Above all else........

.....guard your heart

Thanksgiving Musings

mmmmmmm home. Now there's a word that I have a whole new appreciation for. There's something very settled about being home. It's like college is some other life that doesn't actually exist. For the last week I've been in this magical place and my mind has thought thoughts that it hasn't had time to think about in a very long while. My mind has dared to dream. Brew some hot chocolate, prop your feet up, and read on folks--what you're about to read is a small peak into the dreams of my heart.

I've been amazed at how quickly this semester has flown, and that in a mere 20 days it will be over completely. The idea that college is in fact finite is finally beginning to take root in my brain. Two more Thanksgivings and this college business will be over, what comes after that? Where will I be in three Thanksgivings? I feel like the possibilities are endless. Possibilities. Endless. Now those are some very exciting words when connected at the hip.

While my family consumed exorbitant amounts of food today I couldn't help but think about past Thanksgivings and how they have evolved. I vaguely remember going to my Grandma's house for Thanksgiving. I remember the various Thanksgivings at our house in Texas. The year we had all of our extended family over--our house was SO packed! The year we had friends from church over--did any of us know that was the beginning of a friendship that would continue for who knows how many years? It seems like our Thanksgiving changes every year. Some years we haven't even been able to fit everyone around one table. Other years, like this year, it's just the six of us. And this is where the dreamer in me comes out.

As I looked at my family I couldn't help but wonder what will future Thanksgivings look like? I imagined what it would be like to have-- instead of four whimsical, single, girls at the table--four very in love women with four equally in love husbands intermixed. It made me smile to think of my dad watching the Cowboys play with more than just the cat for company. I sighed, just a little, when I imagined the distances some of those couples traveled just to be at that table. Or worse, the inevitable year one of us can't come because gas prices are too high or they had already promised the in-laws. Then I smiled when I dreamed up what it might be like to watch my family coo over the newest niece, communicate fluently in toddler dialect with two year old nephew, and snuggle up with a five year old niece to read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Oh dreams......who knows if they'll ever come true. Who knows what bridges will need to be crossed in order to reach that place. In the mean time I am content knowing that God's plans are for my good and no matter what happens my future is a bright one. Isn't that a good truth to cling to?

I don't know about you, but I find Jeremiah 29:11 highly conducive to dreaming.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Em

"So glide away of soapy heels

And promise not to promise anymore

And if you come around again

Then I will take the chain from off the door."

The Chain, Ingrid Michaelson

It's that time of year.....

This week marks the half-way point. How did that happen? Wasn't it last weekend that I was working at Yogurtland by day and 2-stepping in the Hare's living room by night?

I guess time must have passed because here I sit, studying for midterms and anticipating fall break later this week.

As crazy and hectic this time of year is it a great phase. The weather here in Lynchburg has gone from 90's to 80's to 70's and the last few days have been in the low 60's (though it looks like 70's might be coming back). The leaves are beginning to change and I'm looking forward to watching the mountains turn red, yellow, orange, and pale green. I love that the halloween costumes have hit the stores and seeing the bins of pumpkins at Wal-Mart. And I would lying if I didn't mention one of my favorite things about fall--fall means trip home isn't too far away.

**below is a pic I snapped on campus last fall. Pretty eh?**

Watching the seasons change is a great reminder that the seasons of life change too. As annoying as college can be sometimes I'm coming to realize that I do love this phase and one day (in about 2 and 1/2 years) this season will change. And just like we long for a cold winter night in the middle of summer and for a hot summer afternoon in the middle of winter, I'll probably look back on my afternoons of pouring over a textbook and feel the slightest stab of nostalgia.

Alright I suppose I should return to my studying.

-Em

Banana-Vanilla Smoothie!

Since getting back to school I've been really focusing on eating healthy and exercising more. I recently decided to run a 5K the second week of October so I'm very excited about that! In an attempt to eat healthier I also cut desserts out completely until my 5K. At first it was incredibly difficult to not eat sweets (I swear glucose is like a drug!), but I've officially gone a full week and feel great!

In an attempt to be prepared for my coming race I've also been working out quite a bit. On that note, I've always heard that after a hard workout we're supposed to eat something really high in protein so lately I've been trying to find something yummy, not too heavy (I don't know about ya'll I never feel like eating something like meat or even eggs after a workout--way too much) and that's also protein rich. Enter my banana-vanilla smoothie! I invented this little friend yesterday and I think it's great! So I thought I'd share my little invention:

1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder 

1-1 serving container of low-fat vanilla yogurt 

About 1/3-1/4 cup of milk (depending on how watery you like the smoothie)

1 banana 

About a teaspoon of cinnamon (you can't really taste it, but cinnamon is really good for you and I just like to put something special in my smoothie to make it classy)

Pop all of that in a blender and there ya go! 

Here's a few ideas to change the smoothie up (I haven't tried some of them, but I feel like they can't be too bad!)

--If you don't have vanilla protein powder I think chocolate would work too (I mean people put chocolate on bananas all the time right?)

--Small spoonfull of orange juice concentrate.

--Freeze the bananas before to make the smoothie nice and cold.

--Of course substitute the vanilla yogurt for another type of yogurt (ie greek yogurt) and then just add some honey or vanilla 

Back to School

Well folks it's that time again. Fall semester started on Monday for me which means I'm back in Virginia. I won't lie, I've been enjoying sophomore year more than freshman year.

This semester is quite a bit different than last semester. To begin with I moved off campus with my older sister! We have a homey little apartment about 8 minutes from campus.

Also, I'm not "pre-nursing" anymore. I didn't realize that being an official "nursing student" would make a tangible difference, but it has. Last year there was always a small feeling of competition within the nursing majors. We spent tons of time together in class and studying, we understood each other, and related to each other better than we did with any other freshmen. Yet we all knew that one out of every two students wouldn't get in to the nursing program therefore there was always that sense of comparing ourselves to each other and competition. Now that element is gone and we have each others' back.

This semester is going so much smoother than both previous semesters. I already know my spot. It's lovely.

In other news we had an earthquake yesterday! I was doing homework and I started hearing what sounded like a helocopter about to land. Then I noticed everything was shaking. I got up, looked out the window, but everything looked normal. I remember looking back at my desk and seeing my iced tea sloshing around in the cup. Obviously I had never experienced an earthquake before because I could not figure out what was going on. Finally I decided to go see if any of my neighbors were outside and see if they knew what was happening. Just has I got to the front door--the shaking stopped. It wasn't until my younger sister text me about the earthquake did I find out that's what had happened. For anyone who is interested it was a 6.0 and the epicenter was about 90 miles away from where I live.

That's all for now! Homework awaits!

-Em

For those of you who don't know, I work at Yogurtland It's one of those self-serve fro yo places and it's actually an ok job.
So if you're ever in the downtown fort worth area stop by, grab some fro yo, and say hi.

One of my favorite question I get at work is "How do you stay skinny when you work at a place like this??" I generally chuckle to myself and say something like, "Well, miracles do happen." or "Ahh come on it's yogurt! It's healthy!" in reality I have this whole yogurt thing down to where I can take full advantage of my free bowl of yogurt that I get every time I work and still be healthy. Here's how I do it:
-Grab a bowl
-Go to the toppings station
-Put in a layer of strawberries
-Layer that will blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, pineapple, and bananas
-Put a few more strawberries on top
-Layer on that about 2 scoops of the organic pumpkin seed granola
-Follow that will 1ish scoop of Mochi
-Then squirt 1-2 tablespoons of Sweetened Condensed Milk over the whole thing

Grab a spoon and, well, that plus a hard boiled egg and granola bar is my lunch at work. You might be starring at your screen confused asking, "But what about the yogurt? What about the brownie bights, and crumbled up cookies, and chocolate chips, and gummy bears???" Well I did say I would tell you how I stay healthy, right? There ya go! The yogurt isn't too bad it's only about 30 cal. per ounce, but the fruit is only about 10 cal. per ounce. So trading out yogurt for fruit you save 20 cal. per ounce. By completely avoiding the brownie bights, cookie dough bites, and cheesecake bites you're avoiding an average of 100 cal. per ounce. With the sweetened condensed milk you get something to make it extra yummy as compared the various chocolate sauces(You'll save about 20 cal. per ounce just by switching from chocolate sause to condensed milk). The Mochi gives it some texture and extra sweetness, and the granola gives it some crunch (Plus it's really good for you.) And of course on the days that I really want a little bit of yogurt I grab a sample cup and get a small taste.

-Em

Frivolousness

Welcome to my less deep blog! For those of you who don't want to wade through the more theological side of my brain--or for those who want to see my more frivolous side (cause heaven knows this girl has a frivolous side!) this is the blog for you!

As tempted as I am to update you on all my goings on I'll spare you and pick up with this week. Anna is off work and I didn't have to work yesterday or today. I've enjoyed my long weekend and accomplished pretty much everything on my to-do list.

*side note: can I just say how amazing to-do lists are??? I love them. I love crossing things off of lists and feeling all accomplished.*

Last night, my friend, Janis invited Anna and I over for dinner and to hang out. Her brother, Tim, came over and the four of us played spades and ate pizza. I know it probably doesn't sound like one of those nights that you'll remember forever, maybe it's just me, but it's nights like that I do tend to look back on and smile. It was simple. Despite what impression I might give, that's my idea of a good time--simple plus plenty of laughing and voila my heart is happy.

-Em