My Amazon Order

We recently purchased $40 worth of Amazon gift cards for $20 via a LivingSocial deal. And this is what we ordered. I seriously can't wait to delve into each of these. Oh, and we have just enough gift card money left to rent movie on Amazon. So happy!! :)

New Brochures & Website

I was so excited when the UPS man delivered my new tri-fold brochures. They look fabulous in real life!! And the digital version is pretty awesome too. See ~ you just have to imagine the folds. :)

I've also been busily revaming my website. Be sure to visit shaynamade.com and let me know what you think! :)

Happy Thursday to all of you! Oh, and happy "National Chocolate Cake Day." Yes. You heard me right. Shanda was so kind to let the blog world know of this great holiday a whole day in advance and encouraged us all to participate. So with delight, I enjoyed a small slice of "Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake" topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Don't worry, it is never too late to celebrate. :)

Cheers Shanda!! :)

In the Oven

Tonight's dinner is in the oven and I can't wait to eat it! We're having a garden galette ~ topped with little tomatoes, red bell pepper, fresh parsley, mushrooms, and garlic. Yummy! :) It's crazy to think that the end of the day is already near. Tony has been doing school work allll day long. Hopefully he'll be finished real, real soon. Then we can have a little date night at home. Great food, documentary, drinks, and maybe a special dessert of sorts. We shall see. ♥

Beautiful Crocheted Stones

These lovelies are simply breathtaking. I have a couple little stones that I collected - one from a riverbed in West Virginia, and the other from the beautiful state of Connecticut (my birthplace). I'm thinking they would look quite delicate wrapped in yarn. I'll add that to my list of things to do this year. :) All these pictures were taken by the talented Margaret Oomen of Resurrection Fern. Take a few minutes to view some of her other creations.

Enjoying the Sunshine

Part of my journal entry from this morning: Sitting on the  back porch. The sun is shining bright and I hear birds chirping all around. A couple days ago hundreds of birds called a meeting in the the tree line. You could easily see the bare winter branches sprinkled with birds. They were all singing their song, perhaps deciding where to fly next. Strange to think that the weather is so pretty today, with forecasts of snow this weekend. Thank you, Lord for it! Our yard is looking quite dull ... tan grass, bare trees, dead garden (ha). My little maids, diswasher and washing machine, are at work inside...  

This week has included great fellowship with friends, kale berry smoothies, cold pool workouts, new recipe for Penne with Mushroom and Tarragon Sauce, school work, care group, shopping, friend visiting, little ones, house cleaning and more. This morning I savored extra hugs from my husband! Thinking about them now still brings a smile to my face! I love that amazing man of mine more and more each day!! :)   



Be That Friend

One way in which God strengthens His people is through His people. As a Christian, this is why it is so important to surround yourself with other people that treasure Jesus and to fight hard against your tendency to be individualistic. We are called to live life in community with other Christians, and through this community we are urged to use our gifts to the fullest, to live transparent lives, and to extend true friendship to others. The apostle Paul reminds us what such friendship looks like:

"Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 

1 Thessalonians 5:12-18

Today I have also been reminded that "God cares about fruitfulness. Fruitfulness here is good works. Good works, obedience, a changed life, living a kind of life that makes a difference, that when your life on the earth is done, people miss you because you were a gift to them. You were a channel of God’s grace to them. You provided wisdom or generosity or help or service or rebuke or encouragement. That you were giving. That you were fruitful. That your life counted. That you weren’t just a consumer, you were a producer. You didn’t just take from everyone and everything, but you gave and they were blessed by you." I have been encouraged to be a better friend in 2011. I want my life to be marked by such character traits. And by God's grace I will bear much fruit in this area, I will be that friend.

The quote above comes from The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree by Mark Driscoll. Well worth listening to again and again. And then, just this morning, I read chapter five from The Secrets of a Beautiful Life by J.R. Miller and was encouraged by the words below. It seems to combine perfectly with the sermon I heard on Sunday, our care group discussion last night, and the above mentioned sermon. Great medicine for my soul at the beginning of a new year. 

We all need human friendship. We need it specially in our times of darkness... we should be ready, too, to give the strength of our love to those whom we see passing into the ways of struggle of sorrow. There was another source of help in our Lord’s Garden experience...As we watch him in his struggle, we see that he grows calmer and quieter as he prays. It is evident that divine help comes to him. He is sustained and strengthened... We have the same infinite and unfailing source of help in our times of great need. Human friendship can go with us a little way, yet not into the inner depths of our experience of sorrow or trial. Human sympathy is very sweet, but it is weak, and ofttimes sleeps when we most need its cheer and comfort. But when the human ceases to avail, the divine is ready. In the face of life’s great needs, when no other help can come to us, God comes, and from his divine fullness gives all that we need.

Day by Day 2011

This is a quick little list I jotted down today of things that I want to focus on from day to day in 2011. Loving God, Tony, and others; managing our home well; making yummy nutritional meals; reading lots and lots; journaling / blogging; reaching shaynamade goals; zumba-ing often; celebrating togetherness; and taking lots of pictures.

Happy day to you all!!

Handpainted Owls

After we warmed up a little from our photo shoot, my sister and I painted the little ceramic owls that were part of her Christmas gift from me. We had a lot of fun choosing the colors and talking about how cute they are ~ can you imagine hundreds of these cute little owls going down the assembly line?! All that's left to do is a super glossy top coat, possibly with a slight shimmer. :)

Winter Photoshoot With My Sister

We had fun getting all dressed up for this spontaneous photo shoot. Snow is a big deal here in Eastern NC, even if it's just a little bit. We drank lots of warm tea when we went back inside, and even a little pink lemonade. :)

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burrito

I was totally inspired by this recipe for pumpkin and black bean burritos. There was no pumpkin in my pantry, so I improvised a little with a couple sweet potatoes and it still turned out fabulous!! This is defintely something I would make for company ~ a lovely taste of spicy, sweet, and creamy all together in a homemade tortilla. It was a perfect ending to our Saturday. :)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin (ground)
1 can beans (black or kidney, drained and rinsed)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup pumpkin puree (or sweet potato)
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (chopped)
2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
6 tortillas

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.
4. Add the chili powder, and cumin and saute for about a minute.
5. Add the beans, water, oregano, salt and pepper and cook until most water has evaporated.
6. Remove the beans from the heat and mash half of them with a fork.
7. Mix the pumpkin puree, chipotle peppers and cilantro and warm in the microwave.
8. Place some of the pumpkin mixture and some of the bean mixture and into a tortilla and wrap it.
9. Top with salsa, shredded cheese, sour cream etc.

Oh How Lovely ~ Crochetdermy

These crocheted designs are quite delightful. Artist: Shauna Richardson. Amazing technique that feeds my desire to create things with yarn all the more. I'm currently working on a purse that I started back on our week long vacation. It is almost done ... just one more handle left and a few embellishments. Yippie!

East Midlands from Artists Taking the Lead on Vimeo.

Into the New Year

These first few days of 2011 have been pretty fabulous. These pictures mark the transition time between 2010 and 2011. Two friends came to stay with us for the weekend, which means lots of yummy cooking on my part. Our menu also included several documentaries, reading, talking, and a nice walk on the first day of January. Today was icing on the cake because Tony had the day off!! So we slept in a little, I did some zumba, fixed us some green smoothies, then we got all dressed up and went to town. We had a fabulous lunch and spent some time at the bookstore. We went for a run (so cold outside) and now we're setting down for the evening. Dinner is in the oven, we're doing a little computer work, then comes movie time. ♥