A Whole New Me

I almost can't believe this as I write it... As of today, I have lost a total of 81 pounds!  Holy. Cow.

Let's do some comparing: My weimaraner, Grace, weighs in at 79 pounds. An average 11 year old child weighs 79-80 pounds. 10 gallons of water weighs roughly 80 pounds.

Hmmm... what else weighs about 80 pounds-- 7 standard sewing machines, 3 female trumpeter swans, 2 bicycles, 27 bowling pins, and 20 watermelons.

Geesh.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I've started taking yoga classes with some of my coworkers. I honestly never thought that would happen.  Then again, I never thought I would run a 3K either.

The yoga classes are offered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but my plan is to run/train (for the upcoming 5K Turkey Trot) on Tuesdays and Thursdays and to take yoga on Wednesdays.  Who am I?  A totally new (energized) person--That's who!

I have to admit though, I was really nervous during my first yoga class.  I have a strict policy of not putting my head below my feet because of my past history with headstands.  I keep having flashbacks to college- falling on my head and injuring my neck (have I shared that story? I'll have to check--It's a real winner).

Surprisingly, yoga wasn't that bad.  I actually really enjoyed it. I could do a lot more of the poses than I expected.  What's more- it was soothing and I came away feeling de-stressed.  And this may be besides the point, but I really love my new yoga outfit.

Hooray for 80 81 pounds lost and namaste.

Autumnal Inspiration

I heart autumn.  

Morning Devotional

One of the perks of working at a Christian college is the environment; full of grace, compassion, iron sharpening iron...

In addition, there are morning devotions.  My department has a weekly devotions time on Tuesday mornings and all of the employees take turns leading.  I have to be honest--I don't make it to devotions every Tuesday.  I'm just not a morning person; sometimes it takes me a while to get my brain functioning (even with coffee).  

This past Tuesday however, I did make it into the conference room on time and I think it was a total God thing.  The topic of the morning's devotional was waiting.  Waiting is something I have a tough time with (just ask Hubs).  I always want things done right away.  There is no time like the present- that's my motto.

Unfortunately for me, God has me waiting on a lot of things right now.  For four years (but really since my college days ended) I've been waiting to graduate with my master's degree.  Thankfully, that date is now set and it is edging ever closer.  But there are so many other things I'm waiting on-- Things that tend to bog me down.  I'm waiting anxiously to have enough funds to fix our rusty water main, I'm waiting for the Bible messages I teach on Sunday mornings to break through the STARS developmental barriers, I'm waiting to see if I'll ever be able to have a child I can call my own, I'm waiting for the end of human trafficking, I'm waiting for...

The following devotional was written by Jill Briscoe in April of 2010 (Jill Briscoe, wife of author Stuart Briscoe).  It really touched my heart.

{waiting}

A meditation from the book of Habakkuk “How long Oh Lord?” 1:2

Waiting for the dawn to dawn when night is long and black,

Waiting for a heart to heal or a kid to get on track.

Waiting for delay to end and wishes to come true,

Waiting for a sight or sense of You.

Waiting for the one who left to find the way back home,

Waiting for this sense of loss to leave my heart alone,

Waiting, wondering, hurting, in a hole of pain so deep,

Waiting for just one good night of sleep.

Waiting for an answer, for evidence that You care,

Waiting for employment, for just one answered prayer.

One small affirmation for freedom from self doubt

Waiting for a way to work it out.

Waiting for the Bible to start and make some sense

I’m sick of my ambivalence, and sitting on this fence.

Waiting for a promise that truth will have its way

For justice to win out once grace filled day.

Waiting for a world that’s deaf, to hear You and repent.

Waiting for the human race to believe the One you sent

To save forgive equip to live in holiness and power

Waiting for salvation in this hour.

Waiting for the violence and the conflict that abounds

The wrong You seem to tolerate, the injustice that’s around

To stop, because You intervene and answer desperate prayer:

Waiting just to know You’re waiting there.

But Lord the waiting’s killing me, I cry to You for peace,

To still the storm inside me and make all this turmoil cease.

Help me to remember as I try to do my part,

How patiently You waited for my heart.

You waited for repentance that was Your perfect due,

You waited out resentment and my anger aimed at You.

You waited in the shadows and You offered me Your hand,

To strengthen me to wait it out and stand.

So however long the waiting lasts: as long as You decide,

I’ll stand upon my watchtower and I’ll climb my mountainside,

And I’ll ask you Lord for ‘hind’s feet’ and my soul will render praise,

As You and I will wait for better days.

Though fig tree does not bud and though no cattle in the stall,

Though donkeys and the sheepfold have no company at all

Yet see my heart oh Sovereign God, rejoicing in your grace:

Content to wait it out and see your face.

Unexpected Improvements

Now that the Fair is over, I can catch you up on some home improvements that took place over Labor Day weekend.  As I already mentioned, Mom and Dad ended up coming down for a visit.  Or should I say, they came down to kick our butts into motion.

Back in the beginning of August we had a terrible storm blow through our area. The wind was blowing like a banshee and the rain was coming down sideways-- It was one of those storms. The house managed to escape unscathed, but the garage roof wasn't so lucky.  A large branch fell on the front section, right above the doors, breaking through the eave.  The wood was pretty weak already, making the damage worse than it would have been otherwise.  Even so, we had no immediate plans to replace it.  Or so we thought...

With the roof damaged, the garage was looking pitiful indeed.  In July, Hubs and I scraped the whole structure. Until Labor Day weekend though, all I had managed to get primed were the walls.  Isn't it crazy that I am married to the world's greatest house painter and yet, it's taking three months to get my garage freshly painted? I'm just saying... The blotchy, messy paint job coupled with some missing window panes/glass in the doors and then the damaged roof had our property looking awful!

I guess my parents couldn't handle my complaining any longer because they jumped in their Tahoe and headed south to help.  And when my parents come with a purpose, they don't dally (especially my mom).  We were up extra early on Saturday morning to drive over to Menards to pick up the shingles and nails. 

Hubs and Dad spent most of their time up on the roof, while Mom and I kept our feet planted firmly on the ground. We focused on painting the garage walls and surprisingly... on taking down the rest of our old fence (between the garage and the back wall).  Now that there isn't a pitbull on the other side, we were eager to shed that eyesore.  Eventually, we'll replace the old fence with new like we did on the other side, but for now-- it just looks so much better.

Enjoy the pics!

How awful!

Getting better...

Hooray!  The old ugly fence is gone.

Thanks for the help, Mom & Dad.

I Faired Alright

The 2011 Fair has come and gone.  It was truly a great year for the Fair, especially concerning the weather. It was cool and crisp everyday; making my three unbelievable bites of cinnamon roll all the more memorable (I was so good about resisting the Fair food- you would be proud). 

The only downside to the Fair this year--The only truly irritating part of the whole week-- I didn't place with my entries like I thought I was going to.  I received only three 3rd place ribbons; one for my pineapple jam, one for my oatmeal bread and one for my mild salsa.  My banana bread didn't earn any ribbons this year. I don't know what to think about that recipe (a purple ribbon one year and nothing the next- hmmm).  What surprised me most though, was my apple nut muffins because I'm telling you- they were incredibly scrumptious/addicting.

Perhaps the judges were having an off day?  Or maybe they burned their taste buds at the tea & cookies contest prior to judging?  Or maybe...

I highly doubt it. One day while I was sitting at the Ag Land Pavilion listening to a live radio recording- I overheard the DJ interviewing a judge from the Home Arts Building.  Turns out, the guy is a certified master baker. I guess there are less than 200 master bakers in the whole United States (or so he said). Sounded pretty serious.

In the end, there's a choice to be made--Do I sit and pout about only taking home three ribbons (which really isn't too shabby) or do I buck up, act like the adult that I am and move on with my life.

Hmmm...I think I'll sit and pout just a wee bit longer...

And THEN I'll start plotting my revenge against this master baker by baking the most amazingly moist, flavorful, lowfat carrot cake with cream cheese frosting that this world has ever tasted.  I'll serve it to Hubs and he'll lovingly tell me I'm awesome and that I could be a master baker.  I'll tearfully agree and then finally, this whole ridiculous episode will be behind me.... Until next year. 

Hubs heading in Wednesday night

Heifer judging... It's a whole other language.

Mini hay bales for a dollar

The man on the right is 94 years old- still at it.

We love the Fair!

Fair Update

Today is the first day of the Fair, but before I get into that, let me back up to where I left off.  Let’s see-- I was gearing up for my baking marathon on Sunday…

Originally, I signed up to enter a carrot cake, banana bread, pumpkin bread, apple muffins, Irish soda bread, apple nut cake, blueberry corn muffins, and oatmeal bread.  My plan was to make all of this on Sunday after church.  Thankfully, I got my canning out of the way the week before.  This became particularly important because Mom and Dad ended up coming down for a visit.  They arrived on Friday night and stayed until Monday.  While they were here, we tackled a bunch of outdoor projects (which means I have some DIY/House updates coming up- stay tuned). 

But back to the baking-- Mom and I went grocery shopping on Saturday night.  I tried to be thorough with my shopping list, but wouldn’t you know it-- I forgot the darn thing at home and had to go on my memory.  Unfortunately, my memory sucks.  I missed some key ingredients, which translated into no apple nut cake or blueberry corn muffins.  I took it as a divine sign that I already had more than enough to handle and I wasn’t meant to bake said food.

Anyway, Sunday dawned bright and beautiful.  I was totally amped to bake. I donned one of my aprons and pulled out my mixing bowls.  It was initially hard to decide what recipe to start with, but in the end, time decided for me.  The oatmeal bread recipe used yeast, so it required extensive periods of time for resting and rising.  I knew that if I didn’t start the oatmeal bread first, I was going to be up until Monday morning. 

Making the oatmeal bread was a real adventure.  You see, I have this crazy tendency to choose recipes for the Fair that I have never made before.  Seriously, every year I look through the fair book and highlight items I’ve never made, but that sound fun and interesting.  Then, I search through my cookbooks and favorite blogs to find a recipe that fits the descriptions.  That’s how I chose the majority of this year’s entries- all except for the salsas and banana bread. 

So it was all new territory and I’ll tell you what- it was a workout.  The oatmeal bread required strenuous kneading.  And so did the Irish soda bread. I would say the Irish soda bread was actually more complicated than the oatmeal bread because not only had I never made it before, but I had never eaten it before.  I had no idea what it was supposed to be like.  I found it to be a very dry, dense dough.  I ended up adding more buttermilk than the recipe called for because I couldn’t get the dough to hold together.  When it came out of the oven however, it looked pretty.  I just hope it tastes right (and good).

After the Irish soda bread, I made the apple muffins.  I’ll have to share this recipe next week because it is amazing!  Hubs tried the first one and declared it amazing.  I think what really makes these muffins special are the pecans on top.  Before slipping the pan in the oven, I sprinkled each muffin with chopped pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Super delicious… while baking, the pecans almost became candied.  Even if these don’t place at the fair, I’ll consider them blue ribbon winners.

I made the pumpkin bread and banana bread on Sunday night.  I needed a small break after the oatmeal bread marathon (4.3 hours of bread mixing, kneading, resting and baking).  Once those last two quick breads were finished, all that was left was the carrot cake.  Quite honestly, I just couldn’t bring myself to bake anything more.   

I was pooped.   

The word “oven” was making me wince.   

I needed to stop, so the carrot cake bit the dust.  

It was a good original plan I had in place; it just got tweaked a little a lot. That's life.

Monday morning, Hubs and I drove out to the fairgrounds to drop off my completed entries.  Here’s the revised lineup:

Pineapple Jam- delicious (we’ve already gone through 2 jars at home)

Mild salsa- also delicious (we opened a jar on Saturday to have with lunch- it’s gone already)

Hot salsa- fingers crossed on this one

Dill pickles- I’ve never placed on pickles before, so I keep on trying something new

Oatmeal bread- awesome (best.toast.ever)

Banana bread- we’ll see if this recipe rocks or not

Pumpkin bread- delicious

Apple muffins- hands down favorite

Irish soda bread- the luck o’ the Irish be with this one

After work tonight, Hubs and I are driving out to the Fair to see how I did.  Oh man, I get so nervous! I've been texting my cousin to see if she'll drop me any hints.  Stay posted...