Hair-brained

I do not consider myself to be a vain person when it comes to my hair. I usually cut- yes, cut- and color it myself and have never been too shocked or disappointed with the results. 

Until now.

This is the box of hair color I bought recently. I have tried the foam before with positive results. If you cannot read the box, the color is "Medium Ash Brown".

The color is new for me, as I wanted to go a little darker than usual. Truthfully, in my pre-color life I had darkish brown hair, though it has not been seen since I tried to color my hair with the Sun-In in a box and it turned orange. That was in 8th grade. My hair has seen a lot of colors since then, but never this:

 

Can you see it? It's black, yep BLACK!!!

Okay...I'm sharing this photo so you can see the magnitude of my hair disaster:

Even this picture doesn't capture just how black it is. My husband has black hair and mine is now darker than his. HELP!

Does this mean I have to pencil my eyebrows black, too?!?

I Believe I Can Fly

So be strong and courageous!

Do not be afraid and do not panic before them.

For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you.

He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

-Deuteronomy 31:6

These Few Simple Words

I'm just going to share a few quotes I pinned to my Pinterest board, "Worthy Words" recently. You can check out all my boards by clicking on the Pinterest link at the lower left corner of my blog. I hope they make you smile, like I did...and that some of these ring true for you...they sure did for me!

My Daughter is a Teenager

Recently, my daughter celebrated a birthday. She turned 13. It was a very fun time in our house, slumber party, family celebration, jokes about PG-13 movies she could now legally see (definitely only joking!), and most importantly, realizing that while she is now 13, she has "decided" not to fall into the sterotype we call "a teenager". Go Rachel.

My daughter is breaking the mold in many ways, and I am proud of her. The choices she is already making show a commitment to Godly living and a decision for Christ that I did not have at her age. I think I can safely say that many kids her age now do not share her views on modesty and purity, but she is determined to stand for her choices and I am determined to encourage and support her.

I decided last year that it was time to stop being in denial about how old my kids were getting and just embrace each age. I'm doing pretty well with that philosophy, except when I break out the baby pictures. I mean, just look at this kid! It really does feel like I blinked and she went from this:

To this:

But, I guess if she has to grow up, I'm glad she's growing in the direction she is. We trust our kids to the God who entrusts us to raise them. We teach them about Him, and His boundless love for us. We pray for our kids, play with our kids, walk and talk with them through all of life's challenges and gifts. And one day, we let them go. I know that day is coming...but not yet, thank goodness! I am happy she is 13, only 13. I love her and am trying to enjoy this time with her so I do not blink and find we have already reached another milestone.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 1:4

Apricot Jam

I had my first experience making jam the other day. A friend gave me some apricots from her tree, and while I would never put a plain apricot in my mouth, I am in love with apricot jam.

I followed this recipe from Little Green Cottage Designs, Best Apricot Jam Recipe, modifying it for the amount of apricots I had on hand. Here is my modified version:

26-28 apricots washed and cut in quarters

6 cups sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Place the apricots in a large pot or saucepan with a scant 1/2 cup of water and 2 cups of the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Turn heat to high and boil the apricots until they are soft and then add the remainder of the sugar and the lemon juice.

Boil over low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Let cool slightly in the pot, then fill jars, cool and store in the refrigerator. I used half-pint canning jars, but did not use any preservative methods, so this jam should be eaten within a month.

The jam will thicken when it is cool.

I was able to fill six half-pint canning jars.

This jam is so delicious on toast, waffles, ice cream, bagels...ohhh, the possibilities!

A Spice Salute

This is a shameless plug for one of my favorite products, 21 Seasoning Salute, from Trader Joe's.

I always have a jar of this in my kitchen. I use it in my roasted carrots and to season chicken, whether it's in the pan or the pot. I've also added it to rice, soups, other veggies, and we use it as a better alternative to season Top Ramen.

It contains spices that you'd expect like onion, garlic, basil, rosemary...and some maybe you wouldn't, like orange peel, carrot, cumin, cayenne, and oil of lemon. What it doesn't contain is salt!

Here's my simple, yet delicious recipe for Roasted Carrots:

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Now, you can mix everything up in a bowl like you should, or be lazy like me, and mix it all on the baking sheet. =)

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 425.

Mix together baby carrots (enough to serve your group) and oil (olive, canola, or grapeseed)- enough to coat the carrots. You want to coat them, but not drown them!

Sprinkle coated carrots with coarse salt and the 21 Seasoning Salute and stir to mix.

Set your rack one level up from the middle and roast carrots for at least 20 minutes or until done. Check and stir along the way. They should be tender and look roasted...you can do this! These are yum-O!

Just one of the many products I love from Trader Joe's. And no, I don't work there (how fun would that be!!!) I just enjoy shopping there! Don't even get me started on their cornbread...

Let Freedom Ring!

Here's hoping you all had a fun and safe 4th of July! We had a great time with friends, bbq'ing at our house, relaxing, kids in the pool, eating waaay too much (yes!), and seeing some fireworks.

I am so thankful to live in a country where I can speak my mind (as cracked as it may be sometimes), pursue my dreams, live in freedom and worship God without fear.

And it is because of Christ's work on the cross that we have true freedom, a freedom that cannot be taken away by any person, group or government. Thank you, Jesus!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.    -Galatians 5:1