so much to say

It's been a busy last week or two and I haven't been able to write about half the things that I've wanted to. I even tried out a new recipe, took pictures, loved it, but blogging has dropped to the bottom of my priority list.

I will do a new recipe this week though. I'm pretty excited about it.

First off, the coolest thing that happened last week is I ran my first race in a long time. I'm trying to get in good enough shape to run a half marathon August 9. To call it training would be a huge overstatement.

It was a 10K (6.2mi) run in the city I live in. I decided the week before that I was going to do it, so I didn't have a lot of time to get my butt in gear. I had been 2-3mi runs consistently, and one just over 4 miles. So I decided to plan my long run for Tuesday. And that, never happened. So then I was going to do a long one on Thursday. That, also didn't happen. Both days I could barely make it past 3 miles. In the back of my head I'm wondering how in the world I would be able to pull off a 6.2mi run on Saturday.

Nevertheless, Saturday morning rolls around, I crawl out of bed at 6:30, not leaving myself enough time to shave my legs. On go the capri sweatpants in the middle of summer...
I drive over to the race, register, go to the bathroom, go back to my car to drop off my purse, go to the bathroom again, and then get ready to run .

And you know what?

I made it.

I had expected myself to have to walk a mile or so, but I didn't. I trudged along and made it through for an outstanding time of 1:04:30...not so outstanding, but I don't even care. It was awesome.

My only regret is that my husband couldn't run it with me.

confession time

I love the bachelorette.

There's something weirdly romantic about watching guys try to pull out all the stops in order to win a woman's heart. I kind of feel that's how it should be, and our culture seems to think otherwise.

But I won't get into that now.

Either way, those of you who watch the show may have been surprised that she let go of this guy on Monday. I was proud of her (Although he's not bad to look at)

I think I'm rooting for this guy. But maybe this one. Or, I don't know, this guy is pretty likable too.

I really don't dislike any of them.

Jeremy seems to be driven and sensitive and supportive and is really dedicated to her. He's pretty competitive so there's a chance this whole thing might be a game to him.

Jesse appears to be a lot of fun and has some good ol' fashion morals. Is kind of a snowboarder punk and she's a little southern belle...not a real good fit, plus, admitted he's not quite ready for marriage.

Jason is a family guy and really seems to care about her, but already has been married, not to mention he has a child. But, she doesn't seem to mind.

So yep. There you have it. First step to recovery is admitting it.

Strawberry Pie

I guess I was in a pie baking mood this week.

Originally I wanted to pick up some rhubarb at the Farmer's Market, but by the time I made it there on my lunch break, most of the vendors were gone or out of rhubarb.

BUT

There were strawberries.
I decided to make a strawberry dessert, and nothing sounded better than strawberry pie.

Here's the recipe:

DOUBLE CRUST:

2 1/4 c. All purpose flour

3/4 t. salt

3/4 c. shortening

8-10 T cold water

1. Mix flour and salt

2. Cut in shortening with pastry blender

3. Add 1 T. water at a time, pushing the moistened dough to the side of the bowl after each T until all of the dough is moistened.

4. Split the dough into two halves

5. Roll out dough into 12 inch circles

FILLING:

8 c. fresh strawberries (I only had about 5...)

1 1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. All purpose flour

dash of cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

(preheat oven to 375

1. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg

2. Add and evenly coat strawberries

3. Pour on top of bottom crust layer

4. Place other crust on top, folding over the edges and poke a few holes in the top (I chose to do a lattice)

5. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil

6. Bake in oven for 30 minutes

7. Remove foil, bake in oven for another 15-20 minutes

TADA! You have delicious baked strawberry pie!

Today

Today I made a pie.

It got me thinking. I'm going to start posting a recipe of the week on my blog. I might as well have a little consistency!

I won't give this recipe, because I don't have the time tonight, but I'll try and post a picture along with the recipe I chose!

I really love cooking and most of my recipes you'll find to be fairy cheap and mostly healthy. You see, I hate butter.

weekend fun

I love weekends. It's nice to be able to say that. Just a few weeks ago, my weekends were spent working and let me tell you, I did not love weekends. Praise God for the new job and new work schedule.

I love weekends because I get to spend it with my husband. See I work from 8-4:30 and he works from 3-11:30, so we don't see each other much during the week. We try and get as much in during the weekend, so it get's a little hectic, but I don't mind!

Saturday started out wonderful! We ran to the Farmer's Market for some produce and there was a neat little art festival going on right next to it. We didn't bring enough money with us, so we decided we would come back to the festival later. At the Market we found some beautiful flowers called 'Sweet Williams' and there's nothing that says Spring like having fresh flowers in our house.

By the way, our Farmer's Market is the bomb.

only 5....

Today a coworker asked me what bands I would pick if I could only listen to 5 for the rest of my life.

I know it's one of those stupid scenarios that will never actually happen and a million people have been asked this before, but nobody has asked me. So I've never really thought about it. So I decided to think about it.

Being that I am a follower of Christ, I figured I should have some 'Christian' music in there...and that's when it became difficult. There isn't really a lot of contemporary Christian music that I like. At all. Sometimes I feel like that means there's something wrong with me. I have friends who are so in love with God that can listen to David Crowder Band, Avalon, Steven Curtis Chapman,...etc. for days, and I can't listen to that music for more than a few songs before I want smother myself with my pillow...okay, that was a little exaggeration.

So I decided tonight that I would come up with my top 5 Christian bands, to make myself feel better, and then give you my real list of 5 bands for the rest of my life thing.

CHRISTIAN:
1. Madison Greene: Although no longer together, I still find myself listening to their music more often than any other of my cd's. It's folksy, acoustic music with African undertones and sweet percussion and vocals.

2. Enter the Worship Circle: They have come out with some awesome worship music that isn't self-focused ("You are worthy of MY praise...yadayada...) and also has sweet percussion and vocals.

3. GLAD: Totally heartfelt Capella group that I promise you, your mom's will love. And mine did, and since my mom had a pretty big influence on my life, I like them too. It wouldn't be Easter without Glad.

4. Psalters: I only own one of their cd's but I totally support their efforts to break away from the world and be separate. Their music has been influenced by middle eastern culture and a few of the members of madison greene have joined this nomadic group.

5. Jars of Clay: This was a hard one to be honest, I really ran out of favorites at 3, and I really had to dig deep for this one. The reason I picked Jars of Clay, is because they were one of the first Christian groups that I really did like, and sometimes, I don't mind a good Jars of Clay song.

NOW....SECULAR TOP 5

1. Rosie Thomas
2. Jim Brickman
3. Dave Matthews Band
4. Rebecca Loebe
5. Joshua Radin

I had to try and cover my grounds, but luckily for me, I'm pretty particular about what kind of music I listen to.

Whew, this was a long one!

the curse of the nap

All through college I was dependent on naps to get me through the week. I'm not talking about power naps, I'm talking 2-3 hour naps depending on the day. I never considered them a waste of time until quite recently. So honestly, I haven't taken a nap for months, and you know what? I made it through just fine.

Today, I gave in. I had myself convinced that I needed a nap. I had been up late and up early this whole week and I was feeling pretty exhausted. After work, I sat down on the couch and I don't believe I got up for over 2 hours. And that was a waste of time.

No more naps for me.

tis the season

weddings. I love them. I hate them. The wedding I went to on June 7, I most definitely loved.

My amazing friend Rebecca tied the knot with her long time boyfriend/fiance-Taylor. My only disappointment was that I didn't' take enough pictures. In my 'old' age I've become a little camera shy. Here are just a couple pics of the beautiful wedding.

That's all for now, but believe me, the wedding was wonderful.

June = June bugs

Good thing Ella likes chasing bugs. Because I don't.

In case you don't know. Ella is my cat. She's pretty much like my child and my husband and I aren't ashamed to admit it! Well, at least I'm not ashamed. I'll post a picture or two or ten of Ella later.