Love this new recipe

I've probably mentioned it before and it's probably no surprise to any other busy person, but the crockpot continues to be an all star in my kitchen. This week we tried a lovely shredded beef tacos recipe and Oh. My. Goodness was it delicious and SO SO easy! The only thing I would have done differently was use low sodium beef broth because the boullion cube I did use made the beef pretty salty. But it was still delicious. We have leftovers so I'm thinking of making some hashbrowns, warming up the shredded beef and layering the beef on top of the potatoes and underneath a fried egg. If it's good, I'll let you know! By the way, the blog They Call Me Old Fashioned is a great blog in general. Consider following it!

Trips, Tulips, and Heat Waves

Oh, Indiana weather, how I love thee. This week alone the weather has gone from beautiful spring to rainy fall/winter and now we're currently experiencing the muggy 80 degree weather of early summer. It's no wonder I suffer frequently from sinus headaches. I also realized last night as I was telling Andy about the weather forecast for today that I am indeed my father's daughter. After moving off campus and receiving glorious heating and cooling bills in the mail, I informed Andy last night that yes, it's going to be 80 degrees on Sunday and yes, I REFUSE to turn the air conditioning on in April. My poor husband. We'll see how badly the weather deteriorates our marriage foundation and then we'll re-evaluate... We must share the hellacious trip that was Andy going to San Antonio for work last week. Last Monday he left TH at 3:30 a.m. to catch a flight out of Indianapolis at 6:25 a.m. When he got there, he was informed that his flight was canceled due to mechanical troubles. Now, while I'm sure Andy was thrilled that the airline had taken necessary precautions to not fly him around on a broken plane, that's sure not a great way to start out a trip. Sidenote - Andy and I are HORRIBLE fliers. We. Hate. It. I love airports and love traveling, but if I could just be instantly transported from location to location in a "beam me up, Scottie" sorta way, that would save several days of worrying/sleepless nights/needing to call family and make final goodbyes every time I'm going on a trip... After chatting with several folks Andy was able to get on another flight that morning and made it to San Antonio, eventually. When he landed he did mention that it was the worst flight of his life, but at least he was back on the ground. He had a good time in training but by Friday was ready to be back home. And I was ready for him to be back home. And Spike understood that if Andy didn't come home soon, his beautiful dog life might be in danger. Andy was scheduled to fly out at 5 p.m. on Friday. He finally got to leave around 8:30 p.m., of course causing him to miss his connection in Chicago with no hope of getting another flight to Indy until the next afternoon or even Sunday morning. Instead, he (or his company or the two of them in collaboration) decided he would rent a car and drive to Indy, get his vehicle from the airport and make the trip back to TH...so he could be in town to go to work the next day. He finally walked in the door at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday and went to work at 10 a.m after being awake for nearly 27 hours straight. To top that off, he will then put in 12 straight days because his new assistant manager has the week off to make his move to TH. Andy is, to say the least, a VERY hard worker. Thank you, God, for providing our family with such a wonderful man... In other news, the tulips are blooming all around town and it is absolutely gorgeous. I have a soft spot in my heart for tulips and I can't seem to pass one without smiling a bit. I can't wait to have a home where I can line our walkway with beautiful tulips! And speaking of plants, next Saturday is the opening day at the TH Community Garden! I was able to secure a plot there this year and canNOT way to get started planting! It will be my first garden (my parents have been avid gardeners for a long time now...I remember what seemed to be a HUGE garden every summer when I was growing up) and I cannot wait to start cooking with things that I actually grew! I'm hoping my mom can come up to help me. She has already drawn me a map of where things should go and I've bought a few plants already (brussel sprouts, lettuce, arugula, and spinach). I'll be sure to take pictures throughout the whole planting/growing/harvesting/cooking process. Hopefully the pictures will progress from empty plot to bountiful garden but like I said before...it's my first garden. There's no proof that the green thumb was passed down. If I have months of pictures that look exactly the same because everything is dying I won't post...hehe.

Fake Out Dessert

I wish I were a fabulous baker. Unfortunately, I'm not...yet. In the meantime, I love to make great "fake out" desserts. Sweet treats that are delicious but do not take any level of skill to prepare. My latest is what I'm calling an Out of the Trifle Bowl Trifle.

Ingredients:

1 angel food cake loaf

1 package strawberries (thinly sliced and put in a bowl with some sugar to sweeten)

heavy whipping cream

vanilla extract

confectioners sugar

For the whipped cream, just pour the container of heavy whipping cream in a bowl, with some confectioners sugar and vanilla extract and with electric beaters, beat on high until you get delicious whipped cream.

Cut the angel food cake loaf into three even sections and drizzle each section with a bit of vanilla extract. Then layer away! On the bottom layer I did whipped cream, strawberries, whipped cream and then put the second layer of cake on. Same layering on the second layer and then topped that with the top of the angel food cake loaf. I put it in the freezer for a bit to set, because the filling was falling out of the sides. It may not be the most beautiful thing you've ever seen, but it was DELICIOUS!

God's Plans Are Always Bigger

I wanted to write this blog last week, after Andy and I had decided that we were going to pursue membership at a chruch we've been visiting in Terre Haute. I'm glad I waited, because God has even bigger things for us to share about... As Andy and I have settled into life in Terre Haute, IN we've had numerous opportunities to look at each other and say "yep, God brought us here for a reason." But wait...I should back up... During the fall semester I was looking for jobs one evening while Andy was with me in Cedar Falls and came across a job posting for an academic advisor at ISU. It wasn't unusual that I was looking at job postings - I used to do that often because I wanted to gain the skills I would need for future positions, as my former job was not a job I would have until retirement. I had also just been rehired at UNI for a temporary, 1 year position, so I was doing what I do best...I was making future plans. I was checking out academic advisor positions closer to our families and happened to come across a posting at IU in Bloomington, IN, only 30 minutes from my hometown. After reading the description to Andy and talking about the pros and cons of applying for a position at that time of the year I continued on with my purusing of job descriptions and came across the ISU description. After more talk and prayer I decided to apply. Just deciding to apply was difficult enough, because I had just returned to UNI and was not comfortable with the idea of having to leave a position sooner than anticipated. But, I also knew that in a few months my position at UNI would be up and we knew that we wanted to get closer to home with our next move (God willing). To my surprise, I received interview offers for both positions. They originally wanted me to interview on the same day, believe it or not, but I managed to spread the interviews over two separate days. I went to ISU first and enjoyed the interview but didn't feel confident in my chances for moving further along in their process. As I drove back to Iowa after the interview I was disappointed but still excited about interviewing with IU. Within a couple of days I had received a job offer from ISU! Because I knew I had another interview to attend, I asked for the weekend to consider the offer. Looking back I know God was hitting His palm to His forehead or shaking His fist at me. Here He had laid His perfect plan and I needed some time to think about it! Oh, the audacity. A few days later I drove back to Indiana for the IU interview. I thought the interview day went really well, I felt really comfortable with the group, and they even allowed me to share in their office's Thanksgiving feast (my interview was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving). During that meal the director of the program introduced me to others as "our new academic advisor" with a chuckle. I thought I would hear about an offer the next day. I drove back to Iowa that evening excited about the ability to move back to IN but I was also nervous because I had not anticipated having to tell my current supervisor, colleagues, and staff that I was leaving early. The next day I heard from IU that they were pursuing the other candidate. I was totally thrown for a loop. Because of how I felt the interview went, I was totally surprised that an offer didn't come through. But, again, looking back, it was because God was shouting "Ashleigh! I've already worked this out!" So I called Andy and we decided that we would take some time to decide on the ISU job. We had to crunch the numbers and we had to figure out if we could go without any promise of Andy having a job. Luckily he was told that he could step down from assistant manager and be a salesperson at the Terre Haute Sofa Mart. When that current assistant manager got promoted, Andy would step back up into that role. My sister and brother-in-law came to CR for Thanksgiving and we talked about what to do about the job offer ALL weekend. Poor Aubrei and Dan! I also called both my parents and Andy and I weighed the pros and cons over and over and over again. After they left, I took all day Sunday praying to God that He would lead us to the right decision. By that evening, we had decided to take the plunge and move to Indiana... The next month was a whirlwind! I had to resign (again) from my position at UNI, Andy was trying to figure out what was happening with Sofa Mart in TH, we had to pack up our CF apartment AND CR apartment, we had to find an apartment in TH, etc. For the first two weeks after deciding to take the job, we hadn't heard anything from the people at Sofa Mart, so Andy decided to call one Friday evening. After a few minutes on the phone, Andy was offered the assistant manager position - the former manager had just resigned and the folks in TH thought Andy was the best candidate for the position. With one phone call, Andy had gone from taking a step down with the company to making a lateral move. When Andy called to tell me I got chills...during that phone call we took the time to thank God for working that out for us. Shortly after Andy's job worked out, we were approved for our new apartment in TH. My stepbrother lives in TH and had told us about his apartment complex. Again, God had worked things out. There was an apartment available in the complex for us to move on December 30! We were so thankful because we didn't have the time to come to TH to house hunt. So on December 29 I finished my last day of work at UNI, went to CR to finish packing our apartment, and we moved the next morning at 6 a.m. When we arrived the next day in TH, Aubrei and Dan came and helped us unload the truck. The next day (New Year's Eve) my mom and Trent came to help us unpack the apartment. That Monday (four days later) both Andy and I started our new jobs. It was absolutely amazing that we had so much help with the move. AM helped us move stuff out of the CF apartment, Andy's aunt and mom drove all the way to Iowa to help us pack and then followed us to TH driving one of our vehicles; we had a great friend drive down from CF to help Andy with the heavy stuff, etc. There is absolutely no way that we would have been able to do the move without everyone. In early January we started our jobs and immediately felt more at home then we ever did in Cedar Rapids. We settled into our jobs and started hunting for a new church home. Quickly we found a church where both Andy and I, on separate visits, felt that the sermon was created directly for us and just felt God's presence in that church. THAT is why I had originally wanted to write the blog, to talk about God leading us to a wonderful church. But, He had yet another blessing up his sleeve... About two weeks ago Andy heard that his boss was putting in for a transfer to another Sofa Mart store. We were SHOCKED because we didn't think that it would happen so quickly. Andy did know when he took the job that there was a chance that his boss was planning to leave sooner rather than later for another store and when that happened, Andy would be considered for the store manager position. But we had no idea that such an opportunity would come barely 3 months after our move. After a grueling week that felt like 10 years, Andy received a call on Thursday afternoon --- HE WAS THE NEW STORE MANAGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! During that phone call, we again took time to thank God for His blessings and faithfulness. The promotion came last Thursday. Since then, we've been on cloud nine. It's been so amazing to see God working in our lives and to reap the benefits of obedience. The decision to move to TH was not easy but we felt that God had opened the door and it was our duty to step out in faith. Even once we made the decision, the heavens didn't part and angels didn't start singing. Yes, we were relieved to have made a decision but we were worried that things wouldn't work out. But, God can do great things and He has done great things for us! We went from living in two separate towns in August, seeing each other on the weekends, to being MUCH closer to our family with jobs we love and an opportunity to put down roots. Every day we are overwhelmed by all God has given us and everything He worked out for all of this to happen. Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done. - 1 Chronicles 16:8.

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 4:29-5:2

This year I'm using Lent as an opportunity to "give up" gossiping/talking negatively about other people and situations. When I told Andy he said "you can't give that up for Lent. That's just something you're supposed to NOT do anyway...". Yes, I know. After having reflected on the meaning of Lent and in an effort to become more Christ-like and with God's grace revealing that this is an area I need to work on, here's where I landed. What's always so humbling about God is that after choosing this for myself (as if I really did it on my own, haha), I was reading something that I thought was unrelated to my Lent decision and the scripture above was included in the article. It struck me immediately.

Thank you, Lord, for showing us the way and always providing all the tools we need.

I love documentaries

I just finished The Future of Food, a documentary with a lot of information on genetically modified foods. While I appreciate the information, this type of documentary often sends me into a panic, because the problem seems so big and out of my hands that I'm usually hopeless for positive change. Or I'm so overwhelmed by where to start that I'm paralyzed. Nonetheless, I wanted to list it on my blog, because I though it was good. I hyperlinked the title, so click it to visit the movie's site.

Totally intrigued by a new book...

So I'm anxiously awaiting the library to call me and tell me that my reserved copy of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats is in. I've been reading about the book online (do NOT go to the nourishing cook blog...it covers your computer in malware!!) and am really excited to have the actual book in my hands. Anyone heard of it? Love it? Despise it?