Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!  This morning I'm drinking coffee and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and later I will be putting my turkey and casseroles in the oven.  Here's what I am thankful for today.

Nov. 18:   I am thankful for the freedom we have in this country, especially the chance to worship God freely.

Nov. 19:  I am thankful that I was raised in a wonderful, loving, Christian home.

Nov. 20:  I am thankful for my three crazy brothers, my sweet and caring mom, and my solid and dependable dad.  I couldn't have asked for a better family!

Nov. 21:  I am thankful for all the beautiful and amazing nature that God has created! 

Nov. 22:  I am thankful for chocolate :-)

Nov. 23:  I am thankful for lazy Saturday mornings with no schedule.

Today:  I am thankful for the start of the holiday season, a chance to celebrate with my husband, and most of all for the delicious food!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

Thankful

I'm a day late with my third Thankful post, whoops!  So here are 8 things I am thankful for.

Nov. 11: I'm thankful for my sweet dog who keeps me company all day and has the softest fur ever.

Nov. 12:  I am so thankful for a large extended family and getting together with both my mom and dad's side at least once a year even though we live across six different states!  I always used to take it for granted, but I realize now that a lot of families don't get along, and the fact that we all speak to each other and enjoy seeing each other is a blessing.

Nov. 13:  I am thankful that any information I want to know can be found easily through the internet.

Nov. 14:  I am thankful for good running shoes.

Nov. 15:  I am thankful for coffee.  It does nothing to help me be more alert, but somehow the morning ritual of having a cup is soothing and nice.  Also it smells the best.

Nov. 16:  I am thankful for the Holy Spirit!

Nov. 17:  I am ever so thankful for the loving, Christian home I was raised in and for my wonderful parents, grandparents, and brothers.


Nov. 18:  I am thankful for my health and for good medical insurance.

Thanksgiving is next week!  What are you thankful for?

Running, Week 5

So today I started Week 5 of my running program.  I know, technically I've been running for about 2 months now, but I'm taking the program very slow and repeating weeks when I feel I need to.  I was pretty nervous about this week because last week I slacked off and only ran once.  Also, I lost the keycard to get into the workout room here at the apartment complex (it's $60 and a waiting list to get a new one!), so I have to run outside exclusively now, which I find to be harder than on a treadmill. 

This week has a 5-minute warm-up followed by three sets of running for 5 minutes and walking for 3.  It went really well!  I completed it without feeling like I was going to die, and that is an accomplishment.

Now if the cold weather could just hold off until my keycard magically appears, I'll be set!

Thankful

This week I am thankful for:

November 4:  God's beautiful grace and forgiveness.

November 5:  An abundance of warm clothes. 

November 6:  Our church.  God has been so faithful.

November 7: Good books and the library that allows me to read unlimited good books without paying for them.

November 8:  My sweet husband who brought me orange roses to commemorate our first date in college.

November 9: Phones and airplanes that make communication and visits relatively easy.

November 10:  Beautiful music.  Think of how much more emotionless this world would be without it.

Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes

I made these the other day and they were pretty good!  Very quick and easy and I love that they are already in individual portions.  I didn't calculate how many calories are in each one though because if I knew I might not enjoy them as much! 

These would be great at a party.  I preferred them after they had been chilled, although it made the liner stick and hard to peel off.  If you take the liner off before you chill them it would probably work better.  I also used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and 1/3 less fat cream cheese.  The recipe makes 8 mini cheesecakes.

Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes
Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp brown sugar
small pinch salt
2 1/2 tbsp butter, melted

Cheesecake
8-oz cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp sour cream or Greek-style yogurt
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 8 cups of a muffin pan with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, make the graham cracker crust. Mix together graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and salt and stir to combine. Pour over melted butter and stir with a fork to moisten the crumbs.
Place about a tablespoon of crumb mixture in each of the prepared muffin cups and pack down into an even layer.
In a large bowl, make the cheesecake. Cream together cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
Place 1 tbsp chocolate chips into each of the muffin cups. Evenly divide cheesecake batter between the muffin cups, covering the first layer of chocolate chips. Place another tbsp of chocolate chips on top of the cheesecake batter in each of the muffin cups.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheesecakes are set.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan, then carefully transfer cheesecakes to a cooling rack to cool completely before refrigerating.

Makes 8.  Enjoy!

I am a reader

I have always been fascinated by books.  I learned to read at a young age and ever since then it's rare that I don't have a book with me.  Some of my strongest childhood memories involve books: stashing a Nancy Drew under my covers on a Friday night so that I could read the whole thing the next morning before even getting out of bed.  Reading Tom Sawyer in my closet with a flashlight and being scared by the graveyard scene with Injun Joe.  Nights when mom would read The Chronicles of Narnia to us in bed.  One time I tried to take a book and a baked potato into a tree to have lunch.  (It didn't work; I dropped the potato while I was climbing.)  In fact, most of our home videos involve me reading in a corner while the boys goof off for the camera.

As an adult, I read an average of 40-50 books a year.  Thank goodness for the library!  I read fiction, memoir, biographies, dystopian fiction, young adult fiction, nutrition, health, and Christian living.  I probably have 100 books on my to-read list and it is ever growing.  I take books with me so one of my criteria for a purse is that it has to be big enough to fit a book!

There have been times in my life when I was burned out on reading, or just didn't have time to sit down with a book, but even then I read multiple blogs every day.  I just can't get away from it! 

And I think this love of reading has been one of the most beneficial things in my life.  Through books and google, I can learn practically anything I want.  I can visit other worlds and see other points of view.  And I can learn from Godly people who have lived rich, God-filled lives and written about it.

Being able to read has been a blessing and I can't wait to open up the world of books to my future kids.

Why I like Mondays

I used to hate Mondays.  I used to dread going to bed on Sunday night because Monday came next.  A long, tedious, week of work lay ahead of me. 

Well now I love Mondays!  Aside from the days that James is home, Monday is my favorite day of the week!  This is because Monday is my cleaning day and I am always so productive.  After a weekend of doing no housework, the house is usually starting to get on my nerves, so I pop the iPod into the speakers and tidy, vacuum, mop, dust, and clean the bathrooms and the kitchen.

In addition, today I did two loads of laundry, ironed James' work shirts, and went to the library.  It is a gorgeous day and Casper has been especially good today.  My house smells like the fall candle that I have burning, and I have baked tortellini and acorn squash in the oven.

I love that satisfied feeling when you know you've done a good job, and that other great feeling when everything is clean.  And lest anybody think too much of my accomplishments, I still have a pile of papers to file, a pile of dirty clothes on the floor, and my fridge is getting awfully empty.  That will be tomorrow.

It's such a nice feeling to not dread the beginning of the week!

Thankful

Halloween is finally over (I'm not a huge fan) and my second favorite holiday is around the corner!  What is better than celebrating all that God has done for you, and stuffing your face with food while you're at it?  So to really get into grateful mode, I am going to post the things that I am grateful for every Thursday until Thanksgiving, one thing for each day. 

This week I am thankful for:



November 1: The way James will try anything I make for dinner, even if it's weird (pot stickers and fried rice).  And then when it turns out that the pot stickers have broccoli in them (oops) and the food is declared inedible (only by him, I liked it!), he still doesn't complain, even when it means eating last night's leftovers.

November 2: The beautiful gold and orange and red trees.  The foliage looks so vibrant and alive (which is kind of funny since the leaves are actually dying).  Texas really misses out, and it took me 25 years to find out.

November 3: Cute flannel pajama pants and comfy slippers.  So cozy and comfortable.