A Giveway From Molly's Place

HURRY HURRY HURRY --TO MOLLY'S PLACE FOR THE ANNUAL MCCALL'S MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION GIVE-AWAY.

I just discovered this blog myself, and what good timing! Any site that has giveaways is my kinda site! I'm all out of breath dashing over to my blog from hers to tell you, but if you hurry, you can enter her contest, too. All you gotta do is leave a comment. Tell her anencourager.blogspot.com sent you!

Pictures of my BFF getaway will be showing soon!!! :)

See ya then!

Complaints Be Gone!

I am in Cambria with my BEST FRIEND EVER & FOREVER (BFEF). And, yes, we both brought our laptops. First time we've ever done that, but we have been looking up all kinds of fun stuff together.

Anyhoo, because I brought mine, I get to bring you along!

We sat on our cozy beds (we each have our own luscious queen, fitting for us, of course) and Shannon read our devotional...

It was on complaining. Or rather, on the stoppage of such, except to the Lord, who always wants to hear all about our stuff.

I read aloud Philippians 2:14-15: "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blamesless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."

Now, first, we want to stand out as lights in this world, giving a lighted path to Jesus. As they see us responding differently to life's circumstances and relationships' harder moments, that is the switch that turns on the light so they can see what a life lived with the Spirit of God's empowering is like. Or shows what God's comfort looks like, when they see us enfolded in peace when a normal reaction might be heart ruckus.

And then, also, being blameless and harmless... Well, Shannon had to shed light on this, because complaining is really sin, telling God that we just simply don't like what He's allowed and will not run to Him to take care of it and us, but will run to every ear that will allow our complaining words entry. So, complaining is not for our good, nor for the good of those hearing it. It does not build us up. You just know that we want to do good to ourselves and those around us, as God does to us. This is His heart and we want ours to be like His.

With these sweet and encouraging and very convicting words (to both Shannon and I, who can be Complainer Queens when we've got the notion)we began our morning with Jesus. He is faithful and knew just what we needed to hear.

Our hearts are happily content when we let Him tell us what is what!

"For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul" Jeremiah 31:25. See, with this reality, what is there really to complain about?

Praises flow when complaints and attitudes of misery (self-pity, resentment, anger, comparisons...) are not stopping it up!

Jesus is the Satisfier and Replensisher and Love of our life! Yahoo!!!

Wednesday's Woman Wonders

:)

I liked that title. It has me grinning, still.

It's a nostalgic, contented mood I'm in today, even though I am not feeling 100%.

While we are visiting this morning, the background music is from Home Alone. Every time I hear Somewhere In My Memory
I get like this. Nostalgic, remembering when my kids were bustling about my feet; contented, because those memories are comforting. I have awesome kids!





These three trinkets of gold are truly gifts from God!

Okay, so, that's the nostalgic part of my heart this morning. The contented part is from a home that is comforting, even to me. The Lord has enabled me to work really hard this month so that I could begin getting the home holiday-ready. I am so thankful to Him that He is a God who cares! It is just the awesome-est that He does not roll His eyes over one single concern of ours! I love that about Him!!!

Superman is appreciative, too, and made several comments last night. A clean home and a contented wife makes him very happy. It's nice to be appreciated, for sure, but ya know, God has given me a love for the privilege of being wife and mom, and I do happily mill about this place because I'm utterly thankful. Serving one another in love (Galatians 5:13) is a joy when you love your job. (And don't worry if you do not possess a love or hearty gratitude for the love of the job God's given, ask Him. Yep! He's that good to give you the job and the heart to go with it!)



And then, if you need any kind of help in this area, well, there's counsel and wisdom for you! Isaiah 9:6 tells us that Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor, Psalm 119:24 says that the Word is our delight and counselors, and the very Holy Spirit of God guides us into truth and wisdom and is powerful to enable even the most lethargic hearts into action for their home.

So, my title, while I smile at it, didn't end up being the bulk of my blog, as intended. But that's okay. This was another sweet distraction in my ADD brain, one that I liked.

The woman has the unique privilege of doing wonders in her home. The opening of her doors can be a warm embrace, causing the lucky ones who step into the threshold of its love and warmth to be welcomed and hugged and pulled away from the scares and cares of the wearying world. A place of refreshment and acceptance, a place of rest and refreshing, a home filled with love and laughter and companionship and prayer and the Spirit of God. A hospital where wounds of the heart are mended, and fractures of the spirit are stitched up with empathy and care. Oh, the wonders a woman can do in her home... on Wednesday or every other day of the week. What a perfect privilege!



This has always been a delight of my heart. And now, on this Wednesday, I am off to the market. No, not to buy a fat pig, but to get the ingredients to bake my husband some tender loving care. I'm going away with my BFF of 28 years (lucky us!!!)and want to leave his favorite treats so that his heart and tummy will be filled with lots of thoughts that he is loved!



Have fun creating wonders in your home today! :)

"so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children" titus 2:4

Perseverance

This is the quilt that Liz built.

When I began this project I was pretty darn enthusiastic. The corners were going to be perfectly matched, the points would be sharp, and it was going to be beautiful!

Not wanting to use any fabric that required my car or wallet, I began hunting in my sewing drawers for enough coordinating fabrics to make this work. Well, not having any background color, I was forced to undo a class project so that I could use the muslin from it. The muslin was not of high quality, and as I ironed, it shrank. It was a mess.

But, I'd already sewn all the 72 "geese" (triangles) and was determined to persevere and make the best of it. I sighed through every stitch, but I didn't give up, tear it up, throw it away, or give the Lord a shorter count with the number of my hairs.

I kept at it. Sighed. Continued. And.... ta-daaa... finished!

Life is like this, don't you think? We begin different seasons with high hopes...Ours is going to be the perfect marriage, I'm going to be the perfect mom, etc. And then, the corners don't meet, the points are cut off, etc.

We just can't take the whole and destroy it. No! We keep at it, by God's grace!

It takes perseverance. That is a trait that gets sewn in our lives when things aren't going quite how we had planned, hoped, or dreamed. Disappointment in life, others, ourselves is the fabric God uses to make beautiful quilts out of our lives. If we quit before His work is done, then another project will soon be following. God does not give up! He completes the work He has begun (Philippians 1:6), of this we can be confident!

So, don't give up! Persevere, one second, one step at a time!

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance... and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope... but if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it... for whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 5:3-4, 8:25, 15:4.

Though my quilt did not turn out at all as I'd hoped, and is quite humiliating for anyone to see, it taught me a lesson in perseverance, and some little preemie at our local hospital is going to be warmed by it!

Glad I persevered and finished it!

October First!

Gosh, this is one of my most favorite days of the year, and yet... I forgot it! All day I was thinking that it was the last day of September. Even in my new journal I wrote the wrong date, wishing I would be patient enough to begin the journal entries on October 1st! LOL And then, just a bit ago (and it's early evening now), I visited a blog that had the October 1, 2009 as the date. I said to myself, "Oh, where does she live that it's already the first?" OHBROTHER!



Now, wanna know why I love this month???

1. To me, this is the official day of Fall; I don't care what the calendar says!
2. It's my birthday month - and I am not opposed to celebrating the entire 22 days
leading up to it! Don't even think that all those birthday tablecloths, cups,
plates, etc. should be used only once a year...
3. It's the month my BFF and I take our girlfriend weekend getaway.
4. The weather is cooler, football nights are cozier.
5. It's almost time to push the button and turn on our fake fireplace and snuggle in
the loveseat under a flannel quilt I made Superman, years ago.
6. Oh, and what about picnics in the park or our own back lawn? Wanna come over?
7. And what about Disneyland? This year I Disney is giving me a free ticket!!! I'm coming, Mickey!!!!
8. I'll stop now, but the list could keep on going.... Why do you love October???

Okay, so, I don't make it a habit to let others read my journal. But, since I didn't have any hatred for anyone or anything like that, I decided it was safe. Now you can see that I had that silly date wrong. No matter, it's all put to rights now, and this all is a perfect intro to the little lesson the Lord gave me last night...

I had gone to lunch with a friend and she was sharing how the Lord told her that when He said, "Rejoice always," that it was a command, not an option...oh...in all circumstances, not just the happy fall ones. "But it's so hard!" she bemoaned. And I bemoaned with her, knowing just how hard certain circumstances make it seem so!

But then, I come home and am cramming to finish my Bible lesson for our home group that night, and lo and behold, what do you think was question #last? Yep, it was all about 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 - right where "Rejoice always" is housed.

Anyhoo, I'm reading the verses, but the Spirit is showing me something fun. Nothing that Thomas Nelson would pay me to write a book about, mind you, but fun and applicable to life.

Okay, follow along with me. So, we are to rejoice always. Sometimes it's hard, and of course the Lord knew this long ago. So, the next verse is pray without ceasing. Gosh, this is help. I mean, have you ever thought to pray, "Lord, help me to rejoice in this particular trial that stinketh?" Well, now we have. And then, if that still doesn't cut the mustard, then the very next command is give thanks in everything. Thankful hearts are happy hearts and happy hearts rejoice...always. AND THEN, if we are really, really stubborn, and are standing firm in our unrejoicing ways, then hear ye, hear ye the next command: DO NOT QUENCH THE SPIRIT. BOOM!

So, like I said, I don't think any of my commentaries would quite teach that lesson (and I will look at some this weekend), but for me, for now, the Lord knew how to put an end to my excuse making ways and get me on the rejoicing side!

What do you think???? Tell me all about it! :)

Tools Are Our Friends! :)

On our trip to Cambria, Superman and I flew into
this favorite quaint store of mine (you didn't think
I was going to say "HIS" favorite store did you?).
He hates shopping as much as I loathe... as I loathe...
hmmmmm... right now I don't loathe anything, but as soon
as I do, you'll be the first to know! Anyhoo, without the use of a gun or anything, he freely walked into this little kitchen shop with me and SHOPPED! No rolling of his eyes, no foot thumping impatiently, no arm crossing, and best of all, no uttered words like "Are you almost done?" This is bonding at its best! (Well, besides that 'other' great thing married couples get bonded with). (Gosh, this is sounding too familiar. Did I already tell you all this in another blog? Where, oh, where has my little memory gone?!)

Both of us found items that we just had to take home with us. Me, I found that handy little tool in the above pic! I tossed the package, so do not even know what it's called. How helpful is that?! But, that little scooper works! Specifically, I bought it to use on my scrumptious homegrown butternut squash. A dull-ended spoon wasn't cutting it (hahaha, the pun was completely a surprise!). This dandy newbie in my kitchen cut like butter, turning a dreaded job into a piece of cake - and I looove cake! Oh, and my birthday is coming up, and when my mom was alive she always made me carrot cake with tons of sugar and oil and nuts and cream cheese frosting and pineapple chunklets and yum! I digress.... but wasn't that a sweet distraction?

So, I highly recommend that if you see one of these, get it for your kitchen's toolbox, commonly called A DRAWER! :)

Never think that screwdrivers and kitchen gadgets are the only tools around. Oh, no! Just look at these favorite tools of mine...





Cups are VERY handy tools for holding coffees and teas! One for Scrabble, where I whoop my friend every time (okay, not EVERY time), John Deere for when I ride my tractor (phyche), candy corns and checks and dots for an October treat, acorns and plaid for all the months of fall. Gotta have them!

And look at these cozy circlets of tea! No longer do they have the strings to tangle with, you just drop these tea bags into your awaiting hot water and their embrace births something delish to warm your tummy! By the way, pumpkin coffee and pumpkin ginger tea are delightful! (Oh, and if you live by a World Market, get a coffee card and on Wednesdays they stamp it two times instead of one. Yay!)



And last, but not even close to being least, are my beloved books - tools that aid in my Bible learning. On this shelf (with two missing that I used last night) are the majority of my favorite commentaries, my extra devotionals (Streams in the Desert and the rest in her series are my all-time favs), and my encouraging authors. I'm overdone when it comes to books, and I have a shelf-lined closet to prove it. It needs a major overhaul right now, so no pictures of that! :)



I'm pretty sure you can click on the picture and it will be big enough for you to actually read some of the titles. Matthew Henry and I have been BFFs forever! Jon Courson's commentaries are new to the shelf, so still uncertain if they are worthy of its space. The African commentary is just sweet...and encouraging in my walk. Wiersbe gives me tons of much-needed info and insight, so I am 'in' to him. And Spurgeon... who can walk through the Psalms without his Treasury of words?

There ya have it, tools are our friends!!!

Fall's Welcome

I've flung open the doors and welcomed fall into my home! (I know, I can't quit talking about fall! I am a fall fanatic!)

The autumn months are cozy ones for me. The colors suit my personality (though I love pinks and reds and Minnie Mouse dots!), and there's something about cool nights and smoky scents from fireplaces (well, ours is now a fake-a-roonie, so I have to ride my bike around the blocks for that yummy inhale).



Anyhoo, while my husband was out in the deep blue sea with our oldest son, I spent the weekend cleaning and setting out the rest of my pumpkins and such. I have to tell you, I have been looking at photos of fall homes on various blogs. It was about making my brain twirl. They were all so inspiring and cute and magazine-worthy. That might be my dream, but not my reality. Truly, I had to shut down the computer, lay my head on the desk, and get a grip! Oh, and be thankful!



First of all, I am not an artist nor a decorator. But, my heart has always had a love for making a cozy and welcoming home. Sometimes it's easy to try and be, or wish for, what we're not, and well, it robs us of peace and joy. Much better is our attitudes when we are content to be the woman God made us to be. Really, contentment with godliness is good!



So, dragging out my green plastic tub from the back of the closet, carefully hidden behind old jackets, I would clean a little, decorate a little. A little here, a little there, and by the end of two days my house was pretty clean and looked like fall had arrived (though it was still 106 degrees yesterday!). I had fun, and it's nice to finally have a clean home!

Most of my knic-naks were collected in Cambria on my girlfriend getaway with my BFF. We have tons of the same things because we both love fall! Every time I grasp a new item from the bucket, I say, "Ohhhh... I remember when we bought that!" For me, it's not just the decorations, but the memories that they evoke.




Below are Mr. and Mrs. Thanksgiving. I bought them years apart, and were they ever happy to be united! Problem is, I decorate in September and come November, I forget to set them out. This year, that dilemma is solved - I just put them out early! This will make up for all the lost years. :) And, why not have these darlings reminding me to be thankful a little early?



Anyhoo, last night I lit all the lamps and candles, settled into my cozy home, and watched a movie. Ahhhh... there's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like...

Pom Poms!

I see these at Christmastime, all the time. But until a few weeks ago, I never noticed them in the wonderful fall!

See, usually when they catch my attention, it's the dead of winter. I smile when I see them hanging like Christmas bulbs on a tree, because the cold has taken all the leaves, and there they hang, looking for all the world like God was decorating His trees for us.

But when I was riding my bike a few weeks ago, I was surprised to see them already growing on trees with leaves around them like beautiful scarves. Anyhoo, it makes sense they'd have to begin now to be ready for winter's display... but I didn't ever give it that much thought.





Anyhoo, poms are good to eat, smish and make juice, the jam from them is superb, and they are full of yummy red juice that makes your blood pump cleaner through your arteries. What a Christmas gift!

This Little Light of Mine

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1.

During the summer season I get to stay home and frolic. For three whole months! Sun, Fun, Stay (at home), Play!

But summer is over and a new season (of school) has begun. As an elementary librarian substitute I used to be able to pick my days of work. However, with all the layoffs in our school system, they have not hired anymore of us ELS's, so I have a little less freedom. Still, there's a season for everything, and this is a season of working more. My sewing machine is crying!

But, it's an opportunity to be out in the world, letting my little light shine for Jesus! Every place our foot steps is a mission field...

And, speaking of lights, I found these mini candles at Walmart. Light one, and fall magically appears in your home, sight ('cuz they're cute) and smell (just like fall!). The good news is that these candles are very cheap!!! The little ones below were only one dollar each - glass lid included!. Being a jam maker, I am going to clean these jars out really well, fill them with some kind of red jam, like strawberry or raspberry (in case you didn't know which jams might be red),and then use them for small hostess gifts during the holidays. Ho ho ho....

The Will Power of Jennifer Anniston

You never know where your next great dieting tip is going to come from! But I, finder-of-great-secrets, am going to disclose it to you, for free!

It's this, and I read it right out of Vogue, or Elle, or one of those similar magazines, and it was straight from her BFF's mouth - Jen, the woman-wonder, can open a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and eat just one - ONE, a loner, a single-eeee-Do (pronounced 'doe', short for Doe-ritos).

So, with that new-found dieting knowledge, I have been practicing. Yesterday I ate two, because, well, the first one was so amazingly delish that I had to make certain that my taste buds were not speaking with a forked tongue!

And then today... Well, Jen would probably look at me with disdain, but I ate about eight of them. I mean, come on. A tuna sandwich just has to have enough Doritos to cover most of the bites.

So, I might not have the full extent of Jennifer's willpower, but this latest dieting tip has armed me with enough will and power to now munch a little less chips!

Who knows where the next great dieting tip will be discovered! When I find it, I'll pass it on!

From Peanuts to the Pressbox by Eli Gold

Buckle up, because Eli Gold, the voice of Crimson Tide, is going to whisk you away for the ride of his life – and what an adventure it is!

At the age when most boys are climbing up trees and yanking on little girls’ pigtails, Eli was hopping onto the D-train and steering the course toward his future as “one of the busiest and most popular broadcasters on the air today.” If he wasn’t in the stadium cheering or selling peanuts, his trusty transistor radio gave his ear the latest play-by-plays, enabling him to not miss a beat with his heart’s love of sports. It’s rare to see someone so young with such a steadfast determination to reach his dream’s destination. This delightful autobiography shares the whole story!

Hop on board From Peanuts to the Pressbox, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride! I sure did!

In fact, though I closed the door to the last pages of his book a few days ago, I’m still smiling. I love traveling to simpler days, when it was still safe for a young boy to skip school and travel alone towards his dream.

Mr. Gold mentions many books by other great sportscasters, and I’ve requested them from libraries all over our county. Soon, I will be zooming around on many more adventures, and all without having to pay for gas or packing a suitcase!

Books are wonderful!
I am a member of Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger program. http://brb.thomasnelson.com/

30th Anniversary Trip

Good morning!

Anytime I leave for a girlfriend get-away or a retreat, I 'll leave Superman a note. This was the unwritten note I left him before I went to Disneyland...

I left the camera on his pillow with the LCD monitor open, so that he would know there was something to see. Just a fun way to say, "See ya soon!"

So, for our anniversary trip we drove over to the coast. None of my pictures turned out that great (I really must take time to learn some things about taking photographs!), but here's a few, anyway.

On the trip over we took backroads. The leisurely pace was a relaxing break from the rat race of daily life.


Where we live is normally quite hot, so the clouds and cooler weather were welcomed with open arms!


The golf course was gorgeous.


We had many furry and feathered spectators.

Yay, I made it across the water. My only good shot of the day!

Superman coming out of our Honeymoon Hotel!





Well, that's it! Gotta skedaddle and get ready for our first day back to Bible study!!! C ya!

Across the Finish Line With Disney!

This past week has been a whirlwind of fun!

First, I finished the Disney Half Marathon, on September 6th. Totally, this proves that WITH GOD all things are possible. If you remember, after completing the L. A. Marathon (26.2 looooong miles), I had gone to the gym to begin training for the Disney Half. Well, I went waaaay too fast too soon, and ended up hurting myself and in therapy all summer. So, with minimal training, I was not certain I could complete this Half, but prayed like crazy. And God graciously answered with so many answers - great weather, finishing, getting to help a gal I didn't know to the finish line. (Yes, I literally pulled her the last 1.5 miles.) PTL!

Anyhoo, finishing the race, getting to help that gal, really did make Disneyland the happiest place on earth...till it was over and I got back home!!! :)

"Is anything too hard for the LORD?..." (Genesis 18:14a).

Oh, and the second??? I'll tell ya all about the rest of the fun week tomorrow! Stay tuned! :)

Have you ever noticed how songs can be like pictures in our scrapbooks? Years ago, when the Lord had us move to a city far away from our hometown (okay, only 87 measly miles; but at that time, it seemed like that was the distance from Hawaii to California!), from our church family, blood family, and alllllllll of my girlfriends, it was not easy.

“I know the plans I have for you,” He said. HE KNEW! We didn’t, and therefore we had to deposit our entire faith into the account of His goodness and Sovereignty (which is the securest 'bank' around!).

During the six years that we lived in that far-away farm town, many Christian songs got me through the lonely and faith-stretching moments.I would write the title and words of those songs onto the blank pages of my journal, so that I would be able to glance back in later years and see the snapshots of Jesus and me, side-by-side. Or, even now, fourteen years later, if I hear one of those songs on the radio, which does happen from time-to-time, I can picture how I felt and recall what my heart’s cry was and how the Lord answered.

Christian songs are faith-builders, encouragers, comforters, booty-kickers, memory-makers, worship-inducers, fun-givers, Godward-thought-provokers!

But wait! Where do songs come from? Yes – your brothers and sisters in Christ. More, though, they are husbands or wives with families, giving up their time, like missionaries, so that they can follow the call to serve. Such is the case for Chris and Joy Lockwood. Joy was a special Guest-Bee on A Pair of Barletts (scroll down to the blog entry Married to a Musician on the Road). If you ever need a shot of encouragement in trusting the Lord, you only need to travel over to that blog and read her honest and intimate note. I have it saved so that I can go back and breathe in her faith's invigorating oxygen.

Chris is in the inspiring and talented group 33 Miles. Have you ever heard them??? They are awesome! Their newest CD – One Life – is the one in my car right now (I won it!!!), and I turn it up as loud as a teenager, ‘cuz I like it!! Everything about this group I’m in love with – the vocals, the words, the music. All of it! Some of their songs remind me of Rascal Flatts, another group I really like! They are that good! Their talent is truly amazing. I can see why God called these three men (families) to this – to bless our hearts' socks off!

Yet, now, when I hear their songs, I picture Joy, Chris, and the little baby they are holding. I remember that it's not just great voices and music that I'm hearing, but I'm getting to listen to the Lord's message to my heart, sent to me via these men who chose to say, "Yes, Lord."

So, now, after reading Joy's inspiring guest blog, in my mind is pasted the picture of her, Chris, and the little one in their arms. And I get to bless them back via prayers for their little family.

Buy their CD and support these musical missionaries! :) Oh, and Joy's angelic voice in on Hosanna!music's Believe CD!

Good Morning!!!

I am as happy as a lark this morning (even though I don't feel very good...a cold coming on, maybe?)because you chimed in with fall's love with me! Thank you! It was fun, and settled in my heart a yumminess like an autumn morning's crispness. So delish!!!

And, the giveaway goes to .... drum roooolllllll.... QUEEN TO MY 3 BOYS!!!!! Thank you for playing along with me and helping me celebrate fall and my 200th blog entry! Your comment still has me laughing in its originality! Please send me an address at this email: encouragingforyou@gmail.com, and I will get that Starbuck's fall fun sent right to your waiting palate!

Part of my celebration yesterday included putting this, one of my fall favs, out on my desk....



It's a pumpkin scripture card holder! I also have an acorn one, but that's for another entry, that will get me to the goal of my 300th blog entry!

200th Blog Entry! A Giveaway!!

Giveaway is over, 'cuz we have a winnnner!!!

Two very important events are happening today!

One - Today's blog is my 200th entry! Wow! Therefore, there must be a giveaway! I'll explain what it is in a bit.

Two - It's September 1!!! What does this mean? You mean you don't know??? Well, let me spill the coffee beans -- this is the official day for Starbuck's to begin serving fall drinks, namely - Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

Pumpkins! Roley-Poley orange orbs of happiness! Use them for decorations, soups, muffins, lanterns, pies, lattes, seeds, color, throwing contests (if you're a 15-year-old boy out with your buddies on Halloween), fun, to scare. The pumpkin's delights are multifarious!

You just know my innards were snapping to celebrate! Not wanting to drive to Starbuck's, which would mean spoiling my luscious morning's loll, I strolled into the kitchen and concocted my own version of the famous Pumpkin Spice Latte.

So, with much fanfare over in my house (clapping my hands and saying "yippeeeee," simultaneously), I introduce to you Liz's Pumpkin Pie Latte!

Tadaaaaaaaaaaa!



All that needs to be done for this pumpkiny beverage is this: heat up some milk, canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, marshmallow creme, and sugar if you like it sweeter than sweet. Play around with the amounts of all these, till your taste buds are smiling wide! Then, add some hot coffee, stir, close your eyes, and take a sip. And then another. And another. :)



And now... the Giveaway! To celebrate my 200th entry, I am going to give away a $10 Starbuck's card! That way, you can celebrate with me as you sip your own favorite latte or mocha.

All you have to do to enter to win this trip to Latte Land is leave me a comment about fall. It can be one sentence OR a whole autumn recipe OR instructions for a fall decoration OR a favorite fall family tradition. Anything, really. The one who will soon be visiting the barista/baristo will be announced on Thursday morning!

Oh! Remember, the official fall countdown began when you flipped your calendar! Only 21 more days to go till the first day of FALL! Yippeeee!