Friday, January 28, 2011

Scotcharoos

In the Brown family, few foods are as sacred as cinnamon rolls on special occasions and Scotcharoos for family gatherings. Last night I made scotcharoos. I had forgotten how easy they are!



1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter 6 cups Rice Krispies

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips


Heat sugar and corn syrup in large sauce pan, stirring to dissolve sugar. When mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and add peanut butter, stirring until well blended. Stir in Rice Krispies. Pour in a 9” x 13” pan that has been sprayed with Pam. Mix chips in a bowl and microwave until melted (It took mine about 2-3 minutes, stirring each 30 seconds. Be sure not to over heat or it will scorch the chocolate mixture). Pour over mixture in pan. Let set (I put them in the refrigerator for chocolate mixture to set). Cut and serve.

Monday, January 24, 2011

On a night like this, I could fall in love...

Although our anniversary was back in December, we've just now been able to have our anniversary date. We went to Fleming's for a yummy dinner!! My favorite foods were the feta spread for the bread and my steak that basically melted in my mouth!
So glad to have been married to this handsome man for 3 years! Looking forward to the next 50+!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Things Change, Plans Fail

Things change
Plans fail
You look for love on a grander scale
Storms rise
Hopes fade
And you place your bets on another day
When the going gets tough
When the ride's too rough
When you're just not sure enough
Jesus will still be there
His love will never change
Sure as a steady rain
Jesus will still be there
When no one else is true
He'll still be loving you
When it looks like you've lost it all
And you haven't got a prayer
Jesus will still be there

Time flies
Hearts turn
A little bit wiser from lessons learned
But sometimes
Weakness wins
And you lose your foothold once again
When the going gets tough
When the ride's too rough
When you're just not sure enough

When it looks like you've lost it all
And you haven't got a prayer
Jesus will still be there


This day holds special meaning to me...this song holds special meaning to me.... You see I LOVE to sing. I grew up singing in my church in the choirs, with the adult choir and leading worship for the youth, but the first time that I stood up on my own in front of the church to lead the special music was in January of 1998. That's back when you used a solotrac that was of course on a tape and the whole service was recorded on a different tape. If you listen to my voice you can hear some serious shaking in the first little bit of the song before I really got comfortable and was able to truly enjoy and worship. The song I sang that day was "Jesus Will Still Be There" by Point of Grace and oh what meaning that song held that I was just days away from seeing.

You see I forgot to describe what I looked like/was feeling like at the point that I stood up to sing. For quite a while I had been losing weight, but I was eating A LOT of food and was SO thirsty. I was lethargic, which the week after singing in church turned to the point of being unable to get past getting my rollers in my hair in the morning. We had visited the doctor several times to which each time I had been told that I just had a sinus infection. However, when we visited the doctor's office on January 23, he decided to run two different tests this time. The first was to check for ketones (a sign that your body does not have enough insulin) and sent me to the lab to check my blood sugar. Both tests showed what he had suspected. He told my dad that I was diabetic and instructed him to take me to the hospital.

I spent a few days at the hospital getting my blood sugars regulated and my weight back closer to what it should have been. I was shown an outpouring of love by our friends and family. And I got to show my stubborn side to the doctor as I agreed to check my blood sugar but refused at first to give a shot...that was until he told me that I could not go home until I had done so.
I remember freaking out and asking my mom if my Diabetes meant that I could never have a birthday cake again(big worry huh).
I remember getting home for the first meal out of the hospital and the absolute frustration that I felt as I cried because I could not make my finger bleed enough to test my blood sugar.
I remember the emotions that were brought forth with those first high and low blood sugars.
I remember in particular a tantrum thrown in an airport in Colorado because I had to eat or would have a low blood sugar, I wasn't hungry and the airport did not have anything that I wanted.
I remember receiving my insulin pump my senior year of high school, being so excited about it and then freaking out, boxing it back up and trying to convince my parents that we needed to return it.
(What amazing parents I have! They have always been the guardians of my diabetes, allowing me to handle it myself, but always showing such great patience and emotional support!)

But the funny thing is, as big of a deal as it may seem at some points in my life, its a disease you can live with. I have a normal life. I may have had to learn responsibility at a younger age than a lot of kids did, but what a blessing! And to think that God will not give us more than we can handle, so He knew that this scrawny 13 year old girl could handle being a Diabetic! Yes I have an insulin pump attached to me 24/7, but I would not trade it for shots any day! I may carry fruit snacks around in my purse, but who doesn't love fruit snacks! Yes my fingers have teeny calluses on them from testing my blood sugar, but praise God for the technologies that He's given us so that I can be healthy now and when I'm older. I think a lot of time it takes perspective for us to view our "trials" in life for what they truly are as blessings.
I have had the opportunity to visit kids who have just been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in the hospital and help them see that they might have to be more cautious, but they can still dance and sing and run even! Praise God for the life He has given me and for the opportunities that have come from the unexpected blessings!
Today is my diabetic birthday and my diabetes is 13!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

One For One Movement - A Pair Of New Shoes Is Given To A Child In Need With Every Pair Purchased - TOMS.com

TOMS is a shoe company where when you buy a pair of their shoes, they give a pair of shoes to a child in need. Now I love the shoes themselves (I have 3 pairs)...but even moreso I love what they're doing. Use this link to check out their website and watch the video that gives a little insight to what a "shoe drop" looks like.

One For One Movement - A Pair Of New Shoes Is Given To A Child In Need With Every Pair Purchased - TOMS.com

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Things I am loving..

1. One coat jewel tone nail polishes like OPI's Ski Teal We Drop


2. Cold weather accessories. My current fave is my crochet head wrap. (Mine is from a little shop in Brenham, but this one looks pretty similar)

3. Date nights with the husband
Wednesday night's Rockets' Game

4. Quick and Easy meals
Chili-Lime Southwest Wraps
from Cooking with Paula Deen Magazine

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1TBS lime juice
1 tsp chili powder
3 C shredded cooked chicken
1 (10oz) diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 (15.25 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15.25 oz) can whole -kernel corn, rinsed and drained
1/2 C chopped cilantro
7 (10") flour tortillas

In a large bowl, combine mayo, lime juice, and chili powder. Stir in chicken, tomatoes and green chiles, beans, corn and cilantro. Spoon mixture into each tortilla. Roll up tortillas, and cut in half.

5. Knowing I still have one more day to my weekend : )

Monday, January 10, 2011

Sew Busy

This weekend my parents came to visit us! My mom and I worked most of the day Saturday to make pillows. We made 8 pillows! My mom is such a talented seamstress and luckily she's a patient teacher too : )

Hard at work

SAGE pillows for upstairs. These pillows are burlap on one side and a soft chocolate brown on the other. I used iron on transfers to add the letters.

Pillows for our new bench
My parents went home today to snow/ice on the road and lots of snow in Longview!! I love when they come visit!!
I've also been meaning to share one of my favorite purchases from the fall. I purchased this large utility tote from ThirtyOne. I leave it in my car and it comes in SO handy. When I go to the grocery store I always put my groceries in the tote and bring it in all together. I've also started using it for my dry cleaning.

I realized at the checkout at HEB the other day that the brand of the apples is our last name. Love it!!

Have a great week and stay warm!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Random Recipes

Only two recipes..but they're def. random. Do not make together : )
For Christmas, I made an easy appetizer:
I took jalapenos, halved them and seeded them.
Then place cream cheese as filling.
Wrap each jalapeno half with half a piece of bacon.
Place on a jelly roll sheet or pyrex dish (as there will be juices that come out as they cook) and place in the oven at 350 until the bacon is cooked.
It may have been because there was so much else in the oven, but it took nearly an hour for mine to cook. Be warned also that these are very spicy! : )

Biscuits
On Sunday when we started cooking breakfast, I realized that I did not have enough bisquick to make biscuits, so I consulted my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook:

Baking Powder Biscuits
from the Betty Crocker Cookbook
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk
Directions
1.Heat oven to 450
2.In medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening (using 2 table knives, pull through ingredients in opposite directions), until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk until dough leaves side of bowl (dough will be soft and sticky).
3. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead lightly 10 times. Roll or pat 1/2 inch thick. Cut with flour 2- to 2 1/4 inch round cutter (I used the top of a class that was about 2 inches). Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 1-inch apart for crusty sides, touching for softer sides.
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. I pulled out the biscuits when there was about 2 minutes left and put a little butter on the top of each biscuit and then placed them back in the oven so the butter could melt.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Happy New Year!

So possibly a few days late, but happy 2011! (That sounds so weird). Every time that the year changes, it takes me FOREVER to write it correctly. My kids think that they're editing my morning messages, when in fact I just can't help but write 2010 : )
This year we went to Horseshoe Bay again to spend the New Year with Nick, Sarah and some of their friends. What a fun night!!



Hope you had a Happy New Year's as well!! I'm back to school tomorrow. I have had the most refreshing time off and am looking so forward to seeing my little ones tomorrow and hearing all about their breaks : ) Happy Tuesday!