meal planning: vol 1

the kitchen is my favorite room in my house. Actually, in any house. I feel most at home in the kitchen. I used to believe that I wasn't a creative person. But I've come to find that I'm just mostly creative in the kitchen. If I have a Saturday to myself, I want to spend a good portion of it planning a meal and prepping in the kitchen. Dinner parties? I'm always in. There's a harmony that comes from cooking well and feeding people. My heart feels fullest with friends at our table.

 

Yet, sometimes, when I'm meal planning, I find myself in a bit of a slump. And so, mostly because Ruthanne posted her meal plans, I decided I wanted to start sharing what our week looks like in the kitchen. (Also, it's much easier to find these links for myself if I post them here. ha!) I normally plan + grocery shop on Saturdays. We like to do a fancy at home meal one night a week, usually Saturday or Sunday, just depending. Weeknights are mostly busy for us. I've got class a couple nights a week, we have Bible groups, it just get plain busy. Insert the crock pot meals.  I find looking at our weekly schedule before even attempting meal planning results in a lot less frustration.

Saturday:

Thai Steamed Mussels

Parmesean Brussel Sprout Crostini

 

Sunday:

Lunch- Baked and filled avocados

I don't normally cook for lunch, but we've been wanting to try these so badly, I made an exception!

Dinner- Coconut Chicken Salad with Warm Honey Mustard Viniagrette

This has been a staple in our meal rotation for over a year now. Just make it. You'll love it.

 

Monday:

Chile Shrimp with butter beans and lemony couscous

We had this for the first time last week and Sam went crazy for it. It's up again.

 

Tuesday:

Baked Salmon (30min at 350--we bake it in a little olive oil and lemon pepper)

Roasted Carrots

 

Wednesday:

Mongolian Beef

 

Thursday

Crock pot chicken tacos

This is a meal my mom taught me--4 chicken breasts, 1 can cream of whatever, 1 jar salsa. Dump it all in the crock pot in the morning on your way out the door, (the chicken can even still be frozen!) and when you come home, pull chicken and serve on tortillas. Delicious and easy.

 

I don't plan Friday--that's our weekly date night. And then it starts all over!  Also--there's always a box of cereal in our pantry and sometimes, the plan for the night gets scrapped. It's real life.

6 weeks of life

I could have alternatively titled this post, I don't know how to catch you up on 6+ weeks of not blogging, so I'm just going to throw it all at you at once!

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My foot has completey healed and I've returned to running. This is really a whole post within itself. Suprise! After 3 months of not running, I'm pretty far physically from where I was immediately post-marathon. I've struggled like never before to get back into running, and the summer heat isn't encouraging my runs.

This summer is a busy season for us. I've got one last class to take that's going on Tuesday and Thursday nights. We've got something booked for every night of the week. These seasons can leave us ragged--so I'm reading through the ebook Jessi and Hayley wrote--Refresh. I'm hoping to have some of my sanity left at the end of the summer.

I started a bookclub. Best decision. It's a smallish group of girls that are quickly becoming my best of best friends. Books + cookies + laughter? Good recipe for success, if you ask me. 

Mumford and sons concert: one of the highlights of my whole summer. It was a perfect June day, just my man and me. I couldn't have asked for a better night.

My baby brother got married. Oh Lordy, help my emotions. He married the most beautiful woman, inside and out. And now she's my sister. Enough, before I start crying again.  

It always seems when I'm busiest I find the ways to make the most lists of what I'd like to do when I have free time. Since this summer is a season like that for us, I'm working on a good list and being intentional about my free time. Instead of trolling twitter and IG. Tell me I'm not the only one. I'd like to post on it later--intentional resting. 

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What's your summer filled with? What's it looked like so far?

thanks, 2012

I'm a planner. A list-maker. I love making goals and thinking long and hard about what I hope a new year will contain. But, it doesn't sit quite right with me to move on to a new year without fully digesting the last.

This time last year we were living in Houston, stressed and constantly on our knees about Sam's job.  It was a place that was hard to be, and not a place he wanted to stay.  We spent the first few months of the year in desperate prayer.  I look back on those times and remember so many tears, prayers, and moments holding onto hope.  We knew we needed a way out, but we didn't see the way.  

Summer came, and he began interviewing. Early June he accepted a job with State Farm--in Austin. We began to think of switching cities to be closer to our families after a lot of shut doors in Houston.  It was a dream, but we didn't think it would be a reality.  One interview and a job offer later, our whole world was changing.

It was during this time that Sam's grandma became very ill.  We watched as her desire for Heaven outgrew her desire for Earth. She spent the end of her days making us smile, with grace and love in every breath.  The timing of her passing with us moving to Austin was a difficult one. Sam lost his last biological grandparent as Grandmother passed, but the joy of marriage gives him 4 more.

The hardest months of the year were the summer. We had devised intricate plans for me to remain in Houston, at the job I loved while Sam worked in Austin until I could find a job and move together. We each had places to stay, and plans for how long this all would continue.  In what seemed like a miracle, I got a job, and we would be moving together.  We rushed and packed, found an apartment, and said our goodbyes. 

The most lasting part of that crazy summer is the way all doors would open for the move.  It was undeniably God. We found an apartment in a SINGLE DAY and had family look at it for us. My dad came down for the move. Our lease in Houston ended in exactly the month we needed to move, so we wouldn't be paying double rent.  We had previously given notice to our Houston apartment because we had planned to relocate within Houston.  So many details, and God's hand had prepared them all.  In the quiet moments, when doubt set in, this miraculous story of our move was the hope to which I hung. 

July came, and we began to get settled in our new city as we started our jobs. The job I started at The University of Texas turned instantly into a sour spot, and within two weeks we knew I needed a new place. 12-14 hour workdays, underpaid, and constant yelling made it a place that wasn't sustainable for our family. 

The days turned dark and we wondered what we had done to our family.  We missed our home, our friends, and the life we had in Houston.  Since it was just us in a big city--we only had each other. Those first years of our marriage we marked with so much sweetness.  In those 7 weeks until I found a new job, we clung to the knowledge that throughout the summer, it wasn't us that orchestrated Sam's job and our move, but God.  It was Him who brought us here, and we had to be faithful to stay.

The 7 toughest weeks of our marriage ended with a phone call and a job offer.  I was going to be leaving my job at the University, and headed to the State Lab.  Tears of joy and relief flooded both of our eyes, and we began to celebrate.  For us, I don't think we really accepted Austin as our home until I switched jobs.  It was survival mode before that.

Fall came, and we saw God's plan like we weren't seeing it before. Sam excelled and loved his new job, and I was finding my way at my new place.  Don't get me wrong, since leaving the Stehlin Foundation in Houston, I struggled.  I had found such a home in the work and people in Houston, and leaving it felt like leaving a bit of me there.Now?  That's the best part. It's still a place I've left my heart, and when we return, it feels like a homecoming.

But with fall came really making Austin our home.  Sam grew up here, but now we were making a home for us in this city.  We ventured out, found our places, and we're working on finding a small group and church.  We've been here six months now, and we're easing into our rituals.

2012 was an experience like no other. When we started it 12 months ago, I didn't see a move, so many job changes, and a new city in our future. This year--with the changes, stress, and challenges, brought us to places we never expected.  It was a year I don't want to repeat, but it brought and taught us so much. So here, on the last day of 2012, I just want to say thanks. Thanks for the memories, the challenges, and all we learned.

just start already

Have you ever been in a season of life that just feels strange? Nothing's wrong on the outside, but yet your heart can't find the place it wants to call home? You flip from activity to activity looking for that community, yet your hands turn up empty each time?

 It's harder to handle when you've had real community. When you know the sweetness of calling friends in the middle of the night, or taking dinner because you know they've had a rough week. It deepens the ache--the pit of a hole that knows there's a place for living gospel that isn't being filled. And yet, we've been blessed. Those people exist for us, just not here. They're spread out, but the bond doesn't break. The Bible talks about community, and the people in Acts seemed to find it so easily.

And yet, we're here. Still searching. Still trusting that there are a people for us, in this city. A people who will sit in our house until midnight and drink wine. People that will ask the questions that don't have answers, and let the silence loom. There are people for us here, that will laugh and love and learn. So this week, instead of just waiting, we're starting.

We're making the awkward phone calls to the acquaintances and telling these people that we want to be friends. It's the worst and hardest parts of dating, but you have to do it go get to the good stuff. Sure, we'll be rejected a few times, but once you've had the real, life-bringing community, nothing else will do.

So we're picking up the phone and starting already.

this week

has been a good one.
new schedules, feeling semi-normal adjusting to the new job.
cooked dinners at night, nice long runs, falling asleep reading this book.
if you haven't read it, I highly reccomend you go pick it up this weekend.
and read it all, so we can talk about it.

this weekend we're preparing to relax.
I have to work a few hours Saturday morning, but then it's sister blo out time.
I've never been to a blo dry bar--but with a groupon that made is $12 to look great and someone else doing all the work, who could resist?  any suggestions on which one to pick??
and time with a sister I've waited my whole life to have--getting sisters has been great.

I'll also be getting ready and figuring out my topic for 31 days. (linkup by the nester)
I read a lot of them last year, and since I write this blog to reflect and grow.
I've always wanted to challenge myself to write for 31 days straight on a topic, and see what comes of it.
I don't have my topic yet, but I'll spend a lot of time this weekend working it out.
I'm nervous and excited and all those emotions wrapped up in one about this 31 days thing.

and in between, I'll be soaking up all the fall I can find.
In Texas, it's a short (sometimes non-existant) season that lasts only a few days.
but I cram all the pumpkin into those days that I can find.

where we're headed

as you've probably gathered around here, this new job change has been rough. When I tell people I work for the university, they all smile with delight and say "You must love working at your alma mater."  But sometimes things are not what they seem. And thus working here has been anything but great.

I won't tell you all the little facts of this job, but all parts of it: the commute, the work, the pay, the management....pretty much led to me a position where I was willing to do anything but this. Nanny, Starbucks, Walmart were all things I considered doing to tide me over until I could find a new job.

I fell into a place that was dark and sad; a place no one should be. I felt depressed, useless, stupid and at times, crazy. I watched some of my favorite things about myself disappear and I cried myself to sleep many a night feeling helpless, frightened and trapped. You guys, I've been miserable. It's insane how much a job can do that to you and the effect it can have on your whole life.

photo credit

And then something happened: I got an interview, and then another. And a job offer. At a place where I'm back doing research. You guys, I never realized just how happy I am when doing science. I never dreamed my career would fulfill me this much or have such an impact on my day.

 

Life's too short to settle and just merely go through the motions; to accept things and just "get over it"; and I wasn't going to do it anymore. And by the grace of God and support of my family and friends, I'm moving on.

And so next Friday I'm saying so long to this place and headed to the next one.

__________________________________________________________

I know there's a lot of people out there job hunting and searching; trust me, you're not alone. If you ever want someone to talk to about it, email me! I've been there.

also: if you're in a place like me, dealing with difficult people, this post is a must read.

today i choose

to embrace the changes that have come into my life.
to learn to set boundaries between work and home
to let go of the things I can't change
to not define myself in terms of the job I hold

things around here lately have been quiet, I know.
in life, it's been chaos.
so much adjusting, so much change.

I like to think I've gotten better at separating work and home.
I know I've learned to appreciate Sam on a whole new level.

regardless of my situation now or any to come,
I can choose to look at life with grateful eyes.
and see all that I have been given.

so that's where we are--learning to see this new job and life for a time
with eyes that see the grace in it.

one blessed life

the more days that go by,

the more I see how much grace has been spilled over into every crevice of my life. there's a lot I wish was different. I long for Houston, throw a pity party every now and again. I'm not back in school yet, and I've yet to vacation all the places my heart desires.but when I look at my life the only thing I see is grace.

we spent the weekend in Houston

and I was completely awed and blown away by our friends.12 of our closest friends met us for dinner Friday night. and I left feeling loved to the core. notes from all of my friends and the sweetest gift basket you've ever seen. those friends are living and loving community in the truest form.

these are friends I'll keep for a lifetime.

we stayed the weekend with my former boss turned great friend.

the words and love and encouragement and empowerment from him is life-giving.

it's a friendship that started in the unlikeliest of places, and it's one that brings a smile to my face every time I think of it.

reunited and it feels so good.

it was a whilwind of a weekend that slipped by way too fast.

one whose memories will scroll through my mind for weeks to come.



this last month has been a journey.

I have grown in ways I never thought possible.

I have been encouraged and survived on words of friends like I never knew before.

I have found strength in myself that I never knew existed.

and yes, things aren't perfect.

and most of the time I long for what was in Houston.

but when I look on my days

all I really see is one blessed life.



happiness is.

gold painted nails and toes

a 9pm run to the grocery store for ice cream.

a husband who willingly gives up the coveted best blanket

naps on the couch

rainstorms in the middle of august

a good book

dinner parties

hope of the weekend

a new menu planner

dreams of Christmas and hot chocolate

a 5th peanut butter and jelly sandwhich in 5 days

what's your happiness today?

longing for fall

while the summer air sits heavy on my chest

making it hard to breathe, hard to move

my heart is longing for fall.

living in Texas heat is our language.

hundred degree days lined up for miles

while northerners are breaking out cardigans

we're still scorched in the sun

maybe this summer I'm itching to get away

from the heat

to bring a new season

to bring new life

to bring fresh air

but these are the days we've been given.

you've been given some too.

are you wishing yours away? to something cooler,

something easier, something new?

I hope you'll join with me in enjoying the days.

even if they aren't the ones we long for.

these days are a gift we've been given.

bearing the weight

it's Friday morning and it seems like years ago that it was Monday.

5 short days that feel like a lifetime.

the weight of this season is heavy.

5 minutes into each day I'm ready to throw in the towel.

my heart is quiet in this season--when struggling to survive,

words seem like extra fancy gifts I don't have time to give.

this season began in a flurry. moving, changing, new.

it's now beginning to seem permanent.

it's hard and it's raw and it might not be over anytime soon.

and since the days will keep coming,

and this weight will still be here,

I've got to change how I'm bearing it.

because for now, it's draining me empty

leaving just the skeleton of the person I know I am.

i'm bearing it knowing it's a season

i'm bearing it knowing there's grace when I fail

i'm bearning it knowing it's for a reason

bearing it knowing there's a husband at home whose love is deeper than that day's struggles

bearing it knowing each day there's the promise of the quiet of the morning

bearing it knowing He's making me new

weekend snapshots

hello monday.

don't linger too long.

let's fly right on by and bring another weekend.

1. saturday afternoon nap light. getting up at 5 am for a 11 mile run guarantees a nap later.

2. dinner party cheeses and fancy drinks

3. grilling peaches. I'll eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, please.

4. viola! final dinner product. looks almost as good as the magazine picture it came from.

5. spontaneous Sunday afternoon movie date.

6. I crafted a bit for myself and whipped up this headband sunday afternoon. It might be my favorite thing.



bitterness in my heart

For as long as I can remember, I've thought that I've got it all together.  I have a successful job, come home and cook dinner every night, run a small etsy shop, and find time to work out on the side. In reality, it's pride. It's me, showing off all I can do.

And then this new job. It's revealed a lot of my heart that's been there all along, I've just kept it hidden. I had "mastered" life to the point where I could shove those ugly skeletons in the closet for no one to see.

So now, when I'm not able to get satisfaction and happiness at work
when I'm not able to cook meals
when I'm not afforded time to relax at home
when I don't get the comfort that I want.

I begin to see that my heart has been angry, entitled, frustrated and jealous all along. I was just appeasing it with my self-righteous fulfillment. and in the midst of this, I'm finding I need a new heart. So I'm seeking the one who promises to remove my stony heart and replace it with a new one.

source

all I've been doing is pretending to know what I'm doing when I really don't. I need help from the only God who can change hearts. not self-help kind of help. santificaion  I want to be a new person.   and countless hours reading blogs, skimming pinterest, and endless tweeting don't solve the issue.

and so, this season hurts.
it's painful and uncomfortable
and it's showing me just how much I really worship control.

but this life is not for my happiness and control
it's for His glory
and for that, I want a new heart that holds no bitterness

authenticity: Austin

there are days now that make living in Houston seem like a lifetime ago.

a life filled with smiling days, golden sun and breeze.

and although the time in Austin is short, if I'm really honest it's been hard.

hard to swallow, hard to keep down and blink back the water that's ever springing from my eyes.

it's not what was expected.

it's not as easy as it was.

my heart keeps longing for what was.

hanging to any feeble thread of life as it used to be.

work as it used to be.

and yet my body is here.

in this new, foreign place.

new people, new rules.

and it makes me wonder:

is this what we wanted?  is this really what God gave?

is this really good?

and it is. my mind knows it is,

but my heart's still lingering on something else.

the boxes are gone

and we are officially moved in.
It's Friday and I'm just plain done in.
It seems like months ago we were packing up and leaving Houston, and it's only been a week.
Let's just say we've crammed enough in this past week and a half to last any normal schedule at least a month.
This Friday is especially sweet, it's the end of our first (although short) week at our new jobs,
and the start of our first weekend in our new home.

We're all settled and we worked seemingly around the clock (with LOTS of help from our wonderful families) and everything's in it's place.
While my heart still resides in Houston, this new place is looking and starting to feel a lot like home.

(Our awesome master bedroom--looking good thanks to my sister in law, Kara, and her rad skills)

I'm hoping to have some sort of normal schedule soon, and a little bit of regular life happening.
But until then, I'm going to dance because all the boxes are gone and I finally have my pots in my kitchen.
have a great weekend, friends.

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to celebrate the end of the boxes, I've left the coupon code MOVEIT up for 40% off in my shop!

Goodbyes are no fun

So much has happened in just a short amount of time.
Let's hit the big stuff:

1. Sam got a job with State Farm in Austin.
2. I didn't know if I could get a job in Austin in time to move with him. Plan for me was to stay here and work at my job until I found one.
3. Two weeks later, I've got a job at UT that starts the same day as Sam's job.
4. We've got a place to live.
5. and we're even sneaking in a little vacation between jobs

and this week is our last week here in Houston.
Goodbyes have started, and it seems that I will never quit crying.
we have been so unbelievably blessed by friends.

we're sad, happy, anxious and everything inbetween.

this week is a hard one.
but it's going to be filled with soaking up our place.
and eating a lot of frozen meals.

but come Friday, we'll be loading up our truck and headed to Austin.

big news

there are times in my life when God's movement seems so clear.
at every turn there is evidence of His hand moving--in ways I never thought possible.

This season is one of those for us.
He's moving.
Sam has landed his dream career; we're moving closer to our family.
and in the midst of all the crazy, and not knowing what city I will live in,

I have a job. I have a job.  Only a handful of applications sent out, but after just a few days, I got an email to interview.
and then then interview two days later.
On the Friday we would (already) be in Austin for Sam's grandmom's funeral.

After being recognized by a professor after taking his class 3 1/2 years ago,
repeating a conversation with my boss as my very first answer to a question (PCR troubleshooting for you science geeks).
It became evident that all that was going on was a bit of divine intervention.
and Sam and I saw all that was moving around us, stunned and astounded by the God who cares enough to orchestrate it all.

As of July 19th, I am employed by none other than the University of Texas!
I'm thrilled to be able to work in their labs, and do a bit of switching from cancer to genetics.
________________

More news:

We have a place to live! Lots of phone calls, pictures, and some help from my amazing in laws--and we've got an apartment!

Apartment to apartment is much preferred to having to put all of our stuff in storage for a time!
________________

And EVEN MORE news:

With all the boxes, moving, patching, and painting going on in our current place, it's a bit of chaos.
My etsy shop will VERY soon go on vacation until we are settled in our new place, so THIS WEEKEND ONLY it will be open (Until Sunday)

Use the code MOVEIT for 40% off. 

I'll open again as soon as we're settled and unpacked--but it may be August before that happens, so if you've been eying something take this advantage to get it (and cheap!)

we've begun

packing.
with under 3 weeks until moving day, it's time.

slowly going through the house and getting rid of everything we don't use was yesterday's goal.
and then pictures started to come off of the walls.
Spackle went up, and the tears started to flow.

in the two years we've lived here,
we've gotten married and made some great memories.
great friends, great experiences.
and yet, it's time to pack.

so as all of our stuff goes into boxes,
we're trusting that the same will be true for our next home.
knowing that He is able to do and provide more than we can imagine.

the state of my heart

if you missed our big news: we're moving.
You can catch yourself up over here.

we're 33 days away from the day Sam leaves Houston.
and in my heart, this very minute, the questions and doubt ring loud.

why now, Lord?
why leaving our friends?
why when we are comfortable?
why leave when I love my job?

because He is better.
this plan is better.

better.
better hurts.
better means leaving good--leaving great.
better means trusting that this isn't as good as it gets.

and at moments, just moments better doesn't feel right. better leaves me crying daily in my office.
better doesn't seem enough when it might mean living separately. better seems harsh when plans get postponed. it doesn't feel better to walk this and know He gave it. that He's allowing my heart the pain and sorrow of leaving.  when, at times, it feels a world sitting on my chest, keeping the air from filling my lungs.

but He's better.
and better is enough.

A true story: We're moving to Austin

part 1: Great Grace
Not everyone knows our story.  We're college sweethearts, now married and sweethearts foveva.  Sam's from Austin, I'm from Fort Worth. after college I got a job in Houston, and we've been here almost 2 years. I work in cancer research, Sam works for Ford Audio Video.  I am head over heels in love with my job. I love the people I work with, and the guy I work for. It's a first job people dream about--if the pay was different, I would do it for my whole life.

Sam, on the other hand is a different story. His story is of sacrifice and provision. He's learned a lot in the job he has, but it's never been his passion. But daily I've watched him work a job that has driven us both to our knees at times for our family.  He's the picture of a selfless, giving, loving man.

It seems since the moment we married (and before) we've prayed for a career for Sam. A place where his great passion can be put into use in the workplace.  And for Sam, insurance is the perfect fit. And after months and months of waiting and hearing "no" and "not yet" and "keep waiting," the time  has come. Sam has a job with State Farm and starts July 19th.

part 2: our incubator in Houston
When I took a job in Houston that started the week after my college graduation, most people thought I was crazy.  We were to be married in 4 months, and I moved our little family to a city where we knew not a soul. We're a 5 hour drive from my family and 3 hours from his.

but the best part: it's been wonderful. it's been an incubator for us--time to grow and stretch and soak our lives in all the best. best friends, best churches, and each other.  and it will be hard to leave. most days are filled with tears of some sort. but through the tears we're seeing the good.  the good that we have been blessed with here, and the better that is to come.

part 3: the job search continues
 so, Samuel starts his job on July 19th. From now until then, I'm job searching for things in Austin.  I want to continue working in a lab environment.  If the time comes for  him to start and I'm still jobless (in Austin) I'll continue working in Houston.  I'll stay here with some friends until I have a job in Austin.  If December rolls around and I'm still jobless, I'm moving to Austin at that point.  we've received grace upon grace for Sam's job and believe the same will happen for me.

part 4: family
we love Austin. Half of our family is there (Sam's side) and my family will be only 3 hours away. We love the state Capitol (where we got engaged!) We love our restaurants there, we love the feel of the city.

part 5: grace upon grace 
When Sam moves, he can live with his parents if I'm not quite coming with him.  And I have multiple places to stay here.  It's strange and it's hard and there are still fears, but this feels more right and more us following God than anything.  This is where God is putting us and it brings me immense joy to watch my husband pursue a job he's desired for so long. I have no idea how everything will work, or when I will join Sam in Austin, but we know God's going to blow our mind in all of it.

SO, in 5 short weeks Sam's moving to Austin. and I'm hoping to follow ASAP. it's none of our doing. We're just praising the One who lavished great grace all over our house. while it might seem out of our "5 year plan", God has given Himself and his Provision, and we're saturated in that.  We'd love your prayers as I job search for jobs in Austin, pack up here and say goodbye to wonderful friends.