Pinterest

I joined Pinterest about a month ago and all I can say is: I am HOOKED.  However, unlike normal people I don’t spend my time looking at cool things like recipes, clothes, crafty ideas, etc.  What do I like to do? Look at funny pins.  Seriously, looking at the humor pins on Pinterest is like my guilty pleasure.  When I have had a long day of school and work and I need to go to bed, what do I do?  Go on Pinterest to laugh my head off for five minutes, THEN go to bed.  So, you may have noticed that I have added a Pinterest button.  No? Well, now you know.  If you want to follow someone who has anything useful (aforementioned recipes, hair ideas, cool tips), don’t expect to find them on my blog.  However, if you like a good laugh… check me out!  Oh, and just cause I love you, here is a sneak peak! (;

 

 

A smile

Hope this makes you smile! It sure made me smile when I went in the kitchen and my brother had done this to the bananas! (-:

To Know Him

What do you think it means to know God?  To have a relationship with Him?  Do we actually know what God is like, or do we just change Him into what we THINK He is?  Sadly, we oftentimes do exactly that.  We can paint God as a “grandfather” who loves everyone no matter what or we can paint Him as a judgmental God who will torture anyone who does wrong.  But we really can’t know anything about God unless we find out who He says He is.  Just like we are likely to draw all kinds of false conclusions about people we don’t know, we can do the same to God.  We spread rumors when we gossip falsely about someone we don’t truly know—are we doing the same to God?!  We certainly have no excuse to not know God, because the Bible is chock-full of what God says about who He is!  So let’s do that.  We certainly wouldn’t attempt to befriend a person by not listening to what they have to say.  Listen to God.  And talk to Him*.  That is the only way to know Him.

This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Hope you are inspired to get to know Him a little more.  I certainly need it and am excited to do this in my own life! 

Joyfully yours,

Danielle

*More on prayer later! Have been thinking about it a lot recently as well. 

A tiny bit ridiculous

Today I started my internship at the hospital (who hoo!).  Don’t you love the fashionable clothes they make you wear? No offense if this is your style, but I have never worn khakis and a polo shirt, ever.  I think khakis are extremely uncomfortable. 

 

I also have a few little stories to tell you about this experience:

1.      For months, I had been looking for an internship in the Physical Therapy department at a hospital.  Every hospital I contacted either said they didn’t do internships or that I couldn’t get in until January. Including this hospital, where I was told I couldn’t get in until January.  So, I sit back and decided to wait until January for my internship. Then, during my trip to San Francisco two weeks ago, I get an email from the hospital asking me what hours I want to work.  I’m thinking “huh?” but I email back and tell them that I would like to work Friday mornings.  I get an email a few minutes later saying that she would like me to start Friday (it was Wednesday night!).  Uhh, what??!  Thankfully, she realized that that was crazy and later emailed me saying that I would have to meet with the volunteer coordinator to fill out paperwork and give proof of immunizations and TB tests before I started.

2.      TB test.  I wasn’t even expecting this internship.  And no, I don’t have a recent TB test lying around, so I had to rush to quickly get one before I met with the volunteer coordinator last week.  Guess what?  You can’t get in at the doctor that quickly!  Seriously, sometimes it takes weeks.  So instead, I make an appointment to go to my sister’s pediatrician (I also used to go to him).  Sitting in that office surrounded by infants and small children (whose parents look to be closer to my age) is just a little awful.  When I signed in, they asked me what the patient’s name was.  “Danielle,” I mutter (as if I am not the patient).  And the awkward stares of people who are obviously looking around for the child that I don’t have.  My favorite part was when I got the TB shot, I had to sign a waiver that said that I was aware of the risks and my child was allowed to receive the shot.  Oh, dignity.

3.      Day of appointment with coordinator.  I arrive (30 minutes early, thank you) and I go into the hospital.  I ask for the “volunteer office.” No one, NO ONE knows where it is.  How is this possible?  Finally, the lady in the gift shop tells me that the volunteer office is not even at the hospital, it is on some other street.  So I drive there and thankfully, am still on time. The volunteer coordinator says, “Oh, I think I forgot to give you my address.” Why yes, you did.  I proceed to fill out paperwork for my background check and turn in my immunization records.  The volunteer coordinator looks at me: “Do you have two TB tests?  I might have forgotten to tell you that you need two TB tests before you can start.” WHAT? How did that little detail get left out.  Which leads me to…

4.      TB Test 2.  Repeat of story 2. 

Cheesy, gooey chicken

Hi all!

Thought I’d share another recipe today.  I made this recipe last week and although it is very different from my usual fare, it was wonderful.  I halved it because there were only 4 of us, but the full recipe serves 6.  I used rice pasta, which was perfect with it. 

Saucy Garlic Chicken

Ingredients

4 whole garlic bulbs
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 pkg (9 oz) fresh baby spinach
¾ tsp salt, divided
½ tsp pepper, divided
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 oz each)
6 Tbsp butter, cubed
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
2 ½ cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Hot cooked pasta
Chopped tomato and minced fresh parsley, optional

Look at that cheesy, gooey sauce.. mmm!

2 bulbs of garlic... wow.  And that is when you halve the recipe. Definitely a must for date night :)

1.      Remove papery outer skin from garlic (don’t peel or separate cloves). Cut tops off bulbs; brush with 1 Tbsp oil.  Wrap in foil and bake at 425^o for 30-35 minutes or until soft.  Cool for 10-15 minutes.

2.      Place spinach in greased 13x9 inch baking dish; sprinkle with ¼ tsp each of salt and pepper.  In large skillet, brown chicken in remaining oil and place over spinach.

3.      In large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth and add milk slowly.  Bring to boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thick.  Stir in 2 cups of cheese, nutmeg, and remaining salt and pepper.  Transfer to blender, squeeze softened garlic into mixture and process until smooth.  Pour mixture over chicken.

4.      Cover and bake for 30-35 minutes or until 170^o.  Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake 5 minutes longer.  Serve with pasta, tomato and parsley, if desired.

Hope you love this as much as my family and I did!

Joyfully yours,

Danielle

Me, Myself and I

Linking up for another Me, Myself and I party! Enjoy, and then head over to check out other link-ups!

Joyfully yours, Danielle

1) What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

I would go for it.  Whatever it is, whether a friendship, a job, etc, I would just do it.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I am afraid of failure, which can really hold you back. 

2) If you had only six months left to live, what would you do with the time?

I would live the way I should be living now.  I would put God first.  I would live passionately.   I would love more and be angry less.

3) If a front page news article was written on you, what would the headline be?

Oh dear. Probably something really weird like “Clean Freak Makes Family Wash Hands Too Much”… yes, I will admit it here: I am a germaphobe.

4) What is your biggest pet peeve?

Rudeness.  (Yes, this is a very broad pet peeve, but seriously… how can you pick just one?)

5) What is your favorite chick flick movie?

Hmm. I am not a huge fan of girly movies.  But, I have always loved Walk to Remember.  That said, my two all time favorite movies are Series of Unfortunate Events and Remember the Titans.  I think that says a lot more about me.

http://mybeautifulcrazylifex33.blogspot.com/

Blessed.

Maturity is so overated

I have been feeling very blessed this week.  I’ve been seriously worried about my school and job situation… When the family I worked for stopped needing me in June, I was so worried about getting another job.  When I didn’t get all the classes I wanted, I was freaking out.  When I tried to find an internship at a hospital and couldn’t, I was so disappointed.  But guess what?  I just started a wonderful new nanny job this week (possibly the best I have ever had), the hospital contacted me and I am starting an internship next week, and I am down to #1 on the waitlist for the two classes I didn’t get into.  WOW.  I feel as if God just spoke directly to me, telling me that I need to stop worrying and have a little faith.  And yes, I am sure sorry that I didn’t have that faith.  I am taking this moment to be thankful and joyful about the blessings I have been given.  Really, what in the world am I doing worrying?  God has already filled my life with so many blessings that many do not enjoy: a wonderful hope for the future, an amazing family, supportive friends, love and health.  I pray that next time I may have the foresight to be able to take this wonderful quote to heart:

That is all.  Have a blessed and joyful weekend.

Joyfully yours,

Danielle

Give thanks in all circumstances

Earlier this summer, I read The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom.  I have been telling everyone I can about it… so I thought I should share its wonderfulness with all of you.  All I can say is that this is one of the most touching books I have ever read.   Corrie ten Boom has the most amazing and steadfast faith.  Seriously.  In essence, it is the story of how Corrie and her sister, Bessie (both unmarried and elderly), are part of the Dutch underground during the Holocaust.  Eventually, they are found out and the family is arrested and taken to prison in Germany.   The circumstances that Corrie lives through are more than I could ever imagine, yet she remains faithful to God and joyful through it all.  One of the passages that I liked the most was when Bessie tells Corrie (while in the German prison) that they must be thankful for everything, as we are told to give thanks in all things.  Corrie wonders aloud if they are to be thankful for the fleas, and Bessie tells her that, yes, they must be thankful even for the fleas.  Later, we find out that the only privacy the prisoners ever receive is in one certain room that the German wardens refuse to enter.  Why do they refuse to enter? Because of the fleas inside! Wow.  So be thankful, even for the fleas.  So if you have never read it, go read it.  I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Joyfully yours,

Danielle

Ode to Birthdays.

There are two things that I love more than the average person.  If you know me, you already know this.  If you don’t, you soon will.

1.  My Car.

My car, whom I fondly call Chester, is one of my favorite things in the world.  And yesterday, Chester turned 60,000.  This milestone is bittersweet… Chester is packing on the miles, though I know we have many good years to go.  Chester has been a faithful car to me since February 2010.  Over the past few semesters, I have spent more time in Chester driving than almost anywhere else.  Thanks Chester! 

Celebrating on the day I got Chester! No idea why this picture was taken upside down..

Chester in all his birthday glory!

2.  My Birthday.

I LOVE birthdays.  Not just my own, but all birthdays. I love to pick out the perfect present.  I love to celebrate with the person.  I love, love, love it.  So naturally, I also love my own birthday.  This does NOT mean I’m obsessed with myself, people!!!! It is the one day a year when the people who love you most ALL send thoughts and love your way.  And I truly appreciate that.  Every card, text and phone call makes my day. 

To the great annoyance of my brothers, I also love my clock birthday.  Don’t know what that is? I’m not surprised.  Clock birthdays are when the time reads your birth month and day (aka: mine is 8:18).  Every time I happen to glance at the clock and see 8:18 I exclaim, “It’s my birthday!”  To which my family responds: “No, it’s not.”  Not everyone appreciates the greatness of clock birthdays.  But now, my real birthday is on Saturday, and I am thoroughly looking forward to it.  A toast to Chester and birthdays!

Joyfully yours,

Danielle

Time is Love

Hey there! So this is definitely not what my planned blog post was for today.  But as I was driving, I heard a song that I really like and it got me thinkin’.  It is a song by Josh Turner, called “Time is Love.”  The lyrics go like this:

I know I gotta put in the hours,
Make the money while the sunlight shines
But anything I gotta get done,
It can get done some other time

Time is love, gotta run,
Love to hang longer,
But I got someone who waits,
Waits for me and right now
She's where I need to be,
Time is love, gotta run

I only get so many minutes,
Don't wanna spend 'em all on the clock
In the time that we spent talkin',
How many kisses have I lost?

Time Is love, gotta run,
Love to hang longer,
But I got someone who waits,
Waits for me and right now
She's where I need to be,
Time is love, gotta run.

Gotta fly
Fly
Before one moment
Gets by...

Time Is love, gotta run,
Love to hang longer,
But I got someone who waits,
Waits for me and right now
She's where I need to be

Time is love, gotta run,
Love to hang longer,
But I got someone who waits,
Waits for me and right now
She's where I need to be,
Time is love, gotta run.

Time is Love, gotta run...

Basically, this song is about the importance of relationships in our lives.  And I am not talking about romantic relationships, although those are certainly part of it.  But really, there are so many relationships we have--- our relationships with God,  our family, our friends, our spouses, our co-workers.  Those relationships are the most important thing.  Yet so often, we find ourselves consumed with work, with school, with material good and power and status.  We can’t have it both ways! We only have so much time each day and the things we choose to spend our time on WILL define who we are.  If we spend our whole lives putting material things first, we will get to the end of our lives and realize that we are empty.  It is our relationships with God and with the people who surround us that will make our lives full of joy and happiness.  We only have so much time--- I’d like to say I spent my time cultivating my relationship with God and those around me.  Time IS love.  Those around us will be able to tell what we love most by how we spend our time.  So, what do you love most??

Joyfully yours, Danielle

P.S. Don’t forget to go check out Josh Turner’s music video!

Fun in San Fran

Another week away from home… this is getting tiring! This week I am in San Francisco helping out with a Vacation Bible School. I was very happy to find out some of my good friends were up in San Fran too, and I spent a lovely afternoon/night with them!  We started out at gorgeous Golden Gate Park.  After walking around a bit, we decided to check out the de Young Art Museum (FREE admission!).  You can tell we are great patrons of the arts.

 

We also went to the top of the de Young to check out the view of the city... pretty neat. 

After that, we headed over to eat at The Cliffhouse.  The view was just AMAZING.  Seriously, I wish I could capture it fully with a picture, but I can’t. 

The food was amazing too.  I had some delicious ravioli (wish I had written down what is was!) with  a lemony-cheese sauce and asparagus.  YUM!  Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish my dinner because I had eaten wayyyy too much bread (not very good at the whole self-control thing). 

            










 << Looks wonderful, huh?   Andy got a burger, which looked pretty awesome too. 








After dinner, we drove to Union Square. We wandered around and shopped for a while...

<< Some girls plan their dream weddings; Samantha and I plan our dream kitchens

Unfortunately, most of the stores were closing so around 8 we ended up heading into The Cheesecake Factory for some dessert. Sophie is from London, and had never been to The Cheesecake Factory before (turns out, she doesn't even like cheesecake... how is that possible??). The place was packed, so we enjoyed a looooong wait. Luckily, there was a pretty neat view. 

 

^^ Andy and Sophie had the most massive shakes I had ever seen

So basically, it was a great day.  The Cliffhouse was wonderful and I would highly recommend it.  But of course what made the day so great was hanging out with dear friends!  Hope you are all having a great week too.



Joyfully yours,

Danielle



85 days 16 hours 51 minutes 18 seconds

Yes, I hate running.  However, I have a strange obsession with doing things I hate.  I am setting out to do my second Mud Run on October 27^th…. Whoooo!!!  I did one with my friends several years ago and it actually turned out to be disappointingly easy.  I’m hoping this one will be tougher.  If you don’t know what a Mud Run is… you guessed it… it is a run in the mud.  It is surprisingly awesome to run while covered/crawling through mud.  There are also lots of obstacles along the way.  So just though I’d share with you something that I’m super pumped/nervous about. I will be sharing more as I start getting ready for it! Yay!  Have a great weekend. 

Joyfully yours,

Danielle

Home Sweet Home.

Hi friends! I have missed you all and hope you've been having a great week.  I had a wonderful time at Bible school.  It is definitely bittersweet to be home. However, I’m excited to be blogging again!  Today I’ll be brief because I have a lot of unpacking and laundry to do.  I want to share with you a song I’ve been LOVING lately. 

"He Said" By Group 1 Crew & Chris August

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmi9IBP209s

This song really speaks to me.  Lately, I have been struggling with some things in my life and being with my friends last week made me realize that there are a LOT of people out there struggling, whether you know it or not.  Seriously, we need to be noticing those people and going out of our way to help them.  For those of you out there struggling, remember what HE SAID “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Cor. 10:13)”  So be faithful to God, and He will be faithful to you!  And I think that is certainly something to be JOYFUL about. 

Joyfully yours,
Danielle