Birthday Week 2013

Back in March, my roommate Peggy & I instituted "birthday week" in honor of our other roommate, Janelle. The plan was to love Janelle in some small way every day during the week of her birthday.  This tradition has continued, and so this past week was my "birthday week."  SO FUN.  I cannot thank my friends here at Covenant enough for making me feel so loved and special during this past week! :)  Here are some of the highlights:

On Monday (the official start of birthday week), I got back from my normal early-morning gym workout to find a balloon and mini-latte made by Peggy.  Later that day, I was surprised with BEAUTIFUL roses from Eric.
Thursday (my actual birthday), started off with breakfast made by Peggy, and an early-morning skype session with my co-birthday-girl, Jessica.  It was so fun getting to see her on our birthday and open presents together.  I really missed celebrating with her this year, and I've resolved that twins should never spend their birthdays alone.  Having her with me is a fundamental part of how I think my birthday should be celebrated, and it was really sad for her not to be here with me.  After class, I went to lunch with my dear friend Taylore, and Eric took me out for dinner later that night.
Friday was the official party day.  My friends threw me an AWESOME dinner party.  You all need to let Janelle cook for you - oh my goodness, was it amazing!  Homemade bruschetta, shrimp scampi, and chicken alfredo (yes, she made her own sauce); I couldn't ask for a more delicious meal.  I felt so loved by all who planned and came to celebrate with me!  We ended the evening at a pub called McGurk's in Soulard (downtown-ish St. Louis) with a huge crowd of Covenant students.  Peggy got everyone in the bar to sing to me, which was such a special way to end the night!
Sunday was the official close to birthday week.  Eric treated me to lunch and then a cupcake at Jilly's cupcake bar.  SO YUMMY.  This place is a must if you come to St. Louis.  Jilly's was on Food Network's Cupcake Wars and WON!  They are going to be on the show again in a couple of weeks, I believe.

Thank you, everyone for all of the birthday love this week.  It has been so fun for me to celebrate with all of you, and I appreciate the love and affirmation you have showered me with this past week! :)  I couldn't ask for a better way to start my last week of classes and finals.

i don't know about you, but i'm feeling 22

Definitely not the best Taylor Swift song...but considering that I have 5 days left being 22, I thought it was appropriate! :)  Birthday week starts tomorrow!

Speculoos Cookies

I've never written a food blog, but I was so excited about this baking experiment, I thought I would share it with you!  How many of you have heard of Speculoos?  You may have heard it called Biscoff Spread or Cookie Butter (made by Trader Joe's), but I will forever call it by it's French name - Speculoos.  I was first introduced to this glorified peanut butter during my semester abroad.  As some of you may remember, I gave up chocolate for Lent that year, and Lent quite inconveniently fell over my Spring Break trip to Paris.  So, my dear friend Cathy bought Speculoos for us to eat with fruit and bread, since I could not have Nutella.  Ever since, we have all been hooked!  I came back to the states and scoured every grocery store to find this product!  At the time, I could only find it at one store - Fresh Market.  Now, only two years later, it's available at almost every major grocery in the country, in addition to Walmart and Trader Joe's (who have formed their own label of Cookie Butter).

So, for awhile, I've been wanting to modify a standard recipe for peanut butter cookies (substituting Speculoos for peanut butter).  I know, I know, you can buy Biscoff cookies at the store...  But making your own is so much more fun, and you get chewy cookies instead of crunchy tea-cookies.  I did have to modify the flour content - because Speculoos and peanut butter don't have quite the same consistency, the batter turned out very sticky, and my test cookies were thin and didn't rise properly.  So, here is the recipe I used (courtesy of the old Better Homes & Garden cookbook):

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (this is 1/4 more flour than the peanut butter cookie recipe)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup margarine (or butter)
1/2 cup Speculoos
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Stir together flour, baking soda & salt - set aside.  In a mixer bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds.  Add Speculoos, granulated sugar, and brown sugar; beat until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla; beat well.  Add dry ingredients; beat until well combined.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls; roll in granulated sugar if desired (I did not do this last part, but it's definitely worth trying!).  Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet, and bake for about 10 minutes.  Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet before removing to cooling rack.

Can I just say, the cookie dough for these is DELICIOUS.  The cookies were good too, but I'm looking to get more opinions on that before I make them again.  If anyone happens to try them, let me know what your thoughts are!

Springtime

Up until this week, I had always thought that springtime meant sunshine and flowers and temperatures of at least 50 degrees (more like 70 if you're in the Williamsburg area).  Clearly, I had not experienced spring's full range of emotions.  Instead of all of those wonderfully warm things, my spring break has been marked by snowfall and chilly temperatures.  And people say that we should be concerned about global warming!

It's hard to believe that the spring semester is half over (sorry for my lack of posts recently)!  The past two months have absolutely flown by, as spring semesters tend to do.  I always feel like the second half of the school year goes by so much faster than the first!  That's probably all in my head, but nevertheless, my theory is holding true.  One of the wonderful things about going to a seminary is that we get additional days off for the Easter holidays.  And conveniently, Easter falls right after our spring break this year!  So next week consists of work and classes Monday-Wednesday, and then I have Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, AND Easter Monday off!  Isn't that crazy?  It's like having two weeks of spring break!

I have really enjoyed being home for the past week.  Although I've been working a crazy number of hours, it has been great just to come back to my home base and rest my mind for awhile.  A day and half more and then it's back to St. Louis for me.  I can't believe this break has gone by so fast!  Before I know it, it's gonna be April (and my birthday!)...where has the semester gone?!

Meaningful Conversations

"One conversation can change a life." - Meg Meyers, MAC '11

Sometimes moments strike you.  Sometimes it's like a slap in the face, and sometimes it's like realizing that you're awake after slowing coming out of a dream.  I find that I'm struck by the seemingly insignificant things that people say.  Like the quote above - just one small sentence, part of a lecture I heard today on Child Abuse & Neglect.  Hearing her say this made me re-realize that I want to have those conversations every day.  I want to be in the business of enacting change in the world - to walk with others in the restoration process.

This lecture also re-awoke in me my desire to work with children & families who are caught in the traps of abuse, neglect, and poverty.  Our speaker works for an organization very similar to the one I worked for during my last semester at William & Mary (Child Development Resources, aka CDR), and I could not help remembering how much I loved working there.  There is so much that the counseling & social work community can do to prevent "big issues" like child abuse/neglect, domestic violence, substance abuse, and juvenile crime, and yet we spend so much time trying to clean up the mess after it's already happened.  Restoration is not just an individual process, it's happening in families and communities and culture - and yet we shy away from working in these areas.

So if one conversation can change a life, how many lives do we affect every day?  What if the conversation you are in right now is the one that will change the life of whoever it is you are talking to?  Just something to think about.

Fasting & Feasting

It struck me the other day that Lent is fast approaching, and I haven't given any thought as to what I'm going to give up.  Funny how it sneaks up on you like that!  For those of you that have been following my rather random & rambling writings for awhile, you know that Lent is definitely not a tradition that I grew up with.  In fact, I've only been partaking in this time of fasting for the past two years.  Through these experiences, I've come to realize that I do not fast properly.  I use Lent as a means of testing my self-control and discipline, not as a way to learn to rely on God more.  I've also used it as a way to kick-start each failed attempt to eat healthier & get down to a weight I was happy with.  Seeing as I've lost 11 pounds since October (my first successful weight loss attempt - I'm thrilled!), this is no longer a motivation for me.

But the question remains, what am I going to do for Lent?  I think what I want to see happen is a true heart-change.  And in order to see that happen, I think I am inclined to not remove anything from my life.  Rather I am going to add something:  meditation.  There is an exercise that I found in a book I read last semester (Anatomy of the Soul by Curt Thompson), that describes meditating on being known by God.  This is where I want to start - practicing being known by my Creator, and learning to know Him more.

What if we used Lent to focus not on depriving ourselves of yummy foods and enjoyable activities, but on feasting on the love of God and the Word He has given us?

my best friend's wedding

In June of 2007, Aaron told me that he was going to marry Tasha.  We were on a student exchange trip to Germany, and they had been dating for approximately 4 1/2 months.  Needless to say, I didn't believe him.  How many 17 year-olds have found the person they want to spend the rest of their lives with?  Besides, she was my best friend - so I was a little protective.

Yesterday, we celebrated Tasha & Aaron's marriage, and I have never been so happy to be proven wrong.  Tasha, you and I have been through so much together - times of joy and times of sadness.  I have been so blessed to have you in my life for the past 10 years.  And now you're off to start a brand new adventure!  I'm so excited to see the great blessings God has in store for you and your new husband.  But if I'm being honest with myself, I'm also incredibly sad to see you go.  I'm going to miss our long chats over chocolate milk, eating ice cream in your basement, and seeing you every time I came home from school.  It's the end of a chapter in our lives, and I'm sad to see it come to a close.


Aaron & Tasha, thank you so much for including me in your wedding.  It was such an honor to be involved in the ceremony, and it has been a joy to see your relationship grow over the last six years.

Much love to you, my dear friends, and may the Lord bless you as you start this grand adventure <3