Event #3: Lumber Jack Breakfast

We had a GREAT breakfast event this past weekend! We were a little worried about it since hurricane Ike was scheduled to hit Dallas that afternoon, but it turned out we had nothing to worry about. We served pancakes, bacon, sausage, fruit, bagels, juice, milk, and coffee. Chase and I were able to talk to many of the residents since we had such an awesome team help us. A big thanks to Chrys and Mike for taking some great pictures!

Mail time!

I got a box in the mail yesterday that I wasn't expecting. Let's find out what I got!

An Immersion Blender!!!!! I'm SOOOOO excited! It got one last year at a garage sale for $3...an that's about all it was worth. Every time I use it, I get so frustrated because it does a horrible job! So I'm officially firing the garage sale blender because I've found it's replacement thanks to my father! This gift arrived just in time for soup season. I love making roasted tomato basil, butter-nut squash, and pumpkin soups during the fall season. YUM! Thanks dad!!!

What do you do when...

...you have a TON of banana's left over from one of your events??? Make banana bread of course!!!

I learned a new trick while making the bread. If you have bananas that aren't ridiculously ripe, place them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven (about 350 degrees) for 10 minutes. The outside will turn completely black but don't worry. This process ripens the banana by bringing out all the natural sugars. Let the bananas cool for a couple minutes and then mash them before incorporating them into the mixture. You will have the best banana bread ever!

Weekend Pics

My friend, Danielle, is a great photographer and posted a bunch of pics on her blog. Click HERE to see our wonderful time visiting LA. Thanks Danielle, miss you already!!!!

Event #2: Breakfast-On-The-Go

This morning we had our second event as a Cares team. This one required a lot of prep work but very little work during the event. We stood at the gate and handed out bags with breakfast and later-in-the-day snacks. We also served freshly brewed Starbucks coffee in to-go cups. We prepared 50 bags but only had about 25 cars come through. It was an early morning but was well worth it. With an event like this there is very little relationship building but it gives us a chance to serve our residents in a way that makes them say 'wow, thanks.' I took some pic's for future reference purposes but thought I'd post them here.

Tis' the Season!

It's that time of year again....NFL starts tonight which means my hubby has been busy with fantasy football. Last night his group did their draft which meant focused time was needed. I think it's kind of neat because his group (there's probably a technical name for this but I don't know what it is...) is a bunch of guys he went to college with who are now spread out all over the states and even one guy serving in Iraq!

Hollywood and Rodeo Dr.

Chase went to school with James, Joel, David at George Mason University. They were all involved in Crusade and became great friends. Over the last 2 1/2 years they all married wonderful women who have become my friends as well. Actually James and Danielle were on the same summer project as Chase and I so I've known Danielle as long as I've known Chase!
Joel and Amy moved out to Fullerton a year ago so Joel could go to seminary and work at a church. James and Danielle moved to Burbank in May so James could pursue his dream of making movies. David (who lives in DC with his bride Arielle) called Chase a couple months ago and said they were going to visit James and Joel in LA over Labor Day weekend....and the rest is history...Chase was on that like white-on-rice.

It was so neat to see our husbands reunite...they were like little boys again. They ate together, played games together, swam in the ocean together, fought together... We (the wives) looked at each other on many occasions and laughed at our hubbies.

Friday we went to Laguna Beach, Saturday we did Hollywood, Rodeo Rd, Malibu, and Third St. Promenade at Sana Monica. Sunday we went miniature golfing and hung out. What a weekend. Our camera battery died Saturday afternoon so I'll have to wait until Danielle posts her wonderful beach pictures to get the pics I'm missing.

Got to love the LA smog! The city is in the background of this photo...although you can barley see it through the smog.

James ran through the water trying NOT to get wet....so, Chase wanted to see if he could beat him. He did a pretty good job if I say so myself. Below are the results.

Griffith Park

Our Labor Day weekend began Thursday night as we flew to LA for a little reunion with some friends. James and Danielle picked us up from the airport and immediatly took us to Griffith Park to see LA at night. The picture below was our first impression of LA....lots and lots of lights! The place is HUGE! Jupiter was shinning bright that night so we were able to see its stripes through a telescope the park had set up. Thursday night was just the start of a great weekend to come...

Cookie of the Month

In the back of every Martha Stewart Living magazine you'll find the cookie of the month. I've always wanted to do this but never had enough motivation...until now. Chase and I do welcome visits to all the new residents and you can't knock on someones door for the first time empty handed...so, we(meaning I) are implementing the cookie of the month! Once a month I'll make a HUGE batch of cookie dough, freeze most of it, and bake up a fresh match once a week before welcome visits. It will also give me a good excuse to drop by the leasing office and serve the staff.

I know you are all wondering what kind is the first cookie of the month?!? My favorite of course! Snickerdoodles!!!! YUM! A good snickerdoodle beats a chocolate chip cookie any day. This is yet another reason for you to come visit! I'll always have homemade cookie dough in the freezer waiting to be baked! ....I can see it now, sitting by the beautiful pool with a plate of cookies straight from the oven... What are you waiting for? Can you tell we really like visitors?

Apartment Pic's

We have taken a grand total of 3 pictures of our apartment. We are still far from settled and buried in boxes. Chase managed to get one picture of me while I was walking into our apartment for the first time. The other two are the pool and hot tub. I'm posting these pics to entice everyone to come visit us! The pool and hot tub are amazing!

Martin Pics

Dayle and Martin visited last week. Martin is now 5 months old and just over 20lbs!!! He's the cutest nephew an Aunt could have! I just want to reach through the computer screen and pinch those adorable cheeks :) These pics were taken at our apartment pool. Martin is such a water baby...he loves relaxing and splashing in the water.

Crazy week.

This last week was 'one of those weeks.' It was a good week, just CRAZY! Tuesday, my sister flew in with baby Martin late afternoon and then we moved that evening. We had some amazing help moving so it really didn't take that long. We had something going on every night this last week so we are still consumed with boxes. It's a bit overwhelming but we knew it would be like this.

So far everything with CARES is going well. We start welcome visits this week so we are putting the finishing touches on the CARE-bags we will give each resident. Our first event is this Saturday, a pool-side BBQ. Chase and I gleaned so much from the Leadership Summit we attended a couple weeks ago and we are still processing how to apply that to CARES. If you think about it, pray for the foundation that will be laid this week as we begin to interact with residents.

I took some fun pictures of Dayle and Martin playing in our pool but my camera battery died. I'll charge it up as soon as I can find the charger (buried in one of the many boxes...) and post the pics.