I'm back...for now

It's been about a month since I last blogged...big surprise. Sometimes I completely forget that I even have a blog, but at times like this when I feel like life has slowed down enough for me to process things and prepare for another stretch of whirlwind; I remember I have a blog and some people (not sure how many any more) actually check to see if I've posted anything new or exciting that's happening in my life. Nothing too new, but there are two things that I've been thinking about this week...

1. It was almost a year ago exactly that I was in the worst pain of my life as my apendix was exploding inside of me. And after three weeks of gritting my teeth and waiting it out, I ended up in the hospital looking like this

Praise God that I finally went to my doctor and that a.) I am alive and b.) that nothing else was damaged and they took nothing more out than my silly little apendix. (what was left of it at least)

2. I got a package from a dear friend earlier this week and it made my day!! Getting things in the mail is such a joy and makes you feel so blessed-I do at least. So, my new desire is to send a package to someone with whatever box I received in the mail. So the box I received just a few days ago is now waiting to be filled with goodies to be sent to someone special in my life.  I also think this is fun because not only is it awesome getting something on holidays or birthdays or to know something's coming, but how much more awesome and splendid is it to get something completely unexpected?? 

xoxo

Oops!

Well folks, it's been awhile. Apparently my New Year's resolution was not to blog more, so forgive me for being MIA. This last month and a half or so has been a whirlwind...Christmas, parties, moving (me and my parents), work, family illness, and just life in general. But here we are and life is good. It's better than good actually. Because God is good and blesses us so very much in the midst of daily life. When we sit in his presence and remind ourselves of his love for us, we need nothing else. Though it is sometimes hard and seems impossible at times to not get consumed with life and our circumstances, God gives us the peace and comfort (and sanity) to press on and know that we are in the care of the creator of the universe and that we have much to anticipate! It brings me back to one of my favorite verses.

Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

That's all I have for now...now I'm off to a friends cabin for the weekend to sew, read and drink lots of coffee :) Hope you have lovely weekend as well!

season of loneliness

Let's be honest...being single is great, but there are moments that I miss living life with people. Perhaps that is one of the reasons I miss college so much. I was constantly surrounded by people who I was able to go on grand adventures with or do even the most mundane tasks with. Yes, I've made friends since I moved to the cities, but having coffee once every couple weeks is not quite the same as being with them every spare moment of your day. And as I think about sending out a Christmas card with a picture of just me and trying to make big life decisions like buying a car with no one to confer and talk it through with, life seems a little bit lonely.

The good news is that I know this time will past. So here's to embracing singleness and independence and doing what I want ;)

a time to be thankful

I believe that an attitude of thankfulness should not be limited to one day a year, but in the same breath, I am glad that there is a day set aside for us to take the time to reflect on the past year and be overcome with all there is to be thankful for.

I have so much to be thankful for, but this year, the top of the list is health. Praise God for his miraculous hand of protection over me during the 2 month journey of my apendix rupturing and the recovery that followed. I was brought to tears today thinking about the fact that so many things could have gone wrong and the turn out could have been very different, but I am as good as new minus one organ and a healed scar as a reminder of his protection and purpose that he has for me yet to come.

The thankfulness does not stop there. My family is amazing and always there for me, even though I am definitely a hand full!

I hope you all enjoyed a grand Thanksgiving feast today! I feel as though I ate about half of the 22 pound turkey my grandma made. Along with lots of mashed potatoes, cookie salad, stuffing, cranberries, rolls and green bean salad...and pie. It's not often that I eat like this when I cook for myself-gotta love family get togethers :)

Honey Pumpkin Pie

I've always wanted to make a REAL pumpkin pie. Not with the pumpkin that comes in a can, but from an actual round pumpkin that is freshly picked from the vine. Well, a few weeks ago I was able to check that off my list of things to do before I die. I went to a pumpkin patch with some friends and saw the baking pumpkins and knew I had to do it. Here's the recipe I used as well as some pictures of the process...ENJOY!!

Honey Pumpkin Pie

• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 unbaked pie shell

Combine pumpkin, honey, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Add eggs and milk. Pour into pie shell and bake at 425º for 40 to 45 minutes. Makes 6-8 servings.

(a little warning, I haven't edited the pictures yet, so don't judge)

The pumpkin used to make the delicious pie.

All cleaned and ready for the grand transformation.

Cut the pumpkin into 1-2 inch cubes.

Put in a large pot with an inch of water. Boil and then cover and steam.

Drain.

Remove the skin...

MUSH!!

Then to make the pie :)

Ready to be cooked. (ps the batter is delicious!)

Pre-oven....

perfect!

Ready to eat :)

adjusting

Well friends, this whole having a big girl job is a big adjustment. Working 40 some hours a week plus commuting is a very different change of pace from what I was used to. So be patient with me. I'm learning how to manage my time and am also wondering how people do this! Hopefully I'll post more soon and fill you in on what's new in my life. But now I must go to sleep. Goodnight :)

new favorite

Someone shared this song with me today, and I can't help but play it on repeat. Check it out!

Holding out for a Hero-Ella Mae Bowen

big kid.

Today I started my new job as a Student Records Coordinator at Rasmussen College. It's been quite the journey getting here and is just the beginning of what I'm sure will be an overwhelming next few weeks. I was given a warm welcome by the few that I interacted with today and then will be introduced at our all-staff meeting on Friday. I've been told I'll have to stand in front of the room and answer any questions people have for me as well as tell them 3 interesting facts about myself-oh joy. (If you can think of anything interesting about me, please let me know! It always seems as though when you force yourself to think about your quirks you can't seem to pinpoint them)

I'm really looking forward to being a part of this team and learning all that my job entails. One of the most exciting things is that I have an office with a name placard with my name on it, outside of my door already. As I was ironing my pants last night, preparing for actually wearing dress clothes to work, I thought to myself, "tomorrow I'm going to put on my big girl pants."

There are a few reasons this stuck out to me.
1. If you know me well enough, you'll know that one of my favorite sayings (credit given to my mother) is "put on your big girl panties and deal with it". This isn't a situation that I need to "buck up" in order to deal with, but rather than putting on my big girl panties, I put on my big girl pants.
2. These are not my grown up pants. Just my big girl pants. One step at a time, ya know? I still don't think of myself as an adult and prefer to gradually take on that title, so for now I'll stick to being a big kid.
3. The fact that I was ironing my pants is crazy to me. No longer can I wear jeans or a skirt and leggings to work, but I have to be a presentable and professional person in the business world. Still waiting for that to sink in.

Well, those are just a few of my ramblings. I survived my first day and plan to go back tomorrow. I'm exhausted after one full day, but here's to many more :)

on faithfulness...

As many of you probably know, the last few weeks have emotional and overwhelming as I've been going through the interview process with Rasmussen College and making some big life decisions that were/are a bit risky.

I started the interview process about a month ago now. Trying not to get my hopes up after each interview was hard, because after each one I kept feeling more and more attached and excited about the opportunity. 5 interviews later I was told they would get back to me by the end of the week. I was on vacation in D.C. at the time, which was a good distraction. While there, my current boss texted me to offer me a full-time position with benefits. Talk about a curve ball. That made the potential decision of what to choose if offered the position with Rasmussen even harder.

I had to tell Here's Life by Friday at 5 PM if I would be accepting the position and staying with them...unfortunately I had not heard back from Rasmussen yet. I knew they were running a background check, but that is no conclusive information in order to make a wise decision on what your future will look like. After checking in with Rasmussen on the status and time frame of things, I was told I was one of their top candidates but they were finishing up the interview process with another potential candidate and would be in touch in a week or so. Talk about feeling your stomach drop.

I was so torn at this point. I love Here's Life Inner City and the people I work with, but can honestly say that I don't see myself there long term. So after much prayer and many tears, I took a huge step of faith and told Here's Life thanks for the gracious offer but that I couldn't accept it.

And then I waited. Trusting that God had a plan. Whatever it was going to be, I knew He was in control. Even though I had such a sense of peace about my decision, the unknowns were definitely looming in the back of my mind. If I did get the Rasmussen job, would I like it? And the bigger question. If I didn't get the position at Rasmussen, then what? Work part-time and continue to look for a job? Move home and work part-time and look for a job? I went home this past weekend and it was the longest 4 hour drive ever. Just me and myself thinking about what was to be. Even though I had an amazing sense of peace, the unknowns continued to seep into my thoughts.

God is SO good though. Yesterday at 4:45 PM, I received a phone call from Rasmussen offering me the position. I didn't even hesitate saying "I accept". Desperate? Maybe. Excited? Beyond belief! I got off the phone and screamed like a little school girl! Who am I to doubt God's plan for me. And he is so faithful and has proven it over and over to me. Throughout my life and this past year especially, I should know that God knows what he's doing.

I'm a little scared about starting a new job and meeting new people and a little sad about leaving my current co-workers, but this is just another step in my journey and and all I can help but do is smile :) So on October 11th at 9:30 AM, I will walk into my new job and sign some official papers that will make me Rasmussen College's newest Student Records Coordinator. Thank you Jesus, and thank you to everyone who has listened to me and supported me through this process!

trying to be patient...

Why is being patient so hard sometimes?? For those of you who may not know, I've been going through the interview process for the last couple weeks...yes weeks. I've technically had 5 interviews total so far, whether they were over the phone or face-to-face. And now, I must wait. I'm supposed to hear by the end of the week, so really not that long of a wait, but after all of this time and energy I've invested, I'm just ready to know if they want me or not!

Well I'll let you all know whether I get the job or not, but until then-pray for me!

memories!

It's been about 6 months since I had my emergency appendectomy/emergency surgery, so thought it would be fun to share some photo's that will now be published for the first time! Praise God for his protection and healing and for where He's brought me since then-I am truly blessed :)

The day before I went in to the hospital. My dad taught me how to saw properly as poison was spewing through my abdomen. 

I was a sad sight...

Post-tube removal-nice!

The incision with the staples holding me together...

...and after the staples were removed.

I don't have a current picture of the scar, but you can trust me that it's looking much better! It's still hard to believe that all actually happened, but what an adventure!

My grand re-entrance to the world-wide-web...

...or the blogging world at least. The lackadaisical days of summer seem to have sucked me in. So who really knows if anyone actually follows me on here anymore, but if you do-great! Summer always seems to slip through your fingers and you wonder where the time has gone. It's a fun time of the year because bed-times get pushed back and there's a careless sense of time and no real schedule to anything. With that though, time seems to fill up rather quickly or completely escape you (well, me at least).  The past few months have been filled with camping, weddings, Twins games, sitting by the pool, road trips and many other grand activities that make summer wonderful.

But here I am, looking forward to fall! The air was fresh and crisp today, and made me ready for pumpkin lattes :) (anything made with pumpkin actually) Fall is my favorite. The crisp leaves, the change of pace, the change of wardrobe, and the list could go on.

That's all for now...just wanted to say hello again and that you will (hopefully) be hearing from me soon!

Peanut Butter Cookies

The other night I had the urge to bake even though it was unbelievably hot outside. So I cranked on the A.C. and began perusing recipes...since my motivation was somewhat low I went for what looked like the easiest recipe and then turned out to be some of the best peanut butter cookies I've ever made. I thought they seemed a bit dry when I first tried one, but at work the next day they got raving reviews..."Just like my grandma's" is what one guy said! So here's the recipe:

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla

(yes, that's it) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together. Spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten with a fork. Bake 12-16 minutes. Enjoy :)

thunderstorms

I LOVE thunderstorms, and there is an epic one currently taking place.

I used to be scared of them, so why do I love thunderstorms so much? Because now I see them as one of THE most epic ways we can see God's power and creativity. SO awesome.

And now I am turning off all of the lights in my apartment and sitting by my window so I can thoroughly enjoy the beauty of it all :)

Happy

Well friends-summer has overtaken my blogging but I thought tonight I'd share a little post (if anyone still reads this that is).

I'm loving life and feeling great! And for most of you, you know that these are not words that have come out of my mouth for about...a year. There's so much I could blubber on about all of that, but for now I just want to say thanks to everyone who's been there for me this year-Lord knows I haven't been the most pleasant at times.

I'm also preparing myself to bird-sit and house-sit for 3 weeks in July...should be an adventure!! That's all for now :)

grateful

Today I'm grateful for friends who ask questions and truly care about what's going on in your life. I'm grateful for chair races through the warehouse when people are antsy at work. I'm grateful for new friend requests on facebook. I'm grateful for messages from people letting me know they're thinking of me. I'm grateful to be a child of my Heavenly Father. What are you grateful for today?

Who would've thought...

I never thought I would ever say this, but sometimes I wish I lived closer to my family. I love them dearly, but I always wanted to go somewhere far away. Now that I live only 4 hours away, I find myself being homesick and wanting to go back as much as possible. Only 2 more days...

I'll never give up.

Though it seems like I am a failed blogger, I will keep on trying to update you all on my life via blog...later. Hope you're enjoying summer :)

the lady's a genius!

Well folks, she did it! I couldn't be more proud of my mother. After years of time and energy, my mom is now a Doctor of Nursing Practice. Congratulations Mom!!!

fighting for hope

I just listened to a great sermon on Psalm 42 that I would encourage you to take the time to listen to it. Check it out...
Spiritual Depression in the Psalms