Friday Facts!

Haven't seen this type of post in a while, huh? 

It's a random type of Friday, so bringing back the Friday Facts. Not quite sure if I'll be able to pop out 10 of these babies, but I'll see what I can do. 

1. The baseball game was perfect. Minus the fact that the Red Sox sucked... badly. I got to spend some amazing quality time with one of my best friends on her birthday. Ate some delicious food, had some bomb seats (field level baby!), and had some of the best conversations on the way to and from the game. 

Oh, and I have the pictures to prove it. 

Oh, how I love this girl!

2. Last night, had the definition of a girls' night in. What exactly makes for a "girls' night in" you ask? 

Wine. 

Cheese. 

Crackers.

Fruit (you know, to be healthy). 

And a classic chick flick. 

Our chick flick of choice? The Notebook. 

3. I could not be more excited for this weekend, because this girl is visiting:

I don't think it's even set in that she will be here tonight!!! Life just makes more sense with this girl around.

4. This isn't going to be the first time that I call my baby brother a stud on the blog (that would have been this post). 

But he kind of is one. 

Don't believe me? Check it out.

Mike, you're in New York right now for your first college soccer tournament, so you're probably not reading this. But, I just want to say that I am so so so proud of you. I'm proud to call you my brother. I'm proud to see that all of the effort, energy and dedication that you put into your sports over the years paid off with a college scholarship. 

You deserve it, Mike. You really, really do. 

5. I have a company softball tournament tonight. I guess I could have mentioned this in my If You Really Knew Me post, but I played softball for 8 years growing up. Stopped playing in high school to become more hard core and took up cheerleading instead. 

I'm pretty excited to go back to my softball roots tonight. 

6. Speaking of my If You Really Knew Me post, a lot of you guys asked for more details on how I burned my house down. 

Yes, I'm thinking I will have a post on that coming soon. Get excited. 

7. If you saw my New Year's Resolutions post, then you saw that I'm trying to read the entire Bible in one year. I'm fairly close to being caught up (seriously, an act of God. I've tried to keep up with reading challenges before and always failed) and this week I'm in Job. Here's one of my favorite verses:

But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, 

if you are pure and live with complete integrity, 

He will rise up and restore your happy home. 

And though you started with little,

you will end with much. 

Job 8: 5-7

So thankful that our God is so, so good. 

8. The weather here has been H-O-T lately. For California, okay? A beach bbq is definitely on the agenda for this weekend. 

9. I'm in 2 places at once today! Check out my guest post on the lovely Kerrie's blog here.

10. Happy Friday and Happy 3 day weekend!!!

Got any exciting plans??

Take me out to the Ball Game!

Starting my weekend early!

Kind of. I'll be back to work tomorrow. 

For this girl's birthday:

I'll be leaving work early to head to a Red Sox/Angels game!

Can you guess who I'm rooting for?

Let's go Sox!!

Happy Humpday loves!

If you really knew me...

So I know I'm like a year behind on this post, but better late than never, right?

If you really knew me, you would know that...

-I'm blind as a bat. I wear contacts pretty much all day every day, but I do own glasses. And I will whip them out on very special occasion. 

-I have way too many funny stories that involve me peeing my pants. Way too many. 

-I've never broken a bone. The closest I've come to it is a chip fracture back in 4th grade. It was my right middle finger, and a girl stepped on me. Yupp, she stepped on my hand and BAM, chip fracture. 

Pretty sure it's still crooked. 

-I have an awkward habit of saying the word "Um" when I want to jump into a conversation. I won't have anything to say, I'll just say "Um." Pause. "I actually didn't have anything to say. My bad."

-For the past 5 years, I've worn the same firefighter costume for at least one night of celebrating Halloween. 

-I was partially responsible for burning my house down in high school. Yupp, you read that right. Partially responsible for a house fire. Go me!

-I have several different laughs. If you know me well enough, you're able to tell when I think something is really funny by my laugh. 

-I'm borderline obsessed with Mexican food. 

Oh wait, you already knew that one, huh? 

So tell me something random about yourself? Or maybe just direct me to your "If you really knew me" post that you did 2 months ago. Procrastination, it's my thing. 

XO

It's Monday

And I am exhauuuusted from this past weekend. 

Exhausted in the best possible way. Exhausted from:

-An absolutely amazing worship experience on Friday night. Definitely one of the best worship experiences that I have ever had. 

-A kick butt ass (cussing is necessary) 7 mile run on Saturday morning. Half marathon, I'm coming for ya!

-A post-run, delicious breakfast with my training partner. Perfect start to the day.

-An afternoon spent growing closer to an incredible new friend. One of those friendships that just clicks from the start, and I could not be more thankful to have met her. We have an insane amount of things in common, and spent the afternoon eating a delicious lunch, watching a Women of Faith video and diving straight into one of those convos that leaves you feeling a lot better about life. 

-A girl's night out with the same incredible new friend. The first of many I'm sure. 

-The perfect amount of cuddle time while serving in the nursery at church. 

-An amazing acai bowl for lunch with some of my favorite church folks. 

-Sunday adventure downtown with another incredible new friend. The ladies locker room at the gym has officially served it's purpose as match maker in the friendship department. 

-A deeeelicious Mexican feast with some of my other favorite church folks. 

So basically the weekend consisted of amazing food, amazing friends and amazing time with the Lord. I don't think I could possibly ask for a better weekend. 

And because I took pretty much no pictures during this epic weekend, now's a good time for an Instagram dump. Agreed? 

I hope your weekend was equally fantastic. 

Have yourselves a lovely Monday!

I Fasted!

A social media fast, that is. 

I was inspired last week, when a friend looked me straight in the eye and said I don't know what you would do without your phone. And he was right. I am constantly looking at my phone. 

Are there any comments on my blog post today?

Has anyone liked my Instagram picture?

What's going on on Twitter?

It's gross, guys. I really am glued to my phone. It's a wonder that I can make it through a Bible reading or church service without checking it, but you know I am wondering what will show up on that screen when I finally do look. 

I've read that fasting can bring you closer to the Lord, and so I decided to do it. But I knew that food was not what I needed to abstain from (except actually that would probably be a good fast for me too), I needed to take myself out of the social media world. 

Maybe it was only for a day, and maybe that's nothing in the grand scheme of things. But for me, it isn't. For me, it was the perfect reminder of what's important. When I'm with people, I want to be present. But more importantly, when I'm with the Lord, I want to be with the Lord. I don't want my mind to be wandering off to Blogland or Instagram or Twitter. 

I don't think these are bad things. In all honesty, blogging has been nothing but a blessing in my life. It has shown me how to appreciate each and every moment, because hey, this could turn into an awesome blog post. 

It has introduced me to some amazing new hobbies, like cooking, reading and taking thousands of pictures of ev-ery-thing. 

And it's allowed me to get deep with my thoughts, and my faith. Sometimes, I'm not sure who to go to with those deep thoughts that flood through my head. But now, I can put those thoughts into a simple blog post, and share it with any of you who are amazing enough to read it. 

And most importantly, it has led me to you guys. Yes, you. Maybe we talk on a regular basis through e-mail. Or, maybe you just come here every once and a while to skim recent posts. Either way, I am so thankful that you're here. And I'm so thankful to be a part of this beautiful, beautiful Blogland.

I want to remember these things that I love about the social media world. But, I also want to remember the real world. I want to remember the people who are here. The people who are living this thing called life with me. The people who actually give me something to blog about. Because I love them too, and I want to make sure that I never give them a reason to think that I've checked out.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rambling. A little serious for a Friday post, right? 

Well, here's some inspiration for you today. I know I could always use some. 

I love you all. Thanks for being some of the beautiful reasons for me to be happy.

Now let's make today ridiculously amazing, shall we?

What We Had For Dinner

I really loved this dinner, guys. And it's been one of my few balanced meals this week. The chicken was pretty simple, and the broccoli cheese bake was delicious! Definitely a win in my book, so of course I'm here to share:

Broccoli Cheese Bake

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups fresh broccoli florets

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

Dash pepper

2/3 cup fat-free milk

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Place 1 in. of water and the broccoli in a small saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. 

2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, salt, pepper and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in the onion and cheddar cheese until cheese is melted. Drain broccoli; stir into cheese sauce. 

3. Transfer to a 1-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. *I used the baby ramekins and they cooked for less time*

Chicken in White Wine Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, salt, paprika and pepper into a shallow bowl. Add chicken, one piece at a time, coating both sides. 

2. In a large ovenproof skillet coated with cooking spray, brown chicken in oil for 1-2 minutes on each side. Add broth and wine, bring to a boil. Remove from heat. 

3. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. 

Bam. That easy! Seriously, all of my recipes are quick and easy. It's one of the things I screen them for. Oh, and healthiness, since I'm trying to be good and all. 

It's rough guys, rough! Why is food so good?

But, I can assure you that this recipe is good and healthy. Score. 

Happy Humpday!

I Made a List

So, this lady here is single. Happily single, I will say, but single nonetheless. I am in no rush to settle down, but I do have an idea of what I'm looking for when I do. 

I know what I want, that's great, right? 

Wrong. 

Despite the fact that I know what I want, I almost always go for guys that do not fit into that description. I don't know what it is, but once I decide that I'm attracted to someone's personality, BAM. All my guidelines go out the window. My feelings take over, and I'm hooked. 

I'm not saying that these guys are bad guys, but it's generally pretty clear that they're not right for me. And knowing that usually doesn't make it any easier when things don't work out. 

But praise the Lord they don't!

So. How do I fix this pattern? I'm sure it's not a simple fix, but I had an idea. I made a list, a list of everything that I want in a future boyfriend/husband. And I'm hoping that writing it down will show me that what I'm looking for, will definitely be worth waiting for. 

And I'm blogging the list. So when I come here and go "guys, I got me a boyfreeenn!" I give all of you permission to point me straight to this post and say "K but does he fit the list?"

And if I say no, you talk some sense into this girl. 

Capesh?

Here we go:

1. He will look like this:

...

Kidding. 

But it can't hurt.

Alright, for reals:

1. Loves Christ. Can I get an Amen?

2. Dog person (preferably cat person). I know that might be pushing it a bit.

3. Loves kids. There is nothing more attractive to me than a man who loves kids. And I plan to have me some babies, so this man's gotta be ready. In High School, I swore I wanted 5 kids. 

I maybe still do.

4. Ambitious. I don't need a man who rakes in the big bucks, but I need a man with goals and drive.

5. Appreciates me. This one's big, guys. I have me some quirks. I fall asleep to almost any movie or tv show. I scream (or squeal?) when I have an unexpected bug encounter. I over analyze things like no other. 

I want someone who's going to love every single one of these quirks (and all the others that weren't mentioned) because they make me, me. 

6. Optimistic. You can find negative in any situation, if you look for it. You can also find positive in any situation, if you look for it. I'm not saying I need someone to be rainbows and butterflies all day every day (that's exhausting), but I want someone who's going to find the good in this world, and celebrate it with me. 

7. Gets along with my family. My family can be crazy, exhausting and a lot to handle. But I love them more than anything in this world.

And my man better too. Or fake it :)

8. Sense of humor. I laugh at myself a lot (sometimes, you just have to). I would love to find someone who will laugh at me with me. 

9. Committed to our relationship. When I'm all in, I'm all in. It doesn't matter how long we've been together, if I like you, I like you. That's it. 

I'm not saying that's a good thing, because believe me, there are some relationships that I should have walked away from. 

But when it's the right person, I know I will be happy that I have that commitment ingrained in me. And I want someone who's going to feel the same way about our relationship as I do. 

I feel like I should have a number 10. But I don't. 

So 9 things it is, that's not too much to ask for, right? 

Single ladies, what are you looking for in your men? And my ladies with bfs or hubbies, what are your favorite qualities about your men? 

So Who is Daisy?

Hi guys! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I'd love to hear how your's went, so tell me about it, will ya? 

These last few weeks, I've seen a decent amount of new faces around here {which I love}. I am so glad that you guys are here, and can't wait to become best friends with each and every one of you. 

It's gonna happen, just saying. 

Some of you may have noticed that Pray For Daisy button on my page. I've talked about this before on my blog {specifically here, here and here}. Today, I want to introduce any newbies here to Daisy, and give some updates on her story. There's a reason that button is on my page guys, because Daisy needs prayers. Allow me to explain why. 

Daisy is currently in a battle with cancer. This is the third time that she has fought this battle, and this time, the disease is taking her all the way to Israel for treatment. 

The Merricks are fighting for their daughter's life with every resource that they have, and I'm confident that every prayer, no matter how short or long, will help. 

How do I know the Merricks? Britt Merrick is the pastor at my church, the church that has truly transformed my relationship with God in the last year. 

How can you pray for Daisy? Funny that you ask. 

This tweet came up literally as I was typing this post:

Coincidence? I think not. 

If you would like to learn more about Daisy and her story, you can do so here.

And since we're on the topic of prayer, how can I pray for you?

If there is every anything that I can pray for you about, please do contact me. I have seen prayer do amazing things in my life, and I would love to pray for you. So if you've ever got a prayer request, don't hesitate to send me an e-mail. I would love to hear from you :)

Happy Monday, loves. Thanks for taking the time to read about a cause close to my heart. 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Name that movie. {It's one of my favs}

Today, I get to announce the winner of my first giveaway! I could not be more excited, and before I do, I just want to say a huge thank you to my readers. 

Honestly, I really love you guys. I am a huge believer in quality, not quantity. And as much as I would love to see that number grow so that I can meet more amazing people, I am SO happy with those of you that are here. I feel as though I have really connected with a lot of you, and that's exactly why I started blogging in the first place.

So thank you. Thank you for reading. Thank you for commenting. For laughing with me over things like this. (What can I say? I'm just attractive like that). For getting serious with me when necessary {and leaving comments that both encourage me and show me that I'm not alone}. And for just plain enjoying life with me. 

Basically, i love you guys. 

So there's that sap fest. 

Aaaand now we have a winner!

Congratulations, Sarah!

Thank you so much for following :) I can't wait to send you the item of your choice from Missionary Kerrie's!

And for everyone else, Happy Friday!

Inspire Me Healthy!

So how's the health kick going for me, you ask? 

Well, per usual, I have good news and bad news. 

Let's start with the bad, shall we?

I suck at eating healthy. Like, suck. Portion control? I have none. Cravings? Got tons. Do I give in to them? Pretty much every.single.time. 

Yeahh, it's been rough ladies. For some reason, I just can't stick with this healthy eating kick. And I really don't know why, because I do like healthy food. Spinach? Tofu? Big fan. Quinoa? It's one of my favorites. So  why do I keep reverting back to my Mexican food / ice cream / chocolate cravings? 

I don't know, but I'm going to kick that habit. Just watch. 

Here's what I want my dinners to look like from now on:

And here's the recipe that I've been meaning to share:

Baked Trout with Dill and Caper Cream

Ingredients:

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 (6 ounce) trout fillets

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

2 tablespoons capers, drained

4 lemon wedges

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Sprinkle pepper and salt evenly over fillets. Place fish on a foil lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes; sprinkle evenly with dill. Bake an additional 2 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. 

3. While fish bakes, combine sour cream and capers in a small bowl. Place fish on a serving plate. Squeeze 1 lemon wedge over each serving. Serve with caper cream. 

Now if only I can make my next week worth of meals this balanced, I'll lose 10 pounds no problem. Right?

Alright so now for that good news:

I am officially in training for a half marathon! This one to be exact. I have about 3 more months of training, but so far, it's been good!

After Saturday's 5 mile run

Ignore my chipped nails and extremely pale legs, please. Hey, it's the progress that counts, right? 

I also signed up for this 5K in October, and could not be more excited for my first Mud Run. Expect picture overload. You're welcome. 

And there you have it guys: the good, the bad and the ugly. Definitely room for progress for next week. 

{Last day to enter the Missionary Kerrie's Giveaway! Check it.}