All Church Picnic!

So this Sunday we had our all church picnic... The theme was "Welcome to the rain forest" to help tie into VBS...

One of the guys at church is a very talented decorator so he laid out really nice plans for the picnic. The mission action board was asked to help with setup along with the women's league... it was a fun team!

We got to church at 7am and the city had blocked off the street so that we could set up the picnic tables and stuff... Each table had awesome place mats, napkins, bright table clothes, and centerpieces featuring fun facts about the rain forest. We even added real palm fronds for an earthy feel...

There were bounce houses, face painting and games for the kids...

And a live jazz band...

All under the umbrellas formed by the trees it was a really awesome setting...

I got busy grilling and hanging out when the party got started after church and didn't get any more pictures... but a fun time was had by all...

Seviche!

I hadn't made seviche in a long time and we wanted something light and cool on Saturday so I whipped some up...


Fresh red onion:
Crab, shrimp, tomato, cilantro and lots of lime!

So delish... served with Mrs. Sanders favorite chips...

Summer Sunshine...

It was such a lovely day out today! Mimi and Barb convinced me to sneak out to the mall after lunch for a quick Pinkberry snack...

The boss man was out of the office so we literally sat there, lifeless, in the warm sun for an hour... just watching the people go by... it was so nice...

Double Grilled Cheeseburger...

So Albert called the other day and wanted to hang out this week... I haven't seen my bud in at least a month so I told him to meet me at my place for a big fat dinner... I saw on the news recently that a restaurant on the east coast had developed a cheeseburger that utilized two grilled cheese sandwiches in lieu of a bun... I thought it a perfect meal for a night like tonight!

I got all the fixings ready for the burgers...

I also made some hand cut fries to go with the burgers...

I dressed mine with mayo, lettuce, tomato and pickle...

Albert did the same to his thick grilled cheese...

When the burgers came off the grill I piled my sandwich high...

Albert didn't quite know where to start...

Honestly we didn't even need the fries... but the were so good and crunchy!

The cheese oozing out of the sandwiches, and in conjunction with the mayonnaise and crunchy lettuce, it was AMAZING...

I have to say this was probably one of the most decadent things I have ever eaten... It's now a couple hours after we finished eating and I feel horrible... so full! I feel like grease is seeping from every pore in my body... ohh what a wild ride!

Baby Kits for Haiti...

Although the earthquake was some time ago the need in Haiti is still so great... The Mission and Social Action board I am a part of took on the task of making baby kits to send to Haiti, which was no small task...

Each kit contains two cloth diapers, a little unisex outfit, booties, a hat, and a bib, all wrapped in a receiving blanket fastened with safety pins for the diapers...

Donations came in slow and the helpers were few at the beginning, then all of a sudden someone in church wrote a $1000 check to get the project jump started... God is so amazing how he works in peoples hearts... The women of "Threads of Love" got busy with all the new material and finished a lot of the sewing...

We had a get together this Sunday between and after services to assemble the kits and were able to complete 50!

They will go to the regional UCC conference where hundreds of additional kits will be added and shipped to Haiti in the name of our Lord... It blesses my heart so much to do these types of things... we are so spoiled here, we have so much...

Saturday Fry Fest...

So I was in the mood for a delicious fry fest today... I had some nice chicken breasts on hand so I cut them into little strips...

as I whipped up a savory beer batter my mind wandered to what else I could coat and fry in the sudsy goodness... then it hit me = potatoes! I cut some nice thick wedges and tossed them in with the chicken...

I also cut some nice thick onion rings to use up the rest of the batter.... With little cups of ketchup and ranch we all ate till we were full!

Feeding the Hungry...

So Sunday afternoon I had my first event with the board of missions and social action... One of my fellow board members has a ministry where they feed the hungry in Pomona on Sundays... He nudged me after the meeting a week ago and asked if I would be willing to help...

I was overjoyed by the thought... I made a huge pan of vegetables and headed down to the school where the meal was going to be held... The spread was pretty sweet; chicken, veggies, salad, rice, and desserts... it was nice to work along side other people from church...


It was slow in the beginning, then the line really formed... we ended up feeding 57 families and giving all the food we had away... It was awesome to meet and love on the people... some were really down and out and very appreciative...

I thought of Leviticus 23:22 as I drove home with a full heart... I like what this board stands for, and I like that we are focused on helping those in need; near and far...

Coconut Shrimp...

So I made Paula Deen's coconut shrimp for the Memorial Day BBQ and they turned out just great. I wanted to make them again for Carmen the next Saturday so I gathered all the ingredients and set up my workstation...

I took a shrimp, then into flour, then egg wash, then a thick coat of coconut...

Per her suggestion I laid them out on a tray and let them solidify in the freezer for a little bit...

I also made a lovely sweet and savory dip using Mexican sour cream and a can of crushed pineapple...

I served them with the dip, cocktail sauce and lovely deep fried buttered biscuits...

Not sure what the difference was but the coconut got really dark this time around, they were still delicious!