Bloggin awards

(Hurry, go enter my blog design giveaway here, and don't forget to comment\email questions and topic suggestions for Ask the Experts!)

I feel so loved :')  Journey with Joy and lowercase letters  "awarded" me the Liebster blog award, and Girls Love Fried Pickles gave me the Versatile blogger award. Y'all shouldn't have...*scuffs foot*

I would list all the rules, and go on a tagging spree, but I'll skip it this time since these awards have been going around for a while now, and I'm pretty sure it's made it's way through my readers.  If you're reading this and haven't done it yet, then I tag you!

7 things about me:

1. Even though I only have to wear my retainers one or two nights a week, I usually end up wearing them every night. I just got into the habit.

2. I had this whole post typed out, but our power went out in the middle of loading the pictures so I lost it all, and now I can't remember the 7 things I had put down.

3. At the end of the day, sometimes I'll pile all my hair on the very top of my head and clip it. It looks ridiculous, but it's comfy and out of the way. 

4. I love aprons, but I almost always forget to put one on when I cook. When I do, it doesn't make a big difference, because if I get flour on my hands, I usually brush them on the back of my pants without thinking. 

5. I think hot chocolate is the best.

6. I have the bad habit of chewing on the inside of my cheek. 

7. Even though I'm tall, I still love to wear heels. 

~~~

Tell me what you've been up to this week!

happy weekend!

Giveaway! ...and an into to "Ask the Experts"

Before we get to the lil ol' vlog down there, it's giveaway time! It's a blog header\blog design giveaway. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I enjoy doing it (as you can see by my constantly changing blog). 

 So you have a choice whether you'd like me to make you a blog header alone, or redo the look of your whole blog! 

If you choose for me to redo the look of your whole blog, be forewarned that I'll need to be able to get into your blogger dashboard to make the needed changes.  So if you're not comfortable with that, stick with just a header. I'll do my best to get a look that you like! :)

To enter:(Giveaway ends Feb. 8)

-Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me which option you'd like (mandatory)

-Share this giveaway on your blog, facebook or twitter (+1 entry for each)

Luke and I will be starting a weekly-sish series called "Ask the Experts", so like we said in the above video - leave comments or send an email with your questions or subject ideas! If you don't really have any ideas, don't worry - it can be something completely silly and fun...just use your imagination.

(I'm awful at vlogs. I had no idea what I was going to say...haha, how do y'all do it - I felt so on the spot!!! :D)

Crochet projects and your input

When I was about 10 and Mom and I were in a craft store, I was staring at all the colorful yarn lining the wall, and then and there I knew I must crochet. I got a hook and some yarn and a crochet book and happily left the store, most likely imagining all the cool and professional stuff I would make. :)  Weell, even following along with the book, all I learned was the single crochet. In a square.  I couldn't make out what in the world stuff like "sc1R, YO2, hdc in BLO, ch2, dc in FLO" meant.  But that didn't stop me from making all sorts of terrifying pot holders.  Only a grandma would lovingly gush over a horrible mess of yarn that looked more like an outline of the United States than a square, and tuck it near the stove for the next time she needed to grab a hot pan.  Eventually I saw just how awful my projects were and turned to other hobbies.


Mom and I were in the States a couple of months ago, and I was visiting with my friend Lur who is a crochet genius.  I watched her crochet for a while, and tried to remember just what was so hard about crocheting. So...yes. I got a hook and some yarn at a craft store, only this time I *scuffs foot* wasn't exactly the most optimistic about how my projects might turn out.  Thankfully, I saw that now I could follow a pattern and learn new stitches just fine!  My projects still might look like a 10 year old did them, but I'm loving it all the same!  Here are just a few stuff I've done lately:

A doggie\monster hat

Simple beanie with scalloped edges

I love hats! This is my favorite because it's a beret, and it's mesh, so it's not bulky.

Queen Ann's Lace scarf

:') A lil hippo.  I may or may not talk to it...

Whenever I'm able to get supplies easily I want to learn to knit as well, along with getting good enough at crochet to hopefully sell some stuff here and there.

~~~

I wanted to check in with y'all and see if you have any ideas of what more I should do with this lil ol' blog!  Is there anything you want to know about? Should I do vlogs more often? What should they be about?

Also, I want to do a giveaway, but since I don't have anything to actually give away at the present, what do y'all think about a blog design giveaway? I am by no means a pro, or even super good at it, but I love making headers, and makin' stuff look pretty!  It could be your choice of whether you'd like just a header, or a redo of your whole blog.

Tell me what y'all think!

~~~

happy weekend!

Things I love

...okay, I have to say it - I've been loving Pinterest. There are so many good ideas on there for just about everything imaginable. Plus pretty pictures! :)  I've been loving finding things like these...

So many pretty things, yummy recipes and ideas for crafty stuff!

All of us need a reminder sometimes to:

Eleven...

I was tagged by the awesome Melissa, so here we go!

Rules:

1.You must post these rules. 

2. Each person must post 11 things 

about themselves on their blog. 

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for 

you in their post and create 11 new questions 

for the people you tag to answer. 

~

1.  I think that there are enough serious things in life that we don't have to make more of them if we don't have to.  There are times to be serious, but in general - enjoy life to the best of your ability! Make sense?

2.  My new, Every Year Resolution is to read the Bible through completely in 6 months\a year.  I started this in 2011 and plan to do it from now on.

3.  I almost got a pet snake, but found Panya instead.

4.  Crocheting is one of my new favorite hobbies.

5.  I want to learn how to knit as well.

6.  I love to listen to music while I clean the house - it's always nice to whistle while you work!

7.  I've always thought it would be fun to have a tiny coffee shop or cafe. 

8.  One of my dreams is to visit the Mediterranean.

9.  When I stretch I can do the splits.  

10.  I'm afraid of heights.  Not the roller-coaster kind, but when I'm climbing on or standing on the edge of something high.

11.  When we, Lord willing, move back to the States, I look forward to little things like being able to text or call family and friends when I want to tell them something.

Questions for me:

1.  What was the silliest moment for you of the past year?

I don't know about the silliest, but Julia and I talking and taking awful pictures together while we were in TN.  It was a balm to my soul.

2. What Bible verse automatically comes to mind when you're having a bad day?

One of my favorites is Galatians 6:9 -"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up".  It's so encouraging, and reminds me that what I'm doing isn't worthless..that it will do some good.

3. What's your favorite book?

Lame as it is, I don't think I have a favorite book!

(if anyone has some suggestions of ones you like, I'd love for you to share!)

4. What is one moment in your life that you knew Providence had a hand in the way it turned out?

When I was watching my sister walk down the aisle in her wedding dress,I knew that with the way everything unfolded it couldn't have happened on it's own.  

5. Who was a pen-pal you had before email became the main method of communication?

Wow, let's see...my cousin Rachel and I used to write letters.  But as for non-family, I used to write a girl named Libby Goins who went to Roundhouse years ago.

6. What's your favorite pair of shoes?

My cowgirl boots :)

7. What does your dream home look like and where is it located?

Something not too big..light and airy; lots of white with pops of bright color.  It would be located somewhere in the South.

8. Why do you blog?

I sharing random bits of info, and things about my everyday life. I'd like to give encouragement and humor to others.

9. What color are the sheets on your bed?

I have a white topsheet, and a colorful striped fitted sheet.

10. Where did you meet your spouse? If not married, where did you meet your best friend?

I met my best friends at PTP and Roundhouse

11. What's your favorite part of nature?

I love seeing how God designed every tiny thing, it never ceases to amaze me! Flowers have always been one of my favorite things.

Questions for you:

1. If you were going to learn a foreign language, which would you choose?

2. Would you generally rather read a book, listen to music, or watch a movie?

3. If you could learn any skill what would it be?

4. When you go to a restaurant, do you usually try something new or get the same thing each time?

5. What's your favorite book in the Bible?

6. What's something you never leave the house without?

7. You have a prepaid airline ticket to anywhere in the world. Where do you go?

8.Rice, potatoes, or bread?

9. How tall are you?

10. What is one of your dreams for the future?

11. What is your favorite song? What does it make you think of?

~

i tag...

Bringing Up Benjamin

I press on: Living For the Goal

A Glad Heart

All Things Manly

Journey with Joy

(...and I'd tag Marli and Memory, if they hadn't already done it!)

The best eggnog recipe

Happy New Year to y'all! Before I do my official New Year's post, I wanted to share this recipe with you...but first, I have this comic that shows you how I feel about eggnog...

 

For the past couple of years, I've been looking for a perfect eggnog recipe, because I love it, and anything that helps it seem more holiday-y around here is always welcome!  Last year there was the nog that was more like Egg Drop Soup than anything else.  But this year I found the one.


A word of caution: this recipe doesn't have you cook the eggs (= raw eggs), but I like to live on the edge so I just went with it. 

Separate the egg whites and yolks into two separate bowls. Use the bigger bowl for the whites, and beat them until fluffy.

Once the egg whites are fluffly beat in 1\2 cup of sugar

In the separate bowl, beat yolks until creamy then add another 1\2 cup sugar

Fold the yolks into the egg whites, stirring gently. Or if the raw eggs on their own wasn't wild enough for you, you can stir it roughly. Either way.

Stir in the milk...

...cream...

...vanilla...

...and spices.

Pour into a bowl or pitcher, and chill.

Oh yeah.

Ingredients:

6 fresh eggs

1 cup granulated sugar - divided use

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups milk

1 TB vanilla extract

1\2 -1 tsp ground cinnamon

1\2 -1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground nutmeg

dash salt

Start with these measurements of the spices, but you can play around with them to get the exact taste you want.  I ended up adding a few dashes of each one more than it called for, because I like to taste all the different spices in my eggnog.  Don't forget to add the bit of salt! If it's still too sweet for your liking, add just a bit more of the salt to offset the sweetness.