Flowers...

I love flowers.  I am so very excited about the spring and getting to work in the flower bed!  I am not the best but I sure like to try :) 

I love to see how creative our Creator is! Like these daffodils...amazing.  I love the tiny details like the frilly, orange edges.  

I'm glad our God is concerned with the tiny details of our lives too.

Yummy!

sooooo...I was at H.E.B. as usual for a Monday after work and the lovely lady with the microphone by the frozen section (who I usually ignore) caught my ear.  Chicken Chipotle Chili.

SO YUMMY!!  I have the hardest time coming up with ideas for dinner that are easy-ish, quick-ish and healthy-ish.  My own 30 minute meal...

Chicken Chipotle Chili

1 cup HEB Ready, Fresh, Go! Diced Sweet Onions (I used 1 regular onion)

1 cup HEB Ready, Fresh, Go! Diced 3 Color Bell Peppers (I used 1 regular bell pepper)

3 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning Blend

2 teaspoons HEB brown sugar

1 can (28oz.) diced tomatoes with juice

1 can (19oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast ( I used some leftover rotisserie chicken & it was really good)

1. Cook onions and peppers in oil in a large pot over medium high heat until golden brown.

2. Add chili powder, Mrs. Dash and brown sugar. Stir for 1 minute.

3. Add tomatoes and black beans. Reduce heat and stir in chicken.

 

(it says to serve with Jalapeno Cornbread but I just put some cheese on it and ate it with a few plain doritos ...oh, and a dollop of daisy (sour cream)

It looks kinda boring to be honest so at first I was a little disappointed...but then I tasted it and YUMMY!  For some reason it tastes so good!

Do you have any recipes that you want to share? I would love some fresh ideas...

my birthday gift...

I have wanted a sewing machine for a couple of years now. 

Michael got this for me and somehow I am just now getting it out of the box

almost 2 months after receiving it.  I think we need to slow down a little.

Anyway....

I think it is SO pretty!  

And no...I don't really know how to sew. 

My mom taught me some when I was younger.  I made 

a few dresses and other things. But I have never made anything

on my own.  And I probably won't any time soon!  I need mom to help me!

I have a pattern for the sweetest little girl dress and it is supposed to be "simple". 

Doesn't look like it to me.

I have great plans........so wish me luck!

 Now I have to plug the thing in...

Am I weird that I LOVE to see a bright, cheerful, colorful produce section of a grocery store?!  I absolutely LOVE it! When I saw this picture, it made me happy!  I am very thankful to live in a country where we have fresh food and can afford to buy it. Something else that makes me happy....watermelon season is just around the corner :)

We are back from NYC and we had a blast!  5-1/2 days of fun!  This picture was taken after we saw "Wicked' on Broadway.  It was so good!  So interesting how someone can take the "Wizard of Oz" and put a totally different spin on it.  I am amazed at the creativity of people. 

This picture was taken from the apartment where we stayed.  It snowed the first morning we were there!

So...I am a HUGE Food Network fan!  So of course I took my happy self down to Chelsea Market to find what I could involving the Food Network.  This is all I found!  The sign.  You have to have an appointment with the channel to get upstairs!  Can you believe that a a big deal like the Food Network does not have a tour or ANYTHING?!  Oh well...maybe next time :)

Oh how I love Central Park!  The water was frozen and it was so pretty!  Some day I would love to see it in the spring.  It is such an amazing place.  If I lived in NYC, I would go there every day...and I would HAVE to train myself to be a runner so I could run with all the cool people :)

I love this picture of the Brooklyn Bridge!  We walked across it and ate pizza at Grimaldi's on the Brooklyn side. 

Happy Times!

NYC BOUND!

SO....Michael surprised me on my birthday with a plan for a NYC trip!!! (it is also an early anniversary trip).  NYC is my (and my sister's) favorite place in the world! I am so excited to go there with Michael!  We get to stay with Michael's cousin who has an apartment right now on Park Avenue!  (sorry for all the exclamations points.  can you tell I am excited?) We have a ton of things we want to do so I will write about it when we get back.  So....I guess it is off to finish packing :) 

Hello!

I have gotten addicted to reading a few blogs lately so I thought I would start one too!  While I am pretty sure my blog will not be as entertaining as the ones that I read and I am not a great writer, I thought it would be fun to document our lives a little bit.   

I had a couple friends introduce me to blogs of woman who had lost a baby and I have been so encouraged by them.  For one of these women, she was almost 40 weeks pregnant, went in for her checkup and was told there was no heartbeat. She delivered a baby whose soul was already in heaven.  For another sweet lady, she found out around 20 weeks (I think) that her baby would not survive outside of the womb.  She courageously carried her sweet baby until time for delivery and she was very honest in her journey and struggle.  Both of these women are Christians who questioned God but did not doubt Him.  

I realize and thank God that my experience was not NEAR as traumatic as these stories mentioned.  It was, however, one of the hardest things I have been through. We were at the doctor to hear the heartbeat for the first time (13 weeks) and there was not one.  Apparently, the baby had stopped growing at 8 weeks.  Since then, I have read and heard from SO MANY people who have been through this exact same scenario and have gone on to have many other children.  This encourages me so much!  

We will continue to trust the Lord and believe Him for our heart's desires, since He placed them there in the first place.  

That is all for now.  Hope we can keep up with each other's lives through the wonderful world of blogging!  Have a happy week :)