Such A Big Miracle In Such A Little Boy

I am excited that I can finally show you all my latest piece.

I made this for Matty. It is a watercolor rainbow with an ink inscription. When I first saw this quote, I knew immediately that I had to use it for Matty.

He is our monkey. He is our miracle. We are so lucky to still have him with us and to get to see this smile.

Sausage Cheese Dip

This seems like a silly recipe to even post, because it is so simple and made with stuff I already had in my fridge and pantry. It comes together in about 10 minutes. The thing is, maybe that's why it IS a good recipe to post - because you probably have all of this at your house and maybe you need something to feed a crowd of people who are coming over to watch football, or play Cards Against Humanity, or maybe even sing a few worship songs.

Anyway, so, here it is. The easiest recipe you will read today.

Sausage Cheese Dip

• 16 oz. Pork Sausage (Breakfast Sausage)
• 8 oz. Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 Can Diced Tomatoes, drained (15 oz.)
• Black Pepper
• Oregano
• Garlic Powder

Brown the sausage. Drain the excess fat. Put sausage in a large bowl.

Add grated cheese and mix until it melts a little bit. Add the cream cheese and smoosh it all together. Add the tomatoes and spices (just sprinkle some on - I never measure spices in stuff like this) and mix until combined.

Serve warm with Ritz crackers, saltines, tortilla chip scoops, or a spoon.

I think this would be equally as good made with ground turkey and a different kind of cheese. Do what you want. Make it your own. Or don't, follow this exactly, and you will be happy and full.

I'm With The Band

Oh, Buzzfeed. Sometimes, you are so disappointing with your lists of completely useless trivia and GIFs, but then you give us something like this and I am SO in love with you:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/11-isolated-vocals-that-will-give-you-goosebumps

Isolated Vocal Tracks. Listening to these almost makes me feel voyeuristic. It's like I walked in on Eminem or Paul McCartney rehearsing with earbuds in - they can hear the backup track, but I can't - and it is so personal, like I'm invading their space, or like I'm with the band.

At the link, you'll find videos featuring Michael Jackson during the Jackson 5 days, Whitney Houston singing "How Will I Know?", and Kurt Cobain singing "Smells Like Teen Spirit." My personal favorite is "Under Pressure" with David Bowie and Freddie Mercury. That one gave me chills.

And it led me down a rabbit hole of videos that are nothing but the isolated vocal tracks of Queen, mostly featuring Freddie. "Somebody To Love" always gets an emotional reaction from me, but take away the instrumentals and you have this:

I made it all the way to 2:11 and then, that's it, I'm crying. Freddie's voice has this way of getting into my chest and making me feel all warm and squishy.

I can't believe that these videos have been on YouTube this whole time and no one told me! I feel like I've just discovered The Internet.

Pinterest Win!: The Sock Bun

I haven't had much luck with hairstyles I find on Pinterest, but this...this, I can handle.

Sock Bun, where have you been all of my life?

You make me feel like a ballerina, like I am more graceful just because there is a sock rolled up in my hair.

You also make me not give a rip about the gray hairs that are slowly overtaking my entire head. When I look at you, all I see are dainty, girly visions of myself gliding down a busy city street with shopping bags on my arms, while I wear a simple, yet elegant outfit, and cotton candy pink silk shoes.

Thank you, Sock Bun. Let's hang out again real soon!

Back In The Kitchen

I don't have any real recipes to share today. I did make some pretty good things in the kitchen, though.

I started with Pickle Things: Deconstructed. Softened cream cheese, chopped up sliced honey ham, and diced dill pickles. I used our homemade pickles and added a little pickle juice to thin it out a bit.

The dish above is now empty, so I think that tells you how good it was. A special thanks to Jehremie's cousin Amber for suggesting this! So simple and so freaking delicious!

I made a salad for dinner. Halved cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced carrots, celery, and cucumbers, and sliced green onions marinated in olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

I poured the veggie mixture over chopped Romaine lettuce and added some crumbled baked bacon. It was light tasting, but very filling.

I also baked bread today. One large loaf and two small round loaves.

I'm thinking about taking one of the round loaves to a luncheon on Wednesday, since we are having a soup potluck.

A (Not) Starving "Artist"?

I'm not going to claim that I am an artist. I am still very far away from that. Maybe if I put that word in quotes, "artist", I can say it with a straight face.

On my Life List, there is a bullet point that says "Create art, even if it sucks." I've started actually doing that, spending part of my day most days sketching or painting. Here are two of the pieces I've done.

This is hanging in our bedroom. Frank and Lola was the first song J and I picked together as "our" song.

This will soon be hanging in an adorable little girl's room. Her grandfather is a true artist and has painted a large mural on her wall. This pales in comparison to his work, but I'm hoping it will compliment it.

I want to make the Move Mountains piece for another friend who was blessed with a little girl earlier this year. And I want to work on a piece for Matty's room, too. I'm thinking I might put something together tomorrow to send down this week, so they can hang it in his room at the hospital.

This isn't something that I expect to ever make money doing, but J pointed something out - he thinks it is therapeutic for me. His reasoning? "Because you worked on that piece from start to finish without a break." I think he might be right.

Knitting Needles Go Click, Click, Click

I am knitting. And praying while I knit, which sometimes leads to dropping stitches and having to pull out two or three rows of this scarf that has been an unfinished project for at least 3 years.

I remember when I bought this yarn. I remember the inspiration scarf I saw online. The inspiration scarf came with a hefty price tag and even though I had only finished one scarf in my extensive knitting history, I decided to go to Michael's and buy the yarn. And some new knitting needles, because new needles were obviously the key to finishing another scarf.

About a month ago, my friend Brandi started talking about learning how to knit. I sent her a link to the video I watched when I first learned to cast on and knit a row or two. And her learning to knit inspired me to pull out the scarf I started so many years ago and never finished.

I have been working on it off and on, adding at least a few rows each day. I am halfway through. And I have found that while I knit, I am able to focus on talking to God.

So tonight, when I got word that Brandi's son, my godson, Matty was in the ICU and was not doing well, I picked up the scarf and started knitting. And talking to God.

I'm trying to make sense of this whole situation. I know God is in control, I know that He has this plan, but I cannot wrap my mind around how this benefits anyone. I'm just going to keep praying for healing, whole, true healing, for Matty; for strength, and peace for his mom, who is the strongest person I know, but will need so much more strength to get through this; and for wisdom for the doctors, who with God's help, can turn the situation around.

It is going to be a long night. And who knows, I might have a finished scarf by morning.