just call me mrs. green thumb.

okay. so i'm not so good at plants. not that i really know, but i kill poinsettias over time every year... i just forget about them. they sit on the floor... i don't know.


but i bought a plant.
a logical plant.
a basil plant. now i can have fresh basil whenever i want! as long as i don't kill it.

here she is.

(it did funky stuff to the edge of this picture... i don't know)

and here's what i made with the first fresh basil...

bruschetta chicken. translation (matt's words): could be the top recipe at someone's restaurant. he's being kind, but it was dang good.

i made up the recipe, but basically you do this:

marinade raw chicken in italian dressing for like an hour.

cook in a pan for about 5 minutes on one side. flip.

once flipped, put the bruschetta mixture on the cooked side.

cook 5 minutes. and then ready to serve!

bruschetta mixture:

-one finely chopped roma tomato

-about 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil (thank you, plant friend)

-a quick squirt of italian dressing

-a quick dump of olive oil. (jealous of my cooking terms?)

okay. these pictures are going haywire. this one's sideways, but you get the idea. 

finished product. (no, it wasn't all sitting on orange jello. things are just going crazy in my mac world.)

hopefully, there won't be any casualties from this situation. i can feel it now. i'm going to turn into a crazy gardener. the constant gardener, you could say. (catch that movie reference? great movie. not about gardening.)

choosing joy. finally.

i had posted a while ago about looking for joy in the midst of being busy.


and i sucked at that. all week. i mean, i was a literal terror to matt. my stress made me awful. i actually requested to SKIP VALENTINE'S DAY. which is saying something. because i'm a giant cheeseball.


but.
then this happened. 
i love all my students equally, but this little note somehow meant more to me than the average little note. made me cry a little. and remember why i do what i do.

life is good. no matter how busy we are, we've got to choose joy.

the best of the best.

okay. so i'm obsessed with cooking. so what. who cares. (snl reference, anyone? you should definitely watch it, by the way.)


but here are some stellar meals and desserts from lately. GOOD, GOOD recipes. really. try them. you won't be disappointed.




first up, chicken caesar salad pitas. pretty normal, but with roasted red peppers and brianna's caesar dressing... talk about delish.

then, garlic shrimp linguine. the recipe is here. i mean, words can't describe this. matt almost died. it was crazy good, and healthy, too!

finally, steak stir fry. it's basically normal, but made with asian sesame dressing. yummm.

now, on to desserts. (these were both for the super bowl party we went to).


martha stewart's polka dot cupcakes.

one of the best things i've ever eaten. with a little orange zest, these otherwise normal cupcakes are amazing. plus, i did piping for the first time on the top.

and, football rice krispie treats. but made with cocoa krispies and peanut butter mixed in to the marshmallow. delicious and so cute (there were some young kids at the party).

that's it. now, off to a youth group retreat allllllll weekend. no baking, homework, or lesson plans for me!

the joy in life.

joy is my favorite word.
all of my first graders know it... they bring it up in as many conversations as possible, just so i'll squeal with excitement.


but, in all the busy things that have been happening, it's hard for me to slow down and see joy.


in our young married's small group, we each took a challenge from james 1.
i took verse 12:


"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."


so, my challenge to myself was to find joy in the trials of life.
i'm supposed to be journaling each day about it. our whole group is. i haven't been. because i've been busy (ironic, right?). so, i thought i'd put it on here as a challenge to myself and anyone else... to find the joy in the difficult trials. or just ridiculously busy times.


what's the point of just living to get through to the next thing? i'm going to be intentional about finding the joy.








my joy of the day: watching the 23 loves of mine literally glow as i told each of them the fruit of the Spirit i saw in their lives each day, shining out at me. you would have thought i gave them a million dollars. it's incredible how far a little encouragement goes!

lots o food.

welp. it's food blog time.

first, the beginning of our entertainment book travels.

the oxford inn.

matt got ribs.

 i got my amazing salad that i'm obsessed with. bleu cheese, candied walnuts, red onion, dried cranberries and cherries... and salmon. yummm.

and with the entertainment book, we got this amazing stuff for the same as what we spend at applebees. i'll take it!

then, created recipes.
asian roll ups. here's the recipe. it was great!

then, a regular. but so easy and delicious, i decided to put it up. salsa fiesta chicken. basically, raw chicken, salsa, crunched up tortilla chips, and cheese. bake it for like 30 minutes. and it's incredible. especially with spanish rice and fresh cilantro. (ridiculously easy and you probably already make this. so i'm sorry.)

and finally. chicken caesar salad pitas. what makes these special? roasted red peppers. a definite splurge at the grocery store, but it makes these. they're just lettuce, croutons, cheese, seasoned chicken, roasted red pepper, italian seasoning and caesar dressing in a pita!

happy eatings!

my day.

these things were my day:

 lesson plan central.

 coconut chocolate bars.

 washed the dog. then she curled up and fell asleep in the towel.

 the outdoors. a place i didn't venture all day.

and some reading.

now, off to a fire in the fireplace and a book. then, a relaxing night with modern family and quality time with the love of my life. life is good.

love.

happy snow day.

my day tomorrow will be filled with a lot of this...

yum.

they are amazing. and the CD just came out. go to grooveshark and listen to it for free. or buy it. it'd be worth it.