Tackling fears this week as I have placed limits on myself with my weight and goals. Starting again.
Blessings.
Sunday Thought
Yesterday, a friend felt failure. She cleans condos on Saturdays and she wasn’t able to complete the job. Her body and spirit failed.
“Accept each day exactly as it comes to you. By that, I mean not only the circumstances of your day but also the condition of your body. Your assignment is to trust Me absolutely, restin in My sovereignty and faithfulness.
On some days, your circumstances and your physical condition feel out of balance: The demands on you seem far greater than your strength. Days like that present a choice between two alternatives—giving up or relying on Me. Even if you wrongly choose the first alternative, I will not reject you. You can turn to Me at any point, and I will help you crawl out of the mire of discouragement. I will infuse My strength into you moment by moment, giving you all that you need for this day. Trust Me, by relying on My empowering Presence.” Psalm 42:5; 2 Corinthians 13:4; Jeremiah 31:25 – Jesus is Calling by Sarah Young
This was yesterday’s devotional. We will always feel failure at some point in our day or weeks. These scriptures remind us to rely on God in each failure. To accept each step regardless of the fall. Accepting that we can’t complete something hurts. We don’t want to admit that we fail. We need to remember that we are not perfect, and we can’t do it all.
Encourage those when you can.
Blessings.
Dips
Last week was our first football Saturday, and I made some dips for the day.
I have made these dips before, but wanted to talk about them separately again here. All three are simple and use mayo. 
The middle dip is pimento cheese with 2 cups of shredded cheddar, 1 small jar of chopped pimentos with juice, a pinch of crushed red pepper, 1 teaspoon of ground mustard, and about a cup of mayo. I do the mayo last as the juice and cheese dictate how moist it will be. 
Artichoke and crab dip: 1 can artichokes in water – chopped, 2 cans of crab meat-drained (whatever kind of crab that is your preference), ground pepper, 1 cup of parmesan (and more to cover the top), lemon juice and about a cup of mayo. Again, I add the mayo at the end and may or may not use the entire cup. Mix together, sprinkle extra cheese on top, and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until cheese is golden brown on top.
And my favorite at the moment is Million Dollar Dip as you mix it together and serve at room temperature. Nothing to heat, and still creamy. It has a cup of the following: slivered almonds, chopped green onions, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped-crispy bacon and mayo. Super simple and so yummy.
You can serve all of these with pita chips, tortilla chips, celery, , sliced bell peppers, cucumbers or toasted baguettes. Really anything or nothing at all. 
Fall, Saturday’s, football, and dips–can’t get any better. Well, maybe with a cookie or two?
Do you have a go to recipe for football or Fall? Share!!
Blessings.
Butterfly
Uh – This!!
Blessings.
Bucket List
If you have been following my blog for any amount of time, y’all know that I love going to famous chef’s restaurants. So David and I were in Las Vegas for our anniversary and birthdays. We were able to go to several Bucket List places.
We went to Giada’s, and to Robert Irvine’s Public House. Both were wonderful.
But the one place we were absolutely in love with was Hell’s Kitchen-at Caesar’s Palace. We had seared scallops, lobster risotto as appetizers. (And I did’t eat all of my meal.)
Then I had the Beef Wellington and David had the beef short ribs. Everything was incredible. We have watched Hell’s Kitchen, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Being able to eat at the Gordon Ramsey Hell’s Kitchen was amazing. I know that it wasn’t the actually studio for the filming, but…it was incredible experience and meal.
We had a ball, had some really great food. Truly a wonderful day.
Blessings.
Salmon with Pine Nuts
I have been craving a lot of fish lately. So when David and I where in Washington DC, I had this wonderful salmon dish with pine nuts. I thought I would try to mimic the recipe. I came close.
Pan roast the pine nuts until golden. 
The use a rolling pin or chop as you like to crumble the pine nuts.
I added in some fresh parsley, and did a coarse chop.
I had purchased this beautiful salmon filet. I cut it into 4 equal pieces for cooking (and I left the skin on—love the skin especially when crispy).
Take the pine nut mixture and coat the top of the fish with it. 
Cook it with the pine nut side down first, cooking it 4-5 minutes.
Flip them, and cook until the skin is crispy. 
It was good, nutty, and succulent. I should have served the skin side up, but didn’t so it didn’t stay crispy. It was still very good. I did serve this with the cherry sauce.
September
This month means a lot in different ways for all of us. For me, it is the beginning of College Football.
College Football started this past Thursday (officially) although for us it was Saturday. Loved being able to spend time with friends earlier in the day, and then to have time to make snacks/dinner for the family was really wonderful. 
I made my pimento dip, million dollar dip and crab and artichoke (hot) dip. It was so yummy! I hated having to turn on the oven with it being 90 plus degrees outside. I haven’t made the crab artichoke dip in a long while. I don’t always seem to make it the same way…what we have on hand I suppose. 
College Football is almost like a religion in the South. I have missed it so…
Blessings!
Labor Day
Be safe if traveling. Happy Labor Day!
Blessings.
Sunday Thought
I had lunch with a precious new friend on Friday. We always enjoy our time together, and we are able to talk about our frustrations with work, life and in general. We leave feeling lifted and loved.
We were leaving, hugged for our good-byes, she asked for prayers for patience.
NO! Never ask for patience from God. Background: A precious missionary wife (Marianne) was in a prayer group with me about twenty years ago, and I had asked for patience with my first husband and kids. She came up to me afterward – privately- and said “Never ask for patience, God will just you more tribulations. Ask for wisdom and discernment instead.” Now, whenever anyone asks in prayer for patience, I immediately respond with what Marianne said.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:2-5 (NIV)
Blessings.
Shape
Or the path you have walked on.
Blessings.
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