I Have To Try This!!

Not that I expect to have any free time ANY TIME soon : ( But, I hope to so I can try this bread recipe!!


Isn't that the cutest loaf of bread?!?!?!?! Ahahahahaa! Some people and their creativity never cease to amaze me! I have to give proper credit to Michelle and her great blog Scribbit that directed me to the Perfect Panda blog.

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

Failure to Fantastic...

Well, this is what I get for thinking I was going to be industrious in the kitchen.

On my trip to the grocery store not long ago, I thought to myself that zucchini bread sounds REAL good! Not really knowing how I would find the time to make any, I ventured to the produce aisle anyway and made my selections.

Now for a week I have stared mournfully at the bag of greenness laying in my fridge. I couldn't take it any longer and figured today was the day those veggies were going to be used! Now, I cannot even convey to you how incredible stupid I feel about this....but I got out my recipe book, found Aunt Mary Lou's recipe for Zucchini bread, then realized, "wait a minute!!" I didn't buy zucchini!! I bought CUCUMBERS!!!!!!!

AND....what makes this worse, is the fact that I cut up one of the cucumbers to make a turkey breast/cucumber sandwich for lunch all week. Using them KNOWING they were cucumbers, yet STILL thinking they were zucchini that I could fashion into some sort of tasty goody for myself.

Well, to salvage the produce and not let it go to waste, I found a recipe I had been given for sliced cucumber salad. To my amazement, I had all the required ingredients, so this is what I will have to look forward to this week, not the zucchini bread.

Here's the recipe:

1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/3 c. sliced onion (optional)

Whisk together until dissolved. Slice cucumbers and pour mixture over them.

Now, this recipe is very vague. And having never made this before, I wasn't real sure what I was doing, so I doubled the recipe thinking that the vinegar mixture should cover the cucumbers. I placed the sliced cucumbers in a long, shallow rubbermaid container, poured the mixture over it and placed it in the fridge.

If any of you have made anything like this before, let me know if I'm doing it right or wrong!! AND if you have any other good recipes that involve cucumbers, pass them along!! I still have two left in the fridge that need to be eaten soon!!!!!

I'm still laughing at myself over this one. I can't believe I'll admit this, but I even looked at the bin of zucchini at the store and reassured myself that, no, cucumbers were what I needed!!!!

I would say I need more sleep, but I have done nothing but slept the past two days because of a migraine...so I guess there's no excuse this time. I've just lost my mind!

Author's Edit: Further evidence I have LOST MY MIND!!! >> I came in here to make this quick post while the chicken cooked on the stove. Went back to the kitchen to check on said chicken - knowing it had been long enough and it would need to be flipped over...yeah...I forgot to turn the burner on. Good grief!

Disney Songs At 5:30 AM????

Yes, Aladdin and Jasmine...it is indeed "A whole new world!"

One joy I had while in Alaska was rediscovering the taste, aroma and pep that accompanies a good cup of joe.

It's been a good 8 years since I owned a coffee maker. The previous one met it's demise in an unfortunate incident with a college roommate. And no, there are no hard feelings, it was just one of those things that happens. I never had the extra money to justify another purchase even though I know they can be purchased cheap, I was a college student in the photojournalism program...which meant all my money went towards film, negative sleeves, film, printing paper, film, and animal crackers (there was a slight addiction for a semester!)

So this morning, this beautiful, glorious morning was the first time I woke up to the wonderful smell of ambition brewing in the kitchen.

Now, keep in mind that as a single lady who lives alone and works from home, I often have conversations with the pooch or anthropomorphically speak to random inanimate objects around the house. (Come back...don't be scared! ; P) But a gal has to keep herself entertained! Especially when the TV hardly functions these days (which isn't a bad thing at all!)

Okay, back to the coffee maker. How did I survive these past 8 years??? I rolled out of bed at 5:10 AM to head to my brother and sister-in-law's house to get the girls off to school this morning (Eric is working out town this week and Sara has to be at work at 6.) And compared to yesterday morning which was coffee-free, I was much more energized and dare I say, gleeful, to sing the girls from their slumber, motivate, clothe, feed, fix hair and scoot them out the door!! I noticed they were more lively because I was more lively.

And productivity? Well, lets just say I've had time to shoot pictures and throw together a swanky illustration for this post in the midst of editing and toning four different photo shoots and scheduling other important things. I'd say I'm pretty productive with caffeine and beans coursing through my system.

So as I flitter about the house and sing to myself "A Whole New World" I am quite pleased with my new investment of a coffee maker and three different types of coffee. And I'm quite sure the kitchen will swell each morning with the scent of ambition from here on out!

This world will be a different place for sure!

Extreme Sheep Herding

Forgive me for being so incredibly easily entertained, but I just had to share this video, because still, after watching it a second time, I have laughed out loud in sheer delight. Part of that reason is because these guys so remind me of my own dad and brothers and some of the things they would concoct.



Enjoy : )

Saturday Evening Thoughts...

I witnessed again (for the second year in a row) an amazing thing. Street pole vaulting. How on earth can guys and gals fling themselves 18 feet into the air by just a pole?? And don't they lose their stomachs every time they free-fall to the mat? And aren't they afraid of losing an eye by the end of their pole that tends to fall in every which way?? Okay, maybe it would just be me that would lose an eye...but still!

So the amazement of this got me thinking. The past few nights, thinking has gotten me in trouble and cost me many, many hours of sleep. While I was away in Alaska, I often thought and borderline worried that I wouldn't have any work to come home to. I managed to get everything done before I left. And now that I'm home, I just might have more than I can handle! But, the work and the Lord is good because there are things around the house that need to be repaired and replaced and again, while praying I felt the assurance of my Father that He will provide!

And in Him doing so, I've felt, in my flesh, so very overwhelmed. But only because I'm looking at the to-do list through my eyes and not His.

While watching these men and women catapult themselves into the blue sky, God's words filled my heart and reminded me "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" and "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty."

And I was encouraged and reminded that although the weight of the tasks before me seem unbearable, Christ has gone before me. God is granting me these opportunities to meet new people in these many photo assignments, to grow in making a gut-wrenching decision, and to show others the truth that it is Christ who enables me to persevere and not my own abilities.

Isaiah 58:11
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Oh, how I very much want to be like a spring whose water never fails. Never runs out. Never runs dry. Always ready to spill forth and fill up those who need encouragement, need a friend and need to hear the truth of Salvation that comes from Christ alone.

Accomplishing these tasks and making these decisions seemed so impossible before but now I know that Christ is my strength and even though I messed up and drank a sweet tea from McDonalds and therefore will not sleep again tonight(!) I will be able to persevere tomorrow because He is my strength!

And I look forward to doing it all with the grace and love of Christ shining brightly from my face. Today has been a day that has physically worn me out, but at the end of myself I find Christ and that's the best place to be.

The Glory of His Creation: Alaska Parte Dos

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." Isaiah 55:12

I absolutely adore God's amazing creation! I never, ever grow tired of how He constantly amazes me with His imagination and attention to detail. The variety of grasses and trees and weeds and the colors they shine forth. And the mountains! My goodness, I am made speechless at the sight of towering peaks that split the clouds and attract the snow and seem invincible and yet even the mountains bow to their Creator and sing forth of His Glory.

These past nine days have been so incredibly sweet and rich in so many ways. First of all is the fact that I've been able to reconnect with a childhood friend -- and even more wonderful is that she and her husband are willing to put up with me for two weeks!! : ) The fellowship and conversation and laughs have been such a time of encouragement and renewal in the Lord. And to goof again like we did so many years ago is such fun!

But it doesn't end there!

The past ten years of my life the Lord has blown me away. Completely blown me away with experiences like going off to college on my own, traveling and doing missions in three different countries - learning new languages, forming new friendships, bridging cultural and language barriers solely through the love and compassion enabled in me by Christ alone, and new friendships that have sharpened, humbled and encouraged me.

All this and yet there are times still when I am discontent with my life. Begging for more and viewing the grass on the other side as always greener. I think back upon my early teen years when I would sit with my best girlfriends and we would plan how our lives would be. Married by 20, house full of kids soon to follow, homes right next to each other where we would share meals and play with our kiddos for hours on end in the back yard -- not a care in the world.

And yet, that is not what God had planned. In my young mind that was the biggest I could dream for myself -- and yet, my Father had much grander plans for me!

Feasting upon mountain top views not only in Alaska but in Guatemala and Malaysia; sitting with rural Malay families on straw mats and sharing the salvation of Christ; relocating crocodiles to new enclosures with Malay college students at the Malaka Zoo; teaching orphans in India how to play Jesus Loves Me on little recorders; having Indian villagers flock to us for prayer knowing that we know and serve a Mighty God!

Yes, my Father wins the prize for lofty dreams! And he's done it again!


This road He has me on is winding and full of surprises! Even when I hold certain expectations in my heart for something, He often exceeds them, and again, I am reminded of His amazing love for me and that He holds me in His mighty hands.

"He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul," Psalm 23:2b-3a

Time in fellowship with Him and in His word and enjoying the beauty of His creation brings me joy, peace and renewal unlike any other.

And I wouldn't trade any of it. None of it at all! His plans were to mold me and stretch me far from what I knew as a young girl in that small town. To take me away, draw me closer to Him, grow me and strengthen me, only to bring me right back to where it all started. Not the same, but sanctified even more. And yet with so much farther yet to go. Not that it has been easy as I often have struggled to surrender myself to Him, and when I do, it's always way more than I could ever dream.


I've had a little time to think while here, and not that I've really figured anything out but it has been more of a dwelling upon who He is, and where He has brought me from. Remembering times from the past long forgotten in my own mind and praising Him for the chance to remember. I planned this trip thinking I would finally see a land I longed to see for many years. And I did, but it has turned into so very much more! The people I have met, some I even consider friends now, new experiences I have had like white water rafting and traveling alone for the first time (which, to the core of me, I love to do things I have never done before!)

So there it is.

God the Father, my Father, has blown me a away again...and I am not surprised! He longs to pour Himself into me and see the wonder and awe on my face like a parent with a young child.

Zephaniah 3:17 (English Standard Version)

¹⁷ The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

Sweet Little Bonus

Little did I know when I planned my trip to Alaska back in Jan/Feb that I would get to cover the transfer of gubernatorial power from Gov. Sarah Palin to Gov. Sean Parnell. And not just that, but meet some pretty cool military ladies with some pull that got us seats in the reserved section 9th row from the stage! I've covered local and state politics before, but nothing of this caliber and nothing with such big media coverage. To say that it was "neat" would be quite the understatement!


Sarah Palin is even more beautiful in person than on TV, a "thin-mint" as my friends would say but a force mightier than most! I am very impressed with her in many ways. First off being her down-to-earth manner and desire to talk to those who came to see her. I heard story after story of how she's just a "regular person" and how many have had good conversations with her whether while out ice fishing or at the store. But mainly I was impressed of her love for her state, it was very evident in her address (of which I have included the full transcript below!)

Palin's Father (in purple) and brother (in brown) talking with folks in the crowd.

Thousands turned out, those that support and oppose her, at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks to witness her final address and the swearing-in of Sean Parnell. A great display of our democracy and the peaceful transfer of power we enjoy here in the States.


Begin Palin's Farewell Address:

What an absolutely beautiful day it is, and it is my honor to speak to all Alaskans, to our Alaskan family this last time as your governor. And it is always great to be in Fairbanks. The rugged rugged hardy people that live up here and some of the most patriotic people whom you will ever know live here, and one thing that you are known for is your steadfast support of our military community up here and I thank you for that and thank you United States military for protecting the greatest nation on Earth. Together we stand.

And getting up here I say it is the best road trip in America soaring through nature's finest show. Denali, the great one, soaring under the midnight sun. And then the extremes. In the winter time it's the frozen road that is competing with the view of ice fogged frigid beauty, the cold though, doesn't it split the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs? And then in the summertime such extreme summertime about a hundred and fifty degrees hotter than just some months ago, than just some months from now, with fireweed blooming along the frost heaves and merciless rivers that are rushing and carving and reminding us that here, Mother Nature wins. It is as throughout all Alaska that big wild good life teeming along the road that is north to the future. That is what we get to see every day. Now what the rest of America gets to see along with us is in this last frontier there is hope and opportunity and there is country pride.

And it is our men and women in uniform securing it, and we are facing tough challenges in America with some seeming to just be Hell bent maybe on tearing down our nation, perpetuating some pessimism, and suggesting American apologetics, suggesting perhaps that our best days were yesterdays. But as other people have asked, "How can that pessimism be, when proof of our greatness, our pride today is that we produce the great proud volunteers who sacrifice everything for country?" Now this week alone, Sean Parnell and I we're on the, um, on Ft. Rich the base there, the army chapel, and we heard the last roll call, and the sounding of Taps for three very brave, very young Alaskan soldiers who just gave their all for all of us. Together we do stand with gratitude for our troops who protect all of our cherished freedoms, including our freedom of speech which, par for the course, I'm going to exercise.

And first, some straight talk for some, just some in the media because another right protected for all of us is freedom of the press, and you all have such important jobs reporting facts and informing the electorate, and exerting power to influence. You represent what could and should be a respected honest profession that could and should be the cornerstone of our democracy. Democracy depends on you, and that is why, that's why our troops are willing to die for you. So, how 'bout in honor of the American soldier, ya quite makin' things up. And don't underestimate the wisdom of the people, and one other thing for the media, our new governor has a very nice family too, so leave his kids alone.

OK, today is a beautiful day and today as we swear in Sean Parnell, no one will be happier than I to witness by God's grace Alaskans with strength of character advancing our beloved state. Sean has that. Craig Campbell has that. I remember on that December day, we took the oath to uphold our state constitution, and it was written right here in Fairbanks by very wise pioneers. We shared the vision for government that they ground in that document. Our founders wrote "all political power is inherent in the people. All government originates with the people. It's founded upon their will only and it's instituted for the good of the people as a whole." Their remarkably succinct words guided us in all of our efforts in serving you and putting you first, and we have done our best to fulfill promises that I made on Alaska Day, 2005, when I first asked for the honor of serving you.

Remember then, our state so desired and so deserved ethics reform. We promised it, and now it is the law. Ironically, it needs additional reform to stop blatant abuse from partisan operatives, and I hope the lawmakers will continue that reform. We promised that you would finally see a fair return on your Alaskan owned natural resources so we build a new oil and gas appraisal system, an is an equitable formula to usher in a new era of competition and transparency and protection for Alaskans and the producers. ACES incentivizes new exploration and it's the exploration that is our future. It opens up oil basins and it ensures that the people will never be taken advantage of again. Don't forget Alaskans you are the resource owners per our constitution and that's why for instance last year when oil prices soared and state coffers swelled, but you were smacked with high energy prices, we sent you the energy rebate. See, it's your money and I've always believed that you know how to better spend it than government can spend it.

I promised that we would protect this beautiful environment while safely and ethically developing resources, and we did. We built the Petroleum Oversight Office and a sub-cabinet to study climate conditions. And I promised I'd govern with fiscal restraint, so to not immorally burden futre generations. And we did...we slowed the rate of government growth and I vetoed hundreds of millions of dollars of excess and with lawmakers we saved billions for the future.

I promised that we'd lead the charge to forward funding education, and hold schools accountable, and improve opportunities for special needs students and elevate vo-tech training and we paid down pension debt.

I promised that we would manage our fish and wildlife for abundance, and that we would defend the constitution, and we have, though outside special interest groups they still just don't get it on this one. Let me tell you, Alaskans really need to stick together on this with new leadership in this area especially, encouraging new leadership... got to stiffen your spine to do what's right for Alaska when the pressure mounts, because you're going to see anti-hunting, anti-second amendment circuses from Hollywood and here's how they do it. They use these delicate, tiny, very talented celebrity starlets, they use Alaska as a fundraising tool for their anti-second amendment causes. Stand strong, and remind them patriots will protect our guaranteed, individual right to bear arms, and by the way, Hollywood needs to know, we eat, therefore we hunt.

I promised energy solutions and we have, we have a plan calling for 50% of our electricity generated by renewable resources and we can now insist that those who hold the leases to develop our resources that they do so now on Alaska's terms. So now finally after decades of just talk, finally we're seeing oil and gas drilling up there at Point Thompson. And I promised that we would get a natural gas pipeline underway and we did. Since I was a little kid growing up here, I remember the discussions, especially the political discussions just talking about and hoping for and dreaming of commercializing our clean, abundant, needed natural gas.

Our gas line inducement act, AGIA, that was the game-changer and this is thanks to our outstanding gas line team, and the legislature adopting this law, 58-1. They knew, they know AGIA is the vehicle to drive this monumental energy project and bring everyone to the table, this bipartisan victory, it came from Alaskans working together with free market private sector principles, and now we are on the road to the largest private-sector energy project in the history of America. It is for Alaska's future, it is for America's energy independence and it will make us a more peaceful, prosperous and secure nation.

What I promised, we accomplished. "We" meaning state staff, amazing commissioners, great staff assisting them, and conscientious Alaskans outside the bureaucracy - Tom Van Flein, and Meg Stapleton and Kristan Cole, so many others, many volunteers who just stepped up to the challenge as good Alaskans, but nothing, nothing could have succeeded without my right-hand man Kris Perry. She is the sharpest, boldest, hardest-working partner. Kris is my right-hand man and much success is due to Kris.

So much success, and Alaska there is much good in store further down the road, but to reach it we must value and live the optimistic pioneering spirit that made this state proud and free, and we can resist enslavement to big central government that crushes hope and opportunity. Be wary of accepting government largess. It doesn't come free and often, accepting it takes away everything that is free, melting into Washington's powerful "care-taking" arms will just suck incentive to work hard and chart our own course right out of us, and that not only contributes to an unstable economy and dizzying national debt, but it does make us less free.

I resisted the stimulus package. I resisted the stimulus package and we have championed earmark reform, slashing earmark requests by 85% to break the cycle of dependency on a stifling, unsustainable federal agenda, and other states should follow this for their and for America's stability. We don't have to feel that we must beg an allowance from Washington, except to beg the allowance to be self-determined. See, to be self-sufficient, Alaska must be allowed to develop - to drill and build and climb, to fulfill statehood's promise. At statehood we knew this. At statehood we knew this, that we are responsible for ourselves and our families and our future, and fifty years later, please let's not start believing that government is the answer. It can't make you happy or healthy or wealthy or wise. What can? It is the wisdom of the people and our families and our small businesses, and industrious individuals, and it is God's grace, helping those who help themselves, and then this allows that very generous voluntary hand up that we're known for, enthusiastically providing those who need it.

Alaskans will remember that years ago, remember we sported the old bumper sticker that said, "Alaska. We Don't Give a Darn How They Do It Outside?" Do you remember that? I remember that, and remember it was because we would be different. We'd roll up our sleeves, and we would diligently sow and reap, and we can still do this to carve wealth out of the wilderness and make our living on the water, with strong hands and innovative minds, now with smarter technology. It is what our first people and our parents did. It worked, because they worked. We must be prudent and persistent and press for the people's right to responsibly develop God-given resources for the maximum benefit of the people.

And we have come so far in just 50 years. We're no longer a frontier outpost on the periphery of the world's greatest nation. Now, as a contributor and a securer of America, we can attain our destiny in the promise of our motto "North to the Future." See, the pressing issue of our time, it's energy independence, because there is an inherent link between energy and security, and energy and prosperity. Alaska will lead with energy, we will prove you can be both pro-development and pro-environment, because no one loves their clean air and their land and their wildlife and their water more than an Alaskan. We will protect it.

Yes, America must look north to the future for security, for energy independence, for our strategic location on the globe. Alaska is the gate-keeper of the continent.

So, we are here today at a changing of the guard. Now, people who know me, and they know how much I love this state, some still are choosing not to hear why I made the decision to chart a new course to advance the state. And it should be so obvious to you. (indicating heckler) It is because I love Alaska this much, sir (at heckler) that I feel it is my duty to avoid the unproductive, typical, politics as usual, lame duck session in one's last year in office. How does that benefit you? No, with this decision now, I will be able to fight even harder for you, for what is right, for truth. And I have never felt like you need a title to do that.

So, as we all move forward together, let's vow to keep championing Alaska, to advocate responsible development, and smaller government, and freedom, and when I took the oath to serve you, I promised...remember I promised to steadfastly and doggedly guard the interests of this great state like that grizzly guards her cubs, as a mother naturally guards her own. And I will keep that vow wherever the road may lead. Todd and I, and Track, Bristol, Tripp, Willow, Piper, Trig...I think I got 'em all. We will forever be so grateful for the honor of our lifetime to have served you. Our whole big diverse full and fun family, we all thank you and I am very very blessed to have had their support all along, for Todd's support. I am thankful too. I have been blessed to have been raised in this last frontier. Thank you for our home, Mom and Dad, because in Alaska it is not an easy living, but it is a good living, and here it is impossible to lose your way. Wherever the road may lead you, we have that steadying great north star to guide us home.

So let's all enjoy the ride, and I thank you Alaska, and God bless Alaska and God bless America.

So yesterday was an incredible day! And an incredible surprise! Although I had high hopes of getting to meet her personally, it didn't happen, but I did meet Todd and her parents Chuck and Sally Heath - of whom I had a wonderful conversation with after it was all said and done! And even got my picture taken with them! (Which this darn thing won't let me post on here, so hopefully I can get it posted soon.)