Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Changes??
















Ok......so I've been a TOTAL slacker this week. It's not something I'm proud of, but I've recently gotten into.......The Hills.....dun dun dun......and it consumed my free time for about 5-6 days. However, seasons are done now, and I can resume normal life. That being said....I didn't get my time to read the Bible in the mornings the last few mornings......and all for The Hills. Don't feel like His Holiness is so impressed with that one :) LUCKILY.....I have a miriad of verses that I can fall back on. But I DON'T have a recipe for you :( But I made almond poppyseed muffins from a box!! Such a good wife. Alright....so lets get started.










Matthew 14:25-31





During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the deciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," He said, "why do you doubt?"





--I really like this passage, it speaks to me. And I think it is because it shows that I am not alone in my own journey of Faith. There are many times when I am not necessarily feeling like God is there, and that I can trust him to really take care of me.....when even in my heart of hearts, I KNOW that He is. But sometimes....... It's so easy to be walking along, seeing God, having conversations with God, and fully trusting in God....and all it takes is one little test of faith, and we so easily begin to doubt the full power and abilities of our Lord. I find this to be a HUGE challenge in my life, and it gives me a bit of comfort to know that not only is this something non-specific to JUST me, but to those who were at the right hand of the Lord as He walked on the earth. And it also lets me know that.....even when I am the slightest, or largest, bit untrusting....and Jesus is looking down on me saying...."Why do you have little faith?" He is simutaneously picking me up out of the storm with both hands, and pulling me to safety. I LOVE this about our God.










Sean and I went to church on Sunday, and it was a great service. The first that we've been to in about 5 weeks, I think. Low and behold, a pastor that neither of us are fond of listening too was speaking. But you can't walk out of church. And I'm glad we didn't. Pastor John spoke about Missions, and it was like he was speaking directly to me.....and Sean, so it would seem by our conversations later in the day. But the Pastor did mention a new mission coming alive in our church that would focus on being a mentor to high school kids at Chiawana High who are in danger of failing out of school. It's like God was looking down on me saying....you asked me where you could serve, and here I am, giving you a spot. This is what I want to do with my life.....school counseling positions, encouraging and helping people find ways to succeed....and under the blessing of a position that is given to me by God, I can hopefully find the strength and courage to be a spiritual mentor as well! I've had such a great example in Treva, and I only hope that someday, I can inspire someone in the same ways that she has inspired and led me. So here is hoping that I can start one cynical child at a time ;) I've got age and air of awesomeness on my side...me thinks! Sunday was just an amazing day, and I'm so thankful to have been there.










Keeping in the spirit of changes, though......I've found a position that has come open in the community....and for the first time since I've gained a "professional" job, I'm thinking of maybe applying to another agency. SCAREY!! It's a position that would start me out at $1,000/mo MORE than I make now...which is a chunck of change. And it would put me into an actual counseling position, rather than case management. I love my job, but at the two year mark, I think it's natural that I am looking toward the "next step". What stinks about this job is that it would start out with some shift work....and I'm not sure ENTIRELY what that entails at this time....other than that I would be working SOME nights and weekends, if not the majority. And that would be rough, especially as a newly wed. And I would have to leave my current agency....which has an incredible environment on it's side. Not to mention, the most supportive boss I have EVER had. And this doesn't come with just ANY job. So it's tough! Do I leave a position that I like working, and really like my co-workers and boss, in order to move up? I do know some of the people that I would be working with....and they are all people I wouldn't be opposed to working with.....but how do I know that I'd have the same support? Do I sacrifice this for the opportunity to give myself more range, and possibly expose myself to more opportunity?? With shift work comes more open days.....which I could devote to online school and earning my Masters. It's such a heart-twister....and I think that my best option is to actually....again, dun dun dun....talk to my boss about it. As a 30 year old woman who has risen through the ranks in a rapid way....and knows the career minded path....I think she would be able to give me valuable advice. But do I take the risk of letting her know I'm thinking this way?? Oooooh, it's so hard sometimes.










Well.....Sean and I are looking forward to the next few weeks....we have a few trips planned, including his family vacation AND a trip to Silverwood with one of my oldest and dearest HS friends....Jenna Renna!! Looking forward to it. That said....here are some really great wedding pics for all to see!! (Top of the page, cuz I haven't quite figured this out yet!)










Friday, July 9, 2010

D-I-S-C-O!!

Again, from my Better Homes and Gardens Bridal Edition cook book:
NUNS PUFFS
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 Tbsp Sugar
Honey (optional)

In a saucepan, melt butter and add in milk. Bring to boil. Add flour all at once, stiring vigorously -- makes for a great shoulder work out! Keep stiring over heat until you have a big dough ball that keeps its form. Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 min. Add in eggs one at a time, and stir in for about one minute each. You'll know when you are ready for the next. Devide the dough evenly into a greased 12-muffin pan. Sprinkle sugar over the top; then bake for 30 minutes at 375. Best served immediately, and with honey! Makes 12 servings at 137cal each.

These pastries are light and fluffy. We liked them, but I made them with whole wheat flour. Not terrible, but I'd probably make them with regular white flour next time. Sometimes, you just have to take the enriched route! Sean liked them as well, especially with the honey. If you could figure out how to get some kind of fruit filling into them, they would be really good as well. But I'm not sure how we'd go about this, though.

Matthew 18:8
If your hand or or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and thwo it away. It is better for you to enter LIFE maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.
-- I like this because it kind of puts earthly things into prospective. I know that sounds a little "crazy" to some, but really, you can apply it to all parts of life. In this parable, Jesus is talking about taking the things that cause you to sin out of your life, because the Kingdom of Heaven is so great. And entering into the Kingdom of Heaven is far worth getting rid of the things that cause you to sin, no matter how valuable they may seem to you, rather than holding on to them for the short amount of time we have on earth, only to miss eternal life. I guess....the very basis of it is not holding on to the things that hold you back, or keep tripping you up, in order to obtain a better relationship with our Savior.

Soooooo.....on to what's going on in my life! Well, first thing....I'm not proud of this....but with the SLOOWW work week, I've pretty much sped through seasons 1 and 2 of The Hills. Oh my gosh, Sean would divorce me if he knew!! But...netflix doesn't have much for TV picks on it's instant streaming list....and most times, I don't have the patience for a whole movie. BUT....when I haven't been watching the show, I've been Disco-ing my little tale off!! I'm a BodyJam instructor, for those of you who didn't know, and it's part of our new release. We launch on Monday, and the three of us girls split the sections up, and I've got the Disco section. SO. MUCH. FUN. It's pretty much EVERY dance move I ever did secretly in my room, and ALL the cheese that I could ever ask for. I'm so excited to present it to everyone in class on Monday. We've got it all from a move called the Travolta, to actual pelvic thrusts. And I work up such a great sweat with it. It's not the greatest release we've ever had, so I feel it's super important to really get the energy up, and I'm so excited to have this section, because I feel like the members can get caught up in the nostalgia of the music, feel, and choreograpy....and will just have a great time. Plus, this is the best peak I've seen, and I feel like my excitement will really show through and encourage others to get into it. Yay!

In other news....I've joined a "Losing It" competition at work. Not that I think I need to lose anything, but....winner gets a $350 gift card to JCP. It's not my FAVE store, but far be it for me to turn down $300+ to shop with....HELLO NEW SHOES AND WORK CLOTHES! Sean and I are broke right now....and it's getting hot. PLUS....hello, if I DO win because I've "lost it", then I'll need new clothes anyway ;) So, anyway, it's a partner competition, and I feel kind of bad, because my partner emails me saying she has brought a delicious salad to work for lunch. And I've just made a pan full of rice krispy treats topped with mini chocolate chips. SORRY LISA!! I promise, that's the only thing I'll eat all day, haha! But I'll keep you up to date on how it goes. I'm re-combing through all of my healthy eating books. Sean enjoys healthy food as well, so it's good to have his support at home. And I've got a fairly rigorous gym schedule that keeps me in check. I just got my new heart rate monitor in the mail, as well.....and it has a calorie-burn feature....SCORE! I can't wait to see what I scorch in Pump as opposed to RPM and Jam.

I'll keep you up to date on the progress. Love you all tons!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Lonely Wednesdays


Well, I suppose that it's time to add a little form and follow through to my blogging. It might take me awhile to get the format and the habit down, but I think Wednesdays might work out for me, as my beloved is out golfing, and I sit lonely!! So here are things I would like to make consistents.....a recipe that I have recently used, and LOVED...or HATED (warnings are only fair) and a Bible Verse that I've recently read and been inspired by. Not to prothelitize (I think thats the right spelling, and also it's verbage stolen from our wedding officiant), but to just let you all know what inspires me to live the way that I do every day :) So lets do this!!

Courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens "New Cookbook: Bridal Edition"
SPICEY CHICKEN AND RICE BAKE
2 1/2 - 3 lbs meat chicken pieces ( I just used boneless skinless chicken breasts)
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped green sweet pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp cooking oil
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
2/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 - 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
Paprika

In a large saucepan cook the onion, green pepper, and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in black beans, tomoatoes, tomato juice, corn, rice (uncooked), and chili powder and red pepper. Bring to a boil. Transfer to a baking dish, and arrange your chicken on top; sprinkle with paprika. Cover and bake at 375 for 45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through. Makes 6 servings, at 355 cal per serving. Warms up great!!

Sean added a few of his own spices, because it's not SUPER spicey, so I think we'll play with this one. I also added some fresh cut avocado on top of mine. And I warmed in up about 2 days later and it tasted great as well. Let me know what YOU think!

Matthew 7:1-2
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. -- I think that's pretty much enough said.

Soooo, to the real, meaty stuff. Married life is great so far. I really enjoy having our own house, making decisions together, and generally "taking care" of him, as much as he takes care of me. Let's face it, he did most of the hard work when it came to buying the house, so I've made it a bit of my mission to make sure it stays looking good. It's weird....I find myself taking on some of the traits of my mother....like....standing over the sink until he's done eating breakfast (that I've cooked) and then rinsing his dishes and putting them in the dish washer. This AFTER I've unloaded in from the previous night....what!?!? I've also noticed myself purusing a little through cookbooks, and finding things to cook for my fella....I just love it when a I get a "Good job, baby. We'll make this again," from him. And I'm loving finding new things to bake....which is REALLY what I love to do :) Both of us are just working our butts off right now, making sure we stay ahead of the game and keep our finances in line. We have a lot planned for the summer, and thank goodness most of it is around our house. I love being here, and I can't wait to get our puppy back here. It's sad when I don't have someone to great me at the door that jumps all over me and gives me a little bit of a tongue bath (well, besides Sean!!). That is when it will REALLY feel like home. We are looking forward to our first BBQ, after Sean puts our BBQ together, and another upcoming vacation to Wallowa for his family reunion.

More to come soon!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Welcome!!

O.M.G.....am I really another person out in the blogosphere!?! I think I am!! For those of you who don't know (which really, you should) I just married the man of my dreams, and I wanted to keep a tab of our lives together!!

So, first thing is first. A good friend of mine told me to keep a journal of all of the pre-wedding stuff....and....since I didn't.....she got a journal FOR me, and encouraged me to start going, and KEEP going. That said, I'll back track a little, so that we can talk about the things that happend prior to "My Life As A Mitchell".

Sean and I have been dating since December of 2008. We met through the typical, romantic, boy-meets-girl , bar story. Well, maybe not so much romantic. It took a little while for Sean and I to actually sit down and talk, and get to know eachother, but once we did....boy howdy, try and keep us apart!

Sean proposed to me in September of 2009, and in June 2010 we were married! During the process, we also decided to buy a house....what we were thinking, I truly do not know! But, we are now married, and IN the house, with couches, plates, cookbooks, and bedding....among other things! Moving into a house and trying to keep it looking nice is REALLY tough, I am finding out. But today, I was able to finish my "to-do" list, which involved getting the house looking halfway decent again.

I am just starting the blogging, and so there will be lots and lots to come, but I just wanted to get in and get introduced and let everyone know what my goals are here, which are to basically outline experiences as a newlywed couple with everyone!! More to come soon!