Saturday, May 3, 2025

Eats and Empties (Week 18)


The Eats:

S'mores crispy treats (Featherstone Nutrition)

Strawberries and cream rice krispie treats (Fit Foodie Finds)

Sweet potato hash (Meal Prep in an Instant)


The Empties:

Cinnamon sugar
Clementines
Cottage cheese
Frozen easy stovetop mac and cheese with jumbo shells (Great Value box recipe)
Two pounds of marshmallows
Half gallon of milk
Ground turkey
Freeze dried strawberries
Sourdough discard
Sweet potatoes

What went to waste:
  

Nothing that I know of yet!

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Everything I Read in April


I only read my Bible and Kate Bowler's Lent devotion during Lent. That makes this reading month's reading wrap-up small, but small and mighty. I am really enjoying my return to reading!

25) The Hardest Part by Kate Bowler—This was another free Lenten devotional by the prolific Kate Bowler. With a short scripture reading and reflection for each day (except Sunday), this book focuses on the hard parts of faith, with encouragements to be kind to oneself along the way. Bowler includes blessings from her books The Lives We Actually Have and Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day. I found this book helpful as I celebrated Lent, in all its hard and beautiful parts.

26) Waiting for Daybreak by Kathryn Cushman —Paige Woodward is grasping for straws to find a job as a pharmacist. When Clarissa's Richardson's grandfather offers her an excellent job with great pay, she jumps on it. She comes to learn that Clarissa does not really want her there, though. Thus begins Clarissa's vendetta against Paige, and Paige's wrestling with how to handle the situation. Enter sweet Ora Vaerge, a pharmacy patient who always has a Bible verse to share. Ora's encouragement from Psalm 46:1-2 to wait for the break of day sustains Paige, until Ora herself has a midnight moment. This book has some mystery and intrigue, a little romance, and a lot of faith integration. I enjoyed reading it!

27) Ordinary on Purpose: Surrendering Perfect and Discovering Beauty Amid the Rubble by Mikayla Albertson, MD—What I expected from this book was something different than it was. I expected a self-help, devotional type book about overcoming perfectionism from a faith perspective. What I read was a memoir detailing how early trauma led Dr. Mikayla Albertson to thinking she had to be perfect, and how her experience with a husband battling addiction tore down her life and helped her turn to God to rebuild it. While Albertson is Catholic, she writes a lot about Jesus and includes quite a bit of scripture. The latter parts of the book have a lot to do with Albertson’s role as a mother. While difficult to read at times because of the depths of abuse and despair Albertson experienced, this was a valuable treatise on learning to value life as it is, because “ordinary” life is actually a gift.

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Friends, have you read anything great lately? Please share in the comments section!

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Strong(er) in April



Phew! What a month. It was full. It was long. It felt hard, but by God's grace, I got through. Am I stronger? Maybe. Maybe not. Here's my summary.

Faith: Lent is over. I think it was a beneficial experience, but man am I glad the reading fast is over. That was tough! Did it make me stronger in my faith? I hope so! I do think that fasting builds strength. It is just very, very hard.

Marriage: I am thankful to report that my husband and I are doing well. Is that a result of the work we are putting in through our marriage devotional and regular dates or just God's blessing? Both? Whichever the case, I give God thanks and pray we can continue in this trajectory and enjoy a summer season in our relationship.

Body: I did complete my first round of the pull-up program, too. If I jump hard and high, I can almost pull my chin over the bar. Dropping down to the next resistance band size, though (as instructed in the program) was humbling. I am back to not getting my chin back over the bar. Do I continue to increase reps, or try to get up at least one with this band? I am not sure of the correct protocol.

Praise the Lord for an amazing Pat's Run, especially after sickness weakened me and brought me down for a few days. My feet have started hurting a bit again, though. I changed up my physical therapy exercises, so is it that? Or that I got new shoes? Who knows? Lord willing, I have one more big event, and then turning down the running (or at least the speed portion of it). 

What's next? Lord willing, diligence in continued Bible reading, some summer trips to spend time with my love, and continued strength training and at-home physical therapy exercises. What to do about those pull-ups still remains a question.

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Readers, do you have any goals as summer approaches? Please share in the comments section!

Monday, April 28, 2025

Girls on the Run 5K


I ran a 5K...and I am proud to say it was my slowest one yet! I really enjoy running, but as I get older, I want to find ways to give back to the sport that has given to me. Enter the Girls on the Run Sparkle Run. Girls on the Run is a nationwide organization that uses running to build emotional, mental, physical and social health for girls. When a coworker told me about the opportunity to be a "Sparkle runner" running buddy and pace a girl through the race, I was sold.

Packet pickup was really easy. Look at these great tanks we got! The organization provided multiple days for packet pickup and I was in and out in minutes. Way to go!


I wanted to truly sparkle for this run, so I gave myself a pink sparkly manicure and pedicure. I also bought some face and body glitter to share. (Amy Haas of Race Across the States sold me on this stuff.)

The race start was slow because man, there were a lot of girls (and buddies)! I think every girl that ran had a buddy, and this race was for girls in Maricopa and Pinal counties, two of the biggest counties in Arizona. The announcers did a good job of starting us in waves. My girl wanted to walk and run, so that is what we did. It was a bit hot out and the first water table was not until about one mile in. That was a bit far for her. The cheer squads were great, though. So many people were out with posters and costumes.

I encouraged my girl to run over the finish line, and that we did! We finished in just under 45:00 according to my watch. People passed out water and Gatorade just past the finish line-needed due to the hot weather.

All in all, this was a great experience, and one I definitely recommend. Next time, I will just come a little more prepared for lots of people and hot temperatures. I could also up my sparkle game. I mean, people had not just face glitter, but hair glitter, and tutus!



Saturday, April 26, 2025

Eats and Empties (Week 17)

The Eats:


Garlic pork with mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli (Meal Prep in an Instant)

Healing Instant Pot Lentil Soup (Hummusapien)

Hot cross buns (The Perfect Loaf-made by my husband)


Shepherd's pie (Food Network-our traditional Easter meal, made by my husband)

Soaked whole grain pizza (Oatmeal with a Fork)


The Empties:

Fresh broccoli
Five pound bag of carrots
Box of chicken broth
Carton of 18 eggs
Carton of Greek yogurt
Lemon
Head of leaf lettuce
Half gallon of milk
Five pound bag of potatoes
Can of Progresso soup
Twelve ounce bag of fresh spinach
Frozen big-batch white beans (Epicurious)
Frozen heavy whipping cream

What went to waste:
  

The milk soured, but I used it up in my favorite mug cake, so win!

Monday, April 21, 2025

I Quit Reading.


Astute blog readers may have noticed that I did not post my "Everything I Read" post in March. That is because I quit reading for Lent. I had decided to just fast from chocolate and Instagram this Lent, but then someone close to me mentioned fasting from reading. I felt convicted! I read a lot early this year, and while it was not bad, I tend to go to extremes. I had wondered several times if reading was getting in the way of my relationships or other life duties, and taking a period to fast from this practice seemed like a good way to find out!

There are many reasons to fast during Lent: to remember Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins, to put things back in their proper places, to make room for God, etc. Fasting from reading did all of these things and more for me. It reminded me that Jesus is to be the center of my life, and anything else that starts to eclipse Him is an idol. It reminded me that reading is a good gift from God, not the "have-to" or "need-to" that I often make it. I should crave Christ rather than distraction. Taking quiet time to reflect on the Word and dig deeper into it is beneficial.

I tend towards asceticism, so I guess I should clarify that I did not fully take reading out of my life. I still read my Bible daily. I added a practice of reading a chapter of John each day and doing some doodling about it in my Scripture journal. I also read the daily Lent devotional from Kate Bowler.

Instead of reading, I listened to podcasts. I crocheted. I did crosswords. I asked my husband to do more things with me. I watched some television and movies. I think I would rather read than watch TV, but this fast was just for a season.

I did not miss chocolate or Instagram near as much as I missed reading. Perhaps that is because I have fasted from them before. Perhaps it is because they are not quite such a part of my life as reading. I will eat chocolate and go back to Instagram, I think. I know I want to go back to reading. It is more important, in my book.

Jesus is the best gift. Jesus is essential. Fasting from reading helped me reflect on these truths. As I go forward, may I worship the giver and thank Him for His gifts. May I recognize that what I ultimately need is Him, and all else is grace. Grace upon grace. Even in reading!

Saturday, April 19, 2025

Eats and Empties (Week 16)

The Eats:

Cinnamon raisin sourdough bagels (The Pantry Mama)

No-bake mini cheesecakes (Sally's Baking Addiction)

Pumpkin, spinach, and cottage cheese stuffed shells (Fit Foodie Finds)

Spicy enchilada casserole (Meal Prep in an Instant)

Whole grain pancakes (Kim's Cravings)

The Empties:

Frozen Anaheim green chile salsa (Food & Wine)
Jar of applesauce
Fresh broccoli
Two pound bag of cheddar jack cheese
Two pounds of frozen shredded chicken
Box of chicken broth
Frozen chunky lentil and vegetable soup (Budget Bytes)
Two 16 ounce containers of cottage cheese
Dried cranberries
Block of cream cheese
Old garlic
Head of iceberg lettuce
Bottle of lemon juice
Frozen easy marinara sauce (Budget Bytes)
Frozen Mexican meatloaf with potatoes and vegetables (Meal Prep in an Instant)
Old graham crackers
Green onions
Bottle of olive olive
Twelve ounce box of jumbo pasta shells
Jar of peanut butter
Can of pumpkin
Red onion
Head of romaine lettuce
Frozen diced tomatoes
Bottle of vegetable oil

What went to waste:  

Egg leftover from a bagel egg wash (I intended to use it in a recipe, but forgot, and by the time I found a use for it, it looked funky, so I tossed it.)