Something Blue

Source: francescascollections.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: francescascollections.com via Megan on Pinterest

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Source: dillards.com via Megan on Pinterest

Linking up with Paw Prints and Pastry Bags.....

What have I been up to??

I have been a bad blogger lately. It seems as if I blog in spurts! I am going to try and blog more often. I have spent a lot of time in Louisiana this summer. We had a family reunion at my parents house for the fourth of July. That was a lot of fun and I enjoyed spending time with them. I did some volunteer work in a low income area in Houston last week. We had a lot of fun working with the kids in the area. We helped the older girls make scrapbooks and taught them ways to read the Bible and think about verses as they read them.....

1. What does it say?

2. What does it mean?

3. How can I apply it in my life?

I do not have any pics from the week and could probably not post them anyway.

I am going through a really rough time in my life right now and will eventually blog about it, but I am not ready yet. I prayed for some answers and the next day I read this post about waiting on God, read this post about God being faithful, and got in my car and Waiting by John Waller was playing. So I guess my answer is to just keep waiting and be patient.

"I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You, Lord And I am hopeful, I'm waiting on You, Lord Though it is painful, But patiently, I will wait"- John Waller

Painful is an understatement. I am 99% sure this is the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. I have hope that in the end, I will look back and realize why things went the way they did. But in the meantime, it's painful.

DIY conference

I need to find some people that want to go to the DIY conference in Atlanta next summer. Sounds like it will be lots of fun! I would love to learn more about power tools, painting furniture, photographing it, etc.

Posts about it:

http://www.havenconference.com/

http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2011/07/haven-conference-june-2012/

http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/2011/07/announcing-haven-conference-home-diy-blog-conference.html

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

A week ago, Pastor Gregg brought his wife's banana bread into his sermon. Well apparently, EVERYONE was asking for the recipe. They posted it on their facebook account and sent out an email with the recipe. I was bored this past Saturday and actually had all of the ingredients on hand so I decided to make it. It is delish! I have tried several banana bread recipes before and have failed at all of them, but this one is a keeper! It is absolutely not on my diet though! Only thing I changed about the recipe is that I did chop up some walnuts and add those in it. I do not know how much because I did not measure them.

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD

1 ¼ cups sugar

1 stick butter, softened

2 eggs

3 medium sized ripe bananas

½ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom of bundt pan with Crisco shortening and dust with flour. Mix sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Mix in remaining ingredients except chocolate chips just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into pan. Bake about 45 minutes until top is light brown and wooden pick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Slice and spread with butter. Serve warm with a glass of cold milk. Enjoy!

Speaking of my diet, I have being very lenient this summer I guess you could say. Somehow, I have only gained one pound back. The end of June and most of July was basically a free for all! I was on vacation and also spent a lot of time in Louisiana with a lot of extended family in town. I am now back in Houston and I am back on track for the most part. I think that is the most important part- that you do allow yourself to indulge every now and then but must get right back on it.

I have had to scale my running back due to knee problems. That is a whole other post for another day! Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Pray for baby James

http://jamescamdensikes.blogspot.com/

Things going on

Not too much has been going on. I am starting a 10K running group today. We have a meeting tonight and then the running starts next week. It is a program where you can train for a 5K or a 10K. I still cannot completely run a 5k so I am hoping this program will get me to the 5k plus more. I am also hoping to make some new friends through this program.

I have lost 23.5 lbs and bought my first size 2 jeans ever!!! I was very excited about that! I definitely don't fit in everything in a size 2, but one pair of jeans is a start! They are the gap long and lean jeans which I have worn for awhile now.

After the running meeting tonight, I am going with a couple of friends to Steak Night at Front Porch Pub. I doubt I will have any steak, but it will be nice to get out and socialize with friends and possibly make new ones.

On Sunday, I am headed to Houston's First to the singles Bible study class and to church. After that, a group of us is headed to Firkin and Phoenix to eat some crawfish! They are having a big parking lot party with proceeds going to benefit tornado victims from Alabama.

My old roommate and I might be going to see Bridesmaids this weekend also. We recently saw Something Borrowed and I thought it was cute! I am also getting my hair cut and colored this weekend. I have had this appointment set for months and I cannot wait! I got a really good deal using Groupon. On Thursday, I have an appointment to get a Brazilian Blow Out. I REALLY cannot wait for that!! I have also had that appointment set for awhile and got a REALLY good deal using Living Social. I am hoping the blowout will make my hair much easier and faster to style.

That's it for now!

Looking

I am currently looking for many things..............

- A new church to go to with a singles Sunday school class that I love

- New friends- females and males that aren't married. As much as I love my married friends, they can be rather boring sometimes!

- New places to go in Houston with new things to do.

I have found new ways of cooking. I have lost 20.5 lbs to date and am anxious to have more time once school ends to lose more weight. Hopefully at some point this summer, I will be bathing suit ready! Hopefully in about a month, I will be ready.