Good birthdays

This past week was my birthday :). While I don't feel any older, I did have a fun time celebrating with friends. One evening Maria, Amanda, and Jessie all came over for dinner and I made fettuccine Alfredo. Yummm. If you haven't ever made alfredo yourself it is something you must try! The stuff in the Jar doesnt hold a candle to the real thing!! Here is the recipe, try it out and make it your own, it is truly amazing!

1 1/2 stick butter
3/4 Cup half and half
3/4 Cup heavy Cream
Bow tie pasta (or any pasta you like)
1/4 Cup chopped onion
2 Garlic cloves minced
1 1/2 Cups shredded parmesan cheese

Put noodles on to boil
in large sauce pan lightly saute onions and garlic
(I also like to add sliced mushrooms at this point)
add butter and let melt all together over medium or med. low heat
Add half and half and heavy cream to pan
(You may add some Italian spices, or some pepper here depending on what you like)
Slowly mix in parmesan cheese. Mix well each time you add cheese so you won't get lumps of cheese in your sauce
Add Noodles to pan and toss well.
You can then add cooked chicken, shrimp, or bacon if you want to!
Also, pay attention as you are adding the cheese. You may not need a whole cup and 1/2 and you may need more. Just keep tasting the sauce as you make it until it is the way you like it.

New years are for New beginnings.

This year is quite literally for new beginnings. Jake will be home sometime in the beginning of February. Can you believe we only spent barely 3 months together as a married couple before he left? Our dating relationship was also long distance and we figured out that 3 months is the longest we have ever been together, seeing each other every day. We have made it through four years of seeing each other off and on and I am so ready to have him home and to myself! Neither of us have jobs lined up yet, but we know that God will open doors as He always does if we just trust Him. Hopefully all the hard hours in school and hours applying for jobs will pay off eventually. So the new beginnings we have lined up for this year so far are :

Start our life together again as a married couple
Search for, and obtain new jobs to support ourselves
Find a new apartment or house to start our lives together again in
And, of course, I will start and finish a new school semester

Of course, as there is every year, I am sure there will be several surprises thrown in here and there, but anything has to be easier than this past year :)

No matter where you are

No matter where you are in the world, or what challenges you are facing, Christmas is a time to be celebrated. You may not have "christmas spirit" or feel like decorating or buying gifts, but thats not the point! The point is that Christ was born and this is the time of year we celebrate His birth. Its not about Christmas trees, gifts, etc. It is about realizing what a great gift was given to us many years ago when Christ came to earth. It is a gift that transcends all the silliness we have added to Christmas. I personally am not happy to be spending a Christmas without my husband and without my own home to decorate, but I am thankful that he is safe, that I have a place to live and that I have a supportive family. I may not be super into the Christmas spirit but I do realize that my life would not be the same if it were not for that little baby born in Bethlehem so many years ago. So, whether you are a humbug or a true Jingle Bell lover, remember Christmas for what it is, a time to celebrate the birth of Christ!

why?

there are some things in this world i just don't understand...and this barbie is one of them

spiced apple cider

this is one of my favorite recipes! Passed down by my wonderful mom of course :)

Hot Apple Cider

3 parts 100% Apple Juice-depending on how much you want to make, I use at least one bottle
1 Part 100% Cranberry Juice
3 Cinnamon Sticks
1 teaspoon of cloves held in either a coffee filter or a tea ball
Sugar to taste

Combine ingredients in large pot on stove or crock pot. Heat on high heat until simmering then reduce heat to low and cover. Let steep on low for at least one hour. When cider is spiced to your taste remove the cloves (you can remove the cinnamon as well, but I usually leave the sticks in).
If the cider is too tart you can add a bit of sugar (I usually end up adding a little less than 1/4 cup of sugar). Serve while still hot! Can be stored in the fridge, and drank cold or hot!

holidays are coming

so the holidays are just around the corner! Don't forget that there is a wonderful web site called Etsy out there to meet your holiday shopping needs. It is a wonderful idea to buy hand crafted items for Christmas instead of something from a department store! Here are several of my favorite shops on etsy...of course mine is #1 :). Also, keep in mind that you can usually request custom items from sellers on etsy, all you have to do is send them a message and see what they can do!

http://southerncharmcrafts.etsy.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7541630

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7400794

finding God in fiction

So I was reading our book club book which is "The White Company" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (you know the guy who wrote Sherlock Holmes). Well, this has been an all time favorite novel of mine since I was in middle school. It is all about the hundred years war and knights and ladies in distress. Well reading it as an adult I have been finding many things in it that I missed as a child. My favorite quote that I have ran across is this:

"A man is but a beast as he lives from day to day, eating and drinking, breathing and sleeping. It is only when he raises himself, and concerns himself with the immortal spirit within him, that he becomes in very truth a man. Bethink ye how sad ...a thing it would be that the blood of the Redeemer should be spilled to no purpose"

how true this is! Without the spirit of God in us we are falling into nothingness. God made us to seek Him and to follow Him in our lives. Of course we all make mistakes and none of us have a perfect Christian life, but if we are aware of the spirit living inside of us, if we are aware of God in our lives ,then we are realizing our full potential as Christians and can work towards becoming better followers of Him. How sad it would be if the blood of the Redeemer was spilled to no purpose! How sad it would be if we turned our backs on God and stopped trying to better our walks with Him. How Sad it would be if we forgot what He did for us and the life He offers!!

What an awesome reminder that you can find God anywhere. He will find ways to speak to you even when you are reading a book you haven't picked up since middle school. AMAZING!
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Company )