Thankful

Not even a week has gone by since Thanksgiving Day, and already I feel drowned in the Christmas Holiday. Thanksgiving gets no respect, don't you agree? I have to admit that I participated in Black Friday (got a super cheap Pyrex storage set [$15], a new set of sheets [$15] & a yummy grey pea coat [$25]!), which is the main reason we are transported from Thanksgiving to Christmas in a milli-second. I guess I'm being hypocritical here... Forget what I said about Thanksgiving... Merry Christmas!

No, wait. It's still November, so in honor of the best FALL holiday, I'd like to share a few things I'm thankful for. If you can make it to the end I'll share my secret Pumpkin Roll recipe (on request- you know it's good).  And sorry Christmas, you're just going to have to wait one more day...

I am thankful for...

 The amazing man God has blessed me with to be my partner. Michael is hilarious, loving, calm, hard-working, & the joy of my life.

My parents, sister, aunts & uncles, grandma & cousins. The Klausmeyer Clan may be small, we may have our edgy moments, but we are a family. Also grateful for the much larger Hollar family I have come to know and love over the last 5 years.

My bright & beautiful small group. Tuesday nights have never brought me more peace, love & warmth than my time with these people. Dinner, study & prayer have been so good for body & soul.

My puppy Grizzly. I adore him & he is so precious to me! I can't imagine what I will be like once we have a real child!

Coffee. Oh what a beautiful thing it is to hold a warm cup in the mornings.

Hot showers. I have pipes that run up my wall and cover me with hot water so I can go into a temporary blissful trance. Who isn't thankful for that?

Country music. I feel good listening to it. I just turned on some Carrie Underwood right now. =]

Having a job where I can sit. I try every day to not take that for granted. Standing all day is tiring.

My family raised me to love books. Knowing how to read is a gift. Getting lost in a novel is a beautiful thing. Changing your life from an inspirational writer is a treasure.

Having things to be thankful for. The world is often a dark place, & I know I have much more to be thankful for than most of the world.

Food.  I love food. I love baking, cooking, & most importantly, eating. Speaking of, thanks for making it to the end! As promised, here's the recipe for a super delicious Pumpkin Roll!

Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients:

Cake: 

     ~3 eggs                                ~1/2 tsp baking soda

     ~1 cup sugar                        ~1/2 tsp cinnamon

     ~2/3 cup pumpkin               ~1/2 tsp ground cloves

     ~3/4 cup flour                     ~1/4 tsp salt

     ~1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling:

     ~1 package (8 oz) cream cheese at room temp
     ~1 cup powdered sugar
     ~6 Tbsp butter, softened
     ~1 tsp vanilla
     ~Extra powdered sugar to prevent sticking
  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15x10 jelly roll pan. (I've used a similar sized cake pan or even a baking sheet with higher sides. It ends up being a very thin cake.) Line with wax paper, or coat with shortening & flour. Just be sure this cake is not going to stick. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with LOTS of powdered sugar. Again, you don't want anything to stick, so go crazy here!
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves & salt in a small bowl.
3. Beat eggs & granulated sugar until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
4. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. immediately loosen & turn cake onto prepared towel (you've got lots of powdered sugar covering that towel, right??). Carefully peel off wax paper if used. Roll up the cake & towel together, starting with the shorter end. Sprinkle more powdered sugar on the cake as you go. Cool towel/cake combo on wire rack.

Filling:

1. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter & vanilla in mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate at least 1 hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

ENJOY!

Wait, What? You Said What? Who? Why? Say WHAT???

Ok, ok hold on. Don't get carried away. It was a simple 'no,' that's all. A simple 'no.' Right. Right?

Have you ever second guessed a big decision you made? Have you ever had to say a simple 'yes' or 'no' within a matter of days? And you didn't have complete confidence when you said that simple little word? Yes? Please say yes!

Here's the deal: I got a call on Thursday the 3rd from a man working in the same Keller Williams office as I do. He was looking for a buyer's agent to join his team. In essence, he gets hundreds of online leads a week, & he needs someone to take over all the buyers, as he would take the seller's side. A buyer's agent would follow up on leads, set appointments with potential buyers, meet clients, show houses, write contracts, & close. So, after a meeting on Monday, he offers me the position & he tells me he needs an answer by Thursday. Wow. Me?? But... Uh... Ok. Well, I had 3 days. Three days to decide! Now to throw in the curve ball...

Real Estate is my Little Dream. I plan to stick with it for life, however big or small my company becomes. But, here's a secret: Michael & I want a family. Soon. And here's my Big Dream: there's nothing I would rather do while my kids are young than to be a Professional Wife & Mommy. Does my Little Dream, right now, fit in with my Big Dream? I prayed. Oh I prayed, "please, God, come to me in a dream and tell me what to do!" Maybe God doesn't work that fast, maybe I don't listen well, but either way, I didn't get my vision. But then I stumbled upon this...

"Urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." ~Titus 2:4-5

Can we ignore the "subject to your husbands" part for now? That's another discussion. =) But, within this verse and in my deep desires, I see what I should do. I know this position would cause a lot of stress in my life, from working nights & weekends to having a boss look over my shoulder, to just feeling the pressure of needing to set appointments, find the perfect house, & close on time. And if there's one thing I know about myself, I know I am not loving, self-controlled, pure & kind when I'm under a lot of stress. Just ask my husband. He won't tell you the truth, he's too sweet. Trust me here. 

So why would I take this job? For... success?? For... money?? For...recognition?? For the price of my Big Dream?? In the end, I said a simple 'no....'  ...No... No! This is not for me, even if it seems completely foolish to pass up this opportunity. I will agree, my life does not scream success! This woman is not a self-started real estate entrepreneur (I can barely even spell that word). Not in the Top 100 Best New Agents of the Year. Not up for an award of most closings in the month of October. Not a Millionaire Real Estate Agent. 

But you know what? My worth is not found in the world's definition of "success." My worth is found in a big God who loves me & wants good things for my life. I am worthy because He has taken over my life & made me pure, loving, self-controlled & kind. Not because I'm a "successful" real estate agent. So, I choose to pursue my God and His plans for my life instead. A simple 'yes.'

"A wife of noble character, who can find? She is worth far more than rubies..."

"Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."

"She sets about her work vigorously; 
her arms are strong for her tasks."

"She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy."

"She is clothed with strength and dignity; 

she can laugh at the days to come."

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

       ~Excerpts from Proverbs 31

Birthday... Cupcakes... But not Birthday Cupcakes...

Finally getting to the last weekend of our busy October... Which, in my opinion, was pretty dang exciting.

First of all, I celebrated 27 years of being alive! Sometimes I forget how old I really am, but this year I've been really conscious of it. I think because Michael turned 29 & I realize I'm not a child anymore (yes it's taken me approximately 15 years to figure that out). But, I cannot complain about anything in my 27 years. God has changed me, blessed me, grown me, & given me more than I could ever ask for on my own. I'm more content with life now than I've been, well, since I was a child.

What to do to celebrate such blessings? Why, sushi of course! My poor husband doesn't enjoy sushi like I do (at all, really), but he was sacrificial to take me to a sushi bar. As you can tell from the following pictures, 1) I was hungry, and 2) I freaking love sushi. What a perfect birthday dinner!

BEFORE:

California Roll, Philadelphia Roll (salmon & cream cheese), Tuna something roll (tuna, avocado & mayo), & Avocado roll.

 AFTER: 

I'm stuffed.

Yes, I ate the whole, entire plate. By myself. Happy birthday to me! Michael got me some really thoughtful birthday gifts, including the movie The Lion King. I am a Disney nut. I can quote Aladdin in its entirety, & I still have to leave the room when Ariel says good-bye to her daddy at the end of The Little Mermaid. So, I was happy to start my Blue Ray collection of Disney movies. Sorry Mom & Dad, but no, I don't want to inherit your VHS tapes.

Grizzly really enjoyed the movie too!

Overall I had a fabulous birthday, & owe a lot of that to my wonderfully loving & thoughtful husband!



Usually, I try to extend what I like to call "birthday benefits" to at least a week, trying to milk the pampering for as long as possible. This year, though, my cousin Diena was getting married the next day, & I asked to do her wedding cake & cupcakes for the reception two days later. I'm glad she gave me the opportunity to be a part of her wedding, & overall I think everything turned out alright! Let me know what you think...

The final cupcake tower...

Various chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate ganache tinted pink!

Vanilla cake with raspberry filling & marshmallow fondant

I definitely couldn't have done this on my own. First of all, I'd like to thank my kitchen for taking a beating:

But seriously, I really want to give a shoutout to The Cupcake Tower ladies! They make really good quality cupcake towers that made my cupcakes look good! You can order any size & color ribbon you want. Check them out here!

Second, I had a special request for gluten-free cupcakes, & was tired of using boxed mixes that were pretty boring. I met Ashley in college, & knew that she had a specialty bake shop (Sugar Mama Bakeshop- doesn't that just sound delish!), so I asked for her help. She sent me these fabulous gluten-free (vegan) cake mixes that I used. Let me just say, I thought they were delish & I'm not usually a gluten-free lover! Do me a favor, check out her blog!

Congrats Diena & Devin Rogers! Nothing but great wishes to you!

Oh, and Happy Birthday to me!!!! (Forget what I said about not milking it this year...)

Texas for a Weekend

I've got some catching up to do! I'm on to the third weekend in October... Here's a glimpse:

We flew to Texas for the weekend of Oct 14th-17th for Michael's 10 YEAR REUNION! Wow. To some, it may not seem that long, but for someone who can't imagine being in the "real world," it sure is a strange feeling. My husband has been graduated for 10 years. And I'm not far behind... It's just weird. Time escapes like a cloud of smoke. You think you can hold it in, but then it just disappears...

So I've got to set the stage for this. I went to high school in Ft. Collins, CO. I graduated with 600+ people in my class. I couldn't imagine driving 45 minutes to get to the mall. Michael, on the other hand, went to high school in Pilot Point, TX. His graduating class was 60-something. He drove 45 minutes to get to a movie theater. We grew up in different worlds. Small town Texas is everything you think of when you see "Friday Night Lights." Everybody knows each other, everyone goes to the Friday night football game, and let me tell you, it's serious business.

On Friday, there was a parade & pep rally in the afternoon:

Then the football game that night:

As I'm intently watching the game (mind you), I happened to be slightly distracted by this interesting phenomenon. There are these massive ribbony things that all the kids wear around. You know those cheesy ribbons you used to get for field day participation or something? Think of that. On steroids. I tried to get a picture:

The kids lug these ribbons around with them. I guess it's like wearing a letter jacket, or something similar. Guys usually buy them for the girls to take them to homecoming. I'm sure I'm messing the tradition up. But I was fascinated! =)

Anyways, back to important Reunion News. We were supposed to have a big fancy dinner at a big fancy place (it's his reunion, not mine...as shown by my being oblivious to details) . But I guess not enough people signed up... So, instead, we went to... a bar. Bully's, or something... Yay. Not to interfere with the awesome-ness of what is a 10 Year Reunion, but my idea of a good reunion doesn't exactly include a too-loud band, smoking (yes, inside), drinking & taking lots of photos. It was fine, & I know Michael was glad to catch up a little with his old friends, & I got free Diet Coke. Who's to complain?

We didn't have a huge amount of time, but in the time we did have, we got a fried chicken meal (a staple), went shopping for new jeans for Michael, a lovely steak dinner, & just time to spend with the Hollar family. We also went to The Village Church on Sunday morning. If you're ever in North Texas, go here.  Every time I get to go there, I am in awe of the great things God is doing. The church bought an old Albertsons & is reaching massive amounts of people with the Bible. The teaching pastor, Matt Chandler, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2010, at the age of 35. If you have time, read this.  This place is rocking for Jesus, and I love it!

A few final photos from our visit:

Michael & I with my beautiful mother-in-law Sandra!

Fried chicken, fried okra, green beans, biscuit & gravy. Done.

Getting ready to head back to Colorado!

Overall we had a fantastic time & look forward to going back for Christmas this year!

Next Week: Birthday & Wedding Cupcakes...