creative streak the past few weeks.

The past 2 weeks or so I've done a few paintings. They have been New Orleans or South Louisiana inspired.

water meter


New Orleans shotgun house




Freshwater crab

My new coffee table.

This chest was given to me by my grandmother. It was her Aunt's. When she got married, all of her belongings went into it. I cleaned it off and sealed it. The inside stinks so I can't store anything in it, but I am using it as a coffee table and I love it! I also made a cover for the top.

Mexican Casserole

My cousins, Lea and Jordan Deglandon, and I made up this recipe when we were around 10. Technically, Lea would be 11, me 10, and Jordan 9. My little brother loves it and so do I. I've been making it a lot lately because my roommate, Ashleigh, loves mexican and loves this recipe.

Mexican Casserole

1 can of refried beans
10-12 small flour tortillas
1 jar of salsa
4 cups of shredded cheese (less if you don't like the loads of cheese on top)
1 pound of ground beef or ground turkey
1 package of taco seasoning
Sour cream as desired for topping

Preheat oven at 350. Empty jar of salsa at bottom casserole dish. Mix can of refried beans with 1 cup of shredded cheese and heat on stovetop stirring constantly to melt the cheese in the beans. Spread mixture onto tortillas and roll up placing into casserole dish on top of salsa. Brown ground meat and then season with taco seasoning. Pour on top of tortillas and then top with cheese. Put in the oven until cheese is melted. Garnish with avocado and/or sour cream.

Health update

No more Horomone Replacement Therapy! Yay! Cysts are down to less than a 1/4" and the bleeding is back to normal. I feel like this calls for a celebration. No more hot flashes, no more irritability, and no more menopausal feelings. lol.

I have other symptoms that I'd rather not disclose on a blog, but those seem to be under control for the most part. I have a colonoscopy in October to see if I have ulcers or possibly Chron's disease.

Can I please have a break?

My body is driving me nuts. I am on a hormone pill called Provera and the side effects are driving me out of my mind. Insomnia, rages of tears, hot flashes, confusion, headaches. This is ridiculous, but it is working for what it is intended to do. Well, hopefully. I have huge cysts on my left ovary which is making me bleed 20 days of the month... not fun. So... the bleeding is better and hopefully the size of the stupid things have gone down by my August appointment. I am thankful that the pills are only 10 days out of the month... but it takes nearly a week for it to get out of my system. so here's to another week of side effects.

My mind is disorganized and I am emotional... which is not helping with the schoolwork. Summer school with 6 hours was a huge mistake. So much to do and my brain doesn't seem to want to function. My prayers are daily for the Lord to organize my thoughts so that I can function. The semester is 8 weeks long and for 6 of those weeks, I am in the midst of menopause. lol. I hope I only have to take the medicine for a month or so more... I'm not sure I could do this the rest of my life. I'd rather live with the pain and bleeding from the cyst. lol. but apparently, those cysts can cause damage and prevent you from getting pregnant. And I know I want to have children, Lord willing.

I am taking 2 grad classes this summer-- which by the way is ridiculous, in case you didn't get it the first time. A lot of reading (which I feel like I'm only doing half of it) and a lot of writing (which I hate). To top it off... my heavy courseload is a class called Grief and Loss Counseling. lol... it is pretty depressing and I'm already an emotional wreck.

I'm going to try to sleep for a few hours before work in 4 hours. Goodnight all.

In the next 10 years...

My "homework" assignment in therapy this week was to make a list of things I would want to do in the next 10 years. and things that make me happy... so here it is. I will be 34 years old and the year will be 2020

In the next 10 years:
-Have a career in Counseling
-Pay off all debt
-Travel: Italy, Australia, the UK, Hawaii, the Caribbean
-go camping in Yellowstone Park
-go on a cruise
-Buy a Craftsman Style house (preferably with a pool and hot tub)
-I'd like to get married
-have children
-home school my children
-grow and maintain a vegetable garden
-give blood
-go skiing
-take a spontaneous trip (get on a plane and plan as i go once i get there)
-Plant a fruit tree
-sell a painting
-hike to a waterfall
-a kiss on new years eve


Things that make me happy:
-smell of gardenias and orange blossoms
-Orchids
-Magnolias
-Stephanotis
-handwritten letters
-sleeping outside
-smiling eyes
-being creative
-crabbing
-fishing
-smell of the ocean
-fresh, clean, cold sheets
-cooking for a crowd
-pedicures
-decorating my home
-falling asleep naturally






I'd like to eventually:(not necessarily in the next 10 years)
-travel to every continent except Antartica.
-Travel: I'd like to go see the Grand Canyon, the Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, Fields of Montana, Redwood forest, Niagra Falls, The Great Barrier Reef
-adopt a child

Womanhood

I really should do more writing, but lately I feel I haven't any time.

The Lord is really speaking to me lately about my womanhood. Because of some recent developments in the physical medical perspective, I've been praying and weeping that God would allow me to have children and he would heal me. I was defining my "womanhood" on whether I could have children. In all reality, my role and purpose as a woman is defined by His first words when creating Eve. He called her a "helper". You see at my core and the essence of a woman, my role is a helper. By my very nature, I am a helper. This helper isn't just a serving helper... which is very important. In Genesis 2:18, God uses the words: "It is not good for man to be alone, I will create a helper suitable for him." That word helper in greek is Ezer.

ezer (greek)- Help meet, helper suitable, companion, counterpart, comparable, fit, just right, ally, support
Scripture has three main types of “helpers”
1. Helper- PILLAR- to set securely on high, support and affirm husband and children. Ps. 20:2, Ps. 144:12, Proverbs 31
2. Helper- Protector- shield of fath, protector of life and community, protector children, protect from temptation. Ps. 33:20, Eph. 6:10-20
3. Helper- Defender- in prayer and truth Deut. 33:7

Also notice that... The first part of the verse is "it is not good for man to be alone..." God created many things in the beginning and said "it is good", but he saw that man was not yet complete without this other gender. A gender of gentle support, affirmation, and life.

My role as a woman is just that. A helper. a gentle support. affirmation. life. I will be what he has called me to be... glorify Him through the role of a helper.







I talked about all of this this past Wednesday as a guest speaker at the Rise Service. It is a young adult/college worship service that I have grown to really love.