Cabin Fever

I want to go skiing! I have the itch so badly, I am ready to go! I want to bundle up, be outside all day, try new runs, wipe out...I'm ready. Andrew and I got in a lot of skiing last year and I enjoyed it so much.

I would like to think that I was the "most improved" skier last year. Let me tell you, my first run out was a bit rough, okay, more than a bit, A LOT. But, I kept at it and by the end of the season I had many more minutes of enjoyment than I had of terror. I can't wait to get up on the mountains this year and get going!

Our first runs this season will probably be on a trip we have planned with his family to Mt. Hood Meadows. I have only skied there once so I'm looking forward to checking it out. I can't wait - about a month from now we will be up on the hill enjoying the early snow! Can't wait!!

Thanksgiving Recipes

Usually we have a whole house full of people at our house for Thanksgiving which means we stick to the basics and everything that we have goes into making two turkeys, ham and some bbq. This year however one of my cousins is getting married on the East Coast and many members of our family will be attending. Unfortunately, I'm not going to the wedding because I have finals in the weeks to follow and cannot miss class. Even though I am bummed about not going to the wedding I am really looking forward to a "quiet" Thanksgiving. A smaller crowd means that I will have time to make some more interesting dishes and take on some challenges. This year I have had a new appreciation for squash of any kind, sweet potatoes, pumpkin etc. So when browsing through Tastespotting this recipe caught my eye. I have memories of people making sweet potato dishes growing up but somehow they are one ingredient that hasn't made our Thanksgiving spread in recent years. When I was younger I thought sweet potatoes were disgusting, icky, not something I wanted to waste time on. Now, I'm dying to try some recipes to find the perfect one. I love sweet potatoes. Sweet potato fries are one of my favorite side dishes, I can't wait to add a casserole to that list. Mmmm...Thanksgiving is coming...

"May the God of hope rill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."


Romans 15:13





Over the past weeks and months I have been waiting to hear back from the nursing program, but what is more, is that I have been craving to be closer to my God. For the first time, when I was faced with a situation that I found difficult I felt keenly aware of where my focus should remain. I feel like it has taken a lot of hard situations to make this come out of me. To now try to fix something myself, jump in and take the reigns from God's hands (ha! yeah right!!!) and put them into my own. I like to be in control of my future and I like to know what is coming next. However, I have learned that this does not work. My driving skills are horrible, I speed, I have no perspective from which to make these decisions and really have no idea what is best for me. Sounds helpless, right? Well, I do know that it have a God, a Father, who is in control and knows what's best from me and has the perspective of eternity from which to view my life. He sees what is coming, what has gone before and where my heart is today, right now, this moment.





The reality of my situation during the past months is that my future was unknown; to any of you who know me, even a little, you know that this is a HUGE challenge for me. I want to speed things up, fast forward to being in the nursing program, planning my wedding and moving forward. Yet, here I was, right where God wanted me. I am a list maker, a calendar keeper, a planner. I like to know what is coming next. I find the most joy in the preparation, the anticipation. I don't like to be caught off guard. I am not a spontaneous person. I do now like to do things on a whim. Really. Call me boring, go ahead, do it, but don't ever call me unprepared.





I am learning trust and to wait. Because of my need for control, at least over my own life, trust is something that I struggle with. Or at least, really need to focus a lot on in order to get just a tiny little bit of it. Through this experience I finally saw, a glimpse of what it looks like to know that no matter what happens, God is still there and working out the details. One of the things that I had to keep in the forefront of my thoughts was that God hadn't forgotten my plea, he hadn't ignored my request. He was doing a work in me every moment. Even though I felt like I was being forced to stand still, HE was moving me forward. I don't want this to come off as if I never have had any faith in God's care of my life, nor that I have learned a perfect trust. I have just learned that perfect patience and faith in Him is what is called for. I have walked slowly, cautiously, feebly through the past few weeks, like a child, truly dependent on a Father.



"Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

James 1:4 KJV

Simple Pleasures of a Sunday

Andrew and I had a lot of running to do on Sunday. Thankfully, it seems as soon as November hits my mom gets a hankering for turkey, so she ended up making an entire Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, notice that stuffed bird? It's as if November comes, those turkeys are calling her and suddenly, it's time to feast! Yum. Anyway, it's a lot easier to be motivated to run long when you know that a freshly roasted turkey awaits. At least for me.
These are the pumpkin bars I kept promising myself I'd make. They were delicious! This was the first night and they were already almost gone. Dad said they tasted like "fluffy pumpkin pie." I think he was right. Some of the pumpkin cakes/breads/bars/cookies that I've made end up way too dense or with a strange overly-chewy texture (bleck). This had the consistency of a normal cake and still offered the perfect amount of pumpkiny goodness. The link to the recipe is in the previous post. You can't go wrong with Paula Deen, can you?

This is "pre" run. Andrew came over to find me in my pile of studying madness (notice the spread of notecards, notebook, computer, handouts, etc) and tried to convince me to take a nap with him. Now, if you know me, you know I'm a sucker for a good nap, especially on the kind of drizzly day it was and with such a cute fiance...but, WE HAD RUNNING TO DO! On Sunday we were exactly two weeks out from 1/2 Marathon Day, and now, we are even closer, eek!

Pumpkin Bars

This morning, Saturday, I am studying, again. I am trying to cram knowledge of every possible kind of prokaryote into my (small, stubborn) brain. Is the gigantic cup of coffee any indicator of my struggles? Please forgive the bed hair, smeared makeup and general lack of primping, my micro book doesn't seem to care what I look like. Thankfully. (We've been spending a lot of time together lately.)

While I am studying today, I am dreaming of baking. I can't help it, everyone needs a goal! Right? Every fall it seems that I plan to bake bundles of pumpkin delights and before I know it Thanksgiving has passed and there is Christmas baking to be done. So, today, once I know all of these bacteria, I will be baking! Woo hoo! Pumpkin bars! Happy November baking to me! And you, if you are Abby, because you will probably be receiving some. You can find the recipe here.

Bit was not happy with me when I shut him in the food room. He hassles the other cats when they are trying to eat, he could eat us out of house and home, so when the other cat wants to eat, Bit has to eat in the food room or else the only one to get any food would be him. This cracked me up though a few minutes later when I walked by and saw his fluffy paws stretched out underneath the door.

I woke up and stumbled out into the kitchen a few days ago to find J.C. seated at the counter, seemingly, ready for breakfast.

A few weeks ago Mom and I made a day trip to Spokane. This tree was absolutely gorgeous! I had to jump out of the car and get some pictures of it. Look at all of those colors! Happy fall.

Keeping Pace

Right now, today, I sit and wonder how I will fit everything that needs to be done into the space of one day. How will I memorize all that I need to know? How will I workout to maintain sanity, health and, oh did I mention, my figure? Don't forget work, that has to fit in there too, at least, if I want to get paid. Funny how that works, they are so picky around here.

Tofu for you?

I tried something new this week, something that I had wanted to use before and never had. I've eaten it in miso soup and I think that is just about it. Then I stumbled across this recipe, and yum yum yum, I'm in love, with tofu! Well, I'm in love with this recipe, maybe not tofu quite yet. This recipe was so simple and turned out great! I have made it twice in the last week, eaten it as leftovers, you should too!
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/slurptastic-herb-noodles-recipe.html
101 cookbooks has lots of great, beautiful, recipes. Most of her recipes may be a little bit outside of my palette range but I have been tempted by so many of them. Instead of the spinach noodles I just used whole grain spaghetti and it worked well. We have just been starting to get some real fall weather and these noodles are perfect to come home to. Enjoy!