Wrapping It Up

This past week marked the beginning of the Husby and I's Summer Season!  During the months of October-May, we have quite the busy schedule!  I'm not talking simply work and school!  Those things are involved, but our church activities are in full swing during these 8 months.

Every 1st and 3rd weekend, on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, we have Seminary classes for three hours.
Every 2nd Saturday of the month, we have a Youth Rally from 10am-1ish, at various locations throughout Oregon and Southern Washington.
Every 1st and 3rd Tuesday evening of the month, I have Ladies Discipleship from 7pm to 8:30ish.
Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday evening, we are having Bible studies with another couple.
Each 2nd Monday, we have youth meetings from 6-8ish.
Every Thursday at 7 we have visitation.
Each Sunday & Wednesday we have church services.

Not all of these things are over for the Summer, but we don't have Seminary classes, Youth Rally's or Ladies Meetings again until September.  All of a sudden we have a lot of free weekends! While I'm excited about this, I'm also sad because I love spending time with our church family & being busy!

Also...now this means that I actually HAVE to finish decorating/setting up the house.  I LOVE decorating.  Don't get me wrong.  But I have SO MANY ideas in my head, that I'm a little overwhelmed as to where to start!  On the bright side though, I might actually have time to do some of the fun crafts that I've found on Pinterest! Victory!

Weekend Relaxation...sorta 

Bug got some much needed yard work started before Preacher School on Friday

I made a yummmmy chocolate pudding with homemade whipped cream, chocolate shavings and crushed Oreo's, to take with us to Preacher school

I may have also watched a few episodes of Pioneer Woman...a few being four or five

Ignore the icky cords hanging from the TV.  That's part of those 'Saturday house-projects' on our to-do list

Teriyaki stir fry with fresh veggies and pineapple chunks for dinner! Yum!

This next weekend will be filled with camping, fishing and shooting with some of our closest friends.

Can't waaaait!

Confessions

I've decided to try and do two "Confessions" per-month.  I just happened to do them both today, on the same post.  I'm thinking that having these little ideas and 'structures' will help me to keep the bloggity-blog updated :]

1)  I wish I lived somewhere in the Southern United States.

The kind of south pictured in Sweet Home Alabama, almost any country music video, or Pioneer Woman's cookbooks.  

The kind of south where you have to walk 100 yards to get to your neighbor's house, where the wheat and corn fields blow in a warm breeze, where the town feels partially abandoned on Sunday mornings.

  The kind of south where drinking sweet tea from mason jars, where waking up at 5am to feed cattle and gather chicken eggs, where fried chicken and gumbo-feeds are a normal Saturday night occasion.

  

The kind of south where Friday night football is everything, where the ladies who work at the hair salon know all the latest gossip, where old men sit on benches on main street and talk about the 'way it used to be'.

If I wasn't absolutely convinced that this is where God would have the Husby and I to be, we'd move.  In the blink of an eye.  Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana...any would do..among others.  I'm totally infatuated with the idea of a slow-paced life, warm summer nights, family and God being most important and church being a community affair.

I'm so tired of the hippie, oober-liberal, hemp-wearing, all-organic life here in Oregon Eugene.

I want horses. Cows. Sheep. Pigs. Chickens! A goat. Puppies...so many puppies.  Lots of land, big fields and fenced in pastures for the animals.  Do I know the first thing about taking care of all these animals..no.  But I want to learn.  Am I normally an early riser..no.  But I wish I had good enough reason to be, and a farm would be it!

I know that this Southern-utopia exists somewhere.  I know there's a small American town that does the 4th of July up big, prays before sporting events and has HUGE county fairs.  I'm sure it's still around.  It's gotta be.  It can't just be a fantasy in books and movies.

2)  I always joke that I was born in the wrong decade.  

I would've been a wonderful 40's or 50's woman. Ha.  I love cleaning, cooking and taking care of the house.  I cannot wait to be a mother and to have children to take care of and raise.  I'd love to wear cute dresses and heels everyday.  I love that my husband takes care of our finances, is the head of our household and has the final say on our choices/decisions.  I love the idea of not working and my place being at home.  NOT because I'm lazy or women are 'incapable' of being a part of corporate America, but because that is the way that God intended for it to be..and that's truly what I love doing.  I like the cooking, cleaning and laundry to be my responsibility.  I don't expect the Cowboy to do any of those things or to offer to help.  He does offer and does help, but I don't feel that he has to. At all.  I'd be just as content doing them, if he never offered to lift a finger.
I love trying to live my life as Proverbs 31 teaches in the Scriptures, and am thankful that the Lord has provided me the opportunity to do so.

Survey...like a Myspace bulletin.

1. What is the first materialistic thing you would buy with 1 million dollars?

Clothes.  I seriously need a wardrobe makeover.

Lots and lots of clothes.

2. What were you doing 5 years ago?

Hmm..that would've been May 2007.  I was one month away from graduating high school, thought I had everything figured out and couldn't wait to get outta Meddy!

3. Your last meal on Earth would be?

Umm...Creme Brulee.  That's not a meal you say?  Okay, then add a cheeseburger and a strawberry lemonade from Red Robin.  

That's a meal. 

Boom.

4. What is something you would change about yourself?

I'm not as outgoing as I used to be.

I wish I could have the same care-free attitude/ambitions that I used to.

I should work on that.

5. Is there a specific time you remember being extra mean to your siblings?

Probably High School.  I was pretty sarcastic and had my nose up in the clouds.  My little sister and I didn't spend much time together, simply because I think I thought I was better.

Man...I wouldn't have been my friend in High School.

Definitely NOT going to any of our reunions...noooope.

6. If you had your own reality show, what would people's reaction be?

It'd be like a bad car accident.

You don't want to look when you pass by, but you can't pull your eyes away.

7. What is your dream job?

Personal shopper/assistant.

Spending other people's money..yeaaa buddyyy.

OR

A Cast Member at Disneyland.

8. What genre do you pin on Pinterest the most? Why?

Food & Drink and Home Stuff

'Cause everyone wants a full belly and a pretty house.

9. If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Walt Disney.   
Because he created the happiest place on Earth!  Clearly, the man has a thing or two figured out about being happy :)

10. Who would be the other 3 members in your Wolf-Pack?

Sara.   Kayla.   Bo.

My wolf-pack can be Dudes and Dudettes. 

11. When you die, what would be your "tagline" for people to remember you by?

Some glad morning when this life is over...I'll fly away <3

Reality

Okay, Jewels officially stinks at blogging.  

This is exactly what I was afraid of. 

I started this blog with all these great hopes of creating something AWESOME and FABULOUS.  So far it's awesomely & fabulously empty and boring.  I really thought that I would be more motivated to write my thoughts down and reflect on the things happening around me.  Clearly, that's not the case...or my life is really just that boring.  

Truth is, I find myself second guessing everything that I want to write about.  Is it funny?  Is this dumb?  Does anyone want to hear about this?  Is anyone even reading this?  What if so-and-so sees it? On and on and on!  I've had to come to a place where I'm comfortable to write and talk about WHATEVER I want!  This is MY blog...and really...it's just that.  A blog.  The idea that people are even reading this/following it, is pretty ridiculous in the first place...so why get worried about their opinions?

I had an idea that I would talk about Pinterest, cooking, married life...and there is nothing wrong with blogging about those things...but everyone and their brother has a blog dedicated to recipes and crafting!  I realized that I was simply copying all of the other blogs that I had been reading and following.  I created this, to be able to write reflect on things that I'm experiencing.  Plus, It will be cool to look back on it once the cowboy and I reach different milestones in our lives.

Here's to a new beginning!  The goal is to write once a week, about something with actual content.  No recipes and no Pinterest-finds for month #1.  I'm going to force myself to write something with substance...or what I would consider substance.  Others may not care for it.  Who cares about that though...right?

Oh, that looks yummy...

    So, as many of you know...I'm 100%, totally & completely ADDICTED to Pinterest!  The recipes, crafts, DIY stuff and home decor tips that you can find on that website are amazing!  While I love the site and am on it all the time, I haven't taken the time to actually try some of the things that I've pinned.  Well, this last Tuesday, I decided to test one of them out.
    While I was browsing through the millions of 'Food & Drink' pins, I found this chicken-crescent roll-cheesey-amazingness recipe!  You can find the link to deliciousness here. The Cowboy & I liked the casserole, but I think that the next time I make it, I'll add some green chiles.  It needed a little extra kick.

The sauce to go over the top and underneath the crescent rolls

The beginning of the filling

 Choppin' the chicken

...gotta figure out how to rotate pictures..

CHEESE! SO MUCH CHEEEESE!

Completed Filing

Stuffing the crescent rolls

Base layer of sauce

Added the crescent rolls and spread extra sauce over the top

Ready to bake

Yum!

    The recipe was very good, but like I said...it was missing a little zing...so some green chiles might add a little extra flavor.  Cowboy suggested some bacon bits as well.  Ohhh the possibilities!