Saving my bookmarks online!

Do you use delicious? When I first heard of it I didn't think anything of it, but now I have to admit that I am a delicious addict! Delicious is a way of storing your favorite bookmarks online. I first started using delicious to get rid of my Everyday Food magazines. I wanted the recipes out of them, but I don't want to store the magazines anymore. The good thing about their magazine is that 90-100% of the recipes are available for free online. I just bookmark the ones I had earmarked and then I am free to pass along the issue to the next lucky reader!

One online benefit is that I work on probably 3-5 different computers during an average work week. Instead of waiting till I get home to bookmark something, or worse, saving that one email for weeks until I'm at the right computer; now I just hit my "Bookmark on Delicious" button and, "BAM!" I can save a bookmark from wherever I am and access it later from any computer! After you save a link you can also see who else has it saved on delicious and then browse through their bookmark collections.

There are two other really great things about delicious. Number one is that you can share your bookmarks with other users on delicious. Betsy is in my delicious network and we can send each other bookmarks. Tags are the other great thing about delicious! Want to find a chocolate brownie recipe? If you are looking at my account you can just type in those tags and it will pull up all of my favorites.

You can see all of the tags I have used down at the bottom right hand side of this blog. If you are on Delicious please add me to your network!

My Favorite Thing: God

I'm participating this summer in a bible study that is reading a book called "Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God". In the second chapter Francis Chan points out that our next breath here on Earth is not guaranteed. This morning at our study, our leader asked the question, "How would you live your life differently if you knew you only had a week left to live?" I waited a long time to answer the question because I was fully aware of the repercussions of my answer. Why should I be living any differently when I don't know that my next breath is guaranteed? One of the ladies next to me suggested that she would write up her testimony and email it to all her friends. Instead of email I'm going to post my testimony here on my blog and then on my Facebook account. Here is my testimony:

When I was six or so my mom began bringing my sister and I to church. I remember her faithfulness in bringing us to church almost every Sunday through out the rest of my childhood and into my teenage years. I went to confirmation classes in middle school, but I really didn't experience the Christian faith until I was in High School.

Let me clarify what I mean by experience. In church I was taught that God was the creator of the Earth and everything in it, Jesus was the only true son of God and that he came here to die for our sins. We also learned that belief in Jesus was the key to eternal life. John 14:6 says, "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." It wasn't until a youth retreat in Baton Rouge (when I was a sophomore in high school) that I had someone challenge me with what it truly meant to be a Christian. He explained that believing in God and Jesus was not enough. James 2:19 says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."

Our belief in God does not save us from our sins. We must accept God's forgiveness through his Son and this true acceptance leads to a change in our life. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

That weekend, when I accepted Christ as my Savior, I made a choice to make him first in my life. I started living for him and I was truly a new creation. I remember feeling this joy in my life that I had never felt before. I started serving Christ any way that I could by teaching and leading the youth in my own church. Of course I still sinned, but for those sins I truly felt remorse and then forgiveness.

God has seen me through some real trials in my life. Periods of extreme selfishness and/or pride, holding on to past sins, and the hospitalization of my newborn boy. How faithful he was during these times! I have felt His gentle (and not so gentle) prodding to change and be more like Christ. I have experienced His grace and His peace and I've seen His sovereignty be evident in my life over and over again.

Now I live my life knowing everyday that God is watching over me and that if I died I would meet him in heaven. Instead of rightfully being convicted of my sins and sent to hell, Jesus would stand in my place and cover all of my transgressions. I will spend the rest of eternity with Him!

Would you live any differently if you knew this week was your last? What has God done in your life that you need to share with others? Do you know where your soul will spend eternity (heaven or hell)? Have you surrendered your life to Christ?

If you have a blog I would LOVE to read your testimony! If you post it please leave a link here in the comment section:

The Children's Catechism

All Christian moms worry about teaching their kids enough about God and bringing them up in a way that will glorify Him. The Children's Catechism is a tool that my friend Betsy introduced me to and we are having so much fun teaching Ethan about God. He is only 23 months and he can answer the first three questions! We have even printed out the first 10 questions and posted them in the library.

Do you use the Children's Catechism? How else are you raising your children in the way that they should go?

Fun Free Stuff to do with my Kiddlet! (updated)

Okay moms out there! I know you all have a favorite fun free thing to do with your kiddlets and with summer approaching I would love for you to share your ideas.


Today I was poking around on the internet and found that our public library is having a magician, storyteller, and the zoo tour around town all throughout the summer. Also, they have weekly story times for all ages of kiddlet! If you haven't participated in the past the summer reading programs are great (there is even a program for adults). Just fill out the required paperwork and pick up your prize at the end of the summer! One other really cool thing they do is the "Children's Festival of Reading" at the beginning of summer. This year the event is planned for May 30th from 10-3pm. We didn't make it last year, but I am excited about taking Ethan this year.
Free Movies! Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. Around Knoxville you can see movies at: Knoxville Center Mall, West Town Mall, and Turkey Creek. Movies this summer include the "Pirates that Don't Do Anything", "Kung-Fu Panda", and "Horton Hears a Who". It looks like there is a different PG and G movie every week so the selection is huge! I have never attended these and I wonder how early you should get there to guarantee a seat, or if it is worth going because of all the noise/distractions. Let me know if you like (or dislike) going to these!



Of course parks and splash pads are always fun to visit. I know last year when I was in Stroller Strides the splash pad a Carl Cowan would be totally empty in the morning. I'm excited that this year Ethan is old enough to visit and have fun at such places.

Every Wednesday (11-2) and Saturday (9-2) from May to November our Market Square will be hosting a Farmer's Market. We are trying to eat more locally since I am reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" so this market can really help!

Other things I could think of are:

• World's Fair Park Fountains
• Tour of Mayfield Dairy
• Books and Blooms at the UT gardens (Thursday morning crafts and story time)
• Sunflower Project - send off to get a free packet of information and sunflower seeds
  

Here is a link to an article that has more "free things to do in Knoxville" listed.

So, what is your favorite free thing to do during the summer? Leave a comment so that we can all enjoy it!

LaSource 60 Second Fix Manicure Set

Sometime late last year a friend and I were walking in the mall and she said, "Oh, we have to go into Crabtree & Evelyn to get our hands massaged!" Once we were there we walked over to the sink and first scrubbed our dry hands with the Hand Recovery repair treatment. When they were good and scrubbed we washed the treatment off and wow! It makes your hands so soft! This is great to use during the winter or even the summer when you are washing your hands a lot from being outside, changing diapers, etc. Then after you scrub there is an amazing Hand Therapy moisturizer that is not too oily or too fragrant like most lotions.

I've been a believer/user of this product ever since then. In the 60 second fix kit is a tube of the scrub that exfoliates and then a bottle of the lotion to seal in the softness! The great thing about this, is that the mini-kit is only $10.00! That makes it a great gift for teachers during this time of year! The fragrance is rather mild so I would bet that even the pickiest teacher would enjoy this kit.

There is also a gardener's version that just has a different "herbal" scent. I bought a bottle of the hand soap and it smells great. Not to strong, but great to wash your hands in after a long day outside in the dirt or after a soak with some dirty dishes!

Great tip: all of the LaSource products (and some others) are buy one get one half off right now!

Chicken Quesadillas and Simple Sopapillas

This is one of my favorite meals to cook because it really helps me use up various leftover ingredients, and my family loves it! This week I had leftover shredded cheddar (from soft tacos last week), left over chicken (from power cooking) and an extra onion (also from power cooking).
Chicken Quesadillas (ingredients in italics)

Start off by cooking one onion in a little bit of olive oil until sweet and tender. Then cook chicken (I used three breasts) in saute pan by using my favorite method or tonight I just used my grill pan and grill press. Let the chicken rest and prepare a pan with a tablespoon or so of olive oil on medium low heat. After the chicken is sliced up throw a flour tortilla down in the pan and on one side of the tortilla sprinkle cheese, chicken and onions. Fold remaining side over. Let the first side brown for about a minute or so and the flip. Brown sides until desired color is reached and serve with sour cream. Like I said before, what is so great about this meal is that the only thing I had to purchase was the tortillas. I already had the rest of the ingredients on hand.

Dessert: Simple Sopapillas

So, I don't know about your family, but we have a hard time finishing an entire package of flour tortillas. This method is from a friend and it is a great way to use up those extras! In the same skillet you used before pour about a quarter of an inch of vegetable oil and heat over medium high to high heat. You will know the oil is ready when a piece of tortilla immediately begins to bubble. Fry your tortilla on both sides (they will puff up but that is okay) and then transfer to paper towel on wire rack. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and enjoy! I know it is traditional to add honey on these as well, but I was so eager to eat these that I forgot. I also forgot to take a picture!

Power Cooking

I love power cooking and I've been meaning to write a post about it, but Betsy already has so I'll just link to hers!