Thursday's Ten: lora is

something i like to do once in awhile -- and i thought, hey why not? this way you all can play if you want.

simply google (or blackle -- it's the 'green' google!) your first name and the word "is"...it's funny to see what comes up. i always thought i'd get nothing since my first name isn't the common spelling, but guess what? here 10 i got...

1. Lora is one of the 51 union councils of Abbottabad District in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan

(who knew?!)

2. LORA is a great place to get away from all the worries of every day life

(i don't know about a place, but i'm willing to look for a place with you!)

3. Watch LORA IS BIG and hundreds of other videos about gym, biceps, buff, amazon, women, muscular, bodybuilder, female, tall, sports.

(ummm...)

4. Lora is a seasoned trial lawyer

(where's that seasoned trial lawyer salary?)

5. LORA is available at all hours

(yeah, pretty much)

6. Lora is a solo handbell performing artist

(funny, i've actually played handbells several times in my life but have no aspirations of going solo!)

7. lora is dead

(not last time i checked, which is now)

8. lora is eagerly awaiting lunch because

(generally speaking this is true)

9. Lora is known online

(by you guys at least!)

10. Lora is a certified world-class shmoozer

(hmmm)

and your bonus:

LORA is one of my top 100 of 100% Hot Chick!!!

(well, duh)

so? you KNOW you want to play. join in!

sometimes you just have to let it out...

this blog brought to you by (an) appointment...

i walked in with my bag, starbucks double-insulated cup filled with iced coffee in hand.

spoke to the receptionist, handed over my keys

sat in a comfy chair and gave a cursory glance to the magazines splayed out on the table before simply reaching into the bag and pulling out my laptop

smiling as i noticed the girl sitting opposite me was also typing on a macbook.

her drink of choice is perrier water—with lime

trendy girls, we are

and then i begin to wonder:

am i being trendy for the sake of being trendy?

does that girl LIKE perrier water or is she drinking it because of a fancy name

or fancy bubbles

do i really prefer starbucks coffee?

yes, i brewed my own coffee for the iced coffee in the cup, but no one else knows that…

do we as girls REALLY enjoy wearing high heels?

do people sign up for graduate school because it’s the thing to do,

or do they truly have a passion for what they’re studying?

i suppose it’s different for everyone

i love apple products, so yes i have a macbook

(and an iphone)

and while i enjoy a good coffee anywhere

most of my coffee travel mugs come from starbucks

(i like their style, what can i say?)

and while i much prefer flip-flips

or bare feet

i do like that i feel sexy in a cute pair of heels

so there you go

i'm going to assume that the girl across from me also loves apple

and prefers her water “con gaso”

and now i'll stop thinking so deeply

and just wait for my oil change to be over.

Monday's memory: the one with the camp pics

a couple of years ago, a and i had been talking

a LOT

and both had developed feelings for each other

without really admitting it yet

(to each other at least)

we work with the same kids in the youth group

and so, we spent a little time together at youth camp

;)

mealtimes were a blast

i think this is the first picture

ever taken of just the two of us together

(strangely enough, it was because a kid 'borrowed' my camera

and was taking pictures of the table)

ahhh, so much has happened in these 2 years

but we're still looking up :)

Thursday's Ten: a day off

today's blog comes to you from a little haven

where i'm shaded from the sun

surrounded by a few boxes that i'm either going through or taking back to storage

and where breezes are blowing the windchimes

it's just a carport

but i'm loving it :)

the family i'm nannying for this summer

left for a week

i drove them to the airport yesterday

and now i have a loooooong holiday weekend to look forward to

some of it will be busy

but i hope most of it will be just like today

i find myself more productive on days where i don't feel rushed or stressed

(anyone else like that?)

so here's what i've done so far today, or am planning to do as the day goes on

1. slept in

(ahhhhh)

2. planted and watered in my little garden

(i should have ripe tomatoes soon!)

3. introduced emi to her new surroundings, outdoor edition

(i know we've been here 2 months nearly, but i wanted her to be comfortable INDOORS first, and today is just gorgeous so it was perfect)

4. cleaned out a bit of the carport

5. returned some emails

6. chatted with the neighbors

7. ate some fresh fruit

8. fixed myself another iced coffee

9. cleaned out the cooler from yesterday's chicken adventures

(that's another blog in itself)

10. sat in the carport with my little macbook on my lap and enjoyed relaxing...because i deserve a day to relax!

oh, there's plenty on the agenda today...like laundry, organizing, cleaning, etc. but i figure i have the whole looooong weekend to do these things. so for now, i'm kicking back with my iced coffee. (which may turn into a nice iced bloody mary later on this afternoon--only 3 hours til 5 pm!)

what about you? what are you up to today...or what do you normally do on a day off?

black and white...or gray?

seems like a lot of my favorite things are black and/or white

newspapers

which carry my weekly coupons

white house, black market

which carries clothing that i love

the little black dress

my macbook

but so many things are just not.

and i find myself frustrated with those who try to make gray (or orange...or purple) things black and white.

like women's roles in the church

which i don't even think should be a discussion

like handing out condoms in schools

which i may not like, but i still support--as long as proper education is there as well

like whether alcohol is evil

i don't think it is...but i understand for some people it is, and i do respect that

(i sense longer blog posts for every one of those little categories in my near future!)

there are so many things in life that fall into that gray area

i like gray

what i don't like is people trying to explain away the gray

trying to dilute it into white or darken it to black

not all things are purely good

or purely evil

and i wonder

why we seem to find ourselves focusing on gray so often

here's what i know to be black and white

God loves me

He sent his Son

to save the world

john 3:16

my job now

is to help out however i can

...go into all the world...

to show people that love

to take care of the earth

not to be eco-chic, but to truly care about God's creation

to make my divine appointments

(or rather, to make my appointments divine)

that looks different for everyone

sometimes i'm not sure what it looks like for me

but that's what matters.

why focus on the gray?

provision

it just doesn't make sense to people

and i KNOW that

and sometimes it's frustrating to attempt to explain to people

even some of my Christian friends who aren't called to the same life of exuberant faith that i have been

(and there is nothing wrong with that--they are called to other things that i'm not)

but money?

i'm not worried about it

which makes NO sense

to anyone who knows my circumstances

God is teaching me that HE and He alone provides my every need

provision

under the best and worst of circumstances

yes, i "lost" my house

but i truly felt that it was a release

a hurtful one at moments

but a release, nonetheless.

i have bills to pay

that i have no earthly idea how they will be paid

but that's just it--earthly ideas don't get me very far

He knows how it will happen

and while sometimes i wonder it people think i'm just sitting around on my butt

waiting

(and in a sense, that's what i'm doing--the waiting part at least

i work my butt off doing all kinds of odd jobs)

*i* know

that every time something is due that is crucial

somehow,

some way

the funds come through

and yeah,

dave ramsey would not be thrilled with my approach

(or maybe he would--

i have a feeling that he understands what it is to live in faith that God will provide)

and it doesn't follow his "program"

which i very much respect

and have many friends who have used it to eliminate debt from their lives

that program

that mindset

is not what i'm called to right now

i don't know why

i don't know for how long

but i know

trusting in Jehovah Jireh--the God who provides

is what i am called to

always

and especially right now

complete and utter faith that HE will work things out?

it's an amazing place to be

i don't know why He chose me to live this way

but i am so, so grateful

because the pure, unadulterated JOY that is a part of this?

is absolutely intoxicating.

Thursday's Ten: contemplation

if you're anything like me, you spend a bit of time "wondering" every day. it's not really worrying...just contemplating. trying to figure out how things work, what's going on. here are a few things i'm wondering about lately.

1. whether or not i should drop my health insurance coverage and put the money i would be spending on it in savings for emergencies of all sorts

(if it only pays 20% of my hospital bill and my premiums for a year would nearly pay that bill...is it really worth it? especially knowing that most places give a discount to uninsured patients?)

2. why i sneeze so dang much

3. whether my rosebush is salvageable

4. how to find a good vet for my baby girl

5. whether to bother buying some summer clothing right now--it's SO hot, but i plan to be in smaller clothing pretty soon, so i can suffer through the first 10 pounds in yoga pants and stretchy shorts, right?!

6. whether or not i care about soccer

7. when i can squeeze in my atlanta trip. it's happening, i just keep having other things come up! argh.

8. how to jump on the coupon queen bandwagon. i mean, i do it...casually. time to get serious!

9. when i get to see penguins again...

;-)

10. where on earth i put the plug to my computer adaptor...i mean, seriously...there are only a very few square feet to choose from here...ugh.

join me, won't you? i need to know i'm not the only crazy "wonderer" out there!

Recipe of the Week: LB Connection Fruit Pizza

a couple of weeks ago i was in delaware. my friend laura and i were trying to make a healthy dessert, and did a 3-layer deal with strawberries, honey and cinnamon being one of the layers. i loved the combination...and i love how when we put our heads together we come up with this kind of stuff!

* "lb connection" is because not only do our first and last names sound alike...we also both go by "lb" (elle bee) on occasion. so we often have "lb moments" when we get together--and we create some pretty fun things (often food) together! *

i've made this twice now, and it's gone over really well both times...it was kind of a made up recipe based loosely on several fruit pizzas that i found on other blogs and websites, mixed with the aforementioned layer in the dessert we made a week prior to me creating this recipe.

so without further ado:

lb connection fruit pizza

1 package of refrigerator sugar cookie dough (i use pillsbury)

1 package of low-fat cream cheese (you could use 2 if you want it to be less liquid-y, but then you're adding unnecessary fat and calories...in my mind at least)

3/4 - 1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 package of fresh strawberries, sliced

1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp (ish) cinnamon

2 tbsp (ish) honey

first, combine the fresh strawberries with the sugar, cinnamon and honey in a bowl. refrigerate for at least an hour, but up to 24 to let the juices flow. it sounds like an odd combination, but i promise you it's good :)

approximately an hour before you want to serve the pizza, spread the cookie dough over a pizza pan. i haven't tried this with a pizza stone. i assume you could use that as well...but the 'lip' on the pan helps with the next few steps.

bake the dough at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes. let the cookie crust cool completely.

with a mixer, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar until it's creamy. then add the strawberries.

* warning: this gets rather messy...because it'll basically be a liquid. i don't mind, and neither have the people who i've shared this dessert with...but as previously mentioned, you can add a bit of whipping cream or cream cheese to make the consistency a bit thicker if you like.

pour strawberry goodness mixture over the cookie crust, and chill in the refrigerator until it's ready to serve. be prepared to run out :)

(in fact, that's why the pics are the quality they are--i snapped them with my phone when i noticed there were only 2 slices left!)