England

CookieCrazie Chatter...... Friday, July 12, 2013









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CookieCrazie's Week in Review









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Personal Side

Awwww......back in the groove.
I went SEVEN weeks without doing cookies.
But......I'm back!

This week I did two fun themes.
I was reminded of how happy my "cookie zone" makes me.
And I was able to accomplish more than I had hoped. 
Yippee!

I can't wait to show you all the cookies.
Between the themes and the colors.....I'm lovin' how they turned out.
 
My Army son is away for a 4 week long FTX (field training exercise).
Guess what he's getting in the mail next week?
I know some cookies from home will be a very welcomed sight. :)

I've already started thinking about what cookies I'm going to do this next week.
Hee hee....


Instagram photos for this week:

I wasn't going to start cookies until next week....
but I couldn't wait any longer. It's been SEVEN weeks! lol

I guess you could say I'm making lemonade today. ;)
 I'm lovin' this lemonade-themed color combo. :)

Coming along... :)

All the "fluff" to go with my lemonade-themed cookies.....
Fun first week back after such a long hiatus....

Another fun cookie theme for the week.....





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Last CookieCrazie Chatter....




Have Cookies......Will Travel to England and Ukraine



I had a fabulous overseas trip in June.
It was originally just a two week mission trip to Borislav, Ukraine
as I've done five years prior.
But then I decided to stay an extra week with my Ukrainian friend, Nadia.
And THEN......my friend Michelle invited me to come visit her in England before I flew to Ukraine.

Twenty-six days......my longest time ever away from home.

And as you can imagine......I had to make cookies for all my stops.

 My time in England was super sweet.
I got to tour some of the country side as well as London.
I surprised Michelle's family with some special British cookies.

Every year when I go to Ukraine,
I always take cookies to those to whom we minister.

This year we had our third annual women's camp.
The theme was "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes".
The Bible study I taught was on relationships and how we often judge people
before we get to really know them and their full story.
It's important for us to not judge by first appearances or impressions.
There's so much more to each individual than what we see or hear.

We gave each of the 60 ladies a pair of flip flops to decorate.

And I made them cookies to match. :)

 
And finally, I took individual cookies to hand out in all the Ukrainian homes we visited.
I decided to go simple since the time before the trip was so jam packed with preparation.

 
Now that I've been back home for a week......
looking at all these photos brings back such warm, sweet memories. :)


If you'd like to read more about my adventures, check out my Ukraine blog.

CookieCrazie Chatter...... Friday, June 14, 2013









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CookieCrazie's Week in Review







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Personal Side

This CookieCrazie Chatter is brought to you from L'viv Ukraine.
I left England on Saturday and took three different flights to finally arrive in Ukraine.
If you'd like to read about my adventures, visit my Ukraine blog HERE.

Since then, I've been visiting with my dear friend, Nadia, and her family.
She and Slavic have three children.
We've had some awesome adventures together.
And lots of great conversations.
I'm so thankful to have this refreshing time with them
before we start ministry in Borislav on Saturday.

The rest of my mission trip team (Dave & Donna) are on their way to L'viv.
They are due to arrive today (Friday) at noon.
We will come back to Slavik and Nadia's house for lunch and some "chill" time......
and then we will be off to Borislav late this afternoon.

The next two weeks in Borislav will probably be Internet-less.
We won't have it in the house we are staying.....
so the only place I might be able to check online is at another house very rarely.
So if you don't hear from me....you'll know why. :)

My blog posts will still keep coming on a schedule,
so when I can get back online, I'll try to catch you up with how our trip is going.

Until then...... I'll sign off. :)



Instagram photos for this week:


Michelle made me pavlova last night. Oh my!!
This morning....it is 4 AM I leave for Ukraine.
One connection is short, so please pray all goes smooth and my luggage makes it with me.
Goodbye England! You have been absolutely amazing!

 My last day in England... This was in a village, Castleton.
We had a lovely cup of coffee and enjoyed the beautiful day and the stunning landscape.
 This was on a pass we took to Castleton on my last day in England.
If you look closely in the one photo you can see a hand glider. Gorgeous day!!
  
Michelle's beautiful home and the surrounding area....
Such gorgeous country! I miss it already.

Time with my dear sweet friend, Nadya. I'm blessed. :)


 Strudel treat on a Sunday afternoon.....
Almost everyone got cherry. I got cherry cheese. Mmmmm....
 Today we went up into a bell tower in downtown L'viv.
The zillion uneven, crooked steps nearly stopped my heart by the time I got to the top,
but the breathtaking view was worth it. :)
  
Lunch with Nadia yesterday in L'viv. The roasted veggies were fabulous!
Oh....and the menu actually had English along side Ukranian. I could read the menu!! :)
 Foods on Tuesday..... breakfast, wild strawberries at the
Ukrainian Village Museum and a cherry feast!!
 Friends in L'viv.....(top) Oksana, Alana, Nadia, and Pam;
(l) Pam & Oksana; (r) Nellie, Dan, Nadia, Aliya.....
Wonderful Tuesday in L'viv. :)
Today in L'viv we climbed a small "mountain" for another breathtaking view of the city.
 A very eclectic little outdoor cafe called Kissing Place.
They potted flowers in all kinds of shoes.
It was fun to look at all their decor.
And wait until you see their desserts. :)
 Yummy desserts at the Kissing Place.
tl: Apple Strudel   tr: Chocolate Cake/
bl: Cherry Strudel  br: "Hot Chicolate"
The hot chocolate was funny.
They just melted a chocolate bar in a small coffee cup and added some nuts.
Notice how the spoon stands in the cup. :)
The bell tower we climbed to see the entire surrounding city.
If you'd like to read more about my Ukraine trip, visit   
www.craziecommitment.blogspot.com

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Last CookieCrazie Chatter....




CookieCrazie Chatter...... Friday, May 31, 2013











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CookieCrazie's Week in Review









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Personal Side

This week has been so fun.
I'm convinced more and more that the anticipation of a trip or fun event is the best part.

I've been decorating cookies for my trip,
shopping for last minute details,
pulling together blog posts for the next six weeks (!)
making lists and checking them twice, :)
getting things ready for the family while I'm gone for 26 days (yikes!),
minimizing as I've packed my suitcases,
and lots and lots of other things.
But it has been pure joy.

I'm very very excited to be visiting two cookie friends in England for a few days,
(I can't wait to see you, Michelle and Steph!)
and then going on to Ukraine to visit with my precious friend, Nadia.
The final two weeks will be in Ukraine doing our mission work as I do every year.

It's going to be quite a trip!
I'm sure I'll be ready to come home when it is time.......
but oh the memories that will be made!

I'm nearly ready to go.
I still have to work tomorrow at the hospital lab for my regular shift.
And then Sunday morning I will take off for Manchester, UK.

If you want to keep up with my trip, I'll try to post photos on my Instagram and Facebook.
And I'll also try to write about it in these CookieCrazieChatters each week.

If you'd like to read about the actual Ukraine ministries we'll do from June 14-28,
you can check out my Ukraine blog, CrazieCommitment.
There's nothing fancy about that blog.....just a place to share my thoughts and experiences.

I have all my CookieCrazie blog posts loaded up for the next several weeks.
I wanted to continue the blog going even while I was gone.
I'll try to pop in here at the end of each week and give you a small recap,
but there is never guarantee of internet in Ukraine.
So I'll be here if I can.
If not.....consider me here in heart. :)

Thanks so much for all your support throughout the year.
It is because of that support that I'm able to finance my trip
and the ministries we do while we are in Ukraine.
I'm extremely grateful for all of those who have ordered cookies from me,
visited my website, or bought my custom cookie cutters.
Because of these three avenues, I've been able to earn income to give to Ukraine missions.
What a joy it is decorate cookies (something I LOVE to do!) and then share about it here.
Is it a lot of work? Yes.
Is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!!!

Here I go.......

Instagram photos for this week:


Makin' a little sweet love for my beloved Ukrainians. :)

Here's the flip flop cookies for the Ukraine women's retreat. :)

First time using space bags for travel.
The coolest part (and only another cookie decorator could appreciate this...)
is I layered the cookies in between the clothes before gently compressing the bag.
What a perfect little nest for my cookies....
Plus I have extra space in my luggage. Happy!!


Hey.....I'm going to England.
I've got to have appropriate cookies, ya know. ;)


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Last CookieCrazie Chatter....


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