Takin' Care of Business

WHOOHOO! We are in the double digits, people! After weeks and months of 100's of days until our wedding alerts, this makes it feel like it's actually within my reach! Using a race analogy, we're not quite to the sprinting point, but we're definitely picking up the pace because the finish line (or in this case, the beginning line) is in sight!

As excited as I am about this, I have to admit that it makes me a weeeeee bit anxious (I refuse to be stressed). While we have all of the big stuff booked, there are a lot of little details that we (I) still have to get in order before the big day. Looks like I'll be creating a to-do list like no other.

But it looks like this milestone day has come just in the nick of time. Last weekend, my family was in town for my sister's orientation and my parents were able to get a lot of wedding stuff done. They were able to confirm the order, drop off supplies, and talk to Olexa's about our cake. They were also able to figure out the bridesmaids brunch and our bouquets. This weekend, some of Jason's family is in town so we're figuring out the rehearsal dinner, figuring out the tux/suit situation, and shopping. Today, I ordered my dress for the rehearsal dinner.

So, as you can see, things are coming a long nicely! I guess I really don't have any reason to be stressed...or uh...anxious, right? We're takin' care of biznuss!

As fun as all this wedding planning is, I'm ready to experience a wedding other than my own. Next weekend Jason and I will be headed to beautiful North Carolina to see two of our friends get married. I am beyond excited for them and overly ecstatic for our little mini vacay!

Before I end today's post, let me take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for all of the fathers out there. Father's Day is a very special day. Not only do I have a wonderful dad, but I am also very blessed to be able to spend this Father's Day with my future father-in-law. Jason and I are so very blessed to have two amazing men in our lives who are there to guide us spiritually, physically, financially, and prayerfully through this new phase of life. My dad has never had a son before and Jason's dad has never had a daughter...I think we're both equally excited to officially become part of each others families in September!

Well, I better quit rambling and get to working on my to-do list! Have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy the sunshine & Happy Father's Day :)

“The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.” - Proverbs 23:24

Veggies for the Picky Man's Soul

In the midst of being out of town, having family in town, and just living life, I haven't had a chance to get to the store this week. I was kind of tired of eating every meal out, so I decided to throw together some veggie lasagna.

I found a recipe for this a while back from the Martha Stewart website and had put it aside for a rainy day. Last night ended up being just that...a rainy day with veggie lasagna for dinner.

I love veggies. Usually, the more the merrier. But unfortunately, my fantastic fiance doesn't love veggies like he loves me...or even really like them.

Therefore I adapted this recipe to make everyone happy. I made two thirds of the lasagna with spinach and a third without. If you have a picky eater in your house...this might just do the trick!

Half-Veggie Lasagna (yields 8):
Ingredients

• 4 c. (32 ounces) part skim-milk ricotta cheese
• 2 large eggs
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess moisture
• 6 c. store-bought or homemade tomato sauce
• 12 no-boil whole wheat lasagna noodles (8 ounces)
• 1 lb. mozzarella cheese (4 cups), shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese, eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour about 1/3 of the mixture into a separate bowl. Add spinach (to the larger portion), and stir well to combine.
2. Spread a small bit of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish or dishes. Arrange a layer of lasagna noodles on top. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, followed by 1/3 of the remaining sauce; sprinkle with 1/3 of the grated cheese (make sure to pick which side you're going to have be the non-veggie side; pick a side and stick with it). Repeat to make two more layers, ending with cheese.
3. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil; continue baking until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Let cool slightly before serving.

I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture...but it should look a little something like this:

Source

Keep in mind that you can also split the recipe in halves instead of thirds. We had some guests eating with us last night, so I wanted to make more with spinach and less for Jason.

I'll keep the rambling to a minimum for today.

Happy Tuesday!

One for the Books

This weekend was definitely "one for the books"!

Friday night started off with a little tour downtown with some friends from one (one of my bridesmaids and one of my flower girls to be exact).

Reese (age 8), was taken with my scarf collection and the Vulcan, but not so much with Reese St. or her lemon popsicle.

We ate a wonderful Greek dinner at Taziki's, complete with three Friday Specials and one grilled cheese :) I love having a kid around. Even things like what they order for dinner cracks me up. 

We'd told her about the new place in Homewood, Steel City Pops. Jason and I had not had a chance to try it yet, and we've heard wonderful things about it, so we took Chastity and Reese after dinner (well, first we made a quick pit stop at the Vulcan because Reese was very interested in the statue man).

Unfortunately, since Jason and I had never been there before we didn't really know how to advise Reese on what to get. She doesn't like pieces of fruit in things, so her choice of a lemon popsicle kinda threw her off. But we all had fun anyway! Jason enjoyed his Blood Orange pop, Chastity rolled with coconut, and I ventured out to strawberry  balsamic. All three of us loved ours!

We even got her picture on Reese Street (although I don't think she really wanted to get out of the car in the middle of the road to take a picture...oh well)!

Saturday morning the girlies and I woke up and started cleaning and organizing everything for my shower. My family came in town around lunchtime and sent me away while they decorated and got the food ready. Reese and I went to get manicures.

Reese with her purple glitter nails after her first manicure!

When I got back the apartment was all decorated and it was breathtaking! Carlee, Julia, Chastity, and my mom had put in so much hard work! I loved it so much!

The shower was definitely a success! I loved every minute of it and it was so wonderful to see some friends who I haven't seen in a while!

We ended the night at the mall. I really don't spend a lot of time just "hanging out" at the mall like I did back in the day :) Chastity and I did the photo booth with Reese. Julia, Shara, and Reese rode the carousel. We grabbed some dinner, and ended the evening with a little window shopping.

Reese and Shara on the carousel.

Sunday we got out the door just in time. Jason, Julia, and I had planned on doing our engagement photo shoot Sunday morning. Julia is an extremely talented photographer, and we just knew she was the girl for this job!

I'd say that the morning was a success! We had a little rain, but honestly I think it made the pictures even better!

We spent the rest of the day hanging out with my family and went to the evening service at church with Julia and Shara :)

Amazingly enough, this weekend was so great that I don't even need to keep on rambling! It was one for the books and we've got the pictures to prove it.

Prayer Focus of the Day: Pray for high school and college graduates as they are in a time of transition. Graduation is over, everyone is moved, and now is the time that all of the life changes really start to sink in. My sister Carlee is going through orientation at Samford today and tomorrow. I know that it's an extremely exciting time for her (as well as all of the other incoming freshies), but it can also be scary and unknown. Pray for peace, wisdom, courage, and strength for those you know who are experiencing this transition right now.

Evolution of Engagement

Welp, it's official - Jason and I are no longer neighbors.

Last night as he was locking the door to 1662 B for the last time, I really wanted to be sad. I think that I was sad inside but as much as I wanted to embrace that emotion, there was something holding me back. I think that the joy of moving forward and getting one step closer to "my" apartment becoming "our" apartment was overriding any sadness that I was feeling.

That's a good thing, right?

Jason turning in his keys.

Anywhoo...

Busy weekend take three will start this afternoon. I feel like I've been moving and cleaning and washing and cleaning for two weeks! There is something really satisfying about knowing that I'll walk into a clean apartment this evening, so the work that we've been putting in for the last few weeks is paying off.

Like I said, one step closer to "my" becoming "our".

Wednesday night I made one of the Sansom/Morales household staples for dinner: Buffalo Chicken

Crock pot Buffalo Chicken:
Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/4 c. chili sauce
• 1 packed Hidden Valley dry ranch dressing

Directions

1. Spray the inside of the crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place raw chicken inside the crock pot.
3. Top with chili sauce and sprinkle dry ranch dressing on top.
4.  Set crock pot to 8 hours on low.
5. After it's cooked, shred chicken. Buffalo chicken can be served a variety of ways (sandwich, plain, salad, etc.)

Jason at his Buff Chick as a sandwich with corn on the cob. I ate mine plain with a little shredded cheese and salsa on top. I made a salad with feta cheese and balsamic vinegar to go on the side.

It's Friday, so the rambling will be kept to a minimum. I hope you all enjoy this weekend and I'll write again on Monday!

“GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” - Habakkuk 3:19

Back to the Basics

As promised, today I have a food post. I've got pictures and I've even got a recipe for you!

Monday was a rainy day in Birmingham. Although it cleared up before I got home from work, I'd already set my sights on some soup and salad for dinner. I'm a huge fan of chicken noodle soup and so is Jason. I have adapted my recipe from a recipe that I found online almost a year ago. My version tends to send Jason into a blast from the past because he swears it tastes just like his grandma's recipe.

Chicken Soup with Orzo (serves 8):
Ingredients

• 1 box of orzo
• 1 lb.boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 can carrots
• 4 chicken bullion cubes
• 8 c. water
• Nature's Season by Morton to taste
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. Add 8 cups of water to a large pot. Set on medium/high heat and bring to a boil.
2. While the water is boiling, cube the chicken breast and saute it in a skillet. Add seasonings to taste.
3. When water is almost boiling, add bullion cubes and stir in seasonings to taste.
4. When water begins to boil, add whole box of Orzo.
5. Let the soup boil for 7 minutes. 
6. After 7 minutes, add the can of carrots (strain the liquid out) and the chicken.
7. Let boil for 3-5 more minutes.

I served my soup with a side salad made with romaine lettuce, feta cheese, and balsamic vinegar. Perfect for a sort of rainy evening!

Last night, Jason and I needed a date. We are quickly coming to learn that we have to make time for each other without any distractions. In the craziness of the tour ending and Jason getting reacquainted with living in Birmingham full-time, traveling, Jason moving, wedding planning, and just living life, we've kind of made our "Jason and Jessica time" less of a priority. Even if we are together, we're usually with other people or we're constantly on our phones or computers.

Tuesday had to be date night. We discussed putting it off until Wednesday or Thursday since we had to do some more moving and we actually had small group. But honestly, if we put it off last night, we probably would have put it off until next week. We're also learning that putting other things on the back burner for time together is important.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that Jason and I enjoy being social together. We enjoy being together with other people. It makes life a lot easier, fun, and we love our friends dearly. I honestly never thought we'd be the type of couple that struggled with having enough time together, but another thing I'm learning is that time together (meaning in the same room) doesn't always equal time together (meaning with no distractions).

The point: last night we went on a date.

Jason had purchased a Groupon for The Fish Market in Hoover. Neither of us had ever been there before, so we were excited to experience it for the first time!

The food was DELICIOUS! I'm usually super hesitant about ordering seafood anywhere that isn't near a large body of water, but this was definitely an exception to the rule.

I attempted to be healthy, but I ended up just making last night my splurge night. I had grilled grouper, popcorn shrimp, steamed broccoli, a baked potato, and hushpuppies. Jason ordered a lobster tail with fries and corn on the cob.

I rolled out of there feeling quite full. I also ordered a Diet Coke to go and left it on the table. I hate it when I do that!

After dinner we went to Target because Jason had something to return, and well, I love Target (it's my happy place). While we were there we decided to look at some of their furniture. We walked away last night with a dresser and chest of drawers! Obviously, they both need to be assembled, but that's Jason's project for the next few weeks :)

I just love Target.

While we were there, I also tried the Light Mocha Coconut Frapp from Starbucks. Totally yummy, but I doubt I'll get it again any time soon. Maybe I should have held out for some froyo? Oh well, ya live and ya learn!

Official moving day is coming up quickly for Jason (tomorrow), along with a super busy (but super fun) weekend! Please keep us in  your prayers as we adjust to all of these transitions and changes.

I'm sure you're tired of me rambling on about my date last night, but what can I say, it was much needed and totally exceeding my expectations!

Happy Wednesday everyone - the weekend is just around the corner!

Ever & Never Changing

When I started writing consistently, my primary focus was to share about my battle with food that I've struggled with for years and years. I've never labeled myself as a "writer" and I've never labeled this blog as a "health blog" or a "food blog". That was intentional. So I apologize, because even though I do have a recipe to share with all of you (complete with pictures), I'm not going to write about food today.

Life is messy and life is full of surprises. Some good, some bad, and some just...well...surprising. We grow, sometimes willfully and sometimes not so willfully. We stretch beyond our comfort zone through life transitions. And sometimes, we avoid transition at all costs.

Sometimes I'd really appreciate one of these!
Source

Usually, I'm pretty good with big change. My sister graduating high school has made me reminisce on my own high school graduation, and I didn't even cry about it once. I was super involved in my high school and I loved every moment of it, but I was ready for the the transition from high school to college. Graduating from college was tough because I loved Samford, my friends, and my college life so much, but in the end, I don't recall it being that difficult. I knew it was time to transition out of college and into the world.

Our lives are full of little changes and transitions, and if I'm honest, I don't deal with those as well as I do the big stuff. I think I handle the big stuff more gracefully because of the day-to-day plans that I make and the schedule I cling to. When I lose control of my day-to-day plans, I lose control of everything.

I am constantly reminded that I am not in control. I've written about it before. But when it feels like everything around me is in transition, and I'm having to get used to new thing after new thing, I put a death grip on my day-to-day plans -- I put a death grip on my ability to control.

Source

Lately, it seems as though nothing is the same day-to-day. Each day there's something new or something different. I'm combining the life that I've been building for 23 years with a man who's been building a separate life for 25 years. Do I want that? OF COURSE! I want nothing more than to get married on September 22nd to the man of my dreams, so please don't think I'm complaining. But I must admit (not for the first time and probably not for the last): this transition stuff is hard work.

Throughout this process, I know that God is sanctifying and stretching me. He's teaching me to die to myself. He's teaching me to let go of my comforts. He's teaching me to let someone else lead. He's teaching me to see the big picture, to gain some perspective rather than live in this valley of the unknown.
I know that scripture tells me each of these things is good and of the Lord. But scripture also teaches me about change.

Source

Scripture tells us that change in us is a good thing. 

When we become believers, the bible tells us that we are made new. 
"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." - 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 

"I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed." - 1 Corinthians 15:50-52

God changes things according to His sovereign plan for us.

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
     to whom belong wisdom and might.
He changes times and seasons;
     he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
     and knowledge to those who have understanding;
he reveals deep and hidden things;
     he knows what is in the darkness,
     and the light dwells with him."

 - Daniel 2:20-22

Our hearts are changed when we call upon the name of the Lord. 
“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
    to a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord
    and serve him with one accord."
- Zephaniah 3:9  

Jesus' birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection changed the course of history for the rest of eternity.  
"and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel." - Acts 6:13-15

Scripture also tells us that there is One who will never change.

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." - Malachi 3:6

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." - Hebrews 13:8


How glorious it is to know that God is sovereign over the change and transitions in our lives, and that will never change!! 

 

Moving & Moving Forward

Wow -

As I began this Monday I now have a sister who is a high school graduate. Jason and I enjoyed Carlee's graduation weekend in Destin/Fort Walton.

Friday consisted of good food, lots of family, and that memorable moment when they said, "Carlee Anna Sansom" and she walked across the stage. After graduation, my parents and Carlee's boyfriend's parents had put together a wonderful party for them just down the road.

Carlee and Tyler (her boyfriend) were "Preschool Sweethearts" (as we like to say).

They're old pros at this whole graduating thang :)

My wittle swister is moving forward.

By the end of this week, Jason and I will hopefully

• Have Jason moved in to his summer residence 
• Have a lot of Jason's stuff moved into my apartment for storage
• Have a working and functional washing machine (finally!)
• Have tons more wedding planning done
• Have our engagement pictures taken (finally!)
• Have done tons of random things in between all of these huge things and both worked a 40 hour week!

Jason and I are moving forward - and Jason's a-movin'! 

In the midst of all of this, I MUST get back to eating right. Last week I got my blood work results and everything was fine except my cholesterol was a tad bit high and my insulin levels were high. Praise God that there is nothing more serious. I know that I MUST focus on eating according to the plan that the doctor gave me (I'll share that later this week) and exercise regularly. I also know from experience that during a time of lots of celebrations and transitions, it's very very hard to stay focused on a healthy lifestyle. I am praying for focus and discipline during this time.

I am wanting to cook dinner at home a couple of nights this week, so stay tuned for recipes. If all goes as planned, I may have some good ones up my sleeve :)

Now that you all feel sufficiently caught up on my life, I'll quit rambling. Happy Monday everyone!

Prayer Focus of the Day: Today I am praying for focus and discipline. Titus 1:7-9 says, "For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it." I am praying myself and for each of you friends and readers that these characteristics would define our inward and outward lives.