i must

i just finished a work out and then proceeded to completely nullify all of the calorie burn by indulging in a decadent slice of chocolate cake. yum!

will you entertain my vanity for a bit?

aren't these gorgeous?
i love the detail in the back. it's not too over the top, that i could probably even wear them to work...

I hear ya

so everyone has said black... not ONE person has encouraged the white paint... so black it is. do you know what this means? it means, it's the start of a hunt for bone white china for decor :)
it's always something, huh?

Decorating delimma

I have three pieces of furniture that i want to paint:
kitchen table and chairs
china cabinet
console

the question is - do i want to paint it white or black?
blacks seems more versatile, more durable against all the kids' oops, and consistent with what i already have.
BUT, i'm really getting into the new looks of whites.
check these out:
1. this one i got from cote de texas' blog.
i really like the black curtain rods accenting against the dominant white

2. i really like the various whites/ off whites in this picture too.

3. From Brillian Asylum's site, comes this inspirational picture
i really like the clean lines and it's the look i'm going for in the dining room.

4. this is more of a grayish white with the black accents.

totally random, but while surfing Brilliant Asylum's blog, i saw this and LOVE the flower boxes.

What to do with left over london broil

the london broil was good but we just had too much left over and well, it's not as good the next day so i made a beef stew with it and was so pleased with how it turned out. i think i liked the stew better than the london broil...

i modified it a bit, as usual - i added some cabbage to it because i had some on hand.
i also didn't do the emeril essence and just dashed a few of the spices in .

London Broil

Yummers~

I'm just about to sit down to a tasty dinner w/ my sweet jewel over baked fries, london broil, and dinner rolls.


i know we'll enjoy - it's a great recipe!

fall marathon?

i got the ok from my man so now i've got to figure out which fall marathon i'm going to run... do i want to just do something fun and not think about pr-ing? or should i really try to go it and PR?

if it's the first then it's nice to do a really small or really big race.
however, if you want to pr, then you want to go with a race small enough where there isn't any bottle necking. ie. i'd probably stay away from chicago, new york, MCM.
but you don't want it to be so small that it doesn't draw any spectators. they help get you through some tough spots...
so, we'll see :)

valentine's day

we had an informal get together and i'm really pleased with how the food turned out.

it was a potluck, so i'll just list what i made:
chick and corn chowder
mixed green salad
pesto pasta salad
chocolate cupcakes
heart shaped sugar cookies
s'mores

here are some of the recipes:

1. Chicken and Corn Chowder:
Old-Fashioned Pawtucket Chicken Chowder

Recipe
By : The LL Bean Book of "New" New England Cookery

* 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 onion, diced
* 2 to 3 ribs celery, peeled and diced
* 2 to 3 potatoes, peeled and diced
* 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
* 2 teaspoons fresh savory, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried, optional
* 2 tablespoons flour
* 1 cup milk or light cream
* 2 cups chicken broth
* 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
* salt
* fresh ground pepper
* 1 cup corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or canned), optional






Heat vegetable oil in a large pot and stir in the onion and celery, continuing to stir for about 5 minutes, before adding the potatoes. Cover and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, and stir in the herbs. Mix the flour with milk to make a thin paste, then add the milk and broth to the soup pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until the vegetables are tender but not mushy. Stir in the chicken and optional corn, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Cook gently 5 minutes; serve hot.

It was a bit runny, so we did a flour/ butter roux that we added to the soup later on to thicken it up.

2. pesto pasta salad - so easy!
in my blender i put in spinach, EVOO, salt, pepper, pine nuts, and some oil from the sun dried tomatoes that also went into the salad.
mix. to the cooked pasta, added pesto, spinach, and some sun dried tomatoes. done!

3. Sandy's chocolate cake:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sandys-Chocolate-Cake/Detail.aspx

movie review

just finished "spirit of the marathon". it makes me want to do another one :)

so many of those emotions that i've felt and experienced. and for craziness' sake, want to experience again.

but i think it's interesting that people finish the marathon and think: if i can do this then nothing is impossible. it's that feeling of self reliance, self glory and i don't know. kind of sad, you know?

i'm torn between understanding that feeling of accomplishment yet knowing that sola Christo is all that can ultimately make one whole.

perspective

have some things weighing on my heart...


'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
Louisa M. R. Stead

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest up on His promise;
Just to know "Thus saith the Lord."

Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him!
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
Just in simple faith to plunge me,
Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him!
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest and joy and peace.

Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him!
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

I'm so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him!
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

week 3 P90X status

so i'm in the middle of week 3 and here's the break down of what i'm seeing or not seeing:

1. the upper body's an improvement (there were no where else to go but up)
2. where are my abs? it's like digging for diamonds - they just don't want to be found apparently...
3. i'm starting to get back the tone in my legs that i had while race training. unfortunately, my running these days is the pits! except this weekend i ran 3 days in a row! wowzers! first time in three months :)

i think that i would have been further along being a 1/3 of the way in -- but i guess some improvement is better than no improvement? (sorry, my man)... my man hates that phrase - a little is better than nothing...