Great pictures are not taken with a cell phone camera in a room with a chandelier and sparkling candles.  That’s a fact.  But great memories are made when family and best friends come together.  My baby brother turned 27 on Saturday.  How does time go by that fast?!?! So to celebrate Miss V, CoLo and I all headed to the playground of the stars to celebrate with him for the weekend.  Little did he know Chicago would be surprising him by driving down the day after we got there, too, and boy was he surprised!

So with the gang assembled, it was time to celebrate.  After a birthday breakfast, we drove to the big city to play goofy golf (and be hustled by CoLo), break the basketball game in the arcade and grab lunch at PeiWei before a quick stop to pick up the new Neil Casel photobook from his time in The Cardinals with Ryan Adams.  The drive home was filled with dissecting the chances of Ryan Adam’s returning to music, bad 80s music and naptime.  We arrived back at the parentals just in time to help mom finish up birthday dinner, meatloaf and mashed potatoes (and I took my first bite of meat loaf in 23 years! Let’s just say I had a bad experience.)

After dinner Z opened his gifts which included more pearl-snap button shirts, a GPS for those El Paso adventures, a gift card to expand his vinyl album collection and a knife that every guy would want and only a few should be entrusted to carry. Then before the hour got too late, Miss V packed up and headed east for Cruces, and those who remained capped off the evening with “The Hurt Locker” and Bon Iver’s “For Emma, Forever Ago” on vinyl in the manroom.

While this weekend was nothing like last year’s Zacapalooza with the huge bbq and trek to Texas for Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, for me there was something quaint and heart-warming about spending time with the people who mean the most to you.  I’m pretty sure the birthday boy feels the same way.  Happy birthday, brother.  May you have many more and may those you love be there to share each one!

I’ve had this blue beauty since I got her for Christmas and am finally having time to put her to good use. First, there was berry crumble last week and then homemade beef stew today.  She’s just perfect for slowcooking a winter’s meal, and this has definitely been a winter.  For quite some time now I’ve wanted and enamel-covered dutch oven and am so glad Lodge (one of my favorite kitchen brands) makes such a gorgeous, kitchen heavy hitter that won’t set you back $300 like others.  So if you need something special for your mom, the chef in your life or even yourself, this is a must have!

Orange-Berry Crumble

• 3 cups oats
• 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 Tb
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• zest of two oranges
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 40 oz of frozen berries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.  In a large bowl, toss together oats, 1/2 cup flour, pecans (I used pecans that were already covered in cinnamon and sugar from a local orchard), brown sugar, 1/2 of the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and zest of 1 of the oranges.  Add butter and gently press with fingers to incorporate into mixture; set aside.
2. Place berries (I used 16 oz of raspberries, 16 oz of blackberries and 8 oz of blueberries) in a 12-inch cast iron skillet.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, zest of second orange, and 2 TB of flour and gently toss.  Scatter oat mixture over berries.  Transfer to oven and bake until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden about 35-45 minutes.

(Taken from Country Living magazine and tweaked a bit to my taste.)

Yesterday was my first Easter that I didn’t spend with at least one member of my family. In order to make my own traditions and keep from being too homesick, I decided to make one of my favorite non-traditional comfort foods. It’s simple and easy, and the best part is the leftovers.
Curried Chicken with Veggies

* Mild Curry Paste
* 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts chopped into 1 inch cubes
* Bag of frozen green beans
* Bag of frozen crinkle-cut carrots
* 1 can of coconut milk
* 2 Tb vegetable oil
* 2 Tb fish sauce
* 2 cups of jasmine rice

Begin by rinsing rice in cool water until water is runs clear through rice.  Cook rice  according to package or following these instructions.  Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes and add chicken to 1 Tb of hot oil in wok or large skill.  Cook chicken completely.  At the same time reheat vegetables in an additional pot until veggies are cooked through.  Combine veggies into chicken and add fish sauce, coconut milk, and curry to taste.  (I usually add 1/3 to 1/2 of jar.)  Cook for 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and coated chicken and veggies.  Serve over rice and enjoy!

Two Christmas ago, one of my favorite gifts was a year round quilt that my mom had mad for me. The quilt is one of the coolest I have ever seen especially for an apartment because there are twelve smaller quilts that can be hung in the frame of the large quilt depending on the season. So far I have seven of the smaller quilts and as mom finishes each one it becomes my new favorite. Today, she sent me a pix message sneak peak of my newest spring quilt. I can’t wait to get it! Don’t you love the hot pink rain boots?!?!

Last week when my family was up visiting, my mom and I were fabric shopping when I came across a fabric I couldn’t help but fall in love with.  White with black flowers and swirls highlighted by hot pink… what couldn’t be more me?  However, despite the perfection of the fabric, Mom and I couldn’t come up with a single use of it in my new bedroom.  Guess that’s how you know a room is just right when you can’t find a way to use a gorgeous fabric.  So with a tish of sadness we walked away from the fabric and decided if we came up with a use we could always go back.  Less than an hour before my family had to leave, Mom and I had the epiphany that my bed would look better if there were 7 pillows on it and not just 5.  So we raced back to the fabric store to but the beloved fabric to make pillowcases for pillows I already owned and kept in the closet until company showed up.  Well, it’s been about a week since they left and already Mom has made gorgeous pillowcases from the fabric below and mailed them too me.  Yeah, I’m spoiled

Pillowcase fabric

Completed bed with new pillowcases

My dad forwarded an email to me today with a handful of these letters to God, and I had to share my favorite. Outta the mouths of babes.

My family left today.  I swear everytime I have to say goodbye to them it gets harder and harder.  I cry more, and it takes that much longer to get my emotions back under control.  I’m not really sure why this is.  I wasn’t this way in college.  I’ve said goodbye to them and hopped in the car to drive home numerous times.  Maybe it’s because they all live six-hours away and as much as I love my life in Flagstaff, I miss them more than I can express most days.  Maybe because I feel like the odd family member out, the lone gun man, and don’t know how not to feel that way.  I’m almost controlling and selfish with the time I get with them, and that realization is a horrible feeling.  You’d think the older I get and more of a life I build here, the easier it would be to go back to that life when family time is over,  but that’s not the case.  Now don’t get me wrong, it was a great weekend.  We had tons of laughs, enjoyed two days of March Madness, did a good deal of shopping and spent quality time together, but still I’m sad and left wishing for more time together.

On the other hand and just in time to cheer me up, Lauren is back from her overseas trip and should be arriving on my doorstep soon.  I can’t wait to hear stories of her trip and just give her a huge hug.  I’ve missed her immensely the past two weeks and will be relieved to know she is home and safe.  Plus, two weeks of life is a lot of catching up to do.  Then, to add more fun to the proverbial pot, my old and dear friend Emily is bunking at my casa tomorrow night as she drives through Flagstaff.  I’m sure we’ll spend our time together catching each other up and gossiping about the old gang while feating on Oreos and ice cream.  I haven’t seen her in almost two years, and it’s been months since we truly had a good chat.

Life is funny like that.  As sad as I am to say goodbye to three of the people I care most about, God has provided me with hellos and hugs of others that I’ve been missing.  I know deep down that even when I say goodbye to Emily Monday morning or remember the three hundred mile distance that separates me from my family, I am still loved and still love, and that’s more than enough to get by.

My family is on its way to visit me, and to be honest, I’m having a hard time focusing on anything because I cannot wait for them to get here.  Zac has visited me a handful of times since I moved, and dad was up here after Christmas.  But mom has yet to see my place finished, and I blame her for my Christmas decorations staying up as long as they did.  Part of me just kept hopping if they stayed up, she’d eventually come and see them.  Yet, apparently, she has a full time job and has to take care of the boys… so no visits for Laurel until now.  I have spent way too much time as of late meticulously making sure everything is as it should be in my house.  I’ve grocery shopped for everything they liked, planned meals, and have visited Target four separate times to ensure I have everything they could possibly need to be comfortable.

What is it about our parents that even as grown adults we have an obsession with pleasing them?  Will it really matter to them that every picture and decoration on the wall is level?  No, you say?  Then why did I have to check every single thing on every wall with a level last night?  I’m sure Cory thought I was losing my mind as I checked and rechecked my parental preparation list 15 times yesterday and today to make sure everything was just right, but you only get one chance to make a first impression.  Even as I think about this afternoon, it seemes laughable to spend that much time focusing on details they won’t even notice.  People come in and out of my place all the time and probably couldn’t tell you what colors the throw pillows on my couches are, and yet I went so far as considering ironing the wrinkles in them that I noticed late last night.  Maybe I’ll just turn off all the lights and light candles, so that the room has a nice glow when they get there without shining a spotlight on anything I might have missed.  Yeah, that’s a good plan.  Then they’ll think their daughter is holding a seance and not critique her decorating, cleaning, or living as an adult skills.  Whew, I feel so much better.

I miss being a CaresTeam some days.  I miss the challenge and struggles off feeding the masses dinner on $20.  There was something greatly gratifying about conquering the obstacles that we had in our ministry and finding success in that apartment complex.  One of my favorite things used to be our biweekly shopping trips where I would spend hours scouring the weekly grocery store ads and planning all of our events and cooking around what was on sale and how much we could save.  I loved to accomplishment of spending $30 while saving $50.

Even though I’m no longer in charge of feeding the crowd, I still find joy in shopping the bargains on a smaller scale,.  So today after combing through the ads and planning meals for the next two weeks, we headed off to conquer the grocery list.  At the end of the day, the freezer, fridge and pantry were stocked.  We had saved 21% more than we spent and have everything needed for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next few weeks.  Now, who wants to come over for dinner?

It’s been way too long since I’ve had the time and freedom to give my house a good once over. With the snow melting and weekend all to myself, I started cleaning and organizing with a vengeance early this morning and didn’t stop til well past three o’clock in the morning. From visitors to my bout of near-death illness, things in my life were not as they should be. So I organized the pantry, scrubbed every visible surface, purged anything that was unused or unneeded, cleaned and straightened the closets, and finally tackled the chaos known as my desk. Then because I was feeling adventurous (and everyone wouldn’t stop making fun of me) I took my Christmas decorations down. Yes, folks, its a week into March and my Christmas decorations are down and my house is sad and depressing. I hope you’re happy.

Cleaning for me has always been a cathartic experience. Most days I have no real desire to clean. I’m not dirty; my house isn’t disgusting. I just choose to stockpile my cleaning tokens and cash them in when I need to work things out in my head or when I’m needing mindless therapy. Cleaning to me is about control and the ability to choose, and once I start, it takes hours and even days to have things in such a way that I can stop and sleep without wondering if I remembered to alphabetize my cds and arrange the dvds by genre. I won’t even try and convince you I don’t have minor OCD tendencies. All I can say is it works and my house is lovely and ready for family to visit, but more than that my head and soul are in order, too. Beat that.

It took four separate shoveling events to finally dig my car out so that I could return to work today.  Next time it snows, though, I will not be out shoveling at 10pm in the snow and wind.  Not because of the extreme weather conditions and the fear I might lose my nose to frostbite or my eyelashes might freeze together, but because I don’t think I could handle another ‘lecture’ from my neighbor informing me that it’s unbecoming for women to do work outside.  That’s why she has a husband, of course.  Or maybe  I should just get two ‘tarded’ boyfriends.  Oh the possibilities….  My guess is I’m just going to continue to be unbecoming and shovel myself out. Shocker.

It’s a gorgeous Sunday morning, and I’m enjoying some solitude and breakfast before church.  The house is clean.  All the food has been prepared for today’s festivities, and I’m more than a bit nervous/excited for the biggest game of the season/Arizona Cardinals history.   Some may consider this image that was sent to me by one of my best friend’s of a church in the valley blasphemous, but my guess is you’re just Steelers fans and are fearful that the Cards are God’s team (2nd to the Pack;) ).  But in just a few hours, we’ll see who takes home the prettiest girl from the big dance.  My money (literally and figuratively) is on Kurt and the boys.  Then again, I always cheer for the underdog team with heart and a personality.  Hopefully, 12 hours from now we’ll all be exhausted from celebrating Fitzy’s acrobatic catch… The Edge’s touchdown run… that Big Red Defense… Boldin’s 40-yd slant pass pickup… Kurt for just being Kurt… and the Lombardi trophy on its way to the desert.  Hopefully.

Found ‘red dogs’ while out shopping for Super Bowl food tonight.  It looks like this state is ready to embrace a winning team.  24 hours from now we’ll see how ready that team is to embrace us.

The day of change has finally arrived. President Bush has ridden off into the proverbial sunset as President Obama has taken his oath and stepped into the last job he’ll ever hold. Our campus and most of the nation (and world) collectively stopped today to watch history in the making. Expectations are high for our new leader, and the road will not be an easy one.  More than any other words spoken on this momentous occasion, the following blessing is my hope for the next four years.

Let us pray.

Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory.

History is your story. The Scripture tells us, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now, today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time. We celebrate a hingepoint of history with the inauguration of our first African American president of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new President, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race, or religion, or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us. And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all. May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before you. We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray:

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” – Inaugural Invocation by Rick Warren