bag search

Does ANYONE know where I can find a bag like this?? i am looking for something to throw over my shoulder to take to Budapest...

"40"

i just found this song for the very first time. all i can say is "wow." i can't wait to see them this summer. and even then, the day after the concert, i will wait with great anticipation till the next time i see them again...

I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He brought me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay

I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song

How long to sing this song?
How long...to sing this song...

budapest

so...who would have thought that Budapest would be my very first european adventure? my best friend is adopting a little boy from Budapest and she asked me to come with her for a week! I'll be going out there in December, which apparently is the dead of winter.

I wasn't really sure what to pack or buy for this trip, but on my daily US Magazine.com browsing, i saw that angelina jolie is currently living in Budapest while she directs a movie. naturally, i thought i should pack based on how angelina is dressed. it appears that angelina is wearing a very large and oversized puffy coat, which makes me believe that the temperature is between the mid 30's- upper 40.

if it was in the 5o's she would be wearing more of a fleece or light wool coat. however, i don't believe it is colder than the mid 30's because otherwise she would be wearing a hat or some sort of head warmer.

so, since i want to be just like angelina, i naturally ordered a puffy jacket from lands end.

can't wait to meet my new nephew and hang out with angelina in budapest.

it was fate

passing by animal shelters is a hard thing for me. i want to adopt every single puppy and bring them home with me. then again, if i did this, i'm sure animal rescue would have to rescue my puppies from myself because i couldn't properly be a mommy to 100 puppies. but, anyway...

my story begins one beautiful fall september day. i needed to go get our sophie lynn some puppy food, so i headed to petsmart. as i began to walk into petsmart, i saw lots of white canopies in the parking lot with cages and people standing around. i was immediately drawn to them and began to walk towards these canopies like a fly to a spider web. my husband was behind me begging me not to go over there because he knew what would happen. but, i did not have a choice. i couldn't resist the calling. i walked over to the humane shelter's set up and immediately spotted a black and white shih tzu mix with huge black eyes and an underbite. i asked if i could hold him and he just sat so quietly in my arms. he kept looking at me like "take me home please. be my mommy please." i begged my husband to let me take him home. and we actually stood there deliberating how we could take care of two dogs. finally, i realized this was not the best decision and i reluctantly put him back. but, my heart was so sad and his little underbite face remained engrained in my heart.

fast forward to today. a strangely warm fall day in st. louis. headed with some friends to a park for a harvest festival. i was looking at some hand made kiddo outfits when i saw this precious little black and white puppy with an underbite. "could it be?'" i asked myself. i kept walking, but something told me to go back. i walked up to the lady holding the little puppy and asked if she minded telling me where she got her dog. "From a shelter set up in front of a petsmart a few weeks ago," she said. my heart just melted as i bent down to say hello to my almost puppy son. "i almost adopted him," i told the woman. she told me how great of a dog he was and how much her daughter loved him.

i am so thankful that i was able to see him again to know that he was adopted into a good home! what a precious little gift that God gave me. in this huge city at a random harvest festival, i saw the little puppy i wanted to adopt. so thankful he has a happy home and just so thankful that God has adopted me as his daughter.

the end.

cheese tortellini in white wine cream sauce

there is a neighborhood in st. louis called "the hill" where some italian descendants and immigrants moved to. they thankfully opened up their own restaurants and there are currently dozens of italian restaurants serving cheesy and temptuous italian food on "the hill." one of the most popular foods that i see on the menu in this area is cheese tortellini in cream sauce. instead of going out to dinner for 20 bucks every week when i crave this dish, i decided to try to make it on my own. what i concocted is one of my new favorite foods to cook and eat.

Andrea's Cheese Tortellini in White Wine Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 pound pancetta chopped
1/2 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup white wine
2 cups cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup peas
3/4 pound - 1 pound cheese tortellini


Directions

fill large pot with water and set on stove to boil. meanwhile saute chopped onions and pancetta in large saute pan. when pancetta is cooked through and onions are soft, mix in 2 cloves chopped garlic. saute for about 30 seconds. pour in white wine and let boil through till the wine becomes thick. about 3-5 minutes. pour cream in pan. let cook through and boil until cream sauce becomes very thick. about 5-10 minutes. make sure to keep stirring the sauce so the cream does not burn. once the sauce is thick mix in grated parmesan cheese and slowly poor in chicken broth until the sauce is your desired consistency.

when the pot of boiling water comes to a boil put in tortellini and cook until just under tender. tortellini does not take long to cook, so don't go anywhere...watch it the whole time.

once the pasta is almost done, pour in peas and let cook for 1 minute or 2. drain. stir the pasta in peas in the cream sauce and try not to eat the whole thing. we haven't done that yet.

friend i have never met

i have a precious friend who works in the nashville office of the company i work for. i normally had to communicate with her a lot via e-mail bc we both were admin. our friendship started to begin just by asking how each other was doing after just asking for a work request. we soon realized that we had a love for the Lord in common and we began to encourage one another. she spoke so much truth to me while my husband was working night shift at the police department. i am so very thankful that she cared enough to ask how i was doing all the way from nashville when so many people in my office would not even say "hello." sadly, in the past couple of years, her precious husband became sick with lung cancer and just passed away a few months ago. a little over a year ago, when she found out her husband was not responding to the cancer treatment, an e-mail popped up from her. all it said was, "how are you and your husband?" i immediatly began to cry. i couldn't believe she remembered to think of me and my little problem of being lonely during night shifts while her husband was dying of cancer.

after her husband went to be with the Lord, her home was ruined from the flooding in Nashville this summer.

today another e-mail popped up from her again asking how our move went. i replied and told her that we were great and just praying for contentment while we wait to get pregnant. this was her reply...

"I'm glad to hear all is well. You are right on with trying to be content. Losing Steve has made me realize that it's the small moments that mean the most...we often discount those while waiting on the BIG moments. Grocery shopping together...folding laundry together...bringing each other a cup of coffee or iced tea...those calls or e-mails throughout the day just to say "i'm thinking about you and love you so much!" - those are the things I miss the most - the small things that we take for granted. So, live in the moment, girl. And God will give you the desires of your heart because as you seek him, those desires line up with His will for you."

i am so thankful for the truth and encouragement that this lady is still speaking into my life, even through all of the pain and change she was and is going through.

the Lord uses many things in life to show himself to his children.... even by using someone we have never met.

ANA - UPDATE...

so, i went to a general doctor last week and she tested me for all of the different strains of ANA and i tested NEGATIVE for all of them. so, i apparently had a false positive a few weeks ago. i am very very thankful, but a little frustrated. just a tad. thanking the Lord and praying for guidance as we continue to trust in the Lord's timing for our family!

my birthday update, cheese tortellini in white wine cream sauce recipe and a book review all coming soon. i know you are on the edge of your seat...so stay tuned.