Life, in Spite of Me: A Book Review

I mentioned this when I did my first review about a month ago, but sometime before Christmas, I joined a program called Blogging for Books through the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing group. It is a great program! Basically, I get free books just by reviewing them on my blog. If you like to read, you should sign up!

For my second book I chose Life, in Spite of Me by Kristen Jane Anderson, with Tricia Goyer. This book sounded very interesting to me just by the description on the back cover: "She wanted to die; God had other plans."

The book had me hooked from the very first page. It is Kristen's story, chronicling her life before and after her failed suicide attempt at just 17 years old. Her story is unbelievable and miraculous, and simply reading it has strengthened my faith.

We see a dramatic transformation in Kristen's life during the book, which is my favorite part. She changes form a young woman who thought all hope was lost and life wasn't worth living into a woman who found her hope in the Lord and saw amazing things happen because of it. Truly inspirational.

The only little complaint I have is that I thought the book was too short! I would have liked to read more details about Kristen's story. It felt like a brief summary of the events leading up to and following her accident. I would have loved something a little more in depth!

That being said, it was an excellent book, and a very easy read. It helped me to reexamine my faith in God: that He can do the impossible. It also reminded me that God has amazing plans in store for all of us. This book has the potential to change lives, so I highly recommend it.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this Review. All opinions are my own.

Project 365 - February

Today I'm posting all of my pictures from the month of February from my Project 365 blog. This is what my world looked like last month :-)

February 1: Iced in

February 2: How I spent my snow day

February 3: Ohio State/Michigan basketball game

February 4: Our icy walkway

February 5: New curtains, hemmed by me!

February 6: Gabby, intently watching the Superbowl

February 7: New entertainment center made by Luke

February 8: Really, Walmart? Is this necessary?

February 9: Valentines Day cookies

February 10: Gabby thought it was cold on this morning!

February 11: A visit with Grandma and Grandpa

February 12: JC brought us a delicious present!

February 13: Aunt Viv, Grandma, and Dad at Grandma's 87th birthday party

February 14: Happy Valentines Day!

February 15: Ready to make a lemon pie

February 16: The ridiculous amount of Valentines Day chocolate we accumulated

February 17: Gabby loves clothes baskets

February 18: Snow gone and ballet flats on!

February 19: Girls day out

February 20: The snow returns

February 21: An unexpected blizzard

February 22: More winter beauty: lots of snow in the trees!

February 23: Latest project

February 24: Ellie, staying warm

February 25: Girls night with Julie

February 26: Meeting baby Elin for the first time

February 27: Max visits

February 28: Touring the church construction, seeing the new library light fixture

And that was February, 2011: lots and lots of snow and ice, lots of pictures of my cats because I was stuck inside so much, and a few fun excursions and highlights here and there. Let's hope my March post has some more sunny, outdoor photos!!

What I'm Cooking Wednesday: Potato Soup

I posted a recipe for potato soup sometime last fall, but my recipe has morphed a little since then. Luke and I both love potato soup, and I've made at least once a month since September. It is so perfect for a cold, winter day! I made it this week, so I thought it would be the perfect recipe to share today.

So here is the recipe:
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients:
8-10 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces (More or less depending on how thick you want your soup. We like ours THICK!)
1 box chicken broth (32 oz)
2 tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 tbsp flour
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c half and half cream
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
3/4 c shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. put the peeled, chopped potatoes into a large pot. Pour chicken broth over the potatoes. There should be enough chicken broth to just cover all of the potatoes. heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes2. Meanwhile, saute garlic and onion in the butter until tender. Stir in flour, basil, salt, and pepper. Add to chicken broth and potatoes (after the 20 minutes). Mix Well.

3. Add the half and half and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil.

4. Add cheddar cheese. stir until melted and well blended.

5. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. And there you have it!
I like to eat my soup topped with bacon bits, sour cream, and more cheddar cheese (hey, I never claimed that any of this was healthy!!)

This makes a LOT of soup! We like to share it or bring leftovers to work for the next week! This soup is so rich and delicious. The cold, gloomy season is almost over, so you should make it soon before it's too late ;-) I know I'll miss potato soup during the summer months!

Past Wednesdays:
Christmas Treats
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Chicken Stir Fry
Bacon Alfredo Casserole
Parsley Potatoes
Semi-Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Southwestern Chili
Easy Lemon Pie
Pork Tenderloin

Life and Loss

I took a spontaneous blog and Twitter break starting last Wednesday. It's been a week full of a lot of emotion, and I wanted to focus on the here and now. It's been refreshing!

I'll start at the beginning. I apologize if this is all over the place.

Last Wednesday, my cousin Rachel and her husband Jared invited us out to dinner with them. Rachel was due to have her baby any day, and it was so nice to spend an evening with the two of them pre-baby. I had a great time catching up with them, and was so happy that evening.

When we arrived home from our dinner, I received some terrible news. Candice, a woman and friend from church who had been having complications after the birth of her daughter a few days before, had taken a turn for the worst, and was not going to make it.

I couldn't believe this news. I begged and pleaded with God to perform a miracle and save this precious woman, as I'm sure countless other people did. However, an hour or so later, I found out that she had passed away.

I was in shock. I could not stop thinking about it the next day. I had spent New Years Day with Candice's family along with a few others. She took us on a tour of her new home and excitedly showed us where the nursery would be. Also, I had seen her at church just a couple of weeks before and everything was perfectly fine. I'm still in denial that she's gone.

It really puts everything into perspective. Life is so fragile; a gift that can be taken away at any moment. Thinking about this makes me want to spend more time with my loved ones. It makes me realize that my problems aren't nearly as big as they seemed just a few days ago. And it makes me see what the important things in life really are. I praise God for this reminder.

Candice was married with a 5-year-old son, and her newborn daughter who was born a few weeks premature, and is still in the hospital. I am so thankful that Candice is in a much better place, away from the pain and suffering of this world. But I really feel for her husband and children. They could use a lot of prayer.

************

After this tragic news, I woke up on Friday morning to the news that my cousin Rachel had had her baby! A little girl named Elin Rose (pronounced like ee-lynn...long "e" sound :-)). What a blessing after the difficult days before! I had the chance to visit this sweet baby in the hospital on Saturday, and it was such a giant blessing! What a miracle new life is! Again, what a blessing it is to have life!

There's my sister Julie holding baby Elin, and my Aunt Beth in the background holding my other baby cousin Hudson who was born just a month ago :-)

To say that the past week has been an emotional roller coaster would be an understatement. Seeing death and new life all at once has changed the way I've looked at things in the past few days. I have learned a lot in the past week, and things have really been put into perspective for me. A little break from the Internet was very nice to try to reconnect with the people I love most in the world.

I'm going to close this post with the verse that was written in Candice's room at the hospital. I thought it was so fitting as Candice was a beautiful, Christian woman who always seemed to follow the Lord with all she had. Luke and I were in a Bible study with Candice and her husband a couple of years ago, and they were a great example to us.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." ~Psalm 116:15

Initials in Pretty Frames: a DIY Project

What happens when you are stuck inside with nothing to do except read blogs all day?

You get the uncontrollable urge to create something! At least I did on Tuesday. I had been browsing through gorgeous blogs full of fun projects for 2 days straight, and I just had to make something of my own!

I went into town on Tuesday afternoon, simply because I had cabin fever and HAD TO GET OUT!!

When I left the house, I had no idea what I was going to make. But as I walked through the aisles of Family Dollar and Walmart, an idea (very simple though it was!) came to mind.

I bought the following:

6 picture frames, ranging in price from $1-$2 (I did not use them all)

Plus these:
White and Deep Ocean Blue acrylic paint and a set of paint brushes totalling about $11. But I will use these again!

And finally, this:
A book of neutral scrapbook paper, $5...which I will also use again

First of all, I picked my scrapbook paper patterns and cut them to the size of the frames
{Mistake #1: picking light paper for the big frame when I was planning on painting the frames white...}

Then, I sanded the frames and painted the big ones white, and the little ones blue. I still wasn't sure what I would do with the small ones yet, but had a tentative plan to fill them with little pictures of us or favorite scripture verses.

Next, I printed out our initials in a pretty font that I liked. And then used an Exacto knife to cut around the letters and make stencils

Finally, I used the stencils to paint a letter on each piece of scrapbook paper. They weren't perfect when I peeled the paper back, but I fixed the mistakes by hand.

Once I put everything together, I realized the paper I had chosen for the "W" was too light since I had painted the frame white. So I repainted the frame blue.
{Mistake #2}

Then I decided that it all just didn't look right together!

Home decorating is all about trial and error anyway, right?? So I didn't feel so bad. I decided to just hang the "L" and the "J" in our bedroom, and I threw the "W" picture in the tiny laundry room where I could enjoy it, but no one else will really be able to see it. Haha!

I hung the "L" and "J" pictures in the bedroom. It looked nice, but the stark white against my brown walls was a little abrupt. On a whim, I grabbed one of the blue frames to see if it would fit inside the white frames..
And voila! It fit perfectly! The colors did not translate perfectly in this cell phone pic, but I love the finished product :-) Like I said, home-decorating is all about trial and error :-)

******

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret. At the beginning of the year, I wrote about how I was not going to share any of my New Year's Resolutions because I NEVER EVER keep them. Well, I wrote them all out (and there were a lot) in a Word document, and have been keeping track since January 1. And to tell you the truth, I think keeping them a secret was the trick, because I am making strides toward meeting all of them!

Anyway, I'm going to share one of them with you today. One of my goals is to complete 6 do-it-yourself projects this year. I figured I could do one every two months. And guess what! I've already completed two! I'm ahead of the game!

#1: Made (okay, altered) curtains for the attic room:

And #2: The project I shared today:


Only 4 to go, guys! Something tells me I'm going to exceed my goal here! :-)

Happy Thursday!

What I'm Cooking Wednesday: Pork Tenderloin

One of the first things I learned to cook was pork tenderloin. My friend Cookie made it with me one day while she was giving me cooking lessons. It is still one of my favorite things to make and eat!

In case you don't know what pork tenderloin looks like to buy it (because I didn't before I made it with Cookie) here is a picture of it in the package. Eww, raw meat.
Lately I've been shopping at Aldi's a lot because I need to stop going over our budgeted amount for groceries each month!! Anyway, I bought this at Aldi's, and it was just as good as any I've ever had before. Check out the amazing price...
The good thing is that pork tenderloin leftovers are delicious in a sandwich! So $4.10 is an amazing price for more than one meal.

Today instead of typing out a formal recipe, I thought I would just explain to you how I season and cook my pork tenderloin (the way Cookie taught me). Because it really is just that simple.

First you preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Then wash the meat, and spray it with butter spray on all sides.

Next, you sprinkle on garlic and ground fennel, to taste. Don't be afraid of putting a little too much on...you want it to be flavorful and not bland. I like to rub the garlic and fennel into the meat. I'm not sure if this helps it soak up more of the flavor or not, but it can't hurt, right??

Then you're ready to throw it in the oven...20 minutes per pound.

Be really careful not to overcook it! You'll know it's done when it is no longer pink in the middle, and the juices run dry.

It is absolutely delicious. SUCH a tender meat! It practically melts in your mouth. Serve it with a vegetable and a salad and you're good to go!

Past Wednesdays:
Christmas Treats
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Chicken Stir Fry
Bacon Alfredo Casserole
Parsley Potatoes
Semi-Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Southwestern Chili
Easy Lemon Pie