Girls Weekend

Our weekend blessings just keep on coming in & we are receiving them with much gladness! :)

This weekend Ben & I got to host some more of our favorite-est people: the Butler ladies  along with my mamma!

Jeri & my mom have been friends for over 30 years, and not just friends, but the friend who sticks closer than a brother sister type!  Jeri has a beautiful daughter Julian who I have known the better part of my life & who in the past few years has become such a sweet friend & sister to me!

All I can say is:  It's so nice to have girl time.  And I mean real girl time.  I mean, yes, of course we did each other's hair & make-up & watched a romantic comedy (or two), but better than all those things were the girl heart-to-hearts that we had.  We talked about life, the Lord, prayed together, laughed a lot & just enjoyed being in friendship & fellowship.  I don't think I realized how much I needed good. solid. soul-searching. girl-time.  Ahhhhh. thank you Lord! It's a beautiful thing to know that He created us to need those relationships.

And only a real man like Ben could handle the 4:1 ratio.  He is so good & supportive :)

Here's a few pics of the weekend....some of them have random saturations & effects as I was playing around with my camera, learning the ropes, most of the weekend.  

jeri & julian

:)

shopping downtown

mexican food with the whole crew

me attempting to be a photographer

the four girls :)

the mammas!

the daughters!

weekend high

Ben & I were so blessed this weekend to share so many fun memories with some of our favorite people!  It was especially sweet to do so, knowing that when we leave Texas it won't be quite as easy to have those reunions.

First, Praise Jesus because I passed my DTR exam (which was in San Antonio) to be come a registered, Dietetic Technician. It all went very smoothly & I am sooo thankful to have that under my belt. Why is this important, you ask?  I will tell you.

It gives me qualifications to work in dietary related positions that I did not have before & it is a good little resume builder, as Ben & I still hope that one day I will be able to do an internship & sit for the Registered Dietitian exam.  

As I was already in San Antonio for the weekend because of the exam, Ben decided to join me.  He had a long weekend because of MLK day so it worked out perfectly!  

His grandparents & brother came to spend Saturday with my family in San Antonio---the boys went & looked at airplanes on base while the girls shopped--so everyone was happy ;) AND I love that our families love each other, it's a HUGE blessing!

Then, as if the weekend couldn't get any better.... IT DID!  

Ben & I got to see two of our favorite-est people in the world:  Jacki & Brandon who came all the way to San Antonio from the Azores Islands.  

Of course, that managed to be the only event that I took a picture of the entire weekend...totally failed in that area, but if I only have one picture, I am glad it's of them!  :)

our island friends :)

Following, a fun & ginormous breakfast & a much needed catching up with the Morrises, we headed off to see one of our other favorite-est couples:  The Whitakers! We love them.  And their son.  If I have a  little girl someday I hope she marries Cale.  He is precious.

::This is a picture from Christmas of their adorable son Cale::

He's a keeper, am I right?

Needless to say ((although I think I've said it a million times in this post)) it was a wonderful weekend!

:)  

Moving On

credit

We have about a month left in San Angelo before we head out to Missouri.

After 3 moves & 4 states in less than 3 years, it only stands to reason that we are getting used to a transient lifestyle.  It's definitely a bittersweet thing.

We have found it difficult in the past 2 1/2 years to have the deep, rooted friendships that we long for & yet,  in looking back at God's sweet timing He always provides them.  The difficulty then is in leaving those friends (at least in the physical sense) and equipping ourselves to go out & do it again.  It can be exhausting & discouraging at times--but always rewarding in the end.  We never look back on our time in a city and regret "putting ourselves out there" when it comes to friendships & fellowship, on the contrary often we even wish we had been more vulnerable.

As I look back on our time in San Angelo---I know there were many things we could have done better or differently, but I am thankful that we still have a month left here to be in the community where God has placed us for the time being.   We are beyond blessed.

I am excited for the new things to come, maybe even a little apprehensive.  It's always a little bit scary moving to a new place & starting the "cycle" again of meeting new people, getting plugged into a church & community, starting friendships, etc..

Pray for us when you think of it.  That we would finish out our time in San Angelo strong & be preparing our hearts for the things to come!

A Salad to Share

I don't know if it's the start of a new year or just coincidence, but Ben & I have really been working hard to eat more healthfully the past few weeks.  I know that most of you know that I am already a pretty health conscious girl.  I am not easily tempted by french fries, bacon or cream pie, but it's still so easy to not get enough fruits & veggies in your diet--that's something I have to intentionally work at!

So with that said, one way Ben & I are doing that is by eating more fruits & nuts in the morning.  We buy a variety each week and alternate them throughout the week, serving them with a small bowl of cereal or some whole grain carb.  We learned recently that what you eat in the morning is what you crave more of later in the day.  So when you carb load in the morning with a sugary bowl of fruit loops, you will crave sugary carb loaded foods later in the day.  By eating the fruit & nuts we are trying to train ourselves to crave more of those types of food throughout the day!

Another thing I have been doing, is serving a small side salad with our dinners.  Its a great way to add a variety of veggies & even fruit to your meal!

We tried out a new recipe recently (pictured above) and LOVED it so I thought I would share it with you today.

I threw this together with things in our fridge, so it can easily be changed to your liking!

Pomegranate Spinach Salad (1 serving):

2 handfuls of spinach

2 TBSP pomegranate seeds

2 TBSP blue cheese, crumbled

2 TBSP avocado, diced

handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

a shake of salt & pepper

balsamic vinaigrette dressing, tossed in with the salad

Combine all ingredients & serve!

a lovely new addition

Silk Herringbone Hobo Satchel

I am excited to add this new darling bag to my shop!

It's made from 100% silk, versatile for the winter or spring.  It has a "heavy" look but is actually a fairly light weight but sturdy material.  

My friend Holly already has hers :) check it out for yourself!

Fun Food for the New Year

Thought I'd share a recipe with you guys that Ben & I have really enjoyed recently.

The idea started with some leftover Christmas ham that I wanted to get creative with--and ended with this recipe that I found in Better Homes & Gardens.  It combines an unusual combination of flavors, but surprisingly, was really tasty!

These yummy little bites are called

Banh Mi Bruschetta

Here's what you'll need:

24 -1/2 in. thick slices from baguette-style French bread

1/3 cup garlic-herb, reduced-fat mayonnaise (my revision)

2 TBSP.  soy sauce

6 oz. thinly sliced ham

1 English cucumber, sliced 

2 carrots, shredded

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

thin jalapeño slices

Preheat broiler.  Spread mayonnaise on one side of each bread slice and arrange, spread side up, on a baking sheet.  Broil 4-5 inches from the heat for 1 minute or just until starting to toast.  Remove from oven; gently brush with soy sauce. Return to oven & broil 1 minute more.  Top bread slices with ham, cucumber, carrots, cilantro & jalapeño slices. Enjoy!

Christmasing

December 2010 was filled with lots of Christmasing---I feel like we have been celebrating non-stop for the past 2.5 weeks.  It has been such a sweet & fun time with family & friends that we may not have the opportunity to see as much when February rolls around (predicted move date).

Here is a little (by no means complete) picture log of our Christmas in TX...

It's always good to start the Christmas season off with a wedding :) 

Celebrating with friends

 Sweet SA friends

Christmas in SA isn't complete without a trip to the Alamo

Christmas eve downtown SA 

Me & my mamacita

Lots of gift giving fun!

Sweet time with family & friends :)

Christmas caroling & holiday singing

 more gifting!

 Kazoos + Christmas carols = festive entertainment

 Beautiful Marble Falls with la familia

It's back to the daily grind for us---Ben will be hitting it hard with his last & most rigorous month & a half of training--and I am busy as a bee filling purse & fabric orders.