Scripture Sunday - Provers 3:5-6

Provers 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight

Card Class

I had some young ladies from church over on Thursday to make some cards. I thought they would enjoy making cards and learning different techniques. They made 3 cards and I sent them home with lots of extra paper so they could make more cards at home.

Grandparents day is September 7th

The girls are coloring their grandparents card.

It's Raining

God has been merciful to us and has given us rain the last 2 days. Everything is bursting with life and looks so much greener.
Mike was sitting at his desk working and he looked outside and saw this beautiful waterfall/stream.

Thank you Lord for the much needed rain!

Scripture Sunday - Proverbs 11:13

Proverbs 11:13

A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

Apple What?

I found this recipe on (you guessed it) The Pioneer Woman. They looked so good I had to try them.

These apple treats are delicious but I am not sure I would call them apple dumplings. My Mom makes the best apple dumplings and of course they are nothing like this recipe.

The top is flaky, the bottom is soft and yummy, but for me it was really rich. I don't think I will make this treat too often since it's full of butter and sugar and we just don't need all of that.

Note: My favorite was the top flaky part...oh so good!

More Chickens

We decided to expand the chicken run and get more chickens. We had 10 chickens and on average we got 7 eggs a day. Yesterday we got 7 more chickens (ones that lay blue-green colored eggs) so we hope to have at least a dozen eggs a day. This will allow me to do some egg casseroles and things that I have been wanting to do but haven't had enough eggs because we keep selling them. We have several regular customers who pick up eggs every week.

To celebrate I made an egg casserole and it was delicious. I got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Sleepin’ in Omelette
6 onion rolls
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 1/2 sticks butter

8 ounce package cream cheese

10 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

dash of cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chopped chives

Generously butter 9 x 13 baking dish. Tear onion rolls into chunks. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese, then tear cream cheese into small piece and place over the top. Cut 1 1/2 sticks butter into pats and place over the top. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the top of the dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight.The next morning, bake at 325 degrees, covered, for 45 minutes. Then remove foil and continue baking at 350 for 10-15 minutes

Note: I only made a half batch for me and Mike but I didn't even use a half stick of butter and I think it turned out just fine.

A Delicious Sandwich

I am really enjoying The Pioneer Woman and I keep finding more and more recipes that I would like to try. I made this sandwich the other night after Mike had a long hard day of work.

We were so hungry and it tasted so good I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the sandwich, but there are plenty of pictures on The Pioneer Woman site.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 pounds cube steak (tenderized round steak that’s been extra-tenderized)
1 large onion OR 2 small/medium onions
4 French/Deli rolls
Butter
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco

Directions:
-Slice onions and cook in 1/4 stick butter until soft and light brown. Remove and set aside.
-Slice cube steak against the grain. Season with Lawry’s.
-Heat 2 TBSP butter over high heat (in same skillet) until melted and beginning to brown.
-Add meat in single layer. Cook one side until brown, then flip and cook until brown, about a minute on both sides.
-Add 1/2 (at least) Worcestershire sauce, 5 to 6 shakes Tabasco, and 2 TBSP butter. Add cooked onions. Stir to combine.
-Butter halved French rolls and brown on skillet.
-To assemble, lay bottom half of French roll on plate. Place meat mixture, followed by a spoonful of juice from the pan. Top with other half of roll, cut in half, and devour!

Thanks so much Pioneer Woman for sharing all your delicious recipes with us!

Wordless Wednesday

Project of the Week

Before

After

My project for last week was to take down the erosion paper on our property. I wanted the yard to look more natural and every time I looked out I saw that black paper and I just didn't like it. So Thursday and Friday I spent pulling, tugging, ripping, breaking and cutting. I really like the natural beauty of our property.

Guess What

Can you guess what this is?

That's right... I got my hair cut today.

The picture isn't that great of me but you get the idea of the length of my hair.

I wanted to wait to get my hair cut until it was long enough for me to donate to Locks of Love. Of course Mike wanted to make sure I had enough hair left that I would still have some hair :-) After she styled it the back got shorter but I can still put the sides up in a pony tail so that I am happy.

Eight Things...

Since today is 08/08/08 I decided to do things in sets of 8... so here goes...

1 - Eight things I am thankful for:

1. I am a child of the King
2. My wonderful loving husband
3. God's Grace
4. Godly parents and grandparents
5. Family and Friends
6. He's still working on me and will be faithful to complete His work in me
7. Many daily blessings from God
8. The rain we got last night

2 - Eight Prayer Requests:

1. Military men/women and their families
2. Missionaries - Sermons, Gates, Wheeler, Ropp, Ellison, Uncle Ivan and Aunt Kim
3. Whispering Hope Ministry - salvation of young ladies and birth commitments
4. God would bless us with a baby
5. Jail ministry - salvation, repentance
6. Assisted Living Ministry - salvation before it's too late
7. Sale of homes - Bill, Roberson, Gray, Jeffries
8. God's wisdom for Mike as the head of the house

3 - Eight things to accomplish today:

1. Quiet time with the Lord
2. Play ball with Betsy
3. Clean bathrooms
4. Make 8 new cards
5. Read a chapter of my organization book
6. Clean out fridge
7. Work on new zizziecards website
8. Get shopping list and coupons ready for tomorrow

4 - Eight names of God:

1. Alpha and Omega
2. Jehovah Jireh
3. Elohim
4. El Shaddai
5. I AM
6. Yeshua
7. Adonai
8. El Elyon

5 - Eight books I've read:

1. The Bible
2. Bittersweet by Cathy Marie Hake
3. Created to be his Help Meet by Debi Pearl
4. Heritage of Lancaster County series by Beverly Lewis
5. Annie's People by Beverly Lewis
6. Daughter's of Lancaster County by Wanda E. Brunstetter
7. Lies Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
8. Journey of the Heart by Jeannie Castleberry

6 - Eight Favorite Foods:

1. Bread
2. Mom's chocolate/peanut butter dessert
3. Grandma's caramel popcorn
4. Corn on the cob
5. Watermelon
6. Candied sweet potatoes
7. Shoofly Pie
8. Red and Yellow bell peppers

7 - Eight Favorite things to do:

1. Spend time with Mike
2. Go to a park
3. Watch the snow fall
4. Spend time with family
5. Cook
6. Take pictures
7. Make cards
8. Go for a walk

8 - Eight Favorite Bible verses:

1. John 3:16
2. Philippians 4:13
3. Philippians 3:13-14
4. Ephesians 2:8-9
5. James 1:17
6. Psalm 27:1
7. Philippians 4:8
8. I Corinthians 13:4

Olive Cheese Bread

Yesterday I found myself going from one blog to another. I was either reading a post which had a link for another blog or I would look at the links on the side of the blog and click on another blog link to see if I could find anything interesting.

I ended up at this blog/website called The Pioneer Woman. I started reading her recipes and each one I read sounded better than the last one. There were several recipes I wanted to try but I didn't have all the ingredients so I put them on my menu for next week which will give me a chance to pick up the supplies I need this weekend.

I did however find this one recipe for Olive Cheese Bread that I was able to make for lunch today. It was delicious. I didn't use all the butter it called for and next time I would probably use less green olives because the taste was so strong... but it really was delicious. I had a slice when it first came out of the oven (of course I was careful not to get burned) and then I let the other slice cool down some. Both pieces tasted great but had different flavors. If I had to pick one of the two I would say wait for it to cool down some and then enjoy.

Olive Cheese Bread

1 regular can whole black (ripe) olives

16-oz jar pimiento-stuffed olives

2 green onions

¾ pound Monterey Jack cheese

½ cup real mayonnaise

1 stick butter, softened

1 loaf French bread

Roughly chop black and green olives. Slice green onions and give them a rough chop. Combine green onions and olives with the softened butter, ½ cup mayonnaise, and grated Monterey jack cheese. Mix thoroughly. Slice French bread in half lengthwise, then spread mixture evenly over the halves. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes, or until thoroughly melted and starting to turn light brown and bubbly.

Organization - Part I

I am reading Confessions of a Happily Organized Family by Denice Schofield that my friend Christie let me borrow (thank you again Christie). I wanted to write some notes on what I have read/learned so far. This is probably more for me to refer to in the future but maybe someone else out there can benefit from the notes I take from this book.

Goal Setting - Why are goals necessary?

• Without Goals things that don't matter in the long run take over your life
• Goal setting saves time
• Goal setting can help solve problems

Rules to follow when setting goals:

• Make the goal specific
• List your goal activities (main goal, subgoal, minigoal)
• Establish the order in which subgoals will be worked
• What resources do you need
• Give yourself a deadline
• Be flexible if something major comes up
• Be enthusiastic about working and completing your goal
• Reward yourself when you have met your goal

The Secret

One day, one friend asked another,
"How is it that you are always so happy?
You have so much energy,
and you never seem to get down."
With her eyes smiling, she said,
"I know the Secret!"
"What secret is that?"
To which she replied,
"I'll tell you all about it,
but you have to promise to
share the Secret with others."
"The Secret is this:
I have learned there is little I can do
in my life that will make me truly happy.
I must depend on God to make
me happy and to meet my needs.
When a need arises in my life,
I have to trust God to supply
according to HIS riches.
I have learned most of the time
I don't need half of what I think I do.
He has never let me down.
Since I learned that 'Secret', I am happy."
The questioner's first thought was,
"That's too simple!"
But upon reflecting over her own life
she recalled how she thought a bigger house
would make her happy, but it didn't!
She thought a better paying job
would make her happy, but it hadn't.
When did she realize her greatest happiness?
Sitting on the floor with her grandchildren,
playing games, eating pizza or reading a story,
a simple gift from God.
Now you know it too!
We can't depend on people to make us happy.
Only GOD in His infinite wisdom can do that.
Trust HIM!
And now I pass the Secret on to you!
So once you get it, what will you do?
YOU have to tell someone the Secret, too!
That GOD in His wisdom will take care of YOU!
But it's not really a secret...
We just have to believe it and do it...
Really trust God!

I Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Curried Chicken Salad Cups

I tried this great recipe out of my August/September Taste of Home magazine... although I really adjusted the recipe to fit what I had but it was delicious so I wanted to share it with you.

Curried Chicken Salad Cups
3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1 cup dried cranberries
2 celery ribs, sliced
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped tart apple
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup flaked coconut
Dressing:
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
14 lettuce leaves

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, fennel seed, curry, honey, and cinnamon; add to chicken mixture and mix well. Serve on lettuce leaves. Yield:7 servings

Blessed, Happy and Thankful

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.

Philippians 1:3

I made 2 large (5 1/2 X 8 1/2) cards today to take to church tomorrow night and have all the families sign it.

The first one (flower background) is for Grandma Dot. She has been away visiting her children in South Carolina. I just wanted to remind her that we are thinking of her and we miss her. She is a great blessing to our church.

The second card (heart background) is for the Burrell family. We haven't seen them at church in a while and I wanted to let them know we are praying for them.

Trip to Indiana

Grandma and Grandpa love Scrabble!

Dad, Grandma, Grandpa and Stephen playing yet another game of Scrabble

A friend of the family made this cake for Grandma's birthdayGrandma still plays the organ at church
Mom looking through a photo album Aunt Rita brought with her
Uncle Mike and Kayla looking through a calendar that Aunt Rita made on SnapFish

Rachel was a great traveler

Back in June I went to PA to visit my Mom's side of the family so this trip was to visit my Dad's side of the family.
We had a wonderful time. Most everyone was able to make the trip. This was a special gathering for several reasons.

1) My Grandmother's 87th Birthday was July 29th
2) My Uncle Ivan and Aunt Kim have reached 100% support and will be heading to Argentina as missionaries in mid-August
3) We don't know when the next time we will all be together.

And the winner is...

Annabelle

I want to thank everyone who stopped by and looked at my blog and posted a comment. I was overwhelmed by the great response. My goal for the next Bloggy Giveaway is to have my http://www.zizziecards.com/ site finished with it's new look and then I can give away several prizes. See you all in October.