Friday Facts!

1. This week was looong. So let's take a deep breath, let it out, and say it all together folks. TGI Friday. We made it. 


2. Got any good weekend plans? We're having a roommate night tonight since all five of us will be here in town and free for the night. Kim is making dinner (we got the closest we've ever gotten to a full week of our dinners! 4 nights this week, not too shabby) and then we're heading downtown for what I'm sure will include some drinks and a lot of dancing. Saturday I'll be spending the day with Kristen and Kelly, and Sunday is the Superbowl of course! 

Go Patriots!!

Why yes, I did take this picture in a bathroom. Classy, I know. I had to take a picture to send back home to Dad who raised me to be the good Boston fan that I am today.


3. Backtrack back to those roommate dinners that I mentioned. I talked about our dinner rotation that we started here. I was never a cook before we started this weekly routine, and I'm now surprising myself with consistently successful meals each week! Who knew following a recipe could be so easy? I already blogged about what I made this week, but I couldn't help but take a picture of Kristi's creation to share here in blog land:

Fuego Chicken Tostada Bowl

Homemade Tortilla Chips

I would have documented Carly's nachos to share, but I finished those before I could even think about taking a decent picture. Mah bad. Can you tell that I have a minor obsession with food? No big deal.


4. Speaking of obsessions, I've got a new hobby that I picked up recently. I'm not entirely sure if you could call this a "hobby," but when you spend as much time as I have on it, I think it's warranted. I seriously can't put my cookbooks down. My Cooking Light one (that I've mentioned about 100 times), the new one that I got from the 2012 Blogging Party and this one that I got for Christmas:

Right after I finished my dinner, I started looking at recipes for next week. I've got post it notes alll over these babies. Thanks for letting me use all of your post its, Carly! I've looked through them countless times already, but for some reason I just love looking again and again. I'm thinking when it's my turn to pick out a book for our book club, I'll just pick a cook book. 


5. Guess what guy's going to Winter Formal this weekend.

I'm so excited for pictures. Maybe I'll go crazy and do a blast from the past post with pics from my high school dancing days. Just maybe.


6. Speaking of the fam, I'm driving home to San Diego next weekend. I can't wait to see them and hopefully celebrate the Pats win with Dad!. Haven't been home since Christmas, and I try getting down there once a month so it's been a while. 


7. It's officially over a month into the new year, and my gym resolution isn't the only one I've kept up with! I'm still on schedule for reading the Bible in one year along with my church. Here's one of my favorite verses from this week's reading:

Say this to the entire community of Isreal: 'Come into the Lord's presence, and hear his reply to your complaints.' And as Aaron spoke to the people, they looked out toward the desert. Within the guiding cloud, they could see the awesome glory of the Lord

Exodus 16: 9-10

This verse really resonated with me because it addresses the fact that it's okay to complain to God. Faith, to me, is not about having all of the answers. It's realizing that there are so many things here on Earth that we don't know. Things that we have no control over. Sometimes as often as daily, we can be faced with uncomfortable situations. Things that bring us stress, frustration, disappointment and sadness. Having faith does not get rid of these things; it doesn't take away our problems. But it does give us an outlet. When things are not going your way, complain to God. If you have questions, ask Him. It's okay to have doubts. Bringing my frustrations, worries and fears to God has given me a sense of peace and comfort that I've never felt before. Like the verse says, I'm able to see the awesome glory of the Lord. And Amen to that!

8. Speaking of resolutions and church, another goal for this year was to travel more. Last Sunday, they announced that our church will be doing a trip to Boston in May. Reality is planting a new church there, and will be sending a group of people for a Prayer Tour. I've decided I'm going! Not only will this be an amazing experience for me to grow in my faith and hopefully help others do the same, but I'll be getting to travel to one of my favorite cities! I'll say it one more time, big Patriots fan over here. 

9. So I mentioned this week that I take pictures when I'm in traffic (what, that's not safe?), so you better believe that when I saw my name on a license plate I snapped a shot:

Coolest thing ever. I know.

10. Bam. Finished another 10 facts. Happy Friday, folks! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!