a culinary miracle

so after my pumpkin soup disaster in Nov which was practically non-editable and then the bagel float custard which tasted fine but really turned out funky, a miracle happened yesterday. i tried a new recipe for black bean soup and it actually tasted and looked like black bean soup and everyone LOVED it. the non culinary girl in me chopped, minced, sauteed, boiled, simmered and pureed... all in one day! that is a lot of work. and then i made a fresh salsa garnish for it. bill was irritated by my constant use of the word "garnish" but otherwise it was a miraculous day for me and my kitchen.

Chicago Weekend

Here are some pictures from our Chicago Weekend with my folks. Of course, we found the life size Lego figures. The city shots are taken from our hotel view.

but then...

I walked into the break room to get my lunch, I was feeling perhaps a bit hypoglycemic and there sitting open for sharing a Whitman's sampler of Valentines' chocolates with the caramel still there; I repeat the caramel was still there- that is quite a find. All my donut willpower went out the window and ugh! i ate it. All that pride from the donut dilemma went out the window. Now I feel slightly guilty but am only consoled by the fact that chocolate had to be less fat than a donut, right? If I'm not right, please don't let me know. I enjoy living in my fantasy world :-)

Get behind me, Satan (aka donuts)

So I know donuts are not as evil as Satan, but today there is a box of fresh Krispy Kremes behind me as I sit working. Everyone is joining in and chomping them down. I went over to glance at them longingly, I walked by a second time as well. Then I remembered what I learned in weight watchers, 'nothing tastes as good as being thin'. So I resisted and decided to blog out my temptation. For once I am proud of my willpower.

Healing Rain

Bill and I spent last week on vacation in sunny San Juan (pictures to come). The day before we left, friends from our housegroup had an emergent C section and their 5 lb 1 oz baby girl was born at 34 weeks and a few days. When we left town, the report was that all was well with mom and baby, praise God. Just some observation in the NICU due to size and prematurity. We got to San Juan when I realized we wouldn't have email access so I used our cell phone to call a friend back home just to get a quick update. That was when we were told baby had an infection and was getting a spinal tap to ensure the infection did not spread to the brain. Given our friends who just lost their son at in the NICU, we were obviously panicked, felt helpless and all we could do was pray. We didn't know any facts about the infection and not many of our medical questions we able to be answered. So Bill and I just prayed.

Two days later, we hadn't heard anything from home, I was working out, running on the treadmill in the 8th floor workout room which overlooked the ocean soaking in the scenery. I had my IPOD on listening to my sweet work out mix of worship music and show tunes (the show tunes are just to drive Bill crazy :-)). Anyway, the song 'Healing Rain' came on and I found myself just running and praying and pleading with the Lord to send His healing rain to our friend's baby girl and to protect her and keep her and heal her. I started to cry and just wanted to feel God's presence in my prayer and wanted to see His healing. Right as I got done running, it started to rain. A sweet warm rain. I went out on the balcony of the workout room to stand in it and soak it in, God's healing rain. Healing for me as I yearn for God more during my season of proactive Lent and healing, I hoped, for my friend's sweet baby girl. After we were done working out, we called friends back home and the update was great. Spinal tap negative. Not serious infection. Only 10 days of one antibiotic (rather than 21 days of multiple antibiotic).

Praise our Lord who answered my prayer and continues to shower His healing rain onto our lives.

Lent

So Ash Wednesday was this past Wednesday, it snuck up on me. I was thinking of giving up diet coke again which I did last year and in reality is the only thing that without it i truly suffer. It has been a week of soul searching. I need caffiene and all the other options come with calories and fat so I get grumpy thinking about gaining back any of the weight I took off through weight watchers because my non caloried caffienated option is gone until Easter. And to be honest, I am no good to be around in the middle of a 12 hour shift if I am uncaffienated.

And when it comes to suffering through Lent, I realized my heart really wasn't into it. But then again whose heart is ever really into suffering? I feel far from God and that is all my fault. We haven't been able to get to church in a few weeks due to weekends away and work. I really need to spend more time in the Word and in prayer. And suffering from lack of diet coke is not going to make me feel any closer to Jesus on Easter than I feel right now. I need to do something proactive.

So I am having a proactive Lent this year. I am re-reading Relieving the Passion by Walter Wangerin and focusing on finding the passion I used to have for the Word and prayer. This proactive Lent may actually be harder than 40+ days without diet coke, we'll see.

And, as the ever helpful spiritual husband I have :-), Bill has started to call diet coke "that devil juice" because he says that is how God thinks of it now that I have taken back my original Lenten fast. Good thing Bill has nothing to do with my salvation.

Full (partial full) circle

So my life has come full (or partial full) circle. Tonight I dropped Gabby off at her first Wyldlife event which is the junior high Young Life group. So I didn't bear Gabby or teach her to walk or read and I didn't meet her until she was 9 so it has been a quicker ascent to the teenage years than for most but nonetheless, she is in my life now and I just dropped her off for what hopefully was the first of many great nights with Young Life. I remember my first YL club in the barn in Cazenovia and for those old friends who read my blog they will remember what costume they came in, I was a hippy.

Young Life introduced me to Jesus, made me the woman of faith I am today and has indirectly and directly affected everything that I am and do. So it is a big jump to think all this will happen for Gabby after one event, but the seed is sown and this step mom is excited to watch it grow.

Wicked

I have a new non sexual crush on Erin Mackey who plays Glinda the good witch in the Chicago performance of Wicked. This is the second time I've seen her and she is just amazing; plays the hilarious ditzy blonde to perfection. And she was Lindsay Lohan's acting double in the Parent Trap which means she played one of the twins in every scene to have Lindsay act with and then they changed so in the final cut all the footage is Lindsay. That makes me love her more because that is one of my fav movies.

And then there is Dee Roscioli who plays Elphaba, the 'wicked' witch of the west. She has the most amazing voice. I can't describe what a magical feeling it was to sit in the audience and watch this musical. Everyone should see it, even my friend, Shonna, who hates musicals would love it.

I can't imagine having that much talent and having a job like that. I wonder if there are days Erin and Dee show up for a show and just aren't into that night. Dee doesn't want to get painted green, Erin is tired of wearing her sparking tiara and isn't in the mood to giggle. You wonder, right? because it is a job for them. That show just put a smile on my face which lasted all week.

To make me not feel so boring and talentless, I have reminded myself this week when I am going to work that what I do requires talent as well and the way I treat my patients could possibly put a smile on their face.

You, too, know it is true

So last week I got really sick... i may have had the actual 'flu' or just a really bad virus. I had a killer sore throat which made me cry every time i had to swallow or cough. It also made me hoarse and unable to speak for about 3 days. Now for all of you who know me you probably think it would be a blessing to have me finally quiet for a few days. We had plans to go to Chicago with my folks who were flying in, we had tickets to two shows and had already paid for the hotel so loaded up with Puffs Plus, three types of cough drops and my favorite pillow we headed east. I said about two whispered words in the car ride, a whole 3.5 hours without me saying anything. Bill thought it was going to be his dream come true but when we got there, he said, "I'll admit it, I don't like it when you can't talk. I feel like you're mad at me when you are so quiet". My folks asked me like a million times if I was ok, sad or mad because I was so quiet. They kept commenting on my quietness and how things just felt off.

HA! finally confirmation of what I already knew, though those close to me claim to want me to be quiet, life just isn't right when I'm not talking.

Groundhog Run Explained

I had trouble adding text to the last post probably because I am still using Microsoft Explorer and not Mozilla which makes me a really uncool blogger, I know.

Two weekends ago, the weekend before Groundhog's Day, we went down to Kansas City with our Iowa City friends, Jeremy and Shonna Negus along with our friends Tim and Amber Sheeley (and their sweet chubby baby, Ella) who belong to the Southeast Iowa Running Club to run the Groundhog Run with 3200 other people. The club charted a bus and we took the roadtrip together. We had a great time. The run was in a cave... a little boring on scenery but really cool to be underground. It was a nice flat run in a climate controlled environment.

Our highlights include:
three beds in our hotel room so no kid got the floor or a cot
Bill and Jeremy completing a 10 K race in great time
Me cutting 7 minutes off my time and breaking under 10 minute mile pace-- now i think it was really because i got a cute new matching running outfit-- my marathon friend Kristen told me it is all about the clothes. i felt faster just putting them on
Gabby finished 6th in her age group
Nile did great with no training (i feel like i "wasted" my pre teen years of just being in good shape because i was an active kid)

Below are some pics from the race for your viewing pleasure

Groundhog Run