Wood Burning a Popcorn Bowl

A very, very long time ago I used a wood burning pen to make a checkerboard. It took forever. I seemed to forget about that when starting this bamboo popcorn bowl for my dad for Christmas, because again, it took forever! Can you say hand cramps? It was worth it. I like it and I hope his popcorn eating self does too :)

Do you have a wood burning pen in the back of your closet? Put it to use by personalizing something for Christmas! Works for me!

See more Works for Me Wednesday ideas at We Are THAT Family.

Matters of the Heart

Our small group has been listening to sermons from Mars Hill pastor, Mark Driscoll. Yesterday we discussed his second Sermon on Proverbs, talking about the Heart. It was a very telling sermon and I learned and reflected on many things. One of which I put into practice yesterday.

Emma was at her grandparent's house yesterday, and although she came home happy, she had a hard time being nice to her sister at bedtime. One of the items Pastor Mark touched on is how the current condition of your heart reflects in all that you do. Emma's heart was not in a peaceful place. Instead of telling her what she should and shouldn't be doing, I asked her what was going on in her heart. I would have guessed that her answer would be "I don't know", and a lot of sighing and eye rolling, as she usually isn't very cooperative when we talk about what is going on with her. She started out trying to blame it on her sister. I reminded her that nobody controls her actions but her.

She surprised me and said she was a little sad about the day's events. She went on to tell me about specifics and about her disappointments. I was blown away. I told her that even though her heart was sad, praying and talking with Jesus about it could make it better. She agreed and I left her to talk it out.

I was amazed at how much information I had gotten from one little question. Getting to the heart of the matter was what was needed. I learned a lot and I hope she did too!

What ways do you help your kids through times when they are just plain ornery and disagreeable?

Thin Crust St. Louis Style Pizza

This summer while we were at my Aunt's cabin in Northern Minnesota I copied down this recipe from one of her magazines. I find that if I write the recipe out by hand I am more likely to try it. I have SO MANY recipes on file to try. Anyway....this has been my family's favorite pizza crust yet (although I cannot tell if my husband likes it, he won't really say, but he eats it) and it's really easy to make. I cannot say if it's authentic St. Louis style, but it sure is yummy!

St. Louis Style Pizza Crust

2 cups flour

2 TBS corn starch

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup plus 2 TBS water

2 TBS olive oil

Mix together dry ingredients then add water and oil. Mix/knead until it comes together. You may have to add a tiny bit of additional water. Break the dough into 2 portions then roll THIN. The original recipe says to roll the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper, which I did the first time I made it and works beautifully. But I just got the most wonderful pastry mat and it rolled out just fine without anything (no additional flour, no parchment). It will all depend on your surface.

Preheat pan or stone (or like we do, both) at 475 degrees. When the oven is preheated I put the crust on the pan/stone and bake for 3 or 4 minutes before topping because we like it crispy. Then I take it out, top it however, and put it back in to bake until the cheese is a little brown, 8 minutes or so.

See THIS is my new pastry mat and it is perfect! It sticks to the counter - absolutely no sliding around. Whatever I am rolling out does not stick to it. The only down side is that it has a slight criss cross pattern to it, so when I am rolling out fondant I need to use the up side to get a completely smooth surface. I love this mat.

And THIS is where I was coming from. Pretty worthless. There is just no comparison.

This post has also been linked to:
Mouthwatering Monday at Southern Fairytale
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
Tuesday at the Table at All the Small Stuff
What's on The Menu Wednesday at Dining With Debbie

Hearth and Soul at A Moderate Life

Recipe Swap at Prairie Story (Thursdays)
Colleen's Fall Recipe Swap at Colleen's Kitchen (Fridays)

Wordless Wednesday - Thanksgiving Feasts

Check out more Wordless/Wordful Wednesday pictures at

5 Minutes of Mom, Parenting By Dummies, Experimental Mommy, Mrs. Cox's Slice o' Heaven& Mom Knows It All.

Knitting Needle Caddy - Works for Me

I found this great TUTORIAL at Multicrafty for a knitting needle caddy. I used fabrics that I already had in my big bag of fabric and everything came together lovely! I don't knit but made it for a friend that does. Hooray for another Christmas present completed :)

Works for Me! Check out more Works for Me Wednesday ideas at We are THAT family.