Minnesota – Week 3

Jan 22, 2014

Well, we’ve determined one thing.

Sadie HATES the kennel.

She got “banished” to the kennel a few weeks ago because she was lazy and decided to poo and potty in the house twice overnight. We recently purchased a metal wire kennel in anticipation for the new puppies arrival and thought Sadie would be perfectly safe in there for the day. I gave her a treat, kept the light on, and told her she was a good girl and went off to work.

Upon my return home, my husband told me that the dog was and I quote, “Dead to him”. I said, “Why?” so Jason told me to look in the room, and boy did I find a surprise.

Not only did she eat through the plastic flooring of the puppies brand new kennel, but she chewed the carpet down to the plywood in our bedroom! (guess we need new carpeting).

But she also managed somehow to pull Jason’s $100 Silver jeans into the kennel and chew them out of spite, or hatred for the fact that she was in the kennel.

The craziest part is that she is completely nondestructive when she’s not locked up. So for now, she gets free reign of the house.

In a week or two I’m going to the store to get these magnetic locks for the bathroom cupboards to put our new puppy in the bathroom while we’re off at work. We still have a few things to get ready before he comes home, but we still have 7 weeks. 🙂

Next stop on my journey

Jan 15, 2014

I am currently on a journey of spending some good time in the Psalms and Proverbs. I am using a plan from the You Version app on my phone to help me stay on track. You read through the psalms twice, and proverbs 12 times over the course of the next year.

I’m currently on Proverbs & Psalms 13. Since starting just 13 days ago I have found myself in deeper worship, which is usually in my car to and from work, because it is my time by myself, and what better way to make use of an otherwise hour plus lousy commute.

One song I have been listening to on repeat is Holy (Wedding Day) by City Harmonic. This song makes me want to lay down in green pastures, stare up at a blue sky and sing praise to God, and thank Him for all he has done for me. How I have so much to be joyful about, and thankful for. I hope you too have a special and Holy moment as you listen too.

Another song I listen to on repeat is called Wake by Hillsong Young & Free. When I listen to this song I basically have a rave going on in my car. Shouts of praise can probably be heard by the cars next to me. (perhaps that’s the point?) Who knew there was such thing as a Christian rave – live with glowsticks & beach balls! Who else wants to go to a Y&F concert?

Lastly, I will like to close with my favorite verses so far of Psalms & Proverbs 1-13.

Psalms
Oh what can I say about the Psalms, but that it may just be the most uplifting book in all of the bible. I want to touch on so many points, but for the sake of brevity I will leave you with this, my favorite verses so far, “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” Psalms 9:1-2 (ESV)

Proverbs
I started listing out every single Proverb verse I had highlighted, but pretty soon this blog post was hundreds and hundreds of words, and I realized i would have had to copy down nearly all of Proverbs 1-13. To make it succinct Proverbs 4:20-22 sums up what I’ve gotten so far out of it, “My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.” (NLT)

Thai Peanut Chicken

Jan 9, 2014

We had just eaten a big snack after lunch, so when 5:30 p.m. rolled around nobody was hungry. We decided we would just eat after gymnastics practice. Only problem was, I didn’t have a plan!

I am a total planning kind of girl. Normally I have at least two weeks of meals planned in advanced, but last night we were going rouge.

I had a hankering for Peanut Butter Chicken Wraps, which are just divine, but I didn’t have any commercially bought peanut sauce, nor did I have 1/2 the ingredients from my recipe book to make peanut sauce, so I decided to go Martha Stewart and make it up as I went. I didn’t measure anything so I’ll make complete guesses.

Chicken , maybe 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (as much as you want, cooked your favorite way)

Olive Oil (splash)

1 Cup of Chicken Broth (complete guesstimate)

1 Cup of Peanut Butter (again, complete guesstimate)

1/4 cup of Soy Sauce (guesstimate)

1 TBLS of minced onion, fresh preferred, or dry spice

2 bell peppers rough chopped (red, yellow or orange)

Mix that together until the chicken is warmed

Top with Cilantro

Top with Crushed Red pepper

A nice start ahead was that we had made Chicken Adobo a few nights earlier so I didn’t have to actually cook any chicken!

I placed the chicken in my large skillet and added about a splash or two of EVOO. Then I sprinkled in some soy sauce, and minced garlic. MMMM Creamy.

Meanwhile I started chopping up some bell pepper. Honestly, mushroom, kale, onion, broccoli would work well in this dish as well. Once I was done rough chopping I threw that in the skillet as well.

After a while I noticed the peanut butter sauce was very very thick, so to lighten it up I added about a cup or so of chicken broth until light and creamy.

Now. You could serve in a lettuce wrap right here and be done with it.

But I cooked up some rice, and served it over rice, topped with cilantro, and since I like all things spicy I added some crushed red pepper to my dish to make it really come alive.

Bon Appetit!

Minnesota – Week 1

Jan 6, 2014

So, you’re going to have a Polar Vortex?

In my part of Minnesota, as I write this post, it is currently -20, with windchill, it is -41. What the what? But we live up here, and not in California, so we learn to cope, and even made it to a friends wedding this weekend! (Yes it was obviously indoors!)

Here’s a “Top 10 List” of How to survive

1.) Start your car at least 3 hours before you plan to go anywhere!

Ok, that is a “little” bit exaggerated, but I cope by starting my car around 20 minutes before I am going anywhere. That makes climbing in your car bearable. Environment be damned, I’m starting my car and letting it warm up to 65-70.

2.) Dress in layers

No, not because you may actually get warmer. You need layers to actually stay warm. I suggest multiple infinity scarfs and wrist warmers as well! Bless my dear friend for making these for me and sending them to me in time!

3.) Meal plan ahead

The last thing you want to do with dangerously low temps and wind chills is to go grocery shopping and spending the 5-10 minutes or whatever out in the cold loading and unloading your car. So glad my husband shot a deer, and we butcher our own chickens as we have food for months! Plus if you plan ahead for meals that can be baked in the oven you have an instant additional heat source! (Just don’t forget to turn it off before you go to bed!)

4.) Light a fire

Does this even need an explanation? Despite our thermostat being set for 71 degrees, without our fire going the boiler can’t keep it above 65, with the fire 69! Plus isn’t this just what people do in the winter? If you’ve got one, use it! (p.s. doesn’t it look like eyes in the fire? Weird right?)

update: I miss my fireplace! Screen Shot 2014-01-05 at 9.29.26 PM

5.) Keep the kidletts inside

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton closed down all schools in the state of Minnesota to keep them safe and hopefully warm. So add another day to the already 16 days the’ve been out of school. I know my daughter is excited.

6.) Keep a car kit

An extra backpack/box whatever of gloves, hat, scarf, blanket, emergency blanket, jumper cables, flares, here’s a list I found online. Point is… you should have one too!

7.) Keep the pets safe

This isn’t the time to accidentally leave fido out in the backyard! Their skin can freeze in as little as five minutes too! My Sadie baby is always cold, so I can’t imagine leaving her outside in these temps.

8.) Grab a good book, a hot tub, and a glass of wine for good measure

When you just can’t stay warm, grab a good book, perhaps about the tropics, fill the tub up with steaming hot water, and maybe throw in a glass of wine for good measure. At least if its going to be this cold I’m going to be happy! (I don’t recommend going to an “outdoor hot tub” on days like this, but then again I don’t have one… so….)

9.) Complain wildly on social media sites!

If you have any friends from the south where “cold” is 45 degrees F then post pictures of your temps reaching down in the minus digits and you’ll instantly get lots of people sympathizing for you. Some of my friends can’t even believe I’m going to work in these temps, but I refer to point #1…..Unless of course your friends live in Alaska. Then they’ll just tell you to “suck it up”….

10.) Say a prayer

If you have a home, warm clothes, and a car! Heck, even if you just have shelter, say a prayer. On days like today my heart breaks for all of the homeless people out there. All of the folks on the news have been telling us with temps like these, you can get frostbite in as little as five minutes. I thank God for providing my husband and I with skills to have jobs that support our house, heat, warm clothes and car. I secondly pray for all of the men, women and children out there who don’t have the right necessities and who are literally freezing to death not that far away from me.

And that’s it! I’m sure there are tons more tips, but you can google that! If I don’t post for a week you can assume I did not survive the polar vortex!

As one friend on Facebook pointed out…”Today is the day you get to prove how Minnesotan you are!”

Purposeful Intent

Jan 1, 2014

Can you guess what topic I’m going to blog about today? ~~Resolutions!~~ ~ Having purposeful intent in 2014!

I’m not very good about declaring resolutions which is probably why I don’t stick to any of them, and I’m not exactly holding my breath for 2014, but its the Eve of the New Year so why not make a list?

Things I’d like to get more purposeful about this year:

1.) If I say I’m going to pray for someone – doing it right away.

I know this just sounds terrible, and “I pray” (pun intended) I’m not the only one,…but have you ever told someone that you would pray for them only to forget? Its not that I’m just saying “I’ll pray for you” to make the person feel better. I honestly WANT to pray, but as I often joke that I have early Alzheimer’s I’m just a forgetful person sometimes. One thing I started doing at the end of this year, that I’d like to stick to – is praying for someone immediately when I tell them I will. Sometimes this will be literally praying WITH them over the phone, an e-mail, text message, or on Facebook, or stopping what i’m doing, finding a quiet place, and praying right away.

2.) Get more organized

This has been a slow, yet steady process. I started with throwing or giving things away that we haven’t used in sometime, have outlived their purpose, or is just excess, but there is always more to be done. Getting organized makes you feel better because you can focus on what’s important rather than the lingering feeling that you need to be organizing. Another thing I started doing was becoming “E-Organized”. I had literally turned into an “E-Hoarder” [call A&E]. I had around 4 or 5 separate blogs, and lets not talk about the amount of e-mails I keep in my inbox! (its downright ridiculous).

So to get more E-organized I started with combining my christian, “food” and personal blog all in one! What do you guys think so far?

Now, on to those e-mails!

3.) Keep fit/eat healthy

Isn’t this 313.9 Million other peoples “New Year Resolution” in America too? But really. Unfortunately due to the bombardment of confusing messages on food labels, and so called “facts” among experts its no wonder we are a confused nation. Simply put. I would like to be more focused on keeping fit, and eating healthier. Some of my favorite people to follow is Dietitian Cassie, and Jimmy Moore. Some of their suggestions may seem unconventional like FAT won’t make you FAT! but its been proven over an over again to work, and is based on scientific evidence. This year I might even follow more of her/their advice! I saw a t-shirt on a girl at the gym recently and it says this so succinctly, “Stop wishing for it, and start working for it!”. I love this! I think this quote can be applied to all areas of life.

“Stop wishing for it, and start working for it!”

4.) Sleep Better

I feel like this goal is kind of ridiculous. For as long as I can remember I’ve been a night owl. My parents have even told me that putting me to bed at night was a nightmare. Usually on every night of the week (including work nights) I am not in bed/asleep before midnight. I know this isn’t healthy for me, so this year I will focus on a more restful night.

5.) Make more memories

Our daughter has now started Kindergarten, and while this is “just the beginning” I know there is going to come a time very soon when this will all be no more. One thing we’ve started is Family Game Nigh which is especially fun now that our daughter doesn’t try to cheat as much. But even further, letting my daughter do some of the baking without worrying so much about the outcome or the mess, letting her decide what do do on a Friday night taking more family trips, and even taking a random road trip to see where we end up is what I’d like to do!

6.) Slow down

I used to be go-go-go every night of the week, but in 2013 I radically changed this. I learned to be a “no” person, instead of the “yes” person I always used to be. Not to say that I said No to every opportunity, but this meant sometimes saying no to friends, or myself when I already had 3 or 4 other things going on that week. The payout was amazing. Just spending a night at home vegging out, or allowing myself the opportunity to just sit on the deck in the summer and share a glass of wine with the neighbors was so needed! Finally I felt like I could breathe, and recharge. I can’t wait to see this in action for ALL of 2014.

7.) Don’t be afraid to try new things

Could 2014 be the year I try sushi, or volunteer for something I’m being called to do, yet don’t think I have the talents, or desire for? As this blog post states,” God doesn’t call the qualified, but qualifies the called!” #truth

8.) Kayak Rice Creek

This isn’t just a pie in the sky goal. This goal is very real and I’m going to do it! Since 2011 I have desperately wanted to kayak down Rice Creek. It begins in Hugo, MN and traverses 22 miles until the confluence with the Mississippi River in Fridley. This year I am going to be VERY intent on actually doing it!

So I think that’s a pretty good list to start with.We’ll be popping champagne with good friends tonight, so Cheers to friends, good health & may God bless the New Year!

Peace and Solitude

Dec 29, 2013

The peaceful solitude is perhaps what ultimately drives me to love Cross Country Skiing so much. That, and I’m borderline obsessed with winter! The fresh smell of crisp winter air, and the crunching of snow puts a smile on my face. Maybe its because I was born in the winter time?

We’ve been fortunate this winter to receive an abundance of snow fall to get out and enjoy the trails. The only downfall is that its been very cold so far! Temps have been flirting generally between zero and 15 degrees, but this past Friday and yesterday we were blessed with highs in the 30s and low 40s, so I took advantage!

Friday afternoon I secured my MN Ski pass for the season and headed out with my mom to some nearby trails. Going on a tight downhill we both took a small spill, but other than that we stayed sure footed, and went about 3 or so miles. The temps were in the high 30s so we had minimal layers on. It was so wonderful to catch up and spend time with my mom.

Saturday I woke up and headed to the local trails solo. Despite the gorgeous 38 degree weather, the trails were not very crowded (as indicated in the photo above). In the more open areas I worked on diagonal stride technique and double polling with a kick. I’m not ready for the Birkibener Classic anytime soon, but its a nice activity that gets me outside, out of the gym, and out of the house (most importantly). Once I got to the back wooded area I put on some of my favorite christian music and drank in all of Gods abundant beauty.

Being able to be in full peace and solitude in the woods was much needed especially this time of year. Time away from the hustle and bustle of the season, the endless to do lists, and the re-organizing of the house. It was more than a great chance to clear my mind and become re-calibrated. I ended up going 5.5 miles and woke up today barely able to walk! (It “hurts” so good though!)

If it wasn’t for the sub zero temperatures today (20 below wind-chill) I probably would have been out there again today, but it looks like I probably won’t ski until next Saturday – especially since I go back to work on Thursday.

(the next 5 hours)

(the next 7 days)

Other than that – as you can tell I have a brand new blog! Its finally a collaboration between my 3 or 4 separate blogs all into one!

(Yay to me for finally getting E-organized. I was becoming an e-horder – eek)

Check under Categories on the right side menu to look up a certain topic. Enjoy!

Oxtail Soup

Dec 26, 2013

(source)

With Christmas coming to a close, and the constant getting together with family and friends, I thought now was as good of time as any to make soup. To me, there is nothing better on a cold winters night to eat than chili our soup and this soup is no exception. Hearty root vegetables are the real star of this dish along with the uncommon oxtail! This soup has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. (small disclaimer – this soup takes all day to make, so don’t make any plans to do anything except chopping and peeling vegetables. I made this from 10am-5pm).

3-4 pounds of Stew Beef

1 Oxtail package

1 package of parsnips (peeled and chopped)

1 medium sized rutabaga (peeled and chopped)

2# of carrots (peeled and chopped)

6-8 potatoes (peeled and chopped)

1 medium onion (peeled and chopped)

1 head of cabbage (chopped)

Ketchup

Salt & Pepper to taste

Water

In an 8 or 12 quart stock pot fill with water 3” from the top.

Throw in the chopped onion, 2 bay leaves stew meat and oxtails and cook on medium to high heat covered.

Take out oxtails when stew is tender (approximately 3 hours later) and pick meat out of oxtails. Put back in stock pot.

Chop the head of cabbage, parsnips, rutabaga and carrots and add to stock pot. Cook for 25 minutes.

Chop potatoes and toss with salt then add to stock pot and cook an additional 25 minutes.

Add more pepper if needed to stock pot.

Add ketchup for color with vegetables.

Add salt & pepper to taste.

This will make about 5 gallons of soup, but its easily frozen and actually tastes better as time goes on.

Drive Sober

Nov 28, 2013

Jason and I always have a rule. Drive sober! When we are both going to be dining out we have a very strict rule that one of us will always be sober no matter what, or we will stay put!

Now I can’t prove this person was drunk, or under the influence, but I can tell you that on our way home on Thanksgiving a car was driving on our side of the four lane highway near our house. Luckily they were driving in the “left hand side” and we were driving in the “right hand side” but it easily could have been disastrous.

Maybe they were from out of town and not familiar with the area, but I am thankful to be home tonight and off the road!

On a lighter note- I had a very amazing time with my family and friends this Thanksgiving Holiday! We went over to Jason’s uncles house and while there I took a quick side trip to visit a friend at her home nearby. It was absolutely wonderful!

We then went to my parents for dinner with my siblings and their families, and some extended family as well.

My belly is very full and I am pretty sure I am going to birth a turkey any moment, but I am thankful for my health, home and my family! Good cheers!

Ezra

Nov 19, 2013

My co-worker and I successfully sojourned through Ephesians, James, 1 Peter and 2 Peter. I have so enjoyed our time gleaning such wisdom from these books, and application to our lives. Every word we read had such direct application for the season that we were in, it was almost unbelievable. God is very present right now.

We decided to take a break from the NT, and go old school. Old Testament that is. Where to go? We got a ticket to Ezra and have decided to settle in to a little history.

Ezra starts out right at a time where the Jews were finally able to return home, and to rebuild the temple.

Chapter 2 is jam packed with names and tribal numbers. I think its really easy to skim over this section, and not take anything from it. But I just think that God cares about each one of his people to list them in His book. God cares about each and every one of us.

Ezra caries on talking about rebuilding the temple. To be honest this part was like reading a hebrew textbook on how to rebuild a temple, and the faithfulness of the people who began to worship before the temple was even finished. Towards the very end of Chapter 7 to the end Ezra speaks directly to us.

In chapter 8 verse 15 Ezra says, “I assembled the exiles at the Ahava Canal, and we camped there for three days while I went over this lists of the people and the priests who had arrived. I found that not one Levite had volunteered to come along.” (NLT)- How easy is it for us to simply ignore a calling. God had called us all for a special purpose. Do I respond to the call, or do I feel content sitting on the sidelines?

God is working in my life renovating it and rebuilding me as a new creation. The re-build doesn’t just happen in one day, or even a month, but takes years of purposeful building.

In chapters 9 & 10 we see the sin that crept into Israel. Men and even priests were marrying pagan women, and they were asked to send their wives and children born of these relationships away. The reason for it was so that no pagan children would inherit the land of Israel. In today’s world we cant imagine such things especially in inter-marriages.

As someone who is married to a non-christian I am grateful for what the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:13-14, 16, “If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?” (ESV)

I love God patience. “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. The lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness built is patient toward you, not wishing that an should perish but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:8-9 (ESV). Perhaps these verses don’t go together at all, but this is what I thought of when I read them.

I’m curious for those of you who’ve read Ezra. In general, what do you think about this chapter?

ROSEMARY BUTTERNUT SQUASH & ROSEMARY VENISON TENDERLOIN

Nov 11, 2013

Today my husband sent me a text message around 7:00 a.m. to let me know that he got a deer! Woot! Deciding that I would be eating venison for a while I better come up some recipes that I actually like. Now in the past I’ve had venison jerky which is very delish, but other than that I’ve only had ground venison which was cooked like hamburger and tasted like…. ______.

So my husband has it hanging over at our friends house right now for the Deer Cleaning birthday party for my daughter’s 6th birthday. A very Minnesota themed birthday if you ask me. She’s even requested Tuna Fish Hot Dish… but I digress.

So when my husband came home today with a prime cut of Venison Tenderloin I knew I must hit pintrest immediately and search for a delicious recipe! I had also recently come home from Aldi with a butternut squash.

So I found this marinade recipe via Pintrest – click here.

Marinade:

4 cloves garlic, minced (I used closer to 7 becuase they were very small)

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 bay leaf, crushed

1 tsp. dried rosemary

1/2 tsp. black pepper

I didn’t do anything else with this blog’s recipe or directions.

The recipe called for 4 cloves of garlic, but mine were really small so I added closer to 7. I also left out the dijon mustard because we didn’t have any and it was very terrific without.

I then put the tenderloin in a 9×13 glass pyrex and really drizzled and rubbed the marinate in, and then put it in my refrigerator from about noon until 4:30 p.m. I took the pyrex out around 4:30 p.m. and then let the meat come to room temperature for about 20 or so minutes.

I got out my favorite skillet and drizzled a little EVOO in the pan and heated that up over medium heat. I then put my tenderloin pieces on the skillet and cooked about 2-3 minutes on each side. Everything I’ve read said to make sure NOT to overcook. So I’d say instead of looking at the clock, take a peek at the actual meat. Cut open if you must. Let rest about 10 minutes before slicing up.

As far as the butternut squash goes. I cut up one squash (cleaned and seeded of course) and put in my steamer basket on the stove top until they were soft. Once they were done I drizzled a little EVOO, kosher salt, and rosemary. This was absolutely AH-Mazing!!!!

I then of course paired with a glass of shiraz which was the perfect accompaniment to this meal!

Bon Appetite ~ Time to eat!