Friends ∙ Food ∙ Fun ∙ Take 2

We were just discussing the other night about how our friendship basically revolves around food.  It sounds kind of sad, but it's sorta true.  Everytime we get together, it has something to do with food.  Catering.  Eating out.  And of course, if it doesn't have to do with food to begin with, it always ends with food... But who's complaining?!

Twas a wonderful night once again.  Consisting of friends, food, and fun. 
K, T, and I met C after work in Gibson.  Our taste buds were calling for something a little unique and we were quite eager to try out the Bayern Stube Authentic German restaurant which we'd only heard rave reviews about.  K had the delightful idea of ordering dessert first, since our stomachs are usually detestably full after the main course.  This way we were able to pleasantly enjoy the delisious desserts.  I think our waitress, along with all the other tables around us, thought we were quite the odd ducks by the end of the evening...but then again, it wouldn't be a "normal" night with the 'core four' without a few odd looks cast our way! 

white cake with some cheescake-y filling - 2nd place :)

Creme Brulee - DELICIOUS! My all time fav.

Chocolate Turtle cheesecake - or very close

Lemon glazed cake with berry filling inside

Schweinebraten with Spatzle and red cabbage.

Bismark Schnitzel w/ spatzle and sauerkraut

My entree - Rabbit leg w/ red cabbage, potatoes & pear w/ berry sauce - delish!  Tasted a lot like chicken...

Tiff got a sampler...

After dessert, before tasting the entrees :)

All of the food was delicious (minus the red cabbage & sauerkraut...they weren't my fav...) and I would highly recommend it to anyone who's up for a little something different.  It definitely lived up to its name!

Thanks ladies for the wonderful evening.  Which restaurant are we gonna try out next?

weekend wonderfulness

Even though school sometimes has my stomach tied up in knots, and my hair falling out in clumps due to so-much-studying-in-so-little-time, I still seem to have the time *make the time to enjoy the blessedness of friendships and travel within our church family. And as backwards as it may sound, even though it creates less time for my studies and sometimes more stress on my part, it tends to loosen those stomach knots, and lessen the hair loss in my life...or at least I like to think it does!

This past weekend (as in like LAST wknd)...well actually, just to clarify, my weekends typically start thursday evening once I walk out the doors from clinical...so of course my "weekend wonderfulness" started then. It all began with a late night *Valentine's date* run to B-town with two of my favorite valentines - K & T - to hit up the Yogurt bar plus a run a few errands, including black high-heels, brown flats, and wal-mart, and of course a last minute decision to stop at Fusion Brew 10 minutes before closing time... (This is typically how our nights together go - very spontaneous) And we usually end up somehow getting semi-lost, going down a one-way the wrong way,  giggling until there's no more giggles left, and always *always* staying out WAY later than anticipated... We are very good at filling a few short hours with mountains of memories...choking on bobas, embarrassing T in Wal-mart (won't go into details - some things aren't blog-rated), awkwardly seeing past HS classmates, having special heart-to-heart's, and yet, somehow still accomplishing everything we needed to accomplish!

 Friday consisted of completing my online homework as quickly as possible to make my noon deadline, clinical post-paperwork write ups (both very typical for my friday's), and a wonderful evening of food, friends, and fellowship at a sister's BOND supper. 

Saturday, I traveled with 3 wonderful ladies out to Latty, OH for a cousin's/friend's wedding.  Such a refreshing time. Catching up with cousin's from out east...friends from out east...friends from the midwest...friends from back home...and being reminded of Christ's perfect example. God is good. 

Blessings in this weekend!

DIY Christmas gifts

Seems like another lifetime ago that I was frantically scrambling to finish the long list of pinterest inspired DIY gifts I decided to make for Christmas.  I had a blast stressing myself out (in a good way) trying to finish the majority of them during finals week and the week before Christmas.  Everything turned out great and amazingly I stayed inspired until I was finished! (I usually get brainy ideas like this but I don't always follow through with them...so this is kind of shocking!)

Just thought I would share them with you since Christmas is (long) over :)

**Complete credit goes to the creative people I find through *pinterest* ;)

12 days of Christmas Gifts -
I've always wanted to send someone 12 days of Christmas gifts and this year, since I was overly ambitous and decided to send them to a few different friends. FYI - There are more than 12 ideas b/c I didn't send all of the same gifts to each person.

I sent 1 set the 12 days before Christmas, and other 2 sets the 12 days after Christmas - I works either way.  I just didn't have time to finish all of them before Christmas! 

I also sent all of the gifts at once. I just put tags on each gift that I found here, with the number of the day to open it on.

 1. Jar of Reese's M&Ms that says "I Love You to Pieces"
2. Paper clip book marks
3. Dry erase picture frame to write notes on.
4. Flower hair clip
5. Clothes pin message...
6. Bible verse cards

 Cute "gift carrier." Tutorial found Here.

 Another "gift carrier" with a bag of hershey's hugs & kisses.  Tutorial found Here.

 Snow man kisses and large decorative clothespin. Tutorials found Here and Here.

 1. Pringles jar, cleaned, decorated, and filled with cookies.
2. little hershey's chocolate bars wrapped with paper, and packaged. Tutorial found here.
3. M&Ms sewed up inside paper.

The final products, wrapped and ready to be sent!

Bubble Burlap Wreath
I got this idea from a tutorial found Here. With a few modifications...

 1. Supplies needed
     a. 10 or 12 in foam ring (I used a 12in)
     b. lots of pins w/ heads
     c. burlap 1 1/2 - 1 1/4 yds burlap
     d. old sheet (Optional)
     c. scissors
2. tear ~3in strip from old sheet
3. hot glue one end to ring and wrap around the rest, ending by hot glueing the other end. (Doesn't have to look great...it will get covered up.)
4. Begin cutting burlap in 4x4 pieces (or close to that. Mine were definitely not all the exact same sizes)

Ignore 5. & 6...just realized that was from something else I made from burlap! ;)
7. Refer to the turtorial for a better description of how to pin the "bubbles"
8. The covered wreath!

 I decided to add some spice to the wreath by putting some flowers on it.
1. I used 3 different colors of yellow felt.  Cut into a circle (size depends on how big you want your flower to be.)
2. Cut circle in spiral shape.
3. Roll up felt from the outside - in. place a dot of hot glue where the #3 is. The tighter you roll the felt, the tighter the flower will be.
4. Ta-da! Finished product.

 And Ta-Da! The Complete project! I just attached some ribbon to hang it by...the ribbon can be easily changed to a different color for different occasions. :)

I realized that even if I was in a complete rush and I had the basement in utter caos, making crafts is actually moderately relaxing and stress-relieving! :)

change

Sometimes life takes unexpected turns. 
It can be for the good or for the bad.
Often it's painful. stressful. scary.
Sometimes it leads to rejoicing. happiness. contentment.
It all depends on how we look at it.
But in almost every circumstance, it teaches us to trust.
You see, as humans, we like to plan, prepare, and organize our lives according to our own desires and dreams.
And yes, I agree.  Life can go according to our plans.
But at some point we will be hit with an unexpected turn.
And then is when we really realize that no matter how much we plan.
Or how much we prepare.
Or how organized we are.
WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL.
And that is where trust comes in.
Because no matter what happens, we know that GOD's plan is the real plan that we want to be a part of.

My life took somewhat of an unexpected turn this week. 
You see.  I had this plan.  And it was going according to how I had it all planned. 
But then, it changed. 
And now I'm painfully learning to trust in the God who I know has a plan that exceeds any that I could ever dream up.

His name was Franklin.  He was a sweet, old man who I had the pleasure of being a caregiver for over the last 9 or so months of his life.  He passed away this past Sunday, and will be missed by many.  I am thankful for the time I had to get to know him and his family.  They were a blessing in my life. 

It was a job I loved very much, mostly because of the people, but also because of the Convenience. It kind of spoiled me, you could say.  It was the "perfect" job for me as a college student. 

You see, this is where trust comes in now.  I don't really have a steady job anymore, which means no steady income.  But I've come to be thankful for the time I had, and trust that God has something more for me in the future. 

God bless Franklin and his family.

Silence

That pretty much sums up my blogging life for the past month and a half. 
It's not that I haven't had anything to blog about. 
And it's not that I haven't necessarily had time. 
And not that I haven't began numerous posts, only to stop and leave them in my draft box to complete at a "later date." 
I don't really know what the reason is for my silence. 
Not in the mood? Nothing exciting to talk about? Unmotivated? Overwhelmed?
I think it's possibly a combination of all 4.

For one, I have to "be in the mood" to post something.  Which sounds kinda silly but it's true.  If I don't have the ispiration and I try to write a post, I get frustrated and end up trashing it or just leaving it there for "when I am inspired". Maybe it's because deep down, I'm have this expectation that I have to write something soo profound to keep my reader's entertained.  Or maybe it's because I'm afraid to expose my heart as an open book for all to read.  Or maybe it's just the fact that writing can be overwhelming to me unless I have the inspiration. I don't really know.

Having nothing exciting to write about is a matter of the reader's opinion I guess.  I'm sure I've had something more exciting to write about than just plain silence. But I guess I decided to resort to silence.

Unmotivated.  That kinda goes along with "no ispiration."  However, I feel like unmotivation is the story of my life right now.  And I think we all know how that goes in our own lives (or maybe it's just me).  If it's present in one part of life, it's there in every part.  It's like a progressive disease.  It develops in one small area, and begins to grow.  If it's not caught and treated right away, it spreads. And soon it's infected every area and from there it continues to spiral downward. I feel as if I am climbing and fighting against the downward spiral at the moment.  I've recognized my problem, maybe a bit too late, but early enough to have the strength to fight against it. My first treatment is to admit my problem.  SO we shall see where it goes from here! ;) 

Overwhelmed I think is a symptom of my unmotivational progressive disease.  And since I know that just treating the symptoms doesn't erase the problem, I've realized I have to fix the cause of my disease before the rest of my sumptoms will disappear. Which leads me to the reason this whole disease began and my best prognosis is - plain and simple "laziness."

**Edited to add: Wow...I appologize for the long, boring, and completely unitentional therapuetic writing session I just had with myself.  I just diagnosed myself with a disease I never realized I had prior to this post!  About that open book...

So on to a more exciting and less intense update on my life! ;)
Well...It's officially 2013!! (I'm only a month late!) While I would love to do a run down of how extremely blessed year 2012 was, that looks a little overwhelming to me at the moment so I will just attempt to update you on the past few weeks. :)

Christmas was such a blessing, as it is every year.  There's is just nothing comparable to plain and simple "family time."

FIrst Christmas was with the Eisenmann's:

These 2 are quite the rascals together!

Deira being her sweet self!

The 3 Stooges...well we used to be (or more like the 2 stooges and the other 1 easy prey) but now we're just 3 wonderful friends. :)

The traditional "live play" of the Nativity.
I think this year's was officially that fastest one on record...but it was still sweet.

Next on the schedule was our family Christmas.  Everyone ended up spending the night and we all had breakfast the next day together and opened our stockings. Oh and celebrated Jeremy's bday. Love love LOVE family time!

RIver putting together the puzzle I gave him. 
He is quite the "puzzle-er!"

New Year's Eve at Brenda's.  I was a loner since mom, dad, and jess were all in mexico over the new year.  But I enjoyed the evening playing games and hanging out with brenda and the dotterer's!

Lovely appetizer table.

Playing "Ha Ha" with out smiling.  Good luck.

Deira took her first steps!! But she hasn't taken many since...she's getting there!

SO many random, last minute memories with these lovely ladies.  :)

 

 



And since this post has become overwhelmingly long, I will sign off, with a promise of more posts in the near future! ;)

 



It's about time...

To take a breather and play catch up!

To say life has been a bit crazy lately, would be a vast understatement!  Let's just say the last 3 or so weeks of my life very well could be documented as the craziest period of my life thus far.  However...crazy doesn't always mean dreadful.  Really, I don't have much to complain about, besides the fact that I plain didn't have time to take in the 'moments'.  And, part of that craziness included finals, but that's done and over with and went as well as can be expected so can't complain there either!

So to document a portion of what all has been taking place, here are some photos.
Enjoy!

Enjoyed a weekend of fellowship and friendship building in November.

Officially joined the photography world with the purchase of the Canon Rebel T3i...Love it!

Had fun co-shooting Cmas picts for my bro and wife.  So cute!

Pretty much had my nose in a textbook as often as I made the time (which I'm embarrassed to say was not even close to as often as it should have been.)

Had a blast helping my niece and nephews decorate Gingerbread houses at FVH.  Love them!

Quick Senior session before the weather got too frigid. 

Pretty much had a splendid time planning, preparing, and catering a graduation buffet for a fellow nursing student.
More details to come at a later date!

Seriously could squeeze this lil darlin' to peices she's so stinkin' cute!

My lil bro is now officially 16. Not sure how I feel about that yet.  Still have one more day until he travels the roads...that's gonna be an adjustment! :-/

Helped mother take a few wedding reception pictures on Sunday.

That about covers the highlights of my life over that last month or so.  Including a lot more time spent in studying and school work but I wouldn't necessarily say thats a highlight!  However, I am so entirely thankful that semester 1 of nursing school is now behind me!  I am officially half way through my whole college career!!!  I must say tho, that there would have been absolutely no way I would have made it through the semester with out God's grace!  To God be the glory!

This week is basically full of Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts, and making gifts since I had absolutely no time before now to do so.  So here's to another crazy, yet exciting week!

Blessings!

Bittersweet

the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

~Job 1:21

 

 

Life is bittersweet.  I've been realizing that more now than ever.  It's not always a patch of roses.  Sometimes the thorns overtake the beauty and other times its the beauty without the thorns.  But that's the beauty of life.  It's NOT perfect.  Just when we get to feeling a little too comfy in this world, God sends us a reminder that this IS NOT our home. We should Praise God for that.  Because it creates in our hearts a deeper longing for heaven someday - At least it should. 

I've been thinking a lot about Job lately. After the last tragety, I didn't think our community could handle any more hurt.  I was wrong.  And now I realize that we REALLY don't know what the future holds.  We can look at statistics and think that we are done losing loved-ones for a while, but that's the farthest thing from the truth.  It's in God's hands, not statistical data.  Just look at Job.  Anyone looking at his life at that time would never have guessed after he lost all of his possessions, that he would lose his WHOLE family and be left with absolutely NOTHING. Job's life is an awesome testimony for us today.  No matter how much sorrow we are experiencing, God is FAITHFUL.  And through Him, we can find beauty amongst the thorns.

On to the sweet and rosy part of life, aside from the thorns, I had an amazing weekend with some AMAZING people.  It was one of those weekends that leaves you feeling somewhat (or maybe extremely) depressed after its over.  I know, I know, weekends like this should be uplifting, but it's sooo hard to say goodbye to friends from miles and miles away, not knowing when you may see each other again. But as a dear friend reminded me, we have to say goodbye before we can say hello again, whether its here on earth or in heaven. So I just cling to the memories and thank God for todays wonderful technology that allows us to keep in touch despite the many miles in between.

So to my dear friend who braved Illinois for 3 whole days, thanks SOO much for coming.  Even if you were a little intimidated! (Which is absolutely ridiculous) ;) For not hardly even knowing you (I must confess I couldn't remember your last name for the longest time, even though you were coming to stay w/ me for invite-a-friend!), I feel like we could have been lifelong sisters after this weekend. From thinking the same thoughts, to reading each others mind, it really was quite amazing how quickly we clicked!  Guess the Praise goes to our Wonderful Heavenly Father once again for giving us this chance to become good life-long friends. 

Sigh.  God has blessed me beyond measure.

TayTay ~ Miss you!

Saturday night sleep-over buddies - Taylor, Me, Karla, & Nicole