Making the most of November

In case you’re new here, Tim and I eat out only once a week.  Therefore, we make every experience count!  No repeating restaurants.  So you can imagine, every week it’s a huge ordeal just picking a place.  There are too many awesome restaurants around here.  But it’s a constant dilemma we are happy to have.  Sure, it’s going to take a LONG time to hit up all the places that are on our list, but good thing we have patience..or at least I do ;).

As I forgot to post last week, I wanted to dedicate part of this post to our dining experience at Jack Allen’s Kitchen.  To describe in simple words, the menu = Comfort food meets Southwestern flavors.  Although the restaurant appears rustic and worn down on the outside, the interior is very sophisticated and resembles that of a modern western saloon.  I absolutely LOVED our waiter!  He was friendly, funny, enthusiastic, and extremely knowledgable about the food.  We learned, along with many other interesting facts, that almost all of their ingredients are locally sourced and that one of their main goals is to support local farmers.  Sounded good to me!

And yup!  A whole section in the menu devoted to “Chicken Fried Anything…”  I am in Texas.

Another burger for Tim.  Ever since he started his burger bucket list, he finds so much joy in crossing each entry off one by one.

I, on the other hand, am glad that some of the burgers he wants to try are at places that offer other choices.  Mmm…Ruby Trout.

Earlier in the week, I purchased a new item to add to my essential kitchenware.  I introduce you to my very first turkey roaster!  My family usually doesn’t do turkey for Thanksgiving as Korean food reigns king.  However, as my parents are in Korea, I am in charge of Thanksgiving this year for the “children.”  I’m extremely excited and nervous at the same time.  It’s only a week away!!

In addition to school, I began working for the WIC this past Friday.  I’ll be there Tuesdays and Fridays after school and will def fill you in on what I learn, do, etc.  The menu reviewing for the Texas Department of Agriculture is going extremely well, also.  It’s great to see the schools really taking on the initiative and putting in the effort to make some positive changes.

School has been pretty challenging – a lot of papers and presentations.  However, I’m knocking them down one at a time.  On a positive note, I’m becoming a lot more comfortable with public speaking.  A neat part about one of my classes is that at the end of presentation day, we all get to vote anonymously for our favorite presenter, and that person gets an extra 10 points towards his/her grade.  And guess what?  This past week, I was the winner!  Woot woot!  Talk about a confidence booster ;).  Totally made my day.

Saturday night was Fiesta Time for the praise team at our church.  A lot of people showed up fashionably late due to the nail-biting Texas A&M vs. Alabama game.  But that was ok since I was actually on time (Ahem!) and got to catch up with friends that I haven’t been able to talk with lately.  Once everyone showed up, the party began!

Grilled fajitas (beef and chicken) served alongside the most perfectly caramelized and grilled onions, peppers, mushrooms, and zucchini.  As for the sides, there were beans, chips, and queso.  I love me some queso!

Saturday = Burnt Orange Day…

or Maroon Day.  A house divided, indeed.  Notice I’m with the Aggies?  I don’t discriminate.  I declare myself neutral as there’s no football team at Emory.

Do you remember Callum?  He was soo soo tiny, and we were all extremely worried.  But look at him now!  Well, guess you can’t really see him as I couldn’t get him to face the camera, but he’s looking awfully adorable with his chubby cheeks ;).  It’s a good look for him.

In terms of my workout regimen, ever since I ended my gym membership, I’ve been at a loss.  Then, I decided to try Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp.  I love it because not only are the directions thorough and easy to understand, Tina provides different variations to each of the workout sets.  As I’m trying to focus on low-intensity workouts for the time being, this works perfectly for me.  I do admit that it’s hard at times to not give it my all and push myself beyond my limits (I have done this several times to be honest) and to avoid feeling the pressure that I have to catch up to the rest of my “group.”  However, for the most part, this plan is working out for me, and I am enjoying the change!

And finally (I know this post is getting really long, but I want to catch you up on how I’m doing with my Bible reading and spending time with the Lord), my 2+2+1 plan is going really well!  As I’ve never read the Old Testament in great detail, I am so glad that I’ve finally set out to do so.  I’m beginning to see the Bible as one epic story.  It’s amazing to see God’s promises and plans being unfolded and fulfilled in the books of the New Testament.  I’m also finding wisdom and love in stories that I’ve known for so long but have clearly overlooked.  For instance in Genesis 18:20-33, God was so angry and disappointed with Sodom and Gomorrah that he wanted to destroy them.  However, Abraham kept inquiring of the Lord.  From this, I’m reminded of God’s fairness and mercy.  As we pray, our prayers shouldn’t be to align God’s mind to ours.  He’s the only one who sees and knows the whole picture of our lives.  Instead, as we continue to seek Him, we should strive for our minds to be in alignment with His through prayer and meditation.  I had to ask myself, am I feeling like God’s not hearing or answering my prayers because I’m so set on Him responding to my needs and desires the way I want Him to?  I realized that it’s not about my will and my wants.  It’s about God’s perfect plan for my life that He knew about even before I was born.  And thus, my prayers have been slowly transforming.

I leave you with this – In John 6, you read of Jesus feeding five thousand people from  barley loaves and 2 small fish, which was all that a little boy had.  That was more than enough for our Lord to work His miracle.  Oftentimes we may feel that God can’t use us cuz we’re too small, too insignificant.  But He wants to work in us and through us – He’s dying to!  He sure can take what little we have (if we surrender it to Him), multiply it and turn it into something amazing!  

Hope you have a blessed week!