Sautee Adventures

One of my personal goals for this season of my life is to start cooking. I've been married for two years, and it's finally hit me that it might be a good idea if I knew my way around the kitchen. I've gotten away with it this long because my husband is a foodie. He knows food. He loves food. And man alive can he whip up some really yummy stuff. This is all well and good (and yummy), but there's still some innate need in me to be able to put food on the table - literally - for my family. Don't get me wrong, I have no aims to become like Julia Childs or to even cook all of her recipes. But I do want to be able to come up with a menu, bargain shop for groceries, and put together a decent spread for dinner.

Last night's venture: Chicken Quesadillas. I have to admit, I didn't go into this meal trying to make something fancy. My goals were cheap, quick, and easy. Ingredients: canned chicken, cheese, and tortilla. Doesn't get much easier than that. But then I started thinking of ways to jazz it up a bit. I chopped up an onion (the first onion I've ever chopped by hand, thank-you-very-much) and some mushrooms (canned), and sauteed them. The only reason I even know that word at all is because my husband sautes everything. So I did what I've seen him do a hundred times. A little bit of oil and high heat, throw in the chopped goods, pinch in salt and pepper, give the pan a couple of shakes (and tosses, go me), and voila! While that was cooking, I threw in the canned chicken. Because, really, the whole motivation behind the onions and mushrooms was to cover up that weird canned chicken flavor. And boy did it ever. Add some rice on the side, and we had a great meal. I have to say, that was the yummiest thing I've ever made. Better yet, it seems Hubs really enjoys me cooking for him :)

Inch by inch

Good morning Monday. First Monday of my PhD career. I can feel the stress trying to seep in, and already the question trying to form in my mind "Why am I doing this, again?" So, it only took four days for that question to pop up. That's okay, I'm sure it will many [many] more times before this is all said and done. I know I'm here for a reason. I know I'm here because the God of heaven moved in my heart to be here. And that somehow this is part of my "destiny" - whether in getting me to the right career, or just making sure I get a big dose of [much-needed] character building. So instead of giving in to the stress and questions, I am choosing to remember. To remember that this day is His. And I am called here "for such a time as this."

"Inch by inch, a cinch. Yard by yard is hard." Today I am going to take it inch by inch. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:34

Quick Update

Okay, so I need to do a bit of back-posting. To log the story of the summer, and the start of school. Let's sum it up a bit.

Our trip to Israel was amazing.

I spent the entire month of July playing World of Warcraft with my friends. It was a blast. (Poor Hubs worked the whole summer.)

Had plans to move into an apartment at the end of July. That didn't work out. The next week we found the cutest little house - for less rent, and including laundry room! AND the same day we found the house, Drew was offered an assistantship from Clemson - meaning less work, and more money, while he's in school.

It was a summer of waiting and resting, not sure what God had in store for us, but believing He would take care of it. And boy did He ever. We've had the house two weeks now, and I love it more everyday. And it's so much fun being a student with my husband.

We certainly are on the adventure of our lives.

Day 2

Day 2. Already exhausted. I’m handling the early mornings fairly well. That is, I’m actually waking up at a decent hour. But then again, I’m not sure I’d call 6 o’clock in the morning “decent” by any standards. (Okay, I DO hit the snooze button – twice – but I’m out of bed by 6:20. Still decent… if you want to call it that.)

My meandering here gives evidence to the fact that my brain is on “power saver” mode. Perhaps more coffee is in order.

Eight A.M. Bioinformatics. And prof made sure he let us know he purposefully chose that time. Sadist. Okay, okay, he’s actually very reasonable, and I think I’ll enjoy his class a lot. As long as I can keep my brain from fogging out.

Next on the books… Biochemistry. Except I’m teaching this one. Well… assisting-teaching.

All in all, I’m loving it. *Que McDonald’s theme*