Thursday, July 30, 2015

tacos with a twist.

i love tacos. all kinds of tacos. i had tacos tuesday night & last night i made tacos again.

however, these were made with lots of love & a lot of flavor. i found this recipe here on pinterest.

i usually take a recipe & switch things up & do my own thing, & last night it could not have been more perfect. we had a friend over & we all set down & enjoyed a meal together. there is something so special about sitting together as a family or with friends & enjoying something you have created. its very intimate & there are no distractions, just each other & conversation.

so, this meal came about with a pot roast sitting in the freezer waiting to be man handled & so i did that pot roast a favor & turned it into something yummy. a pot roast + love + garlic + other yummy things = korean tacos



i put 2 TB of minced garlic & 1 TB butter in the pan & let it get a little brown. 


i added the pot roast. this was like 2 lbs. 


let it get brown on each side & the start adding your other ingredients. 



1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
3TB of minced garlic (you can use garlic cloves, i just didnt have any
2 TB rice wine vinegar
1 TB sesame oil
1 ts red pepper flakes


you guys, your house is going to smell like korean heaven. 

you let it cook slowly for about 8 hours. i put mine on around 11:30 & it was done around 7:00.




ahhhh. i can still taste it. the meat literally just pulls apart so easily. so after i pulled the meat apart i put it in a little dish with a cute lid bc i am all about presentation. 

then i started on the lime cream. 

1 cup sour cream - i used a little more
1 lime zest
juice from 1 lime
salt- like a little dash.


i had some corn that i twice baked- i just put butter, cayenne pepper & sprinkled with parmesan. 


it was so good. 


we had some cilantro, black beans, & this is actually mexican cheese  you just break apart with your fingers., & last but not least juice from the pot of meat.




i got corn tortillas & regular ones & we feasted. so good. 

if you are wanting something really easy for your family this is the way to go. 

--E







Wednesday, July 29, 2015

hot tea & a little about me.

i have been drinking hot tea more on the regular now & i love it with some local honey. the hot tea has put me in the mood to write. today i decided i was going to blog more about me. i feel like when you are first starting out blogging everything is just surface level. blogging is this huge world of people you don't know, some people  that you do know, but they might not know you on a deep level, & then there are those friends that really know you. so this blog is really more for me to let down some of the walls if blogging is something that i really want to step deeper into. i feel like we all have a voice, we all have something to share & we never really know who is reading, or who we could reach. just to warn you i am a rambler- i am not one of these organized in my thoughts sort of people.

so i hope you enjoy getting to know a little more about me, & i hope you will tell me more about you.

my grandfather used to take me & my siblings to get donuts every morning when we were in town. he was the best grandfather, he always smelled a certain way & i still remember his smell. my grandfather was like my father & when we had nothing he made sure we had plenty. he was a cartoonists & a really good one. art runs deep in my family in many different ways. my dad is a musician & so is the rest of his side of the family. so we have music & artists that run pretty far on both sides. i would like to attribute this to my daydreaming ways & always feeling like i can do anything i set my mind too. want to build a dresser evanda?, sure thing, let me just watch a youtube video & we are set.

my nanny grew up on the lost mountain property on dallas highway. i remember going to the lost mountain store & my great uncle newt giving me a peppermint candy. my mom learned how to make her famous chocolate pie from my great grandmother on that property.  when we would spend the night at my nanny's house i would wake up to the smell of fresh coffee & my pop would gather us kids up & take us for a donut. this is def. where my sweet tooth came from. when i was about 7 my nanny & i were digging in the backyard for worms to go fishing with & we hit a bees nest. not a good thing. i remember they came flying out of the ground & i ran towards the house screaming. i got stung a lot. like 8 times. it was crazy but such a good memory. the funny thing is that we would go to all the trouble of digging up these worms & i never let them keep a fish. i would cry & cry & give all the fish names until they put them back in the water #winning

i started drinking coffee when i was about 5. my dad would make biscuits some mornings & i would sit at my little fisher price table with my little yellow chair & have a biscuit &  little cup of coffee. this is when my coffee addiction started.




my nanny ( which i am sure i have written about a few times) was my favorite person. i wish so badly that cory could have met her. she would have loved him. i think the reason why i love canning, baking, coconut pie/cake, simple living, lipstick, old quilts, crossword puzzles, goodwill, flowers, & gardening is all because of her. i feel in doing all of these things it keeps her with me all the time.

my 30th birthday is rounding the corner & for some reason has me thinking of everything. being a mother, being a better wife, letting go of things that are not really important, make my own family traditions, living a simple life, pulling closer to the lord, letting go of people in my life that don't have my best interest at heart.

The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits. -Hervey Allen
 


 i have a few real friends in my life. for me it is so hard to find good girl friends. i don't like drama, i want real friends that are not afraid to be honest & open. us women have to stick together & encourage each other. we need to build each other up in our faith, as mothers, as wives, as people. i feel like within this little community i live in i see so much hurt, so much insecurity, so many that don't see who they truly are, that don't see what their worth, or where their worth comes from. i am included in all of these btw. i struggle too with so many things. gossip is a killer you guys. i am trying to be better at this & i feel like the times i do gossip its because there is literally nothing else to talk about. that looks horrible in writing but i am being honest. its like you don't want to talk about deeper things so you  just switch it over & you say hmmm. did you see what so & so was wearing the other night.

Proverbs 26:20-22 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.  As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.


lord help me to re direct my thoughts in times like these. help me to be an encourager not just to peoples faces but behind their backs as well. help me to speak sweetly, help me to build people up & not tear them down. help me to be slow to speak, slow to anger. help me to love people well. help me to be an example & be led my other peoples example. forgive me for falling into this habit too many times.

Psalms 141:3
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.

Ephesians 4:29

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.


if we want things to change the change has to start within ourselves. we need to examine our own hearts & the dark spots need to be saturated with the lord & his word.

James 1:26 
If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.


this is guytho. my little brother- keep him in your prayers- he lost his father & laid him to rest yesterday. 

mwen renmen ou anpil guytho.

-- E






Tuesday, July 28, 2015

coffee shop hangs & planning.

& these are a few of my favorite things.

a. planning- which means planners- which means evanda's happy moments all in one beautiful book.

 i love planning, i love writing goals down, coffee dates down, cory's work down, chores, meals, all of it. even if i have already done something i will still write it down and mark through it- i know it sounds crazy but i have always done it.

when i was a kid i use to write down the map of my room & make a list of everything that was in my room- dresser, bed, rug, lamp- all of it & then i would carefully select the best place to put it in my room. i did this once a month. kids would be outside playing & i would re arrange my room over & over & over.

i ordered my new planner after carefully looking for a very long time. i ordered mine from paper source. this literally makes all the difference in the world to me- a pace to fit everything, pockets for certain receipts, stickers you guys! this one has stickers for special days. i forget so much these days because i am just doing so many different things & with cory being a contract employee on most jobs i have to keep up with all of his work for mile purposes at the end of the year.

 planner- life saver

if you sign up with your email you can get 10% off your first order which is not a whole lot but its the thought that counts.

this is the print i chose. ahhh. in just a few days i am sure you will see a pretty little picture on my instagram of it. it was $28 & a good use of my money bc this helps with my sanity.
                   
2015-2016 ban.do Florabunda Spiral Large Planner

am i the only one out there that loves planners? planning? organizing?

surely not. 

b. coffee shop hangs-  i love everything about coffee shops. the cute little pastries. the smell of espresso. everyone running around like they are off to do something really important. today i am having a  busy day at a local coffee shop i frequent a lot with my husband. he is off today which i am really happy about. he is taking care of all his stuff with his worship job, & all the other things he does. so even though we are not talking or sharing a yummy little brownie its so nice to look over & see him right beside me. ronda will be meeting me up here in a few & i hope she brings that yummy little baby with her. 

is it weird that i describe babies like i would a dessert. i do that all the time. let me kiss those delicious cheeks. let me see that sweet little muffin. or like above- yummy little baby.

i am sure this will continue when i have my own. which hopefully will be soon. 

all these babies makes me miss all my kiddos at CAD- i will see them soon though!




-- E

Monday, July 27, 2015

travel update & a haircut.

as you all know i was planning on going to haiti in september with my mom & cory, but we are changing things a bit. there is a bit of an issue with my moms passport that we are trying to get straight so right now we are putting all our efforts into our winter trip for the art/music school we are doing for CAD. roll with the punches right?

i will be going to haiti october 3-9 with LUKE 101. we will be extending the garden we built at CAD which i am really excited about. the garden is growing so much & i am so proud of the kids for taking such care of it! thank you to guytho for always checking on it for me, YOU are so important to me & those kids. i feel so blessed to be apart of LUKE 101 & so blessed to continue to do amazing things side by side with them.




see the progress? i am so proud of them! ahhh! i cannot wait to hug their necks & tell them to their face what an amazing job they  have done. i am also thrilled that we are making it bigger! ahhhhhhh! i literally could cry i am so excited. please pray our big garden grows beautifully & that these kids continue to learn from this experience. this garden brings so much to these kids. 

a side note- i got my hair chopped off & i love it. needed something new & easier. 


this past weekend we got to take a little trip to see wedds & celebrate so many amazing things. his birthday which is just around the corner, the fact that he got baptized! PRAISE GOD & he was selected for a traveling soccer team. this was my first time meeting his US family & they are priceless, genuine & they love wedds so much, which is so evident. the lord blesses us in so many ways & it never ceases to amaze me how he connects us all together. 


-- E





Friday, July 10, 2015

rice, beans & bags.


vbs is a huge part of just about every single trip i take to haiti.  i always love to see what the teams come up with & love to be a part of it any way i can.



this was my first year serving up fresca which is  like our version of a snow cone. the kids LOVE it. 




this little sweet pea got 2 cups.




all the kids lined up to get a cup. 




all the kids from CIY were so great with the kids. i always love seeing them be so open & loving with them.


every place you go you end up playing soccer. these kids are so good.



one of my favorite places we visited was pastor destiny's church that is being built. i learned that the community is putting there money into building it which made me almost cry.

  1. Three quarters of Haitians live on less than US$2 per day and half of the population earns less than US$1 per day. Access to education is low, with illiteracy rates almost 50%. In rural areas, almost 90 percent live below the poverty level and basic social services are practically nonexistent.




    these are supplies that they are putting in a room until they have enough to keep building. i am amazed on what this community surrounded by voodoo temples is doing. 



    the kids there were the cutest & wendy did an amazing job teaching. we passed out cookies, water & peanut butter sandwiches to the kids. we played games & did some coloring. 





    jusme is an amazing man. he writes songs & teaches them to the kids. he is the perfect translator. we are blessed to know him & he is such a blessing to those kids. the people that the lord places on our paths makes you realize how 

    we also did some distribution in villages. we all packed bags of rice, beans & hygiene kits. we teamed up & walked door to door taking turns praying for families and practicing our creole. it was an amazing thing because our last home the lady was deaf & it just so happened that a girl in our group new sign language & was able to speak with the lady. God works in amazing ways. thank you to every single person that donated money to make these things happen. you have know idea how much a simple bag of food, how much a toothbrush and toothpaste means to  families. it means the world. seriously. 






    thank you to everyone that spends time in prayer over luke 101. thank you to everyone that spends time in prayer for me & every single trip i take to haiti. thank you than you thank you. to know i have such a huge support means everything to me. i need your prayers & i am so thankful for them. 

    continue to pray for my upcoming trip to haiti in september with my family. 

    bondye beni ou. 

    - E