"Sometimes You Gotta Lose 'Til You Win"

Could Jennifer Nettles have sang it any better than in "Little Miss"? I really don't think so. It was just what I needed. That little reminder that it's okay to lose--that it's okay to fail, to completely break down.

I've learned but not yet mastered the practice of the fact that God leads you down the road you're meant to be on. You should not have regrets because He gave you the means to make the decisions you made. Whether you were meant to succeed, to fail, to learn something about yourself, to find joy, to reach your lowest point--each decision you make leads to certain outcomes for a reason.

"Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

Have no worry, you're doing alright. :)
It's really a beautiful thing, to put that faith in God. When I'm feeling positive, I like to look at all the uncertainty in life as a great adventure and a challenge to greet it in the best way I can.

Speaking of cupcakes...

...For this past Easter Sunday, I was inspired to make cupcakes! Since it's hard to find time to bake while I'm living at school, I always love it when the opportunity comes along.

The following cupcakes were inspired by a Better Homes & Gardens magazine--they are the same idea with a few of my own changes.

decorating... check out that cowboy boot slipper detail, yow

Bird Nest Cupcake:  yellow cupcake, lemon

icing, candy-coated pretzels, jelly beans

Bunny Cupcake:  yellow cupcake, classic

white icing, gumdrop ears, M&M nose

presentation detail



Sour? My first attempt at making these cupcake was stinky. I originally tried to make the citrus cupcake recipe from the magazine, but it turned sour when I continued to use cake flour that smelled off. When the cupcakes came out of the oven, they were perfectly baked... but tasted horrible. :( To save time, I used box mixes and store bought icing.

Sweet! I learned that you can't let a bad flour smell bake out in the oven. Also, I got some lovely pictures of my cupcakes before they bounced and tumbled around in the car on the way to family get-togethers. :)

Keep your cards

There are some things for which I have an inexplicable fondness:  the lost puppy wondering up and down my road, kind older folk who are perfectly happy to talk with you about the weather, the postal service with real mail, the sweetness of babies, the time I spend driving to church early on a sunny Sunday morning listening to American Country Countdown, the word "nostalgia" and all the memories that go with it...

The list could go on and on. But I stop here to say that I'm very grateful that I have a strong tendency to want to record and remember my memories. The other day I was cleaning my room when I came across my collection of cards. Going through my room always results in lost hours where I become sidetracked by something from the past to look at or read. In this case, looking through my collection of cards made me so happy with remembering that I just have to explain why.

Since 6th grade, I have kept every card from every birthday, holiday and special event you can imagine. My collection has become quite a library by now and you can't blame me for wanted to halt on the cleaning process to flip through the stack. While I was flipping, I came across a bunch of cards from my 16th birthday and I was smacked in the face in the best way possible with a memory. My two very best friends threw me a surprise birthday party for my sweet 16 and if you've never been surprised in that way--and I mean really honestly surprised--well, there's no real way to explain the delight of it. I wanted to jump right back into that moment and tell them that in the future, their cards and party planning will mean more than they'll ever know. Reading through all of those cards reminded me how much my friends cared about me. I think we all need to be reminded of that every now and then.

So keep your cards. You never know when you may be looking through your stack remembering gratefully all the people that love you--that your aunt remembered to send you a card for every single little holiday; your best friend reminded you of all your inside jokes; your friends and relatives who cared enough to write a mini novel to you--it all means a lot.