heather jean

it is my big sister's birthday.  she is pretty rad.  33 is a cool number.

if you don't know heather, well...you probably should.  here are some things to help you know her even better:

she has an alien baby in her leg.  there is a long story about it.  with many pictures.

she can keep track of sports facts like nobody's business.  if a player ever even once thought about playing for the colts, cubs, or pacers, she knows them.  and will track them for the rest of their lives. 

yes, she is a cubs fan.  this explains really so much about her.  even though i am a deeply devoted brewers fan, i can accept her love of the cubs because i know it actually stems from her love of grandma willman.  and that is a perfectly acceptable thing.

heather is 15.5 months older than me.  she was small as a baby, and i was big.  so many people thought we were twins.  we are not. 

i am not sure how this system started, but since we are close in age and both girls, we got many presents that were the same except for the color.  she got pink, and i got purple.  i don't think either of us really liked how that turned out.

heather and i have been on world adventures--we went to mexico three times together in high school.  but our real dream was to be on the amazing race.  we have loved that show since the beginning and auditioned for it when we were in college.  heather still has our audition tape.  yes, vhs tape.  we are old.

bean and i have done many interesting things together.  we are inventors of a perfume, we were put in charge of the children's ministry for a whole summer at grace, we got our ears pierced at the same time, and we roadtrip well--who wouldn't want to try and guess all the counties in indiana while you drive to wisconsin?

heather is a servant to everyone around her.  she loves really deeply. 

as the highly introverted middle child in a loud family, i have not always been able to enjoy having all my siblings around me all the time.  but living in wisconsin really gave me an appreciation for each of them individually.  especially since i moved back, it has been cool to see how i feel so thankful that heather is not just my sister but a dear friend to me.

happy birthday, dear bean.

curiouser and curiouser

so this weekend, i hosted a tea party.  the main conclusion i have drawn from this event is that tea parties are a crapton of work.

bean wanted to take her small group girls to aunt sue's tea house in marion.  because it's amazing.  duh.  but...there was a fire.  and since aunt sue's was no longer a viable option, my sister decided i was the obvious next choice, having never hosted a tea party in my life.  i think we all know i am very much a sweatpants girl, and my mother will attest to the fact that i have been rockin the sweatpants look my entire life.  lace is a swear word.

but i do love tea.  and cooking.  and eating.

so.  i hosted a tea party.

lovely, right?  we had to be careful.  the tea set was borrowed from my mother, and i have it on good authority that heather had to leave a kidney on deposit.

after the girls arrived, they were invited to choose the different types of tea they wanted to sample. 

the meal started with the choice of vegetable or tomato soup, followed by scrumptious chicken salad (made by travis, and it's amazing) and crackers. 

the next course was fruit salad and scones.  we used a new favorite recipe of mine: melon, berry, and feta salad.  it is fresh, full of unique flavors, and so tasty.  mj was kind enough to suggest two awesome scone recipes: caramel apple scones and petite vanilla scones.  i had never made scones before, so they were a decent first effort.  they tasted very good...they just may have been lacking in style points.  and there was nothing petite about my scones.  ha.

we then served finger sandwiches.  there was egg salad on white bread.  i made cucumber, cream cheese, and dill on pumpernickel.  and not so much a sandwich...we had bruschetta: fresh mozarella, basil, and cherry tomatoes on crusty french bread.

and finally, there was dessert.  like they needed more sugar after the scones.  i had my go-to dark chocolate brownies.  we made red velvet mini-cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  and then there was the peanut butter fudge.  it tasted really good, but i did something wrong when i made it, because it turned out pretty crumbly.

the girls were all in food comas at this point, so we kind of just rolled them out the door and sent them on their way.  good times.

not being a fancy girl, i never know, but i just assumed a good hostess should wear pearls.  was i wrong?

oh i guess i could catch you up.

i've [slowly.  oh.so.slowly] been doing things on my list.  it is highly unlikely i will accomplish them all before my birthday, but you never know.  if i assume that attitude, i just won't do anything.

on saturday, i participated in my 'fun/unique race.'  five of us ran an urban obstacle 5k.  participants were encouraged to dress as superheroes.  so...we did.  some of us got more injured than others.  this may surprise you, but i was NOT the most injured.  that title belongs to iron man.  yes, heather looks like someone literally attacked her on the mean streets of indianapolis.

 

pictured left to right:
kim: the sworn enemy of turtles.

liz: the spiderlanterine.

ashleyne: captain, my captain.

heather: leave no pebbles behind.

holly: almost had to punch a guy because he was dressed like the joker.

oh, it's the little things

i have always been drawn to particular sounds or sensations.  they connect to me very deeply, for reasons i cannot necessarily explain. 

here's a random example: in the movie 'on our own' (yes, it's a feature films for family movie, and yes, you should watch it), one of the characters is carrying grocery bags.  they kind of crunch and rustle in a particular way, and that sound is embedded in my soul.  obviously, if i am writing about it this many years later. 

i recently (aka yesterday) got a new keyboard and mouse at work.  this is a delightful thing on multiple fronts.  for one thing, i had no idea how bad my old ones really really were.  oh, i knew they were awful.  they had been going downhill for at least a month and required a special kind of finesse to use...my right mouse button had to be gently and evenly depressed using the entirety of my middle finger.  the keyboard...well, let's just say i had a few heart to hearts that ended with me slamming it to make it work.  i didn't think it was asking too much to type letters and numbers when i hit the appropriate keys, but it seems that was reaching a bit too high.

another plus: the news ones work well.  super awesome rockstar well.  the mouse zips around my screens (psh yeah i have two screens.  don't you?) like it's the greatest thing to do on earth.  the sides of it have this grippy rubber that feels so cool.  and there are clicky buttons on the sides that let me navigate between folders.  which is actually a neat feature for the work that i am doing.

but my favorite part (and the reason for my sound/sensation post) is the noise that my keys make.  i'm not sure how to describe this sound.  there's a smoothness to it.  it's not thunky, like with keyboards from the 90s.  those keys were higher up off the board.  these are lower and probably a little smaller.  sleeker, certainly.  and when i get typing at an accelerated pace, i could close my eyes and breathe the sound right in.

yeah, i might be a weirdo. 

i am not a soft typist.  i think my mom, with her secretarial school training, probably is, though.  and maybe heather.  could be the delicate piano skills they have acquired.  but i type like i play piano--loud, hard, with the belief that speed is always the right choice.

so i have gone from a keyboard that made it sound like i was abusing the hard plastic in unmentionable ways to a keyboard that essentially reads my mind.  it absorbs my force, has a gradual incline to support my wrists (instead of awkwardly force them upward), and has a button devoted solely to pulling up the calculator on the computer.  this thing is awesome.

if you want one of these bad boy sets, it's called the microsoft wireless desktop 3000. 

less profound

i feel a certain sense of pressure to write something awesome since my last post got an insane amount of traffic.  (let's be real...insane for me.  normal posts get about 20 views.  the momma post got 300.  what.)

but after a weekend of moving and trying to adjust to a new place and a new drive, i don't have profound thoughts.  i barely have any thoughts at all.

our apartment is cute.  it's nowhere near being finished.  and both of us are leaving for the weekend, so it's remaining a bit incomplete.  oy.  but the move went well.  aside from the washer flooding...that was kind of gross.  many people helped us, and they are wonderful.  even kim, who went to the wrong apartment and carried a box in for strangers.  who were actually moving out.  haha.

i've been pulling out clothes and cds and books (ok, not yet on the books.  but it will happen.) for donations, so the 'donate 31 items' will be done in a heartbeat.

the only other list item of note is that i 'helped' heather with her scavenger hunt.  essentially, i sat on a bench, yelled at high school girls to run faster, and drove home.  now that's what i call qt with the big sis.

and...i am headed to the wisco tomorrow after work to play with mj and jb.  yes, the one and only time my little booty is getting to the great state this entire calendar year.  depressing.  but spending great heart time with my girls.

and...as soon as the apt gets whipped into shape, i'll delight you with some pics.  deuces, everybody.

everybody was kung fu fighting

g'day, mates.  welcome to the 'i committed to blog once a week for a year and this is the first week of that' blog.  i'm sure it will be a post full of wonder and adventure, so get your backpack and compass, and we'll be on our way.

yo, did you see this cuteness from my birthday?  please.

with regard to the list, i don't have a lot of updates.  i'm plugging away on my weekly items, although it was more of a challenge this week than it will be most weeks, i think.  i put a good little dent in my running miles, and twice this week, i ran much faster than usual.  so that's weird.  (yesterday, i ran 3.64 miles at 8:06 pace...bizarre.)

i also went through heather's list to try and identify 31 items with which i might want to help.  if you're not familiar with heather (she's my older sister) or her list, go HERE.  you should probably just follow her and make snarky comments.  she'd like that.

for the bulk of this week's post, though, i thought i should probably fill you in on what the heck is going on in my life.

at the moment, i am in my parents' house.  i'm hanging out with b & d for the weekend.  the past three weeks, i have been housesitting for my favorite grownup.  but on monday, i will be back at travis & kelli's.  which should be fun, since my room is currently being painted for baby squishy.  and in two weeks, i am moving.

yay!

well, not yay to the moving part.  but yay to everything it implies:

1) i will have a permanent residence for the first time since jennifer and i lived together.  yeah, that was in 2010.  remember my BLOG from back then?  haha.  :)  (in the past three years, i have lived out of suitcases and boxes (and occasionally dressers) in the following places: mom & dad's, aunt betty & uncle jon's, adam & alicia's, aunt betty & uncle jon's, wigger, mom & dad's, asian holly's, mom & dad's, travis & kelli's, rich & heather's, and travis & kelli's.)  ready. for. a. home.

2) i get to live with liz.  nonstop shenanigans, most likely.  and we will be neighbors with allyse and cam, which will be so fun.

3) i get to unpack all my books!!!!!!!!!!!

4) i get to organize an entire apartment.  my heart is metaphorically exploding with joy about this!

5) we will live in pendleton, which is such a cute little town.  you are all invited to come hang out.  in fact, i'll probably invite you for a meal or a tea party or something else on my list.  :)

five is enough, i think.

i am extremely grateful for the people who have housed me.  but i am so excited for this next chapter.  i would appreciate a lot of prayer in the next couple of weeks.  if you know me at all, you are aware that my mind has gone into insane list-making mode (and not the fun kind of list).  so i am trying to create lots of pauses and space in my days to remind myself to breathe and that the details will come together.

whew.  i'll see you in a week or so.  :)

30 by 30 update: 2 more months

time sure is flying.  hard to believe that a month ago, liz and i were running a marathon.  crazy.

so here's what i have gotten done in the past month:

1) i got my master's degree!  i graduated on april 28th, with much pomp and circumstance.  for all of you still confused about what i have been doing for the last two years, this is my degree: master's of art in counseling, specializing in student development counseling and administration.  no, i am not certified.  no, i do not want to be.

this pic is heather and me at the hooding ceremony.  oh, so fancy.  :)

2) my debt to my father is down to the last $200.  pretty exciting!  ($2500/$2700)

8) i knocked out the pinterest meals in one month!  and they were amazing.  the first two are on my monthly cooking segment.  i dominated this goal, though.  i made a total of eight things.  i am leaving comments on my pinterest board HERE if you want to keep track of the things i am cooking.  but i'll also link to the individual recipes below the pictures for you.  so here is what else i made:

thai coconut curry shrimp.  yum.  RECIPE.

garlic and mozzarella wontons.  amazing.  i baked them (425 for about 17 minutes) instead of frying them.  RECIPE.  

rosemary and goat cheese-stuffed mushrooms with bread crumbs.  these are delicious and rich.  RECIPE.

green coconut salmon (with cous cous, peas, french bread, and fresh mango).  liz said this was her favorite meal.  RECIPE.  

southwestern egg rolls with avocado ranch dipping sauce.  i should have baked them a bit longer.  and made the sauce zestier.  but still yummy.  RECIPE.  

tuscan chicken pizza.  we used a yellow pepper instead of a red one.  very good, and the pizza was delicious left over.  RECIPE.

11) as i said, the first two meals (spinach and artichoke baked pasta and eggplant sandwiches) were featured on my monthly cooking segment (18/20).  check them out HERE.

12) i planned a scavenger hunt for my sweet little wigger girls.  heather and keely helped execute the plans.  i think they had a pretty fun time.  i made them run all over marion and do ridiculous things.  but they got lots of treats along the way.  here are some pics:

the girls as they headed out on their adventure.

helping heather choose 'the right hat.'  not sure this was it...

delivering treats to our pal, fritz.

27) i am changing 'get another tattoo' to 'get another piercing,' because i haven't settled on my next tattoo design, and it is not something i want to rush just for the sake of the list.

29) i have read 74/100 books.  i need to get cracking on this.  this past month, i finished the simple life, the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society, and perelandra.

30 by 30: the late post with valid excuses

i have had a busy couple of weeks.  some of that craziness belongs to this update, and some belongs to may's.  so stay tuned for that.

here's what happened from march 22-april 21:

2) i paid off another hundred dollars...so around $300 left until my debt to dad is gone!

11) the monthly cooking blog featured the freshmen.  it's not hard to find due to my lack of blogging, but just in case, it's HERE.  that makes 17 out of 20.

16) i ran a marathon!  woohoo!  i actually ran about 26.7 miles.  missed a turn somewhere in mile 22, so that was a fun adventure.  my time was 4:57, so not nearly the marathon i was hoping to run, but i made a friend in last couple of miles who was really encouraging, saw my family and friends about 6 times throughout the day, and had a pretty joyful spirit the whole time, even while my body was rebelling against me.

i ran the first 7 miles with liz and steph and then had to do the next 19 on my own.  they ran great times.  this picture is at mile 15.  please notice the super cool fanny pack i am rocking (thanks, mom!).

i promise i was not nearly this smiley after my half marathon.  i'd say we look pretty decent for having busted our butts, though.

29) i only finished one book this past month...hopefully, getting grad school out of the way will increase my reading time.  :)  i read career information, career counseling, and career development.  that makes 71 out of 100.

the monthly cooking segment: bean and lily's meal of champions

so bean and lily came to visit.  many exciting things happened on this visit, but i'm sure their favorite part was the meal.  ha.  not really.  lily got a pink slicky, ben acted like a dinosaur, and the pie was soup.  so more interesting things happened.

but anyway.

i fixed them a meal.  it's out of my super cool wisconsin cookbook.  it involves macaroni, cream of mushroom soup, tomato soup, cheese, hamburger, and french fried onions.  it's easy and delicious.  there was also garlic bread, peas, salad, and a sugar cream pie.  it turned out mostly fine, though lily tried to choke herself by sucking up the peas.  but she didn't.  so it was fine.

also, we performed baby shark for everyone.

oh my gosh

i'm trying hard not to type in list mode today since i did that monday, but that's really just how my mind is wired. i like the organization of lists. eek. i will try for paragraphs.

first, i have a story about yesterday. it's called, 'cars are the literal bane of my existence, and i would instead like a moped to ride around marion.' it's a long title. but i think it really captures the essence of what i am about to say. i was driving home from work, and a couple of friendly-but-rather-overzealous people in the car next to me managed to indicate that i had a flat tire. you may recall the (hey, miranda and heather, i am about to post a link here!) incident i had in june. so imagine my frustration at hearing i was having more issues with ron's tires.

well, i quickly pulled over (ironically, it was a kfc parking lot) and got really mad at ron swanson and the world in general. that quickly petered out (i mean, it's really not useful, so what's the point?). and then i called a bunch of people to try and figure out what i should do. my friend, andy, came and helped me think clearly.

we drove slowly to a gas station across the street and filled the tire with air. then he led me to his tire place. they were super awesome. they pulled a screw out of my tire, patched it, and had me ready to go in about five minutes. and it cost me $10.70. i can't say enough about how cool they were.

so the tire situation is fixed. phew.

second, i am struggling at waking up when i am supposed to. as a result, i ate chips and salsa for breakfast.

third, i am reading bryan allain's '31 days to finding your blogging mojo.' not so much because i have great aspirations for this blog at the moment (turns out grad school is a blogsuck), but because i like bryan allain and it was $4.99.

a list, wisconsin style

w: wisco weekend. heather and i drove up friday night and hung out in madtown. it was good and loud and random. we spent saturday and sunday in milwaukee with stephanie and miranda. yay! we also saw cousin katie. double yay!

i: i wrote a new poem today in class. it's called 'puzzle pieces,' and it's over on the side of my blog.

s: somebody awesome did all the driving (and in crappy weather) so that somebody else could do her homework in the car.

c: cheese, grilled. thank you, stephanie. magical, as always.

o: on our trip north, we made a list of 300 things for heather to do in her 30's. haha. i am obsessed with lists. i'll admit it.

n: not many things are funnier than hyperactive irish people. although...

s: skinny dipping in a bowl of whale's milk might come close.

i: i miss wisconsin. bunches and heaps.

n: november is practically over. how did that happen?

ok, i got tired after o. you're lucky i finished the list.