2011: ready or not, here we come!

January has been a very busy month and typical of the rest of the year. We’ll just put this month on repeat and roll with it! Zach had his first test of the semester to engage his rear in “study mode”. I had my first (of many) business trips. Luckily, the test and my trip coincided nicely- I hope that happens more often!

I am now working on a USPS contract- think about it, how many post offices are there nationwide? We are working on sites in the northeast right now, and I’m excited that my work is bringing me near family and friends. The day job isn’t very glamorous, but seeing my loved ones makes it entirely more wonderful! I’m serious- not glamorous at all…

I climb up these to get the roof (usually icy)…

… to look at this.

I even got to see snow in South Carolina! Ok… that doesn’t count!

Confession: I love the organization. Each mail carrier has this little work space to get organized each day. I could be a mailwoman!

I’m home for a week before flying off to Delaware, Virginia and Maryland next Tuesday. I’m really looking forward to seeing family every night I’m away. Zach is even flying up the weekend after my trip, and we are going skiing with my Dad!

I haven’t been cooking anything lately, but that is going to change this week! Look forward to a blog post! Yummmmm

My half-marathon training is still trucking along. I scheduled a couple races to make sure I kept up my training, and I have a 15K this Saturday.

I’ve also been doing a Beth Moore Bible Study (love her!) We are on Week Three, and it has been an amazing journey so far!

Hope you had a wonderful January!

2011: New Year, New Goals

Zach and I have been on the road for the past two weeks, and it was incredible! First stop- Pensacola! We spent the week preceding Christmas with Zach's family and enjoyed relaxing, last minute Christmas shopping, and eating (a lot). We headed up to Starkville on Christmas eve just in time to meet up with my brother, sisters, niece and parents. We woke up to a... wait for it... WHITE CHRISTMAS!


Being in Starkville was wonderful. It's a place that is so dear to us. We spent Christmas eve in the church where we were married, ate at the Ritz- where we had our wedding reception, and ran on campus where Zach proposed. Maybe we'll end up back there one day??


New Years was spent in Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl! MSU really showed up, and we were so proud! We ran a 5K, watched the parade, and spent new years eve with the MSU alumni association. Couldn't have asked for a better end to 2010!



2011 List of Goals

1. Ring (literally with cow bells) in the New Year with loved ones. Check.
2. Beat Michigan. Check.


3. Complete First Half Marathon with Mary, Emma, and all of the Disney Princesses.
4. Serve the Lord with my husband in Nicaragua.
5. Read entire Harry Potter series before the final movie is released.
6. Write more letters to loved ones.
7. Master-- errr become better at-- new hobbie:- photography, sewing, cooking
8. Incorporate green principles into our lifestyle.

…to be continued… (these are the only goals underway)

We had such a wonderful time at the game! A Bulldog victory was just the ticket for a wonderful first day of the new year!

So, HELLO 2011, we can't wait for all you have in store...

Hail Dear Ole State

When we moved to gainesville and zach started medical school at the university of florida the question we were asked most often was, "Are you going to be Gator fans?" Our answer was "Yes" and that we would cheer for the University of Florida unless they are playing Mississippi State or Auburn. Having one football season under our belt, I know most of you will be happy to hear that I own no UF apparel, we only watched one UF game socially and never while MSU or Auburn were playing, and we never attended a game at the Swamp to cheer for UF. While we said we would cheer for Florida, we really haven't. And being in Gainesville makes us bleed maroon and white even more (if that is possible?!) and dislike Gator fans even more. Every Saturday night when our game was on ESPNU (which is a channel we do not get), we would be in maroon seated in front of the computer watching our game. We would ring cowbells, but I don't think that would have gone over well with our neighbors. We love our alma mater, so Hail State! Go Bulldogs! Vroom Maroon! and GTHOM!

All this to say, we're so excited to be going to the Gator Bowl next month! And a big thanks to Florida for not coming after Dan Mullen!

This was taken right after our 10-7 win over Florida in the Swamp! What a sweet victory! They had to throw us out of the stadium!

O, Christmas Tree!

Confession: I put this up before Thanksgiving. (At least I waited until December to blog about it!) I've thoroughly enjoyed it ever since! I turned off all the lights in the house, lit Christmas Candles and watched Elf while sipping hot chocolate... and it was 85 degrees outside. I live in Florida.

Decorating the tree with Christmas ornaments is one of my favorite things to do! Every year since I can remember I've decorated the tree with my mom as our cats tried to climb it and sang along to all of Amy Grant's Christmas albums. This year, I listed to the Glee Christmas album, duh.

A common theme in married life is remembering past traditions and starting new ones. I appreciate the blending of the old with the new. Last Christmas, mom let me take some ornaments from our family tree to have for my new married Christmas tree! Each ornament has a unique memory and is dear to my heart. I got a little teary as I hung the familiar ornaments with so much sentimental meaning in my new home. Here is our tree!!!

A makeshift tree topper:

A blend of new and old ornaments: Shout out- Bec's look at the ornament you made!

Presents under the tree!

Hottie Hoo!!

I made this in the 2nd grade!

There are several hand-crafted ornaments, of course!

This is from our honeymoon in Chattanooga.

These shells were from a vacation we took this summer with my step brother and step sister to Delray Beach.

Mom got this one for us!

Every year Zach's mom would take him and his brother to pick out an ornament for their tree. We decided to do the same!

This is my pick: Barbie shoes!!!

The store was sold out of Zach's ornament, but here's a picture anyways. Hopefully is don our tree soon!

Chocolate Cheesecake

I have a new found love for cooking! Maybe it's a very appreciative and hungry husband or the joy in preparing meals for studious medical students? More than likely it's the innate feminine need to nurture. Anyhoo- we hosted a party for the SEC Championship game. I got to cook for a crowd! Fun! We had yummy appetizers first, then chili and cornbread for supper. And I made a delicious chocolate cheesecake for dessert. Did I mention it's super easy? Bonus! Here it is:

CRUST

1) Mix the following ingredients in a bowl:

3/4 Cup finely chopped almonds

1.5 Cups crushed chocolate teddy grahams (I pour the teddy grahams in a big zip lock and roll over with rolling pin until crushed)

2) Melt 1/4 Cup butter and pour over almonds and grahams.

3) Add 1/2 tsp vanilla and stir together.

4) Press mixture into bottom and up the sides of a pie pan. Then put in fridge until ready to use.

CHEESECAKE

1) Beat 16 oz of cream cheese and 1/2 Cup sugar until well blended.

2) Add 1 jar (13 oz) of nutella hazlenut spread and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Mix until well blended.

3) Stir, do not beat, 1 tub (8 oz) of thawed cool whip.

4) Spoon mixture into crust.

5) Garnish with left over teddy grahams (optional, but I think it looks adorable). Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Thanksgiving in Pace

I love the holiday season! It's the first one with my new husband, and i'm really excited about it! We spent Thanksgiving with the Greenes in Pensacola. It was a full house! Robyn and Alex, Zach's brother and sister-in-law, were down from Memphis, and Robyn's parents, Robert and Teri, were up from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. That was eight of us under one roof- Always fun to have a full house! We did the usual: eat, shop, watch football-- all weekend!

Thanksgiving dinner was hosted at the Greene's home. Naturally, the girls cooked inside while the boys cooked outside. We had smoked turkey thanks to Zach's Dad's smoker. Delicious!

I even got to make my family's dressing (with white bread instead of corn bread). It was my first Thanksgiving away from my parents, but I enjoyed new traditions with my new family.

Zach's parents are big Auburn fans, so we watched the Iron Bowl on Friday... War Eagle!

This was a bit strange, but I've married into an Auburn family!

And then went to celebrate the win and Zach's Mom's birthday with Aunt Barbara and Uncle Ed at Ed's Seafood Shed in Mobile.

I'm still questions Zach's judgement in this next stunt of his:

He tackled the "Yo Daddy's Sandwich" at Ed's. It's an eating contest of sorts- Zach vs Sandwich. The sandwich is a philly cheese steak with french fries, cole slaw, and a heaping pile of onion rings. Here are the before and after pictures!

The whole gang at the Shed!

And we wrapped up a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with a Bulldog win! Hail State!

my first cooking post!

Zach and I had a wonderful weekend filled with fun and friends! Friday night, Zach and I went out with our new couple friends, Kaitlyn and LB. We had a delicious seafood (well, I had duck, but everyone else had fish!) dinner before going to the Gainesville Community Playhouse to see The Wiz. It was a great small theater! Zach and I went to see Dracula at another local theater, the Hippodrome, last weekend with Dad. I think we prefer the Hipp, but I love all theater! It was fun to do something different, and we all enjoyed the evening.

We woke up fairly early on Saturday morning without alarms (how wonderful is that!) and rode the bikes to downtown Gainesville for a run. I really need to get on this half-marathon training!! Zach even made me run some drills- it's handy to have my own personal running coach around! I had noticed some neat looking older homes, and I wanted to try and find them again. Turns out I had stumbled upon the Bed and Breakfast District! What a fun hidden treasure! Not that we'll ever need a hotel in Gainesville, but the B&Bs looks adorable and quite inviting. After our run we had breakfast at a local coffee shop- Maudes Classic Cafe (If you're familiar with Starkville, it reminded me of an indy LJ's). It was yummy, and we're looking forward to going back for a dessert and board game double date soon! We had our friend, Scotty, over to watch the MSU v Alabama football game. Despite, the outcome, we love hanging out with Scotty, and I love any excuse to cook for hungry boys! I made beef stew in the crock pot; stuffed shells with prosciutto, ricotta and radicchio (thanks for the martha stewart living subscription, mom- delicious!); and apple crisp (yuuuummmmm).

Speaking of hungry boys, I cook for Zach and his med school friends often. This is one of Zach's favorites, and I made it for him and Tim last week. It's another martha recipe!

Peanut Crusted Chicken

1) Preheat over to 475 degrees.

2) In a food processor, pulse 3/4 cups unsalted peanuts and 3 slices of bread torn into small pieces until coarsely ground.

3) Transfer ground peanuts to a bowl and whisk in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, 1.5 teaspoons salt, 0.75 teaspoons pepper.

4) While you have the olive oil out, drizzle some on a baking sheet.

5) In another bowl, beat 2 large eggs (I just used my whisk). Season eggs with salt and pepper.

6) Add 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (the thinner, the better for chicken to stay moist and tender!) to eggs and turn to coat.
7) Take the chicken, one piece at a time, and dredge in ground peanuts. Press the chicken into the peanuts to coat well. Then, transfer the chicken to oiled baking sheet.

8) Bake about 10 minutes until lightly browned and cooked all the way through. If you have used thicker pieces of chicken, cook longer.

9) I like to serve the chicken with something green, like asparagus or broccoli (or both! you know I love green veggies!)

On Sunday, Kaitlyn and I watched The Kite Runner. It was a wonderful, thought-provoking film. It was quite heavy, but I recommend it!

Also-- just found out that my mono has relapsed. Awesome. But it explains why I've been so exhausted lately. And why I would love to be doing this right now...