Beauty Divine

What is it about fall that makes us all want soup? I wasted two full days trying to make homemade chicken noodle soup that failed. The second day, I even gave myself a pep-talk. “It’s just soup. You can do this.” But the pep-talk was not enough to make my soup more flavorful. It stunk both times. So I broke down and finally just bought packaged soup from the store and it was delicious.

So as much as I would love to give you a fabulous fall soup recipe, I won’t. I’m going to give you a recipe that is delicious, pretty to look at, and easy -except for the fact that it makes you shiver in the cold a little to use the grill. But I just give that job to my husband and it’s all good.

Chicken Fajitas
This is the recipe that they use at Roja Mexican Grill. They are amazing! (And they look really special and colorful in case you have people over that you want to impress! – what soup can do that, right?)

Ingredients (for 2-4 people)
*Bell Peppers – Don’t be scared. These are not spicy. They are sweet. You’ll need one green, one red, and one yellow pepper. Sometimes they come packaged together that way. Nice. Or if you’re really talented you can grow them yourself and save five bucks.
*One white onion
*Tortillas
*Mozzarella or Mont. Jack cheese, shredded
*Canola oil (healthier than vegetable oil)
*3-4 grilled chicken tenderloins/breasts (shiver in the cold part)

Part one – The chicken.
-Really season up your chicken before you grill it. Bare chicken is nasty. It just is. We use garlic powder and sometimes red/green pepper seasoning.
-Grill it (or have nearest man grill it) until the outside gets little black lines and the inside is no longer pink.
-Chop it into bite-size strips/pieces when done.

Part two – The junk.
-Chop your onion and pepper into strips. (Peel the outer skin off the onion first. Cut out the seedy middle of the peppers and throw it away.)
-Throw them into a skillet with a little bit of canola oil. Just enough to get the pieces wet, but not swimming. Turn stove to medium-low heat and saute (move around in the sizzling oil) until the onions are translucent and the peppers are not so crunchy. Try not to let them brown.
-Drain left over oil when done.
-Shred some cheese. Block cheese is at least a dollar cheaper than already shredded. And you get arm muscles. But make sure you rinse cheese grater right away or the cheese will be stuck there forever. Trust me.

Part three – The final product.
-Warm your tortillas in the microwave for twenty seconds to soften them.
-Pile on chicken, peppers, onions, and cheese. Roll it up and eat!

That’s it! Oh and we usually get chips and salsa/guacamole to go with them.
As Rachel Ray says…yum-o!!

"Beauty Divine" – Brandon Heath
Don't Get Comfortable

Does it ever catch your eye?
Beauty divine.
In an old man’s tears, a little girl’s smile.
It feels like a song
One that belongs to you

Stop making sense
Your weakest defense
Just quiet your mind
Let the world unwind

See we’re not alone
He makes himself known
In time, His own time

So breathe, life will surprise you
Just be, it’s what the world denies you
You see, the truth is all around you
Believe

This is the song that inspired the title to this blog. I love this song for the way it slows down the fast pace of my world. It makes me looks outside myself to see the little moments that are so precious on earth. I think we’ve all been stopped in our tracks by something beautiful.

For me, this morning it was the weather. My husband pulled open the curtains and said, “Have you looked outside yet?” What I saw made me gasp. It snowed this morning. It’s only the beginning of October and being the anti-newswatcher that I am, I was definitely not expecting to see it so early. We have these majestic pine trees across the street and seeing them topped with big white snowflakes was enough to make me stand there and drop my jaw. I glanced back at my husband’s big smile and let out a little giggle. Moments like that are timeless.

What if I was to react by taking a quick glance and shrug, “Big deal. It is almost winter after all. Makes sense,” and then carry on with my day? I would miss out on so much. Yet that’s what Brandon Heath is saying here. That’s so often what we do. We barely notice the sunsets, the wind through the trees, and shrug. Big deal. It makes sense.

Life is meant to bring us surprise and wonder. God reveals himself in so many ways. We are meant to just stop, breathe, and quiet our minds. Otherwise we miss Him. We miss out on life. We miss out on divine beauty.

Beauty products are expensive. And why are we so swayed by the ones with a pretty container and a brand name? I’ve spent way too much in the last couple years trying out expensive products that just didn’t quite live up to my expectations. When I worked at Von Maur, I had a discount and many coworkers who assured me that I HAD to try Estee Lauder, Clinique, Laura Mercier, etc. After using drugstore products my whole life, I decided to try it out. Some things I felt were wasted. It’s frustrating when magazines tell you “This is the BEST product” and you spend the money only to find it was not so great. Others I think were very much worth the money and paying more. So because I’m nice and want to save you the trouble and money, here are my findings. Please don’t send me hate mail if you don’t agree. These are just my opinion and hopefully you’ll benefit from them.


Hair products
Money well saved:
*Pantene Pro-V Ultimate Texture Hairspray – great for separating boring flat hair.
*Garnier Fructis Color Shield Conditioner – My hair color fades insanely fast. This really locks it in and smells good too.
*Got2be crazy sleek flat iron & blow dry lotion – saves split ends and settles frizz. Bottle is really cute and makes me smile.


Money well spent:
*Aquage finishing spray – great for curls and making hair look shiny
*Matrix smooth & sleek shampoo – I’ve never found anything that compares. It rocks.
*American Crew fiber balm – who cares that it’s supposed to be for men? I steal it from my husband to quick paste down fly-aways and it works!


Money well wasted:
*Redken Fresh Curls Curl Boost scrunching spray – It may just be my hair, but I don’t feel like this does anything at all
*John Frieda Frizz-ease hair serum – okay this is one that I see in every magazine so I talked myself into buying it. They don’t tell you in magazines that if you hair isn’t insanely curly or dry, this will just make it extra greasy - even with just a drop of product.


Fragrance/Skin-care products
Money well saved:
*Clean & Clear oil free shine control moisturizer – Light and creamy, doesn’t make your face oily and greasy.
*Clean & Clear foaming facial cleanser – the foam is really nice on your skin, not harsh like most cleansers – I end up with soft, clean skin


Money well spent:
*Jergens natural glow face tinted moisturizer – especially for albinos like me that do not keep a tan, a little tint is nice. The bottle is small and is only in the expensive category because it goes fast and you have to buy more often
*Escada Moon Sparkle perfume –sooooo good! Sheer and pretty and doesn’t overwhelm the senses


Money well wasted:
Clinique skin care cleansers/moisturizers – Okay I did not try them all, but these are expensive and I honestly didn’t find them to do anything that Clean & Clear couldn’t for my skin. People with different skin types may disagree.
*Estee Lauder beautiful sheer perfume – loved it the first few weeks and then smell got really old and faded really fast.


Makeup (This is my favorite part, so there are many)
Money well saved:
*Maybelline mascara –Maybelline makes great mascaras. I like simply pink/green mascara. Doesn’t clump or smell.
*Physicians formula multicolored blush, bronzers, & powders – these multicolored pallettes make skin tone very even and don’t get cakey. They add a really pretty glow.
*Almay liquid eyeliner – very even consistency and color. Doesn’t smudge or fade. Easy to wash off.
*Maybelline & Covergirl shadows – great color. Especially if you get your brush wet before applying, they are even and bright.
*Sonia Kashuk cream blush – you can get it at target. Great for when you need a lot of color to stay on, but want to look natural and not powdery.
*Victoria secret lip gloss – Smells, tastes, and looks amazing.


Money well spent:
*Mary Kay eye primer – Primers are amazing. They act like glue for your eyeshadow, brightens the shade, and keeps it from getting stuck in the creases
*Smashbox soft lights shimmer powder – Ever wanted that shimmery glow that celebrities like Megan Fox have on the red carpet? This powder is the secret. It looks really natural if you apply a sheer layer. It’s bomb.
*MAC eyeshadows – are very higly pigmented so the color is bright and stays on well.


Money well wasted:
*Clinique eyeshadows and blush – Wears off really fast! I was pretty disappointed.
*Mary Kay eyeliner – did not smudge, but color was not strong enough. Faded quickly.
*Covergirl mascara – It smells. The color is okay and tended to clump a little. But the smell is really gross. Possibly just the type I was getting (curling mascara), but still…ew!


Have you found that some products work better than others? Leave some comments. I would love to do more saving and less wasting!

During the month of July, two artists passed this artwork back and forth to come up with one artistic collaboration of the minds. Barton Damer began the artwork and posted the first phase on July 6th. Within a couple days, Promise Wurzell updated the artwork with her touches and posted the results on her blog. The cycle continued back and forth until each artist developed the artwork 3 times each with a final meeting of the minds to complete it. Tees and poster prints of the final artwork were printed in august to raise money for The Huruma Children’s Home. What a cool way to help share God's love and protection for these children!

If you're interested in the history of the Huruma Children's Home you can read more here: http://www.alreadybeenchewed.net/?page_id=1317

Unfortunately the tshirts could only be ordered in August, but I still think the artwork is worth sharing. They did an amazing job!