A New Bailey

2011: A Year in Review

2011-12-29T09:39:00.006-05:00

2011 was an eventful year in our household.

In March, we found out where David would do his Internal Medicine/Pediatrics rotation, and where we move at the end of May and live for the next 4 years.

In May, David graduated (with honors) from medical school. I finished my 3 year stint of work for our church.

In June, we moved to a new city/apartment and David started work as a doctor while I started staying at home.

We also vacationed in Venice, FL with David’s family and celebrated our 3rd wedding annivery.

In July, David’s brother got married, and as some people from the town said, “it’s the wedding of the century.”

In September, we had our first break from residency in a 2-week vacation, 1 week of which we spent in San Diego, CA.

In October, I started playing keys and singing with our church band, spent a long weekend in Gatlingburg, and celebrated my 27th birthday.

This year, I discovered the fun of an Amazon Universal Wish List and Pinterest. (!!!)

I knit 7 knits (2 pairs of booties, a hat, a pair of mittens, a pair of handwarmers, a pair of socks, and a cowl), sewed an alphabet embroidery sampler, and painted a painting.

I read 22 books.
1.Emma 2.Cranford 3.This Momentary Marriage 4.The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 5.The Secret Adversary 6.Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus 7.Little Women

I watched 38 movies. (Not including the movies I saw for a 2nd, 3rd, or more times.)
1.Inception 2.The King's Speech 3.Downton Abbey 4.Sherlock 5.Tangled 6.True Grit 7.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 8.The Adjustment Bureau 9.X-Men: First Class 10.Courageous 11.Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Oh, and I wrote 16 blogs (including this one.)

I'll recap Christmas later, felt like doing this one first. :)

The Thanksgiving Holiday

2011-11-30T12:58:00.005-05:00

First, handmade/homemade item #4 was mailed off on Wednesday! Handwarmers, and a quick project of a coffee cozy.

Only 1 more to go. Hopefully it will be done this year. That was the goal, after all...

Thanksgiving itself was a bit different this year. David had to work the day of and the day after so instead of us travelling, his family came in town Friday, and I cooked for everyone Saturday. It was a lot of preparation, but in general, I had fun doing it. And all the food was a hit. David and I finished off everything last night for a total of 18 servings. Just should have made more sweet potato casserole! You can never have too much.

The table.

The people.

With Thanksgiving on Saturday, David and I put up the tree on Sunday. Finding a place to put a Christmas tree in a new apartment is kind of a challenge, but after some rearranging it looks great!

Still hard to believe it's the holiday season, and that we've lived here a full 6 months!

Recently....

2011-10-29T11:41:00.013-04:00

-I finished and mailed off Handmade/Homemade Item #3!

I don't really have so much to say about this project. It was fun and simple to make, seeing how I made it once before for myself, here. And it's fun b/c Erin liked it and it fits. :)

-I went to Gatlinburg with my parents and got to eat at the Pancake Pantry. And I got to hike. 2 of my very favorite Fall things.

-I had a birthday. One gift I received was a pie plate. So I made a pumpkin pie.

Pretty pie plate. Turquoise Fiestaware. :)

-I'm learning embroidery.

Anyway, that's what's been going on recently. Hope you're having a happy fall!

A San Diego Vacation

2011-10-05T12:11:00.014-04:00

So, I mentioned in passing that David and I went on a 2-week vacation. We spent time with each of our families, and spent a week staying with friends in San Diego, CA.

David and I honeymooned in San Diego staying on Coronado at the Glorietta Bay Inn. And we did pretty much all we could think of to do in and around San Diego. It was really fun getting to go back, and see what else there was to see. Let alone stay with some really good friends who live there now.

We stayed pretty busy, for the most part, doing new things around town and surrounding areas.

Hiking at Torrey Pines State Reserve along the unique terrain and watching the coastline.

Spending time with some great college friends who drove down to Del Mar to see us.

Touring the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Roasting S'Mores on the Coronado Beach with our awesome hosts.

Watching at least a hundred dolphins swim along side us while "whale watching" in Newport Beach.

Enjoying the coast and the wildlife found in La Jolla. (Herons, cormorants, pelicans, sea lions, harbor seals, and dolphins to name a few.)

Eating some really great food.

But my favorite part? That might have just been walking around the Hotel del Coronado and sitting on the beach.

The weather was gorgeous. The Hotel has this luxurious feel of older times. Similar to what I think of when reading Agatha Christie. To clarify, not the murders, just the era. This is where I imagine Poirot would stay. And it's still crazy to me that it is a functioning hotel. It looks more like an historic landmark.

But really, I think it was my favorite time in San Diego because it was just about the only time David and I just sat and did nothing. We enjoyed a late lunch at the Sheerwater. We watched the waves and navy planes flying over. We simply enjoyed relaxing in each other's company.

I loved being on vacation. And going and experiencing all the things above.

But I really loved having 2 weeks with my husband without any other commitments.

Quick Crafting Wreath

2011-09-30T17:30:00.006-04:00

While on vacation last week visiting David's family, I decided to try my hand at making a fall wreath. I (once more, these days) got my inspiration from Pinterest.

I thought the blog had a great simple tutorial to go with the photo. Here's the link.

I went to Hobby Lobby in search of who knows what, and ended up with a grapevine wreath, 3 sprigs of berries, 2 bunches of large mums, and 1 bunch of flowers that I don't exactly know how to describe. And after $20, some hot glue, and 45 minutes, I had this:

I'm not saying it's the best thing ever - but I'm pretty happy with it. And I'm still amazed after looking at wreaths how expensive those things are, and sometimes how ugly...

So now we've made it back home, and with a new decorative addition to our apartment.

Handmade/Homemade #2

2011-09-08T10:35:00.004-04:00

The first thing I actually made for these projects was a set of 5 quilted coasters. Which I completely forgot to get a picture of...

But for various reasons I was kind of slow going in giving them away. One being that the recipient was in the process of moving to a newly built home. Another, is I'm bad about remembering things like envelopes when I go out. So I ended up finishing and getting these mittens mailed first. And in the mean time, of making the mittens/buying envelopes, I got the news that this friend is now pregnant with twins! And really, coasters didn't sound like too great a gift. So I embarked on new knitting territory and added a second project to my gift. This one, more focused on the twins.

For Sarah's firstborn I made this blanket. My first, and only, knit blanket. Not sure if I'll go there again. I found it to be a slow process - hence my enjoyment of knitting much smaller things such as hats, handwarmers, and mittens. This is the route I took for her next children:

I loved making these! They're so tiny, and so different than anything else I've made. I'll totally use this pattern again.

So, Sarah, I hope you love your homemade item(s), and maybe even the coasters will come in handy!

In other non-crafty news, I get to go on a 2-week vacation soon! I'm pumped. :)

Food & Recipes

2011-08-30T19:45:00.007-04:00

Here are some of my favorite things I've cooked/baked recently. The top 3 are completely new to me, but I grew up eating the last, once I liked baked fruit desserts. Sadly, I was a picky eater when I was little. Oh, well, I got better!

Garlic Chicken
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/garlic-chicken/detail.aspx

I found this in my search for a new way to cook chicken. And I had all the ingredients on hand. Only change I made was to use Italian seasoned bread crumbs instead of plain - b/c it's what I had. :)

Mac and Cheese
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mac-and-cheese-recipe2/index.html

I made half this recipe, since it's just the 2 of us and it was still 6-8 servings. It was a side, not a meal, maybe that was the difference. I also substituted Swiss cheese for Gruyere. Gruyere runs about $16/pound. So, yeah. Still the best mac and cheese recipe I've ever used/made.

Oven Baked Parmesan Seasoned Fries
http://playwithsugar.blogspot.com/2009/07/oven-baked-parmesan-seasoned-fries.html

These are really great. I mean, so much better than any frozen fry in a bag. 1) It actually tastes like potatoes. 2) That's some good seasoning.

Blueberry Cobbler

This might be online somewhere, but this is my grandmother's recipe. And I know there are some similar online, but I'd rather just type it out. :)

Here, I actually divided the recipe in half and baked in small pyrex bowls. It worked great. Oh, and the cake part turns out purple a lot when I make it, but it doesn't effect the flavor.

serves 6, cooking time 25-30 min, preheat oven to 325 (glass)/350 (metal)

6 tbl butter (or less)
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
2 tps baking powder
1 quart berries (in this case blueberries, naturally)
1 cup sugar
3/4 water

Melt butter in pan while oven heats. In bowl combine sugar, flour, milk, and baking powder. On stove, mix together fruit, sugar, and water until heated and mixture becomes syrupy.

Pour flour mixture into 8x8 glass or metal pan over butter. Pour fruit mixture on top. Bake until cake is lightly browned.

And if you like, add 1/8 tsp (or a little more) of cinnamon and nutmeg to the fruit. And the cake mixture. It's a great little addition!

Handmade/Homemade Item #1

2011-08-27T10:45:00.004-04:00

Back in January I posted this on Facebook:

Pay it Forward 2011: I promise to send something handmade or homemade to the first 5 people who leave a comment here. The item will be of my choosing and I have until Dec 31, 2011 to get it to you. You must in turn post this and send something you make to the first 5 people who comment on your status. The rules are that it must be handmade/homemade by you and sent to your 5 people sometime in 2011.

At the time I was pretty crafted out from Christmas.

Lots of knits within about 2 months. (Also, another hat that I never got around to getting a picture of... oh well.)

So though I was excited about making projects for people, I just needed a break. And I kind of forgot about the whole thing - though it was still back in my mind somewhere - until I got on the receiving end. And these were started and made shortly after.

Ah... it feels good to be knitting again! And learning knew things about knitting too. It's good stuff.

Items #2 will be coming soon - just waiting for them to be delivered to the recipient!

Lexington Weekend Trip

2011-08-25T12:06:00.005-04:00

Last weekend I headed to see these lovely ladies in Lexington.

The purpose? To pick up this:

Our new (to us) car!

We had a great time, mostly running errands, hanging curtains, building bookshelves and the like, getting Martha's new apartment all ready before classes start back.

It would've been a great trip, whether or not there had been a new car to drive home. But I was just so excited about it the whole time driving home! Then, to add to my enthusiasm, there was a package to David, waiting for me on our doorstep from a favorite blog of mine.

I was so disappointed it was marked to David, b/c I was pretty sure I knew what it was, and if I wasn't supposed to get it until my birthday, or something.... well, it's just a long time to wait! So when David got home I bugged him about it, and he let me open it.

He was going to buy this as an anniversary gift this summer, but by the time he looked into it they were sold out. I was so disappointed. But then a week ago Alicia contacted him saying there was an extra kit if he was still interested. Yay for an early b-day present!

Also, in other apartment decorating news, I've desperately been on the hunt for new lampshades. And in my search have discovered 1) how picky I am, and 2) how hard a nice looking reasonably priced shade is. But while in Lexington I came across one that fit my criteria! First, here's a before of the lamp.

Black shade, with gold lining. Making everything look golden yellow. And really not emitting much light. And after...

Voila! White shade, bright white light. Now, maybe I'll think about spray painting the base... color or neutral? In the meantime, I'm just loving the improvement!

A New Apartment & A Painting Project

2011-07-26T09:18:00.009-04:00

On Memorial Day we moved to our new town/new apartment. We love our new apartment - more space, different layout, and washer/dryer. I really could have just said washer/dryer and that's reason enough. :) Before we even moved I had kind of an idea of how I wanted to decorate the walls.

The Dining Room Wall

Gallery Wall

Which brings me to an empty space:

On the floor, as you can see, are many more frames/photos I haven't used yet, but this wall is directly across from the gallery. So it seemed a little much to add more frames. Then, my friend Sarah suggested doing a painting. I'm not really much of a painter. Drawer, yes. I would definitely say I can draw. But then I got inspired - thanks to pinterest - by this print. And so the painting project began.

Here was my process (in photos):

Problem solved!

Hello again.

2011-07-05T09:09:00.003-04:00

Well - I got a little wrapped up in all the changes around me. It's been a while. Between finding out where we matched, David graduating from medical school, moving, getting settled, going on vacation, David starting his new job, and my brother-in-law getting married... I haven't much thought about this blog. :)

So let's back up. Right before David graduated on May 14, we had a week of celebration known as "Senior Week". I don't know if we've ever been more social! (Well, up until residency orientation.)

The week included...

Doctor's Ball Monday.

Bowling Tuesday.

Bourbon Trail Wednesday.

Followed by a picnic/frisbee at a horse farm.

Churchill Downs Thursday.

We had an awesome time with everything - especially since everything was free for us! And we finally got to do some of those Louisville/Kentucky things like going to a horse farm, horse races, and touring at least one bourbon distillery (Buffalo Trace). We now can tell you more about bourbon than you'd probably care to know. :)

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

2011-04-23T11:22:00.001-04:00

Man of Sorrows! what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

-Philip P. Bliss

2011-03-14T20:44:00.010-04:00

First off, I love this song by the Fleet Foxes. I don't know what it is about songs with vocals, but without words. I'm a fan.

Since I last wrote:

I've seen The King's Speech. It's good. You should see it.

I've also watched the BBC's new contemporary version of Sherlock Holmes, "Sherlock". Again, it's really good. You should see it.

I've read "This Momentary Marriage." It's a really great book on marriage. I recommend it for any age. You can download the PDF for free, or buy the book for $7.

I also read "Emma" by Jane Austen online and from this book. It's pretty. I like Jane Austen.

One of my favorite bands, Eisley, has a new album. You can get it on Amazon for $5 right now. However, David gave me the vinyl version as a Valentine's Day gift (along with red/pink roses). It's red.
Last week David bought me yellow roses - out of the blue. :)

This past weekend David and I headed to Paducah for his brother's wedding shower. I wish we were still there with everyone. Food was fantastic (and we got to go to Patti's again). Sunny and in the upper 60s. Other than the shower - no plans and no commitments.

I'm ready for my own Spring break! Oh to have that aspect of being a student again...

Today we found out that David has a job as a resident in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics for the next 4 years. He'll get paid. Kind of a first since we got married (plus one summer job, and jury duty - which totally doesn't count). Thursday we find out which one. So ready!

Winter Tidbits

2011-01-21T08:35:00.010-05:00

1. I've discovered this year that I'm very particular in what hot chocolate I like. Nothing seems to taste so good as Land O'Lakes. My favorites are Chocolate Supreme and Chocolate Graham.

2. I love marshmallows in hot chocolate. Which is interesting b/c I haven't had them in hot chocolate in years, until this year. I just randomly craved it. (note the picture of my 'K' mug in the previous post. marshmallows to the brim.)

3. I love looking through "old" photos. It's hard to believe on New Year's Day 2010 I got to experience this beauty.
4. I think I wore myself out on projects/knitting right before Christmas. While I've looked at projects I want to do, I just don't have much desire to pick it up again. Yet.

5. I really want to make this, but don't want to buy all the yarn for it.

Photo from Ravelry

6. I really want to go see The King's Speech. Partly b/c it's about a King of England. Partly b/c it's starring Colin Firth who is a favorite actor of mine b/c of this mini-series.7. I should make something out of this cookbook. (David gave it to me for Christmas!) I'm particularly interested in one of the many scone recipes in the back... naturally.

8. It's currently a snowy, sunny, 8 degrees, feels like -5 degree day (and the office is closed!)

9. Well, I thought this might be a 10-point list, but I can't think of anything else. Oh well. :)

EDIT: 10. Last weekend I watched Inception for the first time. I wasn't sure how I'd like it, only b/c I got really tired of everyone talking about it on Facebook when it first came out. But even though my heart was racing through most of it, I loved it.

Xmas Recap

2011-01-06T13:52:00.004-05:00

Opening stockings, day after Christmas
Finished stocking, hung by the fire
Christmas in Memphis
David totally surprised about getting Goldeneye
I got Beauty and the Beast!
Gifts relating to my childhood: Auburn mug, Anne of Green Gables collection, Winnie the Pooh, Beauty and the Beast (w00t)
Our decorated tree
1st Christmas with a stocking in Paducah!
Lunch at Patti's
Anthopologie 'K' mug
Thomas opening our gift
Martha excited about UK pjs

Christmas Knits

2011-01-04T08:51:00.006-05:00

During 2010 my knowledge and skill in knitting increased significantly. For no reason other than I decided to try something new, and have since discovered that so much of knitting I'm interested in is pretty easy. What with youtube videos and ravelry.com you can't go wrong.

Knitting a few Christmas gifts for family this year wasn't necessarily in my original plan, but since the idea first came up in February last year. So it probably wasn't in the plan, b/c I didn't have one yet. Christmas had only just passed. The idea came when my sister-in-law emailed me requesting these. Which are too cute, and I love owls, so how could I not make them for her. The yarn I used matches this scarf I made for her last Christmas. And she was thrilled with the outcome!

The next gift idea came into my head because I just never know what to get for my brother.... ever. (He and my husband are the hardest people to shop for. Why exactly are guys so hard to shop for?) I had the idea of making a hat with his band name embroidered on it just before he sent a Christmas list out saying he enjoyed getting things with his band name on them. My idea was still a stretch as far as what he was thinking, probably. Last year he got a leather guitar strap and a belt with his band on it, I don't think yarn was what he had in mind... oh well. I went with it anyway. After several tries on the embroidery, I was finally okay with how it turned out.

(My husband modeling. Thanks!)

In the end, I think it turned out to be a pretty good gift. He was at least impressed I made it by hand. :)

Stocking again: The Details

2010-12-16T12:51:00.003-05:00

Once we're past Christmas I'll have a couple other projects to blog about... but in the mean time, I thought I'd share the crazy details of my stocking, which don't really show up well in a photo of the whole. I did things I've never done before - beading, cording, french knots, lazy daisy stitches. All of which kinda make me want to try my hand at embroidery. All in due time, I'm sure.

The Past 2 Weeks

2010-12-06T08:40:00.007-05:00

The past 2 weeks feel very full. Filled with travel, family, more travel, and church choir rehearsals. General business that comes with the holiday season. So for a recap... Over Thanksgiving we headed down to Gatlinburg for a long weekend with family in the mountains. I love the mountains, and family. And food, so it worked out. :)

Thanksgiving Day was spent pretty much like this:

Literally. Except for the laundry I did and the food I ate, I worked on my stocking ALL DAY LONG. All while watching the end of Mary Poppins, most of Beauty and the Beast, and all of You've Got Mail. And 10 minutes after the last movie, I was done. No more needlepoint - just all the detail work. Which took another week to complete. But now I have this:

Done as of yesterday. w00t!

Friday in Gatlinburg looked pretty much the same as above, just without the stocking in my lap all day. It was rainy, cloudy, and cold so we didn't really venture out. But Saturday David and I finally made it on our 8 mile hike. It was cold, but kinda nice. Two years ago we did the same thing for Thanksgiving, but only made it halfway up the Ramsey Cascades Trail before we decided to turn around and finish it another trip.

The trail climbs 2375 ft over 4 miles. I found it daunting, but definitely satisfying to finish.

Since coming home we have traveled to Cincinnati for another residency interview and Springfield, KY for an engagement party (David's brother!). I'm looking forward to a week at home and started other projects I'd like completed before Christmas.

And for a December weather update - it's flurried and/or snowed here 5 days. Today is December 6. Hello winter!

Christmas Crafting

2010-11-13T11:53:00.003-05:00

Since September I've been working on this:
My stocking. I keep thinking about how I'm getting close to being done. But then I turn it over...and realize that I'm not. Especially when I think about the 2.5" border that goes on the top. But it is coming along, just wearing on me. But at least I still like it. :)

Seemingly unrelated, the other day I got my first red cup of the season. I put my usual coffee cozy on it and realized maybe I should do a short in between project just to get something completed quickly.
Because, really, this just doesn't work. The solution: And now, after about 30 minutes of work, I have a completed project and am fully prepared for the red cup season at Starbucks. Success!

Silly old bear

2010-11-11T13:35:00.004-05:00

Disney's coming out with a new Winnie the Pooh movie! Generally I wouldn't get too excited about that. I haven't seen any Winnie the Pooh movie except for the 1977 "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh." But the reason I'm excited about this currently is what I read in an article yesterday which said:

Walt Disney Animation Studios is returning the honey-loving teddy bear and his pals to their hand-drawn animated roots for a feature film dipping into theaters July 15, 2011. The new "Winnie the Pooh," the first big-screen "Pooh" adventure from Disney animators in more than 30 years, will more closely resemble the classic short films from the 1960s and '70s.

Sounds good to me! And here's a quote from the new trailer which made me smile.

Owl: The thing to do is issue a reward..
Pooh: Gesundheit
Owl: I beg your pardon?
Pooh: You sneezed.
Owl: No I didn't. The word is issue, not achoo.
Pooh: You must be catching a cold.
Eeyore: I'll probably catch it too.

Birthday Recap

2010-10-29T16:25:00.012-04:00

For some reason this year I feel like my birthday was more like Christmas. I guess b/c I received so many gifts I was really excited about. I feel ready to go on a trip with my new duffle bag, and go hiking with new backpack and hiking shoes. Which is convenient b/c I will be doing just that over Thanksgiving!

David also got me a necklace I told him about months ago from Lisa Leonard Designs.
I guess I don't have much to say about my birthday in general, but my parents came for the weekend and we shopped and ate lots of good food: here, here, and here. Oh and my cake is from here. Loved it and the weekend in general!

A Couple of Solid Recipes

2010-10-28T10:39:00.003-04:00

I've made these scones many times. And made them for work once. Everyone LOVED them. I don't know where the recipe came from originally, but I found it on a blog.

Chocolate Chip Cream Scones (makes 8*)

Ingredients:
2 cups (10 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
5 tbsp chilled, unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch cubes
¾ c. chocolate chips
1 c. heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Whisk together.
Using a pastry blender, quickly cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. You might need to use a knife to scrape the pastry blender a few times as you mix. (I use my stand mixer, and my hands some as I've just recently acquired a pastry blender and have yet to make this recipe with it.)
Stir in chocolate chips.
Stir in heavy cream with fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds
Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, slightly sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. You want to knead it into about a 1-inch thick ball.
Cut scones into 8 wedges. Place wedges onto an ungreased baking sheet. (*The past 2 times I've made them I've cut each wedge in half making 16 mini scones, which I think I prefer.)
Bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Resist the urge to eat the scones hot out of the oven. (For real, they taste better once they've cooled down.)

One other recipe that I make multiple times each fall/winter is a Taco Soup recipe. I've had many varieties of Taco Soup. And been let down with a few before. Not to say that the recipe I use is better, but David and I prefer it to any of the others we've had. And it makes a ton - at least for 2 people. We usually freeze half of it, and still eat it for 5 or 6 meals, so 10-12 servings.

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1½ lbs of ground beef
4 cans of beans - black, pinto, or red kidney (Use your favorite proportion, I usually use 3 cans of black and 2 cans of red kidney - leaving out ½ lb. of meat)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can whole kernel corn
1 package taco seasoning
1 4oz can of green chilies (or chopped jalapeños for extra spice)
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1 can refried beans (for thickening)
2 cups water
2 cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 can tomatoes with green chilies
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Brown meat and drain. Add all ingredients to a large stock pot and mix well. Bring to boil then turn down to simmer. Simmer for one to two hours with pot covered. Serve with chips, cheese and sour cream.
This can also be made vegetarian by substituting 2 cans of beans for meat and decreasing to 1 cup of water.

So there you have it, two staples in my recipe book.

Carving Pumpkins: A Fall Tradition

2010-10-11T15:36:00.007-04:00

Since David and my engagement we've made it tradition to carve a pumpkin every fall. I don't know that it was intentional, but we keep having the opportunity. Besides, it's fun! I mean, we don't even have a doorstep to display the finished product. I'm not really into Halloween so this is most definitely a fall tradition for us (me) not a Halloween tradition. And by the time Halloween rolls around we've already thrown the pumpkin out, or should have as it will be falling apart and/or moldy...

Here are our pumpkins throughout the years.

2007

2008

2009

And now presenting our 2010 pumpkin (without straying from our general Pixar theme) :

A Very Fall Weekend

2010-10-04T18:39:00.006-04:00

Fall weather is finally here! and David and I had a great weekend enjoying it. We stayed pretty busy, but it was a novelty having him at home - now that his rotations have started back - and without any studying to do. Friday night we hung out with med school people around a fire pit. With such a cool evening it was perfect weather to sit around a fire and chat.

We planned a bigger day on Saturday with a big breakfast (probably actually a brunch b/c we ate at 11...) at our favorite breakfast place here, Wild Eggs. As a side note, if you ever go get the french toast. And if you don't want an entire order of french toast, get it as a side. You won't be sorry. It's our favorite !

After we were entirely too stuffed we headed south to Bernheim Arboretum for a hike.We started at 1 and got back to our car at 4:30. We were pretty tired and later learned we did an 8.2 mile hike! Yikes. I thought the plan was 6... and now I have a new record for longest day hike. Another interesting factor of the hike is it started out sunny and 70 degrees and ended with rain in 55 degree weather. I don't know that I really warmed up again until I sat down on our couch later that evening exhausted sipping some hot chocolate and watching college football. Ah, I love the fall! (and my birthday month!)

First fall leaves siting!

And for no real reason - I got to eat this for lunch today: here.

Black Raspberry Stuffed French Toast. Mmmmmmm.

Chicago!

2010-09-28T09:15:00.006-04:00

A couple weekends ago now, David and I made a trek up to Chicago. He had an 8-hour exam to take on Friday, but after 3:30pm we were free to explore for the weekend! I've discovered more recently on trips how much fun it is to go to local places to eat. It seems like we ended up spending a lot of time waiting and eating at restaurants while in town, but it was very fun and all the food was great!

First stop Friday night (after riding the train for an hour and half! oops) was Giordano's for some Chicago-style pizza. A first for both of us. And let's just say it did not disappoint. This pizza was fabulous!
The next morning we found a place to eat called Yolk. Great atmosphere. Great food. Great coffee. What more can you ask for? I kind of wish we'd gotten to go back. There were so many things on the menu I wanted to try it took me forever to decide what to actually order. The Nutella crepes? The Cinnamon Roll French Toast? One of their many omelet choices? Multigrain pancakes? Half a pineapple loaded with yogurt, granola, and tons of fruit? I decided on the California Omelet which came with fruit and multigrain pancakes. And was enormous! Loaded with avocado, green onions, tomatoes, some garlic, and cheese and sour cream on top.
We skipped lunch due to the late and large breakfast/brunch and I enjoyed my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season as a snack later while we enjoyed the crisp, cloudy fall weather at Navy Pier.
For dinner we found a great sushi place called Niu Japanese Fusion Lounge. Possibly the best sushi I've had, but hard to say as we've got great sushi places here too. I got the Aloha Albacore roll with Alaskan shredded crab, spicy tuna, cucumber, radish sprout, topped with albacore, bonito flakes, chive, garlic ponzu sauce, and wasabi cream sauce. And I forgot to take a picture of it. Oh well. Here's a pic of downtown Chicago at night instead.
The weekend proved to be too short with all there is to do in Chicago, so hopefully we'll make it back sooner rather than later. But it was a great weekend getaway!

Wedding Photos!

2010-08-23T15:22:00.003-04:00

Most recently I've been working on making a photobook of my wedding online (through Shutterfly.com). I've been married since June 2008 but finally took the time and energy to do it. I ended up not using the picture templates on the website and just designed my own pages in photoshop... which left the possibility of making my own mistakes... which I did, but only 1 that's only slightly noticable. Not terribly fabulous quality, but not bad. I think the black and white pages printed the best. I know that for the same thing I could've spent a lot more money on it. So overall I'm pretty happy with my $50 38-page, 12x12inch, white leather-bound book. Here's some of my favorite pages, though I think the book flows well together as a whole.

Project: Pillow Cover

2010-07-17T10:35:00.017-04:00

2 posts in 1 month. Crazy!

It's been a while since I've posted anything project I'm working on, and since I kind of have a list of things I'd like to do, or plan on doing, it wasn't for lack of trying. I've been working on making a pillow cover for a couple of our couch pillows for months now. I don't even remember when I started, but the whole idea worked itself out as I was going.

I knew I wanted to be a patchwork pillow, which took multiple trips to Joann's for fabric scraps that I liked together and time spent browsing flickr for ideas
After finally coming up with I wanted I had to spend time figuring the correct dimensions and what size the little squares needed to be and sewed them together
After sewing them together I decided I wanted the top to be quilted
I didn't have the supplies to quilt the top so I waited until I could make it to my parents house b/c my mom said she could help me out. (Free crafting supplies are always fun. Always.)
Finally, I had to guesstimate how to make the back, which I was fashioning from the Pottery Barn shams on our bed (and since I don't actually make the bed, by "shams on our bed" I mean "shams on the floor")

So, after figuring out everything as I went along - I have a successful end product! And I believe, all the supplies to make a second. Hopefully this won't take me months.

Now to see if the pillow fits!

Success!

Update: Tea cups & mugs

2010-07-10T09:57:00.006-04:00

I first posted about my tea cup & mug love here. And as of my anniversary, I believe a collection has begun! I'm pretty excited about it. You might think my husband started this collection for as it was an anniversary gift; however, he got me these: Matching Keens, which I really enjoy, especially while hiking in Colorado just over a week ago.

No, my collection was started by my mom, who gave it to me and David as an anniversary gift. David may have gotten gypped on that end, but he doesn't seem to care. :)
My mom gave us 2 of the cups and saucers, the cup/plate hanger, and the mini creamer in the bottom pictures. I have a set of 4 cups and saucers in the blue glass that my sister-in-law gave as a bridesmaids gift in her wedding. And the other is a piece of china from my aunt, who saw my blog post about tea cups and mugs and sent one to me.

Also, just this morning I got to enjoy a cup of coffee out of this new mug: which I bought for myself in an Anthropologie in Colorado.

Camping

2010-06-11T12:04:00.006-04:00

Two weekends ago now, I went camping. This may not seem like a big deal to many people, but this was a brand new thing for me. Also, for my first camping trip, we didn't just camp, we backpacked. You know, huge backpack where you carry everything you need to survive during your camping experience on your back. You don't stay at campsites near anyone else, near clean water or anything.
At the end of the weekend I was told that I was a "trooper." Hopefully that doesn't mean that I complained a lot but survived. Though I definitely feel like I complained a lot. At least every time we approached a hill. Every time.

But even though I did complain, it was a good trip, and I did enjoy camping. Just not the hills with the backpack. Yes, the hills were difficult for everyone, but David said he enjoyed the challenge of it. That was the difference. I didn't. I was content not going up.

I did, however, enjoy being outside for 3 days and 3 nights. I loved not being near a computer or phone (mine was off). I loved cooking over a campfire, eating good food, and just sitting until it was pitch black and the fire died. I even enjoyed the whippoorwill that was at each campsite - though not everyone did. Crazy how loud they can be.

And it was such a pretty area to see.

Thunder over Louisville

2010-04-21T16:26:00.008-04:00

We finally went! (along with an estimated 700,000 other people.) Which means that people won't think we're crazy if we say, "No, I've never been."

We saw some cool planes 'tricks'...

some loud, fast planes...

and lots of big fireworks:

One Day

2010-04-02T12:38:00.003-04:00

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises,
One day when sin was as black as could be,
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin,
Dwelt among men, my Example is He!

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever;
One day He’s coming—O glorious day!

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain,
One day they nailed Him to die on the tree;
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected:
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He!

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore!

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming,
One day the skies with His glories will shine;
Wonderful day, my belovèd ones bringing;
Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!

-Words by J. Wilbur Chapman, 1908
Listen to it here.

Knitting projects

2010-02-09T11:01:00.014-05:00

Since I keep posting about projects/crafts I make - here's the most recent. I've learned a lot about knitting recently - and things I thought would be very difficult, are really pretty simple. So it's been fun. And everything I've learned, I was taught on youtube. The list includes: knitting on double-pointed needles/knitting in the round, picking up stitches, yarn over stitches, and cabling.

The first thing I made, a few weeks ago now, were handwarmers.
Then I set my sights a little loftier and finished this hat last night.

Random info about the hat. I found it looking for a simple cabled hat on ravelry.com and interestingly enough found one that was fashioned after the hat Hermione Granger wears in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Pattern can be found here. And I happen to enjoy the fact that here it's laying on top of the blanket I fashioned after the Gryffindor house colors in college.Okay, so that's a little dorky. :)
And just because - here's my sugar bowl and teapot.

tea cups & mugs

2010-02-05T21:25:00.007-05:00

This week I've have been drinking quite a bit of hot tea. And making use of two Christmas gifts. One of those is sugar cubes. Not that exciting a gift? I beg to differ - I've thoroughly enjoyed having them thus far! (I also received a china sugar bowl to put them in. That was the real present, but I'm just as happy with the sugar cubes. Who knows why - I should just buy them at the store myself. :)) They're even more fun to use if you have teapot and cute tea cup to use along side. Cute teapot I have, my other Christmas gift, but cute tea cup... Working on it. Well, not really, but it's going on any birthday or Christmas gift list I have. I saw this picture on a blog this week and either would be perfect! The picture itself just makes me smile.

Another thing that made me happy this week? The thought of owning this mug.
Yes, another cup. Another cup whose sole purpose is really for hot beverages. But I am a regular drinker of hot beverages. Every morning, and sometimes night - usually in the winter. But do I really need to start adding to the mugs/cups I already own? I have a full set of teacups with my everyday dinnerware, as well as the mugs. And then a random assortment of mugs from travels and Christmas.

So I was thinking, what if I decided to collect mugs/teacups? David and I already have two from places we've travelled since we've been married. Might as well keep going with it. And I can add my affinity for British tea cups to the mix as well. Hang them up around the ceiling on a something like this one day? Yes please.

Along with the note of British things, I'm currently loving watching the new version of Emma on Masterpiece Theater on PBS. You can watch the episdoes online too, in case anyone is interested.

One down, one to go

2010-01-23T14:55:00.005-05:00

Thought I'd share the completed stocking! It wasn't the easiest thing to sew, but it worked out. I also didn't quite follow the directions for adding the hanger as I used some of the liner fabric, but I like it. Especially since you can see the liner at the top of the stocking anyway.

Now I have about 11 months to start and finish mine before Christmas.

2010-01-10T20:24:00.004-05:00

For Christmas I got this:

I was very excited as I have dreams of being a quilter. And maybe I'll learn to sew something else. I'm not opposed to making children's clothing in the future, but really I just want to make a quilt(s).

Anyway, though I am very excited about having a sewing machine, I'm also pretty intimidated. Not with sewing. Sewing doesn't seem too difficult. I'm just scared of the machine. Given that, I figured I needed to have a small project to work on. I chose this from House on Hill Road. I learned how to thread the bobbin and the machine and how to raise and lower the foot. Then started practicing a few stitches on a small piece of fabric I bought. After that I just dove right in. I ended up with two cozies as the first turned out fine, but not great. But I'm pretty pleased with the second! See for yourself.

Now I just need to go to Starbucks now and try it out! :)

Pattern can be found here: http://www.houseonhillroad.com/coffeecozy.pdf

A Winter Scarf

2010-01-05T12:06:00.007-05:00

As soon as I saw this scarf I knew I wanted to make it. I came across is on a this blog. And more than thinking it was pretty (which I definitely do) I just thought - this is different than what I know and I want to try. I'd already looked at the pattern and figured out how to do it from the drawing - so it wasn't too bad.

It took me about a month to make during the holiday season. When I finished it I tried it on, looked in the mirror, and didn't want to give it away. But my sister-in-law looks pretty excited about it, so I don't mind as much. I might have to make one for myself sometime though.

You can find the pattern here: Claudia Scarf

2009-11-30T19:20:00.005-05:00

For Thanksgiving this year we celebrated twice! Due to David's vacation being over and his starting to work 6 of 7 days a week at the hospital we decided to spend last weekend with his parents. We had a great time hanging out, eating, and I had a great time shopping with David's mom. We were also pretty excited that his sister came home early for Thanksgiving break so we could hang out with her some. One other plus is David sweet potato casserole with marshmallows to top it. (I'm a pecan and brown sugar fan.)

Our original plan for Thanksgiving Day was to spend it by ourselves, and I was planning to cook way too much food for the two of us. But the week before last the idea of my parents coming was brought up as neither of my brothers would be at their house this year. And so they did!

My parents arrived Wednesday night and left Sunday morning. We had a great time with them, and I was glad to have someone to spend time with while David was working. Though, he even got to work a lot less time than we were expecting. He didn't have to stay overnight when he was on call, and he was given Thursday and Friday off (we were only expecting Thursday).

For our big meal I had fun breaking out the china we got for our wedding. I loved getting to use it, and really think it is so pretty. We also used our crystal glasses. Nice to be given nice things. As well as hard to believe people will give so much.

So basically over my break from work, I cooked, ate, decorated for Christmas, watched movies, and finished the needlepoint on David's stocking!

A couple pictures:

A Birthday Celebration!

2009-10-27T15:55:00.007-04:00

For (and around) my birthday:

David made me a cake! Homemade... from scratch... and it's fantastic!

He gave me a beautiful necklace!

We went to California Pizza Kitchen! (sorry, no picture)
We participated in a pumpkin carving contest!

We went hiking!

And I introduced David to the fabulous movie, Pete's Dragon!

It was a great weekend. :)

AT Friends & Some Pumpkin Pie

2009-10-19T14:49:00.004-04:00

I meant to type this at the beginning of the week instead of the end. Oh well.

Last week and weekend we had some great friends stay with us. We met them in Louisvile, but hadn't seen them since the end of February. For six full months of that time they have hiked the Appalachian Trail in its entirety. All 2178 miles. It was awesome catching up with them and hearing stories first hand. We already knew a lot that happened on the trail through their daily journal at trailjournals.com/barkandberry. They stayed with us Wednesday night through Sunday and we loved having them!

While they were here I made an Orange Pumpkin Pie. A favorite of my family growing up - in fact, we never have a traditionally flavored pie. With that in mind, I thought I'd share the recipe. It's one of my favorite things to have in the fall, especially at Thanksgiving.

Orange Pumpkin Pie
1 cup sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 eggs
1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1 large can evaporated milk
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine sugar, spices, salt and orange peel. Stir in eggs, pumpkin and evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 15minutes at 425 then reduce oven temprature to 350 degrees and bake for 40 more minutes. Cool.

(I forgot to take a picture of the whole pie, so here's half of it.)

Granny Squares

2009-09-25T08:57:00.010-04:00

Well, I finally have time to sit down and write about our past weekend - which was really good!... and exhausting! We saw a lot of family and were in the car a lot, but we had a great time - visiting with my parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, and adorable nephew, and David's grandparents, great uncle, and aunt & uncle.

One thing I worked on/finished in some of the drive was a baby blanket for my niece to be born end of November. I've been super excited about this blanket since I started the design, now I just need to make one for myself b/c I loved how it turned out. Maybe I'm a bit biased though...
Finally finished with all the individual squares!
Finished product in the car!

The Past Month

2009-09-06T20:57:00.003-04:00

I definitely thought I would be posting more during the past month. David was doing an away rotation for family medicine for the past 4 weeks. Thus, I was thinking I'd have more time and want to blog. Well, turns out I was pretty busy and didn't even think about it. A good busy. Busy so the weeks went by quickly and I got to enjoy hanging with David on weekends - which included a trip to Patti's! I love going to that place, especially with all the Christmas lights.

Along with not blogging, I had thought I'd work on getting together a wedding album. That definitely didn't happen - though I did hang up some pictures this weekend.

Also, I've now seen almost all of Gilmore Girls, season 7 - something I just couldn't get through during college. After those first 3 seasons the rest kept going downhill for me. So I quit. I did see the finale when it aired - anyway, I guess I just decided to finish what I'd started. And with my Netflix queue all to myself this month...

I can also add that if you like chocolate you should make this cake. I did for a party last week - sadly a party saying goodbye to my ever-so-cool coworker - and I'll definitely be making it again in the future.

Happenings

2009-08-02T14:42:00.005-04:00

Just as an update since I haven't posted in about a month now:

I'm about to start work full-time. Doing the printing and publications for the church as well as my previous job. So far I'm really enjoying all the new stuff, and hopefully will continue to. Work has been busy recently as we're training to learn a new database that should eventually make everyone's lives easier. The potential is there so people are excited. One more thing about work - tomorrow morning the ladies are having breakfast and just to show off some cooking (I guess?) I'm making this great recipe from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.

David on the other hand is finishing his first rotation. Pretty crazy that enough time has passed for him to be finishing up one of 6 this week. Next Monday he's gone for 4 weeks on his away rotation for Family Medicine. Hoping it will be a good experience for both of us.

At church our Sunday school class has been spending more and more time together - which has been great for all involved. We've been doing dinner clubs for 4 months now, and are about to get new groups for the next 4 or so months. And recently had a women's dessert night. There was much laughter all around and hopefully it'll happen again this month. There has been talk.

Not too much else going on - I've been crocheting and editing wedding photos while David studies. It's been over a year, but it's still hard to sit down and work on creating a wedding album. I want one, just don't want to do the work :). Maybe in the next year I'll having something to show for the effort.

Baby Blanket!

2009-07-07T10:44:00.000-04:00

As soon as I found out my friend Sarah was pregnant I wanted to knit a baby blanket. I've known how to knit for a couple of years now, but never tried making anything more exciting than a scarf. This was a whole new ballgame.

I picked the color even before the sex of the baby was known, but I had my own opinion. Turns out I was right! and they painted her room this color. How perfect!

It took me a whole six months of work. Knitting on and off, and doing other projects in between when I lost interest and felt that it was slow going.

But with all the trips I've taken recently I've gotten a lot complete in the car. Even on the way to visit Sarah and Adam down south. I'm so happy I was able to finish it before the baby gets here. Though, it's a close call.

Congratulations Sarah and Adam! Can't wait to find out Spud's name! I hope she loves the blanket (for a long time:))!

Fourth of July (+ vacation photos)

2009-07-05T19:04:00.012-04:00

We didn't do very much to celebrate. But we did grill out... in the rain. And we were glad we did. It turned out great! (Grilling just tastes so good.)

Steak and Shrimp Kabobs

Squash/Zucchini + Pepper/Onion Kabobs
Homemade Serious Vanilla Ice Cream w/Strawberries (recipe via Alton Brown)

We didn't know if we'd make it out to see fireworks or not, due to rain. I was hoping to go see the Louisville Orchestra concert that was also going to be playing along with the fireworks, but it kinda fell through. (Maybe next year!) But we did go down to the waterfront and enjoyed the show with only slight showers.

Now, for our much anticipated June vacation:

We saw Coldplay!
Celebrated our anniversary!
Got to hang out with family including this cute 15-month-old at the beach!
Saw a shark! (not that exciting, but it is something I took a picture of)

It was a perfect way to relax after all the studying David was doing for the boards.

Oh, and this is a pretty sweet picture my dad took of a Louisville sunrise. Just thought I'd share.

SBC & David Platt

2009-06-24T13:51:00.008-04:00

This week Louisville has been hosting the Southern Baptist Convention. Which means my parents have been in town and my work week has been slow because everyone is there, not here. But I've been thankful to have the opportunity to hear David Platt speak twice. Monday night at the Pastor's Conference and this morning broadcast online. One thing I'm always amazed at is how Platt's sermons leave me trying to figure out what I need to do. I walk away convicted and feeling the need to take action in some way.

In his sermon on Monday night he referenced Numbers 13-14. The one thing that I remember most about his message was what related to these chapters. The passage in Numbers speaks of when representatives from the 12 tribes go spy out the land of Canaan. All but Joshua and Caleb come back grumbling, complaining, and wanting to return to Egypt. God tells Moses and Aaron that he will strike down the nation of Israel, but Moses intercedes for the people. Verse 20 starts with the Lord's response.

Then the LORD said, "I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.

David Platt went on to say that the Lord does not need us to spread his glory. God's glory will be displayed among the nations with or without us. And if we turn away from where He calls, we will be forgiven. The Israelites in the passage were forgiven, but afterward the nation of Israel was sent wandering in the wilderness and would die without seeing the land promised to them. In the same way, we will be forgiven for not doing what we should, but we may end up wandering in the wilderness until the day we die.

I think the reason this hit me the most is it reminded me of times I've felt like I needed to do something - that God had given me an opportunity - and I didn't respond because I was uncomfortable or scared or whatever other excuse. I usually go about feeling that I did nothing wrong in the end when in fact I have sinned and need God's forgiveness.

On Wednesday morning the focus was evangelism. David Platt focused on three prayers we need to pray to have a heart for the nations and for spreading the Word.

1)God, give us a radical concern for the needs of the world around us.
2)God, give us a radical confidence in the name of the one who saved us.
3)God, give us a radical commitment to telling the nations about his grace.

He ended talking about one question that Americans are always asking God, which is, "What is Your will for my life?" Platt's response was this:

There are 1.4 million Bedouins in Algeria. 100% muslim. No missionaries, no gospel, no Jesus. And we're sitting over here saying "what do you want me to do, God?" God, raise up a church that is no longer content to wait for a tingly feeling to go down their spine to cause us to rise up anew to what we have already been commanded to do... We don't have to ask questions. He wants the gospel and the glory of God in all nations.

Here's one who is thankful SBC was in Louisville this year.

2009-06-03T09:15:00.006-04:00

Disclaimer: I wrote this two and half weeks ago, but things got busy and I forgot to finish the post. However, due to being a slacker about blogging I thought I'd go ahead and post this. Maybe by the end of the week I'll be up to date!

These past two weekends have been terribly busy, but good. And the one coming up is probably going to be equally so, but there are exciting things to look forward to.

Two weekends ago I played in my very first wedding. Or maybe I should say this was the first wedding in which I was the sole musician, except for the guitarist playing the recessional. It was stressful leading up to it. But I got full use out of my amazing Christmas gift (a digital piano). Also, this is really the first time I've performed in two years. But I can honestly say that though stressful, I'd do it again. Everything went really very smoothly. I couldn't have had a better first wedding. Everything started on time, all the music was the right length, and easy to make longer by repeating sections. I was happy with it. And I think the bride and groom were too. :)

Last weekend David's sister graduated from high school. We had a great time hanging out with his family, as we got to see his grandparents too. We haven't made it to his parents' house since Christmas and it was great to be there. Hopefully we can go back sometime soon, and maybe even go to Patti's!Congrats Martha!

This weekend we're looking forward to: David being finished with Step 1 of his medical board exam! a Coldplay concert! our 1st anniversary! and a week of sun, relaxation, and seafood at the beach! Much to look forward to!

Videos, etc

2009-05-14T09:29:00.004-04:00

I don't think I've ever really gotten into the site youtube.com like some people have. But recently, this year, I have really enjoyed some videos that have been posted on there. And found it really useful for finding examples of music and things as I've been helping plan wedding music for a couple getting married in a week and half. There's just so much there! Here are a couple videos that I've enjoyed this week... well, yesterday.

The first is a serious one, but I think it is extremely well done and powerful. Thanks to desiringgod.com/blog.

The next is of a completely different nature. It made David and I smile and laugh. I think I'm just a sucker for musicals and choreography.

One other thing. I made a new recipe this week, and thought it was great! Again, found on foodnetwork.com. I had been recently talking/thinking about my favorite meal at Taziki's in Birmingham. Then when browsing recipes for inspiration I found this.
David and I both loved it! And I think with a few changes, like changing out the steak for chicken and sprinkling some feta cheese on top it will be even more similar to Taziki's.

I guess that's all for now!

Blogs

2009-05-07T14:21:00.006-04:00

I love blogs. Okay, maybe not love, but at least really like them. Especially of those people who cook or are crafty. I've recently started following one called "Posy" at posy.typepad.com. Here are a couple of pictures she posted recently.
These pictures just make me happy. So colorful, so eclectic, but obviously with a theme. It makes we want to collect tea sets... kind of. It really does make me want a rosy teapot with matching cups and saucers. I don't think I've ever liked flowery things quite so much as in these pictures. Also, I wonder how many sets of knitting needles are in the pitcher in the above picture. Any guesses?

I think this picture was posted to reference the mug in the forefront. But how fun to have a setting like this to take the picture in!

Grilling Experience

2009-05-03T21:29:00.005-04:00

So, David got a grill for his birthday, and last night we experimented with it. David mostly cooked, and I mostly prepped. We tried hamburgers, corn, and some vegetables. Relying on the internet to give us instruction.

For some reason I feel like I've always heard how great grilled corn is, but I've never had it. So when we talked about grilling my thoughts went to "corn is on sale this week!" Vegetable-wise I went with some zucchini and red onion. I feel like I've had kabobs multiple times recently and it turns out I like grilled red onion, so I figured it should tag along with the zucchini.

I also made potato salad, not on a grill... and it turned out great. It was another Food Network recipe, and the first time I've used one by the Barefoot Contessa. Go here.
Our meal of charcoal grilled corn on the cob, hamburgers, zucchini and onion, and potato salad. Mmm-mmm.

All of this occured while I watched my first Kentucky Derby, all 2 minutes of it. I was surprised to enjoy watching all the excitement and tradition on TV. I can't imagine going, unless somehow I got tickets for the grandstands and not the infield.

I took this picture to document what we were doing during our first grilling experience. Good shot, considering later this longshot trainer's horse WON. Crazy to me that it's the only picture I took of the TV and they were talking about his recently shattered ankle...

Also, might I add that grilled corn on the cob is by far the best way to eat corn. I didn't know it would add so much to the flavor, but it is so good.

Current Events

2009-05-02T17:57:00.008-04:00

It's been a while since I posted... oops.

Currently I'm getting ready for dinner while watching the Kentucky Derby coverage. But last weekend...

David's mom and sister came in town for a prom. It was really fun having them around for a weekend. We ate out at California Pizza Kitchen (a favorite) on Friday, Lynn's Paradise Cafe for breakfast on Saturday, and introduced David's mom to sushi at on Saturday night.
Lynn's is a local restaurant that has been on Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and they have amazing pancakes. I really love corn meal in my pancakes... good taste and good texture. And Lynn's has a perfectly crazy looking atmosphere.

Also, while Mom/Jan and Martha were in town I got to go shopping a couple of times. Once with them and once with Mom/Jan and David. My personal highlight was trying on Derby hats. The last one I tried on was $198. Maybe I should have checked the price tag before putting it on.
Here's a lovely one by Lady Diane for $395.

On Monday David's dad came in town to work on an audit. We went to Mark's Feed Store with him for some tasty bar-b-q and then he bought David an early birthday present.
We'll see how this goes tonight. I'll post the results tomorrow.

And how 'bout that upset in the Derby?

Sweet Potato Pound Cake among other things

2009-04-04T11:33:00.006-04:00

Last week I finally made a Sweet Potato Pound Cake. I saw the recipe on orangette.blogspot.com and it intrigued me. I figured sweet potato bread is good and it always kind of reminds me of pumpkin foods (pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie). Surely it had to be good.

Overall I had a lot of fun baking it. I think it's pretty fun any time I can bake something, and it's pretty easy and smells good throughout. It makes me excited to find out what it'll be like once it come out of the oven.

I made it while David was away at clinic so when he got back we sat down and ate a piece. Mmm, it really was quite good. I kept thinking that it'd be really good with a dallop of whipped cream on top, but oh well.

The problem is though, the next day I woke up feeling bad. My stomach just wasn't quite right. My appetite wasn't there. I ended up leaving work early with, I think, a fever and hoping that I made it home safely. I felt bad all day, and didn't have an appetite for 24 hours, then, all the sudden, I just felt better. Thank goodness that was all it was.

Needless to say, since the last thing I had to eat was this cake before I got sick, it wasn't very appealing to me anymore. David kept eating it, but when I even tried I thought it was gross. David took the rest to school and I'm happy to say they seemed like it and no one got sick.

In other new my nephew is now one. I got to go down and visit with my family for the weekend, and go to his birthday party.

And over spring break, David and I had fun hiking the Sycamore Trail up in the Charles C. Deam Wilderness in Indiana. More pictures can be seen on my facebook.

Also, David got new white coats for next year, and I happen to think they're pretty cute, but he didn't want the picture I took of him in it on here. I can respect that.

Turkey Meatballs with Quick and Spicy Tomato Sauce

2009-03-20T15:24:00.004-04:00

This week is/was David's spring break! Though, I still was working.... I got to take yesterday off! Anyway, David was pretty productive without having to study and the weather was great here so he even hung out at the park. I just wish I could've joined him.

On Monday, David decided to go to the store for me and he even made dinner. I was excited I didn't have to go through all of that, because I didn't have a clue what to make. He ended up making Turkey Meatballs with Quick and Spicy Tomato Sauce off of foodnetwork.com (a favorite of ours for finding new recipes b/c of all the ratings and reviews). All I knew about the recipe was that there were chipotle peppers, fire-roasted tomatoes, and multiple fresh herbs. Together this didn't make a meal, but I guess if I had thought about it I could have come up with tomato sauce? No, probably not, the peppers would have thrown me off.

When I got home from work I still didn't know what he was making, but I spelled garlic outside of our door, not too shabby to come home to. I went in the kitchen and started helping out, though didn't know what was going on. Turns out David was making homemade turkey meatballs. They were pretty great. Homemade, broiled in the oven. Now this was my first experience broiling anything, and definitely the first time to broil something in a gas oven which means I got to open the broiling drawer at the bottom and put the meatballs in. If anyone hasn't done this before, I was a little shocked by the ragin fire in my view, but it's supposed to be that way. Now when I picture it in my memory it was the same image as Beauty and the Beast when Gaston and the villagers raid the castle. The stove/chef opens and fires are blazing.

Well, David successfully finished up everything. And it looked great, topped with fresh basil. (Here's an image courtesy of Food Network, but it's topped with parsley.)

So, first bite, "It's so hot!" "Temparature or spice?" "Spice!" "Yep, that is pretty hot." I feel like our whole conversation, well, maybe just my side of the conversation, was about how my mouth hurt. David laughed at me a bit - I was being a bit dramatic, maybe. The entire sauce had a small can of whole chipotle peppers, which we didn't crush or eat, and still... pain. I tried eating bread, drinking milk, drinking water. Nothing helped. It was just such a strange experience. The food tasted good, just after the you got the flavor of the meal, my mouth felt like it burst into flames again...

We knew that the recipe called for diced peppers, and ours were whole, but I didn't understand why that would make much of a difference.

I asked David if any of the reviews said it was super spicy, but he hadn't read them. When I'd finally downed my plate we went to the computer and looked it up the reviews and no one really said much. One person's husband thought it was too spicy, one person decided not to add the peppers. Secretly, I was thinking, 'it calls for a whole can, why would you leave it out?' Then again, maybe she knew something David and I didn't.

After dessert, we didn't think much about it again. Overall, David thought it was a great meal. Overall, I thought my mouth hurt, but the food was pretty good, but maybe next time, no peppers please?

The next morning I was eating breakfast by myself, David had gone to an early morning Bible study, and the spaghetti sauce recipe was sitting beside me. I decided to read it, since I hadn't ever, and see what exactly it said by the peppers. Then... I saw it. "1 teaspoon canned minced chipotle peppers." ONE TEASPOON?!? I admit, at the moment I was disappointed, but now it's just kind of funny. We made/David made this fairly difficult meal, something different than our usual and somehow missed the "1 teaspoon" in front of the canned chipotle peppers.

Since Monday my mouth has recovered. I even managed to eat it once more without complaint, but we definitely need to make it again. Just to see what it's supposed to taste like, you know?

2009-03-07T11:48:00.004-05:00

I don't feel like too much has been going on recently. David and I definitely haven't been up to too much. Maybe it's that recently things have been very normal. I read and work on projects, try to be creative with dinner, read blogs that make me want to bake and do craft projects all day long, and David is at school and he studies at night.

Last weekend we spent some time with our best friends that were in Louisville before they headed out of town. They are currently traveling around the country visiting family and friends before they make their way to the Appalacian Trail for a thru-hike. You can read a little about what they are doing here.Also, I added a link to their trail journal on my side bar.

One thing of note that did happen this week: David and I successfully made a pizza crust. It was quite good and and extremely filling.

So there you have it.

Valentine, Update

2009-02-20T10:00:00.003-05:00

I forgot to show off the perfect Valentine's Day card I received. I can tell that David was definitely thinking of me here.

Isn't it so cute? It made me happy.

Valentine

2009-02-17T20:51:00.007-05:00

A quick update. First, unrelated to Valentine's weekend, this past week I spent $7.36 at Gap. With that money I bought one pair of regularly priced $70 wool blend dress pants, and one $30 brown leather belt. I thought it was pretty great. I just needed to share, or I guess, brag.

Also, we celebrated our first married Valentine's together this year! Our first Valentine's Day was during our busy days of getting ready for Step Sing. We went out to lunch one day during it all. Last year we met up the weekend after Valentine's Day in Paducah, where David's parents treated us to the symphony and a nice dinner.

I think this year went pretty great. On Friday, I got home from shopping and things (to get a card, specifically) to find roses on the table (pictured above). We had a casual afternoon hanging out before going to dinner at Macaroni Grill where we treated ourselves a little compared to a usual outing. This included tiramisu. I don't know why I fell in love with that dessert, but really, I think it's my favorite. We ended our Friday night with "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Special Extended Edition."

On Valentine's Day we had plans to go skiing with a couple from our church. I wasn't terribly excited, though I figured I would enjoy it. And indeed I did. Before we left for the slopes, we were treated to a great homemade breakfast (which I am all about on a Saturday morning) of turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, and blueberry wheat pancakes w/real maple syrup. Once we got to Perfect North Slopes, I was a nervous about actually skiing because I had learned 5 years previously and hadn't been back to do it since. But as soon as I got on the bunny slopes it came right back to me. "Like riding a bike."

David and I both had a lot of fun, though he's a lot better at skiing than I am, (even though it was only his second time on snow ever). I would say it's his water-skiing ability that gives him an edge, but I really don't know if that counts. Oh well. We were all exhausted by the end of the day, and when David and I got home we finished up "The Fellowship..." and went to bed at 9. It really was a great weekend.

Oh, and on Sunday we got to hang out with friends from medical school and a bunch of homemade Thai food. Delicious.

Not that this is a terribly exciting post, but we did have an eventful weekend (without studying!) and I thought it'd be fun to share.

Snow Day

2009-01-28T17:28:00.007-05:00

The last two days have been pretty crazy here. Monday we went to sleep anxiously wondering if the predicted snow would happen, if David would have school and I would have work. At 5:30am we found out that David was out, which was as good as confirming that the church office was closed.

We looked out the window that morning to see a fairly large amount of snow and wondered if we would get more during the day because of the winter weather warnings and statements we followed on weather.com. Turns out we got a day full of freezing rain and sleet. But still in the excitement of the snow I made a snow man on our balcony.

We both wondered what it would be like the next day, but we suspected that we would still be at home due to the ice covered trees and the prediction of 1 to 4 more inches of snow. And sure enough, home we stayed.

We woke up today expecting to see more snow, but it didn't come until after we were awake. I'm glad we got to watch it. The prediction ended up being accurate as we got at least 2 more inches (on top of about 1/2 inch of ice).

Before

After

We went driving around this afternoon (going a little stir crazy inside) just to see what our surrounding neighborhood looked like. Overall the roads aren't terrible. We haven't lost power, but we know people have. Schools are closed to the end of the week and David's out again tomorrow. Pretty crazy for med school.

This was the worst road we drove on, but it was so pretty.

Our stand mixer

2009-01-18T21:33:00.006-05:00

This weekend, for the first time, we cracked open our stand mixer. A KitchenAid Stand Mixer which I've been excited about since I got it, but I mean, our kitchen is small. Where's it really going to go?

So, anyway, once it was out, we got excited. Friday we made this recipe of eggnog. And for the first time, I enjoyed eggnog. I had no idea. I personally grew up in a family where over the holidays, we always have boiled custard, and never eggnog. But, I'd do this recipe again.

Then Saturday we made the easiest of the bread recipes the mixer came with. It turned out great. Which was satisfying as we've tried things with yeast and dough before and it just hasn't turned out right. But we got this one right. And it's pretty good. I now want to try the other white bread recipe that has an option of cinnamon swirl.

Also on Saturday, with our excitement of our mixer we decided to use some of our wedding gift cards and buy the ice cream maker attachment.
And after a day of waiting for the bowl to freeze, we made Creamy Orange-Lemon Gelato for our enjoyment after our dinner. It turned out quite well. Though, I think it's a slightly curious recipe as it calls for peel of both fruits (which comes as no surprise) and 6 coffee beans. Why 6 coffee beans? I don't know. But you can taste the slight coffee flavor. I just don't know its purpose. But still, overall, quite good.

It's a good thing we don't buy ground coffee, b/c it'd be a pain to have to find 6 coffee beans lying around a Kroger in the coffee aisle. Or if you don't drink coffee, have to buy at least half a pound just for 6 beans. Though maybe if you went to a Starbucks they really wouldn't mind giving you 6 coffee beans, except they'd probably think you were crazy.

So I guess this was a weekend of feeling culinary, or having fun with a wedding gift while we watched the West Wing during any and all breaks. It was great.

In Recent News...

2009-01-07T09:39:00.008-05:00

1. I received this thermos for Christmas from my husband. I came to realize soon after I started my job and brought my coffee from home everyday how much more I enjoy drinking coffee from a mug instead of the tumbler I took to work. Now with my Thermos I drink one and half cups of coffee from a mug. And the thermos keeps my coffee so much hotter for a longer period of time than my tumbler ever did. Pretty exciting. :)

Random fact: Upon receiving this gift I learned that the reason it's called a thermos is because of the brand. Just one of those things like Band-Aid and Kleenex and Coke. Proper nouns becoming common.

2.Upon the start of the new year, David and I got rid of cable, altogether. I don't think it was really so much a New Year's resolution, as we had been talking about it for a few months and both seemed to think January was the month to go off of it. Now we own an indoor HDTV antenna. Cheaper than our cable bill to buy and a one time payment for our now free tv.

3. We've just started enjoying a couple gifts by starting our two months of free Netflix and downloading new music with our emusic.com subscription.

4. I'm already looking forward to the weekend again. Partially because this is the second week of work with very few people here/fewer things to do, and... Amberleigh comes to visit!

2009-01-02T17:13:00.007-05:00

Life has been busy since I last posted. Since then we've celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New's Years. Though, I still don't see what's so terribly exciting about the New Year holiday. You stay up til midnight to count down? to watch a ball drop? I don't know. But we had a great time hanging out with a couple from our church and playing our new Wii.

With our other holiday celebrations this year came a lot of travelling. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family in the Great Smoky Mountains, pretty close to Gatlinburg. Hiked a few trails, saw a black bear right off a trail, and ate some good homemade food and at some favorite restaurants (Pancake Pantry and The Apple Barn).

Deciding where to celebrate Christmas ending up being quite a task, but I think the final result was great. I really enjoyed all the time with all of the immediate and extended family. On Saturday, the 20th, David and I celebrated Christmas before heading to Franklin. We opened more gifts in Franklin, then drove to Mobile on Monday. We got to stop in Birmingham for a couple hours to see David's best friend and best man, then got back on the road.

In Mobile we spent time with my parents, two sets of my aunts and uncles, one family of cousins, and my brother and sister-in-law. We missed out on the family tradition of Christmas carols and the acting out "The 12 Days of Christmas", but enjoyed the time we had there.

On Christmas Eve we head up north again to Memphis where we saw all of David's mom's family. On Christmas Day we went back up with his parents and spent a few days in Paducah before arriving back in Louisville on 28th.

Then, this past Monday my other brother, sister-in-law and my nephew came and visited on their way to my parent's house. We had a lot of spending time with them before they left town.

Our first Christmas together as a married couple ended up being pretty great. We received so much more than we gave it's kind of hard to believe. Fun gifts include the surprise of a digital piano from David
a new and working record player with iPod hook-up, a Wii, and a warm and fuzzy casual jacket.

If you'd like to see more pictures of everything (Thanksgiving, our decorated apartment, our many Christmas celebrations) I can send you a link! Hope everyone had many happy holidays!

Dr. John Patrick

2008-11-14T10:07:00.006-05:00

Last night, last minute, David and I went to hear a speaker at the Global Missions Health Conference. We didn't register, but were told it wouldn't be a big deal to just go. While there we heard a man speak who David had heard talked of before and always heard was an amazing speaker. It's one of those times where you hear someone is just so great but can't really comprehend until you experience yourself. And after last night, we concur, it was amazing. We decided it was definitely the best Thursday night Bible study we'd been to this year and it was with a few other thousand medical professionals and students.

His name is John Patrick and David and I agreed that when we first saw him he reminded us of John Piper. I wondered if he'd sound the same too, but Dr. Patrick has a British accent and lives in Canada. His medical degrees are from the University of London. And overall he is a very witty and wise person. He was introduced as being an articulate man. Patrick said that yes, he could speak in complete sentences and that usually was always successful in drawing a crowd. At a previous lecture to American students he told them they were ignorant. The students were offended and some approached him afterward asking for an apology. He replied that he got it out of a book so really the author should apologize and he would not.

It was almost hard to listen to him because with every sentence was so much wisdom. If I got to hear his talk last night over and over and over again, I promise there's something else I would hear and take away from it. There would most definitely be some sentence I missed because I was thinking about the one he had just said.

In total last night we heard him speak for about 3 hours.

He spoke about the problem with education being we're too busy learning trivia that we don't know how to think.
He said the problem of the church is that we inadvertantly change the meaning of the scriptures mentioning how he sometimes misquotes scripture to see if anyone notices, and usually, no one does. His example was the phrase "transformed by the renewing of our feelings" instead of "minds". He spoke of how pastor's usually want people to leave the church feeling better, but salvation has nothing to do with our feelings, but with our thoughts. The church judges its success by numbers, of converts, of new members when it should be judged by the congregation going deeper, becoming wiser.
He shared his thoughts on our country's election. He described Obama as a brilliant rhetoric, but during the times he listened to Obama speak he never once heard an argument, just words. I enjoyed his outsiders opinion, someone who is not a citizen, who can't vote.
He spoke about how moral issues cannot be solved with techinical solutions. We may have a logical plan to fix something moral, but if the morals aren't dealt with how can it succeed to change anything?
He said that socialism would work, except for the fall of man. We aren't "good" people.
He spoke of the how easy it is as a science person, a medical person, to go to church on Sunday completely separately from living the rest of the week. Forgetting that patients are real people not just problems to be solved.
Later he mentioned music and made me laugh. He said that if you stopped a piece of Mozart right before the last chord, Mozart would wake up and go down to a piano just to hear the resolution. He said that's how Western music works. It's thought out and resolves. He said even Wagner followed this rule. Only it took him two or three hours to reach the resolution.

Anyway, I guess I could go on, but I think I'll hold off.

Today starts weekend two in a row without studying! Tonight we're going to a Mates of State concert, and no plans yet for tomorrow. We'll see!

Stark Contrasts

2008-11-03T21:02:00.004-05:00

Recently, I've been surrounded by stark contrasts. Maybe not, but something like that. I feel like the media around me, the blogs/articles/websites I read, the TV I watch talks about Obama. About how change if finally coming, and how far ahead in the polls he is. I feel like I read people's opinions about Obama and then feel like they're saying, you must be completely out of it to not agree. I've felt so surrounded that I've quietly remained quiet in my hesitation to get all gung-ho about the election, one side or the other.

Then I go to church, expecting to find more people for Obama, just like this world I have created around me. Talk about stark contrast. How about people so intensely for McCain they have to make themselves stop talking about politics. People who are so passionate that they are on the "correct" side of things. I don't think I've ever noticed such a large church in such complete agreement about something as I've found about the election. It's actually quite fascinating.

And just to share my own opinion, I'm tired of the election. Rightly so as it ends tomorrow. I'm tired of the arguments and disagreements, even when the only intention is to inform not to "win." Out of the things I've heard relating to the election, I like how John Piper has put it best on his blog here and here. I think because the two hesitations I have with either side are having a woman VP for the country, and a Presidential candidate who is so very pro-abortion.

On another note, this past week I read the book Same Kind Of Different As Me. If you want to know, I think you should read it, whoever "you" are. I had trouble putting it down and I haven't read a book like that in a while. The book tells the contrasting story of two lives that both began picking cotton in different areas of the country. One grows up to be a millionaire while the other becomes homeless. It could be that the reason I had trouble putting it down is that it's a true story, told/written by the characters.

Anyway, I guess I felt like I had something to share, so I typed.

Weekend Update

2008-10-21T11:36:00.010-04:00

My weekend started, as usual, Friday morning. How glorious. Well, the weather was. I've never been so happy for it to feel like fall. Well, maybe I have, but I don't remember when. Fall is such a wonderful season. I think it has to do with the fact that it's sunny and cool outside, and everything is still alive and vibrant. Also, it's such a golden time. It's like nature just has a glow. All the reds, oranges, golds, and yellows. Beautiful.

Friday afternoon I took a walk around the neighborhood in this weather, and was excited for the slight chill. Also, I got excited looking at each of the houses with their pumpkins sitting on doorsteps and wreaths made out of raffia, twigs, and fall-colored leaves. Never before have I thought very much about seasonal decorations, but recently I have been desiring them. How very homey to have wreaths that match the weather outside, doormats with seasonal colors.

Also, seeing all of these fall decorations got me excited because they are just the start of decorations before Christmas comes. I'm looking forward to twinkle lights and garland, holly berry, stockings, Christmas trees. And when I think of stockings I'm excited about decorated our apartment and making it all seasonal. I hope to make a couple of new stockings for our first Christmas together to hang over the fireplace.

One thing I find interesting being married and on my own now is in college I never really thought about having a family, having favorite recipes, traditions, or decorating a home. I think I was just surrounded by people that got more enthusiastic about all of it than I did that only now when I'm surrounded by it do I get excited about all of these things. Only now am I really enjoying trying cooking and making a home. So, there you go.

Well, back to the specifics of the weekend. Friday night David and I went out to dinner with some med school folk at a new restaurant, to us, The Irish Rover. We definitely branched out on our food choice there. Both getting definitively Irish food compared to what we usually eat. I had a smoked salmon and potato stew of sort, and David had what's called "Dublin smokies." Neither were our favorites, but we enjoyed the change. When we came home we watched the ever so festive, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Saturday morning we woke up and threw on cozy clothes to warm up in our chilly apartment (how pleasant!) and started on our breakfast, homemade buttermilk pancakes. Mmmmm, I love pancakes.

We didn't do just a ton, but enjoyed the day and decided to be adventurous in our dinner than night. I think it came because I received the new edition of Southern Living magazine in the mail. Inside was a recipe for Sage Butternut Squash soup. So for dinner, I made Butternut Squash soup. We ended up using Paula Dean's recipe instead of the magazine's. It turned out great, though we were definitely intimidated to try the very, very orange soup. We also learned that one cup of butternut squash has 457% of your daily recommended dose of Vitamin A. How about that.

Not only did we buy a butternut squash at the store on Saturday, we also bought a pumpkin. Which I proceeded to over-ambitiously plan on carving into Wall-E. After my frustrations with the carving, I decided it was too much and decided on just doing a face. Mickey Mouse in fact. Thought I'd carry on the Disney theme even if I wasn't doing Pixar anymore. I think we're both still impressed with how our Finding Nemo pumpkin turned out last year that we don't really know how to top it. Oh well. I'm not terribly disappointed.

Well, it was an eventful weekend, and thoroughly enjoyable. A great way to spend time over the anniversary our engagement. :)

Think, Think, Think...

2008-10-13T08:33:00.026-04:00

The title was most definitely inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh. I've been thinking of quite a few different things recently. Including quite a few different things to blog about. Let's see how I put this thing together then, shall we. I like the whole weekly posting thing. I think because I wasn't terribly inspired on Friday like I have been the past two weeks, but this past Friday I was stuck, and nothing came to me.

So, with the amount of studying that goes on in this household (though it's only one of the two of us, it's enough for two people, definitely) we make it to Barnes & Noble a fair number of times. I really like going. It reminds me of college. It reminds of when David and I first started dating. Both really great memories. Only, something changed. Used to, I'd buy things at Barnes & Noble. If just thirsty who knows what kind of coffee/coffee beverage I'd buy. And if hungry, I'd "save" money by getting a cookie and hot tea, much cheaper than coffee.

Well, due to lack of really having the option of spending so carelessly (oh, when my budget only included some food and school books...) I only get something very sparingly. Actually, David and I usually split a venti of something when we have an extra 15% coupon. Quite thrifty. Well, yesterday we splurged. Not really. We bought my favorite tea there. Right now it's 75% off. And now we have 20 tea bags for a whopping $1.79, about the price of a tall hot tea. So before we went to Barnes & Noble tonight, I got my regular tea and drank it on the way.

On another note, I like Alton Brown. I like that his shows are quite goofy, yet informative. I also really enjoy when he makes simple food/recipes, just things that I'm familiar with. Particularly breakfast food, well, maybe just because it was recently shown. In the past couple of weeks I've watched episodes on the following: French toast, pancakes, and waffles. Two weeks ago I made his recipe for French toast. A little involved, but definitely not hard. And it was so good. One day I'll make it again and try a different kind of bread, maybe cut on the bias reminding me of The Original Pancake House. This weekend brings buttermilk pancakes...

No Studying

2008-10-03T09:30:00.002-04:00

It's another Friday off. I'm a big fan. And as I get to another weekend I can't help but think about the fun that was had last weekend.

Last weekend marked the first time since school started that no studying was had, nor needed. A week ago Friday consisted of the first block test for the 2nd years and while I wondered how it was going I more wondered what would happen over the weekend. A weekend where I didn't have to think ahead as to what I wanted to do when David needed to study. Was there any place I needed to go? or anything I wanted to make sure and read if we decided to go to B&N? Nope, no studying.

Friday night we decided on a simple dinner when we were given permission to go to dinner on the in-laws. Lovely. It really was quite fun. We then rented a couple movies, something we never do because we never really have time to watch them. No Country for Old Men and August Rush. So after dinner we decided on No Country, and while we enjoyed it for great movie's sake, I was really just happy I didn't have trouble sleeping through the night or dreaming anything too terrible. Saturday I was much happier about our choice of movie as it really was good and I was thoroughly interested the whole time.

Saturday morning was supposed to bring us some ultimate frisbee, but no one really showed. It ended up fine though as David got to play some racquetball.

After lunch we went to a park (or arboretum) south of the city and hiked about 2.5/3 hours. It was lovely. Really fun. Really great temperature. It made me look forward to cooler weather and our Thanksgiving this year in the Smoky Mountains around the Gatlinburg/Sevierville area.

The weekend concluded with a movie and dinner. Fireproof. While it's hard for me to recommend the movie, it's also hard for me not too. I liked the subject and the story no matter how quality the movie was. Definitely no comparison to the production of No Country for Old Men, but who was really expecting that?

Dinner was with 17 people in our Sunday School class at church and fun and intriguing conversations were had. Bringing to mind, a new couple in the area who are in the medical profession but at seminary for the specific purpose of working for the IMB on the mission field.

This week now brought about October and with it cooler weather. And the thought of fall leaves, pumpkins, football, and... my birthday... make me smile.

Lately, I've been working

2008-09-25T20:07:00.003-04:00

That's right. I have a job. Well... actually, when my current job situation worked out I really didn't like telling people I had a job because this job is only 9 weeks. And now, only 7 more.

I've struggled with what to do for a while now, struggled with what I even want to do, so I was a little anxious about starting work. It's new. It's not something I've ever done before. I actually feel like I'm growing up into my first real job except it's temporary.

The first week was tough. I found myself with little to do, and a supervisor that only sometimes had enough time to give me work and explain how to go about it. And it started with lots of phone calls. During this I discovered what I already knew to be true. I'm not comfortable on the phone... I feel silly in the things I say and the way I say them, but I'm working on it. Not much choice.

This past week, quite different. Sometimes I didn't even have a computer to work on, or work to do. This left me reading Sense and Sensibility. I felt kind of silly. And Tuesday I was pretty frustrated, but the past couple of days... I've enjoyed. I've been busy. I've had different things to do all the time. I've even gotten to play on Photoshop by doing a side project in my spare time. Not bad.

I like having a job. I feel like I'm contributing by having a job. I'm busy now, not bored. I also like the environment, the people I'm meeting, and getting more involved my church and ministry. By the way, I work at my church.

Perks to having this job: a paycheck, meeting new people and new contacts, being able to help, learning something new, learning what I can enjoy doing, only working 4days a week.

Downsides: it's only temporary, getting comfortable with the phone, and my home keeps running out of food.

Right now, I feel thankful. Thankful for work, an opportunity, and particularly for my husband.

September 9, Near Beliefs

2008-09-09T10:24:00.007-04:00

Continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them. 2 Timothy 3:14

I'm afraid too many of us Christians don't know what we really believe. Like a cork in the ocean, driven and tossed by the waves, we bounce from opinion to opinion, influenced more by the last book we read than by a lifetime of biblical study. We've become activity junkies, seldom stopping long enough to decide what really matters to us, too busy to determine what's really worth living for, let alone worth dying for.

As a result we live our lives based upon "near beliefs." Near beliefs have just enough truth in them to sound strangely familiar to conviction, yet they're too weak to inspire us or our actions. Too anemic to influence us to make a decision that demands a sacrifice.

Near beliefs wimp out when a teenager is pushing you our of his or her life. Near beliefs won't keep a marriage together when romance fades. Near beliefs almost always fall silent on such issues as same-sex marriages and homosexuals adopting children. near beliefs don't inspire the courage to change a behavior or to press on against disapproval or opposition from "the herd."

Near beliefs are to blame for a new brand of Christianity that is epidemic in our home and churches--a faith that has little flavor, little light and little influence. When near beliefs are our only sources of motivation, tough stands are never taken, feathers are never ruffled, and absolutes are held very loosely. Without core convictions to help us navigate, we stand uneasily on shifting sand, and we lack the solid footing with which to stage a life of principle and character.

Today is a call to biblical conviction. A call to spending time studying the Word. A clarion call to challenge you to determine: What do I believe?

What is needed today is a battalion of believers who follow Christ and stand for Him and His truth.

from Moments with You by Dennis & Barbara Rainey

Things Change

2008-09-05T10:32:00.005-04:00

I drink coffee. I really like coffee. I also like the popularity of coffee. That I can enjoy just a cup of coffee, and that I enjoy the classic espresso drink of a cappucino or latte, and that I like a good double tall half caf iced caramel macchiato. But I must say that even when I enjoy a good cup of coffee I also really enjoy half and half in that coffee... until this week. I have had black coffee all this week and I've enjoyed it more than my coffee with cream from last week. Things change, but mmmm coffee.

Also, the past two weeks I have been working out. Partly because it is something to do, and partly because I have actually been enjoying it. Our apartment complex has an elliptical, bike, and weight machine. I've been taking advantage. The only time before now I've worked out is when my grade required it.

More seriously though I've also thought this week about how other things change without plan. Things like my involvement in music and playing piano. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about the fact that I took piano for 15 years, it was a big part of my major in college and for the past year and a half, you wouldn't have even known it. It's even kind of weird to tell people I play piano and that I was a music major. It's like I'm lying because I have little now to show for it. Hopefully, that won't always be the case.

On a different note, I've been watching The West Wing on TV all morning. And am reminded how good a show it is. Drama, but it's not crazy like some stuff now.

People

2008-08-27T14:06:00.005-04:00

I have met so many new people recently. And some aren't really new, but simply new to me, and new to be around. I have hung out with two different groups of med school people as well as women in my Sunday school class at church. That's a lot of names- thirty, at least.

The people have definitely all been different. Some I don't always relate to because I don't have children and haven't been married for 2-5 years now. Very different, but only by a few years. Others I don't relate to because I am not in medical school, my husband is. I sat at dinner the other night thinking, there is nothing I can add to this conversation. I simply don't know what you're talking about. Though with med school put aside, they're fun people to play games with. And I can relate there.

I'm a different kind of lonely recently. Not lonely just because I don't know people in the city, but lonely because I know a few but not well enough to have good friends/people to call on.

I feel like we're really starting to settle in and get comfortable now that school has started back. Just now beginning with hanging out with some med school people. That's good. I'm glad to finally get to spend more time with them, and generally like them. We've also joined our church, and really enjoy our Sunday school class. They are a great group to be around, to joke with and be serious with. The things said in that class challenge me.

But how do you really get to be good friends with someone you only see once a week, and only spend time with maybe once a month. You don't. I don't have the luxury of school to provide people to be around all the time, whether I want to be there or not. And I don't have a job yet, so I miss the opportunity to interact with people daily. And with David having to start to study a bunch, what will I do? I guess these are just the challenges of new places.

[Oh, and completely unrelated. I have finally finished The Lord of the Rings. :)]

A week in review

2008-07-30T10:16:00.006-04:00

This past week has held a few fun things. David and I felt we accomplished multiple things this past weekend with returning some more wedding gifts, and buying some new things. Our big purchase was more dining room chairs. Woot. Other things that have been entertaining...

While talking about a covered casserole dish and if we should get one to replace the broken one we have David exclaimed, "It's against our religion to not have a covered casserole dish. We're Baptists, we have to have a covered casserole dish." How clever.
We played around with a couple of our crystal glass and discovered that David is a natural at crystal glass singing, but not as proficient as some on youtube.
We played more ultimate frisbee, which nows totals my 3rd game ever playing,and second game to win. woot!
I'm learning tennis... to an extent. we rarely play, but so far I've enjoyed hitting with my forehand.
I got free coffee last night, and an enjoyable conversation with a new friend in the area. yay for actually meeting someone through playing ultimate.

That's all I can think of right now. And in other news, I saw this on the Today show this morning, and thought it was great. They also interviewed the men in the video from Australia just about their experience back when this was filmed. Enjoy.

My life now

2008-07-23T10:56:00.007-04:00

It's only been a year since I graduated from college, but could things be more different? Most of my friends haven't gone through quite the change I have I feel. But of course I assume my year has been the most different; it's probably that I just haven't talked to the people who are walking in the same shoes. But there is the obvious, most of my best friends are not married. And many are still in school pursuing something - including my husband.

I've spent the past year doing something, but what? Time passed, a year went up, but few things actually happened; again, aside from the obvious that I got married. So I spent the past year planning a wedding, living at home... again, and working a temp job that lasted me some 9 months. I spent the past year struggling, lonely, and not enjoying my job. I wanted a change, of pace, of surroundings, of something.

And you know, I've definitely got some change. I live in a new town, further now than before from my closest friends. I have a husband, I have responsibilities I haven't had before like bills. But some things haven't changed yet. Instead of not liking my job, I'm just not liking the job hunt and I'm confused where to go and what to look for. I get discouraged feeling I'm not qualified for anything. But it's hard looking when you don't know what you want to do. I know something will come eventually, I know God will provide. I know that I have to get a job, but I don't know my direction. I don't know what I should pursue and what is out there that I would love to do. And it's all the 'don't knows' that get me discouraged. I want to just rely on God, follow him and put some work in on the job hunt. But it's so much easier said than done. It's easier for me to know He will provide than to truly believe it. It's easier to get frustrated than just believe the things I know to be true.

Anyway, that is what's going on. That's my life now.