Gourmet Pizza, Friends, and Fun

At the beginning of the year, there was one thing on the minds of me and several other ladies: Action. Each of us have different stories; whether individually or collectively we'd been seeking to know the Lord more and more. Books, Bible studies, accountability, church activities, and more had been apart of our lives We all want to be examples to others of Biblical womanhood, but standing alone, attempting to become the Proverbs 31 prototype can all too often begin to feel dreadful and burdensome. Where was the joy? (Or maybe that's just me...?)

Either way, on January 2nd, me and four other ladies gathered around my best friend's table and tossed around different things that personified biblical womanhood to each of us (Biblically based, of course). We also shared goals for the year, both spiritually and otherwise, things we want to learn, and prayer requests. Once all of this was laid out, we submitted it all before the Lord in prayer, leaving our goals and desires at His feet for Him to do with them as He saw fit during the year of 2012. Though we weren't sure how it would all play out, we knew one thing. We were actually going to ACT. We collectively determined that by putting feet to our faith during 2012, this year, even more so than previous years, would actually be one of action. Actually. Action.

Photo credits go to Treneka,
who needs to make a website for her awesome photography!

One thing that was a general consensus is that we all gotta work on our cooking! Haha. So it's set up where each month a different person will "host" an event or outing that coincides with something we discussed early in the year. What better way to start than by food and fellowship!? My best friend (who's also my Maid of Honor! sidenote, hehe) hosted the first one, and made it a Chicken Pizza Night. It was a great turnout, and we ended up being able to catch up with some we haven't seen in years! We each brought an ingredient and made everything but the dough from scratch! We ended up making three pizzas! They were DELISH. We got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman, who we all know (or...anyone who knows who she is!) is an amazing cook!

Photo credits go to Treneka, who needs to make a website for her awesome photography!

 There are so many more things we want to do together to grow as young women to the glory of the Lord, and I think this was a great kick off! Actually Action is actually happening!

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant or to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God,

 who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 

Command them to do go and to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

 ~1 Tim. 6:18-19

How are you ready to Actually Act this year?

Thanksgiving Comes 365 Days A Year

I had such a great Thanksgiving with my family! Unfortunately, my hermanita and her husband weren't with us this year, but my boo and I got to do most of the food prep this year together, which kinda made up for that, haha. Even though we should be thankful every single day out of the year, it is extra special to have a day set aside to celebrate the manifold blessings the Lord pours out on us! No matter our circumstances, the sovereignty of God alone is a reason to rejoice and give thanks! 

Elijah made the green bean casserole this year, and it turned out delicious!!! Making it is pretty straightforward ...unless of course your can opener is broken. Ahhh!! Thanksgiving day issues!! Well the Favorite was able to put his knife skills to the test, and at a safe distance I watched as he chopped open the can of green beans, hehehe. 'Twas quite entertaining, I must say. Just glad he didn't lose any appendages!!

He was so intent on it!! How adorable. :) 

I made cranberry sauce from scratch, as I have been for the past few years now. Turned out tasty, but for whatever reason the two bags of cranberries I got from the store made sooo much more sauce than it has in years past!! Weird... Funny story though -  When the Favorite and I went to the store to get the cranberries, as we were approaching the produce section, all of a sudden A BIRD FLEW OUT OF THE GRAPES!! Yes, there was a bird in the grocery store, hiding out in the grapes, eating them! Guess we scared it off! We just looked at each other and busted out laughing. I'm still chuckling to myself now just thinking about it!!

We decided to go the pre-cooked turkey route, primarily thanks to the hermanita and brother in law getting our turkey for us! I am SO glad it was precooked too, because I really wasn't feeling like putting in the work this year to do it from scratch, hehe. It was really quite tasty, though. Yay Butterball!

Now, check out these before and after pics of these rolls we get every year! You butter them, let them thaw, let them rise, then bake them!! We ended up letting them rise for a SUPER long time so they went from 

THIS...

to THIS....

Hahah!! They were pretty much swelling up over the pan! It was fun to poke them though; they were definitely the most abnormally plush rolls I've ever had! Tasted really good fresh out the oven though!

Pretty much all the food is ready to eat....

Mr. Turkey and Mrs. Ham....

Joshua planted himself right in front of the turkey, and I can't say I blame him! I was ready to eatttt....

My hubby to be is just too cute. :)

Erin's home from Howard for Thanksgiving break!! Not to into taking pics right now... but once the food's getting served, smiles pop up all around!! 

My mommy is so pretty! And she got her braces off! Look at that sparkly white smile! :-D

Daddy insisted on getting some dishes done RIGHT before we were about to eat!! Typical, hehe. He's looking forward to dinner, too, especially since we were eating around 5:30 instead of our typical late dinner :-/ 

Smiles :-)

Yep, that's my plate. And that's not even all the food!! That's just all I could fit on my plate at the time... (sidenote, my dad makes the BEST sweet potatoes in the WORLD!!)

Our food preferences are quite different, and we're still learning to adjust! But included a few of my Favorite's  choices on the Thanksgiving menu this year, so yay :)

She kept trying to sneak extra ham!! But I caught her in the act ;-)

There's me!! Haven't quite made a dent in my food yet though... 

Falling into a food coma... 

The Favorite is falling into a food coma, too! 

I HAD to make some ice blue raspberry lemonade koolaid :)

Erin and Daddy having fun dancing off the food! :) So sweet.

Hope all of my readers also had a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving this year!! Anything special happen? What'd you do? I'd love to hear! Next up...CHRISTMAS! :-)

O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!!  ~Psalm 30:12b

Yes, I'm Still Here!

Just in case anyone was wondering I have not fallen off the face of the earth or disappeared into world wide web oblivion. What's that you say, no one was wondering? Ah, who cares. :)

Life has been bizzaayyy lately, and Lord knows I want to blog more frequently but unfortunately it just keeps getting pushed further down on the priorities list. Can I give you some highlights though? ...I'll give them to you anyway!

This busy woman you see right here is me. Though I totally should've totally  photoshopped my  face in and used Paint (the program...not actual paint!) to color her arms brown. Eh, oh well, you get the picture. P.S., thanks Google Images!

I GOT MY WEDDING DRESS! Today actually. And lemme tell you it is lovely!! I went the non-traditional route and bought my otherwise insanely expensive way outside my budget dress used! Sites like recycledbride and oncewed are ahh-mazing, wish I woulda come up with the idea for those sites!

I've been cooking more! Yes, I could've put that in all caps, but to be honest, it just doesn't come across quite as epically (is that a word??) as something like getting a wedding dress. However, I've made all sorts of tasty things lately, like fried smothered pork chops, deviled eggs (more about that delicious disaster in another post), brownies, cakes, and more! I really do enjoy cooking...when I feel like it lol. I should probably try cooking more things my babe likes to eat since, ya know, we're getting married and all. Eh, he can try new things ;-)

I changed the name of my blog!! Now if you didn't notice this, please don't tell me. Just pretend like you were shocked when all of a sudden you clicked on my page and *GASP* My Life: Perpetua was gone!! I like the new title though, don't you? Maybe you'll like it even better once I explain why I actually changed it. Hehe.

I've got a bug! ...a shopping bug that is! I never used to be too big into shopping for clothes and shoes, though I did like purchasing things now and then. Ya see, I typically preferred to break my budget on something more temporarily satisfying such as say...yummy food! But now, I have a problem. A serious one. Hi, my name is Ashley, and I am addicted to TJMaxx! Lol. I'm serious though! Now I like to buy clothes, shoes, AND food, and my Things Remembered budget is getting squeezed to the Maxx! (yes, pun intended! corny, I know) One look at my purchases though, and I can't say I feel too bad. Girl's gotta look good, right? ...scratch that. Girl's gotta (help) save for the wedding and the future and college and ahhh! Okay, honest truth, it's just a couple cute splurges now and then ;-)

I'M GETTING MARRIED!! Yeah, I know that's not new news, but I think have good reason to be ecstatic! I love my man, and I do not exaggerate when I say I CAN.NOT. WAIT! to be his wife. I'm gonna be a MRS.!! I always thought Mrs. sounded old. Whatever, I'll take this matronly title any day. Well, in 123 days, to be exact... :-)

There is so so much more I want to share! God has really been teaching me so much it's crazy and exciting and painful and refining and ahhhh so much good stuff. I really want to discipline myself to make time for writing more, because I love to do it, I want to blog! Sounds easy peasy, right? Now to actually get 'er done!

Now about that time discipline thing? It's 1:53 a.m., which equals past my bedtime. Which is also about to equal either laying down in bed and watching something on Netflix  or laying down in bed and reading The Broker by John Grisham. Which is better? Well, seeing that the last time I watched Netflix before bed I watched For Colored Girls and went to bed depressed, I'll probably go for the book. Anyone else see the movie? Wait, don't respond to that question! I'll have to post about that movie at a later time, and you can talk then. In the meantime, I need to go to bed! :-)

I Miss Blogging!

I've allowed myself to get "too busy" to blog, and I simply don't like it! I'll attempt to catch you guys up with all you missed during the end of January, the month of February, and the beginning of March!



This was me while I was sick. Except I'm not white.
 And I'm not blonde either. In case you didn't already know! ;)
Photo courtesy of Google Images

Well, I got super sick around the last week of January and lost at least ten pounds! Those of you who haven't ever seen me in person don't realize that means I weighed a whopping 93 pounds! It was quite scary; Much to my dismay, I could tell my clothes were bigger on me! I am QUITE thankful that I got over that little bug I had and have gained most of the weight back! I am trying to stay on top of taking better care of my body. Right now I'm attempting to do this by monitoring what I'm putting into my body (i.e., foods and vitamins) but I hope to soon get my bike out of storage and get back to riding it! Now there is an exercise I actually enjoy :)

Photo courtesy of Google Images

A few weeks prior to this happening, I got a new job! But it just so happens that I was sick during that first week I was supposed to start, so I ended up starting late. The Lord worked it all out though! So I've been at this job for a little over a month now; time sure does fly by!

Three main highlights of February: the 5th, the 14th, and the 18th! February 5th marked two years that the Favorite (also known as Jeremiah) and I have been "officially" courting/dating! We had a fantastically fun day spent enjoying an overcrowded IHOP, exploring a nearly deserted in-need-of-tearing-down mall, laughing and joking in a photography studio (maybe I'll post pictures at a later date!), and lots of talking in between! I so enjoyed that day ;)

When I got in the car, the Favorite had a
pretty pink rose on the seat!

We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day on that Friday the 18th instead of on Monday the 14th, and that was sooo fun! We both dressed up which is always fun (he look quite dashing, I might add, hehe)! He picked me up from work, and in the car I was met with an abundance of chocolates AND chocolate covered strawberries, YES! :) We went and picked up the pictures we had taken on the 5th, and also purchased 4 (yes, you read that right - f-o-u-r) purses! Before you get on my case, let me tell you the total price for those FOUR purses: less than 20 bucks! Oh, and they weren't all for me, f.y.i. :)


Chocolate covered strawberries from Godiva AND cakelove!

The Favorite hadn't told me where we were going for dinner in advance, but once we were almost there, he shared the name of the place and let. me. tell. you. I was THRILLED. It was a Brazilian steakhouse called Fogo de Chao in DC. Each of us was given a card--one side red, one side green. When the green side was facing up on the table, the servers constantly came to the table to give us different cuts of meat!! Our taste buds were on overload (in the best possible way), so after awhile we had to flip that card over to the red side to simply rest from eating! The environment was wonderful, and I loved the bathrooms (I have this thing for really nice bathrooms...don't ask. Actually, ask away if you so desire, hehe). We had so much fun there; I loved it. (And I would HIGHLY recommend it to any and everyone! ...assuming you aren't a vegetarian, hehe.) We closed out the night by going to a small jazz club called Twins Jazz. It was so relaxing to just sit, chat, and take in the live jazz being played. What an exciting, memorable night!

At Twins Jazz in DC. I love the red behind us! :) 

Another exciting thing about that Friday the 18th is that it was my spiritual birthday! I turned 10 years old in "spiritual years." I am so thankful for that sermon my pastor preached when I was in the sixth grade that opened my eyes to my need of grace and forgiveness from my Lord Jesus Christ. What a journey it has been since then! My prayer is that 10 years from now every single day will show more growth than the day before in my walk with the Lord.

Well, those are the highlights of my February!! It's so hard to believe we're almost halfway into MARCH! Time sure does fly by! I would love to hear if there have been any exciting updates or changes in you guys' lives in the past few weeks and month(s)!

Clearly I'm Losing It

Written earlier today! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! :) 

Someone pinch me. Please. Actually, scratch that. Whenever I actually tell someone to pinch me and they make a motion to do so, that's usually a good enough dose of reality for me, ha.

I CAN'T BELIEVE TOMORROW IS THANKSGIVING DAY!!

There. I got it out. See, I knew Thanksgiving was tomorrow, in my head. (I mean, where else would you know it?) But then it hit me. WHAM!!!! Yeah, it was THAT big, all caps with extra exclamation points.

TOMORROW IS THANKSGIVING!

Okay so by this point you're probably wondering if there's a point to this post, and I'm beginning to question that myself as a matter of fact. Hmm...

*insert Jeopardy music*

Well guys, after some pondering I've figured out why the fact that THANKSGIVING IS TOMORROW!!! is so startling to me. It really goes to show how quickly time flies! This time last year, I was not in the best state. I had a broken relationship, both with God and the Favorite, which was extra emotional but a huge period of growth for me (which, looking back, I can say I'm extremely grateful for!). This time last year I was finishing out a semester in school, and I haven't been back since! This time last year, I was 20 (ha!) and I was living with a close friend in DC. So many changes! I've had so many ups and downs and arounds since last Thanksgiving, and now I look back and I'm just struck with the reality that all those months have passed between then and now, never to be returned to! (...not that I want to return lol...and sorry for my serious run-on sentence!)

In the midst of all these things, both past and present, I can always find way more things to be thankful for than anything else. I just have an incredible amount of GRATEFULNESS and THANKFULNESS to God for His sovereignty in every situation I've faced! In my life, EVERY day is Thanksgiving. :)

Photo courtesy of Google Images

....well, except for the giant meal.

Ten Years and Counting!

Time flies so quickly, and it can be so hard to realize it until it's passed. This past weekend I had the privilege of celebrating my church's 10th anniversary, woohoo! God has done some awesome things through the ministry at Trinity Baptist Church. For one, this is the church where I accepted Christ as my Lord and personal Savior! (PRAISE HIIIM!!) Pastor Eddie (who also happens to be my best friend's dad-pretty cool, eh?) preached a sermon about heaven and hell, and I realized that even though I had a complete head knowledge of salvation, I had never truly accepted Jesus Christ into my heart, making me unsure of my eternal destination. So on February 18th, 2001, I entered into the family of God, and it was the best decision I ever made. Ever. :) So yeah, it's been awesome growing up in one place, from junior high, to the teen class, to the A-Z Discipleship class, until I left for college! And even then whenever I'd come home I knew I could find a home at Trinity. There's definitely an awesome body of believers there.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to capture all of the photos I wanted of the church's anniversary service, but at least I took some! The day before the Sunday service there was a really nice dinner for all the members and some guests, so this is where the pictures are from.

The tables were so nicely decorated!

I was pretty much in love with the drink fountains. :) 

These were the centerpieces for the tables. The glass containers were filled with mustard seeds, representative of the faith we've had in God to make it this far as a church to further God's kingdom! Very creative and symbolic.

I pretty much loves the rose balloons.

A few of the teens.

The parents! :) 

Blurry, but the praise team is singing.

My pastor is on the left, Pastor Reynolds is in the center. (He's the pastor of Trinity's sending church!) Pastor Davis is on the end. He preached on anniversary Sunday.

Me and Pastor Eddie!

Whether I'm at Trinity or somewhere else in the future, I know that the more Trinity grows together in the Lord, the more it will be able to do for God's kingdom! She may not be a huge church, but she's impacting the community with the gospel of Christ in a great way, and because of that God is glorified. Looking forward to seeing all that happens in the next ten years! ;-)