Valentine's Smorgasbord

i've spent a lot of time over the last few days getting ready for and celebrating valentine's day...while i'm not particular fond of the "holiday", i made plenty of heart shaped goodies this weekend and enjoyed laughing my head off at the valentine's banquet on saturday night...:) after trying to load pictures from my camera to my computer multiple times, i've given up...you'll have to take my word that they were awesome...

*heart shaped chocolate chip cookie sandwiches w/ pink icing in the middle
*valentine's funfetti cupcakes
*brownies
*2 layer red velvet cake
*heart-shaped sugar cookies, some with pink icing, some with chocolate icing, some with sprinkles

it was fabulous...now to go run off those extra calories i've eaten!  :)

Things I'm Loving Thursday...

today i'm loving...

1. Cane's



sally introduced me to the awesomeness of Cane's when i was in waco for my birthday weekend and now it's one of my favorite places to eat!  :)  i had lunch there today with a friend...SO good!

2. Country Music

after a brief break from country music, i've started listening to it again...and i love it!!  :)  granted some of it is a little twangy and a little ridiculous, but overall, i'm so glad it's back in my life!

3. Sunshine!!!

today there was "abundant sunshine" in my neck of the woods and it was glorious!!!  :)  even if it was still freezing, at least the sun was out!  LOVE IT!

random thoughts from a frozen texan...

i just realized today that it's been almost a month since i've posted anything!  i'm so sorry!  to make up for the almost month-long break, i'll catch you up with some randomness!

-my birthday was GREAT!  i made it last for almost a whole month starting with the snow on january 9th and ending with my free starbucks birthday drink on sunday, february 6!  :)

-MNow (much like Disciple Now but with a missions focus) was the weekend of my birthday and it was fabulous!  Mike Brister (from Stepstones Ministry International) did a fabulous job of challenging our teenagers to live on mission with Christ!

-for my "besties birthday weekend" i got to go to practically pikasso in waco.  if you are a crafty person and you've never been there...you should go!  it was FABULOUS!  i'm looking forward to many, many more trips there!

-it has been rediculously cold here over the last week and a half.  last week it stayed below freezing for like 4 1/2 days or something...and we got about 6 inches of snow!  i can handle it for like a day, but i live in texas for a reason---because i like short bursts (aka 1 or 2 days) of cold...not more than a week!!!!

-cabin fever makes me "domestic" i've discovered...i've cooked and baked more in the last week and a half than i have in a LONG time...

-today we had an "ice day" at work...i really enjoyed getting to "work" in my pajamas on my couch after rick let us go home...

-i'm going to Guatemala over spring break with Stepstones Ministry International to build houses for 2 widows.  a student in the youth ministry and i are going.  we're SUPER excited.  pray for us as we prepare and go!

that's a quick update on what is going on in the exciting life of this frozen texan.  :)  here's to hoping for warmer weather soon!

Things I'm Loving Thursday...

Today I'm loving...

the north texas food bank

for those of you who know my best, know that i have a love/hate relationship with the north texas food bank.  today, it's a love relationship.  i got to be a part of an exciting "food bank of the future" meeting this morning as part of the strategic planning process that ntfb is engaged in right now and i got awesome news this afternoon about some new possibilities of partnering with them and wal-mart in corsicana.  it doesn't take much to please the nerd inside of me.  :)

home

i'm spending a couple of days in l-town with the parents this weekend...so thankful for time away after a hectic couple of weeks at work.  very excited about the houston quilt show tomorrow with mom and some shopping!!

chick-fil-a

one of the perks of my food bank meeting this morning was getting to eat here for lunch!  a.w.e.s.o.m.e.  why can't we have one of these in the Corsicana?!?!

Things I'm Loving Thursday...

 this thursday, i'm loving...

thumbtacks

yes, i know.  it's a simple thumbtack, but today it has been SO helpful as i've been hanging things up on my walls after living here for 5 months.  it's so much easier to use thumbtacks to temporarily hang things instead of driving 4200 nails into the wall while you figure out where you want everything.  now my living room actually has stuff on the walls...

this cd...



last week, i began listening to this CD because i liked matt maher's song "hold us together" so much...i LOVE this CD!  i would recommend it if you're looking for new music!

my dinner

yes, this was my dinner (it's all gone now!).  it was so delicious!  grilled chicken and squash grilled on my handy dandy George Foreman grill and a baked sweet potato.  yes, i actually ate on my placemat and used my real napkin.  if i waited for a "special" occasion or someone to come over to use my nice dishes, awesome placemats, and real napkins i would be waiting FOREVER.

so, there you have it...the things i'm loving today!  hope you're having a great thursday!