this is what happens when you give into temptation.

John is gone for the evening with a buddy from across the way (Christie's husband, Aaron).


I'm currently traversing over the intersection of Rick Steve's Europe: Basque Country (John...we're going) and commercials Lidia's Italy on the PBS: Create station.  

Now I'm watching some other travel show on Switzerland.  
They are featuring some kind of white wine at the moment, and the host 
asked the winery master (or...owner?) if one had to go to Switzerland to get 
the specific wine they were sipping.  
The master answered, "Yes, with the danger of never leaving here!"
That's a very true statement about Switzerland, I should let you know.  
Especially if you happen across some amazing, 
made-in-Switzerland Swiss desserts. 



Some may wonder why in the world I'd choose to watch PBS on a Friday night. 
1. I'm tired (per usual lately)
and
2. Watching Dateline will only make me paranoid.  
I'm genetically prone to paranoia, so 
I don't need more of that.


Seeing all this tasty-looking food and drink really makes me crave the 
one thing I've wanted for the last 48 hours: 
Chocolate.


Why just the last 48 hours, you may wonder?

Well, aside from this show's footage of 
"masculine, 
virile
chocolate"
              (their words, not mine), 
I had my "sweets day" on Wednesday. 


It was kind of an ambush. 
The place where I've been temping likes to celebrate birthdays. 
Oh, for my non-American visitors (if there are any out there!),
this implies a plethora of 
baked/confectioned/extra-sugar sweetness... 
                                    ...that description didn't help anyone who doesn't speak Amurrhican. 


On Wednesday, the birthday spread included
Dunkin Doughnut holes,
Banana bread with streusel,
Sticky rolls with thick caramel,
and 
Dove dark and milk chocolates.  
Nom, nom, nom. 


I had all but the sticky rolls, and 
I've been ca-raving chocolate and sugar since.  


This is what happens when you give into temptation,
especially when you don't even recognize temptation as such until you are
literally wiping powdered sugar from those tasty doughnuts off of your face.  


Sigh...
I thought I was doing really well on this Lent challenge,
but I've learned that this challenge is about self-control,
something God wants me to have, 
yet 
I definitely won't be getting that self-control if there isn't any
challenge involved. 




After all, 
saving money on sweets could buy me a ticket to Switzerland...

but probably not with that guy.

old habits die hard, and other thoughts.

so as far as my goals for today went, only one was accomplished: 


laundry = done. 



Thanks to my husband, that is.
I initiated none of this laundry-doing, but done it is and happy we are. 


I have some thoughts before I sleep tonight, so here I go:


"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised."
Sometimes saying verses in older English just makes them seem more true and steadfast. 
I don't just say that verse for the older English, however;
something I read today got me thinking a LOT, and 
when things don't go our way, no matter HOW unfair and unjust it all seems,
God is still to be praised. 


On a whole other note, 
here's a fact that has been proven twice to me:
Aldi's Quick Bread Coffee Cake is AH-MAY-ZING. 
Super easy, totally semi-homemade, and the crumble on top is BUTTERY! Nom-Nom-NOM!
Mix in some chopped up green apple,
pour yourself a cup of turkish-ish coffee, and 
you are good to go!


Speaking of sweet things, eating any sugar has been throwing me for a
loop-dee-loop 
since I gave it up for Lent. 
It's a lot easier to give it up than to
get back on the sugar train, I've found.  
Conversely, honey doesn't have much of an effect.


House Hunters International is on Hulu.
 ...didn't achieve that get-away-from-Hulu goal today, evidently.


Windows 7 is far superior to Windows XP.  Just saying. 


Real Simple is a great magazine, and it's one that's easy to not 
finish when you work and choose to watch TV at home (i need help, people). 


I don't get Leviticus the way I think Jews back in the B.C. did.  I wish I did.


I have a new best friend, and her name is Rachel, and she is 16 months old,
dances for all of her mom and dad's friends, and 
has a perma-smile on her face! 


Well, I think that's it!  :)  
Sorry this is so "I-I-I."  
I can write about something a little less self-centered tomorrow/this week, 
but I thought it was just important to simply write.  
Thanks for bearing with me!  :) 


Goodnight!

tomorrow i hope to...

Tomorrow I hope to:

• bake two or three things
• read more than just my bible and blogs
• find alternative therapy to what is my current source of relaxation: hulu.com. 
• get done with ALL of our laundry
                       (such a good feeling i think i've experienced twice in my life)
• and catch up for lost time on this blog. 

we'll see how this goes :)

oh, Lent...*

So for this Lent I've given up sugary sweets, including - 
yes 
-chocolate.  


Well, 
I've given up sweets every day except for Sundays, when I 
will make my own sweet thing or 
buy something particularly special, because who wants 
a random Hershey's kiss, etc., when you haven't had sweets for a whole week?


Not me, thanks. 

So today I wanted to make a dark chocolate and pear tart, but -  


Bah!  As I wrote that sentence above,
I coughed 3 times. 


Yes, I have a cold, and the
only answer for it is 
more
...
meh.  Halls drops, or something. 

A cowbell would be too aggravating at this time.


Anyways, I decided to feature these deserts I make over the coming Sundays on my blog.  


Today's post -well, the food portion of it- will wait until 
tomorrow, 
Tuesday, or 
Wednesday. 


This cold is weird, and I'm not sure why, 
but it most likely has something to do with my 
winning streak with cold/flu illnesses over the last...2 years.  


So since I'm so unfamiliar with cold and flu treatments, 
tell me what you guys out there do for a cold.  
I'm drinking lots of O.J. and water and
getting tons of sleep.  


Oh, and I've been laying off the junk food (per Lent), so
please give me some tips for easy things to snack on during the day,
especially during work. 




That's about it for me,
something more enlightened to come in the following days.  


Hope your clocks are turned ahead!




*dot dot dot-s, or elipses (elipsis is singular), are too often used (!!!).  
i don't mind it today, though...
it's probably because of my cold.  

i'm thinking...

Here's a list of the things that I've been thinking about:

The earthquake today has really got me thinking about a lot of different things.  It's easy for us to live in a bubble despite the interconnectedness that the web provides.  If you haven't heard about the 8.9 quake that hit Japan and the incredibly tragic tsunami that followed, please check it out. 


The quake in Japan 
AND
the quakes in New Zeland and Haiti 
AND
the flooding across the U.S. last summer and Australia this winter/their summer 
AND
the increased military/political/religious action against Israel by surrounding nations and those nations' supporters 
AND
all these other signs (biblical and general evidence plus today's and recent events) have gotten me thinking about Revelation and end times.  
Be prepared, and share Christ with those you love (or learn about Him if you haven't done so).  


And another thing that's got me thinking: 
The other end-times event I didn't list above is that within 20 years
every people-group on the planet will 
                                 (if God continues to make it happen) 
                                                                have individuals who know, love, and follow Jesus Christ.  
Amazing!


Those few things
                     (among many others)
                                                             have got me thinking,





                                                                                                                 and praying. 




How about you?

this is what happens...when you are working.

Hi all!


I'm just writing quick because I want to quick say hi!


I've been working lately for a temp. position at a local business around here.  

Apparently all my English degree skills are 
valuable with this job, not because 
I can whip up a rhetorical analysis that will bring a tear to your eye, 
but because I can copy and paste with the best of them. 


Blogging has actually given me some skills that have proven useful with this job, too - 
hyperlinking is an art, people.  
Especially hyperlinking that is not intentionally vague.


I'll try to get back into this more - I know some of you have
requested a blog or two!  


For now, I need to conserve some energy 
(and eventually produce it by way of sleeping) 
for an interview tomorrow here on campus. Wish me luck/pray that it works out! 


And if you want a little more of me,
                 (who doesn't?...well, I can think of some people!) 
You can check out this blog post that I did (with a little tweaking from my friend!) on 
B. in the know - the blog!
It was quite the undertaking which
I was happily excited to do!


That's all for tonight. 
Time to finish "Chopped" on Hulu and 
dream about our mini-spring break back in the Land o' Corn.  
Soon(I hope!) we will go to the Land o' Lakes!

talk to me tuesdays - on saturday - january/february

Talk to Me Tuesday helps keep me writing and
is kind of a dialogue between me and my friend Heidi H.  


And while I'd much rather talk to her (and all my friends!) more often than we do,
this is a good way to keep it going!


Oh, and Heidi - write back on our FB message!  :) 


Question #1: what would be on your "awesome list."

I'm going to do this in 2 minutes.  Anything beyond that will have to be described some other time! 


Awesome list:
God, John, my parents and sister, my in-laws, my family, traveling, Germany, catching up with friends, babies, twins!, art, fashion, pilates, basketball, photography, design, good haircuts, springtime, bright colors, helping others, working, visitors, games!, fishing, reading, blogging, dance!!!!, food food food, wine, chocolate, stars, flowers...and i'm done!






Question #2: What do you do to ward off cabin fever?


Get out of this apartment.  I have my friend Christie across the street, and between dinner with our husbands at her place and tv-nights featuring The Office and The Grammys, hanging out with her has gotten me out of my slump!
Also, reading my bible everyday has really helped.  It's something that's been a challenge for me to do regularly for pretty much ever, and I'm glad God is showing me the benefits of heeding His call.  




Question #3: What's in your purse?  

My blue purse - a Kenneth Cole consignment shop find!
Altoids. 
A comb (brought to an interview earlier this week).
Burt's Bees pomegranate lip balm. 
A cloth for cleaning off my glasses (can't WAIT til I can get my contacts...or corrective vision surgery).
One of those claw-hair-clip-things.  I don't know why...
Keys.
Pens.
Little notebooks (SO HANDY - get one!).
My wallet. 
My name tag from Kappa Alpha Theta Founders Day.  


Thankfully Heidi didn't say "what's in any purse you currently use?"  
If it were my pink purse...oi. 
That thing is ready for a war zone. 




Question #4 - Random Act of Kindness - do one!


I haven't yet!  
And I know that being nice to store clerks when some other people aren't probably doesn't count. 




Question #5 - What verse are you leaning on, or what is your go-to-verse?  


Romans 5:1-5.  ¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  


That was a little NIV/NKJV combined there.  The new NIV is gettin' on me nerves...


Also, I've been in the 30's of the Psalms lately.  Lots of stuff about the unfairness of this world and how God really makes everything right in the end.  Very, very awesome.  




And that 
is
all.  


Thanks for reading!!

food? food.

Some of the things I've made lately...

Jumbo chocolate cookies

Homemade blueberry muffins, coffee+cream, 

homemade orange-grapefruit juice

Sandwich with roasted mushrooms, avocado, romaine, ham, and muenster cheese. 

(Better w/o the ham! :) )

Garlic-Parmesan chips from Aldi!!!

Prep for chicken wraps. 

Tip: add zucchini at the very end.  They get soft fast.

catching up on plan #1 (Talk to me Tuesday)

First plan (as described in my previous post):

Catch up on TALK TO ME JANUARY (and a lil' of february...)!!! :)


Here we go:


Feb 1: What is your WORD for 2011?

No idea, actually.  I have a word or phrase that I use in regular conversation, and that word or phrase changes over time.  
Such words and phrases that many of you have experienced are the following:

.2 - expressed as "point 2," meaning that I or we were very close to something or someone.  
         example: "I was .2 from running into that girl when we were both crossing the street!"


to be honest - something i say before or after any open, honest comment that has any level of gravity. 
       example: "The weather is kind of crappy today, to be honest." 


I hate it - something I say whenever my husband picks on me, or if I have to do something that is mildy irritating. I don't tend to say this in actual difficult situations, however...
       example: John is driving and I'm in the passenger seat, and  all of a sudden he squeezes my leg right 
                      above the knee.  I'll naturally yell/whine, "I HATE IT!" [Honestly - who doesn't???  Ugh, that's 
                      the (kinda) worst thing ever....]


I love it - when some little thing makes me happy. Like when John makes dinner!!!!! Or when my mom or grandma sends me a letter.


to be frank - see "to be honest"


fyi - also see "to be honest," but with a more informative spin.  
       example: "That stop light is turning red, fyi." 


101- to express the epitome of something, including ideas, people's actions, my mistakes, etc. It's not really referring to the "basic" anything, which is ironic, I know.  Oh well.  
        example: Finding your wedding dress at a "all-in-stock-half-off" sale three days after you got  
             engaged. Bargain 101!!!!  (not the best example, but I'm trying to keep things positive here). 


Awkward Turtle - oh Thetas of Gamma Pi yore, you'll appreciate this.  For those of you who don't know what "Awkward Turtle" is, simply replicate a turtle on it's back with your hands.  Place one palm on top of the back side of your other hand.  Wiggle your thumbs.  Akward turtle.  Perfect statement for any awkward or idiotic situation.  


I know that this isn't what Heidi was getting at with her TtMT question, 
but it's simply all I can concretely come up with.  
If I had to say what my "theme-word" would be right now, 
it'd probably be something like "proactive."  
Not because I am excited about 
any particular skin-care line, 
but because I've determined myself not to 
just sit around and 
wait for life to happen. 
Hopefully that works out - no, I'll proactively make it work out!! :)  
In God's timing, of course.


I'll catch up on other ones later!  It's time for me to "proactively" clean our kitchen...

Plans...

So here are my plans:


I'm planning on catching up on Talk to Me Tuesday. 
Between moving, unpacking, dealing with post-moving blues, trying to find a job, etc.,
I've fallen off the tracks. 
Well, Heidi., I'm getting back on...soon!  Watch out!  :)  
Oh, and for all of you, watch out for her 
30 outfits in-
                30 days with-
                                30 items-challenge.  So cool! 


Another thing that's kept me from
doing Talk to Me Tuesday is a post I wrote
for Kingdom Twindom, an awesome blog featuring an awesome family who God is bringing through an incredible, challenging, God-glorifying journey. 

I thought it'd be challenging as well as exciting.
However, I'm a little nervous as I 
plan on bracing myself for the comment section,
considering the topic is, at times, taboo, and instead of constructive criticism,
some people on the internet like to
snark/
         bash/
                 start flame wars
                                         for any reason. 
But I know Sarah (the mom of Kingdom Twindom) is great and
has a lot of supportive readers,
so it should be ok.
Also, I'm hoping that this post is something that can get a few people thinking and may bless someone out there who's been considering the post's message like I have. 
I've had this message on my heart for many years now, 
and I know that others share my sentiments, including my friend B. 


Speaking of B., she and I have talked about 
doing a post on her amazing,
gorgeous,
addictive blog. 
Really, I am nervous because she is so darn good at what she does on there.
Oh, and she's a Christian and a Theta at the same time;
I'm lucky that she's my friend! 


One plan I have for this weekend is to catch up with some old friends and hang out with some new ones.
The Trinity Wives group is hopping along here at the seminary, and
I met another awesome 
seminary wife-The Office loving-blogging friend,  
Christie!!! 
If you want to know more about what Trinity is like when 
there aren't snow drifts almost as tall as I am from our recent 
megablizzard, 
check out her blog.


Lastly, here's to a quick shout-out to my friends Katie and Bret, 
who had a beautiful little baby girl on Monday!  
She's super cute and has a full head of hair.  
I hope to give her a big ol' hug some day soon! :)  
Congrats you guys! 


Ok, that's about it for me.  

Have a good day, everyone!