Project 365: March Recap

Ok, I have to be honest.  I have not faithfully followed Project 365 like I had intended to.  Granted, I am still taking lots of photos, but not EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  I know, bad follow through.  Though it's not every day, it's nearly every day.  That counts for something, right? ;)

I do have folders on my computer for each month of pictures I take, however, so here are some March photos that never made it on the blog.  Enjoy!

Photo 1:  My new favorite shoes that feel like they've been my shoes for forever...they're that comfy and worn-in.
Photo 2:  Jas Ed Pa lookin' at me from the back porch.
Photo 3:  Baby bel playing hard core with her fav tennis ball.
Photo 4:  That, my friends, was the first sign of spring in Palmer yard! (this picture appeared earlier but is back because it makes me smile :)

Solid Potato Salad

Jas and I made a rockin' meal this weekend.  He's the resident grill master, and well, I pick up most everything else when it comes to cooking. :)  So we combined our abilities and made:  KABOBS and POTATO SALAD.  Yum!

These kabobs are super easy, of course, but very delicious.  Our kabobs were made up of mushrooms, pineapple, peppers, onions, and chicken we had pre-marinated.  Then, Jas grilled them to perfection and we ate up!

I made some potato salad based off of a recipe found on recipezaar.com.  It was great!  You can also check out potatosalad.org for plenty of other good recipes (Isn't that funny--there's a whole website with potato salad recipes...ha).

Now, speaking of potato salad, you must watch this video.  I first stumbled upon it on another blog and it just makes me laugh.  Watch it and you will see what I am talking about.  They're my new favorite singers/dancers.



How about that for some solid potato salad? :)

Shopping Spree!

Friday Jas and I got to go on a shopping spree.  Woot woot!  And better yet, a shopping spree for Haiti (that rhymes).

We hit up not only Walmart, but REI, Michaels, Target, and Macy's.  Not only were we shopping (mainly) for our trip to Haiti, but between the month of April and the beginning of May, there are five birthdays in our two families (that's a lot!).  I also picked up some prizes for a drawing at school.  (Don't worry...we used as many coupons as we could find :)

Here's the breakdown:
*Gifts for family members
*6 or 7 meals for Jas and I while in Haiti
*Candy/gifts to give out to kids in Haiti
*Other supplies for Haiti
*Personal items for the house
*Prizes for students in my classes

Take a look at our loot! 

I am eager and excited about this trip to Haiti.  I am also anxious and prayerful about how it will effect both myself and our team.  I know how much I loved Haiti last year (and it was no easy trip then), but I can only imagine it's going to be harder on the heart this year.  Both spiritually and emotionally this will be a tough trip (not to mention physically!).  Please be praying for our team as we prepare to head out next weekend.  Pray for strength and endurance in Christ daily.

There's also a link to our team's Haiti blog on the right side of our blog.  Right over there. --->
You can keep up with us while we're there.  I will be sending emails and (hopefully) pictures to be posted on the blog while we are in Haiti.  Check it out!

Now to organize all those goods into 1) bags for Haiti, 2) birthday presents, 3) prizes for drawing, 4) personal items for the house. Gotta get started! :)

seventeen

No, not the magazine.  Rae Francis!!!  Tomorrow she is a seventeen year old chick!

On Thursday night Roseanne, Katy, and I took Rae out to celebrate her impending birthday.  We hit up Chili's for some delish food and gift-giving.

Rae and her birthday goods.  And no worries, that's a virgin pina colada for the birthday girl :)

Mom-in-law and I.  And yes, my hair looks large and in charge...ha.

Cute pic of the bday girl and KT in front of the LARGE chile.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY and FELIZ CUMPLEANOS, Rae Francis!  Hope you have a great day!

YOU CAPTURE: A moment

Over at ISBFL this week, the theme for "You Capture" is:  A moment.

I feel I have successfully captured two moments.

The first, a strenuous, super-manly moment.

I snuck a shot of him lifting that lawnmower into the truck!  What a stud! Look at those muscles...whoo...;)

Sweet baby Bel relaxing it up.  You would know this is a moment if you lived with this pup!  She's definitely not always calm and peaceful as above.

And there are some moments I captured!

Drumettes...YUM!

Before this past weekend I had never made wings before!  Now I can say that I have made them and that they were yummy.  Thanks totally to Giada de Laurentis.

I followed her recipe for Balsamic Chicken Drumettes.  Here's what you do:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey  (I use local honey to help with warding off allergies...or so they say!)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
5 sprigs rosemary
5 cloves garlic, halved
1/4 cup chopped parsley
sesame seeds to sprinkle on top
10-12 chicken drumettes

Combine all ingredients except parsley and sesame seeds in a resealable bag.  Let the drumettes marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours (at least--I let mine sit for longer). 

Take out of refrigerator and place on foil lined baking sheet.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes at 450 degrees.

In the mean time, take marinade left over and put in a pot.  Bowl, then reduce to medium heat for about 15 minutes.  This will thicken up and make a sauce to cover your wings.

Take wings out of oven, spread sauce on wings.  Then sprinkle the wings with parsley and sesame seeds.

Don't even worry about a plate, just go ahead and eat them right there.  They're GOOD!

Or, if you don't want to make them, you can just look at them below :)

A Deep Thought by J. Palmer

So I watched a video on Packy and Steph's blog about Haiti and I had this crazy thought...

How is it that over a million Haitians who have just been devastated by a life-altering, massive earthquake can come together outside in the sweltering heat for three days straight to fast, pray, and read scripture and we in the states have a hard time going to a one hour service in an air conditioned building to pray, sing, and hear scripture read? What is wrong with this picture?

Sunny Saturday

(I've noticed I like alliterations as titles for posts...haha).

Saturday had the most AMAZING weather.  It was exciting to be out in the sun soaking it up.  After the wedding we attended on Saturday, you better believe Jas and I took full advantage of that sunny joyfulness :)

An unsuccessful attempt at hanging the ENO hammock on the back porch.  oops!

Ah, finally, success!  Hangin' between two trees in the front yard.  This is a double person hammock, which means I joined him for some hard core relaxin'!

A hammock view of the blooming trees :)

SO excited about the blooming flowers!  Ah!  Finally from doom and gloom weather to blossom and bloom weather.  I'm diggin' it! If only every day was the weekend...ahh...

Wedding Weekend

Friday night Jas and I attended the rehearsal dinner for Chris and Holly Sanseverino.  They had asked Jason to marry them so we got to be a part of their day today, as well.  It was fun!

The weekend took place at Homestead Steakhouse (near and dear to our hearts, that's where our wedding reception took place).  Jas did a great job and we were glad to see them married.

Take a peak--it was beautiful!

They got married in front of this pretty set up.

Unity sand.  A unique idea I hadn't heard of until this wedding (same concept as unity candle, of course)

One of the cute kids (Noah), with the gorgeous cake.

My good-lookin' husband before he performed the wedding.

I'm a fan of weddings.  And this was a pretty one :)

ILY HM!

If you've never heard of H&M, then you must stop what you're doing and read this post (particularly if you are female!)

I first experienced H&M in Spain when I was studying abroad.  I walked in and fell in love (ok, maybe that's a little exaggerated...but I did really like the store).  The clothes were cute and cheap.  Who can beat that!?

If you're wondering why I am writing about my love for H&M it's because THERE IS NOW ONE IN RALEIGH!  Did you hear me!?  In Raleigh!  At Crabtree Valley Mall.   I no longer have to search them out in big cities (I've been to ones in NYC, Athens, Madrid, Paris...oh goodness...)  The H&M in Raleigh opened yesterday!  Aren't you excited?  Ok, maybe it's just me.  I'll calm down now.

So go check out there site.  You can't shop online (they're cool like that ??) but you can find stores close to you and look at their latest lines. Just click here.

And I knew H&M was coming.  But I was reminded by this post. 

I LOVE YOU   (not dramatic at all, right?  I mean we're talking about a clothing store here for goodness sakes)

Got me dreamin'

I am quite the fan of warm weather.

And this partially sunny weather, my friends, has got me dreaming...

Of being here.

Cancun, Mexico, 2008

Or here.

Islands off of Greece, 2009

Here, definitely...

Tatra Mountains, Slovakia, 2008

And I'd also be just fine being here.

Outer-banks, NC, 2009

But in the meantime, until Spring Break, and our trip to Haiti in 2 weeks (ready to go!), I will be content in where I am.  Or better yet, I will pray for strength to be content where I am.  Let's be real, sometimes when you're frustrated, tired, or anticipating something, it's hard to be content.  This is a challenge for me.  A challenge I want to overcome.  I want to be thankful for this very day and I want to find my contentment in Christ.

A Day in the Life...

Two humorous school stories that I must share (of course I won't share student names), but these are precious/funny stories that made me laugh, though precious is not always the greatest descriptor to use with middle schoolers ;)

During a class I was observing/taking part in, the teacher and class were discussing a book they had just finished reading.

The teacher asks a specific student, saying "What did you think about this part of the story?"  To which the student, without missing a beat, says "Can I go to my locker?"  Everyone pauses, and then cracks up.  Maybe it's one of those you-had-to-be-there moments, but take my word for it, it was funny!
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In my class we do something called "Cosas Buenas," or good things.  We go around the class and each student has about 20 seconds to share a good thing.  When it reaches this particular student, he starts and says "Mi cosa buena es....my aunt gave me a horse and I named it Ace!"  He was very serious!  No smile, just pure contentment with receiving his new horse named Ace.  We all kind of chuckled in surprise that this boy had gotten a horse...not a common everyday "good thing."  Very cute.

Sometimes they make me smile. :)  Oh, a day in the life of a middle school teacher...it's a rare occasion to get a message like the one below (so rare it's from last year, but you know how I feel about a post without a picture ;)

Flowers? Yes, please!

During our clutter-free weekend (and tearing up the bushes weekend, read previous post), we also bought a few flowers to pretty our front steps.   We chose the brightest ones at Lowe's to really help our red door pop ;)  (or, at least that's why I chose them...haha).

Aren't they just so bright and colorful and SPRINGY!?

I liked them.  And I think lately I have just been in spring, warm-weather mode and with that I may or may not have "subtly" mentioned to my hubby every now and then that I wanted some flowers to brighten up our kitchen. Now I am not always huge on flowers, pancake dates are the way to my heart ;) but I DO really LOVE sunflowers.  Of any flower, that's the one I would chose any time.

So since I did subtly mention it (I know, I know...bad of me), I was somewhat surprised ;)  by some bright yellow sunflowers last week!  And they have brightened our yellow kitchen all the more with their sunny-ness. 

I guess now I've had my flower fix!  Any favorite flowers that tickle your fancy? :)

Clutter Craziness

 Today we Palmer's hailed Saturday as CLUTTER FREE DAY.  AKA, we tackled that clutter mess around here.  Let's break it down.

I would not generally call myself Type-A when it comes to cleaning and organizing, but I am most definitely not a fan of piles of stuff and clutter.  So, it was time to face those areas where it was, well, cluttered...

I started with the closet in the hallway, where Jas and I both got rid of some never worn coats, jackets, etc.

Then it was time to address that messy, catch-all of a basket sitting on the coffee table.  Just for a little visual aid, here's a few before and afters...

I moved from the den to the bedroom where the piles of clothes, not so neatly put away, were taken care of.  I purged (great word for getting rid of things!) many shirts and clothes that weren't worn within the last few months.  No more holding on to things because I thought at some point I might wear them--they had to go!

Take a look at the new and improved drawers around here:

It was then off to the study.  Where I tackled my "craft corner."  (nope, no craft room for me...I wish...but a craft corner will do :)

So this may not look like TOO much progress, but it feels good to have uncluttered some of those unwanted piles.  Now to keep it that way--Real Simple, you're my inspiration...

And while I was doing all the above de-cluttering...

Jas was doing manly stuff.  You know, like eating raw fish from the stream, climbing mountains barefooted, oh, and pulling up bushes with a tractor ;)

Mi Fuente de Vida

After the Seth Condrey band performed for our Metamorphosis weekend, I have been listening non-stop to his cd "De Corazón A Corazón."  My favorite song on the cd is called "Si No Fuera Por Ti," which translates to "If it weren't for you."  I can't stop singing it in my head...ah (but it's ok, because it's that good).


Check out these lyrics...


"Tu eres mi fuente de vida,
Eres la luz que me ilumina,
No hay un amor tan fuerte,
Tan grande, como con el
Que tu me transformaste."


Which loosely translates to...

"You are my fountain of life,
You are the light that lights me (illuminates me, my way),
There is no other love so strong,
So great, as that with which
You have transformed me."

MAN!  How GREAT is our Father's love for us!  How VAST beyond all measure...

And because this song makes me think of God's greatness, here's a photo snapped in Boone.

**disclaimer:  I have no idea what happened to the spacing in this post, or how to fix it.  grrrr...Blogger.** 

CAPTURED: Quiet

YOU CAPTURE's theme for this week (over at ISBFL) is: shhhhh...QUIET!

Take a peak at these quiet photos.

A quiet bloom.  Just waiting to blossom into a gorgeous flower!  Can't wait!

Sweet baby Bella.  Napping it up.  She does that frequently!

GREEN stuff

I do not remember where or why I thought about this the other day, but suddenly I was overcome with the desire to make "GREEN STUFF."  If you don't know green stuff, then you should.  As in like, HAVE to know what it is.  It is THAT good.

So, you ask, what IS green stuff?  I was first introduced to it through my college roomie, Erin, who made some from a recipe her mom had.  Green stuff is a dessert/side dish that is absolutely delicious, light, fluffy, and tasty. 

Since I was strongly desiring this green goodness, I decided to look up a recipe and make it.  There are many recipes for green stuff, but I actually kind of made my own adaptation.

Here's the recipe I put together:

1 carton of Cool Whip Free
1 package of Jell-o pistachio pudding mix
1 can of mandarin oranges
1 can of crushed pineapple (drain off some of the juice)
8 big handfuls of tiny marshmallows

1. Make the pistachio pudding according to the box (you will need two cups of milk).
2. Mix in all the other ingredients.
3. EAT UP!

How easy is that!?  And it's super delicious to boot.  When you're finished mixing it's a very light green color, perfect for St. Patrick's day (haha, even though I really don't care much for or do much with St. Patty's day), that just happened to work out!

Ok, now go to the grocery store and get the above ingredients and combine them!  You won't be sorry.  Palmer promise :)

Neighborhood Pests?

It's true that some people have bothersome neighborhood pests.  For instance, some might have random cats, a stray dog here or there.  You might see annoying squirrels leaving empty peanut butter jars in your yard, or hey, every once in a while you might have a run in with a raccoon, fox, or skunk...

BUT NOT MY IN-LAWS!

They have horses. HORSES!

Arriving back at their house after church on Sunday, they were greeted by two grass-chomping horses in their yard.  They were there just hangin' out, chillin', maxin' and relaxin' all cool in their front yard!  How exciting is that.

So Jas and I had to head over there to check it out, camera in tow.

Grass, anyone?

Just a leisurely stroll around the cul-da-sac.

Yeah, these two were caught in the act walking through a neighbor's front yard.

How is that for a fun, unexpected visit from some barnyard animals?  Aren't they pretty, though!?

META '10

This weekend was METAMORPHOSIS 2010.  That means that quite a few churches from all over Durham gather their youth and unite in a weekend of corporate worship, challenging Bible teaching, outreach to their community (both local and worldwide), sleepless nights, and lots of fun!

This Metamorphosis weekend was a great one.  Not only did we make 80,000 (YES!, 80,000!!) meals to send to Haiti through Stop Hunger Now, but we also heard a great speaker, spent lots of time together as a youth group, and watched a pretty sad rivalry game (come on, Carolina, REALLY!?)...

Let me give you a visual recap of the weekend.  Here goes.

Lyrics of a song sung by the Seth Condrey Band---they were great by the way!

Katy and Rae.  Check out how they're rockin' those sweet Meta shirts :)

Stop Hunger Now!  Bags of soy, vitamins, rice, and veggies ready to be sent to Haiti.  80,000=CRAZY AMAZING!

Loading up the bags and preparing them to be sent.

Our whole awesome group--silly picture :)

Jas and I at the end of a long, but great weekend.

"I KNOW my God saved the day and I KNOW His word never fails and I KNOW my God made a way for me... SALVATION IS HERE!"

To see another good post on more specifics of Stop Hunger Now, go here. Or go here to visit their website.  

Shutter Sisters

So if you read this blog you may know that I am into learning about photography.  I somehow stumbled upon this site called SHUTTER SISTERS.

Part of their site highlights different photographers and they call it "the daily click."

I just thought I would post a few of my favorite photos found there (taken by all different photographers)...

 

  

 

 

OH MAN!  Aren't these great!?  I so want to be a good photographer.  Oh well, at least I like taking pictures and learning lots :)