Thirteen Things I'm Loving Doing this Summer!

Work is continuing to be so stressful, so I decided to purposely focus this Thursday Thirteen on the things we've been enjoying doing in the beautiful weather to de-stress:

1. Bike riding! I especially love going out and exploring early in the morning on the weekend (and if my hubby can join me, all the better!)

2. Walks by the river:)

3. Light mocha frappucinos at Starbucks after the aformentioned walks;)

4. Tending to my flowers:)

5. Enjoying some tea and a devotional on the deck!

6. Going for a country drive (we went to the Berry Barn a couple of weeks ago:)

7. Walks around the neibourhood.

8. Cruising with my sweetie in the PT (even if it is only to go and groceries tonight!)

9. Earl's patio (if you can get in?!! ..ok, so we haven't gotten in yet, but we will!)

10. Bar-b-quing!

11. Visiting the new dry pond in one of the parks nearby, sitting on the bench and enjoying each other and the children playing aorund us:)

12. Enjoying the deck (after all our hardwork painting it) with my hubby and some homemade iced tea after he's done work on the weekends.

13. The sun on my face, wherever I am (especially after a hard day at work while I'm coming home!)




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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Can You Believe It?!!

This weekend I heard about a group that may file a lawsuit against Starbucks?!! Their grounds would be that some of the food/drinks they serve are high fat/calorie (I believe this group was targetting KFC first?). Now, I am just in shock about the idea of this lawsuit because I've been someone who has had to watch what she eats her whole life and I have never been anywhere where the people have been more accommodating in terms of providing nurtrition information on what they serve and in terms of suggesting alternatives to bring a drink in line with the carb, fat and calorie goals I have. It's one of the reasons I *LOVE* Starbucks so much, I can order my caramel macchiato with no fat and no sugar and it STILL tastes great! (and it isn't full of aspartame or artificial fats!) So I'm hoping this is just a vicious rumour that was misheard. I *LOVE* Starbucks! :)

Who'd a thunk it... I AM - Wonder Woman !!

Wonder Woman 75% Superman 60% Spider-Man 55% Green Lantern 55% Robin 52% Supergirl 50% Catwoman 40% Batman 35% The Flash 35% Iron Man 35% Hulk 20%

You are a beautiful princess with great strength of character.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Thirteen ways I was spoiled for my bday last weekend:

1. For the first time since we've been married, my hubby and I both had my bday off:)

2. My inlaws had us for a bday supper the night before (FIL even made his special garlic shrimp) and kept our daughter overnight so we could go out on my bday:)

3. Les took me to dinner at the Granary:)

4. And it was lobsterfest...so I had lobster:) (...and some particularly good wine:)

5. And afterward we went to the movies and saw a romantic comedy:)

6. And we had not one, but TWO trips to Starbucks that day (one in the afternoon and then a nightcap after the movie:)

7. Speaking of Starbucks, at work on the day before my bday, my staff surprised me with a grande caramel macchiato (no fat and sugar free) at coffee break:)

8. I still can't believe they remembered exactly how I like it:)

9. They got me a piece of banana loaf with it (and I ate it...thus breaking my carb limit in a 2 hour window:( ...but it tasted good:)

10. I broke my eating plan a couple of other times on my bday weekend, like on the morning of my bday when my husband served me breakfast...a cinnamon bun fresh from the bakery...YUM! (Someone said that the calories and carbs don't count if it's your bday, right?!!) ...anyway I'm trying to be extra good now this week..

11. My darling daughter gave me the most beautiful card...the sentiment of which was that no matter what she's sure of two things: God's presence and my love (I'm so GLAD she is secure in that:) ...she also gave me the Busy Mom's Guide to Prayer which she had seen me look at once (very thoughtful of her to remember that:) ...I'm SO looking forward to using it:)

12. My in-laws gave me a "Classic Goddess Pedicure" from my favourite day-spa! I wonder what a "Classic Goddess Pedicure" involves?!! (I know about the pedicure part...but the name of this one sounds so indulgent?!!:)

13. My husband gave me an amazing card and thoughtful gifts as well and totally doted on me all weekend! Boy do I love that MAN! :)




Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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We have such a cool small group...

Last night we were supposed to finish the study we've been working on at small group. Last night was also the Stanley Cup final. It was going to be hard to miss it and go to small group (especially for my hubby), but that was the right thing to do...so imagine our surprise when we got to the group and the game was on?! So we didn't get the study done...but we did have a great time together followed with some prayer...we have such a cool small group:)

Today is the fourth anniversary of when my handsome hubby first kissed me. It came one day after my birthday:) And in the days and weeks and months and years since then I have grown more and more in love with him! Today I celebrate my genius of a husband, the husband that he is, the father that he is...and of course, that first kiss:)

Thirteen reasons I haven't posted since last week's Thursday Thirteen:

1. I tried to milk the weekend for all it was worth as I wasn't looking forward to going back to work on Monday.
2. When I went back to work, in addition to the pressure and stress I had expected, there were unexpected 'surprises'.
3. One of my staff is off on an extended sick leave again.
4. I can't hire a temporary person to fill in as we just have week to week notification from this staff member's doctor...as we have to keep her job open for her.
5. I'm hoping she gets better very quickly, but based on the reports I heard along with my own brief encounter with her, I suspect it will take much longer. (She is, of course, in my prayers)
6. So all my staff, who were already strained, are being pushed even further. (They are in my prayers too!)
7. And there were quite a number of things added to my plate to cover as well this week...only there really wasn't room on my plate for them...
8. And apparently, last week, in my absense, the big boss made life pretty difficult for several of my staff.
9. Turns out he made it difficult for staff in other departments too.
10. And now they are not motivated to do extra to meet with these challenges. (And I've been trying my best to encourage and motivate them.)
11. As a result of the staff out on leave and this motivation issue, not as much progress has been made on a big project that the big boss is focused on. (We're fighting fires people!)
12. I'm afraid of his reaction when he returns on Monday...even though I've done my best...unfortunately it is out my control and I can only do what I can do.
13. Last night when I did have some time to myself, I spent it outside with a cup of tea and my Bible talking to God about this all. I'm not 100% certain of His will on this, but I am 100% certain of His love and of how faithful He has been to me. So if you think of me, send up a prayer or two...thx:)



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thirteen Good Thoughts about Our Trip to Starbucks on Wednesday:

As I mentioned in my last post, Les and I have a few days off together this week. We're not going anywhere, just getting things done around the yard and spending some time together, but we have made allowances to take a few trips to Starbucks together this week, so here are some good things about Wednesday's trip...

1. As we worked in our yard in the morning and early afternoon, planting trees and painting the deck floor, the thought of going to Starbucks when we were finished was great motivation!
2. When we got there one of the Barista's, who was on her break outside, got up and walked toward us to tell us that the other day when we had popped by and found that that they were temporarily closed due to a pipe break, that they were still able to take business by the drive-thur and that when she saw us pull up, she had started to make our usual orders. When we had seen the sign about their problem though, we had carried on, not thinking the drive-thru would be open, but it was so sweet that they had actually started to make our order. I apologized for the inconvenience, and the Barista responded that it was ok, she loves my usual so she drank it!
3. When we went inside, several staff greeted us and asked us how we were:)
4. I ordered my caramel macchiato with no fat and s-f vanilla (mmmm:)
5. Les had a venti sumantra, some skim milk and an expresso brownie...which I got a bite of:)
6. I dipped a low-fat vanilla almond biscotti in my macchiato (mmmmmm:)
7. We got to sit in the big comfy green armchairs (I even curled my feet up:)
8. One of the Barista's came over and asked if we would do a coffee sampling with her.
9. We said sure and it turned out that she was sampling the new Brazilian blend that Les and I had been talking about on the drive over. We had just been saying that we wondered what it was like and that if we didn't notice it as one of the brews of the day soon we might ask them to make a french press of it so we could try it.
10. It had a wonderful nutty flavour and no bitterness. We'll definitely be buying some beans for at home.
11. The Barista made it in a french press, which is our favoured method of brewing regular coffee at home.
12. We enjoyed relaxing in our cozy chairs with our beverages and talked away!
13. Les says we're going back tomorrow! :))



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Well this week my husband and I actually have a few days off together, which is not so common as he works shiftwork and I have a desk job. And so far we've been quite busy... We've been painting the deck, purchasing trees, tending our yard, going to doctor's appointments, and we've even fit one trip to Starbucks in there so far (...hoping for another one tomorrow after we plant those trees;) We just got back from a huge bike ride where Amanda tackled the hills with a new resolve...definitely worthy of the ice cream treat we bought her on the route home:) When we got home, we fertilized the lawn and gardens and are just about to tuck Miss Amanda into bed. Then Les and I are going to have our very own well earned treat...sushi:) I wish every week could be like this one!!

Me - A Fluffed Up Rabbit?

A funny thing happened when we got the mail the other day. The spring newsletter for Breakforth came and it had an amazing article in it from Brian Doerksen that spoke to my husband quite powerfully. So Les read it aloud to me, and God definitely was saying some stuff to both of us through it (...I will share more about that another day). But then when he was finished and I was thinking about what he read, I flipped through the newsletter myself and stumbled upon an article by Ken Davis. Ken was not someone I knew much about before last year's conference, but during his main-stage presentation last year, God used Ken to remind me that "He ADORES (me) you." So with that thought in mind, I read Ken's article. It started out like one of those funny little stories that get emailed around that has a mushy point at the end. Only the point at the end wasn't mushy, but it was something I needed to hear. It wasn't a comfortable thing to hear and yet my soul took comfort in it. Now I need to figure out what, if anything, God wants me to do about it...or if He just wants me to be and see what He intends to do about it. Here's the article... (oh, and don't worry, I haven't been fueding with any neighbours lately, and I certainly haven't been fluffing up any rabbits?!;)

A woman happened to be looking out the window of her home one day. She was horrified to see her German Shepherd shaking the life out of the neighbor’s rabbit. Her family had been quarreling with these neighbors; this was certainly going to make matters worse. She grabbed a broom and ran outside, pummeling the pooch until he dropped a rabbit now covered with dog-spit — and extremely dead.

After a moment’s consideration, the woman lifted the rabbit with the end of the broom and brought it into the house. She dumped its lifeless body into the bathtub and turned on the shower. When the water running off the rabbit was clean, she rolled him over and rinsed the other side. Now she had a plan. She found her hairdryer and blew the rabbit dry. Using an old comb, she groomed the rabbit until he looked pretty good. Then, when the neighbor wasn’t looking, she hopped over the fence, snuck across the backyard, and propped him up in his cage. No way was she taking the blame for this.

About an hour later, she heard screams coming from the neighbor’s yard. She ran outside, pretending she didn’t know what was going on. “What’s happened?” she asked innocently. Her neighbor came running to the fence. All the blood had drained from her face. “Our rabbit, our rabbit!” she blubbered. “He died two weeks ago, we buried him - and now he's back!”

Had the neighbor poked the rabbit or tried to play with him, she would have discovered
the truth: The rabbit was dead. And playing with a fluffed-up dead rabbit isn’t much fun.

The same is true with fluffed-up dead people. One of the disadvantages of living in an affluent society - meaning most of us - is that it’s too easy to get dead and buried before we’re dead and buried. We clutch our material possessions and social status tightly. We’re afraid to take risks, stand out in a crowd, or do anything that could make us look different. In a world of people whose first priority is to maintain the status quo, simply looking alive is too dangerous.

I once spoke with a news anchorman who hated nearly every aspect of his job. When I asked him why he didn’t quit, he said he’d come too far to turn back now. To search for something more significant in life would mean taking a pay cut and relinquishing a few job perks. So every day he gets up and heads for a job he hates, so he won’t lose what he’s gained. And just what has he gained? It sounds like a fluffed-up dead rabbit to me. All over North America people remain in jobs they hate so they can buy stuff they don’t need to impress people who don’t care.

God created you for so much more than that. Could it be time for you to take a deep breath and really live again? Take some risks. God's plan for your life was never about being propped up in a cage. I’ve met dozens of people who finally trusted God and made their escapes. Some changed jobs; some changed attitudes; some took the initiative and summoned up the courage to live out their convictions. There are some who are living with fewer financial resources than before, but they’re experiencing an excitement and a renewed faith they never knew was possible. The renewed fire in their lives leaves no doubt they’re alive.

Jesus is about life. If you feel as if you’ve been shaken, hosed off, and propped up to dry, chances are it's time to take a look around. God wants you to live. People will be delighted an amazed that you’re back.
“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”. -
Jim Elliot

This is an excerpt from Ken Davis’ book, Lighten Up!

Your Grace is Enough

On May 2nd, I blogged a definition of grace that we recently looked at in my small group, it went like this:

If your friend punches you in the face and you decide not to
retaliate...that's MERCY.

If your friend punches you in the face and you
decide not to retaliate and you tell him that it won't affect your
friendship...that's FORGIVENESS.

If your friend punches you in the face
and you decide not to retailiate and you tell him that it won't affect your
friendship AND you buy him an ice cream cone...that's GRACE.

So this was the definition in my mind at Church tonight when we sang, "Your Grace is Enough"...only, not too far into the chorus, it struck me that the word "enough" wasn't ENOUGH to express what God's grace is. It's MORE than we deserve, it's MORE than a simple pardon, it's MORE than we can possibly fathom, and it certainly IS MORE than ENOUGH!

Thirteen Pretty Perennials in my garden:

(Busy busy week here, so it's going to be a quick list today, but I chose to do perennials because I had aweful luck with them the first year I tried, but this year I have been so pleasantly surprised at what's already blooming:)

1. Delphiniums
2. Chasta Daisies
3. Roses (ok, these aren't perennials, they're bushes, but they still return to bloom each year:)
4. Purple cone flower
5. Phlox
6. Salvia
7. Lilies (my friend Alana shared these with me from her garden last year and I think they will actually bloom this year:)
8. Irises (another plant shared with me by Alana...it didn't bloom last year, but I'm hoping it's established enough to bloom this year).
9. Painted Daisies.
10. Tulips (although they are done blooming now)
11. Obedient plant (this is what they look like as someone in the comments mentioned they hadn't seen one before)
12. Pink Nancy (got this at the Church perrenial sale last year and already I've been able to divide the plant and share it in other parts of our beds...I'm sure it has another name too.)
13. A purple flowering plant that I can't remember the name of right now, but when I get the chance to go out into the backyard tonight, I will update this with it's name)
**update* I went outside and there's no tag in the ground, so I still can't place the name of that plant, but I noticed that I have several other perrenials that I haven't already listed...dianthis, violas, aruga and chives.





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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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I haven't time to think much less post these days...but today I read a snippet on another blog that is SO worth sharing, I had to find a minute. It's from Daisy's blog. She's someone I found through the Thursday Thirteen group. Here's what she had to say...

As a young wife and mother I used to think of myself as "Cotton
Candy"......sweet and fluffy but not alot of substance. So I began to read and
study the lives of women I admired to see what the "it" factor was.

So much of a woman's identity is caught up in how she looks. We are constantly
bombarded on a daily basis of pencil thin anorexic actresses who are held up as
examples of beauty. We are told if we use a certain toothpaste that our smiles
will be gleaming, and certain shampoos will make our hair irresistable. The
emphasis is helping women look good on the outside. Never mind the inward
reality; go for the "quick-fix" .

I'm fed up with "the secret keys", "the 22 ways", and the surefire plan. I'm fed up with the phony masks of self-styled Christian experts and the dishonesty of those who proclaim one thing while living something completely different. I'm tired of looking at the superficial, the fake, the phony, when "the real thing" is within my grasp.

With each passing day, I become more determined to know nothing except
Christ and him crucified. I don't have all the answers. I haven't arrived. I
don't have the perfect marriage, or the perfect children. I only know that Jesus
Christ has done something incredible in my life. My circumstances haven't changed a bit but I am changed none the less. I used to be at Point A now I'm at Point E. Hey it's not Point Z but it is forward progress.

I may not look perfect on the outside, but I am changing inside. Nothing magical, but I've lost a pound of sin here and an ounce of crummy attitude there. I blow it every day of my life, but I'm not who I used to be and I'm not who I would have been.

I don't want people to look at me and say, "Wow, what a remarkable
woman. What a remarkable Christian." I truly want people to look at me and say,
"What a remarkable God she must serve. If God can work through an ordinary woman like her, maybe he can work through me too."

The woman God can use knows where her value comes from. She is precious because of Who created her. She is valuable because of the One Who dwells with in her, not because of the material he used to fashion her or how he chooses to use her. There you have it...... If you want radiant skin, beautiful clear eyes, and a glowing personality start by working on "inward beauty".

What are your beauty secrets? What feeds your soul?

13 TV Shows I Enjoy (or have enjoyed) watching:

1. What Not to Wear

2. Gilmore Girls

3. The Apprentice (although I have to admit that I haven't watched it at all really this year).

4. Hockey Night in Canada

5. The Thirsty Traveller (I've only seen a couple of episodes, but it made me want to go to France and Ireland even more!)

6. Martha (sometimes I watch it while I'm working out Friday mornings after my daughter has gone to school).

7. Rachel Ray (I've seen one on 30 minutes meals a few times that was good, plus I've seen a travel one once that I really liked).

8. Debbie Travis' Painted House (this isn't on anymore, but I liked it better than her current one called Facelift)

9. Reba (occasionally we catch a bit of this before heading to bed. Les says I can sing the theme song just like her?! It's good for a laugh anyway:)

10. Neat (I like getting tips from the host on how to organize things; but I usually end up missing this one...it's just a half an hour but it's on Saturday night and we're usually out and about)

11. Seinfeld (another one that Les and I sometimes catch a few minutes of later in the evening...what I enjoy is Les enjoying this show and quoting it back later:)

12. One Day at a Time (This hasn't been on in years, but it was my favourite when I was a kid.)

13. Deal or No Deal (again one I've only seen a few times...I always think they should take the deal though!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Weekend Update

I had a nice long weekend, but it's back to work for me today. Les had to work the weekend again, but he did have Friday off, so we hired a sitter and had a date night on Thursday night. He took me to Earl's (one of my favorites...they were a little bit 'OFF' on Thursday, but a good time was still had). Then we went shopping...clothes shopping actually, and we both got a few new things. I like buying stuff that I KNOW my husband really likes on me:)

Our whole family had Friday off of work and school, so we slept late and headed out for a bike ride together. There is a new pond in one of the parks in our area, so we've been exploring around there lately. Then we did a bit of yard work and showered up in time to take Amanda to her friend's bday/sleepover party. Les and I then snuck off for dinner together. We went to Alexanders where the 'poulet du chef' was excellent! We then headed over to Dutch Growers to look at tall, skinny trees...swedish aspens to be exact. We're thinking about getting three of them for along the fence in our backyard. Then we met a friend for coffee at Starbucks and went for a drive with her looking at condos, as she is looking at moving.

On Saturday morning, Les headed out to work and I waited around for the Unversity student painters to come out and quote on how much it would cost to paint our deck. Wayyyyy too much was the answer!! I have a friend who is getting most of the main floor of her house done for less than they quoted for our deck?!! So I guess we'll be doing it ourselves and not hiring a student after all. I had thought this would be a good way to help out a student, but I guess not. If any of you have experience or advice about deck painting, please let me know. I think it's just one of those necessary evils that has to be repeated every three years or so!

Anyway, after the paint quote I had a bit of time to kill before I needed to pick Amanda up so I headed downtown and did a bit more browsing. This is so rare for me...to actually have some time alone to browse and try things on. Then when I picked Amanda up from her party, I had coffee with her friend's mom, which was so good since we hadn't been able to find the time between our two schedules for a while. Also, it was good for me to be in another mother's house and see how she interacts with her children. She's a wonderful mom, but, honestly, I realized in that hour just how easy Amanda has it our house in many ways...which was good because lately I get this big guilt trip back from her anytime I ask her to do anything.

Saturday night we headed to church then out with friends. Sunday morning I snuck out for another bike ride and then cleaned house, and when Les got home, we decided to have a family night IN as he needed some downtime to be the 'king of his castle'. So I made one of his favourites for supper and we caught a bit of the hockey game after that.

Monday morning was about laundry for me and then while I was getting myself together after my shower the power went out, so that definitely limited what else could be done. After Les finished work, we headed over to his parents for super and I got to meet my mother-in-law's childhood friend and her husband who are in town visiting from Kelowna. What I especially enjoyed about it was seeing my mother-in-law giggle with her friend after supper. I want more of that for her!

Well that brings us pretty much up to date. Hope you had a good weekend too:)

A Heather Meme

Heather tagged me for this MeMe on Friday (sorry I'm late in responding:)

What is your favorite word? Sweet:)

What is your least favorite word? "What!"

What turns you on spiritually, creatively, emotionally?
Spiritually - a sunset, a worship song
Creatively - having the time to actually sit down and be creative
Emotionally - touch and affirmation

What turns you off? When people brag about other's accomplishments using words like "I" and "me" throughout as if to take full credit for what the person has done. (Don't get me wrong, I think a person should take pride in their accomplishements...I'm talking about an extreme here).

What's your favorite curse word? I don't really curse, but I do say "good grief!"

What sound or noise do you love to hear? I love to hear my husband call me the sweet things he does:) And I love to hear him strumming on his guitar.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? A stay at home, full time momma (with one more child too boot!) ...a teacher...and as long as we're dreaming, let's use that magic wand and I'll be a singer too!

What profession would you NOT like to do? The one I'm in...(long story)

If Heaven exists (HELLO! What do you mean "IF"?), what would you like to hear God say at the pearly gates? I want to hear Him call me by name and I want to feel His embrace.

I'm supposed to tag some of you, but as usual I'll just let you tag yourselves...if you read this and want to participate, leave me a link in the comments and I'll visit your site and give you a link below.

Rasberry Chill

In the comments for my TT, I was asked for the recipe, so here it is:)

Crust:
1 1/4 cups oreo crumps
1/4 cup melted marg
Combine crumps and melted marg in a bowl and then press into a springform pan and chill.

Filling:
1 pkg rasberry gelatin (I use sugar free; also you can use any flavour you want really)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 pkg (8 oz) of cream cheese, softened (I used light cc)
1/4 cup sugar (I use splenda)
1 container of frozen whipped topping (I use low fat and low sugar)
1/2 cup rasberries (optional)
In a bowl, stir gelatin and 2/3 cup boiling water for 2 minutes; cool.
In a food processor (I don't have one so I either use the blender or my hand mixer...takes more effort with the hand mixer, but comes out ok in the end); blend gelatin, cheeses and sugar for 2 minutes (longer if using a hand mixer). Fold in 2 cups of whipped topping. Add to pan. Chill 2 hours. Add remaining topping and fruit to garnish (it's nice without the fruit too).

I sometimes double the filling recipe if I'm using a larger springform pan. The recipe is meant for an 8 inch. If I'm doing a 10 inch or larger, I increase the recipe.

Before reducing the sugar in this recipe and cutting back on fat it is about 340 calories per piece (and 32 g of carb and 8 g of protein)...so even without reducing the sugar and fat it isn't too bad for a dessert. Enjoy!

13 GOOD Things (that have happened or are going to happen) this week...

1. Date night, Thursday night's date night! Since we missed our date a couple of weeks ago due to baby-sitter problems, we've booked one for Thursday night as we all (including Amanda) have Friday off!

2. Having Friday off together:)
3. My husband made supper Tuesday night as I had to work late.

4. Wednesday night Les and I went for a nice bike-ride together:)

5. Yesterday I received flowers, for no reason, at work, from a DEAR friend!
6. The Pink Shadows (Amanda's airband group that performed last Thursday at the school assembly) WON the whole competition!! (The results were just announced today!) Pretty good for the youngest competitors in the event! I'm so proud of Amanda and her friends!! (They performed to Hilary and Hailie Duff's version of Our Lips Are Sealed... Amanda was Hilary, of course!)

7. And I was able to sneak away from work to see The Pink Shadows' BIG performance!

8. Relaxing experience last Sunday morning (which I already blogged about:)

9. The words in the card my husband gave me for Mother's Day:)

10. We were able to get our deck stairs fixed today.
11. Amanda's going to a b-day party/sleepover for a sweet friend this weekend (I really have a soft spot for this particular friend:) But then again I have a soft spot for most of her friends:)

12. Small group went really well this week and my rasberry chill cake was a hit (low fat and sugar and people still loved it?!!! :)

13. I'm pretty sure that Les and I will make it to Starbucks sometime on Friday...yeah!

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)
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ABC Meme

I caught this one through Eph2810...

Accent: I, of course, don't really think that I have an accent, but the odd person through the years has said there's a bit of an English one in there.

Bible Book that I like: My favourite book of the Bible is the Gospel of John....John wrote what things FELT like:) Also, Psalm 73 is MY Psalm:)

Chore I don’t care for: Cleaning the bathroom.

Dog or Cat: I love both, but don't have either right now (have had both at different times in my life)

Essential Electronics: Hmmm, I can't think of any that I think are ESSENTIAL.

Favorite Cologne: Fieldberries from Fruits & Passions.

Gold or Silver: I like and wear both at different times.

Handbag I Carry Most Often: I usually only have one...right now it's a brown leather one that has a nice feel to it. I can't do large handbags though.

Insomnia: Not usually unless I'm very worried or upset about something.

Job Title: Manager of Finance and Administration

Kid(s): One daughter, age 11.

Living Arrangements: We have a home in a newer area of Saskatoon. It's a sandcastle coloured bi-level with shutters and a cobble-stone walk. I live with my loving husband and daughter.

Most Admirable Trait: Do I have one of these??

Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: In grade one or two my mom told me I could invite a few friends from my class for my birthday party at the end of the week. When that day came, so did my whole class. I had invited them all because I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings or leave anyone out. Boy my mother was mad and she still tells the story today!

Overnight Hospital Stays: Fortunately, I've never had one.

Phobias: ??

Quote: "She who does the best her circumstances allow, does well, acts nobly, angels could do no more." (Mrs. Meeds)

Religion: Free Methodist

Siblings: a sister and a brother, who are both quite a bit older than me.

Time I Wake Up: 6:46 a.m. most weekdays...and later if I can on weekends.

Unusual Talent or Skill: My daughter might say that I have a mysterious talent for knowing when something is UP that she doesn't want me to know.

Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: parsnips.

Worst Habit: I don't take compliments well (even though I'm trying not to, I often deny them or ask the giver 'why')

X-rays: The last one was more than 10 years ago when I had pnemonia.

Yummy Stuff I Cook: Greek food, grilled chicken, rosemary potatoes, spinach salad, lasagne, chilli, shepherd's pie, swedish meatballs, cheesecake, cappucinos... My husband says I'm a good cook:)

Zoo Animal I Like Most: Elephants (though I've never seen a real one live and in person)


Now I'm supposed to tag someone, but I'll just leave that open to you...if you want to do the ABC meme, leave a comment and I'll visit your site.

Here's a link to Joan's blog. She had a post on Mother's Day about 'mean mothers' that really hit home for me as I read it.