It's the Middle of March?!?!?!?!

I know I'm not the only one who gets behind in blogging.
But, dang; I sure dislike when I do. Here's a summary update:

February Food -- I made a delicious Strawberry Cake for Valentines Day! I was supposed to do something 'red' AND 'velvet' for the monthly baking fun with my sister but my mind blanked on the 'velvet' part. Ooops! Oh well: the recipe is super simple and the cake is the ultimate in moistness and fluffiness :) YUMMY! That should make up for it's lack of 'velvet-y-ness', right?!

Here's some pics and the recipe:





Strawberry Cake
1 pkg white cake mix
4 whole eggs
1 10-oz pkg frozen strawberries
1c veg oil
1/2c water
4T flour
1 box strawberry jello mix
1 stick butter
2-3c powdered sugar

Thaw strawberries and mash. Reserve about 5T for icing. Mix cake mix, eggs, strawberries, oil, water, flour, & Jello mix for 2 mins. Bake in greased and floured 9X13" pan (or a large heart-shaped pan like I did!) at 325* for 40-45 mins. Cool. For frosting, simply stir reserved strawberries, soft butter, and powdered sugar together. Ice the cooled cake and enjoy!

Book Update: I finished "Loving Our Kids On Purpose" mid-February. As was the rest of the book, it was also a great finish. My husband is finishing it this month and then I'll post a final review of our together thoughts! We have had a lot of good parenting discussions already :) I'm now reading books along the idea of developing leaders and widening ones circle of influence. "Awakening the Sleeping Giant", "Principle-Centered Leadership", and "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" have been recommended to me thus far so I'm diving in. I'm also reading my husband and I's second "together book": The Time-Starved Marriage by Parrot and Parrot. Next post should have a lot of book updates/reviews!

This week is Spring Break from my Counseling job (not my 2nd job but I'll take what I can get!); Paul and I are heading down to southern MO - Eminence, MO to be exact - for a 2-day retreat. We are staying in an old mill on the Jacks Fork River that has been converted to a cabin. I. Am. Thrilled! There is no better way for me to relax than to be in the middle of nowhere, no cell phone signal, no WiFi - just books, running shoes, and my husband.

I'm the most blessed woman, I just know it ...