21 posts tagged “travels”
Well, a good mornin' to you, Internet peeps! For the third or fourth day in a row, it is an absolutely gorgeous day! There's not a cloud in the vast Texas sky, the sun is shining brightly, the birds are chirping, and the temperature is just right. It does my heart glad. After waking up this morning at 5 a.m. to let Molly outside, I crawled back in bed and already had to pray for God to help me choose to have a good attitude today. I don't know about you, but some days just feel like they're going to have some bits and pieces of rottenness in 'em. And I'm learning that much of that depends on my attitude as to how rotten a day it will be. Things kinda got messed up with our night schedule the next two evenings because of a lack of communication between me and my mister, spring cleaning is taking me much longer than I thought and I'm ready to be done with it, and I want to write the blog I've been mulling over for the past couple of weeks (keep expectations low though)! So see, I have to watch my attitude as it's already creepin' out all rotten-like! But the beauty of the day calms my heart and puts a smile on face. So did this post by Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. For you dog lovers, you gotta take a peek at it!
And this absolutely gets rid of any mere notion of rottenness: I have a lunch date with my Daddy today! He's coming to Austin on business for the day and I'm meeting up with him for lunch. I want to take him somewhere new downtown to eat, so my friend, Liz, who is a downtown girl, and citysearch.com were most helpful in providing some quality options. Depending on what he's in the mood for, these are the choices I'm giving him:
* Sweetish Hill Bakery for light sandwiches, soup, or salad...and of course, something irresistible from the baker! I have been here once for breakfast, but that was years ago.
* The Onion: pizza
* Hickory Street Bar & Grille: for burgers and other such American food
* Iron Works: for bar-b-que
Anticipating our time together today makes me reflect on the first time I came to Austin when I was ten years old or so. My Daddy had some business to do in Austin for the day, but he brought me along as well for a little Daddy/Daughter day. He took me to lunch at The Driskill and we roamed the Capitol where I was much more interested in the squirrels running around the grounds than anything else; I had never seen so many cute, furry squirrels before and I was quite enamored! It was a special day together and I know this afternoon is going to be, too! Yes, it's going to be a very good day!
Yeah! Jill resubmitted her questions! Thank you, dear Jill!
Jill is also a small group girlfriend of mine, and she's also known as Harrison and Hadleigh's momma! Harrison is the amazing little man I get to tell you about tomorrow who spent the night with us for the first time on Friday. Miss Jillie is a very special friend who knows me pretty well; she doesn't let me get away with too much because she can call it what it is, straight up. That is an incredible kinda friend to have, and also a dangerous one...I can't get away with nothin', sour attitude or NOTHIN'! She makes me laugh a lot, keeping me lighthearted and playful. She is one of the most authentic and genuine people I know, a true example to me of how to love others with unselfish delight! It never fails: whenever she and Molly are together, Molly licks her toes all over! Moos loves the taste of Jill's lotion, and Jillie gets a kick out of it!
Let me just say it again: I'm so thankful for all of my friends! I am truly blessed. Ok, so onto what I think is the second to last round of answers to the first Q&A session. I've had lot of fun with this, and I hope you have, too!
Jill asked:
Ok, this is admittedly a difficult question for me to answer because I feel like I'm in a season of learning a number of things about me that I need the Lord to change...but I'm always in that season, so I'll move on. The first thing that came to mind though is that I like how I'm an organized, detailed person. I have to be careful though because I can be a bit obsessive compulsive about my organization and detailed traits, and undoubtedly have likely caused angst to friends and family who are more "normal" or less organized in their lifestyle or planning than I am because I'm always asking them about something months in advance (i.e. I've even emailed my friend Corrie already about scheduling a trip to Jordan for next April...that's either kinda awesome or kinda kookoo!). I love having things in order, things to be in their place, and being detailed enough to where I can effectively event plan, coordinate other such logistics, or even organize a pantry like I did for my Momma. Even a project to stuff envelopes and get out a mailing for a friend is enjoyable to me. I guess I'm weird like that. But it's something about myself I appreciate and hope it can be used as a gift and a blessing to others.
2). What was/is one of the most difficult lessons you've ever had to learn?
Trying not to be a perfectionist/control freak/living in fear of what other people think of me! I guess it goes along somewhat with my organization/need to have everything in its place, but it's even deeper than that. Trying to control situations, my future plans (notice the unintended "my" future plans--ha!), and people (this probably comes out more in my relationship with Matt than anyone else); learning to let go of my perfectionism; and trying to not live in fear of what others think of me are some of the most difficult lessons I am continually learning! And it happens partly because of a fear I have that if I let go then all the balls will drop, something won't be done as well (that sounds awful, I know!), something bad will happen, or someone won't like me. It's a way of playing god when I am so not, and it's not trusting the Lord and letting Him have His way, which is ultimately the best way.
I have a friend who recently gave me an image that has stuck with me like peanut butter in hair (ya like my The Office allusion there? <grin>). She said that sometimes we hold onto things so tightly that it's like our fists are in a constant motion of ringing out water from a washcloth, so closed and tightfisted. And in many ways, it causes much more pain to give something over to the Lord if we're holding on so tightly as a way to control, as opposed to keeping our hands open in an act of surrender. So to tangibly put this into practice, I decided to hug Molly differently. You see, I love this dog, probably way too much. She's nearly 7 years old, and I have the biggest fear of losing her. But sometimes, I hold onto this little girl of mine in my heart way too much. So when I hug her or hold her now, I try to remember to do so with open hands, in an act that I am saying, "Lord, I give her to you. I love her, and thank you for her, and I give this little puppy to you." It's hard! So I'm still learning. For sure, I'm still learning. <sigh>
3). Are you more like your mom or dad?
I like this question! But I don't have an easy answer for you: I think I'm split down the middle...although I'd be curious to know how my parents would answer this question for me! These are just a few things that come to mind:
Things I got from my Daddy: organization and communication skills; love for learning; joy of writing; way of thinking and processing through things; the ability to go in and out of the store to get what you need and not roam for inessentials <grin>.
Things I got from my Momma:
her gift to be uninhibited to dance around the house, be silly, make up songs, or start food fights; her terms of endearment/the way she talks; her love of cooking; her mannerisms--if you spent time watching us both, you'd easily see things we do similarly in actions. I wish I had a lot more of my Momma: she is another one in my life who knows how to love and unselfishly serve others! Her level of compassion and mercy is something I do not have, that I desperately need. And we look alike! My boss from church, when he first met my mom, eyed us coming towards him one Sunday and he had to do a double take!
4). Where was your favorite place to vacation and where is one of the top places you'd like to go? (money being no object!!)
As little kids, we were blessed to be able to take vacations as a family regularly and see many exciting places. My favorite vacation spot growing up was Colorado. We took several trips to Durango, Aspen, Keystone, Colorado Springs and Denver. Colorado was one of my family's favorite places and we have lots of fun memories there. As an adult, Banff, Canada has been both mine and Matt's absolute favorite so far! I guess I'm a mountain girl! <grin> I can't WAIT to go back to Banff! Which, if you don't know, is part of how we came up with Ink Pots for our blog title: they are beautiful, bubbling springs that you have to hike a ways to see, but they are worth every huff and puff and ringing of the keys to scare away bears!
Money being no object (wow, that would awesome!), I really, really want to make it to Jordan to visit my friends, Jonathan and Corrie, and visit the Holy Lands as well. After that, I think I'd pick Italy. Matt has been to Rome and raves about it, so I'd like to go see what all the fuss is about. Oh, but my list is L-O-N-G! I'll keep dreaming...
Tomorrow, I'll spill the beans a bit about our slumber party with "H" and answer Matt's Q&A question. Unless there are any other questions between now and then, I'll wrap up this fun Q&A session then. Until tomorrow, take care!
I LOVE getting ya'lls questions! Jill's comments were sadly cut off. <very, very sad face>. Maybe she'll repost them so I can have a chance to answer them. And a thank you to her, too, for keeping me from stuffing my face with cookie dough; although, we did have a sweet slumber party with one special mister that I'll blog about briefly on Monday, and in the midst of making his chocolate chip cookies, I did snag a bite or two of the dough. But just a bite or two, which is much better than what I inhaled previously this week.
Janna, like Lindsey, is a friend I met through our small group at church, and she's been a dear friend these past five years, faithfully walking with me through anything and everything, and patiently loving on me despite my many insecurities. I just found out last week that she loves being tickled, which delights my heart so much! And I also discovered that her twin 14 month old twin girls, Emily and Lauren (who like play dates with Molly), get just as much a kick out of being tickled as Janna! I have only tickled the wee little ones, but Janna better be on the lookout, 'cause I might just surprise her one day. An avid reader and a librarian, Janna has recommended several amazing books to me, and I hope one day she will be a guest author for Ink Pots, like my friend, Diane. So Janna asked three questions:
Okay, here are some questions for you: 1.) If you had to live outside of Texas for one year (with Matt, of course), where would you live? 2.) What would you do as a career if you could pick anything and miraculously already have completed the training? 3.) If you could re-live any year of your life, which one would it be? (Could be to re-experience or to re-do.)
Those are fun questions, and I'll try not to be too verbose for y'alls sake. <grin>
1.) If you had to live outside
of Texas for one year (with Matt, of course), where would you live?
First preference for the location: somewhere with a winter! Matt and I both miss having an extended winter with some sort of pretty, white precipitation. That being said, however, my experience of living in such a place was in college in Wheaton, IL and Matt's has been throughout his life living in Colorado, Canada, and Virginia...in other words, both of us have only experienced other people shoveling driveways for us (i.e. the college staff or Matt's parents). So we may tire of having too much of an extended winter since we now have to be responsible for such menial tasks. So if I could pick any place, I would likely pick Denver, Colorado: for its gorgeous mountain terrain and some of our good friends live there, too. It also gets some of that pretty, white stuff I was talking about.
Also, if I had my druthers, I would have Matt submit his name to his employer to be available to work overseas for a year or two! In which case, I'd go anywhere! Europe especially interests me. An opportunity of a lifetime it would be! I would love to do this; Matt, however, isn't so keen on the idea as I am...yet. <grin>
2.)
What would you do as a career if you could pick anything and
miraculously already have completed the training?
Sorry, I have a number of ideas that I can't seem to narrow down! Sometimes I wish I knew better in high school and college the vast amount of specialized careers there are! I wonder how it would have impacted where I am today. I love what I studied in college: spiritual formation with an emphasis on intercultural studies. And while I wish I had double majored in business or accounting, because I've learned I love accounting and working with numbers through my previous job, I don't think I would turn it into a long-term career. I wish I had the gift of learning languages to be a translator (like for the U.N.). One thing that has started interesting me more over the past few years is a combination of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies. It compliments my passion for and educational background in intercultural studies, and I think it would be great to be an expert in these fields to influence decisions government agencies make. Honestly, I love intercultural studies, so finding any type of venue that enables me to put that to practice is a joy. Lastly, I would be grateful to brush up on my writing skills, creative writing included. 'Cause if you don't know by now, I enjoy writing this blog! I hope to develop it over time, which I guess is a current career goal. Writing about anything and everything, from what I ate yesterday, to my greatest fear, to my heart's deepest longing...I'm lovin' it!
3.) If you could
re-live any year of your life, which one would it be? (Could be to
re-experience or to re-do.)
Hands down: college year(s)! I would re-experience college in a heart beat. For the record, there is one particular part of my junior year that I wish I could re-do: I was a bit too busy with other friendships and responsibilities for the girls who were my roommates that year (none of them were Country House girls) and I think it really hurt them. So I wish I had made more of a conscious effort to be a good roommate that year. But for the positive stuff I'd re-experience...I transferred to Wheaton College, fall 1998 of my sophomore year. In addition to Becca and Michelle, who kindly took me in as transfer student to live with, my dear childhood friend, Eric, took me under his wings and introduced me to his group of friends (one of whom would be my future husband! But just so you know, we didn't start dating until after I graduated...I wasn't interested in him romantically at all in college! <grin>). Eric and Matt made up a group of 10 guys called "Graham House", and each one of them has a very special place in my heart to this day. I will not elaborate on the impact of Graham House fellas, my World Christian Fellowship cabinet, the Country House girls, or Corrie in my life, since the sentimental and nostalgic schmooze that I am could write a novel. I will say, however, that those formidable years of college were some of the most fun, memorable and cherished of my life. It was an era of precious friendships, much personal transformation, and priceless memories that Matt can attest to me saying on a number of occasions, "I wish I could go back to that time." Oh, the deep love I have for those Graham House fellas, Country House girls and Miss Corrie brings me to tears of joy and thanksgiving each time I think of them, and sometimes, I wonder if they have a clue as to how much I love them! How I hope they know!
Weekend in Review: A Continued Birthday Celebration!
Two weeks of celebrating my birthday was just what the doctor ordered...I being the doctor, that is. Matt and I drove down to my parents' home and had a most relaxing and enjoyable weekend! Matt caught a stinky cold, but he was a trooper. He's a much better sick person than I am; I want as much attention and fuss as I can get. He handles sickness like a normal person would. My Momma and Daddy had a lovely dinner for me, homemade food and all. Homemade food is all that much better when you don't labor over it yourself, and especially a Momma's homemade meal! She made the most beautiful chocolate cream pie, the meringue towering at least 3 inches high. Each bite was tantalizing, and I was quite stingy about how much it was shared among everyone else.
On a beautiful spring day, the four of us trekked to Sea World on Saturday. Every time I step foot in that park, I feel like a kid again. My heart swells with joy and delight as I watch all the sea creatures perform their shows, to the point that I shed at least a couple of tears. How can it be that each of them looks like they have smiles on their faces and know how much they're loved by their trainers!? It's awesome! I get chills every time. The sea lion, walrus and otter show; the beluga whales and dolphins; and Shamu, the killer whale shows are my ultimate favorites.
The whole weekend was quite relaxing as we slept in, watched movies, read, and leisurely spent time with each other. One of my most favorite parts of visiting my parents is waking up with Molly, usually at least an hour before Matt climbs out of bed, and going into my parents' bedroom with Molly to climb into bed with them and talk. On a queen sized bed, with me, my parents, Molly and their two small dogs, we all snuggle in and talk or read the newspaper. It's a precious time!
So far, these past 10 days of my 30th year have been worth getting older.
Sprouting Palm
We have a small palm bush of sorts in our front yard. A few weeks ago, it started sprouting something from its center, which it did not do last year! Matt and creatively tried to figure out what it could possibly be, but it seems as though it's just grown an entire new set of branches. They are soft and fuzzy right now and a lighter shade of green than the more mature branches. But it is quite odd looking and we still haven't figured out what caused this new growth spurt.
Almost, Sorta, Trying, Getting Ready to Run
Any day now, I'm gonna give it a try. I wasn't a good patient wearing Vader; after all, he was my nemesis. I've at least gotten out for some long walks and so far, the ankle is holding up. So I'm bracing myself to have to work up to where I was and maybe take it a bit slower. But at least Vader is in the closet where he belongs! I got an iTunes gift card for my birthday (not the same one I was going to give away for the Blogoversary Giveaway!), and I'm pumped about buying some new songs for my walking/running/jogging...whatever it is I'm gonna do.
Discharged!
On April 2, I asked you all to pray for Tricia and her husband, Nate, as Tricia was headed into surgery for a double lung transplant that she has waited to receive for some time. Some of you have followed their journey on Confessions of a CF Husband. Tricia is being discharged from the hospital this morning! Their story, ultimately God's story, is incredible! Just a few days ago was Nate able to hold Tricia's hand for the first time in months without having to wear gloves. Soli Deo Gloria--For the Glory of God Alone!
Aunt Meghan
Any day now, Matt and I will receive a call officially announcing us
Aunt and Uncle! Matt's sister, Kim, and her husband, Tom, are due May 2nd. Our little nephew is to be born
any day! We have our plane tickets ready to go to St. Louis in June to
meet him for the very first time! For those of you who are aunts and
uncles, what are some of your favorite ways to love on your nephews and
nieces?
I can't believe we're towards the end of April! Where has this year gone already? I have some special posts planned over the next few weeks, so stay tuned internet peeps! Until tomorrow, have a blessed day!
Aside from coming home to an ecstatic puppy and a most hugable husband, I would have been perfectly content staying in Celina, TX with my friend Jill at her parents' home for a good while. Open country with cows mooing across the field; eatin' good home cookin' and burgers next to a fire by the poolside; getting precious hugs from my little friend, Harrison, as I come downstairs to breakfast; playing dominoes and Ninendo Wii all afternoon; drifting away in an afternoon nap curled up on the couch after reading a good book; staying in comfy clothes all day long without putting on makeup. Heavenly!
As promised, the following is a photo log of our trip, from beginning to end. What a fabulous getaway! And it delights my heart so much to have time to love on and play with my friends' kids! I must say, what a wonderful and special Mommy Jill is!
You can click on individual pictures to see an enlarged version.
Friday, March 7th: Road Trippin' to Celina with Jill, Harrison & Hadleigh
I am continually amazed at how fast Harrison is growing up and what a big boy he is! He was just a mere 10 hours old when I first held his tiny (but big for a baby) frame, and now he's such a grown up 2 year old! He played on the play scape, climbing up the contraption all on his own, and he also does a great job drinking his milk through the straw...he loves his milk!
Precious Haddie-Bell was grinnin' real big for me at Chick-fil-A. Don't you just love that little face?
Saturday, March 8th: Game Day
It is routine in the Patton household that on Saturday mornings, Pappy (my nickname for him based on a previous trip is "Muffin") makes omelets. Atypical for me, I was the last one out of bed Saturday morning, but fortunately, I didn't miss out on the breakfast, cause that would've made me really sad.
Harrison has been giving me hugs only when he really feels like it, so lately, I haven't been getting too many hugs, which makes me very sad. He knew I made chocolate cake that night though and boy howdy did I use it to my advantage! He tapped me on my arm and asked, "Meg, choc-o-lit cake pleeze", and the brightest idea entered my mind. "Harrison, I would love to get you a piece. Meg has missed your hugs though. Can I get a great big hug?" Hey people, you gotta do what you gotta do! So I got down on his level and he gave me the biggest, longest hug, with little, gentle pats on my back. Heart melting. Heart melting. Heart melted. It was my favorite moment.
Sunday, March 9th: Sleepin' & Eatin'
Yes, the dreaded time change day. We did well with getting me and Matt, Chris and Jill, and the kiddos out of the house by 11:15 a.m. to meet Jill's parents and our friends, the Walkers, for lunch at La Hacienda in Frisco. Chad & Lindsey were in our small group a few years back before they moved to my hometown, El Paso, for a year and then onto Dallas where they currently live. Last summer, little Gibson was born and so we finally got to meet him, too! It never ceases to amaze me how some friendships are so easy and comfortable to pick up right where they left off, even when not being able to see each other for quite some time. Nothing less than a huge blessing, I tell you! That's how it is with the Walkers; what a treat it was!
Our dear hubbies left after lunch, leaving us girls with the kiddos and Jill's folks to enjoy a couple more days of playtime and r&r.
Monday, March 10th: Shopping spree for Haddie
I could make up a tale of Jill dragging me along for hours to half a dozen stores in the mall, another retail store down the street, and finally a resale shop looking for an Easter dress for Haddie and whatever other good deals she could find...and it would be true! Now I'm just teasing Jill for the sake of teasing Jill. But I am not a shopper, especially when I'm not shopping for myself, so I was knocked out with the kids by the time we got back to the Pattons'. It's not something I'm proud of with how I tire so quickly, so you need to know: we did hit a lot of stores! It was a girl's outing with Jill, her mom and miss Haddie-bell, perusing various children's stores for just the right dress. Not only did we find one, we found two, plus a bunch of other good deals at the resale shop (but I stayed in the car with Haddie on that one). The pink one is for Easter and the purple one is for her first birthday in June (it doesn't take much to come up with a valid reason to buy more than one dress)! I wanna new Easter dress, too! <grin>
Sadly, it was time to go home. And even sadder, Jill headed home with 2 sinus-infected kiddos. Harrison hung out with his buddy, Pappy, in the morning, playing in Pappy's wood shop trying out the step stool Pappy made him, and planting tomato seeds as well.
I was so ready to see my puppy and hubby! They have a special way of brightening each day of mine.
On a weird note, I must now go try to get a bird out of our oven vent. He seems to think that would be a good home. I don't think so!!
Only 25 more days until Matt and I embark on our first running race ever: The Capitol 10k! Our timed run starts at 8:45 a.m. on Sunday, March 30th. Faithfully training, we're currently running 4 miles nonstop! This coming Sunday will increase to 4.5 miles, with only 3 weeks left to go! Matt still runs quite a distance ahead of me, but hey, I'm just thankful I'm not keeling over, and pray I feel good the day of the race (I'm a little worried about the hills and hope my nerves don't get the better of me). For those interested, click here to see the race course map. While running, I've been listening to a combination of Twila Paris' The Ultimate Collection and U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind. The U2 CD is quite empowering and motivating with its rhythm, and I love the worshipful mood Twila's music puts me in starting out the day with a run. But I'd love some more recommendations for good running music. Any suggestions?
We've discovered a new tasty indulgent treat that has become our favorite: Shake's Frozen Custard!
I had some ground chicken to use but didn't quite know exactly what to make with it, so I did a little recipe search on CookingLight.com. I came across a great, tasty recipe I thought I'd share for Chicken-Chile Tostadas.
Three cheers for Lost!! It is SO good! Don't you just wake up in a good mood on Thursdays knowing that you'll get to watch it that night? I do!
This Friday, I am going on a road trip with my dear friend, Jill, and her two precious kiddos, Harrison and Hadleigh!
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup prechopped onion
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pound ground chicken breast
1/2 cup bottled fat-free salsa
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon lime juice
4 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend or cheddar cheese
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 2 minutes or until onion begins to soften. Add cumin, chipotle, and cinnamon; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring to crumble. Add salsa, water, and salt; cook 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in cilantro and lime juice; remove from heat.
While chicken cooks, place tortillas directly on oven rack; bake at 400° for 5 minutes or until slightly crisp. Place 1 tortilla on each of 4 plates; top each tortilla with 1/4 cup lettuce, 3/4 cup chicken mixture, 1/4 cup cheese, and 1 tablespoon sour cream.
Yield
4 servings
This post is simply a conglomeration of thoughts and happenings over the last few days; maybe I'll write something deeper later this week.
First, it is official: I registered for the Capitol 10k race on March 30th, and SO DID MATT! We're therefore committed to what might very well be an act of lunacy, and while Matt still has to come up with a plan for his training, I successfully ran 2.5 miles today without stopping or walking! For anyone who knows me well, they will tell you that exercise is something that is never on my top 100 things to do, so this really is a huge accomplishment! After watching American Gladiators last night, I figured I could push through 2.5 miles; it's nothing compared to what those contestants do!
Speaking of American Gladiators, my college friend and house-mate, Lindsey, lives in Pasadena, CA studying at Fuller Seminary. A close friend of hers at school, Andy, is one of the American Gladiator contestants that made it to the semifinals! His next appearance on the show is this coming Monday, February 11th at 7 p.m. (CST). How fun it is to at least know someone who knows someone who is on television! Lindsey was able to go to the filming of Andy's Gladiator debut a month or so ago, and we were even able to catch a glimpse of her on T.V. cheering him on.
Last week, my dear husband took me on a little getaway to Wimberley, TX to celebrate our 5 year anniversary that was in December. For our readers in TX, let me highly recommend the following bed & breakfast: Blair House Inn. Each detail of the inn was extremely well thought out; the breakfasts and desserts in the evenings were a taste bud's dream; the rooms and amenities were a perfect blend between exquisiteness and comfort. We had a most enjoyable time together, doing absolutely nothing. The funniest moment of the trip was when I acknowledged, of my own accord, to Matt that, "I am a walking contradiction," (examples need not be divulged at this time), and his reply wasn't what you would typically expect a gentleman to say after his wife admits such a vulnerable truth (i.e. "Oh, honey, not really. I love you just the way you are."). Instead, he let out a deep sigh, looked me straight in the eye, and with a smile, said (in so many words), "Oh, wow, you really finally understand what my life has been like since marrying you." It was like he was relieved that I finally grasped this side of my wacky personality!
Alas, the brief winter season in Austin, TX has come and gone. It is likely that over the next couple of weeks that I will put away our winter clothes, and sadly, it's only the beginning of February! The tell-tale sign that winter has abruptly come to an end this year is that my daffodils have sprouted! Overnight, they appeared; I can't believe it!
Lastly, don't forget to vote for your favorite Super Bowl commercial here.
Well, after my 2.5 mile run today, let's see if I can get up from sitting on the floor for the past 2 hours without stumbling...
This is the first annual inkpots awards, the Best of 2007 (thank you, J.R. for the idea)!
WORLD WIDE WEB CATEGORY:
Best Website: shelfari.com and myrecipes.com (tie)
shelfari.com: a global community of book lovers that allows you to build a virtual shelf of books you've read, ones you're reading, and your wish list. You can share your shelf, along with other recommendations and comments with your online community of friends.
myrecipes.com: Instead of tearing out page after page of recipes Meg finds in her Cooking Light magazines and putting them in an ever-expanding binder, she can now organize her recipes online, create special menus and shopping lists! In addition, she also has access to hundreds of recipes from Cooking Light, Southern Living, Sunset, Coastal Living, and Real Simple!
Best Blog: J.R. Briggs' brokenstainedglass
J.R. is a
friend whom Matt grew up with and who now pastors a church in
Pennsylvania. Not only does he have great blog ideas (such as this
one), he also is an inspirational writer, someone whom we admire, and
Meg's primo blog example. One of her 2008 blog goals is to make it
onto J.R.s "Blogs I Browse" list.
MEDIA CATEGORY:
Best New Release Movie: Dan in Real Life
Ok, we really didn't see that many movies in the theater this year, so while this movie doesn't have much serious substance to it, it was a wonderful romantic comedy that had us laughing hard; plus, it has one of our favorite actors in it: Steve Carell.
Best Documentary: Planet Earth
By far the most spectacular footage of our planet! We "ooed and awed" all the way through it.
Best TV Comedy: The Office
Dwight. Jim. Pam. Michael. Characters that keep us laughing, cringing at awkward, embarrassing moments, and craving more. The best ever! We agree with J.R.: the writers' strike has got to stop!
Best TV Drama: 24 and Lost (tie)
There's no one like Jack Bauer, and we've never sat on the edge of our seats so much, jumping up after each episode yelling, "No way! I can't believe that just happened!" As for the last season of Lost, what a finale: totally unpredictable, thought provoking, and intense.
Best Tech Podcast: Java Posse
Matt looks forward to this podcast each week as Dick, Carl, Joe, and Tor show themselves to be a class act in the Java community.
Best Podcast that Others Would Actually Listen To: Focus on the Family
Matt used to listed to parts of the Focus on the Family daily broadcasts on the way in to work in the mornings if it happened to be on the radio. But since he started listening to their free podcast, he can catch the whole show and pick and choose the episodes he wants to listen to. A great way to stay updated on issues facing the family today in America culturally and politically.
Best Book of the Bible Studied this Year: Ephesians
Meg took this course, taught by her friend, at church, and it was great! Even though she had read Ephesians before, the in-depth look at this book really personally hit home and made Meg stand in awe of the promises we have in Jesus.
Best Book: Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin
A wonderful historical fiction novel, the first of three in the "Refiners" series. Set during the Civil War, it's written from the point of view of the daughter of a wealthy slave-holding family, and is a story of her inner battle with the cruelty and injustice of slavery. It's a story about sacrifice and trust, a gripping tale and personally challenging as well.
Best Technology/Gadget: Skype and the Skype phone (she said)
Can you believe it, this is SHE said! Wonderful (and prudent) ways to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world. And the Skype phone is a nifty gadget that acts as a land-line phone and also a phone that lists all of our Skype contacts. So instead of dragging out our headset and computer to make a phone call, we can just pick up the phone and make the call.
Best News/Educational Periodical: The Economist
Great synopsis of world events. Dense and a lot to take in, but after reading it, we feel like we could have an educational and informative response to current events.
FOODIE CATEGORY:
Best New Recipe: Easy Corn Casserole and Jill's Secret Salsa (tie)
Meg was ecstatic after receiving a secret family recipe for salsa from her friend, Jill, as a white elephant gift for Christmas! But tied with it is a recipe for corn casserole. The recipe, from Cooking Light, is a lighter version of a traditional corn-bake, but one that is just as moist and delicious...and so easy! It's a great recipe to have on hand when craving comfort food, and goes well with a side of chili, chicken or brisket.
Best New Restaurant: 4-way tie
The foodie in Meg couldn't limit this category to just one restaurant! These are all new discoveries (because Chuy's Mexican food, of course, would win hand's down).
The Steeping Room: New to Austin, this is an eclectic tea room with an atmosphere welcoming to both men and women. The list of tea selections is vast, and the food both delicious and refreshing.
Main Street Grill: A charming, elegant restaurant tucked away in downtown Round Rock. We celebrated our 5 year anniversary at this delectable eatery. Expensive, but perfect for a special occasion and the food measured up to the price. We savored every bite.
Gristmill: In Gruene, the Texas setting of this grill is fabulously located on the Guadalupe River. A great place to take visitors.
Mellow Mushroom: We came across this restaurant, a pizzeria, in Asheville, NC. The crust, made with spring water is so good and the toppings are sometimes a unique combination, but very tasty! We soon discovered that Mellow Mushroom has now opened in Austin on Guadalupe!
Best Snack: Popcorn Palace Popcorn
The combo of white cheddar and caramel is the best! This was a perfect snack to have on hand at Christmas.
Best Foodie Periodical: Cooking Light
The special 20th edition that came out in September was the best ever!
Best New Dessert: Chocolate Italian Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Meg made this for her daddy's birthday in July, and it was a hit! She had to make more icing because she nearly ate all of the first batch of icing before it made it onto the cake.
TRAVEL/ADVENTURE CATEGORY:
Best Romantic Spot: A little bench located on the Biltmore Estates property in Asheville, NC that overlooks Bass Pond
We didn't want to leave that little bench!
Best Scenery/Outdoor Spot: The Blue Ridge Parkway
Breathtaking...and humbling.
Best New City Visited: Charleston, SC
Between being near the ocean and the southern hospitality, we found this to be both a soothing getaway and a charming historical city.
Best Airline: Emirates
We likely will not have this category in future "Best of" lists, but after all the traveling Meg did this year, with mishaps, delays and canceled flights hopefully to never be duplicated, Meg thought it was apropos to include this category for 2007. By far, Emirates was the airline with the most helpful and polite flight attendants, the best flight service (for movies, music and comfort), the most timely, and the most enjoyable.
Best Adventure: Traveling to South Asia and England, without Matt
This was the best and most challenging! Enough said.
LIFE CATEGORY:
Best Date:
(Each month, we plan a date for each other based upon each other's interests.)
Enchanted Rock (he said): This was the best date Meg planned for Matt, which was a day outing to Fredericksburg to hike Enchanted Rock and picnic. This topped Molly's list as well.
Breakfast in bed and a trip to the nursery to pick out rose bushes (she said): You definitely know when your husband loves you when he will gladly sit with you through a lecture on roses at a nursery and excitedly pick out rose bushes with you to plant together! And the whole wheat pancakes Matt lovingly made and served Meggie in bed that morning hit the spot.
Best House Project: Making our flowerbeds
This might be the best and worst all at the same time. We worked so hard doing all the labor ourselves, only to watch 3/4 of our baby plants die in the Austin downpours last spring. This just may end up on our "Best House Project" category for 2008 when we replant everything.
Best New Austin Discovery: Whole Foods Market on North Lamar
A foodie heaven! Each time Meghan is in that store, she discovers something new. It's also a great place to take visitors; their jaws always drop!
Best Surprise: Meghan piercing her nose
Ahhh, yes. While in England, Meg decided to pierce her nose with a tiny diamond, a totally spontaneous and highly unlikely thing for her to do. But she did it, and both he and she like it!
Best Reward for Standing in Line at 6 a.m.: Getting seats for the dress rehearsal of Saturday Night Live
For Julie's bachlorette party in NYC, all she wanted was to somehow make it into SNL, which required us to make a very early morning trek to the NBC studios to wait in line for a couple of hours for tickets, with no guarantee of getting in, and not expecting to at all. But to our surprise, all 10 of us girls made it in for the rehearsal!
Best Inspirational Story: Watching Meg's grandmother, Gaga, and good friend, Tycha, battle cancer with courage, determination, and amazingly good attitudes
Both ladies are tremendous examples.
Best Molly Moment: The Mighty Texas Dog Walk
Molly and Meggie participated in The Mighty Texas Dog Walk last spring, and Molly wanted to be the first to cross the finish line! She dragged Meg the whole way and didn't even want to stop for a drink of water. While we weren't the first to finish the walk, it was still a very proud moment in Molly's precious dog life.
Best Creative Outlet:
Blogging! (she said): Meg absolutely loves blogging and building an online community of friends and family; she's always looking for ways to make it more interactive and interesting.
Creating DVD slide shows (he said):
Matt made several DVD slide shows over the year for Tom and Kim's and Mac and Julie's wedding rehearsal dinners, and also helped his dad with Matt's grandpa's 90th birthday slide show.
Best Store:
Sur la table (she said): An amazing kitchen store! The baking selection of pans, muffin tins, sprinkles and icing is fascinating.
The Apple Store (he said): While this is a "he said" store, every time Matt shows Meg a new Apple gadget that he likes, she just happens to want one, too.
Best Quote: Robert Bruce, 19th Century missionary to Persia
"I am not reaping the harvest; I can scarcely claim to be sowing the seed; I am hardly ploughing [sic] the soil; but I am gathering out the stones."
Best Attribute of God Revealed: His grace
While this is
certainly a hard category to narrow down, His grace is something that
has been quite evident in 2007, in a very real and necessary way,
because there were definitely things that weren't the "Best of".
"As
for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you
used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler
of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who
are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time,
gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires
and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But
because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us
alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by
grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:1-4
Best Moments: 4-way tie
June 10th: Tom and Kim's (Matt's sister) wedding
October 20th: Mac (Meg's brother) and Julie's wedding
Christmas with Meg's family in Austin (from the decorating and preparation to our time together)
October 21st: Meg's Daddy's return home to TX after a year in VA for work
Best Milestone: Our 5 Year Wedding Anniversary
Oh, what a wonderful feeling it is to be back after trekking through South Asia and England for 17 days! The arms of my husband felt amazing as we embraced for the first time in two and a half weeks. And little Miss Molly greeted me at the airport, too! What a delight to have such a welcoming bunch as Matt and Molly! Matt and I didn't expect to have much communication while I was away, so we were pleasantly surprised by the availability of email. And I will confess that midway through my time in South Asia, I broke down and just had to call Matt, for my sanity's sake. So after activating my international calling feature on my cell phone, I made the call, which greatly encouraged and renewed me to press forward. It also however, fed the desire to talk to him more regularly, so we will have a nice $200 cell phone bill this month. It was worth every penny!
My trip was great, getting to see dear friends and have the privilege of making some new, very special friends. The hardest part of the trip was the air travel. I'm used to long flights, but the amount of time spent waiting in airports because of delays and canceled flights was intensely grueling. My time orientation is all thrown off as well. My brother's wedding seems at least 3-4 months ago as opposed to just 4 weeks ago, and I am adjusting to remembering that Thanksgiving is this week, which pretty much means that Christmas is here, too...what happened to November?!
We are spending Thanksgiving, and my mom's birthday which is Thanksgiving Day, in San Antonio with my parents. I hope to blog a bit more about my trip later, but until then, we must go buy some turkey!
Well, the time has arrived for me to get on another airplane and head overseas for 2.5 weeks! Matt is taking me to the airport momentarily, where we will embrace each other one more time before I return on November 20th...oh, what I glorious day that will be! He will hopefully keep the blog active, and I look forward to returning to our online community in a few weeks. Until then, many blessings!
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