Friday, February 28, 2014

Fav Quotes of the Week!

"Effort can often be wasted trying to impress those thought of to have influential power, while forgetting who really has the ultimate power."


"Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind."---Theodore Roosevelt

Monday, February 24, 2014

NTBMO Planning and Re-Designing

 Above:  Ariel Buckler and Jamie Hawkins
We planned the BIG NTBMO dinner menu and decor that is coming up in April.  This is the most important dinner of the year, so we are taking it very seriously and trying to have the right attitude to go with it.  It's going to rock!  We have great guests invited. With three of us co-hostessing together with God's help hopefully means this is going to be one Night to be Remembered!  1.5 months and it's here!
 Nothing to do w/the NTBMO dinner planning, but this weekend, I re-designed a design I had specially designed last year for someone, something I've been intending to do for months, and decided to use the re-design replica in my own living room.  

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Favorite Quote of the Week!


"Our personalities must express God's character which is love; outgoing concern for others.  Personality can be mistaken for character."---Grenada 2013

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

A "Happy" Song

The world is definitely looking for happiness!  Something that it is majorly lacking.
This song just came out 2 months ago called "Happy", and it's the number 2 most popular song in the USA on the billboard charts, and also made the charts in Austria, France, Germany, New Zealand, Austria, Poland, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom.  It is the number 1 hit in Ireland.
Can't wait until happiness is something that everyone will have.  
This song is nice for the fact that it's actually an upbeat song with no bad lyrics, just talking positive about being happy, and proves how music can affect you.  It's like a happy mix of soul, blues, jazz...a whatchamacallit genre  Love it, but I will love it more when everyone is actually happy and won't have to listen to a song to make themselves try to feel happy.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Gal Pal Time!


Katherine Harmon, Jamie Hawkins, Tiffany Watson, and myself got together early Saturday evening for gal pal time.  We discussed how blessed we are in our individual lives.  We’re here at God’s HQ hub of the work, none of us deserve it, but God has blessed us so much in each of our lives in every way.  Everyone has their trials, but we realize how God has been in each of our lives and placed us doing what we each do, and even placed us together as friends.  It’s mind blowing.  We ate at Interurban, a popular HQ hangout.  We saw 13 other brethren in there on the same night which is typical.  Another blessing is being able to get together often since we all live so close to one another.  We don’t take that for granted.  Life is about change, and things won’t always be the same, but we seize each moment that comes our way to live a happy fulfilled life.







Justin Goodearl and Kyle Tremblay's Baptism



Photos of Justin Goodearl and Kyle Tremblay’s baptism.  I am so happy for these two boys…wait they are not boys anymore, they just became men!  They are good quality men who are very kind, always serving, etc.  Justin is only 19 and was already so mature for his age.  He is like a walking Bible.  The guy knows his Bible.  We were joking when we were out after his baptism, and throwing out random Bible scriptures, and Justin did not miss one.  Wow!!!  Kyle inspires me the way he understands the family plan and just family in general.  His sister is here at AC, and they are so close, and Kyle and his sister go out of their way to be close to the entire extended family when given the chance.  Family is everything, so that’s impressive.  Proud of my little brother’s.  It will be neat to see how God can use them now even more!  Like someone told one of them the other day, you really can’t do anything with your life until you commit to God, then life begins.







Justin invited some friends to eat with him after his baptism at IHOP…aka International House of Pancakes. I felt so honored to be the big sister invited! Jordy Rouzer made a comment that is totally blog worthy using the restaurant title as her inspiration.  We really were an international family at the table….the man of the hour…Justin is from Hawaii, yeah, it’s the US, but it’s not on the mainland…..Emmanuel Michels is from Germany, Joel Price is from Canada, Danielle Underwood is from Australia, Jordy said I’m not really American, but Texan, I’ll go with that, and she and Steven Privratsky were the only two real American’s, ha, ha, at the table.  International flavored group! 







My Parents Car Miracle!

So many miracles happen in life that I am going to start blogging certain miracles to share with friends.  I'll start with one that happened to my parents just last week.---CC


One very icy, cold Saturday evening my parents were on their way home when they got to a steep hill covered in ice, and their car slid backwards, into a ditch, and turned sideways right across the road.  My dad was driving with my mom in the passenger seat, and it was an Oklahoma back road, so it could be hours before anyone would pass and see them, and because their car was stuck turned sideways across the road, a car coming over the hill could crash into them the way they were positioned.  My mom’s cell phone was out of minutes, so they had no phone to call for help.  For the time being, I was at my home with company over.  I had listened out for my parents to return home, we’re neighbors, and I thought I had heard their car pull home, so I went about entertaining my guest in my home.  At 8:52pm I received a call from a strange number I didn’t recognize.  I answered it, and a lady on the other end said, “Is this Carolyn?”  I hesitated, and then said “yes, this is she.”  She then said “I just want to let you know that your parents are stuck in a ditch out on the ice.  I came over the hill and almost ran into them, but I swerved to keep from hitting them, and my car went into the ditch, but its okay, my husband is on his way to help us.  Your parents are okay.  I will call you back when my husband arrives.”  I then told her I would come out, and she told me not to come out because I would get stuck too.  Going back in time, I found out later that my parents got stranded at around 7:00PM, and when the lady called at 8:52PM after almost hitting and seeing them, they had almost been out there for 2 hours sitting helpless.  It was too icy for my mom to try get out and walk, and with my dad’s health he couldn’t have gotten out on the ice to walk.  My mom said my dad would turn the car on and off for heat purposes to keep them warm.  He was worried they could be killed b/c of knowing cars could come over the hill and hit them which is what almost happened with that lady.  Going forward in time, at about 9:20pm, the lady phoned me back and said that her husband had pushed her and her two boys out of the ditch and back up the hill, and that her car was okay.  She said her husband and two young men had tried to push my parents car out and up, but their car is bigger and heavier, and they couldn’t do it without slipping on the ice and the car almost rolling back on them.  She said my parents had called a tow truck to get them up the hill.  The remarkable part is that the lady said her husband took her two boys home and let her stay out with my parents with her car on top of the hill with her hazard lights on, so that no one would come down the hill and strike them.  I couldn’t believe it.  By then, I was ready to come out myself, but the lady kept insisting that I didn’t come.  She told me to trust her, and that she would look out for my parents, and not to worry because she was making sure no one would hit them, and that she would stay with them as long as it took to rescue them.  She said she didn’t want me out in the cold too, and didn’t want me to risk getting stuck.  I was thinking God is using this woman, this is unusual.  Most people would have felt like they did their duty to help by calling a relative, and then left.  Anyway, 10:18PM came and the tow truck never showed, loser company.  Anyway, the lady, who amazingly was still watching out for my parents out in the cold, called, and told me the tow truck never showed, and that my dad, probably in a life survival adrenaline rush, finally got his car to go backwards back down hill, sounds like a miracle as he and others had tried this earlier, and then he gunned the car up the hill….and up, up, and up and over it went and they were back on the road for home.  They still weren’t out of the clear though because once they got to our property, getting up our long driveway could have been a problem.  I almost hadn’t made it with my car earlier that day, and my car is newer with all of the “tell you everything” features on it.  My car had “told me” that I was slipping on ice with no traction earlier.”  I was like, thanks car, but I think I know that.  Anyway, I had told my parents earlier to gun it when they got to the driveway to make it up and over the ice, and that is what they did.  I saw their car pulling up to their house and their night of adventure ended.  The lady had followed them all of the way home making sure they didn’t get stuck again, and made it up our driveway.  She did not hang up with me until I told her I saw them pull up to their house.  I told her we owed her something for being so kind.  She told me not to worry about it, and I insisted, but she dismissed my offer.  I told her I sincerely hoped God would bless her for her unusual kindness, and she said she would take me up on that one.  Ha, ha!  I went out to my parents car, and my mom said it had been kind of fun and had spiced up their life a bit.  My dad then said, “I don’t like spice.  I’m too old for spice.”  Ha, ha!  It really was a miracle that no one came over the hill and killed my parents smashing into their car, and that the lady that almost hit them, turned out to be used by God to use her car to let other people know that they were down there, so no one would hit them, and that she stayed with them the entire time, and that her husband and relatives helped them.  It’s neat how God sometimes allows us to go through hard times, but in the end, with faith, he always delivers us in His timing.  It’s also neat to see how he can use people to help us.  Sometimes, I find myself wondering in situations, was that really an angel?  J

Friday, February 14, 2014

Favorite Quote of the Week!

"Words may show a man's wit but actions his meaning."---Benjamin Franklin

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Ladies Night with Aimee Goulet

 While many ventured to Texas last weekend for the Pine Car Derby, a few of us stayed back and enjoyed the peace and quiet of so many being gone.  Just being honest!  :-)!  Fun Ladies Night with Aimee G. at my place.  I really like the below pic of Aimee b/c she looks so happy in it, though hopefully she won't get me for posting it!  :-)




Monday, February 3, 2014

Culinary Elegance's Version of Melissa Brown's Blackened Chicken

The Culinary Elegance version of Melissa Brown's blackened chicken recipe shown last week on this blog.  It turned out yummy...I added potatoes to the mix. Wow!  Next time I have dinner guests beef is NOT what's for dinner, but blackened chicken!

Favorite Quote of the Week!

"It's easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace."---Andre Gide

Random Monday Morning Post

 One of my random Monday Morning Posts at work at HQ!
Snow leftover from y'day, but suppose to get much more in tomorrow and more later on this week!  Are we in Russia?  It's a "cold war" here!  :-)
Flowers from Sheery Beezley...If I post who gave them to me, it will spare me from getting bugged by many ppl stopping by asking me in a goo goo voice what man sent them to me.  (This always happens to me.)  :-)!  Just for the record, if a man ever sent me flowers, I would  NOT put them on my desk for the world to see.
Pic of Deepika A. this morning.  This girl is so serving, she's amazing!

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Spending Late Friday Night with the Most AMAZING Gal Pals!!!

 After getting home from the Nash's, a few of my best gal pals spent the night at my house.  Packing it all in one Sabbath night.  We had so much kosher girlpal Sabbath fun, understatement, and stayed up until 1:30AM before we put ourselves to bed, so that we wouldn't sleep through services the next day!  No pictures of us b/c we were in our house clothes/pajamas...rated "P".  :-)  We admire the Irish dancers...they are so talented, but my gal pals and I cannot Irish dance to save our lives, so we turned on David musical and "pretended" like we knew how....we looked so ridiculous that we laughed so hard at least I thought laughter was going to kill us.  It was the Sabbath, so we reigned it in.   :-)  I will say I really love my gal pals...they are the best!!!  Above are some yummy potatoes that I cooked for breakfast Sabbath morning for "the sisterhood."  Blooper of the day:..... Later on, my dad told me he smelled garlic and I realized I wasn't going to have much fellowshipping at services b/c I was the garlic smell from cooking the potatoes.  Wow!

Friday Night Dinner at the Nash's Home

 The Nash's hosted a swanky dinner Friday evening.  That's what many do at HQ on rare Friday nights when we don't have Bible Study...get together.
I REALLY like the above pic of Chris Eames an Anya Trietsch.  Still thrilled that Anya finally made it to HQ!
 Mr. Nash's lovely smile!

Anthony Chibarirwe enjoying Mrs. Nash's dessert.


 Mr. Nash was so kind, and volunteered to take a pic of Anya and I since I had tweeted and blogged the one we took in Africa 10 years ago.  It's like a 10 year reunion pic.  :-)
The Nash's are top notch at hosting dinners fit for royalty, and wow, appetizers, swanky salad, main course, and dessert!  I felt bad b/c I could not eat everything that was on my plate like a guest should do.  There was so much food!  Delicious!




 Mrs. Nash's yummy cheesecake!