Top Chef

I love watching Top Chef, and, well most cooking shows in general.  I love the host, Padma.  I love the other judges Tom and Gail.  And, of course, I love salivating over the food.  This season was especially fun to watch because consisted of old contestants so you already knew them.  I was rooting for Richard Blaise to win and he did!  He had me nervous for a while, but I was SO excited he took home the title of Top Chef All Star.  Way to go, Blaise!

Peeps

I'm  not the world's biggest Peep fan.  I don't hate them, but they're not my first choice for candy.  However, my manager brought me a chocolate covered Peep this morning and I think I'm a fan!  Rather than the crusted-over, dried out marshmallow outside, you get a chocolate outside and the inside is just soft  marshmallow.  A vast improvement I think!  They also come in dark chocolate which I would like even more!

Pondering

Something struck me in the sermon this past Sunday, "pity cries and leaves; compassion stays."

The context was missions (as part of the Radical series).  But I think it applies to relationships as well.

Monday Mentionable

Back in the fall, I briefly met a man.  We had a short and pleasant conversation.  I didn't think anything of it...flash forward to yesterday where I bump into this man again.  He remembered me and came to speak to me. He brought up our conversation in the fall, chatted for a few minutes, and that was that.  

Until I got this in my work email today: 

Elizabeth Ann:

nice saying hello  …

hope your having a good day ..

Mr. So-and-so

123-4567

Really?!

Exciting News!

Courtney is dropping Sullivan off today and I'll be dog sitting her for the week!

Last Piece

to my granola puzzle has been solved!  Thanks to Frances.  Apparently Publix sells Borax and Washing Soda conveniently for all the granolas out there.  I swung by Publix yesterday and grabbed this:

I still have some regular detergent left.  But as soon as it runs out, I'll let you know how the granola detergent works!  I'm kind of excited to do laundry...

Yellow Stuff

I LOVE the spring ... and the yellow stuff all around me loves to tickle my nose and play with my eyes.  I feel like this girl a lot these days:



Only I'm not gallivanting in fields.  And my eyes are red and puffy.  Don't get me wrong, I'll still take the spring any day over the winter, pollen included.  I'm just waiting for Benadryl to come out with a non-drowsy product.  That, or work to allow me to sleep during the day.

Forgotten God

Courtney let me borrow this book and I read it last week.  I've read Francis Chan's Crazy Love and was excited to read his newer book, Forgotten God, as well.  Chan reminds me, yet again, why it is important to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit.  This book isn't too heady and I'd recommend it to anyone.


When the disciples heard that 2,000 years ago, I'm sure it was hard for them to grasp.  How could it be better to trade a human Jesus -- a man they could talk to and eat and laugh with -- for a Spirit they couldn't physically see?  Thousands of years later, I think most of us would also choose a physical Jesus over an invisible Spirit.  But what do we do with the fact that Jesus says it is better for His followers to have the Holy Spirit?  Do we believe Him?  If so, do our lives reflect that belief (35)?


I think a lot of us need to forget about God's will for my life.  God cares more about our response to His Spirit's leading today, in this moment, than about what we intend to do next year.  In fact, the decisions we make next year will be profoundly affected by the degree to which we submit to the Spirit right now, in today's decisions (120).


I don't want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit.  I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn't be doing this by my own power.  I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through.  That if He doesn't come through, I am screwed (142).

Haiti

I'm going to Haiti!

It all started over a year ago; my best friend, Courtney, and I decided to save and plan for a vacation for the summer of 2011.  During the spring of 2010 I read a book on missions and started praying that I would go someday.  I asked Courtney if we should consider going on a missions trip instead of a vacation...but the idea didn't resonate with her.  I put it out of my mind; we continued to think about where we would vacation and even started planning a trip.  

But the Lord is full of surprises!  God challenged Courtney to serve the Lord in missions as well and she asked me in January about doing that in lieu of our vacation.  I was thrilled!  We immediately emailed anyone we could think of that may have a trip we could tag along on.  We searched and the Lord led us to an answer: Haiti.  We'll be going with Mission to the World, the mission organization of the PCA church.  

We'll be in Haiti June 4 - 11.  In the mornings, we'll be working on a construction project of some sort.  In the afternoons and evenings, we'll be working with the kids at an orphanage: teaching Bible lesson, playing sports with them, and just loving them/showing them who Jesus is.  We'll be staying at the orphanage -- sleeping in tents in a concrete room!  While this is a far cry from the quasi posh vacation I was dreaming of, the dream the Lord planned for us is much better!  I cannot wait to see what God has in store for this trip!

Lobsterettes

It all started with some of Krissie's art projects in college.  She took my portrait -- twice.  Each time for a different project.  One time involved her sketchy art teacher whispering sweet dirty nothings in my ear; he was super creepy.  I'm not sure if I've seen these pics; Krissie?  Where are they?

Anyway, I gave Krissie National Geographic's book of Portraits as a gift when we graduated from PC.  I picked the book because of our portrait experiences and because Krissie loves art and people -- and these portraits captured beautiful glimpses of people all across the world over much time.  I love looking at them.  There's this picture of Lobsterettes in there that makes me giggle every time.  It is totally something Krissie and I would have gotten ourselves into AND she always fries like a lobster when shes in the sun.  {Because even though she has very fair skin, she still doesn't think she burns in the sun.  And she always does!  Love you, KB.}

She totally surprised me for my birthday with a framed copy of this picture!  I'm proud to say the Lobsterettes are now bringing me joy every day in my bathroom!  It really adds a lot of whimsical fun.  Thanks, Krissie!

Oreo Cake

This is the recipe Jenn used to make the Oreo Cake.  I can't wait to try it one of these days because it was SO yummy!

#1: 1 box white cake mix, 1 1/4 cup water, 1/3 cup oil, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 3 eggs

#2: 1 cup oreos, crushed 

Icing: 1/2 cup butter, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 4 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup milk

Directions: 

Combine #1 in bowl, blent until moistened. 

Fold in #2

Mix on high for 2 minutes

Line 2 round baking pans with wax paper and grease

Bake 350 for 20 minutes

Cool for 10

Remove to cool completely then frost

For the icing: 

Beat butter and vanilla

Add powdered sugar and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating until desired consistency 

**When I put the icing on in the middle I added some crushed Oreos.  When I iced the top and sides I placed oreos around the outside and broken pieces on top

Rocking Chair!

Step 1:  Find rocking chair on the side of the road

Step 2:  Go to Wal-Mart and pick out an awesome green color.  Meet Dale in the paint section and ask him to make your green paint.  He obliges; yet, when it comes out, it is much lighter than then paint chip.  Hmm...you and Dale are both confused.  Dale mixes a new thing of paint and shows you that he used the correct formula.  While mixing, you ask Dale what happens to the messed up paints.  Turns out, there is a 50% off rack for these paints.  The second batch of green was pale as well.  Not sure what happened; but both Dale and I were sad and confused!  Having been there 40 minutes, I said screw the green and picked a grey from the 50% off rack.  Ha.

Step 3:  Paint the chair.

It turned out bluer than the color on the can indicated (much more grey).  It's not as awesome as the dark rhubarb green I picked out, but I like it nonetheless.

Step 4:  Paint the chair again.

Step 5:  Wrap rope around the chair and hope for a hammock feel.

I really liked the way it turned out!  Not bad for a street find, 16 bucks, and a little craftiness.

Granola Update

I found Borax at K-mart!

They usually never have what I'm looking for, but Krissie and I ran in there the other day and what do you know?  They totally had it!  Score!

Now, all I need to find is washing soda...

Radical Sermons

St. Andrews started a Lenten series on the book Radical.  It started this past Sunday and the sermons are/will be online.  It is really good -- I am so glad that they're doing this series so that these principals will be reinforced in my life.  Wanted to share!

http://www.wearestandrews.com/sermons.aspx?ArticleId=771

Bow Tie Fiesta Casserole

Mary Glenn gave me this recipe a few years ago and I love it.  It is really easy to make, easy to adapt to what you have in the pantry/fridge, and is great leftover.  It feeds a lot and everyone I've served it to has really enjoyed it.  It can be made a day ahead of time and sit in the fridge (covered) until you are ready to bake it.

• 8 ounces bow tie pasta (can be any pasta)
• 1 pound ground beef
• ½ onion, chopped ( I use the whole onion)
• ½ green bell pepper, chopped (I use the whole pepper)
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup sour cream (can be light or fat free)
• 1 cup salsa
• ½ cup sliced back olives (I omit)
• ¼ cup sliced jalapenos (I omit and use medium salsa)
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I use 2 cups; can be reduced fat)

·      Cook the pasta using package directions and cooking for 7 minutes; drain.

·      Brown the beef in a skillet, stirring until crumbly; drain.  Add the onion and green pepper and mix well.

·      Cook until the onion is tender, stirring constantly.  Stir in the tomato sauce, chili powder and salt.

·      Combine the pasta, ground beef, mixture, sour cream, salsa, black olives, jalapenos and tomato in a bowl and mix well.  Spoon into a 9x11 inch or 9x9 inch baking dish.  [I always use a 9x13 baking dish; however, the last time I made it it was overflowing and so I transported into a 10x15.]  Sprinkle with cheese.

·      Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

Birthday Weekend Recap

I successfully turned 28 and had one of hell of a good weekend celebrating it!  The office brought me delicious cupcakes from Rococo and I decided (last minute) to leave work early -- always a nice little treat!  Maggie, Shannon, Mary Anne, and Winston (4 legged friend) started arriving around 4 pm and it was so fun to catch up and eat a snack.  We had Mary Glenn's fiesta casserole and an awesome salad (thanks, Maggie!) for supper.  Courtney and Sullivan arrived in time out.  Don't worry, Sullivan escaped but was fairly quick to return to the back yard while we headed to Sugarland!

I'm not a huge country music fan, but have actually seen Sugarland before.  They are SO good in concert!  So energetic!  I really enjoy their music, but I have to say, I think the cover songs they do are always my favorite.  This time they did parts of Sweet Caroline, Oops I did it Again, Forget You, and maybe something else?!  And they did all of Like a Prayer!  It was awesome.  Some other concert highlights:  Jennifer Nettles fell.  Christian helped her up -- such a gent!  Then she made a joke about it.  They gave away an autographed guitar.  Jennifer called someone's mom and talked to them on the phone!

Saturday morning we woke up and had mimosas, fresh fruit, breakfast casserole, and homemade cinnamon rolls.  So good!  After all that eating we needed to rest so we were entertained by the Kardashians for a while.  I have to say, the episode where Scott buys a cane made me laugh out loud for about 20 minutes straight.  We took the four legged friends on a walk to a nearby dock and lounged in the sun for a while...with more mimosas.  When we got back home, Krissie was there!  We ate lunch snacked on all kinds of yummies.  And then Shannon and I were surprised with one of the best cakes I've ever had for our birthdays: chocolate with chocolate icing from A Piece of Cake in ATL.  OMG.  Amazing.  Like, seriously, get some of this cake if you are able...you will not be disappointed!

Some of our crowd took naps while the rest of us decided to head out to the front yard to enjoy more sunshine and each other's company.  I've said it before, but I'll say it before, a huge plus to living where I do, is people not caring what you do.  It totally wasn't out of the ordinary to have fivish of us chillin' in the front yard, including the backless rocker, and a "coffee table" made of two five gallon buckets and a wake board.  We showered and at some point Jenn came into town!

We headed to Bowens for supper.  Fried shrimp, fried oysters, frogmore stew, steamed oysters, boiled shrimp, hushpuppies, and cold beer.  What more could you ask for?  Afterwards, we headed to the Island Bar and Grille.  I hadn't been since college and, quite frankly, had forgotten about it.  I'm so glad Maggie remembered!  It is this smalll, local bar that is so easy going.  Best of all, they have karaoke!  The B5 girls did Fresh Prince (we missed you, Mary Alice!).  Maggie and I couldn't have sung Sweet Caroline any better!  And Krissie and I ended the night to the Elton John and Kiki Dee duet, Don't go Breaking My Heart.  It had been a few years since I'd done karaoke, and I'm not sure why it took so long -- I LOVE it!  We all had a ball and headed home to eat some more...do you see a theme in the post blog about food?

Jenn made Shannon and I an Oreo cake that was out of this world.  Seriously, two of the best cakes I've ever put in my mouth were devoured this weekend.  It was like a cookies and creme cake with a rich vanilla icing and Oreos on top.  So good!  So good in fact that Sunday morning, I crawled in bed with Maggie and Courtney and we got three forks and went to town on the cake.  :)

Jenn and Mary Anne headed out fairly early and the rest of the gang ate breakfast together.  Shims left and then there were four.  We did what we do best: sit and chat.  We sat outside for a while in the sun.  It felt so good!  (Until later that night when I realized the right side of my body was -- and still is -- fried!)  Jane Harper and her pup swung by for a bit.  After a while we were ready for lunch (shocker) and headed to Moe's.  Courtney, Sullivan, and Maggie departed from there and Krissie and I headed home.  She soon left me, too, and then there was just one.

All in all, it couldn't have been a more fun weekend.  Great food, good entertainment, some of my most favorite people in the world all together...best way to kick off year 28!

Radical

TAKING BACK YOUR FAITH FROM THE AMERICAN DREAM.

I've heard a lot about this book by David Platt over the past year or so.  Courtney let me borrow her copy and I devoured it last week.  It is a very fast read.  Sometimes I feel like the faster I read a book, the sooner it leaves me (my head, my heart).  I surely hope that isn't the case with this book.  Platt is honest and very blunt about the American church.  If I'm honest and very blunt, I would say Platt is talking to me.  It is too easy for me to say I'm not rich.  But the truth is, by the world's standard's I am.  More than that, I know that God cares greatly for the poor and suffering of the world; do I?

It has been really good for me to think about where my treasure is.  And where I want it to be.  The Lord has already shown me a few things I should change.  I'm praying that He continues to do so...

As I see their faces (poor), I realize that I have a choice.  You and I both have a choice.  We can stand with the starving or with the overfed.  We can identify with poor Lazarus on his way to heaven or with the rich man on his way to hell.  We can embrace Jesus while we give away our wealth, or we can walk away from Jesus while we hoard our wealth.  Only time will tell what you and I choose to do with this blind spot of American Christianity in our day (140).

The will of God is for you and me to give our lives urgently and recklessly to making the gospel and the glory of God known among all peoples, particularly those who have never heard of Jesus.  The question, therefore, is not, "Can we find God's will?"  The question is, "Will we obey God's will?" ... Will we risk everything -- our comfort, our possessions, our safety, our security, our very lives -- to make the gospel know among unreached peoples (160)?

Do you believe the reward found in Jesus is worth the risk of following Him (162)?

Today I am grateful for

1. Being born into a loving family with two parents, that are still married.
2. Having a loving and generous brother.
3. Never going a day knowing what really being hungry means.
4. Always having a place to sleep at night.
5. Truly hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ through Young Life.
6. Seeing the gospel of Jesus Christ lived out in an attractive and honest way by Dana and Wendi.
7. Springtime!
8. Cupcakes from Rococo
9. Friends that I have fun with and laugh a lot with.
10. Receiving lots of calls and texts today.
11. Being challenged by the book Radical.
12. Bowen's. 
13. Living in a beautiful city.
14. Accountability with Cameron.
15. Going to Haiti in June
16. Diet cokes in the morning.
17. Cell  phones.
18. Plum Smart Light.
19. Pandora and Grooveshark.
20. Being able to read.
21. Shoes on my feet.
22. Clothes on my back.
23. Hair straightener.
24. People pointing me towards Jesus.
25. Grace upon grace upon grace.
26. Cold beer.
27. Cheese.
28. Going to the Sugarland concert tonight with Courtney, Maggie, Mary Anne, and Shannon.

28 things I'm thankful for on my 28th.

Granola Fail

Many moons ago, I came across a random blog and it mentioned that she made her own laundry detergent.  It seemed simple enough.  I'm not fully sure why I resolved to give it a go, but I did.  I use clear and free detergents already and I'm not the granola type.  But there was something appealing about trying this.  So I figured when my detergent ran out, I'd make my own*.

I ran out.  I bought bars of soap (Ivory) at Wal-Mart one night, but couldn't remember what else goes in the mixture.  As laundry day was coming up last week, I decided to go ahead and grate the soap for the detergent and then pick up the other ingredients.  I checked online and, yes!, you can grate soap in the Magic Bullet.  Well, I'm glad that works out for some people, but it didn't work for me.  Ha!  I think you need liquid in the Bullet to properly grind things.  So I hand grated the sop -- not hard -- especially if you haven't made a mess of the soap in the Bullet.

Now, I have 3 bars of Ivory soap grated.  All I have to do is add Borax and washing soda.  Easy as pie.  Assuming you can find these products.  I have not been successful!  Neither the James Island Wal-Mart or the (older) Mt. Pleasant Wal-Mart sells them.  Sheesh.  This is what I get for attempting to be granola!

Mom was with me as I looked in Mt. Pleasant...she basically said, WTF?  Ha!  All of that to say, I've been working on my laundry this week (you know, since I do it once a month) with regular detergent.  I'm still on the prowl for Borax and washing soda so please let me know if you've seem them in the Charleston area!


* I think it is supposed to be cheaper, but I have no idea how much the ingredients cost...so the verdict is still out on that.

Clever Clark

[After eating at HUSK, Courtney and I went out on King Street for a while and then headed home.  The next morning, we went to church and met my parents for lunch.]


Mom: So I bumped into Mary Stewart and she said you didn't want to join the others for supper Friday night.
Courtney:  EA had other plans.
Me:  Yes I did...and I wasn't invited by the host.
Dad:  You should have told her Elizabeth Ann couldn't do dinner because she works at Diamond's every Friday night.

Oh, Clark.  So funny!

HUSK

HUSK is the new restaurant in Charleston that people have been raving about.  I've heard comments like, "that restaurant changed my life."  Wow...that is quite the expectation!  It has been written up multiple times in The New York Times and many other publications.  EVERY item on the menu comes from the South and the menu changes daily based on what is available.

Courtney was in town for the weekend with some of her Spartanburg friends and we all ate there Saturday night.  The verdict: HUSK was really good (but not life changing).  I'd like to go back when some spring/summer items are available.  I had duck, medium rare, with a yummy sauce on top, served over something similar to risotto with sweet potatoes in it.  However, the best/most unique things I ate were the butter made with pork fat.  Imagine good butter (you know what I'm talking about) with a hint of bacon in it.  Yum.  And chocolate bread pudding...it was my first bread pudding experience and I'll be on the look out for more.

Orgone

Friday night Jane Harper and I went to hear Orgone.  If you haven't heard them and you love a good funk band, you should definitely check them out!  I had a great time, but I had a few resounding thoughts.  One, I'm glad I don't use drugs.  Two, there is a thing called personal space...young girls with really long hair are not aware of this concept.

Surprised by the Voice of God

I read my second Jack Deere book recently.  I really enjoyed the book and was challenged by a lot of his thoughts.  Here are a few quotes I really liked:

Does God still speak in an audible voice?  Let me ask you, does he still ask impossible tasks?  Are there still dramatic turning points left in the history of the church and the individual lives of those saints who make up the history of the church?  Is God still showing mercy to weak people (133)?

We have been saved that we might passionately love a Person.  We have been redeemed to serve a Person, not a set of principals.  We are called first to please a real Person, not perform a ministry.  It's so easy to fall in love with principles and ministry and fall out of love with a Person (291).

http://www.amazon.com/Surprised-Voice-God-Jack-Deere/dp/0310225582

Funny Stuff

Earlier tonight:

Me: Tomorrow is FRY DAY!
Leigh: Yeah!  TGIF!
Me: Hahahaha...I meant FREE fry day at Chick-fil-A.

Neighborhood of Gold?

Marifrasier has a knack for finding good deals at Goodwill, the side of the road, and the like.  She's great at turning trash into treasure.  She used to tell me that our neighborhood was a gold mine.  On her days off from work, she'd see people driving in our 'hood for the sole purpose of seeing what people had set out in their yards.  I haven't witnessed this, but totally believe her.

I just didn't think I'd become one of the people that loved finding things.  Ha.  Apparently, I am.  In the past week, I have made two more finds.  Earlier in the week, I grabbed this:

I haven't done anything with it yet, but I'm planning to.  It's a rocking chair that has a few imperfections.  Namely, it is missing a back.  I figure with some paint and some kind of backing, it could be a great outdoor rocking chair!  Details to come if I follow through on my plans...

Last night, I grabbed 2 five gallon buckets.  For my future "bucket garden."  Score.

Gardening

I'm considering growing some vegetables in 5 gallon buckets this year.  I'm thinking of doing 4 buckets...perhaps bell peppers, tomatoes, squash, and the verdict is still out on the last one.

Has anyone ever grown veggies in a bucket before?  Any suggestions?