Stock Photos of Food I Really Did Make... [*Sigh]

There are a few things that help me unwind at any given point in the week, and one of those is cooking. It's rare in its own sense for me to have the time to do it the way I'd like to, but on those rare instances, I get to pace myself, get lost in stirring whatever is in front of me and just... let everything else go for a little bit.

Soccer. Knitting. Reading. Writing. Photography. Cooking.

I'll only have gotten to two of those in depth today, but it's okay.

First thing up on the plates: Honey roasted chickpeas!

stock photo, thanks Google...

^ I have got to get better at taking pictures of food before it's eaten. Seriously. That stock photo looks identical to ours, but for the basis of copyright stuff, that's not my batch. HOWEVER, you'd better believe we'll be making ours again, and there will be pictures! [Nom Nom NOM]

Also on the unchartered menu tonight: Turky chili! I call this one garbage can chili; I rooted through the cabinets and started dumping in beans, spices and whatever veggies I had in the fridge to put this guy together. I threw in some ketchup and tomato paste at the end, and, well... call it a win.

You know what's not a win, though? That I have to use a stock photo on this one, too, because for some reason I gave up photographing my food. I'm serious; redemption is on the horizon.

My goal: Next time I'll get to at least three of those things that settle me down.
For now, I've got a lot of dishes to do... I'm... OUT!

xo | cmd

OK, I Lied [About Being DONE]

It's true. I think I may have overstated myself yesterday when I said that we'd finished all things Christmas. This has now become a nearly 3-week affair for us, but I'm not complaining! ;)

First came the work day: The girls and I came in full force at the office today, and seemed to all have the same idea: NEW YEAR, NEW EVERYTHING. Our first order of business was cleaning and rearranging each of our spaces, something that kind of speaks for itself in ushering in the aura of new. It's refreshing to switch things up, de-clutter and in a way just re-calibrate the zen for the space we occupy for 45+ hours each week.

So there's that... and to round it off, we ordered a supply trip to Office Depot & lunch at Fresh Thyme.

fun times at fresh thyme! |  cincinnati, oh

^^ You know you're an adult when office & market itineraries can actually excite you. Hah :p.

Anyway, today was a progressive lineup of awesomeness; once work was finished, I picked up Sydni and we headed home to get started on dinner. More specifically, Sydni's mission statement for dinner:

"Mommy, I wanna surprise Mister Rob with dinner
because he is always doing stuff for us." 

Say what, little heartstring?! Of course we will.
I gave Sydni reign of the recipe book, and she decided on chili. Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?

Chili it was!

chili! ♥

Sydni's chili recipe hit the nail on the head, and with bellies full, we dialed in for the highlight of the night: MORE Christmas presents!

That's right, Santa made a stop over Christmas to Rob's mom's house, specifically for Sydni. Now that she and the presents were both here, we wanted to share that with his mom.

it continues..... 

Here are the spoils of that adventure:

skype! 

fuzzy coats!! 

the coats not being hugged ;) 

dresses

and of course, shoes! 

All presents aside, I am so grateful for Rob's family. His mom & stepdad are continuously thoughtful and have a blast thinking of things and places that Sydni would enjoy. His dad & stepmom are the same, and his step-niece Ella now has a new friend with Sydni. There are a lot of families that clash against the choices of their son or daughter, but I'm fortunate not to have that problem. My parents love Rob, and vice versa, and that alone is enough for me :)

And NOW.. I think Christmas is complete. I'll keep ya posted if I'm wrong... again. ;)

xo | cmd

T-T-T-Tuuuuesday.

I took Emergen-C for the first time in my entire life today. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I didn't hate it. It all started when Elisa couldn't decide if she was hot or cold, resulting in a perhaps-diagnosis of being sick. Nikki had EC's at her desk, and was quick to hand them out to each of us.

... & of course in an express cup.... yeeeup.

The good news: I don't feel any different than I did before I drank the stuff, which I'm going to conclude means that I wasn't sick before I did, and it didn't make me sick. So.. THERE. In-ya-face, sicky bugs.

 

In other news, in the world of alliteration-crazed social media hounds, it's Transformation Tuesday, and that means.....

lovelovelovelooooove her.

I couldn't tell you how hard it was selecting only two pictures for each of those years. The kid has so many sweet, sassy and perfectly-timed action shots that I sat there stewing over this for about 20 minute before I remembered it's just Instagram and it's okay. Haha. Still. LOOK AT HER! Ugh. It's not that I wish she'd stop growing up, because really, I'm excited to see how that challenges both of us, but really I wish there was at least a way to slow it down sometimes, or at least re-visit them. My 6lb, 9oz baby girl is now a 4-year-old and I feel like that happened overnight. *Sigh. I love it though ♥.

 

With the day out of the way, I got some exercise in before stopping off at the grocery store and heading home. From there on out, it apparently became my mission to cancel my workout entirely by indulging in a whole bunch of magic stuff as I kicked back by myself on the couch. Don't.. judge.. me. (:

yeah. it was that kinda night.

.... I'm okay with it though, because I'm still at a point where my metabolism will do its job in a timely fashion; I'll run it off if not, and for the record, this is a delicious combination, movie & all.

 

TOMORROWWWWWW = US WOMENS NATIONAL TEAM VS NEW ZEALAND....

... How.. excited... am... I. I haven't been to Crew Stadium in a few years, but I think I'm just most excited about seeing the lineup [because I'm hopelessly woman crushed over Hope Solo]. Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan won't hurt my feelings, either. Haha.

 

G'Nite, blogbots.

 

xo | cmd

Koinonia Chili Cookoff

Today couldn't have been a more perfect ending to a very long week. :) I love those types of Fridays.

casual days, woo!

1. Work. We survived! Meagan has been out all week enjoying a deserved vacation with her hubby Rob on a Mexican cruise. We had the task of adjusting to her absence and the work that came along with it, and managed to power through at a jet powered pace. I've got 10 new starts to add to our running least when Monday hits, and that's just to start. There was a level of productivity today alone that should be worth noting. I'm so proud of our little team! [but P.S. - Meagan, be advised you will be dragged from your house and to the office if you don't return on your own free will on Monday. Hehe.]

2. It was casual day at work. That in and of itself is a celebration. It makes our lives exponentially better just starting off the day sans fancy schmancy wardrobe. I'm all for it.

3. Small Group/Koinonia! We thought chili night would be totally appropriate, for one because everyone loves chili, but also because we've exhausted many of the other more popular options for dinner themes. As is custom with our small group, there was no shortage of delicious food, this time chili, all the fixings, salad, sides, and of course, desserts. On top of that, we had a stellar discussion time over our night's concentration on James 4. Jarod even joined us, and it looks like he might become a regular attendee. We are certainly growing! :) Good times, good times.

chili lovers unite | koinonia fridays ♥

4. Babies!! Well, in this case, just one, but he certainly stole quite the reaction out of all the gals in our group tonight. The Gobles are one of the couples with a new addition, and they bring him each week, along with their older son Jacob. Julie had little Evan giggling and giving us his big cheeky grin, and we were just eating it up. Adorable, adorable, friggin' adorable.

It's been a good day, ya'll.
Here's to the beginning of the weekend :)

xo | cmd

Koinonia Chili Cook-Off

So it’s the every other Friday of my small group Koinonia’s schedule. Robin does such a great job each round putting together a theme and a list of needed entrees, sides, and extras. This week was chili night at the Woods’. We did our small part by supplying the brats for chili dogs and arrived to find all sorts of fun foods.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I love a church family that can cook J. This church is one of the best I’ve ever attended, and being a part of it and our small group is a solid blessing.

‘Nuff said.
Joe leaves for Langley tomorrow morning. He’s upstairs loading up the suitcase now. Nothing like last minute packing. I need to get Sydni to bed, so we’ll see you blogbots in the morning!

P.S. - This really made me smile, too:

xo | cmd