it's been a whirlwind!

Life has been a whirlwind lately!  I'm not actually sure how to describe what has transpired over the last couple of weeks because it's been such a blur.   So - I decided that rather than recount all of the details of my ever-changing life, I will highlight some small victories of the last week:

• I have faithfully been achieving my goal of using coupons.  Today I saved $13.33!  I quickly realized that although all coupons have the potential to save you money, not all manufacture coupons can be doubled.  So, on shopping days like today when the store is willing to double up to 10 of my manufacture coupons, I have to read the coupons close enough to make sure that I can maximize my savings.   I really love grocery shopping and having the time to clip coupons and plan my menu accordingly has been really rewarding! 
• I have a Minnesota drivers license!  I mean, it hasn't actually come in the mail yet but I paid the money, took the test, passed the test and presented an obscene amount of very specific forms of identification so that I could become a licensed Minnesota driver + resident.   Even though I have been living on my own via renting my an apartment for 3 years now, it's still weird to not have a Wisconsin license to represent my state of origin.      
• I registered my car here and changed the license plates myself (you should be really impressed because it was not easy).  Now that I have Minnesota plates on my car, people follow me closer than they use to AND it's been really hard for me to find my car in parking lots.   I guess this is the price of being registered to drive in the state you live in! 
• I purchased my very own car insurance!  It was a surprisingly elaborate process to get quotes and make an informed decision about where to pay for my coverage but in the end, I am confident and comfortable in the choice I made.   
• I am a working woman!  I still have stuff to work out with my teaching license so I don't know when I'll be starting with my kids (hopefully right after labor day, but only time will tell) but Friday, Monday, Tuesday and Today were all district meetings, building meetings, cohort meetings and lots of trainings.  I have been hard at work assimilating to my new surroundings and role.   

Cooking with Coriander

One of the best pieces of advice I was given in my Master's program is to make time every day to do something creative that I love.  You might be echoing similar thoughts to my own when I first heard the advice, easier said than done!, but since balance is a coveted life skill, I thought I would try to put that wisdom into action.   I have lots of "creative" hobbies but many of them require large amounts of time and supplies, making them challenging to do when time is limited.   So, when I don't have time to scrapbook or lay on my couch with a knitting project, I cook.  It serves a need and gives me an outlet to explore new things.

Recently I was reading a food blog (nerdy, I know) and stumbled upon a recipe that contained some of my favorite ingredients in a way that I hadn't tried yet.  I knew right away that if I had seen this recipe on a menu at a restaurant, I would have ordered it so I decided to add it to the top of my "must cook" list.

After a particularly long Monday, I actually ended up making this recipe at 9pm.   Although 9pm is not  a standard dinner hour, this recipe was worth bending the rules for.

Baked Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

For the rice:

• 1/3 cup brown rice, uncooked
• Vegetable broth or water (to boil rice) 

For the Mashed Potatoes: 

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1inch pieces 
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• salt and pepper to taste 

For the Black Beans: 

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (15 ounce can) 
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice, fresh or bottled 
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder 
• 3 dashes cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch salt and pepper to taste 
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 1 whole medium yellow onion, diced 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 whole green chili, de-seeded and minced

For Assembly: 

• 4 whole large burrito size flour tortillas 
• 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• chopped cilantro (optional) 
• sour cream (optional) 

Preparation:
Rice: Cook the rice according to package directions until tender.  Drain, then fluff with a fork and let it rest with the lid closed while you make the rest of the fillings.
Mashed Potatoes: Boil the sweet potatoes until very tender, then mash or whip with the butter.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
Black Beans: In a bowl, mix the beans with the lemon juice and seasonings.  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-low heat.  Cook the onions, garlic and green chili pepper about 2-3 minutes until soft.  Add the bean mixture and warm through. 
Burrito assembly: Layer the warm ingredients down the center of each tortilla in this order: cheese, rice, beans, sweet potatoes.  Fold the tortilla at the top and bottom of the filling in, rotate and roll the burrito up so that all the ends are closed.  Place it on the baking tray seam side down.  Brush with vegetable oik and place under the broiler until crispy and golden brown on top.  Serve with sour cream mixed with 1 teaspoon of ground coriander or chopped fresh cilantro.   

finishing never felt so good!

Sunday morning, I woke up a few minutes before my 5:30am alarm full of nerves and jittery with disbelief and excitement.   5 months of training accompanied by plenty of blisters, lots of sweat and even more early mornings had lead me to that very moment.   Even though my 10K race was full of unwanted lessons, I had learned enough to know that setting all of my gear out the night before would make a huge difference.   Sleepy-eyed and still a little overwhelmed, I snuggled into my running pants, pulled my hair back and laced up my shoes.   I left my apartment with the realization that my training was over and the event I had been anticipating for so long was about to be in motion.   Yikes! 

I gave my camera to my roommate, who won the award for "best roommate of the year" simply by being willing to support me during my race and take lots of pictures with my camera along the way.   Because I gave Jessica my camera the night before, I don't have any pre-race photos.   She did get some pretty good shots though! 

This was at about mile 3.  I am running next to my friend/running partner Amanda.  We were reading a sign someone was holding up and giggling about an encounter we had just had with a police officer.   You see, it was a VERY hot day and right from the starting line I could tell that 13 miles weren't going to come easily.  After noticing the not-so-happy looking police blocking all of the intersections we ran through, I made it my goal to get as many officers as possible to talk to me along the way.   One officer in particular greeted me with the most seductive "heeeeyyyyy" I have ever heard after I smiled and waved at him.   Amanda and I laughed so hard we almost fell over. 

Mile 9. I started noticing people I knew along the way!  I had just seen my friend Kelli's family and here I am saying hi to my friend Jason who I co-lead a Bible study with at church.   I was really encouraged by the people who showed up to cheer me on!  

Getting closer to the end!  I think this was in between mile 10 and 11.  Amanda decided to race to the end, while I made the decision to finish strong at the pace I had been maintaining.  With less than a 5K to go, I was feeling really great about running further than I had ever run before! 

So tired but completely determined to finish what I set out to do!  

I had 2 goals for this race: 1. run the whole time 2. finish in under 3 hours.  I accomplished both.  I haven't gone online to look at my official time but I finished around 2:50 because it took a couple of minutes for me to cross the start line when the race began due to the hundreds of people in line ahead of me.  

My friend Naomi finished a few minutes after I did.  It was really fun to know that I was running among friends. 

When I started this journey I never expected to come away with a new friend.  I met Amanda on my 7 mile long run and we did every long run together after that.   We ran almost 10 miles of this race side-by-side, talking about life and reminding each other about how far we have come to get to this point.   At one point in the race Amanda said to me, "we are about an hour away from being half-marathoners".   I didn't think it was possible, but I am proud to say that I am a half-marathoner!  

Here I am with my good friend Kelli.   Kelli, can you even believe how much life we have lived together?  5 years of friendship include finishing our undergraduate degrees together, finishing graduate school together AND running a half-marathon together.  I am so thankful that Jesus has allowed us to tackle such large things side-by-side.  You are a huge gift to me!  

The best part of my day was post-race, when I logged onto my University of Minnesota account and saw that I had passed my final graduate class with a solid A (only 1 point off in the entire class!).  I cried I was so relieved to know that I was done and that the Lord had allowed me to exit well.  It was a good day for powerful finishes.  

As more pictures of the day surface, I will be sure to fill you in on some of the profound things I learned about myself and the Lord through this process (both finishing grad school and running a half-marathon).   I am still in the process of obtaining my teaching license and I realized during my race that I will probably feel the same sort of overwhelming gratitude on my first day as a teacher that I did running this race and seeing my final grade.  

It wasn't easy to run this race but I was so thrilled to be doing it because of how hard I had trained.   It won't be easy teaching but I know that I will be thrilled to be doing it because of how hard I have trained. 

the anticipation is building!

My runner ID has been fastened to my shirt, my time chip has been secured to my shoes, my water bottle has been filled and my muscles have been stretched.  The only thing left to do is keep hydrating, sleep well and RUN tomorrow!  13.1 miles, here I come! 

Tuesday, you are so good to me!

I've been trying to sort out what has been going on lately that has left me drained & spent yet able to take long strides towards the new road ahead of me.   I don't have the words or the insight to capture the essence of what events and emotions have surrounded the last week of my life, but one thing is for sure: I am thankful for today. 

I went to bed Sunday night overwhelmed with the awareness that this is my last week as a graduate student.  More often than not, I doubted that I would ever be able to say that.   Certainly I have had many significant "endings" within this two year stretch of my life, but nothing this final.   I woke up this morning realizing that I will never pay tuition to the University of Minnesota again.  I no longer have to strategically plan when to purchase my text books so that I can buy them all at the same time but still be early enough to get the best used books on the shelf.  I don't have to drop $50.00 at Target every few weeks in order to keep my printer inked up and ready to print the large variety of articles, notes and of course, assignments I need for class.  Most importantly, I am finally moving to a stage of my life where my income can cover the cost of living.  To say this week is significant, would be a huge understatement.  The implications of this ending are as far reaching as they are permanent.  With one final left to write and one more class to attend, I am starting to let Jesus establish the hope of a new beginning in my life.  

Amidst the incredible amount of things I have been working on in order to finish this chapter and start the next one, Jesus has been really faithful.   After paying the final dollars on my summer tuition bill I was left a lot poorer than I had originally planned.  Just in case you have never been in a place where you have had to count your dollars and shamefully turn down invitations because you are trying to pay your rent next month, I am here to tell you that it is a deeply humbling and taxing situation to be in.   The reality is that countless Americans face the same situation I am currently in, but on a much more permanent and severe level.  I have a job AND two college degrees.  I made it all the way to my final week of graduate school before being in a financial position that was worth actual concern.   That in and of itself speaks to the kind of privilege and provision that has supported my journey thus far.  I may not be able to pay for a Wicked ticket or buy new running shoes for my race on Saturday, but I'm not hungry and I'm not homeless and I have my very own car.  Just this morning I got a text message from one of the families I nanny for asking if I can babysit for over 7 hours on Thursday.  Why yes, yes I can!  I am also babysitting Friday night & another day next week.  When Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow, He meant it.   My faith has been stretched and God has reminded me that not only am I not in control, I have no need to be. 

I am looking forward to what is ahead while appreciating where I am at today because in both situations, I know that I am not standing alone.  How about you?     

productivity never felt so good

Have you ever found yourself needing to just accomplish things?  For the last month I have found myself in this constant state of forward motion.  My summer to-do list seemed simple enough to begin with: 

• write master's portfolio
• train for half marathon
• take final class in masters program
• sleep 8+ hours a night 
• move
• read books for pleasure
• apply for a professional teaching license 
• become a Minnesota resident 
• start career as a special education teacher 

What I didn't realize is that my list wasn't so simple after all.  Summer will soon come to an accelerated close and there are still numerous items on that list yet to be fulfilled.  My top 3 summer priorities have taken up the vast majority of my time and, at times, have competed for my attention.  I think I can successfully handle two of the three at one time, but trying to balance all three simultaneously is a little too much for my multitasking skills.   As of late, my half-marathon training has been suffering since I made the decision to pour my time and energy into finishing up school.  I am one week away from being done with my final class in graduate school and as such, I have been working extra hard on my masters portfolio in hopes to finish the two around the same time.   I started this program in September of 2008 and I have been fighting my way to the finish line every semester since (Fall, Spring, Summer, Fall, Spring, Summer).  I didn't realize that getting a masters degree was a test of financial stability, mental strength, emotional health, academic skill and faith.  This process has been a marathon in and of itself which leaves me in a state of awe as I think about how much I have learned and how much life I have lived over 2 academically intense years. 

Looking forward, I can honestly say that I am ready to leave this part of my life behind me.   I started realizing early this week that if I didn't start investing a little more time into my masters portfolio then I wasn't going to be in a position to emotionally move past graduate school.  I want to carry the benefits of grad school with me as I pursue my career but it's important for me to leave the obligation of my masters program behind.  I have been a little bit tearful lately for many reasons, but one of them is the pure shock of actually approaching the end to such a significant part of my life thus far.  I will never be able to fully articulate the endurance it has taken to get here, or the provision of the Lord for timing all things according to His will.   Even as I type this I am overwhelmed with the knowledge  that I am 2 assignments away from being done with all of the coursework in my program.  I would have loved to be done with everything in May, but I can't change the way my courses fell into place and I have to believe that God's timing is better than mine. 

As for the other things on my to-do list. . . well, let's just say that other than moving, I haven't done a super awesome job of sticking to the list.  I read a couple of books for pleasure at the beginning of summer but I've been carrying around textbooks ever since.  I started out sleeping great but lately (probably because of all of the loud & long storms) I haven't been sleeping well at all.  The rest, I'll have to save for another post!

And the rain came down

Yesterday morning (Wed) I woke up determined to go for a run since I hadn't exercised at all Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.   After jogging to the end of my parking lot, I was stopped in my tracks by this:

These pictures were taken about 20 minutes after I first stumbled upon my flooded street.   With the response team hard at work sucking the water up, these pictures don't even come close to showing the actual depth and span of the water that flooded the street.   There was caution tape everywhere. . . so I didn't actually go running (I am starting to doubt my ability to complete the race.  3 weeks of little to no training other than long runs is NOT a good thing).  I monitored the caution tape and water levels closely but around lunch time I may or may not have illegally driven out of my driveway to go to class.  I mean, by that time, the water was gone but the none of the tape or barricades were.  I am sure St.Paul would have understood that I am in the process of finishing up my masters degree and HAD to leave my apartment to attend class.  A girls gotta do, what a girls gotta do. 

Today I am deeply thankful that I moved to a second floor apartment.   Jesus had the timing just right on this one!