Champagne taste on a beer budget

Man. I just spent a whole day working on bills, budget, money blahblahblah…. *WHEW* and now I need some sushi. but settled for random what’s in the fridge skillet meal. italian sausage, onion, tomato, red pepper, basil and oregano….italian skillet meal. still yum, but not sushi, ooooh how i’m craving sushi.

Fond of Fondant

I love my new job! Mostly waitressing, but occasionally I’ll get to help with the baking side. I worked with fondant for my first time at H. House for a birthday cake and a wedding cake. I had  BLAST! I also got to know my boss a lot better, and she’s a pretty great person. here are some pictures of the cakes I helped her with. Everything pink, and red, or anything made out of fondant, I made.

Ukes and Baking

Since the last post, I got a small, part time job waitressing at the H. House, in Oklahoma. It’s such a cute place. It’s a 2-story house, converted into a half bakery, half restaurant. The entire place is decorated in antique furnishings,the tables, chairs, salt & pepper shakers are all unique and different, and I just love it. It’s unlike any other food service job I’ve had. The people I serve here are pretty sweet most of the time, and half the customers are “regulars.”  It’s owned by a woman who is such a wonderful person! She’s very sweet and caring and always willing to help people. She is one of my Mother-in-law’s good friends–her and her husband go on cross country Motorcycle trips together with my in-laws. 🙂  Anyway, the place truly is a harmonious  house. Even when things get crazy busy, everyone has a calmness, and peacefulness that i love! I work with some pretty nice people.

Tomorrow my boss has invited me to join her, baking some wedding cakes and cupcakes, and I’m very excited to see the other side of the operations! I love baking so much more now that i did a year ago. The year we were in Nebraska, I was very stressed, and exhausted from my job, but instead of sleeping in on my day off, i started to bake, and it became my haven and stress reliever, and it just boosted my spirits, when I got to bake yummy stuff for people i love.  I used to prefer cooking over baking, but now i think i love them equally. And I’m excited to get back to it again!

Also, I am planning on reading “The Help” and Julia Childs’ autobiography in the near future, so I’m excited about that. Once we get our own place, I plan on trying the “julie/julia” thing…..going through her cookbook…but probably over 2 years instead of one….with lots of leeway… haha. and i probably wont blog about every meal either.

hmmm what else…

clint got a job coaching girls soccer.

i’ve learned some new songs on the Ukulele, and i love it more everyday! 🙂

……

annnnnnnnnd……so, myeah. that’s all I’ve got

❤

smooth move.

So I’ve started another healthy eating habit. Green smoothies! Sounds gross, but its so good, and the easiest habit change I’ve ever done!

I don’t measure things, but here’s what goes into it:

a handful of organic baby spinach leaves, a splash of 100% apple juice, a spoon of plain greek yogurt and a few pieces of fruit that I chopped and froze. typical fruit I pick from: bananas, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, pineapples, mangoes.

It’s green when it’s blended but I can only taste the sweetness of the fruit. so depending on my handfuls, I get 2 or 3 veggie servings and 1 or 2 fruit servings just from a morning smoothie that is delicious! Not bad at all. And you can improvise, by omitting the greek yogurt, or just plain yogurt, or use kale, sprouts, or wheatgrass in lieu of spinach. This is what works for me. Whatever is cheaper. You can even strain canned fruit and freeze that if you have an abundancee of canned goods…that would save $. and Honestly, a half a banana and splash of juice masks the taste of spinach pretty well, so if that’s all you have then that works too.

Anyway, just thought I’d share the easiest step to a healthy lifestyle that I’ve taken so far!

<3HB

Thumpin’ Thoughts…

This is a rant, mostly at God, so I don’t expect you to read this all…

Lately, how I was raised has been weighing on my shoulders. My childhood perceptions of how God works are peeking through my adult theology. I can’t help but feel like this is God’s way of saying I’m doing something wrong…It’s so stupid that I feel like this because I truly don’t believe He works like this, but my Bible thumpin’ edjoomucation from my childhood is really gettin’ to me. (And this sounds cheesy, sure, but I think It’s one of the ways Satan attacks me.) I can’t find a job here in Oklahoma and I’m watching as our bank account dips haphazardly into the dangerous digits where I’m worried if we’ll be able to make the months loan payments. (BLASTED MCC LOANS!) And the legalistic crap I have to go through to file for forbearance is sickening, so by the time I get all that done we’d be employed…

I just feel so frustrated and discouraged right now. Not just for me, but for Clint. He is so talented and passionate about what he does! He makes things happen in the Children’s Ministry! He builds relationships and reels kids into God’s love. He’s clearly what churches are looking for because he keeps making the short list of all these mega churchs’ final interviews, but in the end something falls through. They say “Pack your bags, you are THE ONE we’ve been looking for….” and then something random happens and they make a cop out excuse for why they aren’t going to hire him. That, or they are honest and say “We’re looking for someone with more experience” which translates into a 30 yr old with 30 yrs of experience as a minister. UGH. organized church just makes me so sick sometimes! How is he supposed to get experience if no one wants to take a chance and invest in him? Blah. He’s wonderful, God has given him a GIFT of connecting with the kids, and any church would be LUCKY to have him work with the kids.  I get so protective of the people I love. (One time, when I was still in high school, I grabbed a girl by the collar and told her she better treat my [big] brother right or get outta town, cuz she wouldn’t wanna hear from me if she breaks his heart…..haha yea I was crazy.) I just want them to see him as I see him, and see the fruits from his work like I have….

I am standing here, trying to hear God’s voice right now, asking for guidance, and assurance, open arms, saying God, we’re yours, send us where you want us…..and then….he sends us to Nebraska, to learn how to deal with the ugly side of church….and then He sends us to move back in with our parents, unemployed for over 2 months…..I’m not picking up on what he’s trying to teach us here…..Humility? Humbleness? bcz God, I am so thankful we have amazing family and food to eat and clothes and a home and I know I take it all for granted…..but don’t you want us to be doing something useful in the ministry?? I love spending time with the Bowles, they are incredible people, filled with the Holy Spirit, God’s love……..and I love wedding planning….but…don’t you want me out making disciples of all men? I feel like such a waste right now. Where do you want us, God?

So that’s my rant I’ve been holding inside, trying to be positive Peggy. And now that it’s out…..no you still can’t call me a negative Nancy bcz I’m still choosing to see the positives. I feel like God’s been protecting us from some things that have been going on in churches lately. After we get rejected, a few months later we see something happening in that church and are thankful we’re not there. Other people our age have had “forced” resignations because of people’s petty ego trips and views on things that are NOT a matter of salvation…..So, Thanks God, if you were protecting us from that…..but that’s not what is going on….what is?

I’d really appreciate some prayers guys. I hate sounding so vulnerable and needy to anyone but God, but the truth is, I need you, friends. and I need your prayers. 🙂

<3hb