Inspiration for the week...

This week was probably one of the craziest, not nice, poop week in the world, but I'm working on seeing the glass as half full instead of half empty, so here are the wonderful things that helped me push through to the weekend.

1. Great music



2. Great coffee



3. Great friends



4. Pinterest




Happy weekend, loves! Here's to cooler weather, comfy clothes, and weekend playlists that make you happy!

I'm a weddingaholic

To celebrate my 300 day mark, I'd like to provide you with a list of wedding planning pet peeves

1. Random people who assume they are going to be invited to the wedding. Friends of friends, the guy from Starbucks, etc. I especially hate it when people I never spoke to suddenly want to be my bff because they might get invited for a free evening out and the chance to meet a husband (in the Christian world anyway)
2. Wedding vendors that do not respond to your emails with, "first of all, congratulations!" Seriously, I know this is a little bridezilla of me, but I'm potentially going to book you for my wedding at your enormously overly inflated cost, at least congratulate me. It's good business people.
3. When wedding vendors (regardless of whether or not it is 'wedding season') take 2 months to send me quotes. Chances are, I will not book with you if it took you 2 months to give me a quote.
4. When wedding vendors completely fail to email me back at all. For example, I asked a restaurant/catering company in Elmhurst if they would give me a quote. I was quite interested in this company being that they serve everything family style and I had heard their food was very good. The woman was very prompt in responding to my email but failed to include how much gratuity would be, would not factor in the cost of labor (she simply listed how much each waiter/chef would be per hour on the side and left the rest for me) and informed me that their restaurant does not supply linens or china and that I would have to use their specific rental company that they are contracted with to rent these items and factor that into my overall quote. She said she could forward me a list of prices on linens and china. I responded asking her to please do this, to which I never received an email back. This. is. bad. business.!!!
5. When wedding vendors act as if it is a favor that they are doing me to give me a tour of their facility or to take 5 minutes out their "very busy" schedule to talk to me. Do you not understand that I am considering BOOKING with your company for my WEDDING and paying you MONEY. I recognize that I am probably not your highest paying customer, however, you do not know that when I originally call for information or for a tour. For all you know, you could be flushing 30 or 40 grand down the toilet by treating me like I am inconveniencing you. How rude.

So ladies, if you are newly engaged, take heart. This is one of the only times in your life where you can act like a biotch and get away with it. The other time is when you are pushing a child the size of a watermelon out of your uterus.

What the...

How much for CHICKEN!? Almost 9 GRAND? Without hor devours??? Or alcohol!! Good Lord, I might as well pay the extra for the booze because I'm going to need it after that announcement...

We're eloping.

I need more hipster clothes...

I am a non-art major at a primarily art focused school

I feel compelled to keep up with the trendy individualism all the crazy art people portray

I need to buy more hipster clothes.

H&M trip anyone?

Additionally...

Why are people really not embarrassed that I, and everyone else who knew them in highschool/college, can tell that they used their college graduation money to get a boob job? Seriously.

Just FYI

It's summer. Which means that lots of people are outside. For some reason, my neighbor's son thinks it's nice to invite his little 16 year old girlfriend over to swim in their pool, which is pretty nice I guess. The not nice part is that after he makes out with her 20 minutes once in the pool, he precedes to attempt dunking her, at which she screams at the top of her lungs, a shrill, piercing scream. Little girl, this message is for you:

Girls who scream like that deserve one thing; to be punched in the throat. So, if you come over to my neighborhood, and you see me relaxing nicely on my patio or in my own pool, minding my own business, don't scream, because the next time it happens, I'm probably going to stroll on over, let myself into the yard, and then punch you in the throat. It will probably be just a reflex, so you really can't get upset about it. You should probably stop screaming. I'm actually liable to do it twice.

Sincerely,
Me, who wakes up at 5:00am and works with snot nosed, screaming, crying, complaining children all freaking day long.

You know you've been in childcare for way too long when...

1. You think it's kinda funny when kids fall off of stuff/into stuff/just fall in general.
2. You take pride in the fact that you walked into the classroom, and 20 children shut up in utter fear.
3. You tell kids that if they chant "all hail plankton" or "you're fired!" one more time, you're going to throw them over the fence.
4. When 5 year old boys ask you if you can crack their heads open on rocks and watch their brains ooze out like an egg, you don't exactly consider it, but let's just leave it at that...
5. Things that seemed stupid to you 4 years ago are awesome now. Like chasing a butterfly for 20 minutes straight.
6. Cleaning up poop, pee, barf, blood, sweat, etc doesn't really phase you anymore.
7. You get giddy over getting the opportunity to leave the classroom for an hour to do paperwork.
8. Outside of work, it takes everything in you not to reprimand other people's children, even random children in the mall or at the park or in line at Starbucks.
9. People think that because you work in childcare, it's ok to just dump their kid on you when they don't feel like being a parent.
10. You have no problem telling that said parent to actually be a parent or else they have to pay you.
11. You know exactly how, when, and where you're going to raise your own children, but having kids still freaks that crap out of you.
12. You can tell which kids are going to require a little more supervision (to put it nicely) the second they walk in the door.
13. Phrases like "Ms. Randomladiesname, you look so beautiful today used to flatter you, but now you just become suspicious.
14. You can pull random new and creative games/stories/crafts out of your butt like no tomorrow, but ask you to a simple math equation, and you're screwed.
15. At the end of the day, when you're tired and probably would jump off of a bridge at the sound of one more child's voice, you know you'll still come back tomorrow because you love the little boogers way too much.

Furthermore...

My new favorite past time is asking the five year olds, each individually if they like my ring and on a scale of one to ten how sparkly do they think it is. Then I take my hand away as they are admiring it's shimmering gloriousness and say, "It's mine, go away"

I've been working in childcare way too long.

How you know you have been drinking too much for too long

You start assigning nick names to your alcohol:

Zinfindel: Zinf.

Samuel Adams Beer: Sam.

Leinenkugels Beer: Linnies.

Trader Joe's Charles Shaw Wine (AKA, Two Buck Chuck): Chuck.

And it goes on...that being said, my parent's conversation tonight went as follows:

Dad: Susie, you want a Sam or some of the chuck?
Mom: Eh, I could go for some sammie.
Dad: Ok

5 minutes later

Dad: Here you go, it's frosty!


Also, last week I had a conversation with someone about nice wine. In my opinion, anything in the price range of 7-10 dollars is nice. I didn't even know that wine was sold for hundreds of dollar sometimes. I guess I fail, but wine makes me barf a little anyway.

That being said, I've quit drinking.

Deal of the Day

I am an expert at dressing my fantastically unstylish fiance in designer clothing, turning him from frumpy musician who slightly resembles a homeless man into a snobby prep fresh fresh out of Wheaton, IL. This week, we had a rehearsal dinner to go to. Geoff wanted to wear his Target slacks that he bought in 10th grade, so I went out and scouted these:



How much do you ask? $20.00

Then I swung on over to the women's section and purchased this little number (for $14 bucks!)

American Eagle Outfitters dress (see more floral dresses)

You have a frumpy musician fiance who slightly resembles a homeless man as well, you say? Does he have a long shaggy beard like mine? Turn your frumpy man into bohemian chic here

Looking a little frumpy yourself? Want to show up your estranged friends from high school at your best friend's wedding rehearsal dinner? Click here!

My secret, you ask?

Platos Closet

Today while swimming...

Geoff is a wild man in the pool. Once we hit the water, his age decreases by like, 15 years, but he still has all of the strength of a 21 year old. I am extremely nervous to enter the pool with him. He sneaks up on me, hidden underneath floaties (which look like they are being pushed over by the wind), grabs me, picks me up, and throws me into the water, flings me over his shoulder, swims over, spits a mouth full of water on my face, then giggles and runs away, and a whole slough of other things that are obnoxiously annoying.

Anyway, today Geoff decided he was going to pretend he didn't have legs, and that I had to "carry him" around the pool (which was more like him clinging to my legs) so that he wouldn't "drown". According to Geoff, his legs were "cut off" in the "war". Also, when he used his legs to kick off the wall of the pool, he said that it was actually his "jet pack"

So I tell you all of this to set up a ridiculous story that will explain perfectly my relationship with my boyfriend.

Me: (as Geoff is clinging onto me in the pool) Ouch, Geoff, stop hugging me so tight, your chest hair is poking through my swimsuit on my stomach
Geoff: It's my secret weapon. I'm injecting you with poison with my chest hairs.
Me: You are?
Geoff: Yes...love poison
Me:...but I already love you
Geoff: Oh...well then I guess that won't be necessary.

You could say we're cute...or just seriously messed up.

Day 2 of P90X

Things that make me want to punch Tony Horton (the obnoxious guy with the microphone on P90X) in the face.

1. The way he thinks that his program will somehow magically transform an aging, wrinkly, saggy body into a beach body in just 90 days!
2. The way he points out that the girls who are featured in his videos are either, "making the face of someone who is working hard", or that their shirt was "light green before they started this work out"
3. The way he stomps around his studio and grunts and growls out the name of that work out like he's oh so manly.
4. The way he explains to his viewers, "it's ok if this is hard for you, it was hard for me initially too." and constantly points out that the people in his videos are "real people" who are sweating "real sweat". I don't want to hear about your sweat, Tony.
5. When he says "I would highly suggest a recovery drink right now...oh man I cannot wait to get to mine"

Dear Tony,

You have not beaten me yet. I have done 2 days of P90X and I have not cried, barfed, or even wet myself. In fact, today after our nice little work out, I felt like I hadn't worked out hard enough, so I went on a 4 mile run. Let's talk about intensity friend. Just because you have nasty looking veins that wind down your arms doesn't make you cool. I am thoroughly disappointed.

Love,
Aubree

P90X did not make me barf or cry or plead for mercy

My boyfriend is on a work out kick lately, and has purchased a copy of P90X. He asked me to do it with him. I thought to myself "You know, I'm a runner, I'm pretty active, it's going to be painful, but I can get through this"

So this morning we started with Ab RipperX. Half way into the work out, Geoff was bent over with his head buried into the floor crying. I was still pushing through it, although I took his advice and took "breaks", I didn't take a ton. And yeah, my abs hurt a little, but guess what? I didn't cry or barf or plead for mercy. So guess what Tony Horton, if that's your real name, you're going to have to develop a harder program for me I guess, if you can. I mean, maybe I'm just competitive, but honestly, when you say things like "Abbbb rriippppeerrrr exxxxxx" in that creeper date raper voice, or "Now look at Audra...this is how a woman who is working hard looks", it actually makes me kind of want to slap you in the face, conquer your freaking program, re-write the dumb thing, and then sue you for discrimination and for emotional harm. Yes, that is right.

Bring it on, Tony Horton. I will never surrender, I will never lay down and die.

Also, your diet plan is whack. Wiggidy whack.

Don't tell me what to eat, fool.

Kids say the darndest things...

YMCA Kids Lines of the Week...

Me: Hey Liam, am I your friend?
Liam: (after looking around for a second) THERE IS A BUG IN MY BUTT!!! IT IS BITING MY BUTT OWWWWWW (continuing as he runs away)
Me (to another teacher): So, do you think that's a yes?

(to close circus week at the YMCA, we painted the kids faces like clowns)
Liam: (preceded by a high pitched girly, blood curdling, shriek, not scream, shriek) CLOWNS! CLOWNS! CLOWNS! CLOWNS!!!!!!!!!

Kid "Hi Ms. Aubree. I'm so glad you came to work today, because I'm going to let you ride on my roller coaster.
(this particular child speaks about her roller coaster a lot. Someday, I would love to find out that all this time we've been laughing it off and she really actually does have a roller coaster)

Day 1.
(dad walks in)
"Hey Sweetie, guess where we're going?" (child gets look of terror on her face)
Kid: The...the doctor?
Dad: yes, it's going to be alright. We have to go.

Day 2:
Kid: MS. AUBREE!!! I GOT THREE SHOTS YESTERDAY FOR KINDERGARTEN AND I DIDN'T CRY OR BARF!
(she's got a better track record than me, that's for sure)

This week I...

Ate leafs that were magically gummy worms, became a troll which hid under a bridge, had an epic sword fight with Hans Solo, and infected an entire herd of people, turning them into zombies.

What did you do at work this week?

Texts from last night...

Or this afternoon

This was the first text I got after I got off of work.

"I'm pregnant again. I'm peeing right now and watching an ant crawl out of the vent. I'm gonna follow him after I pee"

Pregnancy, ants, same diff. right?

Hello, my name is Aubree

and I am a shopaholic.

Today I deposited my handy-dandy paycheck into the bank. I got gas, drove all the way home, payed my bills, poured myself a cup of coffee, all while saying "I don't need that adorable yellow skirt I saw at Forever 21 yesterday" it was my mantra. I sat down with my cup of coffee, opened up my computer, then thought "Hmm...well I'll just look at it online". Sure enough, all I had to do was see the adorable skirt and immediately I wanted it again. No sooner than you could've said "charge it up" was I out the door on my way to snatch up that adorable skirt.

And adorable it is. I was right. (pictures to come, as I intend on wearing it to church tomorrow)

Anyway, while I was at the mall, I witnessed some interesting things. First of all, I saw two young girls, maybe about 12 or 13 years old at Forever 21 in the check out in front me. One was wearing colored skinny jeans and the other was wearing black and leopard print leggings. Both were wearing band t-shirts, and both were wearing way too much eye make up, as well as the fact that someone needed to introduce them to a hair dryer and round brush. One had unsightly short shorts in her hand, and I thought to myself "Aww, hunny, those are not flattering on the majority of women. Come, learn from me grasshopper." Then, something horrible happened. The one with leopard print yoga pants pulled something out of her Target purse...it...was...a....

COACH CLUTCH.

What the heck? What kind of twelve year old has a coach clutch? She doesn't need that. And it was a super cute one too. Let's add this up, band t-shirt + leopard print and black yoga pants + obnoxiously over-colored boys skate shoes + bad hair DOES NOT EQUAL COACH FRICKING BAG.

When I got home from the mall I put on all black, sprinkled ashes on my head, and will not come out of mourning for a week.

If you have an urgent message or something to give me, please contact my agent. Her name is Mom.

Unseen style...

I've been reading a lot of fashion blogs lately. I go to bed at night pairing together items from my closet in my head, trying to decide what looks good and what doesn't. A lot of the fashion blogs I've read have a ton of items that have been thrifted. I have never had that much luck in thrift stores. I always feel like they are dirty and smell weird. However, looking at all these adorable vintage items, I may give it a whirl once again. So although I love Goodwill, I'm on the lookout for some smaller thrift shops where people might snatch the cute stuff up as easily. SO, any suggestions for thrift stores, Chicagoland?

Today at community college...

Today I learned some very interesting things about other religions.

I learned that Hindu people are pretty obsessed with fertility and all that fun stuff, and that certain members of their deity families probably should call a doctor ASAP, because they have a permanent, obvious problem, if you catch my drift.

I learned that deities in other religions are immature, emotional little brats who stomp around the world carrying their dead wives on their shoulders, basically destroying the earth.

Finally, I learned that God, the God of Moses, Jacob, Isaac, God the Father, God the Almighty Creator, the One, and the I Am, the God that I worship, has a hand in all things, and is stirring the hearts of His creation, even when they are entirely unaware.

Maybe there are more people in the world who are only a question, a conversation, or a hug away from finding life in the love of the only God than we think.

Today at the YMCA

1. In the middle of story time, my little name calling friend rawr'd, loudly. When he was reprimanded he said, "I'm...a dinosaur?" how can you put that in time out?
2. Two girls played doctor...

What is the world coming to?

In other news, we've now discovered that the weather is a Bulls fan, due to the outrageous way it has been conducting itself. Either that, or a menopausal woman who forgot to take her hormone replacements.

#conspiracy

Oh sorry, I forgot I'm not tweeting.

Did you hear that the reason why Oprah is quitting her show is because she's actually the anti-Christ? Yeah, and she's just trying to calm down the rumors, fooling people into thinking she's going off the radar. The truth is, it's a temporary radar absence, because she's actually going to run for president...she'll be kind of like that thing in sports when a team gets into the finals at the last minute? Um..a wild card. Then, she'll grow 3 heads and take over the world.

Oh wait...didn't she already do that? Well, I guess she's ahead of the game, right?

Yeah. It's all totally true. Ask Harold Camping. He's got a math equation to prove it.

URGENT MESSAGE!!!

My Zombies (AKA, the YMCA Preschool kids) have morphed into a rare hybrid!!! Today as I wandered onto the playground, I was greeted by my little Zombie army, to which I was informed, have GROWN TENTACLES. It's true. The Zombiepocalypse is just around the corner, soon my little zombies will be fully matured, to which they will be able to infect the world. I will be their queen, over throw entire nations and RULE THE WORLD.

Ackem, sorry. I got a little carried away there.

WOW I am blog happy!

But I'm irritated and my whole family is asleep so I can't complain to them.

I just found out that one of my favorite blogs, Better Off Wed which is hilarious and awesome and down to earth has a like a sister blog type thing called frickin "Kendi Everyday" or whatever by the same girl. So I clicked on it, thinking "OMG OMG OMG MORE FUNNYNESS", and all it is is her in a bunch of little outfits or whatever looking all cute and skinny with her frickin long beautiful dark hair.

So here I am thinking, "wow! Here's a girl like me who can't afford to shop anywhere from Goodwill and only has her blog to make herself feel cool and trendy", uh, nooo, that is not true at all. This girl walks around sporting BANANA REPUBLIC and FRANCESCA's and CALVIN KLEIN, all CLAIMING that she bought them at Nordstrom Rack. Whatever girl. Now in order to keep up with you, I have to wear 4 inch Madden Girl heels with my TargetjeansbuttheysortoflooklikeGapjeans and J Crew Bridesmaids dress all the freaking time. Screw you.

Ok, can I get paid now because I mentioned those things?? Oh...no one reads my blog...I'm not trendy...shoot

P.S. KENDI I'M SO SORRY FOR DISSING YOU AND YOUR BLOG. I LOVE YOU. PLEASE TAKE ME BACK. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO BE COOL WITHOUT YOU AND EMILY FROM Cupcakes and Cashmere!!!!

Edit: I revoke my post. You buy junk from Target, too. Don't you just love the little dollar section?

Oh yeah...

And I thought I should mention that since Harold Camping has announced he "miscalculated" or whatever that means, and the real rapture date is actually October 21st, my hopes for mass nakedness and Kirk Cameron have been revived. I feel like it might be somewhat inappropriate to say "my hopes for mass nakedness with Kirk Cameron have been revived", so I didn't. That's because I'm a good Christian.

I hope no one is offended by my post. I apologize in advance if you are. I really don't want to get naked with Kirk Cameron.

I shouldn't watch the news anymore.

Did anyone else find this somewhat funny...?

Here's the awesome thing about MY blog. I can say ANYTHING I want to because it's MINE



Epic fail of the day: it's a tie between watching two kids stand up, freak out, then run face first into each other, and this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RGeZTMMw9U

P.S. HEY SECRET SERVICE!!! REMEMBER WHEN YOU CAME TO JUDSON!!! WE BASICALLY ATE TOGETHER IN THE CAF...BASICALLY...AS IN I SAW YOU WHILE I WAS EATING MY LUNCH IN THE CAF...FOR A BRIEF MOMENT. OMG BESTIES.

P.P.S. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with Ireland, Obama, and the S.S. today.

Top five reasons why I wish the rapture would've happened.

1. Two words. Kirk. Cameron.
2. Mass nakedness. Everywhere. I don't know about you, but I'm the happiest when I am the most naked.
3. I don't know a whole lot about the rapture, but I do know that there will be trumpets. Trumpets = ska, therefore, there will be ska in heaven.
4. I'm scheduled to work on Monday. Suck.
5. I have somewhere between 6-10 loads of laundry waiting to be done...

Happy (false) Judgment Day People!!!!

Today I got called something vile...

I work at the YMCA in the summer time. I am a summer camp counselor for 40 screaming, smelly, annoying, yet strangely adorable children. I love it a lot and people think I'm crazy for it. I think it's probably because the only way you can describe my personality is by saying I'm like a screaming, smelly, annoying, yet strangely adorable Kindergartner. ANYWHO, Judson let's classes out about 3 whole weeks before other schools do. Our last day of school this year was April 29th. Ridiculous, right? So, since I like money and stuff I called my boss and asked if she had any work for me during May before summer camp starts. Yes, she replied, in Bright Beginnings, which is the preschool program the YMCA runs. This should have been my first sign to run for my life. All they do is cry. Don't get me wrong, they're cute and all, but seriously. I'm at the point now where unless they have a limb hanging off at the bone, I pat them on the head and send them off to play again.

The other really fun thing about being in Bright Beginnings for a month is that you get called a wonderful array of names. Anywhere from "Poopie Head" to "Mean teacher!", I get harassed. Today however, today I was called something that definitely takes the cake.

I told a kid he had to stop hogging the playground "motorcycle" (it's actually a horsey toy type thing). He crossed his arms and started to walk away. Then he turned around and called me a "little penis"

I've been called a lot of things, but not that. Win.

What I've learned this summer thus far...

I love to eat, but unfortunately food does not love me as much as I love it. Here's some ways that I've been shedding the pounds (I've lost a couple of pounds already!) since summer began...

1. Eat more color. I've been adding fun things to my diet like fun fruits and salads.
2. Eat more FIBER. It fills you up and satisfies your tummy. I like to add black beans to salads and pastas. Also remember that while fruit has lots of yummy fiber in it, when you peel the fruit with edible skin, you loose almost all of the fiber in the fruit. EAT the skin. Hummus and other bean dips have fiber, too.
3. Instead of crackers or chips, I buy Kashi's granola (in whatever flavor I feel like at the time), stick it in a baggy, and tote it along with me.
4. I traded in my four wheels for two this summer. I rarely drive, maybe once or twice a week, and ride my bike to work every day. While it's a nice little trek (10 miles round trip) there and back, I ride on the nature trails and enjoy the scenery. People at work still think I'm a little crazy, but I love it. I've only filled my tank once since coming home from break (beat that!) and getting in a little extra exercise along with my runs. It also stops me from making quick "stops" at fast food joints to pick up a burrito or ice cream sundae before work. This trick is a nice relief to my pocket book, as well.

Happy Summer (kind of...)!!

Pop-tarts, minus the cardboard junky feel

So one of my favorite blogs, cupcakes and cashmere posted a yummy recipe to try some home made pop-tarts. It was cooling off here in Chicagoland after a few happy hot summer days, so I decided to give it a whirl for a yummy Saturday night treat. They turned out great! I made the cinnamon sugar variety and it was actually pretty simple. Here's a picture:



Here's the site where she got the recipe:

Homemade Pop-tarts

...SNOW DAY!...

Due to the snowpacalypse which smacked Illinois in the face yesterday and this morning, Judson got snowed in basically...so we got the wonderful gift of one of Judson's ONLY snow days!

The pro's and con's.

Pro's:
- Well...it's a snow-day of course!! No classes. This is especially wonderful because my busiest day at Judson just happens to be on Wednesdays.
- Kane County distributed a travel ban, forcing Judson students to stay AT Judson. That meant that my entire floor was here, and we spent all day giggling and talking about wonderful things.
- Crazyyyyy snow stories. I cannot tell you how hard I have laughed at all the stories I've heard about people who face planted, or thought that when their leg was sinking into the snow on Volkman Pond that they were sinking.

Con's:
- Kane County distributed a travel ban on the one day I was craving Starbucks like none other.
- Let's just say this...6-8ft snow drifts + 2 feet of snow + Judson snow plows + other people shoveling the snow blocking their car in front of MY car + the fact no one brings a SHOVEL to college = me having to dig my car out of a pile of snow that was about 2 feet taller than I am...with my garbage can.
- My amazing boyfriend, Geoff, does not live on my campus, therefore I didn't get to be snowed in with him like all the other girl's on campus who have boyfriends got to be. I know this is a lame one, but I was sincerely a little disappointed about it.
- My said boyfriend got tons of snow in his beard, which he thought was awesome, thus further convincing himself not to shave it off like I want him too.

Ok, WELL, although all my fellow Judson students are depressed about not having a double snow day like a lot of schools, I for one am thankful for the one...and on a side note, I only have one class tomorrow that I do plan on attending.

Happy Snow-Day!

Dresses with pockets are a female worship leader's best friend

Adorable purple and black dress with pockets off the clearance rack at Express: $12.00
Having my pick, capo, AND phone immediately accessible while still looking ridiculously adorable: Priceless


That knock-off of Mastercard never gets old.

Miriam was the first ever hippie/worship leader

"Then Miriam the prophetess took a tambourine in her hand,
and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.
Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted.
He has thrown horses and riders into the sea." (Exodus 15:20-21)

As a worship leader, I'm always looking for moments to break out the tambourine and dance around praising Jesus. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work the same way it did back when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. I think I would've fit in better as an Israelite (the non-adulterous kind)...or in the 60's as a hippie (the non-pot-smoking kind)

Gotta tell it like it is...

"I want to spend time with people who will help me become more like Jesus. Not in a lofty, hyper-spiritual way, where all I do is talk Christianese and unplug myself from the world. But in a nitty-gritty way, talking in raw and honest language about how Jesus makes sense of the ups and downs of everyday life." -Vicky Beeching

Gotta love that worship leading, song writing, bombshell of a woman of God. I often times find myself struggling with this concept. I feel very strongly that we as Christians need to be opening up our arms to those who are hurting, whether or not there's some crap in their lives (and don't we all have just a teeeennnyyy bit of crap in our lives). We need to be opening up our homes, our cars, and our lives to them and show them the love of Jesus, not judging them, so when people make comments like "I don't want to surround myself with those kinds of people", it definitely rubs me the wrong way. But I love what Vicky Beeching has to say about this subject, "not in a lofty, hyper-spiritual way, where all I do is talk Christianese and unplug myself from the world. BUt in a nitty-gritty way, talking in raw and honest language about how Jesus makes sense of the ups and downs of everyday life"

I definitely value my close Christian friends. They are the people I spend a lot of my time with, and when it comes down to the raw and nitty gritty, I know I can come to them. I know that it's important for me to be built up by these people so that I CAN open my arms to those who may be hurting, showing them compassion and love like I cannot love without the love of God shown to me through others. Like another one of my favorite worship leaders (Brooke Frasier) says, "I know I am filled to be emptied again"

Let's be people who lift each other up this year, getting down to that rawness, that vulnerable place with one another, so that we can filled and then empty ourselves loving and serving others.

"Waking up on a Sunday morning and asking “Do I feel like going to church today?” is another way of asking “Do I care about what the Triune God is doing here in my world, right within my reach?" -Ray Ortland

About a week ago I said to Geoff as I was preparing for worship that week at New Hope "wouldn't it be nice to know that I could just sleep in one week instead of going to church?"

After coming across this quote, I'm eating my words...just a tad.

BAKE OFF!!!!

So last night, Geoff (my amazing boyfriend) came over, and after eating my marvelous spinach and basil tomato soup (see previous post) with some grilled cheese, we were pretty stuffed and just kind of lounged around for a while. Anyway, Julie and Julia came on and we both thought it was so cute that we decided to get off our lazy butts and head to the grocery store (at a bout 7:40pm). We each found a recipe containing melted and whipped chocolate, couldn’t decide one which one we wanted to do, and so we compromised. This began the start of our bake off.

We purchased chocolate, cream, graham crackers, oreos, and all the other goodies we would need to make our delicious recipes. Mine was a double chocolate pie, and Geoff’s was a chocolate mousse. We came back, and after a brief sugar incident (I dropped the sugar container and it exploded all over the floor) we began our battle. We baked and laughed and listened to Michael Buble (perfect baking/cooking music if you ask me!) and just had a blast! Unfortunately, because my pie had to sit in the fridge over night, we couldn’t decide who won, but based on our last minute experiences, we decided to make this a game. Here are some ground rules we set.

A neutral judge must pick a common ingredient, in which both parties must include in their recipes
Each contestant is allowed a total of $12.00 dollars to spend at any grocery store they wish.
Each contestant is allotted a total time of 2 hours for preparation, baking/cooking, and presentation of his or her dish.
Contestants may not “borrow” ingredients from one another.
Contestants are allowed to use aids, such as ipads, iphones, or other electronic devices, but are not allowed to enlist in outside human help, such as a parent or sister.
A neutral judge must try both dishes, and he or she will determine who the winner is.

Definitely a fun night! You should try it. Any-who, here’s some cute pictures we snapped along the way:






Needless to say, with lots of chocolate in our bellies, the chefs were satisfied.

I'm no Julia Childs or Julie Powell, but I do like to cook.

So, since becoming a vegetarian (which I have neglected to mention in my previous blog posts, I believe...I’m going on 8 weeks!!), I have realized how flavorless and bland vegetarian food tends to be. It sucks. Sorry, but I don’t necessarily enjoy spreading tofu-ti on my bagels in the morning. So, being on Christmas break, I decided to take advantage of the month that I have off and try out a few cooking techniques. Now, I am not an expert by any means...a lot of what I cook/bake comes out not quite as picturesque as I would like it to be, however, I CAN cook. I’m not an idiot in that department at least. So, I went to Bargain books with my Mom and picked up a cookbook - a vegetarian one at that. It’s basically titled “you’re a veggie now and you’re dumb, therefore, you don’t know how to cook veggie food, so I will show you”. It’s kind of a cute book actually, but like I said, the food is a little bland. I tried a few recipes, and for the most part, they’ve turned out well, and with a few minor tweaks on my behalf, they are even better than they were before (I’m not bragging, really!). This is the beginning of my healthy eating/veggie quest to make yummy, flavorful food that actually fills you up. I started out with a vegetarian sweet potato chili, which my whole family enjoyed. Then I moved onto a vegetarian fratada, followed by some fried plantains (which were actually unripe bananas...hey...I live in the US, ok?). Now, a few weeks ago my boyfriend and I went to the Nordstroms Cafe in Woodfield Mall and got grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was really good, and ever since then, he has been harping on me to figure out how to make that soup. SO, today, I thought I would try to make the vegetarian, healthy, Aubree version of that soup...without a recipe...and it was actually really good!

Now this is definitely no Epicurious or All Recipes, but here it is!



1 16oz can of diced or puree’d tomatoes
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese (I used the fresh kind from Trader Joes)
1/4 cup of fresh chopped basil
1/2 cup of fresh chopped spinach
1 TBS of olive oil
A dash of red pepper flakes
A dash of pepper
A dash of salt
1 cup of skim milk

Puree the tomatoes in a food processor, or if you have a fancy blender like me, then you can throw them in the blender and set it on the soup setting. If you have puree’d tomatoes, just use those instead. Throw them into a good sized pot over medium flame, adding the chopped basil and chopped spinach, olive oil, red pepper flakes, pepper, and salt along with this. Stir and let come to a simmer. Add parmesan cheese, stir and let simmer for a few minutes until everything is cooked thoroughly. Take the soup off the heat and add the milk. Remember that the milk MUST go last and MUST go off the heat or it will curdle (and nobody wants chunky milk in their soup!). Serve and place a couple of basil leafs for garnish on the top.

Prep time: about 10 minutes
Cook time: about 15 minutes

This is seriously the easiest tomato soup recipe! You can omit the red pepper flakes, I just threw them in for a little kick. You can also throw in a little bit of fresh rosemary, or some more veggies if you like. I think this soup might be good with some garbanzo beans, actually, and maybe trying it with another cheese would be good too.

Well...enjoy!!!

Off all the ways to live, dorm life is the strangest.

So right now, I’m sitting in the lobby of Ohio Hall, the Freshman girl’s dorm here on campus at Judson. I am not a Freshman, however, I AM the Freshman dorm event coordinator...or better known as Dorm Prez. I really adore my job, and all the girls in my building, however, living in Ohio Hall for the last two years of my attendance at the Jud has lead to make a few observations about dorm life...especially freshman dorm lift (as I have experienced no other type...).

Firstly, it’s probably the most unique living space you will ever live in. Let me elaborate. Right now, I live in a cement block room the size of some women’s walk in closets. Within this room, is a bedroom, living room, kitchen, AND office. I have ONE window, and a bathroom which I share with two other girls (my roommate and one of the floor RA’s). This bathroom has two sinks, a mini bathtub and shower, and a toilet...that is surrounded by a stall. Yes. A stall. It is quite an interesting place to live.

Secondly, it is the most unique community you will ever live amongst. In any other building, you stay in your apartment. If you speak to your neighbors, it is to say hello in passing or borrow an egg. In Ohio Hall, we hold a fairly “strict” open door policy. Our doors are always open, all the time. People wander in and out of rooms for no apparent reason whatsoever. You become quite close with the people in your building. They borrow your clothes. You borrow theirs. They sleep on your sofa...even when you’re not there. Eventually, you walk into your room to hear giggling coming from the bathroom, only to find three girls studying in your bathroom...one of which is sitting in your bathtub...naked.
Yes. This is the community I live in.

Thirdly, it’s probably the loudest living space you will ever live in. Especially because I live in a building full of Freshman. Even as I type this, girls are screaming down the hall way due to it being open dorm (boys are allowed into their rooms).

Ohio Hall is quite the experience. I love ever second of it, but it is quite the experience. Some day, if you ever get the chance, I would highly recommend living in a Freshman dorm. I loved it so much that I’m still here...and I’m a Junior.

I guess you can say I bleed Ohio. ;-)