Taking a Break for December!
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* Hope Road is on vacation for the month of December. *
Thank you for visiting! While I’m gone, feel free to peruse the archives on the sidebar, or check out past highlights.
If you’re new, I’d love to have you stay up-to-date on my posts when I return. You can subscribe in a reader or get updates sent to your email.
I might tweet now and then, so feel free to follow along!
May you all have a merry and Christ-exalting Christmas!
See you, Lord willing, in 2011!
On the stroke of midnight…
Photo by Express Monorail
…she squeaked by with a very unedifying post on day 19.
Happy Friday, everyone!
Handmade Creations
NaBloPoMo Day 10…
I wish I was crafty. But at least I can enjoy the creativity of others.
I thought I would share a few lovely little things made by some of the bloggers I read. (None of these are sponsors… they don’t even know I’m writing this.)
Scripture verse cards – Thanksgiving
Shop: Yellow Hope Cards
Blogger: Rebecca, My Bright Corner
Pink and orange leafy stripe headband
Shop: Ragamuffin Baby
Blogger: Raechel, Finding My Feet
Baby Beanie Hat
Shop: Teacup Village
Blogger: Mandy, She Breathes Deeply
Shine On, You Beautiful Thing Greeting Card
Shop: tumbelleweed
Blogger: Abigail, Shine On, Child
I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me – Art Print
Shop: BreezyTulip’s Studio
Blogger: Breezy, a bowl of moss and pebbles
Let me know which are your favorites, and if you have an Etsy shop, please feel free to share in the comments!
Trying not to be jealous…
The Relevant Conference is beginning.
“We support women turning their hearts toward home and using their blogs to bless their families while also engaging the world for the glory of God. Relevant is a one-of-a-kind conference that seeks to engage women by teaching blogging techniques and social media skill while also urging and encouraging women to live fully integrated lives with their faith and family.”
It’s the first year, and I would love to be there, hear the amazing speakers, and meet so many lovely bloggers I’ve followed, some of whom may or may not know I exist…
Sarah Mae from Like a Warm Cup of Coffee…
Jessica from Muthering Heights…
Ann from A Holy Experience…
Crystal from Money Saving Mom…
Courtney from Women Living Well…
Kat from Inspired to Action…
Traci from Ordinary Inspirations…
Lindsay from Passionate Homemaking…
and many who I haven’t followed but would like to meet.
Oh well, at least I might be able to watch a few of the keynotes, and follow the action on Twitter.
Do I sound like enough of a nerd yet?
Vlog: Celebrating Autumn
Conquering stage fright one vlog at a time…
I wanted to post another video, but couldn’t think of anything to say (always a bad way to start, huh?). So I thought I would talk about Life’s Fallback Topic: the weather. Autumn is beautiful!
This is rather humbling for me to put up because I sound like such a dork! Like, over-enthusiastic, especially with the facial expressions. If my husband sees this he is so going to make fun of me. But hey, humility’s good for a person, right?
Sorry about the low sound… I was trying to be quiet for my sleeping baby.
This Is What I Love
This morning I am thinking about random small things. Flowers from God, as it were, gracing the path of life. Little pieces of beauty that can point to eternity and the ultimate glory of our God.
Appropriately enough, I’ll mention flowers first… beautiful peonies…
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Who doesn’t love roses?
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What about that fragrant cup of coffee, steam curling upwards, first thing in the morning?
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Or the golden glow of a candle in a dark room?
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I love the first page of a yet-unread book…
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Or an unwritten journal…
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Hearing or seeing a language I can’t identify charms me…
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So do the airy yet brooding notes of a violin…
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And beautifully-made clocks, particularly miniature ones…
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And the tangy sweetness of raspberries.
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All these things can be idols… and are dust… yet they are gifts when viewed rightly.
“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4-5)
Prettiness and a Plug
I just won one of these necklaces (and some other fun stuff) from LeAnna at Thoughts and Whatnots.
They’re made by Becky Strahle. I’m not getting paid or anything to tell you this, but you should definitely check out her Etsy shop, Farmgirl Paints. The necklaces are cute, reasonably priced, and customizable. She also sells keychains and paintings.
Maybe someday I’ll have my own giveaway. I like when giveaways feel personal and don’t require you to do a bunch of promotion for extra entries. 
(I’m just lazy that way.) It’d be fun to bless you one of you with a gift, though. We’ll see…
I hope you all have a great weekend. Remember to keep your eyes on the Gift who makes all other gifts pale in comparison.
A Little Interview With My Readers
I’m passing the proverbial microphone over to you, friends (Eugene Meltsner, anyone?). I did this a long time ago… I found that post through my new random post feature on the sidebar. It’s fun.
So for a lighthearted end to my blogging week, I’m going to ask you three questions. I’d love to hear your answers!
- What is one thing on your to-do list that you’ve been needing to get done forever but still haven’t? (I love this question!)
- What are you looking forward to this weekend?
- (A little more in-depth…) If you consider yourself a Christian, will you give us the short-answer version of how you became one? If not, can you let me know why not?
I’ll be the first commenter. Happy Friday!
Sweet Summer Smoothies
Mmm… I love a refreshing smoothie on a hot summer day. It almost rivals a fragrant cup of coffee on a cold morning. Besides being delicious, smoothies are healthy, filling, and relatively inexpensive. (I sound like a smoothie commercial. But it’s true!)
So I thought I would 1) share my non-scientific, inexact, uncomplicated smoothie “recipe,” and 2) ask what you put in your smoothies, because a lot of you are probably more creative than I am. I know people who put spinach in their smoothies. Now I love spinach, but I just haven’t been brave enough to try that yet.
Without further ado, here’s how I make a smoothie:
- Get out your handy-dandy blender.
- Add 1 banana.
- Put a handful of berries in. I use frozen berries from Walmart because they’re cheap and they help make the smoothie cold. This week I’m using raspberries.
- Add about 3/4 cup yogurt. I’ve never measured, but that sounds about right. I use lowfat vanilla yogurt.
- Pour in about 1 cup milk. Again, I’ve never measured. I try to err on the side of using less milk rather than too much, because I like my smoothie a little thick. You can always add more if the mixture isn’t blending well.
- Put the lid on and blend.
- While the blender is on, add 4 ice cubes one by one.
- Voila! Pour into a glass and enjoy. Makes 1 big serving or 2 smaller ones.
Okay, it’s your turn… if you’re a smoothie-maker, how do you do it? I’d love to hear. Meanwhile, I’m finishing mine.
You ask, I’ll answer. {with a link-up!}
I thought it would be fun to lighten the mood around here a little with a question-and-answer post. I saw one of these posts on another random blog and it reminded me of mine from a couple years ago.
It’ll work a little differently this time. I’ll respond to each individual question using the threaded reply feature. So come back to this post for my answers.
Go ahead, ask me anything. (Within reason. The requisite disclaimer: I reserve the right to not answer any question at my own discretion, if I deem it inappropriate, yada yada and etc.)
And just to make it more of a community thing, I’m adding a link-up. If you write your own question-and-answer post, you can come back and add your link (please link directly to the post, not to the front page of your blog).
Note: I don’t know how to make the links appear in the actual post instead of in the pop-up window. But if you click the Mister Linky button, you’ll see the linked posts.
Ask away, friends!
