Can I Get a "Wha-Wha?!"

I finished my LAST full semester of grad school tonight....the only thing standing in between me and graduation is 2 summer classes.  YIPEE!!!  You'll be seeing a lot more of me around these parts!

Proverbs 31

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The first time I read Proverbs 31:10-31, I knew that that's exactly the kind of wife, the kind of woman that I wanted to strive to be....

The Bible tells us that a wife of noble character is worth far more than rubies (31:10)...funny, the world tells us that external beauty is what matters, not character.

In verse 31:11 Solomon tells us that that this wife of noble character will have a husband with full confidence in her.  How many reality television shows portray this picture?

31:12 tells about this wife bringing her husband good, not harm, all the days of her life.  Talk about a tough job - it's hard to love someone all the time!  However, with God, it is not impossible!

In verse 31:17 we see that she sets about her work vigorously.  I searched the rest of the chapter to see if she was complaining while working - I found nothing.  I bet it's safe to say that she wasn't.  I'm not scoring high in that category!

She opens her arms to the poor and extends help to the needy (31:20) - such a different picture than just focusing her time and energy on herself.

She is clothed with strength and dignity and can laugh at the days to come (31:25); wowzers.  Talk about impossible unless you have faith in the truth and promises that our God is in control and that He loves you.

This faithful wife speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue (31:26).  This is something that cannot happen unless she is spending time with the Lord daily.  Am I spending time with the Lord daily?  Nothing is more important than that...NOTHING.

And perhaps my most favorite part of this entire chapter:

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised," (31:30).  I pray that I come close to this someday, that I know the Lord so deeply and so intently that I'm even more like Him and more afraid of His Almighty powers all at the same time.  This chapter serves as a huge push for me - a push to know God on a deeper, more intimate level for my myself, but most importantly, for my family.

What about you - what's your favorite book/chapter/verse of the Bible?

Magnificent Mondays: Magnificent Blogs 56

Apologies for this Magnificent Mondays blog coming to you on Tuesday - I'm finishing up my LAST week of grad classes until my summer session starts in June.  Needless to say, I'm a bit busy, but I've been wanting to showcase this blog for a few weeks now so here 'ya go!

Ginny, over at Cooking With Chopin, Living with Elmo, is a stay-at-home-mom who could've fooled me!  Her love for cooking had me convinced that she was a part of the culinary world and I was so impressed with her when I learned that it was just a dear hobby to her!  She's got some amazing recipes over at her blog with wonderful pictures to go with them.  

Since I've moved to Chicago everyone is big on breakfasts and brunches.  Stephen and I really enjoy having friends come over on a Saturday morning to enjoy some yummy breakfast food.  When I saw this recipe for breakfast quiche, I found myself drooling all over the keyboard!

I am so intrigued with this recipe for Lemon Pound Cake with Lavender-Lemon Icing...I SO badly want to make it so I can try it for myself!

Be still my heart!  These Ricotta Stuffed Jumbo Pasta Shells just look utterly amazing!

And one last one for kicks...I love me a good casserole....especially when it involves cornbread and cheese!  Come to Mama, Beef, Bean and Cheese Casserole!

Head on over to Cooking with Chopin, Living with Elmo and check out all of Ginny's drool-inducing recipes and great kitchen tips!

Happy Blogging!

A Warm, Toasty Evening

I hate our fireplace.

Stephen and I used to use our fireplace all the time and never had any problems...that was, until the day when our landlord told us that during the chimney inspection they had discovered that repairs were needed.  The repairs were scheduled and we were told that they would be as clean as possible.  With that being said, I did minimal preparations for their arrival - the extent of which being that I moved the couch away from the fireplace and pulled the rug back, thinking nothing of it.  When I returned home that night, our apartment was a sooty-mess and there was a hole in the wall above our fireplace.  Oh, and there was a nice little note from the "Chimney Authority" written on a napkin they had found in our kitchen that read:

In case you can't read that, it says, "We tried to be as clean as possible.  We are sorry and sorry for the hole on your wall! Thank you- Fireplace Chimney Authority'.

really?????

After a lot of anger, frustration and cleaning, fast forward to this past Tuesday night when the temperature in Chicago decided that it was not really ready for Spring and it wanted to revert back to its cold, winter days.  I should mention that Stephen and I enjoy free radiator heat (which is AWESOME) but with the freeness of it, we don't control when it's on and when it's off...Tuesday night, it happened to be off.  Continuing on...

My tootsies were cold, my nose was cold and quite frankly, I was just COLD.  That's when I had a bright idea, "Stephen, do you just want to have a fire?" (because remember, our chimney had been "fixed" by the Chimney Authority....)  

And that's what we did.  We enjoyed our little fire for about 20 minutes before I really realized that, even though the flue was open, the smoke from the fire wasn't properly leaving via the chimney, instead, it was taking a detour into our apartment.  

Insert lots of smoke.

Insert fire alarm.

Insert every window in our apartment being opened (wait, doesn't that defeat the original purpose of having a fire to begin with?)

Picture it: Stephen and I sitting on our couch with our winter coats on, wrapped in blankets.  

Smell it: A hickory, old-school Girl Scout campfire.

Needless to say, even though it's been almost a week, I'm still coming home and being instantly reminded of our fun, smoke-filled evening by that hickory, old-school Girl Scout campfire scent that I mentioned above.  Despite what the Chicago weather may bring (oh, like 33 degrees and snowy this morning), Stephen and I will not be enjoying a warm fire anytime soon.

Magnificent Mondays: Magnificent Blogs 55

Whenever it is time for a celebration (babies, weddings, etc) I often find myself wishing that I had the uncanny ability to decorate cookies and such like Sweet Sugar Belle does!  This woman is out of control!  Her cookies are meticulously decorated and look just like the real thing!  Not only do I really love all the pictures of her cookies that are such an inspiration, but the fact that she also includes tips and tricks to show you how to decorate your own baker's dozen.

Here are a few of my favorite...

I love how she took these Easter cookies and used them as cupcake toppers!

These Spring bird nest cookies are TOO cute!

Seriously?!  Look at how perfect all of these cookie collections are!

2 things my husband loves: Peeps (the candy) and sugar cookies.  I think that one day I'll try to make him these - a nice hybrid of the two!

Get your little blogging booties over to Sweet Sugar Belle's and be inspired!  Let me know what cookies you love...if you can narrow it down to just a few :)

Happy Blogging!

Cutie-pa-tootie!

I'll be back either later on today or tomorrow to fill you in on life and why I've been so MIA here, but for now, I'm leaving you with a clip of cutie-pa-tootie, Hines Ward on DWTS!  He's got the cutest little smile, he's a great dancer and I do believe that he represented the John Wall in the opening of this clip.  We don't follow DWTS, but we definitely do this season!

Magnificent Mondays: Magnificent Blogs 54

Okay, so I realize that I've been a bit M.I.A...I had a huge comprehensive exam for grad school (if you'd like to be praying for the results of that, I'd greatly appreciate it!) and then school work has been somewhat all consuming!  But, I'm back and hopefully it'll be with a vengeance!  Onto a magnificent blog...

If you've never found yourself oooing and awing over at Ana White, then you best be gettin' your booty over there!  Ana is a stay-at-home-mom turned carpenter who provides wonderful pdf instructions on how to build any and every piece of furniture you could ever imagine!  I've already signed my opposite of handyman husband up to make a few pieces for our future home.  I usually don't include pictures but I love it so much that I'm going to share the entire picture with you!

Project #1 for my future "mud room":

Project #2 for my future office/guestroom:

Project #3 for my future daughter:

Project #4 for my future sewing room:

I could seriously keep going, but I would basically be sharing ALL of Ana's furniture plans with you!  Go check out Ana White and let me know which piece of furniture you've got your heart set on!

The Quest for EIGHT: I Bleed Blue!

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Can I tell you how excited I am to watch my Kentucky Wildcats finally make it back to the Final 4 tomorrow night after many seasons of hoping they'd get this far?!  I'm SOOOOOOO excited!  (so excited that I'm actually taking a break from studying for a major exam to update my blog with this crucial information!) :).  It's really funny how your allegiance to a team can overcome you.  I come from a line of University of Kentucky graduates and I grew up cheering them on.  I have memories of triumph and memories of hardships all from by Cats.  No matter what happens tomorrow, I will be as happy as I am and as proud as I am right now.  I don't think that any other college basketball team can say that they have 7 National Titles, 13 Final Four appearances, 44 SEC Championships, 26 SEC Tournament Championships, the most regular season wins in the NCAA, 101 NCAA Tournament Victories and a .760 all time winning percentage...soooooo incredible (in college basketball world, of course) :-D.  For all my fellow Kentucky Fans, enjoy this video and let it hype you up!