One

Hello, January... Seems like every time a new year rolls around, I remember I have a blog out here in blog-world and I feel compelled to write some stuff down.  I've been thinking a lot about the coming year, what I want to accomplish and what I want my 2015 to look like.  Last year the word "simplify" kept popping into my head, so I made several goals around simplifying our life.  Some things were accomplished and several were not (got rid of some stuff, still in the middle of some room shuffling, managed to try yoga two times, ran three half marathons, landed at an amazing new church, got Maya involved in gymnastics...).  I went into 2014 with more intentional goals than ever before.  Some goals were simple enough to achieve and some never came to be, because - as you know - your life can and will take twists and turns that you didn't anticipate.  Such was the case for us in 2014.

One goal for 2014 was to write more.  I ended up writing four blog posts last year... which is a 300% increase over the one blog post I wrote in 2013 (300%?  400%?  Math isn't my thing... you get the picture).  However, I never wrote a word after mid-March.  If you read my last blog post, you know it was dedicated to my very first fur-baby Oscar, who we had to put down last spring.  Gotta tell you... that blog post really took it out of me, as did that whole experience.  I remember after we said goodbye to Oscar, I told Chad that even though it was one of the hardest things we ever had to do, I was so grateful that we got to say goodbye on our own terms and he didn't just die suddenly with no warning.  Six weeks later, almost to the day, our youngest dog Frank died suddenly in our backyard, with no warning.  To lose two dogs in six weeks was just heart-wrenching and, to be honest, really unfair.  We took Frank to bury him by Oscar at Chad's parents' house, and on the way home I said to Chad "I'm glad he at least didn't die all alone in his crate."  The very next day our third dog Sonny passed away in his crate while we were gone.  Suffice it to say, March and April were extremely difficult months for us.  I didn't even know how to process what had happened, let alone to write about it.  I've always told myself I would only write when I have something to say, and for months, I just didn't have anything to say.  Side note: This super sad story has a happy ending... The day after we lost Sonny we went to the Humane Society for Hamilton County and adopted two new fur-babies.  Our house was not meant to be without dogs.  While I never again in my life want to experience the magnitude of loss we sustained in such a short time, Dexter and Rosie were waiting for us, and we showed up at the perfect time for them to come home to our house and our hearts.

Another goal was to run three half marathons.  I was signed up to run the Carmel Half, the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon, and the Monumental Half -- two spring races and a fall race.  One night mid-spring, Chad and I (plus a bottle of wine) decided spontaneously to sign up for the Geist Half, which was a few weeks after the second race.  I ended up running three half marathons in a five-week period.  I took a little time off from running long distances and picked my training back up in August.  On a longer run one Saturday morning, something in my foot didn't feel right.  I went to the doctor and found out I had a stress fracture in the top of my foot.  Adios, 4th race!  So I still technically achieved that goal, but that injury really derailed my training, my discipline, and any momentum I had built up with running.

I mention both of these examples because they reminded me that you can have the best-laid plans, but life is going to throw some stuff at you that you didn't anticipate.

As I was thinking about 2014 and looking forward to 2015, a new theme kept emerging - discipline, consistency.  If you know me at all, you know I am a starter, and not so much a finisher.  I love making grand plans, dreaming up big dreams, and figuring out how to make it happen.  But I inevitably lose steam along the way.  I lack discipline in a major way, so sticking to things and seeing them through to the end are difficult for me.  I saw a quote a while back that said "Stick to your task till it sticks to you.  Beginners are many but enders are few."  I printed that out and stuck it on my desk in front of my face, as a reminder to stick to it -- whatever it is.  However, one thing I've learned about myself is that I'm not terribly motivated by "results."  So if I set a goal, there is a good chance I will be content enough by getting "pretty close" to the goal, or I will achieve it and then not maintain the result.  I started to wonder if I am making the wrong goals all together.  I've always made results-driven goals.  But what if I looked at it a different way?

When I was a bank manager, I told numerous people on my staff that if you just focus on the activities, and do them relentlessly, then the results will come.  Just keep doing what you've committed to doing, and the numbers will be there.  And they always were -- as long as the activities kept happening.  I thought about adopting that philosophy for personal goals rather than sales goals.

Did you know that most people set goals that are way too easy, or don't stretch their vision far enough?  What if, instead of saying "I'm gonna lose ten pounds by the time I leave for vacation" or "I'm going to purge my house of all the stuff we don't need," I made my goals with actions and activities in mind, and then see what results come?

If I want to run a lot of races, why don't I commit to running consistently, with discipline and accountability?  If I want to write more, but I only want to write when I have something to say, why don't I commit to growing personally, professionally and spiritually so I have more things to say?  This is how I approached my "plan" for 2015.  This allows me to control the activities and leave room for life to take its twists and turns without derailing my results.

So here's the deal for 2015:  It's about developing discipline, and executing activities without a specific "goal" in mind.

1.  Run (at least) a mile a day for the next 365 days.  There will be days and weeks where I run exponentially more than that, as I still have plans to run three half marathons (just not in a five week period this time -- ha), but I need to be held accountable to consistently perform the activity, even when I don't have a race coming up, just because it's good for me.  I have two friends along for the ride on this one with me, and if anyone else is feeling froggy to jump on board with us, the more the merrier!

2.  Drink one gallon of water each day for the next 365 days (Kara just fell out of her chair when she read that).  I am a HORRIBLE water drinker.  I am literally never thirsty, unless I just ran at least three miles.  There are probably more days than I could count that I have consumed NO water at all.  This can't possibly be good for me, right?  There are countless benefits to being sufficiently hydrated. I can't tell you what any of them are, since I've never been sufficiently hydrated.  But I'll keep you updated.  Maybe I'll end up looking ten years younger.  Maybe I will weigh ten pounds less.  Maybe I will live ten years longer.  Who knows?  But I'll do it anyway.

3. Be in the middle of a book at all times.  If I want to have more to say, I need to be filling myself up with new thoughts, ideas, development, growth, dreams, stories... Whether it's fiction, nonfiction, work-related, spiritually based, or absolute mindless beach trash -- and whether it takes me a week or a month to get through each one -- if you ask me this year "What are you reading right now?" I'm committed to having an answer.

Hope you all are excited for a new year and a new start.  I hope you're dreaming up big, grand, outlandish dreams for what this year can bring.  And if you're still reading, I hope you haven't gone blind.  Sometimes I get a little wordy.  Don't worry, if the past two years are any indication, this might be one of the only blog posts I offer up for you to read anyway.  :)

For Oscar

Growing up, I was desperate for a dog.  My parents are not "dog people," so we never had one.  I had to live vicariously through my friends' dogs.  Needless to say, once I was grown up and out of the house, getting a dog was at the top of my To Do List.

Chad and I got engaged during college, and during our last semester at IU, we started talking about life AFTER the wedding.  Chad was well aware of my dog obsession, and thankfully he was on board with getting a dog.  We decided to take a stroll over to the world's strangest pet "store" (I use that term loosely -- there was a St. Bernard in residence, as well as an over-abundance of Chinese Hairless Crested dogs).  We thought it would be a good idea to "browse" the dog selection to get an idea of what kind of dog we would be looking for after we got married.  Here's a little nugget of wisdom: if you let a dog lover go "browse" for a dog, you will go home with a dog.  While we were checking things out at Delilah's Pet Shop, we happened upon a plexiglass crate full of puppies labeled "American Pit Bull Terriers."  They were all laying sleepily in a perfect puppy pile.  While we peered in, one of those precious babies opened their eyes, and it was love at first sight.  The pet store owner picked him up out of the pile, and set him on the ground.  That pup took one look at us and started sprinting around the pet store.  Some people (ok, most people) would probably look at that as a red flag of sorts.  However, we thought it was hilarious and awesome.  Chad went back the next day to pick him up.  And Oscar was our first official baby.

Over the last 12 years, Oscar has been at the center of our family -- an observer of multitudes of defining moments.  From those first days in an apartment full of guys as IU made a run to the final game in the NCAA tournament, to packing up and moving home from IU, getting married, moving into our first apartment, buying our first (and second) house, starting a family, grad school, job changes, new friends, and two more dogs, Oscar has been there.  A constant companion, a loyal friend, an unconditional supporter, a snoring-under-the-covers bed hog, an ever-patient big brother to Maya, and a happy face to come home to at the end of every day.

A week ago, we had to make the heart-wrenching and impossible decision to put Oscar down.  This was a day I had been dreading for every single day of the last twelve years.  Not having grown up with pets, I never knew what it felt like to lose a pet.  I could only imagine how difficult and painful it would be -- and it was exactly that hard.

I can only imagine that it is always extremely difficult to lose a pet.  They are members of our family.  For many reasons, I knew this would be the most difficult.  Partially because Oscar was my first dog (my first pet) ever, but mostly because of all of the defining moments for which he was present.  For the rest of our lives, we will never have another dog who was a part of our family for so many of life's major milestones.  We have two other dogs who are great, but it will never be quite the same, quite as special, quite as perfect.  Pit bulls are a special breed -- polarizing, misunderstood, but so humanlike and amazing.  Oscar was the embodiment of unconditional love.

The journey from 21 to 33 is bumpy.  The road is full of missteps, mistakes and learning experiences.  Oscar was around for some of the best moments of my life, and some of the worst mistakes and trials.  And he loved me perfectly, no matter which way the pendulum was swinging at the time.  As I've settled comfortably info my thirties, I have felt more at home in my own skin, more confident of my decisions, happier with the person I was made to be.  Oscar was there for all those years I wasn't so sure about myself.  He has been, in the truest sense, my training wheels into adulthood.

When I think about Oscar, the first word that comes to mind is "extraordinary."  But in reality, there wasn't really anything special about him.  Ordinary dogs can seem extraordinary, simply because of their ability to love -- so perfectly, so unconditionally.  It's a lesson for all of us in how we should treat each other.  It's reflective of how much God loves us, embodied in a cuddly, furry friend we are fortunate to share our lives with for too short a time.

Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery

When Chad and I were in high school, he used to mimic things I would say, and when I would get mad, he would always tell me that "imitation is the highest form of flattery," which usually resulted in making me even more mad.  In any case, that phrase has gotten thrown around the Wilson house ever since then.  But if you take the smart-ass "Chad Wilson" tone out of it, it really is true.  If someone imitates something you have done/said/bought/made, it really is a pretty sincere form of flattery. 

In my last post I shared some pictures of our crazy soup bash a few weeks ago.  Several of my coworkers were in attendance for the inaugural soup party, and one of them decided we should do it over again as a work pitch-in.  Since the Super Bowl is this weekend, we decided to have a "Soup-er Bowl Party."  In addition, everyone who brought in a donation of canned soup got to wear jeans for the day.  You wanna see a bunch of mortgage people get excited?  Let them wear jeans.  We donated the canned soup to the Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank. 

Since we had the soup list ahead of time, I was able to spend a little more time making the soup names look prettier, which clearly brought me a lot of joy.  I wish I would have gotten my act together to do this for the party at my house... Oh well, next time!

I love that my job sometimes involves making silly soup cards.

We gathered in the break room at noon and had a crazy soup taste-off.  Everything was soup-er tasty.  Some people got a little crazy and started mixing soups together, which resulted in an amazing hybrid combination of the chicken & wild rice soup and the beef & mushroom soup.  Everyone voted, and Amy's Chicken & Wild Rice soup was the winner.  Given our love of themes, Amy won a sweet "Soup-er Market" gift card.

Winner Winner, Chicken (& Rice) Dinner!  Isn't she cute?

Soup's On!

If you have ever met me, you know I live for a good theme party.  

Fall Festival?  Epic memories.

Sweat Pants Oscar Party?  You bet.

Favorite Things?  A semiannual tradition.

While chatting with a few friends before Christmas, I said something like "Wouldn't it be great to make a bunch of soup and just sit around on a Saturday and eat it?"  What turned into a random plan for 3 or 4 of us to make soup and eat it turned into 20 adults and 7 or 8 kids at my house with 11 crock pots plugged in.

A thing of beauty.

As has been known to happen, I took a simple idea and overcomplicated it as much as humanly possible.  And it was great.  Amazing mix of friends.  Amazing collection of soups.  Tiny grilled cheese sandwiches.  All good things.  Best accidental idea I've had in a long time!  I've been promising the soup recipes to everyone for a few weeks now.

A food party is best described in pictures, of course...  Recipes follow at the end!

Talk about a wide range of tasty soups

Ummm, Yum.

Tiny cups for sampling.  I never even put soup in a regular bowl.
Who doesn't like eating soup out of teeny tiny cups?

Would you like some crackers on your soup?  Or some bacon?

Tiny grilled cheese sandwiches.  A must have with tomato soup.  

It's supposed to be candid, Scott.

Winner!  

Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup:

• 2 acorn squash, pumpkins, or other smallish winter squash
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon (or more) red Thai curry paste
• water
• 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt (or to taste)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place the oven racks in the middle.

2. Carefully cut each squash/pumpkin into halves (or quarters). Slather each piece of squash with butter, sprinkle generously with salt, place on a baking sheet skin sides down, and place in the oven. Roast for about an hour or until the squash is tender throughout.

3. When the pumpkin/squash are cool enough to handle scoop it into a large pot over medium high heat. Add the coconut milk and curry paste and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and puree with a hand blender, you should have a very thick base at this point. Now add water a cup at a time pureeing between additions until the soup is the consistency you prefer - a light vegetable stock would work here as well. Bring up to a simmer again and add the salt (and more curry paste if you like).

Serves six.

____________________________________________________________________

Chickpea Stew:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• Fine-grain sea salt
• 3 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 1/2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads (2 modest pinches)
• 3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1 cup plain yogurt (Greek or regular)
• Sweet paprika
• Small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. In a medium-large pot over medium-high heat, combine the olive oil, onion, and a couple of big pinches of salt. Cook until the onions soften up a bit, a few minutes.
2. Stir in the chickpeas, and then add the vegetable broth and garlic. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the saffron and egg yolks, then whisk in the yogurt. Slowly add a big ladleful, at least 1 cup, of the hot broth to the yogurt mixture, stirring constantly. Very slowly whisk this mixture back into the pot of soup.
4. Return the pot to medium heat and cook, stirring continuously for another 5 minutes or so, until the broth thickens to the consistency of heavy cream, never quite allowing broth to simmer.
5. Ladle into individual bowls and serve sprinkled with a touch of paprika and plenty of chopped cilantro.

 ____________________________________________________________________ 

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup canola oil

2 lbs. cubed chicken breast meat

½ tbsp. ground cumin

½ tbsp. chili powder

½ tbsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

¼ cup butter

¾ cup chopped onion

1 tbsp. minced garlic

¼ cup chopped roasted poblano pepper*

1 small can chopped green chilies

¼ cup flour

4 cups chicken stock

2 tbsp. salsa verde

½ chili garlic paste

½ heavy cream

4 oz plain greek yogurt

4 oz shredded monterrey jack cheese

3 green onions (chop, for garnish 

DIRECTIONS:

Heat canola oil in a large sauté pan or a dutch oven (dutch oven if you're doubling the recipe for sure) over medium heat. Combine chicken and spices in mixing bowl. Lightly brown the chicken, cooking until about 75% done.

Remove chicken and set aside. Melt the butter in the pan, and sauté onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the poblanos and green chilis. Add the flour, stir to incorporate, and cook for about 2 minutes.

Add the chicken stock a little at a time, whisking to smooth out any lumps. Add the salsa verde, chili garlic paste, and chipotle tabasco. Allow to come back to a simmer over medium heat, and then add the chicken back into pan. Simmer for 5 minutes and add the cream and white beans stir to incorporate. Garnish with green onions.

Makes about 5 servings

*To roast the poblano, you do it over a gas burner on low-medium or a grill on high heat (that's what I did). If you don't have either of those options, I've heard you can do this in a cast iron skillet, but that's just one more pan you'll have to clean later. Put it directly on the grate and turn every now and then to evenly scorch it all over. Once it's bubbled and burned all over, you place it either in a zip top bag or seal tightly in aluminum foil (which is what I did). Let sit for about 15 minutes to steam. Then you peel off all the blackness, cut it open, scrape out the seeds, stem, and any "ribs" inside. Then chop.

____________________________________________________________________ 

TACO SOUP

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef, cooked

1.25 cups diced onion

15.5 ounces kidney beans, undrained (or cooked dry beans)

15.5 ounces black beans, undrained (or cooked dry beans)

15.5 ounces pinto beans, undrained (or cooked dry beans)

2 cups frozen corn (or fresh in the summer)

10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained (again, fresh in the summer)

16 ounces tomato sauce

7 teaspoons Homemade Taco Seasoning

1 Tablespoon dried minced onion

2 teaspoons parsley flakes

4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a Slow Cooker. Cook on high for 3-5 hours or until heated through. Serve with sour cream, cheese, guacamole, and/or jalepenos if desired.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

6 teaspoons chili powder

5 teaspoons paprika

4.5 teaspoons cumin

2.5 teaspoons onion powder

.5 teaspoons garlic powder

.125 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

.5 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Use in recipes as directed. (7 teaspoons of mix equals one store-bought package.)

____________________________________________________________________

Roasted Cauliflower & Aged White Cheddar Soup:

Ingredients

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 tablespoons oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
• 3 cups vegetable broth, chicken broth or chicken stock 
• 1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup milk or cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper, arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the broth, deglaze the pan, add the cauliflower, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
5. Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender.
6. Mix in the cheese, let it melt without bringing it to boil again.
7. Mix in the milk, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Slow Cooker: Implement step 1, optionally implement steps 2 & 3, place everything except the cheese and milk in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours or high for 2-4 hours before adding the cheese and milk and cooking until the cheese has melted.

____________________________________________________________________

BEER CHEESE SOUP

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 45

Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 15

Minutes

Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups diced carrots

1 1/2 cups diced onion

1 1/2 cups diced celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups beer

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

4 cups milk or half and half

6 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

popped popcorn, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together carrots, onion, celery, and garlic.

Stir in hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Pour in chicken broth

and beer; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Meanwhile, heat butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Stir in flour with a

wire whisk; cook, stirring until the flour is light brown, about 3 or 4 minutes. Gradually

stir in milk, whisking to prevent scorching, until thickened. Remove from heat, and

gradually stir in cheese. Keep warm.

3. Stir beer mixture into cheese mixture. Stir in Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce,

and dry mustard. Adjust for hot pepper sauce. Bring to a simmer, and cook 10

minutes. Serve topped with popcorn.

____________________________________________________________________

Tomato Artichoke Soup

1 T olive oil or butter
1 white or yellow onion, finely choppped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag frozen artichoke hearts (Trader Joe's maybe 16 ounces), thawed in microwave
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 15-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes (crushed or diced)
1 tsp dried basil
1 bay leaf
Parmesan or Romano rind (optional)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 C lowfat plain yogurt, sour cream or creme fraiche if desired.

In a large saucepan or medium dutch oven (Le Creuset), heat the olive oil or butter and saute the onion until translucent.  Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant.  Add artichoke hearts, tomatoes, basil and bay leaf.  Add the cheese rind if you have one (if you buy the big wedges of Parmesan or Romano from Costco, save the hard rinds to flavor soups).  Bring to a boil and simmer to blend flavors for 20-30 minutes or so.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Remove bay leaf and rind, if using.  Puree with stick/immersion blender or ladle in batches into blender to puree if desired (only fill blender half way or you could have boiling soup everywhere).   Stir in yogurt, sour cream or creme fraiche if a little creaminess is desired.  Serve hot or cold (well, not right now save the cold for summer).

____________________________________________________________________

Black Bean Soup:

2 (15 oz) cans black beans

1/4 cup diced red onion

2 tsp chopped pickled jalapeños 

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp cider vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

1. Pour the canned beans along with the liquid into a medium saucepan.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix.

2. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for an hour, adding water to obtain desired consistency.

3. Serve each bowl with a garnish of red onion, jalapeño and sour cream.

____________________________________________________________________

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup:

4 C. Chicken broth

2 C. Water

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, shredded or cubed

1 (4.5 oz) package quick cooking long grain wild rice w/ seasoning packet

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3/4 C. flour

1/2 C. butter

2 C. heavy whipping cream

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and chicken,  Bring just to boiling until chicken is cooked, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet.  Cover and remove from heat.

2. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour.  Set aside.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly.  Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux.  Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth.  Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.

3. Stir cream into broth and rice.  Cook over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes, until heated through.

____________________________________________________________________

Creamy Turkey Noodle Soup:

ingredients:

• 2-4 cups cooked turkey breast (depends how meaty you like it)
• 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 carrots, peeled and diced
• 8 celery stalks, diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 TB dried basil
• 2 dried bay leaves
• salt & pepper to taste
• 16 oz. package frozen egg noodles
• 12 oz can evaporated milk

1. Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil 2-3 minutes.  Add carrots and celery and sauté for 3-4 minutes.

2. Add turkey and broth.  Bring to a boil.  Add basil, bay leaves, salt & pepper, and noodles.  

3. When noodles have cooked through (15 minutes or so), remove bay leaves and add evaporated milk.  Let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Simplify

I figured it was time for another blog post... since it's been, you know, 362 days since my last blog post.  What can I say?  2013 was busy.

Here are our 2013 highlights:

I got a new job.  Maya switched schools.  Chad continued to love his job and rocked it out for another  year.  Chad and I went to Vegas in March.  We traded in my jeep and bought a Pilot.  We went on a family vacation to Florida over the summer with Chad's family.  Maya was a flower girl in our friends' wedding.  We got to be front row for the Mumford and Sons concert.  All in all, it was a glorious year.

As I was reflecting on our very busy (borderline chaotic) 2013, I started thinking about what I wanted my 2014 to look like.  I found that while we were constantly busy doing things last year, I didn't get a lot done.  We spent the year collecting tons of memories, experiences and stuff, but I barely had time to collect myself.  The word "simplify" kept popping into my head.  I'm not really one for making resolutions (let's be honest - following through on things is not my strong suit), but the start of a new year is a great time to make some changes.  I don't have huge, lofty goals that I want to achieve.  Instead, I want to focus on simplifying our life in several ways, and also being intentional with how we spend our time, money, resources, etc.  I feel like we indulged in so many things last year... food, clothes, drinks, activities, friends, stuff...

Have you ever read the book "7" by Jen Hatmaker?  It's a perspective changer.  A life changer.  In my opinion, it's a must read for anyone who lives in our society.  It's a story of how Jen and her family fought back against over-indulgence in seven areas of their life over a period of seven months.  I've had this book on my mind a lot over the last month or so.  Time for a re-read.

I've found that there is profound value in putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to document what I want to accomplish, so here goes...

Simplify... My stuff
I have had grand intentions of shifting some rooms around in our house... moving Maya to our guest room, moving the guest room to the "office" (ha... OFFICE?  Try paralyzing, terrifying junk room... with a desk), and moving the office to Maya's old room.  Jena and I took a trip to Ikea sometime in late spring to fill up my trunk with glorious items that would make this room-shifting adventure easier... better... more enjoyable(?).  Most of that stuff is still in boxes, unassembled.  Life just got in the way.  Work, running, vacation, Candy Crush (ha), sleeping, being lazy, prioritizing other less important things -- you know how it goes.  I heard someone say this recently: "Don't accumulate so much stuff that you wish your house would burn down."  Or something like that.  I looked around my house and I was completely overwhelmed by how much stuff we have.  You can do a lot of nesting/settling/(hoarding) over the course of eight years.  This is the year where we simplify our stuff.

Simplify... My time
Chad and I have a lot of friends.  That's not a brag, it's a truth.  We have collected a lot of friends along the journey of our 18 years together.  Job changes, living in the same city for more or less our whole lives, a husband that has gone to school for a zillion different things, and just possessing a natural love for connecting with people and connecting people to each other -- all have led to a large social circle.  My mom told me a while ago that it doesn't matter how many people you know, one person can really only maintain a certain number of meaningful relationships in their life.  And that certain number is not very large.  I need to do a better job of being intentional with my time, as it relates to the important relationships in my life.  That means planning things out farther in advance (hello, calendar!), letting the important people in my life know how much they mean to me, and spending time nurturing those specific relationships.  Sure, we will still sprinkle in dinners with other friends, throw some random last minute parties, and drop what chores we're doing on a Saturday afternoon to meet up with someone who calls at the last minute.  I love that part of our social life, but I want to make sure I've carved out time for the most important relationships first.

If I can simplify my stuff and my time, I feel like I can find some time to try the things I think I never have time for:

I (begrudgingly) want to try yoga (Kara gave me a monogrammed yoga mat for Christmas -- hint taken, sister).

I want to have time to read some more books (put down the iPhone, Molly.  You've already played 1,000 games of Candy Crush today).

I want to run three half-marathons this year.  I ran two last year and I loved it.  If I challenge myself to do three, it will force me to stay trained throughout the year.

I want to write more -- one blog post at the beginning of January is not gonna cut it.  My cousin and soul-sister Amanda has challenged herself to write more.  I like that challenge and am going to try to do that as well.  I love reading what's on her mind and what's going on in her life.  I also enjoy how it's crazy easy to start a blog and just write about life, and it's documented there for you, so you can look back and remember the moments that seemed worthy of that documentation.

I want Maya to be able to participate in the things she likes doing.  She LOVES dance class, yet she hasn't been enrolled in a dance class since the summer.  Why?  All that other garbage got in the way.  And that's not her fault -- it's ours.

I want to find a place where we can land, spiritually.  We have gone to the same church forever.  It's where Chad and I met.  It's where we got married.  It's where our parents go to church.  But we don't feel rooted there.  Whether that means making more connections where we are, or finding a place where we can really grow our roots, it's something that is worthy of our time this year.

The only way any of this is going to get done is by taking itty bitty baby steps.  One day at a time.  One hour at a time.  One truckload of stuff to Goodwill at a time... Wish me luck, friends.

2012 Year in Review :)

I love Christmas letters.  Like, really, really love them.  I love to read about what people have been up to over the past year.  It's a little bit of insight into other people's lives, snapshots of what they found to be the highlights of their year.  A little like Facebook, but more festive (and less information about what someone ate for breakfast).  I even like reading Christmas letters from people I don't know.  I've been known to pick up a Christmas letter out of the pile of Christmas cards at my mom's house, read the entire thing, and then look up and say "Who are these people?"

Incidentally, I also really love Christmas cards.

Even though I took all my Christmas decorations down after New Years, the cards might still be hung up.  I'm sure Chad loves this.

Last year I attempted to write a Christmas letter to send out, but I just couldn't find enough interesting things to say.  Turns out it's way harder than I thought it would be.  I mean, how do you come up with the perfect words to sum up an entire year of your life?  And what if I say something that one person finds charming, but my 92-year-old great aunt maybe doesn't appreciate?  Oh, the pressure.  Needless to say, the attempt was a big fat FAIL, so I just sent out a picture of Maya in front of the Christmas tree.  Super original, Molly.

Anyhow, I was thinking about how I fell off the blog wagon big-time in the latter half of 2012, and what better way to catch back up than taking a little trip down memory lane?  And since no one wants to read a million paragraphs about what we did all year, I will let the pictures do most of the talking.

Travels

Cape Cod

In July, we took an amazing trip to Cape Cod for a family reunion with Chad's mom's side of the family.  Usually when someone says "Oh, I went to a family reunion..." you might think Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..... Not so!  The Quiambao family knows how to throw a week-long party!  Everyone left their homes in Indianapolis, Austin, Dallas, Orlando, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Wilmington and San Diego and met up in Chatham, Massachusetts for an unforgettable week of sun, sand, FOOD, drinks, fun, late nights, aunts, uncles, cousins, FOOD, day trips, boat trips... you name it, we did it!  

Talk about scenery!  Great house, wonderful beaches, tons of sunshine!  Yes, those are my feet in the sand.  Yes, I rinsed them off immediately after taking this picture.

Maya's first trip to the beach was amazing.  What's not to love?  Sun, sandcastles, and ice cream!

We got to catch up with cousins from all around the country.  Good times!  To the dust!

Don't worry... plenty of time for laying around :)

Ummm, did I mention the FOOD?

Arizona

Right after Thanksgiving (8:00 AM the next day, in fact), Chad and I traveled to Tucson, Arizona to attend the wedding of one of our best friends.  We got to trade in  the late fall/early winter Indiana weather for some nice 80-degree Arizona sunshine.  Several friends were able to make the trip, so it was sort of like a mini IU reunion (complete with a few surprise rounds of This is Indiana playing at the reception).  Amazing weekend, amazing friends, amazing weather. 

 

Never would have thought of Tucson as a vacation destination.  Turns out it is. 

Tell me this isn't one of the most beautiful places someone could get married...

Could not ask for a better group of lifelong friends...

Always interesting when you throw a photo booth into the mix at a reception...

So neat for Chad to get to serve as the Best Man at the wedding of the Best Man from our wedding.  Lookit!  They're both beaming inside!!

Around Town

When we weren't traveling, we managed to find some fun throughout the year in Indy!

 

The Super Bowl came to town in February, and it was really fun to act like a tourist in the town where we've lived forever!

Made it to a handful of Colts games, both at the end of the Peyton Manning era and the beginning of the Andrew Luck era.  Different haircuts, different jerseys, same love for our Colts!

In the middle of the summer, Chad's parents bought a boat, so this became the scenery of Summer 2012.  Also turns out we have a lake-lover on our hands.  Maya couldn't get enough of it!

We were able to enjoy the Zoo, Children's Museum, and a few Indians games over the summer.  Maya had a blast out on the lawn.  This picture marks the birth of Maya's "Excited Face," which she displayed in about 500 pictures throughout the rest of the year.

Maya's Firsts

Maya got to experience a handful of things for the first time this year:

First time at the airport (that she remembers anyway)

Discovering the joys of airplanes - She was a GREAT flyer!

First time splashing in the ocean!

First time at the movies!

First time trick-or-treating with her friends :)

First time on Santa's lap!  Apparently a personal visit is much preferred to a mall encounter...

 Maya Turns 3!

Can't believe this little ball of life, love and laughter has been in our lives for three years!  This was the year of the Disney Princess.  And the girl band.

Speaking of Kids...

September 25th was a super great day.  Not only did the new Mumford album come out, but my bestie had a baby!!  Rachel and Pete welcomed Eli Franklin Gilboy into the world, and he is just the sweetest little guy.  I got the opportunity to visit over a weekend a few weeks after Eli's arrival, and those crazy parents even left me alone with the wee little guy for a few hours.  Holy cow.  Three-year-olds are so much bigger and so much less fragile than newborn babies.  I am so excited for Rachel and Pete to have joined the "We're attempting to raise a whole human being without messing them up" Club.  

Cutest pregnant lady.  If only we could all be 6-feet tall and only gain weight in the belly...

I'm not really much of a cat person, but this picture kinda changes my mind.  Cuteness overload.

I mean, are you kidding me?  My uterus hurts. 

 Running

Last January, I was chatting with my friend Jena over a glass or three of wine, and we were talking about goals for the new year.  She mentioned that she would like to run "a couple marathons." (Side note: Jena was not a runner.)  I said "a couple marathons?!"  She said "Oh, you know, like a 5k."  I hadn't run much since Maya was born, so we decided we would pick a race and train for it.  A few weeks later I mentioned it to Chad, and he said he wouldn't mind running a half marathon.  I asked Jena if she wanted to train to run 13.1 miles.  At the time, Jena was a devout Zumba lady.  She had been trying to get me to go to Zumba with her for months (I don't dance).  So I told her if she would train to run the mini, then I would go to Zumba with her once.  Kind of a lopsided agreement, if you ask me.  But hey, she agreed.  Little did we know it would lead to running eight races, not to mention a gazillion morning/afternoon/evening training runs, including a particularly memorable 4-mile run in the pitch black of night during a torrential rainstorm.  In the past, running was always something I did sort of begrudgingly.  I have always had a pretty serious love/hate relationship with running, like most fair-weather runners do.  My process in the past looked a lot like this:  Sign up for a race, train insufficiently, struggle through, take weeks to recover, feel an exorbitant amount of relief that I am done, then return to my lazy ways.  This was the first time I felt some level of responsibility for someone else's success, and it was also the first time I really learned to love running outside.  Our training runs became mini therapy sessions, and I started to really understand what "real runners" were talking about when they said that running was wonderful, good-for-the-soul stuff.  So this time, we trained effectively, ran strong, recovered quickly, and kept running.  Oh yeah... about that deal we made.  I did go to Zumba, and boy am I uncoordinated.  

Here's a little trip down memory lane for the races we ran this year.  I use the term "race" loosely, since we weren't beating anyone out there.  Fast, we aren't.

 

March 2012 - Durbin 10k

May 2012 - Indianapolis Mini-Marathon

May 2012 - Geist 5k

June 2012 - Tap 'n Run 5k (Beer stations instead of water stops?  OK, twist my arm.  And yes, that is Chad dressed like Richard Simmons in the back)

October 2012 - Back on my Feet Marathon Relay (probably the only way I will ever have any part in a full marathon...)

October 2012 - Wine at the Line 5 mile race (Umm, wine at the end of the race?  I guess I could be talked into that).  Big shout out to my cousin Amanda, for finishing her first organized race.  Get it, girl!  See you at that 8k in April!

November 2012 - Wishbone 5k (I had a stomach virus that day.  Least enjoyable run of my life)

December 2012 - Jingle Bell 10k

Getting Crafty!

I think it's safe to say that I have not historically been known as a "crafty" person.  Thank goodness for Pinterest, helping those poor craft-challenged folks such as myself!  This year a few friends and I started getting together for Pinterest Craft Nights -- a good reason to wear sweat pants, catch up, have a glass of wine, and attempt to discover our crafty sides.  A few highlights:

I discovered Emi-Jay hair ties this year.  They are amazing.  They are also expensive.  My friend Pam bought a bunch of elastic online and we went to town one night.  This is my kind of craft... Cut the elastic.  Tie it.  That's it.   Three hair ties for $7 at Nordstrom?  Oh, Emi-Jay.  Not anymore!

I saw this on Pinterest a bazillion times, and I figured it was a good way to use up the wine corks that have been overfilling a bowl in my kitchen.  No real secret here.  Drink a ton of wine in preparation. Save the corks.  (Disclaimer: I "drank a ton of wine in preparation" over the course of several months.)  Buy some wooden letters.  Plug in a glue gun.  Glue on some corks.  Crafting for Dummies!

I was feeling a little festive in December, so I decided to make a bunch of ornaments for my Christmas tree.  I saw this blog post about how to do it, and I thought "even I can't mess this one up."  Yes it is really that easy.  Yes they really end up looking that good.  The day after I made these, Maya came home with the very same thing she made at school.  There you have it, folks.  Easy enough for a three-year-old = Molly-appopriate craft.

Food

I may not be great at crafting, but I have ALWAYS been good at eating.  Just for kicks, here are some tasty things we ate this year... 

The Wilson Sushi House.  Rivals anything else you'll find in this city.  OK, that is an exaggeration.  However, we have become huge fans of making sushi at home.  Not as hard as it looks!

Holy Mexican Secret!  You can't drive around Indianapolis without tripping over a million Mexican restaurants, and most of them are more or less the same.  Or at least I thought so until I discovered the chicken soup at La Hacienda on Binford & Graham Rd.  It is obscene how good this soup is.  I have yet to introduce anyone to it who didn't love it.  If you already know about it, then all I have to say to you is: WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS SOONER??

I know this doesn't look like much, but it's pretty much the best pasta dish in Indianapolis.  If you haven't been over to Goodfellas (96th and Olio), get there and order the pasta alla vodka. Stat.  Best vodka sauce I have ever tasted. 

In June, Chad and I celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary.  We go out to eat a lot, but for our anniversary we decided to stay in.  We feasted on filet, bacon wrapped shrimp, Indiana sweet corn on the cob, and some tasty cab to wash it all down.  This was the best home-prepared steak I have ever eaten in my life.  I'm sure the pound and a half of bacon and bleu cheese on top didn't hurt.

Dogs

Yep, these guys are still alive and kickin'!  

Well, there you have it friends.  If you're still reading this, thank you for being such a good friend, and I hope you haven't gone blind.  When I started writing this post, I figured I would slap a couple pictures on here, make a snarky comment or two, and move along with my day.  But I got totally consumed with the memories of the past year, and I'm feeling completely overwhelmed with the wonderful family, friendships, experiences, stories, pictures, trips and memories that have filled up the past year.  I can't even begin to count all the blessings in my life.  I'm so grateful to God for purposefully placing each and every relationship and experience into my life this past year. 

Giddy-up, 2013.  You have big shoes to fill.