Faith-filled Friday: The house

Good morning, Crushers!

I hate packing. There I've said it. (I'll most likely say this many, many times). However, I'm kind of enjoying the box fort we have going in our house right now. I'm just hoping we don't box ourselves in and can't get to the door. We've still got to get out of the house on occasion for work and such. Heh.

I don't know about you, but it is a dreary day around here. It rained all day yesterday. Thinking of houses and rain, I'm reminded of the passages in Matthew about the house built on the rock.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. Matthew 7:24-27

Although this parable talks about a much stronger rain that we experienced here in Milwaukee, water is a powerful cause of erosion. Just drops over a long period can make a hole in a rock. Just like a few mean thoughts or words can tempt an even-tempered person to snap in anger. Maybe you tell your self that it's just a little sin here and a little sin there before you find yourself making a "big" sin. (Not that sins come in different sizes like crimes do). Not all faith destruction is caused by a huge life catastrophe.

I hope that you take the time to do the little things and the big things that build a solid rock of faith foundation in The Rock, God. Don't let the little rain drops or the big floods knock your faith-filled house down!

Don't mind me... I'll just be packing and watching Dad and Steve put gutters on the garage...

Happy Halloween: Barmbrack Bread

Happy Halloween, Crushers!

Our office has a Halloween challenge where groups of employees are allowed to take some time to decorate the area by their cubicles and then we all "trick or treat" visiting each other's cubicles or set ups. It's really fun and makes the afternoon go by quickly. Everyone has a sugar crash by the end of the day! This was a huge team effort, so thanks to all my co-workers for doing an amazing job!

Photo: Sarah Smith

Since my client is an international one, we decided to see how people celebrate Halloween or other ghoulish holidays around the world. We picked Ireland, where the Celts are supposedly the first to celebrate. The rituals and celebrations focused on Samhain, a festival celebrated over night of October 31 around harvest time seem to have evolved into Halloween. Beltane bonfires were lit, turnips were carved (eventually turning into jack-o-lanterns as we know them), and Barmbrack Bread was eaten.

Photo: Sarah Smith

Photo: Sarah Smith

In Mexico and many other countries, celebrate Dia de Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Again, this is a day to gather with family and friends to pray for and remember relatives who have died. Skeletons and marigolds are familiar things to see around homes, cemeteries and altars. Lots of meals are shared and one special item, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), is shared by family and friends near the gravesides of the deceased.

Photo: Sarah Smith

Photo: Sarah Smith

Photo: Sarah Smith

In China around August, a festival called Yu Lan, or the Ghost Festival, is when the deceased is said to come visit the living. People will provide food to hungry ghost visitors and even set empty places at the table for the ghosts. There is lots of food!

Photo: Sarah Smith

Photo: Sarah Smith

Photo: Sarah Smith

I was in charge of bringing pumpkins for the Ireland set up and making barmbrack. Here is the recipe that I used (it's made in two stages and traditionally has trinkets baked inside, but I skipped the trinkets):

Barmbrack Bread

First stage
Mix together:


1 cup of sultanas


1 cup of raisins


3/4 cup brown sugar


1 cup cold tea
Cover these ingredients and leave to soak overnight (or in my case, a few hours).
 
Stage Two
Prepare these ingredients:


1 1/2 cups of flour


1 level teaspoon of baking powder


1 egg beaten


1 teaspoon mixed spice
1. Add the four, baking powder and spice to soaked fruit mixture.
2. Mix in the beaten egg.
3. Spoon into a well greased loaf tin and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 150 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit). If you're making it in cupcake form like I did for work, bake it at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.
4. When cool brush the top with warmed honey for a glazed surface.

Virtual Running Date No. 30: Fall 50 recap

Hello Crushers!

Sorry for this delayed message, but life has been a little hectic. When isn't it though, right? Knock on wood, we are set to close on our house at the end of November and then move into our new house in December. I know that's not ideal, believe me, but we won't be homeless for a month or anything. We'll just be living with family. If you all feel like saying a prayer that all goes well, I'd appreciate it.

In between calling Realtors, house inspectors, banks, and such, for the first time we participated in a little 50-mile relay race last weekend called The Fall 50. IT. WAS. AWESOME.

The motto of the race is "Go up to Gills Rock. Turn around and face south. Don't stop running until someone hands you a beer." That summed it up nicely! Before the race, the director said he always reads an inspirational quote or passage. This year he chose to read a quote from Calvin and Hobbes, the classic comic strip by Bill Watterson.

Source

You've done all you can do. You've prepared as much as you can. Some days, even your favorite pair of underpants just won't help. I laughed when he read this because a) it's true and b) I was wearing my lucky race socks. Oh Calvin...

The race started at Gills Rock, which is nearly the tip of the peninsula of Door County, Wisconsin. Then you and your team (although there were over 170 solo ultramarathon runners) take turns running different segments to add up to 50 miles ending in Sturgeon Bay. I ran the first and sixth legs. Thankfully I didn't have any major hills. I was running pretty slowly, but this was the first time I was ever going to run a double (twice in one day). Although it was less than a half marathon (8 miles total compared to 13), I wasn't going to take any chances on getting overtired, overheated, or exhausted.

Steve had one major hill and some little ones, but he powered through like a champ! We were very lucky that the wind changed overnight. Friday, as we were driving up with running church friend, Kristi, the wind was so loud and so forceful, it was knocking branches down! Not cool, wind. Not cool. When we woke up, the wind had died down a bit, but the best news was that it was now going to be at our backs the whole time! We just had to dodge some downed branches, but otherwise, everything went very well. We left Gills Rock at 8 a.m. and finished at 4:07 p.m. GO TEAM!

Hopefully, I will get a picture of the van from someone soon. We decorated it with our team name, Dr. K and the IT Band, and wrote each leg on the back of the van so we could cross them off as we finished them! In the meantime, please enjoy a few of these.

The whole team at the start line: Paul, Debbie, Steve, me and Kristi. It was about 45 degrees.

Selfie at the start line

Steve is ready to run! Too bad he had to wait until leg 5 to start!

Ready to go at the start line! You can see the timing chip on my left wrist.
Yes, it's on a SLAP BRACELET! Fun!

Beautiful Lake Michigan in the bay.

The hill.

The sun came out!

It's hard to see, but that sign says "Good Thoughts".

Crazy wind (and hair) at the finish line. We made it!

At the end of the race, we all went into the after-race party for as much pizza, beer and soda as we could consume. By then, I'm not ashamed to admit, that I ate two plate-fulls of pizza. And I enjoyed every bite.

Fun food fact, in the Zagat article "50 pizzas in 50 states", the pizza at Door County's Wild Tomato restaurant was featured. Yum!

Faith-filled Friday: Another hour

Good morning, Crushers!

When I've got more on my plate than I thought I could handle, I have been known to say, "If I could just have another hour in the day..." to get things done, to read, to clean, to cook, to relax, to whatever. It would be nice. But then I know I would just fill that other hour with crap and still be stressed out. It's just a fact.

Last night, the house hunt continued, but we found one promising home, so I set out to do some research on the neighborhood from schools to crime reports. Then we got some other facts in about the house that were kind of distressing, but not bad enough that I wouldn't move right in and cook you all dinner. The distressing part was that we got the news right before going to bed. Nothing like a factoid to keep your brain running, right?

That's when Steve said, "Well, let's pray." We pray every night before we go to bed. For us, it's not only a time to continue the tradition of praying before bedtime as we did when we were little children. Instead of just reciting "Now I lay me down to sleep", it's more of a conversation with God. Steve knew just then that we didn't need to keep repeating all of the stuff we learned. We need a 1 Peter 5:7 moment:

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Yeah, it's really that easy. And difficult. And blessedly simple. Sometimes all you need to do is give it to God and let go. The letting go is the hard part. However, I can tell you from personal experience that letting go and giving your problem to someone that you know will take care of it is really a great feeling. You can take a load off and know that it's covered. If you've got something you're hanging on to, I suggest you take a hop over to 1 Peter 5 and let go. You'll be glad you did!

 Speaking of counting on others, it is a race weekend! It's not just a regular 5K race weekend. This is the Fall 50, a 50-mile relay race that I'm participating in with a team of 5. Thankfully, I have a great team that is willing to give me some of the shorter legs. And not just because I'm short! Ha ha... OK, bad joke. Anyway, we'll be spending time in Door County, WI doing the "Most scenic race in the Midwest!" How cool is that?

Pictures on Monday!

Quesa-what?

Good morning, Crushers!

I have to admit that I haven't made anything creative this week. Our house is slowly coming apart. I had to stop pulling things off the walls the other night because it was making me sad, and I ran out of boxes. We've been having comfort food as the weather gets colder and the house gets more packed away. I've packed lots of my kitchen stuff already, so I'm down to one frying pan, a sauce pan and a stock pot. Everything else is getting packed up!

Here's what we've eaten this week:

• Spaghetti
• Smoke alarm chicken with green beans and gnocchi
• Pizza 
• Quesadillas with random fillings

I really don't want to move food when we move, so I thought that we should just put stuff in tortillas and toss cheese on top of it. My favorite? Chicken, onion and slices of green apple with Colby Jack Cheese. So good!

I dare you to try and make some of your own. It's really quite wonderful. 

Virtual Running Date No. 29: Babies and Houses and Recipes, Oh My!

Good morning, Crushers!

I am tired this morning. And I have to confess, that instead of having a virtual running date this weekend, I would have invited you for a nice walk and a cup of hot chocolate or coffee or something. I'm tired. We spent last weekend in a whirlwind of meeting our new baby nephew, Dylan, and then looking for a new house. We saw 10 houses, and I only kind of clearly remember 3 of them. And even then, I think I'm a little mixed up.

If we were on a coffee walk, I would tell you that new babies are wonderful and they smell good and they only have the tiniest cry. I know that that cry will eventually turn into something much louder, but for now, it's tiny. Just like Dylan. What a sweetheart! His big brother, Patrick, is also very much in love with him. We knew he would like Dylan, but we didn't know if he would like him right away or not. Now we know!

If we were on a coffee walk, I would tell you about how all of the houses we saw were special in their own way, but some were special in a negative way. There was one house that gave me the heebie-jeebies. I felt like I had walked into Little Red Riding Hood's cabin and I was waiting for a big bad wolf to come attack. Not cool. I got lost in the basement of one of them. It was deceptively big.

If we were on a coffee walk, I would tell you about how my friend, Erie, keeps sending me wonderful recipes that I keep forgetting to try. Because of that, I'm going to share them here with you:

Mango Beef Stir Fry from Everything in the Kitchen Sink

Bloomer Bread from Paul Hollywood (Erie's baking crush)

Baked Oatmeal in a Mug from Food and Whine

Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Breasts (or thighs) with Herbed Goat Cheese (you could just use Boursin cheese to save yourself some steps)

I'm going to go follow my nose to some coffee now. If I can get up from my computer, that is. So tired...

Faith-filled Friday: Soup review and more

Good morning, Crushers!

What a week? I'm so glad I spent most of Tuesday night making soup and food ahead for the rest of the week. It's been crazy around here in, mostly, good ways.

Have you ever, as an adult, had one of those days where you're all, "I don't want to be a grown up any more!" That was my day yesterday. If you've been a reader since March, you know that we're trying to sell our house. It's been a bit of a bumpy process. Yesterday, we got some information on our house that is basically telling us that we're going to need a new roof.

You know what? I don't want to have to buy a new roof. I don't want to have to be all responsible and junk. I just want a bowl of soup, some comfy clothes and a good episode of Grey's Anatomy. Yes, I know that Grey's isn't a child-friendly show, but all of my Disney movies are packed. When I was thinking of today's posting, I thought of 1 Corinthians 13:11:

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

I have definitely grown up. I have a career, a house, a husband, and a really cool new frying pan from William-Sonoma. I'm all responsible and stuff. I called a contractor for an estimate on our roof. I put on my big girl pants and moved on.

Gorgeous new Calphalon 12-inch fry pan to replace the one that got all scratched up.

However, I'd like to point out that thinking like a child isn't always a bad thing. Matthew 19:14 says:

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

A child-like faith isn't just something to hope for, it should be something you actively seek. Kids are so trusting that it makes you want to be the kind of person that they think you are. Jesus is that person. We can have faith in him because he is exactly what we expect of him and so much more. We too can be "heirs of eternal life" and have the kingdom of Heaven belong to us!

In between calling a contractor and wanting to hide in my couch-cushion fort, there is a happy medium. I can do both. I can watch my show and eat soup. You can too!

Speaking of soup, here is the 4th place winner dish from our office cooking contest! I think that if it had been vegetarian, I would have gotten more votes. If you want, you can omit the sausage and you'd be fine serving it to vegetarians. I know because I asked. I got this recipe from Chow.com, but I used Italian sausage instead of bratwurst. I also used 9 oz of spinach instead of 6 oz because I love spinach! The recipe below is how I made it, not how it is on the website.

Sausage and Butternut Squash Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 (1-pound) butternut squash
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound of uncased Italian Sausage (about 3-4 sausages)
• 1 medium yellow onion, medium dice
• 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 10 ounces red potatoes, large dice
• 3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes and their juices
• 3 cups water
• 9 ounces baby spinach

Gear you'll need : 1 big soup pot, a good knife for slicing veggies, a strong veggie peeler (I have an OXO one that I love), a cutting board, a paper-towel-lined plate, measuring cups and spoons and one big spoon for stirring.

Instructions:
Get the squash ready: Peel off the skin with a vegetable peeler. Trim the top and bottom. Cut the neck from the bulb of the squash. Halve each piece lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes and set aside. This is the best way I've found to cut a butternut squash. They even did a video feature on CNN about it!

Love that color. I should paint a room that color...

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. When it shimmers, add the sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned all over, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside. This lets all the grease drip off. I hate when you pull soup out of the fridge and there is grease globs floating on the top. Gross. 

Sausage sizzling away

Return the pan to medium heat, add the onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. I'd go heavier on the pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the squash and potatoes and cook until the potatoes are just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the caraway and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes, their juices, and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the vegetables are fork tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add the sausage back to the pan along with the spinach. Cook until the sausage is heated through and the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. 

So good, bright and colorful!

Serve up with a big hunk of bread and enjoy! So good!