| Friday Fabulous |

I'm keeping this Friday Fabulous short and sweet today! Why?!?!? Because the sun is shining and you need to get outside and enjoy.

Today's Friday Fabulous is one of my most favourite and fabulous treats.  It's a super easy way to jazz up any dessert, it looks lovely and tastes even better.

| Trader Joe's Lemon Curd |

To be honest, I am a sucker for any lemon dessert...even our wedding cake was lemon...so this isn't a huge depart for me. But, I really love the way this has the ability to transform even the most simple dessert idea into something a bit more special.

I keep a jar in the cupboard to have on hand if we have last minute guests and I need to throw together dessert and coffee.  Make a spice cake and drizzle it on top, add on top of vanilla ice cream and top with a few berries, or even better, stir into slightly softened vanilla ice cream to make a smooth and creamy lemon ice cream.

Everyone has their ultimate favourites at Trader Joe's....I'd love to know what yours are...maybe I'll add them to my list for my next visit!

Have a Fabulous *sun filled* Friday.



| Thursday: Around the House |

Good Morning & Happy Thursday!

Today is an around the house day for me....I know, such a glamorous life I lead! Its a home day to get the house cleaned up, all those random things floating around back in their designated spots, get the bathrooms sparking and fold a few piles of clothes.

We've also been working on getting some window quotes for our home, so I have quotes to review and energy rebate paperwork to fill out....all this while keeping Little Boy Baker from prying off any more trim work with his screwdriver and before school ends and the girls are home.

Now, I know we all have our own way to keeping on top of our homes and all the things that go along with that...but, it never hurts to learn from others.  So, taking a tip from my class discussion yesterday I want to open up a "How You Keep Your Home" discussion so we can learn and get tips from those around us who do things well.

Instead of doing what us women are known to do: "compare" - lets learn from each other and find out what works best for keeping up with our homes.

I'd like to hear what yo do to keep up with your home? Do you have the same routine each week? Do you do things randomly as they come up? And do you have any FAVOURITE products that help you get the job done.

Share ladies....and let's learn from each other.

| Can I Have & Do it All, Please | Chapter 3 & 4

My third class was a jammed packed one! Due to one less teaching week this session we had to squish two chapters into one week...a HUGE task....considering each chapter is full of great nuggets of information....combine that with a room full of ladies and you have a monumental challenge!

I have to say...we did pretty good at plowing through...here's a quick recap of what we chatted about:

Chapter Three
focused on the idea of purpose and ultimately challenged us to truly assess what our purpose is? What is our potential? What are your gifts, talents and passions?

On page 50, Christine Caine writes:

"we must ensure our "all" is actually the purpose God had in mind when He created us.  If you try to pursue any other "all" you will never be satisfied."


Good stuff I tell ya!  


We were challenged, again, not to settle for anything LESS than God's best - HIS ultimate purpose & plan for our lives.  Christine Caine coined the phrase "life print" in this chapter and it sums things up so perfectly. 


Just as God created each one of us with a unique fingerprint, so did He create each one of us with a unique life print - divinely created and perfect only for us. 


As we embrace the life print God has for us we begin to recognize the places in our lives where we have fallen into the trap of comparison and carbon copies.  Instead of competing with one another, we can cheer one another on, instead of trying to be like everyone around us we can be fully confident in the skills, abilities and passions the creator has placed inside of us.


If you're not sure what your "life print" looks like, or maybe even feel like you've lost yourself and have no clue what your passions and skills are then try to answer a few of these questions from the end of the chapter:


* What is it that I've been good at since an early age?
* What do others look at me doing that would be hard for them, but seem effortless to me?
* What am I most passionate about?
* What subjects could I talk about for hours and days without loss of momentum?
* What would I do if money were not an issue?
* What part of the globe or cultures do I have a passion for?




Chapter Four
focused on the idea of identity.  Building off chapter three and understanding we are pursuing our own unique life print and purpose we jumped into the idea of WHO WE ARE.


On page 67, Christine Caine writes: 
"you see, if I allow all the different roles to define me instead of who I truly am in Christ defining them, I'm going to get all messed up."


So who ARE you? Do you let those roles define you? Do you get your self worth from the roles you play or the things you do?  


Well, maybe it's time to take a step back, shift your focus back to Jesus and let him refill you with the identity, purpose and passions he created you for.

| She'll Be His & He'll Be Hers...and We'll Party! |

I am excited to see February just around the corner...because that means March is THAT MUCH CLOSER.

In March, she'll be his and he'll be hers....and we'll party! 

Matt's sister, Naomi, is getting married to Ivo.  I was honored not only to be asked to be in the bridal party but also to design their wedding invitation and wedding program for the ceremony.

Naomi is not only gorgeous, she's a fiery woman of God; she's smart, savvy and an amazing business woman.  Asides the fact that her legs probably come up to my bust line (not jealous at all *grin*) she's had her own massage therapy clinic for years.  Recently, she invested herself into establishing and running a non-profit organization and now she has developed her own consulting business. She's the whole package...and it was going to take someone special to keep up with her.    

It was almost a year ago when I said to her, "when you're ready to let it all go, when there is room for someone to come in, then God will have a chance...." And somehow, as we all know, when we just lay our stuff down - even if that means we have nothing on our plates - God has a way of moving in and bringing us THE BEST gift....enter, Ivo.

It was shortly after than that Naomi met Ivo, and as they say, "it's was a done deal."

Ivo is the perfect complement to Naomi, and Naomi is the perfect complement to Ivo.  They strengthen each other and are better together than apart.  Ivo's life is a story full of God's faithfulness and goodness....making him the strong, courageous yet gentle man he is today.  Its so good, I have goose bumps!

As for keeping up with her?  Well, Ivo's a martial arts trainer and kite surfer....he can keep up with her no problem.  As a matter of fact, they got engaged after skydiving....how's that for keeping up?!?!

I'll be sure to share the finished version of the program after the wedding....so stay tuned for that and pictures of the big day.

I'm off to get my run on...this bridesmaid is on the countdown to tone up before wedding day.

Have a great Tuesday.

| Recipe Card | Mini Meatloaf

I originally found this recipe in a Kraft Canada magazine and have now adapted and tweaked it depending on what I have in the pantry.

These little meatloaves are a great go to meal that will please anyone...serve with mashed potatoes or roasted sweet potatoes and a fresh salad and dinner is on the table in a flash.

| Mini Meatloaf |

1 pound ground beef - or ground turkey works great too!
1 box of Stovetop Stuffing mix
1 C. water
Garlic Powder

BBQ sauce
Cheese

Notes:
* You can switch up the spices, sauce and cheese to give different flavours
(use Italian spices, marinara sauce and mozza cheese for an Italian inspired meatloaf)
(use taco spice, salsa and tex-mex cheese for a Mexican fiesta)
* If I don't have stuffing mix on hand I just through in some bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, one egg and some dried parsley & salt and pepper - and leave out the cup of water!

* Combine ground meat, dry stuffing mix, water and garlic powder. 
* Scoop into muffin tins - make sure mixture is well packed
* Make a small hole in the middle of each muffin - fill with BBQ sauce

* Bake at 350* for 25 minutes, remove from oven and top with cheese
* Return to oven for 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted

These freeze well so you could certainly double the recipe and put half in the freezer for another dinner down the road, or even better, package them up and drop off dinner for a friend or neighbour.

Have a lovely Monday!

| Friday Fabulous |

Can you believe is Friday again already! Wow, I don't know about you, but this week flew by.  I hope you've had a few minutes to enjoy the precious and beautiful moments of sunshine we've had this week...ahhh, what a gift that sunshine is to getting motivated.

For today's Friday Fabulous post I wanted to feature an item in my closet I love that I use all the time and has lasted me well:

| Sweet Nothings Footless Tights |

I originally found these tights at the Wal-Mart in the USA and was a bit skeptical with the price tag being $15.  For a pair of tights???  I mean, I've had many o' times where I put my finger right through a pair of tights and into the garbage they go...what a waste.

But, I like the idea that these tights are shape wear as well...meaning, they have a hidden inside tummy control panel that keeps things (aka: your lumps and bumps!) held in nice and tight. :-)

So I gave them a whirl and I LOVE them. 

* They are nice and thick so they work perfectly with a tunic or a dress (and no one can see if you didn't shave your legs *wink*) 

* They are not 100% cotton so they don't fade after multiple washings

* They stay UP...because we've all had some sort of leg wear sagging our knees - NOT FUN!

* They come in black, grey and brown

You can click here for the link to the Wal-Mart web page to check 'em out.....if you really want the shape wear function then maybe go down a size...you don't want them too loose or they won't be holding anything in.

I love wearing a dress...its an easy peasy outfit to throw on before the start of a busy day...there is no pinching, pulling or sagging of pants or waistbands, no pant hems to worry about getting soaked if its pouring rain, and with these tights under any dress or skirt you've got a great outfit for any day of the week.

And just a heads up, I've seen these tights on eBay too for a bit cheaper...so you could try there as well.

Here's to a Fabulous Friday.

| Can I Have and Do it All, Please? | Chapter 2

This week at Women By Design we dove into chapter two of "Can I Have and Do It All, Please" which is entitled "All About Value."

This is my favourite quote of the entire chapter:

"If we don’t understand the value of something we will often mistreat, abuse and discard that thing.” – pg 36

Using this quote as our jumping off point we looked at how the world around us values women, how they are treated and what ideas and expectations are placed on women today:

* We talked about the horrible tortures of human trafficking

* We discussed how life experiences, trauma, words spoken over us and even poor examples of Godly women can affect how we see ourselves

* We recognized expectations society puts on us in terms of beauty and image

* We identified how we see ourselves and why?

:THEN:

(and here's the good stuff)

We wiped the slate clean and refilled it with all the things that God tells us to be true

* God created women on PURPOSE, by design

* Jesus valued women immensely, so much so that He included them in His ministry

* Jesus revealed Himself as the Christ - for the first time - to a Samaritan woman...someone that His culture and society would have dictated He never interact with

* We were created in the image and likeness of God - so who are we to mistreat and underestimate what God has made?!?

Genesis 2:18 says:

Now the Lord God said, It is not good (sufficient, satisfactory) that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper meet (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him. (AMP).

* We looked at the idea of being a helper, not a slave or servant, but instead one who works together.  The Hebrew word for helper is "e'zer" which means "helper like unto God" and is used more than 19 times.  This is a significant helper - that's for sure!

* And finally, we were encouraged and reminded to keep on going:

"Because sometimes all it takes is believing that you are worth it.” – pg 44

When we understand the significance, value and purpose God has created us - as women - to have, we will begin to do even greater things.  How exciting is THAT?!?