Thankful Thursdays

Happy Thursday!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and peaceful Thursday morning. The weather is yucky here today, but I am surprisingly okay with that. It always seems to be quieter on rainy days, which is nice for a change. I also know the rain is preparing the few grassy areas around us and they will be vibrantly (is that a word?) green soon enough!

This week I am thankful for ALL THINGS JESUS!

You are probably thinking “Original Courtney, we are all thankful for that!” But I am dead serious. The past week I have spend more time in prayer and praise than I have in a while. I feel like everyone goes through phases in their life where prayer and praise are a little on the lacking side and other times where it is thriving. It is such a wonderful feeling when this part of your life is overflowing into the other areas.

Okay.. okay.. Specifically this week I am thankful for:

My Study Bible. It is still relatively new to us, but it is so great to have something right next to me when I am reading from my Bible. It sure helps when I am struggling to make a connection or want to know a little more than scripture is telling me right there.

My Small Group. This group has welcomed us with open arms and have made us feel so welcome. I seriously do not know what I would do without the women in this group that always seem to reach out to me when I need it most. I am someone who needs community to thrive. Moving to a new city and only knowing two people who are in totally different stages of life than us was hard. Getting connected to a group of young married couples has been the biggest blessing God has given me in a long time.

My Volunteer Time. Each week I have had the opportunity to volunteer at my church with the children’s ministry. It has been hard for me to fill my time with meaningful things while I am not working. This has been such a wonderful time filler and it gives me a feeling of worth again. Being a housewife is great and all, but I am ready to use my skills that God has grated me with to do something! Right now my time at the church is giving me that opportunity.

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It is amazing how God truly knows what you need. You may ask and beg and pray for things and opportunities, but he knows when the time is right. I truly believe He is using my time without a job to prepare me for something great. Something grand! I do not know what that something is, but I do know my study Bible, small group, and volunteer time are playing a big part in His plans for me.

What are you thankful for this week? Is God providing you with opportunities to help you grow? Take some time to think about where you are right now in your life. Have you been frustrated with God because you have been asking/praying/begging for something and that something hasn’t been handed to you? Maybe you are being blind to what God is placing right in front of you. He knows what is best. Follow His plan. I promise it is less likely to backfire!

Blessings,

Courtney

I Think I Can…

 

These famous words from The Little Engine that Could have been constantly going through my head the past couple of weeks. I am officially one month away from the half marathon in Nashville and I could not be more terrified at the thought of it!

Training Thus Far

Over the past 10 weeks I have been training and ultimately surprising myself at what I am capable of. If you remember back to my first post about doing the half marathon (Just Keep Running), I had never run over a mile in my entire life! So needless to say, I have come a long way. Last weekend was my longest run yet. I ran eight miles on the most gorgeous day Chicago has seen all year. There was still a little snow on the ground, but the sun was shining and the strollers were out.

I am happy to say I am averaging about a 10 minute mile, which I never thought was possible. When I started this whole running thing, I was closer to averaging 12 and 13 minute miles. I have figured out how to get in my groove with my short strides and All American Rejects on my iPod (you can laugh, but it is my jam). I am nervous that Nashville’s hills are going to kick my booty on race day. Chicago just doesn’t have much elevation change to help with my training. We will see!

I am beginning to realize that nutrition is key to being able to survive these longer runs! I have been trying to eat healthier throughout the week and make healthy snack choices. If you know me, you know I love my late night unhealthy snacks. So those are currently not in the apartment! I have also learned that running makes me HUNGRY…and I mean like teenage boy going through puberty hungry. I can not eat enough to stay satisfied! (Any tricks on this would be welcomed in the comment section!)

Race Day Meal Prep

As the race seems to be quickly approaching I have been reading more and more about race day nutrition. I would love to hear from some of you crazy people who have done this before and are doing it again! What are your lunch and dinners the day before a race? What do you eat for breakfast the morning of a half marathon? Thanks in advance for the advice!

Happy Running!

Courtney

 

***UPDATE*** Here are some websites I have found helpful for half marathon nutrition***

Running For Beginners

Runner’s World 

Thankful Thursday

The sun is shining and the snow is falling this morning in Chicago! I don’t know about you, but that is screaming “first day of spring” to me! Okay, maybe not so much. I had to laugh when my husband informed me it is supposed to hit 60 degrees tomorrow and ended it with “but don’t look outside now”. Needless to say I looked outside and saw snowflakes the size of quarters. Don’t get me wrong….it was beautiful…. FOR DECEMBER!

Now that my mini rant is over…

Here is what I am most thankful for this week:

• News from one of our best friends that they are pregnant! I am still smiling from the phone call! They are going to be the best parents in all of Middle Tennessee. Seriously.
• Snapchat. If it wasn’t for this silly (probably widely misused) app, I probably would never know what all my little siblings were up to every 5 minutes. Every time I pick up my phone I have a Snapchat from at least one of them! It makes me smile every time.
• Our Vacuum. We thought we would be cool and buy a vacuum that you charge so it is cordless when you are using it. Yeah it was cool until I lost the cord or threw it away or something! I searched for about 3 weeks for this dumb cord, determined to find it. Our apartment is small so you would think it wouldn’t be hard to find. I finally ordered a new cord and was able to vacuum this week. It was gross.
• Catch up phone calls with friends. It is hard living far away from some of our closest “couple friends”. It also takes a lot of discipline to keep in touch with them on a regular basis. It was nice to have a lengthy Facetime chat with some of our dearest friends this week.

I hope each of you are able to take some time today to reflect back on what you are most thankful for. I know many of you are on vacations and mission trips for spring break. Enjoy some quiet time to reflect on the week away from your “normal” life.

“Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20

Blessings,

Coutney

French Toast

Do you have a family food tradition that makes your mouth water to think about?

I am a huge lover for breakfast food any time of the day. I love anything from a rich and meaty breakfast to a light and fruity breakfast. I don’t know if I have a favorite breakfast food, but my Grandma’s french toast is in my top three for sure! Every time we spend time with my Grandma she makes us her French Toast. It is always a yummy treat that we look forward to when visiting her house.

Since moving to Chicago, my husband and I have tried our fair share of breakfast places. We were going to go to another breakfast place this past weekend, but I decided to make breakfast at home instead. I decided to make french toast for the first time ever. I honestly had the idea that it was going to be so hard and it was going to taste horrible. (Maybe because it was typically a “special occasion” breakfast, who know!)  Well to my surprise, it was super easy and my husband said it could be added to our regular recipe list.

Grandma’s French Toast

All you need are a few eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla extract, bread, and your toppings!

• First, mix the eggs and milk together to make kind of a scrambled egg mixture.
• Add a splash of vanilla extract and a few dashes of cinnamon. Whisk all of this together.
• Get your griddle, non stick skillet, or regular skillet with cooking spray heated on medium heat.
• Drench a slice of bread in the mixture on both sides and plop it on the heated pan. Fit as many as you can and then flip them after a minute or two and cook the other side.
• Garnish with whatever your heart desires. I like a lot of butter, a little syrup, and a TON of powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Sorry my directions are so vague. The measurements really depend on how many you plan to make. Plus my Grandma doesn’t use a recipe!

Take some time this week or on the weekend to make a yummy breakfast for your family. I promise it will bring smiles to their face when they walk into the kitchen and see more than just cereal and milk for a change!

What are some family favorites that you love to make? Share them in the comments!

Blessings,

Courtney

Revamp or Reject

Does anyone else cringe at phrases like these?

“It’s okay, I’ll just get a new one.”

“It must be broken, I’ll just get a new one.”

“It was only $20, I’ll just get a new one.”

Over the past few weeks statements like these just make my skin crawl! I just want to ask if they have actually searched for the lost item or tried to fix it before resorting to getting a new one. I know I am a penny pincher and maybe that is why this new trend drives me bonkers, but I truly believe it is a trend that needs to end fast!

What are we teaching the next generation?

Everything is replaceable. This goes from clothes all the way to relationships! People have the “out with the old and in with the new” mentality for almost everything. There is always something newer and better out there, but that doesn’t mean you have to have it! New car, New clothes, New boyfriend, New house, New phone, etc.

Commercials and products in stores are completely catering to this new trend these day. DISPOSABLE | ONE TIME USE | SINGLE USE | THROW AWAY | $159 Easy Divorce are just a few of the things we hear and see on television that help cater to our life of convenience. Celebrities and non-celebrities getting married to only end it in divorce. Why don’t we hear about the couples that have been on the rocks in their marriage to finally figure it out and live happily ever after? Why is it not cool to have that on the cover of the tabloids? “Marriage almost lost, but saved by couple’s refusal to just throw it away!” I know I would spend the $3.99 to read their story!

There is some hope!

I was watching a NEW SHOW (haha) on HGTV last night called Rehab Addict. I seriously want to find this lady and give her the biggest hug ever! She does not believe in getting new anything unless it is nessicary! She completely revamped a 1911 house that was about to be bulldozed and it looked beautiful. Yes it was a lot of work. Yes it took a long time. But think about the pride she felt when she finished turning something old and useless to so many people into something beautiful again!

Next steps by us!

How can we begin to put an end to this mindset that so many of us have these days? We don’t have to have the newest and best items in order to be happy. Think about how much more satisfaction you would have if you found that “lost” item by spending some dedicated time looking for it. Or if you took the few weeks and sanded down that old out-of-date hand-me-down furniture and made it look brand new again. Or spent the extra time to polish those boots so they could last you another winter. Or put the effort into falling back in love with the person you married. I know I would feel so much more accomplished then just finding something similar to replace it with.

Let me hear your thoughts! Leave me a comment or two! Inspire us by pictures of your own revamped items in the comment section!

Blessings,

Courtney

Thankful Thursdays

Good morning from the COLD Chicago! I hope everyone enjoyed their warm days over the weekend and earlier this week. I know we sure did! I had the windows open on Friday and again on Monday to enjoy the fresh crisp city air. GMA just said it will be sunny and in the 40’s again on Saturday! YAY!

Here are the things I am most thankful for this week:

1. Candles: I love having a candle burning when I am just hanging around the apartment. There is something soothing about a wonderful smell and a small flickering flame.
2. My Rain Boots: I received them for high school graduation (thanks Carla!) and they are still one of my favorite things in my closet. I wore them almost every rainy day in college and continue to wear them every snowy day in Chicago. I smile every time I walk through an ankle deep puddle. I may or may not go out of my way to step in every puddle when I am wearing them.
3. Lunch Dates: I love the many lunch dates I have had over the past week. Thanks to those girls who welcome me into their home, take an extra long break at work, and close their school books for me! I am so thankful for these friendships.
4. Daylights Savings Time: Although Nolan and I claim that Saturday night was the worst night of the year because of losing an hour of sleep, it truly leads to the best time of year. I love that it is staying light outside later and later each day. I am starting to see the light at the end of this snowy and cold winter!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week. I know a lot of people have enjoyed the past week at the beach and many more are headed there next week. Everyone stay safe in your travels and be smart! Good luck to all the crews headed to do mission work over their Spring Break. Allow God to use you in ways you didn’t even know were possible.

Blessings,

Courtney

Snail Mail

Who loves getting “snail mail”?

I do! I do!

Why is that? I am not talking about Thank You Notes after a birthday party or Christmas Cards at the holidays or even Birthday Cards from loved ones and friends. I am talking about the simple “you are so special in my life” notes! Getting hand written mail is not the norm anymore so it just seams a little more special.

For me, I love the thought of someone spending a little extra time and putting a little more thought into writing me a letter. I mean come on – it is so easy to pick up our smart phones and send a text to someone in the blink of an eye. It is becoming so common these days to get texts that I tend to find myself reading them the second I get them (regardless of what I am doing) and forgetting to even respond because I am preoccupied with my original task. How horrible is that?! I mean with technology people can see that I have read their text and then I forget to respond! What a horrible friend/daughter/sister/wife I am when that happens. It is such a horrible habit to have my phone within arms reach every second of the day, but we seem to all do it.

When was the last time you wrote someone a letter or a short note to tell them how much they mean to you? I challenge each of you to write to someone this week “snail mail” style. I promise you will make their day or even their week.

Blessings!

Courtney

Thankful Thursdays

Welcome to March everyone! I don’t know about you, but I can not believe we are already in March. First and foremost, I am thankful that the sun in shining outside, even thought it “feels like” 10 degrees! I have learned that the sun is a powerful mood changer for me. Just the five minutes the sun shines in our living room in the morning can start my day off right!

This week I am most thankful for:

1. Weekends. This is my favorite time of the week by far because it is filled with quality husband time. We spend the weekend watching movies, TV shows, relaxing, and me filling him in on everyone’s lives. What would he do without me?!

2. Refrigerators. What did people do before these were invented?? Although ours is apartment size, it is the home to all of my left overs. I seem to have trouble cooking for two if I make anything besides chicken, rice, and veggies. I tend to makes soup, chili, and pasta by the gallon. Not on purpose, it just grows as I make it! I inherited this wonderful trait from my dad – thanks dad for teaching me to cook for an army! One day this will come in handy when I have kids… but for now, I am thankful for my fridge that holds my leftovers.

3. USPS. A weird thing to be thankful for? Yeah I guess. This week was my husbands birthday, so we have received many packages. Each day when I get home in the evening I have gotten to pick up a package. It is always fun to get stuff in the mail, even when it isn’t for you! I am thankful that we have the ability to celebrate my wonderful other half with family even when they are far away!

That is everything for today! Leave me comments with things you are thankful for!

Courtney

Power Muffins

If you have talked to me in the past few days you have probably heard me rant and rave about these muffins that I made over the weekend. So I decided to share them with you! They are from a cookbook we got for our wedding, but I changed them a little. Some of the changes were on purpose.. some were because I messed up. (Hey! At least I’m honest!)

These muffins are filled with veggies to kick-start your morning or pick you up in the afternoon! They have a wonderful hint of cinnamon and the nuts give them a great crunch. I promise your husband and kids will not even know they have veggies in them!

You will need:

1/2 cup raisins
2 cups flour
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups carrots, grated
1 cup zucchini, grated
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 large eggs
2/3 cups vegetable oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Spray a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Cut parchment paper into 6×6-inch squares and tuck these into the muffin-tin with the edges sticking up. (This allows muffins to rise higher than normal cupcake liners, but those will work fine too!)

Put raisins in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside to plump up. Don’t put them out of site because you will find them later… like I did! Disadvantage of not having much counter space!

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in large bowl. Grate your carrots and zucchini and add them into flour mixture with pecans and pine nuts. (I did not use pine nuts.) You want to make sure all the veggies are coated with the flour mixture to prevent clumping in muffins. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir together until batter is just moistened. Drain the raisins and stir them in. DON’T FORGET THIS PART LIKE I DID!

Drop about 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup. This part is a little tricky at first if you are using parchment paper. I got the hang of it around number six. Sprinkle a few more pecans on top.

Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before eating! These are great at room temperature or zapped in the microwave for 15 seconds!

Next time I make these I will add some ground flaxseed for a little extra fiber and omega-3. Flaxseed can be used to replace part of the eggs or part of the flour in your baking. I am not sure what I will decide to do, but I will update this when I make these again!

Let me know in the comments if you make these yummy muffins.

Happy baking!

Courtney