Fall into the Lord!

Psalm 94:18-19 "When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul." I absolutely love the imagery that this verse brings to mind about the love and support that the Lord so freely gives to us. I always think that if you are going through a rough patch, which we all have, and you feel as if you are about to fall, just fall into Jesus. Trust me, He is infinitely better to fall into versus falling into disappointment, grief, anger, or whatever other emotions rough patches like to bring up in us. He is there, ready and willing to catch you, bringing joy, peace, and consolation. And what's more, He has been waiting for you all your life and will continue waiting until you return to Him. Let us embrace this love today!

Fall has arrived at the Sebesta household! Although it does not quite feel like it outside, Hobby Lobby and I came to an agreement this Labor Day...it is most definitely the fall season! My sweet mama gave me an early Christmas present (who hasn't heard of advent in August?!)....a gift card to the wonderful world of Hob Lob!!! I literally spent 2 hours on my day off on Monday perusing the aisles of fabulous decorative pumpkins, fall foliage, and assorted autumn awesome-ness, while sneeking a peak down the Christmas aisle to plan out what I will spend my other half of the gift card on (ok...I'm really bad at estimating and didn't quite divide it evenly). I am proud to say that for less than the cost of a professional fall wreath even at 50% off, which in my opinion are so overpriced, I created my own wreath, a little decorative sign, a decorative pot, and a football spirit sign. Now I just have to wait one week to put everything out. Allow me to share the laborious efforts of my Labor Day. I might have sipped on a homemade chai latte while crafting, just to put that faux fall crisp in the air. How James puts up with me I will never know ha!

My fall wreath...slightly rambunctious. I could not for the life of me remember how to do a wreath bow so I settled for a big knot and entwined the ribbon throughout. James's first words were, "Cheetah ribbon?" You betcha!

All that's in this baby is the 4 pumpkins/gourds and a fall garland I already had in a pot I already had. Everything else inside is Styrofoam. Looks full huh?

Thanks 50% off scrapbooking paper!

This one I think I'll wait to put up until closer to November (ok, maybe October...I'm not a patient person). And I think I'll adhere it to a piece of wood or something to make it a little sturdier. That's just 2 pieces of scrapbooking paper, some leftover cheetah ribbon from the wreath, gold glitter stickers, and 2 leaves and a pine cone I plucked off of my garland.

Speaking of fall, aka falling, I absolutely stink at wakeboarding! We visited my parents at their beautiful lake house on Lake Travis and I tried this (awful) water sport for the first time ever! I know I lack all natural talent for anything related to sports (this stems from horrific p.e. experiences in 5th and 6th grade when I was forced to play dodge ball against a team of boys that most likely should have been in 8th grade at least. 60 pounds AND glasses? Recipe for disaster.) But I didn't realize it extends to water sports as well! Now, according to my parents, husband, sister, and soon-to-be bro-in-law, I have to try it on more than two different occasions to get better but I truly expected to be somewhat good somewhat fast! These same people I call family also told me that I would be SO much better on Sunday morning than Saturday afternoon. Guess what? I was worse. Thanks for giving me false hope mom. Why do you have to be so encouraging of your daughter who cried when forced to go to softball practice in 3rd grade due to the fact that you just painted her nails? I decided I am the boat sitter/encourager of others wakeboarding attempts.

Somehow after my weekend of falling and getting my arms yanked out of their sockets by a rope tied to a moving water vehicle left me floundering when it came to my last run of week 4. I don't know what happened but the Lady of the Lake took all my coordination and stamina. It wasn't just the fact that I tired way faster than usual, it was the fact that I could not get a somewhat normal/decent rhythm down while running. My knees were actually knocking together with each step...how does that happen? All the while my arms were going at an off-beat pace....let's just say it was not a pretty sight to those unfortunate souls who did not have Labor Day off. And I know I have exaggerated about dog chasing me before but seriously, a pit bull began to run after me as soon as I stepped off of our duplex stairs. Sorry to judge a book by it's cover, but pit bull...consider yourself pre-judged. My pathetic-ness got even more pathetic as I walked back to James's car (luckily we walked out the door at the same time and he had not left for school yet) and made him drive me down to the front of the neighborhood to avoid this dog and his natural tendency to chase after a girl whose legs look remarkably like small chicken legs....tasty. Disregard the fact that James pointed out - "you realize that dog's tail was wagging when he walked up to you". That means nothing to this scaredy cat!

Well my sweet husband was a very happy man this weekend.....Aggie football!! I think a little piece of him died slightly due to the fact that we did not get tickets to the actual game. But we had a great time tailgating before and made it home in time to shower off, make some delicious food and watch it on TV! I think that was the first time I have not been melting in my own puddle of sweat while watching those Aggies. And I made up for us not going with an appetizer I made up last minute in our kitchen and a family staple! Enjoy...

Eat-Your-Heart-Out-Totinos Pizza Rolls

So I wanted to do an appetizer that was beyond our usual cheese and crackers or chips and salsa package. I looked in our fridge and saw that we had leftover ingredients from making a pizza the other week and voila! It's not super creative but sooo yummy!

1 package crescent roll dough

Jar of pizza sauce

Italian seasoning 

Pepperonis (I used the turkey kind...don't tell James...)

Shredded mozzarella

I bet you can tell where I'm headed with this:

1. Unroll all of the crescent roll triangles on a baking sheet.

2. Spoon a little bit of sauce on each piece.

3. Top with Italian seasoning, pepperonis (4-5 per piece), and cheese.

4. Roll up, starting with short side of the triangle, leaving the point-side down on the sheet.

5. Bake according to crescent roll package instructions (I believe it was 375 for 11-13 minutes).

And just think of the possibilities! I think I want to try a pesto, chicken, and cheese roll next...to be continued!

King Ranch Casserole

Making this brought back so many childhood memories. We grew up eating this quite frequently and I was pleased to see that it tasted as good as I remembered! I served mine up with a side of black beans and chips. Fortunately for James, he loved it! If things had been otherwise....hello marriage counselor!

4 chicken breasts (or 2 roasted chickens)

1 dozen corn tortillas, cut into pieces

1 chopped onion

2 cups grated cheese

King Ranch Sauce:

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 can Rotel

1/2 can chicken broth

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook chicken in a small amount of lightly salted water until tender. Cut into pieces. (I didn't read this part and just did it in my usual olive oil way).

3. In a 2.5 quart greased casserole dish (I used 8x8 glass dish for my halved version), place a layer of chicken, half of the tortillas, half the chopped onion, half of the cheese, and half of the King Ranch sauce.

4. Repeat the layers ending with grated cheese (I snuck some more cheese on top at the end).

5. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour.

My labor of love (aka preschool) picked back up with surprisingly wonderful weather! So my fall decor did have an impact muahaha! We spent alot of our time enjoying the cool 88 degree weather, moving our circle time read aloud outside to the shade under a giant tree and playing with bubbles (the messiest fun ever created!), balls, sidewalk chalk, and a huge parachute. I passed on my extensive knowledge of hopscotch to these young members of society, a job I felt was extremely urgent in a world where many children stay holed up in their rooms attached to some sort of electronic game or gadget. Best quote of the day came from my precious little cowboy who I told to go potty once he woke up from his nap. Sitting on his mat in a just-woken-up-daze, I told him to go potty in a quiet voice so I wouldn't disturb the other sleeping babies. He just stared at me..."What?" I repeated. "What?" Finally, the message was conveyed. As I helped another student with her shoes, my little cowboy walked over to me, put his hands on his knees to get real close to my face, and told me in his loud twang, "If you talk louder I can hear you!" Point taken.

To end this note about fall and all things wonderful, I am so honored to introduce to you the best cookies in the entire world. Seriously. I give to you....waffle cookies! Nothing about these are like a waffle other than the fact that you bake them in a waffle iron. Score for us whose kitchen turns into an absolute inferno when the oven is on for any length of time! I got this recipe from my college roommate's mama and had to physically restrain myself from eating the entire batch before James even got home. I did have to do quite a few taste tests to really make sure they came out well...

Waffle Cookies

2 sticks butter

4 squares unsweetened chocolate (or 4 Tbsp. oil and 12 Tbsp. cocoa)

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

(side note...I mixed everything together and preheated the waffle iron before I realized I was out of flour. Don't worry I had just come home from a Walmart trip. Winner.)

2 tsp. vanilla

Icing:

1 stick butter (soft melted, not runny)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla and about 1 Tbsp. milk

1. Melt butter and chocolate in microwave.

2. Add remaining ingredients.

3. Drop by spoonful on medium hot waffle iron. (I had mine too low to begin with and they weren't cooking so I cranked mine up to medium-high)

4. Cook for 5-7 minutes, checking every minute or so.

5. Once cool, ice ice baby!

Get in my belly now!!!