Pepperoni Roll-Ups

Super simple, super delicious.

 Here's what you need:

1 tube Crescent Rolls (8 count)
16 slices pepperoni, cut into quarters
2 pieces string cheese, cut into quarters
Italian seasoning

Here's what you do:

1. Separate and lay out Crescent Rolls on baking sheet.
2. Place 8 pieces of pepperoni on each Crescent Roll.

3. Place one piece of string cheese at each small end of the Crescent Roll.

4. Roll string cheese up into Crescent Roll. Pinch edges to seal each one.

5. Sprinkle each roll-up with Italian Seasoning.
6. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. 

7. ENJOY!

Church

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." [Proverbs 3:5-6]

I just got home from church. It's a new church I've been going to and this was my third time there. The first time I went by myself, the second time I took Ryan with me, and this time I went by myself (we have opposite weekend work schedules so I can't make him go with me every time).

I really like this church. In some ways, it reminds me of my very favorite church in the whole entire world, United Christian Church. I wish UCC could video record their services and have them streaming on the internet so I could watch from my home and not even have to get out of my PJs but still get to be there. I miss that church and church family a lot.

This new church is called Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church. The way that I found them through my Google searching was by looking for a church that was "open and affirming." Or, as the Presbyterians say, "more light." I like open and affirming better because it's easier to understand. As I was sitting in church today and reading my bulletin, I read Saint Andrew's mission statement. This is the reason why I love this church already:

"At Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church, our mission is to love God and neighbor. As a congregation, we welcome all people into the life of the church regardless of age, sex, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, socio-economic status or marital status, physical or mental ability, or any other worldly condition. We affirm that no one should be judged or excluded for who they are. Called to be the hands, feet, and voice of Christ in the world, we work for justice for all people."

Now, you tell me--how could one read that and not fall in love? They stand for everything that I stand for when it comes to accepting all people for exactly who they are. I absolutely love that.

"I wanna see smoke comin' outta that bum when I'm done with it."

Yes, it's true. I started another Jillian Michaels workout video and she did say that while we were doing a specific move that was targeting our bum muscles. I'm not going to make a wild claim like I did last time...I'm not going to do this video every day and I'm not going to get ripped in 30 days. But I am going to try to get "Killer Buns & Thighs" to shape up my bikini body.

Following my best friend's lead, here's my life lately in photos!

Scared while attempting to shape up my buns & thighs.

I was trying on these shorts at Target and noticed a giant lump in the pocket.
There were two Super Tampons in the pocket of the shorts. Nasty. Who does that?

Out this past Tuesday with Ryan for our 1.5 year anniversary!

Filet Mignon and mashed potatoes from St. Elmo. Amazing.

I got to spend some time with my cousin before she went to Ecuador!
We have matching MAM tattoos :)

These are Pill Bugs. They like to come into my room from God knows where.
I'm pretty sure these two were doing something naughty, and I'm not cool with that.

Just some dirty foot prints in the middle of the wine/beer/liquor aisle at Walmart. Classic.

I saw this gorgeous rainbow when I was on I-65 between Indianapolis and Columbus!
I don't think I've ever seen something so beautiful in person.

I was driving from Indianapolis to Columbus to visit Cody!

This is me surrounded by the drugs that I deal. I'm also using a pen with a duct tape
flower on the top that Cody's little sister, Emily, made for me! Lime green is the best.

This is the most recent thing that I painted. This isn't the finished product,
but I'll have to wait to share it later on!

Simple Homemade Sangria

The other day I was nearing the end of my shift at work and I began to crave a yummy summery cocktail. I decided to make my own Sangria! I made it while Ryan was still at work so it was ready by the time he came over to my apartment. It was a hit!

Ingredients
1 bottle of red wine
2 lemons, cut into wedges
1 orange, cut into wedges
2 Tbsp sugar
2 cups Ginger Ale or Club Soda

1. Cut lemons and orange into wedges.

2. Pour full bottle of wine into pitcher or punch bowl

3. Squeeze juice from lemon and orange wedges into separate bowl. Pull out seeds, then add the juice to the wine and stir.

4. Add sugar and fruit wedges, then stir! Add Ginger Ale or Club Soda right before serving. ENJOY!

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.


When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.


Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.


Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.


LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.


--Unknown


Lately, I have been going through some rough times. It's hard to talk about and never in my entire life did I expect that I would ever say these words: my parents are getting a divorce. And I would be lying if I said I saw it coming and it was no big deal.

I received my Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Hanover in 2005 and I am currently in grad school at Butler to get my Masters in School Counseling. Despite having studied psychology and school counseling, I am having just as hard of a time with this situation as anyone else would. In fact, I might be having a worse time. I wish that thinking rationally about everything could make it easier, but it just doesn't work that way. It's hard, and it's a process.

I began seeing a counselor at Butler a few months ago. Their counseling services are free for Butler students and they have staff counselors, doctoral interns, and masters interns who work there. I ended up working with a Masters intern named Rebekah. I was reluctant to open up to her at the beginning, but she soon earned my trust and I felt very comfortable talking to her about anything. I always said from the beginning that I "didn't want to talk about it," it meaning the divorce. I also don't like saying that word. Talking about it made it real, and you can't pretend that it's not happening if you believe it's real.

Today was my last session with Rebekah. It was devastating and affected the rest of my day. I hadn't realized how connected I felt with my counselor until we only had a couple sessions left and I had to face the fact that I wouldn't see her again. It hurts like a loss, because the therapeutic relationship isn't meant to continue on forever.

Rebekah was in my life for a REASON.
"They have come to assist you through a difficulty; to provide you with guidance and support; to aid you physically, emotionally and spiritually."

She also had to leave my life for a REASON.
"Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end."

Unfortunately, her internship was only one year long and it was always the plan that she would only be working at Butler until the end of April. Although I knew that in the back of my mind, not thinking about it was so much easier than thinking about it.

Rebekah was also in my life for a SEASON.
"They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it. It is real. But only for a season."

Our connection as counselor and client was strong. And it was real. I felt like I had made a best friend and then right when we were starting to have a great time together and really make some progress, I had to say goodbye to her. I compared it to having a friend that was dying and you knew she was dying, but it's still hard even though you know the exact date. She said she liked to think of it as our paths going in different directions, but to me, my path was continuing and hers was ending.

Yesterday was a really hard day. It was my last session with Rebekah, which was much more emotional than I thought it would be. Plus, sometimes when people say really nice things about me, it makes me cry. I was already crying because it was our last session, and to top it off, she said a bunch of really nice things about me. Unfortunately, I had to work at 1pm, so I was still a little frazzled when I went into work, which is always fun.

I had also written a little letter to her talking about all of the progress I felt I had made with her as my counselor. I had grown to be able to trust her to be the keeper of my story, but she was leaving. I have the decision now to continue counseling with someone else or to end counseling. I have the card of a woman who has agreed to take me on as a client and she is a staff counselor at Butler, so I won't have the same problem of getting attached to someone right before they are leaving.

I know my journey through this process is not over and I have a long ways to go. I'll get there, it'll just take time. It's a really hard thing to try to work through and I'm trying my best. It's just hard.

"It is evident that you have so much love for those you care about. You love deeply and this is definitely a strength of yours. May your love for your family lead you on to more healing and growth in this area, and may your journey be your own." --Rebekah

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Best part about these cookies? Except for the butter, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips, they're HEALTHY! Ok, not really healthy, exactly. But I took the original recipe and substituted some of the ingredients with healthier options.

To start, I got the original recipe from the back of a chocolate chip bag. Ryan and I love to eat chocolate chips straight from the freezer. That's where I keep them, in the freezer. My mom kept them in the freezer, so that's what I do, even though I really don't know why!

Our favorite kind of chocolate chips are Market Pantry Semi-Sweet. In case any of you live in a cave and don't know this, Market Pantry is Target's store brand. They are delicious! On the bag it says "rich & creamy" and boy are they right! They are better than any other brand name ever and I know this because I have tried every single chocolate chip brand ever in the whole world.

Here it is with my alterations:

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated Splenda (or store brand equivalent)
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp packed Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 2-1/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 pkg (6 oz.) Market Pantry Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 pkg (5 oz.) Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Beat butter, both sugars, and vanilla on medium speed until creamy. Beat in eggs until light and fluffy.

3. Blend in flour, soda and salt on low speed until mixed. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2-inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

4. Bake 7 minutes or until top of cookie is slightly firm to touch. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes; remove to wire racks.

Now, before you go and make these cookies, there are just a couple things you need to know about baking with Splenda instead of sugar.

Cookies made with Splenda don't turn golden brown like regular cookies. That's why "bake until edges are golden brown" doesn't work as one of the steps--because the edges don't get brown.

Cookies--and other baked goods--made with Splenda also bake faster than those made with sugar. Therefore, when the directions said to bake 8 to 11 minutes, I set the microwave timer for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, the cookies were baked perfectly and ready to be taken out of the oven. My general rule is to set the alarm for a minute or two before the shortest baking time recommended, then I check them to see if they need more time and adjust my timer accordingly.

Another thing about these cookies is that while I was stirring in the chocolate and peanut butter chips, I was finding that the chips were being mixed throughout the dough, but not really getting mixed into the dough. I don't know if that makes sense, but basically if I tried to use a spoon to scoop out the dough onto the baking sheet, it would have all fallen apart instead of staying in a nice little round ball. So instead I used my hands to mold the dough into tablespoon-size balls to place on the baking sheet.

Lastly, these cookies will not flatten. The baking soda helps them rise a little bit, but after the first dozen came out of the oven, I found that if I flattened the balls and molded them into a normal cookie shape before I baked them, they came out looking like regular cookies instead of cookie balls. That sounds weird. Whatever.

Enjoy!

Life Lately in Photos

Hello! I haven't been blogging for a while, and I must say it feels good to be back.

I borrowed the title for this blog from my best friend Sarah [<---click on her name to view her blog!]. I love when she does these posts, so I decided to do my own! I haven't blogged in a long time, so I have a LOT of photos to share.

My mom usually sends me holiday care packages and these window decorations were from my mama in October 2010! I saved them to use again this past October and I have been too lazy to take them down. I was looking at them the other day and noticed there's a fly that got stuck on one of the pumpkins and died...oops. That's pretty sick.

Speaking of NASTY INSECTS...see this lovely little thing? I found it in my apartment. More specifically, I found it in my BED. I'm getting the chills just thinking about it!!! We have since had our apartment sprayed for spiders.

I decided one day to try curling my hair with my flatiron. I think it turned out really well! Ryan told me I look like January Jones in Mad Men. I'll take that as a compliment :)

I hate to say it, but I love energy drinks. I used to have an obsession, then I quit cold turkey, but now I'm back on them. I found this new Rockstar at a Speedway gas station this past Thursday. It is blueberry, pomegranate, and acai flavored and it's delicious. Have I ever mentioned that I love going to the gas station for anything other than buying gas?

This past Tuesday after work I met my friend Cortney at Cinema Grill on the North side of Indianapolis. It's a movie theater that is filled with tables and comfy chairs and they have a server walking around so you get to order food and eat it during the movie! It's a really cool idea and the ticket for the movie was only $7.50, which is already $2.50 cheaper than a regular movie theater, PLUS you get to eat dinner while you watch!

 This is the inside of CInema Grill. Terrible picture quality, but you get the idea.

What do you get when you mix everything pictured above plus one egg and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees?

Healthy homemade granola bars! I got this recipe here [<---click the word "here" to see the awesome Tumblr!] and I added chocolate chips to make them a little sweeter! They taste soooo good, they're healthy, and it's a great snack to bring with me to work to tide me over between breakfast and lunch.

Finally, a picture of me with Ryan! Whenever we have any free time, it seems like we are always driving up north to the mall to go shopping. I'm pretty certain that Ryan likes to shop more than I do, and he'll definitely be the second to admit that, if not first. The two of us together in a mall isn't the greatest thing for either of our bank accounts, but we sure have fun together! This picture was taken before we went shopping one day. I just love him so much :)