Winter Wonderland

And without further ado, here are the snow pictures! :)

Our house. (as you can see, my family members were outside as well... marveling at all the fluffy white stuff)

I loved the snow... while it lasted, it was so beautiful!
Me, in the snow.

My brother Mark made a snow Koala Bear. *Cute!!*

Our chickens were highly insulted at the weather, and hardly poked their heads outside the whole day while the aggravating precipatation fell.

Our garden pots were buried underneath a generous blanket of icy snow. Miraculously... some of the lettuce survived! :)

A view off the porch. (I believe I took this shot out the window)

This used to be our driveway - it morphed into an arctic forest while we weren't looking.

I can still feel the crisp, frosty air on my cheeks that I enjoyed while shooting this photo of our mountain view.

I managed to get Steven to take my picture in front of the view. That's me, down in the corner there. :)

This is a shot down the driveway while it was still snowing heavily on Friday evening. (Some of these pictures are from Friday the 12th,, and some are from the next morning.)

As a side note, I have no idea how I managed to get my wide-leg cargo-style corduroy pants to look amazingly like wild, hippie bell-bottoms in ^that shot.

I ended up making my mom's birthday cake the day of the great snow, even though her birthday was on the 9th... so I decided to photograph the cake with the snow. :D

The view out my bedroom window.

Steven, standing out in the little clearing where we have a tulip poplar, a pear tree, and a plum tree.

A shot through the woods.

More woods. This is on Saturday morning.

This is looking up the driveway.

Snow-laden branches of the post oak trees. Lovely!

Hope you enjoyed the snow pictures! :)

Spring Blog Makeover

My delightful mother picked out an ADORABLE new blog background for her spring makeover. :) I helped her with the font colors and designed a cute new header and blog button for her.

And, the obligatory sneak peek... ;)

I melted when I saw how sweet the finished project looked. You really must head on over to her blog, Gloria In Excelsis Deo, and drop her a little note! I know it would brighten her day to hear how you like her new look. :)

I am frightfully behind in posting pictures of the 8 inches of snow we were blessed with one week ago, but I plan on sharing those very soon. :) (in fact, if I don't post them soon, feel free to send me a little reminder via the comment section saying something like "Julia! Where are those snow pictures you promised??") :D

Love & Hugs!

Watching "Emma"

Are any of you interested in watching the new Emma Jane Austen movie, starring Romola Garai? *squeals* ;)

I watched it and I must say, I was more impressed than I expected I'd be. I love the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma, but there are many things about this new version that captivated me. :) I was pleasantly surprised by how many of the lines from the movie are actually taken straight from the book, and how little the screenwriters changed the plot, characters, and situations. The timing of everything is extremely close to how everything happens in the book. All this I love! :D I like the newer Harriet much better. At first I wasn't sure about Mr. Knightley, but I absolutely loved him by the time the movie was done.

Frank Churchill is much more like I would have imagined him to be... the ages of the actors seem to be closer to the actual book... Unfortunately, I didn't think Romola Garai acted quite well-bred and elegant enough for the part of Miss Woodhouse, and does a few things that I don't think Emma would have done... (i.e, bursting into Mr. Knightley's library, making a short electrifying statement, and immediately running back out) And Miss Bates was not quite as 'bates-y' as I would have liked. Overall though, this is a very well-done, satisfying Jane Austen Movie. :D

Love-y Things

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY...to all my dear readers!

And... HAPPY BIRTHDAY

...To my brother Mark, who today turns 16 years old. (sniff! He's growing up so fast.) :D

Love & Hugs,

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today my dear, sweet Mama has her birthday. :) I love you so much Mama!

 Love & Hugs,

I Loooooove blog design. :)

Today I went up to a house of some friends of ours and helped the very sweet Mrs. Pam set up a blog! :) We applied a totally awesome background from http://shabbyblogs.com, and I designed a header to go with it and helped Mrs. Pam edit her fonts and colors... and we had such a blast! :D I would have had a way easier time if my photo editing program had worked on her computer... *arrrrrgh* Windows Vista and I are not very good friends. :D However, I managed to outsmart the computer *da-da-da-DAAA! Victory!!* and use a different program to create her header online. (hurrah for Paint.net!)

Now, I would be absolutely thrilled if ya'll went over and said hi and tell Mrs. Pam if you like her new blog! Also, come back and tell me if you liked it or not. I'd love to hear your responses.

Here's a sneak peek.....

Ooooh, isn't it pretty??? :D

When Julia isn't blogging...

One of my very good friends remarked once, on hearing that I had been very busy lately... "I thought that's what it was, it seems that when Julia isn't blogging, she's really busy!" How right she was. :D

When I'm busy, I don't blog! It gets bumped back to the bottom of my priorities. Laundry, Dishes, Housecleaning, and checking my email all come first. :D

Also, I feel like for some strange reason that my blog posts should be meaningful and have a great and important topic. I feel silly typing away for no reason about not much, or giving little tiny tidbits of information on what I'm doing recently. (Why the picture of the beach? Well, that was rather random, but it conveys such a sense of serenity that I knew that... somehow... it went with this post. :D)

Take a deep breath. Now let it out slowly. Ahhhhhhh. Didn't that feel good? I sometimes have to stop and do that in the midst of a hectic day. It clears the mind. :)

Today I got my bedroom all clean and vacuumed the floor... and put away the piles of clean laundry left over from Wednesday... :D I feel so much more peaceful when my bedroom floor is all clean. You know what I mean? Somehow, when the area around me is cluttered, my mind feels cluttered too.

My next huge, gi-normous project is organizing my jewelry worktable. Oooooiiiiiyyuuugh. (That was a groan) My creative moods, oh-so-wonderful for designing jewelry, leave much to be desired in the area of... um... neatness. :P In other words, when I'm playing around with beads and colors and silver and crystal... I make a royal mess! :D

I'll have to take before-and-after photos so you can see what I mean. :) It needs to be done soon so I can start bulking up my inventory for a jewelry show in March. Having lots of beautiful stock on hand will be nice when it's a week before the show and I'm quickly and efficiently (hah, or frantically and crazily) finishing up the last few hundred pairs of earrings. :D

Anyway, thank you for reading my evening musings and do take a moment to drop me a comment. It's such lovely thing, hearing from you! What have you been busying yourself with recently? I'd love to hear about it. :D



P.s.
I just did a post on MOHL, if you want to read it.

Very Exciting News!! New Shop!

I am exceedingly pleased to give you...

JandKdesigns! A fabulous new Etsy shop that my dear friend Kierstyn and I started together!

Kierstyn and I go way back. We've been friends ever since we were about 3 months old in church nursery together. :) We grew up going to the beach together and having the most wonderful time dancing together in ballet class. There were several occasions that we performed choreographed worship dances to songs like Shout to the Lord on stage together. When I moved up to GA we lost touch, but last year Kierstyn looked me up on white pages and sent me a letter. Ever since, we've been in close contact, catching up on each other's lives. Then, Kierstyn got a bright idea.... Scarf and Earring sets!

We have combined our talents of crochet and jewelry design into one amazing place.  Kierstyn and I have matched up sets of her scarves and my earrings to make something splendid. :) Here are a few samples:

Now you just HAVE to go take a look. :D

An Article I Wrote Concerning the Tongue & Brothers

A Discussion of my New Philosophy Concerning my Brothers.


Let me say first of all that I love my brothers. I love them ever so much. However, I have not been the sister they need me to be, and I’ve been letting other things cloud my vision and distort my view of my actions. I’ve justified correcting them over and over again on the grounds that they needed to improve in a given area – when I need improvement just as much as they, but nobody follows me around and makes comments every time I do something the least bit imperfect.

Luke 6:42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.

I had (have) ‘beams’ in my eyes, and I’ve been so concerned with carefully picking out every infinitesimal speck in Mark and Steven’s vision… nearly bashing them over the head with the ‘logs’ sticking out from my eyes in the process – not to mention frustrating everyone concerned with my gross hypocrisy.
This came to a climax the other evening, when I again criticized my oldest brother Mark’s table manners. He was hurt and embarrassed. Daddy and Mama had had enough of my behavior and Daddy and I went to my room to have a talk after dinner was finished.
Daddy spoke lovingly yet convicting-ly to me, and told me that I need to treat Mark and Steven like the nearly-all-grown young men that they are… with respect, and admiration for all their good points and the potential in them to be something wonderful, instead of focusing so much on their small faults and criticizing them mercilessly for every tiny mistake.

Why had I been so blind? Mark and Steven are wonderful young men! They are so intelligent and kind and loving. They each have so many gifts and wonderful character traits. They’re amazing. What was I thinking??
Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.

Had I done this? NO! I hadn’t preferred Mark and Steven above myself. I was only concerned about my wants, my needs, and my “right” to boss them around! I have no right to correct Mark and Steven – they are my equals, not just ‘little brothers’. That phrase “little brothers” doesn’t even make sense any more because they literally tower over me. Such big, strong men! And I’ve been trying to order them around like a cocky little bantam rooster. How silly and wrong of me to have done so!

As the daughter and sister in my family, I should be looking for ways to help and serve my family members. I should be making peace, instead of causing strife. My words should be gentle, my thoughts kind, and my actions sweet and blessing to my dear family. My hands need to be eager to work for the benefit of my home, and my feet should be swift in running to help out wherever I am needed.

Proverbs 31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
Proverbs 31:27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

I can talk all day until I’m blue in the face about heart changes and proper behavior, but what really matters is acting all this out and practicing what I ‘preach’. I am sincere. I mean what I am saying here and I truly am trying to change. Habits are difficult to break, but I will be endeavoring to train my tongue to speak kindly and gently, saying what God wants me to say instead of that other influence that’s been working through me these past years.

James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. (22) But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
“Superfluity of Naughtiness”. You know that sarcastic teasing attitude? The one that flourishes in any gathering of teenagers? It’s fun… for you, at least… not the person or persons you may be teasing. But it’s sin. Sin is usually fun, have you noticed? At least for a while. However, there are major consequences.

I know what proper, godly behavior is. Or at least I have a pretty good idea. But if I don’t put it into practice and be a doer of the word…
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
I’m sinning! If I am not doing what I KNOW is right, I am in sin!!

James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
James 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
James 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

Truer words never were spoken – “Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” How many times I wish I could have rewound time and erased that one little fiery comment that sparked a whole big huge fight or disagreement. Bridling my tongue and not saying everything that pops into my head is something I will definitely be working hard on!

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
^This is one reason I have decided to make this a public blog post. It’s my confession, of sorts. I hope you will pray for me as I work on this area of my life.

I want to be a shining light, and my desire is to be a priceless, valuable part of my family… not something that needs to be cast off so that the rest doesn’t decay.

With God as my constant helper and aid, I will be a good sister and daughter, and I will bring glory to my Lord and Savior in it.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I had a major dilemma this afternoon.

I'm currently on the South Beach Diet phase one (for two weeks) during which I am not eating any carbs or sugars. Then, today's lunch came along and threw a wrench into the works. Mama wanted to make a nice hot *delicious* lunch of homemade pizza, one of our favorite meals. I can't have pizza crust, it's a carb.
Thus: DILEMMA.

Mama was not to be swayed by a little problem like that, (harhar) so she set her mind to work on how we could make a pizza that I could eat. She began pondering what we could do as a substitute for her crunchy, amazing whole wheat crust... *drool* ... and came up with a happy alternative.

We opened up a can of black beans and heated them up on the stove. Then we threw in some leftover cooked chicken to give it a little more body. We spread out a layer of the black beans/chicken (using about half of the pot) in a glass pie pan, and topped that with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and my favorite pizza toppings.. pepperoni, black olives, and pickles. :D Yummmm.

And, we sprinkled the whole thing with parmesan cheese, garlic, oregano, and basil. Then, into the oven it went!

We broiled it for about 6 minutes, watching it carefully to make sure it didn't get too crispy. Then... out it came. I wasn't sure how the black beans would taste, topped like a pizza. But then I took my first bite.

Oh. My. Word.

It was AWESOME! I loved it! All my favorite pizza flavors were combined with a delicate chicken taste, subtly underscored by the mild black beans. Ooooooh. :)

I was only able to finish about half of this filling dish, and wrapped up the rest and put it in the fridge for tomorrow.

Hurrah for inventive mothers!

Good morning! :)

It is such a lovely day today. No, the weather is not the best... rather cloudy and grim, actually, and the temperature is not at my favorite 75 degrees... but still it IS a lovely day. Why, you ask, should the day be lovely if the weather isn't nice?

The answer is simple! This is the day that the Lord has made! So I will rejoice and be glad in it! :)

These days, I seem to be so busy-busy-busy that I've been feeling more pressure and anxiety than usual. It's kind of upsetting, as I'm usually a pretty happy and carefree person. All these things are waiting for my attention ... including 3 upcoming jewelry shows, 2 blog headers in the works, and 1 big secret project that I can tell you about as soon as it's ready. It involves earrings though. :)

Not to mention that I"m in the midst of deep-cleaning and organizing my bedroom! Whew! What a job. How can this bedroom of mine look so nice most of the time and yet have so much hidden dirt and clutter and mess? It's surprising! :) However, I finished the desk I'm sitting at (well, except for the drawer...) but the top is shining and clean, with no junk on it. That alone makes me feel great! :)

I'm also back on phase one of the South Beach Diet. So far I've gained half a pound, (bummer) but I'm planning to implement more excercise into my daily routine so that should really help. :D I burn flab so much more easily when my muscles are working hard. :D I do know that I'm starting to lose weight though, because I had that weird phenomenon happen that always happens when I start losing weight... my sense of smell is suddenly comparable to a bloodhound's. Seriously! I can be standing four feet away and still smell my mom's tea sock drying at the sink. Usually I can't smell that unless I'm holding it to my nose. ;)

Well, I hope you all have a great day. I'm off to read my Bible, then go exercise. :D Worthy goals indeed....