Flash Back & More....

Fall always get's me really excited. PUMPKINS!!!!!  No but really.  It's a season of new beginnings. I love IT! A new harvest is here and I've been keeping up with all of my Chi Alpha friends and the pictures they are posting from welcome week.  I get butterflies in my stomach thinking about how exciting this time it for so many people.  So I decided to take a walk through this time three years ago.  Wanna join me??  Here we go!!!

 At the leadership retreat.

 Loving Jesus on campus.

 Smoothie night!  This chick is getting married on Saturday :)

 Crazy Jenna Lane! A gift from God...

 Some of my small group at the first XA of the semester!

 Leeland concert with friends.

 Baking night with new freshman.

 Real beauties...

Some girls that the Lord entrusted to me.  What a year it was...... :)

Thanks for joining me on that little venture down memory lane....the Lord is good isn't He!?

Change of subject now:

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 5:10

Just the word I needed from the Lord this morning. What a reward that is going to be!  None of us wanted to be hated...but are you willing to be hated for Jesus' sake?  I sure hope so....

[If you are ever in a funk and don't know what to read in the word that morning...go to the beatitudes.   Seriously, kicks my booty every time; leaving me with a clearer mind and more wisdom than the last time I read it.]

Ryan and I are going to have some exciting journey's ahead.  Abby (my sis-in-law) gets married to our friend and soon to be brother Josh Nitcholas, Ryan and I will be going on a mini vaca for our 2nd anniversary, and another big trip is going to be approaching shortly after that!  (the big trip is a surprise...kinda...:) Stay tuned y'all!

New England & Birthday Goodness

     Before I begin I have a confession to make.  I just made an almond butter, honey, cheerio sandwich....that's what happens when you've been out of town for 10 days and are starving for a hearty lunch. And if you were wondering, yes, cheerios are great in a sandwich; they give just enough crunch.  Well...WE ARE BACK!!!  The Queck family vacation seemed to roll by a little too quickly.  Before you read ahead...just know that I only have pictures of people and no scenery, WHOOPS.  I guess that's what happens when you forget the camera and just use your phone. So just use your imagination :)

On Thursday Ryan and I were up by 3:00 AM to catch our flight out of Austin at  6:00 AM.  Sadly, we missed our flight and that put us in Boston 4 hours later than planned.  Here is a picture of what we did while we waited in the Austin airport.

Ryan slept and I people watch...I'm sure I looked like a creeper.  Ryan sleeps with his eyes open sometimes and I saw a few people look at him and laugh as they walked by..hilarious.  Since it was early we decided to get some breakfast.  I snacked on dry cereal while salivating over Ryan's breakfast taco.  So unfair.....

 

We met up with Abby, my sister in law, and her boyfriend Josh and drove into New Hampshire to meet up with the rest of the Queck clan. Love these two...and we seriously enjoyed hanging out with them all week! I had to post a creepin picture of them..sorry :)

 

We had a blast hiking around the White Mountains and exploring the small towns in the area. Us four took up tennis while we stayed at the resort.  Even though I'm terrible at the sport, I had a blast and it felt good to get my heart rate up with all of the extra eating you tend to do on vacation.  I was super excited when I cam home to find that I only gained a pound after a week and a half of eating out and indulging. For example...

There are Dunkin' Donuts everywhere in New England....the butternut doughnut was my favorite.  And how could I forget......

the BEST ice cream I have ever consumed. Reese's Pieces sundae from Friendly's.  The chocolate and peanut butter sauce made it so heavenly.  Ryan said he use to get these when he was a kid and visiting his family in Connecticut.  It was nice to eat our way down memory lane together. This picture is one I found online.  Our ice cream never lasted long enough to get a picture.

After being in New Hampshire for the week we drove to Connecticut to stay with Auntie Deb and Uncle Dave.  I'm bummed I don't have pictures of their home because where they live is absolutely beautiful.  So green and lush....the flowers were outrageous!  Hydrangeas everywhere...I'm so jealous I can't grow them in Texas.  Like I said...no scenery pics, so here is a picture of me catching my first bass at a lake near where Ryan's grandparents use to live.  I caught two of them...letting them both go of course :)

Thankfully on the way home on Friday we were able to catch both flights. That evening we arrived just in time to meet my parents in downtown San Antonio where they reserved a hotel room for Ryan and I for my birthday.  I quickly showered and got dressed so we could head out the door to a Dave Koz concert.  The man is talented...never seen anyone play the saxaphone like that.  Afterwards we went to The Palm across the street where we ate our own weight in steak and birthday cake.  I have some of the sweetest parents in the world.  So thankful to my mom, dad, and husband for making my birthday a great one.

A month later...

Dear blog, I'm sorry I haven't had time for you the past month. Forgive me please :)

This is going to be a quick post because I'm updating this thing from my phone and I can already feel my pinky getting carpal tunnel (is that even possible). Anyways, I've missed documenting our life! In a couple weeks I'll be able to post some exciting pictures because we leave for New England on thursday! We will fly into Boston, drive to New Hampshire for the week and then drive to Connecticut to wrap of our 9 days trip. Im excited to see where the Queck's are from and to explore the beauty of the east coast!

Im sorry this post is so brief...next time I promise to have lots of exciting pictures! But we just got a $0.98 movie from half price and are about to camp out in the living room to watch Speed 2. Have a good one folks!

Sunday bum-day phone blog

Sunday's are my favorite. Why you ask?? Because I can come home from church and put on comfy clothes, AKA, pajamas and remain in them all day without feeling an ounce of guilt :) we don't do this every Sunday. But TODAY, that's exactly what I did. After service I got really excited when I remembered the all natural cinnamon rolls that were taking residence in our fridge. I just HAD to make them before they went bad ;) so Ryan and I grubbed on those and some over easy eggs for brunch when we got home. And ever since then we have been bumming around watching movies and sitting on our porch. I even made some snickerdoodle cookies for Ryan to snack on...I might have had some too, gotta make sure their cooked right ;) I'm learning to take in days like these and enjoy them as much as possible. Life is so good and I don't want to forget the simple treasure like Sunday brunch in my pj's with my handsome man. This is a quick post because I'm gonna go finish watching a western with Ryan...his choice of movie, I'm learning to like em' :) Adios!

Here is a snickerdoodle picture and the recipe to go with it :).

1 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

You can add cream of tartar for thickness and to make them crack but I didn't have any and they still came out delicious!

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes..Pour a glass of milk and ENJOY!

Quality time is my love language......

It's true....I NEED to have quality time with Ryan to keep myself sane :)  It's so funny, because he could be gone for the weekend fishing and I get SO bored and even a little sad when he is only away for one night.  We are perfect for each other because he loves that I am this way...I think it makes him feel special ;)  Well this weekend was JUST what we needed.  May was a busy..let me repeat..BUSY month for us.  We hadn't had a weekend with just us at home in a long time.

To kick off the weekend I made us some peanut butter banana pancakes...actually I made MYSELF peanut butter banana pancakes and Ryan I made traditional pancakes.  He's a plain jane pancake kinda guy.  They were so good. My mouth is watering as I post this picture.  Seriously...YUMM-O!

After our tummies were fully satisfied we were out the door to explore Beorne, TX.  It's nice that we only live ten minutes away because (A) There are so many fun things to do in Beorne, and (B) Ryan's office is out there...convenient!  So we headed to the Herf Farmer's Market.  They had so many great organic produce, fresh eggs, meat, and even organic doggy biscuits.  Poor Bella had to miss out on those since we didn't bring cash or her to come enjoy the fun.  Now we know for next time!  We met a man, who Ryan actually did a bid for last week, who raises cows and we are buying 20 lbs of grass fed beef from him this week!  First thing on my list tomorrow is to get a deep freeze freezer to store it all :)  I am so excited!  After exploring the famer's market, Ryan and I went to downtown Beorne to antique shop...one of the few types of shopping that my husband enjoys!  Ryan has recently been able to get out and play some golf so he was inspired when he came across tons of old golfing gear.

 

  And while I was browsing through old dishes, furniture, and goodies....I slurped down my iced chai tea late from Bear Moon Cafe.  It was so good.  Do yourself a favor and go buy one when you are in the area!

On Sunday we had a pretty restful day around the house.  It was wonderful.  I bought some goodies from a bakery in Beorne that Ryan and I ate while watching We Are Marshall.  Then we wrapped up the weekend with going to a free Kari Jobe concert at Cornerstone Church.  We love her music and the fact that it was free was a huge bonus!  She played "The More I Seek You"  last night....such a great song!  The Lord always draws me into him with those lyrics.  I love being romanced by him...and being able to worship with Ryan last night was wonderful.  My heart is full.  Here is the link to the song. Enjoy!

Kicking the summer off right....

So I've been inspired, y'all!  Have you ever read the blog "Peanut Butter Fingers"??  I love it!  If you have time and want to follow her blog...here is it:  http://www.pbfingers.com/  She is always posting great workouts and recipes....things I love.  Not to mention she seems equally in love with her dog as I am with Bella.  Since summer is here and my TOT classes are over, I have more time to get inspired and to blog.  It's so fun for me!  Ryan is swamped with work (this month is a busy season with their business) so I feel a little guilty having all of this time to catch up on fun/relaxing things.  While he is out working in the heat...sometimes Bella and I will do this...

Hahaha, I had to take this....she is sleeping right above me.  Bella always has to be with you even when she is sleeping.  My social butterfly.  But really, I don't nap everyday...I'm having a productive summer so far.  This morning I woke up and took Bella on a little loop around the neighborhood.  When we got home I went right back out the door for a six mile run....then treated myself to a yummy breakfast.

An egg with goat cheese on a whole wheat English muffin and a side of berries.  The blackberries were so ripe and tasted heavenly! Once I was showered and finished running some errands I went and met up with Kristin, Toni, and Alyssa for a bite of lunch.  I LOVE those girls....Alyssa's baby boy, Landon, was such great entertainment :)  I even splurged and got an ice cream sandwich at the restaurant...but I didn't eat all of it because I gave the girls each a bite ;)  So that makes it not as bad...right!?

I haven't started any big summer projects around the house yet, but I plan on tackling a biggie soon....stripping the wall paper and repainting our downstairs bathroom.  I don't have a picture, but as of now this bathroom has duck wallpaper on it.  Yep, not my style.  I hate starting a project that I can't finish right away so I never took time to begin it...BUT this summer is the summer that the duck walls are gonna go.  I will post a before and after picture eventually.

On Sunday we got back from Dallas where we visited by brother and his girlfriend Staci.  My Mom and Dad met us up there because it was Dad's birthday weekend.  We had so much fun, and we stayed in the Omni...which is absolutely beautiful and complete luxury!  I even got to hit up the Omni fitness center which I was really impressed with.  And on Saturday afternoon we hit up the Rangers game. Now doesn't that sound like an eventful weekend?!  Oh, summer...how I have missed you :)  Here is a picture of my hubby and I at the game:

Food and Fitness

From January till a bout a month ago I hit this slump in my workout routine.  You see, I don't have a gym membership so I usually go for a good run to get my heart rate up.  Then  I do some at home exercises to finish it off.  Well shortly after my half marathon last October, I just got burnt out on running and would only go once a week or so.  Well my friends, my love for running is back!  I think the time off from running 5 days a week was great and much needed, but I am excited that I am whipping myself back into running condition.  I am not super competitive, so running always intimidated me a little bit.  But when you find a beautiful route and a good pace for yourself it makes the experience much more enjoyable.  I even found some great at home circuit workouts for days that I take off from hitting the pavement!...all thanks to Pinterest ;) 

Now that I am burning more calories, I felt the need to start whipping up some hardier, healthier...and YUMMIER breakfasts.  I am getting a little tired of the usually almond coconut KIND bar every morning.  And I LOVE eating guilt free carbs :)  Our fridge is stocked up with whole wheat bagels and english muffins...heavenly!  Here are some tasty morning treats that I have been enjoying. Feel free to take these yummy ideas and change em up a bit...and share it with me!  Because I love food :)

Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and sliced strawberries.

Whole wheat english muffin with almond butter, sliced banana, and one scrambled egg on the side.

Almond and Orange Granola

 Here is the granola recipe:

4 cups of oats

1/2 cup of honey

2 tbs of brown sugar

2 tsp of vanilla

1 tbs of orange zest

1/2 cup of sliced almonds

Mix all the ingredients together, pour over foil in a baking dish, and bake for 30 minutes at 350!

If you like your granola with clusters then add a couple tbs of water, the more water the more clusters :)

Oh and here is my baby :)