This weekend is one of spiritual growth and enlightenment. General conference is one of my very favorite occasions. I love hearing the words of our church leaders- they are always so inspired. You can watch it live or browse past messages here:
lds.org
Jon requested that I make a quiche, I think it is his new favorite food. He is calling it "conference quiche" and is wanting to make it a tradition. I like that.
This week has flown by- classes have started up and this quarter is going to be busy busy busy. But it has motivated me to get organized so I am hoping it will be a productive kind of busy.
Jon is trying not to burn out on MCAT study. Only one more week... he is so ready. He has faith, not fear.
In the midst of this crazy time of life, I am going to focus on the words and thoughts shared in conference. The main quotes that are on my mind right now are:
"Be kind to the poor"
and
"Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary, use words" -St Francis
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Hello Blogging World
Sorry it has been so long. So many things have been happening, and now that spring break is in session, I have some time to write about it!
First and foremost, happy birthday to Mr. Jon! He turned the big 2-3 on the 15th. We celebrated with Cafe Rio, an ice cream cake to die for and some of his favorite shows. We are heading north to Goleta this weekend to celebrate his big day (as well as his brother's) with the family.
Since my last post I am happy to say that I have now seen four clients. I have been scheduled five. So things are definitely moving along at the clinic- hopefully all the clients will come back (haha).
I also have been facilitating parenting groups at the YWCA and loving it. Unfortunately I can't do it next quarter because of our new schedule but I hope to pick it up again soon after.
Speaking of which... after this week we officially start spring quarter. I have quite a few classes and am working regularly at the clinic. It will be interesting to see how things shake out with my schedule. Sometimes it feels like this program is flying by- other times it feels like I can't believe I have a whole year left. Either way I am learning tons and loving it.
Jon has his one-week internship for phlebotomy this week. His internship is in Victorville, despite the commute it seems to be going very well. He has already had more than 25 successful "sticks" and is really getting the hang of things.
After Jon's internship is over he has only TWO WEEKS until he takes the MCAT. We are hoping all of his hard work will pay off. We know he has studied to the best of his ability, now we are just praying that God make up the rest.
The weather in California has been moody, it can't make up its mind if it is sunny, rainy or cloudy. But I like it just the same. We are happy to be where we are. Sometimes I can't believe I am in graduate school (it even feels weird to type that out) and I can't believe Jon is progressing so much in his plans for med school. It feels a little unreal. But I am thankful for the things that keep my grounded: my family, my friends and my faith. God bless.
First and foremost, happy birthday to Mr. Jon! He turned the big 2-3 on the 15th. We celebrated with Cafe Rio, an ice cream cake to die for and some of his favorite shows. We are heading north to Goleta this weekend to celebrate his big day (as well as his brother's) with the family.
Since my last post I am happy to say that I have now seen four clients. I have been scheduled five. So things are definitely moving along at the clinic- hopefully all the clients will come back (haha).
I also have been facilitating parenting groups at the YWCA and loving it. Unfortunately I can't do it next quarter because of our new schedule but I hope to pick it up again soon after.
Speaking of which... after this week we officially start spring quarter. I have quite a few classes and am working regularly at the clinic. It will be interesting to see how things shake out with my schedule. Sometimes it feels like this program is flying by- other times it feels like I can't believe I have a whole year left. Either way I am learning tons and loving it.
Jon has his one-week internship for phlebotomy this week. His internship is in Victorville, despite the commute it seems to be going very well. He has already had more than 25 successful "sticks" and is really getting the hang of things.
After Jon's internship is over he has only TWO WEEKS until he takes the MCAT. We are hoping all of his hard work will pay off. We know he has studied to the best of his ability, now we are just praying that God make up the rest.
The weather in California has been moody, it can't make up its mind if it is sunny, rainy or cloudy. But I like it just the same. We are happy to be where we are. Sometimes I can't believe I am in graduate school (it even feels weird to type that out) and I can't believe Jon is progressing so much in his plans for med school. It feels a little unreal. But I am thankful for the things that keep my grounded: my family, my friends and my faith. God bless.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Shout-Out!
It is my brother, James, birthday today. Happy birthday James!
As a present, I know he would love it if you checked out his new website:
thesportsbench.com
It is a place where fans come together to talk sports- chat live, read articles, etc.
As a present, I know he would love it if you checked out his new website:
thesportsbench.com
It is a place where fans come together to talk sports- chat live, read articles, etc.
End of February
Well, Valentine's day was lovely.
This was from our delish homemade dinner over the weekend.
I am kind of obsessed with how cute our mis-matched fiestaware looks.
On Monday I left Jon some sweet notes and chocolate. That evening his tutoring was canceled and he took me out to Chinese food! A rare treat since it isn't his favorite. We shared everything and couldn't even finish half of it. It was so yummy and I got left overs for the rest of the week. I also got a lovely rose, a sweet note, and my favorite ice cream in the refrigerator! Jon sure has made an effort to realize my favorite holiday and that means so much to me, he is such a sweetie. I am a lucky gal.
(Do you love our vase- yummm berry lemonade!)
This week has been exciting.
Jon: Jon had his last week of his phlebotomy course. Hasn't it gone by so quickly? There was a midterm and a final and Jon got the high score of the class in both. On their last day of class they have to "check out." This means that they go through the entire phlebotomy procedure (with a classmate as the patient) in front of the class and teacher. They have to do everything perfectly or else they get a "re-try." Sometimes people do everything perfectly but they don't get blood, they can still pass but it can feel kind of discouraging.
Jon was the only person to get blood and PASS on the first try! Go Jon! Jon was so relieved after. He had been nervous about not getting blood or not passing off.
Now, this week, Jon takes a national exam to certify him as a phlebotomist. After that he does a one week externship with a local lab. A lot of the time people can get jobs through their externship, we sure hope this is the case.
Jon is being very successful in his studying for the MCAT. He takes the test in April, so whenever he hears that his birthday is coming up (March 15th) he gets nervous. I think we should give him a "congratulations its not April, you still have time to study!" party. He does feel like he has gone over all the information they can test him on, but now it is a matter of getting the answers right and perfecting his test taking. Jon has relied on the Lord so much in this experience, I am proud of him. He used to get really anxious and obsessed about his scores, but he knows now that he is studying the best he can and relying on God for the rest. He knows this is what he is supposed to be doing right now. That takes a lot of faith but I know he will be blessed for it.
Rachel: After 3 scheduled clients and lots of nerves/anxiety, all three of my clients have canceled. Yup. Still haven't seen a client. At least I am no longer nervous when I am assigned someone, I just don't really believe that they will show up (ha). I do have another one scheduled this Wednesday, so maybe that will be the day! If not, its not a big deal, but I would like to get my "first" out of the way.
I have been staying busy with my group homes and I am getting another home next week (teenage girls, it will be so different than my little boys!). The group homes, while very chaotic and tiring, have started to feel rewarding. I love the looks on the faces of the kids when things finally start to click, or they really begin to understand something.
One of the projects we did was decorating shoe boxes with the labels people give us on the outside of the box, and decorating who we really are on the inside of the box. After they had decorated the outside my partner and I went around to each kid one-by-one and told them we wanted to do something strange- we wanted them to tear off the outside labels. We explained that it might leave a mark or it might hurt, but it would be worth it. Our kids faces were priceless as they tore off the negative labels they had received in their short lives. One kid totally got it, and he took the positive things about himself from the inside and put them on the outside. He told me that now that his negative labels were gone he could act the way that he truly is inside. I was cheering and doing cartwheels inside myself- he totally got it! I walked away from the day feeling really energized.
I have also been co-facilitating parenting groups for court mandated parents. This week I am presenting the meat of the material, I am fairly nervous. We have people who have teenagers, people who have been in prison and have just met their children for the first time, people who have had their kids taken away for child endangerment, people who were not parented well themselves... it is overwhelming. Most of the time I sit their and wonder why I am allowed to teach these folks. But I feel very privileged and honored to hear their stories, I am so thankful they let me into their lives. It takes a lot of courage to come to those classes and open up.
So- lots has been going on. These last couple of days we have stayed out of the rain, tried to make a fire in the fire place, and watched movies. We like hanging out with each other and are soo glad to have so much time together right now.
February was a good month, lets hope March is even better...
This was from our delish homemade dinner over the weekend.
I am kind of obsessed with how cute our mis-matched fiestaware looks.
On Monday I left Jon some sweet notes and chocolate. That evening his tutoring was canceled and he took me out to Chinese food! A rare treat since it isn't his favorite. We shared everything and couldn't even finish half of it. It was so yummy and I got left overs for the rest of the week. I also got a lovely rose, a sweet note, and my favorite ice cream in the refrigerator! Jon sure has made an effort to realize my favorite holiday and that means so much to me, he is such a sweetie. I am a lucky gal.
(Do you love our vase- yummm berry lemonade!)
This week has been exciting.
Jon: Jon had his last week of his phlebotomy course. Hasn't it gone by so quickly? There was a midterm and a final and Jon got the high score of the class in both. On their last day of class they have to "check out." This means that they go through the entire phlebotomy procedure (with a classmate as the patient) in front of the class and teacher. They have to do everything perfectly or else they get a "re-try." Sometimes people do everything perfectly but they don't get blood, they can still pass but it can feel kind of discouraging.
Jon was the only person to get blood and PASS on the first try! Go Jon! Jon was so relieved after. He had been nervous about not getting blood or not passing off.
Now, this week, Jon takes a national exam to certify him as a phlebotomist. After that he does a one week externship with a local lab. A lot of the time people can get jobs through their externship, we sure hope this is the case.
Jon is being very successful in his studying for the MCAT. He takes the test in April, so whenever he hears that his birthday is coming up (March 15th) he gets nervous. I think we should give him a "congratulations its not April, you still have time to study!" party. He does feel like he has gone over all the information they can test him on, but now it is a matter of getting the answers right and perfecting his test taking. Jon has relied on the Lord so much in this experience, I am proud of him. He used to get really anxious and obsessed about his scores, but he knows now that he is studying the best he can and relying on God for the rest. He knows this is what he is supposed to be doing right now. That takes a lot of faith but I know he will be blessed for it.
Rachel: After 3 scheduled clients and lots of nerves/anxiety, all three of my clients have canceled. Yup. Still haven't seen a client. At least I am no longer nervous when I am assigned someone, I just don't really believe that they will show up (ha). I do have another one scheduled this Wednesday, so maybe that will be the day! If not, its not a big deal, but I would like to get my "first" out of the way.
I have been staying busy with my group homes and I am getting another home next week (teenage girls, it will be so different than my little boys!). The group homes, while very chaotic and tiring, have started to feel rewarding. I love the looks on the faces of the kids when things finally start to click, or they really begin to understand something.
One of the projects we did was decorating shoe boxes with the labels people give us on the outside of the box, and decorating who we really are on the inside of the box. After they had decorated the outside my partner and I went around to each kid one-by-one and told them we wanted to do something strange- we wanted them to tear off the outside labels. We explained that it might leave a mark or it might hurt, but it would be worth it. Our kids faces were priceless as they tore off the negative labels they had received in their short lives. One kid totally got it, and he took the positive things about himself from the inside and put them on the outside. He told me that now that his negative labels were gone he could act the way that he truly is inside. I was cheering and doing cartwheels inside myself- he totally got it! I walked away from the day feeling really energized.
I have also been co-facilitating parenting groups for court mandated parents. This week I am presenting the meat of the material, I am fairly nervous. We have people who have teenagers, people who have been in prison and have just met their children for the first time, people who have had their kids taken away for child endangerment, people who were not parented well themselves... it is overwhelming. Most of the time I sit their and wonder why I am allowed to teach these folks. But I feel very privileged and honored to hear their stories, I am so thankful they let me into their lives. It takes a lot of courage to come to those classes and open up.
So- lots has been going on. These last couple of days we have stayed out of the rain, tried to make a fire in the fire place, and watched movies. We like hanging out with each other and are soo glad to have so much time together right now.
February was a good month, lets hope March is even better...
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day! My very favorite holiday, a day to appreciate and express the love you have for those you love! Growing up Valentine's was always a family-affair, I would always make treats for my friends and I saw the holiday as a friendly one. Saturday Jon and I made a yummy dinner, what a treat. I even have a couple surprises up my sleeve for tomorrow (shh!).
As for our last week, things have been moving along. I didn't end up seeing my first client, they cancelled. But I have been to the group homes for two weeks now. It is nerve-racking, exciting, sad, enlightening, over-whelming, chaotic and inspiring job. These kids have been through more than I can explain but they are so funny and cute. At least, most of the time. They are definitely love-able.
Jon is already half way through his phlebotomy program (woohoo!). He is taking blood every class day now and is always practicing trying to find my veins. Lucky for me I have a little more fat on my arms (ahem) so it is a bit more challenging to find veins on me rather than on him. Also, I think Jon looks really cute in his scrubs.
This week is a new week and I am looking forward to it. Have a fantastic Valentine's day, spread the love, no matter your relationship status!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Well here is what you need to know...
Jon: He is loving his phlebotomy class and looks forward to going every single class day. He is volunteering at a blood bank where he gets to give people snacks and make sure they don't faint.
Rachel: Went to my first group home last Monday for therapy/education for the kids. It was an adventure, the kids make me laugh. I have my first client this week. Oh boy. After Wednesday I might need therapy of my own.
Us: We are soo excited to go to cousin Kaitlin's wedding in Seattle this August. We can't wait to visit the beautiful city again, have fun with the family and celebrate such a happy occasion!
Rachel: Went to my first group home last Monday for therapy/education for the kids. It was an adventure, the kids make me laugh. I have my first client this week. Oh boy. After Wednesday I might need therapy of my own.
Us: We are soo excited to go to cousin Kaitlin's wedding in Seattle this August. We can't wait to visit the beautiful city again, have fun with the family and celebrate such a happy occasion!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
New Favorite Recipes
I think going to a Seventh-Day-Adventist school is having a good influence on me. I love all their healthy recipes and I really like eating vegetarian-friendly food. Jon and I have almost completely cut out red meat (except when we go out to eat or when we go home). We also are more open to eating more vegetarian meals throughout the week.
Here are two of my new favorite recipes...
1. Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad
Don't run away from the word salad! This is so delicious, Jon and I ate a whole batch in only 3-4 days. You will be impressed by that when you see how much food this makes... It is totally delicious and completely healthy. The cilantro-lime dressing adds a real kick which made it a favorite for Jon. It also is easy, since it really is just chopping and throwing everything together. And it keeps well in the fridge.
Just an FYI- the directions have you use a complicated method for cooking the quinoa. I just followed the box directions and let it cool, then mixed it all together. It turned out great.
Here are the links:
recipe
Step-by-step Pictures
PS I didn't use the jalepenos or the cumin. It seems like you can add or take out just about whatever you like.
2. Whole Wheat Sticks
So this recipe is a little bit more of a treat/snack. My friend from the program made these for a group of us and apparently they are a favorite at the Loma-Linda Market. They are a cookie/bread texture and are totally yummy. It doesn't hurt that there is tons of whole wheat flour and very little sugar. It also makes a large batch so we have lots left over to last us at least the week.
Here you go:
Whole Wheat Sticks
(Like the ones at the Loma Linda Market)
4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup White Flour
1 Cup Kamut Flour (optional; you can substitute 1 additional cup of WW flour)
1 Cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 Cup Coconut flakes
1 ½ teaspoons Salt
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
¼ Cup White Sugar
¼ Cup Brown Sugar
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
⅔ Cup Vegetable Oil
1 ½ Cups Water
2 Teaspoons Almond Extract
Mix wet ingredients into a temporary emulsion and pour onto the dry ingredients. Knead
for five minutes and roll out onto cookie sheets. Dough should be ¼ - ½ inch thick. Use
a pizza cutter to cut into 1 inch wide sticks.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until they golden-brown.
PS I couldn't find plain coconut flakes so I used sweetened (oops, a little more sugar) but they still turned out tasty. Also, the dough is a little hard to work with since it is not refined white flour, but just put some muscle into it and trust that it will taste super yummy.
Enjoy!
Here are two of my new favorite recipes...
1. Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad
Don't run away from the word salad! This is so delicious, Jon and I ate a whole batch in only 3-4 days. You will be impressed by that when you see how much food this makes... It is totally delicious and completely healthy. The cilantro-lime dressing adds a real kick which made it a favorite for Jon. It also is easy, since it really is just chopping and throwing everything together. And it keeps well in the fridge.
Just an FYI- the directions have you use a complicated method for cooking the quinoa. I just followed the box directions and let it cool, then mixed it all together. It turned out great.
Here are the links:
recipe
Step-by-step Pictures
PS I didn't use the jalepenos or the cumin. It seems like you can add or take out just about whatever you like.
2. Whole Wheat Sticks
So this recipe is a little bit more of a treat/snack. My friend from the program made these for a group of us and apparently they are a favorite at the Loma-Linda Market. They are a cookie/bread texture and are totally yummy. It doesn't hurt that there is tons of whole wheat flour and very little sugar. It also makes a large batch so we have lots left over to last us at least the week.
Here you go:
Whole Wheat Sticks
(Like the ones at the Loma Linda Market)
4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup White Flour
1 Cup Kamut Flour (optional; you can substitute 1 additional cup of WW flour)
1 Cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 Cup Coconut flakes
1 ½ teaspoons Salt
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
¼ Cup White Sugar
¼ Cup Brown Sugar
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
⅔ Cup Vegetable Oil
1 ½ Cups Water
2 Teaspoons Almond Extract
Mix wet ingredients into a temporary emulsion and pour onto the dry ingredients. Knead
for five minutes and roll out onto cookie sheets. Dough should be ¼ - ½ inch thick. Use
a pizza cutter to cut into 1 inch wide sticks.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until they golden-brown.
PS I couldn't find plain coconut flakes so I used sweetened (oops, a little more sugar) but they still turned out tasty. Also, the dough is a little hard to work with since it is not refined white flour, but just put some muscle into it and trust that it will taste super yummy.
Enjoy!
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