Category Archives: Friday’s Fave Five

Friday’s Fave Five

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. My Swiffer Wet-Jet. No, this is not a paid product placement. It doesn’t totally eliminate the need for an occasional deeper cleaning, but it is great for a quick mop-up.

2. This bug zapper.

It smaller than a tennis racket but larger than a fly swatter, which is nice because that makes it easier to actually connect with the bug. You press a button on the side while swinging at a bug, and when it connects it zaps it. Jesse even saw smoke ascending from a wasp he zapped. 🙂 That may sound cruel, but it is probably better than drowning it in bug spray or whapping it with a fly swatter and having it flail around til someone can grab it with a tissue and flush it.

3. I know I mentioned Texas Sheet Cake last summer when Jeremy made one for my birthday last summer, but I had a hankering for it again, so I made one. So good. Officially my favorite cake. I need to find or figure out a way to make a smaller version, though. It makes a cake the size of a cookie sheet, and though it’s flat, it’s very rich. It was all too easy to cut off a little square every time I went into the kitchen. To cut it down to just enough for everyone to have one serving would be perfect.

4. Ladies who extend themselves to my mother-in-law. She is friendly when people speak to her but has never been one to initiate friendships. She’s uncomfortable around a lot of people and has always been content to have just a few special friends. So it has been nice since we moved her here that a few ladies at church make a special point to come over and hug her and talk with her, and a couple of them go to see her about once a week. That’s a blessing to us as well as to her.

5. Fun family conversations, especially when we’re all together. This was a while back, but Jeremy was showing us some of these photos resulting from a man who gets up in the wee hours of the morning to take pictures of sleeping bugs covered in heavy dew. Though the shots are amazing, Jason remarked how odd it would seem to be on a date with a girl and try to explain doing this for a living.

I wish I could remember the exact words, because the conversation was so funny, but it developed into a scenario of the guy then throwing water on the girl so he could take her picture and the date not ending well.

I love my family! ♥

And just one more: I know I have mentioned this before as well, but I am amazed and grateful that the Lord meets our needs for the day so aptly in His Word. I was reading something a while back about how the writer preferred church services that were spontaneous and wanted the preacher to say whatever came to him at the moment rather than studying and planning ahead, as if the only way the Holy Spirit works is by spontaneity, giving someone what they need in the moment. He may do that sometimes, but He also works through preparation, planning, and study as we seek Him through the whole process. And this is a perfect example, when a passage I am reading in the course of progressing through the Bible, written thousands of years ago, or a devotional book written decades or even hundreds of years ago, has exactly what I need today when no one but the Lord could have known what my particular needs for the day would have been. Marvelous!

Happy Friday, and I hope you have a great weekend!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on by

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

My favorites from the past week or so:

1. Gorgeous weather this week at just the right temperatures.

2. Things are coming together for the ladies’ luncheon next month. We’d had the date, theme, and speaker for a few weeks: this week we got the caterer and menu lined up and got a good dent put into making favors at the ladies’ meeting Monday night. I need to get invitations and tickets made and printed off this weekend, then finish favors and centerpieces in the next week or two.

3. Chicken teriyaki and fried rice from the Japanese place at the mall. Jim volunteered to get that for dinner Monday night as I had a lot of preparation for the ladies’ meeting that night. Not only was that a big help to me, but I really like the stuff, too. 🙂

4. My Cricut Expressions cutting machine. My dear husband had given it to me almost a year ago, and I’ve played around with it, but hadn’t really gotten into it yet. I used it for a couple of pieces for the favors we made this week, and was able to get acquainted with it and figure some things out. Cutting 80 figures out with a machine was so much nicer and less time consuming than doing so by hand! And I so enjoyed “creating” and want to get back to doing more.

5. Some people might think that putting a Scripture passage on the same list as chicken teriyaki and nice weather is making light of Scripture. I don’t see it that way. Scripture is, of course, on a higher plane than these other things, but why wouldn’t something I read in the Bible be among my favorite things from the week? Anyway, in the last couple of days I have been in Exodus 32-34, where the children of Israel made the golden calf at the very time Moses was on the mountaintop receiving God’s commandments for them — after they had already promised to do what God said, and after all they had seen Him do. God in His anger at them wanted to wipe them out and start a new nation with Moses, but Moses interceded for them. Then God spared them, but said He would not go with them. Moses again pleaded with Him, and in one of my favorite passages in the Bible, God promises, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” Moses replies, “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence,” in other words, “We don’t want to go anywhere without you.”  Such a poignant scene, and such a wonderful promise, that we can trust Him not only to lead us but to be with us.

Friday’s Fave Five

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

My favorites from the past week or so:

1. Easter! We were out of town and attended a wonderful church service, and then we traveled home, missing our usual Easter festivities. But my son and daughter-in-law surprised us with an Easter dinner and goodies when we got home. I wrote more about it earlier here.

2. Rain. I mentioned yesterday I was hoping it would rain and wash some (actually a lot!) of the pollen away, and it did! Plus the rain cooled things off considerably.

3. Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuits! Had one just this morning.

4. Friends who pray. I had a personal prayer request which I could not make public, but contacted just a few friends about it. Their responses and their faithfulness to pray were such a blessing to me.

5. An impromptu family night. We wanted something a little different for dinner last night, so we went out to a little local Italian place, and called Jason and Mittu to see if they had eaten yet and wanted to come. They came, and they had been planning to return the DVD they had rented of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs after dinner, but they brought it by the house and watched it with us first. Fun times!

Bonus:

I don’t usually go into TV shows much here, but this past week’s episode of Lost was one of my favorites, both because we got a little crack in the door understanding of what might be going on, but especially because the episode centered on Desmond, one of my favorites. And we got to see Daniel again! (Lost fans will understand. 🙂  ) Though I think it is right for the show to be coming to a definite end — dragging it out would kill it — I am really going to miss it when it is done!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on by

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

My favorites from the past week or so:

1. Spring break! No alarm clocks!

2. Winning a comment contest at A Dusty Frame. The prize: $10 credit from her Etsy shop. Thank you, Lizzie!

3. I made this Chicken Pot Pie that I saw last year at Barb‘s.

I had been wanting to make it for a while, and finally reminded myself that I wanted to do so before the weather got much warmer. I avoid turning the oven on during the summer if I can help it! (I also got the idea from her of decorating the crust with little cut-outs!)

When I tell my husband we’re eating something I saw on someone’s blog, he says, “Blog food?” with the same intonation as if he were saying, “Dog food?” 🙂 But so far he has liked any “blog food” I have served. And everyone liked this.

4. Then one of my favorite things to do with the leftover pie crust is so sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar and a little butter and bake it just for a few minutes til done. Wonderful!

I also had this week another of my favorite little things to do with leftovers is to make a sandwich out of leftover meatloaf. Some time last year I started making a grilled cheese sandwich with leftover meatloaf in it — even better!

5. This little box:

Holds a little pump:

Which I hope solves a big problem.

I had mentioned before that our little patio area floods when we get a lot of rain, which then floods our sunroom. It’s become quite an ordeal to set the portable pump outside and get towels and the wet vac inside. The drain wasn’t keeping up, and we had roto-rooter guys who cleared a hole through it but said it was caving in and broken through with roots, plus it was not enough of an incline for gravity to really help the water drain. They wanted to dig up a corner of the patio and out a pump in for $1200.  My husband put this little pump in outside the patio (Isn’t he smart?) So far in testing it and in a small storm we had the other day it did great. It’s set to automatically come on when the water reaches a certain level. This will be a BIG relief!

I hope you all have a great weekend and a wonderful Easter.

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on by

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

Here are a few of my favorite things from this past week:

1. “”If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). What a blessed promise; what a wonderful God to make such a promise.

2. These heart-shaped pancake molds

with which I made these heart-shaped peanut butter pancakes:

3. Family moments like these: Jeremy showing Grandma a funny video. Though she would be intimidated to try to use a computer, she’s fascinated  when someone shows her something on them.

4. A good report from my first ever bone density test (to ascertain whether one is headed for osteoporosis), one of those over-50 things doctors want to do. Apparently my bones are in great shape!

5. I saw this short video on a friend’s Facebook page about someone who goes back to work after 20+ years and finds the equipment has changed…

Cracked me up!

This epitomizes anticipation and bliss — I especially love the expression about 57-58 seconds in.

Hope you have a good Friday! I have a busy day ahead, but I’ll try to catch up with everyone later on.

And just in case anyone should ask:

Peanut Butter Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, combine the milk, peanut butter, egg, and oil. Whisk until smooth. Combine the flour mixture with the milk mixture and gently stir until just combined.

Melt margarine or spray non-stick spray on the heated griddle. For each pancake, pour 1/3 cup batter onto griddle. Cook until golden brown, turn when the edges are slightly dry.

Yields 8 pancakes.

I add a little more milk to make them thinner and lighter and get more like 12 or so pancakes.

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on by

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. Pink doilies!

2. The generosity of the folks from my church and the way the Lord provided through them for care packages for our college students. I miscalculated and got the announcements for them out later than I should have, but everything came together, and all the boxes and bags were stuffed.

3. A very nice lady at the post office who told me my packages would be cheaper with the flat rate boxes and helped me empty the boxes I had  into flat rate boxes, tape them, and make out new address labels right there in the post office. This was at a little old post office a little ways past the one I usually go to, but I think I am going there from now on! I had checked the first couple of packages against the flat rates, and it was the same, so I assumed they would all be, but the flat rates made a big difference. For her not only to tell me that, and not only to let me take the time there to change boxes, but to actually pitch in and help was way above and beyond the call of duty, and I so appreciated it.

4. Jeremy, my oldest son, helped me take a few of the bags to a college about 45 minutes away from here, not far enough to justify sending through the mail. He delivered the ones to the guys’ dorms and I did the same for the girls. Then we ate lunch at a Sticky Fingers barbecue restaurant there, which we don’t have in our town. That is some good stuff, lemmee tell ya.

5. Having not one, but two good Christian radio stations that I switch back and forth between. Being able to have spiritual edification at the touch of a button is something I tend to take for granted, but I enjoy listening especially when I am in the car or working in the kitchen.

Hope you have a great Friday! We’ve been having wonderful springy weather — just the right temperature, not too hot or cold, and I’ve seen a few blossoms and some green growth here and there around town — enough to brighten the landscape but not enough for allergies to kick in yet. 🙂

Friday’s Fave Five

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Susanne at Living To Tell the Story has begun a Friday Fave Five in which we’re invited to tell about five favorite things from the previous week. It can be “Favorite quotes, posts, happenings, scriptures, recipes, etc.” Today’s participants are here.

Here are my Fave Five:

1. Jason’s arriving home from his summer in CA. It’s nice to have all the family back together again.

2. Watching the Olympics. I’m not usually a sports fan, but there is just something about the Olympics that draws me. My favorite moments from this week was Shawn Johnson winning her gold and Jonathan Horton winning his silver. Yang Wei’s performance on the pommel horse during the gala was entertaining (tried to fins a video of it on the NBC site but only saw the American’s gala performances there).

3. My birthday cake!

My birthday cake!

Devil’s food with chocolate chip icing! Pretty and yummy! It was made by a lady at our church: actually I discovered on her Facebook page that she was making cakes from her home for people.

4. The music from one of my gifts, the soundtrack to the Keira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice. As far as the film itself goes, I actually like the earlier A&E version with Colin Firth better overall, but there were parts of this I liked as well. But I really liked the music, especially loved the track “Liz on Top of the World.”

5. Birthday dinner at Outback!! With leftovers for lunch today! At first I didn’t see my favorite entree, the Drover’s Platter, listed, which has both chicken and baby back ribs, and I thought, “Oh, no! I am going to have to choose one or the other?!” But when I asked the waiter, he said they still had it. Love their bread, too!