Mark's Brothers Big World Coffee Roasters

My dear friends have started a coffee roasting business in the Dallas area. When my parents & brother were here visiting, we made a trip up to their location and bought some coffee beans. I was excited to try it because the descriptions on their website just sound amazing. The two I most wanted to try are the Ethiopia Sidamo, which is said to taste like blueberries, and the Sulawesi Torajaland, a bold coffee. So far, I have really enjoyed the Sulawesi Torajaland. This is a great coffee - bold & dark & great in the morning!
Greg also gave me a sample of the Tanzania Peaberry Songea; before I even read the description, I thought it tasted fruity. Yum!!

Seriously, if you like coffee, even a little, you should really try these coffees! Not only are they fabulously tasty, but the beans have been purchased at a fair price and roasted right. I love the "Big World" philosophy behind this business! Check out Mark's Brothers Big World Coffee Roasters website for all their info!!

Officially...

I am now 25 years old! This is, despite popular emotion, a very exciting thing for me. I love birthdays, and I love being one year older. Seriously. I have no qualms about being "one year closer to 30." Birthdays are my New Year's, when I reflect and pray about the last year and look forward to the next one. I am a diligent goal setter, so I always take time to write out a list of things to work on.

Yesterday was a splendid day of fun, and I was ridiculously spoiled! My wonderful parents and littlest-almost 6 foot brother came to visit this week, so I decided to take 2 half days off from work. It was a blast for me to see them play with Ainsley. We went swimming in the indoor pool at their hotel and tried to teach Ainsley to blow bubbles in the water. She enjoyed the water just as much as ever! After swimming, we rested and stopped at Starbucks for a little treat.
They took us out for dinner last night to the restaurant of my choice - that means no cooking for me! I chose Applebee's because I wanted the Maple Butter Blondie for dessert. And it was so good - all of it! Plus, my sweet husband showed up with a bouquet of brilliant sunflowers for me! I adore getting flowers!

Last, but not least, I was in bed and quickly sound asleep at 10:30pm and didn't even wake up until 6 when the alarm went off! (And if my excitement over that doesn't make me sound one year older, I don't know what does!!)

What a great birthday! Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!!!!

St. Patrick & a New Tradition

While browsing for new recipes last week on my favorite recipe website (AllRecipes.com), my attention was arrested by the link for St. Patrick's Day recipes. I decided then and there to start a new tradition in our home - to make new & different foods on holidays. And why not begin with St. Patrick's Day? I began to look through the main dish options and quickly realized that a typical Irish dinner consists of Corned Beef and Cabbage. Having never had such a dish, I opted for the recipe that had the best reviews and added it's ingredients to my grocery list. Soda bread also seems to be an Irish staple, so I grabbed the "Amazingly Easy Irish Soda Bread" recipe.

After getting home from work yesterday morning, I pulled out my crock pot and gathered the potatoes, meat, carrots, and spices that the recipe called for. Less than 30 minutes later, our main dish was cooking it's way to perfection - hopefully! About an hour and a half before Heath arrived home, I mixed up the easiest batch of bread I've ever made Seriously, there was hardly any kneading required and no rising time since you use baking soda instead of yeast. (Hence the name "Soda Bread". Cool, right?) It was all ready only minutes after Heath got home, and we were pleasantly surprised at the result. The corned beef had yummy flavor and the suggested dijon mustard dipping sauce added just the right touch of tang. I think we decided that the soda bread tastes most like corn bread, so that was an instant success in this home.

All in all, I enjoyed finding a couple Irish dishes to make, and I can hardly wait for the next holiday to do this again. Plus, all day I was thinking about St. Patrick and the way God used him to turn the hearts of the Irish many centuries ago.

"Please help me!"

Now that Ainsley is able to sign "help", it seems that she does so very often. I haven't taken the time to count how many times in a day, but I would venture to guess at least 10 times just during one playtime. It is one of the sweetest things to see her struggling to open the Lego box, then look up at me, and pat her tummy (that's her sign for "help"). Oh and now she signs "thank you" after you help her, too! Oh the joys!!

I was contemplating these things this morning - how quick she is to ask for help, no matter what situation she is facing. Not only does she know how to ask, but she knows that I will respond favorably to her request. Most of the time my attitude is only as it should be - that I would LOVE to help her. But late in day, as my body slows down and my gracious attitude fades, I find that I am less eager to help her; though this does not prevent my helping her, my response time is significantly slower. While confessing this sin of selfishness this morning, a glorious thought appeared. The Lord, of who I ask many things, does not grow weary of my requests; no, He delights always to come to my aid. What a wonder!! This is a whole different view of His kindness than I have imagined before. He is infinitely kind, even to me, bumbling, selfish woman that I am. All praises and thanks to Him, the Father to whom I should run with every care or whim - for He cares for me.

How I desire to exemplify this kind of love to Ainsley, so that when she looks at me, she'll see the kindness of God instead.

*NEW* Wildflower Bouquets

Last night I created a new type of bouquet for my note cards - the wildflower bouquet! I've painted them before, but it's been awhile and Keenan's request to see some reminded me of how much I like them. While they may not be exactly what you were thinking, Keenan, it's a step in that direction!

I listed two sets of two at my Etsy shop this morning. Here's a sneak peak:

The Littlest Daisy

Well, guys, I finally did it - I found somewhere I could sell my cards. Etsy.com It's really a neat place to find all sorts of handmade items. Here's the link to my shop: thelittlestdaisy.etsy.com I haven't gotten it fully set up yet, and there are only two listings so far, but please look anyway and tell your friends!

It has actually been quite the drama this week. I had a name all picked out and when I finally got up the nerve to register, the name had already been picked! Heath and I agonized over options for the rest of the day but to no avail. Then today, "The Littlest Daisy" just came to me and I love it! I think it's fun and it embodies my philosophy of sending cards to people. It doesn't always take a lot to cheer someone up or let them know they're special; even the littlest daisy will do wonders!

I'm nervous about whether or not this will be a success, but I won't know without trying. So here goes! Whatever the Lord wants to do with it, I'm ready!

Helpless

Heath will be back from his Iowa trip in about an hour, and I am just about counting the seconds. There are two minor situations awaiting his return, the first (and most horrifying to me) being a not-so-small roach sitting under a bowl downstairs. Why did it have to attack me today, of all days, when my husband was completely unable to come to my rescue? (It really did attack me; it crawled out of my pant leg - of the pants I was wearing.) Second on his to-do list, is to un-do whatever Ainsley did when she hit a button on the DVD remote. I've been watching the remainder of my West Wing episode with French subtitles and with the menu still on the screen. For the life of me, I can't figure out how to fix it!

Seriously, when did I become so helpless?!?