Learning To Be Content

Sometimes contentment means:

1. Learning to be happy with less. Happiness isn't getting what you want, it's enjoying what God's given you. "Whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

2. Reminding yourself things could be worse. Snoopy was lying in his dog house one Thanksgiving Day, mumbling about being stuck with dog food while all of the humans were inside with turkey, gravy and pumpkin pie. "Of course, it could have been worse," he finally reflected, "I could have been born a turkey." Reminding yourself "It could be worse" can be a powerful developer of contentment.

3. Understanding that what you seek is spiritual, not material. Our problem isn't just that we want more, it's the condition which underlies all our wanting is that we really want God. Our dissatisfaction, if we let it, can sharpen our spiritual hunger and cause us to pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven".



I'm sure we all have this problem as I know I do. Being content with what God has given us. It's very hard to look around and see others with more or better things than us. I am really bad about wanting more and more and more and never having enough. This passage helps me realize that God has blessed me in so many ways and I need to be content with what He has given me. What you see on the exterior of other's lives is not the whole story. They may look to have more than you or be happier than you but there's no telling what is going on inside their minds, their homes or even their bodies. We have all been given the lives that God wanted for us to make us who we are and we must accept that and be content with it. Pray today that God helps you to be content with what you have and thank Him for all he has blessed you with!

99 Memories and a fabulous award!!

I saw this little game on 3 Men and a 'Lil Lady's blog and it looked like fun so I thought I'd play along!! Below is a list of 99 memories and I have highlighted those I have already done.

1. started your own blog

2. slept under the stars (once in the back of a truck and quite a few times camping)

3. played in a band

4. visited hawaii (I really really want to though!!)

5. watched a meteor shower

6. given more to charity than you could afford to

7. been to disney

8. climbed a mountain (love hiking!!)

9. held a praying mantis

10. sung a solo (just once...it was pretty bad actually)

11. bungee jumped

12. visited paris

13. watched a thunder and lightning storm (we have had thunderstorms the last couple of days and I'm loving it!)

14. taught yourself an art from scratch (crocheting! does that count?)

15. adopted a child

16. had food poisoning

17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty

18. grown your own vegetables

19. seen the mona lisa in france

20. slept on an overnight train

21. had a pillow fight

22. hitch hiked

23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. built a snow fort

25. held a lamb

26. gone skinny dipping

27. run a marathon (walked is more like it)

28. ridden in a gondola in venice

29. seen a total eclipse (isn't that what we looked at with a little piece of cardboard with a hole in it when we were younger??)

30. watched a sunrise or sunset

31. hit a home run

32. been on a cruise

33. seen niagara falls in person

34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. seen an amish community

36. taught yourself a new language

37. had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person

39. gone rock climbing

40. seen michelangelo’s david in person

41. sung karaoke

42. seen old faithful erupt

43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. visited africa

45. walked on a beach by moonlight

46. been transported in an ambulance

47. had your portrait painted

48. gone deep sea fishing

49. seen the sistine chapel in person

50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris

51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. kissed in the rain

53. played in the mud

54. gone to a drive-in theater (ooooh it's drive-in season again! i can't wait to go this year!)

55. been in a movie

56. visited the great wall of china

57. started a business

58. taken a martial arts class

59. visited russia

60. served at a soup kitchen

61. sold girl scout cookies

62. gone whale watching

63. gotten flowers for no reason

64. donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. been sky diving

66. visited a concentration camp

67. bounced a check

68. flown in a helicopter

69. saved a favorite childhood toy (i still have my pound puppy, Brownie that I got when I was 3)

70. visited the lincoln memorial

71. eaten caviar (not by choice! i was tricked)

72. pieced a quilt

73. stood in times square

74. toured the everglades

75. been fired from a job (laid off)

76. seen the changing of the guard in london

77. broken a bone

78. been a passenger on a motorcycle

79. seen the grand canyon in person

80. published a book

81. visited the vatican

82. bought a brand new car

83. walked in jerusalem

84. had your picture in the newspaper (for my mom's wedding to my stepdad...the article was titled "Do you take these kids?")

85. kissed a stranger at midnight on new year’s eve

86. visited the white house

87. killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. had chickenpox

89. saved someone’s life

90. sat on a jury

91. met someone famous

92. joined a book club

93. gotten a tattoo

94. had a baby

95. seen the alamo in person

96. swam in the great salt lake

97. been involved in a law suit

98. owned a cell phone

99. been stung by a bee (just the other day a bee flew in the window of my car and stung me!!)




40 for me!! There are quite a few I want to do and quite a few I don't! Post this on your page and play along so I can see all of y'alls answers!!! :)






On to the award! I was so excited when Katie over at Kentucky Blue Belle gave me the Your Blog is Fabulous award!!! Thank you so much Katie! It means a lot to me!! If y'all have never visited Katie before, you must do that ASAP! She is just the cutest, smartest little Southern girl ever!!

I'd like to pass this on to some blogs that I think are pretty fabulous as well!!!

1. Lauren @ chasin' butterflies

2. Candace @ Candace Rose

3. Sarah Beth @ Dixie Gator Gal

4. Sailboats and Seersucker

5. The Diva on a Diet @ Beach Eats

6. Belle on Heels

 

Don't rock the boat baby!

Good morning my lovely blogger friends!! Thank goodness it is FRIDAY! I think my husband and I will take the boat out this weekend and maybe do a little fishing! Hopefully I don't die of heat stroke out there. It's supposed to be in the mid 90's! This will be the first time this year I've been out on the boat. Oh how I've missed the bright sunshine reflecting off the water, the sound of the motor, an ice cold rum and pineapple juice, Bob Marley playing in the background...ahhh, summer perfection. My husband and his brother have also aquired a sailboat and they are wanting to take it to the lake to "try it out". I told them to count me out...I value my life. As soon as they get that all figured out though, I do want to go sailing! Wouldn't that be amazing? I've never been sailing before but it's definitely on my Bucket List.

(here)

In other news...I was the lucky winner of Jenn at Chances I'm Taking's giveaway last month!! She makes beautiful custom jewelry and I got to choose a bracelet from a bunch of different designs. It was a hard decision because they were all so beautiful!! I am so in love with my new bracelet that I just had to share it with y'all!!

Isn't it beeyutiful?! I chose this one because I feel like it can go with anything!! That isn't going to stop me from dreaming about some great outfits to match it with though! Also, two of these would be great for the boat! :)

banana republic

j.crew

j.crew

coach

 

victoria's secret

steve madden

 

ralph lauren

charlotte russe

What's your favorite piece of jewelry right now??

Lime Cupcakes with Coconut-Lime Glaze

Okay so all of this talk about cupcakes yesterday and I HAD to go straight home and make some. I felt like I was a kid again and was bringing home my new playdoh kitchen to play with. Hahaha. I have been wanting to make a cupcake with coconut for a while and since it's summertime, I thought a nice refreshing lime cupcake would be perfect with a coconut glaze!!! Yum!!! This is not a super sweet cupcake so beware if you don't like tart desserts. The sweet coconut glaze on top gave this cupcake perfect balance. I am proud to say that I limited myself to ONE and ONLY one (okay two...) and sent the rest to work and friends. However, I cannot stop thinking about it's deliciousness today. LOL

Lime Cupcakes

1 cup of all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of self-rising flour
1 stick of butter at room temperature
1 1/4 cups of sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of lime zest
5 drops of green food coloring
3 drops of yellow food coloring
3/4 cup of buttermilk


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
2. Whisk both flours together in a medium bowl.
3. Beat butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and beat until combined.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time.
5. Beat in lime juice, zest and food coloring until combined.
6. Beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, starting with flour and ending with flour.
7. Fill each liner evenly with cupcake batter. **Warning! Do not taste this batter. It is amazingly delicious and you will not want to stop eating it. This is bad because it contains raw eggs. Thankfully I haven't gotten sick due to the large amount of raw egg I consumed last night. ;)
8. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool on wire rack in pan for 10 minutes.
10. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely before frosting.




                                       Isn't this color beautiful???

Coconut-Lime Glaze

1/4 cup of coconut milk
2 cups of sifted powdered sugar
zest of one lime
2 tablespoons of shredded coconut


Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle over competely cooled cupcakes and let dry. I drizzled a couple of times to get a good thick coat on them.

What are your favorite summer flavors???

Love, Me

Dear Rascal Flatts and Kellie Pickler,


I am ashamed to say that I scheduled my beach trip on your concert date in my city this year. I was extremely upset when I found that out. :(  However, you will be happy to know that I have seen each of you in concert at least 5 times so I am not a complete failure.

Love, Me

Dear Algebra,


I wasn't very fond of you in high school and it turns out I'm not very fond of you now either. I don't understand why you have to be so complicated and I cannot remember your stinkin' formulas for the life of me. No offense, but I would have been just fine without ever seeing you again.

Love, Me

Dear Jillian Michaels,

     I really appreciate your cardio workouts and I have been doing them for over 2 months now. You said after doing them regularly it should get easier. I was wondering exactly how long before these workouts are supposed to get easier because I haven't seen a glimpse of easy quite yet.

Love, Me

Dear Cupcakes,

     I miss you! I know I haven't made any of you in about a month and I feel really bad about it. I have some great ideas such as lime and coconut, root beer float, lychee and pink lemonade! It's just that you really make dieting hard and I HAVE to lose about 7 more pounds before I go to the beach and am seen in public in a bathing suit. I know you understand and I hope that we can still be friends!

Love, Me

Dear Apple,

    I am very disappointed with you. After I dropped my iPhone in the ocean, I thought I might wait until the new iPhone 4G came out before purchasing another one. Unfortunately, none of your employees knew when a new phone was coming out or if there even was a new phone coming out. So I went ahead and bought the 3GS. I found out today that the new iPhone 4G is coming out on June 24 and it is much more amazing than mine. I will have to wait 2 years for my next upgrade. Maybe you could put me on your inside scoop email list or something so this doesn't happen again. Thanks.

Love, Me






Picture Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

It's a bird...it's a plane...it's Superfoods!!!

That was way cornier than I hoped it would be...hahaha. Now that bathing suit season is coming up,  flattening my tummy is at the top of my things to do list. Sit-ups and crunches are great, but adding these belly flattening foods into your eating routine can get you on your way to a sleek, sexy stomach. Here's a list of foods from Self Magazine and how they help.




Avocado - fights fat

Blood sugar peaks can signal your body to store fat around your midsection but monounsaturated fats stop the spikes, thwarting fat accumulation. Half of an avocado contains 10 grams of the healthy fats. Dip veggies in guacamole for a flat-ab snack. Try this recipe I found on Goodhousekeeping.com.

1 can of (15 to 19 ounces) white kidney beans (cannellini), drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon of (or to taste) lime juice
1 jalapeño, seeded
1/2 cup of loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup of coarsely chopped sweet onion 
Salt
1 ripe avocado, halved and pitted
2 plum tomatoes
1. In food processor with knife blade attached, puree beans and 1 tablespoon lime juice until smooth. Transfer to medium bowl.


2.In same processor, place jalapeño, cilantro, onion, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; pulse until juicy and thick.


3.With spoon, scoop avocado from peel into bowl with beans; mash with fork until mixture is blended, with some chunks remaining.


4.Cut each tomato crosswise in half. Squeeze halves to remove seeds and juice. Coarsely chop tomatoes. Stir tomato-and-onion mixture into avocado mixture until blended. If you prefer a little more zip, stir in additional lime juice to taste.






Green Tea - revs metabolism

The compound ECGC in green tea makes it easier for your body to fry fat. Drinking 3 cups a day may kick up your metabolism and erase 30 calories daily.

Yogurt - flattens fast

Treat puffiness with probiotic-rich yogurt. One cup encourages the growth of good bacteria in your gut which crowds out other bugs that can cause bloating. Make sure the yogurt you choose has a Live & Active Cultures seal.

Blueberries - fuel fitness

Antioxidants in berries enable you to step up crucial conditioning. Antioxidants help improve blood flow which delivers more oxygen to your muscles. Giving your muscles the oxygen they needs makes exercise feel easier so you may work out harder, longer and more often. I found a recipe for Blueberry-Beef Burgers on EatingWell.com. Sounds interesting huh??

2 slices of whole-wheat bread, crusts removed, torn into pieces
1/3 cup of fresh or frozen and thawed blueberries
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon of salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
12 ounces of 90%-lean ground beef



1.Place bread in a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl. (No need to wash the workbowl.)



2.Add blueberries, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic, salt and pepper to the food processor; process until pureed. Scrape into the bowl with the breadcrumbs. Add ground beef and mix well with a potato masher. Divide the mixture into four equal portions; form into 1/2-inch-thick patties, about 4 inches in diameter.


3.Meanwhile, preheat broiler or heat an indoor or outdoor grill to medium-high. If using the broiler, coat a broiler pan with cooking spray. If using a grill, oil the grill rack by rubbing it with an oil-soaked paper towel. Cook patties until browned and no longer pink in the center, 4 to 5 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted in the center should register 160°F. Serve immediately, with or without rolls and toppings.




What are some of your favorite meals including these ingredients?

I Love You This Much

You said, I love you this much, arms stretched out wide, with nails in Your hands and a wound in Your side.

Stripes of blood on Your body, thorns into Your head, You cried out to Your Father, and then you were dead.

I can scarce imagine the horrible suffering that loving me that much would to Your life bring.

You made the sacrifice so that I might be free, because of Your amazing unconditional love for me.

A love that flows freely, as Your blood did that day. And even when I falter, Your love is here to stay.

If only I could repay You for all that You went through.

I guess the only way to do that is to live my life for You.

To live each day the best I can, be all I know I can be, and to show the love to others that You have shown to me.

                                                                           I Love You This Much by Tanya Staggs