Sunday, September 11, 2005

Signs of Autumn

(game winning touchdown with 5 minutes left!)

HOOK 'EM HORNS!!! I'm so darn proud of my Longhorns :) And SO PROUD to say that I'm a UT grad! ('92) #2 ranked TEXAS beat #4 ranked Ohio State. In the horseshoe. Not many teams can BEAT another team in their home stadium...with a record crowd of 105,000, most of those people being AGAINST us. Hehe. They did it, though!! Even better, UT broke some Buckeye records. Let's see... This was the first night home game that Ohio State has EVER lost. And Texas is the first non-conference team to walk out of Ohio's stadium with a win since 1990. As Vince Young, the UT quarterback, ran off the field he yelled, "Thanks for coming, but we're going to the Rose Bowl!" I so love it. I have to say that the ONLY thing I miss about college is going to all of the football games. :) It was bittersweet watching the game last night without my Dad. He lived for UT football season. I missed hearing him tell David (my husband) "did you see THAT?" He loved watching games with David. But I know that my Dad was watching and was proud of our Horns!
It's been dark, rainy and cloudy all weekend. I love this weather. I know many people don't but I love cozy weather like this. I'm sitting here listening to Tony Bennett and Harry Connick, Jr. So yesterday I pulled out all of my Fall decor and put it around our house. Christmas is my favorite holiday but I sure do love Fall, especially the warm colors.


There is a wonderful little shop about 10 minutes from my home called Homespun Cottage. I love getting holiday decor there because the whole store is so cozy. Our house isn't completely folk-art style ..mostly "trying to look like Pottery Barn but purchased at Target." haha :) But the little homestyle touches make the house feel welcoming and really communicate the feeling that I want to have in our home of "coziness." I'm a homebody and take great pride in our home.

Ok....cheer section, please. I am going to join Curves! I need to get back into shape and feel good about myself again. I'm excited about it and after hearing several friends rave about it, I'm ready to do it. Thankfully there is a Curves about 5 minutes from my house, so it will work out perfectly. I'm really proud of my friend Becky and how well she is doing. GO BECKY!

Today marks the 4th anniversary of 9/11. I still remember being in our living room, Noah having just finished his breakfast and turning the TV on to see the 2nd plane crash into the World Trade Center. How horrifying it was. And I realized just a few months ago that since that day I've been much more protective and worry more about Noah's safety. That day did something to me as a Mommy. Does anyone else feel that way? The world changed that day... In November of 2002 we went to New York City for Thanksgiving. While there, we visited the site of the World Trade Center. You just don't realize how huge the site is when you only see it on TV. And seeing the church across the street that was untouched...amazing. It was difficult to explain where we were to a 2-year old, but he did understand enough to see the photos later and say, "that's the place where the building fell down and they were sad. Maybe they can fix it...with tape." :( I did the layout below with the photos we took:

(you can click on the photos above to see the entire 4-page layout on 2Peas)

Today I'll share a Fall recipe :) I really love hearing from so many of you that you've tried a recipe from my blog. Wish I could take credit for all of them! Some of them I can...just the ones with my name in the recipe title. Nothing smells better in the morning than these Gingerbread Pancakes!

Gingerbread Pancakes

from Austin's Magnolia Cafe
3 eggs
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup brewed coffee
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Cream together the eggs and brown sugar. Add the buttermilk, water and coffee, and stir until smooth. Set aside.
In a separate container, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
Combine the egg mixture with the flour mixture, and stir in the melted butter. Makes about 3-1/2 cups of batter, or enough for 8 to 10 pancakes.

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God is SO good and faithful. All that you have is because of His goodness and mercy. :)

- Jennifer

"Beloved, I say, let your fears go, lest they make you fainthearted. Stop inspiring fear in those around you and now take your stand in faith. God has been good and He will continue to manifest His goodness. ....... Let us approach these days expecting to see the goodness of the Lord manifest. Let us be strong and of good courage, for the Lord will fight for us if we stand in faith." - Francis Frangipane

14 comments:

Cindy Lee said...

isn't that the greatest photo of Sweed catching the winning touchdown??? YAY!!! GO LONGHORNS!!! love your blog! looks like a yummy recipe!

Anonymous said...

I saw that you'd updated and RACED to see what you had to say! I love your blog! YAY on the touchdown! Your decor is FAB! The recipe looks like a keeper! Your blog is a HIT!

Sophia

Anonymous said...

Oh I heart Autumn!!! I'm so excited!

Gwyn Calvetti said...

Lots of thoughts here today! ;) I have lost the seasonal decorating bug in my quest to simplify, but you may inspire me, as I do love fall.

Anonymous said...

Love the hat boxes! That recipe sounds yummy...thanks!

Jana said...

Don't you just love the cool rainy weather we had this weekend!! I'm thinking I need to pull out my autumn decor as well even though I'm sure it'll be hot again here in SA before we know it. Best of luck w/Curves. I did it for a year and really enjoyed it. Becky & I are good friends!

Anonymous said...

Jennifer, I so adore you. The football, the fall decorations, the cooking, everything about this entry is so YOU, which is why I consider myself blessed to know you. Happy fall girlfriend.

Anonymous said...

Jennifer,
I'm also a homebody. Fall is my favorite season too. I love the colors of fall, the smells....and of course in TX it means it will only be in the 80's and 90's, instead of the 100's. :-)

Wasn't that a fabulous game? Hook'em Horns!

Jacquie

Anonymous said...

Loved your blog entry today Jennifer! I too love fall and it looks like the same signs of fall are at your house as well....FOOTBALL! LOL! I don't think my husband ever left the TV or the laptop (checking fantasy team stats) all day yesterday. LOL! Oooh...and thank you so much for the yummy fall pancake recipe...I can't WAIT to try those. They sound absolutely delish!!!!

Anonymous said...

Loved your blog entry today Jennifer! I too love fall and it looks like the same signs of fall are at your house as well....FOOTBALL! LOL! I don't think my husband ever left the TV or the laptop (checking fantasy team stats) all day yesterday. LOL! Oooh...and thank you so much for the yummy fall pancake recipe...I can't WAIT to try those. They sound absolutely delish!!!!

Anonymous said...

Jennifer, loved your entry today! All that fall decor is so pretty! Good luck with Curves!! :)

Unknown said...

Oh, how I love fall and winter!!
I too, decorate for fall, although I haven't yet!! I usually start Sept 1!!
and Congrats on CURVES!! I've been slowly getting back in the groove doing pilates...I'm 12 wks post-partum now, so it's been a little easier!! I have a layout posted on my blog about 9/11 too!! so tragic! ~Dawn

Anonymous said...

wow - you shared a lot in your post today! first thing I did was copy your pancake recipe - hope to try it this weekend. I love that you are always sharing some awesome recipes. Not into football so much but I did enjoy the tailgating and what-not that went along with going to the games. Kudos to you for joining Curves - it is always wonderful to do something to make us feel better! Love fall decor the most but am going to resist until October 1st to put it all out - spent a ton on more Halloween decor though. Love the decorations you shared here.

I do remember where I was on that morning - still gives me chills thinking about all the feelings I had as I watched the news.

sorry for such a long comment - take care and hope you are hacing a wonderful Wednesday!

*Heather said...

Hey girl! Good for you on the curves..I loved it when I went a little while ago and want to join again when the a2z stuff slows down! You would so love my parents country store...I get in trouble everytime I go up there and they have stuff just like you got...fun! ;)