Be Willing

Today the weather man told me that there is a chance of snow flurries tonight. This is quite good news. I really hope this man delivers. I would like enough for a two hour delay please.

Well, the new house is coming along. I'm pretty sure I've successfully inhaled an unreasonable amount of cleaning supply and paint fumes. Sadly, I will continue to do so again this weekend. So far, we've fully painted the two bedrooms. The living room and office both have the first coat on them and are ready for a second. It seems like I've painted forty-seven rooms instead of just four because all of the rooms thus far have needed primer before our paint go could on. This is in addition to using the paint with the primer in it...oh yeah, the previous owners really liked dark red and hunter green. I am trying to keep an open mind and be excited about this new little place. The Lord is working on my heart about being willing. Being willing to try new things, to make this move, to follow as He leads, not necessarily as I would see best. I'm also trying to adapt this willing spirit in trying new classes at the Y or making things for our house.

Today I finished a little DIY project that I set out to do last month. It was pretty simple except for the cutting part. I am not a very good cutter- I always got S's instead of E's on my report card in the cutting category. I found this picture on Pinterest and decided I'd like to do the same sort of "art" for over our bed.

via Pinterest

So, I gave it a try. I purchased two square canvases from Michael's and some white and gray paint. In all, my supplies cost me about $8.00. I painted the canvases white first. Then, I typed up the words for my stencil. I then printed the words on card stock.

 

Next, I cut out the letters. This task would have been easier with an x-acto knife which I do own. However, I thought that it was in a craft box that was buried under a lot of other heavy items and husband wasn't here to move them, so I didn't bother. Really all this only to find out that after I had finished cutting the letters out, my x-acto knife was on the table to whole time with my paint brushes. Terrific.

 

After that, I stenciled them on the canvases and viola, all done! I'll post final, dried pictures when we hang them up in the new place.

In the spirit of being willing, I also tried a new chicken salad recipe this week. I don't really like chicken salad all that much, but Kenneth does, so we have it every once in a while. This recipe came from Ina Garten and is called "Mustard Chicken Salad". It was so good! I actually enjoyed eating chicken salad!

Here's what you need to make it:

• 2 whole (4 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
• Good olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 1/2 cups good mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon leaves
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

I used boneless chicken breasts which worked fine. I also only used 1 cup of mayo and I thought it was plenty. I also used dried tarragon and white wine vinegar. (I didn't read the recipe correctly and just now read it and realized it said white wine not white wine vinegar ha)

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Coat the chicken in the evoo and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 35-40 minutes. When the chicken has cooled, cut it into bite-sized chunks.

2. While the chicken is cooking, prepare a pot of boiling water. Add the broccoli florets to the boiling water and boil for one minute. Then, place them in ice water to keep them crisp and green.

3. Make the sauce. Combine the mayo, mustards, tarragon, and wine. When the chicken has cooled and you have chopped it, place it in a bowl and cover with enough sauce to moisten it. Then, add the broccoli florets and the tomatoes, stir, and refrigerate to let the flavors set. You can serve it cold or at room temperature.

 Recipe from foodnetwork.com. 

It was super good, I recommend it! I'm off to find a snack and settle in for some afternoon TV- relaxing before another long weekend working on the house! I will leave you with the verse that is speaking to my heart. 

 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
 and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
 Do not cast me from your presence
 or take your Holy Spirit from me.
 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
 and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me
Psalm 51: 10-12