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Tool Bench

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 October, 2013 No comment

We got my son his first little tool bench as he loves to bang and hit on anything and everything. We got him a cheap one from IKEA and it came with a hammer. The problem is since the first day the hammer has been missing and we still cannot find it.

Its been roughly a month now since it’s been missing and again today, I’m stumped, I have no idea where it is.

He is definitely a funny little character always hiding things between the couch and cupboards and typically I’ll find these items that night while picking up his toys or at least a couple days later. But here we are a month later with no success. I know I may never find it, he may hunt it down and be playing with it one day and I’ll still be stumped as to where this hammer is. Its definitely not small so my brain is officially confused on where this long wooden hammer resides.

These cute little things make me smile, laugh and hold these precious moments dear to my heart. I wish I could understand what goes through his tiny little brain while he hides toys and stuffs his farm animals deep into the couch, so cute.

Airplane Pride

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 October, 2013 No comment

The cool sweat that pushes against my arm as I lean against the armrest on the airplane leaves me beyond frustrated. I’m stuck tightly in the middle seat with very little space on either side of me while my son sprawling amongst us doesn’t help this squishy scenario. My frustration begins to boil, what makes this woman think she can take over both armrests while also utilizing the space where my feet are supposed to reside? I make a couple inappropriate remarks to my husband quietly.

The long awaited taxing while waiting for takeoff leaves our entire row angry and deserving. Finally takeoff occurs and my son is restlessly tired, squirming between my husband and I. As I strap my son into the ergo carrier and quietly say “excuse me, I’m trying to position my son with the little room we have,” She glares down at me over her reading glasses as if I just personally offended her and she has done nothing wrong. I strap him in with a little pride rested deep within me. “I told her!” I think to myself wondering why it felt so good to speak up.

During the ascend, she surveys the tight space between us with extreme confidence believing she is clearly not in the wrong. She is flailing all around over exaggerating her movements in hope I would see her response. Within minutes she looks at me with confusion “do you see where the outlet is,” as she points to the sign referencing an outlet between the seats. My heart falls into my stomach, immediately feeling remorse for my deserving actions. What makes me think I have the right to be harsh with this woman? I quickly respond with politeness trying to help locate this item for her. Realizing the flight attendant just spoke through the intercom that we must sit immediately as we are still ascending with our ‘seatblet fastened’ sign on; I jump back down as if I’m not already embarrassed for my course action a few minutes prior. Now the whole plane can see my right to not follow the rules, I must be the exception.

I sit quietly as my son climbs on us like a jungle gym feeling complete remorse for my angered comments that she had to experience. The one encounter I will have with this woman my entire life as I’m remembering I have bible study tomorrow and what a great example I am being, leads me to humiliation and a humbling state as I move over to give her ample room to work on her computer. My heart softens towards her as she leans over and says “your son is quiet charming,” ugg I think to myself, now she is killing me with kindness, how is this happening, that’s supposed to be my job. Humbled again I quietly say “thank you” while giving her an “I’m sorry” look.

Roughly 30 minutes later my son is at the end of his rope; exhausted and sitting in a poopy diaper. Must I ask this lady to please stand up for me now that my son has soiled himself? She does so with gratitude and offers her lap for Cooper’s legs when we return if that would help him fall asleep. “Your sweet,” I murmur. She didn’t deserve to be treated with disrespect, I get it, but now her kindness digs the knife in deeper. I can since the sincerity knowing she is simply being nice out of the kindness of her heart. I learned my lesson that’s for sure.

Finally Cooper falls asleep, we sit in peace with one another as we both take our attention to our electronics. We hear through the intercom “If anyone is a doctor onboard, please alert a flight attendant right away as there is a medical emergency.” Could this flight become anymore “exciting,” I think to myself.

A few rows behind us, a female doctor stands up to address the young patient needing immediate assistance. We all sit tight waiting the outcome to hear if we can proceed safely or if we are in need of a quick landing. My curious self looks around as they have given this patient two bags of fluids already and asking for our patience onboard as the aisle is blocked for the bathroom. My heart is sad for this ill patient hoping for their health to not be seriously compromised.

We have roughly an hour and forty minutes remaining on our flight and turbulence begins to pick up pretty heavily. As I lay sleeping for a mere five minutes, I awake to rough waters ahead, or shall I say, rough clouds ahead; it was very bumpy.

As we landed, paramedics awaited our flight for the young woman who had been ill. Three IVs later we find out she has health issues and the doctor aboard was a heart surgeon who could properly help her while in flight. Thankfully she seemed to be ‘okay.’

Due to our chaotic flight arrangements we had 20 minutes to rush to our next gate, get boarding passes and hopefully a bite to eat. Our flight got cancelled and rescheduled for tomorrow but they were able to squeeze us on some really random flights and everything had to flow perfectly to not miss one. We got bumped all around and surprisingly we made all three flights and got home safely after touching down in Orlando, Denver, Salt Lake, and finally Portland. LONG day, but Cooper did awesome even without naps; he may have even done better than I. :)

Here he is in one of the many airports happy and playing.

Chicken Salad

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 17 October, 2013 No comment

Since we have been gone for two weeks on vacation and we are only home for four days before we head back out for another five-day-get-away for my grandma’s funeral, I am very adamant not to go grocery shopping. Monday night when we got home I ran to the store to grab the staples: milk, bananas, bread, meat, and lettuce. I only spent $40 and am making this last four days while utilizing meat from our freezer for protein.

Tonight I wanted a quick meal as we don’t need leftovers in the house; I decided on a quick, healthy big chicken salad. However, I still have to go to the store (sad face), this is how empty our fridge is; no dressings. I could resort to our rice vinegar with a dash johnny seasoning dressing, but because it is our only dish tonight, I thought we need the “comfort” dressing of blue cheese or ranch; add some fat to our meal.

I assume my husband won’t be a big fan of this dish as he loves comfort food, but decided he doesn’t need to know until it’s served before him. :) He will eat what’s provided, but guarantee he will eat more snacks tonight to feel more “satisfied.” Funny how our minds play this game on us, to me it just proves that we don’t eat healthy enough on a regular basis that our bodies ‘think’ they need more fatty, comfort food, rather than being satisfied with a salad that always fills our tummies. Roughage is a great filler and tells our bodies we are full when we actually are; leaving us to not overeat. Although, maybe I can blame it on vacation, we ate so terrible while we were gone (hince the word “vacation”) so maybe that’s why healthy food right now seems appealing. We ate ourselves into food comas. :)

Chicken Salad:

Spinach
Chicken
Beets
Avocado
Tomato
Mushrooms
Croutons
Blue Cheese

Enjoy a healthy salad now and again even if your man doesn’t prefer them. It’s always good to stick to roughage as it’s healthy, filling and helps get our servings of vegetables and/or fruit.

My Story

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 16 October, 2013 No comment

My son throwing his pumpkin…

Hi Y’all! My name is Tiffany Cook, also known as Delightfully Doable. I am a small town girl currently living in the city. I’m a housewife and a mother trying to make my way through life. Welcome to Delightfully Doable; I hope you find many delightfully doable options through my site as well as honesty and truth knowing we are all on this path we call “life” together; delighting in doable circumstances.

I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere; literally. I am the youngest of three girls. I moved to the city and worked plenty of jobs taking many years to finally find my nitch. I met my husband through one of my many jobs, got pregnant and have become the wife and mother I’ve always dreamt of. It hasn’t been a cake walk and it hasn’t been the glorious fairytale I had believed as a child. It’s brought real struggles, pain, heartache, and disappointment. On the flip side, it has also brought happiness, peace, joy and a sense of well being; the good outweighs the hardships by far. It’s challenged my faith with the Lord, my relationship with my husband and being a mother. Realizing I am responsible for making marriage and life the best I can with help from those around me. My goal in being married for a short period of time is to only affect my husband and son in a positive way, for them to feel loved 100% of the time, and to know I will do anything for them, be their backbone and support team. I will always be willing to learn, grow and refocus my direction as we figure out what works for us as a family.

I look back on the past and the many roads I had traveled; it all led me back around to who I am today. I worked at an insurance agency as a receptionist wearing suits and pumps, held many jobs as a barista, worked as a makeup consultant at Nordstrom’s Clinique, nannied, taught at a Montessori school, worked at a fish cannery leaving behind my pumps and wearing clothing for 20 degree below weather as I worked in a freezer, and lastly, I worked my hind end off to get my insurance license and sold insurance in 5 different states.

Each job had its ups and downs. Working as a receptionist, makeup consultant, and barista was all fun but never had a future attached to it. I absolutely loved working at Clinique and had hopes to work my way up the ladder but I was lost, I didn’t truly know what I wanted to do or be. I had high hopes I would go to cosmetology school and work in a salon one day. My girlfriend fulfilled this dream as I dilly dallied along lifes paths. Working in a fish cannery taught me a lot about hard work and what it means to truly earn a dollar. Being a teacher at a Montessori school was very rewarding as you engage the little minds and teach them right from wrong. Financially I had to move on as teachers work so hard for so little. I worked as a barista while I finished my bachelor’s degree and was the first woman in my family to graduate with a double major in Biblical Studies and Psychology. After graduating I wasn’t sure where to go in life, nor had I known previously. I knew ultimately I wanted to be a mom and a wife which held me back from pursuing my psychology degree any further. I had always loved the idea of being a Play Therapist for troubled kids; the idea of 6 more years of school and then starting my own practice held me back. As I looked ahead I was hoping that 6 years from then, I would be married with my own kids, so I decided against furthering my education (I do not regret this decision). With that decision I went on to become an insurance agent, my previous position as a receptionist and having a good friend as an agent, prompted me to pursue my license. I was determined to accomplish this and I did; with a lot of hard work and many tests taken, I finally passed the exam and officially was licensed. I worked for a couple different companies as an independent agent making very good money and traveling to Wyoming. That grew old and didn’t satisfy me as a person, something was still missing. I gave up the money to search for my happiness. I found another position working local with an awesome couple who went to church and had good morals. They took me under their wing and taught me what I needed to know. This position brought me into my husband’s place of employment and that is where my life truly began. We got pregnant within months, and a year later we were married. I dedicated my life to the Lord, promising I would walk a life filled with God’s plan and direction for me. To give up myself and truly live the life we are called to live.

If you can see a pattern in all my previous positions, they all have the same answer; I was lost for quite a few years, floating through life, hoping for the best. I didn’t know which way was up. I got pregnant out of wedlock which was never my desire, yet I had to step up and carry on with life. I ultimately made the decision, though I never saw myself pregnant before marriage. God used that circumstance to change my life forever. Here I am two years later and the road the last two years has been everything but easy, but due to my commitment to the Lord, I have found peace while traveling through trials and tribulations. I have my dream; marriage and children, yet it didn’t happen the way I had envisioned it’s been the biggest blessing for me and happened exactly the way it was supposed to. The depths of my soul are about family values, morals, God, and getting back to the basis of what really matters in life. Everyone on this earth wanders around on the hunt for a place in this world. We get so distracted by life happening around us that the important things seem to slip away. My goal is to bring old traditions back into play; eating dinner as a family, enjoying a cup of coffee on Saturday morning with your spouse as you read a chapter in a book together, cooking healthy and spending quality time with one another, forgetting about social media, and electronics. This is where my passion lies, seeing the world today and the disrespect our young children have, is mind blowing to me. I want to change this as my son is young and protect him from the chaos young kids are experiencing right now; utter disrespect and no self-worth. I am only one person, but hope and pray that I can affect the lives around me to help better ourselves and our families; make a difference.

I had life pretty easy as a child. My parents loved us more than life itself, taught us about faith and how to have good morals, the importance of family, love and self respect. I look back and see that even though I had a great childhood, I still had to find my way in this world. Unfortunately we are human and all make decisions for ourselves. The road map before us is to help guide and protect from hardship along the way, keeping us grounded in the truth. I walked roads I wish were never traveled, my parents warned me in advance and yet I still chose the path I wanted to walk. With that in mind, I made things harder on myself but with my personality, I was stubborn to figure it out on my own. Now that I am older, I realize this life we live was never meant to be traveled alone. God created relationship and relationship is what holds us accountable, on track and grounded. We weren’t meant to walk alone and yet our selfish desires can cloud our minds thinking we have it all together. God will only allow that for so long as He wants us to learn how to depend on Him and other people and turn to them for guidance.

I am 28 years old and it has taken me this long to truly find my “nitch” in this world. I fulfilled my dream of getting married and starting a family, but one thing I have learned this past year, was my desire to write. I’ve seen how writing has been very healing for me, refocuses my thoughts, and keeps me accountable. I’ve seen the ups and downs of this life, experienced many trials myself, learned from my husband through his heartaches and his wisdom, and with this, I have felt compelled as I believer in Christ to share that life is not easy once you become a child of God, that we all face the same decisions and we all go through heartache. It doesn’t matter if you believe in Christ or not, trails still remain. I want to be the advocate for those who go through deep hurt and wonder why God seems to be invisible. I want everyone to experience the deep embrace of God’s love and peace you can experience if you are willing to receive it. I hope to sway young adults from traveling the path I had traveled, learning from my mistakes and most of all I want to be real. I want to provide a place where questions can be asked and real dialog can occur.

Along with writing, I absolutely love to cook. I enjoy baking as well but along with baking it requires no altering of recipes; which I often do. I grew up cooking in the kitchen with my mom, I remember when I was really young I had my own stool I would stand on as she taught me how to crack eggs, make pie crust, cinnamon rolls, homemade noodles and how much seasoning can make a dish perfect. Through the years I mastered a few recipes and would hide the cookie dough from my sister. Now having my own child, I am way more health conscious as to what chemicals reside in the foods he is eating. I have transitioned our household meals to be the staple meat, veggies, and potato meal as I feel a well rounded meal is what life is missing these days. My motto is: MODERATION. You will see how I provide healthy meals as well as yummy treats that may not be so healthy. My main goal is to provide recipes that are primarily found in your pantry. I hope I can provide you with a well-rounded group of healthy indulgences that allow your taste buds to be satisfied. I do not believe in going vegan, vegetarian, fad diets etc.; I do NOT condemn anyone who takes this path either, I simply believe moderation is key. You will see some terribly unhealthy cookie recipes that are beyond amazing, as well as the extreme all natural organic meals. I believe life is all about moderation and starts at the table. I myself, have a complete sweet tooth and would never be able to toss the sugar from my diet. I also look at my grandparents and the way their diet started; in the fields harvesting wheat, potatoes, and veggies along with their farm animals to provide meat and eggs. This is standard and is what I believe to be the beginning of healthy eating; straight from the ground with no additions.

This is me; a simple girl who shares my thoughts as they come into my head, recipes I love and hearing your comments.

Thank you all!

Tiffany; Delightfully Doable

My son watching the pumpkin roll away after the throw.

Bar Keepers Friend

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 15 October, 2013 No comment

The bar keepers friend is a very fascinating, well adverse, successful friend. If you know much about me and my history, I do not drink alcohol, so this may pose many questions; where and how would I have met this friend? This friend I am talking about is not your typical friend. This friend is rarely talked about; almost a secret even. Now who I want to introduce you to is actually not a “who” but a “what.” If you spend a lot of time in the kitchen you will be utterly grateful for this friend. This friend is actually a powder that will brighten, tighten, and shine anything you can think of.

My mom was in town this weekend and was asking me if I knew the bar keeper. I had no idea what she was talking about; she proceeded to explain to me that the bar keeper is her best friend. Meanwhile I was trying to clean my dutch oven with an SOS pad and was very unsuccessful. I was scrubbing and nothing was happening. I had “Pam” spray basically glued on to my pot (I make my own “Pam.”) I was so irritated because I have felt lately that almost all of my pots and pans were looking grungy, even though they are for the most part, less than a year old. My mom proceeds to tell me about this miracle called “The Bar Keepers Friend.” She was raving about this product and says she uses it on anything and everything. You don’t have to scrub, it comes right off. She continued to tell me about this product as she graciously ignored my irritation while I had no success scrubbing. As we got talking she was making me really question her authenticity about this so-called miracle that I gave up cleaning my dutch oven.

Meanwhile, my dad overheard us talking and decided to sneak off to the store. He comes back with this miracle powder and my mom starts scrubbing away at my pots, dutch oven, coffee pot, sink, and stove top. Might I add this was at 9 o’clock at night right after we started the movie “Night of the Museum.” All four of us (my husband, dad, mom and I) were hovering over the dutch oven as we watched the grime wash away. She moved on to the stainless steel pan that hangs from our hanging pot rack displaying our dirty, grungy looking pots that are not dirty but extremely burnt on the bottom and coated with a film. Kitchen aid told me to soak my pans in lemon juice and boiling water, needless to say that absolutely did nothing for me. I was so upset about this because I had spent so much money on my pots; Kitchen Aid is a great tusted brand but was giving me serious doubts. I literally had them less than 24 hours at that point and after my first use they looked 5 years old. So here we are nine months later and my mom is providing my kitchen with a makeover. Wah-lah, this magical moment began my belief for my new friend the “bar keeper.”

I cannot begin to explain the amazement behind this. Our coffee pot literally looked as if there had coffee brewing 100% of the time. (Might I add, we have only had the Coffee pot for ten months). Again, I have scrubbed this pot with an SOS pad, ran lemon juice and vinegar through and nothing would lessen this stain until now. It looks absolutely brand new; I was so shocked, but still had little faith. My mom moves on to the stove top; we have the four coiled burner with the trays below she pulls out one of the dirtiest trays and bam, same thing. I must say this almost solidified my belief but my husband had to go a step farther. There is a water stain in our bathroom sink; NOTHING has worked on this water stain…until now. I swear, by the time my husband showed me this I was literally amazed and a true believer. Nothing would shake this faith now, the bar keeper was a true, honest friend now. What’s even more incredible is that it all happened within minutes. No hard scrubbing or wearing your hands out.

I must explain that this product is not only a life changing product, but it is unbelievably cheap. It runs less than $2 at Walmart and comes in a container like Comet. I am really surprised that I haven’t heard of this before let alone seen an advertisement. There’s no scrubbing involved, you wet the product slightly, lather up a paste and watch the grime wash away; the trick is you barely add water. Now we have shiny pots and pans hanging in the kitchen, you can almost see your reflection perfectly in them.

We also had the pleasure of brewing coffee this morning in a “brand new” coffee pot.

Bathroom sink before

After

I must say, it’s the little things like that that put a smile on my face. Easy, convenient and successful tips and products will help make me happy as I spend a lot of time cooking and cleaning. My husband is always reminded that it’s “the little things” that always put a smile on my face. He continually tells me this because it continually rings true.

Now, go and purchase this lovely product and have a drink with your girlfriends about the “bar keeper.”

This product can be used on anything. It is not a disinfectant but does take away stains and make your house look like new. Bathroom sinks, tubs, stove tops, kitchen sinks, pots, pans, coffee pot, pyrex and much more. Incredible!

Oven Fried Chicken

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 13 October, 2013 No comment

13 years ago when I was in Palm Springs with a friend of mine and her family, we met up with an older couple who was a good family friend and lived at PGA West condos. We rented another one that we had the pleasure of relaxing in and enjoying our own private pool and hot tub. We also got to play tennis on their clay courts and I must say it was a very amazing experience. Wish I was a little older to have appreciated it more. Anyways, this couple had their condo directly on the golf course overlooking the beautiful green. They made us dinner one evening and it was to die for. Back then I still loved to cook but knew I needed to capture this recipe and make it my own. I asked her for it and she said she would get it for me but with time flying by on this trip, it never made it into my hands. I decided I would recreate this from memory when we arrived home. I must say it’s been a well talked about recipe and always gets compliments on and asked for.

Tenderizing the meat in this recipe is a must. I’ve tried both ways and it never tastes as well when not tenderized.

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup parmesan cheese (may be freshly grated)
1 cup mayo
½ tsp garlic
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Chopped olives
½ cup chopped olives
½ cup sour cream
4 chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Tenderize the chicken breasts until they are flat as a pancake. The easiest way to do so without worrying about raw meat juice is to place one or two at a time in a zip lock bag. This keeps the juices contained and then you may just toss the baggie once done. Easy clean up. J Line a 9×13 pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl combine parmesan cheese, mayo, garlic, black pepper, Italian seasoning, olives, and sour cream. Coat each side of the chicken with the mayo mixture. Coat each side with the bread crumbs and lay in the pan; I always dump the extra on top of the chicken to make it extra creamy. Bake for 15-20 minutes until juices run clear.

Each oven is a different so depending if your oven is more warm, drop the temp 25 degrees and cook longer with less heat. This will keep the chicken moist and not dry out.

Pop music

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 12 October, 2013 No comment

All the commotion and talk about Miley Cyrus is beyond me. I understand her videos are a cry for help and outlandish. It actually breaks my heart. I heard one of her songs on the radio today “Wrecking Ball” and a couple emotions came up.

First, she is so young she shouldn’t even be writing songs about heartache; she is merely a child. Second, her outfits or lack there of, are absurd and a massive cry for help. The unfortunate thing is she actually has a beautiful voice when you simply listen to it without all the other distractions. I picture myself and if that were my daughter; barely 20, broken, talented beyond belief and yet this is the path she’s headed down, I would do anything in my power to help guide her in another direction. We have so many of our young girls idolizing these popstars thinking this is life, they want to be just like them. What are we doing to help instill in our children that that life isn’t reality.

All of these young stars have a few good years of fame and then it seems to hit them, they don’t know how to handle it, they are trying to grow up thinking they already have and are beyond confused, they don’t know who they are as society tries to tell them who they ought to be.

They are getting attention but not the kind I believe they truly want. The criticism only makes their response more outlandish with a deeper longing to be accepted. Britney Spears for example shaved her head because her personal life became the entire world’s problem. Honestly, I don’t think she was crazy like society assumed; I think society and media bring people to such lengths. They have a standard they have to live up to because they are always in the public eye. The problem: THIS ISN’T REALITY.

I wish media would stop giving Miley Cirus the attention she is looking for. Her attention should only come from her music and her manager and parents should help instigate this. I’ve noticed the people you see less in the media use their acting career as their job not as their life. The same goes for music artists; they don’t draw attention to themselves through other distractions but simply their passion to sing.

Moment of truth: lets join together and teach our kids that they don’t have to starve for attention to be idolized, rich or famous; they are accepted for who they are. We must teach them this. Kids are struggling to grow up and find a place in this world but it needs to stem from their parents instilling their self worth from a young age.

Grocery Deals

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 11 October, 2013 No comment

I found this website that allows you to buy groceries that are delivered to your home within one to two business days. You bargain your prices without having to drive across town for the best deals. It is a huge money saver and I felt the need to share it with you.

www.mysupermarket.com compares prices between other retail stores for the best deal. You can swap and save. The first time you sign up you can get free shippint as well. (Even with shipping you still save more money) A couple things I know to be a better deal through Costco such as honey. Costco is one of the stores on the website but Costco has restrictions on what they allow. They won’t ship honey or toilet paper but other things they do ship. So explore the site and see what you find and how much money you can save while shopping at home.

*Note: I bought eyeliner on this site that normally is $10 and I recieved it for $2. I also got a 10lb bag of basmati brown rice for free with a coupon they had online.

Smells

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 10 October, 2013 No comment

Do you ever have those moments when a smell brings you back to a happy place, a childhood moment, a memory you long to place but can’t quite put your finger on? I have those now and again although, one recently has been driving me crazy. I can’t physically smell it, it’s in my memory and I long to smell and taste this sweet fragrance I’ve recently recalled. This smell is a tea I had at one point and it brings me back to Fall and the coziness of snuggling up in my jammies on the couch and sipping a sweet cup of tea while watching a movie with my husband. I’ve asked my friend who is a tea fanatic if I could come over and smell her tea drawer to see if I could place it.

While hunting through her many teas I ran across one that seemed to be perfect, it was a winter solstice from Peets Coffee. Now this makes sense, it only comes around once a year, she brewed me a cup and I sipped the sweet black tea and enjoyed our conversations while our kids played together. The following day I ran to the store to fill up our selection of tea in our household as the weather is now permitting this to be a frequent “go to” drink. As I was thumbing through all the different types of tea while allowing my son to shake all the boxes to quietly entertain him, I grabbed quite a few teas all different flavors, some I had never tried before.

To my surprise that evening I brewed myself a cup of tea from Good Earth’s blend called Sweet and Spicy. Heaven rained down on me. This was the tea, the one I had been searching for all along. I was sitting in glorious bliss while utterly shocked I found it, the blessed tea I had been hunting for was sitting in my mug here in my very own home without even knowing it. All along I thought the Winter Solstice was the tea as something didn’t seem quite right it was pretty darn close, but as I said, heaven did rain down in this cup of Good Earth Sweet and Spicy tea.

I couldn’t bring myself to try any of the other teas considering I had longed for months to sip this sweet yet spicy tea. I finally tried another tea a few days later called Bengal Spice and I must say, the spice is what I love, this tea was very similar and now I know what satisfies my palette.

It’s great to place the smells and taste that bring a memory up as they often don’t get found. I can proudly say, this one did get found and brought me to a happy place..

Lead with your heart

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 7 October, 2013 No comment

A couple weeks ago while we were at church, the Children’s pastor spoke a great message about simply being an example of what we say we believe. Whether you believe in God or not, this is a great question to ponder. Honestly, it seems lately this question has come up in many ways and many forms lately. It seems to constantly test my belief in God and what I believe he has in store for my life. He has called us as his children to bring others to Christ. Our pastor showed a picture of an old dirty boot and ended the sermon saying, what “dirty” things in our life do we need to give da’ boot to, and what do we need to put the boots on for, and start running after.

I’ve been a believer for years, if any of you know my story, you know that I walked away from the Church and lived my own life how I desired. That’s a story for a different day, but with that history, I’ve actually never led anyone to Christ before. This has always been something I’ve truly never cared about until I really began my walk with the Lord almost two years ago. I was hit with this truth yesterday while sitting in the service, questioning myself and how do others view my life; not how do I view it, but what impression am I leaving on others. Yikes, this was a really tough place to be in, asking myself to search my heart and the true motives of my life. Are my motives for my personal gain or to benefit others?

If I were to give up everything I had to help those around me, wouldn’t I do it? But why is it so hard. The basis of that question is simple, I want to benefit myself, and I believe I come first before anyone else’s happiness. This is a lie, but unfortunately this is how we are. One of the questions the pastor asked was how many times in a day do we complain. Is it possible to go an entire day without complaining…..let me tell you, no it’s not. I tried this from the moment we left church and something was utterly against me and actually helped me complain and be more argumentative than ever. Seriously frustrating. There are spiritual forces around us that will fight for or against us, and I believe any time we want to make the right choices and do the next right thing, we have the enemy doing anything and everything to mess it up for us. But don’t lose heart, this doesn’t mean this has to happen, the more we become aware of the spiritual world around us, the more we can take heart and search our motives and ask the Lord for help. Everything we go through must pass through the hands of God before it ever touches our life.

It’s so easy to complain and get in our own pity party that life is a drab. Do we feel better after complaining or do we make our situations worse? Are we building up those around us when we complain; making them want to hang out longer because you are optimistic or pessimistic. Sometimes we complain about “Christians” and how people who claim to be a follower of Christ are actually the worst examples. I agree we have a lot of hypocrites, but understand that we aren’t any different than any other human with our faults; the only difference is we are held to a higher standard. The difference between believers of Christ and nonbelievers is that nonbelievers don’t have a standard to live up to, the honesty of drinking, smoking pot, sleeping around, lying, and stealing isn’t something that they are told not to do; they have no shame. Believers on the other hand do have a standard we are meant to hold, with that comes a real honesty that needs to be shared. Young kids are walking in worldly experiences having sex at 14 years old and doing drugs. They don’t have a sense of security to share their mistakes or cry for help; instead they carry shame and guilt, worried of someone finding out.

My husband and I talk until we are blue in the face about Christians and how we say one thing and do another, we call them hypocrites. We have them everywhere and even I am one now and again, but my deep desire is to not mask real life experiences but address them in a manner that shows truth and shows change. I want my life to not only show my pitfalls, but to also show the progression of my faults. I say it all the time “a mistake is only a mistake when NOT repeated multiple times. Once the felony keeps happening, it’s now become an excuse rather than a mistake.”