40 Days and 40 Nights of Facebook Statuses

I decided to abstain from using Facebook during Lent.  It is such a time suck, and if I sat down for even 1 day to track the number of minutes of my life is wasted on that website, we'd all be blown away.  I promise.  It's a sickness, I tell you! :)

Since I can't troll Facebook for funny yet unoriginal quotes, attention-seeking or vague status updates,  undeserving food pictures, news stories about the latest shooting in Gilpin Court, etc., I'll be updating this post for the next 40 days and 40 nights (technically 46 if you count Sundays) with my rambling thoughts that normally would go up on the old BookFace.

Consider yourself warned, this could get lengthy.

2/22/12 @ 4:44pm: So I just finished telling you that I gave up Facebook for Lent, and you want me to log onto Facebook to fix something for you?

2/22/12 @ 10:41pm: What has Chad Michael Murray done to his hair?Lord.

2/25/12 @10:58am: Wahoo! Spring Break has officially begun!

2/26/12 @ 7:24pm: Is it just me or have recent episodes of SVU gotten way darker?



Well, that didn't go as planned.

Monday I decided I couldn't live without Facebook for another minute, and reactivated my account.  Sorry Jesus. :)

DIY Taco Seasoning!

A few weeks ago, Dave and I were having nacho night, a favorite in the Anderl household, and we realized at the very last minute we were out of taco seasoning. Oh, the horror!

He whipped up something with some random hot spices, and it tasted ok, but wasn't the same. :(  #firstworldproblems.

So I said to myself: Dude, now's the perfect time to make that homemade taco seasoning on Pinterest that you and Bonnie have been talking about. Bonnie made hers already, so get on it, already.

I did just that.  Got on it.  Tonight.

Here's the recipe:

• 4 tbsp Chili Powder
• 3 tbsp, plus 1 tsp paprika
• 3 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp, plus 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

I wasn't thrifty like Bonnie, who perused her spice rack before making this to see what she actually needed to buy. I'm wasteful like that (which explains my rising credit card balance) plus I misread/misremembered the proportions and thought I needed 3-4 tbsp.'s of each spice rather than just a couple.

I ended up with all new spices:

Once I realized I over-bought, I decided to quadruple the recipe to fill my 32 oz. (4 cup) spice jar from Penzey's <- love that place! <3

Isn't it pretty?

This photo's just to show how much seasoning I made...here it is, sitting next to a 5 lb. bag of flour:

For $8+ in spices plus the $3 jar, we have 32 batches of taco seasoning. Quick, someone do the math.  Nah, it's not necessary. I'm pretty sure I couldn't get 32 packets of taco seasoning for $11, right?

Romans 8:31

My religion teaches me to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with my God. I am to serve the Lord, show respect for other religions, and share the Word. I accept people for who they are - although I might make fun of your hair :).  It's ok, you can make fun of mine too. I use my judgment, aided by my faith, to determine the correct course in life and sometimes I make mistakes.

I have never read the Bible from beginning to end. I rely on certain scriptures during hard times, but don't rely on them enough during good times. I'm working on that.

It hurts me to see Christians pluck one verse from the Bible and use it to justify discrimination and hate against a specific group of people. We have learned to overlook the verses surrounding Leviticus 20:13, like the one that compels us not to share communion with those who have skin conditions (sufferers of eczema, like me, appreciate that one) and the other one about wearing clothing made from more than one kind of cloth (like the poly/cotton blend cardy I have on right now).

Why the obsession with this specific verse? If we should use the Bible as a black and white rulebook, shouldn't we abide by every verse? If we did, we would all have unshaven faces and hair to our knees, all people with psychic abilities would be put to death, and anyone who surfed the crimson wave would be shunned.

Am I a bad Christian because I don't condemn people to Hell if I don't agree with their sexual orientation?  Am I a bad Christian because I am not willing to stone people who worship a different God?
Am I a bad Christian because I have defiled my body with a tattoo?

If those things make me wrong, I don't want to be a good Christian.