new recipes, 2013–part 3.

This was not a good month for new recipes! The only successes were pretty unhealthy.

Chicken Egg Rolls – Ugh. Maybe I’m just picky about what kind of Asian food I like? These just weren’t enjoyable.

Sweet and Sour Citrus Chicken Stir Fry – Normally, I’m a huge fan of Our Best Bites. I actually don’t think that I have ever made one of their recipes that I didn’t love. This wasn’t bad, exactly, it just wasn’t great enough that I wanted to save the recipe to use again.

Fried Chicken – Fried chicken is one of those basic, simple dishes – but I’ve never actually made it before. M requested it for her birthday dinner, so I decided to give it a shot. It turned out pretty well, I think!

Coconut Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars – Fair warning – these are horrible for you. I mean, seriously – absolutely no redeeming nutritional value. But they are very good and also very easy to put together.

Creamy Taco Soup – Just not that good. I don’t know why. I’m the only one who ate it, and we tossed the leftovers.

new recipes, 2013–part 2

Triple Chip Blondies – Oh, wow. So good and pretty easy. But, very rich, so a little goes a long way.

Baked Chipotle Beef Taquitos – These are a great way to use up leftover roast, though in my case, I actually cooked a roast in order to make them (which required a bit more planning). They’re tasty and have a slight kick (just remember that’s coming from someone who is a totally wimp when it comes to spicy). The trickiest part for me was getting the tortillas to roll without breaking. I eventually figured out that if I completely roll them, instead of using the roll-and-fold-over method like I do with tacos or enchiladas, it works better. (I also love the chicken version).

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken – I was out of town for a week for business, staying in a hotel with a small kitchen, and this is one of the meals I chose to make because it fairly easy to buy/bring what I needed. It was okay – not incredibly flavorful, but it came together quickly, was inexpensive, and was healthy, too. You could also do something similar using salsa instead of the canned tomatoes with green chilies and spices.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry – This meal was super easy to put together and so very good – and bonus, it was really healthy, too. I’ll definitely be making it again. Probably next week.

Pork and Peanut Stir Fry – I’m a big fan of stir fry – they’re quick, easy to adapt to taste, healthy and versatile. This version was good, but I left out the scallions (I’m just not a big fan). I’ll definitely make it again, but I think next time I’ll add in some veggies – maybe broccoli or green beans.

new recipes, 2013–part 1

Crock Pot Philly Cheesesteaks – This isn’t the first time I’ve tried to make cheesesteaks in the crock pot. I used Steak-umms, because then I don’t have to worry about slicing the meat. They were okay, but the meat just really didn’t seem to have a lot of flavor. I like using the crock pot not only because it’s easy, but because some people in my life don’t like onions and bell peppers, and cooking them all day in the crock pot makes them a little less potent. Next time I’m just frying everything in a skillet.

Oven Steak Fries – These were a last minute addition to the night’s meal, because I needed a side for cheesesteaks and fries sounded good. They were easy (especially since I didn’t need to peal the potatoes) and tasted delicious.

Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pastry Pockets – Puff pastry is such a fun thing to work with – it’s pretty easy, even if it’s a little messy, and the results are usually impressive. These were no exception. I did make a few changes – I didn’t include the sun dried tomatoes (because I just didn’t feel like buying them), and I used turkey bacon instead (because Missy and her girls don’t eat pork). I’d definitely make these again, and they would work really well as a party food.

Spanish Rice – I liked this, though I had to adapt it to what I had on hand (no bacon and diced instead of stewed tomatoes). I’m going to try it again this weekend with the right ingredients.

Skinny Monkey Cookies – These are kind of like a healthier version of a no-bake, except that you bake them. They got mixed reviews here – about half of us liked them and half didn’t. There is definitely a banana flavor, but if you like bananas (I do!) you might really enjoy these. They are also pretty simple, which I appreciate.

And a tip – did you know that you can shred chicken breasts using a stand mixer? It’s a little messy because you need to cover the top of bowl with your hands to avoid pieces flying out, and the chicken needs to be warm (even hot) for it to work, but it’s a lot easier than doing it by hand!

2013 goals.

It’s February 2, and I’m just now getting around to finalizing and posting my goals for this year. Hopefully this isn’t indicative of how likely I am to get them done.

Honestly, I had a harder time than usual with this year’s list. It was both hard to narrow down what I wanted to focus on, and yet to ensure that my list represented many of the things that were most important to me. So here we go – 15 things that run the gamut from house goals to the spiritual to financial, from serious to simple, from quick and easy to more involved.

1. Go camping
2. Read 5 non-fiction books
3. Read through 5 YouVersion Bible reading plans
4. Sew something
5. Grill something
6. Use coupons with groceries for one month
7. Tile something
8. Build a new piece of furniture
9. Finish the dining room gallery wall
10. Do something that scares me
11. Try 25 new recipes
12. Identify 10 life-giving friends/family members and write them a letter
13. Take a yoga class
14. Start an herb garden
15. Try 6 new restaurants in downtown Frederick

2012 in review.

So, it’s January. Actually, we’re more than halfway through January, which means 99% of the people I know have already declared their New Year’s resolutions, and 50% of them have already broken them.

But I don’t do resolutions – I do goals. Around 20 or so specific, measurable, but loosely held ideas of what I want to accomplish in a year. 2012 was no exception, and like every year, some I finish, some I start, and some I don’t do at all. And that’s okay with me, because how can we possibly know on January what a whole year will hold? I don’t know about you, but I’m still trying to figure out next week. Taking the time to think through the most important things in your life, making sure your everyday actions line up with those things, having a direction – all of those are important, I get that. But why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to declare some big thing that we will do or be by the time we roll around to the end of December? Isn’t there room for just living in this moment, for being willing to take each new bend in the road as it comes, and for allowing God to change the things that are important to us?

So, this is how I balance the two – I spend some time thinking about what’s important to me, what new experiences I want to have or skills I want to cultivate, what habits I’d like to add to my life and which ones need to be removed. Then I come up with a list, and I review it about once a month – not just to see how much progress I’m making, but also to figure out if that goal is even important to me anymore.

These were the goals I set in 2012, and my results on each:

1. Create art with Jacob (done – one, two, three)
2. Try 25 new recipes (done – one, two, three, four, five, six)
3. Read 5 non-fiction books (partially done – one, two, three, four)
4. Read through the entire Bible (partially done)
5. Get eight hours of sleep a night for one solid month (not done)
6. Start an herb garden (not done)
7. Make meaningful art for my house (done – one, two, three, four)
8. Explore downtown Frederick by trying six new restaurants (done)
9. Take a yoga class (not done)
10. Take a French class (done)
11. Take Ally, Cam, and Jake to lunch for their birthdays (done)
12. Cut my car loan balance in half (not done)
13. Join a Bible study (done)
14. See 5 (new) places from the book 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (partially done)
15. Walk the dogs four times a week for a month (not done)
16. Set up a recycling center (done)
17. Tile something (not done)
18. Grill something (not done)
19. Write random notes to the people that I love (done)
20. Go hiking with my sisters (done – one, two)

I’m still working on the goal list for this year. Some were pretty easy, but I’m struggling to think through a few others. It might partly be because God turned my life upside down the last two months of 2012 and I think it’s likely He’ll do it again this year. It’s also because there are some big areas that I want to address in some way, but I haven’t let figured out how I want to do it.

Hopefully, I’ll have the list done by the end of the month.

new recipes, part 6.

[Sources: 1 – Taste of Home, 2 – Stay-At-Home Artist,
3 – Our Best Bites, 4 – jujugoodnews.com]

Enchilada Stuffed Shells – These were okay, they just didn’t have a ton of flavor. Not bad, but just not one of those recipes I would absolutely keep to make again.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup – I love chicken noodle soup, and I love thick, creamy soups, which this definitely is. It was pretty easy to put together, even with the addition of the cream sauce. It made a lot, and it got rave reviews. It’s definitely something I’ll make again, especially as comfort food this winter (after I’m done hobbling around on crutches, that is).

Baked Sweet Potato Fries – Honestly, I kind of winged it on this one. I didn’t measure out anything, just peeled and cut the sweet potatoes, then dumped olive oil and the seasonings on them. I also skipped the coriander, because I didn’t have them. The result was definitely tasty, but I wasn’t careful about laying out each piece so they weren’t touching (I was in a hurry), so they weren’t very crispy. Still, they were good. And easy enough that I’ll make them again.

Orange Chicken Vegetable Stir-Fry – This recipe just really didn’t have much flavor! The orange flavor didn’t come through at all. It was edible, but there wasn’t much to it, really. I have another recipe for orange chicken (from here). It’s a less healthy, but much tastier and easier. Maybe I’ll try a hybrid someday.

love does.

I’ve never met Bob Goff, but after following him on Twitter, reading his book Love Does, and watching some of the videos he posts on his blog, I think he’s probably one of those guys who is a lot of fun to be around – someone who just lives life all in, who isn’t afraid to be a little ridiculous and encourages you to do whatever you’re passionate about.

If you’ve ever read anything by Donald Miller, the style of this book is somewhat similar. It reads a little bit like a memoir, with a series of stories from Bob’s life and the lessons he learned while living those stories. I highlighted lots of little nuggets as I got started, things that I thought were an interesting and insightful way of looking at something. It wasn’t until I got to the end, though, that I really understand that the whole book is about doing something, about being active not passive, about really being full engaged in life wherever that is. I finished it inspired. I think you will, too.

Here are a few of the parts I highlighted:

“The world can make you think that love can be picked up a garage sale or enveloped in a Hallmark card. But the kind of love that God created and demonstrated is a costly one because it involves sacrifice and presence. It’s a love that operates more like a sign language than being spoken outright. What I learned from Randy about the brand of love Jesus offers is that it’s more about presence than undertaking a project. It’s a brand of love that doesn’t just think about good things, or agree with them, or talk about them. What I learned from Randy reinforced the simple truth that continues to weave itself into the tapestry of every great story: Love does.”

“I want to leak from having been hit by Jesus. From having something crazy happen to me, something that flipped my life upside down. I’ve met people like that, people who leak Jesus. Whenever you’re around them, Jesus keeps coming up with words and with actions. I don’t suppose everybody gets hit by Jesus, but those of us who have talk about Him differently. We start steering funny, we start leaking where we stand. And it’s because we got thrown from our lives in a terrific collision.”

“We’re God’s plan, and we always have been. We aren’t just supposed to be observers, listeners, or have a bunch of opinions. We’re not here to let everyone know what we agree and don’t agree with, because, frankly, who cares? Tell me about the God you love; tell me about what you’re going to do about it, and a plan for your life will be pretty easy to figure out from there. I guess what I’m saying is that most of us don’t get an audible plan for our lives. It’s way better than that. We get to be God’s plan for the whole world by pointing people toward Him.”

new recipes, part 5.

[Sources: 1 - Our Best Bites, 2 - Inspired by Charm, 3 - My Blessed Life, 4 - Inspired by Charm]

Baked Pasta and Broccoli with Ham and Cheesy-Creamy Cauliflower Sauce – This was good, and I love that it was full of healthy things like broccoli and cauliflower. Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that just really doesn’t have a lot of flavor to me, so I really like the idea of using it in a puree. That said, it didn’t take quite some time and made a huge mess of my kitchen, so I think this is one of those recipes that I’ll save for special occasions.

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies – I love to eat cookies, but I have to be in the right mood to want to actually bake cookies. I pinned a couple of recipes recently that have inspired me, including this one and the one below. These were really good! Plain oatmeal cookies are a little bland for me, but I love the added combination of dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Parmesan Potato Wedges – Easy and tasty. I pretty much eye-balled everything, and I cut the potatoes in chunks instead of wedges. Still, it’s an easy side dish, and definitely something I would make in the future. As a bonus, this is one of the few new recipes I’ve tried that I think my dad would like, and maybe even my brother, too.

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies – Oh my word. These were seriously amazing. Not super easy, very messy, but oh so worth it – I got a ton of compliments! If you decide to make them, here are a couple things you should know. First, these really spread out – so much so that I ended up with some oddly-shaped, smushed-together cookies. I’m actually thinking next time I might try smaller cookies and cut the caramels in half. Second, the parchment paper is really helpful. I did it both with and without, and it was definitely easier with.

compassion, justice, and the christian life.

This is book 3 of the 5 non-fiction books I wanted to read this year. I think this year I just might actually complete this goal.

I actually read Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life by Robert Lupton because a friend loaned it to me. You know how when someone loans you a book you feel like you have to read it, because they’re going to ask you how you liked it? I was surprised, though, because once I got started with this, I really enjoyed it. I thought about the way I help the poor, right and wrong, about what kind of things lead to long-term change and what hinder it. I also had to face some real truths about the way I interact with those I’m helping:

“There is blessedness in this kind of giving, to be sure. But there is also power in it – which can be dangerous. Giving allows me to retain control. Retaining the helping position protects me from the humiliation of appearing to need help. And even more sobering, I condemn those who I would help to the permanent, prideless role of recipient. When my motivation is to change people, I inadvertently communicate: Something is wrong with you, but (quite subtly) I am okay. If our relationship is defined as healer/patient, then I must remain well and they must remain sick in order for our interaction to continue.”

Over the last few years, and the last few months especially, I’ve become more and more convinced that social justice is absolutely essential to sharing the gospel. How can we tell someone that we care about their soul, but ignore the fact that they don’t have enough food or a roof over their heads? Evangelism and acts of compassion and fighting for justice are not separate things. Jesus came to mend and redeem our relationship with God, but he also healed the sick, wept with the hurting, and befriended the lonely – not a sidebar to his ministry, but it is by these things that people see God.

“The problem, of course, is that it leads toward viewing others as souls instead of people. And when we opt for rescuing souls over loving neighbors, compassionate acts can soon degenerate into evangelism techniques; pressing human needs depreciate in importance, and the spirit becomes the only thing worth caring about. Thus, the powerful leaven of unconditional, sacrificial love is diminished in society and the wounded are left lying beside the road. When we skip over the Great Commandment on the way to fulfilling the Great Commission, we do great harm to the authenticity of the faith.”

This book was an extremely quick read for me, and if you’re at all interested in learning how to really care for the poor, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

new recipes, part 4.

[Sources: 1 – Our Best Bites, 2 – Our Best Bites, 3 – Oh She Glows, 4 – Urban Nester]

White Chicken Chili – This was really, really good, and I’ll definitely be making it again. I used pre-cooked chicken, which made the whole thing come together really quickly.

Berry Vinaigrette – I don’t think I’ve ever tried a recipe from Our Best Bites that I haven’t really liked, and this was no exception. It’s quite different from the type of dressing that I normally use. It makes quite a bit, so I wouldn’t make it just for myself. I used raspberries and left out the poppy seeds (just because I thought I had them on hand but didn’t).

Stuffed Patty Pan Squash – I’ve gotten several large patty pan squash from my CSA and wanted to try stuffing them. I used this recipe to understand how to prepare the squash for stuffing, but used my own recipe for what I put inside (ground turkey, red onion, garlic, zucchini, brown rice, tomatoes). The filling was good (it usually is), but there was something about the squash. I like yellow squash (usually with other flavors) and I love zucchini, but I just wasn’t a fan of the patty pan squash.

Baked Oatmeal with Strawberries, Bananas, and Chocolate Chips – I have a basic baked oatmeal recipe that I like, but I thought it might be fun to try a version with fruit and chocolate chips. In this case I used strawberries and left out the walnuts. I also used a larger pan (who has a 10 1/2 x 7-inch pan?) and didn’t really measure out the chocolate chips. Next time I’ll use less chocolate chips and more strawberries, because although it was good, it was definitely more of a dessert than a breakfast.

Eggplant Parmesan – I was a little nervous about this one, because the only time I’ve tried to cook with eggplant before, I didn’t really enjoy it. I was never quite sure if it was the eggplant or just the recipe. But I had a huge eggplant that I had to either use or let go bad, and I figured that when you fry something, it’s usually good. I liked it. Next time I think I might try a baked-but-breaded version.

Homemade Applesauce – My mom has been making homemade applesauce for as long as I can remember. In fact, I’m so spoiled by it that I really don’t eat store-bought applesauce at all. She makes a ton of it in the summer, then freezes it and we eat it the rest of the year. This year I got to help her. The process itself is pretty simple, if time-consuming. I’ll definitely make it again, though I think a big part of the enjoyment was doing it with my mother.

7.

I'm kind of on a roll with the book thing. Normally, I really need some kind of external motivation to finish a non-fiction book (like a small group), but I've been reading a lot lately. It helps that I really like Jen Hatmaker's writing style - its sometimes serious, sometimes silly, sometimes irreverent, and sometimes just really in-process, which is something I can really appreciate in another person. It also helps that since T and K moved in, I've been going to bed at a more normal hour.

And let's be honest - it also helps that it's the summer and there isn't a ton of good stuff to watch on Hulu at the moment.

[Source: www.jenhatmaker.com]

Anyway, I actually downloaded 7 before Interrupted (my review is here) but thought it would be better to read them in the order they were written. And once I finished the first one, I flew through the second. 7 is the story of an experiment to make 7 simple changes in 7 different areas of excess (including things like media, possessions, and shopping) for one month each and record the results. It's written almost like a blog, with entries labeled by day. It was funny and challenging at the same time. It was also not a little bit convicting, given my frustration with significantly reducing spending last month, though some of the words in the conclusion brought me a lot of peace (see the final quote below).

I highlighted far too many things to list them all, so here's a sample:

"As I reduce, He is enough. As I simplify, He is enough. He is my portion where food and clothes and comfort fall woefully short. He can heal me from greed and excess, materialism and pride, selfishness and envy. While my earthly treasures and creature comforts will fail me, Jesus is more than enough. In my privileged world where 'need' and 'want' have become indistinguishable, my only true requirement is the sweet presence of Jesus."

"I won't defile my blessings by imagining that I deserve them. Until every human receives the dignity I casually enjoy, I pray my heart aches with tension and my belly rumbles for injustice."

"When the jars of clay remember they are jars of clay, the treasure within gets all the glory, which seems somehow more fitting."

"What if we are actually called to a radical life? What if Jesus knew our Christian culture would design a lovely life template complete with all the privileges and exemptions we want, but even with that widespread approval, He still expected radical simplicity, radical generosity, radical obedience from those with ears to hear, eyes to see?"

"The church the Bible described is exciting and adventurous and wrought with sacrifice. It cost the believers everything, and they still came. It was good news to the poor and stumped its enemies. The church was patterned after a Savior who had no place to lay his head and voluntarily died a brutal death, even knowing we would reduce the gospel to a self-serving personal improvement program where people were encouraged to make a truce with their Maker and stop sinning and join the church, when in fact the gospel does not call for a truce but a complete surrender."

"Self-deprecation is a cruel response to Jesus, who died and made us righteous. Guilt is not Jesus' medium. He is battling for global redemption right now; His objective hardly includes huddling in the corner with us, rehashing our shame again. He finished that discussion on the cross. Plus, there's no time for that. We're so conditioned to being a problem that we've forgotten we're actually the answer. God is not angry at you; how could He possibly be? You are His daughter, His son; you're on the team."

interrupted.

I'm so bad at finishing non-fiction books - I really am. I have great intentions, but I usually get bogged down at some point in the process. But, I finally finished the first on my list for the year, and let me tell you, it really messed with me. It challenged me and is still making me think. I've been telling everyone I know to read it, partly because I want someone else to discuss it with me, and partly because it is just that good.

[Source: www.jenhatmaker.com]

Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker is the story of  a radical shift in the way we view life with Christ. It's about learning to do life the way that Jesus did, in relationship, seeking out the least of these. It's radical, but at the same time, it's really not.

Here are just a few of the items I highlighted:

"Why is it so exhausting to uphold someone's heavy, inconvenient burden? Why are we spent from shouldering someone's grief or being an armor bearer? Why is it that lifting someone out of his or her rubble leaves us breathless? Because we are the body of Christ, broken and poured out, just as He was. Mercy has a cost: Someone must be broken for someone else to be fed."

"We don't get to opt out of living on mission because we might not be appreciated. We're not allowed to neglect the oppressed because we have reservations about their discernment. We cannot deny love because it might be despised or misunderstood. We can't without social relief because we're not convinced it will be perfectly managed. Must we be wise? Absolutely. But doing nothing is a blatant sin of omission. Turning a blind eye to the bottom on the grounds of "unworthiness" is the antithesis to Jesus' entire mission."

"Of course we loved the poor, Jesus. You told us to. Of course we opened our homes and invited the lonely in. That was clear in the Word. Of course we clothed naked children and fed starving people. They are human beings made in your image. We took care of the least in obedience to You, Jesus, but we never had the privilege of actually serving You. We did all that for you. But Jesus will say, No, you did that unto Me."

"In Breaking the Missional Code, Ed Stetzer and David Putman wrote, 'The church is one of the few organizations in the world that does not exist for the benefit of its members. The church exists because God, in his infinite wisdom and infinite mercy, chose the church as his instrument to make known his manifold wisdom in the world.'"

"If we've been in church for years yet aren't full, are we really hungry for more knowledge? In our busy lives, do we really need another program or event? Do we really need to be fed more of the Word, or are we simply undernourished from an absence of living the Word?" (from Brandon Hatmaker)

new 2012 recipes, part 3.

[Sources: 1 - Mommy Hates Cooking, 2 - myrecipes.com, 3 - allrecipes.com, 4 - Our Best Bites, 5 - SparkRecipes]

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins - My brother, sisters, and brother-in-law play in a kickball league, and I made these muffins for breakfast before their all-day kickball tournament. I tried them a bit later, and they were good! I they didn't have a ton of banana flavor, though - I think next time I would add more of that.

Collard Greens - I signed up for another CSA this year, with Seeds of Life Nurseries. I wasn't crazy about the one I signed up for while I was living in Virginia, but this one is amazing. There's a ton of variety every week, and it's almost all stuff that I love. There's been very little waste this time around. Earlier in year, we got a lot of greens and lettuce, including collard greens, which I've never tried before. I tried a new recipe they sent with the produce, but I burned them.

Turnip Gratin - Turnips were another item that came in with the CSA, so I found this recipe to try. I halved it and just used turnips, and it was very good! It took a bit of time to make, so I probably won't do it all the time, but maybe for special occasions.

Lite Italian Salad Dressing - This was good, I think. I used it in another recipe without tasting it directly, so I'm not really sure.

Streusel-Topped Blueberry Muffins - These muffins are another thing I made for the kickball tournament. I haven't tried them, but my mom and nephew said they were really good.

Unstuffed Cabbage - I wanted to like this, I really did. I think I just don't like cabbage. I was really bummed, too, because I really hated wasting all the other good stuff in this, but it was just too hard to eat around it.

goal update (june).

It's time for a 6 month update on my 20 goals for 2012.

1. Create art with Jacob - DONE (see art day and melted crayon art).
2. Try 25 new recipes - IN PROCESS (14/25) (see part 1 and part 2).
3. Read 5 non-fiction books.
4. Read through the entire Bible - IN PROCESS - I need to catch up, but I'm working on it.
5. Get eight hours of sleep a night for one solid month.
6. Start an herb garden.
7. Make meaningful art for my house - DONE, though there are still more things I want to make (see life is beauty full and abstract art).
8. Explore downtown Frederick by trying six new restaurants - DONE. I've tried 10 new restaurants so far this year (Moxie, Cafe Nola, Cacique, Mistero, Nido's, Black Hog, Lunchbox, Pretzel & Pizza Creations, Isabella's, and Il Porto). And though they don't count for this goal, I've also been to Ben & Jerry's and The Greene Turtle (both chains) and  Brewer's Alley (not new to me). 
9. Take a yoga class.
10. Take a French class - IN PROCESS (the class finishes next week, on 7/9).
11. Take Ally, Cam, and Jake to lunch for their birthdays - IN PROCESS - I took Ally and Cameron to lunch for their birthdays in February and June. Jacob's birthday is in September.
12. Cut my car loan balance in half.
13. Join a Bible study - DONE.
14. See 5 (new) places from the book 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die - IN PROCESS.
15. Walk the dogs four times a week for a month.
16. Set up a recycling center - DONE.
17. Tile something.
18. Grill something.
19. Write random notes to the people that I love - IN PROCESS.
20. Go hiking with my sisters - DONE (see hiking).

the other reason we need margin.

A couple of days ago, I wrote about how I've been trying to add margin to my life over the last few months. It's ironic, then, that right now I find myself in a place where there really isn't a lot of extra margin.

Do you ever have those weeks or months where it seems as though everything just kind of hits at once? That's what the last few weeks have been like for me. I'm in the midst of a couple of projects at work that have kept me really busy during the work day. I was finally sworn in as a CASA in Maryland and received my first case. And, I started a 5-week French class that meets two nights a week. These last couple weeks have been very full, and at least until I'm done with this class, the next few weeks will be as well.

But that's okay, because it's temporary. And maybe this is another reason why adding margin is such a good thing - so that when a great opportunity comes along, we have the space in our lives to take advantage of it.

new 2012 recipes, part 2.

[Sources: 1 - www.hiddenponies.com , 2 - www.kevinandamanda.com, 3 - www.kraftrecipes.com]

Quick Crustless Quiche

Very good and also easy, so I'll definitely be making this again.

Spicy Sausage Pasta

Katie and Jacob joined me for dinner the night I made this, and we all enjoyed it. I have a lot of chicken recipes (just ask my family), so it was nice to have something a bit different. It really wasn't that spicy, which was perfect for us. All of the kick comes from the Rotel, so you could easily just use diced tomatoes, instead.

Rustic Italian Chicken and Rice

Loved this! I made a few changes to fit the stuff I had on hand. The biggest change was that I realized just as I was getting ready to cook, that I didn't have enough rice. So, I substituted with orzo, which was good but not nearly as healthy.

Pulled Pork BBQ

My sister Kelli shared this recipe with me. It's super easy - just mix up the BBQ sauce and pour it on pork tenderloin and cook it all day. I made this when having a bunch of people over for dinner and was worried I wouldn't have enough, so I threw in a couple of boneless pork chops I had on hand.

Slow Cooker Veggie Lasagna


Not good at all. The consistency was all wrong, and there was so much cheese that the end result was so high in fat, that it seemed to negate the benefits from the veggies. I have a couple of veggie lasagna recipes  (not for the slow cooker), so I'll just be sticking with those in the future.

goals update (april).

Since we're now three months into the year, I thought it was time to review my goals and see which things I can cross off my list. There are quite a few that I need to get moving on, too!

1. Create art with Jacob - DONE (see art day and melted crayon art).
2. Try 25 new recipes - IN PROCESS (5/25) (see new 2012 recipes, part 1).
3. Read 5 non-fiction books.
4. Read through the entire Bible - IN PROCESS - I'm still using YouVersion, and need to catch up, but I'm working on it.
5. Get eight hours of sleep a night for one solid month.
6. Start an herb garden.
7. Make meaningful art for my house - DONE, though there are still more things I want to make (see life is beauty full and abstract art).
8. Explore downtown Frederick by trying six new restaurants - IN PROCESS - I edited this goal to be more specific. So far, I've tried 2 new restaurants, Moxie and Cafe Nola.
9. Take a yoga class.
10. Take a French class.
11. Take Ally, Cam, and Jake to lunch for their birthdays - IN PROCESS - I took Ally to lunch for her birthday in February. Cameron and Jacob's birthdays are until June and September.
12. Cut my car loan balance in half.
13. Join a Bible study - DONE - Mom and I are doing a Beth Moore study (A Woman's Heart) together, and I've joined a women's small group at my church.
14. See 5 (new) places from the book 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die.
15. Walk the dogs four times a week for a month.
16. Set up a recycling center.
17. Tile something.
18. Grill something.
19. Write random notes to the people that I love.
20. Go hiking with my sisters - DONE (see hiking).

abstract art.

So after we finished the melted crayon art, and while Jacob was working on his own abstract masterpiece, I decided to make something a little abstract of my own.

My favorite colors are blues, especially the ones with a bit of green in them, like aqua, teal, and turquoise (which is why both the kitchen and bathroom are a similar color). So I stuck with those kinds of colors, and just fingerpainted them onto my canvas.

I'm also a big fan of words and quotes and lyrics, so I knew I wanted to incorporate that. This is also part of another goal for the year, to make meaningful art for my house. I used words from the song I Am New by Jason Gray. It's a beautiful song about the things God says about us.

forgiven

beloved

hidden in Christ

made in the image of the Giver of Life

righteous

holy

reborn

remade

accepted

worthy

By the way, the video is also excellent, and I love the art is created in it out of junk. Such a great meaning, isn't it?

melted crayon art.

I told Jacob a few weeks after I bought my house that one day, we were going to get together and make art. It took longer than I planned to get it scheduled, mostly since my house felt so torn up between remodeling the bathroom and building the desk.

We talked a while ago about some of the things we wanted to try, and this was one that Jacob was really excited about:

[Source: 52 Kitchen Adventures]

Our version turned out a bit different, though I think if we had spent more time on it, we could have made the melted crayons fill up the canvas a bit more. But we're happy with the way it looks!

We even signed it, just like real artists:

The process for making this is pretty straightforward and really inexpensive. We just hot-glued crayons along the top of a piece of canvas, then used a hair dryer to melt them until they dripped down the way we wanted them to. I already had the canvas, so the only out-of-pocket cost was for the crayons ($4.99 for a 64-pack at Michaels).

art day.

One of my goals for the year is to create art with Jacob. He loves to draw and enjoys painting on the rare occasions he does it, and I think it's important to encourage that in him. And because I know how much time I've wasted getting caught up in perfectionism, it's also important to me to encourage him that it doesn't have to be perfect.

My plans for this past weekend changed at the last minute, and since Jacob was free, I picked him for an art day at Aunt Kristy's house. We worked on a couple of different projects - this was Jacob's abstract art. He says he likes abstract art because it doesn't have to look good.

He started out using a brush, but soon decided finger painting was more fun (I agree). And if it was fun with fingers, why not with your whole hand? We also talked about using his elbow, but he decided it would be kind of difficult to wash the paint off his elbow.

(please ignore the paint samples on the walls in the background - I'm not using any of them)

Originally, I wanted to try adding letter stickers to a canvas, then painting over it, then removing the stickers to see the word in the negative image. But, I couldn't find the stickers - so stenciling was the next best option. Jake chose the word LOVE.

Notice the YouTube playlist in the background and the remains of a Chick-Fil-A milkshake on the table. These were very important.

I wish I had a picture of the finished project. I tried arguing that I should keep it, because I bought the supplies, and because I wanted his first piece of abstract art to hang in my house. He insisted that he wanted to hang it in his room, but he promised me that one day when he is famous (for anything), he would give it back. Then he said that if he was famous for something that paid a lot of money, he would buy me a glass case for it.