32 Degrees Is Warmer in MO Than in SD

Not kidding. I've said that multiple times this week. 32 (or 35 or whatever) is warmer in MO than SD. I don't know why. Windchill, I guess. But even yesterday, at 35 degrees, I was outside without my coat on. Weird.

I'm packing all sorts of activities in before our 10-day Christmas holiday in South Dakota. We're getting pretty darn excited.

Girls' Night
As always, I had another fun evening with Rachel, Emily and Jenny. And, as always, super thankful for these girls and their friendship. This time, Rachel got the materials for a cute Pinterest craft - my first one ever!

Affordable Christmas
Our church puts on a fabulous Affordable Christmas for families in the church's neighborhood. I spent one evening this past week at a volunteer training and spent Saturday morning in the church kitchen helping prepare for the breakfast portion of the event. Take a look at the video and read more about Affordable Christmas - families are so blessed by this, and I was so glad to be a part of it.

Tea Time
On my way home from Affordable Christmas, I stopped at my friend Liane's apartment and had breakfast and tea with her (while our hubbies saw The Hobbit). I think us girls may have gotten the better end of the deal. I was thankful for some one-on-one girl time and felt very blessed by the fellowship we had.

Lunch Date
After hubby's tests, we met for lunch and enjoyed Haus on a Groupon. We've got to be some of Groupon's best customers. Seriously.

Here's hubby enjoying his buffalo & beef kielbasa sausage wurst  on pretzel bread with caramelized onions, homestyle 'kraut and honey dijon mustard ($7.99). And a beer. De-lish.

Because I made a ridiculously unflattering face when J took a pic of me, here's my food: Smoked Chicken & Apple sausage wurst with caramelized onions, sweet peppers and honey dijon mustard ($6.99). Surprisingly delicious. And, it's hard to see, but that's a pink beer on the right - Lindeman Framboise...a beer I actually really liked!

Cookie Exchange
Emily hosted a cookie exchange at her house and I came home with bunch of delicious goodies: oreo balls, peanut butter balls, rice krispies, peppermint white chocolate cookies, puppy chow, ginger and molasses cookies...my hubby was a happy man.

KC Symphony
Once again, Uncle Pat and Aunt Kathy brought me in as one of their very own - this time to a fabulous Christmas concert at the Kaufman Center. What a beautiful building. And what talented musicians. The KC Symphony is up for a Grammy this year!

Ugly Sweater Party
Last but not least (mostly last b/c this one has "a bunch" of pictures), we went over to Chad and Chandra's for an ugly sweater party and time with all of our med school friends. Food and fun was had by all. And I was introduced to boiled custard by Preston from Tennessee...it's fabulous! Like eggnog, but not...it's like melted ice cream in a cup. YUM!

Here's our ugly sweater finds...thanks, Goodwill!

Intentional Relationships

After the crazy week I last blogged about, last week was more laid-back...a trend, it seems, for me. Crazy week. "Normal" week. Crazy week. "Normal" week. At least I have a pattern? 

Being here in KC means I have to be much more intentional about my relationships with friends/family "back home". Kay and I have a weekly Monday phone date at 5:30. I've mentioned before that I have weekly phone dates with two college friends on Tuesday and Thursday. I try to email with other friends from home. But really, it's just not good enough. Email is good. Phone is better. In person is best.

That's what I got this past weekend: in-person, with one of my dearest friends from college, Amanda. We hadn't seen each other since March 27, 2010. SO LONG AGO. But now, with her in Nashville and me in KC, St. Louis is the perfect middle ground. About 4hrs for me and 5-6hrs for her.

Here we are after a lovely coffee date. Good to just catch up face-to-face.

This is at The Big Bang Bar - a dueling pianos bar. I fell in love with dueling pianos in Chicago and Amanda had never been, so this was the perfect opportunity.

We also ate at Zia's, where I enjoyed Tutto Mare: linguine prepared in a rich garlic cream sauce with shrimp, sea legs, clams and mushrooms. YUM. 

We stayed at the Ramada Plaza for $79 - thanks, Groupon! Free parking (for one), free welcome drinks and free breakfast buffet were also included. Groupon: always a good deal. 

We've already decided that a repeat of this trip is in order. And it'll be even better the 2nd time around: we woke up on Saturday to Amanda's car with a serious flat tire and our day consisted of AAA and Walmart - but lots of wonderful catch-up chatting time, which girls never mind having. We've decided not to repeat the car issues part of the trip the next time around.

How intentional are you when it comes to staying in touch with people? 

My (Not So) Secret Talent

Filling the calendar. Obnoxiously so.

My mom says I come by it honestly; seems it's her not-so-secret talent, too.

Apparently Thanksgiving weekend just wasn't busy enough for my liking b/c I jam-packed my schedule this first week back.

MONDAY
I have some ever-so-lovely girlfriends from church that I'm so thankful for. I love my med-student-wife friends (okay, enough already with the three-word hook-ups!) and (not "but"!) I'm so grateful to have friends that are in the same time of life as me, but not in the same situation. I've talked about Emily, Rachel and Jenny before, and it was, once again, our every-other-week (there I go again!) get-together. Emily graciously had us over to her home and we enjoyed FANCY hot chocolate...that means not a Swiss Miss packet, folks! So delicious. And wonderful conversation. I look forward to those Monday evenings!

TUESDAY
I went to the dentist and got a cavity filled. Aren't cavities for elementary school kids? They were pretty darn efficient. Which was good b/c my jaw (aka tmj) was threatening to give out on me! The best part was when the hygienist complimented my hair (which was just down and straight). Who doesn't love a nice hair compliment?

WEDNESDAY
I work onsite at the client's office on Wednesdays, which means I work from home for the last hour (b/c the office is an hour from home, so my boss lets me leave early to beat the rush-hour traffic, since I'm already spending so much time in the car). So, because I was home earlier, I got to make mom's renowned Texas Skillet for Jordan's dinner. Talk about a happy man. (So happy, that I made it for him again tonight, bwaha.)

THURSDAY
Gospel Community Group tonight! We discussed the sermon, which I listened to Wednesday evening since we were in SD on Sunday. Since we're in the advent season, we're pausing with our journey through 1 Corinthians and heard a sermon on Jeremiah 23:1-6. A good question that we discussed: What do you live for? Whatever it is, that's your king (aka, idol). That king gives you purpose, meaning, self-worth...that king is often a good thing, but when we set our hope on anything but God, it becomes a bad king.

FRIDAY
After work, I went over to Audrey's for some delicious homemade pizza with her & Josh and Larry & Leah, then us ladies headed over to The Wine Bar for a Private Wine Tasting Party - $5 each! Thanks, Groupon! A group of 8 med student wives went, and my dear friend Liane wrote a great post about it (and my phone was dead, so I got no photos, lol) so, I'll let you take a gander at our evening over on her blog.

I know. You're wondering how much I can pack into a weekend. A lot. I'm very talented.


SATURDAY

We got up early to take my car to the shop - the check engine light was on and we suspected the catalytic converter. Long (boring) story short: not the converter, okay to drive with the light on, cost $45 instead of $325+. YAY! 

Then I went grocery shopping to pick up ingredients for my treats for a cookie exchange party.

Then I raked leaves with my Community Group at a neighbor's house. She's a single mom with 4 kids and was super grateful!  It was also a lot of leaves. A LOT. I built a lot of character, too, dad. ;)

Then I hurried home and ate lunch and made Easy Baklava Cups for the cookie exchange. And I wouldn't let Jordan eat any before we got there. In fairness, I didn't eat any either. 

Then we went up to the school - Jordan to study, me for the Cookie Party - and I enjoyed a variety of delicious treats...and some of the ladies shared their recipes! Snickerdoodles (my fav cookies growing up, probably b/c they're a close cousin of the sugar cookie, my other fav cookie)....Gooey Cookies & Cream Chocolate Cake Bars (this one was sinfully delicious. You should probably make it immediately.)...Chinese New Years Cookies (easy and delicious!)...and many more!

THEN (I know! When does it stop!?) Jordan and I joined the rest of our "group" at Cole & Maggie's for a tasty lasagna supper and fellowship. 

The ladies: Leah, Maggie, Liane, me, Audrey.

The men: Matt, Larry, Josh, Jordan, Cole. They see each other at school every day and still sit 4 to a couch.
That's friendship.

SUNDAY

After church in the AM, I made us the standard basted eggs, toast and sausage patties for lunch. After cleaning up, I diced and chopped and put a chicken and veggie soup in the crockpot. Then I headed out to help set up Lazarus Ministries - Women's Shelter with a few other med student wives. We set up cots, sorted linens, put together toiletry baggies and helped with some other general clean-up and organization. Afterwards, I went to the grocery store (milk, fruit...the normal things...), came home to do laundry and organize things for the week and at 7pm the doctor (aka hubby) declared that I was looking completely wiped out and ordered me to bed. I did get to bed at 8:45 and slept till 6:45...guess I was exhausted!

Hope you found time to glorify God and experience His glory this week!

We're Thankful for...

FAMILY!

It was so good to be home and see both sides of the family...what a blessing! We also went to Jordan's mom's and stepdad's for a delicious steak dinner (shame on me, I forgot to take pictures!!). I didn't get pictures of my coffee with Jess or my lunch at Chandra's either...so glad I was able to catch up with both these girls...miss them already!

Here's our weekend:

Thanksgiving at Dad & Mom's!
Dad carving the turkey, Mom washing dishes, Grandma working on gravy.

"Little" brother!!

Hungry boys first!

Cousins! (and bonus boyfriend!)

Turkey time!

Cousin Alaina with the SEVEN pies. She wanted to have a piece of each one. 

Sister & Boyfriend: The talented pie (and pumpkin cheesecake!) makers! They can make me a pie any day.

Family Christmas picture!
(minus Brian & Stacey, who were at Stacey's parents' house...we missed them!)

My amazing parents! Love you!

Me & my favorite! Love my hubby!

Apparently being cute and acting goofy runs in the family!
(it's a prerequisite for  being our "other", too, as you can see)

Heiberger Lasagna Supper!

Hungry boys (men!) first! (again!)

Cousins Adam, Bekah and hubby Mark.

Yay!

Apples to Apples...Lucas won!

Hope you were able to have a wonderful holiday weekend with your family!

Counting Down the Days...

...till we get to home home for the holiday!! So excited. Only 3 more days!!

We've been excellent, as always, at keeping ourselves busy. My fabulous hubby has been studying away (as usual) - this time for his midterm (tomorrow) and his practical (Wednesday). Prayers are appreciated!

I met up with some Emily and Rachel from church on Monday evening at Caribou for some welcome girl time. I'd had an...unpleasant...day at work and left our coffee date feeling refreshed. So thankful for these girls!

I spent Tuesday evening babysitting for some friends who were in a pinch. Their boys are so good I never mind helping them out! The most notable thing that happened was when it was time to read Haven a bedtime story, I grabbed the first book out of the library bag: The Book That Eats People. He freaked. Apparently he'd already read it with mom and was terrified. I read it after he went to bed. Yes. It was terrifying. Literally, a book about a book that devours people. Not a cute book. A disturbing book. Parents, don't read this one to your kids. (I should note that his mom had the same reaction I did to the book - who would write that for kids!? Who puts that in the kids' section of the library?!)

Wednesday I woke up with pink eye (I'm like an elementary school kid or something) and, completely unrelated to the eye trouble, could barely get out of bed (or stand, sit, walk, lay down...you get the picture) b/c of TERRIBLE back/neck pain. Thankfully, because of the pink eye, my boss told me to work from home. So I did. And got eye drops for my eye. And iced my back/neck. And waited for hubby to come home and work his med school magic. The next day I was 70% better. Today I'm 99.9% better. Hurray for no more chiro visits! He said since he's a student right now, he can only work on special people. And I'm the only special one. (Just in case anyone else wanted to get in on his student skillzzzz.)

Gospel Community Group was Thursday evening. We discussed Philippians 2...and I was mentally exhausted from work and a little physically exhausted from remaining neck/back pain...and was thus a poor participant, in my opinion. One thought that stuck with me is how you can't just stay where you are in your faith - if you don't work on it, it doesn't stay the same, it diminishes, like a relationship would if you stopped investing in it. It wouldn't just plateau, it would become less. The same goes with our relationship with God. We can't just expect to ride on the wave of that last great conference, or last year's great biblestudy, etc. We have to invest in Him each and every day.

Friday, I got off work at 2:30 to prepare for my Dessert & Wine Pampered Chef party. I had 11 med student wives over and had four dessert stations set up. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures...gah. I thought of it before, mom reminded me before, annnnnd then I promptly forgot, until there were only 3 of us left cleaning up dishes. We split up into teams of 2-3 and made German Chocolate Lava Cake, Apple Berry Salsa, Caramel Apple Dessert Duo (couldn't find this one online to link to: it's an apple-cranberry "salsa" with a peanut-butter-cream cheese-caramel dip), and Apple Bundles. Then we enjoyed conversation over wine and desserts! I have such fab friends that they even helped me clean up the entire party, right down to washing the dishes and helping unload the dishwasher and loading it again! Thanks again, girls!

Saturday was my reupholstery adventure...be sure to take a look at the pics! So happy about how this turned out!

Today church was over 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1 - focusing on vs. 31: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." We should ask ourselves "Why?" and "What does that look like?" when we read that verse. Here's the boiled down version of an excellent sermon:

• Why: Because God is the most glorious being in the all the universe. Everything in the universe exists for God's glory. I exist soley for God's glory.
• What does that look like: In everything we do, we need to be focused on maximizing God, not ourselves. So at work that might look like not always making sure we get credit for absolutely everything we do or it might be evaluating whether we're laboring for God or for money.

That's the close of the week! I'm excited for 2.5 days of work and then 3 days at home! Enjoy Thanksgiving and your families!

The Great Reupholstery Adventure

1. Locate oatmeal-colored chair in need of fashion help.

2. Let husband see you using power tools so he can remark that you are woefully out of your element. Let husband take over disassembly of oatmeal-colored chairs.

3. Locate expert and engineer. Hopefully both are available for dessert-labor.

Aunt Kathy: Expert. Cousin Beth: Engineer.
Photo courtesy of Kathy's fb page.

4. Enlist expert for proper cutting technique. Use proper fabric markers, such as butter knives, so you know where to cut. Note: this is the side of the fabric that hubby suggested we use.

5. Staple appropriately.

6. Figure out how to de-bulk the corners and remove 50 billion staples from previous upholstery.

7. Under guidance of expert and engineer, beat bulkified seat cushions back into place using shoe.

8. Admire fabric massacre.

9. Admire must-have, 50%-off fabric that's now making the kitchen set look brand-new.

Thank you Kathy & Beth - you two ROCK! I couldn't have done it without you! Love you both!

Who Invited You?

Today, I'm wondering who invited the sleet to KC. It's 33 degrees...so it's not freezing...yet. EEK. People here are not very good drivers when it's anything but "normal" outside. Even when it's just sprinkling, there are a lot of accidents. That makes me very concerned for winter. Yes, I am a South Dakota driver, but I'd much rather let my hubby handle driving during the rain, sleet, snow, night...you get the picture. I'm a fair-weather driver. So, the thought of my interstate-commute to work this winter is making me more and more concerned as the weather gets colder and colder.


I've done a bit of inviting this week myself:

• I invited someone to join me as a Pampered Chef consultant...and she said yes! 
• I invited the saleswoman at the jewelry store (I was there b/c my ring - not wedding ring - got bent, not b/c I was buying something, haha) to have a PC show with me...I think she might say yes!
• I invited 2 girls from work out to lunch...it was delicious!
• I invited a bunch of girls to my apartment on the 16th for a Dessert & Wine Pampered Chef party...hoping it's a good turnout and that we have fun! (If you're reading this, and you're in KC, you're invited!)
• We invited a "couple" friend of ours from Sioux Falls to stop by our home for dinner as they traveled back from FL to SD. We enjoyed alfredo garlic chicken and salad with nuts and fruit. Yum.

And others have done more than their fair share of inviting me/us places:

• My new PC consultant, Amanda, invited me to her apartment (which is only 5mins away!) for dinner and to answer some PC questions. We are really similar, and I think we'll be friends as well as fellow consultants...and that makes me really glad.
• Amanda invited me to her first PC show...which was fabulous! She's a natural, and I'm so excited for her. (And her mom made some delicious sangria and Papa John's veggie pizza. YUM.)
• Heath and Amber invited our Gospel Community into their home yet again this week and we had open honest conversations about what idols are in our own lives.
• My wonderful aunt Kathy invited me to spend the day with her on Saturday, and we decided Joann Fabric was the place to be. I found fabric (2 kinds) for living room curtains (pics to come, when they're done) and fabulous fabric to reupholster the kitchen chairs, which Kathy and I are doing next weekend. So excited! (I'll post pics of that, too.) And, can't not share a great deal: all 3 fabrics that I bought were 50% off, and Kathy used her military discount (b/c it's Veteran's weekend) to get me an additional 20% off that! A steal. I'm stoked.
• Zach & Kody invited us over for home-cooked ribs (ah-maze-ing. Zach, you can cook for us anytime!), cheddar mashed potatoes (um, can you say delish? My fav. Seriously.), I brought the good ol' standby: green bean casserole, and we enjoyed cake pops for dessert while playing a Monopoly card game...I'd never played before and it was awesome! And fast. Much faster than real Monopoly...which I really liked.
• Chad & Chandra invited me to The Nutcracker by the Blue Springs Ballet...it was beautiful. And two of their daughters were in it, too - they were so cute as little mice!
• Matt & Liane invited us (and 2 other couples, and Preston! His sweet Lisa still lives in TN, so he's a part of a couple, but the whole couple isn't here.) over for taco soup and fellowship. As you can see from the last 3 "invites" we have a lot of friends...and I love them all so much! What a blessing they are.

Here's just a few pics from the week:

Supper with friends from SD!

A delicious Andre's lunch with coworkers.  Can you tell I love this place? My entree of choice: Croute Appenzell (toasted French bread topped with pears, melted cheeses, bacon & walnuts), tomatoes, carrot salad.

My Andre's hazelnut torte, included with lunch. 

This is the most amazing sunset I've seen in KC yet. Hoping for more. So beautiful.

My (phone) camera is NOT made for far away, movement shots...this is at The Nutcracker, and there are the little mice. So cute. 

I hope you were able to experience being a guest this past week somewhere, and that you hosted some guests yourself. If not, try it next week...it's wonderful to be invited, and it's equally wonderful to invite!

A Word From The Hubs

Many thanks to my fabulous hubby for chiming in and sharing his thoughts! He is ridiculously insightful. Without further ado...

The Slavery Post

            What does it mean to be a slave? Betsy and I recently saw the movie Cloud Atlas, which has in it several stories involving various characters who are, in one way or another, slaves. To avoid spoiling the movie for you who haven’t seen it, I will just leave it at that. The act of slavery is despicable at best, when considering our culture’s perspective on the word. Why is it, then, that some forms of slavery are so glamorous? To be a slave to fashion, for example, is admired by many. To be a slave to a business often yields great returns in lifestyle enhancements.

Some recent church services at Redeemer Fellowship caused me to assess where my allegiance lies. The gist of the message was this: to whom/what are you a slave? Unfortunately, my answers were ubiquitously pathetic. Jesus comes in at a distant tenth place after school, Betsy, TV, Facebook, video games, alcohol/food, and others.

Thankfully, I now have a tasteful reminder of where I desire to be. My faith in Christ ought to dominate my life and the biggest reminder I have is the St. Francis prayer. Betsy’s designer friend made a fancy print of it and it now hangs in my office/study area.

           

            Sorry my first guest post is written on such an austere note - I just need to be honest with myself and the people who care about Betsy and me. Do not fear, however! The first step to fixing a problem is admitting that it exists. And, to be sure, we all struggle with prioritizing our lives. Since starting medical school, there have been many times when I am fired up about leading a Gospel-filled life. I feel like those times are only transient, however, and quickly I am left worrying about the next big test.

            Thankfully, as I have been wrestling with this feeling of self-deprecation, God has made clear what I can do to improve this situation. Most importantly, Betsy and I have each other. We are two stubborn people but we thankfully help sharpen one another as iron sharpens iron. Besides the relationship we share, Betsy and I have had opportunities to participate in a local Bible study. Also, we were able to help a couple from church prepare a bonfire event for a local university dorm. We have an amazing church community, we have each other, and we have a great group of friends. I already have some friends down here in Kansas City who challenge me to be real and honest about where I am at spiritually. I hope I also do the same for them.

I want to end with this: what are you a slave to? Be honest with yourself. Are you prioritizing your life in a way that glorifies God? For non-Christian readers, are you prioritizing your life in a way that is beneficial to the people in your life who you love and care about? Hobbies can enslave us, along with desires, yearnings, escapes, etc. Let us not forget what is important in life – the love of others. If our highest pursuits have ends that are only self-gratifying, they are vain indeed.

Eating Is a Hobby of Mine

When Jordan and I first started dating in 2005/2006, his idea of eating out was getting McDonald's or Taco John's or Burger King etc.... every day. At the time, I tried valiantly to convince him of the value of saving up those $5 daily purchases for a "fancy" $15 at the end of the week. Like, a sit-down place.

Six years down the road, I'll tell you this: I've created a monster. Now, I'm spoiled regularly with fancy dinners (thankfully, using groupons). But. There are certainly worse things. (Like fast food every day. Ick.)

Piropos Grille
This was a groupon where we got more than we bargained for. Enter med student in scrubs and wife in tow. White linens and wine glasses. Cloth napkins. A view of the sunset over the city. The waiter referred to us as "The Lady" and "The Gentleman". And delicious food. So delicious. The fact that we paid $15 for a groupon that took $53 off our bill was pretty sweet, too.

The complimentary warm bread with garlic and olive oil sauce or basil something-or-other sauce. Yum.
We also enjoyed a beef empanada (beef tenderloin, onions, olive, raisins and spices), but we devoured it before taking a pic. Oops.

Seafood Ravioli ($20.99) served with a
poblano cream sauce.

Grilled Seafood Platter: Shrimp, scallops,
mahi mahi with jasmine rice, asparagus
and a butter garlic sauce. ($29.99)

Fancy restaurant view.

We ate it ALL.

Dessert splurge: Tres Leche Cake
I told Jordan I'd rather have a $7 dessert in a restaurant once a month than a box of cookies from the grocery store every week.

Obligatory cute couple pic. And bonus great sky.

Gospel Community Group
We were in ladies/guys groups again this week. We're both doing Philippians, a letter from Paul (while he's in prison) to encourage the Philippians. It reminded me again to rejoice in all circumstances - even when things are really, really bad (and, I'm fortunate that I've never personally been in a really, really bad situation up to this point). Despite being in prison, Paul was so joyful. I've seen that same joy evident in others' lives when they're going through tough things like cancer or the death of a spouse or constant pain. I hope when I'm in a tough situation, that I'm able to keep my joyful spirit, too.

Chez Elle
The girls I work with and I decided to get lunch at Cheze Elle, a little french creperie. Also mucho delicious.

I had the Le Jardin crepe (spinach, artichokes, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, provolone cheese) ($7.95) and a cup of lobster bisque ($5.25), because I simply couldn't resist it. Both were amazing. I'd definitely go back here.

More

• We had Chad & Chandra over on Friday evening; it was fun to just relax and catch up. 
• Saturday evening, Jordan and I helped a couple in our community group who were hosting a freshman girls' dorm bonfire. Jordan set up tables, hay bales, tended the fire and more, and I enjoyed helping in the kitchen, prepping food, washing dishes...the sort of things that I enjoy. 

Jordan and I cooked Vegetable Beef soup on Saturday (aka, soup from the parents: stew meat from mom and dad, carrots and potatoes from mom's garden, plus onions, garlic, celery) - that's lunch for the week!

For over two and a half years, I've been wanting a green bedskirt to match the quilt mom made us as a wedding gift. I finally splurged. And, I don't like to iron...I'm just planning that the wrinkles will release after hanging there long enough.

That's the week! I want to blog about our sermon this AM, but a friend is coming over in a bit (like 5 mins) to talk about Pampered Chef - she's a new consultant and her first show is Friday, so excited for her!) so I need to wrap this up and get it posted.

In the sermon this AM, the pastor said that South Dakota is "sexy" this time of year. hehe. Missing you all back "home"!