Friday Pizza Night

 If you happen to ever show up at our house on a Friday evening, we will be having pizza. Pizza seems to be a Friday tradition most any place you go. Nothing says lets celebrate the week like CARBS!

On Fridays it has to be quick so I don't waste time making my own dough, its Pillsbury in a can! I like to roll out the dough as thin as I can but if you like is thicker, don't roll it out as thin. I drizzle a little bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt over the dough.

After 5 minutes in the oven.

I'm not a fan of the pizza sauce in a jar taste so I use a regular tomato basil pasta sauce from a jar, like I said we're simple here! I sprinkle a little basil over top the sauce and bake with just the sauce for 5 min at 350. If you have a pizza stone this makes the best pizza, mine happened to crack and I awaiting for a replacement to come in!

before baking with cheese.

Next add your mozzerella cheese and bake for another 3-5 minutes

Before the  final 5 minutes in the oven.

Slice your tomatoes, drizzle with Balsamic Italian Dressing, and sprinkle on some oregano and bake for another 5 min.

Now your ready to enjoy a Friday evening at home eating Pizza and watching movies! 

Enjoy!

How to take better sermon notes.

I started taking sermon notes after watching my mother do so for several years on the back of bulletins, loose paper, etc. I started this way as well, but being much younger I always loved fancy notebooks. So I got a black and white notebook smaller than my bible, but almost just as thick with a rhinestone clip. I filled it up, but it wasn't til after I filled it up I realized it just wasn't realistic. When I went to college I seemed to get more realistic, reality really was setting in I guess. I downsized my Bible and my notebook. You can find similar ones here and here. I personally really like to use the moleskin notebooks because they are super thin and fit perfectly inside my Bible.

Notice the dog paw, thats my Fitzgerald, usually a loner but not this morning, couldn't get him away!

College is over and I'm still using the same Bible, that says a lot for me, I fell in love with it so much more during that time in my life and really learned and grew so much during that time of life and we have sort of an attachment. I hope you have that too! It has coffee stains and rips and at first I hated the thought of that but now I remember little moments when that happened, like the coffee I spilt in the middle of a class lecture on the book of Genesis and that wonderful coffee from Jazzmans Cafe!

Anyway, sermon notes...

1. Know why you are there to begin with

We need to come to church with a heart that is seeking God. We are not there to be entertained but to know Him more.

2. Don't try to write everything down

Some people know shorthand and this can be helpful, I do not. Listen to the Pastor he normally will make certain points or even say "write this down." Go off of his points for a good outline.

3. Always write down additional scripture references

This helps when you look back over your notes and do more studying throughout the following weeks.

4. Write down questions

If you have a question write it down and ask the pastor later he would love to answer your questions

5. Record application and prayer points

If you are reading a passage of scripture and someone pops into your mind, write their name down that is the Holy Spirit prompting you to pray for them or talk to them. Although a word of caution: when listening to a sermon we shouldn't be trying to think "So and so should be here to hear this." We should be thinking about how this applies to us and our walk with the Lord.

6. REVIEW!!

Don't just write everything down and leave it there in your Bible or on your coffee table, go back to it, understand it. I have several of my notebooks and I will go back to them and remember certain things a pastor said or that I needed for encouragement. Sometimes I go back and gain more knowledge on a subject for a lesson that I am doing. Use what you write, apply it to your life!

Something I do when I am reading is if something sticks out that I want to study more or would love to teach a lesson on is I will write that down. Like above in the book of Genesis where I notes a pro-life story on Ishmael's life.

Take note of important facts as well, the first prophecy. While I did take a theology class and Bible classes while in college and learned so much from it, you do have Google and a Bible-use it! You can learn so much history!

The 8 dog products every dog owner should have.

1. Martha Stewart Food and Water Bowls, they separate making cleaning super easy. Purchased from Pet Smart.
2. Babies & Barks bandanas, they slip right onto their collars. Check out their easy shop here.
3. Snappys Dog Tags for personalized dog tags with name and owners phone number on the back. Check them out on Etsy as well.
4. Bocce's Bakery All Natural Treats. They have the best flavors including mac and cheese, lobster roll, sunday roast, pb&j, and apple pie. Our favorite is the Christmas time lumps of coal special! 
5.  Bark Box, I mean you have to check this out!! We cancelled our gym membership and replaced it with the bark box subscription. Totally worth it in our opinions! Check it out through this link and receive a special discount at checkout.
6. go dog fun toys are one of the only brands that lasts our labs the longest.
7. Boots and Barkley collar slide bow ties are the BEST!! My dogs always have bow ties on and we prefer these! Purchase them at Target
8. Lastly, but most impressively are Kyjen Plush Puppies toys. We have purchased them at TjMaxx on occasion. Ronin received his first as a first birthday present in October and he still has it!!! Its March! It is one of his favorite toys to play with. Anyone with tough chewers, Labs especially, knows how had it is to keep them in toys.

Now, get to shopping!

Meet Fitzgerald Q.

Surprise, some of you may already figured out that we got a new yellow lab! David and I are totally in love with with our yellow lab Ronin (if you want to check out his birthday picture and cake recipe click here ) and I admit I didn't think I had enough room in my heart for another! Much to my surprise, David won out in the battle for a second dog. Again stealing my heart, Labs really are the greatest! Especially yellow ones, much to my own prejudice. (Please not that these are all my own opinions and I am fully trying to avoid the dog breed debate, that "My dog is better than your dog." or "My dog can beat your dog up." although.... hehe)

 

Falling in love is pretty easy when they are this cute.

We love Wendys and we love naps!

Naptime, anytime! Really!

Bows and cuddles are my favorite and Fitzs too!

Kinda sorta starting to like each other.

Two of my favorite bow tied boys.

David said "Take his picture before I yell at him."
I mean it really is just too cute.

Pillow lover like his brother and Momma!

Stay tuned for a post on our favorite dog products!

Muddy footprints.

"When you come up the stairs leave your boots at the door." I say this quite often in the winter months. I'm really not that bothered by walking through the house in shoes any other season, but winter, the dirt, the mud, the tiny little rocks, the salt from the roads just really makes me crazy to see all over the floor. 

Let me set the stage for you. Two days prior I cleaned our entire house...floors...all hardwood...on my hands and knees. In preparation for a surprise you will hear about later. I don't usually work long hours, but one day this week I happened to work 11.5 hours straight, I left at 7:30am and it was almost 8pm when I pulled into our driveway. David was at a friends house, which I already knew. Walking up the basement steps to go into our kitchen, I was expecting to be greeted by our dog, who has been successfully trained to stay out of his kennel while we are not home! Insert proud puppy momma smile here. Instead the first thing that caught my eye was, you guessed it, A MUDDY FOOTPRINT! Err! I round the corner and their wasn't one but two more. I set my bag on the table to find not just three now but a whole trail. I instantly thought do I even want to follow this trail, because around another corner is a brand new hallway rug I just bought (white and beige to be exact). Silently pleading with my husband in my mind please, please, please tell me you stopped at the coat closet and didn't got any further in those muddy boots. He didn't. NINE MORE PRINTS!!! We're at a grand total of twelve if your counting, because Lord knows I was. Grabbing my phone, I text "I could kill you right now." "What, why" was his response. And off went my rant to him, me refusing to clean the prints up and lecturing him on not only that he was going to clean them but how he was going to clean them up. Later that night he came home, asking if I was still mad and me coldly responding of course I'm still mad. He cleaned up all twelve prints and the smell of the cleaning products infuriated me more. The next day came, David and I were fine, even laughed about, but it wasn't fine. 

The Lord was prodding my heart with Ephesians 4:29 it says"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." 

In the heat of the moment, I thought about being nice, I thought about cleaning the prints, but that is where I failed. I choose 'corrupt communication' my words did not edify my husband, nor minister grace. I fail my Lord daily, but in these muddy footprints and daily failures this is where He keeps me humble, where He keeps me relying on Him. I failed to listen to His knocking on my heart even in that moment when he said "just clean them up." I'm kicking myself now, and even though both David and myself were over it, I quietly whispered my apology to him for my words and my attitude, then followed suit in begging the Lord to give me more opportunities to to show His grace to others and to speak edifying words to others and especially my husband.

Tomato Bisque Soup

28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

14 oz. can of chicken broth

1 tablespoon of garlic

1/3 cup of butter

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 cups of heavy whipping cream

Bring tomatoes, broth, and garlic to boil, reduce heat to low and add butter and sugar. Stir until melted. Once butter is melted, slowly add cream while stirring! 

Enjoy!

Egg Nog French Toast!

Egg Nog French Toast Recipe

If your looking for the perfect holiday breakfast recipe you found it! 

5 eggs

1 1/2 cups of egg nog

1 tbsp. of nutmeg

Bread

Makes about 10 slices of French toast! 

I make this several days before Christmas, because tradition in our family is eating the Christmas cookies for breakfast! Enjoy!