Thanksgiving Break- Photo Version

These past days have been spent at home with family and friends that I love. Why? Because it's Thanksgiving Break! While it wasn't much of a break, due to all of the family gatherings, etc., I did have a wonderful time with those I love. Since writing out five days worth of festivities could get pretty lengthy, here is my Thanksgiving break in photos (and maybe a few words, too!)

Tuesday Night- Bjorn and I baked Chocolate Crinkles and Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wednesday- Haircuts and Thanksgiving Service at church

Thursday- Lunch at Justin's grandparent's house

Supper at my grandparent's house

Thursday Night- Black Friday shopping! I ended up with a camera and a purse

I got to spend all week with my lovely family!

Friday- Cleaning and gathering with the other side of the family at our house in the evening.
Here are all of my cousins with boyfriends, fiancees, and exchange students included!

Saturday- Christmas candy making day! We made 18 different kinds!

Here's the baking crew! Love this annual tradition!

Sunday- Church and decorating the house for Christmas

Sunday afternoon- Homework party...It was nice enough that  I set up outside!

Sunday evening- Baby goats were born at our house! I also got to watch two more  be born. It was so amazing to watch!

Hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

There's a Mouse (or two) in my House!

Yep, you read that right...there's a mouse in my house. But not just one, during this past week, I have caught two mice in my dorm room and some of the other girls in my mod caught one as well. Why do mice love me? Sorry little guys, but I don't love you and I wish you would leave my mod and never ever return.

(Luckily I have some guys in my life that helped me dispose of these nasty little critters. They might have heard me scream a time or two. Ewww!)

Years and Years and Years of Wisdom and Love

Today I attended a birthday celebration for my boyfriend's great-grandmother. She turned 95 today! While I don't know this woman that well and have only met her a couple of different times, I admire her. She is a wonderful example of a true Christian woman who loves God with all of her heart. She is genuinely interested in the lives of those around her. She has raised an incredible family. She has lived through so much and has so many stories to share. The thing that amazes me is that she still lives on her own. WOW!
I can't imagine what it would be like to be 95 and have lived through so much. It's such a remarkable milestone and people that old should be highly respected. I wonder what stories I will have to tell my grandchildren and great-grandchildren when I'm 95...?

We're Off to See the Wizard!

This weekend was the fall musical at my high school. They managed to pull off an amazing production of "The Wizard of Oz." It was so wonderful...there were so many scene changes (and the set looked fabulous!), many costumes, and it was just an all around fun night. Another perk of going was seeing a lot of people from my community that I don't get to see very often, so that was really fun too! But probably the best part of the night was that my little brother, Luke, was cast as the Cowardly Lion. He's a freshman, so we were all really excited to see his first big debut. The fact that he got cast in that role as a freshman is really remarkable and we were so proud of him. The role of the Lion was PERFECT for him. He did such an amazing job! Love you Buddy Ben! My other brother (who is an exchange student this year from Germany) was on stage crew and he was also a flying monkey. It was so fun to watch him in his first stage production. He did a fabulous job as well!

Here are some pictures from the evening:

The 4 lead characters finishing off the first act. 

My brother singing his big solo. 

I love my siblings! Both of my brothers did a fabulous job!

A Little Taste of Heaven (maybe)

For a while I've been wanting to try out a recipe that I found on pinterest. It combines two of my favorite loves in life- chocolate and peanut butter. So, Tuesday, after I went and performed my civic duty of voting, I swung by my house and whipped up a batch of these delicious chocolate cupcakes with whipped peanut butter frosting dipped in chocolate. SO GOOD.

Here's the recipe if you're interested...

INGREDIENTS

CUPCAKES

• 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup + 2 TBSP sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FROSTING

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons softened, unsalted butter
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

CHOCOLATE DIP

• 6oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

CUPCAKES

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners

2. Make cupcakes by combining all dry ingredients except sugar (flour , cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) into a mixing bowl. 

3. Whisk together sugar and wet ingredients (buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla) in a separate bowl. 

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. 

5. Spoon batter into 10 cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 way. 

6. Bake 19-23 minutes. Remove cupcakes and let cool completely on a cooling rack. 

FROSTING

1. While cupcakes are cooling, fill pot with 2" of water and allow to come to a simmer. 

2. Make buttercream frosting by combining sugar, egg whites, and salt in a double broiler.

3. Using the double broiler, whisk ingredients gently until they heat to 160 degrees (this can take a bit...)

4. Transfer ingredients into the bowl of a mixer and whip on medium-high speed until the mixture looks like shaving cream. 

5. Continue whipping and add butter one piece at a time. 

6. Add in peanut butter and vanilla and mix until combined thoroughly. 

7. Pipe the frosting onto cooled cupcakes, in a cone like shape. Transfer cupcakes to refrigerator and let frosting set, about 1 hour. 

CHOCOLATE DIP

1. Once you are ready to dip the cupcakes, fill pot with 2" of water and bring to a low simmer. 

2. Combine oil and chocolate chips and place in a double broiler over the simmering water. Let chocolate melt, stirring gently until smooth. 

3. Turn heat off. Dip each cupcake into the melted chocolate, making sure to cover all of the frosting. Hold upside down for a couple of seconds, allowing some of the chocolate to drip off. (If chocolate starts to harden between cupcakes, turn heat back on on low and stir until melted and smooth. Make sure the chocolate doesn't burn!)

4. Let chocolate dip set before serving, about one more hour. 

There ya have it...ENJOY!

Pumpkins, Costumes, and Candy...Oh my!

Today is Halloween; however, I feel like I did most of my celebrating before the actual day. Last week I spent a decent amount of time carving and decorating pumpkins. I somehow managed to convince my boyfriend, Justin, to carve a pumpkin with me.

Our finished product...Isn't he spooky?

He said that he finally just gave in, but deep down inside, I know he was excited about it. ;) I also decorated a pumpkin at College Buddies, which is a program that I coordinate where Bethel students meet up and do activities once a month with adults who have developmental disabilities. Our October activity was pumpkin decorating. So fun!

Some of the participants with their finished products!

The three pumpkins on the left are all ones that I carved or decorated. 

On Saturday night we had a Halloween Rave here at school. Everyone dressed up and danced the night away. My sister and I went as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss. Some of my mod mates went as Disco Balls (with sparkly hair, make-up, and dresses) while another went as a nerd. My closest guy friends went as sexy old men, which meant that I got to spray their hair grey and draw wrinkles all over their faces with eyeliner. The night was a fun time for all! 

Thing 1 and Thing 2

Tonight is Trick-Or-Treat-Off-The-Street. That is where kids come into the dorms here at school dressed up in their adorable costumes, knock on our room doors, and we hand out candy. This provides a safe place for them to Trick-Or-Treat. It's always so fun! (and it gives us another opportunity to wear our costumes!)   :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

(Not So) Fantastic Fridays

For most people, Fridays are a day of relief, relaxation, and a sign that a break is soon coming. I used to be that way and for the most part still am, but I decided today that Fridays must have something against me. The last couple of Fridays have been rough. (Prepare yourself for a bit of a long post...sorry!)

Last week on Friday, I woke up and put on my favorite pair of jeans. They seemed a bit stiffer than usual, probably due to the fact that the last time that I washed them, I air dryed them, as opposed to putting them in the dryer like normal. I wiggled around trying to get them to fit right and all of the sudden I heard a big RIP. Sure enough, they ripped, right along the crotch zipper in the front...in the most unrepairable place possible. Not only were they my favorite jeans, but they were also my pair that was probably in the nicest condition. Sweet...love it when that happens. Then I went about my normal day and was pretty bored at school, so I decided to just go home and hang out with my wonderful mother. It was my sister's birthday, so I baked some cupcakes for her and did some laundry. I was just relaxing and all of the sudden I looked at the clock and saw that it was 3:44. SHOOT. I was supposed to work in the library from 3-5 PM. I called the library, pretty shook up, packed up, left home, and made it there right at 4. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. (thankfully!)

On Fridays, I have to go and observe at the 5th/6th Center in town in the mornings. I walked out to my car, only to discover that my tire was completely flat. Like the rim was setting on the ground flat. Not good. I quickly ran in, called the school and told them I would be late, and then drove one my friend's cars to the school. She was so kind to let me borrow it. When I got back, my dad (who works in the maintanence dept. at my school) helped me take it off and put on the donut tire and then I took it to the shop. I went to class and during class, the shop called and said that my tire was unrepairable. We went in to look at it and there was a 1.5-2 inch cut mark that cut through a bunch of treads. aaaaaaaaaah. So, I get to buy a new tire. Oh wait, just kidding, four new tires ($$$$$$$$) because my dad said that the others are probably wearing out too, so we might as well replace them all, just to be safe. Although, I'm about to go shopping with two of my friends, so this day is about to get better!

Oh mercy, I can't wait to see what next Friday has in store for me. Here's hoping that next Friday is a wonderful day! Although, one of my modmates just pointed out to me that next Friday is Dia de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead...   

Blessings. The third definition of blessings on www.dictionary.com is "a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness." I have many, many blessings in my life, things that I don't deserve but that God has decided to share with me. I don't understand what I did to have so many wonderful people brought into my life or what I did to be able to have so many amazing opportunities available to me. Anyway, here are some of the blessings in my life:

                                                                   

My family who supports me in all that I do

My modmates whom I live with and love dearly

The boys that I hang out with that keep me laughing

The Concert Choir that I am privileged to make music with everyday

Other blessings in my life (pictures not included, because I'm still learning how this blog thing works and it is no longer letting me upload photos...): Tabor Mennonite Church where I've gone for my whole life and where I am growing in my faith, Bethel College where I attend school and will soon graduate from (c'mon May!) with a degree in Elementary Education and Special Education, the opportunity to do what I love and work with children and people with disabilities every day, delicious food to eat, a little car that gets me to and fro named Caroline the Corolla, beautiful scenery around me, and many, many more blessings. So many that I could write an entire book! :)