I truly adore Pinterest.
Four out of the last five days, I have made dinner and one appetizer that I found on Pinterest.
Thank you for helping me do my menu planning!
Tonight’s dinner: Sweet Pork Tacos with Cilantro Ranch Dressing.
Oh. My. Goodness. These are absolutely WONDERFUL. I can completely understand why the blog author wrote that her mouth was watering as she typed up the post about it. My mouth was watering as I smelled it cooking and when I made the dressing. The dressing smells just divine

Find the recipe here.

I wanted to do something special for my parents’ 40th anniversary. Well, their anniversary is New Year’s day and I started working on their gift on December 30. I thought I would have enough time, since I was not making something overly complicated.
Life just goes by fast and I did not finish it on time to give it to them on their special day.
I did finish it up this past week and put the finishing touch on it Monday night so I could give it to my mom yesterday. I was so excited to give it to them!
This is my first embroidery project gift, and I must say that I am quite pleased with the results. Only my second attempt at a satin stitch, and that is the part that makes me smile the most–I was oh-so-happy that it worked!
I saw a similar embroidery idea on Pinterest, but it was made into a Christmas ornament. It was my inspiration, though.

Happy anniversary, Daddy & Mom!

Have you heard of Pinterest? Have you looked at it? Have you joined up and started pinning?

I will admit, it is addictive. It sucks me in and keeps me pinning until the wee hours.

But it is a wealth of information. I have quite a few boards now and one of them is for green cleaning ideas. I became interested in green cleaning while pregnant because so many of the chemical-based cleaners have such a raunchy odor and made me gag. And then it just made sense to keep on that path after the girl was born. That, and making my own is CHEAPER

. I love to save money, don’t you?

Maybe I would enjoy cleaning the bathroom if I dressed up for it...

One of my pins (originally from re-nest) that I tried out today was using a grapefruit to clean the shower. I liked the thought of having the bathroom smell like pink grapefruit (yummy!) and not using Soft-Scrub (which, though it has a lemony scent, is still strong). I followed the instructions and started scrubbing away.

Now, maybe my soap scum was a little tougher than theirs, or I didn’t use enough elbow grease, because I did grab my scrub brush for the bottom of my tub. Or maybe I should have squeezed the grapefruit halves some more. It did not, however, remove the hard water stains. Again, maybe a bit more elbow grease would have been good.

Anyhoo, IT DOES WORK

! And the bathroom smells fabulous, and the scent carried itself across the hall to the girl’s room.  Maybe that is what is keeping her napping longer than I thought she would?

Happy green cleaning! And if you readers out there have any other green cleaning tips, please let me know!

(Image used found through Google Images, Melissa Ann Barrett)

***Because of the acid in citrus fruit, I DO NOT recommend using this on any natural stone surface (marble, granite, etc.)!!!

I was asked to participate in our church’s Christmas Eve service. The theme was “My Gift to God,” and went along with advent. My pastor asked me to speak on Journeying. This is what I read:

 

My name is Emily, and I have been on a journey with God—one that has taken me places I never thought I would go, and experience things that I did not think I would go through.

At the end of May, my father-in-law’s business burned down. My husband, Dan, works for his dad. This is our livelihood. We were shocked when the first call came, and anxious and fearful. While Dan was on his phone, trying to answer questions and find out more information, I was on mine, asking for prayer.

When we arrived as the last fire truck was leaving, we were sickened by what we saw. Seeing the charred remains of the building, of this business, was awful. Friends and family were there, to comfort and to help. We had to move Dan’s tool boxes out, before the water would rust the tools beyond use and before the roof might collapse. So many hands were there to help. No questions asked, as they all knew how important this was to Dan, to us. We were, and are, grateful.

And the next day, we needed help cleaning all those tools. We called, and people came.

We prayed, and God answered.

I have struggled with trusting God on this journey these past months. I had so many questions. Would there still be work? Would there be a place to work? Would we be able to rebuild? God definitely took us on a detour. We obviously did not plan for this to happen, but we have made it work. This journey has taken sharp turns (such as Dan being able to work out of another shop here in town) and has had a few bumps (such as the rebuilding not starting until almost five months after the fire). I am discovering more and more as I age that in everything there is something to learn, a chance to grow. And God has been with us, each step of the way.

A couple months ago, when I was at my worst battle with my trust, God provided me with beautiful reminders that He is with us, continuing to rain blessings on us: my husband has a garage to work in (in fact, he had five offers the night of the fire, and more came that following week); the building finally started going up; no one was hurt during the fire or during clean-up; work keeps coming in each week, providing us with income. And then God gave me words from a song that truly let me know I am not on this journey unaccompanied:

All of You is more than enough for
All of me for every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You
Is more than enough

God, my gift to you is my trust.

Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.





Yesterday I received happy mail, which is always exciting in this house (at least for the girl and I). It was from Amy from Lots of Pink Here. My goodies that I won are just fabulous! As you can plainly see. I admired the sewing kit on Amy’s blog for a while. And looked at it often. And now I own it!!! I just adore the strawberry and embroidered blossom. I also have some wonderful fat quarters for which I now need to find a project.

Thank you, Amy, for the fun giveaway. And the handwritten note is a sweet touch!

**big smiles here**