Sunday, November 10, 2013

10 on 10: sunday snippets

happy ten on ten!
hope you enjoy ten snippets of my day
and away we go....


good morning snuggles


fall is great


pre church planting fuel


k garne?

hope juniors

 
kaepernick, harbaugh: nice to see ya.

matching beers for our matching jerseys.

post game grass fire?

peace out, candlestick

new candle and Jesus-time catch up



it was quite a day.
linking up
ten on ten button


cincerely,

cindy


Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Pintertest Kitchen: a tale of two tiramisu




this is a story about two tiramisus.
both cakes have a similar essence,
but both are oh so different.
one claims authenticity,
the other claims a unique twist on a classic favorite.

which one will claim the pintertest victory?
let the battle begin.


on the left are the makings of 
an authentic tiramisu trifle.
on the right, the not so authentic version.

i prepared both per the recipe.
although, for the trifle, i wish i had 
softened the mascarpone more.


they both turned out lookin good.
but who cares what it looks like?
it's all about the taste!

i didn't want to leave this heavy decision solely to myself.
so i had a blind tasting with six of my most daring friends.






the nail biting results?
real tiramisu: zero
fake tiramisu: six

i'll be real: the fake stuff was way tastier.
i give it five blondes.

next month, i'm going to try to fuze the two recipes,
so come back for that!

hope you all enjoyed a tale of two tiramisus.
did you try something from pinterest this month?
write about it and link up with jessica!



cincerely,

cindy

Monday, October 14, 2013

southern lovin'

this past week, i spent some time in raleigh, north carolina 
with some pretty awesome people.
we hung out, went to an international fair, 
spent some time at the beach, and pursued fall colors.
i won't bore you with too many words;
i'll let the pictures tell the story...


 my only hint of fall colors in the distance while i sipped chai and spent time with Jesus.


"fake friend" time over some pretty coffee and yummy food.


fun times celebrating culture with these chicks

 first view of the atlantic!
the sky is literally on fire
while the sun is being amazing and doing this,
i turned around and saw this:
 unreal.

later, we all hit the beach for a stroll.
i mean, the beach is pretty magical.
chai and chat in person.
so good for my soul.
it's  just pretty in the south. 
 fall finally showed its shy self.
 you can say what you want about the SBC,
but their focus on reaching the nations is unparallelled. 
grateful for their influence in my life.
 i got to have one more date with susan, too!

sadly, all good things come to an end
and i was california bound.
but not before one last amazing sunrise in the carolinas.

i am so grateful for this time away!
i was able to reconnect with old friends, make new friends,
and spend some much needed time with Jesus.
well, until next time.


cincerely,

cindy


Thursday, October 10, 2013

10 on 10: east to west

ten on ten:
ten photos on the tenth of every month.
this month, we go from coast to coast.
away we go!



my vacay in north carolina was over
and this kid got up super early to take me to the airport.

busy, busy at the raleigh airport.

landed in charoletee just in time for this.

 layovers mean finishing books

guys! it's pumpkin smash season at jamba!
layovers are also good on the taste buds.

 
water and movies somewhere over the midwest.



the bay welcomed me home with fall in full effect:

pumpkins beckoned at traders,

and moccasins kept my feet warm.

this afternoon was spent sippin
on some pumpkin rooibus in my new mug.
grateful to take some NC home with me.


happy ten on ten, y'all!
linking up with rebecca
ten on ten button


cincerely,

*jet lagged* cindy
 

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Processing Loss

September has been such a weird month. 
It started with some of my favorite people coming to visit. 
Shortly after, my Gammy's condition took a turn for the worst. She was hospitalized for five days and then ended up on hospice, living with my parents. 
She passed two weeks ago. 



I haven't taken the time to blog because I knew it was going to be painful. 
Painful because there are so many memories and emotions to process.
As a nurse, I see sick people actively dying all the time. It's hard to see, but I cope by focusing on the medical and scientific aspects. 
But watching your loved one deteriorate and, essentially, die, is uncharted territory. 
I'm still not sure I will ever forget how wretched it was to see my grandmother in those final days. 
Or how the car ride to my parents house after I found out my last biological grandparent had passed. 
Or how it felt to see her frail body just lying there, completely lifeless. 

Despite all of these emotions and challenges, The Lord has been gracious to show Himself. 
I've had severely opportunities to fellowship with older women, similarly aged to my own grandparents. They have shown me wisdom, love, grace, and comfort during this time of loss. 
The Lord ultimately and perfectly shows these attributes, but I am grateful for godly people who also reflect them. 

I used to take my grandparents for granted. They were people who had to love me, had to be there for me, no matter how much time or distance was between us. 
Now that I don't have grandparents, I wish they were here to experience their unconditional love and hear their wisdom. 
But I'm grateful that the Lord has placed other "grandparents" in my life. And I am grateful that I won't miss out on wisdom to be learned from the older generation.
I'm even more grateful for a God who shows me true, unwavering, unconditional love because of Christ's work on the cross.  

Cincerely,

Cindy 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

10 on 10: rollercoaster of a day

today has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster.
buckle up and remain seated, please.


best only way to start my day

choosing an auto insurance plan
like a big girl

purty flowers for hospice-bound gammy

my favorite kind of hospital visitor

love sporadic visits to costplus

being a newborn is rough work

happy 100k goldie locks

more gammy time

taking in a sunset is like stopping to smell the roses

meatloaf with hp sauce is true comfort food;
haters gon' hate.



today was filled with celebrating life
and preparing for death.
grateful that the Lord's presence was felt every step of the way.

"rejoice with those who rejoice,
    weep with those who weep."
         romans 12:14


ten on ten button

cincerely,

cindy