KitchenAid Knife Set

I have recently done quite a bit of research on kitchen gadgets and tools. When I register for things I want it to be something that's going to last. Period. I have been struggling with knives. Most experts say don't buy a set, it's a waste of money. Invest in a few good knives that you will use all of the time. However, today Housewares Deals is offering something that Crystal and I couldn't pass up. Check it out here. It's a one day deal so you have to do it today!

IT'S ONLY $49

KitchenAid®

15 Piece Forged Cutlery Block Set

This KitchenAid 15 Piece Forged Cutlery Set features high carbon, ultra-sharp stainless steel blades that cut effortlessly and retain their fine edge. Each knife in this set boasts full-tang construction for strength and durability, and features comfort-grip, ergonomically contoured triple-riveted handles. 15 piece set includes: 8 inch chef's knife, 8 inch bread knife, 8 inch slicer knife, 5-1/2 inch serrated utility knife, 3-1/2 inch paring knife, 4-1/2 inch Santoku knife, 6 steak knives, shears, sharpening steel, and storage block. Hand wash with warm water and a mild detergent; rinse and dry immediately.

Blessings

So, I was introduced to this song by my soon-to-be Mother-in-Law. It's so beautiful and I thought I would share. If you haven't heard it, you need to!

Blessings by Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet Love is way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home,
It's not our home

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

Wednesday Hodgepodge - April 6, 2011

If you would like to join us at Wednesday Hodgepodge, just click on the button and link up! It's fun!


1. National Read a Road Map Day falls on April 5th. Would people say you have a good sense of direction? Do you rely on a GPS when you drive somewhere new? When was the last time you used a map?

I DO have a good sense of direction. My Precious, however....not so much. I don't remember the last time I used an actual map or atlas. I have Google Maps on my phone and I use that. The GPS has save mine and Precious' relationship. Seriously, people, I may have a decent sense of direction but I don't make a good navigator under pressure. If the GPS steers us wrong then it's no longer my fault! Love that!

2. What's your favorite cookbook?

I actually use on-line cookbooks more than anything else. My top 3 choices? Taste of Home, Allrecipes.com and Food Network. 

3. What painting would you like to 'walk into' and experience? Why?

Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night - Van Gogh

I love outdoor cafes and this looks like a beautiful night. I can just imagine sitting there sipping a latte or maybe a glass of wine. Can we go now? 

4. What annoys you more-misspellings or mispronunciations?

YES! Seriously, they both bug me. Today mispronunciations. I have corrected at least 15 of them and it isn't even noon! Ah, the life of a teacher. 

5. What is something your mother or father considered important?

Going to church. They drug me regardless of whether I wanted to be there or not. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad now that I have the foundation that I do, but at the time it was WAY more important to them than it was to me.

6. Do you like or dislike schedules?

I like them, My Precious does not. He says that "time is an invention", but I really like routines and schedules. I like organization. However, there are days when it is nice to not have an agenda.

7. Let's have some fun with National Poetry Month (that would be April)...write your own ending to this poem-"Roses are red, Violets are blue...."

I have an old autograph book of my grandpa's. There are several of these in there from friends of his.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue.

Sugar is sweet

and so are you

The roses are wilting,

the violets are dead.

The sugar bowl's empty

and so is your head

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The weather here today is beautiful! 70 and breezy. I think afternoon music classes will be going outside and I don't care if that makes me a bad teacher! :-)

I found this recipe through stumbleupon.com. I think it's from Betty Crocker. So yummy!

Warm Toasted Marshmallow S'more Bars

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 cups milk chocolate chips (18 oz)
4 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix and crumbs. Stir in melted butter until soft dough forms. Press into ungreased 13x9-inch pan.

2. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until set. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt. Spread chocolate evenly over crust.

3. Set oven control to broil. Sprinkle marshmallows over melted chocolate. Broil with top 4 to 5 inches from heat 20 to 30 seconds or until marshmallows are toasted. (Watch closely; marshmallows will brown quickly.) Cool 10 minutes. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Serve warm. Store any remaining bars tightly covered.

The finished product

Now go make some...you know you want to!

Prayer Monday - April 4, 2011

Praises
~I'm not really freaking out about the job thing. Perhaps I should be, but I don't feel the need just yet and for that I'm thankful.
~A great weekend get away was very refreshing.
~Even though I don't know what God is doing, I know He's doing something so I don't have to worry about it.

Prayer Requests
~My Uncle Roger - there were apparently some issues yesterday so please pray for his health and that God would intervene and give he and my aunt peace and strength
~My little brother. Please pray that God will have His way in lil bro's life - no matter what it takes that God will get his attention
~My Precious
~Frustrated with the food/exercise/losing weight/being healthy bit. Pray that God would give me strength, focus, and the will power to do what I need to do. Period.
~Please pray that God will give me wisdom and guidance as I make decisions regarding the future


Father, I praise You for being all-knowing and all-powerful. I thank You for Your faithfulness in the past and I thank You in advance because I know that You are going to continue to be faithful in all of the requests that are being lifted up to You this week by those joining Prayer Monday. I pray that You would meet the needs of the requests in Your way and in Your time - I confess that in my constant state of impatience my time and Your time are rarely the same, but I trust that You know what's best. So, come Lord and do Your work here this week.


Amen

Phoodos

My Precious and I went to St. Louis. We visited his lil bro and went to a Regional Barista Competition where our friend Joe Marrocco was competing. I just found out that he won! YAY! He will be competing at the Nationals in Houston. Exciting, right?

So, St. Louis...
Friday night we ate at Lotawata. Oh my...the food...so massive...so good! Fried Banana Pudding. YUM! (Casey is going to figure out how to make it.)

Timmy's Dinner

My Dinner

Ronnie's Dinner

A LOTAWATA FOOD!

Heaven - Fried Banana Pudding

Saturday we had breakfast with lil bro at IHOP, attended the barista competition, went to Kaldi's in Clayton for more coffee (we may have a problem), and shopped at The Loop (although I don't think either of us bought anything...perhaps we walked and looked at The Loop would be more accurate). We had a good time and it really was nice to just get away.

Wedding Planning Update

I am not really sure where to begin. For those of you who don't know me very well, let me explain why the wedding stuff IS and IS NOT a big deal - both at the same time. I am happy to be marrying My Precious, but I have always been annoyed by people who are getting married and can't seem to focus or talk about anything other than the wedding. It's gonna last a day. The marriage will last a lifetime. So, I will try to periodically post, but don't expect them to be frequent. I have a LOT of other things going on in my life and I just sort of feel like we'll be married by 4PM on Oct. 15 regardless, BUT if you want to talk about what to register for and what NOT to register for, I'm all ears. Those things will need to last for more than a day.

 For the longest time, I never really desired to be married. Even after My Precious and I started dating marriage wasn't really a thought that I had. That has obviously changed, but I've never been a ceremonious occasions sort of girl. I didn't really want to go to prom, I loathe graduation ceremonies and I think weddings are little more than spending a massive amount of money for a dress and things that are going to last for a few hours. However, we ARE getting married and we ARE having a wedding, but don't expect everything to be traditional. It's simply not us.

Attire
I will be wearing a beautiful wedding gown (that most of you will not be seeing until October 15 - sorry, but not posting it here - Precious reads sometimes). I have paid for the dress - it had to be special ordered. I have also ordered the veil and a tiara (see #1 in this previous post). Yep, gonna look like a princess.

I can show you this, though. My girls will be wearing this dress, only in Navy with Navy trim. It's stunning!

My adorable flower girl, Zoee, will be wearing this in White with Navy trim.

Invitations

I have wedding invitations. Everyone is welcome at the wedding, but due to the intimacy of the reception venue, these invitations are being sent for the reception. The guest list has been the most frustrating part of this whole process. It has made me realize how many people Ronnie and I really want to share this special day with. However, we have to limit our numbers because of space. Frustrating.

Reception

The reception venue: The Edition at 315. It's gorgeous! Indoor/Outdoor. Deck. Pond. I'm really excited about this, except for the fact that we can't invite everyone. 

Decorations, Caterer, Cake, DJ

We have all of the decoration materials for the reception. Aunt Sandy is in charge of that.

Lynda's Family Diner is catering the reception. Yummy!

I have ordered the cake (but I still have to decide on flavors - I know that I want butter pecan, but other than that, I don't have a clue. Suggestions?)

Music in Motion will be DJ-ing. Karaoke is once again in the air due the the fact that everyone wants to steal the mic (oh wait...not everyone. Just Crystal.) ;-)

Photographer

We have an awesome photographer. David Michael and Lauren Webb will be photographing our wedding festivities.

Officiant

John Windings will be officiating the ceremony. Lord help us! :-)

Registries

We have started registries at Kohl's, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Target and Macy's

To-Do

-decorations for the ceremony

-shoes (anyone who knows me knows that this is a problem - I want something I can and will wear again)

might wear these again but would look like a 6-toed sloth walking down the aisle

probably wouldn't wear white heels again

-order a guest book (getting a photo book for people to sign and write notes in)

-order ring bearer ring (not using a pillow)

-find acceptable flower girl basket

-Ronnie still has to pick out tuxedos

-buy My Precious' wedding band

That's enough for now, but rest assured that I AM getting stuff accomplished. I know some of you are worried, but I think I am actually ahead of the game. I am also going through everything at my house. If I'm not going to use it or I don't need it, it's going in a yard sale pile. There will be a posting at the beginning of summer about said yard sale. Must de-clutter. Even some PartyLite and scrapbook stuff will be going.