My new fav cookie!

I needed two oatmeal boxes for a costume I was making & so have been looking for recipes to use up all the oatmeal I'd emptied out.  Well I found a good one!  These are my new favorite cookies & are half as much fat/calories as my other favorite chocolate chip cookies & I don't feel like I'm missing anything!!  And if you're counting your points, they're 2 each!  :)  Best non-weenie cookies I've found with such a low point value!

They're from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook but I'll share the recipe incase you don't have it (it's a good one, I highly recommend it!).

3/4 C. butter or margarine
1 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 C. granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 C. flour
2 C. oats
1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bake at 375 on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes.  Makes about 55 super delicious cookies.

I've made them twice this week--once for a meeting & tonight's batch for travel snacks for my family's trip to South Korea for my cousin Adam's wedding!  We leave Saturday morning & I am SUPER excited!  Stay tuned for more on that!  :)  Happy baking!

Tough 'lil carrots

I worked in my yard today for the first time this spring & look what I found growing in my garden!  Tough little carrots who survived the winter!  Yes, the biggest is about the size of my thumb but they're carrots!  I thought they were duds when nothing grew from the seeds I planted last fall.  Apparently these carrots don't want to be rushed.  I can identify with that.  They'll grow when they want to grow--when they're good & ready.  I haven't eaten them yet, so hopefully they taste good.  :)  

I was feeling a bit disheartened about planting this spring since my garden hadn't been too successful last year but now I'm inspired again.  Way to go, 'lil carrots!  :)

I'm on my way to Colorado this evening for our high school ski trip.  No skiing for me, just hanging in the lodge, sipping hot chocolate & reading some good books.  Sounds like a pretty awesome week huh? I'm pumped about it!  Happy Spring Break!  

It's Spring!

This weekend I decided it was spring & so it was time to wake my yard up & give it some color!  The bushes along the front of my house had all died over the last year & a half (part my fault, part climate...) so I'd been planning to re-do the front beds this spring.   I started with some red Knockout Roses and put Gerbera Daisies in the pot on my front porch.  It makes me so happy to drive up & see my pretty yard!  I have a couple more places to put things...one is to replace a climbing vine that died.  I want something colorful, but haven't decided yet.   The weather was so pretty this weekend, and I love working outside when it's nice!  Hopefully it'll stay like this for a while---100+ temps you just stay away!

I also bought a food processor & have become a salsa making factory!  I made basic tomato salsa this weekend and also mango salsa!  I haven't perfected my ratios of ingredients yet, but I'll share my recipe when I do.   Mmm...I do love salsa!  Anyone have a good recipe they will share?  I'd love to try!  Off to water my roses!   :)  Happy end of winter!

Yum-O Dessert!

This weekend I hosted a Red, White & Pink party with some girlfriends and made this awesome tart!  Please take note that my clothes & dessert are the appropriate color theme.  :)

Recipe can be found here.  It's many-a-step but worth it!!  

Flower Power

I made this felt flower yesterday during one of our cold spells we've been having here.  When it's below freezing all I want to do it stay home & do crafts!  :)

Cute huh?  And super easy!  Took like 10 minutes to make!  Makes for a fun accessory on a cold day.  :)

There & Back Again

It's 2/2/11!  Holy cow how did it get to be February already?!  As I am writing this it is currently 32 degrees outside & almost 5pm--this is the warmest it's been all day!  We are in day 2 of a 3-day freezing storm that has taken over Texas and the rest of the country!  I'm so glad this is the coldest it's been this winter & that it won't last long!  The warm temperatures are one of the many reasons I love living in Texas!    Brrrrr rabbit it's cold outside!

A couple weeks ago I went to Washington for a dear friend's wedding.  One of the things I loved most about my time with Worldview Academy was making friends all over the country & getting to keep up with them while traveling around doing camps.  Some of my favorite people were from the Seattle area & so it was such a fun blessing to get to spend the weekend with them!

The Bride--Mrs Sarah Gifford  :)

The Gering Girls

The Sims Family

Sarah & I were on staff together at Worldview my first or second summer (2002 or 2003?) and then got to serve on leadership together for a few years.  The Gering girls & I also served on staff & leadership together--all of which were some of the best summers I've ever had!   Just for fun--here's some throwbacks to some fun times we all had--

Jana & I with the Fremont Troll (c. 2004?)

Sarah & I in New Hampshire (c. 2006) 

Jana & I about to longboard in skirts...'nuff said (c. 2004?)

Twinkies!  Jessi, Jana & I in San Diego I think (c. 2004)

Jana & I made cupcakes with only a ziplock bag, our hands & some aluminum muffin tins.  We were Pioneer Women before The Pioneer Woman was popular.  Wish I had a pic of both of us doing this!

So thankful for these sweet friends!  And so so so thankful that this weekend it will be close to 70 degrees here!  :)  Puxatony Phil says winter is almost over & I am pumped!!   

Ruffle Wreath

Isn't it cute?  When my former college roommie Ashley was here we watched (almost) the complete first season of Glee & made crafts inspired by this website, Jones Design Company.  I'd hung a Christmas wreath on this door in my house between my kitchen & "back room" that leads to the garage & I loved being able to enjoy seeing it every time I was in the kitchen.  After Christmas I missed seeing it & was super excited when I found a tutorial on how to make this one!  And I loved these fabrics for flowers  that go so well in my kitchen!

They just make me happy!  :)  And since I don't love to cook, I need anything & everything to make my time in the kitchen more happy!  :)  

Extreme anxiety, sorrow or pain.

That would be the definition of distress.  And no, I am not distressed...but my newly redesigned guest room is!  :)  Over the last few weeks, I've been painting and scraping & furnishing my guest room & it's been hard work, but now that it's mostly done, it's been so worth it!  Unfortunately I don't have many "before" pictures.  The room had teal walls & the dresser I re-did had been my cousins & then mine as a baby.  I painted it red & blue in high school & so was faced with the task of scraping off all the old paint before my sweet friend Lynn came in to town to teach me how to distress it!  Inspired by this website, I painted it brown, then Del Coronado Tequila (off white-ish), took a sanding block to it & then added some knobs from World Market...and I love the result!  I did the same with an unfinished bookshelf I bought.  I painted the room Urban Gravity (gray), put together a bed, got my grandfather's rocking chair recovered, moved in my grandmother's sea chest & voila!  A guest room!

Don't you just want to come visit me so you can stay in my guest room?  My friend Ashley is in town this weekend & we've been crafting it up!  More on that later!  Stay tuned!  :)  

Thanksgiving

This past weekend the whole Nelson clan descended on the motherland of Corpus Christi (I was the 7th generation of my grandmother's family born in Corpus!) to eat turkey, watch football and celebrate my grandparents 60th anniversary.  We ate "traditional Thanksgiving food" on Thursday and for the first time ever I made a "Big as Texas Brandy Apple Pie" from scratch!  It's from Peace Meals by the Houston Junior League--it's a great cookbook with really beautiful pictures!  The picture of this pie is what sold me on the idea of making it!

The pie was huge & took a long time to make but it was SO SO good!!  

Of course we all watched "The" football game that night (Gig'em Aggies!) and then victory partied all night long!!  :)  On Friday we toured the USS Lexington and learned all about fighter pilots, airplanes and life on a WW2 aircraft carrier.  My mom's dad was an oral surgeon on a ship very similar to the Lex during WW2 so our favorite part of the tour was getting to see the dental area where he would have been!  

Here's Bonnie and I on the flight deck--

Bonnie also shot down some enemy aircraft with some of our cousins in tow--

The next day we toured the Texas State Aquarium and learned all about the fish in the Gulf Coast.  Here's all the Nelson girl cousins-- 

After a delicious lunch at the Surf Club we went to the Red Fish Hatchery (part of the Gulf Coast Conservation Association) where we learned even more about fish!  It was actually pretty cool to see where and how they raise the fish before releasing them into the Gulf.  

That night was our big anniversary dinner--yummy steaks & a yummy yummy cake for dessert!  

I'm so thankful for my wonderful family and the incredible example of faithfulness my grandparents have set.  They are two of the most generous, loving and kind people I know.  Their three sons have grown up the same way and as their granddaughter I am so blessed to be part of this family legacy!  It was a wonderful weekend to be thankful for all the Lord has blessed us with!  

Coffee Scoop Clips

Here's a sneak peak at the crafts my mom & I worked on last weekend when I went to Corpus...

We ordered the scoop/clips from Amazon, beads courtesy of Hobby Lobby & wire from Lowes.  It was an easy & fun project & will make for fun Christmas gifties.  (Sorry if this is a spoiler!)  :)  

11 days till Thanksgiving & 41 till Christmas!  

Here's What I Love: Dressing Up!

Two weekends was the Grace Country Fair (the churchy "alternative" Halloween option)--it was such a fun time to hangout with youth kids, serve the community & dress up!  An estimated 2000 people came &  I rocked the fair like it was 1989 (one of our kids asked if I was 80s Barbie & I just went with it since they have NO IDEA who Kelly Kapowski was--so sad right?!).  Yes, I did puffy paint my sweatshirt and even though you can't see I was rocking some sweet sparkly leg warmers too.  The pic above is with two of my 8th grade girls--one of the biggest joys of my week is hanging out with them!

I went to visit my parents in Corpus this past weekend.  My mom's birthday is this week & it was a fun weekend full of yummy food, football (GIG 'EM AGGIES!) and crafts.  What more could you ask for, right?!  We had the best fish tacos I've ever had in my life at this place right down the street from my parents house!  A newly discovered favorite!!

The current countdown is 17 days till Thanksgiving & 47 days till Christmas!  Can you tell I'm excited!  Woohoo!  :)  My favorite time of year is just a few weeks away!!

It's the most pumpkiny time of the year!

I love fall!  I love that the weather is getting cooler (in Texas this means mid-80s & I love it!), I love that the leaves change (except for having to rake them...but the weather is getting cooler so it's bearable), I love that the spices in food also change...apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin...love 'em!  Christmas decorations & movies start sneaking their way into stores & on tv and it just makes me so happy!

Another thing I'm loving about this time of year is the relationships that are growing in my 7th grade girls small group--I'm loving getting to know these girls & spending time with them!  These girls are a joy & I'm loving watching them grow in their relationships with each other & the Lord.

Here's some pictures from this past month.  A couple are from a tailgate cookout we held before a high school football game & some are from carving pumpkins with my junior high girls.  We also had a junior high lock in this weekend which was purposefully undocumented (who wants to remember what people look like at all hours of the night).  The lock in was a huge success though!  We had 67 kids signed up but had close to 90 by the time everyone got there!  Lots of pizza, coffee and dodge ball equals recipe for a good night!  :)

Happy fall ya'll!

Fall-ish Foods

One of my favorite fall foods to make are these pumpkin spice chocolate chip muffins!  They're super easy & super delicious!

• 1 box Betty Crocker spice cake mix
• 1 15oz can of canned pumpkin
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Prepare cake according to the back of the box.  Stir in canned pumpkin & chocolate chips & bake according to muffin/cupcake directions.  Usually have to bake 1-2 minutes longer than the longest time listed--you'll be able to stick a fork in them & have it come out dry.  

Aren't those silicone muffin cups cute!?  My sweet friend Renee got them for me--the muffins don't stick to them at all, they're awesome!  

What are your favorite fall foods?  Please share your recipes!

The Wedding of 2010

Last weekend my cousin Lee got married!  She & Rex had dated in college, parted ways and then reconnected a few years later living in DC.  The whole wedding weekend was on the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio & was beautiful!  

Our whole family came to San Antonio for the weekend & had so much fun together!  My cousin Adam came in from Korea & brought his fiance Oak.  It was the first time I'd gotten to meet Oak--she is lovely!  This was the first American wedding she'd seen--everything from the hen party, rehearsal dinner, ceremony & reception were new to her & it was so fun to get to see it through her eyes!  

The first generation cousins (new & future): Oak, Adam, Bonnie, Rex, me, Betsy & Walter

The Nelsons & Grobes & my favorite pic of my cousin Bear--he planted himself on a step & blew bubbles to his heart's content while Lee & Rex made their grand exit--nothing could distract him!  

Adam & Oak's wedding is in April in South Korea & while the whole extended fam won't be there it's sure to be a fun time!  Can't wait!   

Dominican Republic

It's taken me a while to blog about this trip because honestly it took this long to process it.  Last month we took a group of thirteen (8 highschoolers, 2 college students & 3 adults) to Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic.  Grace partners with the missionaries who started the Doulos Discovery School and sends groups every summer to work on the school and in the community.  It was Kevin's (youth pastor) and my first time to go to the DR & it was quite an experience!

We flew from Houston to Miami to Santiago, DR where we were met by people from the school who accompanied us on a bus ride to Jarabacoa.  Jarabacoa is in the central, mountainous area of the DR and was beautiful!

The school was awesome!  Missionaries, Chad & Krista Wallace, started it about 7 years ago with the mission of educating and raising up leaders in the DR.  I loved hearing their story and the journey the Lord has led them on during their 15 years there.  We did a lot of painting in the school's library and classrooms.  Our work projects throughout the week we were there included: stripping existing paint, sanding, paining, mixing concrete, and cleaning the pond.  We also painted and cleaned up a police station in the town.  

Our team did fantastic!  There was very little complaining and a LOT of hard working!  I was very impressed with them!  To be honest though, the trip was hard.  We worked all day, every day.  It was hot & humid, there was no a/c, there were bugs & rodents in our "villas" where we stayed and the power went out nearly every day.  There were multiple points throughout the trip at which I thought "I am never coming back here again."   

It wasn't until I got back & was talking with a woman I meet with periodically, who had served over seas as a missionary for a few years did I realize we did exactly what we'd set out to accomplish.  Serve.  She listened to me tell about what was hard about the trip and she asked, "But did you get to serve the missionaries?"  And I had to admit, "yes."  We weren't there to get glory, we weren't there to go on vacation, we were there to represent Christ, who didn't come to be served, but to serve.  The hardest thing about the trip was getting over my own selfishness and attitude.  

I'm not volunteering to go back tomorrow, but I would go back.  I loved seeing what the Lord was doing there and I would like to see how He continues to grow the school and use it to reach the DR for Christ.

Here's a few pictures from the trip: the girls on our way to the school one day, one of the school families we had dinner with, the police station we painted and our whole group at the school.    

HELK 2010

Last weekend I got to spend the weekend with the girls I lived with my last year of college--The HELK girls--Holly, Erin, Lynn & Katy.  We went to Houston to stay at Lynn's super cute house.  We got to eat lots of yummy food, played putt-putt, did some shopping, drank lots of coffee, talked & laughed a lot.   It was a super fun time!

The HELK golf classic.  I think Katy won.

Fun pics at a park near Lynn's house.  We are masters of the self-timer!  

Since we all graduated in 2006 we've all gotten together at least once every year--which is pretty awesome considering we all live in different part of Texas & Erin lives overseas!  I'm so thankful for these girls & how much fun we have together each year!  

Merigold

A few weeks ago the Nelsons & Matthews flew to Mississippi to visit our family there.  The Matthews hadn't been in a few years & we hadn't been in over 20 years!  We had more fun than I think any of us thought we would!  We ate, we laughed, we swatted mosquitos, we ate & laughed some more!  In the midst of all those we spent time with the Westerfields & Wynns (my grandfather's sisters & nephew's family).  Here's some of my favorite parts of the trip--

Lee & I at our first eating stop--The Airport Grocery!  We were a bit skeptical about this restaurant--Yelp & the gal at the front desk recommended it but it wasn't until a 2 hour waiting list tuned into a 90 second wait and then it turned out that our waiter knew our family, it became one of our favorite Cleveland hangouts.   

Bonnie, Lee & I with our Great Aunt Nell.  She taught music at Cleveland State College for 42 years and traveled all over the world on her summer vacations.  She tells the best stories!

Probably my favorite picture--My Great Aunt Shirley with my mom & Libby.  Shirley, like Nell, tells great stories & remembers so much about my grandparents.  It was so fun to talk to them & listen to all their stories!  

Possibly the funniest pic--when I was 4 (the last time I was in Merigold), Nell cut a branch off her holly tree in her yard & gave it to me.  I thought it was SO cool--a plant with my same name!  My mom wouldn't let me bring it back on the airplane with me & it made me so sad!  I told Andrew (my mom's cousin) that that was one of the few things I remembered about that trip & later that day he gave me a branch from the SAME tree!  I did bring it home & am trying to get it to grow roots to plant it in my yard, but no luck so far.  But it did make me super happy!  

One of my other favorites--Wynne St was named after my Great Grandfather.  It's the shortest street in Merigold & I think it's where the first integrated school in Merigold was.  

Even though I came home with 19 mosquito bites, it was a great trip!  I can't believe how this summer is flying by!  I'm heading to the Dominican Republic on Friday.  And when I come back...it's my BIRTHDAY!  :)  

Adventures at Home & Abroad

And by "abroad" I mean Washington, DC, where I am right now, visiting my cousin Lee!  Lee's getting married in September & so I flew in to help plan & party it up capital style!  :)  We went to J.Crew in Georgetown (where Georgetown University is--a cool trendy shopping & eating area of "The District") where they have wedding dresses in the store!  Lee had called earlier in the week & asked if they had an appointments & they had ONE at 9:15am!  The store doesn't open till 10 so it was super fun to get in & get special treatment before the store even opened!  After J.Crew we went to Anthropologie to look for bridesmaids dresses & just had a ball!  After Anthro we went to lunch, walked around Georgetown, then went to Dupont Circle to Lee's favorite museum & had a coffee & pie break before heading back to her house to rest & look at pictures of the dresses she tried on.  Very fun day!

So that's what's been going on this weekend...but LAST WEEKEND was also very fun!  My friend Venessa & I built a raised garden box in my back yard.  I've had a lot of fun planting things & taking care of my yard this spring.  I got inspired a few weeks ago to plant vegetables but didn't really want to plant in the yard (the dog likes to dig).  I started looking up raised beds online & debated making verses buying a pre-built.  My friend Venessa wanted to make one too so we agreed to help each other.  We found this website, called around & found the best lumber in town, where to get the cheapest garden soil (the Brazos Valley also has bad soil, so a raised bed is good because you can fill it with your own dirt) & went to work!  We decided to build a 4x8x12" box from cedar wood.  And we found a website that gave us a formula for how much dirt we needed.  The whole process (wood buying, dirt getting & unloading, building & filling) took about 8 hours & we were exhausted but were very pleased with the results!

The dirt--there was SO much of it!

Building the box.

The finished product!

My first tomato!

I planted zucchini, green bell peppers, cantalope, tomatoes (big & cherry), and watermelon!  The cherry tomatoes are in the small box off to the right.  I had extra dirt, so decided why not?  And two days ago I saw a very teeny tomato!!  Hopefully when I get home it'll have grown!  I'm super pleased with how the box turned out & I can't wait to see how everything turns out!  

mother MAY i....please catch up?!

Well the month of May is nearly over & apparently when it comes to blogging I have the attention span of a gnat.  Here's the highlights of May (and some of April)--

Bethany's Wedding Day

Senior Girl Brunch

I gave a brunch for the senior girls in our youth group to encourage them in finishing high school & starting college well.  It was a sweet & girly time to spend with these precious girls.  The a/c was broken at the church that day so we're all a bit shiny in the pic.  I have to show off the food because I was so pleased with how it all turned out--

Blueberry scones & mini-quiches.  Scones are from Peace Meals & the scones are a combo of two recipes--super yummy & fun to serve since they stand up on their own.  I'd be happy to share the recipes if you want!  

Youth Leader End of the Year Dinner

Most of the girls.

Weekend in Hunt, TX with my Midland friends, Dawn & Sarah.

Lunch in San Antonio with my friend Bekah & cousin Lee.

Bekah had gotten engaged the night before & Lee got engaged two days later!  

Tune in soon for adventures in gardening!