Merry Christmas

I thought since I didn't get to watch any of my favorite Christmas shows I'd post one on the ole blog. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Rhythms of Grace

I just read a wonderful book. "Rhythms of Grace" was written by Marilynn Griffith. The story centers around a young dancer who's career is cut short by a brutal assault that left her scarred. Normally I'm not a fan of the whole tortured soul expose that are popular today so this is a change of reading fair for me. I'll sum up what I liked about the book. It's rare that you find christian fiction where people actually are human. I mean the characters all have real needs and wants and deal with a whole host of issues. what I loved the most is the tender romance between the main character and her colleague. It starts off with them meeting as young adults. They fit together so well-there's this carefully orchestrated dance that goes on. It's simply beautiful. My favorite line from the book comes from the heroine when she says"If looking good is the best revenge,then somebody somewhere is hurting.Bad." It's cool for two reason-one she's talking to a guy-it's usually the guy who has the lines,two it shows her humaness in genre that's not known for it. One of the reasons I liked this book was because the characters had desires. They didn't let the desires control them but they felt them all the same. In most christian fiction the romance seems to be like hand holding that graduated to marriage. No passion just kind words and longing glances-kind of Ala little house on the prairie-no heat in the oven. There was heat in the dance,words,and actions of the characters in this book in a beautiful way. I read this book in one day-couldn't put it down. What I didn't like about the book, several other stories were never finished to my liking. I wanted to see what was going to happen to all these other characters. It was wonderful to see how redemption was working on everyone in the,well almost everyone in the story. I highly recommend this even if you're not a holy roller. I commend Ms. Griffith on well written story. I hope there are many more to come.

des

random acts of kindness

I was on my way to work this morning when I passed a stranded motorist. I stopped and asked if she needed to use my cell phone. I know it could be dangerous letting someone into your car-but it was 3 degrees outside. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't help. If it was a guy I probably wouldn't have stopped. I'm not crazy-unorthodoxed -maybe,but not crazy. So I drove her to a gas station and let her use my cell phone. I know what it's like to need help when you're on the road. I remember one night when my oldsmobile(who had been recently fixed i might add)started in with the engine light schtick. I was not happy. It was raining and I had just passed a exit. I pulled into one of those state patrol hideaways and proceded to walk back to the exit. If you've never been walking on the highway birm at night in a thunderstorm-then you haven't lived! It's so exciting to watch trucks barreling past you. I'd been walking for about 5 minutes when a trucker pulled over and gave me a lift to the nearest exit. He told me that he would want someone to help his wife or daughter if they needed help. I think God specifically puts you in postions where you can be of assistance. He also does the same for you. The problem is you have to be a willing vehicle-He can give you the opportunity-but it's up to you to use it. I did today and It felt good to be the one offering help instead of the one needing it.

Where does Desi Thomas belong in the Library?

Hey guys,

I realized with my blog layout you can't see where I belong. It's totally based on your name and birthday. You guys should give it a whirl. How accurate is it? You tell me -those of you who know me that is.

Desiree Thomas's Dewey Decimal Section:

497 North American native languages

Desiree Thomas's birthday: 5/22/1975 = 522+1975 = 2497


Class:
400 Language


Contains:
Linguistics and language books.



What it says about you:
You value communication, even with people who are different from you. You like trying new things don't mind being exposed to unfamiliar territory. You get bored with routines that never change.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

I did it!!!

I survived my first pair of gloves with what I think are pretty good results.



I found this pattern in interweave's press color book. I like the hounds tooth pattern. It's also really warm because of all of the color work. The hardest part had to be the fingers. But with the help from the princess of power she-ra I persevered(thanks Mrs. C). I was thinking about making a scarf in the hounds tooth print but double knit so it's reversible. I might not do a scarf but a scarflet that's wide and fits in the collar of my jacket. Let me know what you think.

des

Techno happy.

I just downloaded a new tool bar for my Internet browser. It's so cool. Not only do I have another search engine,It totally hooks me up with weather info. Just point and click-how easy is it. Other tool bars require you to go to different sites for your information but not msn. I can see what the moon looks like tonight-what the forecast is for tomorrow and what it feels like outside-that's right ladies and gentlemen I've got windchill info too. Sometimes I think if I find anymore cool gadgets in the tech world I might end up spending too much time in front of a computer. Garrison Keillor's Prairie home companion did a skit on a bear who wouldn't hibernate because he was too busy trying to date another bear online. How funny-well it's off to have an in depth conversation with Mr. sandman.

check-ya later

des

Driving all day

Hey guys

I just spent Saturday driving all day. Let me say this not a complaint. Usually when I'm driving it's to work or the gym or to the store. You know the random trips you have to make everyday. On Saturday, I went to Columbus to a Christmas play. It was awesome. The three wise men were actually on animals. Two rode a horse,and one rode a camel. It was slightly cheesy but I've always been a fan of cheese of all sorts. So I drove home after dinner-no biggie. What's one hour when you drive everyday for two. I got home about 8 and went to sleep so that I could drive my cousin Johnnie and Chuckie to the Amtrak station in Cleveland at midnight. Their train was delayed so I got to sleep for another two hours. Packed them up and drove them to the station. There's something soo cool about driving at 3 o'clock in the morning on the highway. No traffic and almost no police cars-there was one but he was parked side ways with his lights totally out,I think he was catching some zzz's if you ask me. My dad(who rode with me)and my cousin talked about the olden days and we had a discussion about dealing with difficult people-be it on the job-or in your family. There was also a lot of talk about being a peace maker in situations that you feel weren't your fault. We got to the station and I got some literature about Amtrak-the brochures look awesome. You know it's weird-I was a little tired on the journey up to Cleveland but as soon as I got out of the car I was wide awake. After we hugged our cousins goodbye about a million times-my dad and I made the return journey. We talked about everything-I asked him how he felt about my mom and life in general. I made it home about 6:45 am and napped sitting up on the couch for about an hour before getting up and showering and getting ready for church. So the marathon ended with 4 hours of driving and wonderful conversations. I hope to have many more trips where I can ponder life's persistent questions.

Des

one batter 4 cookies

Hey guys,

I've been out of commission lately. Haven't really had much time to myself so here's a sweet recipe for my readers. I had one of those-what would happen if i... moments at Kroger the other day. I like making cookies during this season but it can get expensive if you want to make several different kinds. I used the bill Nye the science guy portion of my brain to solve a mathematical equation. Hypothesis: if your cookie recipe makes 4 dozen cookies and dough or base of each cookie that you'd like to make is the same then 4dozen /4different ingredient=4different cookies-one batter.

Ghiradellie Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda 2 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt 2 cups Ghiradelli Semi-Sweet choc chip
1 cup butter,softened 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar packed

Other ingredients:
1 bag of plain M&M's
1/2 cup of peanut butter
3/4 cup of walnuts

Preheat oven to 375F. Stir flour with baking soda and salt set aside; In a large mixer bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mix on low speed until incorporated. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture.

DETOUR: We interrupt this recipe to give you some new and exciting options. Be good little boys and girls and divide your dough into four parts. You'll need a separate bowl. I just used one bowl but you can use 4 if you like to do dishes. Take one fourth of your dough and put it into the other bowl. Add one bag of M&M's to your batter. Mix it in nice so each cookie will have a couple M&M's in the them.

Do the same for the remaining parts of the batter. I chose to do peanut butter chocolate chip


Chocolate Chip Walnut


I also of course did plain chocolate chip.

We now return you to your recipe already in progress.

Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.


enjoy
des

Let It Snow?

Hey guys,

Generally my two favorite seasons are spring and fall-more fall. I love the transition seasons or as I like to call them the death and rebirth seasons. It's a time of renewal(car insurance-license etc.) or a time to let go. I do however like winter-don't love it but I like it. Snow makes everything seem so pure and holy like there should be carolers around all the time singing handel's messiah or chanticleer singing their christmas medely. When I walk out to my car there's this hush-it's almost like being in your own little winter wonderland. What I don't like about winter is the crappy driving conditions. The weather hasn't been bad so I kind of forgot it was december. Last night I participated in the Car capades(ice capades for cars). It was so exciting you never knew which stop sign you were going to slide through next. I didn't do any 360 or 180 i just fish tailed a little bit. I now have to get new tires-I'd been putting it off but last night confirmed it. Safety first! i'll be baking this weekend-I've got sometime to myself and awesomely the food network has begun their twelve days of christmas cookie recipes-i'll be making them and sharing them with my co-workers. So drink some cocoa/wine/mulled cider, snuggle up warm by your space heater or fire(for those of us lucky enough to have a fireplace) with a good read-it's that time of year.

des