Tom's Pictures

About 3 months ago I transitioned into a new role at the University I work for.  I left an office I was very comfortable in, for an office where I knew no one and lacked some skills that I need to develop but had a ton of functional knowledge that made it a good move.  I have good days and bad days- there are some days when I want to quit- or punch someone in the face- and there are other days that feel like total wins to me.  Its a big, huge learning process.  So far, overall, so good.

I have this coworker- his name is Tom.  He is our resident office artist.  When I first started I noticed drawing on several of my coworker's whiteboards.  I thought it was cute.  Then, one day, I came in to find Snow White on my whiteboard.  The next week it was Sleeping Beauty.  Then Ariel.  Apparently the "Princess" reputation that I earned in my old office followed me here ;)  When my old office threw me a going-away party- I got a crown!

Anywho- the pictures Tom creates on my whiteboard are actually pretty great!  So, I just thought I'd share them with you :)

The first

Tom and I missed each other for several days that week...

So he just kept adding on...

I think the seaweed really makes it

 I'm hoping for Rapunzel from Tangled soon!

Unfounded Guilt and Unconditional Love

I am a bad church attender.  I get major episodes of ADD and cannot pay attention unless the pastor is telling funny stories.  (I know- I emulate a 5 year old, huh?)  Don't get me wrong- I very much enjoy church.  I love the fellowship, I love to learn, I love feeling empowered to be just a little better in the following week than I was during the past week.  I also love worship.  In my ideal world we would worship for 30 min, listen to a short 5 min sermon (about as long as my attention span), and then go home.  Unfortunately, for me, I have yet to find a pastor who agrees with me on that timeline.

All that to say, yesterday I was totally engrossed in the sermon- not distracted at all!  2 statements in  sermon totally stood out and spoke to me:

"If you are in Christ you are unchangeabley, permanently free because your sentence has been served by Christ."  I love that.  Its something that I've known, of course- but to have it stated so plainly and simply was a great reminder.  The pastor used the illustration of being saved, but feeling as if you are slipping in and and out of being saved because of sin, and feeling the need to make up for our sins, and then sinning again- the vicious cycle.  Of course, God wants our best- but what the statement is really saying is that, even when our best is a failure- we are still saved by grace and that never goes away. 

"God loves the real you.  Not the you you pretend to be.  Not the you who others perceive you to be.  Not the you you wish to be.  Not even the you who, by God's grace, you will one day become.  But he loves you fr the you you are right now."  I also love that.  While Gods is working me, molding me into who his ultimate version of me is, he still loves me all along the way.  Its a beautiful thing!
       

SUP

Stand Up Paddle boarding.  Its amazing.  I'll first say that I have next to no balance.  I'm actually surprised I can stand without falling over sometimes.  My best friend and I purchased some Living Social vouchers to rent paddle boards at a place in Newport Beach.  Shore SUP & Yoga was adorable.  Oh yea, did I mention our vouchers gave us the option of either paddle board rentals or a SUP yoga class?  Ha.  Ha.  Ha.  Like I could ever balance enough to get into Warrior 2 on a paddle board.

Anyway- having never attempted paddle boarding before, I was super excited, and fully aware of the fact that I was going to fall straight into the ocean.  Given my most recent experience with ocean sports (ocean kayaking) I went in being realistic.  I was thrilled when the two sexy beach bum dudes that worked @ the shop said they would teach us how to paddle board.  Unfortunately the "lesson" went a little something like this:

Sexy dude #1:  So, you pretty much just center your weight and jump onto your feet
Sexy dude #2: Yea, its really easy- like surfing kind of.
Jen and I: *blank stares*

Then they proceeded to help us get on the boards at the shore, pushed us away, and said they'd be back in 2 hours to get the boards.

Fortunately for us, we are great and improvising and, while the first half of our adventure was spend on our knees, I was able to stand up and balance without falling into the water once!  WIN.  I will for sure try paddle boarding again.  In fact, maybe next time, we'll go across the marina... how adventurous would that be?!   

Tropical Hawaiian Portobello Burgers

Last week I came home from work set to marinate some portobello mushrooms in olive oil and balsamic vinegar while I went tot the gym, grill them up when I returned, and enjoy some "burgers."  I was sadly disappointed when I poured my olive oil into my marinating dish- only to realize I was out of balsamic.

Crap.  What now?

So I opened up the fridge to see what I might possibly throw on these enormous mushrooms.  I saw my coveted bottle of ginger syrup (another story for another time- but I waited almost 3 months for it!).  I saw the soy sauce in the door of the refrigerator.  I had a can of pineapple in the cupboard.  Can you see where this is going?  I wasn't sure if these would be awesome or a disaster, but guess what- they were fantastic!!!

Burger Ingredients:
2 portobello mushrooms
2 Sandwich Rounds (the 80-100 calorie kind)
Spinach
Mayo (or other mayo-like spread)
Pineapple rings *optional
Garlic ginger wonton strips *optional.  feel free to sub something else if you can't find these.  Crispy onions straws would be super yummy as a sub!

Marinade:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/2 tbsp ginger syrup *this may not be something widely available, feel free to use fresh ginger or ginger paste.  Adjust amount as needed
1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

1. De-gill mushrooms.  Sometimes I leave the gills if I'm feeling lazy, but I do prefer them without.

2. Mix the marinade ingredients in a shallow dish. Place mushrooms in mixture, cap side down.  With a basting brush, spread some of the marinade atop the previously gilled side.  Because this side is concave, simply flipping the mushrooms won't get all that yummy marinate on it.  Swirl the mushrooms around to get good marinade coverage.  Place dish in the refrigerator and let marinate for at least 15 min- I let mine sit for about an hour.   

3. After these have marinated for a bit, its time to grill!  Spray your grill pan with some olive oil cooking spray so they don't stick.  Transfer mushrooms to your grill pan and grill on medium.  I cooked mine about 4 minutes on each side, flipping a couple times.

4. When finished, transfer to a plate and let sit for a couple min.  If you want grilled pineapple rings, now is the perfect time to grill those up.  

5.  Assemble!  I put a bed a spinach on the bottom of my sandwich round, followed by the oh-so-delicious-looking mushroom, topped with some garlic ginger wonton crisps, and then the top of my sandwich round with just a tiny bit of mayo.

Doesn't that look good??  Who needs meat when we have this alternative?

Recipe Stats (per serving*):
Serves: 2
Calories-258
Carbs-41
Fat-8
Protein- 10
Sodium-529
Sugar-13
*does not include mayo

Portobello Fajitas

I recently discovered Portobello Mushrooms.  I love them.  How did I not know how amazing they are?! Last week I made Portobello Hawaiian Burgers- A-maz-ing.  I actually wasn't sure they'd turn out well at all because they were kind of a mistake, but they will be made again!

These fajitas are so yummy!  The mushrooms, when cooked, have a very meat-like texture and the guac is a perfect compliment!

Originally posted at Cookie+Kate, adapted by me

Marinade:
1/4 c. olive oil (this sounds like a lot, but you drain  most of it off)
2 limes, juiced
1 small jalapeno (optional) 
1 tbsp fajita seasoning *possibly more- depending on how strong your seasoning is

Fajitas:
2 large portobello mushrooms
1 medium yellow onion 
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
6 corn tortillas

Guacamole:
2 avocados
1/2 lime, juiced
2-3 tbsp water
2 tsp garlic powder
sea salt - to taste
black pepper - to taste

1. Clean and remove gills from mushrooms.

2. Slice mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions into 1/4-1/2 inch slices.  In my perfect world these babies would have had some red bell pepper too, but I only had green on hand.  (confession time:  I hate onions.  I do.  I want to like them because they smell so good, but I can't stand them.  So, instead of a whole medium onion I used about 1/3 of an onion.  Adjust to what you like!)

 

3. Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, jalapeno, and fajita seasoning.  Dump your marinate and veggies in a plastic bag, seal, and shake to coat.  Refrigerate for at least 30 min- but not much longer than and hour.  If you leave this sitting too long your mushrooms will get slimy.

4. While your veggies are marinating, make your guac.  If you have a favorite guac recipe- make that!  Mine's very simple.  Slice the avocados and remove pits.  Scoop avocado into food processor.  Add lime juice, 2 tablespoons of water (you can always add more to get the right consistency- but you can't remove it- start small) and garlic powder.  Whip it up, and do a taste test.  Add more water, garlic powered, sea salt, and pepper as needed. 

5. When the veggies are finished marinating, dump contents of bag into a strainer, let most of the excess marinate drain off- a little is ok!  Transfer to a large skillet and saute on medium-high heat until peppers and onions are tender.

Serve with corn tortillas, guac, sour cream, or whatever else you like! 

Recipe Stats (per serving*):
Serves: 3
Calories- 170
Carbs-30
Fat-6
Protein-4
Sodium-182
Sugar-8
 *Guacomole, cheese, sour cream, etc. not included in these totals

Run.

In the initial post for this blog one of my goals was to run.  I don't really know what that means.  I'd love to say that I have several set goals and checkpoints to get to.  I don't.  I've run several 5k's and 10k's.  I ran a half-marathon in 2011.  Loved it.  No, seriously.  I loved it.  Then I got lazy.  I had this idea in the back of my mind about a year ago.  I wanted to run a marathon on my 26th birthday (a marathon is 26.2 miles.)  Get it?  26 miles on my 26th birthday?  Would have been pretty cool, huh?  Well, it wasn't- cuz it didn't happen.  So now we're about 6 months past that, and I still have a twinge in my soul that I'd like to train for something again.  I work SO much better when I have an end goal to work towards.  I am due to turn 27 (eek!) at the end of March 2014.  So, technically, I have several months to still bust out 26 miles during my 26th year... that still works, right??

I can honestly remember at the finish of my half marathon I was super tired, but still felt decently ok.  However, the idea of having double what I had just completed seemed like the worst idea ever.

So... maybe I'll focus on completing 2 half-marathons--- 13+13=26.  So that still works.

All that to say, I've started running again, and, again am in love with it.  Although this time its a two-fold type of love.  First, I love running simply because its fantastic and give me an incredible energy.  This time, however, its helping me feel better physically.  For several weeks now I've been having back spasms.  Its gotten to a point where I can barely sit for 10 min without pain, so I'm constantly shifting positions or standing up (which is super awesome when you're conducting a meeting- not distracting at all!)  Its been fun trying to figure out how many different ways to sit to alleviate discomfort.  Currently, I've ditched my work chair and am sitting sideways in a random chair that has no wheels, with my leg hanging over the side.  I look awesome.  And professional.  BUT- there are 2 states I've found where I feel no discomfort at all!  The first is laying on ice with my legs elevated slightly.  The second- while I'm running!  I don't know if its the warmth of my muscles or just the movement itself- but it feels good!    

So, as kind of a motivator to keep going and not get lazy, I've signed up for a "Turkey Trot" 5K on Thanksgiving weekend and a "Make Room for Santa" 10K in mid-December.  Love themed races!

All for now -

Growing Up

For those of you who are 20-somethings like I am, and for those of you who've passed your 20-somethings- have you ever wondered why certain people think time stands still and you never progress past a certain point in life?  

Case in point:  I attend a church I've been going to regularly for well over 10 years.  I've been involved in many different ministries but my favorite is singing in the choir.  Unfortunately in the minds of all those sweet little old ladies that sing along side me, I am, and will forever be, about 17 years old.  

The series of questions I frequently get fall along these lines: Are you finished with school (high school) yet?  Where do you think you'd like to go to college?  Are you working part time while in school?  Any idea what you want to major in?  Are you still babysitting? 

Ummm.  What?  Hello...!  Its so hard for me to bite my tongue and find a tactful way to saying "You morons!  Just because time is but a drop in the bucket for you, at your age, doesn't mean people don't get older!  I'm getting my Master's degree in 4 months for goodness sakes!  Yes, I went to school.  Yes, I have a job.  Yes, it has benefits.  Yes, I work at a university - and- no, I'm not a "secretary" (though I give props to all of you who are secretaries- and- I'm pretty sure they're called Administrative Assistants now)  I actually work in IT- what?  Oh yea, I never thought I would be in the field either..."  

It's fine, I realize that for the elderly population in the world, people who are considerable younger then them will always be considerably younger and with that, the details seem to blur.  

Coolest thing of the weekend: My mom's new music stand.  Sounds super cool, huh?  Wait- it gets better.  She's been looking for one to hold her music whilst she plays her new harp.  So she found one on Craigslist (scary) that said it was all wood.  Cool.  She she hurried on down to Beverly Hills to this little old Jewish man's house to see what he had.  Turns out, it is solid mahogany, purchased from a castle in London in the 50's, manufactured circa 1885.  Its pretty awesome.  It has a candle holder that hinges out so the user can read their music in the dark.  Because, of course, you couldn't just flip a switch and light your whole house back then.  Oh yea, did I mention it cost $80?  #AwesomeFind!  

New Subject!  I've never been a gamer.  Like, at all.  I've toyed with Mafia Wars and Farmville on Facebook a bit, but it quickly bored me.  However, now the game has changed.  One word: MyVegas (yes, its one word).  Its essentially a free slot game that you play and earn Loyalty Points while playing.  The Loyalty Points can then be turned in for actually Vegas prizes like buffet passes, shows, drinks, and even hotels.  Did they say free hotels?  Oh yea.  I'm totally there.  I've been playing it about 2 weeks now and I might be just slightest bit addicted.  I have almost 30,000 Loyalty Points.  Of course you need about 300,000 to get a nice weekend room at the Aria- but hey!  I'd take a cheaper room @ New York New York if its free :)  I'll report back when I've earned enough for something legit.  But, I think I've spent more time on Facebook in the last 2 weeks then I have in the 6 months prior.  

Oh yea, and in all that time on Facebook... this happened.

  

"Celery- Nature's Toothbrush for your Colon!"  (it actually says "ribbed for your pleasure!")

Uhhh.  What?  Ew.  

All for now- love you guys!