The storm is rolling in

I can’t seem to win this week.

This morning I had an email that my uncle sent my dad, telling him that my grandmother had a heart attack Tuesday night. I had just spoken with her that evening and she sounded fine. According to the email, they don’t think there was a lot of damage, but they discovered she has congestive heart failure and pneumonia. It’s a very difficult situation because my parents don’t speak to my grandparents (they’re my dads parents), hence the email communication.

My mother-in-law is upset with me about something. Go figure.

And my DH is supposed to be out-of-town this weekend, leaving me with this mess. I’m praying he’ll change his mind. I feel like I’m in the middle of a storm right now. I know God is in control and He has the plan, I know He does. But it’s hard to have faith when it all piles on like this.

"The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand."
Psalms 37:23-24.

"Cast thy burdens upon the Lord and He shall sustain you."
Pslams 55:22

Back from the dead

I feel like I’m back from the dead! Sorry folks, but I’ve been sick since Friday and I’m just now coming up for air. I was actually at work yesterday, but just trudged through my day until I could make it home and to bed again.

Today is much better and I’m myself again. That’s good because the rest of the week is busy – work, church, MOPS Steering team meeting, etc.

Just a quick note to say “hello” and here’s a cute dress I saw:




Happy Tuesday!

Lemon-Blueberry Bundt Cake

Here's the lemon-blueberry bundt cake recipe that I made for Bible Study last night. It's perfect as a snack or for breakfast and so summery! Enjoy!

Lemon-Blueberry Bundt Cake
Both kids and adults will love this golden cake bursting with blueberries and drizzled with tangy

Ingredients
Cake: Cooking spray
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) container reduced-fat sour cream
2 cups fresh blueberries

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare cake, coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, butter, and rind in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition (about 4 minutes total). Beat in vanilla and sour cream. Add flour mixture; beat at medium speed just until combined. Gently fold in blueberries.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Yield
16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

The week in progress

What a week! We’ve been having our financial audit here at work and it wrapped up this morning. It went well and we got a fantastic score, but it’s still a stressful process. We did get a great auditor this time, so that helped a bit. Now I don’t have to worry about this again for two years!

Monday night I met some of my MOPS leadership at Starbucks for some sipping and chatting. We have the best time and always end up being kicked out at 10pm when they close.

Tonight is Bible study. It’s my week to bring refreshments, so I made a blueberry-lemon bundt cake. It’s a Cooking Light recipe I got last year and I love it. I’ll get it posted soon.

Tomorrow night is Bunco with my MOPS group. We started playing last month. I had never played before and won the first pot! I doubt that will happen again, but you never know. I’m definitely looking forward to a night out with the girls.

We’re all doing well, otherwise. Brady was running a fever Monday evening, but seems to be fine now. It was probably just one of those little bugs that come around.

Happy Wednesday!

Monday, Monday

Hello! We had a fabulous 4th of July. I’ll have a full review and pictures tomorrow, maybe even an actual picture of me!

Less than a month until our vacation! I’m so excited! We're going to Massachusetts!

We haven’t been up to visit my husband’s siblings in about 5 years. Brady will get to make his first flight and spend time with his cousins. We have all sorts of fun plans – The Boston Children’s Museum and the New England Aquarium; Salem, MA (witch trials, anyone?); Block Island, RI; the beach at his sister’s house, and maybe even the Bronx Zoo. We’re so blessed to be able to take a vacation this year.

Happy Fourth of July!

Note: For those of you who didn’t know, that’s Johnny Depp in the picture below. *Smile*





What’s going on for the 4th of July on Friday? Big, exciting plans?

The 4th of July has always been a favorite holiday of mine. I don’t know why, it just has. We really don’t have too much planned for the long weekend. Friday morning we’re taking Brady and Vivian to see Kung Fu Panda, then we’re going to Vivian’s house for a cookout that evening. I'm making a peach cobbler to take. Yummy! Brady and Vivian will get to play in the pool and the adults will get to chat. We’ll have a great time.

The major event will be trying to potty train Brady. We thought since we don’t have anything going on that it would be the perfect time to buckle down and get this kid out of diapers. Wish us luck!

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Be safe!

For your viewing enjoyment

I'm not feeling very creative or wordsy today, so I thought I'd give you this! Enjoy!