the fam

sunday's are very busy days for us. it's jesse's only day off, and it's my 'work' day a church. so usually they come and go so fast we forget to enjoy our time together. for the past 6 or so months i have also had a sunday evening commitment leading quizzing (an in depth bible study for kids). now that quizzing is over, i feel like we have all the time in the world.
did you know sunday was the birthday of the original sundae? we just had to celebrate!
but first we went down to fisherman's bar and hiked around. we threw rocks and sticks in the water, climbed on logs, raced each other, it was a blast! then the kids devoured their much deserved sundaes.















i hope you enjoyed your sundae, i mean sunday.
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anthropology

anthropology is my favorite favorite store. i go in there and feel at home. i want my house to look like that, i want my clothes to look like theirs, i want the floors, the bedding, the dish ware, the seating, the lighting, the candles, the body lotions/perfumes/shower gel/soaps, the jewelry and all the accessories. did i miss anything? if i did, that too! am i unreasonable? maybe a little. anyway, i finally bought a few items that make me happy. (with some help from my momma) these are my first ever anthro. purchases for myself. i love everything I got.


this sweater. really? i love. (forgive the weird look on my face. the harder I tried, the worse it got.)


change purse. holy cuteness.


egg tray. how did I survive before this purchase?
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cupcakes!

i can't stop cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes.

i have a thing for cupcakes.

i was trying to think about why i love them so...

it is hard to put into words.

my friend liz texted me this on sunday:

"i'm so proud of you"

"for what, you weirdo?"

"for baking and decorating for your own personal creative outlet and fulfillment and the 'icing' is that it makes others happy too. :)"

i couldn't have said it better myself.

check out what i have been up to.

mandrine orange SPARK cream-sickle cupcakes w/ mandrin SPARK and orange zest cream cheese frosting. these were for my sister and her advocare business. she is having make 300 cupcakes in two weeks for an event, i am so excited!
chocolate cupcake w/ peanut butter cups chopped inside and a cream cheese peanut butter frosting with a peanut butter cup on top. these were for my friend peter's birthday.
chocolate chocolate chip cupcake w/ cream cheese frosting and topped with a chocolate chip. these were also for peter's birthday
chocolate cupcake w/ chopped heath bar pieces, filled with salted caramel with a butter cream frosting drizzled with caramel and topped with a heath bar. these were for a church meeting.
chocolate cupcake w/ andee's mints chopped inside and filled with mint chocolate ganache, topped with a whipped cream frosting and an andee's mint. i made these for my friend chelsea's kindergarten class and annabelle's class for st. patrick's day.

it's all in the pan

can you tell the difference between these two cupcakes?

i was so excited when i found these mini cupcake pans at goodwill for $1.99. um...not so much anymore. they obviously bake horrible. i don't even know if they baked all the way through. ugh!

so my advice, buy the good stuff, it makes a huge difference.






they still turned out. chocolate heath cupcake filled with caramel with a buttercream salted caramel drizzled icing with a piece of heath bar on top. yum.
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play

mcdonalds play place, the place to be on a cold, overcast, raining on and off day. the things that go on here...kids sweaty, crying, screaming, biting, laughing. parents ignoring, eating, talking, ignoring, yelling at kids, ignoring, come on people. but all that, it's worth it.
sweaty kids=happy kids=happy mom


(yes sawyer is wearing a sleeveless jersey and b-ball shorts and it's 39 degrees outside)
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bad rap

meatloaf has a bad rap. at my house it is loved by all. every time i mention to my friends that i'm making meatloaf they cringe. i think it depends on how your mom made this mystery meat when you were growing up. i remember loving it back then. i wouldn't however, order it at a restaurant. i like to know what's in my food.
i make it with ground turkey, garlic, onions, ketchup, bbq sauce, an egg, some form of crackers and whatever else I decide to throw in. what could go wrong with that? i add grated carrots and broccoli sometimes to sneak those extra veggies in. It sound strange but it really is good. tonight i made some homemade french fries and sweet potato fries. delish! i dare you to try it again. you may realize meatloaf isn't bad after all.


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has this ever been you?

i am in winco. my nose is dripping from my face (disgusting i know). what do i do? i run to the paper goods and rip open a box of kleenex. nice and classy. that's how i like it.


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thrift finds

i love to shop for all sorts of things. i would do it as a job if i could. i especially love shopping for things i could actually have. i found these great finds this week. my ideas for these treasures are unending.this giant antique mirror weighs at least 50lbs, so hanging it will be interesting. i keep dreaming about painting it a lacquered black or even some crazy mustard yellow color or do i leave it this cool old gold...hmmm.

the globe is going in sawyer's room. he has wanted a 'real' globe for a while and this one is cool and unique looking.

the round shade in most likely going in annabelle's room. i'm going to get a light kit from ikea and hang it in there. speaking of annabelle's room, that is going to be my project for the week. pictures to come.

the green lamp is for me. my room. love it.

the white empty frame will be transformed. that is being finished this week too. lots to do.

and lastly the small gold mirror will be used hopefully in my room for a small collage of cool mirrors.

Recipe Club February

this month in our recipe club the theme was valentine treats. these were my contribution. i love our group of ladies. we have about 12 regular ladies that attend, but this month we only had 6, it was still amazing. the beauty of these ladies inside and out is to be admired. they are all mom's, wives, and succeeding at their 'professions.' our gathering usually is from 7-9 last night it ended at 11pm. i left feeling refreshed and energized. and still encouraged to be better. thank you recipe ladies!

better.

what does better mean?

betteradjective1 comparative of good and well .• of a more excellent or effective type or quality • more appropriate, advantageous, or well advised 2 [ predic. ] partly or fully recovered from illness or injury • fitter and healthier; less unwell adverbcomparative of well 1 .• more excellently or effectively • to a greater degree; more • more suitably, appropriately, or usefully
yes...yes...and yes. we have been talking as a church staff about just being 'better.' it is a simple word that can and should be laid across all aspects of my life. i am tired, worn out, over worked, and done. i don't have the choice of being done. that is not an option. i am a mom that wants to be better. i am a wife that needs to be better. i am a leader who lacks and has to be better. i must be a better friend. does this mean more time that i don't have? does this mean more energy? i have noticed that i have been busy doing a lot of nothing. i hate admitting that but it is true. my mind is busy, it never stops. while sitting spending time on fb, or watching housewives of wherever (can't believe i admitted that) my time is wasting away. that really isn't busy, is it? agh! i don't really like these wake up calls. i want to be more effective in my relationships, my ministry, my time with God. i want to move forward. i am still right now. and that isn't what God has called me to be or do. i was 'preaching' to my kiddos today about that, DRIVE is our series that we are in right now. i asked them 'what do you think that means, drive?' they came up with all sorts of motorized vehicles that could take from place to place, but that is not what we are talking about here. i explained to them that God has called us to action. to move. to propel forward. to put action steps to His words that He gave us so long ago. they are real, they are alive. jeff, our pastor always says, 'if something isn't growing it's dead.' now dead is a strong word and i really don't want to admit that so i will leave that there. but you know what i mean. so, better is where i'm at right now. i can do better. i can turn off the 'noise' so i can listen. i can be better. i can make that my mission for today. one day at a time. better.