30||Coffee (and Bars) Before We Part

A farewell coffee date. Take some time to breath, sip a warm drink, and share with your new blogging buddies. If you'd like a prompt: how did the Blog-tember Challenge go for you? Any surprises? What was your favorite prompt, or what would you like to see included next time?

Since I am from the Midwest, I would like to offer you both coffee and bars. I didn't know "bars" were a Midwest thing until I moved away. Since it's still quite warm over here in Thailand, I'll be enjoying an iced Americano, but I won't judge you for your PSL if that's what your heart desires.

I am just going to be up front, I can't believe I actually finished all 30 days of the Blog-tember Challenge! This at least the third, although I really think it's the fourth, month-long blogging challenge that I have started, but it's the first one that I actually ever finished. (Heck, I'm still working on finishing last year's Blog-Tember challenge. Ahem.) Some posts from the last month are definitely stronger than others, but I wrote 30 posts in 30 days and I'm pretty happy about that. I'm really hoping to be able to continue through "31 Days of Thailand" as part of the 31 Days writing challenge and then follow through with a consistent blogging pattern after that.

My favorite prompt was probably sharing my passion as I truly learned something about myself. Perhaps a post to see next year would be to explain how our individual names came to be since we explained blog names this year. Just a thought. Regardless, I know I will be on the lookout for Blog-Tember in 2016!

And, because bars are apparently a North Dakota thing, I will leave you with my favorite banana bars recipe. It's actually my mom's recipe and I'm pretty sure she got it out of one of her "Taste of Home" recipes from forever ago. I'm not even kidding... I think she has 11 years worth of magazines? I just won't admit to fighting her for reading them first because I enjoyed them almost as much as she did. But, anyhow, these banana bars will be good with coffee of any sort, hot or cold, and probably even with a PSL because I think they are just that good. These may be mom's most requested pot luck recipe and that's saying a lot because mom's food is in high demand in most any social situation. I suppose I should be giving you a pumpkin recipe seeing as it is fall and all, but I live in the tropics so banana it is! I am grateful to have learned to cook and bake from the best and I know my friends are grateful as well... Ha! So, because I want to share some North Dakota love with you, I bring you now Dorine's banana bars.

1/2 cup butter, softened                        2 cups flour                                    3 T. butter, melted

1-1/2 cups sugar                                   1 tsp. baking soda                          2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream                       1 cup bananas, mashed

1 tsp. vanilla                                          3/4 cup (6 oz.) cream cheese, softened

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Gradually add flour and baking soda to creamed mixture. Mix in bananas. Spread into a greased 15x10-in. jelly roll sized pan. Bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. Cool. Beat together cream cheese and melted butter. Gradually add enough powered sugar to achieve desired frosting consistency. Frost bars and store in refrigerator. Makes 2 dozen.

I would include a picture of a batch I made myself but I'm moving this week(end) and don't want to have to move more than I already have in my possession. So, I suppose that just means I will have to make a batch later to photograph. The sacrifices I am willing to make, all for the blog, of course!

Thank you for joining me this month! I have enjoyed myself and I hope you have too!

The 2015 Blog-Tember Challenge. Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4. Day 5. Day 6. Day 7. Day 8. Day 9. Day 10. Day 11. Day 12. Day 13. Day 14. Day 15. Day 16. Day 17. Day 18. Day 19. Day 20. Day 21. Day 22. Day 23. Day 24. Day 25. Day 26. Day 27. Day 28. Day 29. Day 30.

3||Collage to Describe Be.Do.Say.Go.

Create a collage or inspiration/mood board that describes your blog.

(Clockwise, from top L) Thailand. Specifically, Krabi which has quickly become one of my favorite places to be. I blog about Thailand quite a bit, simply because I'm still trying to make meaning of this season of life. Recipes. I made a cookbook of family recipes for my sister as a wedding present this last summer. Now, I am working on making a family cookbook for myself. I also enjoy cooking and baking and find recipes to be something very easy to collect as well as share. I have a whole arsenal of recipes ready to be made known! Teaching and learning. I am a teacher by training and a graduate student by choice. I spend many evenings with my computer, learning materials, and a coffee, always working towards the next goal. Faith. This view comes from the service learning trip I took with my school last February. I started to write about it but never finished. This picture represents for my my purpose in life, the calling God has placed upon my life, the opportunities He has given me to be a part of His work in this world, and, even more simply, just the marvel of His creation. Family. My home is where my family is and where they are is where I like to be.

The 2015 Blog-Tember Challenge. Day 1. Day 2. Day 3.

30 Before 30, v.27.0

I am a full two years into this journey and I find it crazy to see how life has happened in the last six months. I definitely feel older with this 27th birthday, but I also feel the same as I always have been. Bring it on 27... I'm ready and waiting.

1. Finish my Master's degree. I have my thesis proposal defense scheduled for Friday and have been given June 19 as my date of final completion!
2. Knock out Baby Steps 2 & 3. I am struggling. Sadface.
3. Complete the C25K program.
4. Build my blog to 100 followers.
5. Take an international vacation... alone.
6. Coach in a state basketball tournament.
7. Buy a nice camera to document life's adventures. I need to figure out how to use my camera and then document this post!
8. Read and notate through the Bible five different times, in four translations (NIV, NKJV, ESV, NASB).
9. Run a marathon.
10. Hit my goal weight (160 pounds... Dream weight is 145 pounds).
11. Do something really nice for somebody... something I never thought I'd be able to do... somewhere, at sometime.  Something has been done and I'm leaving it at that.
12. Send out snail mail Christmas cards one year.
13. Read 100 new (never before read) books. 1Fat Angie. 2Single Infertile Female: Adventures in Life, Love, and Infertility. 3Sparkly Green Earrings: Catching the Light at Every Turn. 4The Help. 5Monster. 6The Book Thief.7Eat, Pray, Love. 8Same Kind of Different as Me. 9Winning Balance.10Thirteen Reasons Why. 11Zack's Lie. 12Water for Elephants. 13The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 14The Girl Who Played With Fire. 15The Language of Flowers. 16The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. 17Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. 18Jack's Run. 19Gone Girl. 20My Sister's Voice. 21The Heavy: A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet-- A Memoir. 22Divergent. 23The Fault in Our Stars. 24Inferno. 25The Time Keeper. 26Arranged. 27The Anti-Prom. 28The Boyfriend App. 29Going Vintage. 30Deception Point. 31The Tyrant's Daughter. 32Hollow City. 33And the Mountains Echoed. 34Unbroken. 35Calico Joe. 36Insurgent. 37The Memory Keeper's Daughter: A Novel. 38Allegiant. 39Looking for Alaska. 40The Hurricane Sisters: A Novel. 41An Abundance of Katherines. 42The Lovely Bones. 43If I Stay. 44Where She Went. 44Paper Towns. 45Night. 46Will Grayson, Will Grayson (46/100)
14. Try at least 30 new recipes. 1Knoephla Soup. 2Parkerhouse Rolls. 3Broccoli Salad. 4Caramel Rolls. 5Jello Salad. 6Garlic and Parmesan Brussels Sprouts. (6/30) Bad blogger alert. I hosted a large dinner party last fall and never blogged about the evening or my recipes. This will happen, though!
15. Write 500 notes of encouragement to those around me. (5/500)
16. Go skydiving.
17. Crochet a baby afghan.
18. Have a photo shoot done of myself... Insecurities set aside.
19. Go on another missions trip. This one may be in the works. Details are being worked out right now.
20. Complete a semester of calculus.
21. Earn my permit to carry a concealed weapon.
22. Sleep a night under the stars.
23. Get three stamps in my passport. (1/3) I have two international weekends booked in the upcoming two months!
24. Make a kite and fly it.
25. Achieve complete financial independence. Although I am currently struggling pretty hard with #2, I can see that I am slowly but surely moving to total financial independence.
26. Take a dance class.
27. Tear a phone book in half.
28. Solve a Rubik's cube.
29. Learn to swim.
30. Visit New York City... Perhaps for a 30th birthday celebration?

A Little Monday Pick-Me-Up

I really believe these cookies could change the world.  They are, to the naked eye, everything that a cookie is and should be, but I think they eat more like a brownie, a box brownie at that... And I love me a box brownie in any way, shape, or form. 

I mixed up a batch of these cookies this weekend to put in my girls' basketball goodie bags this morning. We tip off at the Region 8 tournament today (wish us luck!), so I used the girls as an excuse to make these little bits of deliciousness. The key is to not overbake the cookies.  I baked mine on the shy side of 10 minutes and they were perfect.  Enjoy!

Nestle Toll House Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

(aka Brownie Cookies)

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Nestle Toll House Baking Cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cup (11.5-oz. pkg) Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chunks.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until cookies are puffed and centers are set but still soft.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Yields 40.

Assistant Coach of the Year points, no?

GF Is Not Just a City in North Dakota

I am very much an all or nothing kind of person... Moderation is not something that works well for me very often at all. This includes eating.

I like food. I have always enjoyed food and I really haven't found a food I'm not willing to try at least once. I used to be a pickier eater, but I really have gotten better. Cucumbers grossed me out for the longest time but now they are one of my go-to foods... So I know, from personal experience, that picky eaters really can recover.

Anyhow, about six years ago, I started a dairy-free diet per the recommendation of my mom who has been dairy intolerant for the last 20-some years. Going dairy-free made all of the difference in the world for me and, in search of finding dairy substitutes, I realized that my body does not handle soy well at all either. And then about three years ago, I went gluten-free (GF) in an effort to reslove some particularly annoying symptoms and my body responded so well. I now consider myself a recovering carboholic. (I am also allergic to walnuts, but that's another story for another day. It's a pretty boring story, though, so that day may never come.)

After a super stressful fall semester and then the holidays and just general laziness on my part, I have become super lax in my diet... I cheat way more than I should (which, really, I shouldn't cheat because I feel so much better when I don't...) and I'm feeling the effects of it. The scale isn't moving, my clothes don't fit well because I'm bloated, my joints are achy, and my skin is a mess.

I wrote last week about wanting to get my water consumption where it needed to be and I'm very grateful to say that I am definitely moving in the right direction. I finish four bottles of water most days... It's the fifth one that seems to get me the most. Anyhow, this week I am working to get my diet back under control. 

Because I feel like gluten affects me in the most adverse ways (although I'm more sensitive to dairy, if that makes sense) and I find gluten the hardest to abstain from, I am making it the first to go. My plan is to eliminate gluten this week and the eliminate dairy next week. Soy is not a huge issue for me because I really do limit my processed foods and it's usually when I cheat that I'm eating processed foods which also tend to contain soy, so when I eat wisely, the soy situation pretty much resolves itself.

I am always on the lookout for tasty gluten-free/dairy-free recipes that are as natural and whole foods oriented as possible, so please share if you know of any! I've been meaning to post some of my favorites, but I've come to realize that I really don't follow a recipe oftentimes and just throw together what I think looks and sounds good at the time.... Oops! But that being said, I really do hope to become more intentional in my cooking so when I have brain blocks for meals, I can look through my recipe box to find something instead of looking in the fridge and hoping for the best or (UGH!) having a cheat meal because I'm too lazy to do anything else!

Clothes, Food, Taxes, and Mail... aka Adult Life

As has become my usual, I am linking up with the ladies of The Good Life, A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, and Hello Happiness for "5 on Friday." Please join us!

One. I love fun mail... Especially when it makes Christmas last a little longer.  I also received a textbook order today, but I'm conveniently ignoring that.

Two. I made a cinnamon roll tree from scratch this week. I contributed baked goods to this week's holiday feasts and that was it. This was a new roll recipe and while it was pretty tasty overall, I know now what I will change for the next time go-around. Which probably won't happen until next year. In 2014. (How is 2014 only next week away??)

Three. I am in the midst of packing for a quick weekend trip to hit up Michele's engagement party tomorrow evening and to spend Sunday with Amy. After a couple of days of not feeling the greatest, I'm looking forward to a quick couple of days catching up with a couple of my favorite ladies.

Four. The first thing I accomplished today was finishing my tax binder. I moved some files around and made a space for this year's documents. Rarely do I stay on top of anything in life, but my tax binder is one less stress now!

Five. I love my new infinity scarf from Kelly! It just might be so fluffy that I could die! But it's also soft and ginormous and warm and I'm planning on wearing it tomorrow! Kelly's fun mail Christmas gift was a great way to end the week!

Grad School, Pinterest, Food, Greece, and Franklin

As I am hoping becomes my new usual, I am linking up with the ladies of The Good Life, A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, and Hello Happiness for "5 on Friday." Please join us!

One. I finally finished my grad school class this week and submitted my initial thesis write-up. I wasn't sure this semester was ever going to end. This was the first class of my grad work that I really just didn't enjoy. I've taken other classes from this professor so I know it's not anything to do with her, but I really just didn't enjoy the course content this time around. I'm looking forward to my spring semester classes, but I am welcoming the three week break... To finish one other class and knock out my CITI certification.

Two. My Pinterest boards are out of control... Good grief. I need to separate my books from my school board and fish out my healthy recipes from my desserts. Good thing I have the Christmas break coming up to take care of such pressing issues in my life.

Three. Speaking of Pinterest, I'm excited to try this soup! I love anything buffalo flavored and I love chili, so I'm failing to understand how buffalo chicken chili coule be anything less than the-bomb-dot-com.

Here.

Four. I currently have Greece on my mind. I started researching cruises last night when I should have been writing my thesis proposal. I'm hoping to make it happen in the next couple of years? But we'll see. Something may come up... Like needing to reorganize my Pinterest boards or something.

Five. Yesterday I ordered new planner pages. I tried to switch to a more minimal planner this fall, but I just can't do it. So I'm counting this fall semester a loss and am starting fresh in January. And I'm hoping and praying my package ships early so I can get myself organized over break. Because I have nothing else to do. (Ahem, see #1 and #2.)