February: Done

February, despite its cantankerous presence in terms of weather, was a good month. Much learning. Much growing. Many milestones and victories.

* I survived Snowmageddon! And the surprise ice storm later in the month! And the additional storm that came to close out the month! My friends and I agree that we've never seen a winter storm quite like the first one, though. Worst shoveling ever. Such an inconvenience...even weeks after, when my street was still clogged with cars that couldn't park close enough to the curb to let other cars through - all because the icy snow held firmly to the ground. But it came with good points too - no loss of electricity for me...and a free day off work! WOO HOO!!

* Made it through the one year mark of the Isaac journey. And not only did I make it, but God brought redemption to the days I dreaded. As I passed through Valentine's Day weekend and remembered last year and the introduction to the man I grew to love, I begged God to help me find new meaning and purpose now that life has changed so dramatically for me. And He did - in wildly beautiful ways. I am thankful for His mercy.

* Learned to love impromptu hostessing! I'm nothing if not fastidious about the appearance of my home when people come over. (Thank you, Mom, for instilling this in me.) But this month, I had two different opportunities to welcome people into my home without any warning. No time to clean. And I was so thrilled to find that both times, I was able to relax and enjoy the chance to share my home without over-apologizing for its less than pristine condition. (If you only knew me...you'd say Our little Bekah is growing up!)

* Started keeping a food and exercise journal and loved what it began to teach me about myself and my habits. It has prompted me to enjoy saying no to food as much as I've enjoyed saying yes to it...and it has encouraged me to be more conscious of my water intake, which was an area of my life that was embarrassingly lacking. Plus it allowed me to celebrate my exercise accomplishments. The personal best for me this month was 2.6 miles in 30 minutes on the track. I know some of you do much better than that without a second thought, but this was huge for me. I'm thrilled with it!

* Learned two more Bible verses and even beyond the amazing lessons I learned from what God prompted over my life, I was excited to see how God used one of them to spur someone else in her life. One of my friends was touched by Ephesians 1:17, my first SSMT verse this month, and decided to implement it as a prayer for people in her life. I loved watching God move the blessing right on to her! I'm also beginning to recognize that these verses are so very God-ordained. As I look over the four I've learned in this year, I see how God has prepared me for each piece of the journey through the verses He prompts me to learn. I love it.

* In the land of cooking I found the s'more cup recipe, which is a total winner, I tried three new fondue recipes, all of which I loved and will use again, AND found a scrumptious pumpkin quick-bread recipe that I declared a keeper.

* Learned so much from the Lord through songs...and verses...and books...and blogs...and words He whispered to my heart. He gave me goose bumps over and over with His tenderness in speaking to me. I would have to say I heard Him more this month than I have since the desert. (Maybe that has more to do with my intentional listening skills than anything else.)

* Joys and adventures filled the month, like being asked to be a bridesmaid in Olivia's wedding, taking a cupcake class, hosting a fondue palooza for Valentine's day, going to my friend Jamie's for her celebrate God's love party, meeting baby Silas, hosting my first game night (with my high school buddies) in a couple of years, and hosting Pancakes with the Princess...round two!

Stone Altar: End of February

It's the Weekly Recap!

* To gear up for my uber busy week, I enjoyed a lazy day last Sunday. After church, I put on my jammie pants and spent the day sleeping...playing online...reading...watching TV...eating...yes, I was largely unproductive. And it was heavenly.

* Monday we were caught off guard by an ice storm. Could it be that two days earlier I exercised outside with people who were wearing shorts? Sigh. I just counted my blessings that the power stayed on...my parents were not so fortunate. I will say...I was a little miffled that the weather canceled my dinner plans with my friend Rachel - again.

* Tuesday was not great during the day. I was grumpy and I'll admit it. But that was the night I got to finally visit Rachel and her sweet kiddos. And um...how can you be grumpy when you see these gorgeous little faces??

So thanks, Rach and company, for perking up this grumpy girlie!

* I'm not a germophobe, but Wednesday, I declared our office a tsunami of snot. We have so many sick people! I will be the first to say I do not believe in sick days and my motto is always "If you don't need a bathroom on short notice, get to work," but I would have gladly shipped a couple of my co-workers home that day! I did feel really sorry for them...colds are MISERABLE, and I do know that. But I also know I've been well all winter and therefore I'm due to take a turn getting sick and I don't wanna!!!!!!! So I shut my door to try to ward off sneeze spray and kept my antibacterial hand gel at the ready.

* So it should not shock you when I say that Thursday morning I awakened with only one operational nostril and very achy muscles. UNAMUSING!! I continued popping Vitamin C and Tylenol in an attempt to ward off the thing before it got out of control. I must have felt some better throughout the day because at the track, I not only matched my personal best time of 2.6 miles in 30 minutes, but I also had the first time ever experience of passing a runner!! I pass walkers all the time but I'd never passed a runner. If only I had a picture!!

* They predicted snow for Friday, but since it actually WAS predicted, I didn't really think it would happen. (Such has been the history of our winter.) When I went to sleep at 1 am, it was clear. When the alarm went off...we were buried in snow. Schools closed (not ours, of course) and I heard there were cars in ditches everywhere. And yet by noon:

Giant piles of plowed snow were still there, but the ground was clear, the skies were blue, and the temps were warm! Only in Indiana.
To celebrate the end of the week...a fabulous London Fog: * Saturday I auditioned for the role of Superwoman - in my own life. I had no idea I was capable of so much in one day. I'd gotten ready, had three cups of coffee, had my devos, baked a batch of cream cheese swirl brownies, browned some hamburger, and finished my weekly phone call with Olivia - all before 10:00 a.m. ON A SATURDAY!! I know! Then I visited my nail lady for the first time since mid December. My world is right again:
New color. :) Hot pop pink. Oh yeah. Then I had some grocery shopping and other errands to do...ate my lunch standing up while assembling crock pot pizza, went to work for two hours (a rare surprise Saturday workday), somehow thought I had time for (successful) clothes shopping, finished cleaning the house, dragged a VERY heavy six foot table in all by myself, assembled a hash brown casserole, and was ready and waiting when my game night guests arrived. Then I played hostess with the mostest - and you'll get to hear more about that later. Seriously....how did I do all that?
Books I'm Reading: Read!? Who has time to read? It was that kind of week. Sparkling Gems from the Greek each day...and also some more in Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. I honestly just didn't have the time to sit this week. Maybe soon.
Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: I'm not the sort of girl who has experienced a lot of pointed financial "God moments," but Friday, I received a bill in the mail. Not an unexpected one or even a huge one, but still a bill. I happened to check a little slush fund that ideally I'd have preferred to use to pay it, although I knew there was no way it could have enough money to cover the bill. But it had exactly seven dollars over the amount of the bill. Thanks for the blessing, God! It did not go unnoticed.
Update on Last Week's Goals: I wasn't asleep by midnight every night, but I did successfully make it to bed by midnight every night - including Friday! (But only because I had to get up at a normal work day's time on Saturday.)
Goals for the Coming Week: Start drinking my big ole bottle of water at work. I was talking to my best friend, Lynnette, this week about the issue of water consumption. You know - how I hate it and now have to be really thankful I don't wet the bed since I forget to start drinking the water until 10 pm? She suggested that I drink at work. No reason why I can't. I even have a fancy pants orange water bottle that I could take to work. So that's the goal. Water at work. (Hey it even has some alliteration!)

30 Days of You and Me: Day Fifteen

Today's topic is A Poem I Wrote.

Good grief.

At the risk of making enemies or losing your respect here...I'm not really a fan of poetry. I know, I know. Song lyrics are poetry. I like song lyrics. When they're sung.

Part of the reason I don't like poetry is I don't understand it. One of my friends in college, Susanna Childress, is a fantastic poet. After we graduated (and she went on to get her PhD), she published a volume of poems and came back to our school to do a poetry reading. I went to hear her because I wanted to celebrate her success with her. Sitting in that little reading, hearing her articulate her words, I knew they were masterfully written. I just didn't understand them.

I even bought her book. Read it. Brilliantly crafted. I know this because I didn't understand it. That has become my measuring stick with poetry. The less I understand it, the more profound it must be.

I was required to take a poetry class in college, and it completely stressed me out. An entire semester of reading words I didn't understand was one thing. But to then turn around and try to create similar pieces of writing...well...passing the class was an example of God's mercy being made manifest.

When my sympathetic (or perhaps just exhausted) professor gave me my portfolio at the close of the semester, she'd written in the front, "I don't think you are first a poet-writer, but you do this well, too." Not first or last, I'd say.

So, without further ado, here is a poem I wrote in 1998 for my poetry class. It was "inspired" by the children's book The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. (Children's books...I understand.)

Christmas Eve

Mary drops baby Jesus from the swaddling clothes
While Joseph waves to his mother in the third pew.
The shepherds tie their staffs into their
Trailing bathrobes' belts.

Some of the cherub choir sings "Away in A Manger,"
And others wail "Mommy!" as they pull off their halos.
The angel soloist forgets to start with "Behold"
And says, "Can I start over?"

Wise man three left his gift in the car,
So he brings a box of crayons instead.
A night of unexpected --
Like that night.

Please tell me you can do better than this! :)

The Food Journal

As I've mentioned before, I've struggled with my weight my whole life. I was a fat(ish) kid, a fat teenager, and even in adulthood, I've gone up and down (mostly up) with my weight.

My first round of being skinny(ish) came my senior year of high school. I lived on a diet of 12 grams of fat a day. I ate Slim Fast bars and apples for lunch and Healthy Choice dinners. No snacks. I lost weight and was thinner than I'd ever been, but that was certainly no way to live permanently.

My second round of being skinny(ish) came my senior year of college. It was a combination of getting my first boyfriend - which promptly made me so giddy that I lost my appetite, four years of dining hall food finally taking its toll and making me sick at every meal, and the stress of the subsequent breakup with said boyfriend, finishing school, and beginning my first job.

My third round of being skinny(ish) came last year when I met Isaac. As with my first boyfriend, I was so twitterpated that I simply didn't have an appetite. It was great! And then, when he entered his wilderness and I entered my desert, I had no appetite. I ate the equivalent of about half a meal a day. I tried to eat. I just could not do it. I constantly felt like I'd just gotten up from an eight course meal.

To be truthful, I didn't mind it. I ate whatever I wanted, because I knew I had to get fat grams in wherever I could. I lived on McChickens, fries, frappes, lime chips, and single serving cups of macaroni and cheese.

And then the desert ended and over time, my appetite returned. I'd gotten rid of all my bigger clothes as soon as I bought smaller ones, so I have to keep the weight off this time. I can't afford to buy my clothes back.

One thing I did learn in the desert was that I simply ate portions that were too big, and I ate way too much dessert. So my goal now (to maintain) is to watch my portion size and to try my best to not overdo dessert.

A few weeks ago, Olivia challenged me to start keeping a food journal. I write down everything I eat and drink throughout the day, as well as what I do for exercise, and then I write my thoughts on the day.

It's interesting to me to see what I'm eating - and what I'm not eating. It was through the food journal that I learned I'm not drinking nearly enough water.

But the thing that helps the most is the part of the journal where I record when I said no. When I said no to a snack...or a second helping at a meal...or a bigger portion of dessert...I get to write it all down. That has been so empowering to me.

I don't intend to keep the journal forever. I want to get to the place where I live in freedom from the constant writing. But for now, this is something that is helping me tremendously.

S'more Cups

I've decided that this year for my birthday, I want to have a s'more themed party. I spent one of my snowy Saturdays looking online for party ideas and recipes for the big day, and I found some really fun stuff!

Among the recipes was this one from The Pampered Chef. I made it for Lynette's carry-in birthday party at work, and it was GONE in no time. I made it again for the Valentine's Day Celebration of God's Love, and those girls liked it too! So I've declared it a keeper. This is great for carry-in parties (as long as they're not outside in the middle of summer) and will hopefully make an equally yummy birthday party treat.

The Recipe
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 7 crackers)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
4 chocolate bars
12 regular size marshmallows

Combine cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and butter in a bowl and mix well. Scoop about a tablespoon of the mixture into 24 cups of a mini muffin tin. Press crumbs into a tart shape with a tart shaper or spoon. Bake at 350 for 4-5 minutes or until edges are bubbly. Break 2 of the candy bars into 24 rectangles and cut the 12 marshmallows in half. Place one chocolate rectangle in each cup and cover with marshmallow half. Return to the oven for 2 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly softened. Cool for 15 minutes. Break remaining 2 chocolate bars into rectangles and melt in microwave. Dip the top of each marshmallow in melted chocolate. Turn cups right side up and allow to cool and chocolate to harden.

I prefer to use pre-made graham cracker crumbs rather than crumbling my own. Call me lazy. I use regular marshmallows, but it could be a fun twist to use the vanilla ones or another flavor.

Don't tell Mrs. Lee, but I measure the graham cracker crumbs in a cup in the mixing bowl. That way if some spill over...there's no mess to clean up.

I cut the butter into littler pieces before I melt it, so it will melt faster.

I mix the butter, powdered sugar, and cracker crumbs together...

...and this is what it looks like after it's mixed up.

I spoon the crumbs into the mini muffin pan.

And I press them down with this tart shaper but if you don't have one, you could probably just shape carefully with a spoon for the same effect. This shaper presses a crust into the bottom and still leaves crust on the side.

This is what they will look like after the crusts are formed.

While those bake, I break up the chocolate bar and cut the marshmallows with a knife. (You could also use kitchen shears to cut them.)

The crusts won't look terribly different after you bake them.

Place the chocolate squares in the cups. The edges will begin to melt right away.

Then you can place the marshmallows on top.

When they come out of the oven, they won't look very different, but they'll be soft to the touch - just like if you roast them over a fire.

After they've cooled for a while, you can break up the rest of the chocolate bars to melt them.

Just dip the cups in the chocolate. You can be pretty liberal with the chocolate. There will be plenty.

I cool them on a rack and then serve them once the chocolate has hardened.

They are YUMMY!!!!! Enjoy!

The Reschedule of the Reschedule of the...

Back in January, my friend Rachel invited me for dinner. And then it snowed. So we rescheduled. And then it snowed. And then we rescheduled. And then she got sick. And then we rescheduled. (Etc. Etc. Etc.) After the surprise ice storm this week knocked us back again, I was determined to get there...and I finally did, last night.

Rachel has two kids now, and they're a lot of fun. Because I don't see them all that often, it takes them a couple of minutes to warm up to me, but once they do - FUN!!!!!!

Mother and daughter...DARLING.

I was treated to an impromptu dance recital...I believe to a little Mary Mary music???

Rachel did not shy away from the dance action either...that's what I love about her. She's such a fun mom!!

This child makes me smile. Oh my word. How can you not LOVE THIS DARLING FACE??

And she's lovin' her mama just like her sister does!!

So thankful the weather finally let me get out there for dinner. YUMMO chicken enchiladas and salad and rice...and I didn't have to cook it! Bonus! (And I may or may not have gotten to peruse Rachel's jewelry...she has made most of what I wear. Love it.)

Well...So Much for Spring

It's just such a tease to get a gorgeous day like we had Saturday...and then...the return of the wintry mix.
It's not nice.

Not one bit.

Let me just give you a recap of yesterday.

* It was President's Day, so some of you might have enjoyed a day off work. Not so much for me. I not only went to work, but it was a HUGE visit day on campus because so many schools were out for the day. That meant I had to dress up...and I elected to wear an actual skirt, because, you know, spring is coming.

* When I left for lunch, I had a little Marilyn Monroe situation going on that very nearly gave a free show to all of Shatford Hall.

* While home for lunch, I changed into pants.

* On my way back in from lunch, my umbrella blew inside out. (My heavy duty umbrella that has NEVER blown inside out.) Fortunately, Greg from my office was leaving for lunch at that very moment, took pity on me, and drove me up to the door.

* By quitting time, the rain had turned to this:
And this is how I felt about the workout that resulted from just getting INTO my car.

But I will say this for ice: great photo opps.

Pretty on trees. As long as branches stay far far from power lines.

Because my desire to have a Little House on the Prairie moment passed after Snowmageddon.

Please don't tell anyone this next part because you know how I feel about daylight savings...

(in case you're new here...I abhor daylight savings)

But the whole idea of longer evenings for things like photo opps...

...is kind of appealing.

But if you quote me, I'll deny ever saying it.

Friday Night Fun

Do you remember my friend Julie? She's the one who went to Brown County with me a couple of years ago. I really enjoy spending time with her and have sorely missed her this winter. We only live about an hour apart, but neither of us likes to drive on bad roads, so this winter we've been email buddies instead.

Late last week, she asked if I was busy Friday night and when I said no - she asked if she could bring the kids and come for a visit. I loved it that she wanted to make the trip! (Her husband couldn't come with her this time, but we still had fun.) So...here's a photo essay of our night!

We started with dinner. I made baked spaghetti and garlic bread, and she brought some salad. Perfect easy dinner! Esther loved the spaghetti - and kept asking for more please! She also fell in love with the cheese (and really, who wouldn't?) but all I had was shredded cheese. She didn't care. She ate it anyway. Have you ever served shredded cheese as an actual dish?

After dinner, Julie and I wanted some time to chat, so it was Veggie Ta-a-les to the rescue! Isn't this precious? Broccoliiiiiiiiiiiiiii...celeryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....gotta beeeeeee...Veggietales.

Levi soon tired of the Veggie Tales entertainment, so he created his own. Get on all fours, rock (quickly) back and forth and see how close you can get your head to the glass without causing a concussion. Don't worry. It's not real fire. And he was monitored. And eventually removed from this game, which he found to be a great injustice.

He was so much smaller in November - when I last saw him! But he's just a sweet little snuggler and I loved holding him! (And best of all, I found my multi-tasking-while-holding-a-baby skills have not died. I did the last leg of dinner prep while holding him! Sweet!)

Some people eat popcorn during a movie. Others...cell phones.

And still others - animal crackers! BUSTED!!!!

Julie and I had a wonderful time talking, laughing, and catching up on life in general. Esther was so good and just sat and read while we talked. And Levi had many opinions on our words. I'm not quite sure what they were, but he voiced them.

Before they left, I insisted upon a group picture. (Of course.) Esther was not familiar with the practice of tripods (trepieds...see, Skyepuppy? I remembered!) and self timers. We hadn't really stopped to consider that. So here was take one:

As soon as the camera flashed, Esther shouted CHEESE!!!!! So we tried again - this time she said CHEESE over and over. She's a fast little learner. We declared round two to be perfect!

What a fun impromptu Friday night. (And I'm so sorry I was dressed for my workout. How un-photogenic!) Thanks, Julie, for coming over to hang out. Can't wait to take a field trip with you guys!

It's the Weekly Recap!

Before I begin my recap, I'd just like to say I truly DID do something this week besides eat...contrary to what the following post will lead you to believe.

* I love church for many reasons, but days like last Sunday are extra great. In addition to a fantastic sermon...I went home with chai and girl scout cookies! Happiness, my friends! This is, by the way, my favorite chai in the entire world.
On the way home, I stopped at Mom and Dad's to show Mom the lion picture (since she'd already ordered one from me, I figured she should see what she's getting) and Dad presented me with these:

Aren't they lovely? I was so excited...I love flowers!!!!!
* Monday was Valentine's Day, and I celebrated by inviting Amber over for a fondue palooza! You already got to read about that. I loved having her over for dinner and I can't wait to try out the fondue scenario again!

* Sometimes it's the little things, right? Tuesday I got to play secretary all afternoon. Both our front desk ladies called in sick, and I volunteered to take the afternoon shift in their place. I'd forgotten what fun it is to help two students in person while simultaneously holding the phone with my shoulder until my call was valued enough to be answered in the order it was received. I'm sorry the ladies were sick, but I loved having the chance to do their jobs

* Wednesday I had the surprise opportunity to have lunch with my friend Adela Hufford. She works where I do - though in a different office - and we both love to cook. (In fact, she even hosts a cooking show on TV through the school's station.) She'd seen my posts about fondue and wanted to try what I'd made, so in a completely spur-of-the-moment decision, she came over for lunch! (Great chance for me to NOT worry about what the house looked like and instead focus on a fun time with a friend I don't normally get to spend time with.) Thanks, Adela, for taking time to eat with me!
And then...as you know...cupcake class! (This one was delicious, by the way.)

* Thursday I got a free lunch! Can't beat that! One of my students took me to the dining hall for lunch and catch-up time. Then I branched out and tried blueberry crumble fresh brew. (Decided I didn't care for it, but was proud of myself for taking a coffee risk.) And in the afternoon, my binder for 2011-2012 got a makeover. I love seeing the ideas the designated binder-creators come up with every year. This year...my job as a book:
* Friday evening, I had the pleasure of welcoming my friend Julie and her two kiddos for dinner and an evening of hanging out. (More on that tomorrow...) I've missed Julie and her whole family (including her husband, Jon, who makes one fabulous pot of coffee!) in these winter months. They don't live terribly far from me, but far enough that the bad roads have kept us apart. We are ready for warmer weather so we can hang out again!


* I got the worst case of spring fever Saturday. It was GORGEOUS here. Hard to believe that two weeks ago, I was shoveling six inches of snow out of my driveway and watching people dig their cars out of ditches. In honor of the day's beauty, I went "necessity shopping." That may or may not be justification for spending money. :) The focus of the day was shopping for things I needed vs. things I wanted. (Though one or two or six of the wants seemed to slip into the basket...)
Among my purchases were these two things I need for exercise! I noticed last weekend, while walking through melting ice, that my socks got wet. Sure enough...my workout shoes had worn through to my socks...in both shoes. So now I have brand new workout shoes...and I found this little warm-up hoodie jacket, too. I needed something in anticipation of being able to run outside soon - something that would keep me warm but wasn't too bulky. Clearance rack to the rescue!


Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: Hard to narrow it down! Probably my favorite was Thursday when from the moment I got up until I went to bed that night, God sent whisper after whisper to me. Emails...Scripture...songs...blogs...words to my heart...I felt so loved!
Books I'm Reading: More Sparkling Gems from the Greek for my devos. Started reading Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip House. This is a book for the reading course committee I'm on...it's about a fifteen year old girl who refused to give up her seat on a bus - nine months before Rosa Parks did the same. I also read some in Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild and I FINISHED Believing God. (The book, not the act of doing so.)
Update on Last Week's Goals: I did drink 3 glasses of water every day and I did not like it. (This doesn't mean I'll stop. I just wanted to complain for one minute. I'm done now.) I also learned I should not begin the day's consumption at 10 p.m. I have worked on the article for submission but so far have not been successful. Writer's block, you might say.
Goals for the Coming Week: Survive? LOL. It is going to be a very busy week. I actually think I'd like make it a goal to be in bed by midnight every night. In recent weeks, my bedtime has ranged anywhere from 1-2 a.m., and that might explain why I've taken so many naps after work! If I can be in bed by midnight, that might help me survive the madness.