Friends' Thanksgiving!

This weekend we had our 2nd Annual Friends' Thanksgiving. We had ham, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, crescent rolls, Hawaiian bread, corn, pickles, carrots, grapes, and pumpkin pie w ice cream and chocolate cookie bars for dessert! 

The Next Chapter...

This September we found out that the Gifts-in-Kind part of World Vision-Twin Cities was going to be shutting down as part of a large organizational restructure. What does that mean for me? It means that as of December 02, 2011 I will be laid off. It was a shock to all of us...and although I was surprised, for some reason deep down my heart already knew. God had been nudging me to head towards a new chapter in my life for a couple months beforehand and I wasn't listening. Now I had to listen.

My poor roommate and close friends have had to listen to me constantly talking about what new jobs I've applied for, me changing my mind about what I want to do next..if i should relocate and where (and trust me this changes alot). They have all been so supportive through all this and I've really seen how blessed I am to have the friends and family that I do!

Since September I've thought a lot, changed my mind a lot, and prayed a lot. God has really laid it on my heart and led me in a certain direction that I really have peace about (which is a blog post in and of itself!). So as of now, I'll be moving to Colorado--probably the Denver area--in January. I've sent out a handful of applications to jobs I'm really interested in out there, but as of now I don't yet have a job. I am starting to set up appointments to look at apartments with my mom the first week in December, which makes it all seem even more real. It will be a complete leap of faith moving to a new state with no job, but God hasn't failed me yet..and I know He wouldn't lead me out there to leave me high and dry.

It will be so hard to leave my friends here in Minneapolis. I have so many awesome memories here and I do not take any of it for granted! I am beyond blessed. But I need to follow my heart...which God has sewn a little adventure into...and I am excited to see where this journey takes me!

1st Annual Cousin's Trip!

Earlier this summer, my cousin Ted and I decided we wanted to take a trip down to AZ to visit our other cousin, Danielle. She is a Freshman at U of Arizona in Tucson...and Ted & I being from Massachusetts and Minnesota we don't get to see each other too often. It would be the first time we have ever hung out together without our parents and the rest of our family. Well we made it happen and flew out to AZ for the last week in October. It was a blast :). It was really fun getting to know each other not just as family...but also as friends.

At Rawhide...an old western town that became "haunted" at night.

Dani & Ted showin some cousinly love after shopping.

Being tourists.

Miss you Ted & D! All I can say is...I can't wait to plan the next one :)

Quincy Baby

I am now the proud mother to a beautiful baby hedgie named Quincy Patrick. Born on March 17, 2011. Hedgehogs are such silly pets. I often just watch him and think..."Wow Q, you are just so weird" :) He is such a sweetheart though. It took him a bit to get used to me, but now he loves being held and getting to play outside of his cage. Here are a few pictures of Quincy Baby.

Q in the car ride home after first getting him!

Grumpy hedgie.

Helping me celebrate Nicole's birthday :)

Best Friends Forever

Trees

I looked out my window today and thought it looked really depressing outside.
But then I trudged through the sludge in the park across the street
and took some pictures of the trees and fog.

Sometimes there is beauty where you wouldn't expect it.

The Girlies

Ever since they were both adopted from Guatemala, I have babysat and hungout with these two silly girls. I first babysat Anna when I was about twelve, she is now 11 years old and growing up way too fast! This family is one of our closest family friends....and I have spent lots of time at their house..especially my senior year when their German exchange student became one of my best friends! Even though my parents have now moved to Spearfish, SD, we still were able to spend the Christmas holiday season staying with them at their house. So fun to get to spend 10 days with my favorite little girls and see how much they've grown up! Anna has recently found her birth mother in Guatemala, so they had me take some pictures to send to her. I haven't had much time to play around with my new camera, so it was fun to practice with them!

Green Smoothie

Maybe you have heard of the new trend of "Green Smoothies". Well...after a day of very unhealthy eating...I was inspired to try one. So I ventured to the grocery store and bought a few things...including two things I don't think I have ever bought myself before---Organic Spinach and Organic Flaxseed.

Spinach and flaxseed in a smoothie?!?! Yes...you may think its crazy...but hear me out.
This is what I put in the blender:
Strawberries, Raspberries, Banana, Orange Juice, a few ice cubes, some Flaxseed---and a handful of Spinach. I blended it all up and did the taste test---I am not at all a Spinach fan, but I couldn't taste it at ALL...so I added more, and then even a bit more. Seriously it was all green and I couldn't taste the Spinach because of all the fruit and juice. So there ya have it. My new attempt at being healthy.

This isn't my picture but this is about what my smoothie looked like--except a little more brownish green.

Try it, I dare ya.

Photo from slashfood.com