All of that to say, that I had a crazy busy, fast weekend.  Friday started out with an attempt to play Mafia (you really need more people) and some delicious brownies.  Saturday started out with sleeping in and a nice long run (yay for 4.5 miles without walking–ever since Swazi running was not going well, but now I think it’s on the upswing).  The afternoon consisted of a soccer game!  Fun stuff minus the rain at the end.  At least we brought a blanket and yummy chips.  When we got home, we were a little bored….so we made funnel cakes, deep fried oreos and pretzels!!  They were delicious.  I ate way way too much.  Thus, we ended up sitting on the floor of the kitchen chatting about life and fun things to do after the internship.

Yum!! Even better with powdered sugar 🙂

Planet Earth

I am loving on God’s creation lately.  Saturday night consisted of an amazing night filled with leftovers, brownies, banana bread (minus the middle…special baking by a certain boy), “Planet Earth”, friends, Target, and seat warmers.  We watched the Ocean and Desert episodes of Planet Earth.  The filming blew me away and I’m still in awe.  Now I just want to travel all over!  Who wants to come!?  Then, at church, the sermon started out with a comparison of the Sun and the Earth.  Incredible numbers and visuals. I  am astounded at how many earths would fit inside the sun–I’d tell you the exact numbers, but they’re too big for me to remember.  Go wikipedia them 🙂  Anyway, creation has so many neat things and I love it!  Probably why I love running, walking, hiking, biking, waterskiing, stargazing, meteor showers, sunsets, sunrises, and all those other outdoor activities.  Now if only the cold temperatures would go hide so that summer can come right in!