New Spring Purse

In the cleaning-out spirit, I decided that my old spring purse, with the really long shoulder-strap, was out of style.  Into the give-away bag it went.  Still, it was awfully handy for my pen and tissues--things a girl carries to church.  So . . . I made a new one, entirely out of things we had around the house!  Yay.  I love my old Singer, even though it does only very basic things.

 

I'm still not sure about the position of the button.  There's a ribbon loop sewn into the purse flap to go around it, but I think I sewed the button on too high.  John said it looked good, so I left it for now.

 

I also thought our chicken dinner looked really pretty the other night.  :-)

A Family Smilebox

A week or more ago, I signed up for a free trial with Club Smilebox.  I thought I'd post one little virtual album before I cancel that trial (else it would no longer be free!). 

Make a Smilebox free photo album

On Reading

I received a letter a few days ago from a dear friend, Theresa.  She has two small children and encouraged me thus,



I pray that God will grant you this opportunity [motherhood] in His perfect time and plan for your life.  I would encourage you to relish the time God has granted you and John together as "just the two of you," and I would encourage you to read.  I find little time to read now, and there seem to be no end of edifying books available.




Her sweet words came at a fitting time . . . I think I'll participate in the books blog carnival hosted by ylcf.org in the weeks ahead.

Dining Room Progress

In spite of my concern last week that John wouldn't be willing to go for robin's egg blue for our dining room, he willingly suggested that I at least pick up some paint samples before we decided against it.  So, on Friday, I painted the left half of this wall in "Glass Green" and the right half in "Sea Seeker."  It was fun.

The best part is that John's assessment was that neither of them is "the evil color."  We're clear to proceed!

I was thinking to put up a poll to see people's opinions on which to choose, but the truth is that colors don't photograph well, at least with my camera, and I think it's too hard to see the difference.  And that fact should probably convince me that either will work.  I was leaning more toward the bluer tone on the right to start with, but any opinions others may have are most welcome. 

This is a bold, bold move for me !

One of Many Reasons to Love Trader Joe's

Having a relationship with John, even from the earliest days, has helped me to develop in the quality of decisiveness!  I still have rather indecisive tendencies, but it's getting better.  :-) 

As a bachelor, John ate out a lot.  And when he finds something he likes, he sees no reason to order anything different.  When eating out with John, I always try to choose something quickly, or he'll be waiting, albeit patiently.  I know that whenever we go to Panera, he'll have a Smokehouse Turkey sandwich.  At Wendy's, he'll have a #1 with Sprite and chili instead of fries.  At Moe's, he'll have a Triple Lindy with chicken and guacamole.  At Starbucks, it's a Venti hot chocolate.  We've been to Outback twice now, and both times he ordered Chicken on the Barbie.  At an Indian restaurant, he always tries their version of Chicken Tikka Masala.  And at Thai restaurants, he always orders Yellow Curry. 

John loves yellow curry so much that we end up ordering it out once every week or two.  I love it now, too.  It is sooo yummy!  He's remarked several times that I'll have to learn to make it so we can save all that money!  Well, I did receive a small Thai cookbook as a gift which included a recipe for yellow curry, but the key ingredient is "yellow curry paste" which I haven't found yet.  I've been told that there are Asian markets nearby which are sure to carry such a thing.  For now, though, I was excited to find this bottle of sauce at Trader Joe's! 

For anyone who doesn't know, Trader Joe's is a wonderfully fun and useful store.  They have a great selection of natural and organic foods at relatively great prices.  Their all-natural peanut butter, for example, is $1.79 for 16 ounces.  A box of cereal bars made with organic ingredients is $1.69.  And the people are friendly, too.  I first explored the store nearest us hoping to find coconut milk to make John Chicken Tikka Masala using a recipe I'd found online.  An associate approached me while I was wandering about and had a can in my hands within a few seconds!  (I later discovered that even Walmart carries coconut milk, but at $.99 a can, Trader Joe's is cheaper!)

I visit Trader Joe's about once every two weeks, doing most of my shopping from the sale flyers of the grocery stores which are literally right around the corner from our home.  If you have one near you, you should definitely go!

Thinking about Jesus

 

 Photo taken by John in Italy

Last night in church, I was convicted about how little I think on Christ.  The words of this hymn came to mind on the way home, and they helped me.

Thou cam'st to us in lowliness of thought

By Thee the outcast and the poor were sought

And by Thy blood was our salvation wrought

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!

Therefore, by God's eternal purpose, Thou

Art exalted o'er all creatures now

And giv'n the name to which all knees shall bow!

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! 

and so, 

Let this mind be in us which was in Thee

Who wast a servant that we might be free

Humbling Thyself to death on Calvary,

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!

Let ev'ry tongue confess with one accord,

In heav'n and earth, that Jesus Christ is Lord!

And God the Father be by all adored,

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross...
(Philippians 2:5-8)