And I Know He Watches Me

Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart feel lonely
And long for Heav'n and home
When Jesus is my portion?
A constant Friend is He;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches over me.
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches me.

"Let not your heart be troubled,"
His tender word I hear
And resting on His goodness
I lose my doubts and fears
Though by the path He leadeth
But one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted
Whenever clouds arise
When songs give place to sighing
When hope within me dies
I draw the closer to Him
From care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He cares for me.
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He cares for me.

Creamy Fish Chowder: Make it Again, Good

I love soups but have always been a bit intimidated when it comes to making them. This is something I want to change and today was a first step toward that change. I don't know if it's the thought of the cold weather leaving us soon, or talks of Norway (which makes me think of the amazing fish soup our friend Helene is famous for and made for us when we were there) but I have had the hankering for fish soup lately. I opened up 'The Soup Bible' cookbook, something that I bought a few years ago but had never made anything from, and found a bookmarked recipe for Creamy Fish Chowder. A simple enough recipe that sounded pretty good.
And good it was! Chris liked it enough to say that I should make it again, which says a lot. (when I make something new and he says that it's good I always ask does that mean 'it was good as a one time try' or good as in 'it was good and I should make it again'. This got a 'make it again' good. (!)
And so because of my success of making soup, and the positive reviews by my critic, I would like to share with you this recipe for..

Creamy Fish Chowder "A traditional soup that never fails to please.."

Ingredients: 

3 thick-cut slab bacon slices

1 large onion, minced

1 1/2 pounds potatoes, diced

1 quart fish stock

1 pound skinless haddock, cut into 1-inch cubes (I substituted cod)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives

1 1/4 cups whipping cream or whole milk

salt and freshly ground black pepper

*Remove any rind from the bacon and discard it. Cut the bacon into small pieces. Chop the onion and cut the potatoes into 3/4-inch cubes

*Fry the bacon in a deep saucepan until the fat is rendered. Add the onion and potatoes and cook over low heat, without browning, for about ten minutes. Season to taste.

*Pour off excess bacon fat from the pan. Add the fish stock to the pan and bring to a boil. Simmer 15-20 minutes until vegetables are tender. 

*Stir in the cubes of fish, the parsley and chives. Simmer 3-4 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked 

*Stir the cream or milk into the chowder and reheat slowly. Do not bring to a boil. Season to taste and serve at once. 

ENJOY!

I will definitely be trying my hand at more soups. The only other soup I have made was Chicken Wild Rice, which is my favorite, and I am still looking for the perfect recipe for it. A note about The Soup Bible- NO Chicken Wild Rice recipe. None. Maybe it's my Minnesota upbringing, but come on. A book that claims to be the bible of soups, stating on the cover: "All the soups you will ever need.."(emphasis directly from the book) and it doesn't include Chicken Wild Rice??? Blasphemy. 

Valentine's Day Hopes vs Reality

Valentine's Day plans:

cut out sugar cookies
heart shaped jello jigglers with Charles
a trip to the Park with my little valentine in the 50 degree weather
grocery store




Valentine's Day Reality:

cleaning up puke off the bed spread, bedroom floor, hallway floor, bathroom and tub
showering off my little valentine after said puke
laundry
gatorade and bread

repeat

Things that were good this week

* naps

* Free admission and an afternoon at the Brooklyn Children's Museum

* toast with butter and cinnamon

* a job cancelled at the last minute which meant I still got paid

* Crumbs Bakery cupcake from a friend

* Ikea with Lindsay

* hearts

* free fabric (a perk of working at the Fashion Institute of Technology)

* Two issues of Martha Stewart Living

* Charles' little hands signing 'butterfly' and 'moose'

*A new appreciation, ok love, for buffalo sauce thanks to Atomic Wings

Saturday Afternoon at the Brooklyn Children's Museum

A Saturday that Chris doesn't have to work + free admission to the Children's Museum = a fun afternoon for the Weavers! 

Charles proved braver that Dada when it came to touching the big snake!

Musings..

I don't miss having a cat.. but he sure was cute

A fun night celebrating a friend's birthday. I miss my dark hair. 

We live in Brooklyn, baby!

Love these girls. THIRTY NINE DAYS!

 I want to go back to this place.

Remembering good times with a good friend. Very happy at the possibility of a visit soon!

Things That Were Good This Week

* A semester that started which means work for me

* A husband that brought home food last night so I didn't have to make anything

* Chipotle (see above)

* Finishing my 'Woodland Collection'.

* Skype, ichat, & webcams that allowed me to SEE and talk with two of my dearest friends

* More than one item of exciting news (BLJ!!)

* Bible study that started up again

* Macaroni with homemade cheese sauce