Admit it. I'm your favorite.

5-minute 50-calorie Asparagus Bisque

According to the experts, "Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly-seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on seafood broth. Creamy soups made from roasted and puréed vegetables are sometimes called bisques (though this is, by definition, incorrect, as this would make them cream soups)."

Well, call me "tres erroné" Frenchies because I made an asparagus bisque with zero seafood broth.  And I'm calling it a bisque, so there!

Asparagus is a favorite of mine - canned, steamed, broiled, grilled, you name it. Asparagus is also low in calories and is very low in sodium. It is a good source of calcium, magnesium and zinc, and a very good source of fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, folic acid, & iron, as well as chromium, a "trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells."

Diabetic friends, take note of that last bit!

Even if you don't like asparagus, you WILL probably like this soup. It's mild & savory/sweet, with loads of texture & subtle flavor. One great thing is that it  takes 5 minutes to make -- but perhaps the greatest part is that the milk and butter are OPTIONAL - so if you're eating paleo or just trying to cut all unnecessary calories, you can still enjoy this creamy soup without those elements.  The soup is 50 calories a serving with milk & butter.  Without that stuff, I'm guessing...25 calories a serving? 

How nuts is that?

This is LITERALLY the easiest & most yummy homemade soup I've ever tried.

It's also fun to experiment with some add-ins.  I took the base recipe of chicken broth, asparagus, milk, and butter...then added stuff I randomly found in the fridge! I've become pretty confident over the past few years when it comes to knowing which ingredients will taste great together, without needing a recipe. If you want, you can just make the soup with the 4 base ingredients, or with the first 2 - it's still extra yum.  But if you want to get creative, try some of the elements I added, or use whatever YOU like! 

 

Asparagus Bisque

Makes 4 servings

Start with:

• 14.5 oz chicken broth
• 1 can asparagus spears (I used green, but think white asparagus would look neat too)
• 1/2 c milk (fat free or whatever you have)
• 1 tbsp butter

Then I decided to also use:

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• juice of 1/2 lemon

(other "add-in" ideas: onion powder, lemon zest, dill, basil, Worcestershire sauce...)

Blend the asparagus, liquid & all, until it's completely smooth.

You know you're jealous of my pink blender.  I have a matching toaster.  Obviously I got these before Drew & I married - they would not have gone over well with him as registry items, nevermind that I'm the only one in this house that toasts or blends anything.

Anyway, go ahead & combine the chicken broth and asparagus puree in a saucepan and heat for 1 minute.  Add the milk, butter, and whatever other ingredients float your boat!

 

 

 

Taste your concoction, and add salt & pepper to taste (use a shaker shaped like an animal - makes it taste better) :)

Then, serve her up! I like to keep all things AFAP (as fancy as possible) so you should know that I topped off my bowl of soup with cracked black pepper, a few pita chips, and fresh lemon zest.  Totally awesome.

 

Tres bien, y'all!

Happy eats,

February - Do You Know You're A Princess?

Quick recap before February -

November: NOBLE & VIRTUOUS CHARACTER (SET A FIRM FOUNDATION!)

December: RELIABLE, RESPONSIBLE IN WORK; ORGANIZED, ENERGETIC, INDUSTRIOUS

January: RELIABLE, DEPENDABLE IN CHARACTER; JOYFUL, STRENGTH & HONOR ARE THEMES IN HER LIFE & SHE LOOKS FORWARD TO THE FUTURE WITH HOPE & JOY

Let's keep in mind that we are BUILDING character traits - not isolating traits by month.  And I was looking over the coming year (and past months) and I noticed that there are 4 traits listed in Proverbs 31 that specifically relate to WORK. 

December: RELIABLE, RESPONSIBLE IN WORK; ORGANIZED, ENERGETIC, INDUSTRIOUS

February: PLANS AHEAD, HARD WORKER, AVERTS CRISES & STRESSFUL CRUNCHES WITH WISE PREPARATION

April: SETS THE PACE AT HOME AND AT WORK, MANAGES PEOPLE AND TIME RESPONSIBLY; HER EFFORTS AND INDUSTRIOUSNESS CONTRIBUTE TO AND/OR HELP TO MANAGE THE HOUSEHOLD FINANCES

June: TAKES PRIDE IN HER WORK & HER ROLE, RECOGNIZES HER VALUE, SELF-CONFIDENT; NOT A DOORMAT - SHE IS HONORED IN HER HOME, SHE AND HER FAMILY TEACH AND MODEL LOVE AND RESPECT BY EXAMPLE

This tells me 2 things: (1) God is a fan of working women (yay!) and (2) how we work, and how we approach work are both important components of being a Godly woman.  This is key to me as I feel led (sorry - Christianese there) to tailor this study to women who are single...working...preparing for marriage and children, looking for a man who recognizes/appreciates these traits, and in the meantime are striving to live each day as a Proverbs 31 woman. Not everyone reading this is single, but there are SO MANY resources out there for married women and moms - for a long time (like, the 31 years I was single?) God placed a burden on my heart to identify a roadmap for single women who were hoping to be Godly.  There are many messages bombarding single women these days, many of whom are praying & hoping for the opportunity to be a Godly wife/mom but who aren't there yet.  The world tells us that to get a Godly guy's attention, we need to be mysterious, sexy, independent (i.e. NOT DEPENDANT on ANYTHING - including our families, our jobs/callings, our faith, or on a prospective mate), spiritually mature, joyful, industrious, creative, and . There are awsesome books out there that speak to the Proverbs 31 "woman" - but from what I've seen, the context of that woman is that of wife and/or mother.  Some good examples:

Discovering the Treasures of  Godly Woman (Elizabeth George)

The Proverbs 31 Woman (Tiffany Chen)

The Excellent Wife (Martha Peace)

My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife (Sara Horn)

Princess Unaware (Brenda Garrison) - this book is actually VERY relevant to single women, the author is married with kids but she doesn't write from that perspective alone. 

 

The fact is, these days, many of us are single women with careers & goals that include but are not limited to the roles of wife and mother. Until 2 months ago, I was more concerned with being a Godly single career woman. Now, I'm married (for 2 months now - so barely married) and I'm incorporating that role into my goals.  But I have not forgotten the journey of my soul as a woman who was single & dating, working, going to school, maintaining a home, etc.  There is nothing in Proverbs 31 that says a woman with these characteristics is already a wife!  It says "A wife of Godly character, who can FIND?" -- in other words, the woman we're studying is an eligible bachelorette!  You're a princess, a daughter of the King...as a single princess, you are learning to be these things, and the prayer is that a man worthy of you is looking for these traits in you.  You do not have to -nor SHOULD you - wait until you have a partner or children to work on these traits.  The principles apply if your "work" is that of a doctor, a teacher, a lawyer, an adminstrative assistant, or CPA.  They apply if your current key relationships are as daughter, sister, friend, or single mother.  They WORK (I think my Godly husband will agree that the main reasons he fell in love with me are my work ethic, my self-confidence, my energy, my love, my ability to express myself intelligently, and my committment to my faith - among other things).  I want to move away from the assumption that God's will can only be realized in us after He's given us a partner and/or kids.  In fact, I would argue that those things only complicate the endeavor -- let's learn now, as single women, or as women in dating relationships, or as women who are married without kids, how to be the WHOLE WOMAN that we're called to be in Proverbs 31.

Our noble and virtuous character flows naturally from what we know of our perfect Father, our King - as his offspring, as his princesses, we are enabled and encouraged to act as royalty. NOBLE.  VIRTUOUS.  Think of movies you've seen, books you've read - noble and virtuous princesses are IT! A princess is industrious (creative, proactive)...energetic (not lazy or boring)...reliable (not wishy-washy or inconsistent). She's joyful, she takes pride in who she is and what she stands for (even when TV shows and politicians and other worldly influences say that a "princess" is just a diva with pseudo-celebrity status who demands her own way & wears designer clothes).  Strength and honor clothe us - we look forward to the future (including BUT NOT LIMITED TO our roles as wives and mothers) with hope and joy. 

Next month I'll feature interviews with a couple of women who exemplify February's traits.  They have, at their core, enthusiasm & ability to plan ahead and prepare wisely for the future.  They've been this way since before they were married/mothers, and they'll confirm that they've seen RESULTS -- when they were single, planning & preparation helped them stay sane & "noble" in trying & stressful circumstances.  Now that they are married, they've seen how planning and preparation blesses them mentally & also helps their households & lives run smoothly.  Can't wait to share it all with you!

In the meantime...do YOU know your King? Do you know that you are not just a plain old woman on earth striving to be "better" or "happier" or "more organized?"  Do you know that GOD - your Father, your King - specifically enables you to be a woman of exceptional worth?  Do you know that even when your parents treat you like an irresponsible 14 year old, even when your boyfriend fails to praise your Godly attributes, even when your husband forgets to thank you for your efforts, that your King is sitting on His throne and smiling warmly as you approach him with your gifts?  When the world fails to acknowledge our worth, when humans fail to recognize our growth and our contributions, God is the ONE who sees and appreciates the strides we've made toward fulfilling our call.  Satisfy yourself with this knowledge:  If you scheduled a meeting ahead of time with your client to address the issues you think they need help with, God is pleased.  If you arrived on time to work today and gave 100% to your tasks, God is pleased.  If you scheduled your day so that you could have dinner on the table tonight or lunches made ahead for next week, God is pleased. If you have a date tonight and you have decided that you will wear something modest (yet attractive) to ensure that mister-mister's mind is on your words instead of your body, God is pleased.  If you can smile and say that today you KNOW Who you served....God is pleased.

But if you can't say those things, think about your relationship to your King.  God calls each of us to believe SOLELY in Him - and yes, this means that you count on Him for your salvation, you count on Him to forgive your sins and redeem you so that you can be with Him in heaven when you die - but TODAY it means that you look solely to Him for your worth and validation.  If you don't have a personal relationship with your Father, your King, I encourage you to pray today and ask Him to be the "Lord of your life."  In simple terms, that means you're inviting Him to live in and through you, to permeate every part of you with His divine & royal attributes, enabling you to see and understand His calling in your life - PERSONALLY. If you make this committment today, and mean it, your eyes and your soul and your heart will be opened in ways you cannot even imagine. And the rewards -- oh my goodness, the rewards!  Forget heaven -- I know that's just a big hypo for so many of you! - just think about the validation and the personal satisfaction to be realized TODAY - THIS WEEK - THIS YEAR - knowing that your efforts are recognized and rejoiced over by a perfect God!  We seek acknowledgement from our friends, our families, our boyfriends, our husbands, our bosses.  But human beings will never, ever confirm what God wants to confirm for you - that everything you do is worthwhile and meaningful!  Do you want that today?  Just pray this from your heart, to God:

"Lord, I know am your child - created, above all, to reflect your royal attributes and to honor & please you.  Thank you for loving me and for caring every day about who I am and what I do!  Please live in my heart and my soul, and help me to discern what you want me to do.  Thank you for giving me the Bible, your instruction book - help me to understand it and apply it to my life.  I want to live my life for you and spend forever with you in heaven."

Now you're on your way to "getting it."  Forget what other people say or don't say - they're just human beings.  God is the one we serve, and He's given us a book full of love letters, illustrations, stories, and applications to enable us to be PRINCESSES.  Let's go, girls!

And just for the record...it took me an embarassingly LONG TIME to recognize whose validation I was seeking.  I spent most of my twenties seeking the approval of friends, family, and most of all MEN - I knew that I wanted to be a wife/partner, but I fell for the lies I was letting myself believe - that a woman of worth was a woman who appeared to have it all together, who had a great body & who was independent ( which I interpreted to mean not dependant on ANYTHING - including God's standards) and who was not emotionally needy (which I interpreted to mean not needy in any way - of another person's input, of God's input, ANYTHING).  It took me a long time to realize that God's way is best, and that other people are doing the best they can to learn the same thing.  This is a no-judgment zone, but I encourage you to learn now, before experiencing  immeasurable heartache and pain, that God's way IS the most fulfilling way - and that looking to Him alone for validation and approval is the only way that we as women will experience the peace & fulfillment we seek.

xoxo

C

February: A Preview

Our Proverbs 31 gal "PLANS AHEAD, is a HARD WORKER, AVERTS CRISES & STRESSFUL CRUNCHES WITH WISE PREPARATION."  That's what I'm trying to do for February's installment of this blog series! In banking, we all take the holidays seriously and let things slow down in December, so things are always busy at the start of the year.  This is great, because I'm getting a head start on practicing February's traits!  Every day there's a stressful crisis/crunch at work, and I've noticed that when they are unexpected, I have to go into "fireman" mode -- the result is that my family & friends get a "me" that is not so pleasant & peaceful.  So, it's worth my time to plan ahead, work hard, and wisely plan -- averting those crises & crunches if at all possible, and saving the people around me a little bit of headache too.

But...HOW?  Well, this will look different for different people.  For me, I need to get started on planning February's Proverbs 31 installment, I need to stay ahead of the game at the office, and I need to continue working hard in my relationships/daily personal life. I also need to "prepare" for all of the above by staying in God's word and focusing on what HE wants me to do and what HE wants me to be -- across the board. What is your "work?" For what potential circumstances are you called to plan & prepare? To what endeavors  are you supposed to be "giving your all?" Louse Viner, writing for Christ Church Central in Sheffield England, puts it this way:

"And what is work anyway? For many of us it is the office where we spend much of our time doing a lot of mundane tasks in order to pay the bills and support our families - or pay for the next holiday. For others of us it is hours spent studying with the aim of launching a good career. For mothers like me it can involve standing at the till in Tesco's or at the school gate in the pouring rain or cleaning up vomit - for which no one pays me anything - but it's a job nonetheless! The fact is that most of us for much of life have to perform certain tasks with boring regularity whether paid or unpaid."

I don't know what Tesco's is, but I think I get it.  Prepare for the mundane & expected - that's work, & as boring and uninspiring as it sometimes feels, it still requires dedication & preparation. The good news is that when we approach those mundane everyday tasks with planning & strategy/dedication, they can take on a new light -- our success rates increase, we feel super, we are more pleasant to be around, and we have more time/energy to spare!

And as far as hard work paying off goes, Thomas Jefferson famously quipped, "I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."

Audrey Hepburn gave us the Hollywood perspective when she said "I was asked to act when I couldn't act. I was asked to sing 'Funny Face' when I couldn't sing, and dance with Fred Astaire when I couldn't dance - and do all kinds of things I wasn't prepared for. Then I tried like mad to cope with it."

Sometimes, when things go smoothly, it might seem like luck - but I challenge you to start noticing how the "luck" you experience is tied to the plans you've made.  Isn't there a correlation?  What is it?  And if you feel like you are trying "like mad" to cope with the surprises thrown at you, channel Audrey & give it your best.  Nobody expects you to be perfect.  But also look outside of that frantic coping attempt and say to yourself "what could I have done to avert that crisis?  Could I do that next time, and get a better result?" 

The Bible says that we are all priests.  This does not mean that we all work at churches and people come to us to confess sins - "priests" means that we are equipped to speak to God directly & thus to serve him as believers through every facet of every day - every task, every conversation, every heartache, every crisis & joy.  It also means we are equipped to be leaders, speaking to God on behalf of other people, of the WORLD.  How? One way is through prayer, which I believe is one of the most valuable & powerful ways to wisely plan ahead!  As women who are also priests/leaders -- at work, in your home, at church, or in your relationships -- we are called to wisely prepare even beyond that.  Kenneth Boa, in his study entitled "Long Range Planning," says "...looking ahead into the future, that great unknown, is an essential characteristic of effective leadership. Although, as a leader, you may not possess a crystal ball to foretell what the future will bring, you can and should be planning for what it may bring."

To prepare for February, I'm going to look at a woman in the Bible who worked hard, planned ahead and averted crises/stress with wise preparation.  Rebekah went above and beyond the call of duty & drew water for camels in Genesis.  I'll also turn to a passage in Matthew, chapter 25, where we read of the ten bridesmaids preparing for the arrival of the bridegroom.  This is a great illustration of "big picture" preparation -- we are not only working hard and wisely planning so that the bills are paid on tiem and the boss gets his reports by end of day.  We are also preparing, as Christians, for the return of our King!  What does that look like?  We'll find out.

I'll also touch on 2 Chronicles 10:8, which says “But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up.” 

Rehoboam was Solomon's son, a young man with unharnessed natural abilities to lead. In the height of his prosperity as king, he turned into a moral failure. He serves as a sad illustration that one’s character, already formed, is a powerful factor in all emergencies of choice and decision. For Rehoboam, his lack of biblical wisdom led him to reject the advice of the elders when it mattered most. There was no discipline in the Lord in his life - no preparation for Biblical decision making - and he lost out because of it. His lack of readiness cost him the blessings of God’s kingdom.

The Scriptures exhorts each believer to “train yourself for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7).

As Darin Smith writes, "Can I ask you today how you are preparing yourself in godliness today? Are you disciplining your body for the glory of God (1 Cor. 9:27)? Have you desire for God to “both to will and to do for His good pleasure” in your life (Phil. 2:13)? Remember, you are not magically or instantaneously sanctified to the place of being like Christ. It is a lifelong struggle. But for the sake and glory of God, may we learn to submit all decisions, thoughts, motives, actions, intentions, and words to the One who is able to divide truth from sinful error."

Would you commit today to running your first-ever marathon next weekend?  No, you'd want at least a few months to train.  But the truth is that any day we could get blindsided by something we didn't get a chance to "prepare" for.  Cancer.  Pregnancy.  Work deadline.  Job loss.  And we need to prepare our hearts and minds to recognize God's voice & guidance in the midst of those trials.  We won't always be ready for the next play in the game, but we can start getting to know the Coach today so we're ready to follow his lead when crises come along.

Looking forward to February! In short, we'll talk about preparing for everyday practical tasks, planning for Christ's return, and averting crises/stress/failure with hard work & preparation.  Can't wait!

 

xoxo

C

 

Not-So-Gourmet Recipe Day: Guilt-free Chicken Pot Pie

Warning:  If you're looking for a gourmet version of this classic, you will not find that recipe here.  This is basic, use-what's-in-the-pantry, lazy-cook comfort food.  I'm not even trying to be "semi-homemade" here.   Now that we're all clear on that...

I'm estimating the calorie count for one serving (~1.5 cups) of this to be around 350 calories.  That's not too bad - just serve it with salad or fruit, fill up on that good stuff too, and let this just be part of your meal, not the whole meal.  Otherwise it's realllllllly easy to eat 3 cups of pot pie, which is just...too much...unless you're a football player.  :)

It's cold here in SA right now & kind of cozy (unless, of course, you are allergic to mountain cedar like my honey is - in which case you're miserable, not "cozy").  Whether you're feeling cozy or miserable, it's not a bad idea to turn back to the old favorites - but the hard part is the calories most of those favorites pack!  Have you ever noticed the per-serving calorie counts on dishes like lasagna, creamy casseroles, roast beef with potatoes, fried chicken...or pot pie? Well, it's easy to blow your diet with just one meal, unless you get creative and learn to mimic the richness of those original recipes with other lighter, cleaner ingredients. That's what I set out to do with pot pie.

I was craving that creamy consistency, the green peas (one of my fave veggies) and most of all, the flaky, buttery biscuit topping. I know some people would prefer pie crust but I like a thicker topping that soaks in the creamy sauce, so I'm a biscuit girl all the way. I found a base recipe and decided to play around with it a little bit. Here's what I did, and it turned out so much better than I'd even hoped. I always feel a little silly using cornstarch to thicken a sauce - it seems like a "real" chef would make a nice roux and do other things to get the desired result - but I didn't want to use flour in the dish so cornstarch is next-best. I supplemented with pureed sweet potatoes as a thickener & natural, subtle sweetener -- and to my surprise, the result was really divine.

Give it a shot.

 

 

 

Chicken Pot Pie (Serves 4 - takes approx 1 hour)

- 2 cups baby carrots

- 1/2 onion (red or white) chopped

- 2 tsp garlic powder (or minced garlic)

- 1 tsp. fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp. dried

- 1 tsp TrueLemon lemon powder or fresh lemon juice

- 1/2 cup dry white wine

- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth

- 2 bay leaves

- 1 small jar of pureed sweet potato (I used...yes...baby food! or, puree 1 cup of cooked sweet potato chunks in a food processor with a drop or two of honey)

- 2 cups cooked chicken - I have to be honest, I sometimes use canned drained white meat chicken in dishes like this. I think it tastes great, but you can cook your own, or get a rotisserie chicken from the store & use the meat from that!)

- 1 tbsp cornstarch

- 1.5 cup frozen peas

- 1 cup skim milk

- 2 tsp dried parsley

- pinch salt and ground black pepper

- 1 recipe for 9 Bisquick biscuits, made and rolled out to the size/shape of the baking dish you're using

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Drizzle some olive oil in a pan with high sides. Combine carrots, onion, bay leaves, garlic powder, thyme, lemon powder (or juice), and salt in the pan. Cook until the onions are getting translucent and the carrots are starting to look darker. Add the chicken broth and pureed sweet potatoes & simmer until the carrots are getting soft on the outside. Stir in white wine & bring back to a simmer.

3. While the veggie/liquid mixture cooks down and concentrates, whisk the cornstarch into the milk and athen dd to the simmering pot. Simmer until the mixture is really thick, then turn off heat.

4. Take out the bay leaf, stir in the peas, chicken, and parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Pour the filling into a baking dish (I used a Le Creuset 8" stoneware gratin dish...because we are only 2 people and this recipe is just enough for, like 4 people.) Top the dish off with your biscuit crust (it should be no more than 1/2 inch thick). It should be the size & shape of your dish, so just lay it right on top of the filling.  I brush the top with milk and sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, & parsley on top - you can get creative, use whatever you want.

6. Bake on the middle rack until the crust is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly... 20-25 minutes. Serve with fruit or a green salad!

As a bonus, I'll give you my recipe for canteloupe, which I served on the side - it's delish! At least I think so.  I accidently used too much vinegar last night (sorry, husband) but the version below is accurate...

Canteloupe Salad (serves 2)

1/2 canteloupe, rinds removed & flesh cut into 1" pieces

1 tbsp white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dry basil

1/4 tsp salt

- Mix all the ingredients together & serve! Room temp is best for canteloupe, in my opinion...

Happy winter!  Keep each other warm and be kind to everyone - it's rough out there.

 

xoxo

Stop your "wining," I'm building a bar! - How to turn a bookcase into a bar.

I like books.  You know what I like with my books?  A nice glass of red wine. But until today, I had loads of books on shelves, organized by color (I know, that's silly) yet I had nowhere to store/display/organize all that delicious wine!

UNTIL I TURNED A BOOKSHELF INTO A BAR.

I was inspired by a post on pinterest, where a girl had turned a low set of shelves into a bar - it was a cute idea, but I needed something sizable to fill the wall where I wanted my bar to go!  And it couldn't cost a lot, either. We just got married and the "budget" is TBD but I'm pretty sure I don't get to spend $500 on a bar.  So, I got creative.

First, I found a bookshelf online that wouldn't break the bank and that appeared to have shelves that were removable. This is the "Vintage Park" bookcase, bought from HomeDecorators.com.  Originally $269, with a promo for free shipping + 10% off, with another promo for $50 off an order of $200, the thing cost me just $192. 

I looked at Goodwill first, and on Craigslist, but I didn't see anything that looked "right" for this project -- plus, I wanted to avoid having to cart a big bookshelf from a store or someone else's home to my garage -- the free shipping promo was a real lifesaver with this purchase!

It arrived this week in a huge box of parts and although I know my sweet husband could and would assemble it for me, I realize that things like this aren't quite as "fun" for him as they are for me, and I set it aside for the wkend.  He went to work this morning, and I bounced out of bed to get started on my project! 

Step 1: Take the parts out of the box.

Step 2: Stare at awful instructions & wonder what the photos mean.

Step 3: Wing it!  Put shelves in slots (leaving out one shelf, the 2nd one from the top) and prepare to attach the front frame.

Step 4: But wait!  The top shelf will have a wine & glass rack underneath it!  Must attach it (thank you, Blaines, for the present!). Abby wanted to play SO badly...but hush, mama's working...

Step 5: Put the front frame onto the unit, and secure it (this effectively "locks" the shelves into their slots - that's why I put the wine rack onto the shelf BEFORE locking the shelves in...).  Blurry photo.  I think I was shaking with happiness or something. :)

Step 6: Lights!  I bought these wireless LED lights on amazon.com for $10 - they just attach to the bottom of the shelf, behind the wine rack, with super-strong sticky-back velcro!

And VOILA! It's finished!  Took me about an hour and a half to put it all together, start to finish.  Ah, so satisfying.  It's super lightweight, so I moved it inside all by myself!  

BUT FIRST...for context...

Here's the wall where it's going to go - in it's prior config, I had a console table with a plethora of mercury glass baubles all over & a triptych art grouping above...

Now....there's a lovely bar!

 

Like that sign?  Another gift - thank you Jenny!

Let's decorate!

 

 

You may recognize other gifts on display, ones that you've given us for our wedding, or Christmas, our engagement, etc.  THANK YOU, you know who you are! :)  Drew's scotch decanter is on display here too - I opted NOT to display our cheap tequila, creme de menthe, cooking sherry, & Kahlua - those are best left in cupboards for now.

That's it for today!  I should probably go do something relaxing now, after all that hard work. Maybe I'll read a book. Is 12:45pm too early for a glass of wine?

KIDDING.

Sausage, Zucchini Flowers, & Tenderloin Thieves

Our local grocery store, HEB, is awesome.  A few weeks ago they had a "meal deal" (buy one thang, get others free) for free tortillas, cheese, & salsa when you bought an 8 pack of smoked sausage (I chose regular - not mesquite). 

 DONE!  I used the tortillas/cheese/salsa for other things...gave 2 sausages to a homeless dude along with other nutritious items...and then decided to make a manly meal of "red beans & rice" with the rest of the sausage.  That was weeks ago, and on our kitchen list of potential meals, sausage/beans/rice has been an option ever since.  I've been baking, cooking, eating so many holiday foods that this poor lil meal went overlooked....until tonight!  And I decided to make it in the slow cooker with a hodgepodge of what I had on hand.

Fortunately...it turned out to be DIVINE! A real hit around here, at least -- and with some sneaky veg additions, it made me feel like we'd won the gold medal for hearty healthy food.  Check it out:

In a slow cooker (with a liner - what genius invented these, btw?  please tell him/her I'd love to eat movie nachos together as a gesture of deepest gratitude!)

 Ingredients:

• 1 can pinto beans with jalapeno
• 1 large can red kidney beans
• 1 can ranch-style black beans
• 1 can of zucchini flowers, chopped (wha? I'll get to this)
• 6 links of smoked sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 c water
• salt & pepper - liberally, to taste

Drain the beans, except for the ranch style black beans - they're not really drainable.  Add everything to the pot at the same time, meaning "in whatever order works for you." I tend to add the easy stuff first, then I chop & add the choppy stuff.  Speaking of choppy stuff - anyone weirded out by the addition of "zucchini flower?" I would be!  I've had a can of this stuff in my pantry for months.  I think I read somewhere that it's delicious & tastes great fried.  I probably saw this Tyler Florence recipe for how to make them. I'm easily persuaded.

So whatever, I bought a can.  It was in the "international foods" section with the Mexican foods.  Cost like $.89 and was weird looking but strangely alluring.  Zucchini flower?  What will it TASTE like?  Well, I wanted to add something mild to my redbeansandricewithsausage, and for some reason I thought that zucchini flower might work.

I also have ADD, so waiting months before using something in my pantry was both completely normal & maddening at the same time.  I may have bought it on impulse in early 2011, with no time or real plan for how to use it, but today, all of the sudden....I HAD TO USE IT IN SOMETHING OR I'D GO CRAZY!  If you are also ADD, you know what I mean.

Anywho. I popped open that little tin, and beheld some little pods with fronds, pods that appeared to have hairs on them!

Heck to the no!

But they beckoned.  And I, feeling suddenly very brave and adventuresome, decided that my commitment to these little babies must continue.  I NIBBLED ONE.  And y'all...it was good.  It was so good.  Not pickled, not hairy-feeling (just pleasently...spiny?) and mild yet zucchini-y. I chopped them!  I added them to the slow-cooker!  And I fed them to my husbun!!!!

After he raved over the dish (such a good husbun) I informed him that he UNWITTINGLY had consumed zucchini flower!  The source of FOLATE & POTASSIUM!  According to the interwebs, "at the tips of the growing zucchini are large pumpkin colored flowers. These zucchini-connected flowers are the female flowers of the zucchini plant. In equal amounts are zucchini-less flowers which are the male flowers needed for pollination. The important thing is that when harvesting flowers, harvest only the males and leave a few behind to pollinate the females."   So fellas, just FYI - these are MALE flowers.  They BELONG in a manly sausage & beans mess.

They start out looking like this:

 

And then they look like this...

 

And finally, in the can, they look like this:

 

Anyway, I snuck 'em into my red beans & rice.  And they didn't taste funny, they didn't taste like much at ALL - they were just a little bit of veggie wonderful!

Cook all that stuff on low for 8 hours or so.  You'll know when it's ready. Then serve it over hot cooked rice to someone you love!

 

xoxo

CATHERINE

Oh, and Erin?  You'll have to tell ME what to do with leftover tenderloin.  My crafty dogs nabbed mine off the kitchen counter while D & I were at Lowes - this is where my beef is now:

Holiday Leftovers!

If you're like me, you have a mom who is like Barefoot Contessa on steroids.

No?

Well, my mom IS LIKE Barefoot Contessa on steroids. Every year at Christmas she hosts our entire family AND makes a meal fit for a king (or 40 kings) -- the fringe benefit, of course, being that I get a LOT of leftover homemade food to play with.  This year, the holiday menu of Mama C was:

1. Beef tenderloin (a perfect, PERFECT medium rare)  with gravy or horseradish cream
2. Broccoli gratin
3. Squash gratin
4. Artichoke hearts with capers
5. Fruit salad

And that, folks, is what's piled up in my freezer now!  So, what to do with it all?  Well, I'd love to make mini beef wellingtons with that beef tenderloin...or maybe stir fry...or just salad toppings. The broccoli gratin will be used in a traditional broccoli-chicken-cheese-rice casserole for my husband (who has professed a love for such a dish) and the artichokes with capers will be used to stuff ravioli (I got a ravioli maker for Christmas!!). The squash?  Well, the squash will be used somehow.  Maybe to stuff ravioli too. But we'll start with the artichoke hearts, shall we?  I am using the artichoke hearts bake that my mom sent home with me as a filling, but you can make your own. This is via Smitten Kitchen at http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/01/artichoke-gaga/

Artichoke Ravioli with Tomatoes...

For pasta:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons water

For filling:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 (10-ounce) box frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and patted dry
• 1 ounce finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten with 2 teaspoons water (for egg wash)

For assembly:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 medium plum tomatoes, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch dice (3/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 ounce finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

• Special equipment: a pasta machine; a 3-inch round metal cookie cutter; a shallow oval 2-quart ceramic or glass

Proverbs 31 Project: The Next Episode

In 2010 I started blogging about Prov. 31 traits, and got through the first three - then Mr. S proposed that we marry, and that TOTALLY threw me for a loop!  After finishing my posts about January's trait, I started wedding planning, and lost touch with reality for 9 months -- but, now I'm married, and my new husband is encouraging me to pick up where I left off.

Clearly he just wants me to stop making trips to the mall with registry gift cards in hand & a hungry look in my eyes.

But he's right, it IS time to regroup.

Here's what I wrote last OCTOBER (ohmygoodnesslastOctober):

"For the next 12 months, I'm going to focus on one of these character traits per month, and blog about it.  The goal of course is to build trait upon trait, not to abandon one and adopt another each month. Each month I'll also read a book about that month's particular trait, just to reinforce my thought processes and to inspire me re: practical ways to incorporate the trait into my character & my life.

There are 17 points in the passage, but some are so similar that they are easy to combine into one principle, and that's what I'll do in 5 cases.

November: NOBLE & VIRTUOUS CHARACTER (SET A FIRM FOUNDATION!)

December: RELIABLE, RESPONSIBLE IN WORK; ORGANIZED, ENERGETIC, INDUSTRIOUS

January: RELIABLE, DEPENDABLE IN CHARACTER; JOYFUL, STRENGTH & HONOR ARE THEMES IN HER LIFE & SHE LOOKS FORWARD TO THE FUTURE WITH HOPE & JOY

February: PLANS AHEAD, HARD WORKER, AVERTS CRISES & STRESSFUL CRUNCHES WITH WISE PREPARATION

March: GOES THE EXTRA MILE FOR QUALITY & MEANINGFULNESS, NOT AFRAID OF PERSONAL SACRIFICE OR INCONVENIENCE

April: SETS THE PACE AT HOME AND AT WORK, MANAGES PEOPLE AND TIME RESPONSIBLY; HER EFFORTS AND INDUSTRIOUSNESS CONTRIBUTE TO AND/OR HELP TO MANAGE THE HOUSEHOLD FINANCES

May: LOGICAL, ANALYZES WISELY BEFORE MAKING DECISIONS, DEPENDABLY WISE; KNOWN AS A SOURCE OF SOUND ADVICE

June: TAKES PRIDE IN HER WORK & HER ROLE, RECOGNIZES HER VALUE, SELF-CONFIDENT; NOT A DOORMAT - SHE IS HONORED IN HER HOME, SHE AND HER FAMILY TEACH AND MODEL LOVE AND RESPECT BY EXAMPLE

July: WELL-READ, ABLE TO EXPRESS HERSELF INTELLIGENTLY, TACTFULLY & DIPLOMATICALLY; DEVELOPS SKILLS & TALENTS THROUGH EDUCATION & DILIGENT APPLICATION

August: CARES FOR OTHERS, SERVES THE POOR & NEEDY IN A TANGIBLE & MEANINGFUL WAY

September: HAS HIGH STANDARDS FOR HER PERSONAL APPEARANCE, CARRIES HERSELF WITH DIGNITY, GRACE, & FEMININITY

October: SUPPORTS HER MAN & MAKES IT EASY FOR HIM TO LIVE HONORABLY & FULFILL HIS DUTIES, MAKES HIM LOOK GOOD

The end notes to the passage really wrap things up nicely, and are just as meaningful as the points themselves.  Graham observes:

"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." High praise for this extraordinary woman — a role model for women of all time.

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Here is the key to this woman’s effectiveness. Her priorities are determined by God’s will, not her own. She is concerned about what God thinks, rather than with what other people think.

Physical beauty and clever conversation are admirable qualities. But if a woman’s beauty and charm are the extent of her virtues, what happens when time and the trials of life take their toll? This woman does not depend on beauty and charm for her success. She recognizes her need for God.

"Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." This woman is actively doing, not merely talking. She does not boast about her plans for the future or her successes of the past. They are obvious."

That was on October 18, 2010, written here. Then I blogged about November here, here , here and  here, December here & here, and January here and here.  And I wrote a list for dudes (taken from Paul's letters to Timothy) here.

What I'd like to do this year is to pick up where I left off.  But this time, I want to get more organized.  I've had some time to learn more about available resources and to pray about where God wants it to go.  I may do some interviews, invite some people to guest-post about topics, I may even manage to recommend books to go along with each topic.  But the main goal for me is going to be CONSISTENCY.  I am too easily distracted (or as I call it, "otherwise inspired") and if nothing else comes of this Proverbs 31 project it will be enough for me if I can use it to develop focus & consistency in my walk with Christ & commitment to what He gives me to do. I also want to exercise BREVITY - not every thought or insight needs to be posted on this blog - just enough to get you and I thinking & praying about who the Bible says we are & how God says we can become like Him.

I still challenge you to do this with me, and I ask you to weigh in, to comment & share with your friends who can correct me or fill in gaps or maybe benefit from the exploration of this topic!

During January I'll be structuring this study to fit a more clear and concise plan - almost like chapters in a book.  In February, I'll kick off with posts about February's character trait.  Our Proverbs 31 gal "PLANS AHEAD, is a HARD WORKER, AVERTS CRISES & STRESSFUL CRUNCHES WITH WISE PREPARATION."

And because I know you want to see photos... :) here's one of our engagement shots.

And just a couple of wedding pics...

Love love,

A Man is Moving In (Part II)

As my impending marriage approaches, I continue to laugh/worry/bury my head in the sand re:the implications of a man moving into my space.  I'm so tickled that he will be joining the household - but I am also ever more aware of my "bad roommate" tendancies.  I've lived alone for the past 7 years (with a brief roommate stint in there for 1 year) and I am set in my ways.

This week has revealed some interesting things for both of us.  Well, I feel they're revealing, but if you ask him, he'd probably already forgotten about them.  Because he's a dude.

I decided to turn my office into a space-for-two. I ordered a desk that accomodates chairs on both sides and has plenty of surface area, I got the ok from my mom to paint the two on-loan bookcases white, and I ordered a file cabinet to match the desk, provide added surface area, & house files, printer, etc. I made a bulletin board the size of a wall and covered it in gorgeous taffeta upholstery fabric.  Everything is coming together nicely so I drag D into the room to explain my vision.  This is our conversation:

Me: "So, here's the desk and everything and..."

D: "I think eventually we will want to move the desk against the wall and make more space here in the middle of the room."

Me: "Well, that's kind of counter-productive.  The desk is this way so that both of us can work at it simultaneously."

D: "How often do you think we'll do that?"

Me: "Well I don't know, but I want to leave my laptop and papers on the desk when I'm not working in here, and I bet you do too.  So we need 2 separate work spaces.  Either 2 desks, or one desk that we can share.  This room is tiny, so I went with one big desk."

D: "Well, if it were up to me, I'd say get rid of those bookcases. How often do you come in and get a book?"

Me: "Not very often, but I don't want to get rid of all my books. So I'd have to store them somewhere else."

D: "Well, the bookcases are really just decorative then."

Me: "Kind of, but even if I stored all the books in the closet I'd still need some storage space and shelves in here.  Why get rid of great bookcases and have to go buy some other storage solution? I will just paint these white, they'll look almost like built-ins. I'll keep things in baskets or something on the shelves, it'll look neat."

D: "Hey, that's just me.  I am practical & minimalist, you are decorative & creative."

And, SCENE.  This happens every so often when I propose some kind of room re-do or furntiture change-up.  And we're not even living together yet. D is really sweet and great about this stuff, even though he doesn't 100% understand or agree with my approach.  He knows I'm trying to make this OUR space instead of just MINE, and he appreciates that.  I in turn absolutely welcome his minimalist, anti-junk philosophies.  I want to learn to live more simply.  But this will take some time, folks!

When it comes to how you decorate & accessorize your home, how much does your significant other weigh in on the details of a purchase or project?  Do you see eye-to-eye & work side-by-side or is it an exercise in sacrifice and patience for both? 

I do have to give a big shout-out to D for building the desk and finishing the file cabinet for me.  And with only a few snippy comments and only a small resulting mess on the living room floor. :)

He's going to like the finished product, too!  Photos to be posted of that office re-do, by the way...

 

"Office & Linen Closet Re-do" (or) "A Man Is Moving In, Part I"

I am getting a husband in a few months, and he arrives with some stuff attached.  While sometimes I'm not sure whether he uses ANY toiletries, I do believe that he brings with him:

1 toothbrush

1 toothpaste

1 shampoo/conditioner

1 hair product

1 sunscreen

(I don't think he'll be contributing his bath towels to the mix, don't really think we WANT them actually, but I haven't seen them so I'm reserving judgment).

The toiletries will take up roughly 6 square inches of space, BUT in an effort to be accomodating, I decided to clear some substantial space in the bathroom closet.  Also, it was a wreck, and embarassing to look at.  Selfishly, I do hope the husband will both put away and fetch things like bath towels & bedsheets when needed, so making them easy for him to find is important.

So, I started with THIS mess:

 

And one hour later (while on conference calls - multitasking, woot!) this is what I've accomplished:

 

A few weeks ago, I tackled an even bigger project, and I cleaned out the OFFICE (aka Room For Things That Don't Belong Anywhere).

It started out like this:

And at the end of one afternoon, I have this!

 

Now the challenge that lays ahead is this:

1. make it cuter - starting with a new desk, going from there

2. make it more functional (different desk, perhaps different room arrangement, organize the closet in this room more efficiently, etc).

What other spaces should I tackle that I may not have thought of yet? I did re-organize my walk-in master closet a few months ago...I THINK he'll have enough room for his clothes & shoes...but I could stand to do some more work in there too. :)

10 Meals, 10 Dollars (the REMIX)

I done run out of eggs.

And bread, and chicken broth, and beef stock, and chicken, and white wine.

My 10 meal plan is going to the dogs (well, not really - one thing I have in abundance right now is dog food).

It's salvagable but some changes are in order.  First I'll tell you that I've already made:

asparagus chicken

 

cheese chile rellenos + spanish rice (good, but too many seeds = HOTTT); salad with ranch/salsa dressing

 

chicken with tomato & balsamic vinegar + saffron risotto (meh on both, although risotto is ALWAYS pretty good, IMO) + salad with cranberries, heart of palm, almond slivers, & a bleu cheese/lime dressing

 

italian almond citrus cake (great taste, not moist enough...will try again soon...)

 

The rest of my menu now looks like this:

CHICKEN

1. chicken tortilla soup  - ^{can't make it now - no chicken or chicken broth}/ cheesy polenta / salad

2. chicken with tomato & apple balsamic vinegar / saffron risotto

3. lemon asparagus chicken / bread / salad

PORK

1. bacon-wrapped pork loin / saffron risotto ^{- didn't make enough for 2 nights}

2. croque madame cheddar-ham sandwiches ^{- no bread left}/ salad

 BEEF

1. lettuce-wrap "burger" / sweet potato fries

2. optional: hatch chiles relleno stuffed with cheese & beef/ spanish rice ^{- already made with cheese only}

3. big ol' taco salad 

TURKEY

1. gnocchi with sausage & spinach / salad

And for my animal-hugger crowd, a kinder & gentler option:

MEATLESS

1. wholewheat pasta with lemon-caper sauce & sundried tomatoes, olives, parmesan / broccoli

2. optional: hatch chiles relleno stuffed with just cheese / spanish rice

- BONUS ROUND -

 DESSERTS!

1. braided peach streudel (w/vanilla bean ice cream & caramel sauce)

2. italian almond citrus cake

3. chocolate kahlua cupcakes ^{- no eggs left}

4. pineapple upside-down cake ^{- no eggs left}

As you can see, I'm down to 5 meals, + the 3 I've already made, which = 8 meals for 10 dollars. Still not bad, but it doesn't sound as good as 10 for 10.

Plus, I have a LOT more food to use up!  The downside to this plan is that we aren't eating many fresh veggies.  The dishes that are veggie-full are tortilla soup & taco salad, neither of which have sounded very appetizing lately.  I am really craving some squash, carrots, fruit, anything from the produce section except lettuce/tomato (both of which I still have plenty).  The fiance doesn't really dig the whole "breakfast for dinner" thing, so that's out.  He grabs fast food sometimes for lunch, so burgers & mexican food are not an appealing option.  I usually eat leftovers from the night before, which means I'm sick of my own cooking already & feeling uninspired.

I may have to try harder to use my frozen/canned vegetables.  How is it that I have roughly 5 cans of tomato paste, but no canned beans, Rotel, peas, carrots, fruit, etc?

When I get home today I'm going to brainstorm 3 more dishes using what I have.  And I'm hoping at least one of them is reasonably healthy, because exercising portion control on these heavy pasta/rice dishes is completely un-fun...

Tonight, it's going to be a big ol' taco salad & braided peach streudel (except that I realized what I have is actually frozen MIXED fruit, not just peaches...so it'll be a braided fruit tart... :)

our "DIY TACO SALAD" buffet:

 

Which DS used to make THIS mountinous salad...

 
 (there's ground beef under all that mess.  DS likes to pile it all on top of itself.  he's adorable.)

In this meal, I used up the following ingredients from my fridge/freezer/pantry:

 

And for dessert, the fruit tart:

 
 (really truly DELICIOUS, despite the fact that I used mostly fake sugar, only almond flour, and puff pastry that was older than dirt!)

 
 Here's what I used to make it!  So great with vanilla ice cream, y'all...

In other news, I'm temporarily a redhead!  Check it out...

Me BEFORE (I'm on the right):

 
 

And me TODAY:

 

10 Dinners, 10 Dollars...

I've been looking at my budget and I realized I spend a stupid amount per month on groceries.  In my defense, that number is higher now that most of my meals are for two people. I do love cooking for that fella.  Especially when he goes back for seconds.  *happy sigh*

Where was I?

Oh yeah. Couple the extra stomach with the fact that my grocery store trips include everything from toilet bowl cleaner to dog food to mascara, and it's hard to say what's "food for me" and what's not when I look at the bills.  But still.  I have a full pantry, a full freezer, and a full fridge. 

Why do I keep buying food?  Well, (a) I like to think of food as art, and when I get a vision or a craving for a dish that has one...or 5...specialty ingredients, I go buy them. And (b) I like fresh food.  But they often sell such items in HUGE quantities that they go bad before we can eat them.  I'd buy less, but small quantities of the same item aren't always available, and when they are, they cost 3x as much than in bulk. 

Fresh loaf of bread = 30 slices.  Make 15 sandwiches? do I throw a toast party? invite some ducks to dinner? 

 3 hearts of romaine = enough salad greens for 6 to eleventy people. Do I adopt rabbits?  construct edible lettuce clothes?  That last one sounds kind of fun, actually...

 

Scratch that.

In short, buying big bunches of food and then making a meal for two people means that I've got a lot of extra food laying around.  It's annoying.  And inefficient. 

Anyway, I got fed up with spending mucho dollers & using up mucho space on ingredients for new & exciting meals & just decided to try and make as many meals as possible with the items I currently have without buying anything at the store. I took inventory of my pantry, fridge & freezer, listing mainly the items that are going to go bad soon (milk & nuts & meat, v.s. eggs or jars of pasta sauce or containers of mustard).   Here's a list of the randomness I have to work with:

Freezer: peaches, chicken, pork tenderloin, broccoli, spaghetti sauce, edamame, hamburger, hash browns, hatch chiles, green beans, sweet potato fries, turkey sausage, spinach, puff pastry

Fridge: beef stock, parmesan, cream cheese, bacon, ham, sundried tomatoes, capers, garlic, lemons, onion, sour cream, cheddar (+ lots of staples like milk, eggs, butter, salsa, mayo, etc)

Pantry: pasta, olives, rice, ranch dressing mix, almonds, polenta, asparagus, bread crumbs, jalapenos, alfredo sauce, tuna, tortilla soup mix, tomato-basil soup, cream of asparagus, fiesta corn, italian wedding soup, saltines, caramel, cocoa, tomato paste, cake mix, icing, various exotic oils/vinegars

Grown up items: white wine, kahlua, bourbon, creme de menthe

After making that list (there's a lot more food than that, but those are the main things I want to use up) I sat down and spent a while brainstorming about different combinations for main/side/dessert, and let me tell you - it was crazy!  I have SO MUCH FOOD!  I didn't even get to using 1/2 of it before I stopped myself, because I figured 10 full meals is more than enough to start with.  The items I highlighted in my lists above are going to go into these recipes, plus various other spices and staples of course, but ONLY things that I already have. I AM buying lettuce & tomatoes for side salads etc, and I needed turmeric for one recipe, so that's why these ten meals are costing me $10. 

Without further adieu, I invite you to view the Menu of Options.  Some I'm freestylin' but others are recipe'd and for those I've provided links below...

First, for the omnivores...

CHICKEN

1. chicken tortilla soup / cheesy polenta / salad

2. chicken with tomato & apple balsamic vinegar / saffron risotto

3. lemon asparagus chicken / bread / salad

PORK

1. bacon-wrapped pork loin / saffron risotto

2. croque madame cheddar-ham sandwiches / salad

 BEEF

1. lettuce-wrap "burger" / sweet potato fries

2. optional: hatch chiles relleno stuffed with cheese & beef/ spanish rice

3. big ol' taco salad 

TURKEY

1. gnocchi with sausage & spinach / salad

And for my animal-hugger crowd, a kinder & gentler option:

MEATLESS

1. wholewheat pasta with lemon-caper sauce & sundried tomatoes, olives, parmesan / broccoli

2. optional: hatch chiles relleno stuffed with just cheese / spanish rice

- BONUS ROUND -

 DESSERTS!

1. braided peach streudel (w/vanilla bean ice cream & caramel sauce)

2. italian almond citrus cake

3. chocolate kahlua cupcakes

4. pineapple upside-down cake

 

Bon appetit! Let the games...& cooking...begin!

First, I made lemon asparagus chicken. Base recipe courtesy of Campbell's. 

This may not appeal to all, but D & I really like asparagus - him more the fresh, me more the canned...yeaaaaah, my palate leans toward redneck sometimes. Or toddler.  Really, who eats canned asparagus?  Me! I love me some mushy vegetables.  I will be very easy to please when they finally put me in "the home."

Anyway, canned asparagus is part the ingredient set I bravely attacked (read: fished out of the back of my fridge & pantrry) & used to make said dish.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Asparagus Soup (I used a gourmet non-condensed brand, and cut out the milk)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Lemon slices (optional)
• (I added 1 can of asparagus, garlic powder, and SALT - I mean reeeeeeeally, Campbells - who left salt off the list?)

Directions

1. Heat oil in skillet. Cook chicken 10 minutes or until browned.
2. Add everything else. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 5 minutes or until done. Garnish with lemon slices, if desired. (I desired.)

Okay, if I'm honest, in a dish like this I would have used perhaps fresh asparagus instead of canned.  But this is "10 meals, 10 dollars!"  I have to adjust!  I'm not going to lie -- the dish turned out a little bland for my taste -- but it was better than I thought it was going to be.  I wouldn't make it for company, but it'll do for a nice little after-work dinner. It kind of ended up looking like this...but with less fresh asparagus :)

While I'm getting started on this little project, what's your go-to "shop in the pantry" meal?  And what staple do you you always keep around, just in case you need to make that one foolproof dish at the last minute? When I have exhausted my provisions, what should I buy in bulk and what should I buy "as needed?"

 Finally, if you love humor & food, especially paired together, check out this blog called "CheapHealthyGood." The girls who write it are so funny, and the recipes look GREAT (in addition, of course, to being cheap...and healthy).
 

 

WEDDING BELLS are gonna RING!

WE'RE ENGAGED!

8 months ago wonderful, amazing man walked into my life and changed everything. And on Monday night, I agreed to be Andrew's Mrs.!  Everyone who reads this site already knows, as I'm pretty sure we're all happy little Facebook friends, but I can't stop shouting the news to whoever will listen (repeatedly) so thank goodness I have this handy blog for extra news-sharing, right? :) I wouldn't want to miss someone! 

Soooo, we are just 2 crazy kids in love, and I should avoid cliches like "I've never felt this way about anyone else" and "he's the man I've been praying for" but all of those things are true.  I just can't believe I'm actually feeling and saying them and looking into the eyes of the man whose life I want to share.  Beautiful, beautiful blue eyes.  And blonde hair. Gosh he's gorgeous.  We will of course have The Cutest Kids In The World.  You've been warned. :)

Most importantly, Andrew is a man of character.  The things I value most are exactly what he brings to the table: patience, integrity, empathy, confidence, self-control, perserverence, bravery, humility.  He says what he means and means what he says. He doesn't need to tear others down in order to build himself up. He loves the Lord and is committed to being a man of integrity. He endures trials and emerges stronger. He stands up in the face of adversity.  He understands the value of being humble and selfless and letting someone else’s light shine.  Loving & patient. He is, as the Bible puts it, "quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." He's the calm in the middle of the storm. Intelligent. Kind. Funny. I could go on and on and on...and I look forward to gushing about his awesomeness for the rest of my life.

Love this man.

  

 
Oh, and he's a BAYLOR BEAR!  Icing on the cake! :) Maybe we should have a green & gold BU-themed wedding...

Thanks to our parents, family, & friends for your support & encouragement. We are excited and look forward to celebrating all of this with you!

January (cont.) - Strength & Joy

well i've been slacking off in a big way! lots going on in my world, work & planning the SAMM shelter meal and plenty of sweet time with my boyfriend, friends, and family. it's all good stuff, but not enough blogging. guess this isn't my calling ;) Anyway, I want to quickly wrap up January's virtue and then move right into February which is a particularly challenging one for me!

To recap: January: RELIABLE, DEPENDABLE IN CHARACTER; JOYFUL, STRENGTH & HONOR ARE THEMES IN HER LIFE & SHE LOOKS FORWARD TO THE FUTURE WITH HOPE & JOY

February: PLANS AHEAD, HARD WORKER, AVERTS CRISISES & STRESSFUL CRUNCHES WITH WISE PREPARATION

Yeah, wise preparation, planning ahead - definitely need to read/pray/work on those. Aren't we blessed that we serve a God who tells us what to be but knows we will struggle? He gives us the tools, the grace, and the time we need to become our best. I'm thankful for that.

We already covered the "dependable character" part of January and I hope you've been inspired, as I have been, to work on consistency. I haven't been 100% successful but I can see my heart and mind changing and that is encouraging. It's the outward expression of that change that needs work - bad habits need to be broken (don't they always? pesky habits) but I FEEL more motivated and inspired than ever before to be the person God calls me to be in every circumstance. That can only lead to better habits.

January also focused on attitude, JOYFUL, STRENGTH & HONOR ARE THEMES IN HER LIFE & SHE LOOKS FORWARD TO THE FUTURE WITH HOPE & JOY. I am single, have been for 30 years, and sometimes it's a wonderful blessing. Other times it's frustrating & not-so-ideal. But, I know a time will come when I must consider my husband and children every day, in every decision that I make. I will worry about my kids future and hope that I'm not sabatoging their success & health with my actions. I will work to maintain a healthy, growing, fun relationship with a man I've committed my life and heart to, Either way, I have a future - it won't start with a family, it will become more challenging and also more important with one.

So what am I doing now? What's my attitude now? I'm in training, as a single woman, forming habits and attitudes that will impact the people in my life for years to come. I have thought often about the legacy I want to leave behind. I think the best characteristics I'd like people to remember are definitely the ones we're thinking about for January. Joyfulness. Strength. Honor. These shouldn't be fleeting good moments that people must struggle to recall, they should define me. Do they? I don't know, but I have years (God willing) to make them the themes of my life. Everyone has weak moments, down days, makes mistakes. But if I can learn to be an upper, someone who emanates those things whatever the circumstance or situation, then I will have arrived. The Bible says "The joy of the Lord is my strength." Plenty of people are happy and positive, but where does it come from? Is it genetic? A choice? As a Christian I sometimes lose my appreciation for what God, my King, has done for me. I lose perspective. But when I remember that He died for my sins and gracefully, patiently, forgives me every time I do something hurtful or wrong, it's like being hit with a ton of bricks. JOY bricks. This, I believe, means that joy is a decision. An active remembering of how good I have it thanks to the God I serve and the truth I know.

We are on this earth for the blink of an eye and we don't control much of what happens in our lives or in the world. We do, however, control our attitude. And an attitude focused on gratitude/humility/eternity - despite the uncontrollable factors we face - is the joy and strength I want to harness. I want it to be evident in my relationships, in how I live out my faith, in the worst and best of circumstances.

What about you? What is joy, and how do you harness it? What does it mean to be a strong woman? Is it power? If so, power over what? Yourself, or others? The feminist movement took womanly strength and twisted it into an ugly knot of selfish, false empowerment that I'm sure I'm not immune to. The truth and the lie often look so similar, don't they?  What are we working to unbelieve, and what is the truth we must work to remind ourselves?

Proverbs 31: Reputation

I'm in a beautiful cabin in the snowy woods, where I'm finding it much harder to blog than I thought! Hiking, staring at mountains, skiing, reading, & drinking hot things are more my speed. We are having a great time, relaxing and exercising and trying to stay off our computers & phones as much as possible (ha!).

I've been thinking a lot about January's Prov 31 virtue: RELIABLE, DEPENDABLE IN CHARACTER; JOYFUL, STRENGTH & HONOR ARE THEMES IN HER LIFE & SHE LOOKS FORWARD TO THE FUTURE WITH HOPE & JOY.

I want to touch briefly on the reliability/dependability of character part, and then next time I'll hit the joy/strength/honor/future bit.

Before talking about reliability/dependability and other things related to character...what IS character? One source says "Character is who we really are. It's what we do when no one is looking. It' s the accumulation of thoughts, values, words and actions. These become the habits that comprise our character."

Another says "A person of character thinks right and does right according to core universal values that define the qualities of a good person: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship."

Sounds a little like the fruit the Bible says the Holy Spirit should produce in us Christians, huh? So to the list of "core universal values" above I would add, for our purposes, "Godliness," which encompasses all of those values and then some, and focuses heavily on the motives & the heart beating behind those values. So, Biblical character or Christlike character is good character on steroids. And that's what our Proverbs 31 woman has - core universal values, plus a few extras that Christ has demonstated and enabled her to incorporate into her life, plus a heart that exhibits character not out of obligation or guilt or fear but out of love for God, love for people, and humility/selflessness.

Following me? She's not perfect. Consistency is not 100% perfection. But she is known for being dependable when it comes to these specific attributes. I agree to some extent that character is who we are when no one is looking. But - I don't know about you, but for me this is true - sometimes when nobody is looking, I'm fighting battles and it ain't pretty. In some areas, I'm not what you would call "consistently" good. My thoughts, my actions, my sins take place in my heart and my mind where only I can see the true filthiness of my self, where only I see what I'm capable of and have to fight hard sometimes to battle against the messy stuff. That's part of being human, and it's beautiful because it's the reason I need God and can't pretend I don't! I'm a mess! BUT, while I'll always fight some kind of battle on the inside, my victories and the lessons I'm learning "in there" should translate more and more into character traits - habits, consistent patterns of behavior - that are Christlike. Not Catherine-like, oooooooh please no! HAHA! Definitely Christlike. And my reputation, I pray, will be one of dependable, consistent, good - even GODLY - character. Like our Proverbs 31 woman.

That's why this month I am examining my heart and my life to find areas where perhaps I am INconsistent. Sometimes good, sometimes not so much. And I'm taking a good, hard look at the "why." I picture my funeral. I don't want my husband to stand up and say "she was patient and gentle" while my coworkers think "riiiiight!" I don't want my sister to say "Catherine was a peacemaker, responsible and kind" while my kids think "um...not really!" But if I'm honest? Character consistency is something I could stand to work on.

For example, sometimes I'm really good about avoiding gossip. There are circumstances where I am the first to change the subject so that the gossip ends. Yeah, go me! But wait. There are also some times when I'm the Grand Ringleader of the Great Gossip Brigade, passing around a tasty rumor morsel and encouraging everyone to have a little sample, weigh in, participate! Gross! The result is this: some of my friends would say "Catherine wouldn't say something like THAT...she's not a gossip..." and others would say "yeah, I believe she'd say that...once you tell Catherine something, it's going public."

Ouch. But it's true. There are other examples of inconsistent character in my life, I could go on and on! Examples from TODAY, my friends! "I'm not perfect." Ugh, what a tough thing to confess. But look at what our Proverbs 31 woman exhibits. Not perfection, no.  Good character - but she not only exhibits good character - she exhibits it consistently - which means she has a REPUTATION for good character (and not just with certain people, but with all who know her!).

Wooooow. Attainable? I think so. Perfection possible? Of course not. But to break it down simply, I think it works something like this anonymous quote I've always loved:

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

I think we could swap out "reputation" for destiny. Abraham Lincoln wrote, "Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." Your character is who you really are, and only God can know what's in your heart. But reputation stems in a big way from character, and Proverbs 31 says this woman has a great rep.

What is your reputation? If someone asked if YOU are a gossip, have self-control, are generous, are fair, would your family say something different than your friends, who would say something different than your small group, who would say something different than your spouse? Do you exhibit certain character traits only when it's convenient or easy or popular, or do you have a reputation with ALL those who know you for being kind? trustworthy? morally upright? a hard worker?

Godly?

I know I'm not quite there yet, but I sure do want to be.

Watch...watch...watch....starting with the thoughts. :)

JANUARY: I'M STILL HERE!

I am a bad blogger.  Baaaaaad bad blogger. 

 

But see, there were the holidays spent with lovely fun family etc, and then there's all this other stuff to do & food to eat, and also there's this handsome guy who keeps hanging around and making me want to have fun & play instead of stare at a computer.  Plus, I was trying to implement December's trait, you know - working hard and enthusiastically - and I got carried away (upside: house is clean, & I'm ahead at work). On top of that I've drafted (no lie) 3 posts since my last post.  And lost ALL OF THEM.  Nice, long posts with lots of wisdom and gosh, they were hilarious and deep, really prize-winning stuff.

Just trust me on that.

I decided to funnel some of my frustration into creative endeavors, as you can see in my new header, etc.  This page is a work in progress, but bear with me - lots of changes coming in the next couple of weeks.

Anyway, there are other things in the works  and I wanted to share with you here, before my next blog post in the Proverbs 31 Project.  As some of you know, I'm passionate about cooking and hosting parties, etc.  Just one of my things.  In the past my friend Art Hill and I have "battled" in the Friday Cooking Duel, on Facebook, and have had lots of fun cooking/photographing/posting our kitchen exploits.  Last year we decided to turn our love for cooking into something meaningful in our community, namely cooking and serving meals at the local homeless shelter.  But instead of the typical spaghetti/salad/cake meal, we wanted to make everything from scratch and treat these people as patrons of a fine restaurant - serving them, pleasing their palates and their bellies with an unforgettable meal from a group of humble, joyful food enthusiasts who love Christ and love people.

We've done 2 meals so far, and our 3rd is coming up in February.  I covet your prayers, your support, your advice, etc.  We fund this entire meal for 170 people on our own, with hopes that we'll get donations of food and supplies from whoever can help.  It's a major operation, requiring about 20+ volunteers, and this meal will be even bigger because it's a VALENTINE'S DAY feast.   In other words...not only food, but decorations, lighting (if I can figure out how to create ambiance - candles, etc?), and entertainment.  I want this to be a special time for the families living at the shelter.

February 11th.  That's the day. 

 

If you want to help meet a specific need, shoot me a note! Thanks already to some of you who have offered help/donations in these specific areas...I will definitely be in touch!  Here are some examples of what we are going to need:

Basics: plasticware/cups/plates/napkins, condiments (salt/pepper, the basics).  Also paper tablecloths, enough for 15 big round tables! 

Food: I'll know more after our Jan 18th planning meeting.  I want others to chime in on what our meal should be! But rest assured we will need pleeenty of ingredients :)

Entertainment:  I'd like to find someone who can play a good assortment of songs on the guitar, maybe a mix of love songs old & new, with other normal songs mixed in.

Decorations:  I'm thinking fresh flowers would be great, but maybe too tall an order - I need enough for approx. 15 dining tables.  Candles and other decorations would be nice too, plus any interesting lighting ideas/equipment anyone has.  We'll be in a nicer room this time, so I think we can make it look really wonderful for the folks we're hosting.

Before that all comes together, though, I'll be spending some time curled up with hot chocolate in the middle of snowy woods, with lots of opportunities to dedicate myself to the Proverbs 31 Project.  I can't wait to share with y'all what I've been learning, praying about, reading, discovering.  January is a GREAT month for us, and I think you'll be encouraged by what the Bible says!  As a preview, here's a reminder of what January's virtue is: RELIABLE, DEPENDABLE IN CHARACTER; JOYFUL, STRENGTH & HONOR ARE THEMES IN HER LIFE & SHE LOOKS FORWARD TO THE FUTURE WITH HOPE & JOY.

We'll cover the first part - reliable, dependable in character - and then move into the joy/strength/honor/hope bit after that.  Some good resources I've found are www.boundless.org (especially for us younger folks!) and www.lproof.org (especially for us chicks!). I'm going to re-read at some point, and perhaps for this month's topic, Bill Hybels' Who You Are (When No One's Looking).

 

Maybe some of you have already checked these out and can opine.  Stay tuned! 

Oh, and guys - if there are any of you who read my post with a similar project suggested for the menfolk, this month's virtue is...

January: Clear-headed, logical, mature; understands that a clear understanding of moral standards must move to the higher level of moral reasoning, by which a man learns how Biblical principles are translated into Godly living and how the moral challenges of his day must be met with the truths revealed in God's inerrant and infallible word.

That's a big one, may have to read that a couple of times to process it! And I would of course LOVE to hear your thoughts on this.  Hey, why don't one of you start a "First Timothy 3" blog and do this along with me, it's not that hard. :)

 

 

Love to you all as you kick off 2011. 

xoxo

 

Proverbs 31 Project: Whistle While You Work

So the Proverbs 31 woman is  RELIABLE, RESPONSIBLE IN WORK; ORGANIZED, ENERGETIC, INDUSTRIOUS.  What does this mean?  Some of you are stay at home moms, with hobbies and skills and interests galore (of course). I'm in awe of both my friends and of strangers who manage to be great moms AND keep an organized, energetic, industrious spirit about them as they work.  Because it IS work.  I was blessed to have a mom who stayed at home with us from the time I was born until now, and I can tell you (after 30 years and lots of enlightenment) that it was HARD WORK.  The books on my mom's shelf attest to this fact: "How To Raise A Strong-Willed Child."  "The Messies Guide To An Organized Home." "I'm So Tired! A Mother's Guide To Keeping It All Together." (liberties with that last title - it sort of sums up all the rest of the books on the shelf)

My mom not only stayed home with us, she also homeschooled us for several years, was a TA when we started attending a "regular" school, and was the sponsor mom on more projects than I can name.  On top of that, she and my dad stayed involved in dozens of ministries at church and she volunteered her time and other resources for organizations and causes outside the home.  Now, she continues to be our family's project manager, organizing and running the show, making all of our lives easier and more pleasant with her efforts. HOW?  I don't know.  Yet.  I just hope I can do THAT job with the organization, enthusiasm, and industriousness that she does.

For now, my "work" is the traditional kind, and I hope it's preparing me for the work of a mom and a wife.  On good days, I'm able to treat the work I do as preparation for the future, and to thus overcome any boredom/frustration with a Godly "big-picture" attitude. Likewise, I try to harness and enjoy the good moments by reminding myself that going all out in those situations, giving my all, brings really tangible rewards and a feeling of satisfaction to my soul. I work as an attorney/negotiator for a big bank, and my days are filled with conference calls and email chains and document review sessions.  Much of the time, I enjoy it - I'm blessed with a job that taps into my natural strengths most of the time, challenges me without unduly stressing me out, and offers me incentives and motivation to keep improving.  With that in mind, I may not be the best source of advice on work ethic.  I admittedly do not hate my job, or my boss, or my company, or my schedule.  But even I have days where I feel bored, burdened by the tasks at hand, or overwhelmed by life and work responsibilities combined.  Couple that with the fact that I am not, by nature, a very organized person, and well...sometimes I worry that things are going to fall apart, or that I'm cutting corners, or that I'm not meeting expectations.  I found this cute cartoon representation of how the roller-coaster ride goes, and I think you'll appreciate it.  One day, a good day, we decide to take the bull by the horns.  We will make everything matter, do everything with excellence, let nothing get in our way!  Ever felt this way?

 

 
 

 
 
 
 

And then...it hits.  Maybe you've been staying late at the office but your boss hasn't tossed a "you go, girl" your way in a while.  Maybe your boyfriend or husband has been a permanent fixture on the couch for 3 weekends in a row while you clean toilets and weed flowerbeds. Or maybe, despite the human feedback and appreciation you HAVE received, you just feel...TIRED.  Ineffective, scatterbrained, frustrated, bored.  All of the sudden...

 
 
 
 
 
 

What's a girl to do when she feels this way, whether at the office or at home or both?  Turn to Proverbs 31.  Our "perfect" woman knows she's a princess, loved and cherished by the king, but then all of the sudden she finds herself folding socks or editing a 40-page contract.  Sure doesn't feel noble to me.  But the Bible says we're made to be energetic, organized, industrious, enthusiastic.  Even princesses have to get themselves dressed, pay attention to what's going on around them, and adjust accordingly.  It takes work, this princess stuff.  Can we create enthusiasm and organization and patience with our work when we don't feel like it? I believe it's within our power, but it brings me great comfort to know that God also promises to step into the gap and help us. 

Going back to my analogy about our benevolent King, the King who wants us to stop sorting through filth and to come into the castle and experience His world, I like to picture our work as a partnership.  When I feel bored or weak or run down, I feel alone.  Misunderstood, unappreciated, tired, and utterly unhelped.  But once I remember that God cares, it helps a little.  Then, I remind myself that not only does He care, he wants to help. God can't fold socks with me, but He can infiltrate my thoughts and my heart and - if I let him - He would love nothing more than to remind me that He cares what I'm doing.  That makes any task more pleasant, right?  Princesses are noble, but we are women, we are HUMAN.  We get bored, frustrated, lonely, and down.  God made us this way, made us able to feel these emotions.  But he also offers himself as a salve to those wounds, as a way out of the downward spiral. So just think:  You're folding socks because God blessed you with a servant's heart, a love for your family, an ability to perform mundane and unappreciated tasks with the grace of royalty.  With every sock, your character grows and your ability to hold your head up high, knowing you've been noble and princess-like, increases.  You're powering through a 40-page contract because God blessed you with patience, a critical and intelligent mind, and a job that allows you to use those characteristics to put food on your table.  With each page and edit, you know that your value to your employer and your personal sense of achievement is increasing.  That, if you allow yourself to acknowledge it, is PRETTY awesome!  We are called to be servants, to help others, to be Christ to those around us.  Some are asked to travel overseas as missionaries, to create masterpieces, to preach in front of thousands.  I have been asked to sit on a sofa, or at an office, to be a servant to my family, my colleagues, and in doing so I am JUST AS PLEASING TO GOD as if I'd sold all my earthly possessions and moved into a village in Africa to eat cow intestines and tell people about Jesus. JUST. AS. PLEASING.  Because the Bible is clear - it's not the type of work, but the attitude and sensitivity to your individual calling, that God values.

I matter!  My work matters!  When we understand this truth we can look at ANYTHING we are doing as important - and doesn't realizing something is important spur us on to do it with excellence and enthusiasm? Doesn't realizing that our King (aka the ONLY ONE WHO MATTERS) is pleased with us provide us with just enough praise and acknowledgement to give us that extra boost we need to keep on keepin' on?

For me, on a good day, it does.  My prayer is that I - and you - can remember that in the midst of the storm.  I don't expect you to take my word for it, so I'm going to provide you with evidence from the Word that what you do, no matter what it is, matters a LOT to your God.  And he doesn't expect you to just go through the motions - in fact, just the opposite - he longs to see you spend those moments joyfully thinking of his promises and his provision, and soaking up the admiration and praise he wishes to bestow upon you for each and every task done well!  Will you let Him in?

 

 

Proverbs 31 Project: Busy! + DECEMBER

So did you hear?  I was abducted by aliens.  Someone stole my hard drives and locked them in a closet. A flood washed my blogs away. I lost 7 fingers when I was out hiking and my hand was crushed by a giant rock.  All of the above are NOT reasons I have failed to finish November's blogging and also failed to START December's.  Oh, the shame.  Actually, I'm used to being a little less than exact on things like this  -I'll get better, though. :)

I really would like to discuss in some detail the idea of being noble and acting nobley.  But I also want to point out that this entire STUDY is basically "Princess Training 101."  Think about it: if you know how much you are loved and valued, you can't help but want to exhibit the characteristics the King posesses and demonstrates.  You don't need me to point that out - a true realization of who we are in Christ enables us and inspires us to be like Him. In fact, apart from that realization, we can't begin to BE like Him, so if you're not there yet, friend, we need to rewind this tape and start over.  If you are aware of who you are in the KING'S eyes, however...transformation is natural.  Being loved makes us more loving.  Being shown grace should make us more graceful.  Reading about discipleship and obedience in the Bible should make us want to practice self-discipline.  We all know this and will spend our lives, if we are Christians, growing in these traits and in our understanding/relationship with our King. You don't need me to list the basic character traits of a Biblical woman.  The point of this is not to go over the general stuff like "be kind" or "be patient" or "be joyful." We are often hard enough on ourselves about whether we are suffiently exhibiting all the ideal characteristics we know we ought to possess!   What we can do is this: read Proverbs 31 together, and enjoy a short journey that focuses on 12 specific categories to which we can apply these character traits in really practical, sometimes fun, and ultimately very BENEFICIAL ways.  I am all about the practical applications.  Give me 10 books about what theologians believe the Greeks believed about holiness, and I will trade them for one book about how I can demonstrate and live holiness at work, in my family, with my friends - on a day to day basis.

So I'll dispense with laboring over the "Princess Training" idea (I'll save that for the book, hehe) and we'll get straight to DECEMBER'S topic.  Our model is RELIABLE, RESPONSIBLE IN WORK; ORGANIZED, ENERGETIC, INDUSTRIOUS.

Wheeeeeeew.  December is the busiest month of the year where I work.  And I am not one who easily combines reliability AND energy well - being super reliable & responsible and organized, I can do.  But the result is sometimes total burnout, because it just takes a lot of energy for me to be that way for 8 hours straight.  What about you?  Are you reliable and responsible naturally?  Do you feel energetic and industrious in some areas, but not in others?  Do you feel guilty when working makes you feel so, so tired?

I'll explore what the Bible has to say about this, and I'm sure there are some great articles and books out there about this.  I'll do some research this wkend - in the meantime, let me know if you think of any good resources that speak to this topic.  Here we gooooooo, December!!

By the way...my  Christmas tree.  Another reason I haven't blogged enough in November: it turned into a monster and ate my computer.

Lies.

 

 

Proverbs 31 Project: A Princess Under Attack

If you're a Christian, you will understand what I'm talking about.  You'll know how it feels for the enemy to rob you of your joy, to stretch you to your limit, to distract you from the truth, to stress you out and undermine your attempts at being who God says you are.  Our enemy hates our King, and because he hates our King, he hates US.  He hates ME.  So, he focuses on our human weaknesses and he uses them against us - the more we wake up to who we are in Christ, the more he reminds us of what we used to be.  Regular. Plain. Challenged.  Helpless.

In the past month, my Kindle and my new cell phone were stolen.  My Kindle was stolen literally 48 hours after I'd downloaded 4 books for this Proverbs 31 study onto it.  My phone, which I could have used (albeit inconviently small) to read those books, was stolen a week later.  So I paid for and didn't read 4 books for this study.  Also, over the past month, my stress levels have been higher than usual - bills to pay, household responsibilities, my workload - all have felt overwhelming and unduly burdensome.  I've lost receipts, spent hours on the phone with pesky company reps, dropped and broken dishes, burned dinners. Finally, I've had a strange feeling of insufficiency - physically, emotionally, relationally, etc.  I've been reaching out to (and lashing out at) my family, friends, and my boyfriend because of a profound feeling - realization - that I'm failing them, that I'm failing myself, that desite my attempts to be the best and to have it all together, I really don't.

Compare this to a month ago, when I decided to start this study.  I was on top of the world - family relationships strong, falling in love with the man of my dreams, enjoying solid friendships with girls who really "get" me.  Most importantly, I was really understanding my place in God's eyes, and I felt humbled by that knowledge.  I felt motivated to become this woman that God, in his word, tells me I CAN be if I would only hand over all my messiness to Him and be open to the transformation process.  Well, the minute I declared my faith in His promises and started down this path toward BECOMING that woman, the mess got worse.  On one hand, that's discouraging, but on the other hand...what CONFIRMATION that owning my position of nobility, my decision to enter into God's presence and rely completely on him for who I am and what I'm worth, is a threat to the status quo!  It's not just a threat to my status quo though - it's a threat to our enemy, to God's enemy, whose only goal is to keep us outside the castle gates!  Satan wants us outside the castle gates, doubting the King's love, doubting the King's goodness, doubting that I'm a princess.  The enemy wants us to stay out here, frustrated, defeated, hating ourselves and the people/things around us who are failing to fulfill us! 

In other words, the OBVIOUS effort our enemy has mounted against me is proof that my (our) goal is more important and the rewards of it more powerful than we even realize.  My battle is not against myself, against my own insecurities and sinfulness.  I am a princess against whom God's enemy is waging WAR!  This means that (a) I really AM God's daughter (if I wasn't, Satan wouldn't care about my goal) and (b) the obstacles and challenges I will face along the way are not due to my inability to meet some standard on my own.  These little bumps in the road are going to occur BECAUSE there is an enemy who wants to keep me down, to keep me from being a princess, to keep me from enjoying the castle and the King and all his goodness.  I do have responsibility for what I do, yes.  But I am fighting a battle against an enemy who is jealous of my calling, angry at my God-given ability to be magnificent. He knows I'm forgetful and distractable and prone to stress over certain things, and so he plays with my mind and convinces me I'm a failure in areas that he KNOWS will, all together, have the effect of bringing me down.

Satan lives outside the castle, and he hates that.  He rebelled against the King, saying (Isaiah 14) "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." He thought he'd be a better King.  But unfortunately for Satan, the only thing he has is power over those who live outside the castle with him, and as long as he can convince us that our highest calling is to sit, miserably, sorting through filth and wishing for more...he believes he's won.  If he has all the King's sons and daughters in his service, pawing through piles of messiness and feeling dissatisfied with the on-again-off-again false rewards the other people out here have to offer, he feels like he's won. Because his one goal is to try and convince us that life out here, life as the slave of a vindictive, power-hungry, selfish rebel is better than life inside that castle with the perfect loving creator King.

What a lie!  Let's refuse, together, to believe it!  I say to Satan, "bring it. Bring your worst.  Because your worst is NOTHING compared to the goodness my King wishes to give me and show me inside the safety of those walls!"

I'm also frustrated because "The Princess Diaries" is not available on Netflix, or at HEB, or at Target, or on Youtube...so all my lovely illustrations/clips I was intending to use to demonstrate our "princess training" process may have to wait.  But before this month is over, I will post one or two times about what BEING A PRINCESS looks like.

But it's important, for now, that you understand I'm not perfect.  When I started this project, I had struggles.  I was falling for lies, relying on people and things to fulfill me, stumbling and falling sometimes despite my best intentions.  Now that I've publicly declared my intention to be who God says I am, that hasn't changed - in fact, it's become MORE challenging to remember who I am in the eyes of God, because external factors have become more and more intense and distracting!  I should have expected that.  I'm not surprised it's happening.  But it needs to be a motivational factor for me, and for you if you are going through the same thing.  We are a threat to the status quo, and there is a very real enemy whose greatest fear is that we'll start to ignore him and bask in the presence of our King.

Let's start basking, ladies :) the enemy may try to lure us back to the streets, back to sorting through filth.  But we are made for more than that.  Do we trust our King to defeat that enemy and protect us, once we fully enter into his presence?

 

 

 

Proverbs 31 Project - Undercover Princesses

My parents came over for dinner last night, and while my boyfriend and I were sitting at the table with them, the conversation turned to politics.  We started talking about, among other things, whether setting up a democracy in a middle eastern country would work, given the cultural norms and the leadership history of that country.  My dad said (in his wise way) that "the only government that will EVER work is a benevolent dictatorship. "Elaborate," I demanded.  "How would Jesus rule?" he responded.  And he had a good point.  The only governing model that we fallible humans can ever thrive under is a truly benevolent dictatorship - in other words, we are built to be fulfilled completely by, to trust, to follow, to obey, a 100% GOOD king.  Imagine it: if you knew without a single doubt that every law, every mandate, every decision your king made was FOR YOUR BENEFIT and for no selfish or political reason, it would be easier to trust and obey, right?

The beautiful thing is that we, as Christians, are already serving and following that kind of king.  What's even better is that, as we discussed in the last post, we are not just lowly subjects of this king.  We are his DAUGHTERS, meaning PRINCESSES of this king (guys, you are sons - princes). We've been given access to his presence, his palace, his undivided attention and LOVE. 

So why do so many of us continue to act like we are slaves to a judgemental, selfish, condemning ruler?  I think that as humans we are so used to mistrusting and doubting the motives of the leaders who say they have our best interests at heart but who consistently demonstrate that they are self-serving, sinful human beings.  So we take one of two routes: we rebel against our leaders because we think (and often it's true) that we should protect ourselves from their apathy or - at worst - their selfish harmful decisions.  We vote someone new into office, hoping he or she will be more trustworthy. We criticize, hypothicize, opinionize, and look for any way to protect ourselves from their decisions.  Or, alternatively, we decide to follow a leader unwaveringly despite his demonstrated untrustworthiness, calling it faith or loyalry, and excusing the obvious risks.  When they fail to make good on their promises, we justify it despite the pain it causes.  When they do something that harms society we justify it despite the pain it causes.  We make the human leader our "god," we make the government our "god," hoping that if we are good enough or faithful enough that he or she will, in the end, do right by us.  We don't really trust, we're just sick of being cynical and unsatisfied.

And then we turn around and look at God the same way.  He's our "king" - he made the rules, he enforces them, he rewards those who play by them.  And we know we're going to fail at some point to live by the rules, so we either (a) distance ourselves from him, put up walls of protection, and keep looking for less daunting calls to living, or (b) we blindly decide to follow our king, hoping that despite his arbitrarily hurtful or confusing decisions, if we're good enough or faithful enough, that we'll be rewarded in the end.  We hope for the best but fear, all along, that we might be disappointed or abandoned.  After all, that's what usually happens when you depend on someone.

What a shame.  We have been given full access to a king who invites us not only to trust him and test him and see his goodness for what it is - we have also been invited to spend all day, every day, sitting at his feet and lavishing in his perfect love! But who can blame us for forgetting this truth, for doubting God's goodness, for fearing abandonment and disappointment?  On earth, that is what following a leader entails!

Imagine this:  you are royalty. Every morning, you awake in a fluffy warm bed to the sounds of birds singing a happy song.  Your handmaiden brings you your favorite breakfast - for me, hot coffee, eggs, toast, sausage, grapefruit.  "The King sends this with his love," she tells you.  You slip your feet into slippers made of clouds and you are handed a gown of the finest silk, embroidered with the most exquisite gold thread.  It is breathtaking.  "The King had this made just for you," your dressing maid tells you. "He thinks you're the most beautiful creature he's ever made, and he thought this would make you smile."  You dress, turning in the mirror, marveling at the way the hue of the gown makes you glow. "The King is waiting to see you, he's been up for hours just waiting to talk to you and to see you!" your maid says excitedly.  "Me?" you think.  "What could the king want with ME?" Wondering what he wants to say, you hurry to the throne room.  The huge double doors open, and you stagger, temporarily blinded by the gorgeous sparkling light that fills the room.  Beautiful music plays softly, and in the distance you see a figure rise. "My DARLING!" a soft, strong voice rings out. "I've been waiting so eagerly to see you, to spend time with you!  Has anyone else told you today how beautiful and loved and special you are? Because my deepest wish is that I might be be the first to remind you!"  You can see now, and you're stunned.  The KING, the king of everything, is running toward you, arms outstretched, a huge grin on his face.  It seems like he can see nothing else in the room but you.  He cannot tear his eyes away from you. He is absolutely enthralled, and he cannot hide his love.

He reaches you, and embraces you.  It feels like you're melting into warm butter, and every tension, every worry, everything disappears as he wraps his arms around you and squeezes you tight.  Finally willing himself to unlock his loving hug, he holds you at arms length.  His eyes sparkle.  "My goodness," he says.  "Is it just me or do you become more stunningly gorgeous every time I see you? Come, sit with me, I want to talk with you."  He ushers you to his throne and offers you a velvet seat at his side. For hours he listens to you - every thought, every confession, every concern, every burden that you've been carrying - he listens.  When you talk about your pain, he holds you and cries tears as you do.  When you talk about your joy he claps his hands in delight and suggests a celebratory feast be held for every single moment of happiness you've experienced. When you confess your failures, he says "thank you, my child, for sharing that with me.  I hope you know you can trust me to help you, you need only ask me.  And more than anything, remember how much I love you and how nothing you can ever do will ever change that."

Before you know it, it's evening. You have spent the entire day with your king, and he still has eyes for only you. "Are you tired, my love?" he asks. "Hungry, cold, feeling insecure or afraid about anything? I want to help you." 

Bowled over by his love, your heart desires only one thing.  To learn how to honor and love this king in such a way that he will know, without a doubt, that you trust him and love him in return. Without reservation. Without insecurity. Without fear.  You want to live in a way that merits this kind of unconditional care and love.

Right?  I know I do.

People will disappoint us and ignore us. People will say that they love us and then turn around and hurt us.  People will tell us we're important and then treat us like we're utter failures, reminding us of our flaws and withholding their love because of those flaws.

But our king? He doesn't do that. EVER.  You are the most beautiful, precious, important thing in this world to him, and he spends every moment longing to demonstrate his love and provision to you, making you stronger and better and more beautiful every day.  He celebrates the mere fact that you EXIST.

Time for some princess lessons, huh?  I don't know about you, but for me, a love like that motivates me to learn who I am in HIS EYES, to believe it and become it. 

I don't want to be the type who says "Um, no thanks, I'd rather hang out in the streets outside the king's castle.  I know he wants to clothe me in beautiful gowns and gaze upon me like I'm his treasure.  I know he has a feast in there, prepared just for me.  I know his deepest desire is to calm my fears and fulfill my heart's desires.  But...I'm too dirty.  I did some pretty bad stuff today.  I don't look or act like a princess, so no matter what he says, I am going to stay out here and keep trying to be good enough on my own.  Maybe someday I'll be worthy of all the gifts the king is offering me.  For now...no thanks.  I have a lot to do out here, lots of filth to sort through."

No!  Who would say such a thing?  But every day, we do.  I DO! I turn to my friends, my boyfriend, my family, my earthly leaders.  "I'm beautiful, right?"  "I'm important, right?"  "You'll protect me, right?"  "You'll forgive me, right?" "You'll never leave me, right?"  And sometimes the answer is yes.  The next minute it's no.  We are left confused, broken, insecure, unhappy.  All the while, the King is hanging a sign on his castle: "CATHERINE: I LOVE YOU AND I WANT TO BE YOUR EVERYTHING. YOU ARE A PRINCESS, IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW. COME ON IN AND EXPERIENCE GOODNESS IN THE PUREST SENSE!!!"

But I sit outside the walls, sorting through piles of filth and looking around me in hopes that others will say that I matter.

Sisters, we cannot continue like this.  We are nobility.  Prepare to shed your worn-out rags, because we're going to enter that castle.  It's time. 

We are princesses, and it's time to start living like we are.  Next time: Princess 101.