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.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
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)
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.
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.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
"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.
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.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
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.
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!!!
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. ;-)
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. ;-)
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