Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson's Blog, page 19

Week-Ending: A Commonplace Book

http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnation...











“Promise me you will not spend so much time treading water and trying to keep your head above the waves, that you forget, truly forget....how much you have always loved to swim.”



Tyler Knott Gregson -






This is today's quote from Values.com.



Being a former competitive swimmer, this quote touched me deeply and woke a few dormant memories in my brain, and reminded me that rather than embrace worry and fear, it's best to stop treading water, wondering if I am going to drown.



And much more productive to start swimming and see where that takes me.



At the very least, I won't be in the same place.

FREE - MRS. TUESDAY'S DEPARTURE ON AMAZON.COM

Wednesday through Friday, Mrs. Tuesday's Departure is FREE on Amazon.com ebook.



It's also being featured on Free Kindle Books and Tips.com



Enjoy!

Make Your Voice Heard. Vote!

On Tuesday we will choose the person who will lead our great country for the next four years.




And here's what we all need to remember...every vote is equal. 




No matter whether you are a billionaire or pensioner, each vote carries the same weight. 













When you step into the voting booth, no one will look over your shoulder to see who you chose. 




Not your boss, who might want you to vote his way. 




Or your friends and family, who encourage you to vote their way.




It is your opportunity to make your voice hear about the issues that are important to you.




In the privacy of the voting booth, you are as powerful as the richest person in the world. 




Because each vote counts the same.




So, exercise your power.













If you can take advantage of early voting between now and Tuesday, vote.




If you have to stand in a long line on Tuesday, vote.




Whatever it takes, make your voice heard. 




In an election this close, you are the most powerful person in America.




We all are.

Giveaway for Audible.com Version of God Loves You. -Chester Blue

My first giveaway went so well that I'm doing another one! To celebrate the launch of the audiobook version of God Loves You. -Chester Blue, I'm giving away a copy from Audible.com.



If you're interested in listening to this really wonderful telling of Chester Blue's story by the incredibly talented Ralph Morocco, please sign up below.



The giveaway runs through Monday, October 29th.



Thank you!





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Week-ending: A Commonplace Book

I'm digging deep for inspiration this weekend and finding it everywhere.



From the audiobook I'm listening to in the car while I run around town doing errands: Three Feet from Gold a modern day retelling of the classic Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill..I got this quote:



"Goals are just dreams until you write them down." 



So, I'm writing down my goals for the 4th Quarter this weekend.



And then this very inspiring girl-power video from Alicia Keys...Girl on Fire











What's inspiring you this weekend?

Turkey Two-fers: Meatloaf and Meatballs

Suzanne betrays her love of carbs with the world's largest scoop of smashed potatoes













We've been cooking with 'lighter' meats as part of our plan to help Mom drop her cholesterol and me to lose weight.




We've also discovered that instead of making one large dish, we can get creative and create two different dishes and freeze one. 




Which is exactly what we did here. We made a small turkey, sausage meatloaf that the two of us could share with a little bit leftover for lunch the following day.




And then, using the other half of the same mixture, we made 24 meatballs that we baked and then froze in bags of six apiece for quick spaghetti and meatball dinners at some time in the future.




Best of all, we incorporated diced, sautéed vegetables into the turkey/sausage mix to make both dishes extra healthy.























Turkey Two-fer: Meatballs and Meatloaf







Ingredients:




1 lb of ground turkey




1 lb of ground italian style pork sausage




1/2 cup oatmeal or breadcrumbs




1 egg




1/2 - 1 bell pepper (red, green, or orange) diced




1/2 medium onion diced




1 cup frozen chopped broccoli  thawed and diced




1 cup diced carrots




Season to taste with: garlic powder, salt, pepper, italian seasoning







Assembly:




Sauté the vegetables lightly until just softened. Then let cool.




Combine turkey, sausage, oatmeal, and egg. Mix together gently.




Fold in the sautéed vegetables.







For the meatloaf:




Form a small loaf with 1/2 the meat mixture. Place in baking dish. Drape a couple pieces of bacon over the top of the bacon. 




Bake at 375 for 1 hour.










For the meatballs:




Form the remaining meat mixture into meatballs (size of your choosing).




Place on parchment lined baking pan.




Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.




Freeze after cooling.

Week-ending: A Commonplace Book

Experience joy this weekend.



Try something new.



Have fun, just for the sake of fun.



 Maybe this will inspire you...



And then share the results with the rest of us in the comments below!





 

Listening to God

Listening to God - 7 October 2012











Every so often I have a meaningful insight from my year-long walk through the Bible, which I'm recording on my other blog: http://onewomanswalkthroughthebible.b... One Woman's Walk Through the Bibleand I want to share it here as well. 






Verses from Today's Reading:

Jeremiah 6:16-17

Stop at the crossroads and look around.
Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.
But you reply, 'No, that's not the road we want!'

I posted watchmen over you who said,
'Listen for the sound of the alarm.'
But you replied, 'No! We won't pay attention!'


Colossians 2:8-10

Don't let anyone capture you
with empty philosophies and
high-sounding nonsense that come from
human thinking and from the spiritual
power of this world, rather than from
Christ.

For in Christ lives all the fullness
of God in a human body. So you also are
complete though your union with Christ, who is the
head over every ruler and authority.


Reflection: 

Lately, I've switched from the Daily Walk Bible to the One Year Bible (NLT) which includes readings from the Old and New Testament, along with a Psalm and Proverb. And what I've been struck by is that often there will be a reading in the New Testament that echoes a message that spoke to me first in the Old Testament.

That was the case with today's reading.

What practical advice I received in the passage from Jeremiah! It reminded me that so often I ask God for an answer to prayer, and then when I receive it, I say, 'No, no, that's not what I had in mind...I wanted a different answer.' As if answers from God were like slips of paper pulled from a fortune cookie. If you don't like the first answer, open the next cookie and see what that one says.

In this passage, God reminds me that if I walk in the Godly path he has shown me, everything will be okay.

The New Testament passage from Colossians expands on this lesson by reminding me that I shouldn't allow myself to get caught up in the latest fads in thought, in trying to find my own way, but that through Christ, we have all that we need and that he will guide me.

Week-ending: A Commonplace Book

Famous first lines:





Then there was the bad weather. It would come in one day when the fall was over. We would have to shut the windows in the night agains the rain and the cold wind would strip the leaves from the trees in the Place Contrescarpe.





A Moveable Feast

-Ernest Hemingway

What do you like about people?

More Essays on Writing from my Orangeberry Book Tour







When I first saw this essay topic I chuckled to myself.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am incredibly reclusive, and am generally
more comfortable with the company of my three dogs than a room full of people.




Which is not a bad thing for someone whose occupational
requirements entail spending hours in front a computer, working in quiet, with
only a little background music cable news for white noise.




And yet.




As a writer, I must my imagination is full of people, since
they make up the characters that populate my stories and their wants and needs
and foibles must be as real as my own or my friends, or I don’t have a story to
tell.




Which is why it’s good to have an active imagination. But
also why it’s necessary for me to leave my home office once in a while, or
more, and get out and interact with real live humans. And why it’s even more
important for me to have friends and family and relationships that have ups and
downs and evolve over time, just like they do in stories.




For the record, spending endless hours on Facebook or
Twitter doesn’t count. While both venues are a wonderful way to exchange
greetings, share information, or simply blow off steam, they lack the depth of
face-to-face interactions that we need to fully express our range of emotions. I’ve
yet to experience that wonderful story-arc of friendship through any strictly
online venue.




In the end, what we really need is human interaction in the
real time-space plane. From there we can blossom and then have something to
share. Which is why, despite all my introversion, I treasure the time I spend
with friends and family.




What makes a compelling story is the ability to capture the
worries and joys that we have in real life and share them with others who are
experiencing the same. In doing so, we no longer feel alone. Our life
experiences are shared through our stories.