myTunes?

I got a $15 iTunes gift card for Christmas, and I'm having a difficult time deciding what to use it on. Any suggestions?

now's your chance

Fireproofreleased on dvd today. If you didn't see it in the theater, you definitely should rent--or even buy--it.

recipe: delicious caramel cheesecake

I adapted a caramel cheesecake recipe I found in a magazine and took it to a family gathering. It got rave reviews, so I thought I'd post it here. (I've never really taken pictures of food before, so I didn't know how to make it look all "pretty"--trust me, it's amazing!)

Caramel Cheesecake

Crust:
2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Cake:
3 (8 oz.) bricks 1/3 less fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 (12 oz.) jar hot caramel sauce (this is thicker than regular caramel sauce)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix crust ingredients in a small bowl. Press into bottom of 10" springform pan.
3. Using stand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth.
4. Mix in sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and vanilla.
5. Stir in caramel sauce. (This may take a while.)
6. Pour into pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until top is light brown and only the middle is jiggly.
7. Cool on countertop for four hours. Run knife around the edge of the pan to loosen cake. Refrigerate overnight.

While cheesecake is always full of calories and fat, this version does shave 12 fat grams off of the original 28 per serving.

an unexpected blessing

Today, I got an unexpected and undeserved gift from my boss. It was so overwhelming that my jaw dropped and I almost had tears.

As I was thinking about it later in the day, it hit me that I should have such a greater reaction to the gifts my Heavenly Father has given me. I should constantly be overwhelmed by the greatness of his love in the face of my sin. By the mercy He has bestowed on me.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

May I always live in awe of His love!

do you pledge?

This gave me chills, and not in a good way. While I agree with the sentiment behind some of these "pledges," it's the end of the video that gets me*. After watching the end, one of my co-workers said, "Doesn't this remind you of banners in Soviet Russia?"

MySpace Celebrity and Katalyst present The Presidential Pledge


*I post this not as a slam on the president but as an example of Hollywood's self-importance and Obama worship.

finally reading again

From last May through the beginning of this month, nearly every spare moment was spent working on my big cross-stitch project. And whenever I wasn't working on it, I felt guilty about not working on it. Basically, I went several months without doing much reading. And I hated that. (But I love the cross-stitch project. Really!)

Now that I've finished the project, I've started reading again. I've finished two of my book review blogger books (Rex and Field of Blood) in the last month, and I've just ordered the third. I'm much more excited about this one: The Great Eight by . . . wait for it . . . Scott Hamilton! My love for (or perhaps obsession with) figure skating has diminished over the years, but seriously--it's Scott Hamilton!

I also have several other books on my reading list:

• Kiss
  by Ted Dekker & Erin Healy (also a brb book, but I'd already bought it!)
• Sinner: A Paradise Novel (The Books of History Chronicles)
  by Ted Dekker
• Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be
  by Kevin DeYoung & Ted Kluck
• Sunset
  by Karen Kingsbury (I just need to finish this one!)
• Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye?: Trusting God with a Hope Deferred
  by Carolyn McCulley
• On a Whim (The Katie Weldon Series #2)
  by Robin Jones Gunn
• Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
  by Francis Chan
• . . . and many others!
  

rex: an inspirational journey

Rex, by Cathleen Lewis, is one of those books you won't be able to put down. It is, as the subtitle states, the story of "a mother, her autistic child, and the music that transformed their lives."

Rex's story is truly amazing. A "multiply disabled" child, he is also a musical savant who can play any song on the piano after hearing it once. His musical gifts have helped forge inroads into the world around him, a world that was formerly inaccessible due to his blindness and autism. He has played concerts all around the world and has even been featured several times on 60 Minutes.

What astounded me most about this story was not Rex's abilities, though impressive; rather, I was amazed at the tenacity with which Cathleen fought for her son's rights. Whether hounding doctors for an accurate diagnosis, standing up to the piano teacher who saw Rex as more of a science project than a little boy, or confronting teachers and school officials about their treatment of her son, Cathleen poured all she had into her little boy. She is an inspirational woman, and her story, like Rex's, is one that will stick with you long after you finish reading this book.