Happy Friday, one and all! I thought I’d share a few special links with you for your perusal over the weekend, but just in case you don’t know what day it is tomorrow, make sure you swing back by to find out!
I’ve had food on the brain this week — I am pregnant after all — and I wanted to share a couple of recipes that might make your day a little brighter before too long!
When I have a couple of extra bananas that didn’t get eaten quickly enough, this is my go-to recipe. I usually have an extra banana in the freezer that was too ripe for fresh enjoyment and three is all I need to make this awesome banana bread. (Four is better, though.) The recipe only takes one bowl, and throwing everything together usually takes me about 15 minutes. I let the Bear help this time and he loved it! I wish you could’ve seen that baby stir — a lot less mess than I expected!
Since I had a special delivery of tortillas a few weeks ago (I don’t like buying them here because they’re pretty expensive) I made these awesome Fajitas a few nights ago. They are SO easy. I use an extra pepper, and this time I tried using a peeler to strip a carrot into nice thin strips to add a little more veggie to the mix. It was a nice addition! (See my pretty picture?) Since the food cooks together before you add the spices and soup (I use a packet of soup instead of a can, btw the way…saving the Rand!), I just take a Bear-sized portion out before adding the soup and spices, and then the Bear’s mouth doesn’t catch fire and we all happily enjoy the meal together. If you like it hot, throw in some chili flakes, a little cayenne, a generous splash of paprika and an extra helping of chili powder. (Just don’t forget to take out a portion for the kiddos first!) ¡Ole!
Like Dora the Explorer’s Backpack says, it is ¡¡YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM … delicioso!!
Kristen, over at We Are THAT Family, made a beautiful announcement about some ministry she is involved in getting started in Kenya that is very inspiring. You can read the announcement here!
And last but not least, have you been {in}couraged lately? (in)courage is an awesome website, specifically geared toward women, with an amazing team of writers who pump out beautiful posts filled with challenge and — you guessed it — (in)couragement, day after day. (I wish they’d let me join in the fun with a post or two!) They had their first “guy writer” just this week, so fellas — you can go have a look, too! If you haven’t been by lately, they have a new look and some kickin’ new features. It might just (in)courage you in the direction of a better day!
Hello again from the road! We’re enjoying our travelling ways these days, Mama D is enjoying her first taste of Africa, and the Bear is just being an all-around superstar, no matter where his head hits the pillow at night! Here’s the proof:
Can you believe he put that Wonder Pet Tuck the Turtle on his own head, and then went to sleep like that? Well he did!
I thought this Free-For-All Friday, you might enjoy a few posts I’d like to feature by my awesome sister (Dodi) and hilarious brother in law (Andy Konigsmark). Please don’t ask me to pronounce their last name for you. I’m still working on it. Well, I think I have it, but Hero Hubs says I’m not saying it right.
Then learn how to act right at a restaurant. Having also worked in the food service industry, I think this is an important skill.
Last, join Andy and Dodi (and me and my Mom) in having a good laugh at the best of the best of the things the Campers said at the Young Life camp they brought their youth group to a few weeks ago. I am just dying for some context on some of these, and to know how many of them were actually said by Andy! (By the way Andy — you should submit something to stuff Christians like!)
Well friends, we should be back in Gordon’s Bay and life as usual early next week. I may or may not have the internet access to post anything else between now and then…but perhaps the excitement at all the photos you’re going to enjoy when we get back will be enough to hold you over until then!
It’s been a while since the last edition of Free-for-All Friday! Have all thirty-seven of you been missing it?
There are a couple of things I think you might enjoy perusing over the weekend. But before your perusal begins, I’d like to ask you to take a moment to pray for my Mom. She is leaving today to travel to South Africa to visit us. I. Am. Ecstatic. She’s travelling by herself. (Y’all know my travelling’s have two l’s right?) And while she’s all growed up and I’m not too worried, I would like to ask you to pray that things go smoothly and easily and peacefully and that she enjoys the travels and doesn’t get seated near cheeky people who pretend their seat doesn’t lean back so that they can move up to her row and their wife can have three seats and lay down.
Cos that happened last time.
In all seriousness, please say a prayer {whether you’re a pray-er or not, I just know you can do it!} for her safety and that we’ll find each other easily in Joburg Airport and that her travels will be without delay. And once you’re done, enjoy Free-for-All Friday!
My favourite for the weekend is this video my Mother-in-Love sent me. (Doesn’t that sound better than in-Law? It was love that brought us together!) Perhaps some of you have seen it since it hit you tube a couple years ago, but it didn’t make it to my neck of the woods, so perhaps it didn’t make it to yours, either.
Amen.
There’s also a great lil’ thing happening I believe I may have mentioned already over at We Are THAT Family: check out the Back to School Do It For Others Project.
I came across a really lovely site called Pure and Lovely. If you’re into design, or if you like looking at pretty pictures, you might really enjoy this one. I might ask the lovely gal behind Pure and Lovely for help with coming up with a plan for doing something Pure and Lovely with the dining room table and chairs we bought at the auction the other week. They’re a little scruffy. She names furniture in a really sophisticated fashion. What’s not to love?
There are new pictures of my darling baby niece (who I will finally meet at Thanksgiving, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise!) over at my sister’s blog. She is just too cute not to share.
I also came across a site called Life. Rearranged. which features guest bloggers and encourages folks to give to charity every couple of weeks. There are some lovely, lovely people sharing some beautiful, tough truth over there. Also recommended for your weekend-blog-catchup perusal.
Last but not least, laughter is good medicine, and you might have a nice wee giggle with my friend Natasha’s post, The Cookie Experiment. Natasha loves to laugh, has a wonderful sense of humour, and to my knowledge doesn’t do crack, although this post might make you wonder. 🙂
The cowboy Bear just woke up so I better scoot! Happy Weekend!!!
Hey internet. You may already know that I have a few particular episodes of the Wonder Pets memorized. My Wonder Pets are special because their DVD came from the UK and so they have posh English accents. In one of the episodes I [heart], Tuck the Turtle trips and falls over while trying to carry the sail to the fly mobile. (That’s the special, magical upside down frisbee that gets Lenny, Tuck and Ming Ming to the animal in twouble right on time in case you’re not in the know.) Lenny (the Hamster) and Ming Ming (the Bear’s favourite — the bright yellow baby duck) make sure Tuck is okay and then have a good giggle.
Tuck is offended at first, but Lenny consoles him:
Sorry, Tuck, but sometimes you just have to laugh.
Tuck agrees, and has a giggle himself. And I, almost every time I hear it think to myself, indeed, Lenny, indeed. Sometimes you just have to laugh.
We’ve had a week where surprises (some good ones, and several not-so-good ones) have come by the dozen. Where we suddenly realise missions teams are arriving without plans or transportation or accommodation. Long story. Do you speak Portuguese by the way? And our plans change on a daily basis because 1) I have to take another sore-throat sick day or 2) the shoes aren’t arriving this week or 3) we get a phone call that the shoes will be here at such and such or 4) we get a second opinion which means a road trip to Bloemfontein will not solve our dilemma. Ahem. Something like that.
So I find myself looking at Mark and saying, “Sorry, Mark, but sometimes you just have to laugh.”
And it is good. Because I was reading in the Word this morning {in my new Bible I need to tell you about, no less!} and I soaked in this reminder again:
So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
The Truth can set you free! The reminder (a couple verses earlier) that we’re only likely to have 70 or 80 years on this planet puts a heckuvalot of drama in perspective doesn’t it? We are grass. If we’re trying something and we fail, so what? If things aren’t working out, there’s always tomorrow. This life as we know it is not forever. And sometimes it feels good to remember that!
So today, although I do have a literal “touch” of seriousness for you, I mostly want to suggest a little laughter.
This was just a small touch of inspirational lovely I thought you might enjoy.
And now it’s time to laugh. I mean, can you say booty, God, booty and not crack a smile? How have I missed this guy for so long?
This gal made me giggle with this post. I have trouble not giggling at a mention of halitosis. I don’t know why. I also love the blog name because I love U2. You love me, too? Sweet!
And this is just stupid funny that I don’t want you to waste too much time on. Because of my absolute love for international students (most of my best friends in grad school were Japanese or Taiwanese), I just love love love this website. Scroll through a few posts and you’re sure to have a giggle. But don’t waste too much time there now, number your days! I’m warning you!
Last but not least, I’d love to send you to this website — just in case you feel like putting a smile on someone else’s dial by helping a World Cup Project succeed. Can you guess where you might be headed? You can at least smile to see we’re almost halfway! 🙂
I hope your weekend gets off to a scrumdiddlyumptious start! There are a few great reads I’d like to share with you this Free-for-All Friday. Plus, I’d love to suggest stopping by to see the latest pics of my adorable niece here. I cannot wait to meet her!
Can I also suggest you enjoy the sunrise HH captured the other morning?
Lovely, hey? It’s winter here now so this was at 7:30 am.
Then bulk up your blog menu with a couple of these fat-free, but oh-so-filling reads this weekend:
Meet Cara and hear from her heart — I am with her! I feel like we’ve known each other for ages but we’ve never met!
Just for fun, and because I’ve been thinking about that rich young ruler — you know the one I told you about — Go here and find out if you’re rich! Come back and let me know, mmmkay? I might have a few special requests. 😉
Amber at the Run-a-muck is a wordsmith like few others. I thought thiswould feed your soul a little too. And I’m not just sharing because she featured me at NightLight last weekend! 🙂
And last but not least, will you be casting sideways glances at the “perfect girl†at the pool this summer? Hear Laura Leigh’s thoughts on that right here. This one of hers is good too! Well they’re all good, but I especially think you’ll like these!
Enjoy your weekend! Thanks to those of you who sent love my way this week, especially yesterday! My big bro will be here in less than a month, and I am joyful! I love you!
I create resources to help people find deeper, more meaningful relationships with God through pursuing, pondering, and prayer. The "Shop" link above will take you to the home of many of the lovely resources I’ve created to help you keep walking one day deeper with Jesus.
I create resources to help people find deeper, more meaningful relationships with God through pursuing, pondering, and prayer. The "Shop" link above will take you to the home of many of the lovely resources I’ve created to help you keep walking one day deeper with Jesus.