Up To Date

It's been a crazy month over this way!

I'm still knee-deep in salsa sales, and thankful for every single order! It just absolutely took off like wildfire and I couldn't be more grateful for a successful fundraiser. So far, I've met my first monetary goal, and already have funds to go toward my second goal, due at the end of May. I have been blessed beyond measure with donations and plenty of salsa sales!!

Among all the preparations for Africa, I moved to the big city! It's been a long time coming, and I'm beyond happy to be back in my hometown. Unfortunately, we had to move my Pa into a nursing home because of his progressing Alzheimer's and the toll it was taking on my Grams, so I was able to move in with her to help her adjust. We get along wonderfully, and it's been a God-send for both of us.

I was ecstatic to go buy my first set of groceries ON MY OWN for my new house. That is, until I had to pay for it in the end. It's much more fun to pick out groceries when you're not the one swiping the credit card. ;)

It's been fun to see all the old things that Grams is finding while cleaning the guest bedroom to become my bedroom. I found these super old hangers in her closet, and thought they were so neat. And I'm happy to say I'm getting to use my very favorite quilt. It's been at her house since I can remember, and it's always been my fav.

The move has also relegated me to the Monday night card table with Grama, Aunt G and Uncle J. Since I've been a kid they've been getting together at Gram's house on Monday nights to play cards. Since Pa's Alzheimer's, they haven't gotten to play as much (Rook, especially), so we brought out the old Rook cards Monday night. Much to my Aunt's chagrin, Grams and I slaughtered. They decided to switch to Golf, a card game I wasn't that thrilled with the first time I played it, but since I walloped them at that too, it's not such a bad game after all. :)

-Jenn (With 2 N's)

Munchies 4 Missions & Salsa 4 Souls

While I am still in the process of finishing my embroidery project (running out of time!) I am also in the middle of another VERY exciting project.

As some of you may know, I am traveling to Tanzania, Africa in July on an AYC missions trip. This will be my first time out of the country, and I can't think of a better place to go. I am ECSTATIC and truly can't wait to be in Africa.

In December I started Munchies 4 Missions, my personal fundraising endeavor.

I had great success selling at our local Christmas parade, and I was so appreciative to everyone who came out to support me and buy something!

Well, the Lord must've inspired me, because I have a new project going under Munchies 4 Missions. My BFF has dubbed it "Salsa 4 Souls." :) She's a smart one.

I have been taking orders for homemade salsa, and am astounded at the response I've gotten JUST on Facebook!

A few weeks ago I got the itch to try my hand at making my own salsa. We are Pace eaters in our house, but we've grown tired of it. I prefer a smoother, restaurant style salsa, so that's what I made. It was yumm-oh!

I decided to try it as a fundraiser, and within a few hours of posting on Facebook I had a TON of orders. Within the last week I've taken orders upwards of $400 and I am just so ecstatic. I never expected it to take off like it has, and all I can say is...God is GOOD!

I am still taking orders, so if you aren't connected to me on Facebook and would like to order some, it's $5 per jar. Available in Medium or Hot. It is canned and heat sealed, so it can stay on the shelf for a few months. Email me at jleann86@sbcglobal.net to place an order.

Beyond all the donations and orders, I covet everyone's prayers for my journey. Pray that God will keep his hand on our group and that we will be a blessing to the missionaries in Tanzania.

I am just thrilled beyond measure to be part of something so great.

-Jenn (With 2 N's)

What I'm Up To

I'm really excited to be in the middle of my first embroidery project. Granted, I did learn to cross stitch when I was younger, but I got to sit down with my Mom a few days ago and she showed me all the basic stitches.

They say practice makes perfect, and I REALLY need to practice on french knots. Those boogers are hard! My big fingers get in the way. BUT, I'm slowly mastering the petal stitch and the split stitch. Those are definitely my favorites.

I found this YouTube video that also helped a lot.

As much as I researched and wanted to do a "tea" themed piece, I just have run out of time for my first piece. So, I found this amazingly beautiful material, and plan on embellishing it with french knots, petal stitches, etc. I'm excited to see how it turns out!

In other news, look what came in the mail the other day...

I am official! And I'm REALLY going to Africa! I'm so excited I could just scream. I can't wait!

-Jenn (With 2 N's)

Munchies 4 Missions: Success!

We had a WONDERFUL day Saturday at the Merry Mall. Tons of people stopped by, and I know those that couldn't make it were praying for our success because we certainly had it! I raised enough money to completely cover my passport expense, application fee, and put some in savings. It was a good day!

In the hustle and bustle of setting everything up, I left my good camera at home, so you get the stinky iPhone pics. Oh, well!

On the tables from left to right we had: Peanut Brittle, Chocolate Cake Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies, Crunchy Holiday Peanut Butter Mix, Marshmallow Pops, Tiger Butter Fudge, Peanut Butter Cookies, Sweet 'n Salty Sammies, Haddles, and then all my hair stuff. I had made some braided headbands, as well as some stretchy bands with flowers or buttons. I even got some custom orders and made them that day!

Mom was with me most of the day and she helped me SO much. I couldn't have done it without her. We had a rush at the end of the night because Santa came by to take pictures with the kids. It was wonderful! :)

Thursday night and Friday afternoon/evening after work were set aside for all the baking. It was tedious work, but I got it all done. Dad helped a lot and we managed to thoroughly make a mess of the kitchen.

 One of my favorite things was getting to smash up the peanut butter cups for the chocolate cake cookies. And oh my goodness...they were AMAZING! So, so good.

Tiger Butter fudge cooling off in the fridge. It was hard not to run my finger through that whole thing and lick it. It's seriously the easiest fudge you will ever make.

Grab one package (24 oz.) of white almond bark, 1.5 cups of creamy peanut butter, and one regular sized bag of milk chocolate chips. Make SURE they are milk chocolate. It will make you smile.

Cut the almond bark into pieces and melt in the microwave. I always start out with 2 minutes, stir and see how it's doing. I usually put it in for another minute, then add in the peanut butter. You want the almond bark to be almost completely melted before adding in the PB. Melt that for about 45 seconds/minute and stir until completely combined. Pour the bark/PB mixture in a parchment lined 9x13 glass dish. And please, for the sake of your sanity, line the dish with parchment or wax. You can't get the fudge out if you don't.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave (1-2 minutes) and spoon it over the peanut butter mixture. I usually start drizzling it in a circular pattern. Once it's all on, swirl it with the tip of a butter knife. It won't look pretty while you're spooning the chocolate on, but once you start swirling it will become lovely. Put this in the fridge over night, or freeze it for about 45 minutes if you're in a hurry. Once it's set, pop it out of the pan, and cut into small chunks.

This stuff is extremely decadent, so you want to make these small pieces. It will go further, and a little goes a long way with Tiger Butter.

 These guys were fun to make. It was a pain unwrapping all those Hugs, but Dad helped and we made quick work of it. They were so easy! You just lay out Pretzel snaps on a cookie sheet (covered in parchment), stack one Hug on each pretzel and pop them in the oven for about 3 minutes. You just want them to get soft so you can moosh the tops on. *Moosh is a technical baking term.

We had some extra Reese's cups left over, so Dad even tried some with those. He just cut one cup in half and mooshed them just like the Hugs. They were yummy! Everyone thought they were so cool.

Probably my favorite thing on the table was the Peanut Butter cookies. I found an old fashioned recipe online for "Welfare Cookies" and they were divine. I used crunchy peanut butter, and it just gave them an extra special punch. Yumm-o!

Surprisingly, these marshmallow pops were super popular. The kids really loved them. I set them up on a cake stand, and sold them 3 for $1. We sold out of these babies! And the ones with the broken sticks...I ete em. =)

I knew I would have plenty of down time during the day to work on hair bows, so I took my craft supplies with me. Some ladies I knew wanted custom braided headbands in specific colors, so I made a few custom orders earlier in the day. They were thrilled!

I had tons of bright colored felt with me, so I used a flower template I already had on hand to make this colorful gal. I sold it about an hour after I had it finished! The little girl that got it immediately put it on.


We still have plenty of peanut brittle left (we made a large order) so if you need to order some, or know someone looking for some, just give me a shout and we'll get you some. They are $3 per bag with 2 medium patties in each bag.

It was a tiring weekend, but very successful for my first fundraising attempt. God had favor on us, and I'm so thankful!


-Jenn (With 2 N's)


Recipe Links:
Welfare Peanut Butter Cookies
Chocolate Cake Reese's Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies

Munchies 4 Missions

This summer I got to travel to Columbus, OH for North American Youth Congress. I met up with my sister and her church from NY, and we had a blast. The last time I got to go I was about 14. This trip was much more meaningful for me.

For awhile I've been feeling like there's something extra I need to be doing. Some goal I need to be striving for. I found out what it was this summer.

Our church organization hosts missions trips each summer for youth and young adults. There are numerous overseas trips to choose from and some North American trips as well. I've known about Apostolic Youth Corps for years, but was never interested. My parents and family have told me I should go on a trip, but I like being home, and I like being in my comfort zone, so I never gave it any thought.

At Youth Congress one night they had individuals get up who had been on AYC trips last summer. One of the girls was from my sister's church. After hearing their stories and listening to the speaker talk about the life changing trips, I leaned around and looked at my sister. She was looking at me at that precise moment too. I kind of smiled and nodded. She did too. I had found what it was I was supposed to be doing.

After much prayer and thought, I've almost 100% decided on the Tanzania trip. I've felt a certain pull there, and have heard wonderful things about the missionaries. Just saying Tanzania is where I'm going is exciting to me. I can't wait to be on the plane, to be landing in Africa of all places, and to be working with the host missionaries. I want it to be July right now!

However, before I can go anywhere I need to raise money. Quite a bit, actually. So, this Saturday my Mom is helping me host a booth at the Merry Mall in our town. The Merry Mall is an empty building on Broadway where vendors can set up and sell their wares. Our Christmas parade is that evening, so people will be milling around town, hopefully stopping in and buying things!

Anyone who will be around Cleveland should come see me! I'll be selling Christmas goodies, as well as hair bows, braided headbands and clippies. ALL my proceeds will be going toward my trip.

The official Munchies 4 Missions List:

Chocolate Marshmallow Pops
-Jumbo marshmallows dipped in milk chocolate on a pretzel lollipop stick.

Chocolate Cake Reese's Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies
-Devil's food cake mix cookies dotted with mini chocolate chips and crumbled Reese's cups.

Crunchy Holiday Peanut Butter Mix
-A fun twist on trail mix with Golden Graham's, Cocoa Puff's, pretzels, peanuts and Reese's pieces, tossed in white chocolate and powdered sugar.

Haddles
-Clusters of mini marshmallows, peanuts and white chocolate.

Tiger Butter
-Peanut butter and white chocolate fudge swirled with milk chocolate.

Sweet N' Salty Sammies
-A Hershey's Hug sandwiched between two salty pretzel snaps.

Homemade Peanut Brittle
Traditional Peanut Butter Cookies


I hope you can stop in and see me this weekend. I know not everyone can, so more than anything I covet your prayers. I've never been out of the country before...let alone to Africa, so there is still some trepidation on my part. I know this is what God wants for me, and I'm beyond thrilled to be preparing for this trip, but I need all the prayer I can get! Pray that God will give me strength, courage and the ability to truly help where I am needed while I am there. Pray that we will see souls saved.

-Jenn With 2 N's

P.S. If you would like to order any goodies for Christmas send an email to jlsdesign@att.net.