7 Quick Takes: Hydration, Publishing, and Glamping

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes:

1. Hydration is important. You may know this from your own life experiences, or you may know from my passion for my Wat Bot. I know this because yesterday I almost passed out from dehydration. I was job shadowing in an automotive shop, and the place had no air conditioning and no sink for me to fill up my Wat Bot. I. Was. Dying.

via

I went straight from the shop to my parents' house, and I drank 4 huge glasses of water and then 2 pitchers. Literally, I drank out of the pitcher. Water is a serious business.

2. My roomie is now a published author! Catherine wrote a book of poems, and Amazon just listed her book yesterday! Her poems are all about the relationship between mothers and daughters, and I am so excited to read it. Click here to view and purchase the book, and check out her story here.

3. Samara and I are dividing the kitchen Sunday. Not literally, of course, but in terms of pots and pans. It's going to be awful. I'm so excited for my bestie as she begins her new adventure in Oregon, but I am so so sad that she's leaving me. Granted, I left her for 2.5 years, but then we lived together for a year and I thought she forgave me. Sigh. Guess not.

4. Because I am so proud of it, and because you, fair reader, may have missed it, I finished my Doctor Who scarf!!! Check out the post with all the pictures, and feel free to compliment, critique, and make a request!

5. This time next week, I will have half an inch of dirt layered on my skin, my hair will smell suspiciously like evergreens, and my home will be a tent. That's right, folks, I'm going camping!

Unfortunately, there is no spa at this camp. Fortunately, there is power, and by power, I mean electricity for the microwave, air mattress pump, skillet, and hair straightener. There are bathrooms and showers in an actual building, and most people bring a refrigerator at least. Basically what we do is glamping, not camping. Loud and proud, playas.

6.  For our glamping adventure, my sister Ellen and I are sharing a campsite with 4 other girls. Cue "All the Single Ladies" please. We've decided on a menu, but I'm open to suggestions for a couple more days. Shopping is happening on Monday afternoon, though, and then we're sticking with whatever was purchased. I'm looking for make or prep ahead of time recipes, preferably something that is not too advanced. Any experienced campers/glampers out there with suggestions?

7. Jen Hatmaker just re-released her book Interrupted and I am so excited. As I mentioned earlier, I have the privilege of reviewing her book. Jen is hosting a link-up for the book discussion on August 18th, so be sure to come check it out! Now I just have to finish the book.... 

Thanks for joining! Happy Friday!

Finish This: Week Twenty-five on the Twenty-fifth!

Linking up with the super talented and oh-so-generous hostesses: Nicole at Three 31, Jen at The Arizona Russums, Becky at The Java Mama, and Lisa at Coastlined. These wonderful ladies are giving away $25 gift cards {see all the 25s!} to four participants of today's link-up. What are you waiting for!? Jump on this link-up train!

I have a quarter to use a pay phone. I call either my mom, dad, or sister, depending on the situation. If I'm lost, I'll call Dad. If I'm shopping, I'll call Mom {I don't know why I'd interrupt shopping to use a pay phone, but we relish the hypothetical here, don't we}. And if I'm in trouble that I don't want my parents to know about, I'll call my sister. I'd try to call my bestie, but I only have her home phone number memorized {yep, we've been friends that long} and like most families I know who live in this century, their home phone has been disconnected for a while.

I found $25 in my pocket! I buy a book, a set of stationary, and a chai latte. Half Price Books + coffee shop = perfection.

I have 25 minutes to watch anything on TV. I watch "Say Yes to the Dress" or "The Office" or any rom-com on repeat. I'd say longer shows, but if I can't finish them, I don't want to watch them! It's probably because they're all drama or crime scene and I have to see the conclusion.

A meal I can prepare, from start to finish, in 25 minutes or less isn't really a meal, but let's face it: crack popcorn can be substituted for any meal and has the calories of about 3 meals. It's basically the perfect food....except not. But yeah, two ingredients. I'm all over that.

At the age of 25, I wish I'd known how important it is to be older than 25 when answering this question? Ha! I'll say something I've learned since turning 25. I learned that comparison is not worthwhile, that cooking can be fun when I've planned ahead, and that it's ok not to have my whole life figured out.

If I drive 25 miles from my house, I'd be in the mountains at a waterfall {east}. Close to visiting my sister who lives close to the Canadian border {north}. Headed to Powell's Books {south}. On a ferry {west}.

Thanks for hosting 25 weeks of fun, Nicole, Jen, Becky, and Lisa! And thanks for reading, friends!

Finish This: Week Twenty

Holy guacamole, Batman! We are at Week Twenty already!!

Linking up with Jen at The Arizona Russums, Becky at The Java Mama, Lisa at Coastlined, and Nicole at Three 31 to answer these fun prompts.

new image created by Becky!

My favorite recipe is crack popcorn to make myself, and my mom's enchiladas to enjoy without the work beforehand. When I'm a real live grown-up, I will attempt to make those enchiladas, but for now, I will just invite myself over when they're on the menu.

I believe in the grace of God to save me daily. I believe in long walks on the beach, wine recommended. I believe in Doctor Who. I believe in making my bed every day. I believe in dining outside whenever possible. I believe in friends and their ability to make me think more deeply about any topic of conversation. I believe in chai lattes. I believe in getting out of my comfort zone to make a difference. I believe in painted toenails. I believe in the ability of bosom friends to stay connected across 2,000 miles via a couple of phones.

I need to set boundaries when it's all work and no play. My tendency is to not turn away a job opportunity {babysitting or tutoring, etc.}, but I'm realizing that things that are important to me are actually important, and so I'm making them more of a priority.

I began living when I started watching Doctor Who. Just kidding! Life really began when I got serious about my relationship with Jesus around age 12. On a practical note, I realized I was an actual adult when I moved into my own place with my bestie.

There you have it! If you want to join this link-up fun-sesh, you can add your link on Nicole's blog or finish these prompts in the comments.  Thanks for coming!

A Real Live Cooking Post

Hold the phones! Bek is posting a recipe!!! And not just a recipe, but like an actual guide, with actual pictures, to show that she actually cooked!

Try not to be blown away by the tornado that is my own bragging.

Alright, here's what's up. I cook like maybe 3 meals that can actually be considered meals, as opposed to cooking meat and then adding an accessory dish {or not... I'm pretty low-key}. BUT! This recipe I got from Victoria at Happily Ever Strader and this is the second time I've made it!!! I figured that was such a big deal that I needed to blog about it. You're welcome. 

So here's the deal: Victoria's recipe is wonderful and I {mostly} followed all her steps the first time I made it. And this time, I kinda, um, forgot? skipped? didn't include all the steps/ingredients. The moral of the story is, Victora made some tweaks, I made some tweaks, and you'll probably make your own tweaks, so let's tweak {not twerk} away and eat yummy food, mmkay? 

I broke it down into ten steps. Wow, that's a lot of steps, Bek! Yes, but there are pictures and a running commentary, so I think you'll enjoy the read. hint hint it's a long read. Also, if you want the technical measurements and stuff, head to Victoria's post, because nary a measurement will be found here, but there's plenty of snarkiness to go around. And we begin. 

Ingredients:

• bell peppers {I used three because the grocer sells a three-pack. What can I say, I'm a sucker for things already in a bag.}
• half an onion
• can of corn
• can of black beans
• can of refried beans
• enchilada sauce {I've only tried mild because it's red, but if you try the medium or hot, do let me know how it is!}
• several handfuls of grated cheese {I have a bag of white and cheddar mixed; it's totes delish}
• 10-12 corn tortillas
• chicken {not found in Victoria's recipe - my own brilliance added that...because absolutely no one else could have come up with adding chicken to a dish}
• cumin 
• chili powder

Step One: Slice and dice those peppers! And the onion... but the onion isn't as colorful as the peppers, so it's only in like 2 pictures. While you're slicing and dicing, set a pan on your stove {about medium heat} and get it ready to saute those veggies.

Look at that yumminess!

Step Two: Once your veggies are cut and your pan is hot, add a teensy bit of oil to the pan and add your veggies. Sprinkle a bit of chili powder and cumin on them. You don't have to stir too much; just be careful not to burn anything. You want them browned, not completely blackened. Um, I found out the hard way that if you cut the onions into pieces that are significantly smaller than the peppers, they will cook MUCH faster. Just food for thought... get it?

Step Three: While your veggies are being sauted, open and drain the cans of corn and black beans. These are going to be sauted next. I got out a big bowl and had it ready to hold the peppers and onion while the corn and beans were on the stove. 

Oh, depending on how quickly or slowly your oven heats up, you may want to start preheating it now. 400 degrees is your goal.

Step Four: It's probably time to get the peppers and onions off the stove and put the corn and black beans in that same dish {yay for fewer dishes!}. Once you're on the second round of saute-ing, get out a 9x13 pan. Grease it. Grab your enchilada sauce {seriously, if you try medium or hot, tell me if you die of either happiness or heat stroke}. Spread some sauce over the bottom of your dish. I did a couple squirts up and down and then made sure to get the corners. 

Step Five: Stir your corn and beans. If you want to add cumin and chili powder to them, awesome. If not, awesome. No judgement here. Now open up your bag of tortillas {or grab them fresh from your oven, you pioneer woman you. No judgement.} and cut them into strips. They're going to cover the bottom of the pan. I think I used 3-4 for the bottom, and my strips were about as wide as my pinky and 2/3 as long. I know, I know, so technical. I'll stop, I promise. 

Step Six: Alright, the corn and beans are pretty much done, so add them to your bowl of veggies. Re-oil that pan {it's getting a workout tonight!} and put in some chicken. If you want to add the spices to the chicken, go for it. I did, and it turned out wonderfully. 

While your chicken is cooking, grab your bowl of peppers, onion, corn, and black beans. Half of that goes on your layer of tortillas. Just half. Trust me.

Step Seven: THE CHICKEN IS ON FIRE! Just kidding, but I made you check it, didn't I? Oops, it really is on fire. Well, cajun is a style of cooking, so we're good. Rollin' with the punches is what we do best, right?

Once your chicken is extinguished cooked, put it on top of the veggie layer in your pan. 

Step Eight: Alright, let's review our layers. There's the dish itself, obviously, and then there's some enchilada sauce, some tortilla strips, half your veggies {peppers, onion, corn, black beans}, and your freshly burnt cooked chicken. 

Now it's time for the refried beans. Victoria recommends adding some water to the beans so they spread easier, but I've tried it both without and with the water and I didn't notice a difference, so do whatever you want in order to spread the refried beans into your pan.

Is your oven on yet? 400 degrees, baby!

Step Nine: After the refried beans are spread nicely {or not so nicely - no judgement on how things go down in your kitchen. I definitely yelled at my refried beans, so don't feel bad if yours were pains in the drain also}, sprinkle some cheese over them. I find that the cheese covers up any deficits in the bean department, so be generous. 

Then cut up some more tortillas for another layer, squirt some more enchilada sauce on them, add the rest of your veggies, and top it all off with another round of cheese! Whew!

Your oven should be preheated and all toasty now!

Step Ten: Cover your dish with foil. Victoria has this clever trick where she sprays the foil with Pam before covering the dish, and that way nothing sticks to the foil. Try it; it's totes brilliant. Place the foil-covered dish in your 400 degree oven and set the timer for 15-20 minutes. The goal is for the cheese on top to be melted, so channel Tim Gunn and make it work. When the cheese is melted, hooray! Dinner's ready!

Ta da! Congratulations for sticking with it all the way to the end! Victoria's directions are probably way easier to follow and there's definitely less snark over on her blog, but if you've made it this far, a) you're my stalker-sister or b) you enjoy snark. Either way, I wish you well on your cooking endeavor!

Blog Every Day Feb: Day Twenty-six - Favorite Recipe

Linking up with Bailey Jean for today's yummy post!

The recipe I'm about to share with you is an old family secret. Many generations have died with this recipe only known to their favorite child, and wars have been waged to protect the purity of the ingredient list. If I dare share this recipe with you, I face excommunication from my family as well as shunning from the cooking population at large. My firstborn's blood may have to be sacrificed for the horrendous crime I'm about to commit. But for a blogging challenge, I'm willing to risk it.

{Would you believe that I was voted "Most Dramatic" in my high school class? Yeah, me neither.}

Crack Popcorn {aka Candied Popcorn}
It is called crack popcorn because it is SO stinking yummy and addicting that people have been known the eat an entire bowl without realizing it. Also, crack seems to be a theme today - go check out the serious goodness on Bailey's blog!

Ingredients:

• popcorn
• almond bark {2 squares per 1 bag of popcorn}

Step One: pop the popcorn. Try to keep up here, guys. Once it's popped, pour it into a deep bowl. Try to get just the popped corn in the bowl - no seeds allowed!

Step Two: chop up the almond bark squares. I use a sort of grating technique with a knife.

Step Three: melt the chopped almond bark. The trick here is to not let the almond bark burn. I do 30 seconds in the microwave, stir, another 30 seconds, stir, possibly 15 more seconds to melt it all into smooth goodness.

Step Four: pour the melted almond bark over the popcorn. I use a spatula to pour some on, stir the popcorn around, and then pour the rest. Stir the popcorn so that the almond bark is covering all the popcorn.

Step Five: {This maybe should be set up while the popcorn is being popped or the almond bark is being melted.} Pour the coated popcorn onto a flat surface, preferably covered. Wax paper, tin foil, and paper towels are all great to cover your table and protect it from the stickiness of the almond bark. Smooth the popcorn out so it's not one big pile. Then let the almond bark harden on the popcorn {it is appropriate to taste a little bit at this point!} and enjoy.

Ta da! The best part about this recipe is that the popcorn really doesn't look that different from un-candied popcorn, so if you take it to a party, at first everyone will judge you for being that girl who seriously just popped some popcorn for a party...but then someone will taste it and then there will be a light shining forth from the heavenlies and the lucky someone who discovered the goodness in your bowl will try to sneak the bowl back to their seat so that they can devour its entire contents, and sometimes another person jumps on the bandwagon and fights break out over the really big clumps, and friendships are truly tested over this simple recipe, and the moral of the story is, you will always have an empty bowl at the end of the night. You're welcome.

Blog Every Day in Feb: Day Nine - A Day in the Life

Linking up with Bailey Jean as we continue with her February challenge!

This prompt reminds me of one I wrote for Victoria's October challenge {see Creative Writing tab for those posts}. Just to keep things interesting, let's use this style. 

5:43 AM - alarm goes off. Snooze is promptly hit.

Nine minutes later...

Alarm goes off again. Decision time: hit snooze again? The answer is almost always yes.

Another nine minutes later...

Doesn't Apple know how to make an adjustable snooze time??? Seriously. 

With this thought, I get out of bed. With either a worship song or the audio Bible playing, I get dressed, put on make-up, fix my hair. Shoes, scarf, purse - check, check, check. Grab water bottle and lunch from the fridge, and out the door I go.

Driving to work = audio book! This makes my commute so much more peaceful, it's unbelievable. 

7:00 AM is the official start to the workday. Emails receive responses, phone calls are answered, clients are cared for. 

Noon brings a lunch break, usually with my parents and I stealing the newspaper and interrupting each other to read whatever headline we're engrossed in. 

12:30 PM - back to work! More phone calls, some typing, a bit of editing, lots of reading and searching for share-able material {I manage our social media}.

Monday-Wednesday, I leave the office at 3:00. Thursdays are my volunteer day, so I leave at 1:30. Friday is done whenever the phone stops ringing, which means between 2 and 3.

After work, there is usually a Zumba or dance class to rock out work out. Dinner with the bestie, maybe some classic Doctor Who, and then reading before bedtime - all of these are important. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I type out this description of my days, it sounds boring and uneventful and life-less. But there is life here, in each day. There are conversations with my parents {perks of working for them}, there are conversations with my bff, there is laughter with my co-worker, there is gentle teasing of clients. 

At home, there is the rhythm of household activities: laundry loads through the cycles of wash and dry; dirty dishes arranged carefully in the dishwasher; checking the mail and feeling like a grown-up for taking care of bills {online bill pay = hallelujah!}; coordinating dinner plans and deciding how adventurous tonight's meal will be. 

My life is full of life and I love it. This season is really wonderful, and while I can see changes ahead and have vision for things to be different, still each day soothes my heart and I must declare: 

via

31 Days of Writing: Day Seven "Write a Poem"

Oops! I mixed up my days. Day Seven should have been "write an open letter to anyone" and Day Six was "write a poem" but we're just gonna reverse that order and call it good.

In the Kitchen


The space of comfort, the center of the home, the source of discomfort.

Cooking was never "my thing" as it was for friends or sisters.

There is nothing soothing about trying not to catch the house on fire.

Water boiling over, timers beeping angrily, surfaces hot and ready to burn...

these are not my ideas of a good time.


Give me one item at a time.

Let me focus on cooking the pasta.

Give me some bread to slice.

Let me make some crack popcorn with its two ingredients.

But slowly the kitchen is becoming more fun, more safe for me.

Chicken can be cooked longer than five minutes.

French fries are still edible after the timer has gone off {or been forgotten}.

And when all else fails, the pizza delivery man never fails to bring a smile.


**linking up with Victoria. Join us here!**

In Response to Complaints That I Haven't Blogged All Week...

You know who you are. ;)

I should tell you upfront that I wrote a post on Tuesday, an appendix to the PEI Travel Journal, but I haven't added the pictures yet, so it's just sitting in the "drafts" bucket. It will get done tonight, if I can find the sticky note...

via

Literally, this is my desk right now. I have a list of things to do around the house, a list for purchases I need to make, a separate grocery-and-coupon list, a list of errands to run before I die, and a list of people to call. And my home internet is being a poo. And I'm shopping for car insurance. 

My list of lists should qualify for today's Funny Friday. If only I was being funny. 

But it's all good. I like being busy, and I know that this weekend will have a lot accomplished. The antsy side of my brain just wants to cross things off the list, but I can't do that yet. So in the meantime, my brain just keeps coming up with things to add to all my lists, which is kind of maddening, but hey, that means I'm being productive, right? Right????

I have crossed a few things off my list, which is nice. One of the most important things was installing one and replacing the batteries for two additional....smoke detectors!

                                                                          via

I feel so grown up with the smoke detectors...until I start cooking. Lame. 

A Funny Friday story is unlikely to happen at this point, I'm sorry to say. But hopefully you'll get a Travel Journal special this weekend, and maybe even a My Productive Weekend post on Monday. Happy Friday!

One of Those Days

Today is one of those days where...

• the alarm is already set for as late as I can handle it, and still the snooze button manages to get hit.
• the sky is gray and it's somewhat sad after several weeks of glorious warmth and sunshine
• surprisingly the bad-hair-day isn't as bad as expected...in fact, today no one has asked what happened on top of my head. I'm taking this as a very positive sign

                                                                         source

• try as I might, nothing comes to mind for Funny Friday. Sorry, peeps. Another time.
• the rest of the week is catching up with me and all the late nights are hanging out in the bags under my eyes. Samara said it best: "moving is like Finals Week for grown-ups!" This is how bad it is: today, I actually went to Mickey D's and ordered a coffee. Me. Bek. Drinking coffee. Oi.
• the to-do list in my head has been running for so long and has changed so many times that my tired brain has given up and is simply concentrating on moving. The end. Just get moved, Bek. Like a boss.

And because I'm not at all worried about Samara and my cooking skills...

                                               source

                                        source

                                      source

                                        source

                                        source

Happy Friday!

Valentines

Do I have the best dad in the world? Yes, yes I do. Do I have the best mom in the world? Of course I do!
Do you want to know what they sent me for Valentine’s Day? Of course you do!



Don’t they look delish!?!?!? Of course! Told you I have the best parents ever.
And while I’m posting pictures, here are some from a couple weekends ago… Lizzy and I baked our hearts out!

hot fudge sauce…

…into toffee crunch ice cream which is already inside chocolate ice cream…

Sadly, Lizzy has the pictures of the finished product because my camera batteries pooped out. Sad day. But anywho, it is an Italian dessert and it was YUMMY!