Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Inspiration!



Aren't these clothes FUN? I love Gymboree. I was browsing the kids' clothes online, loved so many of the color combinations, and thought I'd bring some of them to my blog for some inspiration. :) I want to try some of these color combos on layouts! (lots of orange this year)
So cute how some of them have scalloped edging, too.

I spent most of the morning at the dentist. Oh joy! :) (not!) Had to get a filling, get my teeth cleaned, and have a tooth sealed. 2.5 hours later I was ready to get OUT of there! I did go straight over to Hobby Lobby, where all of the ribbon by the roll was 1/2 price. Yeah, I need ribbon, right? :) I got some really fun, summery WIDE ribbon for 30 cents/yard! Sheer ribbons in yellow, green and purple with dark polka dots of the same color. I am thinking I need to do a ribbon giveaway in a future blog post! :)

Have to give a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Heather Preckel, one of the 25 Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame winners for 2006! Heather has won an honorable mention two years in a row, so this was DEFINITELY her year. I am very proud to call her a friend. She is so talented, loves her family, and loves the Lord. :) YAY, Heather!!

American Idol tonight - was pretty good. LOVED Chris's version of Walk the Line! He is consistently good. Mandisa was incredible, as was Paris. Taylor is SO entertaining and is still my favorite, but his song wasn't very challenging for him. Elliot is SO talented...wow. Ace was good, too...but his hair was sorta flat, LOL! I personally think Bucky and Lisa Tucker are boring and need to go. Gideon was so much better than Bucky. I just don't know what he's doing in this competition! Simon is rude sometimes, but he's right. This is supposed to be the BEST of the best. And as weird as this sounds....I hope Taylor, Elliot, and Mandisa do NOT win. I really hope Kellie or Katharine win. They will be perfect for the music the Idol will have to sing after he/she wins. I'd hate to see Taylor have to sing songs like "Wanna Be Inside Your Heaven" like Carrie Underwood had to sing 5,000 times after she won. Yuck! And really, can you see Chris singing that? Haha! No way..... And DID YOU SEE CONSTANTINE?? We have almost the same glasses. Ha! :) I was wishing he'd do his "call me" thing with the fingers in the shape of a phone that he always did last year. :)

Tonight I was watching one of my TIVO'ed episodes of Paula's Home Cooking. (love her!) She made the most wonderful looking breakfast bread...she called it Gorilla Bread. We are in charge of bringing snacks this Sunday morning at church to our bible study class, so I think everyone will like it if I make this. YUM.

Paula Deen's Gorilla Bread

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count each)

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.
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* On the way to school today, Noah and I talked about the importance of having Jesus in your heart, about Heaven, and about God's ultimate sacrifice of His own Son. We've talked about it all before, but he initiated the conversation today. It was precious and something I will remember always. Every problem on my mind....every errand I needed to run....every anxiety I had about going to the dentist later that morning....it all faded away after that car ride. Thank you, Lord, for Your leading as we parent this precious child You have sent to us. It is a moment like this that reminds me of our ultimate job as parents...leading that child back to You.

God bless you today! :)

Jennifer

"Be not proud of race, face, place, or grace. " -Charles Haddon Spurgeon

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey! There you are! LOL! LOVE LOVE Gymboree and yes...those are adorable. I was just there today and I love their stuff. Unfortunately though, I spent all of my dough at Naartjie and didn't have any left for Gymboree. AI was awesome, but Ace has moved off my list. Not really impressed with him anymore. Weird. Anyway. Isn't Paula AWESOME? I watched her show yesterday or the day before and she made a bunch of casseroles. HECK...even her CASSEROLES look incredibly delish!!! YUM-O-RAMA! Plus, I just cannot get enough of just LISTENING to her. So fun! I love your blog and what a precious precious little guy you have!

Jenn said...

We call it Monkey Bread, and it is a favorite around here! We make it when we go camping for breakfast... yummmm.

I loved your list of sweet things!

Anonymous said...

Gymboree is my favorite and I am eyeballing one of those outfits for my DD

Anonymous said...

Jen I just love you girl!!!!! A huge thanks for the wonderful post you started for me on the HOF win...man you are fast! LOL! And thanks so much for the sweet comments on your blog here too...you are the best!!! It is such a honor to call you a friend!!! :) Big hugs!!! :)

Anonymous said...

Great entry! I LOVE AI this season! I LOVE YOUR BANNER!!!!!!!!!

Mary Jo said...

Love your banner!!
I feel the same about gymboree. Can't always afford full price, but love a good bargain there! :)

Jana said...

I was SO thinking about you last night when they were showing Constantine in the audience!! I was hoping you saw him.....YUM. I'm really into the bright summery colors right now too, they make me happy after a dreary winter. Let me know when you decide to do a ribbon swap....I have too much for one person! Have a great day.

Kim said...

That recipe looks really yummy. Definately adding that one to try. Don't know who I want to go all the way on Idol. They all have their pros and cons but I really like Elliot. Thought of you immediately when they showed Constantine in the audience.

TracieClaiborne said...

Love the end of your post today. Love you too!!!

Anonymous said...

great inpiration - so colorful, love it. the dentist - ugh!

and AI - loving this show. I do like Chris but I am a Taylor fan!!! actually, I am a fan of a lot of them, so much talent!!!

Heather said...

Okay, so I haven't watched this week's AI yet, but it's DVR'd and is ready to be enjoyed tonight! Love your post today - love your blog, period!

Anonymous said...

Cracking up over the comment about Ace's hair being flat. Can I just tell you how much that bugged me? I was truly upset.

I've been catching up on your blog and it feels like I've been away forever, and like I've been missing out. But then when I read your entries, I am reminded of why I love you so much: you are so honest and genuine and true. You are a staunchly loyal friend, who is compassionate and caring. You are funny and witty and kind.

*SIGH* I miss you. After spending time catching up, I am wishing we could get together for a hug and a chat. Soon... I think we will have to do that soon!