Eating Healthy

I've been on a kick lately of cooking and baking, it's been a lot of fun. And the bonus is that it's healthy!

Here are a few things I've made which have been big hits: BBQ turkey meatloaf, chicken pot pie, a chocolate cake made with diet pepsi, and blueberry scones.

It's been fun to experiment and then I cross my fingers hoping others will enjoy it as well. Back to looking for recipes.

The little things

Today was so encouraging, I got three fantastic calls for random jobs that I would love to do!! All in the same day, how great. Watch out here I come.

This time of year

I am SO into fall right now. I love that the trees are turning color, the weather is getting cooler, and the thought of the holidays is floating through the air. Recently, I have fell in love with the flavor of pumpkin (I still can't stand pumpkin pie). I have not been a fan of it before but I love that maybe some of my taste buds are changing. So far I've had pumpkin soup and I have made low fat pumpkin bread. Both were delish! This weekend I'm making a pumpkin roll, I hope it turns out yummy. I'm curious to try other pumpkin foods, we'll see what I come up with.

Right now I'm loving:

~freshly picked apples

~attending sporting events

~how versatile my iPhone is

~that I'm taking a vacation soon

~my White Sox flip flops

~free time that I have all to myself

~hearing my friends laugh

~that gas is going down in price

~watching "The Amazing Race"

~the smell of a pumpkin candle burning

~Nordstrom Rack

~the book I'm reading

~that I have a couch in my bedroom

~the thoughts of a thanksgiving meal

~that "24" will be on in November

What are you loving right now?

An inspiring excerpt

Marin Luther said,

This life therefore is not righteousness
but growth in righteousness
not health but healing
not being but becoming...
We are not yet what we shall be
but we are growing toward it.
The process is not yet finished
but it is going on.
This is not the end
but it is the road.
All does not yet gleam in glory
but all is being purified.

Who knew?

Check this out....fashionable diapers

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26885530/?GT1=43001

Tomorrow

I cannot wait until tomorrow. I get to hang out with a dear friend who loves me, encourages me, gives me guidance, and is on my side. What more could I ask for?!

Virginity

The other day I was watching TV and caught an ear full when I heard that a grad student was auctioning off her virginity. She was introduced to this idea when conducting research for a project. This concept inspired her and thought she'd try it out, she thought by doing the auction it would be good research for her project and also help pay for grad school.

The two commentators had opossing views, one thought it was a good idea in the name of "research" while the other thought it was ridiculous to lower your standards and make money off of this activity.

Wow, the extremes people will go through to make a little extra cash.

Fall Fun Day

Today the entire family headed to Jonomac Orchard. It was a gorgeous fall day and we all began by picking apples. Trying new apples was yummy and getting a variety to eat and bake with was an adventure. Once we picked our half of bushel we had some apple donuts and slushies to cool us down before we headed to the corn maze.

The corn maze was shaped in a huge apple to celebrate the orchards 25th anniversary. There were numbers and words carved into the maze as well. As we have done in the past, we divide the family up into two teams. The boys which includes my dad, Matthew and Mark. Then we have the girls which includes my mom, Ashley, my sister-in-law Angela and myself. The goal is to get through the maze, figure out all six clues in the maze and get the appropriate hole punches, and finish with the fastest time. The boys started out 5 minutes ahead of the girls. Once we were in there we had a blast and the competitive juices kicked in. At times we could hear the boys team and knew it was going to be a close race. I am proud to say that the girls team kicked butt. We all worked together and had just such a fun and exhilarating time and can't wait to do it again.

We ended the evening by coming home and making caramel apples. The caramel was way too thick so we all have sore jaws from chewing. This is a tradition I want to keep!

Last week was speed bumps and this week...potholes?

Not sure where to begin to capture my thoughts and emotions. Well lets see, I figured that while I was waiting to see if I will be trying to move to CA again I thought I would be a substitute teacher. There were lots of good reasoning behind this being a good idea so I went forward with it. After I've completed all the paper work and ready to turn it all in I was informed that I would not be able to start subbing until November. WHAT?!?!

Seriously, I feel like every avenue I'm trying to go down the bottom keeps dropping out. I'm getting frusrtated and discouraged and it's harder to trust that God is in control.

A little laugh

The other day at work, 2 funny sayings were said.

Number 1: Gina, do you know how to make macaroni and cheese? If I could have only responded with something sarcastic like no at culinary school they don't teach me how to boil water!

Number 2: The dad was telling his 3 year old daughter that before going to bed she needed to change her panties and the 5 year old chimed in with or you can wear no panties like mommy! I about lost it! Then the dad replied with honey I know we don't keep secrets but that is one secret you can keep.

The past few days

Well, it's been a few days and the dust is settling. I have to admit those first few days of hearing the news that I wasn't moving to CA on Monday was a little heart wrenching and confusing. Tears of sadness were wept and the emotional drainage continued with having to tell family and friends what had happened.

I'm glad to say that a corner has been turned. It is SO interesting to me to see how immediately God is placing ideas, possible work opportunities, and people in my path to encourage me as I prepare to stay in IL for a few more weeks while I figure out my next step. I can honestly say that I am excited to stay here and see how these weeks will pan out. I'm reminded that God has His watchful eye on me and definitely cares for me and will continue to provide.

Bump in the road

I cannot believe that I'm all ready to move to California. I've cleaned out all of my storage stuff, purged things from my closet, had the brakes done on my car, all of my friends were contacted of where I would be spending the nights along the drive out, a suitcase of clothes was sent with a friend who was traveling to CA this weekend, I met up with all of my friends and family to say those good-bye's...AND THEN I get a text message from the lady I'm renting my room from saying that she wants me to postpone my trip because a ill and unemployed family member showed up at her house and is staying in my room.

I was completely shocked!!! I stayed calm when I read this but today I'm a bit ticked off. I realize that this is not the time I'm suppose to go out there, but I still want to move there, but I feel like I am back to square one. I felt like as long as I had a place to live (and I wanted to live with someone from my friends church or friends of friends) that that would be enough and I could look for a job and find a church and get settled. Now the other roommate possibilities that I had are taken and now I don't know where to look or how this is all going to pan out or when I will get there.

Wow, now there is a bunch of uncertainty...Please God give me your peace and continue to guide me of where you want me to be.

House Sold

Last week was a bit rough. I was emotionally drained and sometimes I wondered how I would keep on trucking. In the midst of it all, my parents received some news that they received a contract on their house. Their house has been on the market for over a year and nothing has happened. Everyone was so pleasantly surprised by the contract. The wheeling and dealing between both parties worked and my parents have sold their house. WAHOO!!!

I'm so happy for them. The tricky part is that they have to be out in 3 WEEKS!!! Insanity if you ask me, but possible. A friend of mine just moved on Friday, so Saturday I was over there picking up moving boxes to start the packing. The packing party began and boy oh boy we got SO much accomplished this weekend. (I felt like I didn't have a weekend, but what are you going to do!!!) My family is off to a good start and I'm happy I could help relieve some of that stress. And this was a great distraction for me....

The past week

I have thoroughly enjoyed the past week or so. Nothing crazy has happened but I have had the privilege of getting together with friends I haven't seen in a while, teachers that I use to work with, parents of kids whom I've taught, and then just my normal good close friends. I love getting the opportunity to meet up for coffee or grab dessert or whatever. Relationships to me are so important and I love getting to know people. I'm looking forward to more of these important encounters in my life in the next few weeks.

Thanks to those of you who I was able to spend some great quality time with!!!!

The OLYMPICS.....

Make me want to:

-get into amazing shape

-travel the world to see some of these countries I've never heard of

-stay glued to the TV all day because I love the sports, competition, enthusiasm

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!!!!!

The Mail

Today I received a piece of mail for assisted living and memory care. Yes, assisted living and memory care...I know I am turning 30 this year but come on. Who sent this to me as a joke?!?!?! I was being notified that I could go check out my new home and get free refreshments. On the brochure there was a picture of this elderly woman who might even be my neighbor!

Do you ever wonder how in the world they got your name and address? How and why do I get these crazy pieces of mail? We all sure did get a kick out of it!

Viva la Vida....

COLDPLAY!!!! At one point in the concert they begin to exit the stage, as thought it appeared, but they don't. They ran right up the aisle we were sitting in. We all were so in shock that we couldn't get our cameras out or touch them. After they ran past us they headed over to sing a set of songs, this is how close we were to them. Amazing.

The eight of us standing outside the United Center after the concert. What a night...so fun...to hard to say with words.

I love this shot. Each song had their own lighting, backgrounds....it was a fun touch. There were also these huge balls hanging from the ceiling, some moved up and down while other remained motionless. But these balls would portray different images of the band playing, the crowd dancing, media clips....Very cool

Yes, here is Chris Martin. The concert was incredible. The band is unbelievably talented, I have a new found appreciation for their unique nature!

Coldplay opened with "Violet Hill" from their new album, great tune to get the crowd going. They played pretty much every song off of "Viva la Vida". Many of the old favorites were thrown in there as well. They were filming for a video during the song "Lost" which is one of my favorites. I can't wait to see the video!!!

I will definitely go to another Coldplay concert, my expectations were exceeded! Love that.

Have you ever?

So yesterday, Saturday, my entire day was booked. I had a tire rotation appointment in the morning and then I was working the rest of the day. Well, that all changed.

I did start off my day at the tire shop, which let's be honest...I've had some problems with this place and my tires so starting off the day there didn't seem like much fun. BUT, I was pleasantly surprised when they got me in and out in less than 20 minutes (I've spent hours there). So my day started off great.

Then I headed to the theatre to catch "The Dark Knight". I was looking forward to seeing it, but everyone kept saying how great it was and I was wondering how I would bring my high expectations down, so I wouldn't be disappointed. I didn't have too, I loved the movie!!! The acting was great, the stunts and special affects rocked, it was shot in Chicago, and Heath Ledger was AMAZING!!!!

Lastly, my dad, brother, and I headed down to the city to catch the White Sox game. Oh it was great, my first of the season. We ate a little pizza before the game and enjoyed a night game at U.S. Cellular. Despite the loss, we had a great time.

Despite how the day would have originated, I love how it turned out even better than I could have expected. Now that was a fantastic day in my book!

Join me

Without getting into what I'm experiencing and feeling, I was listening to this song "Came to my Rescue" and tonight I'm making this my prayer.

Falling on my knees in worship
Giving all I am to seek Your face
Lord all I am is Yours

My whole life
I place in Your hands
God of mercy
Humbled I bow down
In Your presence at Your throne

I called You answered
And You came to my rescue and I
I wanna be where You are

In my life
Be lifted high
In our world
Be lifted high
In our love
Be lifted high