Food and Fun

What a week it's been!  There's been some good and some bad.  The bad first.  I ate sweets!  I know, I know.  Tisk tisk.  The reason for my lapse in resolve was a Chopped Challenge Party.  Here's the short version:  Everyone makes a dessert that includes 4 required ingredients.  Our required ingredients were blackberries, wonton wrappers, caramel chews, and bacon.  Sounds crazy, right?  We had three competitors and the results were fantastic!  Sean and I entered the competition together and came up with our own recipe.  We were incredibly proud of ourselves.  We mixed blackberries, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and cinnamon together with some bacon.  Then we wrapped it in the wonton wrappers, fried it, and melted the caramels to drizzle over the top.  Delicious!!

My goofy guy cooking away

The three desserts.  They were fantastic!

Us with our creation.

Since Sean was out this week we went to Yosemite to see Half Dome and the waterfalls.  This is where the good comes in.  I got to work on my photography skills!  Well, I took some pictures.  I don't know if it exactly qualified as working on my skills, but a girl's gotta start somewhere!  Here's some sample shots.

I can't wait to work on my photography skills some more!  I also got to (almost) finish the DIY project I'm doing with dad for the wedding.  We have the frame built for the picture display and all I have to do is thread the rope and add pictures.  I'll post a photo when it's all put together.  Dad's also using his awesome laser cutter to make our cake topper and I can't wait to see the finished product.  A big thanks to my incredible dad for making my day even more special!

The side boards for the frame.

The prototype for our cake topper.  How awesome will that look?

Hopefully this next week I'll be better about my sweets.  Hope you all have a blessed week!

Busy Doing Nothing

Why is it that whenever summer begins, I miss school time?  Don't get me wrong - I absolutely LOVE having time off.  After all the craziness of life my body definitely needs some rest.  But my days are usually full, which makes it difficult for me to really enjoy the laziness of summer.  Does anybody else have difficulty finding that balance?  The one where you're not insanely busy but you're not shamefully lazy either?  It seems to be something I have difficulty doing.  Maybe one day I'll get it right.

The invitations are out and the wedding is less than two months away.  Everything is starting to feel so real.  Sean is coming to town tomorrow and I cannot wait for him to get here!  After all the time away and the crazy wedding planning it will be nice to see him again.  Unfortunately the poor guy has to brave the awful Fresno heat.  Which, if you know him, means he must love me a lot. :)

This week Dad and I have been working on some DIY projects for the wedding.  It's so exciting to see everything coming together!  We're working on a picture display, and Dad is even making our cake topper!  I owe him BIG time.  He's so good to me. :)

The beautiful carving of the side panels!!

Daddy hard at work :)

The first week of the Contentment Challenge is over and I have mixed reviews.  I have been great about not having sweets, which has been somewhat difficult but doable so far.  I haven't made much progress on my other goals though.  I haven't started my books, and I have not experimented with photography yet.  I've also been awful about spending time with God lately (full disclosure here).  Somehow it is SO much harder to do all these things when I have plenty of time.  Is that not the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard?  I seem to work much better with a schedule.  When I have time I waste it.  Hence the desire to get back on a schedule.  

My goal for the next week of the challenge is to start reading my Bible first thing when I get up in the morning.  If I don't do it right away, I won't do it.  So if that means getting up a bit earlier, that's what I'm going to do!  I'll check in next week to let you all know how it's going!

Contentment Challenge Kickoff!

Well before we get down to business I am SUPER excited to announce that Sean and I have found our apartment!  It's not official yet, but he's going in tomorrow and hopefully it will be official.  I'm so excited!  It's so crazy to start making all these decisions and seeing the new life we're going to have come together.  Yay!

Today my friend Jessica's Contentment Challenge begins!  Time to learn to be content with what we have and enjoy life.  I've decided to modify the challenge a bit.  The thing that I am going to be giving up for this Challenge is sweets.  I absolutely LOVE chocolate.  And ice cream.  And pretty much any other type of sugar.  So I'm deciding to say no to the junk.  It might make me feel good in the moment, but the weight it adds on doesn't make me feel good about myself.  Plus it doesn't help my health.  Time to take care of myself and find joy in bigger, better things.

Jessica has given us a challenge for this week and a verse for this month.  Here's the info:

Memory Verse for June:  James 1:17
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

Book for the Month:  The Sacred Romance by John Eldredge (my choice)

Challenge for the week:  Find something to replace the chocolate!
I've got a few things I'm going to focus on.  First, read my Bible more.  I do NOT do this near as much as I should.  I always feel much more full when I read my Bible regularly.  I'm also going to start taking photos with my camera and working on my photography skil.  Lastly, I'm going to focus my energy on making sure I'm becoming the wife I want to be.  Because it's not just about me anymore.  I've got another person in my life.  I'm going to have a husband!  And he deserves my best.

What are you working on for the Contentment Challenge?  Are you ready to feel more content?