Encouragement Needed

Alright peeps, I need help.  Since I've returned from Africa, I feel like nothing in my life is exciting enough to blog about! The same with pictures...I haven't gotten my camera out since! What is wrong with me? I need some motivation to start blogging again... HELP! Anyone? Someone?

Or maybe I just need a free evening to relax. The past two "off the cuff" weeks have been filled up once again. I'm going to document below, so I remember them down the road. If you don't read anything else (and I don't blame you), at least read the last sentence...  I received the best news tonight...


Friday June 4 - Thursday June 17
---------------------------------------------

Friday - Ratheskeller with Adrienne to see Blessid Union of Souls. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsovXU9OxVw .  Wore some sweet cowboy boots with a dress - totally Miley - and totally not like me to wear a dress to a bar. 

Saturday - Vintage Indiana - Wine Festival Downtown.  Discovered a great new spiced pumpkin wine from Winzerwald Winery down in Southern Indiana. Saturday night, I traveled to Danville to celebrate my "other Pudue half," Sammy's, graduation..a few Busch lights, mini weenies, and pieces of cake later...

Tuesday - Made African-style dinner for a new friend, Monica, from my church group.  We got to know each other and connected both personally and spiritually on so many levels -  Thankful for a new friend to share with.

Wednesday - Drinks with the Jasper gals downtown - from now until mid July (when my best bud Adrienne leaves for grad school) we'll be getting together at a unique venue downtown.  Two menu requirements: beer and fried pickles. So far - Scotty's, Slippery Noodle, Creations Cafe..wonder what Kasie is going to pick for next week?

Thursday - Haircut and Congressional Insight at the Statehouse.  First time in the House Chambers.  Good thing Katie works for Mitch Daniels! Our team got "re-elected!"

Friday thru Sunday - Haley came. Ran the Monon. Were drenched as we arrived at Ratheskeller with Nick, Holly, Creagger and Bart (Best Ratheskeller concoction - Woodchuck and Guiness - TRY IT!) Made an African lunch, although not quite the same as the real deal. Church. Went through videos. Shopping. Trader Joes. Aldis.   Great - relaxing weekend hanging with the sis.

Monday - Dinner and tennis with Mary and Linda.  Nope...it was too hot to play tennis, so we watched Bonanza, ate dinner, then watched the storms roll in with hopes of seeing a Tornado.  Although, I can't wait to finally swing the tennis racket this summer...hopefully soon.  Returned home and watched the four episodes of Desperate Housewives Aunt Mary taped for me...can we say 2 a.m.? OUCH! 

Tuesday - Lunch with Robin! The girl is so full of insight...a snipet of insight over lunch..."We all have a God hole, and we tend to fill that hole with things other than God in hopes they will fulfill us!"  Went to bible study on Tuesday night. Daiva and I danced, and we saw baby Emerson for the first time. Michael led the group, and we talked about angels...Do you believe there are angels among us? 

....Committed to a sand volleyball team...Another fun thing to add to my summer activities!

Wednesday - Haley had a job interview, so she came to Indy AGAIN. We ran on the Canal Downtown, and then joined Adrienne at Creations Cafe for Wed night drinks- If you haven't tried it, I would highly recommend it!  YUM!  We then came home and watched Dirty Dancing - on VHS, mind you.  Dreamed about Patrick....

Thursday - Lunch with Kristen - a good friend from Disney, Purdue, and now Indy -- found out she is 7 mo. pregnant - We DEF needed to catch up. Drinks with Jeremy (JJ) at Traders Mill Bar and Grill. So good to see him, catch up and receive his famous teddy bear hug. We had a nice talk about grain buying.  :) He buys soybeans for a large processing facility in Northern Indiana and sells soybean meal so our Indiana piggies and cows can eat. 

and the best news of the day....

EXCITING NEWS! HALEY GOT A JOB TEACHING IN INDIANAPOLIS AND WILL BE LIVING IN THE CITY - JUST LIKE ME!!!!!! EEEEKKKKKSKSSS! She had an interview yesterday and got the offer today- dang girl! Let the off-the-cuff adventures continue!

Meet Haley

Blonde Haired, blue-eyed, strong-willed, hyper-active, bumper and tripper over everything, high-energy, fun-loving, adventure-taking, sugar-craving, kitten-loving, stick-shift driving, daddy’s girl who can get anyone around her to feel energized.

Some may complain..others will improvise

The run tonight was going to be perfect. Jaimie was free to run. The weather was PERFECT all day. Three miles was the simple goal.  One mile in. The storm clouds roll in.  The drops fall.  They fall harder. We laughed, took some pictures (yes since blogging, I have been Nerdo with a camera) and finished our run despite the rain. We were thankful we started when it was sunny.  We probably would have never taken the first step if it were storming, which means we wouldn't have had that great talk tonight...it was a much-needed one too! 

Storm's-a-comin!

And it's here!

After the run, I was starving and excited to get home and make a nice supper (yes I call it supper, not dinner. In my book, "dinner" means "supper where you have to dress up"). 

Let me preface supper real quick.  My refigerator may not be stocked at all times (hardly ever), but if nothing else, I am guaranteed to have spaghetti sauce in that fridge.  And if it's not in the fridge, there is a spare jar in the cabinet. Guaranteed. period. exclamation point. Spaghetti is one of my favorites, because it's so EASY, hence why I stock up every time I go to Aldis. 

Well, don't you just hate when you start cooking part of the meal, run to get that special ingredient and then realize it is nowhere to be found? Well, that happened to me tonight.  No spaghetti sauce. Rats! And the noodles were half done.  What to do, what to do? I could make butter noodles...nahhh...so I dug around. Thank goodness for 6-month-old past purchases!  In my pantry I found diced tomatoes...hmmm.  I also had chopped onions left over from pizza night....and...the chef hat goes on.  I started cooking the tomatoes, added the onion, some garlic, italian seasoning, hot sauce and basil...

...completed it with parm cheese.....and Walaaah!

I'm going to toot my own horn a little bit, since you can't taste this for yourself -  man it was GOOD!

Cooking off the cuff and impressing myself once again.

"Beware of those who stand aloof

And greet each venture with reproof

The world would stop if things were run

By men who say, "It can't be done."

now...on to this mini marathon in 5 days.... :(

What are you excited about?

On Monday this week, Robin, Jaimie, Shauna and I had a girls dinner, which occurs monthly at Robin's house. We cook unique meals with unique food - food that usually involves ingredients I have never heard of before. First off...

Meet Robin

Brown haired, brown eyed, God-seeking, travel junkying, book reading, beautiful singing, salsa dancing, event planning, always smiling, excited-voice screeching gal who's always warm and inviting no matter what. I look up to her for so many reasons, but especially for her unwavering faith and strong marriage. Been friends for 3 years.

This month, we had a Jamaican style dinner complete with jerk chicken, rice and peas (kidney beans), and mango salsa....

We always have a great time talking about life, work, and faith. One thing Robin never fails to ask us every month is, "What are you most excited about if your life right now?"  The first time she asked me this, I was caught off guard, because, well, I've never really thought too deeply about what I'm excited about at any given moment. I appreciate this question though, because it gives me the opportunity (at least once during the month) to really think about what excites me - and it also challenges me to look at moments with a different attitude. Have you thought about it lately? What are you most excited about right now in your life?  Something to think about at least!

This week for me, I am really excited about heading home for the weekend.  I haven't seen my family since Easter, and I do cherish every time I go home.  I am a country gal and any excuse to get back there, I'm all over it.  I'm excited to see my parents and grandma.  Excited to have coffee with two wonderful ladies Saturday morning. Excited to see mom's spring flowers blooming. Excited to see the farmers out planting in the fields. And excited to run 10 miles on the hilly country roads to see if I can really do it - Cross your fingers for me. 

I'm in need of a relaxing weekend, because I have had one busy but FUN week.  Wanna see?

Monday
Girls dinner as mentioned.

Tuesday
Miley movie with my friend, JE. I'm not a big fan of chick flicks, but I took one for the team, and it ended up being pretty decent.

Wednesday
Dinner and hanging out with Aunt Mary and her roomie, Linda (I will introduce Linda later). I am fortunate to have an aunt who lives in Indy...the one aunt who got away from "The Hometown."   The rest of my family (minus some cousins) still lives in The Hometown. Anyway, Mary is more like a sister to me, even though she is almost___years old (Mary, I didn't type it!) We hang out often, run together, cook together, play tennis, etc.  Yesterday, she introduced me to Glee, and I think I'm in love.  Great show. To put it simply, she is great!

Meet Aunt Mary

Brown hair, blue eyed, motorcycle riding, meatloaf cooking, tennis playing, road running, mail-carrying, dog-loving, sports loving, outgoing, farmville-obsessing, ant-hating aunt who is the kindest and most giving person you will ever meet.  I look up to her for the humble kindness and giving attitude.  She has been my aunt for 25 years.


Thursday
I got my final shot for Africa! Yellow Fever--and as of 10 hours later, no side effects!  Remember, this was the nasty one my regular doc wouldn't give me. Thankfully, I survived -even though it HURT! phheeww!  Next feat--the 16 hours worth of plane rides! Only two weeks till take off!

Now, I am sitting on the couch of my friends, Danielle and Jeff, babysitting for their four babies. You never know where this off-the-cuff life will lead! Tonight it's in a king size bed complete with...

Levi

Gus

Josie

AND...

Kitchy

Goodnight!

Corn, kids, dirt and Bratwursts!

This Saturday was a real treat. 
Morning
Earth day was celebrated in Indianapolis and I had the fun opportunity to help out in the kids tent or "adults who wanted to be kids" tent. Our group taught kids the difference between sweet corn and field corn while helping them plant sweet corn into Cow Pots.

To kids: "Can you guess what these pots are made out of?"

Response: "Paper!?, seeds?! dirt?! woodchips?!"

Guess again kids - they're made out of cow manure! EWWW was the response heard over and over. We even had a few kids and adults throw down the pot and walk away appalled.  C'mon people -it's just reprocessed grass, hay and corn! Added bonus: no waste when replanting the seed. Just plant the whole pot and the manure acts as a natural fertilizer. Magic! 

Most people loved the poo and kept on planting!  Here are some commemorative poooo pictures!

Hey Indy Folks, look for single sweet corn stalks growing in a garden near you!

Evening

A shower was taken and fingernails cleaned - not that I minded. Any excuse to get dirty is fine by me (if you really call this dirty).  Guess you have to clean up to go out in Indy. Back home, you just show up and drink up. period. 

My good friend, Andrea, was in town for the night to celebrate her birthday - 25 big ones. Destination: Rathskeller 

Meet Andrea

Brown haired, brown eyed, independent, Dads-root-beer-owning, world-traveling, business-school-graduating, golf-playing, fast-shower-taking, home-owning, beer-drinking cat lady who moved back to Jasper to sell some Dad's!  How long have we been friends: 15 years. 

Meet Heather

Brown haired, hazel eyed, teeth-cleaning, spazzer-outer, money saving, book-reading, marathon-running, textbook-studying, wine drinking IUPUI dental student who I don't see as often as I should. We live 2 streets apart for crying out loud!

The Rathskeller downtown is one place we like to hang our hat in the summer time.  The outdoor Bier Garten and live polka music can't be beat..and neither can the Bratwursts!

Love at first sight

We had a great time taking all sorts of pictures

Laughing Pictures:

Awkward Pictures

...and Smiling Pictures (Good news! All of my friends do own normal facial expressions)

The Jasper buds are the best.  Been friends with these three for the past 15 years- Now who can say that?! So Blessed!

Ginger Tea with a Side of Pizza

I've often felt lucky to have such good peeps in my life.  Since moving to Indy, I've been fortunate to keep friends I had made over the years and also make new ones as I rumble along.  I will be blogging about them often, so let me introduce a few before I talk about tea and pizza.

Meet Adrienne (or Adrin)

Brown haired blue-eyed, thigh dancing, strassenfest-loving, fiber-craving, long-time-going-to-bed-getting-readier, fellow-beer-drinking, health nut who always makes sure I eat a good breakfast--and if I only eat fruit and yogurt--that's not good enough!  How long have we been friends: 15 years

Meet Jaimie (you met her earlier)

Blonde haired, blue-eyed, God-loving, allergy-prone, creative detail-oriented, iphone-loving, monkey-face making, heckofanAmazing cook and tax whiz who will do anything for anyone and  always go out of her way to serve others. How long have we been friends: 1 year, 8 months.

Meet Shauna (or Bacon bit)

Blonde hair, brown eyed,  family-loving, witty-pun-making, bottled-water-drinking, church-going, long-distance-running, swim-lesson-teaching, Saturday-grocery-store-shopping, hopeless romantic who loves to parallel park...My one goal is to see her tipsy at least one time in my life. 

How long have we been friends: 2 years 

Thursday was our monthly pizza-making girls night.  A night where we make homemade pizzas, drink bottled water, drink wine, drink tea and then pee like racehorses.

Lemme tell you more about this tea.  It is utterly amazing! and I recommend you make it right away and never look back, because it's the best thing since barbq sauce.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup honey

the juice of 1 lemon or lime

inch of ginger grated (i like to put it in a garlic press)

Mix together in a pot and heat on stove for about 7-10 minutes.  Add water to dilute.

Drink it without diluting and it coats the throat if you have a sore one.

This is also a great cure for an oncoming cold.  Why?

Well, you probably know that lemon is high in Vitamin C. It is also full of phytochemicals. These are plant constituents that help boost the immune system and much more. Ginger and honey are also well documented to help the immune system. (I wish I could admit that these fun facts came off the top of my head, but no, I found them using Google, another good friend.) Adrin however, would probably know these off the top of her head.

Thursday evening we tried lime instead of lemon and prob talked about how good it was for 15 minutes.  Yes, we lead an exciting life.