back on track...once again

remember how i was going to blog once a week, or at least once every other week? clearly i still need some work....

so here is a post recapping things i meant to blog about long ago:

1- i've been in the new house for almost two months ago and it is fabulous. when i moved in here i finally cleaned out my old room at my folk's house once and for all. it is now a much more tastefully decorated guest room. but while i was cleaning it out i found a few gems. remember these?

(answer- t-shirt dress that KT & I attempted to make senior year & bamboo ninja stick from freshman year) it was tough for me to get rid of treasures such as these...but even a pack rat such as myself must move on.

2-my sister in law sent me more pictures from our road trip- the Office Scranton sign is in fact now in the Steamtown mall. But don't worry, it has a nature background so it still looks like it is outside. disappointing.

3- the only food i have every truly detested is tofu. well last year my coworker/friend found out about this and was determined to change my mind. she said it's all about what kind of tofu you buy and then how you prepare it.....well she was right and the resulting tofu sandwiches are delicious. last week i bought some for myself and prepared tofu sandwiches a few nights for dinner.

the proof:

and the recipe:

Ingredients:

Twin oaks Italian herb Tofu

Tamari (I used soy sauce)

black pepper

cheddar cheese

Annies- goddess dressing (very key)

wheat bread (a coworker traded me homemade bread pictured above for a ride home....worth it)

lettuce, tomato, onion (as you wish)

Directions:

*slice tofu into slices

*fry in olive oil and tamari untill crispy (put pepper on top while cooking)

*smother in cheese

*put on bread

*add lettuce, tomato, onion, Goddess dressing

*put on other piece of bread

*eat

and if i can be turned towards tofu....anyone can (plus as a bonus it's super cheap!)

ok that's enough updates for now...

tribe. pride. tribe pride (best WM cheer ever)

Tonight the Tribe played UVA in football here in Charlottesville. One of my students knows I went to/love William & Mary and gave me a ticket to the game, and when I was telling her how I was going to go with my Dad, she gave me another one! Awesome!

Although unfortunately we got beat pretty badly (40-3) it was still really fun just to go. As you can see the stadium was represented pretty well with UVA orange, but we brought some tribe pride to our section. Maybe next time tribe...

i've moved!

i've moved! last wed i moved into a house across town with 3 girls that i've met this past year. they all went to UVA and graduated in 2008 as well and are all awesome. the house is sweet as well. it's about a block from the downtown mall and 5 minutes from work. it's very roomy and has a huge backyard. here are pictures of my room-

(that's right- green trim and a blue door- love it)

and you'll just have to come to charlottesville to see the rest of the house! :)

Capernaum camp

The beginning of August a group of us took 17 Capernaum campers to Rockbridge's Young Life camp for 5 days of camp. (If you're not familiar with Capernaum- it's like Young Life but for kids with special needs) Anyways, the week was absolutely incredible.

They adapted the entire camp so any kid no matter the disability (including folks in wheelchairs) could do any activity. Zip line, tree swing, ropes course- along with the water slides and just general group games. I was also just blown away by the depth of insight that so many of these kids bring to life and to God. During our cabin times one girl made comments like "God is here to show us his love and give us the courage to follow in his footsteps." The guy leaders said that in one of their cabin times one of the guys with Down Syndrome talked for like 5 minutes and it was the most encouraging thing they had heard in a long time. During it he talked about how God rains kisses on us and then began kissing the leader's arm next to him. When I asked him about it later he talked about how he's mr. silly bones and started talking about toothpicks. the moment was lost. you never quite know what will happen next. and i love it.

here's a picture of (most) of our group

it was an awesome time.

that's campin!

The last weekend in July I went camping with a few friends in Charlottesville. We went to Todd lake near Harrisonburg. We had never heard of Todd Lake which we were sort of surprised about....but when we got there we found out it had leeches! Aaah! I went swimming the first day before finding this out....the next day I was a bit more hesitant. However a few of the guys were trying to get them and when one did all we had to do was put some salt on it (which they had available there) It shriveled right off. But still gross! But besides that the area was beautiful and we had a lot of fun just hanging out in nature.

Karen was excited to have the tent set up:

I recently bought some Chacos (which I love) and Karen has Keens, so naturally it was time to go camping with our sport sandals.

Our friend Jeff brought a hammock. We even set up a clothesline- it was fancy living

Liz hatcheting wood for the campfire

Our friend Jon was an Eagle Scout and therefore knows all things woodsy. He built the fires, chopped wood, and managed to make a pineapple upside-down cake in a dutch oven. In the morning we were all lamenting the fact we didn't have coffee or tea. Jon's solution? Oh I see some sassafras trees! Let me dig up their roots, peel them, and make tea out of them! And it was some of the best tea i've ever had...a good use of an invite!

wild sassafras tea brewing

Jon also brought these iron things called mountain pie makers. You put in bread, sausage, an egg, and some cheese and then put them in the fire. Out comes a delicious breakfast sandwich!

the final product

i always find it refreshing to just be out in nature away from cell phone/email range and just unplug for a while. can't wait to go again!!

rooooad trip!

the finale of my time with louisa and the kids was a road trip up to new hampshire over the 4th of July weekend. they were meeting some friends up there for a week vacation so i jumped on the front end for some fun times and adventure.

first stop: Hershey, PA! most well known for being the (nearby) site of one of the greatest weddings of all time, it also holds chocolate world! we took the chocolate world tour ride (twice) and then took a trolley tour around Hershey. it was very kid friendly and actually quite entertaining (group sing alongs, costume changes, candy) and also very informative. i didn't realize what a philanthropist and visionary Milton Hershey was and it was really cool to learn about!

next stop: Scranton, PA! although it is true that we went there because it is the "home" of The Office, Scranton is a very interesting place. it was originally an iron making/coal mining town and seems pretty much stuck in time. we found the "Welcome to Scranton" sign at the Steamtown mall (really called that) and then headed over to check out the old iron furnaces before it got dark. these pictures make scranton seem much more picturesque than it was, but these stone structures were giant!

we spent the night in Scranton and the next morning went to tour a coal mine right outside the town. it was amazing! we descended 300 feet into the earth in this metal structure on a pulley system and then took a tour around the old mine. although it is adapted for tourists now with electric lights and room to stand up everywhere you walk, it is still very much preserved like it was while it was in use. about a year ago they even had to take all the tourists out up one of those emergency chutes (like you saw during the Chilean miners rescue) because the yellow tram thing broke. (aaaaah) it was especially interesting to hear about the lifestyle of the miners and how the boys would start working it at age 7 above ground and age 10 in the mines. that is how old my nephews are! it was an incredibly hard life and made me very grateful to have not lived in that time and place. if you ever get the chance to go into a coal mine i would highly recommend it.

we finished up that day in Boston, MA where we met our fellow travelers and I got to connect with a dear friend I met at the Forge. The next day we headed to New Hampshire to a beautiful house in the mountains! we spent the evening canoeing and hanging out with the kids and then I flew back to Charlottesville the next day. It was a great road trip with lots of good adventures! Plus it was wonderful to get more quality time with the family!

hello world!

wow it has been over 3 months since my last blog and that is just terrible. well i am back and have made a "new summer resolution" to blog once a week...well at least once every other week. keep me honest blogging world!

to start- last week we finished up the camp i've been working. it was a great and full summer!

the beginning of june my Texas family came to town- now what would my blog be without pictures of my nephews and niece? so here they are!

we taught the nephews how to play cornhole. they were quite good!

homemade pizzas for Father's day

we found wild blackberry bushes at a lake near our house and made some impromptu 11:00pm cobbler

my ever stylish niece did my hair with all of her bows. i could take a lesson from her

stay tuned for further adventures including a visit to the "home" of the Office and a trip down a coal mine!! (get excited)