No biggie, Grab a mini!

Beat the heat, GRAB A MINI! That is the best thing to be able to say as this Texas heat gets ramped up around here. But grab a mini? Let's see what that means. 

*Disclaimer: I was sent this party pack to share with others. And to share my review afterwards. I was not otherwise paid or endorsed. All opinions shared are mine or my guests'.*

Dreyer's has so many types of ice creams under their brand name. Ever seen the Oreo Sandwich ones? Yep, that's from them. How about Outshine fruit bars? Yep! Theirs, too. So many great flavors. And now, you can get them in mini sizes! These are perfect for parties and get-togethers. More like bite-sized frozen treats. Quick and easy to chow down on. Kids at your house? These are perfect! Smaller hands can finish these off quicker, and save you from chasing them down to clean messes.

They sent me this great party pack. I grabbed up a variety of ice cream minis to share. And then we had some fun with friends. 

What was the consensus?

Oreo was a hit, of course. But adults were loving the Dulce de Leche Haagen Dazs bars. I think that one was my favorite. I loved the small size of the Drumstick Cones mini mini.

They were all creamy goodness, though. I would love to find the mini Nestle Cookie Sandwiches next time. Walmart here only had the Drumstick Cones from the 3 we tried at the party. We had to find the others at our local HEB. 

So next time you are shopping for ice cream options, maybe consider your Mini options! *pun totally intended* There are other flavors for Drumstick minis and Haagen Dazs bars minis that we may one day give a chance to. What about you? What benefit do you see for these? 

The Birthday Cinnamon Roll Cake Creation

Every birthday in this house comes with the option of requesting your dessert and/or dinner. Well, almost all of them. Mom is the baker/chef, so hers are whatever everyone else wants to eat. But I digress! My husbands birthday request was a custom job. He wanted a new version of a cinnamon roll cake. So....

Into the kitchen!

I bought 4 cans of the jumbo sized cinnamon rolls. But you only need 3. I baked 6 per pan in 2 pans that I had. 

Once those were done, I spread strawberry filling over the tops of one set.

                    Looks like I killed something in the kitchen here....

Then I stacked the second set on that. The final step is to pour the icing over them. 

Ya'll.... talk about diabetes in a pan. But so worth it! These were amazing. And I can totally see me making this recipe again. Just not often. After all, I'm trying to lose another 45 pounds this year.  

The Battle is Daily

I am in quite the busy season of life here. It has tested my endurance. It has been testing my patience. Questioned what I am willing to sacrifice. But above all these things, it has tested my faith. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:". We do not always know what season we are in though, do we?  

My sons are settled into their respective jobs. I play chauffeur nearly daily now. Sometimes one of them will even work a double, having me bring him back and forth between the shifts! In some ways, I feel as tired as I did when they were babies. Especially when you toss in trips to the library, grocery stores, post office, book store, thrift store... whatever other places I need to stop by for any other needs that come up. It is freedom that I haven't had in a while, but some days I wish I could give it all back up again. I've been hoping (and maybe dreading) that the boys would ask to start their driving lessons. But that doesn't seem to rank too high on their to-do list right now... Only one of them finally asked to start learning! 

I've had my so-tired-I-can't-see-straight moments. But then I have boys who are excited that they had a great paycheck. Or someone was thrilled with their work. I have been able to take my daughters out more. Though, that often comes with wanting mom to buy them things...

Making a donated delivery to the local Sheriff's office! 

And how about helping those I couldn't before? Or hanging out with friends? That has been fun too! There are so many pros and cons that come with life in this new phase of mine. 

On the flip side, we had some hard times come along that had me feeling like we were hitting the bottom. Transmission needed to be replaced in my car. The AC in the house had to get fixed. The washing machine pipe wasn't draining properly, so I was having to wash everyone's clothes for them and then clean up water that spilled out.

Then I ran over the tip of someone's blade and barely got parked before the tire went flat! 

Or the latest, something so life-changing that I won't be posting about it just yet. But it definitely shook my world and makes me think twice about what I need to do. 

While I know God has a plan, and that His plans are above any I have for myself, I still found myself asking "WHY". (Jeremiah 29:11) Just why? I pray for the strength to get through another day. I push myself to do my best, regardless of how I feel. And I wonder if I'm failing to hit the mark. Maybe that is why I'm struggling and my family is going through the wringer? 

Then God makes a memory pull up. A time when I was going through the fire. But He stepped in next to me. A time when I felt absolutely hopeless, but He miraculously made everything work out. These memories are what pulls me through. Reminds me that my focus is horizontal. But it needs to shift to the vertical. 

"Will you trust Me?" 

That is the phrase that kept coming to mind. That my husband said he had going through his head as well. Will you trust Me? Lean on Me. Let Me work. Sounds so simple with so few words in these phrases, doesn't it? But then putting it into practice is where we trip up. At least I do. Someone once told me, "You don't have enough faith." Granted, that was their reason for why I was physically falling apart and God wasn't healing me. But why would God say in Matthew 17:20, "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." 

Thank God for that! My faith feels so small sometimes. Life feels impossibly difficult. But that is where Luke 17:5-6 is encouraging. "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." It can be small, but through Jesus, do big things. This is the reminder I have needed. One day at a time. One task at a time. Just enough faith to get by each one. That is all I need. 

So what am I doing now?

I'm still playing taxi for 2 teenagers. I'm still managing the household needs. I'm sometimes fulfilling the role of caretaker. Baking on the side, for events and custom orders. 

I'm editing for a couple writers. And even gardening! Yes, I have learned how to keep plants alive.

My husband tells me I'm an over-achiever on the daily. Reminds me of a moment in the Pride & Prejudice story of the accomplished woman discussion... 

But above all these little successes, I'm constantly seeking to follow the will of my Lord. What does He want of me? Am I surrendering and walking the path He has laid out for me? Trusting in His plans? Yes, it is a daily, sometimes more often, set of questions I have to ask myself. Because I'm nowhere near perfect. 

1/6 Scale Dollhouse Museum Renovations - Part 3!

The work continues. Slowly, but steadily. I have added quite a bit. I think I will just give you the video to follow along with this time. 

But why stop there? Let me show you the next steps too. Give you a little more before I have to get busy again, right? 

I promise to show you more really soon! I am working on more unique pieces to finish it off. But I like where it's going overall. What do you think the museum might need?