Did I do that?

I've been wanting a stand mixer for a while now.  I got one for Christmas!  I was so excited but I didn't use it right away.  Today, I decided I would break it in.  I'm going to a New Years party tomorrow night and need to bring a dish.  A light went off in my head and I decided to make a celebration cake.  I was talking to my mom about it and she asked if I was going to make my homemade cake.  As the conversation went on she put in her order for a homemade cake.  Off I go!  2 cakes to make!  I washed all the necessary items to use my mixer and off I went!  My face lit up as I turned it on.  Since there wasn't much of a mess with the first cake I decided to take the guard off the bowl as I made the second cake.  The Muppets song "Life's a Happy Song" was playing and I was enjoying watching the batter come together.  I noticed the batter was quite thick, but I thought it was because I had used a different cake mix.  Then it hit!  I had forgotten to add the water!  Duh Jenn!  I measured out the water, dumped it in the bowl and gladly turned the mixer back on to 2!  Watery batter flew all over the mixer, counter, and the clean floors!  AGHHHHHHHH!  I quickly turned it off!  I felt like Rudy and Peter from The Cosby show episode where they try to make jelly out of grapes using her dad's food processor.  I replaced the guard and continued mixing.  I guess there are some things that just require that guard!
After the cakes were baking I decided to fix spaghetti & garlic bread for supper!  I put the meal on a plate and went to grab a t.v. tray so that I could eat in the living room.  At some point I must have tilted the plate.  The spaghetti began to slide off the plate.  I tilted the plate back the other direction to save it only to have the garlic bread fall to the floor.  I turned quickly to put the plate on the table when yet again the spaghetti starts to slide off only this time there was more of it falling off.  Luckily I was able to save it!  I fixed another piece of garlic bread and ate my dinner.  It just wasn't my night to cook!

Isn't it romantic?

Yesterday my friend and I got out and enjoyed the weather.  She took me to an off beaten path of which I did not know existed.  To get to it you have to walk through an ally (not to scary) and then it's like walking into a movie set.  Winding path covered with leaves, scattered benches and wood bridges to stop and enjoy nature.  A couple happen to be in front of us when I took this picture. They remind me of the De Beers commercial with the old couple holding hands http://youtu.be/plg7Uw9NeDY

I thought how sweet is this?  They're holding hands and walking.  Amanda and I went around them as we were there for the exercise.  On our way back we ran into the couple again.  They stopped us and asked us if we new where we were on the map, where it came out of and whats the best way to get back.  We showed them approximately where we thought we were.  Amanda then told them it would be best for them just to turn around and go back.  The lady then said well can't we just come out here and he can walk back and get the car to come get me?  I wasn't prepared for this and I've got to go to the bathroom.  The man jumped in with "But honey it was a surprise. If I would have told you it wouldn't have been a surprise."  And it went back and forth.  It wasn't an argument just a loving conversation between the two of them.  Come to find out they've only been married a year.  He had an accent.  It sounded like Irish to me but then Amanda thought Australian.  They were just two love birds out enjoying a date and looking for birds to watch.  How romantic and surprising he is even at his age.  Awe!  Someday I'll have a moment like that....hopefully I'll just go to the bathroom before I go anywhere. ha ha.

Où es-tu mon amour?

Last night I saw a beautiful tuxedo cat with a fluffy tail prancing down the sidewalk by Due Amechis.  I'm sure it was Penelope Pussycat, Pepe Le Pew's girlfriend.  I imagined he treated her to a romantic Italian dinner and then tried to kiss her lips.  Ahhhh but Penelope doesn't love Pepe like he loves her and she tried to get away from his stinky breath.  Pepe went lookinjg for Penelope saying "Où es-tu mon amour?" 

The Christmas Wedding

The other day I saw a book that intrigued me.  the cover was a picture looking down on a beautiful bride holding her bouquet.  It was The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson.  I've never read any of his books before and quite frankly had not heard of him.  Most of my reading is in Christian Fiction.  I picked the book up and scanned the back for the summary.  I'm a sucker for romances and to top it off...a Christmas wedding!  Oh the magic of the holidays!  I'm a dreamer!  What can I say!  I put it down and went about my business.  I came across it on audio cds.  I thought this might be a better choice as I can listen to it while I'm driving.  I had a previous book on cd before and enjoyed it.  This package stated that it was read by 4 different people, 3 women and 1 male. "Oh this will be great!  maybe they're going to read it in parts."  I thought to myself.  When I got to my car I popped the first CD in.  A light jazzy Christmas song played.  I immediately began to think my dream Christmas dinner party with friends when I'm married.  I can see myself with hair done, make up on, a soft creamy cashmere sweater, pearls around my neck, dressy jeans, and of course some great looking heels!  In the middle of my day dream, this woman's voice begins to read.  It's not the most pleasant.  It's not raspy or deep...I just can't put my finger on it but it's not one I enjoy listening to that much.  I found myself thinking "my word when will her part be over?"  And so the story begins.  I'm about half way through it now.  I like it when the guy and one of the other ladies read but there are the two ladies that I just don't care for when it comes there time to read.  It's not read in parts.  Each reads a couple of chapters and then it switches.
When I read a book, a develop an image of what the character looks like, what they sound like.  The characters become real to me.  Having this book read to me has been tough.  I can't quite grasp what they look or sound like.  The first lady who speaks has become who I associate the mother in the book with.  Which makes me wonder if the mom smokes.  It hasn't mentioned that, but because the ladies voice is somewhat deep I now imagine the mom to smoke.  The other reader tries to make her voice deep when she reads a man's part.  Oh this grates my nerves as it distorts the image I have in my head of the character.  It's not a real mans voice I'm hearing.  It's a woman trying to sound like a man.  It's fake, annoying, and sometimes creepy!
I've finally started to get an idea of what some of the characters look like.  Last night I saw a commercial for the book...The bride looked younger than what I pictured which caused me to think could there be a twist to this story?  It's very much possible if it's what I think it is.  Also, it shows the 3 suitors....Not what I had pictured.  The Rabbi wasn't as good looking as the book makes him out to be.  I know this is all fiction, but it just ruined it for me.
Halfway through the cds and I'm loving it.  I'll let you know what I think once I'm completely done with it.

I'm too sexy....

A few weeks ago I attended Girls Night Out at the mall with my mom and our friend Dorothy.  We arrived early so we would be among the first couple of hundred that would get a goody bag.  It was smaller than some of the others we had been to and the line was well...non existent!  We sat at a table and chatted.  A group of people came in to set up their booth.  They seemed to be from a salon as they were dressed in all black and one had a spike Mohawk.  The Mohawk intrigued my mom to the point that she went over to the lady and asked her how she did her hair.  Dorothy and I looked away as we didn't know her at this point. ha ha.  Mom came back thoroughly impressed.  We joked that she should do her hair like that for Jim.

The line began to form and we quickly decided we needed to get up there.   As we walked through the entrance we were given a pink boa.  Feathers were flying everywhere.  I stuffed mine in my goody bag as it clashed with my red sweater.  We went to what few booths were open as nearly half of their vendors had not shown up.  I walked by the booth with the Mohawk lady.  I happened to hear they were doing free makeovers.  Ding! A light went on in my head!  "Free makeovers?  I love to get my makeup done and try new looks."  I thought to myself.  I waited.  I saw the Mohawk lady and I thought "Oh, I really hope I don't get her."  Everyone was looking beautiful as they left.  Finally it was my turn....Yep that's right...I got the Mohawk lady.  She asked me what type of look I was going for.  "I've never had a smokey eye before!  Let's do that!"  I said. She asked me if I wanted it in blacks or browns and I told her I wanted the blacks.  She began to work her magic.  Someone from a magazine took my photo.  I'm not sure if I'll be in it and if I am I think it's a parenting magazine.  I do wish they would have had regular brushes instead of disposable brushes.  I just don't think you get quite the look you want with a flimsy brush.  My mom and Dorothy were a little in shock with the final look.  After all I had chosen blacks and there was more eyeliner on the bottom of my eye.  I was not used to that as I don't wear eyeliner or mascara on the bottom part of the eye.  We decided to go eat dinner at Olive Garden.  I wasn't too happy with the look as it wasn't what I expected but I smiled and told her she did a good job as I didn't want to hurt her feelings.  After all it was free.  If I had paid for it that would have been a different story.  When we got to the car I took off my sweater (I had a tank top on), wrapped the boa around me and had my mom take a picture of me.  It was as if I had my own little photo shoot in the parking lot.  For me it was daring and fun!    I ended up blending it a little more before we went into the restaurant.

Opa!

I feel a little like C. Bradshaw at this moment!  I love dinner parties but I hadn't hosted one in quite sometime.  Jason, a friend of mine, decided we should cook a Greek dinner and invite some friends.  I was so excited...This was a dinner party!  He planned the menu and I coordinated the rest.  I decided to go with a blue and white theme.  Luckily I still have some boxes that are easy to get to so I was able to unpack my favorite dishes (bought at Pier 1).  I thought it would be cute to do place cards.  It wasn't a formal dinner party but I had never had one with place cards. I found a stock photo of the Greek flag and printed it on the cards with the names.  Originally I wanted to write our names in Greek, but not all of our names translated and on some I'm not sure the translation was correct.
Jason arrived a little later than he had planned.  We ran to Wal-mart to buy the groceries.  As usual this Wal-mart wasn't well stocked.   We made a mad dash to Krogers to get the remaining items.  When we got home we began preparing the food.   We couldn't find all of our ingredients for our Greek dessert.  We didn't want to go with Baklava as it's so common.  Since the dessert was a dead end we decided on Boston Cream Pie.  I began to make it from scratch while Jason prepared the appetizers.  Some of the guest arrived early and helped out with the preparations.  We were scheduled to eat at 6 but because of the delay we ate around 8.  It was a fun night with everyone helping out with cooking and clean up, dodging people as we were moving about the kitchen, and telling of stories that had some saying "TMI!" ha ha.  I loved the dinner party!  I can't wait for more to come!

Everyone enjoying the food1

Jason being meticulous as he stuffs the chicken!  Great cook! Awesome food!

Me posing for the camera.  I was in the middle of making the filling for the Boston Cream Pie.  I lost count of how much milk I had already used....It was quite interesting.  It still came out good thanks to the help from Cynthia!

Alien Wasp

I was waiting to turn out of a parking lot when I looked to my left.  I saw this thing flying towards me.  I began to get antsy.  "Oh no!  this thing is fixin to fly into my car!  What do I do?"  I thought to myself as I silently screamed in my head.  Thump!  it had landed on my window near my head.  "Oh, Oh, Ohhhhhh....."  Panic came over me.  I needed to turn out of the parking lot so I wouldn't hold up traffic but I wanted this thing off my window!  "My window is up isn't it?  Jason had mentioned last night my windows were so clean it looked like I'd rolled them down...or something along that line.  Do I tap the window?  What if it's not rolled up...what do I do?"  I thought to myself while trying to decide whether to shift gears and go or battle it out with the bug.  I glanced over still uneasy and wondering if this thing was going to fly in on me.  It was lime green.  It's eerie green eyes fixed on me watching me like a hawk.  It's as if we were having a nonverbal showdown.  "I'll show him!"  I turned out of the parking lot and accelerated to a fast speed without going over the speed limit.  This sucker was still holding on and staring me down.  Rats!  it didn't work.  Of course I could only go 40.  "I'll get you!  You're fixin to fly off this car!"  I yielded at the light (there was a yield sign the way I was going).  Luckily there wasn't a line of traffic coming my way so I didn't have to make a complete stop.  I rounded the corner and began to accelerate!  "YES!  I can go 50 here!  You're fixin to die buddy!"  I thought to myself! With a smile on my face I glanced over only to my surprise the sucker was in his defense mode still hanging on fighting against the wind.  "Are you kidding me?  UGH!" I thought.  My speed was cut short as the speed limit dropped and I had to stop for a red light. I was at a complete stop.  I looked over and the thing had re-positioned himself vertically and was staring right into my eyes!  "You look like an alien!"  I said to myself.  I didn't like looking at him but I couldn't turn away.  His entire body was green. I'd never seen such a sight.  He stared me down again.  I banged on the lower corner of my window by the mirror.  Surely the vibration would make him fly away...It didn't.  The light was still read.  This time I went for it.  Despite my window being up I still had a fear that if I touched the window where he was he could still get me. I did it anyway.  I banged on the spot where he was with vigor!  bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.  Still there.  Bang, bang, bang.  There he's gone....not so fast missy!  He left the window but now he was on my door!  "Really?  Fly away you ugly wasp!"  I looked down and the top of his body more of a yellowish color.  The top part of the abdomen seemed to be moving in sequence like our chest does when we breathe.  Had I given him a run for his money?  Was he breathless?  He crawled over towards the door handle.  I kept a close eye on him but at last the light had turned green.  It was my turn to go.  "Maybe I can get some speed on this next road....fat chance!  Of all the days I don't need be stuck behind a slow person!  What am I going to do when I get home?  What if I get out of the car and he dive bombs me and stings me?  Why me?  Oh, maybe I can crawl over to the passenger side and get out that way.  Oh but if I do that I'll have to re-position the seat...is it really worth it?"  I thought to myself.  I pulled into the garage.  I looked one last time.  I couldn't see him.  A slight panic came over me...as if I couldn't see my enemy.  I glanced at the passenger door and decided it wasn't worth it.  If I was going to do this I was going to have to make a run for it.  If I got stung...then I'd just deal with it.  I grabbed my keys and slid my purse strap onto my shoulder. I cringed as I slowly pulled the door handle.  I heard the door release.  "Oh no!  what if he was near the crack and gets in?"  I swung open the door and dashed out of the car to the driveway leaving the door wide open.  I turned and looked.  I didn't see him.  I grabbed the side of the door and shut it.  As soon as I did that I chided myself for not checking the other side of the door before placing my hand on it.  I'm not sure what happened to the little guy.  I'm just glad he's gone. It was an intense ride home for such a short distance.  I don't know if it was a wasp or a yellow jacket.  the under belly was a lime green, It's eyes were lime green.  The top was black and yellow with a hint of lime green but I haven't been able to find any pics resembling what I saw.  I guess it could have been a yellow jacket that was covered in pollen.

Chocolate Paradise

Recently my cousin got married and we threw her a shower.  My mom asked me to make a cake for it.  I had a vision in my head and wanted to mimic the invitation...I couldn't quite get it to come out the way I wanted it to.  I usually make my cakes from scratch but a last minute decision I decided to go with a box cake which turned out to be pretty moist.  I made butter cream icing from scratch.  It was quite tasty.  I got inspired by a cake I had from Mickey's bakery a few years ago.  It was a chocolate ganache cake.  It was to die for.  I looked for a ganache recipe but I didn't have all the ingredients.  I decided to use the glaze recipe I use for my Boston cream pie.  It turned out to be scrumptious!   Between the moist chocolate cake, butter cream icing, and the chocolate glaze it was heavenly!  I've gotten lots of compliments and request for this cake.  Want one for your special occasion?  Contact me and we'll go from there!

Made with Love

This is a painting one of my students did for my birthday present.  It was adorable.  That's me and her on the playground.  She rolled it up and tied it with a feather accent she'd made in girl scouts.  I love homemade gifts.   It was an enjoyable day at school.  All the children kept wishing me happy birthday.  The following day I was out at recess one of the other children came up to me and sang happy birthday but this is how it went...."Happy birthday to you cha cha cha Happy birthday to you cha cha cha" and so it went.  I just smiled and said thank you.  I'd never heard that version before.  It's a little catchy.

Rosebuds

I recently got back into cake decorating. This time it's focusing on making flowers. We started out making flowers from "cookie' cutters. That was okay but I found it boring! I just rolled out the fondant/ gum paste then cut my shape. I could layer it but there wasn't much of my design involved in it. The second flower we worked on was a Pansie. Here I came alive. We still used a cookie cutter to make the flower, but we used tools to thin out & shape the petals. I felt like my creativity was coming alive. I started to combine colors & make more 2 toned flowers that faded into each other.

I decided to search Youtube for some tutorials on icing, fondant, & certain flowers I like. I found a few videos that I liked that gave some great tips. One of those featured roses made of fondant. When I took my original cake decorating class I never could maser the buttercream rose. Watching this video I thought it might be easier. It was. As I worked with the fondant it brought back memories of childhood when I played with Silly Putty. The pulling, twisting, & stretching of the soft pliable fondant was fun & relaxing. I began to get in my zone. I do that when I paint, draw, or bring out my creative side. It may not be the best but I'm in a zone and I'm free to be me.
I like color variations & I love to see hues blend together that remind me of sunsets etc. Therefore I started experimenting with color variations. In the Video it was recommended to put the rose buds on wire and stand them in Styrofoam to dry. I didn't have any on hand, but I did find that a package of streamer worked just as well. Out of the flowers I've made so far these are my favorite & I wasn't critical on myself as I was with the others. This was my first time doing this rose. While I haven't mastered it, I feel like I accomplished a lot with this challenge. On to the next one...stay tuned!

The starving Artist Cafe

Month two of our dinner club. Cynthia. & Joanna chose the Starving Artist Cafe. Amanda H. suggested we ride the trolley over to the North side of the river & wouldn't you know it, it stopped right in front of the restaurant. It was quiet an experience. A little bumpy at times. It works for Little Rock, but I prefer the original trolleys in San Francisco. The restaurant doesn't require reservations, but they do recommend them. Since we had a large group we went ahead with reservations. Little did we realize that when we planned this the Little Rock marathon & Winter Jam would be going on this weekend. surprisingly the restaurant wasn't that crowded. Art adorned the walls as well with sculptures & Mosaics strategically placed throughout the restaurant.
For the second time, bathrooms seemed to be a hot topic around the table. From the leopard print chair in the ladies bathroom to the art hanging on the walls. I guess it gives you a variety of things to focus on.
I had viewed the menu on line and wanted to try the lamb, however I changed my mind upon looking at the full menu. I decided to order in a way I'd never ordered before. I chose an appetizer, a light dinner, & a dessert. The apple brie bruchetta with apple chutney was an experience. I shared it with everyone. I was not a fan of it, but a few did. The brie was tasteless & almost had a mushy consistency. I enjoyed just the apples & bread. The majority of us ordered crepes. I ordered the spinach & feta cheese crepe. It was covered with an Asiago cheese sauce. The smell was strong but the taste wasn't. I liked it, but its not something I'd order all the time. I can only take so much cooked spinach. The best part was the dessert. They had chocolate creme brule! So naturally that was my pick! A few others ordered some different desserts and we all shared. It was like having a dessert tasting. There was my dessert, apple brown Betty, Blueberry Charolette and of course chocolate Cake. Each dessert was fabulous!
The staff was very friendly and we received great service. I can't wait to go back. & try the lamb! On Tuesday nights they have dinner & a show which is comparable to Murrays just with smaller productions & better food. The tickets are $10 you buy in advance. The meal is a 3 course meal at market price which can start at $35 and go up. They open their doors at 5 and the performance starts at 7 & ends at 9. I think it'd be a fun night out during the week. After we left we caught the trolley back to the river market. It was dreadfully cold. & windy. We didn't spend as much time Walking around as I would have liked, but under the circumstances I'm glad. A quick stop in starbucks to warm us up & we called it a night.

Valentine Sweets

When it snows I get in a baking mood. Today was one of those days especially since we were getting a lot of snow. A brilliant idea came to mind. I should bake a cake. I thought I had a cake mix but it turned out to be brownie mix. Then I remembered Ina Garten made a chocolate cake on her show yesterday. I googled the recipe & checked the ingredients. Everything was going good, I was getting excited until...Buttermilk. I didn't have buttermilk nor could I get out to get some. I wondered if I could just add butter to milk to get buttermilk, but I quickly nixed that idea. Then I remembered my Hershey's cookbook. There it was a chocolate cake & I had all the ingredients. I baked my cake from and made the icing from scratch.

The brilliant idea I had was to offer my baking services to others for valentines day. If you want a special cake for your sweetheart contact me through email & I'll see what I can do for you. Whether it's a Boston Cream Pie, Cake, Cookies, Cup Cakes, Sexy Brownies, Heart shaped cake, etc...Let me help make your valentine day special!

Peaceful Calm

I awoke this morning to a peaceful neighborhood. Snow covered the streets & all was calm. The snow continues to fall & we now have fluffy white snow hiding our grass. These photos are from the early morning when it had just started. Enjoy!

No more excuses!

Most of us throughout our lives have heard a phrase such as "You are just like your dad!" or "You have the temper of your grandmother!" etc. It's true in my family each of the cousins on my mom's side of the family have been told they have some trait of Mimi's. To tell you the truth as much as we loved Mimi, we all hate to be compared to her. She was beautiful but she could be bitter at times. We tend to blame our actions or personality on genetics. We might say "That's just the way I am" or "It runs in the family". I'm pretty sure I've used that phrase before.
This past weekend my beautiful cousin informed us she'd read somewhere that people who had their tonsils out when they were young tended to be over weight later on life. She pointed out that her mom, aunt, & I had our tonsils out & have struggled with our weight while the others (including her) hadn't had theirs out & have maintained their decent weight. I'll admit a bit of envy did come over me. I have beautiful cousins who haven't had to fight weight like I have, and then I thought if only I hadn't had mine out I might be small. I quickly snapped back to reality & realized my weight struggle began long before the tonsils were taken out. I'm not sure how accurate that study was she read. It could be all coincidence, but it ties in with the Bible study I'm doing.
We've been reading Calm My Anxious Heart. This week was entitled Content to be me. It deals with so many aspects from your body to your personality. Whether it's our weight, talents, mentality, personality etc... we have the ability to change. We can choose to change our ways and not follow in the footsteps of bad influences. Instead of blaming my weight on my tonsils or my asthma I can choose to eat healthier & workout. Instead of blaming my bad qualities on my Mimi or my stubbornness on my dad I can choose to change those. The point is to stop making excuses & do something about it. When you change you'll feel better, have more confidence, & others will see the change in you.
My hope is that I'll stop being compared to Mimi unless it's to say I look just like her. I'll take that because she was a beautiful woman!

Jalapeño Poppers! '¡Olé!

Recently I watched an episode of Arti Party. It's one of my new favorite cooking shows. She featured a recipe called Jalapeño Poppers. I could smell the smell through the t.v. They looked so good. I wish had 3D t.v. so I could imagine even more eating them. She said they were a quick & easy appetizer to fix for game nights. Fast forward to Super Bowl and voilà! I have a dish to fix. Preparing the mix was fast and easy. I read online that others added more salt than she recommended so I headed their advice and added a bit more. The time consuming part was cutting the peppers in half & de-seeding them. I used my Pampered Chef Santoku knife which was great for cutting throug the stems. I also used the Pampered Chef flexible cutting mats so it was easy to discard unwanted items into the trash. It took me a bit to find my niche in deseeding. After several attempts I ended up with a tea spoon (the kind you stir tea with) and I cradled the pepper in the palm of one hand. It seemed to go faster once I did that. She suggest wrapping the poppers with thinly sliced bacon. Walmart didn't have any marked thinly sliced so I just bought the regular. I cut it down the middle like she did. One half was thin & the other was medium thickness. I think she buys her bacon from a butcher because it was wrapped nicely in brown paper. I should try that some time. She stuck a toothpick in each of hers to secure the bacon. I opted out of doing that as I didn't have enough toothpicks & my hands were getting slippery from the bacon & cream cheese mixture.
Okay 25 minutes into it I can smell the bacon, onions, & peppers I can't wait to dive into them. Looking at them there is obviously grease from the bacon in the bottom of the pan. I will definitely be putting them on paper towels before serving. I did line the pan with foil so I'll have less of a mess to clean up!
All in all this was easy just a bit more time consuming than I thought. I think it's great to make with other people to cut down on the time. In just a few min I'll get to try it & tell you what I think....Can't you smell the bacon. Yummmm!
I baked them for 35 min because some of the bacon was thicker. I think mine would have been okay at 30 min like the directions said. Some of the stems did fall off. I used my Pampered Chef mini spatula to transfer them to the Simple Additions oblong plates. Wooooooo weeeeeeeee! Those suckers have some kick to them. Even though I de-seeded them & scraped the middle out they still had some hotness to them. After 2 of them my nose started to run. These are definitely a new favorite of mine. Try them! I think you'll like them!
P.S. I would wear gloves when preparing these like she suggest. I have a thumb & the top of an index finger that are burning. I didn't cut myself but for some reason they're burning.
For the recipe Bacon-Apple-Jalapeno Pop 'Ems on the Food Network

Capi's

A few months ago my friends & I decided to eat out once a month at a restaurant we don't frequent a lot. We picked a date in December, but when it came around there were conflicts with schedules. I finally decided to get the ball rolling. The holidays were over & I was ready to experience new foods with my friends.
We chose Capi's as most of us haven't eaten there before. Originally we had planned on 6 but due to the weather some plans got cancelled & we grew to 9. The restaurant had plenty of room to seat us. The bar had a bare tree (I think it was fake) on the corner with branches reaching out across the ceiling. Hanging from the ceiling were wrought iron candle plates that held about 12-16 candles in a row. In addition to the candles, white bulb lights were strung strategically from the ceiling. The bathroom was a conversation piece among our table. My favorite part was the sink! It was a deep clear glass bowl with a spigot that looked like a modernized water pump & the flow of water was so smooth. My friend Amanda pointed out that there was mouthwash & cups on the counter. I guess I was to engrossed with the sink that I didn't look at the rest of the stuff. I've never been to a restaurant where you could freshen your breath after eating.
The food is a mix of Mexico & Southwest. In my opinion the food was outstanding! I will say that there were some dishes that were confusing. We ordered both the white & yellow cheese dip. The yellow cheese dip reminded me of an Indian dish. Some of us thought there was curry in the dip. Another shocker were the re fried beans. The ones who had it didn't care for them. I tasted them & liked them. They weren't your typical re fried beans. They had more whole beans in them. Here again there as a spice we couldn't identify. Some thought it was oregano. I thought it had a woodsy taste to it. Similar to mesquite but not a BBQ flavor. I had the Halibut with rice (it reminded me of a sticky rice just not sweet) & Mexican squash. I loved it! Over all I think we all enjoyed it. The downfall was with us being a large group gratuity was included in the ticket which was 20%.
We've decided that the person or people who have a birthday that month will choose the restaurant. I'm excited to see where we end up next month. There are a few road trips we'd like to take. Looking forward to a fun year with my friends!

What does your lens reveal? Part 1

It started out being a long day. Not having much to eat made it seem longer. I could feel my body begin to wear down from lack of energy. I ate a small snack when I got home and then some dinner before I was off again. I'd forgotten what it was like to be on the go. I had told a friend that I'd help them out with a class this semester. I've helped in the past and I was looking forward to it. However, today was one of those days I just wanted to stay home...I didn't even get my workout in. My energy pepped up a bit and I headed to the class. Upon arriving I ran into old friends. It was as if we'd just seen each other yesterday.
Perspectives is the class I'm referring to. I took it in 2005 and I helped with the Cabot class last year. This class puts a new perspective on missions and God. Each time something new is revealed to me. Tonight was just a night of revelation for me. Do you ever get so excited you feel like you're about to jump out of your skin? That's how I felt tonight. I couldn't wait to get home and write this. At break I posted Facebook status which prompted a Friend to txt me inquiring about my amazing news. It was in the middle class & I was so overcome with excitement of what I wanted to share. It was hard to contain until after the class.
The person speaking tonight was Bill Elliff. He's my former pastor from the Church I attended growing up. He's since started The Summit Church in NLR. We talked about God being a Missionary God. We started by discussing the glory of God. Have you ever thought about that? I've heard it all my life and it's throughout the scripture. The glory of God...it's his nature, character, magnificence, majestic etc. Ps 19 "The heavens declare the glory of God..." We were created to display God's glory. We're to reflect His image. We've also been given the choice to choose to follow him or rebel. Yet if we rebel he doesn't turn his back on us he's still there waiting for us. We always have the option of choosing to follow God. Mr. Elliff told us a story about his brother-in-law who bought an raggedy antique car. He was a pastor and every parsonage they went to the car went with them. He worked on it for years. Finally one day the brother-in-law told Bill he wanted to show him something. He opened the garage and there was the most beautiful car one had ever seen. Everything had been restored to look like the original and it ran smooth. That's how God is with us. When we come to him he works to restore us back to His specifications. I can attest to this because God knows I've made horrible decisions and choices that I regret. If you want more on that just look back through my blog & you'll find my testimony. Through God's grace I've changed (for the good) and he's restoring me back to His specifications. I still struggle with things, but God's not through with me yet. "God manifests His love through His intervening grace." To put it another way "God doing something for you that you could not do yourself." Grace...what does it mean to you?
As God restores us back to His nature, He restores us to his mission.
Sometimes we just need a new lens to see things more clearly. Tonight, I saw things in a whole new light and I was in awe!
If this has intrigued you there are classes throughout the nation. In central AR it's at the Summit in Little Rock (Mon), there is one in Conway (Sun), and at First Baptist Cabot on Tuesday night.

"Don't think about dying..."

The past few months have been unstable for me not knowing when I'd be leaving. Two weeks ago I found out the job fell through. The next day I went into my current job to let them know I could work the rest of the semester. My boss informed me that she didn't know how much longer she could keep me on because we had lost some children and were below the number we needed. I handled myself in a calm professional way and told her just to let me know when she needed to let me go and something else would come along. Then this past week we lost another child. I had a strong feeling that on Monday I'd be told that I was no longer needed. I went to work and nothing was said to me. I had a great day with the kids and when they said "Miss Jennifer" it just warmed my heart. I love the class I'm getting to work with and I'll hate it when I have to say goodbye.
On the way home I thought about the events from Friday to Monday. Upon hearing the news it's like I walked around with dread and still trying to decide what would be my next job. It's like I went into silent panic mode before knowing the outcome. As I thought about this I remembered a quote I saw posted by Bob Harper "Don't think about dying...think about LIVING."- Jack LaLane. It clicked in my head. Instead of going to work with the idea I could loose my job at any moment, I should embrace the time that I have and enjoy it with my class.

What Now?

I used to be one that didn't like reading. However, when I lived in Germany I didn't have a t.v. in my dorm style apartment. I quickly learned to like reading and I discovered I didn't hate it as much as I thought I did. There were a lot of books I became engrossed with. I couldn't wait 'til the end to see if the romance was going to develop out of certain characters, or if it was the ending I was expecting. After reading a few chapters I just couldn't wait for the outcome. I had to know the outcome. I'd flip to the last 2 chapters and scan the pages until I found my answer. Then I'd sigh in relief with a smile on my face, and go back to finishing the book. My friends thought I was crazy for doing that. They said I was ruining the story because I knew the ending. Au contraire I say...even though I knew the ending it was still exciting to see how everything played out in the story.
Yesterday I was in Walmart when I got the unexpected news about the CO position. I was told that the date had been pushed back again (along with other complications of which I wont go into since this is on the web). In a nutshell my supervisor and I decided it was best we not pursue this any further and that I look for other job opportunities. It's funny how God works. Sunday, I had an urge to look at the classifieds in the paper. Then yesterday I said a silent prayer to God asking him to open or shut this door. I thought this was the door he'd opened because all others were being shut. Where did I go wrong? Was it something I'd said in interviews, something on my resume, why am I not getting hired anywhere? Then out of the blue this job was offered to me. This seemed to be the door God was opening. Even after I accepted the position I still got offers but nothing ever came of them. I admit when I was first going to go I was ready to go in a heartbeat. Then with the setbacks I got resettled in my life. I met a new groups of friends that I had a lot of fun with along with my other friends. Inside I wanted to take my friends with me, but new that I couldn't. This was an emotional time for me. I wasn't just leaving for a short term mission trip. I was making a life changing move. I was looking forward to the snow, seeing Colorado, and meeting new people. When I got the call yesterday there was a bit of relief because I had closure, but there was also a bit of disappointment and uncertainty. I started to breakdown in the car. Emotions were going everywhere. The past couple of years have been an emotional roller coaster.
On the way home Mom said, "Well you did say you didn't want to leave your friends." I just nodded and through sobs said "I know, but I was looking forward to going." We quickly laughed at the fact how hard it is to please women.
What now? Where do I go from here? Do I go back for my masters in education and teach? Do I pursue web design? I don't know. I enjoy both careers but for either I know I'll have to pursue further education. Then there's my Pampered Chef business. I love it and I'd love the hours. I'd have more freedom to go on vacations when I wanted to and meet people for lunch dates. I can move anywhere and my business goes with me. There are secret dreams I have that only a few know about. Do I pursue those? There's so much to think about!
My room is mostly packed, boxes line the walls almost to the ceiling. I miss my favorite things, but I don't want to unpack the boxes. I'll start looking for a place of my own this summer.
Last night I couldn't go to sleep. I thought about the days events, replayed everything in my head, and cried some more. As I lay there I thought to myself, "This is a lot like having your flight delayed. There have been delays after delays and now it's being cancelled." I'll be honest I'm frustrated, but I'm also dealing with other emotions. Part of me feels like the boy who cried wolf. Just hear me out please. I know I'm not and it's not my fault I just need to vent what I'm feeling. Another emotion I've dealt with is fear. Fear of the unknown in CO, fear of making the trip by myself, and fear of what people would say after the first setback came. I didn't want to see some people because I feared what they would say to me. In reality, I was wrong about that and they were more than supportive to me. "Fear can intimidate us, pin us into a corner, and keep us from being all God created us to be. The good news is, love always conquers fear!"- Experiencing Peace by Marilyn Meberg.
Am I mad at God? Am I disappointed with God? The answer is no. I'm not mad at him nor am I disappointed with God. I am disappointed the job didn't work out and I am so confused at this point. I really thought this is where God wanted me.
This truly has represented my blog title "Destination Unknown"! I appreciate all your prayers and support. Please keep me in your prayers because I don't know what's in store next or where I'll be. One thing is for sure I'll still get to be on the women's committee at church and help out with some spring events! Oh and my favorite speaker ,Beth Moore, is coming to Little Rock in April! I'll get to hear her speak! YAY! Can't wait!
God has a plan and a purpose. I wish I could flip to the end of this chapter and see the final outcome (not dying), but I know I can't. I'll just take it one day at a time.
Ciao!