countdowns

so on igoogle, i have a couple countdowns, and one exciting one is coming to a close:

64 days until the wedding
57 days until For One Chicago
43 days until John Perkins Let Justice Roll conference
1 day until Andrew moves to Chicago!

So I made it: the summer is "over" and I have my andrew back in chicago.
In current news; I'm sick with a cold/sinus infection type thing and it really sucks. I'm tired, achey, stuffy/runny nose, cough, sore throat. I think it's from running myself into the ground the summer with work and life, so I'm ready for everything to slowly calm down.

The invitations are in progress!


































AND the bridesmaid dresses came in yesterday, I tried one on and they are SO CUTE. They are kind of slimmer cut, and don't flair out which I love, they are traditional but non traditional at the same time. Although I wish I had gotten a different color now, purple with no bow, or black with a white bow. I love the brown still though, just you know, changing my mind as usual. never the less I still love them and think they are beautiful.

95 days. That's under a hundred. I feel like once we're under a hundred things are going to fly. In a month it'll be 60 days, then 30, then it's time! I can't wait. I can't wait for our honeymoon...I might actually get to fly to CO in August (to Littleton) for a Perspectives Conference, and so I'm excited to scope out our honeymoon state.
Really I'm excited for the honeymoon. We don't have huge things planned, we are just going to lounge, relax together, hike, explore, of course go out to eat. Just r-e-l-a-x.

Also, we get the keys to our new apt on August 1st. 5152 N Christiana, Apt 2. The minute I pick up the keys I am getting in an Igo and gonig to get a carpet shampooer. If I'm going to live in this apt for 4 years, it's going to be spotless when we move in!

Also, registeries are SO exciting and greedy. I love asking and getting for what we want, but thinking about all the money people are spending to buy us stuff is sickening kind of. I'm glad we don't have to buy that stuff, but I have perfectly good plates, cups, bowls, spoons, ect at my own home now, but I just keep forgetting THIS new stuff is going to last us 20 years. Like...we may not be able to use our grill all the time for the next 4 years, but after we get a house or whatever, we'll have more room and space! Crazy to think about life. life life life.

my favorite things

two links

i love these invitations...i must find some way to incorporate them into mine.

















AND (!)
i know this is kind of lame, but we were in the escanaba newspaper for our engagement; which is awesome!

skinny bitch in the kitch

Regardless of the kind of 'cute/offensive" title of this book, I thought I'd be adventureous and make good use of this cook book I bought a few months back. I made the "Chocolate Chip Cookies" and they are TO DIE FOR. Suz was hanging around when I made them and I'm pretty sure we were both a little nervous. The recipie called for "Coconut Oil" but Trader Joe's didn't have it (Whole Foods does for $10) so I just used Vegetable Oil...which was ok. It worked alright, but I'm sure if I used the ingrediance the recipie called for, they would have not been so crumbly.

Regardless of the crumbles, they are SO GOOD. I couldn't believe it, and I Suz died when she tried them. Here is the recipe as follows in the book.


2 1/2 Cups whole wheat pastry flour (whole foods has it for 69c a lb)
1/2 tbls baking soda
1 tsp fine sea salt (i just used my pepper grinder with corse sea salt)
1 1/2 cups evaporated cane sugar (2.50 at TJ or WF for a huge bag)
1 1/4 cup refined coconut oil (I used vegetable oil...it was ALOT of oil)
1/4 cup ice water
1 tbls molasses
1/2 tbls vanilla extract
1 package (vegan) chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 and line baking sheets with parchment.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a bowl w/ a standing mixer/hand mixer, combine sugar and coconut oil, mixing on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 mins. Add the water, molasses, and vanilla, mixing until well combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in 3-4 additions, mixing each addition until almost fully incorporated. Add in the chocolate chips and nuts, if using, mixing until just combined.
Arrange 2-tbls-sized balls of cookie dough 2 inches apart on pre-pared baking sheets. Bake for 13 to 15 mins, until the edges are slightly browned and the centers are set. Thoroughly cool on a cooling rack.
makes about 48 cookies

let me tell you a story

yesterday i was doing something reminiscing about my days when I was heavily involved in worship arts at NP and at my home church. I distinctly remember talking with Meredith and my mom one day and said "God has NOT called me to missions...I am a worship ministry person. I will support others who do it, but not me" Little did I know within the next 5 years of my life I would fall in love with missions, discover my gifts of leadership and administration really did match together, and would all blend into my current job I have within our Outreach ministry here at Park. Yesterday, I found out about this cool organization that my friend Meghan worked at after college called LeaderTreks. Seriously ya'll...this combines Andrew and I's passions of missions and youth ministry into one great organization. I couldn't believe it when Meghan started talking about what the organization was about, because a light bulb went on in my head. Andrew and I have slightly been talking about what to do after Seminary...go on the mission field? Stay in the city? Move somewhere else in the country to find jobs similar to the ones we already have here in Chicago?

Anyways: i really enjoy this song by Britt Nicole that I heard this morning when i was driving to work. Here are the lyrics:

Britt Nicole - Set The World On Fire
From the album Say It

I wanna set the world on fire
Until it's burning bright for You
It's everything that I desire
Can I be the one You use?

Chorus:
I, I am small but
You, You are big enough
I, I am weak but
You, You are strong enough to
Take my dreams
Come and give them wings
Lord with You
There's nothing I can not do
Nothing I cannot do

I wanna feed the hungry children
And reach across the farthest land
And tell the broken there is healing
And mercy in the Father's hands

Chorus:

My hands my feet
My everything
My life, my love
Lord, use me

I wanna set the world on fire
I wanna set the world on fire, yeah

Chorus:

I'm gonna set the world on fire
Set the world on fire

wierded out

so i'm not engaged yet, but my freaking wedding is haunting me. i don't want to be irresponsible and not plan ahead (especially since i have no idea when we'll be engaged), but i just really want to be married. why do weddings cost so much!? why do we have 240 on our guest list!? why does my family take up 75% of the "family list"? if i didn't have to invite them, this could actually be affordable.
i just want to spend the money we need to spend, and then be like..oh! it came out to the amount we wanted.
so many things in my life are coming up that cost a lot of money. first; rent. i hate paying rent. i hate it. it's money i will never see ever again. second; seminary. i really just hope andrew gets in, we get the scholarship, and rent can be as minimal as possible on campus. third; (this is just a comment) i hate buying people things. i don't know why it has to cost us $x of money to have people come that i HAVE to invite because we are related, but never talk to. If i could have it my way, i would invite people i see on a regular basis, our grandparents, our mutual friends that i want to spend time with, and hardly any extended family.

anyways...i feel like the pressure will be on once we're actually engaged and i want to have this wedding planned as soon as humanly possible. God has been so generous to us already in little things we've thought/planned, so i just hope services like photography/videography/ect will be as inexpensive as humanly possible. Or we could win a million dollars and we can pay off loans/wedding/ect.

brats are back!

This morning we were greeted by a bratwurst suspending over this giant grill in front of our building, along with a digital count-down clock to daylight savings time! Because of this, everyone has been buzzing about how they want a bratwurst, and I just googled "john hancock, johnsonville brat". Little did I know that this Friday, the biggest event of our time here at the John Hancock will happen...even bigger than Girl Scouts in the lobby selling cookies!

Johnsonville’s “Larger-than-life Bratwurst Drop” at John Hancock Plaza on Friday, March 7th from 11am until 1pm!

At 12:00 Noon, Two Dudes will count down to the drop of a giant brat. This oversized, plump bratwurst will drop from a crane onto the two-story grill while hundreds cheer, “drop that brat!”

All this is celebrating Daylight Savings Time, which means an extra hour of sunlight and more time to get outside and fire up the grill!

Johnsonville’s “Larger-than-life Bratwurst Drop”

Friday, March 7th

The Plaza at the John Hancock Building

(Michigan Avenue side of the Hancock Building)