I learned a new song at church this morning! It's called "God on the Mountain" and although the only version I could find is gospel, the way we did it this morning was slower and more thoughtful I found... The words really hit me today, it was such a wonder to just stand there and listen, it was beautiful!!! Here's the lyrics:
Life is easy when you're up on the mountain
And you've got peace of mind like you've never known
But things change when you're down in the valley
Don't lose faith for you're never alone
For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley
When things go wrong, He'll make them right
And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times
The God of the day is still God in the night
You talk of faith when you're up on the mountain
But talk comes so easy when life's at its best
Now it's down in the valley of trials and temptations
That's where your faith is really put to the test
For the God of the mountain is still God in the valley
When things go wrong, He'll make them right
And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times
The God of the day is still God in the night
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Hot Chocolate and Eggnog =)
I'm sitting here at the kitchen table sipping on some - you guessed it - hot chocolate with eggnog, so delicious =) But I haven't just been sitting here, I've been thinking... Thinking about all the stuff I should get done: fold my clean laundry, catch up on "Heroes" and "House", finish Sherrie's project, figure out what to do for the last two projects I need to get done by the end of next month (then after those, I have Florence's eight grandkids' names to stitch, another project...), and that's only stuff to do in my spare time...
I've been thinking about what I really want to do in terms of a job... I do love working in the kitchen, but I'm seriously getting very tired and frustrated with Smitty's... True, I did get things worked out with my kitchen manager about shifts, so I may stick around a bit longer to see how things go now... And right now I'm doing 15 hours a week on kettles (though the girl that was supposed to take over after my shift backed out, so I'm trying to see if I can get a few more hours...) I think that if things at Smitty's work out the way I hope (I was told I'd be working Thursday-Saturday evenings, which is great cuz Thursdays are busy wing nights and Fridays are busy dinners....), I should get at least - the very minimum - 10 hours a week, but hoping for more like 15... plus the 15 hours on kettles (maybe more?), that should be good =)
But kettles only go until December 24th, and so I'd need to either work something else out with my kitchen supervisor, or find another part-time job. I do have my name in at the daycare that runs out of my church as a casual, but I need to get the paperwork done for that... Right now up til Christmas - because of doing kettles 5 days a week - I'm really only available Fridays, which I told the director that... So I was thinking after Christmas, if I could get set hours at Smitty's - a couple day shifts and a couple evenings - then I could give a couple more days of availability at the daycare...
But speaking of Christmas, Christmas is coming up, and it's coming up FAST!!! I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be going to my aunt's for Christmas dinner - it's a family tradition =) But I need to get at least cards for my aunts/uncles/cousins/grandmother... lol... And something for my mom... She does have her wishlist up on her fridge, but her fridge is at her house, and it's not like I'm there all the time... ;) I think though that I'll stop by there on Saturday before work and take a quick peek... As for Christmas morning, I'm not sure what I'll do, if I'll spend Christmas Eve at my mom's, or if I'll go over around noon or something... I don't know, I'll work it out with her when the time comes lol... I think I'd prefer to just go over on Christmas rather than spending the night...
Christina's going home for Christmas (though I'm not exactly sure when she'll be leaving and coming back...), and Debby has decided to stay here for Christmas (she was debating whether she wanted to go home to Ontario or not), but Debby will be going to Shayani's for dinner, so I'm kinda hoping we can spend Christmas Eve (or if Christina leaves earlier, then an earlier date...) together as a house... We are planning to have a Secret Santa here with a limit of like $15-20... But I guess we'd have to get on that, picking names, so we actually have time to go shopping!!! =P
Well, I think that's about it for now... So to end this post, I have a picture! Tonight I was working on Sherrie's project at the kitchen table, and when I looked up, I saw such a beautiful sunset, the clouds were all pink and pretty!!! So I went upstairs to the bathroom (which is the only upstairs room that has a window facing west), opened the window and took the screen out to get a great shot! And since it's so hard to capture the actual colour of a sunset, I played with the colours a bit on my computer to get a better image of the beautiful colours!!! =)
I've been thinking about what I really want to do in terms of a job... I do love working in the kitchen, but I'm seriously getting very tired and frustrated with Smitty's... True, I did get things worked out with my kitchen manager about shifts, so I may stick around a bit longer to see how things go now... And right now I'm doing 15 hours a week on kettles (though the girl that was supposed to take over after my shift backed out, so I'm trying to see if I can get a few more hours...) I think that if things at Smitty's work out the way I hope (I was told I'd be working Thursday-Saturday evenings, which is great cuz Thursdays are busy wing nights and Fridays are busy dinners....), I should get at least - the very minimum - 10 hours a week, but hoping for more like 15... plus the 15 hours on kettles (maybe more?), that should be good =)
But kettles only go until December 24th, and so I'd need to either work something else out with my kitchen supervisor, or find another part-time job. I do have my name in at the daycare that runs out of my church as a casual, but I need to get the paperwork done for that... Right now up til Christmas - because of doing kettles 5 days a week - I'm really only available Fridays, which I told the director that... So I was thinking after Christmas, if I could get set hours at Smitty's - a couple day shifts and a couple evenings - then I could give a couple more days of availability at the daycare...
But speaking of Christmas, Christmas is coming up, and it's coming up FAST!!! I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be going to my aunt's for Christmas dinner - it's a family tradition =) But I need to get at least cards for my aunts/uncles/cousins/grandmother... lol... And something for my mom... She does have her wishlist up on her fridge, but her fridge is at her house, and it's not like I'm there all the time... ;) I think though that I'll stop by there on Saturday before work and take a quick peek... As for Christmas morning, I'm not sure what I'll do, if I'll spend Christmas Eve at my mom's, or if I'll go over around noon or something... I don't know, I'll work it out with her when the time comes lol... I think I'd prefer to just go over on Christmas rather than spending the night...
Christina's going home for Christmas (though I'm not exactly sure when she'll be leaving and coming back...), and Debby has decided to stay here for Christmas (she was debating whether she wanted to go home to Ontario or not), but Debby will be going to Shayani's for dinner, so I'm kinda hoping we can spend Christmas Eve (or if Christina leaves earlier, then an earlier date...) together as a house... We are planning to have a Secret Santa here with a limit of like $15-20... But I guess we'd have to get on that, picking names, so we actually have time to go shopping!!! =P
Well, I think that's about it for now... So to end this post, I have a picture! Tonight I was working on Sherrie's project at the kitchen table, and when I looked up, I saw such a beautiful sunset, the clouds were all pink and pretty!!! So I went upstairs to the bathroom (which is the only upstairs room that has a window facing west), opened the window and took the screen out to get a great shot! And since it's so hard to capture the actual colour of a sunset, I played with the colours a bit on my computer to get a better image of the beautiful colours!!! =)
Monday, November 16, 2009
Pumpkin Recipes!
Between last night and today, I have handled about as much pumpkin as I can stand... LOL who am I kidding? I LOVE pumpkin!!! =D Last night I started with getting out the seeds and cutting/peeling, but couldn't finish cuz I was getting picked up to go to the Robin Mark concert (which was AWESOME by the way, check out my pics on Facebook!), so I finished cutting it all up today. I boiled it, drained it - by the way, pumpkin holds on to a lot of water! I had to put it all through the sieve TWICE because even after pressing through the first time, there was still a lot of water in the bowl with the pumpkin! So anyways, I was super amazed at how easy the pumpkin mashed, it was sooo soft after boiling it, I pretty much just used a spoon to squish it lol...
So by the time I got the pumpkin ready to actually use, and everything was cleaned up, the kids were here (Monday afternoons kids come over after school to hang out with Debby for a couple hours, they're awesome!), and we usually feed them, so I made pumpkin pancakes and scrambled eggs for us all... They were really good, the girls that were here (there were only two that came today because the rest that usually come have H1N1) really liked them! =)
Side note: speaking of eggs, we get eggs from Winnipeg Harvest (unclaimed eggs where Debby works, so she's allowed to bring them home for us, woohoo!), and I cracked one open to use for the pancakes, AND THERE WERE TWO YOLKS IN IT! TWO! IN ONE SHELL!!! hahahaha I had never seen that before!
Okay, back to pumpkin... After the girls left, I made some pumpkin cheesecake! I haven't tried it yet because it has to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours before being sliced and it's only been 2... But even after the pancakes and cheesecake, I still had a full cup of pumpkin left, so I made cookies!!! =D I had to half the recipe cuz it called for 2 cups, but I still got 2.5 dozen, which is good! and they are DELICIOUS!!!!! =D they are a soft cookie, and you can really taste the pumpkin in them, it makes me happy =)
And because my friend Alison has requested recipes, here are the recipes I used tonight:
Pumpkin Pancakes
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup pumpkin (but I used a full cup)
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 whole wheat flour
Combine ingredients, mix until blended. I like to cook my pancakes in a frying pan, but I'm sure it'll work if you have an electric griddle or something...
Serves 2-4
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup melted margarine
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
Mix and press into bottom and sides of pan. Bake 10 minutes @ 350F
Filling:
12 oz (1 1/2 pkgs) cream cheese
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups pumpkin
Beat cheese, sugar, and flour in large bowl until creamy. Beat in remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour over crust. Bake until knife in center comes out clean (mine took about 1.5 hours). Refrigerate at least 4 hours before slicing. Keep refrigerated.
Pumpkin Cookies (this is the halved recipe that I used, I didn't add raisins or nuts)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 cup raisins (opt.)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (opt.)
Mix sugar, pumpkin, oil and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together; add to moist mixture and stir until smooth. Blend in raisins/nuts. Drop by teaspoon on lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes.
So by the time I got the pumpkin ready to actually use, and everything was cleaned up, the kids were here (Monday afternoons kids come over after school to hang out with Debby for a couple hours, they're awesome!), and we usually feed them, so I made pumpkin pancakes and scrambled eggs for us all... They were really good, the girls that were here (there were only two that came today because the rest that usually come have H1N1) really liked them! =)
Side note: speaking of eggs, we get eggs from Winnipeg Harvest (unclaimed eggs where Debby works, so she's allowed to bring them home for us, woohoo!), and I cracked one open to use for the pancakes, AND THERE WERE TWO YOLKS IN IT! TWO! IN ONE SHELL!!! hahahaha I had never seen that before!
Okay, back to pumpkin... After the girls left, I made some pumpkin cheesecake! I haven't tried it yet because it has to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours before being sliced and it's only been 2... But even after the pancakes and cheesecake, I still had a full cup of pumpkin left, so I made cookies!!! =D I had to half the recipe cuz it called for 2 cups, but I still got 2.5 dozen, which is good! and they are DELICIOUS!!!!! =D they are a soft cookie, and you can really taste the pumpkin in them, it makes me happy =)
And because my friend Alison has requested recipes, here are the recipes I used tonight:
Pumpkin Pancakes
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup pumpkin (but I used a full cup)
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 whole wheat flour
Combine ingredients, mix until blended. I like to cook my pancakes in a frying pan, but I'm sure it'll work if you have an electric griddle or something...
Serves 2-4
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup melted margarine
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
Mix and press into bottom and sides of pan. Bake 10 minutes @ 350F
Filling:
12 oz (1 1/2 pkgs) cream cheese
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups pumpkin
Beat cheese, sugar, and flour in large bowl until creamy. Beat in remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour over crust. Bake until knife in center comes out clean (mine took about 1.5 hours). Refrigerate at least 4 hours before slicing. Keep refrigerated.
Pumpkin Cookies (this is the halved recipe that I used, I didn't add raisins or nuts)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 cup raisins (opt.)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (opt.)
Mix sugar, pumpkin, oil and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together; add to moist mixture and stir until smooth. Blend in raisins/nuts. Drop by teaspoon on lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
"You Won't Relent" Jesus Culture
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
I'll set You as a seal upon my heart,
As a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death,
Jealousy demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
I'll set You as a seal upon my heart,
As a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death,
Jealousy demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
I don't wanna talk about You like You're not in the room,
Wanna look right at You,
Wanna sing right to You
I don't wanna talk about You like You're not in the room,
Wanna look right at You,
Wanna sing right to You
I don't wanna talk about You like You're not in the room,
Wanna look right at You,
Wanna sing right to You
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
I'll set You as a seal upon my heart,
As a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death,
Jealousy demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
There's nothing we want more
There's nothing we want more
There's nothing we want more
There's nothing we want more
There's nothing we want more
There's nothing we want more than You Jesus!
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
I'll set You as a seal upon my heart,
As a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death,
Jealousy demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
I'll set You as a seal upon my heart,
As a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death,
Jealousy demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
I don't wanna talk about You like You're not in the room,
Wanna look right at You,
Wanna sing right to You
I don't wanna talk about You like You're not in the room,
Wanna look right at You,
Wanna sing right to You
I don't wanna talk about You like You're not in the room,
Wanna look right at You,
Wanna sing right to You
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
You won't relent until You have it all,
My heart is Yours
I'll set You as a seal upon my heart,
As a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death,
Jealousy demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
There's nothing we want more
There's nothing we want more
There's nothing we want more
There's nothing we want more
There's nothing we want more
There's nothing we want more than You Jesus!
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
Come be the fire inside of me,
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me,
Until You and I are one
Another Break-Up? =(
Well, for those who know what's going on with a certain boy, things have just taken another turn...
I was at his house on Friday cuz he had a Smitty's staff party thing, and I crashed at his place cuz I wasn't gonna bike home in the wee hours of the morning after drinking...
So early early early Saturday morning, after everyone else had left, he told me that he loves me. And the day that I broke up with him was the day that he was gonna tell me... And he wanted to be back with me...
One of the big problems that I had with this, was that I still love him too. But between the time we broke up and now, I had learned to love him as a friend, and now he has reopened that love that I had for his as more than a friend...
But the main reason why I had broken up with him was because he does not follow Christ. For me, dating is a prep for marriage, and to date him would be like seeing if I could spend the rest of my life with him. But I cannot marry someone who is not a Christ-follower because we would not be on the same spiritual journey, and that is hugely important to me.
So I had to tell him over and over that night that we could not be in a dating relationship because I need to follow Christ. But I did tell him that I love him, and he questioned it... I told him that I love him so much, more than I've ever loved anyone else I've dated, but I love Christ more and that's why we can't be together...
To someone who doesn't know Christ, this is not fair. I totally see where he's coming from... But I just wish he could see where I'm coming from... This is killing me because I've hurt him so much, because of my own rebellion against God in choosing to date him in the first place, I have hurt him in a way that nobody else could. I feel absolutely horrible...
And I feel like if there was even any chance of him coming to know God, I've completely pushed him away. I think that's the worst part of this all... ='(
Please keep us both in your prayers, we need it desperately...
I was at his house on Friday cuz he had a Smitty's staff party thing, and I crashed at his place cuz I wasn't gonna bike home in the wee hours of the morning after drinking...
So early early early Saturday morning, after everyone else had left, he told me that he loves me. And the day that I broke up with him was the day that he was gonna tell me... And he wanted to be back with me...
One of the big problems that I had with this, was that I still love him too. But between the time we broke up and now, I had learned to love him as a friend, and now he has reopened that love that I had for his as more than a friend...
But the main reason why I had broken up with him was because he does not follow Christ. For me, dating is a prep for marriage, and to date him would be like seeing if I could spend the rest of my life with him. But I cannot marry someone who is not a Christ-follower because we would not be on the same spiritual journey, and that is hugely important to me.
So I had to tell him over and over that night that we could not be in a dating relationship because I need to follow Christ. But I did tell him that I love him, and he questioned it... I told him that I love him so much, more than I've ever loved anyone else I've dated, but I love Christ more and that's why we can't be together...
To someone who doesn't know Christ, this is not fair. I totally see where he's coming from... But I just wish he could see where I'm coming from... This is killing me because I've hurt him so much, because of my own rebellion against God in choosing to date him in the first place, I have hurt him in a way that nobody else could. I feel absolutely horrible...
And I feel like if there was even any chance of him coming to know God, I've completely pushed him away. I think that's the worst part of this all... ='(
Please keep us both in your prayers, we need it desperately...
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