Big things

My younger sister is clear across the world, traveling for a month, going to amazing places to help "change the world" for the better and experience new things, And all I can think of is how jealous I am that she gets to experience these amazing places. Places that I have dreamed of going to. She is currently in Greece, and will head to Egypt, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Bulgaria and Israel. During Christmas she gets to be in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. This is the place I am most jealous about. I would love to go there, especially during Christmas! I am very happy for her that she gets to be apart of something big, dont hear me say that I am not. and I look forward to when she gets back to hear all about it and see pictures. I just wish that I could do stuff like that. I always had the idea of traveling around the world, doing BIG things for the Lord, whatever those big things are. Seeing the world, planting a church in some foreign country or being missionaries and traveling around preaching the gospel. It makes my heart race whenever I think about it. and maybe thats what the Lord wants me to do, or maybe its not. Who knows. Im still searching and asking God to show me what He has planned for me. For now, I get to enjoy the fact that my sister is doing something big and read all about it on her blog. http://newcitizens.tumblr.com/

Mess after mess

This week I feel like I am constantly cleaning...

This is ONE of the many many clean up piles of dishes I did in the past two days. I made a cake this weekend, which of course I forgot to take a picture of. And yes that is all the counter space I have. I dont know how I do it sometimes.. This was also the same day that I was trying to make dinner and bake a cake at the same time.. Apparently I think I am superwoman. ;)  

Brayden trying to buckle himself in his chair

This is my favorite little nephew, Little B, who is eating like a big boy. Which also leads to this -----> You cant see it, but its all over the floor and under his butt. How it got there, who knows? He did inform me that he was very messy. :)

a tiny revelation

Wow it has been 2 months since my last blog, my goodness I am a slacker. :)

As I was sitting at work with nothing to do but eat chocolate covered fruit, I was going through some pictures on facebook of my days in high school and college. And I am so thankful for the place I am at in my life with my AMAZING husband. Not to be bragging on myself.. but to look at the kind of girl I was and the walk I had with the Lord, I've realized how much I have grown and am sooo thankful for the things, that I thought were life shattering,  He had me go through to be the young woman I am today and the relationship I have with Jesus. I dont know where I would be if I had continued on the path I was going and be friends with the people I was friends with. And even though I am not a huge fan of Texas, I dont think I would change it. I have a GREAT family here that even though I talk about how I'd like to leave Amarillo, I would never want to be apart from them. Its taken me quite some time to admit that (not that I have a great family, but being in Amarillo) and I will still cling to the fact the I am a native born Colorado girl and NOT a Texan and still secretly pray that the Lord will move the "Gehm/Venable" family to a compound way up in the mountains (shhh, pretend like you didnt read that, ;) ) But I am embracing the life God has blessed me with these past few years. And I am certainly blessed.

Cooking

This week... Rachel ray and crockpot inspired recipes. A new recipe for every night. Monday was one of rachel rays 30 minute meals.. Course it took me 45 minutes because of the lovely dogs and let's face it, they never take the time they say unless you're a pro. ;) Meat and potatoes salad. Made with fresh sage and upland cress. Tuesday, Dougs favorite, Blt Mac and cheese. Bacon, arugala, and tomatoes with shredded asiago and parmigiano reggiano cheese with a kick of crushed red peppers. Thursday we went Asian in the crockpot. Beef and broccoli. Which was delicious but heated up our apartment even more, since our air conditioner stopped working for a day and a half. It got to 90 degrees... INSIDE! Praise Jesus its fixed now. Tonight, pizza hut. Hey, it's a lazy night. ;) Saturday will be pork and potatoes in the crockpot. Good way to end an 8-5 shift at Edible's.

a healthier us

Okay everyone im getting back into blogging new recipes. Ive had a few requests that I get back into this, so here you go!
We recently inherited a grill from a family member and so naturally we are grilling a few times a week. It makes cooking so much easier seeing as I prep and Doug grills. We love it and of course the dogs love it. They know whenever we walk out back with a plate of food, they will be getting some. (yes we grill extra meat with no seasonings on it for them.) They love it! Atlas hyperventilates and Apache jumps on the counter to see what it is.

Okay on a side not.. Im watching tv as im blogging and there is this perfect meatloaf pan infomercial.. uhh yeah i want it! :)

okay back on track.. so anyways, on thursday for date night, I made grilled chicken fajitas with orange avocado salsa.. YUMMY! and tonight I made Roasted veggie pizza. Also delicious! Each of these meals had plenty of veggies and whole wheat crusts or tortillas. We are eating healthier this month. I make fresh fruit smoothies every morning which are I think the best breakfast. We went on a nice long walk with the doggies. (picture of them pooped afterwards) We excersize regularly and well for me atleast limit my caffiene intake.. so no more several sweet teas a day... Doug on the other hand cant seem to stop having 3 pops a day. (yes niki i said pop. ;) )

antsy

I want to pack up all of our stuff, move into a home, and unpack everything and organize. I want to deep clean like never before. Yes I know im crazy.. I love doing that stuff. Keeps my mind off of other things. Its relaxing to me. The only problem is.. it isnt possible at this time and that disappointments me. Im antsy. I want something to change. With all the times we have put offers down on houses and looked and never found one we liked, or saved up money for a down payment and then it get wiped out with something else.. it feels like a home is not in our near future. We have a nice apartment, in a good area. Im thankful for that. But is it just me or are all the questions we are asking.. the answers seem to be no..

Prayer

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with THANKSGIVING, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.
Phillipians 4:6-10

Lord, let this verse be my life verse. Let it come to me whenever I find myself drifting and meditating on worldly things. Let me not focus on the things that I do not have or the things that get me down. I want to meditate on things that are true, pure and lovely. Get my focus back on track. I pray that I would come to you with a thankful heart and mind. Praise you for everything you have already giving me and continue to bless me with. I pray those things that I want/desire would be things after your own heart and not of my own. Constantly remind me of your word and pour this verse over me. I want to be the type of person that people look at and see Jesus in me. Give me a quiet spirit. I thank you for your love and sacrifice. I thank you for a godly husband who loves me more than I deserve. I thank you for providing a home, jobs, and food for us. I thank you for the closeknit family support we have. I thank you for the litting things, dogs, grass, air condition.

down

I tried a new recipe tonight, did not go well. In fact I think its gross. Now I must get something else for doug and I to eat before he gets home from basketball. Our dogs are already ruining our beautiful grass. My great grandmother passed away this morning. :( and I am alone tonight.
On the bright side Nellie gave me a facial today and I look fantastic.

Hopeful

I love the sonogram technicians at my doctors office. They are so nice and loving. They really care and are rooting for you in every way. I had my second appoint today and things are looking good. I was told that i have the same uterus as the technician. Weird. :) but she was excited. She also said that my uterin lining is beautiful. It looks exactly what it is supposed to look like for housing a little baby. Let me tell you, there is nothing for flattering than being told you have a beautiful uterus. I never thought something so simple would be so encouraging and flattering. It's one of the best compliments I have ever had. They made me feel so hopeful and encouraged today. I actually kind of look forward to my next appointment. Weird how God can change your perspective through two wonderful nurses.

The past couple days have been a whirlwind of emotions. Friday I had my first sonogram appointment for the fertility treatment Doug and I are doing. I was nervous and not wanting to go. I didn't know what to expect. A friend of mine kept asking if I was okay because apparentnly I looked extremely nervous. I was. Usually sonograms are supposed to be an exciting thing and being able to see the little life growing inside you. Well it's not fun when there is nothing there. I always thought my first sono would be seeing my baby. Growing up when I thought about having kids it never occurred to me that we would go thru this. God is so good and I know is using this to show us something and doing something big in our lives. Thankfully the technician was so nice and talked me through it all. She said everything looked normal and good. Nothing to be concerned about yet. My next series will be in the next week or two. I hope for the same results. I pray this doesn't wipe us out financially. Paying for each appointment out of pocket is never fun. God will provide.
Also today my mom informed me that my great grandmother who is going to be 101 years old this year is in the hospital due to a spot on her liver and there is nothing they can do to help her. All they can do is make her as comfortable as possible. It breaks my heart that i wont get a chance to see her again or introduce Doug to her. I selfishly pray for healing and that she will live another year. I pray that she wouldn't be in much pain anymore. I pray she finds Jesus.
In a happy note, Doug and I have a yard of beautiful grass. I just stare at it and thank God for blessing us with it. Thanks to niki's mom who got us a great deal!

Heart

I need to get some stuff out- I am having a hard time these days. Emotionally and physically. I have recently started taking Body Combat classes at the gym we go to. And let me tell you.. It is rough! I am so sore and stay sore for days. I am so out of shape. I may be thin but definitely not healthy! haha. What can I say, I love my junk food and laziness. :) The class is fun and a stress reliever. I wish that it was more than just once a week. But to make up for that I also am doing yoga once a week as well. Its time to kick it into gear and get healthy. Which leads me to the emotional struggle I have. As many know Doug and I have been trying to get pregnant for a little over 2 years. And no results. We will be going to a fertility doctor this month to hopefully get some guidance. But I am kind of at the point of feeling hopeless and that maybe this isnt Gods will for us. We both desperately want kids. Its extremely hard to watch and hear about so many women I know who end up pregnant so fast, not trying, or not even wanting kids. To be honest... Kind of tired of it. I rejoice with the fact that they get this amazing blessing, but at the same time its heart breaking for Doug and I. Mothers day was rough, I know Fathers day will be for Doug. Hopefully after our appointment will give us some clarity on what needs to happen next, whether that be some type of medical procedure or adoption. I pray for the Lords will, whatever it is.

Bon Apetit!

I was reminded last night of how blessed I am to have a godly husband like Doug. I am so thankful for him and couldnt have picked a better guy to spend my life with! With all the talk of Bin Laden being killed and all the facebook posts and celebrating of the US on his death, I was reminded by Doug that as Christians we should be praying for salvation for those who need it, whether we like them or not. The Lord does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, He would rather see them turn to Him in repentence. As believers we are citizens of Heaven and not of this world, and our focus should be for us to be witnesses to nonbelievers. Amen to the fact that Jesus is a just god and the wicked will see judgement. But it does break my heart to know that there are those who will see judgement and not have eternal life with the Lord. I just pray that my focus would be on the kindgom and to pray for those who desperately need Jesus.

In other news, I made Boeuf Bourignonne! Man was it time consuming! Took 3 hours. The recipe called for a few cups of red wine. I was hesitant to cook with alcohol, because, well lets be honest, Im not a fan of alcohol, I dont like it, dont drink it, never will and have strong feelings about it. I know cooking with it burns off all the alcohol but I was still nervous about it. Call me strange. Whatever. :) Shopping for the wine is another story! I had no idea which one to choose! World Market has a huge selection so I thought that was the best place to go. I looked dumb founded standing in the section trying to pick one. Thankfully Doug was there shopping with me and chose one, the cheapest one. :) thats how I like to shop! Dinner was delicious. The wine added a nice sweet taste to the beef. Definitely something I will have to make again when I have an extra 3 hours. :) Plus I have half a bottle of wine sitting on the shelf not knowing what to do with it. :) So my cooking challenge is over. I didnt make as many meals as I had hoped for but thats what happens when life take a different path then you expect. But I learned a few new recipes and tried new things. I will continue to try new stuff and enhance my culinary skills. This week tho.. Hot dogs, mac n cheese, grilled cheese and tomatoe soup. Yay for mothers day week at Edibles... ;)

Yesh..

I dont know how many times I need to apologize to those following my blog.... I am horrible at keeping up with this! Mostly because I have been sick the past couple days and havent made anything spectacular. So sorry Mom and Dad. ;) Last night was my first night back in to it. Only a couple more meals to make! Last night I made Baked Ratatouille. (in honor of nathan) I was hesitant about it because I have never had eggplant before and not sure how to pick one out or even a zuccini. It had a special take on it so it wasnt completely vegeterian (sorry mom). I added bacon to it. Makes it delicious! My plan was to make Ratatouille while watching Ratatouille for date night.But that didnt happen. O well. We watched The Other Guys instead. Pretty funny. Doug liked dinner and had several helpings. And I actually enjoyed the eggplant. :) So this one is a keeper.
In other news, I am glad the Royal Wedding is over.. I am tired of hearing about it. Altho I do have to admit, her dress was gorgeous. But enough said. :) Also, I watched the trailer for the last Harry Potter, or Parry Hotter as Bill likes to call it.. And it looks AWESOME! I CANNOT WAIT! :)
Also I dislike walmart and the people there.. you know what im talking about those of you who I called sobbing too..
And I have a cake to do this weekend. Should be pretty fun!
AND I have been watching every episode of the Office all week long. I am so sad Michael Scott is gone.. I need to watch last nights episode still.. so dont spoil it!
I am full of several emotions this week and that is why this blog is so random.

Left overs

Last night I made Spaghetti Pie. Im a huge fan of spaghetti and any chance I get to have some I take it! It was delicious. And with the garlic bread it was just mouth watering.. My mouth is watering as I am typing this. Think I will have some left overs for lunch. :) One nice thing about it only being the two of us, is that we always have left overs because for some reason I always make enough food to feed 5 or 6 people. :) Atleast its nice to know that I dont have to change our meal planning for when we have a few kids. :) Tonight, probably left overs since its Good Friday and Doug will be at the church all night.

getting healthy.. or not

I am so thankful for my husband. I am thankful that he is loving and faithful to me. I love that he makes me laugh and is there for me to cry to. He is my best friend. I cannot imagine my life with out him. I am so blessed to have him in my life. Today we went to the gym today.. I never to go the gym. Partly because well lets be honest, I dont need to lose weight. But I am definitely not in good shape either. And Doug wanted me to go, so I went. I warned Doug I wouldnt last long. I talked the whole time as well.. Im sure I annoyed him and he will never want me to come with again. :)  After the workout my whole body felt like jello and I couldnt feel my legs from doing the bicycle for 20 minutes. Im sure you are chuckling, thinking what a ninny. (thats some word doug used to call me a weakling.) Well its true. I am. While Doug was finishing up his workout I watched a workout class going on, bodycombat. It looked fun. I want to try it. Beat me up some people, well technically air. :)

For dinner, we had pierogies and polish sausage, very healthy. ;) I grew up on pierogies so technically its not a new recipe but I did cook them another way so it kind of works. I have made some from scratch before but they take like 3 hours.. but so delicious. Besides the week has been crazy already so I needed something easy. Spending the night with my husband, eating food I grew up on and watching the office... Its a refreshing night to what the week has already presented. I cherish these moments. And I cannot wait to get in bed and pass out.... oh and by the way I included a picture of Brayden sleeping on my floor because thats what I feel like doing. :)

Fishiness??

I am really bad at remembering to blog after I cook! I apologize for my few followers.. (mom and dad) :) Thursday night was date night, so I dont typically get on the computer that day, but I did cook. For the very first time ever, I cooked fish.. Yepp fish. I know what some of you are thinking, kimberly hates seafood.. its true. I dont enjoy it. BUT.. I kind of liked it this time. I tried another recipe out of the Grace Church cookbook, thanks to the lovely Karen Wade, I used her recipe. It wasnt bad at all! and I am not sick from it either. Double bonus. Super easy to make, triple bonus! The only probably I had was picking out a fish. I dont know how to shop for that. The recipe called for a white firm fish.. uuhh ookay?? So I headed to the store and went to the seafood isle.. looked around for ten minutes with a confused look on my face and my tonge sticking out.. you know the look. :) After careful consideration.. I chose Tilapia. It was the cheapest and looked white and firm to me. And thanks to my wonderful husbands knowledge of the doneness of fish, we had a lovely meal of fish, rice and bread. I was certainly proud of myself. :) Friday we had taco villa. Yummy!! Today, we will see what the future holds for us. The plan- steak burritos.

Hazards

I almost had a freak out moment literally 10 seconds ago.. Patch decided to throw a large kong toy onto the keyboard.. it froze and wouldnt work. Thankfully it is working again! haha dogs.. Its been a day of hazards. I came home from the store today and started putting away the groceries. Well apparently as I was putting away some veggies in the fridge I stuck my head too far in and when I lifted up.. I smacked, no slammed my head in to the door. I hit is so hard that Im pretty sure I blacked out a second because the next thing I knew I was hunched over on a chair. Instantly felt sick to my stomach. My head still hurts. The lessoned learned here.. dont stick your head in the fridge no matter what! :)
Tonight I made one of Cheryls famous casseroles. As everyone knows everything she makes is famous. Shes an amazing cook, and lets face it, I will never be as good as her. but I can certainly try! :) I made Chicken and Chilis casserole. One of Dougs favorite from his childhood. It is delicious! If you havent tried it,you should. It is in the Grace Cookbook.-Which I will be cooking from all week, so someone else may be mentioned. ;)
The dogs are wrestling at the moment.. yes literally wrestling like teenage boys.. I feel another accident happening...

Mondays..

I forgot to blog on saturday about what I made... Im so forgetful sometimes, or just very busy lately. Saturday night we ended up going to the park with family and watched Brayden feed the ducks. Really watched him eat the bread himself. :) I did make something saturday. Bruschetta Chicken. I love anything Bruschetta. Bruschetta Steak (which by the way, mine is delicious) and just plain ol' bruschetta. I could snack on it all the time. I have fond memories of it back in college on valentines day when my friends and I made bruschetta and venison that a friend has recently attained the weekend before. :) Sitting in the dorm room cooking it on the electric skillet we werent allowed to have, making valentines day cards that night.. ;) As for the chicken I made.. it was good, I dont think it cooked all the way. So there were parts we just ate around. O well, cant all be a success.
Tonight, no new recipe. Sorry to my fans. ;) I worked longer hours today due to a sick mother in law and was just too tired to cook something new. So just a pork roast that i just popped in the oven with some pasta. Still delicious. Tomorrow I will have to pick up where I left off. Quiet night at home tonight. I finished a book I've been in to for the past week. Ive set a record for myself. 4 books so far this year. Nothing compared to Dougs 10 books so far.. but its no competition.. or is it? :)

Friday,

Today has been a pretty okay day, not including the few emotional battles since last night, but not bad all together. I worked extra hours today, which was nice because I basically got paid to sit there and read a book im in to at the moment. So im not complaining there. :) Once I got home.. different story. Apparently our dogs dont like being locked up an extra two hours and decided to have more energy that I can handle, as well as my poor feet, which by the way have scratches all over them because they wouldnt let me walk more than an inch with out stepping on me. And our neighbors decided that they feel need to blast their music so loud that it pounds thru our walls and we can hear it over our tv. As I am typing this it is still going... ugh. I took Atlas for a walk to release some stress. In the process I found the perfect house. Unfortunately its in a neighbor that we definitely would not be able to afford for a long time. Discouraging.

One thing that is good, was dinner! I made bacon wrapped meatballs with french fries! It was yummy. I think I need to cook it a little more next time, a little runny. I was so thankful that when it was time to cook dinner it was easy and fast. After a long day at work and emotions running high its always nice to have something easy to make and not stress over that. Tonight, quiet night. I think I might even go to bed early. Big shock. ;)

Thursdays

Every week I look forward to thursdays. It is a reminder that I am getting closer to the weekend, I get off of work early, its date night and I get to hang out with my favorite and only nephew all afternoon. Its usually a pretty good day, exhausting day for sure. Today Brayden and I did household chores, well actually I did and he, well did baby things. :) I see it as a preparation time for me whenever Doug and I have little ones walking around. I love rocking him to sleep and he seems to enjoy it as well.. I mean who wouldnt enjoy being held and back rubbed while falling asleep!? I think I will have to convince Doug to do that to me tonight as I try to drift off.. :) I love being the Aunt, its my chance to spoil the heck out of him. He says hello in the cutest way and if you havent heard him yet, Ive gotten a little video for you. (I cant figure out how to turn it up right so I apologize) It just breaks your heart and makes you so happy at the same time because he is the most adorable baby. I cant wait for my own.
Anyways, For date night, I made dinner, Which I normally do. Tonight I made Apple Stuffed Pork Chops with broccoli and cheese and french bread. It was delicious! Doug said that so far my little project has been a success. And I think he has enjoyed having new recipes to try. This one, I thought was going to be difficult to do, which in fact it was super easy and fast! (well besides the hour of baking in the oven) Tomorrow will be Bacon Wrapped Meatballs.. we will see if that is a success as well!

Day 2- Pizzeria

Today is a day I can describe with one word.. Exhaustion... Busy day at work and a busy day at home. Today I decided to deep clean the apartment... like scrub the baseboards on all our walls. I even pulled out all our furniture and vacuumed behind everything. Dusted and swepted the cielings and walls. Our home is a brand new place! :) Im like a real housewife.. All I need to complete it is a couple kids running around. Our dogs will have to do unitl then. :) During all of that I was able to start making my first homemade pizza. For the past several months I havent been able to eat pizza for some odd reason. Every time that I do I end up sick to my stomach and not able to function. Im not sure if I am allergic to the sauce or if the grease just upsets my stomach so much, but I decided to make my own pizza and pray that I dont get sick. So far.. Im healthy as can be, so I think we might have a winner! The real test will be during the night. I made a Marinated Mozzeralla Pizza. with fresh basil and parsley and garlic. It was yummy. The only thing that would have made it better was a sauce to dip it into. I will have to remember that for next time. We just came back from walking both dogs on such a nice cool night. Walks are one of my favorite things Doug and I do. Brings me back to our dating days when we would take walks just to get away and talk. I burped on our walk (yes very lady like) and I got the after taste of garlic.. you know the taste, Doug says theres no better burp than that. :) Day 2 is a success.

Day 1 of Julie & Julia challenge.

Today kicked off my new recipes for every meal I make in the month of April! After spending an hour at the worst walmart in the world and having a headache.. I was finally able to come home and relax and start cooking. Tonight I decided to make French Onion Soup and Tomato Mozzerella Salad, or as Doug likes to call it- Tomatza salad or mozamato.. :) (gotta love him) The smell of onions is still lingering in our apartment but its a delicious smell of carmelized onions. Even though doug had to leave the room because of the burning of his eyes from the onions (it required 3 cups of onions) it was delicious! A perfect blend of salty and crunchiness from the bread. And as I type this now my eyes are starting to water from the left over scent. Well worth it. :) I definitely recommend opening a window if you are going to make this in a small kitchen! The salad was a nice refreshing taste to the savory soup. Tomorrow I look forward to making another new recipe. So far it is a success. :)

My own Julie and Julie experiment

If anyone knows me, knows that I love the movie Julie & Julia and love to cook. So I plan on doing my own little take on the movie. For the month of April every meal that I cook I plan on making all new recipes, try things I've never done before, like poaching a chicken and even trying some seafood recipes. Which we all know Im not a fish fan, especially since my lovely bacteria I got the week of my honeymoon that kept me sick for months and still causes problems! For my final recipe on the last day of April I plan on making the big dish! Thats right.. Boeuf Bourguignonne! I plan to keep a journal about all of this.. my blog. :) share my experiences, my ups and downs. I plan on becoming famous, write books, make millions, have a movie made after me where Amy Adams will play me. :) Okay maybe just increase my culinary skills. :)

My addiction..

For the past week I have had a minor addiction.. okay major addiction, to the show Veronica Mars. I am not proud of this, but I have watched 47 episodes in the past week. There are 64 episodes over the span of 3 seasons. okay, I guess I am a little proud. :)  I guess you can say im hooked. I have had to force myself to get away from the tv and take a break. Doug did the math and said that I have spent over 30 hours watching this show. I have now come to the realization that I havent been doing my normal routine stuff and wifely duties, like laundry. I now have a rewarding system, if I clean the enitre apartment and do atleast a load of laundry a day then I reward myself with an episode. It seems to be working pretty good. Even having to make dinner is a nice refreshing break from watching tv. Hey, I am only human. :) All I think about is Veronica Mars, all I dream about is the show. I dream of solving crimes with Veronica and we are the best of friends hanging out all the time.