tasty thursday

In honor of "tasty thursday" (and yes, I just made that up), I thought I'd share a yummy recipe for you fellow followers to try.  It's perfect for a cold day and definitely full of flavor and filling!

Brunswick Stew: 

2.5 lb russert potatoes, peeled and cubed

24. oz bag of frozen shoe peg white corn kernels (or canned will do) 

3 small yellow onions; peeled and diced

24 oz bag of baby lima beans (again, canned will do)

28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

28 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 cooked deli chicken, shred white and dark meat

1/2 stick salted butter

sugar (pinch)

sea salt

black pepper corn

worcestershire sauce

Boil the potatoes and onions until almost tender and then drain.  Melter butter in a large (8 qt pot) and add corn, lima beans, cooked potatoes, and onions.  Stir vegetables in butter and add 1/2 can chicken stock.  Add both cans of crushed and diced tomatoes.  The seasonings are done to taste; I added 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp increments of salt, sugar, black peppercorn and crushed red pepper flakes until it tasted just right.  Then, I added 2 splashes or so of worcestershire sauce at the end.  VOILA.  Delish.  The longer it simmers the better it tastes, so turn it on low and walk away! Stir from time to time and serve when ready.  

Enjoy!

Thanks for walking with us,

JL

what is your story?

I was inspired to write this blog post from an amazing essay I read on a women who has twins.  She wrote about how her post-twins body shares her story.

Before I go on, you MUST read the story below.  It's well worth your time.

Read it here :    http://www.stevewiens.com/2013/03/06/these-are-the-lines-of-a-story/

How amazing is this story?  We can all relate in some way.  Have you birthed a child of your own?  Do you have a scar or multiple scars? Have you been sick? The list of possibilities goes on....Regardless, in the end, each of our bodies will tell a story....a story of our lives. Some good, some bad, highs and lows.  Our Savior, Jesus Christ, has given us one body to live in on this earth.  It is temporary, but a holy and sacred temple, nonetheless.

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 reminds us of this by saying, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body."  What do I love about this verse?  Oh so much.

How often do you stare at yourself in the mirror and pinpoint something (or many things) that you would change.  If only I was thinner, if only my hips were smaller, if only I was taller, more fit, toned, and the list of endless possibilities goes on and on.  Whoa. Wait a minute. (And yes, I do this very same thing so I'm talking in 3rd person to myself - don't worry).  Who are we to talk this way?  Do you remember who actually created you?  Every inch of you? Perfectly in His way.  Every ounce of you was created by the Holy One....The one who created the HEAVENS and the EARTH.  Really? He actually formed you in your mothers womb?  Psalm 139:13 tells us that "You created my inmost being; you knit me together in the mother's womb." HE made all the delicate and inner parts of your body.  He designed you perfectly in His plan.  And here we are complaining about His masterpiece; His work of art.

It is so sad to me that in today's society, girls start worrying about their appearance at a younger and younger age.  Read the following letter below written to Victoria's Secret from an upset father with a young daughter.  You'll see what I mean. Younger and younger.  So sad.

Read the letter here: http://evandolive.com/2013/03/22/a-letter-to-victorias-secret-from-a-father/

I encourage you to look at your body differently.  (It won't come naturally - and yes you'll still want to eat healthier, exercise more often and improve your health - that's OKAY!)  View your story thus far; what does your body say about you?  Remember when you look in the mirror that you were created by the HOLY one. The perfect one.

Perspective.

Thanks for walking with us,
JL

St. Michaels, MD

This past Saturday, John and I picked up Ruthie and Jeff and headed down to St. Michaels for the day. St. Michaels is a little less than 2 hours away and is known for its "quaint and sweet" little town.  It's on the water and has some amazing views.  

For Christmas, our Uncle Jim and Aunt Pam gave each of us a voucher for a Wine-Tasting at a Winery in St. Michaels.  We planned this spontaneous day trip the day before leaving and turns out, we couldn't have planned for a better day.  The weather was in the 60's with a full sunshine and not a cloud in the sky.  It was amazing. 

We left around 10am which put us there just before noon.  (Let me just warn you and say that we ate and drank pretty much all day).  A LOT of walking was done too, so don't judge us too quickly.  Actually, go ahead and judge...we had fun!  We ate at an irish pub to get our belly's nice and full before our wine-tasting.  It was a nice relaxing and low-key way to start our day.  

Next, around 2, we did our wine-tasting at the St. Michael's Winery.  We each tried 7 different glasses of wine (of our choice) and they were all truly to-die-for. YUM.  We had cheese and crackers along with our drinks and semi-pretended as if we were wine-snobs.  (Everyone knows, a good ol' box of wine is just as good).  And if you're too cool to admit that; well, you lie.  Franzia is where it's at!

Next we walked for a couple hours enjoying the historic homes, beautiful churches, and sweet-shops.  The view of the water was beautiful.  I mean really...how cute is this place? I want to live here (right up in Sweetie's Bakery!) 

At one point, we sat on these benches (see pictures below) and just enjoyed feeling the warmth of the sun on our faces; we actually left with a little color believe it or not.  We must've sat there at talked for over an hour.  It felt so good to just sit and enjoy the weather and company.  

We got drinks and an appetizer at a restaurant around 5 and then "restaurant hopped" to a place called Ava's for dinner (shout out to Kelly for recommending it!) The food was to die for and we all left in a food-coma.  WELL...of course, there was a LITTLE room left for ice cream! (I mean come on - when you're at a place like this you have to live it up!)  Before leaving, we hit JoJo's for cupcakes/ice cream.  And yes, it was WELL worth the maximum caloric-intake for the day (or shall I say week).

So blessed with great family to spend fun times like this with.  I'm already planning our next trip to go back!

Thanks for walking with us,

JL

Ashburn Wedding

Just as soon as all of our families left from Hannah's wedding celebrations, we were pretty much packing our family and car to head down to Raleigh, NC for Clair and Seth's wedding!  Clair and Seth were married the very next weekend, on March 16, 2013.  Just as the weather was perfect for Hannah's, the same went for Clair's on Saturday! It was 71 degrees and pure sunshine which made for an amazing day for wedding bells!

Clair had such a fun bridal party and we really spent a lot of time together over the past 9 months through Clair's engagement party, bridal shower, bachelorette party, and more!  We became a group of fun friends and I just loved spending more time with them this past weekend on Clair and Seth's big day!

The bridal luncheon was on Friday morning at Lauren's (friend of the bride; bridesmaid) beautiful home and the food was just beyond divine.  There was so much of it and I'm pretty sure we all left completely stuffed.

The rehearsal dinner was at Bloomsbury Bistro Friday evening (can you say, yum) and was absolutely beautiful.  We had cocktail hour at 5 and dinner around 6:30.  I'm pretty sure we can all say (and admit) that our dresses were a little bit tight on the day of the wedding due to all the good eating we did!  After the rehearsal dinner was an "after-party" at one of Seth and Clair's friends house.  It was so fun!  We drank, ate a little more, and danced to the live-band that was there playing!

Saturday morning, we woke up to a sprinkling rain that was completely gone by 10am and the sky was blue with amazingly warm weather!  We met at the church around 12 and the ceremony was at 2.  It was so sweet and I definitely cried while standing up at the front of the church watching my best friend marry the love of her life.  It was perfect.

Around 3:30 the bridal party arrived at the reception (downtown) and partied hard until Clair and Seth made their exit at 7!  We all danced like there was no tomorrow and celebrated the love between these two people!

Needless to say, I am back at work, haven't been to the grocery store in probably close to 2 weeks, will get home around 7 tonight, and pulled chili out of the freezer that I made and stored last month (thank goodness for doubling recipes and freezing for times like this).  Have 4 beds of sheets to wash, a pile of laundry to do, a house to clean, and - oh, and by the way, did I mention John and I will probably sit down on the couch for the first time after work tonight (in a couple of weeks) and probably never get up again?

EXHAUSTED from three CRAZY but fun fun fun weeks. What a blessing it is to be so tired from so much happiness and celebrating in our lives right now.  We surely can't complain.

Congratulation Mr. and Mrs. Seth Ashburn!  We love you!

Thanks for walking with us,
JL

Shoemaker Wedding

This past Saturday, March 9, 2013, was my sister's (Hannah Peters) wedding! She and Michael are the most in love and happy couple I've seen and literally have been on "cloud 9" since the day they met!  I thought while they were Honeymooning for TEN DAYS in Spain right now, that I'd reminisce on their beautiful wedding day last Saturday.

To start with, the big guy upstairs wanted to make Hannah and Michael's day EXTRA special so He blessed us all with 61 degree weather...Did I mention we had a snow storm (small, but still snow nonetheless) just 3 days earlier? Yes...He is simply amazing and can do anything.  All of us girls (Hannah and bridesmaids) had on strapless dresses and were so comfortable outside in the sun.  Praise Him!

All of the bridal party arrived at our home on Saturday morning at 10am for hair and make up.  Hannah hired a company "Behind the Veil" to come to my home and do all the girls hair and make up for the wedding.  It was so neat to have a relaxed morning with coffee, tea, mimosas, muffins and fruit in our home rather than having to all venture out and meet up!  Around noon we had Jimmy John's sandwiches and lunch delivered so we all had our fair share of good food leading up to the wedding!  Hannah got dressed upstairs and we all turned as she came down the stairs looking just as gorgeous as can be.  I mean, truly, Cinderella.  (Or Kate Middleton, Hannah :) )!

She and Linda left for Patapsco (the place where Hannah and Michael were engaged) to do a "first look" with Renee Sprink (photographer).  This is where they see each other prior to walking down the aisle, before the hustle and bustle of the wedding day begins.  Hannah and Michael spent time talking and praying together before the chaos (good chaos but still chaos) and Michael said he was happy to have her "all to himself".

The bridal party met up with them at the reception spot (the Ruins) and we took pre-wedding pictures.  We then shuttled to the church where the ceremony began at half past 3.  The ceremony was beautiful; many tears and a heartfelt message.  30 minutes later, Hannah and Michael exited as "Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker!"

We shuttled back to the reception spot (old female institute) and had cocktail hour before we "made our entrance" in as the bridal party and introduced the newlywed couple.  Dinner was amazing.  The first dances were beautiful.  The heated tents kept warm.  The company was so fun.  The band was awesome. And of course, we all danced and danced the night away.

The couple was sent away with a sparkler exit and drove away for the night!  What a fun wedding blessing such an amazing couple that TRULY honors God in their relationship (now, marriage!)  I am so excited for them to come back in 10 days from SPAIN to hear all about their amazing trip.  For now (while the professional pictures are not yet available), please enjoy these photos taken on my sister, Dana's, camera!

Thanks for walking with us,
JL