Snow Day!

Like I said last night, getting a text message that we were out of school absolutely thrilled me.  I'm usually the kind of girl who is looking forward to school, working hard and learning.  Not this time.  Although I tried so hard over the weekend, I couldn't help but dread it.  I've never been like that!  Fortunately, God helped us out and sent some "heavenly dandruff," as my Honors English II teacher from last semester liked to call it.  I am very thankful to have an extra day to relax and get things done here at home.

After sleeping in and getting a morning workout done, I dug into some of the Toffee Figgy Muffins I made yesterday.  They are a success!  So yummy, healthy, and moist!  Everything you want in a muffin, right?

 

No way!! I just received another message already cancelling school tomorrow, too!  This is great!  Even though it is not supposed to snow much more, the temperatures are the coldest we've had all year (and maybe last year, too).  Wind chills are also sub zero.

This was the noon-time weather on my iPhone.

We're walkin in a winter wonderland....

This is off my back porch.

This is down my street in one direction from the front porch.

And the other way!  I never get my hopes up for snow anymore, because our weather people don't always accurately (or even relatively close sometimes) predict the weather.  I woke up to go to the bathroom around 5:00 this morning, and decided to walk to the kitchen to get an ice pack to cool me down, and looked out the window to a very pleasant surprise! 

 

Time to get to work around here!

 

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Okay, I'm back.  Yeah, that seemed fast to you because I just saved this page and came back to it around 7 hours later.

This is a project that I had been wanting to do all winter, but couldn't find a cold stretch to make it last until today!  I started it last night so it would be good and frozen by today.  I used to do this when I was really little.  The idea came from either a magazine or show I used to watch that had examples with a couple drawings like this, but most of it was a bird feeder.  They froze bird feed and hung it up so the birdees wouldn't starve in the cold weather!

Last night when I chose this verse, I began to like it even more when I realized how ironic it was.  God "is a consuming fire," and I was freezing the verse and hanging it outside in the single digits.

All you do to make these simple decorations or deck ornaments, as I said in this case, is tear off some clear saran wrap, like what you use to cover food.  Decorate it, freeze it in a plate, bowl, or any container, stick a wire, string, or anything to use as a hanger into the water, and there you have it!  Everything freezes together, then you can bend the sides of the container when it thaws a little, and take it out and hang it up!

The verse on this one got frozen a little deep in the water, but it is Ecclesiastes 11:9.

Isn't he just precious?

Frisco is inside now; Dad bought a kennel to put him in in the basement to save him from the cold.

Dogs can photobomb, too!

I just love the innocence of a sweet pet.

 

Now it's almost time for that BCS National Championship game!

Life is Beautiful Project

There is a great song by The Afters that I have come to love.  It is a great reminder of all the amazing blessings God has given us.  We have every reason to be joyful each and every day.  I got the idea earlier during break to make a collage for each line of the bridge.

Life is Beautiful!

 

"The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.  I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."  John 10:10

 

 

A father's love

A wedding dance
(a couple are from a wedding, the rest just dance!)

New Year's dreams

A toast with friends

A soldier coming home from war
(my friend Aly and her boyfriend Michael, who goes to my church and just entered the army after graduating last year; a plaque my Aunt Fran received from her service; See You at the Pole 2013 at my school)

The faith, the hope for so much more

Brand new life

A mother's prayer
(My mom and me on top; youth pastor's wife, Lindsey, and daughters on bottom)

Shooting stars

Ocean air

A lover's kiss

Hard goodbyes
(top:  going-away party for my friend Kasey in middle school-Kasey is the one on top
bottom:  One of my best friends Samantha, far right, has made a couple moves since elementary school, but now she is fairly close, just past Knoxville.)

Fireworks

Christmas lights

 

These are the things that make us feel alive;

These are the things that make us realize

Life is beautiful

 





Oh Happy Day!

Church is always a good way to start out a Sunday, but today ended up being an even better one.  My Christmas break has just been awesome in general.

When we came home from church I had a snack and got to work on some Sticky Toffee Muffins from the Runner's World Magazine I got last month.  They were originally cupcakes, but they aren't too sweet, so I made them without icing to have as breakfast.

In the book I have just finished reading, I Still Belive by Jeremy Camp, I found something that made a lot of sense to me. Jeremy was describing how he had gotten super busy with so many things in his music ministry career.  It is a good thing because he had such a platform to share with others from.  However, it was getting him distracted and stressed.  I often feel this way, too.  I get involved in so many things.  Although they may be good things, they consume me too much.  I need to remember the words of Jeremy’s dad, Tom, “We can get so busy doing the work of the Lord that we forget the Lord of the work.”  My work for Him won’t be efficient until I am connected with Him and fully trusting Him to guide me in the work.

Later in the afternoon, Dad and I went on a nice, long run!

Then he made his amazing chili for our dinner!  I absolutely love this stuff.  I mixed some corn bread in, too.  Now, an even better part...There's no school tomorrow!  They called it off because of weather!  Made my day.  Whooooo!

Breakfast, Birthday, and a Ski Trip

I got to sleep in for my last time for a while, unfortunately.  I just love to sleep.  I did some exercises, then around an early lunch time, I fixed this hearty healthy "brunch" to power me up for the day ahead and refuel from the night and workout.  I told my mom it was great because I got almost everything in one bowl.  Protein from egg whites and almond butter, fruit goodness from a banana, whole grains from cream of wheat and oatmeal, and healthy fats from the almond butter.  Adding eggs was an idea I got from Carrots 'N' Cake blog. 

Yum!

Saturday, January 4th, was the birthday of a little girl named Alicia who I sponsor through World Vision.  When I was in 8th grade, my parents surprised me with tickets to a Casting Crowns concert as part of my birthday present.  During intermission, this organization was the "entertainment" for a lack of better terms.  It seemed like something I really wanted to do, and it is not too expensive.  All it takes is $35 a month, and you get to help a child learn and grow in life in and in Christ.  My parents and I decided that each month would come from my $20 of allowance and the other $15 from Mom's unlimited car wash pass.  (Who needs that many car washes per month!? haha)  Our letters have been coming back and forth pretty quickly recently.  Above is the translated letter.

Here is the letter Alicia wrote herself back home in Rio Verde, Ecuador.  Since I have been through Spanish I so far in school, I can read almost her entire letters without the translated one!  That makes me so excited!  There are a few words in some sentences that I don't know, but by using context clues, I can figure out the general message of the entire letter.  I can't wait to hopefully one day get to talk to her in person.

Here she is!  12 year old Alicia!

Around 2 in the afternoon, Dad and I left for Cataloochee in North Carolina.  It is fairly close, only around an hour and 15 minutes in traffic with nothing crazy holding it up, so we always get season passes.  Conditions are iffy here, like most places that are mostly man-made snow, but Saturday (and many others) was one of those days when I just don't want to leave!  Snow skiing is my #2 love, behind running.  I've been a skier since I was 4, and I hope to do it the rest of my life!  Going down the mountain on a good snow day is such a rush and another way to experience the beauty of God's nature.

This is a view from the top before we went in for dinner.

Now, this isn't the one I ate, but this picture is for explaining purposes.  This is literally the best protein/granola bar I have ever tasted in my life.  Olympia Granola had several flavors in the gift shop at Cataloochee, but the Turtle Mocha was calling my name...and still is.  I want another one. They are quite pricey though.  One bar is 2 hearty servings, but it is just too yummy to put down.  This flavor had ingreedients like dark chocolate, honey, and espresso to give it amazing taste and health boosts, and also filled with tons of grains and nuts to get you going, too.

On the way home, I broke into some more dark chocolate.  I always go for the dark because it's not too sweet, and it is healthier, too.  Milky Way and Snickers both make wonderful dark chocolate versions that I like to keep on hand!

Last Friday of Break

I am very sad to say that today is my last real day of break.  Yes, I still have the weekend, but I would usually be off from school those days.

However, I am determined to live it up while I can!

Two verses that I decorated my AP government and politics binder for next semester with go great with that mindset.

"Be happy, young one, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy..."  Eccelesiates 11:9

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation always be full of grace..."  Colossians 4:5-6

This afternoon, Mom took me to "The Corner of Happy and Healthy" to get my flu shot.  I love the Band-Aid.

I have been trying to get rid of leftover and close-to-expiring foods, so today I made this smoothie as a late-afternoon snack before going out to dinner at Akita.  It has milk, lots and lots of grapes, a banana, a little frozen mixed fruit, and protein powder.  The grapes were the new thing I tried adding, and I will definitely have to remember that; it was fantastic!

After dinner, Mom wanted to go to TJMaxx, since we were so close.  I love going in there.  The items in stock are forever-changing, and there are a ton of things you may not find anywhere else (and not any cheaper for that matter).  This is an organic granola that I thought looked awesome; I mean, how can you go wrong with carrot cake?  I was right, it is amazingly tasty.  I came right home and ate it with some frozen yogurt and greek yogurt, which is shown mixed up below.  It has carrot, pineapple, granola of course, pecans, raisins, and a few other things that aren't obvious to me right now.  I just love getting new, healthy foods to try!

What a Rainy Day...

For the second day in a row, I was woken up by my cat, Sophie,  That's okay, though, because I needed to get up and get going!  I finished my workout around noon, and fixed this omelette for brunch!

I need some work on my omelette-making, but I wanted to try today to work out some things to improve on.  I will use the smaller skillet instead of the large next time, and I will use less filling.  Then it should go together better instead of spilling out all sides.

My filling here is:

hummus

goat cheese

red bell pepper

jalepenos

onion

turkey sausage

mustard

salsa

spinach

celery

black pepper, dill mix, and cilantro

One thing I was really looking forward to doing over break is having more time to study my Bible!  I have, though not as much as I would like (you can never get enough of God's Word!).  This devotion book has one for each day, staring with January 1st.  It was a birthday gift to me from my friend Abby Mitchell (so many Abby's!), and I started it with the new year!  I think it will be a great challenge to me, because it has deeper language used, like the King James Version, but I am always up for growing in my knowledge of the Lord!  Since I am still using birthday gifts, this could go great with my "Putting My Birthday Presents to Good Use" post.

There is also a daily, online version of My Utmost for His Highest.

"The old has gone; the new has come!" 2 Cor 5:17

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has gone; the new has come!"

  2 Corinthians 5:17

Although I'm not big on changing a whole bunch just for New Years (because any moment is a God-given opportunity to change), I thought this would be a great verse for the new year!  When you accept Christ into your heart, He makes you completely new.

This has been the best Christmas break I have ever had, and New Years also lived up to the standard!  On December 31st, I got to do something I have been wanting to do for over a year; I had a pancake party!  I texted 3 of my best running friends the day before to ask if they wanted to go for a run then have pancakes, so they headed over!  (Katlyn was getting over a cold, so she didn't run, but she met us for breakfast.)  Chantal, Cherie (who live within walking distance), and I ran down the highway towards town and back for around 7.6 miles.

Here we all are in our new shoes!  (and black tights.  We didn't even plan that.)

Mine are on the left, Chantal on top, Cherie right, Katlyn bottom.  Part of my shoe actually glows in the dark, but I haven't gotten to try it out yet.

My new griddle!  This is one of my Christmas gifts.  I made us each 2 big pancakes.  Chantal, Cherie, and I had Recees Pieces pancakes topped with peanut butter (I also had honey and sugar free syrup), and Katlyn chose York Pieces pancakes.  I love this griddle, because it is big, fast, and easy to clean.

Here we are about to dig in!

I am so blessed to have these girls.  Every time we get together, we have so many laughs, encouragement, and uplifting feelings!  These are girls that I can trust, and we can help each other grow in our faith.  When I'm with them, I have no worries or bad feelings about what I'm doing.  It is so important to have friends like this in your life to help keep you on track!

At my house, it has become "tradition" in a way over the past few years that when the cross country girls meet for food at my house (for example, my birthday), in our pictures for making memories, we always do a silly one with food in our mouths!

On New Years Eve, my friends the Wolfenbargers always invite us to party with them.  The party is either at their house or another house in their neighborhood, the Paxton's (which is where it was this year).  Daniel Paxton, the man of that house, is one funny man!  This is one of my long-time best friends, Noah.

This game, The Game of Things, is what we spent most of our time between our late eating "dinnerish" and desserts and the ball drop doing.  It is similar to Apples to Apples in that their is a reader who announces the category, then the everyone submits a corresponding response.  However, this game gets funnier, because the responses aren't already provided, but you write in your own!  We got many laughs out of this for sure!

After being up until around 1:30 the night before, on New Years Day I slept until 11:00, when Sophie came in and wanted to cuddle (more for her satisfaction than mine, obviously from all her purrrring).  Once I finally got up and did some core workouts, Dad and I went to the park for a run.  Dad doesn't usually like to run there because of the uneven surface and falling and ankle-spraining hazard, so it is a special occasion when he goes with me, even though he unfortunately can't keep up anymore since I have been in high school.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and not too cold either, especially in the sun!  I got in a nice, long run, while Dad's was a bit shorter.  It was fun getting back out to the park since I have been out of the habit since cross country ended.

By the time I got home, stretched, and ready to eat "breakfast," it was after 2:00!  I had some pumpkin and cream cheese-topped waffles and an apple then got to work.  I am still celebrating Christmas, so I watched Christmas Vacation while I worked on putting everything onto my new 2014 calendar!  

Since last year, I have gotten the Peanuts "Love is..." calendar.  This is another one of my Christmas presents!  It has a sweet saying and picture for each month, and it also comes with stickers to correspond with various events throughout the year.  This is the January picture!