Recipe of the Week -- Turtle Martinis

For the first time EVER I'm posting a recipe here that I haven't tried. I'll be making it this Saturday, however, for the boyfriend and I to have when we come back from dinner to watch Casablanca :) So, I'll post a picture sometime soonish...anyway, I'm assuming by the ingredients alone that it'll be fabulous. I can see me serving it as a girl's night beverage too ;)

Here it is, from food network

Turtle Martini

cocoa powder
powdered sugar
caramel sauce (in a squeeze bottle)
chocolate sauce
2 ounces vanilla vodka (I'll use Stoli)
2 ounces white creme de cacao (or dark if you prefer more of a chocolate look)
2 ounces Praline New Orleans Style Pecan Liqueur
crushed ice

garnish ideas: roughly chopped chocolate squares, roasted pecan halves, turtle candies

mix cocoa powder with powdered sugar until it's sweetened to taste. Take large martini glass and very carefully coat the rim in caramel sauce, being careful not to let it drip too far down the sides. then, dip the entire rim of the glass into the sweetened cocoa powder, being sure to coat all of the caramel so that you have a "dusted" caramel effect. put just a drop of chocolate syrup at the bottom of each glass for color.

for the drink, shake vodka, creme de cacao and praline liqueur in a martini shaker with ice to chill. Fill the martini glass with crushed or shaved ice, strain the drink into the martini glass.

garnish atop the floating ice with the roasted pecan half or small piece of chopped chocolate. Or garnish with a half of a Turtle candy by making an incision and hanging it on the rim of the glass.

Titus 2 Tuesday

I found a fabulous blog today. Apparently this has been going on for awhile, but I'm just discovering it. A Titus 2 Tuesday simply means that we're honoring the women of influence in our lives. You can read more about it here at the blog I found this morning. Read all the way down--there's a beautiful piece of Beth Moore writing in it, and she's one of my favorites. :0)

I'm stumped on this one though. Not because I don't have anyone to write about...but because there are so many. So I'm symbolically pulling a name out of a hat here :0)

A woman who has influenced me this week is my friend Jennifer.

Jen and I both sing on the praise team at church and have discovered over the past months that we have many other things in common. Strangely enough we've become closer because of facebook, even though we live in the same city and attend the same house of worship. Our paths cross more often now than they did when we first became friends, and I'm happy to have her in my life.

Jennifer influences and inspires me because she's real. She's hilarious, loving, and a God-seeker. She has a way of talking about her husband and three daughters that lets you know how much she adores them...and when you see them together there is no doubt that the feelings are mutual. She has loyal friendships with wonderful people and would do anything for them. She is part of a close-knit cooking club, Bible study, and small group Jen also obsesses over tv shows (Lost and Flight of the Conchords come to mind) and gets a little stressed when everyone in the house gets sick. She has a sarcastic and witty sense of humor. And there are times when she needs to sit back and enjoy a glass of wine.

Why does she influence me? Because in knowing her I've learned to not be afraid to be real. To show ALL sides of me to those who are in my life. If they love me, they'll love me through all my stuff, not because I wear a mask easily.

Why does she inspire me? Because I'm aware of some of her struggles and I know that she is overcoming. I have faith that I can do the same. Because she is a true worshipper--when I see her at church I know that she is truly standing at the throne. And because she truly treats those around her with respect and dignity.

I'm thankful to know her, and I'm thankful to call her my friend.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou

Bucket List and Other Stuff

I'm at a good spot in my life right now. No, I really am. I think this "season" of financial uncertainty is a great learning experience. Now, it's not necessarily fun. But I've grown and learned so much about myself. And for that I am truly grateful.

As for everything else...it really is good. I'm blessed. I've seen God at work, and I am surrounded by people who love me--and love me well.

I was blog-surfing this morning and found this "bucket list" at the Sweet Spot. She suggested that we post it as well...so here's mine. Feel free to copy it to yours as well!

Things I've done are bolded.

Things I've Done... How About You??

1. Started your own blog (that one's kind of a given :0)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/World
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (I am going back here someday, it's in my top 5 cities ever.)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (from Germany to France I believe.)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (we called them "mental health days" in education)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (but it's in the near future...I hope)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (we decided they were too expensive!)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (after a scary elevator ride TO the top!)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (on the list for this summer!)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House we didn't get to go in, but I SAW it!
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (ok, this takes some explaining. I was involved in a no-fault accident, the other driver didn't have insurance and sued for med expenses. However, she shouldn't have been ON the ROAD, considering her license had been revoked. She was ticketed at the scene, blah, blah)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

I'm not sure who created that list, or who decided that those were 99 important life experiences. Some of the things on that list (bungee jumping for example) I have absolutely no desire to accomplish. Some are dreams that may never come true. But as I read through the list I realized that even some of my seemingly mundane and everyday happenings ARE significant. Life has that way of being more than you make of it sometimes, you know?

I laughed, I cried, I sang

Praise Team Retreat -- one of my favorite weekends of the year! We always gather at one of my old stomping grounds: the Nazarene campground for the TN district. It's a great facility, with one aspect that always makes me giggle. If you come in the back way, you literally drive through the creek. See? I took a picture on my way out this morning!

Anyway, retreat was amazing as usual. It was smaller as far as participants this year, but we still packed a lot in. I was asked to help lead worship with some great friends on Saturday evening, which was great. We got in some good reading of new music, input on the worship ministry, and even an intimidating session of being critiqued by our peers and worship minister! Then there were the times of silly games like Catch Phrase, which we took to an entirely new level of crazy (I laughed), serious talks about things that matter (I cried), and wonderful times of worship (I sang). It was a great way to connect with my good friends (and learn some exciting baby news as well as some sad moving-away news) and with my Father who is always ready to connect with me even when I forget.

It's always good to get away. But I'm glad to be blogging from my couch again as I catch up on a few tv shows that were waiting for me when I walked through the door this afternoon. I feel like I've hit the "reset" button for the next few days. Kind of a fresh start all in itself. It's a beautiful thing :0)

Thursday's Ten

In the spirit of trying to become healthier this year, I'm writing a fitness-related ten list today.

Ten Ways to Exercise for Free...or Cheap

1. Walk to more places you would normally drive. A prime example for me is walking to teach piano lessons once a week. That's 2 extra miles walked/jogged a week!

2. Use the greenways and parks. I love Nashville's natural beauty. When I'm hiking Radnor or running on the greenway I often forget I'm actually exercising!

3. Do yoga on the patio, or set up a sanctuary in your home for a relaxing session. Or roll up your mat and take it to a pretty, relatively quiet grassy area. Parks are good for this :0)

4. Did you know there's exercise OnDemand with Comcast? And DirectTV has fitTV. Both are great channels that you ALREADY pay for. Use 'em!

5. Stair climbing on your actual stairs. What a concept.

6. Garden and/or mow the lawn. Mowing is my personal favorite (not with a riding mower, obviously, with a push), but I sadly am not able to right now since I don't have a yard of my own--our homeowners association takes care of the common area. But in a pinch, gardening now only burns calories, but has a beautiful--and tasty--end result

7. Play with kids. I don't have kids of my own, but I do babysit a lot. Take a walk with them (pushing in a stroller if they're infants, strolling at their pace if they're young), play in the backyard, or go to the part and stay off the bench.

8. Ride a bike. Ok, this takes an initial investment if you don't have one, but it's pretty low-maintenance after that. And this opens up a whole new world of getting around town. For example, you can ride it to Target if you live 2-3 miles away like I do...and there are bike paths the whole way :) Now...I don't have a bike currently. But I plan to get one soon (well, it's on the list for when I'm employed) and I have neighbors and friends who have told me I'm welcome to use theirs if I want. I'm gonna start taking them up on it!

9. Do exercises such as crunches and push-ups while the TV is on. Unless it's a show I LOVE, I'm usually not paying *that* much attention to what's on the tv. I could certainly spend some of the time I'm usually sitting with the laptop open and surfing the net by exercising something more than my fingers.

10. A fitness magazine or dvd every couple of months is STILL cheaper than a membership to a gym. Sure, I'd love to join a gym and I probably will (again when I'm employed and stable again). BUT for now, I think I have enough variety to be able to handle exercising for free...and besides, when it's nicer out I prefer to exercise outside anyway!

Blissful Giveaway!

All I had to do was see the picture of this month's givewaway at SITS to decide I want IN on this one!
Sheets, pillows, linen spray, towels, lotion, candles...and a Target gift card? That's SO right up my alley. :0)

You should go enter for this one too! The instructions are in the blog!

Word of the Month: Connect

You know, awhile back I wrote this blog about my word of the year, which is BLESS. I am still striving daily to bless others--by the words I say, by the things I do. I can honestly tell you that I've received even more blessings personally by being more aware of what I can do to bless others.

So I've decided that to really take this seriously and to a new level, I'll focus on a different way of blessing others--and my Lord and Savior--each month. So every month will have it's own word, relating back to BLESS. I chose to do it monthly rather than weekly, because let's face it--life gets busy. I want each focus to be given the amount of time and attention it deserves.

This month the word and focus is connect. Here's how it's going to look:

I will be connecting with my Creator each week at church. I will try to be more focused on my worship, more attentive to the words my pastor and other church leaders give, and more focused on the students in my youth lifegroup that I help to mentor.

I will also connect with my best girlfriends here in town by calling, texting and making a concentrated effort to get together if not every week, every other. It's so easy for us to say "we'll get together soon" because we know we can--but we need each other. That's why we're friends :0)

I will call or send a personal email to my beloved friends who don't live nearby at least once this month, to let them know that I still love them and still value the connection we share.

I will be sure that my boyfriend knows how much I value him and his impact in my life by making sure that we have real conversations--the kind that truly connect us--even during our chats that seem relatively mundane. I will also let him know how appreciated he is in my life. This should be a good month to focus on that--not only is Valentine's Day in a little over a week, but we also celebrate 6 months later on in the month!

I'll make sure to keep connecting with those friends that I hang out with often--the ones I play rock band with, the ones with whom we break bread with, the ones who ask how things are going and genuinely mean it, and the ones who I'm just getting to know and love.

And for those who I call "friend" who don't see or hear from me often even though we live in the same city...I will try to do better at deepening our connection. I'll return the phone calls, send an email to let them know I'm thinking of them, and try to hang out more.

You know, it all sounds SO simple when I write it out. And once the habit is there, I think the actual practice will be pretty simple too--and rewarding beyond measure.

Wordless Wednesday

Recipe of the Week -- Iced Coffee Latte

My friend Beth gave me this recipe a few months ago when I went over to her house and fell in love with the homemade frappacino-type thing she gave me to drink :) It's easy and a lot cheaper than going to my favorite place...Starbucks. :0)

Iced Coffee Latte (from Pampered Chef)

1/3 cup instant coffee granules
1/2 cup boiling water
(for this I substitute 1/2 cup of hot coffee)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups cold water
1 qt cold chocolate milk

mix coffee granules and hot water, whisk in milk and cold water
pour into pitcher, add chocolate milk
chill at least one hour before serving

I'm going to try a few variations on this, like adding cinnamon to the coffee and other fabulous spices. Let me know if you add something that works well!