30 Before 30 List

Sunday Snippets on Monday

2012-02-13T11:16:00.003-05:00

Sorry for my lack of posts lately. I just got back from my annual ski trip last night! It was a blast and I will do a wrap-up post about it tomorrow.

When I am out of town on the weekends, I miss going to church. But fortunately that doesn't mean I miss the sermon completely. In fact the sermon at my church is only one of the 3-4 sermons I listen to each week. I like listening to podcasts from other churches while I'm working or at night when I'm trying to fall asleep. In fact I listen to one on the way up to West Virgina on Wednesday. It's so easy because they are all on iTunes and I don't even have to download them. I just stream them. Here are the ones I try to listen to each week.

The Summit Church- JD Greear

This is my church. I sometimes have a love/hate relationship with a lot of things at my church, but I always love JD's sermons. I never feel like they are as long as they are. I am always captivated and engaged with what he is saying. We just finished our Jonah series. I'll have to listen to this weekend's sermon because it was the 10th anniversary of our church's re-launch as The Summit. I'm sad I missed it!

Austin Stone Community Church- Matt Carter

If I ever visit Austin, TX I will visit this church! These sermons may be my favorite (shhh don't tell JD). I love my home church, but these are sermons I make sure I listen to each week as well. They did a series on heaven and hell last year that is still to this day one of my most favorite sermon series ever. Right now they are doing a series Counterfeit Love about idolatry and it is seriously speaking to me!

Mars Hill Church- Mark Driscoll

I also enjoy Mark Driscoll's sermons. Right now he is doing a sermon series on marriage that goes along with a book he and his wife co-wrote together about marriage. It's pretty darn good. This is the one I listened to on the way up to WV. It was called "The Respectful Wife" and it definitely made me realize how much I could improve in that area and how much I had disrespected my boyfriends in past relationships.

Northpoint Community Church- Andy Stanley

These sermons are pretty good too. They aren't as "meaty" as the others, but often have a lot of good life applications.

Do you listen to sermon podcasts? If so which ones?

List update- almost there!

2012-02-03T17:15:00.001-05:00

Here is what is left on my list:
#1- get in the best shape of my life
#9- kayak
#10- catch a fish
#18- upgrade one room in my house (DONE post coming soon)
#26- kiss in the rain
#27- read the Bible all the way through (I finished the Old Testament and a lot of the New! Only 16 books left!)

Last year I had said in this post that order to mark #1 off my list I needed to run two laps around Lake Lynn without walking (aprox. 4.5 miles) and run a 9 minute mile. Well I accomplished one of those this week! I ran around Lake Lynn two times without walking. I was so happy. I am actually seeing progress with my running. It is SLOW. SLOW progress. But it is progress. And the feeling of doing something I had never done before was fantastic!!

I haven't tried the nine minute mile yet. I am scared. I'm still slow so I don't want to try yet and get disappointed if I'm not even close. But I ran an easy mile as part of a fitness challenge at work and my time for that was 10:16, so maybe it isn't impossible. I'm just not mentally ready to to try yet.

As I was running around the lake I decided I am adding something else to the criteria for crossing this one off my list. I must be at a healthy weight according to this chart:

Source: tiptoebutterfly.blogspot.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

I tried not to make it about weight because I HATE how we girls become a slave to that number on the scale. But I just can't declare myself "best shape of my life" if I am overweight. So yeah. All my life I have found it can be hard for me to fit what charts say is healthy because I am so short. At my lowest, skinniest size 4 self in high school I was still at the upper-end of "healthy" according to the charts. But this chart has a wider range than I have seen in the past and is totally do-able I think.

What do you guys think? I know I have asked this a million times, but how would you define "the best shape of your life?"

Pinterest Inspired Wednesday- Corn Chowder

2012-02-01T18:30:00.000-05:00

I love trying recipes I find on Pinterest. Here is another one I tried today for lunch actually:

Source: weightwatchers.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

WW Summer Corn, Bacon, and Potato Chowder

1 medium uncooked yukon gold potato(es)
1 spray(s) cooking spray
1/2 cup(s) uncooked celery, chopped   (I don't like celery so I skipped this one)
1/4 cup(s) (chopped) uncooked onion(s), chopped (or 1 large shallot)
4 piece(s) corn on the cob, kernels removed with a knife   (I just used a can of corn)
1 cup(s) sweet red pepper(s), diced
4 oz uncooked Canadian-style bacon, diced
2 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce, or to taste   (I used Frank's Red Hot- is that hot pepper sauce?)

Pierce potato in several places with a fork; microwave on high power until tender, turning over once, about 8 minutes. Allow to cool; peel and mash.

Meanwhile, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray. Add celery, onion, corn and red pepper; sauté over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.

Stir bacon and milk into saucepan; stir in mashed potato and mix well. Season with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce; stir to combine. Cover and simmer 10 minutes (do not allow to boil). Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

It was super easy to make. Mine didn't look quite as pretty as the original pin:

Guess I need to work at my food presentation skills. At first bite I wasn't sure about it. So I added some more salt and pepper. By the third or fourth bite I couldn't stop. It suddenly was so good! It only makes 4 servings and I had 2 in one sitting. But since a serving is only about 270 calories that wasn't too much of a splurge for lunch! I definitely recommend this one!

#febphotoaday challenge

2012-02-01T13:41:00.002-05:00

I'm going to be doing this challenge! Hopefully I will be able to keep up with it. If you want to see all my photos follow me on Twitter or Instagram (ncsuz).

Disappointing upgrades

2012-01-31T18:20:00.001-05:00

Have you ever become convinced that you absolutely MUST have something? Like it is all you can think about and you just have to buy it. But then you are a little disappointed with it?

Well that happened to me this month.

One problem I had been having was on days that I brought in clothes to go to the gym at lunch I was carrying 4 bags into the office. My laptop bag, my purse, my lunch bag, and my gym bag. And when you have a big coat on and have to walk about a mile to the building carrying 4 bags on your shoulder isn't easy.

At first I wanted to get a messenger bag for my laptop so I could put it across my body and not have it constantly falling off my shoulder. But I was also annoyed at how small my gym bag was. I could barely fit everything in it and wanted something with a little more room. So when Katie blogged about how awesome her new gym bag was I wanted it. I thought I could maybe even fit my lunch bag and my computer in it to consolidate everything to 2 bags! And I had always wanted something from lululemon! And it was on sale for $30 off! But it was still $70 which is expensive fore a gym bag if you ask me. I kept adding it to my shopping cart online and then talking myself out of it. But then it got to the point that I just had to have it so I bought.

I was so excited about it and tracked it during it's week long journey to my house. I was so excited to see the lululemon package on my doorstep! But when I opened it I was a little disappointed. It wasn't as big as I thought it would be. My laptop couldn't fit in it. In fact it was only a little bigger than my current gym bag and maybe not even as cute?

(My old bag is the blue one on the left and the new one is the purple on on the right)

I can fit my lunch bag in it and I do love that it has a longer strap and a separate compartment for my sweaty clothes. But honestly I'd rather have my $70 back. But it was on final sale so it is un-returnable. Lesson learned.

Then this happened to my love- my old iPhone 3Gs:

I admit I had been jealous of Siri. And Facetime. I really wanted those things. But I was going to wait for the next iPhone release. Unfortunately my screen was shattered now so it made sense to upgrade. I got the new white iPhone 4s. And you know what? It isn't that much better than my old one. Siri is kind of mean and not as useful as I thought she'd be and I still have yet to use Facetime. Also on my new phone it doesn't tell my what % battery power I have left. It just shows an icon. I don't like that. I'd rather have my $200 back.

Maybe it is because January has completely blown my budget between HOA dues, car problems, taxes due, 2012 trip planning and everything else. Oh well, it's just money and I'll have to find a way to make it work. But now I know, sometimes it's better to just hold on to your cash than throw it away on something you think you just HAVE to have.

Book Blog Swap

2012-01-30T13:05:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I am hesitant to sign up for blog swaps. But when I saw this Book Blog Swap was being hosted by someone I had been following for a while I thought why not?

Thanks Heather and Katie! I can only imagine how hard it is to coordinate a swap like this!

I got paired up with Heather from Life with Heather. She was a fabulous partner and so easy to communicate with! Our Goodreads accounts came in handy as we used those to figure out what to send each other.

Are you on Goodreads? I just got on there so I need some friends to see what you all are reading! My "to-read" list is already overflowing, but how will I know about the next best thing without y'all??

Heather sent me a book that has been on my "to-read" list for a while! I love Chelsea and I can't wait to read this!

Thanks for being such an awesome book swap partner Heather!

I love my bodybugg

2012-01-20T15:53:00.000-05:00

I know some of you had wanted me to do a review of my bodybugg. This isn't a full review, but I will tell you I love it. I don't even notice I am wearing it anymore and I have learned SO much from it!

I do not use their "program" online. I have the one that syncs to my iphone and I find it easier just to keep track of my calories in with my "lose it" app and only use the bodybugg to track my calories burned. I had already set up a spreadsheet that I track all of my workouts in. (I am obsessed with spreadsheets. I even made one when I tried online dating to keep track of all the different guys I was talking to.) So I just added a tab to that spreadsheet where I put in my calories burned (from the bodybugg), my calories consumed (from the Lose it app), and then have formulas to tell me my deficit and keeps a running total and also how much weight I should have lost if 3500 calories really does equal 1 lb and all my tracking is correct. Here is what it looks like:

As you can see I came out strong on Jan. 1 and burned over 3,000 calories! That has still been my best day yet. I ran 6 miles and did tons of housework that day. Since then I have ran 6 miles again but didn't combine it with all the housework and only burned about 2600 calories. I have yet to break the 3,000 calorie mark again. Here is what the online tool said about that best day:

As you can see the online tool doesn't match exactly what my iphone had told me which happens a lot. I try to stick with what the iphone says. I think it doesn't include the estimate for the time I am not wearing it (when showering). But I'd rather underestimate than overestimate.

You can also see I had stayed up late that Sat. night and burned some calories around the 1-2 am time frame which contributed to that 3,000+ calorie day.

I've also learned that just adding little activities to your day adds up a lot. On the days I work from home I burn way less calories than days I go in to the office.

Work from home day: (total 2343)

Office day: (total 2518)

You can see the big spikes are when I worked out, but look at the spikes I had coming in to the office at 9, lunch at noon, and leaving the office at 7 on the office day. I can't believe how much those little bursts of activity add up! I also worked out harder on the work from home day so my activity spikes aren't as noticeable on that graph, but still. I only ran 3.5 miles on the office day vs. 4 miles on the work from home day and I still ended up burning almost 200 more calories on that office day!

Also on days I don't work out at all I am LUCKY to even get to 2,000 calories burned. All this time I thought 2,000 calories was my baseline, but that is not the case if you do nothing all day!

So far I have only lost 3 lbs. but that is exactly on track with what the numbers say I should have lost. I had a bad week this week and actually had my first day where I had a calories surplus! But at least now I am aware of how on track or off track I am!

Another thing it tracks is steps per day. You know how they say you should get 10,000 steps per day? I never get that except on the days I do my long runs. Never. Not even close.

All this new information has made me take the stairs more, park further away, do more housework, and spend less time sitting. Even the difference in calories burned sitting vs. standing is noticeable.

I'll keep you updated and probably do more posts about the bodybugg, but I wanted to let you guys know what I had learned so far from it! I love numbers and analyzing things looking for patterns so this is perfect for me!!

Oh and if you are interested in getting a bodybugg, they do have a refer a friend program where you can get a discount if I refer you (and they give me a credit so maybe I can buy some extra armbands?). Just go HERE and you are supposed to get an extra $20 off your bodybugg!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!

Pinterest Inspired Wednesday- WW Crockpot Chicken Chili

2012-01-18T16:56:00.001-05:00

Source: redsie05.blogspot.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

That is the pin that inspired me to make this Chicken Taco Chili and I am soooo glad it did! Seriously this is the best thing I have ever made in the crock pot. It made 10 servings and froze some to save for later in the month, but I ended up eating them all that same week I made it. And almost made it again the next week! Best part? 1 serving is only like 200 calories!

Here is my version of the recipe:

Crock-pot Chicken Taco Chili

1 onion, chopped
1 16-oz can black beans
1 16-oz can kidney beans
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
10 oz package frozen corn kernels
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
1 packet taco seasoning
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
24 0z. (3) boneless skinless chicken breasts

Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in.

I added some low-fat sour cream and cheese to the top and OMG it was so good!

Here is how my version turned out pre-toppings:

It's seriously so good and so easy to make y'all! You must try it!

Working Girls Monday

2012-01-16T10:30:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder what your favorite bloggers do for their day jobs? Nikki has started a great series that highlights a different blogger's career every Monday and today I am guest posting over on her blog about my job- the one I have that allowed me to mark off #3 on my 30 Before 30 List- get a job I love!

Thank you for letting me share a little bit of my working life with your readers Nikki!

Go check it out!

P.S. Wondering how I'm celebrating MLK day today? I'm in the office. Working. So try not to rub it in too much if you got the day off today :)

Sunday Snippets- Jesus is Jonah

2012-01-15T23:38:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had an amazing weekend! This week at church we were in Jonah chapter 2. At the very end of chapter 1 Jonah get swallowed by the big fish. He spends 3 days in there before he asks God for help! That seemed like a long time to me. But thinking about it, I know I do the same thing in situations. I'll give up hope or think I can fix it on my own sometimes or even be mad at God for the crappy situation I'm in and focus on other things instead of turning to Him.

Anyway, we mainly focused on Jonah's prayer to God during the sermon. Here are some of the highlights from my notes:

- True repentance is like waking up from a dream. Your pride has been stripped away. You see everything more clearly.

- If God strips away one of your idols and gives you a glimpse of how futile life is without Him before you die, that is His mercy!

- An idol is something you love, crave, or trust more than God. (romance, money, career, kids, anything!)

- Jonah felt abandoned by God. Was he? NO!

- God is after obedience that grows from desire.

- Jesus + Nothing= Everything...on the flip side...Everything - Jesus= Nothing

- Irreligious people don't think they need salvation from anything.

- Religious people know they need salvation but that it comes from themselves (something they are/do)

- True Christians know we need salvation and that it comes from God not from ourselves

- The Gospel is the only thing that gives you both humility and confidence at the same time.

- Jesus is Jonah because he went through what Jonah went through (in a way but way worse) for us. He endured God's wake up call for us.

I will admit I shed a tear or two during this sermon at one point.

Back story- On Friday I had a little mental breakdown about yet again being the 3rd (or 13th or 21st) wheel on all the trips with my friends this year. There are NO other single girls going on the two trips we've planned so I'm freaking out about who will I share a room with? who will I ride with? who will I split food with? who will I ski with? I honestly don't mind being single that much, but when it comes to trips and New Year's Eve (because of all the kissing. I swear it's worse than Valentine's day.) it drives me to tears. Well Friday I shed a lot of tears over it.

So at one point in the sermon, the pastor is trying to describe the relationship between God and His people. There was some word that when translated meant something like "from the womb" and he apologized and said people without kids might not get it, but the thing it is most close to is the way a mother or father loves their child. He said when he hears his kids crying...then he paused and said "well 9 times out of 10 they are crying over something that has nothing to do with reality...but those times they are really hurting or in pain, I would do ANYTHING...ANYTHING to make it go away. And that is how God feels about you."

So automatically I am thinking about my breakdown on Friday and why won't God just let me find my husband so I won't have to cry about this crap anymore. Why can't He just take away this pain??

But the more that I've thought about it over the weekend I'm starting to think that maybe this cry on Friday falls into one of those 9 times out of 10 cries that has nothing to do with reality. I am hurting emotionally but over things that may not even matter and will probably work themselves out. It had nothing to do with reality. Only what I was worried about in my head. Yes, if I had a husband I would have a built-in partner for everything and would never have to worry about those things again. But maybe I really shouldn't be worried about them in the first place.

Pinterest Inspired Wednesday- Blessing Bags

2012-01-11T07:30:00.000-05:00

Last year I read the book Same Kind of Different as Me. It totally changed my view on homelessness.

A few months ago, I saw this pin on Pinterest:

Source: kwavs.blogspot.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

They called them "Blessing bags" to give to homeless people instead of feeling guilty and just avoiding eye contact or giving them money which is apparently the last thing you should do.

I see homeless people a lot more here in the Triangle than I have any other place I have lived. In downtown Raleigh I have had a man follow me until I gave him some money. I don't really like giving money because I am afraid they are either conning me and not really homeless or they will use the money on drugs or alcohol. So I decided to make these "Blessing Bags". Here is how mine turned out:

I included shampoo, body wash, wash cloths, lotion, a comb, tissues, deodorant, gloves, crackers, candy, toothbrush, toothpaste, chapstick, advil, antibacterial wipes, band aids, a dollar in change and an encouragement card and a list of area resources for the homeless with addresses and phone numbers.

I ended up making four total and last week I gave the first one to an older man with a cane on a popular mall exit in Durham. I said "I hope you can use this stuff...I just tried to think of things you might need." He seemed a little weirded out at first by the bag, but then said "Oh yes mam. Thank you."

After making the bags, researching homeless resources in the area (there are a ton!) and thinking about it some more, I think after I pass out all these bags I might just do encouragement cards with a list of homeless resources and maybe a McDonald's gift card. I mean there are a ton of places in the area where they could get these things and more. Maybe they just don't know about them or don't want to try to get help there (because I'm sure they had drug and alcohol policies)?

One of the best local organizations I found was the Durham Rescue Mission. They had a great page that gave tips on how to help the homeless:

1. Never give cash to a homeless person

Well intended gifts are often used to purchase drugs or alcohol. If a person is hungry, buy them a sandwich or beverage.

2. Talk with the homeless person with respect

Take time to speak in a friendly, respectful manner.

3. Realize the homeless and their problems are not all the same

Remember those who are homeless may be homeless for many reasons, such as addictions, domestic abuse, poverty, lack of job skills...the list goes on.

4. Share God's love whenever you can

The Lord would have us to share His love and salvation with everyone we come in contact with each day. Those who are homeless often feel isolated and lonely. They need to hear that their shattered lives can be mended through and in Christ.

5. Pray for the homeless and [organization's that help the homeless]

God can use your prayers to bring many who are broken in heart and spirit to Himself. As you pray for those who are homeless pray for [local organizations that help the homeless]. [Their] staff is on the frontlines each day reaching out to share the love of God with men, women, and children in need.

6. Take precautions for your own safety

Always be aware of your surroundings when reaching out to the homeless. Stay in areas where other people can see you. Don't take unnecessary chances. Some men and women living on the streets are criminals and/or fugitives from the law. Use good judgment.

7. Encourage the homeless to get help

The homeless [can] find a hot meal, safe-shelter, clean clothing, vocational training, biblical counsel, job placement, as well as free dental, eye, and health care [through organizations that help the homeless]. Most importantly, they will find a loving, caring staff ready and willing to help them back to a productive life.

8. Support [local organizations that help the homeless]

Thoughts?? How do you interact with the homeless?

You know I love a challenge!

2012-01-09T16:05:00.000-05:00

One of the blogs I have been reading for-evah (seriously since I started blogging back in '08) Heidi over at Life in Pink blogged today about this 10 lb. challenge she signed up for. Well, sign me up too! I had an awesome week with my bodybugg last week and always need more motivation to stay on track! The goal is to lose 10 lbs. in 12 weeks. And you can win prizes- Yippee!

If you want to sign up too, just go over HERE!

Bring it!

Sunday Snippets- I am Jonah

2012-01-08T23:38:00.000-05:00

We started a new sermon series at church this week on the book of Jonah. It's another one of those stories you kind of sort of know from Sunday School maybe. Or Pinocchio. Or is that just me?

Anyway the sermon this week was FANTASTIC. They don't have it posted yet, but when they do post it, you can find it here and I highly recommend it.

I took two pages of notes, but here are just a few snippets:

Rebellion is simply saying NO to God. What area of your life are you saying NO to God in?

There will always be a ship to Tarshish. Or in other words, if you are ever even thinking about disobeying or saying no to God, the devil will always make it easy for you because that is exactly what he wants.

What if your enemy is laying a trap for you?

That "peace in your heart" you had over a situation you know is wrong, but you are doing it anyway could be Satan numbing your conscience.

It starts with small acts of disobedience and goes down to total devastation (this is so true!)

God sends storms to break His people from self-reliance.

Jonah is willing to obey God UNTIL it costs him the things he loves and/or fears most.

Real obedience is when you would give up EVERYTHING to maintain your relationship with HIM.

He even referenced Daniel when Shadrac, Mishac, and Obedigo (I probably massacred their names) went in to the fiery furnace. His question to us was- Would you rather be in the flames with God or out of the flames without God????

The storm is not God's retribution, it's God's restoration. In other words He didn't send the storm to pay him back, he sent the storm to bring him back.

I am telling you. You should go listen to is if you get a chance this week. Just look for the one about Jonah. It should pop up tomorrow sometime.

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend and were able to spend time with the Lord. Between this awesome sermon and the Daniel study and a few little things going on, I felt God talking to me all over the place.

If you are looking for a church in the Triangle area, I highly recommend coming to visit during this series. If last night was any indication of what God is about the teach me...it is going to be awesome.

And if you want to follow along even more, there are lots of study guide resources HERE.

Pinterest Inspired Wednesdays- PB&J cookies & Closet clean out

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

A guy at my work brought in some cookies his wife had made that had a dollop of jelly in the middle right before Christmas. They were so good! I forgot to ask him what kind of cookies they were so I searched on Pinterest for something that looked similar.

These looked similar and sounded easy enough to make, so I made a batch the week after Christmas right before I started my strict "no cheat" diet. They were no were near as good as the ones that guy brought in, but they were pretty tasty.

Here is what they look like on Pinterest:

Source: rachaelraymag.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

They were super easy to make!

Ingredients:
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon strawberry jelly
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1½ tablespoons whole milk

First you stir together the flour and baking powder in a small dish.

Then you blend together 3/4 cup of the peanut butter and wait...oh my. I just read the ingredients again. See where it says 1/4 cup butter. Umm yeah...I put a whole stick in there because I freaked out that the butter was supposed to be softened and put it in the microwave to hurry it along. It ended up melting a little and made a mess, so I threw the whole thing in there! Oh my. That is double the butter! HA! No wonder I had a little trouble.

Anyway, Blend together the peanut butter and butter on medium speed and then add the sugar and brown sugar to the mix. I used Splenda (but I'm sure that didn't make a difference thanks to the whole stick of butter I used! Beat until smooth. About 5 minutes.

Finally stir in the flour/baking powder mixture until just combined.

Then use a tablespoon to drop the dough onto a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Then use your thumb to make a little indent in each cookie and put about 1/2 teaspoon of jelly into it.

Bake for 12 minutes.

While they are baking you are supposed to mix the rest of the peanut butter and the confectioner's sugar into a frosting. I was too lazy to do that part.

Here is what mine looked like:

These were the good ones. Half of mine had burnt bottoms (I think one of my cookie sheets sucks compared to the other one) and the other half were falling apart as I transferred them to the cooling racks. The good ones weren't half bad though. It must have been all that butter!

The original recipe can be found here.

I also decided to do this:

Source: rayandjen.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

The pin says "On Jan. 1st, turn all your hangers backwards. As you wear clothes, turn the hanger around. Anything that is still backwards on June 1, donate.---definitely need to do this"

Here is my closet right now:

What have you made or done that was Pinterest inspired lately?

New Year's Goals

2012-01-02T13:55:00.000-05:00

Here are my goals for 2012:

1. Finish my 30 Before 30 list before my birthday in August. (2 years late but hey at least I will finish) In order to complete it here's what is left:

Get in the best shape of my life (working on it)
kayak
catch a fish
kiss in the rain
read the Bible all the way through (almost finished with the OT)

(I've already completed upgrade one room in my house. I need to write a post about it)

2. Run a half marathon (hopefully in April)

3. Pay off my car early. (I am supposed to be done with payments April 2013, but I would like to pay it off early if possible!)

I also liked the idea from last year of something to start, something to stop, and something to keep.

I would like to start eating healthy on a more consistent basis. No more cheat days that turn into cheat weeks that turn into taking the whole month off.

I would like to stop complaining so much. I am sick of complaining. Complaining is so unattractive.

I would like to keep running. I took almost 3 weeks off during December from my 10K training plan and I was so afraid I was going to have to start all over. But my body stayed in shape better than I thought it would. I started off doing 2 miles walking/running at the lake last week. Then I picked it back up yesterday and ran 5 miles and walked 1 for a total of 6 miles! It wasn't super easy, but I did it. And according to my bodybugg I burned over 3,000 calories yesterday! I must keep running in my life to get those kind of numbers!

What are your goals for 2012?

Sunday Snippets- Less worry and more peace

2012-01-01T22:56:00.001-05:00

I made it to church this morning. And so did a lot of other people...it was super crowded. Maybe it is some people's New Year's resolution to go to church more and they drug their hungover selves to church because who wants to break their resolution on day 1!?

Anyway, this morning's sermon was on Daniel. Which is ironically what we are studying in my Bible study right now. Today they focused on the most famous section in Daniel- Daniel and the lion's den.

(Side note- I may have heard Daniel and the lion's den story when I was little, but I certainly didn't remember it! When we picked this study on Daniel I was like "Who's Daniel"?)

If you don't know the story either, basically Daniel is favored by the king and all the other king's men get kind of jealous of him. They know that he has a strong faith in God so they convince the king to pass a temporary law that everyone must stop worshiping their God and must worship the king. And if they don't they will be thrown into the lion's den where they will certainly be killed by the lions.

The king is like "Heck yeah, I'm the king, so they should worship me." (Which the preacher pointed out is like most of us. Think about it, if you worked your way up to president of your company wouldn't you want that kind of praise and respect?) So he signs it into law.

Well, of course Daniel refuses to stop worshiping God and so the king is forced to throw him in the lion's den. In the morning he rushes down and cries "Daniel was your God able to save you?" and sure enough Daniel didn't have a scratch on him.

The thing that stood out for me in this sermon was "Daniel had peace about the situation because he had faith."

I have never even come close to being torn to shreds by lions, and I don't have that kind of peace. Heck I think I even make up things in my head that aren't even real to be worried about. But Daniel knew no matter what God was in control and he rested in that. I want to do more of that this year. I want to replace fear with peace.

Do you know how many times it says in the Bible to not worry? to not be afraid? In a sermon a few months ago our pastor's wife pointed out that every time you worry you are sinning because the Bible tells you not to (multiple times). I had never thought of it like that. Now every time I catch myself worrying I remind myself of that and remind myself that God is in control and works for the good of all those who love Him. I need to trust Him and rest in that more.

So here's to less worry and more peace in 2012!

Year in Review

2011-12-30T14:10:00.000-05:00

Honestly I'm not sad to see 2011 go. It has been quite a year, but I am ready for 2012.

Some good things:
I got hired on full time and am no longer a contractor at a job I love! I was going through old paperwork last night and it is hard to believe how far I have come since I started my career nine years ago. Less than three years ago I was laid-off from a job I was not happy at. It sucked! I quickly found another job (that I really enjoyed) but it was at about a 30% pay cut from what I had been making. Now I have a job I honestly love at a company I love and am making almost double what I was making two years ago! I am so thankful for where I am career-wise. That lay-off ended up being one of the best things that has ever happened to me!

I quit smoking!

I took some awesome vacations- the epic Ski Trip 2011, the first crew beach trip, went white water rafting for my birthday and had three awesome girls weekends at the beach!

The bad:

Possibly the worst year ever in the love department. I tried speed dating (3 times!) and hated it. I made out with four guys this year and don't remember any of them because they were all on nights I had way too much to drink. And one of them I REALLY should not have made out with. Actually I probably shouldn't have made out with any of them. I had no REAL "let me take you out because I really like you" dates. No guys I was even really interested in this year. I don't know where my freaking husband is, but if he is out there, I sure do hope we find each other soon because I am so over being single.

Last year at this time I made some goals instead of resolutions. Three things to start doing, three things to stop, and three things to keep in my life. Let's see how I did...

Start:

Getting to work by 9 am. - FAIL- I rarely make it to work before 9 am unless I have an early meeting that I have to be there for. I usually get there sometime between 9-10am. (I know, I am extremely lucky that I have flexible hours!)

If I go in to work between 8-9 am the traffic is double what it is if I go in after 9am. But the downside is we have hired a ton more people and if you get there after 9am you have to park so freaking far away (if you can even find a spot!). I need to get better at this though and just deal with the traffic or maybe even try going in way earlier because staying at work until 7pm (or even later) sucks.

Cooking more. - Semi-Success- I didn't make a new recipe every week but I definitely cooked more this year than I ever had before.

Wearing Make-up every day- Success- It is very rare for me to not wear any make-up whatsoever now. I don't get crazy or anything, but makeup is now part of my daily routine. (crazy it hadn't been before right?

Stop:

Neglecting my house- Success- I think I have the dog hair semi-under control now. It is a lot of work, but I've developed a routine that works pretty well.

Drinking like I am in college- ~~Semi-Success~~ FAIL- I stopped drinking on the regular, but that made me have a very low tolerence. So when special events would roll around I would get very drunk, very fast and ended up doing some pretty stupid things. Now I have my 2 drink (or 4 if it is a long event) rule and so far so good...we shall see if I can keep it up.

Smoking- SUCCESS- I can't believe I was a smoker. Even if it was just a few a day or week...I was still a smoker. Yuck! I am sooo glad to have kicked that habit!

Keep:

Growing my faith- Success- I still go to church and b-study every week and I am head over heels in love with Jesus. I don't want to sound like a crazy Christian, but God is the most important thing in my life and I wouldn't want it any other way.

My friends- Success- There was one little hiccup with my main group of friends, but I tell ya- you really know who your true friends are when they can love you and accept you after seeing you at your worst. I do think I am going to skip the big New Year's party though because I am just so afraid that couple will be there and honestly I am terrified to face everyone else that I haven't seen in person since "the incident". (Gosh I did not even want to link to that post because I would like to erase it from my history, but any new readers might need some background on what happened. Please don't judge me!)

I am still best friends with one of the very first friends I made back in college. We have seen each other through a lot and to still have a close friendship where you talk almost daily with someone for almost 15 years is amazing.

I also have made a lot of new friends this year. I have more friends at work and have some new best friends though my bible study- seriously have met some of the most awesome people in my life through that group! And have also even developed some friendships through people I have met from blogging!

Friendship can be hard ya'll. Especially when you get older and have more responsibilities. You have to nuture and develop friendships all the time or you could end up losing some people who you once thought were very important to you or have no one to hang out with on a Friday night if you end up being single for an extended period of time!

This is one of the best blog posts I have ever read on developing friendship. You should definitely go check it out!

Running- Semi-success- I ran 3 5Ks this year and started training for my 10K. I start my half marathon training next week! I'm going to run the Cooper River Bridge Run in March and then a half marathon in Raleigh in April. (If everything goes according to plan!) I got to where I could do 5 miles in under an hour (which still is kind of slow) but I haven't ran in almost 3 weeks now! I am going for a run today but I have a feeling it is going to be tough after that long of a break!

Come back Monday to see my 2012 ~~resolutions~~ goals!

Carolina on my mind

2011-12-29T17:20:00.000-05:00

I love being a Carolina girl (the state not the college). I've lived in North Carolina my whole life and I may be a bit biased but I think this is one of the best places on earth to live. You've got Southern Hospitality. You've got the mountains and the beach just a short drive away. Life couldn't get much better.

I love the Carolinas.

And I love boys.

And after watching this I think I love boys who can sing about Carolina!

Pinterest Inspired Wednesday- Christmas cooking

2011-12-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've hosted Christmas at my house for the past couple years now. It is just my mom, my uncle (her brother), and me. This year they came up a few days early. We were able to go to a hockey game and also go to Christmas Eve service at my church.

Having house guests also inspired me to try out some new recipes I've found on Pinterest.

First- Breakfast Casserole:

Source: kevinandamanda.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

So I tried to pull this recipe up on my phone using the Pinterest app that morning, but that stupid app sucks sometimes. It would only show my last 15 pins I had on that board and breakfast casserole wasn't one of them. I didn't want to boot up my computer, so I just googled "breakfast casserole" and used one that had all the ingredients I had bought- which were crescent rolls, eggs, cheese and sausage.

Here is what mine looked like:

I was not a fan of this. It wasn't bad. I'm just not a big hearty breakfast eater. I thought it had way too much cheese and sausage. I would have rather had something lighter.

Luckily I also tried this recipe I found on Pinterest which was a huge hit!

Source: thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

I was so nervous making this because it seems a little weird when you are putting it together. Here is the recipe:

2 Granny Smith apples
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
2 packages crescent rolls
1 1/2 cups sugar (see below for more on this)
2 sticks butter (just do it)
12 ounces Mountain Dew

(Like the blog I pulled this from, I just used half the recipe- 1 apple, 1 pkg crescent rolls, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 stick of butter, 1/2 a can of Mnt. Dew, a little bit of cinnamon and a little vanilla)

First you peel and slice the apples and then you wrap a crescent roll around them and put them in a baking dish.

Then you mix together the butter (melted), sugar and vanilla and then pour it over the apples. Then you pour 1/2 a can a Mnt. Dew over top and sprinkle them with cinnamon. It will look weird but have faith.

Bake them in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

When you take them out they will still look weird. Mine had a pool of liquid in the bottom and they all smushed together in the tiny baking dish:

I served them with two small scoops of vanilla sugar free ice cream and OMG they were soooo good! I will be making these again for sure! I wonder if they would be just as good with Splenda and Diet Mnt. Dew?

What inspiring things have you tried from Pinterest lately?

Christmas Presents

2011-12-27T15:55:00.000-05:00

I got a lot of great things for Christmas over the last few weeks! Some of these are from my Black Friday shopping, some from the amazing Christmas sales (I couldn't help picking up a few things for myself since I was already there getting stuff for others!), and some of the gifts I received (or already bought with some Christmas cash I was given!)

New running shoes and some Bondibands! I have either a huge or odd shaped head because regular headbands just pop off my head. I am hoping these will work!

A bodybugg! They wear these on the Biggest Loser. I also heard Valerie Burtonelli talk about hers in her book Finding It. And my boss has one and loves it. All of that and some internet reseach convinced me to get one! You wear it and it tracks how many calories you burn. You input what you eat and that way you can see if you are on track calorie-wise for the day. So far I have just used it to see how many calories I am burning on average, but starting Sunday I will be tracking everything!

Some much needed new nail polish. I haven't bought any in forever (or painted my nails). But last week I decided to add "painting my nails" to my weekly to-do list. I went through my nail polish bag and over half of them were no good (too goopy or separated too much). So I got these to kick off my new collection.

My mom gave me the money to get this sewing machine on Black Friday. It was only $50! I already signed up to take beginning sewing classes in a few weeks at our local Art Center. I am hoping to make a few things for around the house but most importantly I am hoping I will be able to hem my own pants! Being a shorty this has always been an issue for me and I will be so happy if I can do it myself!

These awesome new shoes! I REALLY needed new shoes. I find a pair I love and wear them down to nothing. I had never heard of this brand before (Levity). Apparently it is exclusive to DSW. They are so comfortable and so cute!

This might be my most favorite of all! This was another Black Friday buy- only $69! It has been forever since I rode a bike, but as a kid it was one of my most favorite things to do. I got my first bike when I was five (I think) and I barely had the training wheels on for an hour before I was riding every freaking day throughout the neighborhood. And just like they say "it was just like riding a bike"- it came right back to me! I have a grocery store right down the street (with a Redbox!) and even a Target about a mile or so up the road if I am feeling really adventurous. I plan on getting a little basket for the front. I also take Cam out at night when there aren't many cars out. I ride and he runs beside me. He LOVES it because he can run so fast! It makes me a little nervous that he is going to jerk away or stop suddenly and cause me to crash, but so far no accidents!

Oh and I used some of my Christmas cash to buy tickets to see this when it comes back to the DPAC in May! So excited!

What was your favorite gift this year?

Sunday Snippets- Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T22:19:00.000-05:00

I hope you guys all had a very Merry Christmas!

So this is more than a snippet...it is long, but well worth the watch (or just listen). I was a little worried about what Christmas at the Summit was going to be like, but it was amazing!

Christmas at the Summit from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

I love the first song which is this really cool mix of O Come let us adore Him.

I also love the Matt Papa song Hope has Come!
"Hope has come! Let us adore Him! Born the king of ages!"

And check out the 23 minute mark where this adorable little girl recites the entire story of Jesus birth from Luke 2!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Pinterest Inspired Wednesday- Spinach Lasagna Rolls

2011-12-21T16:52:00.000-05:00

Last week I had two of my closest friends over for dinner and to celebrate Christmas. I used it as an opportunity to try out one of the recipes I had found on Pinterest. Here is the pin that inspired me:

Source: skinnytaste.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

Here is how mine turned out:

Here is the recipe:

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 1 roll

Ingredients:

    9 lasagna noodles, cooked
    10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
    15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I like Polly-o)
    1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    1 egg
    salt and fresh pepper
    32 oz tomato sauce
    9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

The girls loved it! And I even forgot an ingredient...I forgot to add the Parmesan cheese! Oh well. It didn't matter. Everyone cleaned their plates!

The recipe is healthy too! It is from skinnytaste.com and I have a feeling I am going to try a lot more recipes from that site!

The reason why I really started this Pinterest Inspired Wednesday series was because I want to see what you guys have made, bought, baked, been inspired to DO based on a pin you pinned on pinterest! Sometimes they turn out good and sometimes not so good. Was it all you ever hoped for or did it let you down? Was it as easy as they say or incredibly hard? Come on! Share your experiences too!

And as always so I can get more ideas of things to DO!

Jimmy Kimmel inspires hilarity

2011-12-20T14:24:00.002-05:00

You guys this is hilarious! If you saw the Halloween candy Jimmy Kimmel video, this is similar but I think this one might be even better!

I love the little girl that tries to reason with her mom about the sandwich and I love that her mom's good cooking includes Hot Pockets because that may be me some day!

And the boy that says "You stinking parents!" priceless! Kids are freaking funny!

And just in case you didn't see it, here is the Halloween one:

My favorites from that one are "Dad you're ugly!" and "2 + 2 is 5...you were so close" and "you sneaky mom!"

Question to those of you with kids...would you do this to your kids?

Christmas at the Summit

2011-12-20T10:14:00.000-05:00

If you are going to be in the Raleigh/Durham area this week you should check out Christmas at the Summit:

christmas at the summit from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

There are five services:
Thursday 12/22 @ 6pm
Friday 12/23 @ noon
Friday 12/23 @ 6 pm
Saturday 12/24 @ 4 pm
Saturday 12/25 @ 6 pm

I have no idea what they have planned but I'm sure it will be awesome!

Do you go to any Christmas pageants/musicals/plays? One of my friends is Moravian and tells me about something they have called a "Love Feast". I would love to go to that! Outside of church activities, I would also love to go see The Nutcracker someday!

Christmas Cards

2011-12-19T11:47:00.001-05:00

I said I would never do this. I always had a little thing against photo Christmas cards. For some reason to me they just seemed more about you than the person you are sending them to. I mean it is just a picture of your pretty family for someone to hang on their refrigerator with a one line greeting like "Merry Christmas". You can't even write a personal note or anything really. I just was never a huge fan.

But it is just so darn cute to have personalized stuff and I fell for it this year. I took the cutest picture of Cam last Christmas and made some photo Christmas cards with it this year:

I still like traditional cards better and writing something personal. I only sent out 20 this year because photo cards are expensive but I usually send out many more and I felt bad editing my list (but I did better than last year when I didn't send out any because I was too immersed in the Great Cat Hunt of '10- BTW yesterday was the one year anniversary of when I found Bailey, my cat, after he had been missing for 15 long, cold days!!).

One year I made a Christmas CD and sent out a CD of Christmas carols to everyone on my list. I got a Facebook message from a friend this weekend saying she still listens to that CD at Christmas and thinks of me. That was probably my favorite Christmas card year.

This year I have only received three Christmas cards though. Are Christmas cards out of fashion or is it just all my friends that are boycotting the tradition? Or does nobody love me? Who knows, but my cute new Christmas card holder looks really sad.

Do you send out Christmas cards? Do you like getting Christmas cards? Or do you think it is time to retire the tradition?