He has made everything beautiful in its time

Moving On: A reflection on the past 4 years

2010-06-29T21:56:00.013-05:00

Last month I graduated college from Texas A&M. The last 4 years of my life were spent there, and I am not the same person I was when I left High School because of my experiences and friends. While I am excited to be moving on to the next phase of my life, it's always fun to reminisce and remember the memories that were created during my time spent in College Station. Here is a look into my life the last four years:

Freshman Year:

Went to every Aggie Football Game (and basketball and soccer and baseball...). I was no 2%er that year.

Got involved in Upstream (which changed my life)

Became a counselor for Impact

Turned 19 :)

Sophomore Year:

Went to Impact, had some great girls in my group, learned a lot, and had a great time with friends :)

Became an Upstream leader (and met the best friends I've ever had)

Went to China for the 1st time (another life changing experience!)

Turned 20 (complete with pinata)

Went to China again

Junior Year:

Celebrated E-Walk and took a picture with an elephant

Lived with some of the best roommates ever (well, maybe with the exception of Chelsea...lol. Only joking I promise =] )

Celebrated my best friend's 22nd birthday (the age I am now...weird)

Went to a Celine Dion concert. Life goal accomplished!

Got my Aggie Ring!!!!!!!!!!!! (12 exclamation points, because I'm an Aggie)

Turned 21

Went to China a 3rd time

Senior Year (a very busy one I might add...):

Dyed my hair for the 1st time ever (and discovered Martini Street - a great place to dance)

Went to my last football games as a student.

Brushed up on my Chinese food making skills.

Spiced up peoples' lives for Halloween (and added another awesome roommate to the house)

Celebrated Elephant Walk

Went to Las Vegas with the Fam over the Christmas Break.

Toured the Dallas Cowboy Stadium.

My roommate got a dog and it snowed!

Ran a marathon.

Went to Mexico.

Met some great new people.

Turned 22.

Graduated from college.

Then I packed up the house I lived in for the last 2 years and moved back home for a month to prepare to move overseas for a year. Change is tough, but I'm excited about what's coming next. The Lord has blessed me immensely through the past 4 years, and I'm excited to see what this next year has in store.

Overseas Must-Haves

2010-06-11T20:20:00.008-05:00

So Julie did this, and I figured I would copy her. As I'm preparing to move overseas, I'm been making lists and buying everything that I will need this next year. Here are a few of the things I'll be taking with me:

Chacos

I finally did it and joined the Christian movement of buying Chacos. I got them in the mail 2 days ago, and tested them out yesterday, and so far so good. I think they'll be much better than the flip-flops I've used in the past. We have to walk a lot (no car to drive around everywhere) and these will definitely give me more support than my old navy flip flops.

Cheerios

My favorite breakfast item. Some time yogurt and croissants from Eanins just don't cut it.

The Office on DVD

For whenever I need a fix...

Flip Video Camera

I haven't gotten a chance to test it out yet, but I've heard good things. I'm excited to be able to capture all of my overseas adventures

My French Press

The only way to get good coffee (feel free to send some care packages with some coffee in them :) )

Travel Hammock

Two years ago I invested in a hammock and loved it! It's just so relaxing and I love to lay out in it and read/drink some coffee. Unfortunately I wasn't going to be able to take it with me because it's too bulky, but luckily my friend bought me a travel size one so I'll still be able to sit out and enjoy my books and coffee :)

So that's several of the essential things I'm taking with me. If you have any suggestions please let me know! (but remember I only have 2 suitcases to take with me...)

My Summer Reading List

2010-06-11T11:37:00.009-05:00

So, I have a lot of free time this June (and I mean a lot) and in order to prevent myself from becoming a total Law & Order SVU junkie, I have a long list of books that I'm planning to read before I head off to go overseas.

A special thanks to all of you who commented on my Facebook status to help me out :)

Here they are in no specific order:

Radical

I actually already finished this one. It's an excellent book and in my opinion everyone should read it. While it is a great book, it's also hard to read. It was very convicting for me about my way of thinking and how I live. This is specifically written for Americans and how our culture and the idea of the "American Dream" has deceived and distracted us. Again, I highly recommend it.

Sharing your Faith with a Buddhist

I am reading this one right now. It's very informative on what Buddhism is, what they believe and the rituals and traditions they practice and I'm sure what I learn will come in handy this next year when it comes to relating to people and knowing where they are coming from.

C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy

Thanks to SEB and Jonathan for recommending this one to me. I actually already owned this set and it has been at my parents' house, but I have never read it. I love C.S. Lewis and am looking forward to it :)

A Traveler's History of China

Pretty self-explanatory I'm sure. I thought it would be good to brush up on my Chinese history. This book should also prove helpful for this next year.

Crazy Love
I am excited about starting this one. I've heard nothing but good things.

The Pillars of the Earth

I remember seeing this book a lot when I worked at B&N. It's supposed to be really good. I've already read the first few chapters and it seems interesting so far. It's kind of a historical fiction, so if you're into that stuff you should look into it.

The Normal Christian Life
A man in one of the Sunday School classes Julie and I spoke with sent us each a copy. Watchman Nee is a well known Christian who was imprisoned and died during his imprisonment. I don't know much about the book or him but I'm looking forward to reading it.

So that's all I've got planned. Depending on how long it takes me to get through all these I may add some more. I'll keep you posted. Also if you have any recommendations let me know!

Something I've never done before: graduate from college

2010-05-31T19:49:00.009-05:00

I am now a college graduate. I am also 22 (I had my birthday this past month) and those two things combined are weird. I feel so old. Being out in the real world hasn't been all that exciting yet. I moved out of my house in CS and moved back to my parents house for the next month until I move to China. While it is nice to no longer pull all nighters, write 12 page papers, or work on group projects, it is sad to not be in a place I love and see all of the people that have been my closest friends. I don't necessarily mind the fact that I have graduated and moving to China, I just wish it could all be the same when I come back, but I know that it will not be. However, I am comforted in the fact that I know this is not really goodbye, and that I will see them all again, if not in this life, then in Heaven.

My graduation weekend was a lot of fun. My whole family came, (I guess technically that's not true considering that my family is huge, but my parents, sister, and both sets of grandparents were there) and we celebrated with a huge barbecue (with more food than we could eat) with my roommates and all of our family and some friends. Here are a few pictures capturing the events:

the day before (commencement) our speaker was General Petraeus

waiting

at dinner afterwards at Jose's Mexican Restaurant

my sister and I

the big day

the stage with a lot of important people

reed arena

so many seats. it was a long graduation ceremony

me with my family

grandparents

with one of my roommates Jessica

other grandparents

the whole group

opening gifts at the house

hanging out waiting for the food

my dad, one of the chefs

my roommates and I...

take 2...

Something I've never done before: compete in a triathlon

2010-05-31T19:40:00.002-05:00

So, back in April (I know, I know I'm behind. Finishing out school kept me busy) I competed in a triathlon. I didn't do the whole thing. I did it as a relay with a couple of my friends so I only did the running part. I've been wanting to get into the triathlon scene, but with this whole moving to China thing, completing the whole thing/getting the gear and in shape for that, isn't going to happen too soon. But it was cool to be involved and see how it worked so that when I am able to do it, I won't be totally lost. Other than being sick (did not make this fun) and dehydrated/overheated from not drinking enough water the day before, it was fun and I hope to get to do it again in the future.

I also discovered how awesome these athletic tops are compared to t-shirts (I always hate having sleeves when it's hot outside...).

the correct usage of the word "whom"

2010-05-22T22:15:00.003-05:00

In case you needed to know...

Ryan: What I really want, honestly, Michael is for you to know it so that you can communicate it to the people here, to your clients, whomever.

Michael Scott: Oh okay.

Ryan: What?

Michael Scott: It's whoever, not whomever.

Ryan: It's whomever.

Michael Scott: No, whomever is never acutally right.

Jim Halpert: Nope, sometimes it's right.

Creed: Michael is right. It's a made up word used to trick students-

Andy: No. Actually, whomever is the formal version of the word--

Oscar: Obviously it's a real word- but I don't know how to use it correctly.

Michael Scott: [to camera] Not a native speaker.

Kevin: I know what's right. But I'm not gonna say. Because you're all jerks who didn't come see my band last night.

Ryan: Do you really know which one is correct?

Kevin: I don't know.

Pam Beesly: It's whom when it's the object of the sentence and who when as the subject.

Phyllis: That sounds right.

Michael Scott: Well it sounds right but is it?

Stanley: How did Ryan use it, as an object?

Ryan: As an object.

Kelly: Ryan used me as an object.

Oscar: Is he right about that--

Pam Beesly: How did he use it again?

Toby: It was, Ryan wanted Michael, the subject, to explain the computer system, the object--

Michael Scott: Thank you!

Toby: ...to whomever, meaning us, the indirect object. Which is the, the correct usage of the word.

Michael Scott: No one, uh asked you anything ever so whomever's name is Toby, why don't you take a letter opener and stick it in your skull?

Sarah's Birthday

2010-04-26T22:21:00.005-05:00

Last Thursday was my roommate, Sarah's birthday.

We surprised her with a rose petals and a piñata.

rose petals and candles...

and some more

this is him...lil' buddy

more rose petals

us and lil' buddy

"rock me mama like a wagon wheel..."

lil' buddy and I

Sarah's cake

Cowboys and Indians battling it out on the cake after they escaped from the piñata

Sushi Night

2010-04-23T20:48:00.008-05:00

So I didn't quite make it to Japan (see my earlier post here), but I did get an opportunity this week to make my very own sushi.

My friend Julie put on an international student hang-out, and we all made sushi. It was a huge success (way to go Jules! thanks for being such a great hostess) and the sushi actually tasted like it does in the restaurant. Now I can save a ton of money, and be able to eat sushi when I move back in with my parents for a month since there is no sushi restaurant in my hometown.

Here are some pictures from our fun:

bamboo mats and seaweed

some Asian snacks :)

crab meat and rice for inside the sushi

cutting avocado

me with my sushi

me and some friends

LiuLiu with Oliver

My Bucket List

2010-04-20T22:08:00.007-05:00

When I went to Mexico, somehow we all got inspired to write out a bucket list. I don't know if it was fear of impending death on those Mexican streets (from the driving I mean not the drug gangs...) but somehow it started with a few people

...and spread to a few more people...

and then we all got together to read aloud the list we had come up with and were almost backed over by a van. Oh how ironic it would have been for us to all die during the time we were discussing all the things we wanted to do before we died. Luckily, however, we all made it out alive and now after sharing my list with them, I will share it with you. This list is not complete (I'm sure I will continue to add to it throughout my lifetime) but here is what I came up with while riding in a loud, crowded van on a bumpy highway in Mexico.

Be fluent in Chinese
Be fluent in Spanish
Own an international coffee shop/bakery (gotta dream big :) )
Backpack through Europe
Go hot air ballooning
Visit the Greek Isles
See penguins in South Africa
Crush grapes (I Love Lucy style) at a winery
Go on a cruise to Alaska
Visit Monticello (I know I'm a nerd but I'm a big Thomas Jefferson fan...seriously)
Do something for someone without expecting anything in return
Scuba dive off the Great Barrier Reef
~~Run a marathon~~ (already done)
Read the whole Chronicle of Narnia series
Learn to make legit tamales (inspired by being in Mexico)
East scorpions on a stick at Wang Fu Jin
Go to a Dallas Cowboys game
Go skiing in the alps
Live overseas
Go to the original Starbucks
Roast coffee beans in Thailand and/or Cambodia
Learn ancient Greek
Learn to play the guitar
Learn to play the violin
Learn to play the cello
Adopt a child
Ride a camel
Ride the Orient Express (if you're an Agatha Christie fan you know what I'm talking about)
Learn curling (or in the words of Michael Scott...curdling)
Get a Master's degree
Learn to Tango
Visit the Harry Potter theme park (I know, I know...don't judge me)
Eat gelato in Italy
Go on a Lord of the Rings tour of New Zealand
Finish my bucket list (in other words, more to come another day)...

Where I Want to Travel: Japan

2010-04-20T21:42:00.006-05:00

So, sorry for the delay in posts. School took over my life once again, and when there is a 12 page paper to be done, I can't do anything else.

Except maybe watch the office.

And maybe be on facebook every once in a while...

And bake a ton of cookies....

But other than that, it was all about my paper (and my other paper and test...gross I know). Luckily only being super busy twice in one semester is not that bad. I got really lucky with all the classes I picked.

But anyway...I'm back, and was inspired by Bing's homepage yesterday. If you use Bing.com you know they always have really cool pictures for there homepage, it this is what I came upon yesterday...

wedded rocks

Needless to say, driving to Galveston to watch the sunset will no longer cut it. All I want to do is hop on a plane and go to Japan. This is not the only sight to see, but this...

cherry blossoms

and this...

Mt. Fugi

and this...

sumo wrestlers

Ok, maybe not necessarily that but you could if you wanted to. And I apologize. It came up in the Japan search and I just couldn't help myself.

Also, you can eat authentic Japanese sushi...

(food, of course the real reason I want to go...)

So, yes, I want to go to Japan. Another place to add to my bucket list (which in writing that sentence I realized I should write a blog post about that! Check back soon...). Maybe since I'll be not so far away in the next coming months, I can take a detour and stop for some sushi and sightseeing in Japan :)

And again, sorry about being absent for so long. I promise it won't happen again...or at least not until finals roll around.

Johann

2010-04-07T22:25:00.003-05:00

Earlier tonight, Johann and I had a moment.

I tried to capture it; however, it didn't last long...

...eventually we kind of got back to where we were, but it wasn't quite there.

This is as close as we got...

This Day in History

2010-03-26T13:37:00.003-05:00

This is going to be my new Friday thing, so each Friday look forward to expanding your history knowledge. I promise to keep it interesting :)

So on March 25...

421 – Venice, Italy is born at twelve o'clock noon, according to legend.
1199 – Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France, leading to his death on April 6.
1306 – Robert the Bruce becomes King of Scotland.
1409 – The Council of Pisa opens.
1584 – Sir Walter Raleigh is granted a patent to colonize Virginia.
1634 – The first settlers arrive in Maryland.
1655 – Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christiaan Huygens.
1802 – The Treaty of Amiens is signed as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace" between France and the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
1807 – The Slave Trade Act becomes law, abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire.
1807 – The Swansea and Mumbles Railway, then known as the Oystermouth Railway, becomes the first passenger carrying railway in the world.
1811 – Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from the University of Oxford for publishing the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism.
1821 – (Julian Calendar) Greece revolts against the Ottoman Empire, beginning the Greek War of Independence.
1865 – American Civil War: In Virginia, Confederate forces temporarily capture Fort Stedman from the Union.
1894 – Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, departs Massillon, Ohio for Washington D.C.
1903 – Racing Club de Avellaneda, one of the big five of Argentina, is founded.
1908 – Clube Atletico Mineiro is founded in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
1911 – In New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 garment workers.
1917 – The Georgian Orthodox Church restores its autocephaly abolished by Imperial Russia in 1811.
1918 – The Belarusian People's Republic is established.
1924 – On the anniversary of Greek Independence, Alexandros Papanastasiou proclaims the Second Hellenic Republic.
1931 – The Scottsboro Boys are arrested in Alabama and charged with rape.
1939 – Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli becomes Pope Pius XII.
1941 – The Kingdom of Yugoslavia joins the Axis powers with the signing of the Tripartite Pact.
1947 – An explosion in a coal mine in Centralia, Illinois kills 111.
1948 – The first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
1949 – The extensive deportation campaign known as March deportation is conducted in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to force collectivisation by way of terror. The Soviet authorities deport more than 92,000 people from the Baltics to remote areas of the Soviet Union.
1957 – United States Customs seizes copies of Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" on the grounds of obscenity.
1957 – The European Economic Community is established (West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg).
1958 – Canada's Avro Arrow makes its first flight.
1965 – Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully complete their 4-day 50-mile march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.
1969 – During their honeymoon, John Lennon and Yoko Ono hold their first Bed-In for Peace at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel (until March 31).
1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: Beginning of Operation Searchlight by the Pakistan Army against East Pakistani civilians.
1975 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia is shot and killed by a mentally ill nephew.
1979 – The first fully functional space shuttle orbiter, Columbia, is delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for its first launch.
1988 – The Candle demonstration in Bratislava is the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
1992 – Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returns to Earth after a 10-month stay aboard the Mir space station.
1995 – WikiWikiWeb, the world's first wiki, and part of the Portland Pattern Repository, is made public by Ward Cunningham.
1996 – An 81-day-long standoff between the anti-government group Montana Freemen and law enforcement near Jordan, Montana, begins.
1996 – The European Union's Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its by-products as a result of mad cow disease (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy).
2006 – Capitol Hill massacre: A gunman kills six people before taking his own life at a party in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.
2006 – Protesters demanding a new election in Belarus, following the rigged Belarusian presidential election, 2006, clash with riot police. Opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin is among several protesters arrested.

Special thanks go Wikipedia.org for all the info.

"The best thing about Wikipedia is that anybody can write anything they want, so you know you're getting the best information." - Michael Scott

Mexico fact and quotes

2010-03-24T19:37:00.006-05:00

There is a more serious post to come later, but here is the lighter side of our trip :)

Mexican vanilla is far superior to any other vanilla (and way cheaper as well) :)

Roosters really crow at sunrise. And not just then either. Really they crow all day.
"I don't know what that is on my plate, but it just jumped." - Logan Koontz
Everything is very brightly colored. Say goodbye to dully colored houses when you cross the border and welcome the hot pinks and sky blues (with a very brightly colored orange sprinkled here and there).
"Hasta Manaña" - Efrain, one of the kids at our VBS on the last day. I explained to him that we would be returning to the US the next day, so there would be no VBS, but still as he walked into his house he still called out "hasta manaña" to us.

this is me with Efrain and his cousin Thelma

It can rain in the desert. It can also go from 80 degrees to 40 degrees in a matter of hours because of the rain.
There is no such thing as OSHA.

very safe

"We almost didn't make it!" - me, at the bucket list summit (how ironic)
As soon as you cross the border, you can tell you are not in Kansas anymore...or Texas in our case (especially since Kansas does not share a border with Mexico).
Just because you speak with a Mexican accent doesn't mean you speak Spanish...
There are no driving rules. On our last day there I was driving down an un-striped highway and yes, I just drove in the middle of the rode. Also going 120kph in an 80kph zone is perfectly acceptable.
Duck, Duck, Goose, or Pato, Pato, Ganzo is very popular across the border.

You can run out of water. Girls were taking showers and the water just stopped. Also if you get a hot shower you are very lucky.
You can't flush toilet paper (same as China)
"Aunque no marche..." - Everyone, but especially Katie
There is only 1 gas station - the Oxxo - and they have great coffee and Manzana (said in my Mexican accent!)
Everyone, and I mean everyone, can cook good rice, beans, tacos and tamales. It is probably a requirement of being Mexican.
They have advertisements (just like the US) to live without drugs (vive sin drogas!).

Spaghetti and Meatballs

2010-03-24T19:21:00.005-05:00

This recipe is courtesy of the Pioneer Woman, I was too lazy to take photos, so I 'borrowed' the final picture from her, and if you want more you can just visit here. These are probably the best spaghetti and meatballs I've ever had :)

picture courtesy of the pioneer woman

Ingredients

Meatballs:
¾ pounds Ground Beef
¾ pounds Ground Pork
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
¾ cups Fine Bread Crumbs
2 whole Eggs
¾ cups Freshly Grated Parmesan
¼ cups Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
¼ teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Splash Of Milk
½ cups Olive Oil
Sauce:
1 whole Yellow Onion, Diced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 whole (28-ounce) Can Whole Tomatoes
1 whole 28 Ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes
½ cups White Or Red Wine (optional)
¼ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Sugar
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
¼ cups Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
8 whole Fresh Basil Leaves, Chiffonade (optional)
2 pounds Spaghetti, Cooked To Al Dente

Preparation Instructions

To make the meatballs, combine meat, garlic, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley, and a splash of milk in a mixing bowl. Mix together well with hands. Roll into 25 1 1/2-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up.

To brown the meatballs, heat olive oil in a heavy pot or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs 8 at a time, turning to brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel after each batch. Set meatballs aside.

In the same pot, add the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes, or until translucent. Pour in whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and wine, if using. Add salt, pepper, sugar, and parsley. Stir to combine and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Add meatballs to pot and stir in gently. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring very gently a couple of times during the simmer.

Just before serving, stir in basil if using.

Serve over cooked spaghetti. Sprinkle with extra Parmesan.

Fried Egg Sandwich

2010-03-24T19:05:00.005-05:00

So I'm back! Mexico was awesome and I'll post about that as well, but I'm doing thing in order, so this comes first.

Ingredients:

1 Bread

1 Egg

1/2 slice of cheese

Chipolte Mustard

Ranch Seasoning

Butter

This is usually all I use for breakfast in the morning, but you can always use more if you'd like.

1. Melt some butter in a pan. After it's melted fry the egg (good luck not breaking the yolk, I always suck at this) and season with the ranch seasoning (just use however much you want/need).

2. Toast the bread with the cheese on it.

3. Spread some Chipolte Mustard on the bread.

4. Then after the egg is done cooking put it on the bread and eat it. Easy and delicious :)

Adios!

2010-03-12T22:37:00.005-06:00

Or maybe "hasta luego" is more appropriate because I'm not leaving for good, but only for a week.

¿Why? (¿por que? I'm promise not to do this the whole post...)

Because...porque...

Estoy yendo a Mexico! (or I'm going to Mexico)

That's why I won't be here. But be prepared when I get back (Friday, March 19) for lots of pictures and stories.

70ish of us from CBC are going are going to partner with a local church across the border, and I'm really excited to see how Father is going to use me and our team during our time overseas.

During our time there we will be painting the church in the morning and in the afternoon we'll be holding a VBS, or EBV en espanñol =), for orphans in the city we´ll be in. It's gonna be a great trip, and interesting because I've been practicing mi español and it usually only comes to me in Chinese.

So, you have a week of waiting, followed by lots of posts (there are several things I've been needing to blog about but haven't had time/have been recovering from my school death week). I hope everyone enjoys their spring break and I´ll see y´all in a week!!!

So I should be writing a paper...

2010-03-04T19:32:00.010-06:00

Ugh! School has taken over my life these last couple of days (thanks to my surprise Chinese midterm), hence the lack of posts. Tonight, however, I was desperate to get away from the books for just a second (probably because if I don't, I will lose my mind, or it might explode from all of the info I've been cramming into it in the past two days). So I'm writing this blog/making coffee in a french press/chasing roaches with a broom and locking it in the bathroom until Shane comes over to kill it.

Here is what my life has been filled with for the last 48ish hours:

Pocket dictionary? Really? I'm not quite sure who's pocket this fits into, but certainly not mine (extra perky/drugged look thanks to all the caffeine I've been inhaling to keep me awake)

Sarah hard at work making money off surveys :)

Ingrid Michaelson station is the best. It's the only thing (other than the caffeine) keeping me awake/motivated.

French press coffee with Dulce de Leche creamer...nothing better. Well, maybe an oreo java shake from Sweets, but nothing else...

Flash cards to help me memorize all my vocab words. Special thanks to Chelsea P. Thomas for quizzing me on every single one of them.

Writing characters...right now I hate Chinese. At least until tomorrow and then I'll be over it (unless I failed my test then I might be mad again).

What I'm working on right now. At least this paper only needs to be 4-6 pages. I can totally pull that off in one night...

a Michael Scott experience

2010-03-01T21:07:00.004-06:00

Let me just say eating a lot of carbs before a run is a bad idea...

for those of you who aren't familiar with the office here you go:

In my previous post I gave you the recipes for pizza and macaroni casserole that my roommates and I made for our roommate dinner. Shortly following our dinner (like 30 minutes later) Sarah and I headed off to campus to participate in a 5K fun run, GLOW, to help support an orphanage in Honduras (actually a real charity and not a race for the cure of rabies...). At first we decided to walk, because we had just eaten, but then for some unknown reason (actually I remember now, Texas weather is bipolar and it was freezing!!!) we decided to run.

And we start. After stocking up on some free emergen-c and checking in to get our shirt and number, we head off. 1st mile: done! And easy (it was my first real run back after my marathon and I was so glad to be back and in my new running shoes!)

Well, if you do watch The Office, and happen to see what happens to Michael later on during the run, you know it's not pretty. Combined with his carbo-loading, he also didn't drink any water. Similar to his experience, we drank Dr. Pepper beforehand with our dinner. Needless to say our stomachs hated us about a half mile later and it wasn't the best 3.1 miles ever run (although we did make pretty good time despite our amateur mistake...).

So word of advice, don't follow Michael Scott's example.

Homemade Pizza and Macaroni Casserole

2010-02-28T23:24:00.010-06:00

Pizza

Ok, so fair warning. You need to make the pizza crust 24 hours in advance. I did not know this, and so we had to do some creative thinking to get the dough to rise fast enough for us to use it within an hour (but it still worked out great). We made two pizzas, one veggie and one with pepperoni (in order to appease Jessica and Chelsea who are apparently morally opposed to vegetables) and they both turned out great.

Ingredients

Crust (for 2 pizzas):

1 tsp of Active Dry or Instant Use

4 cups of flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup of olive oil

Toppings:

(we just used a random assortment of vegetables)

1 eggplant

grape tomatoes

minced garlic (two cloves)

2 green peppers

1/2 red onion

mushrooms

pepperoni

cheese

pizza sauce (we just bought this pre-made, making your own pizza sauce is probably not really worth the trouble)

Instructions

Yeast...apparently this stuff can be dangerous according to my roommate. I didn't ask questions, but just be careful...

we chopped...

and sliced...

and sauteed...

and broiled...

and listened/danced to michael jackson :)

the dough :) turned out well despite the issues

adding the toppings

pepperoni for the meat lovers

finished product(s)

Making the Crust:

Sprinkle yeast onto 1.5 cup of warm water.

In a bowl combine flour and salt. Then with a mixer (on low) mix in the olive oil.

Next pour in the water/yeast mixture and mix until combined (after this I ended up having to add some more flour because it was a little to soggy. If it sticks to your hands a lot when your kneading it, chances are you might need to add some flour).

Ok, now is the part where you wait...for 24 hours. Cover it with plastic wrap and stick it in the refrigerator. You can always wait longer (or even shorter, but that's when you have to get creative) if you prefer.

Making the Pizza:

First preheat the oven broiler.

Then, we cut up the eggplant (as thinly as you can) and tomatoes (length ways in half).

Place the eggplant into a strainer and sprinkle salt over it (make sure it's all coated) and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Then rinse the eggplant off and put it along with the tomatoes on a cookie sheet, drizzled it with olive oil, add the minced garlic, and broil it. Do 3 minutes, then take it out, turn everything over, and do it for another 3 minutes on that side.

If you're good at multi tasking (or as in my case if you have help) you can simultaneously cut the onion, green pepper (both long ways) and the mushrooms (I bought the mushrooms pre-sliced...easier that way) and sautee them in a pan with some olive oil. I also added some Mrs. Dash spice to give it some flavor.

Pre-heat the oven to 500.

Then on a cookie sheet, spread out the dough (remember the crust makes two pizzas so divide it up and use two cookie sheets, or you can use some giant pan that probably exists somewhere out there but I don't own). Then add the sauce, and cheese on top (I just used HEB's Pizza cheese) and then the vegetables and pepperonis.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and then enjoy! We really loved it, especially us vegetable fans :)

Macaroni Casserole

Just to warn you, this is in no way, shape or form healthy and honestly there is probably no way to make it healthy. I did my best with using whole grain pasta and light sour cream but when you put this much cheese and butter into one dish, you just have to be prepared to not eat the next day to make up for it (or run it off, but not 30 minutes immediately following - more about that in the next post but let me just warn you it's a bad idea...). While it is not healthy it is one of the most delicious things you will ever eat and it's the way I was able to convince my roommates to all have dinner together.

Ingredients:

1 box of Kraft Macaroni (not the instant king but the kind you make on the stove) - you will also need the ingredients that go along with making this i.e. butter and milk

1 cup of sour cream

1 cup of cottage cheese

1 cup of (shredded) cheddar cheese

1 pkg. of ranch dressing mix

bread crumbs (optional) - and thanks to Sarah for the great idea :)

finishing up the macaroni

mixing everything together

baking

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Then make the macaroni according to the box.

After that just mix the rest of the ingredients in with the macaroni.

Put it in a baking pan, sprinkle the bread crumbs on top and then put it into the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

Super easy but unfortunately I can't make it very often so that my roommates and I don't die a premature death...

In the news...

2010-02-26T16:38:00.003-06:00

Crazy. This is what you miss out on when you don't watch the news.

Drought unveils once flooded town

Thu Feb 25, 6:18AM PT - Reuters 1:55 | 182152 views

A village emerges from the depths of a Venezuelan dam as an extreme dryspell drains reservoirs and forces Venezuelans to ration power and water.

Click here to watch the video.

T-Pain??!!

2010-02-26T00:02:00.006-06:00

I not advocating drinking, but I am a firm believer in T-Pain's auto tune...

Snow Day

2010-02-24T19:53:00.006-06:00

So, despite "global warming" and all that, it snowed here, in south Texas. Needless to say this doesn't happen very often, so my friends and I all went out to enjoy it as much as we could since it will probably be the only time this year (and quite possibly the only time in 10 years). Although, it is the second year in a row, and it's February and is usually already 90 degrees outside so who knows.

And all I have to say is Jessica and I try to warn everyone about global freezing, maybe now they'll pay attention...

Also, due to the fact that this was a special occasion, and the fact that I have recently misplaced my memory card, I pulled out my fancy schmancy film camera that I haven't used in way too long, and took lots of pictures of our winter wonderland.

the park, and what I assume as someone's attempt at a snowman

Julie and Angela and the dogs (they hated the snow. Not the girls, but the dogs)

after I took this the resident told me pictures cost $5

the playground covered in snow

Johann the dog

Erin and I (photo courtesy of Julie)

delicious hamburgers :)

2010-02-20T19:34:00.004-06:00

Two cooking blogs in the same day! I've been kind of a slacker with cooking the past two weeks from being pretty busy (or at least real cooking that doesn't include baked goods), so I've been eating out a lot. But now that things have slowed down a bit (i.e. no more marathon training...) I'm back in the kitchen. While we were in Austin, we ate at a place called Elevation Burger, and all this week I was craving their hamburgers. Unfortunately they're only located in Austin (and soon to be Dallas), so I had to make some hamburgers myself. This was my first attempt at making my own hamburgers, and as Chelsea put it, "once again dominating in the kitchen."

1 lb of hamburger meat

1 egg

a package of ranch dressing mix

seasoned salt

garlic powder

First I put the hamburger meat in a bowl and mixed the egg in with it. We did this with the meat for the baozi and it turned out really well so I figured I would do the same thing with the hamburgers. Then I added about half of the ranch package and the other seasonings and cooked it in a pan (unfortunately I don't know how to use a grill). On my hamburger I put some chipolte mustard that I bought at HEB and it definitely added a little kick to it and was really good. I'm not a huge fan of mustard, and by that I actually mean I kind of hate it, but this didn't have that overwhelming mustard flavor so it was good.

Again, no pictures due to my missing camera/memory card :( but hamburgers aren't too different from each other so you're really not missing anything.

Carne Guisada

2010-02-20T13:40:00.004-06:00

I love carne guisada. If a Mexican restaurant has it, I order it. The only problem is, is that there is a place in Lake Jackson that makes the best carne guisada I've ever had, and nothing has really ever measured up. I was having a craving this week, so I decided I would just try and make it myself. I have to say it was a great success. Sarah and Kristin loved it. Sarah even said it was better than Chuy's where we ate this past week in Austin (and Sarah judges how good a Mexican restaurant is based on their carne guisada, so when she said she loved it, I was quite proud). It was also super easy, because I used a crock pot, so if you need something that doesn't take a lot of effort, this is a good option. I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures but I can't seem to find my memory card, or my other camera, so I was out of luck (don't worry I'll go on a mad search tonight while I clean so hopefully I can have pictures up in future posts).

1 pot roast (I've used beef tips before, which is probably how it's usually made, but I thought I try something a little different)

1 can of carne guisada sauce from HEB (obviously I was feeling lazy and didn't feel like making the sauce myself - and for coming in a can, it was excellent)

potatoes - I used two small golden potatoes, but you can use more if you like, but I felt it was a good amount

Tony Sacharies spice

Seasoned Salt

Garlic Powder

1 Crock pot

Around 10 AM I put the roast in the crock pot and covered it in the spices. I don't have a measurement, I just added as much as I wanted. Then pour in the sauce and let it cook there all day. Around 6 I peeled and cut the potatoes and put it in the crock pot. I should have put them in earlier because they weren't as soft as I wanted, but they were still cooked when I took everything out at 7ish. Then put it in a tortilla and eat it! Like I said, easy and delicious.

Enjoy!

I don't even know what to name this, but...

2010-02-19T13:52:00.003-06:00

so...apparently this is somewhere in Houston. I was looking over Google-reader and one of the blogs I read had this as the subject of the blog. Needless to say, I must find it.

this woman is about to enter a public toilet...again, this is in Houston

and this is the view from the inside, crazy!

You can see out, which is a little creepy, but I still want to find it none-the-less.

How to Date an Olympian

2010-02-19T13:43:00.020-06:00

So again, another blog post in honor of the Olympics. Maybe you are not the Olympic athlete type. Maybe you don't have to desire to work for years and years at your sport or maybe you just don't have what it takes to win gold. If you do, then read here for my post on how to become an Olympian. If not though, but you still love the Olympics and want to be involved, you can always go for the second option of dating an Olympian. This still requires a lot of effort and dedication, but if you are up for the challenge, here is my best advice on how to do it.

1. Choose a sport. This is an important first step depending on what time of physique you like. For example, marathon runners will probably be a lot leaner so that they can run 26.2 miles at a 5 minute pace. Basketball players are really tall, so if you're 5' then that may not be a good choice for you. It might also be good to choose a sport that you are interested in. If you're going to date this person, you'll have to watch them compete (and if you really don't like curling, it might get old) and it also provides a common interest.

2. Choose an athlete. Now after you have chosen the sport, you must choose the person you would like to date. There are two options: either pick someone really famous and the best at their sport, or someone not so famous. The reason for choosing someone famous is obvious. They are the best well known and have a lot of money and you could travel all over the world watching them compete, etc. etc. etc. There is a downside to the most well known ones though: they are much harder to get. If you're not really up for the challenge of pursuing a very famous person and getting them to notice you, then you might want to go for someone less well-known. The less famous ones are always looking for/needing groupies anyways to help boost their celebrity status, and there is always potential for them to become more famous later on down the road if they're young enough. Also with the less famous people you won't have to worry as much about paparazzi and being involved in scandals.

3. Find out about him/her. Another important step. You have to find out background info to know their likes/dislikes so you know how to woo them and so you can focus on the things that you have in common when you meet them. Also, to demonstrate your dedication, after you find out what they like you could get a tattoo of something related to that topic. This will give them the idea that this is an interest you share (or maybe a tattoo of their flag in order to show interest in their home-country).

4. Find a convenient place to run into him/her. This could be a little bit difficult, but thanks to the internet you could find out their hometown or where they train and basic info like that, so make sure to fix your hair and do some push-ups to look toned or something and stuff of the like so that you can catch their eye.

5. Get him/her to like you. This is where knowing about them comes in handy. If you know their interests, you can capitalize on that knowledge by talking about things they are interested in and invite them to do things they will like. Really, this is kind of an obscure point, but you just have to modify this according to your specific Olympian. Also, be creative. Plan fun and surprising things to do. You have to keep him/her interested and you don't want to lose them to someone else who is more interesting.

6. Believe in yourself. Getting your Olympian of choice to notice you and want to be in a relationship with might be difficult, but don't give up! Be persistent, but not too stalker-ish (they may like the attention but you don't want to freak them out).

7. Believe in them. This is the most important step after you get together. Your Olympian will always be training hard and have many successes and failures. In order to keep this relationship going strong, you are going to have to be very supportive or else they might leave you for someone else who will support them.

8. Get married (or break-up, there are only 2 options here).

How to Become an Olympian

2010-02-17T18:31:00.009-06:00

The winter Olympics are upon us. I know I am a big fan of ice skating, despite the fact that everyone seems to be falling (clearly the rink is rigged). My roommate Sarah was very inspired and decided to look up on how to become an Olympian. Thanks to ehow.com, all you have to do is follow these 8 simple steps to accomplish your dreams and be a famous Olympian:

Apollo Ohno

Step1
Pick a sport. You have two paths--go with a sport you know and like, or pick an obscure one. A familiar sport may seem like an obvious choice, but think carefully--popular sports have millions of dedicated participants, and competition is stiff. Less wellknown options, such as short-track speed skating, luge, bobsledding and pentathlon, have fewer competitors.
Step2
Evaluate your physique and choose a sport that suits it. No matter how dedicated you are, unless you have the physical makeup for extreme endurance, you'll never be an Olympic marathoner. And if you're tall and over the age of 16, kiss gymnastics goodbye. Consult a sports physiologist to establish your specific attributes.
Step3
Spend years and years working at your sport. Develop all aspects of fitness, strength and endurance. Incorporate crosstraining into your regime to prevent boredom and injury.

Lyndsey Vonn

Step4
Believe in yourself. Have your mental game ready, be tough in every aspect, refuse to give up.
Step5
Attend a sports academy. These schools provide intensive training in the sport of your choice at the high-school level. The experience, exposure and coaching that you get will qualify you for a college that excels in your sport.
Step6
Work with excellent coaches to develop your skills. Hire a sports psychologist to help you set and reach goals. Hire a private coach if needed. See 16 Set Goals.

Evan Lysacek

Step7
Make the national team in your sport and train year-round (there is no off-season for an Olympian). Be able to perform well under incredible pressure and fend off all other competitors until you make the Olympic team.
Step8
Change your citizenship. It may be much easier to qualify for a spot on the Pakistani sailing team than on the U.S. team. Some countries ask for proof of ancestry, such as a grandparent born in the country.

I love...

2010-02-16T20:56:00.010-06:00

In honor of Valentine's Day (yes I know I'm a couple days late, but I did run a marathon on Sunday).

I love:

God

family

friends and roommates

painting

Feb, 15 - the day when all Valentine's candy is on sale :)

playing piano

China

running

music in general

Apples to Apples

Meg-mosas ;)

laughing

the Shalom Shack and all of its residents

the Walton House and all of its residents

Johann the dog

laughter

my Logos group, they're awesome

the Word

cooking and baking

Christmas lights

alone time

dancing

the color red

Steel Magnolias

C.S. Lewis

Rachmaninoff

Salsa

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

the Aggies

Blogging!

The Office

Soccer

Flowers

Sleepless in Seattle

An Affair to Remember

Candles

Target

down blankets

Michael Jackson's amazing dance skills

pictures

Paula Dean

Symphony Brownies

Facebook

British accents

running

Sushi

coupons

Super Nintendo

Adidas running shoes

I Love Lucy

Pride & Prejudice

garlic mashed potatoes

San Fransisco

Peppermint Mochas

Burt's Bees

snail mail

feta cheese

Sweet Eugenes

...and the list goes on, but those are a lot of things that I really appreciate having in my life.

something I've never done before: run a marathon

2010-02-15T07:28:00.014-06:00

So, the day has come and went. On February 14, 2010, I ran a marathon. Quite an exciting Valentine's Day for sure. It was great. It was also very hard/painful. I have been training for four long months to get to this point, and the day finally arrived. I can hardly believe it really happened (other than the fact that my knee is killing me, every muscle in my lower body hurts, and I no longer have to wake up at 4:30 in the morning). Here's how it all went down:

First, me and 5 of my friend drove to Austin on Saturday morning. We left later than planned, but we still got there at a good time for lunch. Maestro (my GPS - yes it has a name...) took us quite a weird way to get to Chuy's, the Tex-Mex place we decided to get lunch, and once we got there we still couldn't find it. Luckily Joann had some friends that went to UT so they helped us out and turns out it was in the back of the shopping center. After some delicious Carne Guisada, we headed back to downtown to get to the expo so us runners could check in and pick up our registration packets. Every runner got a new backpack and we capitalized on all the discounts that were being offered. I got some new running shoes that I would be needing after the run the next day (at a very discounted price!) and got to learn about sheddable clothing (not worth it...a waste of $15). After that we headed to meet our drivers at the nearby Whataburger and then headed off to do some shopping. Joann's friends knew where to take us (and I'm sure those guys were super excited about checking out the boutiques...) and we got some cute accessories (all we could afford at those places).

Around 6 we headed to my grandparent's house, where we would be spending the night, for dinner. My parents drove in to help host/cook dinner/watch me run. We had a ton of food and carbo-loaded as much as we could with lasagna, spaghetti, and garlic bread :) After dinner we hung out for a while with my family (and opened some late Christmas gifts - Christmas all over again in February is great!) and then attempted to get to bed early so that we could wake up super early for the last time for the marathon. We finally all made it into bed around 10 PM and that night was filled with tossing and turning and waking up every 30 minutes to go to the bathroom thanks to all that water I drank the day before.

Then 4:15 came too soon. I slept hardly any and pulling myself out of bed was extremely difficult, so I hit my snooze button once, but really couldn't fall asleep. I reminded myself that I would be able to sleep in the next day and tore myself out of bed and headed downstairs for breakfast. My parents and grandparents were so great to wake up even earlier than I did to finish making breakfast (most of it was made the day before - smart people). Jessica ended up getting sick the night before, so she stayed in bed and ended up not running her half-marathon. After eating as much as we could for that early in the morning, we all headed back upstairs to put on our running gear and jackets to keep warm and at 5:00 headed off to downtown. It was so excited finally being there, and seeing other people and knowing that soon we would all be running together. My parents dropped us off as close to the start at they could get and then went to go park with Erin and Sarah in another car doing the same. Then us runners headed to the start line to check everything out, make a last minute bathroom stop (still an hour and a half before the race) and check in our sweatshirts and stuff so we wouldn't have to run with them. As we were wandering around we saw a Starbucks and after getting everything done we ran in there to try and stay warm (since we no longer had our jackets) and wait for everyone to come and join us there. 7 o'clock was quickly approaching so after everyone came and met up with us as well as some last minute photos we headed outside to get warmed up and another bathroom stop.

Fireworks (or maybe giant sparkler-like things) signified the start of the race and we were off. Well, we were sort-of off. It took us a couple minutes to get up to the start line due to the crowd (14,000 people ran the race). It was pretty indescribable. I really needed a camera to capture everything that was going on. Even at 7 AM on a Sunday people were out cheering us on, bands had set up along the side of the race to play us on towards the finish, and it was mass chaos at the beginning with so many people. It wasn't until the marathoners and half-marathoners split that I felt I actually had room to run without trying to make my way around people and avoid bumping into everyone. People were dressed up like Cupid, Leprechauns, Braveheart and I'm sure there were others. Couples were wearing cute, matching, homemade shirts in honor of Valentine's Day and the list just goes on. We started off in downtown and made a loop back around and then through some neighborhoods where families were outside sitting in lawn chairs to cheer us on and to hand out water and oreos :) as well as free beer and mimosas (don't worry George I didn't drink any) and all kinds of things. Joann, Alisha and I ran together until about mile 8 and then it was time for them to speed up a little while I continued at my same pace since I was no where near being close to finished. About half way my knee started really bothering me. It was definitely a bummer since I hadn't really been having a lot of problems with it, but I decided that anything short of dying I would finish the race.

Miles 15-20 were the hardest. My knee was hurting, the hills sucked and I still had a long way to go. There were points (especially when going up hills) where I was pretty sure I could walk faster than I was attempting to run. Luckily I had lots of people around running with me as well as Michael Jackson, the Ting Tings (along with others) to carry me through. When I reached Mile 21, I finally got excited again. For a while I was asking myself why I decided to do this. But with only 5 miles left, I kept telling myself that after 20 miles, 5 was really nothing. Those last 5 still seemed long. We were still running through neighborhoods and it seemed endless, but then I saw the UT clock tower. My final destination was on the other side of it, so again I was motivated to keep going.

Finally, after a long somewhere between 4 and 5 hours, I hit Congress street. It was a downhill treck to and around the congress building as fast as I could after already running 25 miles to the finish line, and then I was done. It was totally surreal. Like I said before I can hardly believe I did it. After 4 months of training it was over before lunch. I was completely exhausted, starving, thirsty, in pain, and even a little sunburned because the sun finally decided to come out for the first time in 2010. Despite all of these things I would do it again in a second. Well, maybe not that soon. I'm still suffering from the after effects of running for such a long distance (I'm pretty sure I have tendinitis...awesome...or something similar in my knee), but I would do it again. Now after completely my first marathon I feel better prepared for the next one, whenever that may be. I know what to do better, and also know I definitely need a partner to run with me the whole way for miles 15-20 when I have almost run out of hope and for the four months worth of training beforehand.

So all in all it was a lot of fun and I'm really glad I did it and I highly recommend it. Enjoy the pictures :)

Pre-race - they forgot to put my name on the bib :(

runners - it was way crowded

Erin, Joel and Sarah who came to watch walked out to mile 8 capture the moment. Joann, Alisha and I run on by.

after the race

I'm not drinking pepsi I promise...it was powerade

Big Love Butterscotch Cookie

2010-02-11T12:56:00.005-06:00

Recently I found this great website called bakerella.com. I was very excited when I found it because I love to bake. This cookie is definitely very good. I've already made it twice. Once for my Logos group and once just because. It doesn't take that long to make either, although it did take me longer to bake it than the recipe said. I probably ended up baking it closer to 15 minutes than 10. Enjoy!

mmm...Nestle Chocolate and Butterscoth chips :)

the rest of the ingredients (minus the crackers)

mix it all together

time to bake it :)

add the ganache and M&Ms and ta da!

Cookie
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butterscotch morsels

Ganache
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

heart-shaped cookie pan (about 11 inches wide)
M&M’s

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cover heart-shaped cookie pan with non-stick cooking spray.
For the cookies, whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and the sugars using a mixer until fluffy.
Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
Stir in the butterscotch morsels.
Transfer cookie dough to the pan and spread out evely until the bottom of the pan is covered.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes.
Remove and cool.
While the cookie is baking, you can make the ganache.
Heat cream and butter in a saucepan until melted and remove before it starts to boil.
Place chocolate morsels in a small bowl and pour cream on top. Let sit for a few seconds and stir until completely incorporated and smooth.
Let cool and spread on top of cookie with an offset spatula.
To decorate like the photo, you’ll need 85 M&M’s (red or pink or whatever) for the letters. Place candies on the ganache, using the photo as a guide. Use extra M&M’s for the border.

P.S. the heart-shaped cookie pan is also conveniently made to fit one package of refrigerated cookie dough if you so desire. And, if you can’t find a cookie heart pan, just use a regular pan and spread the cookie dough out. Depending on the size of the pan, you may need to adjust your baking times.

Try and enjoy.

Something I've never done before: gone to a Chinese Church

2010-02-09T21:57:00.009-06:00

So February is a great month because I'm going to be doing two things that I've never done before. This is the first one and it was great. I love China and Chinese people, and I love Jesus, so these two things went well together. Here's how it all went down.

One day Angela was at Target and met two Chinese girls. She got their info and asked them if they wanted to hang out on Friday night. They said that they couldn't hang out on Friday because they had church (not a bad reason) and then they invited her to come with them. Knowing that I also love China and Chinese people, she invited me to come along with her, which of course I did.

As I have said before, I love China and Chinese people. I think it's amazing how God has created each culture differently and uniquely and at the same time in His image. Whenever I have been in China, the people are so kind and hospitable and just want to help you. They are more of a community based society than individualistic like here in the US and I think it's such a great picture of who God is.

The first time I went to China, I was walking around with one of the guys that went with me, and by walking I meant wandering because we were totally lost. We ran into some guys who noticed us carrying our map with lost looks on our faces and came over to try to help us. Then they brought their friend who knew a couple words in English to try to communicate with us, and then he was practically pushing us into his car so that he could take us where we needed to go. We had no idea who these guys were and they didn't know us, yet they were so willing to help us despite that. It's beautiful. God loves us and while we were still sinners sent Christ to die for us. Maybe giving complete strangers a ride in freezing weather isn't quite the same, but they still showed us love and kindness and had a servant's heart, asking for nothing in return.

So being in a room full of Chinese people warms my heart and fills it with joy, and even more so than normal when we are all singing praises to the same God. One of the coolest moments of the night was during the worship time. Most of the songs I didn't know, but I did my best to practice reading Chinese and sing along. Then we sang Amazing Grace. A song I know very well and have sung since I was a kid. Now I don't know this song in Chinese, so I sang it in English while simultaneously everyone else (except Angela :) I'm pretty sure she was singing in English too) was singing in Chinese. And then I realized that this was what Heaven was going to be like (except way more people of course). One day every tribe, tongue and nation will be worshiping and praising God together. In every language! How cool is that. So once again God changed my life and with a song that I have sung a million times before. It was awesome.

The night was also very interesting in that, when it was time to study the Bible, we all broke up into smaller groups. Now, I know some Chinese, but I wasn't confident enough in it to try to go to one of the Chinese groups, but lucky enough they did have one group in English, which consisted of mostly middle schoolers. Talk about fun/interesting/crazy/way more tangents than I've ever had in my Logos group. 1. I'm glad I'm not in middle school any more. 2. Was I really like that when I was 13??? 3. Wow. Really that's all I can say. It was a lot of fun. Angela and I definitely got a lot of laughs (especially when Vicki said that David never needed to study or be worried about anything because he is Asian...and the poor 10 year old got to read all of the long verses with big words). So Chinese Church was great, and I'll definitely be going back.

I feel like this post was a little all over the place, but oh well. I'm definitely enjoying this "do something new every month" resolutions, and be sure to check back after Valentine's day for my 2nd new thing I'll be doing this month.

Where I Want to Travel: Iceland

2010-02-05T12:34:00.005-06:00

So I've decided I'm going to use my blog as sort of a bucket list (along with all the other purposes it has). I have a bunch of things I want to do, and I'm afraid I will forget if it isn't written down somewhere. And maybe this way I get inspire some of my friends to do these things with me :)

Something I love to do is travel. I love new places and the idea of experiencing new cultures. Iceland is somewhere I have wanted to go for awhile now. I feel like people there are so lucky (at least during the summer) because it is so beautiful. When I see pictures of nature and scenery I am overcome with emotion and feel that in that moment I am even closer to appreciating the the creativeness and beauty of my God who created all things.

I have recently become slightly obsessed with blogging (not just writing them but finding new ones to read and look at). I now see what the hype is about. While I was doing this I stumbled upon a blogger from Iceland who has tons of pictures of Flickr. I'm slightly jealous of this person and am even more looking forward to traveling there someday.

So I want to go to Iceland, and here's a few reason's why:

All images courtesy of Alda Kalda

Creamy Garlic Shimp Alfredo

2010-02-03T20:38:00.005-06:00

I'm definitely behind on a lot of blogging. So many things happened and then I was sick and all I did was lay around and watch tv/sleep and nothing else. But before I got sick I tried out a new recipe and it was really good. I like fettuccine a lot and shrimp so this recipe worked out really well. And it made way more than enough for 4. I forgot pictures, but maybe I'll take one the next time I eat some of the leftovers.

13 oz. fresh fettuccine (great idea, but I just used a bag from HEB)

1 tbsp evoo

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

13. oz tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I just used a can of diced tomatoes and drained it)

1/4 cup white wine

1 & 1/4 cups whipping cream

2 lbs. medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails intact (I just used 1 lb because 2 seemed like a lot and shrimp isn't cheap)

1/4 cup loosely packed roughly chopped fresh basil (I was feeling lazy at the grocery store and decided that I would just use Italian seasoning that I already had at home, so I just added that in with the onions and stuff while it was cooking)

Cook the fettuccine in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, then return to the saucepan.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat and cook the onion and garlic, stirring for 4-5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add the tomatoes and wine and cook for 3 minutes before adding the cream. Bring to a biol, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes or until the mixture slightly thickens. Stir in the shrimp then simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink and are curled and cooked through. Toss with the pasta, gently shir in the baisil, season, and serve immediately.

Serves 4

something I've never done before: visit the George Bush Library

2010-02-01T10:18:00.008-06:00

So one of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to do something once a month I've never done before. This past week I was panicking because I hadn't done anything or come up with what I was going to do. But one day I was walking to class and passed the George Bush Library and realized I had never been there before. So Saturday Julie and I decided to go so that I could do something I've never done before. We only allotted ourselves an hour and a half, which apparently isn't long enough because it's huge. It was definitely very interesting. George Bush has had a very exciting life. Here are some pictures.

A portrait of George H.W. Bush

There is an exhibit at the library about Thomas Jefferson and wine. It was very interesting and I learned a lot of interesting/random facts.

I took a lot of pictures of quotes.

his signature

View from the outside. I get to see this everyday on my way to class :)

So that was it! Like I said it was very interesting and big. I didn't even really make it to when he was president (he's had done quite a few things before then such as being the CIA director and Ambassador to the UN) so I'll have to go back to see the rest.

the best mashed potatoes ever

2010-01-26T22:21:00.008-06:00

So, after I made my Chickpea Potato Curry, I had a lot of left over potatoes, and decided I needed to use them before they went bad. I found a recipe on Campbell's website for Ultra Creamy Mashed Potatoes and then searched through my cookbooks for something good to go along with it and found a Cajun Chicken with Corn Salsa recipe. I decided to forgo the corn salsa, since I don't like corn, and make the chicken with the mashed potatoes as a side. Let me just say that these are the best mashed potatoes ever. Seriously. Sarah's reaction was "whoa!" and Chelsea couldn't stop eating them. They were pretty amazing. I did a few things of my own, so keep an eye out for alterations. The chicken was good too and easy, which was good since mashed potatoes from scratch take a little longer than instant, but it does help to have a potato peeler (much quicker than trying to use a knife)!

Cajun Chicken:

1. Super easy! Just cover it with cajun seasoning. I used Tony Chachere's. Be careful if you can't handle spicy.

2. The recipe book that I have said to grill it, but since I have no idea how to grill and pretty sure Chelsea would kill me for using hers, and didn't want to take the time to mess with a charcoal grill even if I did know how to use it, I just cooked it in a pan with a little bit of olive oil.

3. That's it for the chicken. Like I said, super easy!

Mashed Potatoes (be careful because these are going to change your life!)

3 & 1/2 cups of swanson chicken broth

5 large potatoes cut into 1-in. pieces (I used gold/yellow potatoes because that's what I had left over. Since they are kinda small I ended up using 7 instead of 5).

1/2 cup of light cream (HEB didn't have light so I just used heavy, which might have been why they were so great)

2 tbsp butter

black pepper (however much you want)

1. Heat the broth and potatoes in a 3 qt. saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil. I also added two cloves of garlic and added some seasoned salt while it was heating up/cooking.

2. Reduce the heat to medium and cover for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain, reserving the broth.

3. Mash (and I'm one of those people who doesn't like lumps in my mashed potatoes so I used an electric mixer) the potatoes (garlic and all) with 1/4 cup broth, cream, butter and pepper (and whatever spices you may want to add). Add additional broth if needed, until desired consistency.

Sesame Coated Tuna with Cilantro Salsa

2010-01-23T17:04:00.007-06:00

I just have to say this wasn't the favorite thing that I've cooked. It wasn't bad, but it was really just ok. It was really lacking flavor. The recipe didn't say to put any spices on it and I didn't think to put any on before I rolled the tuna in the sesame seeds. It was ok, but again not my favorite. Also, I decided that it would be much easier to just buy pico de gallo from HEB instead of making it myself because it's pretty much the same concept but easier and probably better. So here is the recipe and pictures :)

Sesame-coated tuna with cilantro salsa:

4 tuna steaks (I just did 2 because turns out these are a little pricey...)

3/4 cup sesame seeds

3 handfuls baby arugula leaves (I left these out and used spinach instead)

Cilantro salsa:

1 large clove garlic, crushed

2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for frying

1 tbsp. lime juice

Cut each tuna steak into three pieces. Place the sesame seeds on a sheet of baking paper. Roll the tuna in the sesame seeds to coat. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

To make the salsa, place the garlic tomatoes, cilantro, oil, and lime juice in a bowl and mix together well. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Fill a heavy-bottomed frying pan to 1/2 in. (I didn't use that much) with the extra olive oil and place over high heat. (Be very careful, oil fights back and it got me on my eye-lid. Talk about painful.) Add the tuna in two patches and cook for 2 minutes each side (it should be pink in the center). Remove and drain on paper towels. To serve divide the arugula (or spinach in this case) among four serving plates and arrange the tuna over the top. Spoon the salsa on the side and serve immediately.

finished product

cilantro salsa

sesame coated tuna

Back to School

2010-01-20T21:12:00.015-06:00

Yup, it's time. Time to stop watching all of those SVU marathons and get back to work. Papers, tests and class here I come. So far I have two days of my last semester under my belt and it's looking good (and busy). Here's what has happened thus far. First, we got a dog. Really Sarah got the dog, but I'm just as excited about it. We don't know what kind he is, but he's super cute!

His name is Johann (pronounced the German way - like the musician) and we call him Jojo for short. It's been very entertaining watching him try and eat his tail and listen to Sarah practice her "happy voice."

Next, which actually occurred first, was the first Freedom of the semester. It was great to see friends and here about their Christmas break. I'm glad to be back sitting at the Chivvis's discussion table. They do a great job of facilitating discussion and ask questions that really make you think about what you're learning. I am very thankful for them :)

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day and still no school so I made a quick trip down to Houston to see my old youth pastor and family. They recently just moved up there for a new job so I got to see their new house and their boys, etc. It was great getting to catch up with Stephani and talk about their "new life" and getting ready for life after graduation. And we ate Chik-fil-A, which is always great :)

Ok, Tuesday is here, and it's the first day of classes. But first this day starts off with an attempt to run 20 miles. Since October I've been training for the Austin marathon so I didn't just decide to run 20 miles, I've been working myself up to this. I woke up at 4:30 and ate a lot and drank a lot of water to prepare. Then 5:25 I walk outside and it's hot and humid! Seriously! But I continue to psych myself up for this and head to the park to meet my running partner. We stretch and start off on our first loop. After 5 miles we get back to our water and are dying (when I came home and checked it was 90% humidity - sick!). My legs were not tired at all (I've already done 18 so it wasn't supposed to be too bad), but neither of us could breathe. We decided to call it quits and do it on Saturday when normal people do long runs and I headed home. Then (after a quick nap) I started getting ready for class and headed out. I'm taking 3 political science classes this semester and one last semester of Chinese.

So far my classes look like they'll be pretty interesting. I am going to be writing a lot of papers this semester, so that's exciting (note the sarcasm) but I don't have many tests so I guess they offset each other. Three out of four of my professors threatened to do everything they could to get us kicked out of the University for plagiarism, so that was pretty intense, and I had my first substitute professor in college. All of my classes seem like they'll all be pretty interesting which is a plus and I'm only taking 12 hours so it shouldn't be too bad. I am also thinking of taking a salsa dancing class at the rec. I already know how to do basic stuff, but I think it would fun and I have free time. The only problem is that it's during The Office so we'll have to make a decision on which I want more, to salsa or watch The Office. I have also picked up swimming (for my off days from running). I decided today that I really enjoy it. Maybe it's because I'm kind of tired of running, but I love it.

So that's been the last couple of days. School has begun, and I should actually be reading right now instead of blogging so off I go to get started on being productive.

Procrastination and an Almond Bar

2010-01-19T23:17:00.008-06:00

(a poem Jessica wrote about me while we sat and studied at Starbucks)

Procrastination and an Almond Bar

Blond, bobbed hair tied back to meet the headband,

Her Comal River eyes scan the margins

Of theories meant to teach her the wisdom

Of leaders and researchers who made stout

Decisions so others do not have to.

Blond, bobbed hair tied back to meet the headband,

Will she know what she needs to be proper And ...

Read More adequate for her before work class?

She is attracted to the thought of a Tedious Game of solitaire which seems

To be the default for retaining facts.

Will she buy the toffee almond bar that so eloquently sits by the lowfat blueberry muffin that is priced just right?

Almost guaranteed if she still has work.

-Jessica VS

(where it all began)

Tilapia with Mango Salsa

2010-01-19T19:47:00.007-06:00

So I forgot to take pictures (sorry in advance). It was great. 2nd time was just as good as the first, but not as much food this time. Here is there recipe, but keep looking because I changed up some things that made it much easier, so if you're in a hurry and don't have time to make the salsa and marinade yourself it will be quicker.

Grilled Tilapia with Mango Salsa

Ingredients

· 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

· 1 tablespoon lemon juice

· 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

· 1 clove garlic, minced

· 1 teaspoon dried basil

· 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 2 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets

Salsa

· 1 large ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced

· 1/2 red bell pepper, diced

· 2 tablespoons minced red onion

· 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

· 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

· 2 tablespoons lime juice

· 1 tablespoon lemon juice

· salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, parsley, garlic, basil, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the tilapia fillets, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

2. Prepare the mango salsa by combining the mango, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper in a bowl. Add the lime juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil grate.

4. Remove the tilapia from the marinade, and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade. Grill the fillets until the fish is no longer translucent in the center, and flakes easily with a fork, 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Serve the tilapia topped with mango salsa.

So here's what I did differently.

1. I didn't make my own marinade. I just bought a lemon pepper marinade from HEB. I marinated it for about 2 hours. I also just used Mrs. Dash Table Blend spice to add some more flavor.

2. I also didn't make my own salsa (so basically I didn't really do anything to make this except cook it).

3. I also didn't grill it. We have a grill but I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to that kind of stuff. What I did was I cook it in a pan (I just sprayed some off brand Pam to keep it from sticking). Then after it was done cooking I threw the salsa in to let it simmer for a while while I cooked some green beans (which were great). I just sautéed them in some olive oil and some butter and threw some garlic powder, seasoned salt, tony sacheries and added some Louisiana hot sauce so it would be spicy. I really liked it and it was quick and easy so I'll definitely make it again.

back to the fashionista lifestyle

2010-01-19T19:20:00.006-06:00

I love dressing up. I used to dress up a lot when I was in high school but the last three years while I've been in college I've been slackin'. At the beginning of the semester I decided that I would dress up more often because all of my classes were at the Bush School and I couldn't look like I just rolled out of bed because everyone is all dressed up (and it all paid off when I ran into Barbara Bush). But this semester I decided to kick it up a notch, so this past Sunday this was the result:

Julie told me that I should blog about everything I'm wearing in this outfit, since it's so great, so here it goes.

Shirt: Gap (I bought it a while ago but there still have the classic white button-up) - $44.00

Skirt: Forever 21 - $13.80

Necklace: Forever 21 (couldn't find it online) ~$5

Tights: Walmart ~ $4.00

Shoes: Payless (thanks to my sister for the gift card!) - $17.99

So there you go. Hopefully more to come :)

I love Angela!

2010-01-17T19:50:00.005-06:00

She's awesome and loves Jesus and China, so we're close, and I'm very sad she is not going to come over this semester...

“This trip is all about having fun…”

2010-01-16T23:41:00.008-06:00

I have spent the last couple of days in Dallas for a leadership retreat for the student leaders at my church. It was such a great couple of days filled with a lot of learning and fun :) Here are some key points of the last 3 days.

1. George Jacobus is a crazy driver.

2. Afshin Ziafat is awesome. He has such a great testimony of how God has saved him and is an excellent teacher. I have left this retreat feeling very encouraged.

3. Aubrey Malphurs is a guru on leadership and I’m glad all of the notes are online because I couldn’t keep up.

4. We got to go on a private tour of the Dallas Cowboys stadium. You could place the Statue of Liberty on the star on the 50 yard line, close the roof of the stadium, and she would fit inside.

5. I love the people I serve with (I already knew this but still wanted to mention it). I have such great friends who I know I can depend on for prayer, laughter and tears when needed.

6. I have a new Logos partner and he and I did a great job telling the other leaders where babies come from and why God created men before women.

7. Shane and Shane are awesome! (again already knew this). I love how their concerts are not really concerts at all but a time of worship. They have such a gift and I am thankful for their passion for the Lord.

8. Great Wolf Lodge is super intense. This is not just a hotel. It has a spa, arcade as well as an indoor water park. Unfortunately they also had really hard pillows which gave me a major crick in my neck :(

9. I really missed Liz Kilpatrick. She gives the best hugs and a whole month without her was very sad.

10. Julie and my new life goal is to become Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders :)

Just call me Betty Crocker (or Paula Dean; either is fine)

2010-01-11T22:23:00.010-06:00

Yes, that is the title of my blog. Here’s why. So as I posted in my last blog, two of my New Year’s resolutions are: 1) to eat out less and cook more, and 2) to blog more often. In order to accomplish this whole blogging thing, I needed an idea, and in order to eat out less, I needed a reason (other than the fact that my bank account would really appreciate it). So I stole the concept of Julie and Julia and decided to combine these two resolutions into one. Now, not all of my blog is going to be about my cooking, but I feel like this is an easy and fun way to help me keep up with these two things. So my goal is to, once a week, cook something new and blog about it (i.e. how I made it, how it was, etc.)!

So tonight, I went to the store, bought everything I needed, and embarked on my new assignment. It was a great success (hence the title). Julie came over to test it out and gave it two thumbs up. I was very surprised that it came out so well since it was something I’ve never done before, and I have a ton of leftovers. Here’s what I made:

Chickpea Potato Curry Recipe

INGREDIENT

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

One 14 1/2-ounce can fire-roasted or stewed tomatoes with chiles (See Muir Glen. If you can't find canned tomatoes with chiles you can add half a 4-ounce can of diced green anaheim chiles to a 14.5 ounce can of tomatoes.)

6 baby (new) Yukon Gold potatoes (about 12 ounces), quartered

1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 teaspoons minced ginger

1-2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

METHOD

1 In a large pot, combine the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, potatoes, onion, butter, ginger, 1 teaspoon of salt, cumin, coriander, and cayenne. Stir to mix and nestle the potatoes into the liquid.

2 Set the pot, uncovered, over medium heat. Simmer vigorously for about 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add more salt to taste. Serve the curry in bowls over Jasmine rice.

It was great. I was inspired by the Indian food that Julie, Erin and I ate last week, and thankfully this was less spicy and I was able to eat it without it bringing me to tears or dying for more water. It was absolutely perfect and very easy. It took me about 10-15 minutes to prepare everything so it was super fast and convenient for a busy college student. So if you’re looking for a new recipe, this one is a good one.

New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-11T21:48:00.007-06:00

So here it goes. There are several things that I have resolved to do in this year. Some are frivolous, but there are some more serious things that I want out of this year. More and more I realize how important it is to take a look at the previous year and do an inventory of how things went, and make serious, realistic goals on how to change where needed.

Why?

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” – Galatians 5:1

This verse says it well. As a Christian, I am called to be more like Christ. Every day I am to choose death to my old self, ways and habits, and practice holiness. God has been teaching me a lot this past year and looking back at 2009, there are some things that need to change. I’m excited! I know what God has convicted me to work on, and I think that writing it out makes it more real, will help me be mindful of what I need to work on, and keep me accountable to what I’ve committed to (especially with all my friend reading it and helping me out in this – thanks guys!).

So, here is a list of my resolutions (in no particular order):

1. To be more disciplined. This one is hard, because it’s pretty abstract, and encompasses many aspects of my life. Over this past year I’ve learned a lot about being disciplined, and the importance of it, but have failed to put it into practice. Whether it comes to spending time in the Word, or in prayer, even to the less spiritual side of my life like what I eat and school (and not hitting the snooze button for an hour every morning), I have not tried very hard to be disciplined. I think it really hit me when I was watching my weekly SVU marathon on a Tuesday. What was I doing? I would come home from class and watch SVU all day until I went to my late class and then Logos. Not that watching SVU is bad, but a whole day of it is just a complete waste of time. Then recently, while I was out running, I realized just how intertwined not being disciplined in one area leads to a lack of discipline in another area. Now I’ve realized this before over a year ago, but all of the steps I took to be more disciplined in one area of my life were all a self effort and it didn’t last long. This attempting to transform myself on my own was futile, but still it is one of my resolutions to be more disciplined this year. It’s a difficult balance, because at first I was trying the “do it yourself” method which failed miserably, then I fell into the “not actively doing anything to change” method, which also failed miserably. There is, thankfully, a solution, and Richard Foster in The Spiritual Disciplines (good book, read it!!) puts it well:

“If all human strivings end in moral bankruptcy (and having tried it, we know it is), so if righteousness is a gracious gift from God (as the Bible clearly states), then is it not logical to conclude that we must wait for God to come and transform us? Strangely enough, the answer is no. The analysis is correct – human striving is insufficient and righteousness is a gift from God – but the conclusion is faulty. Happily there is something we can do. We do not need to be hung on the horns of the dilemma or either human works or idleness. God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that He can transform us.”

So that’s number one. I said they were in no particular order, and the rest of them aren’t, but I feel like this is my most important one. As I stated earlier, as a Christian I am always going through the process of sanctification, to be more like Christ. In my life right now this is something that God has really convicted me of and I believe is currently the biggest hindrance in becoming more like Him. I know this is pretty abstract, and I do have specific goals, but resolution #1 is getting pretty long.
2. Play the piano once a week (at least, since I’m taking less hours hopefully I’ll be able to more often).
3. Cook more often and eat out less (more about this to come in a future blog – get excited!)
4. “Wherever you are, be fully there.” (This can somewhat be wrapped into #1, but I felt like it should be a resolution of its own.) A very wise woman (and probably one of the coolest people I know) told me this while I was in China this summer. I have a really hard time living in the present. A lot of the time I find my mind wondering off to thinking about the future, and sometimes about the past, and not being where I currently am. Right now I am still a student at Texas A&M and have one more semester to go. I find it hard to stay here. Whether it’s worrying about the next step in my life (or even the next 10 steps after that) or imagining how I want a situation to turn out, or dwelling on how I would have done something differently etc., I don’t do a good job of being where I am. This has been a struggle for years and more and more I see how this affects my life and how desperately I need to change. This past year I have learned a lot about trusting God. I have always been one to try and plan my life 10 years in advance. I don’t like not knowing what’s going to happen and a lot of this comes out of a lack of trust in God and knowing that He already knows what’s next and is working everything out for my good. I am learning. Romans 8:28 has been an important verse in my life this year. I have realized I can’t control everything but God does, and that’s comforting. And honestly it’s a little more exciting not knowing what’s coming. Before I came to college I never would have thought I would be working on moving to China after I graduate, or that I would have even gone there (three times!). If I planned my own way through life I would be graduating with a degree in business of some sort, and be going to law school to become the next Jack McCoy (I know I’m obsessed with Law & Order). God truly does know me better than I know myself, and knew that 3 years of memorizing cases wouldn’t have been my favorite past time and that being engulfed in a new and different culture that has won my heart would be a much better fit for me. As I said, I’ve learned a lot about trusting God this past year, and I know that all of my worries about the future come out of a lack of trust. I have also seen how much time I waste worrying about controlling what I can’t. I’ve come a long way for sure, but still have much to work on and God is still teaching me. I have a purpose in being where I am right now, and I need to use this time well while I have it. In order to do that, and for God to really be able to use me in the here and now, I need to stop living in the future (or in the past) and trust Him.
5. Blog more often J Right now I’m at three posts this year (and in one week I might add) which is already more than last year. I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job at this one so far.
6. Take more artsy photos J
7. Read more (for fun, not necessarily for school, although that probably would hurt my GPR). This also includes reading through the New Testament in a year. My church Central Baptist is doing a really cool thing this year where we all read through the NT. Last year we read through the whole Bible, but this year we’re doing it a little different. We also have been given the assignment of journaling (YES! Homework I like). With each passage we read we are to journal about 3 things.
a) What the passage tells us about prayer (i.e. how to pray, what to pray for and what not to pray for).
b) How the passage reveals that we are significant in God’s plan.
c) What the passage says about God’s love for us
I’ve been very blessed to be at this church, and to have a pastor who does a great job of sheparding his congregation and I am thankful that he has commissioned our church to do this together, and excited about learning (I wish I could say that about POLS 359…).
8. Do something once a month I’ve never done before.
9. Have a rock solid 6-pack with Julie Millsap thanks to http://twohundredsitups.com/index.html

So that seems like an extensive list, but I feel like I did a good job of encompassing fun things with that I really do need to work on. So those are my resolutions. I’m excited for 2010. This is the first time I’ve really made a resolution list, at least one that I’m committed to, and I have a feeling that this is going to be a good year of growing and changing. As for the fun things, those are easy to take care of on my own. For the more serious/spiritual aspect of my resolution, I’m excited to see how God is going to change me to be more like Him and how He is going to use me through that to share His good news to those around me.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

2010-01-09T11:41:00.008-06:00

Actually, it's two weeks after Christmas. I'm not a good blogger (or tweeter, but we'll take this one step at a time) but I want to blog about my Christmas, even if it was a while ago.

One of my family traditions is to go see The Nutcracker. We've done this since I was 8 years old. We even saw it in New York City one year :) We get all dressed up and go up to Houston. It doesn't matter how many years we've gone to see this, we still can never seem to find the parking garage, or which section is closest to our theater, or how to get back on the highway back home, but we made it on time and really enjoyed it again. We also took our annual family photo by the giant Christmas tree.

On Christmas Eve, we watched the Charlie Brown Christmas, which is really funny. The first one, not so much, but the second one on the DVD is pretty hilarious. It's been years since I've watched it, and it's definitely not stuff you would pick up on when you're a kid, but watching it when you're older is quite entertaining. Check it out!

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/it-s-christmastime-again-cb-3-3/9A4631263F49C3C6765C9A4631263F49C3C6765C

"I said 'hockey stick.' Why did I say 'hockey stick?' All I had to say was' Hark,' and I said 'hockey stick.' I ruined the whole Christmas play. Everybody hates me. Moses hates me. Luke hates me. The Apostles hate me! All 50 of them!"

Then we read the Christmas story, another Christmas tradition and the real reason my family celebrates the holiday. While all of these other traditions are great, and getting to spend family is great, it all pales in comparison to what God did for me out of His love for me. Reading of Mary's thankfulness to God for choosing her, and her faith in Him was a real encouragement to me this year.

⁴⁶And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.

Christmas Day consisted of sleeping in (and as a college student I'm very thankful for that) and starting off with the movie "The Christmas Story." It's unfortunate that movie is only appropriate during this time of year. Then we opened gifts (even our cat enjoyed this), had a great meal, and headed to see Sherlock Holmes (great movie!).

So that's my Christmas. I wasn't at home for very long, but it was definitely a sweet time with my family and getting a chance to relax and take a break from my hectic schedule of school and work to celebrate the birth of my Savior :)

13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."