A Sunday thought... A Favorite Verse

Several weeks ago, our Adult Bible Study teacher, Kim, talked to us specifically about memorizing scripture, actually she talks to us about it every week. However, this particular day she really challenged us.

During the following week, I came across this verse:

Look to the Lord and His strength; 

seek His face always.

Psalm 105:4

I loved it and decided it would be the next verse I would learn. And, I remember thinking, "How hard can it be; it's short?" Well, surprisingly, it was hard. I had to write it down a few times and continue to look at it for a couple of days. Age - I blame everything on my age. But, now I know it, I have it hidden in my heart. I can say it, and I find comfort in it. Most importantly though, I can share it when I need to. 

Those of you who have been with me from the beginning will remember Hannah. She did this for my daughter's college room. 

Psalm 105:4

It's one of my favorites now. Do you have a favorite? Share by commenting below!

Have a good week...

Kathryn

Chocolate Pie Supreme

Today's recipe has been hidden in the first cook book given to me many years ago, one of those books stuck away on a shelf. Really, I just use it to hold recipes I've been given or those jotted down over the years on random scraps of paper, index cards, and cute memo pads. I was looking through some of those to see what to share next, and I came across this. Being a lover of chocolate, I couldn't wait to try it. 

Ingredients:

1 (small) package chocolate fudge instant pudding

1 (small) package vanilla instant pudding

2 cups of milk

2 cups of chocolate ice cream (softened) 

1 baked pie crust

First, bake a pie crust according to the directions on the package. Set aside to cool. 

Soften the chocolate ice cream just enough to make it "mixable." 

 Once it's ready, mix all the ingredients and pour them into the baked pie crust.

Refrigerate overnight. Serve the following day with whipped cream.

Yes, it was good!
I would have liked it a little thicker and next time, I may only put 1 1/2 cups of milk. It reminded me of the chocolate cream pie my daddy and I shared when our family ate at Piccadilly after church on Sundays. :-)

Enjoy the weekend!
Kathryn

Spoons and forks, or magazines and books...

Here's an idea I used in my daughter's room a few years back. We were updating her room and adding some color the summer before her tenth grade year (she's a college sophomore now.) I saw this utensil caddy at Target and bought it simply because it was the right color. At the time, that was the only reason I bought it - I had no idea what it would eventually hold.

But, a pile of Seventeen magazines on the floor of her room and stacks of books here and there, helped me decide. It became a "literary device." (For my English teacher friends!)

Her friend Nicholas made the initials for the front. Now the stacks of magazines and books are neat and organized. And, because it's so compact, it looks good in lots of spots - on the floor next to a chair, the foot of the bed, or up on her desk or dresser.

Here are a few cute ones selling at Target right now.

# 1

#2

#3

You can see them here at Target.com.

Comment below and tell us which one you like. 1, 2, or 3. Hope your 2015-2016 school year is off to a great start...

Kathryn

Moving on...

We moved another piece of my heart out of our house last week, the middle part, the part that grew up between two brothers.

The part where the pig tails use to hang out with the freckles.

The part that once had buck teeth, wore giant hair bows, and carried pom poms.

The part that shed tears over boys and friends. 

The part that grew long legs and a beautiful Miss America smile.

The part that loves Chick Fil A, chocolate, and a good bargain like her mom.

The part that can't cook and has trouble getting up even with an alarm.

The part that texts her momma immediately when her stomach hurts. 

That special part that is my daughter but also my friend. The part I'll miss every day. 

What will she do without me? You'll soar, that's what you'll do.

My daughter and me

"The days are long, but the years are short."  - Gretchen Rubin
My new favorite quote...

Kathryn

Two "recipes" to add to your snack menu...

Today I'm sharing two low-calorie snacks. The first one I'm crazy about - I want to eat it with every meal - and the second one I just like, but if you are an almond butter fan, you may enjoy it more than me.

Both of these are from a food blogger's Instagram account I follow (@getting_to_goal), which led me to her blog, which led me to her incredible weight loss story. Go read it here. Sometimes she shares her recipes right in the IG post, and she also puts the Weight Watcher's points. 

RECIPE #1

Low-fat Greek yogurt (flavor of your choosing) - 80 calories

1/2 tablespoon of mini-chocolate chips - 35 calories

1/2 sheet of honey graham crackers - 25 calories

140 calorie snack and soooo good.

RECIPE #2

1 banana - 105 calories
1 tablespoon of almond butter - 95 calories
1/2 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips - 35 calories

235 calorie snack.

I had never tried almond butter before, and I found this small, individual serving size at Target. I must confess, I was not a fan. I think peanut butter would have been better. However, the banana and the chocolate chips...delish!

Enjoy!

Kathryn

Accent table before and after...

Not too long ago I tried my hand at chalk painting. My first attempt was a sofa table my grandparents had given me years ago.

You can see how it turned out here. I had some paint left over, so I decided to redo a small accent table I'm using at the foot of my bed.

I followed the same steps as the sofa table redo. I lightly sanded it, and applied two coats of the homemade paint. Here is the recipe again in case you'd like to give it a try.

Ingredients:

2 cups of latex paint

5 tablespoons plaster of Paris

3 tablespoons of water

This is after the second coat of paint. By the way, this is Benjamin Moore's Shaker Beige 1/2 strength. 

After it dried, I lightly sanded it to give it the older, antique look. Then, to seal it, I applied a coat of polyurethane. Some of my friends with more chalk paint experience than me, use two coats of the polyurethane. But, make sure to wait about four hours (or longer) in between coats.

Back in position... It looks so much better! Now it shows up against the foot board of our dark bed (I'd like to lighten it up, too!)

My wheels are turning for what to paint next...

By the way, Woodbank Lane now has a Facebook page.  Feel free to "Like" us at your earliest convenience.  :-)

Have a super Saturday!
Kathryn

My last day of summer...

It's Friday morning, August 7, around 9:00 a.m. The quiet of the house is almost startling. The sun's light floods my bedroom and tells me to get going. But, today is my last official day of being a stay-at-home mom (I can only claim that title for ten weeks a year), and I don't really want to disrupt the moment.

I am a teacher, one of my favorite things to say about myself. The older I get, the faster these summer days pass by. This will be my nineteenth year to teach. Surprisingly to some, every year about this time, I'm actually ready to get back to my little nook down at the end of the long English hallway (room 309) - my home away from home for the next nine months.

The floors have been cleaned and polished, the desks wiped down with Clorox wipes, and the white boards are actually white. Fresh markers call my name.

No piles of papers yet to file, no dust coating the tops of the cabinets or book shelves, and no balls of paper hiding under tables.

Stocked and ready to roll - pencils, blue pens, black pens, and of course red pens, rest neatly in decorative holders. My desk drawer is exploding with sticky notes of all shapes and colors.

The welcome sign hangs on the door with anticipation of the arrival of terrific kids entrusted to me for the coming year. The kids - my students - truly are the best part of the job. My last year's students were some of the greatest all-around students I've taught. You can read a about them here. I'm sure this year's crew will be just as wonderful. I'll be sharing more about my classroom as the year moves along :-) So, off to work I go!

We are down to only one child at home with us, and he is starting high school this year. I hope those of you with school age kids have a wonderful school year. Remember, "the days are long but the years are short". No truer statement has ever been made... Cherish these hectic, activity-filled days.

Kathryn

Stuffed Tomatoes

This one is for those of us who enjoy tomatoes. I like them all of the time and LOVE them in the summer!

Ingredients:

8 medium-size firm ripe tomatoes

1 cup of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

1/3 cup of chopped green onions

1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (I used 1/4 Tablespoon of powder)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1/4 cup of olive oil

Cut a 1/4 thick slice from the top of each tomato. Scoop out the pulp into a bowl, leaving the shells intact. Circle a knife around the inside of the shell to loosen the pulp, then use a spoon to scoop it out. Place shells upside down on paper towels to drain. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

Most of the pulp will come out in one big piece...

... so to make it easier to mix the pulp with the other ingredients, chop each piece.

 Return the pulp to the bowl and add the next 7 ingredients, stirring well.

Spoon the mixture into the tomato shells, and place them in a lightly greased 13 X 9 baking dish. Bake for 10-13 minutes. 

The final product.

I hope you like them...
Have a great weekend!

Kathryn

Easy furniture update...

Today I'm sharing an easy way for you to get a new look out of an old piece of furniture. As much as I hate it, the time has come to move another child out of our house and into the big, scary world. We've bought a few new things for her to take, and she'll be taking some things that have been in her room as long as she has. One piece of furniture accompanying her is a lingerie chest my mom gave her years ago. To get it ready to go, she's emptied out the drawers full of old CDs, elementary love notes, primary school journals, and high school homecoming ribbons...

To give it an update and make it contemporary looking like some of the other things in her new college room, we changed the drawer pulls. We went with a silvery, chrome color. I found the pulls in a clearance bin at Lowe's for $2.80 each. :-)

So for less than $20, the chest has been updated and freshened up - a bit more modern, with just a touch of contemporary.

Eventually the chest needs to be painted - lots of little finger print smudges collected through the years. But for now, the first half of the update is done. Inexpensive and easy - my two favorite decorating words. Are you wrapping up the summer with any last minute projects at your house? Comment below and tell us what you've been up to.

Kathryn