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Saturday, January 25, 2014

recipe | oatmeal coconut butterscotch cookies


Oatmeal Coconut Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients...
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
teaspoon baking powder
 1 teaspoon salt
1 cups oatmeal
1 cup coconut
1 cup butterscotch chips

Instructions...
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, add in the sugars, eggs and vanilla and mix well.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until everything is well combined. Stir in the oatmeal, coconut and butterscotch chips.
Scoop dough on to a greased baking sheet. 
Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

knitting | yellow lace hat


I am pretty excited about my current knitting project... it is going to be a slouchy hat, in a lace knit pattern! 
The yarn is Lion Brand Nature's Choice in "mustard", which I found on clearance at JoAnn's a while ago. 
I was so excited to find it, because I love this yarn!!! The color is so pretty & so far it is knitting up beautifully. 
The pattern I am using is found here. It is very easy, knits fast & I love the way it looks, especially with this yarn. 
I can't wait to see & try on the finished product!! 

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

word for 2014 | f o c u s

 Here is one of the first photos I took in 2014 -- taken January 2nd. 
The sky was clear blue and the sun was shining, yet it was cold and the world around me was 
covered in frost. That kind of beauty is always good for my soul. Seeing it and capturing it 
inspires me. How God has created this world is a thing of great beauty and mystery.

* * *

Well, here we are at the beginning of a New Year, so I had to share a few thoughts on my blog. Like every year, there are a lot of  little "goals" that I have... For example, this year I am hoping to learn more about writing with my new calligraphy pens (Christmas gift). I want to push myself to be more creative. And of course, I have the typical goals of being healthier, reading more books & so on... Another goal, that is actually still on my list from last year (really all of them are)... is to finish some of my half-done knitting/crocheting projects. So, of course I have "goals" for this year! I always start off a year, with lots of plans & things I want to do, because a new year always inspires me, so it's easy to have a lot on my mind. It's all exciting and good, but it can also feel overwhelming. Often what I feel like I lack the most is focus...

One of the trends I have noticed in the past couple of years is choosing a positive word for the year. 
I love this idea, because it keeps things simple, more attainable. And if you chose the right word to be 
your "theme" for the year I think it can really benefit you in several areas of your life.

So... my word for 2014  ///  f o c u s

I decided that "focus" would be my word simply because I feel like God brought me to it.
I feel like God is trying to tell me that I simply need to "focus" on Him. All of my other goals and plans
 may work out or they may not... but either way it wouldn't matter if I was not focused on Him.
There is nothing wrong with goals, but if they are taking over my time & effort and
causing me not to grow in the Lord, than it's all in vain.

A couple of weeks ago in Sunday School, I was reminded of these two verses, which go right along 
with my theme, so I have decided to make these my 2014 "focus" verses...

My plan is to always come back to these verses! I will meditate on them and memorize them, as well as other verses that will help me to keep my "focus" on Him. If I get off track, which I probably will, I know that these verses will remind me where my focus needs to be. In addition to the reminders of my theme word and my verses, I will be reading through the Bible in a year, a little bit everyday, which I have never done before. I am certain that there is no better way to stay focused on Him and learn from Him than to read His Word everyday.

So, there is my only real goal for 2014... To "focus" on Him in all I do. To think on things above. 

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, 
and all these things will be given to you as well. 
Matthew 6:33

Do you have a word for 2014 or any special goals for the year?

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

photography | christmas & new years recap

 I cannot believe how fast Christmas went by & that we are already almost a week into 2014!! I figured I
needed to share a post with a few photos from my Christmas & New Year before it gets too late...

One of my favorite things about Christmas was that my mom and a friend of ours were in a musical production 
of "A Christmas Carol"! The story & music were great and everyone in the play was so talented.
It was especially fun to watch people I know in it. The pictures above are of my mom and our friend in 
their make-up & costumes... So fancy!  My mom was in two dance sequences and our friend played 
the school teacher. They both did so good!!
They even had snow falling at a few different times during the performance, which was so magical!
See this was definitely one of my favorite parts of Christmas!

Here is a photo of my grandma and my brother, with the quilt that my grandma made him for Christmas.
You can see how talented my grandma is at quilting and how spoiled my brother is... ha!

For New Years Eve I stayed home, ate good food, finished a puzzle & played games with my family. 
It was quiet & simple, just how I like it!
To be festive, I did paint my nails with black with gold glitter and light a sparkler at midnight!! 
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Welcome 2014!!