Friday’s Fave Five (10-9-2015)

AWK – It is Friday already and I almost missed posting about my week’s blessings. I (try to) post each Friday five blessings from my past week. I link up at Susanne’s Living to Tell the Story. Consider joining us.

ONE. FFF Anniversary – I think my first FFF was Sept 3, 2010, although I read many FFF posts from Brenda and Lynette’s blogs before I ever wrote any of my own. (Has it really been that long?) I haven’t always been good about posting each week.

I am a little late acknowledging it, but I want to take the opportunity NOW to say thanks to Susanne for starting this and keeping it alive. And I want to thank the participants of FFF. I look forward to Fridays because I know I will get to find out what’s happening in your lives and I get some great ideas, too. I regard y’all as friends.

TWO. Another fall wreath! This one took hours and hours to make. AND I sustained a 2nd degree burn on my right, ring finger tip. The glue gun did it to Ms Clumsy in the bedroom. OUCH! BUT, but, my wreath is so awesome. It is now hanging at work over the inside of the front door. Here is a link to the instructions. I MUST say that I LOVE my version. I forgot to take a photo when I was at work today, so maybe next week. Thanks again to Susanne for the idea to decorate for Fall.

THREE. New recipe, new noodle, and an old friend. I am trying new pumpkin recipes and this one is a winner! It is a pumpkin pasta bake. As meat was optional, I did not put it in. To up the protein count I used Barilla Protein Plus Penne pasta. This particular pasta added 17 grams of protein to each serving (this is in addition to what the milk and cheese provide). And the noodle is delish.

Because of the high protein count, I thought that it would reflect favorably on my after dinner blood sugar (bs) number. But since I forgot to take before and after numbers, at this stage it is still speculation. I am going to make it again, take photos, and write a post about my changes (I added mushrooms, garlic and red peppers). And of course I will test my bs.

Usually Marsha comes up with the food for our meal and movie times.But I was a “dear” and surprised her with the invitation and food (although we still met at her home). We are currently watching “A Place to Call Home.” It has a (slight) medical slant, intrigue, and strong female leads; and of course some cute men. I think this is going to be a keeper.

FOUR. Women’s Ministry Rocks. In addition to making up bed treats for our Retreat the end of the month, we finalized out calendar for 2016.Yep, we came up with ALL our events – Whew! It is going to be an awesome year and all the more awesome because of the gals who are on the team.

FIVE. Finalized dessert for PEP Christmas dinner. Mid December CNC’s  PEP group (for folks 55+ years of age) is having the annual Christmas party.Usually it is a potluck. This year it will be a ticketed event. A friend (Gillian) helped me to come up with the menu. All we had left to decide/taste-test was the dessert. We tried a recipe about a month ago and it was just okay. The one we tried yesterday was DELISH! The food is still under wraps, but I can say that the dessert involves chocolate and orange. YUM.

Bonus. Communion, surprise visit and a real Pumpkin Spice Latte. Sorry, I just have to mention my Sunday. At church we celebrated communion by having everyone come down to receive both of the elements at once (we normally pass them down the rows). And before the person/people left I got to pray over them thanking God for His available forgiveness and that we don’t have to carry the weight of sin and unforgiveness with us. AND I thanked God that He provides the power and willingness for us to live in forgiveness. There were 3 lines and I got to head one of them.

A friend, Scotti, had moved away and boy was I surprised to see her in my line. It was special for me to pray for her. We met up later at Starbucks where I had a real (and not healthified, home-made version) Pumpkin Spice Latte which was YUMMM. Besides encouragement and catching up, Scotti gave me some good ideas: a book to buy (The Tribute) and an accessory for my new phone. I think it is called a skin; it is a clear piece of plastic that goes over the screen. I  didn’t know such things existed and I was able to get it at the dollar store.

That’s enough for this week. Thanks for reading. Be sure to take time to reflect on your blessings, even if you don’t leave a comment or write your own post.