30 days of Thankfulness: day 13

Day 13: Today I am thankful for my family.

I'm thankful for the support of my family. There is no way I would be able to be successful at what I'm doing if it wasn't for these people. I'm thankful for how quirky we are. I'm thankful for how we watch insane amounts of football. I'm thankful for my mom and how she keeps the peace. I'm thankful for how we talk about our issues honestly. I'm thankful for the yummy food we make in the kitchen together. I'm thankful for my dad and how he is almost always the voice of reality. I'm thankful for how our family traditions change almost every year. I'm thankful for my brother and his ability to be able to fix just about everything.

We're a crazy bunch, but I sure do love them.

Blackberries and C-town

Last night was my first night back in Corvallis after absolute wedding craziness. (Which by the way, was SO much fun). I'll write more about that later when more pictures trickle in from many different sources.

Anna and I had made plans to get together for a long time, so we did! We ate dinner at Cafe Yumm, which is pretty much our favorite place in all of Corvallis. We decided to go blackberry picking and bake, so we did! We got home, washed the berries, and baked this yummylicous desert that we both enjoyed!
After we ate, we both did some painting, crafting, and Lion King line reciting. We had our favorite movie on in the background and we both know pretty much every single line of that whole movie. Have you ever noticed how many life lessons are in the Lion King? There are a lot! It is such a great movie!

 We layered the blackberries on the bottom of the dish and lightly sprinkled sugar over them. Then we used a can of dough and dipped it into melted butter and rolled it in a cinnamon sugar mixture. We layered the dough pieces over the top and baked for about 20 minutes. The end result was fantastic!

Friends, food, and great music

David Crowder

I have no words. It's near impossible to explain the experience I had at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland at the David Crowder Band concert featuring John Mark McMillan, Chris August, and Gungor. David Crowder Band has been my favorite band for years now. This tour was their last tour and I knew I had to go.

Before the concert, I drove up to Portland to meet some friends and have dinner. We got caught in a torrential downpour so we settled on eating at Whole Foods deli area.

Scott, Andrea, me and Emily with our awesome Margarita Pizza

After this, we put Andrea's phone into a bag of rice. It got very very wet from the downpour we got stuck in. We walked to the Crystal Ballroom and passed John Mark McMillan on the way. He was eating some chocolate. We walked all the way to the back of the line and waited until we could get inside. In line, my friend Rachael met up with us. Everyone got their tickets and we got music note stamps on our wrists.

Love this girl

Emily's excited to see Gungor face

Gungor

Worshiping hands :)

Emily, Me, Rachael, and Andrea

 

 

 

 

 

 

They finished the show by playing How He Loves, which John Mark wrote. David Crowder started singing it and all the other acts came out after the first verse and chorus. 

There is something so amazingly beautiful about believers being all together-all worshiping the same God, the creator of the universe-together. I was touched that night. And so sweetly reminded of just how good and amazing God really is.

Emily, JohnMark and I

Rachael, Chris August, and I

What's cooking?

Last week, I made the most fabulous dinner. I was so impressed with myself because it was one of those days where I looked in my fridge, picked out random ingredients, and threw it together. It was glorious!

I used:

• 1 raw chicken breast
• 1/4 of an onion
• 1 carrot
• 3 baby red potatoes
• fresh basil leaves
• 1 drop olive oil
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 lemon, juiced

 I put the chicken in the roast pan and cut up the veggies to surround it. Then I drizzled the lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil over the top. I sprinkled the fresh basil over the top and baked for about an hour. When it was done, the whole apartment smelt marvelous and it tasted like a dream! This recipe is so great because it is so easy to make and good for you! (Not to mention, gluten free) :)

 Any yummy recipes I should try?

Every picture tells a story

Basically, my life got pretty exciting pretty fast. Here is my week in pictures (kinda)

 I was in much need of a pedicure, and with the sun finally starting to come out, my toes needed some love. I painted them a lovely pink color courtesy of my friend Dani. I don't own any nail polish myself!

 One of my absolute favorite snacks: apples and cheese. YUM!

 Banana pumpkin muffins made with my friend Caeli. We enjoy baking and cooking together. We also made chili together this week. We've been baking and cooking together weekly and I just love our time together!

 My breakfast one day. Gluten Free oats with pumpkin seasoning, cinnamon, and chocolate chips.

 This week I tried a new adventure. I went kayaking! OSU offers it in the evenings in the pool and I thought I'd give it a try with some friends. It was super fun and actually really hard! My arms and abs are sore. I learned that I am afraid of being underwater for long periods of time. I'm going to keep going to face my fear and get stronger!

 I read some magazines outside and enjoyed the lovely view and the beautiful day.

 Pretty pretty flower I found

My dinner one night this week. Lemon Dill salmon, with stir fry green beans and potatoes with onions. Yum!

Overall, I had such a crazy week. It consisted of:

4 job interviews

babysitting

cooking

driving

class

church events

a little drama

a few baths

class

clothes swapping (we had an event with the girls in my college group) SO FUN

Kayaking

Registering for classes for Fall (I'm really excited! I'm taking Guest for meaning: World Religions, Lifetime fitness for Health, Contemporary Math, Human Sexuality, and Pilates)

I'm in a new and exciting time of my life. I'm loving it!