Social Connections

Since diving into blogland a few years ago I have met some amazing people.  It has been a real treat to grow those friendships, and I am continually amazed by the powerful, inspiring, and encouraging relationships that have emerged through social networking.  I don’t participate in every form of social media, but there are a few places where you can find me.

To the right you will see a series of pennants which you can click on to find me at various social networking sights. (looking similar to this).  So if you've been following my blog and have yet to become an Official Hawley Follower. TODAY IS YOUR DAY TO JOIN THE FUN!!!

Places you can find LWTH:

 Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

Have you found us at these places? We encourage you to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or Pinterest so we can Comment, Like, Retweet, and Repin :-)
Also don't forget to follow our blog here at LWTH (click here for more details)

Are you on any of these social networking places?  Let me know so I can come check you out :-)

Pots de Crème

"One important thing you need to know about pots de crème is how to pronounce it.
First of all, here's how you do not pronounce it: 'pawts day creem.'
Here's how you do pronounce pots de creme: 'po duh krehm.'
Or if you want to get really technical, 'po duh k(insert phlegmy, back-of-the-throat crackly French sound)ehm.'
But you really don't need to know how to pronounce it.  You just need to eat it" ~Pioneer Woman

Truer words I'm sure have never been spoken :-)  This is a rich treat that is a perfect throw-together dessert.  Or if you're a choc-oholic like myself, it also tastes delicious for breakfast hehehe

Step 1: Make 10 oz of coffee- 8 oz (about 2 cups) will go into the recipe and 2 you will drink while you cook ;-)

Step 2: In a blender, pulse together 12oz of semisweet chocolate chips, 4 eggs (at room temperature), 2 tsp vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Please don't make fun of me for using my old college blender.  I'm pretty sure I haven't used it since....well since college I guess.  See, no need for a new one if I use it once every 10 years LOLStep 3: Turn on the blender and slowly pour in the scorching 8 oz (about 2 cups) of freshly brewed coffee.  This will cause the chocolate to melt and it will turn into a smooth mixture.  Then pour the mixture into small jars and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 

Step 4: After the chocolate mixture has become firm, whip 1 cup heavy cream and 2 tbs sugar in a mixer at a very high speed for 5-8 minutes.  It will slowly turn into a rich whipped cream.  Spoon the cream on top of the chocolate mixture and let it sit for at least 1 hour in the fridge.  Then dig in!This is such a delicious treat that you will want over and over again.  You could also get creative and add mint extract, or use various flavored coffees, such as hazelnut.  Don't be scared to get creative!

Last Minute Jambalaya (But Not Really)

Haha!  Do you like that title? LOL I make this "jambalaya" dish for dinner when I'm brain dead.  It’s not what I would consider to be traditional jambalaya, but it’s tasty none the less.  I like it because it's easy, fast, and I usually have all of the ingredients on hand.
Ingredients:
-1 package of Zatarain’s Jambalaya Rice (there is a spicy & a regular version & both are great, so it’s up to you)
-1lb of smoked kielbasa/sausage thinly sliced
-can of peas, drained
-can of black beans, rinsed and drained
Directions:

1. Cook the rice according to the directions on the box (Easy, right?)
2. While the rice is cooking, slice the kielbasa/sausage and brown in a frying pan.  The meat is smoked, so it’s all the way cooked when you purchase it, but I like to put it in the frying pan so that it has nice and crispy edges.  Depending on your pan, you might need to drizzle a little bit of EVOO, but if you use a cast iron skillet you can skip this.
3. When the rice is done, add the meat, peas, and black beans.
4. Stir and Serve!

See that wasn’t hard at all, and it only takes a few ingredients and very little time!  So instead of slaving away in the kitchen after a long day, go snuggle up with your hubby and catch up!

This recipe has a lot of room for personal substitutions.  If you try this out, and make some changes, please let me know so that I can try it too!

Two Weeks

In case you’re new around here, I will let you know that I’m a HUGE football fan. 

I L-O-V-E the NFL, in particular the Steelers. 

Perfect evidence being the fact that both our dogs are named after Tomlin (the coach) and Rooney (the owner).  The Mr and I just can’t help ourselves.  Life revolves around football.  Ok that is a bit extreme, but you get my point, right?

Well, in case you didn’t know, Preseason starts in 2 weeks.

TWO WEEKS PEOPLE!!!!!

Can you sense my excitement!!!???

In honor of the upcoming season I made a new quilt. The tutorial for making a simple quilt is here.  One side is black and white polka dots, and the other side is black and yellow footballs and helmets.

The pups are loving the new quilt. As they should right?

“Oh pah-leese mom! Can’t you see I’m trying to nap?!”

Who are you going to be cheering for this season?

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday: My N-E-W Office!

With my new position (see more about it here and here), one of the small details I needed to do was move offices.  My office I had at my previous position was nothing fancy (I promise) but it had been my creative space for 5 years.  This might sound weird, but I felt like I had bonded with this office.  I needed to pack up my old office as well as move a bunch of books from our home library to my new office.  I just wanted everything in one place; I hate being spread out. I was both excited and dreading this. I was looking forward to my new space but since packing isn't the funnest project, I was not looking forward to it. Thankfully the Mr helped out moving the boxes of books so it didn't take very long.

Here is the old office, before and after I packed up.  I told you it was nothing fancy-schmancy ;-)

I had way more trash than things to actually move (thank goodness!)

So here is what I'm working with now in my new office...notice the windows!!! I've got a nice large desk too :-)

 Those fake flowers came with the office....sorry but they had to go.  I also have 2 of the bookshelves, and I've moved them to the wall adjacent to the windows.

 My favorite part of the office, besides "Dr Hawley" on the door (hey I worked long and hard for that nameplate!) are the chairs.  I love them!

I've started decorating my office in turquoise, ivory, and espresso, and put up my painting from the blogger event (since the colors matched so well).  Other than that, I've got a blank canvas.  This is your chance to help me out and design this office.  What suggestions do you have?

LWTH Wordle

Wordle - (noun) “a toy for generating ‘word clouds’ from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.”

Ever heard of such a thing? I have seen said “word clouds” before but I had no idea what they meant (thanks Ari for the tip). I thought they were just a collection of words…..well that is kind of what they are, but it’s relative to the individual.  Of course I wanted to see the commonly used words here at LWTH, and this is what I got.  Apparently I’m big into “summer” and “friends”.  I’m also pretty happy to see that “y’all” is on there LOL

Check out Wordle and see what words you have used the most on your Twitter or blog.  With this website you can also customize the colors and layout that is perfect for you!  Fun, right?!  If you try this out please let me know so I can check out your own personal wordle!!!

Southern Tour: A Hawley Roadtrip {Part 1}

If you’ve been following us via twitter (and if you don’t you definitely should ;-) you know that the Mr and I took a serious road trip at the end of May; a road trip I swore I would never take again (never say never, right?).  I like road trips with the Mr a lot and we take at least 1 a year, but this one, was the biggest (and longest) road trip we’ve ever taken together!
I’m getting photos together to share with you about the trip, but before I do, I’m going to tease you with the pictures I took with my phone on the trip. Enjoy, and remember there is more to come!

Can you guess where we went?!

Can you guess how many hours our trip was?!

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday: A Peach Summer

One of my favorite fruits in the summer is the peach. 

It’s so sweet and delicious.  As a mater of fact, I’m drinking a mug of warm ginger peach tea & have a peach candle burning right now as I write this post for you :-)

Of course the peach is delicious on it’s own, but there are a bazillion other ways you can enjoy them.  In honor of the peach I’ve collected a few recipes for you. 

Here are some ideas for how to start your day with peaches:

1.Peach Streusel Muffins, 2. Peaches & Cream Muffins, 3. Peach French Toast, 4. Peach-Pecan Muffins

You can also include peaches in your lunch:

5. Peach, Mozzarella, and Basil Salad, 6. Fresh Peach Gelées, 7. Country Ham-and-Peach Panini, 8. Easy Peach Cobbler

In the middle of the summer, with the humidity & heat choking you, cool off with a delicious peach beverage!

9. White Peach Sangria, 10. Governor's Mansion Summer Peach Tea Punch, 11. Carolina Peach Sangria, 12. Peach Flip

Just because it’s dinner time, does not mean peaches are off the table (pun intended hehe).  You can certainly bring them to dinner for a fresh new flavor!

13. Crab Salad with Peaches and Avocados, 14. Peach Stuffed Pork, 15. Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Peach Barbecue Sauce, 16. Grilled Tomato-Peach Pizza

I think we all think of peaches at dessert time.  I’m a sweet tooth myself, so I’m not gunna stop you! Go for it!

17. Pecan-Peach Cobbler, 18. Peach Upside-Down Cake, 19. Cocoa Bread With Stewed Yard Peaches, 20. Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Peach Pie

Here are some other ways you can include peaches during your summer festivities!

21. Fresh Peach Salsa, 22. Peach Ice Cubes, 23. Tomato-Peach Preserves, 24. Peach Butter

So since they’re in season we’ve got to find a bazillion ways to incorporate peaches into our lives, right? Do you have a favorite way to prepare peaches in the summer?  Please share your favorite peach recipes with me!!

All of the recipes listed can be found here.

Calling the Called

Happy Tuesday!  Yesterday I was pretty wordy about a struggle Phil and I have been going through for the past few years; thank you so much for the feedback and encouragment (click here if you missed it).  Today I wanted to share with you about my career calling.  Last week I was a guest poster at Enamored & Elegant and I share this post.  So in case you missed it, here are the details of how I was called into my career.

I firmly believe that my life is a gift from God, & I want to use what I’ve been given to honor Him.  I am not perfect at this & I have made some HUGE (not to mention, embarrassing) mistakes, but I can’t change the past.  I can only move forward, learning from my mistakes.  So how did I decide what I was going to be when I “grew up”? 

All of my decisions, are based on prayer.  The more I come to God in conversation, the more I am in tune with what He wants for me to hear.  I am in prayer constantly about the little things & the big things in life.  When I was applying to undergraduate school I prayed about which school & major was best for me.  I ended up attending RMC with a major in Religious Studies & a minor in Education.  God placed people in my path while I was at RMC & I ended up switching & graduating with a major in Biopsychology.  That is a HUGE switch LOL!  I continued on that path throughout grad school, receiving my Masters and Doctorate in Behavioral Neuroscience.  Through all of these chapters in my life prayer has been the common denominator; I must keep the conversation between me and God going so that I know what the next step is that He wants me to take.
Each next step has not always been easy or even something that I completely understood.  For example: Why would God want me to switch my major from Religious Studies?! Why would God want me to enroll in such a competitive graduate program when He knows I’m an anxious person?! Why would God want me to go through such a challenging graduate experience half-way across the country without my family for support?!  This is where patience and trust comes into play.  I had to choose faith in Him for what was to happen next.  So even though I might not have understood it at the time, I knew that one day I would be able to look back & see why His way was better than anything I could have ever planned for myself.
What I wanted at the end of high school was different in college, & completely opposite in graduate school.  But now that I am getting ready to start my new faculty position in the fall, it all makes perfect sense.  I will be the newest faculty member at a Christian university starting in the fall.  This position is a combination of everything I have been studying for the past 10 years; it’s perfect for me because I still get religion, education, & neuroscience.  Do you know how challenging it is to find a scientist with faith?!?!  Almost impossible!  Most scientist are atheists, so to fill a science position at a Christian university presents multiple challenges, but not for me.  Because I have faith I see God’s glory in science, & God has been training me for this position for decades.  I could have never seen the availability of this opportunity 10 years ago, but now looking back, I can see that my life was a puzzle waiting for each piece to click into place.  I admit though, this process did take some time, so through prayer I asked begged for patience, and I trusted His will.
Something I had to continually repeat to myself, was that God does not make accidents, and there is no such thing as serendipity or coincidence.  NO SUCH THING!  God has a plan for my life and it is GOOD!  I had to relinquish what control I thought I had on my life, & give all of my concerns to him.  This is very frustrating if you’re a control freak like me, but also very liberating.  Through letting go & letting God work, I found my calling.  My calling is way better than anything I could have ever planned.  Praise the Lord!  I not only found my perfect career, but I also found my husband.
My best advice for someone looking for their calling is to pray & have patience, trusting in the Father’s will for your life.  It is so GOOD, so no need to worry!  He has everything under control, so continue to work hard & value each day & relationship as a gift!

How did you choose your career path?  What is your calling in life? How do you exercise that calling?

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