A Question for you.

Ok, I am thinking about starting a blog on which to sell some of my sewing projects, but I am not sure what to call it...any suggestions?

Good Friends and Blueberry Pie

I found an excuse to make a Blueberry pie with our newly picked blueberries. Zack and I had some friends over for dinner last night, and as is customary for me, I stressed out about there being enough food and ended up making WAY too much! There were eight of us in all, and I think that there was enough food for a small army! I just kept adding things to my menu. We had CC runners coming, and it is hard to know how hungry they will be...Long run days they can be bottomless pits...if you think that football players eat alot, you haven't experienced the amazing amounts of food that these skinny runners can fit into their bodies...it is really something quite amazing to see.

Menu:
Spinach and Artichoke dip
Peppery Chicken Fried Chicken
Broccoli Salad
Tossed salad (one of Jody's A-MAZING Salads)
Mac n cheese
Mashed potatoes
Green Beans
Blueberry pie (with Vanilla ice cream compliments of Kawa)

It was so nice to get to visit with friends over the meal. We had Zack's college CC coach, who is also one of my former bosses, and his family over. They have become dear friends over the years. We also had one of my old roomies and one of Zack's running buddies over. We had a great time just getting to sit, talk, eat, and laugh together. Needless to say we had LOTS of leftovers...well, of everything except the blueberry pie.

Shopping Cart Cover

This is Mason's shopping cart cover. It matches his bedding, which is super cute!

A few months ago, I made a shopping cart cover for one of my best friends, April, for a baby shower gift. She has the cutest little boy named Mason! Love him, even though I haven't gotten to meet him in person yet!! Well, she asked me if I would make another one for her to give as a gift to a friend for her shower. So, we worked together, picking out fabric and fonts and came up with a really cute shopping cart cover for her to give her friend. This was my first real sewing order! :) By the time we figured out the material she wanted and got it ordered, I was down to the wire to get it finished and to her by the shower. So, I have been one busy girl for the last couple days, and I got it in the mail yesterday. So, she should have it by Thursday!! I think that it turned out really cute!

Here is what we came up with!! She hasn't seen it yet, but I hope that she loves it! :)

I had a little extra fabric left so I made a bag to put the shopping cart cover in!

Recipe: Pizza Roll

Andrea, one of my dearest and best friends, suggested that I share some recipes on my blog. So, I thought that maybe I would periodically, once a month or so, put a recipe on here. I thought that I would start with the Pizza Roll Recipe. You can change the toppings that go in it to accommodate your tastes. Surprisingly, I did not get a picture of it, Zack didn't get home until Midnight the night that I made it, because they were having server problems at work. He loved this pizza roll. I am sure that I will make it again sometime...and then I will add a picture.

Pizza Roll

Ingredients:

1 loaf (1 lbs) frozen bread dough, thawed
2 eggs, separated
1 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp minced fresh parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
8 ounces sliced pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can (4 oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1/4 -1/2 cup pickled pepper rings
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 can (15 oz) pizza sauce

On a greased baking sheet, roll out dough into a 15 x 10 inch
rectangle. In a bowl, combine egg yolks, Parmesan cheese, oil,
oregano, parsley, garlic powder and pepper. Brush over dough. (I then
spread a thin layer of pizza sauce up 1 inch from edges of dough...I
just thought that it would be better with sauce inside). Sprinkle with
pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, pepper rings, green peppers
and olives (or toppings of your choice). Roll up jelly roll style,
starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal and tuck ends under.
Place seam side down; brush with egg whites. Do not let rise. Bake at
350 degrees for 35 -40 minutes or until golden brown. Warm pizza
sauce; serve with pizza roll.

Yield: 10-12 slices

Hope that you enjoy it!

A weekend in the Mountains: Family, Friends, and New Discoveries

This past weekend, Zack and I spent in the mountains of North Georgia with Zack's family and close family friends (about 23 people in all). Basically, they are a group of friends from church, much like our small group at church, who built relationships, initially through the commonality of their faith and then though common interests. Even though they no longer live in the same cities or go to the same church, they have become VERY close over the years. They have become Zack's extended family, to the point where he calls them Aunts and Uncles. They are all VERY dear people and we had a blast getting to spend time with them, playing games and just sitting and talking. What a blessing to have such supportive and loving friends!! I hope that our small group grows in its relationships until we become like this group of individuals.

Needless to say, we played a LOT of cards, board games, and yard games...The Huston's LOVE to play games. We were also introduced to a new yard game. It was a lot of fun. Ben (Zack's middle brother)and his wife Rachel brought a game called Lasso Golf. It is this three rung ladder of sorts, and you throw balls connected with string at the ladder trying to hook them around a rung of the ladder. Each rung is worth a different number of points...it was a lot of fun, and a game that I could see Zack adding to his collection sometime.

A friendly game of spoons...which became quite competitive.

Lasso Golf

We also were introduced to a new swimming hole that Zack's parents found the last time that they were in the mountains. We used to follow the creek down a little ways from the cabin where we stay to a deep area with a small waterfall. However, the property was recently bought by a new owner and so the previous swimming hole is off limits...at least until we meet the new owners. Anyway, we went to the newly found swimming hole this trip, which is about 10 minutes away from where we stay. It is a large pool of water at the base of a fairly large water fall. It was a beautiful, although VERY cold place, to go swimming. There were also several places that people would jump off of small cliffs into the water below. Hopefully, we will be able to plan a trip for our small group up to the mountains sometime soon to let them try it out!!

Zack Jumping from one of the Cliffs at the swimming hole.

Matt Following suit.

Zack standing near the falls

There were some blueberry bushes next to the cabin that we stayed in that were over running with blueberries. Everyone ended up picking and taking some home with them...Zack and I stayed a little after everyone picking blueberries, because Zack likes to freeze them and have them in his cereal...and I wanted to have enough to make a blueberry pie. So, we picked....and picked...and picked...and you could not even tell that we had made a dent in the number of blueberries hanging from the bushes!

I think that we should have plenty of blueberries... at least until our next trip to the mountains.

A boy's dream come true!

Yesterday, Zack called me and he was soooo excited. One of our dear friends had invited him to go to an Atlanta Braves game with him and a couple other guys. For those of you who do not know my husband he likes all sports (especially baseball) but he LOVES the Braves. So he was really excited about the opportunity to go...but what made it even better was that he was going to have an opportunity to meet Albert Pujols..."Albert Pujols, Paula. He's only one of the best hitters in baseball!!"...whatever :) So, I could not squash my husband's dreams by telling him that he couldn't go because our lawn really needed to be mowed...so, I let him go have his guys night at the Brave's game. While waiting for his ride, he was pacing our house SO excited about going . He finally decided to go wait outside. (it was really like watching a little kid who was waiting to go to Walt Disney World! except instead of mickey ears, he was wearing a braves t-shirt and hat!) He went to the game and had a BLAST!! He got to spend some quality time with the guys (something that he really enjoys, but doesn't get to do too often)and he got to meet someone that he highly admires...so, I would say that it was a win win situation!!
Meanwhile, back at home, I was able to spend some time with 2 of my dear friends, Christy and Pam. It was nice to get a chance to sit and talk with them, and to find out what has been going on in their lives. So many new and exciting things on the horizon for them both! I then went home and made a floral arrangement for this cute little half table that sits at the end of our hallway. I just bought it a couple of weeks ago, but I have wanted one for about a year! So, I am so excited about it!! :) It was proudly sitting at the end of our hallway, but looked so sad and empty...so I made it a friend!

Rest and renewal!

Hello all!!! It has been a REALLY long time since I have sat down and blogged anything on here, and a lot has changed in my life since my last posting. First, I am currently unemployed, and as crazy as it sounds, it is a total blessing. While the conclusion of my last job experience was not really what I had anticipated, it was a mixed blessing. Things had gotten a little crazy at work. I was under ENORMOUS amounts of pressure daily. I was seeing patient's of complexities that I had never seen, seeing higher numbers of patients daily than previously, and was responsible for keeping the office open. I was having to write prescriptions for Dr. Spivey's patient's..most of whom I had never before seen, and there was never a clear picture of how severe Dr. Spivey's condition actually was. For about the last 2 months of my employment things were going this way, and just when there would seem to be an end in sight to all of the madness and pressures of the job, there would come a fork in the road...the office management would try another approach to have things continue on in the manner that they had been previously. Dr. Spivey was very weak and nauseous from his chemo treatments, but always tried to maintain a positive attitude. He truly was an amazing man. He also would try to drag himself into the office whether he felt like it or not. He was coming in for a few hours a day...and then was not able to come at all. He eventually was placed into the hospital with pneumonia and a blood clot. The Doctors were unsure of what kind of pneumonia he had (it was not responding to treatment) but they were afraid to do sputum cultures because his condition was so perilous. He was already on room oxygen and they feared that if they placed him on a vent, that he would never come off of it. After a week in the hospital, Dr. Spivey passed away. While it was not altogether a surprise, in many ways it was. He was a man filled with life, knowledge, and a passion for helping others. It still is hard to believe that he has passed away. So, while that was not the way that I had anticipated or foreseen the situation resolving, that is what happened. Because we no longer had a supervising physician, we could no longer see patients, and thus, had to close the office. I have to say that while it was sad to see my first job and first real paycheck become a thing of the past, it was a much needed blessing. I have been taking the last month and 1/2 - 2 months to pray and build my relationships with God, family, and friends back to what they had been in past years. It has been a blessing in so many ways. I have not really been actively looking for a job, simply because, I am not yet sure what the next step is or what a different job would look like for me. I don't really think that I want to go back to family practice at this point, but I am not sure what exactly I do want to do. I have been throwing around different ideas and many of my friends have suggested that I try to sell some of my sewing projects. I have pondered that idea, but am not sure how plausible it would be...I have a tendency to way undersell the value of the products that I make so that I am at a point where I barely break even...Zack calls it my Charity sewing. I have enjoyed the extra time to sew, read, exercise, spend time with Zack and friends...it has been a blessing...and I am trying so hard...and it is very hard for me at times, to be patient and wait on God...to allow Him to work in me and prepare me for the next step that I am going to take...many times I feel the pressure to get a job, and yet I do not feel any clear direction or calling as to what I should do. My desire is to find a job that I can be passionate about, enjoy, and that glorifies God.

Books reading/read this month:

48 days to the work you love (on Chapter 9/12)
Truth seeker (Third book in series. good)
Protector (Chapter 1)

Movies this month:

Evan almighty (funny)
Hair spray (odd)
Ronin (ok)
Untraceable (horrible, turned off after about 10 minutes and sent back)
The bucket list(get today)

New Recipes tried this month:



Chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake (very yummy)
Pork medallions in strawberry garlic sauce (good)
Brie mashed potatoes (good)
Summer squash casserole (good)
Strawberry Rhubarb pie (very yummy)
Strawberry Rhubarb muffins (good)
Amish friendship bread (thanks Caren)
Pizza roll (one of Zack's new favorites)
Tender Chicken Nuggets (pretty good)
Beef n' slaw sandwiches (ok, but not a favorite)
Blueberry French Toast Bake (pretty good)





















Sewing projects completed:

Ladybug outfit with matching hair bow(top and pants)
Birthday outfit for Savannah with matching hair bow(top and pants)
Pink, green and white rag quilt (56X40)
Cherry ruffle capri (size 2)
Blue floral ruffle capri (size 2)
Purple and green seersucker ruffle capri (size 2)
pink/green polka dot ruffle capri (size small)
Sock monkey yoke neck dress (size 2)
Sock monkey Yoke neck outfit with matching hair bow(size 2)
Reversible sock monkey jon jon (size 0-3 months)