Nutricious

I'm all about the snow these days. I'm still hoping for so much snow that it's a clean white sheet on the ground, but I was perfectly happy with a half a foot of snow. We went back to the same forest.

 You may be asking why I'm wearing rain boots in the snow. You see, I had a dilemma that morning. Should I keep my feet warm or dry? I'm still not sure which would've been the best decision. My little toesies were pretty cold in those rain boots, but they were dry!

Even the river has ice floating on it! It stayed below 10 degrees for a while that day through Sunday.

Can you see that tree in the water stuck behind the bridge? That's been there since the flood. I keep thinking I'll look and it will have floated off, but apparently, it likes the brick. If I were that tree, I think I'd venture off to see what the river sees farther downstream.

Well, I have good news for all you who follow this blog. I now have a job!! I'm excited to start working. Hopefully I will bring joy to the people I care for and the people I work with.
So what is the job? I was telling people that I'm going to be working in a nursing home. Apparently that gives off bad vibes. So I started saying long-term care facility. It's all about the connotations.
But really, I'm so happy that I'll be working in a nursing home. Working with geriatrics is in my top three choices of a career in nursing. Did you know that the word nurse comes from the Latin word nutricious meaning nourishing? That is what I hope to be: nourishing. A comfort. A joy. With help from Christ, I know I can accomplish this.

P.S. My sister, Emily, sent this recipe to me and we loved it! She's currently doing the Daniel fast which means eating only fruits, veggies, and whole grains. I'm a fan of spaghetti squash, but I usually just make spaghetti with it. This recipe gave it the flavors of the Southwest that we love most! Doesn't it just look so good and healthy?? http://bevcooks.com/2011/10/southwestern-stuffed-spaghetti-squash/

Much love, Em. I hope Phil survives the fast!

Wonder

There's no question why the call it a winter wonderland.
It's because there is so much wonder.

Isn't it hard to fathom the fact that every single snowflake it different?? There have been billions of quadrillions of snow flakes since they were created and still, each one is unique. That is one creative mind you have there, God.

Photo courtesy of my talented husband. :) Isn't it beautiful?? I had such a marvelous time walking through the woods. We could see tracks from someone else walking their dog, but it still felt like we were the only ones out there. So peaceful. I'm blessed to live in such a beautiful place.

You know what else there have been billions of, each created differently?

People!!
Out of all the tons of people created, every single one has had their own personality, their own appearance, their own backgrounds. We are excited by different things. We have different callings. We love differently. Different things irk us. We are so different. But we all have at least one thing in common: One Great Creator.

Different is beautiful.

Brussels...unfortunately not Belgium

I guess this is what comes of getting a puzzle from a thrift store. Can you see the missing piece in the mountain?

Haha. Oh well. It was still fun. But what do you do with a puzzle with a missing piece? I can only think to recycle it.

So what did we have for our first Meatless Monday? Oh please don't ask. You see, Monday, January 2nd was a holiday. Ergo, it felt like a Saturday. AKA--we totally forgot it was Meatless Monday and had pizza for dinner. Haha...oops. But we don't count that one.
So what did we have for our second Meatless Monday? Oh, thanks for asking!! We had minestrone soup and our favorite quick dinner rolls. I will admit that I did not make the soup from scratch. Have you heard of the Bear Creek soup mixes? They are wonderful. I would endorse them. But the rolls were homemade. MMMM!!

In other food stories...
I've been wanting to try Brussels sprouts for a while now since I can't remember having them. So when The Pioneer Woman made them on her Christmas special show, I knew I'd found my recipe. They were so simple. I didn't get a good pic, so I'll just let you travel to her website for them. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/12/brussels-sprouts-with-balsamic-and-cranberries/ So what did I think of the sprouts? Well, I'm certainly not going to eat them till I bloat, but they were good. If you like cabbage, you'd love these. I do like cabbage, but mostly as cold cole slaw. Would I make them again? Yes...in a few months. What's the best part about this?? Matt said he would make them again. Score!
Word from the wisened: While boiling the balsamic vinegar, please do not lean over the pot and take a big whiff. I think I singed quite a few nose hairs doing that very thing. Who knew hot balsamic was so strong?? It took a while for my olfactory sensors to recover from that one. 
Don't say I didn't warn you.

So now I'm trying to come up with more new things to cook this week. I might as well go all out while I have so much time on my hands. Any ideas??