moooo.

Because free Chick-fil-a is worth it.

strengthsfinder

The other day, Nick took the Strengthsfinder test for Sojourn. I took it five years ago before heading to Baylor. I thought it would be fun to share both of our results.  The test nailed Nick. My little beaver/retriever. And, I must admit, it got me pretty good, too. It's been pretty fun to read through the descriptions.

Nick:
1. Consistency- "You are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same, no matter what their station in life..."
2. Relator- "You do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people... but you do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around your close friends."
3. Responsibility- This theme "forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to... and you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion."
4. Discipline- "Your world needs to be predictable... so you instinctively impose structure on your world."
5. Harmony- "You look for areas of agreement... there is little to be gained from conflict and friction, so you seek to hold them to a minimum."

Haley:
1. Competition- "When you look at the world, you are instinctively aware of other people's performance."
2. Activator- "Only action makes things happen... You make a decision, you take action, you look at the result, and you learn."
3. Belief- "You have certain core values that are enduring. They provide you with direction..."
4. Learner- "You love to learn... You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence."
5. Context- "You look back. You look back because that's where the answers lie. You look back to understand the present."

It's so fun to see this on paper, because it is so obvious in our relationship. Nick gets uncomfortable when I get too passionate about what I believe in, because he just wants everyone to get along. Where as sometimes, I just want him to openly disagree every once in a while. My Learner theme comes out very often, too, which drives Nick crazy. I ask questions all the time, something I had never noticed before we met. When I don't know something, or don't understand something, I ask about it. We were driving in Colorado, and I asked him why it was called the Arkansas River. He said, "I don't know... you are always asking questions, and I don't know the answers! And it scares me, because you always ask your dad questions, but he does know the answers! I don't know if I can replace that."
Nick knows the answers more often than he is giving himself credit for.

Anyway, aren't personalities fascinating? I love this stuff.

(All quotes from Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath)

trust.

I have been learning a lot about trust, lately. As we have begun the fundraising process for Providence, it is so easy to put my faith, and doubt, in man. Asking people for money is not an easy thing to do, and the fact that we can't go unless people give is really scary.
As I think about this, I am reminded of Lamentations 3:23-25:

Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him!" The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him.

I can't put my trust in people to provide, because people will fail. I can and must put my hope in the only one who won't fail. And the best part is, because He is faithful, there is no need to fear. He will provide, whether that's through the Body of believers, or another way that will catch us off guard. Worry is a sin. The Bible is clear about that. And God has called us to Providence. He has broken our hearts for the people there, and closed all other doors. He will make a way. There is no reason for me to worry.

I have been so encouraged by the generosity and eager hearts of our family and friends! Their faith and sacrifice challenges me. We are so humbled to be a part of God's plan to further His Kingdom in New England. 

Today, I as I read Psalm 37, verses five and seven stuck out to me:

Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you... Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.

I love that the Creator of the Universe, the Almighty God over everything, will help me. I need only to trust. That simple fact just blows me away.

birthday time!

I am now married to a 23-year-old.  Are you serious? I married an old man!
The day began with cake batter pancakes and bacon... and plenty of sprinkles! My grandparents surprised Nick with a lovely pineapple, and I bought him Reeses as a morning "gift".  To be totally honest, the pancakes were extremely dense, not light and fluffy. But they still tasted good.

 After breakfast, we went to play disc golf.  Nick loves disc golf. He plays very often. I, however, normally don't go with him. I can't get the disc to go as far, and it's really too hot to stand outside chasing a frisbee around for 18 holes. But it was his birthday. So I went.

 (I just realized that this picture looks like I have one giant leg. 2 legs, people, there are 2 there!)

 And I lasted 6 holes. No shame.

For lunch, we had Babe's Chicken to go. Talk about delish. We love Babe's!
Then we headed to Grapevine to meet some friends for dinner. But first, we stopped at Grapevine Mills. I took advantage of the 75% off sale at Old Navy and scored a pair of shorts for $6. Holler.

Then we met some dear friends, Bryce and Mike, at Baja's for some delicious Mexican food. But I was still full from Babe's. So I had a cup of queso. No shame. 

 Then Mikey came back to the house with us, while I made the birthday cake, they got snow cones and played fooze ball.

 Mike won. 

 And then Nick decided the best way to cut the cake would be with his teeth.

 Nothing like delicious angel food cake with fresh strawberries and creamy whipped cream!

 The next morning, Nick's gift came in the mail. LOST Season 1 on blu ray!

Independence Day weekend!

 Fourth of July has come and gone. Last year, we really didn't do much for this holiday, but we got pretty crazy this year. And by crazy, I mean we did more than just watching fireworks.

On Saturday, we headed to East Texas to spend time with my familia. But first, we stopped in Canton at First Monday. 

We did a lot of looking around, and I ended up getting a knitted headband and then a $1 frame. With a dandelion painting included. Oh boy.

By mid day we were ready to head to Grammy's house for some AC, food, and Dr Pepper.
My cousin helped me decorate Nick's birthday cake. He did a pretty spiffing job. Until he stuck the side of his face in it trying to get down out of the chair. It was pretty hilarious and quite impressive though.

This is another cousin. She is pretty awesome at making great faces for the camera. Or maybe just blinking at the flash. Either way, these pics make me laugh.

We went outside to visit the mules. I realize I shared this pic before, but I mean, come on, aren't her pigtails just precious?

These guys had a pretty good time together. Nick does an awesome Donald Duck voice, which Henry loves. 

After lunch, I took a nap on the couch, and then we headed to Plano, where we enjoyed delicious chicken and corn on the cob, grilled by my dad.

On Monday morning, we went to the Arlington parade with my aunt and uncle. It was pretty fun. Except for the creepy clowns and the unbelievable heat.

We got home from the parade and I ended up taking a 3 hour nap. The sun is not my friend.
 But then, I made cookies. Cookies with the best tasting dough. Ever. I just kept wanting to eat it. They were chocolate chip cake batter cookies, and I added sprinkles for fun. 

 The hubster was upset I used chocolate. Didn't stop him from eating plenty, though.

After some cookie baking and some patriotic grilling, we took a ride in my Papa's jeep and headed to watch some fireworks! My hair got a bit wind blown.

Since the Arlington fireworks were the night before, we decided to find a spot to watch the show after the Ranger's game. It worked out really well.

It was definitely a great way to spend the day. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday!

baking and building.

My hubby is pretty talented. He's good at lots of things, like cooking, and building, and fixing my hair for weddings. 
So, my grandparents enlisted him for building a fence. Of course, he jumped at the opportunity. So while he spent the day building, I spent the day baking. 

The delicious, ooey gooey cookie cake I made with white chocolate, semi-sweet, and milk chocolate chips.
And sprinkles.

 Sprinkles make everything better.

I also made Cookies and Cream Rice Crispy Treats from the Picky Palate.  While the idea of these is great, they were waayyy too dry. Either mini marshmallows are bigger in California or they just like their rice crispy treats more crunchy out there. I was kind of confused about the ratio, seeing that it was different from any other recipe I had ever used, but I decided to follow it anyway. And then I noticed that all of the blogs that "reused" her recipe added marshmallows or lowered the amount of crispies, so they obviously had problems too. So, word to the wise, if you make these, just use the whole bag of marshmallows. Other than being really dry and not very marshmallowey, they were good! :)

I went outside to check on my manly man, and he was done! Just putting the final touches on the fence.

And looking good while he was doing it, I might add. Nothing like a man in tie-dye, am I right?

The best part about a new fence is old wood for me to build with!! Hoorayy!!

We plan on building a headboard for our bed. And I am sooo excited about it. Know of any other good things to build out of old fence wood?

A perfect day would involve both fro yo and snow cones.

Voltaire, hair...

So I kind of went through a headband making fury. I guess I just got tired of my hair being boring... And I am definitely not paying the kind of money people expect for headbands and clips these days, when I can just do it myself. Are you serious? So I made my own.

 These two have been permanently glued to headbands. I really like the pink and yellow one... but rarely find myself wearing pink or yellow. O well. I need to brighten up my wardrobe anyway.

The one above is probably my favorite. I just made it the same way we made the bow ties for the wedding. And I slid the headband through the little loop, so I can use the headband for multiple looks! woot!

For this one, I made the flower and added it to a stretchy headband my sister already had. True confession: I swiped it from her room. But she never wears them so I was pretty confident she wouldn't notice.

 I made these two out of old t-shirts, with a five-strand braid. I love how they stretch.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I made a few more flowers, but I have not worn them yet because I am unsure of how I like them.

Happy fourth of July! We will be up bright and early to see the parade in downtown Arlington tomorrow. Excited to celebrate with the hubster! Speaking of the hubster, he has turned off the light and crawled into bed. So now I am just sitting in the dark. Welp, guess that's my cue.

But one last thing: Isn't my cousin absolutely adorable? I think so. If I didn't think pageant children and their mothers were so creepy, I'd say "sign her up!"

Icee's Not So Deep Fried Okra

I love fried okra. I have always loved fried okra. If I can order fried okra at a restaurant, I will. Nick had never had it before he met me. He was shocked that I ordered okra and I was shocked he had never had it.
Anyway, my Icee and I have bought fresh okra a couple of times from the grocery store. Although I love okra, I had never cooked it myself. In fact, I don't know if I had ever actually noticed it at the store. True confession: I spend very little time in the produce section. But she took me right to where they were, and sure enough, you can buy okra at the grocery store! :)
I decided to document her "recipe," although she insists that there isn't one.  This is for me, for later on when I want to make fried okra, and for you, if you would like to try this yourself. Just keep in mind, that because there is not a recipe, there is a lot of eye balling instead of exact measurements. No sweat. Just go for it.

Icee's Not So Deep Fried Okra

Ingredients:

Fresh Okra

Olive Oil

Buttermilk

Cornmeal 

Flour

Desired Seasonings

1. Wash and chop the okra, like so:

2. Pour buttermilk over the okra until all of the okra is covered. Let it soak for at least 15 minutes.

3. Pour the olive oil on a skillet until the bottom of the skillet is covered. There should be about half an inch of oil in the pan. Heat the skillet. If you put a piece of okra in it and it sizzles, it's ready!

4. Pour a lot of cornmeal and a little flour in a separate pan and mix.

5. Scoop up some soaked okra, and coat with the cornmeal mixture. Then, add to the skillet.

You don't want to add more to the skillet than this at a time:

 6. When the breading has browned, take the okra off the skillet.

7. Repeat step 5 and 6 until all of the okra is cooked! You can season the okra as you take it off the skillet, or wait until it is all done. We use salt and Mrs. Dash's Garlic and Herbs, of course. Be sure not to under-season!

8. Dig in. Delish!