Venusdflytrap’s Weblog

I never got to tell you all just how delicious the food actually was – it was phenominal! Haitian food is the bomb! I ate so much, I had to run an extra day – lol. The night started with some appetizers called ”acca” which were accompanied by a tangy mustard based dip. They looked almost like mini accapurrias (a puerto rican delight) except they weren’t filled with meat. It was actually the root malanga ground up and covered in what looked like a coconut batter. They were incredible! I ate about 5…ok maybe 6. Lol. Martine’s son gave us a tour of the house and yard while Martine finished up the last of the food. Oh, let me not forget the fresh limeade she made to quench our thirst after downing the “acca.” It was a nice turnout – there were about 14 of us including her children. We enjoyed getting to know eachother, cracking jokes and acting silly of course. You know how we do! Lol. When it was time to sit down and eat, we were amazed at how much of an array Martine put together. There was a haitian  bbq basted chicken, spicy rice & beans, salad, green beans with a nice homemade dressing mixed in, tostones that you covered with a spoonful of tangy/spicy coleslaw. I liked that the best! It was such a nice blend of flavors. My palet was bursting! Then if that wasn’t enough, she made this incredible mango custard with chunks of sweet mango from the tree in her yard. It was delightful. I’m salivating right now, after describing all the delicious food. Mmmmm. 

 After everyone was nice and stuffed, she pulled out the spoons. Now, it wasn’t for more dessert, although we did have coffee and tea after that. The spoons were for the game “Spoons.” I never played it before, but they explained the rules and we had a blast! It was so much fun watching how we each scrammed to grab the last spoon on the table. We had a lot of fun. A great S.W.A.T. fellowship night. We’re looking forward to doing it again.

It’s a rainy saturday, but always a good day for fun and fellowship. Martine is another single in Homestead that loves to cook. Well, she has graciously invited S.W.A.T. out for a night of Haitian cuisine. I’ve never had it before but looking forward to trying it. It should be interesting. I hear it’s spicy – yum! I’ll keep you all posted on how it turns out. I’m sure it will be lots of fun and lots of good eats.

Have a wonderful saturday! Be blessed.

Venus

Hey guys,

Just spreading the word and some good music. Jesse posted a video from The Saturn Project. You get to see them in action on stage. It’s awesome. Let’s show them some support. We’re blessed to have them at LPC. Nice job guys!

It’s under my links.

I read on Chris’s blog that we had 13+ inches of rain these last couple of weeks. The rain was much needed, especially since it has been so dry these last few months. Well, along with the rain came lots of thunder, lightning and power outages. It’s scary because my power almost always goes out, even with the slightest hint of thunder. Today, I was in Walmart shopping for a few last minute salad items for this week, and in the middle of shopping the power went out. Then it went back on right away, but then it went out again, and then on again. This happened repeatedly for a good 3 minutes. Then about 5 minutes later, the entire store lost power and it was pitch black! It was scary! I even grabbed my purse from the cart and used my cell phone as a flashlight for a minute because this time the emergency lights didn’t even go on! People started to panic after they didn’t go on right away and I heard people scrambling towards the front of the store to exit. I just remained calm and stood in the isle I was in waiting patiently for the lights to come on. After about 2 mins the emergency lights finally turned on. Then after another 5 mins the power was back up. That got me to thinking. I really need to start preparing for hurricane season (which already started)! I definitely don’t want to be in Walmart when a storm is coming though. Five minutes is a long time to be without power in a store like that. Thank God there wasn’t any chaos! And thank you lord for bringing me home safely.

In preparation for our new Life group, we came across this great video for new and non-believers. If you have friends that are not saved and don’t know the lord, or maybe they’re on the fence – this might be a great tool for you to share with them. Check it out!  It’s a 15 minute video that could change their life!

http://www.juststopandthink.com/

I’m so excited about tomorrow. Our Life group starts up again and I’m looking forward to it. We have some newcomers and a few graduates. I’m glad to have some familiar faces back again. It will help us make the newcomers feel welcome. We’ll also be celebrating a birthday – Happy Birthday Chris! I’m sure we’ll have a great time. We’ve got some great stuff planned for this semester. Tune in for some more in the coming weeks! Also, check out Chris Day – The Major’s blog. He usually does a great recap for us after group.

My good friend Patricia treated me to a wonderful dinner at the newly opened Longhorn. It was worth the 1 1/2 hour wait ( at least that’s what she said – I got there from work right when they were seating us – lol). But seriously, from the fresh out of the oven soft crusted nut filled bread and the sweet butter (eeewwhh!) to the mouth watering flo filet steak, the meal was on the money! Not quite as cheap as Applebees, but worth every penny! (Although it wasn’t my penny this time around – lol – thanks P!) I highly recommend the Crab stuffed shrimp & Flo filet steak entree. It was absolutely delicious. Even the sweet potato melted in my mouth. I had Blackberry sweet tea, which was delicious and refreshing and for dessert – now you know we had to do it (and it was all Patricia’s idea -bad influence! – Lol) we had a dangerous Ghirardelli brownie sundae. It was so big, the glass nearly tipped over while we were eating it. We thought about asking him to box it up for us (kidding), but yes it was that good too. The service was great – although our eccentric “d-man” waiter was a little forgetful, he was very nice. We (the food critics) cut him some slack since it was extremely busy and since he gave us a nice warm loaf to take home 8-p.  We rated it at about 97 out of of a 100%. Lol. Only because Patricia’s Renegade Sirloin was missing it’s famous prairy dust (or was that fairy dust?) Hhhmmm, maybe that’s why they called it renegade – because it deserted its flavor - LOL!  8-) Her “Wild West shrimp” were amazing though.  Recommend those too. Overall, it was a fantastic meal. You may want to wait until all the hype is over though – if you’re not a patient person, since the wait will probably be at least an hour. But if you are up for it, you won’t be disappointed. I can’t remember the last time I had such a delicious steak! It has been so long since I’ve eaten steak that I forgot what a treat it is. I went home stuffed and feeling great. Thank you lord for good friends and great food! My love tank was just as full as my belly!

Wow, I can’t believe we’re already going into the 3rd semester for the Singles lifegroup. It seems like only yesterday when we were just starting up. God has really shown himself in so many ways to the many members of our groups and I love it!  Patricia and I are excited about the new curriculum/book – Crazy Love by Francis Chan. There is something deep inside all of us that yearns for something more, something that calls us to dig deeper into our soul than we ever have before. Don’t we all want to feel true love and to be able reciprocate love in return without getting rejected? Where else can we find that but in and through God? After all – GOD IS LOVE! Crazy love gets right to the heart of that, and we’re looking forward to experiencing that? Our mission in SWAT remains the same (I’ve pasted it below for those who’d like to know what it all means). If you know anyone that is single and searching for love (maybe in all the wrong places) or that has just given up hope, or maybe doesn’t know what being single with God really means, please invite them to join our group. Pass this info along.  We’d love to have them join us.  Lots of love.

S.W.A.T. (Singles With Armor & Tactics)

MISSION STATEMENT:

To glorify God by taking the focus off of ourselves and placing the focus on Him. Embracing the season of singleness as a divine purpose while discovering what the Lord has purposed us to do in this season and doing it. Developing an intimate relationship with our first love through a commitment to worship, ministry, service, fellowship, and discipleship. Shift focus off of being single…to being single with a focus!

 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Ephesians 6:11

 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Matthew 16:24

Just got back in from NY. What a trip! Never thought we could do so much in 3 days…but I guess that’s what makes NY, NY! Lol. We had a blast! I was the tour guide for the girls and we had a chance to see lots of NY. We took a few tours in NYC, visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (although we didn’t exactly get off the boat at Ellis island – lol), ate some fabulous NY Pizza (mmmm – I miss it already), Knishes (soooo good!), Hot dogs, Arroz con gandules y pollo (when we visited my family) and tons of other delicious and fun stuff! The girls got a chance to live NY style  for a little while – riding the subways, watching an off broadway show (that really should be off broadway – lol), shop in chinatown and take in all the sites and history. We even had time to visit my family, eat and joke around (cause we’re just a bunch of clowns) and they fit right in! My family loved them and they seemed to reciprocate the feeling. I was blessed to have had the chance to share such great moments with members of S.W.A.T. and my family. Truly a time to remember!