Corned Beef and Cabbage Day!

This is the day I look forward to every year. Yep, Corned Beef and Cabbage Day, also known as St. Patrick's Day to most. Ha. I can't explain it and Ryan really can't understand it, but corned beef and cabbage is perhaps my favorite meal. I could literally eat myself sick and usually come close to that every year. Sad I know, but that is the truth. Mmmmmm......

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Highly Motivated?

Goal-oriented is not a word that I would use to describe myself in general, which may translate into not being a highly motivated person either. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy making goals and writing them down in lists with ways to achieve those goals. However, there is a disconnect somewhere between the brainstorming of them, the writing them down and actually accomplishing them. One reason may be that I don’t review my goals often or even think about them. One way to put it may be that I am not intentional or purposeful with them.

I was watching a show yesterday and they had an expert on with a list of 5 Secrets of Motivated People. Put anything in list form and I am bound to like it. Ha ha. Honestly, though, I liked what she had to say in her list, so I thought I would share them here.

Secret #1: Anticipate speed bumps in your plan. Before even trying to achieve a goal, plan for potential pitfalls and either preempt them if you can, or come up with a strategy to deal with them if they arise.

Secret #2: Go public with your goal. It’s harder to abandon a dream when you know that people are tracking your progress.

Secret #3: Challenge yourself, and change things up. It’s hard to remain enthusiastic when everything stays the same.

Secret #4: Consider how what you’re doing benefits others.

Secret #5: Make it meaningful.

More details on each item are listed here as I have only included some of the details.

Well, in going along with Secret #2 above, I figured I should "go public" with my goals. When I sat down in January, my thought process was that I needed to be more intentional in everything that I do - that it should all have purpose. As a result, I came up with five categories of goals: spiritual, physical, mental/emotional, church, and marriage. For today, I will just share my spiritual goals and save the others for the next few days.

Spiritual Goals

• Closer relationship with God
• Daily Bible study
• Start my day with prayer
• Develop Christ-like character
• Study and know Christ and His life
• Consciously think about His character and choose to live that way
• Pray to be changed into His likeness
• Grow in my understanding of God
• Pray - listen and talk to God regularly
• Set aside at least 15 minutes a day
• Write out prayers when possible (helps to maintain focus and also to go back and see how God is working)
• Talk with God throughout my day
• Miscellaneous Goals
• Read through the Bible this year
• Memorize a verse every 2 weeks

Just for the record, with these (and all the other goals for that matter), I have failed miserably at some and others I'm actually not doing too bad. It was great to re-read these as I was sharing them as a refresher for myself.
 
Aiming to be more intentional in my life and live a life of purpose is truly my ultimate goal, whether it be in how I love others, spend my time, or use my resources. These helpful steps and subsequent goals are hopefully just the beginning.

5 Things

5 Things I Am Grateful for Today

• The foot massage I am currently getting from my husband
• Warmer weather and longer days
• Getting some spring cleaning done
• A wonderful time of Bible Study this afternoon
• A chance to get to know some of my co-workers a little more today

5 Things I'm Looking Forward to This Week

• Bible Study tomorrow night with some of my former co-workers
• Corned beef and cabbage for dinner on St. Patty's Day. Yum!
• The snow to keep melting and possibly be gone by the end of the week (hey, I can always hope)
• More spring cleaning and organizing around the house
• Learning more about God's love and His purposes

5 Things I'm Looking Forward to in the Next 30 Minutes

• Washing my face
• Brushing my teeth
• Getting in to bed
• Cuddling with my hubby
• And going to sleep! I'm beat. G'night all. :)

Scrumptious Chicken Chili

The first time I made this Ryan told me it was the one of the best things he'd ever eaten. Enjoy!

Chicken Chili

½ onion, chopped
1.5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
½ Tbsp. ground cumin
½ Tbsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
Ground cayenne pepper to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
3 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

In a large pot over medium heat, combine the onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add the chicken, green chiles, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and black pepper to taste and saute for 5 more minutes.

Add two cans of the beans and the chicken broth to the pot. Take the third can of beans and puree them in a blender or food processor. Add this to the pot along with the cheese. Stir well and simmer for at least 10 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.

2 Days in the City

Well, I only successfully managed to post 2 days in a row before I missed a day, but oh well. We went to Salt Lake Friday and Saturday, so I'm ok with it. :)

What took us to the city was Ryan's nerdy side (those are his words...ha ha). The Highlands Bagpipe Experience drew Ryan to downtown Salt Lake with me at his side. Oh, and my parents came along for the ride. Actually, it turned out to be really fun. The Utah Pipeband played some bagpipe music with some cute dancing Scottish girls. It was an interactive experience learning about a little bit of Scottish history, more about the bagpipe and Scottish dress. Plus, I just like the feel of being downtown.

Afterwards we hung out with my brother and nephew, which is always fun. My nephew is a VERY active 16 month old little boy with quite the personality. He's at a stage where he is learning lots and its fun to see his little brain work and all the words he is learning. And he is finally starting to remember his Aunt Nonnie and Uncle Wine. :)

Today, we spent the day at the Spring Home and Garden Show with my parents walking around and attending a few presentations about gardening. Sounds nerdy, but we all enjoyed it. We followed that up eating at one of my favorite restaurants, Iggy's. My wonderful husband then took me shopping at Payless and to get a frozen coffee drink from Beans N Brews, another one of my favorites. He is too sweet!

We had quite the eventful drive home encountering an unexpected snow storm in the canyon with low visibility, but we made it home safe and sound thankfully.

Reading through this, it doesn't sound that exciting, but it was actually such a fun weekend and just what I needed. But I have to say that one of my favorite parts of the weekend was the great conversations my hubby and I had on the drive out. I love how different we are and where our conversations go. :)

Lent

“Yet even now, says the Lord, repent and return to me with all your heart” Joel 2:13 Today is Ash Wednesday—the beginning of the Church’s observance of the Lenten season. It is a space in time in which we are called to stop whatever we are doing, no matter how important it might be, and enter more intentionally into the disciplines of prayer, self-examination and repentance. But these disciplines—as significant as they are—are not ends in themselves. They are a means to an end and that end is that we would return to God with all our hearts." Ruth Haley Barton

Yes, I know I'm a day late as Lent started yesterday, but I liked this quote a friend posted on Facebook yesterday, so I thought I'd post it anyway.

I’ve never observed Lent before, at least that I can remember. I guess it wasn’t something I ever really stopped to consider doing, however, I think that it is important if thought about in the context above. So, this year I am going to take this time before Easter to observe Lent by giving up something and intentionally turning towards God with all my heart.

I challenge anyone reading this to also think about observing Lent this year.

An Experiment in Writing

I like to write, yet I don't do it very often (which you will see if you follow my blog that I average a post every 3 or so months). Ha. But, writing helps me process what's going on in my head and what's happening in my life. Thus, the idea for this experiment.

Often times I don't feel like I have anything to write about or just can't think of anything to write about. However, when I first started thinking of doing this experiment, I started making a list of possible blog topics and I came up with somewhere over 60, so perhaps I do have something to say. Or is it just that I have LOTS swirling around in my little brain?! Hmmmm.... :)

As well, I love reading my friends' blogs and get a little disappointed if there isn't something new to read. So, I thought perhaps maybe they'd like to hear from me, too. :) If not, that's ok, cause I'm going to write anyway. Ha ha.

The Experiment
For the next 30 days (at least) I'm going to write a blog post each day. Some will be serious, some will not, others will be things I'd like to share, such as recipes, or products, or just thoughts I'm mulling over. This experiment will also be a little bit about discipline, as my laziness might try to creep up and try to stop me from writing. I think perhaps that is another reason why I don't write more often, so this will be good.

As well, I'd love to hear any feedback or comments on anything and everything that I have to say. So, please pipe in and share back with me!

Silent "G"

Here in The Basin (the area of Utah where Roosevelt is located), many things are different than in the big city. I'm sure I could go on about the many things, but for now I'm talking about the silent "g."

What is the silent "g" you ask. I'm referring to the letter "g" that appears at the end of words following the letters "i" and "n." You see, in The Basin, that "g" is apparently silent. We don't go shopping, walking, camping, fishing, hunting, etc. We go shoppin', walkin', campin', fishin', huntin', etc. It cracks me up and it was one of the first things I noticed about the Basinites once I started spending some time out here. And truth be told, I've started talking like that, oops, I mean talkin' like that. Guess I'm startin' to become a local. :) But, it drives me crazy when I find myself talking like that. Ha!

The other day I was talking to a co-worker and was telling her about Ryan going hunting. She actually corrected me and said to me, "It's huntin', not hunting." I just had to laugh.

1 Year of Wedded Bliss!

One year ago on September 26th, Ryan and I were married. It's hard to believe that it has already been a year! I love him more than I did on that day and look forward to all the days ahead! He is one amazing man and I am truly blessed to be his wife. Of course, not all days have been perfect, but it's been a fun road and one in which most days are absolutely wonderful. Even the hard times and challenges of learning to live with another person and consider their needs have been good. That's probably all part of the newlywed stage. :) But, I hope that never changes. I get to journey through this life with my best friend and love of my life. Life is good!

Below are some pics from year 1 (in no particular order).

The 2 of us in our matching shirts at Ryan's company's summer picnic

Our first time going to the races. At the Vernal race track. It was tons of fun!

Just smoochin' after Elyssa and Rob's wedding ceremony. :)

At the Rockies game. Ryan's first Major League Baseball game.

Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park.

Birth of the first nephew on the Tall side of the family in November.

Jazz vs. Nuggets game and the Jazz won! Yeah!

Goofing off at the beach in So Cal.

Me and my man enjoying the beach at sunset.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Here are the ingredients as listed in the recipe. What I actually used, if different, is listed in parenthesis.

1 cup whole grain flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger (I didn't have ginger, so I used cloves)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light vanilla soy milk (We don't drink soy, so I used 1% milk with a bit of vanilla extract)
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 5-ounce container Greek vanilla bean yogurt (used regular vanilla yogurt)
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
2 extra-large egg whites (used 1 whole large egg)
2 tablespoons butter, slightly melted

In a large mixing bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients and set aside.

In a blender, combine the soy milk and protein powder and blend for 30 seconds. Then pour into a medium bowl. To the protein mixture, add the yogurt, pumpkin, egg whites, and butter and mix well.

Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until moist. Do not overmix the pancake batter.

Warm a griddle or skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with cooking spray. Ladle the pancake batter onto the griddle, using 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Let each pancake cook for 2-3 minutes per side.

Yeilds 8 pancakes. Per serving (2 pancakes): 376 calories, 21 grams protein, 53 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams fat.

These were yummy! I asked Ryan to rate it 1 to 5 stars and he gave it 5. :)

I must give credit where credit is due. Got this recipe from "Skinny Chicks Don't Eat Salads."