Friday, November 30, 2012

Good to bad to good.

Today is defiantly not my favorite day, started out great and everything just went down hill. 
But my too priority is not to let this ruin the rest of my evening. Yes I'm not perfect and I have 
bad days, but life does go on. It's not easy to simply brush things aside but sometimes you
 just have to. It really gets me when people are so rude and they simply hurt you in so many ways. Time to carry on and smile.

The picture is my Facebook status, just something on my heart that I have been wanting to share.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

faith.

A life full of praise and thankfulness is a life full of miracles.

-Jan Grennell 

my girls bible study literally gets me through the week; great words of wisdom from great women.

Highlight of my day: face-timing my lovely sister, ahh every time we chitchat I just want to let the tears flow out of my eyes; words simply cannot describe how much I miss her!

P.S. yes we make funny faces at each other for about 5 minutes of the time that we FaceTime. It doesn't get any better than that.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Grateful.

I randomly want to babble about the 7 things I am most grateful for this week.

 1.   My pandora, I couldn't live without her; I listen to that thing 4-8 hours a day straight
 if I get the chance to. I really appreciate Gods beautiful creation of music
 (it really helps me on both good and bad days).
 2.   The fact that in my freshman year of high school, I made the decision to chop off my hair 
(and all the other hairdresser problems that happened in between) my hair is finally starting to grow out! That I am very thankful for (Tips for increasing hair growth: biotin, eating vitamin enriched foods, and my organic cinnamon infused shampoo that helps promote hair growth).
3.   My snoozy alarm. Ok maybe I'm a little over thankful for this one since I have to have 10 alarms just to get me out of bed. I know it sounds bad, but I'm working on it.
4.   That wonderful plastic reusable Starbucks cup, always making sure I'm never dehydrated and never leaving my side. Even though you have been though a lot I'm glad our still pulling through. P.s. thanks mark for the new one (Oh and they came out with holiday straws yippie)!
5.   For getting pulled over by a cop not just any cop, but a north port cop (aka known as the worst to get pulled over by) and I got away with not even a warning... What are the chances (I did say a little prayer in the car).
6.   For my mama, she has taught me everything I know. And to this day I still ask for advice from her. 
7.   The Christmas movies that fill my heart with joy and cheer! I love this season!


Marks birthday

The day started of with church or course, If I haven't mentioned before I go to Coastlife
 (this is the place to be). I love my church. Well this Sunday Mark was given the opportunity 
to preach; the anointing on him was so powerful. It's a blessing to have such wonderful friends 
who love God as much as I do!
Well it is Marks birthday as well, and since his favorite cake is red velvet I baked him a 
beautiful cake roll; As you can see there are no pictures of it because it didn't completely turn out 
the way I had planned it (the cake was falling apart). Even though the cake wasn't a great success,
 it was devoured in minutes which completely surprised me. That made me feel a little better. 
You know what's even funnier, is that when we got together the first thing we noticed was that 
we matched completely from head to toe (and this happens quite often too).

Happy Birthday Mark!

P.S. that picture of us was snapped by a close friend, I just loved the randomness of it.


Saturday, November 24, 2012

Holiday parade.

Every year the following Saturday after Thanksgiving, my little hometown holds an 
annual holiday parade. It's a tradition for my family to enjoy the parade together and wish everyone
 a Merry Christmas. Since I can remember, it's always been something we all look forward to; I
 preformed in the parade in my middle school years in the color guard, oh all the memories are coming 
back! It's always so warming to see such cheerful neighbors express their holiday cheer. 
Everyone gathers together all snuggled up in their warm winter coats, with their hot coffee, children,
 grandparents, and friends by their side. Happy faces and laughter fill the air; Then soon enough the
 night is over and we wait for another joyful year to come.

Night out with the boys.

Well since mark has family down, we decided to take the night and enjoy ourselves some adventure.
 There's a small hometown sandwich joint called munchies420. I have heard great things 
about the place and the guys wanted to try it out. Overall, great results, full bellies and flavorful 
unique selective menu. Defiantly something I recommend to someone who wants to try something 
out of the ordinary.

The one one the left is a sandwich with Mac and cheese, onion rings, chicken strips,
 2 stacks of burgers, and much more. The right is a pad Thai wrap.



Friday, November 23, 2012

Thanksgiving!

Spent the day preparing for our Thanksgiving lunch and decided to transform into a kangaroo, 
I fit that 24 pound boy in my pouch hehe. I just love how silly my family can be. With a spin of flavors
 and talented woman I will say that this meal was phenomenal. I do say that this year I had to have 
2 big meals in one day. The second one was with marks family that came down from up North.
 It was wonderful to meet some of his relatives and sweet grandma.

I have more than enough things to be thankful for, so here are a few of my favorite....

My church
Growing family
The new addition to my family (nephew)
Smiling at strangers
The strong women in my life that always inspire me
Antique shops
Cold nights
Apples (my obsession)
Cozy slippers
Farmers markets
Tickling

Have a wonderful thanksgiving!

















Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Pumpkin cheesecake.

3 packages of keeblers mini rust rounds
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until fluffy. Gradually add brown sugar, the pumpkin, the vanilla, and the spices. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each one.Simply add the salt, beating until creamy, then pour the mixture evenly into the prepared crust.
Bake for 50-60 minutes.


Topping:
1 1/2 cup of walnuts (or pecans)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon in salted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Bake the nuts until golden brown, on the stove stir brown sugar, butter, and cream on medium heat. Boil it for 1 1/2 minutes; remove from hear and then add vanilla, salt, and nuts. Let it cool for around 15 minutes and then pour on top of the cheese cakes. Refrigerate the cakes for 2 hours once finished.



Monday, November 19, 2012

For Dex.

Looking for a nice/cheesy/uplifting holiday movie to watch??
You might want to check out The Heart of Christmas.
Honestly brought tears to my eyes, very inspirational.

Cherish every day!

Monday.

What my day consisted of. Playfully experimenting with asparagus, as well as with my camera.
 And even though this is my so call relaxing week, I'm still stuck catching up on school work
 (it never ends). And the rest of the evening was taken by Christmas music (don't judge) 
and making stuffed peppers and cabbage rolls. They may have taken up a few hours
 of my day but they were scrumptious. I love having mother daughter bonding time in the kitchen; 
let me tell you something, I don't know any single woman who can cook better than my mama 
(oh she's so amazing). Ok I'm bragging just a littler but I'm being honest. 
I love her.





Sunday.

Sunday we had a few fellow friends get baptized. I have the video up on my Facebook page, you can check it out juliajessicapono@facebook.com

I attended a baby shower as you can see my gift below. Sundays can't get better when your with such wonderful people.

I love wrapping gifts



Sunday, November 18, 2012

Zeal stanzas.

Saturday night I was sitting down enjoying some hot coffee with Mark. 
We were in our own little world for a moment, and for a second after the couple next to us 
left I happened to notice a piece of paper that was left behind. I saw writing but I didn't want 
to touch it because I thought maybe they would come back for it; so I proposed to wait for 
ten minutes before glancing at what was on it. As the time passed, (we were playing Skip-Bo) 
no one came back for the paper we decided to take a look at what was on it. It read on the 
outside, "thank you for the coffee and inspiration." As we went on looking at the other side, this is what was written...


"She is made of porcelain and snowflakes, when you kiss her she melts,
And when you break her she cuts you fragile and sharp and cold and hardened in heat as she is.
She is made for equinox and Apocalypse,
for crossing every border and staying in the same spot forever.
She gives you hundreds of answers to questions he never had and thousands questions without answers.
She is South Pole your North Pole,
And your fingertips touch at the equator, your eyes meet across the silence.
Every time you fight she says "there are a hundred ways to fall love with an idiot, but there's no way to stop it," And she kisses you like she knows you, and maybe she does.

Sometimes she runs away
and that is how you learn to wait, sometime she comes skin to skin and warms the cold feet on your legs.
When you've just fallen asleep
and that is how you learn to dream with your eyes wide open
yes, sometimes she stings like disinfectant in your wounds,
Like loving her is a necessary pain to be healed;
The 3 AM phone calls that make you feel alive again,
when she tells you about a poem she just remembered,
and at times you fall asleep to the sound of her voice and your dreams are fluorescent and light.

She's made of cotton candy and clouds; when you kiss her she's almost too sweet
and when you hold her she is as far away as the sky and as close as a whisper.
She is the one you've never looked for,
but now you can't look away because you know
there's no other possibility than her."
-unknown

How beautiful; gracefully handwritten, from the heart and simply so chivalrous.
 As mark read the words aloud it made me think, how precious it was to have been to receive 
this poem. The warming adoration was breathtaking. Why don't people do these types of things 
more often today; I mean it's so romantic and elegant. Sometimes we need to simply be reminded 
that its the simple things that mean the most, like the words on a page.

Mark just playing around with my glasses.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

No work, Saturday... Oh wait.

Is it bad that I don't want to do my homework? I just want to lay in bed all day, eat 
chocolate chip cookie (and then feel sick and regret it), wrap some Christmas presents early 
and then be mad at myself because I'll have nothing else to wrap in December... Maybe I want to 
bake something, and I know I should be cleaning up my closet (because that's something I have 
been trying to avoid all week) but I don't feel like doing it. I want to keep my booties on
 and watch Christmas movies all day! I simply want to spend the day spending chucks of my money at Hobby Lobby . I would destroy that store in minutes! Oh but a girl 
can only dream, back to my online homework and math problems... I'm counting the days 
until this semester it over, then ill be free.... yippie!

Bianca's birthday.

Since the moment we met in high school I knew that we would have many years of friendship to come! I'm happy to say that this beautiful girl has finally turned 20. These girls are so wonderful it was great to spend the evening with them. For dinner we went out for sushi at Yume, a delicious little sushi joint down on Main Street (if you haven't been there I highly recommend it). The brisk night was perfect, I'm simply loving this weather!










Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Waking on the right side of the bed.

Psalm 100:4-5
"Enter into his the gates with Thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful
unto him and bless his name. For The Lord is good; his mercy is
everlasting; and his truth endures to all the generations."

I love finding scripture that speaks right to you. As I was reading the bible I felt like this verse
really popped out at me. It made me realize that I haven't been thankful enough; if you take
the moment and grasp all of the grace that God has given us, it's so flabbergasting to know
how much he favors us.

This morning I woke up with a craving... Pumkin pie, I know it's early but I have to
perfect my recipe for Thanksgiving so it will be just right!

                                                      3/4 c. Brown sugar
                                                      1/2 tsp. Salt
                                                      1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
                                                      1/4 tsp. Ground Cloves
                                                      A pinch of nutmeg (not required, but I love nutmeg)
                                                      2 Eggs
                                                      2 c. 100% Pure Pumpkin
                                                      1 1/4 Vanilla Almond Breeze
                                                      A 9" Deep Dish Pie Crust

Mix all of the spices and sugar, and in a separate bowl stir the eggs, add everything
 together including the Pumkin purée; then gradually mix the milk in. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.
Then at 350 for an 50 minutes.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Writing from the heart.

Time passes us by quickly; As children we are eager to grow up, anticipating on 
having our own freedom. We desire to bear the privilege of making choices and moving 
forward, looking ahead at the future we behold. We make plans, filling our minds with the 
ideal life we picture forthcoming. From time to time, our very idea of a "perfect life" doesn't come 
into existence. Though we struggle to scrape our feelings and desires back into place, we recognize
 the challenges that we begin to face as we flourish into the character that we have become. 
The embarking journey of mellowing, teaches us that as time progresses there may be
 moments where we have no control of what is to come; with this, we embark on shaping 
our identity and begin to understand that we simply want to be children all over again. 
As the perplexity of grey hairs introduce themselves and creep into our lives, we fathom 
the beauty of life. With this foresight, I shall dwell upon wisdom bringing me to 
delight in the seasons of my life with pleasure everyday.

Happy Veterans Day!

This morning we decided to do something spontaneous and started early; we went out for 
breakfast to this cute little cafe called Upper Crust Organic Cafe & Bakery. I was drawn in by the beautiful baked goods that were behind the windows (I can never say no to fresh pastries); With so manychoices, and such hard decisions, we went with the cheese cake brownie 
(I wasn't a big fan of it, but mark really enjoyed it). Most of all I fancied the way mark made 
me laugh more than anything, he sure knows how to make me grin. I promise you anytime 
we are out-and-about he literally makes everyone's day! For instance, last weekend we 
went out for a birthday party in Osprey that was at a park 
(it's was one were you had to pay for admission). 
When we were pulling in Mark was being the sweet man that 
he is, strikes a proper joyful conversation with the woman and she let us In for free 
(not a big deal but still very kind). You know what she said, "since you have such a sweet 
smile I'm gonna let you go in for free." The whole point of my story is that people really love his graciousness; I thank God for the wonderful warmhearted man that he is.

After we finished our food we walked around and enjoyed some small town shopping 
(always a favorite thing we enjoy doing). Personally there were some great finds that we 
purchased today along with some new raspberry chipotle sauce that we will be in our bellies later.

Oh and to all the veterans out there, thank you for your service we appreciate all that you do for this country!

Make my day!

Perfect weekend night is going to the beach on a beautiful starry night to enjoy the
cold front with a little bonfire. Oh and a delicious cup if black coffee.
Ahh I will be sleeping like a baby tonight!