How I Rocked Easter

I believe that the successful execution of the Easter festivities in my life just go to prove (if only to myself) that I am indeed a rock-star! Let's take a look back starting with Wednesday, shall we?

Wednesday - Made a congealed salad and started prepping other food-stuffs. My fridge is already getting frighteningly full. The garage fridge may be commandeered. Wrote clues for easter egg/scavenger hunt and got corresponding pictures for puzzles. Yoga at 6:30. This whole "intentional breathing and presence" thing really has something to it, especially during Holy Week. I highly recommend it. Second trip to the grocery store this week on my way home. On-call for Children's at 10pm.

Thursday - Thankfully didn't get called out overnight. Go off call at 8:00 am. Get dressed and head to the Honey Baked Ham store. I was a little shocked but it was dead. I'll have to remember that for the future. Got an 11 lb ham, a 3 lb turkey breast, a pecan pie, and some sweet potatoes to eat with leftovers. Put away all that and rearrange the fridge AGAIN. Re-write the order of worship for service tonight because I can't find the file where I saved it. Babysit from 11:15 to 5pm. Get stuck in major traffic so I'm the one 10 minutes late for church. Good thing they can't start without me! Service went well. Did some more egg/scavenger hunt prep after the service. Saw the most AMAZING, bright rainbow as I was leaving.

Friday - Babysit from 8am - 1:30pm. Make a hashbrown casserole, Greek onions, cucumber and onion salad, 22 miniature coconut cream pies, and a lemon cake. Finish up around 5pm when Jeff gets home. Get changed to go have dinner at the Summit and wander around for a bit. Stop at the grocery store on the way home to get snacks for the egg hunt tomorrow. Put together all the eggs for tomorrow and clean the kitchen up a little bit. It's getting down to the wire. I don't get to bed until after midnight (which is now really late for me!)

Saturday - I decided to let hubby sleep so I got up and took the dogs out. Fried a pound of bacon and decided that, while I was at it, I'd also make breakfast so I made coffee, scrambled eggs with cheese, and biscuits. (I'm a good wife like that). Also glaze my cake and toast extra coconut for decorating all the miniature pies. Deep clean the kitchen. Made rotel dip for the afternoon snack at the church. Pull out all necessary serving pieces for lunch tomorrow. Pot some lavender. Refill the bird feeders. Trim my rose bushes and herb garden. Add water to the fountain out front. Went to church for the easter egg/scavenger hunt and practice for the drama portion of the service. After we got home I made broccoli salad and triple checked everything else. I was done with everything by 5:45 pm.

Sunday - Woke up ridiculously early (like 4:45 am!) and couldn't get back to sleep. Allergy symptoms were terrible and I'm not good at sniffling quietly so that Jeff could sleep, but I tried. Sunday school at 10, worship at 11. It all went really well and I was very pleased. After church headed home to find family already there, which I really hate, but oh well. Got everything out and ready for lunch. We would have been ready to eat by about 1:40 but we had to wait for a few stragglers. Lunch was good and we only had a few things left over, so I was pleased. I was hoping to get pictures, but got distracted by everything else. We had a grand total of 23 people, which was good. Not gonna lie, when the last person left around 5 pm.

All in all, it was a very successful venture. One of Jeff's aunts asked me, as everyone was leaving, if I'd do it again and the answer was "yes!" I enjoy entertaining and doing things as I went through the week made it really easy.

What are some of your tips for entertaining, especially large groups?

Counting Down to Another Dream Vacation

Yes, I know I'm a goober. I can't help it. I get really excited about anything out of the norm, especially when it involves going someplace or doing something new. This vacation really does combine the best of both worlds of things that are known and comfortable with those that are new and exciting. Add to it the fact that this will be one year since our last real vacation, and it makes for a very happy Sandy. Half the fun of a vacation (at least for me) is getting to prepare and anticipate it, so the more time I get for that the better it is!

Known: Cruise on the Carnival Dream leaving out of Port Canaveral and staying in the Cloud 9 Spa; Anytime dining

New: Port stops in Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten; Cabin with a balcony. Jeff has only ever been to Nassau, so it'll be nice to share something new with him since he has a sort of "been there, done that" attitude toward a lot of cruises (because, let's face it, he has!)

We're still negotiating a few of the particulars like getting ourselves down there. Last time, we flew. It started as necessity but ended up as SUPER convenient. I like flying, but Jeff isn't a huge fan, especially of short flights (and BHM to MCO is only 90 minutes!) Originally I thought we would drive since we have more time, but the more we think about it the more appealing the idea of flying again becomes!

I really am trying to not get too over-the-top excited until after my birthday (which will still give me about 7 weeks of excitement!) but it's hard! This picture is from our last cruise on the Carnival Dream, specifically from a port stop in Cozumel. It was probably one of the best vacations I've ever taken and so it's very easy to look forward to doing it again! If it weren't for the pesky business of paying for it, I would be ready to get on the boat tomorrow!

I've got some great new info/resources about cruising in general, so if it's something you're interested in, stay tuned!

Yoga Update

I'm now halfway through my yoga for beginners class, and it's been AMAZING. Annie, who is also the studio owner, is a fantastic teacher and I absolutely adore her.

The first week was a lot harder than I thought it would be. It started out with a lot of time and attention to breath. Well, for a former band kid, that was easy. Long, even, deep breaths are what I did all the time. They're still what I do when I need to chill or center myself. So that part came very naturally. The moving part, not as much. It wasn't even the moving that was hard, it was the holding in certain places that was harder. I'm not gonna lie - the first class seemed to last a really long time. I made the intentional decision to take off my watch for class but it was hard, too. By the time class ended, I was ready for it to be over. Still, it was good. I felt good because, well, I just felt good. But I also felt good because I had worked hard and done something just for myself.

The second week I think I was more nervous than the first. During the first class only 5 of the 12 people came because of spring break and other conflicts, so week two was full. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The class itself also wasn't as hard. I really enjoyed the moving between poses and holding for a breath or two, and then moving out of it again. I also love the variety of pace in the class. Again, no watch. But this time, as we were coming to the close of the class, I was really disappointed that it was over already. I definitely could have kept going for a while longer! I never would have expected the more active pace to jive with me, but it definitely did.

The third week I was really excited going in, but immediately got nervous when she told us we'd be doing back bending. I quickly discovered it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be (not the back bends I remember from elementary school, although maybe someday I can get back to that!) and it actually felt pretty good for the most part. Again it was a harder class because it was a lot more new poses so it was a lot more slow movement and holding. I really dig the whole "one breath, one movement thing" and so I'm bad about holding my breath while I'm holding poses (which isn't what you're supposed to do!) Overall, I liked the way the moves were sequenced and I feel like I'm remembering the names of things like Cat & Cow, Staff Pose, Mountain, Warrior, Tree, Half Lotus, Triangle, and I'm sure there are others that we've done and I just can't think of.

The thing that's working to my disadvantage at this point (and what I think will keep me from ever being "good" at yoga) is that my body is just plain not proportional. I know I'm short (5'2) but proportionally speaking, I have long legs and a very short waist. When you're trying to fold and have your hands flat on the ground, it just doesn't work. Even if I were in perfect shape, I don't think it would work! I'm still pretty flexible in spite of everything, so that helps. I also have at least a moderate ability to balance, so that is good, too. Now to work on that "strength thing"...

If yoga is something you enjoy and you are in the Birmingham area, I definitely recommend checking out Villager Yoga. On Friday, April 13th they will be having their next "Yoga & ..." class. This month it is Yoga & Art. There are still spots available if you are interested. It's $25.

Week 65

This week I decided to update on a few things on my list that I am finally ready to cross off, not because they have been completed but because they have not, and will not, be completed before the end of this 101 weeks.

1. Having a child - I am not currently pregnant. I do not anticipate becoming pregnant in the immediate future. Because a normal, full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks, baby would have to be WAY early to come in before week 101, and I hope and pray that does NOT happen. I think this is the one I've grieved the most. More on this is coming, so stay tuned if you're interested.

4. Get commissioned - you may remember back in December when I found out I would not be interviewed by the Board of Ordained Ministry and therefore not be commissioned. Yes, it's taken me several months, even knowing this, to be able to cross this off my list. Instead, I'm looking forward to living into my Season of Sabbath.

25. We anticipated writing a will to be necessary because of #1 (having a child). No kid means no will right now.

64. - I don't know if I'm just not on the e-mail list anymore or what, but I realized too late that I had totally missed the dinner for this year. Maybe next year, but not before the end of this project.

83. - Because I won't be commissioned, I can't start the APC board certification process.

85. - Although Jeff is open to going back to school someday, it's not in the cards right now. This seemed much more possible (and necessary) during his long unemployment, but now that he is very happily employed, this can wait.

There are several other things that I put on the list thinking they would be related to one of these (like knitting a blanket, learning to quilt, and making a needlepoint picture) and while they may not take the form I had originally thought they would, they're still things I'd like to at least try before the end of this project!

Tulle Wreath

This was another craft project inspired by a variety of pinterest projects. It wasn't all that hard, it just took a little bit of time. The only "tool" needed was a pair of scissors, and if you really wanted you could probably do without them.

Basically, I just bought a wreath form and several spools of tulle and started wrapping. I figured out that the pieces of tulle needed to be about a yard long, and used the very scientific measuring device of my arm. I figured out that the "about right" length was from the tip of my middle finger to all the way across my shoulders, give or take a few inches for cutting. I could bunch it up and wrap it three or four times to make a big enough section for me to be happy with it and cover up all the underneath.

The wreath form I used was a straw one. I would have preferred a foam form, but the only foam form I found at Hobby Lobby was squared and designed for flower arranging, so I went with the straw one. I really REALLY wish I had left the plastic on it. The straw made an unholy mess all over the place. Plus, the loose straw made me very itchy. So yeah, moral of the story - if you use a straw wreath, leave on the plastic!

I probably used about 65 yards of tulle, total, so just pay attention when you are buying your tulle. The green and white had glitter in them, and they were smaller rolls (about 12 yards each) and I used all of those and actually needed a little more. The pink, purple, and blue came in 25 yard rolls so I still have some of them left for other projects.

You could easily change the colors and use it for team colors, birthday, baby shower, or other holidays. I could definitely see doing another one of these!

Sugar & Spice Nuts

This is may be my new favorite treat of all time. They do take a little bit of time and attention, but just a little. I made these while seriously multi-tasking - doing laundry, making a wreath, and making candy. It would also be perfect for making on a rainy day where you want to extend very little effort, but not be bored out of your mind and end up with something very tasty!

I was very excited to discover this recipe for crock pot sugared pecans on Pinterest, but since I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon pecans, I decided to give it a shot with my rosemary cashews. When I combined them, I came up with this, and I've got to say, it's a winner.

Now, I know there are some folks out there that don't like the idea of using those slow-cooker liners because they don't like the idea of cooking in plastic because of chemicals, fumes, and whatever other yucky stuff is in there. I can totally respect that, but I think my slow cooker liner contributed to the success of this recipe!

First off, pre-heat the slow cooker on high for about 15 minutes. Then, melt a stick of butter. I had a couple of partial pieces that needed to get used, so those got thrown into the mug I used to melt my butter and I think I ended up with a little bit more. I'm from the Paula Deen school of "no such thing as too much butter" so that didn't bother me a bit. *For all my vegan friends, you could probably use about 1/2 cup of your favorite oil like canola or walnut*

I used 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. This didn't give me the same "candy coating" that you would probably get if you used just the powdered sugar, but I like the flavor of the brown sugar so I was willing to give up a little of that. Mix sugar with the nuts and butter in the slow cooker. Cover it and cook on high for about 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes, stir it up, turn your slow cooker down to low, and leave the top off! Let them cook for 2-3 hours, stirring them occasionally. I checked on mine about every 30 minutes. This is where having the slow cooker liner came in really handy because, as I stirred up the nuts, I could shake them around with the liner and make sure the melted butter and sugar that collected in the bottom could pour over the nuts. It was SO much easier and I avoided burned sugar on the bottom and clumpiness on the nuts that get stuck on the bottom.

After about two and half hours mine were looking great. No, they didn't have a hard, shiny candy coating but there was very little melted butter and sugar left on the bottom of the bag so I decided they were about done. I turned them off, and topped them with rosemary and cayenne and just a little bit of salt (because I used unsalted butter) and gave them a good mix.

I couldn't resist the temptation to take a taste of the warm, sweet, buttery goodness. They were quite fabulous. The hardest part was staying out of them!

If you try them out, let me know what you think.

A Season of Sabbath

Over the past several months, I have made a series of life and career-changing decisions. Remember my last word interaction with the Board of Ordained Ministry? Well, after the shock wore off and I was able to process everything I pretty quickly came to the understanding that this really was one of those messages from God that I couldn't ignore. Something had to change. It was time for me to take a step back from serving as clergy in the local church. Now, even though I knew that was the right decision, that doesn't mean that it didn't involve some serious pain and grief in the process of acting on it.

In February, I sent the letter to my district superintendent stating my plans to discontinue my service as a licensed local pastor. There was some seriously mixed emotions involved in that experience because I got absolutely no response or acknowledgement of this from the district office. Still, there was a certain sense of relief and freedom having done this.

In the middle of this, I applied for and was accepted to the Academy for Spiritual Formation. Our first session will be the first week of August. I've already started doing some reading and met some important people, so I'm looking forward to a great two years.

Last Sunday, I announced to my congregation that I would be leaving, which was a really difficult experience. Although there were plenty of smiles and hugs, there were also a lot of tears. Although I have two more months, I know those months will fly by before I know it.

This next season in my life will be one of rest and care for myself and allowing myself to be cared for and nurtured by others. It will also mean some firsts in our marriage, like finding a church home where we can both be connected, making friends our age in our community, and taking weekend trips for the heck of it! I am looking forward to it, but there is a little bit of fear of the unknown in these things!

In the weeks and months ahead, expect to hear more about how this season plays out!