Extra Sweet Giveaway!

April 25, 2010 by 17 Comments

Hey all, it’s time for another giveaway — an extra sweet giveaway! And you know me, when I think extra sweet, I think chocolate. How about a little Godiva goodness this time?

To make it extra fun, I’ll announce the winner of the $15 Godiva gift card on Mother’s Day — just two short weeks from today, if you can believe that!

To be eligible for the drawing, just leave a comment on this post by noon (CST) on Mother’s Day, May 9th. If I don’t know you personally, be sure to include your email address or link to your blog. To add to the fun, tell me what your favorite candy is. If you’re not a candy fan, tell me what you indulge in when you need a taste of something extra sweet. (For the record, the dark chocolate truffles from Harry and David are my favorite special candy, and my “everyday” favorite would have to be Peanut M&Ms :) )

I’ve got something else extra sweet for you today, too. How about a little goodness from the Word of God? The author of Psalm 119 expressed it well — “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103)

I hope you’re blessed this week by reading one of my favorite psalms:

“I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121

*Flickr photo by love♡janine’s photostream

**The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, will come out the first part of May. Sign-up is free and to the right!

Filed Under: chocolate, fun, giveaway, Word of God

Sharing the Journey

March 7, 2010 by 7 Comments

How about another glimpse into the Barkers’ wedding planning journey? I’ve tried not to overdo it and post all things bridal all the time, but some things are just meant to be shared. I’d say chocolate fits into that category :)

Being a mother of the bride definitely has its perks — at least when the bride wants to offer truffles as favors like Kelli does. Of course, those of you who know me or who’ve followed my blog for awhile have already figured out who suggested truffles in the first place :)

As you can see from the photo above, Kelli and I found ourselves in truffle heaven the other day. We had to conduct a taste-test. After all, we can’t in good conscience offer our guests chocolate chosen in a haphazard fashion. It’s our duty to taste any potential truffle flavors and select only the ones we think everyone will enjoy the most. Yes, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it. And one of those somebodies is me :)

To be honest, there’s a bit of backstory to our truffle tasting. This was our second trip to the Candy House Chocolate Factory. Believe it or not, we had to go back this time to rectify a truffle tasting mishap. Remember a couple of weeks ago, when I told you about our last wedding planning day — the day when my handy little tape measure didn’t prove to be so handy after all? Well, we had truffle troubles that day as well.

Since it was the Friday evening before Valentine’s Day (Sunday), customers packed the store. Not exactly the best time for us to be waffling in front of the candy counter about which truffles we wanted to try :) Feeling a bit rushed and not wanting to go into our wedding planning explanation while Valentine’s Day shoppers awaited their turns, we asked the clerk to give us one each of the flavors that looked good to us. We paid for our purchase, snapped a photo on Kelli’s camera (which she hasn’t emailed me yet, by the way!), and scurried out to the car for some private taste-testing.

As I opened the bag, I realized we had a truffle mishap on our hands. The clerk had put all the truffles in the same bag, and now we didn’t know which flavor was which. Leave it to us to forget to ask her to bag and label them separately. We groaned and then giggled at the absurdity of the situation. What else was there to do but taste them all and try to guess the flavors? :)

Talk about a comedy of errors. Kelli would take a bite, then I’d take a bite, and then we’d linger over each taste, trying to remember the flavors we’d chosen and come to agreement on which flavor each was. And like any good mother of the bride, I took notes all the while :) Know what was even sillier? We tried to save tiny bites for Jake so he could taste them, too. I wish I could have seen his face when Kelli presented him with a bag of half-eaten candy. Yes, we are that crazy :)

I’m happy to report that our second trip to the candy store proved successful. We now know the six flavors of truffles (yes, six!) we want to serve. You’ll also be happy to hear that I even carried a little plastic knife in my purse so our covert truffle taste-testing in the car could be slightly more dignified this time. Hey, I learn from my mistakes! :)

Hope you enjoyed sharing in this chapter of our wedding planning journey. Sometimes it’s just good to share the fun stuff of life with each other, isn’t it? Be blessed this week!

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8

Filed Under: chocolate, family, fun

Empty Calories

November 4, 2009 by 5 Comments

After a ridiculous start to our weekend (a car breakdown and a break in our waterline under the house), we finally whisked ourselves away from the homestead and celebrated Halloween by going to a movie, a tradition we started several years ago.

No, we didn’t go to an AMC like the picture above suggests — we went to a Cinemark (our favorite theater, by the way). But we did, however, partake in movie snacks. For us, that’s just part of the fun of going to the movies. Plus it helps keep Don awake :)

We ate lunch on the run because of all the earlier insanity, and by the time we made it to the late afternoon showing of Amelia, we barely made it through the previews before digging into our popcorn. Of course, I had to have some Peanut M&Ms to add some chocolate to the whole affair, but notice how I went the healthy route by eating the peanut variety :)

Since this was our supper, we ate quite a lot — got the popcorn and drink with refills. Not the most nutritious meal but fun to do every now and then. At least at first. After some speed shopping after the movie, I realized I was still hungry as we began our drive back home. The junk food just hadn’t satisfied.

So what did we do? Stop and get something healthy, something that would stick to our ribs? No, we were running late and wanted something quick. We stopped at Braum’s for chocolate shakes. No, I’m not kidding. I hate to admit it, but it’s true.

By the time we got home over an hour later, I felt — how shall I say it? — yucky. I had the jitters from all the sugar and chocolate, plus my stomach felt gross, but at the same time, still kind of hungry. All those empty calories had not met the need. After a short while, I was hungry for more.

Sometimes we do the same thing where our spirits are concerned. Our spirits get hungry and thirsty for something that will fill our need, something that will satisfy, but instead we fill them with things that just bring a temporary lift — shopping, food, relationships, recreation, alcohol or whatever our drug of choice. The list goes on. Call them empty calories that leave us hungry for more.

Many of these temporary lifts are good and meant to be enjoyed in moderation, but only one thing will satisfy that deepest part of us — a relationship with Jesus. He said, “‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.'” (John 6:35)

Let’s turn to Him and His Word when our spirits are hungry and thirsty. Let’s go to the One who satisfies. What He gives will fill our need. No empty calories from Him.

Flickr photo by naydeeyah, Creative Commons License

**Current and new subscribers to Life Notes, my free quarterly inspirational newsletter, will be included in a drawing for a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble. Sign up by noon (CST) Nov. 22 on the sidebar to the right for a chance to win! (See Nov. 1st post for details.)

Filed Under: body, chocolate, movie, tradition, Word of God

Evidence of Pure Delight

July 26, 2009 by 2 Comments

This little gal and my nephew Gavin have something wonderful in common — they both know how to freely enjoy an ice cream cone. No inhibitions. No embarrassment. They just dive in and come up smiling, with the evidence of pure delight plastered all over their faces.

I should have a picture of Gavin in all his chocolate glory, but alas, I failed to capture the shot. We traveled to T-town this past week to see one of his ball games before the end of the season, and I dutifully took pictures there. However, when the game was over and we stopped by Braum’s for a celebratory ice cream treat, I left my camera in the car. Big mistake.

Yes, I missed the real photo-op of the night. If I hadn’t been so pooped (this was less than 48 hrs. after all our vacation travels), I would have hot-footed it out to the car, grabbed the camera, and snapped a priceless pic to share with you all. Now you’ll just have to imagine it — sorry! :)

Gavin’s still young enough (7 years old) to throw caution to the wind and eat an ice cream cone the way a playful puppy might. I’m not sure how he managed it, but the chocolate trail on his face went a full 360 degrees around his mouth. What can I say? That boy enjoyed his ice cream! :)

Wouldn’t it be fun if we adults gave ourselves permission to enjoy ice cream — or life in general for that matter — with the same carefree abandon of a little boy? Instead, as we grow up, we grow more reserved, and before you know it, we forget what it’s like to throw caution to the wind, dive in, and come up smiling.

What do you say we give it a try this week? Join me in leaving inhibitions and fear of embarrassment behind. Let’s freely enjoy something we love. Let’s leave a trail of joy in our wake and let our faces shine with the evidence of pure delight. And yes, for some, that might include chocolate!

“…God…richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” 1 Timothy 6:17b

p.s. So what do you hope to enjoy this week? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment and start your trail of joy! :)

Flickr photo by ian.plumb

Filed Under: chocolate, family, joy, signs

"To Die For" Giveaway!

April 22, 2009 by 22 Comments

How about continuing our celebration of spring with a yummy-licious “To Die For” Giveaway?! In honor of the upcoming Mother’s Day holiday, I have a $15 Cheesecake Factory gift card to give to one lucky R&R reader. That’s right — Cheesecake Factory!

All you need to do to enter is answer the following question by leaving a comment on this post by noon (CDT) May 6th. If I don’t know you personally or don’t already have your contact info, you must include your email address in your comment to be eligible for the drawing. And now for the question: What is your favorite restaurant/dessert shop dessert?

Don’t like dessert or don’t have a Cheesecake Factory near you? I’m sure you know someone who does. If you win, you can make someone’s day — or week or year! — by passing it along. (By the way, area folks, there’s a CF in Tulsa now.) Hopefully, I’ll be able to get the gift card to the lucky winner by Mother’s Day so you can use it as a Mother’s Day gift if you’d like…or hey, moms, treat yourself to this gift :)

As usual, I’ll kick off the giveaway sharing, but I have a confession to make first. Prepare to be shocked — I don’t like cheesecake. (Did I hear a collective gasp?!) That’s right — I don’t like cheesecake. I know, I know… I may be the only one on the face of the earth who can utter such words, but I can’t bring myself to be a phony about something as vital as dessert :) Truth is, I don’t like anything with cream cheese in it. Too much of a “whang” for me.

So what’s my favorite restaurant/dessert shop dessert? I think it’s the Molten Chocolate Cake at Chili’s. No big surprise that it involves chocolate, huh? :) Just click on the link, and you’ll understand why I love it so much. Mmm-mmm!!! You should just see me and my family attack one of these. It’s ridiculous :)

So what’s your favorite? C’mon and join this springy, Mother’s Day celebration — we might discover some yummy-licious passions we have in common!

“‘Let’s have a feast and celebrate.'” Luke 15:23b

*Flickr photo by adrian8_8, Creative Commons License

**The next issue of Life Notes, my free quarterly inspirational newsletter, will come out the first of May. Don’t miss out — sign up to receive it if you haven’t already (see sidebar). Thanks!

Filed Under: chocolate, fun, giveaway, holidays
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