Welcome to another post of Accidentally awesome, Friendsgiving edition!

So I have this group of friends that I hang out with(shocker), and every now and then we'll get together for dance parties, movies, T.V. specials, or holiday dinners. Everyone usually contributes in some way. I am usually known for bringing a Capri Sun to start off my night if there's alcohol involved. Don't worry, it's a safe, legal environment. I wouldn't go if it wasn't...weren't? Correct grammar here? Where is a Grammar Nazi when I need one? 

Moving on. 

So I mixed a few recipes together. I knew I wanted to make Sweet Potato Casserole from the moment I walked into Kroger and saw the yams on sale for about $0.39 a pound. I was like Whoa. So I got a bunch, called my mom and did the whole "Moooommmy. What do I do with Sweet potatoes to make a casserole?" whiny 13 year old voice with my 26 year old pipes. And she bought into it. Either that, or she felt horrible for me, and instead of telling me at the beginning of the conversation that we have the technology to look on the internet for recipes, she told me how to make them. And then I said "Well, can you email me the recipe?" That's when she finally referred me to the internet. And she also said she'd email me the recipe, which she did.

There's just something about asking mom for her recipes that makes them more important. Especially if you don't talk to your mother often. I just never have anything to talk about, so I find a small excuse to give her that connection, because she seriously wants me to talk talk talk talk, and I just don't, when I call her. So the recipe thing helps. Besides, Mother is always right, and so if the online stuff doesn't work, mom's will. It's been able to stand the test of time. I've learned that very quickly after college. 

I should probably find time to tell my mom that she was right. . . I'll think of some way to tell her for Christmas. hah!

Moving on, again. 

I also made a pretty scrumptious Pumpkin Pie, which I stepped in and made for someone who was sick, and said she couldn't make it(But she made it anyway, and she just didn't want to make anyone else sick by cooking... which, I guess, was nice). She sent me a recipe, too, but I found another on the internet, and I took up the challenge of making my own pie crust, too, so that was also accidentally awesome. 

So, for the recipes. 

This Casserole was convenient for me, and I had to figure out how to make it so, because I didn't want to make the whole casserole at the house, right after work, when we were already supposed to be eating. I had a brilliant idea to look up Crock Pot Sweet Potato Casseroles, and I ran with that.
Accidentally Awesome Streuseled Sweet Potato Crock Pot Casserole 

(AASSPCPC for short... or just Sweet Potato Casserole is cool too, I guess. Whatever.)

STREUSEL:

- 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour

- 1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

- 1/4 Cup Chilled butter, broken or cut into small pieces

- Chopped or Whole Pecans

- Marshmallows (I used small ones)

Combine Flour and Sugar in a food processor(I just used a Smoothie Maker), and pulse to combine. Add chilled butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. This mixture will be spread over the top of your Sweet Potatoes and sprinkled evenly with chopped or whole pecans and marshmallows(One layer of each).

SWEET POTATOES:

- 3 Large Sweet Potatoes (also known as Yams)

- 1/4 Cup Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg

(I did make the mistake of using two EXTRA Large Yams and a medium-ish sized one. I should have just bought three huge yams and gone with it. This mixture turned out to be a little too much seasoning because of the ratio, but I lived. They were still yummy.)

I put my yams in the oven for about an hour and a half at 350 degrees. I did poke them after 45 and 60 minutes with a fork to see if they were soft enough. The point is that you want to be able to mash them easily with a potato masher. I noticed that they were done when I checked them for the last time and they had started to "bleed" their juices from the fork pokes. I could have left them in just a little longer, but I was getting impatient. 

Once I peeled their skins off (Careful! They're HOT! And yes, I did this with my clean fingers), I put them in my crock pot, mashed them a bit to avoid being splattered or puffed on by the next ingredients, then added the honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then mashed them all together until everything was visibly evenly distributed. Once that was all set, I evened the potato mixture out, sprinkled my streusel over top, then pecans and finally marshmallows, and then I was able to put it in the fridge for the next day. 

Now, you could certainly cook this right away. Ain't no shame in that. But I had to prepare this for dinner the next night, and had no time during the day to do so. I LOVE fresh food, and this was the best way I could make all of this as fresh as possible. So the next day, I took my Casserole to work, and about three hours before I was off, I plugged the Casserole up, turned it to High, and let it sit while I continued to do Bra fittings and straighten panties. (Oh, you didn't know I am a Bra Specialist at Victoria's Secret? Oh, well, I am. So... There's that.)

From work, I took this to the house, plugged it back into the wall for a little while longer, and while it was being served, and then we ate it. Scrumdiddilyumptious, I must say!

In Preparation for Black Friday, I had devised a secondary preparation for this dish. This time, I was wiser and used three huge yams, but I cut them in half to test and see if this would A.) help them cook faster, and 2.) make them easier to prepare when smushing. :) I will be sharing this dish with my lovely ladies at Victoria's Secret (We are opening at 6 am), and perhaps I'll also share with my ladies at Bare Minerals, if there's any left over! This is going to be a 15 hour work day for me(factoring in my breaks), so you can bet that I'll be helping myself to plenty!

Pumpkin Pie

You must follow the instructions for the crust IN ORDER. Otherwise, you'll have a glob of flour-y shortening in your hands, and you'll wish you had an automatic soap dispenser so you didn't get the shortening all over the head of the soap. I got this recipe from The Food Network

- 1 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

- 3/4 Teaspoon Salt

- 2 Teaspoons Sugar

- 6 Tablespoons Cold, Unsalted butter, diced into small pieces

- 1/4 Cup Shortening

- 6, 7, or 8 tablespoons, ice water

In a large bowl, mix Flour, Salt, and Sugar until well combined. Using CLEAN HANDS, add the butter and toss the mixture until just coated. Rub the butter between thumb and forefingers gently to incorporate into the flour mixture. Do this until the butter is in dime sized pieces and would come together in quarter-sized clumps when squeezed in your palm. Add shortening and toss until just coated in flour, then rub into flour mixture until it forms into pearl-sized pieces(There may be bigger chunks - that's ok), and it'll come together in fist-sized clumps when squeezed. 

Drizzle in ice water, one tablespoon at a time, while raking through the mixture until it's just moistened. Continue until it comes together. The dough is moist enough when it is moistened through but it's not wet when pressed. Don't overwork it, or it will become tough.

While rotating the bowl with one hand, push the dough between the other palm and side of the bowl to gather into a ball. put it into a piece of plastic wrap and press it into a flat disk before enclosing it int the wrap an dplacing in the refrigerator (Usually back, bottom shelf) for at least 30 minutes before rolling out and forming into a crust. This is where I mashed and seasoned my casserole, so this time could be spent making another recipe!

PIE

- 2 Cups Pumpkin Puree

- 1 1/2 Cup heavy Cream

- 1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

- 1/3 Cup White Sugar

- 2 Eggs Plus the yolk of a third*

- 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

- 1/4 Teaspoon ground nutmeg

**You can also add:

- 1 Teaspoon ground ginger

- 1/4 Teaspoon ground cloves

- 1/4 Teaspoon ground cardamon

-1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Zest

*It was 12 am when I made this, and so I accidentally switched it up and did two eggs and the WHITE of a third, but it tastes delicious, so I don't know what that would change, but I doubt it will change much.

Mix Sugars, Salt, and Spices in a bowl. Beat the eggs and add. Stir in Pumpkin Puree. Stir in Creme. Whisk all together until well combined. Pour into a pie shell and bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Then reduce temperature and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, or until a knife comes out from the center, cleanly. The pie will be puffed up a bit from the leavening of the eggs, but it will deflate while it cools. 

I baked mine and put it in the fridge, then popped it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes at my final location. 

So that's it. I stayed up until about 2 am, making all this. Everyone was so stuffed from the main course that I got to take most of my pie home because they couldn't fit in dessert, so I got to keep some of my delicious food! 

Hope you enjoy!

So I suppose I should tell you the reason I've created this blog. Lately, I've been doing things in an Accidentally Awesome way. And it all started with Spaghetti.

See, my roommate is a chef in training. She's really good and brings home surprises from class all the time. One night, I made dinner for us, instead of her having to cook, and I shared it with her. Apparently, I had cooked the pasta perfectly "Al Dente" and had a delicious 98 Cent sauce from Walmart. She was pleased with it and thought it was very delicious. However, I hadn't meant it to be so delicious! It might seem like a small thing, but I was very pleased to have been complimented from a chef in training! My spaghetti was accidentally awesome.

My second awesome accident was a batch of DE-LICIOUS homemade cinnamon rolls. Holy COW were they awesome.

So I simply have to share it, of course.
Accidentally Awesome Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

4 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tablespoon salt

Filling
1 cup melted butter

1/8 cup ground cinnamon

1 cup sugar

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1-2 tblsp milk

Directions

• Mix milk, veg. oil, and 1/2 cup sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture(bring to just below boiling point on the stove). Remove from heat and let sit 45 minutes to an hour
• Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm mixture and let sit till yeast is frothy. You may have to mix it up a little. Add 4 cups flour, cover, and let rise for at least an hour.
• Add 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt(Mix in a separate bowl before adding), Then stir. At this point, you can keep this mixture in the refrigerator until you need it, or you can just make them right away!
• Sprinkle a dry, clean surface with flour. Break dough into halves, and then roll each of them into rectangular shapes. Spread the filling over the top and roll, hot-dog style.
• Cut each roll into 1 or 2 inch slices and place into greased bread pans. 
• Let rest in the bread pans for 15 to 20 minutes while pre-heating oven to 375 degrees
• Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown.
• Now you can mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk(1 tblsp at a time), and when you're rolls are ready, drizzle the mixture over them.
• Serve with LOVE. ;)

I also used an aluminum pie pan as one of my baking pans and took that over for my brother and nephews to eat. They really like them, and I had eaten most of a second batch for breakfast at one point. OMGosh, they're splendid with a cup of coffee. 

So that's the first part of being Accidentally Awesome. I'll add more things when I think of them, or they happen. For now, enjoy the present stories. :)

Epic day was Epic

So before I get into the whole spiel about the story of the creation of this blog, I'm just going to get into the details of this day so that I can just get it out. Formalities will have to wait. Sorrynotsorry.

Today had to be the best day I've had in a long while. Well, alright, I've had some really good days lately, and I honestly have to credit it to my morning conversations with God.

See, lately, I've been attending a Tuesday night Worship service for an age group that involves teens as well as adults, young and old. It's called Kairos, and this month's series has been focused on prayer in our lives. Prayer is so essential, and I've got to admit that I am HORRIBLE at having a prayer time. I hardly even have time set aside to actually pull out my bible and be disciplined enough to read scripture. But lately it's been a lot better than it used to be.

The first week of this series I missed, due to having to work. Which was poopy. But, those who attended had homework for the next week, which was asked about. Their homework was to set aside a time and place to pray, and the challenge was to show up. Just simply show up. Even if they only said two words to God, they were simply challenged to show up and pray. The next week, the pastor asked people whether or not they made the effort. He then got into teaching how to pray. And he didn't go into huge, impressive, intimidating depth on it. He simply quoted the Lord's Prayer, which the people of the New Testament were instructed to pray, daily.

"This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in Heaven,

Hallowed be your name,

Your kingdom come

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, 

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one."
-Matthew 6: 9-13

Little factoid: newer manuscripts have: 

"For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen"

Older manuscripts do not feature this, as it was not in the original template.

The speaker then broke it down a bit, which I feel is so important to my life at this moment.
The first line of the prayer is touchy for some, since the word "Father" isn't always a super positive one. In this day and age "Father" isn't exactly a picture of reliability, comfort, safety, or trust. So he encouraged the audience to think of something else, if "Father" didn't work. Creator, Sustainer, Lord, God... Something with great meaning, because the second line of this prayer is super important into personalizing these words into our hearts. Hallowed be Your name. 

See, a lot of times, we forget that the word, "God" or that any reference to his name is "Holy." It's sacred. Hallowed ground to the voice. When we say His name in vain, even in simple, every day stressful passes, we are not treating it as holy. We take away the significance from the word, and while words are simply just words, we have the power to give them the meaning they are supposed to have. And we tarnish words when we say them carelessly. (Another big word like this is "love." Yowch. Little in-the-moment thought) 

Our God is the perfect role model for a father. Which almost sucks when we have really bad fathers down here on Earth. Granted, some fathers were AWESOME, and for that, I say more power to you! Keep that thought up and the warmth in your heart. But if you carry a negative connotation to the word Father, or Dad, then you have to think up something else that means more than that, so that you can give God the credit where credit is due. You have to verbally put your heart in a vulnerable place where God can hold it in his almighty hands and show you how much he has the ability to protect, love, and cherish it. 

Ok, so I have to move on from this, otherwise I'll start rambling and never get to the day's story. 

From there, the prayer goes on, calling on Gods will to be done, and my Pink Catagory Manager at Victoria's Secret made an amazing point in something he had learned in his prayer lessons at another church. See, God's will is always going to be done. Whether or not it'll be done is out of the question. God's will is planned and set. The difference comes in when his will is done in His WAY. This connected me to the fact that we, as humans, have the gift of free will. God's Will is going to be done, but it's either going to be done with a servants heart, or it's not, and that can make a big difference. Chew on that for a bit and get back to me about what you think about it. 

Skip forward to the Bread part. Mmm. I love me some bread. In fact, I made some good Bread Bowls for Chili, and some AWESOME Cinnamon rolls that will have to come later in this blog, because these are really what started the idea of me being "Accidentally Awesome" on occasion.

Basically, this part of the prayer is asking to give us, today, the materials we need to get through the day. Bread, in biblical times, was something that would sustain the body for the day - fuel to keep the body running. Here, Bread is a sort of metaphor for the things that would help fuel us for the day to do God's will in His way, and not our own. 

Then steps in humility. "Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors." Sin is a problem in this world. God's will teaches us that His way is grace. In other translations, we'll see "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." The beauty in those words tells me that I have to forgive the people who trespass on my comfort zone. And I have to ask God for forgiveness for my bad on trespassing on other peoples zones, too. 

I'm still working on the temptation part, but it's time to move on. 

SO, that being said, this week, we were challenged to look at the reasons as to WHY we pray what we pray when we move on from this prayer. Since childhood, a lot of us are told a simple acronym to remember how to pray:

P: Praise
R: Repent
A: Ask
Y: Yield
This is all well and good if you want to do this. Sure. But this week, we were challenged on evaluating what we were praying for and why. The speaker taught that he believed God answered Prayer in 4 ways. Yes. No. Maybe. and WHAT?! I like this. Yes: Definite. No: Definite. Maybe: It hasn't happened yet, but it's for me to know and you to find out. and WHAT?!: Well, have you ever asked for something ridiculous. "God give me that car because it's Blue, and Blue is my favorite color!" Really? REALLY? I imagine God would be like WHAT?! 

No, God is not Jackie Chan, but this Meme is perfect for my point, here. How is a Blue car going to improve your life, or the lives around you? How is that going to aid your influence as a servant of God to the world around you? Ok, so if you twisted it some way, I'm sure you could get an answer. But really? This is one of those moments I imagine God has complete license to think you are out of your mind.

Myself and three of my friends were kicked right in the feels when we were told to evaluate our prayers. Each of us are single, and all four of us have a version of the single girl fever, where we REALLY want a man, and we want him to be hot, and dreamy, and full of the Lord. But we have to ask ourselves if we're asking for a husband, or if we're asking to be ready to have a husband. We have to evaluate whether or not we are being taught something, right now, that would prepare us to be primed for having our husband, or whether having God put our husband in our life right now would most certainly bring us trouble we could avoid if we just waited on Him and learned what He wants us to learn so that we can be forces of God together with the men he possibly has lined up for us. That hurt our feelings, but fed our hearts with truth. Besides, we must be fully in love with Christ, and so much so that the man who God puts us with has to go through God to find us. Which is basically what we have to do, as well. It's a two way street, and God is the concrete median.

Also, we were challenged to look at four categories in which Satan could tempt and stress us: Emotional, Physical, Mental(Thoughts), and Spiritual. We were challenged to find how Satan could distress us, and how God could, instead, lead us. That was a good set of topics for which to model a prayer. And it's one I've used in my prayer time, along with the Lord's Prayer. 

My time, I've decided, is during either one of two times... or if I'm feeling adventurous, both or more times during the day. I'm slowly working up. For now, it's during the time I prepare my makeup for the day, or it's when I'm in the car, on my way to work. It really works well when I'm in my car and I'm heading to work at 8 am, because then I also get to hear the bible verse from the reading that the radio station I listen to is doing, so that puts me in a good spot, too. 

My day started at the car ride, but I thought it was going to be horrible, since I went to bed at 9 pm last night, then woke up around 1 am and couldn't go to sleep. So, I did what any fresh(ish) out of college young adult would do. I started exploring corners of Youtube. Subscriptions, Makeup Tutorials... I even got to the freaked up part of youtube where some man hadn't cleaned his belly button in, oh, 20 years, and he had a big fat.... well, Pimple. We'll call it a pimple. Yeah, I went back to the funny kittens as far as my mouse could click, once that was over. Can. Not. Unsee. Sadly.

So once that ended around 6 am, I realized I had to be up in an hour to get ready for work. I finally felt tired, so I laid myself to sleep, only to be woken by a stressful dream about shoplifters(A curse when you work in Retail), and then the Garbage truck, which makes absolutely NO effort to be quiet in the morning as he collects the major bins of trash. Granted they're huge and metal, so I really can't blame him, but my brain couldn't shut it out, so I seethed for a bit till I finally was woken up by my alarm at 7 am. I hit the snooze button for 10 more minutes. Then 5 more. Then I decided that I could try 15 more minutes and I'd be ready to zip through my morning routine. I debated whether or not I could plan my routine in an orderly enough fashion to make my own coffee, and that kept me awake as I tried to convince myself that I could. I probably got about 5-7 more minutes of actual "sleep"(if you could call it that), and then I had to wake up because if I slept any longer, I'd never get up for work. 

Thankfully, after I got up, I quickly put a glass measuring cup of water in the microwave, peed, turned on my straightener, mixed up my Spoonful of pureed pumpkin, Milk, Simple vanilla syrup, and Pumpkin pie Spice, and prepared my coffee in my personal Pour-Over device. This done in about 5 minutes, I poured hot water over my coffee and went to straighten my hair. I doubled back a few times between straightening, pouring, foundation, pouring, then eyeshadow, and once again, pouring, and finally my coffee was done. I finished up the last of my makeup in a very nice, comfortable look for the day, and I still had time to find work clothes and actually pack a lunch for myself before I left the apartment at a little less than generous 8:15am. 

I had my talk with God during this time, and it was good. I stressed a bit about the fact that my insurance payment was supposed to have been extracted from my bank account the previous day, and it had neither been taken, nor did I have the funds to cover it from my account, and I informed God of this as I passed the Walmart where I needed to return the previous night's purchase of a Halloween Costume I really didn't need more than paying for my insurance. But I had to be to work on time, so I had no time to spare. 

By the time I got to work, the coffee had kicked in and I was quite chipper. I even saved a little bird from being stepped on, just outside the mall entrance(Poor lil guy had run into a window and was quite dazed, not to mention probably cold, since it was about 60 degrees outside.) Sales went well, and while we were very slow, I got the opportunity to have genuine, productive connections with what few customers I did have. We did well on our segments, I did well on what I was supposed to be practicing to become habit as an elevated associate in a sales driving position, and altogether it was quite a productive morning. What was more, We had to cut hours, and so my Catagory Manager easily informed me that there was some great overlap in the schedule that could give me two full hours off. I was cut early, and I had plenty of time to do my errands in order to avoid an overdraft fee on my bank account, and provide enough money for my Insurance fee! Praise the Lord!

During the time I was at work, I got to have time to train one of the new bra girls. It seemed to me that it was quite a good time. I certainly hope she learned a lot from me, though I wish I could have taken more time to share my knowledge. I honestly have to say that my own development and training these past 10 months has been by the best leadership team I've ever experienced, and I owe it to them for the rest of my day's success, as well!

See, after I finished my errand, grudgingly returning most of my "Tomb Raider" outfit, I went back to the mall to start my first training day at my new job. I was super early, so I had plenty of time to eat my lunch... I even got to clock in early and start training right away. The whole experience was great, I'll just begin with that, now. Oh it was wonderful, and I have such a peace about being there.

I was hired at Bare Escentuals, recently, and it's thanks to my confident selling training from my VS job that I was able to quickly and confidently understand the selling strategies set out by my new company. Not only am I able to grasp the selling strategies quickly, I am confident that I can display them on the sales floor in a manner that will quickly benefit their business. I honestly feel that I could be trained most on makeup application. It'll still all be quite new, but I'm so glad I have such good habits instilled in my routine, that I can contribute to the business quicker than I would if I had no clue. Praise the Lord again!

There were a few tidbits that really got me settled on just how peaceful my heart is about having this new job that I haven't had in my previous mall jobs. At VS, I am surrounded by strong, encouraging Christians(I know that sounds crazy, but I most certainly am). While I still have to feel out the spirits of my coworkers at BM, the values in the job itself have given me great comfort. 

One of the first things that got me positive in my heart about this was a value in our plans for success. "I will lead with a servant heart." I had to ask my manager if the company was a Christian Based company at this point in my reading. This is a Christian value - and one that I admire greatly. And while it's definitely not advertised as a faith-based company, I'm certainly glad it's in my job description, because that is EXACTLY who I want to be. A leader with a Servant Heart. 

Little tidbits after this just added to my sooper ahsum day. I know I have at least one strong Christian at my new job, and she is full of life and brightness, and she brings a smile to everyone she meets over and over again. It's so encouraging!(Not only that, but we also have a mutual friend from up North) I also had a 10 minute break later that night where I went to get an AMAZING Italian Mocha Latte at my favorite coffee shop in the mall, and not only was it super delicious, but I also got the excess steamed milk and chocolate that wouldn't fit in my cup. I tried to share it with the Security lady who rules our mall with a sassy fist(She's amazing at her job, and I adore her!), but she couldn't drink or eat on the job. So the thought was the counter today. I also tried to share it at work, but no one wanted it, so I just got a super large Italian mocha with extra Italian(Too bad it wasn't in the form of a guy...I'm still learning what God wants for me. Be gentle on judgments). To add to that, I learned that the inspiration for the decoration in our store is extremely similar to my style, and so I feel quite at home, already. Finally, as a top off to the day, I got some pretty samples from work, and my Ipsy bag came in the mail. My roommate is also home, so I no longer have to fear about sleeping alone in my apartment with no one to hear me scream if something happens.(Please laugh, I'm being slightly sarcastic.)

Here is a picture of coffee to brighten the mood anyway.

Any argument is now invalid.

All in all, this was an Epic day. Unexpectedly and Accidentally Awesome(Except for the part where it was intentionally sparked with a good, long conversation with God to give me the bread - my resources for the day that would allow me to do His will in His way.) Praise God for new jobs, good habits, and divine grace.