My little brother

I saw my brother in the kitchen wearing this funny shirt and I asked him if I could take his picture. He obliged and then his real personality came out with this crazy face!

I love his personality...maybe because we are so simliar: Reserved, laid back (he is way laid back), introverted, self-conscious.
Things I love about him: Extremely generous, hard working, efficient, natural comedian, great chef, kind hearted and very smart.
Growing up, we were buddies. He was always so compliant when I wanted to dress him up. When we got to high school, I was a senior and he was a freshman so he hung out with mutual friends at Starbucks almost every weekend. We also lived far out in Fairfield so we had lots of time to bond in the car rides. As young adults, our relationship has grown through various one on one conversations about life. He is such a fine, young gentleman that I pray for all the time!

The neverending question

I just wrote two posts but I am making up for lost time so here is a link to a great blog post by John Piper.

iChat

I have had this amazing computer for 7 months now and I just found out how to use some of it's greatest features. That is partly because I did not pursue anyone enough to give me a tutorial but anyway, my friend Stan, who only has Apple computers and the iPhone, gladly showed me that we can video chat.
The way you do this is if the other person has a Mac and has a webcam (most Macs come with it built in) then you send them a video request to chat. When they accept, you see them in a larger video and you are a small video inset. We talk straight through the computer! I can even change my background to make it look like I am at the beach or in an aquarium. Right now I only have like 3 friends who can iChat but hopefully when we get all the PC users to switch over to a Mac I can chat with everyone!
I love communication so much. I love texting, phone calls, emailing, Facebooking, Myspace, Gchat, blogging, and now, iChatting. I unfortunately cannot get an iPhone since I have T-Mobile but as soon as I can, I will get one!

Here are reasons Why You'll Love a Mac.

Lazy dayz

These past couple of days have been spent in Lake Charles, LA with my family. It has been nice to be in a quiet home in a neighborhood as opposed to a tiny apartment next to a busy street. I also have enjoyed the family dinners. My mom and I have made dinner together at night and it gives me good practice in the kitchen. My dad and brother get home from work to have dinner with us. Then we get to catch up. It has been even more fun to have deep conversations with my mom during our quality time.

Today I spent time at the scrapbook store where she works working on a few cards. The store has every tool imaginable ! Just like technology has advanced so much in computers, it has also in scrapbooking. I also got a haircut today for $15. There is this great salon owned by 5 girls that give great cuts and color. I wanted to add more brown but decided to wait on it. I feel like changing up my look somehow but I just do not know what to do yet...

Anyway, I was thinking about the time I have had off this summer to enjoy and I am just so thankful to the Lord for it. He knew I needed rest and relaxation. He also knew that I needed a job that would not last for the entire summer so He provided that. He has blessed me with some great fellowship as well. I have gotten to know several people from church on a deeper level. We have gotten to eat together, laugh together and just hang out.
Here are some pics I have taken on my Macbook. Just having fun with the Mac camera.

Dinner with friends

Well the enrichment summer school program ended on Friday and boy was it a tiring month! I learned a ton about challenging my students in a new way and how to manage my classroom more effectively. The kids in this program are so incredibly gifted so it was completely refreshing to be around them.

I celebrated the end of school with some great fellowship over the weekend. Saturday night my friend and I entertained 7 other folks with an exceptional dinner. When I cook for people, I stress myself out. I can't just cook the run of the mill chicken and vegetables or spaghetti. I have to cook the BEST thing I can find! So I woke up stressed when I had to think about the menu. I searched the internet for hours and then decided on salmon. Well that did not work because not everyone loves salmon like I do. I finally made it to good 'ole HEB and called my mom for help. I walked around the meat department and instantly felt frustrated. People were every where and they were in my way. My mom gave me a great recipe and I calmed down. I perused the aisles and the Chef greeted me warmly. He asked me if I wanted to try some samples of his food. I confessed to him that I was stressed out and needed an easy, yet superb main entree. I decided to try something other than what my mom recommended so the chef walked me back to his cooking station and gave me a sample of the amazing food. Once I tried it, I was sold. He was super helpful and it made it sound so simple. Thanks Chef!
Here is the recipe:

Appetizer: Cream cheese with cherry chutney and crackers
Salad: Handful of spring mix, slices of mozzarella cheese and cherry tomatoes. The dressing was a basil vinaigrette:
1/3 cup of oil
2 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 crushed garlic cloves
3 TBSP of chopped basil fresh or dried (I used the dried basil you can buy in the herb section of the store).
Salt and pepper

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor and serve on the salad. It is delicious!

Entree: Pork tenderloin and crash hot potatoes
The chef told me to place the tenderloin in foil and rub it down with Adam's Reserve Hickory Char Crust and roasted garlic (found bottled in the produce section). I then placed it in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. When it was sliced, I poured Canyon Foods Sweet Chili Lime Sauce on it and this was exactly what it needed! It was enough sweetness balanced with a little spice. The pork was cooked to a medium and was so tender. Everyone enjoyed the food and I have to say, I was impressed that I was able to pull it off. I usually mess up recipes but the Lord allowed me to do it well.

We then ended the meal with brownies made from scratch (my mom's secret recipe) and Janet's amazing oatmeal cookies.
After we had eaten, some folks left and we got down to the deep questions of the night...my favorite part. Unfortunately, I only lasted for a while and fell asleep! I was so tired I guess. Not really a good hostess now am I? Overall, a wonderful evening and Lori was so sweet to open her home and let me take over her kitchen.

Sunday afternoon rolled around and since Saturday was such a success we wanted to do it again! So we did! Lori and I made it to HEB again and picked up some filets to grill. This time I tried out a recipe from my brother for his amazing mushrooms. We began again with the cream cheese but this time Lori got a raspberry chipotle sauce and a blueberry chipotle sauce to put on top. Wow they were so great! Here is menu:

Jalapeno bacon wrapped filets
Gorgonzola mushrooms
Sauteed spinach
Crescent rolls (okay so we bought the already prepared ones and popped them in the oven)
Blueberry dump cake with vanilla ice cream

Absolutely scrumptious!

Considering my lemon bar fiasco as a child (I can tell you about this in person if you like), I have come a long way in the cooking realm. And the fact that I am a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher is also quite ironic. Anyway, I realized that I get a certain sense of joy in cooking for people and planning a get together. I love getting ready for the evening and getting to have great fellowship with friends. I also enjoy serving them while we are all hanging out.