Comments and Oral Surgery :(

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to leave many comments on my friends' blogs lately! I've been very busy this past few days with riding lessons every evening which is usually an hour long...and it takes me about half an hour in transit each way. In addition, I'm trying to remain consistent in my GED studies, and also working on the friendship afghan and apron swap in my spare time. I'm still reading all your posts and emails but just don't have the time to reply to all  of them right away. So please don't worry, I'm still here and I'm hoping next week will be a bit quieter and I can do some catching on blogging and emails!

Tomorrow morning, I'll be going in for a consultation with an oral surgeon for minor oral surgery that I'll be having soon. I've had braces on for almost 3 years and I have to get this minor surgery done to hopefully finish up with them. I'm hoping that I get an appointment for the surgery earlier rather than later...as I would like to get it done soon so I can continue with my braces. I had oral surgery about 3 years ago when I first got my braces, but this procedure will be different (hopefully, easier!). I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing, so please pray that everything will go well. I should have an appointment for the surgery tomorrow and will keep you all updated. Thanks for your prayers!

Have you had braces on before? How long did you wear them and did you need oral surgery too? 

Share your experiences in a comment below!

Watermelon Pineapple Blend

My sister Sara and I were playing around in the kitchen earlier this summer and discovered that pineapple and watermelon make a mouth-watering blend! After a bit more experimentation, I came up with this recipe. We all love this refreshing summer treat and it tastes delicious when frozen in an ice cube tray too!

All you need is a couple of simple ingredients:

1/8 watermelon, cubed
1 can of Dole pineapple slices (in juice)
5-6 ice cubes

Step 1: Cut the watermelon into large cubes.

Step 2: Add the watermelon cubes and pineapple slices to blender. 

Step 3: Add pineapple juice from can and blend. Then add ice cubes and

blend again.

Serve immediately or place in fridge. This recipe tastes delicious frozen! :-) Enjoy!

(Makes about 3 eight ounce servings)

Give this recipe a try, and please let me know if you enjoy it!

Summer With A Purpose: Week Four

Thanks to everyone who left sweet comments on my last post about sewing. I appreciate all your tips and helpful information and will be sure to look back on those comments as I continue my sewing journey. I did start working on the jumper without a pattern and hopefully it'll turn out the way I want it to. :-) It's quite challenging, but I'm sure I can finish it by God's grace.

This week, I was also able to finish Project Pearl. And now I've started reading Ships of Mercy and I enjoy reading every page! It's a really good book about how the Mercy Ships mission was started and how God helped them along the way.



I'm sure you all know by now that I finally finished the 9-Patch Baby Throw this week! I've been working on this project for quite a while now so I was really happy to complete it. I've started the friendship afghan squares and will post photos of them soon!

This week, I spent two evenings at Project Ride which is a motorcycle riding course that is mandatory for teens who wish to ride bikes. Most Bermudians teenagers take this course and then get their own motorbike --which is the most common mode of transportation around our island. I'm looking forward to finishing the course and passing the test!

When I'm not reading or learning something new like bike riding or sewing, you can find me working on studying for the GED and trying out even more recipes in the kitchen. I'll be posting yet another recipe here soon that you all are sure to enjoy!

I found a cool Twitter widget that allows me to post Twitter updates to my blog sidebar. I enjoy sharing my favorite Scripture verses, quotes, and what ever else is on my mind. ;-) So have a look at in in my right sidebar!

Hope all of you have a blessed weekend!

P.S. Lady Helen Mar over at Thoughts from Ellerslie has joined us in the Friendship Afghans project so we are no longer looking for a participant. Thanks for joining us Lady Helen and thank you to everyone who helped spread the word!

Crocheting, Cooking, and Sewing

Between crocheting, sewing, and having fun in the kitchen I've been quite busy lately. Yesterday, I put the finishing touches on the 9-Patch Baby Throw that I had started for the knit/crochet along that I hosted in February. But soon I had to put the project on hold because I broke my arm. Anyway, I'm really glad it's finally done.

I love the pink and cream together!

Lovely squares!

I added a thin edge in alternating colors!

While I do pretty well with crocheting and cooking, I haven't quite mastered the art of sewing. :-) Actually, I'm just beginning to learn how to sew. Sure, I've made a couple of skirts and an apron but nothing particularly complicated. :-) The next project I'd like to sew is a jumper dress. I haven't decided on a pattern...maybe I won't use one at all, but before I start I thought to ask you all for some tips. If you are good at sewing, please leave a tip or two in the comments section that you think I'd find helpful when sewing my jumper dress. General sewing pointers would be appreciated too! :-) I already have lots of fabric for the project and have an idea on how I'd like it to look but not sure how to make it all come together. :-)

How are you all doing with your friendship afghans? One of our participants, Melody at Vivdry, had to pull out because she has other projects she needs to finish before she starts college later this year. In order for us to continue, we need a new participant to take her place. If we can't find anyone else who's interested we won't have enough squares to trade and will have to make and assemble our own squares. :( So if you think you might like to join us, please click here for the guidelines and other information. Then leave a comment so I can put your name on the list of participants.

Hope you all are having a blessed day!

Date and Coconut Bars

As promised, here's the recipe for the snack bars I mentioned in Friday's post. I made this recipe after some experimenting in the kitchen. We all enjoy eating them and think your family would too!

To start, here's what you'll need:

1 bag of pitted dates (8oz. or about 30 dates)
1/3 cup of carob powder
2/3 cup of coconut flakes (unsweetened)
1/2 cup of rice milk
1 cup of mixed nuts (grounded)
1/4 cup of coconut flakes (for garnishing)

Step 1: Place dates in a small pot and add water to (just enough to cover the dates halfway). Boil for about 5mins.

Step 2: Allow the dates to cool for a bit before placing them in the blender. Add 1/2 cup of milk (I used rice milk) and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Step 3: Without using water, blend the mixed nuts to make them a bit smaller than your regular "chopped nuts".

Step 4: Mix blended dates and carob powder thoroughly. Then add the mixed nuts and the 2/3 cup of coconut flakes. Again, mix the ingredients together until they are completely mixed.

Step 5:  Place the mixture in a 9" x 13" dish and even it out with the back of a spoon. Add the 1/4 cup of coconut on top making a garnish.

Step 6: Place in fridge at least 2 hours to cool and set. I usually leave mine in overnight.

Step 7: Once it is finished "setting", remove from fridge and cut into bars!

These are great for dessert after a hearty lunch and they add a tasty touch to a light evening supper. Go ahead, give them a try! Let me know how you enjoyed this recipe!

Three Top Tips

Melody over at Vivdry is encouraging everyone to post three tips that would be helpful to a beginner blogger. This is a brilliant idea and I hope that my pointers would help someone starting out!

{1} Try to avoid cluttering your blog with too many blog buttons and widgets. While buttons make a great addition to any blog and help you advertise your friends' blogs, too many will make your sidebars look crowded and will be distracting to your readers.

{2} Always re-read and preview your blog post before hitting "publish"! While the handy Blogger spell-check feature gets most spelling errors, it doesn't highlight grammatical errors so you will need to read through each post to make sure it says what you intend! While you're looking over your post, click on "preview" to see how the post will look on your blog. I've found this really helpful because sometimes pictures won't fit or look skewed if they aren't placed correctly in the blog post.

{3} To get more readers and meet people who would enjoy visiting your blog, visit blogs that have similar interests and values to yours. Leave a comment, introduce yourself, and (if you want to) become a follower. Visit the blogs you follow often and comment on the posts you enjoyed reading. After all, most bloggers love learning more about their readers and will probably visit your blog too!

Did you find these tips helpful? Is so, let me know! Thanks again for hosting this, Melody!

Summer With A Purpose: Week Three

I was quite productive this week! And met a couple of goals, too! Here's what I was able to do this week, with God's grace:

Photo from Google Images

{1}Bible Reading: I was able to finish the 6-month Bible reading challenge on Wednesday. It was such a blessing to read through Scripture for the first time! If you haven't read all of the Bible, please consider doing so! I'm sure you won't regret it! :-)

{2}Crafts: I've completed all the squares for the 9-patch baby throw and finished sewing them together. Now I'm working on a border and yarn ends; look out for finished photos early next week!

Delicious treats!

{3}Cooking: This week I "invented" a new recipe which my family loves. It is similar to a snack bar but more fruity --and delicious. :-) I also made up a watermelon/pineapple blend which was tasty too. I'll be posting both recipes here soon.

{4}Homemaking: Today our garden got some much needed rain. We've been having a drought here over the last 6 weeks or so and much of the grass has dried up and turned brown. Because Bermuda has no rivers or streams, we rely on rain water to fill the underground tanks which are under each home. We do have natural, underground water reservoirs but they too are supplied by the rain and the supply there is low too. But this morning brought some much needed rain --and some thunder too! It's hard to tell if today's showers signal the end of the drought, but hopefully we'll get more regular rain. (Okay, I know this is the "Homemaking" heading but just had to mention the garden again! I'm thinking about taking out this category altogether because Cooking and Crafts are considered "Homemaking" skills. Perhaps this will become the "Gardening" section of my summer goals because I do need to work on gardening a bit more!)


{5}Book Reading: I'm still reading Project Pearl. It's a rather long book (over 300 pages), but I should finish it this weekend! Next on my reading list is Ships of Mercy by Don Stephens. That one should be interesting because I'm thinking about going into the medical field and the Mercy Ship sails from port to port sharing the Gospel and providing medical care to those who need it most.

So, that's my week in a nutshell! I hope you had a blessed and productive week too! Please share what the weather is usually like in your town or country during the summer months!

P.S. As you all know, I've been busy over the past few months and as a result, I haven't been keeping up with the awards that have been given to me. So, if you gave me an award within the past 3 months or so, please leave a comment and include a link to the post where the award can be found. Thanks!

I Did It!

By God's grace, I was able to successfully complete the 6-month Bible reading challenge hosted by Kaylene. This is my first time reading through the entire Bible and it's been such a blessing to read through the Scriptures and discover the precious pearls God has tucked inside for our encouragement and instruction! As I read through Scripture and learned about the lives of sincere Christians who followed Christ regardless of the trials that they went through, I was inspired to continue obeying God and listen to His will for my life. From Genesis to Revelation and everything in between, I've been simply humbled by all the things that God has done for us. Reading through the Bible has helped me appreciate the Scriptures more and encouraged me to read it more often than I did before.

Ironically as I was working to finish the challenge, I also read through Project Pearl by Brother David. The book tells the story of how God provided 1 million Bibles for the persecuted Christians of China. As I read about the trials that these believers had to endure to simply read the Scriptures, as deeper appreciation for God's Word has grown in me and I am thankful for the Bible more than ever before! After the daring mission to bring in 1 million Bibles on a ship was successfully completed, stories and testimonies from Chinese Christians who received the Scriptures made their way to the missionaries who organized the operation. The letters tell of the joy and appreciation these believers experienced when they got their own copy of the Scriptures. Here are just a few excerpts from the testimonies included in the book:

"Thanks to the special grace of the Lord, the food of life you have brought to us has made our hungry hearts full. We received your precious gifts, and embraced them for a long time, not wanting to put them down. Thanks to the grace of our Lord and your loving work, our tears are gushing forth, and we dance and sing Hallelujah!"


"The Light of truth is shining inside China again. The Bible is the store house of truth, the true description of life, the only way to see God, the living testimony of Christ, the source of living water, the mirror that reflects people's hearts, the sword of the Spirit, the bread of life, the standard for our faith, the heavenly law, the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path, and the way that leads us home to heaven."


"Before when I wanted to read the Bible, I had to walk more than 100 miles to borrow it. Then I had to return it within a short time. Now, after one million copies have been delivered, we obtained some from a sister in Guangzhou, and tens of thousands of hungry sheep have been fed and nourished through God's Word."


These testimonies touched my heart and it is truly amazing to think about how much these precious believers appreciated receiving God's Word after waiting for so long. Sadly, there are still thousands of people today who are still waiting to receive the Scriptures. I encourage you to join me in prayer for these believers that they will be able to get a copy of the Bible so they can learn more about Christ. I would also like to encourage you to check out how you can get involved with Open Door's ministry. They work directly with these persecuted Christians and your support will help them provide copies of God's Word to those who need it.

Reading through the Bible in six months was an inspiring challenge and it is my hope that you will be encouraged to read through the Bible on your own --there are countless treasures waiting for you there!

Blessings!