My hymn of grateful praise

We've been having some really lovely days lately that scream, "Spring is next week!" I've been spending my lunch breaks in my car, soaking up the sunshine and Diet Dr. P. I've been feeling giddy and happy and grateful. Yesterday in church, we sang a hymn that sums up how I feel almost 100% of the time right now.

For the beauty of the earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale, and tree and flower,

Sun and moon and stars of light,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of human love,

Brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth, and friends above,

Pleasures pure and undefiled,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our grateful hymn of praise.

Missy & Sissy

My sister came to play last weekend. It was pretty much the funnest ever! When Steph and I lived together we did crazy like get sodas from the gas station every day, wear prom dresses and boots to Walmart, and buy beta fish on Valentine's Day to celebrate our solidarity. Oh and go to Deer Creek Reservoir in the middle of night with our friends and play all stealth like to hide from the boys. Can I please say that living with Steph was the best? Because it was. Seriously.

There are no pictures. She didn't take any! And neither did I. Poop.

So Friday she flew in and we picked up Kurt and went to Cafe Rio! Then we took Kurt back to work and I introduced Steph to Bare Minerals make up. Let's just say she loved it and she splurged. Then we took naps. That night ... umm ... we hung out at home and did nothing memorable (obviously). Oh yeah, went to bed early because on Saturday I took her snowboarding! This was Steph's 4th 1st time. Yeah, you read that right. She told me afterwards she had been dreading it, but she did AWESOME. Seriously. She was carving by the end of the day. I took a big fall right under the ski lift. It rocked. And it's funny because I'm actually pretty dang decent now. I still always fall once every time. After snowboarding, Steph took a nap. Then we went to the hot tub. Then we decided we were voracious so we went to our favorite, India Oven. And let me just say that they know us there! It's kinda sad. But their sweet potato masala and banana pakora can't be beat! Because they know us, they even brought us a batch of banana pakora made just for us. It rocked. Sunday we went to church, then went on a drive to the top of Lookout Mountain, which affords amazing views of Denver and the surrounding mountains. Then we watched Batman Begins and I fell asleep. Then on Monday we took Steph to Toast (I got the carrot cake pancakes this time... sooooo good). Then I took her back to Bare Escentuals for more make up. Then sonic. Then she left and I was very, very sad. Thank you Missy for visiting me! It was dus bery great!

Updated House Pictures

In case you're interested. And remember... decorating doesn't come naturally to me. I read lots of decorating blogs and BH&G and I still struggle with it. So if you have better taste them, laugh when I'm not around. ~_^

Sooooo.... Kurt likes to make fun of my pear. I happen to love it. And I think I did a decent job on this table, decorating and what not. I think the mirror is pretty cool. This table is actually REALLY old. It was Kurt's great grandmother's.

The table in all it's glory. And, yikes, my legs. And painting basketball shorts (they've served me well over the last 5 or 6 years...)

We've bought a love seat! And got a side table that you can't see (thank you Ikea $12 Lack tables). Eventually we want to build bookshelves on that far wall, and then the love seat will move.

This is the same, but I discovered that I have a backlight function on our new camera. So it looks good!

This room just needs curtains and it'll be pretty much done for the time being. Except I want to get a rug. Someday...

And same as the last pictures, nothing changed in this one, it's just way better quality than the last pictures of it. We should've hung the chandelier lower, but it's too late now I supposed. Oh man, I love those curtains and that pineapple chandelier.

So, BIG change in the bedroom. Moved everything around. And got some pictures and hooks up. I LOVE IT!! Those pictures above the bed are my pseudo-headboard and they look so stinkin' good! And it was about a $60 project, you can't beat that. Way better than a $400 headboard. You can't tell in this picture, but they're black and whites of cherry blossoms. Which, many of you know, I love since I love all things Japanese.

Oh, also, I'm thinking about putting vinyl lettering that says, "Sogni di oro, dorme bene." Every night since we were dating, I tell Kurt, "Sweet dreams, sleep well" and he says the Italian back to me. But I'm wondering if that would be too much going on on the walls? Let me know what you think. Or maybe just "Sogni di oro." (It's equivalent to sweet dreams, but actually means "dreams of gold.")

Oh yeah, and I want to make 3 decorative pillows. Well, the covers at least, not the actual pillows. I just need a sewing machine, dang it. Unless anyone knows where I can get square black pillow covers.

Ok, so the hooks. I'm not sure I love them there now that they're up. But it took a lot to hang them and Kurt was so good about it, I can't ask him to move them. Maybe in a year. I mean, they're really cute (and I got all 3 for $1.65!), and I need the hooks to hang my purses up. But they might be crowding the wall. What do you think?

I think this hook is in a great spot.

UGH! WE NEED CLOSET DOORS! That's our next project. Closet doors and new closet floors. Right now they're this gross, ratty carpet. We're going to rip it up and put down cedar planks. They'll look nice, smell good and keep away moths. It's a win-win-win situation.

Lastly, waaaay back in October, Camille was a rock star and painted our cabinets for us. During the biggest blizzard I've ever been in. So what does your house look like when you have to paint everything indoors and you have no garage.

BUT LOOK HOW GOOD THEY LOOK! I knew the kitchen would look so much better with white cabinets and I was right! Oh my, I just LOVE LOVE LOVE my kitchen now. There's nothing like white cabinets, in my opinion.

Some recent baking favorites

I discovered the wonderful website of Bakerella. Oh my goodness, this girl is awesome. She's my baking hero. I tried 3 recipes of hers and they were all awesome and very big hits (both at work and with friends and Kurt). I also went on a red velvet kick. Mmm, reminds me of the South.

The first were red velvet balls (and I have pictures of these... I was LOVING the vibrant red of the batter. It was beautissimous.):

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

I also only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.

So, mine aren't very pretty. I don't have a double boiler so my dipping method is imperfect. But they taste the exact same.

I dipped in both white chocolate and regular chocolate. Some people preferred the regular and some preferred the white. Honestly, they're both absolutely delicious.

Next, I made red velvet cookie sandwiches. Mmmmm:

1 Box red velvet cake mix*
1/2 Cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 Eggs

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix ingredients until combined.
• Drop spoonfuls of cookie batter onto baking sheet about two inches apart.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Cool.

Cream Cheese Filling
1/2 Cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 8 oz. Package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 1lb. Box of confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp Vanilla

• In a mixer, cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla.
• Gradually add sugar and mix until smooth.

Makes about 24 cookies or 12 cookie sandwiches

I had extra filling left over, so I made the cookies using a carrot cake mix and the same amount of eggs and butter. They were an equal hit at work.

And lastly, oreo truffles:

1 package oreo cookies (divided… use cookie including the cream center)
1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)
white chocolate bark

1. Finely crush 7 cookies in a food processor or place them in a ziploc bag and crush into a fine consistency. Reserve for later.
2. Crush remaining cookies and stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together.
3. Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.
4. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. You can sprinkle the tops with the 7 crushed cookies for decoration. (I usually eat mine before they make it to this stage.)
5. Once dry, refrigerate and enjoy!

Makes about 36 truffles.

Notes: I used a small cookie cutter to push the mixture through for the heart shaped truffles. Also, it helps to freeze the uncoated balls for a few minutes to keep the mixture from starting to fall apart in the melted chocolate. If this becomes a problem, dip them in the chocolate, let dry and then dip again. They are also good dipped in regular milk chocolate bark. And for an extra twist, use the mint oreo sandwich cookies.

I dipped in regular chocolate. I was out of white and was too lazy to go to the grocery store. These are so good James requested an entire batch for his and Camille's wedding anniversary. Which is this week, so they'll have to be late. I also want to try these using MINT oreos. Oh man, so much goodness.

March Goals

Huzzah, look at me! Getting my goals down on the first of the month! I feel so on top of things. And actually, I'm quite on top of things in general. It might have something to do with hypomanic, which drives me to complete all these little tasks I haven't gotten around to. And what's great is that my meds are finally coming together, so I'm getting the benefits of hypomania without the negative consequences. Like, lots more energy and motivation, but very little anxiety and racing thoughts. Or being ridiculously happy 99% of the time but not getting irritated easily. It's great!
So my goals this month are a lot like my goals last month:
-Work on my book. I want to get 2 chapters done this month. Did you know I'm about half way done? It's a good feeling.
-Stay on top of school. So far I am.
-Stay on top of household chores. Doing pretty good on this one.
-Save for a sewing machine. I know, I was supposed to get one for Christmas, then in February. Well, now it's going to be summer. And that's ok. Which reminds me, I have updated house pictures to show y'all!
-Daily scripture study. Like my post requesting your favorite scriptures, I will probably be reading and pondering on one or two scriptures a week. I think it counts if I'm really thinking about what the passage or verse mean. And maybe on Sundays I'll go through the footnotes, to gain a greater understanding.
I'm giving up on FHE during tax season. I barely see Kurt during the week, let alone get an hour to just talk. But we've had it pretty good this year, with his crazy hours not starting till last week, so I really can't complain.
Ok that's all. Yay for green!