KONY 2012

I don't know if you've heard of Invisible Children Incorporated. But I hope you have.

I supported and participated IC in high school and a little in college but got distracted from it the last couple of years. To put it in a few short words, its an organization that sheds light on the abuses of people, mostly children, in Uganda and its surrounding countries by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA for short) and their leader, Joseph Kony.

This video is about their latest campaign, to put an end to Kony's power by arresting him. Obama, though he may not be your favorite, has done a great thing in sending American troops to Uganda in November. Please watch this video. I know its long, but once you start it, you'll be so glad you did. Even if you can't wait the whole thing.

Thank you if you watched it!

Last night.

First, this blew my mind.

A couple miles from Welch...

Driving into Welch..

It looked like a brown cloud had descended from the sky and then landed on top of Welch. Once it hit, it got immediately dark. Love those sand storms.

After my bible study, last night, Kanyon and I discovered the humor category on Pinterest. We stayed up entirely too late crying from laughing so hard looking at things like this:

HAHA this is so what I would think!! 

 And my personal favorite:

Oh, man, I'm having a hard time keeping a straight face at work.

General Tso's Chicken

Work is going to be super busy this week and even more next but I have some updates to the leather shop to show you at some point! For now, I just wanted to take a quick second to share this recipe with you:

 I have attempted two other General Tso's Chicken recipe before and both were mediocre.. definitely not as good as buying it from a local restaurant. And that's saying something since both the Chinese restaurants in Lamesa and Brownfield are so-so. And the boxed frozen kinds at the grocery store are no go.

This one was really good and really easy! I decided to try it since the breading for the chicken was battery instead of dry and it made such a big difference. It may look complicated but just look at these photos from Jessica at How Sweet Eats to see how easy it is - General Tso's Chicken on Tasty Kitchen Blog.

The only modifications I made were to substitute the Chinese chili-garlic sauce for a pinch of garlic salt, chili powder, and about half a cup of apricot preserves or jelly. I didn't have the chili-garlic sauce but I always have those spices and apricot jelly is Kanyon's favorite.

Just in case you're looking...

.. I have a couple of new blogs that I love and wanted to show you.

First up is a cooking blog. I am kind of picky about cooking blogs. I like for the recipes to be accessible, the pictures to be professional, and the blogger to be witty.. yes, witty. I can only read about food for so long before it gets boring. Get some funny in there. Which is why I only follow three food blogs [so far -- if you have any to recommend, let me know!].

So the name of the blog, right. Its called "How Sweet It Is" and I found her through Tasty Kitchen, Pioneer Woman's recipe sharing website [which are the other two food blogs coincidentally.. PW and Tasty Kitchen].

Jessica at "How Sweet It Is" is incredibly funny in a sarcastic, don't take myself too seriously, kind of way. And she is incredibly talented in the kitchen. Her recipes are probably 65% desserts.. but hey, I don't mind. I've loved all of the recipes I've tried from her so far.

This was her Grilled Corn Summer Breakfast Hash from yesterday. She posts once, if not twice, a day. [Click on picture to redirect to the recipe].

And she posted these this morning.. making me crave chocolate cookies at 10:30 in the morning. [I guess that's not really unusual.] Salted Mudslide Cookies.

I so wish I had something to bake these for!! But that would require me getting some coffee liquor.. something that I will never use again. I guess I can just use regular brewed coffee?

Okay, the second blog is a home decor/DIY blog called "Our Vintage Home Love". I can't even remember how I found this blog but I know she had just started blogging when I did. Now she has a lot of followers.

Diana is such an inspiration. When she wants something new for her house - furniture, decor, etc.. - she makes it herself. Everything! Kitchen tables, countertops, desks..

Here are a couple of my favorite projects..

Barn Wood Headboard

Isn't that gorgeous??

Master Bathroom Counter Top Re-do

Before...

And after...

 I never would have thought to do this! It's gorgeous.

She also makes a lot of her own wall decor like this..

And her latest project that she has been selling on Etsy are her vintage bread board she makes and personalizes herself.

I haven't been fast enough to get a set yet because she sells out within minutes!

I showed Kanyon her blog a while back and he jokingly said "Why can't you be more like her??" and it got me thinking.. maybe I can? I've never really been a DIY type of person but I think I might like working with wood. And this rustic style is so up Kanyon and I's alley. So Kanyon and I have come up with a little project to do that was inspired by one of her's. We'll see if it works out. If it doesn't, I'm sure I'll still show the pictures!

The hallway trim and doors are almost done and once I get done with it, I will start thinking more about that project.

Okay, I'm getting back to work but wanted to show you my two new favorite blogs!

World War II Vets

I plan on editting all the pictures from last weekend tonight and posting about it but I wanted to share this with you this morning.

My aunt sent me this video over e-mail and it made me cry. In the office. Nice.

Please take two minutes to watch it: Show Your Thanks

Both of my grandfathers fought in WWII and I can only imagine how they would respond to this.

I feel as if my grandparents and I grew up in two different worlds. The Depression, wars, living without most things... these are things I never had to worry about. At all. But it was apart of their everyday world.

My mother's mother grew up on a dairy farm as one of nine kids. I feel as if I have a small connection with her now that I live in the country on a farm and that thrills me. She is the only grandparent I have left. She is 93 (she's a trooper) and has dementia and is living in Oklahoma City where my mom's sister and daughters can (and do) visit her all the time.

Grandma (LoRee) in the middle with her two remaining sisters.

Sometimes I grieve for the relationship I've never had with my grandparents. All were around when I was born but all but one passed before I ever was old enough to value their presence. My mother tells me all the time how Grandma used to be and how they were best friends. I can't imagine how it must feel to have Grandma here on earth but know her soul and spirit is but a shadow of what it once was.

Thank the Lord that I will one day have all the time in the world heavens to get to know Charles and LoRee and Paul and Sue. I can't wait for that day! To ask my grandmothers to teach me to sew (maybe I'll have a desire in heaven where there's no frustation?), to ask LoRee what it was like working on a dairy farm, how Paul and Sue met and what it was like to date in their time, to hear Charles' laugh that my father can imitate so well. I know they will have so many stories and I can't wait to hear every single one of them. Something I'm really hoping for in heaven is a movie theatre where we can watch home videos... are you listening, God? ; )


I am so thankful for Kanyon's family for multiple reasons but one is that I was adopted so enthusiastically as Otha and Veneda's and Truman and Mauriene's granddaughter. I very much feel as apart of their family as any other grandchild. I am excited that my kids will get to grow up (God willing) with one set of grandparents down the road and the other set coming probably every two weeks to visit from Houston or wherever in the world they will live... I'm really not joking, Mom. : )  Along with both sets of their great grandparents on Kanyon's side down the road. I know that will be a blessing that they don't even realize they have.

Can't wait for that movie to come out in November about the WWII vets. Thank you, God, for men back then and today who risk their lives for us to live in freedom.

Pinterest and some good news!

I tried to post yesterday but Blogger is having some sort of meltdown. I'm actually having to write this whole post over again.. good thing its not a long one.

_________________________________________________________________

Does anyone else save pictures and images they find online that inspire them to decorate a certain way or collect images of things they'd like to make, etc? I have a folder on my computer of images like that that I refer to all the time to redo some part of my house.

So, I was going to show something to yall if you didn't already know about it - have yall heard of Pinterest?

I found out about it about a month ago and started using it then. I love it! Its a virtual "bulletin board" where you can "pin" pictures you find on the internet!

One of my pins.

I wanted to share a direct link to my page so you can see my boards and see what I'm talking about. I have a board for interior and exterior home design and then leather projects inspiration for Kanyon and I to begin trying!

A pin of a farm house that I love.

Here's my page: Erika Brown's Pinterest

In other news, I have been really excited lately about some fun stuff happening to me and around me!

First of all, Mom and I have been planning a trip for our family to go out to Denver and meet my brother while he works at Dry Bones this summer. Dry Bones is a ministry in Denver that ministers to homeless "kids" (up to age 30 or so, I believe). They also give youth groups the opportunity to come work with them. First, the mountain intern guides the group on a wilderness trek for four days where they will live in complete wilderness and get to peak a mountain. The second half of the week, they spend time in downtown Denver with the City Interns who minister to the homeless. Cole is the mountain intern again this year and gets July 4th week off so Mom, Dad, me, and Kanyon are flying up to stay in Denver a few days and backpack with Cole! I'm pumped! I haven't backpacked in a few years. I've camped but not peaked a mountain in a while. I cannot wait!

Also, my best friend from high school, Camille got ENGAGED a couple weeks ago and I am going to College Station next weekend to see her for a few days and attend her graduation from nursing school party!

 

I'm so excited for her right now! She's finally graduating (she's a smarty pants and worked really hard) and now she gets to marry an amazing guy! And I'm happy for myself that I get to spend 4 days with her next week! Ok, thats probably enough gushing for now.

BUT it doesn't end there. I also found out a couple weeks ago (and now that its public, I can announce it) that Kasha and Al are pregnant again!! WOOHOO!

The soon-to-be big brother, Taegan. They make super cute kids obviously, so I'm excited!

I hope y'all all have a great weekend, mine will be spent running errands in Lubbock tonight (and hopefully getting my hard working husband to leave the field and meet me for dinner), attending a Walk to Emmaus meeting all day tomorrow (the only kind of all day meeting I love to attend on a Saturday!), and church and small group with my junior high girls on Sunday! Hopefully a low-key weekend before I leave town next Thursday for College Station.

And hopefully no more of this will happen while I'm gone:

He looks pretty sorry, doesn't he?  : )

Thankfully the flowers that were in the pot, and I assume are now in his belly, were on sale for $2 at Walmart. I was more impressed that he got that shepherd's hook down... I really rammed it in the ground to avoid this!

Monday

(I'm not great at thinking of creative blog post titles..)

First of all.... Happy Birthday, Mama Brown!!

Second of all... look what Kanyon surprised me with this weekend!!

Since day one, Kanyon and I have wanted to put a hide down in the living room under our table and we just never got around to ordering it. Kanyon was ordering leather last weekend and they were having a sale so he finally ordered it! Isn't it beautiful!?!

Third of all, I want to direct everyone's attention to a ministry I have been following and felt I needed to tell everyone about. If you're FB friends with me, you may have already seen my status about it.

Please head on over to the Ekisa Ministries blog. It is a relatively new ministry in Uganda. They are two girls in their 20's who felt God call them to care for the disabled orphans in Uganda. After finally finding a house, hiring some disabled adults who otherwise wouldn't be able to get jobs, and getting the word out that they were able to take in children, they already have some amazing stories to share. Their most recent blog post about Walter had me in tears of sadness.. but also of joy that this beautiful child finally has loving hands to care for him. PLEASE go check it out.

Heading to lunch!

Ending the Week on a Mushy Note

Scratch that - not "mushy" but sentimental. Mushy sometimes alludes to negative feelings.

I said in my post yesterday that it had been kind of an emotional week. Well, allow me to throw something else at you.

I randomly found a post this morning from my friend Becca's blog. I clicked on a link on her side bar and was led to another blog that was having a guest blogger today.. Have I confused you?

Well actually it doesn't matter how I got to it. I just really want you to read it because it really touched me.

As someone who is still relatively new to this whole get-married-and-share-your-life-completely-with-someone-else thing.. I found this post to be very encouraging.

Second Chances by Paige from Simple Thoughts (guest blogger on Between You and Me)
(Note - the blog has a song playing when you open it so if you're at work or just don't want to listen to it, you might hit the mute now.)


.........................................

I've got a weekend ahead of me with no plans and that suits me just fine! I kind of had a un-said dare to myself to actually not leave Welch the entire month of February. And I think we're gonna make it!... But I won't lie - I'm feeling the itch to travel. I guess running errands in Lubbock tomorrow will do.

MLK Day

This year Martin Luther King is more significant to me than it has been in other years to me. And it's all because I am reading this book right now:

If you have not read this book, please do. It is a fictional book set in the 1960's in "Jim Crow" Mississippi about relations between black and white people. I won't give away the plot but it tells the story of three women: a white post-college unmarried girl who is trying to find her place in the town she grew up in after moving back, a black older woman who is alone after her only son died and who is the maid for a white woman, and another black middle aged woman who has ruined her reputation in her town after sassing one too many rude white women. "The Help" refers to what the maids are called.

I have many convictions, but race relations have always been a sensitive subject to me. I have no idea why except the fact that I believe it is Jesus in me who leads me. I can't watch movies that deal with racism very easily because I can't stand to see it. It disgusts me like not many other things. Maybe it is because I grew up in Houston and I had friends of every race growing up, but again I like to think, in fact I know, it is God in me who influences me to feel this way.

Anyway, I'm sorry to be going on a personal rant right now but I just feel the need to recommend this book to any and everyone. Not only is it beautifully written, I appreciate its historical accuracy. I thank God for people like MLK who stood up and fought for their God-given rights. I also thank God that I do not have to live in a time where there is still need for people like him. I'm not saying race relations are perfect now by any means, of course. Racism just rears its ugly head back again after changing its appearance a little.

If you like reading, and even if you don't really, give this book a try.

On another note, I am thankful for two other things today:

The Keurig my co-worker bought for the office!

And these two babies!

Al and Kasha brought home a 6-week-old yellow lab puppy last night!!! They are my favorite!! 

(I hate using too many exclamation marks usually so this should tell you in itself how excited I am about it!!)

Have a good Monday!

gift ideas

Last weekend, Mom came home from her Walk with a gift for me and for Kanyon.. go figure. It made me want to share with you a couple of things that would be great Christmas gifts.

Two devotionals that I try to read everyday and that I really love are:

• "Starting Your Day Right" by Joyce Meyer

This is by far the best devotional I have come upon. It only takes about a minute to read through it but I haven't yet read any entry that didn't keep my attention. Some daily devotionals get repetitive to me or are too shallow but this one is neither. I love it.

You can get it on Amazon for cheap, otherwise its only like 10 bucks at B&N. You can also get it on Kindle.

Its kind of small too .. stocking stuffer size.

• "Love Letters from God" by Bonnie Shluter

This is a really cool book. It was written by Bonnie to her sons and sisters. She wrote it to encourage them when they left home and when going through a hard time. It is a collection of about 80 letters that Bonnie wrote as God to his child. The table of contents directs you to the individual letters by naming the theme of the letter. Some of the themes are "Let go of the Past", "Walk in Love", and "Fighting Satan with Forgiveness". I like going through the contents and choosing by how I'm feeling that day. It really is so good.

Just wanted to share my finds! We're headed to Post tonight to watch the Dawson Dragons play in their second play-off game!

livin on a prayer

I got lots to tell you.. but this is more important for you to see at the moment.

"Excellent Use of Jumbotron Moment"

Hilarious.

P.S. Mom is on a Walk to Emmaus retreat this weekend, please send up a prayer for her!

Foodie

I am a foodie. I admit it.

I am not a foodie in the usual sense of the word, really only half of the usual definition.

What is the definition? I've come to understand it as someone that loves food and all it entails. NOT a glutton, though. Its someone who loves to make food, loves to read food blogs, and always appreciates a new and interesting recipe. And even the usual recipes.

The other half of the word usually entails being good at making new recipes. This one is not me.. yet. My dream has not been fulfilled.

ANYWAY, I say all this to tell you about the food that I and my friends who have volunteered to help are making for my Willow House party tonight!

Except for a couple items, all of the recipes come from Tasty Kitchen, a recipe-sharing website that Pioneer Woman created that I go to on a daily basis and am constantly impressed by not only the creativity but the amazing photography!

Here is what I made/am making this afternoon:

• Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (I mentioned this yesterday)

• Sun Dried Tomato Spread (I'm using a mix I got at the Livestock Show but here is the same recipe) with Ciabatta bread and cheese and sliced avocado.

• Olives from the Market Street Olive Bar (I was going to make this with them but decided nah.. I'd made it before and didn't feel like going to the trouble but it is really good.)

• Kasha is making Bacon Wrapped Pineapple Bites for me!

• And Vaughn volunteered to make Fudge Revel Bars!

I'm not usually one to turn down help when one volunteers.. a warning to everyone :)

Recipes for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, Bacon Wrapped Pineapple Bites, and Fudge Revel Bars can all be found on the Tasty Kitchen website (www.tastykitchen.com).

I'm definitely not eating dinner before this party tonight.. Is it wrong that I'm more excited about the food than the products the party is actually thrown for? Once again.. foodie.

Monday ...

Mondays at the church are pretty slow.. all the ministers have Mondays off so I usually have to figure out things to do.. thus.. I'm updating our blog.

If any of yall follow Ree Drummond's blog (Pioneer Woman), yall may have come across one of her "favorite things" post. I have a love/hate relationship with them.. I am always tempted to buy the things she posts about.

Well, there are a couple things that I want to share with you. This could get girly.

Number 1: Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow in "Sparkling Nude"

I am pretty uncoordinated and inexperienced when it comes to eyeshadow. I never wore it in high school and never really learned how to apply it (kind of) until senior year of college.

BUT when I went to the Clinique counter to buy my wedding makeup about a year ago, the girl at the counter (with perfect makeup) showed me this life-saver.

It is liquid eyeshadow in a nude color with a little sparkle (hence the name, duh) and she showed me by applying it on her hand that if you put it on your eyelid first, it will make your eyeshadow .. 1) stay on all day, and 2) actually be the same color it is in the compact on your eye, if not better. My eyeshadow has never been the same since. I have even ventured out into using more than one color on my eyelid. Amazing! Seriously, I highly recommend this. Find it here.

Number 2: Thirty-Six Ten Jewelry on Etsy

(Amy, if you're reading this, I hope it's ok to be doing this!) I just stumbled onto my friend Amy's Etsy page. If you are unfamiliar with Etsy, it is a website where small business owners can sell some of their stuff. Most of it is handmade and unique. I was shocked by how beautiful everything was on Amy's page!

A couple of my favorites:
 

Here is a link to her page: ThirtySixTen


That's all I got right now. I hope this Monday is good for everyone!

hump day

I'm raising him to love Chacos.

It's a Wednesday. Nothing spectacular has happened since my last post. So I'm going to give you a good laugh.. I found this on my friend Shelbi's blog and had to share. Hilarious!

Random Thoughts for the Day:

(Author unknown)

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection....again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -- ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? ) but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day " Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How do I respond to that?

19. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

20. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front.

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?

29. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists.

31. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

gallery wrap

Some of yall that have been to my house have seen Kanyon and I's Gallery Wrap picture on the wall at our house of one of our engagement pictures on the hay stack.. It is beautiful and I have been asked several times where I got it.

Well I wanted to share with you where I got it because they are having a special today and tomorrow on Gallery Wraps! Here is the ad:

Gallery Wraps are by MPix (and several other companies). They take your picture that you have on your computer and they place it on a canvas, where the sides 'wrap around' (hence the name) the edges. They are beautiful.

This is how we displayed our's.

To make one (or to even play around with it and preview some of your picture on a gallery wrap) go to the Mpix website and click 'Get Started' to create an account. After that you'll upload your picture by 'Create An Album' and then click on Specialty Products. They sell lots of cool stuff. I love Mpix Gallery Wraps because they come out very high quality and they are so affordable compared to other companies.

I'm thinking about making a Gallery Wrap of this picture I took in Israel two years ago:

There's my tip for today!