Happy Sunday

We studied this Bible passage in my Bible class this week, and I think it is so beautiful.  It is about God and love.  That's what it all boils down to, isn't it?  Have a wonderful Sunday!

1 John 4:7-21

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.  13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.  14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Etta James, You Will Be Missed

Have a Blessed Sunday

Grapefruit-Carrot Juice

Do you have a juicer?  I thought long and hard before buying one, and then I saved up.  It was a purchase I'm very happy I finally made. 

Here is a recipe I tried from Whole Living Magazine.  It is 2 grapefruits, 5 carrots and some ginger (I don't always use the ginger).  Seriously, it tastes just like grapefruit juice.  Mr. Jones even drinks it, which is saying a lot.

It's good to EAT fruits and vegetables, but above and beyond what you eat, juicing helps you get an amazing amount of nutrients in your body.  I feel like I'm treating my body like gold when I drink something like this.

How I Keep Track of Books

I love to read.  That set in about the same time I had kids and didn't have time to read.  Then I really wanted to.  Here's how I keep track of my books:
Part I:  My Journal ...

I moved away from my home and friends several years ago.  One of my friends from the old neighborhood moved close by recently and started a book club.  She is Wendy at Simply Brookes.  We shared lunch with some amazing ladies once a month.

Then she left.

I had this great idea to give her a journal to keep track of books she has read as a going away present.  I took some quotes about friendship and some quotes from books we had read, printed them and glued them into the journal.  I gave it to her at our last luncheon.  Guess what gift she had for the rest of us?  Yep, a journal.  She explained that when she finishes a book, she jots down the name of the book and date in her journal.  I can't remember for sure, but I think she also keeps a "to read" list on the last page of the journal and crosses them off as she goes (I need to do this).

I printed the same quotes I put in Wendy's journal and put them in mine.  I used the friendship quotes as well as the book quotes because to me, books are intertwined with friends, love, emotions, home, family ...

I love quotes (probably obvious at this point), so  in addition to writing the name of the book and when I finished, I write a quote or two from the book.

No need to be perfect about it.  Write what is meaningful, and that is what I enjoy when I flip through the journal.

My favorite books from book club were East of Eden by John Steinbeck, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, and Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  **Updated** I'm not sure how I forgot this, but I also loved Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.  These are at the top of my all-time favorites list. 

Some other books I really enjoyed this past year:  Bossypants by Tina Fey, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, True Grit by Charles Portis, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne.

(Middlesex is in the photo above, but not my favorite.  Glad I read it, but not sure I would recommend it).

Part II:  GoodReads ...

This morning I found a website called GoodReads.com to keep track of my books online.  I previously used a different website, but it's not there anymore.  In addition to their website, GoodReads has an iPod app and an Android app.  I have a list of read, currently reading and want to read books.  I can friend people, read reviews,  see quotes, post to Facebook or Twitter, rate books and get recommendations based on how I rated my books.  I can post directly to my blog (haven't tried this yet) and make different kinds of widgets for my blog (my favorite widget shows quotes I liked from my books).  Stop by GoodReads and friend me.

**Update** Thanks to Bonnie, whose comment reminded me that I have a Shelfari account and had completely forgotten about it.  I will have to compare it to Goodreads and see which I like better.  I'll let you know.

This afternoon I was catching up on Nester's blog and she asked how her readers keep track of books.  So I'm going to link up to her ... check out the link if you want to see what others are doing.

Have you read any good books lately?

Thrifting for Clothes

I stopped by the thrift store today, hoping people would be getting rid of great things right after Christmas.  There was no great increase in inventory, but I did find these:

True Religion Kate cropped jeans (retails for about $172.00) thrift store cost $4.95, and City Streets blazer for $3.95. 

I just started shopping for clothing at the thrift store, probably about the time that I realized True Religion jeans retail for $175 to $300 and people in my area donate them all the time.

The City Streets brand isn't anything expensive, but I thought this blazer was really cute, and I love the seam sewn in a different fabric.

What I have learned about thrifting for clothes so far:

1.  Get to know the good brand names.  I'm still learning.  I usually look through all sizes for True Religion, because I can sell them for more than $5.00 at a nicer resale shop if I don't fit in them.

2.  Try them on if you can.  You're just wasting money, and not saving it, if it doesn't fit.

3.  Make sure to look over the entire item to see if it has any ripped seams, stains or holes.  The store will try to sell only things in good condition, but they don't always catch everything.

Do you have any expensive brand names you always look for great deals on?

Halloween Highlights

We love to decorate for Halloween.  Our neighbors really go over the top, and all the kids in the neighborhood have to stop by.  They have a guillotine and an electric chair, among other things.

I won't show you everything we did, but here are a few new projects I did this year:

This was such an easy project.  I had a cheap thrift store mirror that I hadn't found a place for.  I put some paint remover on the back and scraped off some of the mirror paint (I've heard you can also use oven cleaner), then I taped on an image I printed.  I got the instructions from this website.   I stuck some of my candles in the dirt.  They are so cool:  they bleed when you burn the candle.

I have been wanting to make this wreath ever since I saw it on Martha Stewart's website.  Painting rubber snakes is tricky, since paint on rubber just makes it sticky.  I used spray paint for plastic but it still turned out a little sticky anyway.  Totally worth it though.

I used my Christmas tree urn to hold my candy cauldron.

I used the lanterns I bought a while back from Ikea to use for Teacher Appreciation Week.  I put battery-powered candles inside and hot glued plastic roaches on the outside.  They looked amazing in the dark.

One of my kids was a deranged hockey murderer. Nice.

My daughter was a cow girl, and my other son wore a

Doppler Effect costume from Sheldon of The Big Bang Theory (See below). 

We just stuck white duct tape on a black shirt.

You can also see the body parts and machete hanging from the tree in the background.

Do you decorate for Halloween?