Things I am Thankful For

Gratitude is something we should be feeling all the time, not just in November, but Thanksgiving always makes us think just a little bit more about those things we are thankful for.  There is so much in my life that I am grateful for, so bear with me as I make my way through the incomplete list of 20 things I'm thankful for in no particular order.

1. Jesus. That he would come to die in my place, save me, and allow me to live eternally with him and everyone else that believes in him. I could never be thankful enough for God’s grace through Jesus Christ.
2. Life. How cool is it to know that everyday is a new day and I am alive to enjoy it?!!
3. My Husband. He's my best friend; from him I get unconditional love and acceptance, and he always makes me feel like I'm special and liked. I'm the luckiest girl in the world.
4. My Family. I'm thankful to be related to very loving, supportive people. All of my family is special to me. My Mom enabled me to experience many things. She gave me everything she possibly could ... and even some things she probably couldn't. My whole family encouraged me to develop my talents and to embellish my weaknesses.
5. My Friends. If I named them all individually, from wonderful acquaintances to tried and true friends, I'd have a list a mile long. I truly value my friends and will never have "enough" or too many.
6. Being a nice person. I'm hardly perfect, but it's good to know in my heart that I'm a kind person. I'd never intentionally hurt anyone. I don't believe in being mean. I hate to see anyone cry and love to see people smile.
7. My Dog! Diesel is always there to greet me and wags his tail, even when I'm grumpy. I know he won't be with us forever, but I cherish the time we've spent together and the time we still have. There's nothing like the unconditional love of a dog!!
8. Travel. Thanks to work, good savings and sometimes luck, I have been able to do a lot of traveling in the U.S. , Canada and Mexico.
9. Accomplishing goals: To one degree or another, I tend to follow through on things. I thrive on having goals to strive for and am happy about the fact I've been able to achieve some of them!!
10. Growing up in the country. It is a difficult feeling to explain to someone who hasn't grown up with land to freely roam - the experiences I gained, responsibilities I undertook and fun I had are things that shape who I am today.
11. Being able to laugh. When the going gets tough, I like that I can often smile my way through difficulties and find the bright side.
12. Being financially secure: We're not rich (whatever that is, monetarily speaking), but we're comfortable and have what we need and then some.
13. Good health: Knock on wood. :-)
14. Being an American: Taking nothing away from any other country, I'm just being thankful for my own. It may not be perfect--what place is?--but I love it nonetheless.
15. Memories: It's fun to reminisce. I enjoy looking at pictures and remembering special moments and events. It's also fun to chat about "old times" with others who were there, too.
16. Things to look forward to. I have my whole future to look forward to!
17. All those who've ever served our country. It's an admiral and brave thing to do. Our men and women in uniform, past and present, have, do and will give so much for us all. So do their families.
18. Free Speech. Every person lucky enough to live in a country that protects free speech ought to give thanks for that good fortune every single day. We should never take that luxury for granted.
19. For Starbucks. I love their coffee; I love the atmosphere their coffee shops provide.
20. Seasons and Weather. I am lucky enough to live in the great Pacific Northwest where seasons vary and so does the weather. I wouldn't change it for the world.

Mondays...

Crockpot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili

Ingredients: 

• Cooking spray
•  2 lb 99% lean ground turkey
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp chili powder, to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 (15 oz cans) of white northern or navy beans, rinsed and drained
• 15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 4.5 oz canned chopped green chile
•  2 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
•  fat free sour cream for topping (optional)
• chopped cilantro and chives for topping (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

1.  Heat a sauté pan over high heat and lightly spray with oil. Add meat and cook through, about 5 minutes.  Add to crock pot.
2. Add oil to the sauté pan, then onions and garlic, sauté about 3 - 4 minutes; add cumin and sauté another minute. Add to crock pot.
3. Add beans, pumpkin puree, green chilies, broth, chili powder, and bay leaves to crock pot. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours 
4. Remove bay leaves and adjust seasoning to taste before serving. Enjoy!

Found here.

Think before you speak?

I've been doing some soul-searching lately while reading the book, “How to Find God: Living Water for Those Who Thirst." One of the big things I need to work on is saying things in anger that I don't necessarily mean.

The problem is, sometimes the things we say can be difficult and even impossible to take back. We have the ability to do irreparable damage to our marriages and friendships with our words. Most women like to put the blame on men for speaking before they think, but truth be told, I think women are very guilty (if not more so) of this as well.

Learning to speak a language of love and respect might possibly be one of the hardest things you ever do, but if you keep in mind the consequence, there is definitely an incentive. Everyone will have disagreements. And, we have to admit that at some time or another our spouse/friend/coworkers have said something we thought was so stupid, so annoying, so rude, so insensitive, so petty, the list goes on and on, that we responded by using hurtful words towards them.

So, that being said I want to share with you something I was reading from this book. It's about refraining from idle speech. Read Matthew 12:35-37. The verse preceding this text says, “For whatever is in your heart determines what you will say.” That right there says it all for me, if what you feel in your heart is what you say, you will always be refraining from insensitive remarks and idle speech.

When I was looking around on google, I found this cool 'rule' to apply before you speak:

THINK
T- Is it true?
H-Is it helpful?
I-Is it inspiring?
N-Is it necessary?
K-Is it kind?

Before and Afters

Got to work on the retaining wall project, which was started last August! It was costly for us to finish this, but all the bricks finally got installed and now we get to clear out the driveway for gravel or asphalt!

Homemade Ice Cream Recipe

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1/2 cup milk or half & half

• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

• 6 tablespoons salt (preferably, rock salt - but table salt will do!)

• 2 quart-size plastic food storage bag

• 1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag

• 1/2 tray of Ice cubes

This makes about 1 scoop/1.5 scoops of ice cream - double, quadruple, whatever you need to make the quantity you desire! :)

1. Mix together: Sugar, half & half, and vanilla in a quart size bag.
2. Seal, leaving it as air-less as possible. Seal the second quart sized bag around that, with as little air as possible.
3. Put quart sized bags inside the gallon sized bag, pour ice cubes in and also the salt.
4. Shake for about 5 minutes or have kids toss the bag back and forth (outside!!)

Before and Afters

This past week, we decided it was finally time to remove the huge weeping willow tree in front of our house. It is really exciting to see the difference in street view and I can't wait to see what the house will look like as we continue to remodel the exterior. Up next: new roof, new windows, new paint!

Savory Spice-Rubbed Strip Steak

Made this for dinner tonight, it was beyond words! This recipe is great for summer nights sitting out on your deck with a bottle of Cabernet :)

1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 lbs. New York Strip or Top Loin Steaks

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine all of the spices, and sprinkle and rub the mixture over both sides of the steaks.When the grill is hot, cook the steaks for 3 - 5 minutes per side, depending on how well done you like them. Slice the steak into thin strips to serve it. Serve it immediately or refrigerate it for up to 3 days.



Serve this with Grilled Bread (recipe below) and Steamed Brocolli with Lemon Pepper seasoning.

To make the grilled bread, cut a loaf of Italian Bread into 1" thick slices; mix together about 1/4 cup of Olive Oil, 1 tsp. Salt, 1 tsp. Oregano and 1 tsp. Garlic Powder. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat both sides of the slices of bread and place them directly on to the heated grill for 1-2 minutes per side or until they are lightly browned.

Sarah's new business

Today marks the new adventure of Sarah creating a business to sell her crafty items. The business blog can be found here. On the blog there will be many crafty ideas and tutorials as well as finished projects. :)

Sarah will be posting most of her creations on facebook for immediate sales, but will also be doing meetups and craft fairs with a local Snohomish Handmade group. There will also be an etsy site, which will be located here.

Before and Afters

Fireplace/Living Room


Entry/Stairs