Saved by Snow Days

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This winter was a dud...until mid January.  After a drought, when it finally rains, it pours, right?  Or when it snows it's a blizzard, in this case. 

 TWO WEEKS PEOPLE

We were out of school for over two weeks.  You have no idea how happy that made me (and my mom).  We were in desperate need of a break from school.  Dad even got several days off from work, too!  It was like Christmas break all over again, but better!

The extra time off gave me the chance to relax a little bit, sleep extra, cook, get creative, be a bit spontaneous, and learn lots of lessons!  God really got me motivated about things. For example, I shared some stuff that I had learned and that was on my heart, if you want to go back and check it out.

 

I also looked up some Bible verses as I was in awe of this amazing and beautiful snow that God sent us.  Our weather is so unpredictable and things like this have been coming so unexpectedly lately, and I say it is God showing us that we are not in control and we "do not know what will happen tomorrow (James 4:14)" 

 

"He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes."  Psalm 147:16

 

"God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding.  He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,'...so that all men He has made may know His work.."  Job 37:5-7

This is what I loved most about this snow season.

I laughed when I saw this picture on instagram and shared it with a couple friends, because that's basically what we do, especially when we are out of school.

 

Exhibit A.



I wanted to make these look especially pretty.  Kodiak Cakes also has a pretty box for their pancake and waffle mix.  The m&m guy, well, he's not pretty, but he tastes good.

My snowman looked a little deformed, but I did my best!  Redi Whip is tough to shape!

I was inspired by the pancakes I made almost this exact time the year before on a snow day, pumpkin-flavored and snowflake-shaped!

Here are a few more concoctions from the blizzard break:  almond coconut, strawberry banana, and I honestly don't remember what those last ones are...kinda looks like chocolate or blueberries!  What I was more concerned about in that picture was all the Peanuts stuff.  I was eating on my snowy Snoopy plate, drinking from my snowy Snoopy Christmas mug, and got to finally use my Snoopy Snow day coloring book that Chantal and Cherie had given me!

 No, this is not a pancake.  I can cook other things besides breakfast!  This was a new dinner I made with lots of vegetables, an apple, eggs, and chicken stir fry.  Coconut oil is my favorite kind to use when anything has to use oil!

After a while, we just expected school to be cancelled indefinitely.  Some people went out and started doing crazy things!  One day that was relatively warm and sunny, some teachers had gone into school to get some things done, and some of West High's administration made a little video for us to have some fun with yet another school closing announcement.

That tree belongs in Whoville.

I was really focused on being creative and living these snow days to the fullest!  Just going with what God gave me each day because we may never get another snow like this in my school years!  I wrote this silly little poem and took it around to some of my neighbors when I went for an afternoon fun run.

I had to get some classic ice sickle snapshots. 

Out TV's cable box upstairs got all messed up when the power went out, so we moved our dinner spot downstairs for a few nights.  It was actually pretty fun to mix things up!  One night our power went out, and I woke up to the house about 50 degrees...my hands and feet started to go numb..yikes!

When it gets too frigid outside, Mom caves and lets her favorite family member come inside. 

She's queen.

She also took over my bed 24/7.  If I wasn't in it, and as soon as I was back in it at night, there she would come and walk all over me to find a comfy spot. 

(Left-when I wasn't in it.  Right-before bed)

(Left-in the morning.  See, she had every part of the day covered.)

After a few days, she even started bonding with Dad!  He's always been more of a dog person, and Sophie has never really been drawn to him either, but I guess she realized that Dad is a good seat cushion, too! 

My bed is her bed.  I just wish that I could sleep half as much as she does.

However, my food is not her food!  I know it smells good, but once she took a bite, she probably wouldn't like beef, beans, corn, veggies, and hot sauces and spices!  She does her best to get into our food every chance she gets.

I went for a few runs when the temperatures hit their "highs" for the day.  It was just so pretty, I had to get out there!  Running in the snow isn't too hard if you watch where you step.  The soft stuff may be a little slower, but it's not slick!  The same old route seems totally different with a weather and scenery change.

I had been saving all my color coordinating neon socks, hat, shirt, and tights (stripes), for snow, and I finally got to use it!  The neon compared to the white literally glowed!

We tried to have track practice a couple days...one worked out pretty well other than the fact that there was no sun to give any warm so we all froze to (not quite) death.  The next time was sunny, but the snow was so deep, we could hardly run or even see the track at all!  It was a fun experience, though, and I'm glad we got out there!  In the end, it's really all about making "..the most of every opportunity..(Colossians 4:5)"

Pancake Party Tradition

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 I'm choosing this one as the next post to update from my drafts because I am pumped about having three friends over tomorrow for breakfast!  We are changing things up, though, having waffles instead of pancakes!  I just got a waffle iron this morning, so we are going to put it to use right away!

Chantal, Cherie, Katlyn, and I have made it a tradition that we have a pancake breakfast together sometime while we are out of school during the winter.  This was our New Year's celebration!  Last year, we did the same day, too, so it was an anniversary!  However, that day we ran first, but this time we all did our own thing as we were all on a cross training time instead.

Another tradition of eating at my house is taking an action shot.  Behold our food-in-the-mouth photo!

If you don't know about the fancy cupcakes that the twins make, you will someday.  They will have a cupcakery, bakery, catering business or something!  As a best friend and almost-neighbor, I get the special privilege of taste-testing all their creations!  This one has a new peanut butter butter cream icing with mini dark chocolate chips!

Katlyn felt like she had been slacking on her core, so we decided that we would all work together to get stronger while we waited on our pancakes to cook!  Katlyn led us in some pushups then squats.

You know they are your true friends when you aren't embarassed to do pushups in front of them.  Let's be honest; there are few people who have a pretty pushup.

The next day I took some of that amazing icing and added it to my pancake topping!

Finally Spring Break!

Shew, after those last snow days, it felt like spring break would never come.  Finally, I got a week of break, though, but it never seems long enough!  We had a track meet on Saturday, but then I finally got to spend some time at home.

One of my favorite verses appeared on my Peanuts daily calendar.

I made another delicious dessert!  This time it was apple cobbler.  I used honey vanilla greek Yoplait frozen yogurt, honey caramel Greek Gods yogurt, an apple pie yogurt, apple cinnamon Newtons, granola, Honey Nut Cheerios, honey, cinnamon, apple butter, and apples of course!

We had quite a variety of weather over spring break.  As it always works out, the weeks before and after were both beautiful and warm.

This was on Tuesday on my way to meet a friend at school to do a speed workout on the track.  It was sunny when I left home, but decided to dump snow again 5 minutes later.  Don't worry; I was practically stopped.  No one on the roads could see where they were going.

For the workout, I wore some bright, very coordinating clothes to help keep me warm!  The wind was awful even when the sun came out every few minutes, but I actually wasn't too cold.

Candy bar coffee creamer:  pretty good! It is just hard to beat the actual chocolate, though.

While Mom and I took a shopping trip to Knoxville, I got a  new dress for this summer at

American Eagle, one of my favorites.

One of my other favorites, Target, always has fancy things for me to try.  This is a pasta sauce made from mainly squash and pumpkins.  It was fantastic!  I used it to make pasta and pizza sauce.

At Walmart, I found a quick way to get garlic flavor in my Italian foods, like pizza.  Just buy it in paste.

Peanut butter is just one of those things....yum. 

 I picked up some Ben & Jerry's greek frozen yogurt that is peanut butter banana and found a cool  Justin's peanut butter cup that is dark chocolate on the outside at Target.  I also picked up a portable pack of that brand's maple almond butter.

Ya know, bananas are cool, too.

Sam's is a great place for bulk, and sometimes you can find original things that you wouldn't expect, too.  This is a big box of Kimberly's Bakeshoppe granola with all kinds of seeds, nuts, and dried fruit.

On Thursday, the weather was much warmer!  I wore shorts and a t shirt to the track for my workout.  I met a friend and another one showed up towards the end, too.  It was a fantastic workout, and it helped that the weather was nice.

Nothing too fancy here, just chocolate Bear Naked granola and cereal with vanilla greek yogurt with dark chocolate bits.

The Saturday at the end of spring break had a track meet scheduled on it, too, this time at

Hardin Valley Academy, a very nice and newer high school in Knoxville.  It was a cold and ugly, rainy, windy day, all my least favorite weathers in one.  My first race, the 1600, was not a very good one for me.  I placed 7th and ran a decent time, but I still was not happy.  Weather didn't help that.  I sat in the car for a while to try and thaw out.  I was shivering on the start line, then still cold when I finished and just miserable.  After a while of sitting in the car, the rain stopped, but the wind blew hard.  I warmed up for my second event, hoping to redeem myself, if only for my own peace of mind.  The temperature outside had dropped about 15 degrees from the start of races, too.  Of course, as we got ready to line up for the 3200, the rain started again.  One of my best friends was such a trooper, and she and her dad stayed to cheer me on!  I told her that she did not have to, and I wouldn't have wanted to do that at all, but they said that they wanted to.  I started out in front, but got passed by a great runner from Beech Senior High School that I had gotten to race and talk to her and her twin at many cross country meets over the years.  I had not had much track experience at this point, but at the last 100 meters of the 7th lap, I decided that I felt good, so I picked it up and passed her about 10 meters or so ahead of me and kept pulling it out in that final lap.  I needed that boost to end my day!  After my cool down, I was still freezing, but it didn't seem so cold now that I was finished and could go inside. 

I had told Mom earlier that if I made it through that day all I wanted was some coffee.  Luckily, a McDonald's down the road made that dream come true.  We also went out to eat after that of course, too.

I follow a blog that I try to look at on my phone every day called 365 Promises.  How perfect that this would come up on a race day.  In the race of life, I know that I can persevere through every trial and struggle because my Savior has a better reward for me when I am finished with life than anything here on earth could ever promise.

After the race, we went to my absolute favorite, Salsarita's!  I always get a large burrito bowl with chicken, guacamole, black and pinto beans, and all the salsas and some veggies.

Foursquare is a handy little app where you can see nearby locations, deals, pictures, and reviews.  At some places, you can get free stuff or coupons when you check in!  This one was for free chips and salsa.  Chili's has one for this appetizer, too, each time you check in.

The Pile-Up Since Snow Days

School is insanely busy, so I haven't posted anything since our last bunch of snow days.  However, when there was something that I wanted to share, I saved a picture; Now I have to add captions to them all!

I thought this was just too funny!  Sophie did not enjoy having to go back outside on those below freezing days.

My new favorite drink:  Lipton Tea & Honey, Green Tea, Mango Pineapple.  The only place I have found it so far is at Target, so I need to keep looking!

This is the college leader in my Sunday School class, Jenna, and my friend Bella brought homemade by her mother red velvet and cream cheese cupcakes for her birthday back on February 16th.  She is such an inspiration, and it's been a blessing having her in our class to teach us so much.

How cute of a daily Peanuts this was:  Love is patient, love is kind.  1 Corinthians 13:4

This was from my last night skiing at Cataloochee for the year.  This time last year (today is March 14th), Dad and I were having a blast at heaven on earth, Colorado!

Although Dad nor I would ever drink, we do tend to hang out by the bar.  We always make jokes with the line from Dumb & Dumber, "Sitting by the bar, putting out the vibe."  There's usually sports on TV, and small groups can almost always be seated immediately.  People are also always watching, so we could also be an influence on the people who are going crazy.

Plain 'ol popcorn can hit the spot sometimes, too.

("having a blast at heaven on earth" is linked to the pictures I posted on Facebook from our trip.)

I got creative with my cooking once again, and made my own healthy version of Chick-fil-a's cinnamon clusters. 

I took slices of whole wheat bread, sliced them each into 3 strips, and coved/flattened them with "icing."  My icing was a mixture of:  honey, vanilla, protein powder, cool whip, almond milk, cinnamon and other spices, cream cheese, pumpkin, pumpkin butter, and I believe that is all.  Then I rolled them up and stuffed them into muffin cups.  I topped them with a bit more honey and cinnamon sugar before sticking them in the oven to bake until the tops were barely crispy.  Yum Yum!

Another great snack I found!  From the Emerald Almond makers, they have a line of Breakfast-to-Go packs.  This one is Caramel Macchiato, which has sea salt caramel almonds, mocha roast almonds, dark chocolate espresso beans, and granola in it, all giving you a great boost of healthy fat and protein to get you going for the day.  I think it goes great with yogurt and froyo as dessert, too!

There for a while, I was on a Reese's Puffs kick, and put them in almost all my desserts.  TCBY also has a new partnership with Mrs. Fields, and one of the new flavors is Peanut Butter Dream Bar, and it really is like a dream!

I actually won a contest.  Never in my life have I won a contest, but I enter them all the time!  YouthRunner magazine does a weekly contest on Instagram, where they choose a winner from photos that people tag with #YRContest.  A team prayer picture from this cross country season won a few weeks ago, and I got these two magazines and Roger Bannister movie in the mail!

Here is another simple, sweet, and encouraging Peanuts picure.

I went all appled-out one day at lunch.  I love to coordinate things.

This is my buddy Michael!  He was one of my first best friends in kindergarten.  Everyone calls him their favorite Asian.  This was the Sunday of Motown Madness, and I did my weekend run after I got home from church.  I just-so-happened to be finishing my run at the same time Michael, his dad, and friend were finishing their 40 mile bike ride.  They're into triathlons, which I think is awesome!

A new month means a new "Love Is" calendar picture!

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."  Ephesians 4:2

I took this picture from a Twitter post by Life is Good.  I love it because it is so true.  We are in charge of how we react to situations.  If we choose joy, there is no downside.  God provides joy; we just have to choose to accept it and live every moment with it.

This was my first big frozen yogurt in a long time!  It makes it more enjoyable to have it every once in a while.  (More cost-efficient, too; this stuff is pricey.)  This came from one of my favorites:

  Yogli Mogli.

This amazing runner, Chanelle Price, won the 800 meter World Championships a couple weeks ago.  I don't know how I had never heard of her; she went to UT and lives in Knoxville, which is less than an hour down the road!  I hope I can meet her someday.  She has such a heart for and trust in the Lord, and gets to use her running as a platform to share Him with the world.  That's how I hope people see me, too.

We had a huge group at Bible Study last Wednesday morning!  It made me so happy to be able to fellowship and share little pieces of the Lord's work in our lives, so I had to get my dad to take a picture!

Alright, we're almost up to date.  This was the Peanuts picture from yesterday.  Joy is my favorite word, because it is a feeling that you can't really describe because it is far beyond happiness.  I believe the only true joy comes from delighting in the Lord.

I saw a commercial for this on tv a couple nights ago and decided to try it.  What an easy way to help people who don't have something so essential to life that we take for granted every day?  I went to the UNICEF Tap Project site on my phone and started it out, but I had some trouble.  I got it to work for 20 minutes one night, and last night it took no time, although I left it running, counting time, for over 9 hours while I slept.  Hopefully it is working better for others!

 

There is also a hilarious video on YouTube called "We Are Hungry" that makes fun of the school lunch program.  You should check it out.